Organization Behavior Analysis Essay

Consequently, in the United States, organizational behavior and management researchers started studying the role that culture plays in the business community. The investigation led to some confusion. Some believed that the national culture of Japan was the driving force behind the competitive successes of businesses in that country. To others, however, it was the cultures of specific companies that created the advantage. My Company uses the Pluralism method. The first distinction to be made when studying culture is the level of analysis—a nation versus a specific company. An individual company constitutes the level of analysis. Therefore, organizational culture consists of a set of shared meanings and values held by a set of members in an organization that distinguish the organization from other organizations. An organization’s culture determines how it perceives and reacts to the larger environment (Becker, 1982; Schein, 1996). Culture determines the nature of an individual’s experience in an organization in both for-profit companies and nonprofit enterprises. Over time, employees find out how the company works, what is rewarded, and what is punished. Questions, answers, myths, stories, and jargon all become part of the organizational experience. When the person matches the organizational type, the fit produces the best chances for individual success. Company leaders enjoy distinct advantages when an organization exhibits a positive culture. Positive cultures are democratic and progressive. They nurture and value the contributions of members. Positive cultures tend to be more flexible and adaptable, making the organization better able to meet the challenges of a dynamic world (Benn, 2011). Organizational leaders have vested interests in trying to build positive cultures over time. Some studies suggest that culture can play a larger role in employee motivation than pay (Gifford, Zammuto, Goodman, & Hill, 2002). Organizational culture can help managers reach their goals while helping employees adapt to company life. The benefits of a positive culture include stability, employee self-management, and assistance in integrating new employees into the workplace. †¢Communicating with the IRS for a taxpayer regarding the taxpayer’s rights, privileges, or liabilities under laws and regulations administered by the IRS. †¢Representing a taxpayer at conferences, hearings, or meetings with the IRS. Preparing and filing documents, including tax returns, with the IRS for a taxpayer. †¢Providing a client with written advice which has a potential for tax avoidance or evasion. Furnishing information at the request of the IRS or appearing as a witness for the taxpayer is not practice before the IRS. Other individuals who may serve as representatives. Because of their special relationship with a taxpayer, the following individuals can represent the specified taxpayers before the IRS, provided they present satisfactory identification and, except in the case of an individual described in (1) below, proof of authority to represent the taxpayer. An individual. An individual can represent himself or herself before the IRS and does not have to file a written declaration of qualification and authority. 2. A family member. An individual can represent members of his or her immediate family. Immediate family includes a spouse, child, parent, brother, or sister of the individual. 3. An officer. A bona fide officer of a corporation (including a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliated corporation), association, or organized group can represent the corporation, association, or organized group. An officer of a governmental unit, agency, or authority, in the course of his or her official duties, can represent the organization before the IRS. 4. A partner. A general partner may represent the partnership before the IRS. 5. An employee. A regular full-time employee can represent his or her employer. An employer can be, but is not limited to, an individual, partnership, corporation (including a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliated corporation), association, trust, receivership, guardianship, estate, organized group, governmental unit, agency, or authority. . A fiduciary. A fiduciary (trustee, executor, personal representative, administrator, receiver, or guardian) stands in the position of a taxpayer and acts as the taxpayer, not as a representative. Submit a power of attorney when you want to authorize an individual to represent you before the IRS, whether or not the representative performs any of the other acts cited earlier under What Is a Power of Attorney. A power of attorney is most often required when you want to authorize another individual to perform at least one of the following acts on your behalf. . Represent you at a meeting with the IRS. 2. Prepare and file a written response to the IRS. Every day organizational operations involve processes and activities that are construed by many as â€Å"distasteful† or â€Å"unpleasant† parts of employment because they involve the use of authority, power, or politics. The word â€Å"politics† has a negative connotation for many people. Although they may try to avoid political situations, wishing them away is not possible. Furthermore, not every use of power has a negative intention or outcome. Managers can exert power to achieve legitimate organizational goals. The end result may be an increase or decrease in personal power, and the events may be construed as being â€Å"political† or simply as â€Å"doing his or her job. † I think that this brings out a positive outcome. The three types of authority are line authority, staff authority, and functional authority. Line authority is direct, formal authority, as indicated by the vertical lines of an organization chart. Staff authority consists of the right to advise, or give advice. Functional authority is the right to direct but not to discipline. It emerges when an individual has been assigned a leadership role on a task force, project team, or committee. The type of authority that Internal Revenue Service is mainly line authority. I think that this brings out a positive outcome. Employee responsibility, or accountability, is the obligation to carry out tasks as assigned by the supervisor. Each individual in a company is responsible to the manager at the next level up in the organization’s hierarchy. The concept of parity of authority and responsibility states that equal levels of authority and responsibility should exist in each position (Fayol, 1916). Anyone who has authority should be held accountable for how that authority is used. Anyone being held responsible should have sufficient authority to get the job done. This is done in a positive manner. It gets the job done. If a manager motivates the unit, it brings out a positive outcome. A pleasant and positive job context contributes to individual and company success by enabling employees to do their best work. Through processes such as mentoring and rewarding, which help to build self-efficacy and self-esteem in individual workers, motivated behaviors can be increased. A company with an unpleasant physical environment, poor reward system, unqualified or inept supervisors, or counterproductive cultural norms limits motivated behaviors (Kamdar & Van Dyne, 2007). Emotional Intelligence explains why, despite equal intellectual capacity, training, or experience, some people excel while others of the same caliber lag behind. Certain competencies are found repeatedly in high performers at all levels, from customer service representatives to CEOs. As trainers we must find ways to build these talents labeled EQ (emotional intelligence quotients). Research has shown that emotional intelligence, which encompasses self confidence, can be developed through things like awareness, training, coaching, and practice. That is why a growing number of organizations in the US and around the world is investing in providing their managers with training in emotional intelligence. The conclusion then is that if you are looking to build your self confidence as an important step toward achieving your dreams in life, you should consider taking some training or coaching that helps you develop your emotional intelligence. If you are a trainer or a coach, you should consider adding emotional intelligence to your offerings to help your clients build the confidence to achieve their dreams. The application of the â€Å"New Sciences â€Å"to the management of organizations in the age of hyper competition will also be investigated, in order to see whether it could improve our understanding and insight into the modern business organization. Due to the fact that this is a new and exciting way of managing a business, the amount of research literature available is limited. As always, when entering such uncharted waters, more questions will be raised than answers given, but this is indicative of a new concept, and leaves room for more intensive research which will provide a greater understanding of the value added by this management paradigm. Margaret Wheatley (1994) turns to the New Sciences to demonstrate how some of the issues discussed above might be accommodated. She shows how the New Sciences – including Quantum Physics, Chaos Theory, Chemistry, and Molecular Biology – provide insights into transforming how organizations organize â€Å"work, people and life†, in order to meet the strategic imperatives defined by D’Aveni. In particular, Wheatley draws on the New Sciences to apply scientific concepts to the problems of order/ change: autonomy/ control: structure/ flexibility: and planning/ innovation within organizations, and in so doing, calls, respectively, for free-flowing information, individual empowerment, relationship networks, and organizational change that evolves organically. This new approach to organizations is a dramatic shift away from thinking of organizations in mechanistic terms, as collections of replaceable parts, where leadership seeks prediction and control. A paradigm shift like this can only take place successfully if the necessary tools and mechanisms are available to support the application of the fundamental insights, offered by the New Sciences, to the complex adaptive system, i. e. the † Organization â€Å". Conclusion  In summary, career development includes all efforts and activities conducted by individual employees and the organization to help each person choose and follow the best path. The primary concepts that apply to personal success are building an ethical foundation, becoming involved in training and preparation, finding the right person-organization fit, engaging in continuous improvement, and achieving balance. Organizational needs also must be met to fully achieve a quality career development system. The age of the virtual organization is fast becoming a reality. The implications of this have to be dealt with urgently in the new millennium, as the adoption of ever newer technologies and the emerging trends discussed earlier will continue to manifest at an exponential rate. What is also clear is that the traditional management framework is increasingly proving itself incapable of satisfactorily dealing with the new market reality: Conventional theories and practices no longer provide the necessary guidance and support for decision-making in a world of change, complexity and uncertainty. It is this, then, that is driving the move towards a new management paradigm, in terms of which the management function will be radically redefined to take emerging realities into consideration. If companies are to prosper – to be drivers of their industries – they will need to proactively embrace a new management philosophy that is cognizant of the dynamics of information science, accelerating change, a borderless world, the holistic approach, the New Sciences, as well as the growth of technology, and, in the words of Vernor Vinge,†the dawn of the Technological Singularity. â€Å"

Horses of the night

The story â€Å"Horses of the Nigh? ‘ centers the theme of depression. The story is told from Vanessa point of view, a 6 year old girl, who dollies her cousin Chris, a teenager who comes to live with them to complete his high school. Vanessa grows closer to Chris during his stay. He would talk to her about his life goals or occasionally also talk about his â€Å"beautiful† hometown. She describes Chris as a handsome boy who is very creative, entertaining and a dreamer.She admired the little things about him, how he overlooked negative comments instead of talking back, how he would easily mix up with children etc. He seemed to have everything figured out and he made it look so simple. As Vanessa grew up she started to understand the realities of life. She realized on her trip to Chrism's hometown that it was not after all the paradise he described to her. The reason why Chris overlooked peoples' comments was because he wanted to escape his own reality.He could not accept the fact that he was poor, that he couldn't afford college so he created his own imaginary world where everything worked for him. Slowly Vanessa started to realize that Chris is not the perfect boy she thought he was. The fact that his dreams were slipping away from his hands was dragging him further into the darkness. He joined the army to escape his destiny as a farmer which only backfired on him because the conditions of the war were way worst which landed him in a mental hospital.

American Sign Language Verus Oral Communication

ASL can connect Deaf and hard of hearing people to hearing people by using an interpreter. Sign Language interpreters listen English and translate it into ASL. Those people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and need an interpreter for academic purposes, doctor appointments, job interviews, and conferences to name a few can request those services. Deaf and hard of hearing can request for an interpreters through the offices then offices request the interpreter from agency. For example, when I called doctor office to make an appointment and I requested an interpreter. Doctor office will call the agency for an interpreter. Doctor office is reasonable to call the agency to hire an interpreter. ASL also facilitates communicating with others who use ASL. Oral communication is refers to spoken verbal communication including speech, lip reading, and voice training. While some Deaf and hard of hearing people that have cochlear implants or hearing aids can communicate using ASL, others rely on oral communication. They use oral communication to connect with their family and friends, for education and every day life in general. Oral communication may help them more than those who are dependent on ASL. I prefer to use American Sign Language because it is an easier for me to communicate and socialize with other deaf people. I feel more comfortable with the language ASL than English. I’m able to speak with hearing people, but I would rather use ASL. I always request an interpreter for my academics, doctor appointments and job interviews. I really enjoy teaching hearing people sign language. Deaf and hard of hearing people have two ways of communicating with their own advantages and preference. American sign language and oral communication are different communications. My goal to informed to the people aware of ASL how to use it.

Heart of Darkness (ANALYTICAL ESSAY ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heart of Darkness (ANALYTICAL ) - Essay Example A team of men is on the Thames waiting for the wind to take proper direction. Marlow whose profession is not clearly defined becomes the narrator in the story and hence represents the voice of the author. He then moves on to talk of Europe having some of the darkest places on earth. He talks of his expedition to Africa, which opened his eyes to the evils of colonization. Illness has been discussed explicitly in the story at different points of time. The Russian companion of Kurtz who went through subsequent illnesses narrates the above lines to Marlow during their meet. The illnesses are very symbolic of the dark environment of colonization where Kurtz was more feared for his whims than respected by the natives who therefore followed his orders like that of God. Sickness has been elaborately discussed throughout the novella; not just physical but mental sickness as well. In this context the passage â€Å"On the contrary. It appears their intercourse had been very much broken by vari ous causes. †¦. smiling continuously at some endless and jocose dream of that eternal slumber† (Conrad, 153-159) could be analyzed. Sometimes they resulted from obsession as it did in case of Kurtz (obsessed with possession of ivory) who once tried to shoot his manager who has been giving him company through all times in order to acquire some ivory from him. When the Russian says, â€Å"they [natives] adored him† (Conrad, 154), the tone implies something more that the words reveal. This was later revealed further as the manager told him about his experiences with Kurtz. The man saw no reason for things, which came, in the way of his demands. When he asked for the ivory he placed his most loyal companion, the Russian, under his gun’s point, which surely surprised Marlow, who has been observing the devotion of the Russian towards Kurtz for quite some time – â€Å"The man filled his life, occupied his thoughts, swayed his emotions† (Conrad, 154). The Russian went on to tell Marlow that he had requested Mr. Kurtz to go back from this life which he himself did not quite like, but despite agreeing to him initially he stayed on and the Russian was determined to stick to him. What is notable in the concerned passage is the strong devotion of the Russian despite facing all odds with his companion. In fact when Marlow called him mad, the Russian strongly protested. This reflect once again the psychological state of the Russian who was an enthusiastic young man but wasted his years quite gladly in the woods merely out of devotion towards Mr. Kurtz. The author brings in the silence and unperturbed nature around the men, which was rather suffocating, to Marlow –â€Å"The woods were unmoved, like a mask -- heavy, like the closed door of a prison -- they looked with their air of hidden knowledge, of patient expectation, of unapproachable silence† (Conrad, 157). On one hand the woods had a lot of give but lay quite some str ess and absorbed a lot from life. Staying alone in such a land perhaps took the toll on Mr. Kurtz and his companion. As â€Å"the appetite for more ivory had got the better of the†¦less material aspirations† Kurtz gathered more natives who apparently adored him but Marlow by now knew better (Conrad, 157). Another evidence of mental sickness arising out of the wild surroundings is the heads that surrounded Kurtz’s house, perhaps to fill the gaps in his life. The Russian must have had a strong influence on his mind especially

Marketing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Marketing research - Essay Example e noted that BMW operate in a highly competitive environment made of various players, but it mainly concentrates in the high-end and luxury automobile market. Its most fierce competitor in the European market is Mercedes-Benz brand, which also specialise in high-end and luxury automobile products. Equally, the customer base of BMW mainly consists of the high-income earners. The above image illustrates the buyer decision process that BMW customers undergo. In the first phase of the process, the buyers acknowledge they need a car. Secondly, the sought for information on cars that are available within their price range. Thirdly, the buyers evaluate the different brands of cars that he or she can afford. Fourthly, after choosing the best alternative the buyer, makes the purchase and in the last phase of the process, the buyer evaluates if his option was correct or wrong and whether he needs to make changes on the car or buy another one. According to the studies conducted by Ansoff (1957), an organisation such as BMW has four viable options as presented in the image below, these options include penetrating deep into the market, product or market diversification, development of the new product and development of new markets. In regards to the Ansoff’s matrix, it is recommended that BMW should diversify its range of products to include low budget vehicles that are of high quality. By pursuing this strategy, BMW will be exploiting a new market segment, which will enable it to increase its market share as well as sales, and thereby, wade off competition from the likes of Mercedes-Benz. Currently, it can be noted that the key market segment for BMW brands is the high-end and luxury market, which only comprise of wealthy individuals or high-income earners. However, from the strategic option chosen above, BMW will now also target low-income earners because they are in need of quality vehicles and the only option they currently have is second-hand vehicles and low quality

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Family Law - Essay Example However, many feel that family law does not deal with disputes adequately. This is because not only does family law fail to adequately consider areas such as equal parental rights over children, it fails to deal with unmarried couples that have a relationship and do not live together. It also fails to deal with heterosexual cohabitation, same sex cohabitation, etc. Family law needs to accommodate these types of structures as well because these arrangements are growing in number. In order for family law to deal with the changing nature of family, it has to recognize and accommodate the fact that family structures now vary. In order to develop a general understanding of the reasons why family law has to be amended in order to become more accommodating in its approach, one has to consider the areas family law encompasses1. Family law deals with the following areas that are all family-related: All the three points above appear to be quite broad and encompassing. However, there are family structures today that may not necessarily be encompassed by them. This particularly refers to cohabiting couples. These may be heterosexual or same sex couples. It must be noted that same sex cohabiting relationships, however, have been recognized since 2004. It took a slow process for this type of relationship to be recognized2. Also, with cohabiting couples, cases may be more complicated because of them having children. Along with considering cohabitating heterosexual couples, a look at Figure 1 in the Appendix provides one with the trends of Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the UK3. These indicate perhaps an increasing trend towards families that do not consider marriage. A broader view of cohabitation is addressed later in this paper. New Family Structure [The Single Parent Family]: It is known that now marriage is becoming less significant to family structure, and parenthood is taking its place. Parenthood may be in the form of two parents or a single parent. Single parenthood may emerge from different situations. In many cases it emerges from a couple dating and having no commitments4. A dating couple that does not live together or does not even plan to get married may end up with a child accidentally. Therefore, they might feel forced into remaining together as a family. Since, in many cases, there is no commitment on either side, the mother decides to keep the child and raise it alone. In such a case, there can be little demand for child support from the father. This is because there is no civil union or any such family law that could compel the father to pay towards the child's upbringing without the existence of marriage. It must be noted here that a father becomes legally bound to pay for child support if he is married to the mother of his child. In many cases, the mother does not want to continue her relationship with her partner5. If no marriage exists, a father does not have to pay for child support, but he may also not be able to see his child. Therefore, there is every chance that the child will grow up without knowing or seeing his or her father. Figure 2 in the Appendix shows the percentage of single parents in the

Corporate Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Planning - Coursework Example The manager can then postpone the decision or take no action. The second reason why managers may fail to make a decision is need to maintain the status quo. The company may be performing extremely well and the manager may wish to pursue existing strategies to maintain good performance. Alternatively, the manager may be undergoing high pressure to comply with existing rules, policies or procedures. Consequently, the manager will have little room to introduce change. Therefore, maintaining status quo becomes better option. Sales forecasting is one of the core functions of the sales and marketing department. Sales forecasts must be realistic and inspiring to the sales and marketing department as well as to other departments of the company. Inspiring and achievable sales forecasts can be achieved by considering internal and external factors that affect company’s performance. The first issue is the internal environment of the company. Internal environment of the company is comprised of key personnel in the sales and marketing department, finance department and production department. The key personnel in the above key departments should be involved during sales projections. According to Haines (2008), sales executives should set their own sales targets. The managers of key departments proceed to discuss the targets and check if they are achievable. For example, the production managers confirm if sales targets are in tandem with the production capacity and finance managers confirms if the targets ar e in line with company’s revenue targets. The second factor to be considered when a company makes sales forecast is the external environment. External environment include the competition, purchasing power of the consumer, political events, fashion and styles, changes in population, and the state of the economy. The sales forecast team should make use of facts from the

CRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

CRM - Essay Example Threading also reduces visual clutter. Secondly, Gmail offer users with huge storage space, and thus, they can archive mails instead of deleting. Thirdly, Gmail users are advised to use labels instead of folders because an email can only be put in one folder; however, for flexibility, it can be put in many labels. Moreover, labels can be hierarchically organized. Fourthly, switching to Gmail like a pro entails using Gmail while working offline without any internet connection. Gmail can also be accessed through cell phones (Cloud Sherpas 2). Additionally, the fifth step listed by Cloud Sherpas in their article is the possibility of searching for emails with speed and accuracy instead of sorting, enjoying automatic software updates on a weekly basis, therefore, users experience new functionality. The seventh and last step in the article entails priority inbox. Gmail has a new feature known as priority inbox, which identifies a user’s important emails, and thus, separates it from other emails. Important emails are identified by priority inbox through the user’s pattern that is, the emails that are regularly opened and replied (Cloud Sherpas

A Technical Proposal for Equipment and Software Essay

A Technical Proposal for Equipment and Software - Essay Example The acquisition of equipments and software for â€Å"Transformers Architectural Company† has a number of focuses with regard to individual Hardware and Software for use in the work. From every workers’ perspective, the employee will work from their individual own computers. This proposal paper aims at ascertaining the number of computers required in the organisation, the specification of every computer, application and software, as well as the internet connection. Further, the kind of communication facilities required by the architects and engineers working off-site will be tackled. A detailed budget report on the equipments acquisition and installation will be availed; the potential suppliers and their contacts will be provided for easier referrals. This will be a process aimed at development and enhancement of the working conditions of TAC towards effective coming up with outstanding architectural designs. Introduction TAC is an organisation with a staff of eleven emp loyees: the Chief Executive Officer, Finance Director, Sales Director, 4 Architects, 2 Administration and 2 Architectural Staffs, Engineers. With the transforming global technology, TAC has the objective of providing current and up to date equipment to make their practice more effective. With the provision of effective working computers, communication equipments and the relevant software, TAC will promote its working process and enhance its output. The effectiveness of work in any organization entails following up with the set guidelines and specified channels towards the realisation the desired outcome. The design principle in architecture shows that there are the guidelines that are in use, in architecture to organize and arrange events that take place during construction. The guidelines are made in a far more effective and efficient way with the use of computer application ascertained in this study. There are two workgroups at TAC identified with respect to this study. They inclu de executives, administrators and technical group. The executives will consist of the CEO, the directors and their administration assistants while the technical group constitutes the architects and engineers. With respect to the customer care services, the sales administration assistant will handle the practice with reference to the Sales Director and the Chief Executive. Therefore, the applications regarding the keeping of clients’ data and progress of work with respect to the engineers and architects will be carried out in this office. Thereby, the computer application with respect to this office will entail the use of Micro soft applications like Spreadsheets and Database mostly. The office of the finance director and the Chief Executive will entail determining the financial development and progress of the organization. This is with respect to looking for avenues of business by outsourcing probable clients’ financial solutions (Hill 2005). Further, advising them on the best methods of using their finances to acquire the best designs and, if under financial crises, on how to solve the crisis. Office Plan The office plan for TAC will constitute two departments: the technical and administrative department, all under the same CEO and Directors. There will be an office of the chief executive officer

Critical approaches to humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical approaches to humanities - Essay Example Hence, it is important for people to understand the concepts which are vital in the study of literature. Most of the literature is abundant with the conceptions about gender, race, discrimination, political conditions and social disruptions. Understanding of the biases that may exist due to a writer’s background or gender are hence important to visualize the true context of the issues discussed. This paper aims to analyze the importance that gender understanding carries in the study of literature. Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon that has a strong impact on our perception about ourselves. In the gendered society that we live in, when a person starts writing or reading he does so as a gendered individual. Every individual in this gendered society visualizes the whole group of his relative gender while going through a piece of literature. We may say that the bonds of this gendered society are very complex and strong that it becomes difficult to resist them. All the efforts to avoid the gender stereotyping go in vain. However, the gender roles that were previously defined to expose men’s power and strong status and women’s love, affection and dependence are no longer applicable. Individuals are taught about their limitations and values according to their gender. Literature plays an important role in teaching these values. However, it is important to completely understand what gender is and how gender roles evolved with time. The literature of 16th century portrays an extremely different scenario than the literature of 18th century. The 16ht century literature was more associated with men’s power, abilities and aims often denoted by the renaissance spirit, whereas, the 18th century literature is more inclined towards the fallacies of the society of that period. Women were considered as creatures that spent most of their time on useless things. The materialistic approach of women of that time was

Technology in the Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

Technology in the Criminal Justice System Essay Technological advances hold great potential to remediate some of the current weaknesses in the criminal justice system, particularly in the realm of criminal identification, which stands to increase its empirical consistency. This is not to suggest that technology makes criminalization infallible – all tools require that they be applied with a judicious understanding of their strengths and limitations – but rather curtail some of the shortcomings from what is ultimately a field whose foundation rests upon soft science. As The Innocence Project, a national litigation and policy organization devoted to the improvement of the American criminal justice system, notes, wrongful convictions often result from a misunderstanding of the limitations of science. As Alex Steffen (2004) notes, police methodology is fraught with judgment and subjectivity; these two attributes do not necessarily invalidate the entire protocol, but they are frequently left unchecked by careful scrutiny. For example, without proper video or audio documentation of interrogation procedures, it is impossible to review, identify and flag confessions whose results are invalidly obtained through baiting promises, coercive pressure and leading questions. Furthermore, police informants are not measured according to their reputation for providing useful or accurate information. In effect, there is a complete lack of ‘soft science’ consistency in the investigative process. One of the technologies currently under scrutiny is DNA profiling and analysis. Like biometric analysis and surveillance technology, DNA profiling and analysis holds great value in the identification of criminals. It is currently used within the context of law enforcement in order to identify the individual from which genetic material found on a crime scene originates. The results are used to determine, based on the qualities of the genetic matter obtained, whether individuals may be considered suspect. Although DNA sequences among individuals are highly matching, the process of DNA profiling relies on variances which occur on the level of their alleles (National Institute of Justice, 2009). But despite this level of precision, some wrongful convictions occur in spite of DNA profiling and analysis, due mostly in part to a number of confounding variables. Intra-agency databases are crucial to the efficacy of DNA profiling and analysis. In the United States, the COmbined DNA Index System or CODIS, with 5 million records as of 2007, fulfills this role. The CODIS is an electronic database of DNA profiles, quite similar to that of the AFIS or Automated Fingerprint Identification System. It holds the aggregated data of DNA profiles obtained by individual states from those convicted. (FBI, 2009) In effect, it gives law enforcement officers quick access to a nation-wide sample of DNA profiles and assists in identifying possible suspects. However, reliance upon the CODIS and other such DNA databases can be problematic because of their dependence on past convictions. Furthermore, an imperfect application of DNA testing can have disastrous results. In the case of Herman Atkins, who was convicted of robbery, oral and genital rape, was linked to the crime on the basis of the fact that he fit the same genetic demographic of the perpetrator. Even though it could not be proven that Atkins was inarguably the rapist, he was convicted. The prosecution admitted this as much by noting that the evidence â€Å"excludes a large percentage of the people, and does not exclude him, and thats corroboration. While hair samples and semen stains are valuable evidence, it is not without thorough and comprehensive testing that they can be held as inarguable evidence of guilt, as the innocent may sometimes overlap with the perpetrator in these factors. It must be clear that concern should not center solely on wrongful convictions but the shortcomings of techniques. While one should not blithely subscribe to an uncritical confidence in the justice system, it is also not productive to rail against injustices post hoc. Instead, what is needed is broader public education of what DNA profiling and analysis tells us. However, at the very least, DNA profiling and analysis is a step in the right direction in advancing the reliability and validity of criminology: It is most certainly not an infallible solution to the fuzzy qualities which dominate it, but it gives a human face to the statistical probability of error that has always existed within it. REFERENCES Innocence Project: http://www. innocenceproject. org/index. php. Accessed March 5, 2009. Steffen, A. (2004, May 15). â€Å"The Innocence Project. † Worldchanging. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from: http://www. worldchanging. com/archives//000715. html National Institute of Justice. â€Å"What Every Law Enforcement Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence. † Retrieved March 6, 2009 from: http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/bc000614. pdf Federal Bureau of Investigation. â€Å"CODIS – National DNA Index System. † Retrieved March 4, 2009 from: http://www. fbi. gov/hq/lab/codis/national. htm

Marketing Management Assignment-Smu Essay Example for Free

Marketing Management Assignment-Smu Essay Q.1 A. Explain the six criteria for effective market segmentation * Identity The marketing manager must have some means of identifying members of the segment i.e., some basis for classifying an individual as being or not being a member of the segment. There must be clear differences between segments. Members of such segments can be readily identified by common characteristics as they display similar behavior. * Accessibility It must be possible to reach the different segments in regard to both promotion and distribution. ln other words, the organisation must be able to focus its marketing efforts on the chosen segment. Segments must be accessible in two senses. First, firms must be able to make segmented customers aware of products or services. Second, they must get products to them through the distribution system at a reasonable cost. * Responsiveness — A clearly defined segment must react to changes in any of the elements of the marketing mix. For example. if a particular segment is defined as being cost-conscious, it should react negatively to price rises. If it does not, this is an indication that the segment needs to be redefined. * Size The segment must be reasonably large to be a profitable target. Lt depends upon the number of people in it and their purchasing power. For example, makers of luxury goods may appeal to small but wealthy target markets whereas makers of cheap consumption goods may sell to a large but relatively poor target markets. * Nature of demand — lt refers to the different quantities demanded by various segments. Segmentation is required only if there are market differentiation in terms of demand. The marketing manager should not only be able to find out the total demand and the differences in demand patterns in each of these segments. * Measurability — The purpose of segmentation is to measure the changing behavioural pattern of consumers. For example, the segment of a market for a car is determined by a number of considerations, such as economy, status, quality, safety, comforts, etc. B. Discuss the types of target marketing strategies. * Undifferentiated marketing strategy or mass marketing strategy In the absence of a proper mechanism to classify the market into a number of markets segments and analyse their potential, many firms decide on the mass marketing strategy. In this case, the marketer goes against the idea of a differentiated market and decides to sell the product to the whole market. Here the marketing manager ignores the idea of segment characteristics and differences, and develops a unified marketing programme for the entire market. This strategy keeps the overall marketing costs low and makes it easier to manage and track the market forces uniformly. The marketer tries to find out commonalities across various segments rather than focusing on the differences between segments. * Concentrated marketing strategy In the second alternative strategy, the marketing manager decides to enter into a selected market segment instead of all the available market segments. When resources and market access are limited and the company has to face intense competition, the marketing manager has to stretch the budget for market coverage. In this case, the company is likely to follow the concentrated marketing strategy. * Differentiated marketing strategy Many marketers choose to target several segments or niches with a differentiated marketing offer to suit each market segment. Maruti is the leading automobile company, which has the distinction of having different products for different market segments. Q.2 Explain the consumer buying decision process. * Problem recognition A buying process starts when a consumer recognizes that there is a substantial discrepancy between his/her current state of satisfaction and expectations in a consumption situation. A need can be activated through internal or external stimuli. The basic needs of common men rise to a particular level and become a drive. From their previous experiences, they know how to satisfy these needs like hunger, thirst, sex, etc. This is a case of internal stimulus. A need can also be aroused by an external stimulus such as sighting a new product in a shop while purchasing other usual products. * Information search After need arousal, the behaviour of the consumer leads towards collection of available information about various stimuli. ln this case, information about products and services are gathered from various sources for further processing and decision-making. The first source of consumer information is the internal source. This means the consumer first search the information regarding the relevant product from his/her inner memory. If the information is not available from internal source for making a purchase decision he or she may collect information from external sources. A External sources for desired information can be grouped into four categories. * Personal sources (family, friends, neighbors, and peer group) * Commercial sources or market dominated sources (advertisements, salesmen, dealers, and company owned sales force) * Public sources (mass media, consumer rating organisations, and trade association publications) * Experiential sources (handling, examining, and using the product) The marketer will find it worthwhile to study the consumers’ information sources when: * A substantial percentage of the target market engages in the search * The target market shows some stable patterns of using the respective information sources. * Alternative evaluation Once interest in a product(s) is aroused, a consumer enters the subsequent stage of evaluation of alternatives. Evaluation leads to formation of buying intention that can be to either purchase or reject the product/brand. The final purchase will however depend on the strength of the positive-intention, which is the intention to buy. * Purchase decision Finally the consumer arrives at a purchase decision. Purchase decisions can be any one of the three no buying, buying later, and buy now. No buying takes the consumers to the problem recognition stage as their consumption problem is not solved and they may again get involved in the process as we have explained. A postponement of buying can be due to a lesser motivation or evolving personal and economic situation that forces the consumer not to buy now or postponement of purchase for future period of time. If positive attitudes are formed towards the decided alternative, the consumer will make a purchase. * Post-purchase behaviour Post-purchase behaviour refers to the behaviour of consumers after their commitment to a product has been made. It originates out of consumers’ experience regarding the use of the product and is indicated in terms of satisfaction. This behaviour is reflected in repeated purchases or abstinence from further purchase. A satisfied product-use experience leads to repeated purchase, referrals from satisfied customers to new customers, higher usage rate, and also brand advocacy. Q.3 A. Discuss the Henry Assael model on buying decision behaviour. Henry Assael has come up with an explanation to analyse why consumers buy the goods they buy. He explained the relationship between the level of involvement by the consumers in the purchase of goods and services and the level at which diverse goods or services differ from one another. High involvement Low Involvement Signiï ¬ cant differences Complex Variety Seeking between brands Buying Behaviour Buying Behaviour Few differences Dissonance Reducing Habitual Buying between brands Buying Behaviour * Complex buying behaviour — Consumers are highly involved in a purchase and aware of significant differences among brands. This is usually the case when the product is expensive, bought infrequently, risky, and highly self-expressive. Typically the consumers dont know much about the product category and have more to learn. Example: personal computer. * Dissonance-reducing — sometimes, the consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little differences in the brands. The high involvement is based on the fact that the purchase is expensive, infrequent, and risky. Example: carpet. After purchasing the carpet, consumers might experience dissonance that stems from noticing certain disquieting features of the carpet or hearing favorable things about other carpets. * Habitual buying behaviour Many products are bought under conditions flow consumer involvement and the absence of significant brand differences. Considering salt, consumers have little involvement in this product category. They go to the store and reach for a brand. If they keep reaching for the same brand, it is out of habit and not strong brand loyalty. * Variety-seeking buying Some buying situations are characterized by low consumer involvement but significant brand differences. Here consumers often do a lot of brand switching. Consumers do the brand switching for the sake of variety rather than dissatisfaction. Example: wafer potato chips. B. Explain the five stages of Adoption Process. * Awareness During the first stage of adoption process, the product innovation is explained to the consumers. This process gives information about the new product or service. * Interest When consumers develop an interest in the product or product category, they search for information about how the innovation can benefit them. * Evaluation The evaluation stage represents a kind of ‘mental trial’ of the product innovation. Only if the consumers’ evaluation of the innovation is satisfactory, they will actually try the product. In case the evaluation is unsatisfactory, the product is automatically rejected. * TriaI- ln this stage- consumers use the product on a limited basis. Their experience with the product provides them with the critical information that they need to adopt or reject it. * Adoption -In this stage, consumers decide to make full and regular use of the product. Q.4 Describe the components of the micro environment of marketing * The company Some company factors that affect the marketing decisions are: Culture and value system — Organizational culture can be viewed as the system of shared values and beliefs that shape a company’s behavioural norms. A value. is an enduring preference as a mode of conduct or an end state. The value system of the founders of the organisation has a lasting impact on it. The value system not only influences the working of the company and the attitude of its people but also the choice of its business. 1. Mission and objectives — The mission and objectives of the company guide the priorities, direction of development, business philosophy, and business policy. 2. Management structure and nature Structure is the manner in which the tasks and sub-tasks of the organisation are related. Structure is concerned with the hierarchical relationship and the relationship between the management of different functional areas like the structure of the top management and the pattern of share holding. 3. Human resource This concerns factors like manpower planning, recruitment and selection, compensation, communication, and appraisal. * Intermediaries intermediaries are independent business units and they carry the company’s products and services to the customers. Prominent intermediaries include wholesalers, retailers, merchants, selling agents, brokers, etc. Their objective of being in business is different than being in a firm, so the intermediaries will be interested in maximizing their profits. Any trade promotion scheme will motivate them to push competitors’ product deeper and faster. * Public Positive and favorable public opinion is crucial to marketing success since the public is the authority that permits the existence and operation of competitive marketing systems. This environmental factor includes the general public, its support, the government, and the set of public who have a direct bearing on business. These public can be classified as welcome public, sought public, and unsought public. As a marketer, one must understand that the general public grants the license for conducting business with an expectation that the company will practice fair play. Lack of this supportive framework as evidenced by declining sales or adverse public opinion can lead to eventual failure of the firm as well as the marketing system. * Competitors Success or failure of an offer largely depends on how competitors react to the company‘s offer. Godrej was a successful refrigerator manufacturer. Once competition intensified, the company started losing market share. Today, though there is a growth in refrigerator industry, Godrej as a brand is not growing as fast as its competitors. Through the years, marketing systems have become increasingly competitive. Traditional economic analysis, views competition as a battle between companies in the same industry or between substitutable products. Marketers, however, tend to accept the argument that all firms are competing for a limited discretionary buying power. Though we can say that Maruti as a car manufacturing-company is facing competition from other car manufacturers, ultimately it is the consumers disposable income for which shampoos, soaps, and scooters are also competing with Maruti. A customer is expected to allocate his disposable income optimally and in the process a category also competes with another category to be in the active consideration set of customers for such an allocation. Industry has found numerous new uses for existing products, with the whole arena of competition being expanded. While this forces business to reassess long-established marketing practices, it also opens new avenues of business opportunity. Emergence of computers with multimedia as a tool of infotainment and knowledge sharing device has challenged traditional products in the entertainment market. * Suppliers Increase in the price of raw materials will have a bang on effect on the marketing mix strategy of an organisation. As a result, the prices may be forced up. This is the impact that the suppliers can have. Closer relationship with suppliers is one way of ensuring competitive and quality products for an organisation. * Customers Organisations exist because of customers. No customer means, no business. Organizations on how they meet the needs and wants of the customers and provide them with maximum benefits. Failure to do so will result in a failed business strategy. Q.5 A. Explain the types of Marketing Information systems MIS supplies three types of information, which are: * Monitoring information Monitoring information is the information obtained from scanning external sources which include newspapers, trade publications, technical journals, magazines, directories, balance sheets of companies, and syndicated and published research reports. Data are captured to monitor changes and trends related to marketing situation. Some of these data can be purchased at a price from commercial sources such as market research agencies or from government sources. * Recurrent information — Recurrent information is the information that is generated at regular intervals like monthly sales reports; the stock statements, the trial balance, etc. ln MlS, recurrent information is the data that MIS supplies at a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual interval, which are made available regularly. It can also provide information on customer awareness of company’s brands, advertising campaigns, and similar data on close competitors. * Customized information   Customized information is also called problem-related, which is developed in response to some speciï ¬ c requirements related to a marketing problem or any particular data requested by a manager. B. Discuss the different components of MIS The overall Objective of an Ml IS to provide inputs from marketing environmental factors like target markets, marketing channels, competitors, consumers, and other forces for creating, changing, and modifying marketing decisions in the formulation of relevant and competitive marketing strategies. * Internal record systems — Internal record systems are available within the company across various departments and provide relevant, routine information for making marketing decisions. The most evident internal record system is the purchase and payment cycle systems. It records the timing and size of orders placed by consumers, the payment cycles followed by consumers, and the time taken to fulfill the orders in the shortest possible time. * Marketing intelligence system A marketing intelligence system is the system of collecting and collating data. This system tries to capture relevant data from the external environment. It collects and manages data from the external environment ab out the competitors’ moves, government regulations, and other relevant information having a direct impact on the marketing environment of the firm. *Analytical marketing systems Analytical marketing systems are also known as Marketing Decision Support Systems (MDSS). A MDSS is a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques with supporting software and hardware. Using this collection, an organisation gathers and interprets relevant information from business and environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action. lt involves problem-solving technology consisting of people, knowledge, software, and hardware integrated through the information technology platform into the sales management process of the organisation. * Marketing research systems Marketing research systems are based on systems and processes that help marketing managers to design, collect, analyse, and report data and ï ¬ ndings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company. It also involves analysis of information, which includes a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools, and techniques with supporting software, and hardware by which an organisation gathers and interprets the relevant data and turns it into a basis for marketing action and tactics. Q.6 Describe the factors to be considered while developing an Effective marketing mix. To develop an effective marketing mix the company should consider the following factors and then choose the most appropriate mix of elements (7Ps) to target the customers: * Company’s resources These are one of the prime factors affecting the company’s marketing mix. The financial, human, and technological resources available with the company affect the composition of the marketing mix. The firm needs to conduct a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) analysis for the business unit. * Demographics — It implies to the changes in the composition of the market, the demand of the population, the opportunities in the country, etc. that affect the marketing mix. Current and projected economic conditions It connotes the economic factors like inflation, employment, taxes, and other economic factors that influence marketing mix decisions. * Market potential Analysis of market potential for new products considers market growth, prospects need for your offering, the beneï ¬ ts of the offering the number of barriers to immediate use, the credibility of the offering and the impact on the customers daily operations. * Competitors They are important considerations that affect the marketing mix of a firm as the potential for competitive retaliation is based on the competitor’s resources, commitment to the industry, cash position, predictability, and status of the market. Porter’s Five Forces Model * Supplier power- The power of suppliers to drive up the prices of inputs. * Buyer power- The power of customers to drive ‘down products’ prices. * Competitive rivalry — The strength of competition in the industry. * Threat of substitution The extent to which different products and services can be used in place of a particular product. * Threat of new entry — The ease with which new competitors can enter the market if they see that a product is making good proï ¬ t and then drive your prices down. By thinking about how each force affects a product and by identifying the strength and direction of each force, you can quickly assess the strength of a product’s position and ability to make a sustained proï ¬ t in the industry.

Person Values To The Work Of Social Care Social Work Essay

Person Values To The Work Of Social Care Social Work Essay According to Ewles and Simnett and Edelman Mandle , values and principles mean powerful drivers of how we think and behave. These are often a significant element of culture, where they form a part of the shared rule set of a group. Every peoples personal values and principles influence their work contribution significantly in health and social care management. There are different types of values like instrumental values, personal values, political values, social values, economic values, religious values etc. Vilkka (1997) and Edelman Mandle (2005) have stated that instrumental values mean being honest, courage, polite, gentle, well-behaved etc. In addition, these values mean to have a good moral. It has a great impact of work contribution. For example, in a care home employees may need to keep the service users belongings which are valuable. In this case, they have to be honest. Otherwise, dishonest people may take those materials and flee away. So instrumental values influence work contribution. Posner (n.d.) has cited that personal value means dignity, creativity, courage, attitude of care, independence, friendliness etc. It can influence work contribution. For example, a person with good creativity skills can serve the service users in a better way. In addition, if they become friendly and positive in caring, then the service users or the clients will be happier. The ethnicity of people, tradition, regional ties, linguistic ties, national ties etc. are included in cultural values. For example, if anyone is from white ethnic background, then they will be more punctual where Asian ethnic people are less sincere. Another thing can be, people who are from the Middle East are very honest. Social values may include equality, justice, liberty, freedom and national pride. These are the values that put the rights of wider groups of people first. As it promotes equality, justice, freedom and liberty then it can impact on work contributions significantly. For example, in a care home there may have employee and service users from different ethnic and national background. Their culture can be different from each other. So, following equality law, justice, national pride etc. improve workplace contribution. According to Connor et al (2006), work values mean autonomy, dedication, teamwork, competitiveness, trustworthiness, reliability, professionalism, ethics etc. Autonomy means feeling relaxed and confident. It is universal truth that if anyone fell relaxed, ambition, and confident then she or he can play a very good role in work. Another thing is teamwork. It is always better than single work. Dedication has a positive impact as well. Doing favor to someone is called dedication. Health and social care is mainly related to co-operation and co-ordination between the employees and clients. For instant, an employee may not able to handle heavy things. So, in that case if anyone helps him to accomplish his task that is called dedication. It improves work outcome as well. Trustworthiness and reliability are the two main sources of work effectiveness (Holloway Wheeler, 2002). If the employees trust one another, they can work with free from tension. Because they know whatever the co-workers are doing are correct. Also, they should be reliable so that staff can get help from them whenever it is required. According to Allison (2001) and Posner (n.d.), professionalism has a significant effect in work contribution in health and social care. If professionals forget about their role and start making close relationship with clients, then it brings very negative outcome for the staff. They may be penalized for breaking organizational law. Sometimes, they chat with their co-workers ignoring the service users. But those follow the professionalism rules, can never do such kinds of things. As a result, clients will be happy and work outcome will be increased significantly. Thus, proffesioanlism influences contribution to work. Litman (2009) has stated that economic values may include ownership of property, contributing to common good etc. This value means the value around money. According to some people, this is the most important value for work contribution because if the employees are paid soundly, then they must try to give their best. In reverse, if their expectations are not fulfilled, they must not give their best. Religious values are the other important values. According to Cooper Palmer (1998), these are spiritual values, which means how we should behave, including caring of one another and in worship. Religion views have one of the most significant effects to work contribution. For example, according to Muslim laws, if you do not try to give your best to your employer, then you will be penalised by your god. So, those people who have respect on their religion, they will always try to do better in work. Thus religion values can influence work contributions. According to McPartland (1991), principles are the policy, objectives, rules, fundamental norms, or value that state what are the role of an individual, or an organization, or a community. It also makes a distinction between fairness and unfairness. So, it can influence work contribution as well. Some people may have principles which may be directly opposite to organizational principles. For instant, if a conservative Buddhist is told to serve a non-Buddhist client, he/she may not give positive response and it will affect work contribution negatively. On the other hand, if an open minded Christian is told to something that is work related, they will do with 100% positive attitude. Thus, principles influence workplace contribution in health and social care. 1.2 Analyse how your own cultural values and beliefs influence your work in support and care of service users in your work place. According to Kitayama Cohen (2007) and ODonnell (2001), different cultural values and beliefs impact support and care of service users in workplace differently. Values and principles include equal rights, diversity, confidentiality, protection from abuse and harm. In addition, personal values are beliefs and preferences, culture, political perspectives, interests and priorities, change over lifespan to date etc. I have my own culture and beliefs which also influence the care of the service users. For instance, I am not either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. I take all types of dishes which are halal because I am a muslim. So, I may not be interested to serve those people who will eat much haram dishes. But, in the same time I may provide a better service than a Buddhist. The reason of that is most of the Buddhists are non-vegetarian and they are not willing to serve the people who deserve meats. My culture and value has taught me to treat every person equally. It has also taught me to give adult people their freedom. So, I will not discriminate any people. People from any background are same to me. So, I can provide them a good service. 1.3 Explain how development of new priorities targets and legislation impact upon your role as a care worker. There are a few new developments in legislations, priorities, research, policies, principles and values that can impact upon my role as a care worker. For example, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000, The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004, Disabled Persons Act 1986, Human Rights Act 19980, The Work and Families Act 2006, The Children and Young Persons Act 2008, Care and Support Green Paper, are the legislations and priorities that impact upon my role. Sex Discrimination Act 1975 states that it is unlawful for an employee to discriminate anyone because of their sex. The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 has given a legal status and some rights to carers. Carers are requested to assess their ability of work under this act. So, as a carer now I do self-assessment and inform it to local council and they take necessary steps. The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 is very necessary for all t he carers as it ensures their rights. According to this act, authorised people have to assess their needs, give priority to their wishes, and provide training whenever they need. It also facilitated co-operation between care workers and authorities in relation to the services. The government has recently prepared green paper where care and support system will be mentioned. Also, the government has given carers to express their opinion. In addition, they have engaged all the carers, stakeholders, service users, shareholders and members of the public to give their views to improve care plans. So, now I can share everything related to job with authorized persons and work with free of hassle. Thus these priorities and legislations impact upon my role as a care worker. 1.4 Discuss how the changes in personal values have contributed to your personal development Pavlina (2008) has cited that the changes in personal values and principles have contributed a lot in personal development. For example, if I change my beliefs and preferences then it affects the service users. I used to think that serving the lesbian or gay or people who are not from my background are not good. But when I can come to know the legislations and change my beliefs then I can serve them as well and that is a part of my personal development. As an Asian my culture is different from European culture. So, while serving clients I may have to face difficulty as I dont know their culture very good. But when I will be aware of their culture and views then I can deliver a better service because my cultural value will be changed that time. Thus the changes in personal values have contributed to my personal development. Produce, monitor, revise and evaluate plans for personal progress in developing the skills and abilities required of a care worker 2.1 Assess your own preferred learning style and abilities As a care worker personal progress is very important as it is related to the skills and abilities. According to Jonassen Grabowsk (1993), preferred learning style and abilities vary from person to person. Kolbs (1984) states that, learning style can be concrete experience (feeling), diverging (feeling and watch), accommodating (feeling and doing), active experimentation (doing), reflective observation (watching), assimilating (thinking and watching), and abstract conceptualization (thinking). Learning from experience from outside world can be categorized as assimilating learning style. But usually people can learn four ways and those are watching, listening, writing, and reading. This is called linguistic learning method. Basically I prefer to learn in all ways but it depends what am I learning? For example, if I want to learn how to provide a better service to the service users then I prefer to learn it by linguistic mode and then by assimilating and accommodating because by this wa y I can read, watch, feel and think that I am doing. Then I have to do that practically. I can take notes as well if I want. The reason of that is there are certain things of learning where practical learning is more important than theoretical learning. After that I like to learn by writing and reading. There are a few things where it seems that easy after reading. But after some time I may forget that because only reading can not stimulate the memory cells most effectively. So to stimulate the memory cells effectively, I need to learn by writing as it stimulates my memory cells better than reading. I miss much information while learning by listening. A diagram of my learning style is given below: Reading-Writing-Diverging -Accommodating- assimilating 2.2 Produce and justify a personal development plan with short-medium-and long term aims and Outcome Gallen and Buckle (2001) has noted that acquiring new skills, updating practice, learning, career development etc are the main parts of personal development. According to them, personal Development Plan (PDP) is important for all types of people whatever they are employee or employer or student. As a care worker or a as student of Health and Social care management personal development plan is vital for me. It can be short term, long term, short-medium-and long term aims. My personal development plan with short-medium and long term aims can be learning IT skills, being well-disciplined, improving presentation skills, negotiation policy, learning human resource management, learning people psychology, different types of acts and legislations related to health and social care, making effective decision, acquiring knowledge about medicine, improving leadership skills and developing communication skills. IT skill: At this era information technology is the most important thing to learn as it has an effective impact in Health and Social care management. Without learning IT skills none can reach in a good level of their career. In addition, this branch is vast as well. So I have to spend a long time to be efficient of this branch. Now-a-days all information are saved and managed by computers. In addition, in some cases, computers can be used to diagnose the problem of the service users. I need to learn about programming, Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, power point, drawing good diagrams, presenting power point slides etc. Negotiation policy: this is the area where I must need to improve. For example, when my manager will tell me you are going to be paid this amount of money for your job then I have negotiate with him if I am not satisfied. I have to show him/her the reasons as well why I should be paid more. This is important as money has an influence of employees mentality and employee with good mentality can provide good service. Presentation skills: as a social worker I should have good presentation skill what I dont have at all. If I can not present anything clearly to the service users then many misunderstanding will take place. So, I have to avoid this. It is not possible to improve presentation skills by day night. So, I will do a long term plan to improve my presentation skills. My personal development plan and its outcomes are shown below in the table: Development area Mode Duration Outcome Information technology Long term 5 year Be able to keep records correctly, create necessary soft wares if necessary. Presentation skills Long term 1 year Make clients understand what services they are going to get Negotiation policy Short term 3 month Ensured self betterment Human resource management Short-medium term 3 month Managing human resource Law, legislation and acts Long term 5 years Be able to deal with complaints and play by rules. Leadership skills Short medium 3 months Leading effectively. Decision making Medium term 1 year Be able to take right decision. 2.3 Discuss the arrangements to monitor the progress of your personal development plan. The progress of my personal development program can be monitored by the outcome and job performances. For example, if I take IT and leadership skill as my personal development plan then it can be monitored by my record keeping skills, saving patients data, handling electronic devices etc. leadership skills can be monitored by the way I am managing people. For example, if hundred employees work under me I have to manage all of them efficiently where ever they are from or who ever they are. In addition, my progress can be monitored by performance appraisal. 2.4 Evaluate your personal development plan in context with your duties as a care worker Bild Pountney (2007) have shown the necessity of personal development plan of a care worker. So, as a care worker my personal development plan is very important. IT skills and decision making were included in my personal development plan. As a care worker knowledge about IT helped me to keep all medical records digitally. I could find out information from computer or any electronic devices quickly. Decision making was another important thing. For example, if any frail client tells me he can not move and breathe properly. Also, he does not know what happened to him last night. But so far, he knows he did not take any food last night. In that situation, I am to take quick decision otherwise something can happen seriously. So, in context with my duties as a care worker these are essential to include as my personal development plan (PDP). Analyse the application of principles of professional engagement with service users in a specific setting 3.1 Analyse the nature of different professional relationships in health and social care context According to Fritz Omdahl (2006), professional relationship is a process by which staffs make relationship with individuals, service users family and friends, workers with other agencies, colleagues or any authorized persons related to health and social care. Usually, it is focused on some specific principles of an organization. The natures of professional relationships are described below: Relationship with service users: All the service users should be respected as individual and service users with no mental problem can choose any services those are required. Service providers are entitled to provide appropriate care to clients without any hassle. In addition, healthcare professionals are not allowed to discriminate anyone while providing service. Carers, doctors, social workers or any healthcare professionals must ensure service users confidentiality. They are not allowed to disclose any information to anyone unless it harms to their clients. Every health care specialists, carers or service users will ensure the full autonomy of their clients. Engagement with co-workers: A good understanding and work relationship among the staff must be established so that they can work as a team. Martin et al (2009) have stated that, teamwork always ensures good outcome of work. Health care staff, social workers, carers will share their views and knowledge with everyone which are related to job to provide better service. Every staff will respect other cultures and may accept the good knowledge from them. Employers and service providers will work together to keep a workplace with no discrimination, harassment, bully etc. Everyone will work together to keep a safe workplace. They will make a work relationship among them but not more than that like emotional relationship. this can harm engagement among the employees. 3.2 Analyse effectiveness of different models of care/support in health and social care settings According to Heller et al (1999), health care services can be provided by various models e.g. bio-medical model/conventional medical model, bio-psycosocial model, traditional social care model, NHS social care model etc. But in the UK health care services are traditionally delivered by bio-medical model. Every model has particular effectiveness for providing health care which are described below: According to Srivastava (2007), effectveness of conventional medical model: Supports are available in terms of healthcare as conventional medical model is formed by the basis of NHS and western health care systems. Protecting illness and disability becomes easier as health services are mainly geared towards treating the sick and disabled people. A high value can be ensured in terms of specialist medical services especially in institutional setting or clinics. This model gives a chance to conduct medical research effectively. Effectiveness of bio-psychological model: In 1986 Kleinman and Good have stated that bio-psychological model focuses on the psychological, emotional, social and mental problem. As a result, experts can identify service users mental needs effectively. It recognizes that disease or illness can be neither studied nor treated in isolation from social and cultural environment. It considers the links between socioeconomic deprivation and adverse health e g improving access to health care and reducing health inequalities. Effectiveness of tradtional social care model (according to Leira, 2002): It always priorotse the vulnearable groups so that they can get help from the service providers without any hassle at any time. Service users and their organisations are fully involved in the development and even delivery of services. It also empower the people. Effectiveness of the NHS social care model: Glasby Littlechild (2004) has shown that NHS social care model always prioritizes the improvement of care for people with long term conditions. This model will help to ensure health and social care organisations take an overall structured and systematic approach to improving the care of those long term conditions The immediate focus should be the introduction of case management for the most vulnerable people with complex long term conditions so that long term hospital admissions can be reduced. It aims to achieve early detection, good control to minimise effects of disease and reduce complications, improve effective medicine management. It also promotes independence, empowers patients and allows them to take control of their lives. Overally, it improves patients quality of life. 3.3 Critically analyse own role in promoting individuals choice, ability and right to care for and protect themselves According to Bradley et al (2009), own role is very important in health and social care workplaces to promote individuals choice, ability, right and to protect the service users. The lists of my plans are given below to implement these things: As a social care worker I will must protect the rights and promote the interest of service users. This means I will Treat every person as an individual, Respect their privacy and promote the individual views and wishes of both service users and carers. In addition, I will promote equal opportunities, Respect diversity and different cultures and values for service users and carers. I must strive to establish and maintain trust and confidence of service users and carers. It includes to be honest, trustworthy, Communicating in an appropriate, open, accurate and straightforward way with the colleagues and clients. In addition, I will be relieable and dependant, honoring to service users and carers. Also, I will be adhering to policies and procedures about accepting gifts and money from service users and carers. I will promote the independence of service users while protecting them from dangers. It means Using established processes to challenge and report dangerous, abusive and discriminatory or exploitative behavior and practice. I will ask them to give their opinions because people usually feel important if anyone asks about their choice or wish. I may identify their emotional needs as well by this way. I will talk to the service users cordially about their concerns and interests so that they can express what they want. So, I can be aware of them and can protect them. (CD lesson 3, page 7, little bit) 3.4 Analyze the dilemmas that may arise in professional relationships and how you would deal with them In 2005, Tribe Morrissey have noted that, lots of dilemmas can arise in professional relationship e.g. abuse, ethics, challenging behavior, risk, conflicts between values and principles, confidentiality vs. disclosure, values of others etc. For example, ethical dilemmas can arise frequently in professional relationship. it means people can not understand actually what to do. Though sometimes they are able to take a decision, many questions arise like is it correct that is done? Usually, there are two types of ethical dilemma and one is the Right to Accept or refuse treatment and other one is the Patient Bill of Right. A patient with no mental problem can take his medical decision. They have right to choose whther they will accept death or life. But as a medical professional his/her duty is to ensure clients well-being or save life. So, this is an ethical dilemma. But most of the cases, it is suggested to give priority of the clients wish. Another dilemma can arise in terms of ensuring clients confidentiality and disclosure of any information. For instant, if a care service user tell his/her carer like this, I want to tell you something if do not disclose it. After that the carer can come to know that his/her clint is being abused by another carer. By that case, he/she should infrom it to an authorized person to protect the client from abuse but she/he is already told not to disclose it. So, dilemma can arise between confidentiality and disclosure by this way. In this case, the carer should tell it to an authorized person to protect the client from abuse and to ensure safe-guarding and well-being. 1000 words 4.1 Evaluate own contribution to your work team Bradley et al (2009) and Leathard (2003) have mentioned that in health and social care every individuals performance is very important. My own contributions as a social care worker are evaluated below: In my workplace I always inform my colleagues about my activities to an appropriate level of detail. I always behave in such a way so that it supports the team to be more effective. It means my actions, speech, language, body language, gestures, written and verbal communications are always polite. I am efficient in computer skills. So, I can handle all the electrical data. I share my views, ideas and information relevant to job with team members. I also accept others ideas and information to make team work smoother. I always offer assistant in a friendly and helpful way whenever it is required. I suggest clearly if I have any better idea to improve team work at an appropriate time. 4.2 Discuss how your contribution influence the effectiveness of the teams of which you are a member. According to West (2004) and Snee (n.d.), contribution of every individual has an influence of the effectiveness in a team. My contribution also influences the effectiveness of team work in various ways. For example, I know about the Legislations, Policies and Good Practices which are relevant to health and social care. So, I can provide a very good service to the clients. Moreover, my colleagues often are benefitted by me. As a result, teamwork becomes developed. in addition, I can communicate in a effective way with my fellows. So that, lots of misunderstanding, ambiguity, conflict, backstabbing, and mistrust can be avoided which influence the effectiveness of team work. I have a clear idea about the role of individual. So, I can specify their roles and they can perfrom according to that and it increases team outcome significantly. In addition, I am aware of different cultures and values and I act in a way what they want. According toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. it inspires teammates which are another root of effective teamwork. I have very good leadership skills and it helps to lead my colleagues. Time management is one of the most crucial skills that I have. So, I do my job in time and I suggest other people to follow me. They also follow me which influences team effectiveness. Thus my contributions influence the effectiveness of the team. 4.3 Describe the limits of your work role and how these impact on your work with others According to Heron (1998), every employee has limitations of their roles and responsibility and these are influenced by others. As a care management trainee I have some limitations as well. For example, I am not allowed give any new medication to a service user at any condition. In addition, as I work in management position, I should not involve in care work. I am not allowed to gather any personal information both of colleagues and clients. I should not handle their documents which are supposed to handle by their lawyers. Failing to do any of these has very negative outcome of individual role. Colleagues may not trust and respect. Also, employees may not listen to me and I can be frustrated. As a result, work outcome can be reduced sharply. 4.4 Analyse the barriers for effective team working and how you would contribute minimizing such barrier. West (2004) and Snee (n.d.) notes that effective teamwork is very important in every sphere of work and there are lots of barriers of effective team work. For instant, poor leadership, interpersonal interactions, poor communication, professional codes, poor team dynamics, high expectations, different priorities, lack of trust, silo thinking, pressure of high accountability can be the barriers of effective teamwork. In the same time, there are many ways as well by which social workers can minimize these barriers. As a social care worker I am required to work with my colleagues as well as various professionals and it is a daily occurrence for me. These professionals could be doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists laboratory technicians and pharmacists and many other professions. My colleagues and they may be from different cultures and they have different values. So, at the starting level of job all people need to share their views and knowledge and it wastes lots of time. Leadership has a great impact of team working because almost everything flows from here. It is leaders fault if a team can not perform in proper way. The reasons can be not enough communication among the employees or lack of proper guidance. Sometimes, leaders fail to specify of individuals agenda. So, team members are not aware of their roles and can not perform well which reduce the productivity of team work. Poor communication and high expectations are the other barriers of effective team work. These cause lots of misunderstanding, ambiguity, conflict, backstabbing, and mistrust among the employees. Employees have to work under stress as well if they have to fulfil higher expectation. Study from Anon (n.d.) has shown that, poor team dynamics can cause breakdown of team dynamics and team can fail to achieve their goals. Also, absenteeism of employees reduces team dynamics and cut performance of a team. Ways to minimize barriers of team work: Trust in all colleagues. Being respectful to seniors and team leaders. Communicate effectively with the employees. Let the employees work according to their ability. Focus on team as well as individual performance. Constructive criticism should be improved. Reducing the absentee rate etc. Overall, any organization can minimize the barriers by following these things and does excellent team work. 4.5 Discuss how you can contribute personally to the effectiveness of your team According to Snee (n.d.) and West (2004), every individual can influence team effectiveness significantly by playing their professional roles. My own contribution can influence team effectiveness as well and some of the ways are given below: Share own views, ideas with co-workers. Offer help to service users and colleagues whenever it is necessary. Provide suggestion for the betterment of work. Respect everyone in the team especially the seniors. Explaining team roles and goals to eve

Watching the Story Unfold Essay -- Television Series

Whether it is finding out â€Å"who shot J.R.† on Dallas or how Dr. Doug Ross will leave County General on E.R. it is the serialized storytelling format that has continually grasped the attention of television viewers around the world. What is it about these shows that keep viewers coming back for more? This essay will be answering that question and more by taking a look at how serialized stories came to be, and more importantly what shows made it the success that it has become in television. This will be done by looking at where the genera has gone, what struggles it has faced, and will finish with a look towards the future to see where the genera is headed. To begin this discussion it is important to first understand what exactly a serialized story is. A serial according to the Encarta Dictionary is defined as â€Å"a story that is published or broadcast in parts, normally at regular intervals†. Because of the broadness of that definition this paper will be specifically focusing on those series that air at night in what has been deemed a ‘Primetime’ slot. The serialized format was not a revolutionary concept that was invented for television. On-going stories have been around since the mid 1800’s as English writers released stories in what was called Penny Dreadfuls which were released in eight-page installments (Pollick). The format however has since evolved. In 1929 it made its first splash into radio with a program called The Smith Family (University of Minnesota.). This show lasted only a week, but helped lay the foundation for the late Irna Philips to build upon and ultimately revolutionize the genera. Irna Philips has been considered by many to be the mother of the serialized format due to the success of her work on both radio a... ...geek.com/what-is-a-penny-dreadful.htm>. Television AU. Home and Away. 19 January 2008. 05 December 2010 . TelevisionAU. Neighbours. 26 July 2006. 05 December 2010 . Tv Series Finale. Soap TV Show. 05 December 2010 . Ultimate Dallas. Introduction to the TV series Dallas. 05 December 2010 . —. TNT announce new Dallas pilot episode. JR Ewing is back. 9 September 2010. 05 December 2010 . University of Minnesota. 1920-1929 : Media History Project : U of M. 30 September 2008. 05 December 2010 . "Who Done It?" Dallas. 21 November 1980.

Marijuana Legalization Essay -- Legal Illegal Marijuana Pot Law Weed

Marijuana Legalization As defined by The New American Webster Dictionary, marijuana is a hemp-like plant whose leaves are smoked in a cigarette as a narcotic. HOWEVER: Other than just an illict drug used for getting "high", Marijuana can also be viewed as: * A pain reliever * A stress reliever * A medicinal alternative to over-used processed drugs * An untapped source of income for the United States Government * A prohibited substance with many misconceptions Smoking marijuana has long been viewed as something that only produces negative outcomes. New studies are quickly changing these views. The following are some new results found on the true influence of marijuana ingestion. * "According to clinical trial data pulbished this past spring in the American Journal of Addictions, cannabis use- including heavy, long-term use of the drug- has, at most, only a negligible impact on cognition and memory" (Armentano, "Cannabis and"). * "Canadian researchers found that experiments on rats which were given a potent cannabinoid, showed the drug stimulates the growth of new brain cells. It appears that the drug caused neurons to regenerate in the hippocampus, an area that controls mood and emotions, after one month of treatment" ("Cannabis Boosts"). * "The Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, say that most drugs, including alcohol, heroin, cocaine and nicotine, have been shown to destroy nerve cells in the hippocampus. This study suggests that cannabinoids are the only illicit drug that can promote adult hippocampal neurogenesis following chronic administration" ("Cannabis Boosts"). * An analysis of previous experiments as pre... ...na>. McVay, D. (1991). Marijuana Legalization: The Time Is Now. SAGE Publications Inc. 22 Apr 2006. "Medical Marijuana." 2006. Drug Policy Alliance. 7 Mar 2006. "Medicinal Marijuana Posters." No Date. Online Image. Wo/Mens Alliance for Medical Marijuana. 1 Apr 2006. . "Medical Marijuana Reports." 6 Sep 2005. NORML Foundation. 7 Mar 2006. "Small Marijuana Leaf." No Date. Online Image. Alexabebe.com. 1 Apr 2006. . Stimeling, Gary. "Straight Dope: The Research on Marijuana Safety." 2005. Psychotropics Cornucopia Inc. 7 Mar 2006.

Power of Choice Revealed in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken :: Road Not Taken essays

The Power of Choice Revealed in The Road Not Taken      Ã‚  Ã‚  Frost's flare for using nature to and man's interaction with it to relate powerful philosophical messages are expressed in his renownd poem, "The Road Not Taken". "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a very powerful poem with one basic philosophical theme: individuality comes down to being able to choose between the popular choice or societal norms and a choice less explored. In other words, the central meaning of this poem is that one should not make a decision because it reflects popular opinion-one should make sound choices because of their benefits to the individual-because choosing unique alternative could make all the difference. What does Frost mean by the "road less traveled by (19)"? Much of the poem suggests that Frost's use of the word "road" is metaphorical and not literal. "Road" as used by Frost refers to a decision or a choice. However, by using the literal application of roads, Frost shows that deciding which road to take will determine the outcome of one's journey, much like a decision will determine the outcome of one's goals and aspirations. Frost chooses to the take the road that "was grassy and wanted wear" (8). Why? Clearly, like a unique idea, the less traveled road may lead to a different sense of realization where only few men have been. Thus, the "road less traveled by" clearly speaks of Frost's personal endeavor to be different or unique. He did not want to follow in the footsteps of conformity; this is why he takes the road less traveled by. Frost alludes to the fact that a traveler cannot take two roads at the same time-he/she must choose between the two. The main reason for making this assertion is to show that we cannot abide by two decisions about a particular goal in our life at the same time. Consequently, we must weigh our decisions carefully. Note Frost says "I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference" (19-20). What does this say about how we should make our decision? Clearly, this infers that we should not make our decisions based on popular opinions. In other words, we should not make a decision because it works for everyone else; we should make a decision because it is right for our circumstance -- because it could make all the difference.

Zombie Survival Guide

Our world has experienced many pandemics over the course of history, from the bubonic plaque to the HIV/AIDS virus. But what happens when a virus brings us back from the dead. I’m talking about zombies, the undead. Today I will show you how to adequately prepare and survive a zombie apocalypse. Everything from identifying the enemy to defending your home and riding out the storm. Before we can divulge into preparations upon yourself and your home, we must first identify the enemy. What is a Zombie? This West African word defines a Zombie as â€Å"an animated corpse that feeds on living human flesh. Though many Hollywood movies have depicted Zombies as supernatural beings, with extreme strength and cognitive abilities, these accusations are wildly inaccurate. Zombies, in a sense, are basically human. They have the same attributes as humans do. They neither create nor destroy any part of their body (unless physical maiming has occurred before the reanimation). Zombie’s p hysical attributes are basically the same to humans. Their eyes are still capable of transmitting and interpreting visual signals. They seem to have excellent hearing, capable of detecting sound and determine its location. Their smell is more acute, though they are able to distinguish between living prey and the already dead. Since Zombies are the â€Å"Un-Dead†, most of their nerves have also died, leaving the Zombie incapable of touch. This proves to be one advantage the Zombie has over humans. Without the ability to feel pain, Zombies can perform at a higher level of stamina than humans, being able to push themselves further and faster despite the pain it would cause a normal human. Despite Hollywood fiction, Zombies do not possess self-healing abilities, they cut and bleed like normal humans. But as previously stated they do not feel such pain. The Zombie is a ruthless killing machine, it takes wits and brains to conquer such beasts, and a little fire power won’t hurt either. When preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse, choosing the right weapons can be a matter of life and death. Contrary to popular belief, loading up with the heaviest, most powerful weapons ready to kick ass is basically suicidal. Proper consideration should be taken when choosing your weaponry. First and foremost, you should always obey state and federal laws regarding lethal weapons. No matter what weapon you choose, it’s basically useless without proper training. Your weapon should become an extension of your body. If your weapon can be disassembled, you should learn how to take apart your weapon and reassemble it in the dark, it should become second nature. You should care for your weapon as if it were a member of your family, possibly the crazy uncle that could go off at any moment. Be cautious of replica weapons, as these are generally used as movie props and displays. When choosing your weapon, consider your situation. Are you in a close combat situation, or have you fortified your home adequately to where you can shoot from a distance. For blades, the Japanese Katana is ideal. It’s incredibly sharp blade and light weight makes it ideal for slicing through bone and muscle. Remember blades do not need reloading. As for guns, there is a wide range of guns to consider. Everything from heavy machine guns to shotguns. While each have their own pros and cons, for the sake of time we’ll focus on the ones imperative for survival. Heavy machine guns have a high capacity for ammo, though the weight would slow you down on the run, these weapons are best suited for stationary use. The assault rifle is significantly lighter and with the option for single fire or rapid fire. Though the urge to empty a clip into a Zombie body may be tempting, resisting that urge is imperative to save ammo. The semi-automatic rifle has shown itself to be a superior zombie killer. With its high caliber bullets and sharp accuracy, it makes mincemeat of zombies. In a close combat situation, the shotgun reigns supreme. Though its range is limited, due to the pellet pattern, this weapon will surely suffice in close combat. Finally we come to the pistol. This should be reserved as a secondary weapon; it will prove to be your best friend. Now that we have covered who we’re running from and how to defend and kill them, we focus our attention to fortifying and defending our homes. We live in a rural area, and if history teaches us anything; it’s that major outbreaks are mostly concentrated in major cities. Though no house built in the modern era was designed to defend against a zombie attack, modifications should be used to fortify your home. Protecting your home from the undead is virtually the same as defending against human intruders, though ADT alarms will not help you. Secure iron bars should be placed in window sills to prevent zombies from climbing in the windows. In addition to bars, tempered glass should replace pane glass windows to avoid shattering; giving you added time once a horde comes. Any type of fencing should be placed around the perimeter of your property. The higher the better as zombies are not great climbers. Strength in your fencing is everything, as a horde of zombies can easily take down a weak fence. Consider using concrete or cinder blocks and add strength. Proper supplies should be in place to endure the time spent in your home during an outbreak. Water, and lots of it, is the key to survival; about 3 quarts a day per person. Canned foods and dried preserved foods, in addition to portable electric stoves will keep stomachs full. In addition, a gasoline generator and bicycle generator should be in place should the power grid fail. An advanced medical kit, complete with field surgery implements and antibiotics will treat minor and major injuries. Flashlights, lamps and radios should be used and back up batteries should be in place. A high powered telescope, emergency flares and chemical light sticks should finish of your survival equipment. During the attack, you should designate one corner of your back yard for your latrine, also creating a self-sufficient garden for fruits and vegetables, as far away from the latrine as possible. For electrical needs, unless the power grid is still functioning, use the bicycle powered generator. Not only will it keep your home powered, it will keep you physically fit. Patrol your home constantly, on a 24 hour basis. The chance of survival is higher in numbers. Keeping up moral in the group will significantly increase your chance of survival too. Create a library of books and games to keep you entertained. Make sure you have everything in place, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. Everything from an escape route to a survival packs for on the run. Leave no stone unturned and no corner cut when preparing for an attack. Hopefully I have shown you today to properly prepare for a zombie outbreak. And hopefully you heed my warnings. These people are not your neighbors, your school teachers, or even your loving grandmother. These are zombies, the undead. It’s us against them. A battle to the end. Remember to stay alert, stay prepared, and stay alive.