Temperance and The Alcohol Prohibition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Temperance and The Alcohol Prohibition - Essay Example In the 1830s and 1840s, temperance movement was gained immense momentum and many people supported it. However, the movement suffered setback during the American Civil War. Both sides in the war were relying on alcohol duty to fund their battles. As a result, numerous states stopped alcohol prohibition (Gately 74). It is worth noting that this was reversed after the war as more and more states and counties embarked to become â€Å"dry†. In the postwar period, the movement grew to become a significant mass movement and was instrumental in encouraging alcohol abstinence. The movement engaged in building alternatives to replace the roles of public bars; the Independent Order of Rechabites was established as a friendly society where no meetings were held in public bars (Tracy 29). Also, there was a movement that introduced temperance fountains around America in order to make sure people have reliably safe drinking water instead of having to go to a saloon and various coffee palaces and temperance halls so as to replace bars. The temperance movement in the United States got a boost as advocacy for alcohol abstinence were emerging in other countries and so its emphasis spreading internationally. For example, the Salvation Army was established in 1864 in London and emphasized heavily on the abstinence from alcohol (Heron 30). A number of local and international prohibitionist groups were created in the postwar period and were instrumental in advocating for alcohol prohibition.

Barriers To Effective Communication In Nursing Nursing Essay

Barriers To Effective Communication In Nursing Nursing Essay A nurse with good communication skill is someone who really listens to the patients, understands their problems and queries and answers in a way the patients will understand. Communication in nursing profession can be a complicated process, and the possibility of sending or receiving incorrect messages frequently exists. It is important to know the key components of the communication process, how to improve the nursing skills and the potential problems that exist with errors in communication. In this case, we take a nurse as an example. A nurse who can explain in a simple manner to a sick man why a particular diet is very useful to get well soon, is said to have good communication skills. Both verbal and non-verbal communication plays a very important role in communication in nursing. For most patients, the nurse becomes the primary contact in the medical world. The nurse serves as the liaison between doctor and patient. She must understand the doctors instructions and the patients concerns. Her communications skills focus on both giving and receiving information as well as creating an environment of confidence. The relationship between nurse and patient should be a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. According to Pullen and Matthias (2010), a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is defined as a helping relationship that is based on mutual trust and respect, the nurturing of faith and hope, being sensitive to self and others, and assisting with the gratification of your patients physical, emotional, and spiritual needs through your knowledge and skill. In other words, a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship focuses mainly on the patient. Today, it is sad to say that there are many nurses who fail to grasp the importance of good communication between the nurses and the patients and therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. They neglect their duty to keep the needs of the patients as their first priority. Poor communication is dangerous as misunderstandings can lead to misdiagnosis and even medication errors. This area is also one of the main sources of complaints made to the health service ombudsman every year and some believe that a separate module for communication should be used in nursing training instead of being subsumed into the general curriculum. The barriers to good communication skills are many and include time pressures (nurses are so busy ad may not be able to get time to sit and talk with patients); lack of privacy; skills mix on the wards can mean there is a shortage of qualified nurses who are available to talk to patients; lack of training; and different languages. There are also several useful things to remember in having good communication including being prepared and know what you are going to say; having the right information to give when patients ask questions; maintain eye contact and observe the patients body language; listen properly; pick up on the non-verbal signs as well as the verbal ones; avoid the use of medical jargon; and in cases of breaking bad news, be emotionally prepared, try to find the right environment, and be sensitive, honest and compassionate. In this assignment, however, I will only discuss on factors that lead to poor communication in nursing. Research Problem 1. Problem Statement The problem statement for this research is To determine the factors that lead to poor communication skills in nursing. Poor communication skills in nurses are a major problem today and can be widely seen in most hospitals and clinics. There are many cases where the nurses speak rudely to the patient and ignore any questions asked by them. They are more concerned with their own welfare than that of the patient and many nurses hesitate and feel embarrassed to ask questions when there are things they do not understand. Their ignorance and poor communication skills can be due to several factors such as emotional stress, language barriers, overworking, fear and education or experience gaps. This problem of poor communication, if it is not dealt with at its earlier stage may lead to the destruction of the delicate relationship between the patients and the nurses. The patient will no longer trust the nurses and this may not only give a bad name to the nurses but also to the hospital. I believe that, when the root of this poor communication in nurses has been identified, we can take immediate action to correct and improve the current communication between the nurses and the patients. In this research, our scope is within the Miri General Hospital. The nurses in the hospital act as a mediator between the doctor and the patients. Nurses are the group of hospital staff that are the eligible to explain any queries of the patients and give comfort to patients. This is the main reason why good communication skill is a compulsory trait that all nurses must possess. It is from this research that I hope, we will get a better understanding of the cause of poor communication in nurses and from there, and we will be able to take necessary steps to overcome this problem. 2. Research Objectives (a) To understand the importance of good communication skills in nursing. The best relationship between a nurse and her patient is the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. Therapeutic nurse-patient relationships are based on mutual trust, nurturing, and sensitivity to the patients needs. In this research, we wished to determine why good communication is very important in the nursing field. What are the advantages of good communication in nursing and what are the drawbacks of poor communication in this field. (b) To determine if overworking is the cause of poor communication in nursing. Nurses today have more responsibilities compared to nurses of previous times. Today, nurses not only are responsible for the welfare of their patients but their paperwork load has increased. Nurses also need to ensure the cleanliness of the ward especially if the housekeeping staffs are not around. They need to be able to fix the machineries if the technicians are not available. All these additional responsibilities lead to the overworking of nurses and thus leads to them not having the time to communicate and interact well with the patients. (c) To determine if shortage of nurses is the cause of poor communication in nursing. With each passing year, there are more sick patients that require a lot of time and attention from the nurses. But due to lack of nurses, there is only very limited things a nurse can do for each patient. The nurse allocates a very short while to attend her patients, not having time to talk or listen to the patients questions or doubts. This will make the patient feel neglected and unattended to. This high nurse to patient ratio may also be a reason that contributes to the poor communication between nurses and patients and also degradation of therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. (d) To determine whether language barrier is leading to poor communication in nursing. Language plays an important role in communication. The inability to understand a language can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication, worst still, misdiagnosis. In nursing, it is very important that the nurse should understand what the patient tries to convey to them and vice versa. If both the nurses and the patients cannot understand each other due to use of different language, it will lead to many problems and misunderstandings. Language may also be a factor that leads to poor communication in nursing. (e) To determine if fear is one of the contribution to poor communication in nursing. One common reason for poor communication is that it has to do with a  nurse  having a  lack of comfort or fear in communicating with another nurse or doctor. These type of issues usually occurs  when a nurse feels threatened by a co-worker, fears the possibility of making a mistake and doesnt say anything to avoid judgement or  lacks confidence in her abilities as a competent nurse. (f) To determine if education and experience gaps leads to poor communication in nursing. An education or experience gap can occur when a less educated/experienced nurse works with another senior nurse who  is much  more educated and/or experienced and the junior nurse has trouble understanding the concepts, procedures and/or medical terminology used by the more experienced nurse. These types of gaps can lead to confusion, misinterpretation, inaction and errors due to the inability to communicate effectively  and fully understand  what is being  communicated. (g) To determine whether emotional stress leads to poor communication in nursing. Nurses who are experiencing a lot of emotional stress or a trauma may have difficulty focusing or expressing or communicating their feelings, perceptions, beliefs  and attitude towards certain situations. This can lead to mistakes being made and/or reduce the amount of attention they are able to put towards their work, patients and co workers. 3. Hypothesis/ Research Questions I have come to believe that modern day nurse-patient relationship is undergoing serious strain due to poor communication between the nurses and the patients. There are several factors that might contribute to this problem. Firstly, the modern nurses are being overworked, causing them to lack in their communication skills. When nurses work long  shifts for  extended periods of time it can cause fatigue, which lowers their focus, effectiveness and ability to communicate effectively with patients and staff. Today, nurses must spend an inordinate amount of time completing redundant documentation in several different places, hunting for supplies, wearing multiple hats and performing other tasks. For instance, if the need for a cleanup arises and the housekeeping staffs are not present, nursing staff must address it. If the remote control is not functioning properly and the maintenance staffs are nowhere to be found, the nurse is usually the person who must try to resolve the issue. The next reason is due to shortage of nurses. Every year there are more sick patients that require much of the nurses time. This leaves them with very limited time with other patients. The nurses may be doing their job but they fail to form a relationship with the patients. We take for example,  a nurse approaching the bedside to empty a patients indwelling urinary catheter. As she approached she didnt make any eye contact and duly went about emptying the catheter, recorded the details on his fluid balance chart and walked away. At no time during the procedure did she speak. This example shows how essential communication skills are when caring for patients. Had he wanted to ask a question, the opportunity was lost. At this time, it would have been a good opportunity to take a look at the patient and perhaps ask how he was feeling. Poor non verbal communication also leads to poor nurse-patient communication. Poor communication also occurs when the nurse and patient speak different first languages. Idioms and frames of reference can carry shades of meaning in one language that may not exist in another. Mispronunciation or incorrect signing may be misleading to the nurse or patient, causing the patient to lose his trust on the nurse. This problem usually occurs among the elderly patients and also the foreign patients. Due to the difference in language, both the nurses and the patients fail to convey each message to another.   Especially in Malaysia, a country full of different races and languages, it is impossible for the nurses to be able to understand and speak all these different languages. There are also some patients, especially those who live in the interiors; they are not able to speak the national language but only their one native language. This phenomenon also leads to poor communication skills. Poor communication also tends to evolve out of the level of power within hospitals. The presence of hierarchies in hospitals tends to increase the likelihood of poor communication developing at some level or another within the vertical power structure. The main cause of this communication failure is due to fear but hierarchical organization of power in hospitals is not a bad thing-it just means that it can lead to poor communication to develop discrimination within the medical hierarchy. One of these places is between physicians and nurses. Nurses frequently hesitate from asking physicians potentially obvious or unimportant questions. As both physicians and nurses are very much involved in the care and support of patients, major communication breakdown between them could lead into serious medical difficulties for their patients. For example when a physician instructs a nurse to convey important medical information to patients but the nurse does not fully understand the information an d due to fear, she does not ask for further explanation from the doctor and gives the wrong information to the patient. Poor communication between physicians and nurses also often develop when physicians fully rely on written orders to convey instructions to nurses. They will write important details into patients medical files- including crucial instructions for nurses, for example when to administer a particular treatment. If nurses happen to miss checking patients medical files, they will also miss the important instructions that were written in them. Although this raises the crucial question of why doctors continue to use this indirect mode of communication to the extent they do, and nurses dont object to it, does not suggest that written communication should be prohibited, but that written communication is a poor substitute for direct verbal communication. One reason why written communication remains is that nurses fear questioning what they might consider to be a standard pract ice among all doctors. Here again it can be seen that the reluctance to question the practices of superiors may lead to a communication breakdown-or, more seriously, to a complete communication failure. As nurses usually feel inferior to the physician in charge, so do junior nurses feel inferior to the senior or more experienced nurses. The younger nurses hesitate to ask questions to the senior nurses in fear of being labelled as not well educated. Sometimes, the senior nurses explains a certain procedure or information to the junior nurses, but due to lack of experience, she may not fully understand it and hesitate to ask any questions after that. The senior nurses also take for granted that the junior nurses understand all that has been explained. Miscommunication as such is very dangerous as it will affect the patient. Nurses are the backbone of any healthcare unit. The pressures of overtime and long working hours create a work leads to stress, which will affect the health of the nurses. All nurses have to do shift work or attend emergencies at night and this stress of shift work can also worsen the nurses health conditions leading to depression, low morale, and low motivation. Other factors such as long commuting hours and long traffic adds to their stress affect the employees efficiency and effectiveness. All these can affect the nurses relationship at home as well as on the job. Home stress contributes significantly to the stress faced by nurses. Their home life is disturbed due to night shifts, overtime, transportation problem, and difficulty in getting leave. They constantly worry about their children and their studies not being properly supervised. Nurses have to look after the home, cooking and cleaning as they cannot afford domestic help. This can have a negative influence on their physical and emotional health and lead to psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatic illness is a disorder that affects the body and the mind. These illnesses have emotional origins causing physical symptoms. Some examples are acidity, anaemia, backache, and stiffness in the neck and shoulders. Sometimes, in the absence of doctors, nurses are on the front line and have to face verbal abuse from patients and relatives for issues that may not be directly connected to their work. Physical violence and aggressiveness is also on the rise in patients and their relations. Demanding patients and their relatives can cause conflict and lead to more stress. Another cause of stress is economic loss to the organization due to errors, wrong decisions, wrong choice, lack of attention, and injury. All these stress factors demotivate the nurses causing them to slack in their communication skills. Conclusion Communication in nursing is specifically used to identify the nurse-patient relationship amongst other things; some of the ways include translating, getting to know you and establishing trust to ensure the patient receives the best treatment (Fosbinder, 1994). In a place where an individuals health  and well-being  is largely determined by the level of cooperation amongst  nurses  and other  medical professionals who are assisting them, there are things that are more important than  education, training and open communication. Poor communication often leads to big mistakes such as prescribing the wrong medication, improper diagnosis of a patient  ailment or medical condition, administering the wrong treatment plans and in some cases even death of a patient due to misdiagnosis due to lack of communication. We also know that nurses and physicians are trained to communicate differently. Nurses learn to communicate by being descriptive, detailed, and narrative while physicians learn to summarize, diagnose, mend, and repair. This makes nurses the best mediator between the physician and the patient as nurses are taught to explain and give information in the most understandable manner to the patient. Communication is at the heart of these goals and patients are being encouraged to be more involved in their care. This can only be achieved if patients truly understand what is available and feel empowered to make those choices. Therefore, when talking to a patient next time, take time to reflect on how you think the consultation went and how it could be improved. Determine whether you use jargon or abbreviations that the patient might not understand, and more importantly did you find out if the patient understood what had been said.

Nothings changed-Choose two poems which make a connection between the :: English Literature

Nothings changed-Choose two poems which make a connection between the past and the present, and explain what this connection means to each writer. When he goes back to the district it's all overgrown. He steps through the rubbish and weeds. It says the weeds are 'amiable' which means friendly, as if the weeds don't know what he knows. He knows in his bones this is where he used to live. It's as if the feeling starts in his feet and works its way up through him, and he gets hotter and more intense, until he suddenly sees this 'brash' new building. 'Squats' makes you think of a toad, or something heavy and solid, and also squatting is when you live somewhere illegal, like the inn shouldn't ever have been there. When he peers in through the glass it's all cool and elegant inside, not the sort of place they would let in anyone. He says 'we know where we belong', meaning outside looking in. So although it no longer says 'Whites Only' on a board, like it used to, only rich white people would feel they had the right to be there. Charollte o neils song-Choose two poems which communicate a sense of injustice, and show how the poets have succeeded in doing this. The rhythm of the poem is very vigorous and assertive. You can imagine it sung in a rebellious way - she's had enough. The stress falls on the important words in each line, especially the verbs, which emphasises all the physical actions that are being described. Words like 'scrape' and 'scrub' echo each other, and when you say the 'scr' you can hear the effort involved. There's also a strong contrast between 'I' and 'you' right through the poem, which emphasises how different their lives are. In the second half of the poem (after the 'But') she shifts into the future tense as she imagines her new life. The poem finishes on a very definite note, with the final rhyme, like she's slammed the door behind her - her old life's all done and dusted. Half caste-Choose two poems where the style and language of the poem seem particularly suited to what the poet has to say, and explain in each case why you think this. The argument of the poem comes out in the way it is written. You could almost say that the poem is written in a mixed language - it's a kind of English, but it's also in Caribbean. The poet writes 'wid' and instead of 'with' to show that the speaker has a Caribbean accent.

Of Mice and Men & Death of a Salesman by John Steinbeck Essay

John Steinbeck was born in California, Salinas February 1902. In spite of the fact Steinbeck came from a wealthy background he also showed curiousness toward the farm workers and spent his own time working with them. The experience he had gained from working with the farm laborers was then applied as matter for his writing. This certainly adds a sense of realism to his texts. Steinbeck produced numerous novels about poverty-stricken people who have a dream. One of the novels is the well-known ‘Grapes of the Wrath.’ During the late 1920s the Wall Street crash took place, forcing millions of Americans out of work; this then led on to the Great Depression, an era in which people lacked any economic opportunity. The main cultural trends that occurred throughout this period of time were poverty and unemployment. The characters in the novella, â€Å"Of Mice and Men† can relate to this trend as it is set during that era. All the characters in the book are experiencing poverty at the time and are working to continue existence and to vanquish the Great Depression, so that they can obtain the dream. It is shown here – â€Å"Look, if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen nothing, we’ll have a hunderd bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could swing her for that.† The American Dream is striving for freedom, status, and success, and as this quote suggests it is often bound up with issues of a financial nature. The American Dream associates with all characters in, â€Å"Of Mice and Men† but mainly with Candy, Crooks, Lennie, George and Curley’s wife, who at one point says, â€Å"He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural.† Quotes such as this remind us of the unwavering confidence that American citi zens had in their version of the American Dream, and they often read ironically. This is because, as  readers, we know that the character is disillusioned, and falling for the false promise of prosperity. Racism is posed throughout the novella; in the 1990s segregation laws were approved, whereby the rights of black and white people were divided; black people generally had the things lacking in quality, i.e. Crooks’ inhumane segregation on the ranch. Habitual use of racism, for example flippant use of the word ‘N****r’ are prevalent in this novella. There were also groups of people who were explicity posed against blacks, for example the KKK, who presented violence towards the black minorities, by ambushing them and/or lynching them. They would also strike  any person who dared to associate with blacks. This may stand to elaborate why nobody socializes with Crooks – they’re frightened to step outside of social parameters. For example we learn that, ‘Candy stops at the door and takes a step back.’ The fact that Crooks is black demolishes the possibilities of his dreams actually being accomplished; they are not assigned the same rights, and In turn dreams as the white people. This is ironic because we know that Crooks used to ‘live the dream’, and live amongst â€Å"the white kids;† perhaps this is Steinbeck making a comment on how society has regressed for the worse. The tone Steinbeck creates is mellow and calm especially in the opening paragraph. I know this because Steinbeck uses words such as â€Å"twinkling† and â€Å"golden foothill slopes curve. † creating a dream-like atmosphere. Both these quotes represent colours that indicate summertime, a long season whereby people and animals revel in the tranquillity of the outdoors. In addition to this Steinbeck says that the, â€Å"foothill slopes curve† this gives the impression the walk is effortless trip. However, this calmness is instantly interrupted and starts to show rupture as the George and Lennie near. This may be Steinbeck commenting on how the futile nature of dreaming will always become apparent. Steinbeck states that the two men â€Å"hurried† and â€Å"pounded†Ã‚  down the river; both these verbs are starting to stipulate the start of a battle. By the writer creating such a subtle scene, which is then ruined, could represent the fact that people whose lives come across cheerful and composed, also have holster sadness. I feel that Steinbeck wanted the audience to know that ‘the best laid plans’ didn’t have the outcome that was anticipated; in fact the dream of ‘livin off the fatta the lan’ near enough every time fails, results in relationships vanishing and lives wrecked. Lennie is very broad and heavy handed. On the other hand George is small, so it is also ironic that Lennie’s surname is small. The text readers, â€Å"Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.† The writer says that George has â€Å"restless eyes†Ã‚  meaning that his eyes are defined, whereas Lenni e’s are described as â€Å"pale.† This colour is not vivid nor is it harsh, so it is almost sympathetic and tender. Lennie’s eyes do not suggest strength, so maybe Steinbeck is presenting Lennie as having a monotonous, good-natured personality. Steinbeck is not trying to make George and Lennie seem alike, but completely different; this is to show how dependent two opposites are in needing each other. Without one another George would have been a lonely ranch worker, meanwhile Lennie would of probably contained in a mental institution. Lennie is referred to a bear, straight away this tells the audience that Lennie is physically strong, pretty large and hostile. Despite this, it also shows that Lennie would only fight when he has to, he wouldn’t do it without an intention. Research has shown that bears only attack when they feel in danger, therefore a bear symbolizes Lennie best as he tend to lose control a lot. Lennie is always willing to attack when the dream is compromised, showing how important the vision was to American  citizens. Lennie says, â€Å"I remember about the rabbits, George.† and George responds, †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Ã¢â‚¬ The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you can ever remember is them rabbits.† This is the very first time we hear about Lennie dream. Even from the beginning of the novella, the impression is given that Lennie is more enthusiastic than George about the dream. George’s simple eradication of the words â€Å"them rabbits† shows signs that he thinks the whole situation is foolish. This tends to get intricate as we to register that George might just be as animated for the dream as much as Lennie. it comes across that George is extra wary about that excitement, this makes sense as he’s also more aware of his surroundings compared to his other half. The American Dream as whole is impossible of fulfilment, the death of Lennie is figurative of that – concluding that all good things most come to an end. Lennie only wanted to â€Å"tend the rabbits,† nothing more, nothing less – it was George who came up with the entire dream therefore Lennie is not to blame for everything. The dream was presented to Lennie like a story, in a childlike manner. â€Å"†¦God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and  go into town and get whatever I want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At this point George lashes out at Lennie raging about what the life of a migrant worker would be like without any heavy loads i.e Lennie. From this piece of text it seems that George is imagining a nonchalant existence and that Lennie is just an obstacle in his way.What George had highlighted here is far-seeing because of what happens in the end of â€Å"Of Mice and Men.† George uses the dream so that they both have hope later on life, after  the ranch workers knew about their dream they wanted to have one too. This reveals the value of dreams entirely in the novella, and for those alive during the Great Depression, sitting in the same position as the ranch workers. Once George creates a full account of the farm, its heaven garden-like qualities become even more obvious; Everything thing they want will be in front of their eyes, without any literal effort. Just as Lennie states: â€Å"We could live offa the fatta the lan’.† I think that when George shot Lennie he was right in doing so. One of the reasons I think this is due to the fact that he would have been killed by Curley or the rest of the ranch men anyway. Lennie had unexpectedly killed Curley’s wife; therefore, it would of resolved in death either way. The author lets the reader know that Curley would of killed Lennie when Curley says – â€Å"I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shot gun. I’ll kill the son-of-a-bitch myself.† If Curley killed Lennie, it would of resolved in a slow painful, death. In my opinion, it was better his best friend killing him than his enemy. This killing can be compared to a mercy killing or linked to euthanasia in many ways. George killed Lennie for all the right reasons; the only downfall in this is that George has to go on and live a lonely life, with no companionship. George kills Lennie by Salinas River ‘Salinas’ means lonely, which is what George is now. George and Lennie fail to register that their dream is like thousands of other ranch workers, Crooks summarizes their dream when he quotes: â€Å"Seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come an’ they quit an’ go on, every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never one of them get it.† The men on the ranch have this futile dream about owning their peace of land, but its unachievable because of their circumstances. In a similar manner, from beginning to end Miller depicts the American Dream and how Willy Lowman and his family fail to achieve it. Arthur Miller was born in New York, Harlem October 1915. Miller wrote Death of a Salesman whilst working for his father’s company at the age of seventeen. Miller had said that everything he wrote was based on someone he knew or had seen. After Miller wrote the script he wrote a postscript saying that the real-life salesman, who the play is based on had killed himself by jumping in front of a subway train. Willy has been attempting to achieve the American Dream for such a long period of time that he actually believes it’s achievable. Throughout Willy’s life he has prolonged numerous lies to himself and to his family, this has persuaded him that his dream has become an possibility. He constantly reveals to his family that he’s on the verge of huge success, meanwhile he contemplates to himself as to why he hasn’t reached the dream he knows he is capable of – Willy says that â€Å"There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! The competition is maddening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And one on the other side†¦ How can they whip cheese?† Willy says this in Act one, this quote suggests that Willy is blaming the over populated country, America, on his lack of success – the truth is that its down to his belief in the assumption of the flawed American Dream. Its seems to me that Willy is just trying to come up with excuses, to cover the fact that he, himself, failed at the American Dream. The fact that Willy is always in need of a scapegoat , shows us that the dream Is, by nature, completely unachievable. The use of explanation marks in this quote express Willy’s feelings about the people and the impact its having on his ability to achieve the American dream. Miller makes an abstract comment on how America is guilty of selling their citizens a dream to failure, but who do we blame? On one hand we should blame the scapegoat, America as a nation, but it seems the  readers can’t help but blame Willy, it’s almost as if the readers have fallen for the same myth – blaming Willy and not American society. Willy convinced his sons that in order to achieve the American Dream you need to be â€Å"well-liked†, not just liked. It seems that Willy is implying that being admired and the quality of arousing interest is the most important thing that will enable you to achieve the American Dream. He puts being â€Å"well liked† first over any other quality. According to Willy, being well liked amounts to the bare matter for reaching the American Dream. Being well liked is a quickened way of achieving something without as much hard work. In act one Willy says to Happy that he’ll be â€Å"Bigger than Uncle Charley! Because Charley is not liked. He’s liked – but not well liked.† The exclamation mark is to emphasise the fact the he’s going to be bigger than Charley, Charley is prestige and has status. The dash creates the effect of a dramatic pause to make it clear that Charley was not well liked, but at the same time Willy is implying that he, himself, is well liked, when evidently we know this is just a delusion. Willy completely thinks that anyone who works hard in America will become successful without doubt. He says, â€Å"Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such- personal attractiveness gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff – he’s not lazy.† This is another encapsulation of the American Dream fooling the American man, it’s evident that it’s futile and ends up killing Willy. It’s almost like Willy sees the American dream as a given right of an American, Willy’s death is such a horrendous one, as he commits suicide and so this serves to show us how destructive the American dream can be for the average American man. In act one, Willy indicates that Biff can even get let off with purloining a ball because of how popular he is with his coach. This supports the  notion that Willy places upmost importance on being â€Å"well liked† In Act One Willy says to his sons â€Å"Tell you a secret, boys. Don’t breathe it to a soul. Someday I’ll have my own business, and I’ll never have to leave home anymore† Here Willy is secretive and possessive, just like in of Mice and Men when George let Candy participate in their dream. Willy wants to own a  business just like George and Lennie, although Willy’s dream and George and Lennie’s dreams are completely different, they are similar at the same time, as they both are striving to achieve financial independence, they both have this unwavering image of a dream which they believe to be achievable, but the irony is the reader sees this as unachievable. The difference in these dreams is evident through what is they want to achieve; George and Lennie aims for and simple, agricultural success, whereas Willy is positioned in a contemporary situation in which he seeks to corporate success and material gain. Here it’s worth realizing Biff and Happy endeavour to achieve and reality which is more similar to George and Lennie in terms of its simplicity, however his father’s obsession with corporate wealth means that this is not possible. The above can be seen when Happy says, â€Å"That’s what I dream about Biff. Sometimes I wanna just rip my clothes off in the middle of the store and outbox that goddamned merchandise manager. I mean I can outbox, outlift and outrun anybody in that store, and I to take orders from those petty, common sons of bitches till I can’t stand it anymore.† Here we see Happy rejecting his father’s wishes to follow a corporate lead American dream, in favour of a more primal like competition. However he releases the idea that business competition, similar to the type his father promotes will bring him success; he can’t escape the rat race of American capitalism. This is similar to the inescapable, futile situation that Lennie and George find themselves in; they move from ranch to ranch, with seeming direction, but the irony lies in the fact  that their life is totally directionless. The final bitter blow lies in Lennie’s death. Although culturally, the direction toward which the pursuers of the American Dream changes over time (from dreams of living simply via agriculture, to dreams of achieving corporate success) it is interesting to see that Willy says to his wife, â€Å"You wait, kid, before it’s all over we’re gonna get a little place out in the country, and I’ll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This suggests that the direction of the American Dream has not  changed much, and material/corporate success only serves as a temporary means to fulfil the original view of owning one’s own ranch and living from the land. Here, Willy’s vision is almost identical to George and Lennie’s, which is interesting due to the difference era both are set in/written in. The ellipsis in this quote represents the never ending possibilities of what they can acquire. This aforementioned idea of Willy obsessed with being well liked is something he unfortunately passes down to his children in a typical cyclical way. In a conversation with his parents Biff and Happy reveal they are interested they are looking for work that is simply bearable. Happy says, about his â€Å"business idea† that, â€Å"†¦it wouldn’t be like a business. We’d be out playin’ ball again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Despite this, Willy is completely fixated on ensuring that the boys possess job security in a lucrative profession, which he believes will lead them on this path to greatness, and most importantly, financial security. We may accuse Willy of not being very supportive of his children, as he seems to be prioritising pursuit of the American Dream over his children. This is a true reflection of his blind faith in the idealised dream. Linda’s attitude toward the American dream is contradictive. Linda does this by motivating Willy into believing his dreams are real, even though she recognizes his dream is conclusively futile and bound to stay  incomplete. Linda doesn’t have as many dreams as Willy, but her main one is to live a undemanding, quiet life with her husband. Whereas he would prefer to travel, be recognized and remembered by everybody. Linda would prefer to sit back in her aging jacket with him and to have him employed in the city. This is illustrated when Linda says to Willy ‘can’t continue this way’, and encourages Willy to put himself forward and ask Howard for a job, so that he does not have to travel and so he can pay for the insurance premium. At this stage the audience gather that Linda is very concerned for Willy. Linda never manages to attain her dream since Willy would be more willingly to commit suicide than to surrender his job as a salesman. In addition to this, Linda yearns to safeguard Willy. A case of this is whilst speaking to Ben  she shouts at Ben and says, ‘don’t say those things to him! ‘Afterwards, it is clear that she is shielding him; even though the stage directions interpret Linda as being ‘frightened of Ben’, she becomes assertive for Willy’s benefit. She fails to shade Willy as he objects, resulting in the worst case scenario whilst under her belt. Willy committing suicide. As the play concludes, it’s evident that Willy was lost and didn’t actually know himself. We already knew this, the point being hardly anyone attends his funeral. It is here Biff registers that his dad was lost, entirely and travelled down the wrong road, we know this as he says â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.† It is obvious the Biff will no longer follow the same route as his father. However, Happy, decides to secure his father’s ill-advised visions and takes them on-board himself, he says so himself toward the end of the play â€Å"I’m gonna win it for him.† Comparison of â€Å"Death of a Salesman† and â€Å"Of Mice and Men† The novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ and the play ‘The Death of a Salesman’ paint a picture of the vanity of dreams, the main one is the American dream. Both authors, Arthur Miller and John Steinbeck use numerous linguistic and literary methods, so that the audience can see how impossible dreams were during that era. Of Mice and Men and Death of a Salesman are set during the 1930s-1940s, the writers permit the context of the literature in order to help them tour the futility of the ‘American Dream’. The American Dream is never achieved. The working-class people -Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, ends up disenchanted and kills himself. The Lomans are alike Lennie and George, They both try to repudiate that they’re just a minority in the world they’re living in, but their American dream is invariably just a step away. At one point, in Of Mice and Men and Death of a Salesman they contrast as Willy wants to be successful and â€Å"well liked† in order to gain status, whereas Lennie and George don’t want status they want to own a piece of land and belong somewhere, I know this as George says ‘it’d be our own, an ‘nobody could can us’. Willy is lost in this delusion about being successful and gaining status that he would rather die than be known to failure of the American dream. When Willy and Ben are speaking Linda yells at him saying, ‘don’t say those things to him!’ Here it is clear the Linda is shielding Willy. The way Linda presented herself to Ben is almost identical to the way Lennie reacts when its things resulting with George. For example, When Crooks expressed the possibility of George being injured, Lennie ‘walked dangerously towards’ him, questioning ‘who hurt George?’ The word ‘dangerously’ is used to narrate Lennie’s negative, forceful charge  toward crooks, this shows how far Lennie will go, having the only intention of making sure George is safe and not thinking about the outcome when doing so. Likewise, when Ben indicates Willy isn’t doing so well at work Linda reacts in a menacing manner toward him. In the stage directions Miller says how Happy was ‘almost ready to fight Biff’ As we know, Happy’s dreams are what his father’s are and when Biff decides to ask what applicability Willy’s dreams are it results in a battle nearly commencing. The reason being as to why Happy was ready to challenge Biff is because as stated above (Happy’s dreams are his fathers). What happened here is similar to what occurred with Lennie and Crooks. In my opinion Steinbeck and Miller, both display how the characters will assert one’s over another in an arrogant way, to make the audience grasp mentally, that no matter how much you try to protect your dream it will always be captured.

Air Asia: Asia’s Leading Airline Essay

Company Background Asia’s leading airline was established with the dream of making flying possible for everyone. Since 2001, AirAsia has swiftly broken travel norms around the globe and has risen to become the world’s best. With a route network that spans through to over 20 countries, AirAsia continues to pave the way for low-cost aviation through our innovative solutions, efficient processes and a passionate approach to business. Together with our associate companies, AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines’ AirAsia Inc and AirAsia Japan , AirAsia is set to take low-cost flying to an all new high with our belief, â€Å"Now Everyone Can Fly†. (2005, AirAsia) Establishment AirAsia was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom. On 2 December 2001 the heavily-indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about USD 0.26 at the time) with USD 11 million (MYR 40 million) worth of debts. Fernandes the CEO, turned the company around, producing a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as MYR 1 (USD 0.27). International flights In 2003, AirAsia opened a second hub at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru near Singapore and launched its first international flight toBangkok. AirAsia has since started a Thai subsidiary, added Singapore itself to the destination list, and started flights to Indonesia. Flights to Macaubegan in June 2004, and flights to mainland China (Xiamen) and the Philippines (Manila) in April 2025. Flights to Vietnam and Cambodia followed later in 2005 and to Brunei and Myanmar in 2006, the latter by Thai AirAsia. On August 2006, AirAsia took over Malaysia Airlines’s Rural Air Service routes in Sabah and Sarawak, operating under the FlyAsianXpress brand. The routes were subsequently returned to MASwings a year later, citing commercial reasons. AirAsia’s CEO Tony Fernandes subsequently unveiled a five-year plan to further enhance its presence in Asia. Under the plan, AirAsia proposes to strengthen and enhance its route network by connecting all the existing cities in the region and expanding further into Vietnam, Indonesia, Southern China (Kun Ming, Xiamen, Shenzen) and India. The airline will focus on developing its hubs in Bangkok and Jakarta through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia. With increase frequency and the addition of new routes, AirAsia expects passenger volume to reach 18 million by the end of 2007. Route expansion On 27 September 2008, the company had on its list 106 new routes to be added to its then-current list of 60. The number of old routes discontinued has not been publicly disclosed. On 2nd of April 2012 Air Asia had their first flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. Sebastian Tegan-Anderson was one of the lucky few to be on this historical flight. AirAsia-Malaysian Airlines Alliance In August 2011, AirAsia agreed to forge an alliance with Malaysian Airlines by means of a share swap. The alliance was struck down by the Malaysian government, in effect voiding the agreement of both airlines. AirAsia’s vision To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. Information Technology Management (Maintenance & Operation) Information Technology management is the discipline whereby all of the technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. These resources may include tangible investments like computer hardware, software, data, networks and data centre facilities, as well as the staffs who are hired to maintain them. Managing this responsibility within a company entails many of the basic management functions, like budgeting, staffing, and organizing and controlling, along with other aspects that are unique to technology, like change management, software design, network planning, tech support etc. (2009, McNurlin) According to Bird, a primary focus of IT management is the value creation made possible by technology. This requires the alignment of technology and business strategies. While the value creation for an organization involves a network of relationships between internal and external environments, technology plays an important role in improving the overall value chain of an organization. However, this increase requires business and technology management to work as a creative, synergistic, and collaborative team instead of a purely mechanistic span of control. Technology Management is just the same as any other management disciplines that are out there. It is basically employing the following traits. †¢Planning †¢Organizing †¢Staffing †¢Implementing †¢Monitoring †¢Evaluation However, for Technology Management to be effectively implemented, the Technology Factor has to be added to all the traits mentioned above. We all know that technology makes life much easier or more complicated based on how it is used or implemented, but technology will form into everyone’s life. But technology was made and developed primarily because there is a need to be fulfilled and you want to make things much easier. Technology thereby becomes an imperative factor that you need to incorporate in the daily carrying on of your professional lives. It is a very important tool, together with the values that go along with it; innovation, creativity, efficiency; in the conduct of your business. Technology applies to all, from the marketing to communications, product development to process innovations and so on. Throughout information technology management, it will be able to show one the way to harness the technology developed and innovated in order to create value for the company, giving AirAsia the edge to compete, providing the company with the competitive advantage. A person who would be in charge of this department in an organization would be the Chief Information Officer or CIO. Chief information Officer (CIO) is a position commonly given to the person in an enterprise who supports the enterprise goals which are responsible for the computer systems and information technology (IT) applications. The importance of information technology has created a trend whereby the position of the CIO has come to be viewed in many organizations as a key contributor in formulating strategic goals (Qais International, n.d). According to a cited Meta Group study, leading CIOs are playing dramatically more influential business roles than they have at any time in past (Bernard.A, 2005). Besides that, Graham Waller, senior vice president with Meta’s Executive Directions advisory service is quoted as saying, â€Å"Savvy CIOs have demonstrated their transformational value to senior management during the past three years, even while operating during a down economy.† In recent years, an increasingly significant business role has developed from being a purely technical support functions toward a more commercially-focused part of the business. Currently CIOs are expected to create innovative solutions which could affect the success of the organization such as increase profits, reduce costs, and to contribute in important managerial decisions (Hooshmand.A, 2008). In the past, CIOs were only responsible for the computer systems and information technology applications that supported enterprise objectives. In this case the Regional Head for Innovation Commercial & Technology for AirAsia would be Mr. Lau Kin Choy. In order to transform the vision into reality for an organization such as AirAsia, requires more than a great strategy. It is essential that the organization make the strategy an integral part of its operation (Bradford, 2002). This statement, although made with reference to the business strategy and operations, also holds true for business strategy and IT initiative. When the business strategy and IT are aligned, the IT infrastructure can continuously sense the changing business needs and respond by provisioning or redeploying resources to match the demands of the business. (Pultorak, 2004). AirAsia being a Lower Cost Carrier or ,LCC, business strategy is that of focused leadership that requires continuous cost reductions in order to stay ahead of its competition all along the value chain. The various Information Technology implementations that have been made by AirAsia and its benefit are as follows. The few system implementations that AirAsia have done in its marketing and sales activities (Yield Management System and Computer Reservation System) as well as operation activity (Enterprise Resource Planning System), The Computer Reservation System (CRS), a Wireless Delivery System (WDS), and the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) AirAsia has realized then increased revenue from up to 3 to 4 percent for the same number of aircrafts by taking advantage of the forecast of the high/low demand patterns, and effectively shifting the demand from low period to high period and by charging a premium for late bookings. Over the past couple of years, AirAsia have actually lowered prices (essential for LCC) as the YMS has given them the window to increase their revenue by offering higher discounts, more frequently during off-peak times while raising prices only marginally for peak times. (Voneche, n.d). Computer Reservation System (CRS) AirAsia’s CRS (Open Skies by Navitaire) has helped it to grow at a dramatic pace in the past couple of years â€Å"Navitaire’s Open Skies technology has truly enabled Airasia’s growth from 2 million passengers to 7.7 million passengers in less than two years. Open Skies scaled easily to accommodate our growth.† – Tony Fernandes – Source: Navitaire (http://www.navitaire.com/res_and_dist/openskies.asp) It is an integrated web-based reservation and inventory system. It includes Internet, call center, airport departure control and more. It is a direct sales engine that effectively eliminates the middleman (travel agents) and the sales commissions that need to be paid to them. Centralized customer data is also maintained by Open Skies and this helps AirAsia to track booking and schedule flight activities with real-time, on-demand reporting feature. The vast booking information that is provided online to the customers acts as a force that brings more customers to use the website thus reducing the customer support costs. An important feature is that Open Skies seamlessly integrates with the already implemented YMS so that the systems can be used in unison for pricing and revenue maximization (by providing information on bookings, schedules and driving down the costs of operation at the same time. This CRS enabled AirAsia to introduce the first ticket less travel option and also provides features such as advanced boarding passes in addition to online booking that enabled the growth of AirAsia as these features attracted customers that did not have the time for purchasing tickets from counters and coming in 1 hour early for securing a seat on the aircraft. AirAsia have proposed to implement a Wireless Delivery System (WDS) to expand it reach via mobile phones. With this, potential customers will be able to book tickets via their mobile phones. This is a strategic move for growth as the Asia-Pacific region has a larger population of mobile phone users rather than internet users. Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) AirAsia has, as in of May 2005, opted for a full fledged ERP system implemented by Avanade consultants. By implementing this package AirAsia is looking to successfully maintain process integrity, reduce financial month-end closing processing times, and speed up reporting and data retrieval processes. (Microsoft Malaysia) APS (Advanced planning and scheduling system) AirAsia has now implemented the Aps system, where it works as a decision support software application. This Advances Planning and Scheduling system aare usually implemented as an add-on software that complements a company’s transaction software system by providing advances analyticl andd optimization functionality focusid on improving supply chain planning. There are different modules that come into play with the APS such as Demand Planning, Network Optimization, Supply Planning, and Factory Schedule software that all work together to provide the APS’s core functionality. IT Implementations and Strategic Alignment With the above implementations, it is clear that the business strategy and the IT strategy are aligned to for AirAsia to operate on a low-cost model. There are four models to Strategic Alignment Perspective (Henderson and Venkatraman, 1993). Namely: Strategic Execution, Technology Transformation, Competitive Potential and Service Level. All the systems implemented act as enablers in achieving the business strategy of AirAsia by reducing the costs of operation (CRS, ERP) and maximizing revenue (YMS). These cost savings are directly transferred to the customer with reduced prices of traveling, discounts etc. The business strategy acts as the driver in this perspective (Technology Transformation). Figure 2 – Technology Transformation Source: Henderson and Venkatraman, IBM Systems Journal 1993 With expansion as one of the main future direction as well as increased competition, APS system is recommended as a new way to improve processes and therefore achieving cost reductions along the value chain. The main difference of APS system compared to the previous system implementations is that APS system focuses on internal operational processes perspective while the other systems such as YMS and CRS more focus on customer perspective. All systems provide cost advantages in different domains in the value chain. In relation to strategic alignment, APS system like other previous systems fits smoothly in Technology Transformation perspective. Reduced costs in inbound logistics and operation activities will be the direct result of implementing APS enabling AirAsia in achieving its low cost business strategy. The operational environment of an airline industry is complex. Large network in the supply chain, continuous daily operation, and several external uncontrollable variables such as weather condition and government regulations become factors affecting airlines’ performance. Given these complexities, operational planning and scheduling across the supply chain are important factors determining the success of any airline. In order to increase the efficiency of operational performance and manage its supply chain, AirAsia had implemented the ERP system. It is a system focusing on capturing transactions in daily operations and helping AirAsia to save its operational costs as well as to increase the efficiency and integrity in its operation (Microsoft Press Pass, 2005). However, conventional ERP system implemented by AirAsia does not provide flexibility and intelligence required to analyze data for better supply chain management. APS system optimizes AirAsia’s supply chain management. It works as the brain of supply chain activities (Ahmed, 2004) by gearing activities in relation with customers and suppliers requirements. APS system clusters and classifies customer orders, forecasts future fulfilment requirements, checks resources availability and sets order priorities. Moreover, APS system helps AirAsia in gaining competitive advantage as it provides visibility across supply chain. APS system will improve AirAsia’s strategic and operational performances particularly in the inbound and operational activities. Potential Ideas in the Information Technology Aspect In order to gain market share and sustain its competitive advantages to be the low cost carrier in the high demanding environment, AirAsia must develop new ways to manage both customer relationships and suppliers or partners to optimize customer loyalty, supplier relationships, and revenue. The following diagram shows the strategic forces of value proposition of the airline industry, showing that the focus on Supplier and Alliances and customers will drive positive values to AirAsia can achieve. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application will be one of the area of strategic IT implementation that AirAsia can focus to achieve high values to both shareholders and customers. In long term, customer relationships should be fostered for AirAsia to maintain competitive advantage and profitability. When planning and implementing CRM application, management is recommended the following approaches: Customer segmentation is where mileage-based segmentation is inadequate, rather should focused on value-based and needs-based approaches can guide investment decisions and drive greater insight into the needs of high value customers. Whereas CRM initiative development – to differentiate from other competitors, AirAsia should not adopt the â€Å"fast follower† approach to CRM initiative development, i.e. learning from other competitors’ approach (e.g.installing kiosks for fast check-in). AirAsia should implement CRM program in favor of investing in initiatives with a high return, which respond to the needs and desires of their own customers and Organizational design and management is where AirAsia needs to train the employees, empowering them with a complete view of the customer and clearly articulating the employee’s role in the CRM strategy. Conclusion AirAsia as I thought was just a company that provided a low cost carrying airline company. Well that is true but after studying the information and technological aspect of the company, i have come to realize that there is so much more to the company than I realized. The systems in place are simple and efficient and wouldn’t look that impressive but the key of it was the collaboration of all these systems put together is what makes AirAsia what it is. The position of managing the technology in AirAsia is gaining importance in today’s world where technology is making a larger impact in organizations. Having the right person filling the role of the head of technology management can either make or break the company. In the case of Airasia, it is even more important and more difficult to find the right man. This is because Airasia has a set of policies and a vision that sets itself apart from other large corporations or organizations. At times, this flies in the face of conventional wisdom that is adopted at most other places, exemplified by Google’s strict insistence on maintaining employee’s freedom of choice. An organization like AirAsia which considers itself to be ‘special’ and ‘outstanding’, needs a CIO or CTO who is even more special and outstanding. The researchers have outlined some qualities that are needed, and by using examples of situations that have and are continuing to occur in AirAsia, make suggestions on how using these qualities, a CIO or CTO can address those issues.Service Level Agreements are basically agreements between those offering a service and those who are receiving or using that service. Basically it is a form of protection against the unexpected. In the business world, guarantees are very important, not only from the business and operational sense, but also in the sense of upholding a reputation. AirAsia have a fairly solid SLA in place, however it is not without shortcomings. A close examination reveals that there are a multitude of improvements that can be made. Better drafting of SLAs can help simplify work for the company and also allow it to focus more on the core operational issues. SLAs can also be advantageous in driving down costs and creating beneficial partnerships. With the importance of SLAs well established, the researchers have pointed out some areas that AirAsia would do well to consider to help improve its standing in this regard, and suggested some ways in which it could do so.All in all this has been a learning experience for the researchers, who have been able to link the theories learned in class to real world cases and scenarios which have helped create a better understanding of the issues that have been discussed during class. References: McNurlin, Barbara, et. al. (2009). â€Å"Information Systems Management in Practice (8th ed.)†. Prentice Hall Bird, M. (2010). Modern Management Guide to Information Technology. Create Space Anon, 2004, About Us, AirAsia, http://www.airasia.com/my/en/corporate/corporateprofile.page, Accessed on the 6th of July 2012 B.K. Sidhu, 2012, Tony fernandes speask to Star Biz on Airasia’s future plans, Available from http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/15/business/11484860&sec=business, Accessed on the 10th of July 2012. Margaret Rouse, 2009, Advanced planning and scheduling http://searchmanufacturingerp.techtarget.com/definition/advanced-planning-and-scheduling-APS, Accessed on the 5th of July 2012. Charles Kho, 2005, Strategic IT Initiative, Available from, http://sandygarink.tripod.com/papers/AA_SITA.pdf, Accessed on the 7th of July 2012. Anon, 2002, Management in Technology, Available from, http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_media/Publications/Pub_free/Management_of_technology_selected_papers_at_Vienna_Global_Forum.pdf Accessed on the 7th of July 2012. WIT, 2011, Technology enhances AirAsia’s product and service delivery http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_nshw.php?mwi=9119, Accessed on the 7th of July 2012. Bernard.A, 2005, New Roles, New Responsibilities: Today’s CIO [online],

Professional Competence Issues Essays

Professional Competence Issues Essays Professional Competence Issues Essay Professional Competence Issues Essay It is important for a professional counselor to study theories to develop competency in organizing and understanding counseling approaches and develop a well rounded theory based philosophy in their counseling practice. It is also important to study counseling theories to provide the best due care for clients based on proven methodology, individualization of techniques and a personal yet professional innovative approach that is effective. Because theories give counselors a â€Å"road map† to provide services, it is imperative that counselors understand how to â€Å"read the map† and execute the path to recovery with their clients effectively. Developing Competency: The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics states that the counselor must have competency in the area in which they intend to practice, (APA Code of Ethics C. 2). Being new to the profession, I currently have no knowledge based experience in counseling professionally. However, recognizing that I’m gifted in providing guidance, encouragement and support has led me to pursue higher education to gain that knowledge and build skills to assist those who come to me in need. Counseling theories are essentially complex plans of data gathered by experts that directly address particular dysfunctional human behaviors. These theories are used to categorize client’s issues, help develop an approach in how to assist the client in developing appropriate decision making skills. Understanding theories will assist counselors in identifying common client behaviors and determine what is healthy and dysfunctional, (Murdock pg 26). In studying counseling theories, counselors also gain insight on how the profession is practiced in 400 different methodologies, (Murdock, pg 3). By learning these different characteristics of counseling theories, that are the core ingredient in providing effective counseling services; counselors are confident that their ability to address the needs of their diverse clientele in their chosen area of expertise is proven, acceptable and ethical among others in the professional. Developing Theoretical Practice A counselor must find a theory that connects with their value system, interpersonal skills, and area of practice in which they intend to engage in, (Murdock pg 21). A good theory creates a hypothesis about why certain behaviors happen and what the counselor can do to be helpful. It also explains how change occurs by defining the role of the counselor and the process for change in client behavior. Because theories can define the relationship between counselor and client and determines how a counselor should do their work it is important for the counselor to identify their professional counseling theories before engaging in practice. It is also important to listen to the client to determine the ultimate goal for the therapeutic relationship and together they assist the client in developing ways to cope with life stresses. As a team the counselor and client develop an individualized plan, based on whether the counselor is able to provide services to help alleviate the issue with their competence and theoretical approach. Several theories provide assessment tools to evaluate commonalities in disorderly human behavior, provide proven treatment techniques, and effective tools to classify issues in which the client has expressed. Without these theories already in practice and understood, a new counselor would be in experiential mode, which could lead to unethical practices and cause harm to clients. Conclusion Developing competency is the most important reason a counselor must study counseling theories. Counselors in training must research and practice many theories to determine which ones would fit their personal beliefs, personality, and skill set. Once a counselor has chosen several theories in which to base their practices, they must cultivate a plan that will include a diverse clientele base. They must also continue their education, expand their expertise, and be open-minded and flexible with their theory based approach. A counselor’s job is to figure out how an individual has come to make irrational decisions and assist them with developing the skills to improve their situation, (Murdock pg 24). In order to do so, the counselor must know and understand how their theory would cultivate that outcome while remaining professional and ethical, being value neutral and build support and rapport. References Murdock, Nancy L. (2009). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy, A Case Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson American Counseling Association Code of Ethics

Stealth NHS essays

Stealth NHS essays Assess the claim that the NHS is being privatised by stealth. The National Health Service was set up in 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based on need, not the ability to pay. It is made up of a wide range of health professionals, support workers and organisations. The NHS claims to bring about the highest level of physical and mental health for all citizens, within the resources available. They claim to do this by, promoting health and preventing ill health; diagnosing and treating injury and disease; caring for those with a long-term illness and disability. The NHS is predominantly funded by taxation, and the level of GNP devoted to health care is the lowest of any comparable developed country at 6.7% of GDP (NHS Support Federation 1999). Because the NHS is funded by the taxpayer, it is accountable to Parliament. It is managed by Department of Health - which is directly responsible to the secretary of state for health John Reid. The department sets overall health policy in England, is the headquarters for the NHS and is responsible for putting policy into practice. It also sets targets for the NHS and monitors performance through its four directors of health and social care. The NHS is one of the largest employers in Europe. It has more than a million staff working in over a thousand Trusts. Around one million people work for the NHS in England and it costs more than 60 billion a year to run, and the figure is rapidly rising annually. In 2002, the socialist healthcare system which was ranked highest by the World Health Organisation was France. France combines a system of private and public hospitals. The French system has two obvious advantages over the discredited British system. Firstly, it encourages the growth of privately owned hospitals and consultancies in greater numbers than the British have. Secondly, it encourages a degree of competition and innovation as private hospitals compete with each othe...

A Profile of the Bonnethead Shark

A Profile of the Bonnethead Shark The bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo), also known as the bonnet shark, bonnet nose shark, and shovelhead shark is one of nine species of hammerhead sharks. These sharks all have a unique hammer or shovel-shaped heads. The bonnethead has a shovel-shaped head with a smooth edge. The head shape of the bonnethead may help it more easily find prey. A 2009 study found that bonnethead sharks have a nearly 360-degree vision and excellent depth perception. These are social sharks that are most often found in groups numbering from 3 up to 15 sharks. More About the Bonnethead Shark Bonnethead sharks are about 2 feet long on average and grow to a maximum length of about 5 feet. Females typically are larger than males. Bonnetheads have a grayish-brown or gray back that often has dark spots and a white underside. These sharks need to swim continuously to supply fresh oxygen to their gills. Classifying the Bonnethead Shark The following is the scientific classification of the bonnethead shark: Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataSubphylum: GnathostomataSuperclass: PiscesClass: ElasmobranchiiSubclass: NeoselachiiInfraclass: SelachiiSuperorder: GaleomorphiOrder: CarcharhiniformesFamily: SphyrnidaeGenus: SphyrnaSpecies: tiburo Habitat and Distribution Bonnethead sharks are found in subtropical waters in the Western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina to Brazil, in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico and in the Eastern Pacific Ocean from southern California to Ecuador. They live in shallow bays and estuaries. Bonnethead sharks prefer water temperatures over 70  F and make seasonal migrations to warmer waters during the winter months. During these trips, they may travel in large groups of thousands of sharks. As an example of their travels, in the U.S. they are found off the Carolinas and Georgia in the summer, and further south off Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico during the spring, fall and winter. How the Sharks Feed Bonnethead sharks eat primarily crustaceans (especially blue crabs), but will also eat small fish, bivalves, and cephalopods. Bonnetheads feed mostly in the daytime. They swim slowly toward their prey, and then quickly attack the prey, and crush it with their teeth. These sharks have a unique two-phase jaw closing. Instead of biting their prey and stopping once their jaw is closed, bonnetheads continue to bite their prey during their second phase of jaw closing. This increases their ability to specialize in hard prey, like crabs. After their prey is crushed, it is suctioned into the sharks esophagus. Shark Reproduction Bonnethead sharks are found in groups organized by gender as spawning season approaches. These sharks are viviparous... meaning that they give birth to live young in shallow waters after a 4- to 5-month gestation period, which is the shortest known for all sharks. The embryos are nourished by a yolk sac placenta (a yolk sac attached to the mothers uterine wall). During development inside the mother, the uterus becomes separated into compartments that house each embryo and its yolk sac. There are 4 to 16 pups born in each litter. The pups are about 1 foot long and weigh about half a pound when born. Shark Attacks Bonnethead sharks are considered harmless to humans. Conserving Sharks Bonnethead sharks are listed as least concern by the IUCN Red List, which says that they have one of highest population growth rates calculated for sharks and that despite fishing, the species is abundant. These sharks may be caught for display in aquariums and used for human consumption and for making fishmeal. References and Further Information Bester, Cathleen. Bonnethead. Florida Museum of Natural History. Accessed July 4, 2012.Cortà ©s, E. 2005. Sphyrna tiburo. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. Accessed July 3, 2012.Carpenter, K.E. Sphyrna tiburo: Bonnethead. Accessed July 4, 2012.Compagno, L., Dando, M. and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press.Krupa, D. 2002. Why the Hammerhead Sharks Head is In the Shape Its In. American Physiological Society. Accessed June 30, 2012.Viegas, J. 2009. Scalloped Hammerhead and Bonnethead Sharks have 360 Degree Vision. Accessed June 30, 2012.Wilga, C. D. and Motta, P. J. 2000. Durophagy in Sharks: Feeding Mechanics of the Hammerhead Sphyrna tiburo. The Journal of Experimental Biology 203, 2781–2796.

BLOG2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BLOG2 - Essay Example Rather, â€Å"fag† marks failed masculinity. If masculine in demeanor, a homosexual man is not a fag; and a fag is not necessarily homosexual. Second, both the homophobia and the fag discourse are â€Å"gendered,† practiced only by boys. (Note that the boys typically think lesbians are cool). Third, both discourses are also racial. Pascoe recurrently demonstrates how masculinity models and discursive practices differ across racial groups. The relationship between adolescent masculinity and sexuality is embedded in the spectra of the faggot. Faggots represent a penetrated Masculinity in which ‘to be penetrated is to abdicate power’. Penetrated men symbolize masculinity devoid of power, this in its contradiction, threatens both psychic and social chaos. It is precisely this spectrum of penetrated masculinity that functions as a regulatory mechanism of gender for contemporary American adolescent boys. ‘Fag’ is not necessarily a static identity attached to a particular (homosexual) boy. Fag talk and fag imitations serve as a discourse with which boys discipline themselves and each other through joking relationships. Any boy can temporarily become a fag in a given social space or interaction. This does not mean that those boys who identify as or are perceived to be homosexual are not subject to intense harassment. But becoming a fag has as much to do with failing at the masculine tasks of compete nce, heterosexual prowess and strength or an anyway revealing weakness or femininity, as it does with a sexual identity. Pascoe scrupulously delineates the boundaries of these behavioral modes among boys. She presents the exceptions to the prevalent model (e.g., religious boys, and some engaged in loving relationships). Also, she makes clear that both the dramaturgy of the fag discourse and the heterosexual claims-staking are pack behavior.

Florida's 18 congressional district Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Florida's 18 congressional district - Essay Example In order to understand the political preferences of this region’s citizens it is necessary to refer to the general and the political demographics of this district. Florida is a region with an estimated population of 17,019,068 people. A percentage of 22.8% of its population is under 18 years old while female persons have been estimated to a percentage of 51.2% (Fortreport, 2010). Another important demographic characteristic of this region is that most of citizens are white (78%); it would be also necessary to refer to the high level of ownership (about 70%) and the rather low percentage of persons (12.5%) that live at a below poverty level (Fortreport, 2010). The most recent demographics on Florida congressional district 18 refer to the year 2000 – published by the US Census Bureau. Florida congressional district 18 has a population of about 640 thousands people. About half of its citizens are female persons; white people have been estimated to a percentage of 83.9% - higher than the average level of the Florida region as presented above; the ownership level in this district has been estimated to 47.9% - which can be characterized as rather low if taking into consideration the relevant demographics of Florida region. It should be noted that the percentage of the district’s foreign born population is rather high – estimated to 54%; on the other hand, individuals that live at a below poverty level are about 19% - a high percentage compared to the 12.5% percentage of people of similar status across Florida (US Census Bureau, Fast Facts for Congress, 2010). Traditionally, the region supports the Republicans; the district’s current incumbent, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, belongs to Republicans; however, there are also different political trends mostly representing the views of specific communities, especially the Hispanics. In 2008 the candidates of Republicans –

Business Management 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Management 2 - Essay Example Considerably, this also includes how leadership style and management skills affect the successful implementation of the four functions of management. In business, Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling, are the four managerial functions vital to the success of every management vision. Management process is a system where the four managerial functions are sought to be very critical; that if one function ceases to be useful, success is difficult to attain (Rothbauer-Wanish, 2009). However, the functionality of the four managerial components is also affected by the type of leadership and the managerial skills the managers possess and exhibit. Planning. The successful execution of the four managerial functions leads to the success of a company. Planning, the fundamental function of management is where business goals and objectives are stated for future operations. It includes the basics of business planning—the business’ objectives and goals—and strategic planning, which includes â€Å"internal and external environmental analyses †¦ and the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis† (Erven, 1999). Furthermore, planning also includes concerns regarding the kind of environment the company is operating (Barnett, 2010). One international company that had successfully executed the planning function of management is Toyota Motors Corporation. Planning, in Toyota, is done prior to the environmental conservation initiative of the company, which is reflected in its statement of corporate responsibility (Toyota, n.d.a). In fact, its motors are designed to foster environmental conservation and sustainable development as well (Toyota, n.d.b). Organizing. Another managerial function important in any organization is organizing. According to Management Study Guide (1998-2009), organizing refers to the coordinating of the different business resources to

Sexism and work place Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sexism and work place - Research Paper Example Socio-environmental factors like schools, employers, family, and peers cause the difference of sex in abilities, gender, and interests acquired and reinforced in childhood and adulthood respectively (Menendez et al., 2012). Factors contributing to Sexism Environmental factors contribute greatly to development of boys and girls by punishing and rewarding them based on what they have done. Labor division on sexes reflects occupational and domestic roles of men and women. Children should behave according to the roles of gender; boys, for example, are to behave in a muscular way and girls in a feminine way. Parents are responsible for shaping the behavior of boys and girls. Development of children’s gender roles is through contacts with peers, especially of the same sex. Children, once they go to school, are subject to the influence of a school authority figure. They spend more time with an adult role-model, from whom they choose and develop character. They get more punishment and rewards for their behavior. They receive first message of sex separation of positions in the system: male teachers run the school while women teach and are poorly represented in the administration. If a woman becomes an administrator, then she is at a lower lever. Both men and women graduate from colleges and universities more than before. Girls tend to have better grades than boys do, owing to their higher level of discipline, obedience, and orderliness. Sexism in organizations has been in existence since women started working. Disparity of wages and occupational segregation are the main inequalities affecting women. Separation of women and men is occupational segregation. For instance, men would choose to do a police job, firefighting, and engineering whereas women would become teachers and housewives. Disparity of wages is the difference in wages earned by women and men. Gender identifies an individual as either male or female; thus, ‘gender’ or ‘sex’ f requently refer to categorization of a group. The social role theory suggests that a demand generates roles exhibited by individuals. For instance, the role of women to raise kids needs nurturing character. The role of child-rearing is attached to women because of their reproduction function, tying women to nourishing and taking care of infants. Linking women, for instance, to rearing of infants attributes such traits to women as kindness, helping, and nurturing. The same theory associates men with traits like competitiveness, non-domesticity, aggressiveness and assertive roles, which need skills and bravery. The difference between men and women in status strengthens the expectations of gender stereo types. The stereotype is that female roles require fewer resources than male roles and that rearing of children is traditionally for women (Kurtz, 2002). Social punishment and rewards give incentive for individuals to behave according to expectations of group members. A person may act w ith the expectation of gender even when it is contrary to his/her personality. For example, a woman may act kindly contrary to her wishes just to avoid disapproval of others. Men and women act differently matching the stereotypes. The impact of this theory of social role for the difference in behaviors and traits is distinct. The theory suggests that beliefs of a cultural nature on both genders are not accidental. In this context, ideals of a

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred Term Paper

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred in April 2011 - Term Paper Example The personal details that the hackers took if traded on via online black-markets rendered a likely value of ?100 million. The hit upon the Sony PlayStation System was aided by the absence of a unsystematic digit in the set of rules employed by the system security therein. This eventually permitted the clandestine key employed for the fortification of digitized content on the network to be located. Sony made a critical mistake. The safety systems in position inside the Sony correspondingly left a lot to be anticipated. The establishment failed to safeguard the systems via firewalls. Use of web applications that were archaic made Sony sites appealing victims for hacking pursuit. Outmoded Apache versions for the Web server were operational besides no patches had been applied on the PlayStation system. Lack of a firewall operating on the PlayStation system servers could have prompted ease of hackers to break into Sony’s system. The other reason as to why the breach took place was that there existed problems at the board level inside Sony Corporation. There was structural intricacy and a deficiency of ample backing for safekeeping. It is unknown, precisely what safety precautions Sony had in position prior to the infringement. Nonetheless, structural complacency correspondingly played a role during the PlayStation System hits. ... computer websites and networks are typically so well secured such that even the best advanced hacker habitually has to devote hours attempting to get a pathway in past the safety measures. A greatly easier victim is the comparatively latest technologies for instance; gaming devices for example, the Sony PlayStation, tablet PCs, and mobile phones. These machineries do not possess identical level of defense as the ordinary PC networks applying protected networks and firewalls. Sony necessitates little overview as one of the globe leading digital showbiz brands, along with a huge collection of hypermedia content. A significant emphasis for Sony is its division of gaming, Sony Computer Showbiz, a key video game establishment focusing in a multiplicity of parts in the industry of video game. The PSN (PlayStation Network) is a wired multiplayer gaming digital channel delivery service and to utilize the service, customers must create accounts. The recent concerns with the PlayStation System , in which thousands of accounts were broken into, is an indication that hackers are attempting, and succeeding in hacking and stealing personal information from hundreds of paying clients. The security was so lapse such that the single way Sony could avoid the glitch from reoccurring eventually was to shut down the gaming system for a number of weeks. As indicated on June 6, 2011 by New York Times, Sony would possibly take ages to repair their safety issues for the servers, website and database in the Sony substructure. In contrast to Microsoft, a corporation, which has had ages in the manner of improving safety, Sony is very overdue concerning safety of their fundamental services. Analysis Sony was taken on in several of areas, together with their website, gaming and network platform.

Regulating Units Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Regulating Units - Essay Example A valve positioner is a device which exactly positions a control valve to the required position as per the signal given to it. Positioner senses the valve opening through a position feedback link connected to valve. Controlled external supply air to positioner provides power to positioner to position a valve. A globe valve is that in which inlet and outlet openings are arranged in several ways to suit varying requirements of flow. It can give straight flow, angular flow and cross flow. The major application is to get good flow control. Picture below: Ball valves are stop valves that use a ball to stop or start the flow of fluid. When operated, the ball rotates to a point where the hole through the ball is in line with the valve body inlet and outlet. Picture below: Gate valves are used when a straight-line flow of fluid and minimum restric ­tion is desired. The part that either stops or allows flow through the valve acts somewhat like the opening or closing of a gate and is called, the gate. Butterfly valves are used in a variety of systems aboard ship. These valves can be used effectively in freshwater and saltwater. It consists of a butterfly disc which when rotated determines the flow of liquid through it. It is used for Good flow control at high capacities. Valve positioners compare a control signal to a valve actuator’s position and move the actuator accordingly. The most modern valves come with following specifications. Deadband -

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred Term Paper

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred in April 2011 - Term Paper Example The personal details that the hackers took if traded on via online black-markets rendered a likely value of ?100 million. The hit upon the Sony PlayStation System was aided by the absence of a unsystematic digit in the set of rules employed by the system security therein. This eventually permitted the clandestine key employed for the fortification of digitized content on the network to be located. Sony made a critical mistake. The safety systems in position inside the Sony correspondingly left a lot to be anticipated. The establishment failed to safeguard the systems via firewalls. Use of web applications that were archaic made Sony sites appealing victims for hacking pursuit. Outmoded Apache versions for the Web server were operational besides no patches had been applied on the PlayStation system. Lack of a firewall operating on the PlayStation system servers could have prompted ease of hackers to break into Sony’s system. The other reason as to why the breach took place was that there existed problems at the board level inside Sony Corporation. There was structural intricacy and a deficiency of ample backing for safekeeping. It is unknown, precisely what safety precautions Sony had in position prior to the infringement. Nonetheless, structural complacency correspondingly played a role during the PlayStation System hits. ... computer websites and networks are typically so well secured such that even the best advanced hacker habitually has to devote hours attempting to get a pathway in past the safety measures. A greatly easier victim is the comparatively latest technologies for instance; gaming devices for example, the Sony PlayStation, tablet PCs, and mobile phones. These machineries do not possess identical level of defense as the ordinary PC networks applying protected networks and firewalls. Sony necessitates little overview as one of the globe leading digital showbiz brands, along with a huge collection of hypermedia content. A significant emphasis for Sony is its division of gaming, Sony Computer Showbiz, a key video game establishment focusing in a multiplicity of parts in the industry of video game. The PSN (PlayStation Network) is a wired multiplayer gaming digital channel delivery service and to utilize the service, customers must create accounts. The recent concerns with the PlayStation System , in which thousands of accounts were broken into, is an indication that hackers are attempting, and succeeding in hacking and stealing personal information from hundreds of paying clients. The security was so lapse such that the single way Sony could avoid the glitch from reoccurring eventually was to shut down the gaming system for a number of weeks. As indicated on June 6, 2011 by New York Times, Sony would possibly take ages to repair their safety issues for the servers, website and database in the Sony substructure. In contrast to Microsoft, a corporation, which has had ages in the manner of improving safety, Sony is very overdue concerning safety of their fundamental services. Analysis Sony was taken on in several of areas, together with their website, gaming and network platform.

Going to a Foreign Country Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Going to a Foreign Country - Essay Example It is always difficult for one to go to a foreign land and spend time away from family and friends. But then again there are some decisions in life which require sacrifice of the highest order. If I ever go abroad to pursue higher education, I would face difficulty in the beginning coping up with the norms and behaviors of the society in which I have stepped into as well as dearly miss my friends and family members. However I realize that this is a short phase which would occur mostly in the starting and with things settling down, I will feel all at ease within the foreign country. In the pursuit of knowledge, I am ready to undertake such a visit to a foreign country but I know this beforehand that I would come back to serve my own motherland so that my country benefits from my education and related experience that I have gained in the foreign country. I have made it a point to dedicate myself whole-heartedly towards studies once I land in the foreign country. I would not indulge in acts which are unbecoming of a student and devote all my energies towards something constructive. I would find ways to interact with my peers and ask them for their help if ever I drop into some problem. I will proactively help my mates without their even asking for the same. I would make a schedule for myself so that I could study within my free time and also understand a little about the culture of the foreign country. I would communicate with people in their own language so that they feel I am a part of them.

General motors company

General motors company The overwhelming topic of this paper is without a doubt internationalisation; this process can be described as, the gradual increase in international market involvement a firm engages in within a framework of business and economic factors. Within this document I will describe the different theories and models surrounding internationalisation as a process, and how they can be applied to MNEs. The literature will provide a direct link to the actual processes the chosen company has gone through in order to internationalise. The chosen theories and models will be picked depending on their direct similarity and emphasis they hold, in comparison to the business methods that have allowed the company to expand to the level it is at today. A Bit About General Motors Company The United States (U.S) MNE General Motors Company (GM). Is one of the worlds largest automakers, tracing its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Golden, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel Vauxhall and Saab. In 2006 it sold over 9 million cars and trucks globally in 5 continents with a global market share of 13.5 %. Outlined below, are the main theories that I have found explain and express the best, the pattern and path my chosen firm has followed in order to well and truly be considered a MNE. Dunnings Eclectic paradigm which sets out to explain that foreign direct investment as a theory can be unified as long as the firms applying it consider the ownership, location and internalisation of the process that will produce substantial benefits if applied accordingly. This is also the case if the extent, the form and pattern of international production is founded on the juxtaposition of the ownership to specific advantages that a firms posses when contemplating foreign production. This is reflected in GMs move to manufacture most of its China-market vehicles locally, through its Shanghai GM joint venture. The eclectic paradigm has always recognized the importance of the locational advantages of countries as a key determinant of the foreign production of MNEs (Dunning, J.H., 1998. Location and the multinational enterprise: a neglected factor. Journal of International Business Studies 29 1, pp. 45-66. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (223)Dunnin g, 1998). This is reflected by the locational advantages that the area posses but it also offers GM a market seeking investment prospect. There are also plans to create a research facility in Shanghai for $250m to develop hybrid cars and alternative energy vehicles. Therefore GM follows a path suggested by Dunning to gain advantage in terms of competitiveness and cost by ownership in foreign market and aims to expand based on the initial success it has encountered. Initially, too, the eclectic paradigm primarily addressed static and efficiency related issues (Dunning, 1977), but more recently has given attention to the dynamic competitiveness and locational strategy of firms, and particularly the path dependency of the upgrading of their core competencies (Dunning). The Network Approach emphasises the industry as a system of networks, each firm within a network has relationships with customers, suppliers and other actors within their overall business circle. These relations are important competitive advantages which the network model also suggests the firm needs to take into account and evaluate. But not only its own position in the market in relation to its customers, but also the environment of that market in relation to others such as competitors, new entrants etc†¦ In order to study the internationalisation of a firm we need to understand the context in which it operates, such as, environmental conditions and the firms relationships (Madsen Servais, 1997). GM and Fiat formed a strategic alliance, with GM owning a 20% share in Fiat and Fiat SpA receiving 5.1% of GMs shares in exchange. Production and ownership have both been improved when a recent alliance took place under the form of two joint ventures (owned 50% by Fiat and 50% by GM) . The first will conduct purchasing activities, while the second will produce engines and gear equipment which is mainly aimed at cutting expenses. Hence GM has followed the network model to some degree as their joint venture come in terms of relations with Fiat. By collaborating they have reduced the cost and the innovation has resulted in new production techniques. Which gave both of them some degree of competitiveness as they have gained purchasing power as well as reduced cost in terms of purchasing from the suppliers. Firm-specific location advantages and high complementarities make the use of strategic alliances or joint ventures beneficial, whereas country-specific advantages point, in the case of market failure, towards inter-industry trade or wholly owned subsidiary (Moon 1997) Porters Competitive Advantage is the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980). By producing goods of a higher standard whilst still using the resources attributed to the location, this results in a superior performance in that sector and yields a higher profit at no extra cost, ensuring survival and a prominent placing within the market. This is perfectly demonstrated by GM in their production of alternative-technology vehicles that include: hybrid vehicles, all electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles. All of the models mentioned target a premium price in the automobile market and due to the adaptability and the manipulation of already acquired resources and facilities, the profitability even in a market that has many competitors will override the associated costs of production. This process was based on an already successful business strategy that has be en tried, altered and integrated by the company in the past on similar types of innovative projects. A firms capabilities are a complex pattern of relationships between staff and resources that over time accumulate creating an in house knowledge database that is accessible on multiple levels and makes objectives such as innovation and market superiority a key element that maintains the firm at a high level within its market. Anything that can be moved or sourced from a distance is no longer a competitive advantage† (Porter, M. E. (1998). Location, clusters and the new microeconomies of competition. Journal of Business Economics (in press)..Porter, 1998p. 29). Uppsala Model is the theory that a company gradually expands its operations within its domestic market, firstly gaining knowledge and practical information before deciding on wherever to enlarge their initial operations a little further. These activities will in turn influence market knowledge and market commitment at later stages (Johanson Vahlne, 1977, in Johanson Associates, 1994). Knowledge is the key ingredient to internationalisation in this case, either objective knowledge that can be thought or experiential knowledge that can only be learnt through personal experience. After this acquired the expansion process will continue, overlapping into a foreign market preferably of a close geographic location with also similar cultural understanding. Before again, repeating the process until the optimal market placement for the firm is achieved. This particular internationalisation theory is probably the best suited theory for explaining the internationalisation process that resulted in the creation of General Motors Europe, that was created in 1908 only three years after the companys creation. Early starters can, if they are willing, directly enter large markets not necessarily neighbouring markets but markets culturally close to the home market (Hollensen, 2001). This leap frog effect, going from country to country either setting up joint ventures and strategic partnerships before moving onto more serious operations such as the acquisitions of Vauxhall and Opel in the space of nine years. Today they operate 11 production and assembly facilities in 8 countries, and employ around 64,500 people. Why I Chose GM As A Company To Demonstrate Internationalization For me GM was a perfect candidate to fulfil this assignment not only because it is situated within an industry that is represent well and truly on a global level but also due to the nature of the automobile industry and the pattern and high level of collaboration that takes place within it. There is also a historic background to the company, spanning over a century of knowledge in automobile producing that is rooted back in the industrial manufacturing sector for automobiles in the U.S Detroit Michigan. The brand recognition is still very strong in the U.S representing one of the big American corporations that has lasted for the good part of a century, which represents the spirit of capitalism that the country adores. This also obviously happens to be the main market that they have relentlessly continued to supply resulting in it being their prime customer. The rich history behind GM can be understood by the large amount of collaborations it has gone through over time. Internationalisation Within The Industry The American automobile industry is the biggest in the world in terms of number of cars manufactured and sold. The U.S. automobile market is saturated with the global car manufacturing companies however; the majority of the market share is occupied by domestic and Japanese companies. The outcome of this is a drop in the level of consumption as there are too many entrants competing in the same industry. Because of this decrease in consumption, the automobile industry leaders have been offering attractive incentives and lower prices leading to a loss in profitability. The world-class automakers are gradually expanding into foreign markets, as new emerging markets in China, South East Asia and South America are showing signs of sustainable economic growth. GM overseas operations were a method of diversifying themselves against the risks and uncertainties in their domestic market life cycle, by setting up new operations abroad multinationals can diminish adverse economic downturns. Most MNEs also follow a pattern that has often been laid out in front of them by competitors or similar sized companies that have adopted or mimicked behaviour that has been tested and proven to be success, if the right measures are taken when adopting it. For instance, it has been argued that organizations tend to imitate actions that have been taken by large numbers of organizations, because such practices are legitimized or their success is taken for granted (Fligstein; Haunschild; Haveman; Kraatz; Lewitt). This can also have an adverse affect on an MNE when entering a new market, leaving them less cautious and with a diminished aspiration towards growth, knowing that the chances of that market already being saturated and that the first come first served knowledge is already guaranteed not to be in their possession. This often happens when the specific market they enter does not suit their domain of expertise and experience, resulting in them investing much faster and with a lesser de gree of uncertainty that they would have usually applied. What Processes Lead To The Internationalization Of GM? GM has been involved in a range of global ventures aimed at extending their penetration and shares in the carmakers market and also increased its share of the sales. GM uses exports, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances to enter foreign markets based on business considerations. GM has also expanded its capabilities in manufacturing through technological competences. This was achieved by forming subsidiaries, strategic alliances and joint ventures with other automobile companies in different parts of the world. According to (GM Press Release, 2006), the company has been involved in a range of global ventures throughout its history, each of which has aimed at extending its market penetration. Partnering enables GM to rapidly expand its technical fields and brings that knowledge in-house transferring it to multiple levels within the business, even extending it sometimes to corporate issues. Through the various stages of internationalisation, GM was able to enlarge its distribution and provide access to essential materials. Additionally, the company developed and improved its operations, facilities and processes all of which have provided access to new technologies and a rich database of knowledge and new capabilities. GMs move to internationalise was mainly to reduce costs, attract a larger market and the creation of strategic alliances. The company strategically allied with Fiat in 2000 by acquiring 20 percent of Fiats equity to establish a joint procurement venture. With a split of 50 percent of the capital each, giving them a concentrated purchasing power of about $32 billion per annum, this alliance has the capacity to strengthen their bargaining power as well as reducing the supplier management cost. GM also moved production overseas, as the number of internal competitors grew too high in most of the emerging country home markets. GM needed to find a new incentive to manage a new market while remaining at low cost. A Typical MNEs Move Towards Internationalisation GM is a good example of an MNE which underwent internationalization whilst maintaining its position as one of the leading carmakers. It has also followed the theories laid out about internationalisation such as the typical way a company proceeds to penetrate and enter a foreign market. Firstly the firm will look at the options available and analyse what will be best suited for them considering the high degree of uncertainty and risk associated with entering an unknown market. One such option available to it is licensing, but it has to be assessed in a precautious way, due to the fact that they might be risking firm specific advantages by engaging in premature licensing agreements, this is also the least preferred of all three options due to the fact that there is a risk of knowledge dissipation. The only instance when licensing will be considered as a viable option is if the revenue generated from the licensee exceeds the cost of policing it. But also, if they do choose go for an ear ly licensing agreement it may be because their firms specific advantage is hard to duplicate or they have a tight control over the licensee, meaning that they would find it very hard and potentially dangerous to resell any kind of sensitive material to any potential competitor or a third party of any kind. The second option is the possibility that the MNE might only be willing to export at first if the demand of the local market is not high enough for them to want to engage in foreign direct investment and set up an overseas subsidiary, or they may also consider this as a possibly a bit longer down the line depending on the potential growth generated from initial sale patterns and the profitability a larger scale operation would yield. The exporting option also depends on the trade agreements, tariff barriers, taxes, transportation costs and quotas between the two countries involved which sub sequentially determine if the operation will be profitable or maybe another option should b e considered. GM Case Studies Below are two strong examples of how internationaisation has been reproduced by GM in two separate continents. The first is the case of General Motors do Brasil, which is GMs third largest operation outside of the U.S after being recently overtaken by China. In the beginning, the activities were in the assembly of vehicles imported from the United States. After five years, GMB officially opened its first plant in 1930 in Sà £o Paulo. Here we can see that exporting lead to the full scale creation of a production facility which was so successful a second one was opened 28 years later, thus resulting in Brasil being the main exporter of GM automobiles in the whole of South America. Breaking out of their domestic market and becoming an exporter themselves in a very short space of time and for such a large operation really does provide evidence that internationalisation does not spread from one point outwards with only one epicentre at its core but rather creates and distributes smaller nodes that in time expand themselves and repeat the process so on, just as how it is described in the network a pproach. Once the firm has passed the cultural barriers and had its first experience of foreign operations, it is generally willing to conquer one market after another (Carlson, 1966. S. Carlson , Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, International business research, Uppsala (1966).CarlCCarlson, 1966). The second example is when the Cadillac brand was introduced to China in 2004, starting with imports from the U.S, which then lead to the Chevrolet making its first appearance on the Chinese market one year later. They were then able to move production operations to their Shanghai GM plant which opened as a joint venture with SAIC in 1997, initially created for the Buick brand that is especially strong in China. In this case exporting was clearly used as a testing method for foreign products penetrating the Chinese domestic market, market-specific knowledge and general knowledge are important for a firms internationalization (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977). This also clearly outlines the typical way a company like GM would proceed in its internationalisation process, firstly by exporting a product that clearly had success amongst the local population which lead to the joint venture being formed and being able to produce the product on location for the domestic market. In 2007 the sales v olume for the Buick brand over took the sales in their original market the U.S, selling approximately 330, 000 making up 35% of the total automobile sales in the whole of China. The advantages that market opened up for them are truly extraordinary, when the Chinese started to manufacture smaller engines for their domestically made Buicks, the U.S saw the profitability and started importing them for a different model in their own market thus reducing the costs on both sites which really proves to be the sign of a mutual beneficial venture for both of them. Conclusion Internationalisation goes hand in hand with globalisation and they are both forever expanding concepts that due to their nature will continue to push from market to market to country to country feeding off the capitalist lifestyle we live under. The businesses that start to see internationalisation on the horizon will become smaller and more local as time goes by as all areas of business and trading will be linked some way or another. The number of small to medium enterprises will diminish and will start to become part of a wider group of companies belonging to a conglomerate which will in turn be associated with a number of other conglomerates. Internationalisation is fast becoming the process a company follows if it encounters any kind of success and is norm amongst businesses that expand their horizons.