Reproductive Health Law; Is It Good or Bad (Philippines) Essay

Among the biggest and most controversial issues faced by the Philippines’ history is the great debate over the Reproductive Health Bill now known as â€Å"The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012†, different opinions arise from different people, many are against and many are supporting RH Law, but the question is, â€Å"What are the benefits of Reproductive Health Law?† , â€Å"Why is the Catholic Church are against in this law?† and the last things is â€Å"How it will affect our citizen, is Reproductive Health Law a burden or not?† What are the benefits of Reproductive Health Law? Reproductive Health Law allows us to have the access to a full range of methods, facilities, services and supplies that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by addressing reproductive health-related problems. It also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relationship. Why the Catholic Church is against in this law? The Catholic Church is not in favor of the Reproductive Health Bill because artificial contraceptives could possibly lead to promiscuity and the failure of implantation of a newly conceived baby if fertilization would happen to take place despite their use.On the other hand, the Catholic Church is not in favor of â€Å"natalism† at all costs, as if the â€Å"number† of children, in itself, were the unmistakable sign of authentic Christian life. Instead the Church is for responsible parenthood, meaning openness to life within marriage, and spacing of birth, only when needed for reasons of serious medical condition or grave poverty, using natural family planning methods. How it will affect our citizen, is Reproductive Health Law a burden or not? For me, RH bill is not a burden, there is no such law that will end up destroying its citizen. It will depend on how you will implicate it, it depends on how people will understand it, it is not immorality but as whatI am witnessing, many people are against it, Catholic church are opposing it, but right now, let’s accept the fact that we need changes, that our life must go on, there is nothing to be feared with, and it is just a matter of understanding, appreciation and acceptance.

Sir Richard Branson

The purpose of this paper is to describe the personality of Sir Richard Branson as well as applying the roles of social perception and attribution. Sir Branson is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Virgin brand started in the 1970’s. Virgin is one of Great Britain’s most respected brands and consists of ventures in travel and tourism, leisure and pleasure, social and environmental, media and telecommunications, finance and money, health, and shopping. As a youth, Sir Branson was introduced to many factors which shaped his adult personality. According to Nelson & Quick (2008), â€Å"family, culture, education, and other environmental forces shape personality. † Sir Branson’s personality was strongly influenced by his family environment. His mother encouraged him and his sisters to work hard and overcome adversity by continually setting physical challenges between the siblings. These competitions surely enhanced Branson’s drive to compete and triumph in sporting activities. His entrepreneur success can be contributed to the early introduction of entrepreneurship by his mother and Aunt Clare. Sir Branson’s was influenced by a loving family which modeled traits such as teamwork, cohesion, and support. During my childhood, children were taught to stay in a child’s place and speak only when spoken to. Branson was encouraged to speak as a child and his opinions were valued. This helped to build self-esteem and confidence to communicate outside his social group. In my opinion, Branson’s psychological type derived from the Type Theory Preferences and Descriptions is Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Perceiving (ENFP). Nelson & Quick (2008) described a person who is categorized as ENFP to be: Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on the ability to improvise and their verbal fluency. (p. 95) While reading Sir Branson’s case, I created the perception that Branson is intelligent, creative, loyal, family oriented, friendly, and confident yet arrogant. My perception is strongly affected by my characteristics as the perceiver. I truly believe that anyone can be successful if he or she works hard. If an individual is working hard and not obtaining the projected level of success, he or she needs to change the situation. Not necessary the plan or approach, but the situation in which he or she is operating in (city, state, company, community). The manner in which Branson organized his schedule to allow for family time influences my opinion and I created the image of him as a family man. Although this is important it doesn’t necessarily confirm that Branson is a true family man. The situation that Branson is introduced to me has an overwhelming affect on my perception. I am reading an article full of positive factors about Branson. How could my perception be anything other than positive? This perception may be the same or totally different had this been a face to face encounter. Three elements of the barriers to social perception are involved in my assessment. First, I used selective perception by relating my view of family orientation to Branson. I narrowed my perception to the qualities which supported my viewpoint. Next, I created the perception that Branson is intelligent, because he is successful. I have created a stereotype that all successful entrepreneurs must be intelligent. The article offered information that Branson’s academic record was terrible and he did not finish high school. I failed to consider this information because of his success. Lastly, the first impression error allowed me to read the article and create the perception that this is the true Branson without any future research or consideration. Sir Branson performance and success is due to internal attributions. He accepted his weaknesses and built on his strengths. The values instilled by his mother formed a sound foundation to build on. He is not focused on external attributions of things he has no control over. He continues to expand his empire by giving others opportunities to develop their ideas into business ventures that he supports (Nelson & Quick, 2008, p. 115). He uses his internal attributions to counter the startup problems and unforeseen battles which don’t seem to bother him. Sir Branson is perceived to be a well-rounded person. His personality, which drives his success and current business philosophy, mirrors his childhood development. During his childhood, his opinion was valued and now he is open to the opinions and ideas of his advisory team. His mother and Aunt Clara were very entrepreneurial developing several different ways to make money and now Branson invites creativity and backs the new business ventures of others. He developed his sense of competition and now challenges industries which he feels are not serving the public. An individual’s personality is strongly influenced by his or her environment as proven by Sir Richard Branson. References Nelson, D. L. , & Quick, J. C. (2008). Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you (6th Ed. ). Mason, OH: South-Western. Sir Richard Branson Assignment 4: Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Mysherri Rhodes Instructor: Bess White Bus 520: Leadership and Organization February 25, 2012 Describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U. S. today. Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group Ltd. , has created a multi-billion dollar enterprise, which includes: airlines, records, bridal wear, holidays, vodka, cars, bank accounts, mobile phones, cosmetics, condoms and gyms (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).The Virgin Group is a globally recognized brand that has approximately 50,000 employees and earns more than $20 billion in sales annually (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson is known to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs and with that consumers can expect more unique creations from Sir Richard Branson (Boje & Smith, 2012). In order for a business to acquire and maintain such exponential growth, a company must have an effective leader.According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson is a genuine strategist who thinks outside the box and he has achieved many great things despite some setbacks throughout the years. Branson anticipates future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities. He develops others to be leaders or better leaders; that’s what makes him a transformational leader (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson, has a philosophy that is centered on finding people with strong communication and teamwork skills that can be integrated into Virgin Group culture.Once the proper employees are hired, Virgin Group continues the employee’s professional development, allowing the company to promote existing employees. Branson’s philosophy enables him to develop new leaders, which are able to foresee the company’s future and embrace new visions. Hellriegel & Slocum (2 011), also say that transformational leaders are risk takers and welcome new opportunities. Sir Richard Branson states that it is impossible to run a business without taking risks, and he is no stranger to doing so (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Branson publicly admits to three tremendous setbacks: a) the launch of a portable MP3 player (the Virgin Pulse) was crushed by the Apple iPod and lost over $20 million; b) against top management advice, Branson held on to Virgin’s Megastore retail outlets far too long, costing the group financially when the megastores were finally sold; c) Branson created Virgin Cola as an attempt to enter the United Kingdom’s Coca-Cola territory, but Coca-Cola crushed that effort.The Virgin Group has experienced its fair share of failures but that has never stopped Branson from looking for new opportunities. Because of these attributes, Branson is a great transformational leader and is a perfect fit in today’s world. The world is constantl y evolving from the old into the new, and this constant change creates the need for companies to adapt accordingly. Based on constant change a company must be able to adapt accordingly. Transformational leadership is such a great asset to today’s world because its leaders are true visionaries.For instance, to his colleagues Branson is known as Dr. Yes because he finds it hard to say no to new ideas and proposals. Being open to new ideas and proposals sets Virgin Groups apart from other companies because they are never afraid to try venture into new areas. Virgin Group prides itself on doing things in an innovative way while aspiring to provide quality services (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Visionaries are key to the evolution of today’s world and are important to the generations of the future.Recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. Transformational and transactional leadership are two of th e most popular approaches to leading a businesses (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s keen sense of transformational leadership is great for Virgin Group but could be more effective when combined other leadership styles such as transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is considered a great second style to work in synergy with transformational leadership.Transactional leadership focuses on the interaction and motivation that occur between a leader and his or her followers (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s states, â€Å"If you find people who are good at motivating others and getting the best out of people, they are the ones you want. There are plenty of so-called experts, but not as many motivators of people† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344). Branson’s belief in motivating his employees demonstrates his belief in transactional leadership and is an incontestable method ensuring that Virgin Group uses the correct leadership path.Motivating employ ees is a great way to initiate great leadership but here are some other components of transactional leadership that should be considered: a) transactional leadership provides contingent rewards, which includes leaders setting measurable goals to obtain that are clear and concise; b) it exhibits active management by monitoring work performance of employees and enforcing rules to prevent mistakes; c) it emphasizes that enforced rules are not to be broken and unacceptable performance will result in corrective actions (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Determine how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e. g. , space tourism) Americans have witnessed the continuous development of the world for decades and Sir Richard Branson has been a part of American history. Branson has continued to push the envelope year after year, and is familiar with the leadership styles that are necessary for leading a global team working on a major project. Branson spoke out, statin g that carbon damaging the world is what is causing global warming.As a result, Branson recently pledged to give as much as $3 billion over the next ten years to tackle global warming. The funding for the global warming project will be given from Branson’s personal revenue from his airlines and rail company (Hellriegell & Slocume, 2011). Branson’s states: â€Å"We must not be the generation responsible for irreversibly damaging the environment† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). In order for Branson to develop and lead a global team for global warming, he must use the core components associated with transformational leadership.According Hellriegel & Slocum (2011; p 330), â€Å"the core components are individual consideration: refer to the leaders to anticipate the followers’ needs, perform as a mentor, and listen to the followers’ needs†. Next, Branson needs to intellectually stimulate his team by encouraging them to think outside the box and to n ot be afraid to take a risk. Then there are inspirational motivations, which is a concept pertaining to leaders creating a vision for the employees to follow.Last but not least is idealized influence which refers to the leader acting in a charismatic way to uplift employees and inspire them (Kirkpartrick & Locke, 1996). Branson has stated on numerous occasions that he treats his employees like human beings, which allows him to anticipate his employees’ needs. Branson also feels that an entrepreneur will only succeed if he or she is surrounded by good people and are able to listen to their advice. Because Branson is open to advice he has innately displayed individual consideration.As a leader Branson has always provided attention to the employee’s needs for growth, encouraged individuals to embrace creativity, and placed an emphasis on innovation. Early in Branson’s career he developed a habit of actively reading emails from his employees. Once the email are read , he then responds to employees’ concerns and ideas personally. There has been instances where employees have presented innovative ideas for the company’s future that Branson has implemented, which demonstrates an intellectual stimulation outcome and encourages this behavior in the future.As I stated above, Branson has a vision that involves improving global warming. Branson’s plan to address the problem is by setting up a carbon war room to strategize reducing the carbon output of companies without damaging the company’s profitability. Setting a vision and creating a plan is a great method for providing inspirational motives for individuals. Historically, Branson is well known for his ability to inspire his team, which results in an ideal work environment. Discuss how you can incorporate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into your role at work or school.Sir Richard Branson is an extraordinary individual and worthy of businesses mimicking his leadership style. Branson’s leadership styles includes, but are not limited to: honing in on one’s ability to become a true visionary, taking risk, and providing quality. Branson states that he listens to all new ideals and proposals but ultimately makes decisions based on his intuition (Branson, 2012). One could practice becoming a visionary into their work or school environment by taking an in depth look at a new ideas or roposals and trusting their intuition. Implementing an environment for visionaries allows individuals to bring forth ideas that other individuals may have difficulty visualizing. This method also encourages individuals to speak up and voice their opinions. The next quality that a leader must possess is risk taking. It is impossible for a business to run without taking risks. â€Å"Virgin would not be the company it is today if risks had not been taken† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344).In order for a manager to be successful there has to be some degree of risk taking and one could start by thinking out of the box (Hanna & Klein, 2011). This could take place by setting aside time for the team to meet, discuss, and implement new ideas that involve more risk. Another one of Branson’s attributes for leadership is to provide quality service to his clientele. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson prides himself on his ability to provide quality services to consumers in areas where other companies may not.As a manager, one could raise the bar through implementing higher standards for quality service. This could, as a result, increase the clientele and loyalty to the company. References Boje, D. , & Smith, R. (2010). Re-storying and visualizing the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson. Culture & Organization, 16(4), 307-331. doi:10. 1080/14759551003769250 Branson, R. (2012). Sir Audcity. Inc, 34(9), 72-73. Hanna, J. , & Klein, D. S. (2011). Sir Richard Branson: Great Brands, V irgin Brands, Branson Brands.Smart Business Orange County, 6(5), 10-11. Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum, J. W. , Jr. (2011). Organizational Behavior 13th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage (Learning) Kirkpatrick, S. A. , & Locke, E. A. (1996). Direct and Indirect Effects of Three Core Charismatic Leadership Components on Performance and Attitudes. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 81(1), 36-51. Sadeghi, A. , & Pihie, Z. (2012). Transformational Leadership and Its Predictive Effects on Leadership Effectiveness. International Journal Of Business & Social Science, 3(7), 186-197. Sir Richard Branson Assignment 4: Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Mysherri Rhodes Instructor: Bess White Bus 520: Leadership and Organization February 25, 2012 Describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U. S. today. Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group Ltd. , has created a multi-billion dollar enterprise, which includes: airlines, records, bridal wear, holidays, vodka, cars, bank accounts, mobile phones, cosmetics, condoms and gyms (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).The Virgin Group is a globally recognized brand that has approximately 50,000 employees and earns more than $20 billion in sales annually (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson is known to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs and with that consumers can expect more unique creations from Sir Richard Branson (Boje & Smith, 2012). In order for a business to acquire and maintain such exponential growth, a company must have an effective leader.According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson is a genuine strategist who thinks outside the box and he has achieved many great things despite some setbacks throughout the years. Branson anticipates future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities. He develops others to be leaders or better leaders; that’s what makes him a transformational leader (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson, has a philosophy that is centered on finding people with strong communication and teamwork skills that can be integrated into Virgin Group culture.Once the proper employees are hired, Virgin Group continues the employee’s professional development, allowing the company to promote existing employees. Branson’s philosophy enables him to develop new leaders, which are able to foresee the company’s future and embrace new visions. Hellriegel & Slocum (2 011), also say that transformational leaders are risk takers and welcome new opportunities. Sir Richard Branson states that it is impossible to run a business without taking risks, and he is no stranger to doing so (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Branson publicly admits to three tremendous setbacks: a) the launch of a portable MP3 player (the Virgin Pulse) was crushed by the Apple iPod and lost over $20 million; b) against top management advice, Branson held on to Virgin’s Megastore retail outlets far too long, costing the group financially when the megastores were finally sold; c) Branson created Virgin Cola as an attempt to enter the United Kingdom’s Coca-Cola territory, but Coca-Cola crushed that effort.The Virgin Group has experienced its fair share of failures but that has never stopped Branson from looking for new opportunities. Because of these attributes, Branson is a great transformational leader and is a perfect fit in today’s world. The world is constantl y evolving from the old into the new, and this constant change creates the need for companies to adapt accordingly. Based on constant change a company must be able to adapt accordingly. Transformational leadership is such a great asset to today’s world because its leaders are true visionaries.For instance, to his colleagues Branson is known as Dr. Yes because he finds it hard to say no to new ideas and proposals. Being open to new ideas and proposals sets Virgin Groups apart from other companies because they are never afraid to try venture into new areas. Virgin Group prides itself on doing things in an innovative way while aspiring to provide quality services (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Visionaries are key to the evolution of today’s world and are important to the generations of the future.Recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. Transformational and transactional leadership are two of th e most popular approaches to leading a businesses (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s keen sense of transformational leadership is great for Virgin Group but could be more effective when combined other leadership styles such as transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is considered a great second style to work in synergy with transformational leadership.Transactional leadership focuses on the interaction and motivation that occur between a leader and his or her followers (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s states, â€Å"If you find people who are good at motivating others and getting the best out of people, they are the ones you want. There are plenty of so-called experts, but not as many motivators of people† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344). Branson’s belief in motivating his employees demonstrates his belief in transactional leadership and is an incontestable method ensuring that Virgin Group uses the correct leadership path.Motivating employ ees is a great way to initiate great leadership but here are some other components of transactional leadership that should be considered: a) transactional leadership provides contingent rewards, which includes leaders setting measurable goals to obtain that are clear and concise; b) it exhibits active management by monitoring work performance of employees and enforcing rules to prevent mistakes; c) it emphasizes that enforced rules are not to be broken and unacceptable performance will result in corrective actions (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Determine how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e. g. , space tourism) Americans have witnessed the continuous development of the world for decades and Sir Richard Branson has been a part of American history. Branson has continued to push the envelope year after year, and is familiar with the leadership styles that are necessary for leading a global team working on a major project. Branson spoke out, statin g that carbon damaging the world is what is causing global warming.As a result, Branson recently pledged to give as much as $3 billion over the next ten years to tackle global warming. The funding for the global warming project will be given from Branson’s personal revenue from his airlines and rail company (Hellriegell & Slocume, 2011). Branson’s states: â€Å"We must not be the generation responsible for irreversibly damaging the environment† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). In order for Branson to develop and lead a global team for global warming, he must use the core components associated with transformational leadership.According Hellriegel & Slocum (2011; p 330), â€Å"the core components are individual consideration: refer to the leaders to anticipate the followers’ needs, perform as a mentor, and listen to the followers’ needs†. Next, Branson needs to intellectually stimulate his team by encouraging them to think outside the box and to n ot be afraid to take a risk. Then there are inspirational motivations, which is a concept pertaining to leaders creating a vision for the employees to follow.Last but not least is idealized influence which refers to the leader acting in a charismatic way to uplift employees and inspire them (Kirkpartrick & Locke, 1996). Branson has stated on numerous occasions that he treats his employees like human beings, which allows him to anticipate his employees’ needs. Branson also feels that an entrepreneur will only succeed if he or she is surrounded by good people and are able to listen to their advice. Because Branson is open to advice he has innately displayed individual consideration.As a leader Branson has always provided attention to the employee’s needs for growth, encouraged individuals to embrace creativity, and placed an emphasis on innovation. Early in Branson’s career he developed a habit of actively reading emails from his employees. Once the email are read , he then responds to employees’ concerns and ideas personally. There has been instances where employees have presented innovative ideas for the company’s future that Branson has implemented, which demonstrates an intellectual stimulation outcome and encourages this behavior in the future.As I stated above, Branson has a vision that involves improving global warming. Branson’s plan to address the problem is by setting up a carbon war room to strategize reducing the carbon output of companies without damaging the company’s profitability. Setting a vision and creating a plan is a great method for providing inspirational motives for individuals. Historically, Branson is well known for his ability to inspire his team, which results in an ideal work environment. Discuss how you can incorporate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into your role at work or school.Sir Richard Branson is an extraordinary individual and worthy of businesses mimicking his leadership style. Branson’s leadership styles includes, but are not limited to: honing in on one’s ability to become a true visionary, taking risk, and providing quality. Branson states that he listens to all new ideals and proposals but ultimately makes decisions based on his intuition (Branson, 2012). One could practice becoming a visionary into their work or school environment by taking an in depth look at a new ideas or roposals and trusting their intuition. Implementing an environment for visionaries allows individuals to bring forth ideas that other individuals may have difficulty visualizing. This method also encourages individuals to speak up and voice their opinions. The next quality that a leader must possess is risk taking. It is impossible for a business to run without taking risks. â€Å"Virgin would not be the company it is today if risks had not been taken† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344).In order for a manager to be successful there has to be some degree of risk taking and one could start by thinking out of the box (Hanna & Klein, 2011). This could take place by setting aside time for the team to meet, discuss, and implement new ideas that involve more risk. Another one of Branson’s attributes for leadership is to provide quality service to his clientele. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson prides himself on his ability to provide quality services to consumers in areas where other companies may not.As a manager, one could raise the bar through implementing higher standards for quality service. This could, as a result, increase the clientele and loyalty to the company. References Boje, D. , & Smith, R. (2010). Re-storying and visualizing the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson. Culture & Organization, 16(4), 307-331. doi:10. 1080/14759551003769250 Branson, R. (2012). Sir Audcity. Inc, 34(9), 72-73. Hanna, J. , & Klein, D. S. (2011). Sir Richard Branson: Great Brands, V irgin Brands, Branson Brands.Smart Business Orange County, 6(5), 10-11. Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum, J. W. , Jr. (2011). Organizational Behavior 13th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage (Learning) Kirkpatrick, S. A. , & Locke, E. A. (1996). Direct and Indirect Effects of Three Core Charismatic Leadership Components on Performance and Attitudes. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 81(1), 36-51. Sadeghi, A. , & Pihie, Z. (2012). Transformational Leadership and Its Predictive Effects on Leadership Effectiveness. International Journal Of Business & Social Science, 3(7), 186-197.

Learning and Intelligence Essay

We all learn well in our own different ways, we cannot all learn the same way. For example, some of us are visual learners (pictures, videos, etc), and some of us are incapable of learning visually, we learn well orally (speaking out loud, listening to someone else speak out loud, etc). Some of us just read over notes and learn well that way. Myth 2: That intelligence is largely fixed at birth, and can be accurately determined by IQ or similar standardized tests. There is no limit to intelligence, we are able to learn much more, and we are skilled at much more than that of which can only be determined in an IQ/ any other standardized test. For example, an individual can be creative (art, poetry, story writing, inventions). Myth 3: That there is only one form of intelligence. We all are skilled at different things; we cannot all be skilled at exactly the same stuff in exactly the same way. For example, some of us are good at art and some aren’t, then some of us are good at writing, it doesn’t necessarily mean if u aren’t good at playing soccer, then you won’t be good at playing tennis. Myth 4: That all intelligence is inherited. There is no limit to intelligence, although your level of intelligence can be inherited but a great deal of your intelligence is developed through your environment, experience and culture. Both your inherited intelligence and personal development of intelligence work together and builds new sets of skills and abilities. Myth 5: That intelligence is the same as logical, analytical thinking. Intelligence takes 3 forms: Analytical, Creative and Practical, But only Analytical intelligence is measured in IQ/other standardized tests, therefore there is no measured level for creative ability, practical or commonsense ability, athletic ability, musical ability, etc. Myth 6: That everyone has the ability to succeed at anything. Different aptitudes help people excel in different ways, for different things. For example, a great manager may not necessarily be good at playing the piano. Myth 7: That school is the main or best place to learn. School is not necessarily the best place to learn, just because we spend most of our time there, listening to people feed us information, some of us learn better when we are in our own comfort zone by taking in information all on our own. For example, I learn best at home in my lounge, my friend learns best while relaxing in her garden. Myth 8: That â€Å"standards† are the real test of learning, and can easily be measured by standardized written tests. These tests only measure a part of the intelligence of an individual. These tests cannot measure other greater abilities, skills and talents of an individual. For example, for these tests, a student can easily memorize information, but how do we know if they can apply this information? (iii) Learners get despondent, lack of motivation, hampers self-esteem development, lead to behavioral problems. Learners should experience success, so the learner build on their strengths. Schools should rather: Focus on developing strengths, not on weaknesses. Not waste time trying to †put in what was left out†. Try to â€Å"draw out what was left in† Search for talent, but train to develop skills and abilities. (iv) 1. Eat a good breakfast every morning, preferably with plenty of fresh fruit. 2. Eat a good lunch. 3. Make fish, nuts and vegetable â€Å"fats† key parts of your diet. 4. Exercise regularly to oxygenate the blood. 5. Cleanse the toxins out of your body. Exercise ~ Phys. Ed: Encourage learners to take part in sport/drama. School tuck-shop ~ sell healthier foods. Awareness Campaign: Discussions, posters, check lunch box content. (v) Howard Gardner, David Perkins, and Robert Sternberg have all been quite successful in helping spread knowledge about the meaning of â€Å"intelligence† and applications of this knowledge to education. The study and measurement of intelligence has been an important research topic for nearly 100 years IQ is a complex concept, and researchers in this field argue with each other about the various theories that have been developed. There is no clear agreement as to what constitutes IQ or how to measure it. There is an extensive and continually growing collection of research papers on the topic. Howard Gardner (1983, 1993), Robert Sternberg (1988, 1997), and David Perkins (1995) have written widely sold books that summarize the literature and present their own specific points of view. The following definition is a composite from various authors. Intelligence is a combination of the ability to: 1. Learn. This includes all kinds of informal and formal learning via any combination of experience, education, and training. 2. Pose problems. This includes recognizing problem situations and transforming them into more clearly defined problems. 3. Solve problems. This includes solving problems, accomplishing tasks, fashioning products, and doing complex projects. (vi) Warm environment Interactive method Build thinking skills Plenty of activations Apply it in practice Review and celebrate Four criteria when determining the best learning â€Å"state† : Orchestrating the environment. Setting the right mood and getting students’ attention. Early activity is vital. Bring on the music (vii) How you perceive information most easily How you organize and process information What conditions are necessary to help you take in and store information How you retrieve information (viii) Likely traits: Negotiates well Relates well Able to read others’ intentions Enjoys being with people Has many friends Communicates well Enjoys group activities Likes to mediate disputes How to strengthen learning: Do learning activities cooperatively Take lots of breaks to socialize Use â€Å"pair and share† activities. Use relationships and communication skills Do â€Å"partner talks† on the phone Have parties and celebration of learning Make learning fun Integrate socialization into all curricular areas (ix) Students’ reading levels should be checked first. Students should be matched in pairs, with tutor only a slightly better reader. Books should be chosen for the right reading and interest levels. Tutors are trained with a simple checklist, which shows them how to use â€Å"pause, promt and praise† techniques. . BILBIOGRAPHY Dryden, G & Vos, J. (2005). The New Learning Revolution. UK: Network Edcuational Press Ltd.

Barriers to trade Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Barriers to trade - Case Study Example of September 2009, the Chinese government filed an economic complaint with the WTO as a response to the announcement by the US that an ongoing plan of increasing the tariffs on the tires produced from China was about to be implemented (Bown, 2002). Consequently, on September 2010, the US Congress Committee made an approval of the bill that was to impose tariffs on China. Nonetheless, the trade relations between the Chinese government and the US government is significant to the two countries since China is reported to be the second largest trading partner of the US globally (Bown, 2002). Further, recently there have been legal battles between China and the United States. On May 23, 2014, the WTO dispute settlement panel ruled that the duties of up to 21.5 percent that were imposed by China on some of the U.S. imported vehicles were inconsistent with the WTO obligations of China. Moreover, on March 23, 2014 the WTO made a ruling that China’s restrictions on the rare earth elements as well as the two other metals were extremely inconsistent with its WTO obligations. However, the decision was later appealed on April 8. Indeed, the trade relationship between China and the USA has been strained recently and more negotiation and talks are being done to ease the tensions. On July 9 to 10 of the year 2014, the Chinese and U.S. officials held talks under the S&ED (Walker, 2014). The WTO is simply a negotiating forum which has the overall mission of promoting free trade all over the world through multilateral negotiations among the member states that is currently reported to be composed of approximately 153 members (Bown, 2002, p 54).The member states are expected to ensure that their various trade laws conform to the terms of the 16 different agreements that comprise the rules of the WTO. In case one of the member countries is of the opinion that the other country’s laws are a violation of the WTO rules, the complaining country is expected to file a complaint in the

Reflective analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective analysis - Essay Example I believe that this ability to identify one’s mistakes, learning perfection and the ability to rectify them rather than ignoring the fact of being imperfect, makes me a better person and professional having the ability to improve with every step and instance. The learning outcome I really wanted to pursue is the development of â€Å"understanding that grammatical and mechanical errors detract from achieving their communication purposes†. The grammatical mistakes I made in my earlier writings made the content I wrote awkward and confusing for the reader. For instance, the use of punctuation could make this sentence taken from my January 18 submission, better by replacing â€Å"These celebrities all have thousands if not millions of followers on their social media profiles† with â€Å"These celebrities all have thousands, if not millions, of followers on their social media profiles†. Similarly, a sentence in my January 15 submission read â€Å"I think Toulmin model is the most effective for the evaluative rhetorical analysis I am composing, because my theis is "drug free"†; here the word ‘theis’ makes the reader confused and perplexed as to the meaning of it. The correction needed here was with the spelling of ‘thesis’ and it makes the entire message clear for the reader with proper sense. At times, wrong use of writing structures and mechanics make the work incomprehensible for the reader. I have learnt it from a review of my submissions during the course. For instance, my January 21 submission includes that â€Å"Everyone has one partner, then we read draft each other to find somewhere need to improve, like grammar, etc. ,I think this is a great method for revise draft.† The sentence could make more sense and deliver better meanings by an amendment in the structure and formation of it. It could have been better to say â€Å"Everyone has a partner to work with. After writing the draft, we read each other’s work to identify areas for improvement

Arts and Urban Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Arts and Urban Life - Essay Example Punch's versifier detailed 'The muck and mud that still our movements clog', while Conrad made the same point more sonorously in describing 'the enormity of cold, black, wet, muddy, inhospitable accumulation of bricks, slates, and stones, things in themselves unlovely and unfriendly to man." (Freeman, 89). The city of London is perhaps one of the oldest yet also one of the most powerful cities in the world. This account speaks about the atmosphere, weather, but not the people. All urban histories states about the city in terms of physical structures and ultrastructural layouts. When the reality is that the people of the city and their lives day in and day out constitute the core of urban life, which embodies their struggle, aspirations, and moments of heightened awareness, then art in the urban life in any form will also express those. In the detective fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle or Richard Harding Davis, fog underlay or encouraged the city's criminal associations, with Sherlock Holmes speculating as to how the 'thief or murderer could roam London' 'as the tiger does the jungle', since figures are but 'dimly seen, then blend once more into the cloud bank' (Doyle, CA, 913). The question arises, what is a city, is it the demonstrable difficulties of urban life, its malign incompatibility with human wishes, or entirely something else arising out of it. In some cases, the metropolis itself has been assigned a character in itself, which responds enthusiastically to the process of transformation in the city space and the ways it is perceived by the individual. Radical artists such as Whistler and Monet were exploring similar possibilities during the 1870s. Such figures moved away from the particularization of realist art and conventional topographic painting, concerning themselves with atmospheric evocation. James's immersion, in all senses, in London's fog was therefore something he shared with its most famous visual chroniclers, impressionist painters, even though he initially had little obvious sympathy for their art (James, 219). Accounts of London by Dickens, and, even more so, by Gissing, repeatedly emphasized the city's aromas and the tidal roar of its 'flaring and clamorous' streets where 'the odors of burning naphtha and fried fish were pungent on the wind'. To judge from The Princess Casamassima, the Thames is equally noisy and smelly, with Hyacinth (Gissing, 111), Robinson observing the 'grinding, puffing, smoking, splashing activity of the turbid flood', but in his own trip down river, James concentrates on the tonal limitation s of the scene, its blacks and sables, silvers and grays (Jackson, 277). Baldwin's "Another Country" is a novel, but more of an essay on love. Love on the backdrop of a city, where life at least takes the form of impressionist art. Love is a theme that the author had explored both on homosexual and heterosexual perspectives. On closer examination, there is another theme in this novel, racialism. While love is a necessity and is utterly constructive, hate is terribly destructive, and this theme is core concept

Organizational Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Theories - Essay Example Resource dependence theory is based on the fact that organizations inevitably depend on resources and their mobility and as result in turn depend on suppliers of those resources (Pfeffer & Salancik, 2003). On the other hand institutional theory is based on the argument that organizations aren't particularly concerned about task expediencies but about expediencies that arise from the strategic cultural environment of the organization, along with meeting demands put forward by lending and professional institutions. Finally the population ecology theory emphasizes the ways and means through which organizations' structures and forms are influenced (Hannan & Freeman,1989). For example changing nature of the organization has less influence on such structures than the birth and death of organizations. In the ordinary sense of the word 'power' enables those who exercise it to dominate over those who don't have it. This explanation seems to be rather simplistic though still the conventional organizational theories have a much wider acceptance in modern management theories. Power is a dynamic concept with a degree of fluidity and much less transparency. In other words the concept of power acquires a newer and more articulate dimension in the modern unconventional organizational theory than hitherto was known. The concept of power has many nuances including that it's associated with responsibility. Thus organizational power can be extended to include corporate responsibility as well.Resource dependence theory invariably supports these power dynamics in its articulation of a strategic supplier dominated organizational environment. However it must be noted here that modern writers on unconventional organizational theory tend to speculate on politicized organizational environments in or der to give a revolutionary interpretation to the evolving structures and cultures. Power is rooted in the organization's dependence on resource providers who might not hesitate to manipulate the organizational outcomes by imposing their weight on its structures and forms. Thus power as a concept in the modern sense of the organizational context is a barometer of organizational strengths. In other words organizational power isn't a simple aggregation of 'individual powers' as such. It has a much wider significance and impact on the organizational outcomes.The theoretical premise of power is derived from the fact that suppliers of resources have a strategic link with the organization. Therefore it is the suppliers who exercise political control over the organization (Ulrich & Barney, 1986). The authors identify and address the implications of anti-management theories within the organizational context so that a particularly significant hidden feature of the organization is brought to the surface. Notwithstanding the counter argument that organizations do not seek intentionally to politicize their operational environments, the resource dependence theory focuses on the link between power of resource suppliers and the conformist behavior

MKTG 3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

MKTG 3000 - Essay Example This had been Dell’s main value proposition. This had been the reason why Dell had experienced so much success over fierce and well settled rivals such as IBM and Compaq. With Dell, customers can customize their own computer systems, and there is no minimum order that needs to be placed for that. Every personal computer can be fully customized based on memory size, processor speed, screen size, battery type, and so on. This gives the customer a great deal of flexibility in choosing his/her computer and does not need to settle only for what the company offers. This, indirectly, also has another major benefit to the customer. The Just in Time (JIT) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems used by the company help it to achieve extremely low lead times and low costs. As there are no intermediaries between the manufacturer and customer, Dell can easily charge a lower price to the customer. These benefits result in great customer satisfaction and are the main reasons why customers choose Dell over its

Stock Market Prices - Web Based App Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stock Market Prices - Web Based App - Coursework Example There are many advances in stock technologies, although the real time stock out has gotten the most press coverage recently. There are diverse technologies with various capabilities, price points, and footprints. After some time, this evolving change in the stock exchange will spread to other sectors as well. Anything of material significance will be stream –tagged to report its state in real time...... Sophisticated financial operations and keen investors require state of the art trading systems with potential of handling operations in terms of complexity and volume. Challenge the market The challenges faced by markets place are the ability to handle increased volume of trading and latest financial instrument. This calls for the implementation of new rules and regulations that demand for setting up latest cutting edge systems or modifying or even upgrading the existing systems without interfering the on-going operations Challenges 1. Quick and quality execution 2. High Performance 3. Scalability to handle high volumes without degrading in performance 4. Platform neutral 5. Security Overview The documentation is to be developed to cater to the operational needs of the investors all over the world. Therefore, the architecture covers all aspects of Real time market information. Real Time and Delayed Stock Quotes The stock quotes are available on real time basis for which the bourse ch arges a monthly fee while the delayed mode which occurs on the basis of 15-20 minutes delay or lag and available for free. Relevant parameters from the stock market 1. Spot price is acquired from stock exchange’s current basic stock trade price. 2. Exercise price, Time to Maturity are acquired from option exchange quotes. 3. Risk free rate depends on different economies, for example, the US market and the US Treasury 4. Suggested bill rate is 5. Volatility is acquired from user entries; the goal is to give an individual user freedom to decide on their own volatility method. It helps in carrying a test for volatility’s accuracy against the basic market price. Finance data service provider The data is obtained

West European Studies Essay Example for Free

West European Studies Essay 1. The three-fold divisions of learning by Augustine were: ? Physical- he related it to the working of nature, and posited that there was a cause to all things- the principle of cause-effect. ? Education- the acquisition of knowledge followed some rules, i. e. the methodology of science and procedures used in scientific studies and systematic experimentations ? Practice- Augustine argued that life had some meaning and an end, which people sought in their daily lives through actions and practicing of ideologies and principles. 2. The seven liberal arts outlined by Martianus Capella were: a) The Trivium which comprised of;   Grammar Rhetoric   Logic/dialectic b) The Quadrivium which included; Arithmetic   Geometry   Music   Astronomy Grammar taught one how to write words and understand their meaning. Music signified the cardinal virtues of temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice. Logic was necessary to help individuals distinguish right from wrong so as to avoid evil deeds. Rhetoric was the art of effective use of language to speak eloquently. Geometry was useful in measuring space, distance such as fields and cities. Arithmetic was significant as it aided in assigning numerical values- counting objects. Lastly, astronomy was used to foretell luck or misfortune- it was an essential art in predicting the future. 3. According to St. Augustine, pagan learning was reliant on logic and skeptical criticism of scripture. It appealed to observable evidence and to those things that are physically provable. St. Augustine taught that Christians should shun those elements, which undermined their faith by challenging beliefs that could not be substantiated with physical evidence, e. g. the existence of God. By appealing to logic, therefore, pagan learning dismissed the spiritual aspect of life to which Christianity was intimately connected. Nonetheless, he recognized the significant of logic and reason in a Christian’s life. He observed that the scripture was given by God’s inspiration for correction and reproof of character. Thus, to understand its teachings, believers ought to examine its contents critically to make correct interpretations. At the same time, logic reflected the logical and orderliness of God’s nature, represented by the order he perfected in His creation. Similarly, logical reasoning makes a significant contribution to the ordering of life in the world. Without logic, there would be chaos and conflicts among men. Reason appeals to the common sense that compels people to observe basic rules and obligations. 4. Hugh of St. Victor outlined four types of philosophy in his quaternary of the arts. The first three are concerned with human character, as they shape people into better mortal beings. They include: ? Truth, which is derived from theoretical philosophy- through abstract reasoning and contemplations that leads to insights about acceptable principles Practical philosophy which leads to good virtues that guides human conduct ? Mechanical philosophy which reliefs men from physical burdens ? Logic enables men to make clear and realistic conclusions concerning the preceding three philosophies. 5. The seven mechanical arts as defined by Hugh of St. Victor are: ? Fabric- it is necessary as man is essentially naked, lacking in the fur that is endowed to wild animals ? Armaments- necessitated due to man’s innate weakness for his lack of defensive mechanisms such as the teeth and claws of animals. Commerce- it is necessary to reconcile the world’s nations that have become divided by selfish aspirations. It leads to international relations and diplomacy that calms wars, enhances peaceful negotiations and achieves the greatest good of individual possessions.   Agriculture- it is a compensation of hard labor, what Hugh called the ‘brow’s sweat’ that goes back to Adam’s time, when the ground was cursed such that he had to sweat for a living.   Hunting was a skill necessary to help man get food by preying on wild animals Theatrics- the sooth the mind through laughter, and by providing relaxation and refreshment to a tired spirit; probably after a day’s work. 6. The four senses of scripture of St. Gregory the Great are: literal sense, allegorical sense, moral/tropological sense and the anagogical sense. a) Literal sense- it reveals the plain facts about events or things. For instance, the creation of Adam as explained in the Book of Genesis is a literal understanding of scripture, since the events happened just the way they are stated. b) Allegorical sense- it goes beyond what is plainly stated, to arrive at a meaning that is both metaphorical and symbolic. For instance, the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib symbolizes the subordinate role that a woman plays in her relation to man. This is exemplified in the family unit where the man is the head of the household. Similarly, it symbolizes the significance of marriage, since a woman, with her one rib taken from Adam, is considered incomplete. Consequently, she must seek completeness by uniting with her source- Adam/man. c) Moral sense- it derives from the Greek word â€Å"trepein,† which means ‘to turn. ’ In scriptural interpretation, it refers to the act of ‘turning’ ideas, principles and divine teachings into deeds. It is reflected in an individual’s life through good deeds to all people. In the scripture, the parables of Jesus were reflections on the moral conduct of men. For instance, the parable about the Good Samaritan represents real life situations where Christians are called upon to help those in need, and not to be like the uncaring Levite who walked past the robbed man on his way to Jericho. d) Anagogical sense- it refers to the interpretation of scripture teaching within the wider context of eternity. It attaches a universal meaning to divine concepts, which transcends all boundaries of space and time. For instance, the reference to the Lord’s feast in Mathew 22 signifies the eternal happiness to be enjoyed by the save in heaven. Likewise, the new Jerusalem refers to God’s City, the kingdom that shall reign forever after the second coming.

Informal Jobs in Nicaragua

Informal Jobs in Nicaragua Freddy Espinoza Nicaragua is a third world nation located in Central America. The capital of Nicaragua is Managua. It is the biggest country of the region with an extension of 129,442 km2. Nevertheless its population is small in comparison with its size, only 6,071,042 habitants, although some cities like the capital, Managua, and Leà ³n are overpopulated. Nicaragua has had hard knocks in its economic history, but also has had good times. In the 60’s the economy of the country was good and increasing because of the industrialization but it started to decrease when people started to feel the oppression of the dictatorship. Also the economy was losing power because only the government and its allies had all the money; they were the largest owners of the industries while the rest of the population was poor. Then in 1972 the economy got worst because of the earthquake of that year which destroyed almost complete the downtown of the capital; many business and factories were destroyed so the production of the country decreased. In 1979 started the revolution (civil war) against the dictatorship Anastacio Somoza, causing a very low economic performance. During the revolution people were fighting in the rural areas therefore most of the croplands were destroyed. This caused the production of food to decrease and due to the shortage between the demand and the supply the prices were forced to increase in order to contract the demand. Also the revolutionaries were recruiting men in order to have more power and fight against the National Guard, which was the president’s personal army. The reclusion caused a lack of labor for the production of goods because they had almost all their people working in their guard. With this low production the inflation rate reached a percentage of 70% in 1979. The communist government of Daniel Ortega overthrew Somoza but they didn’t do something good for the economy. They stayed in the power by imposing strength and controlling the imports and exports, so the other countries with different thinking couldn’t export to Nicaragua because the government would not let their products come i nto the country. Due the political and economic crises in those times, Nicaragua’s external debt increased excessively, even more than its gross domestic product; being the debt impossible to pay. Since that time, government companies have been privatizing in order to reduce the external debt. Nowadays the economy has improved but there are still delimited works and unemployment creating a social-economic problem because many people have opted for informal jobs. Informal jobs are a type of work that occurs mostly in developing countries, these are characterized by employments that don’t comply with legal formalities. They are divided in two: wage employment and self-employment. In Nicaragua informal jobs are considered as people’s works which are not in the formal sector of the economy. These jobs are not recognized by the INSS (Instituto Nicaraguense de Seguridad Social) which control the requirements and rights of workers, or are people who decides to work by themselves and they don’t inscribe their business in the corresponded institution. In Nicaragua 63% of the population is considered poor, of that 63% the 43% is considered extremely poor and the 20% is considered poor. The education and sanitary conditions have increase but no too much, and almost the half of the population is unemployed. Half of the population doesn’t finish their studies. The level of education sometimes is until 6th grade but in rural areas it hardily reaches 4th grade Every company wants the best for its economy so they try to look for the best level of workers that they can have, that’s why everybody needs a curriculum is they want a job in a formal company and have a good salary. The relation of this whit informal jobs is that in Nicaragua many people don’t have a good grade of education and if they don’t study a major they are not going to be able to compete for good works because their lack of knowledge is going to impede them get a work that another person with a major in that work knows how to do it. We see that every time it is more important for a person to study a major and get degrees in it because in that way they can win the competition against others and get a better job. Unfortunately unemployment is everywhere and Nicaragua does not offer too many good works and they are many college graduates who are looking for a job or working in a different area of what they studied. When people don’t even find a job in another area, sometimes they are forced to work in the informal sector and it get worst for people who don’t have a major that’s why we see a lot of immigrants working in our neighbor country of Costa Rica and The United States. Sometimes the companies get advantage of this situation paying less or disrespecting the rights of workers. However they are people who look these problems and they decide to have self-employment because they prefer to earn their own money and work hard for a better future than feel their selves disrespected by someone else. In 2003 the INEC (Instituto Nicaraguense de Estadisticas y Censo) calculated that the amount of people working in informal Jobs according to their education was: 4% from college g raduates, 27% from high school, 46% from primary and 23% from any grade of education. Nowadays 79.2% of homes in Nicaragua have people working in the informal sector; and in many they are the principal income for the family. This information was given by the recent survey prepared by the firm M R, which by face to face interviews consulted 1,600 people over 16 years in all regions of the country. The rural population forms the biggest amount of people working in this sector; the cause of this is almost in its totality due the education because in rural areas the education is difficult because the teachers have to travel through difficult paths where the communication is difficult and in some places it does not even exist yet, the students have to walk large distances sometimes confronting dangerous rivers in order to get education but sometimes it is impossible to get in some days because in winter because the lack of communication routes and the river flow increases don’t let the student go to his destiny. Informal jobs in urban areas: Urban areas like Managua are characterized because you can find people from all the areas of the country that have come to the urban areas looking for a best future and good opportunities of work. Usually people from rural areas are the principal ones who emigrates to the urban areas looking for a best income but sometimes what they find is not what they thought. Due to their lack of education people hire them just like gardeners, guards, and mates earning a low salary and sometimes they don’t know their rights and are overexploited or they just do not denounced their bosses in order to don’t lose their jobs. In urban areas the biggest amount of informal jobs are seen in their local markets. Managua has 8 markets, being ‘el Mercado oriental’ the biggest market in the country and in Central America the new official data of the Corporacià ³n de Mercados de Managua (Commema) indicates that ‘el Mercado oriental’ is officially composed of 91 blocks. In these markets are estimated 35 thousand fixed traders and a similar amount of informal workers who works with baskets, wagons, and some ones who carry their products; these people are called itinerant workers. Meanwhile the itinerant workers work by themselves they are others who prefers to work for somebody else in the business of the markets, but the problem is that they also get in the informal sector because almost in all the cases they don’t get a formal contract and they are not inscribe in the INSS. These markets have a committee named CONMEMA which collect leases but they don’t collect any money f rom itinerant workers. Also they are many people who decided to create their own business at home and they create a â€Å"pulperà ­a†, this is basically a minimarket where you can find basic things that you forgot to buy in the supermarket commonly normal goods and inferior goods. In Managua and Masaya you usually are going to find â€Å"fritangas† at night, fritangas are small restaurants where you can find typical food and their food is characterized for being unhealthy but delicious; the fritangas are not registered or controlled by the ministry of health in the majority because they have emerged spontaneously and they are not famous enough to attract the attention of the institution, even though they are some others which comply with all the requirements and licenses. Actually fritangas have taken part of our culture and if you are a foreign you should try it when you visit Nicaragua. In the semaphores you will see the different products that the itinerant workers sell to the cars since fruits of the season until covers for cellphones and exotic animals like parrot. Government institutions like the MARENA (Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) have taken rules against the sale of exotic animals but they are still people selling. Also they are people who are glass cleaners, so they wait the semaphore to turn red in order to start working but sometimes they don’t get even a Cordoba. In these places we can even see the influence of child exploitation in informal jobs and homeless. Actually they have appeared women carrying newborn children and they ask for money to the cars and pedestrians, they do all these under the shining and hot sun of the tropic. They are other parents who came with their children to work and their children wait in the boulevard while the parents work, or they help their parents. The child exploitation also is reflected with paren ts that wait and watch their children since the boulevard, observing that they are working constantly either selling a product or begging. Child exploitation is common in informal jobs because it is the only place where children can work. According to Nicaraguan laws their age don’t let them work even they want to work because it is considered child exploitation so if they get a job in a formal business or company this can be demanded, meanwhile the informal sector is not controlled or regulated by any organization so they can work there with any problem while there is not an investigation. The situation in the semaphores is sad to see. Even though it has being show in national television programs and television reports, it is still seeing clearly that they are not changes and the situation continues. Informal jobs in rural areas: Rural areas have the biggest rate of informal jobs the causes are their level of education and the developed of the region. Because of the limited accessibility and the lack of infrastructure the economy activities are limited and it is based in agriculture and animal husbandry. In the most remote rural areas, people mostly harvest for their own consumption and the animal husbandry is scarce. Their income is only from the little amount of product that is left after they save enough products for consumption. The little money that they earn is used to buy clothes or a tool to improve their harvest. Commonly these people have only a cow and two chickens; although it is hard to believe they have learned to subsist just with that limitations some people continue doing it and they have family and are able to raise their children.

Defining And Analysing Astral Projection Philosophy Essay

Defining And Analysing Astral Projection Philosophy Essay Astral Projection is a conscious attempt to experience being outside of ones physical human body, while being both alive and preferably awake at the time.   It is an attempt to have a controlled OOBE or (out of body experience).   It is not linked in any way to ritualistic magic and does not rely on any particular religious or belief system.   There are techniques for achieving an OOBE.   As yet I havent heard of it being at all dangerous.   However attempting to leave ones physical body under the influence of medication or hallucinogenic drugs is seriously not recommended! What happens when people Astral Project? They have what is commonly referred to as an OOBE or out of body experience where a part of them, be it the soul or consciousness, rises up from their physical body and either travels on the physical plane or on the astral plane. What is the astral plane? A topic of debate: The astral plane however can be likened to the Akasha, namely a place where all the thoughts, memories, fantasies and dreams of everyone in the world exist. The astral plane is thought to be a fantastic place to travel in, with many different travellers, entities and levels to it.   It is said to operate at a much higher frequency than the physical plane we inhabit. It is thought that the etheric body, spirit or mind can travel on the astral plane, which is said to appear more solid than the physical plane we all inhabit, this is because in order to travel it, the etheric body has to be existing and operating at the same higher frequency.   According to some the astral plane is far more mutable than the physical and can be changed and altered simply by the power of thought. Can people learn to Astral Project at will? Yes there are techniques that can be learned but what degree of success is achieved depends solely upon the individual. Why would anyone want to have an Astral Projection?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people find it reassuring.   If it is possible for your consciousness to exist outside of your body, then it is also possible that your consciousness may be able to survive physical death.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to use the technique for spiritual reasons, maybe wanting to be at one with the universe or for some religious reason.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to try it, simply to prove that it cant be done a negative approach.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people like to use it for their own ends.   They use it as a tool for clairvoyance to leave their bodies and go and seek out information or even spy.   The CIA set up experiments to see if people could leave their bodies to glean information from the enemy.   The CIA did it because they were convinced that the Russians were doing it.   There term for this kind of Astral Projection is called Remote Viewing.   After mixed success and possibly a lack of funding the project was eventually abandoned.   We dont know how the Russians fared.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people want to try it just because they can try it and they just want to see what it feels like. Who first discovered Astral Projection?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ancient Egyptians were possibly one of the first cultures to record beliefs about the soul.   Hieroglyphics in tombs recorded hundreds of prayers that were to be said over the body of the deceased to guide the spirit on its way.   They believed that the soul ba was housed in a spirit body the Ka an exact replica of the physical body.   This on death gave way to the sahu the true spirit body that would house the ba forever.   In life the Ka and sahu were one of the same but the ka slowly diminished until only the sahu housed the ba.   However the Egyptians also believed that the Ka could leave the body during life and drew pictures of people sleeping with their Kas or souls floating above them.   This is very similar to the modern day descriptions of NDEs (Near Death Experiences).   Here the soul leaves the body at the point of death only to return again if the person is resuscitated.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tibetans believe in the bardo body, which can leave the physical body while still alive and can also pass through physical matter because it is made of psychic material.   The bardo body can be directed wherever by will.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ancient Greeks believed in a double body, which housed the soul.   Plato believed that the soul was freed on death but could also leave the body during life and when it did it perceived the physical world as dimly lit.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dean Sheils, in research published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 1978   A Cross-cultural Study of Beliefs in Out of Body Experiences, compared the believe systems of over 60 different cultures and found that fifty four of them had some concept of astral projection or astral travel and that half of them had also believed that it is possible for this to happen consciously and while alive.   Almost half claimed that certain members of their cultures could do this at will.   Only three cultures seemed to have no concepts or beliefs about this subject.   Those that did seemed to accept it as a normal and natural part of human existence. Source: (A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection by Richard Craze Hodder Stoughton 1999 ISBN: 0340 737557 What does modern science make of it? A man called Raymond A. Moody PhD. M.D. is often thought as the father of NDEs and has written a very popular book Life after Life on the subject. According to Richard Craze in his book A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection over the last 45 years there has been a more scientific approach taken.   The first major study was done in 1951 was by someone called Muldoon and Carrington.   They collected and collated over 100 cases of OOBEs.   They found that their research did indicate a double that could live consciously outside the physical body and that could also survive the death of the individual.   Richard Crookhall has also written many books on astral projection, and he states a number of recurrent themes. What are these recurrent themes?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some form of double.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A white light or illumination.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ability to travel at will.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inability to move or use physical objects.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feelings of tranquility and detachment.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A clear consciousness of what is happening.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A sense of realness. How is an OOBE most likely to be brought about?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By a NDE due to illness or exhaustion.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By an NDE due to accident.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliberately by people trying to leave their physical bodies.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the application of drugs such as anesthetics.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By trauma or shock. What do the sceptics think?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is purely a mental state explained by complex chemical reaction.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An autoscopic hallucination.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cerebral anoxia or lack of oxygen to the brain. How common is the phenomena?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Possibly between 5 and 10% of the population, which suggests around 6 million in the U.K or as much as 30 million in the United States. Have there been reports of people seeing OOBE people while they were out?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yes, which increases the likelihood that OOBEs are not purely tricks of the mind. How many types of OOBE are there?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Two voluntary and involuntary, one involves a conscious effort to leave ones body where the double is rarely or only faintly seen; and involuntary, say through an accident or trauma where the double is usually seen. What is a typical OOBE?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A typical OOBE only usually happens once in a lifetime.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most often occurs lying down either resting or just before sleeping.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a feeling of floating or soaring, usually upwards.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is mostly adult women who experience the phenomenon although if you are a student you are even more likely to do so.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A typical case suggests some form of connection to the physical body, possibly by way of a silver cord.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are few reported cases of leaving the room, but there is a sense of realness and viewing the normal world.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feelings of pleasantness, detachment and calmness often accompany an OOBE.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The person feels that the experience is real and although they feel the ability to go anywhere they rarely wish to do so.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No ability or desire to change or move physical objects in their vicinity. Who has OOBEs?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many women and more often than not students probably due to their lifestyle and interests.   They are more likely to have heard about OOBEs and possibly more keen to try it. Are OOBEs simply a form of dreaming?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Definitely not because the sense of reality experienced is far too strong.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scientific results show that people undergoing OOBEs are not dreaming and they are not experiencing REM. Briefly, alpha waves decrease indicating a calm state and beta waves increase indicating that the volunteer is awake.   There is an increase in heart and respiration rates suggesting the presence of some stimulus or activity. Are OOBEs like NDEs?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An NDE or Near Death Experience is really just a different form of OOBE that is brought about when a person is at the point of death or just died.   It is more akin to passing over to the other side, seeing ones life flash before them and traveling down a dark or light tunnel towards the light, God or whatever you wish to call it. What is a typical NDE?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People who are seriously ill hear themselves being declared dead, upon which a series of events are triggered, such as moving quickly down a tunnel and hearing unfamiliar noises.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They find themselves at the end of the tunnel and can usually see their own bodies being worked on by medical staff.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They sense that they have a form of body somewhat different to the one that they left behind and also become aware of deceased friends and relatives coming to help them cross to the other side.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They report an entity or being of light that plays their life review and every second that they have lived, but not judgmentally.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The beings of light are always described as full of love.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are often told to return to their bodies and that their time on earth is not yet over.   Often there is a reluctance to return.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On their return they find words difficult to express the magnitude of the experience that they felt.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There views on life after death, tend to be radically altered and fear of death tends to diminish. How many types of NDE are there?    ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two PNDEs (perceived NDEs, where the person has a suspicion that they are about to die) and UNDEs (unexpected NDEs, where the person is quite shocked to find themselves in a near death situation). Is the experience the same for both?  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No PNDEs tend to be associated with an accompanied journey with deceased loved ones to another world with another body replacing the one left behind. UNDEs are associated more with near fatal falls, electric shocks or drowning to elicit a response.   From here the person usually has a flashback of their life accompanied by feelings of happiness or peace.   There are not usually reports of a body instead feelings of just being that the person becomes pure thought or mind.   There is often a sudden return to their physical body. Is Astral Projection a popular topic on your website? Yes my monitoring software suggests that it is very popular. Do you have any good reference sources? Yes please visit my website and view astral projection alternatively see below. Sources: Any excerpts for this FAQ section taken from a book by >Richard Craze A Beginners Guide to Astral Projection by Hodder Stoughton 1999 ISBN: 0340 737557 Afterlife Knowledge   College of Psychic Studies International Association for Near Death Studies Life After Life Raymond A. Moody PhD. M.D.   Near Death Experiences HYPERLINK http://www.near-death.com/HYPERLINK http://www.near-death.com/ The Afterlife    Society for Psychical Research  

Flannery OConners Everything that Rises Must Converge Essay -- Flann

Flannery O'Conner's Everything that Rises Must Converge A diverse Point of View in literature is what produces the story. In each story the author shows you what they think is important by giving you a certain point of view. Whether it is a first person or a third person point of view, there is always a motive behind why the author chose that view. â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge†, by Flannery O’Conner, deals with contentious issues of racism and the questionable validity of what is racism after the civil rights movement. In the portrayal of these sensitive issues, O’Conner utilizes a unique narrative point of view in order to maneuver the reader’s response to characters, situations, conflicts and issues. Through these different levels of narration, from the third person narration of Julian’s point of view, and the limited periods of other first person narrations from the minor characters, readers are influenced and manipulated to question their own attitudes towards the racial issues presented. O’Conner uses third person limited by explaining the describing the events that were occurring on the bus: â€Å"Julian rose, crossed the aisle, and say down in the place of the women with the canvas sandals†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†Do you have a light?† he asked the Negro.(pg914) O’Conner allows us to see the tension between Julian and his mother, which gives readers an insight into her character’s inner thoughts and motivations. As viewing the anger in Julian’s mother and his despiteful ways of... Flannery O'Conner's Everything that Rises Must Converge Essay -- Flann Flannery O'Conner's Everything that Rises Must Converge A diverse Point of View in literature is what produces the story. In each story the author shows you what they think is important by giving you a certain point of view. Whether it is a first person or a third person point of view, there is always a motive behind why the author chose that view. â€Å"Everything that Rises Must Converge†, by Flannery O’Conner, deals with contentious issues of racism and the questionable validity of what is racism after the civil rights movement. In the portrayal of these sensitive issues, O’Conner utilizes a unique narrative point of view in order to maneuver the reader’s response to characters, situations, conflicts and issues. Through these different levels of narration, from the third person narration of Julian’s point of view, and the limited periods of other first person narrations from the minor characters, readers are influenced and manipulated to question their own attitudes towards the racial issues presented. O’Conner uses third person limited by explaining the describing the events that were occurring on the bus: â€Å"Julian rose, crossed the aisle, and say down in the place of the women with the canvas sandals†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†Do you have a light?† he asked the Negro.(pg914) O’Conner allows us to see the tension between Julian and his mother, which gives readers an insight into her character’s inner thoughts and motivations. As viewing the anger in Julian’s mother and his despiteful ways of...

We Must Make Changes in AIDS Education :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

We Must Make Changes in AIDS Education Due to the fervent efforts of health educators, young people today have a very intimate knowledge of HIV and AIDS. These students were born in the early eighties at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Teachers guided students through years of health classes in their junior high and high school years and informed students about the destructive nature of the AIDS virus and ways in which it can and cannot be contracted. Health educators made sure that students were well-informed about HIV and presented the topic as being gender neutral. Although pop culture and the media claimed that homosexual males were responsible for the epidemic, this idea was never presented in the classroom. Though I am grateful for this aspect of AIDS education, it seems that there was an important aspect missing from the curriculum: the more numerous negative effects that the disease has for women. Health education needs to present the effects of AIDS to women and encourage them to be more concerned about contr acting and living with the disease. In spite of this need for reform, however, health educators may feel uneasy about changing their curriculum and argue that there are a number of reasons to keep HIV and AIDS curriculum the same. One reason that they might have for maintaining the current curriculum is that they fear that presenting HIV as more of a woman’s issue could decrease awareness of the disease in men. However, this probably will not happen. Many people, though not necessarily health educators, already view HIV as more of a man’s disease. In fact, according to Allen E. Carrier of Aids Project Los Angeles, gay men aged 17-24 are at a very high risk for HIV infection and realize the dangers of unsafe sex but continue to engage in high-risk behavior (DeNoon "National"). In other words, most men are aware and informed but some are choosing to ignore some of the education that they received. In reality, men need to make as many changes as women in order to stop the AIDS epidemic. Peter Piot, the execu tive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, says that "[m]en have a crucial role to play in bringing about this radical change" (Henderson). Therefore, the new AIDS curriculum would be encouraging both men and women to change their attitudes and actions in order to bring about changes.

Cultural Competence Essay

Cultural and linguistic competence in nursing can be defined as a set of related behaviors and attitudes that integrate together within a healthcare system or institution and among the professionals that work within the system or institution with the purpose of enabling effective and efficient delivery of health services in cross-cultural scenario (Jeffreys, 2006). Below is a brief description of the eight principles of cultural competence: †¢ Broadly defining culture This involves identifying the other factors besides race, language and ethnicity that determine an individual’s sense of awareness in relation to other people (HRSA, 2001). This is because health services are delivered to an individual, and group characteristics may not be a reflection of a person’s attitudes and life experiences (Lundy & Janes, 2003). †¢ Valuing Clients’ Cultural beliefs This involves caregivers or professionals in healthcare sufficiently learning the attitudes, knowledge and belief of their target population regarding healthcare and applying what is learned for the delivery of culturally competent care (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Recognizing complexity in Language interpretation This is identifying any hindrances to effective communication and targeted group due to language differences; and laying down strategies to address the same (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Facilitating learning between caregivers and communities This is the creation of environments under which caregivers can learn about the beliefs and attitudes of the targeted cultural group and their impact on healthcare; while the targeted community learns more about how healthcare works (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Involving the community in the defining and addressing healthcare needs This is getting the community to fully participate in the formulation of health policies in the system that serves them so that managed care can be fully culturally competent (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Collaborating with other agencies This is forging working alliances with groups that are familiar with the needs of the targeted community to boost the chances of delivering culturally competent services (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Professionalizing staff hiring and training This is setting cultural competence standards for new caregivers getting into the system; and continually training serving staff in emerging standards of cultural competence (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Institutionalizing cultural competence This is making cultural competence standards an integral part of healthcare planning and optimizing hiring, training and funding to meet these standards (HRSA, 2001). In conclusion, the above principles are very vital to the delivery of holistic healthcare services for healthcare professionals working in cultures different from them (Lundy & Janes, 2003). ? References Health Resources and Services Administration, HRSA (2001). Cultural Competence Works. Retrieved on 14/5/2010from ftp://ftp. hrsa. gov/financeMC/cultural-competence. pdf Jeffreys, M. R. (2006). Teaching Cultural Competence in Nursing and Health Care: Inquiry, Action and Innovation. Springer. Lundy, K. S. & Janes, S. (2003). Essentials of Community-based Nursing. Jones & Bartlett.

Hr Systems Comparison: System Thinking , Best Practice, Best Fit

Managing human capital| HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT| | | | Table of Contents 1. Abstract3 2. Introduction3 3. System and Ecological Thinking4 3. Best Practice5 4. Best Fit6 5. Discussion7 5. 1. ‘Systems Thinking’7 5. 2. ‘Best-Practice’8 5. 3. ‘Best-Fit’9 6. Summary and Conclusion10 7. Bibliography11 1. Abstract This assignment will assess three main schools of thought that apply to Human Resources Management (HRM). With regards to contemporary HRM concepts it is evident that a consideration of the ‘larger picture’ is necessary to be able to effectively push an organisation towards its ideals goals.A consideration of ‘system thinking’, ‘best practice’ and ‘ best fit’ systems of HRM lead to balanced conclusion that it is necessary for an HR Manager to have a sensitivity to the individual needs of the workforce as well as the ultimate mission of the company. Each system discussed here does this diff erently here does this differently with each focussing on alternate viewpoints of what is most important; be it the intricacies of the system, the commitment applied to the overreaching goals of the organisation.This study finds that our of the three areas studied is viable and arguable that best practice system offers the most well rounded set of principles for general HRM. However, to assess the appropriate HR System for a more specific organisation either local or international, it is essential to consider a conglomerates system, which takes into consideration the specific aims of the company the needs of the staff to create an efficiency and enhanced performance that is still systematic and easily applicative.Key words: System Thinking, Best Practice, Best Fit, Human Resource Management 2. Introduction Human Resource Management was influenced from the changing look of the employment management relationship that occurred after the First and Second World War. It starts with the Fi rst World War; it can be classified in terms of a changed attitude of managers towards labour, changed labour management practices, the development of personnel techniques, and development of the personnel profession.During WW1 the demand for workers significantly increased, as a result of this, the need for monitoring workers, and finding qualified workers to manage the group of people similarly increased. â€Å"These new values became incorporated in what was emerging as a distinctive body of management thought, practice and ideology, upon which later theory and practice are founded. † WW1’s impact on HRM grew rapidly during WW2, with an increase in new theories and ideas. In addition to this, labourers created their industrial unions which enhanced the monitoring of the people and also allowed a development in training.During WW2 developments opened vast fields for HRM. Significant impacts occurred after the war, when the idea was introduced that â€Å"quality adds to costs†. Subsequently, â€Å"western organisations have since come to emulate the philosophy and practises of quality that proved so successful†. The concept of HR can thus find their beginnings rooted in the aftermath of the two world wars This essay will consider three main systems of HR namely; ‘systems thinking’, ‘best practice’ and ‘best fit’.Within these topics there will be an assessment of what each of these systems involves with regards to HR and occasionally the International HR Manager. The ‘best-fit’ system can be subdivided into three models which shall be discussed also. These are the ‘life-cycle model’, the ‘competitive model’ and finally the ‘configurational model’. Furthermore there will be consideration of the benefits and limitations of each of these practices, culminating in an assessment of which of these systems could offer the advantageous and beneficial HRM for the Director. . System and Ecological Thinking By definition, the context of HRM is complex because the nature of HR is that it is affected by many different factors, both internal (Vision, Mission and Goals, Policies, Management Approach, Organizational Culture, Quality of Work Life) and external (Political , economic, Social and Technological). Collins comments that â€Å"from the perspective of context, the story is never-ending†. He refers here of course, to the idea that these internal and external factors have an enormous effect on the working environment.It is a sensitive issue which requires a large amount of continued assessment; the goal being to keep these factors in check and accounted for in order to create a harmonious, productive and efficient workforce. This approach helps to simplify the complexities of context by looking upon HR as a ‘system', a term which denotes a delicate habitat made from smaller ‘sub-systems', where each ‘sub-s ystem' provides a layer of information that feeds up the chain to create the bigger picture.In the context of International HR (IHR), managers take on the same responsibilities as their local based colleagues but the area of activity and difficulty of these duties is based on the extent of internationalisation of the organisation. As they move towards a more global economy, organisations are supposed to revise their HR strategies. From one country to another, for example, external factors (e. g. politics) or internal factors (e. g. practice) would be vastly different.As a result of this, normal decisions can be really complex in an organisation operating around the world in multiple countries, particularly since for international organisations, all HR events are supposed to be synchronised across the home country and different national branches. The IHR manager needs to consider how to improve their leadership of a global company, choosing high potential employees and making correct decisions for the overall HR organisation A critical issue for IHR managers is creating co-operative strategies between countries.Consequently, the IHR manager cannot look at the ‘big picture’ from only one perspective. As Collin’s suggests, positivist and alternative views of a system can open â€Å"useful insights into the understanding of context†, ‘system’ thinking â€Å"allows us to see the whole rather than just its parts and recognise that we are a part of that whole. It registers patterns of change, relationships rather than just individual elements, a web of interrelationships and reciprocal flows of influence rather than linear chains of cause and effect. †The ‘system’ approach is organised in such a way that the processes and objectives are considered as a whole. For example, the ‘system’ consists of the organisation of the human element, machines, material resources, tasks, formal authority relatio nship; all of which are small informal groups. Each of these components works towards achieving the objective of the organisation – all of the processes are connected to each other. The main ‘system’ is the organisation, and this includes the interrelated and interdependent subsystems.The system thinking approach can be divided into an ‘open system' which refers to systems that take information from the environment, and a ‘closed system' whereby the system does not have any relationship with the environment. It is important for IHR Managers to remain firmly within an ‘open system’. They are required to start a dialogue with their environment and constantly adjust internally to remain buoyant and in balance with the external factors. It is interesting to consider an aspect of ‘systems thinking’ referred to as both ‘Hard Systems Thinking’ (HST) and ‘Soft Systems Thinking’ (SST).Within HST, humans are c onsidered as an objective resource. Its purpose is to pinpoint the ideal solution for predicting and controlling the use of existing resources. Once this ideal solution has been identified, the role of HRM then focuses on enforcing compliance with the designed regime. The difficulty with HST however, is that it is incapable of taking into consideration any kind of human misunderstanding or conflict which may hinder goal achievement. On the other hand, SST as proposed by Checkland (1980), is available to help tackle those problems which could not be handled by HST.SST has seven stages, which focus heavily on wide participation to create ownership of the outcome. Firstly, one must enter the problem situation, secondly express the problem in a â€Å"rich picture†, thirdly Formulate Root Definitions so that one can create precise perspectives of the participant system, fourthly Build Conceptual Models to understand better what each system does, fifthly, compare these models with reality, sixthly identify possible changes and seventhly take firm action to improve the situation. The benefits of SST are that it truly is able to recognise that problems occur due to differences of opinion.Its chief aim is to develop a sense of mutual understanding and preserving the existing state of affairs. Another aspect of ‘systems thinking’ is ‘Critical Systems Thinking’ (CST). According to Jackson (1991), CST accumulates five main components: critical awareness, social awareness, and dedication to human emancipation, complementarism at the theoretical level and complementarism at the methodological level. Midgeley (1995) stresses that CST developed around three areas of thought: improvement, critical awareness, and methodological pluralism.Improvement is able to be easily monitored through value systems, critical awareness considers participation factors and boundary judgements while methodological pluralism reflects on the range of methodologies available to temper communication and observation in order to supply an improvement, offer mutual understanding and involve a decision making process. Both Jackson and Midgeley show that CST is able to satisfy the three key human interests that were identified by Habermas in 1970 as being the technical interest, the practical interest and the emancipatory interest. 3. Best PracticeThe concept of ‘best practice’ falls under the category of a strategic human resource management technique (SHRM). It is also an example of ‘high commitment’ HRM. The idea behind ‘best-practice’ SHRM is that if an organisation adopts a particular selection of HR practices that are considered ‘best’ or most effective, then this will allow that organisation to enjoy an improved performance; both in terms of organisational productivity and output, and employee satisfaction. It is argued that with the ideal set of ‘best practices’, any company or organisation will benefit if they implement these practices fully (ie. ith a level of ‘high commitment’). There has been much research into the perfect set of ‘best practices’; since without knowing what constitutes the ideal universal set, it is impossible to claim any is really a ‘best’ set. Pfeffer (1994) provides one of the most commonly considered set of HR practices – a collection of sixteen HR principles designed for â€Å"competitive advantage through people†. These sixteen were then later simplified in 1998 into seven practices for â€Å"building profits by putting people first†.Marchington and Wilkinson later tweaked these practices for the benefit of the UK populace in 2002. The simple act of Pfeffer’s work needing to be altered to better fit a UK audience, suggests that the original principles were not relevant and consequently, not universal. If, the concept of ‘best practice’ is for an org anisation to follow a set of universal practices as closely as possible, with the idea being the more closely followed, the better the performance, then these principles need to be applicable to a universal audience to begin with.Guest (1987) expands on this by noting that since lists of ‘best-practices’ vary wildly in their inclusions it is difficult for there to be any rigorous evidence that supports any kind of universal application. Youndt et al. (1996) provide a generalised acknowledgement of what most models of ‘best-practice’ seem to focus on. In this research it is claimed that most focus on â€Å"enhancing the skill base of employees†. Extensive training of staff is undoubtedly important for many sets of ‘best-practice’, with most providing at least induction training and/or performance appraisals.Similarly Youndt’s recognition that many practices â€Å"promote empowerment, participative problem-solving and teamwork† which we can see reflected in examples such as Huselid’s (1995) stress on information sharing, Kochan and Osterman’s (1994) problem-solving groups, and Arthur’s (1994) suggestion of social events respectively. Youndt et al. goes some way towards establishing a more universal set of ‘best practices’, by taking the most commonly appearing practices and collecting them into a likely looking set of the most popular practices.In doing so, one could hopefully assume that the principles are relatable to a vast majority of organisations if not, ideally, all. Considering the difficulty in pinning down a firm set of ‘best practices’ acknowledged and agreed upon by all, it is interesting then that Capelli and Crocket-Hefter (1996:7) believe that in place of a single set of practices, which they believe to be â€Å"overstated†, it is rather the â€Å"distinctive human resource practices† that cause progression and enhancement of or ganisation.A type of practice that is thus distinguishing and characteristic or a particular workplace cannot be considered universal, but rather a focused set of practices that are applicable in a specific work environment. A final aspect to consider with ‘best-practice’ is the notion put forward by Storey, 1992, that single practices will be less affective if they are executed individually. MacDuffie, 1995, expands on this further by suggesting that it is essential for each practice to be grouped together into with complementary practices.This concept is known as ‘horizontal integration’. It is recognised that this type of integration allows some practices to be added or left out, as long as there are a core set of highly committed principles to adhere to. Although this too has problems, since in Guest et al. ’s analysis of the WERS data in 2000, they found that â€Å"the only combination of practices that made any sense was as straightforward cou nt of all the practices†. 4. Best Fit ‘Best-fit’ is also an example of SHRM.It is a concept which is rooted in ‘vertical integration’; the idea that a company’s business and HR strategies are aligned and cohesive. The suggestion being that an organisation becomes increasingly efficient when its HR department and the overall aims, goals and mission of the company are tailor fit. There are three models of ‘best-fit’ that explore this vertically integrated relationship, firstly the ‘life-cycle models’ (Kochan and Barocci, 1985), secondly the ‘competitive advantage models’ (Miles and Snow, 1978 and Schuler and Jackson, 1987) and thirdly the ‘configurational models’. . 1. Life-Cycle Models This model tries to link the vertical relationship between HR practices and company policy to a metaphoric ‘life-cycle’ of a company, from its start-up phase through to decline. Baird and Mershoulam (1988) states that â€Å"human resource management’s effectiveness depends on its fit with the organisation’s stage of development†. The inference is that as a company grows, changes, progresses etc. so must its complementary HR department. During the start-up phase, the emphasis for the HR department is flexibility and informality.As the company grows (growth phase), so must the HR policies. With the assumed increase in staff it is necessary for there to be a more rigid and formal HR department to cope with this. It is a perfect opportunity to foster innovation. The next stage is the maturity stage whereby a company is more established. During this time the HR role is about stability and control, and about perfecting practices already in place. Finally the decline stage considers HR’s role in matters such as redundancy and generally reducing company size. 5. 2. Competitive Advantage ModelsThis model usually applies to the research conducted by Porter (19 85), in which three bases of competitive advantage were identified: cost leadership, quality of service, and focus or innovation (i. e. being the sole provider of a product or service). Schuler and Jackson (1987) expand on this research by defining HR practices that ‘fit’ Porter’s three bases. Within each base (which can be referred to as a market strategy) there is an ideal set of employee roles alongside a reinforcing set of HRM policies. If the two are able to align efficiently, then it is presumed a higher level of performance will incur. 5. 3.Configurational Models The configurational model was proposed by Delery and Doty (1996). It attempts to rectify the problem that the best-fit school is often levelled with, that it oversimplifies the organisational reality. It does not take into consideration the ways in which a company is expected to grow and change in accordance with external factors (economic, political, social). The configurational approach aims to steer clear from linear thinking, and allows for the prospect that a company/organisation may be subject to many independent variables and may be focusing on multiple performance strategies at any given time.In short, the configurational model’s aim is to simultaneously achieve both horizontal and vertical integration. It responds to the truth that it is necessary for a company to be able to integrate it’s HR policies both horizontally and vertically (i. e. in accordance with the company’s overall direction but also with a set of practices that provide employee satisfaction and growth) in order for it to survive. This concept is easily visualised through Miles and Snow’s (1978) ‘defender’ and ‘prospector’ categories.The ‘defender’ category refers to a system that operates in a stable and predictable environment, while the ‘prospector’ category is conversely unpredictable and hurried. Each category is nec essary for the progression of the company (vertical integration), while the varying characteristics of both allow for a set of fairly general HR practices designed to secure employee satisfaction (horizontal) while adhering to the needs of both categories. 5. Discussion The three systems that have been discussed address HRM in vastly different ways.What is interesting to note is that despite this incongruence, they each prove to be successful and efficient systems. It is necessary however to discuss each system a little more critically in order to assess which system would be the most useful and effective in a work environment. 6. 1. ‘Systems Thinking’ ‘Systems thinking’ is a highly beneficial process for the IHR Manager. What is unique about its application is that it is able to take a very complex, perhaps global, situation and conceptualise it in such a way that it becomes clear how it can be manipulated by external factors.The manager is able to witness how the environment can affect the subsystems and consequently implement changes that react with the environment so as to produce a dialogue that is able to breathe and develop organically. For the IHR Manager it is essential for such complex dynamics to be simplified to an extent that it becomes easily manageable and they are able to grasp the bigger picture, whilst remaining in tune with the intricacies of the subsystems that are flexible to change. It is this ‘open system’ that makes ‘systems thinking’ so unique.Furthermore, the concepts of HST and SST are equally beneficial within ‘systems thinking’. HST is perfect for workforce planning and optimising resources, while SST is excellent for agreeing goals, performance feedback and participation. However, ‘systems thinking’ finds its downfall in the fact that while HST and SST are effective systems, they are only able to work independently of each other. Ideally, one would merge the two to provide an all encompassing system both in tune to the personal needs as well as the technical aspects. Another limitation of most ‘systems thinking’ in general is that it is primarily oriented towards ethodology, and is fundamentally rationalist. Flood (2001) argues that when focused on human existence, â€Å"systemic thinking helps people to sense a deep holistic or spiritual quality†, but arguably perhaps only if the idea of ‘systems thinking’ can be expanded to become part of a worldview, rather than just a discipline or methodology. In short, ‘systems thinking’ is at risk of only seeing the bigger picture to the detriment of the particulars. 6. 2. ‘Best-Practice’ The concept of ‘best-practice’ is one that takes into consideration the specifics of HRM.It encompasses some of the most commonly used principles of HR by identifying key policies that are essential to HRM. The advantages of this system lie in its simplicity. It is able to present a firm, established and tested selection of HR principles that will undoubtedly be beneficial to an organisation. The problems with ‘best-practice’ arise centred around the word ‘best’, however if one concurs with Capelli and Crocker-Hefter (1996), that these practices would be better referred to as ‘distinctive’, then we are faced with a healthy abundance of productive systems, ready to be implemented.An HR Manager in this instance need only choose a set of principles which they feel is most applicable to their situation and organisation and start using the immediately. Since there are so many ‘best-practice’ systems, it is arguable that one could alter and tailor-make a set of ‘best practices’ that are specific and unique to a particular organisation. The technique of horizontal integration, or ‘bundling’ allows complementary systems to be implemented alongsi de each other and heightens a sense of congruence and cohesion, as asserted by Wright and McMahan (1999).Furthermore there is evidence to support the idea that the ‘high-commitment’ strategy behind ‘best-practice’ (i. e. an organisation should aim to follow all systems within a ‘best-practice’ set) creates a higher achieving organisation. While horizontal integration can be considered beneficial, frustrations may arise due to the fact that ideally no single practice should be pulled out of a system and used individually as its efficacy will drop considerably. Additionally, the ‘best-practice’ system is only effective on a non-universal plane.Since there is such an abundance of systems it is impossible to select just one set as being the only ‘best-practice’. Consequently for an organisation on an international level, the ‘best-practice’ system would not be beneficial and could potentially neglect certain i mportant aspects if it is not catered towards the specifics of that organisation. On the other hand, Youndt et al. (1996) were able to briefly collect a sample of some of the most commonly appearing policies, which could provide a sound starting point for any HRM. 6. 3. Best-Fit’ When considering the ‘best-fit’ model it is plain that its main advantage is its use of vertical integration. By paying close attention to the overall aims and goals of the company, the ‘best-fit’ system is able to create a set of HR policies that work in complete cohesion with those aims in order to fully maximise the potential of the staff and consequently the business. Every aspect of the organisation works with the focus of the same goals. The various models within the ‘best-fit’ system each have their own benefits too.The ‘life-cycle model’ is able to vividly explore the natural progression of a company and alters it’s HR policies in tan dem with this progression. However, it is difficult to know throughout this model which HR strategies are able to secure the type of human resources that are necessary to continued viabilities, even when industries develop, and which are more likely to contribute to sustainable competitive advantage through the life cycle? (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). The ‘life-cycle’ model is unique also since it is able to allow the HR Management master the present while pre-empting the future.However, it is incapable of allowing for unexpected incidents and relies on an organisation not veering away from the pre-planned cycle. The ‘competitive advantage model’ is useful since it focuses on company gain and edge and tries to set an organisation apart from the other by an awareness of Porter’s three key bases (1985). Finally, the ‘configurational model’ allows both horizontal and vertical integration, which ideally allows the full potential of a company to be realised, whilst expanding and enhancing staff prospects. The difficulties of the ‘best-fit’ system lie in its common criticism, that it oversimplifies the matter entirely.It does not take into consideration internal turmoil or conflict which needs to be sensitively addressed. It assumes that everyone’s best interests are with the overall aims of the business, and provides a rather harsh reality of working life. It forces HR into a submissive system that fits into the overall goal, and implies that within this model HR is a secondary factor. On balance, on an advisory level for an IHR Manager, ‘systems thinking’ would be the most beneficial, since it offers the opportunity to assess the situation on a larger scale and implement strategies that can be manipulated in harmony with the external influence.However, when considering a start-up company or a localised company, it would appear that the ‘best practice’ model is the most viabl e. While it is not able to be fully universally applied, it is able to provide an excellent basis for most businesses. For the discerning HR Manager, a set of ‘best-practices’ can be established specific to that organisation that can be assessed and manipulated as the company progresses with time. 6. Summary and Conclusion In conclusion, this assignment is able to consider the complexities of HRM through the investigation of three strategic systems.It is apparent that each system has many benefits, and each is certainly applicable in various situations. Each HR system is designed with a certain business model in mind. The ‘system thinking’ approach is clearly catered towards a more internationally based institution, while the ‘best-fit’ approach takes into consideration the start-up company. It is only really the ‘best-practice’ system (in this study) that offers a middle ground option for the largest sector of businesses.It is evi dently important for the HR Manager to keep on top of their chosen system, as the ever changing environment, especially nowadays, leaves businesses vulnerable to external factors (most apparent in the form of political, social and economic factors). 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