Shanghai Architecture Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Shanghai Architecture - Term Paper Example The economic history of the city signifies that Shanghai is an economic hub that is capable of transforming China into a developed state. Historical context Humans started settling in Shanghai 6000BC when they were attracted by the waters surrounding the city. The population formed a village that specialized in fishing. The Tang Dynasty developed the village into a town in 751 AD, when the empire marked its tenth year of ruling in China. The empire created a district that was known as the Song Jiang. This attracted higher settlement and fishing, and the village developed into a town. The town developed further under the leadership of the Northern Song Dynasty in 951AD (Warr, 2007). The Southern Song Empire later created Shanghai town as an official city because of the expansion of the population and fishing. This empire opened the port of Shanghai that would be used by ships that transported cargo to various regions. Ships transporting goods to and from Korea and within China used th e port to load and offload cargo. The transformation of the city into a port attracted business persons who settled near the harbor. The investors settled in the town to carry out their businesses with ease. The population that settled in Shanghai formulated new economic activities such as the production of cotton and textiles. Business persons made textiles using the cotton that was grown in the town. The production of textiles and farming of cotton led to the formation of a national cotton textile center. The Ming Dynasty created the center to facilitate the international trade of the goods. The center attracted the formation of administrative units that maintained peace in the region (Thubron, 2007). The cotton and textile business grew nationally and internationally. The goods were sold to international markets such as the European Union and America. The export of textiles led to further development and settlement in the town. In 1911 when the Qing Dynasty was in its last year o f ruling, Shanghai had developed into a powerful economic haven. The population of the city had grown to two hundred thousand, and the town had become a central harbor for ships transporting goods internationally (Mann, 2012). The population of the town had reached three and a half million by 1934. The population consisted of nationalities from other countries such as Britain, France, Japan, Italy, and Russia among others. Shanghai was named the fifth largest financial hub after London, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo (Warr, 2007). The growth of Shanghai continues to grow up to today when the city produces fifty five billion dollars worth of Gross Domestic Product in China. Narration of the Colonial Empire The beginning of the nineteenth century attracted mass immigration in Shanghai because of its economic past. British, Europeans, and Americans settled in the city, and each of these groups had various intentions of settling in the town. The British were the first to settle in Shanghai after defeating China in the opium war. The war arose because the Qing emperor of China opposed the importation of opium in the county (Warr, 2007). The British won in the war, and the importation of the drug from India continued; the export of silk and porcelain in Britain also continued. The trade of the goods, however, continued after the signing of the Nanking treaty. British missionaries settled along the Yangtze River after the signing of the treaty, and they formed colonies in the Shanghai. The

Organizations and group behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizations and group behavior - Essay Example In accordance with the issues discussed in the paper the increase of competition in all industries has led organizations to search for strategies, which can help them to develop a competitive advantage towards their rivals. In order to identify the key elements of group behavior it should be necessary to understand primarily the characteristics of a group, as part of the organizational life. In accordance with Martin within organizations, different forms of group can be identified: a) individuals working on similar organizational activities may not constitute a group; for example, the lecture staff in the same department of a particular university may not meet or cooperate; these individuals cannot be characterized as a group, b) the sub-sections of certain organizational departments are often parts of formal organizational units and they are likely to help towards the completion of organizational tasks of low importance, c) informal groups within organizations are common for promoti ng specific organizational tasks or ideas; for instance, the case of ‘friendship groupings and task-depended networks’, d) groups related to a particular organizational project can be developed within an organization; these groups, formal or informal, are not permanent, as for example ‘a project group working on the building of a new oil refinery’, e) formal and informal groups can be developed within organizations for completed a particular organizational task; these groups are ‘transient’, as for example a formal group working on the reduction of the organization’s travel expenses by 10%.... within an organization; these groups, formal or informal, are not permanent (Martin 232), as for example ‘a project group working on the building of a new oil refinery’ (Martin 232), e) formal and informal groups can be developed within organizations for completed a particular organizational task; these groups are ‘transient’ (Martin 232), as for example a formal group working on the reduction of the organization’s travel expenses by 10% (Martin 232). The development of group activities within modern organizations has been often related to the trend of firms to imitate the strategies of their rivals (Griffin and Moorhead 2011). In the study of Griffin and Moorhead (2011) reference is made to the risks that such strategy can hide mostly because of the following fact: the use of teams for promoting organizational plans can be beneficial for organizations but the costs involved can be also significant. The case of Ampex is mentioned as an example of the benefits of team development within modern organization: in Ampex, the involvement of teams in organizational activities led to the increase of ‘online customer delivery by 98%) (Griffin and Moorhead 272). In Texas Instruments, the use of teams for developing the daily organizational tasks resulted to the reduction of organizational costs for about 50% (Griffin and Moorhead 272). Also, in Eastman, the development of teams across the organization supported the increase of organizational performance at significant levels; the productivity of the organization was increased for about 70%, a result which was directly related to the involvement of teams in all organizational projects (Griffin and Moorhead 272). In accordance with the above findings, the role of group in the development of organizational performance,