A Career in Social Work

The career that I want to pursue is social work. I enjoy talking to people, helping them with their problems, and try to make their bad days better; I already have some trained skills, which I have learned in places that I did some volunteer work in the past. I also worked babysitting children of different ages and tutored others in some basic subjects. My experience of having my own small business plus all the volunteer work in the places I mentioned above, gave me a head start by assisting individuals on a regular basis. Becoming social service worker has many responsibilities.Some of the responsibilities are getting information to provide quality services in an efficient and effective manner to people with complex needs. To be a good social service worker requires a solid foundation of training, values, knowledge, theory and skills. I was born and raised in a big city and lived n the same street with my family, until the age of twenty. My parents have been together for many years and I have 5 siblings. Growing up in the 1970's, having an abusive biological father was very difficult for my mother, my siblings and me.I felt that we were a comfortable family with all the things necessary to be happy. I was unaware that my biological father was abusive towards my mother, so was one of my brothers toward his wife. When I learned it, I was a teenager and it led for my siblings and I lean toward my grandmother and stepfather. Our families were divided by religion and the abuse. My stepfather was our pillar of support; he always encouraged all of us to get an education. I had to learn rapidly to adjust to different situations and saw that folks Just were not all bad, ecause they had faced problems in their lives.This permitted me to grow and absorb in ways other children may have never imagined, and I be certain of that because of my family, it has added a great deal of my individual strength and approval of others. I have also learned many useful skills and experie nces throughout my adult life. Having a difficult time as a child myself and then being married to an abusive husband for 15 years, has given me the power and aspiration to become a Social Service Worker. It will be fulfilling a lasting vision to help persons n need no matter the emergency they may be pursuing to remedy.When I was younger I always talked about being a teacher or a social worker. As I got older and started to build my life it changed. I went from being a simple receptionist to being an office clerk, where I have to not only answer phones, but learn many other skills at administrating an office. Although I went to school for to Office administration and didn't finished it, I always have the desire to serve and help others. With the determination and drive instilled in me there is no other ending but achievement and success.The one real mistake I believe we can make in life is to not learn from the errors and challenges that come our way. In fact, it is in these mistak es and trials where I have learned the most and grow into a healthier and stronger person. I still feel in my soul that my career path is in social work and now that I know what career path I will take it is up to me to make it happen. I believe that my life experiences and skills demonstrate why the field Social Service Work is best suitable for me as an education and career.Considering my strengths, I am cooperative, g natured, generous, nelptul, numble and modest and I trust others. As a professional, I am non-judgmental, not hold responsible the client for their predicaments. Even if someone hurts my feelings, I am quick to forgive and forget. These qualities are essential for me, because I am working and will work with a variety of people, healthcare professionals, clients, and others that may exhibit inflexible and difficult personalities that may be challenging to work with. Finding the right treatment or service for each client based on their needs requires a creative person .I am also particular, hard-working, organized, and, and take my responsibilities seriously. These qualities are appropriate for when I am working individually or with a team. My extroverted personality also suits my career objective as a social service worker as interaction with others is a significant portion of this kind of work. Regarding communication skills, I am talkative, assertive, sociable and active. One of my limitations is that, although I speak two languages fluently, my strong accent is not acceptable to some when it comes to interact with clients.I am vercoming this personal limitation by taking a pronunciation course over the summer as a starting point. Some of my personal talents include being interested and passionate in a selfless and courteous manner. I am capable to sustain a considerate and gentle manner, even in hectic circumstances. I have a high score for intellect, which shows that I strive to acquire and preserve my existing knowledge, which is crucial fo r a worthy and passionate social service worker. I am honestly concerned with other individuals and try to treat everyone with consideration and compassion.I have always had the desire to study and strive in my area of interest. When I had an opportunity in 2005 to go back to school, I was fully committed to excel in my studies. My goal is not Just to get good grades, but also to fully understand the concepts in my studies and be able to analyze them. There are many social issues in our society that I would like to personally contribute to for the improvement of society. Through learning, I was able to understand some of my own experiences from the past, and instead of taking them as a terrible lessons, I accepted them as a hallenging Journey.One of my academic goals is to keep up my above average grades. I put in enormous strength and hard effort into my studies. Upon arriving at this city, I was determined that I would spend my next two years in pursuit of new ideas and experience s. I come from a country with a rich social, cultural and ethnic variety; this helps me appreciate cultural sensitivity better as well as the clients' traditional beliefs, when working with the particular client populations. Beside English, I speak French and Spanish; knowledge of two extra languages, will become n extra asset as a social service worker.The population that I want to work the most is the elderly. Elderly clients are friendly and willingly wait for a social service worker to visit them. Most of them treat the worker as an acquaintance. Proficient detachment is required, so that I will not picture the client as a family, and to keep in mind that the objective is to help them improve their ability to do well without a lot of support. I am arranging my other areas of life around my studies, so I can entirely commit and keep up with decent grades. Success is all can see in my future.

Natural child birth VS. Medicated child birth Essay

Abstract: Natural childbirth and medicated birth are the two options practiced all around the world by the gynecologists, these days. However there are some issues related to both the birth process. In this paper we will discuss the pros and cons of both the natural child birth and the medicated child birth. Introduction Natural childbirth: it is a natural process with minimum medical intervention, specifically the use of pain relives medications and surgical interventions (Vernon, D (2005) Medicated child birth: in this type of birth, doctor make use of pain killers and other instruments like episiotomies, forceps and ventouse deliveries and caesarean sections during the delivery process. Every woman during her delivery undergoes pain which is a normal physiological reaction. In a normal birth, pain makes the women to react against the pain by tensing and fighting it. Majority of women around the world prefers natural child births however in some cases the mother prefers to be medicated thus reliving pain. Birth pain is sudden and intense. However, with every contraction the pain gradually fades away resulting in birth of a child. (Sakala, C. , M. Corry, and H. Goer. (2004) So for a mother there are both the options available either to select natural birth or a medicated child birth. Natural child birth is a natural process and there is now side effect except the mother undergoes sever pain. However in case of medicated child birth is artificial process therefore it does have some side effects despite it’s practiced very frequently all around the world Here are some of the pros and cons of both natural and the medicated child birth: Benefits of Natural Childbirth Natural child birth is completely without any medication. Remember that medicine is a medicine and, and even the most secure medicines also have some side effects Mothers that go through natural child birth is able to move freely throughout labor and after as the new researches reveals that medicated birth makes it difficult to move during and after the birth. ( Anderson, G. , et al. (2000) In natural childbirth women feel their body’s reflex, there how they can respond better by pushing faster, as the medication does affect the reflexes thus prolonging the pushing time. (World Health Organization Department of Reproductive Health and Research. (1999) Unmediated birth is natural process and the pain during the birth is also natural that guides the mother to seek specific positions that might help the child to move easily to get into right position of delivery. In majority of cases Mothers has fast recovery after a natural childbirth since they can move freely and easily. Generally they eat immediately and their appetite is normal. In natural child birth Endorphins is secreted within placenta and umbilical cord of the mother. That secretion helps the baby to deliver easily and get adjusted to new environment comfortably. (Lieberman, E. and C. O’Donoghue (2002) Naturally delivered babies are better responsive and show more interest in pre-breastfeeding behaviors such as sucking and massaging the mother’s breasts, as well as the proper length of time they spend nursing during the first one and a half hour. Natural birth also increases the possibility of a healthier and fast recovery because of better hormonal balance. (Righard, L. and M. Alade. (1990). This is because a woman who has given birth with minimal intercession does not need to recover from major abdominal surgery, instrumental delivery, and cut of the perineum, any damage from IV lines, or severe stomach pain, headache backache caused by the use of medication. Natural childbirth increases the natural delivery physiology and laboring progress of healthy, well- feed women and increases interventions in the normal course of natural childbirth. Benefits of Medicated Birth Medicated Birth has a lot of benefits and is been adapted by the mothers all over the world. Some of the benefits are as follows: Women that experience a very long labor pain can benefit from using pain medication to get some relief prior to pushing stage. (Simkin, P. (1992) if the woman is finding the pain unbearable, it will definitely affect the delivery process, pain medication would definitely act as an aiding factor so that her body might not fight against the labor. (E. Jones, Pregnancy, Contraception, and Family Planning Services in Industrialized Countries (1989) similarly if the woman is experiencing some sort of fear, medication would help her by reliving her from severe pain and anxiety. However on the other hand it does have side effects depending upon person to person. Sometimes it is found that Medication has caused the baby sleepy as the anesthesia can penetrate through the placenta. (Ransjo-Arvidson A. B. , Matthiesen. (2001) Moreover pain guides the mother to adjust her position through which the child can adjust within if the child is posterior. However in case of medication the mother can not feel the pain to adjust herself thus may case certain complications in some cases. (Uvnas-Moberg, K. (1998) Conclusion Mothers have the ability to give birth naturally. Despite the women faces the pain but the pain goes away gradually. It is a fast process and has no side effects. The baby is normal and responsive. Pain medication is a great resource in very difficult and prolonged labors when the mother loses her patience to deliver the baby. In such cases epidural is very much effective. Anaesthetics may increase the likelihood of complications ( Knapp, L. (1996) We can find variety of pain killers out there in the market. If the right medicine is used I can help the delivery. Most pain killers do not take pain completely away. It makes pain bearable for the mother thus can concentrate on the birth. However in medicated birth mother always need continuous assistance all through the process.

Pass/Fail System Essay

The Use of Pass/Fail System The only thing that will give you as much heartache in school as love are grades (Colaba, n.d.). Throughout a student’s life in school, one is taught from society that the most important aspect in studies is to get good grades. Because of this, students’ motivation, learning, and even his or her personal progress are marginalized by the ‘ultimate goal’, which are the numbers use to evaluate one’s performance. We could observe this even at a very early stage at school, first graders for example. In the first grade, multiplication table is already taught and should be memorized and usually stars stamped at the back of the hands of the pupils are given as a reward for perfectly declaiming it. Of course, children would probably try to memorize the entire chart for the sake of getting stars. So what is now the motivation of the pupils? Instead of learning as their incentives, it would be the external reward. It is because it would create a competition between the students on who would get many stars. It goes the same with the numeric grading system. It is how high the number, the grade and the praise one would aspire instead. Students and society is so used to the grading system that it looks as if inexorable. As a result of it, students could not already perform without grades. Basically, it is the result of having the numeric grading system according to a professor from UPVTC. So why not use the Pass/Fail system rather than numeric? With that, students could avoid the anxiety those five little words always bring. Moreover, this Pass/Fail system would give students allowance for freedom within a pressurized environment and the reason why it is installed during 90’s on the first place. And having classes without any demands of distinguished grades would give a student a normal life in school. Better is one could escape the stress from aiming high grades. However, it still demands hard work to be able to pass. Still it needs involvement as student- participation, showing to the class, or merely do what regular students does. Perhaps at first there would be a more often attack of laziness because of freedom but in this case of situation, one could truly see that  studies need focus and seriousness to really be able to pass as well as to learn. Furthermore, students will be able to loosen their grasp to what grades have caused them. Like control their life at school and what is worse, let their ego shrink at times. When in fact you could learn to appreciate your courses and eventually learn them by heart not just because you need a shining grade. And through the pass/fail system, a student could indeed determine if the course truly interests him/her and if he/she would be willing to study and perform well even without grades. It is because nowadays, students are undeniably just doing school works because of the pressure of grades. Without grades, one could truly see the difference in viewing why people go to school. Another is that through the grading system we are using, we learned to be reinforced by other aspects- praises of teachers, grades, or any external reward which is a mistake. We let grade motivate us rather than us motivating our own self. Is it not better that we reinforce our own selves rather than something doing it? It is because in situations like this, we get to neglect new learning opportunities especially knowing that there will be no grades involve. Most of the time or all the times, we turn our back on and merely disregard voluntary readings and others that are ask voluntarily because it is not reinforced in the past. Knowledge for its own sake is not seen as a valid and valuable goal (Colaba, n.d). Wherein knowledge should be treated as the real reward and primarily be the reason why people go to school, an internal reward better than externals. Internal reward which is to be able to acquire what you have learned would be the true essence of studying. Perhaps others would say that it is better to have specific marks in transcripts so that higher grades would mean a white-collar job rather than merely seeing pass and fail. Well in reality, high grades do not really go with being a good and an effective employee. Numeric or letters in grading system is not equivalent to guts and skills. In fact, there were underdogs during their school years but became successful more than those best in  class. It is just a proof that a success of a person does not depend on his/her transcript. Maybe just knowing if you have simply passed or failed in college or high school before is already enough for an assessment to be accepted in a job. For some, they would say that the numeric/letter grading system would make the parents proud if ever their child would get good grades. But what if their child cannot? With the pass/fail, one could escape expected range of letters and numbers by their parents. For sure parents would still be proud seeing the pa ss mark in their child’s record. In addition are those that would say that how could they stabilize their efforts if there would be no certain grade to be aimed? The solution would be one should learn to organize and manage the time for studies. Do this sagaciously and learn to accept whatever would be the result of your efforts (Colaba, n.d.). And most of all love your craft. Probably the rest would say that it would be absolutely unfair to those who are best in class. At a certain point, yes it would be unethical to the best student in class because they would not get any appreciation anymore. But the question is how important it is to be acknowledged as the finest student? In a way, it would be used as reinforcement for one to maintain a good performance but again, this is just a part of an external reward. Knowing your certain rank would not mean recognizing your worth as a human being. And taking the idea that you are a better person because you could outshine others during examinations makes you a foolish person as supposed by Dr. Colaba, a professor in UPVTC. Moreover rank would not assure satisfaction, happiness, as well as oneâ€℠¢s success. Thus, pass/fail system is better than any numeric/letter grading system. A student could simply know whether he/she passed or not and there is no pressure. However this does not mean to discourage students about the present grading system or dispirit them to aim good grades. Maybe not until it would lead to anxiety and driving one’s ego. Anxiety does not help students to learn and in fact it is a destructive motivation. And letting something drive your ego instead of you taking control of it has never been good as well. The pass or fail system would definitely change one’s view in school.

Different facets of the Macro Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Different facets of the Macro Economy - Essay Example There was a development of model of trader risk that insinuated that decisions on investments are done with reference to market noise, and these decisions are not rational and hence unpredictable from the simple fact that they are affected by the sentiments of an investor. This makes the idiot traders a threat in markets of finance. Secondly, noise existence provides opportunists with information that enables them to exploit and take advantage of the situation in the market. These opportunists may engage in strategies of stealth trading where these investors extend their trade with time. Lastly, the irrationality by the noisy traders may lead to movement of assets’ prices from their basic values hence making the market to destabilize. Contrary to that, investors who are rational would act in a manner opposing a noisy trader hence stabilizes the market equilibrium. There is a prediction that institutional investors fail in encountering activities that are irrational by the nois y traders. The examination of the essential effects of the noisy traders on ADR market is as explained. ADR return falls or increases if the investors are not rationally pessimistic or optimistic. In the period of low noise, ADRs that are owned by high institutions exhibit autocorrelation that is same to ADRs being owned by low institutions. Nevertheless, in periods of high noise, ADRs that are owned by high institutions exhibit autocorrelation that is higher compared to the ones owned by low institutions. This creates an implication that there must have been an engagement in stealth trading by investors for exploitation of an irrational market. Via a regression of Granger causality, there is evidence of ADR portfolio returns with high institutions ownership which confirms that these traders make a reflection of the market information which is in the long run converted to securities. Finally, investors of an institution aid in the reduction of ADR returns of Europe. Though, for othe r continents ADRs, the stabilizing magnitude of positions of arbitrage that is taken by investors of an institution is not significant (De Long et al. 1990) Question two Consider a model with both noisy traders and rational arbitragers. Suppose there are no limits of arbitrage. Then arise in investment sentiments among the noisy traders: a) Shifts the asset demand curve of the noisy traders N b) May lead to increased short sales Y c) Has no effect on the equilibrium asset price N d) Affects the distribution of assets holding between the two groups of investors Y e) Affect the total gross supply of the assets in the market Y Discussion In case of existence of the noisy trader and an arbitrager in a market, given that there are no limits of arbitrage and a situation of arising of sentiments, a) there would not be shifts in the demand curve of the noisy traders. The explanation for this is straightforward because given an irrational trader who takes risk which give rise to investment s entiment; the prices of assets are mainly affected. In economics, the price of commodities affects demand in that the increase or decrease in prices leads to a movement of the curve and not a shift. Therefore, the statement of demand shifting is wrong as the main factor influencing demand of asset in this case is the price. b) The action may lead to increased short sales in that, in any case the noisy trader tries to sell the assets at prices that are lower than the market’

Alcohol Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Alcohol Abuse - Essay Example This is harmful to health especially for underage drinkers. Alcohol use, unhealthy diet, and tobacco use are some of the leading cause of death in many nations today (Shumaker, Ockene and Riekert 2008, p.5). Drinking alcohol significantly affect young individuals in terms of their academic performance, social lives and relationships as well as their general health. Some of the negative consequences resulting from excessive drinking include death, assault, sexual abuse, injury and accidents, academic problems, suicide attempts, and health problems among others. Today, underage drinking is a widespread public health problem which needs attention and should be dealt with or addressed accordingly. There is need to advise young adults, support them and create awareness on the damaging effects of alcohol abuse. There are many diseases and conditions related to alcohol drinking including heart and liver diseases. Alcohol abuse also leads to deterred brain development. Alcohol abuse negatively influences the lives and social relationships of many adolescents and teens. In most cases, drinking adolescents have academic and behavioural problems, slurred speech and coordination problems, and difficulty in establishing lasting relationships with their peers among others. Alcohol abuse has negative impacts on young adults. Studies confirm that many under age lose their lives daily as a result of alcohol related car or motorcycle crashes, suicides, and other serious injuries including falls, drowning and burns among others. More so, drinking alcohol forces young adults to make wrong decisions which may in turn result to risky behaviours such as driving while drunk, engaging in violence and irresponsible sexual behaviours among others. In addition, youths who are drinking excess alcohol are more likely to engage in or fall the victim of physical or sexual assault. Moreover, alcohol abuse has been noted as a common cause

International Relations (The Role and functions of the IMF and the Essay

International Relations (The Role and functions of the IMF and the World Bank in the International Economic System) - Essay Example tical science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). It is both an academic and public policy field, and can be either positive or normative as it both seeks to analyze as well as formulate foreign policy.† It also referred to IR as drawing upon such diverse fields as economics, history, law, philosophy, geography, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and cultural studies and that it involves a diverse range of issues, from globalization and its impacts on societies and state sovereignty to ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, terrorism, organized crime, human security and human rights. (Paraphrasing made) As to how international relations originated, one cannot avoid talking about the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. It is with Westphalia that e the modern state system was developed since it encouraged the rise of the nation-state and the institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. (Wikipedia-IR, 2006) (Paraphrasing made) Having a background therefore of IR, we are confronted with the questions: What are the institutions involved? The United Nations assumes a major role in IR as it describes itself as a "global association of governments facilitating co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity". Wikipedia, (2006) stated that it is the most prominent international institution and many of the legal institutions follow the same organizational structure as the UN. (Paraphrasing made) UN has therefore affiliations with several legal institutions which include International Court of Justice, European Court of Justice and the African Court of Justice. It has also affiliations with human rights organisations which include, United Nations Human Rights Council,

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 25

Report - Essay Example In order to design the spreadsheet model, a graph of cost of silver from both companies during the month and a spreadsheet for each company. From the spreadsheet model, it is clear that the company would order silver Rookstone Company. The company is selected because of relatively low cost. The total monthly cost of silver from Rookstone Company is 113.67 while the total cost of silver from Metal Direct Company is 116.66. The graph illustrates the relationship between the cost of silver and the number of order for the two companies. For example, the cost of silver for four orders is 35.08 from Metal Direct Company and 34.18 from the Rookstone Company. The fluctuation in prices can be explained by the value added tax charged for each order. The attached file provided information in regard to dimensions, weights of materials used. The file also provides information in regard to order, total weight, cost of silver, VAT charged and total cost per month. The data provided shows that there is moderate agreement between management team opinion and industry expert opinion with r=0.5636.the number of trips is the factor which mostly influences the estimated safety when using the transport system. The relationship can be estimated using the model below; Smith and Jones Company provided data on Transport Company with respect to Transport Company which provides a Light Rail Transport system in an urban area. The company is interested to know level of agreement between management team opinion and industry expert opinion in regard to priority in spending. The company also provided survey data to investigate factors which mostly influence how safe customers feel when travelling on the service. In order to determine the level of agreement, spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is used. The options re listed and values assigned in respect to each option as per the two groups.the difference in value of opinion is obtained and then squared. Thespearman’s

Reading Respond#3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading Respond#3 - Essay Example U.S, and of the armed forces of the numerous states, when given the actual service of America and commission all the service personnel of the United States (The Founders Constitution 1). The separation of war powers within the U.S Constitution does not appear so uncertain. While the President is given some exclusive authorities (Straub 1-2), the immensity of the authority to take the country to war depends on Congress (Kinkopf 2). According to U.S. Constitution, there is separation of powers of war. With Congress having the power to proclaim war, select and sustain the armed forces, and manage war funding (Article I, Section 8). At the time the Constitution was outlined (Kinkopf 2), the framers evaluated the singular willpower of the Executive against the Legislature’s consultative function, whose components would ultimately carry the cost of battle (The Founders Constitution 1). The ultimate responsibility for any military engagement is held by the congress. This is clear as it is supported by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has been fast to remind the people that, where overlaps in the authorities given by the Constitution prevail, reverence goes to Congress. This is a clear declaration of Supreme Court that when Congress, acting in the vast aspects of overlapping authority, tells the President no, the President ought to comply (Kinkopf 2). Straub, Steve. Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper #69, On Command of the Army and Navy. On March 21, 2011. Accessed from

Hogarth print and the enlightenment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hogarth print and the enlightenment - Essay Example With his new art, he was able to reach countless audience by making engravings of the paintings and selling them at low prices1. He therefore created art for aristocratic patrons as well as the public sphere that came together through the print medium to reflect on issues of general concern. Generally, Hogarth’s work brought dynamic influences on the public sphere which developed into an entity able to generate new ideas and challenge beliefs that were supported by the state. His first ‘modern moral subject’ called A Harlot’s Progress was produced in 1732 and was succeeded by A Rake’s Progress produced in 1733-34. Hogarth’s masterpiece, Marriage a La Mode was painted in 1745. His other print series included Industry and Idleness produced 1748 in and The Four Stages of Cruelty in 1751. This paper is going to mostly dwell on the print Marriage a la Mode and how it might have conveyed the ideas of the Enlightenment to the British public2. Marriag e A La Mode Marriage a la Mode was by far the most enduring and popular of Hogarth’s moral subject series. The print tracks on a doomed marriage between a daughter from a wealthy man from lower social class and a son from a high status but financially troubled family3. This marriage is arranged by two opportunistic fathers; one, a rich representative of the London city who craves social status and aims to acquire it by marrying off his daughter and the other father, Earl of Squander who was a spendthrift nobleman and needed cash desperately which he finally gets it by marrying off his unprincipled, dandyish son. Since there were no considerations of love or even compatibility, the marriage is led into a path of self destruction. The print contains a set of six paintings which were subsequently made into engravings4. Plate one: the Marriage Settlement The scene establishes the just concluded negotiations for their children’s marriage between the Alderman who is seated a t the center and the Earl of Squander seated at the extreme right. While squander wants money to fund his overly exuberant lifestyle, the alderman is dying to achieve a higher social status for his family that he had to buy his way into aristocracy5. In the meantime their children are depicted to be indifferent and miserable at the proceedings. Viscount Squanderfield the son of Earl has just returned from the continent and is dressed in the recent Paris fashions. He has a black spot on his neck, an indication that he might be having syphilis. Alderman’s daughter on the other hand is being soothed by Silvertongue, the lawyer, though she looks inconsolable. The chained dogs make clear the fact that the couple’s marriage is loveless and ill-matched6. The Tete a Tete The scene is set in the west end of London in a Palladian style house. It is past midday as depicted by the clock far right on the wall, and still the viscount seems to have returned from a night out and is sl acked in a chair, tired and bored7. A dog is shown sniffing at some woman’s cap in his pocket. His wife as it seems, has also been awake all night apparently playing cards, but her satisfied stretch and sly look indicate that she too had been having sexual engagements and dissimilar to her indifferent husband, was at that moment enjoying the freshness of life as a stylish woman of leisure. Using a pocket mirror, she appears to be bespeaking to someone out of sight, perhaps her lover who as it looks like, had to exit in a hurry as a result of the

Formulation of Strategy and Its Effects on Organizational Structure Essay

Formulation of Strategy and Its Effects on Organizational Structure - Essay Example If the strategy is effective, it would result in an efficient organizational structure and the organization would be able to achieve its goals successfully. Therefore, the following discussion takes into account the fact that the formulation of strategy takes precedence over the determination of structure of the organization. FORMULATION OF STRATEGY Formulation of strategy is highly important for the success of an organization. If an organization puts the right effort in the process of formulation of strategy, it would be able to design an effective strategy and thus the organization would reap long term benefits on the basis of that strategy. According to Lamb (1984), strategic management is a continuous process that controls and evaluates the business undertaken by the organization, evaluates the potential of its competitors of the organization, and it specifies goals and strategies for the organization in order to enable it to face the threats posed by the competitors, and then re -evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategy on a periodic basis. Strategic management also assumes the responsibility of determining whether the strategy requires any modification due the change in the external environment of the entity. The initial stage of strategy formulation is the determination of a mission statement for the organization. ... zation conducts an internal and external analysis of the entity in order to assess the threats posed to the organization by its environment and the opportunities that the organization possesses. One of such analyses is known as SWOT analysis which considers the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization. SWOT analysis is used to assess the effectiveness of an already implemented strategy as well (Armstrong et al 2009). This analysis is highly important for the strategic core of an organization as it provides critical information regarding the environment in which the organization operates. By having such information, the management would be able to design such competitive strategy that would help the organization survive in the industry amidst the competition posed by its competitors. Internal analysis of an organization includes the evaluation of the resources possessed by the organization and the internal processes of an organization. The management evalua tes the resources possessed by the organization as compared to other organizations in the industry. If the organization possesses a resource that is available to that and that organization only, it can be given the status of the competitive advantage of the organization. Competitive advantage of an organization is a resource or a quality acquired by an organization that helps it survive in the industry notwithstanding the size and potential of its competitors. If the competitive advantage of an organization is identified, the strategic core of the organization can design the strategy in such a manner that it capitalizes over the potential of the organization’s competitive advantage. Competitive advantage of an organization may be the distinct quality of its products, a technology

Cell phones. How have they changed us socially Research Paper - 1

Cell phones. How have they changed us socially - Research Paper Example Within less matter of time, people started buying cell phone widely as a communicating tool. No matter what people comment on cell phone usage, the place this has on our life is beyond expression. Initially only business persons and top most officials used to use a cell phone but now every person on the planet more or less owns it.In his journal (Banjo â€Å"Cell phone usage can be defined as any application of the cell phone as a tool, including talking, text messaging, game playing or the sheer accessibility of the instrument†. From a business tool, cell phone step into the hands of common people in a short time. Once people understood the advantages of cell phone, then it took a special place in the heart of people. From old to young understood the use of cell phone and invited it into their life and till now it holds a premium place in the hearts of men and women around the globe. Nowadays everybody owns a cell phone and it is the use of cell phone which has made it a universal electronic Gadget. All people use cell phone to get their things done in less time. When there is an emergency or casualty, cell phone, enables people to communicate with each other in one moment of time. According to (Roberts 127-35)â€Å"Fully 74% of Americans who own mobile phones say they have used their hand-held device in an emergency and gained valuable help†. In such cases, people use cell phone without a second thought. A couple of decades ago, the ordinary phone could only use from houses or phone booth but now anywhere and everywhere people can use the phone. Mostly the young generation is brainwashed by the use of cell phone as they can message their friends in less time span. Two decades ago, telephone was a communication tool at home and it was a medium to reach each other at times of emergency (PEW 2006).But now phone travels everywhere with the owner and give him an unlimited power and the ability to communicate with his kith and kin in no matter of time.

The Human Society and its Environment Essay Example for Free

The Human Society and its Environment Essay Environment (HSIE) syllabus has a two-pronged objective that seeks ultimately to help scaffold students in their development both as persons and as citizens of local and global communities. It seeks to give them a sense of identity, and this involves an understanding of how their talents and opinions are relevant in their society. Research has shown that students (as human beings) develop, not in an isolated context or in a vacuum, but within the context of the family, community, and society in which they live (Panofsky, 2003, p. 411, Azmitia, 2002, p. 355). Therefore, allowing students to feel themselves true citizens of their society is an important aspect of creating identity and participation, according to the ideas of Vygotsky, Dewey, and Gibson, is therefore a key factor in learning (Rahm, 2002, p. 164; Wong Pugh, 2001). Separated into four strands (introduction, rationale, aims and objectives, and an overview of learning in HSIE), the syllabus’ introductory pages demonstrate how its objectives can be addressed in a classroom setting. Each strand clearly outlines how knowledge will be of benefit to the student and by extension to society. In fact, much thought and effort has been placed into determining the individual outcomes of particular aspects of the HSIE content. Though the syllabus is not particularly explicit about how these goals are to be achieved, nor does it clearly define the ideals of citizenship, it does give the teacher enough direction to facilitate the proper delivery of the information. A detailed look at the formulation of the goals in these introductory pages will demonstrate that the syllabus, though not explicit, is adequate in its explanation of how its aims are to be achieved. It will also present a view the interconnected aspects of the syllabus and how essential each is to the achievement of HSIE’s major goals. The introductory pages of the syllabus indicate that some of its content is taken from research into the thought processes of the children (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 9). Its writers have considered the fact that children might think differently about such issues than adults do, and have suggested suitable ways of teaching. This indicates that the syllabus intends to address how students are to be taught the material. The syllabus also indicates that the effective classroom practices of many previous teachers have informed its content, and this too indicates that effective strategies for instruction are to be included in the text of the syllabus. It appears that the strategies will involve equipping teachers with the tools necessary to create a classroom atmosphere in which students go beyond the level of hearing or reading the information to the level at which learning becomes an experience. It implies that teaching should begin on a plane with which the child is familiar and then branch of to less familiar areas, thereby building on schematic knowledge and making connections that allow them to assimilate the information gained (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 7). Though the explanation does not clearly delineate how the will be achieved, it is a promise that the syllabus itself will provide more explicit information on how to do this. Another way in which the introduction to the syllabus promises to demonstrate how to achieve its goals is in its deliberate organisation to allow for depth of understanding by its readers. It not only categorises the content according to the knowledge, values, and skills students ought to take from the class, but it further breaks down these areas, creating in effect a checklist of goals that teachers can try to incorporate into the planning of each lesson (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 8). It suggests to a certain extent the different aspects of the subject that the teachers are meant to emphasise. The goals are explicitly defined, though methods are not. Therefore, though details are not given as to how teachers should teach the lesson, this may mainly be seen as a method of allowing the creativity of each teacher to surface. The syllabus’ introduction appeals to the creativity of the teacher in its conciseness, yet does offer some direction through the thorough way in which the goals are dealt with. For example, though it does not suggest tasks that students should be made to perform in learning about the transmission of culture, it clearly states a number of ways through which culture transmission can be achieved (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 10). Another example is in the reference to the students’ gaining a sense of identity through their environment. The syllabus points toward learning the use of globes, diagrams, maps, and other tools that give direction and perspective about the local and global environment. Though it does not expressly tell how to teach the lessons that incorporate them, it does demonstrate that their use will aid in the achievement of the overall aims of the HSIE syllabus. The syllabus demonstrates a connection among its three main aspects and among the content from different disciplines that make up each of these parts. It argues that knowledge/understandings, skills, and attitudes/values are related in such a way that the student cannot be expected to fully grasp the ideas being presented them unless they have an adequate grasp of each of the areas (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 10). The knowledge provides a basis for students to gain appreciation for themselves and others, as well as for their societal groups. They are able to gain perspectives on cultures, systems, the environment, and historical facts on how these systems came into being. A key factor that contributes to the interrelatedness of the syllabus’ content is the fact that all knowledge cannot be acquired within a classroom setting. Along with exposure to this knowledge comes a similar exposure to the tools and skills that will allow students opportunity to acquire more knowledge on their own. It is to be noted that according to Howard Gardner, people have different ways of perceiving the world (Mbuva, 2003) and should learn different skills that allow them to use their own type of intelligence. All these skills allow for participation, investigation, the ability to identify biases, and the use of higher- and lower-order thinking skills. Yet the knowledge gained through these methods cannot, by itself, lead to understanding without a suitable way of processing it (State of NSW, 2003, p. 7). According to A classroom practice guide published by the Department of Education and Training of the State of New South Wales, the difference between deep knowledge and deep understanding lies in the assimilation of content that defines students’ learning (2003, p. 7). Quality instruction blended with the attitudes and values that students are desired to learn will grant them a way of processing the knowledge that they gain through classroom and out-of-class lessons (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 13; 2003, p. 7). They allow students to see what use they can make of the knowledge that they gain about themselves, others, their history and their environment. It inculcates a level of respect for other cultures and allows them to develop a sense of societal responsibility. Because, for example, the student understands how the society and its governmental systems work—why each part is necessary—he or she is able to appreciate the need to become a good citizen and to preserve the civilisation which he or she has inherited (Harris, 2001, p. 3). The student, being cognisant of the struggles that ancestors have gone through to create the society, will further respect and honour the traditions that have been passed down. Further historical and cultural studies will also grant respect for other cultures within the Australian society and those of the rest of the world. Students will be able to have respect for the differences between theirs and Aboriginal cultures, and this will enhance their citizenship as they will learn how to treat those citizens whose actions might portray differences to their own (Human Society and its Environment K-6, 2006, p. 13-14). After considering how each aspect of the syllabus relates to the others, it becomes evident that all sections are necessary to the complete education of the student in HSIE. Though the student might have the resources that contain knowledge, they will not be able to access that knowledge without skills that allow them to tap such repositories as the library, internet, and even textbooks. Even once this knowledge is gained, it is necessary that students be able to process it in order to turn that knowledge into understanding and into good citizenship, which is the reason usually cited for teaching HSIE (Reynolds Lewis, 1995, p. 3). Another important aspect of HSIE is to transform students into lifelong learners. All parts of the HSIE learning programme are necessary in order to add meaningfulness to the sense of knowledge acquisition so that students might consider it necessary and worthwhile to use their skills continually to gain knowledge for the betterment of society. It is often problematic that teachers have the ability to make value judgements about particular outcomes of lessons. Students often place high value on teachers’ preferences and pay keen attention to how teachers speak and feel about certain topics. However, teachers may use their influence to an advantage. Demonstrating openness especially to diversity of culture and frowning upon intolerance especially as it regards other people’s values and belief systems will help create a more tolerant class and ultimately a more tolerant society. Related to this is the fact that students will become more exposed to different religions and political views—a situation that might offer some discomfort to parents. It is important that parents be assured that culture sensitivity and tolerance (and not indoctrination) are the main goals of this kind of education. Human Society and its Environment attempts to delineate the different facets of societal groups, show how they connect with each other, and demonstrate to the student how he or she fits within one or all of them. It desires to show the variety of organisations that exist, how these organisations work, and how students with varied interests can become a part of them. It also involves the inculcation of the individual’s debt and responsibility to society—lessons that can be learned through history, environmental, and civil education. The syllabus connects three perspectives: knowledge/understandings, skills, and attitudes/values which students master through the acquisition of low- and high-order thinking skills. Yet all these facets depend upon the provision of quality instruction in a quality learning environment in order to produce deep understanding (State of NSW, 2003, p. 10). References Azmitia, M. (2002). â€Å"Interpretative reproduction: a tool for unpacking the sociocultural dynamics of development. † Human Development. Vol. 45, 355-359. Harris, C. (2001). â€Å"Curriculum control: at what cost to teachers? † AARE Annual Conference 2001. Notre Dame University. Retrieved 3rd August 2006 Available: http://www. aare. edu. au/01pap/har01535. htm Human Society and its Environment K-6: syllabus. (2006). Board of Studies, HSW. Sydney. www. boardofstudies. nsw. edu. au

Architecture and spaces influencing human being to socialize

Architecture and spaces influencing human being to socialize Sociology is the understanding of the human society, which this essay is forcing more towards the sociology among family members. Moving on into studies to explore the various solutions on how things around the context of a family can feed off each other. Things like spatial qualities that will affect the familys social interaction. Exploring into different avenues in the design contexts like the balances between the private and public spaces within a home to solve the issue of bonding and interaction. An in-dept analysis of a few different case studies, local and international will to help understand and broaden the perspective of the various practical techniques on how this few designers explore the spatial quality to prove the point that spatiality do plays a part in the social interaction among family members. Therefore the main objective is to express the point that sociology is the aim and the dream of reviving once more the closeness, warmness and most harmonious type of socia lization bond between family members. The main definition of sociology is a series of development; structure and a functioning of understanding the human society. Therefore from the understanding of the word, looking into the various possibility of the definition, expanding into sub issues that will lead back to sociology. One of them is social problem, problems that occur in society around us no matter being in a big or small society. The reason for this problem to occur is due to the fact that each individual member of a society in this case focusing more into the family circle group, that lives close enough together will have conflicts. It is virtually impossible to avoid having conflicts among close family member who are staying together in the same house. They do not always get along seamlessly as each individual has their own unique character. From this sector it is important to acknowledge that social problems will affect the social interaction within the family society. Hence social interaction is another possibi lity section that will lead back to sociology. The in-depth studies of the importance of social interaction will be illustrated in the next part of this essay. But in the mean time from these two various possible issues in sociology, conclusion can be made that sociology is the aim and the dream of reviving once more the closeness, warmness and most harmonious type of socialization bond between family members. From this conclusion further studies will be made to explore the various solution on how other things around the context of a family can feed off each other. Things like spatial qualities that will affect the familys social interaction. Exploring into different avenues in the design contexts like the balances between the private and public spaces within a home to solve the issue of bonding and interaction. Moving on further into the essay studies will be made on a few different case studies, local and international. These case studies will to help understand and broaden the pe rspective of the various practical techniques on how this few designers explore the spatial quality to prove the point that spatiality do plays a part in the social interaction among family members. Allowing the family to socialize without being intermitted. Theories will be presented to support the study of how spatiality is blend with sociology. Therefore this essay will elaborated the in-depth understanding of a few key points that will help achieve the main objective for a closeness, warmness and harmonious family lifestyle in a home. Sociology The term social interaction refers to particular forms of externalities, in which the actions of the family members affect an individuals preferences. Therefore, the observation of large differences in outcomes is the balance between the interpersonal dynamics and the home environment. It is critical to organize the effectiveness of interaction that happens among the family member. From this many of social interactions exhibit strategic complementarities, which occur when the marginal utility to one person of undertaking an action is increasing with the average amount of the action taken by one family member. Consequently, a change in fundamentals has a direct effect on behavior and an indirect effect of the same sign. The direct effect on behavior will change toward the direct change in fundamentals. Although the family is made up of a group of very like-mindful people, there are still certain ways to control the functionality of the family and the behaviors within them, which make individual family distinguishable from others. In the case the head of the family will of course be the father following with the mother second, as a partner they are to set a good example in their sociality among each other so that the childrens at home will also be influence by their action and behavior, sometime unknowingly. Therefore, the father as the head of the family is the one who keeps order by setting rules and enforcing on them. Hence if a family does not have the sociality quality in their values it will have a chain reaction in their behavior, leading the family to face more sociology problems causing their behavior to influence other society out there being in their working environment or their friends in schools. Social interaction can also seen in the way of which it is an action that will lead up to a reaction. It is not only a one-way traffic but it takes two parties to work holistically together to achieve the successful outcome. There are sustain hierarchy withi n the family society and each family member has his or her societal roles to play. There is some ideal issue that the family should study or know. They should distinguish between the understanding of a correlation of the individual characteristics within the family society, to the influences of the society that occur outside the boundaries of the home allow the family to recognize the key traits that from their own unique family society. Therefore, Bott (1957: 99) argues that the immediate social environment of urban families are best considered, not as the local area in which they live, but rather as the network of actual social relational maintain, regardless of whether these are confined to the local area or run beyond its boundaries. From this argument maintaining an active social interaction within the family help balance a healthy social relationship among individual family members. Hence is will also decrease the tension in the interaction of matters in their socialization b ring together a number of elements such as solidarity, commitment, mutuality and trust. By having this healthy social relationship, no boundaries will be generated, allowing them to have the two-way traffic of interaction. Another point that will help maintain this healthy social relationship is the physical spatial environment. Form the research that was made, physical spatial environment do play a part in determining the interaction with social space that will affect the humans social behaviors and the ability of a social individual to influence others. These spatial elements such as the buffer zones between the private and general space, surveillance within the family and shares the common pathways that affect the social interaction in the house. These buffer zones are flexible to change over the physical function such, as it can be a formal social interaction area or an informal one. On the other hand segregation of spaces can also be a part of a family that from this separation they will function better as a whole. There are some activities that individuals will be far more comfortable performing them in their own space. As Schelling [1978] demonstrated that when an individual can chose the location and the presence of these interactions. Results in segregation across spaces may occur, even in situation where the typical individual would be content to live in integrated space, which in this solution are their own individual rooms. Therefore, to my opinion a statement can be made that spatial quality does influence the social behaviors unknowingly. Design Behavior comes to mind as a recurrent theme in our interests, overlapping concerns such as the architecture expression and their complexity of the relationship that capital and generational change. Hence, it is an attempt to understand the patterns and influence of the transformation of behavior over time. Behavior could also be the central to a hypothesis, which is the understanding of the correlations between the human life, nature and the built environment. Each individual building can be viewed as a sentient creature, endowed with their own unique intelligence and a defining set of living characteristics. Analyzing the input from research, physical design does influence social interaction in a static way by some of these factors. Firstly, is the informal social factor, factor that focus on the social dynamic that is the relationship between individuals and individual in groups. Secondly, is the formal social factor, which is the management of communal spaces that allows interaction to occur. Thirdly, the personal factors that is the pro-community and the pro-socializing attitude with similar values and norms. Lastly, the physical design factors, which is the density of proximity. The division of spaces that has a buffering zone between the private and general spaces, the shared pathways is one for the factor that affects social interaction among family members. Another factor is the communal spaces that have the quality and accessibility to allow family member to come together as one to have common activities together with out feeling intimidated. Therefore, how the family members perceive and understand the physical environment can determine the frequency and quality of their social interaction. The psychosocial buffer zone between individuals and the physical environment plays an important role in determining how the interaction unfolds. The social interaction and the layout of space reciprocally influence each other. The plan is the generator that has order and willfulness; it also holds itself the essence of sensation. The mass and surfaces are elements by which architecture manifests itself. Therefore, the mass and surfaces are determined by the plan. The plan is at its basis. As Le Courbusier quote Without plan there can be neither grandeur of aim and expression, nor rhythm, nor mass, nor coherence. Therefore the plan is calls for the most active imagination and the critical discipline too. What determines everything is the plan as the among of interaction the family will achieve or the social problems that the family will face. Therefore, to make a plan is to determine the main objective and fix ideas. Looking at the Schroeder house for inspiration, it is a house that perfectly demonstrates how spaces could help bring family member together to share and have their social interaction bond. It is a house, which have the plan-less idea that has been a very powerful idea in the development of architecture since modernism. The transformable and plan-less idea allows a logical way of working whereby the members are either all having their private spaces of they are all gathered in to one common space. The study of the plan informed us that is can be achieved by simply having partitions, that can be moved in a manner such that the spaces could only make sense when every family member is having the same kind of privacy level. From this way of planning it will increase the social interaction among member in the family, as they are unknowingly focus to work and interact in a common space. The balance between the common spaces that is open incorporates the focus point of the main house. The expression of openness and closeness can also be achieved through the careful alignment of furniture with the help of openings and walls. Furniture acts as a jig, positioning the human body to react, while sharing the same space together. It supports and encourages social interaction by the arrangement in space to remove barriers between family members. It is also good to have the design element such as blurring the boundaries between the human life, nature and the built environment. Case Studies Local Looking all the back into history on the planning of the traditional kampong houses in Singapore, how they are layout as a community to maximum the social interaction among families living there. The kampong were layout in the way where they will have a common areas in which people gathered, mixed around and spend time with each other. Spaces flow into each other freely with few boundaries or obstructions. The kampong with no physical barriers allows a flexibility in accommodate two or more needs of extending when needed, which is not available in our modern housing estate today. Studying in-depth for the interior layout of a kampong enable us to see that the architecture plays with a lot of voids, opening and have an open plan with minimum partition. This self-drawn diagram is my analysis of a kampong house. The house can be broken down into three sectors. First sector acts as a transition space between the open public and private sectors. It is also the sector where the family will entertain their guests. The second sector will be the private area where all the private family activities happen. The living area is a common open area where family members are able to see the movement of each other. Lastly will the kitchen, the reason of having a bridge that separate the living area and the kitchen is because the kitchen is often used by the womans community as a space where they can chat and socialize therefore the bridge is there to set the boundaries for the public. The kitchen is also a semi-private area because there is a second entrance from the back to access to the house. From this analysis, we can see that the layout of a typical kampong house has a clear hierarchy system that segregates the public zone and the private livi ng area. We can adapt a few key points from this study, the hierarchy system and the open plan that they have. Moving on to the study of our modern HDB flats. HDB was first development to replace the kampong living style in February 1960. The reason for doing so was Singapore was facing an acute housing shortage at that period of time. Therefore, the government decided to build HDB units for the low-income group of people. Through the years residences had to adapt to the emphasis of the housing program, the shifted from quantity of housing to quantity of life. Studying the typical interior layout of a modern HDB allows me to understand better why family now a day space lesser social interaction time with each other. The reason is that the spaces within a house layout is clearly defined by solid walls which break the visual connect that is an important part that allows social interaction to happen. The percentage of the common area in the house is always lower than the percentage compared to the individual private space. But however, common corridor does exist in some HDB units but the functio n of it seems to just be a connector to the private spaces rather then a space where family members interact. Is there a problem with the size of the corridors, giving the prescription as just a path for walkway and not a space to interact? Comparing this two local case studies, the traditional kampong house to our modern HDB flats we can see that the quantity of living is different. As for the modern house, we have family members that are all separated from one another by walls, which discourage interaction and by not interacting family member will lose the healthy socialization values. Compared to the traditional kampong layout where they have an open living and common space where visualization are not broken among family members. International Case Studies The project for a brick country house done by Mies Van de Rohe in 1923 demonstrates the idea of using walls to divide the space but does not go as far as to divide them off into rooms. By doing this it suggests spatial divisions by setting up relationship with the site from within. On the other hand, his Barcelona Pavilion of 1929, uses walls as the element to set up views and suggest spaces but they are not dividing the space as the whole pavilion is open-air. Compared to the Schroder House that as built in 1924, by Gerrit Rietvield. Different method has been used to demonstrate the plan-less theory. In this case, all the main services are positioned on the perimeter of the house and next to them are retracted sliding partitions, which can be pulled out to divide the spaces into rooms. Such as the space acquires more possibilities, compared to when the screens are close, there is no one name to label the spaces. However, these walls provide only a certain amount of prescribed flexib ility. If these walls are completely independent of the structure, the moveable walls will become screens, which is essentially furniture. Therefore, western architecture has various ways and method to tackle the issue of social interaction. The freedom within the layout of the interior allows ways to alter to ones needs hence it is adaptable to the engender bonding between the occupants and the building through continuous physical involvement. By doing this the interaction level within the family can be adjustable to the function that is formed at anytime opening up the partition to allow each family member to remain the visual connect that will allow social interaction to happen. Not knowing focusing them to start a conversation as there is isnt any physical wall. Interestingly enough in Japan, the Japanese traditional house takes on an entirely different attitude to spatial division and living pattern. While planned as the same meaning as the Western architecture, walls do not. In a typical Japanese screened house, the rooms other than the service rooms have on one purpose. Within these the functions takes on the meaning of the activity that is performed and their functions can be changeable with the activities. Quoted from Nishihara explanation of the difference of the Western thinking compared to the Japanese thinking is the Western thinks in terms of function and makes his rooms accordingly, whereas the Japanese simply set up zones. In Japan, when it is time for dining, a portable table and food will be brought out; when its working time a writing desk will be taken out; and when it is time for bed, bedding that are typically stored in the cupboard will be unrolled and rolled back to be stored in the morning. Leaving the space to be purpos eless and multi-purpose at once. From these two case studies, we can see the how two different cultures approach the understanding of an open-less plan concept. Here is an illustration of the comparison diagram between the Japanese concept and the western concept. Image taken from, Works Cited Bibliography Work Cited http://www.helium.com/items/629105-family-values-the-importance-of-strong-family-bonds http://www.doccentre.org/docsweb/urban-issues/hawkers/hawkers13.htm http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/sby/sby02.htm http://www.sageofasheville.com/primary_prevention.html http://www.fashioncentral.pk/living-lifestyle/home-garden/story-25-home-interior-decoration/ http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/2007/11/au_students_debate_the_interne.php http://www.malaysiasite.nl/kampong.htm http://www.infed.org/community/community.htm http://www.sjsu.edu/people/thomas.leddy/courses/c2/s1/Le_Courbusier.doc

Marketing Strategies for SMEs Based on Product Life Cycle

Marketing Strategies for SMEs Based on Product Life Cycle Introduction: The journal article I have selected for my assignment is the MARKETING STRATEGIES OF SMEs BASED ON PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE A STUDY AMONG SMEs IN KOSOVO by Professor Bekim Marmullaku taken from the International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management published in the United Kingdom on 9th September 2015 (http://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/3937.pdf) . The article has given me a unique insight into the practical aspects of marketing strategy implementation in a real world context. It has helped illustrate various instances of convergence as well as divergence from the marketing theory studied in class from the practical circumstances surrounding strategy implementation. It deals systematically from our understanding of the Product Life Cycle Model (PLC), which as stated in the paper is widely adopted by the Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of Kosovo, and analyses its stage by stage execution and management in this real-life setting. Â   Â   Key Points of the Article The paper builds upon theory and goes into the application of marketing models in general and the PLC model in specific, in marketing strategies adopted by SMEs in Kosovo. As per theory, we study the PLC almost as an industry standard as one of the prominent frameworks in marketing that influences strategy. The model in principal dwells down to the various stages a product goes through (figure 1) following product development and commercialisation. As traditional PLC theory specifies the stages as introduction, growth, maturity and decline; Professor Marmullaku studies these specific stages in the context of their practical implications for SMEs in Kosovo. The introduction stage is unique in that it is the stage subject to the most difficulties in strategy implementation. Marmullaku analyses that SMEs at this stage are most vulnerable as it is the point where the product has been investment intensive and not as yet churning over as much returns. Therefore for SMEs that do not have as deep pockets, the smallest toe out of line can deem to be critically damaging for the business. He argues the lack of innovation is unable to win the distributors and the general environment is not conducive enough in Kosovo to propagate great chances of success at this stage of marketing. This is courtesy of a number of socio-political and economic conditions including the lack of financial capital, malpractices, market specific circumstances and other external factors. Professor Marmullaku explains the market specific dynamics of a copy-cat culture amongst Kosovo SMEs has particularly impacted marketing strategy implementation. The premature reduction of the prices charged by the SME products in the growth phase of the PLC is a direct result of this as well as other competition from larger firms operating at greater economies of scale. This is usually coupled with premature product expansion response by SMEs in a desperate bid to differentiate and retain profits because imitators are quick to launch substitutes. Also, the difficulty in practice in accurately identifying the very phase of the PLC the product is going through further exasperates the problem. Furthermore, adhering to theoretical expectations of strategy when products are at maturity, Marmullaku explains that SMEs in Kosovo that are serious about the product and the business continue to bear advertising costs even at this stage in a bid to maintain market share to hold on to customer base whilst the others present in this market are inclined to leave with the falling profits. The author argues that by the time the decline phase arrives, most firms in Kosovo dont have much appetite for prolonging the products. Only a few SMEs that are prominent and have the financial might may indulge in tampering with the marketing mix further but not to a large extent due to the specific socio-economic and political obstacles in Kosovo including factors such as the availability of technology; the absorption po tential of the general market; as well as other critical external factors. The Rationale for Selecting this Paper and its Contribution to Marketing Theory and Practise The rationale for selecting this paper is in principle that it systematically puts a context to the PLC theory we studied in class and analyses it. It illustrates the application of the PLC model in a real-life setting, its successes as well as its failures, how it is relevant and to what extent it is not. Ones understanding of marketing and the PLC model matures a great deal after reading this paper as one learns to appreciate that there are a host of impediments in the real world setting as every scenario is different. Textbook models and theory do tend to be idealistic but nonetheless give a general sense of the way to go about. In practise, Professor Marmullakus work implies how marketing strategies are not homogenous in how they are implemented by firms across different geographical markets. For instance, he states how it is not uncommon for firms in Kosovo to latch onto one marketing strategy model such as the Product Life Cycle Model and not pay sway to other theoretical tools used in more advanced markets. This is principle can ignite ones appreciation of market to market dynamics on a case to case basis. Yoon wrote a great piece in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in which he whilst appreciating the deferring nature of different markets stated more emphasis in strategy be placed on demand as opposed to the demographics when specifically catering to the culture of these different markets (Eddie Yoon, 2015). Marmullaku implies the pivotal role of innovation in PLC management and its lack thereof in the setting of Kosovo inhibits marketing policy. The importance of innovation in managing the PLC is also shared by the works of other research in marketing. It stresses that the changing taste of consumers in the various product offer levels across the cycle can be held into check by innovation (Gecevska, et al., 2010). The availability and access to technology is argued to be pivotal in managing the PLC as it assists innovation. The absence of this as seen in Kosvo can also perverse the very course of a product takes through the PLC. Technology therefore as a facilitator of product development and hence also PLC management is vital. Research in marketing has gone some way to appreciate how technological advances have simplified and sped up the process in the product development model (Morrel, 2015). Marmullakus emphasis on the importance of firms being financially sound in successfully executing a marketing strategy across the different stages is also enlightening. This is stressed as a key component of success particularly in the initial vulnerable introduction stages where the firm would have invested in the new product development stages. It is also implied how the general law and order as well as property rights as external factors are instrumental in marketing policy implementation. The me too.. culture in Kosovo is a prime example of this where the absence of patent protection forms a market that is not conducive to marketing strategy implementation. As stated by Professor Marmullaku, it harms the marketing strategy adopted by firms to the extent of forcing premature policy that is not in theoretical accordance to the stage the product is at in the PLC. The writ of the law and patents therefore in developed markets are used of a means of credible deterrence and go hand in hand with facilitating marketing goal ends (Russ Krajec , n.d.). Furthermore Professor Marmullakus appreciation of the scope of marketing strategy being limited to the nature of the specific market including but not limited to its absorption potential and the degree of international trade is particularly insightful. This is not to say that the specifics of the particular business such as its size and its location do not too play a crucial role. Professor Marmullaku sheds light on the difficulty in practically assessing the effects of different marketing strategies in the long-term. However it is interesting to note as Dhalla stated decades ago in the HBR of the then upcoming development of new econometric techniques for use in marketing to assess the secluded impacts of advertising and its payoffs over time (Dhalla, 1978). These techniques in this day and age are now widely deployed in many facets of strategy building such as using marketing mix modelling (Market Science Consulting, 2013) though naturally one would not expect such tools to be used due to the limitations in less developed markets as is the case in Kosovo. Finally, Professor Marmullakus recommendation of adopting a marketing strategy of focussing on specific products as well as differentiating strategies to differ from copy-cat competitors is innovative. This strategy in principle can be replicated in any relatively undisciplined market environment of the sort found in Kosovo as a means of circumventing the obstacles the PLC faces. Conclusion Professor Marmullakus work provided an invaluable insight in putting theory into context. It illustrates the application of the PLC in Kosovo that diverges away from idealistic textbook scenarios. His work particularly increases ones appreciation of the critical impact of external market characteristics stemming from the socio-political and economic context on the success of marketing strategy. One can take away that the application of marketing strategy should be tailored to the requirements of a market on a case to case basis and as discussed he has come up with an array of viable recommendations to this effect in his study of SMEs in Kosovo. References Anon., 2011. Product Life Cycle Stages. [Online] Available at: http://productlifecyclestages.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/product-life-cycle-stages.jpg Dhalla, N. K., 1978. Assessing the Long-Term Value of Advertising. Harvard Business Review. Eddie Yoon, 2015. The Mistake Companies Make When Marketing to Different Cultures. Harvard Business Review . Gecevska, V. et al., 2010. Product lifecycle management through innovative and competitive business environment. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management. Market Science Consulting, 2013. Econometrics in marketing mix modelling. [Online] Available at: http://www.marketscienceconsulting.com/econometrics-in-marketing-mix-modelling/ Morrel, L., 2015. Technology could speed up new product development. marketingtechnew, 1 December. Russ Krajec , n.d. Advertising and Marketing Uses for Patents and the Deterrent Factor. [Online] Available at: http://krajec.com/advertising-and-marketing-uses-for-patents-and-the-deterrent-factor/

Electronic Performance Monitoring Essay -- Business Management

Companies (organizations) are adopting the use of various forms of modern technologies to improve their performance. Most of these technologies are implemented to check on performance and management of these organizations. The technologies are computer based and are mostly used to check employees’ performance (Ludwig & Goomas, 2010, p. 393). The technologies also help these organizations to evaluate employees based on their performance. One of such technologies is the electronic performance monitoring, which is the latest advancement (Lliopis, Gonzalez, & Gasco, 2005, p. 215). The electronic performance monitoring (EPM) advancement refers to application of technology to check what employees do while at work. In other words, this technology monitors workers’ productivity output, which includes how effectively the employees utilize their work time (Lliopis, Gonzalez, & Gasco, 2005, p. 218). The organizations, which have installed EPM in their premises, have an easy task of monitoring the interruptive activities their employees get involved in. Such activities include making and receiving phone calls and receiving and sending personal mails among others (Ludwig & Goomas, 2010, p. 394). EPM has advantages as well as disadvantages. However, the advantages are more pronounced than the disadvantages. For instance, the electronic device helps to save time in an organization. The device has the ability to gather metric data annually and is able to use the human resource formulas, as well as evaluate and grade employees based on their performance. EPM also ensures that appraisals are only viewed by the individuals who they are intended for (Lliopis, Gonzalez, & Gasco, 2005, p. 222). This has a positive effect on the company since it enh... ...al decision to implement electronic surveillance at work: A research framework. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 13(3), 244-268. Lliopis, J., Gonzalez, R. M., & Gasco, J. L. (2005). Transforming the firm for the digital era: An organizational effort towards an E-culture. Human System Management, 23(4), 213-225. Ludwig, T. D., & Goomas, D. T. (2010). Real-time performance monitoring, goal-setting, and feedback for forklift drivers in a distribution center. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82(2), 391-403. McNall, L. A., & Roch, S. G. (2009). A social exchange of employee reactions to electronic performance monitoring. Human Performance, 22(3), 204-224. Smith, W. P., & Tabak, F. (2009). Monitoring employees e-mails: Is there any room for privacy? The Academy of management Perspectives Archives, 23(4), 33-48.

Graduation Speech: Lets Change the World -- Graduation Speech, Commen

Look at us, the class of 2012, with our diversity and respect for one another, I can see that our society has changed enormously in the last forty years a mere decade before County High School opened. I would even say that most of the world has changed from judging people by their race or nationality to judging them by their character. Although the world has matured a great deal we cannot remain in this single state of maturity, we must continue to grow. Now is the time to make a change in the world again. The ambassador of this change is County High School's class of 2012. We can change the world this very hour, this very minute, this very second. The key to changing the world is in each and every one of you. By looking inside yourself and truly understanding who you are you can change the world. By finding out who you are now you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim of the void that lives in the people of today's society. People are in a sea of darkness this day. They continually look for something meaningful that they can hold onto, but are easily distracted by temporary pleasures. While the bell was sounding for them to find themselves they were at the club checking-out the people that just walked in. They were trying to get the high paying job so they could buy the luxury cars. They were trying to fill their emotional void with material objects and lustful fantasies. They never found out what their true delights were, they only listened to what society said could fill their heart and make their pain go away. They never knew themselves. Do not make this mistake in your life. Re-examine your life and find out what made you happy. What class excited your imagination? What was truly great about your past boyfriend ... ...test joys in life seldom come from material objects or non-challenging activities. To truly reach your potential you must conquer your fears and face the challenges that come before you. To be a great person you must be willing to do great things. Every person here is capable of excellence. It is my hope that you take these words and apply them to your life. You are graduating from high school and entering the world of possibilities and responsibilities. You have made friends, had relationships, and gained useful knowledge, all of which has prepared you to harness the possibilities and accept the responsibilities. The greatest lesson you can now learn is be true to yourself. Find out who you are and who you want to be. Fate will dominate your life as long as you let it do so. Take control of your destiny and help our world to become a better world for everyone.

The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

An essay on 'The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness by Erich Fromm. Amount of pages: 478. The book goes on in explaining the ways of aggression and how it reaches into man. Citing aggressive examples in the behavior of necrophilics and Hitler. The author goes into the early life of Hitler and his parents. How it had effect on what he became and his destructive way of life. He was a man that laid half way between reality and his fantasy. He had played war games up until the age of sixteen and after that he commanded his army like they had been a game. Taking risks with soldiers as well as ignoring precise information that would have been critical to his plans; and also the ignorance of British and US tolerance. He was a psychotic man who is a very good example of how far a man with destructive purpose can rise. Trying to explain aggressive behavior, there is focus on a core issue, instincts. Going through animal behavior and comparing it with human behavior and how similar our instincts are. There is also focus on examining primitive tribes. The object of these findings were to find out how warlike the tribes are. In the hunting-gatherers tribes, war is not as popular and profitable as in modern society. Two reasons for this is that these tribes don't have most valuable items and there is no shared type of currency to take. In these tribes, war was infrequent and not lead by permanent leaders. As opposed by modern days. What also differs is the conquest to kill as many of the enemy as possible. Aggression is ruled into several categories, such as Benign aggression which is one of a defensive type and malignant aggression which actually roots into other conditions. Premises, necrophilia, cruelty and destruction. The joy of destruction and abuse of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Destructiveness rest not only in acts but as worships. There is a case of idolatry, a man totally devoted to the monster of destruction. Kern, von salomon. A man like this and his acts are by no means normal, and supposedly caused by the world he knows, all morally, socially, honor, obedience is lost. The aggression takes control for many reasons. Although an extreme case of aggression, we see what may be societies cause on it's own people. Such a thing is a window to this picture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another focus would be on Milgram's electric experiment.

Language diversity Essay

I understand â€Å"language diversity’ to refer to the use of a vast range of different languages (an expression of communication). In the case of the prescribed article, this is applied in the context of South Africa as a country. It is our cultural diversity and by extension, our â€Å"rainbow nation† image that is one of the first things foreigners associate with us as a country†¦ well, that and Madiba and Bafana-Bafana. It is an image we sell to the world, of the once divided country who overcame the crippling stigma of apartheid to rise as one people, one nation. This is one reason why it is so painful to see the statistics listed in the article, that a staggering third of the people who participated in the study felt threatened by other cultures. The study attributed this partially to the large number of people in this country who fall into the lower income bracket, who may not necessarily come into contact with other cultures. While I accept that this may be the case in some instances, I find it very difficult to see this as the main, contributing factor. Apart from our rainbow nation image, South Africa has a reputation for being the land of possibilities. Where other countries may turn a blind eye to the suffering in other parts of the world, leaders like Desmond Tutu and Madiba have never been afraid of speaking up about the injustices done to people. We have become a country of refuge, for people who simply cannot survive in their own country of origin. The incidents that have been reported in the news recently show us that there is definitely a feeling of being threatened by other cultures. Foreign owned businesses under attack and people fleeing for their lives. One cannot attribute this to not having contact with other cultures. I think it is a combination of factors, one of the most pressing being the overwhelming levels of poverty we see in these communities. Desperation breeds intolerance and ultimately, violence. Another is the legacy that has been left behind by apartheid. Fear and discrimination of differences. In the light of the present political climate, it is people like the Greaves family who may just be the example we look to; of how we need to move forward as a nation. People who do not let culture and race be the determining factor in who they choose to love and call their own; who embrace the unifying element of humanity over other dividing differences, as difficult a process as it may be. Taking the step to adopt across cultural and colour divides would present many challenges and questions like these could be raised: 1. How do families who adopt children from a different language background cope? I imagine that it must be a very difficult process for both the child concerned and the family, to assimilate oneself into a different culture. Different language and cultural backgrounds determine not only the spoken word, but our behaviour. Older children especially, who have been raised in one culture and then removed and placed in another, could have major problems adjusting and miss-communication between the members of the new family unit could occur. Language and culture are intertwined, and something as simple as lowering one’s gaze in the presence of an elder out of respect could be misinterpreted as insolence, or fear, etc. This is just one example of why it is so important for prospective parents to research and learn about the culture surrounding the children they would like to adopt. An article I read online (find at: http://family.findlaw.com/adoption) suggested some creative ways for adoptive parents who want to create a family life more inclusive of their child’s culture/language. Some of these suggestions included: Becoming members and participating in multi-cultural support groups Participating in religious services. Researching and including food and festivals into family life. Learning the child’s birth language. Placing the child in a school environment that encourages and celebrates cultural diversity, with students across the culture spectrum. How do people deal with the issue of multiple languages in the same family? Multilingual families are formed for many different reasons. There is the monolingual family who deliberately introduce a new language into their home and lives as they feel it enriches them as people; the family who emigrates and therefore has to learn the new language of their new home, or the family unit where both parents come from different language backgrounds. Then there  is the case of the multilingual family who learn a new language as a result of it being their adoptive child’s home language and the child learning theirs. Christina Bosemark, founder of the Multilingual Children’s Association, suggests the following ways where multilinguism in a family can not only be managed, but fostered: 1. Both parents should be in full agreement of which languages will be spoken in the family home. It could be detrimental to the family dynamics if an insecure parent feels excluded by virtue of his/her spouse speaking to their child in a language that he/she doesn’t understand. 2. While it is an exciting prospect to learn a new language, one needs to remain realistic about the time it will take. Research indicates that children need to be exposed to a new language on average of 30% of their day, in order to be fully conversational in it and to learn the finer nuances of it. 3. Create a plan and follow it. If the parents are learning their adoptive child’s language of origin, they need to figure out the best way for them to do so and move forward with it. Conversational language classes, formal lessons, etc. If it is the child who is learning a new language, look at the age of the child and their interests as a starting point on which methods may be best for them. Younger children learn best in context to their real-world life, their environment. Immersing themselves in the new language, speaking and being spoken to in it; is often the best way for them to learn it speedily. Teenagers learn differently to younger children. It is important that they be able to choose the learning methods best for them. Most do not learn in a linear fashion anymore due to the digital world they have been brought up with, this should be a point considered when deciding on the best methods moving forward. 4. Networking is not only a domain of the workplace. Building a support network with other individuals who are also raising their children in the same languages as you are, are an invaluable asset. Apart from providing emotional support and sharing knowledge, your children will benefit from learning the language from others their own age through play-dates. Research constantly shows us that children learn best through play, so books, movies, toys, etc., in the new language are fantastic  educational tools. 5. Lastly, patience is the greatest virtue when embarking on such a difficult journey. I presume there would be many hurdles on the path to a happy, truly multilingual family. For every setback, it is important to remind oneself about the bigger picture. If a plan is not working, never be afraid to re-examine and work out alternatives. All families are not the same and what works for one may not for another. Is adoption across cultural, ethnic and language divides a good thing? This question is obviously very loaded, not to mention, an extremely subjective one. I think that it boils down to the particular couple doing the adopting. People like the Greaves family obviously do not think that the colour of a person’s skin defines them as an individual; nor is it something to consider when it comes to the choice of whom to love. However, not all people feel the same way. Research shows that for many South African couples, the choice of adopting a child from another culture is based on availability. Statistically, there are more children from black backgrounds and for some reason, coloured boys, not girls; than there are white, Indian, Chinese, etc. People looking to adopt within their race can be put on a waiting list for years before they can find the baby of their choosing, if at all. From my own family, I know of a few people who have chosen to go the adoptive route, after having tried unsuccessfully to have children of their own. One couple flew to Pakistan and went through the costly and long wait to adopt a baby who would fit into their Indian-Muslim family, a child who wouldn’t raise eyebrows in their community. Another distant cousin flew to Chechnya to adopt. She adopted two boys, at 4 year intervals. In her case, the process was even longer and even more expensive. Her first son was adopted as an infant but the second son was adopted at the age of 5. He had memories of his first family and the war-torn country he had grown up in. Also, he had lived in an orphanage for  the last two years of his life and had become, like many children do, â€Å"institutionalised† in his demeanour and behaviour. Back in South Africa, they struggled to help him with processing his insecurities and difficulties. At meal times he would eat until he became physically ill because as much as they reassured him that they would always have food available, his memories of near starvation haunted him. His adoptive mother tried everything to get him to bond with her and see her as a parent but beyond acknowledging them as a provider to his physical needs, he refused to engage with her and her husband. After many, many years of therapy and work, they are now in a much stronger place as a family. I have heard the reasoning, of how it places a lot of pressure on parents and their adoptive children when there are race differences within a family. Of the communities that can be cruel and the challenges it presents. I remember when an Indian, Muslim friend of mine and her husband adopted a little black boy. An old aunt of hers wept openly, and implored her to consider the consequences of her actions. When her son grew up, her aunt reasoned, who in their community would give their daughter’s hand to him in marriage? I hear the reasoning but personally speaking, I applaud the couples and individuals who do it anyway. If we are truly going to build a better world where we see people as people and not as merely a representative of a particular faction, it starts with families like these. Success and happiness are surely sweeter when one knows that one had to work at gaining it. And there are many advantages to having a family that is multicultural too. In response to any bias they may face from outsiders, probabilities are that a family that is multicultural will be a very close one with the children feeling very supported by their parents. Children from these homes are taught acceptance and tolerance of differences. Research shows that children who grow up in a multi-lingual home develop the ability to be flexible in their thinking abilities, probably as a result of receiving and processing information in more than one language. People who come from  multi-cultural homes are often rich in heritage and multi-faceted in character. The question to adopt across divisions is ultimately a very personal one. A person should look very carefully at who they are as individuals before taking the leap. As difficult as it may be though, I’m sure any family who have done so will tell you that the wonderful family they created was definitely worth the challenges they faced. Bibliography of articles researched: 1. http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/bilingualkids1.htm 2. http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/bilingualkids1.htm 3. http://princessa.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-raise-multilingual-children 4. http://www.adoption.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62:story5&catid=12:adoptive-parents-&Itemid=83 5. http://babiesinmind.co.za/adoptions 6. http://adamcap.com/schoolwork/the-pros-and-cons-of-intermarriage/ http://ddeubel.edublogs.org/2010/08/02/the-teenaged-language-learner/ http://termcoord.eu/2014/02/age-factor-second-language-acquisition/ 7. http://family.findlaw.com/adoption)