Schooling and Educational Opportunities for Females in the UK - Essay

Schooling and Educational Opportunities for Females in the UK - Changes - Essay Example This comparison paper looks at the present state of post-16 educational opportunities for females (Archer et al, 2007) in contrast with those available to them in the 1950 and 1960s in the Post World War II era (Evans, 1991). It is evident that much has flowed under the bridge and the past has contributed to the present in a very effective manner. While the Archer article adopts a more clinical research based stance, the merit of the Evans piece is that it is personal and engaging as well. Only at certain points, she guides us as to the points she wants to make. In their paper entitled ‘Class, gender, heterosexuality and schooling: paradoxes within working-class girls' engagement with education and post-16 aspirations’ as published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education of March 2007, the authors discuss ways in which inner-city and ethnically diverse working-class girls' constructions of hetero-femininities mediate and shape their engagement or disengagement w ith education and schooling. This study was based on data collected from 89 urban working-class youth in London. The authors mainly touched upon three main ways through which these young women used heterosexual femininities to construct capital and generate identity value and worth- these were (1) through investment in appearance using glamorous hetero-femininities, (2) through heterosexual relationships with boyfriends, and (3) through the ‘ladette’ phenomena. They maintain that young women's investments in particular forms of heterosexual working-class femininity can affect very deeply their engagement or disengagement from schooling and education. They focus on the paradoxes that arise when these constructions interact with other oppressive power structures. Class, Gender, Heterosexuality and Schooling Paradoxes- A Detailed Analysis Archer et al. (2007) start off by commenting on the lower academic scores that boys typically achieve compared to girls in the GCSE and other competitive examinations and seek to determine the reasons for this. This underachievement is a cause of concern for many countries- from the UK to New Zealand. However, as Epstein and others have noted, it is not as simple as this because a more detailed look indicates that not all boys are doing badly and indeed, not all girls are doing well. There are complexities of social class, gender and ethnicity that underlie these results which must be addressed. Amazingly, Kenway (2003, page ix) found that girls leaving school early had more problems than boys in securing employment.

Organisation Behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organisation Behaviour - Case Study Example The disadvantages would be that collective forward progress is slower and lack of personal creativity due to compliance to common ideals. General Electric (GE) is one of the well-known corporations of the world. It is an enormously diversified company with its products ranging from telecommunication fibre optics to large Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines capable of projecting 3-D images of the human brain. It makes immense aircraft engines to and advices public to reduce their energy bills. Its ability to innovate and maintain impeccable quality has helped GE to remain a market leader and function as a successful organisation. Bureaucracy has been exhaustively discussed in organisational concepts. Ideally bureaucracy is symbolised by authority relations, recruitment by competence, and fixed salaries. Max Weber described it as technically superior to all other forms of organization and hence indispensable to large, complex enterprises. Weber's Principles of Bureaucracy proclaims the following of the principles of Divide labour into specialized expertise areas throughout the organization, Pyramid position defined by a hierarchy of authority and an explicit chain of command, Formal rules governing decisions and actions of everyone that allows continuity in event of personnel changes, Be detached with employees so that sentiments do not distort objective judgment and Select workers by their technical utility to rule out friendship or favouritism is ruled out, and advancement is by seniority and achievement. Rigid documentation is followed to keep tabs on progress and evaluate. However, bureaucratic organisations seem to stifle worker creativity since omni-present rules and regulations create no room for innovation and improvisation by the workers. The inability take quick decisions due to lack of authority also results in reduced productivity. This downside of bureaucracy especially in large organisations has made it questionable as to its rationality and efficiency. Its principles have also attached a connotation of disapproval to the terms bureaucratic and bureaucracy due to its incompetence and a lack of broad-mindedness. However, although it sounds improbable considering its successful image and culture today, GE was a struggling bureaucratic organisation in the 1990's. Too many layers and no decision-making capabilities characterized it. The organisation lagged behind in making timely strategic decisions. This success is attributed to what was essentially a single managerial decision made by Welch back in the mid-90's. Jack Welch joined the General Electric Company (GE) in 1960. Welch started work as an engineer in the plastics division. However although his immediate work environment was fast paced and exciting, he felt smothered by the bloated bureaucracy of the company. He could not function to his full ingenious limits, had to wait for management decisions on the smallest of tasks. He felt under valued, and was highly dissatisfied with the standard bonus he received. He found another job and almost quit but was persuaded to stay on by Reuben Gutoff, who saw his immense potential. Although he stayed on, Welch had not changed his mind about GE's administration, which he saw as unresponsive at best and debilitating at worst. Welch carried this experience in heart and his tenure at GE was the struggle