Structured Essay

Structure and agency are two theoretical terms used to explain the capacity at which we as people are able to be individuals, and to what extent those influences limit our individuality. Structure refers to the ways in which a society is organized. Agency refers to the behaviors and actions of the individuals within the social structure. Agency is limited by the structure due to cultural barriers and inequalities within the structure. In this essay, I will present an overview of why critical theorists are concerned with those inequalities, and I will further identify the problems within the system contributing to the unequal access to the public sphere, relating specifically to class and gender inequalities. Society is highly...show more content...

As Habermas puts it "the relationship of the individual to the state has increasingly become one of client or consumer services, rather than citizen" (Roberts & Crossley, 5). Due to the limited agency (citizens' roles) within this sphere, we can conclude that the ongoing competition and negotiation for a role in the public sphere ends with strictly dominant views. In such a monarchy, ordinary citizens such as lower classes and women have limited input when debating politics among other things. The ideal of a place where all opinions are counted, so to speak, fails to provide a sense of individual identity. This is due to the fact that it is pre–destined by the state itself and then turned back to the people– telling them what they will think about particular issues; shown especially through the controlling lens of the media. According to Marx, those who have power over society exert their control as a result of economic power and therefore determine the dominant ideologies within the superstructure model. Being the greater economical and cultural barrier, the structure provides the social world with norms, rules and beliefs pertaining to age, gender, class and one's cultural identity. Within that structure it becomes apparent that inequalities restrict your agency in terms of nationality, geographical location, class etc. In agreement with Marx, the dominant views are generally the views of the superior class; the elite. One example

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Mg/561 Organizational Structure

Date: January 18, 2013

To: MG 561 Class

From: Jessica Rushing

Subject: "Organizational Structure"

Introduction:

Organizational structure provides the framework of an organization determining how roles and responsibilities are delegated throughout the different levels of the organization. It has been defined by some as the looking glass through which coworkers see their organization and its surrounding environment while others have described structure as the backbone of the organization. In this memo, I will briefly discuss the importance of organizational structure, give examples of some major organizational structures, and provide factors influencing the choice of organizational structure.

Importance of Organizational...show more content...

For organizations which produce standardized goods and services, a functional service is beneficial. Within this structure, employees perform very specialized tasks (Naoum, 2001). For example, an engineering department would be staffed with only software engineers. Divisional structures, also known as product structures, groups each function into a division. Automobile industries typically use this divisional structure. Within this industry, divisions may include: SUVs, subcompact cars, and sedans. Although not discussed in detail in this memo, other organizational structures include: organizational circle, team, network, lattice, and virtual ("Organizational Structure", 2013).

Factors influencing the choice of Organizational Structure

The following factors can affect the type of structure which an organization may use: strategy, characteristics,management, operation, and environment. Strategy is the most important factor influencing type of structure. According to Phillips and Gulley in their book Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success, higher performance will be achieved if structure and strategy are directly related). Organizational characteristics include the age and size of the organization. If the organization is small, there is less need for formal structure as communication

Organizational Structure Essay examples

{text:bookmark–start} Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL {text:bookmark–end} STRUCTURE Organizational Structure Romanoff, T. Axia College of University of Phoenix MGT 330 Management: Theory, Practice and Application Peter Espeut October 26, 2009 Organizational Structure Planning and organization are crucial for an organization to achieve maximum effectiveness and success. Microsoft Company, for instance, has an organizational structure consisting of board of directors who include Steve Ballmer as chief executive officer (CEO), senior leaders, executives, and technical leaders. Founded in 1975, Microsoft has grown today into a worldwide leader in software and services (Microsoft, 2009). The organizational structure of...show more content...

Division of labor is a part of differentiation, which divides jobs into smaller tasks and when an employee performs a specific task, it is known as specialization. In some cases, companies divide organizational functions into divisional structure, which contain all the necessary resources required to function. For example, a software company might have a division for home software and a division for business software both providing development and support. Microsoft is the largest software company in the world that offers services for home and business. The company also provides entertainment through video games for Xbox and music for Zune. In the case of Microsoft (2009) there are many different positions within the company from Business Services & Administration to Software Engineering: User Experience and has locations throughout the world. Since Microsoft's main function is to develop software, it would stand to reason that the largest department within the company pertains to information technology with many specialized departments from development to support. Microsoft has many divisions within the company that include home software and business software and provide development and support. The function of the human resources department is to organize the employees based on their qualifications. The finance department's function is the flow of cash from accounts receivable to payroll. Microsoft is known

Introduction

McShane and Von Glinow state that "the best organizational structure depends on the organization's external environment, size, technology, and strategy" (409). To identify the best organizational structure for ProtegГ© Engineering, I will first determine what 'Organizational Structure' means. In a second step I will analyze its elements and carve out the important components for the considered organization. Finally I will provide a conclusion and recommendation. Organizational Structures

In general, organizational structure is related to the way that an organization organizes employees and jobs, so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met. McShane and Von Glinow define 'Organizational Structure' in...show more content...

We can admit that informal communication is necessary in no routine and ambiguous situations because employees can exchange large volume of information through face–to–face communication and other media–rich channels. Therefore informal communication is important for ProtegГ© Engineering because their work involve new and novel situations when developing specific solutions for each client. Even if informal communication is difficult in large firms it can be possible when keeping each production site small (McShane and Von Glinow 388). Now, that we identified what organizational structure means, and that informal communication is necessary for ProtegГ© Engineering, we need some more information of how structures differ from each other. McShane and Von Glinow state that "every company is configured in terms of four basic elements of organizational structure"; namely: span of control, centralization, formalization, and departmentalization (390). Further on, I will explain these four elements and carve out what this means for ProtegГ© Engineering.

The span of control "refers to the number of people directly reporting to the next level hierarchy" (McShane and Von Glinow 390). Today's research found out that a wider span of control (many employee directly reporting to the management) is more appropriate especially for companies with staff members that coordinate their work mainly through standardized skills and do not

Structures of Proteins Essay

Proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers called amino acids. All structural and functional properties of proteins derive from the chemical properties of the polypeptide chain. There are four levels of protein structural organization: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary structure is defined as the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The secondary structure refers to certain regular geometric figures of the chain. Tertiary structure results from long–range contacts within the chain. The quaternary structure is the organization of protein subunits, or two or more independent polypeptide chains. The primary structure of a protein is simply the sequence of amino acids. The structure or...show more content...

There may also be sections where the secondary structure is neither helix nor sheet. Then the structure is called a random structure, indicating that it folds in random directions. The amino acids in an alpha helix are arranged in a right–handed helical structure resembling a spring. The alpha helix is the most common form of regular secondary structure in proteins. The beta–sheet is the second form of regular secondary structure in proteins consisting of beta strands connected laterally by three or more hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet. The beta–sheet is sometimes called the beta pleated sheet since sequential neighboring atoms are alternately above and below the plane of the sheet giving a pleated appearance. Turns are the third of the three "classical" secondary structures that serve to reverse the direction of the polypeptide chain. They are located primarily on the protein surface and accordingly contain polar and charged residues. However, they are not very common in discussions of protein structure today.

The tertiary structure of a protein molecule, or of a subunit of a protein molecule, is the arrangement of all its atoms in space, without regard to its relationship with neighboring molecules or subunits. Tertiary structure is simply the grouping of different separate secondary structures, such as multiple helices or multiple sheets or a combination of helices and sheets.

The final structure of the protein is the quaternary

Structured Observation

a.Structured observation would be the best method to collect data to answer this question. The researcher would need to be aware of their personal biases in order not to skew that data but could use checklists with rating scales to observe and record how nurses interact with patients (Polit & Beck, 2012). A self–report would not be a good choice because it would be subject to social desirability response bias and might lead to incorrect conclusions about the interactions.

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