Food for Thought: Primary Productivity and Climate
Phytoplankton play an important if indirect role in regulating the chemistry of the ocean and the atmosphere system. They do this through their contribution to the carbon cycle, taking carbon dioxide with them when they die and sink to the deep ocea...
Organizational Culture Case Study: Patagonia
Patagonia is a manufacturer of outdoor clothing. While the climate at some firms evolves without much thought or conscious planning, Patagonia's climate has been carefully molded to help employees realize their potential. The hope, of course, is tha...
Origins of Total Quality Management
The origins of the Total Quality Management philosophy can be traced back more than half a century to the work of W. Edwards Deming. In working with Japanese engineers and scientists to rebuild Japan's industrial capacity following World War Two, De...
Organizational Culture and Quality
In the 1980's, the issue of quality became so critical that an entire philosophy of management--known as total quality management, or "TQM,"--evolved. It was based on the notion that, ultimately, corporate success rests on quality. The impact of thi...
Organizational Culture: Manager's Role, The
A company's culture is much like the culture of a society. It is the sum total of that organization's behaviors, beliefs, and values. One outgrowth of a firm's culture is the environment or "climate" that exists within the organization. Along with w...
Creating a Positive Communications Climate
The importance of creating a communication climate based on openness, honesty and trust may seem obvious, but it is frequently overlooked.
Going with the Flow: Forecasting El Nino Events
Once an El Nino event is underway, scientists have a good idea of how it's likely to behave over the subsequent six to nine months. But predicting the onset of such events in advance has proven to be very difficult.
Its in the Water: Ocean and Carbon Dioxide, The
The exchange of gasses, like carbon dioxide, is a critical aspect of the ongoing and dynamic interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. Scientists are very interested in the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide that mankind's activities m...
Something in the Air: Climate System Power: Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most lethal Atlantic hurricane of modern times. It left nine thousand dead, five hundred seventy thousand homeless, and is estimated to have set back the Honduran infrastructure fifty years. It is a prime example of the extra...
Something in the Air: Meteorological Research: Challenges for the Future
Although a great deal of progress has been made in the field of meteorological research, there is much that remains a mystery, at least in part because the climate system is so unpredictable.