Monday, September 30, 2019
The Host Chapter 48: Detained
The red and blue lights swirled in time with the siren's cry. Before the souls had come to this place, these lights and sounds had had only one meaning. The law, the keepers of the peace, the punishers of offenders. Now, again, the flashing colors and angry noise had only one meaning. A very similar meaning. Still the keepers of the peace. Still the punishers. Seekers. It wasn't as common a sight or sound as it had been before. The police force was only needed to help in cases of accidents or other emergencies, not to enforce laws. Most civil servants didn't have vehicles with sirens, unless the vehicle was an ambulance or a fire truck. This low, sleek car behind us was not for any accident. This was a vehicle made for pursuit. I'd never seen anything quite like it before, but I knew exactly what it meant. Jared was frozen, his foot still pushing down on the gas pedal. I could see that he was trying to find a solution, a way to outrun them in this decrepit van or a way to evade them-to hide our wide white profile in the low, gaunt brush of the desert-without leading them back to the rest. Without giving everyone away. We were so close to the others now. They slumbered, unawareâ⬠¦ When he gave up after two seconds of frantic thought, he exhaled. ââ¬Å"I'm so sorry, Wanda,â⬠he whispered. ââ¬Å"I blew it.â⬠ââ¬Å"Jared?â⬠He reached for my hand and eased up on the gas. The car started to slow. ââ¬Å"Got your pill?â⬠he choked. ââ¬Å"Yes,â⬠I whispered. ââ¬Å"Can Mel hear me?â⬠Yes. The thought was a sob. ââ¬Å"Yes.â⬠My voice only barely escaped being a sob, too. ââ¬Å"I love you, Mel. Sorry.â⬠ââ¬Å"She loves you. More than anything.â⬠A short, aching silence. ââ¬Å"Wanda, Iâ⬠¦ I care about you, too. You're a good person, Wanda. You deserve better than what I've given you. Better than this.â⬠He had something small, much too small to be so deadly, between his fingers. ââ¬Å"Wait,â⬠I gasped. He could not die. ââ¬Å"Wanda, we can't take the chance. We can't outrun them, not in this. If we try to run, a thousand of them will swarm after us. Think of Jamie.â⬠The van was slowing, drifting to the shoulder. ââ¬Å"Give me one try,â⬠I begged. I fumbled quickly for the pill in my pocket. I pinched it between my thumb and forefinger and held it up. ââ¬Å"Let me try to lie us out of this. I'll swallow it right away if anything goes wrong.â⬠ââ¬Å"You'll never lie your way past a Seeker!â⬠ââ¬Å"Let me try. Quick!â⬠I pulled off my seat belt and crouched be-side him, unfastening his. ââ¬Å"Switch with me. Fast, before they're close enough to see.â⬠ââ¬Å"Wanda -ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"One try. Hurry!â⬠He was the best at split-second decisions. Smooth and fast, he was out of the driver's seat and over my crouched body. I rolled up into his seat while he took mine. ââ¬Å"Seat belt,â⬠I ordered tersely. ââ¬Å"Close your eyes. Turn your head away.â⬠He did as I said. It was too dark to see it, but his new soft pink scar would be visible from this angle. I strapped my seat belt on and then leaned my head back. Lying with my body, that was the key. It was simply a matter of the right movements. Imitation. Like the actors on the TV program, only better. Like a human. ââ¬Å"Help me, Mel,â⬠I murmured. I can't help you be a better soul, Wanda. But you can do this. Save him. I know you can. A better soul. I only had to be myself. It was late. I was tired. I wouldn't have to act that part. I let my eyelids droop, let my body sag against the seat. Chagrin. I could do chagrin. I could feel it now. My mouth turned down into a sheepish grimace. The Seekers' car did not park behind us, the way I could feel Mel expected. It stopped across the road, on the shoulder, facing the wrong way for that lane's traffic flow. A dazzling light exploded through the window of the other car. I blinked into it, raising my hand to shade my face with deliberate slowness. Faintly, past the glare of the spotlight, I saw the gleam of my eyes bounce against the road as I looked down. A car door slammed. One set of footsteps made a pattern of low thuds as someone crossed the pavement. There was no sound of dirt or rocks, so the Seeker had emerged from the passenger side. Two of them, at least, but only one coming to interrogate me. This was a good sign, a sign of comfort and confidence. My glowing eyes were a talisman. A compass that could not fail-like the North Star, undoubtable. Lying with my body was not the key. Telling the truth with it was enough. I had something in common with the human baby in the park: nothing like me had ever existed before. The Seeker's body blocked the light, and I could see again. It was a man. Probably middle-aged-his features conflicted with one another, making it hard to tell; his hair was all white, but his face was smooth and unwrinkled. He wore a T-shirt and shorts, a blocky gun clearly visible on his hip. One hand rested on the butt of the weapon. In his other hand was a dark flashlight. He didn't turn it on. ââ¬Å"Having a problem, miss?â⬠he said when he was a few feet away. ââ¬Å"You were going much too fast for safety.â⬠His eyes were restless. They swiftly appraised my expression-which was, hopefully, sleepy-and then ran along the length of the van, darted into the darkness behind us, flashed forward to the stretch of highway ahead, lit by our headlights, and came back to my face. They repeated the course another time. He was anxious. This knowledge made my palms sweaty, but I tried to keep the panic from my voice. ââ¬Å"I'm so sorry,â⬠I apologized in a loud whisper. I glanced at Jared, as if checking to see whether our words had woken him. ââ¬Å"I thinkâ⬠¦ well, I think I might have fallen asleep. I didn't realize I was so tired.â⬠I tried to smile remorsefully. I could tell I sounded stiff, like the too-careful actors on the television. The Seeker's eyes traced their route again, this time lingering on Jared. My heart jumped painfully against the inside of my ribs. I pinched the pill tighter. ââ¬Å"It was irresponsible for me to drive for so long without sleep,â⬠I said quickly, trying again to smile a little. ââ¬Å"I thought we could make it to Phoenix before I would need rest. I'm very sorry.â⬠ââ¬Å"What's your name, miss?â⬠His voice was not harsh, but neither was it warm. He kept it low, though, following my cue. ââ¬Å"Leaves Above,â⬠I said, using the name from the last hotel. Would he want to check my story? I might need someplace to refer him to. ââ¬Å"Upside-down Flower?â⬠he guessed. His eyes flickered around their course. ââ¬Å"Yes, I was.â⬠ââ¬Å"My partner, too. Were you on the island?â⬠ââ¬Å"No,â⬠I said quickly. ââ¬Å"The mainland. Between the great rivers.â⬠He nodded, perhaps a little disappointed. ââ¬Å"Should I go back to Tucson?â⬠I asked. ââ¬Å"I think I'm quite awake now. Or maybe I should take a nap right here first -ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"No!â⬠he interrupted me in a louder voice. I jumped, startled, and the little pill slipped from my fingers. It dropped to the metal floor with a faintly audible clink. I felt the blood drain from my face as though a plug had been pulled. ââ¬Å"Didn't mean to startle you,â⬠he apologized quickly, his eyes repeating their restless circle. ââ¬Å"But you shouldn't linger here.â⬠ââ¬Å"Why?â⬠I managed to whisper. My fingers twitched anxiously at the empty air. ââ¬Å"There was aâ⬠¦ disappearance recently.â⬠ââ¬Å"I don't understand. A disappearance?â⬠ââ¬Å"It could have been an accidentâ⬠¦ but there might beâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ He hesitated, unwilling to say the word. ââ¬Å"Humans may be in this area.â⬠ââ¬Å"Humans?â⬠I squeaked, too loud. He heard the fear in my voice and interpreted it the only way he could. ââ¬Å"There's no proof of that, Leaves Above. No sightings or anything. Don't be anxious. But you should proceed on to Phoenix without unnecessary delay.â⬠ââ¬Å"Of course. Or maybe Tucson? That would be closer.â⬠ââ¬Å"There's no danger. You can continue with your plans.â⬠ââ¬Å"If you're sure, Seekerâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ââ¬Å"I'm quite sure. Just don't go wandering off into the desert, Flower.â⬠He smiled. The expression warmed his face, making it kind. Just like all the other souls I'd dealt with. He wasn't anxious about me, but for me. He wasn't listening for lies. And he probably wouldn't recognize them if he was. Just another soul. ââ¬Å"I wasn't planning on it.â⬠I smiled back at him. ââ¬Å"I'll be more careful. I know I couldn't fall asleep now.â⬠I glanced at the desert out Jared's window with a wary expression, so the Seeker would think that fear was making me alert. My expression tensed into a taut mask as I caught sight of a pair of lights reflected in the side mirror. Jared's spine stiffened at the same time, but he held his pose. It looked too tight. My eyes darted back to the Seeker's face. ââ¬Å"I can help with that,â⬠he said, still smiling but looking down now as he fumbled to remove something from his pocket. He hadn't seen the change in my face. I tried to control the muscles in my cheeks, to make them relax, but I couldn't concentrate hard enough to make it happen. In the rearview mirror, the headlights got closer. ââ¬Å"You should not use this often,â⬠the Seeker went on, searching the other pocket now. ââ¬Å"It's not harmful, of course, or the Healers wouldn't have us give it out. But if you use it frequently, it will alter your sleep cyclesâ⬠¦ Ah, here it is. Awake.â⬠The lights slowed as they approached. Just drive by, I begged in my head. Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop. Let it be Kyle at the wheel, Melanie added, thinking the words like a prayer. Don't stop. Just drive. Don't stop. Just drive. ââ¬Å"Miss?â⬠I blinked, trying to focus. ââ¬Å"Um, Awake?â⬠ââ¬Å"Just inhale this, Leaves Above.â⬠He had a thin white aerosol can in his hand. He sprayed a puff of mist into the air in front of my face. I leaned forward obediently and took a sniff, my eyes darting to the mirror at the same time. ââ¬Å"It's grapefruit scented,â⬠the Seeker said. ââ¬Å"Nice, don't you think?â⬠ââ¬Å"Very nice.â⬠My brain was suddenly sharp, focused. The big moving truck slowed and then idled on the road be-hind us. No! Mel and I shouted together. I searched the dark floor for one half second, hoping against hope that the little pill would be visible. I couldn't even make out my feet. The Seeker glanced absently at the truck and then waved it forward. I looked back at the truck, too, a forced smile on my face. I couldn't see who was driving. My eyes reflected the headlights, shot out faint beams of their own. The truck hesitated. The Seeker waved again, more broadly this time. ââ¬Å"Go ahead,â⬠he muttered to himself. Drive! Drive! Drive! Beside me, Jared's hand was clenched in a fist. Slowly, the big truck shuddered into first gear and then inched forward through the space between the Seeker's vehicle and ours. The Seeker's spotlight outlined two silhouettes, two black profiles, both facing straight forward. The one in the driver's seat had a crooked nose. Mel and I both exhaled in relief. ââ¬Å"How do you feel?â⬠ââ¬Å"Alert,â⬠I told the Seeker. ââ¬Å"It will wear off in about four hours.â⬠ââ¬Å"Thank you.â⬠The Seeker chuckled. ââ¬Å"Thank you, Leaves Above. When we saw you racing down the road, we thought we might have humans on our hands. I was sweating, but not from the heat!â⬠I shuddered. ââ¬Å"Don't worry. You'll be perfectly fine. If you'd like, we can follow you to Phoenix.â⬠ââ¬Å"I'm just fine. You don't need to trouble yourself.â⬠ââ¬Å"It was nice to meet you. I'll be pleased when my shift is over, so that I can go home and tell my partner I met another green-first Flower. She'll be so excited.â⬠ââ¬Å"Umâ⬠¦ tell her, Brightest sun, longest day' for me,â⬠I said, giving him the Earthly translation of the common greeting and farewell on the Flower Planet. ââ¬Å"Certainly. Have a pleasant journey.â⬠ââ¬Å"And you have a pleasant night.â⬠He stepped back, and the spotlight hit my eyes again. I blinked furiously. ââ¬Å"Cut it, Hank,â⬠the Seeker said, shading his eyes as he turned to walk toward the car. The night turned black again, and I forced another smile toward the invisible Seeker named Hank. I started the engine with shaking hands. The Seekers were faster. The little black car with the incongruous light bar atop it purred to life. It executed a sharp U-turn, and then the taillights were all I could see. They disappeared quickly into the night. I pulled back onto the road. My heart pumped the blood through my veins in hard little bursts. I could feel the fierce pulse throbbing through to my fingertips. ââ¬Å"They're gone,â⬠I whispered through my suddenly chattering teeth. I heard Jared swallow. ââ¬Å"That wasâ⬠¦ close,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"I thought Kyle was going to stop.â⬠ââ¬Å"Me, too.â⬠Neither of us could speak above a whisper. ââ¬Å"The Seeker bought it.â⬠His teeth were still clenched in anxiety. ââ¬Å"Yes.â⬠ââ¬Å"I wouldn't have. Your acting hasn't improved much.â⬠I shrugged. My body was so rigid, it all moved together. ââ¬Å"They can't not believe me. What I amâ⬠¦ well, it's something impossible. Something that shouldn't exist.â⬠ââ¬Å"Something unbelievable,â⬠he agreed. ââ¬Å"Something wonderful.â⬠His praise thawed some of the ice in my stomach, in my veins. ââ¬Å"Seekers aren't all that different from the rest of them,â⬠I murmured to myself. ââ¬Å"Nothing to be especially afraid of.â⬠He shook his head back and forth slowly. ââ¬Å"There really isn't anything you can't do, is there?â⬠I wasn't sure how to respond to that. ââ¬Å"Having you with us is going to change everything,â⬠he continued under his breath, talking to himself now. I could feel how his words made Melanie sad, but she was not angry this time. She was resigned. You can help them. You can protect them better than I could. She sighed. The slow-moving taillights did not frighten me when they appeared on the road ahead. They were familiar, a relief. I sped up-just a little, still a few miles below the limit-to pass them. Jared pulled a flashlight out of the glove compartment. I understood what he was doing: reassurance. He held the light to his own eyes as we passed the cab of the truck. I looked past him, through the other window. Kyle nodded once at Jared and took a deep breath. Ian was leaning anxiously around him, his eyes focused on me. I waved once, and he grimaced. We were getting close to our hidden exit. ââ¬Å"Should I go all the way to Phoenix?â⬠Jared thought about it. ââ¬Å"No. They might see us on the way back and stop us again. I don't think they're following. They're focused on the road.â⬠ââ¬Å"No, they won't follow.â⬠I was sure of this. ââ¬Å"Let's go home, then.â⬠ââ¬Å"Home,â⬠I agreed wholeheartedly. We killed the lights, and so did Kyle behind us. We would take both vehicles right to the caves and unload quickly so they could be hidden before morning. The little overhang by the entrance would not hide them from view. I rolled my eyes as I thought of the way into and out of the caves. The big mystery I hadn't been able to solve for myself. Jeb was so tricky. Tricky-just like the directions he'd given Mel, the lines he'd carved onto the back of her photo album. They didn't lead to his cave hideout at all. No, instead they made the person following them parade back and forth in front of his secret place, giving him ample opportunity to decide whether or not to extend an invitation inside. ââ¬Å"What do you think happened?â⬠Jared asked, interrupting my thoughts. ââ¬Å"What do you mean?â⬠ââ¬Å"The recent disappearance the Seeker mentioned.â⬠I stared ahead blankly. ââ¬Å"Wouldn't that be me?â⬠ââ¬Å"I don't think you would count as recent, Wanda. Besides, they weren't watching the freeway before we left. That's new. They're looking for us. Here.â⬠His eyes narrowed, while mine widened. ââ¬Å"What have they been doing?â⬠Jared suddenly exploded, slapping his hand loudly against the dashboard. I jumped. ââ¬Å"You think Jeb and the others did something?â⬠He didn't answer me; he just stared out across the star-bright desert with furious eyes. I didn't understand. Why would the Seekers be looking for humans just because someone had disappeared in the desert? Accidents did happen. Why would they jump to that particular conclusion? And why was Jared angry? Our family in the caves wouldn't do anything to draw attention to themselves. They knew better than that. They wouldn't go outside unless there was an emergency of some kind. Or something they felt was urgent. Necessary. Had Doc and Jeb been taking advantage of my absence? Jeb had only agreed to stop slaughtering people and souls while I was under the same roof. Was this their compromise? ââ¬Å"You okay?â⬠Jared asked. My throat was too thick to answer. I shook my head. Tears streamed down my cheeks and fell from my chin to my lap. ââ¬Å"Maybe I'd better drive.â⬠I shook my head again. I could see well enough. He didn't argue with me. I was still crying silently when we got to the little mountain that hid our vast cave system. It was actually just a hill-an insignificant outcropping of volcanic rock, like so many others, sparsely decorated with spindly creosote and flat-bladed prickly pears. The thousands of tiny vents were invisible, lost in the jumble of loose purple rocks. Somewhere, smoke would be rising, black on black. I got out of the van and leaned against the door, wiping my eyes. Jared came to stand beside me. He hesitated, then put a hand on my shoulder. ââ¬Å"Sorry. I didn't know they were planning this. I had no idea. They shouldn't haveâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ But he only thought that because they'd somehow gotten caught. The moving truck rumbled to a stop behind us. Two doors slammed shut, and then feet were running toward us. ââ¬Å"What happened?â⬠Kyle demanded, there first. Ian was right behind him. He took one look at my expression, at the tears still running down my cheeks, at Jared's hand on my shoulder, and then rushed forward and threw his arms around me. He pulled me into his chest. I didn't know why this made me cry harder. I clung to him while my tears leaked onto his shirt. ââ¬Å"It's okay. You did great. It's over.â⬠ââ¬Å"Seeker's not the problem, Ian,â⬠Jared said, voice strained, his hand still touching me, though he had to lean forward to preserve that point of contact. ââ¬Å"Huh?â⬠ââ¬Å"They were watching the road for a reason. Sounds like Doc's beenâ⬠¦ working in our absence.â⬠I shuddered, and for a moment, it seemed like I could taste silver blood in the back of my throat. ââ¬Å"Why, those -!â⬠Ian's fury robbed him of speech. He couldn't finish his sentence. ââ¬Å"Nice,â⬠Kyle said in a disgusted tone. ââ¬Å"Idiots. We're gone for a few weeks, and they've got the Seekers on patrol. They could have just asked us to -ââ¬Å" ââ¬Å"Shut up, Kyle,â⬠Jared said harshly. ââ¬Å"That's neither here nor there at the moment. We've got to get this all unloaded fast. Who knows how many are watching for us? Let's grab a load and then get some more hands.â⬠I shook Ian off so that I could help. The tears did not stop running. Ian stayed close to my side, taking the heavy flat of canned soup I picked up and replacing it with a big but light box of pasta. We started down the steep pathway in, Jared leading. The utter blackness did not bother me. I still didn't know this path well, but it wasn't difficult. Straight down, then straight up. We were halfway there when a familiar voice called out from a distance. It echoed down the tunnel, fracturing. ââ¬Å"They're backâ⬠¦ ackâ⬠¦ back!â⬠Jamie was shouting. I tried to dry my tears on my shoulder, but I couldn't get them all. A blue light approached, bouncing as the carrier ran. Then Jamie bounded into view. His face threw me. I was trying to compose myself to greet him, assuming he would be joyful and not wanting to upset him. But Jamie was already upset. His face was white and tense, his eyes rimmed in red. His dirty cheeks had rivulets through the dust there, tracks made by tears. ââ¬Å"Jamie?â⬠Jared and I said together, dropping our boxes to the floor. Jamie ran straight for me and threw his arms around my waist. ââ¬Å"Oh, Wanda! Oh, Jared!â⬠he sobbed. ââ¬Å"Wes is dead! He's dead! The Seeker killed him!ââ¬
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Bedbugs Research
There will be multiple research objectives to gain a clearer understanding of the direction that the entire bed bug pest control industry is moving towards. Since the recent introduction of the low cost no-frills, ââ¬Ëdo-it-yourselfââ¬â¢ equipment, there has been no solid data available to support as to how effective those techniques are nor is there qualitative data on customerââ¬â¢s perception as to how effective it is. Both approaches (quantitative and qualitative) are important since if the customers feel they have fewer bed bugs (qualitative) but empirical analysis shows that in fact the number of bed bugs present in their homes remain the same, such data is of great importance. Unfortunately the perception of customers is more important and their positive word-of-mouth recommendation of the do-it-yourself devices (despite their failure by quantitative measures) will create a huge market for failed products that will do consumers more harm than good in the long run. The research objectives would be to find out empirically whether the ââ¬ËDo It Yourselfââ¬â¢ approach is more effective, less effective or the same as by using the services of a qualified exterminator. After the use of the methodology described below, the test groups would be questioned specifically as to how they felt (qualitative approach) three months later: (a) Their overall feelings/beliefs as if there are less or more bedbugs present; (b) About their feelings/beliefs in the effectiveness of the product that theyââ¬â¢ve used. The same groups will also have their homes examined at the same time through the use of bed bug detecting dogs and exterminators who were trained in locating bed bugs to see (quantitative) if there were any bed bugs to be found in the homes. The results gathered from the two groups (described below) will be compared so that a future course of action for Bed Bug Pest Control Of New York Inc. could be formulated. It will be of crucial importance for the company, as well as the bed bug removal industry to find out the effectiveness of different methods of bedbug extermination. Research Methodology The first part of the research methodology would be to gather a statistically significant random group of 1000 consumers who have experienced a bed bug infestation in their bedrooms. This group should be halved into two equal groups of 500: Group A and Group B. Individual members of each of the groups must have experienced similar levels of complaints of be bug infestation as will be measured on questionnaires prior to the inclusion of the individual in the study. Each of the groups must be willing to try out the devices given to them and agree to the post-extermination interviews as well as inspections by qualified, unbiased exterminators. Zikmund, 2010) The first group of 500 (Group A) will use what we will define as the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach (use of devices such as double edged masking tape, devices to place under the legs of furniture, and other no-frills devices that are marketed on late night television, on websites which make dubious claims, and are found at supermarkets in well designed containers plastered with ââ¬ËAs Seen on TVââ¬â¢ stickers) to attempt to remove the bedbug infestation from their homes. To make sure that the devices are applied, a representative of the study will be present to make sure that the devices are used. We feel that without this mechanism, there is a high degree of uncertainty as to whether the test subjects will truthfully use the devices, thus significantly skewing the results from data gathered from Group A. (Joselyn, 1977) The second group of 500 consumers (Group B) will exclusively use the services of qualified bed bug exterminators and will receive two visits, one week apart, to disinfect their homes using professional bed bug removal technology. During the first visit, the qualified exterminator will use the steam method of bed bug removal, which uses a vacuum cleaner sized device to shoot 400 degree steam throughout the hard to reach areas of the bedroom, closet and the insides of the bed frame and furniture. This method boils away the bed bug nests as well as destroys the eggs. The second visit will use the scientifically proven cold method of bed bug removal which, through the use of a freezing stream -100 degree compressed carbon dioxide, will reach the deep nests hidden far within the falls, floors and walls that is unreachable by any other means. Gathering Data Data Sources Many attempts by the company have been made to find any external data available on this subject without success. Due to the fact that bed bugs were practically extinct in the western world since the 1950ââ¬â¢s, the lack of modern equipment (carbon dioxide removal equipment, many of the current DIY gadgetry), no reliable sources of external data are available. Thus the company will use internal data or more specifically data collected internally from the new website (please see IT section below). Types of Surveys All data collected will be done through an online website where each individual member of either Group A or Group B will answer the questions on their own. This will be done so the data will not be contaminated by the bias of the individuals who collect the data as well as to make sure that each individual is able to answer each question thoroughly in the comfort of their own home, and not with a member of the research team present. (Dillon, 1994) Observation Studies This part of the study will be performed by the individuals who at the end of the study will come inside the test subject homes with bed bug sniffing dogs to determine empirically whether any bedbugs are still present within the premises. There is no known method besides the bed bug sniffing dog that can reliably determine their presence. Experiments / Test Markets The individuals to test out the premises of the experiment will be gathered from a specifically set up website that will gather the random individuals who will participate in the experiment. Use of Information Technology Information Technology will be used in multiple ways throughout the survey to not only save marketing budget dollars for the company but also to make the entire process less intrusive for the test subjects. The 1000 total sample will be gathered through a specially created website which will ask consumers if they wish to receive a free extermination in exchange for their participation. After a few thousand names are gathered, the individuals will be asked (via email) to return to the website (via a link inside the email) to fill out a detailed survey about their current infestation: (a) How often they were bitten (b) How often they see bedbugs (c) to rate the level of their infestation (d) to see if they have used any methods to deal with the infestation in the past, etc.. The website will then randomly assign (to make the study double blind) the individuals into two groups described earlier in this presentation. A simple random generator built into the website can accomplish this, that any second year IT student can write for under $100. The researchers will not be able to see the names, races, gender or any other information about any specific individual to remove any potential bias. Each of the individuals will also be assigned randomly to an exterminator, who will not know that individual is part of any experiment. (Calabrese, 2011) The post-study interviews will all be done via the internet so as to not inundate the individuals with unwanted visits or telephone calls. The individuals who participated in the study will receive emails with a link to fill out the qualitative parts of the study, which will ask them not only to rate how they feel (using their own words) about their current bedbug situation but the overall experience. In case of Group A, the questions will include (a) describe the ease/difficulty in applying the DIY products (b) Did they cause a mess? (c) How they felt about the infestation a week later, 2 weeks later, 1 month later (d) Would they recommend it to their friends and why? McKnight, 2011) The use of web based technology would make the entire process more comfortable and may result in more honest answers since the questions will be answered at the convenience of each individual who participated in the experiment and not at the convenience of the organizers of the experiment. The final data will also be much easier to break up and analyze since every response will be stored in the database and thus the final data could be bro ken down and correlated using a vast array of different scientific approaches. Reference http://www.economywatch.com/world-industries/steel-industry/trends.html
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Bilingual Education and Dual Language Programs
Bilingual Education and Dual Language Programs The most urgent of all educational challenges is not curriculum and instruction. It is the challenge of changing social/cultural relations through languages while simultaneously improving curriculum and instruction.â⬠Dr. Henry G. Burger Ph.D. (Mazon, 1976). Schools in America are faced with a challenge; educating linguistically diverse students. Schools not only must accommodate large numbers of students from non-English language backgrounds, but must also cope with the linguistic diversity of their student bodies (McLeod, 1994). There is much controversy over the most effective way to teach literacy of standard language or languages for education in multilingual settings. In 2002 the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was repealed and replaced with the English Acquisition Act. This emphasizes English rather than Bilingual instruction and encourages a rapid transition to English only instruction (Farver, 2009). By doing this we are not only losing history but more importantly ide ntity. For many students from a non-English language background, education in America is not a successful or enjoyable experience. Linguistic minority students do not perform as well in school as the linguistic majority group. Millions of public school student have limited English proficiency, and this number will continue to grow if drastic changes are not put in place. English language learners begin school behind fluent English speakers, they continue to fall behind in language and academic areas, if they do not catch up the results will most likely be outrageous. (Jost, 1) Children whose first language is other than English face considerable challenges in becoming literate and are at high risk for reading difficulties and low academic achievement. Spanish speaking students currently constitute the largest bilingual subgroup and are the fastest growing in English language learners (Farver, 2009). Rosalie Porter, Board member of the Center for Equal Opportunity states ââ¬Å"Bili ngual Education is the least effective method for teaching English language learnersà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦students would learn the English language rapidly and master school subjects taught in English.â⬠The Supreme Court found ââ¬Å"documented academic support for the view that structured English immersion is significantly more effective than traditional bilingual educationâ⬠(Jost, 2009). Bilingual education should not be just the transitioning a student to a target language. It should not be just simply teaching subject matter in a foreign language. It is not teaching the first language to a non-English speaking child, nor is it just teaching English as a second language. While traditional Bilingual education, in the context of teaching non-English speaking people in both their native language and English, is considered to be failing, Dual language Bilingual education programs are emerging. Dual language is a type of Bilingual education program that helps students develop ful l literacy skills in English and another language. Dual language education or ââ¬Å"two way immersionâ⬠has become increasingly popular in the United States. English-speaking children as well as minority language speaker learn together in the same classroom, with the goals of bilingualism, bi-literacy, cross-cultural understanding, and high academic achievement for all (Palmer, 2010). They key with dual language education is it has to start when the child is just beginning school. Dual language classrooms usually divide their days or weeks between the two languages of instruction, expecting all class members to interact in only one language at a time (Palmer, 2010). Moving between languages has been frowned upon and bilingual education had traditionally argued that languages should be kept separate in the learning and teaching of languages. This is considered separate bilingualism and is used as a means to not cross-language transfer (Creese, 2010).
Friday, September 27, 2019
Talk back to Mike Kefee Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Talk back to Mike Kefee - Assignment Example Instead of invading Gaza and occupying it once again, Israel is trying to protect its borders from the GPRs and missiles that rain upon their civilian homes and cities. The two men talking about the flotilla in the cartoon sum up the situation. If the flotilla comes through, possible arms and much needed supplies are delivered. If violence erupts, Israel looks bad in the light of the entire world. What is not known, or underreported, is Israel sends tons of food, medical supplies, tools, and other supplies monthly. These are from Israeli sources. The Israeli government told the flotilla, if they docked in Israel the supplies would be checked and transported to Gaza. The Israelis even said that the representatives could watch the IDF (Israel Defense Force) soldiers search the food. The representatives could have then accompanied the shipment to Gaza. The whole flotilla was a publicity stunt that got people killed. My audience is Colorado citizens. I kept them in mind by explaining events in the Middle East, since an average Colorado citizen probably does not keep up with events in Gaza and Israel. I am responding in a manner to inform about the issue through the cartoon. I expect most people to disagree with my point of view. My word choice and tone will be logical and to the point in order to explain the situation to my
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Digital Video Production Reflective Commentary on Trailer Produced Essay
Digital Video Production Reflective Commentary on Trailer Produced - Essay Example This scene signifies the beginning of a relationship representing all things positive and tender and affectionate, which is disrupted by this explosion, which represents the disturbances that life represents - some of which the relationship may survive, but more importantly, sets the tone for the wife to be prepared for her new husband to leave her in an instant to deal with these disturbances. The film line revolves around Vargas, the 'hero' and his weakness in balancing his personal and professional responsibilities. On a broader level, this opening scene is a microcosm for the theme of the rest of the film: the ever raging and seemingly endless battle between good and evil, within the characters themselves as well as between them. (Tom Dirk, Film site review) The title Orson Welles appears in the 9th second who introduces t... d us and he appears almost larger than life until he reaches his full height and balance within the camera which indicates that he is only human, after-all. This scene represents the progression of his character through the movie: he begins as a seemingly powerful man that will stop at nothing to achieve his goal (of catching the 'bad guys') and cannot be stopped by any force known to man. As his character progresses through the film, we see a leveling out that suggests that even all-powerful men ultimately have to live within the boundaries of life - and if you choose not to, justice will eventually prevail to maintain the balance between good and evil. The next title is consistent with the first (black with the credit appearing in a white outline for an elegant and classic feel) and appears in the 11th second: 'Touch of Evil' that heralds in the next scene is actually the crux of the film as it begins to unfold. The sound overlaid on the credit, for but a second, is meant to represent mystery. In seconds 12 to 16, Quinlan sports a self-satisfied and smug look and the sound begins: "Vargas himself has a theory that the murder was committed outside our jurisdiction" and the camera cuts to Vargas who looks confident and also somewhat suspicious of this 'theory'. The scene then cuts to the increasing tension and friction between Vargas and Quinlan: the tone is being set for a battle between these two and the battle between good and evil that ensues. The body language of the group of men who proposed Vargas' 'theory' seems to be in support of Quinlan and blinded by the reality of his methods of investigation. Vargas is in alien territor y and the representative of justice will have to fight his battle single-handedly, as justice always needs to win against all odds. In
New venture development strategy Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 11750 words
New venture development strategy - Dissertation Example ary The purpose of the research is to develop a new venture strategy for pastries and cakes to the local residents in Bulgaria as well as the retailers. The project begins with the analysis of the background to the study which describes the origin of the idea for the new venture. The sudden rise in demand for home made cakes and pastries made by members of the family led to the idea of opening a confectionaries factory in the country. Consequently an analysis is done on the bakery and confectionary products market and the supply industry in Bulgaria. This analysis indicates the presence of a niche segment market consisting of the high income groupsââ¬â¢ customers in society along with large retailers that the company would like to target. Some the cities in Bulgaria such Bansko and Velingrad are targeted because of its high expected growth of tourism and forecasted large number of visitors to the place. It is expected that as the tourism sector expand in these areas the rate of vi sits of the high income groups in society would also rise. More number of retail outlets is also expected to be opened in a potential tourist spot. These retailers could also be tapped. Moreover, cities like Pazardjik and Plovdiv demonstrates the presence of a customer base which is less sensitive towards price and more sensitive towards product qualities. The project then analyses the target market for its products which includes market segments like hotels, restaurants, food shops and catering companies. The fact that 80% of the Bulgarians prefer local products more than imported products revealed by a research conducted by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce makes ground for making traditional Bulgarian hand-made cakes and pastries. It shows preference of customers for local products over... It is evident from the study that the sudden and dramatic rise in interest for home-made cakes and pastries made by members of the family and the eventual distribution and spread of reputation of this family for the production of such innovative confectionery products builds grounds for the idea of development of cakes factories in Bulgaria. Bansko and Velingrad are targeted because of its high expected growth of tourism and forecasted large number of visitors to the place. Moreover, Pazardjik and Plovdiv demonstrates the presence of a customer base which is less price sensitive and more sensitive towards product qualities. The fact that 80% of the Bulgarians prefer local products more than imported products revealed by a research conducted by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce makes ground for making traditional Bulgarian hand-made cakes and pastries. The industrial analysis reveals the existence of a number of large players in the Bulgarian industry like Kraftââ¬â¢s food, Nestle, Masterfoods Bulgaria EOOD and Ferrero Spa and various small companies like Sugar Factory Kristal AD, Prestige-96 OOD, Den I Nosht OOD and Sigma Bio OOD. The chocolate confectioneries market is significantly strong in this industry. However, despite the presence of a large number of large industrial players the present company's business model seems to be lucrative and profit earning. The company's strategy to thrive on innovation and prepare traditional and handmade cakes and pastries is always to be appreciated by customers due to their consistent desire for local products and high quality products.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Back turned to Open Window by Matisse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Back turned to Open Window by Matisse - Essay Example The essay "Back turned to Open Window by Matisse" explores the piece of art by Henri Matisse. Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Nord, France. In 1889, after a bout with appendicitis, his mother gave him a set of paints for something to do while he recovered. The act of painting became an obsession for him and he developed his work throughout the rest of his life. Matisse had experienced a great deal of difficulty in creating a career that was respected and appreciated. A founding member of the Fauvists with Andre Derain, his use of color and light provided expression that was predominant over the use of detail. The artists from Munich who had supported the development of Expressionsim, Kandinsky and Jawlensky, as an example, believed that the work of 1905 that was most worthy of their attention was coming from the Fauves, their eye now to France in order to observe the advancement of their movement. His work post 1919 represented a softening of his approach and a ââ¬Ëreturn to orderââ¬â¢ in which he once again looked back to the Masters, such as the Dutch painter Vermeer of the 17th century, for inspiration. Vermeer worked with exploring the use of light within his work. The piece Seated Woman, Back turned to Open Window (1921-1923), was from a collection of work in which he was examining the uses of color and form towards representation but through the lens of expression for emotional context. The piece was sold in 1947 through a catalogue by Durand-Ruel that offered the work. for fifteen thousand dollars along with works from Manet, Degas, and Renoir which situated Matisse in the position of being one of the modern masters (Oââ¬â¢Brien, 1999, p. 56). In the work Seated Woman, Back turned to Open Window (1921-1923), Matisse uses linear movement in order to direct the eye towards the focal point of the woman. The horizontal lines converge with the vertical in order to frame the exterior view as the shutter acts as a frame for her a s she sits in front of it. Repetitions of rectangular shapes within the window are mimicked in the horizontal brush strokes of the water. Their shape has been morphed to be more organic, but still reflect the frame that holds them. While the work is representational, it holds a bit of the abstract as the forms and shapes create the imagery of what they reflect, rather than precisely reflecting reality. The brush strokes are expressive and reflect the Fauve aesthetics while revealing his return to a more classic form and holding their representative value. The painting is somewhat flattened, the roundness of the objects pushed back with the abstraction of their essence visually defined by shape and color. The refined use of primary colors, predominately of blue and red, are enhanced with touches of an ochre yellow in order to create interest and definition. Light
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Impact Youth Subcultural Lifestyles and Values Essay
Impact Youth Subcultural Lifestyles and Values - Essay Example The essay "Impact Youth Subcultural Lifestyles and Values" explores how fashion and music influence on the lifestyles and values. Both fashion and music suffered similar fate. Fashion seemed inclined to consider designer labels more important to wearability of the clothes. In music, post-modernism allowed the ââ¬Å"collage, pastiche and quotation,â⬠a hodgepodge way of creating music erasing the distinction between music genres. But superficial or not, music and fashion would definitely affect the cultural language and dynamics of contemporary youth. Mcrobbie (1994) wrote about the power and influence of music on fashion of youth but the result was contrary to what many would perceive as sexist. Shabba Ranks, a raggae / pop music crossover musician created a rage called Ragga girls (p.183). This created a sensation in the 1990ââ¬â¢s when Ragga girls would be taken up not only by black girls but Asians and Caucasians. Along with the music was a distinct fashion sense that sep arated Ragga girls from the mainstream. The Ragga girls wore the hair ââ¬Å"scraped back tightly into buns, wearing gold jewellery, trainers, leggings and fake-fur winter coatsâ⬠. Examining the content of the song, many observed that the lyrics include sexist and homophobic contexts. The cultural interpretation of the Ragga girls, however did not conform to what was observed. Instead, an alternative value on the power of the female sex and pleasure emerged. The dance routines that go with the Shabba Ranks music was considered explicit. also considered sexually explicit and bordering on the obscene. However, Mcrobbie (1994) would provide another explanation for the behaviour. The girls were merely expressing "the rhetoric of a proud young female sexuality. " It is "combined with the sheer physical enjoyment of dance, working together to produce a euphoria of pleasure and of power" (p.184). The above example presented evidence that subculture of fashion and music was a departure from the frame of cultural contexts and values. Fashion and Music: A Postmodern Construct The youth category on cultural and sociological research lacks appropriate definition and orientation. The classification of youth can differ from culture to culture. For example, preadolescent individuals and people in their 30's and 40's may comprise the youth sector of a given cultural context. The distinction may also be derived from chronology or cultural position (Bucholtz 2002,p.526). The youth represents a segment of society that many sociologists and anthropologists consider as innovative. The youth may work inside or outside the system depending on the situation. Traditional views consider the youth subculture were consequences of the working-class consciousness where emergent subculture was "authentic and in the first instance at least uncontaminated by an avaricious commercial culture" (Mcrobbie 1994, p.179). The presumption is no longer applicable as today's complex social systems of mass media, commercial culture and the state (p.179). The proliferation of fashion and music purported to be rebellious expression of the youth against control and authority would in fact be more congruent with Michle Barrett's observation that youth subculture is a product of "turn[ing] to culture and the 'processes of symbolization'" (p.179)
Monday, September 23, 2019
Vietnam war Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Vietnam war - Research Paper Example Critical analysis of The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien offers a first-hand experience narration by a participant in the war. It is therefore imperative that in-depth assessment of the text is undertaken to draw the comparative analysis of what transpired in the Siege of Khe Sanh-that ran from mid-January 1968 through June 1968. Several questions were left unanswered in regard to the number of military officers United States lost before they were compelled to give up in the war amidst public discontent in funding it (Rottman 71-3). In this regard, further investigative research is important in making informed conclusions and deriving findings. Assessment of the events that constitute the Siege of Khe Sanh forms the basis of making informed conclusion on the actual magnitude of United Statesââ¬â¢ lost bid to impose capitalism in Vietnam. Further brainstorming entails exploration of the information gap through review of past literature on the topic. A formal research proposal will unravel facts and figures to guide in boosting the public understanding of costs incurred by United States in the Vietnam War with particular focus on its logistics and strategic planning base of Khe
Sunday, September 22, 2019
The Short and the Tall Essay Example for Free
The Short and the Tall Essay We are made aware of the patrols attitudes in Act one of The Long, The Short, and the Tall, towards the Japanese prisoner from their speech, tone of voice and actions. Johnstone, member of the patrol, shows he has a harsh attitude towards the prisoner. We can see this, as when the prisoner enters the cabin, unaware of the waiting patrol, Johnstone is the first person to grab him. He calls to the others to kill the prisoner as he holds him still. He says Get him! Quick! Do for him! Give it hump! Will you just ram it in? These are very short phrases and are said quickly and in a sharp tone of voice. He also uses allot of colloquial language and never actually says kill him. This emphasises Johnstones urgency and professionalism, but also shows that he has a hard image. Because Johnstone can say all this it proves to us that he has a harsh attitude towards the Japanese prisoner and just wants him out of the way. He says We should have done him when e first turned up. In other parts of the act Johnstones attitude stays the same. He still shows no respect for the prisoner or compassion. He still believes that the Japanese prisoner should be killed and doesnt trust him. He says You think that hed have second thoughts about putting the mockers on the lot of us? This rhetorical question shows his distrust of the prisoner. He also shows that he is jealous of the prisoner for all the attention he is now getting from the patrol. He says Two minutes ago you wouldnt touch him with a barge pole. None of you! He also said Not one of you had the guts to give me a hand. This shows he still thinks the prisoner should have been killed. It shows how he has a ruthless and barbaric attitude towards the prisoner. Also later in the play he has a fight with Bamforth over the prisoner. He is horrible to the prisoner and treats him unfairly. Mitchem has a very different attitude towards the prisoner. He has no feelings for the Prisoner but sees that he can be useful. Mitchem says I want this one alive. This makes it clear to us that Mitchem has plans. However he still shows no respect towards the Japanese prisoner. We can tell this from the way he tries to speak to the prisoner. He says Trust me to cop a raving lunatic! This refers to the prisoner and emphasises the lack of compassion and respect for the prisoner. Later in the act he shows that he had only one reason to keep the prisoner. Mitchem sees it as an everyday thing. He wants to keep the prisoner so he can be used later. He says to Bamforth Hes in your charge. Look after him. This proves he still has plans and his attitude is the same. When he realises that the patrol is in danger and is behind enemy lines he decides to ditch the prisoner. He says Were ditching him. This again proves his lack of compassion for the prisoner but also his professionalism. Bamforth has a very similar attitude towards the Japanese prisoner to Johnstone. When no one can bring themselves to kill the prisoner Bamforth steps up as if it was an everyday event and says Its only the same as carving up a pig. Hold him still. This is a simile and shows us that Bamforth also has no respect for the prisoner but it also shows us that Bamforth is learned of the gang-life in London. This is because of the colloquial language used. He also uses racist language that reflects on the time the play was set. As in the 1940s racism was not an issue. Also soldiers used racist language towards the enemy so as to feel better when killing them. He calls him an Asiatic glet. Johnstone and Mitchem also use this sort of language when they say Wog grub and Tojo. As Mitchem had put Bamforth in charge of the prisoner he began to talk to him. He said Get your hands up on your head! Like this! See! He then speaks to Evans and says Hey Taff! See that, he did it like I said! This shows that he has no respect for the prisoner and sees him as an object or pet almost. Bamforths attitudes completely turn around though. As he is looking after the prisoner he begins to get friendly with him and talks to him as a mate or one of the lads. He offers him a cigarette and looks at the prisoners photos with him. This disgusts Johnstone and when he leans in to give the prisoner a light he knocks the cigarette out of his mouth. Bamforth then stands up for his new mate and has a fight his own man, Johnstone for him! Bamforth calls the prisoner a bloke, he says to Johnstone I dont have to ask you before I give a bloke a fag! This shows he sees him as a human. He then beats Johnstone until Mitchem has to interrupt. Evans has a different attitude towards the prisoner as he shows he has compassion for other humans and cant bring himself to kill an unarmed man, at least. He steps up to do the job but then changes his mind. He says I I cant do it corp. This shows of his compassion for other human beings. It also shows how scared he was for killing someone, hence the stuttering. When he says this, his voice is scared and his whole body is tensed up! He often takes the situation light heartedly and humorously. He says to Bamforth, I always knew you were an oriental creep at heart man. This shows how Evans is a friendly and funny person. He has a compassionate attitude towards the prisoner. He actually sees the prisoner as a decent human being. We see Maclieshs attitude towards the prisoner in this section. He treats the situation with humour at first but then argues with Johnstone about what should have been done to the prisoner. For humour he says He isnt exactly what you would call a handsome bloke! This shows that he hasnt got much respect for the prisoner but he still isnt as bad as some other members of the patrol. When he is arguing with Johnstone he argues by saying You cannot order men to put a bayonet into an unarmed prisoner. He also says Havent you heard of the Geneva Connection. This shows how he is professional in his job and sticks to the rules. It also shows that he may not have the same intentions as Mitchem but still believes the prisoner should be kept. Because the prisoner has been stripped of his arms by the patrol they cannot kill the prisoner. If they were to kill him it would be illegal, murder. Because the patrol have already found out that they are behind enemy lines the prisoner is no longer of any use to them. This links to inter-relationships between the groups of characters in the play. The professional soldiers, with the higher ranks (Mitchem, Macleish and Johnstone) talk about the delicate issues while the others (privates) seem to have a bit of a laugh and mess around while not on duty. The professionals talk about the problem they have with the Japanese soldier. They decide they have to kill him! They discuss this important issue while the other members of the patrol become mates with the prisoner. Mitchem says Were ditching him! What will the prisoners new friends think about this? It is illegal to kill the prisoner as he has become a prisoner of war and has no arms, however he will be a danger and a burden to the patrol! The rest of the patrol hardly show interest in the prisoner, they are interested but forget about it after they are told to carry on with there business. They arent main characters in this part of the play.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
The Role Of Global Leadership Management Essay
The Role Of Global Leadership Management Essay A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. According to Peters ducker leadership is not about a list of some qualities, attributes, charisma and it cant be same in all the leaders, its all about delivery of performance, the way managers present, solve issues and have got the ability to make other people work in a right way. Leadership is not always about consequences in between leader and followers and it wont be consider as affective leadership if there is lack of consequences in between leader and followers, On the other hand it doesnt mean that followers always think and believe that whatever leader says is right. example of good team and leader is that whenever leader is wrong, followers should raise the point with the appropriate knowledge and logic and on the other hand leader If think any doubt about his planning he should take valid points in to consideration and try to accept and amend it. When person start saying he doesnt know here learning starts and person who is a good listener is always a good leader. There are 3 styles of leadership which are as follow: a) Authoritarian or autocratic: ( I Want Both Of U To à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦Ã ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦Ã ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦.) This style is specifically use when leaders tell their employee that they want this done and in that time period usually in such cases all the information is ready or available. This condition is suitable when employees has al the relevant information to solve the problem o rleader is short on time and employees are well motivated. Some people think that this style is yelling style, like ordering rather then working as a team. b) Participative (Democratic): (Lets Work Together To Solve This à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦Ã ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦.) This style involves the leader to include one or more employees in the decision making process in terms of what to do and how to do? However leader maintains the final decision making authority but on one hand it shows weakness of the leader that he doesnt have full knowledge, but its always not necessary that leader should have all the knowledge of the problem. If leaders use this style its mutual benefit on one hand it allows leader to become part of a team and on the other hand allows leader to make better decision. c) Delegative (Free Reign): (You Two Care Of The Problems While I Go) à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦Ã ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦Ã ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦) In this style managers allow employee to take decision but still leader has the power of final decision and he can apply this practice only if he trust his employees in such a way that even if they take wrong decision so he will be responsible. In a whole task you cant do everything you must allocate certain tasks to employees. Normally good leaders apply all the three styles in their work it just depend on the nature of work and time that which style has to follow and in leadership, leader should never be so soft that its so easy for employee to mould it and never be so hard that could easy to break. Before discussing about global leadership skills its important to have some reviews on leadership skills first to get the appropriate vision of global leadership skills. A leader is a dealer in hope. (Napoleon Bonaparte) Some of the leadership skills are as follow: 1; Cognitive Skills 2: Interpersonal Skills 3: Business Skills 4: Strategic Skills 1: Cognitive skills can be explain as the base of leadership skills because of the characteristics involved in it such as collecting, processing, disseminating information and learning, leader has to involve in all those activities. Leader has to be good in oral communication as speaking he should be able to deliver or convey his message accurately that what and why it needs to be accomplish. Apart from speaking he should be a good listener on the other hand to listen questions and reply accurately in time to achieve the desire task. both of these qualities accomplish communication skill. his written skill plays vital role as well he should be a good in writing in terms of delivering his message and also can read well in order to understand and achieve tasks which are required.Active learning is also one of the characteristics which is very important in leadership. leader should be fast learner, should have the ability to act on emergent, non routine and dynamic situations at the job . 2: Interpersonal and social skill is another important step of the leadership skills as its related with interacting and influencing others. it comes in the category, as referred by the previous researches as social capacities, social judgement, social complexity and differentiation and human relation. its all about of understanding other people behaviour, why they react on such situations and their performance under pressure work environment. it involves coordination of actions and negotiating to reconcile differences among employee perspectives and establish mutually satisfying relationships. With this skill its also make people to believe and influence in such a way to accomplish organizational tasks more effectively. 3: Business Skills specifically use for managing personal resources of the business and to develop, motivate, identify and promote employees the way they work as well as management of financial resources and organizations unit. Strategic Skills are highly conceptual and based on strategies which leader has to implement at the required time in the organization for affective results. sometime they have to forecast such situations and has to prepare strategies. This include important planning and visioning of future situations. Strategic skill is also problem solving component which identifies problem and become increasingly important for these jobs to identify problems and make necessary steps to solve it. Aims and Objective The reason Toyota is been chosen is because of its size, growth, strategies as a multi national company its leadership skills. In such a big company it will be easy to discuss different points and theories with examples .Basic aim of the project is to see how leadership skills affects companys business, how good and bad leadership makes difference, how with the help of their strategies and leadership skills they have reached to the success heights. Here we will also outline the role of leader globally as in terms of his/her skills in a multi national organization. Their responsibilities, duties and skills that should exist as part of their personality. We discuss about leadership skills above, which are more or less similar to the qualities of global leadership qualities in multi national organization. Role of Global Leadership Organization is basically planned, understood, coordinated and purposeful action of human beings to produce a product can be tangible or intangible but this product market limited just in the country however multinational organization is group of people who can produce and market product not only inside the country but abroad as well on international basis. so its very obvious that the nature of business and number of problems will be less if compared with multinational organization so similarly responsibilities and duties of local company leader will be less then the global leader, take an example of a Local company for example Ashwin Travellers they have got their branches in different cities of UK so the responsibility of its manager will be far less then the responsibilities of a multi national organization for example Toyota. Well according to some writers there is no such thing as global manager, Usually multinational companies hired three kind of persons in multinational companies Business manager Country manager Functional manager and Corporate manager . 1: Business Manager :- consist of three parts which are Strategist + Architect + Coordinator. One of the responsibility of global business manager is to improve companies global scale efficiency and competitiveness. In this task business manager has to recognize the current and future opportunities of the company that how can they make profit in long term goals apart from that he has to take in to consideration the global market risks and competitors across the borders and before making any strategic plan or decision he should have knowledge of all those risks and factors which could affect their plans as in whole. His job is to take full advantage of the integrated worldwide operations. As in Toyota, they have got different brands in different countries but its not necessary that all models are famous in all regions of the world they have to observe the demand and supply graph or look over the sale graph of different models in different countries after that they can assess well that which product/model needs marketing efforts on the other hand increase the supply of the mode ls which are selling out faster for example according to the search in Toyota Yaris, Avensis and Lexus are more famous and use in Uk at the moment on the other hand in middle east Toyota Jeeps, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser are more famous so in comparison of both it totally needs different market strategies and demand and supply chain so all these factors should take in to consideration and related to the job of business manager to keep an eye on these factors and take accurate decisions at the right time. Three roles should be played very affectively by the business manager firstly act as a strategist for his organization, and architect of its worldwide assets and resource configuration, and should have an idea of transactions across the national borders. Al Cabito Group Vice President , sales administration, Toyota motor sales provide great insights into Toyotas emerging build to order strategy. Toyotas annual profit in 2003 were $8.13 billions, much more then combine income of GM, Ford and Chrysler and the biggest profit of the auto makers in the last decade. so all this profit and high production is because of excellence in strategies and architect with coordination which consider as the key of Business manager. 2: Country Manager :- consist of three parts Sensor + Builder + Contributor. National subsidiaries are always use building block for most of the world wide companies. If on one hand global business manager job is to achieve global scale efficiency and competitiveness on the other hand job of country manager is to activate his market sensors 24/7, 365 days a year in order to get a clear vision of the sensitiveness and response of the local market. the job of countrys manager is not only to meet customer needs but also required satisfaction of the host government requirements and defend their position in the market against local and external competitors. As Business manager, country manager has to fulfil 3 vital job aspects. He should be sensor and interpreter of the local market opportunities and threats as in risk, should be the builder of all the local resources and capabilities, and act as a contributor too and to act as active participant in the global strategy. Country manager job activities should be very fast and accurate as in terms of gathering and transferring information regarding market reports in terms of risks, demand and supply of the product, because all those local information plays important role in big decisions and strategic planning. This act matches to one of Toyotas principle Right process produces Right results In terms of Toyota, Ken Elliot, Service parts centre, national manger shared a lot in making Toyota Way Culture in a new parts of distribution centre. As auto maker industry job of country manager isnt easy as because of the different brands of different countries in the market. In UK alone there are approximate 55 car manufacture so its mean every week each car maker comes up with new model, price and warranty. so for this purpose country managers sensor should be working fast and on top of that its fast and accurate delivery. He should be active as in terms of contributor as well should have the knowledge of all market reports in terms of contributing. 3: The Functional Manager:- consist of 3 parts Scanner + Cross Pollinator + Champion. The above two managers have come in to their own well in case of Functional manager have to get recognition in many multinational companies through them. functional manager support staff roles, excluded from important meetings, and even dismissed unnecessary overhead. Organizations who build a culture of learning to create and spread innovations needs such skills to transfer with the connection of scare resources and capabilities across national borders. The above objective is very important and to achieve this functional manager at his best practice has scan specialized information worldwide and champion innovations that may offer transactional opportunities and applications. Innovation, basically start with new opportunity or market threat to the manger for example technological development, pending government regulation, when any of the above situation arises around the world corporate head quarter take it very lightly if viewed in isolation but when scanner serves by a functional manager with the reason that expertise should find any trends and move knowledge across the boundaries then the person can transform piecemeal information in to strategic intelligence. Take an example of Toyota it starts with big 5 seated car in the past but with the passage of time they have seen the people demand changing to small cars so on the other hand, they have started production of small cars with smaller engines. Recent example of innovation is Toyota green car which run on electricity, the reason of its production and spending loads of money on its research is just to attract customers and capture the market as they have realised the market demand earlier. 4: Corporate Manager :- Consist of 3 parts Leader + Talent scout + Developer. This is crystal clear that there is no single model for Corporate manager neither the old line international specialist manager not even today any generalist can handle the modern day complexities of cross border strategies. corporate managers deals with many levels of responsibility playing the most vital role in transactional management. Corporate manager always lead in broadest sense and they always realise and identifies the importance and develop the talented business, country and functional managers and balance the negotiation among the three. its in the hand of corporate managers to develop and promote strong managerial specialists who have got the ability to give vision to the strategies around the world. The very first step as a senior executive is to identify those in the organization who have potential and ability to become a global manager. broad vision, deep understanding of the business, country and functional task. Their will be other talented managers in the organization but all of them are not flexible with all combinations discussed above especially when it comes to cross border coordination and integration. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The above research is based on Global leadership skills, but before starting major of global leadership it was essential firstly to give a brief description of general leadership and its skills in normal organization and after words major portion was done relating to the base of this assignment. For this research different articles, journals and books have been referred to retrieve the quality data in order to deliver accurate and up to date information. Athens has played a vital role in the accomplishment of this data, its the same online service which is not only use around the world but is also used by UK education community, NHS and The British Council. To explain and portray the crystal clear image of the topic company which has been selected after a deep research is Toyota and tried hard to explain points related to the companys situation. LIMITATIONS There are few limitations which are explain as follow: 1: Interview were require from the Toyota companies higher rank employee regarding their growth, expansion and strategies, which unfortunately, wasnt possible. 2: Analytical data would have been more help full and would have explain few more points clearly regarding the affect of good global leader strategies in terms of graphs and tables. 3: Interview were require from some regular customers of Toyota who are using this product since ages, their feed back could have some add on in the research work CONCLUSION There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have to change dramatically to rise to the next level of performance. Miss that moment and you start to decline. (Andy Grove) Organization is like a horse, just like horse need a good rider same as organization needs a good leader to run up to its maximum capacity, see long term goals, give vision to the strategies around the world. Effective leadership of the company is essential for every organization in the world of today. Global leadership requires not only training but also vast amount of experience and confident to run the company in its difficult time. As its not essential that global leadership should be the same as discuss in the above reading because thousands of research has been done on this topic by various writers and especially now a days where companies arent limited to production of units it has been expanded to services as well so in terms of services role of global leader can be different up to some extent, in that case information technology and knowledge management plays vital role. The success of Toyota which has been discussed above is not only because of their leadership skills but it about the organization culture as well the way they have created that culture which they named as The Toyota Way and also 14 principles of Toyota. Person in any company name as Business manager Country manager Functional manager and Corporate manager considered to different person for different jobs but this can be done by one person depending up on his contacts, experience and the way he performed his duties. Role of local leader is no more different then the role of global leader but just add on some extra powers and when extra powers comes it doesnt come alone it always come with greater responsibility.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Violence on Televison and its Effect on Children Essay -- TV Media Agg
ââ¬Å"Bang- Bang!! Youââ¬â¢re dead,â⬠Charlie says to Andrew as they are watching Cops on the television. ââ¬Å"NO! That is not fair, we didnââ¬â¢t get into a fight, and we have to get into a fight before we shot each other!â⬠Andrew announced to Charlie as he starts to stand up! ââ¬Å"Well, then steal something and I will come after you just like in the show!â⬠According to one researcher, ââ¬Å"Before children reach the age of 18, they spend approximately 22,000 hours watching television, and about 200,000 violent actsâ⬠(Gunter 23). Violence can come in many forms, but out of all the violence in the media, the television plays a large role in child development. There is plenty of evidence that the viewing of violent programs on television contributes to aggressive behavior in children. The words ââ¬Å"aggression and violenceâ⬠are used interchangeably and mean the same thing. Aggression is, ââ¬Å"regarded as human behavior which deliberately attempts to cause injury to other people or things that are not oneââ¬â¢s one. According to Van der Voort, aggression can be direct or indirect or physical or non-physical (20). There are many definitions which describe aggression and they all focus on the fact that one is doing harm to themselves or to others. ââ¬Å"Violence on television may not affect all children the same way, but it has an effect on everyoneâ⬠(Honig 66). Children will respond to violence in any situation, it is how much they respond to that is important. In the magazine Young Children, a researcher named Gouze reports that child fell into ââ¬Å"high or low aggressive groups,â⬠depending on their ideas of how they would solve the problem socially with other (68). Aggression/violence is present in the world. Violence on t elevision influences childr... ...of horrible act when in a bad situation!â⬠Andrewââ¬â¢s mom announced after she saw what they playing. ââ¬Å"OK fine, but I get to pick out what book to readâ⬠ââ¬Å"NO I get to pick it outâ⬠ââ¬Å"No I do!â⬠Charlie and Andrew from there after, never played Cops again, instead they read a book or played with Andrewââ¬â¢s little sister Amber. The negative effects of violence on television influence the way children act in a social environment. If parents knew exactly how the television influences their loved ones, maybe they would take more of an effort to try to stop this aggressive behavior before it starts. Violence comes in many forms that almost every child will either possess or witness. Violence in children is inevitable; in some sort of instance aggression will be apart of a childââ¬â¢s life. Dealing with violence and aggression is the most important objective in child development.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
The Role of Nature in the poetry of William Wordsworth Essay -- Litera
In William Wordsworthââ¬â¢s poems, the role of nature plays a more reassuring and pivotal r ole within them. To Wordsworthââ¬â¢s poetry, interacting with nature represents the forces of the natural world. Throughout the three poems, Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey, and Michael, which will be discussed in this essay, nature is seen prominently as an everlasting- individual figure, which gives his audience as well as Wordsworth, himself, a sense of console. In all three poems, Wordsworth views nature and human beings as complementary elements of a sum of a whole, recognizing that humans are a sum of nature. Therefore, looking at the world as a soothing being of which he is a part of, Wordsworth looks at nature and sees the benevolence of the divinity aspects behind them. For Wordsworth, the world itself, in all its glory, can be a place of suffering, which surely occurs within the world; Wordsworth is still comforted with the belief that all things happen by the hands of the divinity and the just and divine order of nature, itself. In William Wordsworthââ¬â¢s poem, Resolution and Independence, Wordsworth describes the moods of the poem through the description of nature. The first appearance of the speaker, himself, is shown in (line 15); where he classifies himself as a traveler who has been seduced, as he states, ââ¬Å"The pleasant season did my heart employâ⬠(line 19). We see the traveler as a bright and joyful person as Wordsworthââ¬â¢s characteristics of nature as a means of description continues throughout the poem. As the poem progresses, the speakerââ¬â¢s attitude changes in (line 26), where he tells us that his mood is lowered. It is here that the speaker presents himself as ââ¬Å"a happy child of earthâ⬠in (line 31); as once again Wordsworth... .../ Of the unfinished sheepfold may be seen / Besides the boisterous brook of Greenhead Ghyll,â⬠showing the growth of human beings in relative notion to nature. William Wordsworth has respect and has great admiration for nature. This is quite evident in all three of his poems; the Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey and Michael in that, his philosophy on the divinity, immortality and innocence of humans are elucidated in his connection with nature. For Wordsworth, himself, nature has a spirit, a soul of its own, and to know is to experience nature with all of your senses. In all three of his poems there are many references to seeing, hearing and feeling his surroundings. He speaks of hills, the woods, the rivers and streams, and the fields. Wordsworth comprehends, in each of us, that there is a natural resemblance to ourselves and the background of nature.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Life, Death, and the Politics of Abortion :: abortion argumentative persuasive argument
Life, Death, and the Politics of Abortion à à à à à à à à Few issues have fostered such controversy as has the topic of abortion. The participants in the abortion debate not only have firmly-fixed beliefs, but each group has a self-designated appellation that clearly reflects what they believe to be the essential issues.à On one side, the pro-choice supporters see individual choice as central to the debate:à If a woman cannot choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, a condition which affects her body and possibly her entire life, then she has lost one of her most basic human rights. These proponents of abortion believe that while a fetus is a potential life, its life cannot be placed on the same level with that of a woman.à On the other side, the pro-life opponents of abortion argue that the fetus is human and therefore given the same human rights as the mother.à à Stated simply, they believe that when a society legalizes abortion, it is sanctioning murder. à à à à à à In today's more industrialized societies, technology has simplified the abortion procedure to a few basic and safe methods.à Technology, however, has also enhanced society's knowledge of the fetus.à Ultrasound, fetal therapy, and amniocentesis graphically reveal complex life before birth, and it is this potential human life that is at the heart of the debate. à à à à à In order to form an opinion on this matter, we must first question and define several common factors which are numerously debated. à I.à When does human life begin? à à à à à à Scientists identify the first moment of human life as that instant when a sperm cell unites with an ovum or egg cell.à à The billions of cells that collectively make up a human being are body cells.à Unless manipulated, these body cells are and remain what they appear to be: skin, hair, bone, muscle, and so on.à Each has some worthy function in life and performs that function until it dies.à Other rare cells, known as germ cells, have the power to transform themselves into every other kind of human cell.à The sex cells are the sperm cells in the male and the egg cells in the female.à It is only in combination that these cells can create a fetus.à The merger is complete within twelve hours,
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Social Norms of Income Distribution
During the period between 1929 and 1953, the United States occupational pay ratios and earning inequality is declined, mainly across World War II (Ober 1948, Phelps Brown 1977, Williamson and Lindert 1980, Goldin and Margo 1922b). The evidence showed that the condition of income inequality was occurrence in that period. Moreover, the problem of income inequality is declined. But, the problem of income inequality is existed. The government cannot spread the income distibution evenly. Many reasons obstructed the income distribution evenly. In my discussion, I concentrate to explain five reasons to influence the income distribution in the United States in the 20th century. Changing in social norms is related to the income distributions. Many people think that women represented a cheaper alternative for employers. Their jobs were viewed as temporary to be abandoned in favor of marriage and a home. High turnover combined with a large pool of replacements in any occupation will tend to depress wages, but it also means there is no incentive to provide career opportunities or invest much effort to train persons for more responsibility. Consequently, women tended to fill the more specialized and lower-paying work, while men moved into the new office manager roles. The fact is that clerical, service, and sales work does not yield significant financial returns to people with more formal education or longer work experience (Bibb & Form, 1977). In large part, this is because most of these are low ceiling careers, lacking in meaningful promotion opportunities for higher paying positions. The jobs have been filled advantageous position by one sex or the other. The point is strongly influencing the income distributions. The point of the unionization is related to the income distributions. Unions have improved wages and benefits, increased job security, and protected workers from discriminatory managerial decisions. Male workers are more likely to be members of trade unions, thus enjoying the advantages of collective bargaining for wages and earning more than women (Flaherty & Caniglia, 1992). Overall, women are about half as likely to be union members as men. Rinehart wrote, à ¡Ã § This accommodation to capitalist power was formalized in what is known as the post à ¡V World War II compromise forged in the midst of the intense class struggles of the 1940s. This settlement between labor, big capital, and the state featured the establishment of a new industrial relations system and stipulated a set of trade à ¡V off. Unions were legally recognized and accorded organizational security.à ¡ (P.184) Changing in the education level of the population is related to the income distribution. In the U.S, the financial return to a university or college degree also declined during the 1970s. One explanation of this phenomenon was the substantial increase the proportion of the population going to university, particularly the entry into the labor force of the à ¡Ã § Baby-Boomà ¡ generation during the 1970s (Welch 1979). Freeman (1976, 1980) argued that the demand for educated workers also declined, so that not all of the change in relative earnings could be attributed to temporary developments on the supply side. Dooley (1986) concluded that the entry of the large babyà ¡Vboom cohort during this period did lower earnings growth for this group, but that this demographic effect could not account for the observed harrowing of earnings differentials by level of education. Dooleyà ¡s results thus suggest that demand à ¡V side forces may also have played a role. Changing in the age structure of the population is related to the income distribution. The shapes of the earning streams reflect the main key factors which is earnings increase with age but at a decreasing rate. This concave shape reflects the fact that individuals generally continue to make human capital investments in the form of on-the-job training and work experience once they have entered the labor force. This job experience adds more to their productivity and earning s early in their careers due to diminishing returns to experience. However, to the extent that education increases productivity, individuals with the same amount of work experience but more education will earn more, perhaps substantially more. Migration is related to the income distribution. Economic theory predicts that the forces of competition would serve to reduce pure regional wage differentials so that they reflect compensating differences, short-run adjustments, or noncompetitive factors. Those forces of competition were the movement of capital from high- to low-wage areas, and the movement of labor from low- to high-wage areas. Empirical evidence tends to verify the implications of migration as a human capital decision. In a recent study, Osberg, Gordon, and Lin (1994) explore the determinants of interregional and interindustry mobility of individuals in the Maritimes. Using the 1986-87 LMAS, they find that younger individuals and those with higher expected wage gains are more likely to migrate. As well, the process of migration tends to reduce the regional disparities that induce the migration decision. In conclusion, the five reasons are influence the income distribution in the United States in the 20th century. The social norms show that the income inequality is happened between men and women. The unionization shows that the unions have a power to improve the wages and benefits for their members. In this situation, the income inequality is happened between unionà ¡s members and non-unions members. Although the demand for education workers was declined, education people still earn more than the uneducated people do because they have an expertise knowledge and experience. Migration is benefits for the young individuals. They can have a chance to prove themselves. Therefore, the movement of migration decreases the regional disparities.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Administrative Process in Nursing
Submitted by: Jennelyn M. Pondang Submitted to: Prof. Liwayway T. Vallesteros â⬠¢ Answer learning activities (page 14) nos. 3 and 4. â⬠¢ Illustrate using a table a comparison of the ff leadership style: a. Democratic, Authoritarian, and Laissez-faire b. Transformational and Transactional â⬠¢ Which of the above leadership styles do you think your immediate manager adhere to? Support your assumption. 3. Compare Theory X, Y, and Z. Which one would you prefer in your organization? Why? Theory X assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work.As a result of this, management believes that workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed. According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can. Theory X managers rely heavily on threat and coercion to gain their employee's compliance, believe t hat everything must end in blaming someone and that his or her employees do not really want to work, that they would rather avoid responsibility and that it is the manager's job to structure the work and energize the employee.Beliefs of this theory lead to mistrust, highly restrictive supervision, and a punitive atmosphere. Usually these managers feel the sole purpose of the employee's interest in the job is money. They will blame the person first in most situations, without questioning whether it may be the system, policy, or lack of training that deserves the blame. Theory Y assumes that people are creative and eager to work. Workers tend to desire more responsibility than Theory X workers, and have strong desires to participate in the decision making process.Theory Y workers are comfortable in a working environment which allows creativity and the opportunity to become personally involved in organizational planning. Creativity and imagination are increasingly present throughout th e ranks of the working population. These people not only accept responsibility, but actively seek increased authority. In this theory, management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. It is believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties.Theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation. Many people interpret Theory Y as a positive set of beliefs about workers. Theory Y managers are more likely than Theory X managers to develop the climate of trust with employees that is required for human resource development.This would include managers communicating openly with subordinates, minimizing the difference between superior-subordinate relationships, creating a comfortable environment in which subordinates can develop and use their abilities. This theory is a positive view to the employees, meaning that the employer is under a lot less pressure than someone who is influenced by a theory X management style. Another theory which deals with the way in which workers are perceived by managers, as well as how managers are perceived by workers, is William Ouchi's ââ¬Å"Theory Zâ⬠.Often referred to as the ââ¬Å"Japaneseâ⬠management style, Theory Z offers the notion of a hybrid management style which is a combination of a strict American management style (Theory A) and a strict Japanese management style (Theory J). This theory speaks of an organizational culture which mirrors the Japanese culture in which workers are more participative, and capable of performing many and varied tasks. Theory Z emphasizes things such as job rotation, broadening of skills, generalization versus specialization and the need for continuous training of workers.Much like McGregor's theories (Theory X an Y), Ouchi's Theory Z workers have a high need to be supported by the company, and highly value a working environment in which such things as family, cultures and traditions, and social institutions are regarded as equally important as the work itself. These types of workers have a very well developed sense of order, discipline, moral obligation to work hard, and a sense of cohesion with their fellow workers. Theory Z workers can be trusted to do their jobs to their utmost ability, so long as management can be trusted to support them and look out for their well being.One of the most important tenets of this theory is that management must have a high degree of confidence in its workers in order for this type of participative management to work. Theory Z stresses the need for enabling the workers to become generalists, rather than specialists, and to increase their knowledge of the company and its processes through job rotations and continual training. In fact, promotions tend to be sl ower in this type of setting, as workers are given a much longer opportunity to receive training and more time to learn the intricacies of the company's operations.The desire, under this theory, is to develop a work force, which has more of a loyalty towards staying with the company for an entire career, and be more permanent than in other types of settings. It is expected that once an employee does rise to a position of high level management, they will know a great deal more about the company and how it operates, and will be able to use Theory Z management theories effectively on the newer employees. SUMMARY: McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y managers seem to have a much more formal leadership style than do Ouchi's Theory Z managers.McGregor's managers seem to both have different views of the workers, while their views of the tasks remains the same in both cases: that is, one of specialization, and doing a particular task. Theory Y suggests that the workers would become very good at their particular tasks, because they are free to improve the processes and make suggestions. Theory Z workers, on the other hand, tend to rotate their jobs frequently, and become more generalists, but at the same time become more knowledgeable about the overall scheme of things within the company.Several parallels indeed exist between these two theorists. Namely McGregor's Theory Y, and Ouchi's Theory Z both see the relationship between managers and workers in a very similar light. They both are more group oriented than the Theory X assumptions, which seem to be more individual oriented. One of the most notable similarities between McGregor's Theory Y and Ouchi's Theory Z appears in the form of the type of motivation that makes the workers perform in a way that enables them to be more productive.While the Theory X worker is said to require coercion, threats, and possibly even disciplinary action, Theory Y and Theory Z workers are, again, self motivated. This allows them to focus on the task, and also their role within the company. Their desire is to be more productive and enable the company to succeed. Theory X workers, on the other hand, seem to have just enough self motivation to show up at work, punch the time clock, as it were, and do only that which is necessary to get the job done to minimum standards.I would prefer Theory Z in our organization because people in this theory are innately self- motivated to not only do their work, but also are loyal towards the company and want to make the company succeed. I like theory Z managers having a great deal of trust that their workers could make sound decisions. Therefore, this type of leader is more likely to act as ââ¬Å"coachâ⬠, and let the workers make most of the decisions. The workers have a great deal of input and weight in the decision making process. Theory Z also emphasizes more frequent performance appraisals 4.Describe at least three factors that affect human behavior. Attitude is one of the fa ctors that affect human behavior. It is a complex mental state involving beliefs, feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways. Another is Social Norms. This is the influence of social pressure that is perceived by the individual to perform or not perform a certain behavior. Perceived Behavioral Control is also factor that affect human behavior. This is defined as the individuals belief concerning how easy or difficult performing the behavior will be. Illustrate using a table a comparison of the ff leadership style: c. Democratic, Authoritarian, and Laissez-faire d. Transformational and Transactional C |Democratic |Authoritarian |Laissez-faire | | | | | | |Leadership style in which the leader ictates |Non-authoritarian leadership style. Laissez | |The people have a more participatory role in |policies and procedures, decides what goals are|faire (French for, allow to pass or let go) | |the decision making process. One person retains|to be achieved, and directs and con trols all |leaders try to give least possible guidance to | |final say over all decisions but allows others |activities without any meaningful participation|subordinates, and try to achieve control | |to share insight and ideas. by the subordinates. |through less obvious means. They believe that | |Highly effective form of leadership. People are| |people excel when they are left alone to | |more likely to excel in their positions and | |respond to their responsibilities and | |develop more skills when they feel empowered, | |obligations in their own ways. |and people are empowered when they are involved| | | |in the decision-making process. | | | |Often lead to a more productive and higher | | | |quality work group. | | | D. Transformational |Transactional | |* Leaders arouse emotions in their followers which motivates them to act beyond |*Leaders are aware of the link between the effort and reward. | |the framework of what may be described as exchange relations. |* Leadership is re sponsive and its basic orientation is dealing with present | |*Leadership is proactive and forms new expectations in followers. |issues. | |* Leaders are distinguished by their capacity to inspire and provide |*Leaders rely on standard forms of inducement, reward, punishment and | |individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and idealized influence to|sanction to control followers. | |their followers. |* Leaders motivate followers by setting goals and promising rewards for | |* Leaders create learning opportunities for their followers and stimulate |desired performance. | |followers to solve problems. |* Leadership depends on the leaderââ¬â¢s power to reinforce subordinates for their| |* Leaders possess good visioning and management skills to develop strong |successful completion of the bargain.. |emotional bonds with followers. | | |* Leaders motivate followers to work for goals that go beyond self-interest. | | â⬠¢ Which of the above leadership styles do you thin k your immediate manager adhere to? Support your assumption. Our manager adheres to transactional leadership style. She works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of her subordinates and the rewards that we get for following orders.Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. Whenever our manager allocates work to us, we are considered to be fully responsible for it. When things go wrong, then we are considered to be personally at fault, and were punished for our failure just as rewarded for succeeding. Our manager makes clear of what is required and expected from us. The contract specifies fixed salary and the benefits that will be given. Rewards are given to us for applied effort.She sometimes uses incentives to encourage us for greater productivity. MODULE 2 â⬠¢ Answer any 2 learning activities on page 21. â⬠¢ Submit 1 reading related to this module. Include your comments/ reaction and source. â⬠¢ Submit requirements as instructed Leaning activities 1. Differentiate a leader from a manager; management from leadership? A leader is defined as one who guides or is in command or one in a position of influence or importance. A person who guides others toward a common goal to achieve the objectives set for certain purpose.Interested in risk-taking and exploring new ideas and relates to people personally in an intuitive and emphatic manner. A leader have no official appointment to a position in the organization while a manager is a person appointed officially to the position whose function is to plan, organize, lead and control. Manager is a person tasked with overseeing one or more employees or departments to ensure these employees or departments carry out assigned duties as required, relates to people according to their roles, has the power and authority to enforce decisions. Subject |Leader |Manager | |Essence |Change |Stability | |Foc us |Leading people |Managing work | |Have |Followers |Subordinates | |Horizon |Long-term |Short-term | |Seeks |Vision |Objectives | |Approach |Sets direction |à Plans detail | |Decision Facilitates |Makes | |Power |Personal charisma |Formal authority | |Appeal to |Heart |Head | |Energy |Passion |Control | |Culture |Shapes |Enacts | |Dynamic |Proactive |Reactive | |Persuasion |Sell |Tell | |Style |Transformational |Transactional | |Exchange |Excitement for work |Money for work | |Likes |Striving |Action | |Wants |Achievement |Results | |Risk |Takes |Minimizes | |Rules |Breaks |Makes | |Conflict |Uses |Avoids | |Direction |New roads |Existing roads | |Truth |Seeks |Establishes | |Concern |What is right |Being right | |Credit |Gives |Takes | |Blame |Takes |Blames |Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established, the process of obtaining, organizing resources and of achieving objectives through other peopl e while leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow. Itââ¬â¢s a process of empowering people through persuasion and one of the function of management. Leadership is ââ¬Å" the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. â⬠2. Observe a nurse manager in your workplace and note the different management activities she performs identified by Tappen.As I observed our nurse manager in our workplace I noticed that she does the following activities of the effective manager as noted by Tappen: 1. Assumes leadership of the group. 2. Actively engages in planning the current and future work of the group. 3. Provides direction to staff members regarding the way the work is to be done. 4. Monitors the work done by staff member to maintain quality and productivity. 5. Recognizes and rewards quality and productivity Our nurse manager perform the following 5 ( leadership, pl anning, directing, monitoring and recognition ) out of 7 components of effective management by Tappen. I was not able to observe the other 2 components; a. fostering the development of every staff member b. ) represents both administration and staff members needed in discussions and negotiations with others. Submit 1 reading related to this module. Include your comments/ reaction and source. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a popular book, published by Simon & Schuster, and written by Stephen R Covey. It provides a useful, sequential framework for understanding much about the process of Personal Development. Many highly successful people seem to have naturally developed these principles of effectiveness. Stephen Covey's principled approach is not a quick-fix prescription for personal growth.But, says Covey, if you work hard at acquiring these principles, if you learn them well, think about them deeply and teach them to others, they will eventually become internalized. They will lead to fundamental change because they will affect who you are ââ¬â your character ââ¬â for the better. Your personality was formed as the result of specific behaviors you internalized as you grew up. These behaviors are not things we need to think about, they represent little success strategies or ways of coping with life that we have found to be helpful. If you take a look at what Seneca said about human character, you will see how acquiring new habits leads to a fundamental change of character. Sow a thought, reap an action Sow action, reap a habit Sow a habit, reap a characterSow a character, reap a destiny. ââ¬â Seneca [pic] Stephen Covey Stephen Covey was born in 1932. He lives with his wife, Sandra, and their family in Utah; in the Rocky Mountains. Covey achieved international acclaim, and is perhaps best known, for his self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which was first published by Simon ; Schuster in 1989 and has sold around 12 million copies word-wide. Covey has a Harvard MBA and has spent most of his career at Brigham Young University, where he was professor of organizational behavior and business management. In addition to his MBA, he also has a doctorate which he completed whilst at Brigham Young University. Dr.Stephen R Covey has received the Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity and has additionally been awarded four honorary doctorate degrees. Covey is also a co-founder of the Franklin-Covey organization, which specializes in the application of Covey's principle-centered approach to leadership and management. He is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of time-management. Thousands of organizations across the world, including many of the Fortune 500 companies, have adopted his innovative techniques on leadership, teamwork, and customer-focused service. His best-selling book on time-management, First Things First, co-authored with A. Roger ; Rebecca R. Merrill, according to Simon ; Schuster is the best-selling time management book ever.The seven principles he presents in the 7 Habits are not original thoughts ââ¬â he does not claim to have originated the ideas but simply to have found a framework and a language for articulating the time-less principles embedded into the seven habits. The 7 habits are to be found, he says, in all the major world religions. He believes the principles themselves to be ââ¬Ëself-evident', that is, ââ¬Ëyou cannot really argue against them'. His view is that all highly effective people, and enduringly effective organizations, have utilized the 7 habits, to a greater or lesser extent, to sustain their success. Covey says that the 7 habits are ââ¬Ëcommon knowledge' but, he adds, are not necessarily ââ¬Ëcommon practice'. In fact, it could be argued that the habits actually run counter to basic human nature.By our nature, we are reactive creatures and we are inclined to act mainly out of self-interest. But we are also as human beings capable of much higher thoughts and actions and by working hard to internalize the 7 habits we are able to develop a proactive attitude. By so doing, we can take charge of our own destinies and we are capable of exerting influence on other people for the collective good. Summary Stephen Covey is an excellent speaker and so his audio books, in addition to his written books, are well worth obtaining. A full list of relevant resources appears at the foot of this page. In this section, however, we examine what Stephen Covey says about his work.Here are a number of brief quotations which are taken directly from the book which provide a useful summary. Be Proactive ââ¬Å"Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen. â⬠Begin With the End in Mind ââ¬Å"(This habit)â⬠¦ is based on imagination ââ¬â the ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with our minds what we cannot at present see with our eyesâ⬠¦ â⬠Put First Things First ââ¬Å"Create a clear, mutual understanding of what needs to be accomplished, focusing on what, not how; results not methods. Spend time. Be patient. Visualize the desired result. â⬠Think Win-Win Win-Win is a frame of mind that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-Win means that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. â⬠Seek First to Understand, Then be Understood ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËSeek First to Understand' involves a very deep shift in paradigm. We typically seek first to be understood. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They're either speaking or preparing to speak. They're filtering everything through their own paradigms, reading their autobiography into other people's lives. â⬠Synergize (Synergise) ââ¬Å"Synergy works; it's a correct princ iple. It is the crowning achievement of all the previous habits.It is effectiveness in an interdependent reality ââ¬â it is teamwork, team building, the development of unity and creativity with other human beings. â⬠Sharpen the Saw ââ¬Å"This is the habit of renewalâ⬠¦ It circles and embodies all the other habits. It is the habit of continuous improvementâ⬠¦ that lifts you to new levels of understanding and living each of the habits. â⬠COMMENTS/REACTION: Each chapter is dedicated to one of the habits The First Three Habits surround moving from dependence to independence â⬠¢ Habit 1: Be Proactive Take initiative in life by realizing your decisions are the primary determining factor of what kind of life you will have in the future.We are responsible for all the choices we desire and the consequences implied on it â⬠¢ Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind Self-discover and clarify our deeply important character values and life goals. â⬠¢ Habit 3: Put First Things First Doing task based on importance rather than urgency. The Next Three have something to do with working with others (Interdependence) â⬠¢ Habit 4: Think Win-Win Genuinely striving for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in our relationships. Valuing and respecting people by understanding a ââ¬Å"winâ⬠for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood Using empathetic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening, take an open mind to being influenced by you, which creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving. â⬠¢ Habit 6: Synergize Combining the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. The Last habit relates to self-rejuvenation; â⬠¢ Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw The balancing and renewa l of your attitude, principles, beliefs and practices to create a sustainable long-term effective lifestyle. There is a gap between stimulus and response, and the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space. The ability to use wisely the gap between stimulus and response, to exercise the unique endowments of our human nature, empowers us from the inside out.To achieve unity with ourselves, our loved ones, our friends, and our working associates, is the highest, best, and most delicious fruit of the Seven Habits. Building a character of total integrity and living the life of love and service that creates such unity isn't easy. If we start with the daily private victory and work from the inside out, results will surely come. SOURCE: http://www. whitedovebooks. co. uk/7-habits/summary. htm MODULE 3 : â⬠¢ Answer any 2 learning activities on page 31. 1. Analyze the different phases of planning. The first phase of planning according to Tappen is DEVELOPING THE PLAN. The first step in developing the plan is to establish its purpose.The purpose should be clear to avoid confusion and may be stated in broad terms until a broad thorough assessment of the situation is done. The second step is analyzing the situation which includes problem verification, identifying situational variables and the anticipated response to change. Formulating objectives is the third step. Objectives are formulated when the problems are already assessed. The objectives should be written as measurable outcomes so that they can later serve as guidelines for evaluation. The fourth step is generating alternative solutions. The last step in developing the plan is analyzing alternatives and selecting course of action. The second phase of planning is PRESENTING THE PLAN.Plans for projects are usually presented to administration or management for approval. The plan must be presented in an organized manner, delivery of the presentation must be done convincingly and professionally, p lanner needs to be persuasive, concise and direct to the point in order to obtain approval and acceptance by administrators IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING is the third phase (last phase) of planning. It includes the following steps: Organizing the implementation of a plan includes; 1. Identifying and arranging activities according to sequence 2. Setting target dates for completing each activity 3. Assignment of responsibilities to particular individuals and 4. The allocation of resourcesTechniques have been developed to organize and monitor implementation of proposed plans such as Schedules which is easy to make and use, Gantt charts which is a highly developed schedule that specifies in detail the task to be performed and the time they are expected to be completes, program evaluation and review technique (PERT) graphically illustrates the sequence of events and their interrelationships using circles for events and arrows for activities and the critical path method (CPM) thatââ¬â¢ s very similar to PERT of which one can have a realistic estimate of when the project can be completed. 2. Differentiate strategic planning from operational planning. Give example of each. Strategic planning and operational planning involve two different types of thinking. Strategic decisions are fundamental and directional. Operational decisions, on the other hand, primarily affect the day-to-day implementation of strategic decisions. While strategic decisions usually have longer-term implications, operational decisions usually have immediate (less than one year) implications.Strategic Planning is defined as continuous, systematic process of making risk-taking decisions today with greatest possible knowledge of their effects in the future. Views future as unpredictable, planning as a continuous process, expects new trends, surprises and changes. It considers a range of possible futures & emphasizes strategy development based on assessment of the organization's internal (strength an d weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) environment. In strategic planning one of the keys example is something called SWOT. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Everyone in the strategic planning group makes up a list of the company's SWOTs.This gives the company/organization a picture as to where the weaknesses and strengths lie and what opportunities and threats face them. This helps with planning in several ways. First by knowing their strengths they can work to enhance them. The weaknesses can be ignored, but a way of managing or lessening their impact can be developed. Opportunities are analyzed and the best ones chosen. Finally threats: the economy, government regulations and competition are addressed. Strategic Planning ask this question: ââ¬Å"Based on our current understanding of environment, are we doing the right thing? How can we best use our resources to achieve our mission? â⬠[pic]EXAMPLE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING while O perational Planning views future as something that needs to be implemented now.Focuses on setting short-term (less than one year) objectives and assumes much more detailed planning regarding who and how activities will be accomplished Operational planning ask this question: ââ¬Å"What do we need to be doing for the upcoming year/immediately to best accomplish our mission. â⬠EXAMPLE OF OPERATIONAL PLANNING Operational Plan Terra Engineering The following section will identify the proposed operational plan for Terra Engineering. Included are the general operating procedures, human resources, insurance, and working capital requirements of the business. Also included is a table outlining the office space requirements, asset acquisition and an outline of Terra Engineering's operational workflow. General Operating Hours Terra Engineering intends to operate Monday thru Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Terra Engineering will be operational year round. Human Resources Mr. Johnson and Mr.Smit h will be the sole employees of Terra Engineering for the first two years of operation. When additional human resources are needed, Terra Engineering has identified the persons qualified and able to assist on a contract basis for the same rate as the owner. They include: Mr. Wes Aaron, and environmental engineering technician will be sub-contracted to complete work as needed. It is estimated that Mr. Aaron will eventually be hired full time by Terra Engineering once demand warrants growth. Mrs. Leanne White holds a Masters in Environmental Engineering and will also be sub-contracted to perform work for the company. Eventually, Terra Engineering intends to hire Mrs. White full time. Mr.Charles Pearson holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering and has a vast technical experience base in the environmental assessment area and will be retained when needed. Once the business reaches 60% of its operational capacity this will represent 1300 hours, Terra Engineering wi ll offer the above environmental professionals full time positions. Also at this time, an administrative assistant will be sought. A professional user of Auto Cad will be sought to perform various jobs for the company. It is unknown at this time who will fill this position, however, job advertisements will be put in the local papers and organizations to attract a good pool of respondents. Once hired, all employees will be covered by the Workers Safety and Insurance Board and covered for Employment Benefits. Insurance RequirementsTerra Engineering will have to incur costs for business liability insurance. The estimated cost for this requirement is $4,000 per year. Operating Capital Requirements Due to the demands imposed at start up, Terra Engineering will require that the business have sufficient working capital to meet all operational responsibilities of the business for the first three months. It is estimated that the business will need approximately $20,000 in working capital to sustain and ensure the business meets all opening and on-going financial obligations. Also, throughout the year there tends to be periods of low activities. Consequently, the company will experience financial pressures during these months.While much of this time will be spent developing proposals and marketing strategies, there will be a need to maintain sufficient working capital to cover these periods. A long term strategy to maintain a positive cash flow during these periods will be to diversify the company and develop environmental training programs for certain communities. These training programs will be given during these months. Office Requirements and Asset Acquisitions Terra Engineering will lease office space on located at: 459 Duncan Avenue, Suite 1003 Detroit, Michigan The office space is leased and will accommodate the necessary office equipment such as computers, fax machine, photo copier, and other engineering equipment.This facility will require an estimated $5,000 t o renovate in a style that is aesthetically pleasing to the clients as well as the owners. These facilities will be leased at $500 per month. In addition, Terra Engineering will require specialized environmental equipment. These are the estimated costs associated with those investments: Office Renovations $5,000 Office Equipment and Furniture $6,000 Specialized Field Equipment $27,000 Specialized Software $10,000 Total Capital Costs $48,000 The above noted capital purchases will increase work effectiveness, enhance professionalism and will prepare the business for the forecasted demand for services.Further, the equipment may be leased out to partner associates during times of low activity. Operational Workflow As with any consulting firm, the operational workflow for the business is quite uniform and simple to follow. The following is a step by step outline of how contracts are completed on a regular basis: Step 1 Terra Engineering will respond to a request for proposal (RFP) with a professionally prepared proposal for service; Step 2 At this point, the potential contract is awarded to either Terra Engineering or other companies which submitted proposals for services. Therefore, communication is made by the contract to the successful consulting firm.If Terra Engineering is successfully selected to perform the work, the contract is then triggered to begin; Step 3 Terra Engineering will collect a deposit from the client and will begin the project. Deposit values vary depending upon the size and location of the project; Step 4 Terra Engineering will go ahead and start the project while keeping communication with the client. Once the project reaches 60% ââ¬â 70% completion, funds will be given to the business by the client to complete the rest of the work; Step 5 Once the work is completed to the satisfaction of both, Terra Engineering and the client, the final payment for the contract will be made. The above operational workflow is very standard, easy to unde rstand and within industry's norm.Terra Engineering will accept cash, cheque and visa payments. These payments are well within industry standards. The business will provide credit to larger account holders. It is estimated that the length and terms of payments are net 30 for all clients. This will allow the business to avoid cash flow problems. Late payment charges are 2% of the projects outstanding balance. â⬠¢ Get a sample copy of different types of planning and give your analysis as to their contents. A Tactical Plan Here is what a tactical plan might look like. Note how we begin by showing how the tactical plan relates to the Marketing plan. It is the tactics that will execute that strategy.Too often, firms do not have a proper marketing plan and instead go directly to tactics. [pic] New Product Plans Our strategy assumes that we will launch new products throughout the year to maintain our image of leadership in the meal solutions market. Our marketing strategy is to provide consumers with tasty, nutritious, quick-to-prepare meals. Objectives: We will launch four new products over the plan year, each of which will: 1. Score an average of 7. 5 or more in consumer taste panels (10 = excellent taste, 1 = very unappetizing) with three test groups. 2. Include two vegetables and one meat or meat substitute item. 3. Contain no more than 450 calories per serving. 4.Require no more than six minutes per serving microwave cooking time. Procedure: Lab staff will develop meal solutions which meet the above criteria such that one new product is ready to market every three months. Only products which meet the last three criteria should be taste tested. At least one of the new items must be meatless, but no more than two should be. Controls: Lab staff are to submit monthly progress reports to the marketing manager indicating the number of items under development and data on all four criteria, as available, for each item. The key goal is that there must be four marketa ble items by the end of the plan year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)