Africa Change over Time Essay

Around the period during the second World War and the Cold War, a Red Scare went on in the most powerful and influential capitalist countries of the world. The Red Scare was basically a fear of the spread of communism. According to the Domino Theory, which was developed in that era, if a specific country turned to communism, communism would soon spread to all the other countries in that area. This fear caused the United States to jump into action at the slightest sign of communist influence in many places in the world, especially subsaharan Africa. However, over the years, this fear has eased, and the U. S. is more prone to attempting to aid these nations, rather than destroying them. In sub-saharan Africa, from around 1900 to present day, conditions there have both changed and stayed the same. On one hand, western involvement in the area has changed, but on the other hand, the constant civil wars and oppressive circumstances from the past still exist today. Sub-saharan Africa from the beginning of the 20th century up to this present day has been under constant civil war. South Africa, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia and Zaire (or the Republic of Congo) are good examples of this. South Africa was first colonized by the Dutch who integrated themselves into the country. However, in the late 19th century, the English conquered South Africa and moved the Boers (the Dutch-Africans) to the north of the country where they clashed with the native Zulu tribe. When diamonds where later discovered in that area, the Dutch and the English had wars for the territory. In Sudan, a fundamentalist Islamic group that sits at the head of the government was at civil war with a rebel Christian group. The main reason for this conflict was the obvious religious differences. This conflict has ruined many crops and homes of civilians and forced many others to flee the country. In Mozambique the civil So? a Gruber war there was a proxy war between the Soviet Union, that influenced a Marxist government in that area, and the U. S. , that sponsored a rebel movement to usurp the communist government. Similarly, in Angola and Ethiopia, a proxy war, sponsored by the two Cold War superpowers tear the countries apart, causing widespread famine and suffering. Finally, the civil war in Congo, that has lasted for decades, was a tug for power between both left and right leaders who, nonetheless, where all power hungry and corrupt. In sub-saharan Africa, there is a continuous pattern of oppression of the people. The examples for this seem to be endless, between constant genocides and militaristic dictators, the people in sub-saharan Africa suffer and die in squalor. In Rwanda, a mass genocide erupted when the Hutu tribe blamed the Tutsi tribe for their leader’s death. In a time span of 100 days, nearly 8000 people died, and countless more were injured in unspeakable ways. Throughout all of Africa, the use of child soldiers has become extremely popular. It is not uncommon for a 10 year old boy (sometimes even younger) to be drugged and paraded down the street while they shot innocent civilians and mutilated them. The living conditions in many nations are unspeakable. Many families live in shacks with no running water, and very few of them have any means of contact to the outside world (television, phones, radio, ect. ). Constant civil war force many families to flee their country, creating refugees for other countries, who stick them all in refugee camps. Most methods of war involve hurting civilians, in Sudan, a popular resistance method was scorched-earth policies. Here, armies would burn down everything that would be essential to life, ensuring that no aid would be available to their opponent. In South Africa, mostly, apartheid was practiced to the extreme. Not only were there segregated bathrooms and schools, but entire towns. A white minority would live in splendor, while the black, native majority would live in squalor. From 1900 to present day, the world’s involvement in sub-saharan Africa has drastically changed. Western involvement in sub-saharan Africa mainly consisted in imperialistic motives and proxy wars. However, its started to change into wanting to help improve the standard of living. South Africa is a very good example of this. In the times of imperialism, England and Holland both had interest in South Africa. England wanted to create colonies there and the Dutch were already there. After the Dutch kicked the English out of the country, they set up their own personal empire in the region. They created a world where whites ruled over blacks. The insalubrious living conditions there for the native black majority eventually set off the rest of the world. After years of both internal and external pressure, the South African government finally ended apartheid in the country. This type of change goes on in many African countries. Most of these countries suffer due to futile proxy wars set up in the region by both Soviet and American forces. After decades of watching this fighting, the world decided to step in and help. Red Cross is sent in there to aid and occasionally, the United Nations tries to stop these wars. Non-profit organizations, such as UNICEF and Hand Up Africa encourage western civilians to take part in working for peace in the sub-saharan African nations. Despite the change in western attitude towards sub-saharan African nations, most of them still are under the threat of constant civil war and their people live in oppressive circumstances. Many of these civil wars were caused by the American fear towards communism and tribal and religious differences. These conflicts bring rise to militaristic dictatorships and decrease the standard of living prominently. However, in retrospect, western nations seemed to have repented for their destruction of the large continent and continuously attempt to rebuild it.

What Does It Take to be Good Parents? Essay

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am Chong Cia Ling, the founder of Brainy Montessori. I am so grateful to have such an honour standing here to deliver my speech entitled â€Å"What does it take to be good parents?†. I am sure all the parents here will agree with me that being parents is tough. Bringing up children is a very difficult task. Everyone wishes to be good parents. However, sometimes we could be so discouraged and helpless when we get the feedback that we are not good parents although we have done our upmost to provide the best for our children. What is the cause of that? Today, let us learn how to be good parents together. A parent is said to be a good parent only after seeing how he has brought up his children. They should bring up the children in a very good discipline. However, we need to bear in mind that discipline does not mean that they have to punish their children for every wrong doing. Recently there is a famous video of a Texas judge hitting his teena ge daughter repeatedly with a belt. This father justified his actions as â€Å"discipline.† I beg to differ. According to the video, the father is not disciplining his daughter. He is engaging in an act of punishment intent on hurting, humiliating and controlling her! Well, it is common that children do mistakes. Yet, what a good parent must do is he has to teach him how to differentiate what is good and what is bad. We need to understand that giving punishment especially physical punishment will not help children in a way instead it will create new problems. Indeed, it hurts. For instance, children will become rebellious as they have already got used to the corporal punishment. Eventually, they will develop hatred towards their parents. Deborah Sendek (2011) also claims that physical punishment is ineffective in parenting. It can easily escalate and cross the line to abuse and serious injury, particularly when an instrument is used. Children become emotionally alienated from parent who hits them frequently. Research also shows that physical punishment makes it more likely that children will be defiant and aggressive in the future. These research findings have been endorsed by many prominent organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, Voices for America’s Children, the National PTA, and the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect that advocate against corporal punishment. We cannot deny that children need guidance and discipline but what works? Effective  discipline helps a child to develop self-control by teaching, guiding, modeling and explaining what is wrong and what to do instead. Effective discipline starts with our attitudes about children and their behaviour. Redirection, discipline or punishment must include an explanation of why a behavior is unacceptable and what behavior is expected. Many times a child’s misbehavior is a mistake in judgment. In contrast, we hope our own mistakes serve a s learning opportunities. We need to apply this same rule to children. We must curb our anger and allow time to think about what we want to teach. Positive and proactive discipline strategies work from toddlers to teenagers. In today’s society, parents always have no time for children and thus, they hire maids to take care of children and give them what they want. In this way, parents feel that they have fulfilled their duty but it is not true! According to Duncan, making a child feel cherished is the single most important quality of an effective parent. It is also proved that in child development, kids who feel loved and cherished thrive. Duncan recommends spending time with your children doing what she wants to do. Every child needs to feel a sense of love and parents must love wisely. For example, play your child favourite game and read together. Besides, parents should be like friends to their children. They have to discuss everything and spend quality time with children. Only if then, children can feel the parental love. When children go to school they will see so many others’ parents. They should not a get a feeling that their parents are not taking care of them as his friend’s. Eventually, they will feel rejected and low self-esteem. In this case, parents must be very careful. However, we as parents need to note that every child is unique so it takes a different approach for that child to feel seen and loved. The hard work for us as parents is accepting who our child is and cherishing her for being that person, even while guiding behaviour. Parents need to use a positive lens and celebrate every step in the right direction. One of the ways is to show affection through warm words and physical touch. You will have no idea how a gentle cuddle, a little encouragement, appreciation, approval or even a smile can go a long way to boost the confidence and well-being of your children. For instance, when you must correct a child, do it in love. It can avoid criticism and blaming. It is important to avoid using negative vocabulary like â€Å"bad† because your child may internalize the label, thinking she is unacceptable  instead of just the behaviour. When you love your child wisely, she will learn and love you back. When your child fail the test, analyse the reasons of failing the test with her, encourage her to try harder next time instead of scolding, blaming and hitting. Good parenting is much more than just teaching your children right and wrong, good or bad. It is also about ‘respect’. I am not talking about your children necessarily respecting you. It is about you having respect for them, particularly for their privacy. Always bear in mind that children also have human right. Give them a chance to voice their opinions, listen to their suggestions and give them some freedom. In fact, parents need to respect children’s privacy as you would want them to respect yours. For example, if you teach your child that your room is out of boundaries to them, respect the same with their room. Allow to feel that once they enter their room they can know that no one will look through their drawers or read their diary. By respecting your children, they will be more open and respect you. As children hit adolescence they invariably begin to separate from their parents as a natural part of growing up. Ironically, it is also a time when parents have concerns about their son or daughter’s safety as they venture out more into the world on their own. Undeniably, this is quite a difficult time for most parents. It is a time of change, a time of testing. On one hand you are frustrated because your child is not as close as they once were and you keep pushing and pushing to know more about what going on in their life. You cannot be close, yet you need to be close to keep them safe. Balancing your desire to know all the details with your children’s right for privacy and the respect implied when you acknowledge that right, is a very tricky feat to accomplish indeed. However, it is a balancing act that is well worth the effort, especially for those of you who want to be the best parents that you ca n be. Thus, parents need to bear in mind not to be nosy parents. Do not dig around your teenager’s belongings. Never try to listen in conversations and avoid trying to keep children away from friends or activities out of spite to try to keep them safe. Of course as parents we have to be cautious and watchful but we must use common sense also and give them room to grow, the last thing we want to do is drive our children away from us. Remember what is like for a young boy or girl to be entering that stage in life where new feelings and experiences are happening to them on a daily occurrence. On the other hands, good  parents must be flexible. Having standards does not mean you are rigid. As your child grows from infant to toddler to teen, her needs change along with her body. Kids Health reports that parents should not compare one child to another. Parents nowadays tend to compare their children’s behaviour or progress with other children of the same age. Indeed, they are causing stress for themselves and their children. Comparing your children with others is an ultimately useless activity! I understand that it is hard to resist as we tend to assess our progress in any area of life by checking out how we compare with our peers. But come to think of it, when you were a child in school, you probably compared yourself to your schoolmates. Your teachers may not have graded you nut you knew who the smart kids were and were you ranked in the packing order. Now that you have kids of your own, do you still keep an eye on your peers? Do you use progress and behaviour of their kids as benchmarks to help you assess your own performance as well as your child’s progress? Children develop at different rates. There are early developers, slow bloomers and steady-as-you-go children in every group. So, comparing your child’s results or performance can be completely unrealistic. What does this mean to you? Focus on your child’s improvement and effort. Use your child’s results as the benchmark for his or her progress and development. You can tell your child like this:â€Å"Your spelling is better today than it was a few days ago† instead of getting frustrated at them for not able to score as well as other children. Encourage them to take a step at a time; they will grow up as a fine man one day. Parents, give your child some time. They need you in this learning journey. Besides, children have different talents, interests and strengths. Well, your eight years old child may not be able to ride a bicycle even though your neighbour’s child can. Avoid comparing the two as your child may not care about bicycle anyway. At this point of time, you as a parent should help your child to identify his or her own talents or interests and help them to be exceled in it. Recognize that his or her strengths and interests may be completely different to those of his peers or siblings. Sometimes parents can have unrealistic expectations for their children. We all have hopes and dreams for our kids, but they may not be i n line with their interests and talents. Thus, parents need to keep your expectations for success in line with their abilities and interests. If expectations are too high, kids will  give up. If they are too low, they will usually meet them! Parents should take pride in their children’s performance at school, sport or leisure activities. You should also celebrate their achievements and milestones, such as taking their first steps, scoring their first goal in a game or getting great marks at school. In addition, rules should shift to match the age, needs and development of your children. For instant, you might expect a child of two to throw temper tantrum but not a teen. An effective parent takes cues from her child, whether an infant’s cry or a teenager’s moods to know what will work best in a particular situation. So parents, stay tuned to your child’s evolving needs by keeping involved in her life. Furthermore, parents need to teach emotional intelligence to child. For instance, you teach your child to self-soothe. According to research, little ones do not learn to self-soothe by being left to cry. That just creates an over-active amygdala and panic response later in life. While soothing is a physiological process. For instance, when a baby cries and we soothe him, his body responds by sending out oxytocin and other soothing biochemicals. What you see is that he calms down and later he develops the ability to soothe himself when he is upset. Parents also can give them the message that their full range of feelings is understandable, even while their actions must be limited. Upmost, parents need to listen to them when they have feelings to express. Occasionally this will take the form of words, and it helps to give children kind words for their feelings: â€Å"You’re so mad!† but more often, children just need us to give them the safety of our loving presence while they cry or rage to vent their feelings. Often they will not be able to articulate what they are upset about, and it is not necessary. However, this helps children to learn to accept and process their emotions, so they can move past them rather than having to act on them. What does â€Å"acting out† mean? We act on our feelings rather than simply tolerating them as they sweep through us and dissipate. While you are teaching your child about emotional intelligence, you need to set as a good example too. If you are easily lose tempered, then you cannot blame of your children of throwing temper. They are learning from you! Sometime your emotional unstableness will affect the development of your child. Never argue with your spouse in front of the children. If they are sleeping, argue quietly. Modern divorce rates have children feeling insecure and fearful  when they hear parents bickering. Eventually, children will learn to argue with each other and become a hot tempered person. Show them that when people disagree, they can discuss their differences peacefully. Most of the children will get disappointed when their parents gave empty promise. There are so many cases whereby children do not even believe a single word that their parents said because the parents never put those promises in heart. Please imagine the feeling when someone that you trust and admire most always gives you a false hope. How you need to react? All of you are adults so you may know how to deal with it but hold on, how about our little children? They can be so disappointed, helpless, frustrated and even fall into depression! Some may even become rebellious as they thinking the parents are keep giving excuses of unable to fulfill the promises and never concern about their feelings. So, parents, you should do as what you have promised! Lastly, every parent should accept the truth that everyone is not perfect. Dr. Sears also reminds parents that it is fine to be imperfect as long as you set a good example most of the time. You may did some mistake in bringing up your child. It is not an unforgiving mistake. Learn the lesson and apologise to your child if it is necessary. All in all, in any case, even the most effective parents cannot genetic traits or the outside environment. Trust your instincts as parents but don’t confuse effective parenting with perfection. Practice showing love and flexibility towards yourself, as well as towards your children. Before I end my speech, I would like to wish all the parents the best in this journey of parenthood. Thank you for listening. References Deborah Sendek. (2011). Physical Punishment Doesn’t help, It Hurts. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/09/opinion/sendek-corporal punishment/index.html Don’t Compare Your Kids to Others. Retrieved from http://mums.bodyandsoul.com.au/pregnancy+parenting/parenting+tips/dont+compare+your+kids+to+others,9385 Respecting and Giving Kids Their Privacy. Retrieved from http://www.more4kids.info/632/respecting-kids-privacy/

Building Engineering services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Building Engineering services - Essay Example With technologies like telecommunication, internet & video conferencing etc gaining presence the people across the world have become closer and interaction among them has increased. This has given companies from different countries access to a large talent pool, newer avenues and increased business opportunities. With business expansion also comes increased manpower and equipment and naturally the need for more buildings to house them. The last couple of decades has seen an unprecedented growth in the construction of residential and non-residential buildings across the world particularly in developing countries. The bigger the size of the building, more the number of building services and more the complexity of these services. With bigger the buildings the cost of deployment and maintenance increases and leads to high energy bills. So the emphasis naturally turns towards energy savings. Energy savings not only results in monetary savings to the company but also gives management the s atisfaction of doing their bit towards environmental protection. Typically, when a new building project is planned, the management may appoint one or many firms or individuals having specific skill sets. These include an Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Project Management Company (PMC), Service Consultants, Technology Consultants, Third Party Testing & Commissioning Agency etc. These can directly appointed by the management or the management can appoint an architect or PMC and they in turn appoint the rest. Either ways, Architect usually reigns supreme and is the fulcrum of the structure around which others work around. Generally, the plans and layouts are designed by the architect upon which the various service consultants design their respective systems. For example, the air conditioning consultant follows the interior designer in terms of deciding the duct sizing, location of the air handling unit etc. A lot of importance is given to the aesthetics of the building and

Osteoporosisa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Osteoporosisa - Essay Example As such, the cream will contribute remarkably in healing and prevent the spread of such controversial issue. It is from this undertaking that potential will be saved from long term dangers once they make use of the cream. Worth noting, this cream adds value to customers either affected or not affected. Although not all bones are movable, some bones like hip, shoulder, and others allow one to sit, move, and stand. Application of the cream allows for blood cell production since the bones remain healthy. This shows the value the cream adds to customers and boosts their ultimate feeling about health. Why this selection is critical is the importance of bones to the human body and survival. As previously stated, bones are crucial in human life. According to scientists, for a human being to be classified as normal, such person should have 206 bones, all which play a key role in the body. It is worth noting that human bones are not static and grow from time to time, during this growth, the cream will work positively towards ensuring that the health of such is guaranteed. Those with the belief that bones help to give the body is shape should understand that the role extends beyond that (37). With a brand that helps heal a critical disease and maintains the health of bones, every potential employer should note the impact I can add to the progress of their company. It is true that any disease associated to bones should be healed once noticed lest it becomes incurable and hence terminal. With this in mind, the employer must consider the reputation such a realization will add to their company from the speculative clients. Further, this is a cream that will go international making the company global. Lastly, with such a realization, it is possible to have other innovations as time goes

Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Smoking - Essay Example This paper describes three major facts associated with smoking in order to persuade smokers to get rid of their smoking habit. Amina Khan in her article, â€Å"Joe Paterno has lung cancer: What are the risks?†, published in Los Angeles Times on November 18, 2011, says the reasons for the lung cvancer caused to former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno has been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer recently. She has pointed out that Paterno has never been known as a smoker. In her opinion, â€Å"The most common risk factor for lung cancer is a history of smoking -- even if a patient quit decades earlier. Its not uncommon for patients to quit and think theyre no longer at risk† (Khan). Brizer (2003) has also mentioned the association of cancer with smoking. â€Å"German researchers proved the association of cancer with smoking† (Brizer, p.21). Even though smoking can cause different types of physical diseases such as heart attacks, cancers, cough etc, Lung cancer seems to be the most dangerous disease associated with smoking. It is estimated that tobacco contains more than 4,000 chemicals which may cause different types of diseases to the smoker and the secondary smoke breathers. Ammonia, arsenic, carbon monoxide, and benzene are some of the toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke. Out of these 4000 chemicals, 43 can cause cancer disease. In fact 86% of all deaths caused by smoking is due to lung cancer (Smoking Cessation). Seventy-seven percent (482) had a smoking history while 11.3% (71) were current smokers. The length of smoking cessation to cancer diagnosis was

Michael Jackson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Michael Jackson - Essay Example The last section forms concluding response to this problem. The method used is particularized examination of the literature together with the critical summarizing and personal inferences on the topic. Michael Joseph Jackson was also known as a King of Pop or the Icon of the Pop Music. This was considered to be an outstanding personality in the dimension of music in general and pop in particular. Strange stories together with personal and materialistic difficulties always occurred in his way. What was more, health problems with a constant pain remained to be a part of his life. A huge amount of hurdles chased him during his life; still, people always expressed admire and appreciation to Michael. He was a favourite for millions of people and idol for the entire world. Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in the common family of American workers (Borsboom, 2011, p.7). He was a black boy and a sevenths child in the family with strong rules and regulations. He always liked to perform since the early ages and tried to do it if some opportunities took place (Borsboom, 2011, p.11). At the age of 5 he started to perform at â€Å"a Christmas recital† in front of his classmates (Borsboom, 2011, p.11). This was a first try in his career as a singer and dancer. In 1964 Michael together with his brother Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers, and in a few years he started singing lead with his brother Jermaine in this band (Borsboom, 2011, p.11). His first serious performance on the professional scene was realized in 1968 when Michael appeared as a member of band that was called The Jackson 5 (Borsboom, 2011, p.11). That was an important step in his career as a vocalist and pop-singer, as it gave him the first serious experience and first essential lessons. It should be admitted that The Jackson 5 experienced a great fame in teenage people what was remained to be unusual in for African-American band (Borsboom, 2011, p.11). With

Pop Culture-one artifact Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pop Culture-one artifact - Essay Example There is one real leg of a person and a prosthetic limb with a message persisting that there are no original spare parts for the human body in the poster. The company uses logos to tell the people that the human body must always be under great care. It uses the words in the advertisement, as a form of logos to convey the message that people should be careful whilst engaging in dangerous activities. In this case, the company is insisting that drunk driving can result in an outrageous accident that can make individuals lose their body parts. There are no spare parts for the human body and thus people must avoid drunk-driving at all costs. The company uses pathos to capture the attention of audience by describing the potential dangers for drunk driving. The photo showing a person with one real human leg and a prosthetic limb seeks to imply the potential effects for drunk driving, and effectively portrays pathos. It is portraying the dangers a person is exposing himself or herself to, by driving while drunk. BMW uses the photo to show the prospect of losing a body part and recovery difficulty. The photo exhibits the jeopardy of drunk driving. The utilization of this image is supposed to initiate mental thoughts and conceptions among the audience regarding the fundamental effects of driving while drunk. By understanding the potential dangers, the audience is supposed to become thoughtful of drunk driving. The â€Å"BMW† logo at the right corner of the poster portrays the use of ethos. The company is an established car-manufacturer and the usage of the logo will win the trust of many people. It is likely that many people will consider reading the message and put it into practice because of the brand name â€Å"BMW†. The company is advertising itself for the sale of cars but at the same time using its brand to sensitize people against driving while drunk. This is a

E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

E-commerce - Essay Example In this essay, the author claims that E-commerce often is the electronic commerce, its a kind of business in which the sale of products and solutions or both companies executed about electronic devices including the Web and other home PC networks to further improve institutional general performance. The development of e-commerce has reformed corporation across nations. From when it had been released, companies have taken gain it to, enhance essay online service products, improve their marketplace share, grow profitability and scale down shipping and delivery time. E-commerce was basically non-existent in most parts within the world. In the 21st century, rapid development of information technology and the rapid increase in information exchange have brought new drives and innovative ideas to the whole society. The wide adoption of information technology by the community has led to great changes. These changes are not simply in the context of data processing. They are changes which affe ct how we communicate with each other, how we organize our daily activities, how we educate the younger generation, and how we run the business. The development and wide adoption of information technology, computer network, and the Internet have transformed the mode of operation of many businesses, and at the same time have brought along unprecedented business opportunities. Businesses are now able to conduct transactions across geographical boundaries. One of the best essays on e-commerce. Hurry up and get your highest-A potential work just now!

Evaluate PESTEL factors in Beatles store in London Essay

Evaluate PESTEL factors in Beatles store in London - Essay Example However, later, analysts decided to extend it and include the last two factors as well, giving rise to PESTEL. A PESTEL analysis essentially measures a market. It can be used in conducting marketing and business development related assessments, and can assist in the decision making process of an organization(Hall,2008). It must be noted that the Beatles’ store in London, is a real treat for all the diehard fans of the infamous UK based band called â€Å"the Beatles’ of the 1960s. A large range of memorabilia, ranging from clothing, bags, mugs, and magnets, to miniature guitars, drum kits, old and new records, various autographed items and figurines, everything Beatles related can be found at the store. The store is located at baker street, which was an area originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. To gain a better understanding, each factor must be broken down and each component needs to be analyzed separately. Political fac tors address the degree to which a government can intervene in an economy. These factors primarily include tariffs, tax policy, trade restrictions, provision of merit goods, restrictions on demerit goods etc(Middleton,2007). it may also include education, health and a nations infrastructure, all of which are greatly influenced by government intervention. One basic legal legislation that may hamper sales for the store is the decision of the government to impose a GST of 20% (increased from the initial 17.5%) in January 3 2011(Jones,1998). Economic factors include the basic economic ideals such as interest rate, exchange rates, inflation rates, unemployment rate and economic growth. These factors have a massive impact on a businesses operating activities. For example, the inflation rate can determine whether or not people will consume certain goods and services given their real incomes at current inflation rate. Economic conditions affect the feasibility of success and profit at any g iven time, as they have an impact on capital availability, demand and cost. If the demand is extremely high and coupled with low economic cost, it will be profitable for the firm to invest in such a business(Libecap, 1996). The kind of strategy implemented depends on the economic conditions prevailing at the time. If the economy as a whole, or certain sectors of the economy for that matter are expanding, products and services may have more expansive markets and higher demands than during recessionary times. If employment level is high and income levels in turn are high, people in general will demand more as they will have more money to spend in disposable terms. In relation to the store, the fact that the UK economy has just come out of the credit crunch may help in keeping intact the fear of the last economic recession that was not too long ago, which in turn may also hamper growth of sales for the store. Consumption growth has slowed down after the credit crunch of 2008-2009 and i s expected to grow by only 0.6% in 2011 and 1.3% in 2012. By 2015 growth is expected to increase by 2.3% if the government abides by its current economic policies and the spending is continuously financed by extra debt (REFERENCE:  Larry Elliott Economics editor, The Guardian, Monday 4 April 2011). However, this may be a reason to worry in the longer run as spending is financed as a result of economic policies through which

Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) Coursework

Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) - Coursework Example This paper illustrates that P.J is a young man living with his father in the countryside. His two brothers are living and working in New York. According to P.J, his living situation has not been very pleasant as stated in the â€Å"Health History and Screening†. He lacks company while at home and his father is alcoholic. His mother died when he was only 13 years of age. Two years later after this death, his younger sister passed away. All the above-stated health problems in the â€Å"situation† section have different genesis in origin and time. The problem of duodenal ulcers began in the year 2007 when the client was still in high school. The stomach problem started as a mild upset that later turned into the ulcer. He was put on medication for close to two weeks. The situation slightly improved but he still occasionally feels the ulcers to date. Food intolerance and allergy began in at the early stages of his childhood. The client cannot even remember when and how this problem started. He cannot comfortably eat red meat and milk since they give him severe stomach ache and nausea. When he was diagnosed with ulcers, he became intolerant to more foods such as beans, tea, oily food, green vegetables, sugary foods, spices and others that he could not recall. However, he has learned to assimilate some of these foods with time but the childhood food intolerance not gone away. Besides, he has not made any attempt to find the cure for the intolerance. He believes the intolerance helps him cut the cost of living by eating only a few simple meals. The problem of depression began when P.J was still in high school. As a child, he never knew what stress was, even though he grew up in a family of a humble background. His mother had just died when he was taken to a boarding school far away from home. It was while in school that he started to experience frequent stress and anxiety that led to a long-term depression. The urinary system problem, though not very seve re, started at the age of about 8 years. He could feel a burning sensation while urinating with a thin stream. However, this condition was not frequently felt.

Principles of Economics Essay Example for Free

Principles of Economics Essay Italy is one of industrial countries in the world in European. According to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (28 May 2009), Italy has two sections of economy; one is developed industrial north and less-developed with high unemployment in south. In 2008, the unemployment rate in Italy was estimated with 6. 8%, especially in agriculture. In the current financial crisis, many companies get stuck in financial difficulties so that they could not provide work and pay enough salary for employees. It leads to employees dismissal and workers become unemployment. In some other cases, people lose their jobs by their skills are not enough with work requirement and by many unpredictable reasons, namely natural calamity, earthquake, tsunami. Unemployment is one of the most popular problems in many countries all over the world. High unemployment rate makes bad influences on not only national economy but also living condition of citizens. People are willing to work but they can not find any job. They would have to reduce their demands so that productivity of firms also decreases. Unemployment also affects to some other factors such as health, education, insurance, etc. In many countries, the Government tries to control unemployment rate effectively. Because of unemployment situation, the Government has to spend more money on investing and purchasing goods and services made by firms to increase productivity in a short time. This section called Government expenditure or Government spending. The more the Government spends on firms, the better the company could be. Moreover, the Government also has to spend a huge amount of money on building schools, hospitals and improving traffic system per year. Especially, the Government would be in charge when there is any problem that influences civil living, such as poverty, communicative diseases, natural disasters and other social welfares for orphan children and old people. SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE: An earthquake in Italy. â€Å"Death in the mountains† The article is all about an earthquake happened in L’Aquila, Italy recently which caused at least 250 cases death; over 1,000 injured, a loss of 39 habitants of Onna single village and 13,000 buildings damaged, (included the historic and artistic monuments). Besides, there is 17,000 people became homeless and the number of those who are unable to return to their homes until having been inspected is perhaps as many as 70,000. These numbers show that Italy in general and its economy in particular is facing a big trouble. How does Italy deal with this? Mr Silvio Berlusconi, the Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy firstly announced a dispatch of 14,500 tents for the homeless after touring to the area and those people are being cared for by the government. He also decided to decline offers of foreign help despite the magnitude of the damage is daunting and the public debt is exceeding the annual GDP of Italy. Besides, he intended to tap European Union funds as well as spending some cash for the construction project as a response to the economic crisis. UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment is simply known as people who are at the work age but currently jobless, those who are able and willing to work but cannot find a job or those who quit their job or being fired for some reasons. High unemployment makes bad affect not only for the living condition of people but also for the national economy. There are two types of unemployment: †¢ Disequilibrium unemployment is which happens when the average real wage rate is higher than the point that equates the aggregate demand and the supply of labour. †¢ Equilibrium unemployment is which happens when there are people unable or unwilling to find jobs. Applying to Italy economy, according to Italica news, the unemployment rate in Italy is quite high, 7. 1 percent in quarter 4 of 2008. And as mentioned above, the recently earthquake brings Italy a big trouble that it killed people, destroyed their homes, work places, and thus, people suddenly become homeless, jobless. This not only affects to the living of people but also leads the economy of Italy into deep recession. Unemployment occurs. Italy case of unemployment is type of disequilibrium unemployment: the earthquake destroyed the work places, people obviously lose jobs, besides, when the buildings collapsed or are damaged, firms have to spend money on rebuild and repair things, thus there will be a cut back on production and on the number of labour (demand-deficient) and as a result, the number of unemployment goes high (supply is higher than demand), there is surplus of labour in Italy. Secondly, this case can also be considered as frictional unemployment (a type of equilibrium unemployment) because people are not voluntarily leave their jobs but they are made redundant and losing their work places. In addition, using the circular flow of income will help explain better how the earthquake affects the economy of Italy. When people become unemployment, they will tend to cut back their consumption (domestic consumption goods and service decreases), start saving, thus, the firms lower their productivity (national income decreases, net saving increase). The Government will decreases taxes (net taxes decrease), in contract, to rebuild things, the investment and government expenditure will increase. The export expenditure and import expenditure will decrease because earthquake affects a lot on the tourism of Italy as it destroyed many ancient structures of Italy and make this place a mess. (Y) (C) (I) (G) (X) (S) (T) (M) SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKES ON ITALY’S ECONOMY 1. Short-term effects †¢ Demand Curve P Supply curve shift P1 Equilibrium P2 New Equilibrium New demand curve Demand curve Q2 Q1 Q Actually, because of strongly earthquake destruction, citizens’ lives are affected. They live essentially base on grants and money that draw from the bank. The demand will decrease and curve shift to the left side so that make a new lower equilibrium. In this difficulty, the company cannot prevent the business because people don’t want to spend money. This change will make a worse effect to economic that still got lots of problem. †¢ Circular Flow of Income Corruption (I) (G) (X) (Y) (C) (S) (T) (M) Transfer Payments Corruption Properly, the earthquake effected directly and strongly to economy of Abruzzo region as well as GDP of Italy in 2009. Apply to the circular flow of income: Firstly, people lost their houses and properties so that the consumption of goods and services will decrease; after that the national income also decreases because firms were collapsed by the earthquake destruction and the demand is lower. Firms would produce less bring the price to higher. Secondly, the saving will decrease at the accidental region because people do not have so much money and increase in another places because the price is higher, people frequently save money. Due to the falling of demand, banks and investors will keep money, spend less into the investment. Thirdly, government expenditure must to spend a huge amount for rebuilding the infrastructure, namely public transportation, pipelines, and electricity. Moreover, the transfer payment is spent on unemployment, finding death and survivors under the ruins, relieving homeless people, providing drinks, food and medical treatments. After the earthquake, the firms fell down; many jobs lost; L’Aquila is the old city with famous architecture, the tourism is heavily affected so the taxation will decrease. Moreover, the corruption happened that make the circular flow of income become smaller and smaller and could be broken. To sum up, the circular of income is directly affected by earthquakes as well as natural disasters. The solution for that problem still has many barriers; Italy government and President Berlusconi must work totally hard. 2. Long-term effects. Earthquake directly affected certain macroeconomics variables include natural resources, physical capital, human capital and technology. Mostly, the negative impacts will be set on the short time, but positive influences also are classified permanently. First, the natural resources is destroyed that make bad impacts the economic depend on tourism like L’Aquila shortly, but in the long-term, it contribute new landscapes naturally in attracting people to come. Second, the physical capitals are collapsed and governments, investors will put money to build new ones fast and strongly replace the old. For example, President and parliament plan to build â€Å"British-style† new town in L’Aquila, make it more modern and ready to develop. The infrastructures will give people the jobs in building and fixing. It affects on human capital who are unemployment and poverty because of the disaster. Last, government will spend more to extend the forecast systems, make it become more accurate and faster in noticing the earthquakes. Definitely, negative or positive effects depend mostly on circumstances. With the high rank of corruptions, public debts and the downturn of national economy; Italy will make lots of efforts on turn round the development and increase % GDP. CORRUPTION: Corruption is a fact of life around the world, appears in all countries with low, medium or even high-income economy. Corruption leads to inequality, wasted resources and wasted public money. Corruption emerges one of the most serious problems within Italian economy besides high rate of unemployment and public debt, and it is related intimately with criminal organization known as mafia. There are some different types of corruption such as bribery, blackmail, tax evasion, official misconduct, etc. (Independent Commission Against Corruption. ) but within this work and the given case study we just mention corruption in Italian public works. Transparency International’s 2008 Bribe Payers’ Index found that public works/construction was the sector most vulnerable to corruption in emerging economies worldwide. It is really difficult to measure exactly the level of corruption in a specific country since the amount of money involved is not reported. All data used to estimate corruption in this work is based on the figure provided by Transparency International (TI), the global civil society organisation bills itself as a leader in fighting against corruption. TI uses CPI (Corruption Perception Index ) rank countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. The CPI draws on different polls and surveys from more than ten independent institutions, for example, World Bank/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Markets Research Centre, International Institute for Management Development and so on. Those surveys are also carried out among businesspeople and country analysts, including surveys of residents of countries. It is not the most accurate tool to measure corruption in any specific country but it is quite reliable. After the terrible earthquake on April 6, 2009, according to Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, Italy needs at least 12 billion euros to rebuild Abruzzo (News Source  © 2009 Reuters). However, with the quite high score in the 2008 CPI (4. 8 ), the government of Italy has to be cautious and consider carefully when pouring money into reconstructing Abruzzo unless they want to make another scandal Campania 1980, when some money was diverted to the Camorra, one of 3 biggest mafia organizations in Italy. When corruption exists, the money from transfer payment in circular flow of income will run out instead of injecting fully to households. The higher level of corruption is, the more money runs out that circular, causes the lesser supply of money in the whole economy and the government has to spend more money that would raise the public debt. If there is a corruption in the above project of Italy, the government will face the increase in public debt which exceeded Italy’s annual GDP already. And if the Italian Treasury were unable to find buyers for Italian sovereign bonds, Italy could default.

Process Leadership And Its Impact Leadership Essay

Process Leadership And Its Impact Leadership Essay Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to achieve an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership  knowledge  and  skills are called  Process Leadership. However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions which are called  Trait Leadership, in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made. Good leaders are  made  not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must  be, know,  and,  do.  These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills they are not resting on their success. Factors of Leadership Leader: You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. It is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. Followers: Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new recruit requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people. The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees be, know, and do attributes. Communication: You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you set the example that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees. Situation: All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. (Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leaders action than his or her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of leadership scholars think the Process Theory of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait Theory of Leadership). Various forces will affect these four factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your followers, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your organization is organized. (Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization (called Assigned Leadership), this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss (Rowe, 2007). Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals (called Emergent Leadership), rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007). Thus you get Assigned Leadership by your position and you display Emergent Leadership by influencing people to do grat things.) Be, Know and Do The basis of good leadership is honourable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organizations objectives and their well-being. Leaders should know (such as job, tasks, and human nature), what they are or be (such as beliefs and character) and do (such as implementing, motivating, and providing direction). This is what makes a person want to follow a leader. People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future. The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that: Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization. Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence: Helping employees understand the companys overall business strategy. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employees own division is doing relative to strategic business objectives. So in a nutshell you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go. Goals The goals and performance standards they establish. Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability. Values The values they establish for the organization. Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted. Concepts The business and people concepts they establish. Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business. These goals, values, and concepts make up the organizations personality or how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place. Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future In business, a vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive best case description of where you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction, sets priorities, and provides a marker, so that you can tell that youve achieved what you wanted to achieve.   To create a vision, leaders focus on an organizations  strengths  by using tools such as  Porters Five Forces,  PEST Analysis,  USP Analysis,  Core Competence Analysis  and  SWOT Analysis  to analyze their current situation. They think about how their industry is likely to evolve, and how their competitors are likely to behave. They look at how they can  innovate successfully, and shape their businesses and their strategies to succeed in future marketplaces. And they test their visions with appropriate market research, and by assessing key risks using techniques such as  Scenario Analysis. Therefore, leadership is proactive problem solving, looking ahead, and not being satisfied with things as they are. Once they have developed their visions, leaders must make them compelling and convincing. A  compelling vision  is one that people can see, feel, understand, and  embrace. Effective leaders provide a rich picture of what the future will look like when their visions have been realized. They tell stories, and explain their visions in ways that everyone can relate to.   Here, leadership combines the analytical side of the vision with the passion of shared values, creating something really meaningful to the people being led.   Motivating and Inspiring People A compelling vision provides the foundation for leadership. But its the leaders ability to motivate and inspire people that will help them deliver that vision.   For example, when you start a new project, you will probably have lots of enthusiasm for it, so its usually easy to support the projects leader at the beginning. However, it can be difficult to find ways to keep the vision alive and inspirational, after the initial enthusiasm fades, especially if the team or organization needs to make significant changes in the way that they do things. Leaders recognize this, and they work hard on an ongoing basis to connect their vision with peoples individual needs, goals, and aspirations.   One of the key ways they do this is through  Expectancy Theory. Effective leaders link together two different expectations: The expectation that hard work leads to good results. The expectation that good results lead to attractive rewards or incentives. This motivates people to work hard to achieve success, because they expect to enjoy rewards both intrinsic and extrinsic as a result.   Other approaches include restating the vision in terms of the benefits it will bring to the teams customers, and taking frequent opportunities to communicate the vision in an attractive and engaging way. Whats particularly helpful here is where leaders have  expert power. People admire and believe in these leaders because they are expert in what they do. They have credibility, and theyve earned the right to ask people to listen to them, and follow them. This makes it much easier for these leaders to motivate and inspire the people they lead. Leaders can also motivate and influence people through their natural charisma and appeal, and through other  sources of power, such as the power to pay bonuses or assign tasks to people. However, good leaders dont rely on these types of power to motivate and inspire others. Managing Delivery of the Vision This is the area of leadership that relates to  management. According to the  Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model, there is a time to tell, a time to sell, a time to participate, and a time to delegate. Knowing which approach you need to use, and when you need it, is key to effective leadership. Leaders must ensure that the work required to deliver the vision is properly managed either by themselves, or by a dedicated manager or team of managers to whom the leader delegates this responsibility and they need to ensure that their vision is delivered successfully.   To do this, team members need performance goals that are linked to the teams overall vision. Performance Management and KPI  (Key Performance Indicators) explains one way of doing this, and our  Project Management  section explains another. And, for day-to-day management of delivering the vision, the  Management By Wandering Around  (MBWA) approach will help to ensure that what should happen, really happens. Leaders also need to make sure they  manage change  effectively. This will ensure that any changes required to deliver the vision are implemented smoothly and thoroughly, with support and full backing from the majority of people affected. Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the Vision Individual and team development are important activities carried out by transformational leaders. To develop a team, leaders must first understand team dynamics. A leader will then ensure that team members have the necessary skills and abilities to do their job and achieve the vision. They do this by giving and receiving feedback  regularly, and by  training and coaching people to improve individual and team performance. Leadership also includes looking for  leadership potential  in others. By developing leadership skills within your team, you create an environment where you can continue success in the long term. And thats a true measure of great leadership. Seven Personal Qualities Found In A Good Leader A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader walks the talk and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. A good leader is confident. In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Such a person inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. A leader who conveys confidence towards the proposed objective inspires the best effort from team members. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanour. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head. A good leader, as well as keeping the main goal in focus, is able to think analytically. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. While keeping the goal in view, a good leader can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it. A good leader is committed to excellence. Second best does not lead to success. The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas. These seven personal characteristics are foundational to good leadership. Some characteristics may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader. However, each of these characteristics can also be developed and strengthened. A good leader whether they naturally possess these qualities or not, will be diligent to consistently develop and strengthen them in their leadership role. Roles ad Relationships Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about behaviour of any job sitting. Each role has a set of tasks and responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful effect on behaviour for several reasons, to include money being paid for the performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of accomplishment or challenge. Relationships are determined by a roles tasks. While some tasks are performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often, and towards what end. Also, normally the greater the interaction, the greater the liking is. This in turn leads to more frequent interaction. In human behaviour, its hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and friendship is a powerful reward. Many tasks and behaviours that are associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new task and behaviours are expected of the present role-holder because a strong relationship was developed in the past, either by that role-holder or a prior role holder. Conclusion What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future. When a person is deciding if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes, rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are. She uses this observation to tell if you are an honourable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image to their seniors at the expense of their workers. Good Business Leaders I refer to Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonalds Corporation: a leader driven by vision, but one willing to nurture talent and ideas not his own, a rare combination for an entrepreneur. Look beneath the Golden Arches and you will find a leader of near-irrepressible enthusiasm who discovered late in life what his true mission would be. At age fifty-two, Ray Kroc invested himself, and over the next few years nearly everything he owned, to fulfill his dream. For the first eight years, Ray Kroc didnt take one dime from McDonalds. He lived entirely on the modest salary he took from his milk-shake mixer business. The neglect of Kroc may perhaps be due to the fact that McDonalds is an ubiquitous presence (some would say too much so) on the American landscape. But that presence, some 25,000 restaurants strong around the world, never would have occurred without the drive, enthusiasm, will, and sheer optimism of a man who dreamed of a chain of restaurants coast to coast that would all serve the same food prepared the same way in the same restaurants in the same fast and friendly way. Once McDonalds become established, the world forgot Krocs humble origins and instead focused on his life as a multimillionaire e.g owner of the San Diego Padres and contributor to Nixons second re-election effort. Forgotten too was his leadership style, which to this day, is very applicable to anyone who dreams of starting a business, or managing it. Here are some of the principles Ray Kroc lived and led by. * Vision Once he had witnessed the McDonald brothers hamburger drive-in in San Bernardino, Kroc knew he had found what he was looking for: the opportunity to establish a nationwide chain of standardized, fast-food eateries. Today it seems obvious, but given the time, 1954, it seemed closer to fantasy. Friends of Kroc warned him that he was crazy to consider building a business on 15-cent hamburgers. It must be said that Kroc initially envisioned McDonalds as a opportunity to sell more Multi-mixers, but the more he investigated and the more he invested, he realized that McDonalds had the potential to rewrite the fast-food rule book and in the process establish the quick service restaurant business. * Conviction Theres almost nothing you cant accomplish if you set your mind to it he told a group of MBA students in 1976. And he lived those words. Kroc held fast to his dream of McDonalds restaurants. And furthermore to the idea that the restaurant concept would only succeed if everyone in the system operators, suppliers, corporate held to the same strict standards in food offerings, food preparation, food delivery, and service principles. * Flexibility As rigidly as Kroc held to strict standards in food preparation and service, he was open and eager for new ideas, chiefly from operators. New products like Big Mac and Egg McMuffin emerged from operators; Krocs attempts at new products the Hula Burger and a strawberry dessert, to name two were abject failures. Yet Kroc was smart enough to run with a good idea no matter who originated it. Thats leadership. * Cooperation Kroc built the McDonalds System on the simple, but fundamental philosophy, that everyone would profit or no one would. For this reason, he established a system that put operator profits first. Only by ensuring operator profitability would the system succeed. (In contrast to other franchisers of the time, Kroc charged no markup for supplies and equipment. He sold everything at cost.) He applied the same philosophy to his suppliers. This faith in letting others prosper first cost McDonalds dearly in the early years, but it paid off handsomely in the end. * Enthusiasm Ray Kroc loved the hamburger business. He could wax lyrically about the water content of french fries, or the curves of a hamburger bun. More so, he enjoyed talking up his restaurant business; it was his passion and his avocation. This kind of enthusiasm seems innate to many salespeople, and they need it in spades. Ardor for what they do steels them against the rejection that salespeople face on a daily basis. Kroc possessed so much enthusiasm; he was contagious. Since his enthusiasm was so infectious, he was able to attract so many of the right people to him. * Toleration of Dissent Many entrepreneurs live by the rule, my way or the highway. Not Kroc. His boldest move in this area was his hiring of Harry Sonneborn as his finance manager in 1956. As different as night and day, Kroc and Sonneborn formed a remarkable team. Where Sonneborn was taciturn and detail-driven, Kroc was outgoing and visionary. But without Sonneborn, McDonalds would never have survived. It was Sonneborns idea to establish the Franchise Realty Corporation, a real estate venture that enabled McDonalds Corporation to profit from the growth of the chain. Sonneborn and Kroc clashed constantly, but Kroc tolerated the dissent because he knew Sonneborn was good for the System. (Sadly, the two eventually parted, but it was well after Sonneborn was a multi-millionaire and had prospered from his ideas.) * Mentoring Salesman that he was, Ray Kroc had an eagle eye for talent. He plucked Fred Turner, the organizational mind behind the McDonalds operating system, from the ranks of potential operators. Kroc nurtured Turner as he did others; and in the process, built his business by selecting the right people at the right time. (It must be said that Kroc was sometimes arbitrary. In a fit of pique he might demand that man who didnt shine his shoes, or wore his hat incorrectly, be fired. Typically, the order would never be carried by Rays executive team who knew better. And in time, Kroc would forget the incident.) * Giving As generous as he was with advice, Kroc was generous with a dollar. After becoming a centi-millionaire several times over, he established a foundation to support his charitable efforts. Even before he was wealthy, McDonalds staged promotional events linked to local Chicago charities. To be certain, the original aim was publicity; but over time, Kroc and his team initiated a culture of giving that is alive and well today throughout the McDonalds System.(The Ronald McDonald House, which provides housing for relatives of children undergoing lengthy hospital stays, is one such example.) Of course, the point of giving is not to get something back, but rather to give something back; For leaders, giving helps create a culture where everyone in the organization becomes more outwardly focused in ways large and small that help benefit others. Kroc understood this principle and the organizations he built are a testament to it. * Optimism If ever there were the archetype of salesman whos always looking for a rainbow in a hailstorm, its Ray Kroc. I have always believed that each man makes his own happiness and is responsible for his own problems, so wrote Kroc in his autobiography, Grinding It Out. It was a philosophy that served him well. Faced with adversity throughout his life, he overcame much of it and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Curiously, Krocs original passion was music; he was a piano player in nightclubs. But since it was not the kind of lifestyle that appealed to his wife nor to Krocs own entrepreneurial aspirations Kroc gave it up for a career in sales. Still, he possessed the irrepressible optimism that come from someone who can break into a song to please a crowd. All of these traits contributed to Krocs leadership style, but perhaps the greatest was his ability to sell an idea. The reason he was so persuasive was not because he was a good storyteller (he was); a good socializer (he was); had a way with words (he did). No, the chief reason for his leadership was Kroc was able to sketch out his vision and have the listen participate in it with him. Whether Ray was talking about french fries, or the McDonalds System, he believed in absolute truth of what he was saying. His sense of conviction larded with plenty of optimism, dwarfed doubt and helped the listener participate in the dream with him. Most important, this vision also was predicated on the idea that the listener would benefit by sharing in the dream with Kroc that would enrich and ennoble all who shared it. Couple Krocs conviction with his overwhelming optimism and you have a leader of whom salesmen can be proud and from whom managers everywhere can learn. Julia Gillard looks set to become Australias first female prime minister after Kevin Rudds support within the party all but evaporates. JULIA Gillard has never suffered from a shortfall of self-confidence but, equally, she has never displayed the kind of naked ambition that defined Kevin Rudd before he got the job, either. The confidence was on display four years ago when she discussed leadership as a hypothetical and observed: I think people are over the kind of really highly managed, suited, white bread style politicians. I think people are looking for more than that and different to that and, you know, I think I am different to that. But the confidence evident on the ABCs Australian Story was always underpinned by self-discipline, patience and an absence of hubris. Advertisement: Story continues below Rudds impatience asserted itself in an intellectual arrogance that meant the reservoir of goodwill was low when the chips were down. Gillards more grounded demeanour is just one of the reasons the disaffected are willing to embrace her. The qualities that stamped her as a future leader are the ones that will be put to the test if, as now seems likely, she becomes the countrys first female prime minister. There is no more perfect parliamentary performer on Labors side than Gillard, and no one who is better placed to take on Tony Abbott. She can master a brief, communicate a message, demonstrate wit and go for the kill. There is also the tenacity that asserted itself when, before her career even began, she failed in three separate pre selection bids and again yesterday when she staked her claim. The qualities that some suspected would constrain her ambition being female, unmarried and from the left of the ALP will be of no consequence today. But the gamble Labor has taken in tearing down the leader who delivered them power before he has served a full term is difficult to comprehend. As a member of the Rudd kitchen cabinet, Gillard shares responsibility for virtually all the negatives of recent months the broken promises, the retreat on the emissions trading scheme, and the brawl with the miners over the proposed resource rent tax. She has also presided over the schools building program that has faced heavy criticism, especially in New South Wales. But the truth of it is that Rudds inability to recognise his failures and project a confidence that he is capable of changing persuaded the plotters to put the weight on Gillard. This is not the way Gillard, or those who believe in her leadership qualities, wanted her to become prime minister. This is clear from what she told this writer in 2006 If, in the dim and distant future well down the road the Labor leadership were vacant, I would think about it then. But its never been in my nature particularly having seen what happened with Simon [Crean] to believe its about destabilising leaders. But in politics, you dont get to choose, and she will find out soon enough whether she is what she believes the electorate is looking to embrace. Part B Workplace Frustrations Poor Communication This doesnt sound like a very nice position to be in and it does need addressing sooner rather than later; if so many of you are unhappy, the business will end up losing good members of staff through neglect. If you one member of senior management and have felt like you achieved nothing, dont let this make you lose confidence/faith in the rest of the senior management team. There will be someone who is willing to listen and help where possible. You should request to have a team meeting/operator discussion with a member of staff either on the same level as the person you spoke with before or higher. Even better would be two members of staff from this level, one from your direct line managers (perhaps a team leader) and then possibly your HR officer. This time, however, manager should stand up as an individual from the contact centre trying to be the voice for everyone else. This can often land you in trouble because even though youre trying to help people who darent speak up, the result can be that it looks like you and you alone who has an issue. So, you need to get a couple of people together that feel the same and ask if a team meeting can be held. For this meeting you will need to have the points you want to discuss ready along with some ideas of how you feel the problem can be eased or even rectified. Make sure your colleagues dont try and turn this meeting into a slanging match, keep it as a civil discussion between all attendees as the management are more likely to listen and pay attention this way. The good thing about going forward as team should be that the senior management will sit up and listen. If just one person makes a noise, they might assume that the problem isnt that big or even isnt really a problem at all. The more people moved to become involved, the more likely your managers will actually want to resolve your issues. It will also be more difficult for them to give you your marching orders as they would have to treat your colleagues in the same way. And what company wants to lose three, four or more conscientious, committed staff members? Office Politics and Lack of Teamwork Where office politics exist there is almost always a lack of teamwork, this two politics overlaps. Since someone has decided to get ahead by limiting cooperation or information sharing.   In fact, I think these are really the same issue.   Theres only one reason that teams or individuals within a company should fail to work together effectively, and thats when there are incentives to encourage them to do otherwise.   If a business is established to make the best use of its resources, and then builds walls and political machinations that make it less efficient, those failures have to be obvious to the people in control.   So office politics and a lack of teamwork are not just accepted but often implicitly condoned by a management team that cant create clear incentives to work together and seems more intent on creating competitive teams that excel by eliminating team work. These frustrations point to t

Internal And External Factors That Impact Organisational Business Essay

Internal And External Factors That Impact Organisational Business Essay Every company has an unique organisational culture. Its culture derives from its past, its present, its current people, technology and physical resources and from the aims, objectives and values of those who work in the organisation (Lynch 2003). In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the role that organisational culture plays in the formulation and implementation of firm strategies and in influencing the success of those strategies. According to Deal and Kennedy (1982) research, they also stated that organisational culture defines the success or failure of organisation. Therefore, it is important to understand culture in an organisation as to help organisational leader in making management decision and in achieving excellences strategy. It is necessary to view strategic management from a cultural perspective because successful organisational performance often rests upon the degree of support that strategies receive from the organisations culture (Hodge 1996). Organisational Culture Definition of Organisational culture and its importance to strategic management. When any group of people live and work together for any length of time, they form and share beliefs about what is right and proper. They establish behaviour patterns based on their beliefs, and their actions often become matters of habit which they follow routinely. These beliefs and ways of behaving create the culture of the organisation. Culture is a pattern of shared tacit assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid in organisation and it is necessary to be taught to new members as the correct way to think, perceive, and feel in relation to those problems that occur in many organisation today (Schein 2009). Culture also influences the selection of people for particular jobs, which in turn affects the way in which tasks are carried out and decisions are made in an organisation. With the word of organisation added to the definition of culture, it can be defined as the patterns of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during organisations history, and which tend to be manifested in the behaviours of its members (Brown 1998). Organisational culture is the taken-for-granted assumptions and behaviours that make sense of peoples organisational context and it contributes to how groups of people respond and behave in relation to issue they face. It means that culture has important influences on the development of organisational strategy. Strong organisational cultures are important strategic asset as it is the heart of all strategy creation and implementation. In the early 1980s, Berry (1983) mentioned that by using culture, organisations could become more strategically effective. In order to support this statement, the popular global online book-seller known as amazon.com, used their culture which described as intensely customer-focused to drives their organisational strategy creation by focusing more on intensive training of each individual employee as these could reinforce the culture. As the result of using their culture and become more strategically effective, todays amazon.com has become one of the most successful online shop worldwide (Bezos 2007). Moreover, an effective strategic leader should understand and shape the culture of organisation in order that vision can be pursued and intended strategic implemented. This is something that leaders of Apple Inc. have applied, by leveraging their culture of innovation toward product as well as internal processes; they have been able to survive among their competitors as well as venture into new and profitable markets. In fact that in third quarter of 2012, Apple Inc. has made more than $35 billion revenue as this determine their success in technology industry (Fekete 2001). Moreover, organisational culture is dependent on the leadership such as particular individuals. For example, organisational culture of the body shop company is b ased on the commitment of their founder, Anita Roddick, to produce only environmentally friendly products (McGuire 2009). Through her commitment, nowadays The Body Shop has grown and prospers to become large and international businesses. From all examples above, it shows us the connection between culture and strategy of an organisation is necessary in order to understand roles of culture that affect the creation and implementation of strategy in an organisation. Key characteristics of culture in an organisation. There are some key characteristics of culture in an organisation. Firstly, culture can be shaped by people as employees personality and experience create the culture of an organisation. For example, if most of employees are very outgoing, the culture in the organisation likely to be open and sociable. The other characteristics are culture is negotiated; this is because culture cannot be created by only individual person. Employees must try to change the work environment, the direction, the way work is performed, or the manner in which decisions are made within the general norms of the workplace. Its difficulty to change is another characteristic of organisational culture (Heathfield 2012). Changing in culture require people to change their behaviours. It is often hard for people to unlearn their old way of doing things, and to start performing the new behaviours consistently. It takes time and effort to change the culture in an organisation especially in firms with strong culture. Ol der strong culture organisations have established stories, use symbols, conduct rituals and even use their own language. In this type of strong culture organisations, the core values are widely shared, respected and protected. However, according to Beamish (2008) research, he argued that culture is not static. He mentioned although a strong culture is extremely resistant to change but culture is not static. Once a culture is established in an organisation, it tends to be reinforced by the types of leaders chosen, by the selection, induction and training processes, by the systems, procedures and structures, and by the statements and communications of senior leaders about the way things are done around organisation. In addition, overtime, the environment changes, new technologies develop, new social norms occur, and new competitors emerge, cultures will evolve to match these developments (Beamish 2008). For example, as new technology developed, CEO of General Electronic (GE), Jack Wel ch develop new strategy calledGrowYourBusiness.com, aimed at getting the various businesses to embrace electronic commerce as the new way of doing business and this had a significant effect on the required culture (McGuire and Rhodes 1999). Benefits of electronic commerce are cost saving, provide faster answers for customers and offer more interesting assignments for employees. Nowadays most of GEs customers are using web to track orders, sometimes right to the location of a delivery van and instantly getting details of products. The last characteristics of organizational culture is more than one culture might which means that two or more subcultures might exist in same organisation. However, most of the researchers assume that there should be a single culture for the organisation (Stanford 2010). It might be true for small or extremely focused or geographically concentrated organisations, but for organisations with a broad range of products, customers and geographical locations, se parate subcultures are necessary. For examples, the China operation of a multinational manufacturer seeking low-cost production will have quite a different culture from its sales and marketing operation in Singapore and Australia, where the company is trying to present an up-market image. Therefore it is important for an organisation to have appropriate cultures in each unit and to be able to coordinate these cultures for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. Internal and external factors that impact organisational culture. Organisational culture is subjective by several factors which affect its development, performance and growth. Organisational culture originates and keeps evolving from the dynamics of the interaction between internal and external factors (Wilson and Bates 2003). Internal factors consist of organisations values, leadership style and structure (Kwamme 2010). Values in an organisation determine the inner culture of each individual employee. Moreover, managerial focus and leadership style has known as the contributor of shaping organisational culture as it could preserve an innovative and creative culture in an organisation. Healthy organisational structure includes procedures, expectations and policies are likely for employee to be motivated, more efficient and creative that could influence the culture in an organisation. On the other, external factors that affect organisational culture, includes business relationships, technology, laws and policies (Kwamme 2010). Business relationships have a great impact on employees behaviour and the culture in an organisation. For instance, if an organisation has association with a further business and that business is based on high prospects, staff may react in their working as the reason of those high prospects. As the result of todays technology advancement, it could lead to changing in culture of an organisation particularly with an increasing interaction between human and machine. Furthermore, technological creating competitive organisational culture as it reduces face-to-face interaction between human. Lastly, organisational regulations, policies and external work related acts significantly influences organisational culture, for example employee who work in organisation that performs a strict work to rule policy, they exhibit characteristics such as do things as they are told, less passionate about their job and refuse to be creative, thus it could directly change the whole culture in an organisation. This combination of internal and external factors will influence the organisations culture and have an effect on interpersonal relations. What is important is to be aware of it and to take account of how plans to develop the organisation may be affected by and affect its culture (Wilson and Bates 2003). Organisational cultures and organisations performance Studies of Peter and Waterman (1982) stated that high-performance organisations usually have strong organisational culture. A strong culture will help to align the elements required for effective implementation. Each organisation in same industry requires different business strategies. Different strategies require different cultures. Clearly, the culture of the organisation needs to be matched to the business strategy of the organisation. The issue is to align the culture with the strategy, not to seek some ideal culture. There are some views on the relationship between organisational cultures on organisations performance. The most common one known as strong-culture thesis, that assumed the commitment of employees and managers to the same set of values, beliefs and norms will have positive results that directly correlated with the level of profits in a company (Dess 2008). It is possible that success brings about a common set of orientations, beliefs and values. This culture may be m ore than just a by-product of high performances, but values and meanings may reproduce a successful organisation and thus contribute to performances. Since the cultural values are observable and measurable, it can be compared directly between organisations, employees and organisational performance. Recently, employee engagement has become a key measure of peoples commitment to the organisational culture and high scores have been linked to high organisational performance. For example, Italian eye ware and eye care company Luxottica improved its employee engagement and achieved improved performance. This company found that employees in its Australian and New Zealand operation of total 6500 people were disengaged and 56% of them did not understand the business strategy. However after employee engagement program was constructed which include understanding the culture of the organisation, Luxottica has achieved 15% of improvement in engagement, 30% reduction in recruitment costs and an 8 % reduction in turnover (Story 2009). Many business leaders are convinced that culture does have a substantial influence on performance. Therefore, when an organisation performs consistently at their capability, the outcome is not only improved strategic success but also an organisational culture permeated with a spirit of high organisational performance. Organisational culture influence on strategy Because of its crucial role in organisation performance, it is necessary to examine the relationship between culture and strategy because chance of success will be higher if there is a close incident fit between culture and strategy. Organisational cultures should be accompanied by any changes in strategy of organisation; otherwise the strategy is probably failed. In other hand, if supportive cultural arrangement is supported by right strategy, most likely the strategy will be succeeding (Montanari, Morgan and Bracker 1990). The taken-for-granted nature of culture makes it centrally important in relation to strategy and the management of strategy. George Davis (2010), the founder of clothing retailers Next and GIVe, sees culture as central to management. He added that culture is the thing that makes us do things and stops us doing things. There are benefits in the taken-for-granted nature of culture. Josephine Dumont (2010) supported this view and stated that because of all employees take as given the way the firm operates, it reduces the need for constant supervision. The stronger the fit between culture and strategy, the less managers have to depend on policies, rules and procedures, which means that lesser supervision needed to enforce what people should and should not do. There are then benefits to the taken-for-granted aspect of culture. Moreover, a positive culture might influence in achieving strategy in an organisation. For example, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is the second largest financial institution in the world which comprises of more than 10,000 offices in eighty countries. HSBC has their own unique and effective culture as part of its strategic management. One of the known practices within the HSBC organisational culture is its regard for work-ethic endorsement. This practice involves the careful screening of employees with the necessary skills and high potential for improvement. Through this culture, the HSBC are able to cr eate an effective workforce that is determined to succeed and is highly committed to work. It believes that when employees are highly committed with their job and always do their very best, it could help in achieving strategy and plan in an organisation. Business strategies of HSBC are to increase revenue growth, developing brand strategy further, improving productivity and maintaining the companys prudent risk management and strong financial position (HSBC 2011). According to appendix 1, it shows the effect of culture in an organisation to strategy development. In the situation of declining performance of an organisation, managers or leaders need to improve the implementation of existing strategy such as trying to lower cost, improve efficiency, tighten controls or improve accepted way of doing things. If this not effective, a change of strategy may occur, however change in line with the existing culture. For example, when there are attempts to change highly bureaucratic organisations to be customer-oriented so there is a need to change a cultures of an organisation. However, some employees do not readily to accept the cultural change in an organisation as they are used to the culture they had before. People prefer the familiar and typical culture as to minimise uncertainty or ambiguity in the organisation. The connection between success and culture may seem obvious as successful business is the result of successful execution of a good strategy, and therefore culture is all about execution (Stanford 2010). Strategy can be effectively implemented only when an organisations culture is both strong (consistent) and healthy (employees are engaged and committed, customers are satisfied and other stakeholders are included in organisational discussions). Appendix 2 summarises the link between the two through the case of Southern Airlines. They believe that the link between strategy and its culture are the one of the reasons that makes this organisation become successful. The culture in an organisation is strong as there is consistency of what people see, hear and feel about it and employees are clear of how things are done and are willing and able to help the airline achieve its goals. Furthermore, their business strategy is good includes stretching and addressing short-term and longer-term goa ls and they are clearly articulated. As the result of the strong culture and good strategy, Southern Airlines has reached their business success in airline industry. The CEO of Southeast Airline, Gary Kelly (2009) added that strong culture contributes to business success and is instrumental in some of the strategic decision of the organisation. Organisational Culture and Strategic Decision Nowadays, terms of strategic is used more often in its broader sense, including strategic decision. There are some important key elements of strategic decisions that are related primarily to the organisations ability to add value and compete in market place (Lynch 2003). This include making sustainable decisions that can be maintained over time, it must be able to delivers sustainable competitive advantages over its actual or potential competitors, it has to exploit the many linkages that exist between the organisation and its environment and lastly it must have the ability to move the organisation forward a significant way beyond the current environment. Therefore, it is the responsibility of strategic decision maker to reach and maintain key elements of good strategic decision to an organisation. It is important to a strategic decision maker to make decisions by considering the different cultures, agencies, agendas, personalities and desires in an organisation (Guillot 2003). Strat egic decision makers must not only be aware of the culture within an organisation, but they must also work to shape an organisations culture to help achieve its objectives. If an organisation needs to improve the publics perception of its customer service, then strategic decision makers must steer the organizations culture so it promotes or encourages high achievement in customer service activities. Changing an organisations culture helps guard against unethical or illegal behaviour by members of the organization. Organisational culture directly affects how the members of the organisation view and interact with the environment the organisation operates in, including their interactions with the general public. For example, Howard Levin, President and CEO of Digicon Electronics, he took the time to understand the company as an organisation and he even undertook the benchmarking the companys culture against companies with reportedly effective business culture and not just in that indus try. Every operational improvement and new strategic decisions he undertook was linked to the new culture that he was building for the company. He was determined that the company would have a culture that would support enlightened leadership. Over time, the student of culture became the teacher as Digicon became an industry leader (Want 2006). Conclusion In conclusion, this academic essay has explored the role of culture in the overall scheme of organisation in terms of strategic management. An organisational culture is observable and powerful force in organizational that can influence the development and change of organizational strategy. Culture and strategic management of the organisation are closely tied together. Adjustment in one often signals the need for changes in the other. Therefore, strategic system approach emphasizes the need for alignment between culture and all other aspects of the organisation. It is important for organisation to have creative and learning organization in order to improve companys efficiency and effectiveness, as well as being the source of inspiration on changing and improving organisation. Moreover, it is a power and beneficial potential when culture and organisations performance well integrated in a set of effective values, beliefs and behaviours with the purpose of achieving organisations systems since cultural values are observable and measureable through stakeholders (organization, employees and organizational performance). In addition, a chance of success will be higher in organization if there is a close incident fit between culture and strategy. When culture has clear values, beliefs and behaviours and it connects to the vision, objectives and strategic, it will encourage to the right behaviours and actions on supporting the strategy. Therefore, with understanding of organisational culture, strategic leader will be able to make a wiser decision by means adapting with external environment on strategy formulation and encourage and leads his/her people on strategy implementation.