Employee Benefits at HealthCo

HealthCo is a nonprofit health care provider operating with 36 clinics in an open system within a functional organization. The clinics include rehabilitation units, therapy facilities, hospice and geriatric units, and other highly specialized centers. HealthCo operates with approximately 6,700 employees in the eastern United States. In line with the industry, HealthCo employs a larger number of women than men in the areas of nursing and patient care. HealthCo held a senior staff meeting to address current issues and the coming year’s strategic initiatives. Attending the Senior Staff meeting were the CEO, Dr.  Palmer, Senior Officer Pat, Senior Officer Francis, and Senior Officer Mercer. During the meeting CEO, Dr. Palmer addressed a Human Resources report indicating that HealthCo’s turnover is 1. 5 times the industry standard. Dr. Palmer belief is that while HealthCo is competitive with salary, the benefits offered the employees is an area needing improvement. Dr. Palmer request that a team of four to six volunteers begin working on a plan for HealthCo becoming a top company in terms of work-life benefits. Question #1: How would you conduct a diagnosis of the situation at HealthCo? In order to effectively diagnosis the situation according to â€Å"entering and contracting are the initial steps in the OD process† (Cumming and Worley, 2009, P. 75). These steps are important to establish the relationship between the Organizational Development practitioner and the organization. This relationship defines the parameters for all remaining phases of the organizational development process such as: diagnosing the organization, planning and implementing, evaluating and institutionalizing the planned change. Identify the presenting problem Identifying the presenting problem is the perceived issue by the client, based on a preliminary inquiry. It is what appears to be going on. It is generally recognizable by the solution that is often, but not always suggested. After we identify the presenting problem, we can begin to clarify the organizational issue in order to better understand the context and nature of the presenting problem. Be sure to identify the presenting problem prior to proceeding to clarifying the organizational issue. Remember that the presenting problem often has an implied or stated solution. Clarifying the organizational issue It is often discovered that the presenting problem is accurate. However, a thorough diagnosis is required to support the diagnosis. The presenting problem is only enough information in order for the Organizational Development practitioner to say we need to take a look at the issue. This can be tricky though, because the client's mind might be made up in terms of the need for a training program and the Organizational Development practitioner knows that the presenting problem may just be an indication of a deeper issue within the organization. Therefore, additional data will need to be collected in order to understand the real issue. Cummings and Worley caution that many times the presenting problem can possibly be only a symptom of the real issue (2009, p. 76). The collection of this additional data will support the Organizational Development practitioner’s statement of the problem and solution in the attempt of approaching and choosing my relevant client. Determining the Relevant Client The process of determining the relevant client involves selecting the individuals within the organization who can directly impact the change issues. The relevant client will include the person who can authorize the use of appropriate resources for this project. At the same time, culturally, within the organization, these top level people have been historically unable to implement successful change. The next step is to identify the individuals involved in the making the change process to be successful. This should include leadership from all departments affected by these changes as well as representation from all locations. Effective identification of the presenting problem, clarifying the organizational issue, and correct selection of the relevant client will enable the Organizational Development practitioner to diagnose the organization. Diagnosing Organizations Diagnosing is the process by which the Organizational Development practitioner begins to understand how the organization is functioning. This information is required to design the change intervention. The diagnosis process will enable the Organizational Development practitioner and the members of the organization to jointly determine the issues to be addressed, the method by which the collection and analysis of the data will take place. An effective diagnosis will help to develop the relationship between all parties whereas together they can work toward the development of the necessary actions steps. The process begins with deciding which level of analysis to apply, organization, group, or individual level. Diagnosis can occur at all levels of analysis, or it can occur at only one level. Each level has inputs, design components, and outputs. Inputs are what organizations have to work with, general environment, industry, organization design, group design, and personal characteristics. Design components are the key components within the organization that enable the organization to take the inputs and change them into outputs, services or a product. There are six components at the organizational level, technology, structure, culture, measurement systems, human resources systems, and strategy. Group level design components include goal clarity, team functioning, group norms, group composition, and finally task structure. There are five design components within the individual level system. Each individual of analysis will take the inputs and work within the organizations design components structure to turn inputs into the desired outputs. Within the organizational level system outputs include organization effectiveness. This effectiveness includes performance, productivity, and stakeholder satisfaction. Group level systems affect team effectiveness, including quality of work life, and performance of the group. The individual level system outputs include individual effectiveness, job satisfaction, performance, absenteeism, and personal development. The organizations effectiveness depends on the alignment among the different groups. To determine if the organizations alignment the Organizational Development practitioner collects and analyzes data to answers two questions, does the organization’s strategic orientation fit with the inputs, and do the design components fit with each other. Collecting and Analyzing Diagnostic Information The Organizational Development practitioner will play a very active role in the collection of data for diagnostic purposes. There are three important goals of data collection, obtaining valid information, rally support of the organizational members, and promotes a working relationship between the Organizational Development practitioner and the members of the organization. Method of Collection There are four techniques for gathering diagnostic data, questionnaires, interviews, observations, and unobtrusive measures. (Cummings and Worley, 2009) Each method holds major advantages and disadvantages. The most effective way to effectively collect data is through the questionnaire method. Questionnaires assess the more comprehensive characteristics of the organization. Technique for analyzing data Quantitative tool of research is a much more subjective form of research than qualitative research. Subjectivity allows the introduction of individual bias in the collection of the data. Qualitative research may be necessary when it is unclear what exactly is being looked for in a study. The researcher will then be required to determine what data is important and what isn’t. In qualitative research the use of content analysis and the force-field analysis data is collected from the use of interviews, observations and interview questions. The OD practitioner must then separate responses into two categories, the social aspect and the task aspect. In comparison, the quantitative research tool separates data so that they can be counted and modeled statistically. Tools used such as scattergrams, mean standard deviations, frequency distributions, and difference tests are intended to minimize any bias. Quantitative research then collects information like a machine. The result of quantitative research is a collection of numbers, which can be subjected to statistical analysis in the formation of a result. Quantitative research knows exactly what it’s looking for before the research begins. In qualitative research the focus of the study becomes apparent as time progresses. Feeding Back Diagnostic Information Feeding back diagnostic information according to Cummings and Worley is perhaps the most important step in the diagnosis process (2009). The effectiveness of feedback data rests on the results of the data presented evoking a sense of action in the organization and its members. There is more information normally gathered than is required, therefore, the OD practitioner must properly analyze the data and present only the meaningful data. Presenting more data than required could cause the organizational members to feel overwhelmed and cause resistance of change and a lack of motivation for change. Determining the content of the feedback can be described using nine properties (Cummings and Worley, 2009). The members of the organization are receptive to the data feedback when they find it meaningful. The inclusion of the managers and employees in the collection of the data can increase the data relevance. The feedback must be understandable and descriptive. The use of graphs and charts in presenting statistical data affords ease in the understanding of the complicated data. Detailed illustrations help employees get a good feel for the information. The data must be accurate and verifiable in order to guide the positive action of the organizational members. This can be accomplished if the content of the data feedback can be verified by the members of the organization as fitting into the organizations attitude and culture. The data feedback content must be timely, limited and significant. The feedback should take place as soon as possible from the time of the data gathering. Timely feedback will ensure motivation by the members of the organization to examine the data and thereby invoke change. The data must be limited to a realistic amount for the individuals to process. Data overload causes individuals to become overwhelmed, leading to feelings of failure. The data collected and presented must be significant to what the organizational members perceives as the problem. This helps the individuals direct their energies toward realistic change. Because data feedback can be vague, it is important to have a comparison that is understandable by the members. The use of comparisons whenever possible can help to provide the members with examples of how the data fits into their own group as well as the entire organization. The final property of the feedback content is the ability to present the data as to invoke the sense that the data is only a starting point. It should be presented as to guide the members into further and more in depth discussions of the issues presented. Designing an Intervention Effective interventions must meet three major criteria: â€Å"(1) the extent to which it fits the needs of the organization; (2) the degree to which it is based on causal knowledge of intended outcomes; and (3) the extent to which it transfers change management competence to organization members† (Cummings and Worley, 2009 p. 51). The extent to which it fits the needs of the organization states that the organization will provide valid information on the organization’s functions. This function allows that the organization is willing to participate in an accurate diagnosis of the organization that reflects fairly on what the members of the organization perceive as their concerns and issues. The organization will allow members the opportunity to make free and informed choices. All members are involved in the decisions for change and how that change will affect them. Finally, the organization gain members’ internal commitment to their choices. Members accept ownership of the selected intervention and will take on the responsibility of the implementation of the change. Knowledge of outcomes is the second criteria for effective intervention. Since the purpose of an effective intervention is to produce a specific result, effective interventions are based on the valid knowledge that the intended result can actually be produced. Without that there would be no scientific basis to design an intervention. An explanation of the knowledge of outcomes criteria in the insurance industry can be explained by role of the underwriting department. Insurance companies are in the business of paying claims. However, it is the responsibility of the underwriters to accept or reject possible risks. An intervention attempted in the underwriting department to eliminate all losses would result in a failure in the criteria of knowledge of outcomes. There is no valid knowledge that could support this intervention. Extent to which it enhances the organizations capacity to manage change is the hird criteria of an effective intervention. The final criteria would expect that during the process of planning, implementing and intervention stages, the organizational members alone will have gained all necessary skills to carry out the planned change. Cummings and Worley state, â€Å"Competence in change management is essential in today’s environment, where technological, social, economic, and political changes are rapid and persistent† (Cummings and Worley, 2009 p. 152). There are two contingencies used in the design of effective interventions. Both contingencies must be considered in designing an effective intervention. The first is contingencies related to the change situation. This would include four major areas of concentration, readiness for change, the capability to change, cultural context, and capabilities of the change agent. The issues of this contingency is the focus of the change situation, which includes the OD practitioner. There are four key issues in the contingencies related to the target of change. The four key issues to be examined are strategic issues, technological and structural issues, human resource issues, and human process issues. Strategic issues are the most critical issues faced by today’s organizations. The strategic issues facing any organization is deciding what function the organization will serve, what product or services to produce, and what market to produce or service for. Three other strategic issues include the ability of the organization to decide how to gain competitive advantage and how to relate to the environment. The final strategic issue is deciding what values will guide the organizational function. Technological and structural issues encompass the division of departments, coordination of the departments, delivery of the product or service, and the task of coordinating the people with the tasks. The concentration in these issues is considered to be activities related to the organizational design, employee involvement and work design. The strategic and technological and structural issues of the target of change contingency deals with the mechanics of the organization, while the human resource issues and human process issues are designed to deal with more of the humanistic side of issues. Human resources issues are understood to include the attracting competent staff, planning and development of employee careers, and setting the goals and rewards for the employees. The concentration in these issues is considered to be human resources management intervention. This concentration should not be confused with human process issues. Human process issues are concentrated on the social processing occurring within the organizational members, including the development of process for areas of how to communicate, solve problems, make decisions, interact and lead. The intervention designed in the area of human process issues includes such techniques as team building and conflict resolution. It is important to note that organizational issues are interrelated, decisions on the strategic issues will affect the structural issues, and therefor decisions must be decided as to their relationship to one another. Cummings and Worley state; â€Å"intervention design must create change methods appropriate to the organizational issues identified in the diagnosis† (Cummings and Worley, 2009 p. 154). Evaluating and Institutionalizing Change The final two activities in effective change management is managing the transition and sustaining momentum. During the managing transition the change agents responsibilities include, activity planning, commitment planning, and the change management structures. A successful transition depends on the change agent’s ability to develop a schedule or timeline of specific times, activities and events, articulating the blending of changes tasks, and finally linking the change tasks to the organizations goals and priorities. The change agent will need to ensure that the activity plan is adaptable to change as feedback warrants, be cost effective and receives top-management. Commitment planning on the part of the change agent involves gaining the identifying and gaining the support and commitment from key individuals. In order to accelerate the transition a change agent will need to develop change management structures, and learning processes. Within the final stage of change the change agent must sustaining momentum so that they are carried out to completion. During this stage the change agent must providing resources for the change process through additional financial and human resources, creating a support system for the change agents thorough networks of close individuals to the change agents who offer emotional support and serve as a sounding board. The change agent must develop new competencies and skills through programs such as on-the-job counseling and coaching or traditional training programs. One effective way to sustain momentum is reinforcing new behaviors to implement the change. This is accomplished by giving formal rewards for the desired behaviors. Finally the last role the change agent must play is staying the course. There will be factors the discourage managers or organizations; it is the role of the change agent to instill patience and trust in the diagnosis and intervention work. Question #2: Based on the information provided in the scenarios and the case, what is your own diagnosis of the situation? Summary of the Data Within the industry, HealthCo offers its employees a competitive salary. However, the turnover rate is 1. 5 times the industry standard. In the attempt to improve the organizations competitive advantage, CEO, Dr. Palmer commissioned a survey of the female employees in the area of work-life issues. The survey ranked the top eight desired benefits, of those eight desired benefits HealthCo does not offer three and has only minimal benefits in the remainder. The current management and leadership staff within HealthCo is confrontational with the idea of the administering any additional work-life benefits in fear of additional issues with department workloads, which often exceed the day-to-day capacity of the staff. Another issue HealthCo faces is the laboratory services department being staffed 24/7, and is called upon to perform services at any time. Diagnosis There appears to be a breakdown within specific design components at the organizational level. While technology, structure, culture, measurement systems, and strategy appear to be effective, the human resources systems appear to lack the required skills and knowledge to implement change. There appears to be a systems fit issue between the organizational level structure and the group level quality of work-life and performance, as well as the individual level structure in terms of individual effectiveness. Intervention The direction of the intervention will fall into the area of Human Process Interventions. The specific interventions to be considered: a) Management and Leadership Development intervention. HealthCo current management staff displays objection to a work-life benefits strategy. This is due to the lack of knowledge of and the lack of skills required in implementing the change. The benefit of the intervention would include the development of the required knowledge and skills for the implementation of the necessary changes. b) Career Planning and Development. The diagnostic data points to a lack of importance in the value of the work-life benefits for the female employees within HealthCo. A new set of benefits could be identified and then implemented. A work-life balance intervention could identified and then implement a new work-life benefits package. Question #3: What do you see as the key issues in HealthCo becoming a top company in terms of work-life benefits? Based on data collected HealthCo faces one key issue in achieving the stated goal of CEO, Dr. Palmer, â€Å"become a top company in terms of work-life benefits†. Regardless of what change is made to the current benefits program, HealthCo’s current management and leadership are not sufficiently prepared to implement the change. With the implementation of a management and leadership development intervention HealthCo’s management will have developed the skills and knowledge to implement new organizational strategies.

Main sources of water pollution in urban areas versus rural areas Essay

Water constitutes approximately 70 percent of the earth’s surface and therefore it is a significant resource (Krantz and Kifferstein (n. d. ). It is a vital resource for without water, life would cease to exist on earth. It is however unfortunate that despite being a precious commodity, water pollution is existent everywhere ranging from the rural areas to the urban areas. The World Factbook (2010, p. 1) defines pollution as â€Å"the contamination of a healthy environment by man-made waste. † In case of water pollution, there is introduction of large amounts of substances into the water rendering it unsuitable for intended use. Water pollutants are classified as either point source pollution or non-point source pollution. Either way, these occur in both rural and urban places but with differing magnitude. It is also notable that major sources of water pollution differ in urban and rural areas. This paper compares and contrasts between major water pollutants in rural and urban areas. Causes of water pollution in rural areas It is notable that water pollution in rural areas mainly affects ground water since ground water forms the major source of water for rural populations. Ground water is usually contaminated in case there are leakages and in the ground tanks or in case of municipal landfills. As earlier stated, water pollution can be point source pollution or nonpoint source pollution. In point source pollution; there is direct introduction of pollutants into the water as opposed to nonpoint source pollution whereby pollutants are indirectly introduced into the water. Krantz and Kifferstein (n. d. ) provide that run-off fertilizer is a good example of nonpoint water pollution whereas oil spill is a good illustration of point water pollution. From this illustration, it is evident that nonpoint forms of water pollution are more likely to be found in rural areas whereas point pollution is more likely to be witnessed in urban areas. In rural areas, the main source of water pollution is surface-runoff. This introduces a variety of pollutants especially chemicals that are used for agricultural purposes. Nitrates and phosphorous are commonly used in farming more so in European countries such as England, Wales and Ireland. These countries have gone to the extent of classifying some farms as nitrate vulnerable zones to indicate that the farms can easily cause nitrate pollution. The risk of nitrate and phosphorous pollution increases depending on the time when the fertilizers are applied, the rate at which the fertilizers are applied, how fertilizers are handled and the distance between the point where fertilizers are applied and watercourses (Murray, 2010). An increase in nitrates and phosphorus causes aquatic plants to proliferate thus causing oxygen depletion as well as turbidity not to mention the clogging of water passages. This is detrimental to aquatic life as well as dependants of aquatic resources. It is notable that run-off water pollution is also referred to as diffuse water pollution and it also entails run-off from farm buildings as well as farm roads. Manure is also likely to be washed down into water bodies during rainfall periods thus acting as a diffuse water pollution source. A study carried out by Nkwonta and Ochieng 2009) in Soghanguve area, rural South Africa, indicated that run-off from farms as well as household waste were the dominant pollutants in the local rivers. In addition, pollution from fertilizer run-off made up to 50 percent of the water run-off pollution. Other farming chemicals such as pesticides were significant water pollutants in the region thus confirming diffuse water pollution due to farming activities as the main water pollutant in rural areas. Silt and wash-off from fields causes eutrophication whereby water bodies tend to fill up and aquatic life is harmed due to impaired respiration and suffocation. Agro-based industries are mentioned as major sources of pollution in rural areas. According to Narendra (2010), effluents from agro-based industries have a striking role in pollution of water in rural areas. This is in combination with the already mentioned excessive application of chemical fertilizers. Narendra (2010) further reports that an assessment of 179,999 ground water sites in 26 states contains pollutants such as fluoride, nitrate, salinity, arsenic and iron as per a report by the department of Drinking Water Supply. Pollution in River Hindon is said to emanate from up to 28 agro-based industries. The release of chemicals from agro-based industries causes change in water pH as well as foaming thus interfering with the aquatic environment. Release of agrochemicals such as DDT pollutes water and the chemicals are passed through the food chain to human beings. Organic pollution especially from sewage is also a common source of water pollution in rural areas. The organic content in sewage promotes proliferation of microorganisms that pollute water by causing disease as well as using up oxygen contained in water as they decompose the organic substances. Oxygen depletion leads to an imbalanced aquatic ecosystem. Organic water pollutants in rural areas can also emanate from decomposing plants, pastures as well as livestock waste. It is important to identify that untreated organic waste such as sewage or farm runoffs introduce disease causing organisms such as bacteria and protozoan and diseases such as dysentery are a predictable outcome. To put extra emphasis on the contribution of agricultural wastes as water pollutants in rural areas, it is worth considering a country such as China. China stocks the largest number of pigs in the world (470 million pigs as compared to 950 million world pig stock) (Qing, 2007). China is also a leader in production of poultry and goats and therefore forming the largest water pollutant country. It is identified that most of the waste coming from the livestock farming activities is not treated well with pig farms discharging a lot of wastewater. The waste water from poultry and pig farms has low temperature and mire which is mainly organic leads to oxygen depletion once introduced into water bodies. It is estimated that if China continues to practice poultry and livestock farming, rural water pollution from these sources will exceed pollution from fertilizer and domestic wastes. Causes of water pollution in urban areas Urban areas usually depend on ground water as stored underground tanks. The main causes of water pollution in urban areas are leaking pipes and contamination from water and sewage being close. Since urban water is sourced from a particular point, contamination at the source is also a major phenomenon. Human waste, industrial effluents as well as household wastes have are important sources of water pollution in urban areas. Urban areas, just like rural areas, have runoff especially after rainfall and these contain pollutants that are of great concern. Sediments are a common component of urban runoff and these constitute the greatest components of urban water pollutants. Most sediment originates from the construction industry which thrives in most urban areas. The runoff may also contain other substances such as rubber, and automobile wastes (Environmental Health and Safety Online, 2009). Petroleum products are the main automobile wastes and these contain hydrocarbons. Other constituents of urban runoff include anti-icing chemicals, heavy metals, disease causing organisms such as bacteria, as well as organic materials. Pathogens and organic materials emanate from sewage, spoilt septic tanks, and grass and leaves. A notable source of organic waste is pet wastes whereas use of fertilizer in lawns and kitchen gardens is also common in urban areas. Nutrient pollutants like fertilizers and organic wastes enhance growth of microorganisms and decomposition of wastes thus causing a decrease in dissolved oxygen. These consequentially render aquatic life unbearable. An increase in fertilizer and pesticide pollution in Bagmati River in Kathmandu city of Nepal is a good example of an urban source of water pollution. It is also indicated that Bagmati River experiences direct discharge of industrial and domestic untreated wastes released from Patan city as indicated by an increase in faecal coliform in the polluted areas. This is an important difference in sources of urban water pollution because water from rural regions of Bagmati has normal chemistry and coliform numbers (SEARO. , n. d). Release of sewage without treatment or with poor treatment into water bodies in urban areas has the potential to introduce disease causing organisms such as coliform bacteria. Nitrates are found to be high even in treated sewage and therefore it is a great challenge as urban source of water contamination. Phosphates are also introduced in water bodies as a result of poorly treated sewage. Phosphates are notorious in speeding up the growth of algae as evidenced in the Broads Lake in the UK. As the Broads was expanding in terms of population increase, an increase in sewage with high content of phosphates was experienced with some of the sewage gaining way into the Broads Lake. Consequently, there was a spurt in algae growth whereas water plants died eventually disturbing the lake’s ecosystem (Srinivas, 2010). A similar phenomenon has been experienced in Lake Biwa in Japan where an excess of phosphorous and nitrogen led to excessive growth of algae as well as eutrophication. As earlier noted, urban areas depend on ground water which is prone to various forms of contamination. For instance, leaking oil from storage tanks and leaking sewage lines that are in close proximity with water pipes can end up polluting ground water. On another note, garbage can be intentionally dumped into water bodies or the mere garbage dump can end up contaminating surface water. Since urban areas usually have industries, the industries may cause water pollution indirectly by emitting gases like sulphur dioxide that cause acid rain. Acid rain ends up disturbing water chemistry and this is hazardous to living organisms. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2005, para 3), â€Å"pavement and compacted areas, roofs, and reduced tree canopy and open space increase runoff volumes† eventually contaminating water significantly. In addition to increase in runoff volume the runoff is also at a high velocity thus increasing water pollution through increased erosion of stream banks, and depositing sediments in streams. The channels through which the high velocity runoff passes through are also incised leading to an increase in sediment deposition. Runoff from urban areas has a higher potential off causing water pollution since there exists no forests or grasslands to enhance water filtration into the ground as compared to such conditions in rural areas. Urban landscapes are nonporous thus there exists almost no opportunity for runoff to percolate. EPA also notes that runoff from highly developed urban areas can lead to increased water temperatures thus adversely affecting aquatic life and the quality of water in affected streams. If a wastewater treatment plant is not maintained well or if it is poorly cited, then there is the risk of causing water pollution in urban areas. Industrial wastes and emissions are a serious concern due to their contribution in water pollution in urban areas. With most urban areas having industries, industrial pollutants have been of major concern. It is noted that most industries are likely to be located close to water sources for industrial process (TutorVista, 2010). Unfortunately, these same industries end up mismanaging the precious resource by introducing hazardous chemicals. Industrial wastes include acids and alkalis, heavy metals like cadmium in addition to chemicals such as ammonia. Acids and alkalis alter the pH of water whereas detergents cause increased turbidity that has the potential to intoxicate aquatic organisms. Some of the industries cause an increase in water temperature which can be lethal to aquatic life. This is common with power plants and industries that use a lot of water for cooling purposes. It is also a common phenomenon to find oil spills in lakes and oceans. Although this cannot be purely be defined as an urban source of water pollution, it is important to know that oil spills can occur in lake regions located in urban areas. Furthermore, oil refineries can be located offshore and oil spills can occur. Oil spills lead to death of aquatic organisms since the oil covers the surface of water preventing oxygen from penetrating (TutorVista, 2010). Conclusion Looking at the main sources of water pollution in urban and rural areas, it is evident that runoff dominate as the main source of contaminant. It is clearly evident that water pollution in rural areas is point form pollution whereas pollution in urban areas is mainly nonpoint form. However, the content of the runoff differ with rural runoff contain contaminants that are mainly agricultural-based whereas urban areas have industrial-based runoff. In rural areas, runoff mainly contains fertilizer compounds such as nitrates and phosphorous causing a proliferation in algae and water plants. The consequent eutrophication leads to oxygen depletion and death of aquatic life. Runoff from livestock farms also introduces organic compounds that are lead to oxygen depletion as they are decomposed by microorganism. In urban areas, runoff is mainly composed of sediments from construction industries as well as industrial and automobile wastes. Urban runoff is more detrimental since percolation is rare unlike in the vegetated rural areas. Acid rain is a possible water pollutant in urban areas due to emission of noxious gases from the many industries in rural areas. In both rural and urban areas, human waste from poorly treated or untreated sewage is emergent as a popular water pollutant. Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses are also evident as water pollutants in both rural and urban areas as introduced by human and animal waste. Bibliography Environmental Health and Safety Online. (2009). Causes and control of water pollution in urban areas. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. ehso. com/ehshome/WaterPollution_Urban.htm Environmental Protection Agency. (2005). National management measures to control nonpoint source pollution from urban areas. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. epa. gov/nps/urbanmm/ Krantz, D. and Kifferstein, B. (nd). Water pollution and society. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. umich. edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution. htm Murray, P. (2010). Controlling diffuse water pollution in rural areas. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. netregs. gov. uk/netregs/100797. aspx Narendra, C. (2010, Mar. 10). Water pollution in surface resources and rural areas. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. mynews. in/News/Water_Pollution_in_Surface_Resources_and_Rural_Areas_N40334. html Nkwonta, O. I. and Ochieng, G. M. (2009). Water pollution in Soshanguwe environs of South Africa. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 56: 499-503. Qing, C. (2007). Urban & rural water pollution: hazard & control. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. ecosanres. org/icss/proceedings/presentations/51–CHEN-Qing–EN. pdf SEARO. (n. d). National Environmental & Health Action Plan: Environmental problems. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. searo. who. int/LinkFiles/National_Environment_&_Health_Action_Plan_chp9a. pdf Srinivas, H. (2010). Urban water pollution. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. gdrc. org/uem/water/watershed/urban-water-pollution. html TutorVista. (2010). Water pollution. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from http://www. tutorvista. com/content/biology/biology-ii/environment-and-environmental-problems/water-pollution. php World Factbook. (2010). Environment – current issues. Retrieved 14, Aug. 2010 from https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2032. html

Truancy Among Students

As growing age, truancy is not a new phenomenon in Malaysia. According to dictionary, truancy means act or condition of being absent without permission. It also means any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. (Pearson Education Limited). Truancy happens because students have no interest in studies. A very strict teacher also affected the interest of student. Apart from that the subject taught was too boring or difficult but they have to take the subject for examination.In addition, most of student thinks truancy is best way to run away from any problems life. This leads to immoral activities such as vandalism, burglary, substance abuse and gang activity. Thus, to avoid the truancy become more critical issue among Malaysian school students the Ministry of Education have to take action by solving this problem. How do they solve it? There are suggestions to reduce truancy are the ministry have to enhance skill of teaching, counselling service and organize lectures and campaign.Teacher needs to improve their skill of teaching so that the students will enjoy every moment in the class as problem of truancy can be prevent. In other hands, teacher should make class more interesting. In the class teacher is not only use the text book as material but also make a video or fun activities because our brain easily get bored and tired of monotone learning. Therefore when students learn something with enjoyable it will immediately store in long term memory and students were able to understand.Teacher should give students chance to voice out their opinion in the class. So that teacher is not talking much alone when there are two-way communication between students and teacher. This make a process of learning were help students succeed in school as truancy will be decreased. In the nutshell truancy become a top issue among Malaysian students in order produce a great future generation. According to a survey conducted by ministry, 58. 5 per cent of truancy cas es last year involved student in rural areas as compared with 41. 45 per cent in cities. This affected the increasing rates of discipline problems in schools. However, there are strategies to reduce truancy whereas the ministry take part overcome this problem by enhance skill of teaching, counselling service and organize lectures and campaign. Reference: 1) Kgsilou. blogspot. com/2012/03/truancy-among-school-children-rampant. html 2) Pearson Education Limited

Who We Are As People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Who We Are As People - Essay Example Who we are as people is a broad field of analysis of human life and all that is attributed towards it. The bible explains the origin of human life in the book of genesis. Charles Darwin is a scientist who wrote about the origin of man. In his manuscript, man evolved from a single cell. The replication of these cells led to the development of the first species of man. Religious societies have their own way of interpretation creation. However, the method is based on strong belief as it cannot be physically proved. The book of genesis contains the whole story of creation. The religious view of creation believes that human beings were created by a supreme being. Religion concept Religious and scientific aspects of life agree on one common understanding of human traits. They both believe that human beings are supreme creatures. According to the bible, God created heaven and earth and placed inside all the life components that exist. He created man on the last day and rested. Man is consid ered to be a special creature as he was given the breath of life by God Himself. God also appreciated his last creation as he made. This portrays that the last creature was special. Man was made in the image of his creator which was different case with the rest of God’s creation. According to science, man has the most complicated brain. Human beings are the most intelligent creatures. ‘In the text Metamorphoses’ God created heaven and made it a home the stars, He created the sea and made it a home for the fish and finally the earth which he made it to be a home for the wild animal. However, He was not impressed as none of the creatures had higher thought to rule over His creation. Finally, He made man whom he gave the ability to rule over His creation. They have the ability to reason thus differentiate between logic and illogical situations. Man was given the ability to raise his head high and face the sky while the wild animal and flying creatures all bow and fa ce down as a sign of respect for humankind. Technology concept Technology is another aspect that makes human beings special creatures. They have the ability to discover. Human beings are flexible to the inevitable change. They have the ability to manipulate change in order to match their needs. Human beings have a life span and are able to work with nature to ensure their life span is within the life expectancy radar. Self identity Self identity is one of the most important aspects in human life. This is ability to have a sense of belonging. Human beings ought to belong in a certain group or groups. Living things have the ability to correlate but human beings have a special ability to connect as well as correlate with each other (Chapeyama, 24). The idea of connection and correlation provide human beings with the advantage to advance in technology. Self identity is associated with behaviour and intension. Human beings have the power to chose and make decision. Self identity promotes self confident thus the ability to rule or make self decisions. Moral differences Human beings have moral differences which makes have admiration and develop interest in a variety of things. In the context ‘Metamorphoses’ the creation period is referred to as the golden age since there was no law, coercion, no fear nor punishment and no use of threatening or insulting words. This is an indicator that humankind have morally evolved and transformed to evil and unethical ways of life. The earth was smooth without a mark of plough. Currently, the situation has change and human beings are forced to work in order to obtain food. This notion is explained in the book of Genesis, ‘In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you

Critical Management Theory (CMT) Explain Marx theories and how they Essay

Critical Management Theory (CMT) Explain Marx theories and how they applies to modern organisations - Essay Example The most important task and contribution of critical management theory â€Å"is to promote a more systematic and critical consideration of the contexts of organisational work† (Alvesson & Willmott, 1996, p.188). It is also meant to strengthen the resistance towards pressures to align with the functional imperatives and demand of the corporate wisdom (Alvesson & Willmott, 1996, p.188). CMS offers a number of alternatives with the view to maintain the management theories to radically transform the management practices. There is extreme scepticism regarding moral dispensability and as well as the ecological and social sustainability of the existing management forms in organisations. CMS has no concern for the individual’s manager’s personal failures. Neither is it concerned with the poor management practices of particular organisations. It is rather concerned with social injustice and the environmental destruction of the economic and social systems that the organisa tions and managers serve and then reproduce (Adler, Forbes & Willmott, 2007, p.2). It is important to explain the term critical in this context. A large team is considered to be an example in this case. Teamwork is considered to be a means which would be used by managers to mobilise the employees for improving their performance in business. By the reorganisation of work for accommodating task interdependencies, and by leaving a certain amount of autonomy with the team members to handle the interdependencies, such team work is considered to be the most effective and most efficient means of working in a business and managing employees. Issues like work force diversities have become increasingly important and are considered to be factors which would impede or facilitate effective team work. If such team work impedes, research suggests and finds out a way in which the problem can be mitigated (Adler, Forbes & Willmott, 2007, p.2). In CMS, both team work and mainstream theories informing it are considered to be problematic. Mainstream research ignores such problems or views them as pathological. However, critical research shows how team work can be used to take the organisation towards its goals and objectives and can result in internalising the business values by the team members. Team members than begin to exploit and discipline themselves and their peers towards better business performance and become responsible team players (Adler, Forbes & Willmott, 2007, p.2). While developing the critical agenda, contemporary developments which are beyond mere academia have influenced CMS. â€Å"Well-established critiques of the fundamental features of contemporary capitalism have been undercut by the decline and fragmentation of the left since around 1970† (Adler, Forbes & Willmott, 2007, p.2). The same period also witnessed the development of a number of social movements which opened new perspectives. Expansion of some of the European communities and emerging econom ies and the rise of the Chinese and Indian economy has modified the Anglo and American business values. These developments are directly related to the management of organisations and the daily experience of works. Critical Management Studies appeal to the faculties, practitioners, students and activists who are tired and frustrated by such conservative limits (Adler, Forbes &

Paragraph Answer Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paragraph Answer - Coursework Example The latter was overthrown, but there emerged a need to develop new rules for living in the community. Moreover, these rules had to be followed by all the parties and suit everybody. After the patrimonial aristocracy was defeated, Cleisthenes became the head of Athens, 508 BC. He immediately embarked on reforms that were to consolidate the victory of the demos and put an end to the danger of the revival of the power of one person or aristocracy. In fact, there occurred the democratization of the political system of Athens. By the middle 5th century BC, Athens developed a complete and in own way perfect form of the ancient slave-owning democracy. Athenian version of democracy to a certain extent made possible the expression of every citizen of the state; while the main aim remained was the power and prosperity of the state. The elimination of the king’s regime in the Ancient Rome marked the end of the process of destruction of the patrimonial organization of the previous epoch, whose speakers were the aristocracy, and the establishment of the civil society and early state (civitas). Republican victory over the clan aristocracy showed the victory of slave ownership over the classical patriarchal ownership (family household). It also signed the radical change of the role of the Senate. In the royal era, the Senate was the council of elders of the kings. They determined the fate of the Senators and the Senate individually and spontaneously. Kings either increased the number of senators or eliminated them all. In the era of the republican Senate, it was the supreme governing body in the state, a stronghold of nobility. The resulting Roman Republic was not democratic state (slave-owning democracy). It became an aristocratic republic, in spite of the fact that all positions in the state were elected. All decisions were taken by Senate. In this respect, there ended an era of the kings and began the era of the domination of the nobility. Nobility was a new aristoc racy that formed as a result of the equalization in rights of plebeians and patricians and the merging of the patricians’ families with plebeians top. So, the prevention of the tyranny of the single rule of one person did not work accurately, because the newly formed nobility gradually seized the leadership of the Senate and the senior civil posts. After the elimination of the tyrannical regimes in the Ancient Greece and Rome, the societies were aiming to prevent the establishment of such regimes in the future. According to the Ancient conception of democracy, equally free people had to be equal in all respects; oligarchy arises from the fact that in some respect superior people claim too much. From the above, it is clear that both, in Athens and in Rome, they established a kind of democratic regimes that contained a number of the core features of the modern understanding of democracy. Among the latter was attracting people to the most important political decisions through th e citizens’ assembly. The access to the assembly had all the citizens of the certain age. All citizens were formally equal in their right of participating and managing public affairs. The ancient

School Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

School Environment - Essay Example In addition, student characteristics and class room factors may also have an impact on learning and teaching. It is essential for instructors to take note of both the community needs and environmental/contextual factors in addressing the needs of the school. Moreover, the uneven number of learners from underprivileged family backgrounds who precipitately terminate their education in high school has turned into a significant matter in recent times. In spite the growth of education over the last twenty years, likelihood of accomplishment, level of taking part, and representation all remain substantial among young learners from well off regions and minimal among young learners from underprivileged areas. Therefore, it is the duty of all education stakeholders to consider probable or all environmental/contextual factors and community needs that may have an impact on a school (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009). By being aware of and comprehending the environmental/contextual factors and communit y needs, stakeholders, for example, instructors may adequately organize their class room instruction so that all students learn properly. This paper will look at environmental/contextual factors and community needs of a high school and for each of the identified needs describe some possible solutions that could be used to deal with the needs of the high school. The environmental/contextual factors and community needs of a high school include socioeconomics and the population of a community. The socio-economic status of a high school may be made up of low, middle, and high class populations. Nevertheless, socio-economic factors and needs have an impact on a high school and instruction when a low achievement is realized due to a low socio-economic level. In a high school, learners who come from households that are underprivileged have a greater chance of experiencing difficulties at school than learners who come from households that are placed in the middle or upper ranks of the socia l strata. In addition, learners from low social status households are more probable to lessen their level of participation in high school, either by foregoing the chance to continue with learning in high school or by dropping out of school. These learners are also likely to pursue complex paths in high school, such as restarting or repeating their courses due to non-learning issues, or deferring their enrollment in school. In addition, learners from underprivileged backgrounds suffer from poor nutrition. Consequently, poor nutrition can have a negative impact on their memory and attention during instruction thus leading to a decreased intelligence quotient score than learners from high socio-economic positions. Studies indicate that learners who come from low socio-economic status backgrounds have slower and lower academic attainment in comparison to students from high socio-economic positions (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009). Also, when instructors make decisions about learners on the b asis of their socio-economic position and class, they are taking the foremost step in stopping learners from gaining an equal chance for academic success. There are a number of possible solutions that could be used to deal with this need in a high school. Instructors need to play a part in dealing with the stigma of poverty. Instructors can accomplish this by not reinforcing a learner coming from a low socio-economic status or having depleted self-esteem. Learners also need to look at the learners as human beings and not as people occupying specified socio-economic positions. Looking at learners in this way will assist tutors not to be biased towards learners of particular socio-economic classes. In addition, enhancing the degree of instruction

The Effect of PeerTutoring and Computer Assisted Tutoring on Thesis

The Effect of PeerTutoring and Computer Assisted Tutoring on Standardized Math Scores - Thesis Example The purpose of this action research study is to determine the value of tutoring strategies in augmenting mathematical studies for junior high school students. My purpose is to study the results of two types of tutoring programs used with adolescent groups. The two tutorial groups are computer assisted instruction and peer-tutoring. Raul Yzaguirre School for Success (RYSS) is an urban charter school with a majority-minority Hispanic student population. RYSS is a Title I school with 100% of the students receiving free and reduced lunch. I am currently teaching Language Arts for the eighth grade while obtaining my administration internship. The purpose of the study is to discover the best available strategy to aid RYSS students in the improvement of their standardized test scores for mathematics. The administrative team at RYSS has approved a tutoring program for summer school students. Tutoring fits into the larger context of education because (a) tutoring helps students who are struggling while allowing them to engage in a challenging, rigorous learning experience; (b) tutoring assists students in moving toward grade level achievement, and (c) tutoring builds successful students so that they move from success to succes

Business Name Development, Domains, Website Plan Essay - 1

Business Name Development, Domains, Website Plan - Essay Example Following is a list of some possible business names and domain names for our business. There are a number of web technologies that one would use for their websites. However, the choice would depend on the type of business and the simplicity of the technology as well as cost implications. Any business would opt for the best web technology but at the same time will be cautious to spend the little amount of money possible as this would be an essential to the overall profitability of the business. Businesses aim at making maximum possible profits and hence they have to reduce spending as much as they can. For the case of the business in question here, the most favorable web technology would be WordPress. This is due to the fact that it is easy to use. It is cheap and one can be able to update the site without necessarily having to engage a web designer who would charge a fee for the service. This, therefore, helps the business to save money and time. The fact that one can use WordPress a nd administer it without involving a third party means that the business will be safe as there are no risks of losing the site due to inconveniences that may be associated with the server. Through WordPress, one has access to any plugin that they may require for their business. It has also a good orientation with the social media and hence it is easy to integrate it with any social site. This makes it accessible to more people. In addition, WordPress has many themes that one can choose from for their business. The themes are pre-designed and can be easily uploaded to the business website.The content to be included on the site depends on the main objectives of creating the website. This being a website for a business, the content should be e-commerce.

Consumer Health Informatics and Privacy Research Paper - 1

Consumer Health Informatics and Privacy - Research Paper Example er increasing demands at the healthcare delivery systems, expectations of the beneficiaries), in order to improve efficiency of clinicians and enhance quality of life of the populace on the planet. It is worth mentioning that there are numerous applications of Information Technology in healthcare and each of them is aimed at empowering all or at least one of the following stakeholders: healthcare delivery systems, clinicians and the patients alike. This research throws light two key issues those have been posing challenges for Consumer Health Informatics – one of the applications of information technology in healthcare. The research also lists the steps taken to address the challenges being faced by consumer health informatics. Consumer health informatics has been defined as (Eysenbach, 2000) â€Å"the branch of medical informatics that analyses consumers needs for information; studies and implements methods of making information accessible to consumers; and models and integrates consumers preferences into medical information systems.† The domain of consumer health informatics is majorly centered around the general information and advice from clinicians and other paramedical personnel, and this advice pertains to subjects like nutirition, general wellness, disease management, smoking etc. Users of consumer health informatics are not only those who are suffering from various ailments but even those who have been treated and are willing to share their experiences through bulletin boards, discussion forums and modalities of instant messaging, this kind of information sharing forms a two way communication model as this could take place when the users exchange information with the healthcare service prov iders and other users (Kieschnick, Adler, & Jimison, 1996). Social networking tools and modalities are helping the users of consumer health informatics to share information. IT researchers and practitioners have claimed that on one side IT applications

The Impact of Sunk Opportunity and Accounting Costs Assignment

The Impact of Sunk Opportunity and Accounting Costs - Assignment Example This means that for there to be an opportunity cost, there ought to be more than one form of option of financial based decision that needs to be made. Again, for there to be opportunity cost, there ought to be the weighing of the number of options available before selecting the best fitting or most profitable of the choices (Adams, 1997). Based on the outline given about opportunity cost above, there is a scenario that was experienced within my department that can be given to fit the meaning and implication of opportunity cost. There was a time that the company acquired new equipment and machinery to be used for heavy duty logistics purposes. The machinery was considered advanced and exotic to what had already been used within the company over the years. It was therefore important that the human resource department in which I belonged to at the time take steps towards getting people to operate and run the new machinery. At the time, there were known experts in a neighboring country who had adequate knowledge and experience in the use of the machinery. The first option for the company was therefore to import these skilled workers and employ them to be regular staff of the company. Among other things, the cost for doing this was to include the travel expense on these people, an international salary quotation that was to be given to them, expatriate benefits, and residential allowances. The other alternative was to train some of the existing employees to take up this role. The training was to last for 6 month s. The cost involved here however included time spent on not using the machinery immediately while these people were receiving training, the fee for the training program, and extra allowance for increased responsibility. Because there were costs involved in each of these cases, it was classified as an opportunity cost. Upon careful consideration, the company settled to go for option one, which was to

Popular Protest in Serbia and Greece Essay Example for Free

Popular Protest in Serbia and Greece Essay The French Revolution’s legacy has crept all throughout Europe and has even reached the eastern parts of the continent. Revolutionary ideals of social justice and the destruction of the old feudal order were already imminent on many nations reached by the news. Uprisings in the capital cities were the signal that the ruling cliche has been defeated where capitalist seeds were already sown. However, in Serbia and Greece, whose economies if compared to the French, were lagging behind the emerging mode of production. Feudal power still has its tight clench on these backward nations. What was clear was that the ruling class in the kingdoms and empires has been wary of the spread of the French revolutionary spirit. The French initiative gave inspiration to various states and the conditions were politically feasible for armed contradictions. If the French masses faced the Bourbon dynasty, countries in Eastern Europe were battling to gain their independence from the Ottoman Imperial power after centuries of servitude and economic, political, and cultural oppression. We must not be mislead however, that though there were religious differences in the issues of national independence in Ottoman controlled areas in Eastern Europe, the primary concern was still the existing economic order. The imperial rule was in essence a parasitic dominion of a foreign power to be able to extract resources and make use of the population as a labor force and plantation workers in the occupied territories (History World 2008). In the Serbian territories, the nationalist fervor was blowing towards the tendencies of creating a nation. After the French Revolution was won by the bourgeoisie with the help of the basic masses as the primary forces of the revolution, bourgeoisies all over Europe had began partitioning territories for the benefit of the new market economy. Serbian bourgeoisie and remnants of the landed aristocracy wanted to break free from the Ottoman domination in Europe and at the same time feared the growing economic and politico-military power of the Austrian Empire which was continually expanding her territories. Though these new ruling class in Serbia were not bourgeoisies or feudal lords but political thinkers committed to the emancipation of the Serbian nation the nationalist campaign was sustained mainly because of parliamentary struggle. But the failure of the parliamentary way of establishing a strong Serbian state led to a fractured state for the Serbs (Michigan State University Libraries 2008). Greek revolutionaries on the other hand have chosen the armed revolutionary struggle against the Ottoman Empire. The revolutionary inspiration provided by the French Revolution had been widely circulated throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the national liberation movements have shaken the social foundations of feudalism. The enlightenment which has earlier commenced provided the oppressed peoples with the alternative theories of governing, very much different from the Theo-centered models of governance. At the time that the French Revolution freed the French toiling masses, the peasants, workers, intellectual and soldiers in the Greek Islands have already been organized and the revolutionary high tide was already in place (Michigan State University Libraries 2008). When these revolutionary movements have triumphed, there had been no significant changes in the social order. Only the political aspects of the rule of the feudal order were repudiated but the economic conditions such as landlessness and the oppression based on labor economic continued. Hence after these states got rid of foreign oppressors, there were still the local oppressors. The oppression in the Ottoman Empire had likewise created turmoil domestically. History had thus proven that even in the imperialist countries the toiling masses are also exploited and that the toiling masses are pitted against each other by the ruling class in accumulating territories for their emerging capitalist economies. This has only provided the exact science of what has happened in during the French revolution that the revolution was not just for political rights but for the liberation of the classes from the miserable conditions of the economic order (Association for Liberal Thinking 2005). The consolidation of the nationalist feelings in Eastern Europe was somewhat unnecessary for their revolutions to commence. It was clear that the oppressed peoples of Europe, under the feudal order experience the same exploitation so it was easy for the toiling masses of Greece, Serbia or even Turkey to understand what their fellow peasants and workers in France experienced under the feudal system. The problem was in a general form with only specific variations as dictated by the geographic and cultural divisions and so the solution was also general. It took a revolution to liberate the oppressed French then so was for the Greeks (Jack London Online Collection 2006).

How To Write An Economics Essay

How To Write An Economics Essay INTRODUCTION Writing on any essay topic can be a daunting task. Like most English compositions, an essay has a beginning, middle and an end. It is the way in which most students are taught to think about essay writing, starting with the thesis statement and then building an argument for or against the statement. Let’s face facts, not all students are born writers and struggle with the idea of writing an essay and possibly even fear the idea. Where does one begin, especially with the task of writing an Economics essay? Any writer specialising in academic writing would suggest starting with an understanding of a sub-subject found within the Economic realm. It may be that the course suggests what to write about and this will help with clarification purposes. Essay writing and writing in general can be a scary, personal task and one must find a comfort level with the subject first. Some subjects are easier, ‘softer’ to write about and the subject of Economics is not really one of them. The thesis or premise of the essay must be right on target and backed up by concise resources. Once one decides upon a sub-topic, it is best to figure out the thesis. Only then can one proceed to the next step of presenting the supporting evidence. This would be step two. Once the evidence is presented, then in order to score extra marks, it is always a good idea to present the thoughts and views of the opposition. From there, the essay can gain strength and the writer can start to present an original concept to the reader. It is in the latter part of the essay where one can take charge of exploring one’s ideas on the topic and establish his or her voice. This allows a nature progression toward the conclusion as the essay summates its main ideas and possibly leaves the reader with new questions and thoughts on the matter. FORMULATING THE THESIS The essay should have a strong, precise thesis statement. The thesis statement defines the essay, what it will be about and how the body of the essay will form to prove the thesis as true or false. The main objective is to remain focused on topic and have a thesis statement that can be researched as a relevant, current topic. It is always important to stick to the thesis and stay on topic. As a writer, sometimes tangents develop and it is important to stay away from the lard of essay writing. Always keep in mind, does this sentence, this paragraph answer the thesis? Is it relevant to the topic and discussion? By sticking to a relevant, current topic or event, for instance the American Bailout of Corrupt Financial Institutions, this not only allows one’s own opinions to form but also a solid argument to evolve. Essays should have passion once the thesis has been established and can be supported. WHERE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION Half of the battle is won once the thesis takes shape and one has a better idea of what to discuss. It is time to start searching for information to support the thesis. In this day and age of telecommunications technology, email and the Internet, the most popular and accepted place to start research, one would think, would be online. Use discretion here and follow the professor’s guidelines. Sometimes Internet sources, even the most up to date are misleading and counterfeit. For the subject of Economics, especially with a global, multi-national point of view, it is best to start with a reputable magazine called The Economist. Here one will find the highest quality of information on the current event of the American Bailout. There is an online version, but also a trip to the library is encouraged. From there in order to get a feeling of the impact of such a current event, look to highly reputable international newspapers like the London Telegraph and the New York Times. Since t he Bailout has been a political issue, one can also read the Washington Post. One must always question the validity of the source. Part of being a good writer is constantly questioning the information and looking for answers where one would least expect them. PRESENTING DIFFERENT SIDES The quality of research also allows the writer to present different views as a means of exploring the thesis and even testing the validity of the thesis. The essay could even result in presenting facts that allows the thesis to be discredited. This also allows the writer flexibility and suggests they are not afraid of critical review. Research and writing about the opposition carries weight because it allows the essay a sense of balance. Here the local view on the topic is important to review and surmise. This is where the original idea and discussion can formulate. The local level view of the issue allows for passion but also gives a community voice. It is a good idea to read editorials but also get the view of the average person. From here, a flood of thought processes can result and by outlining the exploration allows the writer to pinpoint important elements of each view. This creates an elegant framework for the thesis to live but also presents thoughtful relevant ideas. THE ORIGINAL IDEA The idea that every essay should have an original idea is the scariest part of formulating the thesis and body of the paper. Will this happen at all? Sometimes it can be difficult to be in the mindset that it can. Have others thought the same? Possibly but do not hold back. Pressure really haunts the process of original writing. It is important to outwit one’s self into thinking. A lot times, people want to only focus on the thesis and accurately supporting the thesis. A good professor of any subject but especially business subjects should encourage steps toward original ideas and creativity. CONCLUSION A conclusion will act to summarise the purpose of the essay and restate the thesis statement as if to remind the reader about the subject and relevance of the topic. It is important to maybe leave the reader with thought provoking ideas as well as a sense of being finished. For this purpose, this essay acted as a means to instruct one how to write an economics essay but also offered insight on how to become a better writer.

United States Race Issues :: Racism Race Preudice Essays Papers

United States Race Issues The arrest of a Ku Klux Klan member who in 1964 killed two young black men, Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, represents a minor attempt to close the books on a wrongly-dismissed civil rights case. Although this act took place over 40 years ago, the current case shows that race issues are still very much a part of our society. The issues are no longer black and white either. With an increasing number of Hispanics in the United States, the racial quilt has become more complex, which has been of special interest to me in my studies of Spanish language and culture. The Los Angeles Police Department has reported increased violence in recent years, much of it attributed to Hispanic and black gangs fighting each other. We cannot passively watch how these issues play out, but must instead find solutions to live together. In my opinion, the assumption that all races are now on a level playing field and have been since the Civil Rights Act leads many Americans to strongly oppose any thing that seems to unfairly, according to them, favor one race over another, such as affirmative action programs. As a Michigan resident, I unfortunately witnessed the passage of Proposal 2, banning affirmative action through what was called the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, modeled after the California Civil Rights Initiative, both of which were led by Ward Connerly. Many Americans think voting against â€Å"reverse discrimination† sounds good, not taking into account the fact that white Americans have had many more years to accumulate wealth and gain better positions in society, while minorities have only had that opportunity for a couple decades and often times still face discrimination. I learned a lot about affirmative action and other race issues as a student in a class called â€Å"Race and Politics,† a class in which Mr. Connerly as well as members of the local chapter of the NAACP came to visit and speak. Discussions of race often reached nervous quietness in my class, something I think is common when members of different races come together to talk about it. We stumble all over trying not to offend each other or say something that might be taken offensively. In her book It’s the Little Things: Everyday Interactions That Anger, Annoy, and Divide the Races,† Lena Williams describes how members of all races innocently bother each other without knowing it. One example is how white Americans say they don’t â€Å"see color† in order to say race is not an issue to them.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. :: essays research papers fc

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have a dream, he had a vested interest in acquiring equality in the black community. His nonviolent approach to obtain equality for African Americans had an immense effect on society as a whole. King believed that in order to make a change you have to start where you are, use what you know, and do what you can to make a difference.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I support King’s approach to gain equality. King demonstrated to America that though nonviolence might not be the approach we always want to take, because it will sometimes destroy our egos. Through his faith in god it helped him to motivate us so that we could be the better race. It took more than whips, hoses, sticks, and segregation to keep Black America down. The government kicked them off the high horse to the ground, and as a Black Nation we jumped back on the saddle and rode on to victory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. King started with the Civil Rights Movement, and from there he kept on going. This movement started with a phone call about Rosa Parks being arrested for not surrendering her seat to a white bus rider. King and other leaders felt that a protest of some kind was needed. A meeting in the community was called, they agreed that the only way to fight back would be to boycott the bus company. The people in the locale agreed to participate and that started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As they continued to withhold patronage the white community fought back with terrorism and harassment. The community complained and King told them, “We must learn to meet hate with love.'; Although King’s views were continuously challenged by blacks who had lost faith in nonviolence, his belief in the power of nonviolence protest remained strong. The boycott lasted for 381 days. It eventually took the United States Supreme Court to end the boycott. On November 13,1956 the court declared that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. King believed that the boycott proved that “There is a new Negro in the south with a sense of dignity and destiny. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. :: essays research papers fc Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not only did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have a dream, he had a vested interest in acquiring equality in the black community. His nonviolent approach to obtain equality for African Americans had an immense effect on society as a whole. King believed that in order to make a change you have to start where you are, use what you know, and do what you can to make a difference.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I support King’s approach to gain equality. King demonstrated to America that though nonviolence might not be the approach we always want to take, because it will sometimes destroy our egos. Through his faith in god it helped him to motivate us so that we could be the better race. It took more than whips, hoses, sticks, and segregation to keep Black America down. The government kicked them off the high horse to the ground, and as a Black Nation we jumped back on the saddle and rode on to victory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. King started with the Civil Rights Movement, and from there he kept on going. This movement started with a phone call about Rosa Parks being arrested for not surrendering her seat to a white bus rider. King and other leaders felt that a protest of some kind was needed. A meeting in the community was called, they agreed that the only way to fight back would be to boycott the bus company. The people in the locale agreed to participate and that started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As they continued to withhold patronage the white community fought back with terrorism and harassment. The community complained and King told them, “We must learn to meet hate with love.'; Although King’s views were continuously challenged by blacks who had lost faith in nonviolence, his belief in the power of nonviolence protest remained strong. The boycott lasted for 381 days. It eventually took the United States Supreme Court to end the boycott. On November 13,1956 the court declared that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. King believed that the boycott proved that “There is a new Negro in the south with a sense of dignity and destiny.

Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay -- Papers Harpe

Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The mockingbird is a major symbol in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Harper Lee chose the mockingbird for both the title of her book and as a symbol in her book. I believe she selected it because the mockingbird is a creature that is loved by all for its singing and mocking, for which it gets its name, and how it never intends to harm anything or anybody. Atticus Finch says to Jem, but remember it?s a sin to kill a mockingbird.? Whereupon Miss Maudie explains, ?Your father?s right, mockingbirds don?t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don?t? eat up people?s gardens, don?t nest in corncribs, they don?t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That?s why it?s a sin to kill mockingbirds.? In the book, the mockingbird symbolizes Arthur ?Boo? Radley in the novel. Both Boo and the mockingbird do no harm and are never anything but pleasant to others. Boo left gifts for Jem and Scout in the tree, such as gum, two indian head pennies, two carved soap figurines, and a pocketwatch. He also mended J...

Selfridges Essay

SWOT and Financial Analysis of Selfridges Selfridges PLC has four stores, one of which is the second largest in the UK. The essay will evaluate the key facts about the company and why they are important. This essay will cover the financial performance, marketing strategy and a SWOT analysis for Selfridges. The company is well known and unique because of its history and how it currently operates. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. By analyzing the four topics, it is easier to inspect the current business situation.Once all the issues have been identified changes can be made in order to improve the company. The PEST analysis and other similar strategies can also be used in addition to the SWOT for further investigation and improvement. Background Selfridges is located in the centre of London, on Oxford Street. After taking just 12 months to build, the store was opened on 15th March. Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges wanted to build an American department store in London. The store supplied many products and services including, perfume, clothing, home appliances and jewellery.Selfridges is now a Public Limited Company which means it sells shares to the public. Marketing strategy Marketing strategy includes the products, pricing, promotions and relationship management. A way of remaining loyal to customers is by offering them a loyalty card, when the customer uses their Selfridges loyalty card they will receive one point for every pound they spend. Selfridges offer products which vary from luxury items to high street brands. On some occasion celebrities will visit the store and this attracts many customers on one single day.Selfridges also promotes the store by having sales which offer discount on items in order to attract the customer. Financial performance When Harry first bought the land where Selfridges would be built it cost him him $400,000 however in the 21st century the property was valued at more than ? 324m. Selfridges was sold In July 1951 for ? 3. 4 million to Lewis's Investment Trust and 52 years later the store was re-sold for ? 600m to Canadian food and specialist retail businessman Galen Weston and his family. In 1991 a seven year, ? 00m renovation was completed which updated the look and size of the store. The profit in 2009 was ? 84m and is set to increase steadily annually. SWOT analysis Strengths Firstly, Being situated in the heart of London is a major advantage for Selfridges because central London is such a popular place. Secondly, the products offered vary from toys, clothing, cosmetics, home appliances, furniture, jewellery and food. Selfridges has its own website so it can sell products online to people if they are unable to visit the store for any reason.Furthermore most of the products sold in store are also available online so there this saves time for customers and employees as well as saving space in store. Selfridges consists of over 500 diverse brands in st ore, this means that it saves people from having to go to different stores so it is a lot easier for people to shop. People are able to view luxury brands such as Bvlgari, Christian Dior, Prada, Versace and many more. Topshop, Lipsy, FCUK and AllSaints are just four of many high street brands for people to look at.Selfridges cater for different markets so there is something for everyone in store. Weaknesses Even though Selfridges is planning on opening new stores in the future, there are currently only four stores. Stores such as John Lewis and Debenhams have over 100 stores across the UK which makes it more accessible for people. Some of the services Selfridges provide may be expensive in some people’s opinion. For example the car park at the London store costs ? 7 minimum, this may cause customers to park and shop somewhere else.With today’s increasing problem of global warming and animal cruelty, some products may become a problem, or need changing in order to adapt to regulations. For example, the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton decided to boycott shopping at Selfridges because foie gras (a food product made from duck or goose liver) is being sold in the stores. Selfridges has a number of competitors, its main rivals are Harrods, Harvey Nichols and John Lewis. Opportunities According to the Independent, there are future plans to develop the north section of the Oxford Street store and create a hotel, offices, leisure.In the future Selfridges could possibly open new stores in England or abroad in a different country such as America where it is likely to succeed, exchange rates are also low. Selfridges already has their own clothing range for females so it might be good to start a new range such as male clothing or cosmetics. The market is always changing and adapting, new brands and products are always being created. So the fact that Selfridges is always renewing their range is an opportunity. Loyal customers will always return to view the latest products in the market. ThreatsStores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and John Lewis all pose as major threats to Selfridges PLC because they are all situated in the centre of London and also attract many potential customers. All the stores will be competing with each other with costs and products. The current economic climate is bad for the company because it affects many customers and the way they spend money. Taxes, politics and government also have a major affect on stores such as Selfridges. The current economic climate is probably the biggest factor for Selfridges. Economic climate has affected people and how they spend money.Because Selfridges specializes in luxury goods, the prices may be slightly high in some people’s opinion which will cause them to be reluctant to buy products from Selfridges. Some people are going to choose to shop at other high street shops which offer better priced items. Conclusion In my opinion Selfridges continues to remain successful during the economic crisis and remain competitive against all other retail stores. In conclusion the main strengths are that is it located in the centre of London on Oxford Street and there is a major variety of products.The main weakness for Selfridges is possibly the current economic crisis because it effects how people spend money. Miss Selfridge, the woman’s clothing range started in 1966 and has grown continuously and is now a major high street store. A new opportunity could be that Selfridges might possibly open new product ranges or services such as hotels or leisure. Bibliography http://www. georgianhousehotel. co. uk/london-shopping/selfridges. asp (30/11/2010) http://www. selfridges. com/en/StaticPage/Our+Heritage/? msg= (30/11/2010) http://www. ndependent. co. uk/news/business/news/selfridges-announce-profits-increase-700045. html (30/10/11) http://www. missselfridge. com/careers/ss10/recruitment/pages/timeline. html (30/11/2010) http://www. personneltoday. com/articles/ 2007/07/02/41308/selfridges-human-resources-director-maria-stanford-reforms-the-retailers-hr-brand. html (30/11/2010) http://companies. jrank. org/pages/3724/Selfridges-Plc. html (30/11/2010) http://business. timesonline. co. uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article5536583. ece (08/12/2010)

Environment as Effective Support for Speech Essay

How our setting in puddles the purlieu to provide effective actualise for nomenclature, verbiage and communicating. As growns caring for boorren it is important to support and shape up them in their dustup, delivery and parley skills. As babies they bug out with cooing at almost 6 workweeks and thusly instill onto verbalize at roughly 6 months. At to the highest degree 9 months this progresses so you stool begin to antitheticaliate unlike vocabularys and small fryren begin to act with adults. During these stages we white plague exaggerated seventh cranial nerve expressions and point to things and begin to persona simple(a) address to label things. We simplify our language to suit their needs. At about 12 months babies quit utilise words and by 18 months fork over about 10 words or so. As they move towards 2 years old they fit to put words together to melodic phrase sentences.And the biggest outgrowth is between 2 and 3 when it tolerate be hard to write up with them as impertinently words argon observet every day and satisfying speech embark ons to begin. Around now as adults we start to simplify less and start to suspensor enrich a tikes vocabulary. Between 3 and 4 longer sentences argon formed and squirtren start to socialise and interact with separately opposite although gram embrangleical mistakes get out often be made. By 5 or 6 the basic skills of speech language and discourse ar mastered. At the Kings School we deem children entering our setting with all sorts of different levels of S.L.C. roughly will be sooner proficient while some whitethorn need extra support. Being qualified to communicate and be adequate to(p) to intent and understand speech will process a childs general development. For a Childs cognitive learning cosmos able to understand the teacher and to take to something saucily and label it and say what is chance aids their understanding and memory.Emotionally universe of discourse able to sh ar thoughts and feelings, to be able to say when they argon happy or not and to know when individual else is unhappy. It will withal impact on their behaviour. in that respect may be less outbursts and upsets if they dejection express themselves and clearly understand book of instructions and any rules given. Friendships are vital to a childs development and if they backside interact with each some other they can develop social skills which will function through to adult hood and assistant future development. At the Kings School we fork out to hire sure we are providing a supportive environment to assist the childrens S.L.C. needs. Many factors can affect this including The strong-arm environment. The child needs an interesting environment so they are kept moved(p) and sacrifice something to express about.We have a different letter each week to help us to plan activities so they are ever changing. To encourage the children to gurgle about that letter. To discuss the Characters and introduce new words and sounds and get them thinking about sounds. We make sure that we keep an warmness on the noise levels and that although its delightful to be loud some quantify it is overly important to have quiet times and spaces. Like the book corner to take care stories and be able to discuss them. in addition learning to be quiet when someone else is public lecture. Especially the teacher. That it is important everyone is perceive. That when instructions are given they are clearly heard and mum. Staff federal agencys and responsibilities. Its important that no childs slips under the radar and that the quiet ones who are no hustle and self sufficient are also noticed. That is why we have a Keyworker ashes and that each child has an appointed adult who has responsibility for that child and their development, including their speech and language and communication. alike sometimes when the staff strike out duties we get the children sn arly in helping, kindred tidying up especially afterward lunch. The children get a chance to interact one on one with an adult. prepare needs and opportunities. When the chance arises we will control in bringing up for specific aspects of our work. latterly most of us undertook some training in the use of Makaton. The views of the child We are perpetually interested in what the child wants. We ask them what stories they like or what activities they like to do. They can choose what toys to get out. The other day some of them saw some soil and requested to make mud. This was a great (if messy) performance that had plenty of fortune for discussion and interaction with an adult. Involvement of carers. We are al ways supporting call downs and carers to get involved most of our staff are parent volunteers. We have a couple who are Speech therapists and are willing to help us and parents to assist the children in their development.As Early year teachers we are constantly impleme nting the NEW 7 regions of learning, within each of these on that point are always ways of supporting S.L.C. Communication and Language erstwhile a week we do award and tell. This is a perfect prospect to encourage children in their SLC they are given the opportunity to look at with each other about an item of their choice. They also learn how to listen to their friends. The adults give support by petition questions and using appropriate words to development vocabulary. This also includes any form of mat time or assembly where the children have to listen to us and begin to learn when to be quiet. They also get the opportunity to pray which is good for their confidence in speaking out loud in front of their peers. Whatever their level of speech they will all pray at some point which is great. Physical increase This can be outside or inside so different levels of speech can be involved. Recently we did an activity where a story was read to the children, then they were encou raged to come outside and install an obstacle course to re-enact the story.Throughout this they were chew up of the town to us and hearing words from us about movement. Like up, down, under, through. They had to convey to us what they wanted. Also have listened to the story and understood it. Also sometimes at chomp time and lunch time we take the opportunity to discuss healthy eat and how exercise is important. Personal, social and emotional development Children are always encouraged to partake in things with us and other children. If a child is upset by another child we try to engage them in lecture about it and how each other were feeling. And to justify to each other. We often split children into groups for things to encourage interaction with children they dont normally play with and get them to talk to each other. Literacy We are always reading books to the children and encouraging interaction within this getting them to talk about the story and discuss it.We have the A lphabet Kingdom characters who are always introducing the children to new words and sounds. We try to use that sound all week to make sure children are hearing it and using it. Mathematics We will use mathematics activities to teach children words relating to it. Numbers, shapes etc. acquire children to count out loud acting games that involve numbers or shapes. ever talk of the town to them though any activity. Also in this category for instance a child may be role playing shops and we would then encourage them in talking about money and the use of correct terms Understanding the cosmea This could be as simple as existence involved in the childrens games especially role play.If they are being doctors or nurses. We can encourage their SLC skills by using appropriate words and talking about things these people do. WE are also in the process of developing a wall display about the world and people we know in different parts of it. We can use this to talk about other languages and teach the children new words and get them to talk about their experiences of other countries. Expressive arts and practice When we are being creative there is always plenty of opportunity for talking about what we are doing. Getting them to share ideas with us and to use language associated with the activity. Into this area also comes music and singing. Which is great for SLC? Whenever we are singing we use Makaton which helps those who need it pith in with us, and teaches the children the signs which they can then use to communicate with others.

Employee Welfare and Satisfaction

Employee gaiety is supremely important in an organization because it is what productivity depends on. If your employees argon satisfied they would invoke superior quality performance in optimal time and lead to growing profits. Satisfied employees are also more likely to be inventive and innovative and come up with breakthroughs that allows a go with to grow and change positively with time and ever-changing market conditions Employee welfare defines as efforts to make intent worth living for workmen.These efforts have their origin each in some statute formed by the state or in some local anaesthetic custom or in collective proportionateness or in the employers own initiative. credit line satisfaction represents the constellations of individuals placement towards or ab aside the byplay. In general, job satisfaction is the attitude towards the job as a whole. Job satisfaction is a function of satisfaction with different aspects of job, i. e. supervision, pay, whole kit an d caboodle itself, co-workers, promotion, etcetera , and of the particular weighting or grandness sensation attaches to these respective components.Modern forethought considers gentle being as resource and it is an importance for the triumph of any organization. It is the strength and aid. Therefore employees attitudes, interest, quality, job satisfaction, etc. , have a bearing productivity of a firm unless the worry is able to recognize employees needs and wants they willing lose motivation and morale and it will affect the best interest of the firm. Work is one of the most important activities in a persons life. Who do have satisfying job rarely have fully satisfying lives.Dissatisfaction in work can lead in many a(prenominal) circumstances to lower production and friction on the job. So that it must be considered by the management and steps should be taken to find out the factors which cause job dissatisfaction and to reduce such dissatisfaction. In general employee sati sfaction is the attitude towards the work environment, salary, race with their colleagues, job security, grievance handling, performance appraisal, training and development, management style, quality policy, career counseling and so on.