Writing and Science Fiction Writer

These two articles are similar in that they are both writing pieces by authors writing in first person about their books or writings. Amy Tan and Isaac Asimov are both writing about something specific about their writings. Amy Tan talks about how her experiences with her mother contributes to her writing and Isaac Asimov analyzes why he is a good science fiction writer and what it takes to be one. In the article Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, Amy writes about what it was like growing up with her mother's limited English. â€Å"because when I was growing up, my mother's ‘limited' English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. † (1) As the author implies in this passage and throughout the article, other people's perception of her mother affected her own perception of her. Amy had to pretend to be her mother a lot to professionals because they did not take her seriously or understand her. â€Å"When I was fifteen she used to have me call people n the phone and pretend it was her. In this guise, I was forced to ask for information or even to complain and yell at people who had been rude to her. † (2) Eventually, the author realizes that her mother and the experiences helped form her in to the writer she is today. Those Crazy Ideas by Isaac Asimov is about his fans asking him where he gets his crazy writing ideas. Isaac is a science fiction writer. He explains that to be a science fiction writer, you must possess as many â€Å"bits† (facts or information) as possible, you must be able to combine the â€Å"bits† well, and you must have intuition. (3) These two are articles are both written in first person. Although Isaac and Amy are writing about two totally different subjects, they are both relevant to being a writer. Those Crazy Ideas is more or less Isaac teaching people what it takes to be a good science fiction writer. He attempts to help people understand his thought process while writing and his take on creativity. He analyzes creativity itself. This article is has a more informational purpose than Mother Tongue; which is the first difference other than their subjects. Mother Tongue and Those Crazy Ideas are different in that they have different purposes. Mother Tongue, Amy Tan is sharing a personal story and relating it back to the way it affected her writing style and technique. His main purpose is sharing for understanding. We used a similar routine just five days ago, for a situation that was far less humorous. My mother had gone to the hospital for and appointment, to find out about a benign brain tumor a CAT scan had revealed a month ago. † (4) Isaac, in his article, is essentially answering the question â€Å"Where do you get your crazy ideas? † and is elaborating on that. He uses a lot of factual information and examples to prove his arguments about being a science fiction wr iter. â€Å"To begin with, in 1831, when Charles Darwin was twenty-two, he joined the crew of a ship called the Beagle. (5) The difference in Mother Tongue is that Amy does not use any hard facts but, instead, used her personal accounts to get her point across. These are two different styles of writing that partway has to do with the subjects their writings are about. In the end of their articles, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan and Those Crazy Ideas by Isaac Asimov, they both relate their articles back to something specific about the way that they write. In Amy Tans experience she learned to write in a way people would understand instead of trying to prove her good English by uses big intelligent words that the average person could not understand. Fortunately for reasons I won't get into today, I later decided to I should envision a reader for the stories I would write. And the reader I decided upon was my mother, because these were stories about mothers. So with this reader in mind-and in fact she did read my early drafts- I began using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English I spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better term might be described as ‘broken'; my translation of her Chinese, which could certainly be described as ‘watered down'; and what I imagined to be her translation of Chinese if she could speak in perfect English. (6) Isaac Asimov concludes his article, answering the question â€Å"Where do you get those crazy ideas? † with a blunt â€Å"I don't know. † He reiterates that we need to encourage scientific creativity and experiment more with creativity itself. â€Å"How, then, does one go about encouraging scientific creativity? For now than ever before in man’s history, we must; and the need will grow constantly in the future. † (7) â€Å"I don't know. Here, it seems to me, is where we need experimentation and perhaps a kind of creative breakthrough about creativity. Once we learn enough about the whole matter, who knows- I may even find out where I get those Crazy Ideas. † (8) In conclusion, the two articles, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan and Those Crazy Ideas by Isaac Asimov, are the same in that they are both in first person and both relate back to each author's writings somehow. They are different in that they are on different subjects; they have different purposes and different ways of getting their point across. Amy uses her personal experiences and Isaac uses hard facts. Bibliography Asimov, Isaac. Those Crazy Ideas Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue ? Works Cited (1)Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue pg. 87 paragraph 9 (2)Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue pg. 87 paragraph 10 (3)Asimov, Isaac. Those Crazy Ideas pg. 145 paragraph 28 (4)Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue pg. 86 paragraph 4 (5)Asimov, Isaac. Those Crazy Ideas pg. 143 paragraph 9 (6)Tan, Amy. Mother Tongue pg. 90 paragraph 21 (7)Asimov, Isaac. Those Crazy Ideas pg. 150 paragraph 81 (8)Asimov, Isaac. Those Crazy Ideas pg. 151 paragraph 91

Group decision making essay Essay

Introduction. Managers in today’s business environment are faced with numerous often-unplanned events that require decision-making. In the past it was more common for a manager to decide the course of action individually or within formal groups. Important decisions in the business circle are now deemed too risky or important to be made entirely by one person. A manager must seek the right advice from several different sources. Today it is often common for many managers to seek involvement from lower level employees in the decision making process whenever it can be done. However it is not always possible just to ask a colleague what they should do. Most decisions will require a process of a greater degree of subordinate participation; these decisions can be made through a variety of different ways such as committees, task groups, departmental participation and so forth. It is said that making decisions in a group allows for every angle to be looked at and every possible idea to be created with every decision from a group offering the best solution this method of decision making. However like many techniques it has its positives and negatives.It can be time consuming and may not offer an answer to the problem that satisfies everyone. This essay hopes to discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of group decision-making using several theories and some real life case studies. We will see how participation in decision-making affects companies decisions; we will look at several helpful models i.e. vroom-jago model and all referencing it to real life situations and quotes from famous persons in the field Circumstances Of Group decision. Managers as part of their job are faced with many decisions in which they have to undertake, it is up to the managers themselves to decide in what kind of way they want to make the decision and solve the problem. However groups can offer an essential feature in decision making for an organisation. As Coghlan points out: â€Å"Membership of teams and groups shape perception and participation in organisational change.. Groups and teams play a key role in the process of planned organisational change. The change process typically involves teams in the organisational’s hierarchy responding to the change agenda and adapting to it in terms of its tasks and processes† (Coghlan) Coghlan statement clearly leads us to believe that groups are critical in making important direction changing decisions for the company. Evidence supports this statement and we will look at this a little later as we discuss the advantage and disadvantages. First we will look at how managers come about making the decision to use group participation. A manager may decide to use group decisions in several circumstances and the contingency model by Vroom and Yetton as well as the Vroom and Jago decision model can prove useful in helping management decide when to encourage group participation. In he contingency model by Vroom and Yetton there are five key management styles as described by Vroom that a manager can undertake to make decisions. This is shown in appendix 1. We can see from this that the amount of participation that a manager involves in a decision varies greatly. It would not be logical for managers to always  involve group decision-making on smaller problems such as whether to refund a customer (if it was something worth 10) this would be a waste of time and resources for the company and could easy be dealt with on the stop with a programmed decision by the staff. Group decisions as described by Coghlan can be very useful for important or company changing problems or opportunities. It would not be wise to let one person decide whether to invest 4 billions pounds to merge with another company. This is a case when it would be wise for the company to go for the style as vroom described as decision style â€Å"GII† i.e. where you share a problem with your subordinates as a group and implement any solution that has the entire support of the group. The Vroom and Jago decision model goes onto produce a decision tree for choosing a appropriate decision-making method.This decision tree allows the manger to move along the branches by answering the questions at each point. This leads to one of the five decision making styles as described in the Vroom Yetton model. However it has to be said that this model as well as models in general are neither right nor wrong they must be seen as guidelines or as a reference. However the Vroom-Yetton, Jago model must be seen as a useful tool in the aid of decision-making although it is not perfect. Looking at appendix 2 we can see that the model looks a little complex however once you reach the starting point QR we can see that the model is simply a set of high, low yes, no answers that guide you to an eventual decision style. This model has been criticized as being not perfect. However it is not possible for me to say these critics are not right or wrong only this model is neither. However support is growing for this model as more examples of its uses come to light. Advantages, Disadvantages To Group Participation. In today’s empowered work places managers involve all workers in decision making as a rule rather than choice. However companies must understand that  participative decision-making does has its disadvantages as well as it obvious advantages. It is seen that in business two heads are better than one. This can be true in some circumstances as it offers an advantage in terms of offering a boarder perspective to establish the problem and sort out its causes and effects. It also enables the company to have more ability and facts at its disposal therefore allowing for greater scope to sort out any potentially tricky problem. Group discussion leads to the evaluation and correction of possible decisions, plus group discussion also helps to back up and support a decision that an individual may not wish to take on his or her own due to the risk involved. And finally group discussion allows for more satisfaction from the workers, as they feel involved with the project and decision that their work place is taking. Group decisions however can tend to be time consuming, everyone must be consulted on the problem and then they must all find the time to jointly diagnose the problem and decide a solution. Groups may also have the problem of not using the best solution for the problem, although the group discussion allows for more ideas some members may not agree on the best solution and therefore a comprise solution will have to be used to gain group wide acceptance. A boarder instant of this would be the risky shift phenomenon, this suggests that instead of groups taking fewer risks and making safer decisions the reverse is often the case. There is a tendency for groups to make more risky decisions than an individual may take. Another point is that people inclined to make risks are more influential within the group than say the more conservative members, therefore good ideas could be lost. Group think is another problem that must be considered within a group. Group  think tells us that pressures on individual members to conform and reach consensus mean that minority or unpopular ideas maybe suppressed. Members who oppose the group are stereotyped as being weak, stupid, and argumentative. As People may not wish to question any ideas of the group, bad ideas may filter through. One other big problem to group think as see we see in the example of Napster is that it can lead to a inherent morality of the group which in turn can lead to members to be convinced of the logical correctness of what it is doing and to ignore ethical or moral consequences of decisions ( more harsher examples of groupthink would be Pearl harbour, Vietnam, Mullins99) The final problem is people do not feel the same sense of responsibility for group decisions or their outcomes. â€Å"A decision which is everyone’s is the responsibility of no one†(Mullins,98) An example of disadvantages of group decision-making and group think can be seen by www.napster.com. Even when it was clear that their practice of providing free mp3’s of the latest musical material was wrong they decided as a group in the face of the courts to continue their practice. This was because their group norms supported them doing so and that they were the most sought after website on the Internet. However group members of Napster had to compromise all their values so as to keep dissent and as there was no clear reasonability everyone agreed to this illegal practice. If some members would have voiced their concerns and beliefs earlier in the process and put an end to the practice before the courts took over they could have save themselves much time and money. However lets go back to advantages of group decision-making and look at the techniques used to promote it and stimulate creativity. Management have realized that encouraging employee participation in solving problems can be extremely advantageous toward the company. Frontline workers are constantly in touch with the needs, wants and concerns of the companies customers, it allows them fuller insight into how to possibly solve problems  that concern the company’s consumer base. When I first worked at Matalan they operated a system by where you could post any ideas you had on how to improve the operation of the store and its service to the customers. If you idea was put into practice you would receive a financial reward. This system received many replies and allowed for many improvements to be implemented around many Matalan stores. There are many different ways in which can pursue employee participation. The most common and well-known participation tool would be brainstorming. Brainstorming is a decision-making technique in which group members present spontaneous ideas and suggestions for solving the problem concerned. It allows any ideas regardless of how impractical they may seem. This in turn hopefully promotes freer and more creative thinking. Brain storming works on involving everyone, and encouraging communication, listening, and information sharing in the hope that it maximises ideas/possible solutions to problems and also minimises the risk of overlooking any points of the problem under question. An advancement of the brainstorming technique is the Delphi technique this is based on anonymous inputs from individual members of the group and then management assess the responses until a consensus is reached. This can be time consuming but overcomes the limitations of brainstorming and the systems of group think. Now Lets take for example many common marketing departments; it is now commonplace for them to have basketball hoops, televisions, computers games, and other stimuli within the room. Management hope this will promote a relaxed environment within the group in the hope that it will allow for more creative thinking and brainstorming within the marketing group Other techniques used for group decision making include signing a devils advocate. The devils advocate challenges the assumptions and assertions made by the group to prevent any premature consensus. (Daft,00) This it hopes  forces the team who created the idea to solve the problem to examine and explain any risks that maybe associated with it. Another similar approach would be multiple advocacy. Multiple advocacy, involves several advocates and allows for the presentation of several different points of view on the idea in question. It allows minority and unpopular opinions, decisions are therefore based on solid augment and the understanding of all the pro’s and con’s. Conclusion. As we can see there are circumstances where group decisions are more necessary than others and it is up to the managers to decide which situations would be best to involve group decision. Although the decision of when to involve group decisions is entirely up to the manager there are models available such as vroom to help give guidance should they need it. Group participation offers a variety of different advantages for solving problems and tasks. It allows for the group as a whole to participate toward solving the task and allows for more creative thinking than would be given by an individual. Groups cover all angles of a problem and enable any ideas to be looked at in detail before being implemented. However like all good things it has its disadvantages. Group participation includes such problems as groupthink and risky-shift phenomenon. These tell us that support can be given to ideas just to enable group harmony or because individuals don’t wont to gain a reputation. It also includes the point that people inclined to take risks are more influential within the group. Whatever the disadvantages and advantages of group participation and performance, groups will always form part of the pattern of work organisation. It is merely a matter of judgement for the manager as to when, and how best, to use groups in the execution of work.

Autism 3

Autism 3 Essay Many years ago, I watched a young boy rock back and forth as he worked a crossword puzzle. I tried to distract him from working the puzzle to ride bikes with me. I continuously asked him to play with me, but he kept staring at the puzzle while I attempted to look in his eyes. He took the puzzle apart and flipped the pieces in the air, one at a time. He did not speak, but he made crying noises. The more I asked questions or talked to him, the louder his cries became. As his frustration grew, he balled his fists up, punched his eyes, and kicked his feet. I was curious about his activity. I was later told the boy my brother} was autistic, says Tamara Robinson in an interview. Autism is a syndrome of childhood characterized by a lack of social relationship, a lack of communication abilities, persistent compulsive, rituals, and resistance to change (Paluszny 1). For centuries, medical professionals have tried to understand autism and its origin. The above example shows only a few examples of autistic behavior. The history of autism extends, as far back as the late sixteenth century; however, during that time it was not identified as this illness. Here is a statement from before the discovery of the illness: In 1799, a boy about eleven years of age was found naked in the woods of Averyron, France. He was dirty, covered with sores, mute, and behaved like A wild animal. Jean Itard, the physician of the new institution for deaf-mutes, Was given charge of the abandoned child. From Itards description, Victor Showed many features of autismhe did not look at people and never Played with the toys, but showed remarkable memory in recalling the position Of objects in his room and resisted any change of these objects. (Paluszny 2) In attempt to educate Victor, Itard used a glass of water as a form of encouragement, but he continued to remain silent and never spoke any words. It was not until 1943 that the label autism was used by a child psychiatrist, named Leo Kanner to describe the symptoms. The term autism derives from auto, the Greek word for self, (Hamblin 137). Kanner used this term when he studied eleven children who had a unique form of schizophrenia (Hamblin 136). Although, it was later determined that even though some of the characteristics of schizophrenia and autism are not the same, Kanner did open new doors for an intensive study of a confusing syndrome. The causes of autism are unknown. In most cases, the pregnancies of mothers of autistic children were normal. Occasionally, there were cases of maternal bleeding, prematurity, or maternal rubella, but these situations do not appear consistently. One possibility that scientists have researched is genetics. Chromosomal studies have been attempted to detect if autism is a result of too many chromosomes, because autism is more dominant in males than females, (Ritvo 169). The frequency in males is approximately 3/5,000 (Ritvo 169). Since females have two X-chromosomes and males have an X and Y chromosome, than the Y chromosome can be considered in current research activities. Another possibility is the malfunctioning of the brain. According to Adler, neurobiological researchers have localized several regions of the brain that are responsible for social interaction skills (248). Frith says, a biological defect causes autism, the symptoms which include a lack of communication, socialization and imagination. Scientists are continually searching for answers. During the stages of infancy, the autistic baby seems normal. Then, a period of time before the age of three, the child experiences regression. In some cases, the first signs are at the age of three. There is no exact determination of when the signs appear. When autistic parents were told to think back in time before the third year, some parents said that they could not pinpoint exactly what the difference was, but they described a vague feeling that something was wrong from infancy (Paluszny 4). In normal development of children, Paluszny says that one of the first milestones is the social smile (4). Babies smile and respond to the faces and voices of adults. The autistic infant does not bring about a social smile; rather the child will only respond to sounds and sights that .

Stock option backdating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stock option backdating - Essay Example Backdating can take on several meanings. The most culpable form of backdating involves "intentionally changing the date used to set an option's exercise price to one on which the stock's price was at a low" (Ellsworth et al., 2006). This form of backdating was abetted by the relatively lax legislation before the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002. The Sarbanese-Oxley Act mandated that stock options be filed within 2 days after they are granted (FindLaw, 2002), mitigating the backdating problem. Before the Sarbanese-Oxley Act came into effect, option grants were reported using Form 5 which primary use is for the disclosure of "the transactions and holdings of directors, officers, and beneficial owners of registered companies" (Securities and Exchange Commission, n.d.). Furthermore, the form is required to be filed only "on or before the 45th day after the end of the issuer's fiscal year" (Securities and Exchange Commission, n.d.). This essentially means that if the stock options w ere granted early in the fiscal year, investors would not come to know of them until almost 1 year later, giving more leeway for insiders to manipulate the date on which the exercise price was established. Most of the 63 companies involved in stock option backdating "relate to a roughly six-year period prior to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation" (Grant and Nuttall, 2006). ... Such company actions and policies include sloppy documentation, delays in the grant approval process, and the wrong interpretation of APB Opinion No. 25 Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees (Ellsworth et al., 2006). Summary of Statement No. 123 Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees prescribes that the intrinsic value or fair value based method of accounting be used for the valuation of stock options (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 1995). Most companies continue with the intrinsic value based method of accounting (Ellsworth et al., 2006). Under the intrinsic value based method, "compensation cost is the excess, if any, of the quoted market price of the stock at grant date or other measurement date over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock" (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 1995). If company actions are efficient, the measurement date would be the same as the grant date, and no compensation cost is recorded. More often than not, due to procedures such as the signing of the resolution by the directors, the measurement date would be at a later date than the grant date. If the price of the underlying stock has risen over the period between the measurement date and the grant date, the stock option is in the money and the difference should be recognized as compensation expense. Backdating occurs when companies, whether intentionally or unintentionally, choose to use the price of the underlying stock on the grant date as the basis for measuring the compensation cost. An example of the above form of backdating of stock options is Michaels Stores Inc., which understated compensation expenses by as much as $60 million between 1990 and 2001 (Bulkeley, 2006; Maremont, 2006). Michaels

BIO Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BIO - Assignment Example BMI was calculated as kg/m 2, and classified as lean, overweight or obese, depending on BMI for age and gender f or subject s below 18 years. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Blood was withdrawn in the morning after an overnight fast (>10 hours) and collected in non-heparinized test tubes by an assigned physician. Fasting serum glucose and lipid profile (Total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) were measured using routine laboratory procedures (Konelab, Finland). All biochemical estimations and storage of samples were carried out at BRP, KSU, Riyadh, KSA.† Quote: â€Å"Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5 (Chicago, Illinois) and variables were expressed as mean  ± standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables. Frequencies were presented in percentage (%). Student t-test was done to compare differences between 2 groups (with and without perceived stress). Bivariate correlations were done to determine associations between p erceived stress and metabolic parameters of interest. P-value was considered significant at Quote: â€Å"Weight was recorded to the nearest 0.2 Kg using an international standard scale (Digital Person Scale, ADAM Equipment Inc., USA); height to the nearest 0.5 cm using the same scale. BMI was calculated as kg/m 2 , and classified a s lean, overweight or obese, depending on BMI for age and gender f or subject s below 18 years. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Blood was withdrawn in the morning after an overnight fast (>10 hours) and collected in non-heparinized test tubes by an assigned physician. Fasting serum glucose and lipid profile (Total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) were measured using routine laboratory procedures (Konelab, Finland). All biochemical estimations and storage of samples were carried out at BRP, KSU, Riyadh, KSA.† Al-Daghri, N. et al. (2014). Stress and cardiometabolic manifestations among Saudi Students entering universities: A

Corrections and community justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Corrections and community justice - Essay Example The warrant is served to the suspect verbally, and a copy given to him and arrest follows. Customarily, the suspect is arraigned before a judge a day or two following the issue of the warrant. Defense attorney represents the suspect, while the solicitor represents the state. The preliminary hearing involves submission of facts of the case and the determination by the judge, if the case can proceed to trial. At the plea stage, which follows preliminary hearings, the suspect is formally charged. The second hearing is conducted in front of grand jury, consisting of eighteen natives after which a trial is held either before a judge and the jury, or before a judge only. If a â€Å"guilty† plea is arrived at, the judge passes a sentence on the accused, but in cases dealing with death penalties, the jury is mandated to pass the sentence. In a criminal court, the government (the plaintiff) institutes a suit against a person(s) suspected of going against the law. There should be certainty for a â€Å"guilty† verdict to be passed. On the other hand, in a contemporary court, an individual (plaintiff) institutes legal proceedings against another (defendant). Reasonable doubt is never a

Discrimination Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discrimination - Article Example Actually, the word justice was originated from the Greek word ‘polis’ which has greatly been altered from its real sense. It was a gradual development that the concept of justice became the inevitable part of moral ideals beyond its mere political meaning. The key point that the writer puts forward is that all citizens must be ensured justice irrespective their class, strength, or ethnicity. However, reverse discrimination obviously ignores the majority groups while it attempts to favor the unwanted groups like the black. Apart from it, if some ethnic groups such as Americans, Indians, Chicanos, are to be considered as low classes the concept of minority seems to be the creation of ethnic groups. The term equality in legal perspective has less importance in the reverse discrimination concept. The writer wants to specify that the law must consider all citizens equal regardless of their wealth and talent, or ethnicity. In addition, the weaker sections should be equally considered by the law by means of special privilege; and they can not be considered as unwanted segments of the society. However, the writer does not purport a specific alternative to reverse discrimination which would preserve equality and justice in their true

Child Labor in Lebanon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Child Labor in Lebanon - Essay Example However, there is a major issue with setting the legal age. In some jurisdiction, persons under the age of 13 cannot be employed although, in some jurisdictions, persons under 18 cannot be fully employed (Taylor, 2009). Thus, there are a lot of variations and limitations that exist for the employment of people between 13 and 18.In 1802, the Robert Peel Factories Act was passed in Great Britain and this set the stage for an attempt to abolish child labor on the global scale (Basu & Tzannatos,2003). This effort, which originates from Britain was spread first to other parts of Europe and then to the various colonies and overseas dependencies of Britain and other European powers. However, the various social, economic and historical events in nations around the world affected the evolution and spread of the process of abolishing the process of child labor around the world.Currently, the United Nations and its humanitarian wing, International Labour Organizations (ILO) and UNICEF champion the supervision and implementation of child-labour laws around the world.However, Basu and Tzannatos report that in 2002 when the Robert Peel Factories Act was celebrating its 200th birthday, there were 186 million child laborers in the world. This clearly shows that although the efforts of the international community attempt to cause the extinction of the practice, there are several nations and communities around the world, particularly in the developing world who are not abiding by these rules and regulations.

Monetary Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Monetary Policy - Essay Example Specifically, a core committee within the central bank is tasked to design and undertake monetary policies based on their assessment of economic conditions and objectives to be achieved. This paper compares the operations and mandates of the three most influential monetary policy-making bodies, namely the US-Federal Open Market Committee, Bank of England-Monetary Policy Committee and European Central Bank-Governing Council. The FOMC is considered as the foremost policy-making body of the US Federal Reserve. It primary function is to formulate monetary policies which serve to promote economic growth, full employment level, stable price level and sustainable pattern of international trade (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis). This aim is achieved by making key decisions pertaining to the conduct of open market operations, i.e. the selling and purchasing of US Government and Federal Agency securities. Open market operations mainly affect the provision of reserves to banks and other depository institutions. In this regard, open market operations impact the cost and availability of money and credit in the economy of the US (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis). As a background, the FOMC is composed of seven members of the Board of Governors and five Reserve Bank Presidents, who must meet at least four times a year in Washington D.C. as mandated by law. It is during these committee meetings that FOMC decides on the policies to be carried out through voting. In view of the monetary decisions it has to make, the FOMC takes into account vital economic factors such as trends in prices, wages, employment, production, consumption, investments, foreign exchange markets, interest rates, and fiscal policies among others. It should be noted that the monetary policies are implemented with primary focus on supplying level of reserves which is congruent with the economic objectives of the US, both in the short-run and long-run (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis). This means that the control of open market operations is FOMC's major tool to directly influence the money supply in the economy. The movement in money supply will then affect the other economic factors based on the economic objectives of the nation. Bank of England-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) The MPC's main function is to regulate prevailing interest rates at an appropriate level in order to attain the inflation target over a period of two years. This committee primarily considers the economic performance of the country and determines whether this is accompanied by the risk of acceleration in overall price levels ("Bank of England"). The MPC, which is chaired by the Governor of the Bank of England, consists of five members from the Bank of England and four external members appointed by the chancellor (Bank of England). The setting of interest rates is decided based on the conditions of domestic monetary market, foreign exchange market, production market and labor market ("Bank of England"). To curb inflation, the MPC's primary tool is the setting of interest rates. Should the MPC determine that aggregate demand is expanding and exerting upward pressure on prices, the committee will decide to raise the interest rates in order to control the growth of investment

Combating compassion fatigue Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Combating compassion fatigue - Assignment Example This eventually takes compassion and attention away from victims to the caregiver himself. Essentially, fatigue sets in for the provision of care; thereby jeopardizing the need to give compassion to victims. The cause of depression in caregivers that results in compassion fatigue could best be associated with excessive work that is deprived of rest (Ellard, Barlow and Mian, 2005). Anger Quick temperedness and erupted outburst of anger that is so sudden and uncharacteristic of a caregiver must be seen as a major sign that compassion fatigue is setting into the work and activity of the caregiver. As a care giver, come of the core duties that will generally be expected is the need to give compassion and solace to a heart that is deeply troubled and as such filled with so much inner anger (Day and Livingstone, 2003). When there is anger on the side of the caregiver then, this basic responsibility becomes jeopardized and compromised because it cannot be executed evenly. Once a caregiver b egins to be angry at the least provocation, the tendency is that the victim who decides care would even be angered at and so the level of compassion will be derailed. Such acts of anger are mostly caused by emotional factors that have to do with issues faced in the personal lives of caregivers (Forsythe and Compas, 1987). Absent mindedness Victims who go to the caregiver go to them with a thought that the caregiver is going to be an expert and a professional who is going to bare all the troubles that the victim brings on board. For this reason, it is always going to be expected that the victim would demand for constant attention from the caregiver. For this reason, caregivers who begin to have signs of absent mindedness when attending to victims and other people who are close to them must be aware of the possibility of compassion fatigue setting in. clearly, the caregiver would be absent minded because he or she has had a reduced degree of importance to the issue or case of the vict im and this is what compassion fatigue is all about (Albino et al., 2003). Taking too much work than a caregiver can genuinely deliver is a major cause of absent mindedness; especially when tiredness sets in. Sluggishness In the everyday delivery of their duties, caregivers are expected to be very sharp at what they do. Such acts of sharpness install a lot of confidence in victims. It also increases the trust that they have in caregivers. For this reason, any acts of laziness and sluggishness should be watched critically and be seen as a possible cause of the onset of compassion fatigue. Indeed, if there is no strength to carry out one’s duties and so the person begins to show signs of sluggishness at work, there is no way that person will be expected to deliver the same level or amount of compassion that he or she delivered to victims. Sluggishness is a direct reflection of tiredness and so tiredness and lack of rest could cause it. Stress Psychologists and other social comm entators have attributed stress to be a very emotional and psychological problem that comes with a tired mind. The mind as an organ in the body has its own roles and functions that it plays. Though it is known that the mind controls most activities and functions of the body, the mind also has its own limitations (Cortoni and Marshall, 2001). The mind cannot for instance be expected to be omniscient, knowing all things and doing everything at every

Death of a Salesman Essay Example for Free

Death of a Salesman Essay What techniques does Arthur Miller use to highlight the conflict between past and present in Death of a Salesman? How do these techniques also demonstrate his main themes? Death of a Salesman is set in a time when the capitalist system is changing. It is set in the late 1940s, not long after the Wall Street crash in 1929. Willy Loman is unable to adjust to these changes and therefore, there is conflict between the past, where his dreams were achievable, and the present, where he has fallen foul of the capitalist system and is no longer any use to the firm. These conflicts are personified in Willy, and Arthur Miller uses a number of techniques to highlight this. The techniques Miller uses represent Willys mind and they distinguish between past and present. These theatrical methods also help to demonstrate the main themes in Death of a Salesman. These theatrical methods include music, lighting, wall-lines, scenery, the use of leaves and also use of costumes. In my essay I plan to explain what each method conveys to the audience and show how Miller uses these methods effectively to highlight the conflicts. Music is used to highlight significant points and themes in the play. Also, the type of music sets the mood for a scene. It creates atmosphere and conveys to the audience the emotions of the characters. Also, silence can highlight a particular scene. The absence of music means that the audience focuses entirely on the conversation taking place. In Death of a Salesman, flute music is heard constantly throughout the duration of the play. It bridges the play, as it is heard both at the beginning and the end. The flute music evokes a faraway, idyllic world, representing the past. It also represents a contrast between Willy and his father. Willys father was a pioneer; he made flutes and sold his own products. Willy, on the other hand, has to sell other peoples goods to make a living. A good example of music being used to set the scene is at the beginning of the restaurant scene. The lights have blacked out signifying the end of the previous scene Suddenly rollicking music is heard. This is setting the mood of the scene for the audience. It shows that the atmosphere is happy and lively. This is to show the mood of the present time. It is a contrast to the past. By having rollicking music, Miller is highlighting this contrast. This links to the theme of Happy and shows more of an insight into his character. Happy has chosen this restaurant and it shows the kind of life he lives, and this is a contrast to Willy.

An Analysis of Change management models

An Analysis of Change management models In this report, we have focused on change management within an organization or a project. Change management is becoming so important that nowadays more and more companies use this method to improve the performance. Lots of change management models are used; they have made profit to the companies. However, not all the models are suitable to all the projects or all the kinds of companies; they have disadvantages as well as advantages when using them. In this report, we will discuss three models as examples: Kotters Eight Step Change Model, Lewins Change Management Model and McKinsey 7-S Model. Introduction Change management is a methodical approach to handling with change, not only from the angle of an organization but on the individual level. A rather vague term, change management has more than three different dimensions, adapting to change, controlling change, and effecting change included. A proactive approach to handling with change is at the central part of all three aspects. For an organization, change management means making the definition and implementation of procedures and/or technologies to handle with changes in the business environment and to profit from changing opportunities. Triumphant adaptation to change is as vital within an organization as it is in the natural world. Just similar to plants and animals, organizations and the individuals in them unavoidably run into changing conditions that they are incapable to control. The more effectively you handle with change, the more probable you are to flourish. Building structured methods for addressing changes in the business environment or building coping mechanisms for addressing changes in the workplace might be involved in adaptation. As a result, lots of change management models are built to help make the change management more effective. There are several of change management models. We will discuss three and decide which the best fit an organization needing many changes is. We will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of these three change management models. Once we discuss them further, we will see differences to each of these models. There are also a lot of similarities among these models. It is vital that we have a systematic indulgent of each of the three change management models presented. Problem Area Scope It usually doesnt matter how well designed a project is at the beginning, change is an unavoidable part of the project implementation process. Most of us have a tendency to think of change in terms of problems or negative consequences. Though its true that change could be bad or could be good. There are quite a few of aspects that are looked at when the changes are made and a correct path should be adopted in order to achieve the required target. Our scope of this report focuses on the following: How to describe change management system What are the principles of change management and the guidelines which needs to be looked at when changes are required Elements of change management systems Most effective models of change management Although there are several models present in the market today but only that model which suits the profile of the project should be adopted or whose implementation is not vague to the rest of the project team. In this study report we have primarily focused on following three models of change management: Kotter Model McKinsey 7-S Model Lewins Change Management Model Additional more our report highlights: Characteristics of Each Model Methodology of their usage. The major constraints that could come across are scheduled below: Uncertainty between people implementing change management models Communication gap between top management and lower level. Time Uncertainty of the roles and responsibilities Methodology Our study was employed  on the study of Change Management, principles different models of change management models were obtained by performing the following set of activities: Topic Selection and Planning of Study We had a brainstorming meeting where our team members got agreed to work on Conflict handling in Project Management and with the help of the study objectives and necessities which were mentioned by our course teacher (Erika Bellander), then the study was broken down into the following tasks: introduction, problems, scope area, theories models related to different conflict situations in projects, conflict resolution strategies, methods used in the study,   reliability, validity, results, discussions and recommendations. These were followed by the formation of a responsibility matrix and time scheduling. The status or progress of each task were reported and usually uploaded on bilda at least a day before our weekly meetings on every Tuesdays. Online Discussions The IMPACTS group members who were working together on some deliverables had online discussions and difficulties encountered during the tasks executing were also frequently discuss on line. We also helped each other by providing hints/inputs to each other by emails and we found that this is more effective way of communication. Resources Due to the time constraints, the IMPACT group could not obtain any primary data for the study from the companies/ Industries because of that our study was based on secondary sources which contains lectures notes, books and the internet were combine with working experience of our team members. Results Now a days every manager or leaders in education are required to lead and manage changes. It is significant as nevertheless the survey has found that change is taking place at a growing tempo, the verification suggests that most change initiatives doesnt not make the grade e.g. current research recommended that less than 65% of re-organizations met their stated aims which are usually bottom line enhancement. The impact of failures to bring in effective change could also be lofty e.g. loss of market position, elimination of senior management, loss of stakeholder trustworthiness, loss of key employees. To avoid such failures there is need of acquaintance with the change management principle and models and its consequences. In this section we will describe the basic change management principles and some models for the change management. Definition of Change Management Change management is a course of action in which whole system is modified according to any pre-defined framework or modelled by following it. Principle of Change Management There are some principles followed to make change management. By following these principles as a systematic, framework, team leaders can learn that how to manage their own personal change and how to appoint the whole organization in the process. Although there are many Principles of change management but few of the Principles are following: Adopting a principled method that shows reliability and engenders openness and belief will see your change program throughout the hard times. Here are five key principles of successful change managementà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡ Sponsorship The change program gets the visible support of key decision-makers within the organization as well as resources are ready to the program. Planning Planning is undertaken systematically before program execution and committed to writing. Plans are enumerated in accordance with predominant stakeholders and resources, goals, risks and other relevant participants. Measurement Program objectives are written in assessable terms and program progress is controlled and intercommunicated to major stakeholders. Engagement Stakeholders are involved in an authentic bilateral communication on the basis of openness, reciprocal trust and esteem. Support structures Program executors and change recipients are provided with the resources and supporting systems required during the process of the implementation and the aftermath. Change Management Guidelines In our study of this change management model principle we have found the following important guidelines for the change management: Address the individual side systematically: At all times engage and agree support from individual within system as every change creates individuals personal issues. When new leaders are asked to change then work will be changed and employees usually create confrontation which will lead to risk of speed of work, spirits and results. There is a common approach of change management that start with the top management team and then engage the stakeholders and this concept should start in early stage of change itself. Start at the top: When changes in organization system occurs then everyone looks at the top management as the decisions comes from them who that how this should be along with its protocols. Top management should work together by planning and commitment and they must communicate with each other. Involve every layer: When the course of action of change starts then we makes the strategy then designs its way and in implementation phase starts which affect all levels of the organization. Leadership at every level is must required with expertise in knowledge. Communicate the message: One must keep in mind that there should not be any communication gap during the change management. There is a big mistake which is normally seen that some managers believe that all members in the team understand the problems. There is usually need of regular and timely messages which should be inspirational and applicable. Communication must be from bottom to up and from up to down also so that employees may get information at right time. There is also need of right message to right person to avoid bad consequences. Prepare for unexpected: Whenever change is made according to plan then one usually has many problems faced during change management process. There are some unforeseen ways of reaction shown by some people. The reason of reaction could be anything. There should be persistent reassessment of the impact of change is needed and we should have the ability to adopt any sudden change into the organization. Change Management Models The change management should include the organizational change management procedures along with the individuals development according to the change in order to avoid the conflicts and to have healthy environment in the organization. There are many approaches/models for the change management but following three models are described here: McKinsey 7-S Model Lewins Change Management Model John P. Kotters Eight Steps of Change Management 4.5.1 McKinsey 7-S Model McKinsey 7-S Model is developed by McKinsey and Company in 1981. The 7-S model is used to analyze the organization and their effectiveness. This model illustrate that an organization is consist of seven elements. This model is widely being used by many practitioners and academics to analyse different organizations. The seven models are distinguished in the hard Ss and the soft Ss. Strategy, structure and system are considers as the Hard Ss and Style, Staff, Skills and shared values are the Soft Ss. McKinsey 7-S model helps the organization to control and formulate the change management for all these seven models. Checklist can be developed for each model to analyze if any change is required and then necessary steps can be taken to achieve the desired changes. The figure above shows the integration of each model in a way that all Models have interaction with each others and it also shows that Shared Values have common interaction with remaining 6-S models. The description and use of each model is explained bellow and categorised as the Hard Ss and the Soft Ss. The Hard Ss: STRATEGY Strategy is the set of plans for the action required to restructure the organization for the changes in its external environment. Organizations goals and decision and action of achieving the desired changes are the major factor for the strategy development. STRUCTURE When planning any changes, the organization needs to be organized in a way that that the structure of organization will remain controlled. If the organizational structure is affected due to changes request without controlling the factors like responsibilities, the system can be fully disturbed and it can cause serious problems SYSTEMS In any organization, people are working systematically for performing their tasks and responsibilities. While making changes it is important to take care of the system that the normal routines of staff shall not be affected in a way that they will not be able to perform their jobs. The Soft Ss: SHARED VALUES Every organization has their personal goals and objectives which gives the reason to all staff and management to move forward to perform their daily tasks. These goals and object have the same values for each and every body in the organization. While making the changes in the organization, the shared values should not be changed otherwise it will take the organization into failure of its goal. STYLE Organization develops and maintains their culture and style of management. Organizations style also means that the way managers interact with their employee and the way they spend their time. Changing the organizations culture and style is difficult task as it involves the people personal behaviour STAFF Organizations success always depends on their staff and teams working on the assigned tasks to achieve their goals. The organizations now a days are paying more attention into their human resources to have the right and active competences. The need and importance of Human resource management became essential for most of organizations now a day. Changing in staff can really result into a big success or big failure depending on right decisions by HR management. SKILLS Staff without the right skills to perform any tasks can create several problems for the operations and May results into big disasters. Technology is improving our working environment and new skills needed to be developed into existing staff to fulfil their gaps. Skill development through trainings can help the staff to have the right skills to perform their tasks. 4.5.2 Lewins Change Management Model Change is a common thread that occurs in all businesses regardless of size, organization and age; even in our individual lives. There is a common saying that change is the only permanent thing in life. The whole world is changing fast; hence organizations must change quickly as well. The leading organizations are those that manage change well. As for those that do not, they have continued to struggle to survive. Developed in 1950s, Kurt Lewins Change Management Model is one of the most popular cornerstone models for understanding organizational change. His model is popularly known as Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze which refers to the three-stages of change he described. Lewin explained organizational change applying the analogy-changing the shape of an ice block. First stage: Unfreezing This is possibly one of the most critical stages to realize in the area of change we find ourselves today. The stage is about making preparations for the change that is about to happen. In this stage, we must understand that change is necessary and we must be prepared to move away from our present comfort zone. The more we perceive the need for a change, the more urgent it becomes and the more our motivation to make the change. You can compare this with having a job to be delivered within a deadline. The closer the deadline, the more likely you are to hurriedly get the job started. The deadline for a job is usually tied around some kind of rewards or punishment. Without a deadline, the urge to change is lower compared to the need to change. The motivation to make the change, and get on with it also becomes lower. It is important to weigh the pros and cons and then be sure that the pros outnumbers the cons before you take off. This leads us to what Lewin termed the Force field Analysis. Force Field Analysis shows us that there are different factors (forces) that we need to observe when making change. Some are for while some are against. If, the factors for change is more than the factors beside change we will make change. Otherwise, there is low motivation and if we force a change were likely to be heading for a danger. The first stage of unfreezing is moving our selves, or a department, or an entire organization towards motivation for change and one good way of doing this is by using The Kurt Lewin Force Field Analysis. Second Stage: Change or Transition The second stage called change or transition takes place as we formulate the changes that are required. According to Kurt Lewin, change is as a process and not an event. The process is what he called transition. He then described transition as the inner movement we make in response to a change. This stage is often the hardest because people are uncertain and fearful. The period is more difficult as people are learning about the change which requires some understanding to work with. Therefore it is very important to give them all the necessary support in the form of coaching and training and to have it in mind that mistakes are part of the change process. It is more helpful using role models and giving people room to develop their own solution towards making the change. It is also essential to let people have an understandable image of the required change and the usual benefits. By so doing, they stay focused, and this can only be achieved through effective communication. Third Stage: Freezing or Refreezing This stage focused on establishing stability after the changes are made. The changes become the new way of doing things. Although it takes time for people to get used to the new norms as they have to form new relationships, but as time goes on they become adapted and comfortable with their routines. However there has been a lot of criticism and people argue that practically there is never time for the so called freezing stage. The world is so dynamic now and it might just take a couple of weeks for another change to happen. Hence, there is no time to settle into comfortable routines. The freezing sounds too rigid and does not fit with the modern idea of change which is a continuous and sometimes a disorderly process in which greater flexibility is demanded. For this reason, it is recommended that we think of this final stage as being more flexible, instead of a rigid frozen block. Consequently, unfreezing for the next change becomes easier. 4.5.3 John P. Kotters Eight Steps of Change Management In today environment change becomes natural part of doing business, whether be change in consumers behaviour, competitive landscape, supply chains, financial market, labour market. Not many organizations can adapt to changes coming to them effectively and in many instances can bankrupt the company. One of the leading management guru is John P. Kotter who introduced concept of eight steps to organization change management to help company adapt and prepare to various changes that affecting organization. Kotter has written several bestseller books. The most recognize one is Leading Change, which discusses practical 8-step process for the organization to follow when facing changes. The process describes useful insight on how to manage change for business organization of which key principles taking into people participation and roles in identification and implementing strategies. Kotters eight steps are being discussed briefly as follows: Establish a Sense of Urgency It is vey crucial for an organization to be ready and responsive to changes that happen in the market. The best way is for management to create sense of urgency for change and engagement staff at all level to be aware and adaptive for changes that company may encounter. The management should evaluate the market landscape and analyze impact or potential threat and opportunity to the company. This should also be shared among key staff to form a strategic plan. Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition In order to implement change effectively, key staff should come together to form a working group or steering committee to lead the effort. Create a Vision Establish sensible vision for change. The vision should reflect value and reason that change need to happen. It must be accompanied by workable strategies not a wishful one. Communicate the Vision Once the vision is established, management need to communicate it effectively as it is a guiding principle for change. Tools of communication and target group must be carefully crafted to ensure most effective effort and utilization of resources. Empower Others to Act on the Vision In order to create change, management must eliminate obstacles or system/process that gets in a way of implementing the vision and strategies. Management should encourage staff to take calculated risk and breakout of existing comfort zone to embracing new vision and strategies. Plan for and Create Short-Term Wins In reality, for an organization to achieve its vision may take long period of time and faces many obstacles and setbacks. Management should set a series of achievable short term goal that link to strategy and vision so staff can have a reachable goal to achieve and feel accomplish. It is also the opportunity to identify improvement in process to better achieve the vision as goal being reviewed periodically. Consolidate Improvements and Produce Still More Change Continue improvement in work process and system is important key to ensure that organization moving forward toward achieving the vision. This also includes the improvement in human resources practices from hiring, promotion and personal development. Institutionalize New Approaches To create lasting change, the new way of thinking should be part of organizational culture, process, structure and human resources development. The above provide general information on Kotters 8 steps process of which offers good framework for an organization in approaching change. According to him only 15% of businesses will successfully implement and adapt to change that coming to them. One of the reasons may be that most management fails to take the complexity of human the connection. Some of executives would probably outline the right business strategy but unable to implement it effectively due to internal resistance to change within its organization as well as poorly communicate to the staff of the changes and the way to go forward in managing it and cause misunderstanding or fear among employee. To summarize, Kotters concept is very useful and actionable, nevertheless, the company chose also be mindful of its staff culture and personality and revise plan to communicate effectively. Analysis Analyzing the three models described above McKinsey 7-S Model, Lewins Change Management model and John P. Kotters Eight Steps pf Change Management can be observed that each model have their own particularities and focus in the Change Management Subject. In the case of the first model, McKinsey 7-S Model M, is more focused in the areas that should be considered during an organisational change and created in the beginning of the 80s. This model has been classified by INMPACT group in two parts as Organisational Core Aspects as Strategy, Structure and systems which can be classified as the spine; and in the Human Resources aspects where are considered values, management style, leadership, interaction, skills and competences. Lewins Change Management model is a general model created in the 50s and talks about three different stages during a change management. The three stages mentioned are unfreezing, change and freezing. From our point of view this model gives a global view in the topic, but is missing certain important aspects that are crucial during the planning, implementation of a change inside any kind of organisation. Nowadays companies live in an environment where if the company stays at the freeze stage exists a higher possibility of failure due to the environment and other players are in continuous change that is the reason why companies have a high degree of flexibility in their human resources, strategy, systems and structure. Kotters eight steps Change Model focus on the urgency sense and on a high degree of responsiveness, leadership (powerful guiding coalition) and human resources, vision and structure, communication, empowerment, short term win through challenging but also reachable goals, continuous improvement in systems, processes and practices, people planning and development. The eight steps models from our point of view are focused on the continuous environmental changes, consumers behaviour, supply chains, financial markets, etc. From our point of view the Mckinsey model and the Eight Step model can be integrated in one model in order to have a better view on the Change Management, it both models can complement each other in both main aspects mentioned by McKinsey model organisational core areas and Human resources and at the same time the eight steps can be classified in both areas. Discussion As mentioned before can be developed one model 8Steps-Mckinsey in where the different aspect mentioned by both models can be identified in one. 8 STEPS- MckinseyLeadership Responsiveness Continuous Improvement Empowerment People Planning Vision Short Term Goals As can be perceived in the model leadership, responsiveness and continuous improvement should be present in all parts of the model, while in the organisational core part should be integrated the vision and short term goals which help to establish new perspectives to the strategy, structure and vision. At the same time the Human Resources should have the ability to be empowered, and at the same time HR Management should define which competences want to be developed, skills and capacity. Conclusion Nowadays Organizational change is required and it is increasing, but the change happens not very successfully. The high levels of breakdown signify that proper management of these changes is still missing. It shows that there is a lot to learn about the how to deal with change more efficiently. We have found that there is no solitary model of change management is there which is applicable to everywhere and there cannot be single solution for it. However we do have some models from our studies which are better and one can apply these as per their applicability. It has been seen that the management professionals are not always having the appropriate skills to lead change management and are not keenly included within the change procedure. However, many of such concerns that are identified concern of the people aspects of change. In such cases human resource management department should take the steps for it and manage it, to have healthy consequences of the change. To achieve this there is a need of proper skills is needed in the management side as well as the human resources as well. The change management response should be adaptive. The key elements of the successful change management are plan for long term in broad manner, establish proper communication methods to enable fast review and good decision from the managers, empower people to have decision at local operational level, avoid unnecessary changes and time consuming procedures, encourage people to adapt the changes by proper training and telling its benefits and respect peoples feelings and optimize the IT systems to facilitate for valuable information management. Recommendations Our team recommends a deeper study of change management models for all our stakeholders, our readers as currently there are so many change management models being used by different organizations and their selection criteria depends totally on their own needs and objectives. In theory we have some models which says that one can have be flexible for his way of change management and one should allows the flexibility to respond the change but such models are not very practical when it comes to the consequences of changes. e.g. capability to share knowledge and to work efficiently, it may have impact on effectiveness of communication or individual commitment, which itself has implications for change effectiveness. The individual development and training plays the important role in change management process. The human resource involvement in the individual development plays significant role. Following are some important responsibilities of human resource team towards the employees, which has significance during the change management process: Participation at the early phase in the project group. Get used to negotiating and connecting across various individuals. Understanding individuals concerns to look forward to problems. Develop good medium of message to reach a variety of groups. Serving people deal with change, performance management and motivation. Advising project managers in skills available within the organization examining skills gaps, training requirements and new working observations etc. Harmonizing out the contracted/temporary goals with broader tactical needs. Evaluating the impact of change in one department and its influence on another part of the organization.

Grant Wood And American Gothic Film Analysis

Grant Wood And American Gothic Film Analysis Grant Wood is easily one of Americas most famous artists due to his iconic 1930 work American Gothic. Even today, while some people may not always remember Grant Woods name or even the title of the image, they most certainly always recognize American Gothic when they see it. This one painting is known worldwide as kind of an iconic show of American character, all represented by a farmer and his daughter in front of their carpenter gothic styled home. The painting itself may at first glance appear to have only the simple meaning of representing the small town folk of Iowa, but looking closer the meaning could be something deeper. Grant Wood was born on February 13, 1991 in Anamosa, Iowa. After his fathers death in 1901, Grant and his family moved to Cedar Rapids where he took art lessons from local artists while he was in high school. He would then later teach school near Cedar Rapids while working a job at a silversmith shop in Chicago. Grant also served in World War I. He would make clay models of their field guns and also helped camouflage artillery pieces. After the war he would come back to Europe in 1923 where he spent 14 months in Paris studying art. During his stay in Europe his paintings had an impressionistic style to them. When he came home to America, his paintings began to sell and he was able to quit teaching and focus on his art. Its sometime during this time that Grant began promoting regionalism in his art. Regionalism is a realist modern American art movement wherein artists shunned the city and rapidly developing technological advances to focus on scenes of rural life. His work began to har k back onto his early life on the farm before his father died. Grants paintings began featuring farmlands, townscapes, and people around where he lived. Then, while driving to Eldon, Iowa, Grant came upon a white frame home that inspired his famous painting American Gothic. Grant had his sister and their local dentist pose in front of the house, and painted them with a very detailed style during which a time most artists in America were painting in abstraction. The painting itself only took about three months for Grant to paint and it was an immediate success. American Gothic was the painting that got Grant Wood recognized as a respectable artist, because he was all but ignored before this work. None of Grants other works were ever as successful. He soon then entered the painting into the Art Institute of Chicago for a competition, and the painting was awarded the Norman Wait Harris bronze medal and then purchased by the institute for $300. This was Grants first major art sell and his first prize for any work he had done, and in 1931 American Gothic was exhibited in London and was met with equal success. The painting was soon being reproduced in newspapers, but received backlash when it was printed in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Iowans who were reading the paper were outraged that they were being depicted as pinched, grim-faced, puritanical Bible-thumpers There was a large amount of negative response from many women in Iowa who were angry about the way Grant depicted the farmers daughter. These women considered the depiction mean and unflatt ering. Grant defended himself, saying that his intention was never to poke fun at anyone, and that the image is really just his own personal depiction of Americans. People who had positive reactions towards American Gothic assumed the painting was more of a satire of the simple life people lived in small rural towns, which was once not thought worthy of high art. American Gothic did make Grant a recognizable artist, but with recognition came harsh criticism. He was accused of creating mass appeal art, and that its viewers could easily understand the content of the paintings. Grant Woods workà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦contributes nothing scientically, emotionally, or esthetically to art or society. It is the culmination of a trend of escapist and isolationist thought which was popular with some groups of yesterday, but which is definitely obsolete today. Its true, his rise of popularity was fast, but after his death in 1942 his fall of popularity was just as equally quick. During the 50s people felt like Woods art was too populist, and that it was always popular among the simple people. What exactly is American Gothic really trying to say? Grant painted the image in 1930, the same year as the start of the Great Depression. Its because the work was created at such dark times in American history that people relate it to the population in the 1930s. In a country mired in economic depression, Woods stoic couple embodied the bedrock values of the nation and the resolve needed to survive the crisis. People could relate to the image, the man standing firmly with his pitchfork, defending his home. Something many people were doing during the 1930s, just trying to defend and keep what is theres. However after a couple of years American Gothics success had dropped and was out of the public eye for about a decade. The image was still a symbol of strength for Americans during crisis during that time. In 1957, for the production Music Man, Meredith Wilson had his actors pose in the same way as Grants figures in American Gothic. Soon after that a cartoonist, Charles Addams, featur ed the figures of American Gothic in one of his New Yorker cartoons. By this time the image became somewhat of a universal image of just plain folk of America. When the civil rights began, the image then took another turn for interpretation. Now, its no longer just or plain folk, the people of the image became symbols for something more. To some people they had become symbols of right-wing and even racist America. The meaning behind the painting seems to always change for different generations depending on the situations the generations are facing, because people always tend to relate works of art to their current situations. Even though the meaning does change, American Gothic is still one of Americas most well known, as well as most parodied, work of art. Honestly the image itself could be interpreted in many different directions because Grant himself took on many different contemporary social issues that are still being debated today. The very title suggests Americas long-standing ambivalent relationship with Europe. The Iowa subject matter pushes to the surface the tension and the mutual lock of understanding that exists between urban and rural America during the Great Depression and that persists today. The image also raises the specter of political partisanship and variant social values. Today American Gothic doesnt necessarily speak of the Midwest, or even of Iowa, and its most likely that people of today dont even realize where the painting is set. But when people look at American Gothic, some just cannot help but smile. This could be why the image is parodied and referenced in so many various ways. American Gothic is indeed one of the most popular pieces of art to ever be parodied so many times. The parodies of the image have all kinds of different purposes. Some might address a specific opinion or viewpoint, and others are just made for nothing more than comedy effect and fun. The first American Gothic parody was most likely the production Music Man, when the characters pose exactly like the man and his daughter in front of their home. The painting made its way onto a General Country Corn Flakes cereal box in the early 60s. The image made its way into an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, where an actual parody of the picture is a part of the episodes plot. The producers used American Gothic because they needed a painting that would be instantly recognizable to an American sitcom audience. It was also used in a promotion add for the Beverly Hillbillies for the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, that featured the characters of the show in the same iconic poses as the painting. Many of the decades parodies represented a joking type of attitude toward convections, traditions, authorities, and icons. Some even ridiculed the images and written works they parodied. American Gothic seemed to be more used as a weapon than as a target in its parodies. Almost all of American Gothic parodies-from presidents and first ladies to Mickey and Minnie Mouseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦operate with the same basic conceit. They manipulate the details of the original, usually the faces, often the clothingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦either to signify the difference between the then of the painting and the now of the parody or to collapse those difference. When it comes to parodies, it really goes back to how people were and still are interpreting the meaning behind American Gothic. The painting is an icon of the American People, and many people have their own interpretations, but the real meaning may always remain unanswered. Grant Wood was an artist who connected with the simple folk of Midwest America in his lifetime through his regionalistic styled art. His image American Gothic is most known for being a symbolic work for the 1930s for being a portrayal of the American pioneer spirit. The image remains a popular iconic image, keeping people interested in its deeper meaning with people creating parodies by relating the work to current events.

Essay on Images of Africans in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness

Images of Africans in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness In my reading of Things Fall Apart, it has better informed me of a culture that I did not know of before, and by reading it helped correct some broad misconceptions that I previously held of the people and their cultures of Africa. Reading the novel also gave me another perspective on the effects of imperialism/colonialism by the Europeans on the Africans. I believe Achebe has succeeded in enabling the West an opportunity to have them "listen to the weak" (Achebe interview), but whether or not Western society decides to listen will come down to the individual within the society--if they do choose to listen to the call of the "weak." In this essay I will share realizations that I gained by reading Achebe's novel, and how I came to view the people of the Igbo and Africa and not so different as I had thought before. The distinct writing style that Achebe used to narrate his novel led me, as the reader, to feel as if I were a fellow tribesman of the Igbo people. This differing perspective, rather than being an outsider looking in on the people, led me to see that the Igbos are a people with strong beliefs, culture, and identity. An example of their identity is the description of one of their dwellings, more specifically of Okonkwo's compound; it is described as a "large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth" and we read further on about the barn for Okonkwo's yams and the shed for his goats (1429). The Igbo people are obviously agrarian, and led me to the question, how different are they from us? My answer is, there are not a lot of differenes. Based upon my experience--my father was raised on a farm--I see stark similarities between us and them... ...people of Umuofia could not have forecasted, with the exception of the oracle, that they would have fallen due to the white man and his religion, but I believe we can derive a couple of reasons why they fell and apply it to our own society. In conclusion, I really enjoyed Achebe's novel and liked the contrast between it and Conrad's work of Heart of Darkness. I believe there are times that, in order to see the extremes of something, you must contrast it to its opposite extreme. As a former moderate of beliefs on colonialism and those who proselytize their religion onto others, I realize now the dire impact those acts can have on a naive or vulnerable culture, and I now disagree with those practices. Finally, I heed the "call of the weak" for I hear the quiet but powerful voice that says, "We are a people too..." and I know the truth of the message!

Media and the People :: essays research papers

Many tragedies, deaths and other popular actions take place everyday around the world, and we the people, count on media to cover these accounts in full detail. News articles and the media are two topics that go hand-in-hand with each other when discussing the perception of a world topic. Giving the media this power to describe the account also gives them the power to one-side any particular story. Often false accusations are made and wrong people are blamed, for no other reason than the media pointing fingers in wrong directions. The media also has the power to confuse, for as one media program might cover an account to be the blame of one man and another media program to be blame of another. The media has been given too much power with influencing the thoughts of people across the world. Take in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war with Iraq has sparked many different views and perspectives in the media world. Such popular topics of discussion with broadcasters and reports have been: Is Busch to blame? Is the War really necessary? Is the US sticking its nose where it shouldn’t be? And so the list goes on forever and ever. With such a popular international topic such as this, the media has the power to break it down to every little aspect as long as the viewer is interested. Who is the decision maker, who is the one that chooses who is truly at fault? How do we know the media doesn’t change views based on which country its news is broadcasting in? With America at war with Iraq, do American televisions say Iraq kills 10 U.S. soldiers, while an Iraqi one states that U.S. invades country to take over?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heart of any media article or report is in the tone, perspective, and content. Although both of these articles are one two different specific sub-topics, they are both on the same topic; and with sharing the same topic they also both share the same tone. They both share the same perspective of a guilty Iraq. As for the content; they are mostly similar except that the second article, â€Å"Pentagon: 110 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq†, is a little more enlightened towards the U.S. taking some blame. The two pieces of media material I have reviewed share many similarities yet many differences in tone, perspective and content. Both of these pieces cover basically the same topic of the war in Iraq. Media and the People :: essays research papers Many tragedies, deaths and other popular actions take place everyday around the world, and we the people, count on media to cover these accounts in full detail. News articles and the media are two topics that go hand-in-hand with each other when discussing the perception of a world topic. Giving the media this power to describe the account also gives them the power to one-side any particular story. Often false accusations are made and wrong people are blamed, for no other reason than the media pointing fingers in wrong directions. The media also has the power to confuse, for as one media program might cover an account to be the blame of one man and another media program to be blame of another. The media has been given too much power with influencing the thoughts of people across the world. Take in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war with Iraq has sparked many different views and perspectives in the media world. Such popular topics of discussion with broadcasters and reports have been: Is Busch to blame? Is the War really necessary? Is the US sticking its nose where it shouldn’t be? And so the list goes on forever and ever. With such a popular international topic such as this, the media has the power to break it down to every little aspect as long as the viewer is interested. Who is the decision maker, who is the one that chooses who is truly at fault? How do we know the media doesn’t change views based on which country its news is broadcasting in? With America at war with Iraq, do American televisions say Iraq kills 10 U.S. soldiers, while an Iraqi one states that U.S. invades country to take over?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heart of any media article or report is in the tone, perspective, and content. Although both of these articles are one two different specific sub-topics, they are both on the same topic; and with sharing the same topic they also both share the same tone. They both share the same perspective of a guilty Iraq. As for the content; they are mostly similar except that the second article, â€Å"Pentagon: 110 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq†, is a little more enlightened towards the U.S. taking some blame. The two pieces of media material I have reviewed share many similarities yet many differences in tone, perspective and content. Both of these pieces cover basically the same topic of the war in Iraq.

Anne Frank and Frederick Dougalss Essay example -- essays research pap

Anne Frank and Frederick Douglass Everyone has hope in something whether it is possible or seemingly impossible. Anne Frank and Frederick Douglass, among many differences and similarities, both had hope in something others may not have believed to be possible. They never gave up their hope that they so desperately clung to when they were in bondage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anne Frank and Frederick Douglass were both held in bondage, each in a different way. Frank was kept from the public eye for fear she would be caught and killed by the Germans. Even before she went into hiding she had to abide by so many restrictions that she had no freedom at all. On the other hand, Douglass was born a slave and had never known what it was like to be free, kept in bondage by his master. Despite everything they both kept their hopes that they would be free one day and people would no longer discriminate against them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, while Frank and Douglass were in bondage they had several people who helped them along the way. They couldn’t have made it without these helpers. Douglass had his master’s wife and the young white boys who helped him learn his alphabet and his basic reading. He also had the Underground Railroad abolitionist to help him on the road to freedom. Frank also had help from some friends of her dad, Kraler and Koophuis. They helped hide them and bring food and supplies to Frank and her family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to having helpers, Frank and Douglass both were good writers. Even th...

American experience

The ancient Greeks were the first to introduce philosophical thought to mankind. When one thinks of Greek philosophy, three individuals come into mind – Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in this order. Plato was Socrates’ protege and Aristotle that of Plato. These men not only enlightened men with their brilliance but also helped provide moral guidance to society for this was the role of philosophers whose wisdom was valued and sought for from the lowliest citizen to that of kings. This was all but forgotten during the time of the Romans and the Middle Ages.The Renaissance saw the return of classical Greco-Roman culture in most respects but it fell short when it came to philosophical thought especially in the purview of politics. It was here that a new political thought emerged courtesy of Niccolo Machiavelli. Through his work, The Prince, Machiavelli did not only provide a theoretical framework for his patron, but would also be employed by future leaders who found his idea s not only practical, but very useful in helping them achieve their goals. The Renaissance period was the result of the Humanist movement that emerged during the waning years of the Middle Ages.Prior to this, secular political philosophy was already existing during the Holy Roman Empire but the extent of its influence was rather limited because the academic field was wholly influenced by Christian scholasticism. The Humanist movement picked up momentum as it brought back classical ideas to supplant scholasticism. Those who held on to Christian values saw the Renaissance as the â€Å"return to paganism† which was not only evident in the art but in philosophy as well and Machiavelli was the one who stood out during this period with virtually no peer.Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era of the Renaissance. This was the time the Popes, heads of the Catholic Church were influential enough to raise their own armies and waged war; wealthy Italian city-states, though enjoying rel ative autonomy from the prosperity they enjoyed were susceptible to attack and conquest by foreign powers such as Spain, France and even the Holy Roman Empire and this was further made complicated and to an extent convoluted with series of political-military alliances which continually changed as erstwhile allies and confederates changed sides on a whim and at any given time.Moving forward beyond Machiavelli’s lifetime, this was also a similar occurrence in later centuries, thereby validating Machiavelli’s observations and ideas. This period was also characterized by political instability and volatility as governments rise and fall even though it had barely been around after its installation. This was the world of Machiavelli. Ironically, he himself was its victim when he was part of the republican faction that saw the expulsion of the Medici family from power and was banished into exile by the same family when it was restored to power.It was during this time of exile that he wrote The Prince which he dedicated (ironically) to the Medicis, the very same people who banished him, as a way of currying their favor in ending his exile. The Prince emphasizes how a ruling prince, the title of the rulers of the city-states, can maintain control over all he governs. This is a rather tough balancing act as the prince needs to exercise control over the resources of the state in order to maintain it and at the same time meet the needs of his people.That requires the prince being someone above reproach almost to the point of being infallible, whilst privately acting amorally to meet the goals of the state. Machiavelli based these from his observations as a Florentine diplomat, and his study of ancient history, particularly the history of the Roman Republic. It can be inferred here that by the time Machiavelli wrote The Prince, the ideas embodied here are not exactly new but something he revived based on his studies.In this social and political milieu, Machiav elli observed the way people lived and had in mind a plan to â€Å"educate† or â€Å"enlighten† leaders how they should rule and even define their lifestyles if they wanted to stay in power longer. During his time, he noticed that most people were obliged to live virtuously as according to Aristotelian ethics. However, he dared to challenge this belief, saying that living virtuous lives does not necessarily lead to happiness. Machiavelli, in a sense of irony and apparently going against the norms, viewed misery as something useful which prince should capitalize on if they wish to rule longer.Machiavelli states boldly in The Prince, â€Å"The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. As long as you serve their interests, they are devoted to you†¦Men are less nervous of offending someone who makes himself loveable, than someone who makes himself frightening†¦A ruler should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not inspire love, at least he does not provoke hatred. For it is perfectly possible to be feared and not hated.† (quoted from Morgan 510) From this statement alone, one might think Machiavelli was trying to corrupt minds and undermine the virtues being practiced during his time by entertaining such a thought. But if one would only take an empathic look, The Prince does not dismiss morality, entirely. It somehow redefines morality in more pragmatic terms which is characterized by what is considered â€Å"acceptable cruel action,† but it must be decisive, swift, effective, and short-lived. It can be further inferred that Machiavelli saw how ironic it is to yield good results by performing â€Å"evil† actions.However, one caveat here is that the â€Å"evil† Machiavelli used is not the same as †evil† in the Judaeo-Christian se nse of the word. For Machiavelli, cruelty should not be taken at face value or in absolute terms as had shown in one observation: â€Å"He (duke) put Mr. Remiro d’Orco, a man both cruel and efficient, in charge, and gave him absolute power. D’Orco in short order established peace and unity, and acquired immense authority. The duke decided such unchecked power was no longer necessary, for he feared the people might come to hate it. So he established a civil court, placing an excellent judge in charge of it.† (quoted in Morgan 493-494) What this means is that â€Å"evil† or in this case, cruelty should not be taken at face value for what it denotes. Rather, cruelty is defined as repressive actions taken by the state, more often than not manifested in the use of force to make things happen. But in so doing, the prince, or any ruler for that matter, is justified in his actions because it accomplishes a goal which in this case it to see to the preservation of the state and society as a whole, thus giving meaning to the Machiavellian adage, â€Å"the ends justify the means.† As a treatise, its primary intellectual contribution to the history of political thought is the realistic approach which sees how political realism clashes with political idealism and based on Machiavelli’s observations, the former prevails as the ideals based on classic Greek ideas of Plato and Aristotle tended to find no place in modern society where they used to emphasize the need for â€Å"enlightened† leadership or rule.Modern-day rulers do not have that luxury of being enlightened and they find Machiavelli’s ideas making more sense. It is only rather ironic and unfortunate that those who subscribed to these ideas are those Machiavelli would not want to – tyrants, despots and dictators. His idea of a leader using â€Å"acceptable cruel action† came from the dictators of the ancient Roman Republic. If there is something th is paper has proven, Machiavelli is not so bad after all.It would appear that most of his ideas were taken out of context and given the impression he encouraged rule by tyrants when he actually was not. It was only a matter of pragmatism and to an extent prudence though not in the same level as Platonic and Aritstotelian thought. Works Cited Morgan, Michael L. Classics of Moral and Political Theory 4th Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1992.

Advantages Due to Hiring Maid

The maid is a system that involve non-local who is not from our family members who work at our home. According to Zuhaila (2012) the article in NSTP dated March 11. â€Å"Some families say their household will just not be able to function well without a maid†. So with the existence of a maid, it not only brought many benefits for the community but it can ease the burden of parental in order to taking care the home, children and others, especially for careers parents.Although many people have negative perception of hiring maid, I believe that hiring maid is important due to several advantages. The first advantage is it will cut the cost of sending children to nursery. As we know that the cost of sending children to nursery is expensive nowadays. Not only the nursery, hired a babysitter just for a few hours will cost much higher than hiring a maid. According to Kwa on her speech â€Å"Now days, a fee for a monthly babysitter is around RM750 and above, and the cost will increase depend on how many children in the house† (Kwa, The Star, 2012).On the other hand, parents can reduce the times that wasted of sending and fetching children from the nursery. Because of that, hiring a maid can take care of children when parents go to work. Parents also do not worry about the payment every month because our government is standardizing the fee that parents need to pay the maid. The second advantage is it will reduce the burden of doing the house chores. As we know, as a parent their needs to taking care about their career and their duty of doing house chores.Because of that, many locals are waiting to hire maids again as to meet their needs (Raja Zulkeply Dahlan, 2012). In addition, the maid is also a savior for parents who are experiencing stress over the situation in the workplace and home. For a career parents, sometimes the stress at the workplace will be carried away to the house and if at home, the condition not very smooth it will give more pressure on t he parents. Therefore, the extra time will help parents to relax which also increases their productivity at workplace.The third advantage is it will encourage parents to spend more time with their family members. As we know, maid can help doing house chores and allow parents to spend quality time with their families’ member. Because of that, parents will have a valuable period of time to spend their times with families’ member. According to Orlandoyts (2005) â€Å"maid rid you and your daily chores allowing you to spend quality time with your family†. For example, parents can have a picnic on a weekend or bring their children to shopping.In addition, parents can give love and paying more attention to their children. Parents who have time in a long weekend can pay more attention and giving a full of love to their children spend more time with them. Therefore, parents can secure the safety of their children every day. All in all, hiring maid can give parents much advantage to manage the children and parents also their career in workplace. Therefore, the government should play an important role in the entry of domestic workers to meet market demand of maid to the families who needed.