Emerging Theme in Human Resource Management The WritePass Journal

Emerging Theme in Human Resource Management Part One Emerging Theme in Human Resource Management ). The company literally looks after every need that a technology geek would not want to be bothered with, to help them focus on innovation, and creativity. Such flexibility and measures for ensuring a great work/life balance keep the employees highly motivated and foster innovation and creativity. Implication of these Themes for HR Managers Modern day organizations ought to make strong efforts in maintaining a participative and democratic leadership as the very first thing needed to enforce a modern organizational culture which is   not based on traditional hierarchy, but upon a diverse workforce wherein every individual provides a valuable input to lead the organization (Senge 1996). The leadership should recognize and admit that every employ has potential to find solution to the challenges faced by the company. This should lead to a organizational culture which is based on openness and trust, where employees are supported and rewarded for learning and innovating, and one that promotes experimentation, risk taking, and values the well-being of all employees† (Gephart 1996, p 39). Such a culture would position organizations to capitalize upon forthcoming ideas which can deliver unquantifiable benefits for the development and success of the telecommunication firms. Adhering to this line of thinking, HR managers s hould provide ample facilities and amenities for socialization, such as gyms, pool and indoor games, well kept cafeteria and canteens among other recreational facilities where employees can share ideas, experiences, and embark in informal learning. Such an environment is very effective in fostering group work and team learning as well (Senge 1990). Conclusion As Hout (1999) mentions that management as we have known it is too cumbersome for todays fast, unpredictable pace. A new kind of company wins now. The best management models dont adapt to the new economy; they emerge from it. Its no longer the survival of the fittest; its the arrival of the fittest. Hout’s contention clearly identifies the new order in the business world, which is characterized as fast paced, complex and unpredictable. It dictates a paradigm shift in the modern organizational culture. He further states that: â€Å"No intelligence from on high can match the quality of solutions to market problems that arise from players who are constantly communicating with one another on the ground level. The invisible hand of the marketplace should displace the visible hand of the manager. The markets can determine where one team or initiative or company ends and another begins. Managers interfere at their peril.† This signifies the importance of a participative organi zational culture, which encapsulates themes such as fairness, openness, and respect  ; all of which combine the collective wisdom of executives and all those working in an organization, in yielding bright ideas and solutions that can be translated into company’s success. Organization within the telecommunication industry should recognize that the journey towards creating such an organizational culture through flexibility is a long and gradual one and thus temporary setbacks and difficulties are to be expected. Enforcing a participatory managerial style and engaging employees in the organizational learning process are massive feats that cannot be achieved overnight. However, given the current overall outlook of the business environment and the rapidity of the technological advancements, and recognizing the changing cultural pattern of the society in general, developing such an organization is the most crucial strategy for the success of telecommunication firms. A flexible working environment can create an organizational culture that would promote innovation and creativity. It is the best way to avert any foreseen and unforeseen challenges faced by organizations.    References Battelle, J (2005) Google CEO Eric Schmidt gives us his golden rules for managing innovation. CNN/Money. Available   fromhttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2005/12/01/8364616/index.htm (cited on 15th December, 2012) Bender, D.R. (1998), â€Å"Knowledge management makes information work†, Washington Business Journal, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 35-6. Botha, D.F. (2000), â€Å"A conceptual framework for the management of knowledge in a knowledge-based enterprise†, South African Journal of Business Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 141-8. Change Board (1 January 2010) ‘HR landscape in 2010 HR challenges’, Available from: Changeboard.com. changeboard.com/content/3020/hr-landscape-in-2010hr-challenges/# (cited on 15th December, 2012) CIPD (28 January 2010) ‘Press Office’, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Available from: CIPD.co.uk. cipd.co.uk/pressoffice/_articles/HRD2010280110.htm?IsSrchRes=1 (cited on 15th December, 2012) Crossan, M. M., Lane, H. W. and White, R. E. (1999) An organizational learning framework: from intuition to institution, Academy of Management Review, 24, 522. De Geus, A. (1997), â€Å"The living company†, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 75 No. 2, pp. 51-9. Drucker, P.F. (1964), Managing for Results: Economic Tasks and Risk-taking Decisions, Harper and Row, New York, NY. Drucker, P.F. (1998), â€Å"Managements new paradigms†, Forbes, Vol. 162 No. 7, pp. 152-69. Gephart, A., Victoria J., Marsick, E., Van B., and Michelle S., (1996).  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Learning organizations come alive†Ã‚  Training Development  vol. 50, no. 12: 35-45. Handy, C. (1995) The Age of Unreason, London, Arrow Business Books. Harrison, R. (2009) Learning and development. 5th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. (Sept./Oct. 1996).  Strategic planning and the balanced scorecard.  Strategy Leadership  vol. 24, no. 5: 18-24. Kontoghiorghes, C., Awbrey, S.M. and Feurig, P.L. (2005), â€Å"Examining the relationship between learning organization characteristics and change adaptation, innovation and organizational performance†, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 185-211. Manyika, J (2008) â€Å"Google’s View on the Future of Business: An Interview with CEO Eric Schmidt†. The McKinsey Quarterly. Available from mckinseyquarterly.com/Googles_view_on_the_future_of_business_An_interview_with_CEO_Eric_Schmi t_2229 (cited on 15th December, 2012) McGill, M.E., Slocum, J.W. and Lei, D. (1992), â€Å"Management practices in learning organisations†, Management Dynamics, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 4-17. Miller, W.C. (1998), â€Å"Fostering intellectual capital†, HR Focus, Vol. 75 No. 1, pp. 509-17. Munk, N. (1998), â€Å"The new organization man†, Fortune, Vol. 137 No. 5, pp. 62-74. Newstrom, J and  Keith  D. Organizational Behavior : Human Behavior at Work. New York : McGraw-Hill,  1993. Nomikos, G.E. (1989), â€Å"Managing knowledge workers for productivity†, National Productivity Review, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 165-74. Rheem, Helen. (Mar./Apr. 1995).  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The learning organization.†Ã‚  Harvard Business Review  vol. 73, no. 2: 10. Roy, M.C., Falardeau, J. and Pelletier, C. (2001), â€Å"Support systems for knowledge workers: the need for new development approaches†, Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, August, p. 2, available at: www.tlainc.com/articl24.htm. Shea, T. (1998), â€Å"Are you good at attracting knowledge workers?†, Orlando Business Journal, Vol. 15 No. 29, p. 30. Senge, P. (1990).  The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New   York: Doubleday. Senge, P. (1996). â€Å"Leading Learning Organizations†.  Training Development  vol. 50, no.   12: 36-4. Sloman, M. (2007) ‘The changing world of the trainer: emerging good practice’, Oxford Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Ernst Junger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ernst Junger - Essay Example At the age of 17 years, Junger ran away from home to become part of a foreign legion. Later on, Junger was brought back by his father but he returned to military service at the outbreak of the World War I where he joined the German Army. While serving at the western front of the German Army, Junger served with distinction and in 1917, he was honored with the Iron Cross First Class. In 1918, he was awarded with Blue Max, the highest military decoration that can be awarded by Prussia. Junger’s experiences during the World War I (WWI) are recorded in his book, Storm of Steel, which was published in 1920. Apart from this book, Junger also wrote other books, novels, essays and articles in many right-winged nationalist journals. From the analysis of his works, various authors have come to view Junger from different perspectives. Some say he is militarist, others a nationalist and others antidemocratic. Still, others argue that he was a fascist while others say he was one of the grea test modern writers of Germany and a celebrity of the conservative revolutionary movement. One author, Nevin describes Junger as one of Europe’s leading and controversial 21st century writers whose remarkable writing career has spanned five periods of the history of modern Germany1. His career as a soldier became the main backbone of his writing career because he wrote out of his experiences in the WWI. Through his book, Ernest Junger and Germany, Nevin brings out the extra ordinary person in Junger, and an important insight into the nature of the history of German and that of the modern world. Those who view Junger has militarist base their arguments on some of his works like the Storm of Steel and the essay entitled On Pain. In his book Storm of Steel, Junger glorified war and this made him so famous. In this book, Junger exalted war as an internal event. He describes it as something that elevates the life of a soldier into a mystical experience. According to him, the life of a soldier is a life that is separated from normal humanity. He also claims that modern military techniques on their extremities have tested the capacity of senses of man2.. The Storm of Steel gives a sharp contrast to some of the famous novels that speak about world war. A good example of this is All Quiet on the Western Front, a book written by the German veteran Maria Remarque. In this book, Remarque gives descriptions of physical injuries and psychological trauma that soldiers go through in war. In effect, it generates in the minds of the readers the sense of horror of war. Although Junger also brings out such for example the terrible killing or wounding of his friends, they are brief and nonchalant3. Eventually, such scenes accumulate and lead to the normalisation of this horror and generate a depression instead of a shocking effect. This has made the book to be criticised as glorifying nationalism and war. From this view, one will not be mistaken to state that Junger as the ability to acknowledge even the most things in human condition and would always get an evidence to contradict the view point of human optimism4. Nationalism and militarism is also evidenced in Junger’s life through his work The Adventurous Heart, a book that was published in 1929 and The Worker published in 1932. In work The Adventurous Heart, he describes the Jews as a threat to unity among the Germans and in the worker, he called for the creation of a society that was totally mobilised and is run by warrior-worker-soldiers. Authors who claim that Junger was a fascist argue that he never showed sympathy to the political style of the native germans that was popular among the Nazis. One of the authors who has described Junger has fascist is Walter Benjamin. Out of a collection of essays

An interview with a manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

An interview with a manager - Essay Example Two different managers tackle the same matter in two different ways, yet both can be right or wrong. Taking this into consideration, it often becomes very difficult to realize how theoretical knowledge and concepts about management can be applied in practical work. In order to resolve such conceptual problems, an interview with a manager can often prove very useful so that the management theories can be compared with the practical trends in place. This can particularly help business management students realize the issues that obstruct the practical realization of ideal management so that they may be equipped with prior knowledge of them and prepare themselves accordingly. Owing to their central role in running an organization, the need of interviewing a manager for various purposes is commonly felt. However, it is not very easy to make a manager commit to the interviewer. It is not unusual for responsible managers to be ignorant of an appointment made with an interviewer. The haphazard and complex nature of work explains the reason. Therefore, the interviewer should have taken necessary measures on his/her own part so that the interview may be conducted with least inconvenience to any of the parties. This paper discusses the factors that need to be considered and taken care of while interviewing a manager. The information will be very useful for researchers, news reporters and representatives of other agencies who have to often seek information from the managers. In the paper, I have also discussed an interview with a manager that I personally conducted so that it may be presented as an example to refer to when required. For the interview, Ross Bannerman was selected who is the General Manager (GM) of the â€Å"Bannerman Seafoods† in Scotland. GM Ross Bannerman’s contact information was retrieved from the Bannerman Seafoods official website. A letter was faxed to him on the fax number mentioned in the website, followed by a

Henry Fayol Theory of Management Essay Example for Free

Henry Fayol Theory of Management Essay DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SPHERE THEORY In rhetoric, the places were citizens exchange ideas, information, attitude and opinions. The concept of Habermas public sphere is a metaphorical term used to describe the virtual space where people can interact through the world wide web, for instance is not actually a web, cyberspace is not a space, and so with the public sphere. It’s the virtual space where the citizens of a country exchange ideas and discuss issues in order to reach agreement about ‘matters of general interest’(Jurgen, Habermas 1997:105) HISTORY OF JURGEN HABERMAS Jurgen Habermas was born in Dusseldorf, Garmany in 1929, he had served in the Hilter youth and had been sent to them. The western front during the final months of the war.  Habermas entrance onto the intellectual scence began in 1950s with an influential critique of Martin Heideggers philosophy.  He studied philosophy at universities of Gottingen and Bonn, which he followed with studies in philosophy and sociology at the institute of social research under Maz Horkheimer and Theoder Adono. In the 1960s and 70s he target at the university of Heidelberg and Frankfurt am main. He then  accepted a directorship at the Max Pianck institution in stamberg in 1971. In 1980 he won prize and two years later he took a professorship at the university of Frankfurt, remaining there until his retirement in 1994. Habermas on the public sphere, he means first at al a dominant of our social life in which something coming out in which public opinion can be formed. The right is guaranteed to all citizen. A position of the public sphere comes in being in every conversation in which private individuals assemble to form a public body. Citizens behave as a public body when they confer in an unrestricted fashion †¦ i.e, with the guarantee of freedom of assembly and association and the freedom to express and publish their opinions†¦ about matters of general interest. The contemporary publics sphere is characterized according to Habermas. By the weathering of its critical roles and capacities. In the past publicity was used to subject people or the present political decisions to the public. Today the public sphere is recruited for the use of hidden policies by interest groups. For Habermas, the principles of the public sphere are weakening in the 20th century. The public is no longer made out of masses of individuals but of organized people that institutionally exerting their influence on the public sphere and debate. Habermas introduces the concepts of â€Å"communicative power† as the key normative resources for countering the norn-free steering media of money and administrative power. Linking †˜communication’ with ‘power’ already suggests a mix of the normative resources of communicative action with the impersonal force of power. Is such a conceptual mix stable? As the source for democratic legitimation of the use of state power, communicative power is a central notion in Habermas’s democratic theory. Although, in the medium of in restricted communication†¦ new problem situation can be perceived more sensitively, discourses aimed at achieving self-understanding can be conducted more widely and expressively, collective identities and need interpretations can be articulated with fewer compulsions then is the case in procedurally regulated public sphere. HOW HABERMAS ANALYSIS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION Habermas analysis public communication in medieval times there existed no separation or distinction between private and public sphere, dure to the class pyramid of the feudal system. This system for Habermas positioned greater power at every level and to this day conventions regarding the ruler persisted, with political authority retained by the highest level. Rulers saw the state and not as representatives of the state – meaning that they represent their power to the people and not for the people. According to Habermas, by the late 18th century feudal institutions were finally disappearing along with church’s rule, making way to public power which was given autonomy. Rulers become public entities and professionalism bore the first signs of the bourgeois which become autonomous in relation to the government. Representational publicity was pushed over by a public force that formed around national and territorial sentiment and individual struggling with public power found themselves outside its collective power. The term â€Å"public† did not refer to the representation of a man with authority, but rather became the legitimate power of exercising power. The public sphere, according to Habermas, was the final stage of these developments. HOW IMPORTANT HARBERMAS THEORY Solutions can be raised and tested for potential objections without the pressure to put ‘opinion’ immediately in practice. Uncoupling communicated opinions from concrete practical obligations tends to have an intellectualizing effect. Furthermore, a great deal of political communication that does not immediately call for political action is certainly crucial to the political discourse a robust, democratic society. Free sphere plays an essential role in the political process as a cooperative search for truth. We should not be misled into thinking that the public sphere amounts to nothing more than a public arena in which people talk about politics. Nor does the public sphere have merely instrumental value for bringing ‘relevant information’ into political process. The public sphere is a normative  concept that plays a key role in the process that culminates in legitimate political decisions. According to Habermas, institutionalized democratic lawmaking and judicial review alone are insufficient to confer democratic legitimacy. Alone with legislative decisions, judicial and administrative decision are only ensured legitimacy through the normative reasons generated by an un-subverted public sphere. Otherwise, political decisions are dedicated by the power struggles within the political system and not by citizens themselves who, as the addresses of the law, are the ones affected. Without robust political public sphere, there is little check on the administrative power that dictates the flow of communication and power within the political system and the citizenry. Thus, the public sphere theory is more inanely an arena for talking politics. It is the primary site for detecting problems, for generating radical democratic infuses, and for the deliberation of citizens, all of which are necessary for democratic legitimacy. In the following, I distinguish the important normative aspects of the informal public sphere theory. 1. Its communicative and organizational structure 2. The capacities required to meet its deliberate role within a deliberative politics and 3. The qualified out comes or effects generated by the public sphere. This last aspect will lead into the discussion of crucial role of communicative power.

Will The Global Economy Help Or Hurt The Next Generation Of Americans?

Will the Global Economy Help or Hurt The Next Generation of Americans? Will the global economy help or hurt the next generation of Americans? This is the question I am going to investigate in this paper. The global economy is the system pertaining to the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services around the globe. It is important that we understand the global economy because it is and will be affecting the way we learn, work and live. How all of these factors are affected will be discussed in the following paper. I take the position that the global economy will hurt the next generation of Americans. One argument for this position is that our schools are not adequately preparing out students for the types of new work that will be required in the next generation. American schools are using teaching techniques that taught existed in the 1950's. Textbooks date back to the early 1970's. Requirements may have changed but our reaching techniques have not. Every year, students take the same courses with the same prerequisite: A good memory. True, they are teaching classes that are essential to get into a good college but are they teaching the skills that our future generation will need? Are students going to be able to problem solve? Are today's students going to be able to access tomorrow's information? Our schools teach American students to be good at memorization. To be able to spit out recorded information. "You do have the knowledge but you are basically robots with skin; machines, tape recorders that teachers use to record their information. At the end of a chapter, they rewind you and press the 'play' button to see if you can repeat everything they said."1 Also, our schools are not stressing the importance of math and science. Because of this fact, foreign born workers such as engineers are taking over the jobs American workers could have. Our students need to be truly smart because memorized skills can only go so far. Grades cannot always determine the real skills of the students. Anybody can receive a diploma but what do these grades really mean? Not much unless a student can apply their memorized skills for the new way of work. "Just possibly we have a surplus of graduates and a scarcity of real skills."2 The improvement of o... ...t as earnings plunge. Mothers are going to have to work longer hours if the family is going to have it's old standard of living."25 This means that people are going to have to work twice as hard for the same quality of living. This also means a constant upgrading of skills necessary for peak job performance. "Important efforts should be better education and a committed and constant upgrading of skills. Our future is a more educated one rather than a cheaper one. Technological revolutions in the past have consistently led to gains in production, commerce, employment and living standards."26 Yet if workers don't improve their skills and constantly upgrade them, shrinking the gap between man and machine, this revolution will be detrimental to the welfare of our workers, their families and most importantly the global economy. Despite all the information on how the global economy will hurt the next generation of Americans, there are also ways in which it will help the next generation. My objection to my original position; that is the global economy will hurt the next generation of Americans is that it will instead help them due to the new ag

British Television Essay

Soap opera is the most popular genre of television programming across the globe and has been the leading favourite of British television for the past forty-six years. The trend evolved from the radio soap operas of the 1930s and 1940s, surfacing first in the United States and later spreading across the world. It attracted large audiences consisting mainly of female listeners and with the growing popularity of television it soon became firmly rooted on the screen. The long running Coronation Street was the first British soap opera to make a significant impact on UK drama in 1960s. Its aim was to target mainly working class people in creating a microcosm of the working world we live in, focusing on realism as opposed to the escapism forms of the American soaps. In order to conclude on whether the dominance of this genre is beneficial or detrimental to the future welfare of British drama, I’m going to study the pros and cons of soap opera as a form of British Television. Over the years soap operas have been continuously praised and condemned by the general public and despite of its popularity the genre continues to carry the connotation of a degraded cultural form of television drama. There is the common belief that soap operas are for those with simple tastes and limited capacities, for the content and style of them are unable to truly challenge the viewers in the same way that the more serious single drama can. However, it is a known fact that soap opera is the most complex narrative form of all television drama requiring prior knowledge from its audience. David Buckingham (Public Secrets: ‘EastEnder’s’ and its Audience) mentions the mental demands that soap operas require from a viewer focusing on the ability to recall past events when cued, to look into the future and speculate about forth coming events and to use the multi-plot narrative for ‘lateral reference’. Hence although the content may not be truly challenging it would be wrong to say that soap operas require nothing from their audiences for it is a general assumption that the average viewer is a ‘fan’ of the show. Yet, it has been labelled as little more than â€Å"chewing gum for the eyes† (Richard Kilborn in Television Soaps), a harmful and corrupting product of broadcasting that feeds the soap viewers’ addictions with the so-called mindless forms of entertainment they offer. Issues of ‘influence over audience’ and the affects that the content may have on its viewers cause much controversy. There is the belief that as an active audience we are in control and therefore choose whether we watch something more challenging or something that we can watch unfold in front of us, no questions required. For this reason we also have the ability to see what’s real and what isn’t, and yet, we have the concern of â€Å"cultivation differential†, where the viewer begins to accept the values portrayed in the soap operas as their own, or more so than the values of the world we live in. We must ask ourselves then whether soap operas are an accurate portrait of life today and with regards to this, how harmful can the programmes be if the audience begins to take the soap’s values as their own? British soaps are watched for their realism having become our â€Å"virtual communities, doing more to break down social and class boundaries than any government leader could ever do† (Mal Young, BBC Television’s head of drama series). They cover a diverse range of issues, in particular domestic, from storylines of health, relationships, business and family, to the ever so popular murder and death. Based, for the most part, on problems experienced within personal relationships and family life the content of the soap is fundamentally humanised, and thus we find the lifestyles led on screen are not so different from our own. They attempt to represent the realities of a working class life and confront many of the problems faced in our society, exploring all the different possibilities and affects of such struggles but never claiming to offer a single solution. The realism of these soaps is emphasised more so by the reasonably slow pace at which the narrative is allowed to progress appearing more or less to be ‘unravelling’ in real time. Viewers can often identify with the stereotype characters of the drama series that become almost existent to them. However, there are much bigger dramas in our world than domestic murder and by resorting to melodrama it’s as if we are choosing a more safe and cosy view of society. So, should our soap operas be more demanding of their audiences, and should they be tackling greater issues becoming more like the golden ages of television when the programmes were revolutionary, making an impact on the viewers? I would argue that times have changed and soap operas, whether focusing on realism or glamorous escapism, are a form of harmless therapy for viewers to turn to, becoming a part of that world and forgetting theirs. It is in single drama that we look to be challenged and if soaps began to address the more serious issues, encouraging us to question and think then I feel the need for single drama would soon disappear. It’s not so much the form or content of soap operas that may be detrimental to future welfare of British drama, but the way is dominates our television schedules. The real danger is that other forms of drama with perhaps more important/ meaningful messages may be overlooked and that is where we may lose revolutionary television. It’s alarming how many hours of soaps and docu-soaps (reality programmes) are â€Å"choking up vast swathes of airtime like pondweed† (Adam Sweeting: Soap Springs Eternal: Guardian website). The former values of Lord Reith seem almost non-existent, for the once precious airtime to show variety is now seen as a mere tool for audience shares. The domination of this phenomenon has led television companies to believe that the somewhat cheap and open ended formats of soap operas are a much safer option than striving to make new original programmes with a challenging voice. â€Å"The soaps do what they do well, but that doesn’t mean that should be the only form of drama on T. V, or that they should be the only sources of good, interesting actors† (Christine Geraghty ). Soap operas are beneficial in that they tackle the smaller issues in our society leaving room for other forms of drama to make greater impacts with more challenging storylines, confronting the greater political issues like terrorism and racism. The fact that soap operas are continuous and avoid narrative closure would make it more difficult, I believe, to create a strong drama series about a deeply serious and ongoing issue. They are good at showing the domestic issues that many encounter and should rest at that. What is destructive to the welfare of British drama is that television companies are now avoiding more challenging storylines and forms of drama with the fear that they will lose money. Soap operas can easily recover but a single drama either works or ‘flops’. I feel that a balance is needed in that we have our intake of soap operas but there are so many crowding our television airtime that any more would be a waste and hinder other forms of more serious drama. I find myself also questioning the continuity of its popularity, for if there are too many soap operas then we see the same issues occurring again and again. The interest may soon die as we seek for more challenging material and thus, the necessity for a balance is vital, in having airtime for escaping into another world, realistic or not, without having to think to much, and having time for the more serious programmes where we are left questioning.

Bongo Java Roasting Co. Essay - 1216 Words

Bongo Java Roasting Co., located in Nashville s historic Five Points area, is quickly becoming a hipster haven. On any given day of the week you can spot musicians and artists hanging out in their natural habitat, sipping lattes and cappuccinos, talking business. The staff is just as creative and stylish as the shop s patrons, with tattoos, funky haircuts, and infectious personality. At Bongo Java Roasting Co. not only can you enjoy some of the best drip coffee and espresso drinks in town, you can actually watch the roasting process as it is happening. Bongo Java Roasting Co. specializes in 100% organic and 100% fair-trade coffee. This means that they use only the highest quality, hand-picked beans from around the world, but also pay the farmers a respectable, livable wage. Unfortunately, this is not common practice in the coffee industry. This is what makes Bongo Java so unique. The company started seventeen years ago as a small coffee shop with only one location. Since then Bongo Java has become a Nashville staple with three busy locations, as well as a progressive business model in the specialty coffee industry. The a seemingly endless variety of coffee is roasted five days a week. The roasters at Bongo take a hands-on approach to ensuring that their coffee is the best in Nashville. They man a large roaster that cranks out about forty pounds per batch, which is microscopic compared to most corporate coffee roasters. But the expertise of the employees and attention to