Comparing Frans Snyders Deer Hunting And Frida Kahlo s...

Snyders and Kahlo: A Contrasting Comparison The study of the humanities from the Baroque to the 20th century has given me the ability to compare and contrast art, literature, and other mediums as well as being able to analyze works with my own interpretations. I have chosen two paintings to compare and contrast for this essay: Frans Snyders’ Deer Hunting and Frida Kahlo’s The Wounded Deer. Deer Hunting was painted in 1631 in Belgium during the Baroque period. The Wounded Deer was painted in 1946 in Mexico and is a piece of surrealist art. Although these pieces of art were painted during two different time periods they are able to be compared by diving deeper into the meanings, symbolism, technique, and the characteristics common for each of the respective periods. By comparing and contrasting these two works, one is able to acknowledge the evolution of art throughout history as well as a connection from the past and present. Both of these paintings share the common theme of deer being hunted in a forest but Snyders and Kahlo add features consistent with their art periods. The comparing and contrasting of these two works will provide insight as to how the very religious and realistic Baroque period can still be related to a fantastical work of surrealist art. The Baroque era was characterized as having â€Å"an emphasis on harmony and unity complemented by a religious fervor† (â€Å"Module 2: The Baroque and The Age of Enlightenment†). Snyders was an artist whose work defied

High Attrition Rate at Call Center Industry an Hr Manager’s View Free Essays

string(78) " so they are confident that they can easily land a new job after they resign\." UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION This Research Proposal is being presented to the Faculty of the Department of Human Resource Development Management Entitled: High Turnover Rate and Employee Benefits in Call Center Industries: The HR Manager’s View By: Buotan, Aldrin M. Dimaculangan, Rey Karl A. Flores, John Andrew S. We will write a custom essay sample on High Attrition Rate at Call Center Industry: an Hr Manager’s View or any similar topic only for you Order Now Malabanan, John Peter M. Marquez, Gerard Ephraim L. Tagunicar, Cedie N. September 1, 2012 Espana, Manila Introduction Today’s best companies understand the real key to maintaining a world-class workforce is not just to hire the best employees, but to keep them once they are hired. Retaining progressive workforce has not been an easy task to every employer or organization and thus becomes a real challenge to cope up with the fast pace business world currently we are on and if this fails, surely high turnover rates will occur and will be prominent in an organization. An employee turnover rate refers to the movement of employees out of an organization. It is often cited as one of the factors behind the failure of an employee productivity rate and is also one of the chief determinants of labour supply (Snell Bohlander, 2010, Principles of Human Resource Management, 15th edition, United States, p,415). Competing organizations are constantly looking to steal top performers, and â€Å"poaching talent is becoming an increasingly common way for organizations to build themselves them up as a larger company to be able to expand and earn more profits, while at the same time tearing their competitors down (Noe et. l. 2010, Human Resource management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, 7th edition, New York, p461). Turnover comes in good times and in bad, to good companies and to those that are struggling of every size. Losing a good and talented employee is never easy, and sometimes is predictable, but sometimes, it can be prevented, â€Å"you can’t run a service business when you are at war with your employees† (Greg Davdidowit ch, Noe et. al, 2010, Human Resource Management: Gaining Competitive Advantage, 7th edition, New York). Knowing the rate of turnover at a certain organization is the first step to understanding whether employees’ departs within the range of normal for a type of business and industry. Turnover is a key benchmark in assessing the health and stability of organizations. A high turnover rate suggests there may be something wrong with the basic structure of a company, its salary levels or even its benefits. Too high turnover rate can also mean that an organization is losing productivity and knowledge, including an understanding of products and processes. The consequences of the loss are both financial and in the morale of those who remain. Leading reasons that employees give for their departure: a better opportunity or increased responsibilities, higher pay or more benefits, or they are moving to a different location. Benefits may one of the best reasons to reduce turnover rate and increase the retention in an industry. Employee benefits that is part of the total compensation package, other than pay for a worker, provided employees in whole or in part by employer payments, example of which are life insurance, pension, workers compensation and vacation (Milkovich, G Newman, J1984, Compensation, New York, p. ). Employee benefits are compensations given to employees in addition to regular salaries or wages. Some benefits are legally required, e. g. , social security benefits, Medicare, retirement benefits, maternity benefits, service incentive leave, etc. Other benefits are offered by the employer as an incentive to attract and retain employees as well as increase employee morale and improve job performance (Labor and Em ployment Blawg†¦ A work in progress, June 1, 2010, Philippine Labor Laws, http://www. laborlaw. usc-law. rg, viewed: August 22, 2012). Aside from giving benefits mandate by law, there are other benefits that an industry can offer to reduce their turnover rate. Our study will focus on how an industry uses its turnover rate in making decisions to improve their benefits program. The researchers have chosen the call center industries in the Philippines to best suit their subject matter about employee turnover rate and benefits. There are certain reports and data that shows the high turnover rate over call center industries locally. Turnover rate in the country’s call center has gotten so worse that it has hit 60 to 80 percent, according to the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) (AURELIO A. PENA, Davao Today March 20, 2008, http://www. gmanetwork. com/news/story/85640/news/specialreports/rp-call-centers-reel-from-world-s-highest-turnover, viewed: 8/20/2012). Globally, it is an accepted norm in the industry to have a 30 to 40 per cent turnover. Both Australia and India call centers have turnover rates of only six to 10 percent. Top government officials are alarmed that an emerging industry that has generated around 2 billion US dollars in annual revenues is reeling from a worsening turnover crisis. Labor accounts for between 65% and 75% of the ongoing costs of running a contact center. But employee turnover is so high in the call center industry that much of that money is spent on repeated efforts to hire and train people who aren’t right in the first place, and/or are managed ineffectively, resulting in high turnover. Call center organizations have come to accept that a recurring percentage of their workforce will have to be replaced every year. Those replacements will have to be found, assessed and trained. And then the cycle will repeat again, as a percentage of those new hires will in turn leave. The average turnover is about 35% in the call center industry, which means – in three years, an entire contact center agent pool will have been turned over (Inova Solutions, July 5, 2011, â€Å"Reducing Agent Turnover in Contact Centers† viewed 8/20/2012, http://blog. novasolutions. com/2011/). This studies shows that there are certainly high turnover rates on call center industries in the Philippines. A study conducted by Datacraft Asia in 2009 suggested that Asian call center agents are aware of the large demand for their service, so they are confident that they can easily land a new job after they resign. You read "High Attrition Rate at Call Center Industry: an Hr Manager’s Vie w" in category "Essay examples" Better salary offer from other call center outsourcing firms, tight and shifting schedules, stress from dealing with difficult customers and lack of holiday breaks are also causing many agents to leave their job. Also, allegations of labor code violations in small call centers are on the rise. Some agents who did not receive incentives or bonuses as promised during recruitment are likely to terminate their contract (Eli, May 24 2011, Philippine call center outsourcing industry fights attrition rate, http://outsourceyourcallcenter. com, viewed: 8/20/2012). Due to this high turnover rates that are currently in call center industries, there are certain solutions pertaining to benefits and motivation that could help to lower down the high turnover on call center industries. Government mandated benefits such as: Social Security System (SSS) contributions, Philippine Health Insurance (Phil Health) contributions, Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-ibig Fund) contributions, 13th month pay, service incentive leave, meal and rest periods, overtime pay, special holiday/rest day rates, and night shift differentials and company benefits such as: holiday bonus, mid-year bonus, and paid holiday and vacation leaves (Honey Amabelle D. Young, March 8, 2012, â€Å"Employee Benefits in the Philippines†, weblog, viewed: August 22, 2012, asyoutsource. om/blog/). With these benefits, call center industries will surely lower down their turnover rate and could save more money on costly training and development programs. Other companies give a little more than the minimum benefits required by law in order to be competitive or at least be at par with community or industry practices. There are also employers who give more benefits than required out of compassion for emp loyees who are loyal to the company. Managers of call center face many challenges. They are responsible for operations that are capital intensive, with a high demand for continual investment to keep up with rapid developments in technology. They are also responsible, in many cases, for large numbers of staff often working with different shifts. Human resources manager in call center industries plays a vital role in valuing employees to reduce high turnover rate and improve their company retention capability. HR managers have the â€Å"bird’s eye† view on what is happening on personnel related issued on an industry. Their views on issues such as turnover rates and giving benefits to their employees are important points to consider because they are the one who would create certain solutions to such problems for the more efficient and smoother run of a call center industry. As HR students and future HR managers, the researchers would like to understand and to get the views and insights of HR managers on this phenomenon and find out if there are improvements to employee benefits to lower this turnover rates. As HR students, the researchers would like to spearhead this study in order to analyze and make realistic solutions that could help the call center industries on this growing phenomenon. The researchers will conduct a semi-structured interview to the HR Manager of call center industries here in the Philippines. The following central questions will guide the interviewers: 1. ) How do Human Resources Managers view on the high turnover rate on call center industries? 2. ) What new benefits are implemented to reduce turnover rate and what changes in employee benefits were introduced to improve employee retention? Our study will focus on how a call center industry uses its turnover rate in making decisions to improve their benefits program rates in call center industries. Methodology Research Design The research design that the researchers adapted in this study is phenomenological research design, particularly the transcendental or psychological phenomenology. This design aims to get the meaning of as this is a qualitative analysis of narrative data, methods to analyze its data must be quite different from more traditional or quantitative methods of research (Janet Waters, â€Å"Psychology; Capillano University, viewed: August, 25, 2012, http://www2. apilanou. ca). This type of research design is the most effective in terms of expressing the essence of how high turn-over rate shapes the organizations’ benefit system. Data Gathering Procedure The researchers has gathered — Human Resource Managers from different Call Centers Companies, both Local(PacificHub) and International(HSBC and PhilAm Life) Companies, who have an adequate years of experience in dealing with the prevalent High Turn-Over rate in their previous and present employers. The subjects’ group age ranges from late 20s to the late 40s with the average years of experience of 3 to 10 years from the same employers. The researcher adopts a person-centered and holistic perspective. It helps to generate an in-depth account that will help the researcher a picture of reality regarding their lived experience to answer the researcher inquiry about the subject. The researchers will conduct their interview by setting a date time for each manager during the collection of data or their answers regarding the interview. The Researchers will proceed to the process of meeting the manager and Data Collection. Each session may last up to 2 hours, depending on the interviewee’s length of views and insights on their experiences also known as Extended Interview. Story telling will be conducted also to ask the emotions of the HR Manager and his/her intellectual memory and consciousness about the turnover rate in call center industries. The Researcher has chosen Call Canter Companies that has attrition rate of 30 to 40 % to be able to qualify as a reliable source of information about the topic. Data Exploitation During the interview, the main concern of the researchers was to get the view of HR manager in the high turnover rate and the benefits given? The questionnaire for HR mangers shall include their robotfoto (Kelchtermans Ballet 2002), basis on the rate of employee turnover in the last 3 years, number of employees employed and the employee benefits or other discretionary benefits given. The researchers will be using an interview to gather the participants’ descriptions of their experience, or the participants’ written or oral self-report, or even their aesthetic expressions (e. . art, narratives, or poetry, essays). The phenomenon of high turnover rate is the main subject of this research and how the HR managers have experienced it in call center industries. This research is going to be conducted by taking interview; Interview is the appropriate method for collecting of data and giving a questionnaire to the Human Resource managers with full knowledge in the call center i ndustry chosen by the researchers, to find out their view on the high turnover rate and benefits given to their employees. The HR Managers are chosen by their number of years in service in the industry. After the researchers gather the essential data for their research, they will, and then follow the Collaizi’s Procedure, reading and re-reading of the interview and analyzing or extraction of the information to significant statements or quotes and coming up with the categories (Cool Analysis) and combines the statements into themes (Warm Analysis). The researchers will develop phenomenal referents of the person’s interviewed. After this procedure, the researchers can gather the data by the use of data analytic tools in data reduction such as Repertory or Kelly Grid in order to categorized and give themes to the insights/referents of the manager. Study site Data Gathering Procedure How to cite High Attrition Rate at Call Center Industry: an Hr Manager’s View, Essay examples

Social Determinants of Social and Emotional †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Social Determinants of Social and Emotional. Answer: Introduction: Justins journey was not smooth growing up. Belonging to a community that was culturally distanced from the mainstream way of Australian life, Justin had difficulty coping with the bullying at high school. At 16, Justin had to drop out from school owing to his fathers ill health (Healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au, 2017). When his fathers health improved and Justin began to look for jobs and even started working as a transport driver, another incident happened that changed his life. Uncle Reggie, who was very close to him, passed away from heart attack. This event shook Justin from the core and he was unable to recover from the shock. His well-being was hugely impacted by this incident. All these life-events deeply affected Justins well-being. Purdie, Dudgeon and Walker (2010), have identified certain factors that affect the well-being of Aboriginal peoples especially children. These comprise educational experience and alteration, parting from parents, death of close ones and so on. Justins life was affected by these factors as mentioned. He had a difficult transition to high school and had to drop out and he had lost his family member as well. Justin comes from the Aboriginal community and hence his upbringing would be different from other Australians. His culture, tradition and ideologies would also be unique to Aboriginal peoples. This leads to the fact that Justins mental health is bound to be interpreted differently by Aboriginal peoples and those by other Australians (Browne et al. 2012, p. 59). According to the Aboriginal peoples, their way of interpreting emotion and social well-being is markedly different from the Western understanding of psychological healthiness. To the Aboriginal peoples, an individuals culture, his spirituality, family, ancestry and community form the core of his life. Any disturbance or alteration in any of these facets may lead to mental illness. Justins later predicament was due to the disturbances in his social life. First was his unwanted experience in high school where he used to be bullied. Then his fathers ill health forced him to drop out of school. Thirdly, he lost his interest in searching for or doing any job, as he could not achieve his desired goal. His mental health deteriorated further after the death of his uncle (Harlow Clough 2014, p. 310). All these indicate the difference in the interpretation of mental health of Aboriginal peoples being different from others. In order to help Justin come out of his mental trauma, one has to understand the complexities of his problem. To Aboriginal peoples, material belongings hold little value as do emotional and psychological possessions (Kelaher, Ferdinand Paradies 2014, pp. 45-6). One has to acquire the understanding of the values and traditions of Aboriginal peoples to communicate with him. To a common Australian, it might be difficult to comprehend the desires and necessities of an Aboriginal individual, as their way of life is very different from others. In addition, the impact of the low socio-economic condition of Aboriginal peoples also contributes to their mental illness (Beyondblue.org.au 2017). However, those belonging to a socio-economically sound family might not value the Aboriginal peoples problems and it leads to a gap in communication. Justin too had to face communication problems with his peers during high school that lead to him being bullied. This provides an instance that Aboriginal peoples need to be talked to in the way they can comprehend. Thus, if a healthcare practioner wants to communicate with Justin regarding his mental illness, one has to first recognize his actual problem and value his social and economic background (YouTube 2017). Once the attitude towards Aboriginal peoples altered, it would be easier for the healthcare practitioner to communicate with Justin and help him. Answer 4: Family connection is most valued in Aboriginal cultures. Family gives them a collective identity. When a child goes through the phase of depression, it is important for the healthcare practitioner to contact his family and develop a bond with them. Family might include uncles, aunts and cousins as well. In case of Justin, his extended family was more close to him than even his immediate family. He was devastated by the death of his Uncle Reggie. To help Justin recover from his mental condition, it is imperative for the health care staff to develop a good bond not only with Justin but also with his family. A healthcare practitioner has to follow certain things in order to establish a partnership or bond with Justin and his family. Respect towards their social and cultural background should be the top priority for a healthcare practitioner in order to develop partnership with Justin or his family. The healthcare practitioner must understand the fact that Justin has great value and respect for his family and community (YouTube 2017). Keeping this mind, he or she can approach Justin and start conversing with him on these topics. The same thing can be done to develop bond with Justins immediate and extended family. This would certainly assist in speeding up Justins recovery process. It is not easy for a healthcare practitioner to advice an Aboriginal child to visit a doctor outside his community and go to the city. There are strict norms and rules that bind the community and its children. Justin too belongs to this community and hence, being taken to the city for further treatment might have some serious implications both social and cultural. The Aboriginals and Torres people have a Child Placement Principle that incorporates the bindings and conditions for a child to be taken away from his family and community. According to this principle, the families of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander community must be informed prior to the child being taken away from them (Supportinghealthcare practitioners.snaicc.org.au 2017). The end decision remains with the family of the child whether he could leave or not. Justin being an Aboriginal cannot be simply taken to the city for treatment. Several factors have to be considered before his placement. The healthcare practi tioner has to make sure that his extended family or kin, any member within the community, or any member from another Aboriginal peoples group accompanies him to the city. Looking at the history of Aboriginal children being separated from their families, taking Justin to the city for treatment following the principle is mandatory. Cultural safety refers to the treatment provided by the healthcare professionals where they acknowledge the cultural beliefs of the patients while treating them (Jorm et al. 2012, p. 118). While treating the Aboriginal people feel distanced from the mainstream health services for the reason that they were not valued and respected. Thus, the health practitioner must keep this in mind and approach Justin accordingly. Once Justin is taken to the City General Hospital, it has to be made sure that he receives complete mental and emotional support from the nursing staff. It is important to remember for the health practitioners that Justin hails from the Aboriginal community and thus his cultural beliefs would be different from them. It is not mandatory for the practitioners to do thorough research on the cultural beliefs and practices of Aboriginal people (Heffernan et al. 2012, p. 37). However, they must recognize and respect his culture and the beliefs associated with it. Justin must feel a sense of comfort while in the hospital where he shall find that the health practitioner does not suspect or laugh at his ideas, cultural beliefs or concerns. The areas of concern as mentioned in the Mental State Examination of Justin are: weight loss, slow to respond, disinterested in life, feeling of worthlessness, tendency to harm self, diurnal mood variation. Overall, Justin clearly demonstrated the symptoms of clinical depression (Werner Stawski 2012, p. 300). Justin expressed with limited words when asked about his present condition and confessed that he did not wish to be treated. He also revealed that he often intended to end his life but gave up the idea for the sake of the well-being of his parents and his community. The concerned doctors have identified certain areas as top priorities for Justins treatment. Justin will be observed through observation levels of 15 minutes giving specific attention to his interactions, behavior and actions. All the objects that might prompt Justin to harm himself shall be removed from his reach (Hunter 2014). Continuous care to be provided to Justin by establishing a therapeutic relationship. He will also be given the opportunity and the environment to identify his weaknesses and strengths. The staff will encourage Justin to establish supportive relationships beyond the confinements of the hospital. Prescribed medication shall also be administered. In order to communicate with a patient suffering from clinical depression, a health professional must be extremely careful not to be loud or authoritative (Doyle 2012, p. 50). Establishing a rapport while interacting, using the appropriate language and gesture, maintaining correct eye contact are amongst some of the basic skills required for a health professional to communicate with Aboriginal people going through depression (Health.qld.gov.au 2017). The healthcare professional must demonstrate a cultural understanding of the Aboriginal people. John Brody, the health professional, made sure to meet and greet Justin in a friendly and warm manner. He encouraged Justin to share his feelings in the beginning and be open about it. The health professional managed to form an environment where Justin could freely share his thoughts, beliefs, and concerns about his present predicament (Swain Gale 2014, p. 1242). He ensured avoiding jargons and complicated sentences that might confuse Justin. It is bounding on a health professional to approach a patient with clinical depression in a friendly manner and establish a bond with the individual (YouTube 2017). Justin was admitted to the City Hospital in April of 2014 on grounds of clinical depression and suicidal ideation. After three months, Justin showed signs of marked improvement and was deemed fit to be discharged. Justin was advised to consult the Community Mental Health Nurse, visit Aboriginal Health Service GP and Aboriginal Health Worker as follow up. This would assist him in recovering further after going back home. Under the relapse prevention plan, it was advised the Aboriginal Health Worker would visit Justin after discharge on weekly basis. The recovery plan mentioned involvement of Justins family in helping him re-engage with his tradition, culture and law. He is to be encouraged to take up his old job or find a new one as he wishes (Weller, Boyd Cumin 2014, p. 150). His medication is to be reduced gradually after he displays signs of total recovery. In the three months under observation and treatment, Justin showed an improved zeal to participate in various activities and interact with the hospital staff and other people. Adding to that, Justin has also displayed a positive frame of mind and has expressed his desire to work after he returns home. To an individual aloof from the culture and traditions of the Aboriginal people, it is difficult to relate to their problems or troubles. I had the experience to meet some people from different cultures especially the Aboriginal community. With each meeting, I discovered very different and fascinating things about those cultures and developed an interest to know more about them. Moreover, it is important in my practice that I learn and know about people from different cultures so that I could assist them better. Illness like T2DM or clinical depression is not confined to any particular culture but the rate of occurrence tends to be higher in some. Justins case affirms this notion. The Aboriginal peoples way of life compels one to be involved in certain rituals and ceremonies that often compromise ones health. Justin was diagnosed with T2DM at an early age of 15, which is a rare occurrence in non-Aboriginal cultures (Aguilar et al. 2012, p. 210). Further, his journey from being a clin ical depression patient to a healthy person demonstrated how people from different cultures needed to be cared. I have learnt I need to be aware of the different cultural backgrounds while dealing with patients and must respect and value them. It is imperative for me to make them feel comfortable and culturally safe by demonstrating knowledge and respect about their culture and their feelings. References: Aguilar, A, Stupans, I, Scutter, S King, S 2012, Exploring professionalism: The professional values of Australian occupational therapists,Australian Occupational Therapy Journal,vol. 59, no. 3, pp.209-217. Beyondblue.org.au. 2017.Beyondblue, [online] [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017], Available at: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression Browne, AJ, Varcoe, CM, Wong, ST, Smye, VL, Lavoie, J, Littlejohn, D, Tu, D, Godwin, O, Krause, M, Khan, KB Fridkin, A 2012, Closing the health equity gap: evidence-based strategies for primary health care organizations,International Journal for Equity in Health,vol. 11, no. 1, p.59. Doyle, K 2012, Measuring cultural appropriateness of mental health services for Australian Aboriginal peoples in rural and remote Western Australia: a client/clinician's journey,International Journal of Culture and Mental Health,vol. 5, no. 1, pp.40-53. Harlow, AF Clough, A 2014, A systematic review of evaluated suicide prevention programs targeting indigenous youth,Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention,vol. 35, no. 5, p.310. Health.qld.gov.au 2017, [online] Health.qld.gov.au, [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017], Available at: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/151923/communicating.pdf. Healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au 2017,Review of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Reviews Diabetes Chronic conditions Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. [online] Healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au, [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017], Available at: https://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/chronic-conditions/diabetes/reviews/our-review. Heffernan, EB, Andersen, KC, Dev, A Kinner, S 2012 Prevalence of mental illness among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland prisons,Medical Journal of Australia,vol. 197, no. 1, p.37. Jorm, AF, Bourchier, SJ, Cvetkovski, S Stewart, G 2012, Mental health of Indigenous Australians: a review of findings from community surveys,Medical Journal of Australia,vol. 196, no. 2, p.118. Kelaher, MA, Ferdinand, AS Paradies, Y 2014, Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities,The Medical journal of Australia,vol. 201, no. 1, pp.44-47. Purdie, N, Dudgeon, P Walker, R 2010,Chapter 6 - Social Determinants of Social and Emotional WellbeinginWorking together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice,Dept. of Health and Ageing, Australian Council for Educational Research, Kulunga Research Network, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra. Supportinghealthcare practitioners.snaicc.org.au 2017.Child Placement Principle - Supporting Healthcare practitioners (SNAICC). [online] Supporting Healthcare practitioners (SNAICC). [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017], Available at: https://www.supportinghealthcare practitioners.snaicc.org.au/rights-of-the-child/child-placement-principle/ Swain, N Gale, C 2014, A communication skills intervention for community healthcare workers reduces perceived patient aggression: A pretest-postest study,International journal of nursing studies,vol. 51, no. 9, pp.1241-1245. Weller, J, Boyd, M Cumin, D 2014, Teams, tribes and patient safety: overcoming barriers to effective teamwork in healthcare,Postgraduate medical journal,vol. 90, no. 1061, pp.149-154. Werner, S Stawski, M 2012, Mental health: Knowledge, attitudes and training of professionals on dual diagnosis of intellectual disability and psychiatric disorder,Journal of Intellectual Disability Research,vol. 56, no. 3, pp.291-304. Youtube.com 2017.Aboriginal Mental Health and Suicide Prevention - Dr Tracy Westerman. [online] YouTube, [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017], Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn1QjGn4xnMfeature=youtu.be

The Inspector directs on stage and manipulates audiences response Essay Example

The Inspector directs on stage and manipulates audiences response Essay I think that this play is very good at getting Priestley points across. After I had read the play it immediately made me think about the way I treat people. This is because in my view the way the message is delivered through the use of the character Inspector Goole, also the harsh reality of the story about the young girl, Eva Smith, and about her committing suicide. This is quite a selfish way to interpret the play and changing your ways, also the play is about not being selfish, looking after each other and working as one body, this is quite ironic. The way the inspector challenges Mr Birling, although Mr Birling is a powerful man. The inspector isnt afraid of who the inspector knows how do you get on with the chief constable? Perhaps I ought to warn you hes an old friend of mine. This doesnt scare the inspector which appeals to the reader. Also as soon as the inspector walks in the lighting changes from cosy to a harder light. This shows the presence of the inspector it shows that as soon as he walks in the atmosphere changes. Priestley wrote this play in 1947 but set it in the year 1912 just before the First World War and in the year of the titanic sinking. We will write a custom essay sample on The Inspector directs on stage and manipulates audiences response specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Inspector directs on stage and manipulates audiences response specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Inspector directs on stage and manipulates audiences response specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This technique called distancing. It enables the audience to think about times by reflecting on the past. He uses to help get his point across and also it helps give the impression of Mr Birling being pompous and stupid. This is as he refers to the titanic and calls it unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable he also comments on the thought of war, youll hear some people saying war is inevitable. And to that I say fiddlesticks. This makes Mr Birling look stupid as the audience of the time know that there has been a war, two wars. They are also aware that the titanic did sink. This helps to get Priestleys point across as; if Mr Birling looks stupid then it shows capitalism is stupid. The way in which it is set back in time adds to the importance of changing ways, as the end the inspector talks about if men dont learn there lesson soon then they will be taught it in blood and fire and anguish. This refers to the war and it gets the audience to think have they learned there lesson, as they will have probably lived through two wars and wont want to see anymore. The play was written just after the second war, in 1947, but everyone would still be feeling the effects of it. This helps Priestley to get the audience to reflect on their lives and to see what mistakes they have made and make them want to change as they wont want to go through anymore big ordeals like a war. Priestley had many time theories and influences while writing this play which helped him set it in a good way to get his message across with effectiveness. He was fascinated by the theories of time and he got his influences off P. D Ouspensky and J. W Donne. P. D Ousepensky believed that after death we entered the same life and are trapped in that cycle until we can learn from our past mistakes and break out of it. J. W Donne believed some people have the ability to see into the future and see the consequences of their actions. This second theory is visible in the play as after the Birlings are visited by an inspector, Inspector Goole, and questioned by him. After they have found he was fake, the police station ring up and say that an inspector will be on his way round to question them about a girl who has recently committed suicide. This gives them a chance to do the right thing and tell the inspector everything. Even though they have the chance to tell the inspector everything and do the right thing, the audience get the impression that only Sheila and maybe Eric will actually go through and admit what they have done. Even though none of the things happened are crimes against the law but just moral crimes, the Birlings are too ashamed to admit what they have done. Priestley has used Sheila as the character to help reinforce his point and she is what Priestley wants the audience to do. This is as she changes her views because of the events that happen in the play. This is what Priestley wants the audience to do think about what theyve done and change their views because of the play as they wouldnt want to think that they have made someone feel that bad. This play is still relevant to audiences in modern times as not everyone now treats people fairly. The difference is that in the modern era employees have unions, to protect them against unfair decisions from employers and give them more rights for all aspects of working, and national insurance cards and numbers. In 1912 when this play was set these things were just starting to begin. Before the inspector arrives to the Birlings house the mood is very natural and its very realistic. This is as the play is set in real time which means whatever happens on the stage would have took the same amount of time in real life, so it isnt set over weeks or months. As the play is set in real time it makes it seem much more realistic to the audience which would therefore shock them more. This is what Priestley wanted as it would make the audience go away from the play and think about how they treat people. That was also what Priestley wanted the audience to do. In the stage directions it comments that the Birling family and Gerald have had a good dinner, are celebrating a special occasion, and are pleased with themselves. It also comments that the lighting should be pink and intimate until the inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder. This shows that the atmosphere is going to change when the inspector arrives, from the nice relaxed one to a very uneasy tense atmosphere. The opening stage direction also gives a lot of information about the characters and household. This gives us some clues about what the family are like and it would have given the audience some visual clues, which would have given them a little impression of the characters. From the first act we learn a lot more about the characters and the pleasant relaxed mood is continued through. In the first act Birling gives lots of advice to Eric, Sheila and Gerald. He thinks he knows more than he actually does like calling the titanic unsinkable and commenting that war is never going to happen. Also he gives his advice as the capitalist and industrialist representative. He tells his children that they should look after there selves and family none of that community and nonsense this shows he is a strong believer of the capitalist views. When the inspector arrives it is just after Mr Birling has made a big speech on looking after himself- and his family too, of course and also on capitalist vs. labour, which it is like when the inspector comes as Mr Birling shows the view of a capitalist and industrialist, whereas the inspector shows the view of a socialist. Birlings speech before the inspector arrives shows that the two are going to have completely different views. As the inspector is a socialist and believes in collective responsibility and looking after everyone, whereas Mr Birling believes that we should just look after ourselves and family. The inspector is shown in the play to be the antithesis of Mr Birling and this causes Mr Birling to not like the inspector. The inspector believes Mr Birling is wrong for discharging Eva Smith and comments about her asking for higher wages saying they might but after all its better to ask for the earth then take it. This shows that there wasnt anything wrong in just asking for higher wages. Although Mr Birling is a strong believer of the capitalist views when the Eric brings up the speech Birling has just gave on looking after yourself and family, Birling is keen to dismiss it and not talk in front of the inspector about it. This shows that although he has strong beliefs he knows the inspector has the opposite views and it shows that Birling is afraid to confront him about it. At the start of this play we are led to believe that it is going to be a murder mystery play but instead we find out it is a morality play. The reader wouldnt find out it is just going to be a morality play until it as finished. This would have made the ending a bit of anticlimax for the audience as they would have been expecting a big mystery to unravel whereas it ends more abruptly but it does have the added mystery of what is going to happen when the real inspector visits them. The inspector is at The Birlings household to investigate the suicide of a girl called Eva Smith. He goes into depth about the incidents running up to the death of this girl. This seems odd to the audience as they would have wondered why the inspector is asking questions about her being discharged from work as it bears no reference to her death and its not illegal so the inspector didnt need to investigate that. Also the other events running up to her death like her getting fired from her department store job, in Milwards, her relationship with Gerald and also her conversation with the group that helps women headed by Mrs Birling werent necessary in investigations. The only person out f the Birling family that the inspector needed to talk to was Eric, this is as his involvement with this girl, Eva Smith, was the only one out of the familys involvements with her that was illegal. But the way Priestley does these investigations into the other events such as Sheila getting her fired makes it seem like the events were illegal. Also the way Sheila feels extremely bad for what she has done helps add to Priestley getting the point across that all of these events were wrong. This helps him in his dramatic purpose as it helps make the audience feel that these events were bad. The audience would have been of similar class to Mr Birling so if Priestley could make them see that these events were wrong them it would change society dramatically. When the inspector is questioning his manner is very direct and forthright. He isnt scared of Mr Birling and still uses this style when questioning Mr Birling. Mr Birling tries to intimidate the inspector but the inspector isnt fazed by it and he carries on his style of questioning. This would have seemed very strange to the audience as the manner of the inspector is very rude and not like the manner of normal inspectors. Even when Mr Birling comments that he is very good friends with the chief constable and that he plays golf with him regularly the inspector isnt intimidated by this and answers dryly to him and very sarcastically as if he is mocking Mr Birling. The inspector contradicts, undermines and over-rules Mr Birling. He is always in control of the situation and it never seems that Mr Birling is in charge of the two. When Mr Birling is trying to ask why should you come here inspector- the inspector cuts right in which shows that he is in charge and it shows that he is the superior of Mr Birling so Mr Birling should speak when the inspector tells him too. The inspector is like this all the way though the play with Mr Birling and although Mr Birling tries many times to tell him that he doesnt like his manner and he should show respect, Birling I dont like that tone, the inspector pays no attention and carries on with his ways. The way he criticises the lack of care from Mr Birling and his manner is not what you would expect from a normal inspector. When the inspector is questioning Sheila he uses grisly details of Eva Smiths death which works as a shock tactic, not only to Sheila but to the audience as well. He uses some very emotive language which helps the audience and Sheila feel extremely sorry for Eva Smith. Throughout questioning Sheila he uses phrases and words like burnt her insides out and died, after several hours of agony this is the type of emotive and grisly language he uses too shock Sheila. She is different to her dad, Mr Birling, as she is very willing to accept responsibility for Eva Smiths death. This is how the inspector introduces collective responsibility to the family, through Sheila as she is willing to accept responsibility. As soon as she realises her connection with Eva Smith she feels extremely guilty and is willing to talk about why she got her sacked, but she doesnt try and justify it. When the inspector has finished investigating Sheila and moves on too investigating others then she acts as an assistant to the inspector. She tells her family that there isnt any point trying to pretend you didnt know her as the inspector will just cut you too pieces and prove you did. She asks questions of her own which helps the inspector in questioning, although she doesnt realise it does. Go on mother you might as well admit it Yes she is why? . She does this to help make her family see the same pint of view as her. Sheila is the first to realise that the inspector is not normal and is probably a fake. She says that its queer very queer when talking about the inspector to the family after he has gone. Although after they find out the inspector isnt real and all the family are happy, she still feels extremely bad and tells her family that we should change our ways although the inspector wasnt real he still spoke some truth and we should realise that we are treating people wrong. She isnt afraid of admit she is wrong and this is who Priestley uses to get his point across and help audiences to think about their personal experiences and change. The inspector isnt just bothered about facts that prove legal guilt but more of moral responsibility. This fits in with Priestleys underlying message as he wants people to change their views and think more about if they are being morally correct. The inspector, in his final speech, talks about there may be only one Eva Smith but there are millions more like her he is talking about social classes there and telling the Birlings and the audience that we need to help them. He doesnt just question the family but he also questions the class system and the attitudes they represent. He uses the family to show what is going wrong and right with the country. He uses Sheila to show that the young are changing there views which is good as they will pass it down so will mean that the problem might have disappeared in future years. But he also talks about poverty and that rich business men, like Mr Birling, arent doing anything to help the poor. In the inspectors final speech he predicts the first and second world wars which acts like a symbolism. He comments that if men dont learn there lesson soon they will learn it in blood and fire and anguish. This shows he predicts there will be a war if men carry on their ways. When the inspector leaves we still dont find out who he is. This leaves it as a bit of a mystery but he still makes a dramatic impact on the characters and audience. The way he isnt a real inspector adds to the dramatic impact. From the stage directions after the inspector leaves it shows how much of an impact he has had on the family and on the audience. Immediately after he leaves the family are stood there in thought. This is shown in the stage directions as it comments on all characters such as Sheila were it says Sheila is still quietly crying. This time were all the characters are in thought acts like a time for the audience to reflect on pass experiences and think about how they are going to treat people in future. The younger generation react to the inspector better then the older generation as they are much more willing to change their views and accept that the inspector is right, whereas the older generation feel that they dont have to change their ways as the inspector wasnt real so none of it counts. There is a final twist at the end of the play when they find out that a real inspector is coming around to ask them a few questions concerning the suicide of a girl. This would appeal to the audience as they would have wanted to see some justice. This is the effect of the inspector as even though the crimes werent legal crimes and just moral crimes the audience see them as crimes that should be punished. At the end of the play I immediately thought about how I treat people. It showed that Priestleys achieved his dramatic purpose. Although the inspector is not a realistic person it doesnt take anything away from the point of the play. After the play I didnt feel that because the inspector wasnt realistic that there wasnt anything to think about I still considered it very real and that it is important to think about personal past experiences and think about your views. I think the way the underlying message is put across is very clear and I think it would have challenged peoples thoughts. Priestleys techniques of getting his message a very successful and which makes the message clear and precise. I think this play is very good at getting its message across. Although it isnt as action packed as a modern audience would expect I still think it would be a good play to see and it would definitely help you to change your views.

eLETRONIC BANKING essays

eLETRONIC BANKING essays The Electronic Banking Association (EBA) is a non-profit organization established to do one simple thing-help more people get started with electronic banking. Here's why. Who taught you how to write paper checks? Probably your parent's right? Well, who's going to teach you how to write electronic checks? Probably NOT your parents. That's where they come in. E-banking is so much more convenient and so much quicker that everyone should know about it. The EBA was established as an independent source of helpful information about electronic banking for consumers and businesses. Financial institutions, merchants, and other financial service firms actually provide financial e-commerce services, but the Electronic Banking Association (EBA) monitors progress in the financial e-commerce industry and provides information that will enable users of those services to become better informed and to locate providers of the services they seek. Everyone hates paying bills. It's time-consuming, frustrating, and you have to lick that awful envelope glue. But not with e-banking. You'll spend less time paying bills, and more time doing fun stuff. Here are some advantages to e-banking: Your computer remembers who you write checks to. You simply enter an amount then point-and-click. You'll never run out of checks again. You can schedule your payments in advance, so they'll get paid while you're on vacation or away on business. Electronic payments are processed quickly, in as little as 24 hours to 5 days (unlike a paper check sent in the mail, which takes an average of 10 days to post). No envelope glue. No paper cuts on your tongue. And you can stop writing your return address again, and again, and again. It takes forever to write checks and addresses every month. E-banking cuts ...

The Evolution of the First Tetrapods

The Evolution of the First Tetrapods Its one of the iconic images of evolution: 400 or so million years ago, way back in the prehistoric mists of geologic time, a brave fish crawls laboriously out of the water and onto land, representing the first wave of a vertebrate invasion that leads to dinosaurs, mammals, and human beings. Logically speaking, of course, we dont owe any more thanks to the first tetrapod (Greek for four feet) than we do to the first bacterium or the first sponge, but something about this plucky critter still tugs at our heartstrings. As is so often the case, this romantic image doesnt quite match up with evolutionary reality. Between 350 and 400 million years ago, various prehistoric fish crawled out of the water at various times, making it nearly impossible to identify the direct ancestor of modern vertebrates. In fact, many of the most celebrated early tetrapods had seven or eight digits at the end of each limb and, because modern animals adhere strictly to the five-toed body plan, that means these tetrapods represented an evolutionary dead end from the perspective of the prehistoric amphibians that followed them. Origins The earliest tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes, which differed in important ways from ray-finned fishes. While ray-finned fishes are the most common type of fish in the ocean  today, the only lobe-finned fish on the planet are lungfish and coelacanths, the latter of which were thought to have gone extinct tens of millions of years ago until a live specimen turned up in 1938. The bottom fins of lobe-finned fishes are arranged in pairs and supported by internal bones- the necessary conditions for these fins to evolve into primitive legs. Lobe-finned fishes of the Devonian period were already able to breathe air, when necessary, via spiracles in their skulls. Experts differ about the environmental pressures  that prompted lobe-finned fish to evolve into walking, breathing tetrapods, but one theory is that the shallow lakes and rivers these fish lived in were subject to drought, favoring species that could survive in dry conditions. Another theory has it that the earliest tetrapods were literally chased out of the water by bigger fish- dry land harbored an abundance of insect and plant food, and a marked absence of dangerous predators. Any lobe-finned fish that blundered onto land would have found itself in a veritable paradise. In evolutionary terms, its hard to distinguish between the most advanced lobe-finned fish and the most primitive tetrapods. Three important genera nearer the fish end of the spectrum were Eusthenopteron, Panderichthys, and Osteolopis, which spent all of their time in the water yet had latent tetrapod characteristics. Until recently, these tetrapod ancestors nearly all hailed from fossil deposits in the northern Atlantic, but the discovery of Gogonasus in Australia has put the kibosh on the theory that land-dwelling animals originated in the northern hemisphere. Early Tetrapods and Fishapods Scientists once agreed that the earliest true tetrapods dated from about 385 to 380 million years ago. That has all changed with the recent discovery of tetrapod track marks in Poland that date to 397 million years ago, which would effectively dial back the evolutionary calendar by 12 million years. If confirmed, this discovery will prompt some revision in the evolutionary consensus. As you can see, tetrapod evolution is far from written in stone- tetrapods evolved numerous times, in different places. Still, there are a few early tetrapod species that are regarded as more-or-less definitive by experts. The most important of these is Tiktaalik, which is thought to have been perched midway between the tetrapod-like lobe-finned fishes and the later, true tetrapods. Tiktaalik was blessed with the primitive equivalent of wrists- which may have helped it to prop itself up on its stubby front fins along the edges of shallow lakes- as well as a true neck, providing it with much-needed flexibility and mobility during its quick jaunts onto dry land. Because of its mix of tetrapod and fish characteristics, Tiktaalik is often referred to as a fishapod, a name that is also sometimes applied to advanced lobe-finned fish like Eusthenopteron and Panderichthys. Another important fishapod was Ichthyostega, which lived about five million years after Tiktaalik and achieved similarly respectable sizes- about five feet long and 50 pounds. True Tetrapods Until the recent discovery of Tiktaalik, the most famous of all the early tetrapods was Acanthostega, which dated to about 365 million years ago. This slender creature had relatively well-developed limbs, as well as such fishy features as a lateral sensory line running along the length of its body. Other, similar tetrapods of this general time and place included Hynerpeton, Tulerpeton, and Ventastega. Paleontologists once believed that these late Devonian tetrapods spent significant amounts of their time on dry land, but they are now thought to have been primarily or even totally aquatic, only using their legs and primitive breathing apparatuses when absolutely necessary. The most significant finding about these tetrapods was the number of digits on their front and hind limbs: anywhere from 6 to 8, a strong indication that they couldnt have been the ancestors of later five-toed tetrapods and their mammalian, avian, and reptilian descendants. Romers Gap Theres a 20-million-year-long stretch of time in the early Carboniferous period that has yielded very few vertebrate fossils. Known as Romers Gap, this blank period in the fossil record has been used to support Creationist doubt in the theory of evolution, but it is easily explainable by the fact that fossils only form in very special conditions. Romers Gap particularly affects our knowledge of tetrapod evolution because, when we pick up the story 20 million years later (about 340 million years ago), there is a profusion of tetrapod species that can be grouped into different families, some coming very close to being true amphibians. Among the notable post-gap tetrapods are the tiny Casineria, which had five-toed feet; the eel-like Greererpeton, which may already have de-evolved from its more land-oriented tetrapod ancestors; and the salamander-like Eucritta melanolimnetes, otherwise known as the creature from the Black Lagoon, from Scotland. The diversity of later tetrapods is evidence that a lot must have happened, evolution-wise, during Romers Gap. Fortunately, we have been able to fill in some of the blanks of Romers Gap in recent years. The skeleton of Pederpes was discovered in 1971 and, three decades later, further investigation by tetrapod expert Jennifer Clack dated it smack to the middle of Romers Gap. Significantly, Pederpes had forward-facing feet with five toes and a narrow skull, characteristics seen in later amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. A similar species active during Romers Gap was the large-tailed Whatcheeria, which seems to have spent most of its time in the water.

US-Britain industrial power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

US-Britain industrial power - Essay Example The Britain remained evidently predominant in the nineteenth century among the world powers as consequence of tremendous economic and industrial expansion in the eighteenth century. The British firms had expanded and export trade boomed vigorously in the industrial revolution.This paper investigates into the reasons that enabled the United States to replace the Britain as the world's leading industrial power after the time when Britain used to dominate the world with its industrial strength. Evidently, there happened to be several causes underlying the sharp decline in the British dominance among all the powerful countries in the world. In the same manner, there were various reasons that served to be the supporting elements for the economy and industry of United States to supersede the position of Britain.Apparently there happened to be abounding reasons behind the deterioration of British industrial and economic power in the late nineteenth century. Britain's economic diminution was in fact a consequence of the decline in the country's industrial potency that happened to be the backbone of the country's growth in the eighteenth century. However, this industrial failure did not erupt out of nothing, rather it too was an aftermath of several factors and events responsible for undermining the British industrial ascendance in the world.One of the pre-eminent causes of the failure of British industrial power was also the country's technical training and education system. The country, due to its highly advanced technical training system, produced and accumulated a large number of trained and high calibre workers for some industries. This turned out to be negative for various industrial sectors in the long run, as the country immensely began to lose unskilled workers that could perform duties on machines in the factory. This problem was faced by most of the industries in Britain, causing them to run high on costs and consequently low on profits. The British industry also lacked the most substantial ingredient i.e., machine tools required for technological excogitation in the manufacturing sector of the industry. Britain remained far behind on this ground that could have otherwise backed the deteriorating industrial strength of the country. The machine tool industry had been flourishing in the early period of British industrial development but the growth in this industry came to a gradual halt in the early twentieth century. This backwardness marked the inability of British industry to cope with the technological prerequisites of that era and the country seriously lacked behind on the technological edge. Another significant factors underlying the fall of British dominance was also that it seriously lagged on the ground of export in the late nineteenth century as compared to United States. The growth in export witnessed in the earlier decades started to tumble down and imports, on the contrary, took on a rising trend. At this time, most prominently, the United States was advancing in export trade through technological advancement and thus started to captivate even the portions of markets in Britain. This had a severe impact on the British economy and thus it started to lose dominance over other countries. This happened primarily because the Britain failed to advance in terms of new technology and as a result, the country's export trade started to decline. Free trade policies inflicted serious harms to the British industrial expansion. The country perpetually adopted the free trade policy enhancing the free flow of imported goods into the market without any restriction. This resulted in an outbreak of international

Effects on humans and environment by acid rain Essay

Effects on humans and environment by acid rain - Essay Example Polluted rainfall is also harmful to those who suffer from asthma and those who have breathing difficulty.   It is also proven by scientists that even healthy people can have their lungs destroyed as a result of inhalation of these harmful fapors (Ahmed, 2012; Clark, 2001). Acid rain also affects people and the environment through the soil from which our food is grown. It weakens toxic metals that decomposes and are assimilated into soil. The toxic metals might then be absorbed by water and consumed by animals or vegetation and consequently affects human health upon consumption. It also has effects on our environment particularly in forests; the deposition of the acid leads to degradation of tree plantations by lowering maturity of trees and other plantations, promoting their susceptibility to natural threats like drought, storms, forest fires and insect infestation. It also results to leaching and depletion of natural nutrients in forest soil that in turn loses valuable nutrients like calcium. This affects the sensitivity of the soil with time. On surface waters, acid rain minimizes the survivability of animal life in lakes and streams. It might as well eliminate most of the organisms in these water bodies (Ahmed, 2012; Clark, 2001). Acid rain therefore leads to destruction of plants and kills many organisms that live in ponds and other water bodies. It also has adverse effect on human health. This is so because destruction of the environment by acid rain affects our lives as

Acts of Kindness Essay Example for Free

Acts of Kindness Essay Category: Community Description of Act: Today I went to portage Park (which is very close to my house) and I picked up garbage with my pink gloves in a trash bag around the whole Park. Reflection: Since I live close to portage Park I go there a lot and when I go there I see that there’s a lot of trash around and nobody picks it up. So I decided that the nice thing that I would do would be to pick up the trash and put in a trashcan. I know I’m not helping that much because people are going to keep putting trash on the ground but at least I know that I can help a little bit. At first it was a little weird because people started wondering why I was wear pink gloves and picking up trash but then this one older woman came up to me and thanked me for picking up trash because she didn’t like it when the park was dirty and after that I felt really good about what I was doing and I felt like what I was doing had purpose. Act of kindness #2 Category: Community Description of Act: Me and my family decided that we should do something good for the community and we decided that we should make sandwiches for homeless people around the neighborhood and give them out to soup kitchens and other places like that. Reflection: So one day my family decided that they wanted to help the homeless people around my neighborhood since we have all this food and a roof over our house to be thankful for we should help those that were in need. When I was making the sandwiches I thought what I was doing was really positive and was a good thing but then I also thought what if they don’t want to be helped or pitied what if they have too much pride? But after we went around and gave around the sandwiches to homeless people and  soup kitchens and felt like it was still was kind of a rude but people need other people to help them sometimes and we were those people. The homeless people were very thankful for the sandwiches and were happy that we did what we d id. Act of kindness #3 Category: Teachers Description of Act: After school one day I went to one of my math teacher’s class and I helped them out with organizing papers, grading quizzes, and whatever else he needed. Reflection: Sometimes the only time I help teachers of the schools because of extra credit or they give me candy but this time I went because I wanted you guys out there that knew that he had a lot of work that he had to do but little time. When he saw me come into the classroom after school use a little surprised because he didn’t ask for any help for extra credit but I told him that I was there because I just wanted to help and be nice. He thought that it was very thoughtful me to help him with his grading and organizing and I felt really happy afterwards because I did something good without needing to have credit extra credit be a motivation. Act of kindness #4 Category: Teachers Description of Act: Today I saw a teacher going up the stairs with a lot of books and I came over and helped out and grab some of the books which were very heavy and helped her put them in the classroom that they needed to be in. Reflection: Even if I wasn’t doing this project which is pretty cool project if I do say so myself I would’ve still helped her out because of the kind of person I am and it just feels really nice when you help someone out without having them ask you. I know that if I was going to stairs with heavy books I would want someone to help me out too. When I asked if she needed help she smiled which made me smile made me feel good to help her. Act of kindness #5 Category: Parent/Guardians Description of Act: Today I woke up early in the morning I went into the kitchen and started cooking some breakfast. I cooked eggs, bacon, and hash  browns. I talked a lot so everybody my house could eat some and believe me they ate some. They didn’t ask me to cook and they were surprised that I cooked. Reflection: My Mom and Dad when I was little always used to cook me breakfast with eggs and bacon and all that other good stuff but since they work more often didn’t have the time to cook for us which was sad because I love bacon in the morning. So I decided I should make breakfast for them this one time because I’m terrible at cooking so I did and I did pretty well for my first time. They loved it and they loved that didn’t have asked me they love that it was a surprise they loved that it was actually good LOL. I felt really good inside and felt really nice to see my family together eating and it made me feel like I brought the family together. Act of kindness #6 Category: Parent/Guardians Description of Act: Again I woke up early and decided I would do a nice thing and clean house and when I meant clean the house I mean clean the HOUSE. I went all around the house cleaned every corner in every dusty place until it was spotless or close enough to spotless. And no one asked me to do it. Reflection: My mom always bugs me about cleaning my room and yells at me when I don’t so I thought to myself in the morning at 7:00 AM when everybody was sleeping why don’t I just clean no one else will do it and then she would never yell at me ever again just kidding. But I know I would make her happy so that’s the main reason why did it. I clean the house so good that I think I will never have to clean the house ever again. When my parents came home and saw the house I think they fainted cried almost there were happy that I did it without them having to ask. It made me happy that they were happy. But my arm still hurts though. Act of kindness #7 Category: Classmates/Friends Description of Act: Yesterday there was a friend at my rehearsal and she was crying and I asked her why she was crying and she responded to she felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to do something. I told her that she didn’t have to do anything that she didn’t want to and that she can talk to me anytime if she has any problems with anything or if she just wants to talk  and helped her back to rehearsal. Reflection: When I saw her crying I immediately went over and asked her what was wrong because I never like it when people are crying I like it when people are happy. I know and I was crying I would want someone to comfort me as well and that the cheapo uncomfortable with something even made it worse because no one should feel uncomfortable ever. When she was crying I felt like I just needed to help her in any way I could and so I talked to her and let her know that she can talk to me anytime because of space that I am free all the time and I just like to make peo ple feel better. She said she was happy that she had me as a friend and it made me feel all good inside will Act of kindness #8 Category: Classmates/Friends Description of Act: I spent some time with my friend when they were feeling lonely and they really needed some company. So I went over to the house and we played to videogames talked about politics and the world (not really we were just worrying about the ACT). We ate some stuff and had I had a really good time. Reflection: When my friend asked me to hang out I didn’t really feel like it but I didn’t want her to feel all alone and stuff so I got my butt over to her house as fast as possible and I hung out with her. She was really glad that I came over and I was glad that I came over to because to bored people make for a really interesting and weird time. Again I felt like a really good for spending some time with my good friend and the really nice to make someone feel better. Act of kindness #9 Category: Strangers/Random Description of Act: Today I was on a bus and I have going on I saw that the person behind me was viciously looking into her purse for money and for the life of her could not find it and I saw that in my purse I had an extra card for the bus that had one more ride on it. So I decided to give it to her so she can get on the bus because she really looked like she needed to get on the bus. So I did. Reflection: I’ve never had that before like when I don’t have any money on the bus and someone’s like â€Å"Oh here I’ll give you money here you go â€Å"but the bus driver usually just let me go so that’s pretty  nice. I felt like this one time I should at least help this lady out because this bus driver does not look like the type to give free rides and I’m pretty sure she really needs to be somewhere by the way she is tearing up that purse. When I gave her the bus card I think in her point of view there was like a gleaming light behind me and a choir singing because her eyes got huge and I think she was about to kneel before me but she said â€Å"Thank you so much†. I always have extra money on me because my mom is always scared that something terrible is going to happen to me so if you ever need money look for me. I felt like a hero after I gave her the money just without the Cape. Act of Kindness #10 Category: Strangers/Random Description of Act: Today there was a woman who looked like she was lost so I went up to her and asked her if she was having any trouble finding something and she was trying to find Lakeview which is lucky for her because I know exactly where that is. So I gave her directions to Lakeview. Reflection: Sometimes I get lost a lot and I mean a lot and I know that I should know where everything is in Chicago because I’ve been here since I was born so I’m a true Chicagoan but let’s face it I am not a true Chicagoan because I’ve never really been around Chicago a lot like my whole life. But this lady is a lucky because I know exactly where Lakeview is because I’m a student there of course not because I have my phone with me with a map in it. Preposterous! So anyways I gave her the directions and she was very thankful that I was there to save the day. I knew what I did was a really good and patted myself on the back and went on to do whatever I was doing th at day which is probably nothing.

Varying Attitudes Toward Death in the Masque of the Red Death Essay

Varying Attitudes Toward Death in the Masque of the Red Death      Ã‚  Ã‚   "Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying." Edgar Allen Poe provides us symbolically with the reaction of man to the pursuance of death that Jean Cocteau described before, in his gothic short story, "The Masque of the Red Death." Prince Prospero symbolizes the optimist who seeks to avoid death. The Masqueraders represent the pessimist-the carefree who seek to forget about death. The Masked Red Death is the ultimate realization and enlightenment of death's power over all-the realist view. Poe's work symbolically demonstrates the attitudes of man through Prince Prospero, the Masqueraders, and the Masked Red Death.    Prince Prospero symbolizes the optimist who is defiant and furious. Prospero believes that death can be evaded if not escaped entirely. Prospero seeks to protect himself from the red death, a disease that has ravaged his kingdom. He does this by taking a thousand of his friends, with whom he "retires to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys" (Poe 176). However he does more than try to dodge or hide from death's powers. Prospero has his courtiers take hammers and furnaces to weld the bolts shut so to leave no "ingress or egress," effectively he barricades himself taking faith the physical barriers of man can somehow defeat the non-corporeal entity. While the pestilence rages outside the prince's secure shelter, Prospero arranges that a masquerade or ball take place. He and his revelers take part in jovial and pleasant activities during a time when hundreds are suffering. What's more is that he has his party be "waltzers" (Poe 177). Such a dance involves t... ...to death in the masqueraders one can see the third attitude toward death, one of understanding and acceptance because the ignorance that shrouded their eyes has been removed. With understanding which comes when one becomes closer to death one may adopt the third attitude which Bhagavad Gita has, "Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable."       Sources Consulted: Cassuto, Leonard. " The Coy Reaper: Unmasque-ing the Red Death". Stud Short Fiction, 25(1988) 317-320. Poe, Edgar Allan. Tales of Mystery and Imagination Norwalk: Heritage P.,1969. 317-322. Starret, Vincent. "Tales of Mystery and Imagination." Norwalk: Heritage P., 1969. Intro. Wheat, Patricia H. " The Masque of Indifference in The Masque of Red Death". Stud Short Fiction, 19(1982), 51-56.   

Walt Disney: Swot, Pestel and Porter Analysis

SUBJECT:Walt Disney: SWOT, PESTEL and Porter analysis Introduction2 Pestel analysis2 Political factors2 Economic factors3 Social factors3 Technological factors4 Environmental factors4 Porter’s Five forces model5 New entrants5 Buyers5 Substitutes6 Suppliers6 Competitors6 Swot analysis7 Strengths7 Weaknesses8 Opportunities9 Improvement of customer relations strategy9 Advertising Growth9 Differentiation9 The further introduction of ICT technologies9 Superior market segmentation10 Threats10 Economic conditions10 Winnie the Pooh trial10 Stakeholder analysis11 Conclusion12 references13 Appendix i – Portfolio vs core competence perspectives14 Introduction Walt Disney is a developer, producer and worldwide distributor of feature films and television programs, cable network programming and character-based merchandise. Besides, its theme parks are the most popular in the world. The current forces in the market create certain challenges for future success of the company’s development. The presents analysis starts with the discussion of current environmental and industry factors. This analysis produces the holistic view of the macro factors that affect the industry players and the company. The second step comes to the analysis of the business environment competitive environment and the way the company develops and maintains its competitive advantage. This analysis creates a picture of internal capabilities of the companies. Basing on the evaluation of external and internal factors the analysis of strengths and weaknesses is delivered. It creates a framework for devising possible strategic intent of the company and identifies possible vulnerable points that can affect the feasibility of the strategy. Basing on the analysis of the environmental factors and company’s capabilities the paper reviews current opportunities and threats. Pestel analysis According to Grant (1998), in order to identify the key success factors and the company’s opportunities and threats it is important to study environmental factors that effect the firm’s strategy on the industrial level. To do this, PESTEL analytical tool is applied. Political factors Political and legal factors influence the development of the industry. These factors shape the rules of competition, operational costs (minimum wage, safety requirements and consumer law) and the presence of various lobby groups. The important political factor is local legislations regarding foreign ownership, cross-ownership and concentration. For example, Chinese government limits foreign ownership to 49%, when the right to control directly a subsidiary requires 51% of ownership. It means that a company shall look for potential partners to form joint ventures or strategic alliances. Hill (2002) points out these market entry options translate into the reduced control of the subsidiary’s activities. Economic factors The economic factor has a crucial importance for the industry development. According to Mintel report (2003) the theme parks and consumer goods are the most dependant on the economic factors. For instance, US and European markets were recently strongly affected with recent economical downturns. The reason for such the influence is the relationship between the economic cycle and the growth of PDI. As Hill shows (2002) the PDI positively affects consumer confidence in economic health and their capability to buy entertainment products. Thus, the healthier the state of a country the higher will be the growth of a consumer market and its corresponding value. The company's theme parks and resorts are vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations, travel industry trends, changes in available leisure time, oil and transportation prices and weather patterns. Social factors The demand trends are shaped by the following major factors: demographic shifts, attitudes and beliefs and fashion cycles. Demographic shifts create different niche markets; whereas fashion cycles together with attitudes formation create necessary growth for the market. For instance, changing lifestyles as a result of influences from other countries and cultures, various media, create new expectations and requirements for the content of media sources. Various products of the company as character-based merchandise and producer/distributors of children's audio and film-related products strongly depend on social factors as seasonal purchasing behaviour and the popularity of animated releases which determine the life cycle of particular products and their return of investment potential. Technological factors Technological factors affect the way industry players compete. The introduction of improved technological solutions allows the companies to reduce cost of operations, increase the manufacturing capacity and quality. Besides, the further R&D development allows the introduction of new products that can potentially break the markets of existing products (Bradley, 1995). The developments of new IT technologies introduce new media delivery solutions and change the architecture certain companies’ value chain (Chaffey, 2002). Environmental factors The environmental factors directly impact the travel industry trends. The weather conditions in France and Japan determine the profitability of theme parks. The better the weather conditions the higher is the number of visitors. Environmental factors play an important part in the success of the business as it affect input manufacturing capacity. Without proper yield a company will be unable to meet the existing market demand, creating a strong opportunity for its competitors. Porter’s Five forces model The following model shows the macro analysis of the business conditions under which Walt Disney operates. Adopted from Porter (1990) New entrants The deregulated state of the market provides certain opportunities for new entrants to start the business. The company operates in a mature market, divided between existing large companies. The continuous change of life style preferences create various opportunities for the media content. The advertising, film-making, character-based merchandise and theme parks areas have serious entry barriers, especially for small players, as the existing brands have strong reputation, develop economies of scale and continuously invest in new technologies. Buyers The global operations, especially on the U. S. and Asian-Pacific markets shows that consumers have a very strong bargaining power. Strong competition between global and regional niche players and constant change of preferences for various content significantly reduce life cycles of various products. Substitutes Internet, other types of media create serious substitute threats to current media distribution channels. According to Mintel report (2003) the further increase of Internet proliferation with vast electronic media opportunities create is likely to reduce drastically the use of hard copy products. Suppliers The scale of operations, the size of the company and highly recognised strong brand identity provide the company with bargaining power against local and global suppliers. Competitors The company competes with such powerful competitors as AOL Time Warner Inc. , Viacom Inc. , The News Inc, Comcast Corp. , Canal + etc. The presence of powerful competitors with established brands create a threat of intense price wars and poses s strong requirement for product differentiation. The other important feature of the media industry is a continuous shift of competitors’ market power. This notion takes place as the result of various strategic alliances and industry consolidation. For instance, the merge of Time Warner with America Online Inc. created powerful internal capabilities. If they were met with market demand, it would have boosted the company’s profit margin. The other threat goes from the continuous development of The News Inc. which uses very aggressive expansion strategy. It plays a â€Å"gatekeeper† role in the development of digital broadcasting and has already been developing long-term technical capabilities to build its internet presence. At the same time, the global media industry is very fragmented due to various cultural differences. Thus, the permanent change of consumer trends and the market fragmentation create a lot of niche markets. Today, the major theatre for fierce competition is US and EU markets. The company has to compete with other entertainment companies, broadcasters and content providers, who pursue very aggressive customer-switching strategies. Swot analysis According to Wit & Meyer (1998) the analysis of capabilities shall focus on the analysis of â€Å"core competence† or â€Å"portfolio† assessment (see Appendix I). Applying this table to the case of Walt Disney it must be admitted, that the global nature of operations and high intensity of competitive environment create importance for using both types of analysis. Strengths From the core competence perspective, one of the main strengths of Walt Disney’s strategy is a capability of fast and intensive transfer of operational capabilities across the markets, which allow the company to benefit from learning curve, operational and other cost reduction benefits. The other important capability is the ability to develop new innovative solutions to meet changing demand. The development of Mission: SPACE is the good example of the application of latest digital technologies to enhance the entertainment experience of theme park visitors (Datamonitor, 2004). From the portfolio perspective, the company’s strength is in its experience of international operations. According to Bennet (1999) the development of local knowledge along with learning curve might create potential synergies over different strategic business units. The other strength is a diversified portfolio. Walt Disney is involved in various areas of the media distribution, including television and cable, book publishing and filmed entertainment, character merchandise and internet content delivery. The company's wide-ranging interests protect it somewhat from the effects of adverse market conditions in any one of the sectors within which it operates. Its presence in a large number of markets gives the company a more balanced and stable portfolio of assets, and therefore a more secure business. The diversity of the media portfolio creates a strong advertising potential. The company operates with six domestic sports channels, reaching 85 million viewers, and has several brand extensions including ESPN Radio, which is the largest radio sports network in the US. Its A Television Networks, featuring cultural and entertainment programming such as The History Channel, reach 77 million homes. Lifetime Television is devoted to women's lifestyle programming and reaches 83 million cable subscribers. Its Toon Disney channel, targeted at 2-11 year olds, is available in 26 million homes and began carrying advertising in 2000. Disney's SoapNet channel was also launched in 2000, and now reaches more than 18 million homes (Datamonitor, 2004). Weaknesses One of the strong weaknesses of the company is the dependence of theme park distribution on seasonal component. All of Disney's theme parks and associated operations are open all year round. However, there are extreme fluctuations in park attendance and resort occupancy, caused by the nature and patterns of vacations. Peak attendance and occupancy occur during the school holidays in summer, early-winter and spring. These fluctuations cause natural operational difficulties, but also make the business more vulnerable as it relies heavily on a few key months. If economic downturns, poor weather or other outside influences occur during the crucial periods, the effect on annual results is magnified. The analysis of financial data for the last 10 years (www. hoovers. com) show that despite overall healthy growth f its sales and successful penetration into new markets, the company had very high operation costs and unbalanced cash flows along different SBUs. The financial figures show that only cable broadcasting and television create sound profit. The situation with filmed entertainment requires consideration regarding the future strategy of running this business area as the company’s certain failures seriously affected the profitability of this area. Opportunities Improvement of customer relation s strategy According to D’Agostino (2003) Walt Disney has a unique opportunity of developing strong customer relations strategy based on database marketing capabilities. It predicts that the introduction of these technologies will enable the company to target and tailor the media delivery to active and prospective customers. However various analysts strongly advise to find the balance between â€Å"being digital and human† (D’Agostino, 2003). Advertising Growth The analysis of social factors influence shows the strong impact of various social events on the content requirements. Various social events as summer holidays or adventure trips might create significant a potential for advertising growth what can bring great financial benefit. Differentiation The continuous change of global lifestyles and attitudes create niche markets for specific quality products. The ongoing diffusion of new technological solutions creates new possibilities to capture these markets. Thus the combination of these factors provides a feasible opportunity to expand. However, the success will strongly depend on the ability to react quickly to keep abreast of fast-changing market requirements. The further introduction of ICT technologies As Datamonitor (2003) recommends, the ICT technologies shall be further implemented in the business process. The further proliferation of broadband technologies on the EU market might create various opportunities for Walt Disney providing its extensive development of online applications. Besides, it will enable the company to exploit various internet media channels that will enable the company to use various e-marketing tools to create stronger relations with its customers.. Superior market segmentation The company has the opportunity to develop stronger demographic segmentation in order to anticipate the further market trends. The Mintel report (2003) shows that there are significant differences in preferences across different demographic and psychographic groups. Given the importance of content as a strong â€Å"pull† and differentiating factor, the further success might depend on the ability to spot the requirements of niche markets and meet them. Threats Economic conditions The Walt Disney’s media production and distribution indirectly dependent on advertising for their revenue. Changes in US, global or regional economic conditions may affect the advertising market for broadcast and cable television programming, which in turn may affect the volume of, and price for, the advertising on Walt Disney’s cable networks and shows and the volume of, and price for, the programming that the company is able to sell. Winnie the Pooh trial According to Datamonitor (2004) a one-billion-dollar lawsuit against Walt Disney over the cash generated by the Winnie the Pooh character is likely to finally go to trial in 2005. The case centres on the US marketing rights to he character, created by British author A. A. Milne and popularized by the Disney entertainment empire. Among the issues at stake, are revenues from computer software, DVDs and videotapes, merchandise that mostly comes in formats that came into being after the agreement was signed. Pooh revenues, said to be the most of any character that Disney markets, are estimated to be in the region of three billion to six billion dollars a year, and the lawsuit represents a considerable threat to the company's performance in the future. Stakeholder analysis Stakeholders are persons, groups or institutions with interests in a project or programme. According to McLarney (2002) there are two types of stakeholders: primary or key stakeholders, and secondary ones. Primary stakeholders are those ultimately affected, either positively (beneficiaries) or negatively (for example, those involuntarily resettled). Secondary stakeholders are the intermediaries in the aid delivery process. McLarney (2002) suggest that the group of primary stakeholders consist of shareholders, employees and customers. Shareholders Shareholders can be considered as one of the most influential type of primary stakeholders as they might exert direct or indirect control over the strategic action of the company. That is why one of the Disney's overriding objectives â€Å"is to create shareholder value by continuing to be the world's premier entertainment company from a creative, strategic, and financial standpoint†. Shareholders’ evaluation of the company’s current and future performance has a direct effect on the company’s stakes’ value. The recent bidding of Comcast Corporation for The Walt Disney Company (Business Week, 2004) exemplified the way market evaluation might determine the bidding process during the possible merging. This group expect the company to deliver consistent sound financial performance what will be a proof that the company can fulfil its mission’s objectives. Employees Employees have a direct influence over the quality of the business concept delivery. According to Drucker (1998) employee possess important tacit and explicit knowledge, which can significantly contribute to the learning capability of the company, especially during business process reengineering and continuous improvement activities. They expect to work for the socially responsible company, which is adherent to its mission and brand promise. They also expect certain degree of involvement in decision making, personal development and adequate performance appraisal. Customers Customers have a direct influence over company’s profitability. According to Kotler et al. (1999) the direction of customers’ attitude formation may determine the success and failure of particular goods or brand. Customers expect the company to deliver the quality promised by the brand, and communicated to them through various promotion mix activities. The issue of company’s social responsibility, especially in the case of Walt Disney is crucial, as the company is involved in character–based merchandise which is heavily dependant on the proliferation of specific image of particular characters. Conclusion The analysis of the current PESTEL factors identified the particular importance of socio-cultural, political and legal, economic, technological and environmental factors on the environment. All of these factors determine the success of operations. If socio-cultural and economic factors affect the demand patterns and vulnerability of strategic development, other factors create the conditions for value chain architecture. The review of environmental factors identified the opportunities to improve financial health, capitalize on the growth of advertising market and develop further ifferentiation using technological solutions. At the same time economic conditions and copyright issue create serious threats to the company. The analysis of five forces identified the strong power of buyers and the analysis of strategic capability defined the following strengths: diversified portfolio, fast and intensive transfer of operational capabilities and the experience of running the international oper ations. At the same time the current portfolio management and the dependence of certain business units on various external factors were defined as major weaknesses. The paper identified various feasible opportunities. The analysis of current capabilities along with the further development of technological solutions create strong case for the development of customer relations management based on database marketing techniques. Besides the company might pursue the development of new ICT technologies. The current success of Mission: SPACE attractions show vast market opportunities with regards to the introduction of new entertainment experience. The company may develop superior market segmentation. The high influence of social factor and the influence of fashion trends on market demand and product life cycles create the space for niche market strategies. The stakeholder analysis defined three types of key stakeholders, as shareholders, employees and customers, who might exert sufficient influence on the strategic development of the company. references Bennett, R. (1999) Corporate strategy – 2nd ed. – London: Financial Times Bradley F. (1999) International marketing strategy – 3rd edn. – Addison-Wesley Publishing Calton J. nd Kurland N. (1996) â€Å"A theory of stakeholder enabling: giving voice to an emerging postmodern praxis of organizational discourse†, Boje D. M. , Gephardt R. P. , Thatchenkey T. J. Postmodern Management and Organizational Theory – Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Chaffey D. (2002) E-business and e-commerce management : strategy, implementation and practice – Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall Datamonitor (2003) â€Å"Global media: Industry profile†, Datamonitor, June Datamonitor (2004) â€Å"Walt Disney: Company profile†, Datamonitor D’Agostino D. 2003) â€Å"Walt Disney World Resorts and CRM Strategy†, eWeek, 01/12 Drucker P. (1998) â€Å"Management’s new paradigms†, Forbes, 05/10. Grant, R. M. (1998) Contemporary strategy analysis: concepts, techniques, applications – 3rd ed. – Malden, Mass. ; Oxford: Blackwell Hill C. (2002) International business: competing in the global marketplace – 4th edn. – Irwin McGraw-Hill: London Kotler P. , Bowen J. , Mak J. (1999) Marketing for hospitality and tourism – 2nd edn. – Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Mintel (2003) â€Å"Leisure Business – UK†, Mintel International Group Limited, August Porter M. (1990) The competitive advantage of nations – London: Macmillan, Wit B. and Meyer R. (1998) Strategy: process, content, context: an international perspective – 2nd edn. – London : International Thomson Business Hoovers Online Official site – www. hoovers. com Appendix i – Portfolio vs core competence perspectives | |Portfolio |Core Competences | |Emphasis on |Responsiveness over synergy |Synergy over responsiveness |View of competition |Firms compete within a business |Corporations compete across business | |Competitive strategy at |Business level |Corporate level | |Key success factors |Responsiveness to business demands |Competence leverage | |Corporate composition |Potentially unrelated (diverse) |Shared competence base (focused) | |Mulitibusiness synergy |Cash flow optimization |Rapid competence building | |Primary task corporate centre |Capital allocation to SBU’s |Competence development & application | |Position of Business un its |Highly autonomous (independent) |Highly integrated (interdependent) | |Co-ordination between SBU’s |Low, incidental |High, structural | |Corporate control style |Setting financial objectives |Joint strategy development | |Diversification acquisitions |Simple to accommodate |Difficult to integrate | Adopted from Witt and Meyer (1998) ———————– Competitors High New entrants Low Buyers (bargaining power) High Substitutes High Suppliers