Role of Solar Energy for Sustainability

Role of Solar Energy for Sustainability Environmental Sustainability Introduction This paper is based on the environmental sustainability and the role of solar energy in environmental sustainability. Maintaining the qualities such as human life, clean water and suitable climate that are valued in the atmosphere is termed as environmental sustainability. There are various resources and factors, which contribute directly or indirectly in maintaining the quality of environment. The various aspects of environment that produce renewable resources are water, solar energy and timber. In this present scenario, most people want to maintain the capabilities inherent in the natural environment to sustain the conditions of living and the beauty of environment (What is Environmental Sustainability, 2006). Thesis Statement: Eminent role of solar energy towards the establishment of environmental sustainability. Argument Solar energy plays a significant role in sustaining the environment, as it is the most valuable and environmental friendly source of energy. It is the utilization of radiant energy from the sun. Solar distillation and disinfection are the most common techniques used for the purpose of producing potable water. It also supplies energy for cooking, drying and pasteurization. Solar energy is an effective technique, which maintains the quality of environment by different mechanisms such as solar thermal, solar lightening, agriculture horticulture and architecture urban planning. It uses secondary sources of energy along with solar radiation such as wind and wave power, biomass and hydroelectricity, which produce renewable energy (Environmental Sustainability, 2008). Thermal mass is primarily used for the purpose of conserving the heat of the sun. It is the increasingly used source of energy generation because of its economic feasibility. Apart from this, solar energy has various advantag es such as it is environmental friendly and more easily accessible technique in comparison to other techniques of energy generation. It provides various technologies for heat generation and collection, which proves its importance in environmental sustainability (What is Solar Energy, 2005). Support to the argument Solar energy is the most effective source of producning energy and plays an important role in environmental sustaining. This can be explained by the help of five elements: Economoicall feasibility: It is a more feasible economic source in copmrison to other sources of energy producing, as it is cost effective(in the case of greenhouse) and technologically advanced( in the case of solar lighting ). Environmental friendly: It is an envrinmental friendly source as most of the solar electricirty generated vehicles produce no emissions. In this way, they are non pollutant and safe for the people. Non cosumptive source: The radiation of sun is a limitless resource of energy, so it does not require any destrucive process, which is another advantage of this technique. Security and distribution: The prices of solar electricity, which is produced through photovaltaic cells does not flactuate with the supply pattrens, so it is the best source of energy generation. The distribution cost is less in case of solar electricity, which is produced by the technology of solar energy. This is another positive approach of using solar enegry in environmental sustainability. Save energy and other resources: Solar energy also assists the people in saving energy and other valuabl resources by solar lighting and thermal mass. Thus, it helps in maintaining environmental sustainability. Apart from the above mentioned elements, many other arguments favoring it describe that solar energy is the vital source of producing energy for millions of people through the utilization of different technologies. Solar technologies are widely used in day to day practices and also offer various benefits, which in turn assist in sustaining the environment. Architecture and urban planning: Solar energy assists the architectures in designing of building, as it includes many aspects such as thermal mass, shading and sun orientation. Apart from this, it is also helpful in effective urban planning (Vlek Steg, 2007). Solar lighting: Solar energy implements the concept of day lighting in the interiors of many buildings, which reduces the need for artificial lighting. Hybrid solar lighting is another concept, which is used to provide illumination. /a> Source: New York Times Heating cooling and ventilation: Solar energy reduces the use of artificial methods involved in heating, cooling and ventilation by implementing the use of thermal mass. Solar chimneys are increasingly used to offset the significant part of energy used by other methods. Solar disinfection and distillation: Solar disinfection is used to produce water purifier and considered to be as the viable and safe source of household treatment. Solar distillation is the mechanism of producing potable water from the saline water through the help of solar energy and is considered the most economical source of producing water (Stipanuk, 2006). Agriculture and horticulture: Solar energy technologies assist in growing fruit walls and vegetables in an effective manner by using the solar energy. The concept of greenhouse is also used increasingly as it saves the solar heat. Water heating: This system is used to heat water by using sunlight and considerd as an effective method as it is an eco-friendly system. Counter Argument Solar energy offers various advantages of using it at broad level but there are some limitations of using it, which reject the concept of using solar energy in the energy production. Expensive source: Solar energy is useful when the sun shines but in the course of night these expensive solar equipemnts are useless. It is the drawback of using the solar energy for generating electricity and heat. Location: It is another disadvantage of using solar nergy in electricity generation, as solar equipements require large areas for installation, hence if the area is limited, it will create problems (Disadvantages of Solar Energy, 2008). Dilution: As solar energy is diluted, it requires a lot of solar collectors for the purpose of storing solar energy effectively. Solar collectors are expensive and need a heavy mainatanance for proper functioning. So, the return on investment is also maximum in comprison to other resources, which generate electricity for environmental sustainability. So these are the disadvantages of using solar energy in generating electricity and these forms the basis of not using it as the source of energy, as in the shortage of energy resources, it becomes price competitive source in comparison to other sourecs (Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy, 2008). Conclusion On the basis of above discussion on the role of solar energy in environmantal sustainability, it is concluded that it is worthy enough to implement the concept of solar energy in electricity generation. Solar energy is an important source of electricity generation, as it saves the cost included in other sources of electricity generation. It is an evironmental friendly technique, as the solar vehicles are eco-friendly and do not emmit pollutant substances in the atmosphere. It is also an economically viable source, as it uses technological advanced insturments in electricity generation. It is also an cost effective source, as there is no distribution cost involved in its distribution. Water heating through the use of solar energy teachnology is also an effective method because it saves the environment from pollution. All of these statements with regard to solar energy prove its increasing use in present scenario. Hence, solar enegry is useful in environmental sustainability in an effe ctive manner. References Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy. (2008). Retrieved July 25, 2008 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy.html Disadvantages of Solar Energy. (2008). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/articles/disadvantages_of_solar_energy.html Environmental Sustainability. (2008). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.cgg.wa.gov.au/Council/Consultation/Plan_for_the_Future/Environmental_Sustainability.asp Stipanuk, D.M. (2006). Hospitility Facilities Managemnet And Design (3rd edition). Texas: Culinary and Hospitality Industry Publications Services. Vlek, C. Steg, L. (2007). Human Behavior and Environmental Sustainability. USA: Blackwell Publishing. What is Environmental Sustainability. (2006). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/CES/wcmn301.nsf/childdocs/-441BB07721D61152CA256F250028C5FB?open What is Solar Energy. (2005). Retrieved July 25, 2008 from http://www.prometheus.org/research/whatissolar

Transitional Leadership

Transition Leadership: Managing Change In Your Organization in today’s deregulating and increasingly competitive business environment, organizational change is becoming inevitable. Today’s successful organizations are experiencing transitions in the areas of technology, process re engineering, mergers, and organizational restructuring in order to remain competitive. However, although these areas impact employees at all levels of the company, senior management often overlooks this fact.Therefore, it is imperative that company management understands the impact of organizational change on employees and manages these effects accordingly. By doing so, organizational leaders minimize the negative impact change has on productivity and performance. This paper will focus on the activity of successfully leading employees through significant changes brought about by new technologies and process changes and will focus on three areas of transition leadership. First, the discussion c onveys the impact that change has on an organization’s employees.Second, an overview and discussion of transition leadership and its role in managing organizational change is given. Finally, ways to effectively manage employees through these reactions to change is presented. By understanding the elements of organizational change and its impact on employees as well as the appropriate ways of managing people through these revolutions, organizational leaders will be better prepared to address the challenges that are inherent in major business transitions. The Impact of Change on People Frequently, information technology professionals overlook the impacts of technology changes on people.Almost any change to technology will have an impact on business processes, which will directly impact the day-to-day jobs of individual employees. As a result, changes to technology require attention to the impacts that they have on both process and people. The practice of Organizational Change Ma nagement (OCM) focuses on ensuring that the people side of change is addressed appropriately. OCM is the process of aligning the organization’s people and culture with changes in business strategy, organizational structure, technology, and business processes.OCM is important because, at the most rudimentary level, all change involves some degree of loss whether it is loss of stability, loss of expertise, loss of relationships, or loss of understanding. People often try to avoid the experience of loss by resisting change. Resistance can come in different forms and be expressed with different emotions such as anger, frustration, fear, etc. Due to the tendency for change to elicit an emotional response, any large-scale change initiative will likely remove the employees’ focus from the business to transition-related issues.This shift in focus will likely disrupt the productivity of the business. Many technology implementation/business process redesign efforts fail because they overlook the impacts that change will have on the people in the organization. An organization that ignores the importance of OCM could experience the following risks: increased resistance to new technology, decreased quality and customer service, high turnover and absenteeism, difficulty recruiting and retaining high performers, and damaged internal and external brand equity.On the other hand, an organization that implements a technology/business process transformation with integrated OCM will experience the following benefits: realization of the business transformation objectives, higher return on technology investments, retention of high performers, maintained and improved productivity, improved employee satisfaction and morale, and increased discretionary effort. Transition Leadership Given the impact that change has on employees, it is clear that managers must learn to proactively manage employees through the many changes that are inherent in most organizations.In geospatia l environments, managers and other key stakeholders often focus on technological and process changes that will make their businesses competitive in the 21st century. These issues are important, but the changes ultimately will not be implemented successfully without the cooperation of employees. Only through effective transition leadership are employees able to effectively cope with and accept the changes they are presented with. Ten Characteristics of Effective Transition Leaders The role of transition leader is an often overlooked but important aspect of management.There are several characteristics that make up a good transition leader. Here we identify the main characteristics that are needed in a successful transition leader. In general, there are 10 characteristics of effective transition leaders: †¢ Gains support from and confidence of others. Change is not accepted and work cannot be done without the buy-in of key stakeholders. For this reason, it is imperative that trans ition leaders gain the support and confidence of other key employees in the organization. †¢ Listens and collaborates effectively.No matter how good a manager is, people will not follow without a sense of ownership in the organization. One of the key ways to secure this ownership and trust in employees is through listening and collaboration. †¢ Takes accountability. As with any effective manager, successful transition leaders take accountability for their own work as well as that of the entire organization that he or she manages. †¢ Provides constructive feedback to others. Transition leaders also provide constructive feedback to employees and colleagues. This type of feedback enables employees to be more effective in adapting to and accepting change. Builds relationships with customers, peers, and project team members. Effective transition leaders are also successful in building relationships with customers, peers, and project members. This alliance building enables leaders to effectively delegate and gain the buy-in from key resources, which further enables change within the organization. †¢ Inspires and motivates. In order to manage change effectively in the organization, transition leaders need to have inspired employees and stakeholders. †¢ Communicates openly, early, and often.Since change is such a complex and fearsome idea for most people, it is important for transition leaders to open the flow of communication. This holds true on a day-to-day basis as well (and especially) during times of change. †¢ Provides clear direction. In order for the organization to get to where it needs to be, employees and stakeholders have to understand where they are and where the organization is going. With this in mind, transition leaders need to clearly communicate the organization’s vision and goals to stakeholders and clarify individual roles and responsibilities within that context. †¢ Models the way for the team.Successful t ransition leaders do more than just delegate work and build relationships. They also lead by example in order to build credibility and trust. †¢ Creates opportunities for small wins. The change involved in large scale and complex IT implementations often appears insurmountable to employees. Therefore, it is important to frequently reward and recognize team members to help boost morale and to keep change initiatives from failing due to a burned-out staff. These 10 characteristics of a good transition leader ensure that change is implemented successfully and that major obstacles and resistances to change are minimized.The Roles of Transition Leaders In addition to these characteristics, transition leaders must play a number of roles in order for organizational changes to be successful. Since transition leaders are responsible for directly influencing the outcome of IT and process change implementations, successful change requires that transition leaders assume different roles. In general, transition leaders have four primary roles: catalyst, system and process helper, solution giver/gatherer, and resource linker. The first and arguably the most difficult role that a transition leader faces is that of Catalyst.While many organizations are content with the status quo, it is the transition leader’s responsibility to create and communicate the need for change within the business. This involves instilling a sense of urgency and purpose for the change and overcoming organizational inertia. In addition, this role entails acknowledging areas of resistance and addressing them appropriately. Change will not happen successfully if key stakeholders do not realize and understand the need for change, and it is the responsibility of transition leaders to make this need evident.The second role of a transition leader is that of a System and Process Helper. Once the need for change has been recognized by the organization and change initiatives are created, it is the t ransition leader’s responsibility to ensure that the organization is assimilated into the process and IT changes that ensue. This involves understanding the process and IT changes, the impact these changes have on jobs and policies, and effectively communicating these changes to the individuals impacted. The tasks performed by the System and Process Helper helps permeate the required change throughout the organization.The third role that a transition leader plays is that of Solution Giver and Gatherer. This role is needed to identify and resolve issues that may hinder the success of the implemented change. In particular, the Solution Giver and Gatherer will promote the use of an issues resolution mechanism, provide solutions that benefit the entire organization, and assist in the development and implementation of solutions. In addition, an important element is the need for leaders to listen to suggestions and provide feedback and recognition when appropriate.As discussed abov e, effective transition leaders communicate, provide feedback, and celebrate small wins, which is important to inspiring and motivating project teams. The final role of a successful transition leader is that of Resource Linker. This role involves the more traditional management like delegating tasks, and most experienced managers are capable in this arena. In short, the Resource Linker brings people and resources together, recognizes resource constraints, leverages skills and resources across site locations, and acts as a communications link between resources.This role is important, but it is the three roles described above that most managers overlook when implementing change initiatives. How To Manage People Through Change When incorporating change in an organization, it is useful for transition leaders to understand how change impacts people and how to minimize the negative reactions to change. All successful change initiatives follow a similar pattern or sequence. The first step consists of â€Å"unfreezing† the current way of doing things. This is the phase in the project where the burning platform for change is realized and the vision for a new way of operating is created.The second phase of change begins when it is time to begin energizing the workforce by involving more and more people in the change process so as to begin building ownership over the final outcome. This is also the point where it is critical to identify and secure early project wins. Ensuring that the right resources are provided for achieving early milestones will ensure that the project is perceived as a success. The third phase of the change process consists of building the infrastructure (i. e. , job and organization designs) required to make the change successful.For example, if the technology changes are intended to automate processes that were previously done manually, changes to job designs will be required. The final phase consists of a series of activities aimed at measu ring results and identifying lingering gaps and issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve the project’s intended benefits. While the above phases outline the sequence that change initiatives normally follow, there are three corresponding phases that describe the psychological experiences that people have when affected by change. These come from William Bridges’ book Managing Transitions (1991).The first phase is called â€Å"Letting Go. † This is the time when employees will begin to understand that things are changing, and that in the near future they will be challenged with letting go of the old way of doing things. This may include letting go of old ways of working, relationships, feelings of competence, etc. The second psychological phase, the â€Å"Neutral Zone† is the difficult period when the work is done to implement change and the transition from the old way to the new way begins. Trying to handle implementation and balance the transit ions may make this period the most difficult period of change to manage.The last psychological phase is what Bridges refers to as the â€Å"New Beginning. † This occurs when changes have been fully implemented and expectations for people to change the way they work are realized. Each of the phases described above consist of many people-related challenges, and there are many specific strategies for helping to manage people through these phases. Some of the important critical success factors for managing change are the following: †¢ Identify potential barriers or risk factors that will inhibit success, and create action plans to address them appropriately. Use written and face-to-face communication to help people understand the what, why, and how of change. †¢ Identify opportunities to involve large numbers of employees in the change process; research shows that there is a correlation between involvement and commitment. †¢ Seek to understand and manage individual and team level resistance.†¢ Listen to your employees, acknowledge their losses, show empathy, strive to reduce their stress levels. †¢ Recognize and reward behaviors that support achievement of intended goals. †¢ Systematically analyze the impacts change will have on corporate policies, individual jobs, and organizational structure. Ensure that employees receive sufficient training and the other on-the-job resources necessary to raise people’s level of confidence. By addressing and incorporating these success factors into their management toolkits, effective transition leaders greatly increase the likelihood that their change initiatives will be successful. Conclusion Transition leadership, while often viewed as a â€Å"soft† or â€Å"touchy feely† issue not appropriate to geospatial managers, is clearly a relevant and critical issue to managing the changes that are inherent in organizations today.Even the most robust GIS package with the highes t benefits potential is meaningless if employees and key stakeholders do not effectively accept and adapt the changes to their everyday lives. By embracing the understanding of the impact that change has on employees, the role of transition leaders, and how to manage employees through change, managers will ensure that the changes stick and the anticipated benefits are realized.

How to Use German Dative Prepositions

Benefits Of Compensation Packages At Analysts Compensation

The last but certainly not least significant way for a conflict of interest to arise with an analyst and his or her valuation is through that analyst’s compensation. The brokerage firms employing the analysts can take advantage of compensation packages to make analysts feel as if they are being shoved into a corner with little option but to only come up with buy-recommendations and optimistic research reports. Bonuses can be tied to the revenues brought in the the analyst’s employer, so decreasing the profitability of the brokerage firm would seem like an implausible option. It can be even more daunting to go against the firm when the analyst’s own compensation is directly proportional to the well-being of the company’s investment banking†¦show more content†¦This inevitably makes it so that analysts will not only go out of their way to value companies they are already think are undervalued, but to also be less likely to share their results when t heir findings turn out to prove, or at least be evidence, that the company is overvalued. There are also other external factors that can have an effect. There are institutional firms that do â€Å"strongly believe that behavioural biases cause investors to over- or underreact to new information as sentiment and emotion cloud their judgment† (Roodt, 1). They acknowledge this with the hope that by recognizing its existence they are already doing at least a small part to combat biases in valuations for the analysts. In the news currently, partly in thanks to the blossoming political campaigns of many a presidential candidate trying to make a name for themselves going into the race for the Oval Office which is up for election in 2016, there is a lot of talk about the recession of 2008. This paper does not go into the specifics of that economic travesty, but it is significant to note that there is general consensus that Wall Street speculation played a role. How much or how little a role it played depends on the person (and political party) that you ask. So, operating under the widely accepted assumption that financial speculation played a role, it makes sense to state that valuation (and therefore the biases associated with it) must have at least played a role in the global economic