Bribery & International Monetary Fund

The end of twentieth century and the beginning of new millenium have seen the emergence of bribery from a predominantly political, national or regional concern to an issue receiving global attention. In 1996, the leadership of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) publicly denounced bribery and corruption as an obstacle to economic growth and development.Both institutions vowed to focus on the role of governance in growth and development and to give greater priority to combating bribery in their own programs. That same year, the Organization of American States (OAS) approved the Inter-American Convention against Corruption while the United Nations General Assembly called on member states to â€Å"take effective and concrete action to com ¬bat all forms of corruption, bribery and related illicit practices in international commercial transactions† (Elliot, 2).Elliot defines bribery as â€Å"practice by which an individual who can take decision or action on behalf of others by virtue of his authority or position is influenced by paying or offering monetary benefits for influencing him to take an action or decision which he would not have done otherwise† (Elliot, 4). As a result of the resurgence of interest in bribery as a major global issue, there has emerged a considerable research effort devoted towards detemiining the causes, costs, and consequences of bribery.From the macroeconomic perspective the literature for the most part has focused on the impact of bribery on investment, growth and development, in its analysis of the consequences of bribery. For example, Shleifer and Vishny argue that bribery impedes development and lowers economic growth by discouraging productive investment while Mauro provides tentative empirical evidence for this negative impact of bribery on investment and growth (Shleifer and Vishny, 601, Mauro, 683).There is considerable evidence to indicate that bribery and corruption are common in foreign trad e. The payment of bribes by firms and the receipt of bribes by public officials in the procurement and award of export contracts is a standard business practice in foreign trade. As a high-ranking corporate official has noted, â€Å"All of us involved in international business are aware that certain payments to government officials are quite common and an accepted method of doing business in many parts of the world† (Basche, 2).The US Department of Commerce, National Export Strategy Report (1996), states that since mid-1994, â€Å"we have learned of significant allegations of bribery by foreign firms in 139 international commercial contracts valued at $64 billion†¦Bribery continues to be pivotal in many export competitions, with the bribing companies still winning an estimated 80 percent of the contract decisions† (Tanzi, 363). From practical perspective, bribery manifests in a variety of forms. The bribe need not always be a monetary payment. There are more subtl e forms of bribery such as â€Å"entertain ¬ment expenses†, gifts in kind or gifts of services.The bribe to influence a favorable decision could be the provision of a â€Å"rent-free villa on the French Riviera or an expense-free weekend in Las Vegas† (Jacoby et al, 28). It could be a gift of a house or property or it could be the financing of a relative's education in the university. In addition to such payments, contacts and networks estab ¬lished though ethnic or language links or past dealings may also play a part in influencing the decision to award export contracts. Moreover, the bribe paid in order to obtain an export contract is sometimes regarded as a fixed cost of doing business overseas.Corruption on the federal level is a pervasive and universal phenomenon. It is a rare industry that has not been tainted by a corruption scandal involving the payment or receipt of bribes in the procurement or award of trade contracts. Incidence of bribery has spanned a n umber of industries, ranging from the aircraft, pharmaceutical, machinery and equipment, and chemicals industries to electronics. For instance, a byproduct of the Watergate investigation of the 1970s was the discovery by the Special Prosecutor that US companies were involved in making illegal contributions of corporate funds to domestic political campaigns.This led the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate these corporations to determine if there had been a violation of federal se ¬curities laws. The SEC investigation revealed a number of corrupt practices including the payment of bribes to foreign officials in order to secure business abroad. Over 400 US compa ¬nies, including 117 of the Fortune 500 companies, were disclosed to have made questionable or illicit foreign payments in excess of $300 million (Sheffet, 290). One of the more prominent investiga ¬tions centered around Lockheed Aircraft.The SEC found that Lockheed had paid millions of dollars in bribes t o high-ranking foreign officials in order to secure aircraft export contracts. Other firms involved in the disclosure of questionable payments associated with export sales were Johnson & Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive Co. , Pfizer Inc. , American Home Products, and others. It was such disclosures that prompted the US Congress to enact the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) which outlaws the bribery of foreign government officials by US firms in order to obtain or maintain business abroad.On a state level corrupt state government is more likely to be involved in transactions that are more personally lucrative rather than those that are more profitable for the state (Shleifer and Vishny, 614-615). In other words, corrupt state officials tend to spend the state budget on sectors which have more bribery and bring more personal gain to them than sectors which have less bribery and less beneficial to them (Shleifer and Vishny, 615).As a result, state can even change â€Å"an invest ment away from the highest value projects, such as health and education, into potentially useless projects, such as unnecessary infrastructure† (Shleifer and Vishny, 616). Shleifer and Vishny point out that this tendency of corrupt state government suggests that many corrupt bodies of power spend more on defense and security than on public services and interests such as education since the former allows larger opportunities of bribery.Thus, according to these researchers analysis, corruption shifts an investment from public services to construction contracts; as a result, corruption reduces spending on education, healthcare and other social projects. WORKS CITED Basche, James R. Jr. , Unusual Foreign Payments: A Survey of the Policies and Practices of U. S. Companies, New York, 1976 Elliot, Kimberly Ann, (ed. ) Corruption and the Global Economy, Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 1997 Mauro, Paolo, â€Å"Corruption and Growth,† Quarterly Journal of E conomics, Vol.110, No. 3, p. 681-711, August 1995. Sheffet, Mary Jane, â€Å"The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988: Did They Change Corporate Behavior? † Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Vol. 14. No. 2, p. 290-300, Fall 1995 Shleifer, Andrei, and Robert W. Vishny. â€Å"Corruption. † The Quarterly Journal of Economics 198(3): 599-617, 1993 Tanzi, Vito, â€Å"Corruption around the World: Causes, Consequences, Scope and Cures,† IMF Staff Papers, Vol. 45. No. 4, p. 559-94, D

Mark Twain Essay

The possession and safeguarding of empire on distant lands by a nation is called Imperialism. The term was familiar to the Americans only during mid nineteenth century. Mark Twain expressed his attitudes against imperialism in many of his works and also declared it in harsh words. â€Å"I am an anti imperialist†, I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land†. Later he became the vice-president of Anti-Imperialist League. The protagonist Hang Morgan in ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, was brought back to sixth century England which was a time of extensive political, economic and social problems. The superstitions and fear of supernatural forces oppressed the lives of ordinary people. There he became ‘The Boss’ through his little scientific knowledge. The Camelot is not a place of strange social setting to the protagonist, but he failed to see what was happening beyond his suggestions. Edmund Reiss (in his afterward to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) quotes Twain as having said â€Å"This Yankee of mine has neither the refinement nor weakness of a college education. He is a perfect ignoramus†. The problem of imperialism is well extracted through the single character, Hank Morgan. Hank succeeded in bringing advancement to the people and society through technology and science. Clarence is a typical six century youth, who later en suite himself to nineteenth century. The process was against what happened in Hank, who now wishes to be in the past, with Sandy. Through the depiction of the two characters itself, Twain tries to unravel the positive and negative aspects of imperialism. Through the massacre at the end of the story and Merlin’s victory, Twain reminds the readers about men’s need of having faith in supernatural powers. References Twain Mark. ( 1889) . A Pen Warmed Up in Hell, Harper and Brothers, USA Twain Mark. (1889),A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Harper & Brothers, USA .

Consumer behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Consumer behaviour - Essay Example In this regard, the firms will formulate a marketing mix that reaps maximum benefits given the diverse market environment and the organizations resources (Lewis and Sappington, 1994). This brings to the fore certain marketing strategies like segmentation, targeting, and market positioning. This paper will seek to establish whether the marketplace can be inclusive to all consumers. Moreover, this paper will try to establish whether the market should be inclusive to all customers. This paper will focus on the fashion world in order to draw meaningful insights on the aspect of inclusivity and exclusivity of the marketplace. It is important to note that the scope of this study will be on the inclusivity and exclusivity of consumers within the fashion market place. Other markets will therefore not be focused on due to the dimension that this paper will take. The fashion market is a diverse and dynamic field that is constantly changing to accommodate the dynamic tastes, preferences, and needs of the clientele (Johnson and Myatt 2006). Players in this industry have to be abreast with the new trends as well as new emerging markets. This kind of reactiveness makes these firms to remain relevant in the fashion industry (Doeringer & Crean, 2006, p. 54). It is imperative to note that, the participants in the fashion industry have their own predetermined market. The goods that they produce are meant to serve a particular set of consumers. These firms rend to identify a niche and work to satisfy all the specifications that are required in that niche market (Dalgic, 1998, p. 4). In this regard, the success of a certain product in this niche market is because of the desires, wishes, or needs of a liberated customer and the consequence of marketers’ compulsion over an isolated individual. The advantages of adapting niche marketing entailed g rowth prospects, value formation and apparent value, revenues, augmented sales, prices and marketplace stakes, client

Liberal Democracies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Liberal Democracies - Essay Example People themselves do not form an individual identity. If it really so happens, there will be chaos and disorder everywhere. Everyone as 'people' and people's representative will have to form a smaller network or group to act like a "Vanguard" of the people interacting one with another as committed members of the so-called democratic government and State. Democracy inherently is self-defeating in effect. Democracy just cannot be there in its full and complete form - where no one exploits one's co-citizen; fulsome equal opportunities are there for each and every human being; dignity, self-respect and freedom for each individual at all levels of a social and political system are readily available; and where Prime Minister of United Kingdom and President of United States can freely roam amongst their citizens and electorates. Democracy is not just freedom of expression and partial right to life. It also involves justice to each and every individual. These imperatives of a liberal democracy in particular do not appear to exist in any of the modern liberal democracies in the world. Liberal democracies are becoming dominance of one person, group or system over another. Electoral politics is further helping divide people through racism, ethnicity, culture and language and sex etc. These forces function like an Italian Mafioso or 'God Fathers' working through their 'clout' way up upon the political ladder ahead. Media and information technology are fur... P Snow's 'corridors of power' in a very effective and subtle fashion quite like power brokers in politics. This is how an inner mafia networking is taking place in every democracy in the world. Media, political leaders and Industrialist are the top actors for evolving an Ariadnae's Thread all around the people to bring them into their fold or web of so-called 'democracy'. As such, democracy is becoming a way to lure people through 'glittering media', 'political promises' and 'money power' - away from vicissitudes of people's routine difficulties and stresses of daily life. This is not democracy. Quite a few select people use and abuse power at the cost of billions and billions of people. Democracies, dictatorships and fundamentalists alike are churning out terrorists today. What else is all this other than an attempt to bring about disorders after disorders in the larger social and political ethos Security of common citizens is also not assured. People cannot rule by themselves. Their leaders - all the Prime Minister's men - rule the roost. It is the people who suffer the most. State Force In view of terrorism emerging as a global threat to apparently more peaceful democratic part of the world, State as an institution and protector of democratic regimes is emerging as ever more forceful and intensely violent variable and actor. The question of security of State is being given the top most priority specially to plunge in the 'war on terrorism' on a fuller and more massive scale. This increasing aggressiveness of the State is resulting in a great and continuous threat to established traditions of democracy - even in such States like United States and United Kingdom. These aspects of violence and 'State Terrorism' are all spoiling various democratic norms

Corporate Social responsibility assignment Essay

Corporate Social responsibility assignment - Essay Example Triple Bottom Line Triple bottom line is a system that operates to ensure that corporate social responsibility is seen as a formal and an essential aspect of business entities. This is because it formalises the process of corporate social responsibilities and ensures that social responsibilities is included in an organisation at the strategic level. Triple bottom line is â€Å"... the necessity for a corporation to disclose information about its social and environmental performance in growing† (Sridhar and Jones, 2013 p92). This is because triple bottom line creates a situation where the environmental and social aspects of a business is carried out in a way that is appropriate and leads to the best interest for all entities. And more importantly, environmental and social matters are audited and accounted for through the triple bottom line system. This is because it integrates these two aspects into the business and the firm will not have to only care about profitability and ma king money for the shareholders but also, other stakeholders and provide valid evidence of how they are seeking and working towards the attainment of stakeholder interests. Triple bottom line involves the identification of sustainable corporate performance by integrating systems to attain and account for three aspects of a business: 1. Financial 2. Social and 3. Environmental (Fauzi et al, 2010). This is because triple bottom line provides a system to get an organisation to look beyond just financial reporting and financial targets. This is because it integrates the elements of sustainability into corporate reporting. In order to attain the standards of triple bottom line, a firm would have to set up a system for corporate financial, social and environmental strategy and reports (Jamali, 2006). This will ensure that an organisation will be able to integrate other important pointers of corporate social responsibility and report it and monitor it for a year-on-year improvement. Carol and Buchholtz (2012) identify that triple bottom line is a requirement for corporate control and corporate governance that focuses on stakeholders and other entities. This is because it involves setting goals in areas and aspects that affects other stakeholders and make it imperative for corporate entities to work towards the attainment of results over a broader scope than the traditional method. In the opening discussions of Carol and Buchholtz, they spell out that from the period of modern business after the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s, firms and businesses focused excessively on the profit motive and sought to provide the best interests of the owners of the business only (2012). However, the growth of the Post-Second World War global order has sought to preserve the rights of individuals and other third parties and prevent the attainment of profits at the expense of other people who are connected to or affected by the business. Hence, the triple bottom line approach integrates the needs of stakeholders by ensuring that the needs of the society and the wider environment is integrated into the organisation and the organisation must demonstrate a strong tendency to protect the wider environment through sustainable practices and targets and also protect the environment. This is meant to promote the needs and expectations of other stakeholders, not just shareholders. Jackson et al

Municipal Budgtes Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Municipal Budgtes - Speech or Presentation Example Main types are line – item and program budgets (NACSLB 37). Thus, neither budgeting method is perfect as each serves a different purpose: such as performance maximization or objective – activity alignment. A perfect budget should satisfy twelve principles. As indicated in the definition of the budget process, these principles are creation of goals based on stakeholder analysis, their implementation, including efficiency analysis and adjustments (NACSLB, 1999, p.5). The first type is line – item budget. This approach arose at the beginning of the 20th century (Tyer & Willand). It lists categories of expenses, such as â€Å"personnel, operating and capital expenses† (Tyer & Willand). Incremental approach belongs to this type as well. In this approach, previous year’s budget is adjusted for legislative changes, price, wage inflation and any other change that might take place in the new fiscal year (Northern Ireland Assembly 5). Since changes take place on a marginal basis in comparison to the last year’s levels, the base, this method is called incremental budgeting (Northern Ireland Assembly 5). This method saves time and resources. ... Incremental budgeting method is based on negotiations and compromise (Northern Ireland Assembly 5). Wages and allocations of resources are negotiated, and oftentimes based on political decisions. As a result, this type of budgeting is efficient only if the political system is stable and transparent (Northern Ireland Assembly 5). Otherwise, the budget will favor few at the expense of the majority. Moreover, this method has several disadvantages. The first disadvantage is the fact that this method is backward looking since it is based on a previous year’s budget. As a result, it does not make adjustments for unexpected changes. Moreover, performance is hard to evaluate in this method, as it is based on compromise rather than standards such as cost minimization. Thus, data tend to be outdated, inconsistent with new priorities and say nothing about efficiency (O’Connor 2). Though still used even in some fire departments, such as the Muscatine Fire Department, efficiency mea surement capabilities of other methods make it an unattractive option (O’Connor 2). In response to line – item budget disadvantages, performance budgets were established in the 1950’s (Tyer & Willand). Such budgets emphasize activities, rather than items paid, and focus on connecting performance with allocation of resources (Tyer & Willand). As a result, each such budget must contain information on inputs, output, productivity or efficiency, and level of objective implementation, e.g. number of miles to be swept during the fiscal year (Morgan 6). Before budget design, objectives and measurement tools must be set up to evaluate each proposed activity. After

Mental health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mental health - Essay Example Due to this broad concept of mental health there have been a set of studies but a number of writers out of which some are supporting each other and some are contradictory. Mental health has been studies in the different form it gets manifested and with different factors that either directly or indirectly influence mental health. These studies have focused on different influential factors from the society, personal, and cultural components of a living being. We will be focusing on the work done by four writers Pedersen, Patterson, Weinrach, and Speight. All these writers have written a number of articles which are presenting different views. Weinrach and speight say â€Å"Although racial discrimination exists, both within and outside of the counseling context, the Competencies do little to combat it. In fact, the Competencies actually promote viewing persons primarily as members of specific racial and ethnic groups. The Competencies exist at a symbolic and an applied level. Significa nt problems exist for mental health counselors at both of these levels. The Competencies greatest flaw is their preoccupation with perceived deficits in clients, the counseling profession, and American society. It is virtually impossible to separate the content of the Competencies from the political process that has surrounded efforts to promote their universal adoption† (Weinrach and Thomass 2004). Most of their work is focused on multicultural counseling and mental development and also the impact of one’s competencies and mental development secondary to that. This in conclusion means that culture has a major role to play in mental development though competencies might do the same but not as efficiently as multicultural counseling. â€Å"At the macro level, individuals and families are the target and the mental health practitioners derive their

Sustainable Hospitality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sustainable Hospitality Management - Essay Example Under such circumstances, the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be conducted at New Delhi, just few less than 1000 days away from inaugural, considered to be pride of India, the development has started at the banks of Yamuna River, will be the biggest and most expensive sports event to ever be held in India. But is it necessary that for merely conducting 15 days of play, the livelihood of thousands of villagers living around should be disturbed and turn them into immigrants and incur them huge losses, financially, socially and psychologically. New Delhi promises to present a next biggest stadium in the world, which will host the games and accommodation for participating players in the mega event for 15 days, but at the cost of poor indigenous peoples. As per the Brundtland Commission, "sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".1 Sustainable development is an assorted concept, as a wide array of views fall under its umbrella. The concept has included notions of weak sustainability, strong sustainability and deep ecology. Different conceptions also reveal a strong tension between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. One of the first and most oft-cited definitions of sustainability, and almost certainly the one that will survive for posterity, is the one created by the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Commission defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."2The Brundtland definition thus implicitly argues for the rights of future generations to raw materials and vital ecosystem services to be taken into account in decision making. People talked about living conditions, resources, population pressures, international trade, education, and health. Environmental issues were related to all of these, but there was no hard and fast division separating environmental issues, social and economic issues. All the problems were intertwined. There were links among the environment, the economy and society that caused problems in one of these areas to affect the other areas. Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues. More broadly, sustainable development policies encompass three general policy areas: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability as mentioned in the diagram below at figure 1. In support of this, several United Nations texts, most recently the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, refer to the "interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as economic development, social development, and environmental protection. Figure 1: Scheme of sustainable development: at the confluence of three constituent parts The Indian capital New Delhi gets ready to host the mega single event of Commonwealth Games in 2010 for the first time. The Government of New Delhi has implemented a strategy to construct a 'New Delhi Games Village" just for hosting 2010 Commonwealth Games. It is definitely a pride issue for all the Indians,

Multicultural couple's relationship Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multicultural couple's relationship - Term Paper Example On the flip side, when they get married, all of them have a peculiar stance – a legal bond that is allowed by all societies of the world without any hindrance whatsoever. A couple that has been wed is usually given the cover and the space that it richly deserves. However those people who are regularly dating and going out with their partners are seen from a very biased perspective. Therefore the need is to analyze where the missing link is coming about within the related settings and what best could be done in order to avoid the anomalies which essentially exist. First and foremost is the need to identify how couples from different cultural settings and races will be viewed within the fabric of any society in the world. There could be serious perceptions on the part of the people, and all of this needs to be studied in-depth in order to analyze where the society has gone wrong in coining its own agenda. A multicultural couple could be marred with problems which are not of thei r own making (Adams 1999). The friends and family members might pose serious queries as to why such issues should crop up in the first place and answers for such queries need to be prepared beforehand so that the discussion centers on the relevant discussion and nothing else prevails at the end. The variables that will be made use of in this paper include the family pressures which are thus the dependent variables. However the independent variables could be the force of the friends, peers, colleagues and all those who are in a way related with this couple. A multicultural couple is looked from a very naà ¯ve perspective by any society of the world. This is because people base their opinions on the past involvements that they had with the people who belonged to similar cultures or had some form of interaction with the people from those cultures that they aspired to belong to. This suggests that

Communication In Job Role Essay Example for Free

Communication In Job Role Essay Review the range of groups and individuals whose communication needs must be addressed in own job role. Resident communication needs In my job role as a Deputy Manager I must ensure that I consider the different levels of communication when supporting our residents: We use the following within my work place: Picture schedule This is a form of pictures on a long strip of Velcro, which highlights what is expected of the resident thought the day. This is important to the resident because it enables the individual to see what activities they have thought out the day, it provides a structured day for the resident to identify what activities they have first then after. This provides stable communication between staff member and the residents in aid of reducing anxiety. Barriers and challenges. Barriers that and challenges may arise are: Individuals whom are using the pictures may become too complacent there for require the same product such as dairy milk chocolate bar that is presented on the picture. This can become a challenge as if diary milk factory was to shut and the products where to be no longer produced then the resident whom has the picture of the diary milk and has constantly used this picture to resemble chocolate for the last ten years may become anxious due to not having the chocolate bar resembling the correct photo. Staff members may not be consistent with using the picture schedule, when using picture schedule it is paramount that staffs are consistent when prompting picture schedule. This can become an barrier and a challenge when some staff are using the schedule and some are not. This can confuse the residents and increase anxiety when not used; this can also take the skill away from that resident as well as hinder their communication development. Staffs whom are not adequate trained in using the picture schedule could provide a potential barrier to our residents as it creates a disturbance in the routine of their daily activities in not knowing what they are going to do for the day. Social story A social story is used to simplify a form of information. This is done by having words as well as pictures to explain the information that is needed to be presented to the person. For example: This form of communication is used within our service it ensures that the individual feels included in any decisions that are made, and that they are aware of what is expected off them when they are going on an activity, any planned activities set for the future. They can also be used to explain the step by step guide of what they are to do on a daily bases. This form of communication also reduces anxiety by giving the resident a preferred communication between staff and the individual; it also gives them a clear understanding of what staff members are asking them to do. Individuals whom are creating the social stories may provide information that is too difficult for the resident to understand. They could also presume that the information given has been taken in by the resident; the challenge that may arise is that the resident will not take in the information and may become anxious due to confusion over what is being asked. Another barrier may be too much information, depending on whom you are presenting the social story to, some require bug writing and big pictures where as others may require average size font and pictures but with short and sweet information. A challenge may arise when we presume that an individual whom is using picture schedule may understand social stories, this can in effect create a barrier as it provides the resident with no information other than words and pictures. When presenting the social story, we may not be presenting the social story in the correct manner in accordance to the individual, When reading we may need to be mindful of how fast we go through the information and how many times we go read the social story to the person. Because by going over to many times may cause an issue as well as how fast we read through as some individual may take longer to cognitively understand the information, therefore we must ensure we work at the speed of the individual whom we are working with. Verbal communication Some of our residents require verbal communication, however not all residents who are verbal are able to understand all language used. Therefore they require to be communicated with simple form of vocabulary rather than jargon. This is important to be assessed and mindful because you do not want to give them information that is too difficult to understand, you want them to have simple words that they can take in and understand to avoid any confusion or anxiety. A barrier that may arise when verbally communicating to a resident is how fast and what form of words we use. Not all residents whom are vocal are able to understand long fast sentences there for we must speak to the resident in a manner that they can understand. For example if the resident understands one single word then staff will use the single word rather than a sentences, this is because by using the sentences it could potentially create a challenge as it can cause the resident to become anxious by having too much demands placed on them. I also need to be mindful of whom I am speaking to when I am communicating to individuals, for instance if I speak to a GP then I would not speak the same to the residents as my choice of words will differ massively. Therefore I must always be mindful of the way that I communicate to each individual to ensure that they understand the information that is presented as well as I understands the needs of each person. Makaton We do not have a resident who uses Makaton however if the staff did not know how to use Makaton then we would need Makaton training to enable use to communicate effectively with the resident. We would also need to ensure that we have a basic communication with that resident to ensure we meet the needs of the resident threw understanding what the residents wants and any issues the resident may have on a daily bases. Pecks Book A pecks book is used with one of our residents to identify what he wants, the  peck books provides the resident with a choice of what to eat and what activities he would like to do on a daily bases. This is helpful as it provides the team with a preferred communication style in enabling the staff to identify what activities and want he requires. We can support this by ensuring that we be consistent when using the pecks book with the residents to enable the resident to maintain the communication skill. If we do not use this form of communication then the resident will potentially forget how to use the communication book as well has not be able to communicate his needs to the staff effectively. Team communication needs Team meeting As a team a form of communication that we use are team meetings, team meetings allow staff and management to formally communicate any issues or good relating practices that are present. It is important when conducting a team meeting that all relevant information communicated is understood by all of our staff team, if there is any person who requires help then supervision may help. Other ways of helping would be to complete an information leaflet of what has been said in the meeting as well as the action plans and outcomes. Supervisions Not all staff members are able to share their opinions when in a team meeting another form of preferred communication for some is via supervisions. This enables the individual to discuss their feeling and thoughts without feeling judged by others, it also gives the employee an opportunity to discuss their opinions through their own preferred communication. It also provides managers with an effective approach on how each staff member should receive their supervision. It is paramount that when giving supervision, managers should cater their discussion around the individual. They should also ensure they be mindful of whom they are speaking to and how they approach negative and constructive feedback depending on the individual whom is undergoing the supervision. You can also support effective communication threw supervisions by getting the individual involved in completing the supervision form; you can also provide them with an outcome of the supervision enabling them to  read over and sign in their own time. Barriers and challenges Communication book Communication book can be used to log important information that is needed to be handed over, it can also be used to pass on massages to staff members whom are not on shift. We are able to provide effective communication through this book by ensuring staff read and sign what is put into the book; this can ensure that when they have signed the information then they understand what has been passed on within the book. However the only issue with the communication book is that staff may not always read the book or they may not read the information. This can be reduced by providing the communication book on hand over, shift leader to ensure all staff read and sign also you could have an extended sheet of the a4 paper highlighting the important information that staff should read and sign. We also need to be mindful how we provide the information; Information that is put into the book should be clear, understandable, literature that all staff can understand to avoid any confusion. Face to Face contact whilst on shift. Even though it can be easier to put information into a communication it is not always the best form of communication to all, why because we are all individuals. Some individuals require management to discuss any issues via face to face contact as some individuals tend to understand more when they are listening and picking up body language when talking. We can support individual threw face to face contact by asking them do they understand and if there is any other way they would like the information, you can also effective communication by ensuring the person is focused on you rather than the things going on in the environment.

Practical Guide To Teaching Social Studies Education Essay

Practical Guide To Teaching Social Studies Education Essay Chapter 1 Middle Secondary School Social Studies Reflective Essay Motivation and Enthusiasm (Chapin, p.1-2) are the key points as we begin our text. Well, who am I to want to be a Teacher? Especially in secondary grades dont you have to be someone who has motivation to teach? Arent you supposed to have the enthusiasm to work with young people and help them learn? Thats what June R. Chapin tells us in our textbook, A Practical Guide to Middle and Secondary Social Studies but yet when I look in the mirror long and hard after spending more than 30 years working in the fast paced advertising and marketing industry, I actually realize, yes, thats me! After raising a son to become a Bucknell University second year college student, and coaching his teams, leading his scout troops, guiding his steps (figurative and actual), and mentoring him and his friends it dawned on meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I do have the motivation and enthusiasm to teach. Watching a young mind tackle a difficult concept or wrestle with a perplexing question is a thrill for me to watch, assist and instruct. To guide and educate, thats what I need (and want) to do with for the rest of my life. Personal background, beliefs and biases (p.3) are also critical personality traits one must consider if you want to teach. In Shakespeares Hamlet Polonius son Laertes is in a hurry to get on with it, get onto the next boat to Paris, move forward with his life and get away from his fathers tiresome pontification. But, his father Polonius has one parting point of important wisdom for his son: This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell, my blessing season this in thee! Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78-82 [my emphasis] How many of us are really true to ourselves? Do we know the kind of person we are? Are we honest and self aware when we look at that driver who just cut us off and in our anger think to ourselves: Well no wonder, that persons a ; and dont realize the bias, belief and possible prejudice weve just reinforced in our own mind. What if you are a secondary school teacher driving to work at your job to teach social studies to diverse classes of 7th and 8th graders, for whom youre teaching a lesson about different cultures or even have students who may also be . Are you aware of your own bias? Are you in the right profession? Can you manage, correct and reverse that attitude? A teacher must always be aware of who they are and why they may feel a certain wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and then just forget it. It isnt relevant except that you are aware of it and then put it away and if possible eliminate it. You know where youve come from, what may have originally prompted those sentiments years ago and now youve grown beyond it. And we must also face bias in materials or resources we read, watch or hear everyday. And just as with our own heritage, we must know what to look for and as it is said consider the source, to properly put into perspective, any statement, comment or alleged fact and assign the credibility or lack it may deserve. Your beliefs about human potential, ethics and culture are also intertwined with your teaching beliefs and practices.(p.3) For me, as a professional educator, particularly one in the social sciences, I must have the skeptics senses in order to discern the supposed fact from the genuine fiction, while also remembering that I myself have a personal perspective in the mix as well. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and standards movement has become a pervading concern among all adults involved in the education industry. Our textbook is no exception it is full of perspectives on the issue most likely because it affects the foundations of the education process and everyone except the students are concerned with what it means for the future. What I am also learning from many different resources, in and beyond this textbook, is that there is so much emphasis on problems that no ones seeing the successes. Beginning with A Nation at Risk, a report issued during the Reagan Administration suddenly there needed to be a new national standard and oversight from the Federal government for what was being taught, to whom and whether there was real comprehension and learning coming as a result. Now teachers, administrators, states and bureaucrats across the country are caught up in a challenge on accountability and standards versus schools autonomy and educational funding. My frustration with the arguments and debate really stem all the way from the National to the State to the Local to the District levels. I just want to be a classroom teacher and lead my students toward learning strong academic objectives; yet I repeatedly hear the harangue, well whos in charge here? So just as I am starting a new career it seems as though the struggle will escalate to the point where I will be unable to teach a lesson, any lesson, without some bureaucracy being involved with who, how, when and what I teach. And it seems there is minimal civic enthusiasm or encouragement for what teachers are trying to accomplish. Troubled Times for Public Schools (p7) is a mantra that the profession seems to have adopted as a frame-of-mind, instead of something to realize and which we must correct. The text also reinforces the concept of a good teacher being respected by his/her students for the same traits as one might expect from an adult, including: depth of knowledge and demonstrating a strong effort showing respect for themselves and their students having a sense of humor and perspective on what is really important While I remember Social Studies from my youth as a subject about which I was passionate and involved, I never really considered the textbook definition: an integrated, multidiscipline area of learning (pp.12-16) which leads me to understand why I cared so much the disciplinary materials covered were all my favorites sociology, political science, history, anthropology, geography, and even (some) economics. Yet today there is also a debate about how much emphasis is placed on the integration approach versus what used to be a single-discipline approach when Social Studies had more of the depth and fundamentals of certain disciplines like history, civics and literature. The term used in our text: Social Studies slush (p.14) got my attention because it was so vehement and succinctly critical. My personal perspective is currently rather muddied itself by my own education, my passion for the multiple Social Studies disciplines and what I am reading: There is an essential need for improvement in teaching of Social Studies. (p15) My son was in the AP US History course at his high school. What surprised me about what he was studying was that the content seemed to be what I thought should be in any US History course. Our Chapin textbook argues that some see the AP level as just a college pre-application opportunity instead of a class for higher level thinking. To me it is just a label for a popular provocative and broader educational area that should be expanded to all secondary students. Chapins first chapter also expounds on different teaching approaches for the Social Studies and includes charts showing examples of personal pedagogy intimating dont we want to avoid indoctrination? (And be sure we also stay away from Americanization?) It seems to me that in 2011 a teacher would be hard-pressed in the US secondary education system to find any Social Studies student who would tolerate being taught a lesson without permitting the individual to question or examine the information being transmitted.(p.18) In actual fact there probably arent many Social Studies teachers who have the integrity to promote an Americanized curriculum because it must today be integrated, balanced and politically correct. The NCSS article Teaching Social Studies as a Subversive Activity is a challenge to Social Studies teachers to return to the rebellious 1960s and 70s and dont just promote pat answers and accept the pabulum of patriotic dogma in their textbook. And instead teachers need to install a crap detector for students so to alert them to the whitewashed stories theyre being taught so that High school students, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦exercise the basic tenets of a democratic society. The authors promote Social Studies as a subversive activity whereby students maintain a civic engagement with local, regional and national concerns, (current events or local community issues, the elections, Hurricane Katrina, an international conflict, or school matters.) The problem I have with this perspective is that it seems the authors underlying approach doesnt promote discourse, it promotes discord; it doesnt promote inquiry it promotes disorder; it doesnt promote higher learning instead it promotes diatribe and invective. This is not to say that the authors arent in synchronization with much of what I hope to be my personal teaching approach; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Schools can also develop a greater sense of educational community through curriculum integration or inter-disciplinary teaching: teachers can team with other teachers as their students engage in reading about other nations and peoples in childrens literature, or integrate American literature with American history in secondary school English and social studies classrooms. p. 3, col. 2., Teaching Social Studies as a Subversive Activity by Charles L Mitsakos and Ann T. Ackerman,  © 2009, NCSS Point of View series. The criticism of many Districts Social Studies curriculum today is that it is in a permanent state of critique and cynicism versus practical awareness and preparation for graduates involvement in a larger society. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦government and business leaders who are worried about the economic consequences of inadequate education. (Chapin, p.19) In another NCSS article: Should Social Studies Be Patriotic? the author, Joel Westheimer promotes a different Social Studies approach when it comes to American history and civics lessons built on what he calls, democratic patriotism. Mr. Westheimer, who is a department chair at the University of Ottawa in Canada, believes that U.S. secondary students are learning authoritarian patriotism whereby unquestioning loyalty and commitment to my country right or wrong has become the norm and students remain unchallenged by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the debates around the various visions of patriotism. Yet my complaint with Mr. Westheimers approach is the same as previously mentioned; in the volatile world of 2011 where America and her citizens are more and more described around the world as pretentious ignoramuses, too fat and lazy to address, or even be aware of, the social needs of a struggling world, we shouldnt throw up our hands and admit, yup, theyre right! But, Mr. Westheimers use of democratic patriotism in the classroom is an approach that has merit, and his examples of different teachers motivating their students is impressive: There are many varied and powerful ways to teach a democratic form of patriotism aimed at both critical consideration of the history, present, and future of our society as well as at reinforcing the ideals of improving the country and the lives of its inhabitantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. [such as] students conduct research on improving conditions in their own neighborhood, especially with regard to broken promises to build a new school. These approaches to teaching about patriotism share several characteristics. First, teachers encourage students to ask questions rather than absorb pat answers Second, teachers provide students with the information (including competing narratives) they need to think about patriotism in substantive ways Third, they root instruction in local contexts, working within their own specific surroundings and circumstances. Because we cannot teach democratic patriotism without paying attention to the environment in which we are teaching it. And, as a teacher that believes discourse is possibly the most important strategy that we undertake with our students, we will lose their respect and our country their allegiance, if we try to gloss over or whitewash civic issues or historical controversy. But we must also remain vigilant and aware, as Social Studies teachers and as citizens, of the nearby precipice when we encourage dialog that foments dissent: Critique becomes Criticism Commentary becomes Cynicism Dissent becomes Despair and patriotism in any form, becomes passà ©. Finally in this chapter I read Chapins text about teaching values and ethics, and I askedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦why not? Ms. Chapin makes it clear that any social Studies teacher who undertakes a values approach must remain cognizant of the potential controversies and assessment dilemmas they face. First and foremost, whose values are correct? And how far should the discussion go before we are in a behavioral guidance area? Yet in my opinion, values, character, moral education are not areas that should be avoided, just tempered with an understanding that a values approach might only be effective for some students, in some circumstances. Last note: Improvement can be made to the teaching of Social Studies p.26 Chapter 2 Planning for The Social Studies Reflective Essay 1. The Social Studies? This bothers me; why is the subject discipline for which I want to become a State of CT, professionally certified secondary school teacher have an English language article: the placed in the title? It reminds me of the contemporary baseball zealots (usually on ESPN) who determined at the end of the last millennium that the acronym RBI which stood for Runs Batted In was inherently plural, so the acronym shouldnt or couldnt and wont be pluralized (he now has hit 27 R-B-Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to me this just sounds dumb.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦So I emphatically disagreed. As a youngster following Mickey Mantle or Carl Yastrzemski I would always want to know how many R-B-Is he had hit. We also called them ribbies meaning the plural of R-B-I, ended with an s. Now I find as I want to change my career after 30+ years in marketing and advertising (an industry which in itself has played fast loose with the English language,) that because of the new contemporary multi-disciplined approach that Social Studies is an integrated discipline of so many other Social Sciences, that the NCSS (I assume) has decided it must have the article the in the title. Well, when I was a youngster, going to Social Studies class, we sometimes talked about RBIs; and now as a teacher, I hope to teach Social Studies to students who sometimes will want to talk about Derek Jeters RBIs, when I will want to discuss their homework assignment, instead. (I had to reflect on this linguistic concernà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦thanks for understanding.) 2. Planning my Achilles heal This is the area as a Social Studies teacher on which I MUST concentrate and remain focused. An effective teacher must plan well in advance what Unit they will cover, composed of what Lessons, to accomplish what Objectives, followed by what type of Assessments they will use to complete their Evaluation of each of their students performance. Then as they begin to teach during that semester, an effective educator will always adapt and adjust those Lesson(s) to accommodate or modify the situation, setting and material for any exceptional learners or other student requirements, particularly as the calendar year progresses and any special needs or circumstances arise. A teachers effort at maintaining an inclusive classroom that differentiates the lesson plan according to their Exceptional Students Individual Education Plan (IEP) is following a standard policy and an appropriate attitude for a busy teacher. Yet, as I examine my own strengths and needs for growth it is clear that written plans will be key to my optimal performance, and this must include a period of reflection and examination on how each lesson may be improved after its taught. This may occur multiple times a day, or long after a unit is completed depending on how the lesson was received and performed by my students. It should also always be accompanied by my own observations and notes in the margin, as well as any notes or comments from colleagues, visiting administrators or other professionals so I can tweak, modify, adjust, or entirely re-teach the activity. And another major part of creating modifying and improving my lessons will be finding the necessary resources for students activities. In our Chapin textbook there is a list of a dozen areas to search, but that is just a start on the numerous areas one can find resources for planning Lessons. A common experience while teaching is feeling frustration and anger. Students are usually the trigger for these negative emotions. These emotions often make teachers tense and intrude on their thinking. (p. 34.) The key for me in this instance, or any new teacher, is patience, (they say Lesson Planning gets easier with experience.) Remaining confident and calm is vital, as I develop (and teach) each Plan that addresses the appropriate Objectives with the necessary Activities which meet correct Standards and use the necessary Assessment techniques for a comprehensive Evaluation. Confidence can come from the fact there are numerous resources, BUT only if I search extensively and frequently for topical and effective materials. By remaining dedicated to reaching that unnamed student who needs me to care, to making that extra effort on their behalf this is the personal integrity I want to have and will need in order to be the educator I want to and should be. 3. Long Range Plan After studying Figure 2.1, on page 35 of our Chapin textbook, my focus goes to the critical juncture before the plan is laid out, My Approach and the Rationale for what, why and how I will teach these lessons. The three areas that must be addressed as the Units Curriculum Plan is established are clearly identified and understood. Two of the areas have prewritten guidelines, formats and styles (taxonomies) to follow which must be aligned, the third is up to me: my Attitudes, Values Dispositions. One professional element that we havent covered extensively yet, but I know will be critical to my career as an educator is the colleagues and teams with whom I will be working. Their contributions to my development as a professional Social Studies teacher will be critical to my growth. Some frank and honest feedback from a professional peer can be invaluable in understanding how my Plans can improve, be expanded, edited or discarded. Constructive criticism will require some receptivity and acceptance without personal sensitivity to improve over time. 4. Objectives Standards my other Achilles heal Writing objectives is where we are in all of my professional semester ED and ESPY classes, and they are proving to be difficult for me to get a handle on. This may be because Im over-complicating them by trying to fit too much into a single activity or lesson, or I am confusing verbs and levels of learning or the activity I want students to perform isnt correct for the objective. Simultaneously I get hung-up on what Standard fits with what Objective instructional vs behavioral vs performance. I believe however that over time in each class I will get the hang of it, with practice. Fundamentally, I know what these terms mean: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ observable performance the physical activity that will be measured to meet the objective I have set. conditions of learning where the student is starting from or with what material, (e.g. After reading XYZ textbook, or Given a copy of President Obamas speech, etc.) measurable criteria an assessment is invalid and actually no objective can be written that doesnt have levels of criteria on a rubric that the students see in advance, accept and understand. The criteria can be difined simply with a number: and students will provide 5 examples ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or a measurement device: using a Likert Scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree students will evaluate Organizing Content Units In number 2 above I described most of this section without realizing I was, however it is important to note the hierarchy of levels teachers use when planning their subject content: Districts Subject Curriculum (Year Long) Textbook(s) Team Semester Plan (2-3 Semesters) Curriculum Module (2-3 Modules) Unit Plans (6-8 wks) Lesson Plans (30-40 lessons/Unit) Activities (2-3/lesson) I hope to be able to frequently use each of the listed resources in my Lessons, particularly those that integrate other disciplines or areas of study: textbooks; commercial/free preprinted lessons, integrate units with colleagues discipline (literature, science experiments, etc); technology online, presentation or other devices. It is also important that I mention biases; Lesson Plan resources usually have some form of bias, particularly those obtained from a commercial or political or cause-related organization. Many teachers I have seen and known so far use valuable and expert resources, particularly those associated with a textbook or a discipline-oriented publisher. However as a professional educator I must remain vigilant addressing lesson materials that may contain some form of bias. This is not to say that they cant be used in a lesson, they will just need to identified as having a bias or perspective that must be considered in their usage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Unit Outline: The following is a skeleton Unit showing the elements that comprise most Unit structures, but these can vary and this is for a Teacher-made Unit (there are many pre-published in textbooks and elsewhere.). There are other formats that may use an integrated approach with another subject discipline or a variety of technologies (Smart Boards, MS PowerPoint, MS Publisher, etc.,) or some other device or strategy to stimulate students multiple intelligences. Unit Title; Standards Goals; Focus Big Idea question; Lesson Plans incl. Objectives; Assessments;

Marketing Strategy for Unilever South Africa Essay -- Business Marketi

Marketing Strategy for Unilever South Africa UNILEVER COMPANY MISSION "Our purpose in Unilever is to meet the everyday needs of people everywhere - to anticipate the aspirations of our consumers and customers and to respond creatively and competitively with branded products and services which raise the quality of life". "Our deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world are our unparalleled inheritance and the foundation for our future growth. We will bring our wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers - a truly multi-local multinational." "Our long-term success requires a total commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity, to working together effectively and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn continuously. " "We believe that to succeed requires the highest standards of corporate behaviour towards our employees, consumers and the societies and world in which we live. " "This is Unilever's road to sustainable, profitable growth for our business and long-term value creation for our shareholders and employees" 2. COMPANY BACKGROUND Unilever is part of an Anglo Dutch fast moving consumer goods manufacturer and marketer, one of the largest of its kind in the world. Unilever South Africa is headquartered in Durban with facilities in Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Durban as well as Pietermaritzburg and consists of four Operating Companies: Lever Pond's, Unifoods, Ola and Hudson & Knight. Unilever is also represented in South Africa by Elizabeth Arden. Because Unilever has a policy of marketing the brands and not the company. The result is that they have been an integral part of life in South Africa without the consumer bei... ...n, while 70% of the market is based in Gauteng.  It is also recommended that a Lube Engineer who is familiar with the pulp and paper industry be employed. Two people have already been brought on board for the retail sector and additional two have also been employed for cutting oils.  Another recommendations is that the current Training budget be increased from R17 000 to R67 000 in order to meet the training needs of this sector. The cutting oils sector, is very lucrative and will enable Caltex to meet its objective of attaining and increase in the market share of 5% by year end.  The detailed promotional strategies should also be embarked upon to ensure that increased brand awareness is attained, the financial implications of it, will be evident in the bottom line, as we forecast a 3.5% increase in sales by the end of 4 months.

Tennenbaum and Schmidt Reading Note Essay -- Business and Management S

Tennenbaum and Schmidt Reading Note Background knowledge †¢ In 1938, Lewin and Lippitt proposed classifications of leaders based on how much involvement leaders placed into task and relationship needs. This range of leadership behaviors was expressed along a continuum by Tannenbaum & Schmidt in 1973, ranging from boss-centered (task) to subordinate-centered (relationship). †¢ It is a simple model which shows the relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a team and the level of authority used by the manager. As you can see in the graph, the model allows more control to the managers in the begininning making the leadership style more autocratic, thus the subordinates have less or nothing to contribute in the discussion process. As u move towards the end, the subordinates gain more control, and in the end the leadership style is more â€Å"laissez faire† leadership, so the subordinates have much more control over their task. This also follows maslow’s heirarchy of motivation, as the subordinates gain responsibility, they work harder for the business. How does it make a good leadership model? †¢ As the team’s freedom is increased, so the manager’s authority decreases. This is a positive way for both the team and the manager to improve. †¢ When the manager needs less time to spend on the team, he will have more time to spend on other areas such as calculating budget, forecasting, calculate prof...

urbanization in third world countries Essay -- essays research papers

Urbanization and its effect on third world living conditions Urbanization is the spreading of cities into less populated agricultural areas. Most people would not think that this is necessarily a problem. They would say that it is good that the â€Å"developing countries† were becoming more developed. With urbanization comes factories and more jobs, so the people can make more money and be happier. Right? The problem is that these people must sacrifice their traditional lifestyles, for this new â€Å"Urbanism†(the way of life, attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior fostered by urban settings Knox 234). A lot of these people don’t choose this lifestyle- they are forced into it. Because there is a growing demand for natural resources in the core countries, the semi periphery and periphery countries (where many of the resources are) get exploited. The â€Å"civilized† world enters the other countries, buys land from the government and then forces the people who are on that land off of it. These people then move to the cities because they have nowhere else to go. Once they get to the city they are lucky to find a job. Sometimes these jobs pay as little as 80 American dollars a year and can barely support a family. As a result many turn to crime or prostitution to make ends meet. Our worst poverty is generally better than the average people in these third world cities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people in these cities lack not only those things that are necessary to sustain life- such as food, clean water and adequate sewage. But they also lack those things that we consider to be essential to life such as electricity, running water, and education, forget any of the things that we just have to enjoy, like cars clothes candy drugs television and entertainment. Eventually large slums develop around or inside of the cities, in these slums; large groups of poor and uneducated people end up living together in poverty. The World Bank met in 1999 to address these problems; in their report they write â€Å" Hundreds of millions of urban poor in the developing and transitional world have few options but to live in squalid, unsafe environments where they face multiple threats to their health and security. Slums and squatter settlements lack the most basic infrastructure and services. Their populations are marginalized and largely disenfranchised. They are expos ed to disease, c... ...ople off of it. If people were not forced off the land, into the city, the cities would grow at a natural rate. When Urbanization occurs at a natural rate (the United States) Poverty is present but not as magnified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Truth is that these problems cannot be fixed by anyone. If there are people that have a lot then there are going to be people who have a little. These rules are written in the very laws of nature. The governing powers (companies, world bank, tri-lateral commission) think that if they can just raise these people up to a little bit higher living standards than they will be o.k. But the more you give people, the more they want, it’s just human nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bibliography 1.World Bank Group. â€Å"cities alliance for cities without slums, action plan for moving and upgrading slums†. Annual meeting.1999 No authors were given 2. United nations human settlements program. â€Å" urbanization, facts and figures† New York, 6-8 of june 2001 3. another united nations human settlement report, no author no date

Harpo Productions Inc

HARPO Productions Inc. is a privately held company and it was founded by Oprah Winfrey and her lawyer Jeff Jacobs in 1986; a production company that used her first name spelled backwards. In 1988, the company took full charge of Winfrey’s show. It also includes HARPO Films and HARPO Radio, Inc. The facilities are on the city’s Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago and with additional offices in Los Angeles. In 1990s, â€Å"This Company had annual revenues of about $150 million with the number employees working for this company† (Encyclopedia of Chicago). The HARPO Productions, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of HARPO Entertainment Group. The organization has grown to include over 220 people, of whom 68 percent are women and has a modest turnover of 10 to 15 percent. In 2002, The Oprah Winfrey Show impressed the industry with an average of 7. 2 million viewers per episode, beating the second-ranked show by 35 percent. (â€Å"Oprah. com†) The HARPO Productions Inc. is the â€Å"umbrella company† for the entertainment and media entrepreneur, talk show, host, actress, and producer Oprah. Winfrey used her popularity on television to expand into movie production and publishing, making her the most successful African American business owner in the United States and one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world. † (â€Å"Reference for Business†) The HARPO Productions Inc. is one of the most successful corporation in the entertainment history. HARPO Productions Inc. has an internship program to help students and you ng professionals offering a platform in the business world. This will provide the possibility for them to be hired in a future and become successful intern’s students who demonstrate dedication and good learning skills. Oprah is the most interested and committed to concentrate on important topics in order to help others to succeed in life, for example – alcoholism or building family relationships. Throughout the years she has learned how many people suffer with these two big issues, and therefore; she dedicated many of her shows specifically to this topic. Moreover; it helped a lot to increase the power of her show and her popularity in many different ways. The main goal is to help people to feel better in their own lives. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Oprah Winfrey started her career in 1973 as a broadcasting reporter on a radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. Later, in January 1984, she began to host WLS-TV' program – a morning talk show in Chicago, which in September 1985 became â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show†. According to Business Network BNET â€Å"on September 8, 1986. ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show' was televised nationwide. Less than a year later, the program was ranked the top syndicated talk show in the United States†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. In June 1987 the show received three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Host, Outstanding Talk/Service Program, and Outstanding Direction. † The â€Å"Oprah Winfrey Show† stayed number one day time talk show for 12 years strait and winning twenty five Emmys plus seven that went to Oprah herself. Despite Oprah's difficult childhood, in 1988 she became â€Å"the first woman in the history to own and produce her own talk show†. (www. fundinguniverse. om) Today, Oprah is an owner and the chair of HARPO Productions Inc; along with HARPO Stu ¬dios, HARPO Films, HARPO Print LLC; and HARPO Video, with a total net worth of over $1 billion. Oprah is the Chairman and Chief Executive officer but Erik Logan and Sheri Salata have been named Co-Presidents of HARPO Productions Inc. Both are to continue being presidents with remaining base at HARPO Productions headqua rters in Chicago. Tim Bennett was the active president until May of this year and Douglas J. Pattison is the Chief Financial Officer. According to the article â€Å"Bloomberg Businessweek† the â€Å"Salata and Logan will lead HARPO Productions efforts as the company develops new programming beyond for â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show† for the syndication, prime, cable, radio, digital, and emerging platforms. † The idea is for Salata to continue in her role as the executive producer until the end of â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show† 25th season that is going to be next year in 2011. Oprah Winfrey announced an agreement with the Discovery Health Network in which she will over the net work, renaming it OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). With a network under her name, she hopes to inspire viewers to greater actions. Oprah is a leader through her show and on-air book club because she motivates the viewers to change their habits. †I said from the beginning that this was an opportunity to step out of the box and make the kinds of shows that make my heart sing,† She noted. â€Å" It’s about unleashing the power of human potential; that’s what it’s all about† (Oprah. com). As the years progressed, Oprah quickly realized that she needed to drastically change the direction which her show was heading. She used renewal strategy to differentiate her show from other day time talk shows. She moved away from thrilling and controversial stuff and started using more positive topics. She began to focus on promoting constant inspiration and personal and professional growth. The main targets are women ages18 and up but Oprah is not shying away from male's listeners either. Several of her shows were done specifically for men or were focusing on men's issues. Her show began to feature poetry, music, literature, as well as human issues, which helped to create much stronger relationship with her audience. To expand her audience, Oprah added to her repertoire Oxygen Media a cable channel, O – The Oprah Magazine, and the Oprah's Book Club on-air reading club. All of these medias have the same core value – they all promote personal growth and share the life-enriching mission and message of the founder and guiding force of HARPO Productions Inc. – Oprah Winfrey. The fundamental believe of HARPO Productions Inc. is that media can make a positive difference and that individuals can change the world for better place. This includes the definition of social responsibility â€Å"to do the right things and act in ways that are good for society†. (textbook, pg 93) Some of the examples of making the world a better place are topics related to spirit, health, relationships, books, money, world, and community. For instant: Oprah is reaching out to her audience with plea to help children of abuse. She â€Å"initiated The National Child Protection Act†(www. fundinguniverse. com) in 1993, the Oprah Bill, which established a â€Å"national database of all convicted child abusers. † (www. fundinguniverse. om) Several of her shows were done on catching predators, child molesters, convicted child sexual offenders, and interviews with detectives and police officers dealing with this particular issue were Oprah asked her audience to help to catch these fugitives. The viewers respond was enormous because her listeners are mainly women and moms and for them the number one priority is the safety of their children. Another example would be the creation of â€Å"Oprah's Angel Network† where Oprah is encouraging her audience to do charitable work (volunteer for Habitat for Humanity) and make â€Å"charitable financial contributions†(www. fundinguniverse. om) for example to provide scholarships for college students. Oprah understands that not everybody have means to help financially and therefore according to Look to The Stars, The World of Celebrity Giving â€Å"Oprah gave 300 members of her audience $1000 each to donate to a charity of their choice. † Also, she encourages her viewers to help out in their own communities by donating time and skills. There is no surprise why in 2004, Oprah Winfrey show became the top-rated day time talk show for 17 years with 48 million viewers, or why she was awarded with â€Å"Favorite Talk Show Host† at the 30th Annual People's Choice Awards that year. The HARPO Productions Inc. Strategic Management Process of identifying companies mission, goal and strategy was extremely successful. According to â€Å"HARPO Creative Works† the â€Å"mission statement for Oprah Winfrey Show is to use television to transform people's lives; to uplift, entertain and enlighten; to make viewers see themselves differently; and to bring a sense of fulfillment into every home. † If Oprah didn't change the curse her show was heading, she would be probably stuck somewhere in between all the other similar day time talk shows as Maury Povich show or Martha Stewart show. This is exactly why HARPO Productions Inc. has been so triumphant. HARPO Productions Inc. competitive strategy is to be significantly different. Oprah successfully managed to differentiated her talk show from all the other shows that use scandalous, shallow, and sensational topics. She became an icon and yet stayed approachable at the same time. According to â€Å"Syndication’s Stars: Trustworthy And Influential† the â€Å"Influential Personality Index† illustrates how far ahead from other competitors Oprah's personality ranked. Influential Personality Index Oprah Winfrey 554 Dr. Phil McGraw 306 Tyra Banks 236 Judge Cristina Perez 235 Ellen DeGeneres 223 Judge Lynn Toler 215 Judge Joe Brown 208 Judge Judy Sheindlin 195 Rachael Ray 187 Regis Philbin 186 The undeniable bond between her and her audience based on trust, honesty, and truth ensures loyal viewers. Moreover; the fact that Oprah shares her personal life, her personal struggles and AHA moments with her audience makes her even more human and real, therefore; her audience can relate, which creates even stronger connection in between the two. There are not that many talk show hosts that reveal the true ups and downs of their personal lives to their viewers. For example Martha Stewart is a convicted felon which makes her a less trustworthy as a role model. The strong connection is not limited to only U. S. audience. The Oprah Winfrey Show is available to over 120 countries worldwide. Some of the episodes focus on global issues and perspectives, which would be another area where Oprah show is differentiating itself from the other shows. The geocentric attitude episodes are focusing on women and the lifestyle in different countries, probable issues and problems women have to face on everyday basis, but also what might be enriching for U. S. women when they see what other cultures do, don't do, or do differently. For that matter the show features â€Å"the world's most engaging guests from the famous to everyday people all changing the world in which we live. † (harpocreativeworks. tv/info) Oprah is reaching out to every home on the planet with the mission â€Å"to make viewers see themselves differently; and to bring a sense of fulfillment. â€Å"(harpocreativeworks. tv/info) There is no other show that does that. The purpose of each show is to inspire the audience and let each message provoke an actions. The talk show host Oprah Winfrey with her dynamic personality has an unique power of â€Å"Magic Touch†. She can turn books into bestsellers, every product mentioned on her show experiences rocketing sales. According to Latif Lewis' article from Daily Finance â€Å"an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show [illustrates] just how influential the media mogul can be on product sales†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. It's quite amazing, the effect that a vote of confidence from one human being can have† on success of single product or business as a whole. Moreover; Oprah's enormous competence consists in turning â€Å"no names† into a brand names. The article of Latif Lewis, â€Å"Oprah's magic touch can make or break your business† talks about Lisa Price and her â€Å"beauty and skin-care line† and how this not so known beauty products had a very valuable promotion: â€Å"an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show†. After that, Lisa Price was experiencing extremely high demand for her products. She made some financial deals and her â€Å"company took off. Carol's Daughter stores can now be found in several U. S. states and the products are carries in retailers like Sephora and Macy's†.

The Rise and Fall of ABC Learning

Q1: The aspects of the business strategy of ABC Learning resulted in increased business risk for the company including: the rapid expansion of market share, over-indebt, and blinding overseas investment. Rapid expansion of market share: ABC, which at its peak had almost 2200 centres in four countries, also had a flawed strategy to handle significant and rapid growth. When A. B. C. Learning Centers listed on the stock exchange in March 2001, it was a tiny operation with a market capitalization of just $25m. But five years later that number is approaching $2. bn as the company has quickly become Australia's leading operator of childcare centers. ABC pursued acquisition after acquisition – buying up as many existing centers as they could, and expanding their appetite by establishing more and more sites off the back of increasing debt. The company's acquisitions are getting larger so there is always a risk with this strategy that they will pay too much for a business or be unable to integrate it effectively. This meant that every new ABC sign that appeared on the horizon – equated to more and more debt. Ultimately ABC could no longer sustain their rapid expansion. With a falling share price and closer examination of their books it became clear ABC’s true value was significantly lower than previously thought. Over-indebted: In 2005, in order to satisfy the expansion plan, raising capital for domestically and globally expansion was done through issuing shares to public. ABC borrowed an enormous amount of money from Australian big four banks: CBA, NAB, Westpac and ANZ). In the wake of the global financial crisis, it couldn’t refinance its huge debts, so the administrators were called in. In the end, ABC got too big for its own good, also made itself to the end. Blinding oversea investment: After becoming the dominant player in the domestic market, ABC Learning has pursued an aggressive overseas expansion. The high levels of debt and dilutive capital raisings that have been required to fund its international ambitions have not pleased investors, and doubts about the company’s ability to repeat its local achievements in the US market have weighed on the share price. As the case told, artificially create apparent shareholder value may be misleading to potential investors in the company. Q2: Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured, which are created through time and/or effort and that are identifiable as a separate asset. There are two primary forms of intangibles – legal intangibles (such as trade secrets, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and goodwill) and competitive intangibles (such as knowledge activities, collaboration activities, leverage activities, and structural activities). Legal intangibles are known under the generic term intellectual property and generate legal property rights defensible in a court of law. Competitive intangibles, whilst legally non-ownable, directly impact effectiveness, productivity, wastage, and opportunity costs within an organization – and therefore costs, revenues, customer service, satisfaction, market value, and share price. ABC Learning valuated billions of dollars worth of now discredited intangible assets that made up most of ABC’s balance sheet. It increased profits rapidly through acquisitions, and cause the underlying problem when valuated the assets it acquired. Especially given that 70 per cent of its assets were intangibles. The inherent risk associated with the valuation of the assets was enormous and should haven been a red flag,’ said Dr Ross. In other words, it means that ABC did not have a particularly strong balance sheet. The company lists total assets of $4. 5 billion – of which, more than $3 billion relate to intangible assets (which are predominantly child-care licences and a small amount of goodwill). As a result, ABC has negative net tangible assets. Q3: Principle-based: Accounting standards may take the form of general principles, relying on interpretation and judgment by the financial statement preparers before they can be implemented. Historical cost depreciation provides a better example of a principles-only standard. Whereas, Rule-based: Alternatively, standards may take the form of a series of rules, limiting the flexibility and use of judgment allowed in their implementation. Rules-based standards often provide â€Å"bright-lines† tests which can easily be avoided. As a result, representational faithfulness may be avoided and a low degree of comparability will often result. Numerous exceptions may also result. The advantage of principle-based accounting standard is potentially very flexible with those new and changing products and environments. As such, they should also require less maintenance. For this case, applying principle-based accounting standard would be more flexible with changing conditions, and the trade-off for this flexibility is that strong enforcement is needed to keep the auditors honest; the accountants should be more latitude to address unique situations, and it may reduce manipulation of the rules as it provides financial statements which reflect much closer to the firm’s actual performance. While the rule-based accounting standard may include a lack of flexibility, hence require almost continual maintenance at times. Therefore, the fundamentally change from â€Å"bright-line† rules-based accounting standards to principles-based accounting standards help prevent another ABC-like fiasco. The dangers in removing â€Å"bright-line rules† describes as follows: it is more difficult to audit relative to compliance, and concern over consistent and reliable interpretations across entities. In this case, the system may be less regulated, and to the extent that they rely on individual judgment to interpret and implement the standards, there is a danger that they can be used to manipulate financial results. Q4 Agency cost of debt refers to an increase in cost of debt when the interests of shareholders and management diverge. In this case, the relevant agency cost that lenders face may include large dividend payments that result in less money in the bank for loan repayment and new debt competes with old debt for repayment. Because the lack of symmetry information desires between the management of ABC learning and lenders, managers intended to maximize their personal wealth which may mean lenders’ welfare is not maximized. Based on the hypotheses that the higher the debt equity ratio the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase income, managers of ABC Learning may violate debt arrangements by manipulating equity. Moreover, the lenders are likely to face risk shifting in this case. Therefore, agency cost happens when ABC Learning engages in behaviors that benefit more than lenders. For lenders, they could minimize the agency cost in shortening debt maturity, it can reduces the agency cost of borrowing in two ways. First, the increase in equity value from increasing the risk of he firm's assets is a decreasing function of debt maturity (Barnea, Haugen, and Senbet, 1980). Second, shortening the maturity of debt reduces the likelihood that a firm will have to exercise an option to invest before outstanding debt matures (Myers, 1977). They also can set up a debt covenant to mitigate the risk, and from a lender’s perspective, not only does a covenant reduce default risk but is also mitigates the debt-equity agency cost. Often, individual stockholders as owners of a corporation do not have direct control over the agency contract, but as stockholders they do have certain rights granted to them. Q5: It seems that previous and current auditors had divergent opinions about the company. The new audit team from Ernst ; Young took a very different view from ABC’s previous auditors from Pitcher Partners in several aspects such as the treatment of revenues and earnings, the valuation of intangible assets, for example, after taking over the Pitcher Partners’ place, Ernst ; Young did not allow ABC to place the same high value on the licenses to run childcare centers as Pitcher Partners had done. Ernst ; Young disputed the Pitcher Partners work and the situation escalated to the extent that the ABC board was forced to call in another accounting firm, KPMG, for its opinion. One of the reasons for divergent opinions of auditors is the accounting policy choice, The accounting policy choice research area investigates the inter-relations among the contracts existing between various stakeholders of the firm, the associated economic incentives of the contracting parties, and the consequent accounting choices made by managers to influence the payoffs to the various contracting parties. The other reason is the degrees of concern of the company are different, in other words, the extent of knowledge for the auditors are different, Pitcher Partners did not have a deep knowledge of the Full Operational Status of the company, so they can not valuate the objective value on the childcare licenses. The recommendations of CLERP 9 to promote auditor independence as follows: Non-audit consultancy income for auditors has been limited and must be clearly disclosed. Auditors must provide their firms with a declaration that they are free from any relationship that may interfere with their independence. And the audit partner must rotate off a company’s audit after 5 years( or 7 years in the case of small or rural firms). Reference list: Accounting Policy Choice, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.business.uq.edu.au/display/research/Accounting+Policy+Choice Adam Schwab, ABC learning the hard way as profits  slump, 26 February 2008, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/02/26/abc-learning-the-hard-way-as-profits-slump/ Ken L, John H, John S, Jennie R, 2009, Company accounting, 8th edition, John Wiley; Sons, Australian,p149. Jeremy Sammut ; Gaurav Sodhi, The ABC of child care policy failure, viewed at 9/05/2010. http://www.cis.org.au/executive_highlights/EH2008/eh71308.html John C. Easterwood , Palani-Rajan Kadapakkam, Agency conflicts, issue costs, and debt maturity, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LnzP1BQzKTGJxN2BX6hnvcHzdJcSYW2TGPQNtZLgNtR20dwgMfgc!783601474!-129296667?docId=5000275458 Natasha Bita ; Andre Fraser, Imploding as easy as ABC, November 15, 2008, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/imploding-as-easy-as-abc/story-e6frgaio-1111118041306 Tim Searles, Not so easy at ABC, 3 Mar 08, viewed at 9/05/2010. http://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/articles/A-B-C-Learning-Centres-Limited-ABS/Not-so-easy-at-ABC.cfm?articleID=391596 Understand The Difference Between Principle-based Versus Rule-based Accounting Standards, November 10th, 2006, viewed at 10/05/2010.

Reflective Paper on Management of Organizations Essay

The concept of management especially that of managing organizations, is a broad field of study and usually requires understanding of the other branches of human learning such as sociology, psychology and economics, among others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In determining the most effective approach in management, it is important to learn the basics of dealing with persons, how to organize them, develop their skills while bonding them together and eventually generate positive outcome or production from their collective labor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being an experienced nurse and member of the US Armed Forces, I have learned through the years in reserve camps and in field that interpersonal relationship is not easily perfected considering man’s innate instinct of â€Å"self-survival.† In order for a man to survive in any given situation, condition and place, it is but natural for him to save and protect himself or his interests, oftentimes resulting to conflict with other persons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This human frailty is often than not the root of problems and conflict affecting the smooth flow of communication and cooperation within a certain group or organization. In addition to this, a person’s inability to understand the proper systems of learning within an organization and the natural course of changes brought by outside forces such as information technology, globalization and the likes usually result to negative output or disintegration of the organization itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, change, transformation and evolution is part of nature. Such reality also affects organizations and the society as a whole. The concept of the continuous transformation of the society and all of its institutions is best described by Donald Schon (1973): The loss of stable state means that our society and all of its institutions are in continuous processes of transformation. We cannot expect new stable states that will endure for our own lifetimes. We must learn to understand, guide, influence and managed these transformations. We must make the capacity for undertaking them integral to ourselves and to our institutions. We must, in other words, become adept at learning. We must become able not only to transform our institutions, in response to changing situations and requirements; we must invent and develop institutions which are ‘learning systems’, that is to say, systems capable of bringing about their own continuing transformation. (Schon 1973: 28)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schon, as quoted by M.K. Smith (2001) in his article, â€Å"The Learning Organization† posted in the worldwide web infed.org, is indeed correct by saying that we must learn how to adapt to changes and transformation, make them as integral part of us and our institutions and likewise come up with new learning systems that could carry on the cycle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Given this idea, I believe that by learning the proper systems in the field of management, one would not only be able to adapt to such transformations in the society and all its institutions or organizations, but also one could make a big difference in mobilizing people together, making them more competent, service-oriented, effective and productive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the same time, learning the proper systems can lessen, if not only its impact, the conflict caused by self-survival by individuals thereby resulting to an effective team that is highly competitive, competent and motivated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Part of the learning systems in an organization is the building of teams that would become the heart and machinery of the organization. In building teams, I have learned from several readings that it is important to determine the strength and weaknesses of each individual to assess their distinct capabilities that would match the requirement for specific responsibilities and work to be done.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In determining the weaknesses and strength of the team members, as well as the over-all status of the team, some analytical modules can be used such as the force field analysis and the SWOT analysis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To initiate the force field analysis, the team must start with a brainstorming session to identify the â€Å"driving† and â€Å"restraining† forces in their organization. The driving forces are the factors that promote obedience to the team’s work or schedule while the restraining forces are the factors that hinder adherence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By learning how to determine both, the team and its leader would be able to design strategies how to approach the problem and decrease the restraining forces to achieve maximum resolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another effective way of identifying the internal and external strength, weaknesses and opportunities of the team is the SWOT analysis. In using the SWOT analysis, the team would not only be able to determine the causes of motivation or hindrances to their work or schedules, but also the opportunities and threats to the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SWOT is more comprehensive and detailed and by identifying the internal strength and weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats, the team would be able to draw up critical solutions to its problems. In using systematic analysis in identifying problems, the team leader also develops a systematic thinking or approach in building a strong and effective team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such forms of analysis are effective in most cases especially in military operations. As an active member of the US army, part of our daily activities is to maintain order in each team at the camp and effectively carry out orders from our superiors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By learning how to determine several forces that affect our operations, I am becoming more capable to handle orders and cooperate with my colleagues. At my age of 41, I am still open to possibilities that even an older woman like me could achieve more in the future. Through learning how to build teams and eventually become a very good leader, I am relearning the values of discipline, independence and competence that I could use once I finish my course in Human Resources. But building teams and knowing each team member’s capability is only part of the larger face of learning systems in learning organizations. The next step to an effective management is how to enhance and develop strategies that would improve the team. An effective team develops ways to share leadership roles and ways to share accountability for their work output. It also builds a specific team purpose and goals. There are several ways or strategies how to motivate teams to become stronger and more efficient.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to establishe objectives together. All team members must understand the objectives and what actions are needed to achieve them. Each member shall have a sense of responsibility and must have a sense of participation in achieving the collective goal of the team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A good leader also knows how to encourage members to suggest ways how to improve their own services. The team must develop a participatory style. The feeling of belongingness and importance is one of the best ways to boost the team members’ morale. I often do this at home with my children. For 18 years as I reared them as single parent, I tried to teach them to speak and to participate in all house concerns. This made them independent and self-assured the same way a team member should feel – important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most often than not, listening is the best way to learn. Leaders should know how to listen to their team members. They should also acknowledge their points of view and encourage a healthy venue for discussions and democratic debates. Healthy discussions are actually therapeutic to the group because the members will be able to speak their minds or the problems they encounter at work. This improves interpersonal relationships and lessens the conflict of self-interests and self-survival. By understanding each other’s problems or by listening to one another, a team member would learn to decrease his personal walls and start opening doors to other persons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is actually interesting for me. As I go through this course and the learning systems in management and organizational learning, I come to realize that managing teams or organization is not quite different from managing your own home. I could easily relate, not only because I encounter team concerns at work but also because I have experienced being aleder at my own house.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meanwhile, other strategies in can be introduced to maximize the effectiveness of a team. Defining specific roles and responsibilities also helps in organizing the team and keeping them focused. It is also important to explain rules and regulations, including time commitments. By knowing the rules and the rationale for such rules, team members will develop respect and trust to the organization. Commitment of time for team building and team work is also crucial in an organization’s growth. All members must have a sincere concern for the team and in doing so, they must be willing to extend time at work to do their responsibility to the group, if needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the experts, an effective team has at least seven characteristics. These are as follows: team members share leadership roles; team develops own scope of work; team schedules work to be done and commits to taking time allotted to do work; team develops tangible work products; team shared accountability; performance is based on achieving team products; and open discussion and collective resolution of problems within the team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Working long hours at the nurse’s station in camps and in hospitals, taking care of the sick and old, then has given me enough insight of the real meaning of team work. It is true that a hospital or a military infirmary is just like an organization. Each medical staff shall take part in all the responsibilities. Less time would also be spent if each nurse takes quality time to take care of the patients or station himself in a designated area. In my former line of work, there are also specific responsibilities and areas of accountability including pharmacy, supplies, maintenance, emergency, wards, among others. The same is true with the military. And mush is expected of us. At present, I am an E6 Supply Staff Sergeant. I work for a transportation reserve unit full time. I am part of a larger team. And it is my responsibility to take care of their supply needs. If I fail, the whole system fails. It is a chain. But if I do my work on time and with efficiency, I help my teammates and the order is protected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Simple things or simple tasks are oftentimes the key to an organization’s success. By doing the very basic things right, the team is assured of a holistic effectiveness and efficiency. As I begin to look back, it is getting clearer to me that the tricks of management, in any given field, are actually around us everyday. One only needs to be more observant and reflective to better understand the processes of learning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Part of the continuing learning process is also the methods of solving conflicts. Conflicts within organizations usually arise when there is contradiction between team members, who sometimes have varying views on specific concerns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When conflicts arise, experts tell us that it is important to introduce a constructive way how to resolve it. The first thing that one must take into consideration is to avoid jumping into conclusions. To avoid such mistake, it is crucial to identify the factors that have caused the conflict and determine the stakeholders involved in the conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Group discussion would help determine who are stakeholders in a certain conflict. By diplomatically opening a dialogue between the stakeholders, the leader would be able to recognize individual interests, as well a power issues affecting the conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next step is to consider the alternatives in resolving the conflict. Each alternative must be carefully studied and from each, try to determine which is the most apt solution to the problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the chosen solution is implemented, it is imperative to evaluate its effect to assess whether the results are satisfactory. If not, begin the process again and find other solution to the conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In every organization, change is also a constant factor. Organizations are often faced by difficulties within the structure when there is leadership or organizational change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1999, Chapter 5), it was proven over the years that things that sustain change are not â€Å"bold strokes but long marches – the independent, discretionary and ongoing efforts of people throughout the organization.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter (1999, Chapter 5) further says that:   â€Å"real change requires people to adjust to their behavior, and that behavior is often beyond the control of top management.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter teaches us that change is constantly created at many levels in an organization. Kanter says that there are big events that often occur due to outside forces while some changes are brought about by the people’s actions in their daily operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In confronting change, adept organizations share three key attributes. Kanter (1999, Chapter 5) specifies these as follows:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *The imagination to innovate. To encourage innovation, effective leaders help develop new concepts – the ideas, models, and applications of technology that set an organization apart. *The professionalism to perform. Leaders provide personal and organizational competence, supported by workforce training and development, to execute flawlessly and deliver value to ever more demanding customers. *The openness to collaborate. Leaders make connections with partners who can extend the organization’s reach, enhance its offerings, or energize its practices. (Kanter 1999, Chapter 5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter cited three important words – concept, competence and connections. She claims that these intangible assets naturally build up with successful individuals and organizations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such intangible assets, she explains, reflect habits and not programs. These habits – personal skills, behavior and relationships – if deeply imbedded within the organization results to minimal resistance to change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the organization has such assets, change would be so natural that leaders would find it easier to gear their team members to positively react to change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mastering change and transformation usually brought by outside forces such as technology, globalization, competition and politics as well is not an easy task. The organization should be intuitive, dynamic and innovative.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The organization must come up with its own innovations to adapt to its environment, guided by the skillful and pro-active leader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter (1999) explains that the skillful leader must know how to lead with passion, conviction and confidence in others. There are other techniques or tips that could be adopted by an effective leader. The first is to keep abreast with the changing environment. A leader must be constantly observant, keen in learning and updated of what is new and what is latest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter’s concept of effective leadership teaches me and everyone else another basic characteristic of humans – our innate instinct to learn. Man’s curiosity and unending search for the â€Å"truth† or the â€Å"story behind things† is actually a trait that must be mastered by a leader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I now find it imperative to double my efforts in honing my skills in preparation for my future as human resource personnel or manager. Doing routines at the military sometimes make you too comfortable with your environment that you forget to check what is happening around.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Now, I am beginning to realize that in order to be an effective and skillful leader, one must prepare and master the technique of listening, learning and tuning in to the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another trait that a leader should master is to think outside the box. Kanter said it is okay to challenge the wisdom of the organization. It is alright to question the patternsn and come up with new solutions, looking into different angles or dimensions that sometimes lead to new approaches and innovative ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter (1999) gave several examples how to promote kaleidoscopic thinking. Team members can conduct activities outside the company or the organization itself. Interact, immerse with the community, break routines, rotate job assignments or even exchange projects. These are only few of the ways to generate fresh ideas and opportunities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Genuine conviction is also a positive trait that should be taught to team members. Kanter (1999) explains that one cannot sell change or anything else without any real conviction. In order for others to believe what you say or what you are trying to communicate, you must believe it first. Makes sense to me. In many situations that I was confronted by issues at the US Armed Forces, my children would sometimes ask about the real concerns and agenda of the US government. And in many cases, I try to answer them as honestly as I could. But now, it reminds me of my true feelings at that time. Kanter helps me reflect of my thoughts and thinking about it, I know that at times, I am not even sure whether my convictions were genuine enough to let my children believe what I say.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is one trait of a good leader I must master. To have genuine conviction so I could become an effective leader and be able to communicate vision and aspirations to my team members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Change leaders† also needs the involvement of the team members who have the resources, the knowledge and the political influence to make things possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter (1999) calls it coalition building. In early stages of planning, the leader must identify key players with appropriate capabilities. It is also important to find sources across or outside the organization to find influencers. According to Kanter, coalition building requires an understanding of the politics of change and its accompanying principles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once the coalition is in place, a leader must know how to coach and provide guidance to the team members while at the same time allowing them to enhance their individual contribution to the team.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kanter (1999) says leaders should allow team members to forge their own identity, build a sense of membership and become accustomed in implementing changes. The leader must resist giving too many responsibilities to the members because in order for their individual capabilities to grown, they must learn how to focus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another effective way to ensure the success of an organization and its resolution to change is the primary law of management – perseverance. I myself believe that in any aspect of our life, not only in management, learning how to persevere and develop a strong passion on what we do is a positive attitude.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perseverance gives a person more room to grow. As a 41-year-old woman, others may think that my career is almost over or that I may be experiencing the downsides of life. But I beg to disagree because I know that in pursuing my studies in human resources, I will have a better future ahead of me. My perseverance and willingness to adapt to changes and hone my skills in the process makes me a person with a vision and a drive to achieve more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As Kanter (1999) explains, one must know how to overcome obstacles during the process of change. Perseverance helps a savvy leader to ensure the success of the process and prevent failure. If a leader launches something, he must not leave it to the team members. He should ensure that the process is done until the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And after everything has been put into place, it is important to recognize each member’s contribution to the any accomplishment. Remembering to reward and recognize accomplishments is critical in any leadership, Kanter (1999) says.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Words of gratitude, recognition or appreciation are one of the most powerful tool in motivating members of any organization. In the US Armed Forces, promotions and awarding of medals of honor or valor are few of the motivational tools being used to boost the morale of US soldiers and to encourage them to fight for America. It is also a form of incentive to American soldiers for their sacrifices and the risks they face in the military, considering that the profession is a high risk one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Kanter, there is no limit to how much recognition a leader can provide to his team members. Making everyone a hero for a job well done often results to higher performance or bigger output in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In relation to change in an organization, Kanter (1999) says recognition motivates people to attempt change again especially if they are involved in the process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In closing, effective management of people or organization is actually the ability to lessen individualism and self-survival instincts, break communication barriers, limit conflicts, building teams and training them to adapt to change, and the ability to innovate in order to keep abreast with the constantly changing environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Effective management, though not easy to achieve, is actually a continuous learning process. One must have the concepts, the competence and the connections in order to become competitive, innovative and effective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ashford University actually teaches us the same foundational values. The values of self-worth, creativity, independence, service, integrity and effectiveness. As for me, after studying this course and learning the proper systems in effective management, it is clear that the university’s core values such as creativity and effectiveness are truly important, not only to every individual but to interpersonal relationships and organizations as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ability to innovate and have the respect for the free flow of ideas are some of the key points in mastering the techniques of effective management. As discussed above, innovation and transformation are continuous processes in the growth of an organization and by learning the values of creativity and self-directedness, one is assured that he could face the ever-changing and demanding world outside.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, one’s independence, self-discipline and competence result to effectiveness, not only as an individual but also as integral part of a larger group or organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any way, I believe that my aspirations in life are clearer and more achievable as I grasp a better understanding of the processes or organizational learning, as well as the values being taught at the Ashford university. This course is actually very interesting and liberating because it gives me a broader view of the society and its institutions. (End)       References: Smith, M.K. (2001) â€Å"The Learning Organization†, The Encyclopedia of Informal Education,   Ã‚   Retrieved May 3, 2006 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-organization.htm Schon, D.A. (1973) Beyond the Stable State. Public and Private Learning in a Changing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 236 pages. Kanter, Rosabeth Moss (1999) â€Å"The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders (Chapter 5) †, On   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leading Change. Retrieved May 3 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/summer99/kanter.html Force Field Analysis. Retrieved May 3 from http://erc.msh.org/quality/pstools/psffanal.cfm SWOT Analysis. Retrieved May 3 from http://erc.msh.org/quality/examples/swot.cfm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If such could be achieved by a person, then he is a candidate to become an effective leader. By trying to understand the academic theories and vast possibilities to which this course of study has offered me, I now come to the realization that there is room for much improvement to everyone, even to a 44-year-old nothing is impossible I am a person with simple values, who appreciates those around me. I consider nmyself as helper of people and have been a member of the nursing profession for years.