12 Analyse Own Responsibilities For Promoting Essay

Analyse own responsibilities for promoting equality and valuing diversity. The Equality Act 2010 replaced and condensed over 100 pieces of anti-discrimination legislation, at its foundation it is unlawful to treat anyone less favourably on the grounds of his or her sexual orientation, disability, religion, sex, belief or age. As a trainer I should ensure that no student is discriminated against either directly or indirectly by fully understanding this act and how discrimination can arise. The following are protected characteristics and value diversity. Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation The equality Act says you’ve been treated less fairly if you are a victim of Direct discrimination, Direct discrimination is when an individual has been treated differently and worse than someone else because of the above characteristics, for example if a hotel turned you away becau se you are gay this is direct discrimination. As well as direct discrimination there is indirect discrimination, this is not always as easy to spot. Indirect discrimination is when there’s a practice, policy or rule which applies to everyone in the same way, but it has a worse effect on some people than others. The Equality Act says it puts you at a particular disadvantage. For example a health club only accepts customers who are on the electoral register. This applies to all customers in the same way. But Gypsies and Travellers are less likely to be on the electoral register and therefore they’ll find it more difficult to join and this could be indirect discrimination. A workplace which values diversity is one in which all individuals in the workplace are treated in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. An initial step in achieving this goal is to establish a work environment where there is zero tolerance for any kind of harassment or discrimination and ongoing training is provided to help create a work environment that supports diversity and encourages the participation and retention of all. As a trainer it is my responsibility to ensure that anyone with any of the above protected characteristics or any characteristics not listed are not disadvantaged in any way either directly or indirectly as this is likely to be unlawful. This will be achiev e by ensuring that the environment is suitable for all, safe and that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.

Huawei Technologies

Huawei Technologies How is Huawei’s internationalisation endeavour a good success story example for other companies wanting to pursue global growth? Introduction Huawei Technologies Co. , Ltd. provides telecommunications equipment and solutions to operators in China and internationally. The company’s products include wireless and networking equipment, applications and software, and terminals; smartphones for French users; and metro services platforms, which help operators to build broadband metro area networks. It also offers mobile network, broadband network, IP-based and optical network, and telecom value-added services. Huawei Technologies Co. , Ltd. has strategic partnerships with IBM, the Hay Group, PwC, FhG, Intel, Texas Instruments, Freescale Semiconductor, Qualcomm, Infineon, Agere Systems, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and HP. Huawei Technologies is a Chinese company. It was established in1988 by Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army officer and telecom engineer. Huawei’s headquarters site, of modern and impressive building fittings, is situated in Shenzhen, southern China (Guandong province). In 2006, Huawei Technologies was among the ranks of China’s â€Å"National Champions†, along Haier, Lenovo TCL, and the Wanxiang Group, poised to compete with global leaders in the international market place. Huawei has also been dubbed as the Cisco of China. It is thus a multinational corporation with branch offices in 100 countries which serves over one billion users worldwide. The question is then begged as to why Huawei is so competitive? What were and could be the challenges the Chinese-based company faces? What are the implications of Huawei’s strategy? In this paper I will attempt to analyse Huawei Technologies strategy to internalisation by taking in account the company’s starting point in China, and by setting the stage for the comparison of Huawei’s to that Cisco’s strategy. I will then proceed with some recommendations on what a Chinese company could have done to better prepare for competition in the US telecom industry. And conclude with some remarks on the progress made by Huawei since 2006, when the case study on which the analysis is based was compiled. Company Overview From its very beginnings, the company’s vision has been to become a lighthouse of innovation which would successfully enable it to compete first in its home market, and then proceed with international expansion. When the company was still operating only in China, Huawei’s methodology around its goals, to not be set up in joint ventures with foreign companies, to pursue global cutting-edge technologies, persist on self-development, and expand internationally, largely consisted in extensive investment in research and development (R&D) capabilities, and hiring a highly-qualified workforce from China. Huawei was created almost single-handedly under the strong vision and leadership of Zhingfei. He fostered a unique and rigorous management culture, by building a â€Å"pack-of-wolves enterprise†. He instilled a management philosophy within the company which meant to view competition and market opportunities with a keen smell, react to with an aggressive push and always confront both in unified groups. Under Zhengfei’s lead, who had been successful to create and manage a large relationship network, few other competitors could match, the company had relied on big contract orders from the military to secure a foothold in the telecom network market in its early years. Moreover, extended army and government ties had provided the company with relatively easy access to financing. Huawei was undoubtedly the largest Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer, with annual revenue of US$6. 7 billion in 2005. Market capitalisation was estimated to be up to US$10 billion. In China, Huawei’s major customers included all the big names such as China Telecom, China Mobile, China Netcom and China Unicom. Huawei’s networks in China served over 400 million people communicating across the country, occupied 25% market share in the mobile networks, and supplied 80% of all short messaging services from China mobile. Therefore, Huawei’s strategy to focus on R&D to lead technological advancement, its attention to choose high-calibre and yet inexpensive labour from China, as well as foster a consolidated sense of corporate culture none but confirmed Huawei’s stable, long-term oriented organic growth strategy. The company’s competitive advantage in its home turf had built up to be low-cost engineering, enabling Huawei to compete with large indigenous and foreign competitors. Cisco, Huawei, and the International Market of Telecom Equipment and Services Cisco, which global presence spurred with the enlarging footprint of the internet across the globe in 1991, decided to focus its growth strategy in China by the end of the 1990s. Cisco’s strategy in China consisted in recruiting and training employees to service high-end markets of telecom service providers and enterprise markets. Instead of forming joint ventures with local partners (like most of its international competitors did in China), Cisco opened its own subsidiary in China, Cisco Networking Technology Co. Ltd. to promote education, demonstration and development of network technology. Educational initiatives presented Cisco with an opportunity to develop favourable relations with Chinese authorities and to cultivate new areas of business within China. Moreover, recognising the large, low-cost and skilled labour force in China, Cisco continued its commitment in the country by investing in an R &D centre in Shanghai. Cisco’s CEO plans for the facility were to allow Cisco access to technology and local talent so as to leverage Cisco’s newness to the corporate culture of China and be able for it to buy into the local Chinese local market. Cisco’s goal was by all means to maintain its leadership position in cutting edge technology. While at the same time, Chinese competitors were using their aggressive pricing strategies to expand into the international markets, and were rapidly using their low-cost advantages to move up the value chain. And Huawei was among the Chinese companies that were expected to make further inroads into international markets in the next few years, competing head-to-head with established Western players for the same global accounts. Internationalisation: Phase 1 Having secured a strong foothold in its home market in China, Huawei started to look for diverse sources of growth internationally, in the first half of the 1990s. However, it was able to conclude its first significant international contract only in 2000, in Russia. In order to avoid outright competitive confrontations with well-established Western telecommunication multinationals, Huawei went global by first entering growing markets in developing countries. Considerable contracts extended later on beyond Eastern Europe, in South America (Brazil’s fixed line carrier) and Asia (Thailand’s largest mobile service provider). Huawei’s path toward the matured Western European markets, the company’s next challenge, would not come without tradeoffs. In the early 2000s, Huawei was a new company competing for market share with established global communications technology suppliers. Chinese products were then suffering from a common perception of being cheap and unreliable, forcing Huawei to thus pursue aggressive tactics to win contracts. With 30% lower pricing points than established competitors, a commitment to offer trial periods for its products and hiring local personnel to tailor technologies and services to customers' needs, led the company to win contracts in tough-to-please markets such as France (Neuf Telecom, 2001). The biggest success, however, and the one that signified Huawei’s breakthrough in Europe, was in 2004 when the company was selected by a Dutch mobile operator to build its 3G mobile phone network, by then Huawei’s hallmark capability. Internationalisation: Phase 2 In order to highlight the key points of Huawei’s internationalisation strategy, the case of the company’s entrance in the U. S. calls for an analytical stop. The challenges Huawei faced in the North American market revolve around several axes, but overall the endeavour highlights the general lack of preparation and some strategic blunders which made the company’s top management decide to update Huawei’s strategy and draft one that caters to long term sustainable development. When it opened its first office in Plano, Texas, the company made every effort to blend into the local culture. It shared the building with law offices, realtors and the regional office of the lingerie company Victoria’s Secret. A Texas state flag and an American receptionist welcomed visitors on the ground-floor lobby. Shortly after the US-launch, however, the defect of not having carefully planned for cultural differences eventually surfaced. Chinese employees had a difficult time adapting to the Texas accent and other aspects of the local culture. Huawei executives also realised that Americans had difficulty pronouncing the company’s name. They came up with a working name, Futurei, which although facilitated to a better pronunciation, only confused targeted customers even more, and Huawei’s infant brand came under great shock. In the US telecommunications industry, a mature market where lower prices often are not enough to land a deal, winning customers and contracts would demand for a lot more effort. Phone companies and equipment suppliers had long term ties with their equipment suppliers, customers looked for exceptionally leading-edge technology and a compelling reason to switch. Moreover, trying to switch to a virtually unrecognised brand in the US market meant that telecom service providers – Huawei’s classical customers – would request exhaustive testing of equipment quality and reliability, lasting several months, before committing to buying it; a common procedure for sourcing from an unknown company. Another hurdle Huawei encountered was a lawsuit Cisco launched, only six months after Huawei had set up its subsidiary in the US. Analysts observed that Huawei’s steep discounting of low-end routers [Cisco’s] products in its home turf, the US market, had prompted the lawsuit [of alleged infringement of Cisco’s patents and copyrights]. This was Cisco’s first intellectual property lawsuit despite its huge intellectual portfolio. Huawei ended up by agreeing to withdraw from the market place Quidway routers and other related products. Three years after its US launch, the company was able to land its first contract with a US wireless carrier in 2004, and subsequently securing other contracts with small wireless carriers. Huawei had serious intentions for the U. S. market. Yet cultural risk and Cisco’s buying power in its home turf, led to a substantial delay of results, and thus loss of revenue and opportunity for Huawei. Despite having a powerful and well recognised brand name, when Cisco started its venture into China (in 1998), it began by first building on local labour-skill capabilities and government network to leverage on its inexperience in the Chinese market and thus buy into market sales power among corporate customers. Huawei, on the other hand was literally unknown in the US market. And it was naive enough to assume that American corporate customers would be sufficed with high-quality low-cost equipments from an unknown Chinese company. Or that its organisation was rightly prepared to face global competition as aggressively and in the right way as it had done in China. Cisco’s entry strategy into China was aggressive not because it offered low-cost high quality products, but expensive and exclusive technology, reinforced further via R centres spread across the country. Enterprises in China knew about and trusted Cisco’s product quality nd reliability. The same cannot be said about Huawei’s products. In spite of success in winning deals in developing countries, Huawei could not reach US corporate customers if they would not pass that easily the wall of perception that Chinese products were cheap and merely copied versions of other recognised telecom equipment and software. Recommendation Recommendations, or lessons to be drawn from Huaweiâ₠¬â„¢s experience, would capture the overall need for Chinese companies to acclimate to new surroundings first – just as the foreign companies that entered China did . Acclimatisation, for Huawei could have proceeded by: 1. Improving assessment of risk – economic, political, regulatory, cultural, organisational to avoid cultural and regulatory (the lawsuit) blunders. Huawei could have also better prepared to build a network before out rightly starting to target enterprise and corporate customers. 2. Preparing better for the entry strategy in the US– be it Greenfield, acquisition, merger or alliance. Cisco, to show its commitment for China, announced a US$100 million investment, stirring curiosity and interest among corporate customers and Chinese authorities. Huawei went into the US â€Å"quietly† opening a branch office! 3. Developing global talent – R investment and international top managers with a global experience and extended local market knowledge, in order to enhance buying power into the local market. 4. Creating a global brand – to be accepted in the market place by using local industrial public relations companies can facilitate brand recognition in the initial stages. 5. Assessing and redesigning organisation and management style to one that caters four dimensions: †¢co-orientation, the temporal dimension – being able to balance between short-term results for survival and long-term performance for sustainable profit growth; †¢co-competence, the relationship dimension – persist on the dual possession of both transactional and relational competence; †¢co-opetition – the capability to win market share through simultaneous competition and cooperation for reasons that range from brand name strengthening and market share growth; o be agile and flexible to re-adjust to shocks efficiently, and flexible enough to re-balance short-term results with long-term performance, and †¢co-evolution – the pursuit of organisational adaptation to and proactive influence on the external environment facing a firm [Huawei] Concluding Analysis and Discussion The future of business is in its course to re-establishing itself in a [somewhat] changed order. The recent financial crisis has certainly tested the best and the worst of yesteryear strategies and management styles. Thanks also to a revived wave of globalisation companies are in the quest for profit, at a time when there are possibilities – probabilities – and uncertainty. The US market continues indeed to be a litmus test of endurance for non-American companies . Luckily, Huawei had sufficient financial cushion and top management agility to learn quickly and be able to modify its corporate business model strategy to fit the demands of its targeted customers – corporate clients. â€Å"Huawei Technologies Co. , Ltd. announced it will unveil a new mobile broadband solution †¦ at Mobile World Congress 2010. This solution will accommodate the tremendous increase in mobile broadband traffic, reduce the per-bit cost by over 95%, and make mobile broadband services more profitable for operators worldwide. Today, mobile broadband services are growing exponentially, but operators have not yet been able to convert this into significant revenue streams. Huawei estimates that global data traffic on mobile broadband networks will grow 1,000 times over the next decade, from the current 85 million Giga-bytes per month in 2009. As the number of mobile broadband users continues to climb, subscribers will increasingly look for low tariffs with unlimited, high-speed access and abundant mobile broadband service, while operators will need network capabilities that allow them to accommodate the expansion pressures of mobile broadband network and profitable operation mode. Huawei would seem to be â€Å"swimming† in a blue ocean now because it has been able to grow in scale and revenue while keeping a low cost structure. The R investment and ability to simultaneously fill a gap in telecom infrastructure by putting forward a unique value proposition to telecom end user customers and telecom serv ices suppliers. Mobile broadband users, growing exponentionally in numbers, are now being offered the possibility of low tariffs for unlimited, high-speed access and abundant broadband services. In turn, operators will need network capabilities that allow them to accommodate these expansion pressures on the mobile broadband network and retain profit margins. The case of Huawei Technologies certainly reflects a good example of success story in dealing with all the above issues. Chinese-based companies planning to become global may well benchmark Huawei’s management structure and organisation in turning around the focus from high-tech products to customer-centric high-tech products and services, under an internationally accepted brand label. Huawei’s top management certainly took a step back after the initial limping performance in the U. S. It now â€Å"believes that cooperating with customers, suppliers and leading players in the industry to face challenges together through a win-win strategy is essential in today's business world† . Huawei has formed numerous partnerships [†¦ ] with leading multinationals such as ADI, Agere, Altera, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Oracle, SUN, TI and Xilinx to improve the time to market of [†¦ ] products, and to incorporate the latest technologies and best management practices into [the] company. [Such] will enhance [its] position [and brand image] in key international markets, [†¦ ] and improve [its] response speed and service advantages in [the] supply chain† . As of 2010, Huawei has 87,502 employees, of whom 43% are dedicated to R&D. Huawei’s most recently reported sales counted at US$18. 33 billion, a 75% increase from the 2006 sales, and with US$1. 15 in net profit. In 2009, it was named the world's top patent seeker, it was the first Chinese company to head the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) list, its contract orders rose 46% to US$23. 3 billion (75% of which came from overseas), overtook Alcatel-Lucent to become world's No. 3 mobile network gear maker, and during the third quarter of 2009, Huawei passed Nokia Siemens Networks for the No. 2 position in the global mobile infrastructure equipment (according to research firm Dell'Oro)—a sign of the changing fortunes of the two vendors . Huawei’s change in the strategy style is noticeable right at its formulation of the new vision – it is now â€Å"to enrich life through communication†. The company continues to maintain a leading competitive position in the international industry of telecom technology and services, and only these days was elected 5th most innovative company in the World â€Å"behind only Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google† ! ________________________________________ Bibliography: Business Week, retrieved 2 March 2010 from (http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/private/snapshot. asp? privcapId=1259829) Zeng, M. and Williamson, P. (2003)  « The Hidden Dragons  », Haward Business Review, October. Quoted in The Asia Case Centre, The University of Hong Kong, Ref 06/300C Huawei Technologies Corporate Website – http://www. huawei. com/corporate_information/global_operations. do Huawei Technologies Annual Report 2009 Farhoomand, A. , The Asia Case Centre, The University of Hong Kong, â€Å"Huawei: Cisco’s Chinese challenger â€Å", 2006 Chen, J. Giant Rises in the East  », National Post, June 10th 2005, Quoted in T he Asia Case Centre, The University of Hong Kong, Ref 06/300C The McKinsey Quarterly, Strategy,  « How Chinese companies can succeed abroad†, May 2008. Lou, Y. and Rui, H. â€Å"An ambidexterity Perspective Toward Multinational Enterprises from Emerging Economies†, Academy of Management, November 2009. http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/private/snapshot. asp? privcapId=1259829, Retrieved 2 March 2010. http://www. huawei. com/corporate_information/partnerships. do, Retrieved 2 March 2010. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Huawei http://eon. businesswire. com/portal/site/eon/permalink/? ndmViewId=news_view

What are the management problem faced by NGOs Dissertation

What are the management problem faced by NGOs - Dissertation Example The UN definition of an NGO or a non-governmental organization is a legally established organization formulated by legal persons that functions individually without any assistance from any government. In the cases where NGOs are being funded completely or partly by governments, the NGO will keep its non-governmental standing by eliminating government representatives from participating in the organization (Gamboni, 2006). The word is usually relevant only to organizations that follow some wider social purpose that has political characteristics, but that are not openly political organizations such as political parties. According to a definition by World Bank, the NGOs are "private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development" (World Bank, 2007). A 1995 UN report on the global authority predicted that there are approximately 29,000 international NGOs. National numbers have risen even higher than that: The United States alone has an estimated number of 2 million NGOs, among which most were formulated in the past 30 years. On the other hand, we see that Russia has 65,000 NGOs. Many of the NGOs are created every day. In Kenya only, around 240 NGOs come into being with the passing of every year. Many different types of organizations are now defined as being NGOs. There is no commonly recognized description of an NGO and the word carries diverse meanings in different situations. Nonetheless, there are some important features. Undoubtedly, an NGO must be liberated from the direct control of any government (Lewis, 2006). Also according to Lewis (2006), there are three more widely recognized features that eliminate specific types of bodies from consideration. An NGO will not be established as a political party; it will always remain non-profit-making and it shall never take part in any criminal activities, and most importantly it will be non-violent. These features relate to general usage, because they equal the conditions set for acknowledgment by the United Nations (Lewis, 2006) The borders can sometimes be slightly diminished: various NGOs may in reality be closely related to a political party; many NGOs create revenue from activities that are commercial, predominantly consultancy contracts or publication sales; and a minute number of NGOs may be related to intense political disputes. However, according to Nanda (2010) an NGO is never founded as a government bureaucracy, a criminal association, a party or a rebel group. Thus, an NGO is majorly projected as an autonomous volunteer association of pe ople working together on a constant basis, for some mutual drive, other than attaining government office, generating revenues or taking part in illegal doings. Furthermore, according to Nanda (2010) the term NGO is very comprehensive and includes many different types of organizations. In the arena of development, NGOs vary in size from large charities based in the North such as CARE, Oxfam and World Vision to community-based NGOs in the South.   They also comprise of research institutes, professional associations churches as well as lobby groups. An increasing figure of NGOs are involved in both operational and sponsorship workings. Moreover, some of the advocacy groups, while not being openly involved in planning and executing projects, concentrate on particular project-related concerns (Willitts, 2002). According to Ronalds (2010), NGOs are existent for a range of purposes, typically to promote the political as well as social goals of their associates. The examples of this could include cultivating the state of the natural environment, boosting the adherence of human rights, enlightening the general masses about the welfare of the disadvantaged, or demonstrating on behalf of a corporate agenda. However, there is a plethora of such organizations and their aims cover a comprehensive range of political and philosophical situations. This can

Friendship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Friendship - Essay Example It was not a pleasant experience because we were strangers to one another. Even though my uncle was not happy about our lack of knowledge of each other, he introduced us as first cousins after which we became friends. I was also able to meet other cousins during my stay in the city but my friendship with this particular cousin has grown beyond any other personal relationship that I have had and I, in this paper, look at friendship and the extent to which Akst’s writing applies to friendship and possible deviations. Basis of friendships Akst, in his article, noted Aristotle’s explanation of three forms of friendship: â€Å"those based on usefulness (contacts), on pleasure (drinking buddies), and on a shared pursuit of virtue – the highest form of all† (Akst, 24). Our friendship developed from shared goals and dreams that we aspired to achieve in the future. The only contrasting aspect that existed between my cousin and I was our preferred professions. My co usin preferred a business career. He was a self-proclaimed businessperson and believed that business was the only key that could unlock his fortunes. On the contrary, I had education-oriented goals. I aimed at working hard in school to secure good grades that would qualify me to attend top ranking universities in the country. We however shared common goals despite the different paths that we chose to our respective success. A reflection, ten years later, of our friendship echoes Akst’s point that friendship built on shared pursuit of virtue is the highest form of all existing types of friendship basis. (Akst, 24) Advantages of having friends in the society Wilson in his article addressed the positive implications of friendship. According to Wilson, â€Å"living in a society of friends has many advantages. Friendship can moderate our behavior† and â€Å"friends help us establish and maintain norms and can tell us if we are running off when others do not notice, will no t break the news, or lack the necessary credibility† (in Akst, 26). In any given friendship, there exists a common trait. Personal traits among true friends are always in accord in terms of moral beliefs, ethical standards and political or religious affiliations. The concept of moderation of character in friendship was demonstrated through our relationship. Based on our contrasting success strategies, my cousin opted to venture into business while I pursued my undergraduate studies. Over the years, my cousin equipped himself with versatile entrepreneurial skills while I concentrated on my studies. Within a period of two years while I was in college, my cousin was able to establish and run a successful business firm. In his part, my cousin challenged my strategy of success. He argued that I did not have to finish college in order to own a business. My cousin reckoned that I could continue with my studies while operating a small business venture. He was able to instill in me the art and skills of a young entrepreneur while I was still pursuing my childhood dream of becoming a scholar. After considering his advice, I started supplying the college’s administration with stationeries and later expanded my market to cover the entire college and its environs. It was through our friendship that my cousin moderated my obsession with academic studies and established a renewed perspective of business in my character. Friendship concepts overlooked by the author Misunderstandings in friendships In his argument, Akst failed to mention that friendship is not always perfect. His analysis of the concept of friendship overlooked mistakes and misunderstanding among friends. In my personal opinion, mistakes and misunderstanding serve to strengthen friendship. In my relationship with my cousin, we have had

Instigation of the hostage crisis of 1979 Essay

Instigation of the hostage crisis of 1979 - Essay Example The Iran Hostage Crisis began on November 4, 1979; when the pro Ayatollah students broke into the US embassy in Iran and took about 66 90 people hostage, of which 66 were Americans. Thirteen hostages were later freed, bringing the number down to 53. Almost all of these 13 hostages released were believed to be African-American women, who in their view had a history of oppression by the very country they were citizens of . Another hostage was later released in 1980 bringing the total number of hostages held down to 52. The hostages were finally set free after 444 days on 21st January 1981.This coincided with the inaugural address of President Ronald Reagan. There are several questions that are being asked on what could have been the actual cause of the attack on the US embassy in Tehran by the pro Ayatollah students. There are varied views on what could have motivated them into the act. No need to start a new paragraph. The topic has not changed. You open a new paragraph only when you switch to a new topic. It is generally said that the acceptance of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in New York may have been the cause of the crisis. Despite the acceptance of Shah into US soil being taken to be the immediate cause of the attack, the hostage taking was actually motivated by much more than Shah’s acceptance. Even though, on the surface, Shah's acceptance into the U.S. soil was alleged to be the main cause behind the hostage crisis, the real reasons behind the motivation ran much deeper than that. This The hostage crisis was an avenue hence used as front by that the participants in the act used to make their displeasure known and to show t hat they were breaking away from the past where the Americans had been interfering with the Iran’s internal affairs by supporting the Shah.

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Auditing - Essay Example The audit activity at Farhan Muscat SAOG Company revealed that due to the inappropriate keeping of financial records for the current financial year in Salalah stores (water seepage during heavy rains), it became impossible to make an audit, which a senior auditor was going to conduct. While the company staff was informed about the stick take for the certain period to be conducted in the most convenient time, their other duties, such as movement of goods production receiving and dispatch operations continued. Purchases and sales were not stopped and other daily operations were continuing. During the audit, there was revealed that the some stock items of the company were not sold throughout 2014. The storekeeper reported these goods were included in the regular stock and were also valued as regular stock. The adudit inspection observed manager was carrying out all-inclusive check of the low priced stock, however, the premium stock was not counted. The results from the audit revealed the paucity of time of company’s management led to the inability to gather the necessary information about the stock and make the stock sheets at other locations across the country. According to the audit group results, damaged, obsolete, slow-moving stock and non moving stock was valued at purchase price by the company. The manager was informed about such stock to make a little part of the entire stock and is valued at purchase price. As a rationale, since physical inventory cannot be protected from loss, the company could prevent a material misstatement of its financial statements. The material deficiency relates to misstatement of the financial statements, and the failure of such preventive control will not lead a significant deficiency. However, it prevents a misstatement of the financial statements. This circumstance had to be carefully considered before it was

Analysis + Memo. Playa Dorada Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis + Memo. Playa Dorada - Case Study Example I hope that I will be able to highlight the potential feasibility, profitability and suitability of the proposed expansion, in such a way that enhances our investment returns. Welcome. Background To begin with, you are aware that the Playa Doranda Beach & Resort in Florida has been doing very well in setting up a residential center alongside highly esteemed hotels. The residents and guests in these two units are expected to reach maximal capacity soon, thus increasing the number of people using our facilities. Further, the usage of tennis facilities has been on the increase and is likely to push us above our current capacity in the next few months. Based on vocation and tourist arrivals, there is a likelihood that our tennis facilitates will soon be inadequate. Our marketers and strategic business planners have already guaranteed increased growth of tennis demand in the location. Considering that our 18-hole golf course and Olympic sized swimming pool were also essential future inves tments that are now legendary in returns, it is strategically logical to conclude that we now need to extend our tennis infrastructure. Between 2004 and 2007, our court usage increased from 18.4% (by 2,789) players, to reach 47.3% (by 32,816 players). This was a nearly 30% increase of tennis court usage within three years. This rate or growth predicts when our tennis facilities as they are now, will be inadequate. With that kind of growth rate, our tennis courts face maximal over use in less than five years from 2007. Proposal My proposal for the next financial year is to amend the current pricing structure, and make it more competitive. Our tennis facilitates are impeccable in quality and the best in these regions. As such, since we have and we will sustain a maximal demand among players and visitors, we can optimize our profitability by increasing our prices, and being more expensive in our tennis programs. Further, even with increased prices, our tennis facilities are likely to r egister extreme numbers of potential players, as we are now, if not more when occupation increases. As such, I propose that we need to increase our tennis facilities and infrastructure, by building new courts and extending those that are currently operational. This will continue to optimize our revenue generation, not only because of new facilities, but also with the increased pricing structure. It is a highly expensive investment proposal, but the potential optimal returns are as gigantic. Conclusion Building a hotel and residential infrastructure have been central to tradition, our history and the consequent success as was demonstrated by our lucrative villa sales a few years ago. In this understanding, investing in better facilities and preparing our company with an essential expansion of our tennis club is essential. That is my proposal, hoping to maximize on the future returns on our investment, within a market that is most likely going to grow extremely huge in the near future . Thank you. SWOT Analysis The SWOT matrix can be used to analyze the potential benefits of the proposed expansion. SWOT helps profile the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a business proposal. This will help justify the essence of the proposal, based on strategic analysis of future market of tennis courts and tennis facilities. As such, the following is a brief SWOT analysis of the proposal: A) Strengths (Potential returns for the business proposal over possible alternatives). The expansion proposes the construction

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 79

Journal - Essay Example However, the writer presents an interesting twist to the developing story by focusing on the involvement of US troops. Though the writer presents a good reason the involvement of US troops is justifiable, the story still attracts an element of conflict. This is because US troops’ operations in the Middle Eastern region have always been a controversial issue. Moreover, the story seem more of a speculation since the writer fails to give details on the process of selecting the troops, when it shall happen, or plans troops shall do in order to secure peace in Syria and Iraq. The writer does not divulge details and only reports the information given by US general on the plans to send troops to Middle East. The writer only indicates that the General needs to take immense action, control, and deploy troops in Iraq. Nevertheless, it is a timely story perhaps meant to offer relief to the innocent people suffering in Middle East because of the ongoing war. Islamic State has taken over, taking over factories, resources, and create insecurities. Many people are homeless, live in fear, face executions, and can hardly have a decent life. US troops could be the only source of hope of rescue. The writer posts videos of crimes committed by the Islamic State, which show lawlessness, massacre of innocents, civilians living in refugee camps, and an army incapable of curbing the Islamic State militants. This shows the credibility of the story and an attempt to persuade the readers to agree with his point of view by emotionally appealing to

Individual Behavior in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Individual Behavior in Organizations - Essay Example It explains why a person likes or dislikes a given entity from his/her perspective. Behavioral component explains the way a person would act or is expected to act in the case he/she comes across a certain situation or object. (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2012; Hogg and Vaughan, 2005) Attitudes give rise to an evaluative tendency on the individual’s part to like, ignore, or dislike the different entities he/she might come across in his/her lifetime. Hence, one’s attitudes often become crucial in deciding his/her propensity to execute his/her job role or the responsibilities delegated to him/her. In this way, employees’ attitudes significantly influence the workplace productivity. If the overall alignment of all the attitude components of an employee are oriented positively with respect to his/her job and/or responsibilities, he/she would understand his objectives more clearly and would further caste sincere focus toward achieving them with much ease and liking. (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2012; Eagly and Chaiken, 1993) First, need fulfillment, which entails the satisfaction of an employee’s spiritual, material, and intellectual needs, can be a prime causal in creating job satisfaction. Second, discrepancies are the cause that describes the extent of the employee’s satisfaction levels with his/her need fulfillments. Discrepancies are likely to vary person to person. Third, value attainment is intricately related to the corporate, social and family responsibilities of the employee as an individual who seeks to fulfill the requirements and expectations of others beyond his/her personal or professional pursuits. Fourth, the employee is most likely to be satisfied with is job if he/she is paid or benefited in other ways fairly enough in exchange of his/her labor. Fifth, a person’s personal traits determines how much he/she is suited for the job

Second paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Second paper - Essay Example He introduces the concept of economic or environmental determinism, in which he cites external forces as the cause of poverty of some groups.1 Bauer dispels the common opinion that the underdeveloped world is poor because of Western policies and imperialism. Removal of colonialism does not necessarily trigger economic development. Colonial status does not necessarily hamper material progress of developing countries in Africa or Asia. Robert Kaplan’s article â€Å"In Defense of Empire† explores a tempered American imperialism. Imperialism has both positive and negative aspects, depending on its application in a country or empire. Kaplan explains that previous empires provided greater peace and stability as compared to contemporary America. Imperialism is a form of self-government that occupies a middle ground between disorder and full state control.2 Although the quest for riches drives imperialism, it results in other beneficial factors such as cosmopolitanism, which spur growth. The conclusion that imperialism only results in evil is an apathetic notion based on some minor cases of its negative effects. Mike Davis’ â€Å"Late Victorian Holocausts† is a book that relates political economy and global climate patterns, specifically, the relationship of colonialism, capitalism, and global famine. He highlights the negative effects of imperialism when he argues that economic and political systems, which characterize imperialism, have caused the death of millions. Davis’ book details how the economic philosophy of the colonial governments exacerbated rural poverty and food shortage while economic guidelines intensified famine. This imperialistic behavior is the reason for most third world countries.3 Davis would dispute Bauer and Kaplan’s argument because he focuses on the negative effects of imperialism. Bauer and Kaplan

Student Life Essay Example for Free

Student Life Essay Every morning I wake up and gaze out my dormitory window at a gorgeous campus with modern buildings surrounded by clean fields of clean-cut grass. The only thing that might appear odd to any average SU student about this sight is that this beautiful looking campus was not their own. As I explore the surrounding campus near my dorm, Sadler Hall, there are several observations made which helped to determine the areas of trivial conflict and areas which seem to reflect social norms. One major observation made in this activity was the small community known as ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry). Several subtle and some obvious observations were looked at to determine how this area fit in with our community. There are several vital facts one should know about SUNY ESF. The college is located directly behind the Carrier Dome and is a separate school from Syracuse University. My dorm, Sadler Hall, is one of the few buildings which surround ESF near the edge of campus. In order to drive into ESF, or even Sadler Hall, there is a security shack where you must first check in with a guard. The ESF campus is strikingly different from the SU campus in that the majority of the buildings are very modern and the community as a whole is much smaller. The campus houses no dormitories or eating quarters, so all ESF students share these facilities with SU students. While doing further research I also found that most of the other recreational services are shared with SU students. One of the major preconceptions of ESF students is that they are all tie-die wearing, tree hugging, pot-smoking hippies. When first realizing that ESF existed, I found myself picking out in my head the ESF students from the SU students. The student diversity at ESF is in fact immense for having such a small community of students. Matt Renkas, my RA and an ESF student, informed me of what it is like being an ESF student and living on SU campus. ESF and SU both offer a choice for freshman to have Learning Communities. These are organized groups living together in the same dorm that share similar majors. Learning Communities for ESF are fairly small and only exist on the eighth floor of Sadler, and on the third floor of Day. It is an interesting idea that while at the same time that SU is trying to stray from having students rooming with similar character, those ESF and SU students in learning communities are being isolated from the rest of the school. The major question that arose from my observations was that if ESF and SU students are living and eating in the same quarters, why should they have a social advantage over others? I came to the conclusion that SU and ESF students therefore see each other as a separate community and social group. There are several other observations and facts that support this idea of separation between SU and ESF students. At the 2004 Freshman Convocation, a clear separation allowed first year students to identify who was SU and who was ESF. On the top pear of the stands, one could see a small group of students all wearing tie-die shirts. During the middle of the chancellors speech she made a reference to the ESF students and they all cheered with excitement. At that point I realized what a small population of freshman there are in ESF, and also how separated they seemed from the SU students. With such a small community of students, it made sense that they had so much pride and excitement to be freshman. Not only is ESF one of the hardest SUNYs in New York to get into, but the ESF students also graduate together in the same ceremony as the SU students. Once again this creates a separation between two social groups that are supposed to be one community. In addition, a way that SU students themselves exclude ESF student is in Greek Life. Only 4% of ESF students belong to a sorority or fraternity. This percentage is extremely low even if the community is not very large. Ultimately, this problem spawns from the fact that these two groups are so far apart in social habits. Although ESF shares several facilities with SU campus, the ESF campus appears to first year students, like myself, as an area designated for ESF students only. These boundaries that exist in our community are designated for the people for whom they were built. This idea goes hand in hand with what Sibley states,  What I hope to do is to clarify some of the spatial and social boundary processes which separate some groups and individuals from society and render deviant those who are different. As a freshman in Sadler Hall, I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a time when I need to use the ESF campus? Although it is an understanding that ESF provides a wonderful amount of resource for SU students, at appearance it seems almost like an annex. Its separated by stone walls labeled SUNY ESF, and a glance at the architecture reveals a distinct separation from the still diverse SU campus. Students even possess different ID cards that are green that distinguish them as ESF and not SU. After analyzing the ESF campus, I decided to take a closer look at the social life of ESF students on my floor. I decided that I was going to find out who on my floor was an SU students and who was an ESF student. This means I was going to have to go beyond fieldwork, and start talking to all the people on my floor. It really never occurred to me that anybody on my floor was in ESF, but I had some idea about who may or may not be. After talking to Matt, my Resident Advisor from ESF, I was informed that there were people on my floor in ESF, but I was not told who they were. I know almost all the people on my floor, except for a few, and I decided I was going to find out the ones in ESF. As I closely observed the hallways, I began to notice several promotional signs from the ESF Office of Student Activities. I never really took time to read them or even notice they existed. One of my floor mates named Kathryn, who I had recently made friends with, was my first guess for someone who was in ESF. She was a stereotypical hippie and she boasted about it all the time. When I asked her what school she was in, I was surprised to find she was a student at SU. All of my stereotypical preconceptions failed my attempt to guess the ESF students and made my realize how much I really dont know about the people around me. I came away from this exercise realizing that there really wasnt a stereotypical ESF students and that people with different lifestyles and backgrounds can be found everywhere, even at SU. The point of this essay is not to try and change the relationship between the SU and ESF campus. Like Luthra states on page two of his essay, all I am trying to do is to recognize and distinguish what the differences are but not change them. By identifying these differences, the purpose is to essentially provide an alternative reading of the ESF and SU campus. From much observational analysis, I think it is safe to say that the ESF campus, set apart and isolated from that of the SU campus, can be classified as a place of social isolation. Other forms of exclusion are made through programs such as the Learning Communities which maybe need to become larger in order to function accordingly. In conclusion, there were several observations made which helped to determine the areas of trivial conflict and areas that seemed to reflect social norms. These areas of conflict in the end became question for what society or community accepted. If there is any more to learn about the separated and shared areas of the two campus, it is that in order to create a more diverse and equal society, there can be no separate boundaries that restrict access for either party. These prohibitions discussed are maintained in practice by the community and society which continue to clearly separate a person from a certain place.

Cell Tissue Organ System

Cell Tissue Organ System The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organism. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing and is often called the building block of life. Some organism such as most bacteria, are unicellular (consist of a single cell) and other organism such as human, are multicellular. Each cell can take in nutrients, convert these nutrients into energy, carry out specialized functions, and reproduce as necessary. It also stores its own set of instructions for carrying out each of these activities. All cells have a skin called the plasma membrane, protecting it from the outside environment. The cell membrane regulates the movement of water, nutrients and wastes into and out of the cell. Inside of the cell membrane are the working parts of the cell. At the center of the cell is the cell nucleus. The cell nucleus contains the cells DNA, the genetic code that coordinates protein synthesis. In addition to the nucleus, there are many organelles inside the cell small structures that help carry out the day-to-day operations of the cell. One important cellular organelle is the ribosome. Ribosomes participate in protein synthesis. The transcription phase of protein synthesis takes places in the cell nucleus. After this step is complete, the mRNA leaves the nucleus and travels to the cells ribosomes, where translation occurs. Another important cellular organelle is the mitochondrion. Mitochondria are often referred to as power plants of the cell because may of the reactions that produce energy take place in materials. Outside the cell wall is a gelatinous capsule which has antiphagocytic function so it determines the virulence of many bacteria. It also plays a role in attachment of the organism to mucous membranes. Most cells organelles fo cellular mobility are flagella. Flagella arise from cytoplasm and extrude through the cell wall, they are long and thick thread-like appendages, protein in nature. Another outer structure of the cell are Fimbriae (pili). Fimbriae are short and thin hair like filaments and are responsible for attachment of bacteria to specific receptors oh human cell. II. DESCRIBE AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE CELL AND TISSUE ORGANIZATION AND SYSTEM. As the diagram shows CELL TISSUE ORGAN SYSTEM HUMAN BODY A group of cells with same structure and functions will become tissue and one to several dozen processes will be called organ and group of organ will function as a system until it join with other functional and anatomical unit of the human body or organism. There are many different types of cells in the human body. None of these cells function well on their own, they are part of the larger organism that is called human. TISSUES Cells group together in the body to form tissues a collection of similar cells that group together to perform a specialized function. There are 4 primary types in the human body: epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscle tissue and nerve tissue. 1) Epithelial TIssue The cells of epithelial tissue pack tightly together and form continuous sheets that serve as liningd in different parts of the body. Epithelial tissue serves as membranes lining organs and helping to keep the bodys organs separate, in palce and protected. Some examples of epithelial tissue are the outer layer of the skin, the inside of the mouth and stomach, and the tissue surrounding the bodys organ. 2) Connective Tissue Connective tissue adds support and structure to the body. Most types of connective tissue contain fibrous strands of the protein collagen that add strength to connective tissue. Some examples of connective tissue include the inner layers of skin, tendons, ligamnets, cartilage, bone, fat tissue and blood. 3) Muscle Tissue This type of tissue is a specialized tissue taht can contract. Muscle tissue contains the specialized proteins actin and myosin that slide past one another and allow movement. Examples of muscle tissue are contained in the muscle throughout your body. 4) Nerve Tissue Nerve tissue contains two types of cells: neurons and glial cells. Nerve tissue has the ability to generate and conduct electrical signals in the body. These electrical messages are manage by nerve tisse in the brain and transmitted down the spinal cord to the body. ORGANS An organ is a structure that contains at least two different types of tissue functioning together for a common purpose. The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is composed of three layers: the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layer. The epidermis is the outer lsyer of skin. It consists of epithelial tissue in which the cells are tightly packed together providing a barrier between the inside of the body and the outside world. Below the epidermis lies a layer of connective tissue called the dermis. Dermis contains blood vessels that nourish skin cells. It contains nerve tissue that provides feeling in the skin. The subcutaneous layer is beneath the dermis and consists mainly of a type of connective tissue called adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is also known as fat and helps cushion th eskin and provide protection from cold temperature. ORGAN SYSTEMS Organ systems are composed of two or more different organs that work together to provide a common function. There are 10 major organ systems in the human body. 1) Skeletal System: The main role of the skeletal system is to provide support for the body, to protect delicate internal organs and to provide attachment sites for the organs. Major organs are bones, cartilages, tendons and ligaments. 2) Muscular System: The main role of the muscular sysem is to provide movemet. Muscles work in pairs to move limbs and provide the organism with mobility. Muscles also control the movement of material through some organs, such as the stomach and intestines, and the heart and circulatory system. Major organs are skeletal muscles and smooth moscles throughout the body. 3) Circulatory System: The main role of this system is to transport nutrients, gases, hormones and wastes through the body. Major organs are heart, blood vessels and blood. 4) Nervous System: The main role of the system is to relay electrical signals through the body. The nervous system directs behaviour and movement and, along with the endocrine system, controls physiological processes such as digestion, circulation, etc. Major organs include brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. 5) Respiratory System: The main role of the respiratory system is to provide gas exchange between the blood and the environment. Primarily, Oxygen is absorbed from the atmosphere into the body and carbon dioxide is expelled form the body. Major organs are nose, trachea and lungs. 6) Digestive System: The main role of th esystem is to breakdown and absorb nutrients that are necessary for growth and maintenance. Major organs are mouth, esophagus, stomach and large intestines. 7) Excretory System: The main role os this system is to filter out cellular wastes, toxins and excess water or nutrients from the circulatory system. Major organs are kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. 8) Endocrine System: The main role of the endocrine system is to relay chemical messgaes through the body. In conjunction with the nervous system, these chemical messages help control physiological processes such as nutrient absorption, growth, etc. Many organs exist in the body taht secrete endocrine hormones. Among these are hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas and adrenal glands. 9) Reproductive System: The mai role of this system is to manufacture cells that allow reproduction. In the male, sperm are created to inseminate egg cells produced in the female. Major organs for female are ovaries, uterus, vagina and mammary glands; for male testes, seminal vesicles and penis. 10) Lymphatic/Immune System: The main role is to destroy and remove invading microbes and viruses from the body. The lymphatic system also removes fat and excess fluids from the blood. Major organs are lymph, lymph nodes and vessels, white blood cells, T- and B- cells. III. EXPLAIN TISSUE STIMULUS, ELECTRICAL FUNCTION AND BALANCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN CELLS AND SYSTEM. Neurons are the structural units of the nervous system that carry out the functions of the systems by conducting impulses. They are highly specialized and amitotic, which means that if a neuron is destroyed it cannot be replaced. Functionally, neurons are classified as afferent, efferent, or association neurons, according to the direction in which they transmit impulses relative to the central nervous system. Each neuron has three basic parts: Cell body, which is similar to other type of cells One or more dendrite, which transit impulses to the cell body A single axon, which transmits impulses away from the cell body

Child Observation Essay

Child Observation Essay Observation of young children allows for a naturalistic insight into child development, which more experimental methods fail to provide. The method of observation also means social workers can develop skills that would usually be difficult to learn, such as observing without taking notes a practice that is applicable in a professional social work role. Trowell and Miles (1996) emphasise the importance of observation as one of the foundational skills developed in social work, relating to the social workers role in making judgements, decisions and juggling the issues of race, gender and sexuality whilst making important decisions regarding peoples welfare. The observation took place across 5 weeks involving 5 different observation sessions, allowing the child to be observed across a variety of different times during the day. The observation study was based upon the Tavistock method emphasising not taking notes, becoming completely absorbed into the observation and placing importance on the observer recognising their own reactions and responses to what behaviours and dynamics may be displayed. The Tavistock model encourages observers to see what there is to be seen and not look for what they think should be there (p. 2, Reid 1999). This encourages the observers use of non-judgemental perception and not creating inferences about situations based on instinct without evidence. Whilst the Tavistock model traditionally uses weekly observation across the first year of a babys birth this observation was across 5 weeks. It would be hugely beneficial from a child development perspective to observe a newborn infant for a year, however I can imagine the process to be very emotional. I found it difficult to complete my goodbyes to the child I was observing, as I had become a relatively constant fixture in the childs life. Also from the process of observation I felt as if I had begun to know the child, as I had watched her intently and picked up upon habits, favourite activities and began to recognise and understand her personality traits. The age of the child being observed was also very different from the Tavistock model, however I feel that observing a child at the age of between 3 and 5 was incredibly useful. Observation of newborn infants can inform social workers of attachment development and the very first milestones. However an older child can start to infor m social workers of the way children interact with other adults, develop speech and how children themselves relate to others and the wider ecological system (Bronfenbrenner 1990) which can help inform practice, especially direct work with children. The use of the Tavistock model also helped me understand the usefulness of not taking notes, and I think it is a skill I have developed and already put into practice when working with children. Due to learning how to perceive what is going on around me and what is occurring for the child I have been able to transfer this to listening to children talk about their home life (specifically in wishes and feelings work) whilst being able to observe the childs body language. I have made it a point to not take notes when talking to a child, so that they feel I am fully focused on their story. The observation took place in an early years class, in a Roman Catholic School in a deprived area of Suffolk. The schools mission statement is to educate young people to meet the challenge of life courageously, to use their abilities to the full and to live the values of Christs gospel and there is an emphasis on a Catholic education, including religious iconography in all classrooms, regular prayers and a prayer garden in the school grounds. Children are also encouraged to take their first holy communion and attend mass regularly. The school itself is recognised as good by Ofsted, and whilst its main student population is from the nearby area and would describe themselves as White British, there are a small, but growing, population of ethnic minorities. This includes Philippines, Korean and Polish and due to the high incident of non-English speaking parents the schools website offers a translate service. The Ofsted report also discusses that the school has a higher than average numb er of pupils with special educational needs. The area is predominately working class, with an increasing problem with unemployment and poverty. Whilst it is well evidenced that children growing up in deprived areas are more at risk of health problems (McLeod and Shanahan 1993) and at greater risk of varying types of abuse (Aber, Bennet, Conley and Li 1997) the child for this study is developing within the considered normal boundaries, is not known to social services, and is white British. I fortunately already had links to the school due to previously completing work experience- I was therefore already known by members of staff, and had already gained their trust that I would behave in a professional manner. I approached the school and the school agreed to the observation study. I was then invited to come in and speak to a potential parent as she brought her child in to school. The teacher had chosen this child as she had no developmental concerns, describing her as average, the child, siblings and other family members were also not known to social services and come from a stable family. I approached the mother as she entered school and explained the project to her, she was interested and expressed no worries or issues with her child being the subject of the child observation. I was very surprised at the ease of permission, as there is a negative stereotype regarding social workers (Gibleman 2004), however when I spoke to the parent of the child she said that she unde rstood that everyone needs to learn. This made me feel positive regarding the observation as I wasnt immediately challenged or questioned and the parent did not ask for any feedback on the child development which I was initially concerned may be asked of me. I completed the observations on a Tuesday at a variety of times. Due to starting at the end of September I started my observation at 9am as C (as the observation subject shall henceforth be known) had only just begun school and was not yet attending full time. As time progressed I was able to complete observations during the afternoons. I chose the observation to focus on as C participated in a range of activities that appeared to demonstrate numerous facets of child development, including imaginary play, shared play, scaffolding (Vygotsky 1978) and cognitive development (Piaget 1964). I chose not to use the first observation I completed, as C cried for the most part of the observation and was very unresponsive to any task the class teacher had set and refused to participate in any activities, instead she remained on the lap of a teaching assistant. Whilst this in itself obviously indicated a great deal regarding development of attachment this essay would then primarily be focused of attachment rather than the other aspects of child development. The observation I have focused on was the second observation I completed, and is therefore still relevantly soon after C had started school, I could therefore begin to make inferences related to Cs first relationships with her peers and could observe how these developed across the following observations. Analysis of Observation: This observation was the second observation in the series of five. I chose it as I felt the child demonstrated a range of facets of development, including participating in shared play, imaginative play and I began to understand more about the childs individual personality. Language development: Language and communication development begins very early, with very young infants using eye contact and changes in the infants behavioural state in order to communicate their needs to adults. These responses begin to become more complex and reciprocal between adult and caregiver and the child begins to learn sounds ultimately developing language, an important tool in communicating to adults (Sheridan, Sharma and Cockerill 2008). The observation and school day began with the children asked to practice phonic sounds; in this observation the letter O. C (the child) used gestures as well as sounds to practice the letter, encouraging C to recognise the sound and value of the letters, however by 4 years and 3 months Cs language development was such that she could already construct sentences, engage with other children and instigate games and jokes (Pecceci 2006) This is evidenced with C asking another child to play the row your boat game. C is demonstrating her grasp of complex sentence structure using relative clauses (Clark 2003). Similar evidence of developed language acquisition is Cs ability to ask grammatically correct questions, for example when she asked for milk C demonstrated that she had developed an understanding of auxiliary verbs. Social and emotional development: Play is a central part of a childs social development including solitary play (mastery play, generative play), constructive play, locomotor and sociodramatic play. C participated in a range of play indicative of gender stereotypes for example playing brides with a friend, pretending to be a kitten again with a friend, all examples of imaginative and co-operative play. Piaget (1965) discusses the importance of peer interactions to the childs moral feelings, values and beliefs. In the above examples C is engaging in play where the two children involved are expressing their interests and desires (i.e. interest in animals and the desire to have a pet kitten) when the same interests do not exist, an disequillibrium occurs (DeVries 1997) and dependent on the value of the relationship, the child may try and re-establish equilibrium, which is why Piaget suggests peer friendships, and ultimately peer play is essential to a childs operational and co-operational development. C participated in a game with three boys, which involved building a structure. C had to work with her peers, this game was more structured and therefore more implicit rules which is how Piaget (1965) explains the development of childhood moral values. Alternatively Vygotsky (1978) believed that the life long process of development is dependent on social interactions and this leads to cognitive development, which is also known as the zone of proximal development. C worked with three other students to work together to build using the wooden planks, C resolved the problem of where to put the planks to build the most sound structure independently problem solving. There is also an emphasis on play leading to the development of an imagination. This can be evidenced in C becoming a kitten, and behaving as a kitten would- licking her hands as paws etc. Vygotsky (1966) argues that all play involves the creation of an imaginary situation, liberating the child from realistic situational constraints, ultimately Vygotsky implies that childhood play and the transition to adult imagination are both rule bound, and this first develops through imaginative play as observed in C. Emotional development, self-regulation and containment largely derive from the quality of the childs early attachments (Bowlby 1969). Cs mother bought C into the classroom and C appeared reluctant to leave her mother, but she was comforted by the teacher and waved goodbye and did not appear to be distressed. This observation was completed at an early stage of the child attending school full time, therefore a certain amount of separation anxiety could be expected. However C was easily comforted by the teacher suggesting C had developed a secure attachment to her mother but was able to leave her without being anxious. This has important implications for Cs future adjustment at school. Granot and Mayseless (2001) suggest that those children with secure attachments adjust to school better than those with disorganised, avoidant or ambivalent attachment styles. Intellectual and cognitive development: Piaget (1957) theory of child cognitive development states that the child constructs and understands the world around them by experiencing discrepancies from what they already know and what they begin to discover. There are four stages of development, which Piaget discusses sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. Due to Cs age (4 years 3 months) Piaget (1957) would describe C as being in the pre-operational stage mentally representing objects and engaging in symbolic play (seen throughout the observation). The pre-operational stage also links to Piaget and Inhelders (1948) stages of drawing. C demonstrated that she was in the later stages of the synthetic incapacity stage of drawing C had drawn a circular, closed figure with limbs but these were not in proportion, C has also not grasped a sense of perspective and the human figure did not fit the background feature in Cs case a bathtub. The synthetic incapacity stage of drawing runs parallel to the pre-operational stage hence why the picture was also in 2D, as C could only draw from her perspective replicating a bathtub from her internal mental representation. However Vygotsky (1966) theory of cognitive development varied from Piagets (1957) and he placed a greater importance on the cultural and social environment of the child being a vital part of the construction of knowledge. Learning through interactions with their peers, and the expectations, beliefs and traditions of their own cultures. Vygotksy (1966) also placed an importance of peer collaboration, as well as adult assistance in promoting the zone of proximal development, also known as the scaffolding process (Wood, Bruner, and Ross 1976). Scaffolding is very much used a teaching strategy and can be seen with C and her classmates. The teacher demonstrated the letter O and asked the children to copy both sound and movement, providing encouragement and reward when the task was done well. In this situation the teacher also split the task of recognising O down first explaining to the children, then asking the children to sound the letter out, before drawing on the whiteboard and asking the children to copy the writing action. C was then asked to draw the letter on a piece of paper, using the technique previously used by the teacher. C did this task well, suggesting the success of the scaffolding technique. In this observation C also began to demonstrate the beginnings of the development of theory of mind. Perner, Lang and Kloo (1999) suggest an intellectual and developmental shift in a child of around 4 years of age, including the acquisition of theory of mind and self-control. In this observation C and another child hid from a boy, they hid behind the shed, and therefore developed the understanding that if they hide from another that he will not know where they are. However Perner Lang, and Kloo (1999) also suggest a link between acquisition of theory of mind and self-control, but in the hide-and-seek game the two girls called the childs name and giggled, suggesting their executive control has not yet fully developed Moral and spiritual development: As previously described the school is a Roman Catholic school, and there is religious iconography in the classroom, including a picture of Mary and Jesus on the wall. The children are expected to pray three times a day as well as attend mass, collective worship and religious assemblies. There is also a greater emphasis on religious education starting from the early years class. Whilst the childs family are not religious, it is important to consider the impact that such a religious education may have on the childs concept of self and their moral, religious and spiritual development. Eriksson (1964) drew attention to the importance of religion and spirituality, emphasising that if successfully resolved at an early stage it can bring about the virtue of hope, transferring over time to mature faith and the ability to believe without evidence that the universe is trustworthy (Roehlkepartain, Benson, King and Wagener 2006). Eriksson (1964) also asserted that religion could provide a transcendent worldview, moral beliefs and behavioural norms. Cs religious development can be witnessed through her joining in the prayer at the end of the lesson time. C knew the words to the prayer and actively demonstrated the actions that accompanied the prayer. Whilst I only witnessed 5 sessions, if following the true Tavistock method, there may be more evidence of how C develops religiously, and whether attending a religious school affects her later outcomes in life as it has previously been suggested that religious schools have better discipline, school harmony and less racial discrimination (Jeynes 2002). Cs moral development was also demonstrated several times during this observation. On several occasions C helped out adults, as well as listening to the teacher and following instructions when asked. C did not demonstrate any behaviour that may have been construed as mean or selfish. The fact that C tidied up when asked would suggest that C has reached the pre-conventional level of moral development (Kohlberg 1971). C is responsive to the rules of the classroom and aware of the consequence of not following instructions. It could also be argued that Cs willingness to help at milk time could be seen as evidence of Kohlbergs stage 3 (1971), with C beginning to participate in good behaviour, to please and be approved by others. However Kohlbergs (1971) theory is considered to be gender biased with females typically scoring lower than males, Gilligan (1982) argues that females and males have differences in moral development. Without doing further observations it is not clear how C may cont inue to develop morally and how she would react to Kohlbergs moral questions. Concept of self: School is an incredibly important arena for a child developing its own concept of self, for it is the first time the child begins to identify itself in relation to a number of characteristics such as gender roles and racial identity. C is beginning to develop an internal model comprising of personality, self-esteem, stability and self-efficacy (Markus and Kitayama 1991). C is marking the beginning of her concept of self, by already demonstrating preferences for the type of play, peer relationships and her interests. She showed an interest in artistic activities such as painting and drawing (also seen in future observations) and mainly playing games with girls, however she did also participate in a game of construction with boys. However many children in early childhood cannot express their concept of self instead seeing the mind, self and free will as physical body parts (Damon and Hart 1982). This lies with children believing that animals, plants and some inanimate objects also possess a mind, whilst this did not occur in this observation; C clearly demonstrated this belief in a future observation believing a soft toy had feelings and thoughts of its own. How the child experiences their world: I felt that during the observation that C had a positive experience. Whilst she was initially reluctant to leave her mother, as soon as the teacher had led her into the classroom C appeared to forget about her separation anxiety and immediately became involved with the class. C appeared to do well at the educational task, and when she was given free time to choose a task she participated in several activities including playing with other children but also drawing on her own. She was very giggly appeared happy during the observation running around and playing. However as Piaget and Vonà ¨che (1929) reveal the difficulties in using the observation method to understand how the child experiences the setting and the culture within the school, as C does not spontaneously communicate her thoughts and feelings about her experience, and rather it is the observer who makes these judgements. Analysis of the observation as a series: Language development: C was the age of 4 years and 3 months when completing the observation, she has therefore begun to manage the concept of language and was beginning to experiment with more complex sentence structure and asking more complex questions. As would be expected of a child between the ages of 4-5 C was also developing her receptive skills and demonstrated an understanding of spatial concepts (McLaughlin 2006). For example the teacher asked C to retrieve the box of beads, which was behind the curtain and next to the green box of letter shapes and C was able to do this. She demonstrated that she could follow step-by-step complex instructions as well as the spatial concepts of behind and next to. However whilst C is developing what would be considered normally she also still has difficulty in pronouncing slightly longer words. For example C was playing a pretend game of hospitals with one child being ill and C playing the nurse, however C had difficulties in pronouncing the word hospital and instead pronounced it hopital. Children between the age of 4 and 5 are still developing their linguistic skills and word distortions do occur, and it is expected that in time C with encouragement from parents and teachers will be able to progress (Owens 2005). Cs continued behaviour continued to be much along the same level as the first observation and I was not surprised at her occasional mistakes, as she is not yet linguistically competent and neither would she be expected to be at the age of 4. Social and emotional development: As already discussed, the quality and nature of Cs early social interactions with her primary caregivers gives a template for future social relationships and is also integral to their general social and emotional development (Fabes, Gaertner and Popp 2006). During this observation and the other observations C appeared to have a very good temperament, disregarding the first observation C remained friendly and happy to be interacting with other children. During the 4th observation C was observed to share her own personal toy she had bought in for show and tell because another child had forgotten theirs, thus suggesting C is becoming socially competent and the beginnings of empathy. Sanson and Hemphill (2004) suggest that temperament has the potential to influence several behaviours including how children interact with peers and adults. This in turn suggests that C is able to self-regulate her own emotions. As Eisenberg Cumberland, Spinrad, Fabes, Shepard, Reiser (2001) suggests, those children who are able to self-regulate are more likely to seek out peer relationships and therefore are recognised as more socially competent. This was evidenced in Cs relationships with the other children in the class. C was observed to share her toys without pressure from adults, and she demonstrated an emergence of the understanding of others wishes and beliefs. Fabes, Gaertner and Popp (2006) also suggest that the development of social competence in school age children can be evidenced through the reciprocal relationships between peers, with positive interactions and the maintenance of social contact. Again during the observations I did not observe a negative interaction between C and another child. However I was only in the classroom for an hour a week, it is very likely that C had not completely developed socially, and is likely to have had negative experiences with some of her classmates. There may also have been the added effect of investigator bias, with the children realising that I was observing and therefore modifying their behaviour. Intellectual and cognitive development: Three of my observations were completed first session of the morning and included the routine of the register and phonics and learning to link the letters with the sounds of the letter and introducing an action to help the children represent this therefore using all aspects of learning (visual, auditory and kinetic). During one of my observations I arrived after lunchtime and before the children were again allowed to choose an activity. The class teacher had planned a numeracy session, with the children sitting on the carpet. The teacher would use an abacus and ask the children to count the beads along with her. I observed C and she participated in the task, and was able to count the beads. The teacher then moved three beads across and asked C how many beads were left to which she was able to respond 7. This is concurrent with Piagets (1980) pre-operational stage described previously. This is also suggested by Gelman and Gellistel (1978) who identified two types of numerical knowledge. The first being numerical reasoning and the second being numerical abstraction. Numerical abstraction ability is the process by which the child can abstract and represent numerical value. I observed C doing this when she was asked to move two beads on the abacus and work out how many were left, again an activity she was able to complete, indicating the development of counting principles and basic numerical abilities. As C was in the very early stages of her school life, there is very much an emphasis on play rather than academic activities, as this begins to be introduced later in the school year, therefore much of the evidence of Cs intellectual and cognitive development arose from the occasional structures activities and her interactions with peers and adults. Moral and spiritual development: Piaget (1965) suggested that moral development was a gradual process, running parallel to the stages of intelligence with each stage characterized by a different process (i.e. the pre-operational stage already discussed). He suggested that children go through a heteronomous stage guided by societies rules and boundaries which can be seen as very much enforced by school. As the child matures this becomes more autonomous as these rules and values become an ingrained part of the child. C is learning the rules of the classroom, and these eventually become fairly implicit (though occasionally children need reminding of the basics). Often I observed the class teacher telling the children to sit still, be quiet and to raise their hand when answering a question. Considering the age of C she did not break rules frequently. Occasionally I observed the teacher warn C if she was giggling and talking to a child sat next to her (not unusual behaviour for a 4-5 year old child) and C would stop the behaviour. There were children in the class who did not respond to verbal warnings and they were either asked to sit on their own in a corner, or as a more severe punishment sent to another class. C was therefore able to see the consequences of other childrens behaviour and realise that this could be applied to herself if she did not follow the rules. Bandura and McDonald (1963) also evidenced the influence of social reinforcement upon a childs moral development. They found childrens moral judgements could be altered using reinforcements and social modelling, much the same as teachers use during lesson time. Concept of self: C continued to display a marked preference for playing with children of the same sex. Whilst she would occasionally join in with boy games such as playing with cars and construction games she demonstrated an overall preference for playing dress-up (she participated in a dress up game in two other observations, including dressing up in an apron and playing out a cooking scene) and taking an interest in animals- expressed through enactment, picking a story about a tiger and through drawing (I observed C drawing a picture of herself walking 3 dogs.) As I found out when observing C, with the exception of her dad, she comes from a predominately female family. She has two older sisters who have also previously been at the school who are twins. Due to the predominately female environment that C has grown up in, it may be her preferences for gendered stereotyped activities may be learned behaviour, with children often learning perceived sex roles from parents and older siblings (Fauls and Smith 1956). Again it is difficult to discuss Cs concept of self, as it is largely based upon my observations. Whilst these observations were largely free of judgements it was difficult for me not to say how C appears to be developing in her concept of self. She appears happy and content during her time at school (excluding the first observation) as she could be quiet she had begun to establish good relationships with other children and appeared to be developing healthy self-esteem and positive self-concept. I felt this was due to her close and supportive relationship with her mother and class teacher both of whom appeared to take an interest in her work, encouraging C when she had done something well. How the child experiences their world: Only during the first observation did I feel that perhaps C might not be enjoying her school experience. During the first observation, conducted in very early September starting at 09:00 C was what could only be described as very distressed when her mum dropped her off in the morning. She clung to her mums skirt and was crying refusing to let go. The teacher took her had and led her in to the classroom and then arranged for her to be sat with a teaching assistant, who had the child on her lap. When C was encouraged to sit with her classmates she refused and began to cry again. This suggested that C was displaying separation anxiety (Bowlby 1973). However as Bowlby (1973) discusses this reaction will largely be due to a new and strange setting, considering it was one of Cs first days at school C was finding herself surrounded my new people without the knowledge that her primary caregiver was there so she could explore whilst having a secure base to which to return. However as I progressed through the observation series C began to settle into her surroundings and the new routine of school life. I observed two more sessions at the beginning of the day and C gradually became less distressed, though she still said goodbye and gave her mother a cuddle, suggesting a continuation of the secure attachment. Process of observing: Experience of being an observer: I initially felt very nervous of the whole project, though I felt this was largely down to the difficulties in securing not only a place to observe but also approaching a parent of a child who was going to be comfortable enough to allow a student social worker to observe. It is widely known that many people, especially parents of small children, have developed judgements of social workers largely due to the portrayal in popular media (Gibelman 2004). Fortunately I have very good links to the school I chose to complete my observations in having already completed work experience a few years ago, therefore there were no problems in securing a placement as they already knew and had built up a level of trust. The early years teacher introduced me to a parent, and I was expecting the mother to ask me lots of questions regarding the observation, whether they would be allowed a copy of my observations etcetera but the mother simply stated that it would be fine and that another of her children in the school had also been previously been involved in a study similar. I must have accidentally expressed my surprise at the ease of getting consent (I also thought that due to the age of the children many parents wou

The Reform Of Schools :: essays research papers

The Reform of Schools   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government of Ontario proposes there is a need to make universally accepted rules in the school system. For students to be more disciplined, the government needs to achieve new province wide standards. If the new school standards will not discipline the students, and if each school entails its guidelines, then the government's province wide code of conduct will fail. Moreover, the intervention of the government will not enforce the students to become more disciplined. While the arguments for producing new rules are unrealistic, more powerful arguments can be made supporting the current code of conduct.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the government's proposition to create a new code of conduct, the students will receive more disciplinary action. Just as the law governs society, the province wide guideline governs the student body. Since the rules will be explained, and since the students will understand the consequences of their actions, then the students will follow these rules. Due to the thoroughness and strictness of the outcomes, there will be fewer problems in the school system. Moreover, to separate schools means to separate students. Since the new code of conduct produces equality, and since it sets forth equal status among individuals, then the students will have a standard that the entire province takes part in. Now, the schools are going from each one entailing their code of conduct. To treating all schools as equals. For example, if a student in Ontario skips out of class, and if the student receives a punishment (making up that class on their time  ® weekends), then the students in other provinces will not skip out of class. Overall, the new bill will make the students who do not want to be at school the school's choice, not the students.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In opposing this proposition, the intervention of the government will not solve schools individual problems. Since discipline is taking place in schools, and since certain schools acquire more disciplinary action from others, then the current code of conduct exemplifies self-discipline and respect towards authority. Purpose for multiple codes of conduct allows the school system to punish the students accordingly. If there was a new province wide standard, there would be one punishment to distribute; however, with the current system, teachers are allowed to fluctuate the punishment according to the severity of the crime. In addition, punishments and discipline play an active role in a student's development. It is essential in determining respect for themselves and authority.

Essay --

Many people here in America are hardworking and resourceful, but an insecure economy can have a long-lasting effect on a diverse group of people. One of the greatest manifestations of this is the inability to consistently afford a healthy diet. In a report by done by researchers in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ‘in 2011, 14.9 percent or 17.9 million people in America were food insecure (Coleman-Jensen, Nordic, Andrews, & Carlson, 2012).’ Although many different organizations such as the â€Å"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,† or the SNAP food stamp program has set out to eradicate hunger, by giving assistance to low income participants, to help them afford food, it does still exist in many different people’s lives, at one point or another. While many other underdeveloped countries have harder times with hunger, many of them, due to socioeconomic difficulties, hunger still causes many problems for different people in America. Hunger, by definition is: â€Å"A feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat (Oxford dictionary, 2013),† and is usually a direct result of poverty and the ability to afford food. Although hard to believe, hunger is an issue that is very sensitive to many people here in America, because it signifies shame to many, from a social standpoint. But statistically, having the national median income of roughly 53,000 dollars annually (United States Census Bureau, 2013), shows that the economy can be very burdensome to many people sometimes, with having added expenditures, like cable and cell phone bills along with your daily gas, electricity, and water bills, and can sometimes overwhelm some people and leave them with empty pockets. For example, Mississippi’... ... Poverty is known for having some well noted, negative outcomes to those dealing with the issues they are facing. There are many who suggest, that being poor causes people to commit crimes; either out of desperation, or bad-mindedness, some people are thought to break the law. Many people ignorantly assume that criminal activities are some ways poor people in urban areas, survive, and that the underprivileged people are the main cause of the majority of crimes. While there are higher instances of crimes in urban areas, it is only because there is a much larger population compared to that in rural or suburban communities. â€Å"The Federal Bureau of Investigations† data consistently shows a steady decline in all major criminal activities since the 1990s, mainly due to, more structure in both the law and police systems in America (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010).

Shakespeares As You Like It - The Philosophy of Jaques :: Shakespeare As You Like It Essays

The Philosophy of Jaques in As You Like It Jaques is one of the characters in Shakespeare`s comedy As You Like It. We- as audience and readers- learn that although he was previously a libertine, he now seems to have turned to philosophy in his quest for a new identity. As a philosopher he questions much of what he sees around him. At one point Jaques analyses what it is to be a man (II,vii, 60-166). He sees the world as a stage wherein men and women are players, and their different ages represent different acts and scenes in the play. His descriptions suggest that the roles are largely beyond the players` control; that a script for the play has already been written by an exterior force. But there is a sense of contradiction in all this; the stages Jaques outlines for us (presented to his audience as universal) do not account for his own role. Since this is the case we must either presume that Jacques is somehow exceptional or that the roles are not as fixed as people imagine. One can always argue that Jaques is an outcast of some sort. On the other hand, the Duke Senior is eager to offer him a position at court, thereby giving him an opportunity to obtain an acceptable role within the framework of a hierarchical, society, but Jaques turns down the offer. He needs to widen his horizon, and is so imp atient about learning more that he does not even stay to celebrate with the rest of the uke`s men."To see no pastime, I." (V,iv,194). Instead he wants to go to Duke Frederick: "Out of these convertites,/ There is much matter to be hear`d and learn`d" (V,iv,183-184). Jaques has no particular interest in being part of an established society. He creates his own role and his own destiny. By his mere presence in the play we are made aware of the infinite choices that confront human beings in their lives. Rosalind is the only other character in As You Like It who really challenges established roles, but whereas she (in all likelihood) returns to court and is satisfied with the new development (after all, she brought it about), Jacques is unwilling to let go of his freedom and independence introduced to him in the green world. Jaques first attempts to challenge established norms by putting on a fool`s appearance: "O that I were a fool!/ I am ambitious for a motley coat.