Introduction to Communication-Creating I Messages-discussion Personal Statement

Introduction to Communication-Creating I Messages-discussion - Personal Statement Example These situations could be the temperament and personal mood at the time of communication (Bishop 4). Non- assertive communication is in most cases defensive and irrational. I remember one scenario when I was in a meeting with my business partner. We had agreed on the standard terms for our ERP implementation to one of our clients. A disagreement arose on what duration the implementation of the project would take. A series of questions kept on propping up from my partner. There was a heated disagreement and the discussion turned out acrimonious. My partner in deed had some valid concerns. Assertive communication in this case would have solved the acrimony. Assertiveness is a skill that needs to be incorporated in day to day communication. When one is tactical in his or her communication, they listen more than they talk. The basis of careful listening is to gain a clear understanding of the other person’s perspective. The result would be a balanced reaction to whatever the issues under discussion. I now have an understanding of assertiveness in communication. It is more productive and it results to tangible

Morris Kent Jr. vs. the United States Essay Example for Free

Morris Kent Jr. vs. the United States Essay At the age of 14 years in 1959 he was reported to have committed several offenses on housebreakings and attempted purse snatching. He was placed under probation on his mother’s care with corresponding social services. At the age of 16 in 1961 he was reported to have committed housebreaking, stealing the house owner’s wallet, and raping her. After which he admitted committing several offenses of the same manner. The waiver Kent’s mother, a lawyer, and a case worker from the juvenile court filed a petition to consider waiving the case while he was placed at the District of Columbia Receiving Home for children for a week. The trial and verdict He was convicted to six counts on housebreaking and robbery but was acquitted on two rape counts by reason of insanity. The appeal Objections to fingerprinting proceeding, absence to notification of parents, and courts denial to the access on his social services file. Petitioner also questioned the validity of the one week detainment at the District of Columbia which if an adult is already considered unlawful. The validity of the waiver which denies the petitioner the benefits of the juvenile courts parens patriae capacity (Howell 1998). Schall vs Martin The history At the age of 14 in Dec. 13, 1977 Gregory Martin was arrested with first degree robbery, second degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Martin with two others allegedly hit a youth on the head with a loaded gun. They then stole the victim’s jacket and sneakers. The procedure Martin evidenced of lack of supervision was based on possession of a loaded weapon, lateness of the hour, and false information on his address given to the police. He was detained for a total of fifteen days between the initial appearance and the completion of the fact finding. The trial and verdict Martin was found guilty on robbery and criminal possession charges. Since he was adjudicated as delinquent, he was placed on two years probation. The appeal Objections were made on the pretrial detention of juveniles implying greater abuses of law and power. Re Gault, re Winship, Mckeiver vs the State of Pennsylvania The cases Winship was a twelve year old boy in 1970 who entered into a locker and stole $112. 00 from a woman’s pocketbook. He was ordered placed in a training school for an initial period of 18 months subject to annual extensions from the basis of preponderance of the evidence. Gault was 15 years old in 1967 when taken into custody as a result of a complaint that he had made lewd telephone calls. He was ordered to perform as a juvenile delinquent until he should reach maturity at the State Industrial School. Mckeiver was charged together with a group of 11 to 15 years with various acts of misdemeanors which arose from several demonstrations protesting school assignments and a school consolidation plan. The public was excluded from the hearing for major reason that the juvenile proceeding might make the trial into a fully adversary process. Each member of the juvenile group was considered a delinquent while placing each of them under probation. Analysis and recommendations The Juvenile Justice Services Administration is responsible for the effective administration of the juvenile justice programs for delinquent and incorrigible youths which is being done in coordination with the juvenile courts. The identification of the needs of children facing delinquency leads to the invention and creation of the juvenile courts to go easy on young criminals. The rapid increased of juvenile crime and young people identified as at risk has created a furor on shocking juvenile crime statistics which resulted to a public outcry on the need for change in the management of young offenders in all of US states nationwide. This practically litigated some offenders in adult criminal courts. The argument details on young children who had committed violent crimes like assault, rape, murder and armed robbery which are often adjudicated in the same court as non violent offenders charged with shoplifting, burglary, and petty theft to drug offenses. The growing disillusionment of the therapeutic and ineffective approach of the juvenile justice system has resulted to appeals for a modification of its due process to transfer young offenders to adult courts and prisons. It has been the present society’s desire to oppose rehabilitation and effect punishment. They firmly believed that the framework of the juvenile justice system has permitted young offenders to avoid accountability which led to its nonadversarial, decriminalized process where violent offenders were never separated and categorized according to the severity of their crimes. The court subsequently measures to provide guidance and rehabilitation of the child and protection for society not to fix criminal responsibility, guilt and punishment according to their parens patriae capacity. It seems that US is now caught up with its own policy which seems to produce a rapid increase of juvenile offenders who are not amenable to rehabilitation who acts as criminals who happens to be children. The courts are now dealing on the crossroads of empowering themselves to consider amenability between children who err and those children who commits an isolated criminal offense against the mandates of the juvenile justice court system. There is a marked dependency issues within the jurisdiction of the court and for young offenders otherwise involved in the judicial system. The system which serves to pose as an integral part of the national development process to protect the young and maintain peaceful order in the system has created chaos because of its policy and practice of informal justice for issues of social control. Most common practice is the treatment of every youth who violates the law is not labeled as a juvenile delinquent unless they were officially processed through the juvenile courts and officially adjudicated. But how can they be properly processed if at the start police interventions are already placing lax policies at stake? Is it a matter of policy makers and policies implementation? Or is it a matter of family emotional and authority interconnections that created the young person as he is today? The purposes and procedures of juvenile courts have become immerse on public reactions reflecting opinions on the system. To protect the rights of the young offenders, there must be a classification on matters of the crime that was committed. It is necessary to redesign a new youth justice system before it does more public harm. Young offenders caught in the web of the existing criminal justice system shall be classified according to the severity of the crime that was committed through individualized assessment and proactive case management. There shall be a diverse menu of options where the institution shall be created solely for the young offenders. This is the day that the court will treat crime as a crime regardless of the offender’s age and the appropriate time that young offenders will hold accountability and experience the consequences of their acts. Young people who violate the law are no longer guaranteed special treatment simply because they are young but must be disciplined according to the severity of the violations they had committed on separate juvenile institutions. The separate institution is still a form of special treatment where the facilities and the education and training of the young offenders are to be thoroughly studied. Amidst the severity of the crime, young offenders will still continue to be cognitively, emotionally and socially different from adults. Therefore the separation and the creation of a unique institution for them where they shall attend training and education inside and still receive diplomas for their education continues to serve them as citizens and young offenders. There must be a mother image or model assigned to a particular group of five or six children who will monitor their personal needs and really pose as a parent to them. Screening for the recruitment of mothers on this process must be very thorough and well maintained. When we say that young people are vulnerable to negative influences, we can justify the mother or parent issue by the model parent who constantly monitors and cares for them and teaches them basic family values that may be more than what their biological parents could give largely dependent on the nature and characteristics of the model parent screening recruitment process. Why not try hiring Asians? Maybe a change of culture introduction will work for these offenders. When you are out of ideas on how to control them, we might as well try other cultures to experiment the effect. We might as well try blending policies and practices on the care management of these juvenile delinquents. There shall be no lapses over the rights of the child being tried in an adult court regardless of age on the basis of the severity of the crime because the institution to where he goes is not a mix adult one but a newly created institution that caters juvenile criminals for this matter. No fear of any adverse effect on social issues and negative adult influences because they interact with people of the same violent crimes and same age bracket. Or to modify court proceedings, since we already have classifications on the severity of offenses then it can move to create law appropriate for these juveniles who were criminally charged. However, the trials shall be done under and within the umbrella of the juvenile justice system with no act of favoritism on matters of age. So waivers on matters of jurisdiction may not pose a threat to committing mistakes on putting the child into the adult institution. The issue here is the willingness of the State to provide such juvenile penitentiary. The cost and the budget appropriations will more or less equal to the budget on their drug abuse intervention offers. But if young offenders will be criminally hold accountable for their offenses then they will absolutely stop and start to manage their baby instincts which results from baby court policies and treatment of their offenses and age. The court is not justifying the act but is more on protecting the age which contributes to these young people’s confidence in passing time making crimes and getting away with it because they are young which is very unreasonable and not applicable either in the family system more on the justice court system. The issue that serves to balance the recommendation is the factors that made this young delinquents abused their rights. Maybe there were too many rights given to them that the court cannot invade to create justice for the victims in that system anymore. They have made a perfect firewall on their policies that even them cannot manage to hack their own system to change. There shall be a modification with the justice system classification on young people’s offenses and put them right back on their tracks without getting their rights off. For once in their lives they should know the harm and damage they had done to their victims and make them pay for it in their unique form of institution. It is a matter of psychological warfare with these young people. The psychological warfare of which is already in their own advantage because of the juvenile justice system policies and practices. We love our children but we need to rear them right. Love does not only mean making them babies in treatment and in policies, they also need a little spanking when they err to understand the severity of their act. Love means caring for their needs but still punishing them when they do things that poses harm to themselves, harm to their families and harm to the society. We have to stop the notion of making them think that what they are doing is still acceptable because of the governing family policies and juvenile justice system methods of treatment and rehabilitation. It is a matter of breaking their confidence now that they were made indestructible in court because of their age. The idea is to make them realize what they have done is immaterial to age but a direct violation of love and God. The institution will serve them right because they are properly taken cared of depending on the administration. Since national policy has been taking children out of their families because they don’t trust parents to be effective anymore, which is due to their policy also, then putting then in a juvenile institution consisting of a large land, mother models, equip with schools for education and training when they err will put them in their places without taking out their right. It is a midway and the last recourse for these children. There will be no fear on part of the parents and no fear on part of the justice system. The kids now will serve their time studying and learning skills to get a life after serving their sentences. Some grave offenses will require them to work within the institution as part of the training like foundry or what Don Bosconian students are doing. If you don’t want to work and get trained 8 hours a day, then don’t commit grave offenses. Just be a youth and live how a youth is supposed to live. It is a matter now of choice for these juvenile offenders. The knowledge itself that they have an institution to go won’t make them go easy on their impulse acts and imaginations. It is like the idea of over feeding the child which makes him obese, overprotective policy will make him a criminal because nobody can touch him. It seems that the idea lies on the thought that the victim will fear more of being killed and raped by a juvenile offender because no justice can be absolutely derived from it. How can a nation maintain peace and order then when it disrupts respect for law and of the rights of the victim in the first place? We want to see the situation objectively. Reversing orders by judges is just not applicable but modifications on the juvenile justice system are what we have to look into deeply. It is time for a change and that change shall start now before certain events will turn to future abolition of the ineffective juvenile justice system. We just have to look at the flow chart and analyze the policies and procedures involved in each processes. The theme is objective analysis and not favors. The only thing that will hold them from waivers and transfers to adult courts are the negative consequences of adult institutions for their age and shall not be based on their ages. Figure 1. Juvenile justice flow chart (Arizona 2006) References Arizona Supreme Court. (2006). Juvenile justice flow chart. Retrieved May 19, 2007 Website: http://www. supreme. state. az. us/jjsd/jolts/FlowChart. htm Howell, J. C. (1998, January). NCCDs Survey of Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facilities. Crime Delinquency. Retrieved May 19, 2007 Website: http://law. jrank. org/pages/12936/Kent-v-United-States. html

Deviance In Society Essay -- essays research papers

What does it mean to say, â€Å"deviance is socially defined?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Deviance is defined as, â€Å"The recognized violation of cultural norms.† Deviance is an act of rebellion against set of rules, and expected behavior established by a certain society. Deviance is defined in many different ways. It is depended on the norms of the society, and region. Individuals become deviant when people label their actions as deviance. It depends on how that certain society defines deviance on individuals. The establishment of rules, and breaking rules in society is determined by strong social powers. This event leads to social inequality in society. â€Å"The Saints and the roughnecks†, are an example to labeling individuals as deviants, and it shows how social power causes inequality. Deviance appears in all likes of society. Deviance has many meanings to unconformity on a cultural norm. It depends on that the state of society, and its region. Prostitution is a profession that has existed since the beginning of society. Prostitution is viewed as a sleazy way of making money. The United States outlaws this profession, because it degrades females. Yet it is legal, and accepted in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Residents in Nevada view prostitution, as any other job.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Individuals become deviants when society decides to call the acts deviance. It is a labeling process put on the person. An example of deviant behavior would be the teen youth wearing ba...

Introduction to Strategic Management Essay

The threats facing health care organizations vary in scope and nature (Authenticity Consulting, 2007). It is therefore a critical requirement that healthcare organizations adopt strategic plans that are capable of helping guard against such threats. To be able to do this, however, every individual organization has to identify the threats that face it and move to find ways of mitigating or managing the risks associated with the threats. This paper discusses four types of threats facing the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). These are environmental, economic, governmental, and demographic threats. Discussion  NAMI is specifically involved in the fight against mental illness through different methods. In this endeavor, the organization is faced with the following threats: Environmental Threats As an organization that deals with mental issues, the main environmental threat has been the rise in the number of people who are committing suicide because of their mental condition. This has been especially noted among teenagers (NAMI, 2010). For different reasons, it has been a threat to the continued successful operation of the organization which seeks to reduce the problems associated with mental illnesses, including death. According to the organization, teenage deaths have been on the rise, threatening to reverse the gains so far made. For instance, suicide committed by teenagers and adults with mental illnesses of different kinds accounted for more deaths in the country compared to the combined causes from cancer, stroke, pneumonia, birth defects, heart disease, Aids, and lung diseases (NAMI, 2010). This is a pointer that unless appropriate measures are taken to halt and reverse this trend, then the organization risks failing to achieve its objectives. An associated threat is that the cause of the high number of suicide among people with mental illness has not really been underpinned. This has made it even more difficult for intervention to be done effectively (NAMI, 2010). Economic Threats In its endeavor to fight against mental illness, NAMI usually employs the use of increased awareness through training and education on mental illness (NAMI, 2010). Do be able to do this the organization needs a lot of money. As a nonprofit, NAMI relies on the goodwill of sponsors such as charitable organizations and other well-wishers. In the recent times, however, this support has been waning, posing the threat of drying up. This threat has been more real during the global economic crisis than at any other time before because the ability of people to spend money has been greatly reduced due to economic hardships all over the world (Comerford, 2007). With a declining economic outlook, the organization is faced with the threat of having to reduce its advocacy campaigns and narrow down on the implementation of only those programs that are deemed very critical. Yet every program of NAMI is equally important. This lack of financial support threatens to curtail all the organization’s activities unless it is checked now. Demographic Threats NAMI deals with people from different backgrounds each of which has its own unique challenges (NAMI, 2010). Owing to different cultural practices and beliefs, different people with mental illness are treated differently by the society, a move that affects their chances of leading fulfilling lives. Stigma, for instance, is more rampant in certain communities than others. The threat of increased stigma against people with mental illness has been there for a long time now. This is in spite of efforts by NAMI to demystify some of the myths associated with mental illness (NAMI, 2010). Over time, stigma is likely to become a leading cause of death among people with mental illness. Another demographic threat is rampant rise in the population of the world which is making the resources available to people with mental illness to be reduced. Finally, the other threat is the high turnover of experts in the mental health care field (NAMI, 2010). Fewer professionals than are required have remained in the field to take care of the ever-increasing cases of mental illness. This has been exacerbated by the many professionals who continue leaving the field for different reasons (Begun, Kaissi & Sweetland, 2005). Government Threats Government policy has impacted NAMI in many ways. However, the greatest threat posed by government is its failure to pass policies that assist the mentally ill to get better health care services (Swayne, 2006). For instance, there has never been appropriate funding for mental health institutions especially those that are not-for-profit. This is in spite of the commendable work they do in ensuring that there is appropriate healthcare for the mentally ill. That aside, the government has always been coming up with new legislation regarding the health care sector from time to time without really caring what impacts such legislation has on the operations of organizations like NAMI (Begun, Kaissi & Sweetland, 2005). Then there is no appropriate health care insurance for people with mental illness because they hardly ever get to be among the main groups that are insured by the government or by their employers. As most people with mental illness never engage in gainful activities, they are faced with the threat of being ignored in major government plans. NAMI is also threatened by policy changes that might require it to meet certain minimum requirements to be eligible for funding (NAMI, 2010). Conclusion Given these threats facing NAMI, there is a need for appropriate strategies to manage them. As with all other threats, these particular ones are outside the control of NAMI and call for proper strategic planning to address them. Risk mitigation and change management are some of the approaches that can help deal with the threats and minimize their impacts should they actually come to happen.

Costa Coffee Essay

The remote environment comprises factors that originate beyond and usually irrespective and out of Costa Coffee’s control. Economic factors Since Costa Coffee is a multinational business, top-level managers must consider the economic situations on both the National (Egypt) and International levels. Currencies exchange rate (Forex) affects Costa Coffee’s final products’ prices as well as operation costs. Costa Coffee imports high quality coffee beans from rainforest farms where it pays for in local currency, and sells as coffee in another country with its local country. Hence, when the Egyptian Pound depreciates, the cost of beans relatively increases; therefore, causing a fall in profit margin and vice versa. If depreciation is too much, then Costa might increase its selling prices. Moreover, interest rate is vital for a business considering expansion as Costa Coffee. As interest rates increase, Costa Coffee’s ability and willingness to expand or open new branches decreases; due to the high cost of capital. Furthermore, the stock market plays a significant role in encouraging investors to invest in Costa Coffee due to the increasing profits and the good reputation. Finally, high economic growth rate of a country leads people to increase their consumption of Costa Coffee’s products; since they have more income. Social Factors Egyptians’ culture and lifestyle has dramatically changed in the last 10 years. People are more willing to go to cafes for lunch, dinner or simply a snack. Considering the Egyptian demographics of lifestyle and age groups, most of the Egyptian population falls in the youth age group. Hence, Costa Coffee plays music and offers an atmosphere that is convenient for all ages with special attention to youth. Costa Coffee respects the religion of each nation in which it operates. To clarify, Costa Coffee neither sells alcoholic drinks nor pork-containing food. In addition, Costa Coffee’s menu is written in both English and Arabic languages. English is the most widely spoken language, and Egypt is known as a touristic attraction. Plus, Egyptians like to come across a menu written in their own language for simplicity and showing cultural respect. Also, many people nowadays are concerned with their health; Costa Coffee is providing low-calorie food, a variety of fresh salads, sandwiches, and fresh fruit juice. Political Factors Governmental rules and regulations could affect the firm’s suppliers and the price of the raw materials. Imposed taxes or tariffs on the imported coffee beans add to raw materials cost. Rules regarding social insurance add to labor costs. Political instability and strikes do affect labor and consumers of Costa Coffee. Technological Factors Advanced machines affect the firm’s performance and efficiency through producing tasty coffee as quick as possible. High quality and speed of service affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Costa Coffee uses highly advanced brewers and coffee makers for the best coffee cup. Besides, the use of the Internet to facilitate transactions between Costa and its suppliers lowers transaction costs and decreases lead time. As a result, stakeholders are more satisfied with increased profits and lower costs. Ecological Factors Costa Coffee uses recyclable paper bags and paper cups. And, it tries to reduce its energy consumption as steps towards a greener environment. It also ensures adherence to responsible farming practices, so that natural habitats are protected thereby reducing deforestation and carbon emissions. Furthermore, Costa is working to deliver green (LEED) certification for new stores beginning later this year and is working closely with its suppliers to develop more environmentally friendly packaging. Industry Environment Operating Environment A firm’s operating environment is related to environmental factors that directly affect the firm and its success in obtaining necessary resources. Yet, they are still factors beyond its area of control. 1. Competitors Costa coffee in Egypt faces high direct competition where around almost every corner in the cities, a coffee shop exists. Therefore, product differentiation is a must, and persistent high-quality is the way to keeping customers. Whichever Costa Coffee shop you enter, you are greeted the same, indulge in the same taste and pay what you see in the menu. Menu prices are tax inclusive which is different than most of other coffee shops. Competitors include, but are not limited to, Starbucks Coffee, Cilantro and Beano’s cafe. Creditors Costa’s past payment records and working capital position are the main attributes affecting creditors decisions. Considering the Egyptian markets, banks are not rare to find. Costa might be dealing with several banks, and may be granted loans from several areas. Hence, creditors have little leverage; since interest rates are controlled by central bank of Egypt as well. Customers Costa coffee is a service firm. Therefore, its utmost goal is customer satisfaction and loyalty to yield profits. Constantly monitoring Egypt’s demographics is essential in keeping a convenient atmosphere. For instance, Costa must always recognise what the youth are listening to these days to be able to play the optimum collection of songs in its branches while abiding by the brand’s image. Accessibility of location and parking spaces are of the main issues regarded by people when deciding on their hang-outs. And, the customer buyer behaviour of whether they prefer more salads and sandwiches rather than desserts; affects how much of each should be available at Costa’s branches. Labor Costa’s reputation and image is kept through its workers. Costa has to respect labor rights especially now that people are more aware of the rights than ever before. Also, Costa has to be selective in its waiters and baristas to keep the brand’s image and reputation. As a result of Costa’s reputation, highly-qualified workers apply for jobs at Costa Coffee. Suppliers Supplier relationships are as important as customer relationships. A good supplier relationships decreases yield time and enhances firm’s productivity. In Costa’s case, supplier power is not high as Costa has multiple suppliers, with low switching costs. However, supplier relationships are well-attended to at Costa Coffee; as part of its social responsibility towards coffee-growing countries.

The Frog and the Nightingale Essays

The Frog and the Nightingale Essays The Frog and the Nightingale Essay The Frog and the Nightingale Essay Once upon a time there was a frog who croaked away in Bingle Bog. Every night from dusk to dawn, he croaked on and on. Other little animals around loathed his voice but they were left with no choice. The crass cacophony; a very loud and unpleasant noise blared out from the sumac tree. At whose foot the frog sang till the break of dawn. The stones, prayers, sticks, insults, complaints and bricks could not silence the frog’s determination to display his heart’s great pride and joy. One night, in the moonlight cool and pale, a nightingale perched upon the sumac tree.She casted forth her melody and the frog sat dumbstruck in complete silence. The whole bog starred towards the sumac tree totally interested that they could not think of anything else; and at the end of the song they all clapped at her. The ducks had swum and the herons waded to her as she sang beautifully. Out of jealousy and ill-will and a solitary loon wept beneath the light of the summer moon. Toad, teals; a small duck; and tiddlers were all captured by the voice of the nightingale and cheered her on. They were all filled with fascination and delight.They all cheered, ‘Bravo’, ‘Too Divine’ and ‘Encore! ’ The nightingale that was not so used to such applause got up once more and sang till dawn. The next evening when the nightingale shook her head and twitched her tail, she closed one of her eyes, fluffed one of her wings and cleared her throat to sing, she was startled by a croak. She enquired from the frog who proudly admitted that he owned the tree and had been long known for his baritone. The frog was not too keen in praising the nightingale, and said that the song was too long, though the technique was fine and lacked a certain force.The nightingale was greatly impressed and flattered to encounter a critic of such note who can discuss her art and throat. Though the song was not so divine, at least it belonged to the nightingale. The heartless frog told the nightingale that it was not much to boast about. Without proper training which he or a few others could supply, the nightingale would remain a mere beginner. With a proper training she would be a winner. She said that the frog was like Mozart, the great musician, in disguise who had come to earth before her. The frog would charge her a modest fee for training her which was not too much as to hurt her.Now the nightingale was filled with inspiration. She was very pleased and excited and got fired up with both art and adoration. She sang with a great passion. She became a huge success and a celebrity. Many animals from many miles around came to hear the nightingale sing. The frog with great accuracy counted the heads of animals and charged an admission fee from each of them. The next morning it was raining and he began her vocal training. The nightingale could not sing in this kind of weather but the frog insisted that they could sing together. The frog asked the nighting ale to put on her head covering and the badge of honour.Both the frog and the nightingale sang together for the full six hours. Then the nightingale started shivering, her voice became hoarse and she started quivering. She was indeed deprived of sleep but in the night her throat revived. The honored crowd who came to hear the nightingale sing included the Owl of Sandwich, the Duck of Kent, Mallard and Milady Trent, Martin Cardinal Memphisto and the Coot of Cristo. The frog saw them glitter with both sweet and bitter joy. The frog had sold her songs for silver, yet he still scolded her so that she might practice even longer till her voice grew stronger like his.The frog told her that in the second song during the previous night, she became nervous in the middle. He asked her that she should try and make the public happier by giving those better sharps and Trillings and should also aim at increasing the money since she still owed him sixty shillings. Day by day, the nightingale grew m ore sorrowful and pale. Night after night her tired song became quick and unsteady and had jumps in between the birds and the beast grew tired in hearing such a dull sound. The income from the ticket window fell greatly. The nightingale became addicted to free applauses. Singing into the night gave her no more delight.The frog was furious with the nightingale. She was too brainless on the stage and must use her wits and fashion to feed her lungs with passion. The nightingale trembled and was terrified to fail. She was blinded with tears and when she puffed up to sing she burst a vein and died. The frog said that he tried to teach her but she was too stupid, too nervous and too tensed. The poor bird should have understood that one’s own song is one’s own song. That is why the frog could sing with confidence in his own elegant style. The unpleasant voice of the frog went on and on without any rival in the bog.

flag desecration essays

flag desecration essays Flag desecration is not American. People who burn the American flag lack respect for themselves, America, and the many people who have died to preserve American freedom. The people who desecrate the American flag have no right to call themselves Americans. They are unpatriotic, two faced, cowards, and worse of all un-American (communist). To be patriotic a person must love and defend his own country against all foreign and domestic threats. These unpatriotic people are two faced. They live in America with all its freedoms, and yet desecrate the most important symbol which holds America together: the flag. The way flag burners go about desecrating the American flag shows that they are not true Americans. Flag burners commit a morally unjust and hateful crime by desecrating the American flag. They are the first to hid behind the first amendment (Freedom of Speech). For people to say they have the right to burn the American flag, sighting their first amendment rights, they have some kind of warped sense of expression. If people continue to desecrate the American flag, it will lose its significance and value. From 1968 to 1989, politicians and true red blooded Americans understood how important it was to respect the American flag. Congress passed a law in which it prohibited desecration of the American flag in 1968. According to the law, it was illegal to cast contempt, either by word or act upon the American flag ((Federal law, 18 USC Sec. 700 States, 1968); Sec. 2(a). The law states that whoever knowingly casts contempt upon any flag of the United States by publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon it shall be fined, not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, Sec. 2(b). The term "flag of the United States" as used in this section, shall include any flag, standard colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part ...

Indricotherium (Paraceratherium) - Facts and Figures

Indricotherium (Paraceratherium) - Facts and Figures Name: Indricotherium (Greek for Indric beast); pronounced INN-drik-oh-THEE-ree-um; also known as Paraceratherium Habitat: Plains of Asia Historical Epoch: Oligocene (33-23 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 40 feet long and 15-20 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; slender legs; long neck    About Indricotherium (Paraceratherium) Ever since its scattered, oversized remains were discovered in the early 20th century, Indricotherium has occasioned controversy among paleontologists, who have named this giant mammal not once, but three timesIndricotherium, Paraceratherium and Baluchitherium have all been in common usage, with the first two currently battling it out for supremacy. (For the record, Paraceratherium seems to have won the race among paleontologists, but Indricotherium is still preferred by the general publicand may yet wind up being assigned to a separate, but similar, genus.) Whatever you choose to call it, Indricotherium was, hands-down, the largest terrestrial mammal that ever lived, approaching the size of the giant sauropod dinosaurs that preceded it by over a hundred million years. An ancestor of the modern rhinoceros, the 15-to-20-ton Indricotherium had a relatively long neck (though nothing approaching what youd see on a Diplodocus or Brachiosaurus) and surprisingly thin legs with three-toed feet, which years ago used to be portrayed as elephant-like stumps. The fossil evidence is lacking, but this huge herbivore probably possessed a prehensile upper lipnot quite a trunk, but an appendage flexible enough to allow it to grab and tear the tall leaves of trees. To date, fossils of Indricotherium have only been found in the central and eastern parts of Eurasia, but its possible that this gigantic mammal also stomped across the plains of western Europe and (conceivably) other continents as well during the Oligocene epoch. Classified as a hyrocodont mammal, one of its closest relatives was the much smaller (only about 500 pound) Hyracodon, a distant North American anecstor of the modern rhinoceros.

Management of a Patients Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Management of a Patients Needs - Essay Example Each year, over 75,000 reported deaths in the UK is associated with diabetes mellitus (Type 1 and 2). Other complications associated with the condition (diabetes mellitus) include, for instance, amputation, kidney failure, and blindness. It is estimated that each year, over 6000 people in the UK who are diabetic undergo the amputation of either leg or foot. Researchers in the medical field also contend that if the current trend in the UK continues, the amputation rate will rise (McInnes, 2012). On another note, the expenditure on diabetes care by the NHS is almost reaching the  £10billion mark, which is about 10% of NHS total budget. Most of the expenses tend to cater for the management of avoidable complications. Conversely, other than direct costs, there are also indirect costs that increase the figure to approximately  £ 23.7 billion. However, among the most costly consequences of diabetes in the UK is the number of hospital admissions. It is estimated that at any one time, av eragely 15% of inpatients in the hospitals are recorded as patients with diabetes (NHS, 2012). The government acknowledges the adverse effects of diabetes on its citizens and has come up with a vision that targets the care of diabetes under the NSF (National Service Framework for Diabetes). On the other end of the spectrum, improvements in the care of diabetes are still needed due to its increased prevalence. For instance, there is the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of complications associated with diabetes such as FDUs

Yakuza criminal organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Yakuza criminal organization - Essay Example The Yakuza is the name of the most famous criminal organization from Japan. However, the Yakuza is not a single homogeneous organization: it comprises several hundred of clans or gangs that operate in different cities. The Yakuza is involved - in some or other form - in many aspects of life in Japan and has certain interests in virtually every area of commercial activities. The Yakuza's sphere of influence is huge spreading from prostitution rackets to the government and top level businesses. At present, the Yakuza is considered to be one of the largest and most powerful criminal organizations in the world. Thus, the number of known yakuza members only in Japan is almost 85 thousand (Bruno 2007).The origins of Yakuza can be traced back to the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa's unification of Japan in the beginning of the 17th century brought peace to the country, but also produced approximately half a million of samurai unemployed and with practically no employment opportunities. Althoug h many of these samurai turned merchants this option was acceptable and available to only few of them: the rest had not other choice but to search for other means to earn their living. Thievery and other illegal activities became an option for many samurai to support themselves (Seymour 1996).However, the precise origin of the organization is still debated: the diverse gangs that constitute the Yakuza have different origins. Furthermore, the versions of origin adopted by members of each gang often differ substantially from the actual origins traced through the historical records. Therefore, the most popular version is that the Yakuza developed from several different elements that characterized the Japanese society of Tokugawa period (Kaplan and Dubro 1986). Although the Yakuza claim that they originated from the Japanese versions of Robin Hood whose main function was to protect communities and restore social justice this standpoint is reasonably questioned by many. Thus, some resear chers trace origins of the Yakuza to the so-called kabukimono (crazy ones): the group of samurai who adopted unusual hair styles, dressed in a strange manner, spoke in highly specific slang, had long swords and harassed ordinary people: "Some feel that its members are descendents of the 17th-century kabuki-mono (crazy ones), outlandish samurai who reveled in outlandish clothing and hair styles, spoke in elaborate slang, and carried unusually long swords in their belts. The kabuki-mono were also known as hatamoto-yakko (servants of the shogun)" (Bruno 2007, p. 1). The adventures of kabukimono are still a popular theme in Japanese folklore literature. At the same time, the claims of some groups of the Yakuza to have their beginnings from the communal police or machi yakko (servants of the town) that protected the community are justified. These groups of police had different types of organization and consisted of various members of the community. Some groups also included several samurais: only samurai had the right to carry swords while the rest of population was officially prohibited to do so (Kaplan and Dubro 1986). The origins of the most well-known groups of the Yakuza, namely tekiya (peddlers) and bakuto (gamblers) have better traceability due to the specific initiation ceremony that involves rituals that directly relate to the initial spheres of interest of these groups. Tekiya began to create organizations to take over at least some administrative functions and duties relating to commerce and especially to protection of their business. Thus, during trade fairs and festivals each peddler paid certain amount to run his business safely under protection of their own security forces. These forces were eventually recognized by the Edo government, and their leaders called oyabuns (top chiefs) were granted the right to carry a sword like samurai and nobleman (Hill 2003). Bakuto (gamblers) also represented a low caste (even lower than tekiya) of the Japanese soci

Epistemology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Epistemology - Essay Example Philosophers have come up with theories best to meet varied retail management strategies and aligning them with varied customers’ needs with time (Tsoukas, 2005). Douglas McGregor in his book â€Å"Human side of enterprise† acknowledged an method of making an atmosphere in which employees are encouraged through imposing, direction and control or integration and self-control which he called theory x and theory y. Abraham Maslow on the other hand developed a scientific management approach called Third force psychology. In retail management, organization of employees is of paramount importance due to their respective roles in running the activities of the retail outlet. They may range from cashiers, sales persons to assistants on technical aspects of the products and services. Customers’ needs on the other hand are varied and keep changing with time, seasons and preference. With McGregor’s theory, retail mangers need to ascertain the optimum transfer of autho rity and/or power to their employees incorporating Abraham Maslow’s needs and preference principles to help run the retail outlet smoothly. The two theories have similarities and differences of which can be viewed in a business perspective to assist in analysis of their concepts. In business core values, values like respect, commitment to personal and professional development and focus on friendly environmental practices and unwavering commitment to quality will match well with McGregor’s theory on employees’ motivation and control, and that of Maslow’s self-esteem, confidence, achievements and respect of others and by them. In developing goals, setting results expected of different employees of the outlet, the administration, financial segments and the outlet at large can provide a benchmark of realizing departmental efforts and capabilities and an insight about what requires change. This matches well with Maslow’s self-actualization pillar where molarity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts which will be a product of the employees organization. In tem endorsed product line, the two theories are similar in that retail managers will need to assign employees to their best performing sections so as to align with the customers’ immediate wants. This is due to the fact that in endorsing a product line, employees need to intensively know their products and â€Å"think big† about the possible queries by expected customers and their respective answers so as to convince the customers. The two ideologies differ in the application to meet the employees need to change in their working conditions in terms of rules and regulations company aspirations and perspectives towards their development in one hand, and customers/consumers’ need of incorporation of their changing needs and preferences on the other hand. This calls for further study on retail management and analysis of ways to merge the man agement styles with the customer needs. For instance McGregor’s theory of authoritative, direction and control varies with the theory of integration and self-control in that there is no clear cut of the optimum type and level of authority to the employees to achieve maximum returns (Cooper, 1999). That is, if managers use the authoritative and control style, how would employees perform in relation to meeting the customers’ needs? On the other hand if management opts for integration and s

Pretty Women Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pretty Women - Movie Review Example Being white, Vivian received help from the hotel manager in getting herself ‘made up’. However, in retrospect, she might not have received the same treatments had she been Black or Asian like Fox and Liu, respectively. On the other hand, should that have been how the story goes whether or not the female role player is white or colored, it would still go that way according to the director’s wants about how things should be. In the real world though, it is most probable that more racist actions and comments could have been flung to the lady if she was of a different race, and the woman could have endured more sufferings than the Vivian played by Roberts. With respect to becoming prostitutes, people usually have the assumption that poverty usually causes someone to engage at such a degrading profession. It could be a common perception which probably is logical considering most of the poor are not able to go to a level of education where they can be competent to get m ore decent jobs.

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Human resource management - Essay Example 2011, 1). Empirical research has supported the theory by proving that the most impressive performance result when an organization sets clear and specific goals. Effective goals should also be measurable, accurate, and time-bound (Kessler, I. 2012, 66). Clear goals ensure that employees attain a conspicuous sense of direction in their duties. Goals motivate employees to perform at stipulated levels (Perkins,S. and White, G. 2011, 109). It is essential for both the organization and the employees to have distinct strategies about performance targets. This is because employees should work with goals that directly affect their departments. In this view, an organization pays an employee according to how one meets given goals. An employee that satisfactorily meets set goals possess a higher bargaining power in demanding for more pay. In turn, an organization faces the task of synchronizing incentives with the nature of number of goals that an employee is supposed to meet (Heery, E. 1996, 55 ). On the other hand, the expectancy theory holds that an individual acts in a certain way because one chooses a given behavior out of a set of behaviors (Marsden, D. 2004, 17). Such a behavior results into the desired performance. This theory evaluates performance as an outcome of an employee’s ability and motivation to choose one type of behavior over the other (Pendleton, A. 2001, 88). Three factors play a crucial role in shaping this form of motivational behavior. To begin with, an employee makes a psychological link between effort and behaviors (Thompson, M. 2009, 131). In addition, the concept of instrumentality links behavior and outcome. Outcome, in this sense, is perceived as pay. Lastly, valence relates to how a person attaches value to an expected incentive (Marchington, M., & Wilkinson, A. 2008, 124). In the share and ownership scheme theory, the

Pretty Women Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pretty Women - Movie Review Example Being white, Vivian received help from the hotel manager in getting herself ‘made up’. However, in retrospect, she might not have received the same treatments had she been Black or Asian like Fox and Liu, respectively. On the other hand, should that have been how the story goes whether or not the female role player is white or colored, it would still go that way according to the director’s wants about how things should be. In the real world though, it is most probable that more racist actions and comments could have been flung to the lady if she was of a different race, and the woman could have endured more sufferings than the Vivian played by Roberts. With respect to becoming prostitutes, people usually have the assumption that poverty usually causes someone to engage at such a degrading profession. It could be a common perception which probably is logical considering most of the poor are not able to go to a level of education where they can be competent to get m ore decent jobs.

HUMAN RESOURCES(MANAGEMENT) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HUMAN RESOURCES(MANAGEMENT) - Essay Example After World War II, it indicates that many governments adopt a more active role in regard to employment relations (Bamber et al. 2004 p 12). Bain and Clegg (1974) as well as Clegg (1976) state that dissimilarity in the dimensions of collective bargaining in various countries is the most important element in the shaping of union behaviour. This might represent a theory of trade union behaviour regarding collective bargaining however Clegg does not consider it a complete theory of trade unionism, because theory does not clarify the political actions of trade union. Even if the theory was comprehensive enough, it would not still not be considered as of theory of industrial relations. The dimensions of collective bargaining for Clegg are mostly affected by the structure as well as attitudes of employers' relations and management. State involvement through legislation might also be a dominant influence if it takes place at an amply early stage during the development of collective bargaining. If it was a comprehensive theory of industrial relations it would take these factors into consideration as well. Hyman (1994) supports Clegg's analysis of union behaviour, mainly due to the fact that the theory fails to describe the changes that take place in the trade union density and strike behaviour in the following years. He emphasizes on impact of factors of political-economic like global competition that is intensified, the capital and employment restructuring, as well as the fall of Keynesianism in a country. He states that, as national institutional arrangements surely assist in shaping the effect of these forces on industrial relations, he supports Shalev (1980) notion that 'the organization of industrial relations ought to still occupy no more than the position of variables that are dominant in theories which are comparative in nature. A strong theory must emphasize on political economy. However we are left with no comprehensive account of national differences. Institutions can be known as symptoms , and not as causes, with differentiation in institutions among countries being mainly manifestation of the power distribution as well as the results of conflicts among different parties when these institutions start functioning (Shalev 1998 p.248).Institutions also replicate party's collective strategic choices, as well as the choice of unions along with labour movements to follow a path which is political in nature. According to Poole (1984; 1986; 1993) the differences that are found in industrial relations institutions as well as practice in diverse countries have a strong foundation in the strategic choices of different parties to that of the employment relationship (Kochan, Katz and McKersie, 1984 p16). These parties are basically social 'actors' who form the arrangements of the institutions in which they function. The

Positive outcomes for children and young people Essay Example for Free

Positive outcomes for children and young people Essay 1.1 Social factors Personal choice Some families decide that they do not wish to live or act in a way in which is viewed as normal. For instance a child may be from a travelling family. The outcome of this factor is that there are people which may not be able to relate to the child or young person’s families views. If a Child is from a travelling family there is a possibility that their development at school may be delayed due to being transferred from school to school. Poor parental supervision and neglect All children need a routine and a loving family home. Without these there may be conflict at their school because they do not know or understand acceptable boundaries. They may have vague view of their own abilities and may believe they are allowed to do what they want because they do not know any different. Lack of boundaries could result in them becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. Neglect could lead to health problems through malnutrition. They may struggle to form social relationships because of their lack of personal hygiene. Poor clothing could lead to bulling and teasing, causing them to be withdrawn and become isolated. Offending or anti-social behaviour Children who miss behave and break the law may run the risk of being expelled from school. Also there is a possibility that their family could be evicted from their social housing accommodation. A child could be taken into care for various reasons such as a parent could be in prison.. The child may perceive the behaviour as normal or acceptable. It may result in them making some bad personal choices. Disability if there is a parent or a child in the family that has a disability, this could affect the family especially if the child is used as a carer for their parents. In some cases respite care may be needed for families with family members that are disabled and this can cause family disruptions and inconsistency in a young person’s care especially if the respite care is for overnight visits away from home. Health support whilst a child or family member is receiving support for healths issue this could possibly affect continuity of care, education, development and income. Addictions The impact on addictions can be varied. They can suffer health problems if their mother had a drug or alcohol problem during pregnancy. They may suffer from neglect, abuse or violence. If they have younger siblings they may find themselves responsible for their care and therefore may suffer stress and feel isolated. They may feel scared and find it difficult to speak to people for fear of getting in trouble or going into care. They may ultimately find themselves in care if the addiction results in their parents being unable to care for them. Bereavement and loss If a family loses a member of the family or a close friend this could affect the mental and in turn physical health of a family. Adults that have lost their partners may find the emotional strain difficult to cope with and may then find it more difficult to care for other children in the family. This can leave a child feeling very insecure and frightened. They may become quiet and withdrawn. They may become very emotional, clingy and tearful or become violent and abusive. They may feel angry, let down and abandoned. Their work and concentration at school may suffer as a result of any stress and worry they may be feeling. They may suffer poverty as a result of a fall in the household income and also suffer a dramatic change in lifestyle that leaves them confused. Economic factors Poverty Families that live in poverty are more likely to suffer mental and physical problems and therefore may not be able to provide for their child. Poverty can result from low income, unemployment, parental separation, illness or disability, addictions, or criminal activities. Children may suffer malnutrition or a poor diet as a result of their parents being unable to afford quality food. It is possible for children to also suffer health related issues. If a child is within a poverty stricken family and this is noticeable by the clothes the child wears and activity the childs parents may not be able to afford then the child is at risk of potential bullying. Housing and community Families on a low income can be placed in local authority housing. If the family grows then this can cause overcrowding within the home. It can result in child having no privacy or space which can affect the child homework. If the home is within a dangerous area then this may result in the children becoming isolated, as their parents may be fearful of letting them out to play or they may themselves become involved in anti-social behaviour and criminal activities. Lack of academic achievement Children whose parents have had poor education or lack numeracy and literacy skills may struggle at school. Their parents may show little in their education and as a result they themselves may also lose interest and starts miss behaving in class or follow in the wrong crowd of friend which will lead to them failing in their education and struggle to get employment as an adult. Cultural factors Religious beliefs and customs Children may have to attend a school that is associated with their religion. It is always possible that this gives the child a different quality/balance of education. They may struggle to understand other people‘s religion or lifestyle choices. They may become confused or isolated and struggle to interact with the community. They may also experience or witness abuse on the grounds of their religious beliefs. Ethnic beliefs and customs Ethnic beliefs and customs can affect a child’s clothing, customs, dietary needs, education and other areas of their lives. Children may have different clothing which could lead to them being bullied. Their culture may view interaction between men and women in a different way. Children will struggle to recognise what is acceptable at school as it differs from home. This could cause them to come into conflict with school rules or to be perceived as mis behaving. 1.2 Low income for a family suffering from poverty can mean that children may not have the same advantages of other children not living in poverty. Such as not having â€Å"normal† clothes or accessories. Children may see this as a target for teasing and bullying. Poor housing could lead to ill health due to unacceptable standards within the home. Such as damp within the home or draft from poor quality of housing. Not having access to the correct food and warm clothing could affect health. Families that live in poverty are more likely to suffer mental and physical problems and therefore may not be able to provide for their child. Poverty can result from low income, unemployment, parental separation, illness or disability, addictions, or criminal activities. Children may suffer malnutrition or a poor diet as a result of their parents being unable to afford quality food. It is possible for children to also suffer health related issues. If a child is within a poverty stricken family and this is noticeable by the clothes the child wears and activitys the childs parents may not be able to afford then the child is at risk of potential bullying. 1.3 In accordance with Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child the outcomes of the Governments Every Child Matters framework and the Early Years Foundation Stage, children should be provisioned for by ensuring that children are involved and engaged with, allowing them to be heard, to make decisions, contribute their experiences and be supported and safeguarded throughout their development. Even from an early age, children’s choices, even simple ones, can have an impact on their life chances and outcomes such as choosing which toys to play with at pre-school or which friends to play with, a child may develop a friendship with another child who is perhaps a bit louder and boisterous and may display unwanted behaviour, this choice of friend may have a negative impact on the childs behaviour at home or in other settings they move onto. Whilst the child has the right to choose their friends, it is our responsibility to involve the child in setting expectati ons of their behaviour and help them to make a positive contribution, which is one of the outcomes of the ECM framework. Children throughout their lives will make choices such as whether to eat healthily or unhealthily or start smoking or drinking, as any early years setting we ensure that we offer healthy snacks and encourage parents to supply healthy balanced lunch boxes, we involve the children in activities and discussions about the importance of healthy living but there will come a point where they can choose for themselves. If a child/young person chooses to eat unhealthily this will have a negative impact on their well-being, they could become overweight, develop diabetes and it could exclude them from taking part in activities, this could continue and have a negative knock on effect throughout their lives perhaps causing them to suffer low self esteem and become withdrawn from social situations. 2.1 The Every child matters outcomes are: Be Healthy – this also includes how our health is affected by our social, mental, emotional and physical well-being. The Government has a focus on healthy living for children. At my preschool we provide healthy snacks for the children. We also promote healthy choices, talk about healthy hearts and activities that teach them an active lifestyle.Stay Safe – we ensure children in our care are safeguarded. We have a named safeguarding officer who we can take any concerns to. We also have a robust safeguarding policy. Children know they can talk to any member of staff if they do not feel safe and they know they will be listened to.Enjoy and Achieve – we observe children so we understand their needs and can then plan more accurately for individual children.Make a Positive Contribution – we are continually assessing and developing our policies to ensure we are always making positive contributions to children’s developmentAchieve Economic Well-being  œ by ensuring we follow all the EYFS and Every Child Matters we are ensuring all children have the best start in life and can go on into adulthood and achieve economic well-being. 2.2 The importance of designing services is that each child, young person and their family will have different needs, requirements and barriers that can prevent their access and success. Securing positive outcomes and maximising life chances. It is important to design services that respond to each unique set of needs as each organisation supporting children and young people will be working on behalf of them to achieve the five positive outcomes of every child matters .A non-responsive service would be less accessible, date quickly, may discriminate, be unable to cope with queries, requests, break down and have the potentially to damage the interests of those in need, failing in its ability to safeguard children and the extended community.Issues involved with designing services: How networking between services happens Outreach services and what is available Communication consultation Making effective change Flexibility in working together Care in preparation Integrating information from differing services Collaboration between services, children, young people, parents Ensuring information 2.3 Its very important to listen to childrens views and communicate with parents and respect their points of view. We need to communicate well with children and take into account that young children may use non verbal communication. If children and young people are given chances on what activity they would like to do they are making a decision which can help them become confident. Every week we let the children plan to play. They get to decide where exactly they would like to play within the nursery and if there are certain activitys they would like to carry out. It is always the childs decision. It allows the children to make the choice by themselves building up confidence, self-esteem and social skills. I really enjoy seeing the children gain their confidence and I can tell it makes them feel very important by being allowed to deal and make their own choices. I notice that if the child is allowed to make their own choice then they are much more focused on their chosen activity rather than being told what activity they are doing. Whilst doing this and the child is growing up they can take with them their decision making skills and apply them to adult life. 2.4 2-3 years of age.All children of different ages and stages will chose what they would like to play with within our setting. They do not get help from the adults unless a little support is needed on how to carry out a certain activity. Children will chose different activities to play with. One child will play with cars trains. Another child might like the sensory equipment such as paint and sand. As practitioners in our setting it is our job to provide a variety of resources for the child to make their own choices. This will encourage the child to explore the environment and play with the activities that they enjoy.At snack time we offer a variety of fruit and this is passed round the children sitting in a circle. Again the child is able to make the decision on what type of fruit they would like to eat.Ages 3-6 years.Again at this age within our setting we promote that every child has a variety of choices when planning their time in nursery. At this age I have noticed that because the children are getting older and developing personality and relationships with the other children they tend to stick to the same type of activity. 7- 9 years At this age they like to choose what kind of after school activities they would like to participate, this will be incorporated with their likes and dislikes. This is the time where they take more interest in their optional units at school, this again can be a battle that takes part with parents because the young adult may want to take options that the parents disagree with, however I feel that with both of my children I did let them choose their own optional units and they both did very well, I feel this was because they were interested in what they chose to do. They don’t have an option on certain subjects so it is important for them to help chose the ones that they can. Teenagers-19 years They will choose what work experience they would like to do. This will enable them to try a certain type of work before they go to college or university. They also begin to have a sense of style by choosing and buying their own clothes. Sometimes they will have dramatic choices in life to make, however they can sometimes make the wrong choices, this can include under-age drinking, drugs, smoking, gangs, crime and we can only be there to advise and help support the teenager we can reinforce what they are doing to themselves and others and offer support and guidance. They have to make certain life changing choices such as relationship, employment, which university or college these will be important changes that only they can make. 3.1 Disability can impact the life of a child because of discrimination. Within society children get discriminated against because of their disability. This could be by not being included within groups of children because of their disability. This happens often in our society because young people or children do not understand what disability is at a young age. The result of this discrimination happening could be that the child or young person could get depressed and have low self esteem from not been included. The lack of opportunity available for disabled people could effect disabled or young peoples lives this could be no disabled access on mainstream schools or colleges or on community centres which acts as a barrier for the disabled people when they are trying to lead normal lives. When disabled people cannot use public facilities as mentioned above, it also gives them a barrier to choice and they cannot choose to do things which are not available for them. An example of lack of choi ce is courses within colleges that are not available to the disabled because there is no access . 3.2 A person is often disabled as a result of their impairment unless an effort is made to allow them to fit in and feel accepted. It is possible to avoid or reduce the impact of the impairment so the person can have opportunities to make choices, develop their potential, become independent and play a full part in society. You should always keep a balance between being realistic about the limitations that a childs impairment may cause, whilst at the same time having high expectations for their progress and achievements.Practitioners should have a positive attitude about their capacity to provide for disabled childrens requirements, and are ready to learn new skills such as sign language or using the Makaton system. The children have greater opportunities for making developmental progress. 3.3 Models of disability provide a framework for understanding the way in which people with impairments experience disability. The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society that means society is the main factor in disabling people. While physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychological variations may cause individual functional limitation or impairments these do not have to lead to disability unless society fails to take account of and include people regardless of their individual differences. The social model can affect daily practice as some people can not take part in a going to a swimming lesson unless it is specialised. An example of when this takes place is when workplaces do not have wheelchair ramps, so people in wheelchairs can not be employed there. This also happens in some restaurants. The medical model of disability is by which illness or disability being the result of a physical condition, and which is intrinsic to the individual may reduce the individuals quality of life and causes clear disadvantages to the individual. The medical model tends to believe that curing or at least managing illness or disability mostly or completely revolves around identifying the illness or disability from an in-depth clinical perspective understanding it, and learning to control and/or alter its course. 3.4 Speech and language therapy- they will usually work in partnership with parents, teachers and support staff and anyone else who has regular contact with the child and provide training and coaching sessions and provide them with ideas and strategies to put into place to help promote the child’s speech. I myself have sat in on a session with a child in school when the speech therapist came to have a meeting with a child and she gave me advice sheets on how best to help the child with his speech including picture cards with words on with either two, three and even four syllables and the child was encouraged to clap the amount of syllables while saying the word. Support from health professionals additional learning support- a child who has a disability like down syndrome may need extra support in the classroom to help them learn in my setting we have a child who comes in every Tuesday for social skills and he has his own teaching assistant to support him with his needs. A child with epilepsy is likely to require regular monitoring from health professionals and medication, which needs to be adjusted appropriately. Assistive technology- these would be anything which will help someone for example wheelchairs, hearing aids, walking frames in my setting we use large computer key boards for some children and for a child who is blind you could use software which reads text from a screen there are many different aids available for children and adults to help them with everyday tasks. 4.1 Diversity is about valuing individual difference. So diversity is much more than just a new word for equality. A diversity approach aims to recognise value and manage difference to enable all employees to contribute and realise their full potential. Diversity challenges us to recognise and value all sorts of differences in order to make our environment a better place for everyone to work. Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances. Equality is not about treating everyone in the same way, but it recognises that their needs are met in different ways. Equality focuses on those areas covered by the law, namely the key areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender and Age. People must not be unfairly discriminated against because of any of these factors and we must all contribute to creating a positive workplace and service delivery environment where discriminatory practices and discrimination no longer happen. Inclusion is about ensuring that children and young people, whatever their background or situation, are able to participate fully in all aspects of the life in school. It is not about viewing everyone as the same or providing the same work, but about providing the same opportunities and access to a high quality of education. 4.2 By treating all families equally this as a positive impact on the child because they can see that their family is being respected and will raise the child’s self esteem. In my setting we promote different cultures and religions every year we celebrate the Chinese New Year and children are taught about some of their traditions and we make dragons and red envelopes with money in and this year in PE we even used materials for the children to dress at dragons and do a dance. My setting provides excellent equipment and resources to enable children to be included and the correct training of staff. We have wall displays about others counties and provide many books on other cultures and religions in the library we display work the children have done for parents to see. We adapt activities to meet the needs of the child and also adapt ways of communicating including visual aids, body language, and speaking slower and face-to-face.Speech therapists promote this by providing different types of communicating methods. With the child and the parents. Behavioural support will come into school and give information and advice on the best ways to tackle bad behaviour and they will also work with the parents.Education support services will monitor attendance and provide a link between school, parent and pupils where necessary and they will develop a supportive relationship between them. They will give advice on issues such as bullying and also they will take legal action against parents if their child is not accessing an education.

MIS implementation at AC Ltd | Analysis

MIS implementation at AC Ltd | Analysis A PROJECT REPORT On Management Information System of AC Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1 INTRODUCTION – DEFINITION OF MIS 5 2 COMPANY PROFILE 6 3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 7 4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 7 5 TYPES OF MIS AND USES 8 7 ROLES OF MIS 8 8 DESCRIPTION NATURE OF INFORMATION SYSTEM 12 9 Description and Analysis use of Information Systems MIS STUDY AT AC LIMITED 9.1 General Information 9.2 Need For Integrated MIS 9.3 MIS Functions Provided by Current MIS 9.4 Architecture of MIS at AC Limited 9.5 Inventory Management Module Of Current MIS 12-24 11 ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT USE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, identification of problems 24 12 RECOMMENDATION for future developments in use of IS 25 13 GANTT CHART 28 14 REFERENCES 29 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Making decisions is an integral part in the functioning of any organization. To facilitate Decision making in this ever-competitive world it is imperative that managers have the right information at the right time to bridge the gap between need and expectation. For better flow of information an adequate Management Information Systems (MIS) is the need of this age. Thus it is important to have an understanding of the MIS followed in an organization by all levels of management in order to take effective and appropriate decisions. A management information system collects and processes data (information) and provides it to managers at all levels who use it for decision making, planning, program implementation, and control. The MIS has many roles to perform like the decision support role, the performance monitoring role and the functional support role. To get a realistic view of the MIS, I’ve gone through the MIS of AC Limited. For the purpose of getting in depth understanding of particular functions of the company, I focused the needs, uses and benefits of MIS with respect to the Material Department of the company. For the preparation of this report, Inventory Management has primarily been focused. AC Limited is one of the first Pakistani companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and to adopt automation and IT infrastructure. The preliminary computerization took place in 1986. The organization has traveled a long way from the days in 1986 when it was using simple keypunching machines. Significant improvements were made in the application systems and infrastructure. From Batch processing to on-line systems, from IBM1401 to the latest UNIX and Windows XP and 2003 based machines organization has made timely transitions determined by the available technologies. Throughout this evolution the MIS remained synchronized to the information flow in the organization and the management felt that it has played a role in the overall growth and increased performance of the organization. INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF MIS Management Information Systems (MIS) is a system consisting of people, machines, procedures, data bases and data models, as its components. The system gathers data from Internal and External sources of an organization; processes it and supplies Management Information to assist managers in the process in decision making. Thus it is safe to conclude that an information system is a system consisting of the network of all communication channels used within an organization. There are many potential benefits of MIS investments Investing in information systems can pay off for a company in many ways. It can support a core competency. Enhance distribution channel management. Builds brand equity. IT investment can boost production processes Information systems allow company flexibility in its output level. An information system comprises of all the components that collect, manipulate, and deliver data or information. It usually includes hardware, software, people, communications systems such as telephone lines, and the data itself. The activities involved include inputting data, processing of data into information, storage of data and information, and the production of outputs such as management reports. COMPANY PROFILE – THE ACC LIMITED AC (AC Limited) is Pakistans foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACs operations are spread throughout the country with 14 modern cement factories, 13 Ready mix concrete plants, 19 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 9000 persons and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers. ACs research and development facility has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and specialized consultancy services. Since its inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter and important benchmark for the cement industry in respect of its production, marketing and personnel management processes. Its commitment to environment-friendliness, its high ethical standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in community welfare programs have won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. AC has made significant contributions to the nation building process by way of quality products, services and sharing its expe rtise. In the 70 years of its existence, AC has been a pioneer in the manufacture of cement and concrete and a trendsetter in many areas of cement and concrete technology including improvements in raw material utilization, process improvement, energy conservation and development of high performance concretes. AC’s brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of Consumer Super Brands of India. The companys various businesses are supported by a powerful, in-house research and technology backup facility the only one of its kind in the Indian cement industry. This ensures not just consistency in product quality but also continuous improvements in products, processes, and application areas. AC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone, and it is also one of the principal users of coal. As the largest cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers of the Indian Railways, and the foremost user of the road transport network services for inward and outward movement of materials and products. ACC has also extended its services overseas to the Middle East, Africa, and South America, where it has provided technical and managerial consultancy to a variety of consumers, and also helps in the operation and maintenance of cement plants abroad. ACC demonstrates the practices of being a good corporate citizen undertaking a wide range of activities to improve the living conditions of the under-privileged classes living near its factories. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The objective of this report is to study the MIS implementation at AC Ltd. and with the help of this domain, to get an insight into the needs of MIS in business setups on a big scale, various functions performed by the MIS, benefits derived out of such a system and the risks involved. I intend to aim my study at analyzing the business needs of the organization, key challenges or desired functional requirements of the MIS, the IT solution that is currently implemented and the outcome of such a system. AC Ltd. requires MIS to map internal processes and interaction with the external environment to the technology and ensure the solution delivers real benefits to the business. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of this study is to understand the reasons behind the need of MIS in AC Ltd. This study leads to the MIS support to the Company as a whole with special emphasis on Inventory Management practiced in the Material Stores Department of the company. Through the interaction with the executives of AC Limited, we get an insight about the effectiveness of the MIS in place at the organization. TYPES OF MIS AND USES MIS CLASSIFICATION MIS is a concept, which is a matter of degree rather than an absolute one. In management there are perhaps few other areas other than MIS which gas created so much controversy. We would make an attempt to try to look into different types of MIS as they have evolved during the course of time. Transaction Processing System Management Information System Decision Support System Executive Support System Office Automation System Business Expert System FUNCTIONAL USES AND ROLES OF MIS THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING ROLE MIS are not just statistics and data analysis. They have to be used as an MBO (Management by Objectives) tool. They help: to establish relevant and measurable objectives to monitor results and performances (reach ratios) to send alerts, in some cases daily, to managers at each level of the organization, on all deviations between results and pre-established objectives and budgets. THE FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT ROLE Business processes and operations support function is the most basic. It involves collecting, recording, storing, and basic processing of data. Information systems support business processes and operations by: recording, storing and processing sales data, purchase data, investment data, payroll data and other accounting records recording, storing and processing inventory data, work in process data, equipment repair and maintenance data, supply chain data, and other production/operations records recording, storing and processing personnel data, salary data, employment histories, and other human resources records recording, storing and processing market data, customer profiles, customer purchase histories, marketing research data, advertising data, and other marketing records recording, storing an processing business intelligence data, competitor analysis data, industry data, corporate objectives, and other strategic management records use of all the above to implement, control, and monitor plans, strategies, tactics, new products, new business models or new business ventures. THE DECISION SUPPORT ROLE The business decision making support function goes one step further. It is an integral part of making decisions. It allows users to ask What if†¦? questions: What if we increase the price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10%? What if we decrease price by 5%? What if we increase price by 10% now, then decrease it by 5% in three months? It also allows users to deal with contingencies: If inflation increases by 5% (instead of 2% as we are assuming), then what do we do? What do we do if we are faced with a strike or a new competitive threat? ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE ACC LTD. Description and Nature of Information System INVENTORY MANAGEMENT A product that is in excessive demand is usually extremely difficult to manage. Supplying the right amount of products implies that an accurate demand forecast is essential. This holds the impact on the entire supply chain to facilitate efficient consumer response based on consumer demands it becomes imperative that such companies consider inventory management seriously. Making accurate demand and supply predictions is an ideal situation that anyone in the supply chain management arena could dream off. By providing timely accurate information pertaining to inventory location, movement and valuation, receipt of goods, sale and return of goods and profits you can make sure that your inventory is visible throughout a network. With inventory management you can set your product catalog to hide products that are not in stock, or change prices based on the amount of products available in the warehouse. The quantity available can be displayed to the shopper and this can prevent unnecessary confusion when the shopper adds items not available to a shopping cart. The store buyer can be automatically notified about low inventory levels. IT (Information Technology) is a key enabler in the transformation of purchasing into a strategic business function. The challenge is to find a way to put these technologies to use and create value and competitive advantage. The Main Objectives in Inventory Management are: Improved customer service Reduced inventory investment Increased productivity Benefits of inventory management applications Complete control of inventory. Complete information about the value of the inventory Complete visibility on Quantities on hand, Quantities committed and Quantities sold Response time to demand changes reduced Increased sales Knowledge of the exact size of merchandizing inventory Taxes and insurance premiums paid on excess merchandize inventory avoided. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AC is one of the first Indian companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and adopt automation and IT. The organization started computerizing its systems as early as 1986. The organization has traveled a long way from the days in 1986 when it was using simple keypunching machines. Significant improvements have been made in the application systems and infrastructure. From Batch processing to on-line systems, from IBM1401 to the latest UNIX and Windows 2003 based machines it has made timely transitions determined by available technologies and business requirements. AC has made a quantum jump from in-house developed systems using Oracle 9i and Developer 6i to an ERP based solution. This decision was solely based on its strategic objectives and the business benefits that are expected to follow. With this move people, business processes and technologies across the country are aligned. The implementation of ERP solution for process control is shown in the figure below. Fig.1 The ERP implementation for process control at AC Ltd. IT department is still continuously working on improving the functionality and removing the errors of the system. As a result system is becoming better day-by-day, thus improving the productivity of the company. NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED MIS The benefits associated with an integrated MIS are Better processing of the large volume of data in an organization. Reducing the Redundancy of Data that occurs in case of separate packages. Availability of all the required information about any department through a common system. Making the system capable of supporting the managers in making decisions. Facilitate the communication between the various regional offices of the company and the corporate office along with the main plant. Use of online data to speed up the information flow of the organization and facilitate decision-making FUNCTIONS PROVIDED BY CURRENT MIS Plant (Manufacturing Maintenance) Production Break down and Plant performance Module MIS Reports and stoppage Module, Stock position Raw Materials Management System Integration with Weigh Bridge and Security Gate Daily stock, issue position and bill passing Transport Freight Payment Systems Weigh Bridge Integrated with Security Gate Stopped one mechanical weigh bridge 500 trucks can weigh for gross and tare in single day 5002 = 1000 Time Management Reports, Truck Movement reports Weighment is integrated with invoice cum challan freight Payment Truck position inside and outside the plant. Computerized Preventive Maintenance Software Both plant are using this module Preventive Maintenance and Break down Module Shutdown module and integrated with inventory Forecasting of spares and skills usage module Inward Outward Materials Security Control on returnable goods Work Order and analysis Work Order will be prepared by authorized person Provided to all departments. Integrated with Rate Master And budget. Labour Deployment and accounting System Daily supply of Contractor Labour deployment Against regular, adhoc and shutdown requirements Daily/monthly/yearly analysis reports Contractor labour Bill passing system Commercial Applications Marketing Accounting and analysis System Excise module and Sales Tax Module Transport Bill passing module Order Confirmations and Dispatch Instruction Free Market Requirements, Railway Receipt Commercial Invoice, Debit Note, Credit Notes. Stores Inventory Non Inventory On Line indent, Issue and Receipt Materials Delivery Schedule Controlling the inventory Controlling the increased inventory Stores Ledger, consumption Summary MIS reports, Budget V/s Actual Consumption. Integrated with financial Package Repair maintenance inventory, Department Wise Expenses. Purchase Management System Purchase Order integration with indent On line enquiry, Party wise information Pending list of purchase order MIS reports, Purchase / Indent Register Payment Advice System (Advance, regular) Financial Accounting System All types of voucher feeding Purchase and freight bill passing Other Expenses bill passing and TDS Module General Ledger, Sub Ledger and Trial balance of two Financial years Auto payment advice, Bank forwarding letters, payment System, Overhead Analysis reports. Integrated with inventory and Payroll module MIS Reports Cash Budget, Vehicle Movement Controlling on Taxi, Car etc On line General information System Information provided to Users about On line Leave status I.e. opening, availed and closing status Electricity Deduction Employee wise, Quarter wise Over time Status department wise Welfare rules and Regulations, Telephone list, accidental etc Actual Consumption against budget, Welfare information Human Resource Development Topic Courses, General Awareness Programme, TNA of Workmen, TNA of LCW, Individual record of ext/int Training, Pending Training etc. Payroll PIS Module Payslips of Staff, Worker, School, Badli Casual Worker PF, VPF, Bonus, Gratuity Module LIC, CTD, Thrift Society, Co-operative advances Module. Recovery Deduction, PIS and Income Tax Employee wise Integrated with Financial Package Over Time, C-off Module Payroll of Marketing Department (Transferred from HO) Sales Accounting Systems Sales Accounting Systems, Rent Payment System Data loading, Expenses Payment System, Freight Payment, MIS, Transferring in FAS Gate Pass System (Returnable Non-returnable goods) All goods send through Computerized Gate Pass Integrated with Gate System. Pending repair items information Architecture of MIS at AC Limited Current MIS of the company is basically a In-house developed system, also comprising of few specialized readymade software packages bought from outside developers. It comprises of 11 main modules covering all the main functions of the company. Inventory Management Module is one of the most important parts of the system. It is highly integrated with the other modules and capable of functionalities like Auto Alarming when inventory is low. It is capable of generating more than 200 different types of reports to help managers in different required ways. Its main parts include Inventory issue, purchase, bill passing, other OER passing, freight passing, stock updation etc. DFDs and Data processing diagrams: Inventory Package Context Level Diagram (CFD): Inventory Package Issue DFD: Inventory Purchase DFD: Data Processing (Full Inventory Module) Application used for Work order Preparation at The ACC Ltd. 1. ITEM CODE CREATION There are 9 types of item group in Non Catalogue Item Medicines 806 Stationary 807 Repair Order 808 Transportation Order 809 Raw materials 810 Capital Orders 811 Job Orders 812 Laboratory Items 813 Direct book orders 814 2. Indent Posting 3. Indent Sanctioning 4. Indent Type Updation[image] 5. Order Preparation 6. Order Printing[image] ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT USE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS After analyzing the system properly, we came to a basic conclusion that system is working fine at an overall level and consisting of very minimal problems. These problems can’t be stated as such problems and instead can be stated as future path. Still we tried to jot down the few of them, which are as follows: Still lack of system integration after a level. Though inventory management module is integrated well with all the other modules like financial system, thus reducing the redundancy. But still there is need of paper work and manual intervention when reordering is required. System cannot be configured to reorder automatically, even for the fast moving raw material. Lack of Web Integration. AC hasn’t still employed the concept of taking orders or ordering through web and have no integration of its system to its website. Legacy Network Support. Backbone network used by AC is still the same, which they used in 1993. They haven’t upgraded the network support from then, which has started creating problems for them already. As MIS of the company is improving day-by-day including more and more functionalities, the network has already become very slow. Lack of training to managers to effectively use the decision support functionalities of system. This is another problem that we felt at the company. IT department is basically making the improvements in the system continuously with new added functionalities, but there is lack of training to managers to effectively use these functions in way that can support them to make better decisions. For example, on an average, a manager uses only 10-15 types of reports out of more than 200 types of reports available. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT Considering the given problems, their analysis and research on comparative MIS systems used in the similar kind of industries, our group is presenting following recommendations for the company. IT department of the company should now work towards integrating the system on a higher level and making the company Paper-Less Office. This should be done by integrating the system in a way that the manual intervention be minimized in the day-to-day process. The company should also start Web-Based ordering and selling, so that to be able to catch up with the growing industry. As more improvements in MIS would be done, and Web-support to be also incorporated, it is more than sure that current Network available is going to crash. To cop this, company needs to upgrade its network. For this purpose, we suggest the tie-up of company with some outside contractors like IBM or CISCO to continuously upgrade and maintain their network. With each up gradation, we suggest training to the managers of the company about effectively using the added functionalities and use of them in a better way. This can be also done by providing a handbook along with each up gradation. REFERENCES Officials Contacted from: Mr. Sam Joseph (Deputy Manager, IT Department), AC Limited. Secondary Sources Management Information Systems – A Managerial Perspective, D.P. Goyal www.tcs.com www.sap.com