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

Business communication - Essay Example f the experience that you have procured amid your time in therapeutic deals there are a few profession ways to consider where you will have the capacity to utilize this experience specifically. Inside of a pharmaceutical organization you may have the chance to move into any of the accompanying parts: Specialist Representative - Hospital Sales, Biotechnology, NHS Liaison P.R. Preparing - Central or Regional area Field Management - 1st line deals administration Product Management - Specialist showcasing If you move into the pharmaceutical administration division there are different roads to consider. Promoting, Medical Education, P.R. Preparing, Recruitment Whatever parkway you picked, the beginning preparing that you get as a therapeutic agent will be major in building your future vocation. Graduates with applicable capabilities in life sciences, drug store, pharmaceutical, nursing or dentistry. Newcomers typically get a starting period (up to six months) of extreme preparing, after which they may shadow experienced deals staff before beginning to take a shot at their own. Medical delegates are the key purpose of contact in the middle of pharmaceutical and therapeutic organizations and medicinal services experts, advancing item mindfulness, noting questions, giving guidance and presenting new items. Ctb.ku.edu. (2015). Chapter 10. Hiring and Training Key Staff of Community Organizations | Section 5. Developing Personnel Policies | Main Section | Community Tool Box. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from

O2's branding and marketing strategy Dissertation

O2's branding and marketing strategy - Dissertation Example eting 38 Achieving Branding and Marketing Goals 39 Effectiveness of O2’s Branding and Marketing Strategy 40 Effect of O2’s Marketing and Branding Strategy on the Market 41 RECOMMENDATIONS 41 References 54 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Background of the Problem Aghapour, Manafi, Hojabri, Salehi, Saeidinia and Gheshmi (2011, p. 136) demonstrate that branding allows companies to promote their products and services in the market to achieve more sales. In this regard, branding has been described as one of the most effective methods of marketing a company’s products and services within its market. It is through branding that businesses have been able to win the confidentiality and loyalty of their customers (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). O2 is the second leading mobile operator within the telecommunication industry of the United Kingdom. O2 has concentrated in building brand loyalty within the UK mobile market. The company has remained unique in its branding an d marketing strategy. There are many changes within the UK telecommunication industry which O2 must adapt to in its marketing communication so that it would remain in the top of the mobile business. O2 whose parent company is Telefonica has maintained leadership in the UK mobile market through the use of loyalty deals (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). This is through alluring advertisements which are designed to depict the company’s brand as the most authentic and reliable within UK’s telecommunication sector. Technological, political, economic, legal, environmental, social and cultural changes have played a role in influencing the direction of the mobile business in the UK. O2 Mobile is no exception in the effects of the changing market forces especially for its branding and marketing strategy. According to Marketing Week (2009, p. 1), the marketing strategies used by O2 have received criticisms and assertions that the company has maintained old fashioned approaches of ma rketing its products. For example the company delayed in adopting 3G and 4G services like its business rivals because it considered them costly. Regardless of this, the company has been able to capture more than 24 million customers within the UK mobile market (Marketing Week, 2009, p. 1). This has led to annual turnover of more than 5 billion pounds from the company’s operations in the UK. However Marketing Week (2007, p. 10) reports that the changes in information and telecommunication industry are likely to catch up with O2’s branding and marketing strategies and make them less effective within the dynamic market. It is in this regard that the effectiveness of O2’

The difference between management and leadership

The difference between management and leadership Management and leadership are critical elements in the ongoing success of any business. Yet, there has been, and continues to be, a long standing debate over whether good management or good leadership is more important and holds more value to a companys success. Each of these topics have been both written about, and discussed, heavily over the years and drawn countless opinions from both sides about each ones importance Some believe that management holds greater importance because of its reliability and stability, and tends to deal the daily results and performance while others believe that leadership is most critical because it is believed to deal with higher thinking and creativity relying on an individuals character traits, does not appear to be teachable, seems to be inherent in some people and not others, and is responsible for setting direction and laying out the pathway that a business will follow. In the opinion of this writer trying to set one above the other is a flawed approach and that those who hold these ideas have yet to come to the realization that management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. Without one the other is incomplete, and it is a balance of each of these in varying measures at varying times that will yield success. Both good management and good leadership represent very different traits within people and it is a combination of these traits that is necessary for both individual and company performance. This becomes more evident after carefully examining the arguments for both management and leadership, the different traits and characteristics that managerial and leadership ability possess, and how each contribute to positive outcomes. When these traits are put in the context of a crisis situation it becomes apparent how vital both are to the result. Management has long been considered by many organizations to be the most important aspect of an organization. This is why many organizations find that defined and structured management practices are more useful than leadership because it focuses on the structure of an organization, where as leadership is more focused on social interactions and innovation (the so-called big picture), whose outcomes many times are unknown, thus making them a little instable (Kearsley, 2005). For this reason many managers use innovation not to change how things are done, but to improve the ability of its people and its resources control to improve its efficiency (Elliott, 2002). This becomes useful in the day to day activities placing leadership as a secondary contributor. Still, in a changing society and marketplace where organizations are forced to constantly evolve effective leadership that can develop and communicate a vision becomes a necessity to not only compete, but excel both today and in the f uture. Managements focus has mainly been in administrative duties such as the what and when, where as leadership is more imaginative and emotional, which focuses on the why and how (Kearsley, 2005). The why and how the questions are the ones needed to find innovated new ways of doing things, which will assist them in developing and keeping a competitive advantage. A challenge because even though the outcomes of the innovations of leadership can at times be questionable they are essential to an organization especially when the work environment becomes unstable and innovation can assist an organization adapt. What accentuates the need for leadership even more than maintaining a competitive edge is the fact that it in todays society the hierarchical aspect of organizations have become more intricate and ones superior (manager) has become less defined (Rogers Tierney, 2004). As such, leadership becomes important in the completion of tasks especially with the heavy emphasis placed upon a groups successful performance within an organization today and a leaders ability to form a group into a cohesive unit. Before this hierarchical change there was a specific top down flow to an organization so that only those at the top needed leadership abilities because everyone else followed what they said, so management was more important to the organization. Now that we compete globally this dynamic has changed and control cannot be achieved without having a more flexible approach to management and leadership as a result of the expanding environment they have come to be in. In this way leadership has dev eloped into a more significant and critical aspect relative to that of management because leaders dont control; they influence (Rogers Tierney, 2004, p. 79). This goes beyond the scope of good management. Management is supposed to maintain a set structure within an organization through the use of control. If control has become less attainable, and stifles the flexibility of a company to effectively adapt and innovate then one now needs to be able to exact influence rather than control an organization and must adapt to continue to be a viable enterprise. This represents one reason as to the necessity for both management and leadership in cooperation to yield success. Management sets what must be done and leadership helps them accomplish that despite a lack of direct control. This effectively debunks the argument in favor of management over leadership. But, what about the arguments supporting the value of leadership and its role to the organization? Many hold the idea that leadership is more important to an organization. One argument in favor of this idea is that education. They believe that leadership is inherent and cant be taught. Leadership has been likened to that of a pathfinder. Being innovators they are searching for something never before done and as such they have nothing from which to learn from (Hodgson, 1987, p. 13). Innovation is creativity, you arent taught it you just know it. In a sense this is true, most scholars readily agree that leadership is based upon experience, but many fail to realize that experiences can be taught. When looked at in the form of learning a sport a person can study the rules of a sport and it will help their understanding of the game, but to be truly good at something it is necessary to go out and play (Doh, 2003). So, the key to teaching leadership is to put people in situations where they are forced to lead. But, a person must understand that teaching can only go so far and just becaus e you have been taught something doesnt mean you will be a master at it, nor does it mean that youll successfully administer leadership (Doh, 2003). When dealing with people a leader faces diverse challenges in personality and capability and their ability to be flexible and provide both the direction and opportunity for those under their influence to be successful and feel they are contributing is critical to the success of the endeavor. An example would be that many people have been taught how to play chess, but even though they know how to play doesnt mean they are going to masters (Doh, 2003). Another argument in favor of leadership is that it can be seen a form of social problem solving in that it is necessary in resolving conflict within to help direct it along the path that management has set down to reach an organizations goal making leadership and management necessary for an organization to achieve its goal (DeChurch et al.,2011, p. 153). But this is only half what defines the necessity of both aspect within an organization. It is also necessary to consider the views of time that each aspect takes. That management has its eye always on the bottom line, the leader has his eye on the horizon meaning management focuses on the present and leadership focuses on the future (Kearsley, 2005, p. 265). It is necessary for an organization to have both if it wants to be successful. This can be examined within the firefighter, firelighter debate within the Leadership Debate. This debate explains that management within a project takes the stance of a firefighter with regards to its problems, only facing them when they occur, where as leadership takes the firelighter approach in that they try to anticipate and prevent problems from occurring (Leadership, 2005). When looking at the two one could say the author believes the firelighter is the more desirable approach in by focusing on the future and preventing problems from occurring could increase efficiency and success, but this is only useful so far as problems can be predicted or anticipated, which in a fairly unpredictable world is generally difficult. As such it is necessary to also hold not only the leadership approach, but management approach as well because if a person fails in predicting a problem the management approach is able to account for this failure and more expediently correct the problem. A study done by the British Royal Navy in the effort to find management and leaderships effect on performance showed that leadership characteristics were more emotional in nature while managements were more im personal and focused on order and consistency to complex operations, but neither alone brought about top performers, but a blend of both were necessary for the success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment (Young Dulewicz, 2008, p. 28). From this study it can be extrapolated that managerial and leadership approaches are counterpoints within a business. This becomes apparent when looking at organizations within a time of crisis. When examining an organization in a time of crisis one must focus on the managerial aspect, which are the operations and contingency plans, as well as the leading aspect which focuses more on people and emotion. In looking at leadership in a crisis it becomes twofold because many see a crisis as an opportunity to change; as such leadership must first stabilize the organization so they can adapt to the crisis (Heifetz, Grashow Linsky, 2009). This is contrary to the view held by management that a crisis is in fact an emergency and a company needs to make an effort to weather the burdens. In this way leadership becomes a necessity in a crisis due to its ability to cope with social pressures. In a time of crisis when an organization is forced to adapt there are many conflicting emotions within the workers. A leader has the capability to orchestrate the inevitable conflict, chaos, and confusion of change so that the disturbance is productive rather than destructive, which will enable the organization to work as a cohesive unit to further their goals (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p. 66). This is possible because those who possess leadership capabilities tend to possess emotional intelligence, which enables them to understand their own emotions and control them. As a result they can better empathize with others members of the organization (Young Dulewicz, 2008, p. 26). This helps gain loyalty and trust towards a leader, improving their ability to work towards a common goal. Despite the necessity for leadership during a crisis management is just as important as change being an adaptation of an organizations original practices rather than a complete overhaul of their practices (Heifetz, et al., 2009). A good example of this is when Best Buy changed its strategy to one established in store boutiques to better capture the female buyers interest rather than solely focusing on the male buyer in an effort to avoid a looming crisis (Heifetz, et al., 2009). They were effective beca use despite a drastic change the majority of the overall business scheme was left intact and the manager who put this ups the ability to effectively convince others that it was necessary and gains their support to follow through. However, not all change occurs in time to prevent a crisis. In such instances an organized plan, which is constantly monitored for flaws, is necessary to ensure transitional ease throughout this period of adaptation. This is the idea of a contingency plan; which can only be successful through the application of skilled management. Contingency plans are necessary during a crisis because that occasion is usually characterized by complexity and dynamism (Elliott, 2002, p. 146). This complexity makes it difficult to enact change unless an organization has made preparation in case of troubles to lessen the affect felt by the crisis and to support these changes throughout the crisis. This explains the necessity for a systematic approach for dealing with real crises so that the organization continues to function normally in most of its operations (Keefe Darling, 2005, p. 49). In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to have administrative skills, which can only exist within good management skills. Also due to necessity of a flexible nature of a contingency plan they must be constantly updated to account for a changing environment (Mitome, Speere Swift, 2001). This requires someone to constantly monitor the plan to ensure it is up to date and / or make effective changes and adaptations to the plan as required a nd communicate them to the organization without interfering in daily operational activities. As has already been stated leadership is useful for social interaction and decisiveness, through the use of innovation. As such it is lacking in the necessary qualities to set up and maintain a contingency plan. However contingency plans are not solely managerial functions. Two problems found within an organizations contingency plan require the additional support of leadership abilities in order to fix. The first was because the chaotic environment and unpredictability of a crisis made it very difficult to build a contingency plan that could cover every eventuality. Resulting in necessity to keep the plan flexible so that it is possible, no matter the situation, a plan could be adapted to suit whatever need (Mitome et al., 2001). This flexibility makes leadership necessary so that in the case of crisis the organization can be decisive in its adjustments, thus decreasing the time of adaptation. As has already been stated leaders are pathfinders (Hodgson, 1987, p. 13). So during a time of crisis when things are unknown it is up to a leader to see the solutions and managers to follow that solution they are give. This would hopefully enable an organization to return to normal business practices in a timely manner. The other problem is in how contingency plans are used during a time of crisis. It is common for organization to use small teams to find a solution for their problem because, generally, they outperform individuals (Elliott, 2002, p. 148). This makes it necessary to have a leader who can unify the team to a common goal and improve the coherence of team members to quicken the development of a solution. Without a leader to coalesce the efforts of management in a directed problem solving approach any answer might be delayed and result in a sub-optimal conclusion. It becomes quite apparent the necessity for both leadership and management are necessary within a crisis situation because they must develop next practices while excelling at todays best practices (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p.65). In other words management is important because it can help prepare for crisis helping to minimize the damage it causes and through the continuation of normal practices so that the organization still has the ability to develop next generation practices. The importance of management and leadership in a time of crisis can be seen by the failure in relief distribution in the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake which resulted because of the lack of a contingency plan that took into account the conflicts that could arise between various authorities and agencies and determine ways to prevent them. This still might have been prevented, but if not for the lack of leadership within the organization which failed to come to an agreement (Piotrowski, 2010). This shows that b oth a strong contingency plan and leadership abilities is needed because if the contingency plan is strong everything is planned and little can go wrong, but in the case that it fails leadership can minimize the damage. It has become clear of the necessity for both management and leadership. The comparison between a leader being a pathfinder and management being a path follower is in part true (Hodgson, 1987). But managements do not merely follow a path they reinforce it and improve its foundation enabling leadership to continue to grow. Their relationship is similar to that of a building. Leadership goes up, while management builds within. If a company was devoid of effective leadership it may not be able to maintain a competitive position within the market place through the effective identification and development of plans, strategies, tactics and business acumen to target positive results. And, without effective management a leaders vision, ideas, and direction may not be sustainable which might limit a businesses long term competitive position and success. The reason being that leadership is within focus of people while management is the focus administrative duties. An organization needs both le adership and management to be effective just like Yin and Yang to provide balance to the ongoing performance within an organization. While leadership provides vision, resources, and communication management provides execution identifies challenges and opportunities and communicates both throughout the company, and back-up to the leaders who can in fact adapt plans and direction continuously for success.

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past Essay -- Dangerous Liaisons Essay

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past      Ã‚     Halfway through viewing Dangerous Liaisons, a remarkable contrast as well as a huge parallel came to mind.   The film's principal characters' treatment of their promiscuity was quite different from what we see today.   They were quite covert about their sexual relations, and often concocted cunning plans to assure the secrecy of their activities.   Today we find quite the opposite taking place on our news programs and talk shows.   It seems to me that the cause of this whole difference in treatment of sexuality is due to the advent of mass media.   That pre-Revolutionary French society was not completely different from today, however.   Like our treatment of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, the common people of the late 18th century French society were quick to ridicule the Marquise for her promiscuity revealed.   We, as a society, are still just as quick to gossip over someone else's sins while being guilty of the same.   It is simply a conditi on of being human.   In short, the story set forth in the film Dangerous Liaisons shows both a striking contrast, due to technology, and a very remarkable parallel, due to a double standard brought on by the human condition, between the way sexual relations and promiscuity were viewed in the late 18th century and how we view them today at the close of the 20th.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The importance of stealth in promiscuous relations to the French aristocracy pervades the entire film.   We see throughout the film that the Marquise is quite fond of entertaining guests in her domicile, which is flanked by a wall of mirrors.   Early in the film we learn that there is another set of rooms entirely behind the wall, her "private" bedchambers.   It... ... French revolution.   Most of us really don't care if the rest of the world thinks, or even knows for sure if, we are carrying on promiscuous lives.   Sex is just another daily event.   It is pop culture thanks to mass media.   Our cunning Valmont would probably be very bored today, for his sexual conquests would just be too easy for him.   The Marquise would probably be having sex on the other side of the mirrors.   However, when the truth about them is known for certain, I bet we would treat them just as badly as we are treating the leader of the free world.   Our society is quick to judge, even when we could easily be judged for the same offenses.   We are humans after all.   Ã‚   WORKS CITED Heinein, Maryam.   "Couple plan to lose virginity online" Los Angeles, CA Channel 4  Ã‚   News Home Page.   16 July 1998.   <www.msnbc.com/local/KNBC/111301.asp>

The Media’s Effect on Women’s Body Image

The Media's Effect on Women's Body Image September 1, 2010 While women have made significant strides in the past decades, the culture at large continues to place a great emphasis on how women look. These beauty standards, largely proliferated through the media, have drastic impacts on young women and their body images. Arielle Cutler ’11, through a Levitt grant, spent the summer evaluating the efficacy of media literacy programs as a remedy to this vicious cycle. Put simply, the beauty ideal in American culture is: thin. Large populations of ‘average’ girls do not demonstrate clinically diagnosable eating disorders—pathologies that the culture marks as extreme and unhealthy—but rather an entirely normative obsession with body shape and size,† Cutler said. â€Å"This ongoing concern is accepted as a completely normal and even inevitable part of being a modern girl. I think we need to change that. † Anyone who is familiar with American cul ture knows that many of these cultural standards are established in the media. â€Å"We are constantly surrounded by all sorts of media and we construct our identities in part through media images we see,† Cutler remarked.And the more girls are exposed to thin-ideal kinds of media, the more they are dissatisfied with their bodies and with themselves overall. The correlation between media image and body image has been proven; in one study, among European American and African American girls ages 7 – 12, greater overall television exposure predicted both a thinner ideal adult body shape and a higher level of disordered eating one year later. Adolescent girls are the most strongly affected demographic; â€Å"More and more 12-year-old girls are going on diets because they believe what you weigh determines your worth,† Cutler observed. When all you see is a body type that only two percent of the population has, it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what’s reasonable to expect of yourself and everyone else. † As women have become increasingly aware of the effect of media on their body images, they have started media literacy programs to make women and girls more aware of the messages they are inadvertently consuming. â€Å"Media literacy programs promote an understanding of the effect media has on individual consumers and society at large.These programs aim to reveal the ideologies and messages embedded in the media images that we encounter on a daily basis,† Cutler said. Advertising, she asserts, draws on people’s insecurities to convince them to buy a product, and few populations are as insecure overall as adolescent girls—which is why media literacy programs are so important for them. In programs such as that designed by national organization Girls, Inc. , girls learn how to look behind the scenes and messages that advertisements are producing in order to reconcile their own bodies with the view of â€Å"perfection† presented by the media.The programs already in place have been found to be very effective; â€Å"College-age women have been the main focus, but 10-11 year-old girls are the most important target so that they can have these [critical] processes going on before internalizations of messages have really started,† Cutler explained. But what sorts of standards do the media portray for women who are not white and not upper class, and how does this affect the body images of women in these groups? This question, Cutler has found, is one that is not always well addressed in the scholarly material she has read. I realized at some point in my research that I had been universalizing the experience of a particular set of girls privileged by their race and, even more so, socioeconomic background. It did not help that this blind-spot was reflected back to me in some of my research,† Cutler said. While she asserts that certain standards of beauty are un iversal throughout the country and across all demographics, Cutler believes that media literacy programs should take racial and socioeconomic backgrounds more into consideration.Different groups have different issues and concerns, she said. For example, overeating is a real issue as an eating disorder, especially for lower-class women. How does this fact change the women’s relationship to the beauty ideal? Cutler is reading studies about the body image problem among women in the U. S. as well as evaluations of media literacy programs. She recommends greater sensitivity to the concerns of non-white, non-upper-class groups in order to increase the effectiveness of media literacy programs.

10 Tenets of MOT and the IT Organization Essay

A tenet is a principle based on observation, intuition, experience, and in some cases, empirical analysis. Based on a study presented in the Handbook of Technology Management by Gerard Gaynor, Ten tenets are proposed as guiding principles for an organization to operate within a technology cycle framework. These are: 1. Value diversification is a poor substitute for MOT. 2. Manufacturability must keep pace with inventiveness and marketability. 3. Quality and total productivity are inseparable concepts in managing technology. 4.  It is management’s responsibility to bring about technological change and job security for long term competitiveness. 5. Technology must be the ‘servant’ not the ‘master’; the master is still the human being. 6. The consequences of technology selection can be more serious than expected because of systematic effects. 7. Continuous education and training in a constantly changing workplace is a necessity, not a luxury. 8. Technology gradient is a dynamic component of the technology management process, to be monitored for strategic advantage. 9.  The RTC factor must be carefully analyzed and meticulously monitored for gaining the most out of any technology, particularly a new one. 10. Information linkage must keep pace with technology grow th. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay In the case of an IT Organization, the essence of the management several factors of technology are realized based on the above specified MOT principles. The following may be derived: †¢ Importance of Core Technologies and Core Competencies. Analysis of the competencies and technological capability of an IT Organization will provide information on the inherent competitive ability of the organization, or the absence of such. This is a step towards active management of technology. †¢ Inventiveness versus Market Drive. For an IT Organization, this translates to building an output-driven innovative culture versus customizing products and processes based on Market-demand. †¢ Total Quality Management. Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures are essential to monitor processes and the process improvement practice within an organization. †¢ Initiation and Management of Technological Change. Conscious effort to improve current technology should e a consistent activity in an IT Organization. This may be a result of observed updates in the industry or an internal effort to innovate and update according to changing business needs. †¢ Security for Competitiveness. As an industry with established processes, functions and professional track, job security through skills-based retention and promotion should be encouraged. This will invite constructive competitiveness and improve the industryà ¢â‚¬â„¢s workforce. †¢ Technology is the medium and the tool, it is not the solution.  The main product for an organization that offers Information Technology as a service is the solution. The technology is the enabler, while the process is the company-specific activity that adds value to the solution. †¢ Organizational Systems and the Effect of Technology. The effect of information technology to the organization encompasses structures and organization systems. As processes and needs are updated, technologies or the manner that it is implemented should be revised complementarily. The reverse does not always follow. The Essence of Training and Education in an IT Organization. With the Human Resource as the main and sole source value and new service introduction, investment in further education is essential to an IT Organization. Technology managemet assessment: TA is the study and evaluation of new technologies. It is based on the conviction that new developments within, and discoveries by, t he scientific community are relevant for the world at large rather than just for the scientific experts themselves, and that technological progress can never be free of ethical implications. Also, technology assessment recognizes the fact that scientists normally are not trained ethicists themselves and accordingly ought to be very careful when passing ethical judgement on their own, or their colleagues, new findings, projects, or work in progress. Technology assessment assumes a global perspective and is future-oriented, not anti-technological. TA considers its task as interdisciplinary approach to solving already existing problems and preventing potential damage caused by the uncritical application and the commercialization of new technologies. Therefore any results of technology assessment studies must be published, and particular consideration must be given to communication with political decision-makers. An important problem, TA has to deal with it, is the so-called Collingridge dilemma: on the one hand, impacts of new technologies cannot be easily predicted until the technology is extensively developed and widely used; on the other hand, control or change of a technology is difficult as soon as it is widely used. Some of the major fields of TA are: information technology, hydrogen technologies, nuclear technology, molecular nanotechnology, pharmacology, organ transplants, gene technology, artificial intelligence, the Internet and many more. Health technology assessment is related, but profoundly different, despite the similarity in the name. Forms and concepts of technology assessment The following types of concepts of TA are those that are most visible and practiced. There are, however, a number of further TA forms that are only proposed as concepts in the literature or are the label used by a particular TA institution. 2] †¢ Parliamentary TA (PTA): TA activities of various kinds whose addressee is a parliament. PTA may be performed directly by members of those parliaments (e. g. in France and Finland) or on their behalf by related TA institutions (such as in the UK, in Germany and Denmark) or by organisations not directly linked to a Parliament (such as in the Netherlands and Switzerland). [3] †¢ Expert TA (often also referred to as the classical TA or traditional TA concept): TA activities carried out by (a team of) TA and technical experts. Input from stakeholders and other actors is included only via written statements, documents and interviews, but not as in participatory TA. †¢ Participatory TA (pTA): TA activities which actively, systematically and methodologically involve various kinds of social actors as assessors and discussants, such as different kinds of civil society organisations, representatives of the state systems, but characteristically also individual stakeholders and citizens (lay persons), technical scientists and technical experts. Standard pTA methods include consensus conferences, focus groups, scenario workshops etc. [4] Sometimes pTA is further divided into expert-stakeholder pTA and public pTA (including lay persons). [5] †¢ Constructive TA (CTA): This concept of TA, developed in the Netherlands, but also applied and discussed elsewhere[6] attempts to broaden the design of new technology through feedback of TA activities into the actual construction of technology. Contrary to other forms of TA, CTA is not directed toward influencing regulatory practices by assessing the impacts of technology. Instead, CTA wants to address social issues around technology by influencing design practices. †¢ Discursive TA or Argumentative TA: This type of TA wants to deepen the political and normative debate about science, technology and society. It is inspired by ethics, policy discourse analysis and the sociology of expectations in science and technology. This mode of TA aims to clarify and bring under public and political scrutiny the normative assumptions and visions that drive the actors who are socially shaping science and technology. Accordingly, argumentative TA not only addresses the side effects of technological change, but deals with both broader impacts of science and technology and the fundamental normative question of why developing a certain technology is legitimate and desirable. [7] †¢ Health TA (HTA): A specialised type of expert TA informing policy makers about efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness issues of pharmaceuticals and medical treatments, see health technology assessment.

Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. The WritePass Journal

Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. Introduction Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets. Introduction  I.  Ã‚  Research ObjectivesResearch Process  II.  Ã‚  Research QuestionsDefined the Research QuestionsResearch Questions for this ProposalIII.  MethodologyResearch PhilosophyResearch Philosophy for this ProposalResearch MethodResearch Method in this ProposalIV.  Research DesignDefined Five Research DesignResearch Design for this Proposal  V.   Ã‚  Data Collection DesignDefined the way of Data CollectionData Collection Design in this proposal  VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  SamplingSampling methodSampling method used in this proposalQuestionnaire Design in this proposalVII. Collection DataDefined the method of data collectionVIII.  Data Analysis ProcessDefined Data AnalysisData Analysis in this proposalIX.  BudgetX.  Ã‚  Ã‚  RecommendationsConclusionsBibliography BibliographyRelated Introduction Barclays Bank believes that university students are an extremely valuable segmentation for business banking markets, but the business of banking services is intensely competitive. In order to Barclays Bank attract more university student customers and to keep them in a long term, Barclays requires understanding the target market, what are universities students in the UK â€Å"needs and wants†. By describing the research process, the objectives of this market research will be notified. Following with the research questions and research design and method details will be formed. In addition, this research proposal is helping Barclays to increase its market share, and using market research to ensure Barclays provide the right product and services to the UK students target market.   I.  Ã‚  Research Objectives The main objective of this research proposal for Barclays Bank is to achieve the target which can provide the right products or services to university students in the UK and understand what are their â€Å"needs and wants† for bank account. Otherwise, we will add value propositions to attract more students for Barclays and keep these customers over time. This has divided into the following objectives: To understand the reason that students choose Barclays as their first bank account. To investigate what feature would be considered when university students start a new bank account. To inspect the property for Barclays banking services can attract new university students. To increase university student account market. To ensure the graduate students will continue obtain their bank account. Research Process According to Kumar (2005), a well managed severe, systematic, reliable, demonstrable, experimental, and critical is substantial research. In the next parts, it will describe the following research process for Barclays Bank. Kumar (2005) has defined those eight steps for process of research, which is shown in Figure 1: The following research will be chosen some parts for the proposal.   Ã‚   Figure 1 Research Process (Kumar, 2005)   II.  Ã‚  Research Questions Defined the Research Questions According to Saunder et al. (2007) research design questions are related for many aspects: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What intrigues me? ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why am I doing it? (Is it a contribution to knowledge?) ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What models, frameworks, etc? ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How am I going to collect data? Research Questions for this Proposal In this research, the title â€Å"Barclays Bank and targeting University Students† is being chosen the object of research and analysis. Otherwise, the questions are to understand student customers’ needs and wants. By using questions can get information that can utilise on market decision. There are four main research questions that can be developed and easily to understand this research objective. Which bank is your first account? What bank features would attract university students? What bank services would customers need? What reason would affect customers to continue their account? III.  Methodology Grinnell (1993) has pointed out that the word â€Å"research† can define as ‘a structured inquiry that utilises acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and creates new knowledge that is generally applicable’. Methodology sections will separate into two factors which are research philosophy and research method. Research Philosophy In research philosophy area, the research methods are discussed ontology and epistemology commonly. According the theory, both of methods are related to philosophical perspectives. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ontological perspective: The researchers can discover the essence of knowledge which exists in the world (Snape Spencer, 2003). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Epistemological perspective: The perspective is to discuss what knowledge can be believed (Bryman Bell, 2007). Research Philosophy for this Proposal For this research, it utilises the epistemological aim to help the proposal to find out the right services, which may provide Barclays Banks to attract more university students. In addition, to understand the purchased behaviour by students, it may use EKB model on research survey to realise Barclay’s customers. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   EKB model: Engel et al. defined EKB model in 1978. EKB model will be the method for survey, and it can help to realise customers buying behaviour on decision-making. Engel et al. (2001), defined five steps that consumers decided to purchase the products, which are shown in Figure 2. These steps are showing the process of purchase behaviour by customers. Figure 2 EKB five steps (Engel et al. 2001) Research Method In order to find out the value propositions for Barclays Bank, the main two research methods which are qualitative research method and quantitative research method will be considered in this proposal. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are the two ways usually use in the research area. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative research method: This method is to collect quantifiable data and make it from objective views to produce the final results (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualitative research method: This method is focus on understand and describe peoples’ perspectives to create a logical outcome (Snape Spencer, 2003). Creswell (2003) point out that how to choose a research method in the analysis research, which is based on the target audiences or past experiences. In addition, customers’ behaviour may affect their purchase decision. According to Engel, Kollat and Blackwell theory, EKB model is the basis of decision-making process for customer behaviour, and this process is referred to the actual consumers’ cognitive thinking when they purchase products. That is to say, EKB model is one of important elements to understand what customers’ thinking when they have decision-making situations. Research Method in this Proposal ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative research method was identified to be more suitable for this research. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quantitative questioning will be used in the proposal. All quantitative questions will be shown in Appendix. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using EKB model in questionnaires and it will be shown in Appendix as well. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Likert scale will be one of the parts in the questionnaires, Likert scale will be used in most of questionnaires. The typical five levels for Likert item are: Strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree, strongly agree. IV.  Research Design Defined Five Research Design There are five kinds of research design different purposes such as, ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Experimental design: This main concept of design is to analysis of qualitative or quantitative research which can examine the differences and form the foundation (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cross-sectional design: This design is usually used in quantitative research (Kumar, 2005). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longitudinal design: Longitudinal design is a study to determine the amount of changes (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Case study design: Only single instance will be studied in the most case, and details related to that case will be collected. This model is suitable for qualitative research (Bryman Bell, 2007). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparative design: The research can be seen as the comparative design which has consisted of more than one case and to compare or evaluate the differences or similarities (Bryman Bell, 2007). Research Design for this Proposal As for Barclay’s research, the aim is to add value propositions that can utilise in marketing decision. To consider of this research design, this research is to find out the customers behaviour for university students in the UK and to the collect a certain number of different information is needed to support for this research. This research would follow case study and collection data in order to have a deeper understanding of the impact on value propositions from the research, obtaining the appropriate strategy by the UK university students’ requirements. Moreover, the EKB model and Likert scale discussed previously will be the fundamental theories to analyse the survey data.   V.   Ã‚  Data Collection Design Defined the way of Data Collection According to Kumar (2005), data collection can be use in observations, interviews, and questionnaires these possible ways. The advantages of interviews are that when researchers are helpless to fulfill participants, researchers still can see specific information from interviewees, and interviewees can describe â€Å"history† which is suitable to the research case of topic to wider and deeper understanding (Creswell, 2003). In addition, researchers can be more flexible by asking questions which is comparing with interviews questionnaires (Bryman Bell, 2007). For research, the direction we need to see is the students consideration when they opening a new account. Qualitative research strategy in interview is too unstructured than in the quantitative research design. Researchers can an unstructured interview, which is more like a general chatting and more similar to having conversations with interviewees; researchers have to make a discussion guide with which has listed questions to understand (Bryman Bell, 2007). Data Collection Design in this proposal The collection of the information is to be the first step of data collection. The data focus on the bank services and marketing decision. In addition, there are three methods that will be use to collect the require data. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First approach :Face-to face ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second approach :Telephone ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third approach :Mail by post or email However, using three methods are too complicated to this research; Table 1 is shown the compare results. Compare Mail by post Telephone Face-to-face Budget Low Low High Flexible Need address Need phone number Go to every university Ask Questions Less questions Less questions More questions Validity Low Low High Non-response error High Low Low Collect Time Long Short Long Table 1 Comparison ofthree kinds ofinvestigation methods. After the compare evaluation, the mail survey approach is most appropriate to investigation of this study, these reasons are: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This study research has budget consideration and restriction. Mail by post may be the lowest cost for the required questionnaires. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail or email address from interviewee is easy to obtain. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The questionnaires cannot be too long, but it is clear to see on mail. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The validity by mail questionnaire is low. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail questionnaires may have a high rate of non-response bias, but it can improve by send more mails. This action may help to reduce the rate of return non-response bias. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mail survey, takes a long time, but it may not influence the data results.   VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sampling Sampling method According to Patton (1990), the sampling method can be defined like ‘criterion sampling’ and the sampling is adopted in this research. It will find samples from criteria that receive research objectives. This sampling method also can ensure that the interviewees are supplied with complete information feedback that is required in the research (Patton, 1990). Using the Sampling method in the qualitative research can be same as in quantitative research, for instance, random sampling method. Most of the samplings in qualitative researchers are with some purposes or criteria since sampling may affect the outcome significantly (Coyne, 1997). However, the sample size is required in qualitative research; the result is not larger than quantitative research. Researchers are using purposeful sampling to acquire sufficient knowledge interviewees who can present the related research topic, and help researchers to get wider and deeper view points from interviewees (Patton, 1990). Sampling method used in this proposal There are several sampling methods that can adopt in survey research. For research, random sampling will be chosen as the research method. Following elements are the approaches for sampling: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Element: Target market , all the UK university students. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Population: Estimate5000 university students. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sampling Units: Collection of about 5000 survey elements from the population. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frame: A frame is a list of sampling units, same as 5000 sampling units. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Select sampling methods: Random sampling. Questionnaire Design in this proposal SNAP is an assistance software tool that can create questionnaires. This questionnaire will divide into three sections: ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First part: Personal information for Interviewees University students in the UK or not. Demand for the services. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Second part: Interviewees’ personal bank. First bank account. Bank name, it is Barclays or not. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Third part: Using EKB model to design questionnaire (Likert scale will be used). Banking service satisfaction. Bank Loyalty. VII. Collection Data Defined the method of data collection The approaches to collect data have mention in front of part. That is, there are kind of ways can use in interviews. Interviews can be face-to-face, through telephone, or gather a lot of people to do the interview at the same time, which is also known as priority group (Creswell, 2003). Data Collection in this proposal ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Collection data will follow the front part which decides to choose mail by post method to collect to necessary data. ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are 5000 surveys will be sent by mails and emails. (2500 mails by post, 2500 by emails) ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Following data collection time divided into two main stages. Collection time will be a month. First stage is to collect post mail will from 1st of June 2011 to 16th of June 2011. Although first stage is to collect post mail, email questionnaires feedback may return as the same time. Moreover, this period of time will continue collection data until 30th of June 2011. These stages are shown in Table 2. Main stages Time Activity First stage   1st June 2011- 16th June 2011 Collect mail by post from interviewees Second stage 1st June 2011- 30thJune 2011 Collect email from interviewees Table 2 Survey Collect Time VIII.  Data Analysis Process Defined Data Analysis In the qualitative research validity can be seen from three ways, which are descriptive validity, interpretive validity, and theoretical validity; or to consider from another aspect which can be classified as internal validity and external validity (Johnson, 1997). ŸÂ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Validation of research Validity is divided into three types, including content validity (Content Validity), criterion validity (Criterion Validity) and construct validity (Construct Validity). Content validity: The primary purpose is to systematically check the appropriate of questionnaires; the questionnaires consider the samples and conduct appropriate proportion. Criterion validity: It is outside test criterion with the assessment based on the correlation coefficient. Criterion validity refers to test data which has been found, also name as the statistical validity. Construct validity: It refers to the test the measure theoretical construct or common quality level which observed variables and other theoretical consistency. Data Analysis in this proposal In this research, SPSS will be use in data analysis. As for the collect data, all questionnaires will be recorded and transcribed. The benefit of doing transcription is to help researchers who can get all details mentioned and to re-examine the data afterwards. The process of data will firstly help researchers to organised and it enabled to rethink and restructure the following analysis stages. At the same time the second stage data were collected and filed. In this data collection, the clearer idea information between data and final findings will be formed, and it will shown data analysis to support results. IX.  Budget With the research process, the budget will come with it. Higdon Topp (2004) has pointed that, to reach the project objectives of timeline and methodology, the research proposal budget is intertwined with its development. Therefore, the detail of the budget will be notified. The budget of details required to expense to a complete itemized accounting list for the project (Higdon Topp, 2004). The budget table3 and 4 will displayed the total research fees. Table 3 Worksheet Personnel Role Salary/month Smith Principle investigator  £3000 Brown Co investigator  £2750 Tsou Statistician  £2750 The research plan will spend one month. Table 4 Equipment Phase Description Fee Mail by post  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2500 mail letters  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    £500.00  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2500 stamps  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚    £1250.00 Email 2500 email   Ã‚ £0 Data collection and analysis will consume a month as well. Total   fees     £10250.00 Timeline Date Activity 21st May 27th May Proposal Needed 28th May- 30th May Survey Development 1st June- 30th June Data Collection 2nd July – 6th July Statistical Data 8th July Final Report X.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recommendations Here are some reasons that our team should be chosen. Our research team provides complete the research methodology and Data Collection. The objects reflect the goals and orientations of the organisation. Our agency wish to submit Barclays Bank with a compelling demonstration that has effectively represents. The research results will reflect new projects and interests, and provide for both current clients and new in customers. We can discuss this plan at your convenience.  Ã‚   Conclusions The valuable segmentation for Barclays Bank business banking markets is university students, however, the business banking competitive. Barclays Bank wants to attract more student customers and keeps them in over time. This research proposal starts from research process. Quantitative research method is adopted and the data collection is through by mail interviews. Then, the secondary data is from journals, articles, books. Finding of the research will help Barclays to increase its market share, and the market research will ensure Barclays provide the right product and services to the UK students target market. Bibliography Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2003) Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press. Cresswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 3rd ed. Sage Publications. Coyne ,I .T. (1997 ) Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing , 26(3),623–630. Engel, J. F.,R. D. Blackwell P. W. Miniard (2001 ) Consumer Behavior 9th ed. Fort Wort: Drvden Press. Higdon,J.and Topp,R. (2004) How to Develop a Budget for a Research Proposal. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 26(8) 922-929. Johnson ,R. B. (1997)Examining the validity structure of qualitative research. Research Library 118 (2) 282. Kumar, R. (2005) Research Methodology: A Step-by-step Guide for Beginners. London: Sage Publications. Patton, M. Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods ,2nd ed., Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Saunders, Lewis Thornhill (2007) Research Methods for Business Students, FT Prentice Hall Snape, D. and Spencer, L. (2003) Qualitative Research Practice: A guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, London: Sage Publications. Bibliography Barclays Bank Website   barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242557947640 Online Survey Software: SurveyMonkey Website   surveymonkey.com/MySurveys.aspx

Best Hamlet Paper Ever Essays - Characters In Hamlet, Free Essays

Best Hamlet Paper Ever Essays - Characters In Hamlet, Free Essays Best Hamlet Paper Ever One of the most unique things about the play Hamlet (with Hamlet playing the main character) is the way relationships between the main and lesser characters have not changed from Shakespeares time period in which he wrote this play to the modern dilemmas of today. The character Hamlet relates through individualism of self to others in the play and Shakespeare uses this confusion of self and nature thus assuring many types of readers who can relate to his Hamlet characterization. Hamlet portrays himself with all his human flaws, but it is this humanity that makes him distinctive from everyone else in the story. In addition, all of Hamlets waking hours are preoccupied with his own thoughts thus adding more intensity to his feelings and perceptions about where he sees imperfections, worry and tension as well as confusion, but without a doubt it is these human qualities which makes his situation so impossible for him to resolve easily. Another tragic role of the play is its irony. The irony allows the storyline to show humor as well as the cause and effects of each action taken. There is usually little reason for a tragedy to be funny so Shakespeare has used this type of humor to add more irony to the already tragic events of the play. Pause for thought is in the types of conflict that play a major part in the play and the relationships between Hamlet and the two people who have been closest to him; being Ophelia and the ghost. Hamlet cannot share his strong feelings and emotions with his mother or his girlfriend and while his mother is literally sleeping with the enemy, Ophelia has chosen the side of Claudius because of her father Polonius. It is especially difficult for Hamlet to talk to Ophelia. The only other woman in his life, Gertrude, has betrayed his father by marrying Claudius. Hamlet may be obsessed with the idea that all women are evil, yet he really does love Ophelia because when he finds out Ophelia has died he cries out, I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum.(Act V, Scene 1) The ghost provides Hamlet with a dilemma. In Shakespeare's plays supernatural characters are not always to be trusted (think of the three witches in Mac Beth who are instrumental in his downfall). Hamlet does not know whether the ghost is telling the truth or not. If Hamlet had killed Claudius solely on the ghost's advice then he would certainly been tried and put to death himself and there would probably have been a war to choose a new king. Being the humanitarian that he is, and taking into account his responsibilities as a prince and future king, Hamlet most likely would want to avoid a civil war because even though Claudius is a murderer and probably not as noble a king as Hamlet's father was yet he is still the king, bringing order to Denmark. Hamlet does not wish to plunge his country into chaos because of his own personal turmoil and realizes this will happen when he kills Claudius. To add to his quandary Hamlet is unable to combine the spiritual world (in the form of his father's ghost) with the tangible everyday world that surrounds him. There is much irony throughout this play. One occurrence of irony I found particularly striking was the fact that Hamlet effectively maneuvers himself into the same position as Claudius. Claudius had attacked and killed a man who did not have the opportunity to defend himself, but when Hamlet kills Polonius is he not guilty of the same? It is intriguing that both Claudius and Hamlet have killed fathers. It is interesting to see how these two completely different characters deal with the same problem in different ways. Other interesting parallels I found are the numerous deaths by poison. Claudius murdered Hamlets father with poison. In the final act the queen is the first to be poisoned by drinking from Hamlet's cup and then the poisoned tip of Laertes sword wounds Hamlet. When they change swords Hamlet gets the upper hand and Laertes is poisoned. After the queen dies Laertes explains

Memorial Day Quotes and Sayings

Memorial Day Quotes and Sayings On Memorial Day, we commemorate the  soldiers who sacrificed their lives in battles to win or preserve our freedom. Many of them were young men and women who did not live long enough to fully experience the privileges that they fought to sustain. Use these Memorial Day quotes and sayings to honor their sacrifice. Francis A. Walker: We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.Francis Marion Crawford: They fell, but oer their glorious grave floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.Daniel Webster: Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.Lucy Larcom: Life hangs as nothing in the scale against dear Liberty!Marcus Garvey: Chance has never yet satisfied the hope of a suffering people. Action, self-reliance, the vision of self and the future have been the only means by which the oppressed have seen and realized the light of their own freedom.Elizabeth Barrett Browning: And each man stand with his face in the light of his own drawn sword. Ready to do what a hero can.George F. Kennan: Heroism ... is endurance for one moment more.George Henry Boker: Fold him in his countrys stars. Roll the drum and fire the volley! What to him are all our wars, what but death be mocking folly? Benjamin Harrison: I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak because of those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did.James A. Garfield: For love of country, they accepted death.Omar Bradley: Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.Philip Freneau: But fame is theirs - and future days. On pillard brass shall tell their praiseLise Hand: Thats what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end.Louis Pasteur: It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes.James Gates Percival: Green sods are all their monuments, and yet it tells a noble r history than pillared piles or the eternal pyramids. Albert Einstein: So long as there are men there will be wars.Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Heroism is latent in every human soul. However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all self-denials; privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life-long hurts and losses, death itself? For some great good, dimly seen but dearly held.

The role of bureaucracy in economic development in Argentina Essay

The role of bureaucracy in economic development in Argentina - Essay Example Though bureaucracy in administration whether public or governmental has always given rise to many problems, but still there are hopes that a "brand new" bureaucracy has a long way to go towards economic development and consolidation of its institutions (Ducote, World Governance Survey) In circumstances where the slow process of Argentina's economic decline which intensified after World War II remained unable to get back to the colonial times, after 1853 was modernized. The early 20th century was the most favourable time when amazing progress was carried out at the political and economic level. Despite attaining independence from Spain, Argentina after spending many decades under the influence of Spanish democratic government continued with constitution with the old colonial features which began to reappear in Argentine administration (Hamilton, 2005). The integrated formulation predicts that the shift from populist authoritarian rule (1952) and to bureaucratic-authoritarian rule (1966) should not have produced fundamental policy changes in certain areas. These areas comprised of military in ad hoc provision, welfare and public works programs and a depoliticized system. By the early 1950s, cabinet instability had become chronic with a large scale development of a highly unionized public bureaucracy. The bureaucracy caused many problems like development of the cyclical balance-of-payments, foreign exchange. The economic inflation problems along with a combination of the cumbersome and inefficient public bureaucracy caused drainage of the resources elites had at their command (Most & Rienner, 1991, p. 67). Despite the impressive economic achievements since Independence, the re-emergence of colonial practices condemned Argentina to a trajectory of underdevelopment that could not be reversed by the democratic administrations of the 1990s. Background - The role of Military in Bureaucracy Military organizations were complex bureaucracies that uphold functional divisions. Those divisions affect not only the ways in which the military organizes work but also the ways in which it may fracture in the face of other kinds of challenges. (Norden, 1996, p. 108) The ad hoc military's role in the government should have been largely provisional. The size and complexity of the government should have increased as a result of the initiation and expansion of a variety of welfare and public works programs during the populist period without any concerted efforts to reorganize or control the growing bureaucracy. The impact of such developments on the bureaucratic-authoritarian coalition of the post-1966 period should have attempted to establish an exclusionary and depoliticized system. The military members of the bureaucratic authoritarian coalition should have unified themselves and taken control of the government with a view to establishing a more or less permanent military dictatorship. The technocrats of the bureaucratic authoritarian coalition should have rejected the political bargaining, electioneering, and pressure group politics that distorted earlier efforts at objective policymaking. The technocrats therefore decided to reorganize the sta te, increase its operating efficiency, and 'rationalize' its policymaking. The shift from the autocratic to bureaucratic Government was not supposed to have produced fundamental

The Importance of Vehicle Safety in the Contemporary Period Research Paper

The Importance of Vehicle Safety in the Contemporary Period - Research Paper Example Drunk driving is forbidden in most of the countries across the world owing to its immense potential to cause harm not only to the drunk driver but also to the other drivers and passers-by. When an individual is drunk, he/she loses the consciousness level that is required to drive prudently. Overcome with emotions and sleepiness, the individual takes sharp turns and drives at a very fast speed. Many people tend to drive after drinking thinking that they are too trained to be caught in an accident. A vast majority of the drunk drivers are quite expert at driving, but when the individual is not fully conscious, the driving skill becomes a secondary factor. What the driver primarily requires is control over the senses. A drunk driver does not even realize when he/she sped up more than necessary, and in the very moment, was caught in the accident. Wearing a seat belt seems a formality to a lot of drivers and many consider it too simple a protective measure to be efficient, though it is a fundamental necessity of driving. The seat belt is a shock absorber. It holds the driver back and keeps the head from smashing against the front mirror or the steering in the instant when the car suddenly strikes against something or is caught in an accident. Whenever a car suddenly stops, the lower part of the body stops with it while the upper part keeps moving at the same speed due to inertia. Thus, drivers that do not wear the seat belt get their heads crashed while the lower part of the body remains intact. But since the head is wounded, it means the brain is wounded. The human brain is amongst the most sensitive body organs and is of prime importance since it controls the body functions. Any damage to the brain cannot be sustained by the body. This is the reason why a vast majority of the drivers getting wounds in the head died at the sp ot. Thus, wearing a safety belt while driving is a must.  

The book FREEDOM by Johnatan Franzen. Journalist critics of the book Assignment

The book FREEDOM by Johnatan Franzen. Journalist critics of the book - Assignment Example d arranges marriages of contemporary time, it can be said that as an author he has developed his skills and deviated his way of writing technically and topically. This owing to the reason that he is able to captivate in comic and tragic hue at the same plane the provocations and the pressures the concept of liberty brings forth, the thrilling days of teenage immersed in sexual interests culminating almost into lust, the most provoking social issue of American society pertaining to mid-life crisis, collapsing of the wages in the suburb areas and the pang of staying under the reign of a heavy weight empire all come under one umbrella within the plot of the novel â€Å"Freedom†. Like most of the common topics of American literature, American dream does not find a very potent place within the plot of the novel, but the tinge of the issue can be traced within a microcosm of middle class American society. A deep delineation to the plot of the novel and close introspection to the motif launches the readers into a plethora of thought process where it is very clear that the novel captures a span of time frame as its background with some deliberate intentions. The time frame against which the plot of the novel, â€Å"Freedom† is set initiates during the last decades of the twentieth century and ends at the beginning of Obama administration. The novel captivates a wide time frame; therefore the socio-political and socio-economic ups and downs are tracked in the novel from a very close counter. The contour of American society is very evident through the book as it displays a volley of characters almost in a Dickensian way, â€Å"In the earliest years, when you could still drive a Volvo 240 without feeling self-conscious, the collective task in Ramsey Hills was to relearn certain life skills that your own parents had fled to the suburbs specifically to unlearn† (Franzen 4). The language is lucid and the syntax is clear. As regards to the anatomy of the book, then there are small

What is RFID technology In what ways can it improve supply chain Essay

What is RFID technology In what ways can it improve supply chain functioning - Essay Example This paper discusses one of the most efficient and trusted method of ensuring inventory efficiency is attained, the use of Radio Frequency Identification. The supply chain Radio Frequency Identification, abbreviated as RFID, is a technology used by some retailers and wholesalers to track goods along the supply chain (Millsap para. 4). This method employs the use of concealed RFID tags made by joining radio antennas with microchips. The tags can store up to two kilobytes of information. In the tag memory, information such as the product identification, price of the item, and its manufacture date is stored. The RFID tags are then attached on individual products or the packaging where they are read by a reader collecting information about the product and then transferring it to a computer system. With the use of RFID, companies can increase their efficiency of the global supply chain management through the visibility they devices offer on the demand of the products and ordering decision of customers. The RFID tags are effective in decreasing the Bullwhip effects. Since ordering and sales are closely related, companies can make proper decisions through Just in Time (JIT) information received from the tags and can, therefore, decrease effects of inefficient handling and making improper inventory decisions (Millsap para. 1). Although there have been ethical issues raised in regard to the tags, it is evident that they are very helpful in the supply

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary - Essay Example alents, cost of sales, total current assets, gross profit, long term debt, net income (loss), total equity, inventory and total assets for the years 2012 and 2011. The output also shows changes and percentage changes in the items over the two peariods. Debt to equity ratio defines the ratio of an entity’s capital that is contributed by third parties to owner’s equity. It is an instrumental tool to potential investors and lenders as it indicates levels of certainty of the entity’s continuity. It is determined by the following formula, Return on investment is a profitability ratio that compares the profit performance to the investment made towards that profit. It is fundamental to investors as users of financial statements. It is obtained from the formula, Liquidity refers to an institution’s ability to have cash or cash equivalents from which it can meet its short-term obligations. A firm that has readily available cash or current assets that can be easily converted to cash, such as inventory that can be sold or debtors that can pay to boost the entity’s cash reserve, is therefore said to be more liquid than one with less cash equivalents. Liquidity is further evaluated with respect to short-term obligations. A firm with higher current assets than current liabilities, hence a high current ratio is for instance more liquid that one with a smaller current ratio (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The company’s liquidity decreased from the year 2010 to the year 2011 with values of 1.76 and 1.09 respectively. This meant, on a short-term basis, that the company’s operations relied more on short-term debts, as compared to its current assets, in the year 2011 than in 2010. It also means a lower probability of acquiring short term debts hence strained short-term performance (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The gross profit margin defines a measure of an organization’s products profitability. The company experienced an improvement in its gross profit margin that

Business law and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business law and ethics - Essay Example Within such a framework, it is the understanding of the law that these stakeholders may have a less biased and more realistic interpretation for the means whereby a given firm or business can seek to maximize their own profits. Comparatively, within the United States, the manager or management of the firm has a high degree of latitude with regards to the actions and decisions that he/she can take to protect against a potential hostile takeover of his/her firm. As a means of explaining these key differentials to a greater and more complete degree, the following analysis will attempt to compare and contrast the means whereby managers within the United Kingdom and the United States are constrained by the rule of law to exhibit only certain levels of behavior in the event of a potential hostile takeover of their firm or business entity. Within the US system, the managers of the respective firm are allowed and encouraged to actively engage with regards to seeking to delineate the key bene fits and drawbacks that a potential takeover may have upon the viability of the company. By comparison, UK law specifically refuses the right of the manager to engage in such decision making strategy; rather, it places the onus of such a choice squarely upon the shoulders of the shareholders. Yet, this should not be understood to mean that takeovers in the United States are somehow shareholder â€Å"unfriendly†. ... option allows for a manager to engage in an active defense of the company’s stock if a potential takeover is denoted by the acquisition of 10-15% of a company’s stock by a hostile firm/individual. By comparison, managers within the United Kingdom are not allowed to take any â€Å"frustrating action†. This is due to the fact that the United Kingdom delineates a much more powerful focus upon the needs and rights of the respective shareholders as opposed to the United States approach which places most of the power and decision making ability upon the manager. As such, any â€Å"poison pill† option is implicitly forbidden under UK law. In short, â€Å"frustrating options†, defined as a means by which a manager of a firm can seek to disrupt the rate and extent to which a potential takeover might take place. However, what should be understood is that the strict laws that govern the level to which a firm in the United Kingdom can respond to a takeover only apply once the potential takeover is the horizon. As such, it is well within the law for the firm or entity to seek to entrench itself in a rather unassailable position prior to any of this taking place; thereby making its position much stronger and less likely to result in a predatory takeover of any sort whatsoever. Q2) Although ethics is broadly understood, the fact of the matter is that there are five traditional approaches to this topic which must be engaged with and understood in order for the student or the analyst to approach the topic with a firm level of understanding. As such, the following brief analysis will discuss each of these five traditional theories of ethics and define why each of these is important to understand and appreciate from the business perspective. Due to the fact that different points of

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wynn Resorts Financial Summary - Essay Example alents, cost of sales, total current assets, gross profit, long term debt, net income (loss), total equity, inventory and total assets for the years 2012 and 2011. The output also shows changes and percentage changes in the items over the two peariods. Debt to equity ratio defines the ratio of an entity’s capital that is contributed by third parties to owner’s equity. It is an instrumental tool to potential investors and lenders as it indicates levels of certainty of the entity’s continuity. It is determined by the following formula, Return on investment is a profitability ratio that compares the profit performance to the investment made towards that profit. It is fundamental to investors as users of financial statements. It is obtained from the formula, Liquidity refers to an institution’s ability to have cash or cash equivalents from which it can meet its short-term obligations. A firm that has readily available cash or current assets that can be easily converted to cash, such as inventory that can be sold or debtors that can pay to boost the entity’s cash reserve, is therefore said to be more liquid than one with less cash equivalents. Liquidity is further evaluated with respect to short-term obligations. A firm with higher current assets than current liabilities, hence a high current ratio is for instance more liquid that one with a smaller current ratio (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The company’s liquidity decreased from the year 2010 to the year 2011 with values of 1.76 and 1.09 respectively. This meant, on a short-term basis, that the company’s operations relied more on short-term debts, as compared to its current assets, in the year 2011 than in 2010. It also means a lower probability of acquiring short term debts hence strained short-term performance (Khan and Jain, p. 6- 40). The gross profit margin defines a measure of an organization’s products profitability. The company experienced an improvement in its gross profit margin that

Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Katrina Essay When an electrical power outage occurs from a storm, we are instructed to have flashlights, battery operated radios, a generator, survival gear, food, etc. But what happens when the power outage is long-term? What happens when the generator runs out of fuel and we can’t get more fuel? What happens when the batteries run down? For those who did not endure Hurricane Katrina, the consequences of loss of power combined with catastrophic flooding cannot even be imagined. The event of Katrina was not a mere inconvenience, it was a disaster of epic proportions. Much of the failure of first responders and ensuing rescue workers to operate efficiently was due to lost communications. Additionally, family members and friends could not find each other, nor could they find any information for quite a while. This particular storm was a nightmare for communications people as well as the victims. Simply the massive loss of power rendered the Gulf Coast without the basic tools to function. Today’s technology in communications is unparalleled and becoming even more sophisticated by the week; yet without power, even the most high-tech systems are useless (Donny Jackson, 12-01-2005). To review what happened during the storm that shattered communications networks, it is important to look at the emergency communications systems available and explain what failed and why. In the 35th largest city in the U. S. , how could so many people be suddenly disconnected? What happened to the cell phones, instant messaging, satellite technology, broadband, wireless and other forms of everyday communication that are largely taken for granted? Even in the horrendous disaster of 9/11, communication was still taking place. Even Hurricane Andrew didn’t knock all communications systems out. What was different about Hurricane Katrina? As Donny Jackson points out in Mobile Radio Technology (12-01-2005), all communications systems are designed with the notion that power is available. Backup generators and batteries are equipped to keep equipment running for a few hours at the most, which is usually ample time for the electrical grid to be back online to some capacity. In an earlier article by Donny Jackson (11-01-05), the floodwaters were to blame for most of the communications failures. The commander of police communications in New Orleans, Stephen J. Gordon, put it succinctly: â€Å"The wind was almost inconsequential†¦ It was the water that was the killer. † Herein was the problem: most wireless towers are designed to withstand hurricane force winds. The cell towers survived the winds, as in Florida’s hurricanes, but the power to drive the networks was knocked out by the unprecedented floodwaters in the city of New Orleans. There was also damage to a generator when flying debris punctured the radiator on the backup generator. When sudden damage of this type occurs, there is little that can be done to overcome the massive loss of communication. However, IT was still working, and emergency personnel were using the Internet to send out instant messages when all other communications failed. Of course, this was only possible with emergency power available until the fuel in the generators was gone. Since the roads were impassable and there was widespread damage to gas stations and roads to the gas stations, generator fuel swiftly dwindled. When communications are cut off to first responders in a disaster, chaos ensues as victims assume help is on the way and when it fails to arrive, the emotional aftermath is seen. First responders themselves are traumatized by being rendered almost as helpless as the victims they are hired to rescue and protect due to being cut off from each other. In the case of Katrina, it turned out that satellite and internet technology helped enormously in the days following the disaster, when families needed help finding each other and victims needed medical attention or evacuation. It seems that satellite technology had the edge over terrestrial communications systems, yet satellite communications are not yet sufficiently integrated into emergency communications networks, according to Satellite Industry Association (SIA) chairman Tony Trujillo (Peter Brown, 2006). Agreeing with this statement was the FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, stating that: If we learned anything from Hurricane Katrina, it is that we cannot rely solely on terrestrial communications (Brown). IT technology was utilized to patch together a system of tracking evacuees in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Several IT companies met two days after Katrina had struck and agreed to set aside competition and focus on helping the victims (Bart Perkins, 2005). Within five days, IT companies began executing networks for shelters, finding families, financial assistance and infrastructure. This mammoth effort was undertaken doing a lot with a little. Linking databases to larger organizations using what means were available was no small task, given that there was no power supply to speak of. In this case, the private sector possessed a greater ability to render assistance than the emergency or government agencies due to their skills and mobility. The Hurricane Katrina tragedy was ironic in that the entire world was more informed than the victims, evacuees and rescue workers regarding what was needed in the stricken areas, due to television, print and Internet media (Diane Mermigas, 2005). The observance of these phenomena has prompted the investigation into the further development of new bandwidth-rich services that go beyond media and entertainment and imbed themselves into emergency services. As a result of the losses and lack of preparedness in terms of emergency communications for a storm that was possible but not probable enough to prompt a major beefing up of communications networks, new measures are being taken to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Flagler County in Florida is investing $10 million to install an 800 MHz radio system, which will suitably serve multiple channels of communications and heavy user traffic through one network (Michael Reed, 2005). New Orleans had an 800 MHz system, but it was knocked out by the floodwaters. However, the terrain of Flagler County is different and the county also has two satellite phones available as a backup. Satellite equipment works well as long as one has a clear view of the southern sky, but in a city or indoors, they are ineffective (Jackson, 11-01-2005). Two satellite phones may not seem like much, but the county can simultaneously call for help and stay in contact with emergency officials if need be. Moreover, where Flagler County’s radio signals currently fail in the western part of the county, the new 800 MHz system will enable signals to 95 percent of the county. In New Orleans, when the 800MHz equipment was rendered inoperable by the water, the statewide system was insufficient in dealing with the new traffic of users in the form of out-of-area emergency workers (Jackson, 11-01-2005). The resulting demand now is for redundant forms of connectivity, networks capable of re-routing traffic around the point of failure, better protection for equipment in terms of casings, and alternative power sources. In the works now are packets of emergency communications networks that operate on satellite technology and are able to seamlessly interface with terrestrial technology (Brown). One of the acknowledged problems with the communications infrastructure was that in the areas stricken by Katrina, these systems were not in place prior to the storm. Had they been strategically placed, response would have been more efficient and effective. One of the problems with first responders dealing with satellite equipment is the time; first responses are time-critical and while the team is trying to get to the victims, it is not likely that having to keep repositioning the receiver on a mobile satellite communication system would be an attractive idea. There are alternatives that had been considered dubious prior to Katrina, but are now gaining interest. One such communication network is being developed by Space Data, based in Arizona. Almost laughably simple, the Sky Site Network uses weather balloons to fly base systems up to heights of 65,000 to 100,000 feet above the earth (Jackson, 12-01-2005). This system could be deployed in advance of an oncoming hurricane or in the event of a disabled network. The balloons can remain aloft for about a day and are reusable when they fall to earth. Another possibility is a combination of solar, fuel cell and wind powering towers instead of terrestrial electricity. While this combination has largely been dismissed as environmentalism driven pseudo-science, one company has gained great interest after Katrina and has installed the towers at an airport in West Virginia to run the video surveillance cameras (Jackson, 12-01-2005). Knowing that it is only a matter of time before another disaster strikes, whether it is natural or man-made, it is prudent to shore up communications systems and develop different networks, both terrestrial and satellite, that can be compatible. Due to the human condition, it is more likely that such systems will be developed in the private sector focusing on entertainment or gaming rather than emergency preparedness. It seems that new technology becomes quickly taken for granted and integrated into daily life so much that many forget how to function without it. Yet designers and officials would do well to think outside the box by finding multiple purposes for such communications devices, in the event of an emergency. Past disasters such as the London transit bombings of July 2005, the tsunami in Indonesia in 2005 and now Hurricane Katrina have shown the value of videophones and camera equipped cell phones. Yet these devices require terrestrial networks to operate as well as electrical power to recharge them. While some small items such as cell phones, calculators, etc. are solar powered, the sun is not always reliable. Nothing is. This fact should demonstrate the importance of multiple power sources, both conventional and alternative, in order for equipment to function for extended periods of time even when the main power is disabled. In any emergency, effective communication is critical. Making communications networks better can be the difference between life and death in future disasters. Works Cited Brown, Peter J. â€Å"Crisis On The Gulf Coast: When Satellite Was The Only Game In Town. † Via Satellite 21. 1 (2006): 1. Jackson, Donny. â€Å"Without power, but not powerless. † Mobile Radio Technology 23 (12-01-2005).

Adolescence as a stage of life course

Adolescence as a stage of life course This essay will discuss about adolescence as a stage of life course. It will first of all give the definition of adolescent. Utilising the lenses of Psychological, biological and sociological l theories, the essay will examine adolescent in its different facets and the impact on the adolescent. The essay will also demonstrate why adolescence is socially constructed. It will then explore how identities are formed in the process. The essay will look at the confusion in role that adolescents are facing in society. The essay will also discuss about the dynamic of the adolescents relationship with their family members, with their peers and with society as a whole. The essay will underline the importance of having the knowledge and insight of adolescence and the implication for social work practice. Adolescence or in Latin adolescere means to grow into maturity. The Evidences that marque this period are a considerable physiological as well as psychological changes. It is also defined as a time of significant changes; biologically, psychologically and social. These changes have consequently a massive impact on the adolescent`s social insertion. Considering adolescence as a process of growing up, it covers a life span between puberty and maturity. These two adjectives are what determinate the legal age of majority. According to universal definition, the beginning of adolescence is clearly defined by the appearance of the signs of puberty. These signs are triggered by hormones stimulation in the brain. These signs are internal as well as external. This transitional stage is the bridge that connects childhood and adulthood. Therefore teenagers are neither children nor adults. These changes have an impact on their relationships with both parents and peers. It also influences adolescents roles in society. The difficulties that are experienced by adolescents are also the confusion of identity.by definition, identity is a sense of self that develops as the child differentiates from parents and family and takes a place in society. This refers to the sense that adolescents have of who they are and also of what is most important about them. According to Erickson (1963) psychosocial theory, the adolescence life stage covers the period to 13 to 19 years old. He described this stage as fidelity where about the adolescent is experiencing psychosocial crisis. He described the crisis that characterise adolescence as identity versus role confusion. The psychosocial crisis is ` being the identity crisis versus the role confusion. The adolescent will raise concern about his appearance, his position and his role within society. During The transition from childhood to adulthood, the adolescent will also evaluate the role he will be playing in the grown-ups world. The combination of identity and roles for the adolescent is considered according to Hall (1904), as a time of storm and stress. The signs that forecast the storm and stress are mental disorder and challenging behaviour such as delinquency, mood swinging, withdrawalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ These changes within the adolescent`s life can also be voice breaking, experience sex arousal, gender-role identity increasing autonomy and responsibilities. Erickson (1963) was in favour that it is natural for human being to pass through a genetically determined sequence of psychosocial stages. Surely the adolescent will experience role confusion, confused ideas and feelings regarding specific ways in which he will fit into society. This experience will be underpinned by a spectrum of behaviour associated with certain activities such as getting closer to particular individual or enjoying doing specific things. The adolescent is hungry for more freedom; consequently parents have to reconsider their attitudes regarding their relationship with the adolescent. Erickson (1963) insisted that only when the adolescent is secured and confident in his own identity, he then can take risks involved in genuine social and sexual intimacy of a lasting kind. He stressed that during the adolescence life stage, the individual will eventually achieve a sense of identity regarding whom he is and where his life is heading to. A successful negotiation of the adolescence passage could prepare the adolescent for adult life by providing him with a sense of identity or in other words the adolescent will gain a sense of ego identity. Also the other facet of adolescent`s life is in later stages of adolescence the individual develops a sense of sexual identity. Erickson stressed that during adolescence, the blending of rapid growth, hormonal changes and a increasing awareness of adult tasks ahead pauses the question of the sameness and continuity. However, the problem in adolescence is the difficulty to establish a meaningful sense of personal identity. Evidence showed that emotional arousals are very intense and volatile during adolescence. The only possible escape route from this trap is risk-taking behaviour. Consequently the adolescent will be confronted by life-determined important question? Who am I and who will I be? The emergence of adult personality, is linked to the ability to choose and being faithful to commitments in role playing within society. He went on by stressing that the adolescent who fails to link identity and role will experience hardship and confusion in his lifespan. He insisted that life stages are punctuated by hardship and crisis. Life will always press demands upon individual, but the adolescent must be able to solve problem in order to successfully make transition between life stages. Hendry and Kloep (1999) were in favour to Erickson`s Psychosocial theory as they stressed that young people, as they grow up, find themselves in the trap of having to respond more and more to society`s demand in a responsible and adult way while being treated as immature and not capable of holding clear opinions on a wide range of social matters. This view demonstrates the difficulty for adolescent to behave like one. He is wanted to respond like an adult, but in the adult`s world he is considered as a child, therefore he is not able to get involve into serious discussions about society`s matters. But it is important to stress that adolescence is determined by an interconnection between physical and psychological development. During this period, new cognitive skills occur. The adolescent is able to reflect upon hypothetical event such as the concept of self and others. This would reshape the relationship between the adolescent and his family member and also with his peers. It important to stress that the quest for identity and the changing nature of relationship are considered as the specific traits of this period. James Marcia (1993), a writer who worked on Erickson`s life stage found four distinct kinds of identity status within adolescence. First of all he mentioned the identity diffusion which is characterised by the lack of commitment and indecision about serious life matters. The second identity status is the identity foreclosure. This one is the status of preliminary commitment and value commitment. It is characterised by the acceptance of other values. In other words, the adolescent is does not question or rebel against adults authorities. The third element that James Marcia (1993) found is the moratorium. He argued that the moratorium is a state of intense identity crisis. This crisis is defined by active interest to great decisions and exploration of opportunities for the future, but not yet concludes in a hard engagement. He went on by concluding that the moratorium status is and uncomfortable situation, because the adolescent may be tempted to avoid by going for the foreclosure. The last observation he made was the discovery of the identity achievement. The individual have overcome the crisis that he was experiencing and has finally decided engage in a concrete commitment. As Erickson would claim, this individual has successfully negotiated the challenge of this stage of life. Piaget`s (1952) work helps understanding the quantitative changes in how the adolescents think about their world. He claimed that adolescence is when children reach the stage of formal operation. He argued that at this stage, children are capable of solving problem as adults. According to his theory; Adolescence is the period when young people gain considerable new changes in their thinking abilities. We all agree that greater maturity emerges in capacities of reasoning and problem-solving. In the case of adolescence, it seems to be a qualitative move in thinking toward the ability to maintain different views simultaneously, considering knowledge and values as more linked than during childhood, and exploring more options and possibilities in their decision-making. On the other hand, these capacities of seeing situation from different perspective enable the adolescent to reflect upon the quality of his relationship with others and how he is treated. However, the probability of the good use of these new capacities depends on the experience, expertise and environmental demands. For Freud psychosexual theory, adolescence is regarded as the final stage of psychosexual development. Adolescence is directly linked to a considerable change in a sexual attitude. The adolescent seems to be directed toward the opposite sex in order to find a partner. Bowlby regarded adolescence as a stage which attachments to parents-figures are loosened. The adolescent will form new adult attachement. Bandura`s social learning stressed that most of human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling: from observing others, one forms an ideas of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. This theory demonstrates that human behaviour is a continuous reciprocal intervention between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influence. In respect of the adolescent`s identity and role, the social learning theory explains that adolescent copies his behaviour from what he has been taught. Also the quality of this relationship with others will depend on the codes received from them and from the environment. Maslow (1970) Humanistic approach in terms of the adolescence stage tends toward the self-actualisation aspect. As the adolescent is preparing to get into adult world, it is important to understand certain prerequisites attached to his status. Self-actualisation is the fact that one make full use of one`s talent and capacities. But in order to understand the full meaning of what constitutes full use, one must have a conception of the goal of growth and development. But yet like Rogers, Maslow believed that healthy people would start to show certain traits of self-actualisation characteristics. Aristotle (4th century B.C/1941 translation) comes in support of the social learning approach. He regarded that human being is an organic whole. His biological development has an impact on his psychological development. He stresses that young people that experience adolescence are emotionally unstable. Furthermore, Plato and Aristotle argued that those adolescents are impulsive. They are predisposed to excess. This attitude can be explained by the biological and psychological changes that they are going through. But, they marked that the end of this seismic period is punctuates by the development of a sense of self-control. Aristotle recognised that the most important trait of adolescence was the ability to choose. But this ability to choose is conditioned by various humanistic stages. Baker (1990) insists that although adolescence is a time of major change, many adolescents will experience it without major difficulty. Giving that adolescence spreads over a number of years, it involves important aspects such as social, emotional, cognitive and physical changes. In order to develop better understanding of this life stage, adolescence is divided into three sub-stages. The early adolescence (12-14) is the year where most of the physical changes appear. These changes are also followed by changes in relationships with peers and parents. The middle adolescence (14-16): at this stage, again variations occur. The most noticeable change is the increasing hunger for independence. But also some the adolescent are preparing for adult occupation and/or going into further education. Again, some of them experience late physical changes such as the appearance of spurts, voice breakingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Some of them exceptionally enter adult roles directly from middle adolescence. Late adolescence (17-19) is the time of progressive preparation for adulthood. As one would notice that the key features for adolescent are most of the time seen to be establishing a secure sense of who they are as they prepare for adult roles. It`s also about weaving more interdependent relationships with families. It is reaching physical adult maturity. And finally, it is constructing relationships with peers. Berger (1966) society not only controls our movements, but shapes our identity, our thought and our emotions. The structures of society become the structures of our own consciousness. Society does not stop at the surface of our skins. Society penetrates us as much as it envelops us. Human being is a sociable individual. His development and his identity are shaped by his ability of building up a relationship with others and with his environment. Talcott (1954), a functionalist argued that age differences are the forces that drive the overall functioning of the social system. He insisted that differences in social roles are associated with age groups in order to ensure the smooth running of the society itself. According to Talcott Parsons (1954) a functionalist, differences in the roles associated with age groups were very important for the good functioning of society. Talcott (1954) stressed that adolescence is a time when children start to express independence from their parents. Concerning the adolescence, Talcott (1954) believed that it the time when children start to develop independence from their parents. In the industrial society it is important that adolescents detached themselves from their parents in order to allow party, parents and adolescents to freely move to where work can be found. This independence from their parents shifts the loyalty that adolescents have for their parents to their peers and / or partners. Talcott (1954) went on by stressing that adolescents in their quest for independence are most of the time involve in a sort of rebellion. Also adolescents in their quest of who they are, put lot of accents on their image and on their independence. Though, it understood that the transition towards adult roles may not always be a smooth one, it helps the emergence of independent individuals within families units who well adapt to respond to the needs of industrial societies. Other authors would support that adolescence is by definition partly biology but also psychological transition, which is differently seen in different societies, at a different epoch. As far as they were concerned, in non-industrial countries where children were involved in the same activity as their parents, adolescence was a brief transition from childhood to adulthood. This brief transition was however marked by a cultural ceremony. For example, The Bar Mitzvah in the Jewish culture celebrates the transition for boys. However one understood that in western society, there is not a precise date to mark adolescence but it does mention a relatively prolong period in which young people are biologically adult but legally children. Nevertheless it is clear that the biological change is chares by every society. The explanation of the rebellious attitude of adolescents toward their parents could be due to the fact that the individual would like to resemble to the parents. They want to have the same authority and freedom as their parents. On the other hand, conformity in rule biding in Order, deviance and control are some of the basic realities in society. Order in society is the fact that individual can act and interact without major interruption. The definition of social order is the conformity to social norms and rules. Deviance occurs generally when rules are broken. Adolescents anti-social behaviour can be seen as a form of deviance. The main formal way to control adolescents deviance includes the police, the court, the prison, probation system and also the social worker. Durkheim ( ) a functionalist, insisted that order is important for the simple reason that it maintains the social equilibrium .Surely order is important for social life. However no-one have said that it is morally good of bad. It is how order is given which constitutes the major issues. Most authors recognised that adolescence is a transition stage which involves establishing a new identity. However, as individual experience things differently, one can stress that adolescence is not necessary a time of stress and bad behaviour. Other people have experienced a smooth transition from childhood to adolescence. Merton Marxist conclusion Ref: jann gumbiner (2003),Adolescent assessment Ref : Kate Wilson, Gillian Ruch ,Mark Lymbery, Andrew Cooper (2008), Social work (an introduction to contemporary practice), Pearson Education Limited. Ref : Richard Gross (2009) psychology the science of mind and behaviour, Hodder Arnold, 5th edition Ref: William E. Glassman(1995), approaches to psychology, open university press, 2nd edition. Ref : Haralambros and Holborn (2008), Sociology, Themes and Perspectives, Collins, seven edition Ref : Chris Beckett (2002), Human Growth and Development, Sage Publication Ltd, first edition. Mike O`Donnell (1997), Introduction to sociology, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, Fourth edition