Nitesh@Solutions Unlimited Essay

Executive Summary Nitish is disturbed by certain situations that have hampered his relation with Meena since his joining Solutions Unlimited. He is faced with three options namely; he can work to mend his relation with Meena, leave the company and search for other prospects or reach out to the top management. These options have to be evaluated on what impact they would have in his career and at the workplace. Staying at the organisation and working towards mending relations with Meena seems to be the best option. But he should also accept his part in creating such situations at the first place. Word Count:100 Contents 1. Situation Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 2. Problem Definition†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 3. Options†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 4. Criteria for evaluation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 5. Evaluation of Options†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 6. Recommendation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 7. Action Plan†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.4 â€Å"Nitish @ Solutions Unlimited- Decision Report† Situational Analysis Nitish has a good academic background and he was admired by his seniors as well his colleagues in his previous job. But after working for two years in a consultancy firm in Jamshedpur, he sought to work in a different city and so he applied for Solutions Unlimited through his friend, Arvind. Arvind and Vidya had told him that Solutions Unlimited would give him a good environment to work in and the informal culture here would make his work enjoyable and would also provide him with many opportunities to grow. The chain of events that took place since he joined the orgainsation have now made Nitish’s staying in the organisation difficult as his relations with Meena and Mr. Alagu have turned sour. He was not satisfied with the initial offer given to him and that led to Meena being given a mouthful by Mr.  Kapoor. Also there were issues regarding the payment of severance to his previous employers and his spouse’s travel. According to the company’s policy only 50% of the severance pay was done and there was no policy to pay for spouse’s travel. This led to Nitish being put in a bad light in from of Mr. Alagu. Even though he got opportunities to participate in various projects but he was not allowed to work properly by Meena. For instance he was not allowed to go to New Zealand with Mr. Kapoor and also he was told that he would not be needed for the project from Korea as the scope had changed. He was also taunted by Mr. Alagu and Meena when they came to know that he was working closely with the MD. All these events have disturbed him as he didn’t want any bad blood between anyone in the workplace. But all these things place in the first place owing to many flaws in Solutions Unlimited and also by Nitish. Even though he had experience from two organisations he was careless and unprofessional while negotiating the salary with Venkat. He also believed when Venkat said that his severance pay and also his wife’s travel pay would be done; he didn’t take any written confirmation from him. He was careless enough to lose the email. There was no proper structure in the organisation. There were no Director and Associate Director for Human Resources, and Meena and Venkat were quite inexperienced in the organisation. The policies were not communicated to Nitish when he joined and so there was dispute regarding payment of severance. Recently his work has been appreciated by the CEO and Manish. He was asked by Meena to go to Nagpur to finalise the details of the project he was involved in and also handle the project. This has given an opportunity to Nitish to introspect and think about his future course of action. Problem Statement The problem facing Nitish is what course of action he should take after coming from Nagpur. He is faced with the dilemma of whether to work towards building a good relation with his peers in the organisation or search for better prospects elsewhere. Options 1. Nitish should work hard towards removing the bad blood between himself and Meena and concentrate on building a good future in Solutions Unlimited. 2. Nitish should leave the organisation and search of better prospects elsewhere. 3. Nitish should take the matter to Manish and let them know how he is being treated and ask for necessary steps to be taken. Criteria for Evaluation The options need to be evaluated such that they satisfy the following criteria: 1. Impact on Nitish’s career: the course of action should be such that his career does not take a downfall. 2. Impact at the workplace: the course of action should improve his experience at workplace rather than degrade it. Evaluation of Options 1. Staying in the organisation: a. Nitish’s work is admired and his experience is appreciated by his seniors at the company. He has been given the responsibility of handling the project he was working in. If he can stop complaining and take proper steps towards improving the relations between Meena and himself, then he will have lesser problems to worry about. His impression in front of Manish is very good and is he continues to work hard then his career will take a great leap. b. When his relationship with Meena is mended, he will automatically come in the good books of Mr. Alagu. Eventually the things that used to disturb him will go away and he will be happy with his career. 2. Leaving the organisation: a. Leaving the company on bad terms will surely hamper his career. The feedback from the previous employers will create a bad image. This will affect his future prospects and his career growth. b. Provided he gets a job elsewhere, his previous image will do him no help in front of his peers and seniors. He will face difficulty securing better projects and this will add more to his situation. 3. Taking matters to the top management: a. Taking matters to Manish may help in certain ways to review the internal policies but this will bring further create cracks in his relation with Meena and Mr. Alagu. This would create more problems in his career and he would lose trust among many seniors in the organisation. b. This will not improve his conditions in his workplace and he will create more enemies due to his high-handedness. Recommendations I recommend that Nitish should stay in the organisation and work hard to build a better relationship with Meena and Mr. Alagu. Action Plan  Nitish, first and foremost should identify how he was also partly responsible in creating such situations in the first place. Rather than hoping that things should work out, he should approach Meena and have a talk about how things have led to such acerbic relation between them and work out their differences. He should accept his wrongdoings and also bring out the fact that policies also need to be reviewed so that such situations don’t crop up again.

Argumentative essay: Sex education in school Essay

In the U.S, more than 750,000 girls ages 15-19 become pregnant every year. More than 80 percent of these are unintended pregnancies, according to dosomething.org. That is a great amount of teenagers that could have potentially dodged a bullet with a little more sexual education. Will a lack of sexual education continue to play a role in the overwhelming amount of teenage mothers in America? In my opinion of course it will. Just like the article states, sex education is rising in American schools, and this is in favor of my argument on how I greatly support this upward movement my reason is we are just falling way behind! Further thought out and well presented sex education will reduce teen pregnancy and spread of sexual diseases. How exactly will better sex education in the states lead to fewer sex incidents within the sexually active community? Simply by education. Lack of education in anything will not give you positive results. Although it is said that there is no strong proof tha t teaching sex education will have any effect on teenagers and young adults, there is proof. Ex. Hechinger writes â€Å"Analysis in sex education in Sweden, Holland, France, Great Britain and Canada show us lagging far behind† (143). Reading the article and noticing the particular countries mentioned, I went to research. The countries mentioned are up to par with America as far as development and economy go, but fall way behind when it comes to all things sexual! We not only have higher teenage birth rates, we also have higher sexually transmitted diseases and lower use of oral contraceptives. The statistics and education don’t lie. I would have personally benefited from a more well put together sex education class and many other young lady’s would agree. (Rodriguez 2) I’m sure now the reader is wondering if there is a deeper reason for my argument. Yes there is. I am teen mother, I am a statistic, one of the person that adds on to the lack of sex education in America. One of the many teenager girls that had a lack of sexual education. I thought it could never happen to me just like in the article, ex, Hechinger writes â€Å"They believe ‘It can’t happen to me’.† (144). It wasn’t arrogance or ignorance it was my lack of understanding and me not wanting to ask questions related to sex. I now ask myself how many pregnant teenagers had the same questions I did? Lets follow in the countries listed in the article’s foot steps, in fact we have already started, considering sex education has increased dramatically in the last 5 years. Let it keep rising! I stand by my argument, lets give these confused teenagers the knowledge to rely on, just like Sweden, Holland, France, Great Britain and Canada have. They are statistically doing better the article speaks on it and so I stand by my argument. I give my full su pport to the growth of sexual education, I wonder if Laredo agrees with me? (Rodriguez 3) Hechlinger, Fred M. â€Å"The First Step in Improving Sex Education: Remove the Hellfire.† Reading and Writing Short Arguments.Ed. William Vesterman. New York: Mayfield Publishing, 1994. 143-146

Nature of globalization Essay

Globalization is a term used to explain the new era just like we learn about different periods such as stone age. It entails that people around the world are more connected to one another than ever before in terms of †¢ Information flow through sophisticated means unlike in early ages where messengers and drum beating was used for communication. †¢ Money transfers and goods transportation is quicker and efficient all over the world. Goods and services produced in one part of the world are necessarily available in all parts of the world. †¢ International travel is more convenient and faster than ever. (Martin, 2004) All this changes have been as a result of advance in technology, basically the computer. This is what has enabled globalization. Globalization can be found in five different areas; economic, cultural, political, religious and social systems. Globalization therefore, can be understood as the tendency or the process of businesses, technologies or philosophies to spread throughout the world. Nature of globalization Globalization is something that is very new in the world. For the last 30 years, there was no much discoveries in computer technology although there were computers and they were only used in the developed countries. This is why we cannot say there was globalization since globalization simply means making the world a â€Å"global village† in that every information and services are available and accessible to all the people around the globe just as it is in a small village. The idea of globalization has made it possible to harmonize the cultures of people all over the world. That is because people are able to carry out businesses across boundaries without traveling, using different currencies, making instant payment and in developed countries they use a common currency for example the Euro that is used all over Europe and the US dollar that is used by many countries. It is possible therefore, that the whole world will in future be using one common currency. This is what is referred to as economic globalization. According to Sachs (2005) technology in information has made transfer of information and especially educational information to be available across the globe. This is what has brought the idea of e-learning through the Internet. The changes in culture of the people is being felt especially in the African societies which had very stronghold in their traditions but today this has little or no influence on peoples ways of life especially in the young generation, for example changes in sexual inequality. This is as a result of globalization, people copy the lifestyles or cultures of others from the developed countries due to interaction, travels and high speed information transfer. For this same reason people are able to change their religious believes because the gospel has taken a new line, i. e. it is global reaching every corner of the globe. Conclusion When we talk of globalization we definitely have to think about the major participants in this idea. The United States dominates in this global traffic in information and ideas. (www. globalpolicy. org) The American music, movies, television and software’s are so dominant , so sought after by everybody and so visible that they are now available in every corner of the earth, including the developing countries in sub-Sahara Africa. References Raskin. P. T(2002), The Great Transition Boston Tellus Institute p31-42. Alex MacGillirray (2006) A Brief History of Globalization. New York. p122-127. Sachs,T. (2005), The end Poverty New York p 13-23 Martin, W. (2004), why globalization works, New York: Yale University Press, pg 210-235 Global policies, Available from, www. globalpolicy. org (Retrieved December 14, 2007) What is globalization, Available from, www. globalisation101. org (Retrieved December 14, 2007)

The Impact of Internships on Graduate Employability Essay

The Impact of Internships on Graduate Employability - Essay Example Thereby, employers will be able to employ people who are qualified and knowledgeable. However, some employers mistreat interns. Some organizations may not set aside budget for internship programs. By not having this program, employers are not able to teach potential employees on the competencies and skills the company wants. Introduction Internship is the period of time when students are attached to organizations where they are supervised to gain firsthand experience to the professions that they are studying. This normally comes after they have been taught about the profession in class before they are allowed to participate as interns in different organizations. While working as interns, the students are evaluated by supervisors and a report on the students’ performance is sent to their school after completion of the internship. The report combined with the course work contributes to the final score for the students (Sweitzer and King 2009). Students can either get internships through applying for the position in organizations or their college might partner with organizations in order for them to offer internship programs to their students. Internships normally vary depending on the organizations policy. Many organizations pay students who are interns in their organization. On the other hand, some organizations don’t pay interns, but rather they have incentives such as transport or lunch to motivate them. Internship period also varies on how students and the organization agree to work together. However, being an intern in a certain organization does not automatically qualify the student to get a job in the organization. However, depending on the students’ hard work, they can be considered should any vacancy arise in the organization. Students can attend internships locally or internationally so long as it is in relation to the profession that they are undertaking. In some cases, students may decide to take internship programs while they are on vacation to increase their experience on the profession (Sweitzer and King 2009). Most companies normally hire interns to equip them with the necessary skills required to perform the profession that they have specialized in. Companies also hire interns to minimize the costs required to finish some tasks. This is because companies know that when they hire interns certain tasks will be able to be accomplished with minimum expenses or with no expense at all. It is upon an individual to work hard during the internship period to acquire a range of skills and knowledge. This paper will critically analyze both the positive as well as the negative impacts of internships on graduate employability. Positive impacts of internships Internships help students to acquire knowledge. Through internships, participants get to interact with professions who guide them on how to go about the profession. During class lessons on professions that students undertake, the teaching is mostly theoretical. B ut once students are working as interns, they get to learn the practical bit of the profession thereby gaining knowledge from the different professionals they engage with. This also makes the student to gain professional knowledge on the profession that they are studying (Hergert 2009).   Internships provide students with an insight on what is required of them in order to become successful in the field.

Week 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Week 3 - Essay Example It also involves three important elements which include availability, accessibility and food utilization (Food & Culture Encyclopedia). When food security is threatened or not met, it can alarm not only the nutritionists, but the country or the nation affected, in general. This is because if there will be inadequate supply of food and related goods, it will directly affect the health and nutrition of the people. Thus, food insecurity can cause individuals, families, communities and to some extent, the world, to suffer in varying degrees. The Dictionary of Medical Terms defined malnutrition as a state or condition wherein a person is deemed as having a poor nutrition that resulted from either an insufficient, excessive, or unbalanced diet or in disorders in which there is an impaired ability to absorb and assimilate foods (Rothenberg and Chapman 269). Meanwhile, obesity is a malnourished condition of having an excessive weight and an increased amount of fat in subcutaneous tissues of the body. Obviously, obesity is the effect of overeating, but in some cases, it may be precipitated by disorders that involve organs such as thyroid, pituitary and endocrine glands where there is a disturbance of the body’s metabolism (Rothenberg and Chapman 318). Today, an alarming statistics states that approximately 60 million Americans are obese, while 9 million are extremely obese (ObesityinAmerica.org). Hence, according to Mokdad, et al, obesity has been regarded as the second cause of preventable death in the US (qtd. in Ob esityinAmerica.org). Suppose that you were engaged in biotechnology, or genetic engineering; what environmental safeguards would you impose on your own research? Are there experiments that would be ethically off-limits for you? If I were to engage in genetic engineering projects, or related experiments, conscientiousness on my part would be necessary, so as to

Advantage and disadvantage of GPS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advantage and disadvantage of GPS - Essay Example The use of the GPS systems and the panic buttons allow the users to be safe and find help more easily than a mobile (McNamara, 2008). c) The GPS systems ensure that the person is never lost. The GPS receivers can compare the time the signal was transmitted by the satellite and the time it was received (McNamara, 2008). The difference in time would provide the GPS receiver with details as to how far the satellite is. The receiver can also use the distance measurements from a few more satellites which would provide for the user’s position and can be displayed on the electronic map of the unit. This can ensure that no matter where the person is, it would be impossible to lose the way (Letham & Letham, 2008). Apart from the abovementioned advantages, the GPS Systems also helps in simplifying the daily lives of many people across the world with features like ‘search nearby’ and cellular based tracking as well. Overall the system is very effective and helpful, especially in the current times where there is a high need to have complete mobility and ability to find places around more easily and effectively (Letham & Letham, 2008). However the use of GPS systems does pose a number of disadvantages as well. These will be discussed in the next section. As seen there are a number of advantages of using the GPS systems. However there is also a great possibility of failure of the system. This can cause a number of issues, especially if the user is completely dependent on the systems (McNamara, 2008). There is also the issue of not being completely updated and this can cause the systems to be off the accurate path to some extent. Also while travelling on the highways or within cities, if the destination is changed during the travel, the time taken to recalculate the route takes a little time. This can lead to missing a turn, or exit. Also with the various GPS system providers that are available in the markets, there are a number of companies with terrible

Risk assessment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Risk assessment 3 - Essay Example Here we have production of the Formaldehyde that is supplied to a number of Industrial Customers throughout the UK and Europe. The main problem we are facing is with the place where our company is situated. This place is outside the industrial centre of the city and is relatively close to three housing estates and a small village, which in total have a population of 3000 people. The next problem is the tributary to the River Dee that passes directly alongside to company’s site boundary. This River is a successful habitat for salmon and other species of wildlife. Our production of Formaldehyde and industrial wastes are danger to these habitats. The main advantage of this location is the facilities of adjacent road and rail network which is utilized to transport our products. And also this plant is here over 40 years and it is really a prime location. There is also leakage from the tanks of Formaldehyde because a small formaldehyde leak from an on site storage tank about three years ago. The leakage was contained within the tank storage bund. There is a great danger to the levies of employment and residential people those are approximately 1250 persons. The production of the formaldehyde is a major bossiness constitute of our company so we did not stop its production. The thing we can de is the enhancement of companies overall working system. For this all we have to do a compliance risk analysis research and the identification of weak sectors where we need to so work. The main purpose of this report is to streamline the major risk factors and devising a mitigation plan for there resolution. In this section I will present a detailed risk assessment using a quantitative method. The main purpose of this assessment is to discover risks to our business from the on site process and transportation off site of formaldehyde. Here I have selected the event tree analysis

Entrepreneurship of The Busters Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Entrepreneurship of The Busters - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that the owners of the business, i.e. The Buster’s have decided to expand the business size by opening up another store in a new building two blocks away from their current location. The proposed business venture will be designed on the similar basis, as the current business is established. Keeping in view, the expertise and skills of the owner and work force will be beneficial in providing a solid guarantee to the investors that their money will not be spend on a business venture that is non profitable at any point. This is because of the fact that The Buster’s is running smoothly and profitably at its current location. Keeping in view the small size of the business, the owner want to expand by opening up another small store in a new building of about 1,000 square feet of space, maintained and run by a work force of two to three employees. The new office building is located at 5th Avenue near Carroll gardens with the name, The Business Avenue. In t he Business Avenue, offices of different multinationals and domestic firms are located and there are around 15,000 different individuals who visit this 20 story building. The Buster’s is keen in providing superior quality canteen items, stationary products, news papers and magazines. In addition to these items, the owner of the store, Marsha Jones, has decided to add more items to store’s shelves as she is going to acquire a larger space in The Business Avenue, i.e. of around 1500 square feet of physical space at the ground floor of the building. 1.3 Business Aspirations The biggest aspiration that evoked Marsha Jones to open up a news Buster’s store was her dream of transforming The Buster’s into a chain of super stores within next 10 years. Opening up her second store in The Business Avenue is just one step towards making The Buster’s a popular super store where customers can get all what they want. She wants to open up another 10 stores like The Buster’s, no matter within New York or in other states and cities of United States of America. 2. Organization of the Business This section describes who will be managing the business affairs of The Buster’s and how many employees will be needed to run the business on daily business. In addition, this section also describes the legal status of the business, that whether it is going to be a partnership business or held solely by Marsha Jones. In the end, this section of the report also provides inside to the company’s vendors and suppliers. 2.1 Owners Marsha Jones, who is the owner and creator of the business, will be managing the store on daily basis. She is going to hire a personal assistant who will closely monitor the financial performance

Compareable between lean and six sigma Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Compareable between lean and six sigma - Article Example Thus this paper will identify the weaknesses and strengths of both Six Sigma and lean and the ways in which they compliment each other. Six Sigma and lean are among the two most commonly used continuous improvement tools (Mousa, 2013, p. 1137). Lean originated out of the Toyota Production System and its focus is on the elimination of waste in production which begins from the time an order is placed and ends when the order is delivered (Pojasek, 2003, p. 85). Six Sigma was introduced by the Motorola Corporation and is designed to eliminate variations in production and services and their processes so that defects are reduced and customer satisfaction is improved (Desai, 2006). In other words, lean focuses on reducing waste, while Six Sigma focuses on reducing defects. Therefore, it has been suggested that when lean and Six Sigma philosophies are combined an organization may benefit from significant improvements in a short period of time at a significantly reduced cost (Mousa, 2013, p. 1137). This paper will compare and contrast Six Sigma and Lean with a view to demonstrating their compatibility and differences for continuous improvement. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part of this paper presents a review of literature on lean and Six Sigma. The second part of this paper provides a comparison of the two philosophies. The third part of this paper will discuss the implications for practice and the final part of this paper will make suggestions for further studies. Lean is a philosophical approach to managing production and consist of facilitating a system for eliminating or reducing waste and any activity that does not add value for the end customer (Dora, Kumar, Goubergen, Molnar, & Gellynck, 2013). At its core, lean is a continuous improvement technique focused on â€Å"just-in-time (JIT), quality systems and team works† (Wong, Wong, & Ali, 2009, p.

Hemingway's Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story, Hills Research Paper

Hemingway's Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story, Hills Like White Elephants - Research Paper Example ling to give them space and do not realize the damage they cause to their psyche due to over-protectiveness or outright suppression of their rights and individuality. Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois and he was the second child of his parents Grace Hall and Clarence Edmonds Hemingway. After graduation, he shifted to Kansas City and joined as a cub reporter for the Star Newspaper. The ongoing World War excited him and he joined Red Cross as an ambulance driver. He was injured in the war and during the course of his recuperation, he met Agnes von Kurowsky. Hemingway took the relationship seriously but Agnes treated him as a kid. He returned to America to be honored as a war hero. With the termination of relationship with Agnes, Hemingway was heart-broken. In Chicago, when on freelance assignments, he met Hadley Richardson and they got married in 1921. Both of them moved to Paris, on the advice of a friend, to live in association with other writers. That move brought Hemingway to the limelight in the world of literature. In Paris he did some writing for the Toronto Star newspaper. Soon the marriage with Hadley ended, but Hemingway remarried Pauline Pfeiffer and they moved to Key West, Florida. His father committed suicide and his writing was interrupted. By then Hemingway had taken to heavy drinking. The marriage again was on the rocks and he went to Spain accompanied by his new love Martha Gellhorn. In 1940, he divorced Pauline. They jointly bought a house in Cuba and World War II broke out and Hemingway went to Europe to cover the war. Martha was already there to work. Their relationship however ended in 1945. He was in love again and he married Mary Welsh in the year 1946.They returned to Cuba and Hemingway was on his writing assignments again. The next phase in his life was full of tragedies. Ernest and Mary were enjoying a safari in Africa, and they were involved in a plane crash. The injuries were minor and the rescue

Greek tragedy Essay Example for Free

Greek tragedy Essay The hero in a Greek tragedy I want to compare with the hero Dante in the Divine Comedy is Oedipus in Sophocles Oedipus the King. Concerning their respective process of self-knowledge acquisition, we find some differences: their original recognition of self is dissimilar, and so are their method and result of self-pursuit. First, Oedipus and Dante have different perceptions of self. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus confidently knows who he is and where he comes from-a exiled wanderer saving the Thebans from the Sphinx. On the contrary, in Canto 1 of the Inferno in the Divine Comedy, the author/the protagonist Dante gets lost in the forest of darkness, a symbol of human vice. He is in the dark and perplexed at who he is. Comparing with Oedipus the Greek hero who daringly does his will (he believes human intelligence can compete with God), Dante the Christian hero rather hesitates about himself and thus follows the guide Virgil. Second and accordingly, their method to explore self-knowledge is different: Oedipus does this with human reason whereas Dante with pious belief in God. Oedipus does not intentionally pursue self-knowledge, but just tries his best with intellect to find the truth one after another about the murderer (himself) of the then king Laius-which can be seen as his process to find self-knowledge. Contrarily, through a sacred journey, Dante acquires self-knowledge by following Virgil and Beatrice, and in person seeing the sins and punishments in the Inferno, the redemption in the Purgatory, and the Providence in the Paradise. Paradoxically, the way for Oedipus to gain self-knowledge (truth) drives him into affliction when he step by step gets to know his identity-a patricidal murderer and the cause of plague while Dante acquiring self-knowledge knows that the happiness of eternal life lies in true faith and Providential Love. While Oedipus self-truth is acquired from his downfall (the physical blindness), Dante the protagonists self-knowledge is sublimated into a will in contact with God. All in all, as a tragic hero in search of self-knowledge, Oedipus reflects reason and humanity. It is because in the 5th century B.C., the Sophoclean age, people questioned the nature of everything with reason and thereby faces the dilemma of believing human reason or praying God. But in the theocentric Middle Ages, as a Christian hero, Dante, whose thinking and conceptions are based on religious beliefs, resorts to Gods Infinite Mercy to find self-knowledge and the meaning of life.

The Effect in Hong Kongs Economy Essay Example for Free

The Effect in Hong Kongs Economy Essay I. Introduction The financial crisis in the Asian economies in 1997 has created tremendous interests in the economic point of view. This report focuses on the economic situation of Hong Kong in 1997-98, which has some very special features among the economies in the region. In the Asian Financial Crisis, the economy in Hong Kong did not sufferer from any banking or currency crisis like some of the Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand, which their troubles began with a severe depreciation in their currencies. This triggered capital outflow and bankruptcy of many financial intermediaries and firms. The currencies of these countries have long been maintained at a relatively constant rate with the US dollar until 1995. Their depreciation is due to the central banks were unable to defend speculative attacks. Regarding to this, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China successfully supported the currency by paying the cost of having high interest rates. Hong Kong dollar is pegged with the US dollar, at a rate of HK$7.8 to US$1 since 1983. This is due to the effort of the Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the central bank of the Hong Kong. However, the economy is expected to enter one of the most severe recessions in the post-war period after the Asian Financial Crisis. Section 2 in this paper will offer background information of the Linked Exchange Rate System. It defines how the monetary authorities defend the currency peg. Section 3 will summarize on how and why the Hong Kong dollar was under speculative attacks during the Asian Financial Crisis. Section 4 is a postscript on how the HK government reacts to the situation and the actions that was taken. II. The Background of the Linked Exchange Rate SystemAs a small opened economy, the currency of Hong Kong was used to be backed by stronger currency, pound sterling at first and later, US dollar. There was only about nine years (1974 -1983) in which a floating exchange rate regime was  adopted. By the end of 1983, under both external (speculative attacks) and internal (political uncertainty) factors, the authorities decided a fixed exchange rate regime and peg Hong Kong dollar with the US dollar at HK$7.8 to US$1. The latter is known as the Linked Exchange Rate System, which is effective since October 17, 1983. The Linked Exchange Rate System is in practice a modified version of a classical currency board. A classical currency board is a system where there is no place for a central bank. The current Hong Kongs currency board maintains certain functions of the HKMA as the central bank of the SAR. The rest of this subsection discusses their distinction. In general, currency board refers to a monetary institution that issues base money solely in exchange for foreign assets, specifically the reserve currency. (Williamson, 1995, p.2)With the currency board, the monetary authorities can not change money supply at will. If the currency board would like to issue new cash, it must first increase its stock of the chosen reserve currency given certain fixed exchange rate stipulated by law. Which means the supply of home currency can increase only when commercial banks puts an equal amount of reserve currency in the currency board. Usually, the foreign reserve is more than the monetary base (cash in circulation plus deposits from commercial banks), so there is a net worth on the liabilities side that equals to the excess amount of foreign reserve. With buying or selling domestic credits, the central bank can perform open market operations and sterilized intervention of exchange rate. The currency board can stabilize the value of the home currency to a stronger one. This is an attractive feature for small countries. With people having confidence in this monetary system and the fixed exchange rate, a stable economic environment will promote trade, and investment. Over the recent decade the Hong Kong Government has increased the power of the monetary authority as a central bank. In April 1, 1993, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) was established to perform many of the functions of a central bank. Due to historical reasons, instead of a central bank, three note-issuing banks, the Standard Chartered Bank, HDBC and now Bank of China are allowed to issue notes. In order to issue notes, under the management of HKMA they have to pay the Exchange Fund in US dollars and receive the Certificates of Indebtedness (CIs) at the official rate HK$7.8 to US$1. With this system, the money supply is determined when firms in the export sector gain more US dollars through trade. They still need to pay their workers in HK dollar so they will use the US dollar in exchange for the domestic currency with the licensed banks. When banks are short in HK dollar, they can exchange for HK dollar with the US dollar in their hand with the note-issuing banks at HK$7.8 to US$1. If the note-issuing banks are short of HK dollars, they will use the mechanism of currency board to obtain CIs and supply more domestic currency to the economy. In principle, the exchange rate in the market floats. There is no law that forbids any bank to use a rate different from the official one. It is an arbitrage mechanism that helps to fix the exchange rate in the market. For instance, if the rate in the market is HK$8 to US$1. Banks will submit Hong Kong dollar to the note-issuing banks for US dollar at the official rate HK$7.8. They will gain the differential 20 ¢ by selling the US dollar in the market. More banks will follow and thus the demands of HK dollars increase. As a result, HK dollar will appreciate and the above arbitrage process will end when the market rate goes back to the official rate. When there is pressure of depreciation in the domestic currency against US dollars, the note-issuing banks will have to use the CIs to exchange for US dollars with the Exchange Fund. Contagion in the market in response to the depreciation will finally lead to a huge reduction in the foreign reserve. III. Speculative Attacks on Hong Kong Dollar in 19971. Before October, 1997During the first two quarters of 1997, Hong Kongs economy performed extremely well. Even though other Asian economies began to expose their problem in the second half of the year, Hong Kong has no sign of down-turn even in the third quarter. 2. After October, 1997The Asia Financial Crisis began with the speculative  attacks on other Asian currencies: the Thai baht, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and Singapore dollar. While the Thai and Indonesian governments seek assistance from the IMF, Philippines central bank attempted to intervene the market and the Singapore central bank allowed the currency to depreciate. Hong Kong dollar remained steady, but later the HKMA admitted that US$1 billion of the foreign had been used to defend the currency. A second attack occurred in mid-August. From the summer to October, the stock market is very volatile and the Hong Kong dollar is strong but under pressure, while other currencies depreciates against the US dollar; however, the Hong Kong Government reassured the public that the peg exchange rate will sustain and there was adequate reserve to defend from speculative attack. However, the speculative pressure on both Hong Kong finally stroke Hong Kong stock market at the end of October. On October 23, the Heng Seng Index dropped to 23% from the previous Friday. The HKMA used interest rate to intervene the market to defend the currency peg as overnight HIBOR increased drastically except in mid-July. Naturally, the corresponding impact on the stock market was negative and severe. 3. Why were there speculative attacks?With adequate foreign reserve, the HK government has for a long time maintained budget surplus every year and the fundamentals of the economy are sound in the first three quarters, so what has attract the international speculators to target the Hong Kong dollar? Unlike some Asian countries, the financial system of Hong Kong is well-regulated and well-supervised. Although a few investment banks and firms have bankrupted after October due to overinvestment, the sort of crises in Indonesia and South Korea did not occur in Hong Kong. In fact, being one of the most developed financial centers in the region, financial and banking regulations have been continuously introduced and strengthened in the past few decades, this has helped avoid the problem of moral hazards. For example:†¢The Protection of Investors Ordinance (1974): this prohibits firms using fraudulent, coercive and exaggerated means to induce investors of buying or selling securities. It also regulates the issue of associated documents and publications. (Edward, 1987, p. 82):†¢The Securities Ordinance (1979): this regulates the operations of the Stock Exchange, the  registration of dealers and investment advisers and trading practice. It forbids dealers to involve in transaction outside the exchange, allows investigation of malpractices, and provides for the establishment of a Stock Exchange Compensation Fund to compensate the clients of defaulting brokers. (Edward, 1987, p. 82)†¢The Banking Ordinance (1986): this ordinance (i) governs both banks and DTCs under the supervision of the Commissioner of Banking (now a part of HKMA); (ii) institutes a minimum capital to risk assets ratio requirement; (iii) imposes a new liquidity requirement and (iv) allow the commissioner to issue guide-lines for banking operations from time to time. (Ho, 1991, p. 98) Still, there are three possible reasons for speculative attacks:First, the real exchange of Hong Kong and US dollars has a large appreciation of Hong Kong dollars since 1983 which reflects Hong Kongs lack of competitiveness. Yet, Hawkins and Yiu (1995) compute the Real ERRI for traded goods and show no loss of competitiveness for traded goods sector. However, the fact that Hong Kong has transformed into a service-based economy, the competition Hong Kong faces might be more in financial services and tourism, rather then in manufacturing products. Since other Asian currencies have depreciated, Hong Kong might suffer from lack of competitiveness against financial centers like Singapore, or tourism industries in regions like Thailand and Malaysia. Furthermore, as an important entrepà ´t, between China and the rest of the world, because the Renminbi has not been devalued also reduces Chinas competitiveness. This might have a negative impact on Hong Kong re-export sector. There were increasing requests and rumors for the devaluation of Hong Kong dollars to put a lift of competitiveness in 1997, which gives political pressure on the local authorities, and under such environment, speculators might perceive that their attacks will succeed. Second, political uncertainty also increases the probability of speculative attacks. On July 1, 1997, the former British colony was handed over to the Peoples Republic of China. Foreign investors might be skeptical on the independence of Hong Kong economic policy. Some of the economists did not show confidence on this matter. Anna Schwartz (1993) thinks that Hong Kongs experience with a currency board represents a dilution of the features that distinguished the institution. It did not maintain a fixed  exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and sterling during the years when it was linked to sterling; it then shifted to a link to the US dollar, after which it let the exchange rate float; and it then returned to a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. It has since introduced discretionary powers for the Exchange Fund to exercise. Limited as these powers may be currently, they strike me as a slippery slope that portends further erosion of rule-based behavior. Chinas willingness to maintain rule-based behavior once the island reverts to its control adds to the uncertain future of a currency board in Hong Kong. (Schwartz, 1993, p.176) Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff (1995) share Schwartzs concern, After China takes over in 1997, it will also assume ultimate ownership of Hong Kongs foreign currency reserves. Despite its promise not to tamper with Hong Kongs economy, China would not likely want to see its dowry squandered in battling speculators. Thus, even Hong Kongs currency ultimately could fall. (Obstfeld and Rogoff, 1995, p.91) Was George Soros as pessimistic (or optimistic) as these economists in 1997?Third, many people have suggested that the actual target of the speculators is really the stock market. If the speculators can successfully give pressure to the Hong Kong dollar and the only response of the HKMA is to increase interest rate; therefore, speculators will be able to gain by short selling stocks in the market. If this is the case, the authorities should be flexible in choosing the instruments to defend the currency. IV. A PostscriptWith the estimates of a -2% growth rates and 4.2% unemployment rate for the first quarter of 1998; and a recession was expected. This suggests that the full impact of the Asian crises on the real sectors have began. During this period, interest rates stayed high and Hong Kong dollar was under discretionary speculative attacks. In June, the further depreciation in Japanese Yen gave additional pressure. On June 22, as a result of internal political pressure, the government adopts the first budget deficit policy since 1982 in order to stimulate the economy without abandoning the currency peg. The policy turned an initial surplus estimate of HK$10.7 billion into a deficit of HK$21.4 billion. This HK $44 billion rescue package involves:†¢Suspending land sales until March 31, 1999 to slow down the collapse of the real estate market in Hong Kong†¢An exemption of  interest earned locally from profits tax †¢Putting out HK $2 billion to help small and medium firms in non-export related sector. †¢rates rebate for the first quarter (worth HK$3.85 billion)This expansionary fiscal policy has helped shorten the recession of Hong Kong. As the Asian economy slowly recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis, Hong Kong has also managed to climb back from its recession. Reference Corsetti, G., Pesenti, P. and Roubini, N. (1998). What Caused the Asian Currency and Financial Crisis?. New York University. Edwards, A. Hong Kong: a guide to the structure, development and regulation of financial services. The Economist, 1987Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (1998, February). 1997 Economic Background. Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (1998, May). First Quarter Economic Report. Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (1997, July) Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics. Hawkins, J. and Yiu, M. (1995). Real and Effective Exchange Rates. reprinted in Money and Banking in Hong Kong, edited and published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Ho, R. (1991). The Regulatory Framework of the Banking Sector. The Hong Kong Financial System. Oxford University Press. Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (1997, July) Monthly Statistical Bulletin. Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (1997, August). Quarterly Bulletin. Jao, Y. C. (1997). Of Pegs and Boards. reprinted in Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Quarterly Bulletin, November 1997, p.70-72. Kydland, F. E. and Prescott, E. (1977). Rules Rather than Discretion: The Inconsistency of Optimal Plans. Journal of Political Economy, 85, p.473-491. . Krugman, P. (1979). A Model of Balance-of-Payments Crises. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Vol. 11, No. 3, p.311-325. Krugman, P. (1996). Are Currency Crises Self-fulfilling?. NBER Macroeconomic Annual, National Bureau of Economic Research, p. 345-378. Krugman, P. (1998), What happened to Asia. MIT. Lui, Y. H. (1991). The Foreign Exchange Market. The Hong Kong Financial System, Oxford University Press. Nugà ©e, J. (1995). A Brief History of the Exchange Fund. Money and Banking in Hong Kong, edited and published by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Obstfeld, M. (1994). Logic of Currency Crises. Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Integrated Europe edited by Barry Eichengreen, Jeffry Frieden and Jà ¼rgen von Hagen, Springer-Verlag. Obstfeld, M. (1996). Models of Currency Crises with Self-fulfilling Features. European Economic Review, 40, p.1037-1047. Obstfeld, M. and Rogoff, K. (1995). The Mirage of Fixed Exchange Rates. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 9, No. 4, Fall, p.73-96. Schwartz, A. (1993). Currency Boards: their past, present, and possible future role. Carnegie- Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 39, p.147-187. Scott, R.H. (1986). Monetary Policy in Hong Kong. Hong Kongs Financial Institutions and Markets. Oxford University Press, 1986 South China Morning Post, June 23, 1998 Issue. Williamson, J. (1995). What Role for Currency Boards?. Institute for International Economics

Skills Gained In Social Care Social Work Essay

Skills Gained In Social Care Social Work Essay A significant learning experience is one in which the student has acquired knowledge and/or skills or where the experience has informed or shaped the students social care values and beliefs. Throughout the course of my placement there have been many cases upon which I have experienced significant learning. These include conversations with both staff and service users, as well as sitting in on various meetings and programs. The main learning experience I enjoyed was in relation to Personal Centred Planning folders or PCPs. Personal Centred Planning is a way of discovering how a person wants to live their life and what is required to make that possible (NDA, 2005). Personal Centred Planning primarily focuses on the person as opposed to a disability. It is about the whole person and their life, not just their disability. Personal Centred Planning is not an assessment of service users. PCPs are, an extremely effective method of helping service users meet their goals in life and also, for keeping track of their basic daily activities. It was a very interesting and useful method to learn how to use. Person centred planning is based on shared action, about finding creative solutions rather than categorising people and about problem solving and working hard over time to achieve goals. Its about changing a persons life (Sanderson 2000). PCPs seek to craft a vision for a persons life in which they can play an active role in their local community or any organisation of their choice. It also describes the action necessary to make this vision come through (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). This is accomplished through some basic stages. Firstly you must discover, understand and then address the core issues for the individual involved. Secondly you must explore choices available to the individual before you then alert and involve the individuals entire social network. A balance must then be reached between what is important for the individual and what is important for their social network. Ideally, the individuals goals for themselves are the ones most focused on and not the goals that the individuals friends and family have for them (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). There are six key principles that underpin person centred planning. These are that PCPs are an individuals perspective, creative approach to planning, uses all the resources available to the person, requires serious and genuine commitment, an art and not a science and that the development of the plan is not the objective. There are also several advantages to using Person Centred Planning. Some of these are that it sets out important goals for the future, provides a forum to make choices, it provides encouragement and support and may be viewed as a lifelong process and support (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). Person Centred Planning is based on completely different way of seeing and working with people which is fundamentally about sharing power and community inclusion (Sanderson, 2000). A good caring service mobilises all its resources to assist people with disabilities to increase control over their lives. They also set goals that are personally meaningful and express personal preferences. They offer guidance to the individual. It is only through organisations like this that the PCPs are a success (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). There are many issues to be considered when supporting people who have difficulty in making choices. Some of these issues are if you take a different perspective than that of the person, if you develop a different understanding of the person and risk assessments must be carried out. The service user also requires certain support and assistance from the PCP process. Some of these include interpreting the environment, understanding other peoples expectations and conditions for cooperation and to figure out satisfying ways to pursue what they want (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). Person Centred Planning has one plan per person. The service users key worker drives the process. The first step the key worker must take is to get to know the person. This includes getting to know their personal history, family, friends, health, hobbies and other personal details. You must talk to the person in order to gather this information. You must observe them in their natural environment too in order to get your own vision of the persons personality. A good way to add to this vision is to speak to the persons family and friends to get other opinions of the service users personality and goals in life. Finally reviewing previous documentation on the service user will give you other opinions on the service user, this time from a professional view (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). The second step is to discuss the persons own goals and dreams for the future with them. This involves sitting down with the service user in what they feel is a safe environment, so that they can reveal their dreams to you without feeling threatened or embarrassed about them. You then document the service users goals in their PCP file and move onto step three which is to plan a meeting. The meeting is entirely the service users choice. They get to decide who attends, where it is, when it is and what exactly will be discussed. It is simply our job to facilitate them by giving them any help or support they might need. The meeting itself is then step four. In the company of the service user and whoever they had wished to have at the meeting you work out what has to done is the coming weeks and months to achieve the service users targets. The fifth and final step is to implement everything that had gone before. It is now that the staff starts working on achieving the agreed goals. Any progress gained should be recorded in a progress plan form. A review sheet must also be completed at the end of each month and at the six month review meeting (McGinn Cassidy, 2006). The staff involved in the Person Centred Planning process, play a crucial role and have extremely important responsibilities in ensuring the process is a success. Person centred planning requires that staff adopt a flexible and responsive approach to meeting peoples changing needs and circumstances, guided by general principles of good practice rather than standard procedures (Sanderson, 2000). It is important that the staff do not underestimate the scale of the task and should allow sufficient time for it to be completed. Initially the process involves identifying people who are likely to support the idea and then, running some information and basic training sessions for everyone likely to be directly involved, impacted or called upon for support (McGinn, 2006). The unit manager also plays an important role in the Person Centred Planning process. Managers have a significant role to play in enabling staff teams to adopt a person centred approach (Sanderson, 2000). Sanderson advocates that managers extend the principles of person centred planning to their staff teams, in order to develop what she describes as person centred teams (McGinn, 2006). There are characteristics that a person centred team leader needs in order to be successful. Some of these include being able to bring the best out in people, having a clear vision and direction, encouraging personal involvement with the people being supported and investing in community connections (Sanderson, 2003). The leader of this process needs to develop a very clear understanding of the key principles and processes of Person Centred Planning (McGinn, 2006). The leader must ensure that staff work together as a team and not as individuals which will only drag the process in different directions, accomplishing nothing. They must ensure that there is good, ongoing communication at individual plan level. It is also their job to maintain and update plans over time or assign somebody the role of doing so. At a more general level, it is important to establish a routine process of monitoring, evaluating reviewing and developing the way person centred planning is being done, so as to ensure it is having a positive effect on lives and services. Every effort should be made to ensure that the role and responsibilities of every individual, group and organisation participating in the person centred planning process is clearly understood and agreed by them and adequately supported (McGinn, 2006). Success will be achieved will the Person Centred Plan if the staff team ensure that the needs of the service user are met to the greatest extent possible, consistent with their responsibility to assess risks involved and ensure that they are acceptable and considered. It is also necessary that they build a closer relationship with the service user in order to become more acutely aware of their needs and wishes. The staff team must ensure that all risks are identified and action is taken to minimise them. They must seek to maximise opportunities for the service users self development, self esteem and independence in order to realise their fullest potential (McGinn, 2006). Finally the role of the Key worker is crucial to the success of the Person Centred Plan. The Key workers objectives are to develop a close and positive relationship with the service user. They must also work co-operatively with other staff, family, external services/professionals etc, on the service users behalf to ensure that a quality service is provided. The Key workers team role is to enable the team to effectively support the service user. To do this the Key worker must listen to others, respect and support team members, maintain commitment and communicate effectively. The Key worker enables the service user to advocate for themselves, develop new skills and build enjoyable relationships with others (McGinn, 2006). There are of course challenges to implementing Person Centred Planning. The need for everyone to develop a new perspective on people with disabilities is defiantly one of the larger ones. For a goal like that to be reached it will take a global effort and one that is not easily achieved. Other challenges include the need for a new general perspective on services, resistance to change and risks and learning curves (McGinn, 2006). All of this was being carried out on a constant basis in RehabCare Cavan while I was there. Sitting in on meetings between the key workers and the service users was an eye opening experience. It also really stood out to me just how much Unconditional Positive Regard is used in services and why it is so crucially important in a programme such as Person Centred Planning. Without it the programme would be a complete failure. The entire PCP programme worked well while I was on my placement. It was being managed very sufficiently and all staff members had an excellent relationship with each other. I personally felt that I helped the staff to show unconditional positive regard towards the service users when they were finding it tough. Most importantly I have learned and witnessed just how positive an impact the PCP programme can have on the service users when managed properly. Seeing the delight on service users faces when they achieved goals which would have been impossible without Person Centred Plans made me realise how much they need the programme and educated social care workers to manage it for them. Critical Reflective Paper My twelve week placement in RehabCare Cavan provided me with sufficient opportunities for learning and to enhance my social care knowledge, skills and values. Throughout the duration of my placement I enjoyed the experience of working with a vast variety of service users most of whom had disabilities and problems that were completely unique to themselves within the centre. I also had the chance to compare my skills as a social care worker with a number of people from different occupations including social care workers, community nurses and psychologists. They all both worked together as a team and then as individuals. Overall my placement in RehabCare Cavan was an immensely enjoyable and positive experience. There were however, a number of difficulties to deal with along the way. These included challenging behaviours from the service users and limitations from the staff. Altogether though, I believe my placement would not have been as educational had it not been for the combination o f positive and negative factors. The part of my placement which I feel most facilitated my learning was working with the inter-disciplinary team. This team consists of a list of professionals from different occupations and also collaborates with the parents or friends or next of kin for each of the service users. The service user decides who they wish to have present at the meeting from their family or friends. There are strong positive relationships between the different members of the team. At the beginning of my placement I found it quite overwhelming and complicated to understand how a team consisting of so many people managed to perform sufficiently and how mistakes werent made. I also struggled to understand how there was need for so many individuals and how they each had their own unique role within the group. At first I just sat in the corner of the room and observed the team meetings. I felt I didnt know the clients well enough to make contributions and that the staff didnt know me well enough to be able to justify accepting my contributions. It was my job for the first few weeks to simply sit, observe and analyse what was being discussed and proposed within these meetings. Over the following days and weeks I started to become more familiar with the staff, the service users and the cases. I began to feel more confident interacting with the staff and service users and believed I had a place within the centre. I could see advantages of using the interdisciplinary team system, however I quickly realised too that mistakes were made. These mistakes were few though and no system or person is flawless so they were generally accepted as small human errors and rectified. Each team member had adequate knowledge of the other team members, their profession and their disciplines. This allowed each team member to answer questions and give guidance, even if was only to tell the person involved which team member was most likely to solve their problems. As my placement progressed I was able to become more involved with the staff as I became more aware and familiar with each case. By having the opportunity to observe and ultimately work with the different professionals i nvolved I was able to gain valuable knowledge and skills relevant to each discipline which will prove valuable throughout the rest of my course and beginning of my own professional career. One aspect of the service or the centre which limited my learning was unfortunately due to cutbacks. Due to lack of funds the service was severely understaffed which meant there was an extremely heavy workload on the remaining staff members. This in turn meant that there were long periods were they had work to do and I was unable to participate. During these periods I would socialise with the service users, talking to them, playing games with them and helping them in whatever way possible. Although from a professional perspective this reduced my learning experience, personally it greatly increased it. It was during this time that I got to know the service users, their likes and dislikes, their personal ambitions and most importantly, what it was like for them individually growing up in the community with their disabilities and how RehabCare has greatly improved their lives and self-esteem. I felt that it was this information that would help and inspire me to progress through my place ment and academic years ahead. While on my placement I took a leading role in facilitating a few programmes in particular for the service users. As I have a great interest in sport personally I became involved in all sport related programmes with the service users. Every Tuesday six service users went swimming and I accompanied them. I observed how much excitement and pleasure they got on a weekly basis out of this one simple activity. I also got involved with a soccer programme with the service users. As I have a good knowledge of the game I took some training sessions with them and helped them develop their skills. They are hoping to compete and win out a regional RehabCare Soccer tournament in the New Year. I also became heavily involved in programmes that were not sport related. I helped set up a woodwork programme which had not existed before I arrived. I trained the service users in the basic skills of carpentry and through this they learned how to work on a project as a team, but most importantly they could see that they were making a difference and that their project was evolving into beautiful furniture. I witnessed a sense of pride amongst the service users that was almost unprecedented. A pleasure as small as completing a piece of furniture was enough to have them busting with pride for days. Overall the programme was a remarkable success. I am particularly proud of this group as I feel this is an area in which I was able to apply a lot of knowledge and skills to that nobody else in the centre could have. One other Key programme which I participated in was the Writing skills programme. The activities or skills that were focused on during this programme were writing, pronunciation and basic maths skills. Under these heading we worked on different needs of each client which included spelling, counting and oral communication skills. As this was a continuous weekly programme I had the opportunity to observe these service users as week by week they worked in their weaknesses and I could observe a marked improvement from when I first arrived. I was able to monitor their progress and have evaluated that it was a very effective programme. I was able to contribute my knowledge towards the class which meant that more progress was gained in the same length of time. One aspect which I feel contributed positively towards my learning was working with and witnessing the staff handle particular cases which involved serious and cautious matters involving the service users. Examples of these cases are when violence is threatened by service users or a case where one service user was being unfairly manipulated into giving away the money they earned on social benefit. The staff team in RehabCare are quite a close-knit team and conduct their work very professionally. Working alongside them was an extremely positive experience and I had no problems in asking them questions when I had queries. The staff all worked together in serious cases and did not just leave it to the service users Key worker. I could see that this was an extremely effective and positive way for them to operate as each staff member brought their own ideas and together they were able to formulate a plan more effectively than if it were just one of them. Initially I was too nervous to mak e contributions myself but as the weeks passed I began to make a few suggestions some of which were used in solving certain cases. As a result of my experiences on placement I have significantly enhanced many of my social care skills and values and expanded my knowledge. One particular area in which I feel more confident in is my communication skills with a range of professionals and services, especially when communicating with people who suffer with intellectual disabilities. I gained experience and built my ability to show empathy and unconditional positive regard, particularly when being on the receiving end of insults. It is essential that social care workers have the ability to demonstrate empathy to allow them to be more responsive to the service users needs and build better relationships based on trust and honesty. Learning about the Person Centred Planning approach was probably the most valuable information I gained. I saw firsthand how well the plan works when managed sufficiently. It is a goal based system, focusing on what the service user wants to achieve in their lives. It is person focused which is the secret to is success and why it is so popular. The medication procedures in the supported accommodation branch of RehabCare were extremely interesting. The service user had to put their pills into an egg cup and then swallow them all. The support worker then had to check the service users mouth to make sure they were all swallowed. I realised then the extreme of the medication policy within RehabCare. I found it rather unsettling that the support worker had to look into the service users mouth to make sure the medication had been swallowed. Previous to distributing the medication each daily dose had to be counted to make sure that the pharmacy didnt make any mistakes while distributing it. It was surprisingly frequent how often the pharmacy had made mistakes. In conclusion my time spent on work placement has been an invaluable experience to me. I have learnt and developed many skills that will be a great attribute to me in my career as a social care practitioner. Some of these skills have included learning how to manage a Person Centred Plan, gaining practical experience in solving a wide variety of cases involving people with intellectual disabilities, improving my overall knowledge on disability awareness and most importantly learning that I can make a positive impact in any social care field that I wish to pursue. I am fully aware that becoming a successful, fully trained social care worker does not happen overnight but takes years of hard work and practice. However, seeing the positive impact that I can make of peoples lives with my career is the inspiration I need to go on and succeed. It is a long journey to get where I want to be, one that started years ago and is set to continue for a good time to come. This journey will change wh o I am, will change who I will become but only for the better. With the knowledge that I am gaining from my social care class, the lessons I am learning about myself I am sure that I will evolve into a fully competent and successful social care practitioner. Personal Learning Account Profile For the purpose of this placement, I have received a position in RehabCare Cavan, working with the Programme Facilitators at the facility. RehabCare is the health and social care division of the Rehab Group. Their aim is to enhance the lives of all of their clients through the provision of high quality, flexible, person centred services. They presently provide and are developing a number of services, including Resource Centres, Residential Services, Respite Care, Supported Accommodation and Home Based Services for people with disabilities. The role of the Programme Facilitator in the facility is to report to the Community Service Manager through the Programmes Supervisor. The Programme Facilitators facilitate service users in their choices, developing programmes within the context of a person centred model of service delivery. The programmes may include independent living, personal development and occupational and leisure activities within the context of a quality of life model. For this placement, there are a number of personal attributes and learned knowledge which will assist in getting maximum benefit from completing placement with the Programme Facilitators. Some personal attributes which play an important role in the social care role are patience, understanding, kindness and the ability to apply learned knowledge to a specific situation. Having talked to one of the Programme Facilitators I also became aware that being open-minded, compassionate flexible and a good listener play particularly important roles in this service. These are all equally important attributes as at different times they can individually and collectively be the difference between dealing well any given situation in comparison to dealing poorly with it. Due to the unfortunate discrimination that, many of the older service users received when they were younger, the Programme Facilitator must take an understanding therapeutic approach when working with these service users. For this to be successful the Programme Facilitator must apply Carl Rogers conditions for the outcome to be successful. Rogers created three conditions which a service user must believe are present b efore a therapeutic relationship can develop. These are empathetic understanding, congruence and unconditional positive regard (Sherry and Lalor, 2009). The skills and knowledge that I gained through Creative Studies (both art and drama), will play a great role in helping me assist the Programme Facilitators, in trying to ensure the service users get the best experience possible from the service. Arts and Crafts as well as drama are programmes which receive a lot of focus from the Programme Facilitators at the facility. A good understanding of people with disabilities which I gained from modules, such as Issues in Social Care and Theories in Social Care along with, reading Applied Social Care by Perry Share and Kevin Lalor will assist me throughout my placement. Also the knowledge that I gained doing woodwork in secondary school will be of great benefit, as the Programme Supervisor is planning on starting up a woodwork programme for the service users but no Programme Facilitator has any experience in the field. Communication plays a crucial role in working in RehabCare or any organisation which is designed to fit the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities. Listening is a function which we do every day without paying much notice to the information we are obtaining. However, in a facility such as RehabCare the ability to listen to clients and then digest what they are saying is of crucial importance. The ability to listen attentively to service users problems and concerns and to then support them in whatever form necessary is a skill that cannot be replaced. Considering the fragile state of mind of many of the service users you must always be compassionate when listening to them and your response must be swift. Needs Analysis Within the learning contract there are a number of objectives identified as part of key learning. Enclosed in the professional learning objectives, the task is outlined of using and critiquing social care theories. As a second year social care student I felt that it was important for me to identify theories and then critique them and recognise limitations within the theories structure and their application to real life situations. My personal learning objectives surrounded interactions with the service users. I was lacking confidence and very unsure of myself when I first started my placement. The staff were very supportive though and within a few days I found my confidence improved dramatically and with it so did my effectiveness in helping the staff and having a controlling but compassionate authority over the service users. I became firm and assertive when dealing with problematic service users and fights between them. I hope my abilities and confidence continue to grow in this ar ea which will leave me in a very strong position by the time my placement is completed. Showing Unconditional Positive Regard towards some of the service users is something I struggled with for the first few days. It was left difficult when service users were constantly rude, disruptive and fighting. I have felt myself improving though and believe over the next few weeks I will have perfected it. During my induction week I had numerous policies and procedures to familiarise myself with. There are policies and procedures regarding health and safety, fire evacuation, risk management, prevent and control, child and adult protection, swine flu, confidentiality, medication policy and staff supervision etc. A basic knowledge of these policies and procedures is paramount in order for me to play an effective and positive role during my placement. Action Planning and Activity Throughout the course of this placement, I shall partake in a number of activities with the service users, which will assist me in meeting my learning objectives. Areas of activity include practical work such as arts and crafts and woodwork while sports and drama both play key roles in the centre too. Communication skills and independent living skills have a high priority too, as RehabCare is an organisation, designed to bridge the gap from full support to independent living. Assisting the programme facilitators in training the service users through these programmes, I felt I would meet my learning objectives. The programmes are usually done on a 10(service users)-2(programme facilitator and myself) basis. I will have several opportunities to practice my communication skills as I will have to give my input and express my opinion in different cases involving different service users and different programme facilitators. Through the communications programme I will also get a chance to train some of the users in the basic forms of communication, i.e. teach them how to, write a letter to a friend, use the telephone and practice various verbal and non- verbal communication skills. During the placement it is highly important that I test a number of theories which I learned through academic means. Through applying theories to real life situations, and recognising when a theory is used, the applicability and usefulness of the theory should be examined. As a social care student, the ability to recognise the limitations within theories will assist in identifying the best practice for the service user. I can practice this in different programmes and in free time that I spend just talking to the service users. Throughout placement knowledge of policies and procedures surrounding disability awareness will be obtained through dealing with the different cases and service users. I will have to familiarise myself with all government and RehabCare policies and procedures. I shall also become aware of them through hands on work throughout the duration of my placement. Evaluation A consideration of the learning goals following the completion of the placement, there is a sense of achievement as I believe all learning goals were reached and an in dept knowledge of disability awareness and the role of a programme facilitator were gained. I believe I successfully completed identifying and applying theories. I was very happy with my supervision classes as I was able to discuss with my supervisor what I did well and what I did not so well. I was able to discuss troubling issues which I had witnessed and discover the background stories and mental reasons for such incidents arising. Treating the service users with empathy and unconditional positive regard proved crucial time and time again as I managed to keep the service users trust in compromising and threatening situations. It also allowed some of the service users to open up about their feelings and their lives. Due to their mental disabilities some service users wouldnt disclose such information while others would have without being treated with empathy or unconditional positive regard. They didnt know any different. An example of where these theories didnt work was when a service user threatened violence against both myself and the staff members in the centre. This situation arose on numerous occasions. There was a considerable improvement in my communication skills throughout my placement. I was slightly shy on my first day in the centre both with staff and the service users. It took me the length of the induction week to overcome this shyness and be able to give a genuine account of myself. By the time my placement was completed shyness was a problem of the past and communication was free flowing between me and the service users. An example of this communication is when I took programmes with up to ten service users and took a teacher like approach with them. I regularly took the writing skills programme which involved me stand

King Arthur: The Man Behind The Name Essay example -- English Literatu

King Arthur: The Man Behind The Name King Arthur is a figure surrounded by an aura of myth and mystery. His name evokes visions of knights and gallantry in a bygone era of chivalry and magic. Clear the mist around the myth, however, and the character revealed is a man with flaws like any other. He is human as well as heroic. Arthur has assembled the greatest court of knights in British history, but his own condition and relation to those knights leads to the downfall of his court. Although Arthur and his court are held in highest esteem, time and again he is put into positions where the reader must question just how noble things are in Camelot. King Arthur: Sir Gawain & The Green Knight In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Arthur is described as light-hearted and boyish. He is restless and his "brain so wild. And also a point of pride pricked him in heart." These are not the qualities of a wise king, but rather describe a rash young man. When the Green Knight rides into his court, neither Arthur nor his knights make an attempt to stop him. Arthur does, however, step forward when the Green Knight asks who the captain of the crowd is. He accepts the Green Knight's challenge nobly, yet he also doesn't protest when Sir Gawain offers to take the blow for him. Arthur is noble and proud enough to take a challenge, yet human enough to let his nephew take his place. King Arthur: The Wedding of Sir Gawain & Dame Ragnelle Arthur is hunting a deer in Ingleswood in "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle", when he is found by Sir Gromer Somer Joure. While Arthur has no problem killing the defenseless deer, he persuades Sir Gromer that it would be un-knightly to slay an unarmed man. It is revealed that Arthur has s... ...ogeny. Arthur grovels before Gromer yet faces up to Mordred. He confronts the Green Knight yet defers the challenge to Gawain. He turns his head to Guinevere & Lancelot's deceptions for love of Lancelot and the fellowship of knights. In a legend cycle filled with many symbols, he is a symbol of the humanity of all great men, of all kings past and to come: the once and future king. Credits "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition. Vol. 1. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton 1993 202-254 "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell." In Middle English Verse Romances. Ed. Donald B. Sands. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1966. 323 - 347. Malory, Sir Thomas. The Morte Darthur. Parts Seven and Eight. Ed. D.S. Brewer. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1996. 78 - 79, 136 - 141, 150 -155.

Hamlet :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a play full of sorrow and excitement, its full of gore and incest. The play has a large amount of betrayal and the person supplying most of that is Claudius, the king and Hamlets uncle. Claudius is cold-hearted, full of hate, and a coward. He is the king but, the ironic thing about that is he should not be and as Hamlet is the prince, the death of his father should put him at the throne.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The play starts off with a tense setting, as the guards have seen a ghost that looks like the old king or Hamlets father who they believed had died of a snake bite. This is the showing of the first cruel deed Claudius has done, the reader does not know yet but Claudius is the reason that King Hamlet dies. The reader knows that it is Claudius when Hamlet encounters the ghost and the ghost tells Hamlet, “Thus I was sleeping, by a brothers hand, of life, at crown, of queen, at once dispatch’d.';(1) The meaning of the ghost’s quote is that he is telling Hamlet that Claudius killed him when he was asleep and that he took his crown and his queen. This is the first time the reader really knows that Claudius is cold-hearted and ruthless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After Hamlet heard this, he held a play where the murder of his father is reacted in a scene, that Hamlet himself designed. The purpose of this was to see Claudius’s reaction to the scene to prove if Claudius is the real murderer or not. After Claudius sees the play he storms out of the stage scared and surprised. Claudius then prays to heaven for forgiveness of his sins since he knows that Hamlet has figured out what he has done, he does this so he will not get sent to hell. Claudius says, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.';(2) He is praying for forgiveness but he is not sorry, he just doesn’t want to get sent to hell and that is what the quote is saying, since he is not sorry his words remain below, or on Earth. This further proves how cold-hearted Claudius is, he has killed his brother, taken his crown, taken his wife, has been discovered, and he still does not feel guilty at all about what he has done.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Claudius now knows that Hamlet has figured him out and what he has done, so Claudius plans to send Hamlet away to England with a note for the king of England to have Hamlet killed.

Character of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarle

The Character of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚   In Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter, the pathetic, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is fully aware of the means by which he must liberate his soul from his grave sin. Yet, throughout the story his confession remains an impediment, constraining him, from then onwards, to a life of atonement. Reverend Dimmesdale attempts to divest himself of his guilt by revealing it to his parishioners during services, but somehow never manages to accomplish the task. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is clearly both a coward and a hypocrite    For the most part, Dimmesdale's story is one of a lonely man who has given into temptation and desire. His carnal craving is looked upon with ignominy. The matter is further convoluted by Hester's marriage, and his unwillingness to mar his reputation among the villagers as the faithful and innocent priest. He is now stranded at a crossroad, not knowing whether to confess or carry on a life of self-punishment. The sin begins to gnaw away at his sanity. As a form of penance he partakes in late night vigils, starvation, and self-mutilation. His acts of penance were severe and drained him of much of his life force. Finally becoming fed up with his prolonged misery, he walked unsteadily to the podium to expose his secret, but his confession was ambiguous and inconclusive, and people thought he was speaking about the sins of humanity.    Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has many opportunities to confess.    One of the very first moments available to Dimmesdale to confess was on the scaffolding in the beginning when Hester was publicly humiliated in front of the townspeople. Dimmesdale was preaching to her for hou... ...can be rectified. Some sins are everlasting, and there are no shortcuts to salvation. Sometimes the weight of the sins must penetrate one's soul for eternity.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Baym, Nina. Introduction. The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1986.    Clendenning, John. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed.    Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "The Scarlet Letter." The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1959. 341-371.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1986.    Smiles, Samuel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.    Character of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarle The Character of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚   In Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter, the pathetic, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is fully aware of the means by which he must liberate his soul from his grave sin. Yet, throughout the story his confession remains an impediment, constraining him, from then onwards, to a life of atonement. Reverend Dimmesdale attempts to divest himself of his guilt by revealing it to his parishioners during services, but somehow never manages to accomplish the task. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is clearly both a coward and a hypocrite    For the most part, Dimmesdale's story is one of a lonely man who has given into temptation and desire. His carnal craving is looked upon with ignominy. The matter is further convoluted by Hester's marriage, and his unwillingness to mar his reputation among the villagers as the faithful and innocent priest. He is now stranded at a crossroad, not knowing whether to confess or carry on a life of self-punishment. The sin begins to gnaw away at his sanity. As a form of penance he partakes in late night vigils, starvation, and self-mutilation. His acts of penance were severe and drained him of much of his life force. Finally becoming fed up with his prolonged misery, he walked unsteadily to the podium to expose his secret, but his confession was ambiguous and inconclusive, and people thought he was speaking about the sins of humanity.    Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has many opportunities to confess.    One of the very first moments available to Dimmesdale to confess was on the scaffolding in the beginning when Hester was publicly humiliated in front of the townspeople. Dimmesdale was preaching to her for hou... ...can be rectified. Some sins are everlasting, and there are no shortcuts to salvation. Sometimes the weight of the sins must penetrate one's soul for eternity.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Baym, Nina. Introduction. The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1986.    Clendenning, John. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed.    Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "The Scarlet Letter." The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1959. 341-371.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1986.    Smiles, Samuel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.   

Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird Book Essay

Courage, you have probably heard of this word before but what does it actually mean? Well, according to dictionary.com, an online dictionary, courage means the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is evidently portrayed when Atticus does what no white man would ever dare to do in those days, lest they be scorned by the community. Atticus had the courage to stand up for a Negro, a black, Tom Robinson. This happened in chapter 17 to chapter 22. Courage, to me previously was just being brave and nothing else. However, after reading about Atticus act of standing up for Tom Robinson, I realized that courage is actually more than bravery. It is also daring to do what no other person would have done. It is about taking risks, regardless of the outcome, that you will do your best. Atticus had himself subjected to the exile of majority of the white community after he took that risk of standing up for Tom Robinson. In To Kill a Mockingbird, courage is described in different ways. â€Å"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.† Chapter 11, Page 118. Harper Lee portrays courage in this manner, to explain for Atticus defending of Tom Robinson later on in the story. Harper Lee also portrays courage in this way, such that she tells the readers that courage is not of a physical thing, like shooting the mad dog, but rather, on a more intellectual scale. The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it – whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash. Chapter 23, Page 227. Atticus understands the lack of courage which most white men have in those days. They cheat black people everyday of their lives, for fear of being scorned by the community. As Atticus says, no matter how rich that WHITE man is, the moment he mocks a black, that lack of courage not to stand up for him, that man is trash. So it took an eight-year-old child to bring ’em to their senses†¦. That proves something – that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children. Chapter 16, Page 163. This is not a direct quote but rather an indirect quote to what Scout previously did. Scout had the courage to save her father. She stood up, an eight year old, against a gang of adults and brought a gang of wild animals to their senses. Scout did bravely what her father had no courage to do. It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived. Chapter 11, Page 106. Scout said this when Atticus was friendly towards Mrs. Dubose, one of the meanest ladies in Maycomb. Harper Lee, through this statement, portrays courage as being brave in the face of danger; this danger being Mrs. Dubose, who is not exactly fond of Atticus and is always criticizing him through his children. Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives. Chapter 31, Page 284. Boo Radley had the courage to save Jem and Scout, he had GIVEN them their lives. Boos courage was probably one of the most tear-jerking moments in the story. Boo Radley was portrayed as a psychopath and one that would TAKE peoples lives. He did quite the opposite with Jem and Scout. Boo finally took the courage to prove wrong the citizens suspicions and went to the rescue of Jem and Scout. Boo was a hero. Finally, the setting of Maycomb contributes greatly to the theme of courage as Harper Lee portrays Maycomb as a Negro-hating society, one which has no one that bothers to stand up for Negroes and a psychopath that has a thing  for killing. Atticus and Boo himself break this spell of a scared Maycomb by Atticus standing up for a Negro and Boo saving the lives of the two children. The setting was probably most crucial in portraying courage as one of the main themes in the story. All in all, I think Harper Lee was trying to bring across the message that courage is not just about being brave, not just physically, but also being mentally strong and ultimately, daring to take the greatest of risks just like what Atticus did when he stood up for Tom Robinson. After reading the text, I am very convinced that Harper Lee was able to bring across a stirring ad convincing message that courage is not what we actually think of it and that there is much more to that. Source(s): http://www.dictionary.comTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

American Agricultural Industry

By looking at the historical highs and lows and the American agricultural sector, these constitute a success story. The early 1900’s saw the golden age of agriculture with many thriving farmlands across the United States. With many farms, competition heightened and together with other economic factors resulted to the decline in the agricultural sector in the late 1920s up to the early 1930s resulting to the bankruptcy of many small farms. Abandoned lands became residential and commercial areas while the farms that remained became large farmlands that grew because of technological advancements.This transformed the composition of the agricultural sector from many small to medium farmlands to niches of large farmlands driven by large capital investments and technological development. Government policies conducive to the growth of the agricultural sector also contributed to the further development of the agricultural sector. Although many small farms closed, the long-term impact o f changes in the agricultural sector is the decline in farm poverty because of higher productivity and lower prices from the abatement of competition to a certain extent.Although, contemporary agricultural sector has not regained the position it reached during its golden age, growth is sustainable. (Gardner 1-3) The present agricultural sector survived because of four factors. First is capital investments, in which the banking and financial sector played an important part. Second is sustained productivity due to the development of technological tools and processes. Third is government support for researches in the agricultural sector to support sound policymaking.Fourth are the price-support programs of the government for stability that benefits farm owners by enabling them to gain sufficient profits to sustain continued production as well as consumers through lower prices so that food constitutes less than ten percent of the budget of consumption of American households. (Gardner 33 7) Methods of Production and Distribution Production and distribution in the American agricultural varies between the large and small farms.In the case of the large farms, the method of production targets the mass market and takes advantage of economies of scale and the mode of distribution is through mass- marketing outlets such as large supermarkets and other retail venues widely accessible to consumers. There are large farms that have been able to produce more than one agricultural product and these distribute products within economies of scope by bundling complementary goods. Large farms achieve economies of scale by using high-technology tools and processes and taking advantage of the abundance of workers in the labor market.Production in large farms use tractors to till land, small planes to spread pesticides over vast tracts of land, regulated water sprinklers, and other implements or even biotechnology by using pest or weather resistant varieties of seeds, vaccines for lives tock, and weight control systems. Although these involve costs, it is only on a one-time basis with cost-savings accruing in the long-term, and technology supports mass production. Large farms also depend on contractual workers for the necessary manual work and the abundance of unskilled labor especially coming from Mexico has allowed farms to cut back on cost.Due to cost-efficiency, large farms are able to cut-down on production costs and ensure high yields resulting to the ability to offer competitive market prices. As such, large farms are able to gain large supermarkets as distribution channels by offering a bigger mark-up price and gains for the retailers. (Paul and Nehring 526-528) In the case of the small, farms, production depends on its cost structure, revenue generation, and market so that methods of production implements basic technological tools and processes together with manual labor.The low scale of production of small farms led to niche marketing targeting only a lim ited market to ensure sales. Distribution channels are through on-site retail outlets, groceries, and specialty stores. (Paul and Nehring 526-528) Market Structure and Concentration Market structure of the American agricultural industry experienced greater degrees of concentration. Technological developments have segmented the American agricultural industry into two groups.One are the limited number of large farms that, in a way, can be considered as operating within an oligopoly or even nearing monopoly, except only for the government prerogatives to intervene to protect public policy. The other is small farms operating in an atomistic structure so that these do not have any significant effect on prices. There is a wide gap between the large and small farms in terms of productivity and market impact, with the large firms operating with large capital and employing high technology processes while households usually run small farms with limited workers using technological tools that f it their expenditure range.This resulted to high barriers to entry and exit. Contrary to estimates, the number of farms in the American agriculture sector experienced little change in the number of players since there are around 2. 1 million farms remaining with an average of . 25 percent decline rate. This is because the large firms have remained stable with expansion through the mergers or the acquisition of small farms. Movement occurs in the case of small firms through the entry of small farms specializing on certain agricultural products for niche markets to succeed in becoming part of the agricultural market.In addition, the difference in farmland also widened with the large farms producing on more than 1,000 acres of land while small farms only have less than 50 acres. (Ahearn, Yee, Korb 1182) Due to the segmentation of the American agricultural sector into a few large farms and many small farms, agricultural production is concentrated in the large firms contributing two-thir ds to the primary agricultural production in the United States of grains, fruits and vegetables, and livestock. The remaining one-third comes from small farms. (Ahearn, Yee, Korb 1183)Degree of Foreign Competition The degree of foreign competition in agricultural trade has grown because of the rise in the importation of agricultural products by the United States. This means that foreign competition has escalated due to the entry of agricultural imports, especially from developing countries. Projections show that in the next years the balance of trade would tip in favor of agricultural imports. During the 1980s up to the early 1990s, the United States is a string player in the export of agricultural products so that exports exceeded imports.By the mid-1990s, the surplus in agriculture trade has declined from $27. 3 billion to $10. 5 billion so that even if agricultural exports continue to increase, the volume of imports is also doubling. This was due to the rise in agricultural expor t prices as the American economy experienced growth. Economic growth also fuelled agricultural imports since Americans had the income to purchase foreign products that flooded the market due to price differences. (Jerardo) Now, growth and patterns of consumption would further fuel the growth in the imports of agricultural products.Rise in consumption together with the growing exposure of American consumers to international cuisine would continue to favor the importation of agricultural products. The consumption of foreign agricultural products should increase from 13 percent in the next years. (Jerardo) The major competitors of the United States in agricultural trade are China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and other agriculture-based economies in Latin America. These countries have large populations but these are also primarily agricultural economies owing to favorable climate conditions and low labor cost.Raw agricultural products come from Mexico and the Latin American countries becau se of geographic proximity while processed foods, which comprise 62 percent of food consumption of Americans, come from China, India and Indonesia. (Jerardo) Industry Leaders The agricultural sector in the United States is a mix of sub-sectors such as livestock or fruits and vegetables, seeds or feeds, packing or processing, and research and development. The industry leaders have stakes in many or all of these sub-sectors to ensure their competitiveness, industry position, and market share.Leaders in the agricultural sector comprise not really of the owners of farmlands but the firms controlling the agricultural sectors encompassing production, harvesting, processing, packaging, transport, and export of agricultural products. Large farms and agricultural firms have created clusters to gain access to these different sub-sectors. The clustering is dynamic depending on the shifts brought about by mergers and acquisitions. Currently, there are three clusters comprising the leading agric ultural sector players. (Helper 1288) Cargill/Monsanto.Cargill is a large firm engaged in the seed operations including research. It has a large capitalization and control over farmlands along the Ohio and Illinois River basin. Cargill purchased continental grain to gain access to corn, wheat and soybeans production along the Mississippi River for export. Monsanto is widely engaged in biotechnology and it has acquired patent over genetic products that ensure better yields through more resistant agricultural produce. Cargill entered into a joint venture with Monsanto in 1998 to gain access to the patented genetic products by offering its large capitalization as incentive.Cargill/Monsanto focuses on the production, processing, packaging, marketing, and export of seeds as well as corn, wheat and soybean products. (Heffernan) ConAgra is engaged in various sub-sectors as a top-three flour miller, top-four corn miller, top-three live stock feed producer, top-two in cattle slaughtering, to p-three pork processor, and top-five broiler producer and processor. United Agri Products, a subsidiary also engages in seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural chemicals as well as biotechnology. It has its own packaging and processing plants as well as land and water transportation subsidiaries.It collaborated with ADM for the operation of a grain export facility. ConAgra also has a stake in production, processing, distribution and export of grains and livestock. (Heffernan) Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) constitutes the largest processor of agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, wheat and cocoa. It collaborates with farm cooperatives to obtain raw agricultural products for processing or gained shares in firms engaged in agricultural production such as Growmark, Countrymark, United Grain, and Riceland.It has expanded into the other sub-sectors through a join venture with Novartis to gain access to seeds, biotechnology, and agricultural chemicals. It has also engaged in the raising, slaughtering and processing of livestock through joint ventures with Consolidated Nutrition and AGP. ADM has also been able to participate in the major sub-sectors. (Heffernan) Thus, the agricultural sector in the United States operates through corporate farming. Scarcity of Land Scarcity of agricultural land the in the United States pertains to the land use conversion and degradation of agricultural lands due to the use of chemicals.Land conversion decreases farm size while land degradation reduces productivity or causes shift in production from one agricultural product to another. This also pertains to the comparison of agricultural production with the consumption of agricultural products. In the United States, agricultural lands constitutes 46 percent of the land base, which remains a significant percentage share considering the massive industrialization of economic sectors. Of the 2. 3 billion acres of land comprising the United States, 442 million acres compris e croplands and more than 500 million acres of farmsteads, pastures and ranges.Conversion of agricultural lands is not significant so that in the past thirty years, only six percent of agricultural lands have been converted for other purposes. In terms of land degradation, reports have not raised alarm on the rate of land degradation. In terms of food consumption, the increase in food imports is fuelled by change in consumption patterns and not the inability of agricultural lands to support the food needs of Americans. Moreover, the U. S. remains a major food exported. Land scarcity does not constitute a major problem in the American agricultural sector.(Brady) Impact of Ethanol Production on Wheat Production and Cost to Consumers The government has implemented a fixed subsidy on ethanol at a floor rate of 40 cents for every gallon and a ceiling rate of 60 cents per gallon. The subsidy served as an incentive for production of ethanol as an alternative source of fuel in the United St ates. Relative to price of crude oil, ethanol is slightly cheaper depending on the volume of production. However, in the early 2000s, the price of crude oil skyrocketed to as much as $80 per barrel.The huge difference in price opened opportunities for the expansion of ethanol production because of the fixed subsidy together with the room for price increase that would still be below crude oil prices but constituting significantly higher prices than its previous market offering. This means that some farmers have shifted to the sowing of raw materials of ethanol leading to a decrease in the number of farmers and farmlands producing agricultural products. This in turn led to the rise in the prices of agricultural products such as wheat and even soybeans.In addition, other alternative sources of energy have gained momentum such as corn. Although corn receives lower subsidy compared to ethanol, the engagement of the agricultural sector in alternative sources of energy could significantly affect the volume of production of other agricultural products that would prove costly for consumers in the form of higher food prices. This effect has led to the emergence of the issue of food-fuel prioritization. (Tyner and Taheripour 1303) This is yet to be resolved and this would continue to become an issue in the agricultural sector until the next decade.Conclusion Outlook for the American agricultural sector in the future points to a positive situation because the United States would continue to become a major player in agricultural exports while providing agricultural products to the domestic market. However, there are a number of policy issues that requires due consideration. First, forecasts of balance of trade shows a further decline in agricultural trade surplus with some even suggesting the probability of trade deficit.This is because even if agricultural production experiences growth, the flood of imported food products could be greater, especially when these food produ cts become cheaper as the price of domestically grown agricultural products increase. This will have a significant adverse impact on the American agricultural sector. Even if there is no food shortage, the flooding of cheaper agricultural products could contribute to the decline in the agricultural sector. The government needs to assess its import policies to balance consumer demand with the viability of the agricultural sector.Second, land use and agricultural production needs assessment, since this falls within federal and state regulation, especially in the context of the food-fuel debate. The rising prices of agricultural products could be eased through the application of a flexible instead of a fixed subsidy rate together with the continued investment in research and development to justify the continuation of subsidies for ethanol and even the focus on fuel from corn. It has been thirty years since the government started implementing subsidies on ethanol but ethanol as an alter ative fuel has yet to become a commercial source of energy as intended.Thus, government policies on price support and agricultural research has played an important role in the growth of the American agricultural sector and this will not change in the future since the issues faced by the agricultural sector fall within the area of policymaking and subject to government regulation. Works Cited Ahearn, Mary Clare, Jet Yee, and Penni Korb. â€Å"Effects of Differing Farm Policies on Farm Structure and Dynamics. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 87. 5 (2007): 1182-1189. 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Tyner, Wallance, and Farzad Taheripour. â€Å"Renewable Energy Policy Alternatives for the Future. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 89. 5 (2007): 1303-1310.