Barilla Case Study: Operational Ineffeciencies

Case Presentation Barilla SpA Introduction Company & Industry background †¢ World’s largest pasta producer in 1990 †¢ Pasta Share – 35% in Italy and 22% in Europe Channels of Distribution †¢ Products divided in 2 categories – â€Å"Fresh† and â€Å"Dry† †¢ Fresh Products had 21 day Shelf Lives †¢ Dry Products had Long ( 18 to 24 Months) or Medium(10 to 12 weeks) Shelf Lives †¢ Retail Outlets – Small independent The Issue During the late 1980s, Barilla suffered increasing operational inefficiencies and cost penalties that resulted from large week-to-week variations in its distributors’ order patterns Distribution Procedure †¢ Original flow of goods and information PLANT CDC’s Barilla run depots GD’s Chain supermarkets DO’s Independent supermarkets â€Å"Signora Maria† Shops Customers Customers Customers *CDC = Central Distribution Centre GD = Grand Distributors DO = Organize d Distributors Sales and Marketing Advertising – Heavy, Brand Positioned as the Highest Quality †¢ Trade promotions – Frequent †¢ Canvass period, 10 to 12 in a year, typical duration of 4 to 5 weeks †¢ Distributor could buy as much product as desired to meet present and future needs at the offered discount †¢ Volume Discounts also given †¢ Sales representatives used more at DO’s than GD’s – Merchandise Barilla Products – Set up In-Store Promotion – Take note of competitor’s prices, stockouts, new product launches – Work out ordering strategies for the retailer etc Demand Fluctuations †¢ Just in Time Distribution Variability in Demand †¢ Reasons – – – – Transportation discounts Volume discount Promotional activity No minimum or maximum order quantities – Product proliferation – Long order lead times – Lack of forecasting systems or sophist icated analytical tools at Distributer’s end Exhibit 12: Demand Fluctuations Variability in Demand †¢ Methods employed to counter variability – Holding buffer FGs to meet Distributor requirements – Asking Distributors/Retailers to carry additional inventory Impact – Strained Manufacturing and Logistics operations* – Poor Product delivery management – Thinning retailer/distributor margins – Increased Inventory Holding costs – Impossible to anticipate Demand swings – Changing customers due to lack of storage space Bullwhip effect †¢ Amplified Variation in demand as one moves up the Supply Chain (away from the order order customer) order Factory Distributor Wholesaler Retailer Order Variation The Causes of Bullwhip Effect Demand Forecast †¢ Long lead times †¢ Order Batching †¢ Price fluctuation (Promotional sales) †¢ Inflated orders in high estimated demand scenarios Counteracting the Bullwhip Effect †¢ Reduce Uncertainty – POS – Sharing Information – Centralizing demand information †¢ Reduce Variability – Year round or Everyday low pricing †¢ Reduce Lead Times – Information lead times: EDI – Order lead times: Cross Docking †¢ Strategic Partnerships – – – – Quick Response Continuous Replenishment Advanced Continuous Replenishment Vendor managed Inventory (VMI) Just-In-Time Distribution (JITD) †¢ Vendor-Managed Inventory Concept †¢ Treats end-customer as the Input †¢ Aims at managing the Input filter that Produces the Orders †¢ Decision-making authority for determining shipments in hands of Barilla SpA †¢ Barilla would monitor the flow of its products through the distributor’s warehouse, and then decide what to ship to the distributor and when to ship it †¢ Distributor provides Data on the shipment and current stock levels for Expected Benefits of JITD †¢ Manufacturer – Reduced manufacturing costs – Better Relationship with Distributors †¢ Increased supply chain visibility †¢ Increase Distributor’s dependence on Barilla – Improvement in manufacturing planning using objective data – Reduced inventory levels †¢ Distributors – Improved fill rates to Retail stores – Additional service without any extra cost – Reduced Inventory Holding costs JITD – Internal Resistance Sales Representatives feared reduction in responsibilities †¢ Flattened sales levels †¢ Risk of Inability to adjust shipments quickly to stock-outs †¢ Lack of infrastructure to handle JITD †¢ Increased competitor shelf space at distributor †¢ Inability to run Trade promotions †¢ Unsure about the cost benefits JITD – External Resistance †¢ Unconvinced Distributors †¢ Not willing to share warehouse data †¢ Perceived power transfer to Barilla †¢ Lack of faith in Barilla’s inventory management Possible methods to counter Resistance †¢ Demonstrate that JITD benefits the distributors – Run experiment at one or more of the distributor sites †¢ Maggiali needs to look at JITD not as a logistics program, but as a company-wide effort – Get Top management closely involved Experiments at Dryproduct depots †¢ Barilla spa ran first JITD experiment at its Florence depot †¢ During the very first month of the program – Inventory dropped from 10. 1 days to 3. 6 days – Service level to retail stores increased from 98. 9% to 99. % †¢ Depot’s staff was not comfortable working with such low inventory levels – Inventory levels finally allowed to increase to 5 days †¢ One of the arguments against JITD was that it will lead to waste empty spaces in the ware houses Experiments at Dryproduct depots †¢ In Florence case – Barilla growing at rapid rate in the region – Plans to expand warehouse – Existin g warehouse able to accommodate the increased requirement – Substantial investment on expansion was avoided †¢ JITD next tried at Milan Depot – Similar performance improvement as Florence †¢ These experiments established the credibility of JITD system Implementation at D. O. Cortese †¢ The decision to implement JITD in Marchese DC of Cortese involved – Barilla: Director of Logistics, Executive vice president of sales and Manager in charge of JITD implementation – Cortese: Nine managers including Managing director, new services manager, logistics manager and logistics, purchasing, marketing and sales personnel from Cortese’s Marchese DC †¢ Consultant Claudio Ferrozzi was roped in – Neutral party trusted by both the groups Implementation at D. O. Cortese †¢ For six months, Barilla team analyzed daily shipment data of the DC – Created the data base of DC’s historical demand pattern – Simulated shipments with JITD in place †¢ The implementation yielded phenomenal results – Prior to JITD †¢ Stock out rate : 2 to 5% ( Occasionally as high as 10 to 13%) – After JITD †¢ Negligible stock out rate of less than. 25%(Never exceeded 1%) †¢ Average inventory level also dropped Adaptation to different distributors With new confidence they approached other customers †¢ Customers apprehensive about JITD repeating the same success as Cortese for them as they had varied systems †¢ Barilla’s team developed capacity to translate customer’s standard’s into internal standards Adaptation to different distributors †¢ Developed a protocol which could be used to communicate with all customers †¢ Each SKU identified with three d ifferent product codes – Barilla’s code – Customer’s code – EAN (European article numbering system) barcode – Most common barcode standard in Europe †¢ Advantages of the coding system Information can be received through any code – Reduce impact of internal changes in product or code on client’s system Communication with consumers Customer each day sent following information to Barilla via EDI:1. Customer code number to identify itself 2. Inventory for each SKU carried by DC 3. Previous day’s â€Å"sell through†-All shipments of Barilla products out of DC to consumers on the previous day 4. Stock outs on previous day for every Barilla SKU carried by DC 5. An advance order for any promotions that the customer planned to run in the future 6. Preferred delivery carton size Lessons learnt One needs to prove credibility of any new performance initiative for others to buy his/her idea †¢ Best place to experimen t with an idea is within the organization †¢ To succeed in a new initiative, involvement of top management is imperative †¢ Market is ever growing. If performance measures seem to create spare time/capacity instead of chucking them, look out for ways to increase the – Barrilla could finally succeed in implementing JITD with Cortese. Whole of top management from both sides was involved in the decision making. Which never happened earlier – Sometimes roping a consultant helps THANK YOU

Songs of Silence

Songs of Silence – LITERATURE NOTES ABOUT CURDELLA FORBES * Born in Claremont, Hanover, in Jamaica. * Taught at the University of the West Indies from 1990 to 1995. * She is currently a professor of Caribbean Literature at Howard University. CURDELLA FORBES' NOVELS * Songs of Silence, 2003 * Flying with Icarus, 2003 * A Permanent Freedom, 2008 * From Nation to Diaspora: Samuel Selvon, George Lamming And the Cultural Performance of Gender, 2005 SUMMARY The book is about the recollections of a female narrator called Marlene (Nice).Her recollections are dispersed chronologically, and appear to have no rational order, but many of the same characters can be found in most of the ‘stories', which occur in and around the same district. SETTING * Rural Jamaica. * Recollections/ stories are set in the 1960's. MAJOR CHARACTERS: Marlene, Effita, No Name, Nathan, Miss Minnie, Raymond, Ionie, Maas Barber, Long Man, Cudjoe Man, Dolly, Minna, Mr. Papacita. RECOLLECTIONS/ STORIES 1. â₠¬ËœEFFITA' This is a recollection of the Sunday ritual of taking food to Aunt Sare. Her habit of praying for the carrier of the food is explored in great detail.The comedic telling of Effie's death announcements is another detail that is explored. We learn what happens when she gives a wrong announcement for Melwyn, and no announcement for Son Son. This recollection ends with Effie's death in 1995, with the implication that few people attended her funeral, despite the fact that most of the people in the district were related. SETTING: Green Town, Maaga Bay, Lucea, Montego Bay. CHARACTERS: Marlene/ Nice – the protagonist and narrator. Effita – the person who did informal death announcements for the district.Son Son – the narrator's male schoolmate who died, also Effie's nephew. Melwyn – Marlene's cousin who was shot by Chisel Bwoy, then given an incorrect death announcement by Effie. Aunt Sare – the elderly lady who was a mid-wife. She would pray fo r every child that delivered food for her. Ionie – Marlene's mother Chisel Bwoy – the police constable who shot Melwyn Miss Zeta – the shop owner. Maas Levi – the only person in the district with a car, an old Chevrolet that the villagers called ‘May Reach'. Mass Rat – the carpenter and coffin maker. Miss Herfa – Man Teacher's wife and a teacher herself.Man Teacher – the principal of the local school. THEMES – death, old age. 2. ‘A STORY WITH NO NAME' This is the story of a lady with no name. It is reputed that she was abandoned by her wealthy family. She is an anomaly in the district because she is high coloured, did not speak, was very expressive in church before her silence, and was reclusive. She put her reclusive nature on pause once a month, when she went to town in order to visit the post office to collect packages. The story gets interesting when she got pregnant and no-one knew the father.The child became h er life, and she shared him with no one, but kept him to herself. He turned out to be even more silent than his mother. It was, however, rumoured that Maas Barber, Marlene's father, was the child's father. In between the telling of this story, is Marlene's explanation of her own silence. SETTING: Tam Briscoe Hill, Baltree District, CHARACTERS Marlene/ Nice – the protagonist and narrator. No Name – the light skinned lady who was related to the Briscoes (rich landowners in the district)Ionie – Marlene's mother. Maas Barber – Marlene's father. Magsie – Marlene's sister.Long Man – a traveler who used to pass through the district and stay at the narrator's house. Luce Blagrove – the person who spread the rumour that Paul was Maas Barber's child. Miss Clemmy – the lady who ran the post office. Paul – No Name's son. Evert Briscoe – He was the only member of the Briscoe family who came home sometimes, he owned the piece o f hill and the land that Maas Barber oversaw. THEMES: Racism, Alienation, Women in Society, Silence 3. ‘NATHAN' This is the story of Nathan, Marlene's brother. They were two years apart and were different from their other siblings because they were companions silence.Details are told of Nathan's extreme ‘tightness', or thriftiness, versus his sister's need to give everything away. He eventually married a woman whom he adored, despite the fact that she was very loud, and had three children. Marlene describes Nathan as a very stubborn man. She reports a particular incident with an MP where he won a substantial settlement due to his stubbornness. Marlene maintains that they still have a good relationship. Great details are given about Marlene's silence, along with her struggle to accept her brothers when/ while they were going through puberty. SETTING: Baltree DistrictCHARACTERS Marlene – The narrator. Nathan – Marlene's brother who was stubborn and very quiet . Everette – Marlene's sister who likes to go to court to listen to the cases. Marlene heard the story of Nathan's altercation with the MP from her. Tony -Marlene's older brother. MP – The person that Nathan got in a fight with and received a settlement. THEMES: Love and family relationship, silence. 4. ‘THE IDIOT' This recollection speaks about school and education. It begins with the story of Ionie's pride taking a beating when she had to ask some-one, whom she had previously snobbed, for help.The story continues with Marlene explaining why she liked school. She speaks of her two scholastic rivals, Ezekiel and Wellesley, as well as the class dunce, Bas. She explains the phenomena of partially going to school due to farming responsibilities. We then learn that, in high school, she was the only person that would grudgingly speak to Ezekiel, who eventually dropped out of school. He ended up being very successful and Marlene felt bad because she did not treat him w ell. SETTING: Maggoty, Black Shop, St. James, St. Andrew. CHARACTERSMarlene – The narrator, extremely bright, was placed above her age range, in the class, due to her strong scholastic ability. Magsie – Marlene's older sister. Bathsheba Watkiss – Ezekiel Watkiss' sister and a teacher. Miss Herfa – A teacher and Man Teacher's wife. Man Teacher – The principal. Pa Brown – The man who Ionie snubbed, and he had to help her to cross the river. Ezekiel Watkiss (Hog) – A student in the class who was her scholastic rival, despite not going to school consistently. Miss Celine – A teacher. Bas – the duncest boy in the class, did not attend school consistently.Wellesley Black (Goggleeye) – Another scholastic rival at school, he attended school regularly and was the correct age for the class. Nerissa Black – Wellesley's sister and a pupil teacher who taught the lower grades. THEMES: childhood lessons, education and soc iety, silence. 5. ‘MISS MINNIE' This is the story of Raymond and Miss Minnie. Miss Minnie got married to Lester after his girlfriend deserted him, as well as their young son Raymond. Miss Minnie was an extremely good mother to Raymond, making him the centre of her life, especially after Lester died.Raymond became a successful individual and took Miss Minnie with him to live in Kingston. Great changes occurred in Kingston because he met his mother and brothers, which created waves in the relationship between himself and Miss Minnie. She was eventually diagnosed with depression and low self esteem. This created another change in their relationship, to the point where Raymond would not allow another woman to get between him and Miss Minnie. Marlene declares that, based on this fact, she cannot wait on him because he will never marry as long as Miss Minnie is alive.SETTING: Baltree District, Lucea, Kingston. CHARACTERS: Marlene – The narrator, she was in a romantic relation ship with Raymond. Miss Minna – Raymond's step mother who made him her life, she sells in the market, went to live with Raymond in Kingston in order to take care of him. Lester – Raymond's father. He is very quiet and died while Raymond was still young, he was a shoe maker. Maas Baada – He read the newspaper to the men in the shoe shop and was affectionate towards Raymond, where his father was not.Raymond's mother – Rumoured that she was a go-go dancer, she left when Raymond was a young child, instigated a meeting with him when he was a successful adult, attempted to become a part of his life. Sam & Nichol – Raymond's half brothers, from his mother's side. THEME – Love and family relationship, silence. 6. ‘Morris Hole' This is the story of how Marlene lost the river. She explains what the river meant to her through her visual description of Morris Hole, as well as the activities that use to occur there.She lost the river when her mothe r abruptly told her that she could not use it, without any explanation. She then recounts her white ancestry, as well as the traumatic experiences associated with her paternal great grandparents. SETTING – Baltree District, Morris Hole. CHARACTERS Marlene – The narrator, she is entering puberty in this recollection. Miss Retinella Martin – Marlene's aunt. Munchie – Marlene's cousin. Ionie – Marlene's mother, she is grappling with her daughter entering puberty. Miss Clemmy, Miss Nellie – part of the group of Seventh Day Adventist women who wash by the river on Sunday mornings.Sister Sis – Marlene's great grandmother who did not know the father of her child, and therefore named Gussie Bugess. Maas Gussie Burgess – a very pretty man, tall and brown with nice hair, who lived in Maaga Bay, named as grandpa Eric's father. Granpa Eric – The ‘supposed' product of a union between Maas Gussie and Sister Sis. Puppa ; Mummah à ¢â‚¬â€œ Maas Barber's grandparents and his children's great grandparents, they are white. Maas Barber – Marlene's father. THEME: Race, loss of innocence. 7. ‘TRAVELLERS, OR FATHERS, OR LITTLE FOOL-FOOL' This is the story of different kinds of love.There is parental love, as represented by Cudjoe Man and Dolly. Cudjoe Man is admired throughout the district for his devotion to his mentally challenged daughter. He combs her hair, dresses her, provides for her every need and is extremely protective of her. He even disregards his attraction to Minna, a possible love match, in order to concentrate on his child. We also learn of a contrasting relationship between Minna and Samson. The romantic love between theses two people is polluted by physical abuse. This abuse is whispered throughout the district, but things come to a head when Samson beats Minna with such trength and aggression that she is hospitalized. This beating occurred because Minna got in a fight with Dottie over Cudjoe Man. This confirmed Samson's paranoia about Minnie cheating on him, and the result was beating her senseless, and then being attacked by Cudjoe-Man. Cudjoe Man ended up in jail and Dottie stayed with a family in the district until relatives from Kingston came to get her. SETTING: Baltree district, St. Ann, Green Town, Grant Ridge, Somerset St James CHARACTERS: Uncle Cuthbert (Cuttiie) – A traveller in his young days who told the children stories of his journeys.Cudjoe Man – A traveller who decided to stay in Baltree district and a devoted father to Dottie. Dolly (Fool-Fool/ Doll-Doll) – Cudjoe Man's mentally challenged daughter. Pappa Lazzy – The gentleman who gave Cudjoe-Man a place to rest before he decided to stay in Baltree district. Long Man – A consistent visitor/ traveller to Marlene's family. Lobie – He was famous in the district for his womanizing, began ‘noticing' Dottie. Big Man Cassels – Lobie's father, it was rumoured that he made inappropriate comments about Cudjoe Man and his daughter's relationship.Linval – Marlene's brother Miss Herfa – A teacher, Man Teacher's wife. Minna – Samson's girlfriend, flirted with Cudjoe Man, brutally beaten by Samson after the fight. Dottie – Cudjoe Man's girlfriend, fought with Minna when she heard of the flirting incident between Minna and Cudjoe Man. THEMES: Love, love and family relationship, women in society. 8. ‘SO FEW AND SUCH MORNING SONGS' Mr. Papacita's story tells of the great love that he has for his wife. They played together and were very romantic with each other. The story also highlights Mr.Papacita's beautiful voice, how he charmed everyone with it, how he lost it when his wife died, and regained it – to an extent – when he found the church. Mr. Papacita was a happy and carefree man when his wife was alive, but when she died, he became self destructive. He was always drunk, and literally pa ssed out in the road when he was on one of his drunken tirades. He spent three weeks in the hospital and came out a changed man. He became very quiet, and one day he surprised everyone by going to church, becoming baptized and regaining a bit of his beautiful voice. SETTING – Baltree district. CHARACTERS Mr.Papacita – Miss Aita's husband, he had a beautiful voice, lost himself to grieve initially, but eventually found the church. Miss Aita – Mr. Papacita's wife, she died of cancer. Miss Nellie – Town gossip. Maas Levi – Owner of the Chevrolet, the only car in the district. Maas Don – The taylor THEMES: Love, religion 9. ‘EPILOGUE: A BEGINNING' This epilogue takes the reader to the point at which Marlene is leaving the district to attend teachers' college in Kingston. She was afraid, excited and glad – all at the same time – at the prospect of leaving her home. She reflects that all the characters in her reflections are a part of her.GLOSSARY OF TERMS Ackee – A yellow fruit that, when cooked, looks like scrambled eggs. Blue Boot – Your best clothes. Bruk dung – Dilapidated. Bulla cake – A round, flat cake, that has the texture of a hard cookie. Bauxite – A reddish brown rock that was mined in Jamaica. Congotay – Deceitful or deceiver. Coolie royal hair – Hair type that is a cross between Indian and Black, leaning more towards Black, wild in nature. Cotta – A circular and twisted cloth that is placed on the head to cushion a load. Cry cree – To beg for mercy, usually used when people are playing.Cucumaka stick – A stick that comes from a tree, of the same name, that is believed to help in abortions, despite no scientific evidence to prove this. Dulcimina – A big, old fashioned looking suitcase. Duppy – A ghost Faas with – To trouble someone or get in their personal business. Facety – Describes a person th at is rude, or behaviour that is rude. Four eye – Word for some-one who is clairvoyant. Hootiah – A person who has not been well brought up. Jacket/ give jacket – To name a man as the father of a child when he is not, the child is the ‘jacket' that the man is given. ibber – to keep your mouth shut, not talk. Peenie-wallie – A firefly. Pickni – A small child. Gleaner – A local Jamaican newspaper. Maas – Mr. / Mister. Mirasmi – Malnutrition. Mouthamassy – someone who talks too much and gossips a lot. MP – Member of Parliament Pocomania – A religious cult that blends Christianity and African beliefs. It carries the stigma of obeah and is not widely accepted. Tegereg – A boisterous and uncouth person. UC – University of the West Indies Hospital. Yaws – A sore that has persisted for so long that it has become infected.

Animated cartoons for early childhood science education

Animated cartoons for early childhood science education Teachers teaching methods change because of the new generation of children. For this reason, teachers should use contemporary teaching methods for improving the quality of learning. In this framework teaching innovations which can meet such expectations are needed. This paper is a report of work describing curriculum which involves cartoons as a basis for teaching science. Here we can picture young pupils gaining knowledge through texts, teacher lectures and cartoons. It is important to realize that one of the reasons why science is thought to be difficult by many students in elementary education is that it is viewed as dealing with concepts which are often difficult to be explained and understood. Some students feel that they have to learn a lot of theory without considering how this theory might apply to the real world they are living in. This study represents findings on the use of animated cartoons and how they are able to evaluate the effectiveness in supporting teaching and le arning in science. The research results provide evidence that the use of animated cartoons significantly increases the young students` knowledge and understanding of specific science concepts. The importance of cartoons in science education has been recognized in recent years as they received an increasing amount of research attention. The presentation of ideas in visual form has been proven to be particularly important as it helps the educational process in a very up-to-date way. Why are cartoons so popular among young children and how can they be used for the purposes of teaching as well as learning? Research evidence indicates that cartoons are widely used as innovative and supporting tools in science teaching. Actually, they represent a form of art that has been promoted into an important visual language, which influences the human feelings and transmit messages using symbols and pictures. They are a combination of humour , exaggeration and symbols but in a very simple way. Euli e/1969/ pointed out very successfully that cartons, contain messages and when they are selected carefully, they can easily provide information via the symbols and the exaggeration. Most important is that they use familiar pictures and objects from daily life. In addition, cartoons can be used effectively in the teaching process when they provide information with regard to concrete objects. They were used by many researches in the classroom in order to promote learning, esp. in teaching children./Madden,Chung$Dawson,2008;Peacock,1995;Tsou,Wang&Tzeng,2006/. More over, the most innovative use in the instructive practice is that they easily capture students’ attention and then they allow them to’ travel with their mind ‘in the world of imagination and amusement while they are learning. Not surprisingly, cartoons have rapidly become a popular teaching and learning approach. Keogh and Naylor /1999/ ,he creators of the ‘concept cartoon strategy, have used it incre asingly in both primary and secondary education. . Concept cartoons offer an innovative approach to gaining access to children’s ideas in science. They have been used in different ways and in different situations to teach science, to assess pupils’ levels of understanding of science matters and to involve them in scientific discussion as well as to promote children’ s argumentation in primary science /Naylor,Keogh and Downing,2007/.

Social responsibility Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social responsibility - Research Paper Example Usually social responsibility measures are assigned to a small group or an individual, often within the human resources management department. Employees tasked to carry out this responsibility have to focus on social subject matters in three primary domains (Anderson 15): 1. Total compliance with international, federal, state, and local legislative laws and acts; 2. Moral and ethical standards and procedures under which the firm will operate; and 3. Philanthropic giving Most business organizations face challenges in developing and implementing socially responsible measures. Still, all businesses should consider and participate in this area. To function without serious losses or disruptions, a business should always fulfill their legal obligations. It should formulate, execute, and monitor moral and ethical guidelines for all members of the organization. In the philanthropic domain, where there is greater freedom of activities in where, when, and how the company should plan about and resolve numerous issues before creating just and practical course of action (Clegg & Rhodes 57). With more involved citizens and government, social responsibility has continued to receive much attention and popularity over the recent years (McShane & Steen 105). Social responsibility will keep on demanding more effort, time, and resources. Skilled and diverse management is needed in all the domains of social responsibility. Businesses, the government, and society should team up more strongly in the future if major developments are to be achieved in the area of social responsibility. What is Social Responsibility? The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is usually associated with related concepts like stakeholder management, corporate social responsiveness, and corporate citizenship. All these concepts refer to a company’s responsibilities outside its main purpose that involves generating a profit (Blackburn, Doran, & Shrader 195). A primary reason for the multifa ceted nature of CSR is that it binds society and business. It requires no extensive study to understand the different debates over social responsibility occurring across society. Two major concepts appear to be vital to the understanding of social responsibility, namely sustainability and responsibility (Clegg & Rhodes 53). Sustainability is a standard concept on the external and internal environment as regards intangible and tangible resources. Intangible resources, such as skills and knowledge, must be recognized and developed. Tangible resources, such as oil and raw materials, should be utilized with precise care and, preferably, substituted by alternatives and reused (Anderson 18-20). It is in the interest of the company to thoroughly care for the pooled intangible and tangible resources and to manifest this in its operations. On the other hand, responsibility today implies not just economic, but also environmental and social responsibility. Companies are persuaded to surpass th e economic perspective and consider a broader framework. This challenge may be viewed as indirect or direct societal demands to integrate environmental and social principles into business activities (Anderson 24). In recent times, it has become somewhat widespread to define this responsibility as CSR.

FOOD Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FOOD - Research Paper Example Starting simple could mean inviting neighbors and friends to a simple dinner or meal using local products; or it could also mean assigning days within a week to focus on consuming local produce. Trying to connect with local farmers would necessitate going around the locality and finding out what products are being sourced from farms and which could be availed easily. Likewise, one could even try to grow simple vegetables in one’s backyard; which was also noted to be, not only healthy; but also therapeutic. And finally, the effort of implementing a local diet in one’s lifestyle should not be made in stressful environment. One must simply enjoy discovering local farms and products and be able to savor the local produce which could be incorporated in one’s daily meal. Are there farmers' markets in your area? There is actually a Farmers Market in one’s area in New Jersey; which is specifically located in South Jersey, just 20 minutes away from Philadelphia, Pe nnsylvania. All vegetables are therefore bought from the Farmers Market. Where is the nearest community supported agriculture farm (CSA)? The state of New Jersey has a lot of community supported agriculture (CSA) farm located in the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Sussex, and Warren (State of New Jersey: Department of Agriculture, 2013). The names, contact information, and addresses are found in the State of New Jersey’s Department of Agriculture official website. How could you encourage others to eat local? Other people could be encouraged to eat local by promoting the various benefits that could be gained from this move. From among the noted benefits, the following are noteworthy: (1) greater opportunities to lose weight; (2) savoring new flavor sensations; (3) being able to heighten awareness through learning more about local products (Priebe, 2011); (4) fresher and he althier foods; (5) learn more about food from the people who grew them; (6) contributes to lesser environmental impact through lessening of carbon footprint through travelling less, consumer lesser gas, lesser wear and tear of roads; and (7) supports the community through the revenues generated from local purchases (Shea, 2008). Global Food Crisis After reading the article, "Global Food Crisis" from this unit's studies, do you feel the U.S. ethanol fuel program is adding to the world food crisis? One is convinced that the arguments exposed by Gawain Kripke, the Senior Policy Adviser for Oxfam America is more convincing regarding the effect of the ethanol fuel program on the global food crisis. Kripke’s detailed explanation that production of ethanol is apparently significantly contributory to driving food prices up due to the increased use of corn for the production of ethanol is more viable and believable (Kripke, 2008). As compared to the arguments presented by Rick Tolman, the CEO of the National Association of Corn Growers, Kripke assumed a more unbiased stance at looking at the issue. Tolman could have protected the

Why does the EU rely so much on policy networks to make its political Essay

Why does the EU rely so much on policy networks to make its political system function - Essay Example Policy changes have taken place only with the consent of the group. Interest groups have always favored state bureaucracies maintaining stable relationships with the groups. Hence policy networks have helped the policy makers fulfill their procedural ambitions and obtain a ‘negotiated order’ For this reasons even after decades of formulation, these policies for the functioning of political system continue to exist (Mazey & Richardson, 2001).The paper intends to trace out the possible reasons behind EU’s everlasting reliance on policy networks for managing the political system thereby addressing the background and importance of these policy networks. The European Union EU operating for 50 years possesses a unique background. Under the co-decision procedure the Council consisting of all member states works with the European Parliament for budget formulation and other decisions. Overall, the decision making body contains EU Council, Parliament and the European Commis sion. The legislations for EU comprises of Primary legislation influencing daily lives of member countries’ citizens and Secondary legislation containing directives, regulations and also certain recommendations. The decision based upon majority votes, can be simple or qualified, depending entirely on the addressed issue (Mazey & Richardson, 2001). It appears that the structure of the EU displaying behavioral traits and functioning is very different from the regular or traditional ones found in most other organizations (How does the EU work, 2008). State bureaucrats display efficiency in framing policies under the scope of their limited capacities and available information. The users who are served by these bureaucrats extend a high degree of external support to the political system on obtaining their desired benefits. Thus favoritism and institutional factors act behind decision making (Mazey & Richardson, 2001). Evolvement of European Political System: Horizontal and Vertica l Over the years the European Union has developed a well governed and stable political system. An efficient government operates within the state with concentration of power at the center. Member countries like France, Britain and Sweden are known to possess an ideal political system. Decentralization has been the key to governance. It has always witnessed sharing of political power among large number of actors (Buxbaum, 1996, pp. 14-16). Policies framed under EU governance are concerned with regulation of markets. This has been noticed for environmental and social policies of EU which helps in preventing market failures. The budgetary policies have dealt with compensating potential losers who lose out in market integration. The adoption of a single currency has been aimed towards regulating markets. It has attempted creation and regulation of a single market. The Maastricht Treaty of 1993 has attempted to bring about economic and political union. Viewed form a vertical dimension EU can be termed as a regulatory state. From horizontal perspective it has acted as a hyper consensus government (Buxbaum, 1996, p. 16). The total policy making process has been divided between the governmental head in the European Council and Commission resulting in efficient allocation of power among the EU institutions. Political leadership has been rotational among the member countries. Such a governance framework has led to rising power of the European parliament. Under this multilevel EU framework, networks have helped to improve regulations in the areas of energy, transport and telecommunications. Background for policy networks

Totaltarian Regimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Totaltarian Regimes - Essay Example In addition, totalitarianism is considered as a system of rule guided by an ideology whose perspective is geared on achieving a certain favorable political, social, and economic end by guiding every aspect of society to that goal with the use, to some extent, of "propaganda and terror"(Pleuger, "Totalitarianism," par.2). The system is also described as "both a form of social control as well as a method of social control" facilitated by advancement of technology and mass communication (Keis, "The Age of Totalitarianism," par. 10). Within the context of those definitions mentioned above that our discussion of totalitarianism will be based. In discussing history of totalitarianism, we do not consider intensively the birth of the concept of totalitarianism but we look into regimes that fit into the character as described by scholars as it occurred in history. We look deeper into what are the motives of totalitarian leadership and its impact on the society. By definition, it can be inferred that like any other form of governments, the system, by the perspective of the rulers, is anchored on the goal of total development for the country. Whether the approach would benefit a select few at the expense of other sector the concept of total development would likewise benefit the entire society. Taking violence, war, and human rights abuse and violations out of context, we can see that development brought by totalitarianism is highly considerable as shown by Russia's might in the Cold War era, the totalitarian monarchies in the Arabian region, and China's rise to economic dominance in the present times. Most totalitarian regimes with autocratic leadership hold on to power by imposing an official ideology upon its people. The master plan is laid and facilitated by controlling all means of mass media and information systems. There is only one political party which in some case becomes an alter ego of the leader and the exercise of free well and freedom of speech is being suppressed. Critics are subject to intense surveillance and executions are frequent with the use of strong police and military backing. All these are utilized to achieve the goals of the leadership. Dirty as it can be described, however, in dealing with totalitarian regimes it is argued that totalitarianism is different from authoritarianism although most totalitarian regimes are governed by authoritarians and dictators, but which is not always the case. Monarchy can be considered totalitarian but the role of a king is not as intimidating as a dictator. Of course, this point had its share of arguments in the past and is also a point of controversy in political science today. But looking at the present times we can see that monarchies rule in the principle of totalitarianism yet democratic processes are being recognized like the case of Britain, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the other present day monarchies. This argument is the reason why the term totalitarian democracy emerged. Therefore we consider the brutal totalitarian regimes as a manifestation of extremism within the totalitarian concept. History of Totalitarianism Within

Relationship between western European countries and others Essay

Relationship between western European countries and others - Essay Example Relationship between western European countries and others The European countries, thus, looked down on China since they were at a better position in the industrialization sector, despite China’s size, wealth and high population. John Barrow, the writer of Travels in China contributed to how different writers and citizens of Western Europe thought about China. He made them view their country as superior, because, he reasoned that although in the past China was more developed, the Western Europe in the 1800s had grown to be more industrialized and had advanced more in technology. He emphasized that the education offered in Western Europe was of higher quality than in China because the Chinese did not learn algebra, Chemistry and geometry. The decline of the Qing dynasty, economic growth and China’s defeat by the western powers seemed to reinforce the thought that the country was better than China. The British realized that China’s military had not developed during the opium war due to use of smoke and lack of expertise in using firearms. This led to a more degraded image of China. Although China had invented the compass, gunpowder and printers, it did not advance on these new inventions. Their lack of admitting that the Europe was more developed and; therefore, declining to embrace the technological change, showed China’s inability to embrace change.James Mill, a writer of the History of British India book influenced greatly how the western Europeans viewed the Indians. Basing his argument on Scotsmann Grant views, he argued that the Indians were deficient in education, technology, science, civilization and medicine.2. He argued that although Indians had invented handcraft, there was little advancement made in improving their inventory2. Their poor learning systems did not involve teaching of sciences e.g. anatomy and their teachings in mathematics were not fit for any civilized person. There was belittlement of the Indians discoveries in the mining of iron ore. They described the activity as negligible because it carried out on small scale. They considered it destructive and imperfectly done. There was ridicule on the cotton textiles the Indians produced. The character traits associated to them were dishonesty and morally decayed2. The collapse of the Mughal Empire emphasized these traits together with their lack of masculinity. Although Indians had built buildings similar to the Europeans, the Europeans still considered India barbaric and uncivilized due to lack of roads and pipes. However, this made them pass the lowest set social development stage by the Europeans. The Europeans called the Indians barbaric because of the medicine they took, which they said was not fit for the civilized. Mill created an impression that the Indians were unwise because they spent their time playing chess and hunting tigers unlike the Britons who spent their time and resources in trading and developing their empires. They had poor military weapons as compared to the British although the Europeans did not take into consideration that Indians adopted the Europeans training methods and arms. The thinking of the Western Europeans as better than the other countries made it gain more power and superiority in the world. Europeans based their superiority on how righteous a country was in terms of religion in the past, but this changed

Roles, Responsibilities and Boundaries in Teaching Case Study

Roles, Responsibilities and Boundaries in Teaching - Case Study Example Teachers are also governed by boundaries. Boundaries are usually driven by social ethics. Boundaries, roles and responsibilities are qualities within which a teacher’s operations are assessed. Their success in their work is usually reflected by their teaching or training cycle. Generally, teachers should provide a communication means with students in which they find it easy and efficient to communicate and relate to the topics in the study course. The responsibilities and roles vary with time and results from assessments. Results and recommendations from prior assessments are incorporated in the development of new teaching skills and responsibilities. According to Wallace (2007), teachers should have the role of creating a safe learning environment and establishing open and trust relationships with learners. By recording results and assessments, it helps a teacher to keep an update on the changes among the learners which may be useful in setting future objectives and aims (Bid well, 2001). Teachers should take up the role of identifying the need of both the institution and learner. After identification, they should come up with a working framework that suits a learner efficiently and within the stipulated needs of the institutions. The working framework should also be according to the syllabus. Identifying of needs also gives the recommendations on individual or group learning for specific students.

Human resources Corporate culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human resources Corporate culture - Assignment Example I have seen that the Theory X managers are usually very quick to reach conclusions and are usually wrong in their assumptions but this is not the case with the Theory Y managers who take their time to understand things and then decide for their own selves what the best course of action is (Papa, Daniels, & Spiker, 2008). As far as the assumptions of human nature and standards of behavior within the contexts of influencing organizational cultures are concerned, I have witnessed that the organizational culture is usually backed up with an understanding of the human natures which are spread across the domains of an organization. This also means that the standards of behavior bring about different influences within the making up of the organizational culture which is something very significant indeed. I have seen assumptions of human nature and standards of behavior being at the behest of bringing about significant changes in the course of the human resources management regimes in an org anization. This is because people react differently within varied scenarios and it is important to comprehend such circumstances. Human nature is something that shapes up the entire discussion of the organizational culture and it is about time that one comprehends the true implications of the same.

The Destruction of the Indies and the Middle Passage Essay Example for Free

The Destruction of the Indies and the Middle Passage Essay Bartolomà © de las Casas was one of the first proponents of Indian rights in the New World. A priest and historian of his day, responsible for preserving Christopher Columbuss journals, de las Casas also wrote works such as The Devastation of the Indies and Apologetic History of the Indies. Labeled a heretic and traitor, de las Casas documented the war on the Indians by the Spaniards and argued the Indians cause, at great personal risk, before the Spanish court. The following account gives a sympathetic description of the natives, outlines the Spanish lust for gold, and details a nearly unbelievable torture of several Indians. SOURCE: From The Devastation of the Indies by Bartolomà © de las Casas. English Translation Copyright  © 1974 by The Crossroad Publishing Company. Reprinted by permission of The Crossroad Publishing Company. And of all the infinite universe of humanity, these people are the most guileless, the most devoid of wickedness and duplicity, the most obedient and faithful to their native masters and to the Spanish Christians whom they serve. They are by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome. These people are the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world. And because they are so weak and complaisant, they are less able to endure heavy labor and soon die of no matter what malady. The sons of nobles among us, brought up in the enjoyments of lifes refinements, are no more delicate than are these Indians, even those among them who are of the lowest rank of laborers. They are also poor people, for they not only possess little but have no desire to possess worldly goods. For this reason they are not arrogant, embittered, or greedy. Their repasts are such that the food of the holy fathers in the desert can scarcely be more parsimonious, scanty, and poor. As to their dress, they are generally naked, with only their pudenda covered somewhat. And when they cover their shoulders it is with a square cloth no more than two varas in size. They have no beds, but sleep on a kind of matting or else in a kind of suspended net called hamacas. They are very clean in their persons, with alert, intelligent minds, docile and open to doctrine, very apt to receive our holy  Catholic faith, to be endowed with virtuous customs, and to behave in a godly fashion. And once they begin to hear the tidings of the Faith, they are so insistent on knowing more and on taking the sacraments of the Church and on observing the divine cult that, truly, the missionaries who are here need to be endowed by God with great patience in order to cope with such eagerness. Some of the secular Spaniards who have been here for many years say that the goodness of the Indians is undeniable and that if this gifted people could be brought to know the one true God they would be the most fortunate people in the world. The common ways mainly employed by the Spaniards who call themselves Christian and who have gone there to extirpate those pitiful nations and wipe them off the earth is by unjustly waging cruel and bloody wars. Then, when they have slain all those who fought for their lives or to escape the tortures they would have to endure, that is to say, when they have slain all the native rulers and young men (since the Spaniards usually spare only the women and children, who are subjected to the hardest and bitterest servitude ever suffered by man or beast), they enslave any survivors. With these infernal methods of tyranny they debase and weaken countless numbers of those pitiful Indian nations. Their reason for killing and destroying such an infinite number of souls is that the Christians have an ultimate aim, which is to acquire gold, and to swell themselves with riches in a very brief time and thus rise to a high estate disproportionate to their merits. It should be kept in mind that their insatiable greed and ambition, the greatest ever seen in the world, is the cause of their villainies. And also, those lands are so rich and felicitous, the native peoples so meek and patient, so easy to subject, that our Spaniards have no more consideration for them than beasts. And I say this from my own knowledge of the acts I witnessed. But I should not say than beasts for, thanks be to God, they have treated beasts with some respect; I should say instead like excrement on the public squares. I once saw this, when there were four or five Indian nobles lashed on grids and burning; I seem even to recall that there were two or three pairs of gri ds where others were burning, and because they uttered such loud screams that they disturbed the Spanish captains sleep, he ordered them to be strangled. And the constable,  who was worse than an executioner, did not want to obey that order (and I know the name of that constable and know his relatives in Seville), but instead put a stick over the victims tongues, so they could not make a sound, and he stirred up the fire, but not too much, so that they roasted slowly, as he liked. I saw all these things I have described, and countless others. And because all the people who could do so fled to the mountains to escape these inhuman, ruthless, and ferocious acts, the Spanish captains, enemies of the human race, pursued them with the fierce dogs they kept which attacked the Indians, tearing them to pieces and devouring them. And because on few and far between occasions, the Indians justifiably killed some Christians, the Spaniards made a rule among themselves that for every Christian slain by the Indians, they would slay a hundred Indians. Among the noteworthy outrages they committed was the one they perpetrated against a cacique, a very important noble, by name Hatuey, who had come to Cuba from Hispaniola with many of his people, to flee the calamities and inhuman acts of the Christians. When he was told by certain Indians that the Christians were now coming to Cuba, he assembled as many of his followers as he could and said this to them: Now you must know that they are saying the Christians are coming here, and you know by experience how they put So and So and So and So, and other nobles to an end. And now they are coming from Haiti (which is Hispaniola) to do the same here. Do you know why they do this? The Indians replied: We do not know. But it may be that they are by nature wicked and cruel. And he told them: No, they do not act only because of that, but because they have a God they greatly worship and they want us to worship that God, and that is why they struggle with us and subject us and kill us. He had a basket full of gold and jewels and he said: You see their God here, the God of the Christians. If you agree to it, let us dance for this God, who knows, it may please the God of the Christians and then they will do us no harm. And his followers said, all together, Yes, that is good, that is good! And they danced round the basket of gold until they fell down exhausted. Then their chief, the cacique Hatuey, said to them: See here, if we keep this basket of gold they will take it from us and will end up by killing us. So let us cast away the basket into the river. They all agreed to do this, and they flung the basket of gold into the river that was nearby. This cacique, Hatuey, was constantly fleeing before the Christians from the time they arrived on the island of Cuba, since he knew them and of what they were capable. Now and then they encountered him and he defended himself, but they finally killed him. And they did this for the sole reason that he had fled from those cruel and wicked Christians and had defended himself against them. And when they had captured him and as many of his followers as they could, they burned them all at the stake. When tied to the stake, the cacique Hatuey was told by a Franciscan friar who was present, an artless rascal, something about the God of the Christians and of the articles of the Faith. And he was told what he could do in the brief time that remained to him, in order to be saved and go to Heaven. The cacique, who had never heard any of this before, and was told he would go to Inferno where if he did not adopt the Christian Faith, he would suffer eternal torment, asked the Franciscan friar if Christians all went to Heaven. When told that they did he said he would prefer to go to Hell. Such is the fame and honor that God and our Faith have earned through the Christians who have gone out to the Indies. The Middle Passage, from Olaudah Equianos Interesting Narrative This account of the middle passage comes from one of the first writings by an ex-slave and the originator of the slave narrative. Equiano was born in Nigeria and was kidnapped into slavery at the age of eleven. After a time in the West Indies, he was sold to a Virginia planter before becoming the slave of a merchant. Years later he was able to buy his freedom and at the age of 44, he wrote The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written by Himself. Equiano became an abolitionist and made the expedition to settle the colony of ex-slaves at Sierra Leone. . . . The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. These filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board. I was immediately handled and tossed up  to see if I were sound by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their complexions too differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke, (which was very different from any I had ever heard) united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my views and fears at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I would have freely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with that of the meanest slave in my own country. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace of copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and, quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted. When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who I believe were some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay; they talked to me in order to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks,  red faces, and loose hair. They told me I was not; and one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it to me, and I took a little down my palate, which, instead of reviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into the greatest consternation at the strange feeling it produced, having never tasted any such liquor before. Soon after this the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me abandoned to despair. I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore, which I now considered as friendly; and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind, still heightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo. I was not long suffered to indulge my grief; I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench, and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste  anything. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced anything of this kind before; and although, not being used to the water, I naturally feared that element the first time I saw it, yet nevertheless, could I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side, but I could not; and, besides, the crew used to watch us very closely who were not chained down to the decks, lest we should l eap into the water: and I have seen some of these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to do so, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the case with myself. In a little time after, amongst the poor chained men, I found some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave ease to my mind. I inquired of these what was to be done with us; they gave me to understand we were to be carried to these white peoples country to work for them. I then was a little revived, and thought, if it were no worse than working, my situation was not so desperate: but still I feared I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruellty; and this not only shewn towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner. I could not help expressing my fears and apprehensions to some of my countrymen: I asked them if these people had no country, but lived in this hollow place (the ship): they told me they did not, but came from a distant one. Then, said I, how comes it in all our country we never heard of them? They told me because they lived so very far off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like themselves? and why, said I, do we not see them? they answered, because they were left behind. . . . The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole  ships cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost  suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps for myself I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much more happy than myself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I could change my condition for theirs. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opin ion of the cruelty of the whites. One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although we begged and prayed for some as well as we could, but in vain; and some of my countrymen, being pressed by hunger, took an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying to get a little privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt procured them some very severe floggings. . . . . . . I and some few more slaves, that were not saleable amongst the rest, from very much fretting, were shipped off in a sloop for North America. . . . While I was in this plantation [in Virginia] the gentleman, to whom I suppose the estate belonged, being unwell, I was one day sent for to his  dwelling house to fan him; when I came into the room where he was I was very much affrighted at some things I saw, and the more so as I had seen a black woman slave as I came through the house, who was cooking the dinner, and the poor creature was cruelly loaded with various kinds of iron machines; she had one particularly on her head, which locked her mouth so fast that she could scarcely speak; and could not eat nor drink. I was much astonished and shocked at this contrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle . . .

Personnel Management and Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Personnel Management and Organizational Behavior Essay Four ways to shape employee behavior are: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Positive reinforcement is following a reaction with something enjoyable (Robbins Judge, 2007). Employees need recognition for exceeding the organization’s standard on job performance. A well-organized reward program will motivate employees to excel the organization’s standard. Example of this are: employee of the month, quarter or year, and recognitions to employees for presenting ideas to improve the organization’s operation. Negative reinforcement is also referred as â€Å"looking busy†. Supervisors should explain the task to the employee, provide necessary resources, and ensure the work is performed to standard. These actions will help eliminate negative reinforcement. Punishment and knowing the organization’s standard are directly related. The organization’s standard, duties and responsibilities of the employees have to be established in order to hold employees accountable for their incorrect behavior. Punishment can be used as the way to unsure employees follows the standard. The different type of punishments have to be included in the workplace policy to ensure the employee knows what could happen if he/she does not follow the standard. Extinction is a behavior not reinforced, causing it to disappear (Robbins Judge, 2007). Adequate supervision and communication in the workplace are two key elements to assess this behavior and eliminate when is not needed. Managers have to develop ways to shape employee’s behavior in order to improve performance. Shaping the employee’s behavior starts with adopting practice that encourage employees to be responsible, loyal, and committed to an organization’s goal (â€Å"Strategic Planning in the Payroll Department†, 2007). Some of these practices include setting standards, establishing duties and responsibilities, and direct supervision. Discuss the three components of an attitude. The main components of an attitude are: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Cognitive component is a consciously held opinion or belief (Colborn, 2007, p. 68), such as â€Å"sexual harassment is wrong†. Managers should enforce values, high standard, group and cultural behavior awareness to improve the working environment. The affective component is the emotional tone or feeling of an attitude (Colborn, 2007): â€Å"I don’t like Charles, because he harasses his female employees†. Leaders should maintain open communication with their employees to let them express their feelings and emotions. Behavioral component is the intent to behave in a certain way toward something or someone (Robbins Judge, 2007), such as â€Å"I’m going to avoid Charles because of his improper conduct†. This action could cause problems in the work group and if not handle properly it will set a bad example to the employees. In conclusion leaders should understand the components of an attitude in order to establish means to avoid these in the working environment. Enforcing values, high standards, open communication and continues supervising are key to success. How is bounded rationality related to decision making? Bounded rationality is defined as making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity (Robbins Judge, 2007, p. 161). This concept used a method where a satisfactory solution is obtained in stade of the optimal solution. This approach is driven by previous experiences, limited information and selecting the first solution that satisfies the constraints. Decision-making process is a detail process to obtain the best solution. During this process all alternatives and courses of action are considered and evaluated completely. This approach consumes time and resources because every alternative has to be evaluated in order to obtain the best solution. In my opinion the decision-making process should be exercise as much as possible in order to obtain the optimum solution to a problem. Leaders should be aware of both approaches and select one based on time, safety concerns, priority of the task, and resources available. What is a quality circle? Quality circle is a work of employees and supervisors, who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions (Robbins Judge, 2007, p. 237). A successful quality circle should include the following: a comptroller, individual assignment, tentative times, progress report, implementation and performance monitoring. The comptroller will be in charge of conducting the meetings, keeping record of the problems, progress and implementation. Problems should be brainstorm by the group and assigned to the best qualify employee. Each problem should have a tentative time to obtain a solution. During each meeting a progress report is required in order to ensure timely solution of the problem. Implementing the solution and monitoring its performance will ensure employee’s satisfaction and develop credibility to the quality circle. The end statement of the quality circle is to fix problems in the organization.

Teamwork And Organizational Performance Management Essay

Teamwork And Organizational Performance Management Essay This chapter contains the review of the literature the effort done by other researchers that have a significant in the development of this research. A literature review can be in form of journals, articles, bulletins or theses. This publications can be in various sources and widely available via the Internet. 2.1 Dependent Variable 2.1.1 Teamwork and Organizational Performance According to Gomez and Rohrer (2011), a team is defined as a group of two or more people who communicate and positively influence each other and harmonize their work to accomplish a meaningful shared goal or reason for the success of organization. Team helps people to corporate, enhance individual skills, give feedback and reduce conflict occurred between individuals. As a team member, they have to learn how to work with other members and understand that one is different, unique and have more knowledge and power that can be channeled in a positive way (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Teamwork is an important feature for smooth functioning of an organization. Most organizational activities become difficult due to development in technology therefore teamwork is a heart of many organizations. Gomez and Rohrer (2011) said that, when a teams work hard and reach something great, they will have a sense of pride for their team and be motivated to do it again, because they know their role will be measured important and essential by top managers as well as all employees in the organization. Furthermore, working together as a team to create specific performance objectives helps transforming teams form groups of persons into committed groups (Khalid Al-Rawi, 2008). However, if teams vanish, employees will no longer have an essential and important role to play in their organization but instead work just to get a wages (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Another study mentions that team should be an element of an organization that builds upon itself. It fosters an appreciation of each individuals talents and the input they can make to their organization (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). This statement is also agreed by Judeh (2011) where team effectiveness is important because it is apply of the most important determinants of the companies achievement. Gomez and Rohrer (2011) reported that the responsibility of the teams will play in an organization will be viewed as priceless and vital of the organizational success. When teamwork is linked to the organization, members chat about team performance in relationship to corporate priorities, and quality measures. When teamwork has developed strong relation among members, peer support manifests itself in many ways Moreover, a number of organizational benefits can result from the victorious use of sourcing teamwork, and the highest perceived benefit is the skill to bring greater knowledge and skills together at one time (Khalid Al-Rawi, 2008). Organizations that mix employees to grow up within a system of teamwork, employees rapidly learn how to work with other employees in a positive way. The result is that they will soon begin to value their own potential as persons and as a member of a team (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Khalid Al-Rawi (2008) state that the main goals of teamwork are to develop an organization whose teamwork member does not reveal commitment to team process feces significant hurdles if it attempts the broad use of cross-functional productivity and motivation. H1: Teamwork has significant positive effect on organizational performance. 2.2 Independent Variables 2.2.1 Leadership towards Organizational Performance According to Liu, Wang and Cao (2011), leadership is best characterized as a social influence process. Each team in an organization must have a mentor who is not compulsory a supervisor but someone who is expert in teamwork to guide the team (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). In the face of complicated and complex projects leaders, managers, and team leaders have to deal with a wide range of people, including sponsors, team members, consumers, suppliers and internal department heads, all of who, often have conflicting goals and competing priorities (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Khalid Al-Rawi (2008) argues that an effective supervisor must keep up a teams focus on its task while establishing positive relations with team members. Meanwhile, previous research indicates that leader behaviors main result on team performance is very weak when considering the external surroundings of the team (Liu, Wang Chao, 2011). Without a respect from team members, a leader can lose the ability to effectively lead and efficiently deal with their team. When there is respectful from leader and team members, it can make an easier for them to do what is asked and able to communicate (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the senior employees to teach new comers to have a clean heart for the organization succeed and become profitable. Furthermore, listening is one skill that each leader must have in order to help them in understanding that it is an active action and requires work to master (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). In other site of view, the team leader is directly in charge for inspiring this commitment from team members so as to enhance the team efforts in achieving the common goals (Judeh, 2011). According to Judeh (2011), he agrees that successful leader who is able to promote care and trust value find themselves with high standards that would affect organizations competitiveness. This is important because as a team leader you are going to work with employees of all ages, races, backgrounds and education levels (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Furthermore, a team leader should guide their team members to increase their efforts and focus their commitment towards the goals of the team (Judeh, 2011). While Liu, Wang and Cao (2011) had mentioned that the leader should motivate individual team members and also lead their team effectively. H2: Leadership has significant positive effect on organizational performance. 2.2.2 Team Trust towards Organizational Performance. Another researcher had defined trust as the point to which a person has confidence of another person and is set to act based on the words, deeds and decision of other persons or and group in other view, trust in teammates is fundamentals for success (Mach, Dolan Tzafrir, 2010). They found that trust in the supervisor is more closely related to work variables, while trust in top management is much more closely related to organizational variables due to the functioning versus more strategic role coaches and management play. In previous studies said that trust is the important trait to have in a team and when leader have a trust towards their team mates, the need for power becomes obsolete. According to the Mach, Dolan and Tzafrir (2010), trust is highly useful to the functioning of an organization. Organizational citizenship behavior, employee performance, open communication to the team objectives, team performance and increased coordination become a link between trust and a variety of those work behavior. Moreover, the researcher feels that trust enhances organizational relationship by increasing the capability of group members to work together. Recent study found that, groups with higher levels of trust did not necessarily perform better than groups with lower levels of trust, thus it showed that trust influenced group process and performance indirectly. Moreover, trust can be said as an integral part of teamwork and this require high level of interdependence between members and generates synergy in the form of cooperation and interaction amongst team members (Mach, Dolan Tzafrir, 2010). H3: Team trust has positive effect on organizational performance. 2.2.3 Communication Styles According to Gomez and Rohrer (2011), teams are the central to the socialization of employees, particularly the new comers. Teams alter individual self-interest into an important resource that can be used to build and maintain the vibrant organization. Furthermore, in a team all employees are socialized to become hard workers in their organization. However, when the new staff is timid and not tries to socialize or communicate with their teammates or other staff, they will become socially isolated individuals and will not feel the sense of connectedness with their organization (Gomez Rohrer, 2011). Research has also reported that communication among team members, sharing of the workload, and high levels of cooperation will improve team effectiveness (Williams Castro, 2010). According to Williams and Castro (2010), communication among team member builds a positive team climate since it improves problem solving skills and interpersonal relations on the team. Ultimately, the more interdependent team members are with each other the more they should be able to realize outcomes related to teamwork as they build team efficacy (Williams Castro, 2010). Communication is also a construct that has been linked with numerous outcomes of groups and teams, such as with knowledge sharing, learning, reductions in time requirements and transaction costs and reduced redundancy (Clopton, 2011). According to Clopton (2011), communication or social capital can reduce the probability of opportunities and the cost of monitoring while encouraging supportive behavior and facilitating the development of new forms of association and innovation. In addition, social exchange relationships evolve and generate beneficial consequences when employers take care of employees. In this sense, the social exchange relationship is a mediator or intervening variable that produces effective work behavior and positive employee attitudes (Mach, Dolan Tzafrir, 2010). H4: Communication style has significant positive effect on organizational performance 2.3 Conceptual Framework The theoretical or conceptual framework is the foundation of hypothetical deductive research as it is the basis of the hypotheses that you will develop. It is a logically developed, described and elaborated network of associations among the variables deemed relevant to the problem situation and identified through such processes as interviews, observations and literature review (Sekaran, 2010). A theoretical framework represents your belief on how certain phenomena (or variables or concepts) are related to each other (a model) and an explanation of why you believe that these variables are associated with each other (a theory) (Sekaran, 2010). Theoretical framework elaborates the relationship among all variables independent and dependent variables. It explains the theory underlying these relations and describes the nature and direction of the relationship. From the theoretical framework, testable hypothesis can be developed to examine whether the theory formulated is valid or not. Based on literature review the conceptual framework is as follow: (I.Vs) (D.V) Leadership (Gomez Rohrer, 2011) Organizational Performance Team Trust (Mach, Dolan Tzafrir, 2010) Communication Style (Williams Castro, 2010) Figure 2.3 Conceptual Framework 2.4 Hypothesis Hypothesis is logically conjectured relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. Relationship conjectured on the basis of the network of associations established in the theoretical framework formulated for the research study (Sekaran, 2010). A hypothesis can also be referring as the thing that the researcher educate guess to solve the research problems in the organization. The hypothesis for this study as below: H1: There is a significant relationship between teamwork and organizational performance. H2: There is significant relationship between leadership and organizational performance. H3: There is significant relationship between team trust and organizational performance. H4: There is significant relationship between communication style and organizational performance.

Contemporary Russian Thought :: Russian Culture Essays

Trends of Contemporary Russian Thought (1) ABSTRACT: This paper focuses on the most recent period in the development of Russian thought (1960s-1990s). Proceeding from the cyclical patterns of Russian intellectual history, I propose to name it 'the third philosophical awakening.' I define the main tendency of this period as 'the struggle of thought against ideocracy.' I then suggest a classification of main trends in Russian thought of this period: (1) Dialectical materialism in its evolution from late Stalinism to neo-communist mysticism; (2) Neorationalism and Structuralism; (3) Neo-Slavophilism, or the Philosophy of National Spirit; (4) Personalism and Liberalism; (5) Religious Philosophy and Mysticism, both Christian Orthodox and Non-Traditional; (6) Culturology or the Philosophy of Culture; (7) Conceptualism or the Philosophy of Postmodernity. "The Karamazovs are not scoundrels but philosophers, because all real Russian people are philosophers..." Dmitry Karamazov, in Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov It is a property of the Russian people to indulge in philosophy. ...The fate of the philosopher in Russia is painful and tragic. Nikolai Berdyaev. The Russian Idea The fact that one can annihilate a philosophy . ... or that one can prove that a philosophy annihilates itself is of little consequence. If it's really philosophy, then, like the phoenix, it will always rise again from its own ashes. Friedrich Schlegel. Athenaeum Fragments, trans. Peter Firchow, 103. The last period of the Soviet ideocracy, approximately from the early 1970s through the late 1980s, can be characterized as a period of "philosophical awakening," to use the felicitous expression of the theologian Georgy Florovsky (1893 - 1979). "Such awakening is usually preceded by a more or less complicated historical fate, the abundant and long historical experience and ordeal, which now becomes the object of interpretation and discussion. Philosophical life begins as a new mode or a new stage of national existence... One can feel in the generation of that epoch some irresistible attraction to philosophy, a philosophical passion and thirst, a kind of magical gravitation toward philosophical themes and issues." (2) Florovsky refers here to the first "philosophical awakening" of Russia in the span of years from 1830s to 1840s: roughly, the generation of Chaadaev, early Westernizers and Slavophiles, such as Belinsky, Herzen, Bakunin, Khomiakov, the brothers Aksakov, and the brothers Kireevsky. (3) Russia's second philosophical awakening occurred in the first two decades of the 20th century, following in the wake of the unsuccessful revolution of 1905 and disenchantment of the most refined part of intelligentsia with the low intellectual level of populism, Marxism and other socialist theories.

Essay --

Smoking Smoking is an addicting habit on the rise worldwide. Smoking across the globe has many different forms from cigarettes and cigars to pipes and shisha’s. There are many different reasons for smoking whether it is for medicinal reasons or recreational use. Smoking has been around for a very long time and in this essay I will discuss the origins of smoking, the serious health risks, economical burdens, the addicting materials as well smoking among teenagers. Despite efforts from governments and organizations to bring awareness to people across the globe of the serious dangers and implications of smoking, the number of smokers worldwide generally remains on the rise. Brief History Of Smoking Smoking in one form dates back to as early as 5000 BC. It was used in shamanistic rituals to allow the users to achieve a state of trance and connect with the spirit world. Cannabis smoking quickly spread through Africa and the Middle East almost 3000 years ago. Smoking was sighted in England as far back as 1556 and then spread to France in 1560. Tobacco was then brought into Africa by French traders in the early 1600’s. Tobacco at that time was chewed or smoked. Around that time many religious leaders banned smoking and considered it immoral and even blasphemous. The first machine made to produce cigarettes was made by James Bonsack in 1881 after the civil war. The negative effects of smoking were brought to public attention in 1929 by the paper published linking cancer and smoking. During the Great Depression and in Nazi Germany, Hitler viewed smoking as unnecessary and a waste of money and also that woman who smoked as unsuitable to be mothers and wives. After the Second World War, anti-smoking groups lost popularity and smoking increas... ...lic places including universities, shopping centers, cafes and restaurants. This bans includes shisha’s (Kuwait Bans Smoking, 2012). Also many governments have set up a â€Å"quit smoking† number and website to assist in quitting smoking.                   Conclusion Smoking has been prevalent worldwide for thousands of years and according to the World Health Organization looks to increase even more. Currently over 1 out of 7 people are smokers. There are many health risks associated with smoking and deaths due to smoking are more than 5 million people every year and has a large economic impact globally. This is more than double the deaths due to natural causes. Smoking is more and more prevalent in teenagers in today’s world due to advertising through the internet and peer pressure. Many anti-smoking organizations were set up to help people quit smoking and to raise awareness.

Response To Aol Controversy :: essays research papers

Response To AOL Controversy The article "America Online, while you can" by Bob Woods is all about the hoopla concerning the fact that America Online, or AOL, has not been able to accommodate its vast amount of customers. This is due to AOL's new flat rate, which substituted their original hourly deal. Many AOL users experience busy signals when trying to log on. When and if they do get on AOL, the service runs extremely slow because of the overload of users. Woods threatens that AOL will lose many of their customers if they don't improve their resources. Other companies should beef-up their advertising and try to cash in by targeting the unsatisfied AOL users. In this day and age of internet use, people in any given location can choose from at least fifteen national companies, such as sprintlink, compuserve, ameritech, erols and so on. Using these services are less expensive than America Online. Per month for unlimited use they average at around $10 to $15 dollars as opposed to AOL's hefty $19.95 a month. AOLers are paying for the appealing menus, graphics and services AOL uses to drive their customers to the internet. These same features can be located anywhere else on the net with the aid of any search device, such as infoseek, yahoo, microsoft network or web- crawler. These sites are no harder to use and they provide lots of helpful menus and information. In Wood's article, he states that he lives in Chicago, and AOL has several different access numbers to try if one is busy. He writes that often when he has tried to log on using all of the available numbers, and has still been unsuccessful. This is a problem for him because he is dependent on AOL to "do the daily grind of (his) job as a reporter and PM managing editor." If I was not satisfied with the performance of my internet provider, which happens to be sprintlink, I would not complain to the company. I would take my money elsewhere, especially if my job depended on using the internet. With all of the other options available, wasted time and inevitable frustration using AOL could be eliminated. I live in Richmond, Va., which is a fairly big city and have not once been logged off or gotten a busy signal using sprintlink. And I only have one access line available with my provider as opposed to AOL's multiple lines. I agree with Woods in the fact that people will (in most circumstances) get better internet service and customer service with a local, smaller or more

Critically discuss the function of structure within the therapeutic relationship Essay

Extensive literature shows no significant differences in therapeutic outcomes between therapeutic approaches, but yet, these approaches differ to varying degrees in regards to values, techniques and emphasis on structure. This then poses an equivalence paradox with clearly non-equivalent techniques. The explanation for this commonality in therapeutic outcome between therapeutic approaches is the client-therapist relationship also known as the therapeutic alliance. The therapeutic alliance is a more encompassing term for the underlying interpersonal interactions and the collaborative nature of the partnership between a therapist and a client. Meta analytic research studies show that the therapeutic relationship counts for . 21 in effect size, while in combinations with technical focus, the effect size is . 76. While not equally as effective as technique alone with an effect size of . 55, it is significant in its contributions to therapeutic outcome and has been worth the focus on how it develops over time and the subsequent development of a generic structure to establish and maintain across all theoretical approaches. This essay will aim to explore this partnership and the necessary steps or requirements on the part of the therapist in order to establish it and the ways client preferences and goals are incorporated into treatment, in other words, structure required for the establishment and maintenance of the relationship as there is research evidence to support the establishment of this alliance early for stronger therapeutic outcome. Generally, work with clients usually have a preparatory phase: a first phone call perhaps, and introduction on both parts to the tasks and goals ahead. A beginning phase that involves the face-to-face meet up, initial greeting an outline of the therapist’s agenda, contracting, negotiating and setting and summary of goals. A middle phase: the therapist is concerned with facilitating learning and change congruent with therapeutic goals and assumptions about change. The ending phase also involves process goals in order to seek resolution of client issues, consolidate learning and change and evaluate therapeutic outcome. There’s evidence to show that therapeutic alliance needs to be formed within the first three sessions for a good therapeutic outcome. Regardless of the therapeutic approach, there is evidence that certain generic skills are important and required for the establishment of a structure within therapeutic alliance. These generic skills include basic communication skills, but also more complex skills which the therapist needs. They can be learnt and practiced as techniques but the therapeutic use of them with the client depends not only on the communication skill but on the attitude and intention of the therapist, an inside energy of sorts, that comes from commitment to understand the person from their frame of reference and the therapists internal supervision, awareness and self-review. The following macro and micro skills ensure the therapist emphases the importance of inner work alongside their practice. 1) Making Psychological contact This is an intangible personal process that changes from moment to moment, a psychological exchange of energy between human beings. It is dependent on the skills, experience, attitudes and emotions that each brings to the situation and it presents itself on a spectrum. It ranges from clients who make no contact at all to those who invade the therapist’s personal space and on the other side, the therapist’s ability to make contact could be influenced by how they perceive new clients and other factors such as culture, class, race, gender, age and sexual orientation. The therapist’s experience of initial interpersonal contact can be developed by self-reflection. Impartial witnessing: The observation of inner processes without judgement. Awareness of how others experience the therapist’s psychological contact e. g. Is it warm or cool, intrusive or distant etc? And finally, skills of greeting appropriately and starting the interaction with particular adjustments made after attention is paid to and sensitivity of culture, age, gender etc. 2) Effecting Intake and Assessment In an interview or a formal assessment, specific skills are needed. They include: Asking for information: It is imperative that the client is made to understand the purpose of the questions and what will happen with the records. Purpose stating: What the therapist wants to happen and must happen. This helps to set the scene of openness to clients so that they know the therapist’s intentions or purpose and also to experience the therapist as congruent. Preference stating: What the therapist would like to happen  with an element of choice for the client. Knowing when to say â€Å"no† to a client and knowing how to communicate this congruently, respectfully and empathically. 3) Introducing tape recording This is something therapist’s approach with trepidation and technical skill and appropriate equipment is required to execute. The therapist requires confidence and conviction to obtain permission from the client and it needs to be part of the initial contract. 4) Contracting and clarifying therapy Negotiating a contract with a client requires particularly the multiple skills of active listening, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, summarizing, asking questions, purpose and preference stating, a balance between assertion and flexibility. 5) Beginning to build a relationship The ability to communicate empathic understanding of the client, to show unconditional respect, and to be perceived as congruent, requires inner and outer, receptive and responding skills. The client needs to hear that the therapist understands him from his point of view, accepting and not judging him, and is openly present for him and genuine in the role. This openness conveyed by the therapist may vary with the orientation: Skills required to communicate this are: 1) Attention giving: The non-verbal show of accessibility, receptivity and presence which are all influenced by an inner attitude dependent on the awareness and sensitivity of the therapist. 2) Observing: Knowing what non-verbal and verbal cues to look out for. For example; posture, facial expression, tone and volume of voice, responsiveness etc. These clues are sought to begin to understand the client’s internal frame of reference. Also, the therapist needs to scan their own body for clues and observe how the client makes them feel. 3) Listening and Hearing. The former is merely the inner sensory activity that involves picking up sounds while the latter is the same inner sensory activity aligned with attention giving. When clients feel really listened to, they are encouraged to talk and reveal themselves. Accurate listening can help clients to increase self-awareness and reduce defensiveness and direct focus towards their own behaviour. It provides psychological space and support for client’s self-exploration. The use of a combination of the above skills to focus the therapist and client at appropriate points in the interaction. It can be used as a check for understanding, pulling together thoughts, bridge to help client move on, return to something significant and to structure the interaction if the therapist or the client is getting lost. 5) Responding or facilitating skills: Also known as active listening skills. These demonstrate and communicate empathy and acceptance and facilitate exploration. They are sometimes referred to as first level empathy, distinguishing them from deeper empathy. The latter is used when there is deeper understanding of the client’s inner world. Using advanced empathy too soon, exposes a risk of inaccuracy and poses too much of a challenge for the client. First level empathy consists of paraphrasing and reflecting feelings. Paraphrasing is picking up the meaning of the client’s words and having and extensive vocabulary to put it back to him reflecting accurately the feeling and meaning in a tentative way to check understanding. It is not parroting and using jargon or over technical terms. Done well, it enables clients to hear and understand themselves afresh. Reflecting feelings is identifying what the client is feeling often mainly from non-verbals like tone of voice, bodily expression and therapist’s own bodily resonance. Therapist’s need to be sensitive to different cultural subtleties as inaccurate reflections may neutralize the intensity of the client’s feelings. All these skills are the beginning blocks for building a relationship and for helping clients explore what they want from a therapist and therapy. In the main they are supportive skills. Skills which continue to build the relationship and develop the interaction will be considered next. These skills are challenging, both for the client and therapist. Development and maintenance of the therapeutic relationship: Moving the client forward As mentioned above, the skills discussed so far can be considered as supportive – helping clients feel safe enough to begin to explore themselves and their situation. To move on in the relationship and the interaction requires skills which will challenge the client to explore further – to gain new perspective and new frameworks and see the world in a different way. How the client will receive the challenge will depend on the relationship which has been built and how it is maintained and developed; all the supportive skills will still be needed, appropriately interspersed with the challenging ones. Inner skills: Challenging a client requires the inner skill of the therapist in examining their own feelings about challenging others. The therapist needs to know how comfortable they are with challenging a client. This skill is should be applied tentatively and timing is crucial. A therapist needs to be able to gauge implicitly and explicitly when and how to challenge a client and which of these interactions are based on theories of counselling and psychotherapy. This skill really requires an inner awareness and careful attention to personal development is required. This is where tape recording and supervision are important in the review and identifications of values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings and sensations guiding the choices made. Outer skills: Responsible challenging requires well-practised communication skills. Focusing. The therapist needs to help clients focus, if they are to move forward. Summarizing. As mentioned above, summarizing provides bridges, draws themes together and is used for keeping track. It is a useful skill that requires accurate listening, ability to filter relevant thoughts and feelings and ability to communicate them clearly. Both summarising and focusing provide challenge to clients Concrete examples. Sometimes it can be useful to ask clients for more specific thoughts, experiences and feelings. Communicating deeper empathy. The ability to pick up the real meaning behind the words, thoughts and feelings of the client which are buried, out of reach or implied and which may come to the therapist as a hunch. The skill is to put it into appropriate words when the timing is right. Challenging. Gently confronting clients to change their perspective, see a bigger picture, recognize strengths they are not using, note discrepancies between verbal and non-verbal behaviour or identify behaviour that is destructive to them and others. Self-disclosure. Here there are two types; the therapist disclosing past experience or the disclosure of thoughts and feelings about the client’s thoughts or experiences. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. Timing and discrimination of content disclosed is important. It could help as a model for the clients and help build the relationship or it may be perceived by the client as maladjustment and hence reduce confidence or the increased intimacy may be threatening to them. It is unhelpful at the beginning stages of therapy as the therapist should be concentrating on staying with the client’s experience. Disclosure needs a sufficiently secure relationship and should be used selectively at the later stages of therapy. Immediacy. Discussing directly and openly what is happening between therapist and client. It involves awareness of what’s going on inside the therapist and what is imagined as going on within the client and what is happening between the two. It is quite complex and challenging to do well, but when executed properly provides client with insight as to how their behaviours affect others. It involves competence in support skills as well as self-involving statements. It requires assertion and is very helpful to build or repair a therapeutic relationship, identify issues with class, age, gender, race, sexuality etc and in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic practice, identify transference and countertransference. All the skills so far require a lot of practice with feedback for development and lead to the final section. Monitoring self within the therapeutic process, evaluation and development of own work. This requires all the previous skills as well as the additional self-management skills which are: developing a caring acceptance of self, impartially witnessing of internal processes, identifying and using resources to meets learning, emotional, physical needs, ongoing identification and checking of belief and theories, planning ongoing training and personal development, reflecting, review of recordings and supervision, reviewing with clients and asking for feedback from clients Summary Both supporting and challenging skills, regardless of theoretical approach are necessary for the establishment of structure within a therapeutic relationship. This structure and framework is important in ensuring that therapists are mindful of what is required to provide a supportive base to establish trust and rapport and then in the later stages more challenging skill are utilized to provide the necessary challenge that is required to guide clients into awareness and positive change. Another possibly useful generic skill would be a termination skill to help the therapist during the end phases of therapy help the client consolidate learning and evaluate outcome and prepare for possible relapse prevention and management and finally, client autonomy. Theoretical considerations There is no denying that the generic skills discussed above have built around and extended from the conditions identified by Carl Rogers in person centred therapy, to reiterate, they would be the maintenance of an attitude of acceptance or unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, as well as personal congruence or integration. Being a non-directive therapeutic approach that typically places emphasis on the above, supportive skills would be utilized mainly. Challenge skills, less so, but on occasion, as onus is placed on the client directing the therapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy utilizes an active-directive collaborative style. In its very nature, it is quite structured. In reductionist terms, it occurs in the following four stages: the assessment, cognitive, behavioural and learning stages. The therapeutic alliance needs to occur in the assessment stage, usually in the first session because quite rapidly after, from the cognitive stage, negative automatic thoughts are identified and challenged. This means, supportive skills and challenge skills are introduced quite rapidly and interwoven up till the learning stage and termination. In Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches, a distinction is made between the real relationship, transference and counter transference and a working alliance. The real relationship would be akin to the therapeutic relationship as defined earlier and would only be encountered after transference and counter transference because they are considered to be more of a contamination to the real relationship and would need to be worked through and resolved. Meaning the therapist would take a more reticent stance, utilizing mostly support skills initially and challenge skills only during the working alliance, (the alignment of the client’s reasonable self or ego and the therapist’s analysing self or ego for the purpose of therapy) towards the later stages of therapy where interpretation of unconscious conflicts, defence mechanisms and resistances take place. Other considerations Having a framework is important in the development and establishment of rapport and therapeutic alliance but there are salient points to factor in. The therapist needs to have a level of awareness of the similarities and differences between them and their prospective clients to avoid the traps of varying degrees of gender inequality, ageism, disability and social class discrimination, homophobia and other sexual orientation based discrimination, religion, spiritual, agnostic and atheist discrimination, and also, racial, cultural and ethnical discrimination. Regardless of how well a therapist conceptualizes how to establish therapeutic alliance, lack of knowledge and experience on these socio economic and socio cultural factors could prove counterproductive.