Wednesday, October 30, 2019

IT CAN BE ABOUT ANYTHING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT CAN BE ABOUT ANYTHING - Essay Example Many protesters on the West Coast are starting to form a general game plan that protesters on the East Coast have not done. They are shutting down ports owned by large financial firms such as Goldman Sachs. These are the real firms that the protestors are trying to harm. Alliances with some labor groups have put the protestors in a position of power. Some sociologists see this as a recipe for increasingly militant protests in the coming months up and down the West Coast. I rally liked this article because it was very informative and answered questions that I had about the Occupy Wall Street movement on the West Coast. I did not understand why so many people showed up to shut down the Port of Oakland. As far as I was concerned, that wasn’t hurting anyone other than the men and women working at the dock. They surely didn’t get paid for that missed day of work. I now realize that it was actually a part of a plan between the protestors and the workers on the docks. This article is an important one because it confirms how I feel about the Occupy Wall Street movement. I do not think it is going to go away. Something is sure to happen eventually that will motivate more people to get out in the street or to elect different sorts of people to government in Washington DC and in state governments all over America. I believe in this movement and would like to see the rules that favor the richest Americans changed so everyone can have a better chance at moving up in life. These are some of the issues that will define my generation. How we handle ourselves at this point in time is very critical, because if this Occupy Wall Street movement fails or fades away, then that will embolden the richest Americans even more. I felt that the authors Wholsen and Collins did a great job with this story. It was a fair, unbiased

Monday, October 28, 2019

Medmira Case Essay Example for Free

Medmira Case Essay MedMira Case Course: Marketing Planning What changes in the environment made it possible to consider the launch of an OTC Aids Test? Be specific. MedMira is known by developing and manufacturing quality diagnostics to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases. All tests used a flow-through membrane technology and were fast and easy to use. Medmira was distributing rapid HIV tests in Canada, United States, South Africa, Latin America and China, and selling them to hospitals, pharmacies and aid groups. One of the focuses of MedMira was to expand to Over-the-Counter market as there happened some changes that made it possible to consider this attempt: New infections were happening and about 3.1 million people were dying from HIV. This adds a higher preoccupation to the government and specialists on the health sector and pressure to arrange a solution. During the 80’s, there were few available treatment and when people knew they had the virus they would see it as a death sentence. Nowadays this idea is disappearing as technology is more advanced, it is a â€Å"more manageable illness† and there is an increase of information available about HIV. Due to legal approval of the tests, MedMira was able to distribute rapid HIV tests in Canada, United States, China and European Union. This is a step closer of entering the OTC market. Rapid testing was expected to grow between 20 to 30 per cent of the market. This expected growth was also related to a higher approval by governments as there were changes in the society acceptance and technological improvements on this area. Comparison factor as Medmira’s first rapid HIV test for OTC, Miracare, had a big success in China and this could happen in the rest of the world. Due to this accomplishment, international demand for this product has increased. Prepare a SWOT analysis for MedMira Aids Test. The following SWOT analysis contains the most significant and strategically important internal and external conditions that MedMira faces. The Internal is divided into strengths and weakness and the external is divided into opportunities and threats: Internal Strengths: -HIV test market leader -Easy use Weakness: -Ethical concerns -Cannibalization of revealing G2 External Opportunities: -Partnership with HA -Open door for testing other diseases -Growing rapid test market Threats: -Ethical concerns -Possible partnership of HA with competitors -Entry costs MedMira has some internal strengths by being a HIV test market leader, specially selling to hospitals, and suitable for at-home use. The Aids test is also easier to use and faster on getting the results relative to the competition, result of this was a higher international recognition. Relative to weakness aspects, there are some ethical concerns such as the possibility of testing without another person’s authorization that is a negative aspect. Apart from this, in case MedMira is able to enter the OTC market, there is a possibility of cannibalizing the sales of Reveal G2 to laboratories and hospitals, as the products would be considered as â€Å"substitutes† as they practically have the same objective. One of the opportunities is the partnership with Home Access and develop a revised  version of HA’s Consumer Advocate System. This partnership would eliminate the ethical concerns MedMira couldn’t address and would also help to remain competitiveness, build a barrier to entry of other firms on the phone support system and reduce courier costs. Another opportunity is if MedMira could enter the OTC market, it would be an open door for rapid tests of other infectious diseases that are worth millions. For last, the development of the rapid test market is a favorable trend to higher sales and profits, which is seen as a good opportunity. If Home Access, which possesses a patent on phone support system, joins with one of the competitors, MedMira will eventually lose competitiveness with this partnership, being one of the main threats. For last, entry costs on the OTC market are high and it is not clear if the company could afford the expansion at this moment. To conclude this analysis, the partnership would have a positive impact in the society. Because if consumers are able to buy rapid tests, this could prompt people to be tested earlier in a faster, easier and more accessible way, which would reduce the instances of transmission.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Billy Budd Essay -- essays research papers

BILLY BUDD   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many ways you can argue if the novel Billy Budd was a good novel or a bad one. You can determine this by looking at such things as plot, character, and the use of language. The book is about a sailor that has been impressed (the act of forcibly taking sailors and making them serve in the navy) by the British navy. It is set in the late 1700’s during the French Revolution which overthrew the anarchy, addressed peoples concerns, and it was mainly a focus on human rights. The Revolution also influenced the way sailors thought because of the mutinies at Spit head and Nor. And due to Billy’s notable qualities he became the handsome sailor(the natural leader of the crew). Also since the British Navy needed so many people to fight with them they picked up many people making their ships crew multi cultural. But Billy went onto the ship not only to find out that his life will come to an abrupt stop. The novel appealed in many ways with both likes an d dislikes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel was fairly good due to its plot layout. The early setting in the late 1700’s, and the whole sailor aspect was good. the things that make the novel interesting is that its on a boat in the old age and if someone gets injured or something similar to that the healing process will not be as good. just knowing that can make you look at the book a whole new way because you look more for violence sometimes than peoples discussing something. The...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Career Management Week 4 Hrm 531

Career Management Plan HRM 531/ Human Capital Management Career Management Plan Introduction The Career management plan begins with the employee themselves. They are the key to their own success. ‘A career is not something that should be left to chance; instead, in the evolving world of work it should be shaped and managed more by the individual than by the organization. † (Grove, 1999). While it is important for the employee to manage their own career it is equally important for their managers to develop a career management plan to guide them within the organization.The employee may take this information and either develop from it or become stagnant. This paper will discuss different aspects of Career Management such as: feedback, how a manager will help employees reach higher levels of performance, opportunities for advancement to increase skills, flexible opportunities for dual-career parents, adaptation to team diversity and a justification of every member’s ca reer and how they will be handled along with the expected benefits and types of costs. Analysis FeedbackDevelopmental feedback should be given to each employee by their manager or supervisor. Feedback is defined as, â€Å"An employee performance appraisal is a process—often combining both written and oral elements—whereby management evaluates and provides feedback on employee job performance, including steps to improve or redirect activities as needed. † (Cascio, 2006, p 327). Feedback may be both positive and negative. Both should be presented to the employee. If negative feedback is offered the manager should be cautious and sensitive on the presentation of the material.There are different kinds of feedback that should be offered to the employee. The different periods that feedback may be offered in are; after thirty days of starting in the position, immediately as needed in a situation or regularly scheduled. New Employee Each new employee will be evaluated 3 0 days after their first day of working in the position. This feedback will allow the employee to see how they are performing to the job description of the position. It will also give the manager the information on how the employee is performing to the expectations of the position.If redirecting and review needs to take place, this is an important time in the career path of the employee. This sets the foundation for good employee habits. Immediate Feedback In a heightened situation a review and feedback should be done in a timely fashion or immediately as the situation requires. This allows the employee to redirect if necessary and build good work habits. While feedback cannot always be managed so quickly, this is the optimal solution. Immediate feedback should be in the manner of oral and written communication.The supervisor should counsel the employee and speak to the employee with immediate feedback, then follow up with written communication. The employee should then have the abi lity to respond to the supervisor in writing within thirty days. Scheduled feedback Feedback will be given to the employee on a scheduled basis. A review will be done both semi-annually and annually. The format for the semi-annual and annual appraisals will be the same. The goal of each manager will be to provide the employee important information on their performance. The appraisal will be non – biased and informational.The employee should be rated on their individual strengths, including: the quality of their work, knowledge of the job, communication between other members of the organization, work habits, job knowledge and the behaviors and relations with others. The feedback from the appraisal should show how the employee can improve their performance and the tools and resources they have available to improve their performance. After the feedback is presented to the employee in oral and written format, the employee will have thirty days to respond to the feedback.The manag ers or supervisors will then have thirty days to respond to the employees’ feedback. How a manager will help employees reach higher levels of Performance The basis of goal setting and the appraisal and feedback process is to assist the employee to reach higher levels of performance within their current position and to set the stage for future performance and growth. This performance may benefit our company or the employee may leave and take the skill sets they have learned with them.It is the job of the manager to assist the employee to gain higher levels of performance so that they will want to stay with our company. Cascio describes performance as, â€Å"A manager who defines performance ensures that individual employees or teams know what is expected of them, and that they stay focused on effective performance. † (Cascio, 2006, p 329). . How do we as managers accomplish this task? â€Å"By paying careful attention to three key elements: goals, measures, and assessm ent† (Cascio, 2006, p 329). Setting goals for employees sets the expectations that they will work toward.Cascio describes the goal setting process, â€Å"Set specific, challenging goals, for this clarifies precisely what is expected and leads to high levels of performance. On average, studies show, you can expect to improve productivity 10 percent by using goal setting. ’ (Cascio, 2006, p 330). The employees should have realistic and measureable goals. The more defined the goals are the easier they will be understood and be able to be assessed. These goals should align and incorporate the corporate objective of increasing market share and customer based sales. The measures and assessments are part of the appraisal and feedback process.Opportunities for Advancement Opportunities for advancement are largely dependent on the employee and their desire to meet and exceed the goals a manager has set for them. The long term goals for each person vary. It is a managers’ job to realistically discuss what the goals of each employee’s are. Individual goals vary from person to person. One goal for an upcoming salesperson may be to be a Sales Manager within five years. For an older person it may entirely different. Cascio describes an older person’s goal, â€Å"Late careers increasingly are defined in terms of phased retirement.In this new world, the ultimate goal is psychological success, the feeling of pride and personal accomplishment that comes from achieving your most important goals in life, be they achievement, family happiness, inner peace, or something else. † (Cascio, 2006, p 376). Options for Advancement Once individual goals are set, the manager may look at the various options available within the company to meet the needs of the employee. There are a variety of options available to the manager to meet the different goals of an employee. The goals may include upward or lateral moves within the company.To meet the indivi dual goals, training or retraining in different areas may be necessary. The employee may need to be challenged so that they do not become stagnant. The manger may identifying skill sets of the employee and suggest vacancies or positions within the company that would utilize the employees’ strengths to move upward. If the company adds a new market segment, retraining may be offered to current employees. The tuition reimbursement plan of $2000. 00 per employee per year allows the employee to have the company pay for further education at an accredited institution.The focus of the education must align with the employees’ position or future goals. The tuition reimbursement plan is part of the employees’ total compensation package. Other offerings to employees may be established if the manager identifies an unmet need that would benefit many employees. Flexible opportunities for Dual – Career Parents In current studies we see that â€Å"forty five percent of t he workforce is made up of dual- career couples. † (Cascio, 2006, p 379) The dual career couples and parents have presented to be a unique concern in our company.To meet the needs of this group we have offered a variety of opportunities to our employees. Flexible work hours have been established in departments that are not schedule based. Employees may use accrued compensation time to meet family needs. They appreciate work times that may tailored to their family needs. Since beginning this policy, we see that the turnover rate of dual career couples has decreased. Telework from home is allowed for approved employees. When employees are sick or have sick children they work from home, which has reduced company absenteeism.This has allowed employees the flexibility to meet the needs of their families while maintaining productivity. On-site daycare facilities have been established in many of our site locations. This allows parents to spend more time with their children. It has de creased absenteeism of parents. Reviews from parents with children in the company day care facilities have stated that they no longer have to take time off because of private care facilities closing during work days. In many instances productivity has increased because of these measures. The goals of a dual career couple employee may also be unique.The manager should be aware of any special concerns regarding lateral, upward or career relocations this may have for the employee. Adaptation to team diversity and a justification of every member’s career Our company has a combined workforce made up with a very diverse set of employees. There are new graduates directly out of high school and college that have little to no work experience. There are seasoned employees that have been with the company for a number of years. There are individuals from a variety of races that speak many different languages.Our workforce is comprised of nearly equal genders. We are a non-biased company that is utilizing each employee’s strengths. When a unique talent is needed in a specialized market we try to fill the position using the employee’s strong points. Culture differences and fluency in different languages is definitely a plus in our company. An example of the current views on cultures shows that most companies are trying to diversify their workforce. â€Å"We feel it’s important to have employees who represent all walks of life from many diverse cultural backgrounds. (Burden, Octo) We have recently marketed to the Health Care industry in a Spanish speaking region. We have realigned the Spanish speaking sales representative and customer support to these accounts. Productivity and sales have increased three times in the account. Participation in these market segments is voluntary and should be part of the personal goals of the employee. Bonuses and salary increases of five percent will be given to bilingual employees that work in these diverse marke t segments. Bias toward any particular group of people will not be tolerated.Justify the report and the expected benefits and types of costs. The process of appraising, rating and feedback allows for clear and concrete goal setting. The cost of the process and employee offerings far outweighs the cost of doing a mediocre job of employee development and career planning. With concise goals and managers that assist in employee development a strong workforce is being developed within the company. There are many benefits to assisting employees with their career plans. We have a workforce that is staying with the company for longer period of times, more nowledgeable about many departments within the company and more loyal. We have workers that are telecommuting, getting more work done at home than at the office. These are just some of the benefits of career planning. There are also many costs that are avoided with having a stronger workforce. These costs are associated with the lack of em ployee development and career planning. Employee retention and turnover is one of the largest costs to a company. In an industry average we see that employee turnover has a great impact. These calculations will easily reach 150% of the employee’s annual compensation figure. The cost will be significantly higher (200% to 250% of annual compensation) for managerial and sales positions. † (Bliss, May) Retraining employees to work in another department allows them to share and expand their knowledge and eventually make for a stronger company. â€Å"While it is true that sales and other financial statistics determine the success of a company, what most people overlook is the fact that employees are among the most important determinants of the success of a company. (Icles, Apri). Conclusion This paper has shown the process of feedback, how managers may assist employees to reach a higher level of performance, a discussion on lateral and upward advancement, dual – coupl e careers, diversity and the benefits and types of costs of having a career plan. It has been seen that having goals that are derived from an appraisal may start the employee on a career plan. While the employee is ultimately responsible for developing their own career, their manager will play a significant role in modeling the way for that development.Developing a career management plan for employees has associated costs, but we have seen that the benefits outweigh these costs. These benefits are retention of happier, more productive and loyal employees. It appears that career management planning is the way to go for any company. References Bliss, W. G. (May 9, 2010). Cost of Employee Turnover. Retrieved from http://www. isquare. com/turnover. cfm Burden, M. (October 15,2010) Flint Journal – Michigan Business Flourish Because of Bilingual Workers. Retrieved from

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Hunting snake Judith Wright Essay

The main subject of the poem is the sudden appearance of the snake and the surprised reactions of the poet and her companion. The snake does no harm to the walkers and they in turn do not harm the snake. As an environmentalist, Wright sought to preserve the natural surroundings in Australia. She cared intensely for the Aboriginal people who lived in close intimacy with nature which the settlers did not. The poem, on the surface, is about the sudden appearance of the snake but it could also be about the various creatures that lived in Australia and the animal friendly way of life of the aboriginal people. The initial emotion that overtakes the poet and her companion is shock or surprise. They are walking along a grassy patch (not a jungle) when they see the snake â€Å"reeling by†. Soon this surprise is overtaken by admiration for the perfection of its body, the symmetry of the scales on its surface and the single minded (â€Å"fierce intent†) pursuit of its prey. Structure The poem has a tightly controlled structure that does not permit much innovation. The beginning of the poem describes a peaceful scene when nature is full of the mellow sunshine of autumn, then comes the surprise of finding a snake in their midst. But there is no sudden movement or strong emotion expressed so there is no change in the structure either. The poem has four quatrains with a traditional rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef in the first three stanzas but the fourth stanza is ghhg. The change in the last stanza is like the letting out of breath (â€Å"We took a deeper breath of day,†) after having unconsciously held it while the snake was around. Thereby emphasising the relief that the observers felt. If you extend beyond the surface level meaning, you could explore the symbolism here: is Wright challenging the attitude that we have towards the indigenous Aboriginals, by highlighting the judgement that the observers have made (that the snake is dangerous) when in actual fact, it is just going about it ´s daily life? Are we too quick to make a judgement on a people group that has different values  to us? You might like to link this to A Different History, as the Brits coined the category, â€Å"Aboriginal Australians† after they begin colonising Australia in 1788. Notice how language is used to form stereotypes. Language The language used is very simple but the imagery is strong making it a visceral poem. The choice of sibilants (â€Å"we scarcely thought; still as we stood†) mimics the movements of the snake to highlight the immediate fear that the observers feel towards it. Again, are we afraid of what we don ´t fully understand and therefore, make unnecessary judgements? Imagery The use of strong imagery marks the poem. The opening images are of a balmy day in autumn when there is a â€Å"mellow fruitfulness† everywhere. The calm is broken by the sudden arrival of the snake. The picture of the snake in single minded pursuit of its prey, tongue darting as it feels the ground, the grass parting as it moves through are pen pictures which allow us to â€Å"see† the event. The poem focuses on the event rather than the narrator allowing us to share in the emotions. Symbolically, is Wright encouraging us not to impulsively respond to our immediate reactions when faced with something unknown, or something that we don ´t fully understand, so that we reflect upon our preconceived notions about a person/situation? Thus, is she challenging the stereotypes surrounding the Aboriginies? Movement / Rhythm The rhyme scheme is a simple abab, cdcd, efef and ghhg. The rigidity of the scheme allows the poet to focus on the event rather than on the emotions or the feelings of the poet. The movement of the snake is copied in the movement of the lines and the sibilants evoke a slithering sensation. Sounds Alliterative and sibilant sounds as in â€Å"sun glazed his curves of diamond scale†, â€Å"we scarcely thought; still as we stood† convey the impression of a slithering movement of the snake as it moved fast over the grass. These  devices continue to relate to the relationship that humanity has with nature: we should respect nature, the natural world and the people who live in it. Figures of Speech Through an extended metaphor, the poet tells us of the symbiotic relationship between the snake and man. There is no maudlin talk about the prey or the cruelty of the snake as a hunter but merely an acknowledgement of the sense of purpose behind the movement of the snake. Mainly, Wright depicts this symbiotic relationship so that man reflects upon his treatment of a) the natural world around him and b) the indigenous people group found in a country.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Socrates “most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Life“

, the individual beliefs in what’s right and what’s wrong (just and unjust). Now, the problem is should we obey or disobey the laws that we believe is unjust? I feel we should disobey it, in a non-violent fashion. Dr. King stated â€Å"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself†. (p. 252). Even though, laws are meant to put a social order in life some laws may apply to degrade some individuals or groups, and if a law applies in inferiority then it should be disobeyed. I believe Socrates beliefs in a â€Å"good life† were right and he send was a good example. Socrates questioned society, the gods, and the laws of his civilization and for his questionings he was sentence a death penalty. In the dialogue of Crito, Socrates went on into explaining why he wouldn’t escape from jail. Socrates stated, â€Å"for anyone who destroys the laws could easily be thought to corrupt the young and the ignorant†. (p. 55). He believed that running away would give influence society that he was really an ignorant person and was really corrupting the you... Free Essays on Socrates â€Å"most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Lifeâ€Å" Free Essays on Socrates â€Å"most Important Thing Is Not Life But The Good Lifeâ€Å" Socrates argues the (1981) â€Å"most important thing is not life, but the good life† (p. 50). I strongly agree with Socrates statement because I couldn’t live life oppressed forever; I’ll even sacrifice my life for a â€Å"good life† because without a â€Å"good life† it wouldn’t be worth living. Therefore, I believe in a good life as long as you fight it in a non-violent fashion just as the great Marting King Jr, and Gandhi has done. In order to live a â€Å"good life† you have to fight for it even if it means your life. History has shown it, fighting for what you believe in will get you somewhere; look at Marting Luther King Jr and Jesus Christ. To give you a better understanding of what is a â€Å"good life’, â€Å"good life† is what an individual believe what is morally correct; in other words, the individual beliefs in what’s right and what’s wrong (just and unjust). Now, the problem is should we obey or disobey the laws that we believe is unjust? I feel we should disobey it, in a non-violent fashion. Dr. King stated â€Å"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself†. (p. 252). Even though, laws are meant to put a social order in life some laws may apply to degrade some individuals or groups, and if a law applies in inferiority then it should be disobeyed. I believe Socrates beliefs in a â€Å"good life† were right and he send was a good example. Socrates questioned society, the gods, and the laws of his civilization and for his questionings he was sentence a death penalty. In the dialogue of Crito, Socrates went on into explaining why he wouldn’t escape from jail. Socrates stated, â€Å"for anyone who destroys the laws could easily be thought to corrupt the young and the ignorant†. (p. 55). He believed that running away would give influence society that he was really an ignorant person and was really corrupting the you...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Outlining The Impairments Conditions Children And Young People Essay Example

Outlining The Impairments Conditions Children And Young People Essay Example Outlining The Impairments Conditions Children And Young People Essay Outlining The Impairments Conditions Children And Young People Essay Self-identity is defined as the perceptual experience of the functions individual s espouse throughout their life-time with turning grounds proposing that self- individuality can last throughout dementedness including the ulterior phases ( Cohen- Mansfield, Parpura-Gill A ; Golander 2006, p. 202 ) . Facilitating meaningful activity for people with dementedness has grown from this research, demoing that it can take to improved wellbeing , a term which encompasses an person s accomplishment of a satisfactory being ( Harris, Nagy A ; Vardaxis 2006, p. 1827 ) . As such, the impression of facilitating meaningful activity involves the acknowledgment of the importance of showing ego individuality and individualism through developing and take parting in meaningful business and activity which brings significance to each person. Facilitating meaningful activity involves helping people with dementedness achieve personal ends of activity, made meaningful through alining them to their single values, past functions, involvements and cognitive ability ( Harmer A ; Orrell 2008, p. 552 ) . The family/whanau Family health professionals of people with dementedness, frequently called the unseeable 2nd patients, are critical to the quality of life of the attention receivers. The effects of being a household health professional, though sometimes positive, are by and large negative, with high rates of load and psychological morbidity every bit good as societal isolation, physical ill-health, and fiscal adversity. Health professionals vulnerable to inauspicious effects can be identified, as can factors which ameliorate or exacerbate load and strain. Psychosocial intercessions have been demonstrated to cut down health professional load and depression and hold nursing place admittance. Comprehensive direction of the patient with dementedness includes constructing a partnership between wellness professionals and household health professionals, referral to Alzheimer s Associations, and psychosocial intercessions where indicated. The carers Advance attention planning is a procedure that helps you to do determinations about your hereafter wellness attention. It is normally done in audience with your health care suppliers, household members and other of import people in your life.A An Advance Care Plan, or Advance Directive, is one manner of seting this program into composing. It needs to be done when you are good, and before you can no longer do determinations for yourself.A A written Advance Care Plan can assist those supplying attention for you to cognize what you want if you are no longer able to pass on your wishes.A Patients in the ulterior phases of dementedness may go earnestly sick. They may no longer be able to pass on their wants. If they did non do any progress programs, a household member may be asked about giving or keep backing different interventions such as tubing eating. It can be helpful to discourse these affairs before the individual becomes acutely ill so that you are cognizant of the options and determinations to be made. The progression/development of the marks and symptom Recent memory loss that affects twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours maps It is normal to bury meetings, co-workers names or a friend s telephone figure on occasion, but so retrieve them subsequently. A individual with dementedness may bury things more frequently, and non retrieve them at all. Trouble executing familiar undertakings Busy people can be so distracted from clip to clip that they may go forth the carrots on the range and merely retrieve to function them when the repast has finished. A individual with dementedness might fix a repast and non merely bury to function it, but besides forget they made it. Problems with linguistic communication Everyone has problem happening the right word sometimes, but a individual with dementedness may bury simple words or replacement inappropriate words, doing sentences hard to understand. Disorientation to clip and topographic point It is normal to bury the twenty-four hours of the hebdomad or your finish for a minute. But people with dementedness can go lost on their ain street, non cognizing where they are, how they got at that place or how to acquire back place. Poor or decreased opinion Dementia affects a individual s memory and concentration, and this in bend affects their opinion. Many activities, such as drive, require good opinion and when this ability is affected, the individual will be a hazard, non merely to themselves, but besides to others on the route. Problems with abstract believing Balancing a cheque book may be hard for many of us. Person with dementedness could bury wholly what the Numberss are and what needs to be done with them. Misplacing things Anyone can temporarily mislay a billfold or keys. A individual with dementedness may repeatedly set things in inappropriate topographic points. Changes in temper or behavior Everyone becomes sad or Moody from clip to clip. Person with dementedness can hold rapid temper swings, for no evident ground. They can go baffled, leery or withdrawn. Changes in personality Peoples s personalities can alter a small with age. But a individual with dementedness can go leery or fearful, or apathetic and incommunicative. They may besides go dis-inhibited, overfamiliar or more outgoing than antecedently. Loss of enterprise It is normal to pall of housekeeping, concern activities or societal duties. The individual with dementedness may lose involvement in antecedently enjoyed activities, or go really inactive and necessitate cues motivating them to go involved. Symptom Remember that many conditions have symptoms similar to dementia, so it is of import non to presume that person has dementia merely because some of the above symptoms are present. Strokes, depression, alcohol addiction, infections, endocrine upsets, nutritionary lacks and encephalon tumors can all do dementia-like symptoms. Many of these conditions can be treated. Consulting a Cognitive Dementia and Memory Service ( CDAMS ) clinic or physician to obtain a diagnosing is critical at an early phase. A complete medical and psychological appraisal may place a treatable status and guarantee that it is treated right, or it may corroborate the presence of dementedness. Such an appraisal might include the undermentioned: A elaborate medical history, provided if possible by the individual with the symptoms and a close comparative or friend. This helps to set up whether there is a slow or sudden oncoming of symptoms and their patterned advance A thorough physical and neurological scrutiny, including trials of the senses and motions to govern out other causes of dementedness and to place medical unwellnesss which may decline the confusion associated with dementedness. Lab trials, including a assortment of blood and piss trials called a dementia screen to prove for a assortment of possible unwellnesss which could be responsible for the symptoms. The dementedness screen is available through a physician. Neuropsychological proving to place maintained abilities and specific job countries, such as comprehension, penetration and opinion Other specialised trials, such as a thorax X ray, ECG or CT scan A mental position trial to look into a scope of rational maps, such as memory and the ability to read, compose and cipher. Psychiatric appraisal to place treatable upsets which can mime dementedness, such as depression, and besides to pull off psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiousness or psychotic beliefs, which may happen alongside a dementing unwellness The manner in which the damage impacts on the diverse kineticss of the family/whanau Friends and household To be the chief carer for person with Alzheimer s disease can be lonely and wash uping, it may intend being available 24 hours a twenty-four hours. In such a state of affairs friends and household are priceless and do all the difference between life which can be endured with bravery and attempt and one which is rather likely to destruct the carer before the 1 who is being cared for. But back uping a carer is non something that everyone does of course. Some people seem to neglect to appreciate how much they can assist or possibly fear that if they offer they will happen themselves committed to making more than they feel able to accept. Many carers said that it is in this state of affairs that you find out who your true friends are, but many more praised the selfless and sensitive manner in which aid was offered. One aged carer suggested that friends were likely to happen her really deadening now that she did nil other than attention for her hubby at place. One carer realised that a neighbor and former friend was frightened by his married woman s dementedness. Several people caring for a parent at a distance admitted that this put considerable strain on their ain households who had to come to footings with either being abandoned at short notice or holding to do frequent visits to their baffled grandparent when an exigency arose. Siblings may be expected to experience an equal duty for caring for a parent who has Alzheimer s disease, but in pattern it was frequently one member who saw themselves as transporting the chief load of attention. There were assorted accounts for this. Sometimes it was geographical, the parent happened to populate closer to one of their kids. Sometimes the carer perceived their relationship with their parent as being in some manner different, closer than their brothers and sisters. One carer, who was able in theory to appreciate that for her brother or her sister to see their female parent involved several hours going, did show a want that they could at least inform her when they were traveling to see so that she could cognize that at that clip she was relieved of the duty which she felt otherwise was changeless. Four sisters who endeavoured to take equal portions in the attention of their female parent admitted the tensenesss which existed in this state of affairs particularly when it came to the make up ones minding whether the clip had arrived for their female parent to travel into a nursing place. The manner in which the person, family/whanua, and carers interact and respond to germinating stressors Take attention of yourself As the health professional of a individual who has dementedness, you must first take attention of yourself. If you become excessively tired and defeated, you will be less able to assist your household member. If you need a interruption, seek the followers: Ask for helpA from relations, friends, and local community organisations. Expression for health professional support groups.A Other people who are covering with the same jobs may hold some good thoughts about how you can get by better and how to do caregiving easier. See respite care.A Respite attention is short-run attention that is given to a individual who has dementia in order to supply alleviation for the health professional. Respite attention may be available from your local senior citizens group or a societal services bureau. See grownup twenty-four hours care centers.A They can give your household member a consistent environment and a opportunity to socialise. Alzheimer s and other dementia-causing diseases are sometimes called household diseases because kids, partners, and other household members are frequently the 1s who provide the necessary daily attention. As the disease worsens and involves more disconcerting alterations, it can take a heavy toll on a health professional s physical and mental wellness, household life, occupation, and fundss. But by taking a balanced, thoughtful attack, you can cut down your emphasis while assisting your loved one remain every bit comfy as possible. The manner in which the codification of rights is applied to the specific group of people selected Engagement Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to be provided with accessible information and the support they require in order to enable them to exert their right to take part in determinations which affect them. Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to populate every bit independently as possible with entree to recreational, leisure and cultural life in their community. Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to full engagement in attention demands appraisal, planning, make up ones minding and set uping attention, support and intervention, including advanced determination devising. Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to be assisted to take part in the preparation and execution of policies that affect their wellbeing and the exercising of their human rights. Accountability Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to be able to bask human rights and cardinal freedoms in every portion of their day-to-day lives and wherever they are, including full regard for their self-respect, beliefs, single fortunes and privateness. Public and private organic structures, voluntary administrations and persons responsible for the attention and intervention of individuals with dementedness should be held accountable for the regard, protection and fulfillment of their human rights and equal stairss should be adopted to guarantee this is the instance. Non-discrimination and equality Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to be free from favoritism based on any evidences such as age, disablement, gender, race, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, societal or other position. Authorization Peoples with dementedness have the right to hold entree to appropriate degrees of attention supplying protection, rehabilitation and encouragement. Peoples with dementedness have the right to assist to achieve and keep maximal independency, physical, mental, societal and vocational ability, and full inclusion and engagement in all facets of life. Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to entree to chances for community instruction and womb-to-tomb acquisition. Peoples with dementedness have the right to entree to societal and legal services to heighten their liberty, protection and attention. Peoples with dementedness have the right to wellness and societal attention services provided by professionals and staff who have had appropriate preparation on dementedness and human rights to guarantee the highest quality of service. Legality Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to hold the full scope of human rights respected, protected and fulfilled. In add-on to those explicitly contained in the Human Rights Act 1998, these include ; the right to populate in self-respect and security and be free of development, force and physical, mental or sexual maltreatment economic, societal and cultural rights including the right to an equal criterion of life including, societal protection the right to the highest come-at-able criterion of physical and mental wellness. Peoples with dementedness and their carers have the right to information, to engagement in determination devising and, where rights are non observed, the right to seek redress through effectual ailment and entreaty processs. Peoples with dementedness have the right, irrespective of diagnosing, to the same civil and legal rights as everyone else. Where person lacks capacity to take a specific action or determination due to their mental upset, anyone moving for them must hold respect for the rules and commissariats of the Adults with Incapacity ( Scotland ) Act 2000 Act. These rules are enshrined in Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which sets out internationalA criterions in relation to legal capacity.A In drumhead, any intercession on behalf of the individual with dementedness who lacks capacity must: profit the individual curtail the individual s freedom every bit small as possible whilst still accomplishing the desiredA benefit take history of the individual s yesteryear and present wants ( withA appropriate support to help communicating ) take history of the positions of relevant others promote the individual to utilize their bing abilities and to develop new accomplishments. Peoples with autism spectrum upsets ( ASD ) Individual Many persons with ASD have features that could do them attractive to possible employers, including promptness, attending to detail, consistence, dependability, or good visual-spatial or mechanical skills.A Whatever skills the individual possesses, it is of import to stress the strengths and the parts ( s ) he could do to the concern. There are certain occupation development schemes that may be peculiarly utile and productive to prioritise when occupation seeking with and for occupation searchers with ASD. Person-centered planningA is critical in the occupation arrangement procedure and helps occupation developers identify both the strengths and support demands that a individual with ASD brings to the occupation hunt. Several ICI publications on this subject can be downloaded for free from the web: Get downing with Me: A Guide to Person-Centered Planning for Job SeekersA www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=54 A ; type=topic A ; id=3 More Than Merely a Occupation: Person-Centered Career PlanningA www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=16 A ; type=topic A ; id=3 Career Exploration.A Many persons with ASD may hold to travel through an extended calling geographic expedition procedure, particularly those with limited employment exposure and experience. Intensive guidance to place options ; disbursement clip acquiring to cognize the vicinity / community ; take parting in workplace Tourss and informational interviews ; and seeking out existent occupation activities will assist occupation searchers to hone in on employment involvements and ends. Employment staff may besides hold to supply some persons with alternate ways of showing their penchants such as the usage of AAC devices or by indicating to images or symbols.A Job Carving/Job CreationA can be an effectual attack. It frequently makes sense to take advantage of a individual s alone set of accomplishments and involvements by carving out or making a occupation within an bing concern. In making so, occupation developers need to show to the employer that the occupation searcher can do their concern more efficient or productive. For more information about how to travel about this procedure, see the ICI publication: A When Existing Jobs Do nt Fit: A Guide to Job Creation www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=126 A ; type=topic A ; id=3 NetworkingA has been proven to rush up the occupation hunt! Building on the personal and professional concern contacts of employment staff, the occupation searcher, household members, neighbours, and friends is a far more effectual scheme for occupation development than doing cold calls. This can frequently heighten that critical chance by supplying a pes in the door to persons with more important barriers. For more information and tips about the how-tos of networking, see ICI publications: Networking: A Consumer Guide to an Effective Job Search www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=62 A ; type=topic A ; id=3 Making Networking Easier for Job Seekers: A Guide www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=138 A ; type=topic A ; id=3 Teaching Networking Skills: Paving a Way to Jobs and Careers ( manual ) This manual provides a course of study straight for usage with occupation searchers. It can be downloaded for free at www.communityinclusion.org/article.php? article_id=251 or purchased through the ICI Publications Office ( see back page for telling information ) . The household /whanau Families with ASD was founded in 2005 by Gregory and Julia Ann Smith. Their oldest boy, Luke, was diagnosed with Autism in 1998 when the rate of Autism was 1 in 10,000. At the age of 9 old ages, Luke started holding major medical and behavioural issues with his Autism. They needed person who understood what they were populating with 24/7, so they reached out to other households that had a kid with autism. They besides wanted support for their youngest boy, Joel. He was holding a difficult clip with Luke s meltdowns, and needed to be around other siblings. The first Families with ASD Autism Family Support Group meeting was held on March 4, 2005. 7 households attended the first meeting. In December of 2005, when the rank had grown to over 50 households, Julia and Greg applied for a 501 ( degree Celsius ) 3 public charity position, and was awarded it in February of 2006. In September of 2006, Families with ASD hosted their first Autism Expo, and Julia put together her first Autism Yellow Pages AÂ © . Over 2,200 people attended their first Autism Expo which was held at the Anderson Hills United Methodist Church on Beechmont Ave, in Cincinnati, OH. Since that twenty-four hours, over 16,000 people have attended the free one-year household event, and over 15,000 transcripts of Julia s Autism Yellow PagesAÂ © have been printed and handed out FREE to households, schools, churches, physicians s offices, and other organisations. In 2008, Families with ASD opened the first in the Greater Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky country, Autism Family Resource Center which serves as a Point of Entry to households new and old to the Autism diagnosing. The Autism Family Resource Center is located in Milford, OH, and presently serves over 500 households that live with autism in the Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky country. Over the old ages, as their boy has grown, the focal point of Families with ASD s Mission has broaden to include grownups with autism. Luke is traveling to be 17 old ages old this twelvemonth, and the Smith household knows that by age 22years, Luke will be aged out of school services. They founded the Adults with Autism Task force in 2009 which is working towards Adult Autism Awareness with the I Am an Adult with Autism ( TM ) consciousness plan, and keep Adult with Autism Classes and Social at the Autism Center. The carers Looking after person with autismA can show a parent or carer with a figure of challenges. It can besides set considerable strain on relationships and on siblings. Because autism is a spectrum upset, people s experiences vary tremendously, but it s by and large harder for parents and carers of people with more terrible autism, says Lintilla Turner, Senior Helpline Adviser forA The National Autistic Society ( NAS ) . The most common troubles for carers include get bying with behaviour issues and isolation. Coping with behaviour issues in the place can be really ambitious, says Lintilla. Carers may hold to cover with anything from toileting issues to self-harm, and this can be really difficult if you re on your ain. Autism is an unobserved disablement, which means that outside the place parents and carers may hold to cover with disapproval from people who do nt understand the state of affairs. This in bend can take to isolation. Lintilla says the NAS helpline gets many calls from parents and carers who have concerns about go forthing the place because they worry about other people s reactions to their kid s behavior. Many grownups with autism live with their parents. The NAS receives 1000s of calls from carers of grownups with autism, says Lintilla. One of the large challenges for these carers is the deficiency of services and support for grownups with autism. Sign Sign languageA provides numerousA societal, A emotional, A cognitive, andA communicative benefitsA for kids with autism, such as: Stimulation of address and linguistic communication development The ocular stimulation provided by gestural linguistic communication activates the same centres in the encephalon that are activated by address. Many marks are iconic, intending they are gestures that are visually associated to the object they refer to. These ocular associations are easier for kids with autism. Sign linguistic communication acts as a span to speech and linguistic communication by turning on countries of the encephalon that are inactive due to the dislocation in spoken linguistic communication. Decrease of negative societal behaviours Children with autism typically display negative societal behaviours such as fits, anxiousness, self-injury, and aggression. These behaviours are intensified when the kid can non pass on basic demands and wants. Sign linguistic communication offers entree to communicating and eases the defeat that a kid with autism feels when they are unable to show themselves! Increase in societal interaction Sign linguistic communication provides a manner for kids with autism to show themselves. It besides makes it easier for your kid to receptively associate gestures with significance. Expressive and receptive linguistic communication accomplishments are the edifice blocks for societal interactions. Children that are able to show themselves are more likely to seek out societal interactions! Development of cognitive constructions Sign linguistic communication supports development of cognitive constructions that are of import for address and linguistic communication. Communication through mark helps to set up connexions in the encephalon that are necessary for encoding linguistic communication. Encoding linguistic communication early is the key to acquisition, and acquisition is the key to success. Symptoms The chief marks and symptoms of autism involve jobs in the undermentioned countries: CommunicationA both verbal ( spoken ) and non-verbal ( mute, such as pointing, oculus contact, and smiling ) SocialA such as sharing emotions, understanding how others think and feel, and keeping a conversation Routines or insistent behaviours ( besides called stereotyped behaviours ) A such as reiterating words or actions, compulsively following modus operandis or agendas, and playing in insistent ways The symptoms of autism can normally be observed by 18 months of age.A There are many possibleA red flags for autismA behaviours that may be marks or symptoms of autism.A Some characteristics may intend a hold in one or more countries of development, while others may be more typical of autism spectrum disorders.A If you think your kid shows red flags for autism, talk to your wellness attention supplier. The manner in which the damage impacts on the diverse kineticss of the family/whanau Having a household member with autism nowadayss emotional, societal, and fiscal challenges. The emphasis placed onA parentsand other household members of people with autism can be influenced by a figure of factors. Examples of such factors include how good the individual with autism maps, how much societal support the household receives, and sometimes the ethnicity of the individual s parents. Siblings ofA childrenA andteensA with autism seem to do better in their apprehension and credence of the household member with autism when provided with instruction about their loved one s status. Many people find it helpful to run into other people who ve had a similar experience and portion get bying schemes. There are assorted types of support groups, including groups for all types of carers and groups specifically for the households and carers of people with autism. The manner in which the person, family/whanua, and carers interact and respond to germinating stressors Therapies for autism purpose to cut down the unnatural behaviour that is exhibited by people who are affected by this status. Furthermore, people who are populating with persons with autism have to play their ain portion. You do nt hold to be a wellness professional in order to be able to make this. You merely necessitate to cognize what you need to make and what you need to avoid. You need to be able to demo your support. When you are to get down a peculiar undertaking that involves that individual, you have to be patient. Every small measure that you are traveling to take has to be explained ahead. You besides need to state them what you are traveling to make next. Sometimes, the grounds for these actions have to be given every bit good. Take some clip before you move on to the following measure. You should non hotfoot to finish the undertakings as this can scare the person. It might be helpful if you receive a response and an recognition before you proceed with making the action. In talking with them, you need to be precise with your statements. You have to speak easy and seek to be every bit clear as possible. Keep from utilizing complex words as they might non understand what you are speaking about. You might hold to reiterate your statement if you do non see any signifier of recognition. In inquiring inquiries, use direct linguistic communication. Besides consider utilizing inquiries that can be answered by yes or non. Questions that require complicated replies can be excessively difficult for most persons with this status. A individual with autism will likewise take cues from how you move and how your facial looks are. So, you need to be careful with your organic structure linguistic communication. Statements or inquiries that say one thing and intend another might non be suited to state in forepart of a individual with autism. Most of them understand your words by how you say them. Double significances can non be understood as how other people might take them. In order to avoid holds and uncomfortableness for the individual, see set uping a modus operandi for the day-to-day undertakings that must be completed. When they are familiar with the things that they are making, they can finish such undertakings without any signifier of job. You can carry through a batch of things in a short period of clip. In the long tally, you can detect that they will non necessitate any signifier of training from you as they are already cognizant of what they need to make. See methods that can loosen up and rejuvenate the person. Some are undergoing watering place or massage interventions if they tolerate these steps. There are even those who will hold regular O therapy Sessionss. If you are able to alleviate physical emphasis, you may be able to maintain that individual composure. They might non go dying when a potentially discomforting state of affairs occurs. Support from the household and friends are indispensable for any individual with autism to populate a life that is every bit normal as possible. Some of them may even be able to stand out in peculiar Fieldss that they have chosen to be in. The manner in which the codification of rights is applied to the specific group of people selected TheA autism rights movementA ( ARM ) ( alsoA neurodiversity movementA orA autistic civilization motion ) is aA societal movementA that encouragesA autisticA people, their health professionals and society to follow a place ofA neurodiversity, accepting autism as a fluctuation in working instead than aA mental disorderA to be cured. [ 1 ] A The ARM advocates a assortment of ends including a greater credence of autistic behaviours ; [ 2 ] A intervention that teaches autistic persons get bying accomplishments instead than intervention focused on copying behaviours ofneurotypicalA equals, including snuff outing harmlessA stimming, forcingA oculus contactA and interrupting modus operandis ; [ 3 ] A the creative activity of societal webs and events that allow autistic individuals to socialise on their ain footings ; [ 4 ] A and the acknowledgment of the autistic community as a minority group. [ 5 ] Autism rights or neurodiversity advocators believe that autism spectrum upsets are fami

Sunday, October 20, 2019

An Introductory History of Zambia

An Introductory History of Zambia The indigenous hunter-gatherer occupants of Zambia began to be displaced or absorbed by more advanced migrating tribes about 2,000 years ago. The major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants began in the 15th century, with the greatest influx between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. They came primarily from the Luba and Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola Escaping the Mfecane In the 19th century, there was an additional influx by Ngoni peoples from the south escaping the Mfecane. By the latter part of that century, the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy. David Livingstone at the Zambezi Except for an occasional Portuguese explorer, the area lay untouched by Europeans for centuries. After the mid-19th century, it was penetrated by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. David Livingstone, in 1855, was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River. He named the falls after Queen Victoria, and the Zambian town near the falls is named after him. Northern Rhodesia a British Protectorate In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concession from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) were proclaimed a British sphere of influence. Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923, and the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British colonial office in 1924 as a protectorate. A Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland In 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Northern Rhodesia was the center of much of the turmoil and crisis that characterized the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control. The Road to Independence A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesias secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new national assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. A Troubled Start for the Republic of Zambia On December 31, 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on October 24, 1964. At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Surrounded by Oppression Three of Zambias neighbors – Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola- remained under white-dominated rule. Rhodesias white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia). Zambias sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. Supporting Nationalist Movements in Southern Africa During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA), the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), and the South-West Africa Peoples Organization (SWAPO). The Struggle Against Poverty Conflicts with Rhodesia resulted in the closing of Zambias borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the countrys requirements for electricity. A railroad to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railroad lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House agreement, but Zambias problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela Railroad, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambias strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia. In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambias principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambias per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world. Source Text from Public Domain material, US Department of State Background Notes.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Systems Analysis and Design Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Systems Analysis and Design - Case Study Example To identify if the migration succeeded, the primary step is evaluating database values between new and old systems, a test called a parallel type of test. The finishing success is the acceptance test, performing business operations, as well as processes effectively (Satzinger, Jackson & Burd, 2012). The system will develop in every iteration. Integration testing shall be done as part of every iteration. The first system testing will be done in each iteration as a part of the build and smoke testing that is done. Nevertheless, a complete system testing will be conducted as part of a separate system as well as acceptance test activity. Now that integration testing along with build and smoke testing is conducted in each iteration, at the project end, there shall be the definition of a testing iteration to finalize system testing. In this final iteration, the following will take place. System testing, acceptance testing and stress and performance testing (Satzinger, Jackson & Burd, 2012). Q1. Based on Figure 14-6—the XP methodology— divide your use cases into releases and iterations within each release. Develop a project iteration plan that includes the necessary activities at each level (system, release, iteration) for integration testing and acceptance testing. Compare your answer to this question to the project iteration plan you developed for Chapter 9. This system is used by contemplative media agents who rarely are in their offices and the media managers who work frequently in their offices. Therefore, the use cases that mostly apply to media managers will work well on larger computers with screens and keyboards. Some use cases, especially those for view the contemplative practices, will work well for notepads and laptops as well as for smartphone devices (Satzinger, Jackson & Burd, 2012). The entire use cases as well as pages that view practices would be improved if map and location information are provided. This will facilitate both customers and

Friday, October 18, 2019

Enthnography Paper on The Quarry and the Lot Essay

Enthnography Paper on The Quarry and the Lot - Essay Example It also tries to find answers to how Joseph Klein, once a bright, smart boy, became so unfortunate in life and eventually passed away at a very young age. This essay attempts to critically assess the subcultures in the Mark Wallace’s book and explicate on how it is difficult for someone from a different subculture to easily blend in. the fundamental question in this book is why Joseph was so different from the other four friends he had grown up with in a similar environment. How do we compare him to other dangerous, violent and ruthless boys from other subcultures and environments? How do we define grief when people were not able to cope with the deceased whist he was alive? Discussion How does a kid as bright and smart as Joseph Klein turn and become a violent, angry, destructive and a ruthless teenager who disregards authority? This is the question that troubles all the four friends in their interactions as they grew up and in their adulthood. This question does not only tro uble the friends, but their parents too and the entire neighborhood. This is evident during Joseph funeral at the Quarry. There is a very big irony at this instance. Why are all these people attending Joseph’s funeral and yet they never regarded him as a friend but an enemy? This beats logic. Are they pretending to be in grief due to the sudden and mysterious death of Joseph? Or are they are truly in grief? Everyone present at this funeral literary had no clue as to what they were doing there (Wallace 11). Joseph grew up from a very humble family whose previous generations produced academicians. Amelia, Luke and Nick, are all trying to ponder how Joseph turned out to be such a monster. What subculture was he prescribing too? When he became an adult, he pushed everyone away from his life, ruthlessly bullied all his friends. It is although very confusing when Wallace aims to establish the impact and role of Joseph Klein in the other friends lives. All these people grew up in th e same environment and were all defined by the same subculture. Luke turned out to be a teacher and a poet writer and Luke a furniture store owner. It is always assumed that society and its culture and doctrines shape people’s character and future behavior. It can be argued that past subcultures can influence behavior and character. What is happening is really changed by what we believe in and sometimes, things that look normal are actually frightening. This phenomenon might explain what happened to Klein Joseph. When people have lost touch and connection with the deceased, can they experience grief in its true form? The families and childhood friends of Joseph are sharing in grief of his departure. This seemingly looks quite surprising since most of the people at this funeral were never friends with the deceased and possibly do not know why they are there. This funeral is not a formal ceremony and thus no mourner(s) has attempted to pick the slack. They did not know how to e xpress how they felt. These people supposedly hated and disliked Joseph for what he did to them as a neighbor. Mark Wallace manages to depict the nature of American suburbs. They tend to encourage some sense of belonging to a certain community. The ironical solidarity that his friends and parents who did not like him at all are trying to show is an example of how the suburbs are (Wallace 41). Did Joseph Klein in any way

Learned Values Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learned Values - Research Paper Example Giving each employee responsibilities also creates accountability. It ensures that each employee increases or maintains productivity to avoid being held accountable (Hotho, 2008). Proper leadership ensures appropriate execution of the desired changes. Leaders should have diverse change management roles. The leaders employed in the management of change should include executives, senior managers, a middle management team, change management resource team and a project team. Their roles should overlap to ensure a smooth transition to the new systems. Having proper leadership also ensures employment fears are addressed, and expectations managed (Beerel, 2009). In addition, it ensures equal allocation of resources in all stages of change. This is because successful leaders deal with tangible processes. They ensure the organization prepares for the change, the right mix of skills is available, and the implementation process is successful. Change is essential in an organization, whether it is downsizing, layoffs, or expansion. This is because of the dynamic changes in the world, such as the economy, that changes the dynamics of an organization. According to Andrews & Margaret (2008), it is vital to impose change to ensure an organization maintains productivity and relevance. The concepts ensure one is aware that change is necessary to benefit the organization. They enable me ascertain whether I can effectively influence and perceive change. The concept of effective leadership gives a clear view on the significant role that leaders play to ensure successful implementation of change. Andrews, Jane. Cameron, Helen. Harris, Margaret, (2008), All change? Managers’ experience of organizational change in theory and practice. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 21(3), 300-314. Retrieved from Emerald March 8,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another Research Paper

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another for those with ADHD and 1 more for individuals who are Gifted and Talented - Research Paper Example They can keep track of their students’ learning with this attempt. An example of a classroom accommodation for an ADHD student is seating them close to the teacher and away from windows and doors. This is a valid accommodation because such students need their assistance and exceptional care of their teachers at all times, and; therefore, their educators should be there (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). An improvement that could be made is for instance letting the ADHD the student run an occasional errand for his/her educator. This can assist the hyperactive child burn off the unwanted energy. Finally, a common classroom accommodation for gifted or talented students is through grouping them together or with higher-level learners (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). However, I think that teachers should never group gifted learners with lower-level learners for remediation because, if so, then the student might start questioning his gift or talent. This classroom accommodation can be improved throu gh encouraging learners thoroughly to study concepts and support independent investigations or studies (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). From this research, I learned that many students have unique needs, and it is the work of the educator to travel around these needs and learn how the educationally deal with such

Enzymes activity Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Enzymes activity - Lab Report Example The three sets of reactions were prepared by adding varying amounts of 0.25M sucrose and distilled water. In one set, 0.2 ml of 75mM of magnesium chloride was added, and in another set, an equal amount of 4M Urea was added as inhibitors to the reaction. Reactions in living organisms are slow, enzymes speed up the reactions so as to maintain life. The enzymes control the reactions by ensuring that every reaction is catalyzed by a specific enzyme and at a particular point in a cell. They have a tertiary structure and are folded in a conformation that many intramolecular interactions of amino acids that make up the molecule. They are not used up in the reactions therefore can be used in several reactions. They are substrate specific that is they fold in a shape assisted by chaperone proteins that will determine which substrate the enzyme will act upon. Coenzymes and cofactors aid enzymes in their functions. Enzymes can be denatured by extremes in temperature and pH. Competitive inhibitors, noncompetitive inhibitors and allosteric inhibitors regulate enzyme activity. The enzymes do not change the reactions’ equilibrium since the free energies of the reactants or products are not changed. Enzymes are catalysts that are protein in nature that increase the rate of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower free energy of activation. The reaction is usually expressed as In enzyme kinetics, the Michaelis Menten reaction relates the reaction rate (ÃŽ ½) to [S] which is the concentration of a substrate. The Km and the Vmax of an enzyme can be determined from determination of the initial rates of the enzyme catalyzed reactions over the concentration of the substrate. The maximum rate achieved is Vmax while Km is the Michaelis constant, is the substrate concentration at which the reaction rate is half of Vmax. Km varies from one enzyme to another but is

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another Research Paper

Find a classroom accommodation for students who are at risk, another for those with ADHD and 1 more for individuals who are Gifted and Talented - Research Paper Example They can keep track of their students’ learning with this attempt. An example of a classroom accommodation for an ADHD student is seating them close to the teacher and away from windows and doors. This is a valid accommodation because such students need their assistance and exceptional care of their teachers at all times, and; therefore, their educators should be there (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). An improvement that could be made is for instance letting the ADHD the student run an occasional errand for his/her educator. This can assist the hyperactive child burn off the unwanted energy. Finally, a common classroom accommodation for gifted or talented students is through grouping them together or with higher-level learners (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). However, I think that teachers should never group gifted learners with lower-level learners for remediation because, if so, then the student might start questioning his gift or talent. This classroom accommodation can be improved throu gh encouraging learners thoroughly to study concepts and support independent investigations or studies (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). From this research, I learned that many students have unique needs, and it is the work of the educator to travel around these needs and learn how the educationally deal with such

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Zinc finger proteins Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Zinc finger proteins - Research Paper Example folding characteristics but the most abundant and well studied is the classical â€Å"Cys2–His2† (Laity, Lee, and Wright 39) The nature of ZFP is such that they conveniently act as building blocks for many molecules and often occur in clusters. As such, their molecular nature permits them to be easily shuffled, duplicated or even altered through evolution. In the contemporary biotechnology world, they fit perfectly into re-engineering purposes and technology for numerous binding properties that find important use in research (Chang, Jiao, et al. 1426). ZFP and its high affinity for binding DNA is involved in binding of repressors and transcription activators which are very important in regulating expression of genes in a cell. These ZPF have varied protein folds that dictate DNA binding of specific sequences like the helix-helix-turn which arouses the need to use them in therapy or research. ZFP have structural independence that are conserved and interconnected by linkers (Guo, Gaj and Barbas 96). These linkers are HC and named so because the first and last units are hystidine and cysteine residues. The hallmark radius and pitch of ZFP is gotten from H-C residues perfect interaction leading to right handed helix formation. Zif268 which is a transcript factor contains triple finger domains where the ÃŽ ±-helix interacts with the major groove of DNA (Mandel-Gutfreund, Baron and Margalit 141).Three consecutive DNA bases interact with all the three fingers through hydrogen bonds. Specificity of the interaction is derived from the inte raction of the second positioned amino acid residue on the ÃŽ ±-helix with the triplet of the secondary strand. In the end, the conserved residues undergo tertiary folding while each domain’s specificity is brought by the variable domains (Sumedha, Roy et al. 484). Control and regulation of gene expression has been shown to be an important aspect of ZFP through using specific selected three ZF peptides. This was initially undertaken in

Monday, October 14, 2019

Beginner Essay Example for Free

Beginner Essay Is each of the following an absolute pathname, a relative pathname, or a simple filename? a) Mile_co b) Correspond/business/milk_co c) /home/max d) /home/max/literature/promo e) .. f) Letter. 0210 2. List the commands you can use to perform these operations: a. Make your home directory the working directory b. Identify the working directory a. cd; b. pwd 3. If your working directory is /home/alex with a subdirectory named literature, give three sets of commands that you can use to create a subdirectory named classics under literature. Also give several sets of commands you can use to remove the classics directory and its contents. 4. The df utility displays all mounted filesystems along with information about each. Use the df utility with the –h (human-readable) option to answer the following questions. $ df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on /dev/hda1 1. 4G 242M 1. 1G 18% / /dev/hda3 23M 11M 10M 51% /boot /dev/hda4 1. 5G 1. 2G 222M 85% /home /dev/hda7 564M 17M 518M 4% /tmp dev/hdc1 984M 92M 842M 10% /gc1 /dev/hdc2 16G 13G 1. 9G 87% /gc2 a. How many filesystems are mounted on your Linux system? b. Which filesystem stores your home directory? c. Assuming that your answer to exercise 4a is two or more, attempt to create a hard link to a file on another filesystem. What error message do you get? What happens when you attempt to create a symbolic link to the file instead? Following are sample answers to these questions. Your answers will be different because your filesystems are different. . six; b. /dev/hda4; c. ln: creating hard link /tmp/xxx to xxx: Invalid cross-device link. No problem creating a cross-device symbolic link. 2 Answers to Even-Numbered Exercises 5. Suppose that you have a file that is linked to a file owned by another user. How can you ensure that changes to the file are no longer shared? 6. You should have read permission for the /etc/passwd file. To answer the following questions, use cat or less to display /etc/passwd. Look at the fields of information in /etc/passwd for the users on your system. . Which character is used to separate fields in /etc/passwd? b. How many fields are used to describe each user? c. How many users are on your system? d. How many different login shells are in use on your system? (Hint: Look at the last field. ) e. The second field of /etc/passwd stores user passwords in encoded form. If the password field contains an x, your system uses shadow password s and stores the encoded passwords elsewhere.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Composition Of Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay

The Composition Of Workforce Diversity Commerce Essay Within each and every organization, the composition of workforce diversity is being integrated into its human resource management (HRM). In this new era, the world is increasingly globalizing and since the advent of information technology, the borders of the world are drawn so closely than ever before. Theories of diversity management have been developed by business professionals and scholars (Saji, 2004), citing that a heterogeneous organization could create better HRM practices to maximize the benefits from a diverse workforce as well as improving their competitive advantages. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs will be discussed to further understand how employees basic need affects the HRM; and how workforce diversity could contribute to achieving HRMs strategic objectives. Diversity awareness allows for a better understanding of inclusive consumers needs, and provides access to better labour pools (Agocs Bur, 2000). Hence, an organization must be able to utilize the available skills from the workforce if it is to maintain competitive advantage and achieve success. Quality skill is an important resource and companies that seek to expand its position would require much creative strategies from its employees. The definition of HRM refers to activities undertaken by an organization to utilize its human resource effectively, therefore a firm especially those with a diverse workforce have to understand the needs of the employees first. As said by Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, any person, in this case any employee have to achieve the needs that are most essential before ascending the pyramid with higher need requirements. Every generation of workforce have different expectation from their working environment; such as those of the baby boomer era and that of th e late 1980s. In order to develop and maintain effective diversity policies, it is necessary that the firm allow all employees to participate in the diversity initiative. Leading organization with good HRM practices understand that the firm have to support their employees in acquiring knowledge of effective interaction and people management in a diverse workplace. They acknowledge the added values of an employee if they continue to acquire new skills in dealing and managing people. By managing a diverse workforce well, organizations are expanding their prospect to a more diverse marketplace. Instead of having a homogeneous workforce which shares the same backgrounds and perspectives, the result of having a diverse workforce is different viewpoints that would increase level of creativity and problem-solving ability. If firms want to compete to satisfy their clients, the businesses require a more diverse workforce in order to be more successfully understood and meet the needs of a rapidly growing ba se of minority clients. All diverse workforce need to overcome stereotypes or discrimination and recognize that actual dissimilar other have distinctive and valuable information that can sustain group processes and performance (Hartel, 2004). As the economies are shifting from manufacturing to service economies, diversity issue will gain importance since in a service economy effective communication and interactions among people are necessary to business success (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Organizations are able to produce better ideas and more innovative solutions that can solve wide range of matters. Diverse workforce not only appeal to top industry talent, but it also attracts customer support from those who prefer to buy goods and services from such organizations (Hymowitz, 2008; Konrad, 2006). Managing diversity is more than just acknowledging differences of every individual. It involves recognizing the value of difference, preventing discrimination and promoting generality. Human resource managers might face challenges such as losses in workforce and work output due to prejudice or discrimination and criticisms and legal actions opposed to the organization. These issues can be obstacles to organizational diversity because they can dent working relationships, morale and work productivity. Negative attitudes and behaviours should never be practiced by management for employment, retention, and termination practices in the workplace because these include could lead an organization to costly lawsuit. Organizations with a diverse workforce can provide superior services because they can better understand customers needs (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Therefore, this will indirectly increase customer loyalty and also translates into effective delivery of essential services to communities with diverse needs. Workforce diversity will bring a significant increase in innovation. A diverse workforce means a wider range of different background and perspectives which gives organizations a broader range of ideas and clearer perceptions in decision making and policy development while simultaneously improves service to clients as well because it reflects the local community therefore understand its clients better. Therefore, diversity is a good business model to adapt to. Besides, workforce diversity increase competitive management practices therefore they are more productive. Organizations that value and capitalize on employee diversity workplaces will attract and retain quality employees better. These translate into savings in recruitment and training costs, as well as maintaining corporate knowledge and expertise. Managing diversity can create competitive advantage. Diversity in the workplace can be a competitive advantage because diverse viewpoints can facilitate unique and creative approaches to problem-solving, thus increasing creativity and innovation, which in turn leads to better organization performance (Allen et al., 2004). Culturally diverse groups relative to homogeneous groups are more effective both in the interaction process and job performance; these benefits occur after a diverse group has been together for a period of time. Associates and employers can gain many benefits via workforce diversity. Associates are interdependent in the workplace, yet respecting individual differences can increase efficiency. Diversity in the workplace can avoid unnecessary lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity and business reputation since discrimination and all other racial ideology is not being practiced in the organization. In an era when flexibility, creativity, speed are crucial to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organizations success; its benefits are made for everyone who chose are in this line. It is a global moral necessity. Diversity strategic planning focuses on creating a measurable way that it can support the goals, objectives and strategic direction of the organization; while strategic level long-term development for diversity is a more recent expansion that focuses on plans that would span more than 5 years. Until quite recently diversity was not considered as an essential part of strategic planning, in the past diversity initiatives were often lacked specificity, poorly conceptualized, and were not linked to strategic organizational plans. Now, organization managers realized that in order to establish an effective and successful diversity planning it must be aligned with and provide support for strategic business objectives and operational decisions. In conclusion, workforce diversity is fundamental to any organization ability to survive the globalised economy. Organization that build experience in and reputations for managing diversity has a tendency to attract the best personnel (Carrel et al., 2000). Therefore, administration has to seriously analyse and evaluate the benefits of workforce diversity in their organization, while the management should create an atmosphere that could enhance a diverse workforce; consequently the organizations employees would be more competitive within and across organizational boundaries (Baker and Hartel, 2004) of the firm. In todays fast-paced work environment a successful organization is one where diversity is the norm and not the exception (Lawrence, 2001).

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Coursework

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there are two characters that display qualities of insanity.   They are Hamlet and Ophelia.   Although they both appear to be mad at times, their downfall (or supposed downfall) is quite different.   Ophelia's crazed characteristics show up and intensify quite rapidly, until she is ultimately led to suicide.   Her madness seems definite, and it is never questioned.   The insanity or sanity of the main character is an arguable question.   The issue can be discussed both ways, with significant support to either theory. Certainly, Hamlet has many reasons to lead him to becoming insane, because of the pressure and emotional strain that he is suffering from.   This might be enough to cause the character to become deranged, but there is much evidence that shows how Hamlet remains sharp and credible through it all.   Although in some instances Hamlet appears to be crazed, there are many indications that his madness is only an illusio n that he is purposely trying to portray.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Horatio gives Hamlet some good advice when he says, "What if it tempt you toward the flood my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles o'er his base into the sea, and there assume some other horrible form which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, and draw you into madness?   Think of it" (I.iv.69-74).   This warning might be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out his murderous plan.   In the following scene, Hamlet tells Horatio that he is going to feign insanity.   If Horatio notices that Hamlet begins to act strangely, it is only because he is putting on an act, in order to fulfill a future purpose.   Later in the play, Polonius questions the authenticity of Hamlet's madness.... ...s on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Excerpted from Stories from Shakespeare. N. p.: E. P. Dutton, 1956. Danson, Lawrence. "Tragic Alphabet." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. from Tragic Alphabet: Shakespeare's Drama of Language. N. p.: Yale University Press, 1974. Felperin, Howard. "O'erdoing Termagant." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of "O'erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis." The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974). Hart, Bernard. The Psychology of Insanity. London: Cambridge, 1914. Landis, Carney, and James D. Page. Modern Soceity and Mental Disease. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1938. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992.   Madness and Insanity in Shakespeare's Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Coursework      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there are two characters that display qualities of insanity.   They are Hamlet and Ophelia.   Although they both appear to be mad at times, their downfall (or supposed downfall) is quite different.   Ophelia's crazed characteristics show up and intensify quite rapidly, until she is ultimately led to suicide.   Her madness seems definite, and it is never questioned.   The insanity or sanity of the main character is an arguable question.   The issue can be discussed both ways, with significant support to either theory. Certainly, Hamlet has many reasons to lead him to becoming insane, because of the pressure and emotional strain that he is suffering from.   This might be enough to cause the character to become deranged, but there is much evidence that shows how Hamlet remains sharp and credible through it all.   Although in some instances Hamlet appears to be crazed, there are many indications that his madness is only an illusio n that he is purposely trying to portray.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Horatio gives Hamlet some good advice when he says, "What if it tempt you toward the flood my lord, or to the dreadful summit of the cliff that beetles o'er his base into the sea, and there assume some other horrible form which might deprive your sovereignty of reason, and draw you into madness?   Think of it" (I.iv.69-74).   This warning might be where Hamlet gets the idea to use a plea of insanity to work out his murderous plan.   In the following scene, Hamlet tells Horatio that he is going to feign insanity.   If Horatio notices that Hamlet begins to act strangely, it is only because he is putting on an act, in order to fulfill a future purpose.   Later in the play, Polonius questions the authenticity of Hamlet's madness.... ...s on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Excerpted from Stories from Shakespeare. N. p.: E. P. Dutton, 1956. Danson, Lawrence. "Tragic Alphabet." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. from Tragic Alphabet: Shakespeare's Drama of Language. N. p.: Yale University Press, 1974. Felperin, Howard. "O'erdoing Termagant." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of "O'erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis." The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974). Hart, Bernard. The Psychology of Insanity. London: Cambridge, 1914. Landis, Carney, and James D. Page. Modern Soceity and Mental Disease. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1938. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992.  

Friday, October 11, 2019

Links Between Hr Strategy/Policy and National/Organizational Culture

2. Explain the links between HR strategy/policy and national/organizational culture. Recent research suggests that the management of human resources has become increasingly important for business success. Employees are said to be one of the most valuable assets to an organization; as a result the effective management of these employees is essential. Management literature has had a tendency to associate human resource management (HRM) with firm performance. It is this link which has been the underlying cause for the abundance of research regarding HRM practices and their effects on a firm.However, there is a substantial debate within the literature that argues that HRM practices do not directly impact organizational performance (Boxall & Purcell, 2000), with claims that there is a missing link between the two. In regards to this ‘black box’ the concept of organizational culture has emerged. It is said that organizational culture is manifested in the behavior of its employ ees (Ngo & Loi, 2008), and is entrenched in the everyday working lives of cultural members (Martin, 2004).Culture is claimed to affect employee’s job attitudes, efficiency and productivity (Mahal, 2009), and can impact the ability to carry out an organizations plans and meet strategic goals (Chan, Shaffer & Snape, 2004). With these assertions, organizational culture could in fact influence a firm’s productivity and their overall performance. This paper examines the relationship between HRM, organizational culture and firm performance. The next section of this paper defines and explains the organizational culture concept.I then investigate the relationship between HRM and organizational culture by exploring the overarching themes which emerge from the literature regarding this link. Finally, I explore the relationship between HRM, organizational culture and firm performance. The Link between HRM and Organizational Culture Previous literature has identified and focused a round two common sources of organizational culture: (1) founders of the organization, and (2) national culture. Barney (1986) claimed that firms are historically bound. In line with Schein (2004) he argued that a firm’s culture reflects the unique personality of its founders.Along with these unique personalities a number of scholars have alleged that culture originates in the values and assumptions articulated by top management, which in turn, play an important role in shaping cultural views and employee’s behaviours (Chew & Sharma, 2005; Mahal, 2009). These values are then reinforced in a number of ways. Smircich (1983) articulated that top managers mould organizational cultures, and thus the values and beliefs held by employees, to suit their strategic ends; in turn the corporate culture should reflect the vision of the firm (Ngo & Loi, 2008).Values are also reiterated in hiring employees with similar priorities to top management as well as thoroughly socializing new employees to elicit those desired behaviours (Martin, 2004). Furthermore, national culture plays a prevailing role in shaping organizational culture. National culture refers to the culture specific to a national group (Chew & Sharma, 2005), and is entrenched deeply within individual’s everyday lives. These ingrained values will subconsciously affect how management practices are both carried out and received in an organization, and therefore how employee’s will behave within the firm (Chew & Sharma, 2005).Consequently, acompany’s culture is said to be linked to the founders of the organization and the values which they demonstrate, as well as the National culture in which the organization was first founded. A third relationship has begun to emerge out of management literature. There have been claims by a number of scholars (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Cabrera & Bonache, 1999; Lau & Ngo, 2004; Wilkins,1984) that organizational culture is related to HRM and the human r esource practices which are implemented by the organization.HRM has become an increasingly important activity within an organization. Its function is to attract, develop, motivate and retain employee’s who ensure the effective functioning of the organization (Jackson & Schuler, 1995). Relatively little is known about the link between organizational culture and HRM, as few empirical studies testing this relationship have been conducted (Platonova, 2005). However, a few overarching themes emerge from the literature regarding this HRM-culture relationship. HRM Practices Influence Organizational CultureWithin the HRM-organizational culture link lays a belief that firm’s HRM practices will motivate employees to adopt certain attitudes and behaviours, and will therefore elicit a certain corporate culture (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Cabrera & Bonache, 1999; Chow & Liu, 2009; Lau & Ngo, 2004; Ngo & Loi, 2008; Wilkins, 1984). One of the earliest views on this HRM-organizational cul ture link was from Peters (1978), who suggested that management systems (e. g. HRM systems) could be thought of as mechanisms to transmit values and beliefs of the organization which, as a result, help to shape its character.With organizational culture comprising a range of social phenomena there are certain situations in which organizational norms are not the result of shared values among employees; rather, they are determined by the rules and practices an organization implements (Cabrera & Bonache, 1999). Tichy (1983) thought that the way in which HRM systems are designed can communicate important and useful information about the organizations culture to employees. Schwartz & Davis (1981) also argued that HR practices provide information to employees.They convey standardized information to employees about expected patterns of activity and acceptable behaviours which allow the firm to achieve its objective. Lewicki (1981) argues that HRM practices answer three questions for employe es, providing information to staff about the acceptable behaviours: (1) what does the organization expect from its employees? (2) What kind of behaviour does the organization reward? And (3) what are the dos and don’ts of proper social conduct within the system? (p. 8). Ulrich (1984) iterates this view using an example of socialization programs.Her belief is that socialization and induction programs play a significant role in transmitting corporate culture to individuals entering into the organization. They ensure that acceptable behaviours and cultural norms are passed down to new employees, thus keeping organizational culture consistent. It is through this shared information as well as the experiences of employees that behavioural norms are established, thus becoming the means through which culture is created and sustained within the firm.Building on the HRM-organizational culture link, Ulrich (1984) advocates that procedures and practices implemented by HR executives becom e rituals within the company. Ulrich deems rituals to be customary and repeated actions within a firm. They take on a meaning within the organization. As we identified earlier, rituals are a symbolic tool in which values are manifested. These rituals, which include evaluation and reward procedures, help guide the behaviour of employee’s as they establish boundaries and behavioural norms within the firm.Wilkins (1984) asserts a different view; that HR systems can create career paths for employees as well as groupings of people who remain in the firm for a long enough time for a company culture to form. This outlook suggests that firms can implement HR practices that foster job security and internal career development in order to keep turnover low, and maintain those social phenomena that comprise organizational culture (values, beliefs, norms, assumptions) within the organization, and therefore forming a strong organizational culture.While a number of scholars claim that HRM p ractices lead to organizational culture, few studies have been conducted on the relationship. Lau and Ngo (2004) studied 332 firms HR and organizational development practices in Hong Kong. The board purpose of this study was to explore the link between culture, HR systems and outcomes. The research found that HR practices which emphasize training, performance based reward as well as team development help to create an organizational culture that promotes innovation.Organizational culture was said to play a mediation role between the HR system and the firm’s outcomes. That is, the HR practices implemented by the firm had an effect on the organizational culture, which in turn had a direct impact on employee’s behaviours and outcomes. This study demonstrated that a company’s culture was significant in affecting employee’s outcomes; regardless, the culture needs to be supported by an HR system that elicits those behaviours needed to achieve the desired outcome s.High Commitment Management Practices Influence Organizational Cultures Following on from the view that human resource practices can influence employee’s behaviour is an argument that only certain practices will be beneficial to an organization’s culture. Corporate culture will only be an advantage when it is seen as appropriate in order to achieve a certain objective or organizational goal (Chow & Liu, 2009); not all practices will elicit an appropriate culture.High Commitment Management (HCM), or best practice, is a theory that has outlined a number of HRM practices which are believed to help a firm achieve competitive success from its workforce (Pfeffer, 1995). It is a common held belief within the literature that â€Å"systems of high commitment HR practices increase organizational effectiveness by creating conditions where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish the organization’s goals (Whitener, 2001, p. 516).Pfe ffer (1998), the founder of best practice, believed that there were seven core practices which characterized the most successful organizations: employment security; selective hiring of new personnel; self managed teams; high compensation contingent on organizational performance; extensive training; reduced status distinction and barriers; and extensive sharing of information throughout the organization. When implemented these practices would lead to high levels of job satisfaction, retention and motivation of employee’s, which in turn influence a firm’s effectiveness and performance.It is thought that these HCM practices shape work force attitudes and values by framing employee’s perceptions of what the organization is like and help to influence their relationship with the organization. Employee behaviours and attitudes are said to reflect their perceptions and expectations about the organization; their behaviours respond to the treatment they receive from the f irm (Whitener, 2001). Accordingly, HCM practices are said to act as a culture embedding mechanism (Hartog & Verburg, 2004), playing an important role in reinforcing certain behaviours within employees and therefore shaping corporate culture.Kerr & Slocum (1987) demonstrate this relationship. They state that some organizations have cultures emphasizing the value of teamwork and security. These values foster loyalty to the organization and give employees a long term commitment. They iterate that other organizations consist of cultures which emphasize personal initiative and individual rewards. These values reinforce norms where organizational members do not promise loyalty and where the company does not provide job security. These authors point out that the practices, specifically HCM practices implemented by an organization, bring out certain behaviours from employees.For that reason, a firm can manipulate its culture by implementing practices which foster the behaviours they want to achieve from employees, and those behaviours that will help the company achieve their strategic goals. A small number of studies have been conducted exploring the relationship between certain best practices and organizational culture. In her study of 170 individuals views on compensation systems, Kuhn (2009) found that a bonus being rewarded on the basis of individual outcomes, compared to team or organizational performance led to the organizational culture being regarded as relatively more individualistic.Sheridan’s (1992) longitudinal study of 904 college graduates hired in six public accounting firms found that the firm’s organizational culture had a significant effect of the retention rates of these employees. Those firms that had a culture fostering the interpersonal relationship values of teams and respect for people stayed 14 months longer than those hired in firms whose culture emphasized the work task values of detail and stability. These two examples, in whi ch both show the implementation of HCM or best practice, illustrate that organizational culture is contingent upon the HRM practices implemented.Practices will elicit different behaviours from employees. In addition claims are made that these behaviours will facilitate or hinder performance and efficiency within a company. Strategy Shapes HRM Practices which in turn Shape Organizational Culture In accordance with the view that HRM/HCM practices influence organizational culture, employee’s behaviours are said to be indirectly affected through a company’s strategy (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Chow & Liu, 2009).The term Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has emerged within recent management literature to cover the relationship between a firm’s strategy and their HRM system. This perspective of HRM is commonly seen as comprising integrated functions which are linked to organizational strategy (Macky, 2008). The guiding logic behind this view is that a firmâ€℠¢s human resource practices must, â€Å"develop employees’ skills, knowledge and motivation such that employees behave in ways that are instrumental to the implementation of a particular strategy† (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004, p. 05). Given a certain strategic goal, a set of HRM practices should be implemented to help the organization attain these goals. Different business strategies will therefore require the implementation of a varied set of HRM practices in order to elicit certain behaviours from employees’. Attention should be paid to designing an HR system that is best able to link the desired culture and business strategy. For innovation-oriented firms, HR must implement innovation-enhancing practices to obtain the desired behaviours associated with innovation (Lau & Ngo, 2004).With strategy affecting HRM practices, culture is indirectly affected. This culture will be an asset for an organization if it encourages the behaviours that support the organizations int ended strategy (Cabrera & Bonache, 1999). Organizational Cultures Influence HRM Practices There is a belief, held by a small number of scholars, which challenges the previous, more widely accepted view that HRM practices (and HCM practices) influence organizational culture. While this view appears within some industrial psychology literature, it is a less common perspective among management scholars.These scholars find that prominent core values within an organizational culture have a strong influence on management practices and in shaping HRM systems (Ferris et al. , 1998; Aycan, Kanungo, & Sinha, 1999). This view asserts that firstly values and other social phenomena form within the organization, while HRM practices occur because of the organizational culture already entrenched within the firm. The social context model, developed by Ferris et al. (1998) claims that the attitudes, beliefs, and values which make up the corporate culture drive the development of HRM policies, practic es, and systems.These scholars profess that a well-defined culture within a firm should drive the development of consistent HRM policies, as employees values are reflected in the formation of these policies. Furthermore, these policies should drive the design of a set of mutually supporting and integrated HRM practices which form a cooperative system. Bowen and Ostroff (2004) expand on this view. They allege that organizational assumptions and values shape HRM practices, which, in turn reinforce cultural norms and routines which shape individuals performance. Aycan et al. (1999) as well as Aycan et al. (2000) advocate the model of culture fit.This model contends that managers implement HRM practices based of their assumption about the nature and behaviour of employees. There needs to be a rationale behind the practices which HR implements; they do not evolve within a vacuum. For this reason HR practices are there to reinforce the values, behaviours and assumptions which already exis t within the organization, and to further develop these social phenomena. The Link between HRM, Organizational Culture and Performance Scholars have long asserted that the way in which an organization manages its employees can influence its performance (Delaney & Huselid, 1996).HRM is therefore an organizational issue which firms cannot afford to ignore. Much of previous HRM and organizational culture literature is based on this assertion that human resource practices and corporate culture are linked to organizational performance (Platonova, 2005). The underlying assumption of the link between HRM, organizational culture and performance is that HRM practices lead to employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, which in turn are said to influence firm performance at the collective level (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004).While a small number of empirical studies have tested the relationship between HRM and organizational culture a copious amount of research exists on the HRM-firm performance link . In addition, a number of empirical studies have also focused on the organizational culture-performance relationship. The relationship between comprehensive sets of HR practices and firm performance has been frequently demonstrated within the literature. Becker and Gerhart (1996) explain that HR decisions can influence organizational performance through increased efficiency or revenue growth.Barney (1986) notes that increased firm performance is often attributed to higher profitability, while Bowen and Ostroff (2004) argue that increased motivation from employees leads to higher firm performance. A large number of empirical studies have been conducted on the relationship between HRM practices and firm profitability. Pfeffer (1995) identified a certain set of best practices which companies can implement to manage their employees. He argues that these practices are universal in nature, and will have a positive effect on organizational performance.The implementation of HRM practices c an contribute to firm performance by motivating employees to adopt desired attitudes and behaviours. They tend to unify people around shared goals which will shape and guide employee behaviour. In addition HCM practices are said to create an internal atmosphere where employees become highly involved in the organization and work hard to accomplish goals the firm sets. In his study of steel minimills, Arthur (1994) found that reward systems provided considerable motivation for employees, which in turn contributed to an increase in productivity.His study also found that higher rewards contribute to a decrease in turnover among staff. Merit or incentive pay systems provide rewards for meeting specific goals; in turn employees will be motivated to achieve these goals (Delaney & Huselid, 1996). Koch and McGrath (1996) found that investment in recruitment and selection procedures was positively related to labour productivity. Their findings suggest that labour productivity is related to th ose proactive firms, those firms who plan for their future labour needs, and those that make investments in getting the ‘right’ people for the job.In addition a number of claims have been made alleging that HRM practices can influence performance by impacting employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities. Practices fostering extensive training can be considered a source of competitive advantage, as they involve keeping employee’s skills and knowledge up to date. Training is said to have a positive impact on performance (Delaney & Huselid, 1996) by impacting dimensions such as product quality. In their study of 590 firms, Delaney and Huselid (1996) found positive associations between practices such as training and firm performance measures.Pfeffer (1998) also conveys a link between training of employee’s and profits. Some scholars assert that HRM practices will lead to increased performance when there is a high level of fit between the practices and the organization’s strategy. This is commonly known as the configurational perspective of SHRM. This perspective maintains that an organization should implement HRM practices that are congruent with the firm’s strategy, and are consistent with one another. Two practices can work together to enhance each other’s effectiveness; consequently a powerful connection is formed (Delery, 1998).The implementation of firm specific training programs combined with highly selective staffing practices can work together to generate a talented pool of employees with high productivity. It is therefore thought that HR practices which complement each other and the firm’s strategy will have a positive effect on organizational performance (Lengnick- Hall, Lengnick-Hall, Andrade, & Drake, 2009). Overall, there is a strong view in the literature that certain HRM practices lead to increased organizational performance.However, studies on this relationship often differ as to the exten t a practice is likely to be positively or negatively related to performance (Becker & Gerhart, 1996). Some scholars also express concern regarding the causality between this relationship; do empirical studies actually prove that HRM practices cause increased performance? It has been said that HRM practices are not the only factor which could affect a firm’s performance; many other organizational and environment factors could in fact be attributed to performance (Boxall & Purcell, 2000).Barney (1986) developed the Resource Based View of the firm (RBV). He argued that certain organizational resources and capabilities can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage for the firm, and therefore can increase organizational performance through superior financial performance. Barney (1986) affirmed that a firm’s organizational culture can in fact be one of these resources. However, he asserts that not just any culture will lead to a competitive advantage; corporate culture mu st be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and be of value to the entire organization.If a company’s organizational culture meets these four criteria it has a better opportunity to be a source of sustained competitive advantage. In addition an appropriate HRM system can create and develop organizational capabilities which themselves become sources of competitive advantage (Lau & Ngo, 2004). For example, one of America’s most successful retailers, Nordstrom, attributes their success to its culture of customer service. This culture is seen as a unique, valuable and hard to imitate resource and has become a source of competitive advantage for the company (Carmeli & Tishler, 2004).Since organizational cultures and HRM systems can be a valuable resource for companies they have a key role to play in the firm performance link. Conclusion This paper has focused around the concept of organizational culture. It has primarily explored the relationship and different views between HRM and culture. While a number of challenging views exist in regards to the HRM- culture link, it is commonly found that HRM practices influence organizational culture, by providing information to employee’s that impacts their assumptions, values and attitudes.In addition, certain HCM practices are said to shape work force attitudes by framing employee’s perceptions about the organization; in turn leading to higher levels of job satisfaction, retention and motivation; all of which influence a firm’s performance. Furthermore, an organization’s strategy has been alleged to influence corporate culture indirectly through the implementation of HRM practices that help the organization attain their goals. Organizational culture has been considered a valuable resource for companies and could in fact lead to a competitive advantage for the firm.While HRM has been argued to affect organizational culture, and in turn lead to firm performance we need to be wary of arguing that current evidence proves this relationship. There could, and probably are, a number of other organizational elements that provide a link between HRM and firm performance. More studies regarding the organizational culture and performance link need to be conducted before we can deduce this causality relationship. In saying this, organizational culture has been shown to be an important aspect of a firm, as it can, and does affect employee’s behaviours, motivation and value.