Organizational culture, and change management

Organizational culture, and change management Introduction This study is based on organizational culture, and change management This study provides an overall idea about the particular subject area and it provides very important knowledge base in both practical and theoretical manner. Accordingly in the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies as a one learning outcome of the module. Under that a framework of analyzing organizational culture has been described. After that the internal and external factors which could influence organizational culture has been explained, accordingly as the final description of the first learning outcome the current organizational culture has been evaluated. After a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of change that underpins individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational values the values to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. As the third learning outcome the relationship between organizational culture and change management has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change management process and then it was assessed how organizational culture and change management can affect individual behaviour. Also ultimately it is discussed how individual values can influence the behaviour of team. All together this study covered a vast area in the subject area of organizational behaviour and change management. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change. The Concept of Culture To achieve this learning objective there are three main areas which has to be address. First one is the to determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture and then Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture and at last of this section the consideration was given to evaluate the current Organizational culture. Determine a framework for analyzing organizational culture Organizational or corporate culture is the pattern of values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions that may not have been articulated but shape the way in which people behave and things get done. Norms are unwritten rules and behaviors. In a very simple way we can say the culture of an organization is the typical way of doing things in the organization. It particularly relates to the behavior pattern and the relationship. The culture of an organization develops as an evolution of long time. It is normally created by the people who work in the organization both the managers and the workforce. So this framework for analyzing organization should be developed in a manner considering on above said ideas of the organizational culture. There seems to be wide range of agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key elements that in aggregate capture the essence of and organizations culture. These elements are the core of the framework which can use to analyze the organizational culture. Those are as follows. Innovations and risk tasking The degree to which employees are encourages to be innovative and take risk. Attention to detail The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Result Orientation The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. People Orientation The degree to which management decisions take in to consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. Team Orientation The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals Aggressiveness The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easy going. Stability The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth Each of these elements exists on a continuum from low to high. Appraising the organization on these seven characteristics or the elements and then gives a composite picture of the organizations culture. Explanation on internal and external factors that influence organizational culture to Management Practices Internal Factors The actions of Top Management The actions of the top management also have major impact on the organizations culture. Through what they say and how they behave, senior executives establish norms that filter down through the organizations as to whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers should give their employees, what is appropriate dress, what action will pay off in terms of pay raises, promotions and other rewards. Human resources Practices Once culture is in place there are practices within the organization that act to maintain it by giving employees a set of experience. For example many of the human resources practices reinforce the organizations culture. The section process, performance evaluation criteria, training career development activities, the promotions procedures ensure that those hired people fit in with the culture. Socialization No matter how good a job the organization does in recruiting and selection, new employees are not fully indoctrinated in the organizations culture. May be most important, because they are unfamiliar with the organizations culture, new employees are potentially likely to disturb the beliefs and customs that are in place. The organizations will therefore want to help new employees adapt to its culture. This adaptation process is called as Socialization. External Factors The context of Community The people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of the community. This matter have two sides one is community as a external factor how look at the organization and the other hand employees also come from that community that will effect to the internal factors also. Organizations that promotes a spiritual culture recognize that people have both a mind and a spirit seek to find meaning and purpose in their work, and desire to connect with other human being and be part of a community. Government Rules and Regulations This is also having another high effect on organizational culture. Especially in the areas like how to treat for the employees, regulations o customer relations and like that the government rules and regulations also may have a effect on organizations culture. National Culture it is needed to taken in to account if accurate predictions are to be made about organizational behavior in different countries. But does national culture override the organizations culture. Is an IBM facility in Germany, for example more likely to reflect German ethic culture or IBMs corporate culture? This example should be taken in to account to national culture override the organizations culture. Evaluate the current Organizational culture Here if we take the McDonalds organization the organizations culture can be identified as follows. Organizational culture to cope up with National culture McDonalds company adjusts to cooking differences in various cultures. In the case of India, McDonalds offered vegetarian burgers to practicing Buddhists. Asian countries preferring spicy taste saw the introduction of spicy burgers, chicken and seasoning. This provides options for customers to purchase food with either the American taste or the local taste. McDonalds achieves balance by maintaining standardization in products but adjusting to the local taste. Company operations Operations Customer Oriented Product and service delivery of McDonalds is customer cantered. This means that McDonalds primary concern is the satisfaction of its customers. This is ensured by applying a strict standard of food and service quality. Under direct Supervision of Mother Company Periodically, representatives from the mother company visit certain branches in order to ensure the maintenance of quality standards, to discover problems and issues, and to provide updates on operation, management and marketing techniques. Relationship with the Employees The company applies the employment policy of providing sufficient training to its workforce. Prior to starting work, newly hired employees are given a rundown of the rules and regulations, company practices and the goals of the company. After this, the employees are introduced to the different components of the menu, process of food preparation, food-packaging techniques, serving of food, handling the cash register, and establishing rapport with customers. New employees are given practical exercises for experience. Change Management Process The change management process is one of basic skill in that most Managers and larders need to be competent in there management process. There are very less working environments where change management is not important and not implemented. In here we are looking basic principles of change management, and provide some guideline on how these principles can be implemented. When leaders and managers are planning to manage changes, there are five main philosophies which need to be remember Various people respond various way to change Everybody has basic needs which have to be fulfil Changes regularly involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve Anticipation need to be managed rationally Fears have to be deal with changes The some techniques in the change management practitioners belt are well known in the business and trade press. The effective organizational change in their implementation and realization are required the introduction of lean manufacturing, 360 ° feedback, executive coaches,  six sigma, CRM, just-in-time supply and manufacturing processes such as kanban and kaizen, Total Quality Management, or enterprise applications such as SAP, and etc Importance (Objectives)of Change Management to the Organization 1. To allow changes while, at the same time, maintaining or improving service stability and availability. 2. To increase the probability of change process success. 3. To reduce and minimize the ratio of changes that needs to be backed out of due to inadequate preparation. 4. To ensure that all parties affected are informed of planned changes. 5. To provide a record of changes implemented to assist with and shorten problem determination time. 6. To ensure that technical and management accountability for all changes is identified. 7. To assist with the accuracy of predictions of impact, such as response time, utilization, etc. 8. To ensure that all affected parties are not only informed, but necessary documentation and training is in place prior to the implementation. Organization Culture and Change Management Process The organization culture and change management process are interrelated. There are many impact cultural impacts for change management process. Ever organization has unique culture, so management system also adapted surrounding that culture and if they implement any change process they have to adapt that change process with their culture, otherwise they have to change organization culture. Company motivation process is often to improve the effectiveness of this employee in order to improve the financial status of the company. Some organizational cultures are making barriers to implement changes, so they have to overcome those resistant against to change. Most of manager and leaders are not willing to do changes, because they have some fear about it success or failure. Cultural changes or changes adaptation to culture are required to success of changes, because these two cannot be separated. Good relationship between organization culture and change management process always bring succe ss of change. Model for the Changing Process Change is not conventional; it does not chase the particular order in change management models were suggested. So, when look at these models of change management, permit a lot of flexibility when referring a model rather than referring any model too rigidly, The way of implementation of changes are differ and depending on which model is used, but we can fallow basic steps those are essential to follow and those are common to any personal or organizational changes. Model for the Changing Process Kotters Eight Change Model John Kotters eight change model is so suitable compare with the other all models for Universal Supplier change process. It has eight steps to fallow for the appropriate change process that will be applied to Universal Supplier. (Source: http://www.google.co.uk/images?clien) Step One: Create Urgency This may help to Universal supplier spark the initial motivation to get things moving company has low distribution network so they want to expand it all over the UK, still it spread only within boundary of London. Company has threat from their market, because there are many competitors arising with new entrance. Company has opportunity to expand its other region in UK; because London is more competitive place many business organizations are located there, not only UK they have opportunity to penetrate other EU countries Like French. Company competences are enough for penetrate and expand the market network, but they should strengthen it further. Step Two: Form a Powerful Coalition The effective change leaders dont need to follow the traditional company hierarchy. To lead change, company management level need to bring all together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from several of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance Step Three: Create a Vision for Change The universal Supplier change process vision is to be a leading food supplier in UK and change objective is expansion of market network all over the UK and Penetrates to other EU countries such as French. When the first start thinking about change. There will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember. Step Four: Communicate the Vision Change vision is communicated all the stakeholders of Universal Supplier. There are various methods is implicated for success of vision communication. Step Five: Remove Obstacles Universal Supplier has some obstacles from importing process. There are many rules and regulation impose when importing of products, and employee knowledge and skills are not enough for achieve that change. Therefore company has to remove those obstacles by using various strategies Step Six: Create Short-term Wins Company should create short term wins like annual target coverage, 10% change coverage. Company should be given a taste of achievement early in the change process. It will be encourage employees to reach to final goal in changing process Step Seven: Build on the Change Company need to implement continuous improvement and change build on going changes. In here final goal is penetrate to other EU countries that should be achieved in the change process. Continuous improvement is very important for going to final target. Step Eight: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture The Cooperate culture regularly identifies what gets done, so the values behind the company or person vision must show in daily work. Required continuous commitment to ensure those changes are seen in every aspect of organization, this will help that change a solid place in Universal supplier (Pvt) Ltd Resistant to Change There are many reason to change, those are due to lack of understanding, poor communication process, cultural and belief barriers, norms, conflict, company structure, technological capabilities, Managerial attitudes and style. Therefore managers and other executives need recognise and identify different form of resistance: 1. Threat of power on an individual basis 2. Threat of power on an organization basis 3. Losing the control by employees 4. Increasing the control of employees 5. Economic factor and limitation 6. Fear for the Jobs security 7. Implication on personal objectives and plans 8. Misunderstanding about changes 9. Fear of unknown 10. Limited resources allocation There are many factors for create resistance again changes. Organization should identify those barriers (resistant) to changes and need to find out overcome those resistant otherwise changes are not implemented successfully. Successful Method of Implementation of Change There are several key parameters that need to be observed if change is to be successful, those are: 1. Idea and the need for the change: Idea generally should be serious, and otherwise there is not a perceived need for change. 2. Adaptation: Adaptation is occurred after key persons make decision chose to a head with planed objectives. Executives and general employees should help to success of change process, and major organizational changes should be sign on legal documents by the board of directors 3. Resources: Change is not happened without resources, it requires allocated resources within time frame, specially required adjustable budget, and proper human resource, technology and etc. 4. Implementation: Implementation is occurred after create change decision with organizational plan. Capital approval, employee training, arranging of materials and equipments are very important in implementation process. Conclusion This assignment analyses a broad area in organizational culture, and change management process. In the first part of the study the concept of culture of an organization has been studies in broad term under three main study areas. Which are organizational culture external internal factors affect for organizational culture and assessing a current organizational culture of an organization. In the second section a comprehensive understanding on culture of the organizations a study has been expanded to study understand the impact of changes that underpin individual and organizational performance. In that section the concept behind organisational culture and the changes to an individual and as well the affect of mangers personal values in working with team members has been explained properly. In the final section relationship between culture and changes has been understood and accordingly it was identified how organizational culture can affect organizational change process and then it was assessed how organizational culture can affect individual and organizational changes. Also ultimately it is discussed model of change process, resistant to changes and successful method to implementation of changes. Universal Supplier (Pvt) Ltd is UK based company, they import many food items from various Asian countries, and among that Sri Lanka is major country. Universal suppliers are newly established company, it is not alder than 10 years, but its progress is very successful. World is change every day, new technologies are emerge and customer anticipation and satisfactions are change day by day therefore every business has to upgrade their standard. Universal suppliers have understood change system, so they give more priority to change their management and products relative to market change.

Cannibalism Essay example -- Religion Violence Cannibal Essays

Cannibalism Cannibalism has been around since the beginning of time. Mainly as an act of defense or as an alternate, last resort, for food. Cannibalism is also used as an act of violence among animals to preserve their genetics. Human cannibalism however, was not used as an act of violence to cause pain and anguish amongst other human beings. Cannibalism within the human race is widely known throughout the world, though you may not know it. From New Guinea to the high deserts of Arizona the practice of cannibalism has been used. Why cannibalism was practiced is still a mystery to many. Some think it actually was an act of violence, to torture the souls of others as revenge for invading the other person’s territory. Cannibalism, however, has much more meaning than most people actually think. As a religious practice cannibalism is very important to many tribes around the world. Great consequences await those who do not cannibalize their dead. As a source of food, the people who resorted to this were in situations of life or death. They did not kill people around them to survive, but ate the already deceased. However, there are some cases of cannibalism that are not necessary, and have yet to be determined what would provoke someone to eat another person just because they wanted too. For the most part though, cannibalism throughout the world has been questioned but none have really ventured out to find the true answers to it. A very curious subject indeed, cannibalism is not as grim a subject as most people have thought it to be. Although cannibalism is thought to be heatless and cruel, under dire circumstances and for religious purposes, it is not an act of malice. Like many things cannibalism has differe... ... very universal. Cannibalism is not an act of malice to cause pain and anguish to those being cannibalized, for many it is for the better of their people. For survival means, had those people lost not cannibalized the deceased members of their party, no one would have survived. While there are still some cases of cannibalism that are not justified the ones that are recorded are few and far between. Cannibalism is a way of life for some people, why should which be looked down upon and grimaced at? Cannibals are human just like anyone else, with different beliefs and ways of life. It is not cruel to release a loved ones soul into the afterlife, or to make use of a friend that would probably want you to live through something that they happened not to live through. They are not cruel, they cannibalize because it is part of them, in order to live their life.

Intrinsic Motivation is Ideal Essay -- Learning Education Motives Ess

Inquisitive and self-directed learning is a natural behavior for young children. They marvel at each new discovery and strive to understand the meaning behind every question in their world. However, older children seem to be resistant to learning unless directed by teachers or parents with various forms of external recognition (Deci and Ryan, 1981). Their enthusiasm and inner desire for understanding has diminished. Learning, to older children has become directly connected to demands, controls, and rewards. In order to understand why this attitude toward learning develops, the concept of motivation in education must be defined and examined in a theoretical sense. "Motivation is an essential condition of learning" (Ray, 1992, p.3). A motivating condition may be defined as an emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action. Ray (1992) comments that "motivation in education is concerned with students’ motivation to learn" (p.3). With the understanding of these defined concepts in hand, we can begin to examine the reasons behind school age children losing their enthusiasm for learning. In order to comprehend the reason for the undermining of this intrinsic behavior, we must acknowledge the basic theories of motivation from an eclectic standpoint. By embracing the concepts of learning from both a behaviorist and cognitive point of view, a teacher can tailor the use of reinforcement in the classroom to commit the students to achieving acad emic excellence with enthusiasm and devotion. Findings Motivational Theories Humanistic behavior and learning techniques are viewed from many different positions of psychological theories (Ramirez, 1983). In order for a teacher to effectively apply these psychological principles in their classroom, they must become knowledgeable in the various conflicting theories. Looking at the theoretical aspect of motivation to learn provides background information about the basic nature of different learning processes (Ericksen, 1974). The locus of control in motivation is the subject area where separate theoretical views come into play. People have either an internal locus of control, an external locus of control, or are simply amotivated. "Intrinsic motivation is a state where the relevance for the learner of the content of the material is the main reason for learning. Extrinsic... ...istrators who respond to their initiations and support their practicing methods to remain intrinsically motivated in the same way that students need teachers to respond to their initiations and mastery attempts to remain enthusiastic about learning (Deci and Ryan, 1981). School administrators, and the community in general, need to be supportive of teachers’ efforts to try new things, to respond to the challenges, and to teach according to their preferred methods. "Deci and Ryan propose that if the climate of the educational system were more informational and autonomy-oriented in nature, this would foster teachers’ intrinsic motivation for teaching. In turn, teachers would be better able to foster intrinsic motivation in their students" (Deci and Ryan, 1981, p. 17). The art of skillfully implementing reinforcement, in a tailored fashion, for the students’ development of intrinsic motivation to learn is a difficult task for a teacher to master. Even though the school administration and community should be responsible for setting precedence of intrinsic motivation throughout the schools, the obligation of effectively facilitating this concept is in the possession of the teacher.

Paragraph example Essay

Brainstorming -You get a limited response face a possible crash -There is a reduction in the ability to concentrate and remember. -Don ´t drink more than you should to maintain your physiological faculties’ alerts to drive. -The consumption of alcohol affects the driver behavior. -The driver ´s reaction also becomes slower -The law allows up to 50 milligrams of alcohol in your blood -Driving under the influence of alcohol you could hit a car or even a person. -Driving under the influence of alcohol is the 9th cause of car accidents. -When you are drunk your thought processes and reflexes are slowed down. -You should not drink more than two beers. Outline Topic Sentence: Driving under the influence of alcohol has serious consequences in your driving skills. Supporting sentence1: When you are drunk your thought processes and reflexes are slowed down. Supporting details: You are unable to make good decisions on the road Supporting sentence2: The driver ´s reaction also becomes slower Supporting details: You get a limited response face a possible crash. Driving under these circumstances you could hit a car or even a person. Supporting sentence3: Don ´t drink more than you should to maintain your physiological faculties’ alerts to drive. Supporting details: Because the law allows up to 50 milligrams of alcohol in your blood, you should not drink more than two beers Concluding Sentence: If you are considering drinking and driving therefore you must designate a driver or look for a cab. Drinking and driving, such as bad idea†¦ Drinking alcohol has some serious consequences in your driving skills. When you are drunk your thought processes and reflexes are slowed down. Therefore, you are unable to make good decisions on the road. The driver ´s reaction also becomes slower. You get a limited response face a possible crash. Since driving under these circumstances you could hit a car or even a person. Moreover don ´t drink more than you should to maintain your physiological faculties’ alerts to drive. Because the law allows up to 50 milligrams of alcohol in your blood, you should not drink more than two shoots. In conclusion if you are considering drinking and driving so you must designate a driver or look for a cab.

Oppression in A Tale of Two Cities Essay

In the book A Tale of Two Cities, one of the many themes present is that of oppression. There are many examples of this throughout the book, some more obvious than the others. We can see right away in the beginning that the French peasants are under a hideous oppression by the French aristocracy. All the people of the towns that are described are starved and in great pain, they are depressed and slinking about, gaunt skeletons of human beings. Their desperation is clearly evident in Chapter 5, when everyone nearby rushes to lick wine off of the city street when a barrel of it bursts after being dropped. As this is occurring, the wealthy French citizens are reclining indoors and use a ridiculous number of servants just to prepare a cup of hot water. When a poor man’s son is run over and killed by the rich Marquis’s carriage, the Marquis makes no apology, and tosses a couple coins at the grieving father. The aristocrats did not even think the peasants human; they treated them as animals, without a thought to their happiness or well being. Another example of oppression is in Mrs. Cruncher’s relationship with her husband. Mr. Cruncher orders her about, and treats her like a piece of property, just there to do his will and stay out of his way. When Jerry Cruncher catches his wife praying for his thieving soul, he takes it to mean that she wants him to be caught and punished, so he will stop grave robbing. His son sees him the next morning bashing his wife’s head into the headboard of their bed as a punishment for her prayers. Mrs. Cruncher lived in a constant oppressive atmosphere as she tried to conform to her husband’s wishes, but was never good enough for him, as he abused her pretty much every day. A more prominent example of this theme is shown in relation to Dr. Manette. The memory of the eighteen years he spent locked up in the Bastille constantly hangs over his head as a burden. His experience in that atmosphere was so awful that the mere memory of it oppresses him. The Doctor tended to fall back into his half-crazed childlike state throughout the book  because his experiences were more than his mind could deal with. Finally, a major example of oppression taking place is with Sidney Carton. He is oppressed by an addiction to alcohol. His life had taken several bad turns, making him a depressed, almost broken man. When he met Lucy Manette, he felt as though his life now had a purpose again, because he loved her so much. However, Carton realized that with his character and lifestyle, he would never be able to make her happy. The alcohol he had turned to for comfort, which had been his only friend for years, was now working against him. Carton was so far gone that he was no longer able to give up drinking, no matter how much he wanted to. Alcohol now virtually controlled his life, dictating what he could or could not do. This was an awful example of self-induced oppression. Oppression is such a powerful theme in A Tale of Two Cities, probably to demonstrate how people can put it upon themselves, and how they can break free from it if they believe in their cause enough.

Risk Factors of Energy Industry

RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED 1) Existing electric utility industry regulations, and changes to regulations, may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of solar energy systems that may significantly reduce demand for your solar energy systems. 2) The expiration, elimination or reduction of these rebates, credits and incentives would adversely impact your business. ) If the Internal Revenue Service or the Treasury Department makes additional determinations that the fair market value of your solar energy systems is materially low your than what you have claimed, you may have to pay significant amounts to your investment funds or to your fund investors and such determinations could have a material adverse effect on your business, financial condition and prospects. 4) Your ability to provide solar energy systems to customers on an economically viable basis depends on your ability to finance these systems with fund investors who require particular tax and ot her benefits. ) You need to enter into additional substantial financing arrangements to facilitate your customers’ access to your solar energy systems, and if this financing is not available to you on acceptable terms, if and when needed, your ability to continue to grow your business would be materially adversely impacted. 6) A material drop in the retail price of utility-generated electricity or electricity from other sources would harm your business, financial condition and results of operations. 7) A material drop in the retail price of utility-generated electricity would particularly adversely impact your ability to attract commercial customers. ) Rising interest rates could adversely impact your business. 9) You must have guaranteed a minimum return to be received by an investor in certain of your investment funds and could be adversely affected if you are required to make any payments under those guarantees. 10) In your lease pass-through investment funds, there is a o ne-time reset of the lease payments, and you may be obligated, in connection with the resetting of the lease payments at true up, to refund lease prepayments or to contribute additional assets to the extent the system sizes, costs, and timing are not consistent with the initial lease payment model. 1) You are not currently regulated as a utility under applicable law, but you may be subject to regulation as a utility in the future. 12) A failure to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees in key functions would constrain your growth and your ability to timely complete your customers’ projects. 13) It is difficult to evaluate your business and prospects due to your limited operating history. 14) If you incur losses then it will be difficult for you to achieve or sustain profitability in the future. 5) You face competition from both traditional energy companies and renewable energy companies. 16) If you fail to remediate deficiencies in your control environment or are un able to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, the accuracy and timeliness of your financial reporting may be adversely affected. 17) Projects for your significant commercial or government customers involve concentrated project risks that may cause significant changes in your financial results. 8) You depend on a limited number of suppliers of solar panels and other system components to adequately meet anticipated demand for your solar energy systems. Any shortage, delay or component price change from these suppliers could result in sales and installation delays, cancellations and loss of market share. 19) Your business benefits from the declining cost of solar panels, and your financial results would be harmed if this trend reversed or did not continue. 0) You act as the licensed general contractor for your customers and are subject to risks associated with construction, cost overruns, delays, regulatory compliance and other contin gencies, any of which could have a material adverse effect on your business and results of operations. 21) Compliance with occupational safety and health requirements and best practices can be costly, and noncompliance with such requirements may result in potentially significant monetary penalties, operational delays and adverse publicity. 2) Problems with product quality or performance may cause you to incur warranty expenses and performance guarantee expenses, may lower the residual value of your solar energy systems and may damage your market reputation and cause your financial results to decline. 23) Product liability claims against you could result in adverse publicity and potentially significant monetary damages. 24) Damage to your brand and reputation would harm your business and results of operations. 25) If you fail to manage your recent and future growth effectively, you may be unable to execute your business plan, aintain high levels of customer service or adequately addr ess competitive challenges. 26) You may not be successful in leveraging your customer base to grow your business through sales of other energy products and services. 27) Your growth depends in part on the success of your strategic relationships with third parties. 28) The loss of one or more members of your senior management or key employees may adversely affect your ability to implement your strategy. 29) Your business may be harmed if you fail to properly protect your intellectual property. 0) The production and installation of solar energy systems depends heavily on suitable meteorological conditions. If meteorological conditions are unexpectedly unfavorable, the electricity production from your solar energy systems may be substantially below your expectations and your ability to timely deploy new systems may be adversely impacted. 31) You typically bear the risk of loss and the cost of maintenance and repair on solar systems that are owned or leased by your fund investors. 2) An y unauthorized disclosure or theft of personal information you gather, store and use could harm your reputation and subject you to claims or litigation. 33) In the long term if you intend to expand your international activities, which will subject you to a number of risks. Your long-term strategic plans include international expansion, and you intend to sell your solar energy products and services in international markets. Risks inherent to international operations include the following: | ? | Â  | inability to work successfully with third parties with local expertise to co-develop international projects; | ? | Â  | multiple, conflicting and changing laws and regulations, including export and import restrictions, tax laws and regulations, environmental regulations, labor laws and other government requirements, approvals, permits and licenses; | | ? | Â  | changes in general economic and political conditions in the countries where you operate, including changes in government ince ntives relating to power generation and solar electricity; | | ? | Â  | political and economic instability, including wars, acts of terrorism, political unrest, boycotts, curtailments of trade and other business restrictions; | ? | Â  | difficulties and costs in recruiting and retaining individuals skilled in international business operations; | | ? | Â  | international business practices that may conflict with Indian customs or legal requirements; | | ? | Â  | financial risks, such as longer sales and payment cycles and greater difficulty collecting accounts receivable; | | ? | Â  | fluctuations in currency exchange rates relative to the Indian Rupee; and | | ? | Â  | inability to obtain, maintain or enforce intellectual property rights, including inability to apply for or register material trademarks in foreign countries. |

Stolen Valor Act

Why can't we try to deter willful misrepresentations of fact by a modest fine, at least, if they create direct harm to others? Lies to those evaluating your credentials may do direct harm to others. If one lies to gain a job, something which seems to happen with increasing frequency, isn’t it a direct harm to others? Or, how about false representing as having received any credentials for something? The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006,[1] was a U. S. law that broadened the provisions of previous U. S. aw addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals. The law made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U. S. military decoration or medal. If convicted, defendants might have been imprisoned for up to six months, unless the decoration lied about is the Medal of Honor, in which case imprisonment could have been up to one year (Wikipedia). I personally don’t have any family members in the military, but I know friends who are in the military and I know they would be highly offended if someone falsely represented themselves to be a member of the military.Those men and women who serve our country risk their lives and have put work into whatever credentials they have earned and it is a great disrespect for anyone to falsely give oneself credit for something they have not earned. The purpose of the Act was to strengthen the provisions of federal law by broadening its scope and strengthening penalties. Specific new provisions in the Act included: †¢granting more authority to federal law enforcement officers; †¢broadening the law to cover false claims whereas previously an overt act had to be committed; †¢covering the mailing and shipping of medals; and protecting the reputation and meaning of military heroism medals. The Act made it illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade, or manufacture â€Å"any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces. † In the 18 months after the act was enacted, the Chicago Tribune estimated there were twenty prosecutions. The number increased as awareness of the law spread (Wikipedia).The number of prosecutions continued to increase. Therefore, it was very clear that this was a tremendous issue and that the Stolen Valor Act was serving its purpose. Unfortunately, the majority disagreed saying that there is no proof that lying about medals degrades the value and honor of those who have actually earned those medals. Who could possibly agree to this? Well, government lawyers argued that lies about military medals are false statements that have no value and hence no first Amendment protection.On Thursday September 13, 2012, the U. S. House of Representatives passed a new version of the Stolen Valor Act. The f irst version of the Stolen Valor Act was struck down by the Supreme Court as a violation of the First Amendment. The bill focuses not on people who lie about having medals they didn't earn, but on any profits they make from lying about the medals, which is essentially criminal fraud. Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nevada) sponsored the new bill. His office issued a release saying the bill passed by a vote of 410-3.Heck said in a floor speech that the bill would survive judicial review because it resolves the â€Å"constitutional issues by clearly defining that the objective of the law is to target and punish those who misrepresent the alleged service with the intent of profiting personally or financially. † The bill targets those who falsely claim to have earned certain major military decorations, including the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart or a medal signifying you served in combat (CNNPolitics).In 2007, there was a cas e against a man named Xavier Alvarez who was an elected member of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District Board in Pomona, California. Alvarez said at a public water district board meeting that he was a retired Marine, had been â€Å"wounded many times,† and had been â€Å"awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor† in 1987(NBCNews). However, he never served in the United States armed forces. Alvarez argued that his false statements were protected by the first Amendment right of free speech.Regardless, of his freedom of speech or anyone’s, no one should be giving the right to lie about something so serious especially, if it dishonors the men and women who serve for us and our country. I believe that there should be a law protecting military members against people like Alvarez. Unfortunately, the majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy said, â€Å"The remedy for speech that is false is speech that is true. This is the ordinary course in a free society. He a lso quoted from the famous dissent by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in the 1919 Abrams decision: â€Å"The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market. Some false statements are inevitable if there is to be an open and vigorous expression of views in public and private conversation, expression the First Amendment seeks to guarantee† (NBCNews). Kennedy might have a point, but I strongly disagree and believe it is unethical period.Moreover, the government shouldn’t allow anyone to make false statements of any kind if it disrespects their country and their people. This act has definitely been a long debate for some of us with reasoned arguments on both sides. In my view it’s unethical and it should have not been struck down by the Supreme Court. Yes, we live in a country with freedom of speech, but this has abused such privilege. So why not punish someone when they’ve abused such privilege?