Isolation in Bartleby the Scrivener :: Bartleby Scrivener Essays

Isolation in Bartleby the Scrivener "I prefer not to," "I prefer not to," tells the reader about Bartleby isolating himself. The phrase shows his lack of involvement, another form of isolation. The narrator tells the reader exactly what he did to Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below. In the novella, the author tells the reader, down to the smallest detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He tells us in this passage, "I placed his desk close up to a small side window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy backyards, and bricks, but which, owning to insubsequent erections, commanded at present, no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to satisfactory arrangement, I procured a green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, t hough, not remove him from my voice." The quotation describes how the narrator secludes Bartleby from society. Even his window, usually a form of escape, results in Bartleby being trapped behind another wall, thus reinforcing his total isolation. The irony lies in the fact that the narrator, while trying to isolate Bartleby, becomes affected by it, so much so that he appears almost human. Instead of dismissing him on the spot for refusing to copy, proofread or leave the premises, he tries to find other employment for him, and even considers inviting him to live in his residence as his guest. The narrator develops before our eyes into a caring person, very different from the cold, unsympathetic person at the beginning of the story. "To befriend Bartleby, to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience." The narrator would normally befriend Bartleby or any othe r "sucker," but Bartleby has given him a conscience. The narrator has realized that a common blemish in a person does not determine the person. In the beginning of the novella, the narrator only cared about his work, but now he realizes that people have a life outside of work, except Bartleby.

William Blake :: essays research papers

To some people William Blake is just an ordinary man. To others, Blake is an English poet, painter, and engraver. Blake was born on November 28, 1757, in London, where he spent most of his life. He was the third of five children in his family. Blake's family was Nonconformists Protestant dissenters from the Church of England. They had Blake christened on December 11 at St. James's Church in Piccadilly. Blake's mother educated him in mere reading and writing, and he worked in a shop until the age of 14. His family ran this shop, and later his brother and he acquired the store through inheritance. Despite those misgivings, he taught himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Italian. His English was to be often strikingly original through other people's eyes. In 1767, he wanted to become an artist at the young age of 10. In pursuit of this dream, he attended the Henry Pars Engraving School in the Strand. By 1772, he was an apprentice to an engraver, James Basire, who taught him the secr ets of the trade very well. Basire sent him to make drawings of the sculptures in Westminster Abbey, which sparked his interest in Gothic art. Blake's father was a hosier, and sent him to the Royal Academy in 1779 as an engraving student. While at school, Blake absorbed the religious symbolism and linear design characteristic of Gothic style. While studying there, he rebelled against the academic conventions of Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the academy. Contrary to modern standards, he decided to follow the footsteps of the world-renowned artist Michelangelo and Raphael instead. Throughout his life, Blake made his money engraving things, but lived in mass poverty. On August 18, 1782, Blake married a poor illiterate girl, Catherine Boucher. Some believe she turned out to be the best companion Blake could have chosen. Blake and Catherine never had children. In 1784, Blake’s father passed away after he started his own printing press. He took his brother Robert in to live with him as an assistant pupil to relieve him from the agonies of poverty. In Blake's eyes, Robert was his son. The establishing of the printing shop helped Blake and Catherine become financially secure for rest of their lives. From that point on, he lived as an engraver and illustrator with the help of his wife and brother Robert. Once again tragedy struck, and in 1787, only shortly after beginning work, his brother Robert fell ill and passed away.

Internal and External Conflicts Essay

Materials †¢ Copies of the attached Interior or Exterior Conflicts worksheet †¢ Sticky notes †¢ Short story Lesson 1. 2. Brainstorm with students the types of conflicts or problems they face on a daily basis, and write their responses on the board. Explain to students that there are two types of conflicts that people face every day: †¢ Internal conflict, which takes place in a person’s mind—for example, a struggle to make a decision or overcome a feeling. Internal conflicts are character vs. self. †¢ External conflict, which generally takes place between a person and someone or something else, such as nature, another person or persons, or an event or situation. External conflicts may be character vs. character, character vs. nature, or character vs. society. Tell students that characters in a story face the same types of conflicts, and it is important to identify them in order to understand the story completely. 3. 4. 5. Distribute copies of the â€Å"Interior or Exterior Conflicts† worksheet. Have students classify the conflicts as internal or external conflicts, writing the answers in the left column. Go over the classifications with the class, and allow students to correct their answers as needed. Give students copies of another worksheet showing a different set of interior and exterior conflicts, and have students classify them independently and hand in the completed worksheet for assessment. Have students read a short story from their literature book and as they read, put sticky notes on the text wherever conflict is present. When they have finished, ask students to identify the types of conflict they found in the story. Lead a class discussion of the ways the plot might have been different had internal conflicts been externa l or vice versa. 6. 7. English Enhanced Scope a Interior or Exterior Conflicts Interior or Exterior Conflict You love going to soccer practice every Friday night. However, last week you had to go to dinner with your family instead, and this week a friend has invited you to the movies. At a party, you spent a lot of time talking to a friend from your math class—just chatting. Now another classmate has spread rumors around school about the two of you. For the past month, you have been bullied on the school bus by older middle school guys. They typically call you names and sometimes even poke at you. Finally one day, you get fed up and scream, â€Å"Don’t ever touch me again!† You have a project due on Monday. Even though you have had several weeks to read, by Sunday night you’ve only read half the book. To make things worse, your teacher has stated, â€Å"I have high expectations for this assignment.† Your school has a state level ice-hockey team—for boys. When you and a group of girlfriends want to start a girls’ hockey program, you’re told that, alth ough it’s a nice idea, there just isn’t enough money in the athletic budget. Although your friends say that you’re very attractive, you think just the opposite. You are overly critical about physical appearance. You think someone from your fifth period class is extremely cute! You’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask him/her out, but you’re just too scared. Your dad is driving you and your friends to a big football game in town. Although you left in plenty of time, he seems to have lost his way. You think you saw the football field a couple of blocks back. When you tell your dad, he says, â€Å"Who’s driving—you or me?†

Womens Rights in the Workplace

Brittany Dorris Mr. Dean Ford Eng. 101 04 October 2010 A Wife, a Mom, and a Worker Women fought very hard for their rights in the workplace. Some of them, including Susan B Anthony, went above and beyond the norm. Yet, today our rights are still not the same as a man’s. At one point women weren’t allowed to work at all, and today they are allowed to have jobs while still being home makers. Although improvements have been made, there are still several dilemmas that need to be addressed. A women earns less than a man when doing the same work, and that is extremely unfair.Another issue in the workplace is that men underestimate women due to lack of strength and discrimination. There are also the issues of pregnancy and sexual harassment. Due to financial aspects, discrimination, and issues solely based on gender, women are not treated equally in the workplace. A young adult female will pay the same tuition as a young male throughout school, yet in the workplace she will ea rn less money. A woman only earns 77 cents on the dollar of what a man earns (Talk). The average 25 year old woman working full time until age 65 will earn $523,000 less than the average working man (Rodriguez).It is unjust that a female pays the same for an education in order to get a job, but a male at the same job will earn more money. African American women earn 72 cents to the dollar of a white male and Latino females earn 60 cents (Williams). If a woman is required to pay the same bills as a man, then why does she earn less for doing the same job? If a man has an electricity bill for $100 and earns 10 dollars per hour, he only has to work ten hours in order to pay the electricity bill. When a woman has a $100 electric bill and works the same job as the aforementioned male, she would have to work more than 10 hours.Women aren’t required to work at a slower pace than men and are required to pay the same for bills and schooling, so it is not fair for them to make less mone y. Women are often discriminated against and belittled in the workplace due to factors that are not logical. It is frequently claimed that woman should have to ‘fit in’ to a ‘masculine culture’, but there is little systematic evidence on this (Faulkner 2). Women are too often discriminated against and underestimated when it comes to careers. An example of women being underestimated while at work is in the military.Though the percentage of women in the U. S military has increased dramatically since 1980, which is when they were first allowed to serve, women are less likely to go into combat. Although there are no laws that prohibit women from going into combat, there are laws that prohibit women from going into permanent assignments such as ships and aircrafts, according to a study conducted by the Women’s Research and Education Institute. Most of these restrictions are for the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. There are also policies that restrict wo men’s roles in the Army.Though there are some restrictions on women’s roles in the military, the Coast Guard and Department of Transportation give women opportunities. As a matter of fact, the proportion of jobs available to women in the Coast Guard and Department of Transportation is 100 percent compared to other services in the military, according to the study. (Rodriguez) There is no logical reason why a female should not be allowed to work permanently on jobs and assignments such as ships and aircrafts. Females are completely capable of using high intellect, doing hard labor, and running equipment.It is very wrong of men to treat women so poorly in the workplace due to stereotypes. Another example of female discrimination in the workplace that I know about from personal experiences is my mother’s career. My mother works in construction and does finish work on houses. She is treated very poorly by her male coworkers because they do not agree with her working a job that they see as a ‘mans job’. Regardless of their asinine opinions, she is usually the first one done with her assignments and considered by her bosses to be one of the hardest workers in the company.Sadly, she is still paid less than the men at her job. If she is truly one of the best employees then she should be given a raise instead of being awarded less cash. It is illegal to not hire someone based on their race, yet it is legal to pay a woman less due to her sex. It should be clear to everyone that women are treated poorly and unfairly in the workplace everyday. Another stereotypical belief is that women aren’t as intelligent as men. If this were true, then the female generations of our past would not have come as far as they have today in the workplace.There are women involved in politics, the medical field, and education. If men were truly more intelligent, then women would not be capable of being successful in those fields. Linda Tapp, president of Crown Safety in Cherry Hill, and a very successful female, states that â€Å"gender discrimination is still live and well. No matter how much we like to think things have changed, there are more than a few people out there who think a woman can still not do the same jobs a man can do†(Eglash). In my own experience, I have learned that female teachers and doctors do an equally good job as males in those fields.A woman is fully capable of doing a job that requires high intellect, just as a man is. I believe that it is ridiculous and unjustified for a man to treat a woman at work poorly because he believes that men are more intelligent. While for the most part women and men are the same, there are biological differences that should be taken into account. One of the main differences is the fact that females can become pregnant. Instead of treating women better in the workplace and respecting them for trying to keep a job while pregnant, men tend to treat them poorly.In 1964, the Title VII was amended by the Pregnancy discrimination Act; it was put into action in order to eliminate the issue of pregnancy affecting a female’s career (Kazlowski 27). Although it is illegal to dismiss a woman from her career due to her becoming pregnant, there are still cases where it happens. Not only are women required to do the same work as a man for less pay, but they are also expected to be good mothers and attentive wives. I believe that a woman should be paid more than a man due to the fact that they tend to have more to balance in their daily lives.A female teacher who is pregnant gets less sleep than a male teacher,. and the female still has to show up at work bright and early. Women are not cut enough slack while pregnant and still earn less than a man. Have a guy carry 30 extra pounds on his stomach and see if he can still do his job. Some people say that women have unfair advantages when it comes to acquiring jobs and that makes it acceptable for them to be p aid less. I agree that in some circumstances women are unrightfully rewarded jobs due to being â€Å"attractive females† but that does not justify them being paid less.I personally believe that I was given my job due to the fact that I am a young female, but I still work as hard as my male coworkers in order to try and earn respect and get equal pay. Although this is not always a bad aspect for females, it still places them in an unequally category next to men. One of the main issues that are present in the workplace for females is sexual harassment. Women are constantly being disrespected based on sex, including at the workplace. If that is not poor treatment, then I don’t know what is.Despite common assumptions, new research suggest that women are not more likely to be sexually harassed when they are the minority or majority in a work group. Instead, researchers found that in most cases, women were sexually harassed at work when their work group had a similar proport ion of males and females. (McGuire) This says that when a woman is given an equal opportunity to work somewhere, she is more likely to be sexually harassed while at work, and that leaves her in an unfair predicament. Sexual harassment is a crime and can make someone feel degraded and disrespected.Some women only have jobs because they allow their bosses and coworkers to sexually harass them, and I know this because I am one of them. My own male coworkers say they wish they could keep a job just by being â€Å"attractive†. They do not understand that it affects someone’s confidence when they know the only reason they have a job is solely based on looks. A female senator was once called a prostitute and attractive (Thompson). This is one of the many examples of verbal harassment that women all over the world face everyday in the workplace.Physical harassment such as groping also exist for females at work. While most harassment isn’t done maliciously, most women wo uld much rather have their job because they deserve it and not because they are female. Women should be treated equally as a whole, not just where it gives them an advantage, such as attaining the job in the first place. Women are treated unequally and unfairly throughout the world. Some of the situations work in a woman’s favor while others give them a large disadvantage. There are females who don’t work hard, and get to keep their jobs based solely on attractiveness.Then we have women who work hard and still get paid less than a man. If that is the case, then a woman’s bills and school tuition should also be 77 cents to the dollar, or they should not be required to work as hard for their money. Let’s not forget to mention that there are still jobs that women have difficulty or are not capable of acquiring, such as manual labor jobs or technical jobs. If we can have female body builders who are stronger than most men, then we should be able to have femal es working in all fields of the army.Sexism and unfairness in the workplace is a big issue that shouldn’t be ignored. Maybe the reason it is so often ignored is because it stirs up failure and embarrassment for the American government, since they fought against it for 30 years (Rodriguez). As a country, we should fight to end the fact that women are treated unequally in the workplace, rather than ignore it. All women should earn the same wages as men and be given the same job opportunities. Also they should not be stereotyped or discriminated against while in the workplace.

Analyze the different techniques used in the openings of Sommersby and Of Mice and Men films

Creating a successful film often lies in creating a successful opening. By using different camera angles and lighting styles, as well as music techniques the director can set the scene and alter the mood in any way he wants. Here I am going to analyze the different techniques used in the openings of both films as they progress. Credits Somersby starts with an air of mystery to it. We are shown this perspective by the lighting styles and camera angles that used. The camera shots show close-ups of firstly a man who we assumed is dead then of another man who's face is shrouded in a shadow of which enables hardly any of his face to be seen at all. This enables as to question his identity an also question the relationship of him and the other man. The music is also suitably grim but is of fairly poor standard, however the music does suggest the time period as the music is slightly patriotic. In the next scene the music fades and we get another close up of the mans face and hands. The hands are shown as they have importance as it is clearly shown they are covered in blood which when linked with the previous scene allows the viewer to jump to a rough conclusion to what has happened. The music is cut to show us that this is a seriousness of the scene. The close up scene soon fades we are taken to the credits, which are played over scenes of this man traveling through different climates, the variety in the climates shows us that he is traveling of long distances. This also asks us the question was is he going and why is he going. The camera still has not shown us a clear image of this mans face, which still gives us an impression of mystery to the character and also shows us that the character is probably deliberately trying to conceal his identity. The camera also pauses at the point when the man passes what looks like a group of soldiers. This emphasizes there is some important connection between the character we have been shown and these soldiers which helps us as viewers to try and fill important gaps in the profile of this character. In direct contrast ‘Of Mice and Men' is played out in a completely different style. The credits are immediately at the beginning and there are no scenes played underneath it only a blank background. Similar to Somersby however, is the music. Whilst ‘Of Mice and Men' music is of a higher standard it sets the scene for the movie. The music is very sad and solemn which can immediately tell us that this film is not going to be a happy film . As the credits continue further we get sound effects that immediately tell us roughly where this scene is set. The noise happens to be of a train so immediately us as viewers are told a) the scene is on a train and b) the characters in the film may be traveling. The camera pans in showing us light coming through gaps in the carriages, this captures the same dark atmosphere as shown in the opening of Somersby but through a different technique. To add to this gloomy effect the music fades so that only the sound effects can be heard. The director has done this to such an effect that it sort of brings us into the movie and lets us feel the cold, dark, and harsh sounds that anyone would be hearing at that time. This brings user involvement into the film and is also relevant in the next few seconds in experiencing the thoughts of the characters. As the credits start to fad the music starts up again and the camera pauses in front of an outline of a figure. The lighting here is used in the same effect as ‘Somersby' were it does not reveal the character but allows us instead to ask questions about the character instead, for instance why is he traveling on this train and why is he lurking in the shadows. And this effect is obviously used in the same context in ‘Somersby' when we see him with the body for the first time. The music then changes dramatically and immediately the credit scene ends and the movie moves on. This effect of the music changing dramatically also highlights the point that the movie is continuing along a different path as apposed to the music in ‘Somersby' that tends to stay constant throughout the opening. It also gives the effect that this maybe a flash back due to the sudden changes in scene and location. Opening In ‘Somersby' continues on to a new location. The location is obviously vastly different so we can say that the character may have traveled a great distance. The music is still shown as grim and adds tension and emotion to the scene. The scene focuses on the firstly a close-up of the hand being wrapped in a handkerchief. The angle is displayed as a first person view so as to give us a better perspective of the characters feelings, and the obvious close-up of the wrapping of the handkerchief shows us there is some relevance in the scene. We are then shown a third person shot of him taken the coat of he has been hidden under, which shows us that firstly he feels ready to reveal himself and secondly that he had a uniform on showing a connection between him and the soldiers. We are then shown the first full picture of him. The music is now suitably brighter to obviously help lighten the characters mood. We are then taken to his first meeting with another character. The music fades to suggest that this maybe quite an important part of plot development. We are also shown the main character through the other characters eyes to show that at that point the concentration of that character would have been minimal. As the scene carries on the music changes to being much more confident which shows us that the tense atmosphere at the beginning of the scene has faded. Of Mice and Men' once again changes to a different style. The music firstly has become more frantic and the scene first shows a women running. At this point she has no part in the story yet the camera follows her so that we know that it must link to the plot somehow. We are then shown to characters running away from the camera. Immediately this tells that because the woman was running toward the camer a they are running away from each other. This type of camera work is not used at all in ‘Somersby' as it tries to capture a different mood. However as the chase scene ends the same first person view as shown in Somersby is implemented to give us a clearer impression of the characters thoughts feelings at this time. To conclude it is obvious that both films implement similar styles however to get the correct mood they want they have often altered techniques to suit that scene creating the same sort of mood but in different ways. This kind of variation adds variety to the film and makes it much more enjoyable to watch.

The Role of Marketing

1. Markets bring together buyers and sellers of goods and services. In some cases, such as a local fruit stall, buyers and sellers meet physically. In other cases, such as the stock market, business can be transacted over the telephone, almost by remote control. We need not go into these details. Instead, we use a general definition of markets. 2. What the term market means A market is a shorthand expression for the process by which household’s decisions about consumption of alternative goods, firms’ decisions about what and how to produce, and workers’ decisions about how much and for whom to work are all reconciled by adjustment of pricesPrices of goods and of resources, such as labour, machinery and land, adjust to ensure that scarce resources are used to produce those goods and services that society demands. 4. Economics studies markets and prices Much of economics is devoted to the study of how markets and prices enable society to solve the problem of what, how, and for whom to produce. Suppose you buy a hamburger for your lunch. What does this have to do with markets and prices? You chose the cafà © because it was fast, convenient and cheap.Given your desire to eat, and your limited resources, the low hamburger price told you that this was a good way to satisfy your appetite. You probably prefer steak but that is more expensive. The price of steak is high enough to ensure that society answers the â€Å"for whom† question about lunchtime steaks in favour of someone else. 5. The seller’s viewpoint Now think about the seller’s viewpoint. The cafà © owner is in the business because, given the price of hamburger meat, the rent and the wages that must be paid, it is still possible to sell hamburgers at a profit.If rents were higher, it might be more profitable to sell hamburgers in a cheaper area or to switch to luxury lunches for rich executives on expense accounts. The student behind the counter is working there bec ause it is a suitable part-time job which pays a bit of money. If the wage were much lower it would hardly be worth working at all. Conversely, the job is unskilled and there are plenty of students looking for such work, so owners of cafes do not have to offer very high wages. 6. Prices guide your decisionPrices are guiding your decision to buy a hamburger, the owner’s decision to sell hamburgers, and the student’s decision to take the job. Society is allocating resources – meat, buildings, and labour – into hamburger production through the price system. If nobody liked hamburgers, the owner could not sell enough at a price that covered the cost of running the cafà © and society would devote no resources to hamburger production. People’s desire to eat hamburgers guides resources into hamburger production.However, if cattle contracted a disease, thereby reducing the economy’s ability to produce meat products, competition to purchase more sca rce supplies of beef would bid up the price of beef, hamburger producers would be forced to raise prices, and consumers would buy more cheese sandwiches for lunch. Adjustments in prices would encourage society to reallocate resources to reflect the increased scarcity of cattle. 7. We have adopted a general definition of markets There were several markets involved in your purchase of a hamburger. You and the cafà © owner were part of the market for lunches.The student behind the counter was part of the local labour market. The cafà © owner was part of the local wholesale meat market and the local market for rented buildings. These descriptions of markets are not very precise. Were you part of the market for lunches, the market for prepared food, or the market for sandwiches to which you would have turned if hamburgers had been more expensive? That is why we have adopted a very general definition of markets which emphasises that they are arrangements through which prices influence t he allocation of scarce resources.

Organizational Behavior at Accenture Essay

1. Introduction This paper gives an overview of the organizational behavior (Organizational Structure, Culture, and Leadership) at Accenture– the last organization I worked with. Accenture is an international management consulting, technology services and outsourcing organization, with approximately 0.25 million people and clients in more than 120 countries. It has generated net revenue of US$ 27.9 billion for last fiscal year i.e. 31 st August 2012. (Accenture,2012) 2. Organizational Structure 2.1 Accenture’s Structure – At A Glance Organization’s structure divides the organizational activities and co-ordinates them to achieve the aim of the organization. Accenture is organized into various partially overlapping industry areas that allow the clients to choose from a variety of integrated consulting services. It upholds four global operations workforces: 1. Consulting 2. Servicing 3. Solutions 4. Enterprise Table 2.1 highlights five operating groups and their respective 19 industry groups within the organization. (Accenture Facts,2012) Financial services Banking Capital Market Insurance Health & Public Services Health Public Services Communications , Media & Technology Communication Electronics & High Tech Media & Entertainment Product Automotive Air, Freights & Travel Services Consumer Goods & Services Industrial Equipment Infrastructure & Transportation Resources Chemical Energy Natural Resources Utilities Table 2.1 The figure below displays the organizational chart of Accenture and explains how different sub-units interact with each other. Exam Number: B031449 Page 3 of 11 Figure 2.1 Accenture’s Organizational structure (Source: Official board, 2012) 2.2 Analyzing the Structure of Accenture Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) defined seven key elements of organizational structure and in this section, we will see how they relate to Accenture as an organization. It can be easily inferred from the organizational structure (Figure 2.1) and Work group division (Table 2.1) that Accenture is a large complex organization that requires its employees to be highly specialized in the tasks allocated to them to ensure that quality work is delivered. In order to make sure that all the employees are highly skilled with respect to their tasks, an intense induction takes place in the beginning of their journey in the organization. Accenture follows a tall organizational hierarchy structure due to its diverse workforce and workgroups where Span –of –Control for a Manager depends on the size of the project. Within the solutions workforce, in a single project, following hierarchy exists: Figure 2.2 Hierarchies in a project For example, Span of Control for the project in which I worked was a 96: Designation Programmers (10) Senior Programmers (8) Analyst Programmer (6) Team Lead (4) Manager Span of Control One Team lead , supervises 24 resources One Manager supervises 4 team-leads. So total Span of Control = 96 The tasks in each project in the Solutions workforce are departmentalized into different submodules i.e. Analysis, Design & Build, and Testing. Department of Analysis is responsible for creating business artifacts that detail out client’s requirement and proposed solution to achieve it. These artifacts are then passed to the Design & Build Team who create the high-level design documents and develops the products which client has asked for. Once the product is delivered, it is then passed on to the testing team to ensure that the final product is as per the business artifacts and there are no issues encountered. Accenture is highly formalized organization, where each project while working on a client’s requirement has to adhere to the policies, procedures and norms set by Accenture as well as the clients. This is one of the key approaches to gain the client’s trust. Since project managers have the authority to take decision related to their respective projects, we can call Accenture as highly centralized organization. 3. Organizational Culture Culture is embedded and reflected in every aspect of an organization. As stated by Ravasi, D., Schultz, M. (2006), organizational culture is a lay down of shared intellectual assumptions, which guide understanding and action in an organization by defining suitable behavior for diverse situations. Figure 3.1 is a three-layer model for organizational culture developed by Edgar Schein (2004). Figure 3.1: Schein’s three levels of culture – Source (Bohine, Markham, 2003) Insight on Accenture’s Culture 1. Schein’s three levels of Culture a) The first level i.e. Observable level is the most visible layer. Table 3.1 highlights few of the Surface manifestation of culture at Accenture Manifestation Ceremonials Course Norms Slogan Symbol Accenture Fun Fridays, sporting events, monthly birthday celebrations, quarterly awards Greenfield training for the new employees where the number of days varies from 1 week to 6 weeks depending on the employees Code of Business conduct led by multiple policies High Performance Delivered Accenture has six core values (Accenture Core Values) – Stewardship: Fulfilling our obligation of building a better, stronger and more durable company for future generations, protecting the Accenture brand, meeting our commitments to stakeholders, acting with an owner mentality, developing our people and helping improve communities and the global environment Best People: Attracting, developing and retaining the best talent for our business, challenging our people, demonstrating a â€Å"can-do† attitude and fostering a collaborative and mutually supportive environment Client Value Creation: Enabling clients to become high-performance businesses and creating long-term relationships by being responsive and relevant and by consistently delivering value. One Global Network: Leveraging the power of global insight, relationships, collaboration and learning to deliver exceptional service to clients wherever they do business Respect for Individual: Valuing diversity and unique contributions, fostering a trusting, open, and inclusive environment and treating each person in a manner that reflects Accenture’s values. Integrity: Being ethically unyielding and honest and inspiring trust by saying what we mean, matching our behaviors to our words and taking responsibility for our actions Rewards and Recognition in Accenture: Accenture has various ways of acknowledging an employee’s contribution towards achieving the â€Å"High Quality† work. In addition to promotion, few of the awards given by Accenture (specific to solutions domain) are: ACE Award – Accenture Celebrates Excellence is an award given on quarterly basis to the employees who show outstanding performance during a quarter in their respective industrial groups. The nominations for these awards are forwarded by the project manager along with the citation to justify the nominations. Innovator for the quarter – This category of award is held at different project levels and is awarded to an individual or group of people who have innovated something to either add value to the client or helped in increasing automated work to save on efforts. Star of the month – This category of award is also held at project level where the work of an employee performing extraordinary is acknowledged. Propel Awards – This category of award is held at industrial group level where the employees are awarded against different criteria’s e.g. Adding Value to Client, Organizing quality work and anticipating critical situations etc. Celebrating Performance – Celebrating performance is a tool through which Team leads and above acknowledges the work of an individual by giving them some points. These points can be redeemed via a shopping catalog holding a range of different things. c) The third level i.e. basic assumption is invisible layer. It is the perception held by individuals concerning human behavior. As mentioned earlier, this cannot be seen but felt by the individuals and hence is difficult to be described in words for any organization. 2. On analyzing Accenture based on different Cultural framework and Cultural typologies it can be said that Accenture falls into Role culture and Communal culture. The justification for this goes below: ï‚ § Accenture is very much driven by its policies, procedures, and rules, which makes it high on formalization aspect. Figure 2.1 clearly shows the level of hierarchy that Accenture has. Managers at top of the hierarchy work as per their roles and specializations that make Accenture a highly centralized organization and hence putting it into a Role culture. However, if we deep dive to the lowest division i.e. the Projects, the task to be achieved is allocated at the Managerial level and is then cascaded down to different team members based on their expertise. The aim of the team is to ensure the task is delivered on time and with a high quality. For example, in my projects, there were times when a task demanding high expertise on specific domain were assigned to the senior programmers instead of the team leads. This clearly displays that the project division is on to the Task culture i.e. high formalization, low centralization where people are acknowledged based on their expertise and not just position. ï‚ § Accenture has very strict entry criteria and employees who suit the working environment are selected. Once the employees are in the company, another level of assessment happens to check the skills to identify which project who the employee be best suited for. During an initial phase in the project, the employees are giving an intensive training about the core values of Accenture as well as the client that they are working for. The roles and goals for each individual are made clear right from the beginning and each employee is expected to have a degree of flexibility to switch the roles as and when required. All these characteristics make Accenture falls into the category of Communal culture i.e. High Sociability and high solidarity. 4. Leadership Walt Disney said, â€Å"You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality† (Disney, 2011) Accenture groups skills, competencies, and personality traits of effective leaders into three vital pillars (Accenture Leadership): Visionary Evangelist- They see possibilities and inspire others with their vision; they know where the company is headed and what its customers will value in the future. Relationship Builder-They enlist the support and capabilities of others by building loyalty, motivating and engaging. Manager of Execution- They provide structure, discipline and a sense of priorities to get things done. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard (1998) described the concept of situational leadership. Situational leadership is an approach of identifying the most effective way of motivating, directing, and supporting employees to get the work done. Whether it is the leaders at the top of hierarchy (CEO) or the leaders at the lowest division (project managers), leadership style in Accenture varies depending upon the situation. Figure 4.1 Situational Leadership Model (Source: Davidmerzel, 2012) How Leadership style works in Accenture When an employee is new to a project or the organization, it is ensured that a counselor and a supervisor are assigned to him. It is supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that the employee understand the norms and the working culture of the project and Councilor helps the employee with the career aspirations and issues (if any) faced by him while working in the project. In other words, it can be said that supervisor acts as the coach and councilor supports the employee at the same time. Supervisor and the Councilor are not the same person and it is the councilor who remains the same throughout the journey in Accenture where as supervisors keep of changing as when an employee progresses. Once an employee displays the ability and the skills required to tasks assigned (i.e. generally at Analyst Programmer level), the work is then delegated where very few directions and support are required. At no point in Accenture, you would find a leader portraying the directive leadership. Support and mentoring is always provided until an employee is capable to work on his own. 5. Synopsis Accenture is an organization on the move, one that is engaged in a good range of projects in various locations. Its culture varies from one extreme to another depending on the client and the geographical location of the office in which one reside. Employees, working at the client site, particularly for extended periods, find themselves following client’s culture as well as Accenture’s. It has a youthful environment that helps in making contacts, which lasts as an employee moves from project to project. In spite of the youthful, work-hard/play-hard atmosphere, employees strictly adhere to Accenture’s high standards, which require dedication and discipline on behalf of the employees. People at Accenture genuinely respect and admire each other. Willingness to help others and strong interpersonal skills are more common that being self-centered. This can be easily seen by the prompt responses of peers in different cities and countries towards any technical query being raised at the company’s portal. To summaries, Accenture surely is a strong cultured and centralized organization where the core values of the organization and client’s both are kept in mind and at the same time its ensured that employee’s professional aspirations are also met. I would definitely say a great place to work! 6. References (Arranged alphabetically) 1. Accenture, 2012 – About Accenture Available at: http://www.accenture.com/gb-en/company/Pages/index.aspx Accessed on: 26th October 2012 2. Accenture Core Values: Living Accenture’s Core Values [online] Available at: http://careers.accenture.com/gben/working/overview/values/Pages/index.aspx Accessed on: 26th October 2012 3. Accenture Facts,2012 – Q4 Fiscal 2012 Available at: http://newsroom.accenture.com/fact+sheet/ Accessed on: 26th October 2012 4. Accenture Leadership: Why Leadership and Culture Matters [online] Available at: http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture_Why_Leadership_and _Culture_Matter.pdf Accessed on: 27th October 2012 5. Accenture Logo – Accenture UK Limited [online] Available at: http://www.enterprisemanagement360.com/company/accenture-uk-l imited/#.UIqNsm_Mjsw Accessed on: 26th October 2012 6. Bohine, Markham, 2003