Three Effective Strategies for Managing Behaviors of...

Emotional disturbance has become more relevant in schools today. It is seen in many different forms and covers a wide range of different disorders. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act defines emotional disturbance as â€Å"†¦a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance: (A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors. (B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers. (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances. (D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression. (E) A†¦show more content†¦Students who are emotionally disturbed have trouble reacting the correct way in trick social situations. Teachers must remind the students that there are appropriate behaviors for the classroom and tha t certain rules and procedures must be followed for a successful learning environment. In an article Consequence Maps: A novel behavior management tool for educators, the authors Tobin and Simpson state â€Å"Increasingly, educators are recognizing the importance of management strategies that assist children and youth in understanding the consequences of actions as well as assist educators in teaching children and youth to independently make socially appropriate decisions† (Tobin Simpson, 2012). Consequence maps have the teacher and student choose a specific behavior that they want to work on. The teacher observes the students and relates back what they saw. The teacher and student talk about the behavior and the desired effect. They look that the consequences of the poor behavior and compare it to that of the desired behavior. They student can then use visuals to act out the behavior, role playing the different outcomes for both the good and bad behavior. They create a two path flow chart. The top path demonstrates the desired behavior and the bottom path demonstrates the improper behavior. The consequence map is then posed for the student to view throughout the day as wellShow MoreRelatedCommunity Characteristics : Understanding The Context2642 Words   |  11 Pageshas shown students who continue their education at a higher level. As stated in Appendix B, roughly eighty-two percent has a high school diploma or higher, twenty-one percent received a bachelor’s degree, six percent went on to graduate level or professional degrees, and nine percent will declare unemployment. With some schools showing complexity in student learning, a clear and shared sense of purpose is the critical component of the vision of a school. Strong motivation for the student as wellRead MoreMANAGEMENTOF PERCEIVED STRESSORS AMONG RADTECH INTERNS OF ST. JUDE COLLEGE YEAR 2009-2010 IN TWO HOSPITALS NAMELY PHILIPPINE ORTHOPEDIC CENTER AND ST. LUKE’S MEDICAL CENTER7382 Words   |  30 Pagesteaching us all the steps and guidelines in doing this research study. To our Dean, Rufo B. Aggarao, whose love and support kept us inspired to complete this research. To our loving parents, thank you very much, for your undying support financially, emotionally and spiritually, also for your never-ending guidance and love. To our beloved proffesors Sir Jenerlito Casaje, Sir Richmond Quilatan, and Sir Earl Martinez for inspiring us to finish the requirement and letting us have this requirement which hasRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesmymanagementlab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. 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Timothy was distraught and believed he might have to quit college. Their different reactions to the same stressful event emphasizes the importance of: A) their respective cognitive appraisalsRead MoreChange Management49917 Words   |  200 PagesCHANGE UNIT – I LEARNING OBJECTIVES The student is expected to learn the following concepts after going through this unit. 1. Change 3. Planned Change 5. Unplanned Change 2. 4. 6. Stimulating Forces Change Agents Lewin’s Three Step Model The change means the alteration of status quo or making things different. It may refer to any alteration which occurs in the overall work environment of an organization. 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In a communication transaction, feedback represents a. a group s physical and psychological environment. b. anything that interferes with or inhibits effective communication. c. the media through which group members share messages. d. the response or reaction to a message. e. ideas, information, opinions, and/or feelings that generate meaning. Answer: d. the response or reaction to a message. . WhichRead MoreIntercultural Communication21031 Words   |  85 Pagesreasons: †¢ The United States provide many opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds to communicate with each; †¢ There are thousands of new immigrants entering the country every year; †¢ The U.S. has large numbers of foreign students and tourists; and †¢ The American involvement in the global economy: the majority of America’s Fortune 500 Corporations are multinational and transnational companies with numerous employees and offices in many different countries in the world. 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Obesity in Our Children - 597 Words

Over the past years obesity has become of a great concern for pediatricians across America. Obesity, once known as a sign of a disorder that afflicted a very small population, is one of today’s top ranking diseases. It does not discriminate affecting people of all ethnics, genders, socio-economic status and ages. Obese children have to make difficult decisions in terms of what they should or should not eat. They don’t understand why having a scoop of ice cream is unhealthy when they see the other children enjoying it. Why has childhood obesity incidence increase over the past years? Why is it beginning at such an early stage of life? Obesity is known to have a genetic etiology but this is not the only cause for the disease. Children are more commonly affected by this disease due to the early introduction of solid foods during infancy, the use of formula milk vs. breast milk, or the introduction of sugary drinks to the infant’s diet. The nutritional requirements for a person from 0 to 4 months are in the breast milk. Before this age the newborn does not need any other type of nutrient to meet his daily demands. In fact, â€Å"the introduction of solid foods earlier than 4 months of age is associated with increased body fat or weight in childhood† (Wilson et al., 1998). Parents often employ techniques to make the newborn sleep for longer hours at night. One of these techniques is to add one or two spoons of cereal to the last bottle of milk creating a thicker meal.Show MoreRelatedEpidemic of Obesity in Our Children2399 Words   |  10 PagesObesity in Our Children Introduction In today’s ever changing world is important to understand the statistics behind obesity. Today the number of children that are overweight continues to increase. â€Å"The percentage of overweight children in the United States is alarming, with one out of three now considered either overweight or obese† Nemours (2012). 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Joe Thompson, â€Å"director of the Rober Wood Foundation Center to prevent Childhood Obesity† claims that not all parents are able to h ave full control on what their children eat asRead MoreChildren Are Becoming Increasingly Overweight Essay1183 Words   |  5 PagesNowadays children are becoming increasingly overweight. With more technology, children are spending more time indoor than outside getting exercise. If we continue to allow this to happen, not only will our children be overweight but they will be obese. Obesity is a medical disorder when a child is over the weight for their age and height. However, there is an understanding that because they are children there is still a chance that this will change. Children have a higher metabolism rate than adultsRead MoreBusiness Proposal From Unite Against Obesity: A Nonprofit Organization for Prevention of Pediatric Obesity1705 Words   |  7 PagesAgainst Obesity: A Nonprofit Organization for Prevention of Pediatric Obesity. A Proposal 2. 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Discuss the ideal knowledge management environment Free Essays

In today’s increasing competitive environment and the new economy of brick and click enterprises, knowledge management (KM) can be considered as a business integration discipline which endeavours, ‘to improve the performance of individuals and organisations by maintaining and leveraging the present and future value of knowledge assets’ (Newman, B. , ; Conrad, K. W. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss the ideal knowledge management environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now , 1999, p. 2). While people have criticised information and knowledge management as the same thing, knowledge management is not a new practice but rather the interpretations of knowledge management and its frameworks have incessantly changed. Successful brick and click enterprises are those which frequently management knowledge and recognises knowledge as a source and integration tool to driving the growth and sustainability of business disciplines, and hence acknowledges the high uncertainties of change ‘between the input resources and the business performance outcomes, and, the gaps between the value these enterprises create and the value demanded by changing market conditions, consumer preferences, competitive offerings, changing business models, and, industry structures’ (Malhorta, Y. 2004). However, the knowledge creation process does not necessarily lead to business improvements or value creation (Chen, C. J. , ; Huang, J. W. , 2007), but more on how knowledge is handled, circulated and applied within a virtual environment, enabling knowledge flows between the individual and its organisational culture. Therefore, it is the purpose of this essay to discuss the ideal environment, in which value can only be created when knowledge is dispersed and adequately applied where needed by use of knowledge management methods; furthermore it will acknowledge that a ‘well-developed knowledge management system would stimulate the creativity of each employee by providing exactly the knowledge that employee needs to be optimally creative’ (Finneran, T. Online, No Date). You can read also Portfolio Management Quizzes In the new maturing economy the management of knowledge is a critical factor for the success and competitive advantage of any organisation; as is the generating of new knowledge to fulfil organisational objectives and to achieve greater business optimisation. According to Resnick, L. M. , (2004, p. 87), as contemporary organisations evolve to a more virtual structure, they lose and gain relationships among employees, managers, customers and suppliers on an irregular basics; and without practical management, the knowledge created through these relationships will be lost. Therefore, assembling an ‘effective knowledge management will enable organisations to protect themselves from the losses experienced when employees and partners terminate their relationship with the company’ (Resnick, L. M. , 2004, p. 288). Business Management Study Guide iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src="https://phdessay.com/business-management-study-guide/embed/#?secret=tcPWSM1wUf" data-secret="tcPWSM1wUf" width="500" height="282" title="#8220;Business Management Study Guide#8221; #8212; Free Essays - PhDessay.com" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"/iframe While experts have argued that information and/or knowledge management practices is not only about the administration of information, but rather entails management requirements for knowledge management systems to be integrated to all aspects of the virtual environment; a well-constructed knowledge management system will impede the production and collaboration of creativity across all organisational subunits. Finneran, T. (Online, No date) describes knowledge management in a nut shell where ‘Knowledge Management envisions getting the Right Information within the Right Context to the Right Person at the Right Time for the Right Business Purpose’. This view suggests the ideal environment in which individuals or group knowledge should be effectively communicated across all organisational divisions in ways which directly impact on business performance. Essentially, the ideal knowledge management environment will cultivate and take advantage of existing and new knowledge through the implementation and combination of KM methodologies, best practices, frameworks, and technologies that will ultimately stimulate the development of creativity and innovative ideas of human beings. In essence, the basic concept of knowledge management is about sharing knowledge to leverage existing knowledge, stimulate innovation and to achieve operational effectiveness. As KM matures many companies will start to look at KM with a more holistic approach, but ‘research shows that although many companies have begun to develop some sort of knowledge management capabilities, very few (6%) have implemented knowledge management programs on an enterprise-wide scale’ (Kidwell, J. J. , Vander Linde, K. M. , ; Johnson, S. L. , 2000, p. 30). The conception on KM best practises should not primarily focus on one single type of initiative for competitive advantage, but instead centre around building on the core business capabilities and processes around knowledge sharing. For instance, knowledge sharing can be achieved through the creation of a knowledge community aimed to capture knowledge from individuals and store in teams and the organisation; taking an institutional global approach in facilitating knowledge as needed and in breaking down the cultural barriers between organisation and its customers. Finneran, T. , (Online, No Date) suggest that ‘practitioners of Knowledge Management have found that a critical success factor in the implementation of knowledge management is the creation of a cultural environment that encourages the sharing of information’. Knowledge communities can be viewed as ‘Global communities of interest’ which stimulates virtual and global interactions through common categories of interest, which are not bounded and tied up to by physical and organisational impediments. Several KM best practices and trends have emerged over the last few years and are forecasted to shape the way knowledge is to be managed. It includes the materialisation of technology solutions, the union of knowledge management with e-business, movement from limited KM projects to enterprise-wide project and increasing the use of KM to enhance innovation and of tactic knowledge rather than explicit knowledge. (Kidwell, J. J. , Vander Linde, K. M. , ; Johnson, S. L. , 2000, p. 29). Generally, knowledge can be very difficult to codify and can also be very highly subjective. Two type of knowledge which is recognised in KM are explicit and tactic, and when applied productively within an organisation it can help to increase competitive advantage through innovation and knowledge sharing. Ideally, tactic knowledge would better guide actions and make better informed decisions based on the ability utilise on perception, hands-on skills, experiences, know-hows, insights and so on. Tactic knowledge is personal, difficult to formalise, communicate and transfer; ultimately it is knowledge that is embedded within people in an organisation. Seonghee, K. , (1999) suggests that KM best practices draw on tactic knowledge for creativity and ‘ensures tasks effectiveness – that the right things are being done so that work unit could attain its objectives. It also provides for a kind of creative robustness — intuition and heuristic can often tackle tough problems that would otherwise be difficult to solve’. Functionally, knowledge management frameworks offer a myriad of possibilities for organisations and help to build the integrity of knowledge dispersal and application within an organisation, providing the countless benefits in applying a KM framework which builds on the concept of knowledge management in specifics to the organisational environment, its business processes and activities. With the paradigm shift and phenomenon of the need and understanding of knowledge management over the last several years, many experts have proposed a number of approaches to KM frameworks, each of which have only addressed certain aspects of knowledge management. Holsapple, C. W. , and Joshi, K. D. , (1999, p. ) broadly classifies KM frameworks into two categories; descriptive frameworks which attempts to characterise the nature of the KM phenomena with additional sub categories including board and specific frameworks to describe the whole of the KM phenomena, and prescriptive frameworks stipulates the methodologies for performing knowledge management. For instances, the ‘Core Capabilities and Knowledge Building’ framework initiated by Leonard-Barton, D. (1995), and as described in Holsapple, C. W. , and Joshi, K. D. , (1999, p. 2) paper, focuses on the profundity in the characterisation of the KM phenomenon and therefore categorising it as a board framework. This KM framework introduced by Leonard-Barton (1995), encompasses four knowledge building activities that encircle the four core capabilities, which Leonard-Barton asserts is central to a knowledge based organisation (KBO). The four knowledge building activities aimed at knowledge creation and diffusion are acknowledged in the framework as: shared and creative problem solving, implementing and integrating new methodologies and tools, experimenting and prototyping, and importing and absorbing technologies from outside of the firm’s knowledge. In addition, Leonard-Barton expresses that these four knowledge building activities are influenced by the core capabilities identified in the framework as being: the physical systems such as databases, employee knowledge and skills, managerial systems such as rewards and incentives systems, and the organisational values and norms (Holsapple, C. W. , Joshi, K. D. , 1999, p. 2). This framework is used to better understand knowledge management and its characteristics of the implication in a KBO environment. Thus, the dynamic perspective on KM frameworks does not end with knowledge as a final solution, but instead emphasises on the continuous growth, renewal, exchange and communication processes. Hence KM frameworks can offer a structure, ‘for balancing the myriad of technologies and approaches that provide value, tying them together into a seamless whole. It helps analysts and designers better address the interests of stakeholders across interrelated knowledge flows and, by doing so, better enables individuals, systems and organisations to exhibit truly intelligent behavior in multiple contexts’ (Newman, B. Conrad, K. W. , 1999, p. 2). ‘Organisations are already realising that it does no good to have robust technology solutions if the existing culture prevents knowledge sharing, and conversely that it does little good to have pockets of robust knowledge sharing without some technological means of making knowledge widely accessible’ (Kidwell, J. J. , Vander Lin de, K. M. , Johnson, S. L. , 2000, p. 30). Therefore, it should not be assumed that technology is the enabler of KM, but should be perceived as a vehicle for driving the concept of ‘knowledge diffusion’ in a KM environment. Nowadays, the outlook of promising technological tools for KM can help to support and improve the process of knowledge transfer. Technological tools such as, search engines, storage media, groupware, web-based platforms, portals, emails and basic collaborative tools can help to facilitate and assist individuals and groups in the creation, retention and the diffusion of knowledge. Increasingly, the use of portals is being implemented in many corporate environments for the convenient storage of meta-data, and integration of collaborative tools, emails, into one application. Kidwell, J. J. , Vander Linde, K. M. , Johnson, S. L. , (2000, p. 30) also makes an interesting statement which suggests ‘As organizations share their lessons learned about implementing knowledge management programs, some are discovering the interdependent nature of KM capabilities. They are finding that a balanced portfolio of knowledge management initiatives yields the best results and that excelling at technology-related capabilities does not preclude excelling at people- or process-related capabilities’. Additionally, as more brick and click enterprises grow, the harder it becomes to determine what technological tools, KM methods, and best practices are to be utilised in determining the needs of individuals, groups and the organisational culture, but ‘once sound strategies based on these essential principles are articulated, the requisite technologies are chosen, and information platforms and technology architectures are built accordingly’, though it may sound simple it can not always guarantee the successful deployment of a KM system (Riley, T. B. , 2003, p. 4). In a learning environment KM should not be based on a technocentric approach to creating the ideal KM environment; but instead use technology as a facilitator to simulate knowledge sharing and creativity for the development of innovation. The virtual enterprise should aspire to revolutionise itself into a knowledge-based environment which continually should aim to create, acquire and transfer knowledge to the right person when and where required. In creating the ideal KM environment there are many tools, methods, frameworks, and techniques which can be applied in stimulating the creativity of each employee. However, the assortments of KM methodologies which can be found through examples of other virtual organisations and case studies, does not necessarily lead to business improvements or value creation when applied to one’s own virtual enterprise; but more on how knowledge created is disseminated and applied across the organisational culture, between individuals and teams. In summary, KM is fast becoming a chief factor for organisations in determining their competitive advantage, and without a well-developed KM system or knowledge creation process will render the organisation from succeeding. 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Technology Making Our Lives Easier free essay sample

As we are raised in a society where everything is simply handed to us, we tend to take many things for granted that others in the world do not have. Things like GPS, phones, credit cards, cameras, and insulin pumps help us live a qualitative and productive life and NASA has played a very key role in developing many technologies like these. From invisible braces to long-distance communication devices, NASA has brought up inventions that we consistently use every day in our lives. A device that many people in the world rely on everyday and something that has made a huge difference in peoples lives is the water filtration system(s). NASA first made it to be used on the space station or in a spacecraft, and since then the water filtration system is a must-have in any place in the world. NASA showed amazing ingenuity to control bacterial contamination in space, and because of that, we have learned how to control pollutants in water here on earth. We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Making Our Lives Easier or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We see water filtration systems more than we think, and it allows us to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Whether its through swimming pools or manufacturing processes, the water filtration systems affects our lives every day in a positive way. There are many different types of water filters and you can classify them by the way they work, but they all need to do one job and thats effectively filter and purify water. One type of a water filtration system is the reverse osmosis, which is the process of removing dissolved inorganic solids out of a solution (water). This type of system involves using many different filters and membranes in order to purify and improve the drinking quality of water. There are also ultraviolet systems which do a remarkable job at disinfecting water. Ultraviolet systems can destroy 99. 99% of harmful microorganisms in the water very effectively and they do this by using a lamp or bulb which emits UV light which is then used as energy to attack the microorganism in the water and essentially destroy it, thus making the water free of future bacteria. There are many other type of systems like the Carefree Clearwater systems (which are based on NASAS late 1900s technology) which are not only used for drinking water in the home, but also for pool and shower water. These type of large-scale systems clean the water in a pool or hot-tub by using the same type of strategy as the UV systems. They release ions like copper and silver to destroy bacteria and algae in the system. These type of systems would work better than cleaning with chlorine because they have less nwanted side effects like burning eyes and bleached skin or hair (due to the copper and silver ions not dissipating from heat and sunlight, unlike chlorine) and they are more stable and productive to work with. Water filtration systems affect our lives everyday throughout everything we do. Without them, clean and purified water would be difficult to come across, and civilization would eventually come to a halt. Whether its the water that we drink or the pool that we love to sw im in, systems like the reverse osmosis and the Carefree Clearwater are at work and doing an incredible job in order to make our daily lives healthy and enjoyable.

Pestel Analysis Russian Federation free essay sample

This part of the dissertation will analyze main political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal issues within the Russian Federation. All of the Interviewees outlined the political aspect as the most important when investing into Russia, however the Author would like to acknowledge that the economical and legal factors have a critical weight in the issues of FDI, therefore their analysis will play a comprehensive role in the thesis, assuming that the initial reader has no background knowledge of the environment. Low awareness of ecological issues (global warming, recycling) ? Nuclear waste deposits in Siberia ?History of environmental accidents – Chernobyl ?Harsh climate conditions ?Vast territory is hard to manage Coastal access is vast but strategically more costlyLegal ?The legal system is new ?Bodies of conflicting and intertwining laws ?Federal government system makes the legal co-ordination complicated ? Poor human rights (e. g. freedom of speech) ?Corruption affects law enforcement Political Through historical analysis (please refer to Appendix A), it is evident that authoritative rule has played an important part in Russian political culture, irrespective of the government type. We will write a custom essay sample on Pestel Analysis Russian Federation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The democracy is relatively young, but the system has been stable for a long period of time to ensure economic progress (i. . there have not been any radical changes in government structure since 1991. The elections were conducted according to international standards and without any major complaints from the International Supervisors. There are internal problems with terrorism in the South Caucasus region and small military conflicts in the region (Chechnya, South Ossetia) have been unpopular with the EU and USA and are still causing tension in the geopolitical arena. Internally the corporatism does not ensure a fair business environment to everyone. Structurally speaking, ‘the decisions are not made on business; they are made on other things†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢it’s more about who’s got a bigger pistol. ’ (Question no. 12, Deputy CEO, 2010). Since most academics tend to associate Russian democracy with oligarchy, such favouritism can be seen to diminish the business environment within Russia, as there is no basis for fair competition. The Deputy CEO outlined that in Russia it is extremely important to know who is ‘boss’, this can be seen as a side effect from the historically prominent forms of leadership. Comparatively, fellow members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (former Soviet Republics such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan) that are also command economies where the hierarchy is clear, are progressing much faster in national and international stages (Question no. 12, Deputy CEO, 2010). The relationship with Europe is unclear. Europe is the largest destination of Russian exports. Despite the mutual dependence; there is still enough a lot of diplomatic conflict between both parties, predominately due to international balance of power (European Union is a close ally of the United States). According to the Deputy CEO (Question no. 20, 2010), there international opinion of Russia is that it uses energy as a ‘political instrument’. President Medvedev is seen to be keen on a much more open environment. Russia has currently been attempting to diversify its exports to Asia and has close links with China, which is recognized internationally as a potentially leading economy in the future (Anker Aronsen, 2010). Corruption index in Russia is one of the highest in the world. According to the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (2009) Russia ranks 147th out of 179 countries. Corruption levels are comparable to Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, considering the economic power of the Russian Federation (7th in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity), the amount and size of bribes is soaring, despite government’s policies on anti-corruption (new legislation requires government officials to register their income) (Index of Economic Freedom, 2010). Risk Exposure: The political analysis leaves foreign investors subject to cultural and systematic legal risks as the corruption makes administration process longer. Economic When making a decision to make a Direct Investment into a country economic analysis is crucial as the economy of the country is a foundation for all aspects of the business environment. The analysis will focus the key areas of the Russian economy: the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Inflation, Exchange Rate and Debt. The factors will be compared internationally acceptable standards of the United States of America. Gross Domestic Product: Alan C. Shapiro (Multinational Financial Management, 2010) states that the lasting levels of FDI have a direct impact on GDP, the evaluation of the degree to which political factors (such as corruption) have had an inverse effect on the levels of FDI as clearly seen within the Russian economy. The Gross Domestic Product of the Russian Federation is split into the following sectors: Chart 2 Overall since Putin’s presidency has seen a stabilized trend in economic development through the increase in energy prices, nevertheless the dependence on energy exports is proving to have a negative impact on future economic progress. Majority of the revenues come from the export of natural resources, which according to Abelsky account for about 70% of the GDP (‘Russia Sees Oil’, Bloomberg, 2010). Table 4 GDP Growth Rate in % GDP Growth20052006200720082009 GDP growth USA3. 12. 71. 90-2. 6 GDP growth Russia6. 48. 28. 55. 6-7. 9 The issue of dependency on oil and gas exports questions the sustainability in the development of economic indicators overall (Havlik, 2010). The correlation between GDP and energy prices (Table 10) can be clearly verified through the years 2008-2009, when the global credit crisis lowered the demand for oil (and the price fell by $35. /barrel) and Russian GDP contracted by 7. 9%. Even though the government responded quite quickly to the crisis, by supporting the currency and the financial system, international ratings agencies remained sceptical and have recently down graded their outlook from ‘positive’ to ‘neutral’ (‘Russia Sees Oil’, Abe lsky, Bloomberg, 2010). Risk Exposure: The correlation between the oil price and GDP revenue gives rise to location risk as Russia is subject to spillover effects from other countries. Table 5 Inflation Rate in % Inflation Rate20052006200720082009 Inflation USA %3. 393. 242. 853. 85-0. 34 Inflation rate11. 512. 79. 8914. 1 Inflation Rate: Russia has been experiencing persistent double digit inflation. High inflation is known to decrease the Purchasing Power Parity of a country (Zhou, 1997), this is important to the Russian government as its geopolitical power is largely linked to the indicator. When investigating the source of this historically persistent problem, naturally the first aspect the Author analyzed was the increase in money supply (see Appendix E). However, despite the fact that there was relatively little (1. 7%) increase in 2007, inflation still remained close to 10%. Through further research, according to the Keynesian view (Trevithick, 1975), characteristics of the built-in inflation can be found in Russia, in which people have a consistent expectation that inflation will remain high and therefore increase the prices of their products and demand for higher wages. The problem is instigated by corruption, under which government is ineffective or reluctant to control fair estimation of prices, i. . prices continue to increase regardless of economic conditions. This can be easily illustrated by the recent financial crisis and the price of oil. According to The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, in respect to the decline in price by almost $36, the petrol prices in Russia rose by 30-60% (‘Russian Anti-Monopoly Probes’, RT, 2009). Exposure to Risk: The high inflation rate shows that the economy as a whole is slow ing down and that the investment climate might be unhealthy. This can be categorized as general economic risk. Exchange Rate: The Russian Rouble is a volatile currency (the coefficient of variation Russian Rouble standard deviation is 9. 8% compared to the standard deviation of 5. 8% for dollar as both were evaluated against the Euro); although it is termed as ‘free-floating’, in fact it is monitored and controlled by the Central Bank of Russia. In respect to the energy prices it is sometimes comically referred to by analysts as an ‘oil derivative’ (Clover, 2010). Table 6 Foreign Exchange Rates Average for Euro, Rouble and US Dollar FX Rate Mean20052006200720082009Standard Deviation RUB/EUR35. 2634. 1135. 0136. 4344. 143. 651 RUB/USD28. 327. 225. 624. 931. 75. 646 USD/EUR1. 3011. 2541. 3711. 4881. 3930. 080 Russia has the fourth highest number of Foreign Exchange reserves; this is largely needed for the currency manipulations in order to decrease the volatility of the Rouble. Given the strength of Russia’s balance of payments until the Credit Crisis (2008), taut management of the nominal exchange rate resulted in considerable interventions which were only partially sterilized (‘Towards a Flexible Exchange Rate Policy, OECD, 2009). As a result, inflation jumped from 9% to 14%. Large amounts of foreign reserves demonstrates that Russia has sufficient means of dealing with the imbalances in the economy and it can protect the Rouble against speculative attack and volatile energy prices; however it also exposes the weakness of its monetary system in the failure to sterilize the results of the interventions which intensify the incessant inflation predicament. Exposure to Risk: Internationally all investments are subject to exchange rate risk. As Rouble is considered to be a volatile currency, the exchange rate risk is also higher, however it can be managed easily through hedging. Public Debt: Since the credit crisis internationally the importance of public debt management has been acknowledged (‘Principles of Managing Public Debt’, IMF, 2010). Up to 2008, a decreasing trend could be seen in the level of Public Debt and even despite the small increase in 2009, Russia is ranked 122nd out of 126 countries in 2009 (‘Country Comparison: Public Debt’, CIA Factbook, 2009). Table 7 Total Public Debt as % of GDP Total public debt20052006200720082009 Russia16. 410. 18. 25. 69 USA37. 537. 136. 940. 854. 6 Despite these figures External Debt (total private and public debt owed to non-residents) is high due to high real exchange rate of the Rouble (Russia is ranked 20th out of 198 countries(‘Country Comparison: External Debt’, CIA Factbook, 2009). In comparison to the US, which has the highest debt levels of any country in the worlds, a relatively healthy approach to public debt can qualitatively be traced to Russian culture. The ‘credit lifestyle’ in Russia is not as popular as in Europe and the US. Debt in Russian culture is a very powerful negative connotation which is easily illustrated by a famous Russian proverb – â€Å"If you don’t have it, don’t spend it† (MacDonald Gastmann, p. 274, 2004). This is can be proven by the historical approach to the debt inherited from the U. S. S. R. , Putin’s government repaid the remainder of debt to the London Club in 2010 (‘Russia Pays off Creditor’, RIA Novosti, 2010). Summary: This kind of political restriction in uncommon, for example the US continues to increase its debts, both public and external (‘US Public Debt Hits Tipping Point’, Pozen, The Boston Globe, 2010), which through its recent ardent exposure in global media has been causing derision in the American society, manifested in the Barack Obama’s mid-term government elections in 2010 (‘Republican Tsunami’, Leonard Gardner, Daily Telegraph, 2010). Exposure to Risk: As Russia has comparatively low levels of Public Debt investors are not exposed to risk as such, however current economic regression brought on by the financial crisis may lead the public debt levels to rise. Social The society is very diverse which poses a lot of tribulations not only politically, but also economically. The society is very well educated (literacy rate is one of the highest in the world) and the size of the population is the largest in the geographic parameters of the European continent, however the conditions and the level of life is despicable if compared to countries in the European Economic Area. Around 16% of the population lives below the poverty line. The GINI index (measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country (‘Country Comparison’, CIA Factbook, 2010). The GINI Index value of 100 expresses maximal inequality (one person has all the income) and a value of 0 (expresses that everyone has the same income) (UN Legislative Council Secretariat, 2005). In the years 2004-2009 GINI index has been around 40%, which suggests that income distribution is uneven and although the situation is better than in America (see table 8 below), compared to European ountries like Sweden (GINI average of around 24) there are development benchmarks to adhere to. Table 8 GINI Index of Income Distribution GINI Index20052006200720082009 Russia40. 54141. 342. 341. 5 USA46. 94746. 346. 746. 8 In respect to the GDP per capita (just below 6000$) it is evident that the internal market is not as attractive as other economic figures say. Per se Russia is no thing more than a ‘rich country of poor people’ (Putin, Sakwa p. 76, 2008). In the interview conducted by the Author, Deputy CEO (Question 11, 2010) outlined sharp class divisions in Russia which although were not mentioned directly signified strong culture shock. In respect to the demographics poor health support, issues with alcohol, high abortion rate, emigration and etc, all contribute to the decrease in population and low life expectancy for men (who make up a larger proportion of the economically active population)(Political Risk Services, 2009). The oligarchic environment supported by corruption and oppression of minority groups (Chechens and so on) within the Federation, uneven income distribution and average GDP per capita increase the possibility of conflict (please refer to section (2. 1. 2) Social Aspects). Unstable conditions are easily illustrated by the re-birth of National Socialism and it’s slogans of ‘Russia for Russians! ’(Von Hoffmeister, 2005). Exposure to Risk: The turbulent social factors and uneven income distribution may potentially lead to conflict within the country. Such diversity in ‘social fabric’ also produces operational risks as culture between regions differs greatly and can be classified as political risk Technological In order to maintain military supremacy, the Soviet government invested heavily into the military, science and space. Due to the fact that education in Soviet Union and subsequently in Russia is free, the importance of using technological progress as a means of development and protection was and still is of great importance. Number of scientific and technological graduates in Russia has always been high. Currently Russia is producing 200,000 science and technology graduates per year (just as much as India and it has a considerably larger population) (‘From Russia with Technology? ’, Bloomberg, 2006). Military spending increased from 19. 7 bln USD to 50 bln USD by 2009, a large proportion of which is going to the research and development of new technology (Global Securities, 2010). With the dissolution of USSR, the low wages and poor societal conditions led for the ‘best minds’ to move abroad. This, as well as declining governmental investment into sciences, contributed to a decrease in technological competency, especially in the regions outside the federal cities. Recent attempts of the Russian government to attract back scientist that have once left Russia (‘Russia wants its brains back! ’, RBTH, 2009) signify that it is pursuing policies of scientific development and wants to support technology further. According to Alexander Allakhverdyan (2009), most talented individuals prefer to graduate with economics or business degrees, because the prospects for employment are better. Based on the PwC report (2. 5), Russia needs to become a ‘technology power house’ in order to ensure economic progress. Although the government has been addressing this issue the main problem that exists is the underdeveloped communications systems outside of federal cities, investment in which is costly due to the vast geographic span of the country. Exposure to Risk: The technological capacity of the country and academic aptitude of the Russian population towards technology could potentially make it easier for foreign investors who are engaged in highly technological businesses to transfer their operations to Russia. However, the issues of knowledge transfer arise as the legal system is not developed enough to ensure full protection of intellectual property rights. Environmental (For more information on Geographic conditions please refer to Appendix C). The abundance in natural resources has been more of a curse than a blessing for Russia. It is this abundance that is largely unappreciated by the population. Compare to Europe, there are no trends towards the development of environmentally friendly fuels or alternative energy sources. In the future gaps in development between Europe and Russia can lead to legal conflicts as the approach to the environment is different (Boldyrev, 2009). The vast geographical span of the country and harsh climate conditions have always been a feature of Russian life. The territory is also hard to manage, military wise. The coastal access is not favourable and transportation is costly. Despite that, the amount of arable land is only sufficient to satisfy domestic consumption (Dyomkin, 2009). Corruption has been a danger to the environment – large numbers of animals are hunted and fished illegally disturbing the ecosystem. In the future there is a chance that with climate change and deteriorating ecological environment will cause environmental catastrophes. The current ecological debates in the Russian Duma (parliament) may lead to a conflict between Medvedev and Putin; however they also signify a growing awareness for the ecological issues. According to the Deputy CEO (Question 12, 2010) the government closely monitors environmental issues that are industry related. Previously ecological factors have been used as a tool for political manipulation. Exposure to Risk: As the environment is a sensitive issue within can potentially give grounds for conflict. If the investor is operating in different parts of the Russian Federation, the operational and logistics costs can be high due to the geographic span and poor infrastructure. Legal It is understandable that the Russian judiciary system is not as developed compared to the European or American system because the democracy is young. The Deputy CEO (Question 8, 2010) outlined that most issues within Russia are manageable, apart from the quality of the legal system, as the Russian leadership style means that nobody takes into consideration documents that were signed by predecessors. Federative form of government makes the legal communication more complicated as different regions sometimes have conflicting laws. Effectively, between 84 different administrative units, the management and cooperation of the judiciary is principal and ineffective. An inherent problem seems to have socio-cultural roots as most of the judges have been employed during the Soviet era. Low GDP per capita and uneven income distribution affects government employees (teachers, doctors, military and judiciary) (Survey of the Employment of Population, ROSSTAT, 2009) the hardest and entices corruption through bribes. Corruption ensures that the legal instruments are not functioning properly and are unjust. Furthermore, Russia has a poor record of human rights (consult Appendix D for further details) and the Press is considerably monitored, compared to the Western Countries, yet it is still an improvement from the Soviet Era. The overall legal environment is weak, corrupted and ineffective (Index of Economic Freedom, 2010). Exposure to Risk: Due to the fact that the Russian government cannot provide a strong enough grounds for enforcement of law, the legal system can be risky for foreign investors as they do not have an opportunity to defend themselves within Russia and may be forced to act through international courts.

The History of TV Dinners and Inventor Gerry Thomas

The History of TV Dinners and Inventor Gerry Thomas Gerry Thomas, a salesman with the Swanson food company, claims credit for inventing the Swanson TV Dinner in 1954. Swanson TV Dinners fulfilled two post-war trends: the lure of time-saving modern appliancesthe fascination with a growing innovation, the television Swanson TV dinners were the first commercially successful frozen meal. More than 10 million TV dinners were sold during the first year of Swansons national distribution. For $.98 per dinner, customers were able to choose among Salisbury steak, meatloaf, fried chicken, or turkey, served with potatoes and bright green peas; special desserts were added later.  The food groups in a TV dinner were displayed neatly in a divided metal tray and heated up in a conventional oven.   Goodbye TV Dinner, Hello Microwave Swanson removed the name TV Dinner, from the packaging in the 1960s.  The Campbell Soup Company replaced the aluminum trays of Swanson frozen TV dinners with plastic, microwave-safe trays in 1986. Today frozen dinners are offered by a variety of brands, including Stouffers, Marie Callenders, and Healthy Choice. Going Down in History In 1987 the original  TV Dinner tray was placed in the  Smithsonian Institution  to commemorate the trays impact on American culture, sealing TV Dinners place in American cultural history. Celebrity figures from Howdy Doody to President Eisenhower touted the dinners.  In 1999, Swanson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pinnacle Foods Corporation, the current owners of Swanson products since 2001, recently celebrated fifty years of TV Dinners, and Swanson TV Dinners still remain in the public conscience as the dinner phenomenon of the 50s that grew up with television.

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

Milk - Essay Example There are many alternative drinks today including soda, juice and yoghurt, among others, hence affecting the consumption of fluid milk. This commercial begins with a small African American girl sitted on a supermarket cart. While drinking juice, she is approached by a stranger who is an African American woman. The stranger appears physically unhealthy and tired. She tells the young girl that she is her from the future. The girl gives her a rather disappointed look. The stranger gives the girl a packet of milk before she magically transforms into an athlete with a healthy look. She asks the girl to keep drinking the milk. She then races with two other athletes and emerges the winner. Later, an older African American woman is seen next to the girl grabbing many milk packets and putting them in her cart. The audience of this commercial is specifically parents, young people, and children. This is because the commercial features people of different ages. A young girl, an elderly woman, and young ladies. This could possibly mean that fluid milk is beneficial to people of all ages. There are different words that are said in this commercial, which are of great importance. When the strange African American woman approaches the young girl, she tells her that she is her (the young girl) from the future. This strange woman appears unhealthy and tired, and at this moment, the young girl was drinking juice. These words probably meant that drinking juices alone and not milk will not make the young girl grow to become healthy and energetic in future. She will appear weak as the strange woman. The young girl answered, â€Å"You are me?† with a disappointed look. This shows that everyone wants or desires to be healthy and energetic in future. Hence the young girl did not like the unhealthy appearance of the stranger. From this commercial, the health benefits of fluid milk are unveiled at the point where the

Christianity and European Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Christianity and European Civilization - Essay Example The focus of the essay "Christianity and European civilization" is on Christianity as a Political Power. Thrive for Christianity was further observed during the Germanic kings who spread the religion through Western Europe. These kings were converted into Christianity by missionaries during the Roman Empire but they practiced more of Arianism rather than Roman Catholicism. During the 6th century, many kings from Germany were found to convert into Christianity along with their warriors and subjects. The emphatic power exercised by the bishops caught the attention of the Germanic kings who granted the bishops the power to administer the predominant Romans. They established monasteries and enlarged the span of followers of Christianity among the people of Western Europe. The Germanic kings who identified monasteries as the best tool for clutching the political supremacy over the Christians in Europe set up several such centers with the help of local nobles. Their trial was to influence the people with the injection of spiritual power with an objective of sentimentally capturing their political feelings with the religious approach. Apart from the prominent partner United Kingdom, Ireland was another aim of the politically motivated spirituality of the bishops employed by the Germanic kingdom. The Irish accepted the proposal with a new lookout for spreading the religion across the continent by deploying missionaries to spread Christianity. However, as McManners (181) states, western Christendom failed to incorporate its non-catholic citizens.

Unfair Dismissal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Unfair Dismissal - Essay Example In spite of this recommendation, workers are still being subjected to the inglorious instance of unfair dismissal based on sex, race, colour, religious affiliations, age, gender, political opinion, national or ethnic extraction and so on2. However, in the United Kingdom, the Employment Rights Act 1996 was promulgated to address all employment problems. But have common law judges been helpful in interpreting this statute? Has not better interpretation now relied on good practice with reference to Acas code of practice? There are some provisions in Employment Rights Act 19963 that stipulate that workers in the United Kingdom should not be subjected to the inconvenient circumstance of unfair dismissal. The points below justify this assertion: (a) Right to Fairness: Every employee, irrespective of his/her age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion and a host of other factors, is entitled to fairness in dismissal by his/her employer. This explains that any worker that has become victim of unconstitutional dismissal possesses the legal power to challenge such an action in the court of law. (b) Contractual Stipulations: According to Employment Rights Act 1996, an employer may terminate the job of an employee if such conditions have already been included in the contracts both parties agreed upon at the onset of their industrial relationship: that is, if the term of employment has been described by a certain time limit, conditional limit etc. (c) Pre-dismissal Notice: It is mandatory for employers to give workers a notice before their employment is summarily terminated. Failure to do this on the part of the employer constitutes illegality on the part of the employer. Firms are expected to have in place provisions in their contracts that would allow nursing parents to be absent from effective working activities for a period of time. As a result of this, employers that rob their employees of this

Change Management And Systems Implementation

Change Management And Systems Implementation Introduction This essay is about the importance of change management in information systems development and discusses about the issues that will be the result of change in an organization and also the relationship between change management and system implementation. This essay will explain the theories with related examples that were the implications of change in an organization and will critically evaluate and discusses some ideas from my personal point of view. This essay will reflect upon my understanding of change management that I have learned from this module. Change and Change Management Change management is important in any kind of organisations and especially in information system development. It is a structured way to manage change. According to Disraeli as quoted in (Gilley, 2005) Change is constant. Change is present everywhere. The change can be in an individual, in a group or in an organization. When an individual is motivated to do something different, the change that happens in an individual is the main reason for the whole word to change. Since the individual is associated with groups, and groups are related to other groups to form an organisation, the important process in part of change depends on all individuals, groups or teams, and organisations and leaders also have an important responsibility in the process of change. (Cameron Green, 2009). Technology, globalization, society and evolving legislation forces many organisations to change constantly. The organisations ability to effectively implement change decides the success of the change process which completely depends of the person involved in managing the change. Change is necessary for an organisation nowadays because of competetive pressures and to meet the current customer needs. According to (Gilley, 2005), every four or five years, organisations findings planning to undertake major organisational changes and atleast once a year to undertake moderate organisational change. So change management is inevitable in every organisations to successfully manage the process of change. The induction of this module started with the justification for the need of IT professionals to know change management. Most of the projects related to Information Technology failed due to various reasons in which one would be due to poor change management. According to (Burnes, 2009) Brindle study states that UK government had to admit the failure of its 170 million pounds programme to change the old computer systems that holds the whole countrys National insurance records was a chaos that collapsed the system and leaving the social security number into agitation. According to (Burnes,2009) Done and Willman stated that the main reason for the BAs Terminal 5 debacle was the failure of its cutting-edge computerized baggage handling system. According to (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 1, Slide 11), the role of the IT professionals would be working in a team with other professionals, designing the system which other people will use, expecting how they will use the system and explaining the u sers how to use the system to their maximum potential. A change management process involves all the above mentioned roles of an IT professional. These points provided me a complete justification and understanding of the need of change management for a person like me who is an IT professional. The following week I learned about different type of systems and different types of implementations involved in an IT project, other considerations for an implementation, the reason for the implementation and the process of implementation. The different kinds of systems are software such as applications and desktop, hardware system and infrastructure systems such as buildings and network. The facts that should be consider while implementing a system are the level of knowledge in the system, technology, the level of importance with the system and people, whether it is in sourced/outsourced and using the maturity models. According to (Okrent Vokurka, 2004), there are three types of implementation 1) Pilot implementation in which the prioritized functional area which gives the most benefits is implemented first 2) Parallel implementation in which the change is tested in both old and new systems parallel and 3) Big bang implementation in which the data is migrated from old system to the new system all at once which is the most risky implementation. The big bang implementation is considered as most risky implementation since most of the projects implemented this way fails. For example, Heathrow Terminal 5 project was implemented using Big bang implementation. The cutting-edge computerized baggage handler system was considered to be one of the hardest-working IT systems as said by BAA and British Airways(BA) before its launch of the system and it didnt work when it was to work. (Swabey, 2008). There are different types of change such as reactive and proactive change, incremental and All at once change, planned and emergent change. According to (Orlikowski Hofman, 1997) the different types of change are planned(anticipated), emergent and opportunity-based change. Planned change is the change that is well planned and it happenes as we planned. Emergent change is the change which occurs spontaneously out of some experimentation which is not planned. The opportunity-based change is the change that is not planned but introduced purposefully to meet the opportunities that were not expected. Some various issues and aspects of change management can be illustrated with a case study: GK Printers Limited Background: GK Printers Limited is a small printing business established after the Second World War.It is a family business in which the current managing directors father established the business. The company was involved in printing jobs along with producing publicity catlogues for local companies, business cards and stationeries. The business went down due to various reasons such as recession, no computerised printing techniques and no graphics designed printing. This made the managing director to form some strategy along with the printing manager in which the first phase was to subcontract the printing works with graphical design instead of investing more money in new equipments. The company grew very well and they had a good profit and bought new equipments. In 1989, due to its growth in business, it was complicated to manage printing, designing and managing the subcontracting activities all together. The second phase of planned change was to manage companys costing system, controlling paper work and production scheduling. After many discussion, the company planned to install Computer Based System(CBS) and it took two years completely to install the working system after purchasing hardwares and refining the softwares according to the companys requirement. Training were provided to the users and also some managers to use the system effectively. The company had a growth again with their successful installation of CBS and they managed the changes that happened in their organisation. All the changes were in organisation and there were no change in the managerial behaviour of the organisation. The problem again aroused since the customers wants the company to reduce the cost of printing due to recession and they were giving smaller orders. This made GK to think about their survival. Since they were getting only smaller orders, their production cost remained the same and if they want to reduce the price to retain the customers, they will not have any profits. To find a soluti on, the managing director approached the marketing and design manager to come up with the problems and solutions. The manager came up with the problems and suggested to increase the design business by employing more design staffs. The senior staffs didnt agree and there were no decisions taken after the meeting. This made the managing director to consider and he approached a team builder to organise the teams inside the company. The team builder came up with a report that all the managers in the company are working and fully committed for the companys success and the negative point was the way the managing director approach for solutions. He made decisions himself or to consult only with one manager to make up with the decisions. The managing director was upset with this shock and he said he always wanted a team work in the company and henceforth all the decisions will be taken by consulting everyone in the management. This made the managers happy and they were asked to come up with solutions, and after six months, GK met all their customer requirements with the solutions the team came up with and there was a considerable growth in the business. The company also developed the business of designing and developing the websites for its customers in which this business was an accidental development and the managing director created a separate department for this business which become the most profitable and fastest growing part of GK. (Burnes, 2009:383-395) According to my personal point of view on the above discussed case study, the organisation had three phase of change which means this is a phased implementation. Even though the strategies were not planned and it emerged due to the problems, the approach to the change was planned rather than emergent approach. In the first two phase of changes, the company had changes in the organisation but not in the behavioural which led to some failures such as poor coordination and cooperation between the teams and managers and also the fighting for the position between managers. These led the company for the third phase of change which was the behavioural change in which all the members of the organisation understood and cooperated to work together and also the managin director decided to take decisions after discussing with the appropiate teams. The human implications of the change process can be noted in the above case study. When GK want to change their manual system to computerized system, the workers themselves suggested some companies to GK to discuss about the CBS system. The managing director gave the responsiblities of CBS system to the group of people who were the students analysing GKs requirements to install the systems and write softwares for the system. All the organisation changes that were made in the first two phases and the behavioural change that were made in the third phase were accepted by the individuals in the organisation. According to (Burnes, 2004) Lewin was interested to analyze the origins for change and he wants to understand why people dislike change. Lewins theories includes about the planned change embarked by the organization and unintended change that happens suddenly due to some contingencies, the three stage model (Unfreeze-movement-refreeze) and models of changes. But in this case study, t he organisation has no individuals who resisted change. According to (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 4, Slide 16) Mintzbergs definition of strategy as five P s can be applied on this case study as a prescriptive stream since the strategy preceds change and implementation flows from the strategic plan. Some of the plans involved in the GKs strategy was to make the manual systems computerized, meet the customer requirements and build a good team in the organisation. Some of the ploys involved were to provide customers with graphical design service and to satisfy all kind of customer needs.The position of GKs place in the market is high and they are one of the best among in providing creative website development for the customers. In contrast to the planned approach, the example of Volvos approach which is one the leading Swedish motor vehicle manufacturer to reorganising vehicle production from the traditional methods of car assembly can be taken as an approach to change as emergent. The decisions are based from the workers of the company and it is completely based on the group work in which Volvos approach to change is unique in its way in which it considers human-centered approach to work. A consultant is a person who is having skills that are different or unique and they have different perspective on an issue. The reasons for using this consultancy approach includes requirement of extra staff resources, on a temporary basis, need for expert help and knowledge to deal some situations, look differently about a particular situation and for outside opinion and disinterested information. (Nachimuthu, 23 November 2010). In the above case study, since no one in the organisation were aware of the changes to be brought, the managing director approached a lecturer at a polytechnic who is the friend of printing manager, in which the lecture suggested one of his student studying business can act as a consultant for the companys improvements. The student worked as a consultant, studied the company for two months and produced a report of the organisationss finding to the managing director and the printing manager which was the basis for the change in the organisation. Management involves doing things right whereas leadership involves doing the right things. Management is about maintaining stability and leadership is about bringing the change. Management processes focus on the present and leadership processes focus on the future. Management processes involves implementing policies and procedures whereas leadership processes involves creating a culture based on shared values. Management processes uses the power of their position and leadership processes uses the personal power. Leadership roles get strengths with different personality types. (CMSI Lectures, 2010, Week 7, Slide 21). For example, the case study that I was using in the seminar about the Shell Company fostering its new level of individual power can be taken. The leadership skills and personality types of Chris Knight were discussed. The case study explains the strategies followed by Knight. Chris knight was a good leader with skills such as motivation, knowledge of the business and abil ity to manage the change and system implementations that turn around the growth of Shell. (CMSI Seminars, 2010, Week 7) Whether if it is planned or emergent approach to change, if it is at individual, group or organisation level change, or incremental or continuos change, there should be one person to manage the change and take responsibility of the change. Change agent is the one who takes that responsibility who can be a managers, internal or external consultants or it can be a team. (Burnes, 2004) states that Expect the unexpected might be the motto of most change agents since the change agents should be capable of dealing with the unexpected.If I was an agent of change in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project, I would have tested the computerized baggage system with more load and would have given training to all staffs in how to get to the parking area and especially how to handle the baggage system. I would have not compromised on testing as the chief executive of BA did on the Terminal 5 project. (Massey, 2008). Conclusion It can be concluded from the above discussion on various issues of change, its implication on human as an individual and groups within an organisation, the different types of approaches to change, the need of consultants and importance of leadership that the knowledge of change management is inevitable in any organisation for a successful system implementation in which the GK case study is an example. The need of change management, its relationship with systems implementation and its importance in Information Technology is justified from the above discussions. [Word Count: 2508]

Geographic Information Sytems :: Significant Elements of GIS

Significant Elements of GIS GIS unites graphical representation of characteristic items (e.g. trees, houses, wells, streets, and so forth.), properties of items and apparatuses to oversee conduct of the guide objects. This makes, GIS goes far past the administration of ―backgroundâ€â€" mapping as it gives genuine positional mindfulness in backing of leading examination crosswise over various wellsprings of data. Incorporating ERP and GIS The test is that organizations actualize different requisitions for a reason; every is intended to help the needs of a specific client assemble in performing their particular assignments. Geological data frameworks (GIS) have the capacity of putting away, controlling, examining and imagining the geospatial data through maps. Frequently, picturing the information on maps is more applicable than taking a gander at the plain information, which is the reason GIS has started to be incorporated in key business requisitions additionally. The collaboration between GIS and ERP data frameworks, offers focal points to any endeavor in both store network administration and advertising ranges. Logistic firms oblige shorter request cycle, more dependable conveyances, better warehouse administration and they must hold their transportation fetches under control. With a specific end goal to accomplish these objectives, the reconciliation of GIS, GPS and ERP innovations was proposed by researchers and by business programming sellers. In the promoting region, ERP/GIS incorporation might be helpful in all showcasing blend segments: item (fragment clients by lifestyle and item advancements and classification), value (usage of estimating strategy relying upon area), spot (site choice and conveyance directing) and advancement (create target geocode clients, comprehend client using). With a coordinated framework, a client can do a cluster of capacities that could affect corporate running cost by fulfilling the accompanying: Enhance asset usage, examination, wellbeing and stake trustworthiness through a capacity to speak to work requests and warnings at their accurate area on a GIS map. Enhance operational proficiency (e.g. wellbeing, dispatching) by speaking to work exercises that effect a zone as polygons on the guide and ID of briefest courses. Enhance workforce gainfulness by giving more extensive program based access to ERP and GIS based possessions, upkeep, and client data. Lessen administration sets back the ol' finances by stretching an on-line organization toward oneself entrance with fundamental business forms (e.g. report flawed gear). Hoist client administration and choice making with stretched access to ERP information from the GIS map. Associations that incorporate GIS with ERP fit in with

Blood Brothers Essay

   Her gestures towards Eddy were quite fidgety, she was always fretting over him- making sure his clothes and hair was neat so he looked respectful. This constant need to make Eddy look neat would be so the Lyons family kept up their reputation and Mrs. Lyons may have also been trying to cover up any likeness between Mickey and Eddy, so she was constantly fidgeting over him. This attitude was also reflected in the atmosphere she generated, as she was always quite nervous and twitchy, because she was always worried that the public or her husband would find out that Eddy wasn’t her child and that he was the offspring of a working class family. You can see this nervous attitude from her facial expression as she always carried a worried look, and also from her body language as her hands always flustered nervously. Mrs. Lyons’ relationship with Mrs. Johnstone got more impersonal as the play went on. They stood further apart from one another and they spoke in raised voices. Mrs. Lyons was very protective of Eddy so she walked and sat very close to him all the time and didn’t like feeling that she has no control over him. Narrator – Phillip Stewart: I think that the narrator was the character that had the highest status on stage. He didn’t emotionally relate to any of the characters. You could see this reflection of impersonality towards the characters when he was face to face with a distraught Mrs. Johnstone or an excited Mickey his facial expression didn’t alter, showing he had no understanding of the characters emotions. The fact that the narrator didn’t relate to any of the characters, means that they fear the narrator and are intimidated by him. Further more, the fact that the characters were actually aware of the narrator is unusual as most narrators are kept separate from the characters. This may be because the narrator acted as something more spiritual, like he was a figure of destiny or life who is moving the actors around like chess pieces. He would creep up on people, or pull them away as he had the power to do this. He stood tall, had a domineering presence and was the person with the most authority. His accent, like his costume, was neutral, his tone was quite deep and the volume of his voice was load throughout the whole of the play. Mickey Johnstone – Stephen Palfreman: Mickey was brought up in the Johnstone family so he had the same accent as his mother- Liverpudlian. 7-8yrs: He was amazingly energetic and he completely took over the stage when he came on. He shouted, ran around madly, spoke in a high-pitched voice, muddled up his word and so reflected a seven year old boy in a physical and intellectual state. When he first came on stage he was banging on his door and sat down like this: He started picking his nose e. t. c. He fidgeted constantly, scratching himself, and typically stretching his jumper over his legs. To reflect his age he spent a lot of time on the floor, as it was an adult playing a seven year old this made him look shorter. He was very over powering, so when he was talking to the other characters there was about an inch between them-nearly nose to nose, so obviously like any seven year old he had no sense of personal boundaries. 12-14yrs: At this age he was desperately trying to impress Linda so he was doing typical ‘guy poses’ and walking with a skip in his step to try and look ‘cool’. He also talked to her in a deep, what he thought to be, manly voice. He really wanted to impress Linda but he was also very nervous especially in Act two, Scene 1 when Linda asks Mickey to help him over the gate and as he approaches her she screams ‘be gentle, be gentle†¦ ‘ Which puts him off completely! 18+: Now he seemed a lot more serious because as he’s on his own. When he’s in prison you could see him slowly going mad. The carefree attitude he used to have had now disappeared. He was always very edgy, and he barely moved. In prison he was edgy but he felt safe, once he was out of prison he got even worse. He got angry with Linda when he didn’t get his tablets and he was constantly sweating. His relationship towards Linda was reflected in his body language, as he seemed to stop showing affection towards her and never liked standing to close to any one. This distance was in contrast to the seven year old Mickey. Eddy Lyons -Mark Hutchinson: Eddy took after his mother in his accent as his was also quite posh. The tone of his voice was quite feminine and it was like this through all ages. 7-8yrs: Unlike Mickey, Eddy’s voice was quieter and his movements were timid but once he was with Mickey and wasn’t being over shadowed by his mother he could ‘let go’. A typical example of this would be when Eddy, Mickey and Linda get caught by the police throwing stones through windows, and the policeman asks him: â€Å"What’s your name? † And Eddy replies: â€Å"Adolph Hitler†! So you can see that Eddy could be brave, even more so than Mickey and Linda, he just needed to be let out of his shell. Eddy’s lexis was a lot different to Mickey’s as he used words like ‘smashing’ and ‘goodness’; whereas most of Mickey’s lexis consisted of swear words. Eddy didn’t seem to change that much from the age of 7-18 years old. He still has quite a feminine voice he just sounded matured. As he grew up Eddy spent less time on the floor so he was taller, Mickey also used this tactic. Also, Mickey didn’t influence him quite as much. Eddy’s relationship with the characters was reflected in his distance between them and his body language. When Mrs. Lyons was fidgeting over him he tried to stop her. At first the distance between him and Mrs. Johnstone was far but as the play went on they got closer showing that their relationship was growing closer. Linda – Louise Clayton: Linda 7-8yrs: She had come from the same class as Mickey so she had a Liverpudlian accent too. Her voice was quite high pitched she was also very energetic. Her gestures and the distance between her and the other characters reflected her affectionate personality and like Mickey she had no sense of personal boundaries but she was a little more gentile than Mickey was! 12-14yrs: Now she was very confident especially towards Mickey. She was constantly telling Mickey that she loved him in public even though he didn’t really like it that much. Her gestures were quite sexy towards Mickey as was her movement-swaying her hips as she walked was one example. 18+: Her tone was now a lot more mature and so were her clothes. When she went to go and visit Mickey in prison she always put on a happy face. As she was older she had more responsibilities so she wasn’t as energetic and happy as she used to be. Marriage seemed to have trapped Linda and all she wanted to do was to go back to her old carefree life. This was probably why she kissed Eddy because it was like starting again but you could always see that she still really cared for Mickey. Once Mickey was out of jail Linda tried to get close to him and to understand him but he just turned her away. The fact that she stayed with him showed just how much she cared for him. Her body language and gestures towards him weren’t as confident as they were when she was fourteen. It was Mickey who had the most comical value out of all the characters. When he first made his appearance in Act 1, Scene 2 as a seven year old, fidgeting madly and pulling his jumper over his knees it was really funny. When he was a teenager and he was trying to impress Linda he spoke in a deep voice, which made the whole audience laugh out load! When sadder moments in the play came the lights were usually blue. The final scene of the play was a mixture of passion, fear, tension and sadness. When you were sitting on the edge of your seat wondering who was going to shoot whom, you could sense the tension in the auditorium. You could see the passion between Mickey and Eddy as they found out they were brothers from just looking at their faces and the fear from Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. , Lyons as they feared that Mickey was going to kill Eddy. I thought that the play was very thought provoking as it made you think about the social injustice of our society today. This social injustice was the plays main theme along with superstition as the narrator frequently quoted superstitions like-‘new shoes on the table’. Social Injustice is the basis of many other plays like ‘Teechers’ by John Godber. This play sends the message through the ideal of school, and the social injustice at the school. I really enjoyed the play and I would definitely go and see it again. I thought that all of the actors performed their characters brilliantly and showed absolute commitment to their role throughout the whole of the play. They seemed to have got into their characters and know them of by heart.

Kinesiology †Emotional Stress Relief †Physical Fitness (300 Level Course)

Kinesiology – Emotional Stress Relief – Physical Fitness (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Kinesiology Emotional Stress Relief Physical Fitness (300 Level Course) Good health enables individuals to lead productive and fulfilling lives (Report on the health of Canadians, 1) but in today’s society, technological advancements, lack of motivation and lack of nutritional education are causing youth to become more unfit than ever before. Webster’s dictionary defines fitness as being of good health and good physical condition. This definition rarely applies to youth these days. A recent study shows that 33 percent of Canadian boys were overweight in 1996, and the number of overweight girls was 27 percent, which is also a very high percentage. (Demont, 22) Obesity is also becoming a serious problem for children. Obesity is generally defined as being at least twenty percent above the ideal body weight. Since 1981, the percentage of obese children has multiplied by five. Ten percent of boys and nine percent of girls are now considered obese. (Demont, 22) On average, the children and youth of today are unfit and unhealthy, leading to the unfit adults of tomorrow. It starts when you are a child. If you don’t get the motivation that you need to keep fit, then it is likely that the same attitude towards exercise will remain with you throughout adulthood. For an adult, it is hard to get out of long-term lifestyle patterns and into a regular exercise routine. Adults tend to have many excuses for not getting enough exercise. A few of which may be that they are too tired and stressed after a long day at work, or that they don’t have enough time because they have to cook dinner, do housework, or take care of the kids. But here is where the motivation steps in. If you’ve got to take care of the kids then why not incorporate some physical activity? Take them for a walk or go to the play ground with them. Inline skating or biking is also a great way to stay fit with your children. Parents should know what motivates their children and use that information in any way to keep their children healthy and fit. Kids need motivation to stay active just as much as adults do. It has been shown that children are more likely to want to be physically active if their parents are active. Children’s physical activity patterns tend to revolve around what they learn at home. (Pivarnik, James M., N/D) For example, if a parent is always at wor k and the child watches television and eats junk food all day, then that child is likely to develop a negative or lazy attitude, not to mention a very bad habit with regards to exercise, that will likely remain with them through adulthood. Getting a child involved in organized sports is the perfect way to keep them active and healthy. But the problem with this, sometimes, is that the family budget doesn’t allow it. Social class plays a major role in weather or not a child stays active. Children with a lower class status rarely get the same opportunities as the children of higher-class families. Availability of facilities, equipment and coaching for most programs costs a lot. (Shephard, 235) Even after school programs and community recreation centers ask for a sufficient amount of money. A lot of families simply cannot afford to put their child in such programs. Especially lower class families with multiple children. Another problem when trying to get a child into an organized sport may be their friends. Generally, children don’t want to get into a program where he or she will not know anyone. If there is no one familiar in the group, then the child is likely to take a negative attitude towards the program and in turn will not enjoy it, and possibly even quit. For a parent to motivate a young child to get into such a program, they should first consider who the child will know and weather or not they will enjoy the program. As a child grows to like a sport, gender may also cause some problems. Take a young boy in figure skating, dancing or even gymnastics for example. Society seems to shape children at an early age to think that these are â€Å"girls† sports. The same may go for a young girl in a hockey or baseball program. Unfortunately, this affects a lot of children, and even if they enjoy the sport, they may feel pressured by friends or acquaintances to quit. It gets harder to motivate someone later on in the adolescent stage because so many factors come into play. Teenagers â€Å"don’t have time† for physical activity. Social time and even study time take away from going for a walk or a bike ride. This, however, is not necessarily true for all teenagers. The ones who were motivated to start playing sports and enjoyed their time outside at an early age will always find time for physical activity. The negative attitude starts and an early age and unfortunately, it is especially hard to break a teenager from bad habits and patterns such as this. Drugs and alcohol also start to influence physical activity during the teenage years. If a teen starts to smoke, drink or do drugs, then physical fitness becomes one of the least important matters to them. They won’t have enough energy, and even breathing may be a serious problem for smokers when it comes to physical activities. This is when schools and teachers should get involved. Hopefully, by this age, children have been positively influenced by their schools, but teachers need to take an extra step when they see that a child has gotten involved with drugs and/or alcohol. Students spend the majority of their time in school, so they need positive reinforcement and role models within the system. After school programs, nutrition and health classes, and programs that educate the students about how important it is to stay fit and healthy are great ways to incorporate fitness into the school system. Most, if not all schools from junior high onward, have school sports teams. But what about the children who are not particularly good at sports? There are very few schools that have programs for students to get exercise without having to try out for a team. Physical education classes seem to be satisfactory for those students, but in a study about physical education classes in Michigan, the average P.E class keeps children active for less than twenty minutes. (Pivarnik, James M., N/D) Another study also showed that in 1998, only 10 percent of Canadian schools offered gym classes daily, and a tenth of school kids had no gym class at all. (Demont, 24) Also, durin g physical education classes, the trend seems to be that the more â€Å"athletic† students play the sports and the games, while the students who don’t particularly enjoy sports, barely participate. There should be programs available for these students. For example, an after school walking club would be particularly beneficial to students who do not enjoy sports or even for the students with health problems such as asthma. Staying fit doesn’t mean that you have to be on a team and children, especially, need to know this. A good way for a teacher to motivate their students would be to get involved in the activity. Being a good role model could include taking a group of students on an afternoon hike or casual bike ride once a week. In order to incorporate these ideas into the school system, the teachers also need to be educated about health and fitness. This, not only would help the students understand the importance, but the teacher as well would have a better understanding. The last major source of motivation comes from the community. Organized sports, recreation centers and even summer programs all help children get the physical activity that they need to stay fit. Most of the programs for younger children are very good at incorporating a lot for fun games for them to play. This is the key in keeping small children active. These activities have to be fun to keep their interest. There are great new ideas being brought up in recreation centers to keep children interested in the programs. Once a child is introduced to a sport or a program that they really enjoy, then generally, that attitude towards sports and fitness will stay with them. Activities such as swimming are almost always open to the public, so there really is no excuse as to why someone doesn’t go regularly for a swim or even a walk or run. There is rarely anything stopping someone from going. The facilities are provided, so all that is needed is the motivation. Nutrition can also play an immense role in defining fit and unfit. Poor food choices, along with lack of exercise can yield fat, unfit children (Daugherty, 2002), and even adults. Poor eating habits can lead to obesity, which can cause harmful diseases that may last an entire lifetime. There are many vast reasons that can be blamed for the increase in weight gain, and there are also plenty of techniques that can be used to increase physical activity, therefore decreasing weight gain. There are some factors that may cause people to become overweight, or obese such as genetic factors, lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating. They can all contribute to overweight children. Obesity is rarely caused by medical conditions even though many people may think this. Even if a child is brought up in a family with a weight problem does not necessarily mean that they themselves will become overweight. They very well could be at a high risk, but that could be linked to the family’s eating habits and exercise habits. Unfortunately obesity has increased in children more than 50% in the past 30 years (Daugherty, 2002), and one in every five children in the U.S. are overweight (Grayson, 2002). The reason for this drastic increase is lack of physical activity and poor food choices. There are many health risks that can be caused by obesity. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, early heart disease, bone problems, and skin conditions are only some of t he more serious issues that can arise. When kids realize that they are overweight, often times it’s too late and they can become discouraged and never try to improve their physical condition. To be more specific of the factors that can cause overweight and obese children, can be linked to society. Our environment has turned to high-fat, high-calorie, high-sugar, and high-salt snack foods (Daugherty, 2002). Children would much rather have a bag of chips at recess instead a little baggie of raw vegetables. In the twenty years between 1975 and 1995, visits to fast food restaurants in Canada sky rocketed by two hundred percent! (Demont, 23) Super Sized value meals at fast food restaurants are encouraged for just an extra fifty cents. For that extra fifty cents, you are not just getting more food, but hundreds of extra-unneeded calories. So, in a way, when people blame fast food restaurants for themselves and other being overweight, they may have a case. Another major factor for the weight problem for today’s kids is vending machines and soda pop machines (Boyles, 2001). Can you ever go to a school without seeing a vending and a pop machine in numerous spots all over the school? Not usually. They are in every hallway. Children consume most of their calories from pop and other sugary drinks like fruit juices. The average kid consumes thousands of calories a week in pop and fruit juices alone (Boyles, 2001). Just imagine if a child drank one can of pop every day, in the run of a week that’s approximately 2500 calories, on liquids alone. If children wish to have their pop, chips, and chocolate bars, they must do some sort of physical activity to burn most of the calories. Schools need to reinstate effective physical education programs and try to establish an active lifestyle that will continue throughout their youth and adult years. Society can also make people become more aware of health problems through campaigns and presentations to schools, work places and even hospitals. A child’s total diet and activity level can determine a child’s weight (Grayson, 2002). The eating habits children pick up at a young age will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as adults, and even though children have fewer weight-related health and medical problems than adults, overweight children have a high risk of becoming overweight adolescents and adults (Grayson, 2002). Typically, overweight youth become overweight adults (Westcott, n.d.). Even though adults have a better knowledge of a healthy lifestyle, there are still one in four adults that are obese, and three in every four adults that are overweight (Westcott, n.d.). That leaves only half the population defined to be â€Å"fit.† Parents can have a major role in their children’s eating habits and physical activity level. Let them be involved in picking out healthy choices at the grocery store and let them help prepare meals. Parents can also discourage their children from snacking all of the time, especially in front of the television. While kids watch television, they don’t realize if they are full or not, but just continuing to eat. Plan children’s snacks and prepare a healthy lunch for school hours. Television, video games, movies and computers do not help children stay active. If anything, the more time kids spend on these activities, the less time they have for physical activity. The majority of kids choose these indoor activities to playing tennis, or soccer, or even playing tag outside with their friends. On average for children, 23 hours a week is spent in front of the television, and ten hours a week is spent playing video games (Boyles, 2001). There is a constant increase of intake of calories, and unfortunately a decrease in the burning of calories, thanks to television and computers. Technology has made people lazy. How many kids still go out to play with their friends after they have eaten? Most stay home and watch television as much as they eat. And they don’t even have to get up to change the channel because we have remotes that do it for us. And on television, kids see sports figures and movie stars advertising fast food and junk foods. But not only watching television is a big influence on increasing obesity in children. Also computers, video games, and the Internet are related factors of the serious and growing issue of child and adolescent obesity. The average Canadian child watches excessive amounts of television (Bernard-Bonnin et al. 1991). The AC Nielson Company’s report on television found out that the average Canadian child watches 23 hours of television each week, and with some children watching up to five hours daily and the average adolescent watches over 20 hours of television per week. That is a lot of time spent sitting and glaring at a television and if you think about these numbers, by the time a child reaches high school, it will have spent more time watching television than in the classroom. Television is the biggest technological negative factor of child obesity as it contributes to the increased incidence of childhood and adolescent obesity (Dietz WH Jr., 1985). Watching television is an effective way of advertising products to children of various ages (Stasburger VC, 1986). So while our children watch television, they will see more than 20,000 commercials each year (Children, adolescents, and advertising, 1995). But what does a car or a financial branch commercial have to do with child obesity? The answer to that is easy. More than 60% of commercials promote sugared cereals, candy, fatty foods, and toys (Children, adolescents, and advertising, 1995) where the fat content of these advertised products exceed the current average Canadian diet and nutritional recommendations. Not only are these items high in fat, sugar, and salt, but also low in overall nutritional value and fiber (Hill Radimer, 1997). Commercials for healthy foods make up only 4% of the food adve rtisements shown during children’s viewing time. Therefore television viewing makes a substantial contribution to obesity because prime time commercials promote unhealthy dietary practices (Ostbye T et al., 1993). Not only does watching television increase the dietary energy intake in response to food advertising, but also during viewing the programs. Children who watch a lot of television are less physically fit and tend to snack more regularly. The number of hours of television viewing also corresponds with an increased relative risk of higher cholesterol levels in children (Dietz WH Beliizi MC, 1999). Eating meals while watching television should be discouraged because it may lead to poor eating habits. Television also takes away from play and exercise activities. This means the energy expenditure from displacement of physical activity is reduced. It limits children’s time to develop vital activities such as playing outside, spending time with peers and parents, participating in regular exercise, and developing other not only physical, but also mental and social skills. This chart shows that watching television has the highest percentage compared to other influences of child and adolescent obesity. Though it is not the only one. Other media, such as magazines, radio, and the Internet also have the potential to influence children’s eating, exercise and buying habits and its mental health. Even though some video games may help the development of fine motor skills and coordination, most video games have the same negative effect as watching television. The amounts spent watching television and sitting in front of the computer can also affect a child’s postural development (Salter RB, 1983), which is an important development for many physical activities. 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