Wednesday, July 31, 2019

How to Become a Professional Nurse Essay

Becoming a professional nurse, a nurse must self-regulation with knowledge to practice standards and code of ethics. One of the first stepping stone is reflecting in journal of experiential learning. â€Å"Knowledge of yourself is gained from reflecting on your experience† (Cooper, 2001, p. 22). In the course Development of self as nurse I have learned how to be a professional nurse practicing the standards and code of ethics in a working environment. Also how the tools of communication is affective towards patients. When walking into a patient’s room for the first time, a Nurse is expected to examine the patients view and to provide the best quality of care. Personally I found the lesson Way of Knowing most engaging to learn because it teaches a nurse student how to approach the patient and communicate with them. There are many different types of ways of knowing which are empirical, ethical, aesthetical, personal and emancipatory. I found this topic most interesting because each one creates the principle and foundation of patient care. During one of the group activities we read a case study of a patient’s chart and discussed her condition and how we would approach and make a connection to her. This made me feel engaged to the subject as if I was standing next to the patient’s bed. Professionalism is one of many characteristic of being a nurse, with a responsibility of their actions, attitude and display the code of conduct to provide the best practice. How the media views affect nurses image has a negative impact on the professionalism aspect of nursing. In this activity we pulled pictures off of the internet of nurses and most were Halloween costumes or cartoons and we discussed how this affects the perspective of professional nurse. I found this most engaging because all the images of nurses on the internet are not what nurses thrive for in a professional view. A professional nurse is responsible for self regulation and to follow the code of ethics, this topic I was least engaged. Reading history of nursing creates an understanding of the past to enhance the present and is the foundation of structure with economics, consumer demand, family structure, science and technology, demography and the women movement. Without an activity and just reading about history of nursing I was least engaged with this topic. The most important lesson I have learned in Development of Self as Nurse is human relationships regarding the tools of communication and ethic, values regarding beliefs, attitude and spirit. Verbal, nonverbal, electronical, interpersonal, and therapeutic are tools of communication. I believe these two concepts are important to my personal development as a professional nurse by understanding the principle of providing proper socialisation processes which starts by approaching, communicating and connecting to a patient creating a positive patient-centered environment. â€Å"Sometimes a patient will tell us something over a cup of tea that may seem trivial, but that we can use to help make their stay more comfortable. † says Julie Thompson, Head Nurse of Burton Hospital. â€Å"Relative feedback that suggested nurses over look the little things that can make a huge difference. The Initiatives are small, but they are having a big impact. † Finding time to sit down with a patient and talk breaks down the barrier between the professional and patient enables real dialogue to take place (Friend, B. , 2013). In order to understand others beliefs, morals and values a professional nursing must have knowledge of one self. â€Å"Therefore, understanding oneself results in ethical practice. Applying this practice when a patient is uncertain about their values by helping them clarify their values by listing alternative, examine possible consequences of choice, choose freely and feels good about the choice. Kozier et al (2010), p. 75 Various forms of communication are practiced by having knowledge of interpersonal skills and professional communication. Using the tools of communication influences effective communication skills, a professional attitude, respect and dignity. Expectations and issues can become present when communicating with patients or other health care professionals. I am wondering how to overcome situations where an issue has occurred during communication with a patient and how to practice standard procedures to solve the issues, different influences including gender, culture, and illness. Nonverbal communication can be expressed such as a gesture or touch and is crucial to nurse-patient relationship. This often shows how a person is feeling then what is actually said. â€Å"Research shows that touch is the best way to comfort, generally from the shoulder down to the hand is the only acceptable areas for touch professionally. † Chillot, R. (2013). Many facts influence effective communication and I question how to apply and gain effective interpersonal skills? Having knowledge of critical thinking is very important in the role of nursing which identifies awareness of personal thinking skills and styles. Always asking yourself in any situation or scenario why? What else? And what if? This leads me to question how to apply critical thinking from the classroom to practice. Turning errors into learning opportunities is the key to skill development in critical thinking. Throughout the course Development of self as nurse I believe it has taught me how to figure out my own morals, values and beliefs and to successes in helping others to find theirs. Tools of communication open up a range of affective nurse-patient relationship and professional environment.

Business: Automobile and Proton Essay

This assignment contains about business environment. Business environment refers to different forces or surroundings that affect business operations. Such forces include customers, competitors, suppliers, distributors, industry trends, substitutes, regulations, government activities, the economy, and social and cultural factors. Others are innovations and technological developments. We choose Proton Holdings Berhad because we think this local company is the best company for us to do this business environment assignment because this company use this include Macro, Micro and Internal Environment. PROTON COMPANY BACKGROUND Proton Holdings Berhad (stylized PROTON) is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer. It is headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor and operates an additional manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak. The company was founded in 1983 and was the sole vehicle manufacturer in Malaysia until the establishment of Perodua in 1993. Proton is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sendirian Berhad. (English: National Automobile Company Private Limited). Proton was largely a manufacturer of badge engineered vehicles from Mitsubishi Motors between 1985 and the early 2000s. The company has since produced several indigenously designed vehicles and operates in at least 26 countries, of which the majority are in Asia. Proton was formerly owned by Khazanah Nasional, the investment holding arm of the government of Malaysia. In January 2012, it was taken over by DRB-HICOM, a Malaysian conglomerate in a transaction amounting RM1. 2 billion. Proton, predominantly reliant on the local industry is currently undergoing major structural and internal changes, as evident in the appointment of a new owner, partner, Chairman and the launch of various new and upcoming models in an effort to gain an international presense and increase profitability. PROTON produced Malaysia’s first car, the Proton SAGA which was commercially launched on July 9, 1985 by Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who conceived the idea of a Malaysian car. One of the reason of this achievement is due to the introduction of new models with higher profit margins, stronger sales volume, savings from group-wide cost-reduction initiatives, income from the sale of rights for use of Intellectual Property Rights relating to a vehicle platform (for the China market) as well as the R&D grant. For the year 2008, PROTON’s focus would be in the core areas of product, quality, cost efficiency and distribution network. PROTON aims to have a strong product portfolio by introducing â€Å"the right car, for the right market, at the right price and at the right time†. This was reflected in the organisation’s newly introduced Exora, Persona and Saga Models, with the latter powered by the new CamPro IAFM engine. PROTON has also continued to update and refresh existing product lines to entice and attract customers. PROTON cars are also known internationally as competitive and innovative automobiles. PROTON now is being exported to 50 countries like United Kingdom and continental European markets, thereby realizing its goal of being an internationally successful Malaysian automobile manufacturer. The first PROTON car was exported in 1986. The number has increased steadily and in 1998, Malaysia exported a total of 18,422 units to countries and areas, including Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Cyprus, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan Province of China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom. The models being exported include Wira, Sedan/Aeroback, Satria and Putra. PROTON’s exports are the most successful in the United Kingdom due to its competitive pricing strategy and its buyback arrangement with car rental companies in the country. PROTON also benefited from the Generalised Preferences Scheme that made it easy for them to enter the United Kingdom market. PROTON has introduced a few upgraded models with higher engine capacity and sporty design to establish its presence internationally. PROTON is focusing to be more customer-oriented and by producing competitively priced and innovative products. It is therefore contributing to the Malaysia’s attainment of Vision 2020. Main Body. Macroenvironment a) POLITICAL FACTORS Currently, most of ASEAN region are free trade or 96% of the entire ASEAN trade. Asian Free Trade Area was established in January of 1992 in order to eliminate tariff barriers among the Southeast Asian countries. It planned to reduce tariffs to zero to 5% in 15 years among the six nations through a common effective preferential tariff (Ghani & Zainuddin 2008). If we are going to check on the high selling prices of the national cars of Malaysia because of high production costs and lack of vendor efficiency, there is a big possibility that the local market will be ruled by imported cars. In Malaysia, PROTON prices are kept comparatively lower to foreign manufacturers through protectionism. Protectionist policy has largely been blamed for PROTON ‘s stagnating performance. b) ECONOMIC FACTORS The vehicle sales in the country is expected to fall by year by year due to different economic aspect, primarily the issue of global financial crisis, which affected the local financial status of the country (AseanOneMonitoring 2009). As a result, the government of the country is expecting a slow economic growth for the country, which can affect the buying behavior of the customers. Furthermore, due to the AFTA, it had increased the competition, which will impact the performance of Proton. c) SOCIAL FACTORS The growing population in the country is one of the factors which can affect the automobile industry. Furthermore, the ratio of car ownership in the country is somewhat high or total of 1:5, which signifies that people are considering cars as important things in their lives. Furthermore, people will also set on big-ticket items or consumers are expected to put off buying different motor vehicles because of the employment market uncertainty because of the global and local financial crisis (AseanOneMonitoring 2009). d) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Due to the increasing competition, the development in technology is growing and affecting the performance and position of each and every company in the automobile industry. It is also important to consider the maturity of technology, together with the maturity and capacity of manufacturing, which affect the innovation process of any company. Due to the different technologies, primarily the help of computer and the Internet, the potential for innovation and development is increasing. Microenvironment * Suppliers The supplier has a neutral power over the industry. This is because there are few dominant suppliers in the industry who are well known for quality and brand image. Provide the resources to produce goods and services. Treated as partners to provide customers service. Proton Supplier, AV Ventures steering, wiper and washer and window regulator systems. Ichikoh, Head lamp, mirror (also for Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru). * Other stakeholders Proton’s key stakeholders are the Environment, the Malaysian government, the Malaysian public, car owners as well as its vendors and suppliers. The Malaysia Government owns 52% of Proton shares through Khazanah, Petronas and ValueCap. ValueCap is a government investment arm. The government also heavily subsidizes the production of proton cars by giving grants and exemptions/tax credits. But despite that, Proton continues to make loses. The Malaysian public is the indirect shareholder through EPF (Employees Provident Fund), government unit trust funds Amanah Saham Bumiputera, Amanah Saham Malaysia) and Lembaga Tabung Haji. Together these funds hold around 20% of Proton shares. Additionally, it is the public that pays the tax, which then is used to provide grants and tax credits. Proton also involves in sponsorships in the area of education and sports as well as donations to the needy. Customers or car owners can’t find the exact figures of active Protons cars currently being driven all over Malaysia but I would estimate the figure to be around 3 million (assuming no cars have been fully retired). The figure is justified since I can still see many first generation Proton Saga cars on the road. Environment also externality factor to be considered by having almost 3 million proton cars on our road (most of the cars produced are sold locally in Malaysia !! ). Moreover, the earlier generations of Proton are nearing retirement and may need to be sent to scrap yard and contribute to our ever increasing waste disposal problem. Vendors and Suppliers More than 80 per cent of Proton components are currently produced or supplied by automotive component manufacturers and suppliers. Proton’s network of 287 vendors and approximately 3,000 sub-vendors currently supply more than 5,000 individual components and parts for its cars. * Intermediaries We continued to work with our distributors and dealers in a number of ways, most importantly, on programs designed to enhance the sales and service experience for our customers. The strengthening of the domestic sales and service network remain our key focus to improve customer service and maintain our market share. Proton Cars Australia recorded retail sales of 1,388 units, an increase of 55%. This was the second largest increase in percentage terms of any OEM in Australia. The higher sales were attributed to the success of the Jumbuck (Arena) which accounted for 786 units. Proton Cars UK managed to retail a total of 507 units of Jumbuck (Arena), which represented 80% of the sub one ton single cab petrol pick-up market. Total sales however, recorded a decline of 14% with the gradual phasing out of the old products. Proton has continued to achieve excellent results in the 2004 UK J. D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Proton tied for 10th position in the Overall Top Brand Category out of 33 brands and was placed second in Dealer Service Satisfaction, just behind Lexus. Further inroad into the neighbouring Asean markets is expected in 2005 with the establishment of Proton Edar Indonesia and Proton Singapore. * Competitor The big competitor in Malaysia in term of automobile companies and affordable car is PERODUA. The competitive environment as we can see roughly in Malaysia is affordable car where all citizens in Malaysia can buy it and the car maintenances also cheap. Here, the porter four are been applied for more clearly because the competitive environment not only about the competitor. It can be about the economic recession, natural disaster and etc. i) Competitive Rivalry In Malaysia, there is not too much competitor around affordable car. The low cost car as I mentioned above (cheap maintenance) is not have a lot of competitor in generally. The affordable car in Malaysia also, gets more potential to sell compared to luxury car. The luxury car is only certain people used. As we see the environment in Malaysia, 1 family will have more than 1 car. For sure, the first car they will choose the cheaper car and affordable car. ii) Threat of New Entrant (high) The economic recession will be a big threat for PROTON. As we know, all big company will facing over budget or does not achieve the sale for that year. The government will lose a lot of money cause of policy and shareholders. By the way, economic down turn actually comes suddenly without notice. iii) Threat of Substitutes (high) Substitutes also will be a big threat for PROTON. Malaysia has to national car. The First automobile is PROTON and secondly PERODUA. The substitutes will high in term of car model (some of car model looks similar), and car spare part. iv) Buyer Power Buyer will choose the low cost car for the first car and buyer also actually are fragmented. So, it will not has much influence. * Customer Customers are the source of our income. We deliver on our promises to our customers’ satisfaction. The process in identifying the consumer target for new Proton Exora 2 is important due to the fact that consumers tend to have different brand knowledge structures and thus they will perceive differently for the products or services. Proton has successfully identified their target market, according to the segmentation bases namely behavioral, demographic and psychographic factors. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Marketing The company used to segment its market on variables such as behavioral, demographic, and geographical differences. Behavioral Segmentation: Behavioral segmentation is based on the customer’s needs and subsequent reaction to those needs or toward the purchase of intended products and/or services. Demographic Segmentation: Demographic segmentation refers to a wide study of the potential customers. Since the company is targeting its market to more economy class customers, demographic segmentation is employed by the company. Geographical Segmentation: Geographical segmentation is done by dividing people (markets) into different geographical locations. The company targets markets of different countries other than Malaysia. Production PROTON’s model products include WAJA, SATRIA, GTi, WIRA, ISWARA, ARENA, PERDANA V6, JUARA, PERSONA and EXORA. The range of 1. 3, 1. 5, 1. 6, 1. 8 and 2. 0 litre engines satisfies a wide spectrum of customers both locally and abroad. PROTON’s model products include WAJA, SATRIA, GTi, WIRA, ISWARA, ARENA, PERDANA V6, JUARA, PERSONA and EXORA. The range of 1. 3, 1. 5, 1. 6, 1. 8 and 2. 0 litre engines satisfies a wide spectrum of customers both locally and abroad. Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors, production of the first model, the Proton Saga began in September 1985 at its first manufacturing plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989 and latest model is Suprima S. Finance Proton maintained huge financial profit thought the 1980s till 2000 due to their high market share in Malaysia. But with the launch of an arch rival Perodua in 1993, Proton was about to have a big run for its money and this came to reality in the 2000s. Proton’s market share dropped in 2006 to 30. 4% for the Malaysian market. Their generated revenue of 7,796 ( Million in Malaysian Ringgit) in 2006 was the second lowest in the last seven years as the company have always hit the billion Ringgit mark in the previous 7 years. This fall allowed Perodua to overtake Proton as the country’s largest passenger carmaker for the first time in history, with a 41. 6% market share while Proton fell from 40% in 2005 to 32% in 2006. Their market share continued to reduce down to 23. 1% in 2010 mainly due to new government policies. For example, under AFTA, Malaysia has reduced import tariffs, admittedly after having secured a two-year deferral from ASEAN. Import tariffs on completely built-up (CBU) unites were reduced from a band of 70 – 90 percent to 20 percent at the start of 2005. However, it is important to understanding that Proton losing its market share to Perodua, another Malaysian automobile that was formed a decade after full operation of Proton could hint some gaps in their management system. In other to justify these claims, it is necessary to have a look at their in-depth financial performance since the 2000s and how they have coped with loses in relation to their internationalization project. Personnel The overall thrust of our Human Resource strategy is to recruit, reward and retain the best employees. During the year, a number of recruitment road shows were conducted in Malaysia as well as the UK among leading engineering and business universities to meet our growing requirement. The response was overwhelming and more such road shows are being planned for the coming year. An internship program for graduate trainees was implemented during the year to meet the growing needs of the business. The Human Resource Management Group has continued to be the key forum for the communication of policies and issues affecting the employees. The Group comprising representatives from the Senior Management and the Proton Workers Union meet on a monthly basis to discuss strategic human resource issues affecting employees. It is a unique program that allows regular communication and prompt resolution of issues as well as participation by the Union in the development of policies affecting the employees. Research & Development The Group continues to research new technologies with the ultimate aim to put these innovations into production through partnerships with Tier One Suppliers or OEM customers. Two such advancements likely to see production are engine technology AVT (Active Valve Train) and chassis technology VVA (Versatile Vehicle Architecture). The Group has also invested significantly on the development of new innovative products to meet the challenges of the market place. During the financial year, the Group invested RM542. 9 million (2003: RM413 million) in research and development. For 2004, total development expenditure increased significantly with work focused on the development of new models on a number of platforms including the leading edge Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA). The VVA reduces the time it takes to bring a new product to market and helps meet changing demand more quickly. Globally, we are moving towards shared technologies so that vehicles can be differentiated while using common components. The reduction in development time will create greater efficiency and the standardisation will also lead to greater economies of scale in purchasing components. Development has also begun on an aluminium-bodied vehicle built on the VVA platform. Increased fuel efficiency and power through weight reduction and material recyclability are key factors that have conspired together to promote the use of aluminium in vehicle body structures for high volume production. CONCLUSION Proton is aiming to become one of the strong competitors of the automobile companies in market. So, as other existed competitors challenge the other proton company, they were inspired by them to develop a quality business for the customers. Competitive advantage is what they are targeting for company and there are business motivational is about the capabilities in automobile companies . Even they are realizing that there are some existed competitors have their own abilities in the automobile, they are also have the buyer Power. The buyer will choose the cheap car for the first car and buyer also actually are fragmented. Therefore, it will not have much affecting. Besides that, they are always finds a way to make the market being effective with their strong distribution network. However, the companies of proton is the most famous company in Malaysia as we know and they will try the best to ensure that damage will occur. Moreover, proton also is one of the companies which give a inspiration on all people and race in Malaysia irrespective early age or that old. Everyone knows, that Proton has various product automobile with the design distinctive. Some, from revenue scooped the great of benefits had rival that high with others automobile company. Even though, it still will ensure that Proton companies will always stable with economy and in terms of from product aspect is that best and high quality.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Development Through the Lifespan Essay

In brief form explain why knowledge of human development over the lifespan is important for counsellors to be aware of. Learning about human growth and development signalled, to me, the importance of assessing and considering developmental goals when working with both children and adults. Life-span development theories provide a useful place to start when offering emotional support as a Counsellor. Understanding an individual’s previous stages of development and environment can give the Counselor and Client a common place from which to begin the counselling process. Essentially, the life-span development approach addresses the basic ‘nature vs nurture’ debate by allowing for both. Just as our physicals selves are determined by both genetics and lifestyle, so are our emotional selves. Considering cognitive, biological, and socio-emotional development throughout life will provide context, guideposts, and reasonable expectations for Counsellors. Knowledge of human development over a lifespan is important for counselors to be aware of because it allows them to identify natural stages and cycles that individuals will commonly go through in their lifetime. This can help counsellors to identify what is normal and what is abnormal. Being aware of these abnormalities/normalities could save the counsellor a great of time in the assessment and interview process, the formulation of treatment goals and could ultimately change the treatment plan. As a Professional Counsellor, I plan to consider life-span development to specialize in counselling a specific type of person with hopes of becoming well-versed, and therefore more helpful, in the types of experiences that group faces. Personality can be better understood if it is examined developmentally† (Santrock, 2006, p. 45). Give two short examples of how developmental knowledge would help a counsellor deal with two specific types of adult issues. A client comes to me for stress related symptoms and during the assessment I learn that he is 22, halfway through his first year of graduate school and the first time he’s away from his home town, 2,000 kilometers away. Since he falls within the norm, I may want to delve into some related issues to also be able to cross them off a list that I use to form my diagnosis and treatment plan. Had he not been in the 19-25 age range, my assessment goals would be different. If I were asked to counsel a group, I could employ a standard set of questionnaires for everyone to fill out. From there I could ascertain many important characteristics, feelings, longings which they all had in common. I could use the lifespan to formulate a generational perspective to better relate to where they are at in this part of their life cycle. Acquiring a rich amount information in a short period of time could be very valuable in guiding the group towards their goal with compassion and empathy. Development through the lifespan is a concept of how people develop throughout the lifetime. Typically, this involves a sequence of stages and describes important factors that are likely to influence development. BENEFITS: Criteria for mental health, with characteristics of unhealthy or disordered emotional functioning either explicitly or implicitly stated. This information is important in helping people set realistic treatment goals and in assessing progress. Information on how to promote healthy development and help people reduce symptoms and enhance their coping skills and satisfaction with their lives. A description of the role of the effective counselor and the desired relationship between client and counselor. Nearly all theories of counseling currently recognize the powerful impact of the therapeutic alliance and offer clinicians ways to collaborate effectively with their clients. A safe and healing environment and a caring, skilled, and trustworthy counselor are essential to successful treatment. Strategies and interventions that counselors can use to help people achieve their counseling goals. Examples include reflections of feeling, modification of cognitive distortions, and systematic desensitization. Information on treatment parameters such as duration and frequency of sessions; whether to use individual, group, or family treatment; and benefits of medication and other adjunct services. Delineation of those people who are most likely to benefit from this treatment approach. Adaptation throughout life depends on how each of us negotiates the internal and external factors that enhance or constrain our abilities to reach our full potentials. The essence of lifespan development is in how we build on our strengths to transcend these limitations over time. While a developmental perspective has been at the heart of psychotherapeutic practice since its early Freudian beginnings, the view of development as a process spanning from birth to death is relatively recent. According to Sugarman (2001), the emphasis on childhood during much of the 20th century reflected prevailing restrictive notions of what constituted â€Å"development†, as only changes that were â€Å"sequential, unidirectional, universal, irreversible, and end-state or goal-directed† were seen to count as development. Developmental theories have increasingly expanded beyond these confines, however, and since the 1980s it has been possible to talk of a whole life-span perspective (Baltes, Reese & Lipsitt, 1980) which shares certain underlying principles, formulated by Baltes (1987, cited in Sugarman, 2001) as the seven tenets of this orientation. These can be summarized as viewing development as a lifelong process which is multidimensional and multidirectional, shows plasticity, involves both gains and losses, is interactive, culturally and historically embedded, and the study of which is multidisciplinary. While such a view of development broadens the scope both for the researcher and the practitioner, it also entails that there is no one â€Å"correct† way of development, something that places particular demands on Counselling Psychologists. We need to be open-minded and able to embrace complex and contradictory notions of development on the one hand, and be improvement-orientated on the other, so changes are inevitably evaluated, i. e. measured against some ideal. While these challenges are met differently by different approaches to counselling and psychotherapy, Sugarman (2001, p. ) points out that there is overlap between different perspectives, as they describe â€Å"common themes if not of perfection, then at least of successful ageing†. Across different therapy models, the practitioner – like the life span researcher – is involved in â€Å"finding, co-constructing and interpreting the stories people create and use to describe and understand their lives† (Sugarman, 2003,p. 316). How the story is constructed is influenced by the practitioner’s orientation, but the goal is ultimately to help the client make their own choices. Evaluating some events as negative does not entail being concerned with eliminating negatives, as, for example in a â€Å"disease† model (Sugarman, 2001). In the life-span approach, negative events are rather viewed as necessary parts of life that provide the opportunity for growth (Sugarman, 2003). The move from development as something occurring only in childhood to a continuous process spanning from birth to death brings the subject of death itself to attention. If death is merely the endpoint of the life span and of development, it could easily be discarded as a subject of interest. However, even if we see death as nothing more than the end of life, as its destination, then it follows that the life course is a movement towards death and that death is in some sense present throughout life. One fundamental existential truth is that we must die. This certainty in life is also the most incomprehensible truth for us to come to terms with, as, in the philosopher Herbert Fingarette’s words (1996), â€Å"in our consciousness [we] will never know death firsthand† (p. ). Freud (1915, as cited in Fingarette, 1996, p. 150) wrote similarly: â€Å"At bottom, no one believes in his own death. Or, what comes to the same, in the Unconscious, each of us is convinced of his immortality. † This also suggests that we have a tendency to deny death, something that according to Yalom (1980, p. 59) occurs not only in the client but also in the therapist and, as he claims, â€Å"there is collective denial in the entire field of psychotherapy†. There may also be denial in the study of life-span development, as Sugarman (2001) makes scarce mention of death throughout her otherwise authoritative text on the subject. This seems odd considering that not only the structure of the life course is determined by our expectation of death but also the meanings we attach to life. In fact, as Fingarette explains, our conceptions of life and death can be seen as mutually influencing each other: â€Å"A mirror, too, is empty, without content, yet it reflects us back to ourselves in a reverse image. To try to contemplate the meaning of my death is in fact to reveal to myself the meaning of my life. † (p. 5) Death awareness thus sharpens our awareness of life, and making sense of death involves making sense of life, as, for example, through constructing our life story, an activity that requires a sense of authorship. For Yalom (1980, p. 31), who bases his thinking partly on Heidegger, â€Å"death is the condition that makes it possible for us to live life in an authentic fashion†. Death awareness is then worth facilitating in Counselling Psychology practice, as it helps clients re-evaluate life and make important changes towards a more fulfilled life. There is ample literature promoting a positive view of death, e. g. Kubler-Ross (1975) who describes death as â€Å"the final stage of growth† and â€Å"the key to the door of life† (p. 164). She believes that growth is the purpose of living and that we all have an inner source of love and strength which connects us with the eternal and that we live more fully when we are aware of this source. Stephen Levine (1986) takes this perspective further and encourages the reader to prepare to die by letting go of their sense of self, something that can be practised through meditation and through accepting and even welcoming pain. Both authors may be over-optimistic but they have something to teach all practitioners of psychotherapy and counselling about openness and compassion. Levine thinks that therapists can only give what they have got themselves and that how they deal with their own suffering determines the depth at which they are available to the client. A completely open relationship towards pain and death may only be possible for a fervent religious believer, but Yalom (1980) warns that faith may also act as a defence against death anxiety. According to Yalom, we cope with death anxiety by employing more or less healthy defences, and it is neither possible nor desirable for the therapist to completely eliminate death anxiety in the client, as some anxiety is necessary for life-enhancing death awareness. Instead it is the rapist’s task to facilitate a â€Å"sense of certainty and mastery† (p. 189) through enabling the client to create a coherent structure out of their life events. This would be in line with the above-mentioned goals formulated by Sugarman (2003) and indicates how death awareness can enhance life-span awareness and promote a more conscious narrative re-framing in Counselling Psychology practice. While death awareness and anxiety are relevant themes throughout life, they assume particular importance in mid-life. The term â€Å"mid-life crisis† was coined by Jaques (1965), who conducted a biographical study of over 300 major artists and found a marked increase in the death rate between the ages of 35 and 39 as well as a definite change in the quality and content of creative output. It has to be noted here that due to an increase in longevity, â€Å"mid-life† would now occur at a later stage, so a definition of this phase in terms of a specific age range must be viewed with caution on account of historical changes alone. Furthermore, rather than trying to determine an exact period at which mid-life occurs, researchers now tend to see it as an â€Å"ageless† phase, characterized more by themes and on texts (Biggs, 2003). However, Jaques† general observations regarding the differences between an artist’s early productions and those later in life may still be of interest today. Specifically, he notices a â€Å"hot-from-the-fire creativity† during the artist’s youth and more of a â€Å"sculpted creativity† as of the late thirties (Jaques, 1965, p. 503). To achieve the greater serenity of mature work, the artist is seen to undergo a â€Å"mid-life crisisâ€Å". Jaques regards this crisis as arising from depressive anxieties due to an awareness of one’s own inevitable death on entering the second half of life. Coming from a psychoanalytic perspective, he views youthful idealism as arising from the unconscious denial of human mortality and destructiveness (what Freud called the â€Å"death instinct†) and argues that â€Å"constructive resignation† (p. 505) to these inevitable truths at mid-life can lead to mature creativity. However, this requires the painful working-through of a depressive crisis. While Sugarman (2001) comments that only a minority of people actually experience a crisis of such proportions, Counselling Psychology clients are more likely to be among this minority. However, Kleinberg (1995, as cited in Biggs, 2003) has observed that many mid-life clients enter therapy to deal with â€Å"stagnation† rather than a crisis, although issues around ageing and finitude are also present. A more comprehensive approach to mid-life has been presented by Levinson et al. 1978), whose stage theory of the „seasons of a man’s life? has particularly illuminated the developmental tasks of the â€Å"mid-life transition† (p. 191), a term based on Jung’s description of the divide between the first and second halves of life, the â€Å"noon of life† (p. 33). According to Levinson – whose theory is restricted to men, although much could apply to women too – this is a time of disillusionment, as the current life structure and the self need to be modified and some fundamental polarities, i. . young/old, destruction/creation, masculine/feminine and attachment/separateness, need to be resolved in preparation for middle age. Similar to Jaques (1965), Le Vinson emphasises that the illusion of one’s immortality must be given up, a painful process that may, however, lead to greater maturity: â€Å"Slowly the omnipotent Young hero recedes, and in his place emerges a middle-aged man with more knowledge of his limitations as well as greater real power and authority† (p. 218).

Monday, July 29, 2019

HP's strategic choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HP's strategic choices - Essay Example In the process of discussing the major accomplishments and failures made by Florina, the student will evaluate her decision-makings and the effectiveness of her strategic choices in terms of being able to cut down the operational costs of HP. One of the business strategies that Florina implemented together with the company’s business executives is not to reward employees their annual bonuses in case they fail to meet their profit target each year. (Information Gatekeepers, 2002) Even though holding on employees’ bonuses could save the company a large sum of money at the end of the year, this strategy could de-motivate some of deserving employees within the business organization. Given the fact that some of HP employees were disappointed with the top management’s decision not to release their annual bonuses, the work performance of HP employees may suffer. Back in 2002, Florina was behind the actual merger that has occurred between HP and Compaq Computer. Aside from the fact that merger between the two companies could result to cutting down its operational costs through economies of scale as it increases the market opportunity on the part of HP, some analysts have argued that it was a mistake to pursue the merger between the two companies since this strategy made HP lost some portion of its market shares in some areas. (LaMonica, 2005) Upon analyzing the situation, it is possible for HP to lose some of its market share in certain areas when the top management fails to develop a single organizational goal and business objectives which could align the employees coming from the two separate companies. When there is a miscommunication or internal conflict arising between the two groups of employees, there is a higher possibility for the quality of HP products to decrease due to miscommunication and other technical errors. One of the best ways of maintaining the competitiveness of HP in the global

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Economic Situation In Slovenia Post Financial Crisis Research Paper

Economic Situation In Slovenia Post Financial Crisis - Research Paper Example Slovenia is a developed state in the central Europe which experienced a period of boom between the years 2004 to 2006, when the economy grew at a rate of 5 % per annum. The economic growth surge was mainly due to the rising expenditure (mainly in construction) supported by public debt (OECD, 2015). However, after the global recession of 2007, Slovenia entered in a period of financial austerity to reduce its burden of debt which was earlier created by bailing out its banks. Slovenia’s austerity programmes were aimed at reducing its budget deficit caused by the amounted debt. The austerity policies of the government hence included the rise in the tax rates or introduction of new taxes, reduction of public expenditure and privatisation of state owned companies (Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor; communications operator Telekom Slovenija; airline Adria Airways; Ljubljana airport and Elan ski manufacturer). Such kind of financial strictness often results in rising unemployment; fall in c onsumption level and higher debt to GDP ratio (despite being fall in the budget deficits). With advent of rising debt obligations of Slovenia, financial austerity is a well justified approach by the government. The easier accessibility to credit and the meagre risk assessment prior to the crisis had resulted in such unsustainable debt. The economic reforms in the form of financial consolidation, privatisation and recapitalization of banks were hence required to drive the credibility of the country in financial market.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

People of Jewish Heritage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

People of Jewish Heritage - Essay Example In addition to this, they Jews have freewill to do what they wish. However, everyone is responsible for the choices he makes. They also believe they are connected to each other regardless of where they live. They form one global Jewish community. They also respect the Torah because it contains all the commandments given by God (Purnell, 2013). Jews believe in life after death. They believe that their souls continue to flourish even in death. They also argue that nothing should be used on a patient to prevent them from dying a natural death or extending their dying process. Therefore, drugs may be viewed as substance which prevents death. It would be in appropriate for a heath practitioner to treat a patient using drugs and yet the chances of the patient to survive are very minimal. However, regardless of the patient health condition, pain among the patients must be relieved at all cost. The Jews do not carry out autopsy on the dead because they believe that a person’s body should not be interfered with so that they can use it in the afterlife (Purnell, 2013). The nurse words of comfort were inappropriate because it is only God who can decide when to give or take a life. Jews do not require another party to confess their sins. Instead, they pray individually and ask God for forgiveness. Nonetheless, the Jews have a personal confession prayer that they carry out when they are sure of death. The confession is called viddui and it might be said by the patient or someone on his behalf in case he is too sick to say. The Jews also believe God is the giver of life and can also take it. In addition to this, the Jews also view sickness as part of life that God has set in motion. They regularly recite a prayer for healing. The prayers can be said anywhere including hospitals. The Jews also have a tradition of visiting one another in hospital to give support and comfort (Purnell, 2013). Care tends to shift from curing measure to relieve of pain, emotional

Friday, July 26, 2019

Forensic Engineering Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Forensic Engineering - Coursework Example However, little information has been offered on the engineering side and it is thus imperative to go through several of the speculations regarding the collapse of the building looking at the structural side of the matter. Engineers have stated that the major cause of the collapse for the building was due to the failure of certain components critical to the structure of the building. The engineers state that after the initial attack, there was the beginning of huge fires in the inside of the building. These fires were so hot that they made the joists of the building weak and consequently they failed to support the weight of the building leading to the immediate collapse (Bjorkman, 2013). The engineers of the building had carried out an appropriate job by making sure that they backed up the joists with concrete slabs. These slabs were important in that they assisted to ensure in case of tragedy such as the one that happened, the joists would have received assistance from the concrete. However, in this particular case, there was failure of the concrete to assist because they had already been demolished by the high impact caused by the crash of the airplanes that hit the building when the attack began (Eagar, 2013). The System of building used by the engineers that constructed the World Trade Centre used a method of building commonly referred to as tubular framing. The perimeter frames that were used to consteruct the building were embedded internally so as to prevent forces that may be caused by issues or rather natural calamities such as earthquakes. Earthquakes unlike the attack that took place are rather subtle on the top part of the building as opposed to the force that hit the building directly. Every floor of the building was made of tubular pipes that were meant to support it in the case of forces. However, they did not succeed in the case of the September attack that saw the building losing foundation from every floor and falling drastically. It

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Shanghai Commercial Real Estate Market Is there a Bubble under Essay

Shanghai Commercial Real Estate Market Is there a Bubble under Prosperity - Essay Example However, demand has driven the price of properties up at an alarming rate, due mainly to speculative property purchases and "hoarding" practices of real estate developers. Fears of an impending bubble situation has driven the central government to implement regulations and restrictions designed to cool what is considered an overheated real estate market in 2005. Studies on the effects of these intervention measures show that while lower end residential markets have experienced price decreases, the commercial and high-end development projects have actually posted price increases even with the regulations in effect. Studies also indicate that while the upward spiral of property prices must be scrutinized and monitored regularly, Shanghai's real estate has not been overvalued and is therefore yet to be considered in a state of a real estate bubble. To be "shanghaied" is to be tricked, as a reference to historical government corruption and tolerance of the then-ruling Nationalists for opium dens and prostitution in the early part of the 20th Century. As a reaction to this corruption, the Communist Party was founded in Shanghai, a nationwide attempt to bring order into chaos. Incidentally, Mao's Cultural Revolution and Deng Xiaoping's capitalist policies likewise saw its inception in Shanghai. (Areddy 2007) It seems ironic that the apparent seat of communism and capitalism in China should be in the same city, and yet Shanghai has always been grandiose in all its associations, despite its size. Shanghai is less than 1% of the total land mass of China at 6,340.5 square kilometers in 2005 and about 1% of the total population at

English Law Position of the Hijab on Muslim Customary Laws Essay

English Law Position of the Hijab on Muslim Customary Laws - Essay Example Hijab comes from the Arabic word Hajaba, which means to hide or conceal from view. Generally, it refers to modest dressing for Islamic women. It is extended to mean privacy and modesty. Hijab is not just a piece of cloth on the head, but rather it is a way of life. Hijab requires much more than just covering the head. Hijab is the way you carry yourself, the way you talk, the way you walk. Hijab as a matter of fact is a whole way of life and hence an attitude in itself. For those who are non-Muslims, Hijab is mostly associated with a modest way of clothing that is worn by Muslim women. It is also called the headscarf and it is one of the most noticeable things of Muslim women. Hijab is a duty that is expected from all Muslims. Some Muslims see the concept of Hijab as being consistent and balanced with ideas of gender equality; others view the religious requirement on female covering as patriarchal, chauvinistic, and oppressive and an enforcement of women against their rights (Bahi, 2 008). The wearing of Hijab impacts on so many human rights issues both philosophical and practical and has much currency given recent events. The issue of Islamic dress is linked with immigration issues. The reasons given for prohibition vary but in most cases legal bans on face covering clothing are undertaken as an anti terrorism measure and is justified on security grounds. However there is public controversy which indicates the possibility of polarization between western European societies and the Muslims. In the year two thousand and six, the then British Prime Minister Mr. Tony Blair described it as a mark of separation (Werner, 2011). Terrorism is the criminal enactment or acts expected or ascertained to incite a state of fear in the overall population. It’s an aggregation of persons or specific persons for political purposes and such gestures are in any circumstances outlandish whatever the contemplations of a political, philosophical, ideological, ethnic, racial, religious or other nature that may be conjured to support them. In virtually every corner of the world we can say that the human cost of terrorism has been felt. Terrorism has a very direct and real impact on human rights. Its consequences are very devastating in regards to liberty, physical integrity of victims and enjoyment of the right to life. Terrorism has the ability to undermine civil society, threaten social and economic development, jeopardize peace and security and destabilize governments. An individual’s security is a basic human right and thus the protection of the individuals is considered a fundamental obligation of the government (Macmillan, 2010). States therefore are obligated to uphold human rights of their citizens and others by taking positive measures to keep them safe from terrorists and their threats and bring such perpetrators to justice. Lately however the measures to counter terrorist acts have by states have been challenging to the rule of law and human right s .The bedrock of fighting terrorism should be the respect for the rule of law and human rights. The development of national counter terrorism strategies whose aim is to prevent the acts of terror, prosecute the perpetrators and offer protection of human rights and the rule of law is a major requirement. This implies measures to address the drivers to motivation of terrorism. Terrorism threatens the security and dignity of human beings everywhere, takes innocent lives, endangers lives, and creates an environment that destroys the freedom since the people are in fear. Through acts of terror, fundamental freedom is jeopardized and there is destruction of human rights. It undermines the pluralistic civil society, affects the rule of law and its establishment and it has the ability to destabilize governments that are legitimately constituted. Research shows that terrorism has links with organized crime that is transnational, drug

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Business decision making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business decision making - Essay Example For home delivery and take away orders, an addition 2% of added cost will be charged due to packaging material used (Katsigris and Thomas, 2008, p. 23). 12 Analysis of figure above 5: - majority of the students at 86% replied affirmatively that they would visit the new pizza hut if establiAd. The positive response means that the Pizza Hut if established will succeed (Fullen, 2005, p. 1). 14 The manager will be overseeing the overall running of the pizza hut. He/she is required to process and also check invoices, bills and maintain records. The cashier will only be receiving cash but the drawer for control purposes will be under the manager (Baraban and Durocher, 2010, p. 299). 16 On the response to a request by Pizza Hut Restaurant Company, the business and management consultancy firm I work for was hired to carry out a feasibility analysis for them to open up an outlet close to the Coventry University campus. I was assigned to lead the study and present the finding in two months. Pizza Hut Restaurant Company is a Restaurant chain in America that is renowned for offering pizza packages of different styles. It also offers salads, buffalo wings, garlic breads and pasta. Results of this analysis will be used to decide whether the project will be executed or not (Walker, 2007, p. 73). A Pizza Hut Restaurant Company outlet is an ideal outlet to start near the campus due the high demand of fast food by students. A huge population of the campus also make a business idea viable. In particular, the analysis will enable the investors understand the purpose of the study, methods to be used or applied in data collection, analysis and presentation. They will also understand the survey methodology and sampling frame used in the analysis. Growth forecast of the business will be estimated, and trend lines included in the analysis to enhance the forecasts (Baraban and Durocher, 2010, p. 298). Primary sources were reviewed by use of questionnaires in order to determine the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Project management for business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project management for business - Essay Example A positive variance is considered good because it indicates that the project is under budget and is ahead of the pre-defined project schedule. Positive variances are useful in re allocating resources and capital from the positive variance tasks to the tasks having negative variance so as to maintain adequate balance and consistency in the project. The opposite happens for negative variances. Two key ratios are used in the earning value analysis. These are Cost Performance Index (CPI) and the SPI. An index of more than 1 is consider good as it indicates that the project is under budget and is age had of the fixed schedule (Philipson and Antvik, 2009). The opposite goes for a performance index lower than 1. The report discusses the importance of project role, process responsibilities and stakeholder management with respect to a prestigious project of the government of the United Kingdom which is the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) of National Health Service (NHS). The report identifies the key reasons of the management of the project which led to the subsequent failure of the project. The report is structured with a background given on the relevant project, a discussion of the key factors affecting the project and suitable recommendations given in order to establish how the project can be sufficiently improved. The National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) is an important systems project started by the government of United Kingdom. The project has been criticised due to the huge number of loopholes that have been identified on the project structure and the key aspects of project management. Project roles, responsibilities and stakeholder management are key aspects which decide the success or failure of a project. Therefore, the following report is prepared with the view of identifying these key aspects of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) and

Monday, July 22, 2019

Environment, Crime, and Disease of Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Environment, Crime, and Disease of Pakistan Essay In 1947 Pakistan was granted a partition from British India and Pakistan was created. Since that date, Pakistan as a country has been facing a set of unique problems. Environment, crime and disease are issues that influence the lives of all people of Pakistan. Awareness, security and protection by Pakistan government is required if change is expected. Overpopulation and terrorism are two issues that must be addressed by the Pakistan’s government. Pakistan is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and the country is tainted by the terrorist acts, which take place every day. Pakistan’s current state and the issues of terrorism and population have significant influence on environment, crime, and disease within Pakistan. Overpopulation is defined as the state in which numbers exceed the ability to provide available resources. Overpopulation creates a long list of problems which includes but not limited to issues of; food shortage in the country because its resources are not sufficient to meet the needs of the people, issues of transportation resources that are not sufficient to provide better transport facilities to whole of the population. Overpopulation creates air, water and noise pollution in the environment and in this way, badly effects the environment and the health of the people of Pakistan. The ratio between the population and available resources cannot be ignored. Available resources will not be sufficient to meet the demand of rising population. The amount of waste produced by population will slow down the waste management programs leaving untreated waste and poor hygiene that will result in the spread of diseases. Overpopulation will make the spread of contagious diseases even easier. Health resources available will not be sufficient enough to cater to the needs of the huge population. Population issues of Pakistan and how this issue is affecting the environmental health and economical state of Pakistan is a real concern. Pakistan is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. According to the World Bank’s overview of Pakistan, â€Å"Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The country is located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, China and the Middle East and is thus at the fulcrum of a regional market with a vast population, large and diverse resources, and untapped potential for trade. The increasing proportion of Pakistan’s working-age population provides the country with a potential demographic dividend but also with the critical challenge to provide adequate services and increase employment† (para. 1). If steps are taken the population of Pakistan can be beneficial to the development, growth, and economic state of the country. The government must promote and fund education awareness to the citizens of Pakistan. IRIN News reports in 2011, â€Å"According to official figures, the projected population for 2015 is 191 million, up from the current figure of 170 million, making it the sixth most populous nation on earth. By 2050 it is expected to climb into fourth place† (para 2). The percentage of Pakistani are of Islam faith and the religious beliefs are a factor in the growth rate. Unfortunately, the Muslim’s in Pakistan are led to believe that birth control is a heinous sin. It’s normal for men in the country to desire to father many children and to seek medical treatment if they cannot achieve this goal. In China, those couples who have more than one child lose their jobs and have to migrate to the rural areas to work in the fields. In Pakistan, modern education should be taught to the people that birth control is not forbidden by Islam. Until that happens, Pakistan’s population will go on increasing exponentially. There is another factor to consider when overpopulation is being analyzed within Pakistan. At independence in 1947, many refugees from India settled in urban areas of Pakistan. Years preceding the partition, a significant amount of the residents of Pakistan cities boarding India were immigrants. Some refugee colonies were eventually recognized as cities in their own right. People of India migrated from the Muslim minority provinces to Muslim majority provinces within Pakistan, seeking refuge. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports, â€Å"Pakistan hosts over 1.6 million registered Afghans, the largest and most protracted refugee population in the world† (para 1). The Pakistan government is trying to put processes in place to assist the refugees back to their original country of home. It is vital to the state of the country and all people living in Pakistan for the government and other assisting programs to continue to make progress concerning the population issue in Pakistan. Terrorism is another threat to Pakistan’s progress as a country. Terrorism crime is affecting the development of Pakistan and is a devastating issue to the people, safety, economy, and quality of life within Pakistan. The war on terror has affected Pakistan more than any other nation in the world. The World Bank reports, â€Å"Pakistan faces significant economic, governance and security challenges to achieve durable development outcomes. The persistence of conflict in the border areas and security challenges throughout the country is a reality that affects all aspects of life in Pakistan and impedes development. A range of governance and business environment indicators suggest that deep improvements in governance are needed to unleash Pakistans growth potential† (para 2). The civilians involved are traumatized by the fighting, violence, and discrimination. Human rights are being denied due to the continuous attacks and violence the terrorist afflict on the civilians wit hin Pakistan. This country would greatly benefit from a leader who can lead this country in its hour of crisis and make the population feel proud of their nationality. The major reason of increase in population and the terrorism in Pakistan is due to lack of education and government investment. Government should invest more money to educate people. Pakistan government must remain allies to those who will support the initiatives set in motion to establish a positive future for the country of Pakistan. The Pakistan government must make those who commit terrorist acts accountable and stand up for the victims. The country must strengthen the infrastructure of its military and security groups. Government of Pakistan should focus on improving economic governance, human development, social protection, security, and reducing the risk of conflict. Through these objectives the country’s ability to become a stronger country will increase. References IRIN News. (2011, January 18). PAKISTAN: Population growth rate adds to problems Retrieved from http://www.irinnews.org/Report/91656/PAKISTAN-Population-growth-rate-adds-to-problems Peter Blood, ed. Pakistan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/pakistan/29.htm The UN Refugee Agency. (2013). Pakistan. Retrieved February 7, 2013, from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487016.html The World Bank. (nd). Pakistan. Retrieved February 8, 2013, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/pakistan

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Human Resources Management (HRM) in Aviva

Human Resources Management (HRM) in Aviva Introduction Today, organizations are recognizing the importance of using best practices to enhance the skills and knowledge of the workforce to have a competitive edge over other organizations competing in the market. An essential component of every organization is training and development of its employees. The effectiveness of training can be measured if the knowledge and skills of the potential employees is harness and developed. Harnessing, transferring and equipping information and knowledge to the potential employees within an organization in order to interpret that information and knowledge into practice with a vision to improve the organizational effectiveness and productivity and the management of the people in referred as training in general terms. Training programmes and development of new employees after recruitment and selection process is an ongoing and many folded set of activities. Training and development is carried on in order to convey knowledge and skills to a big shot, over and over again to perform a job or a new role in the future. In Aviva Life Insurance Company Private Limited, training is considered as an effective tool to keep hold of and motivate their people and to be acquainted with technical change and customer services. Training and development programme must be strategically arranged in a line with the mission and goals of an organization. It needs to be aligned and designed with the aim of training and equipping employees to achieve the organizational goals, departmental as well as personal goals. Training and development function is progressively more than a programme. Increasingly, it is a tool for breaking the new grounds and conveying continuous learning process and bringing about the change through training and development activities. Improved productivity has turn out to be universally recognized by the organization and it is dependant on efficient and effective training of the employees. Now a day, Aviva Life Insurance Company is investing on training and development of its workforce to stay a head and to gain competitive advantage. In order to stay competitive and to guarantee brilliant and skilled staff, Aviva needs to make sure the training and development of all the employees. Staff training and development is the bottom line of organization success. Planned training and development programme is a systematic development of knowledge and skills, attitude required to perform a job by the employees. Fresh candidate into Aviva carry certain skills and capabilities which are not pertinent to its goals and objects and or needs most of the time. It is the planned training and development program which are entailed for the new and existing employees to facilitate them to work in the direction of achieving expected destination of the organization. Mental, physical, social and intellectual trainings all are very essential for the development of personal and as well as for organizational success. Human Resources Management and Training Human Resources Management focuses on people recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, employee motivation and benefits. Human Resources Management is mess functioning part of Aviva Life Insurance Company which deals with human capital management and its administration. Human Resources Management includes number of functions and its Human Resources Functioning keeps change with the passage of time and according to the needs of an organization. When we look at the association between human resources management and training and development within an Aviva it is also keep varying. The activities related to training are as important as other human resources functions are equally important. There was a time when training was considered to be the waste of time, money and resources, and considered to be fruitless. But in this present age of advanced technology and competitiveness, training is considered to be an investment of time and money in human capital. Now a day, training is considered to be an essential instrument of human resources management in order to organize, control and develop the human capital to reduce the attrition rate this helps in keep motivating the entire workforce within an organization. It increases the satisfaction level of employ ees, helps professional achieving personal and organizational goals. Training is considered to be the backbone of employees, organizational success and as well as departmental success. Survival without training has become difficult for the departments within an organization such as sales and marketing, production and finance department. Human Resources Department is taking training as a priority and human resources management is carrying it out effectively. Training and development programmes in Aviva enhance the profile development in the organization. Human resources management and professionals play a vital role in this scenario. The role of human resources management and professionals can be seen as a dynamic participation in employee education and improved performance means more rewards and productivity (Gary Dessler, 2000). Training as a Strategic Function of Human Resources Management Aviva is investing money resources in training considering it as a payback asset. They believe that investment in human capital will provide it competitive edge worldwide and it will enhance the profile development in the organization. Training is considered to be an ongoing process. It is a never ending learning process. It is functional at all levels, lower, middle as well as managerial level. Training programme is a set of well planned activities. These activities related to training facilitate employees learning of knowledge, skills attitude to perk up the productivity to do their current job and enhance the performance to achieve organizational goals. Looking at the long term incentive of training, training and development of employees pertain to continuing efforts to improve working of entire human capital within an organization which will lead towards the achievement of personal and organizational goals. Training is essential for an employer of an organization for many reasons it facilitate the organization towards the development of human capital of a country. This gives an edge to the organization and changes its overall representation in the market and this can increase the relationship and influence. This necessitates a high level of collaboration between the employees and training and development team (Divina M. Edralin, 2004). Aims and Objectives of Study The research focuses on the evaluation of effectiveness of training carried on by Aviva. After the recruitment and selection of the employees it is important for Aviva to best train the new entrants so that they could perform better on job. Training of employees aims at taking best out of them. Training enhances the efficiency of the employees and it keeps them motivated. This study on evaluation of the effectiveness of training for employees in Aviva life insurance Company gives us an insight into the following objectives; The Objectives are: In order to get to know the value of training of human resources in any organisation. To know the various methods, strategies, programmes and techniques used by the organisations for training its employees. To check the value of the training programs that is conducted in the organization for their employees by analyzing the training programs. To be familiar with the changes that an organisation can need to enhance its training programs to create them more valuable for the employees. Identifying drawbacks of existing training process in practice in the organization. Providing recommendations in order to reduce deficiencies from the existing training process in Aviva. Purpose of the Study This research is taken to check that whether these training programs are in use in the organization and to check the authenticity of these programs for the employees. Its also check and evaluated that both these programs help the employees in Aviva to perform their tasks properly or not and also give organization a direction and way to improve and enhance their training program for better performance. Scope of the Study The scope of the study indents to provide an overview the typical methods used to evaluate the training effectiveness provided to the employees. The evaluation of effective training provided to the existing and new entrants ensure that the training was well structured and planned. A number of methods are used to measure the effectiveness of training. These techniques used in the Aviva to assess the effectiveness of training are organized and efficient and co-related to the training programmes. The tools and techniques used to weigh up the training effectiveness are considered to be the evaluation indicators. These indicators assist in establishing and maintaining effectiveness of the training provided to the employees. The main objective of using there indicators is to measure that to what extend the training objectives have been achieved and par the organizational needs. Limitations of the study Every study faces some limitation in carrying out its research. These limitations are unavoidable like always. This research expects to face the following limitations; The feedback or response of the respondents would be uncontrollable The study is confined to the training function only which is a strategic function of human resources management. Reaching out training programme policies would be difficult. The employees of the Aviva might not be willing to provide required information necessary to carry out the research. The data provided by the Aviva life Insurance Company, according to the sample set of employees might be biased Sample of chosen employees could be limited All the above mentioned limitations can be a stumbling block in the way of research findings, data collection and data analysis. Literature Review Following will the literature review relating to the research on evaluating the effectiveness of training for the employees. Training Conventional training necessitates covering up the important job-related skills and knowledge. On the whole, the most important and effective way to develop and train employees is based on effective training programme. Training is not only for the employees but also subjected to the top level management and the administration level. Employees should give training according to their job performance because every employee has different function to perform in organization. Function of Training The function of Training is: To provide employees with the skills and knowledge require ensuring optimum performance results, develop a cache of employees qualified to meet the organizations operational needs, and contribute to positive morale, employee satisfaction, and development. Importance of Training If the employees are giving proper training, it will benefit the organization in so many ways. By providing proper training Aviva can learn that how it will carry on in todays rivalry world and speedily varying atmosphere. Training helps in adding up worth to the reimbursement of the organization. If there is proper support from management and workers, Training will be more valuable. The value of training is as follows  [1]  : Productivity can be increased in an Aviva with proper training. Employees skill knowledge can be enhanced through training and it also helps a lot in improving whole character of the employee. Quality of work performed by the employees can be enhanced by providing proper training. Training helps in the improvement of the human resources in the organization by giving them skill base knowledge and through it employees can also improve their personality. Maintenance of employees within the organization is done by Training and reduces labors return. Employees get motivated for their work through training. Moreover, motivation helps the employees in performing organizational goals and objectives. To build a peaceful work place in Aviva training is considered an important tool. It will also help in establishing the employee relationships and enhance the organizational traditions. Aviva Life Insurance Company can get more profit through proper training. If the employees will get proper training then they will perform their work more efficiently which at the same time minimize the wear and tear. Goals and objectives in Aviva can only be achieved with proper training and it also helps the employees to perform their goals. Training Need Analysis Training is a part of Human Resource Development. Training is very important for the development of employees along with the organizational development. Human Resource is the only resource which can drive business for competitiveness. Training is needed at all levels in Aviva. Training is effective only when it is given to the right kind of person at the right time for the right objective and involves the right cost. So only that kind of training should be given to employees which is effective for both the organization as well as for employees. Training Need Analysis involve the collection of data related to the need for providing training to the employees. Methods of Training There are several methods used for training such as; On Job Training (OJ) Off Job Training (Seminars, Lectures etc) Cognitive Training (Discussions, Demonstrations etc) Behavioural Training (Role Playing, Business Games etc) Classroom Lectures Coaching Role Playing Mentoring (Divina M. Edralin. (2004). Research Questions The research questions are: What training programs are used by Aviva? What are the actions for all the training programs which are done by Aviva? How efficient and effective the training programs are done for the employees by Aviva? What suggestions and recommendations can be purposed to Aviva for the enhancement in their training programs? Problem Statement Organizations using training programmes are much effective and are meeting organizational needs or failing in todays changing world. Hypothesis Every research has two variables. The independent variable does affect the dependent variable in every research. AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES Dependent Variable: Employees of an organization Independent Variable: Training Programmes Research Method and Data Collection Research Design It is essential to pursue a correct research method in order to feasible research. A research plan states basically the abstract arrangement within which the research can be obtained. The main purpose of a research design is to give for the gathering of related proof with accessible costs of effort, time and money. The research method should be able to elucidate the techniques suitable for obtaining the projected study. In order to estimate the efficiency of the training for the workers in Aviva Life Insurance Co. Pvt. Ltd, a relative research design has been selected. The research methods are helpful in describing the different training programs made by Aviva and the estimation of the usefulness of those training programs, in order to obtain the goals of the research. Data Collection for the research Primary Data Collection In this research, different methods have been used for collecting the data to quantify the results of this research. Both the primary and secondary data will be used for the research. The primary data will be collected by providing questionnaire to the employees in Aviva and by taking in-depth interviews. Secondary Data Collection The means of collecting the secondary data are magazines, books, journals, newspapers, internet, publications etc. The secondary data about the Aviva is collected by going through various journals, magazines, published statistics and websites of the organisation. Aviva has also provided data regarding their training programmes and their evaluation. For making the questionnaire and for deciding the questions to be asked in the interview, the data is collected about the topic of the research and about the organization through journals, websites, magazines etc. Sample Procedure The sampling procedure used in the research will be random sampling with each and every element in the population having equal chance of being selected. Keeping in mind the time and resource constraints, a sample of 40 employees were chosen. Conclusion The most important function of human resources management in Aviva is the training of employees. The transformation of skills and knowledge required to enhance the performance and increase the productivity can be achieved through effective training programme. Along with effective training, effective evaluation of training is necessary. The training programme should be according to the requirements and needs of the job. Before setting up any training programme, job specifications should be taken into account. The employees should also be fully motivated regarding the training programmes. For measuring whether the training objectives are achieved or not, evaluation should be done periodically. Evaluation helps the Aviva in measuring the effectiveness of the training programmes. There are proper methods for evaluating each and every type of training programme. The result of evaluation depends on the data collected by the organization for doing evaluation.

The Outsiders Movie Review Essay

The Outsiders Movie Review Essay The Outsiders movie is based on a book written by S.E Hinton. The story takes place in Oklahoma in the 1960s. It is about two gangs or social classes named the greasers and the socs. The greasers are the poor ones who live on the east side of town and the socs are the rich ones living on the west side of town. The socs enjoy going to the east side to beat up greasers. The main character is Ponyboy Curtis, an orphan living with his two older brothers. One night, after a fight at home Ponyboy and his friend Johnny Cade who also has problems at home, run away. Rising action of the movie is when the two boys spend the night at the park and get in a fight with some of the socs. The socs wanted to teach the boys a lesson because earlier that night they allowed themselves to go out with two soc girls. One of them was Sherry Valance goes to the same school as Ponyboy and is Bob Sheldons girlfriend. Johnny stabs Bob to death as he was trying to drown Ponyboy in a fountain. They run away and h ide in an old church away from town. Climax of the story is when the church sets on fire during a school visit and some children become trapped inside. Ponyboy, Johnny and Dallas Winston (Dally), a friend who came visit the two boys, run into the church to save the children. They in turn become heroes with their pictures spread all over the newspapers. Falling action of the story involves Johnny staying in the hospital because of his broken spine and severe burns. Also, after juvenile trials Ponyboy and Johnny are declared as not guilty of the crime and Ponyboy is allowed to stay in custody of his oldest brother Darry Curtis. However, the two gangs didnt want to let their arguments rest until they fought a fair fight. So they arranged for a rumble which the greasers won. In the denouement, Ponyboy and Dally go to the hospital to inform Johnny of the good news. Apparently Johnny dies during the visit. Out of anger and grief Dally robs a store and forces the police to shoot him down w hen he refuses to turn himself in. Ponyboy finds a note that Johnny wrote him before his death. The most obvious conflict in The Outsiders is the conflict between the two different social groups, a class versus class conflict. Greasers are poor and many of them have to drop out of school to help financing their families. Whereas the socs are rich kids with expensive cars and receive education with no worries. The gap between the two classes makes the socs look at the greasers as trash of the society. The class versus class conflict gives rise to a physical conflict between the socs and the greasers. Throughout the story there are physical fights between the two groups. Socs mainly do it for fun and also to prove to themselves that they are better and stronger than the greasers. There are two other conflicts in the story both in which Ponyboy is involved. Ponyboy appears to be in conflict with himself. At the beginning of the story Ponyboy is on his way home from the movies. He is spotted by a group of socs who chase him and beat him up. Ponyboy is well aware of the conflicts be tween the greasers and the socs and knows the danger of walking home on his own, but he still does so because he struggling to accept the hard life he is forced to live. He thinks it is unfair that he has to worry about simple things like going home from the movie when the socs can live their life the way they want to without any restrictions or worries. Moreover, Ponyboy likes literature and nature which is odd for a normal greaser. He struggles to reveal himself in front of others, because he knows they wouldnt understand him. The other conflict would be Ponyboy versus life or circumstances. Ponyboys parents passed away in a car crash. Since then he has been in custody of his oldest brother Darry. He always compared Darrys actions with those of his parents. He thought if his parents were alive he would be better off with them because Darry was too strict. Ponyboy also interpreted Darrys strictness as hate. He felt it was unfair for him to have a brother who only yells at him and tells him what to do. He also felt life was unfair towards his other brother Sodapop who had dropped out of school to work at a gas station in order to help financing their family. The Outsiders discusses a variety of themes. The first and major theme is the gap between the different social classes, particularly the gap between the rich and the poor. The story shows that the rich take advantage of their authority. They look down to greasers and see no value in them. They look at themselves as the better part of the society, hence they allow themselves to do whatever they want. But greasers have limitations. They can only defend themselves, they could never allow themselves to start a fight with the socs because they would not get away with it like the socs do. When Ponyboy and Johnny were having a walk with Sherry and her friend, Bob and his friend Randy show up and demand that the girls leave with them instantly. Sherry asks Ponyboy not to take it personal if she does not say hello at school. This incident, on the other hand, implies that socs may also have restricted actions due to the large gap between them and the greasers. Sherry fears of losing respect of other socs if she talks to a greaser at school. The restriction or limitation that the gap has placed on Sherry might appear not be as significant as the one placed on the greasers. Still, it is of great matter because it shows that problems between the socs and the greasers have an effect on both groups. The second theme is about bravery. The Outsiders makes a valued point with this theme, which is that bravery is not about what class you belong to. Bravery is more about individualism. After the fire, when Ponyboy was in the ambulance car and told the teacher accompanying him to the hospital that he was a greaser, the man was surprised and wouldnt really believe him. This emphasizes that the society judges the greasers and views them as uncivilized people. The society would have never expected such brave action from a greaser. Another vey important theme would be the appreciation of family. Before the death of Bob, there was not much harmony between Ponyboy and his brothers. Darry was nearly always giving Ponyboy orders or shouting at him, which upset Ponyboy. Sodapop was torn between the two sides. When Ponyboy ran away with Johnny, the brothers learned to appreciate each other, especially Darry and Ponyboy. Ponyboy finally understood that Darry loves him and Darry learned that he should just change the way he treats Ponyboy so they could have a better life. The last theme would be the changes one undergoes during adolescence. Ponyboy matured throughout the story becoming more wise, understanding and less judging. After recollecting his conversation with Sherry and her actions, Bobs death and a conversation with Randy, Ponyboy realizes that socs have different sides too. They could be good people too. Ponyboy is the narrator and the main character of the story. He is a dynamic character and develops in a number of ways. Ponyboy is a greaser like his brothers and his friends, but also differs from them in many ways. Ponyboy is dreamy and innocent when compared to most greasers. He is not as tough and experienced as the others. Despite the fact that he is poor and the environment he lives in is quite uncivilized, Ponyboy is a good student and also interested in literature, nature and movies. Ponyboy knows that this isnt normal for a greaser, so he keeps his thoughts mainly to himself. Sometimes however he shares them with his brother Sodapop because he does not judge him and tries to be understanding of Ponyboys different side. When Ponyboy ran away with Johnny to hide at the church, he used to read to Johnny Gone with the wind. Also, once while watching a sunrise with Johnny, Ponyboy cited a few lines from the poem Nothing Gold can stay by Robert Frost. Johnny was amazed by the lin es and Ponyboy learned that Johnny had a different side too. He could understand literature and was appreciative of the beauty of nature like Ponyboy was. This encouraged him to open up and reveal himself to Johnny. Throughout the story Ponyboy becomes more experienced, mature and understanding. He learns too look at the full picture and not take things only from his point of view. When Dallas went to visit Ponyboy and Johnny in the church, his brothers send him a note telling him how much they miss him and that they want him back home. It is then when Ponyboy realizes that Darrys strictness comes out of love. He learns to understand that Darry loves him and that he fears that through any mistakes or misbehavior Ponyboy is might taken away from him and put into boys home. Ponyboy learns also not to be one-sided and not to judge people by what group they belong to. When Ponyboy goes back to town, he gets in a conversation with Randy. Randy tells him that he thinks his actions are brave and heroic and that he wouldnt have saved the children in the burning church. Ponyboy also gets to know from Randy that he grieves over Bobs death and that he regrets what happened, and that he is tired of the on-g oing conflict between socs and greasers. For the fist time Ponyboy looks at Randy as a normal guy and not as a soc. Ponyboy realizes that socs are not just sophisticated and materialistic people, they too have problems in their lives that seem almost perfect. When Sherri testified in the trials saying that Bob was the one looking for a fight with Ponyboy and Johnny, and decided work as a spy for the greasers bringing them information about the socs plans for the rumble, Ponyboy comes to understand that not all socs are the same, not all socs are for injustice. Ponyboy also realizes, with the help of Johnny, that he has other options than the rest of the greasers. Johnny left Ponyboy a note, in which he told him to stay gold, like in Robert Frosts poem. Johnny wanted Ponyboy to realize that there is much more to life than just the conflict between the greasers and the socs. By telling Ponyboy to stay gold, Johnny wanted Ponyboy to stay innocent and pure, and not let the problems with the socs make him tough, aggressive, and careless like most of the greasers. This made Ponyboy accept himself and the fact that he is different from others. To conclude, the story of The Outsiders has good content, even though it is an older one. I think its themes and conflicts are highly valuable as they still address many of the issues in todays world. It would be a good movie for the young people to watch because there are definitely things they could learn from the movie.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

New Public Management and Decision Making in UK Public Policy Essay

Discuss how the tendency of New Public Management has impacted on decision making in UK public policy. New Public Management is generally used to describe a management culture that emphasises upon the citizen or customer as being central, as well as having accountability for results. It also suggests organizational structures and promotes decentralized control, many different types of service delivery mechanisms, including quasi-markets with public and private service providers competing for resources. New Public Management does not suggest that a government should stop performing certain tasks. Although the New Public Management often is associated with such a perspective on a policy level, New Public Management is not about whether tasks should be undertaken or not. It is about getting things done better. New Public Management was devised as a means to improve efficiency and responsiveness to political changes. Its origins were in parliamentary democracies with excessively strong executive powers, centralized governments, and not much administrative law. In this setting, New Public Management embodies the idea of a chain of contracts leading to a single ministerial person who is interested in getting better results within a sector over which he or she has significant and relatively unchallenged control. One area of reform that illustrates many of the New Public Management principles is the creation of QUANGOs (Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations) to carry out the service delivery. The New Public Management argument for agencies is that service providers should concentrate on efficient production of quality services, with the distractions of evaluating alternative policies removed. The discussion of the creation of â€Å"executive agencies† in the UK and the similar developments in Australia, Canada and France has been common with references to clear, well-defined targets that allow providers to concentrate on their main business. Similarly, policy-making is seen to be more focused, more rigorous, and sometimes even more adventurous if it can be made without the burden of concern for the existing service providers. Once purchasing has been detached from policy-making, there are opportunities for creating contract-like arrangements to provide performance incentives. A pandemic of public sector management ref... ...or the problems of the public sector, a careful and selective adaptation of some elements to selected sectors may be beneficial. The public sector has been completely rearranged as a result of the tendency towards New Public Management and decision making within UK public policy has changed drastically, there now exists a much more formal and planned approach. References [1] Pollitt, C. and G. Bouckaert (2000) Public Management Reform Oxford, Oxford University Press. [2] Hughes, O. (1998) Public Management and Administration London, MacMillan, 2nd Edition. [3] Boyne, G.A., C. Farrell, J. Law, M. Powell and R. Walker (2002) Evaluating Public Management Reforms: Principles and Practice Buckingham, Open University Press. [4] George A. Larbi, 2000, â€Å"Public Sector Reform and Crisis-Ridden States†, â€Å"UNRISD†, 1st September 1999. [5] Lee, D., Newman, P. & Price, R. (1999) Decision Making in Organizations, London: Pitman FT. [6] Lindblom, Charles E. The Science of Muddling Through. Public Administration Review, 19 (1959), 79-89 [7] Downs, G. and P. Larkey (1986) The Quest for Government Efficiency, New York, Random House.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Economics: Turn Around Is Fair Game :: essays research papers

Economics: Turn Around is Fair Game   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  America's size and prosperity have made it the largest consumer of imported products in the world. Brightly lit shopping malls adorned with the latest foreign-made apparel, gadgets and trinkets, testify to the vast selection of goods available for purchase. There is a dark side to this enormous quantity of choices: a hefty price tag - the federal deficit. Unfair trade agreements, and, predatory pricing strategies and practices from abroad, placed those goods on the store's shelves. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), who is directly responsible to the President and Congress for trade negotiations; is forecasting a two hundred billion-dollar trade deficit for fiscal year 1996. The American people must demand reciprocal trade agreements for overseas business competitors. Complimentary trading would; put an end to subsidized dumping, curb the loss of manufacturing jobs, and, tear down the barriers associated with free trade.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The practice of selling items at a price less than what it costs to make them is called dumping. Foreign governments subsidize the manufacturing processes of certain industries so their companies can displace the competition's industry. The television industry is a perfect example of subsidized dumping. The post World War II infusion of subsidized Japanese-made televisions, terminated the United States(U.S.) television manufacturing industry. In the late 1950's, half a million units crossed our borders, tax and tariff free. These television sets were made using cheaper components and cheaper labor. However, the cost of transportation, which would normally escalate each individual price, was paid for by the Japanese government. The pioneering inventors of the electronic marvel were forced out. No longer able to compete by meeting rapidly declining prices, companies had to stop production, liquidate all available assets, and release their entire work force.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unemployment figures for 1996 are predicted to be at seven percent (USTR, 1996.) This equates to nearly twenty million skilled American workers without jobs. The math is simple; imports cost an economy jobs, exports produce jobs. Reciprocal trading contracts would definitely curb the exponential loss of manufacturing jobs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trade barriers are the largest problems facing American companies in overseas markets. The obstructions are sometimes overt, sometimes hidden and usually extremely complex. Deals are covertly impeded with complicated licensing and import procedures. Regulations concerning special specification standards and testing of American goods are hurdles deliberately enacted to block fair trade. If foreign governments were mandated to treat American businesses the same way native companies were treated, free commerce would truly be achieved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The U.S. has used an arsenal of tools to try to mitigate unfair trade practices and enhance U.S. access to overseas markets. These include: Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act - Section 301 serves as the flagship of the