In what ways did the Puritans influence America in economics ,politics Essay

In what ways did the Puritans influence America in economics ,politics ,and religion - Essay Example Their principle tended to be Presbyterian and Calvinistic. The puritan’s finest writings were both devotional and polemic treatments of theology. Their big mission was to have the freedom of worship just like as one chooses (Digital History 1 and New Advent 1). The New England puritans played a more crucial role in shaping America more than other group. They contributed a lot to the country’s (America) moral sensibility, sense of mission and its (America’s) work ethic. Some Americans (estimated to be eight million Americans) today can trace their ancestry roots back to the 15,000 to 20,000 puritans who drifted from the New England between the years 1629 and 1640. The puritans gave way to the birth of the next wave in Christian denominations. They brought major reforms to the America colonies and purified the Anglican Church (in the America) which led to the birth of the Baptists and Congregationalist in America (Digital History 1). The puritans immigrated to America in search of religious freedom as they were escaping the religious torment they were facing in their former countries and their idea was not to establish a church that was more like the church of England (they did not like the mode of religion in the England hence, the religion did not satisfy them nor did it favor them). The puritan’s mission was to set up a religion that will make the America a role model for other states to follow (Brewer, Jaques, Jones and King 1). American basic principle remains that of church separation form the state, this principle was largely influenced by the puritans hence the root of the practice (church separation from the state) was developed from the puritan’s idea of having a religious freedom (this made the religion to have a deep influence in the American life). This separation had a large impact as it protected the Americans from supporting a religion that was established and governed by the government (TCI 1). When they

Power Dynamics and Organizational Change Assignment

Power Dynamics and Organizational Change - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that when a person is emotionally under stress what he needs is the care and consideration of his family. But, an ordinary soldier in his early years of service is not permitted to take his family along with him unless he is an officer. This is what makes difficult the life of a soldier. While realizing these unconcealed facts the educated youths of modern era prefer to revisit their prior decision. This should not happen as the fate of a country rests with its dynamic youths. So, it inevitably requires some sort of structural changes in the entire organization. For this things must be changed from their present state of affairs. Places where transformation is sought First of all, as Mundell points out, depression and stress are the unrecognized problems of a number of soldiers returning from war fronts. To illustrate, while some of them feel they are treated as guests at their own homes, others feel estranged as their children do not respond warmly to them. According to the writer, if they do not feel the support of their family members and the warmth of the love of their dear ones, they have greater difficulty in recovering from the symptoms of depression. So, measures should be adopted to accommodate the families, at least the wives of the soldiers with them. Moreover, soldiers are suffering from stress which is a result of frequent combat operations. As they are also flesh and blood they may become upset on seeing destroyed houses, dead bodies or on the event of the death of their colleagues or even for being directly responsible for the death of some enemy soldiers. In this regard, every soldier must be availed the assistance of a counseling expert as and when he requires. In order to help this, psycho care units can be started alongside cantonment areas. No commander or superior must be entitled to hold back this right of soldiers. Any soldier who has some severe emotional damage must be evacuated to a fitting pla ce for the further health check. It will do well to bring the stress down in his community as well as personal life. However, the primary duty of a soldier is to protect and fight for his nation. So, changes to be made should not affect the role to be played by him. Another important crisis is the detrimental relationship between superiors and the men under their command. There is always a chance for skirmishes between commanding officer and his men as they are not satisfied with the commands placed and orders made by the officer. But on certain occasions, the superiors themselves have a tendency to humiliate their men for silly matters. Instead of giving a word of praise for a remarkable work done, they are ruthlessly reprimanded even for a microscopic slip-up. When such humiliations cross the boundary, the soldiers either end up their lives or shoot at their own officers and colleagues. It is a matter of serious concern as such incidents are numerous. In order to curb this, as in any organization, a separate personnel grievance redressal forum should be established in the military set up. As the head of the forum is an expert in HR related matters it will be of tremendous help in solving out all personnel related affairs.

In what ways did the Puritans influence America in economics ,politics Essay

In what ways did the Puritans influence America in economics ,politics ,and religion - Essay Example Their principle tended to be Presbyterian and Calvinistic. The puritan’s finest writings were both devotional and polemic treatments of theology. Their big mission was to have the freedom of worship just like as one chooses (Digital History 1 and New Advent 1). The New England puritans played a more crucial role in shaping America more than other group. They contributed a lot to the country’s (America) moral sensibility, sense of mission and its (America’s) work ethic. Some Americans (estimated to be eight million Americans) today can trace their ancestry roots back to the 15,000 to 20,000 puritans who drifted from the New England between the years 1629 and 1640. The puritans gave way to the birth of the next wave in Christian denominations. They brought major reforms to the America colonies and purified the Anglican Church (in the America) which led to the birth of the Baptists and Congregationalist in America (Digital History 1). The puritans immigrated to America in search of religious freedom as they were escaping the religious torment they were facing in their former countries and their idea was not to establish a church that was more like the church of England (they did not like the mode of religion in the England hence, the religion did not satisfy them nor did it favor them). The puritan’s mission was to set up a religion that will make the America a role model for other states to follow (Brewer, Jaques, Jones and King 1). American basic principle remains that of church separation form the state, this principle was largely influenced by the puritans hence the root of the practice (church separation from the state) was developed from the puritan’s idea of having a religious freedom (this made the religion to have a deep influence in the American life). This separation had a large impact as it protected the Americans from supporting a religion that was established and governed by the government (TCI 1). When they

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out Essay Example for Free

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out Essay Life is compared to a rollercoaster. It has the moments of altitude, where we feel as invincible as could be, but there are also the moments of decline, where the tension and the absolute point of breakage are on the rise. The moment at the bottom of the pit, of feeling that there is no concrete escape or solution are the moments that create character, fortitude and overall, characteristics and strengths that were hidden deep behind our fears. The Roman poet Horace, described adversity as a constructor of character which left a positive and constructive aftermath, â€Å"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant. † When misfortune and desperation hit home, Horace’s quote would be interpreted as a mock, even an insult, but after recovering and analyzing the situation countless times, Horace’s quote is the absolute truth. Life has to go through the bottom of the pit in order to reach the ultimate height. Remember that. In the city of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, lives a young man whose known hardships for as long as he could remember. He’s had a humble upbringing, living in a home with no windows, no roof, no carpet or nice floor, his home had cement; he doesn’t have a living room or a nice dinner table. His father struggles with alcoholism and drug usage, his mother was unstable and came from a family lacking common sense and morality. He grew up seeing his father beat his mother, he heard his youngest sisters cry night after night, of hunger, sorrow, of disappointment. He went to school, hoping to become a man with an education and a bright future, different to all that he had known, but he lacked the support and motivation necessary to continue seeking that future. At age 13, not even halfway done with 7th grade, he dropped out of school. He began to work instead, determined to provide his siblings with what his parents failed to provide. A few months after he began working, rumors spread about him. Nasty and deteriorating. The stigma followed him everywhere. After a while they were confirmed. He smoked marihuana, drank alcohol, inhaled chemical substances, he was crumbling. Everyone believed he would become a product of his environment, of his misfortune. All hope was lost for him. And no one would lend him a hand. Did he in fact succumb to the tragedy his life was becoming? No. He fought with the strength of a lion. His courage was widely admired, for he did not give up to anything or anyone he had to face in his 13 years of existence. He sought help to escape alcohol and drug use. He set his priorities straight. He knew he didn’t want to end up as his father did, he knew he didn’t want to be as his mother was, he knew he and his brothers deserved better. He worked harder and longer than he had before; he worked a second job on the weekends. He embodied the role of a father, not any father, but the one he had always wanted to have. Everyone cheered him on; they applauded his actions and offered him their unconditional support. He was a hero. Everyone who knew him agreed that he was the most mature, generous, responsible and courteous young man they had ever met. The difficulties and moments of despair that he stumbled on down the road had only fortified the determination and values he was extremely proud of possessing and being recognized for. Adversity became his ally. It brought back his faith and magnified his courage. It unexpectedly and not according to what he had previously envisioned, prepared him, transformed him into the man he had always wanted to be. A man of character, values, a man that inflicted respect on others upon meeting him. He was who he wanted and needed to be. Whilst others would complain about their misfortunes and tragedies, this young man did not. He welcomed all that life had to offer him. Highs and lows. The prosperity and poverty. The reason he was able to overcome all that he did was because of the hardships in his life. The memories of his sad upbringing, the cries of his siblings, abandoning his education, working long days and hours to contribute to his tattered family were what he built fortitude from. He built his courageous character from all that was supposed to break him. The difficult circumstances he had to live through made him the man he today is. He’d always thank the hardships. Strength is given to those that fight with all that they have and don’t have. At the end of the rainbow there’s always a pot of gold. At the end of adversity and hardships is courage and admirable character. Do not give up.

Background And Development Of Ir In Singapore Tourism Essay

Background And Development Of Ir In Singapore Tourism Essay The implementation of the Garden City movement after 70 years, the rapid development of tourism industry especially integrated resorts in Singapore has become one of countrys economic pillars, and visitors mainly from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and other countries and regions (Edgar and Taylor, 1996). Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. As for integrated resort (IR) in Singapore, it is a euphemism used because of opposition to casinos (Abbugao, 2010). Currently, there are two large integrated resorts built up and opened to the visitors i.e. Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. Resorts World Sentosa is located at the southern coast of Singapore, and its attractions include a theme park of Universal Studios, Marine Life Park and a casino. It was developed by developed by Genting Singapore since 16 April 2007 and opened to the public in early 2010 (Resorts World Sentosa, 2012). There are many attractions and facilities provided in this integrated resorts including hotels, casino, casual and fine dining, resorts world galleria luxury fashion, shows, salon spa, maritime experiential museum and park. Similar history and development process is for Marina Bay Sands. It was developed by Las Vegas Sands since early 2006 and opened in January 2010. The integrated resort is featured with a convention-exhibition centre of 1,300,000 square foot, a hotel with 2,561 rooms, a shopping mall with 800,000 square foot, two floating crystal pavilions, two large theatres, and the largest atrium casino in the world with 1,600 slot machines and 500 tables (Marina Bay Sands, 2012) . The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the key role in the development of integrated resort of this country. What STB tries to do is to conduct a long term strategic planning to promote integrated resorts as a key driver for domestic tourism development and keep in good relationship with both private and public stakeholders. STBs goal is to create exciting and innovative experiences for peoples visitors, in close partnership with the trade industry, thus etching forever in visitors minds an image of Singapore as a unique and compelling destination (STB, 2012). There are three areas of focus of STB i.e. strengthening Singapores position as a leading convention and exhibition city in Asia, developing Singapore as a leading Asian leisure destination, and establishing Singapore as the services centre of Asia (STB, 2012). As for IR development especially its casino business, STB supports its development from planning, design, construction and marketing. For instance, its strategic planning for Sentosa World Resort Casino is to make it a unique gaming centre for Asian tourists. 1.2 The Impacts of IR on Singapores Society The development of IRs in Singapore including Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa has great impacts on the local society from many aspects, positive or negative. The majority of these impacts include Political, Economic, Social and Environmental aspects. Political impacts are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy in tourism industry. In Singapore, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government wants to provide or are provided and those that the government does not want to be provided. As for the impact of integrated resorts, the main political impacts are the political complaints of local residents on the inflow of foreigners which results from the conflicts of business and benefits of local residents and foreigners. This is proven by the political debates held before the built up of these ca sinos in Singapore where a petition that attracted tens of thousands of signatures opposites the decision and the opposition said that the final decision made had overruled consensus. Still, the major impact of the development of integrated resorts is economic impact. It is seen that tourism is a major contribution to Singapore economy. According to the lasted annual report on tourism statistics published by Singapore Tourism Board (STB, 2009), the revenue from tourism is S$ 15.2 billion. More importantly, there are other indirect revenues or GDP generated from the inflow of tourists for these integrated resorts such as the revenues of retailers in Singapore by consumption of foreigners. Also, there is an impact on employee rate with more workers hired by the opening of these two integrated resorts in 2010. In addition, transport in Singapore grows fast recent years exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Singapore, which increase convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system (STB, 2010). Last but not least, there are more visitors for other attractions along with these two integrated resorts. Among other thin gs, popularly promoted tourist attractions include the Merlion, the Night Zoo, Orchard Road (shopping area), Chinatown, Little India and its many eating areas (STB, 2010). Social factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. As English is the dominant one of its four official languages, it is generally easier for tourists to understand when speaking to the local population of the country, however, with the consideration of more foreign visitors especially those from China, there are still many signs in Chinese presented in the attractions. Also, there is much criticism about the casinos in society especially its bad influence on the behaviors of Singaporeans. This is proven by the opposition of social workers in Muslim and Christian communities. They concerned the negative social impact of the casinos for worrying that these activities could increase the risk of problem gambling. Environmental impact is also a concern of the impact of these integrated resorts. Environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects such as weather, cli mate, and climate change, which may especially affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance. Furthermore, growing awareness of the potential impacts of climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer, both creating new markets and diminishing or destroying existing ones. There are many in the public worry about the impact of World Resort Sentosa for the protection of local natural environment for there are so many tourist inflows especially in the peak season which exceed the environmental capacity of the island and may threaten local environment stability. There are the impacts of the built up of these two integrated resorts that concerned most by local residents. 2. Body 2.1 Reason for IR Development in Ledyard Connecticut PESTEL is a strategic analysis tool that used to help organizations understand the external macro environment that the company face and consider (Richard, 2000). Also, I can be used to help identify the internal reason for developing integrated resort Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. As for these reasons, they are summarized in the following paragraphs. Figure 1: PESTEL Analysis (Source: Richard, 2000) Political environment means the ruling partys nature, the social systems, governmental policies and guidelines etc. (Flethcher and Cooper, 19996). Generally, the government has the role to intervene the economy not for political stability but also for common benefits for the public. Through the development of casino-based integrated resort, the local government of Ledyard can rebuild local community for it can attract more new visitors and bring new sources of revenues for local residents. More importantly, it is a tool for local authority to compete with other ones nearby from many aspects. As seen from this aspect, the development of Foxwoods Resort Casino is a political decision to grow local strength in US economy and make benefits for local residents. Economic environment includes both macro-and micro-aspects (Nebel and Schaffer, 1992). Macroeconomic environment is related to the size of population, GDP and also the speed of national income growth and so forth. Microeconomic environment concerns with consumer income and other specific factors for business operation. As seen from this aspect, there are many benefits of the development of a hotel based casino in Ledyard. First of all, it is a key for local GDP growth through the consumption generated by travelers and gamblers. Secondly, more employment opportunities can be offered to local residents which are beneficial for the growth of local gross income. Last but not least, it is beneficial for the overall economic growth with the enhancement of transportation and related facilities. Social and cultural environment mainly concerned with the education level of residents, their beliefs, values and so on. Since there are different needs sourcing from various cultural and social backgrounds in different countries, it increases the potential costs for the integrated resorts to diversify its product design and marketing especially the latter one in different regions. Usually, gambling is regarded as a means of recreation, however, there are many concerns that it may lead to some illegal activities such as money laundering. Since Ledyard is equipped with a mature and healthy legal and social environment, the development of such a casino based integrated resorts can be acceptable. Technological means the importance of the development of technology investment and science especially those for IT. IT develops and update very fast, this becomes benefits for Ledyard to adopt new technology to help manage business operation of casinos as well as marketing its services nationally and internationally. Environmental factors concerns with environmental and ecological aspects like weather, and climate change, which can affect certain industries and the development of a service-based on integrated resort is environment friendly as compared with other economic activities. 2.2 Evaluation of Foxwoods Resort Casino The mixed-use concept means that there is a combination of institutional, cultural, residential, industrial or commercial uses of a single building, village, suburban or urban development, and these functions are functionally and physically integrated (Nebel and Schaffer, 1992). As for this case, it refers to an integrated development of a single real estate project. As one of the premier entertainment choices in Ledyard Connecticut, there a variety choice of entertainment and services offered in this destination including six casinos for gambling, hotels with four diamonds, world class spa, restaurants with all tastes, golf of world renowned services, exclusive retailers, convention and meeting space, and state-of-the-art theaters (Foxwoods, 2012). All of these functions integrated provide both business and recreation travllers endless possibilities of experiences. Along with these integrated functions, Foxwoods Resort Casino performs well in business. Although there is no direct da ta released from the official authority of the company, it is easy to see from its financial capacity of 1.5 billion dollars during the past years that it generates a lot of money for its shareholders and is still attractive in financial market. However, like other integrated resorts based on gambling, there criticism about problem gambling activities especially from those residents nearby (Olsen, 1991). According to local reports about Ledyard Town, there are some residents complain that gambling activities have affect some aspect of their lives and especially those young people become more speculative although they admit that there are still positive effects such as the increase in employment and local income. Also, since it is located in a small town as compared to other options such as Gambling integrated resorts in Las Vegas, its attraction is limited especially to those who living at the eastern part of the United States. Thus, as seen from this aspect, there is still a lot of work for Foxwoods Resort Casino to do for its future development and continuously generate incomes and benefits for stakeholders. 3. Conclusion Overall, Foxwoods Resort Casino did well in the past, however, in order to achieve sustainable development, there are still a lot of works to do, which can be summarized in to the following three aspects. First of all, there is a need for this integrated resort to integrate with other tourism and entertainment activities in Ledyard to achieve a combined effect and become even more attractive to potential visitors. As for this aspect, there are experiences that Ledyard can learn from Macau. It is well known that the dramatic increase of number of visitors to Macau is mainly due to the development of the gaming industry in this area. According to the Macau tourism board report, in year 2000, there were only 3 officially opened casinos in Macau because of the historical contract between the government and the casino company. In year 2002, the Macau government ranted the Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group and MGM Mirage and some other casino operators in Macau. Since then, the number of casinos increased dramatically. And because of the increased number of casinos, Macau is more and more attractive to the tourists whether they are professional gamblers, or they are just tourists who are curious about casinos. That is why the number of visitors to Macau has increase dramatically over the years. However, in recent years, the local government has developed many other options of tourism choices. As for attractions, there are many kinds of choices in Macau from special events to gambling activities, from historic to modern attractions. Table 1 below summarizes a sample of some attractions available in Macau by Jay (2004). It is easy to see that the categories of attractions in Macau include historical, cultural and sporting, natural, special events and built. Also, there are more exact attractions listed in the right column, which are the most famous attractions in Macau in each type that make it attractive to tourists. As for Ledyard, it can integrate the integrated resort casino with its natural beauty to develop more tourism attraction such as its unique glacial geography for the development of a Glacial Park for enhancing its attractions to potential tourists. Table 1: Recent Developments and Prospects of Macaos Tourism Industry (Source: Jay, 2004) In addition, since there are tourists with business purpose such as the needs for business meeting and convention, which is a attraction that should be emphasized and supported by local government of Ledyard and the integrated resort casino. The local government can make the development of integrated resorts sustainable by attracting business visitors to use current facilities like hotels and exhibitions centers are equipped at world-class levels, which make it attractive for more worldwide business activities and services as a gateway for local business men to the world outside. Meeting is a critical part in business operation, or saying in another way, it is an internal need for this kind of business travelers (Pearce and Lee, 2005). Also some organizations need to participate in convention to gain more opportunities to showcase their own products and services. This is also their internal demand. Thus they are push factors. However, good meeting and convention facilities and hospit ality services provide excellent meeting and convention services attract these business operators. The well equipped Foxwoods Resort Casino gives organization more opportunities to learn from others and obtain more international information. All these are external factors that help business operators choose meeting and convention services of the integrated resort and help its future sustainable development. Last but not least, according to Liu (2003), a tourism destination has to maintain its current strengths in order to achieve sustainable development. This is also applicable to Foxwoods Resort Casino and there must be activities conducted to strengths its current brand image and service quality. As for Foxwoods Resort Casino, the main events with comedy stars from TV and film, beloved singers, or Las Vegas style extravaganzas have to be continued every year to build up an event brand of entertainment with new data. These events include ISAACS BAKER and Victory that held every year. These events held usually have loyal participants and will be part of the brand image of Foxwoods and thus makes it attractiveness more sustainable. Also, there should be enhancement of the level of marketing activities with the application of new social media like YouTube, Facebook, Google + and Twitter to get visitors and consumer informed and connected for the built up of a responsible and strong brand image, which is critical for the sustainable development of Foxwoods Resort Casino and other integrated resorts in Ledyard Connecticut.

Emerson :: essays research papers

Emerson emphasizes over and over again that in order to gain ones own independence, one must first abandon all learned things and seek to accumulate thereafter only the knowledge which one attains firsthand and deems pertinent to be assimilated into ones own truth. "Nothing is at last sacred, but the integrity of your own mind" states Emerson, because "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself" (Emerson 203). Emerson ultimately arrives at the conclusion that one must be self aware. He believes that one must come to recognize the power one has within and to utilize that power through self thought. â€Å"The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried† (Emerson). One must learn to give up all external knowledge and begin a quest for the knowledge one has within. One will never know his full potential until he attempts to think on his/her own self derived thoughts. David Gale, on the other hand, after finding himself in a harsh predicament turns to an internal quest as Emerson’s. A University of Texas professor of philosophy and capital punishment abolitionist, David Gale, finds himself on Death Row convicted of murder. Gale is a man who has tried hard to live by his principles but in a peculiar distorted twist of fate, finds himself on Death Row for rape and murder (Lim). Gale is accused of murdering his long time friend and co-activist. He was a self reliant man to begin with in some aspects because he was fighting for a cause which not favored in majority in favor of Gale. â€Å"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect wetness the independence of solitude† (Oschman 41). He as Emerson states did not conform to society’s views but rather held on very firmly to his own. After the false charges of rape Gale lost his prestigious job as a professor at the university and was forced work in the post office. Although this may have been a blow to his pride, Gale remained consistent with his passion for his cause. Emerson states that one must realize that you deal with what you have good or bad, but one can make the world a good place even though all the evil in the world. Emerson :: essays research papers Emerson emphasizes over and over again that in order to gain ones own independence, one must first abandon all learned things and seek to accumulate thereafter only the knowledge which one attains firsthand and deems pertinent to be assimilated into ones own truth. "Nothing is at last sacred, but the integrity of your own mind" states Emerson, because "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself" (Emerson 203). Emerson ultimately arrives at the conclusion that one must be self aware. He believes that one must come to recognize the power one has within and to utilize that power through self thought. â€Å"The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried† (Emerson). One must learn to give up all external knowledge and begin a quest for the knowledge one has within. One will never know his full potential until he attempts to think on his/her own self derived thoughts. David Gale, on the other hand, after finding himself in a harsh predicament turns to an internal quest as Emerson’s. A University of Texas professor of philosophy and capital punishment abolitionist, David Gale, finds himself on Death Row convicted of murder. Gale is a man who has tried hard to live by his principles but in a peculiar distorted twist of fate, finds himself on Death Row for rape and murder (Lim). Gale is accused of murdering his long time friend and co-activist. He was a self reliant man to begin with in some aspects because he was fighting for a cause which not favored in majority in favor of Gale. â€Å"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect wetness the independence of solitude† (Oschman 41). He as Emerson states did not conform to society’s views but rather held on very firmly to his own. After the false charges of rape Gale lost his prestigious job as a professor at the university and was forced work in the post office. Although this may have been a blow to his pride, Gale remained consistent with his passion for his cause. Emerson states that one must realize that you deal with what you have good or bad, but one can make the world a good place even though all the evil in the world.

Comparison of XTO Energy and Devon Energy Companies :: Energy Business Companies Workforce Essays

Comparison of XTO Energy and Devon Energy Companies Company Background XTO Energy Inc. is a premier domestic natural gas and oil producer engaged in the acquisition, exploitation and development of quality, long-lived gas and oil properties. The Company, whose predecessor companies were established in 1986, completed its initial public offering in May 1993. Its properties and activities are concentrated in Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska and Louisiana. Competitive Environment XTO operates in the lower-cap oil and gas business. They compete directly with larger independent companies like Devon Energy, Anadarko, and Apache. XTO’s main focus is acquiring established, long-lived properties, which are low in risk, and apply the best technology possible to maximize production. Structure Based on interviews with management, we found that XTO’s management style encourages innovation. Employees are encouraged to ask for forgiveness and not permission. We’ve learned this semester through lecture and readings, that this management technique empowers employees and gives them the autonomy they like and the freedom to create. Employees that work under this type of management style are not faced with the possibility of loosing their jobs if they make a business decision that turns out to have negative consequences. Employees are free to innovate and take pragmatic risks. The company culture at XTO is described as laid back and relaxed. XTO believes that major oil and gas companies are unable to implement this type of culture due to their size. Since XTO is smaller, the company is able to deploy a much different policy from what the majors employ. As the company rapidly grows, this relaxed practice has become a concern for XTO’s management. The compa ny has recently grown so much that they’ve had to pull back slightly on the relaxed atmosphere. Management has been working with Human Resources to increase the amount of structure within the company. It remains to be seen if this policy will stifle company innovation. XTO’s main focus in managing people has been to adapt and adhere to employees’ interests and skills. If an employee becomes unproductive or disinterested with her current job accountabilities, management will find alternatives for the employee first before termination. Management will transfer an employee to a business unit where she may have the best opportunity to excel, and where her skill set and interests will be most utilized - an alignment with the â€Å"best practices† concept studied in this course.