Sensorial

Maria Montessori described the sensorial materials as the â€Å"key to the universe† Discuss this statement and give examples to support your discussion. â€Å"The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world, they cast a light upon it which makes visible to him more things in greater detail than he could see in the dark, or uneducated state. â€Å"(1. Montessori Maria, the Absorbent page 190, chapter 17). Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began from birth to six. At this stage, children learn and develop by using their five senses which help in making mental order in their environment. These five senses are visual sense the child learns how to visually discriminate differences between similar objects and differing objects. Second is tactile sense, the child learns through his sense of touch. â€Å"Although the sense of touch is spread throughout the surface of the body, the Exercises given to the children are limited to the tips of the fingers, and particularly, to those of the right hand. (Montessori, Maria (1997) The Discovery of the Child) This allows the child to really focus on what he is feeling, through a concentration of a small part of his body. In the Stereognostic Sense Exercises, the child learns to feel objects and make recognitions based on what he feels. â€Å"When the hand and arm are moved about an object, an impression of movement is added to that touch. Such an impression is attributed to a special, sixth sense, which is called a muscular sense, and which permits many impressions to be stored in a â€Å"muscular memory†, which recalls movements that have been made. (Montessori, Maria (1997) the Discovery of the Child, Oxford, England: Clio Press) . In the Baric sense, the child learns to feel the difference of pressure or weight of different objects, this sense is heightened through the use of a blindfold or of closing your eyes . In the Thermic Sense, the child works to refine his sense of temperature. In the Olfactory and Gustatory Sense Exercises, the child is given a key to his smelling and tasting sense. Although not all smells or tastes are given to the child in these Exercises, the child does work to distinguish one smell from another or one taste from another. He can then take these senses, and apply them to other smells or tastes in his environment. In the Auditory Sense Exercises, the child discriminates between different sounds. In doing these different Exercises, the child will refine and make him more sensitive to the sounds in his environment; there are four kinds of sounds human, animal, natural and mechanical sounds. Dr. Montessori felt that this was the ideal period in the child’s life to introduce him the equipment that would sharpen his senses and facilitate his comprehension of the many impressions he receives through them. So that Sensorial lessons enable the child to learn him by using his hands and his mind. We find that Dr. Benjamin Franklin once said â€Å"tell me and I forget. Teach me and remember. Involve me and learn†. In order to serve this purpose; Dr. Maria Montessori introduced a subject called ‘Sensorial', it comes from the word sense or senses. As there are no new experiences for the child to take from the Sensorial work where the materials are specially designed to enable the child to use his senses to explore different attributes of the world†¦ he child is able to concentrate on the refinement of all his senses, from visual to stereognostic. Dr. Montessori based her method of teaching young children considering the fact that a child between two to six years passes through the ‘sensitive period' for the refinement of sense along with the others and they can be helped in the development of the senses while they are in this formative period. â€Å"It is necessary t o begin the education of the senses in the formative period, if we wish to perfect this sense development with the education which is to follow. The education of the senses should be begun methodically in infancy, and should continue during the entire period of instruction which is to prepare the individual for life in society. † (Montessori Maria, internet) Dr. Montessori describe Sensorial education as â€Å"the key to the universe† because it revealing to the children, a deeper knowledge about the outside world. All of the material is aesthetically pleasing. They attract the child’s attention to the objects and allow the child to manipulate the materials with easy way. The material must be complete. This allows the child who is working with the material to finish through the whole piece of work without having to stop and find a missing piece. All of the material is limited. The first use of the term limited refers to the fact that there is only one of each material in the environment. This calls for other students to build on their patience. The second use of the word limited is in reference to the idea that not all of one quality or piece of information is given to the child. This child is not given every color in the world, but only a select few. This gives the child the keys to the information so it peaks his curiosity and leads him to learn more out of his own interest. Most importantly, all of the material could be called â€Å"materialized abstractions†. This means that though Montessori’s Sensorial materials, abstract concepts are made into concrete materials. â€Å"The sensorial materials comprise a series of objects which are grouped together according to some physical quality which they have, such as colour, shape, size, sound, texture, weight, temperature, and so forth. Every single group of objects represents the same quality but in different degrees; there is consequently a regular gradual distinction between the various objects and, when this is possible, one that is mathematically fixed. Every series of objects is graded so that there is a maximum and a minimum, which determines its limits, or which, more properly, are fixed by the use which a child makes of them† (Montessori Maria, The Discovery of Childhood, Page. 100 chapter 6). Dr. Montessori believed in the same ideal and with her development of Sensorial teaching brought a new concept to teaching the world throughout her Sensorial materials. So that the sensorial materials in the Montessori classroom enable the child to become aware of details by revealing to him strongly contrasting sensations like black and white and progressing to various gradations of this sensation such as; the many different shades of red in the colour tablets as an example, facilitate his knowledge of colours and eventually his understanding of the abstraction of a certain colour and finally the abstraction of color itself. The sensorial equipment, worked on systematically, builds a rooted and comprehensive foundation for the child's intellectual future. This is why Montessori has appropriately named the sensorial materials as â€Å"the key to the universe†. We find that the sensorial materials related with the environment around the child, he try to discover on his own how to make things he see in the environment, he often want to make his own books and do so with tools of ruler and stapler, make his own constructive triangles, or geometric solids. He often explores different ways of making the same end product – e. g. making a cylinder with paper, and then trying with clay. The other areas of the curriculum for the children of this age are related with the ‘sensorial’ materials such as mathematics, language and culture. The sensorial materials respond to the way that the child learns at this age through the senses rather than the intellect. There are materials for the refinement of each sense, with each activity isolating one particular quality, for example; color, size, sound, taste or weight. We can take a pink tower as an example, it made up of ten pink cubes of varying sizes. In 3 year-old the child constructs a tower with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. This material isolates the concept of size. The cubes are all the same colour and texture; the only difference is their size. Other materials isolate different concepts: colour tablets for colour, geometry materials for form and so on. As the child's exploration continues, the materials interrelate and build upon each other. Later, in the primary years, new aspects of some materials unfold. When studying volume, for example, the child may return to the pink tower and discover that its cubes progress incrementally from one cubic centimeter to one cubic decimetre. At the pre-school age when the child is use the sensory information, these materials help the child to order and make sense of his world and heighten his perception and wonder of it. Through working with the different sensorial materials the child has refined his discrimination of size to the point where he wants to know how much one object is bigger than other one. The mathematic materials flow naturally from here. When a child reaches this point, he needs to introduce to concrete representations of mathematical concepts and given language to describe these, for example: large, long, thick, heavy. They are required to sort, pair, grade and sequence using all of their senses – visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory and olfactory. Through these activities they develop the ability to solve mathematical problems for example: decimal system, geometry and algebra –by compare, contrast, and make judgments. The same applies with language. The subtle preparation the child has been given in this environment such as songs, stories, poems, or the control over the movement of the hand through knobbed cylinders and geometric cabinet, they allow the child from 4 and 5 year olds to effortlessly start to write and read. Montessori education has been using a set of ‘sandpaper letters’ individual boards with the primary symbol for each of the 26 letters as the sounds in the English language. Three year-old children see and feel these symbols and make the corresponding sound, bsorbing the combination of sound and symbol through three different senses (auditory-visual and tactile sense. Finally, the cultural materials bring to the child his world and the animals, plants and people within it. Like everything offered to the child at this age, the materials are sensory-based and are introduced to the child in an orderly way; first the world, then the plants; the child is introduced to the botanical classification in plants and their parts through classified cards, and an experience of how leaves can be classified by their shape through the leaf cabinet. Through these, the child is given keys to enhance his exploration of the outdoor environment and garden, and ultimately the world. The child starts to notice shapes of leaves as he walks in the park, and this deepens his appreciation of his environment. The sensorial materials also are the extension for the world of animals, then mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish; in the same way as with the world of plants, the child is given presentations of animal classification through the classified cards. Through his exploration he finds the keys to understanding the characteristics of each family and this is applied to his locality. The sensorial materials extend to geography: The children discover how our world can be divided into land and water, and how these two can further be classified by their shape – land into islands, peninsulas, isthmuses and capes; water into lake, gulf, strait and bay. These offer a key to the young mind so attuned to order and pattern, and children start to appreciate even the lakes and islands they discover in their local parks. They also explore how our world is divided into continents, and how each continent is divided into countries, and towns and so on. In this way they get an appreciation of where their ‘place’ is in the world. The education of senses makes men observers. The child who has worked with the sensorial materials has not only acquired a greater skill in the use of senses but also guides his exploration of the outside world. The aim of sense training is not only that a child shall know the colours forms and textures but also that he refines his sense through an exercise of attention and through comparison. The Sensorial Materials have been given many names: materialized abstractions, key to universe, path to culture. The goal of sensorial is to aid a child refine his senses so they can learn more from his environment and grow spiritually and physically. This is done through manipulation with carefully designed materials and direct experience with the world around them. The Sensorial technique is a multi-faceted method of learning. Through the use of singular quality focus activities the child’s senses are awakened. The sensory revelation that is experienced by the child during this period leads to a greater intellectual capability. The sensorial practice sets the groundwork for further intellectual growth. The crucial roles the senses have in education are illustrated through the connection between the various sensorial experiences the child has and all of the activities in the Sensorial environment. Because of Montessori’s focus on sensorial exploration and the Sensitive Periods for crucial brain development, there may be no computers for children’s use in the Children’s House environment. However, through the Montessori materials the children are building strong foundations to be able to learn to use this technology when appropriate. They are learning how to think, solve problem and create. It is striking how several pioneers and highly successful individuals in this field have Montessori backgrounds (e. g. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, inventors of Google; Will Wright, inventor of The Sims). They even attribute their success in innovation to their childhood years in a Montessori classroom. BIBLOGRAPHY Montessori Maria: The secret of childhood. Montessori Maria: absorbent mind. Montessori Maria, quotes, Internet) Montessori Maria: discovery of the childhood

Riskmanagementguidance

To promote, and thereby support inclusive decision making as a collaborative and empowering process, which is fully attentive to the individual's perspective and to the views of the primary career. To enable and support the positive management Of risks where this is fully endorsed by the multi-disciplinary team as having positive outcomes. C] To promote and enhance safer working environments. C] To provide a shared theoretically sound basis for multi-agency training and or the monitoring and auditing of service responses.C] To promote the adoption by all staff of ‘defensible decisions' rather than ‘defensive decisions'. 1. 3 Review of this Guide: The Guide will be reviewed annually. The next review will take place in September 2011. Page 4 Of 38 2. Introduction 2. 1 The saying â€Å"nothing ventured, nothing gained† makes the point that unless someone takes a risk and tries new activities, they will never know of the positive benefits that might result. In our soci ety, people are encouraged to travel widely, take part in regular leisure and sporting activities, go to college, evolve careers and have families.These are all activities that don't just happen, but mean people have to take risks to achieve their aspirations. 2. 2 For many people taking risks is an accepted part of life. However people with a disability and older people are often discouraged from taking risks, either because of their perceived limitations or fear that they or others might be harmed. 2. 3 Changes in society's attitude towards disability, social care and health policy now mean that people with a disability and older people are being actively encouraged to increase their independence in their daily activities and sections about the services they receive.The focus is now more on enhancing people's abilities rather than concentrating on their disabilities. 2. 4 â€Å"Historically, social care has been good at providing services that minimized risk. However, personaliza tion means that in the future Social Care (and Health Services) have to work towards providing choices rather than services. † 1 2. 5 This Guide is concerned with setting out the approach that the Isle of Wight Council and PACT expect its staff to adopt towards the issue of risk when they work with adults with a disability and older people. 6 When implementing this Guide in day-to-day practice, the Isle of Wight Council and PACT recognize that any risk-taking approach must be balanced with their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding adults and children, care standards and health and safety legislation. 2. 7 In addition, whilst this Guide Will encourage the Council's leisure, sport and cultural services to work with social care services and their users around the issue of risk, it should not lead them to feel they have to individually risk assess every person who use their services outside of their duty of care awards all consumers.We recognize that to do so WOUld be bot h impractical and potentially discriminatory. However there may be circumstances in which some services provided may need to assess the risk to an individual. They will explain their justification for Safeguarding Adults: A consultation on the review of the â€Å"no secrets guidance†: DOD / Dignity and Safety / Lucy Abandoner – 14 October 2008 Page 5 of 38 this and do everything practical to enable the individual's inclusion in the activities in which they want to take part. 2. The Council and Pact's Services will also endeavourer through their impassioning arrangements and Service Level Agreements to encourage the individuals, agencies and set-vices it funds, or with which it contracts, to manage risks positively. 2. 9 The Guide will support the Council and PACT to fulfill their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 and the Mental capacity Act 2005. The Mental capacity Act 2005 and its code of practice provides a statutory framework f or people who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves.The Guide supports the Human Rights Act 1998 as it empowers people make decisions for themselves where possible and places individuals at the heart of the decision making process. 2. 10 The Local Authority and PACT owe a duty of care to all their service users. Any risk taking has potential legal implications in negligence. However, these can be minimized where there is a positive approach which generates a clear trail of written records showing the issues and solutions which have been considered, and there is an explicit and justifiable rationale for risk management decisions. 2. 1 The fundamental principle of this Guide is that support is provided to individuals to enable them to receive personalized care / support that meets heir needs regardless of their disability, age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexuality. This also applies to people with a particular medical or psychiatric diagnosis. This support must exist with in a framework of risk assessment and management that is collaborative, transparent and enabling. Page 6 of 38 3. What is risk? 3. 1 Risk is the possibility that an event will occur with harmful outcomes for a particular person or others with whom they come into contact. . 2 A risk event can have harmful outcomes because of: L] risks associated with impairment or disability such as falls C health notations or mental health problems C] accidents, for example, whilst out in the community or at a social care / us port service risks associated with everyday activities that might be increased by a person's impairment or disability C] the use of medication C] the misuse of drugs or alcohol C] behaviors resulting in injury, neglect, abuse, and exploitation by self or others C] self harm, neglect or thoughts of suicide.L] aggression and violence CLC poor planning or service management 3. 3 The type of outcome depends on the nature of the person, their relationships tit others and the circum stances in which they find themselves. 3. 4 Risk is often thought of in terms of danger, loss, threat, damage or injury. But as well as potentially negative characteristics, risk-taking can have positive benefits for individuals and their communities. 3. 5 Risk can be minimized by the support of others, who can be staff, family, friends, etc.However, in promoting independence, individual responsibility for taking risks must be a balance between safeguarding someone from harm and enabling them to lead a more independent life where they effectively manage risks themselves. . 6 A balance therefore has to be achieved between the desire of people to do everyday activities with the duty of care owed by services and employers to their staff and to users of services, and the legal duties of statutory and community services and independent providers.As well as considering the dangers associated with risk, the potential benefits of risk-taking have to be identified (nothing ventured, nothing gained'). This should involve everyone affected – adults who use services, their families and practitioners. Page 7 of 38 4. What is ‘managing risk positively? 4. 1 Managing risk positively' is: weighing up the potential benefits and harms of exercising one choice of action over another, identifying the potential risks involved, and developing plans and actions that reflect the positive potential and stated priorities of the service user.It involves using available resources and support to achieve the desired outcomes, and minimizing the potential harmful outcomes. It is not negligent ignorance of the potential risks†¦ It is usually a very carefully thought out strategy for managing a specific situation or set of circumstances. † (Steve Morgan, 2004)2 . For community based services, this means: C] empowering people C] working in partnership with adults who use services or direct their own support, family career and advocates 0 developing an understanding of t he responsibilities of each party 0 helping people to access opportunities and take worthwhile chances CLC developing trusting working relationships 0 helping adults who use services to learn from their experiences 0 understanding the consequences of different actions 0 making decisions based on all the choices available and accurate information L] being positive about potential risksC] understanding a person's strengths C] knowing what has worked or not in the past L] where problems have arisen, understanding why C] ensuring support and advocacy is available to all users of services, particularly if things begin to go wrong for someone sometimes tolerating supported short-term risks in consultation with the service user, for long-term gains 2 Morgan, S. (2004). Positive risk-taking: an idea whose time has come.

An Unfor Gottable Event in My Life

The last trip was a very long and interesting one, it was a trip to the United States of America. The first thing to be said about is the choice of the country. It wasn’t that the United States was a country of my dreams like it is for some people. There were a lot of countries which I wanted to see more than America, but I was given an opportunity to work there for some time and this is how I went overseas. I worked there and traveled as well. During this trip I had visited a lot of places, but I decided to write only about one city which impressed me the most. It is the New York. City. When I first arrived to this city I had never seen anything like that before. When you come from such a small country like Lithuania you are shocked how big the city is. It left a great impression to me, I just loved the buildings of it: new ones, old ones, small ones and especially big ones. There is so much of everything: huge and tiny shops, restaurants, cafes, night clubs, museums, galleries, etc. It seems that it would take at least few years to see everything only in one city, not mentioning the whole country. Another interesting and important thing about New York, as well as the whole United states, is a mixture of cultures. I met so many people from so many different countries. I think America is the only country which has so many cultures mixed with that of their own. This is a very interesting and at the same time strange thing to discover for someone who is not familiar with such thing. The last words which I want to say about this trip, it taught me a lot of things about life and people. In the States people are very different but one thing is common to the majority of them, it is money. Visiting this country I discovered how great the power of money is, how it changes the world, people and their lives. I guess it was the only disappointing thing about this country because the rest of it was very exciting. To conclude, I would like to say that it is quite hard to write everything on one sheet of paper as there is so much of interesting to say, but it takes a lot of space. Summing up, I could say that this trip, in some way, changed my life and outlook to the world, that is why I have chosen it on the most memorable event in my life. An Unfor Gottable Event in My Life The last trip was a very long and interesting one, it was a trip to the United States of America. The first thing to be said about is the choice of the country. It wasn’t that the United States was a country of my dreams like it is for some people. There were a lot of countries which I wanted to see more than America, but I was given an opportunity to work there for some time and this is how I went overseas. I worked there and traveled as well. During this trip I had visited a lot of places, but I decided to write only about one city which impressed me the most. It is the New York. City. When I first arrived to this city I had never seen anything like that before. When you come from such a small country like Lithuania you are shocked how big the city is. It left a great impression to me, I just loved the buildings of it: new ones, old ones, small ones and especially big ones. There is so much of everything: huge and tiny shops, restaurants, cafes, night clubs, museums, galleries, etc. It seems that it would take at least few years to see everything only in one city, not mentioning the whole country. Another interesting and important thing about New York, as well as the whole United states, is a mixture of cultures. I met so many people from so many different countries. I think America is the only country which has so many cultures mixed with that of their own. This is a very interesting and at the same time strange thing to discover for someone who is not familiar with such thing. The last words which I want to say about this trip, it taught me a lot of things about life and people. In the States people are very different but one thing is common to the majority of them, it is money. Visiting this country I discovered how great the power of money is, how it changes the world, people and their lives. I guess it was the only disappointing thing about this country because the rest of it was very exciting. To conclude, I would like to say that it is quite hard to write everything on one sheet of paper as there is so much of interesting to say, but it takes a lot of space. Summing up, I could say that this trip, in some way, changed my life and outlook to the world, that is why I have chosen it on the most memorable event in my life.

Return on Expectation v Return on investment in Management Development Dissertation

Return on Expectation v Return on investment in Management Development Training - Dissertation Example The approach to address the demands of repeatability, rigor and uniqueness has two important features (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.1). Firstly it requires obtaining a preponderance of such evidences which demonstrates that expectations for the program impact originally leading towards the investments were met. Secondly it must also provide evidence with substantial methodological vigour for withstanding the scrutiny. In pursuing this approach, the evaluation paradigm is shifted to a ‘legal’ framework. Under the framework, if the conclusion arrived at is such that training adds value then the evidence used is required to be persuasive (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.1). This evidentiary standard is considered enough to reach a clear and reasonable conclusion regarding value of the program (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.1). ... ows that the program has achieved the three Cs, Correspondence Consistency Consensus (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66) Assessment of the value begins with the assessment of the outcomes that are expected from the program. Expectations might arise from the stakeholders who have different beliefs about the impacts of the programs (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66). The executives might be concerned about the strategic issues like the effectiveness of the programs during changes in market conditions, while those building the training modules would be concerned with the tactical details like whether group activities would be most effective in conveying the content (Wildermuth & Gray, 2005, p.66). The need for realising the expectations and measuring them was realised when trainers were unable to define the outcomes that stakeholders expected in measurable terms (Kirkpatrick, 2009, p.184). Given the multiple views which exists and differ from each other, defining values necessarily means popul ating the expectations of impacts with multiple perspectives. For the development of the training programs the multiple perspectives includes project managers, content experts, instructional designers and other stakeholders. Successful measurement of value includes integrating the diverse expectations into a single consensus about which the program seeks to achieve (McLinden & Trochim, 1998, p.2). On the other hand the Return on Investment (ROI) on training is considered to be primary tool for the forecasting and evaluation of the benefits of training programs and for conducting of the ROI analysis. The topic has emerged as the most popular concept in HRD conferences and other conventional agenda in organisations (Phillips, 2003, p.9). Pressure from the senior managers and clients has

Music Videos, Sexuality, and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Music Videos, Sexuality, and Culture - Essay Example In them, women are portrayed as sexual objects to be exploited by skillful males and not as mothers, sisters, and daughters (that is as people). They are simply figures to be gawked at and not humans deserving both respect and dignity. In the world of music videos, men wield all the power and need not care for social or moral customs. This hyper-sexualized reality of easy, submissive women perverts even traditional female gender roles. Women, prior to the 1960’s, often did live in submissive-like situations if they were housewives. They depended on their husbands for their livelihood. The difference is that then they were portrayed as being chaste and virtuous as well. Sex was only for after marriage. In the world of music videos, women are submissive and sexually ‘liberated,’ in that they are free to have sex outside of wedlock. But when they do, it is only to satisfy the needs of men. As such, it could be said that music videos tell the story of a juvenile, freshly pubescent male, despite the fact that they attempt to present their message as being ‘male’ in general. The consequence-free world of the music video allows men to act out their most juvenile desires: disrespecting women, sex with no real relationship, and, perhaps worst of all, the power to defile and even assault wo men whenever they want. The stories these videos do not tell are clearly those of women who have been the victims of violence and sexual assault or rape. These women are the victims of men living in a world which lacks morality and sexual taboos. Sadly, these men can have their desires realized by watching

Using these historical documents does Congress solve problems Or, does Essay

Using these historical documents does Congress solve problems Or, does it create more - Essay Example Though civil servants amounted to only 10% of the total US employees, the number of beneficiaries kept growing with time. This helped the workers in deed. Besides, due to the observation by the congress that short distant travellers paid more than long distance travellers, the Interstate Act of 1887 was institutionalised to fix the problem. According to the congress these unreasonable and unjust charges were seen as constitutional violation and that something had to be done to illegalize discrimination. Politicians, travellers during low seasons, persistent bargainers and so on, were not subject to exemption as before. Native Indians who squatted in America had to be accommodated into the population. Despite the fact the land given to them by the US government was arid/ semi arid and unproductive for farming, the Dawes Act of 1887 gave the Indians a sense of belonging. A major set back of this Act is that some Indians did not want to embrace farming and the ones who did had no starting resources like seeds, irrigation mechanisms. These problems were of small magnitude compared with the original one of lack of land. Another illustration of the role of the congress is the Boulder Canyon Project Act which was constituted to protect and develop the Colorado River Basin. A large dam was constructed to contain floods, generate hydroelectricity, for irrigation and to provide water for domestic uses. This project had great economic impacts to the people. The contribution of the congress to boost the lives of Americans was the Social Security Act which benefited retired workers, the unemployed, and single mothered families. Also public health services, the aged and the disabled directly benefited from the scheme. The list is endless. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was established. Production of electricity, navigation, flood control, manufacture of

Business IT A Professional Issues Group Report Essay

Business IT A Professional Issues Group Report - Essay Example Improving treatment of depression in primary care requires properly organized treatment programmes, regular follow-up, monitoring of treatment adherence, and a prominent role for the mental health specialist as educator, consultant, guide and clinician. Future research should focus on how guidelines are best implemented in routine practice, since conventional strategies are not displaying any substantial improvement in their impact on patients. *Shifting patients away from mental health specialists decreases costs but worsens functioning outcomes. The appropriate strategy for making care for depression treatment cost-effective is through quality improvement and not through changing specialty mix. *Psychologists managing patients on antidepressant medications did as well as psychiatrists in reducing functioning limitations and were superior to primary care physicians.) *Pharmacotherapy be preferred over psychotherapy for the severely depressed, cognitive therapy, with supportive management. Either medication or psychotherapy could serve as the initial treatment for patients with mild or moderate depression. Our summation is that the idea to turn treatment of depression over to primary care physicians using antidepressant medications

Annual Reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annual Reports - Essay Example Such difference may arise from content organization of the major elements of an annual report or may be due to order of arrangement of the report’s sections. In content organization, and with major focus on presentation of financial items, the financial statements may be presented in either account form or in a report form. The major difference between the two forms is in their orientation. While the report format is horizontally presented, the account format is vertically presented. The financial statements can also be communicated in exact figures or round off figures. Similarly, a report can document each item of the financial statements or group items and present their cumulative values (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones, 2009). Reports may also vary in the order of presentation of the major elements such as financial statements, â€Å"management discussion and analysis,† â€Å"report on adequacy and internal control,† among other sections (Warren and Reeve, 2006, p. 681). A review of annual reports of McDonalds and Yum Brands communicates a number of differences in the organizations’ approach to communicating their annual reports. The first major difference is in the order of presentation of the reports sections. McDonalds’ annual report begins with management’s discussion and analysis of the corporation’s performance, both financial and operational. Presentation of financial statements that is facilitated by explanatory notes follows this before reports on the organization’s internal control system and reporting (McDonalds, 2011). Yum’s report however begins by presenting the annual meeting before accounting for the organization’s activities in which it presents financial statements. The reports’ outlines therefore communicate McDonalds focus on reporting its financial performance while Yum prioritizes information regarding its planned decisions on management and human resource. Both

Syscos BI Implementation Issues Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Syscos BI Implementation Issues - Case Study Example The author of the paper states that Sysco is a highly decentralized business with more than 100 independently operating companies (McAfee and Wagonfeld, 2). As a result, each company enjoyed a considerable level of autonomy. In addition, each operating company used to prepare its own profit and loss statements. However, there are more issues that make the implementation of the program difficult. Firstly, the cost of implementation of the BI system is to be shared by independent companies. However, most of these companies have their own such systems already in force. Thus, forcing these companies to pay for the new system is a difficult task. Still, it becomes necessary to change the system as most companies have software and hardware which are totally different from each other. Even the companies with the same core application have it configured differently (McAfee and Wagonfeld, 2). Thus, the information loaded by different companies is totally different from each other. For example , if two companies deal with the same customer, the customer information they collect will entirely be different. So, it becomes a difficult task for Sysco to analyze as to what meaningful data can be extracted from the central data warehouse they create. In other words, data integration is going to be a headache for the company. Yet another serious issue lies with training employees to use the program effectively. In addition, it is yet to ascertain as to what extent the data produced by the BI will be suitable for the company’s operation (McAfee and Wagonfeld, 10). In addition, the company would take a long time to get used to the software and hence the huge amount spent up-front will not be returned in short term. 2. The decision to answer two questions initially Initially, Sysco decided to have the software answering two questions. Both the questions were exactly futuristic in nature unlike the kind of information that would only reveal the past performance. The first que stion considered was as what new products could be sold to each customer. It is possible for the BI to analyze the purchasing pattern of each customer and predict what products best suit each customer (McAfee and Wagonfeld, 8). The second question considered the list of customers who were likely to leave the company (9); a question that certainly has futuristic value in the performance of a company. The answers to these questions could be used by both the independent companies and the headquarters alike for analysis and further development. In addition, the main objective of Sysco was to pay close attention to its customers, (9) and for that purpose, the answers to these questions were satisfactorily sufficient. In addition, Sysco did not want to use the software for more purposes in the beginning because they wanted to give the employees enough time to get used to the software and to understand its effectiveness. Business Objects supported the adoption of these two questions becaus e the questions were the most effective ones to show the practical usefulness of the BI software. Moreover, the information available from these questions were readily useful for the top management at the headquarters and the independent companies and well within the purview of the customer intelligence analytic applications they developed (McAfee and Wagonfeld, 9). As far as tradeoffs are concerned, they are plenty in number.  

Racism in Finding Forrester Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Racism in Finding Forrester - Essay Example Finding Forrester" has elements of class, race, ethnicity and stereotyping and even gender inequality that are featured invariably in the various threads of the story as the director, Gus Van Sant would relate the 2000 movie. The film tries to reproduce what obtains in society in as close to reality as possible. Starting with sociological perspectives, this paper gives a synopsis of the film, progresses on to the story in selective perception mode and picks on incidents of the story featuring these sociological terms with an insight of what happened.In a gritty New York neighborhood, a shadowy but perpetually unseen figure appears behind thin curtains. Rumors abound regarding The Window's identity and story, prompting African-American Jamal Wallace to accept a dare to infiltrate The Window's apartment and bring something out. Jamal is a 16-year-old scholar-athlete and aspiring writer in inner-city Manhattan. When he's not writing in his journal in his bedroom, Jamal and his boys woul d play basketball on a local Bronx street court. They note that they're being observed by someone with binoculars in a nearby apartment building.As Jamal enters the apartment, he is caught in the act and accidentally leaves behind his backpack, which contains his journals. The Scottish reclusive genius writes comments in the notebooks, and drops the backpack through a window.Jamal returns for more lessons. His efforts lead him to get tutored by The Window, with Jamal agreeing not to reveal his whereabouts. The tutor turns out to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning classic novelist, William Forrester, who wrote "the Great 20th Century Novel," Avalon Landing, and had been reclusive for four decades. Forrester is a male Caucasian in his mid seventies. Sociological perspectives Blacks like Jamal are considered inferior by some theorists as a result of flawed genetic traits (Eitzen and Zinn 2004). In The Bell Curve work of Herrnstein and Murray (1994), Blacks are said to be mentally inferior to Whites. Such genetic inferiority, according to Gould (1994) cannot be changed by environmental changes. These theories bordering on biological deficiency, generally are not accepted in the scientific community (Eitzen and Zinn 2004). Media, however, just like films, continue to give attention to the thinking of these theorists. The Movie Race is a huge issue in the film and many stereotypes are made. Jamal Wallace is introduced in the film as a typical Black teenage male who goes to a low class school in the Bronx and really excels on the court as a basketball player. He is looked upon as an amazing Black as though unexpected because of his color. One proof of this is that the teacher (April Grace) calls Jamal's mother in to school, to inform her of her child's amazing abilities. Jamal is also looked at as given to playing or to pleasure because of his class. Although he had wanted to realize his writing ability, the exclusive New York school that had offered him a scholarship, is actually more interested in having Jamal play basketball to improve their school image. He soon learns that after losing several players to graduation, the school is looking to restock the basketball team. In fact, Jamal gets transferred there as a junior, presumably to have him educated. A Black, Jamal is seen to fit in their objectives as Blacks are of a class, easily pliable and more oriented to playing than studying. Or so the prep school thought. Jamal has been characterized also as an underachiever in class. This plot point caters to the stereotype that Black students get bad grades. This is different from the view that Jamal may want to get bad grades to fit in with his bad-grade-getting peers. This is probable and is more of peer pressure among the young which can be found in whatever race. The first view, however, which appears truer as far as the story is concerned, is stereotyping while the second view is non-racial. The first view which

Japanese Food †General Analysis and Comparison to American Food Essay Example for Free

Japanese Food – General Analysis and Comparison to American Food Essay It is generally true that different countries have distinct cultures. The culture of a country is shaped by various factors unique to that country, directly affecting it during its historical development. An example of such factors is geography. The geographic nature and location of a country dictates what resources it may have; a country surrounded by water tends to depend on the aquatic life for food, while a country endowed with vast fields of fertile land tends to feed its citizens through harvested crops. As one can infer, the food source of a country is in a direct relationship with its culture. This concept in turn supports the development of unique variants of food, also defined as its local or traditional food. The United States of America and Japan, in this sense, are two vastly different cultures with diverse food variants. The American continent, although of course surrounded by bodies of water, has a vast land area which it is known for. This prompted the development of the country to be generally agricultural and crop-based. Hence, corn and potatoes are considered as its staple food. Japan, on the other hand, is considerably less in terms of total land area; therefore, the development of its agriculture is quite limited and crop variants held to a minimum. The whole population instead focused its attention on the sea as a limitless source of food. Such basic differences in food also result in additional variance to the details regarding it. Suggested food intake, nutritional claims, health claims are expected to be different to a certain extent between the two. Health issues are expected to vary as well. Hence, the American food culture and the Japanese food culture are expected to be distinctly different with consideration to these aforementioned points of comparison. Methodology In order to begin the analysis of the characteristics of the food from the unfamiliar Japanese culture, a direct sampling of Japanese food is required. Hence, the first major portion of the methodology requires that a restaurant serving authentic Japanese cuisine is to be located within the locality. After choosing one, also keeping in mind that the price range is well within the reach of the researcher’s budget, a sample Japanese dish is to be ordered or bought. If possible, the method as to how the dish is prepared should be properly observed and noted. The characteristics of the dish should also be considered and inspected. Specific details in terms of taste and appearance are to be listed down. If possible, the constituents of the dish or its basic ingredients are also to be identified. After assessing such details regarding a sample dish of Japanese cuisine, a more technical and research oriented approach towards analysis is to be started. The second main segment of the methodology pertains to the technical and research oriented part of the study. Specific details regarding the whole Japanese food culture are to be determined. Further research into the Japanese food culture and its historical development is to be accomplished. Further insights regarding the differences with the American food culture and standards will be provided by searching for the occurrence of a localized food pyramid as well as rules or guidelines for food labeling, health claims, and nutrient content claims. Also, health concerns regarding food in the Japanese culture will also be taken into account. The common health problems, its sources and effects, will be established. Resulting data from the two main sections of the research method gathered through such methods will be properly collated and completely analyzed afterwards. Results Upon locating a restaurant that offers authentic Japanese cuisine, a choice was made to order a highly popular and common Japanese specialty, the sushi. In this case, an unlimited amount of sushi was made available, each variant served in differently colored plates riding on top of a conveyor belt like mechanism. There were so many variants of sushi, making the process of identification more troublesome. Fortunately in this case, each plate was properly labeled. The first variant of sushi sampled is called the nigiri sushi. In physical form, the nigiri sushi mainly consists of hand-shaped rice with a single kind of topping per serving. This variant is however not simply a single kind as there were notable difference in toppings between servings. There were four main types of nigiri sushi served; one type had squid as topping, the second had shrimp, the third had raw fish, and the fourth was egg. Upon immediate sampling, the shrimp, and squid were notably very lightly cooked, if cooked at all. The thin slices of fish served as toppings were obviously uncooked. Also, no additional flavor was added to enhance the flavor of these two toppings. The egg however, was noticeably scrambled and sweetened. The rice below the topping, aside from being shaped, had no detectable additional flavoring. The second variant of sushi sampled was considerably more complex in both structure and appearance. Called as the maki sushi, this variant evidently had more ingredients. There were two main types of maki sushi sampled, futo maki and hoso maki. In both, a thin dried seaweed preparation, known in Japan as the nori, covers the outer area of the flat circular shaped sushi. Another common ingredient noticed for this variant is cucumber, sliced in small portions and apparently used fresh with no additional cooking procedures. Carrots were also noted to be present in both types, having been prepared in the same manner as the cucumbers. The last notable similarity between the two is the use of caviar. The nature and source of the caviar was not determined; the only detail noted regarding it was that it was commonly used as additional toppings or dispersed within the sushi. In terms of differences, the main distinguishing factor between the futo maki and the hoso maki is the inclusion of fish. Of the two, only hoso maki had slices of fresh raw fish, known to be commonly tuna, interspersed within the roll. As an additional note, the sushi variants were dipped in a mixture of Japanese soy sauce and a spicy paste known as wasabi, with the resulting ratio dependent on one’s preferences. After discussing the structure and constituent parts of the sampled dish in detail, findings regarding the taste are placed in focus. It is noticeable that the overall taste of the sushi alone is quite simple and plain, and at the same time pleasant and cool. It draws its appeal from the combined flavor of its parts. Such taste is expected since the parts used are neither seasoned nor flavored in any matter. However, upon the addition of the wasabi and soy sauce concoction, the sushi is given a stronger flavor, mainly a combination of salty and spicy taste. Upon completion of the sampling phase of the study, research was done to determine the historical context of Japanese food. Japan is one of the several island based countries throughout the world which is mainly surrounded by the sea, and along it also contains several bodies of water; hence, even from the early points of Japanese history, food is commonly gathered from aquatic sources (Minnesota State University [MSU], n. d. ). Since fish and other aquatic creatures such as shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, and urchins, are commonly associated with the Japanese diet, people tend to think that the Japanese consume these exclusively. This however, is not the case in reality. The Japanese also consume various land grown products including well known ones like eggplants and carrots, along with rice which is considered as their staple food (MSU, n. d. ). Another subject of research conducted in the study is concerned with something more current: government issued guidelines and policies regarding the food industry as well as the presence of a food pyramid. Specific points analyzed include food labeling, health claims, nutrient content claims, and of course, the food pyramid. Details regarding food labeling, health claims, and nutrient content claims were not very much analyzed in this case, but rather, the focus was placed upon whether such policies exist. In terms of food labeling, it has been noted that a similar system exists in Japan in comparison to other countries such as America. In fact, there has been a movement by the Japanese government to further increase the scope of the law, making it considerably more stringent in comparison to those of other countries (Gale Group Incorporated [GGI], 2008). As for laws regarding health claims, Japan has a well-defined and extensive policy system, pointing out specific categories for health and nutrient claims and requirements for the application of companies for such claims to be approved for their product (National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods [NCEFF], 2004). Japan currently has a well-adapted food pyramid. Commonly encountered food items in Japan are included as examples; some of these are rice, miso, honey, soy sauce, milk, soy milk, tofu, fish, clams, plums, and kelp (Southeastern Michigan Dietetic Association [SEMDA], 1998). The final aspect looked upon in the research was regarding the usual health problems accompanying the local cuisine. Given the fact that Japanese food preparations often utilize raw to lightly cooked seafood, parasitic organisms is a usual threat (Ransom, n. d. ). Examples of these parasitic organisms are worms which latch on to various areas of a person, usually the gastrointestinal tract, in order to provide themselves vital nutrients. Another problem arising from their preference towards seafood is the possible occurrence of heavy metals in the flesh of sea-based organisms due to global environmental problems (Ransom, n. d. ). Discussion The results point out evident differences and similarities between the American and the Japanese food cultures. First, regarding food preparation and taste, from what was observed with the sushi, Japanese food preparation is simpler in constituent and is also rather simpler in terms of preparation. The focus of the Japanese cooking is to maintain the natural form and flavor of the ingredients while blending well in combination. This is very much unlike the American way of cooking since the focus is usually to use a main ingredient and season or flavor it in a way that after being cooked for a certain amount of time, the food has acquired an enhanced taste. In relation to this, the Japanese cuisine has a preference towards the uncooked and seafood, while American cuisine focuses on cooking techniques and the use of beef, pork, and chicken. These differences mainly arise from the varied historical development of each country. In terms of the more technical side of food and its culture, specifically food labeling, health claims, and nutrient claims, due to the trend of globalization, it is quite understandable that in general, both Japan and America have law pertaining to food labeling, health claims, and nutrient claims. Differences on these are mainly observed when inspecting the specifics. Aside from this, both countries have food pyramids. The difference on this point pertains to the food examples written in the pyramid; the main structure and recommendations remain the same. Lastly, health issues and risks differ for both countries to a certain degree. The Japanese mainly worry about issues regarding contaminants and parasites due to seafood consumption, while the Americans worry about problems such as heart disease and obesity due to the way food is prepared. Conclusion The historical and geographic differences of America and Japan have led to a distinct difference in terms of their local cuisine. Japan focused on seafood as one of the main food sources unlike America. The staple food is also different for both countries, being rice for Japan which is rather uncommon in the United States. Hence, in relation to this, food-related heath concerns also differ for both countries. However, far from what is expected in terms of Japan and America being completely different, current trends in relation to globalization and exports have shown that in the subject of food in general, America and Japan have several points in common. These points mentioned laws and policies pertaining to food labeling as well as health and nutritional claims. Therefore, although different at various points, Japan and America evidently has certain points of close similarities in the general subject of food contrary to what is commonly thought of.

Emperial Rome vs Han Essay Example for Free

Emperial Rome vs Han Essay The Classical Period was a time where large, land-based empires were developed. The leaders of these empires were met with many questions on how to control their territories. While both the Han empire and Imperial Rome exercised political control over their empires through government structure, they differed in their organization of bureaucrats and their reliance on slavery. Both the Han and Imperial Rome exercised political control through similar government structure. The Han emperor, who was believed to be the â€Å"Mandate of Heaven†, had absolute power over all of his people. They relied heavily on their trained bureaucrats, the Shi, to carry out lawful duties. This reliance was supported by Confucian ways and stabilized the empire. Imperial Rome also practiced having a singular ruler to control the whole. The Roman emperor also was believed to have power over the citizens of Rome. The Romans also had their own class of bureaucrats who were valued highly. This social stratification unified Rome as a country. Both Han and Imperial Rome relied on social hierarchy to help with exercising political control over their empires. They practiced this structure because it unified power in the state and lessened the amount of chaos. The Han relied on their bureaucratic class of trained officials to exercise political control; whereas in Rome bureaucracy was given as a reward to returned war heroes. The Han’s bureaucrats, the Shi, were trained in the Confucian ways. This made the officials more reliable and prone to do the right thing. The Shi were also taught to embody the law and enforce it in the state. This method of â€Å"lead by example† helped citizens strive to do their best. If the citizens were all hoping to be a better man, the society as a whole would be a better place. The Han’s bureaucrats were ran more on a basis of trust in their behavior than the Roman’s. This method of trust in the bureaucrats was heavily supported by the Confucian teachings and their training in becoming better men. In Imperial Rome, bureaucracy was given to returned warriors. Rome hoped that by rewarding good soldiers there would be more desire to go fight in a war and succeed. These bureaucrats enforced the laws rather than embodying them. They weren’t reliable, but were forceful enough to get the job done by using fear to make the citizens behave and do as the laws said. The bureaucracy was given to the returned war heroes as a reward for their accomplishments in battles. This gave soldiers more desire to fight and do well in wars so that when they returned they would be honored for their accomplishments. The Han relied more on trust to carry out their political control than Imperial Rome did. The Hans trained their bureaucrats to make them more trustworthy and faithful to their ruler. However, Rome used their successful soldiers because they fought in many wars; they needed motivation for their soldiers to go be successful and to fight bravely and honorably. While both civilizations had slaves, Han China didn’t rely greatly on their slaves; however in Imperial Rome slaves were a critical and indispensable part of the society. In Chinese societies slaves were used mostly for at home chores such as cooking, cleaning, or going shopping. Even without slaves performing these domestic tasks, the Han could’ve survived. Also, slaves in China were treated less harshly than those in Rome. The slaves in China were allowed to refuse certain tasks that were not included in their contract when they first signed to their owner without fearing a severe beating. Lastly, China had an overall more lenient view on their slaves. The owners in Han were not as strict or cruel. However in Imperial Rome, slaves were mostly captured war prisoners who were being punished. This led to harsh punishment of the slaves to make sure they behaved and did as told. Slaves began doing a majority of the physical labor in Imperial Rome which made them an asset to the Roman society. If Rome were to lose their slaves, the economy would crumble and the empire would fall. Finally, some Roman slaves were given high titles, such as lawyers or doctors. So to lose these slaves would be to lost tons of profit. Both societies used slaves, but Imperial Rome was much more reliant on their slaves than Han China was. The Hans didn’t rely on slaves much because they knew that they weren’t reliable and if they kept a strong hold on them they would rebel and cause the fall of the empire. However, Rome used the method of scaring their slaves into doing the right thing. If the slaves feared a brutal beating they would be sure to make the right decisions and follow directions. In both Han China and Imperial Rome government structure was used to help exercise political control, however they differed on their organization of bureaucracy and their reliance on slavery.

Effect Of Leadership On Employees

Effect Of Leadership On Employees This paper tries to research the impact of different variables of leadership on employee motivation. Leadership Style, Leaders Motivation, Leaders Gender and Leaders Skills were taken as the independent variable and Employee Motivation was taken as the dependent variable. Data was gathered through the use of questionnaires. The results showed that Leadership Style, Leaders Skill and Leaders Motivation had a significant impact on the Employees Motivation whereas Leadership Gender had no significant impact of the Employees Motivation. The research is concluded with a detailed analysis of the result with conclusion. This chapter introduces some of the important features of the topic. It will give an overview of the different variables involved in leadership and how they effect employee motivation. The broad topic of my research is Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management is a new emerging concern for the organizations in Pakistan. Locally we can see many firms without a proper Human Resource department. Lately the Human Resource practices which are conducted in Pakistan are mostly carried out in the manufacturing sector but recently we have experienced a trend of Human Resource being adopted in the services sector. This topic has managerial as well as academic value. An overview of leadership Leaders in an organization play the pivotal role of founding and promoting values and ethics in the work environment. The influence leaders will have on employees in any given organization is immense and it is this influence that is in fact also vital to its functioning. Their interaction with workers casts the modality of operations and depending on the leaders behaviorism and style promotes or decreases motivation in the work place. The study of leadership is an abstract one and that leaves many loose threads, it is situation specific and no blue prints for the perfect type are available. And yet the brunt of the goal oriented characteristic of motivation also lies with the leader and it is he/her who must take on the responsibility of molding his/her style to suit the employees motivation needs. This research looks in to the intricacy of the relationship between leadership and motivation and studies the linkages between the two. The purpose is to study the effects of factors like a leaders gender, style, behaviorism, quality, rewards, workers agreeability etc on subordinate motivation leading to conclusive results about the contingency of the two. Furthermore this paper attempts to address the underlying importance of linking and studying leadership and motivation for an organization and how it is vital for the functioning of the two roles of the subordinate and the leader. Background Information Leadership entails several tasks key of which are the basic ones of mobilizing resources, coherency and fluidity of purpose and values; and influencing processes. Tracing the origins of leadership would necessitate drawing upon the history of how mans earliest ancestors lived in communities. Secondly the study of the history of leadership requires a much broader definition of the term and a lesson in the anthropological progression of mankind. The evolutionary view of leadership stipulates the need for drawing contextual references for leadership as it is today. Organizational hierarchy exists in every species of living sort. Roles in it based on the simple principle of survival are assigned. Similarly in a man- eat- man world individuals are honed and prepared from an early age to take on survival or predatorily roles in an organization be it a pre- historical community of hunter gatherers; agrarian tribes; an industrial society or even a contemporary organization in this age of information. It is only through consciousness and learning that the old instinctual primordial roles have been cast and people from a diverse background have successfully (or not) attempted to take up the challenge of leadership. The study of leadership in organizations is thus a vastly rich field of research and study and commands much importance in the building of the hierarchy of any organization. Millions are spent each year in training managers to become effective leaders and leaders to be even more effective at what they do. Motivation became a focus of research because it is a vital component of factors affecting worker productivity, job satisfaction, etc. motivation in itself has been a key area of concern for social scientists for more than a century. What is the most efficient way to get work done was a problem slave drivers in ancient Egypt even dealt with. The contingency between the concepts of motivation and leadership have come to the fore with mans need for sustainable production and efficacy. Thus in preserving the workers motivation leaders have persevered themselves. 1.3 Academic and Managerial concerns pertaining to research The academic concern of my topic is that it is an untapped area with respect to Pakistan. Anyone who wished to further research on this topic can use this thesis. The managerial concern is that it is a key issue in the organizations of Pakistan. They need to find the best possible leader for them to motivate all the employees. It will help them improve efficiency and enhance productivity. Definitions of Variables and Keywords Leader: a person who rules or guides or inspires others. Motivation: Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation) Autocratic Leader: This style states that the leader solves the problem or makes the decision using information available to him or her at that time. In some cases, the leader may consult with subordinates to obtain information, but at no time does subordinate input include decision making. The decision is passed on to subordinates for implementation. Â  (Ralph Nader, 2002) Democratic Leader: The leader shares the problem with subordinate and gets their input. Subordinate involvement is seen as either a collective or individual request for information which may or may not influence the decision. The leader reserves the right to make that decision. (Ralph Nader, 2002) Group Leader: The leader shares the problem with subordinates as a group, obtains their collective input and tries to reach consensus on the solution. The leader acts as a facilitator or chairman, trying not to influence input and accepting and solution that the group may suggest. (Ralph Nader, 2002) Emergent Leader: The leaders who earn leadership position through their expertise, skills, abilities to influence others, or personal acceptability by the group. ( Ralph Nader, 2002) Assigned Leader: The leaders who are given power to exercise influence through appointment. (Ralph Nader, 2002) Extrinsic: A reward, such as food, that is tangible and visible to others, and external (as opposed to an intrinsic reward). Intrinsic: Rewards that are associated with the job itself, such as the opportunity to perform meaningful work, complete cycles of work, see finished products, experience variety, and receive feedback on work results. Transactional Leader: Transactional leaders believe that people are motivated by reward or punishment. These leaders give clear instructions to followers about what their expectations are and when those expectations are fulfilled there are rewards in store for them and failure is severely punished. They allocate work to subordinates whether resources are there or absent. Transformational Leader: Transformational leadership is a leadership approach that is defined as leadership that creates valuable and positive change in the followers. 1.5 Study objectives: The purpose of this research is to shed light on an imperative aspect of organization management that has hitherto not been focused on in the context of firms and organizations in Pakistan. The effect of leadership on employee motivation has a directly proportional impact on the employees productivity, job satisfaction and consequently worker retention. The kind of leadership traits a companys management portrays will determine not only the working environment but even employee turnover rates. Effective leadership as a case in study has been much overlooked in the general practice of organizations in Pakistan. This research looks into how company leaders in Pakistan are mostly appointed not on the basis of qualification, aptitude or skill but rather through inheritance and nepotism. Nepotism in particular is an endemic practice in Pakistan which has pervaded every job sector, be it corporate or even bureaucratic. Assigning leaders based on favoritism and family connections instead of appointing them through set procedural means gives no guarantees that the heads leadership style will be conjunct to the requirements of the assigned sector. Just like a charismatic leader will be wasting his or her talents in a firm that requires minimal intervention by its management, an overbearing leader with a direct involvement in employees work can corrode their motivation merely with the way they direct them. Thus this paper seeks to underscore the importance of studying the correlation between leadership styles and worker motivation, especially in the setting of a country like Pakistan where leadership appointment is more erratic and seeped in nepotism. Leadership of any organization provides the driving force behind the productivity and working environment, all of which have direct bearings on worker behavior and motivation. If this psychology remains untapped and unstudied this has and will increasingly have dire repercussions for companies in Pakistan. Chapter 2 Literature Review This section covers the literature review that has been conducted after thorough analysis of several articled written by other scholars. The main purpose of including the literature review over here was to support the topic with proper referencing from work done by other researchers. This not only enhances the topic but also highlight a few more points related to the topic which have proved beneficial. Martin G Evans, tried to analyze the impact of leaders behavior on the motivation of his subordinates, in his article Leadership and Motivation: A Core Concept, 1970. Martin conducted a research based on the two theories on motivation. The first theory is the Maslows hierarchy of needs and the second is the Path-goal approach to motivation. Martin carried out his research on two organizations; a utility and a hospital. Questions were asked to study the importance of different goals to the employees. The questions also tried to collect information on the effect of high or low productive work on the motivation level of the subordinates. To test the Path-goal theory, questions were asked whether following each of the paths helped them attain their goals. The result supported the two theories. It showed that following high quality and high productive work led to the subordinates goals while low quality and low productive work led away from the subordinate goals. Job security was also see n as a very important factor to drive motivation confirming the hierarchy of needs model. In the end Martin highlights the managerial importance of the research and proposes that to have a strong motivation in the employees, the leader should create a strong relationship between the employees goals and the organizational goals. Arthur G. Jago claims in his research Leadership: Perspectives in Theory and Research, 1982 that despite years of systematic experiential research on the defining traits of leaders that distinguish them from non leaders, scientists of the soft science of behaviorism in organizations have yet to come up with conclusive data and results owing to the multifarious interpretations of the phenomena that does shed light on the role of a leader but leaves the topic of inter organizational relations and connections open to debate. The article discusses several theories and definitions that provide us with the premises used to build on tabulating a set of universal leadership traits and physical factors which is the first of four typologies drawn on the dominating assumptions of prior research in this field and Jago in some ways comments on their redundancy and limited approach owing to their limited set of assumptions. Jago discusses various and conflicting behaviorisms of leadership and the corresponding situations contingent on these traits and hence focus on a set of universally appropriate leadership traits and their reliance on situations to provide its second and third typology. The final typology looks at situationally contingent behavioral styles. Jago examines organizational prescriptions that follow from the typologies he had employed to argue the insufficiency of old methods used in the research of these traits and typologies and discusses and prescribes new and novel research methods in the study of leadership behaviorism. Kirkpatrick and Locke in their research Leadership: Do Traits Matter?, 1991 acknowledge the fact that different situations require different types of leadership, that the topic is so vast and complex that to determine the exact ingredients for the perfect leader would be fool-some. They acknowledge that a leader in a business organization will require a different mix of traits than say a military leader. They furthermore differentiate between skills and traits and back their claims with evidence from actual case studies. Six traits they identify that distinguish leaders from non-leaders are: drive, the desire to lead, honesty/integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. Kirkpatrick and Locke then go on to discuss secondary characteristics that may not be easily backed with evidence nor be required in every situation but are nonetheless indicators of a good leader, these include Charisma, creativity/originality, and flexibility. The authors go on to as sert that apart from the core traits that provide the potential for good leadership, the following factors help them actualize their potential: skills, vision, and implementing the vision. Each factor is discussed in detail and how their effects are implicated at the level of the management and employees. The article finally talks about the grave responsibilities that come with the mantle of leadership and where the rare mix of traits and characteristics does come together to make an effective leader, the credit must be given to the individual. Where Kirkpatrick and Locke consider charisma as secondary and necessary but an insufficient trait for leaders, Shamir, House and Arthur, in The Motivational Effects of Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory, 1993, on the other hand argue that charismatic leadership has profound effects on employee motivation and illustrate this claim with empirical evidence from several studies. After establishing the importance of charismatic leadership the authors point towards a problem in research on leadership and motivation, that is, absence of an account of the process that helps translate charismatic leadership onto its effects on employees. The authors use previous studies to list down a number of effects charismatic/ transformational leadership has on employees. These effects include elevating workers needs to a higher tier on Maslows hierarchy, achieve higher levels of morality, transcend their needs and goals to take the entire team into consideration, etc. By using a self c oncept based theory, Shamir, House and Arthur point at various processes that are set into motion in the context of a powerful and charismatic leadership. Leadership sets the tone for worker performance; by providing employees with a vision the leader makes them espouse his own values and higher goals. The authors point at factors like increasing the intrinsic valence of effort, increasing effort-accomplishment expectancies, instilling faith in a better future, etc to demonstrate the processes that come into play with the introduction of charismatic and transformational leadership in a work space. The authors identify classes of leadership behavior that set the certain processes into motion and discuss other external factors (organizational factors that provide a conducive environment for effective leadership and employee responsiveness). The authors thereby provide a theory that links transformational leadership and employee effects through employee self concepts. The nature of lea dership in question activates certain employee self concepts that hence affect motivational mechanisms. In Leadership and Motivation- The Effective Application of Expectancy Theory, 2001, Robert G. Isaac, Wilfred G. Zerb, Douglas C. Pitt, discuses Vrooms Expectancy Theory and its application in providing a practical tool in helping individuals in leadership roles. The authors trace a direct link between the underlying and explicit assumptions and variables in the expectancy theory and leadership concepts to draw the correlation of leader interactions with employees and motivational working environments. The authors then assert that motivational working environs aid employees in traditional job posts to achieve self actualization and transcend their roles to become leaders in themselves. The article discusses the complex relationships between employees and leaders within an organization and situation based antagonism that exists. It emphasizes distinctions between leaders and managers and stipulates the removal of these distinctions to help overcome the antagonism parameters in the rela tionship completely to increase motivation levels. The article examines several other relationships and linkages between behaviorisms and output in the context of motivation levels in an organization. Finally concluding that boss-worker distinctions should be eliminated and that everyone in an organization should strive to be a leader and influence should be a two way process and this, the authors propose can be achieved using the principles from the Expectancy Theory. Douglas F. Cellar, Stuart Sidle, Keith Goudy, Daniel OBrien in Effects of Leader Style, Leader Sex and Subordinate Personality on Leader Evaluations and Future Subordinate Motivation, 2001 examines the long standing evaluation of gender influences on motivation and employee response. The authors use the agreeability factor, a dichotomous leadership style variation (autocratic vs democratic) and gender differences to conduct a three way study with leadership evaluation, future interest and effort as dependant variables. The hypothesis was that agreeability affects inconsistent gender behavior and this by extension affects employee productivity and output. A self designed questionnaire was used. Subordinate behavior was analyzed with the expectation of leaders adhering to gender stereotypes and results of the study concluded that it was indeed the case. Where leaders deviated from stereotypical expectations disagreeable subordinates reacted and penalized the leaders for the deviation. Agreeable employees however did not. The purpose is basically to show the effect gender stereotypes have on the motivational levels of employees based on their behavioral profiles. According to different studies, transformational leadership has a significant positive impact on the employee satisfaction. Bass (1985) states that transformational leadership would result in followers performing beyond the expected levels of performance as a consequence of the leaders influence. Hatler and Bass (1988) state The dynamics of transformational leadership involve strong personal identification with the leader, joining in a shared vision of the future, or going beyond the self-interest exchange of rewards for compliance (Hatler and Bass, 1988, p.695). Nurdan Ozaralli tried to investigate the effect of transformational leadership in his research Effects of transformational leadership on empowerment and team effectiveness, 2002. The data for the research was collected from a sample of 152 people in different sectors in Turkey. Snowball technique was used for data collection and to measure transformational leadership, Bass and Avolios multifactor leadership questionnaire (ML Q) was used. The results showed that a transformational behavior of leaders has a positive relation with subordinate empowerment and with team effectiveness. Subordinates who worked under transformation leadership were more group oriented and had a higher level of performance. Creativity is higher when the subordinates work under a transformational leader as they are more empowered. In the end Nurdan suggests that there is a very significant effect of team empowerment on employee performance so the managers should identify the teams with low empowerment and should try to raise their level of empowerment. Nader in Leadership and Motivation, 2002 discusses two important determinants of individual performance in organizations: the type of leadership in that organization and personal motivation of employees in an organization. He draws on theories in general; data collected from empirical research on the subject to and the premises of people being the same as each other and yet being different to collate his findings and providing some general theories and analysis that determine behavior and leadership traits. Nader provides comprehensive definitions and analysis of the concept of motivation and discusses it in the context on theories like Maslows hierarchy of needs, McClellands theory of needs etc; ending his study of motivation by discussing motivational goals and categories these fall into. He then continues with a discussion of leadership theories, factors and leadership styles; and concludes with a list of leadership qualities that according to him help determine roles people can b e assigned to, based on their profiles. After the exposure of a few business scandals and the unveiling of irresponsible leaders, Nicola M. Pless in her research Understanding Responsible Leadership: Role Identity and Motivational Drivers, 2007 tries to find the prototypes of a responsible leader. The author does this by analyzing the biography of Anita Roddick; a responsible leader. The key learnings from the biography were that a responsible leader is driven by a values based vision of the future. Other findings include that a responsible leader make fundamental decisions with a long term effect on people, environment and future of the organization. A responsible leader should act as an active citizen. The leader should have ethics and desire to serve others. They should be close to the stakeholders and maintain good relations with them. A responsible leader is developed over time; they have values rooted in them that are reinforced and further developed by life experience. Another very important prerequisite to become a leader are ability and willingness to learn. Abass, Qaisar and Sara Yaqoob in Effect of Leadership Development On Employee Performance In Pakistan, 2009 carried out a research to prove whether or not leadership skills and traits have an effect on employee performance in Pakistan. Leadership theories have been an integral part of the field of business/management research since the proliferation of trait theories. Geert Hofstede in his article Motivation Leadership and Organization- Do American Theories Apply Abroad underscores the importance and reality of cultural conditioning and how it provides employees and leaders cultural lenses to view the world from. Abass and Yaqoob build on the theory of cultural conditioning to study how much of an impact leadership variables have on employee performance in the context of Pakistan. The factors of leadership they examine include: coaching, training and development, empowerment, participation and delegation. The purpose was to find a correlation between leadership development and worker performance, using an exploratory style research which would help determine what percentage of employee performance is directly influenced by the organization leader. Their findings show a staggering 50% positive correlation, with the remaining 50% being influenced by attitude, commitment, motivational factors, and trust in the organization, and other factors such as compensation, reward and bonuses etc. According to their finding for example training and development as part of leadership development had the greatest impact among all the variables of leadership. Thus this article delves into leadership research with fixed well defined leadership variables in the context of Pakistan. Chapter 3 Methodology Analytical Choices This section will cover the methodology for my research. It will deal with the methods used to analyze the research and the sample size considered for the research. The tools and techniques used to process the data will also be included in this section. Theoretical framework will also be included followed by the Hypothesis and expected findings. 3.1 Research type There have been numerous researches conducted on the effect of leadership on employee motivation but they are not applicable in Pakistan due to cultural differences. Therefore my research will be primary in nature and will be based on the data obtained through questionnaires. The research will also be applied in nature and will have managerial as well as scholarly applications. The sector that will be focused in the research will be the MNCs operating in Pakistan. 3.2 Population As my research is focused on the MNCs, my population will include all the Multinational Corporations operating in Pakistan. 3.3 Sample Size Due to budget and time constraints, the research will not be able to include the whole population. This research will focus on two MNCs; Packages and Tetrapack. These were chosen by using random probability sampling technique. Approximately 100 questionnaires will be floated in both the MNCs. There will be two questionnaires; one for the leaders of the MNC that will measure the independent variables like leadership style, leaders motivation, etc and the other questionnaire will be for the employees which will measure the independent variable that is the Employees Motivation. 3.4 Sample Time The time period considered in this research is from March 2011 to April 2011. 3.5 Hypothesis H0: Â  To test the hypothesis that leadership style has an insignificant effect on employee motivation. H1: To test the hypothesis that leadership style has a significant effect on employee motivation. H0:Â   To test the hypothesis that leader gender has an insignificant effect on employee motivation. H1: To test the hypothesis that leader gender has a significant effect on employee motivation. H0: To test the hypothesis that leader motivation has an insignificant effect on employee motivation. H1: To test the hypothesis that leaders motivation has a significant effect on employee motivation. H0: To test the hypothesis that leader skills have an insignificant effect on employee motivation. H1: To test the hypothesis that leader skills has a significant effect on employee motivation. 3.6 Theoretical Framework Leader Gender (Douglas F Cellar, 2001) Male -Female Leader Skills (Ralph Nader, 2002) Self Confidence -Charisma -Dominance -Administrative -Ability -Intelligence Leader Motivation (Ralph Nader, 2002) High motivation to lead -Moderate motivation to lead -Low motivation to lead Employee Motivation Leader Style (Douglas F Cellar, 2001) Directive -Democratic Theoretical framework shows the relationship of different independent variables with the dependent variable. In this case the major variables under discussion are Leader Gender, Leader Style, Leader Quality and Leader Behavior. All the independent variables considered in the theoretical framework are linked to motivation and have been studied on by different scholars. All of the variables have been identified in different articles for the literature review. Leader Style plays a vital role in the motivation of employees as does all the other variables that he been considered in the research. 3.7 Data analysis tools and techniques The data will be collected by floating questionnaires. The questionnaires used for this research have been used by previous scholars which ensure the authenticity of the questionnaires. Two questionnaires are designed for my research. The first questionnaire will be for the leaders of the organization and will measure the independent variables like Leadership Style, Leader Skills, Leader Motivation and Leader Gender. The other questionnaire will be for the employees of the organization and will be used to measure the dependent variable which is Employee Motivation. Data will be collected from 10 employees per leader and average will be taken to evaluate the overall motivation of the employees. The data collected through the questionnaires is then coded and standardized. To test the significance and relationship between the different variables, multi variable linear regression will be used. 3.5 Expected Nature of Findings It is expected that leadership does have an effect on employee motivation. Leadership Style, Leaders Motivation and Leaders Skills are expected to have a significant relationship with employee motivation whereas the effect of Leaders Gender on employee motivation is unknown. Chapter 4 Estimation, Analysis and Conclusion 4.1 Profile of Respondents The Questionnaire was filled by 10 leaders and 7 (70%) were male wheras 3 (30%) were female leaders.4 (40%) of the leaders were highly motivated, 2 (20%) were moderately motivated and 4 (40%) lacked motivation according to the questionnaire. Similarly 2 (20%) leaders had high leadership skills, 5 (50%) had moderate leadership skills and 3 (30%) were lacking leadership skills. 6 (60%) leaders had a democratic leadership style wheras 4 (40%) had autocratic leadership. The leaders age varied from 39 years to 48 years. The average age of the leaders was 42 years. The major reason for this is because mostly you get to a leading posirtion in an organization after your 40s when u r mature. All the leaders chosen has 10 plus years of experience in their desired field and were working in the same firm for atleast 2 years so that the employees motivation could reflect their leadership and not the leadership of the previous leader. The Questionnaire was filled by 100 employees. The age of the employees varied from 25 years to 32 years. The average age of the employees was 28 years.5 (50%) of the firms had highly motivated employees, 2 (20%) had moderately motivated employees and 3 (30%) had low motivated employees. Estimated results Multiple regression was used with employee motivation as the dependent variable and Leadership Style, Leaders Motivation, Leader Gender and Leaders skills as the independent variable. The estimated results are given in the Appendix A. Analysis of findings In the leadership style column, 1 was used to represent democratic style of leadership wheras 2 was used to represent autocratic style of leadership. In the Leader Gender column, 1 was used to represent male leaders wheras 2 was used to represent female leaders. In the Leaders Skills column, 1 was used to represent high skills, 2 was u

can money buy happiness Essay -- essays research papers

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not realize is that money, might in fact do just that, buy happiness. On the other hand, those who have pockets as heavy as themselves think that money Is nothing but a burden and a complication in life, which is too net worked to figure out, let alone solve. Happiness as defined in the Oxford Dictionary is a feeling of luck, fortune and contentment. The trends of music have hip hop artists expressing their childhoods as miserable experiences because they grew up in the ghetto. However once they have acquired their wealth, things couldn’t have been going more smoothly. Could they have not made the best out of their childhood, knowing that they were loved and cared for? Weren't they truly happy then without all the material accessories? In my opin...

Unfulfilled Dreams in Amy Tan’s Two Kinds Essay -- Two Kinds by Amy Ta

The short story â€Å"Two Kinds† written by Amy Tan is about conflict between a mother and daughter. A mother tries to live her life through her daughter and her daughter rebels. The prominent theme of this short story would seem to be "unfulfilled dreams†. After losing everything in China, the mother of Jing Mei comes to America with the dream that Jing Mei will have it all: fame, fortune, and most of all success unlike herself. Little does she know, her dream will be short-lived. All Parents have dreams for their children. A lot of parents want their children to succeed in life and push them to do so. Some parents want their children to be just like them, but most of the time parents push their children to do things that they were never capable of doing. There are some children who listen and do as their parents say but there are some who choose to be their own person and follow their own paths, not those of their parents, like Jing Mei. Young children want to follow dreams of their parents, it is not until they get older when some realize it is not for them and begin to make t...

The Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Es

The Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet When we first meet Friar Lawrence (à Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ Ã‚ ·), he appears to be picking flowers and herbs. He shows us he has a deeper understanding of the characteristics of herbs and how everything has a good and bad side: Ââ€Å"Within the infant rind of this weak flower Poison hath residence and medecine power.† This also relates to the families of Romeo and Juliet. It dramatically hints about the bad things to come such as the death of one of the family members. The audience develops the idea of Friar Lawrence acting as a father to Romeo: Ââ€Å"Good morrow, father.† The noun ‘fatherÂ’ indicates how close the relationship between them is and how he goes beyond his role of being a Friar. I think that this isnÂ’t right act of Friar and it might lead to trouble. He also seems to be able to judge people: Ââ€Å"Our Romeo hath not been in bed to-night.† This makes the Friar seem to have special abilities, which may help in later events. I think that Friar Lawrence is not to blame, this far into the play because he is acting out of his own good will. When Romeo tells Friar Lawrence about his love towards Juliet, he is shocked: Ââ€Å"Holy Saint Francis what a change is here!† In the same speech that he delivers this line, he changes his mind into thinking it is a good idea: Ââ€Å"To turn your householdsÂ’ rancour to pure love.† The noun ‘rancourÂ’ shows how much the two families loathe each other. We get the impression that Friar Lawrence is naÃÆ' ¯ve and that his plans are spontaneous. He is not aware of the consequences of marrying Romeo and Juliet. We also see... ... the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet: Ââ€Å"I am the greatest able to do least, Yet most suspected, as the time and place Doth make against me, of this direful murder; And here I stand, both to impeach and purge, Myself condemned and myself excused.† He pleads guilty but at the same time innocent. We think that he tries to make the Prince feel sorry for him and it works in the end: Ââ€Å"We have still known thee for a holy man.† Overall we see that the play rotates around Friar Lawrence and that he is an agent of the drama. From my point of view, I think that Friar Lawrence is to blame because despite his honorable intentions, he could have done something to stop the tragedy from happening. Friar LawrenceÂ’s character changes dramatically as well as his use of language and dramatic significance.