Sunni Islam

Sunnis Several years after Muhammad's death, the various factions of the Islamic faith were formed. Many of Muhammad's relatives and companions were involved in the power struggle, and the war finally stabilized when Mu'awiyya, the governor of  Syria, took control of the Caliphate. This marked the rise of the  Umayyad dynasty  which ruled Islam for quite some time. Although the Qur’an ordains that the division of Muslims into different sections is forbidden, three sects of Islam developed and emerged at the conclusion of the  Islamic Civil War.These include the Sunni, Shiite, Ahmadiyya and Karijite. Of these four, the Sunni denomination is by far the largest, comprising of 90% of the world Muslim population, with Shi’a comprising of the second largest percentage. The literal translation of the word Sunni is â€Å"habit† or usual practice. My assumption is that the habit or practice refers to the actions of Muhammad. So anyone claiming to follow the Sunnah , which are the actions of Muhammad and can show that they believe the Hadith, which are narrations of the actions of Muhammad, can consider him or herself to be a  Sunni  Muslim.People of Sunni orientation believe that Muhammad had never chosen a successor before his death and therefore nobody can really properly succeed him or become the succeeding leader of the Caliphate other than his closest companions, or Shahaba. Sunnis belive that only the the first four caliphs should be regarded as the properly led caliphs. They include Abu Bakr, Umar al-Khattab, Uthman Affan, and Ali Talib. Actually why there has not been one widely known caliph since 1923 for the entire Islamic religion is due to the fact that Islam is divided into these three sections metioned earlier.Although Sunnis accept hadith narrated by the first four caliphs, they regard one collection of hadith to be the most authentic. This is called the Sahih al Bukhari. The literal translation of sahih is â€Å"authentic †. The Sunni branch of Islam has four legal schools of thought or  madh'hab, through which Sunnis practice religious jurisprudence, or religious philosophy. There was only one madh-hab during the time of the â€Å"rightly-guided† Caliphs but after the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty, things changed. The Umayyad caliphs did not have the same religious authority as the previous ones.After the Umayyad Dynasty, there was the Abbasid Dynasty. In comparison to the Umayyads, they were more supportive of Islamic law. The crystallization of four major Sunni madh’hab of Islamic fiqh came about by the third century of Hijra. These four include the Hanafi, which was founded by Abu Hanifah and is the dominant school of Muslims in the United Kingdom and Germany, and also followed by Muslims in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. The Maliki school, founded by a Hanifa’s eldest student named Malik ibn Anas and is the dominant school of Muslims in Morocco, Alg eria, Libiya, Nigeria, Sudan Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait.The Shafi’i school founded by a student of Malik named Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i and is the dominant school of Muslims in Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Kenya, Somalia, Kenya Tanzania, Jordan, India, Syria and Lebanon. The Hanbali school founded by a student of al-Shafi’i named Ahmad bin Hanbal, and is the dominant school of Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula, to name the most predominant ones. The followers of these four schools follow the same basic beliefs but differ from one another in terms of practice and execution of rituals, and in interpretation of Shari’a.So rather than again dividing themselves up into different schools of law, Sunnis rather prefer to just combine and call themselves all Sunnis. The  religious text of Islam, the Qur'an  was compiled by Muhammad’s closest companions and regarded as authentic my all Muslims. There are many aspects of daily life, ho wever that are not mentioned in the Qur’an but they were observed and passed down through generations. These oral account are called hadith. Sunnis regard only certain collections of hadith to be authentic and those are compiled by six specific recorders named Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa’ii, Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Majah.The history of the Sunni–Shia conflict originates in the  split  that occurred when  Muhammad  died in the 632 which led to a dispute over  who should succeed him as  caliph  of the Islamic community. This led to the battle of Siffin. For a long time, Sunni Islam was differentiated from Shi'i Islam by its adherence to the  Caliph  as the leader of the Muslims. However, Sunni and Shi'i Islam are the same in that they share important taught principles: the wholeness of  God, the belief in the revelations of Muhammad, and the belief in resurrection on the Day of Judgment.Even though the main split in Islamic practice is between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, there are several disagreements within the Sunni community. Almost like how Americans have different views, there are some liberal and more secular movements in Sunni Islam that say that Shari'a is interpreted on an individual basis, and that reject any  fatwa  or religious edict by religious Muslim authority figures. There are also several movements in Sunni Islam, which reject and sometimes persecute liberal Muslims for attempting to compromise certain Muslim traditions.

Katherine Mansfield stories “Prelude” and “At the Bay” Essay

Two of Katherine Mansfield’s most famous stories are â€Å"Prelude† and â€Å"At the Bay†, both of them portraying a New Zealand family. Both stories, are revolving around the female characters, but the one link that connects all of them is Stanley Burnell, member and provider of the family. The New Zealand critic Carl Stead affirms that Stanley Burnell is a ‘benevolent despot’ meaning that he is a kind person, and a tyrant in the same time. I agree with Stead affirmation, but as it seems somewhat incomplete, I would want to add a few words to it: Stanley character is benevolent but unconsciously despot. Stanley is dynamic and doesn’t like to rely on other people; he is eager to put down roots and settle down. He has no inherited wealth or special education; only his own intellect on which to rely. He is not only responsible for Linda and his children, but he has assumed responsibility for her mother and unmarried sister, Beryl. He works hard and makes sacrifices to support his family. For example, when they are all on holiday in â€Å"At the Bay†, Stanley catches the bus in to work .To have such a busy life, Stanley demands constant support from everyone else into covering his insecurities. He is not only looking for support, but he also expects for other people to try and achieve something on their own as he does. Because Beryl lacks money, Stanley expects her to try and work hard: ‘By Jove, if she can’t do a hand’s turn occasionally without shouting about it in return for†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Stanley does not finish his sentence, being not sure exactly what it is Beryl owes him. This shows that it became a routine for him to financially take care of everybody in the family, and that he does not expect a material reward, even though he wants to see people try. In ‘At the Bay’ there is a moment when all the women seem to enjoy Stanley’s departure: ‘Oh, the relief, the difference it made to have the man out of the house. Their very voices were changed as they called to one another; they sounded warm and loving as if they shared a secret’. But Katherine Mansfield uses this passage to highlight how much they all depend on him. Anyone in Mansfield’s fiction who uses slang or truncated sentences, such as Stanley is suspect of having controversy in the character. Usually, in  Stanley’s dialogs, Katherine Mansfield uses short sentences as trying to prove that he speaks fast. Stanley also seems to use slang and to swear in front of the kids: ‘†What the hell†¦ Damnation take it†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ. All this demonstrate that he is a voluble and an action men, as he does not have time to fix his language. There is a tension in Stanley’s life: he is controlled by the need of always to be on time; he can rarely relax. In â€Å"At the Bay†, even going for an early morning swim, he flung, cleared, rushed staggered, raced, swooped, in order to be first in, and once in, he can not stop to enjoy it: â€Å"I have no tie to fool about†. This is a good example of life authenticity (a recreation of life) that Mansfield achieves. The scene happens in early morning, to highlight that Stanley was used to getting up early. Mansfield uses a very subtle mixture of precision and action, to portray exactly his enthusiasm. She has run every step behind him and she slows down the motion by using the word ‘staggered’ – ‘staggered up the sandy hillock’. Mansfield intends to slow down Stanley’s race not because he was tired, but because his feet were sinking into the sand. This race might represent the symbol of his life. Stanley’s life is a race in which he wants to be the best. But just as his feet sink in the sand, in real life he meets obstacles and becomes insecure, needing the family support to give him the strength to keep going, ‘racing for dear life’. In the passage the atmosphere seems to be filled with excitement, even joy, which shows that Stanley is happy with his complicated life. Mansfield uses lots of words like â€Å"exulting†, â€Å"swoops† and â€Å"souse† to convey his thoughts and feelings. He wades out ‘exulting’. He ‘swoops’ to ‘souse’ his head and neck, delighted with himself for being first in the water again. Then he hears Jonathan Trout’s voice and he realizes that he is not first after all and small explosions occurring inside his head. ‘†Great Scott! Damnation take it! Why the dickens didn’t the fellow stick to his part of the sea?†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ To escape from Jonathan conversation, which he thinks of as ‘piffle’ and ‘rot’, he turns over on his back and kicks with his legs till he is ‘a living water-spout’. Stanley seems ridiculous as we witness his confidence, delights and disappointments because he is acting like a child and is hard to understand that he is the same person that is very successful in business. This is why I added the word unconsciously to Carl Stead affirmation that Stanley is a benevolent despot. He pushes people to work hard and be like him, but he does not realize that this might be harder for some people than he thinks. If he would know that he is hurting his family, especially Linda, he would stop bullying them. He loves Linda too much and would never want to hurt her. He thinks he will punish her by going off in the morning without saying goodbye, but he regrets he did that and he suffers all day â€Å"I’ve been in tortures† . He arrives home ready to apologise for something that was unnoticed. Linda cares about him too but she keeps him away from getting to close by misinterpreting his actions on purpose. When he arrives home with ‘all the harvest of the earth’, expensive gifts for her – oysters, a pineapple, and cherries – she refers to them as ‘these silly things’; she drapes a cluster of cherries over his ear, knowing full well that he hates to appear foolish. She acts this way because Stanley is the antithesis with her. He has all the energy she lacks. He becomes more successful at business, more prosperous, and more secure in the home while she loses strength. His quick movements and rapid speech exhaust her. When he worries bout running to fat, Linda replies â€Å"You are far too energetic† and he interprets her answer as a reassurance, when it can also mean that he is to energetic for her, as when she wants to scream at him â€Å"You are killing me†. He seems to dominate her, like when she does not resist his sexual acts. Linda admires Stanley’s best qualities: his goodness, his reliability, and his honesty. She compares Stanley with Jonathan Trout, whom she finds attractive and whom she has much in common. Stanley doesn’t like a person like Trout, a person of dreams and impractical ideas, because he, Stanley is a man of action. Linda also cares about Stanley because she is aware of the fact that he is providing the money for the family, and admires his devotion. Katherine Mansfield, at first sight, seems to make Stanley Burnell look as if he is a tyrant, a despot, because he is pushing everybody to work hard, but he is actually a positive character, because he has the dignity and the morality to deal with his life and take the responsibility of looking after his family.

Benefits of health promotion Essay

A Healthy lifestyle is promoted by being educated in prevention methods and strategies. How is health promotion define and what is its purpose? The nursing roles, responsibilities and implementation methods for health promotion will be addressed, finally, a comparison of the health promotion levels. Health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health. (World health organization, n. d) Health promotion helps prevent diseases, premature death and disability. It is voluntary which result in positive behavior changes and an increase in knowledge. The purpose of health promotion is to influence the healthy behavior of humans while taking a look at the living conditions and the working environment. Acknowledging how it influences and is incorporated in to the health promotion model in all communities. Nursing roles are evolving in health promotion by including clinical nursing practices, consultations, follow-up treatment, patient education and illness prevention. Nursing assume community-based care using evidence-based practice. Understanding the nursing role will help the outcome in promoting health promotion resulting in an increase of patient knowledge, self-management and the quality of life. Furthermore, nurses are often in contact with family members, caregivers, and the community. They should assume the role as a healthcare promoter. The responsibilities include, being proactive, multi-disciplinary in nursing and to view themselves as movers for a change. Understanding includes adapting to trends, society changes and how this affects health promotion. Nurses have an advantage to develop a promotion strategy to increase change in healthy behavior. In addition, acquiring skills in emergency care, counseling, advocacy, public, family and community needs are helpful in the individual assessment of health promotion of each person. The implementation methods for health promotion that encompasses all areas of nursing are clarifying roles and responsibility, collecting information which should be done at a different level in the hospital and interpreting results from summarizing data from patient response to healthcare given and performance scores. Developing a quality improvement plan that is continuously monitor with re-analysis on a regular basis is highly recommended. Understanding the nature of health promotion is embracing the challenges and opportunity to healthcare professional to influence healthcare promotion. Doing so, let’s compare the three levels of health promotion: first level of health promotion is primary prevention which includes activities to help avoid a given healthcare problem. In the article â€Å"Effectiveness of a community based health promotion program targeting people with hypertension and high cholesterol†, it addressed patient knowledge and understanding hypertension and high cholesterol complications from their self-care behaviors, in which an effort to change was made. Having the knowledge about hypertension doesn’t always result in behavioral change but may result in a problem such as a lack of response, an increase in disability and a decrease in life expectancy. If the participants had self-efficacy and was able to manage chronic diseases, there would be an influence of self-care behavior which can be incorporated into the health promotion efforts. In this study primary prevention help improve the participants overall view and behavior towards hypertension and high cholesterol. The second level of health promotion which is identified and treat non symptomatic individuals who have already developed risk factors or pre-clinical diseases but the condition is present. In the article â€Å"Health coaching to improve Hypertension treatment in a low-income, minority population†, Participations received a community based health promotion program in which the goal of the program is to provide information on hypertension and high cholesterol and educated on problem solving and skills to improve self-efficacy. Multiple strategies to promote the development and self-efficacy information were given on DVDs about hypertension and high cholesterol. Self-care booklets, group support (counseling and exercising) and telephone follow-up were also included. The results after a six months study showed an increase in patient motivation and health behavior. There was a decrease in HDL level and blood pressure. Patients found it much easier to deal with hypertension and cholesterol by using the self-care skills. Because of the community based program there was an increase in confidence in each patient that participated an identifying the secondary prevention behavioral interventions were successful in this community study. The tertiary level of heal promotion involves care of the current diseases and restoring to the highest function while minimizing the negative effects of the present disease as well to prevent complications. In the article â€Å"Rehabilitation for patients after stroke in a tertiary hospital: Is it early and intensive enough? †, addresses stroke survivors who receive early and intensive rehabilitation within the first 24 hours result in walking as early of 3. 5 days verses 7. 5 days. Stoke survivors are discharged home too early before gaining any independence in mobility lowers the rehabilitation success. Providing early motor recovery helps with the patients and family satisfactory and emotional support. Not to mention there were a lower risk of in-hospital deaths. There were also shorter hospital stays and greater short and long term functional gains. The tertiary level of promotion in the article is restoring the stroke survivor to its previous state before the stroke as well preventing any future complications. In conclusion, health promotion in nursing is prevention. Improving the strategies to improving health promotion should be a very important issue to the current health reform environment. So when we look at what is needed, let’s look at the framework of health promotion defining it as addressing the healthy behaviors in every community and nationally. The healthcare professionals are responsible to educate, advocate, prevent and promote. Under the umbrella of health promotion the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention will ensure healthy conditions if use in every nursing role and responsibility. This health promotion should run parallel with our interactions within the care and encounters of patients, family members and the community. Health promotion is like a cure, which depends on the strength of healthcare professional to accept this global responsibility.

NURSE PRACTICE ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

NURSE PRACTICE ACT - Essay Example In order to be aware about the legal obligations, a nurse must be familiar with both the Act and also with the regulations associated with it, which will in turn help the nurse practice nursing safely at any location. It is also a fact that despite changes in the Nurse Practice Acts in many states, barriers to nursing practice remain. In the future, clearly stated and uniform standards, scopes of practice, educational requirements, and evaluation of competencies are required The state nursing practice act is an important legislation affecting nursing practice. The nursing practice acts defines nursing, gives guidance on the scope of practice, and sets standards for the nursing profession. The main purpose of nurse practice acts is to protect the public from unsafe practitioners. The ultimate goal of this act is to provide competent, quality nursing care by qualified nurse practitioners. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) was organized in 1901 with the intention of obtaining a legal credentialing mechanism for nursing practice, and thus protects graduate nurses. The title Registered Nurse, â€Å"R.N† was derived from the nurse registration act or the â€Å"Armstrong Bill† in 1903. The first license was issued in 1904, to the class of 1902 from the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital (The Nursing Practice Act, n.d.) Since the public does not have adequate information or experience to identify such a health care provider, they are particularly vulnerable. Thus it is vital that by means of proper regulatory processes, the government permits only those with proper credentials to practice nursing (NCSBN, n.d.) The Nurse Practice Act is a set of state laws, and the statutes are grouped with a chapter of state laws. By ensuring basic requirements for nursing practice, the Act aims to protect the public from an unsafe nurse. Since the legislature of each state determines the Acts content, each states Act may

Company Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company Law - Case Study Example These people are called "owners", composed of the incorporators, directors, and the stockholders. Another point to consider is that a corporation, once approved, has a legal personality separate and distinct from its owners. Having a legal personality separate and distinct from its owners gives the corporation a limited liability to shareholders. Limited liability is a legal doctrine which means that if a "plaintiff wins a court judgment against the corporation, he (the plaintiff) cannot satisfy the judgment out of the personal assets of the owners, rather, the plaintiff must collect from the assets of the corporation".2 Limited liability is likened to a "veil" that offers the owners of the business protection for their personal assets, like for instance, if one of the co-owners or employees commits an unlawful action that injures someone, or if someone sues the corporation for non-payment of debt.3 But is the limited liability doctrine absolute The answer is it is not.4 The corporate law protection of limited liability can be lost through 1) piercing of the corporate veil, 2) defective incorporation, 3) improper signing of documents.5 This essay aims to discuss piercing the corporate veil by first explaining the limited liability rule followed by ... This doctrine is used when the property or assets of the corporation is not enough to support its liabilities.6 "The phrase relies on the metaphor of the 'veil' that represents the veneer of formalities and dignities that protect a corporation, which can be disregarded at will when the situation warrants looking beyond the 'legal fiction' of a corporate person to the reality of other persons or entities who would otherwise be protected by he corporate fiction."7 The formation of this doctrine can be traced beginning from a number of cases formulating the law formulating the law principle of separate and distinct legal personality of corporations. This principle of English law company was firs laid down in the case of Salomon v. Salomon.8 Mr. Salomon formed a company by apportioning one share for each of his family members to comply with the statute at that time which required at least seven members to form a company. Mr. Salomon later became a secured creditor of the company. When the company fell on hard times, it paid Mr. Salomon's debenture. The unsecured creditors claimed all the remaining assets of the company arguing that it worked as an agent for Mr. Solomon. The Court held otherwise. The effect of this rule is that the individual subsidiaries with in a conglomerate will be treated as separate entities and the parent cannot be made liable for the subsidiaries' debts or insolvency.9 Attempts to lift the principle of separate and distinct legal personality of corporations were unsuccessful in a number of cases that followed after the establishment of the said principle. For instance, in Adams v. Cape10 , it was held that the corporate veil cannot be lifted

They Say, I Say Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

They Say, I Say Homework - Assignment Example A critical and intellectual thinker deduces consequences and makes useful information from what is available. A critical thinker engaging in debates and conversations cannot be confused by what others are saying, but will instead lead to a cooperative reasoning and strengthen the argument (Graff & Birkenstein 3). It involves coming into terms with the views presented. Even though one is at peace with what is presented, fresh ideas or evidence are necessary. The new ideas makes one a valuable contributor in the conversation (Graff & Birkenstein 7). A Combination of both agree and disagree makes the participants in an argument go beyond just responding for the sake of doing it. They do so with detailed evidence and reasons (Graff & Birkenstein 9). By saying â€Å"entering a conversation†, the authors refer to joining an ongoing conversation. They explain one does it by first listening and internalizing the ongoing discussion before making a contribution. What one needs to pay close attention to are the views of the other participants. What they say forms the basis of any views to be made (Graff & Birkenstein 3). The conversation they are talking about is academic writing, for example, argumentative essay

Haiti Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Haiti Research - Assignment Example Later on, the Haitians had an election and Duvalier rose to power as their president but unluckily, he turned out to be a great dictator an a ruthless leader (Cerda et al. 4). His reign was characterized by massive killings, embezzlement of funds, and corruption in every sector of the government. Due to this kind of leadership, the citizen suffered a lot as they became poorer with time. Development projects could not start, nor continue, since the government of Haiti could not afford the finances required. Unfortunately, in the year 2010, a high magnitude earthquake struck the country and led to massive destruction of property, death of many people and left a great number of Haitians homeless (Cerda et al. 7). This research paper shows the relationship between what happened during the early days in Haiti, and the aftermath of the great earthquake, connecting it to the current situation of this country. Haiti and France had a settlement deal in 1928, which demanded Haiti to repay a large amount of money to the French Government (Cerda et al. 11). Haiti was a very poor country by then and could not afford the money as demanded. The France however demanded that it had to be repaid this money it in order for it to identify the country’s independence, which it had attained in the year 1804 (Cruise 2). Additionally, the French government required Haiti to compensate it since it had lost a very important slavery colony, and most of their soldiers had died in the wars. Haiti government found trouble repaying this large amount of money (which amounted to 150 million francs) as it had no finances left (Cerda et al. 6). Fortunately, the France Government reduced the amount to 60 million francs, which had to be repaid in a period of thirty years. Boyer, who was the president of Haiti by then, made a very large first payment to France in order for them to recognize Haiti’s indepe ndence (Cruise 5). The payment led to economic problems in Haiti during

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

History - Essay Example Globalization is a continuous process that is yet to be realized in some developing nations. However, historians believe that it began in Europe, during the BCE. This discourse is about the history and the demand among other relevant aspects of globalization. History records that the earliest globalizations were realized when there was need to expand the trade links and capacities between two major trading partners, namely Indus and the summer during the 3rd millennium B.C.E. This occurred during the Hellenistic era, associated with the introduction of Greece culture into commercialized zones like India and Spain among others. Some historical records that Alexandria is among the first cities to embrace globalization, even though others believe it adopted globalization few decades after the initial globalization was recorded. Greece main force to expand its operations and trade with other regions was the issue of importing wheat among other major raw materials. The commodity was entir ely transported by the ships and canoe among other water transport vessels that existed during the Hellenistic era. Several trade links were later established and the three main links were the Han dynasty, the famous Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire among others. There was an expansion in transport routes from the borders of ancient China to Rome to enhance international trade. Furthermore, there was increase in Greece Ships sailed to the furthest corner of India among other Asian nations, in search of wheat among other raw materials. First globalization was meant to enhance international trade between the earliest Asian and European nations; however, it came with several negative implications to the societies involved. The Chinese from the Han Empire developed some conflicts that led to ancient war with other Asian Kingdoms like the Persians and the Indian Kingdoms among other Asian kingdoms. Han who was the ruler of Wu Empire declared war with the Yuezhi Kingdom, with the main aim of taking control of the Tarim Basin. Globalization was further enhanced by the Muslims during the golden age, when more trade routes or links were established between the Radhanites or Jewish and the Muslim community. The two communities developed their technology, trade and agricultural practices after some interactions. Muslims resolved in producing large volumes of Sugar, cotton and wheat among other crops. Small part was internally consumed while the rest was transported to European region, for international trade purposes. The second phase of globalization also called proto-globalization occurred in the 16th and 17th century when European Empires explored other developing regions and this resulted to influence of the European culture and trade among other aspects. Portuguese and Spanish empires were the first to make such movements or initiatives and they colonized the United States and Horn of Africa among other territories. The British and the Dutch also followed and th e expanded or rather global trade links which further led to establishment of multilateral companies like the Dutch East India among others. There was an increased trade trend in food and slaves to the European regions. Slave trade promoted the spread of communicable diseases in both Africa and Europe, more so along the trade routes. The final stage of

What would be the risk to society if doctors were to participate in Research Paper

What would be the risk to society if doctors were to participate in physician-assisted suicide - Research Paper Example ss negligence on their part or even a sinful act which shall deter the basis of growth and harmony across the ranks within the society (Donnelly, 1998). The doctors have to be answerable to the society for all their acts and if they commit their own selves within such domains, then there would be no one to find out the true sanctity that is related with this profession. The physician-assisted suicide is essentially an act that must be abhorred from the outset of such discussions as it disqualifies as a morally acceptable act at any cost (Gorsuch, 2006). This is much needed because it sets the basis of finding out where anomalies happen and how these could be avoided so that the essence of a true civilized society remains in tact no matter how difficult the times might become. The doctors must comprehend that their duty is much more than just healing. They have to be accountable to their conscience as

Philip II Essay Example for Free

Philip II Essay King Philip II ruled over the western Habsburg kingdom, which included Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. When he got married to Mary I, he then ruled over England and Ireland. There were major challenges that Philip II faced during his reign. Some of the problems were finances and control over some of his countries, such as Spain and the Netherlands. Philip II had many problems throughout Spain since the time it had grown unstable. Philip II had a debt and needed to pay back his bankers and mercenaries. He was able to make some money from the silver from mines in Bolivia. Since there was money coming from the Americas, Europe was able to gain some wealth. Europe also gained an increase in its population. This caused inflation, which was less food and fewer jobs, while still having the population overflow. There was an obviously visible gap between the richer people and the poor ones. Because of a need for money, the unprivileged people of Spain suffered greatly from the harsh taxes of Philip II. Philip II also wanted an efficient bureaucracy and military. He made the lesser nobility into the bureaucracy because if he would have used higher nobles they may try to gain more power. Philip II had to deal with a Turkish threat in the Mediterranean. So, Spain, Venice, and the Pope created the Holy League. In a naval battle, The Battle of Lapanto, they defeated the Turks who had tried to invade Austria. Control had been secured in the Mediterranean and then Spain annexed Portugal. Philip eventually declared bankruptcy and could not pay his soldiers. They became known as the Spanish fury when they attacked Antwerp. While Philip II was dealing with many complications, the Netherlands came along and caused more damage for him. The Count of Egmont and William of Nassau, or William of Orange, started a strong opposition to Spanish overlords. Because of this, Philip II decided that the decrees of the Council of Trent and the Inquisition were to be enforced in the Netherlands. Louis of Nassau led the opposition of Philip II’s decision. This caused Protestants to riot throughout the country. In response to this, Philip sent the Duke of Alba to suppress the people. Alba publicly killed thousands of suspected heretics. This was known as the Council of Troubles, but it was referred to as the Council of Blood in the Netherlands. The Duke of Alba also enforced taxes, such as a ten percent sales tax that caused people to flee the country. Furthermore, Philip II only had one chance left to destroy the Netherlandic resistance, so he called William of Orange an outlaw and even placed a bounty on him. But William of Orange had a speech, the Apology, which called Philip a tyrant, causing the Union of Utrecht to disregard Philip as their ruler. King Philip II went through a lot during his time of reign. He was dealing with many different countries, some under and some not under his rule. Spain had a very bad economy that was not going far. There was an inflation, which made everything even more difficult. Then in the Netherlands, they wanted to be free. They caused trouble for Philip and tried to resist whatever he did. Philip even had to send over the Duke of Alba, and the people of the Netherlands hated him for it. The problems in the Netherlands led to the Twelve Years’ Truce, where the northern provinces gained independence. Later on, their official independence was from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

The Business Model Of The BBC

The Business Model Of The BBC The business model of the BBC is quite complex as it is funded by the government through TV licence fees, however, it is expected to be many things:  [3]  private and public, profit and non-profit making, a respected and responsible national institution as well as a nimble entrepreneurial entity. The BBC could be defined as an  [4]  intersect organization which demonstrates its conflicting objectives. The BBCs mission is to  [5]  enrich peoples lives with programmes and services that entertain, inform and educate through its various forms of media communication, that is to say, its purpose is to provide a value for money service to the public. It provides value for money through a variety of shows, for example, regarding ethnic minorities which other channels would not consider and also there are a wide range of channels which are dedicated to specific age groups such as CBeebies for kids and BBC Four focuses on documentaries whilst there are different radio stations for various genres of music thus conveying the diversity of the BBC appealing to all kinds of people including minorities through radio, television and internet. This value is also extended through the use of BBC iPlayer which enables viewers to catch up on watch again episodes such as Top Gear. The BBC prides itself on delivering innovative and informative programmes through the revolutionary technology of internet, digital and satellite communications. The BBC claim their vision is to be  [6]  the most creative organisation in the world and their goal is clear which is to be a global icon. They also wish to represent an independent view point on issues such as politics and be a proud representation of Britain. Their main objective is not to earn significant profit but to be globally recognized as a top quality producer of innovative programmes and services via a wide range of mediums and offer the best news coverage in the world. The BBC provides a wide range of shows from entertainment to sports coverage to educational programmes. It is also committed to earning profit through the sale of educational books and TV shows whilst also doing charity work. In addition, the cooperation is dedicated to research and development which has lead to a strong presence on the internet and BBC radio and television are available in over  [7]  99.4% of UK homes. It is mainly based in London, however, through the leadership of  [8]  Mark Thompson he has decided to diversify and move employees to Manchester to change the stereotype of their image as a London cooperation. I think that the present situation is viable; however, a few changes could be made which I will mention later. I believe that the current situation is tenable as the BBC is universally renowned for its productions which will generate cash flow though the sale of programmes and the sheer number of people who watch their news coverage which covers sport to politics. The BBC has done very well as it moulds itself to different areas and markets of the world to appeal to certain people through e.g. BBC world or releasing a BBC channel in Arabic. The cooperation has also divulged itself into the technology side making all its information and programmes easily and readily accessible which will hopefully meet the demands of the people in the ever evolving technology based world we live in. The BBC have the upper hand over BSkyB in the sense that their brand image is internationally recognized and their unique selling point is the originality of its programmes which must carry on as they enri ch peoples lives. Also the plan to go digital must stay on course as when this is complete they will be able to compete with BSkyB as the BBCs services do not need a satellite box and dish. Due to the current situation, the BBC must make slight changes to their business model because of the emergence of BSKYB which has dominated the UK market recently. They are now competing with hundreds of channels thus resulting in less guaranteed viewers because the BBC has  [9]  traditionally taken programmes from internal or external sources and fitted them into their schedule via their two channels to meet the needs of the audience therefore they could make more specific channels like BBC education. Firstly they need to do this because it will be able to compete against the plethora of new channels but also to convince people that satellite television is not necessary as the BBC has it all. However the BBCs income is fixed as the licence fee is set by the government so as its other main competitors are using this profit to expand and increase their range of services whilst the BBC is falling behind therefore the BBC must find new ways of generating more of a cash flow to keep up with its competitors possibly through online advertising. In addition, thanks to the growth of broadband one is now able to stream TV through their computer and access content easily which provides a further threat to the BBC but to which they have taken to their advantage whereby they have introduced BBC iPlayer which has attracted 41 million requests in December 2008 alone. With regard to the future, the BBC cannot carry on being all things to  [10]  everyone this is not viable as they are mainly government funded hence they cannot expected to meet the needs of everyone. I think this does not allow it to focus as there is no clarity because you cannot be all things to all people it is virtually impossible and it is not viable at all due to the increasingly competitive market but needs to be careful as its budget is very limited. The BBC needs to be efficient and the job cuts might be justified as they need to ensure their financial stability and future ambitions. Michael Porter highlights three generic positions which can be implemented to create a competitive and profitable advantage: Cost leadership, focus and differentiation. Cost leadership strategy underlines the fact that the company must become the lowest cost producer but produce a given level of quality which the consumers are happy with. This strategy is illustrated via  [11]  Toyota which supplies quality cars which are low in cost but have marketing skills to use a premium pricing policy. A differentiation generic strategy offers a product or service to consumers which are unique whereby they believe it is better than their rivals. This can be done through creative programmes, strong sales team and developing brand strength. The focus strategy is a middle ground line taken whereby the organization cannot take on either strategy therefore they focus on a narrow and elite market. This will create a relationship in the long term with specific consumers and the organization must provide whenever needed. Out of these three strategies the BBC does have a bit of each strategy; nonetheless, I believe that the main strategy utilized by the company is differentiation with a hint of cost leadership. The main strategy is differentiation because the BBCs brand image is internationally recognized and is well known for its quality programmes. The hint of cost leadership is that they have attempted to minimise cost as much as possible through mainly redundancies and also through the TV licence only costing  £142.50 per year, although an increase, is relatively cheap in comparison with rivals. Through the culmination of these strategies this would provide customers real value for money as well as discouraging potential entrants. 12Porter claims that the main ingredient needed is clarity in combination with one of these strategies. He goes on to say that the companies that do not follow this model do not necessarily fail, however, they fail to maximise and optimise their resources hence this does not put them in a comfortable situation which could have been avoided. Due to the fact that everyone must have a TV licence for their television sets the licence the BBC must provide good value for money and cater to peoples needs. Through differentiation strategy the company is able to grab a hold of the market through customer loyalty and if the quality is to the consumers satisfaction will discourage potential entrants. I believe this is the generic strategy as the BBCs main income comes from TV licence fees so it needs to be unique and this strategy can be only maintained if the BBC carries on offering creative and innovative programmes. There are five industry forces in a competitive market according to Michael Porter: Barriers to entry, Buyer power, Supplier power, Threat of substitutes and Rivalry. With regard to the five industry forces mentioned, the entry barriers of differentiation strategy gives the opportunity to deter potential entrants through customer loyalty in the hope that you gain some kind of monopoly in the market. Buyer power is a strength of differentiation because large buyers have less power to negotiate due to fewer alternatives. The cooperation will also find it easier to pass on supplier costs to consumers as they are willing to pay that bit extra. The company will be well protected from the threat of substitutes due to the consumers attachment of the differentiated company. The brand loyalty will keep consumers from rivals and put the company in a strong position. Overall the strong points of differentiation strategy are that it ensures customer loyalty with guaranteed quality which will discourage and one can pass on costs to the consumer because of their affiliation to the service. From the companys point of view of the company it guarantees consumers and secures stability in the long term. Leadership plays a key role in providing the vision and direction that structures the way in which the company will work in terms of strategy.  [13]  Leaders are expected to deliver and achieve what they set out to do and they also are expected to establish standards and motivate the employees to achieve maximum potential whilst also being totally committed. A leader must act in the interests of everyone and achieve quality communication between all staff. Taking this into account I will now analyse the leadership of the BBC with regard to Mark Thompson. The director-general, Mark Thompson, has decided to pull out of the so called ratings war but as the BBC is a public service broadcaster this should not be its priority. I see this as a strength as it will allow the BBC to make original and refreshing programmes that will offer a range to viewers. As the BBCs revenue comes through the governments implementation of the TV licence this again gives the BBC an advantage because it provides it with assured revenue and stability which guarantees job security for the staff and also ensures that BBCs priority are the viewers and not to gain profit. Another positive is that the government does not intervene in affairs of the BBC which permits the BBC to work in its own way and be unconstrained. Thanks to the leadership of Mark Thompson the BBC is to become more diluted through the  £200 million investment in the new BBC base in Salford Quays which will diversify and dilute its London influence in the hope that it will be seen as more Britis h. The BBCs commitment to technological advancement is a major strength as the demand is growing and it has certainly provided through the launch of BBC iPlayer and the completion of the switchover to digital throughout the whole country. The technology will also enable the need for fewer job requirements and possibly render some staff to leave which will ease the financial situation. The Director-General has also highlighted the need to have no imitation programmes and the return to in depth current affairs coverage which will please viewers as they want something unique. The BBC must also ensure it keeps its coverage of certain sports which attract a wide range of viewers and are extremely popular such as Wimbledon tennis championship, Formula 1 coverage and Match of the Day. Mark Thompson has been a great leader to the BBC as he always sent out emails to staff to underline his aims and objectives which give employees a sense of unity demonstrating his clarity of objectives and communication. When the salaries of executives at the BBC were revealed, Thompson immediately proposed the pay of the top 20 executives to be frozen for the next three years including his salary but also the suspension of bonuses for managers. He has done extremely well when the BBC has received so much abuse and attempted to resolve the issue without kicking up a fuss and enforcing absol ute standards: the sign of a leader. Mr Thompson is courageous and is not afraid to do what others might not, he recognized that redundancies were needed and so that is what he did this could be perceived as ruthless or rather, putting the companys interests at heart. The decision to dilute and diversify from London is in my opinion a weakness of leadership of the BBC as London has always served as an excellent hub to the company and is at the centre of everything. In a way Mr Thompson has contradicted himself because he claims that he wants to dilute the London influence by relocating staff to ensure there is evenness (2004) but a year later he decided that substantial job losses (6,000) were in order from different regional offices then why did he not make redundant those 1,800 going to Manchester. In reality Mark Thompson is a great journalist, however, one cannot expect him to be a great leader as well and this has been exposed during his time through various incidents, Brand-Ross incident and reporting of the war in Iraq, which have put the BBC under some serious pressure and abuse from the media. In 2007, the BBC were faced with losses and shortfalls of up to  £2 billion thus announcing the speeding up of the relocation of staff to Manches ter, nevertheless, I cannot understand how this ploy is supposed to help the situation and further the announcement of up to 3,000 redundancies is clearly not going to help the situation. I think that this is bad decision making and shows the desperation and weakness of the leadership of the company. As well Mark Thompson has shown a lack of control with the regard to the pay of executives at the BBC, it is  [14]  claimed that top 47 paid executives salaries range from  £190,000 to more than  £600,000 which is astonishing even though the BBC has had to lay off more than 2,000 staff. This shows real weakness on behalf of Mark Thompson including the running and decision making in the cooperation as well. I think Mark Thompson is a very direct leader and always has clear objectives or solutions. His main strengths are arguably communication, although, not in person and acting in the interests of the company exhibited by the restructuring of pay and focus on technology. In my opinion, his main weaknesses are his lack of experience and enthusiasm which sometimes leads to uncertainty and does not boost morale of staff. On the basis of what I am told, the priorities of the leadership should be to resolve the job redundancy levels before strikes might severely cripple the company. As the BBC have decided to divulge more into technology they must ensure that it is fully functioning with no problems due to the fact that they have a history with these sort of issues: electronic accounting system which deletes invoices. Probably the most important priority is to complete the move to Manchester to convey that they are serious and committed to diluting the London influence. I believe that there are two main priorities which are key to resolving the BBCs future and ensuring its stability. There needs to be a restructuring of the wage bill at the top of the company the salaries that have been quoted regarding executives and performers are excessive due to the BBC being a public service broadcaster. Through restructuring the wages this will free up some funds and put the interests of the company at heart. Also more attention is needed towards staff as they are at the hub of what the company does and by creating a sense of unity will hopefully move towards optimum performance because without the staffs capabilities and willingness nothing can be achieved. The relocation to Manchester must be completed as soon as possible because this will demonstrate the devotion and the ability to achieve their objectives. In addition, the BBC must stick to its aim to go digital which will help with their increase in the use of technology and provide consumers with a wide variety of ways to keep up with programmes and watch them in the highest quality possible. The BBC has had to deal with an array of issues over its time and there are situations which could have been handled differently. The slowness of the relocation to Manchester is a problem because firstly it shows that the BBC are not serious about diluting their London influence and also if the staff are not onboard then the move will not reap its expected rewards. In addition, the magnitude of redundancies that are occurring at the company does not reflect well on the situation and creates an unpleasant vibe with staff possibly leading to strikes causing turmoil. When the BBC releases technology it must be fully functional because people lose confidence and trust. If there are any issues that give consumers an excuse to purchase an alternative and then the cooperation will acquire a bad reputation. The other issue is the pay and behaviour of executives and presenters. The executives pay is outrageous and upsets the public as their licence fee money is being wasted on the salaries of overpaid executives further damaging the BBCs image. It is clear that one of the main problems that could have been tackled in a different way is that of the relocation to Manchester. There is no problem with the idea itself, however, there seems to be a lack of drive and determination to progress by Mark Thompson and the move only seems to lead to further redundancies. In summer 2008, it seemed as if the BBC were not serious about relocating which gives us a reflection of the ambition of Thompson to complete this move of certain departments. I believe the relocation should have been completed by now and this is a sign of weakness for the BBC because they have been funded by  [15]  millions of public and private money so there should be no excuses. Also the fact that they are now offering  [16]  generous relocating packages to London staff is absurd because they are employees of the company hence they should either agree to it or not. On the face of it, it seems a pretty desperate move by the BBC as employees should be excited about moving into a modern base and that is the way I believe the BBC should have tackled it in order to convince employees to move through the excitement factor of being a part of something special. Culminated with all this there are lay-offs occurring in order to save money and then we see them offering these charitable packages. Also I believe there is a contradiction because the majority of these redundancies are to come from different regional offices so the idea to become more British by relocating to Manchester will not work as other offices will have fewer employees. If they want the BBC to become more British then they should employ people from other regions rather than relocating London based staff but the BBC defend this  [17]  position claiming they need their experience and ironically some of them will not even move. I believe that the redundancy issue should have been tackled by more London based staff facing the sack. In my opinion, the BBC are taking the relocation in the right direction in the sense that this move needs to be completed as soon as possible and they need their experienced London staff to ease the transition. It is now paramount to complete this move and if the relocation package speeds things up then it is a positive move. The desired outcome would be that everything is up and running by 2011 because it has taken too long. Despite the BBCs previous track record regarding technology which has caused them numerous problems the release of BBC iPlayer sparked several issues and frustrated viewers all over the country.  [18]  100,000 people registered for the iPlayer during its first weekend of release which demonstrates the popularity of BBCs media and this problem could have easily been remedied through applying various tests and ensuring a pretty much flawless version. I believe if it had been fully functional when released the BBC would have gained applause and restored the confidence of the nation in them. The desired outcome of this case is very simple which is to have a fully functioning media player which provides viewers with what they want and the ability to carry out any function that was promised. The BBC has become shrouded lately in controversy and has been accused of bias which affects their global iconic image and their supposed independent view point on issues. Taking the Brand and Ross incident, this has damaged the BBCs integrity and generated massive media attention once again denting their image. This issue should have never arisen in the first place if the BBC had been more stringent and set out the rules with these two presenters the idea would have never popped into their heads as it clearly was unprofessional and uncalled for. It was a very daft and unnecessary incident which has smeared BBC radio twos reputation. The BBC would hope now that this sets a precedent and is now a warning to those others to not generate such extreme media pressure needlessly. Last of all, the BBC must now tackle the issue to do with salaries of executives and presenters which it has dealt with to a certain extent. The issue initially begun because Mark Thompson himself is earning an incredible amount,  [19]  Ã‚ £647,000 basic salary, which sets the standard that other top executives can as well. The BBCs way of tackling this issue was to publish the salaries to show their cautiousness with licence payers money because once the MPs expenses came to the light they were bombarded with complaints. This could have been tackled by completely restructuring the pay of the whole company which is unlikely to occur or simply not revealing the salaries. The second option is the easiest and seems sensible because the BBC should have known that when they released these figures it would cause mass uproar as they are a public service broadcaster. Taking into account everything, the best but not easiest solution is to restructure the pay of executives as they have don e with certain presenters such as  [20]  Graham Norton who earned  £2.5 million a year before agreeing to a pay cut and Bruce Forsyth. This will certainly ease the financial pressure on the BBC by reducing the magnitude of redundancies and manage the  £3.6 billion budget to maximum efficiency. Overall, the BBC has had its ups and downs but that is possibly down to the management and leadership of Mark Thompson. He is a respected journalist, however, this does not mean that he will be an implausible chief executive and this has been reflected in some of his decisions. The main two issues that must be resolved are the completion of the move to Salford Quays and the financial structure of the company with regard to executives and presenters. If both of these are achieved the BBC will be able to do what it does best which is to provide innovative and informative programmes and ensure value for money for licence fee payers.

Discuss Four Models Of Strategic Change Business Essay

Discuss Four Models Of Strategic Change Business Essay Now-a-days all organizations are facing a variety of challenges caused by change in internal and/or external environment of the organization. Change itself is changing at ever increasing rate resulting in uncertainty and insecurity. For organizations to carry through growth and development stage need to have a proactive approach to strategic change management. There are many theories about how to manage change. John P Kotter, Leadership and change management expert, introduced his eight-step change process which is very successful. According to these steps: 1: Establish a sense of Urgency When some people in the organization notice some susceptibility, need to change takes place. It then involves simplifying goals and objectives, setting deadlines, establish consequences and finally feedback. It motivates the people and leads them to action. 2: Form a Powerful guiding Coalition It highlights the level of uncertainty involved and the level of collaboration that is required to overcome the resistance to change. Generally starts with one or two people then gradually grows involving more and more people who believe that change is in anyway unimportant. 3: Create a Vision for Change When you first start thinking about change, there will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember. 4: Communicate the Vision What you do with your vision after you create it will determine your success. Your message will probably have strong competition from other day-to-day communications within the company, so you need to communicate it frequently and powerfully, and embed it within everything that you do. 5: Remove Obstacles If you follow these steps and reach this point in the change process, youve been talking about your vision and building buy-in from all levels of the organization. Hopefully, your staff wants to get busy and achieve the benefits that youve been promoting. 6: Create Short-term Wins Nothing motivates more than success. Give your company a taste of success early in the change process. Within a short time frame (this could be a month or a year, depending on the type of change), youll want to have results that your staff can see. Without this, critics and negative thinkers might hurt your progress. 7: Build on the Change According to Kotter that many change projects fail because success is declared too early. Real change runs deep. Quick success are only the beginning of what needs to be done to achieve long-term change. 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture Finally, to make any change stick, it should become part of the core of your organization. Your corporate culture often determines what gets done, so the values behind your vision must show in day-to-day work. Model 2: Then there is another theorist Kubler-Ross who presents five stages transition cycle and according to Kubblers model for many years, people with terminal illnesses were an embarrassment for doctors. Someone who could not be cured was evidence of the doctors fallibility, and as a result the doctors regularly shunned the dying with the excuse that there was nothing more that could be done (and that there was plenty of other demand on the doctors time). Elizabeth Kà ¼bler-Ross was a doctor in Switzerland who railed against this unkindness and spent a lot of time with dying people, both comforting and studying them. She wrote a book, called On Death and Dying which included a cycle of emotional states that is often referred to (but not exclusively called) the Grief Cycle. The Extended Grief Cycle The Extended Grief Cycle can be shown as in the chart below, indicating the roller-coaster ride of activity and passivity as the person wriggles and turns in their desperate efforts to avoid the change. The initial state before the cycle is received is stable, at least in terms of the subsequent reaction on hearing the bad news. Compared with the ups and downs to come, even if there is some variation, this is indeed a stable state. And then, into the calm of this relative paradise, a bombshell bursts. Denial stage: Trying to avoid the inevitable. Anger stage: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion. Bargaining stage: Seeking in vain for a way out. Depression stage: Final realization of the inevitable. Acceptance stage: Finally finding the way forward. Model 3: While many change management projects focus on the steps necessary for organisational change, ADKAR emphasises that successful organisational change occurs only when each person is able to transition successfully. The ADKAR model consists of five sequential steps or actions: Awareness of the need for change. Understanding why change is necessary is the first key aspect of successful change. Planned communication is essential. When this step is successfully completed the individual (employee) will fully understand why change is necessary. Desire to participate in and support the change. In this step the individual is able to reach a point where they make a personal decision to support the change and participate in the change. Building desire is partly achieved by addressing incentives for the individual and creating a desire to be a part of the change. Knowledge on how to change. The third building block of the model, providing knowledge about the change, can be achieved through normal training and education methods. Other methods of transferring knowledge, such as coaching, forums and mentoring, are equally useful, so dont limit this process to formal training. Ability to implement required skills and behaviors. In the ADKAR model Ability is the difference between theory and practice. Once knowledge on how to change is in place (theory) the practice, or actual performance of the individual, needs to be supported. Reinforcement to sustain the change. This final stage of the model is an essential component in which efforts to sustain the change are emphasised. Ensuring that changes stay in place and that individuals do not revert to old ways can be achieved through positive feedback, rewards, recognition, measuring performance and taking corrective actions. Model 4:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors which are categorized as either hard or soft elements: Hard   Elements Strategy Structure Systems Soft Elements Shared Values Skills Style Staff Hard elements are easier to define or identify and management can directly influence them: These are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems. Soft elements, on the other hand, can be more difficult to describe, and are less tangible and more influenced by culture. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful. Task 1: B) Evaluate the relevance of these models of Strategic Change to the Zurich Financial Services Plc in the current economy. (LO 1.2) Explanation:   Above discussed all four models have a value in the change management strategy but how can we evaluate these models according to the current economical condition of Zurich Financial Services Ltd. Lets have a look one by one to all given models and apply them to the Case Study given above. Zurich Financial Services Ltd. is established since past five decades and committed to customers satisfaction companys all stakeholders and its employees devotedly working with the company but the companys decision of expanding globally create a kind of uncertainty among its employees as well as its other stakeholders. So why this is happening? And what should company need to overcome this issue? According to Kubler-Ross transition cycle stakeholders of Zurich Financial company after hearing the decision of expansion have a kind of uncertainty about company and their own future in this way there is possible way of stakeholders to start looking some other place for their better and stable future and in this way employees are right on their side but if company creates a sense of belongingness with its stakeholders and give them importance clarify its decision and its need for not only companys own but also for the more incentives for its stakeholders then according to this model stakeholder will realize the change process more easily and support the decision as compared to resist on it. Proscis model is saying the same thing but in different way and according to ADKAR awareness of need of change should be established among employees and that awareness create a kind of future incentives desire in stakeholders then company provide knowledge or ability required for change that what steps should company required for future development and how to continue these skills and abilities for longer term sustainability. McKinseys 7S are clearly defined all the elements which are directly and indirectly effect the companys decision hard elements are easily to be carried with the decision taken by Zurich company but this is not possible for company to carried soft element also with its decision at the same time because soft elements required some time to accept any kind of change in their way of working or routine methodology. So in short according to current economic condition company will not be able to carried out its decision without keeping all the aspects in mind and by doing so company will face an unbearable resistance globally which will not in favor of companys future. Task 1: C) Asses the value of using strategic intervention techniques in organaization. (LO 1.3) Explanation: Any organizational development process starts with the identification of problems that can be solved within the organization. This process progresses through different stages and determines satisfactory progress made for additional involvement. The procedure is cyclic and terminates only when desired result is obtained. It can also be a series of trial and error and a discovery of the best practices that can be implemented in the organization. Zurich Financial Services Ltd. is facing tha same problem but by using strategic change management model this company will be able to change its current cenario and remove all the obstacles with its strategic intervention and such interventions not only provide a boost to the company but also help it out to make a place in the global business what interventions will be more helpful for its productivity ? These are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Problem identification à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Situational assessment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Action planning/ planning of the intervention à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Implement plan/ implementing the intervention à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Gather data/ collect data to evaluate the intervention à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Determining the results à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Feedback By using these techniques as the companys future strategy interventions Zurich Financial Services Ltd. have bright chances not oly for its globally growth but also meet the up coming challenges with its strong team of all stakeholders.

Rosa Parks :: essays research papers

Racism and prejudice has been a problem in the United States for along time. Poeple have been denied human rights such as getting a fair trial, eating in resturants, or sitting in what ever seat they want in a public bus. In 1955 a woman named Rosa Parks took a stand on a public bus in Montgomery Alabama. She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested for not doing so. She was scared of the discrimination of the Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were laws were intended to keep blacks from mixing with whites. IN the Jim Crow laws blacks were required to give thier seats to whites if there were no more seats. This is what happened to Rosa parks on December 1 1955. On her way home from work she refused to give her seat to a white man and got arrested. Even though she knew what the consequences were, she decided to take a stand. She knew that she would be arrested, but she decided that she would try to make a change. Rosa Parks stand was so significant that she is called t he mother of the civil rights movement. Her arrest made everyone boycott public busses. Led by Martin Luther King for 381 days blacks carpooled, walked, or found other ways of getting around. Despite the harassment the boycott continued and was extremely successful. The bus company suffered from the loss of fares, but did not desegregate its busses. In 1965, the case was brought to court, and segregation of busses was ruled unconstitutional, the busses were officially desegregated on December 21, 1956. The movement Rosa Parks started caused the Civil Rights act of 1964 to be passed and the Voting Rights act of 1965. She was elected secretary of the Montgomery branch of the National Advancement of

Plato and Confucius Essay -- Philosophers

Plato and Confucius There are thousands of credible philosophers for people to study today, therefore the choice of who to study becomes a burdening task. Each single one has amazing knowledge and insight that we could all learn something from. There are people who don’t call themselves philosophers but bring philosophical thought to us, and then there are those who dedicate their lives to the love of wisdom. Philosophers have existed for thousands of years, and as long as the sun comes up, there will be philosophers in the future. The human mind is made for philosophizing. So as we young, blossoming philosophers try and make sense of the world in general and the philosophical world specifically, we must find people to enlighten us and share with us their knowledge and theories. These people can range from ancient Chinese philosophers such as Confucius, to early Greek philosophers such as Plato, to more modern philosophers such as Descartes or Locke. Each philosopher brings a different aspect to our learning in their differences in time, culture, knowledge and personality. Many philosophers have a great and withstanding reputation attached to their name, therefore gaining worldwide respect and inquiry. Two of those philosophers are Plato and Confucius. They are perhaps two of the most recognized names in philosophy, and rightly so because of their contributions to the world. All the knowledge that is spoon-fed to us today was not available to these early philosophers, so it makes their ideas even more commendable. Both of these men dedicated their lives to philosophy, and because of that, they have everlasting places in the philosophical world. They are widely followed even today because of their breakthrough theories. Plato an... ...ey are; it is more about how rich and famous you become. I believe that either of these philosophers would be a valuable one to follow. There is no reason why you can’t take lessons from both in an effort to improve your life. They both incorporate fundamental human values like justice, truth, wisdom, goodness, and righteousness in their efforts to improve the human condition, both individually and in society as a whole. Confucius’ ideas may be a little easier to follow since it doesn’t require you to throw your current way of life out the window. His emphasis on simplicity, respect, and understanding could drastically improve the lives of anyone who studies him. However, Plato’s focus on reason is something that could lead you to want to change in an effort to live better. It is obvious that both men have a love of wisdom, and are therefore true philosophers.

Critical Thinking and Discussion Question Essay

Describe the shifts in the world economy over the past 30 years. What are the implications of these shifts for international businesses based in Britain? North America? Hong Kong? After World War II, America used to be the number one leader in the world while Britain and China have less role. For the rich industrial countries like the UK, US, Denmark and New Zealand is declining of the FDI. Conversely, the developing countries like China has become more influential in the world economic over the last 30 years and expected to be the first leader in the world. Especially, exporting of china has a significant blooming. â€Å"The study of international business is fine if you are going to work in a large multinational enterprise, but it has no relevance for individuals who are going to work in small firms.† Evaluate this statement. International business or globalization is talk about the trend towards a more integrated global economic system. I’m disagree with that there is no relevance for individual who are going to work in small business because every business should consider about economic and the economic depend on the would situation. So, not only a big enterprise must study international business but small business should understand the role of global business also. How have changes in technology contributed to the globalization of markets and production? Would the globalization of production and markets have been possible without these technological changes? For the globalization of markets and production, they have changed with lower cost communications networks and lower transportation cost. Both lead to easier to enable firm s to create global markets and allow firms to better respond to customer demands. For example; The Internet has facilitated the creation of a 24/7/365 marketplace where information is available in real  time. So that make sense that the globalization of production and markets have been possible without these technological changes. â€Å"Ultimately, the study of international business is no different from the study of domestic business. Thus, there is no point in having a separate course on international business.† Evaluate this statement. The international business differs from the domestic business because: Countries are different in economic, political, legal and culture. The range of problem confronted by a manager in an international business is wider and the problems themselves more complex than those confronted by a manager in a domestic business. International transactions involve converting money into different currencies. How might the Internet and the associated World Wide Web affect international business activity and the globalization of the world economy? Over the last 20 years, internet static has increase sharply. Most business have a website that kind of another advertising. Customer around the world can access your business 24 hrs. Real location is not necessary because of power of internet. Some business only has in online and they can make more profit than existing business. If current trends continue, China may emerge as the world’s largest economy by 2020. Discuss the possible implications for such a development for The world trading system: Many countries try to sign a contract with China for trade because its market is big and very interesting. In the future China economic could be larger than the US and other countries. The world monetary system: China’s currency, Yuan, might be powerful than U.S. dollar or equal or more than other world currency. The business strategy of today’s European and US-based global corporations: They will invest in China or more corporate will shift to China. In term of exporting, they try to reduce tariff. In  addition, they will co-business with Chinese and learn chinese also. global commodity prices: The goods that is made in China is cheaper than other countries. Most global commodities will import from China. Reread the Management Focus on Vizio and the market for flat-panel TVs and answer the following questions: Why is the manufacturing of flat panel TV’s migrating to different locations around the world? Because they concern about cost of production, comparing between cost and profit in different countries. Who benefits from the globalization of the flat panel display industry? Who are the losers? Vizio company: lower production cost Vizio customer: high-quality with low price labor: get job host country: higher pollute environment What would happen if The US government required that flat-panel displays sold in the United States had to also be made in the US? On balance, would this be a good or a bad thing? It will be a bad thing. In the short run, if the flat panel displays must be made in the United States, the total cost of the products will increase and become less competitive with other brands. What does the example of Vizio tell you about the future of production in an increasingly integrated global economy? What does it tell you about the strategies that enterprises must adopt to thrive in highly competitive global markets? This is an example of benefit-cost analysis. The way to reduce production cost through the integrated global economy. They looking for out sourcing suppliers that cheaper than their country.

Which is the best graduate program in criminal justice in the Midwest

In conducting a research to determine the best criminal justice graduate program in the Midwest, it would be best to select measures that are able to clearly give snapshots of what to expect from each program. These measures are faculty quality, student-instructor ratios in both classes and research, graduate prominence in criminal justice institutions, and program standing with accrediting organizations. The first measure can be ordinal, nominal, and ratio. Basically, we need to examine the credentials of the faculty members teaching in the said program. This examination includes the number of papers that they’ve published in peer-reviewed journals, their positions in academic organizations, as well as their rankings in relevant and recognized academic competitions. Of course, we need to compare each of these variables for this measure separately. This measure gives us a comprehensive view of the level of competence professors in the program have. However, this does not include one of the most important measures which is student feedback, a variable that may often be difficult to obtain due to it being classified in nature. The next measure is the student-instructor ratio. This is the ratio of the number of students that are found in a class handled by one professor. This can also refer to the number of advisees handled by one professor. Generally, favorable ratios should come closer to one. The larger the ratio is, the more congested classrooms are likely to be. This implied that the professor might not be able to give ample attention to each student. This is especially problematic in terms of research advising. Professors should generally be advising only a few students at a time with research work. Following the student-teacher ratio is the prominence of the program graduates in criminal justice institutions. This measure can include the positions held by the graduates, the length of time after graduating before they held the said positions, as well as awards that they received in the positions held. This measure gives a preview of what to expect after graduation from the program. Ratio data can be collected by taking the total number of graduates to the number of graduates holding positions in relevant institutions after a certain time period. A bigger ratio would imply poorer graduate performance specifically in the program that they have completed. Finally, ordinal and nominal data from accrediting institutions can be collected as the fourth measure. Nominal data can be grade accreditations while ordinal data can include program rankings with other programs in the Midwest. With this measure, the student will be able to see just where the program places with respect to other programs according to criteria set by credible bodies. Following the four measures set in this paper will provide the prospecting student with a comprehensive view on the quality of the graduate school program in criminal justice that he or she seeks to enroll in. The measures selected scrutinize both the competence and availability of faculty members to attend to student needs in both class content and graduate research. The measures also provide means for scrutiny of the program itself by examining the experiences of its graduates. Lastly, direct examination of accreditations provide a clear image of how the academic community views the program. These measures will be successful in evaluating which school offers the best program.

Analysis of “1954” by Sharon Olds Essay

â€Å"1954† by Sharon Olds is a poem displaying the horrors of an instance of rape and murder of a young girl by a man named Burton Abbott in 1954. Olds uses a frantic and horrified tone highlighted by a careful choice of diction to express her messages that any ordinary-looking person can disguise evil and the current justice system has a hypocritical eye-for-an-eye mindset that only ends up destroying human life. The structure of â€Å"1954† is built on enjambment and broken sentences. This helps the reader understand fear the speaker feels, as if words are simply pouring out, developing the frantic and horrified tone of the poem. This fear builds as the speaker begins to make connections between the victim and herself. The author uses clear imagery in phrases like â€Å"†¦I feared the word eczema, like my acne and like the X in the paper which marked her body†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to help make these connections. The speaker relates the victim’s eczema with her own acne, and recognizes how an innocent, little girl has been reduced to nothing but an X that marked where her lifeless body was left. Now that the speaker can relate to the victim in a clear way, she begins to realize how ordinary the murderer was. The author uses simple, ordinary diction to describe him. Phrases like â€Å"as if he were not someone specific,† â€Å"his face was dull and ordinary,† and â€Å"he looked almost humble† are examples of the author’s use of ordinary diction that make the killer seem normal. The speaker then says the killer went against â€Å"what I’d thought I could count on about evil.† This helps support the message that evil can be disguised in anyone because by making the murderer seem ordinary, the author forces the speaker and the reader to begin to question the people around them. A definite shift occurs in line 22 of the poem. The author shifts from using the word â€Å"fear† to the word â€Å"pity† when referring to the crime, and begins to use â€Å"fear† to describe how the speaker feels towards consequences the murderer, Burton Abbott must face. The speaker realizes that â€Å"the good people, the parents† were going to fry Mr. Abbott on the electric chair for his crime. The author deliberately used the word fry to express that the parents of the victim did not just believe that Abbott should receive capital punishment, but they wanted him to suffer; they wanted to watch him  writhe in pain for what he did to their daughter. As a result, the speaker begins to fear electricity, and her mother’s electric blanket. The author uses this and other carefully chosen phrases like â€Å"death to the person, death to the home planet† to demonstrate the hypocrisy that exists in the justice system’s eye-for-an-eye men tality when it comes to capital punishment. When someone commits a murder, they are sentenced to death, simply resulting in further loss of human life. People who see these crimes in the news not only fear the murderer; they fear the brutal punishment just as much, demonstrated by the speaker’s new fear of electricity. The author uses carefully chosen diction and tone to communicate two completely different messages to the reader. Both of these messages come together at the end of the poem to pose a single, lingering question to the reader: Who should we fear more? The murderer, or our own justice system?

Biographical sketch of William.C. Morse

William C. Morse has worked all his life in promoting the teachings and ideals of Fritz Redl. Morse’s mentor was his Fritz Redl whose work has been all about children and their mental problems. Morse has done his best to make sure that people remember Redl’s work and its relevance in modern life. Areas of research that both Redl and Morse concentrated on were difficulties in the upbringing of distraught youth and in special education. According to McIntyre (2004), â€Å"Dr. Morse met Redl while serving as director of â€Å"The Fresh Air Camp† where Redl's youth from the â€Å"Pioneer House† residential facility went to summer camp.Dr. Morse later extended Redl's treatment strategies into the schools, and co-authored a classic textbook titled Conflict in the Classroom with his student Nicholas Long. † McIntyre (2004) goes on to say that between 1940 and 1960, Redl and his student Wineman believed that children were good and wanted to help them in ove rcoming their negativities that would later go on to damage the emotioneal development. Redl and Wineman came up with â€Å"caring, realistic, and sophisticated interventions† during their interaction with troubled youth.Troubled youth are those who are reject â€Å"verbally and physically† at people who want to help them. This area became of interest to Redl and Wineman, from which they learnt about life, â€Å"self understanding† and â€Å"self-regulation of one's behavior. † They together write books such as â€Å"Children Who Hate† in 1951 and â€Å"Controls from Within† in1952. Both of these books were then combined into a single book titled â€Å"The Aggressive Child†. Both believed that children should have â€Å"therapeutic environments staffed with skilled and supportive personnel.† Now things have adopted to their views although in those times it was debatable. Supporting Redl’s work Morse emphasizes the need f or having a healthy environment for the development of disturbed children. William Morse’s opinion about Redl’s writing has always been praiseworthy this can be seen from the following quote (Morse, 1991), â€Å"The fact is, many young professionals are struggling with difficult children without the advantage of Redl’s insights. Those who were long ago introduced to his wisdom will find rereading rewarding for there are always ideas that provide cues for tomorrow’s engagements.So let us again become aware of how much we can benefit from his teaching. † Morse stresses on the fact that it is high time that teachers, students and all people who interact with disturbed children to actively follow the guidelines laid by Redl, because Redl in all his books has displayed a sense of vision and the power of description to one and all. According to Morse, Redl was a democrat, was fairly humorous, loved parties, loved learning and was a conscientious worker. Added to it, Redl was very creative in speech and in action, he thought logically which later, became amodel for anyone who dealt with children and their mental health. Commenting on the one of the therapies for troubled children that included summer camps (Smith, 2007) made Morse and Redl proposed that the camping environment was not â€Å"natural† according to many children. There were many adults that would not like the idea of spending time in a camp themselves but â€Å"rashly suggest camp as the automatic remedy for the physical and mental health problems of children. The woods are categorically supposed to be wholesome and full of the enzymes of adjustment† (Morse, 1947).According to Morse (1960), every teacher is concerned with learning in the classroom. The traditional three aspects teacher, student and the syllabus are now expanding horizons. The previously simple classroom process has been changed to a complicated process with more depth. The teachers now ar e for more capable of understanding individual students, although the task of teaching has not become simple but even more intense. This has left teachers stressful in handling situations in and out of class. Students also are changing they have become rebellious and resistant to teaching practices.This adds up to the stress of the teacher. There have been many people who have found the teachings of Redl very useful towards child psychology. Redl had done his best in putting forward ideas and views of children in classroom behavior and behavior of children in general. We need to learn from Redl and Morse’s teaching, this will help us in understanding and managing children much more appropriately. In Morse. W. C (2001), Morse felt that that was not the best time for growing up children. There was gradual decrease in resources and increase of disturbed children.Redl had made a presidential address in 1962 at the American Orthopsychiatric Association was titled â€Å"Crisis in the Children’s field†. The presentation given then holds completely true with the kind of situation that has arisen, just like Redl had envisioned. The problems have always been there, but it was hidden but now the issue has increased in proportions. It is always easy to make healthy children all they need is some care and attention. Once they are influenced by the negative forces then there might be no turning back.If the individual is identified at the right stage then it is good, but the longer it takes to help an individual the more impossible the task at hand becomes. Teachers, institutions and organizations should all take care to follow and adapt approaches to child development similar to what Fritz Redl and William C. Morse have written and discussed. Their work has foreseen events and actions giving the solutions along with it. We need to research analyze and work to enhance their measures, so that all their research is not in vain.Their work is very beneficial to today’s scenario and it is time we work up to accept the challenge that is ahead of us of making capable and positive children. By following in the footsteps of William C. Morse we can look forward to generations of healthy children both mentally and physically, thereby, keeping our world in better hands for generations to come by better methodologies, in the field of special education, classrooms and at campsites. References Morse, W. C. (1991). The Clinical Innovations of Fritz Redl: Crisis Intervention in Residential Treatment New York: The Haworth Press, pp.3-4. http://www. cyc-net. org/quote/quote-171. html Smith, M. B. (2007), ‘The Ego Idea of the Good Camper' and the Nature of Summer Camp,. Environmental History 11. 1 (2006): 67 pars. 1 Dec. 2007 . Morse, W. C (1947), â€Å"From the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp: Some Problems of Therapeutic Camping,† The Nervous Child (April 1947): 211–12 Morse, W. C (1960), Diagnosing and Guiding Relat ionships between Group and Individual Class Members. CHAPTER XI The Dynamics of Instructional Groups. Book by Gale E. Jensen, Jack R.Gibb, Max R. Goodson, Willard C. Olson, Nelson B. Henry; University of Chicago Press. Grotjahn, M. (1944). Group Emotion and Leadership: Fritz Redl. Psychiatry, V, 1942, pp. 573–596. Psychoanal Q. , 13:52. McIntyre. T (2004), at www. behavioradvisor. com http://maxweber. hunter. cuny. edu/pub/eres/EDSPC715_MCINTYRE/PsychoEdBio. html Morse. W. C (2001). Crisis Intervention in Residential Treatment: The Clinical Innovations of Fritz Redl (Hardcover). http://books. google. com/books? id=ot7hEpswsqUC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=william+c+morse+and+children&source=web&ots=nyFtVxyC-F&sig=NeQ3N203tTl4ZFFDGD1vnJxlU8E

Psychology (experiments) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychology (experiments) - Essay Example This depends on the grouping of words according to the system. This is the fundamental step for organization that effects the recalling or retrieving the information. The study of the experiments conducted on 118 under graduate students examined the idea that the organization in memory varies depending on the processing of input. The depth of the processing and the conditions of retrieval will show the effect on the recalling the associates. In this case the memory and the organization are distinguished. The organization of the associates or the words given in the experiment will imply the hierarchical structure. This is due to the grouping of the items according to a system. In case of associative organization the direct links among the members of the group of the words will play the role of organization, effect on memory and recalling. The effort to be encoded during the learning and grasping can be utilized in the effort of remembering than the associative relations. The list of words grouped in the experiment 1 into different categories. Alternatively they can be grouped into associative categories also. This did not happen and only the organ ized and random lists of words were given for the participants. ... The associative and conceptual clustering that are observed gave outputs by tending to increase with the recall trials which is not examined in this case. This can be termed as a limitation in this case. This suggests that the establishment of retrieval scheme is dependent on clustering and organization. In experiment 2 the memorizing is done by video unlike the audio in the first case. As no secondary tasks are allowed, the participants recalled the words either without it. This is relative to the undisturbed recalled condition as the secondary task condition indicates the stronger associative than conceptual clustering. This denotes that the different types of organization of memory are important under different conditions of attention like audio and video.2 The results obtained can be useful in general and medical psychology. The ordinary people and patients can be examined by taking these results as normal conditions. These types of results are useful extremely in treating schizophrenic patients. The comparison of the results to those of the patients will give the extent of the disease. The learning tasks for the patients can be framed according the results based on the above experiments. The duration of the listening and viewing the list was not taken into consideration in the above mentioned and these can be termed as the limitations for the study.3 Hypothesis: The recalling and cognitive behavior depends on the organization and clustering of the data and information. 2. Discussion There are large demands on working memory during text comprehension. The expert performance needs the traditional models of working memory involving temporary storage. These should be extended in order to include the working memory that is

Principles of International Business Management Essay

Principles of International Business Management - Essay Example Having established itself on a firm footing within the domestic markets, the company started looking for avenues of growth in foreign markets. To undertake such an initiative, the company studied took stock of its internal as well external factors which drive its urge for entering a foreign market. Internal factors are of course the strengths of the company while external factors were compiled after doing an environment analysis. In addition the company also undertook an analysis of PESTLE factors for the particular markets, where the company was supposed to go. All such factors were not looked into 'in isolation', because one particular factor might have a spillover effect on couple of other factors and vice-versa. All such permutations and combinations were taken into account while preparing for an expansion strategy. Reckitt Benckiser has over the year successfully implemented the strategy of building strong brands across all its key categories like surface care, fabric care, dishwashing, home care, health and personal care and food. If Lysol is a leading brand in disinfectant cleaning, Calgon holds the number one market position in fabric care in Europe. Similarly placed are the major categories like Vanish (fabric care), Veet (cosmetic depilatories), Mortein (pest control) and Airwick (air fragrance). The company highlighted the brand equity to its fullest potential, while negotiating with foreign collaborators for investing in a new market. This strategy paid off rich dividends for the company with its top 15 brands consistently accounting for a majority of the company's revenues, from 40% of total revenues in 2001 to about 56% in 2005. Such a brand creation in different categories allows Reckitt to; Differentiate its products and earn a price premium and Provides a competitive advantage to the company in the market place. In addition the company also resorted to ambush marketing depending upon the scenario of competition in some of the foreign markets. For example, in one such recent case (23 Nov 2006), the company also won a legal battle against its rival in India, Hindustan Liver Ltd. (HLL), when the courts upheld the contention of Reckitt Benckiser concerning the advertisement of Dettol soap. For marketing the products the company has been dependent on Supermarkets and hypermarkets which form the most important distribution channel, e.g. accounting for 65.2% of the UK market's value and 69.5% of the European market's value. The company used innovation as its core competitive strategy which helped the company in creating product differentiation and providing it the competitive edge. Motivational factors for undertaking foreign investments are mainly; To tap the vast consumer market outside Europe and UK. Markets in India, China and other Asian countries are developing very fast and these markets have immense potential for a company dealing with consumer items. The company had established itself quite well in the home market and wanted to move on in newer markets. Company wanted to take the competitors head on, not only in domestic market but in overseas market as well. To