Barriers to Communication Essay Example for Free

Barriers to Communication Essay Organisational communication relates to the way organisations adapt themselves to changing environments, externally and internally. The focus is on interaction with stakeholders and within the organisation and with co-workers. In these interactions different perceptions (in meanings and interests) must be dealt with to create common ground. Barriers to communication refers to any kind or form of communication impediment within an organization such as noise, bureaucracy and semantic differences. The organisation that I used to work for is SIRDC and it is primarily involved in scientific research and innovation. It is located around 15kilometres away from town in the Hatcliffe Extension area. The barriers to communication in the organisation include the following: Semantic barriers Did you hear what I meant for you to hear? This has been a frequent statement in the boardrooms! With todays increasingly diverse workforce, it is easy to believe you have conveyed information to someone, but you are not aware that they interpreted you differently than you intended. Unfortunately, you wont be aware of this problem until a major problem or issue arises out of the confusion. This usually arises due to the interpretation of different words. Due to the diverse educational and cultural backgrounds [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=backgrounds%3Bv=56] in my organisation, semantics acts as a hindrance to effective communication as people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] would argue that we agreed to pursue another option in the last meeting when it was not the case. This is usually prevalent when the business [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=business%3Bv=56] people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] in the organisation are discussing issues with the scientists on the viability of their innovations. The organisation has chemists, engineers, marketing [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=marketing%3Bv=56] personnel, financial analysts, nutritionists, electricians, biotechnologists among many  others. Bureaucracy When organizations are just getting started, their leaders can often prize themselves on not being burdened with what seems as bureaucratic overhead, that is, as extensive written policies and procedures. Writing [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=Writing%3Bv=56] something down can be seen as a sign of bureaucracy and to be avoided. As the organization grows, it needs more communications and feedback to remain healthy, but this communication is not valued. As a result, increasing confusion ensues unless management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] matures and realizes the need for increased, reliable communications. This was the case when the department that I was under was at its infancy level and this was done to have confidence of other institutes within the organisation, since our department was mainly support in nature. Organisational Structure However, at the organizational level, authority tends to be centralised at the top and this usually results in information taking too long to reach all the employees. The Director-General has the final say in the all the organizational decision making process. The Public relations department is responsible for all the organizational communication even on technical aspects unless the technical people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] are given the authority to talk to the media. Assumed Knowledge If I know it, then everyone must know it. Perhaps the most common communications problem is managements (leaders and managers) assumption that because they are aware of some piece of information, than everyone else is, too. Usually staff are not aware unless management  [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] makes a deliberate attempt to carefully convey information. This has been the case especially on the technical fields where the managers think that every employee is aware of the basics in the related field. Sometimes, employees will be scared to ask because the boss has already assumed that everyone knows the principles. The result is that the job [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=job%3Bv=56] is not done properly and incompetence is labeled to the subordinates. Information Ownership Some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] within the organisation would not want to share information with others and this has been termed HITES Holding Information To Enhance Status. This is usually the case in fields such as information technology (IT) where a person is solely employed because of the knowledge of a particular program. If he is to teach others the he loses his expert power and negotiating power within the organisation. Such group of people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] can make the organisation be at ransom if their demands are not met. Ethnocentricity This is mainly to do with judging people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] according to ones culture and thinking. This is a result of diverse cultures and different levels of education [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=education%3Bv=56] within the organisation. Camps within an organization Camps are usually created based on political persuasion, religious beliefs, as well as on tribal grounds. Since my organization is a parastatal and it is in the Presidents Office  [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=Office%3Bv=56], it is expected that within the organization we should be pro-government. However, some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] are known to support other parties, so communication tends to be hindered as one is not so sure how to respond to certain issues raised. Tribal issues tend to hinder communication in my organization as some people [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=people%3Bv=56] feel one tribe is getting the attention of the senior executive in the organization. This has been further worsened in the recruitment exercise for senior posts. Managers failure to recognize the efforts of subordinates If I need your opinion, I will tell it to you. Communications problems can arise when management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] simply sees no value whatsoever in communicating with subordinates, believing subordinates should shut up and do their jobs [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=jobs%3Bv=56] as assigned. This kind of attitude discourages the subordinates and might force them to just leave the mistakes that their superior has done which might be detrimental to the organizational objectives and goals. The attitude of I know everything has retarded the learning [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=learning%3Bv=56] process in the organization. Inexperienced managers are usually the culprits in this regard as they find no need to communicate with subordinates. So whats to talk about? Communications problems can arise when inexperienced management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] interprets its job [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=job%3Bv=56] to be solving problems and if they are no problems/crises, then there is nothing that needs to be communicated. Conclusion Effective internal communications start with effective skills in communications, including basic skills in listening, speaking, questioning  and sharing feedback These can developed with some concerted review and practice. Perhaps the most important outcome from these skills is conveying that you value hearing from others and their hearing from you. Sound meeting management [http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=management%3Bv=56] skills go a long way toward ensuring effective communications, too. A key ingredient to developing effective communications in any organization is each person taking responsibility to assert when they dont understand a communication or to suggest when and how someone could communicate more effectively.

An Economic Perspective of Religious Organizations Abstract Essay

An Economic Perspective of Religious Organizations Abstract In the process of studying religions, we often overlook the secular aspects of religious organizations. This paper examines the basic flows of money in different spiritual organizations, and attempts to correlate the types of income with the structure of the priestly hierarchy. This analysis is by no means comprehensive. In the end, more questions are raised than are answered. Introduction For all the mythological and sociological components of religion, religious organizations operate under the same restrictions as any other secular establishment. Religious organizations can be characterized as multi-generational institutions with distinct rights, privileges, and liabilities; the essential definition of a corporation. While the sources of income and the liabilities are substantially different from a standard company, an economic analysis of religious behavior allows us to compare religions in certain areas. The goal of this paper is to ignore the philosophy, and view religion with a purely economic perspective1. In this analysis of religious organizations, I will attempt to identify the sources of revenue for different religious organizations, explain different hierarchies, and attempt to draw some conclusions of the interactions of money and organization. This topic is expansive, and as such I will often simplify or identify further fields of research, rather than getting too off topic. In the end, I hope to provide a basic understanding of the complexities of religious finance. Revenue The single most important economic means of distinguishing religions is through the source of money. Adam Smith, in his seminal work The Wealth o... ...pter inspired the idea of this paper. Raines, John. Marx on Religion. Temple Univ. Press. 2002 -A primer on Marx’s various writings on religion; a rather condensed work. Marx had some rather complex ideas, and his writing is given to misleading quotes, which is why I do not quote his work. (Author Unknown) â€Å"Evaluation the Evidence: Religious Economies and Sacred Canopies.† American Sociological Review 54 1989 -Sociology papers are difficult for an outsider to read (to say the least), but this paper deals with the topic in a sufficiently interesting manner to merit its mention. Hardin, Russell. "The Economics of Religious Belief and Practice" Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics. 1997. -A basic analysis of (western) religions and their finances. Useful article, and written in a language that I can understand (thanks to a minor in economics).

Apple Inc: Analysis of Financial Statement Essay

I chose Apple for my course project mainly based on the fact that they release all their records to the public and they have excellent accounting practices. Their paper work is easy to read and follow and based on their records they have an endless amount of revenue in the billions. As we have discussed about Apple in class I was very intrigued how they looked in the books on a specific level of detail and this course project was the perfect way to take initiative to find out just how their numbers actually add up answering the following questions. 1. What amount of deferred tax assets or deferred tax liabilities are on the two most recent years on the balance sheet? What gives rise to these deferred taxes? What information is disclosed in the footnotes related to deferred taxes? Please define a deferred tax asset and deferred tax liability. At year end September 24 2011 the balance sheet shows following amount of deferred tax assets and liabilities: Deferred tax asset is arising due to deductible temporary differences, tax losses, and tax credits of $3.2Billion and deferred tax liabilities of $9.2Billion. Deferred revenue is recorded when the company receives payments of their products in advance or for the performance of services. It includes amount for unspecified and specified software upgrade rights and non-software services that are attached to the products of the company. It is disclosed in the footnotes that Deferred tax assets and liabilities shows the effects of tax losses, credits, and the future income tax effects of temporary differences between the consolidated financial statement carrying amounts of current assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and are measured using en-acted tax rates that apply to their taxable income in the years in which these temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Footnotes also states that company records a valuation allowance in order to reduce the def erred tax asset to the amount it thinks cannot be realized. Deferred tax asset: Deferred tax asset is defined as reduction in company’s future taxes as the company has already paid for these taxes in past. It is like a prepaid tax. It is used to reduce later period’s income taxes. Deferred tax liability: Deferred tax liability is defined as liability that the company owes but they don’t have to pay it in the current time but will be due in some future time. This often results due to difference in tax regulations and accounting practices. 2. What temporary and permanent differences does the company disclose in its footnotes? What are some other examples of temporary and permanent differences? Operating loss to carry forward /carry forward: The company had unrecognized tax benefits of 1.4 billion Guidelines for carry forwards and carrybacks: Tax law allows corporation to carry forward loss up to 20 years and they can carryback tax losses only up to 2 years. A carry forward can be used to reduce future income and in the end reducing future tax payments. 4. Does the company have a defined benefit or defined contribution plan? What are the key elements of the plan discussed in the footnotes? What amounts on the balance sheet relate to this plan? What are the differences between defined benefit and defined contribution plans? Employee contribution plan: The key element discuss in the footnotes is the rate to which the contribution is made and matching of contribution by company itself. The Company’s matching contributions to the Savings Plan were $90 million, $72 million and $59 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Difference between Benefit and contribution plan: In contribution the employer put certain fixed percentage of employees to the fund and invest it no loss or gain is recognized because its liability is of contributing that amount only. However in benefit plan the company promised to pay certain amount to employees due to which it has to recognize gain or losses and liability. 5. What are the earnings-per-share amounts disclosed on the income statement for the most recent year? What dilutive securities are discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other examples of dilutive securities. How do these impact earnings per share? Diluted EPS: Effect on EPS of Dilutive: Dilutive EPS is calculated due to the Debt securities company issued to which company offers for conversion from debt security to Company shares. If converted, the denominator will increase and hence EPS will decrease. Other types of dilutive shares: The other types of diluted shares are warrants and share option. Bonus shares may also dilute EPS. 6. What kind of share-based compensation does the company have? What was the compensation expense for the two most recent years? What are the key elements of this plan discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other types of share-based compensation. Share based Payments The Company has two kind of share based compensation one is that the company receives employees’ service in exchange of equity instrument, or of recognizing liabilities that are based on the fair value of the company stock or may be settled through issuance. The elements: The key element in the foot note is the difference between restricted stock Unit and stock option plan. In RSU’s the compensation cost is measured by closing fair value of stock at grant date. However in stock option the valuation at grant date is done through Black-Scholes-Merton (â€Å"BSM†) option-pricing model. Other types of compensation: The other types of compensation is that employees to whom compensation is paid is left with the choice whether to take cash settled i.e. by incurring liabilities or by equity settlements. 7. Does the company use the direct or indirect cash flow presentation method? What is the difference between these two methods? How does the cash flow statement agree to the other financial statements? APPLE INC. uses indirect method of cash flow. The main difference in direct and indirect method is of operating activities section. In direct method of cash flow there is a sum of all check and deposits in a particular category whereas in indirect method of cash flow we have to make adjustments in order to arrive at net cash flow from operating activities. Net cash balance calculated in the cash flow statement agrees with cash balance in the balance sheet. 8. What investing and financing activities does the company have? What are some other examples of investing and financing activities? Company has following investing activities: Purchases of marketable securities, Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities, Proceeds from sales of marketable securities, Payments made in connection with business acquisitions, net of cash acquired Payments for acquisition of property, plant and equipment and Payments for acquisition of intangible assets. Other examples of investing activities are purchase/sale of long term investments and purchase/sale of debt or equity securities of other companies. Financing activities of company: Proceeds from issuance of common stock, Excess tax benefits from equity awards and Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards. Other examples of financing activities are sale of equity securities, issuance of bonds and notes, dividend paid and redeem long term debt. 9. What non-cash transactions does the company have on its cash flow statement? What are some other examples of non-cash transactions? Following are the non cash transactions of the company on its cash flow statement: $(000) Depreciation, amortization and accretion 1,814 Share-based compensation expense 1,168 Deferred income tax expense 2,868 Other non cash-transaction examples are provisions, unrealized foreign currency gains/losses and minority interests. Conclusion: This course project shows evidence in Apple’s strict guidelines and how they run their business. Comparing the numbers they have posted on their site I’m able to physically see how certain liabilities and Assets are moved and balanced in different quarters throughout the year. Seeing this also allows me to understand on how they operate in a bigger scale from a bird’s eye view. Since they are such a large company they do not hesitate to report all their taxes and pay the full amount without using shortcuts that most smaller companies are able to get away with. Based on the report from 2011 and 2010 Apple prioritizes their tax expenses with alacrity and with their triple checked system it truly leaves no room for error in their accounting department. By looking into their books, I can conclude that this company is in strong standing and that they will be around for a long time maybe for another 100 years. Most companies don’t have that kind of net value since they fall into category of accrued debt paying off an impossible bill of benefits to their employees. Works Cited: http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-11-282113&CIK=320193 http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet?symbol=AAPL& http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/IncomeStatement.jsp?tkr=aapl&period=qtr http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=aapl

Is Jesus The Son Of God - 1596 Words

John 14: 6 says â€Å"I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me†. Jesus’ ministry was based off of this principle. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he was raised from the dead, and you confess you have sinned, then you are a Christian according to Jesus and his father God. That is what Jesus taught when he was alive on Earth. His ministry started Christianity, influencing so many people around the world. With his ministry came a lot of controversy, over his teachings and the way he--to some people--spoke very wrongly about the church and God. Also, many people followed him for many reasons. Along with that, Jesus whole ministry comes to a close after he rose from the dead. His†¦show more content†¦The Pharisees heard of this and publicly challenged Jesus, accusing him of having the power of Satan. He defended his actions with a parable, then questioned their logic and told them such thinking deni ed the power of God, which only further hardened their resolve to work against him. Jesus was challenged many times but, he always got the better side of the argument. If Jesus failed an argument his ministry may have been crushed because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law would have spread the news that Jesus was a fraud. Another example of a threat to Jesus’ ministry is, â€Å"It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. The people surrounded him and asked, â€Å"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.† Jesus replied, â€Å"I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The