Monday, September 30, 2019

What Goes Around Comes Around (Karma)

If one would want to examine one’s self about the meaning of a word or phrase by comparison with what others mean with the word or phrase, one will find confirmation of similarity or change in meaning in relation to time. Given such thesis, this essay intends to validate that same by exploring my own assumptions and beliefs about a certain concept or phrase by,   discovering what I believe about and how those ideas have been formed in me, and exploring outside viewpoints of the topic using contemporary and/or literary figures, politicians, poets, authors, media images, institutions, history books, etc.Exploration of self: What I think and feel about the phrase â€Å"What Goes Around Comes Around (Around).†?As I use the new version of software in the Internet, the computer flashes a message: â€Å"Paying is a good karma.†Ã‚   The word ‘karma’ enters into my mind that if there could is good karma, there must be bad karma.   Before my encounter of t he phrase of good karma, the meaning of the word karma for me was negative that whatever error or mistake one must have done will really come back to haunt one back.   The word ‘karma’ or the phrase ‘what goes around comes around’ serves as self-evaluation that would result of self-judgment.   Sometimes, the self judges very harshly, hence , one could just imagine the tendency that I may have done just to avoid the word ‘karma’ before it comes to mind that there could some good in it.   The experience has therefore brought me into the reality of experiencing the meaning of words into my life that though as one is just a word; it carries a message that could turn on or off one’s mood in a day.   This is not surprising because I believe that man is created also an emotional being although he is endowed with a rational mind.   What is to interesting with emotion is that is what one feels at the moment and most of the sometimes, wh at one feels is more powerful than what one thinks.  In trying therefore to reflect on the meaning of karma in this paper, I have to admit that words or phrases could change or could have different meaning at different times.   Thus the need to have updated dictionaries.   Let us apply on how Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘karma’ in two ways.   One definition for the word goes this way: â€Å"From the Sanskrit word (meaning ‘action' or ‘effect') used in Hinduism and Buddhism to refer to the principle by which a person's actions in this world determine the fate that awaits him or her after death.   In English the word is sometimes used more loosely to refer to the processes of destiny, and it has sometimes been chosen as a given name with reference to this idea.†[1] Its other definition goes this way: â€Å"the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as affecting their future fate.†[2]   Comparing the two definitions by the same dictionary does not make much difference as to the meaning referring to after life consequences.Exploration of other viewpoints about the phrase and how the meaning of the phrase or word ‘karma’ has changed over time, how the phrase was formed, etc.Let us take what other old viewpoints using the phrase ‘What comes around goes around’ or word ‘karma’ and let us take still another who has used the phrase in the context of a given statement.   There is such phrases as law of Karma under various names and this include â€Å"the law of compensation†; â€Å"the law of balance†; † the law of action and re-action†.[3] One could easily get some connection with the author’s explanation of the term as bringing it judgment, correcting all wrongs, punishing all vices, and rewarding all virtues.   The inevitability of cause and effect means and ends, and seed and fruit ar e simply there.   A man’s normal reading of that interpretation by the author would be to look at the cause if something could be done so that the necessary good effect will come out.   One this note therefore the word ‘karma’ from 1894 had had already a positive or negative meaning’ and as I now realize, it may be that I was not that attentive of its meaning then.   I mean, the term could mean also to be positive and not just negative.Ward explained further the use of the term ‘karma; allows equating it with the law as justice, and when viewed in its applications,   Ã‚  an action of an individual has with it retribution.   If such is the case, there is also reason to agree with authors’ conclusion that â€Å"every secret is told, every crime is punished, every virtue rewarded, every wrong redressed, in silence and certainty.†[4]One could see from karma that nothing comes by accident, that what one reaps, what he or she has so wn. There is therefore a universal rule that giving love brings further love.   Sowing brings further reaping.   In more concrete application, it may mean money begets money.The phrase â€Å"What goes around†¦Ã‚   Comes Around† happened to be the third single from Justin Timberlake's second solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds which was released in 2006.[5] People who could relate with the song may interpret the part ‘going around’ as where Timberlake mourned how his ex-lover may have wounded him and in ‘coming around’ as referring how the law of balance came into effect, as Timberlake’s ex-lover new boyfriend now treat said ex-lover in like manner the woman treated Timberlake in the ‘going around’ portion of the song.Synthesis of two partsComparing my personal experience and other’s viewpoints with the word or phrase puts me now into the questions: ‘Do I have a different connotation of the word or phrase with the irs?   What, if any?   If there is no difference, justify.’I feel that the meaning of the word to me changed overtime as how others may have changed it. Phrases or terms or words are just means to communicate meanings .When one encounters how a word or phrase is meant by other   the person so encountered, he or she also makes a meaning out of how he or she understood the word or phrase in the outside world.  Ã‚   When that new meaning comes into the person, the latter could use the word in a sentence or in expressing thoughts to others.   When many people agree about the usage of phrase of terms or word these agreements and confirmations, produce a part of culture.   This is when people adjust with other members of society as to giving birth to the general acceptability of the word.[6]It could be said that difference in the meanings of the word ‘karma’ was not really meant in 1894.[7]   Ã‚  It was my mind who created a difference of the meaning beca use of my lack of exposure to the meaning of karma, that there could also be a good karma not just good karma.   This therefore   brings me another reality that knowledge of one thing or even a simple word and its meaning to every one vary across different people until that person realizes that he or she must understand what others really give to that word so that person could actually relate under a bigger world.   If the world speaks with one word or one language, perhaps the world could be a more peaceful world.   But across cultures are different languages with different words that may have different meanings.Conclusion:There is basis to uphold the thesis that if one would want to examine one’s self about the meaning of a word or phrase by comparison with what others mean with the word or phrase, one will find confirmation of similarity or change in meaning in relation to time.Confirmation of similarity or change in meaning requires one to be honest about the true meaning of the word to himself or herself. After accepting the truth, one must be ready to what is meant by the word or phrase as accepted by majority of people.   The best proof of this is the use of dictionary, which implies that the word may have its meaning reached the point of general acceptability[8].   This may not be hard to understand as human beings communicate using words or terms, and by them, the people’s experience of the word or phrase will be given recognition and acceptance.   I believe that words are defined and used in dictionaries, which may have evolved and changed over time including the chance of expanding the original meaning and even eventually returning to the old meaning.Works Cited:David Kaufer, Suguru Ishizaki, Brian Butler, Jeff Collins, The Power of Words: Unveiling the Speaker and Writer's Hidden Craft ; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004Mark Guarino, M.;   Out from the Cocoon Timberlake Re-emerges without Squeaky Clean Image; Daily Her ald (Arlington Heights, IL), August 24, 2006New Fowler's Modern English Usage, Magazine article; The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 278, December 1996Oxford University Press, Compact Oxford English Dictionary,2007 {www document} URL http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/karma?view=uk, Accessed May 29,2007Ward, P.C. Emerson and Theosophy, A Paper read before the Chiswick Lodge of the Theosophical Society ,December 12th, 1892, 1894 {www document}   http://www.theosophical.ca/EmersonTheosophyPCW.html, Accessed May 29,2007Oxford University Press, (2007)  IbidWard, Emerson and Theosophy by P.C. Ward, F.T.S.   A Paper read before the Chiswick Lodge of the Theosophical Society ,December 12th, 1892, 1894 {www document}   http://www.theosophical.ca/EmersonTheosophyPCW.html, Accessed May 29,2007  IbidGuarino,   Out from the Cocoon Timberlake Re-emerges without Squeaky Clean Image; Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), August 24, 2006 New Fowler's Modern English Usage , Magazine article; The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 278, December 1996 Ward, Emerson and Theosophy, see above David Kaufer, Suguru Ishizaki, Brian Butler, Jeff Collins, The Power of Words: Unveiling the Speaker and Writer's Hidden Craft ; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Case Analysis Questions on Leadership Online (a): Barnes & Noble vs. Amazon.Com

Q1: Summarize Barnes & Noble’s business strategy and business model based in the case descriptions. How have these strategy and business model been evolved since the case was written? Barnes & Noble’s business model simply put was lower cost, and SCM. They sold merchandise at lower cost and they also decreased cost associated with procurement by obtaining better discounts from publishers than other book retailers and by publishing certain titles themselves. Since Barnes & Noble’s held a huge portion of the market share they were able to leverage scales of economies when it came to reducing costs. Lastly, they were able to achieve reduced inventory cost through the business perks provided to them such as longer payment terms and access to books in short supply. Barnes & Noble’s business strategy was to use economies of scale and economies of scope. They used economies of scale through procurement and logistics. Since they were able to get bigger discounts from publishers they were able to produce more revenue when selling merchandise. As far as economies of scope is concerned one can clearly see that Barnes & Noble’s implemented this because they offered other services and they acquired other companies as well as certain percentage stakes in them. They acquired a mail-order book business, a membership club, and a 20% stake in Canada’s largest book retailer to try and broaden their scope. I think one can argue that Barnes & Noble’s business strategy and business model in theory hasn’t changed (I. e. that they use economies of scale still) that they just added new products or services; however, I‘ll make the argument that both has changed. Barnes & Noble realized how big the virtual storefront became so not only did they try to create an on-line presence they also created the nook an e-reader device. They self-manufacture this product along with a couple other devices and currently sell them in their stores. They are aggressive in trying to obtain portions of market share in the virtual book retailing industry. Also in June 2011 consumer reports stated that the nook beat the kindle (amazon e-reader device) by one point. So it is apparent that Barnes & Noble is changing their business strategy and model we’ll just have to wait and see how successful they are. Q2: Summarize Amazon. com’s business strategy and business model based in the case descriptions. How have these strategy and business model been evolved since the case was written? The case describes Amazon. com’s business model as â€Å"sell all, carry few†. What that means is that Amazon will make money though SCM and though reduced cost. Amazon was able to achieve reduced or low inventory cost by only carrying a few select titles in their own warehouse in Seattle while offering over one million titles though publishers and wholesalers. Their business strategy revolved around virtual economies of scale. Amazon was able to sell a lot of books at lowers prices by leveraging their buying power with publishers and wholesalers. Amazon. com’s business strategy and business model have expanded a bit. As far as business strategy is concerned amazon is now offering a variety of services and products such as cloud services and other products that aren’t books. Amazon also just implemented a trade in service were you can trade cell phones, video games, and other electronics and books for an Amazon gift card. So this will put them under implementing economies of scope. Their business model is following the same path as there are making money from their new services and by leveraging their buying power with other non-book products. One can also argue that they followed the one of a kind business strategy by offering products through a virtual storefront as opposed to the traditional brinks and motor. Q3: In your opinion, how well did Barnes & Noble counter the moves that Amazon. com had made (up to when the case was written)? How about now? How is Barnes & Noble doing vis-a-vis Amazon. com? I think Barnes & Noble did very well in countering Amazon. com’s moves. They created College Bookstores, a student oriented on-line book site. They also launched a new transaction system as well as launch their own web-site and make a deal with AOL. They also embarked on other system develop projects and marketing ventures. However, even though Barnes & Noble made good stride I don’t believe many of their ideas were successful. Jump into 2012 Barnes & Noble is still competing with Amazon. om and I think they’re doing ok but Amazon. com is playing chess with them and using economies of scope to capitalize on other opportunities. As I mentioned earlier a June 2011 consumer reports stated that the nook (Barnes & Noble) beat the kindle (amazon e-reader device) by one point. As far as overall health of the two companies is concerned I created a bar chart below to depict important factors off of their balance sheets. T he information is current as of Sep. 2011. According to the two balance sheets it seems that Amazon is doing a lot better than Barnes and Noble. If I had to make a prediction I would put my money with Barnes and Noble. Also please note that Table one figures represents millions. Q4: Based on the case and your own research, how do you characterize the competition in the bookselling industry in 2000 and 2011? Applying the Porter’s Five-Force model, which forces are impacting most on the profitability of firms? The competition in the book selling industry is slowly increasing with new entrants and substitute products coming into the market. I would characterize the competition as increasing and becoming more dynamic as book retailers are using the economies of scope strategy to look for new streams of revenue. Applying Porter’s five-force model to the book retailing industry, there are two or three of them that are having the most impact on the book retailing industry. First, is threat of new entrants. Over the past few years there have been a couple of noticeable new entrants in the market, for instance Bilbo, half. com, and AbeBooks just to mention a few. These new entrants are fighting for a piece of the market share, thus likely taking market share from the major players such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There also an increasing market with e-books or electronic books. This would fall under threat of substitute products or services in Porter’s five-force model. People are increasingly adapting to using e-books. There are also specific devices such as the kindle and nook that facilitate their usage. Even DePaul University is adopting such technology with their e-book program (books 24Ãâ€"7 and others). I don’t believe the buyers and suppliers parts of the model are having a huge impact because I would imagine that the company with the biggest market share would still have the most bargaining power when negotiating with the two; however, the entrance of e-books does add a dynamic aspect to the SCM part of the industry. I fi would venture to guess I would say that Barnes & Nobles will eventually go out of business unless business and that Amazon. com will survive as they pursue economies of scale by offering cloud services along with other potential revenue generators.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Personal Development Planning (PDP) Assignmant Essay - 3

Personal Development Planning (PDP) Assignmant - Essay Example Individuals who can use personal time management techniques may lead richer lives than others both in terms of what they achieve and how much time they have for leisure activities with their families or on their own. Time management skills also teach an individual to work better under pressure, mitigate the effects of stress generated by time pressures and to function at full capacity when there is a time crunch placed on them (Cook, 1998). In this way, through planning, organization, forecasting and time allotment for various tasks, a person can come to terms with how they are going to spend time achieving certain goals. These goals can be work related whereby a person can break up a given task into smaller segments linked with time based deadlines which can let a person know if they need to work faster or if they can slow down a little to review and try and improve their quality. By balancing work with the given time, a person can overcome the problem of procrastination and handle intense workloads without breaking a sweat (Cook, 1998). The fundamental guidelines of time management focus on getting a certain level of results within a given time. Mismanagement of time would be spending time on quite a few different activities where none of the given tasks are completed and no results can be shown. There is a rule of time management known as the eighty-twenty rule which suggests that most of the unfocused energy (80%) towards a given task only produces minor (20%) of the results. On the other hand, a little (20%) focused time and energy can produce a lot (80%) of the results (Cook, 1998). Planning and completing tasks with time management skills in mind can help individuals focus their energies so they can handle more work in less time. Instead of waiting mental and physical effort on needless tasks a person can focus on things which are urgent, important and need to

Friday, September 27, 2019

Performance Management and Job Evaluation Essay

Performance Management and Job Evaluation - Essay Example (Ivancevich, 2006) There are a number of methods of job evaluation; such as Job Ranking, Job Classification, Point Method and Factor Comparison method. In this paper, the point method would be employed for the comparison of the given jobs. The said method is chosen because, this is a quantitative measure, and thus the elements of subjectivity are removed. This can be applied to a wide range of jobs. Moreover, this can be applied for the newly created jobs equally well. However, there are certain limitations in this method too, thus it is assumed that the pays are accurately assigned for each job and there were no biases while assigning the pay for each factor. (Armstrong and Barron, 2004) Following are the steps followed to determine the relative worth of the product, followed by respective rationales. In this method, a set of the factor are identified that should be compensated. These factors are broadly classified into following categories. There are some jobs where the experience is essential, such as those involving some unstructured or semi structured decision making. Higher the requirement of asset, high the productivity and thus there should be higher compensation for it. If the mental effort is required, it should be paid higher than the requirement f physical effort. ... The more non-routine abilities required, the grater should be the compensation. Responsibilities If the responsibilities are broader, such as the responsibility to supervise as well, it should be paid higher. Dominant Effort If the mental effort is required, it should be paid higher than the requirement f physical effort. It is so because; the mental effort requires more education and experience so as to be able to take semi-structured and unstructured decisions. Working Conditions If the working conditions are not conducive, the employee should be paid higher. The next step is to determine the various levels for each of the factors determined previously. The levels identified were A. Experience 1. no experience 2. less than 1 year 3. 1-2 years 4. more than 2 years B. Education 1. Graduate 2. Undergraduate 3. High School Pass 4. No education C. Ability required 1. expert 2. average 3. routine work D. Responsibilities 1. Individual 2. Supervisory E. Dominant Effort 1. Mental 2. Physical F. Working Conditions 1. Extreme 2. Mild 3. Conducive After this, the next step is to assign the rating to each factor on the basis of its worth, the rate assigned are as follows Factor Name Level: 1 2 3 4 Maximum Experience 1.2 2.5 3.8 5.0 5 Education 1.8 3.5 5.2 7.0 7 Ability Required 2.7 5.3 8.0 8 Responsibility 5.0 10.0 10 Efforts 3.5 7.0 7 Working Conditions 2.7 5.3 8.0 8 The above mentioned maximum rating to each factor is based on its perceived worth on the scale of 1 to 10. This may however be subjective, but that subjectivity would be effective on all jobs to be evaluated, rather than being biased to only one. The rating to all levels of a factor is determined by equally dividing the maximum rate for the factor among all the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

SWOT Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

SWOT Analysis - Assignment Example Locked into lower voltages due to interchangeable battery systems Opportunities: Can diversify into other product lines Can leverage position in Japanese and US markets to expand into various other markets across the world New technology manufacturing plants ensures low costs at manufacturing end thus allowing cost of end product to be low but without compromising on quality Can introduce higher voltages and consolidate position as innovator in the market Threats: Position in US market may be reversed due to dependence on currency exchange rates which may turn unfavourable Risks losing the opportunity to be proactive about higher voltages, by waiting for the rest of the players in the market Becomes reactive and may lose the current edge in the market if competitors come out with higher voltages first Imports from Far East may diversify into professional tools at a much lower cost for the same quality S&W - Minimising weaknesses and threats: The first step is to phase out the older technology at manufacturing plants and replace it with newer, more efficient technology. This will lead to reduction in costs - both manufacturing and labour. A solution to the high pricing issues will result from this move. The newer technology will be leaner, thus streamlining the company and making it quick to react to changes in he market. Innovation and diversification into other technologies will be required to maintain market leader status. Change in attitude towards distributors is needed to convince them that the company is not abusing its market leader position. S&W - Maximising strengths and opportunities: The multi national presence of the company can be leveraged to expand into new products in various markets. Cooperative advertising and cross... The multi national presence of the company can be leveraged to expand into new products in various markets. Cooperative advertising and cross promotion implies less spent on advertising. These savings can be sunk in R&D for innovation and developing new products. A step-by-step replacement of the old interchangeable battery systems is required so that Makatume is in a position to bring in newer higher voltages. A change in strategy is needed so as to avoid depending on the currency rate for a favourable market position. The company needs to be proactive and take a decision about higher voltage so as to avoid losing the edge they have in the market. Makatume must innovate and diversify into other products as soon as possible to avoid losing the share they have captured in the professional tools segment. An expansion in markets in other countries is also advisable to consolidate the market leader position. By introducing higher voltages, Makatume stands to become an innovative market leader. Assuming Makatume's point of view, having captured large shares in the Japanese and US markets, I would be proactive and launch the higher voltages. But I would do this in a phased manner so as not to lose the customers that Makatume already has. By doing so, Makatume would be perceived as an innovator which would add to the value of the brand.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Information Handling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Information Handling - Essay Example The source where accuracy posed the greatest problem was the marketing database.So I think usefulness informations need have accuracy and reliability, accuracy and reliability determine the quality of information."Information that is timely is available when it is needed for managerial action, not after the decision has been made" (Gareth, 2000,P614) In today's speedily changing world and technology 's developing, lead to information changing frequently. Real-time Information is reflecting current conditions. (Gareth, 2000,P614) For example, productions' price changing frequently in marketing because manager wants to make profit in competition's marketing. So manager should be pay attention to information's changing. Catch Real-time information is very importance. Look at timeliness in accounting"Timeliness: accounting information should be made available to external decision-makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions." (Dyckman, 1992, P44) Like the news of the world, old financial information never carries the same impact fresh information carries. Otherwise lack of timeliness reduces relevance."Information that is complete gives managers all the information they need to exercise control, achieve coordination, or make an effective decision." (Gareth, 2000,P615) information's completive will provided good help to manager to decision. When you set up a new business, look at complete information is importance. Such as, how is this productions sold, how long can make profit.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Law - Essay Example Should the parents happen to marry at some time after the birth, citizenship is automatically granted to the child retroactively. If the child is over 14 at that time, however, his or her consent is needed. Some persons are entitled to Wulfrunian citizenship by a simpler process than naturalization. Renunciation of foreign citizenship is still almost always required. Minor children of a person granted Wulfrunian citizenship are normally granted Wulfrunian citizenship as well. Former citizens of newly independent Wulfrunia who lost citizenship other than by renunciation or deprivation may be granted Wulfrunian citizenship after 1 year's residence in Wulfrunia. Wulfrunian citizenship must have been possessed for 10 years before it was lost. A stateless person born in Wulfrunia may be granted Wulfrunian citizenship within two years of age 18 if he has lived in Wulfrunia for a total of 10 years, including 5 years continuously before application. An Wulfrunian citizen who acquires another citizenship by voluntary action automatically loses Wulfrunian citizenship. The exception is in cases where permission to retain Wulfrunian citizenship has been obtained in advance. In practical terms this is quite difficult to obtain, since it needs to be in the interest of the republic of Wulfrunia to grant this dual citizenship. Wulfrunian citizenship is also automatically lost by serving in a foreign army. In the UK, the Natio... Minor children of a person granted Wulfrunian citizenship are normally granted Wulfrunian citizenship as well. Spouses of Wulfrunian citizens The marriage has to have lasted a minimum of 5 years; and The couple has to have lived together for 5 years; and The spouse applicant has to have lived in Wulfrunia permanently for a minimum of 6 years. Long residence in Wulfrunia A person who has lived in Wulfrunia for 30 years, or 15 years in cases of 'sustained personal and occupational integration' is entitled to grant of Wulfrunian citizenship. Former Wulfrunian citizens Former citizens of newly independent Wulfrunia who lost citizenship other than by renunciation or deprivation may be granted Wulfrunian citizenship after 1 year's residence in Wulfrunia. Wulfrunian citizenship must have been possessed for 10 years before it was lost. A person who lost Wulfrunian nationality as a child (other than by deprivation) may re-acquire it by declaration within 2 years of turning 18. Stateless persons born in Wulfrunia A stateless person born in Wulfrunia may be granted Wulfrunian citizenship within two years of age 18 if he has lived in Wulfrunia for a total of 10 years, including 5 years continuously before application. Loss of Wulfrunian citizenship An Wulfrunian citizen who acquires another citizenship by voluntary action automatically loses Wulfrunian citizenship. The exception is in cases where permission to retain Wulfrunian citizenship has been obtained in advance. In practical terms this is quite difficult to obtain, since it needs to be in the interest of the republic of Wulfrunia to grant this dual citizenship. Wulfrunian citizenship is also automatically lost by serving in a foreign army. Dual citizenship Wulfrunian law substantially

Monday, September 23, 2019

HPV affect on women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HPV affect on women - Essay Example Social consequences include a feeling of shame in women with the infection, by which these women feel that their bodies are now deficient. Psychological consequences include depression, anguish, anger, lowering of self-esteem, and hostility towards the individual considered responsible for transmitting the infection. The infection can be prevented by vaccination that has been developed, by which the many lives lost each year from the consequences of the infection can be saved. Yet, the vaccination is not promoted with enough enthusiasm to bring about this effect. Human papillomavirus also known as HPV is a virus that can cause infection at the skin, or at the genital area of both males and females. In excess of 130 types of HPV have been found till date. Infection on the skin results in warts, while infection in the genital area may lead to genital warts. Infection of the genital area can also cause cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, mouth and throat (McGill Medicine, 2010). Genital herpes viral infection is the possible outcome of sexual intercourse with an individual already infected, while recurrence of the infection occurs when a person is under physical or psychological stress (International Herpes Management Forum (IHMF), 2003). The problem in HPV infections for women is that they unfairly bear the burden of the major proportion of the actual disease that can result from the infection (Henderson, Yasgur & Warshowsky, 2002). Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) published in the February 28, 2007, shows that 26.8% of women in the U.S. have one or more strains of HPV, and that the prevalence of HPV is highest in the age group of 20-24. Furthermore, the prevalence in women in the U.S. of the high risk types of HPV is a little over 15% (National Cancer Institute, 2007). Two peaks have been observed in the prevalence of HPV in

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Financial Management Essay Example for Free

Financial Management Essay Introduction In this assignment I will be researching and discussing how to manage my own personal finances. For this I will have to research sources of income and write about different types of employment and unemployment. The affect these have on salaries and wages will also be investigated. I have also been asked to research and summarise allowances and benefits. As part of the management of my personal finances I must produce a personal budget over a specific period of time, on completion of this I will pair with a partner and discuss my findings. Task 3 Why is it important for me to manage my personal finance? * To help not to run out of money * Help me with budgeting * Scarce resource * Savings * Paying bills * Living alone * Managing money is skill Task 4 Jobseekers allowance Jobseekers allowance would be paid to me if I am eligible for it and looking for (seeking) work. I also would have to be age 16 or over to be able to receive jobseekers allowance. This source of income is relevant for me because I am over the age of 16, living on my own and I am currently looking for work. Income support Income support provides financial help for people ages 16 and over, who have low income or no money coming in at all. This money is for people who are not currently seeking work. This money is to help people with day to day living. Income support is relevant to me because this is the situation I am currently living in and I also receive income support myself. Child benefit Child benefit is parents that have children under the age of 16 or children under 19 in full time education. Child benefit is no longer relevant to me because I do not live will my mother any more. Housing benefit Housing benefit helps towards paying my rent which would be my local authority, but they dont cover all my housing costs. Housing benefit is eligible to people who are renting a room or living in a hostel of sum sort. I can apply for this by just going down to my local authority office and filling in a housing benefit form. Working families Tax Credit Working Tax Credit is for people who are employed or self-employed, over the aged of 16 and are working at least 16 hours a week. They also have to have at least one child. In couples, one person has to choose who receives the tax credits. The amount of tax credits they receive will depend on their annual income. Tax credits are not relevant for me because I am not responsible for any children and I am not currently working. Task 5 When preparing for employment the documents I would need: * CV * Covering letter * Application form * National insurance number * Bank details * Qualification certificates * P45 (maybe not for me yet) CV I would need a CV so that the employers get a brief summary of my qualifications and experience to-date. It would include the school and college I have attended. It will also include my past work experience. My CV will now include that I have recently worked at Superdrug. My CV will also have my references. References are very important as the employers may want to contact the referees to confirm I have the qualifications for the job, and if I am reliable and trustworthy enough for the job. Covering letter A covering letter is needed because it is a part of the formal requirement. It will show the employer where I heard about the advert and why I feel I would be right for the job. Application form Application forms are used to help the employer to separate the good candidates from the not so good candidates. They are also used to find out about information and candidates background. National Insurance No. Every one that has the right to work in the UK has the right to a national insurance number once they reach the age of 16. The national insurance number will show what national insurance contributions the worker pays over the course of his/her working life and also the contribution employers have made. Bank details Bank details are required in order for the employer to give you your wages. Wages are now paid by direct transfer from the employer to the bank account of the employee. Qualification certificates Proof of GCSEs and past qualifications are important because the employer will expect me to have certain right qualification in order to have the job. Superdrug have specific qualifications that are required, these are called essential qualifications. Task 6 Types of employment Self employment Being self employed is when you do not work for anyone else you have your own business. For example owning your own sweets shop is self employment. The income of the sweets shop will come from the customers who purchase the sweets. The income may also come from the bank if you borrow money. Freelance Freelancers are a different type of self employment. Instead of owning their own business they sell their services by working for different businesses. For example a freelance hair dresser would not have their own hairdressing business they would get to all kinds of other businesses and do hairdressing. Employee Employees are people who work for someone who controls what work they do. The employer is in charge of the employees income and deducts national insurance from the employees wages or salary. As long as they is someone handling your wages before you get them you are an employee. Task 8 Key points of each job Job title Retail manager Tasks to be carried out Retail managers are responsible for day to day running of department stores, chain stores, supermarkets and independent shops. They look after staff management, including taking on and training new staff, maintaining a good standard of customer care and increasing sales and profitability. Their duties usually include: * Making sure premises and displays are well maintained * Organising stock checking and re-ordering as necessary, through computerised or manual systems * Making sure targets are reached and all opportunities are taken to increase sales and profitability * Organising sales promotions * Recruiting, interviewing and training staff * Dealing with queries or complaints from customers Skills required A retail manager should: * Know the companys products and procedures well * Be committed to providing a high standard of customer service * Be able to lead and motivate a team * Have good knowledge of legal an d security issues * Have relevant commercial skills for business Qualifications required There are no set academic requirements to work in retail, although employers may prefer employees to have at list five GCSEs grades A-C and have some working experience in retail. Useful qualifications would include: * BTEC national reward in retail * OCR certificate in retail * BTEC Higher National Diploma in retail management * Degree in retail management Individual qualities required * Be confident, energetic and quick thinking * Have excellent spoken English and written communication skills * Be able to take responsibility and make decisions * Have a smart appearance * Be organised * Be able to deal effectively with problems and complaints Wage/salary Starting salaries are usually from around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,000 Experienced managers may earn from around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15,000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½26,000 Managers of large stores may earn up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½65,000 or more. Job title Retail assistant Tasks to be carried out A retail assistant is responsible for making customers feel at ease when shopping and browsing around the store, directing them towards products and accepting payments. This job generally includes: * Restocking shelves and making sure merchandise is presented neatly * Greeting customers and answering enquiries about products * Operating computerised tills and barcode readers to scan items * Accepting payments for goods and wrapping them * Checking for stock items and ordering goods Skills required * To be accurate and thorough, even under pressure * To be trustworthy- they may be dealing with expensive products and large amounts of cash * To understand and follow companys policies for health and safety and hygiene * Stamina, in order to serve on the shop floor for long periods Qualification required Employers set their own qualification requirements. But usually look for good communication skills, a pleasant personality and look for at least to two to four GCSE grades. Individual qualities required * Have an approachable, polite manner * Have good communication skills * Have a smart personal appearance * Enjoy providing a good level of customer service Wage/salary Starting salaries for a retail assistant is around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9,000 a year An experienced retail assistant may earn around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11,500 a year. Task 9 Why I think I am suitable for each job Retail assistant I think that I am suitable to work as a retail assistant because I have relevant experience within the retail industry. I have recently completed a 2 week work placement at Superdrug which is in the retail sector. During this period I was privileged to be responsible for replenishing stock, providing customer advice and keeping the shop floor tidy. This placement enabled me to develop vital skills such as team working, numeracy and customer service skills which are all needed in order to become a successful retail assistant. This work placement was a part of my BTEC introductory business coarse this qualification will also enable me to qualify to work as retail assistant. Retail manager I am qualified to work in the retail sector as a retail assistant but in order to qualify as a retail manager I would have to finish my BTEC introductory coarse and then go on to study for three more years to receive a BTEC national certificate in business. After this I would then need to go and study a degree in retail management in order to qualify for this job. I have good interpersonal and communication skills and while on my work experience I enjoyed providing good customer service these skills would help me with working toward becoming a retail manager. Retail managers are responsible for day to day running of department stores, chain stores, supermarkets and independent shops this may include Organising sales promotions and recruiting, interviewing and training staff. Task 10 Wage/salary deductions Gross pay Gross pay the amount of money an employee earns before any deductions are made such as tax or national insurance. Net pay Net pay is the money employees actually get for them to spend. National insurance contributions National insurance contributions is an amount of money that the employee has to pay towards there employers this is deducted by the employer from the employees wages. If you are self employed you also have to pay national insurance contribution, this is a small monthly payment and then a lump sum at the end of the year. National insurance code National insurance codes indicate an employees marital status and how long an employee has been working. Income tax There is a certain amount of money that every body is allowed to earn before they have to pay income tax, this is called personal tax allowances currently for people under the age of 65 this is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5,225 a year. If you earn any more than this you will have to pay income tax, how much you pay will depend on how much money you earn. Pensions/superannuation Pensions are long time investments that are designed to provide you with money in your old age when you are not able to work any more. The earlier you start your pension the more you get when you retire. Employees are usually offered a pension scheme when the start there job. The employer pays a contribution to your pension fund and so does the employee this is deducted out of the employees wages before it get to them. Union subscriptions A union is a large group of workers in a particular industry or profession. Unions provide benefits such as legal advice and can also provide support in cases of unfair treatment or dismissal. To subscribe employees would have to pay fees this is sometimes deducted from the employees wages before it is received or the employee can pay the fees themselves but it is not compulsory. Task 11 Allowances and Benefits Housing benefit Housing benefit helps towards paying my rent which would be my local authority, but they dont cover all my housing costs. Housing benefit is eligible to people who are renting a room or living in a hostel of sum sort. I can apply for this by just going down to my local authority office and filling in a housing benefit form. This benefits me because its helps me to save money gives me more money to spend on more important things. Council tax Council tax is an amount of money you pay if you are renting out a council property or of you have you own property with a certain amount of people living in there. Council tax paid to pay the council for giving you their service of letting you live in their property and council tax also pay for things like people cleaning the streets. Interest from savings Interest from savings is when you put money into the bank or a financial institution and earn extra money on top. This is called interest. When you get interest you have to pay income tax on that interest, the bank usually deducts the tax before pay the interest. This benefits me because I regularly put savings into my bank account. Inherited money Most people decide to leave money to their relatives when they die, this is called inheritance. Inheritance could be a small or large amount of money and it may be necessary to pay inheritance tax on it. Borrowed money Borrowed money is anything from a loan to a bank overdraft. Money can also be borrowed from a relative or close friend in this case the money you have borrowed is the money you pay back. If you take out a loan or overdraft which is quit a large amount of money this usually involves paying back the money monthly and each month interest is added on top of the money that you are paying. This result in you paying more that you actually took in the first place, it is much wiser that you save your money for whatever you want to get therefore you will earn interest on your money rather that earning it. Working Families Tax Credit Working families tax credits is for people who have at least one child under the age of 16 or 19 in full time education and earn an income which is below a certain level. The person has to be working at least 16 hours a week and must have savings below à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8000. this does not apply to me as I am not eligible for this because I have no children. Task 14 Explanation of how I planned my personal finances Spend or save As soon as I receive my money I spend it on things that I need such as food shopping and rent. Any money left over would get spent on the gym and my mobile phone then the rest would get put aside as my savings. Gambling Gambling is when you pay money hoping for a chance of winning more money. Doing this is dangerous because you are not guaranteed your money. Gambling is very addictive and if done regularly this could put you into debt that why I choose not to go down this road. Spending habits When I receive my money on a weekly basis I try and spend as little as possible on food shopping so that I have money left over for myself to spend on small luxuries for example a meal out with my friends. I sometimes tend to spend too much on luxuries and this sometimes gets me into problems but I always have someone at hand to help me. Money and lifestyle At the moment the amount of money I receive doesnt allow me to have the best of lifestyles but it is enough to put clothes on my back and to buy me shopping every week. To achieve the lifestyle I want I would need to find at least a part time job so I can earn more money than Im getting now. My expectations of work and money As long as I have enough money to buy me some food and to pay the rent I am ok for the moment. But I would like a bit more than that for example going on holidays and buying the latest clothing. To do this I would need to find a job and also make sure that I handle my personal finances correctly and do some budgeting for these luxuries. Short term accounts Every week I receive my income support into my bank account. I am currently using a current account all my bills are paid out of this account and all my Ema payment come into this account. I also have a short term savings account which I put money into every week. I use this account when I run out of money or need to pay for something important e.g. phone bill. Long term accounts A long term savings account is an account that allows you to build up interest on money that you are saving over a number of years. An example could be an ISA, this is an individual savings account because it is tax free provided the amount saved each year doesnt exceed à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,000. The interest is cumulative which means the amount of interest plus capital will increase year on year. Another example of a long term account is a bank loan. A bank loan is usually drawn over a long period. This is a lump sum of money that I borrowed from the bank and paid off over a long period of time. For example a mortgage is paid over a period of 25 years. Cheque book A cheque is a promise to pay someone in place of cash. When you are writing a cheque you write down exactly how much you are going to pay the person. The person then takes the cheque to the bank and waits for it to clear this takes between 3-5 days. It is important to make sure that you have the right amount of money in your bank so you dont go into debt. It is also important to keep a record of any cheques that have been written, this can be done by using stubs which are left in the cheque book after you tear it out to pay someone. The stubs are there so that you can note down the details of the cheque and will help keep track of your money. Credit cards A credit card is a card that you can use to pay for items of clothing or products. This card however gives you money on it but you have to pay it back you are also given a credit limit. To avoid spending more money than you actually have you should usually pay back the money within a month if the money is paid after this you will be charged interest. If you go over the limit that the company has given you interest will also be added. Also you can check how much money you are spending by checking a mini statement that you can get from a cash point. Debit cards Debit cards are cards that have your own money that you put on to the card. You can use this card to purchase virtually anything but instead of having a credit limit of borrowed money you are actually using your own money to purchase goods. A debit card allows you to take cash out of ATMs if you have enough money in your account. To see how much funds you have in your account through an ATM you are given a pin number by your bank to memorise this then allows you to draw cash from the machines and purchase items in shops. To check that no-one is stealing from you or to make sure you are not spending more money than your supposed to it is good to check your bank statement each month these are sent to you by your bank. The bank statement show how much money you had in your account originally, then show all payments that were taken out of that money. You can then check if there are any payments that you are unsure of or if any mistakes were made in you transactions. Paying bills Bills can be paid using direct debit or standing orders. This is when you money is taken out of you account and paid to a business for example, BT telephone company at the same time every month. This can help with budgeting, as you will know how much money is going out every month. To check that you are not paying out more than youre supposed to you can check the phone bill you receive every month. Remaining in credit It is important to manage your account carefully to ensure you stay in credit. You must make sure that when you making payments such as cheques and debit cards you have enough money to make those payments. If not you account will go in to debt and you will be charged fines for doing this, it will also build up a bad credit rating which will make it hard for you to get a mortgage or a credit card in the future. Task 16 Summary of holiday budget activity Why do you think it is important to manage your personal finances? I think it is important for me to manage my finances because it helps me to pay all my bills on time without getting into to debt. It also allows me to put money aside for unexpected emergencies. Managing my personal finances is a very important skill. This skill is extremely important if I would like to start my own business or borrow money from a bank. Managing my money correctly will enable me to live quiet a prosperous life in the long run. Did you find it easy or difficult to manage the finances given in exercises? give reasons I found managing finances quiet hard because you have to keep track of the money coming out of my income every week and there were a lot of different bills to pay and they were all different amounts. I also had to keep track of my spending at the same time to make sure that I didnt get into debt this was really difficult because you can get carried away when your sending your money on luxuries. After all that I have to calculate the total regular expenditure and then work out if I had any money left over to put aside as savings, overall this task was very challenging but it taught me a lot about how to manage my own finances. What did you learn from the exercise on budgeting over a period of time? From doing the budgeting exercise I learnt that saving the little scraps of money here and there builds up into to something big. Also cutting down on luxuries also helps in the long run because the money you have saved enables you to get those luxuries if you just give time. This budgeting exercise also taught me how to calculate my net cash flow which I previously did not know how to do. I also learnt that budgeting is important for everyone because it stop many people from getting into to debt and also helps them to save considerable amount of money. Bibliography BTEC introduction business-published by Heinemann in 2005 Heinemann Educational Publishers Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8EJ ISBN 978 0 435401 21 4 John Ruskin college intranet site Unit 6 Financial Management

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Reliability and Validity Essay Example for Free

Reliability and Validity Essay Evaluating human services is a task that can be very complex. People can have different interpretations of the same event. Another concern is that people are not always honest. Therefore, human services will gain from effective, high quality evaluations of data collection methods. This requires that the data collection methods supply accurate and dependable information. This paper will define and describe 2 concepts of measurement known as reliability and validity,-provide examples and supporting facts as to how these concepts apply to data collection in human services, and evaluate the importance of the validity and reliability of data collection methods and instruments. Funding for many non-profit human services organizations are dependent on the precise results of research and statistics gathered through various processes of data collection. Reliability and validity are two criterions that are used to judge the functions of research designs and measurements. These criterions are something that should be looked at before, during, and after research to show the relevance and significance of human services. Using the example of a weight scale is the perfect way to confer the idea of reliability and validity. If an individual of 150lbs. weighs themselves several times and gets several different readings, the scale being used can be considered unreliable. Now if that scale also reads 125 each time, it is rather reliable but invalid. However, the consistent, accurate reading of 150lbs. each time indicates that this scale is not only reliable, but also valid. When thinking about validity, it is important to evaluate if the research is doing what it is supposed to do. According to Rosenthal and Rosnow (2008), â€Å"The measure in question might be a psychological test of some kind, a group of judges who rate things, a functional MRI scanner for monitoring brain activity, or any other instrument or measuring tool†(Chapter 6). Is the data collected dependable? Does the correlation make sense? All of these questions are in reference to the design of the research, and validity is specifically tied to the soundness and force of that design. Conclusion and internal validity refer directly to relationships drawn between correlating factors and the end results. According to Measurement Of Validity Types (2006), â€Å"Conclusion validity is the degree to which conclusions reached about relationships in data are reasonable† (Conclusion Validity). Studies that have shown a link between convicts in the prison system and the lifestyles encountered by children of single parents would be one example of conclusion validity. If the conclusion is valid, a direct link will be made between two correlating factors. Internal validity is specifically concerned with casual relationships while conclusion validity is concerned with relationships in general (Measurement Of Validity Types, 2006). Observing that certain factors may be linked to certain outcomes, and examining all the possible links of an outcome is the main goal of internal validity. Another look at reliability will help in considering the precision of these predictions. Reliability represents the idea of accuracy, dependability, and consistency in research. Can the results be referred to as concrete? Are there any loopholes in the research? Has the research communicated the proper information and does everything correlate? These are questions that would be directed at examining the reliability of research. Test-Retest and Inter-rater reliability are two ways to measure the results of research. When multiple people are given assessments of some kind or are the subjects of some test, then similar people under the same circumstances should lead to scores that are similar or duplicates (Types Of Reliability, 2011). This is the idea of inter-rater reliability. Another mode of reliability is the administration of the same test among different participants and expecting the same or similar results (Types Of Reliability, 2011). This is known as Test-retest reliability. This method of measurement might be used to make determinations about the effectiveness of a school exam or personality test (Types Of Reliability, 2011). Surveys and other methods of research present the appropriate avenues for data collection. Data collection and measurement methods are used in human services to help organizations achieve leadership capacity and to achieve high performance outcomes. Agencies that track the effectiveness of their services through field studies and surveys will have a record of techniques that have worked best to fulfill mission goals. The evidence of such reported facts will come in handy in terms of funding, policy efforts, and keeping professionals educated. From psychological and behavioral aspects, interviews, test groups, and random assignment are just a few ways to collect data in controlled and uncontrolled environments. Human services use these methods to apply theory to real life situations. Human services depends on the effective analysis and measurements of research. Personal interpretations of measurements can be confusing. Therefore, reliability and validity are two ideas that refer to rating the effectiveness of research techniques. This paper has defined and described the two concepts of measurement known as reliability and validity, provided examples and supporting facts as to how these concepts apply to data collection in human services, and has evaluated the importance of the validity and reliability of data collection methods and instruments. Human services agencies rely on research to remain knowledgeable and capable of providing appropriate services to disadvantaged populations.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Relationships Between Employees And Employers

Relationships Between Employees And Employers The subject of this study is the relationships between employees, employers and their representatives in the United Kingdom and mainly the changes that have occurred in the last few years. What is meant exactly by employee relations? What has changed since the Industrial Revolution? Salaman (2000) defines employee relations as a reflection of the development of more diverse employment patterns, the growth of high tech and commercial sectors, reduced levels of unionisation and use of management strategies aimed at individualising the employment relationship, in other terms it is the new management of all the variables which influence the work namely the management style, the level of employees motivation, the work environment, job satisfaction, the objectives of the company etc. We can differentiate three phases in the evolution of employee relations since the end of the Second World War, the third one being the partnership approach. Until 1979 (date of the election of the Conservative Party), work relations were based on collective bargaining and collective agreement aiming to determine and regulate, in varying degrees, the terms on which individuals will be employed (Flanders, 1968), with a strong voluntarism encouraged massively and informally. The trade unions (basically, it is an association of wage earners, totally independent of employers pressure, who struggle to improve work conditions) had a lot of power and everything was negotiated through deals. In fact, a Trade Union, through collective bargaining can force employers to deal with labour as a collective identity, rather than isolated individuals, and so, secure better the terms and condition of employment (Webb Webb, 1920). However, when the conservative party was elected in 1979, everything changed. The new government introduced a lot measures to limit the role of trade unions. In addition, it introduced an enterprise culture in which individuals and organisations, rather than government, were to be held responsible for economic performance. Thus, as well as rejecting the maintenance of full employment as a major policy objective, they in effect abandoned the commitment of their predecessors to voluntary collective bargaining as the most effective method of determining pay and conditions. Then, there was a total break with the old work patterns but an explanation of this will be the economical context. In fact, after the war, there was a period of reconstruction that engendered a lot of work; manufacturing was the backbone of the economy, it was a period of full employment. After that, there was a wave of privatisation, many companies became multinationals, and there was an internationalisation of business. The aim of the study will be to analyse and evaluate the new approach to the management of employee relations. Firstly, the author will define and explore what the partnership approach is. Then, the study will continue by examining the advantages and the disadvantages of this approach to each stakeholder (employees, employers and Trade Unions). Finally, an evaluation of the prospects for success of the partnership approach and an expression of a critical comparison with the previous ones will be highlighted. The Employment Relation (ER) Employment relationship is an economical exchange of labour capacity in return for the production of goods and services. It is very important to understand the implications of all the aspects of employment relations. High levels of collaboration between the workforce and management are likely to be consistent with greater reliability of production and quality of output, which in turn would bolster the organizations market position. Thus, employment relation is one of the most significant areas that need to be invested (Rollinson, 1993). Salaman (2000) defines employment relations as a reflection of the development of more diverse employment patterns, the growth of high tech and commercial sectors, reduced levels of unionisation and use of management strategies aimed at individualising the employment relationship, in other terms it is the new management of all the variables which influence the work namely the management style, the level of employees motivation, the work environment, job satisfaction, the objectives of the company etc. The state (all levels of government) plays a crucial role in employment relations, both directly and indirectly. The roles undertaken by governments may be categorised into five components including maintaining protective standards; establishing rules for the interaction between the parties; ensuring that the results of such interaction were consistent with the apparent needs of economy; providing services for labour and management such as advice, conciliation, arbitration and training; and as a major employer. The management of the ER system in Britain Britain is a country of Western Europe comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Until July 2003, the British population is 60,094,648. At the height of its power in the 19th century it ruled an empire that spanned the globe (Stewart, 2005: 23-25). It is the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The first half of the 20th century saw the Britains strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the Britain rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. It is also a leading trading power and financial centre, is one of the quartets of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. The British industrial relations system has a long history and has undergone much change in recent years. There are three phases in the evolution of employee relations since the end of the World War II, the third one being the partnership approach. Until 1979 (date of the election of the Conservative Party), work relations were based on collective bargaining and collective agreement aiming to determine and regulate, in varying degrees, the terms on which individuals will be employed (Flanders, 1968), with a strong voluntarism encouraged massively and informally. The partnership approach What is it? The use of this term is a relatively recent political phenomenon. Some people affirm that it is just a term used by the Government to attract popular support because nobody can be against Partnership (Knell, 1999). Some others, more optimistic, see in this term a new pluralist approach to industrial relations. This concept comes from the idea that enterprises should recognise the interests of each stakeholder, namely employees, employers and their representatives, in order to satisfy each party. The aim of this approach is to find a common interest of management and labour, through trust and mutual involvement, instilling a sense of belonging and involvement. The Involvement and Participation Association (IPA, 1992) identifies six key principles: A shared commitment to the success of enterprise, including support for flexibility and the replacement of adversarial relations. A recognition that interests of the partners may legitimately differ. Employment security, including measures to improve the employability of staff as well as limit the use of compulsory redundancy. A focus on the quality of working life. A commitment to transparency, including a real sharing of hard, unvarnished information, an openness to discussing plans for the future, genuine consultation and preparedness to listen to the business case for alternative strategies. Adding value the hallmark of an effective partnership is that it taps into sources of commitment and / or resources that were not accessed by previous arrangement. For the New Labour government, partnership at work becomes an important objective. B. Its dimensions 1. Who are the partners? The partnership is between individual employer and individual employee and their representatives but the latter partner is weak in the new work relation. The partnership approach is more focused on individual relationships than a collective one, like in the past. Indeed, New Labour insists on individual choice. For them, it is not an obligation to integrate a working union. It emphasises that individuals are the best judges of their own individual interests. That is to say that the individual has the choice of whether or not to join a trade union and whether or not to take part in the coverage by collective agreement. It might mean the new government is not really in favour of the trade unions. In fact, some people think that a trade union would be an enemy of the partnership approach in the sense that trade unions defend the workers interests and they always have a confrontational relationship with the employers. Then, how can a partnership be formed if one of the partners does not make an effort to find a common agreement? In this way, the trade unions role has to be redefined. They have to play a co-operative role with employers in order to find some common interests which satisfy both the employees and the employers. The psychological contract The psychological contract is the basis of a partnership approach. It is the link between employers and employees. It establishes the expectations, aspirations and understandings which they have of each other (Herriot, 1998). The author has noticed that the psychological contract has changed since the last few years because of the changes of the work environment (change in workforce structure, re-engineering, downsizing.). The old psychological contract was based on security and predictability, now it is more situational and short term and assumes that each party is much less dependent on the other for survival and growth. According to Hiltrop (1995), the new contract can be defined as follows: There is no job security, the employee will be employed as long as he/she adds value to the organisation, and is personally responsible for finding new ways to add value. In return, the employee has the right to demand interesting and important work, has the freedom and resources to perform it well, receives, pay that reflects his or her contributions and get experience and training needed to be employable here or elsewhere. The psychological contract has to be strong and truthful to allow a partnership relation The voluntary aspect of the partnership New Labour insists on the voluntary aspect of the new work relation. The partnership should be introduced through cultural changes which will lead to more positive relationships between employers and employees than the letter of the law can ever achieve. That is to say that the law itself can not resolve the problem of employee relations, some cultural changes have to emerge first. Employers and employees have to make some effort to improve the work relationship. The advantages and the disadvantages of the partnership approach: A. For the employees 1. Advantages With the partnership approach, employees benefit from a Family atmosphere with friendly policies. For example, they benefit from new working arrangements which allow a greater flexibility. There is a harmonisation of working conditions, policies and procedures for all employees under training. The partnership approach introduces a new pay structure: pay is monthly through credit transfer, and the traditional annual pay is replaced by an objective formula. Moreover, a reduction of the working week for manual and craft employees can be observed. 2. Disadvantages However, the partnership approach introduces the notion of the individual worker. In this way, trade unions are less useful in the employer/employee relationship and lose their power. Then, the employee is in a weaker position than his/her employer (a caution has to be noticed because, trade unions have a right to accompany their members during the disciplinary or grievance interview). B. For the employers 1. Advantages Firstly, the partnership gives a good reputation to the enterprise which applies it. Moreover, it allows a greater stability of employment because employer talks to employee and establishes some rights and some obligations that each party has to respect (limit the turnover, strikes and so on). The relationship between both is more respectful and equal. Furthermore, the partnership allows a greater openness over the enterprise. Through it, the employers know what is wrong with the employees and try to find how they can fix it. The work atmosphere is more friendly and truthful. The partnership approach is, as well, a need for a change in approach to the trade unions. To date, the relation between employers and trade unions is based on confrontation. This new approach gives a secondary role to the trade unions and privileges the individual employer/employee relations, which is easier to manage. Moreover, employers try to improve work conditions, in return they profit from a greater activity because workers feel good in the company. In addition they can have greater performance appraisal and a new understanding of performance management through control and feed back. 2. Disadvantages This approach demands a lot of administration and is quite constraining for a company. To fire an employee who has a poor performance for example, the employer has to give a first warning and propose a disciplinary interview in order to detect what is wrong with this employee. If nothing has changed, the employee can receive another warning, the last one, before the dismissal (or other sanctions). Sometimes, procedures take too much time and engender an economical loss. Moreover, the enterprise can lose some power in relation to its employees. Previously, employers had the economic power over employees, now this power is more shared between both because their relationship is more interdependent. C. For the trade unions 1. Advantages There is a new stake in their role as representatives. They have to prove the value of the employers to the employees and the value of the employees to the employers. Moreover, the trade unions can profit from a partnership fund in order that employers and employee representatives work together to support innovative projects to develop the partnership approach in the workplace (Lord McIntosh Lord Hansard, May 1999). 2. Disadvantages The partnership approach has more disadvantages than advantages for the trade unions. Through it, trade unions lose some power. Firstly, their recognition is limited. According to the government, the trade union has a secondary role in the employer/employee relationship. Then, their role has to be redefined in a more consultative sense; it has to focus on the information, the communication, the representation and the partnership. Their contribution to the partnership is potentially useful but far from being essential. Thus, trade unions are worried about their traditional role which is to defend the workers interests. They think that in this new approach, employee representatives will become part of the management. Moreover, according to the IPA, the partnership needs a different channel than the union one, because this model is not adequate anymore. In fact, the union presence is weak or non-existent in the majority of companies in Britain, therefore, the partnership needs a new representative structure. Evaluation and criticism of the prospects for success of the partnership approach The employment relation through the partnership approach becomes fairer. For example, union co-operation in more flexible work patterns, teamworking, the introduction of annualised hours and the harmonisation of terms and conditions of employment are all greater assets of the partnership approach. Concerning job security, the partnership approach remains limited: The job security guarantees have been identified as the hallmark of partnership approach by many of its advocates, although, they have no featured in all such agreements. In most cases, they amount to relatively limited management commitments to avoid the use of compulsory redundancy as a means of labour shedding- a fairly familiar practice in organisations that can attract sufficient candidates for early retirement and voluntary redundancy with enhanced severance payments. Moreover in some partnership agreement, trade unions and employees are required to co-operate with measures with make the avoidance of compulsory redundancy easier, including the acceptance of the companys use of subcontracted, temporary or short-term contract staff ( Taibly Winchester, 2000 and Bach Sisson,2000). Moreover, the fundamental need for a successful approach requires some cultural changes; we have to break with the old practice (industrial/adversarial ones) because we cannot access a new form of management without this. Furthermore, the partnership approach appeared in a particular political context. In fact, it was the end of the Conservative government (characterised by a policy of deregulation) and the beginning of the Labour party which developed the important idea of commitment to the partnership in the workplace. But, its aim has to be analysed very carefully because we can notice that the government refused to take part in some social policy proposals developed by the European commission. This reaction is contrary to the apparent willingness of the government to introduce fairness in work and at work. However, some surveys show that employees feel better with the partnership agreement. We can notice that job satisfaction level is greater than before (Bach Sisson, 2000) but this result has to be taken with caution if we refer to the recent strike of the Post Offices which occurred last month. Then, the question is whether the partnership approach is successful? In the historical, political and economical context, the author thinks that partnership and the willingness of each stakeholder are present. The difficulty is just trying to apply it in the best way. Britain has made a lot of effort to improve work conditions. Compared to the past, this approach is the compromise between the two previous ones. Indeed, the first one (~1945-1979) was too dominated by the trade unions. The following one was too adversarial; the employees lost all their rights. Thus, this new approach tries to satisfy both parties. Conclusion The work is not finished. If the partnership approach succeeds in satisfying the stakeholders, it needs to be improved again. Britain needs to work on other more social law proposals and take part in the European ones. However, the employment relations are governed by the variation of the market as well; hence, it is very difficult to satisfy everybody. But, the important thing is to try to do the best. Moreover, there will always be some disagreements and unfairness in work and at work; we have to be patient because it takes time to change the mind of each person.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

â€Å"In July 1945, the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico and the next month the second and third weapons off the production line were dropped on Japan. Since then no nuclear weapons have been used in anger, although tens of thousands have been accumulated by the major powers and their destructiveness and sophistication increased immensely.† The nature of warfare is constant and evolved from multiple factors and military revolutions over time. The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important military revolution in history and highlight its effects that permeate modern day society. The proliferation of nuclear weapons is the most significant military revolution that led to the greatest changes in warfare, which include the immergence of new threats such as non-state actors, the shift from total war to low intensity conflict, and the importance of technology and innovation. This military revolution completely shattered existing paradigms of warfare due to th e real threat of nuclear weapons’ total destruction of humanity. The arrival of nuclear weapons transformed the international playing field permanently and new threats such as non-state actors have immerged as a result. Initially, only superpowers with nuclear arsenals had a global role as was evident during the Cold War between the U.S. and Soviet Union, but nuclear proliferation triggered a race to possess this power in the last 60 years. The possible employment of nuclear weapons between the two superpowers during the Cold War was unprecedented. The power of this stalemate shattered the paradigm of warfare and demonstrated how significant this military revolution’s effects were even at the mere threat of nuclear weapons use. Regarding this standoff between t... ... examined the importance of the nuclear weapons military revolution and its lasting impacts on modern day society. Evidence presented supports why this military revolution had the most impact of all on warfare and was carefully illustrated through the immergence of new threats, the shift from total war and high intensity conflict to low intensity conflict and finally, the critical role that technology and innovation has played since the advent of nuclear weapons. This is important in today’s operational and strategic environment due to the fact that American military and political leadership will continue to have taken in account the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield. As globalization continues to set the conditions for nuclear weapons proliferation worldwide, the restraints and operational risks will dramatically increase and affect all strategic planning.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Media Violence and its Effect on Children Essay -- Youth Kids TV

media violence and its effects on children Introduction Communications technology is expanding through the entire global community (Dyson 2). Children everywhere are being born into a world of images and messages, which are largely separated from their home, school and spiritual lives (Dyson 2). In society today storytellers are seldom parents, grandparents, teachers or the clergy; instead they are the handful of distant forces with something to sell (Dyson 2). What is unique about the media industry is that in global and corporate domination they have become part of our culture as well as our identity (Dyson 3). Social scientists and child advocates have been exploring the effects of media for decades, yet it is only recently that the concern has generated a public debate (Bok 3). Historical Disagreements concerning the effect of violence revealed in works of art and entertainment have resonated over the centuries (Bok 41). We must ask ourselves whether or not our versions of entertainment exhibits anymore violence then past forms of rec reation, for example gladiatorial games or public hangings (Bok 23). Plato viewed human life as a pilgrimage from the appearance to reality (Bok 41). He also believed that a piece of art had to be strictly censored when they depicted any form of evil and cruelty (Bok 41). When an artist imitated what was bad, they add to the sum of badness in the world (Bok 41). Both Plato and Aristotle pointed out, we as humans do find delight in representations of objects and emotions that would consider different from real life; most of us agree with Aristotle in refusing to believe that they are corrupt (Bok 41). The Romans remain the prototype for violent entertainment at its most extreme (Bok 17). It was a culture, which sanctioned tradition, foreign conquest was a domestic culture, and weapons were easily available (Bok 17). The treatment of newborns and slaves within the home extended to crucifixions and other brutal punishments (Bok 17). Though on a whole the Romans did not criticize their choice of entertainment, one philosopher, Seneca, did. To exhibit the slaughter of eighteen elephants in the Circus, pitting criminals against them in a mimic battle [and] thought it a notable kind of spectacle to kill human beings after a new fashion. Do they fight to the death? That is not enough! Are they torn to pieces? That is not Eno... ...103). In regard to the effects of media violence on children and young adults, such works challenge our instinctive denial of our most primative layers of fear and aggression (Bok 28). Bibliography Works Cited and Consulted Bok, Sissela. Mayhem. Massachusetts: Perseus Books. 1998. Dyson, Rose A. Mind Abuse:Media Violence in an Information Age. Montreal: Black Rose Books. 2000. Herr, Kathryn G., ed. Rating Electronic Games:Violence is in the Eye of the Beholder. Ohio: Sage Publications Inc. 1993. Ledingham, Jane E. The Effects of Television on Children. Ottawa: National Clearinghouse on Family Violence and Prevention Division. 1993. Leone, Bruce. Violence in the Media. San Diego: Greenhouse Press. 1995. Morse, Jodie. "Ne year Later: Can We prevent another Columbine?." [www.newsweek.com] 24 April 2000. Rosenblatt, Roger. "Works of the Trench Coat". [www.newsweek.com] 2000. Russell, Nick. Morals and the Media: Ethics in Canadian Journalism. Vancouver: UBC Press. 1995. Singer, Benjamin D. ed. Communications in Canadian Society. Toronto: International Thomson Pub. 1995. Smith, Nigel. Violence in Society. Turin: Wayland Publishers Limited.1995.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Case: Erik Peterson Essay

Do you think Erik Peterson was an effective leader? Why or why not? I do think Erik Peterson was an effective leader. Erik Peterson was definitely represented good leadership from every aspect of his work. Though at the very beginning, there were a great many problems exsiting in the GMCT and had negative effective on operating, Erik Peterson was trying his best to solve these problems and to some extend, gain some outcomes which revealed Erik Peterson was an effective leader. First Erik Peterson found the chief engineer, Curt Andrews, had a plenty of problems. Erik Peterson noticed that Curt Andrews was lack of administration skills which were required to start up new operation. Erik Peterson made every effort to solve Curt’s problem, such as replaced Curt by someone more capacitive in this position. Eventually, to help Curt improve the planning and coordination, Erik Peterson held one-on-one counseling sessions to show Curt how to plan better. Erik Peterson showed good leadership for the reason that Erik Peterson’s work-facilitation behavior indicated that Erik Peterson was willing to provide mentoring, coaching and counseling to assist employees in developing their skills. Also, Erik Peiterson believed high moral and understanding would encourage people to work as a team and participate more in organization, thus, he held meeting every week in order to let employee to communication and exchange of ideas. Under the Leader- Member exchange Model of Leadership, it was the so called â€Å"in group exchange†. Most employees said the meeting was effective, they found from the meeting, they developed respect, mutual trust and a sense of common partnership. This kind of leadership was effective, employees tended to increase job satisfaction and build more trust for company and coworkers. From the part â€Å"key personnel assignments† we could conclude that Erik Peterson was kind of transactional leadership. He clarified employee’s role, such as he found that Trevor Burns was very bright, knowledgeable and sophisticated and assign him in the management group of GMCT. He found the out what people’s the capacity and strength was and assigned them to the right position. This definitely increased efficiency of the daily work. Meanwhile, Erik Peterson gave positive rewards —-promotion for his secretary based on her good performance on work. As to the salary problem of Trevor Burns, Erik Peterson showed the empathy which was an essential part of emotional intelligence according to the article â€Å"what makes a leader†. Erik Peterson felt uncomfortable when he was hearing Trevor’s salary was 25% less because he believed Trevor deserved it. Then Erik Peterson had a conversation with Trevor concerning the decrease and Trevor, finally accepted the cut of 20%. Erik Peterson was thoughtfully and considering employee’s feeling-along with other factors –in the process of making intelligent decisions. After noticing the initial construction of cellular the not that GMCT’s relationship with four of the towns in the license area, Erik Peterson made every effort to solve these problems. At the same time, Erik Peterson revealed self-aware during his work, which was another important part of emotional intelligence. Erik Peterson recognized the problems about the local utility in getting it to make ready its telephone lines according to the promised schedule. What’s more, Erik Peterson realized the bad relationship between Curt and Trevor. Feeling unable to deal with these problems, Erik Peterson was looking forward to talk with Knight who w the executive to figure out the solution to the problems.. Erik Peterson knew when to ask for help. Also, he had a firm grasp of himself and he would not let him overstretching the assignment. Knight arranged a two day meeting with Erik Peterson, discussing the problems Erik Peterson were facing in his organization. This process may stated in the article â€Å"tipping point leadership† as breaking through the cognitive hurdle. From the meeting, Erik Peterson provided Knight, the executive with the opportunity to had a face-to-face with the problems. In this case, Erik Peterson may be more likely to get help from Knight since Knight might get a profoudining understanding of how serious the problems were and gave Erik Peterson support to overcome these problems in the organization.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Moving to the Foreign Contry

Abdurashid Abdukhamidov ENG-095 Gina Love Cause/Effect Paragraph 30th October, 2012 Moving to the Foreign Contry Nowadays, as a result of looking for better conditions of life many people have been moving from their own city to another cities or countries. People in all over the world are developing the necessity to find their happiness, education, and a better work. Changing the place of environment or basically just moving to another country can affect people in many different ways.The very first and one of the most common reasons is an education. Since, people are looking to a better education, they move to a country that can give them the possibility to be a good professional in the specific sphere of major/science. Also, the educational facilities and competencies of the schools in other countries may be better than the ones available in the hometown countries. There are some countries that have most developed and very famous universities in the world. Also read: Disadvantages of Foreign WorkersAlso, in some of the specific countries of the world, education is better improved and developed than the other ones. Younger generation nowadays, is mostly looking for the better and tougher way of gaining knowledge. Obviously, the qualified university is being the better choice for any student. Statistic shows that most of the immigrants made their immigration with the purpose of studying abroad. Also, the diploma of the foreign countries are more acceptable than the ones with lower rating and feedbacks.Foreign diploma gives students opportunity to get a better job, and make a way much better salary. Other most important advantages are self-development and learning the foreign language. Living away from hometown, makes people more confident and independent. People who moved to another country need to take care of every single thing by themselves. They are all responsible how to organize their lives, how to make a plans to achieve their goa l of immigrating from their hometown into another. Also, people should be able to communicate with others.In order to build the communication with others, immigrants should learn the language of that country, and be able to use that language in the correct way. Apart from that, the language has different grammar or pronunciation, so immigrants should study a lot of things. Thirdly, it’s important for immigrants to be adapted to the foreign culture and traditions. No one should ignore or stereotype the other’s culture and traditions, and showing respect and greeting are the most important responsibilities of every single immigrant. Immigrants need to develop themselves to an unknown condition of life.Making new friends, respecting other’s opinions, developing their own point of views, accepting cons and pros of the living condition in another country can be a key to achieve their goals and make their causes of immigrating realized. These all can also count as an example of a knowledge of the life in general. Living far from hometown, even for a short period of time, can be really hard at the beginning. From general point of view, all changes make difficulties, but most of the time, changes give people opportunity to understand the value of everything and be appreciated.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Comparison between smokers and non-smokers Essay

Smokers and non-smokers have many differences, and very few similarities. I am one of those people who have been subject to addiction and got into the habit of smoking even though I do realize that us smokers are looked down upon by many people. Many restaurants and public places have become non-smoking, which prevents smokers from going certain places. Most people who smoke realize the harmful affects, but addiction is too strong to overcome that most of the time. For me I don’t think it’s as much the addiction, but how cigarettes help me relax and relieve stress. One of the main reasons non-smokers look down on smokers is because most of them realize the harmful affects, but continue to smoke because they are addicted. People who smoke tend to spend a lot of money on cigarettes that they could be spending on something that is more necessary than cigarettes. People who smoke generally have a yellowish tint on their fingernails and teeth from the tar in the cigarettes. Bad breath is also a common trait to people who smoke, which could be helped by breath mints or gum, but most people who smoke don’t carry those items around with them. Many people who smoke would like to quite smoking to prevent certain future health problems, but can’t because they are addicted. Non-smokers, however, do not understand us smokers because they have never experienced addiction for themselves. Non-smokers do not have to waste their money on cigarettes because they do not smoke. Non-smokers do not have to worry about stained fingernails or teeth either, which helps them have a somewhat cleaner appearance. They could, however, have bad breath depending on what kind of food they eat and how often they brush their teeth. In general non-smokers are healthier because they do not have that tar clogging up their lungs.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Personal Development Plan Essay

Section 1: So far, I have learned that the course I have taking to complete my education, is the right path me. I have also learned that I am a hard worker, and I have attainable goals to which if I remain dedicated I will attain. My hopes in doing this development plan is to list out a clear plan for myself to maintain the momentum in my educational goals. I know that a lot of what I like to accomplish within the next 5 years relies on how well I am able to accomplish this goal. I want to be realistic in this plan. I want to be able to put together attainable goals. In this plan it has to carry a certain expectations that will guide me to see where I am and any giving point in time. Because I want succeed in step towards completing my education, this plan is important to me. My Jungian Typology is INTJ â€Å"INTJs are idea people. Anything is possible; everything is negotiable. Whatever the outer circumstances, INTJs are ever perceiving inner pattern-forms and using real-world materials to operationalize them.† –Joe Butt I am very productive, whatever I set out to do in a day it will be done in a day. I am not easily distracted. I tend to be only curious in things that I need to understand. I am a mild external locus control, the variables in life affects our plans in ways that may not be easily to understand. Because of such possibilities, I believe our very best is required for whatever task we engage in so we can maximize our ability to succeed. So far I am not experiencing burnout, this is also a good reason to have a plan in place when you are pursuing goals. Even in work, we have to develop a plan to handle the challenges that we may face. I believe this is why I scored 16 on the stress test. If you have an idea how you intend to be in a giving situation, you tend to Lessing the stress level that comes with it. Section 2: OL 125: Personal Development Plan – SWOT Analysis (Milestone Two) Strengths (What do I do well?) Weaknesses (Where can I make improvements?) I am a creative person. I have an open mind, I listen to what people say. I am slow to anger, I tend to give people room to learn from their mistakes. I am brave, not because I am not afraid, I believe that what must be done has to be done. I can be overly accommodating which can compromise my wellbeing. I can be not forthcoming at times which can affect how decisions are made. I can be enabler at times also which can give the impression that I am not interested in a particular circumstances. I tend to procrastinate on things that are easy for me to do, because I know it will not take much effort. Opportunities (What kinds of things could I be doing based on my strengths?) Threats (Where could I be using my strengths and talents more productively?) I can be a writer. (novels, self-help books) I can be a teacher. I can be a motivational speaker I can be a director (corporate, business) The obstacles that I see that could prevent me from productive as I can be is the use of my time. I can also see that if I don’t continue to improve in my skill set through education I will not reach my professional goals. I have work on my procrastination over the little task. I have to trust in the process of my plans and focus on attaining the level of education that I want to have Reflection: The most interesting thing about the SWOT analysis is how simple it is to comprehend. We live out lives in parts, sometimes we never fully see how the other parts of our life affects all of our choices and action. Through SWOT analysis, we can begin to see how the parts fit. We can come up with a practical strategy to deal with our weakness and take advantage of our strength. SWOT analysis reveals that you need a plan to work right. SWOT analysis is a good strategic tool to use evaluate how we work. Quast, L (2013) Section 3: OL 125: Personal Development Plan – PEST Analysis  (Milestone Three) Factor Opportunity Threat Political 1. Taxes- I am concern about how the taxation system will affect my income. 2. Civil liberties- as governments fall all over the world and the threat of terrorist attack a growing reality in our days, I fear that my civil liberties will be affected 3. Healthcare- want to see harmonization of healthcare across America. The reluctance of the populace of the United States of America to accept the healthcare law, while there is nothing else in place to replace it, may make it difficult to harmonize healthcare across America. The increased pressure on the uninsured to get a healthcare insurance may lead to civil unrest. Economic 1. Domestic economic growth is slow and difficult to predict. 2. International economic growth is unstable and it affects our domestic economy. 3. Interest rate- the fluctuation interest rate makes it difficult to invest with confidence. Federal and State rules on taxation can improve the economy environment. If the economy growth does not improve, more people will be out of jobs and those out jobs will find it difficult to find new jobs. Socio-Cultural 1. Education-Society and culture has to continue to stress on the importance of education. 2. Terrorism- the international committee growing together to combat terrorism. 3. Lifestyle and attitude towards social culture changes I see more educated and skilled engineers on various projects that I work on. The need for tolerance in the work place is needed now more than ever without a social-cultural emphasis on education ignorance will cause many problems in the work place. Technological 1. Emerging technology- the Impact of emerging technology on daily business activities is increasing. 2. Outsourcing- globalization labor cost is catching up to domestic labor cost. 3. Economic Variable- The growth of technology is affecting the predictable pattern of global economic growth. Emerging technology is the foundation of the next technological boom. The pattern of sustainable growth in the technology sector may stall because of lack of skill labor force to guide its growth. Reflection: I see that by making effective use of PEST Analysis, one can ensure that whatever they are doing will be aligned positively with the agents of change that affect the global community. By paying attention and taking advantage of the observed changes, one can maximize the possibilities of being successful than if your activities oppose it. Section 4: Fill out the chart below with the three practical goals you have developed during this course: Goals Action Steps Potential Obstacles Plan to Overcome Try to attend class consistently. Create days and time to accomplish reading assignments then post on the discussion board early enough to get some feedbacks. Work schedule and obligation may interfere. Set a day to finish reading assignment and post in the discussion board. Work on one weak area from the assessment test. Pay attention to the areas in my leadership that may need a conscious effort to develop. Not every scenario from work allows me to implement the things I have learned. Be patient and wait for the opportunity to put in practice the improvement that I have learned. Apply myself to becoming a better manager. As an IT manager, there are so many crisis that sometimes you develop a routine of jumping in to help instead of letting the team leads to do their job. Some issue may be kept from me until it is too late to do something  about it. Trust in those who are put in place to lead, and allow them to do their job. Final Reflection: This plan will work because it is part of the basic principles that makes one a good student or a manager. It will show in my leadership, and those who are affected by my decisions will see me in a better light. It would also prove to me that making a decision to continue my education despite the success I now enjoy from professional career, has not been a waste of time.