Dental Public Health Programs At The United States

Dental public health programs in the United States operate on federal, state, or local levels. The roles and responsibilities of these programs are directly related to the level of which the program operates. Both similarities and differences can be seen when comparing dental public health programs with regard to organization, financing and delivery of care. Despite differences in the levels in which different dental public health programs operate, all of the programs share a common, generalized goal of improving the oral health status of the public. At the federal level, dental care is impacted through research, development and implementation of various programs, providing funding for care, as well as providing clinical care for†¦show more content†¦At the state level, dental care is affected through development and implementation of programs and policies, administration of federal programs, and providing direct clinical care (Smith, 2013). These actions are carried ou t both by the government sector, as well as nonprofit organizations and primary care associations. Dental care at a local level is impacted in many of the same ways as it is at the state level; however, there is a greater capacity for direct clinical care to be provided at the local level. Additionally, Federally Qualified Health Centers, dental schools and dental hygiene schools are also components of the dental public health system at a local level that can provide clinical care to community members (Smith, 2013). The financing of federal dental public health programs comes directly the federal government. The funding that is provided by the federal government to the HHS is then distributed amongst its divisions where it can then dispersed for the implementation of the dental public health organizations (HHS, Budget). Some of the funds are directly used by the federal agencies; however, some of the funds are used by state agencies to administer and oversee federal programs. Additionally, the nonprofit organizations that operate at a federal level receive considerable funding through donations and grants. The

Perfect Island Objection by Anselm of Canterbury - 1504 Words

Due to the preconceptions I have concerning Anselm’s Ontological Argument, as learnt through course research and lectures. I will like Descartes in his ‘First Meditation’, put these preconceptions to one side and present an essay that explores both sides of the argument in an attempt to reach an independent conclusion. However, I hope to reach the same conclusion as I had before – that is, that the Ontological Argument can be refuted on the basis that there exists a fundamental dissimilarity between the concept of existence in our minds, and that of existence in reality. This essay will present two objections to Anselm’s Ontological argument, namely, the ‘Perfect Island Objection’ and the ‘Existence is not a Predicate’ objection, whilst†¦show more content†¦But this is not to say that they exist as things other than whatever it is that physically constitutes that person’s thoughts, so perhaps we can grant Ans elm’s argument soundness so far. Anselm now notices that there is a contradiction between his definition of God, and the assumption that God does not exist. If his definition of God demands absolute, unlimited greatness, then a God who does not exist in realty could be said to be inferior to a God that does indeed exist in reality. In our imagining of a God that exists both in our understanding and in reality, we are imagining a being of which its greatness supersedes our first conception of a non-existing God. Thus, according to Anselm’s argument, our previous assumption that God does not exist in reality must in fact be false. Therefore Anselm concludes that God must exist in reality, because if this was not the case, we would be imagining a being greater than the greatest possible being we could imagine – a contradiction no less. So where do the weaknesses in the Ontological argument lie? The first main objection I will raise is what most Philosophers refer to as the ‘perfect island objection’, a version first formally proposed by the 11th-century French monk, Gaunilo, in which he named ‘the Lost Island’ refutation. This objection attempts to use the same form as Anselm’s reductio argument, only with the aim of proving the existence of a perfect island, rather thanShow MoreRelatedOntological Argument Is Not Reliant On An Posteriori933 Words   |  4 Pages Ontological Argument Saint Anselm created the â€Å"Ontological Argument†. Saint Anselm was the archbishop of Canterbury. The premise of Saint Anselm’s Ontological Argument is that, no greater being can be conceived than God. The Ontological Argument is an a priori or deductive argument. An a priori argument does not have to be supported by real or factual evidence just by reason without observation. Thus, the Ontological Argument is not reliant on an a posteriori premise. An a posteriori argumentRead MoreEssay on The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God1545 Words   |  7 Pagesintroduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselms classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes. The ontological argument argues that if you understand what it means to talk about God, you will see His existence is necessarily true. Anselm defined God as that than which nothing greater can be conceived, hence God must exist. Anselm also believedRead MoreAnshelm ¬Ã‚ ¥s Proof of God ¬Ã‚ ¥s Existence1466 Words   |  6 Pagesissue to this day! In the following I will commit myself to the above-mentioned question by firstly reconstructing Anselm ´s proof of God ´s existence and secondly considering his position in the light of the critique put forward by Gaunilo, Aquinas and Kant. St. Anselm (1033-1109) was an Italian philosopher and monk who later left his country to become Archbishop of Canterbury. As Anselm firmly believed in God, he wanted to prove God ´s existence through use of logic and reason and thus set out to demonstrateRead MoreAnalysis of Anselms Ontological Argument and the Argument from Evil1448 Words   |  6 Pages The Ontological argument is an a priori deductive argument. That is, an argument relating to being, that is independent of prior knowledge of the subject and with a conclusion you must accept IF one accepts the preceding premises. St. Anselm of Canterbury presents the Ontological Argument: 1. We conceive of God as a being than which no greater can be conceived. 2. This being than which no greater can be conceived either exists in the mind alone or both in the mindRead MoreThe Major Features of the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God1021 Words   |  5 PagesThe Major Features of the Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument for the existence of God was originally set out in eleventh century by St. Anselm in his Proslogian. Anselm was a Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of the great medieval theologians. It has received a lot of both support and criticism from leaning philosophers. The argument is appeals to those who already believe in the existence of God than to an atheist. The Read MoreAnselm, The Archbishop Of Canterbury1767 Words   |  8 PagesAnselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first person to present an ontological argument for the existence of God. He actually proposes two different ontological arguments at different points in the Prosologium. His first Ontological Argument for God’s Existence starts by defining God based on Christian belief as â€Å"a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.† It is on the foundation of this definition that he builds his argument. Anselm’s first point is that anyone who hears about God

Bruce Dawe Poem Essay Free Essays

Good morning/afternoon everyone. I am sure that many of you will agree with me, after studying and discussing in class war poetry, that war is destructive; it destroys properties and lives. It is also the meaning if not dehumanizing as Owen in his ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ has pointed out. We will write a custom essay sample on Bruce Dawe Poem Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The violence and destructiveness of war reduces men in the battlefield into something less than human; they are stripped of their dignity. Ultimately as Owen points out in his poem, war is senseless or futile. Whatever the reason for going to war, it’s not justification enough for the senseless slaughter of young lives. Owen, as you know, has great ability in challenging the responders senses, to experience the horror of war. He allows us to see, to hear, to feel, to smell, even to taste the ugliness of war. Thus we see a group of soldiers trudging the muddy tracks blindly to safety. They are ‘drunk with fatigue’ and Owen captures their dehumanization by a series of similes. They are ‘bent double, like old beggars, coughing like hags’ and ‘deaf’ to the sound and fury of guns and gas shells dropping around them. I still can visualize and hear their panic reaction to the chlorine gas and those who are not quick enough to put on their mask, literally drown in what Owen calls the ‘green sea’ and our auditory sense is challenged by the guttering, the choking and the convulsed sobs. You will agree with me for sure, that the image that Owen conjures up of the victim of the chlorine gas is no less than grotesquely horrible. We see the ‘white eyes writhing’ in his agony and the convulsions that are followed by the blood that comes gargling out of the victim’s ‘froth corrupted lungs. Again a simile is used ‘bitter as the cud of vile,’ effectively giving us the ‘awful taste’ of the situation. I know of one other poet who also condemns war and who can effectively communicate the horror of war and the senselessness of it, simply by challenging our senses. Kenneth Slessor, like Wilfred Owen, has a strong indictment of war, if Owen’s tone in his poem is angry because, for him, ‘Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori’ which since the time of Horace was used by authorities to entice men to fight for their country – it is a big ie. From the images that he conjures in this poem, there is nothing glorious about dying in such an indignified, brutal and senseless way. In contrast, Kenneth Slessor’s tone in his ‘Beach Burial’ is elegiac; he laments the destructiveness, the dehumanizing effect and the futility of war like Owen, although his anger is tempered and what we get is a tone of frustration, he communicates just as powerfully an antiwar message. His ‘Beach Burial’ presents a dramatic situation in which a group of dead sailors floats towards the beach at El Alamein in the Middle East. The dehumanization motif comes almost strikingly because the sailors is at the mercy of the sea, no longer in control of their lives, but subject to the ebb and the flow of the sea. The fact that they are ‘unknown seamen,’ a mixture of allied and axis soldiers probably highlights the senselessness of war. A man who takes pity on the dead ‘snatched them from the water’ and bury them in burrows along the beach. Clearly, the image portrayed here is one of dehumanization and responders feel great pity for them in realizing that these sailors ultimate protection is to be found within the earth as animals find comfort in the safety of their burrows. Slessor’s irony is obvious in the way he describes the situation; ‘Between the sob and clubbing of the gunfire, Someone, it seems, has time for this, To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows And tread the sand upon their nakedness’ Our auditory sense is challenged by the words ‘sob’ and ‘clubbing’ in this line so that we can hear the destruction of war. When Slessor uses the word ‘pluck’ to describe the man’s action of removing the bodies from the water to be buried, I am reminded of the soldier smothered in gas in Owen’s poem being ‘flung’ behind a wagon. Both poets certainly capture the unceremonious brutality of war. The futility of war is further highlighted by the man’s bewilderment, not knowing what name to write on the crudely made tidewood crosses that he used for each grave. ‘Unknown seaman’ is the only thing he can think to write. And, at this point the voice of the poet is clearly mournful, as suggested by the repetition of the word ‘such’ and the tone; ‘Written with such perplexity, with such bewildered pity, The words choke as they begin’ Certainly there is no glory in either their death or their burial for their memorial, only stresses their anonymity. The ultimate senselessness of it all is captured in the last stanza; ‘Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall, Whether as enemies they fought, Or fought with us, or neither, the sand joins them together, Enlisted on the other front’ In life these sailor soldiers where able to live together without enmity, but now in death they are peacefully united; they have come from so many lands and end up in the same landfall somewhere on the beach of El Alamein. I believe we should take the message of both Owen and Slessor seriously that war destroys, that it robs us of our human dignity, and that it is ultimately senseless. Both poets have experienced the horror of war, Owen as a lieutenant in the British army in WWI and Slessor as an Australian Official War Correspondent in the Middle East during WWII. If belligerent or war-like world leaders of today study these poems, I am sure the world will be a better place to live in. How to cite Bruce Dawe Poem Essay, Essays

Eating Disorders Persuasive Essay free essay sample

I will be discussing the issue of eating disorders and how they affect nearly eight million people in the U. S. alone. Out of any other psychological disease, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. This is becoming a much bigger problem than anyone might have anticipated, due to the constant references from the media about how being thin is so important. It has also become harder to combat, because of the fast food industry. Despite what is common knowledge, eating disorders are curable and there are various methods of treatment available thats as simple as encouragement and as complex as psychotherapy. The first thing that I would like to shine the light on is Bulimia Nervosa or â€Å"mia† as some people call it for short. Bulimia is when a person eats a lot of high calorie foods and then goes and throws it all up. I believe that bulimia is the most dangerous of all eating disorders. We will write a custom essay sample on Eating Disorders Persuasive Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of the reasons is because rupturing of the stomach is a possible cause of sudden death, but that’s not all. Problems like weak teeth occur because of loss of tooth enamel and irregular or no period for people are also common along with suicide attempts due to depression. Some solutions for this disorder are constant therapy for a long amount of time. Illnesses such as this are usually deeply embedded and take a lot of time to heal and get over. Another big helping hand is family and friends being supportive of the whole process. The next disorder I am going to talk about is Anorexia Nervosa or â€Å"ana† as a nick name. Anorexia is a disorder where a person restrains from eating in order to lose weight. Causes for anorexia are usually a bad relationship or a breakup that somehow convinces the person into thinking that maybe it was something wrong with them and that maybe they areâ€Å"fat†. This usually pushes them so far that they may just stop eating all together and slowly start becoming borderline bulimic. Some of the negative side affects of anorexia are: fatigue, hair loss, brittle nails and bones, easy bruising, ulcers, and cramps. Some of the other more serious symptoms of anorexia are cardiac arrest and suicide attempts. Some of the possible fixes for this disorder are rehabilitation centers and constant support and reassurance. The person has to know that there are people who love them for them. Even though this disease is almost completely about the way they see themselves. The last disorder I am going to discuss is compulsive overeating. This disorder is basically like a mirror of bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Meaning that you still have low self-esteem and a distorted body image, but instead of starving, binging, and purging, you constantly eat and think about food. Being uncomfortable and unsure of yourself are both reasons for this disorder, but being made fun of can also contribute to it. Some of the negative physical affects of this disease are high blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides as well as heart and liver problems and failure. Ways to cope with this disease are the same as the above two issues, going to constant therapy and even rehabilitation if it is needed. Family and friends always make the healing process easier and quicker. To conclude this essay eating disorders are a big deal and they can be very dangerous, even deadly. They are not an easy thing to deal with, have, or get over but there is help. All three disorders, bulimia, anorexia, and compulsive overeating, can be made easier if you take the right steps. Through different types of treatment eating disorders are curable. So it seems as though this is one problem that can be solved after all. Eating Disorders Persuasive Essay free essay sample I will be discussing the issue of eating disorders and how they affect nearly eight million people in the U. S. alone. Out of any other psychological disease, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate. This is becoming a much bigger problem than anyone might have anticipated, due to the constant references from the media about how being thin is so important. It has also become harder to combat, because of the fast food industry. Despite what is common knowledge, eating disorders are curable and there are various methods of treatment available thats as simple as encouragement and as complex as psychotherapy. The first thing that I would like to shine the light on is Bulimia Nervosa or â€Å"mia† as some people call it for short. Bulimia is when a person eats a lot of high calorie foods and then goes and throws it all up. I believe that bulimia is the most dangerous of all eating disorders. We will write a custom essay sample on Eating Disorders Persuasive Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of the reasons is because rupturing of the stomach is a possible cause of sudden death, but that’s not all. Problems like weak teeth occur because of loss of tooth enamel and irregular or no period for people are also common along with suicide attempts due to depression. Some solutions for this disorder are constant therapy for a long amount of time. Illnesses such as this are usually deeply embedded and take a lot of time to heal and get over. Another big helping hand is family and friends being supportive of the whole process. The next disorder I am going to talk about is Anorexia Nervosa or â€Å"ana† as a nick name. Anorexia is a disorder where a person restrains from eating in order to lose weight. Causes for anorexia are usually a bad relationship or a breakup that somehow convinces the person into thinking that maybe it was something wrong with them and that maybe they areâ€Å"fat†. This usually pushes them so far that they may just stop eating all together and slowly start becoming borderline bulimic. Some of the negative side affects of anorexia are: fatigue, hair loss, brittle nails and bones, easy bruising, ulcers, and cramps. Some of the other more serious symptoms of anorexia are cardiac arrest and suicide attempts. Some of the possible fixes for this disorder are rehabilitation centers and constant support and reassurance. The person has to know that there are people who love them for them. Even though this disease is almost completely about the way they see themselves. The last disorder I am going to discuss is compulsive overeating. This disorder is basically like a mirror of bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Meaning that you still have low self-esteem and a distorted body image, but instead of starving, binging, and purging, you constantly eat and think about food. Being uncomfortable and unsure of yourself are both reasons for this disorder, but being made fun of can also contribute to it. Some of the negative physical affects of this disease are high blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides as well as heart and liver problems and failure. Ways to cope with this disease are the same as the above two issues, going to constant therapy and even rehabilitation if it is needed. Family and friends always make the healing process easier and quicker. To conclude this essay eating disorders are a big deal and they can be very dangerous, even deadly. They are not an easy thing to deal with, have, or get over but there is help. All three disorders, bulimia, anorexia, and compulsive overeating, can be made easier if you take the right steps. Through different types of treatment eating disorders are curable. So it seems as though this is one problem that can be solved after all.

Match Fixing free essay sample

Match fixing in Pakistan Match fixing has been a curse to the game of cricket since the time the game was invented. Pakistan is one of those countries, which has been accused of match fixing more than any other country has ever been accused of. The first major accusation came under the Justice Qayum report according to which various Pakistani cricketing stars were involved in fixing matches, these included Wasim Akram, Waqaq Younis, Inzimam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and various others. The Justice Qayum report offered various penalties for the accused but his recommendations for penalizing the cricketers for their gruesome act were totally shunned. The biggest and the most controversial match fixing case that Pakistan cricket ever suffered from was the spot fixing controversy of 2010 in which three famous cricketer were allegedly involved in fixing no balls at certain periods of the game. It was the summer of 2010 when Pakistan cricket team toured England. We will write a custom essay sample on Match Fixing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The historic and the king of all cricket grounds Lords was the place where the most shameful incident ever recorded in the history of the game took place. It was the 4th day of the test match between Pakistan and England that news of spot fixing broke on the media. A sting operation carried out by Mazhar Mehmood of Englands News of the World magazine revealed the mischief done by the Pakistani cricketers. The star trio of Pakistan cricket team including the test captain Salman Butt, the experienced master of swing Muhammad Asif and the new bowling sensation of the world Mohammad Amir were caught being involved in spot fixing. There was uproar in the international arena after this incident as people started questioning the authenticity of the game. The players took money from Mazhar Majeed for bowling preplanned no balls at certain time periods of the game. There were hidden camera videos aired on television recording this cruel act of fixing. The players alleged for being involved in spot fixing were handed punishing bans by the International Cricket Council. The captain Salman Butt was handed a ban of 10 years, Muhammad Asif a ban of 7 years while the youngster for being naive was handed only a 5 year ban from the game of cricket. Their punishment for this totally unacceptable act did not finish just here. They faced criminal prosecution after the Crown Court determined there was evidence available for the players to be trialed. After several months Mohammad Amir accepted his crime while Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt chose to defend themselves in court. However after the trial was complete they were proved to be guilty. This day marked the darkest day for Pakistans cricket as the three Pakistani players were sentenced to imprisonment for varying periods. Mohammad Amir for accepting his crime was awarded a lesser punishment which was 6 months in a young offenders jail while Mohammad Asif was sentenced for a years imprisonment. Salman Butt was handed the cruelest punishment of 30 months of imprisonment as he was leading the clan. With the disgrace events such as match fixing and spot fixing have bought to Pakistan, the cricketing board needs to get strict and teach its players discipline at the grass root level so they do not head towards earning money the wrong way and play the game fairly as it ought to be played. Match Fixing free essay sample Cricket, a gentleman’s game is shrouded in shame. Like a virus betting and match-fixing have seeped into crickets’ bloodstream to the point where the essence of cricket has been shattered. The foundation of cricket is its credibility and it is shaking like a leaf in a sudden storm. We ask again and again-where did talent end and the fix began? In organized  sports,  match fixing,  race fixing  or  sports fixing  occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Match-fixing generally refers to fixing the final result of the game. The major motivations behind match fixing are gambling and future team advantage. Why cricketers would sell their reputations, their careers, their team, their country is one of them? We ought to assume answers that Cricketers are also like us-the common man and greed is a basic human nature. We will write a custom essay sample on Match Fixing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There is no full stop to greed and this greed applies to every race, creed and color. Or it is because the players careers are being so threatened by the increasing number of manipulations that they are tempted to make some extra money at the cost of morality, to lay aside for the future? But†¦.. Unfortunately, Cricketing administration has slept in the hope that like a bad dream match fixing will come to an end with the batting of eyelid. The fine imposed on the cricketers was too mild a penalty for information of that magnitude†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ One of the recommendations suggested by the ICC code of Conduct Commission must be â€Å"an obligation on the part of the players to report to the team manager or captain any approach made to them by bookmakers or knowledge of such approach to any other player† with the corollary that â€Å"failure to make such a report be made a punishable offence†. It is for the players to help keep their sport unblemished, for a tainted game means even the honest will be under scrutiny. The villain of piece is none else but macabre money, the glory glitter of which has blinded many an upright player to fall into the trap. The gentlemans game has fallen into the horrendous hands of bookie; for whom cricket should no longer be decided on the batting pitch, but in the betting back room of some five star hotel.. Before it is too late to mend the matters, the cricket boards and others in the cricket playing countries should see to it that the unscrupulous bookies match fixers do not consume the cricket culture. Besides betting, some very reputed players have confessed to being paid for providing information to a bookie about the pitch and the weather, conclusively indicating that the rot has run deep. Everything may be fair in love and wars but as far as morality over money, excellence over expediency and commitment over compromise in strict adherence to sportsmanship and healthy competition are concerned, no laxity or apathy can be allowed to run down the long established practices and precedents. The cricketing boards, whose sole interest now seems to be to make as much money as possible, should concentrate on ascertaining why such degeneration has taken place. It is only because of the excessive money that flows into the game? With the disgrace events such as match fixing and spot fixing have bought to the country, the cricket board needs to get strict and teach its players discipline at the grass root level so they do not head towards earning money the wrong way and play the game fairly as it ought to be played.

Personal Goals as a University Student essays

Personal Goals as a University Student essays Deciding to return to school is the most important decision a person can make. Obtaining a higher education degree provides endless opportunities. When the decision has been made, it is important to have some goals in mind in order to have something to strive forward to when it seems as though one may not be able to reach their ultimate objective-receiving a degree. Some goals to keep in mind are an overwhelming amount of knowledge, financial stability and at least a moderate degree of success are all key motivators when pursuing a higher education. The decision to return to school was one that was more of an inevitable decision rather than some sort of an epiphany. There is no doubt that there is a direct correlation between receiving a degree and achieving at least a modest degree of success. The fact that many people decide not to pursue this obvious ticket to success can be rationalized through many different excuses. Whether it is not enough time, a lack of motivation, or the fear of not spending enough time with family, those who choose not to further their education have an abundant array of reasons to remain complacent in their lives. For those that are more goal oriented, the opportunity to obtain more knowledge, to eventually become financially stable and to reach some degree of success, professionally or otherwise, are the primary objectives in returning to pursue further education. Knowledge is the key to obtaining information about anything and everything. Without knowledge, there would be nothing. In order to walk one has to be taught. There are, obviously, several degrees of this phenomenon that still have not even been explored. In order to feel a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride, and a sense of self-worth, one must continue to feel challenged. There is nothing more rewarding than the feeling of accomplishment. Applying knowledge to something important to an indivi ...

Introduction to accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to accounting - Essay Example Sun pharmaceutical is considered as one of the largest and also fastest growing pharmaceutical company of India. It’s most famous and powerful brands are handled by good marketing executives. Sun Pharmaceutical is the largest drug company of India; it earns revenue of around $4.3 billion. Accounting policies that are laid down require a selection of the accounting standard which is needed to be followed by the company and their application and estimation. Accounting policies affects the goodwill and intangible assets, the benefits provided to its employees, its acquisition. A consolidated Financial Statement is to be prepared and reviewed as they help in reflecting the operating, financing and investing activities of the company and also it helps in assistance of Employee Stock Option Plan for the employees working in the company. The expected return on the investment of the company and other planned asset should be estimated. Accounting policies will provide guidance to Sun P harmaceutical in the acquisition of Ranbaxy. Under the purchase method of the Consolidated Financial Statement it helps in the operation of an acquired business from it’s starting to its completion of acquisition. Fair value is very essential to be determined by the company for estimation of price of the product. Fair value is influenced by the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the intangible assets of the company that is the brand value or the goodwill of the company basically depends on the assumption of the expected future cash flow. The brand value of a product is a long term and it goes along with the company , therefore the brand value of a company is affected by number of factors product life cycle, market share, macroeconomic environment, market share, competitive environment of the countries in which the country is willing to sell the brand(Gary and Curtis 2014). Accountants are more

The short and long term financial strategy of a listed company of your Essay

The short and long term financial strategy of a listed company of your choice - Essay Example The impression gained by lenders and investors have a direct bearing on the movement of stock prices of a company and, as is commonly known, any downward movement of stock prices immediately generates negative sentiments in the market that have a direct adverse effect on the goodwill of the organization (Arnold 2005). No organization of repute can afford to accept a smear on its goodwill as that has a very great impact on its turnover and profitability. Moreover, a company that does not have goodwill in the market is very rarely is able to gather funds from the market when it is need of it and always has to struggle with high interest rates that it has to pay if it wishes to borrow from commercial banks or institutional lenders. Thus, this report is of vital importance to any corporate entity as it can make or mar its future. To prevent any manipulation of figures, authorities all over the world have made it mandatory that such accounts must be vetted and audited by statutory auditor s and submitted to registrar of companies in prescribed formats (Pike and Neale 2009). This assignment examines in detail Annual Report of Accenture and draws important and vital conclusions about the company. Accenture – background details of the company (Oliveira 2008) Accenture is a global management consulting company that has firmly established itself in the Fortune 500 list of companies. It was in 394th position in 2007 and has steadily gained since then in stature and prominence in the global competitive arena as it became a force to reckon with in the field of technology and outsourcing services. This company has a rather checkered past as in its earlier incarnation, Anderson Consulting, it got inextricably smeared in black as the Enron scandal unfolded with all its murkiness and deceit. So before the company went for initial public offering in 2001 it had changed its name to Accenture to get rid of an unenviable past association. This company is an acclaimed global s ervice provider having a highly decentralized organization structure and services clients of international repute and global footprint in areas of increasing productivity, turnover or returns on capital employed. In order to serve a worldwide client base the company had no other option but to decentralize its operations and that is evident when one comes to know that it operates from more than 150 locations in about 50 countries. The company, like most other service providers, values its human resources as its most productive asset and goes to great lengths to maintain it properly. With more and more companies investing heavily in Information Technology to cut costs and increase productivity, one of the core businesses of Accenture has become IT consulting. This is a highly competitive market and the only way to survive and stay ahead of competition is to continuously innovate and provide cutting edge solution to clients especially with competitors as Cap Gemini SA and Atos Origin h eavily breathing down Accenture’s neck. Accenture has also built corporate alliances with other leaders as SAP and Oracle and also formed a joint

Organizational model that is used in the hospital setting Research Paper

Organizational model that is used in the hospital setting - Research Paper Example Also at the same level are the diagnostic services and the support services. This structure resembles a pyramid with just a few leaders at the top and quite a number of subordinates at the lower levels (Wisegeek.com 2014). The administration usually own and operate the hospital as a business. They also deal with budgets and policies in accordance with the needs of patients and employees. The administration consists of positions such as the board of directors, executive officers, presidents, and vice presidents. Below the administration is the information department that deals with documenting of every necessary paper work. These are charged with the recruiting staff, keeping records of employees, and conducting seminars to inform staff and patients on new matters. People found at this level include receptionists, secretaries, and marketing specialists. Therapeutic department include doctors, therapists, surgeons, psychologists, therapists, dieticians, nurses, and even social workers. These professionals are responsible for the direct treatment of patients. Diagnostic department deals majorly machines and laboratories. People here deal with identifying the real cause of ailment as samples go through te sts by diagnosticians. The final group is the support service whose major role is to make sure the supply is sufficient and machines run in order. Others deal with hospital hygiene. Employees under this department include engineers, electricians and janitors. Every hospital division is as important as the other despite the organizational hierarchy, a loss in one department can easily affect the operations in the other departments of the hospital and this is so because all departments are designed to work together as one organism (Wisegeek.com 2014). Availability of quality data is a great determinant of quality of health. Errors and adverse incidences mostly occur

Agile Project Management

Agile Project Management Agile project management has been in use in software projects over the last number of years, but lately it has been incorporated into many different types of projects such as the military, telecommunications and retail. (Scrum Alliance). This paper focuses on using agile project management techniques in the telecoms industry. Jim Highsmith and Gary Chin are two advocates of agile project management, Highsmith (2004) claimed that the agile project management framework which consists of five phases, each with supporting practices. The five phases are Envision, Speculate, Explore, Adapt, and Close. Each of these phases has to be implemented in order otherwise the project will not strictly follow the agile process. Agile proposes to deal with a project in small development cycles; self managed teams, customer collaboration and iterations. It also proposes to have an end product for testing at the end of each iteration, so the customer or end user can see what direction the project is goi ng. Scrum is a project management framework and is ideally suited for projects with high uncertainty. It is used on some of the worlds largest telecommunications development projects such as British Telecom and Siemens because of its high productivity with distributed and outsourced development teams. 2 What is agile project management? Agile project management has been defined as short cycles of product development that deliver incremental updates of the product rapidly based on the changing needs of the customer. This methodology is the opposite of waterfall project management, which values extensive planning and pre-production. (Labine, 2010) The agile approach consists of a number of stages including rapid iterative planning and development cycles allowing a project team to constantly evaluate the project and obtain immediate feedback from users or stakeholders allowing the team to learn from their experiences after each cycle. After the streamlined planning requirements, definition and solution design phase is completed to get the project underway iterations or more detailed planning requirements are created. This allows for immediate modifications of the product as customer views change. Agile project management requires a dedicated full time team including a customer or end users. (Haas, 2007). Agile project management differs to traditional project management in the approach; agile promotes self managed teams with the project manager taking more of a leaders role rather than a managers role. The main priorities of an agile project manager are to gather all the information from stakeholders and integrate a plan, advise the team of estimates, make decisions, build and sustain a teams culture and ensure teams stick to the process, customer relationship, check progress and plans and to communicate the teams progress. (Thomas, 2008) With agile project management both the project team and the stakeholders actively work together to understand and prioritise functionality. The agile project management life cycle can be seen in figure 1. This identifies how the plan, develop, learn and evaluate phases all fit together. Agile management uses an approach with short iterative cycles, they are based on the theory of plan, do, check and act. These cycles happen at different levels, each day, each time box, each release and each project. Agile demands team look at how fast they are progressing and adjust accordingly. Agile management methods are used when the project value is clear and the customer actively participates throughout project. (Thomas, 2008) Figure 1. Agile project management life cycle model Agile management concepts Haas (2007) identified the key elements that provide the basis for agile project management as visual control, co located high performing teams, test driven development, adaptive control, collaborative development, feature driven development, leadership and collaboration, a move from cost to revenue focus and lessons learned. Vision control assists teams in organising work in projects. Publishing time plans and progress charts allow the team to view the projects the same way and to clearly see where the project is at. Co located high performing teams greatly increases the quality of coordination and communication. Project managers need to have everyone working together in a collaborative manner. Agile teams develop test plans and at the same time they define requirements. If a requirement isnt testable then it is not fully developed. Adaptive Control tries to have everyone on the team adapting to different situations. The project manager acts a leader not a task manager, they work with the team establishing working relations and setting the team ground rules. Agile team members have to be able to continuously adapt to improve their methods as lessons learned from previous cycles are incorporated into the next iteration. Collaboration is needed among all team members to get the best results from the team, they also need to document feedback and implement learnings on the next iteration. Feature driven development greatly reduces complexity and allows teams to focus on one feature at a time. Leadership and collaboration rather than command and control facilitate leadership in a team rather than traditional management. The project manager aims to remove and resolve any problems the agile team encounters. The business analysts manage the business benefits of the project and continuously focus the agile team on the business needs. The move from cost to revenue focus features prioritise based on value such as increased revenue to market share. The lessons learned program is completed after each cycle here the teams hold a lessons learned session to determine where improvements can be made for the next iteration. The team adapts to how members work together to improve the team performance. (Haas, 2007) 2.2 Five stages of agile project management With agile project management the focus is on continuous innovation to deliver project requirements. The product should also be adaptable to facilitate future customer requirements. Agile also strives to have both people and process adaptability to respond rapidly to product and business change. It focuses more on revenue than cost so that that the project supports business growth and profitability. Highsmith (2009) one of the founders of the agile alliance published, Agile project management: creating innovative products, in this he identified five stages of agile project management. Highsmith defined the five stages of agile project management as: 1. Envision: How to determine the product vision, the project objectives and constraints, the project community and how the team work together. 2. Speculate: Developing a capability and or feature based release plan to deliver on all aspects of the vision 3. Explore: To plan and deliver project running tested stories in a short iteration, constantly seek to reduce the risk and uncertainty of the project. 4. Adapt: Review the delivered results, the situation and the teams performance and adapt as necessary. 5. Close: Conclude the project, pass on the key learnings and celebrate. Envision: This phase creates a vision for the project team that covers what, who and how. If theres no vision phase, this means that the rest of the properties of agile project management are a wasted effort. The envision phase is a critical success factor early in any project. Team members need a vision to determine who will be involved, customers, members, management, stake holders and envision how to work together as a group. The purpose of the envisioning phase is to clearly identify what is to be done and how work is to be accomplished. The envision stage has four practices, product vision, project objectives and constraints, project community and approach. Product vision allows member of the team to fully understand their project. Teams should have a clear product vision and the product vision should be revisited regularly. Project objectives include a project data sheet, this is a single-page summary of key business and quality objectives, product capabilities, and project management in formation. A project data sheet contains clients, customers, project leader, product manager, executive sponsor and the project objective statement. The project objective statement includes the capabilities, quality objectives and risks that can impact on the project. The project community includes getting the right people for the job. In Agile project management the team members need to have an appropriate technical ability, be team players and be self disciplined. The final step in the product vision stage is how the team will deliver the product, between working as a team with developers and major stakeholders in the project. For large projects a meeting is usually needed to discuss the product vision. After the envision phase the team has reviews to ensure they fully understand the vision. (Highsmith, 2009) Speculate: The speculate phase consists of gathering initial based requirements for a product and defining a workload as a backlog of product features. In the speculative phase, the team design their iterations. Iterations are the planned stages of work in the project and each iteration has a timeline and a plan. The agile plan is to have a product at the end of each iteration. This would involve the stories, tests, and documentation being packaged to be deployed. Iterations are used to concentrate on small pieces of work that depend on the type of project being completed. Estimating project costs and generating administrative and financial information are also done in this phase. Within the speculate phase plans have to be able to adapt to change as customers understanding of their requirements change, work efforts vary and people can leave or join teams. This phase establishes a target and a direction for the team. During this phase the team should have an understanding of the prod uct structure, and the release plan. Agile project speculating helps the project team to answer some of the following questions. Determine how the product and its features will evolve in the current release Balance anticipation with adaptation as the project unfolds Focus on the highest-value features early in the project Think about the business goals, project objectives, and customer expectations Provide necessary cost and schedule information to management Coordinate interrelated activities and features across teams Consider alternatives and adaptive actions Provide a baseline for analyzing events that occur during the project Explore: Agile project management focuses on agile leaders tasks of creating self organising, self disciplined teams that deliver products. Iteration management covers planning and management during iteration cycles. The main explore activities are iteration planning and monitoring, technical practices and project community. Iteration planning and monitoring consists of three main activities: iteration planning, workload management, and monitoring iteration progress. The primary responsibility for managing this work lies with the iteration manager. The iteration manager may also facilitate meetings such as retrospectives held at the end of each iteration, several practices can be applied generically to many types of products-both hardware and software. These generic technical practices are driven by the desire to keep quality high and the cost of change low. The four most common technical practices are simple design, continuous integration, ruthless automated testing, and refactoring . (Highsmith, 2009) Adapt: In the adapt phase the results are reviewed from customer, technical, people and process performance, and project status perspectives. The analysis looks at the actual versus planned project. The results of adaptation are fed into a re-planning effort to begin the next iteration. After the envision phase, the loop will be speculate, explore and adapt with each iteration successively refining the product. Control and correction are common terms applied to this phase. Plans are made, results are monitored and corrections are made implying what plans were right and the actual results. Adapt implies modification or change rather than success or failure. In agile project management responding to change is more important than following a plan. (Highsmith, 2009) Close: Projects are partially defined by the presence of both a beginning and an end. The key purpose of the close phase is the learning and the incorporation that learning into the work of the next iteration or passing it on to the next project team. This phase is the final step in the project, and is often overlooked. Finalising documentation, support material release notes and financial material all have to be tidied up before a project can close. In software projects the project is usually archived for safe keeping. In agile project management when closing a project it is important to have a project retrospective. This helps the team learn about its dynamics and intra team learning activities. It also allows the team to talk about what went well in the project and where it hit obstacles. (Highsmith, 2009) 3 Scrum project management Scrum project management approach embraces the agile iterative and incremental practices. Scrum can be used on projects of any size. It can manage XP projects, where XP projects uses customer on site with this the project team can be sure they are creating what the customer wants. SCRUM is revolved around simplicity, resulting in the delivery of a product that moves the project forward. It works on small pieces of the project at a time, these are known as iterations. Each iteration consists of some requirements gathering, analysis, design, development and testing combining to create an iterative release cycle. (Murphy, 2004) Scrum has three defined roles, the product owner, scrum master and the project team. The product owner is generally the product manager. The scrum master is the project manager or team leader. They enact scrum values and practices. They are responsible for issues that may hold up the project. The project team should consist of between 5-10 members. The team should include cross-functional team members, involving individuals from a multitude of disciplines including designers and developers. The scrum product backlog records the project requirements that are defined by the product owner. The project team creates a sprint backlog that comprises of product backlog items that they believe can be completed in a thirty day period. After thirty days the team should have a shippable product. (Murphy, 2004) The product owner, scrum master and the project team make rough estimates of how long each item will take. This SCRUM process can be seen in figure 2. Figure 2 The Scrum Process Scrum daily meetings are time limited, the daily Scrum meeting is typically confined to 15 minutes. Only extraordinary projects should require more than 15 minutes. The purpose of the Daily Scrum meeting is to answer Scrums three questions: What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? What obstacles are in your way? At the end of each sprint, a sprint review meeting is held. Again this meeting is time boxed. The team presents what they have developed during the sprint to the product owner. after the sprint review and prior to the next sprint planning meeting the scrum master holds a sprint retrospective meeting with the team. The scrum master encourages the team to revise within the scrum process framework and practices, its development process to make it more effective for the next sprint. (Murphy, 2004) 4 Agile project management in the telecommunications industry Agile methods like Scrum can be applied to any project to help deliver improved results. (Mac Iver, 2009). Many telecommunications companies utilise scrum techniques. This can be seen in the case study at TechCore. (Schwaber, 2004). Previous to the implementation of scrum the company could not see its priorities. By creating a product backlog this allowed the company to see that revenue could be made by focusing attention on product development. Within four months of implementing Scrum, the company had achieved its goals and the company prospects had improved. Before the implementation of scrum, TechCore had day log review meetings where the manager would impart his knowledge and direction to the development engineers. These meeting often went off track taking up the full teams day. With scrum the manager got involved in daily scrum meetings, with this they identified that teams werent taking and individual problems were holding up the project. As each engineer reported his or her st atus, Michel the project manager saw that if he focused his attention on product development, he could expedite design decisions, ensure that the correct path was taken, and actually get involved in the critical business of his company. He focused his efforts on helping the team with its short-term problems, which were all related to preparing the subsystem for the show. The daily scrum meetings also highlighted supply chain problems where engineers were waiting for component deliveries. Once this problem was identified the project manager employed two junior engineers to work with supply chain to identify and source components as quick as possible so there was no delay to the project and it freed up senior engineers time from dealing with these smaller matters. (Schwaber, 2004). The scrum project management technique has also been used in a nationwide WAN upgrade project as seen in Appendix 1, this project involved upgrading up to four hundred sites all over Ireland, each site need ed new network equipment installed including routers and switches and all sites had to be visited individually. All network equipment had to be configured before the site visit. This was one of the biggest projects undertaken by the project manager interviewed in Appendix A. By implementing Scrum the team of six people, the scrum master and the project manager all had a clear and concise understanding of what was happening at any given time. The teams were split up into three groups of two pairs. With this the project manager hoped that the pairs would work together in both configuring and installing the network equipment. The map of Ireland was divided into geographical sections, these sections were each going to represent a sprint, which would take approximately five weeks to complete. Each area was then assigned to a team. The first week of the sprint all staff were office based, configuring network equipment, for the remaining four weeks of the sprint the three teams were on sit e. Daily sprint meetings were held in the office which was ideal, as all members shared an office, these meeting were quick, clear and concise, covering what has been done today, what the plan for the rest of the day was and if there were any problems holding up the project. Once the teams were on site, a quick conference call between the teams and the scrum master covered the daily sprint meeting. With this the teams were always in contact and could share problems, solutions and new ideas. The main problem the teams ran into was if a team member was off work due to holidays or sick leave, where this happened, the scrum master could easily fit into any of the three teams, and carry out the work of the scrum master and the technician on the ground so that the project could stay on target for the specific dates that were outlined in the scrum backlog at the beginning. He identified that this may not be ideal in other SCRUM projects, but it works in this situation. At the end of the five week cycle the team and mangers would have a sprint review meeting, in this they identified where they were seeing recurring problems, what extra equipment or tools were required and how the process could run more smoothly. After the first sprint review meeting all three teams had small problems but improvised to complete what they had planned to do. During the sprint retrospective each team had different problems including faulty network equipment, lack of tools and no access to the communications room in buildings, once these were identified the scrum master found solutions to them and the same problems didnt reoccur. 5 Conclusion After researching this topic, there is not a lot of documentation of agile project management in the telecoms industry. Companies such as BT and Siemens have successfully implemented agile techniques into their software development teams, but they have not documented using agile in implementing their telecoms projects. One case study completed at Techcore an American telecommunications company (Schwaber, 2004) that has successfully implemented agile project management; from this case study before the implementation of agile the CEO of the company was trying to run all aspects of the company but was failing miserably. Once agile methodologies were implemented it became evident where and why their projects were failing as the CEO was trying to run all aspects of the company at the same time, and no are was given priority over any other. The development of the product backlog and the implementation of daily SCRUM meetings proved to be beneficial from day one. SCRUM also identified where time was being lost in the procurement of components as engineers were often left waiting for equipment resulting in the project being held up. The interview with the project manager from Appendix A also identifies how implementing SCRUM in a telecoms project was a success and the results were obvious very early on in the project. In this WAN upgrade project, the project managers implemented SCRUM, split the team of six into pairs, designed a product backlog, separated the project into sprints, held daily meetings as well as sprint review and sprint retrospective meetings. The project is still ongoing but as of this moment both project managers and senior managers have identified this project as a success. If agile is implemented in stages covering the envision, speculate, explore, adapt and close phases identified by Highsmith, the project proves to be successful, but if any of the five processes are missed the project may not prove to be as successful.

Industry anlysis of Retail Grocery Industry Essay -- essays research p

Industry Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to analyze an industry, it is important to determine where it is in the industry lifecycle. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the retail grocery industry was expanding at a phenomenal rate. Throughout this boom period, the number of large grocery stores was rising and forcing the existing† Mom and Pop† grocery stores out of the industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early 1990’s, the retail grocery industry began leaving the growth stage and entered the maturity stage in the industry lifecycle. This was caused by increased market saturation and slowing growth rates. Between 1995 and 1996 the growth rates were the lowest they had been in the past twenty years. The main reason for this was the vast number of grocery stores that had been built in growth stage and the emergence of new grocery retail formats such as warehouse clubs and dollar stores. This increased competition forced firms to compete with each other for the same customers by lowering prices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enter WalMart. Walmart was not even in the grocery industry in the early 1990’s but through excellent supply chain management and extremely low everyday prices have forced their way as one of the dominant players in the retail grocery industry. Industry surveys indicate that the five largest chains (WalMart, Kroger, Costco, Albertsons, and Safeway) accounted for approximately 37.5% of total sales in 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1990’s were an important time because of the arrival of new technologies that would change the retail grocery industry. Scanners, Elcetronic Data Interchanges, and the internet have all sped up and lowered the costs of business operations. WalMart was one of the early adopters of this technology and had a competitive advantage over its competitors. New technologies being pioneered now include self-serve checkouts, RFID’s, and kiosks, they will all eventually change how we shop at grocery stores today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walmart’s arrival as the largest grocer in North America has caused quite a stir in the retail grocery industry. Walmart’s low prices have caused an industry–wide obsession with consolidation. Many firms are cutting costs any chance they can, forcing some firms to move upmarket. â€Å"The traditional supermarket concept no longer has a profitable future in most ... ...lay a part in the consumer’s decision but in the end eggs from one store are the same as eggs from another store. The consumer can also compare prices from various stores to get the best deal on their groceries. Supplier Power   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Supplier power has been pretty high in the past because grocery stores had very few options of where they could get their goods and had even less of a say of how much to pay for these goods. Recently WalMart has started to change the balance of power away from the supplier. By being so large and having the power of making or breaking a product based solely o if WalMart carries it they can demand certain prices. Another way to combat high supplier power is to introduce private label brands. For example Giant eagle carries its own brand of peas it is not as dependable of its pea suppliers as it was before carrying their own brand. Some suppliers have decided to try and regain power by merging with other suppliers such as Gillette/Proctor & Gamble and Phillip Morris/Kraft. It appears that after a long time of high supplier power the playing field is starting to level itself off and it appears this will continue into the future.

Tips for a Successful Relationship

Tips for a Successful Relationship Ezell ORR Communication Instructor: Macy Dailey October 17, 2011 ? Dear Jack and Jill, My advice to you for a successful and everlasting relationship is good communication. Without good communication the relationship/engagement will not develop to the next level of marriage. In the beginning your communication was limited to conversations of neutral agreements because of the initial stage of your relationship. Researchers have found that one of the reasons a new relationship is usually so pleasant and friendly is that people emphasize the similarities they have and ignore the differences (Brown & Rogers, 1991). As your relation blossoms the differences in both of you will surface. Some maybe too minute to entertain, and can be easily overlooked or digested. Constant differences amongst partners that are everyday habits can be discussed and settle without harming the relationship. Disregarding or overlooking major concerns such as, financial matters, sexual preferences, and raising of children can be harmful to the relationship if not handle properly. Counseling may be recommended or advisable in most cases. Every relationship is different, no two relationship are the same. As the relationship unfolds and you both begin to know each other better, you will begin to release information to the other which was somewhat private at the start of the relationship. The most important characteristic of a deep interpersonal relationship is the self-disclosure of our innermost thoughts and feelings (Roeckelein, 1998). When you both begin to exchange personal information, building trust and confidence that is a sign that the relationship is progressing. As the relationship progresses you will be more incline to disclose more of your identity. Self Disclosure is sometime give-and-take, where both parties have equal risk when disclosing personal information. Shared disclosures will increase the vulnerability to being hurt or disrespected by others, and the fact that you both have devoted so much of yourself may make it complicated to break the bond you all have together. Forming a relationship with someone is not like what you see on TV. Communication problems can surface and disrupt the relationship or even bring it to an end. Certain behaviors can really ruin a relationship. Being silent, nice, and playing games; these behaviors can damage a relationship and stand In the way of trust. Everyone tends to be silent at times, but lengthy silence is not good for the relationship. Refusing to talk to someone is frequently a means of controlling the other person or exerting power in a relationship. If it is prolonged, it can even be a form of psychological abuse (Chang, 1996). It is best to try and talk things out oppose to not talking at all. You know the old saying â€Å"time heals everything† so sometime it is better to let things along for a while if both of you understands that there is a problem. Another area of concern is being too nice or being overly agreeable. Don’t put yourself in a position where you would rather let someone have their way or just take the blame to make the problem go away. Playing Games will also destroy a relationship. In 1964, Eric Berne wrote a best-selling book titled Games People Play, which describes how people sometimes have ulterior motives. He called these strategies â€Å"games† (Berne, 1996). He defined games as a dysfunctional way of communicating, and it is a negative pattern of interacting that can develop between people. Berne said, â€Å"In most cases, the participants of the game are unaware that they are playing; they have simply developed a pattern of interacting that is not constructive or useful in growing the relationship†. Playing games at the expense of someone’s feelings is never a good thing. Relationships can easily take a turn for the worst when games are involved. The games will terminate when one of you decides to stop playing. The end result of playing games is that sometimes ends with one person becoming angry or upset. Berne also states that â€Å"regardless of the strategy, open and honest communication can prevent the continuation of a game and its effects on the parties involved. It is best to not play games and let the relationship run its course without any kind of interruptions. ? Another component of having a successful relationship is being a good listener. Everybody who can speak, read, and write were taught to achieve these three components through parenting and school. We take classes in reading, writing, or even speaking but we rarely hear of someone taking classes in listening. You cannot understand others, respond appropriately to what they say, and provide helpful feedback if you have not listened (Hayes, 1991). Listening is one of the most important factors in interpersonal communication. One study estimated that 45 percent of all communication time is spent listening, compared with 30 percent speaking, 16 percent reading, and 9 percent writing (Hayes, 1991). Most people are also generally inefficient listeners; they tend to forget rather quickly what has been said. Within 48 hours, we forget about 50 percent of that information, for an overall retention of about 25 percent efficiency (Lee & Hatesohl, 1993). Most people think that hearing is listening, but much more is involved than just hearing something and waiting for it to get transmitted to your brain to be interpreted. Effective listening is a process that requires six distinct components: (1) motivating yourself to listen, (2) clearly hearing the message, (3) paying attention to the message, (4) correctly interpreting the message, (5) evaluating the message, and (6) remembering and responding appropriately (Adair, 2003). You all must learn to be motivated and have an open mind and be willing to gain something from one another. During conversation between the two of you make sure you can hear each other clearly without any interruption. Virginia Satir (1976) suggests that when you do not clearly hear the speaker, you often make up what you think the other person said. We tend to make an assumption and then hold the other person responsible for not communicating effectively. Paying Attention is another means of effective listening. Messages are sent by verbal and nonverbal means. To be an effective listener you must give your undivided attention to both verbal and nonverbal messages. Never jump to conclusion, let the other party finish their thoughts before you intervene to ensure that you have interpreted the message correctly. ? Interpreting the wrong message or signal can result in causing an interpersonal conflict. Being able to indentify conflict and handle it without incident will improve your relationship. Daniel Dana, a pioneer in the field of mediation, suggested that four factors must be present for a disagreement to be considered a conflict: Two people are interdependent; they each need something from the other. Both parties blame the other or find fault with them for causing the problem. One or more of the parties is angry or emotionally upset. The parties’ behaviors are affecting their relationship with each other and/When conflict emerges, tension are high, and the relationship can be put in jeopardy if not resolved as soon as possible. In all relationships, whether friendly, romantic, or family, conflict is unavoidable. Conflict can be hazardous to your health because it has the potential to get out of control, but it can also have value that can reinforce the relationship. Researchers Patricia Noller and Judith Feeney (2002) reported that some conflict may actually be good for a marriage over time and can lead to the personal growth of both parties if the negative communication is aimed at the other person’s specific behavior and not at the whole person. Another scholar from Harvard University reported that conflict has other value as well. He noted, in businesses and other organizations, conflict increases the necessity to accomplish tasks, it helps people understand their positions because it brings issues out into the open and forces them to support their arguments, and it gives all parties to the conflict a greater awareness of their own identities. Walton also suggested that conflict can help people be more creative in finding solutions to problems. Avoiding conflict is always better than promoting conflict. Sometimes it is best to get away and let the air clear. When emotions are high and tensions are peaking, a little space between each other will relax the atmosphere. I am not saying to just â€Å"sweep it under the rug† and hope it just go away. However, researchers found that the pattern that indicates a relationship is failing is that angry words are exchanged, the anger escalates, and then the withdrawal occurs. In other words, in falling relationship, negative emotions overwhelm the interaction between the parties, who then withdraws from each other (Zautra, 2003). Psychotherapist and author Virginia Satir suggests that we are initially attracted to people because of what we have in common with them, but we grow on the basis of our differences (Aatir, 1976). When you first meet someone you try and field them out. For a relationship to develop, you must have some initial interest. Some people will ask questions about another person, or they will watch someone to see if they meet the physical qualification. Some may listen to how someone speaks, there are several different techniques we use to gather information about someone whom we may be attracted to or want to get to know better. Theorists believe that several factors may influence your attraction to certain people. These factors are physical proximity, physical attractiveness, perceived gain, and similarities and differences (Hartley, 1999). Physical attractiveness is one of the first thing most people explore prior to entertaining a relationship. Some like their mate to be slim, some like them to be a little on the heavy side, some like them to be tall, short, or even short and round. Psychologists have found, however, that you are strongly influenced by prototypes of the idea male and female form as portrayed by media in our culture (Cattarin, Thompson, Thomas, & Williams, 2000). Some people is attracted to others because of what they think they can gain from being in the company of superstars or other high ranking individuals. Do you find yourself associating with people because who they are, or what you think they have and maybe you could be a part of it, in other words, you just want to be seen with someone who you believe you can benefit from. You have probably heard the saying, â€Å"Birds of a feather flock together. †Which saying is true? According to researchers, both are accurate (Hartley, 1999). It is good to know someone of importance or someone who is a superstar, but trying to put yourself in a position to gain something thru someone else’s fame, it just not worth the trouble. If you grew up with someone who have recently gain fame and fortune and you wish to associate yourself with them and they welcome your interest that will be entirely up to you. Emotional Intelligence is another area you should be familiar with to have a successful relationship. Knowing how to manage, communicate, and understand emotional feelings. Emotional Intelligence is similar to emotional health, the higher your emotional intelligence-the higher your emotional health is. Emotional health allows you to stay in touch with your own feelings while you are exposed to the feelings of others. It also enables you to handle life’s emotional setbacks in a healthy manner instead of taking your feelings on others (Segal, 1997). Emotional intelligence has three components: (1) the ability to effectively perceive, communicate, and manage negative emotions; (2) the ability to experience, communicate, and ustain positive emotions; and (3) the ability to retain perspective during difficult times and to recover following stressful events (Zautra, 2003). Most positive and negative feeling you encounter is a condition of your thoughts and your interpretation of events within the relationship. Psychotherapist and author Richard Carlson (1997) suggests that you think of negative thoughts similar to the way you think about your dreams. Y ou may awaken and be upset about something that occurred in a dream. But you understand that dreaming is merely thinking while you are asleep, and you dismiss the negative dream because you realize that it is not reality. The negative thoughts you have while awake also seem real, but they are not necessarily the truth. You can dismiss them like bad dreams and not allow them to spiral out of control until they ruin an entire day or even a lifetime. When negative thoughts assail you, Carlson suggests you remind yourself of the following: â€Å"We all produce a steady stream of thoughts, twenty-four hours a day. . . Pick and choose which thoughts you wish to react to â€Å". Everybody has different moods happiness. You can be happy and be in a good mood, or you can be mad or sad about something and keep your feelings inside and you can appear to be in a good mood. Moods are simply a part of being human, and being able to understand these moods oppose to letting them get the best of you will help you manage conflict. When you are in a good mood, everyth ing look good, you feel good, and life if great. However, a bad mood can ruin your day and the people around you. We know that words are not things; they are merely symbols that represent things. So as linguist Robin Tolmach Lakoff asks, â€Å"How can something that is physically just puffs of air, a mere stand-in for reality, have the power to change us and our world? †(Lakoff, 2001). Words are very powerful, they can cause pain, damage, excitement, and they can inspire you. Words are magical in the way they affect the minds of those who use them. â€Å"A mere matter of words,â€Å" we say contemptuously, forgetting that words have power to mould men’s thinking, to canalize their feeling, to direct their willing and acting. Conduct and character are largely determined by the nature of the words we currently use to discuss ourselves and the world around us. (Huxley, 1940). One of the first things children do when they first learn language is to identify parts of their bodies such as their eyes, mouths, or toes. They can say a word and touch the body part at the same time, so they tend to think that words have direct correlation with objects in the physical world. Thus, as children, and then as adults, we are misled into thinking th;at this item or object is what the word â€Å"means. Because we communicate with others, and they understand us, the word must mean the same to everyone else as it does to us (Kreidler, 1998). Words can mean different things to different people. Words are symbols, and they do not have the same meaning to everyone. Words reflect attitude, some words can be offensive to some cultures and less offensive to others. When words are interpret wrong it can caused confusion and proble ms. The meaning you interpret from a message is always personal and is the result of many factors including your personality and experiences. Communication always occurs in a context, so the meaning of a message often depends on the context of the communication. ? References Satir, V. (1976). Making Contact. Millbrae, CA: Celestial Arts. Zautra, A. J. (2003). Emotions, stress, and health. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press. Segal, J. (1997). Raising your emotional intelligence: A practical guide. New York: Henry Holt. Huxley, A. (1940). Words and Their Meanings. Los Angeles, CA: The Ward Ritchie Press. Hartley, P. (1999). Interpersonal communication. Florence, KY: Routledge. Lakoff, R. T. (2010). Language war. Ewing, NJ: University of California Press. Cattarin, J. A. , Thompson, J. K. , Thomas, C. , & Williams, R. (2000). Body image, mood, and televised images of attractiveness. The role of social comparison. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(2), 220–239. Retrieved, March 9, 2011, from Pro–Quest Research Library. doi: 55606627. Lee, D. , & Hatesohl, D. (1993). Listening: Our most used communication skill. CM 150, Communications. University of Missouri Extension. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://extension. missouri. edu/publications/DisplayPub. aspx? P=CM150?

Identity and Belonging Essay

Feedback is considered by many education experts to be one of the most important elements of assessment for student learning as well as being a crucial influence on student learning (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). Feedback, when applied effectively, can result in an increase in learner satisfaction and persistence as well as contributing to students taking on and applying more productive learning strategies. Feedback is a powerful strategy for teachers of all subjects and grade levels to use and has been endorsed worldwide. Feedback can be defined as ‘the information provided by an agent, for example; a teacher or parent, regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding’ (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). However, when feedback is provided to students inappropriately it can lead to negative effects. This is why, as teachers, we need to have a full understanding of what constitutes effective quality feedback as well as developing an understanding of how to apply feedback in an appropriate manner for our students as differentiated learners (Clark, 2012). Feedback is consistent with the Assessment for learning strategy which focuses assessment on in-course improvement-orientated interactions between instructors and learners rather than end-of-course testing and examinations (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). Assessment for learning acknowledges that individual students learn in idiosyncratic ways and is designed to give information to teachers on how to modify and differentiate teaching and learning activities as well as giving teachers an idea of how best to provide effective feedback to their students (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). There are a few guidelines in which teachers can follow to help improve the quality of their feedback to their students to increase learner satisfaction and persistence as well as catering for differentiated learning, these guidelines include timing, amount, mode, audience (James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp, 2013) and also allowing students to provide one another with feedback (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). The timing in which teachers provide their students with feedback is important as feedback needs to come while students are still mindful of the topic, assignment or performance in question (James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp, 2013). Feedback needs to be provided while students are still thinking of their learning goal as a learning goal, meaning; something they are still striving for and not something they have already done (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). It is extremely important to provide students with effective feedback whilst they are still working on reaching their learning target, as mentioned earlier this will influence student learning. It is extremely important for teachers to know the audience in which they are providing feedback to in order for the feedback to be most effective for student learning (James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp, 2013). This is based on the fact that no student is the same and feedback needs to accommodate for differentiated learners (Clark, 2012). Once a teacher understands his or her students individual learning they can then apply feedback in a way that is best addressed to the student about the specifics of the individuals work in terms the student can understand. Mode is also extremely important in providing effective feedback as it also supports differentiated learning. Mode stands for the different ways in which feedback can be delivered as it can be given in many modalities (James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp, 2013). Some sorts of assessment lend themselves better to written feedback, some to oral feedback and others are better in demonstrations, and teachers can decide with their knowledge of how best to provide each individual student with feedback based on how they learn and understand best, whether it is written, spoken or demonstrated, in order for the feedback to be most effective in reaching each students learning needs (Clark, 2012). Also recently there has been an increasing agreement that students are a legitimate source of feedback as peer and self-assessment practices encourage students to identify learning objectives and helps them to understand the criteria used to judge their work aiming to reach the goal of increasing self-regulation (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). As timeliness can play a real issue in the effectiveness and quality of feedback from teachers, using students as a source of feedback can legitimately reduce this problem (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). As there are many different ways in which a teacher can go about providing feedback on set learning tasks to their students whether it is orally, written or demonstrated, the ways in which to construct effective feedback varies depending on the student (James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp, 2013). Ultimately it is the teachers understanding of feedback and the knowing of how each individual student learns best that influences the type and quality of feedback they provide (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012). Effective feedback will help increase student evaluation of their own learning progress and will help reach the Assessment for learning goal of developing self-regulating learners (Brown, Harris & Harnett, 2012).

Heathcare in the World

Heathcare in the World Free Online Research Papers The movie Sicko: by Michael Moore was an interesting and great movie. I liked Sicko because it kind of goes behind the scenes and digs deep to explain its viewers that we have some major problems in our health care system. In this movie Micheal Moore completely changed my opinion of health care in the US. During this movie I learned that insurance companies make a huge profit from our premiums and co-pays. These insurance companies make billions of dollars each year. This means that the insurance companies have the power of money to get the things they want. Even though you have insurance doesn’t always mean that you are safe from getting medical bills in your mail box. Insurance companies have denied to pay for numerous patients medical treatment. You know we are getting robbed when you learn that then Insurance companies hire employees to comer their backs. One woman who worked fro an HMO said she was told by the head of her company that â€Å"any payment for a claim is a medical loss.† Another quote from an HMO employee stated â€Å"we are not denying care, we are denying payment.† When watching this movie my heart went out to these people who lost loved ones and childr en simply because they could not afford to self pay for the needed treatments. It is sad that what used to be an ideal country to live in has come to pushing those who need help to the back burner. The US would greatly benefit from a Universal Health Care System. A universal system would change our economy dramatically. There are Americans in our country who would be completely debt free if they didn’t have medical bills piled up on their counters. If the US were a universal health care system we wouldn’t have seniors working at 75 years of age to afford their medicine. America would be treating its people equally if it were a universal system. The Canadian health care system is totally different from the US. In Canada health care is free to all. Its residents live longer, they get the proper care for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cancer. The movie talked about a young American woman who had cervical cancer. She was denied payment for treatment Research Papers on Heathcare in the WorldWhere Wild and West MeetThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationTwilight of the UAWLifes What IfsMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraCapital PunishmentGenetic Engineering

Toxic Gases Emitted From the Burning of Coal Case Study

Toxic Gases Emitted From the Burning of Coal - Case Study Example Although the present system seems favorable for the Chinese consumers, yet â€Å"UNDERPRICING ENERGY REPRESENTS THE WORLD’S NUMBER ONE SUBSIDY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION† (Chandler 5). This imparts the need to increase the number of coal power plants in China with the FGD systems installed in them. Presently, Chinese industries that directly burn coal are imposed sulfur taxes upon, but these sulfur taxes are too small to cause any reduction in pollution. â€Å"REGULATED OR NOT, ENFORCEMENT GENERALLY FALLS TO THE PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, WHICH MUST BALANCE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AGAINST ECONOMIC GROWTH PRIORITIES† (Rosen and Houser 36). As a Chinese leader, I would have to determine the optimal level to which the environment can be protected without compromising upon the economic growth of the industry. Installing fully operational FGD systems at all coal power plants in China is certainly not an option given the immensity of increase it causes in the electricity tariffs. So I would consider increasing the number of coal power plants with the FGD systems installed from 4 to 8 per cent to 20 to 30 per cent. This would hopefully cause substantial reduction in the emission of hazardous gases in the environment. â€Å"THE CHALLENGE FOR POLICY MAKERS IS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES THAT HELP THE MARKET CONVERGE ON THE MOST COST-COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGIES† (Chandler 5). In order to develop such strategies, I would place emphasis on encouraging market-based technologies that are feasible as well as on eradicating the barriers to the widespread use of those technologies. Another area that requires my attention as the Chinese leader is the transportation boom as it happens to be a potential threat to the air quality in China. â€Å"SOME 14,000 NEW CARS HIT CHINAS ROADS EACH DAY† (Elizabeth para. 9).

Metaphysical Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Metaphysical Concepts - Essay Example As seen in the research conducted by Dodds, potency simply refers to a kind of non-existence displayed by individuals2. This explains that potency is a form of an imperfect act. Potency has also been described as a force that is inhibited in action3. Individuals can, therefore, display potency in a way that displays their restrained force. In line with this thought, it is arguable that potency is a form of reality that exits between absolute nothing and the being in existence. Aristotle explains that potency exists but can be manipulated, determined and even transformed into nothing4,5,6 .This explains that from nothing, nothing can also result. Since potency is determinable, it can be indicated to be in the process of transformation. Potency can then be indicated to an imperfect actuality that is in motion and is in the process of becoming. This thought advances that of St. Thomas who differentiated the concept of passive and active potency. Passive potency as St. Thomas writes is not a mere possibility while active potency is infinite and one that is an active force. Active potency is also one that is only produced by Supreme Beings7. On the other hand, act refers to the capacity to receive some form of perfection. It is of essence to note that act is constrained by potency that is the recipient of act. Nonetheless act can either be pure and unlimited. This depends on the manner in which the act is composed by potency. Aristotle explains that act can also determines potency and can even actualize potency8. St. Thomas is of the opinion that act is a form of perfection that can only be limited by perfection9. Simply put, the limitations of act can also emanate from within or by the forces that are produces the act. Nonetheless, it is of great importance to question whether if act can be limited by other forces or solely that produces act10. In addition, act is greatly by the subject in

French Revolution Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

French Revolution - Coursework Example Furthermore, the author discusses the cultural, economic, and social changes in France during the period, as well as France’s international relations. Robespierre and the Terror by Marisa Linton is a readable discourse on contemporary terrorism based on French history. The author is Kingston University’s Reader in History and has written widely on 18th-century French culture and politics and the French Revolution. Vividly narrating the beginning of the Great Terror mobilised by Robespierre, this engaging work provides incomparable images of apparently unreasonable acts of murder and cruelty. Linton examines Robespierre’s reformist enthusiasm, his part in the king’s prosecution and the demise of the monarchy, and his determined effort to build a modern republic. This work also discusses how Robespierre has contributed to the course of French history, influencing not only the country’s domestic life, but also its responses to overseas events. Roger Price’s Napoleon III: Hero or Grotesque Mediocrity is a historiographical analysis of the monarch and his government. Price, an Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wales, has thoroughly worked on the history of France. In this work, he takes into consideration the mid-century predicament which gave Napoleon III the chance to acquire the presidential post. This work is very relevant to the discussion of the impact of foreign events on France during the period 1789-1906 because not only did the author explains the goals or purposes of Napoleon III, he also presents a summary of the ruler’s accomplishments and administration, his political, social, and economic influence, as well as the evolving historical views of the period. The book France 1870-1914 by Robert Gildea talks about the union of republican regime and the regaining of national self-reliance.

Business Strategic Plan and Presentation Essay Example for Free

Business Strategic Plan and Presentation Essay http://www.homeworkbasket.com/BUS-475/BUS-475-Week-5-Individual-Final-Strategic-Plan-and-Presentation Resources: Vision, mission, values, SWOTT analysis, balanced scorecards, and communication plan Write a 700- to 1,050-word section for your strategic plan in which you add your strategies and tactics to implement and realize your strategic objectives, measures, and targets. Include marketing and information technology strategies and tactics. Develop at least three methods to monitor and control your proposed strategic plan, being sure to analyze how the measures will advance organizational goals financially and operationally. Finally, recommend actions needed to address ethical, legal, and regulatory issues faced by the organization, and how they can improve corporate citizenship. Combine your completed strategic plan. This includes the vision, mission, values, SWOTT analysis, balanced scorecard, and communication plan. Your consolidated final strategic plan should be 2,800 to 4,200 words in length. Prepare three to five Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® slides in which you briefly outline the vision, mission, values, and balanced scorecard that you have developed for your business. For More Homework Goto http://www.homeworkbasket.com

Impact Of Inhouse Training And Their Percieved Effectiveness Management Essay

Impact Of Inhouse Training And Their Percieved Effectiveness Management Essay chapter 1: Introduction Training is widely understood as communication directed at a defined population for the purpose of developing skills, modifying behavior, and increasing competence. Generally, training focuses exclusively on what needs to be known. Education is a longer-term process that incorporates the goals of training and explains why certain information must be known. Education emphasizes the scientific foundation of the material presented. Both training and education induce learning, a process that modifies knowledge and behavior through teaching and experience. The research model described here pertains to both training and education. Therefore, in this document, training refers to both processes. In contrast to informal In-house training (which is embedded in most instances of human exchange), formal In-house training interventions have stated goals, content, and strategies for instruction. Our intent is to offer a general approach to intervention effectiveness research that addresses formal training across settings and topics. Training intervention effectiveness research is needed to (1) identify major variables that influence the learning process and (2) optimize resources available for training interventions. Logical and progressive study models are best suited to identify the critical elements and causal relationships that affect training effectiveness and efficiency. In training research, it is often difficult to arrive at definitive answers. Typically, many variables minimize effects and make results difficult to interpret. Furthermore, the amount of variance attributed to any one variable is usually small.  [1]   Problem Statement To analyze the Impact of In-house Training Programs and assess their Perceived and Actual Effectiveness as Experienced by Trainees. Research Objectives Following are the research objectives: To assess the effect of environmental variables (e.g. culture, learning environment, venue and management support) on training impact To review how training impact and effectiveness can be enhanced To highlight the relationship between employee ability and In-house training effectiveness To explore how employee motivation affects In-house training effectiveness To analyze the impact of effective trainer-trainee interaction on In-house effectiveness To explore techniques to evaluate In-house training effectiveness chapter 2: Litrature Review The competitiveness of any business often rests on the quality and skills of its employees. Training can improve the performance and productivity of staff and ensure they have the skills that the business needs. Effective training may be crucial when we hire new recruits or when we change business practices or add new products. As the business grows, the skills needed for it to remain successful may change.  [2]   Training and management development activities are currently receiving increased attention in the industrial and academic communities. This emphasis is illustrated by recent figures which report that organizations spend upwards of $30 billion dollars annually for training programs involving 15 billion work hours (Huber, 1985).  [3]   The purpose of training and development can be said to be that of acquiring, developing and retaining the stock of human capital needed for an organization to conduct its operations. In the most general sense, it is carried out purposively in order to improve work performance. Training, therefore, refers to the companys planned and systematic efforts to modify or develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of their employees through learning experiences. As an activity, it spans many boundaries, including the distinction between education and training, on-the-job and off-the-job training, as well as formal and informal training through work experience. Training invariably represents investment by a company in its employees. At the very minimum, the orientation of new employees to the specifics of the company requires time and close supervision. Most likely, the company will continue to sponsor the further development of employee competencies and expertise. General training improves both the employees internal and external position in the labour market, and is thus generally perceived by employees as a supportive act on the part of the company an act that is reciprocated through increased commitment, independent of the particulars of the employment relationship (Gaertner and Nollen 1989; Meyer and Allen 1997). Given the value of training to employees, sponsoring training can be seen as an act of gift giving on the part of the company. Even training in company-specific skills contributes to the employees attachment to the company (Levine and Tyson1990). Returns on any training investment depend greatly on employee retention. While specific training is often considered to be unique to a firm and therefore of little use to competitors, the enhanced productivity of general training is of great value to other firms. Generally trained employees are likely to be poached by competitors who are able to offer higher wages. Another problem with training arises should employees not be willing or motivated either to acquire new skills or to apply their newly learned skills at the workplace. When In-house trainings are effectively conducted, the management of a companys human resources entails a comprehensive assessment and matching of the skills attainment of the labour force and the skills requirement of the economy. By providing people with the necessary skills and training they need to do their job, effective human resource management, among others, can promote employment growth, address skills shortages and improve flexibility, all contributing to both employee and company needs.  [4]   Businesses often decide that in-house training is the most cost-effective way to improve the skills of their employees. This is because: (1) training can be scheduled at their convenience, (2) training is more focused, consistent and relevant to their needs, (3) travelling and accommodation costs are reduced or even eliminated.  [5]   In-house training can take several forms, for example: (1) a training programme designed and carried out by a company, (2) an off-the-shelf training programme bought from and run by a training specialist, (3) a training programme tailored to a companys needs and managed by a training specialist, (4) an Internet-based training course or (5) an informal, on-the-job training. Formal in-house training, if properly planned and executed, can be highly flexible and cost effective. Positive reactions of trainees, learning, and behaviour change, and improvements in job-related outcomes are expected from well-designed and administered In-house training programs. However, the attitudes, interests, values, and expectations of trainees may attenuate or enhance the effectiveness of training.  [6]   Ensuring that the company has the human capital it requires implies that it needs to invest heavily in the skill and training of its workforce, particularly company specific training. In doing so, companies incur considerable risk. The efficiency of the training investment will depend on the cognitive skills and the motivation of the employees to acquire new capabilities. Flanking training with selectivity practices ensures that trainable employees are hired (i.e. the person-organisation fit is maximised). Through the use of stringent selection procedures the company can take steps to ensure that the profile of employees is such that they are willing to share with the firm the costs and benefits of training as well as being likely to respond well to and learn quickly from training opportunities provided. To this end, the selection of employees that are favourably evaluated for training potential helps to ensure that the companys return on training investment is maximised. Training incentives flanked by performance incentives reward the acquisition and the application of skills. Once recruited, it is imperative that the employee becomes well attuned to the companys expectations for developing skills and experience. To this end, flanking training with guidance practices contributes greatly to the fulfilment of this vital function by providing the employee with a training perspective. Training that is specific to the employer may be of little value outside the particular company, but general expertise and experience will undoubtedly improve the labour market position of workers. Consequently, the sponsoring of training involves a considerable loss, should the employee decide not to stay with the company. From the perspective of the firm, the provision of training has the negative effect that the employee is rendered more valuable to other firms and thus increases the risk of undesired turnover of highly skilled employees. Relational signals increase the attachment of employees and thereby compensate the negative side effect of training. Finally, by applying guidance practices employee attachment can be strengthened through the potential of these practices to integrate employees within the social milieu of the company. A frequent criticism of research on In-house training is its susceptibility to fads and its generally a theoretical approach (Goldstein, 1980; Hinrichs, 1976; Wexley, 1984). Researchers have frequently attempted to increase the effectiveness of training through a focus on techniques. Special attention has also been paid to the arrangement of training environments (Wexley, 1984). But without a theoretical basis for studying the techniques and the training environments, researchers are often at a loss either to explain why they are effective or to predict their effectiveness in other settings or for other trainees (Noe, 1986).  [7]   Professional development literature has consistently stressed the continuing part of continuing education. Since the 1980s, staff training researchers and practitioners have talked about ongoing training. They have urged follow-up sessions in the weeks and months after workshops to sustain new practices. They have preached the importance of encouraging and supporting trainers (through in classroom coaching by trainers and peer leaders) to continue learning and implementing new knowledge and skills, lest the momentum for change be lost (Bents Howey, 1981; Joyce Showers, 1983; Sprinthall Sprinthall, 1980).  [8]   Why is it so difficult for organizations to effectively conduct internal training? There are many reasons why internal workshops or seminars arent productive. Consider the following example. Two managers in a major accounting firm were getting ready to conduct an in-house training session to introduce a new company initiative. The managers worked diligently to gather material and to put together excellent content for the handouts. They were covering a lot of valuable material, but the handouts were getting voluminous. When asked by an outside consultant why they had so much material, the team leader responded, We have so much material to cover in the seminar there is so much the participants have to understand. Then the question was asked, How are you going to engage or involve the participants in the seminar? A blank stare followed, then finally, We havent really thought much about that. We were too busy getting the materials together. How would we get them involved anyway?  [9]à ‚   It cannot be expected from trainers to teach what they do not know, nor is to use yesterday training to prepare todays employees for tomorrows future. We certainly cannot expect trainers to share and learn from each others knowledge and skill unless they r provided with the research, structures, time, and money with which to do it. Ultimately, quality staff development benefits employees by channeling the talents and expertise of all the companys employees in all the companys department. By improving staff development trainers help all employees to reach the high levels of achievement they need to succeed. As a lead-trainer one must acknowledge the importance of engaging people. People learn more when they are engaged. They are more connected and enthused when they are participating. Imagine thinking you could learn how to play golf simply by watching a golf video or reading a book on the perfect swing. The trainer has to DO IT and get feedback and then try it again. He has to participate.  [10]   An In-house trainer however may need training in: (1) presentation/speaking skills, (2) generating rapport/interest, (3) dealing with difficult trainees, (4) types of learning, (5) course and session design/planning skills, (6) evaluation, monitoring and feedback skills, (7) measuring the effectiveness of training, (7) setting up support for employees after training and conducting training needs analyses.  [11]   Evidence exists that the preference for outsider training is the result of managerial responses to (1) the contrasting status implications of learning from internal versus external competitors, and (2) the availability or scarcity of training in-house training is more readily available and hence subject to greater scrutiny, while external training is scarcer, which makes it appear more special and unique. It can be concluded by considering some consequences of the external training preference for organizational functioning.  [12]   The two dilemmas on the employee and organizational levels are closely interrelated. On one side, the benefits of training accrue only to the extent that employees contribute to the organization. Thus, a firm should take into account how it expects a training program to affect employee effort as well as employee turnover. On the other side, trained workers produce at higher rates, which in turn may affect how much they contribute and how often they migrate to other firms in comparison with untrained workers.  [13]   Individual differences can potentially influence the type of training conducted as some individual attributes may engender greater trainability in general or for specific types of training. Intelligence and other abilities have been found to relate to trainability in some instances (Bale, Rickus and Ambler, 1973; Gill, 1982; Williams, Sauser and Kemery, 1982). Further, initial training has been used to predict later training performance (Gordon and Cohen, 1973). More recently, researchers have begun to examine motivational and personality factors that potentially influence trainability (Tubiana and Ben-Shakhar, 1982). Noe (1986) presented a model of the potential influences of such individual difference factors as locus of control, expectancies, and career and job attitudes on training effectiveness.  [14]   Qualitative improvements may be just as important. This could include higher quality goods and services, better teamwork, fewer customer complaints and greater innovation within your business. Employee feedback is a critical component of assessing In-house training effectiveness, Employees need to be asked: (1) if the training was relevant to their job and their level of expertise, (2) how they will put their learning into action for feedback on the training method, (3) what worked and what didnt, (4) what could be improved. We need to remember that the business expectations may not be the same as employees expectations. Training assessment or evaluation forms may also prove to be useful here.   One way organizations gain tacit knowledge is through social ties to other organizations, that is, through networks. Networked organizations are those that are cosmopolitan, externally oriented, and characterized by multiplex, non-redundant affiliations. With respect to the workplace, the information that flows through networks can include knowledge about the performance effects of work reform, the benefits of bundling, and tactics to persuade managers and employees that innovation is beneficial. Recently there has been a proliferation of studies emphasizing the role of networks in In-house trainings (for example, Nohria and Gulati 1994; Strang and Soule 1998). By enhancing access to knowledge, networks promote awareness and early adoption of an innovation. By promoting social interaction, they generate trust and norms of reciprocity-social capital-that are conducive to knowledge transfer.  [15]   When it comes to in-house trainings one variable, of course, is organizational size. Explanations for why large organizations provide more training are: Large organizations have formalized job structures, have internal labour markets, are more unionized, and operate in environments that encourage investment in training. Available evidence indicates a positive relation between organizational size and job training at both the establishment and firm levels (Cohen and Pfeffer 1986:14; Barron, Black, and Lowenstein 1987). Some research suggests a curvilinear relation, with the smallest and largest employers providing the most training (Brown, Hamilton, and Medoff 1990:54-55). Barron et al. (1987, 1989) found that five training activities (e.g., hours of instruction given to new employees by managers, supervisors, and co- workers) increased nonlinearly with the number of employees (logged) and the existence of subsidiaries outside the local area.  [16]   Although little theory or research exists on environmental influences on In-house training, it is likely that companies would provide more employee training when skilled workers are harder to hire and where resource dependencies permit the diversion of resources from production. Thus, resource-rich organizations confronting rapid technological advances, intense domestic and international competition, and high demands for skilled labour may invest in improving their current employees skills (as well as in pirating from other organizations trained workers holding comparable positions).  [17]   The best seminars allot blocks of time where participants are working in smaller groups on specific tasks. They are given a set of open-ended questions to consider. For example; What are the greatest strengths, opportunities and challenges we face over the next six months? Each mini-team can think about and discuss these important questions and then report back to the larger group. In turn, the trainer facilitates and assimilates this information and displays it for all to see.  [18]   Between the components of initial instruction and trainee behaviour, some degree of learning has taken place. The learning is exhibited by trainees in some initial behaviour or response which the trainer can observe. Trainee behaviours at this point might be the first trials of the new behaviour, understanding of the information presented, or other response to exhibit learning of training material. The behaviour depends on trainee attributes and motivation, as described by Noe (1986) and tested by Noe and Schmitt (1986), and on learning principles incorporated into the training program, such as are described in texts on training (e.g. Goldstein, 1986; Wexley and Latham, 1981). CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY Primary Data: Sample Respondents were drawn from banks in both private and public sector. In order to study the existence of In-house Trainings and their effectiveness it was important to cover banks from both the sectors. Study of banks from just one sector wouldnt have provided the complete picture. The attitudes and work ethics also vary among private and public sector banks. Private sector in Pakistan employs some of the best talent available in the country thus they are more aware of latest concepts and are willing to implement changes however, the public sector is more about stability and sticking to the rule book and change is only considered necessary when there is no choice left. Since the primary aim of the study was to study the Impact of In-house Training and their perceived effectiveness, banks with varied work ethic and objectives were selected. As much as it is a matter of which industry the banks belong to it is also about the systems they have developed overtime to perform in the modern business world and how they are planning to go forward as they grow. Questionnaires were distributed to all officer level employees during the research. A total of 50 valid responses from 2 banks were used in this study. The actual population is Lahore and the working population is the employees of two banks i.e. Bank of Punjab and Faysal bank. The response rate was high because the participants willingness and interest in the survey. The respondents were mostly well qualified with at least a Masters Degree in their relevant field. Measures Preference scales were setup for questions using a five point Likert rating scale (1 = Very Dissatisfied, 5 = Very Satisfied). The questions were created primarily keeping the literature review as a reference and were validated by the interviews from senior managers along with the perception of employees and regarding the subject of In-house trainings. Data Treatment The Likert scale based questions were analyzed using statgarphics plus 5.1 where multiple regressions were run of the independent variables with one dependent variable. Text from extensive interviews was utilized to justify variable intensity selection and also to know their views on issues related to Training and Development initiatives and their effectiveness. Secondary Data: Internet Internet was mainly used for material pertaining to the literature review and findings of this research project. This included information about motivation, training and development previous research conducted by famous researchers, definitions and theories used as reference in this project etc. The main problem faced in collecting data from the internet was the lack of local data available. No real information was available about current training and development practices going on in Pakistan and what their effects were. Scope To analyze the impact of In-house Trainings and to assess how they can be made more effective and to observe the effects of variables like company environment, culture, trainee learning ability and his or her motivation to learn from In-house Trainings. Limitations The thesis, off-course, has some limitations. First, the sample is relatively small, which limits the significance of the results. As the research is dependent on questionnaire, so individual concerns in filling out questionnaire honestly is a limitation. Sample size was restricted to 50 participants from 2 different banks. Second, there are obviously several other factors that could also play a role in the observed effectiveness of organizational training. For instance, two additional steps commonly listed in the training development and evaluation sequence, namely (a) developing the training objectives and (b) the actual presentation of the training content was excluded. Finally, this thesis focused on fairly broad training design and evaluation features. Although a number of levels within these features were identified previously and examined, given the number of moderators that can be identified (e.g., trainer effects, contextual factors), it is reasonable to believe that there might be additional moderators operating here that would be worthy of future investigation. Independent Variables Independent variables are the manipulated variables-that is, the training inputs and activities that are implemented and studied. They are presumed to cause or influence certain training outcomes. Depending on the study, independent variables could include timing, format, and location of training as well as modifications to the training rationale, content, or educational approach under study. Dependent Variables Dependent variables are the intended aims of training, which are expected to result from exposure to the independent variables. As exposure varies, results may differ, allowing effectiveness to be measured. Sample outcomes of training include participant satisfaction with the course; changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavioural intent; and demonstrated skills or abilities. Sample impacts of training include the following: diffusion of course material into the field, retention of knowledge and attitudes, transfer of behavioural intent into practice, application of learned skills and abilities, transfer of training to new populations, and acceptance of instructional content as normal operating procedure. Theoratical framework A theoretical framework is a conceptual framework as to how one theorizes or makes logical sense of the relationships among the several factors that have been identified as important to the problem. It seems intuitively obvious that an employees work attitudes influence preparation for a particular training program, or that an organizations reward system may affect the extent to which trainees use their newly acquired knowledge and skills. However, these and other variables have been given little attention in the training literature, and training researchers in particular have not focused much attention on factors outside the learning or training environment. In fact, individual and work-related factors that are not directly associated with training have only recently been empirically studied.  [19]   The framework helps us analyze the impact of independent variables like trainees ability and motivation to learn, impacts of the work environment, the organizations learning culture, implementation, content and design of the trainings and the training impact and effectiveness which is dependent variable. Theoretical Framework Flow Work Environment Trainees motivation to learn Trainees ability to learn Training Impact and Effectiveness Training Implementation Content and Design Trainer-Trainee Interaction Organizational Culture Operational definitions of variables: Organizational culture: Organizational culture is the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values and norms of organization members and their behaviours Trainees ability to learn: Trainees ability to learn is the trainees performance in a training program, which can be measured by asking trainees to recall trained materials immediately or shortly after completion Of a training program. Training implementation: To put training program into effect according to definite plan or procedure is called training implementation. Trainees motivation: Trainees motivation refers to an individuals desire to engage in training activities and fully embrace the training experience. Content and design: Content and design with reference to training can be defined as the material which is provided to the trainees as well as the structure of the training program which is carried out. Trainer-trainee interaction: Trainer-trainee interaction is defined as how the trainers give instructions to the trainees and get feedback from them in terms of questions or answers if any, by the trainees. Work environment: The work environment is comprised of the physical location, equipment, materials processed or used, and the activities of an employee while engaged in a training program. Hypothesis Ho: trainees ability to learn does not affect training impact and effectiveness H1: trainees ability to learn does effect training impact and effectiveness Ho: trainees motivation to learn does not affect training impact and effectiveness H1: trainees motivation to learn does effect training impact and effectiveness Ho: work environment has no effect on training impact and effectiveness H1: work environment has effect on training impact and effectiveness Ho: trainer trainee interaction has no effect on training impact and effectiveness H1: trainer trainee interaction has effect on training impact and effectiveness Ho: organizational culture does not affect training impact and effectiveness H1: organizational culture does effect training impact and effectiveness Ho: content and design does not affect training implementation and effectiveness H1: content and design does effect training implementation and effectiveness Chapter 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The thesis sites that the companies observed have had difficulty assessing trainings effectiveness. To begin with, the findings were based primarily on the respondents personal experiences and common sense. Little can be said about the direct impact of training, regardless of the respondents perceptions about the value of training. One thing which is clear from the study is that the training question goes beyond how much is spent. Simply because an organization spends a certain percentage of its payroll on training does not tell us whether that money is well spent. The interviews and research review has revealed at least two general factors beyond training content, design, and implementation that probably influence the effectiveness of training. Dependent variable: impact and effectiveness