5 transformation quetions Essays - , Term Papers

1I would like to take one year before starting up school again. When Im ready for school, I would like to find a culinary school that is close to home. 2I will find a job for the time being and also relax and get my finical business in order. 3If I dont graduate, I will be going to school in the summer and possibly in the fall. 4My questions about my future plans are; Where is a good culinary school? What kind of job should I get? What if Im not ready for school after one year? What if I cant find a job? 5this is what I worry about; What if Im not ready for school after one year? What if I cant find a job after one year?

Alibrandi essays

Alibrandi essays Looking for Alibrandi is a novel which mostly deals with Josephine going through a journey of self discovery. Josie discovers who she is through both positive and negative circumstances; however, they all combine to help her find her true identity. Through a number of characters, Marchetta demonstrates clearly, the concept of change and changing perspective. The novel recounts Josephines last year of secondary school and in this last year, different characters and situations impact upon her life in different ways, each unique and important. Her father comes back into her life, she falls in love, a close friend commits suicide, she discovers secrets of her families past and she accepts her cultural background. These events impact upon her life, shape her identity and alter her perspective. This essay will endeavour to highlight the many components that come together to make Josie feel like she has found Alibrandi. Initially, Josephine believes that her appearance and ethnic background is the determining factor in her social acceptance. She also believes this because she is at a wealthy school on a scholarship and has no acting father therefore, is looked down upon. When Josephine is told by a teacher, Sister Louise, that she was actually voted school captain but was given the role of vice captain because they felt she lacked the leadership skills and that her and her friends are in fact trendsetters within the school looked upon with envy, she has a sudden change in perspective on herself. She has always lacked self esteem and was very conscious of what others thought of her, but now has realised she is actually one of the most popular girls in school which is a great confidence boost for her. At that moment, Josephine says, I knew deep down that I was wrong and I think that my emancipation began at that moment. Culture has a big influence on Josies life. This is a more gradual change than her perspective on...

A FIRO-B Self assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A FIRO-B Self assessment - Essay Example Expressed needs indicate the level which an individual behave towards the other while wanted needs indicate how you wish the other would behave towards you. These two aspects of interpersonal needs are then assessed on three dimensions of interpersonal needs: Inclusion, Control and Affection. Â   The inclusion aspect relates to how a person wish to be part of a group, how readily one forms new relationships and how much belonging is sought. The Control need is associated with a person’s wish to influence, persuade and make known the wishes and ideas of his or her own. This aspect of interpersonal needs determines power and authority within interpersonal relationships. The third dimension of Affection needs is how close and personal the interpersonal relationships become. The level of emotional attachment, openness, sensitivity and caring a person bring in to a relationship is dependent on this. Assessing my individual scores on the FIRO B test, the major score is the expressed inclusion (eI). This indicates that my major interpersonal need is to belong to groups and trying to include others in my activities. When I think of my self, my liking to participate in group sports such as baseball and my large circle of friends, especially back in my home country, Taiwan is good proof of this indication in the FIRO B test. It was customary for me to invite my friends and cousins to social events and organise parties when I was in Taiwan. I was also keenly involved in local youth community clubs and was a pioneering member in many of school activities. Most of my leisure time was spent among my club members and friends where it was me who tend to initiate and set up meetings and events. These personality features compares closely with the following description of what a person with a high need for expressed inclusion would display in behavior. People with high expressed inclusion

North East Referendum of November 2004 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

North East Referendum of November 2004 - Essay Example Moreover the conservative thinking of most of the English people with their reluctance to accept any changes may be another reason for the refusal to consider the development of regional governments. However the Labour government of England had a different view altogether. With disregard to the public opinion the government wanted to push the conservative policies of regionalization of the government. This, the labour government wanted to do as a measure to strengthen the operating mechanisms of the central government in the different regions. With this intention the Government held a referendum in the North East Region of England on the 4th of November 2004, for assessing the public opinion on the regionalization of the government. For whatever reasons, the referendum was rejected overwhelmingly by the voters showing their intention clearly against the formation of any regional assemblies. This paper attempts to discuss in detail among other things, the possible reasons for holding such a referendum, the campaigns made in support and against such referendum, the turnout of the voters and the details of the final results of the referendum. North East region in one of the eight regions of England, that stretches from Scotland to Yorkshire. "The region was created in 1994 and was originally defined as Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Cleveland As part of a reform of local government Cleveland has since been abolished and several unitary districts created." (All Experts) A rich natural heritage makes the region one of the unique locale with its long stretches of coast and extensive upland tracts. The capital of the region is Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Cathedral city of Durham in this region is the city's political centre and was tipped to get the assembly housed there. Sunderland and Middlesbrough are the other cities of the North East region of England. Basically these cities were industrialized ones. "As such, wages and the standards of living in the region are the lowest in England, with high unemployment the norm" (Andrew Stevens 2004) The region has also returned to the Parliament political bigwigs like Prime Minister Tony Blair himself among others. With this background the government put forth the referendum to the people of North East England to decide on the introduction of a regional government body in the North East region of England. The voters in the region of North East England rejected the proposal for forming a regional assembly in a decisive manner, making the other two planned referenda for different regions shelved by the government at least temporarily. The referendum had a turnout of 47.8 percent, out of which 22.1 percent voted in favour of the regional assembly, while 77.9 percent voted against making their opinion explicit without doubt. 1.2 Government's Views on the Need for a Directly-Elected Regional Assembly: The government of UK had expressed its views on the necessity to have an elected regional assembly for the North East England and with these views only the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had directed the base work far carrying out a referendum in the region as to assess the public opinion for the creation of the elected regional assembly. The North East Constitutional Convention had identified the following reasons for the North

Human Resource Management at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Human Resource Management at Work - Essay Example uum but the key here is that this area needs to work under a broader framework that links it to the strategy of the firm; external factors are found to be affecting it apart from the internal factors. The HRM takes into account all the individual and group related that is collective relations, a number of human resource practices, policies and process, activities pursued by the HR specialist, union’s role, developing some HR practices that will provide the organization with an edge, employee security or it can even work on incorporating some organizational change. These are some of the factors that can be worked upon and thus are designed in a manner to increase the performance of an organization by effective human resources management. Similarly as the case implies that Brendon Jones Inc. is a service providing company, and for this reason the employees are the key assets of the organization. The 200 employees found in working at 10 leisure outlets were working at the front line. They were basically responsible for bringing in the business. Dealing with the customers and maintaining the relationship was the best and most important factor for the organization like Brendon Jones. Looking at the today’s working environment Human Resource Management is much more important than ever. The functions of managing and developing people are seen critical to gain improvements in the performance of an organization. The same was the case in Brendon Jones; there were changes taking place, the company was bought by a corporate investment company. It was like a change in the ownership structure. Employees working with the original founder were somehow used to of the policies and procedures. But as its being mentioned in the case that there was no HR manager; it’s not the task of Finance and Administration director to handle issues that are related to human workforce. For this reason as to solve the challenges related to reducing the labor turnover and to maintaining

Analysis of Brazilian Health Care Context

Analysis of Brazilian Health Care Context Introduction More than over three decades of Alma Ata PHC declaration, the goal of health for all remain elusive in many countries of Sub – Saharan Africa and a wide gulf exist within and remain in countries such as South Africa. The 1978 Alma Ata declaration underlies the importance of PHC and informs the need for actions to be taken by governments so as to promote the health of the world population. The declaration expressly stated an overall philosophy, strategies for organizing and strengthening the health system, guided by the principles of equity, social justice and health as a right to all. South Africa like any other developing nation faces a wide variety of health-related challenges. The afflictions of waterborne illness and nutritional deficiency are some of the challenges affecting low income communities in the country. Vaccine-preventable diseases impact negatively on the lives of millions of people as well as infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS. Thus, it is imperative that in order to improve the health outcomes of a country such as South Africa, social determinants of health should be improved coupled with the standard of living. The health system facing developing countries are not only great, the capacity and the wherewithal to address those challenges are lacking and not readily available in most cases. Efforts should be geared towards strengthening the health systems through the provision of adequate resources that should include both human and financial resources. In reality, resources would never be enough to strengthen the health systems, but there is a need to maximize the available resources to bolster the health systems so as to make them operate more efficiently. The only way to ensure that health systems work efficiently is to have a reliable data on its performance. In this way, interventions could be devised and executed based on the results of the data. It is pertinent to say that the data provided should be timely and accurate so that intervention provided could be measured. Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, efforts have been made to improve and strengthen district health system and primary health care. These efforts include structural and policy changes, removing access barriers through the delivery of free primary health care, the enactment of national health act and execution of priority health programmes. It is pertinent to say that these interventions have made access and care available to the majority of South Africans, the early giant stride have been compromised by South Africa’s burden of disease, lack of management skill, low morale among staff of the health department, and structural defect between policy intentions and outcomes. The commitment to overhaul the health system made the health minister undertook a visit to Brazil in 2010 with the intention to improve primary health care services. The aim is to address the South Africa’s disease burden, improve health outcome, access and affordability while ensuring responsiveness to the needs of the population. In the light of the visit made to Brazil, a comparative assessment of the health system in Brazil and South Africa will be conducted. The Brazilian Context In Brazil, health is a constitutional right and responsibility of the state. After the so called â€Å"Big Bang† legislative reform of the new Federal constitution in 1988, the National Health System and the Family health programme were implemented incrementally over the next 20 years (Pan American Health Organization; Health systems and services Profile Brazil. Brasà ­lia, D. F., Brazil: Pan American Health organization, February 2008). The Brazilian national health system (Sistema Unico de Saude or SUS) is organized on the principles of universal access, comprehensiveness, decentralization, hierarchization, and community participation. This encompasses public health in general and health care delivery services to individuals. To execute the lofty programme of the SUS, the Family Health Programme (Programa Saude da Familia, PSF) was created in 1994 and become the national strategy in 2006. The PSF follows a community concept while laying emphasis on the establishment of a close relationship between the health care providers and the community. It serves as a common portal of entry for all primary health programmes and is formed on the beliefs that will ensure continuity, total care and coordination of the health care services. Considerable improvement has been seen in Brazil’s public health in the past decade. These improvement are particularly noticeable in maternal and child health. There is also increase in life expectancy while infant and mortality rates are on the decline. There seems to a pointer that al health millennium development goals will be achieved. It is worth saying that effective steps have been taken to address poverty while improving social determinants of health in once the most u nequal country in the world. A brief description of the Brazilian health care context A health care reform aiming at achieving equity represented an extraordinary challenge for a country the size of Brazil, with a population of more than 180 million and significant social, economic, cultural, and environmental diversity. The federal constitution of 1988 was enacted after years of militarism. It defined three pillars of health care reform; health as a broad concept that goes beyond the absence of disease; health care as a right of citizens and a duty of the state; and the establishement of the National Health system, the SUS. (Paim JS, Health care reform in Brazil, contribution for comprehension and criticisms. Salvador, Rio de Janeiro. Brazil: Edufba/Editoria FIOCRUZ, 2008). In Brazil, while public health is provided exclusively by the public sub-sector, individual care is provided by a public-private mix. The public sub-sector has two segments: the SUS for the whole population and another segment whose access is restricted to public employees (civilian and military), and is financed by public resources and contributions from beneficiaries. Principles and development of the National Health System in Brazil In the last 20 years the Brazilian health care system has achieved outcomes in realizing its principles. At a glance, universal access and decentralization have been identified as the most implemented principles. Community [articipation has brought about important results. However, the expected social accountability of the health system remains doubtful. Hierarchization, in a nutshell regionalization and coordination among services, has been reinforced since early 2000 and emphasized by the present government. In terms of the universal access the public system offers health care services on a massive scale. In 2006, it provided nearly 2.3 billion outpatients procedures, 300 million medical consultations and 12 million hospitalizations. (Pan American Health Organization. Health systems and Services Profile Brazil. Brazilia, D.F, February 2008). The growth of a national primary care strategy, the Family Health Programme has demonstrated good outcomes in improving access expecially for the poor. (Rocha R, Soares R. Evaluating the impact of community Based Health interventions: evidence from Brazil’s Family Health Programme. Bonn, Germany: Institute for the study of Labour (IZA), April 2009. For instance, the last national household survey, done in 2008, showed that among an expected 57.6 million households, 27.5 million declared they were enrolled in the Family Health programme. (2008 National Household Survey: An overview of Health in Brazil. Access and utilization of services; population health status; risk factors and health protection) Rio de Janeiro2010). The development of PHC delivery model The Family Health programme was initially proposed as an addition to the community health workers programme that had been running in some states of Brazil. The FHP was first officially implemented in 1994 and was based on municipal experiences in experimenting with alternatives to traditional basic care. The establishment of the teams has been the responsibility of the municipalities. However, when the programme begun municipalities as providers received financial resources from the federal government for the maintenance of the team based on a fee for service compensation model. In 2006 the programme received an important upgrade. The National policy of primary care (PNAB) was published by the ministry of Health, amplifying the PHC concept and scope. (Ministry of Health B. National Primary Care Policy. In: care DoP.Vol. 4 ed. Brasilia, DF, 2007). The family health units (FHU) are under the responsibility of the municipalities. In order to ensre access the PNAB recommends that one family health units with three or four Family Health Teams (FHT) be responsible for PHC provision for a maximum of 12,000 inhabitants of the territory for which it has responsibity. However, in a high population density urban areas, this is not always a reality. For rural areas with low density, this number is smaller because teams are distributed in order to facilitate access for dispersed populations. Each FHU must be located within its territory or responsibility.(Ministry of Health B. National Primary Care Policy. In: care DoP. Vol. 4 ed. Brazilia, DF, 2007). All the team members in the programme are required to work full time, but this is not a reality throughout the whole country. According to Barbosa, (2009) only 62% of doctors and 82% of nurses confirmed the work full time nationally. These professionals often work in other settings of the public health care system as well, or sometimes in private practice. Additional profesionals may integrate with these teams according to the health needs of the local population and the decision of the municipal manager in agreement with the municipal council. In 2007 the federal heath ministry began financing a support group of 5 professionals for every 8 to 10 family health teams including psychologists, social workers, physiotherapist, speech therapist, paediatrician, gynaecologists, homeopathic doctors, psychiatrists, acupuncturists, and physical educators. (more health; a right for all 2008 – 2011. Brazilia; DF Brazil, 2008). The municipal government has to find a better match for the local level needs according to the availability of profesionals Outcomes and Impact of the Family Health Programme in Brazil The oucomes and the impact of any programme can be evaluated in several dimensions. The Brazilian health sysystem could be analysed based on starfield’s proposed dimensions: access and first contact, ensuring the principle of of universal care of the system; innovation in the health care provision, ensuring the comprehensiveness and longitudinal of care; and the promotion of equity in health indicators. The expansion of the programme has been remarkable in terms of meeting the ministry health’s goals. In December 2009, the programme got to 30328 teams and 234 767 community health workers covering over 100 million inhabitants in 5349 municipalities in all region of the country. (Ministry of Health B. Department of Primary Care Website Brazilia2012). It is worth saying that one of the key components of the Brazilian heal system is public support. Studies conducted in different part of the country comparing traditional basic units and Familiy health units shows higher user satisfaction with family health units.(Macinko J, Almeida C, de Sa PK. A rapid assessment methodology for the evaluation of primary care organization and performance in Brazil Health Policy Plan 2007). The coverage extension has moved closer to ensuring universal access to the health system as mandated by the Brazilian constitution. The changes to the teams’ work practices have enhanced comprehensiveness by putting together primary care, public health and health promotion activities. (Peres EM, Andrade AM, Dal Poz MR, Grande NR. The practice of physicians and nurses in the Brazilian Family Health Programme: Hum Resou Health 2006;4:25). Studies evaluating the family health programme using the infant mortality rate, with ecological designs have shown positive effects on reduction of infant mortality rate. (Aquino R, de Oliveira NF, Barreto ML. impact of the family health programme on infant mortality in Brazilian municipalities; AM J Public Health 2009 ;99(1):87-93). Even though the results are very promising at the national level, there are significant discrepancies between provinces and municipalities. These may suggest the need to better understand the keey components of the programme that are responsible for the results. Comparative assessment with the South African System South Africa health system has evolved over the past decade. From a 5 year planning frameworks since 1994 to consolidation of the health system while making substansive inputs to resolving the human resource issues. Although, capacity building programmes for managers were initiated, the bulk of the health professionals other than nurses works in the private sector. This is slightly different from the brazillian context in which majority of health care practitioners are fully involved in the Family health programme. Primary health care system has always been the focal point of the health system in South Africa over the past decade. A lot of efforts has gone into implementing the programmes in all the pronvinces of the country. Racial and gender bias had been largely eliminated coupled with the provision infrastructues to deal with the burden of the South African disease.Unlike the Brazilian model, sufficient attention has not been paid to its implementation. This includes provision of holistic comprehensive health care services to the communities, emphasizing disease prevention, health promotion and community participation. The Brazilian health programme had been population focussed unlike the South African model. Services has not been taken to the people. Adequate attention has not been given to health measurement outcomes. In other words there has been no basis for improvements coupled with the outbreak of HIV epidemic in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The district health sysystem has been the focal point through which Primary health care is delivered in South Africa. It comprises of the district hospital, community health centre and clinics with each of those set up having its own target population. The ideal scenario is for each clinic to have its own PHC team the will render services to both the clinic and the community. Faclities should be supported by specialist support teams to cater for the needs of the population. As part of delivering health care, it has been recommended that the district health management team purchse the services of some private health providers where these services are not available to the public sector. It is a known fact that there has been success stories of the primary health care system. Brazil has been a success story. There has been dramatic improvement in the health oucomes of Brazil compare to that of South Africa. There is a poor health indicators outcomes in the South African health system compared to the resources been invested. This may be due to the overwhelming impact of HIV and AIDS. Brazil health care system in a three tieir federation comprising of the federal government, state and municipalities. The unified health system is founded on the principles that health is a right and state duty. It is founded on the basis of universal coverage, care and equity which allows most of the population to be covered. The Brazilian health system in not all smooth sailing. Issues such as high cost, scarcity or resources heve bedevilled the system. (Celia R. P. and Ana C. P. G., Human resources for health and decentralization policy in the Brazilian health system, Human Resources for Health, 9(12) (2011). While South Africa is one of the most developed economies in Africa, its primary health care programme has followed a traditional approach from top to bottom. Unlike Brazil, there are two policies implementation by PHC. There is universal access to health by all South Africans and provision of free health care for pregnant women and children. There are gaps in the implementation of the South Africa Primary health care programme. This gap include migration of health care professionals, lack of resources, the skewed distribution of personnel in public and private sector, lack skill and low morale among staffs coupled with the absence of managerial expertize. (Heunis J. C., Van Rensburg H. C. and Claasens D. L., Assessment of the implementation of the implementation of the primary health care package at selected sites in South Africa. CurationSIS, 29, 37-46 (2006). In most rural areas of South Africa, health system are not readily availavailable and where it is available, it is purchased at high exhorbitant cost. (De Jager J. and Du Plooy T., Service quality assurance and tangibility for public health care in South Africa, Acta Commercii, 7, 96-117, (2007). One of the challenges facing South Africa health system includes lack of financial resources, dedication of staff implementing the programme, lack of material commitment, How to change management practices, community participation and munltisectoral collaboration. In view of this, there is a need for health system re-engineering

The Eight Essential Steps to Conflict Resolution Essay -- essays re

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book that I chose to read for my book review was, The Eight Essential Steps To Conflict Resolution by Dr. Dudley Weeks. The reason I chose to read a book on conflict resolution was to further improve my skills at avoiding and dealing with problems. Because I feel that a person truly shows their character not when things are going well but when things begin to go bad. And having the ability to deal with those problems strengthens one as a person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dudley Weeks, PH.D. is widely commended as one of the world’s leaders in conflict resolution. He lives in Washington, D.C., has worked in over sixty countries and has counseled thousands of businesses, families, and communities in the United States. Dr. Weeks has twice been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. Dr. Weeks is now teaching conflict resolution at the American University School of International Service and gives workshops throughout the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Weeks basically tears conflict resolution into eight steps. The first step is to create an effective atmosphere. The second step is to clarify perceptions. Third is focus on individual and shared needs. Fourth is build shared positive power. Fifth is look to the future, then learn from the past. Sixth is generate options. Seventh is develop â€Å"Doables.† And the last step is make mutual benefit agreements. Dr. Weeks also touches on topics such as handling anger, dealing with people who only want things their way, and dealing with conflicts that involve an injustice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first step is about Creating an Effective Atmosphere. Creating an effective atmosphere is a very important step in the conflict resolution process. It is more likely for mutual agreements be reached when the atmosphere is given careful consideration. When thinking about atmosphere remember these ideas; personal preparation, timing, location, and lastly opening statements. Personal preparation is doing all you can to ready yourself in positive ways to approach issues honestly and openly. Timing means that choosing a time that is best for all parties involved, a time in which no one is feeling pressed to move on or pressured in other ways. Location suggests that where you meet is as important as when you meet, it is best to pick a place where all parties can feel com... ...esolution. I found it extremely helpful incertain areas, I also found that I actually do some of the steps when I am dealing with a conflict. For example, when a conflict occurs I try to understand what happened with past conflicts and avoid repeating the same mistakes over again. Also when we are trying to find a solution I look for a solution that will be both beneficial to me and them. I did learn some good ways to organize our thoughts and solutions. I also learned to get to the heart of the conflict and focus on only that, and avoid all side issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for my opinion of the author, I think he may be a better counselor and doctor than a writer. I found some of the reading sort of confusing and complicated, and had to read several sections over a few times to totally understand his point. Some of the vocabulary he uses is a bit technical, many words I needed look up to understand Dr. Weeks’ point. So basically what I am saying is that I found the reading to be a bit difficult but I really enjoyed the informational aspect of the book and that I learned a lot on how we should work through conflict and come to a resolution that benefits both parties.

Hewlett Packard (HP) company expert project Essay

Hewlett-Packard Company is an American multinational corporation focusing on information technology. It is headquartered in USA, California, Palo Alto. HP is among the world’s largest organization and operates virtually in every country of the world. The company focuses on the development and manufacturing of computing, networking, and data storage hardware. The company products include enterprise servers, personal computing devices, related storage devices, and a wide range of printers plus other imaging products. The company sells its products to households, small, medium and large-scale business entities, and other users (Packard, Kirby and Lewis, 2006). Wired Magazine identifies HP as the first producer of marketed and mass produced personal computers (House and Lewis, 2009). The Hewlett-Packard 9100A was produced in 1969, coming as the first scientific calculator. The company is credited with producing the world’s first scientific electronic calculator in the year 1972.   This only captures a segment of the many electronics the company pioneered in their production.   This presents the company as revolutionary as it focuses on the production of new efficient products into the world. 1.   History Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett founded the HP Company in the year 1993. At the time of conceiving the idea, the two were students at the Stanford University. The Company’s first product, an audio oscillator for testing sound was built in Palo Alto garage. Walt Disney Studios was among the company’s first customers as reflected by the purchase of eight oscillators, which went into use in the testing of the sound system in the production of the movie Fantasia (House and Lewis, 2009). The HP Company is among the few business entities in the world, which successfully married computing measurement technologies, and communication (House and Lewis, 2009). The company continues to make progress in portable computing, entry into home computing, and imaging and printing solutions. For the latter part of the past decade, the HP Company enjoyed twenty percent growth rates on yearly rates (House and Lewis, 2009). In the 1990’s Lew Plant replaced the retiring John Young. The leadership change continued to see the growth path charted by the company go on. It is at this time that the HP Company gets recognition as a company, which values its workers as it offers a balance on work-life, diversity, and community involvement is struck.   This is the major reason behind the huge attraction the company has on both current and potential employees. At the turn of the century, HP formed Agilent Technologies. At the same time, it brought on board Carleton (Carly) Fiorina as the new CEO. Carleton Fiorina primarily focused on reinvesting for growth and leadership (Packard, Kirby and Lewis, 2006). The major changes in the company rest on the part of a spin-off of its business to Agilent Technologies in the year 1999. In the year 2002, HP merged with Compaq. In 2008, HP acquired EDS, which saw an increased revenue up to 118 billion US dollars.   HP, in November 2009, acquired 3Com. In April the subsequent year, HP paid one billion two hundred million US dollars towards the purchase of Palm. As at May 2010, the acquisition of Palm had been finalized (House and Lewis, 2009). The business environment of the HP Company just as in any other environment is characterized by competition (Packard, Kirby and Lewis, 2006). This offers a partial explanation as to why the company has focused on the acquisition strategy. The presence of other competitors like Toshiba, Acer, Dell, etc imply that the company’s position in the market is threatened, as a result, it has to engage in measures aimed at improving or retaining its market share. The growing population and demand for electronic goods on the other hand, presents opportunities for the HP Company (Packard, Kirby and Lewis, 2006). Through the acquisition strategy, the company has spread its presence across the globe and thus has the opportunity of studying the different markets’ preferences. This forms the basis upon which HP should embark on producing market specific products. This should ensure an improved market share and a check on its competitors. Overall, the company does not appear to have taken dramatic changes to counter emerging threats. 2.   Strategy Brand positioning and differentiation At the acquisition time, Compaq was the low-end dominant computer vendor (Collins, 2009). Its brand had become premium in both business and home use. On the other hand, HP enjoyed the repute of producing the best instruments in the computing market. After bringing these two brands under one leadership, there was a challenge of harmonizing them into one. HP did not have the option of jettisoning Compaq owing to its valuable brand. At the sale instance, it was difficult marketing the two lines for the same product (Collins, 2009).   The result due to this is reflected on the HP website, which reveals a feeble brand differentiation between the two. It remains difficult for an average customer to differentiate the two. The acquisition strategy seems to be the major growth approach employed y the company. The acquisition of several businesses in various parts of the world indicates the place of the strategy in the company’s developmental agenda.   This strategy is useful as it underlies a variety of benefits attributable to it (Collins, 2009). The acquisition strategy is not unique to the HP Company as its major competitors as IBM employs the same approach.   During the stewardship of Carly, HP went head to head with IBM concerning the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting wing. The acquisition price ballooned prompting a withdrawal by HP. Later IBM completed the acquisition (Collins, 2009). The presence of a number of competitors in the computing industry seems to be the major reason why the company chose to employ the acquisition strategy (Dong, 2009).   With competitors like Dell, IBM, etc, the company is under no illusions. It must work out means of remaining ahead or at the minimum, getting close to these companies.   Towards the pursuit to maintain and increase on its market share, HP had to adopt the acquisition strategy to compete effectively. Success is a function of several factors and as a result, it is difficult to pinpoint a specific one for success (Russ, 2002).   The major strategy employed by HP is the acquisition method. It is only once that the company had faltered in making an acquisition deal go though albeit on the basis of this paper. This was after the ballooning of the price on the PricewaterhouseCoopers making HP to baulk. Based on the fact that IBM paid a fraction of what HP was being asked to remit, then the execution of HP is plausible on this instance. However, based on the disadvantage of allowing your top competitor make the acquisition, it does not augur well for HP. However, this is only an instance, which happened during the rein of the disgraced Carly Fiorina. Given the company had achieved tremendous success before Carly Fiorina’s appointment, and it seems to be doing fairly well after her exit, the company strategy must have played a significant roe in the development of the company. However, a strategy alone is not good enough; its execution is equally important. On this evidence, it is held that the success of HP heavily rested on its strategy just as it did rest on its execution. Technology is a rapidly changing area of business (Collins, 2009). The company thus needs to be responsive to these changes. Towards this end, the company needs to alter its products if it is to compete. The presence of other giant industry players makes it difficult for the company to lag behind in terms of adopting newest technology in its product manufacturing.   Competition is healthy especially to the consumers; however, this poses a serious threat to the company, as it must check this or face declining sales. 3.   Culture From the beginning, Packard and Hewlett developed a leadership style never practiced before. They coined a corporate culture known as ‘the HP way’. The culture renounced the ‘hire and fire’ mentality. This is reflected by the defying of temptations to lay off workers despite the1974 US economic crisis. The two owners also underscored the need to promote own motivation at the workplace. The company was run like a family. The profit sharing approach underscores this focus. Further to this, employees were extended several benefits, which meant that HP was the perfect and unique employer (Buhler, 2003). In 1950, Bill and Dave chose to write down the company objectives to serve as guidelines in reference to all decision-making in the company, this was aimed at keeping pace with the growth the company had achieved by this time.   The objectives covered citizenship, management, the growth people, customers, and profits. Towards achieving the goal, team-wok was proposed (Collins, 2009). Based on section of workers, HP was premised on religion when referring to the company philosophy. The company was viewed as inviolable. The management philosophy was founded on teamwork, respect for individuals, innovation, integrity, and contribution to society. This explains why the company gained a lot of respect both from its workers and from members of society. The founding fathers; Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett are credited with the introduction of this legendary leadership style into the company (Dong, 2009). The hiring of Carly Fiorina from outside the company ranks coming after the merger with Compaq seems to have brought changes hitherto un-witnessed. Carly Fiorina was accused of carelessly handling workers issues especially on lay-offs.in the lay-off exercises, Carly Fiorina factored in on profits with little regard on the welfare of the workers. At the same time, Carly Fiorina  Ã‚   is accused of introducing the element of personality cult into the organization. It is during the reign of Carly Fiorina that employees began complaining about fear. The CEO’s reign was further characterized by proxy wars. Retirees also complained about ignored views and total disregard of contributions. This presented a big departure from the initial cultures as set by the two owners (Dong, 2009). Rather than firing, employees were reassigned duties. Employees were allowed up to six months to find their desired positions. If one failed to locate a working position, s/he was allowed to quit as opposed to being fired. This was during the good old days. The management interacted freely with the workers to facilitate sharing of information. Both Hewlett and Packard took time to talk to staff at various HP points (Dong, 2009). The focus was on creating a loyal workforce. Fiorina is accused of turning the company fortunes to a lower scale (Dong, 2009). This is reflected in the way in which employees were laid off. Further to this, Fiorina made comments intended to belittle Walter Hewlett, her merger opponent, this indicates a departure from the original HP way. The dramatic change in the culture of the environment was occasioned due to the changing environment in characterizing the industry (Walton, 2002).   This would enable the company gauge competition and remain in business though its position as a credible employer could loose credibility. However, the extent to which culture affects the organization has weathered over time. Unlike in the past, organizational structure seems to be in control as opposed to the cultural aspect.   The fact that the organizational set up has managed to change its focus from cultural attributes of the company serves to augment this position.

Irony in An Outpost of Progress by Joseph Conrad Essay Example

Irony in An Outpost of Progress by Joseph Conrad Essay Example Irony in An Outpost of Progress by Joseph Conrad Paper Irony in An Outpost of Progress by Joseph Conrad Paper â€Å"An Outpost of Progress† is a controversial work of fiction that conveys an image of a civilized society in connection to other uncivilized parts of the world. In this short story, Conrad describes the civilized society’s influence as vulnerable and unable to cope with life outside of the empire. The story is about Carlier and Kayerts, two Europeans sent to Africa on a mission to make profits in this land, winds up unexpectedly with two deaths; a crime and a suicide. In Conrad’s description of the two men’s lives in a land portrayed radically different than theirs, irony is clearly recognized in his style throughout the story. This ironic approach contributes to provide a better perception of the civilized society’s fragility. In this paper, I will point out how Conrad’s ironic style to tackle the numerous themes helps in providing a unifying tone in his short story. From the very beginning, Conrad starts the story by describing the physical features and personality traits of the two characters; a description that seems utterly ironic and contradictory to one another. Conrad describes the two men in his story as, â€Å"[] Kayerts, the chief, was short and fat; Carlier the assistant, was tall with a large head and a very broad trunk perched upon a long pair of thin legs.† (Conrad 1897: 3). Moving on to their personality traits, their response to the job offer shows the difference between the two of them; Kayerts, who was almost moved to tears by the kindness of his director; whereas, Carlier, was less impressed as stated by Conrad, â€Å"[] Kayerts was moved almost to tears by his director’s kindness [] Carlier, an ex-non-commissioned officer of Calvary in an army guaranteed from harm by several European Powers, was less impressed.†(Conrad 1897: 4).The first one seems to be naive, while the second one seems less excited about the job and more interested in making profit. Conrad then moves to convey the lack of meaning i

Social Function and Classification essays

Social Function and Classification essays In the high middle ages, what a person did for a living did not always determine there social classification. There were three different social classes, but they were not always so boldly separated. There were those who fought, prayed, and worked; and under these were more subclasses. For the workers, there were two subclasses, serfs and slaves. They were both hard workers on the farm except that one could achieve freedom and one could not. Serfs only had one way to buy their way out; giving money to a third party to buy them only to let them go free, although most serfs could never get their freedom. Slaves, on the other hand, could not be, they could only work. Priests and monks fall under the clergy class. Priests were sometimes considered peasants and were often poor. Many times the priests would help the peasants work the field. There were, however, the high-priests who lived in nobility. There were also the monks who had a life mission to serve and pray. And the highest class was those who fought. The nobles were the knights, although not all the knights were nobles. The knights were those leading the army; however you also need the foot soldiers. The foot soldiers were not as wealthy as the knights, or as high in class, but were considered in the noble class all the same. So there were three social classes but many social functions. People back in the high middle ages did not believe they were categorized into three social classes. Even though there were many subclasses were not widely separated, function did determine social classification; all with the exception of some of the lower clergy, which blend with the peasants. ...

Britain Unwritten Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Britain Unwritten Constitution - Essay Example Kingdom is consequently a nation under Parliamentary sovereignty because the entire sovereignty belongs to the Parliament. There is no entrenchment in the British constitution – meaning that there is no need of a supermajority or a referendum to pass some amendments – which can cause some minorities to suffer from majoritarianism. This absence of a central written constitution may lead to believe that the United Kingdom has no formal constitution. It is true the British Constitution is often referred to as unwritten but it relies and incorporates many written sources such as the Magna Carta, the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679, the Bill of Rights in 1689, the Act of Settlement in 1701, the Act of Union in 1707, joining England and Scotland to form Great Britain, the Act of Union in 1800, joining Great Britain and Ireland to form United Kingdom, the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the Peerage Act in 1963, the European communities Act in 1972, being the key documents and conven tions among many others. Therefore, the United Kingdom constitution is seen as a collection of Acts of Parliament, decrees, conventions, traditions and royal prerogatives. However even if some accept it as an unwritten constitution, some go as far as saying that in the absence of a written constitution, Britain has no constitution.... Throughout the world we can see two types of constitutions: the codified and the uncodified ones. In a codified constitution, the articles describe a higher form of law, that is to say laws to which all other laws must conform and in consequence elected assemblies can not pass all the laws they wish. The codified constitutions are usually entrenched which means that they can only be changed or amended according to special procedures. In the political systems of codified constitutions, judges have the key role to interpret and apply the constitution, they have the power, for example, to decide that some rules which were passed by elected assemblies are unconstitutional - not in following the principles set of rules of the constitution. The codified constitution is also a tool to understand the powers of the different institutions that characterize a government and the relationship between them. Finally, they represent timeless principles. A Bill of Rights for instance, defines the lib erty to practice one religion, the right to a fair trial or the freedom of speech. 5 However, United Kingdom does not have such a codified document, its unwritten constitution and therefore the fundamental rules are embodied in major statutes, precedents and legal decisions. It is consequently said that codified constitutions are more rigid than uncodified ones. Flexible constitutions are more reactive and adapt more rapidly to changing conditions. It is the usual characteristic of an uncodified constitution. However, United Kingdom's example is not as clear as this principle. The adaptation to the changing conditions is not easily seen in the United Kingdom. Even though

I need a Masters level Historical Theology paper on the life and Research

I need a Masters level Historical Theology on the life and impact (Historical and Theological) of the ministry of John Wes - Research Paper Example A spiritual transition was needed. Interestingly, he was often not considered a theologian as Rakestraw states he â€Å"in the eyes of most non-Wesleyan Christians Wesley is not taken seriously as a theologian of grace; in fact, he is not taken seriously as a theologian at all.†1 This has little to do with his outlook and more to do with his method of promoting his theology. Unlike known theologians such as John Calvin, Wesley did not write out a doctrine of his theology all in one place. His theology was amassed over time as he grew in his faith. Wesley initially began the Methodist movement, with his brother George, in opposition to Calvinism which was also prominent in this same era. The influences of John Wesley are evident today. Though his initial religious society consisted of only 40 to 50 participants, many Protestant denominations still follow the Wesleyan traditions. This association is often considered the first Methodist society in London. Wesley incorporated Armi nian doctrines which were already a component of the Methodist in the 18th century Church of England. ... His mother reared her children with a strict Christian morality that greatly influenced John. John Wesley lived in the 18t century from 1703 to 1791 and was educated at Oxford University. Wesley was one the 15th child of his family which eventually had 19 children in total. One of the influential moments of his childhood was being rescued from a rectory fire when he was only 5 years old. His father believed this fire was â€Å"an attack from some his more disgruntled parishioners, and it was not the first.†3 This instilled a certainty in him that he was meant to do something important in his life. His mother, Susanna also had this belief and she wrote in her own diary, â€Å"’I do intend to be more particularly careful of the soul of this child, that Thou hast so mercifully provided for, that I have ever been.†4 As all of the Wesley children were well educated, they also were exposed to religion. â€Å"Both of Wesley's parents were ambitiously involved in the mo vement against the Puritan resistance and in support of the rightful prominence of the Anglican Church, a religious and political position that was in stark opposition to their family histories†5 They grew up knowing the Bible well and memorizing prayers providing a strong foundation for John Wesley’s Christian education. His training at Oxford followed a typical curriculum â€Å"in logic, rhetoric, morals and politics – the Aristotelean disciplines – and focusing on a selection of ancient writers†¦.†6 He continued his studies there and also obtained a Masters degree as well. At Oxford, he was largely influences by The Holy Club and eventually became the leader of the group. At age 32, he sailed to the American colonies with his brother, Charles where he was