A Difficult Task Force: Organizational Behavior Essay

The concept of groups, teams and teamwork is a very important factor for good performance of the whole company. I read the case about the group of professionals who had to control and serve the new joint venture between companies from Japan, United States, and South America. This new company had to make, sell, and service pet caskets for the burial of beloved pets, mostly dogs and cats. During the first month of work, each company had assigned personnel to the task force. The members from every company were chosen to participate in the joint venture. As chair of the task force, Jose initiated a meeting of all the members of the new company. He gave historical information, and then he reviewed the market for the innovations of their prospective product. The task force was to develop the initial design parameters for the new product to meet increasing demand around the world. Next part of the meeting was opened to comments and suggestions. Mariana Preus, representative from Argentina, the head of product design, said that the current designs that they had in production in Argentina plant were just fine, and he didn’t see any reasons to innovate the design of their product. All other members of the meeting agreed not to make any changes in the design of the product. Jose reminded to all of the participants of the meeting that their task force’s purpose is to redesign the product and its manufacturing systems. Finally, Jose had to agree with members of the meeting and to write a memo to the council of presidents with the recommendation to use existing designs and to begin immediately to design the plant and the manufacturing system. The meeting adjourned,d and Jose returned to his computer and started to write the memo that, he knew, would anger the presidents. He wondered what had he done wrong and what he could have done to prevent such result of the meeting. I think that in this case study we see an example of the formal group that is formed by a manager to help the organization to accomplish its goals. The group development process wasn’t finished and ended on the second stage–storming. Analyzing the group member roles, in our situation Jose is the initiator of the meeting, information giver, opinion seeker, and orienter. Mariana Preus has a role of initiator and information giver, because he insisted on the not redesigning of the product. The other members seem to serve just as a passive audience–followers, because they all agreed  to the Mariana’s suggestion, and didn’t give any other opinions. Also, there was no group cohesiveness; a â€Å"we feeling† binding group members together to accomplish their goal. The diverse nature of the group affected the committee’s action by not understanding and participating of all members in the meeting. If I was in Jose’s position, I would try to keep the group headed toward the stated goal better, and not to agree with the suggestion of one member, but to count the opinions of every member of the group. Also, it wasn’t right to adjourn the meeting before getting the result that would approach to the goal of the whole meeting.

A Critical Evaluation of the Engagement and Psychosocial Asessment of a Client Living with Psychosis in the Health and Social Care Practitioners Work Setting.

INTRODUCTION This assignment is a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the community. It provides a critical and analytical account which encapsulates assessments, psycho education, problem solving, implementation and evaluation of strategies used. I will also use Gibbs (1988) model of reflection to reflect on my assessment process and how learning can be taken forward in terms of my own practice development and that of the service setting. My client l shall call Emily a pseudo name used to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2002 Code of Professional Conduct that outlines guidelines of confidentiality. Emily was initially on the acute ward where l started the process of engagement with her before she was discharged under our team in the community to facilitate early discharge. Emily was suitable for psychosocial based interventions (PSI) and this was identified as part of her care plan in order to provide support in adapting to the demands of community living and managing her illness. PSI should be an indispensable part of treatment and options of treatment should be made available for clients and their families in an effort to promote recovery. Those with the best evidence of effectiveness are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and family intervention. They should be used to prevent relapse, to reduce symptoms, increase insight and promote adherence to medication, (NICE 2005). Emily is 33 year old woman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. She was referred to my team to facilitate early discharge from the ward as part of her discharge. She lives in supported housing and had had several hospital admissions and some under the mental health act. Emily was being maintained in the community on medication but it was felt that there was still an amount of distress in her life and that her social functioning was suffering as a result. Emily presented with both delusional and hallucinatory symptoms and as part of her treatment cognitive approaches were considered to help alleviate the distress and modify the symptoms. Emily was brought up in a highly dysfunctional family. Both her parents had problems with drugs and the law. Emily had been introduced to drugs at an early age but due to her illness she had stopped using them at the age of 30 when she went into supported accommodation. There was family history of schizophrenia as her grandfather had it and he had killed himself. Emily identified that her problems started in 2007 when her grandfather passed away as she was close to him and had lived most of her life with her grandparents. I completed a time line to look back at while she talked about her life history (see Appendix 1). It is vital that the client is allowed to tell their story with the minimum intervention from the practitioner and the timeline can be used to examine if there are any links to their relapses and psychotic episodes (Grant et al 2004). In the community setting we have a variety of patients with different diagnosis of mental health problems. The rationale for choosing this patient is that she had had various interventions such as medication changes and a lot of experience with the mental health professionals including compulsory treatment under the mental health act (1983). All these factors are likely to have an impact on the individual’s degree of willingness to engage in psychological interventions (Nathan et al, 2003). Hence initially it was a challenge to engage Emily and establish a relationship and build rapport. (Nelson 1997) states rapport is built by showing interest and concern and be particularly careful not to express any doubts about what the patient tells you. The development of a therapeutic relationship is critically important in work with persons with schizophrenia, which maybe difficult with patients struggling with mistrust, suspicion and denial (Mhyr, 2004). Rapport took some time to develop and was established by core conditions of genuineness, respect and accurate empathy (Bradshaw 1995). I met with Emily to set the agenda and explained to her that she was free to terminate the session anytime should she feel it necessary. It was also vital to ensure that the sessions were neither confrontational and totally compliant with Emily’s view of the world ( Kingdom & Turkington, 1995) I encouraged Emily to describe her current problems and to give a detailed description of the problems and concentrate on a more recent problem. l was directive, active, riendly and used constructive feedback, containment of feelings to develop the relationship(Tarrier et al,1998). l used her interest in Christianity to engage her and because l showed an interest this became a regular point of conversation and strengthened the connection. I also demonstrated some flexibility in response to Emily’s needs and requirements at different stages of the t reatment and intervention. It is not possible to maintain a sound collaborative therapeutic relationship without constant attention to the changing situation and requirements of a patient (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Since the development of antipsychotic medication and dominance of biomedical models during the 1950`s mental health care has changed and evolved. The dependency on the sole use of medication was found to have left patients with residual symptoms and social disability, including difficulty with interpersonal skills and limitation with coping (Sanford&Gournay, 1986). This prompted the return of PSI to be used in conjunction with medication management. The aim was to reduce residual disability and to include in the treatment process social skills and training rehabilitation (Wykes et al, 1998). As part of my assessment process l carried out a comprehensive assessment using CPA 1, 2, and 4 in conjunction with the Trust Policy. This was to establish what her problems were and formulate a clear plan. A process of structured, comprehensive assessment can be very useful in developing an in-depth understanding of issues surrounding resistance to services (Grant et al 2004). I carried out a Case Formulation (CS) using the 5W`s What? , Where? , When? , With Whom and Why, and Frequency, Intensity, Duration and Onset ( FIDO) model to explore and get a detailed explanation of the problem and explore the `Five aspects of your life experiences` (Greenberger and Padesky 1995) (see Appendix 3). CS maps out the relationship on how the environment impacts on your thoughts, emotion, behaviour, physical reactions (Greenberger and Padesky,1995). While the assessment helped to form a picture of Emily’s suitability for PSI it also provided a scope for further work on her coping skills. Given the assumption that a person may feel reluctant to give a particular way of coping as this maybe the only means of control (Gamble & Brennan, 2006), the exploration was collaborative. From the assessment and case formulation Emily’s goal was to go out more and reduce the frequency and intensity of her voices or even have them disappear. l explained to Emily that we had to be realistic about her set goals and having voices disappear was unlikely. Kingdom (2002) states that though patients desire to make voices disappear are unlikely since voices are, as far as reasonably established, attributions of thoughts as if they were external perceptions. Goals are positive, based in the future and specific (Morrison et al 2004) and the golden rule in goal setting is to be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Limited. Emily then rephrased her goal statement to that she wanted to reduce the intensity of her voices in the next few weeks by using distraction techniques that she had not tried before. I used the KGVM Symptom Scale version 7. 0 (Krawieka, Goldberg and Vaughn,1977) to assess Emily’s symptoms which focuses on six areas including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviour, elevated mood, hallucinations and delusions. A KGV assessment provides a global measure of common psychiatric symptoms (feelings and thoughts) experienced with psychosis. The framework ensures that important questions are asked and a consistent measure of symptoms is provided. The KGV is a valid tool with a considered level of high reliability (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Assessment is a process that elicits the presence of disease or vulnerability and a level of severity in symptoms (Birchwood & Tarrier, 1996). This gathering of information provides the bases to develop a plan of suitability of treatment, identifies problems and strengths and agree upon priorities and goals (Gamble & Brennan,2006). l also used the Social Functioning Scale (SFS appendix 6) (Birchwood et al,1990) which examined Emily’s social capability and highlighted any areas of concern. Emily was a loner and though living in supported accommodation she was hardly involved with the other residents or joined in with community activities. She expressed that she was afraid people could hear her voices and were judging her at all times and used avoidance as a coping strategy. On using the KGV assessment and from the results (see Appendix 2) Emily scored highly in four sections hallucinations, delusions, depression and anxiety. It appeared during assessment that her affective symptoms were econdary to her delusions and hallucinations, which were initiated and exacerbated by mostly stressful events in her life. Her hallucinations were noted to be evident at certain times and were followed by sleep deprivation. Emily expressed fleeting suicidal thoughts but denied having any plans or intentions. She also experienced sporadic moments of elation which appeared to be linked to stress. It was important for Emily to understand how life events had an impact on her difficulties an d the use of the Stress Vulnerability Model SVM (Zubin and Spring 1977) demonstrated this (see Appendix 4). Practical measures arising from an assessment of stress and vulnerability factors seek to reduce individual vulnerability, decrease unnecessary life stressors and increase personal resistance to the effects of stress. One of Emily’s highlighted problems was a lack of sleep and this could be linked to the stress vulnerability and her psychotic symptoms. Normalisation was used to illustrate this to Emily. Her increase in psychotic symptoms could then be normalised through discussing about the effects of sleep deprivation on her mental state and reduction of the associated anxiety. Emily was able to recognise how stress impacted on her psychosis. Emily identified the voices as a problem from the initial assessment. She was keen to talk about them but listened to suggestions l made to tackle the voices. The assumption of continuity between normality and psychosis has important clinical implications. It opens the way for a group of therapeutic techniques that focus on reducing the stigma and anxiety often associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms and with diagnostic labelling. Kingdom and Turkington(2002) have described such approaches as normalising strategies, which involve explaining and demystifying the psychotic experience. They may involve suggesting to patients that their experiences are not strange and no one can understand, but are common to many people and even found amongst people who are relatively normal and healthy. Normalising strategies can help instil hope and decrease the stigma and anxiety which can be associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms. This rationale emphasises the biological vulnerability to stress of individuals with schizophrenia and the importance of identifying stresses and improving methods of coping with stress in order to minimise disabilities associated with schizophrenia (Yusupuff & Tarrier, 1996). (Grant et al 2004). The problem l encountered when applying and using this model with Emily was that she realised and understood that she was not the only one experiencing voices but she wanted to find out why she experienced the voices. I used the belief about voices questionnaire (BAVQ-R appendix 5) which assesses malevolent and benevolent beliefs about voices, and emotional and behavioural responses to voices such as engagement and resistance (Morrison et al 2004). We identified the common triggers of her voices such as anxiety, depression and social isolation. During my engagement with Emily l emphasized enhancing existing coping strategies (Birchwood& Tarrier, 1994); (Romme &Escher 2000). The idea was to build on Emily’s existing coping methods and introduce an alternative. We agreed upon distraction as a coping strategy. The plan was for Emily to listen to music or carryout breathing exercises when the disturbing voices appear and to start interacting with them by telling them to go away rather than shout at them. Emily used this plan with good effect at most times as it appeared to reduce the psychological arousal and helped her gain maximum usage of these strategies in controlling the symptom (Tarrier et al, 1990). To tackle Emily’s social functioning we identified activities that she enjoyed doing and she enjoyed going to church but had stopped due to her fears that people could hear her thoughts and found her weird. I suggested that she could start with small exposure, like sitting in the lounge with her fellow residence and going on group outings in the home as these were people she felt comfortable with as she knew them. This would then hopefully lead to Emily increasing her social functioning and enable her to attend church. Emily expressed that she felt more in control of her voices REFLECTION My work with Emily was made easy as she agreed to work with me although l did face some reluctance initially. As my intervention and engagement with Emily started while she was on the ward this made it easier for me to engage her in the community. We developed good rapport and she felt she could trust me, which made the process of engagement easier. Through my engagement and assessment process l improved on my questioning and listening skills. Emily was clearly delusional at times and working with the voices present proved a challenge at times, but l realised that l had to work collaboratively with her and gain her trust and not question her beliefs. At times though l felt l was interrogating her and did not follow a format and also because of the constraints on time l did not allow much time to recap and reflect and could never properly agree the time of next meeting. I also worked at her existing strengths and coping strategies that she had adapted throughout her life and this empowered her and made her feel like she was contributing. At times though l felt we deviated from the set goals and l lost control of sessions. On reflection this is an area that l will need to develop and improve on and be able to deviate but bring back the focus to the agreed plan. My interventions were aimed at Emily’s voices and increasing her social functioning. This l discovered was my target areas and not necessarily Emily’s. n future l will aim at concentrating more on what the client perceives as their major problem as this will show client involvement in their care. This will also help me have a clear and rational judgement and appreciate every improvement the client makes no matter how small. I did not focus much on Emily’s family which l realised was a topic that she wanted to explore but l felt l was not equipped in exploring this part of her life in relation to her illness. The other difficulties l faced was because of my working pattern l had to cancel some of our meeting appointments. As part of the set agenda l had to reintroduce myself and the plan and goals that we had set out in the initial stages and this always proved to bridge the gap. It was also difficult for continuity in the team that l work in as one did not carry a personal caseload so delivering interventions was not always easy and there was not always continuity as some of my colleagues were not familiar with some applications of PSI. This highlighted as a service that there was a need for us as nurses in the team to have PSI training in order to continue with the work if the main practitioner was away and also as a team we hardly ever sed assessment tools and were therefore not confident and competent in their use. l also had difficulties in completing assessment in time due to constricted time frames. l could not always spend as much time with Emily because l had other clients to see in a space of time. In future l will have to negotiate my time and improve on my time management. In this assignme nt l had to carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis and carry out a critical self reflection on the assessment process and how this could be improved on. From my case study l deduced that use of some applications of PSI remains highly experimental and requires considerable research and more theoretical models. Furthermore discussion is also lacking on the details as to ways in which symptoms improved or social functioning enhanced in behavioural terms in relation to social context. However the interventions used in this case study highlighted considerable strength in supporting claims that PSI can work and does help reduce symptoms of psychosis. REFERENCES Birchwood M and Tarrier N (eds) (1996) Psychological Management of Pschizophrenia. Wiley Publishers Bradshaw T (1995) Psychological interventions with psychotic symptoms; a review. Mental Health Nursing. 15(4) Birchwood, M, Smith, J, Cochrane, R, Wetton, S, Capestake, S (1990) The social functioning scale: development and validation of a scale of social adjustment for use in family interventions programmes with schizophrenia patients, British Journal of Psychiatry,157, 853-859 Chadwick, P, Birchwood, M, Trower ,P (1996) Cognitive Therapy for Delusions, voices and paranoia, Wiley & Sons. Gamble,C, Brennan,G (2000) Working with serious mental illness:a manual for clinical practice. Grant, C, Mills, J, Mulhern, R, Short, N (2004) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Mental Health Care, Sage pub. Greenberger,D, Padesky,C A(1995) Mind over mood: A Cognitive Therapy Treatment Manual for clients. Guilford Press. Krawieka, M, Goldberg,D, Vughn,M (1977) A Standardised Psychiatric Assessment scale for rating chronic psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 1977;55: 299-308. Kingdom , D and Turkington,D (1994) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Schizophrenia. Hove Lawrence Erlbaum. Kingdom, D and Turkington (2002) The Case Study Guide to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Psychosis. Wiley. Mhyr, G(2004) Reasoning with Psychosis patients; Why should a general psychiatrist care about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Schizophrenia. Morrison,AP, Renton, JC, Dunn, H, Williams, S, Bentall, RP (2004) Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis, Brunner- Routledge. Nathan, P, Smith, L, Juniper, U, Kingsep, P, Lim, L (2003) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychotic Symptoms, A Therapist Manual, Centre for Clinical Interventions. Nelson H (1997) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Schizophrenia. A Practice Manual. Stanley Thornes. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2003) Schizophrenia: core interventions in the treatment and management of schizophrenia in primary and secondary care, NICE publications. Nursing & Midwifery Council, Code of Professional Conduct (2002). Romme M and Escher A Eds (1993) Accepting Voices. MIND Publications Sanford T and Gournay K (1996) Perspectives in Mental Health Nursing. Bailliere Tindall. Tarrier, N, Yusupoff, L, Kinney C, McCarthy E, Gledhill A, Haddock G and Morris J (1998) Randomised controlled trial of intensive cognitive behaviour therapy for patients with chronic schizophrenia. British Medical Journal 317,303-307. Zubin, J, & Spring, B (1997) Vulnerability: A new view on schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, Topic: Students will carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the health and social care practitioner`s work setting. Word Count: 2826

Knowledge is power Essay

â€Å"A man without knowledge is like an idol† –Nidhi So knowledge is life and it gives power to human being which makes him different from the other living organism Knowledge according to Oxford dictionary is ‘’Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject’’ â€Å"No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.† ― L. Frank Baum. The Lost Princess of Oz, so the greatest treasure of life is knowledge It is only by knowledge we can discern between right and wrong. If an animal kill a human being we say it’s because it has no knowledge but if a human being kills a human being then he or she is punished as human being has the knowledge that he should not kill other human beings Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. Subhadra was the sister of Sri Krishna. He use to tell her of the war techniques once when Abhimanyu was still in th e womb. He was telling her of how to break the challenges of chakra-vyuha but she dozed off but While Subhadra dozed off, Abhimanyu continued to carefully follow Sri Krishna’s narrative of the Chakra-vyuha. But, after talking for some time and not receiving any response from Subhadra, Sri Krishna realised that she was savouring a sweet nap. Sri Krishna, who had at that time come up to the seventh step of the Chakra-vyuha, gave up his narration and returned with Subhadra to the palace. The unfortunate Abhimanyu could never obtain the technique of breaking all the circles in the chakra-vyuha, but whatever he had heard Sri Krishna say, he carefully preserved in his memory. He grew up to be a brave, handsome young man. Many years later, during the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra, the Kauravas set up a Chakra-vyuha and challenged the Pandavas to come forward and break it. However, only Arjuna knew the technique of doing so but he was fighting elsewhere. At that stage, to save the honour of the Pandavas, Abhimanyu came forward and offered his services for the task of breaking the chakra-vyuha. Despite his incomplete knowledge of the technique he entered the grid and overcame one circle after another until he came to the seventh one, the breaking of which he had no knowledge. Brave and ambitious he was but in vain as he had no knowledge. By this we can come to the conclusion that knowledge is power and half  knowledge can be dangerous We have to be careful in this world when we live as we read about Abhimanyu there are many people with this half knowledge and it can be very dangerous that even it can put our life in risk Mahatma Gandhi says of â€Å"Seven Deadly Sins and one among that is Knowledge without character Man has to spend his life to acquire knowledge but it should be to save the world and not to destroy it as for example nuclear energy is good for man use but if it is used for war it can end ruin the whole world in frac tion of seconds, as the dropping of nuclear bomb during second world war has its pain even today in Hiroshima and Nagasaki Knowledge plays an important role in all spheres of human life and activity. It is a powerful factor which helps man to attain success, power and position in life. There is no doubt that physical strength and money are instruments of power. A man who is physically strong or whose purse is full commands power over others but the power of knowledge is still greater. Knowledge directs his actions and enables him to find the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. It helps him overcome his weakness and faults and face dangers and difficulties with courage and confidence. It gives him mental, moral and spiritual advancement. Besides this, it is through knowledge that man has gained mastery over nature. Man is physically weaker than many animals. He cannot run fast as fast as a panther. He cannot see as far as an eagle can. His sense of smell is weaker than that of a dog. He cannot carry as heavy loads as some beasts of burden do. He cannot fight tigers and lions with his bare hands. Yet he has managed to become the most powerful creature on earth. His po wer comes from knowledge. Those who have wide-range of knowledge and experience can capture power and influence. The possession of knowledge gives them a distinct advantage over the semi educated people. Half knowledge is regarded as ‘the curse of god’ and also it is worse than ignorance. He explored land, water and space by virtue of his knowledge. Man has made progress in all fields starting from science, technology to arts etc. Knowledge gave man the feeling of strength and power. Knowledge develops human faculties. It leads to the excellence of the mind. It enables one to give sound judgment. Education and knowledge are desirable for democracy. We should try to spread the knowledge base in all fields in the masses. In Indian rural scene, the knowledge levels about family, school education, problems of woman. child rearing and other social issues are very  poor. Illiteracy and social backwardness combine to put the rural masses at the receiving end. Lack of knowledge leads to poverty and absence of methods of productivity and economic prosperity. This vicious cycle continues. Restraint, tolerance, understanding and capacity to manage affairs come with knowledge. If knowledge is imparted to our rural children, youth, women and men, they would emerge as the major social power. There is no end to the gaining of knowledge, It is only the foolish man who thinks he knows everything. Modern knowledge is very intricate and wide is scope The soldier, the man of the sword, thought he was the master; but he was really in the hands of the priest, the man of the pen. The pen was mightier than the sword. It was the same in ancient India. The learned Brahmins were for ages the real rulers of Indian States. They dominated the lower, ignorant castes; and their knowledge enabled them to manage the Rajas and Maharajas. Knowledge is not the property of the rich. No class has its monopoly over it. Anyone who perseveres in this endeavour may excel the others. It is not a thing to be bought with riches. Like wealth or beauty, it does not drop in value by time. Knowledge is power because all the power in the world owes to it. The power of knowledge has proved its supremacy over everything. As a whole, nothing benefited the mankind more than knowledge. A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. â€Å"What?!† the owners exclaimed. â€Å"He hardly did anything!† So they wrote the old man a note saying, â€Å"Please send us an itemized bill.† The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. $ 2.00 Knowing where to tap†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. $ 9,998.00 Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!

CRITICAL SYSTEMS THINKING AND PRACTICE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

CRITICAL SYSTEMS THINKING AND PRACTICE - Essay Example On the other hand, refugees are persons who would be persecuted within their own countries of nationality on basis of their religion, race, nationality, political stand or opinion or better still membership to a social group (Anon, 2011-12, p. 2). Immigration has been a common practice within the human culture and has been evidenced by the frameworks that have been crafted within government structures of different countries to deal with the feature. Governments acknowledge that there exists immigration into or out of these countries either legally or even illegally and thus the need for regulatory frameworks. Nevertheless, the major concern has been in manning the borders and having clear-cut boundaries between countries. However, there are international human rights that influence government decisions surrounding immigration, which are generally accepted within the international context. Such frameworks are basically meant to cater for refugees and thus covering them and their right s. However, every nation has her foreign policies as decisions that point to the future on accounts of other nations as against her internal decisions. The analysis revolves around the assessment of international as well as internal domestic political and social cultural environment. It also entails setting goals and determining the options on foreign policies regarding the level of porosity in terms of allowing people in as well as out of the country. Of much concern is a problem that has been associated with inclusion as well as exclusion in matters of boundaries in countries. This has been seen to be a critical issue in analysis of critical thinking and practices. This paper therefore intends to evaluate the issue of boundaries and inclusion within the context of Indonesia and Australia. Immigration is a common feature within these countries, though there are guidelines and frameworks that are responsible of regulating the issue within the countries. Moreover, apart from internal regulatory frameworks that govern migration of persons as refugees or even asylum seekers, there are international frameworks that work together for the good of the immigrants. The UNHCR among other UN bodies regulate the issue of migration to other countries of people who pose as refugees or asylum seekers; and thus ensure the proper handling of the persons within international frameworks, which are accented to by international community. Indonesia is a transit country to Australia and offers the cheapest way to refugees or illegal immigrants through the sea. This is because the country is well situated and is the passing point of the immigrants especially those from the Middle East countries, who are headed to Australia for settlement as well as seeking for employment. Indonesia fits transit point because she is made up of many islands and has good entry points through water transport; which proves to be cheap and affordable to the immigrants who in many instances lack enough mon ey for transport through other means. The local anglers and who indulge in the illegal business of ‘smuggling people’ offer transport services to the illegal immigrants

Abuse of Power, Putin vs Obama and the Crimea Research Paper

Abuse of Power, Putin vs Obama and the Crimea - Research Paper Example The attainment of this power and subsequently its execution takes place on a clearly spelt out constitutional framework of legislation (Hornstein, 2003, p.11). In this regard, economic power may be termed legitimate when it is implemented by either commercial or industrial enterprises which are constituted following the law of the state in which they operate. Whenever power exist, there will be power abuse (Dubber, 2005, p.33). This explains the reason why it becomes difficult to define power except when related to the abuse in which it is exposed to. A number of terms and expressions have therefore been developed to express this concept of power abuse. Terms like power misappropriation and thirst for power have been extensively used. Numerous debates have been organized to discuss this concept of power abuse and one significant fact that has come out is that it is both vast and vague (Dubber, 2006, p.090). This implies that the abuse can result from both the way the power is sought and the mechanism of its execution. For instance, power abuse can results when very legitimate mechanisms are exercised in pursuit for an outcome that is deemed unlawful. Similarly, when unconstitutional means are espoused to obtain the right objectives, a power abuse arises (Cossins, 2000, p.63). Practically speaking, the concept of power abuse can be explained on account of three principle elements (Hornstein, 2003, p.29). These elements include: the purpose, the means and the limits surrounding the power execution. The unconstitutionality of the purpose that any power seeks to achieve often characterize its abuse (Dubber, 2005, p.73). For instance, in political and socio-economic structures, power abuse might be reflected in cases where individuals use power to reverse an imposition of a legal control on certain individuals. It is also expressed in case where power is used to put to a halt a court proceedings or a averse a court judgment on some individual

Describe US subprime market and analyze the impact the crisis base on Essay

Describe US subprime market and analyze the impact the crisis base on one macroeconomic - Essay Example Banks than through their internal as well external credit scores or ratings decide to whom they should provide the credit. These criteria of credit rating often are designed to be tough since Banks in order to avoid defaults, tighten their criteria to extend the credit to these customers. However, due to increasing needs of those customers, whose credit history or their credit ratings do not fall under the criteria laid down by the banks, banks try to accommodate them also. Sub-prime lending is the part of that phenomenon. â€Å"Sub-Prime lending typically has been characterized as lending at relatively costly interest rates and fees to credit impaired or otherwise high risk borrowers.† (Lax, Manti, Raca, & Zorn, 2004). Subprime loans are among the newly popular mortgage products, such as interest-only loans, for people with strained budgets, including first-time buyers. Homeowners increasingly use them to refinance and consolidate household debts when their credit scores fall in the wake of bankruptcy, high medical bills, or other setbacks. (Blanton, 2005). It is generally believed that the subprime borrowers emerge due to lack of the good credit history on their back and since there number grew historically therefore banks and financial institutions by spotting the opportunity started lending to them at higher interest rates due to the perceived risks involved in these subprime loans. Not only these subprime borrowers pay higher interest rates but they also pay higher upfront fees also at the time of booking their loans. Due to this profitable alterative, financial institutions take the risk and lend to those customers who would otherwise can not qualify for obtaining loans from the banking channels in the ordinary course of the business. In nutshell, we can say that subprime lending is lending to those who do not deserve it. Most of the subprime lending is made into the mortgages market of the Banks. Studies suggest that So-called

ISO Standards and Excellence - reflection ( CLO 3 ) Essay

ISO Standards and Excellence - reflection ( CLO 3 ) - Essay Example This certification is so objective (making it more credible and reliable) that ISO itself does not do the certification but a third party certification body that cannot be certified by ISO. This removes conflict of interest and undue influence. This certification process involves an audit in evaluating the company’s standards vis-Ã  -vis audit criterial established. This is a continuous process to ensure that quality and improvement is maintained. The benefits of having ISO certified are many. Having quality as a standard obviously meets if not exceed customer’s requirements and this means increased customer satisfaction leading to more business and more profit for the company and able to articulate its processes. Getting an ISO certification is not easy when I did a review on the audit process. But considering the benefits of the certification to the company and its long-term viability as a business organization, ISO is no longer just a quality certificate that a company may opt but an imperative in today’s very competitive environment because it wears the badge of credibility and

Cutco corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cutco corporation - Case Study Example Proper marketing is very important in making sure that information reaches the appropriate target group and gives appropriate information about the organization and what it is about. The situation analysis gives information that the cooperation may require to take on a different form of advertisement. Considering a SWOT analysis of the situation combined with the 5Cs of marketing the following can be concluded. The method of advertisement that is currently in used is based on basic factors. One of this methods is the use of social media to advertisement is the use of social media in order to recruit sales persons and gain more customers. This method helps others become aware of the Cutco Company and how their products are helpful. However, there needs to be a clearer description of the material they sell and their use. What is highly required is that the organization is able to balance between the use of directness and the promotions of their cutlery to other unknown regions. There needs to be brand recognition among the alternatives offered before the customer. Factors such as brand personality are very important in establishing an emotional connection between the customer and the particular product that they need. Therefore, the Cutco Company should attempt to find a method that will enable their product lead to a sort of connection to their customers. This will promote the attachment that the customers will have with their products and even lead to more sales for the company. The chosen alternative is much helpful to the organization in that for one, they will have earned the loyalty of the customers. Therefore, each time the customer goes to purchase cutlery, they will prefer the cutlery made by this company. The other factor is that promoting brand personality will also promote the awareness about this product as people recommend to each other the cutlery by this company. As a result, there will be more sales and more revenue being earned by the

The Goddess Isis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Goddess Isis - Essay Example She was widely worshipped by people in Egypt as well as other countries of the Mediterranean Region during ancient times. The Legend of Isis is one of the oldest myths in Egyptian history. It was the foundation of the old Egyptian state religion. The first written records about her appeared in the hieroglyphics in the Pyramid Texts during the period 2350 – 2100 BC (Goddess.ws). In the beginning there existed the Sun god named Ra and his wife called Nut. Nut fell in love with another God named Geb. When Ra discovered his wife’s infidelity, he became very angry and punished Nut by cursing her that she could not give birth on any child during any of the then 360 days that comprised a calendar year. In her sadness and desperation to have children, Nut turned to Thoth, the god of knowledge, for help. Thoth, who knew that there was no way to evade Ra’s curse, formulated a plan. The plan involved the Moon goddess Silene primarily because at that time the intensity of her moonlight was equal to the sunlight of Ra. Thoth challenged Silene to a wager whereby she would surrender one seventh of her moonlight if she lost. Thoth won the wager and won one seventh of Silene’s light {this is the reason why the moon wanes every month}. Thoth used his part of moonlight to add 5 days to the calendar year, thereby increasing the number of days in a year fr om 360 to 365. The success of Thoth’s plan provided Nut with a span of 5 days during which she could give birth to five children fathered by Geb while at the same time not evading Ra’s curse on her. Nut gave birth to Osiris on the first day. Horus was born on the second day followed by Seth, Isis and Nephthys on the third, fourth and fifth days respectively (Crystalinks.com). Osiris grew up and became Pharaoh of Egypt. He married his sister Isis. Osiris was a good and conscientious ruler who devoted all his time and energy towards civilizing his people (Crystalinks.com). He was

Intro letter to my teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro letter to my teacher - Essay Example For example, using sophisticated jargons to a layman to describe something would not be very effective communication. Or, using a colloquial tone while writing to someone who deserves more respect is hardly the best idea. First writing often needs a revision. I think while we are writing, we are simultaneously thinking ahead for the next word, line or paragraph. More often than not, this can easily lead to silly errors. This is where revising comes in handy. Also, it helps in properly structuring the written work. I think one improves better if one knows what to work on. Self-reflection can bring in some ideas, but the best feedback is one that comes from the general public. I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism of my writing style and look forward to improving upon it. The professionals in finance are engaged in several different activities. Some are bankers, some handle corporate finance for large and small companies, some are asset managers, and some specialize in advisory business and so

Of Mice and Men Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel Essay Discuss in detail the lives of the itinerant ranch-hands in the novel. Why is the dream farm so important to the novel? Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is an emotional novel, set in the 1930s, where two friends try to achieve their dream in the cruel time of the great depression in California, America. The Wall Street crash was a massive set back in American industries, work was made very limited, so the men had to travel from job to job, to make a living. Lennie Small and George Milton like many men during this unprofitable time in the American economy roam from job to job. Men like these are called itinerant. As George stated, Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. This statement is true because these men never have a place called home, because they are always on the move. This also means they have no time to develop a family or friends. Real friendships are hard to come by, because most of the men that work on these ranches are secretive and try to keep their pasts private in case they reveal something that could get them canned (sacked). Meaning if they cant reveal their history because of fear, they will never be able to make true friends. On the ranch George and Lennie spend most of their spare time in the bunk house. Many of the men dont socialize they just keep themselves private, this also combines with the lack of woman company to create a lonely atmosphere on the ranch. Also the men are caught up in a never ending cycle of doing a months physical labour and spending most of their earnings releasing all their frustration at whore houses. So many men come to these ranches with this idea that they will work for a couple of months, save up money and get their own little piece of land but end up blowing all their money on drink and prostitutes. As Crooks said, I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an on the ranches, Hunderds of them an every damn one of ems got a little piece of land in his head. An never a God damn one of em ever gets it. From this you can see how common it was for men just like George and Lennie to depend on this dream, to give them this false hope that they might just escape this lifestyle one day. Crooks is so mocking of this dream farm because since he has never seen a man accomplish this feat, he doubts whether a man has enough determination to ever achieve it. In addition, ranch hands that are too old get canned. This makes Candy on edge because he feels that because he is seen as useless on the ranch since of the loss of his hand, his job is becoming more and more insecure the older he gets. On the ranch a lot of violence is shown to Crooks just because of the colour of his skin. The ranch hands also humiliate Crooks by making him sleep with the horses. George and Lennie are unlike most ranch hands as they travel together which is most unusual among ranch workers. As George says, I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That aint no good. They dont have fun. From this you can tell that they have, unlike other ranch hands, someone they can confide in. This gives them a strength that the other men do not have. It is obvious that the dream farm means a lot to George and Lennie because it gives them some hope that they might escape this endless lifestyle. Also if they lived on their own ranch they would be free to do as they please and not listen to no one else but themselves. The farm symbolises freedom to George and Lennie, as they would be able to choose when they would like to work and who they wanted to employ, An live on the fatta the lan. Also it would be their own harvest they are harvesting, not someone elses. So it would be all their own profit. This idea of freedom appeals to Crooks and Candy because both of them are alienated on the ranch, Crooks because of the colour of his skin and Candy because of his age and disability. They see the dream farm as a chance to be equal workers. The dream farm is similar to the American Dream because the American Dream is people living by their own rules to get what they want in life. The farm is a perfect example of this because George and Lennie would live by their own rules to earn a living. Curleys wife had her vision of the American Dream. Hers was to be a Hollywood star, to be in the movies. This, whilst being an appealing and glamorous life, isnt what the dream was about. The life she wanted would not be lived by her rules, she would have had to work to deadlines and always under threat from other actresses taking her job. Unfortunately George and Lennie cannot grasp their dream because of Lennies ability to get himself into bad situations. Unluckily for Lennie this time it proved to be fatal for him. You cant keep a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus keep me shovin all over the country all the time. An that aint the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out. Lennie, as George states has always preventing him from advancing upwards in the world, because he has always been too much of a responsibility for George who can never have faith that Lennie wont get in trouble again.

Options And Corporate Finance Essay Example for Free

Options And Corporate Finance Essay In a perfect world, the stock price will drop by the amount of the â€Å"special one- time† dividend on the ex-dividend date. If we ignore taxes as we do in this mini- case the wealth of the shareholders doesn’t change if the company pays a special one-time dividend or not because it is reflected in the stock price. As we also saw in class that a dividend policy for a company is irrelevant since investors can convert share to cash or create their own homemade dividends payments if they prefer an income stream. In essence, paying the dividend is transferring money from the company to the shareholders but net the wealth of the shareholder stay the same due to a similar drop in the share price, but the value of the company will decrease. 2. The proposal of Jessica could go both ways, it could increase the value of the company or decrease the value, for the simple reason that we don’t have any information about leverage, the amount of debt, capital structure etc. If the company is overleveraged that will result in extra costs of financial distress, which consist of direct, indirect and agency costs. An overleveraged company goes past the optimal point and will decrease in value as you can see from the red line. If this is the case then it would be a good idea to reduce the amount of debt which results in a reduction of costs related to financial distress and invest the money in new facilities to increase the overall value of the company. If the company didn’t reach it equilibrium point than it would be a bad idea to reduce the amount of debt because it will decrease the value of the company due to the tax advantages (tax shield), so it would be better to keep the amount of debt to and maybe even increase the debt to reach the maximum company value. This are two options which can increase or decrease the value of the company. Another point could be that we don’t know about future prospect of the current technology and if there is enough demand, and if they now use their full production capacity. If not the case then it would be a bad idea to upgrade and expand, but it would be better to invest in research for new technology. 3. Nolan is correct in the sense that all three indicators will increase due to share repurchase. It will increase the P/E ratio because there are less shares available and it will reduce the denominator of both ROA and ROE which will result in an increase in both ratios. However, a share repurchase will not have any effect on the value of the company for the reasons we discussed in question 1, which is that the dividend policy is irrelevant to the value of the company and it won’t have any effect on the wealth of shareholders. 4. When a company starts with a dividend policy it gives a signal to the shareholders/investors that they are committed to distribute part of their income to their shareholders. If they would start with regular dividend payments they should be sure that they are able to continue that forever, because a reduction in dividend or if they stop paying dividend at all at a later stage will send a negative signal to the market and shareholders/investors. So, they need to make sure that they have enough cash to keep the dividend policy going. To come back to the question, I would evaluate it regarding the company’s ability to pay the dividend for an infinite time period and I they will have enough cash in the future or generate enough cash in the future to pay the dividends. 5. If the company wants to expand (and it is able to do so) the trade-off is lower dividends to their shareholders than when they are a mature company who has no growth potential than they would pay dividend. The implications of the formula are that the company should make a trade-off/decision between company growth or pay the dividend to its shareholders. To please its shareholders and to maximize the company’s value, the company should deliver the required rate of return which is wanted by the shareholders or deliver a higher return to make the shareholders happy. If the company can have a higher rate of return than wanted by the shareholders it should retain earnings to invest in the growth to increase the rate of return, when this is not possible it should pay the shareholders their dividend to give them their required rate of return. But if the company retain its earnings when the rate of return is lower than wanted by the shareholders it lowers the company’s value .

Factors Affecting Call Centre Employees Motivation

Factors Affecting Call Centre Employees Motivation Many people are currently working in call centres and much more are expected to work in them in the near future. Motivation of these call centre employees is of utmost importance so as to refrain them from leaving their work. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to dredge out the factors that affect the motivation of the employees working in call centres and to contribute to research in the area of motivation among call centre employees. Method: The method that will be used is through questionnaires, where employees will be able to complete a set of questions which will specifically address the subject of Motivation amongst the workers. Benefits of the study: This study will be of great benefit as it responds to the call for more investigation into the factors that de-motivate call centre workers to perform. It will further be of importance to call centre managers who, through considering this study will be able to rethink their approaches to productivity, particularly on how they could better motivate their staff to achieve higher output. INTRODUCTION Almost all consumers have had experience with call centres (Anton, 2000; Dean, 2002). Why are they essential? Call centres are strategically important to many organisations because they are often the major customer interface, and they can provide a service-based competitive edge using high volume, low cost delivery via telephones (Callaghan and Thompson, 2001). Call centres are a growing part of the service industry in many countries and a substantial amount of call centre jobs have been created in this sector in recent years (Baumgartner, Good, Udris, 2002; Holman, 2003; Moltzen Van Dick, 2002; Wegge, Van Dick, Fisher, West, Dawson, 2006). Researchers already recognised that service work, that is, work in call centres was stressful according to a study carried out by Donovan in 1920. The conflicting demands for both quality and quantity, and the emotional nature of customer interactions all contribute to the strain that call centre workers experience (Varca, 2006). Moreover, scho lars have shown that call centre workers are under great pressure to meet their productivity goals at the same time as delivering quality customer service (Deery et al., 2002; Kinnie et al., 2000; Singh, 2000). As a result, call centre work carries with it high levels of employee stress. Consequently, the call centre employees need to be constantly motivated so as they demonstrate keenness and enthusiasm for their work. Motivation is simply the process of arousing and sustaining goal-directed behavior (Nelson Quick, 1997). One of the managers primary tasks is to motivate people in the organization to perform at high levels (Moorhead Griffin, 1992). The Hawthorne Studies conducted by Elton Mayo from 1927 to 1932 showed that views of how managers behave were a vital aspect of motivation and improved performance. This study brought to light the fact that peoples psychological and social needs have to be taken into account to make them feel important and thus motivate them to work. In addition, the work of Maslow in 1943 provided a major impetus to employee motivation since he put forward a theoretical framework of individual personality development and motivation based on a hierarchy of human needs. Likewise, Herzberg and McGregor also developed theories of motivation . Herzberg was of view that to motivate workers to give their best, proper attention must be given to a different set of factors, the motivation or growth factors. Additionally, McGregor argued that the style of management adopted is a function of the managers attitudes towards human nature and behaviour at work. He put forward two suppositions called Theory X and Theory Y which are based on popular assumptions about work and people. The ingredients of motivation lie within the employees themselves. So, managers should have the knack to motivate their de-motivated employees since, as mentioned above, employees at call centres face a lot of ordeals. Moreover, organizations are made of their individual members. The individual is a central feature in any workplace whether acting isolation or in a group, in response to the expectations of the organization. Where the needs of the individual and the demands of the organisation are incompatible, it can result in frustration and conflict. So, managers have as main aim to keep the motivation of their employees at a high level so as to achieve desired results and performance. PROBLEM STATEMENT Call centres are facing a major problem these days, namely absenteeism which can have a large impact service quality. Due to this problem, there is fewer staff to handle customer interactions, wait queues tend to swell and call centre employees are under high work pressure. This tends to impact directly on their morale and similar behaviour may be fostered in those left to carry the can. Call centre work is very monotonous due to highly repetitive nature of the job. Thus, call centres run the risk of the employees easily losing enthusiasm and becoming demoralised. Moreover, call centres provide limited career opportunities and they risk losing their best people if they cannot provide adequate career prospects. Talented employees lose interest in their work; they become de-motivated and stop working towards the high standards they set up before. Additionally, call centre employees have to work in night shifts which pose a problem to them. Employees, mainly the female staff fear workin g at night for security reasons. Social life is almost inexistent for them, since they work all the time. They also face problems such as inconvenient postures due to computer work and high noise level. It can thus be deduced that the work of these persons is not so simple and very demanding. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study has as aims to determine the factors which affect the motivation of call centre employees. Its objectives are to acknowledge the problems faced by call centre staff so that the managers of call centres take necessary incentives to motivate their staff. This will help create a better working environment in which each employee will thrive. Besides, this study will benefit to the learning population who may be doing research on this particular topic. METHODOLOGY There are two types of data that can be collected, namely primary data or secondary data. Secondary data is data which exists already and which has been produced by some other person. It is known as secondary research because the person using it is the secondary user of the data. Primary data, on the other hand, refers to the process of generating and collecting original data from the intended operation for an organisation. It is the organisation which determines precisely and accurately what information is needed and from whom it is needed. It then sets about acquiring the data. Primary data sources are obtained by using one or more of the following techniques such as observation, surveys, experiments and questionnaires. To proceed with the study, primary data will be used, namely questionnaires. A questionnaire is a tool used by to deliver questions to respondents and then noting down their answers. Three types of information can be collected while using questionnaires. Fact: data such as demographic information, age, gender and so on. Opinion: beliefs, attitudes, feelings and knowledge. Motive: knowing peoples reasons for a particular belief or action. Questionnaires will be used since they will help to compare results as all the employees of call centres will be asked the same set of questions logically related to the problem under study, that is, factors affecting motivation. Thus, their responses can be added meaningfully. At around 150 questionnaires will be distributed to the employees. Firstly, the method of sampling used will be convenience sampling. Convenience sampling will enable me to give the questionnaires to any person whom I know, who will in turn give them to other colleagues to be filled in. Cluster sampling will also help me distribute the questionnaires. This consists of drawing up a list of clusters that together comprise the whole population and then selecting a sample of clusters (by using simple random sampling). The call centre employee population is conveniently divided into groups. For example, there are employees doing morning shifts and those doing night shifts. So, questionnaires will be given to these two groups accordingly. BENEFITS OF THE RESEARCH There are several benefits of the research. Firstly, this research may be used as a tool for managers to motivate their staff. Managers, as well as employers, will get a glimpse of the factors affecting the performance of the employees and through this; they will be able to implement several measures to encourage them to work. For example, it could be found that employees value getting access to training and development programs (Shah and Bandi, 2003). Having access to vocational training is perceived as a real job enrichment and benefit, so the organisation would highly benefit from it. Furthermore, through this study, the employment rate could increase. Since managers would be aware of how to attract and motivate their staff, more and more persons would be eager to join the call centre industry. As a result, the rate of unemployment will decrease, hence benefiting to the Government and the society as well. Amongst these target audiences, that is the managers and the Government, the re is also the learning population which will get benefit from it. Students may use this study as a means to acquire more knowledge on call centre industry or even use the data to carry on with their projects. WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ACTIVITIES ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Research Proposal ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Introduction ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Collecting research articles ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Meet employees ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Literature review ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Define research objectives ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Design questionnaire ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Write research design ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Conduct the survey ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Analyse data ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Write recommendation ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Write abstract ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Write conclusion and reference ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   Finalise and submit dissertation ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   ÂÂ   GANTT CHART The Gantt chart (time plan) shows the number of weeks taken to complete the dissertation. This research is extended on duration of 15 weeks. BUDGET ANALYSIS LIST OF EXPENDITURES ESTIMATED COST/Rs ÂÂ  Stationery ÂÂ  200 Printing of questionnaires 500 Transport 1000 Internet 800 Telephone bills 500 Other unexpected expenses 2000 ÂÂ   ÂÂ   TOTAL 5000 While conducting the research, several direct and indirect costs need to be taken into account. Expenses such as printing and photocopying of questionnaires and transport need to be catered for. Moreover, a budget is also being allowed for unexpected expenses which may crop up in the course of the research.

Morals and Values in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay -- The Lotter

Morals and Values in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson In Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery", human morals and values are thrown away all for the pride of winning something. What is it that they really win? When you win the lottery in this story, you actually win death by stoning. Isn't that ironic, people actually being competitive and getting excited about death in public. What morals or values do these people really have, and how are they different from what common society is thought today? The first to gather in the square on the day of the lottery are the children. The children, sweet, innocent children who do not know any better and are only taking part in this cruelty because they view it as a fun game. Then the adults begin to gather in the square. They are older and wiser, knowing what is to become of that one invididual whose name is drawn. They know of the agony that awaits them, but they have been taught to believe in it, sot ehy continue to participate even if it means they are the chosen one. These adults are so caught up in tradition that they do not s...

The Dark Side of Social Networking Essay -- facebook, twitter, sexting

There are many social networks that have created broad connections between people in the past years. Since the creation of Social Media, countless numbers of people have begun joining them due to their rising popularity and free cost of a download. These networks help create a virtual realm for users to be themselves or whoever they want to be at their discretion. Escaping all the troubles and heartaches that the real world has in store for you is only temporary until the next time you log on. The most common issue that is up for debate that you must continually ask yourself is â€Å"Is Social Networking a good or bad thing?† I think social networking is a negative influence on people. . I believe taking caution is necessary for people using social networks due to the negative ramifications that follow after long term usage of them. You can access Twitter, Facebook, and other social Medias at the touch of a finger. There are some positive influences that social networking has to offer; people can develop â€Å"life-long relationships† as well as becoming more cyber social which could possibly break the fear barrier for introverted individuals (Taylor). For others, it seems we have made social networking have higher importance in our everyday lives. We wake up in the morning and the first thing we do is check our Twitter or Facebook. Relying on these social networks to keep our lives balanced has become more of a nuisance than a solution to our social problems. The more we use these social media every day, the more we continue to render ourselves helpless to facing the harsh reality of the real world that we live in. Favored networks such as Facebook, allow you to build an easy web of friends and acquaintances, and share with them your pho... ...en-suicides-cyberbullying-102212/>. Capeless , David F. "Sexting." Berkshire District Attorney. N.p., 1 16 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. . Borreli, Lizette. "Why Couples Engage In Unwanted Sexting: Half Of Men And Women 'Requisext' Because Of Abandonment Anxiety." Medical Daily. N.p., 1 2 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. . Ngak, Chenda. "Facebook may cause stress, study says." CBS News. N.p., 11 27 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. . Smith, Aaron. "Social Networks and Depression." Chicago Tribune. N.p., n. d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .

Its the End of the World as We Know it, and I Feel Fine :: essays research papers

It's the End of the World as We Know it, and I Feel Fine Earl. It rhymed with girl. He always took a lot of heat for that. But that was before the Easter egg. The extraordinary Easter egg. Earl’s extraordinary Easter egg†¦ He got it as a gift from his mean cousin Katie that never was and never will be nice to him (she kept teasing his name). It looked like nothing special to him. Probably just some chocolate inside but it definitely wasn’t an ordinary egg. This egg contained extra-terrestrial contents that have enormous potential. As he unwrapped the cheap aluminum wrapper encasing the egg, a little note fell out. At first, what seemed like an encoded language scribbled on the note moved its lines around and became American English. This is the pod of life and destruction. In the pod contains objects from the seventh dimension. Its purpose is to continue the mere existence of the universe by destroying much of it. 3,465,735,180,261 EUs received  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  32 EUs needed Note: The reader of this is cursed with the occupation of feeding the pod the energy it needs to complete its objective. Nice prank Kate but this is too stupid to be funny or scary, Earl thought. As he was about to throw it out, he noticed that the egg felt warm to his touch. He easily broke open the plastic shell and inside was a very strange looking object. It looked like a cool blue rock that shimmered like water. It felt like slick rubber but it bended and changed shape like Jell-o. This is weird, Earl though. As he was running out the kitchen door to ask Katie about this, the â€Å"thing† slipped out of his hand and a bounced straight up a couple hundred feet. While it was still going up, it disappeared. Uh-oh, Earl thought, it’s going to do whatever it’s supposed to do! Then, it warped back into existence right in the palm of Earl’s hand! Weird, Earl thought, better not tell Katie right away. At night, he put the pod under his pillow. It just made him feel safer when it’s in his hands than in his parents bedroom. Next morning, he felt really tired. He glanced at the slip and was shocked at the numbers on it. It read that instead of 32 EUs needed, it only said 3. Uh-oh, I looked at the back of the slip and found more words on it.

A Time of Change in the Market Revolution Essay

1815 to 1860 was a crucial time for American commerce and urbanization that not only had strong economic influences, but also altered social and political perspectives. This time period, known as the Market Revolution, stemmed largely from the advancement in technology which led to transportation improvements and the building of railroads. Banks also contributed to the growing economy by increasing economic input and providing loans to merchants, manufacturers, and farmers. The rapid expansion of commerce and transportation had profound effects on American individuals socio-economic goals; a sense of self-confidence and domestic ideology surfaced, perpetuating westward expansion. Along with the spread of urbanization came the circulation of literary publications that fostered the spread of popular opinions; this eventually became an essential component to the many reform movements ultimately caused by the Market Revolution. All of these factors contributed to the republican ideal of individual freedom. Although the Market Revolution promoted economic and social growth through the development of technology and industry, it also led to actions threatening to republican liberties like equality and the inherent rights of man. Concerns of tyranny and disregard to the American Constitution caused many to focus on preserving the American republic through reform movements. The main driving factor of the reform movements that took place following the Market Revolution was the obscurity of republican values. Despite the positive influences the Market Revolution had on quality of life and transportation, many Americans feared the corruption of their individual liberties. They had proper reason to believe that this would be an occurrence caused by the unbalanced power that was established during the Market Revolution. One example of this unbalance was the increasing power of banks, more specifically addressed by Andrew Jackson when he vetoed the Second Bank of the United States. He asserts that the monopolized bank system undermines the rights of ordinary people because it establishes significant distinctions between classes where the upper class holds the power and dominates over the lower class. In a way, he attempts to reform the government-established powers instilled by the Second Bank of the United States by voicing how it is an abuse of power and limits economic opportunity for ordinary people. In addition to the unbalanced power created by the banks, a prominent deterrent from republican autonomy was the inequality that this instability of power caused for individual Americans. The rapid expansion of agriculture and population corresponded to the growth of slavery, which is the most pronounced example of the inequality America experienced during and after the Market Revolution. Slavery was seen by many as a direct violation of the Constitution and the inherent rights of man, which defy republican values. In the Republican National Platform, Abraham Lincoln brings to light that the inequality of slavery threatens national sovereignty, â€Å"That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, †¦ is essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the Rights of States, and the Union of the States, must and shall be preserved.† A nationalistic togetherness, while still maintaining individual freedom, is eminent in establishing and fulfilling republic ideology. Slavery was a direct violation of man’s inalienable rights, and therefore many abolitionist movements took place in order to reform the corrupt nation. Acts of slavery and other injustices initiated by the Market Revolution that defied republican values were identified as needing reform, in William H. Seward’s speech in 1855 he said, â€Å"We must restore the demoralized virtue of the nation. We must restore the principle of equality among the members of the State –the principle of the sacredness of the absolute and inherent rights of man.† The emerging Democratic party was host to many of the promoters of personal reform and social problems, while the Whig party advocated the reform of moralism and state-sponsored entrepreneurship. One of the initial influences of the reform movements was the moral mending that was deemed necessary by Protestants in order to overcome the sins occurring in society, and enact a sense of righteousness. These ideas of self-virtue and societal justice were reflected in the Second Great Awakening and the Temperance movement in the early 1800’s. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that had a strong influence on women, giving them a voice in society and the ability to make an impact for the salvation of American values. The Temperance movement had a similar purpose, to promote self-perfection and eliminate the many sins that became prominent in society during the Market Revolution. The movement focused on alcohol abuse and sexual sin, and although it bolstered self improvement for many individuals, a main impact of both the Temperance movement and the Second Great Awakening was the eminent duty of women to speak out against controversial happenings. Both of these movements had strong positive effects on the preservation of the republic because they fostered public regard to individual goodness, which in turn led to other reform movements and the ability for both women and men to speak out against injustices. Both women’s rights and slaves rights were distinguished issues that violated the equality of the republic, and therefore certain groups sought reform these corrupt aspects of American society. In the 1830’s, the abolitionist movement was initiated in an attempt to dissolve the sin of slavery. Although abolition became the source of immense controversy and even violence, the movement against slavery allowed slaves like Robert Glenn and Frederick Douglass to share their stories in an attempt to bring to light the corruption taking place in America. These movements did in fact help persuade many groups of people, mostly Democrats, of the Constitutional and moral violations that slavery inhibits. However, westward expansion and distinct divisions between the nation made it difficult to prevent the spread of slavery. Despite the fact that abolitionist movements did not have immediate effects on the eradication of slavery, it did open doors for public opinion and womens righ ts. In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott spoke out at the Seneca Falls Convention against the unequal status of women and how it reflects tyranny rather than the individual liberties of a republic. They emphasize the main point of both slavery and women’s rights reformations, â€Å"The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation, because in the degradation of woman the very fountains of life are poisoned at their source.† These movements did impact the protection of republicanism through the expression of activists who exposed the exploitation and inequality occurring due to slavery and unbalanced privileges of women. The Market Revolution had a domino effect on the fabric of the republic. It propelled economic growth and industrial expansion which then perpetuated unbalanced power within the government. This obscured the political values of individuals and brought about such a dramatic shift in thinking regarding opportunity and personal liberties that many people were concerned about the loss of republicanism. Members of the public like the Grimke sisters, as well as members of the government like Andrew Jackson, identified the injustices of inequality that were caused by the Market Revolution and felt as though reform was necessary to preserve the republic. The reform movements that took place, such as the Second Great Awakening and the abolitionist movement, exposed the pollution of republican ideals like individual freedom and egalitarianism. Although these messages were controversial between the sectional division of the North and South, reform movements still established a voice for the republic and eventually managed to preserve the prominent aspects of the republic. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Andrew Jackson, â€Å"Veto Message,† in John Majewski, History of American Peoples, 1840-1920: A Primary Source Reader (Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt 2006), 5. [ 2 ]. Abraham Lincoln, â€Å"Republicans Adopt a Strong Anti-Slavery Platform,† in Majewski, 50. [ 3 ]. William H. Seward, â€Å"The Dangers of Extending Slavey, and the Contest and the Crisis,† in Majewski, 41. [ 4 ]. Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann, The American Promise: A History of the United States, 330. [ 5 ]. Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann, The American Promise: A History of the United States, 322. [ 6 ]. Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann, The American Promise: A History of the United States, 323. [ 7 ]. Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, Hartmann, The American Promise: A History of the United States, 324. [ 8 ]. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, â€Å"The Seneca Falls Convention Advocates Complete Equality† in Majewski, 24.

The Poisonwood Bible Critical Reading Portfolio Entry

The Opposition Bible is a book about the reactions that can be made with the burden of collective guilt; to be specific, to our complicit guilt as citizens of the United States for the misconduct by our nation in the Congo. The Opposition Bible is an allusion of an event that triggers the life of a family to be burden with guilt in the Congo. The title of the book is what describes the whole book. The Opposition Bible Is an Increased prosecution of Western colonialism and post-colonialism, an expose f cultural arrogance and self-indulgence.Section II: Author The author of the Opposition Bible is Barbara Kingfisher. The Opposition Bible is a departure from Kingfisher's previous fictional novels, not only in moving politics and to the foreground, but also in its setting. Kingfisher's actually spent two years in the Republic of Congo while her parents served as health care officials. Her life in the Congo represents a theme that finds a prominent place in the Opposition Bible. Kingfishe r actually spent her two years in the Congo at the same time as the characters In the book. Around the sass's.While Kingfisher spent time in the Congo the united States had secretly sabotaged the Confess shot at Independence's by putting together a coup that resulted in the death of the elected President Patrice Lumbar. Infuriated by what she considered an overwhelming act; motivated by greed, Kingfisher then formed the ideas to write a novel exposing and dealing with this crime. It wasn't until thirty years later that she finally felt ready, emotionally and professionally, to take on the project of discovering the question of how we can call ourselves united States Citizens, and still deal with our involvement in these rarefying events.Kingfisher worked long and hard to make the book reveal the truth about what happened because she was dedicated to what she felt was right. Section Ill: setting The book took place primarily in the Belgian Congo, which later became Zaire during the s tory. Certain segments took place in Atlanta and Sundering Island, Georgia, and certain others in the Johannesburg, South Africa and the French Congo. The time period In which the story Is laid out Is between 1959-1998. The work was written between 1993-1998, though some of the ideas that formed the book came from the mime Kingfisher spent in the Congo.The setting actually coincides with the Authors time in the Congo which makes it so significant, Kingfisher experience the life of living In a foreign Just Like the characters In the book. Though how their time was spent was completely different. The stung Is connected to the thematic concerns because the setting is how the theme was brought about. The characters experienced â€Å"The impossibility of absolute and unambiguous justice on a global scale and a transfer of faith from God to the natural world† which displays the themes of the book.Though without the places in which the book was laid out, these themes couldn't have t aken place. The setting and theme definitely play big rolls in the book 1 OFF The major conflicts in the story can be told on two different levels. Both levels regard how one should react in the burden of guilt, but on a more personal level the guilt that must be dealt through all the events that lead to Ruth Mays death. On the broader level, the women also felt the strong need to handle with the collective western guilt that originates from the crimes of the colonial and post- colonial era.After arriving in the Congo, decisions to remain in the Congo in the face of the mortal threat that Independence brings. The longer they stayed the more challenges that would arise. All this brought out a growing bitterness toward the Prices by the villages leaders, which erupted in the sentiments over the issues of Leash's participation in the hunt. This in return resulted in the death of the youngest Price daughter, Ruth May. After the tragic accident, Orleans and her remaining daughters desert ed Nathan in sight of redemption from their two levels of collective sin.The imagining daughters moved on with their lives, Lea turned toward a life if political idealism and cultivated suffering while being married to Anatoly. Dada turned her life toward science where she became an epidemiologist. Rachel life was marked by an egoistic and single-minded pursuit of her own pleasures. Orleans become paralyzed in her guilt. Section V: Point Of View The story is approached by each of the narrators that speak in first person, which gives us a view of the story from their point of view.The point of view affects how understand the work because it gives a clear understanding of the times that went n as each character experienced each situation. The point of view from the character to the theme is all based on what each character faced while in the Congo and how their story was told. Section VI: Characterization There is not a single protagonist in The Opposition Bible. The story is told in multiple voices giving each characters perspective on experiences and events. The women are equally important as each tells a story of learning life a completely new life in the Congo.The characters are removed from their comfort zones and put in a place where no single individual, is any part of their race. Salvation takes on a different meaning from the father point of view; while he loses, each woman makes the decision of finding a way to save herself. The antagonist of the story is Nathan Price, the father, preacher and husband. After the death of the Price families' youngest daughter, Nathan moves into the background, while each woman deals with their own individual demon. Orleans struggles with the guilt of letting her family be taken in to the Congo in the first place.For the three remaining daughters, Rachel battles with Jealously and poor self-image, Dada fights with the image of herself, engine it as a defective and identification of personal responsibility. Though for Lea the demon is the political crisis of the Congo and her own white skin that sets her apart. Section VI': Theme The first theme represented in the book is â€Å"The sin of Western arrogance†. The Opposition Bible is an infected prosecution of Western colonialism and post- colonialism that exposed the cultural as arrogance and greed.Nathan Price served as the personal embodiment of Western hubris, unhesitating in his missionary fanaticism to overturn the ancient traditions of the Congo and replace them with his win religious beliefs. Yet nearly all of the non-African characters are marked by this however, that exercised its cultural arrogance most hazardously, feeling authorized to assassinate a foreign nation's president and change him with its own mannequin ruler. The next theme shown in the book is â€Å"A transfer of faith from God to the natural world†.Given that cultural self-importance is represented as the countless sin of the West and old-fashioned forms of Chri stianity, though it is not surprising to find the belief being presented as the spiritual antidote. It's the idea that the entire trial world is inspired as a certain respect and modesty in anyone who believes it. It speaks against the attitude that Western thoughts apply to both the natural world and to the human beings who dwell in it. The last theme is â€Å"The individuality of redemption†.Kingfisher actually chooses to have the story told by five separate narrators. This gave each narrator a different answer to the question, â€Å"how should we live with the burden of guilt,† covering the range of Orleans complete paralysis to Earache's calm refusal to even accept the burden. Then there is Lea, who responds tit political involvement?that is, with an active attempt to right the wrongs in the world. Dada on the other hand responds scientifically, with an attempt to understand the world on its most fundamental level.Even Ruth May, whose death is the cause of the more individual level of guilt felt by these four women, represents a point of a wide variety of guilt with an all-accepting spirituality. Even all these responses together aren't meant to consume the possible reactions one might take toward guilt. Section VIII: Symbols & Literary Devices -Antenna's demonstration in the garden is symbolic because of its biblical reference. Gardens, in particular the Garden of Eden, play a prominent role in Christian tradition.It is in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve where the first man and women, ate from the Tree of Knowledge which then set the future of all generations of human being with original sin. There is a clear irony in comparison to Adam and Eve and Nathan. First, Adam and Eve sin by truth and knowledge that is not planned for them. Nathan, on the other hand, sins through his willful ignorance, and his refusal to learn anything about the culture around him. -In the first paragraph of The Opposition Bible it gives us many literary device, the first one being personification.The personification is â€Å"forest eats itself and lives forever†, this quote helping give an understanding of what life in the Congo will be like for the Price family. The next thing shown is an Alliteration, which is â€Å"brindled bark,† and â€Å"belly on branch†. These two alliterations help the reading understand the different parts of the Congo almost as if they were there. Section ‘X: Quotes 1. Page 9- â€Å"Maybe I'll even confess the truth, that I rode in with the horsemen and beheld the apocalypse, but still I'll insist I was only a captive witness. What is the conqueror's wife if not a conquest herself†?This quote appears in Orleans opening remarks, and immediately introduces to us the dominant theme in The Opposition Bible; the attempt to deal with guilt. Orleans guilt is double what the rest of the characters experienced. There is the paralyzing guilt that she feels over the death of her youngest d aughter, and also the overwhelming guilt she suffered because of the crimes committed by the United States against the natives of Congo. When she refers to herself by the â€Å"conqueror's wife†, Orleans places herself in an individual position with the guilt she is feeling.She isn't the primary perpetrator of his crimes. The true perpetrator of the first crime is her husband, Nathan, who placed the entire family in mortal danger. The perpetrator of the second crime is the United States; invoking the dependency, responsibility, and even loyalty that a citizen bears to his or her nation. 2. Page 297- â€Å"The smiling bald man with the grandfather face has another face†. Dada makes this comment when she discovers that the President of the United States is planning to overthrow the elected government of the Congo and kill its President.This is significant because these words are spoken by Dada, this captures the growing disillusion with father figures that Orleans and Le a experience firsthand. 3. Page 528-â€Å"Len the world, the carrying capacity for humans is limited. History holds all things in the balance, including large hopes and short lives. † Dad's take on the notion of Justice, absolute Justice, at least the rough sort of Justice that Westerners believe in that is impossible. Some think, for example, that it is unjust that in Africa young babies die of malnutrition and disease.To be correct about this injustice, we send over doctors to feed and protect them. Though, Dada, undermines the result of this good deed is simply death of a different sort. Overpopulation leads to food shortage and further disease. We cannot change the things of the world that we consider sad and wrong. Rather than despair over this state of concerns, Dada actually stands in awe of it. She finds herself being more passionate for the humans than any others in this global game of survival. Actually, it's Just for the survival of the vast and the balancing game itself.

Economic Globalization Essay

Just after the Second World War, the world faced yet another economic set back in the name of cold war. The lengthy cold war however came to an end with the decline of the Soviet Union and the collapse o the Berlin wall. The world market opened up with the opening of free market in the individual states that had split from the former Soviet Union plus other nations of the Eastern Europe (Staley 2008). The Eastern Europe was very critical player for increased globalization in the 1990s. Most of the nations in the region joined the world trade organization and played a significant role as a supply foundation in to the western countries. China’s role in the cold war was a swift one and by the time the cold war was culminating, it had established itself in Asia as the economic stronghold serving as a market and supplier to Japan and other developed nations in the region. China by that time exported about 15% of the total world export. The United States on the other hand increased its imports from the South America by 4% from 11% in 1960 to around 16% in 1990 (Staley 2008). These were the results of market globalization and improved policies. Emerging Economies The developing countries have improved drastically and have found a place in the world economy as critical players. These countries have actually increased the value of global economy as they are rapidly developing in terms of industrialization and are being termed s emerging market economies as well. Example of emerging economies are china an India, which have invested in information technology related industries that are a great influence on the world economy, which is also supported by worldwide economic connection (Marber 2008). Information technology has played a role in facilitating economic growth in most of the countries but it has also come with some negative features which are a threat to economic growth. The major set back in the information technology field was the inventory adjustments that were introduced in 2000. This brought about stagnation and many counties were affected including the US, Japan and most of the European nations.

Implementation of E-Business Systems: A Case Study of Baderman Island

The strategy of Baderman Island Enterprise requires constant updating. With the changing conditions of market and industry it is important for the organization to keep its strategy in tact with the changing environment. An out dated strategy cannot fulfil the needs of today’s global environment (O’Brien, 2005). In order to go through the updating process the Baderman Island Enterprise should carry on an audit to analyze which aspect requires improvement.It also specifies what strategy is necessary to support the business operations, the information people use currently and the gaps in these functions and the business goals. Most managers fail to analyze the current situation of their business and lack a sense of intuition and forecasting. Often it is also a draw back that the strategy of some organizations neglects the change in the functions of some important departments. It is important for a strategy to serve all the needs of departments, which require change.Through a strategy audit it becomes easier to find out which departments and operation require to be revolutionized or updating. By assessing the knowledge possessed by Baderman Island Enterprise about its competitors and market environment the mangers can effectively take decisions in order to find the most feasible way for their businesses to maximize profits and improve market share. It is also important to calculate the extent to which change needs to be introduced to the organization.Although the identification of the problem is a big issue but the finding a solution making sense with business world is the main purpose of change in the Baderman Island Enterprise. In case of Baderman Island Enterprise it is important to have the knowledge of how to present the product/service in effective manner in order to reach the customer in an effective manner. With the changing business needs the new marketing techniques such as product differentiation, branding and advertising are also gaining i mmense importance.The successful product positioning and promotion is only possible if all the required information in this lieu is gathered and used in the right direction. In order to fulfill modern information needs, new information technologies have also been evolved. The information regarding the buyer preferences and behavior plays an important part in helping the Baderman Island Enterprise management to take important decisions regarding the product such as pricing, promotion, competition etc. It is important for the company to establish a system in order to acquire a large amount of information for the marketing managers.â€Å"Competitive companies study their managers’ information needs and design marketing information systems (MIS) to meets these needs. A marketing information system (MIS) consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision markers. To carry out their analysis, planning, implementation, and control responsibilities marketing managers need information about developments in the marketing environment.The role of the MIS is to assess the manager’s information needs, develop the needed information, and distribute that information in a timely fashion, the information is developed through internal company records, marketing intelligence activities, marketing research, and marketing decision support analysis. † (Kotler, 2000) In the case of Baderman Island Enterprise the MIS can play an important role in successfully marketing the new products and services which the company is planning to launch. An effective MIS will also help in enhancing the exposure level of the company from local market to national market.It is important for the company to design the MIS system in an effective manner. In most of the cases the companies lack information sophistication. Some of them collect a large amount of information but the data is not stored in a proper way to be handled easily. Without an effective marketing information system it will become impossible for the Baderman Island Enterprise to reach to the desired customer. The MIS will help the company in understanding the customer’s perception, taste, needs and desires regarding the new product.Without the proper MIS the investment in the production and innovation will not be of any use. â€Å"The MIS represent a cross between what managers think they need, what managers really need, and what is economically feasible. † (Kotler, 2000) The MIS will provide support to the management in the areas of reduction of price risks, planning for an effective and cheap marketing strategy with technology assessment and development, particularly in evolving and popularizing entertainment and recreational activities offered by the company.An effective Management information system can help in the company in motivating other intermediaries to pass along important intelligence. Through the components of MIS the Company will able to collect information regarding order-to-payment cycle and sales reporting system. The managers will be able to get the information about the developments in the marketing environment. The MIS will also assist the managers in collecting, analyzing and reporting data relevant to the market situation. The decision support system will help the managers to take important marketing decisions by interpreting the gathered information.(O’ Brien, 2006). Hence MIS is the most important instrument without which the Company cannot market its product successfully in market. As per the requirements of the Baderman Island Enterprise SAP Enterprise System: The SAP ERP 2005 application and Duet software drives future growth. The SAP ERP 2005 provides clear vision, superior product functionality and support for midsize companies. Adopting SAP solutions based on the SAP NetWeaver will automate all of its business proce sses, including financial and human capital administration, compliance reporting and real estate management (SAP, 2007)Northwind Enterprise Solution: Maestro suite includes PMS, Sales & Catering, Club/Spa Management, Corporate Reservations Office, GDS Connectivity, and ResEze (Internet Reservations). The Maestro PMS system from NORTHWIND has three main characteristics: â€Å"It is an enterprise system, not a legacy system, with an open database that allows us to data mine for marketing information; it refreshes the numbers real-time as new reservations are entered; and it is user-friendly. † (Northwind Enterprise Solution, 2003) PROS Hotel Revenue Optimization System: PROS next generation system provides revenue lift of 6-12%.It automatically separates yield-able from price sensitive demand and automatically controls each system at the property, campus, or market level. It is Centrally installed with remote access through web-enabled browser. Built with high performance, high ly scalable architecture on thin client platform. The system allows forecasting at any level of detail Dynamic bid prices offer real-time adjustment to environment. It upgrades logic and an overbooking routine maximizes revenue and provides independent forecasts of demand for each product, including length of stay (PROS Hotel Revenue Optimization System)SAP NetWeaver is the most recommended technology in the above mentioned technologies as it will automate all of Baderman Island Enterprise’s business processes, including financial and human capital administration, compliance reporting and real estate management and will match the strategy of the Company. With the choice of most suitable technology it is also important for the company to undertake some important measures in order to effectively implement the chosen technology. Chilcott (2001) presented a 7-Step Development Process in order to effectively under take an IS project: 1. Identify and List Stakeholders:The identific ation and listing of stakeholders is very important and the initial step in an Is project. The list of the stakeholders should include all the people who have the power to effect the system. The second category of stakeholders includes the people whose position and power will be affected by the project. The third and most important category is the users of the project. It is important to recognize the actual stakeholders of the project. The representatives of these stakeholders should be included in all the discussions related to the project in order to sketch the clear vision and necessities of project.After the identification process it is important to determine the problem statement. The entire stakeholder should reach an agreement on the definition of problem in order to design a project to fit the problem size for all the stakeholders. 2. Identify and List Actors The perceptions of the stakeholders regarding the project must be analyzed or in other words it should be found that what all the stakeholders want from the project. The stakeholders can be divided into different groups according to their expectations regarding the project. The use and expectation of the stakeholders will help in designing the project in right way.It is seen in case of different projects that the developers and the involved stakeholders do not know about what they exactly want from the project. The development of an internal model regarding the perceptions of developers and stakeholders regarding the project will help all the people involved to expect, create, build and effectively use and support the system. 3. Identify and List Use Cases Use cases are the core of the whole process. The use cases present the complete functionality of the system. A use case in defined as an interaction between the user and the system.The use cases of the different stakeholders differ according to their expectations. They are effective and meaningful tools to manage and organize the project. The u se case collection in undertaken according to three steps: 1. To discover the use case while discussing with the stakeholders this step involves a general overview of two to three sentences of the use case. 2. At the second stage an analysis of the user case is undertaken according to the business rules and the system relationship components. 3. The next step is the decision making about the implementation of the user case. All the scheduling and development steps are designed.