Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Promote person centred approaches in health and social care Essay

1.1. Person centred planning (PCP) should encompass every aspect of a service users support. Effective PCP is designed to ensure that the individual’s needs are always central when creating an effective support plan. Aspects such as an individuals goals, history, communication requirements, likes, dislikes and personal preferences should all be dutifully incorporated to create a fair, effective and unique care plan. 1:1 support with an individual is paramount when gaining an understanding of how their needs are to be met. Providing a chance for them to be involved with the planning process can provide an opportunity for service user empowerment as well as making sure that their support is fully tailored to their needs. 1.2. Using effective care plans that apply person centres values provides the service user the chance to create a plan that it directly linked to their values and needs. Nobody likes to feel as though a generic method of care is applied when considering his or her support needs. Everyone is unique with requirements that relate exclusively to themselves. Read more: Define person-centred values essay Creating a care plan that ensures that person centred values are met will make all the difference when considering an individuals ability to understand, agree with and engage with their support plans. A care plan should always relate directly to the individual involved. This can relate to the way in which any given goal can be effectively achieved or it could relate to how the individual interprets their care plan. For example if a service user found it difficult to read information could be conveyed through the use of pictures. It is incredibly important to ensure person centred values are applied within care plans to ensure that an individual agrees with the goals proposed as well as the best way in which to attain them. 2.3It is important to remain flexible when considering a service users support needs. An individual will always be changing and growing so it is important that this is reflected within their care plan. For example when I have previously supported NP goals relating to his ability to gain confidence whilst walking outside had to be met in a way that made the goal attainable. At first a goal of independent walking had been included within his IPP however any strict detail as to why and how this were to be most effectively achieved had to be assessed whilst communicating with him during our 1:1 support sessions. It turned out hat this goal was advised so that he could gain the confidence to go to work independently without the need to get a life from his relative. As we would commonly visit the supermarket we created a method whereby the journey to the local supermarket was broken into segments where he would walk independently, slowly managing a further and further distance each week. Had I said that he should walk the entire journey by himself without breaking it down into manageable steps this goal would have not been completed. Therefore the effective completion of this goal was only attained through the needs of the individual being met on a personal level. 3.1Mental capacity can be a complicated and ever adapting benchmark when assessing a person’s ability to do what is best for themselves. People must always be allowed to make mistakes as this will always be an inalienable human right of any individual. Ensuring that people do not put themselves or anyone else in direct and immediate danger is the reason behind why the mental capacity act has been created. Factors such as anxiety and tiredness can affect an individuals ability to express consent which is reflective of their true needs. When a care plan is created it is always best to do it at a time and place where a service user feels relaxed and able to express their needs in a manner that is in alignment with their true feelings. For example at time times when I have supported ES he has been unable to convey a true account of his feelings due to being anxious at the time. If this is the case it is best for ES to spend some time doing relaxation exercises so that he can effectively participate in the design of his IPP. 3.3If consent cannot be readily established an assessment of the persons capacity would need to be carried out. Firstly it would have to be considered that the individual understands what they are being asked to do, why they are being asked to do it and to what the concequences of their choices may be. It is worth considering if they are relaxed, tired or preoccupied at this time. It can be beneficial to implement relaxation exercises to try and calm down a service user or even getting in touch with their family to ensure that their needs are fully met. If they are putting themselves or anyone else in immediate danger it can at points be necessary to contact emergency services depending on the severity of the situation. However this should always remain a the last option available when trying to diffuse a situation. 4.1Active participation pertains to a method of support that ensures an individual can participate as independently as possible when completing everyday activities. It is important that a service user feels actively involved in the care they are receiving rather that just having a support plan prescribed to them which does not truly reflect their needs. It provides a chance for individuals to make choices that directly affect their life and as a support worker it is your responsibility to ensure that all the relevant information needed to make an informed has been provided in an impartial manner. If an individual wishes to access local health care services or social events then you can help them get in touch with the relevant facilities. Accessing the community, especially for people who live by themselves provides an excellent chance for empowering an individual. It can provide an opportunity to meet new people, gain confidence and subsequently become more independent. 5.3Risk assessments are a vital part to an individuals care plan. It ensures that they will not be putting themselves or anyone else in danger. Whilst  being an important part of any care plan they should remain as non invasive as possible to ensure that a service users retains the right to make their own choices. Certain risk assessments will contain a higher risk factor than others. It is when risks such as crossing road in a dangerous manner are enacted that the service users choice can become secondary to the fact that they are putting themselves in immediate danger. Risk factors such as ones that relate to dietary factors often have a smaller risk factor making it more possible to fully involve the service user in the decision making process when trying to effectively manage the risk in question. 5.4If an individual is unhappy about decisions that concern them then a number of different procedures are put in place to guarantee that they are being treated fairly. Issues concerning decisions made in a social setting should often be resolvable by encouraging a service user to talk to the individual with whom they have a disagreement in a civil, informed and fair fashion. It is important to provide an individual with enough information to make a responsible and informed choice without swaying their decision in any way. Everyone has different needs, values and requirements and it is very important to not mix your views with that of the service user. If an individual still feels the need to contest a decision concerning them then there are commonly complaints procedures put in place to make sure that their wishes are fully met. If a doctor, a psychotherapist, social worker or any other similar health professional makes a decision relating to them that they do not agree with then it is best to explain the options available to them whilst ensuring they know the consequences of each decision available. It is also important to be sure that they are fully aware of why this dispute has developed, as it can be beneficial at times to explain that person they are in disagreement with may be trying to act in their best interests. However it is always vital that they are treated in an impartial, fair and considerate manner that fully takes into account their rights,  values and beliefs. 6.1Identity relates to who we are and many people identify themselves in different ways. The factors included within this can stretch from social standing to religious beliefs or even age. The two main forms of identity are personal and social. Social identity relates to the way in which we identify with people and social groups. This could include influencing factors such as religious beliefs, hobbies and interests or even political orientation that make it easier to identify with certain individuals or groups. Personal identity is what relates to everything that we consider belonging to ourselves. This relates to inwardly identifying traits such as values, goals, passions, likes, dislikes, achievements, mistakes and ability. This largely influences the way we think and the decisions we make which is also largely ties in with self-image. A person will most often be aware that what they say, the decisions they make and the way they interact with other people influences how others view them. In other words it is how we think, or our self-image that influences how effectively we befriend certain people or groups. Self-esteem comes from a positive identity, which is largely influenced, by our self-image or the way we think. If you are dependant on others or feel inadequate in some respect you will have a low self-esteem. If we feel independent and part of an accepting friendship or group then this will nearly always have a positive effect on an individual’s self-esteem. 6.2Many factors contribute to the well being of any individual. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs this can be broken into 5 levels of personal development. This starts with physiological needs such as food, water and sleep etc. The next stage is about an individual’s safety where issues such as security of family, employment, property and morality are what is required to feel  fulfilled. The next stage is about love and belonging where an individual needs friendship, family and sexual intimacy to feel contented enough to move onto the next stage, which is esteem. This stage contains confidence, achievement and respect of others. The last stage is called self-actualization where an individual will refine their morality, creativity, lack of prejudices and problem solving as well as their ability to accept facts and be spontaneous. This is a common model used within psychological practices to assess whether an individual has all the necessary factors to ensure that they are completely content and have no detrimental effects to their well being. 6.3When supporting an individual it is important to make sure that you can meet their needs in a way that promotes their sense of identity, self-image and self-esteem. When I have supported MC he has explained about how he has felt unfairly treated at work. This was mainly due to his lack of career progression as well a request for a transfer not being met, although having been promised. To help with this we constructed an information leaflet about his condition, which we gave to his employers so that they were fully aware of how to best interact with him. I also started communicating with his employer about getting a transfer to a branch that was closer to where he lived. As a result of this he has now been transferred closer to where he lives as well as feeling more valued as an employee. This has helped with develop his self-identity and self image through an increased sense of self worth as well as helping to improve his self-esteem. 7.1Risk assessments are used to develop a suitable level of care for service users. Risk assessments help analyse the needs of the individual by making sure that their care is truly catered to their unique needs. Risk assessments help decipher whether an individual needs 1:1 support or 2:1 support. They can also allow health care professionals to implement safeguarding techniques to guarantee that the service user will not come  into harm. This can include procedures such as giving individuals location devices if they are prone to wondering of whilst not being fully aware of their actions amongst many other advantageous practices to ensure the individuals safety. 7.2Everyone has the inalienable right to be able to make his or her own mistakes in life. No one has the ability to make the right decisions at all times and at times like this people have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and gain a better understanding of how to avoid similar mishaps in future. Risk assessments must allow for an individual to be able to make decisions of their own accord. One of the roles of a support worker is to be sure that individuals are provided with all the relevant information to make an informed and sensible decision but it is not up to them to have the final call on a service users final decision. Risk assessments should always be implemented to prevent a service user from harming themselves or other people but they should not be constraining to the point of refuting an individuals right to make their own decisions in life. 7.3Risk assessments should always be subject to constant change. An individual will be constantly growing and developing and this must at all time be reflected within their risk assessments. The goal of effective support is help empower service users to the point where they feel able to lead an independent and rewarding life. As this is the goal of any support provider they must be aware that for one to achieve this they need to learn to manage the risks that they are subjected to in an independent manner. Therefore as a person grows and develops towards a heightened state of independence it is important to let them take control of their own lives and that means realising that risks that they may have formerly posed a threat to their well being will be withdrawn as they will know how to autonomously manage these hazards themselves.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

China’s One-Child Policy: Should It Be Abolished? Essay

After the People’s Republic of China had been founded in 1949, the improved sanitation and medicine promoted rapid population growth. Before long, the population boom started to take a major toll on the country’s food supply. Officials launched a campaign to promote birth control in 1955 in order to deal with the overpopulation. Their efforts were reversed though, in 1958 by the Great Leap Forward, which was Mao Zedong’s attempt to rapidly convert China into what he thought would be a modern industrialized state. By 1962, there was a massive famine in China that caused about 30 million deaths. During the aftermath of the famine, officials tried multiple times, with several different campaigns, to reduce the population. One of these campaigns was successful, using the slogan â€Å"Late, Long and Few.† China’s population growth fell by half from 1970 to 1976. The population growth then proceeded to level off, causing officials to seek more drastic measures to reduce population growth. This resulted in what is now known as China’s One Child Policy, which was introduced in 1979 (â€Å"Brief History†). The One Child Policy restricts urban couples from having more than one child. There are exceptions for rural families and ethnic minorities, officially anyway. There are many problems with the policy and it has been implicated in forced abortions and female infanticide. One of the biggest problems with the policy is that it is a violation to every person’s human rights. It violates not only a person’s right to privacy of information and their body and it also violates the basic human right to choose the size of one’s own family. The gender imbalance is another big problem with the policy and it is leaving many men without the option to get married and is affecting the crime rate in a negative way. There is also the relatively smaller issue of having an entire generation of only children and the possible social issues that that can cause. Another big problem is that there is an age disparity between the young and the old that is beginning to and will continue to have an impact on the economy of China. A big argument against the policy is also that it was never needed in the first place. The One Child Policy in China needs to be abolished. China’s One-Child Policy violates a human right to determine the size of one’s own family. No family should be forced to only have one child by any government, and that is exactly what the Chinese government is doing to their citizens. Chinese officials have said before that the one-child policy is optional. The catch is that the violators of the policy will be fined. For example, in an article by Debra Cassens Weiss, who holds a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law and a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois, she talks about Yang Zhitzhu, a law professor at China Youth University for Political Sciences, who was charged a $37,000 â€Å"social upbringing fee† in 2009 for violating the one-child policy. He also lost his job and, as a protest, put himself up for sale, vowing to serve his master until death, for $100,000. Also, because he did not pay the fee, his second daughter will not be granted household registration papers that would entitle her to a public education and healthcare. So, not only does the father get fined and lose his job because he decided to have a second child, his daughter now also has to suffer. Why should the daughter be punished for something the father did, when she did nothing to deserve the punishment? No person should be punished for being born. Executive director, Harry Wu, of the Laogi Research Foundation, which is an organization that collects information about forced labor camps and other human rights violations in China, wrote an article talking about Gao Xiao Duan and her testimony about the one-child policy in front of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights on June 10, 1998. Gao was worked as an administrator at the Yonghe town planned-birth office. â€Å"She was to carry out the dictates of the communist regime in accordance with the ‘one child’ policy.† She explained in the hearing her daily duties. Gao issued â€Å"‘birth allowance’ certificates to women who meet the policy and regulations of the central and provincial planned-birth committees.† She issued â€Å"birth-not-allowed notices† notices as well, which were made public for the purpose of making it known to everybody that the couple was in violation of the one-child policy, facilitating the supervision of the couple. Gao also issued â€Å"birth control measures implementation notices.† This meant that all women who were of child-bearing age were notified that they must have contraceptive device reliability and pregnancy examinations when necessary. If a woman failed to arrive for one of these, a supervision team would apprehend her and force her to have the examinations required. Issuing notices on whether or not a woman can have a child violates the basic human right to be able to choose whether or not she wants to have a child violates the privacy of information of the citizens of China. And requiring them to have examinations on the reliability of their contraceptive device and their pregnancy status is a violation of every human’s right to privacy over their own body. The idea that the women are taken and forced to have theses examinations takes away any freedom that they could have had over the issue, and that shows that the Chinese government has too much control over the citizens of China when it comes to the one-child policy. Another problem with the One-Child Policy is the growing gender imbalance in China. In January 2010 the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS) said that within ten years, one in five young men would not be able to find a wife because of the shrinking amount of women in the country. According to the CASS, China will have 30 million to 40 million more men, ages 19 and under, than women by 2020. To put this into perspective, there are about 23 million boys age 20 and under in Germany, France, and Britain combined. There are about 40 million boys in the Unites States (â€Å"Worldwide War†). This means that China has enough men outnumbering women to populate Europe’s three most populated countries or to populate the entire United States male population. The sex ratio in China has been growing significantly since the 1980’s. The sex ratio in China for the generation born between 1985 and 1989 was 108 (meaning there were 108 males born for every 100 females), which is considered to be a little out of the natural range. For the generation born between 200 and 2004, the sex ratio was an astounding 124. And according to the CASS, the ratio is at 123 today, which is said to be biologically impossible without human intervention (â€Å"Worldwide War†). This is on the national level, once someone looks into the different regions and provinces in China they get a clearer picture of how bad the imbalance is. In an analysis of Chinese household data carried out in 2005 and then reported to the British Medical Journal, only a single region, Tibet, has a sex range that are considered to be within the bounds of nature. Fourteen more provinces have a sex ratio of above 120. And two more had an extremely unnatural rate of over 130 (â€Å"Worldwide War†). Then gender imbalance is causing more problems than just men not being able to find a bride though. It is also affecting the amount of crimes being committed in China. â€Å"Throughout human history, young men have been responsible for the vast preponderance of crime and violence—especially single men in countries where status and social acceptance depend on being married and having children† ( â€Å"Worldwide War†). This could very easily mean a lot of trouble for China, as there crime rate keeps rising. China’s crime rate has almost doubled in the past twenty years because of the rising sex ratio. A study into whether the sex ratio and the crime rate were connected concluded that about one-seventh of the crime rate increase was accounted to the rising sex ration. Some of the biggest crimes on the rise are said to be bride abduction, trafficking of women, prostitution, and rape (â€Å"Worldwide War†). With one-seventh of the crime rate rise being accounted to the gender imbalance and the gender imbalance becoming more and more lopsided, China is in big trouble if they don’t do something about the gender imbalance soon. They could just throw everybody who commits a crime in prison, but they will surely run out of room at some point. China needs to address the issue of the gender imbalance by looking back at what they can do to alter the one-child policy so it does not favor having a boy if they will not get rid of the policy altogether. Another issue with the One-Child Policy in China is that it leaves an entire generation of only children. In March of 2007 delegates of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body in China, stated that China should abolish the One Child Policy because â€Å"it creates social problems and personality disorders in young people† (â€Å"Consultative Conference†). Only Children are known to be more selfish and have a harder time communicating with peers, which is a problem if you have an entire generation of what are being called â€Å"Little Emperors† There is also the issue of the increase in percentage of citizens over the age of sixty and decrease in percentage of younger citizens. The latest census information shows that the policy has been working. The population rose to 1.34 billion as of last year from 1.27 billion in 2000. This puts the average annual growth at 0.57 percent for the decade. Compared to the previous decade, which had an average annual growth of 1.07 percent, this is a good decrease for the country. The problem, however, is that the census also shows that citizens over the age of 60 now represent 13.3 percent of China’s population, which is an increase from 10.3 percent in 2000. And also the amount of future workers, age 14 and under, has been shrinking. Citizens age 14 and under now make up 16.6 percent of the population, which is a drop from 23 percent in 2000 (â€Å"Plan Faces New Fire†). To help paint the picture even more, by 2030, the number of citizens in their 20’s is going to drop by 35percent and the number of citizens ages 55 to 60 is going to increase by 60 percent. The number of people ages 65 and over is going to jump by an even more astounding 100 percent in the same period of time (Elizabeth Economy). This basically means that China’s elderly population is rapidly growing as the generation before the One-Child Policy are retiring, putting an extremely heavy burden on the rest of Chinese society to cover the cost of their retirement. While the retirees are rapidly growing, the workforce is even more rapidly shrinking. This will begin â€Å"reversing the demographic phenomenon of a widening pool of low-cost labor that powered a manufacturing boom over the past three decades† (â€Å"Plan Faces New Fire†). This leads to a subsequent problem caused by the retirees growing and workers shrinking, and that problem is that it is crippling China’s economy. For example, in an article in Bloomberg Businessweek, Kevin Hamlin, a reporter for Bloomberg News, talks about Lin Chang Jie, who is battling to save his family’s business. He is faced with a dwindling supply of workers, forcing him to pay higher wages. Lin must attempt to change his Dejin Textile into an online fashion retailer in order to reduce headcount and keep his business from failing like many others. Lin is having such a problem because the decrease in labor is largely the unskilled labor that is used in factories to produce low-margin goods, such as clothes, toys and furniture. The lack of unskilled labor is a huge problem considering these low-margin goods made up 68 percent of China’s exports last year according to China’s customs agency. According to Hamlin’s article, the upward pressure on wages is forcing mainland companies to upgrade to what are considered to be higher-value products. China may have as few as five years to make the transition to avoid a economic slump because growth may decline from 2016 to 2020 as low-cost producers begin to fail and investment starts to fall away. There is also what is called the four-two-one problem, which will have a negative effect on the economy on the individual level. The four-two-one problem is that the citizens who grew up as only children will be forced to support up to six people by themselves. They will have to support their parents when they retire and up to four grandparents. Because men outnumber women so greatly, that leaves a lot of single men to support both their parents and grandparents. This will cause individual citizens to save more money and in the process hurt the economy because they aren’t putting as much money back into it. Chinese officials would argue that the economy improved as a result of the One-Child policy. While the economy has improved during the length of the policy, that doesn’t mean that the policy should receive credit for the improvement. China’s economy made great advances before the One-Child Policy too. What is to say that the economic advances should not be attributed to the economic reforms rather than to the population policy? If China does not do something about the One-Child Policy causing a disparity in age, they could be looking at a huge economic downfall. This downfall will be as a result of failing companies and lack of investment as well as the lack of spending on the individual level due to the four-two-one problem. There are also some people who say, even though the policy seems to be doing its job, that the One-Child Policy was unnecessary in the first place. An advocacy group that is made up of two dozen leading demographers, economists and former Family Planning officials joined together to fight the policy in 2000. This group, who knew that China’s fertility rate was declining before the One-Child Policy began in 1980. The fertility rate hade dropped to 2.7 in 1979 from 5.5 in 1970 because of a policy that encouraged, but did not force, Chinese citizens to marry later, wait longer between children, and have fewer babies. The group also knew that fertility rates in other developing countries showed similar results. Because of this information, group members began to conduct quiet field research to prove that China’s fertility rate had fallen well below what is known as the replacement rate of 2.1. The replacement rate is generally required to keep a population stable. Taking into account exemptions, the group calculated that the fertility rate should be 1.47 if the policy was implemented correctly. As of today, the group says the fertility rate has been about 1.8, well below 2.1, since 1991. The group assumes that many children are born secretly to avoid fines and that if you take that out the fertility rate is actually between 1.5 and 1.6 (â€Å"Plan Faces New Fire†). While the group is only arguing for a two-child policy at minimum, their point is that the One-Child Policy never needed to be implemented in the first place. China would have had a fertility rate closer to the replacement rate if it would have continued to just encourage citizens to have fewer kids and get married later. Why should China keep a policy that is hurting the country if it was not needed in the first place? China’s One-Child Policy needs to be taken away. The policy violates the basic human rights of any person. Every person living on this planet has the basic right to choose the size of their own family; it shouldn’t be decided by the government of any country. Even though some Chinese officials have said the policy is optional, the government heavily fines those who violate it, $37,000 in the case of Yang Zhitzhu. And, as explained by Gao Xiao Duan’s testimony, the policy also violates human privacy over one’s own body by being forced to take examinations on their state of pregnancy or whether or not their contraceptive device is functioning properly. There is also an obvious violation of Chinese citizens’ right to privacy of their information. The gender imbalance, which is far above the natural range, is leaving men unable to find a bride and is directly linked to China’s increasing crime rates. When a policy is connected to an increase crimes such as rape, kidnapping, and prostitution it is a policy that should not exist. Also, the growing age disparity is crippling the economy in China. It will be more evident in a few years, but shrinking work force along with the growing amount of retirees are beginning to destroy the unskilled labor jobs, which were the cause of China’s economic boom to begin with. And the four-two-one problem is hampering economic growth because citizens are forced to save more money instead of putting it back into the economy. There is also the fact that the policy may not have been needed in the first place and that the fertility rate in China is dangerously lower than the replacement rate of 2.1, making it impossible to have a stable population. If the policy was not needed to begin with and it isn’t really helping the country, China must get rid of it. So yes, the one child policy has reduced the growth of the population significantly, but at what cost is it being done?

Monday, July 29, 2019

West Wing Episodes Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

West Wing Episodes Discussion - Essay Example In Episode 96 â€Å"Shutdown†, the Operating Budget of the Federal Government is   reduced to zero and the government is forced into a temporary shutdown after President Bartlett refuses to any further Budget compromises, which puts him in a very unfavorable position.   Without the operating budget, the Chief of Staff sends everyone home who is non-essential personnel, including non-national security and public safety employees.   In Episode 96 â€Å"Shutdown†, the Operating Budget of the Federal Government is   reduced to zero and the government is forced into a temporary shutdown after President Bartlett refuses to any further Budget compromises, which puts him in a very unfavorable position.   Without the operating budget, the Chief of Staff sends everyone home who is non-essential personnel, including non-national security and public safety employees.    Speaker Haftley begins turning the shutdown to his party’s favor by speaking to the press on t he White House lawn.   Press Secretary C.J. Cregg begins to recover some ground by addressing the White House Press core inside.   Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry attempts to talk to the President in his private quarters to convince him to sign a deal at 2 percent by midnight to stop the shutdown. But he doesn’t succeed and the shut down begins. Vice President Russell meets with McGarry and offers to speak with his former collegues in the House that includes Speaker Haftley and the Majority Whip, but McGarety refuses.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

A Veteran's Account Of A War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A Veteran's Account Of A War - Essay Example Here, that would be the personal re-telling of Colby Buzzell, who in his book My War: Killing Time in Iraq, details for the reader the events surrounding his service in the military during the current military operation in the nation of Iraq. Giving a firsthand account of what he saw, what he did, as well as how he felt during his time of service. A collection of words, that serve to give value, as well as to provide an effective perspective, on the issues that arise with being an enlisted member of the armed forces. "I was in my room reading a book (Thin Red Line) when the mortars started coming down. Usually when we get mortared it'll only be one, maybe two mortars. But this mortar attack went on for almost 20 minutes. Each one impacting the FOB every couple of minutes. Something was up," (Buzzell, p.248). For a document to be beneficial for such means as furthering the readers connection to what it is they are reading, the usage of personal experiences can greatly benefit the overall cause of better understanding the personal side of those who take part in military life and are faced with the ramifications of such a career choice. While news reports by journalists are chalk full of time lines having to do with what would have occurred, good or bad, the personal accounts of those closest involved provide a far greater service, than simply providing a listing of mass produced details. Giving a stronger image of what would have been the environment surrounding Buzzell at that moment, he writes that, "Sgt. Horrocks ripped open the door and yelled, "Grab your guys! And go to the motor pool! The whole BATTALION is rolling out!" Holy shit! The whole battalion! This must be big. So I closed my book and ran over to my guys' rooms and ripped open their doors and yelled, "Get your fucking shit on and head down to the motor pool! Time: Now!" I ran back to my room and grabbed my shirt and started running as fast as I could to the motor pool, hearing small arms fire off in the background. By now every swinging dick was running to the motor pool. Some putting their clothes on while they were running," (Buzzell, p.248). The image of soldiers running frantically to their places, aids the narrative's purpose of providing the most personal, yet factual, account of the events that would have been occurring around Buzzell and the fellow members of his unit. Readers value that which they identify with and as such, are able to understand in some minute way. Human beings inherently understand fear and stress through experiencing it themselves and are drawn to those stories that show other people experiencing great fear and stress for themselves, even if it's due to circumstances that they would have not known themselves. "While we were waiting for word to roll back out, we sat around and exchanged war stories over plates of food from the chow hall. I sat down on an ammo crate while Sgt. Vance sat down on a water cooler, and he told me all about 3rd Squad's heroics on the ground that day, about their vehicle that got shot by at least three RPGs the first time through Route Tampa. Each one that hit the vehicle knocked him down from the air-guard hatch. One of the RPGs took out the engine to their vehicle, and Spc Callahan, while it was still rolling, grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire. When they got to Bridge 5, Vance and Callahan were vomiting out of

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Comparative legal culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comparative legal culture - Essay Example pecially the blacks and human rights activists who claim that the city has been tainted with flagrant racism, police impunity and or the systematic quashing of free speech. In this paper, we shall discuss the Ferguson situation in light of the Natural law, Karl Marx and legal formalism theories of law. In advancing the Natural Law Aquinas states that it is in the human nature to act freely so as to achieve their proper end through reason and free will. The proper end in this concept was to live, be sustained and to reproduce. It thus followed that any law that did not see this end achieved was unjust and thus no law. Hobbes in advancing the need of humans to achieve the proper end cited above, he summarizes nine laws that are aimed to achieve the applicability of the natural law by stating that one should not do to another that which one will not want done to thyself, as this was the best way of preserving human life, sustenance and reproduction. John Locke states that where a ruler goes against natural law and fails to preserve life, liberty and property then the people would be justified to overthrow the existing state and create a new one. He further echoes the biblical concept of equality that is largely borrowed by Thomas Jefferson in the declaration of Independence and the u ltimate U.S Constitution. It is on this note that the Social Contractual theory by Jean Rousseau will come in handy in advancing the natural law. That at the state of nature humans would not have defended themselves enough and therefore they gave all the power to the sovereign hold in trust and in return protect them. Rousseau presents that in a democracy, the government ought to be focused on representing the general will of the sovereign, the sovereign in this context being the people. The natural law is theory seeks to protect morality in a state and what is immoral and inhuman would be short of law and hence unenforceable. To put the natural law into the Ferguson conflict, the

Present Value Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Present Value - Assignment Example The monthly profits of this business seem not to be any stable. In this case, the profits vary a lot through high ranges, hence show possibility of not remaining stable at any moment. In as much as the yearly profits show steady increase, the monthly profits show staggering values that may make the business not that stable during the year. The gross margin of this project also shows a high monthly decrease. This shows that revenues increase but at a decreasing rate. The cost of sales also increases even as the sales increase. Therefore, the project experiences a reduction in its net profits from 24.19% to 16.38%. There is also a staggering increase in the net cash flow as shown in the graphs. The monthly profits of Shaved Ice Beverage project seem to be fairly stable, hence not so much risky. The yearly profit for this business seem to be stable and increasing each year. The gross margin will increase in the first year, but get back to normal in the third year, showing staggering growth. Operating expenses, however, increases yearly, hence reducing on the profit. The net profit percentage, however, increases at some significant rate, hence the business is not hat risky. A problem only sets in during its net cash flow where the values are very low, and sometimes go to negative. The third project, the Truck stop business, show fairly stable cash flows throughout the year except for the first two months of the year when the net cash flow becomes too high and too low. Income received from operations, however, increases steadily year after year. The monthly profits is also very high and very stable throughout the year. This is one significant reason that shows that this business is free from risks. However, when one looks at its net profits, it is clear that it increases on the second year, but not with a big range, then gets back on the third year. This probably shows indications of

Friday, July 26, 2019

Episcopal Social Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Episcopal Social Services - Essay Example From its humble beginnings of providing assistance to needy immigrants in New York, ESS has expanded its activities to take on several social activities, starting with children and going on to adolescents requiring support and then on to adults. At the heart of the social activities lies the theme of improving the capabilities of individuals to become productive members of society and improve the quality of their life. This paper describes Episcopal Social Services and its activities as a social service organization. This paper has been written after visiting Episcopal Social Services, 305, Seventh Avenue, New York and collecting information from Naomi Hopkins, their Communication Manager. ESS was founded in 1831 by members of the Episcopal Church, in an attempt to assist the vast number of immigrants arriving in America to overcome their difficulties. Though it had a religious background ESS from its founding days remained non-sectarian as it reached out any person that was poor, sick, homeless, hungry, or imprisoned to provide the needed service (Episcopal Social Services, 2011). Throughout its 180 years of existence ESS has maintained this mission of attempting to transform and better the lives of the disadvantaged and needy residents of New York City (Episcopal Social Services, 2011). These services cover children, families and children. As early as 1864 ESS reached to provide convalescent homes and summer camps for the infirm and the undernourished; temporary lodging; clothing, food, and emergency funding for the destitute; trade schools for developing skills in the unskilled; and social clubs and free reading rooms to help keep poor people off the rough and dang erous streets of New York (Episcopal Social Services, 2011). Expanding their activities, ESS in 1907, set up an office at Ellis Island for the purpose of providing assistance to newly arrived immigrants, who were quarantined

Thursday, July 25, 2019

CAUSAL ANALYSIS ESSAY Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CAUSAL ANALYSIS - Essay Example It seemed like a trend among my peers to get married a few years after completing high school. My best friend and classmate in high school got married a few months after we had cleared high school. I was tempted to take the same path but took a different path eventually. I knew I needed to join college but also knew that I could study online. I met Jenny in junior high in my first year; she perfectly fitted what I termed as the girl of my dreams. We were in the same class but not the same stream. We were both chosen to represent our school in an inter-school competition. I am a generally introverted and so I decided to sit alone at the back of the bus. For most of the trip, I pondered about different things and tried to think of what the future held for me. At some point, I dosed off only to be woken up by this beautiful girl standing besides me. I thought I was dreaming at first as I raised my head for a split moment before and dosing off again. She went ahead and sat next to me and nudged me to wake up. I eventually did and she introduced herself to me. Through out the trip we engage in a positive and constructive chat. Jenny was every man’s or should I say every boy’s dream in school; she was a smart, sharp, eloquent, beautiful, and hardworking. She seemed to know everything about everything. She was outgoing and a favorite of every teacher for her intelligence. Many of the boys in school had tried to befriend her but felt belittled by her smartness and level of intelligence. Although everyone in school thought we were dating, it never got into my head that I was engaged in a serious relationship. Gradually, I realized we had so much in common and my reserved nature gradually became more accommodative of her. We had a normal relationship with normal challenges for a long time until one day she brought up the subject of marriage. Not that we had never discussed the subject before†¦ she only brought up the subject without mincing words. We made a

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

One of the significant characteristics of Australian Indigenous Essay

One of the significant characteristics of Australian Indigenous worldviews is a specific relationship to land or 'country' - Essay Example (Social Health†¦ 2004) These factors working as cushion during stressful circumstances provide a kind of protection when adversity falls on them. It helps restore social and emotional wellbeing of an individual at all levels. Languages and Country Aborigines identify themselves through their lands, languages and their relationships with others. At the time when European arrived, there were almost 600 groups around the continent with distinct beliefs and cultures. They had their country boundaries spread from lush green areas to stark desert surroundings. Depending upon the environment and their requirement they developed different skills with specific experience. Hundreds of dialects and languages existed during arrival of Europeans, though many of them are now extinct. The Indigenous cultures of Australia are considered one of the oldest dating back to around 50,000 years. The reason for the survival of aboriginal cultures lies in its adaptability to change over time. The attac hment to their surroundings is the prime reason for their survival for thousands of years. They keep their cultural heritage alive by passing it from one generation to another. Their cultural heritage speaks about their rituals, dance, hunting practices, their languages, their significant sites, and their spiritualism, which evolved in their land that they love very much. (Kohen 1995) Country is special for the well being of Australian aborigines. Land is simply not rocks or soil for them but the whole milieu is important to them in sustaining their existence and growth. Their land is also a cause for their spirituality. Aborigine Tom Dystra tells, "We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavored to live the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy.† (Australian Indigenous†¦) To have a clear grasp about social and emotional wellbeing, it is important to fathom the varied cultural dimensions of Australian aborigines. Aborigines love their land, their cultures and their whole set of traditions and that in totality constitute their life. It will be most appropriate to understand why and how the indigenous people get impacted by modern day science and technology, environmental disturbances. The story of Shelburne Bay in north-east Cape York Peninsula is worth exploring, in order to understand the love of Wuthathi people, the aborigines, for their land. Shelburne Bay is fortunate enough that it has not been much disturbed by active parabolic silica sand dune systems. Clean and warm waters constituted eight species of sea grass and an enviable space for dugongs and green turtles. Wuthathi people believed in managing their own land and fulfilling their community development aspirations. The formation of Wuthathi Land Trust and community ranger programs should be seen in that perspective. Shelburne Bay had been a cynosure of many eyes for a space base at Temple Bay besides having plans for a silica sand mine near Cape Granville. These and many other threats made Wuthathi natives to unite. In their support, as mentioned by Nursey-Bray (2004), were the Wilderness Society and the Australian Conservation Foundation and their joint efforts along with a strong campaign resulted

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Diversity in management development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diversity in management development - Essay Example Diversity in management ensures that there is the removal of barriers and permit equality in employment and promotion for job seekers and employees. Diversity ensures that all employees are empowered to reach their full potential and grow both personally and professionally. It serves as a key to growth in the modern competitive worldwide marketplace (Cole & Salimath 2013). Firms that seek to dominate the world market relevancy need to embrace diversity in how they act and innovate.  It is important for any organization to attract and hire a diverse workforce that reflects the communities where the organization operates in order for them to have a sense of ownership. Effective diversity management leads to an environment that accommodates and supports individual differences and capitalizes on the talents that exist in a workforce. A diverse staff boasts of expert knowledge of the surrounding communities and helps a firm to expand to other markets and customers. Employing from diverse groups helps a business to avoid a lack of labor by having a larger pool of applicants from which a firm can draw (DWL

Monday, July 22, 2019

Behavioral Influences Essay Example for Free

Behavioral Influences Essay Expectancy theory is related to the motivation of the employees which is dependent upon the employees’ behavior and incentives given by the management. If the management is able to motivate its employees they will put in more effort while working, which means efficiency higher returns for the company. The three components of the expectancy theory are expectancy, valence and instrumentality (Vroom, 1964). All of these three variables are required if an employee needs to be motivated positively. The expectancy component is the belief that increase in efforts will accounts for better performance and vice versa. This means that a person is motivated if there is a positive relationship between efforts and performance given that he has proper training, resources and direction to perform the job. Expectancy is also affected by the confidence the employee has about on his capabilities. Valence component in the expectancy theory refers to the value people place on the expected outcome or rewards of their efforts. If a person is motivated mainly by money, he might not value free insurance given by the company. Valence is the intensity of the desire of a worker for extrinsic and intrinsic rewards such as promotion, fringe benefits, bonuses, overtime and satisfaction (Droar, 2003). Instrumentality, the third component of expectancy theory is the confidence on the higher authorities that if the performance is well, the desired or promised reward will be received (Vroom, 1964). Instrumentality will be affected by the trust in people who make decisions of the outcomes and degree of biasness of the process of getting an outcome. Therefore the theory tells us that the relationship between the effort and performance is positive, which means that increase in effort will enhance performance (Vroom, 1964). According to the theory the relationship between performance and rewards is also positive, which implies that better performance will result in more rewards. In the given scenario, Supervisor A’s employees are facing difficulty in coping up with the new production process. The main reason for this is that the employees are not being compensated for their work. Those who achieve their goals are not given enough compensation therefore they feel unmotivated. When employees are not motivated, they do not put in enough effort to achieve their goals and hence their performance is not fine. The employees who have mastered the production process are not worried about accomplishing their goals because they know that even with added effort if they attain their goals, the compensation they will get is not worth the effort. Other employees, who have not mastered it, are not putting in enough effort because they think they are not capable of doing so. Therefore there is a dire need for motivation of the employees who are under Supervisor A. The supervisor should find out what resources, training or management of employees is needed to motivate the employees; this is the expectancy component of the expectancy theory. The supervisor should also find out what do the employees value, their bonuses and salaries should be increased according to their performance; this is the valence part of the expectancy theory. Supervisor also has to make sure that the perception of the employees about their supervisor’s promises is correct, they should be compensated as promised; this is the instrumentality component. In the scenario, the employees’ salaries are not being increased as promised by the supervisor; their bonuses after withholding tax are very small. Thus if the supervisor is able to fill the gaps in all of these three components, he will be able to motivate the employees to increase effort and hence performance and the goals will be achieved. Task 2 The leadership style of Leader B is transactional, Leader C is transformational and Executive has a â€Å"Level 5† leadership style. Transactional leadership focuses on setting specific goals for each team member and encourage them to meet the agreed upon goals (Bryant, 2003). In the scenario it is given that Leader B establishes clear goals by clarifying role and task requirements and continually guiding subordinates in the direction of these goals, and therefore it is a characteristic of transactional leadership. In transactional leadership, the team members are awarded when they are able to achieve their goals on time and punished when agreed upon goals are not achieved or are not achieved on time (Iain, 2007). In the scenario given, Leader B considers the team member to be personally at fault if the delegated task is not completed and issues punishments for failures. Transactional leadership recognizes accomplishments of individual subordinates and they are rewarded for achieving the objectives agreed upon (Iain, 2007). In the scenario given, Leader B believes in a clear chain of commands and in rewarding good performance and recognizing employee accomplishments. Leader B also rewards subordinates for their successes. Leader B’s transactional leadership style has been justified now by including the examples from the given text. Transformational leadership depends more on personal relationship with subordinates and is supported by trust rather than committing to contracts (Jung Avolio, 1999). In the scenario it is given that Leader C tried to remember his team members’ birthdays and makes an effort to work with them as their coach instead of their manager. Transformational leadership also tries to satisfy its followers’ self-interest and encourages the followers to replace these interests with the interests of the team. In the scenario, Leader C encourages the group to surpass their own self-interest for the betterment of the organization. This type of leadership also focuses on organizational change through stress on new values and different vision of the future which transcends the status quo (Gellis, 2001). Leader C in the scenario also believes that the group can have great success when they are passionate and enthusiastic about a vision. Transformational leaders motivate its followers to achieve their goals through nurturing their individual skills and capabilities (Barbuto, 2005). Leader C in the scenario sets high hopes for subordinates, instills individualism of employees for the benefit of organization and takes a rational problem-solving approach. The Level 5 leadership is described as being hesitant and unruly, shy and fearless and modest with a stern commitment to high standards (Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser, 2001). This type of leadership takes struggling organizations from being fine to great and produces other fine leaders within the organizations for future. The Level 5 leadership takes responsibility for the failures and accredits other leaders for accomplishments (Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser, 2001). This leadership also establishes unique ideas, long-term vision and values for the organization. In the scenario, Executive A is clearly a level 5 leader as he shies away from attention and accredits others for achievements. He accepts responsibility for failures and poor results; and feels delighted to produce strong leadership within the organization. Therefore it is apparent that Executive A is a Level 5 leader as he took the struggling organization into hands and reshaped the stock prices and company profits into eye-catching ones and he also shares his long-term vision, ideas and values with other leaders of the company. When the Executive A retires and if Leader B is appointed as the CEO, then most of the employees in the organization will start working for their own interest as they will be held responsible for their failures and accomplishments and will be compensated accordingly. Supervision of the employees will become an integral part of managers’ routine as they may use organization’s resources for their personal interests. Transactional leadership is successful in stable organizations because it helps to improve control over employees and reinforces constructive administrative actions through rewards and punishments. Therefore Leader B may find his style appropriate in the organization. Transformational leadership maintains employees’ performance through loyalty to organization, trust in the leader and changes in values and standards of the organization. Leader C has this style of leadership, and if appointed the CEO, the employees will surely have higher motivation and self-confidence; they will get chances and supervision to improve their skills and capabilities. Through self-realization of employees and personal relationships with them, Leader C will be able to make them feel an integral part of the organization and increase their performance beyond expectations. Task 3 Individuals often take one of the bases of power in an organization in which they are employed. There are five bases of power which act as a source of organization; they will be discussed one by one. The first one is Position in Hierarchy (Woldring, 2001), that is the rank of the individual in an organization. The higher the individual’s place in the organizational rank structure, the greater the power he will have. In the given scenario, Employee 1 is using position in hierarchy as the source of his power. He has worked in the marketing department for 12 years and he frequently comes to the office on weekends or stays late to make sure smooth running of tasks. The second base of power is Referent Power (Woldring, 2001); this is the personal relation of an individual with others who are higher in the organizational hierarchy. It only exists if the individual can actually reference the authenticity of relationship so that it can act as a basis of power. Employee 2 has this power as he negotiated with his manager to work four days a week and is the only person who is allowed to have a shorter work week. Third type of power is Reward Power (Raven, 1959); individuals who have a greater degree of control over resources of organization, have greater power. Individuals even lower in the organizational hierarchy can have greater controller over resources of the organization (Woldring, 2001). This power is based on the ability to give valuable reward to others who perform well (Raven, 1959). In the scenario given, Employee 1 has this power as he is controlling the resources of his department to get the large bonus at the year end, and he will spend this bonus on his vacations. The fourth base of power is Demonstrated Expertise (Woldring, 2001); an individual who has an exceptional capability or special knowledge that no other has in the organization. Only having expertise is not sufficient, others should know about the importance of this person’s expertise and its value. Employee 2 has this power as he is the only company employee who can prepare financial statements. The fifth and final source of power is Personality Power or Coercive Power (Woldring, 2001); the perceived personality of the individual is the power here. If the person has strong interpersonal skills, charming and attractive personality, then he will be able to influence others to conform to his ideas or demands (Raven, 1959). This is the case with Employee 3, who has been in the organization for just a year, but because of his personality power, he was able to change entire department’s beliefs. Relationship between Bases of Power and Dependency: The Bases of Power use the concept of Dependency. An employee can only use its base of power on another employee if the other one is dependent on him. As Emerson (1962, p. 32) argues that â€Å"power resides implicitly in the other‘s dependency† and that â€Å"the power of A over B is equal to, and based upon, the dependence of B upon A†. Therefore if a person B is dependent of another person A, only then the power of A exists. The level of power of person A depends upon the degree of dependence of person B on person A and the alternatives available to person B. If there is no dependence then power over another person does not exists. The accounting manager in the given scenario is the person who is dependent upon Employee 2 because of the Expertise power of Employee 2. Employee 2 is the only person in the organization who can prepare the financial statements and so the manager is dependent upon him to prepare it. Employee 1 is dependent upon marketing manager for the award he wants, that is why he stays late in the office to make sure of the completion and accuracy of the work and he often come to office on weekends. Employee 3 was selected as the leader of the team working on new project; all others related to the project are dependent upon him because of his Coercive power. Task 4 The first problem with the company’s current evaluation form is that the rating scales in the form mostly focus on relationships with other employees and on the personality; it is more of a personality test rather than performance and skills evaluation. Instead of evaluating the neatness of the workplace, relationships with peers, attitude with others and friendliness, the questions should be more specific to the performance and quality of work. Performance factors such as knowledge, skills, abilities, quality and timeliness of work, efforts of the employee, works habits, supervisory factors, cooperation, adaptability and effectiveness of communication should be evaluated. The second concern in the evaluation form is that the rating scales are not specific and measurable. The scale being used is to rate an attribute is not numeric or scalar, high, low-medium, medium are being used to score against the attribute. A better approach of scoring will be to use a scale with numeric scale, the highest described as â€Å"Superior† and lowest as â€Å"Unsatisfactory†. Another option of â€Å"Not Applicable† should also be present with all attributes. The use of measurable scale will ease the work for evaluator and he will be able to rate the employee’s attributes more accurately. The third concern in the evaluation form is that the performance factors are not specific. When the manager had to give rating on the engineer’s attitudes, he had to take in to account the engineer’s attitudes towards his job and tasks that he is assigned to do and also his attitudes towards co-workers and manager. The factors should be more specific so that the evaluator can give the ratings to specific attribute and every attribute is taken into account. In the scenario, the manager gave engineer a low rating in the attitude factor although his attitude towards work was very serious and he completed his tasks in a very well manner. He got a low rating because of his poor attitude towards the peers and manager. The 360-degree approach to employee evaluation involves supervisor, peers, and subordinates into the evaluation of an individual. This approach has its own pros and cons. Many people participate in evaluating a person so it gives complete view of the performance of the person. The performance view is captured from the supervisor, peers and the subordinates, they respond as they see the person’s performance. It reduces the bias of the supervisor or the manager towards an employee. It the supervisor does not likes the attitude of appearance of the employee, and then he might rate the employee with a lower score. If the employee’s attitude with the supervisor is not favorable but the peers and subordinates like the attitude of the employee, then this can be captured in the evaluation process. Many people participate in the evaluation process, so the score becomes more reliable and more accurate. The supervisor may not have a personal relation with the employee and may not know him too well to rate his personality and attitude towards work. It is also possible that the employee have had some kind of incident with the supervisor in the past and since then the attitude towards the employee had become unfavorable. Then the supervisor would obviously rate him low in the performance factors. Most of the times in an organization, peers and co-workers know the employee better than the supervisor; so when the peers will evaluate the employee, they will be able to give the ratings more accurately and their ratings will be more reliable than any others. The attitude of a person towards his sub-ordinates is also very important, this attitude can be recorded when sub-ordinates will take part in the evaluation process of the employee. And then after the evaluation, the employee can leverage his strengths according to others’ perception of his performance and personality. So, 360-degree approach to performance evaluation helps in evaluating the employee from many views and in recording reliable and more accurate information then the traditional forms of evaluations and is not only helpful to the management to make important decisions but also is useful to the person being evaluated . There are some disadvantages too of including the supervisor, peers and subordinates in the evaluation process. One of the main disadvantages is that all the peers and subordinates may not like the personality of the employee being evaluated and may rate him very low based on his attitude and personality. The main purpose of evaluating an employee is to evaluate the performance and skills and attitude towards the work and tasks assigned to him. The co-workers and subordinates may have issues with employee being evaluated because of personality clash, and although his work is up to the mark and performance is well, but still the peers, supervisor and subordinates might give him low score on performance. There are a handful of employee performance evaluation methods; three of them are top-down, peer-to-peer and 360-degree. Top-down is the most commonly used in the organizations today. It involves the direct manager of the employee in the evaluation process and is only useful if the manager knows his employee well enough. Peer-to-peer entails the employees of the same levels to review each other. Nobody knows the capabilities and performance of an employee better than his peer or co-worker. While it can be effective method, it can also be very unsuccessful at times. If there is jealousy among the co-workers or if there is competition then it is obvious that they will not rate each others in a reliable manner. When there are multiple managers or multiple peers of an employee then these methods prove successful. The third method is 360-degree evaluation which takes into account the reviews of peers, subordinates and the managers or supervisors. In some organizations even suppliers and customers are involved in the evaluation process. While the advantage of multiple points of views is clear, it poses some threats also. Sometimes the subordinates may not give the true feedback of their managers because of the fear that manager will get to know about it. The following are the errors and biases that commonly affect the accuracy of performance evaluation. The first one is that the employees may favor the evaluation questions of their manager as they will fear that the manager will find out and so their review will not be true. The second is that the peers might not be mature enough or experienced enough to evaluate each other and they may form a cartel and rate each other well. The third example is that the manager does not the performance of his employee whom he is to evaluate because of no interaction with him, and he might just do the evaluation providing inaccurate information. In the given scenario, the evaluation form should be made more reliable and bias free and should be more oriented towards the performance of the employee rather than the friendliness and the attitude towards the co-workers. The scale used should be numeric with the highest being the best and lowest being the most poor. Customers, subordinates, and co-workers should also be included in the evaluation process to make it fairer. References Online Journal Iain, Ph. D. Hay. (2007 ). Transactional and Transformational Leaderships Compared. Leadership of Stability and leadership of vola tility, Volume 4, Issue 4. Retrieved 04 16, 2009, from Academic Leadership database. Website Organization/Website/Author name. (Year, Month Day). Title. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from www. url. com Value Based Management. net/Victor Vroom. (2009, 03 23). Motivation and Management Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. valuebasedmanagement. net/methods_vroom_expectancy_theory. html Arrod. co. uk/Dave Droar. (2006, 12 31). Expectancy theory of motivation. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. arrod. co. uk/archive/concept_vroom. php Imaginal Training/Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser. (2001). Level 5 Leadership. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. imaginal. nl/articleLevel5Leadership. htm Workplace Competence International Limited/Roelf Woldring. (2001). Power in Organizations: A way of Thinking About What You’ve Got, and How to Use It. Retrieved 04 16, 2009, from http://www. wciltd. com/pdfquark/powerorgv2. pdf

The Wife of Bath’s Faithfulness Essay Example for Free

The Wife of Bath’s Faithfulness Essay In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer reveals the characteristics of the Wife of Bath through her tale and background. Chaucer portrays the Wife of Bath as a woman of faith through her religious actions and beliefs despite her human faults. Chaucer states in the General Prologue that â€Å"not a dame dared stir/ [t]owards the altar steps in front of her,† meaning that no one stepped in front of her to receive communion (GP ll. 459-460). If one did go ahead of her, â€Å"so wrath was she/ [a]s to be quite put out of charity† (GP ll. 461-462). Chaucer depicts the Wife of Bath as eager to receive the Sunday communion. By displaying her eagerness to receive communion, Chaucer explains that she has compassion for the Church. Furthermore, the Wife of Bath displays her respect for the church by dressing in her best outfits such as â€Å"hose [that] were of the finest scarlet red† (GP l. 466). Also, Chaucer states that the Wife of Bath â€Å"had five husbands, [but she had them] all at the church door† (GP l. 470). In the eyes of the church getting married at the church door is a sign of her faith. In her tale, the Wife of Bath expresses a dislike for the â€Å"holy friars,† whom she describes as having â€Å"seem[ed] to have purged the air† (W l. 10). Purging the air in this case refers to the friars raping the fairies. The Wife of Bath conveys loyalty to the church by expressing concern that the â€Å"holy friars† would commit the terrible sin of rape, considering their position in the church. Also in her story, she tells of a knight who raped a maiden (W l. 34). The king was to â€Å"condemn [] the knight to lose his head/ [b]y course of law,† but the queen begged the king to let her impose the sentence (W ll. 37-38). As a result, the king gave her the authority to decide the fate of the knight. The queen summoned the knight to ask him the question, â€Å"what is the thing that women most desire?† (W l. 51). If he answered the question correctly within a year and a day, then he could keep his life (W l. 50). With the help of the Wife of Bath, the knight returned with the right answer and his life was saved (W l. 191), and then kept his pledge to marry her (W 1. 201). She makes the pledge to the knight to be a faithful and fair wife (W 1. 387). The Wife of Bath reveals her own faithfulness through the knight’s integrity to return to the queen with an answer. Through her tale and her own actions, the Wife of Bath presents herself as a woman of faith.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

In Depth Analysis Of The Toyota Motor Corporation Marketing Essay

In Depth Analysis Of The Toyota Motor Corporation Marketing Essay The main products for the company are categorised into three segments they are automobile, finance and housing communication system. The core business was automobile segment engages in the design, manufactures and sales that includes a car smaller than a compact car to luxury and sport vehicles, as well as trucks, SUVs, buses and minivans. Additionally Toyota produces automotive parts and accessories for its own use and for sale to others. Popular models include Land cruiser, Lexus line, Camry (best selling passenger car in America, 2004) and Corolla as well as the Tundra (Motor trends truck of the year, 2000). Toyota annual sales approximately reaches 7.5 million models on all five continents (America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia) in which the main markets for both Toyota and Lexus brand vehicle is the United States, followed by Japan. The other highest markets areas are U.K, China, Australia, Canada, Germany, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and the South Africa. In all, Toyota markets vehicles are more than 170 countries/regions. The global main competitors for Toyota are VW group, General Motors, Renault Nissan, Hyundai Kia and Ford. As shown in the appendix1 during the year 2008 Toyota dominates the global light vehicle sales with the highest market share of 14% by overtaking the main rivals like GM and Hyundai Kia in the midst of recession, instead booms the profit. But the position among the competitors changed drastically in the year 2009. The financial summary of Toyota for the year 2009 is tabled as follows. (Billions of yen) The financial report clearly shows that during the year 2009 Toyota made a net loss of  ¥437 billion ($ 4.3 billion) that never happened from the past 1950. It happens due to the worst sales, when company could not sell up to that volume in which that company take out its costs which related to production and sales. Whilst Toyotas president, Fuji Cho openly avowed in the year 2002, that Toyota is aiming for 15% of the global market share by 2010 accommodating itself with the new global vision named as Innovation into the Future. The new theme (vision) consists of four elements they are recycling based society, development of motorization on a global sale, diverse society, and age of information technology. Hence with the severe competition Toyota continues an effortful attempt to attain a goal outlined in the Global Vision 2010 by increasing its competitiveness. ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AFFECTING THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: According to Johnson scholes (1999), different steps to be followed in environmental analysis for finding the strategic position of the organisation they are 1) Assessing the nature of environment, 2) Auditing environmental influences, 3) identifying key competitive forces, 4) identifying competitive position and finally identifying the key opportunities threats. The external environment, as a determined element remain a topic of interest in management literature (Joshi and Campbell 2003; Nahm et al., 2003). Hence, a balance relationship between environment and manufacturing strategy is complex for organisation to achieve success (skinner, 1969; Hayes and Wheelwright, 1984). On the other hand Pagell and Krause (1999,2004) argued that manufacturing flexibility is a global event in high performance organisation regardless of the environment they operate in. However, it is difficult to handle environmental uncertainty (complex) by depending only on primary analysis which is derived from the output of diversity ensuring that different parts of firms responsible for different aspects of diversity are unattached, and given resources and authority to handle their own part of the environment (Johnson and Scholes 1999). Considering the above factors the analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation in the automobile industry is carried out with help of analytical tool kit such as PESTLE and FIVE FORCES. PESTEL ANALYSIS: As shown in the Appendix-II PESTEL analysis for Toyota Automobile Industry is done with respect to the geographical locations of U.S and Japan. The most vital factors from the analysis have been taken and described below to find the current opportunities and threats of the company. The automotive industry is subject to various government regulations including those related to vehicle safety and environmental issues such as emission levels, fuel economy, noise and pollution. Many governments also impose tariffs and other trade barriers, taxes and levies, and enact price or exchange controls. Toyota has incurred and expects to incur in future, significant costs in complying with these regulations. New legislation also subject Toyota to additional expenses in future. As an automotive manufacturer, Toyota may became subject to legal proceedings in respect of various issues, including liability and infringement of intellectual property and Toyota is in fact currently subject to a number of pending legal proceedings could adversely affect Toyotas future financial condition and results of operations. Toyota is subject to various risks associated with conducting business worldwide. These risks include political and economical instability, natural calamities, fuel shortages, interruption in transportation system, wars, terrorism, labour strikes and work stoppages. The occurrence of any of these events in major markets in which Toyota purchases materials, parts and components and suppliers for the manufacture of its products or in which its products are produced, distributed or sold, may results in disruptions and delays in Toyotas business operation may adversely affect Toyotas financial condition and result of operation. The worldwide financial services industry is highly competitive. Increased competition in automobile financing may lead to decreased margins. A decline in Toyotas vehicle unit sales and residual in value risk due to lower used vehicle price increase in the ratio of credit losses and increased funding costs are factors which may impact Toyotas financial operations. The likelihood of these factors materializing has increased as a result of the ongoing rapid worldwide economic deterioration and competition in automobile financing has intensified. If Toyota is unable to adequately respond to the changes and competition in automobile financing, Toyotas financial services operations may adversely affect its financial condition and result of operations. Increase in prices for raw materials that Toyota and Toyotas suppliers use in manufacturing their products or parts and components such as steel, precious metals, non-ferrous alloys including aluminium and plastic parts may lead to higher production costs for parts and components. This could in turn negatively impact Toyotas future profitability because Toyota may not be able to pass all those costs to customers or require its suppliers to obsorb such costs. PORTERS FIVE FORCES: Michael Porter identified five forces that affect an industry. These forces are degree of rivalry, threat of substitutes, barriers to entry, buyer power, and supplier power. For the more on this framework proposed by porter, see Appendix. Viewing the automotive industry through the framework of porters five forces can be helpful in understanding the forces at play. Degree of Rivalry: The automotive industry is highly competitive with Big 3 such as GM, Ford and Daimler Chrysler. In the 1980s the Toyota entered a fairly disciplined U.S market and have been very focused in growing their shares of the market. The great diversity of rivals in terms of cultures and philosophies has intensified rivalry in the Industry. Market growth is slow in the established markets of U.S and Europe, and companies must fight fiercely to eke out gains or prevent losses in market share. However, growth is potentially huge in the rapidly industrializing nations of China and India. In these booming markets Toyota could take advantage of the opportunities to reap handsome awards. The degree of rivalry in the automotive industry is further heightened by fixed costs associated with manufacturing cars and the low switching costs for consumers when buying different makes and models. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitutes to the automobile industry is fairly mild. Numerous other forms of transportation are available, but none offer the utility, convenience, independence, and value afforded by automobiles. However there are inherent underlying social and cultural attitudes that keep people from owning automobiles in some parts of the world. Barriers to Entry: The barriers to enter the automobile industry are substantial. For a new company, the start-up capital required to establish manufacturing capacity to achieve minimum efficient scale is prohibitive. An automotive industry is quite specialized and in the event of failure could not be easily re-tooled. Buyer Power: In the relationship between the Toyota and its ultimate consumers, purchasers of finished vehicles, the power axis is tipped in the consumers favour. Consumers wield the greatest power in this relationship due to the fairly standardised nature of the vehicle and the low switching costs associated with selecting from among competing brands. However, Toyota remains marginally powerful due to large customer to produce ratio. The automotive industry is a dynamic place. With the forces above at play, and with history as a guide, it is safe to stay that the Toyota must continue to change, evolve and adapt. OPPORTUNITIES: Increasing Demand for Hybrid Vehicles: Globally it is estimated that the demand for hybrid electric vehicles(HEVs) will be approximately 4 million units by 2015. Rising oil price and more emissions regulation are likely to increase the demand for HEVs, as hybrid vehicles are less polluting and less operating cost (more fuel efficient) when compared to conventional diesel and gasoline engine, Toyota industries has strong focus on devices for plug-in hybrid vehicles. The companys competency on hybrid technology is likely to drive growth in the medium term. Establishment of New Material Handling In North America: Toyota is formulating a program to expand its material handling equipment in North America. In this context, in March 2010, Toyota industries determined to create a newly owned sub-subsidiary, Toyota material handling North America (TMHNA). Previously, both Toyota and Raymond used to closely work together to boost business efficiencies in the areas of manufacturing, quality and procurement. Though, TMHNA has officially created to integrate management and operational activities in North America. Establishment of TMHNA would enhance the regional co-ordination and increase the performance of the material handling equipments products of Toyota industries. Growing Opportunities in Emerging Automotive Products: Toyota is now concentrating on the new markets such as India, China, Russia and Middle East region seeing that these markets are expected to view a strong growth in the future. In addition, Toyota also provides automotive logistic services. The company, with powerful automotive business operations, would be aided by the growing vehicle demand in these emerging markets. THREATS: Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto protocol for the lessening of carbon emission went into effect in 2005, which results on industrialized countries to cut-down their green house gas emission from the 1990 level by 5.2% by an average level during 2008-2012. Consequently, Toyota appointed the prevention of global warming as one of its strategic management issue and concentrate on measures to reduce global warming, which lead to increase in the cost structure of the company drastically. Intense Competition: Toyota is involved in competition with many automobile companies at home and abroad. Any differences in the allocation of management resources and in competitiveness of cost or technology are likely to impact the companys status in the automobile industry and its business performance. Toyota industries compete with the competitors having large volumes of business and greater financial resources than those of the company. High level of competition in the market place could affect Toyota business operation and could erode in market share. Exchange rate Fluctuation: Toyota industries encompass the production and sales of products and the provision of services worldwide. Toyota is sensitive to the fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and is principally exposed to fluctuations in the value of the Japanese Yen, the U.S Dollar and the Euro. In the recent Japanese Yen appreciated significantly against the U.S Dollar. The strengthening of the Japanese Yen against the U.S Dollar can have a material adverse effect on Toyota Industries reported operating results, which may in turn affect the valuation of the company. ANALYSIS OF THE TOYOTA STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES: According to Haberberg and Riepel (2008) capabilities are things that customers and other stakeholders notice when they are dealing with an organisation. Hence it is vital to identify the capabilities of Toyota, which is carried out with the frame work of resource based analysis (appendix- ) and value chain analysis. Value Chain Analysis: One key program is called value stream mapping, an analysis tool the automaker has been using to improve assembly line productivity is supply chain. Toyota manages the supply chain so efficiently that its production process is near perfect and it simply known as TPS (Toyota Production System), which developed by Toyota to deliver more effectively the products which their customers require, in a timelier manner than traditional management approaches. The unique management system of Toyota made a different relation with the suppliers when compare to other competitors, they are Frequent and reliable deliveries from suppliers Quality parts Small lot size Supplier network Communication with suppliers Proximity to the customers Single sourcing Long-term contract Supplier training Reduced lead time. Toyota is not asking suppliers to reduce price and profit instead, to find a way to minimise cost without having any negative impact on customer value. The present situation is Toyotas ability in developing the TPS and in integrating the policies and practises of their own that is the extension of internal policy deployment through their supplier association into the supplier network and the active co-ordination and development of suppliers, directly and indirectly through the widespread application of the Toyota production system. Resource Audit: Resources of Rolls Royce can be grouped under then following four headings they are Physical resources, Human Resources, Financial resources and Intangibles. STRENGTH: Robust RD Capabilities: Toyota industries actively carry out its research and development activities. Its RD activities can be broadly divide into two areas product development and improvements performed independently within each business division and RD undertaken mainly by the RD centre separate from the activities of its business division and with a view toward company wide- management strategy. Strong RD capabilities helps the company to keep up with the latest technological developments in the market and also helps in developing new products and technologies, thus contributing to the rapid growth of the company. Strong Engineering Capabilities: The company has strong engineering capabilities, for instance the Toyota is extending its product portfolio to include hybrid engines and hybrid vehicles. The company also manufactures electric compressor for hybrid vehicles. The companys strong engineering capabilities allow expanding its product portfolio. WEAKNESS: Overdependence on Japan: A Toyota industry is highly dependent on the Japanese market for its revenues. This overdependence on Japan could have a dampening effect on the companys revenues if the companys sales in Japan do not grow as expected. Addition to this the concentration of operation in this area increases Toyota industries exposure to country specific factors such as changes in raw material prices, labour strikes, changes in economic conditions, and most important increasing competition price from low-priced products. Evaluation of Possible Future Strategies for the TOYOTA: After scanning the environment, performing the SWOT analysis, that showed a weakness in Toyota may at the same time huge opportunities. Now we need to know how to use this opportunities to overcome the threats, minimise the weakness and maximise the strength. Toyotas success is largely based on its forward-thinking, innovative management style and its rigorous standards of quality. The Toyota production system is much-studied strategy of design and manufacturing which emphasizes streamlining and elimination of waste giving rise to the Just in Time and Lean manufacturing movements and continuous error checking and improvement. In addition, Toyota has repeatedly been ahead of the trend in investing new technologies. Instead of focusing on reducing labour costs, Toyota has increasingly automated their production facilities. And with the release of the Prius in 1997, Toyota introduced the first mainstream hybrid vehicle, cashing in on the demand for fuel economy and reduced environmental impact. Like the Prius, the section line successfully addressed a new consumer sector, a plan that Toyota will continue to follow. These strategies combine to give Toyota a significant sustainable competitive advantage. In order to realize the image that Toyota is striving to achieve it is important to undertake a paradigm change from the following three perspectives they are are technology development, management and profit structures Acquisition of a Competitor: Acquisition of competitor is known as improvement strategy of expanding its core business. The acquisition will lead to rise in market share (barney and Hesterly, 2010) for Toyota through market penetration, market development and market expansion, if the acquire company is operating in more and different emerging markets. This form of acquisition is called horizontal integration and would lead to an increase in market share and decrease in competition. Toyota to exploit the merging market such as India and China it should acquire the existing competitor so that it is easily strengthen the market position and open new opportunities for competitive advantage New Strategic Capabilities: There are strong competitors for Toyota in the technology, marketing and manufacturing. Therefore to reduce the intensity of rival among the major players, Toyota can look into joint venture strategy to capture the emerging markets such as China, India and Russia. Implementation of Strategic Change: Surviving to highly competitive rapidly changing environment often requires firms to develop strategies that provide the right kind of flexibility to succeed their specific environments, thus achieving fit between the type of flexibility to succeed in their specific environments, thus achieving fit between the type of flexibility pursued and the demand placed by the environment. Negotiating: Negotiation should be there to understand the demand of both buyer and seller and these has a significant impact as the negotiations unfold and implementation begins. Implementation: Implementation is the critical part for the leadership and communication to execute the change management. The changes that should be made for merging should be planned in detail because there are many issues that are expected with acquisition such as integration challenges, culture, control system, financial operation and loss of key personal (Thompson, 2001). In order to overtake these problems Toyota has to do a proper planning and research before the implementation to get the positive outcome. Conclusion: The product developments are in increasing nature because of the emerging new markets and the technological factor is adding value to the company focusing for the next generation, hence I personally recommend on investor to invest with Toyota APPENDIX-II PESTEL ANALYSIS FACTORS IMPACT(opportunities threats) TIME SCALE POLITICAL: Political instabilities, fuel shortages, natural calamities, wars, terrorism and labour strikes Arab oil embargo turned fuel economy into an important automobile policy goal for the U.S government. The occurrences of any of these events will results in disruption and delays in operation. Prolonged disruption may adversely affect the financial conditions of Toyota Toyota Government relation are 1, Reliance on Business association 2, Personalized network and 3, emphasis on harmony. Changes in legislation Continuous process Every 5 years ECONOMICAL: Financial crisis that began in 2007 and accompanying sharp declaration of vehicle sales during 2008 serious challenges for all automakers. Energy crisis. Rise in price of gasoline. Exchange rate fluctuation with respect to Dollar Establishment of new material handling company in north America which will limit the cost of exporting the vehicle to US Alternative energy efficiency technology and more investment in RD Big cars got smaller, small cars got better Drove down demand for big, expensive cars, and pilled in capital from Japan and elsewhere, which helped drive up the dollar In March 2010 Continuous Continuous Continuous SOCIAL: Demand for fuel efficiency by consumers Intense Competition More demand for hybrid electric vehicles Resulted in more choices for buyers and searching opportunities in emerging market Estimated within 2015. Continuous TECHNOLOGY: Rising energy cost and increased emissions regulation are likely to increase the demand for hybrid vehicles. Toyota industries has strong focus on hybrid vehicles Demand to reach within next five years. ENVIRONMENTAL: Kyoto protocol The emergence of government regulation for vehicle safety and emissions. Reduction of green house by 14% from the 1990 level within 2012 4years LEGAL: Toyota may became subject to various legal proceedings in respect of various issues, including product liability and infringement of legal property, and Toyota in fact currently subject to a number of pending legal problems Adversely affect the Toyotas future financial condition and results of operation Continuous NOTE: Analysis mainly based on the Japan and US geographic location Appendix-III Porters Five Force Model New entrants Industry Competitors Intensity of Rivalry Buyers Suppliers Substitutes Appendix-IV Value Chain Analysis Reliance on Business association (internationalization)-well connected to each other and with politicians and bureaucrats. Personalized network- The use of personalized /informal network for political influence and mobilization in Japan is a more visible and frequent activity than in many other industrialized countries. Emphasis on harmony- strong emphasis on harmony among firms and policy makers.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Energy and the Environment :: Environmental Pollution Science

Energy and the Environment As I read books and magazines to prepare for this essay, I have become much more familiar with energy and the environment. I was always aware of my surroundings, but studying the issues further has allowed me to see how my life is involved with this area and how it actually impacts it. I think it was first made clear to me when I looked at the actual energy processes that take place every single moment of every day, and how very little disturbances can change environmental processes substantially. I never really understood the fact that certain environmental, and human, processes can actually convert energy into many different forms in certain situations. And also, all of the types of energy can be converted in an infinite amount of ways. An example of this is how "mechanical or electrical energy is, for instance, produced by many kinds of devices, including fuel-burning heat engines, generators, batteries, fuel cells, and magnetohydrodynamic systems" (Encyclopedia Britannica). In this example, fuel burning heat engines are used to produce mechanical energy, but in the process chemical energy is turned into thermal energy which is then converted into mechanical energy. As you can see, this is just one of countless processes that convert energy many different times. Another way I started to look at these topics was from an economists' point of view. I started to think more about how we may deplete certain resources and how certain alternatives are helping to aid with this problem. Another area is the distribution of resources and the certain decisions that must be made when deciding what and how much to use. An example of this is the fact that "schools spend more on energy than on computers and textbooks combined" (www.ase.org). If scientists could develop new methods of energy conversion, maybe schools and other areas of interest can decrease their spending on resources and ultimately energy usage. All-in-all, I think that the biggest topic of interest involved with energy and the environment is how much we actually consume (resources, energy, etc.) and how we can try to decrease this figure. To think about how much energy we actually use, and how this number has increased, consider the fact that in the past 54 years we have increased our energy usage from 29 quadrillion Btus to about 84 quadrillion Btus (Annual Energy Review). This figure is constantly increasing, which is one of the biggest environmentally-related problems that we are faced with today.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Fur Is Dead Research Paper -- essays research papers fc

The grade I recieved for this paper was an A+, just incase you were wondering.... â€Å"Fur is Dead† Taking a look into a once strong industry, shocking facts are revealed. The fur industry brings in an average of $1.5 billion in sales each year. Furs were considered a beautiful and feminine version of clothing by many women, until the public became aware of the horrors that accompany the industry. Activists have been a voice for animals tortured for their fur, making the public aware, and diminishing the old view of fur. Approximately 3.5 million fur-bearing animals are killed each year by trappers, and another 2.7 million are raised on fur ‘farms’. (1) The fur industry is a ‘for-profit’ venture, meaning methods that maximize production and keep costs at a low rate are used, this often leaves no room for humane treatment. About 90% of all ranched fur bearers are minks. (2) Foxes, rabbits, and chinchillas account for most of the remainder. These animals are kept in filthy, cramped, and diseased conditions. Foxes are kept in wire-mesh cages only 2.5 feet square, with up to four animals per cage. Minks and other species are typically kept in 1-foot-by-3-foot cages, again with up to four animals per cage. Animals born at fur farms live very short lives, and because profit is the grand interest, the cheapest methods are used to slaughter the animals. The cheapest methods are also the most inhumane, crude, and cruel methods. Trapping is also a method for obtaining furs. The suf...