Saturday, August 31, 2019

International Business Essay

1. Summarize the globalization debate. What are the major interest groups in the world economy? How are they affected by different elements of globalization? 2. Who benefits and who loses from a shift in jobs to low-wage economies? Consider this question from the perspective of consumers, labour, technological change, firms, nation-states. Are the net benefits likely to be positive? 3. Identify and evaluate the sources of conflict between pressures on companies to operate globally and the desire of governments to regulate companies and activities within their borders. 4. Account for the existence of counter trade in the world economy and explore the view that its influence will continue as a solution to the problem developing countries face when attempting to export to western markets? 5. Analyze the likely impact on domestic markets of import restrictions via tariffs and quotas respectively. Discuss the dynamic side effects that can arise from import protection. 6. In the light of the strategic significance of price discrimination between cross-border markets to firms, evaluate the merits of anti-dumping measures. 7. Outline the static and dynamic effects of a customs union and explain why regional integration blocs composed of small economies are unlikely to be economically beneficial. 8. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the joint venture over licensing as a foreign market entry mode. Describe scenarios when licensing might be the preferable one of the two entry modes. 9. International franchising is often regarded as a low-risk foreign market entry strategy. Does this view fully reflect the attraction of international franchising as a market entry mode? 10. Under what circumstances would a BOT system make sense as an international marketing strategy?

Friday, August 30, 2019

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay

â€Å"The language of friendship is not in words, but in meanings† – Henry David Thoreau While reading the novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader gets a front row view into the relationship of the two main characters, Lennie and George. In every friendship, there are dysfunctional moments, ups and downs, genuine moments and never ending adventures. By definition, a friend is someone to talk to, do things with, be there for each other in time of need and be each other’s crying shoulder. Throughout this novel, Lennie and George display a friendship unlike any other. It is so dysfunctional and rare it makes the reader wonder why these two are friends. For example, the boss says â€Å"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.† â€Å"I just like to know your interest.† In this quote found on page 25, the boss is trying to make sense of their friendship. Even though this quote highlights the rarity of George and Lennie’s bond, this causes the boss to suspect wrong- doing on George’s part. At the end of the novel, George end s up shooting Lennie. This perfectly displays the dysfunctional and rare qualities in their friendship. There are many ups and downs in Lennie and George’s friendship in addition to it being dysfunctional and rare. Lennie is mentally ill. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind his actions. For instance, without Lennie, George could â€Å"Go get a job an’ work an’ no trouble. No mess at all and at the end of the month I could take my fifty bucks into town and get whatever I want.† This shows Lennie and George’s Relationship being down. Even though Lennie is a huge burden, George ultimately chooses to not be without him. Even though it seems like George is being held down by Lennie, George stays with Lennie because they both want the migrant dream. â€Å"Someday – we’re gonna get the Jack together, have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and we’ll have a big vegetable patch.† Thus, these two cannot live without each other. Lennie and George have a genuine relationship too. George takes really good care of Lennie, almost like in a maternal way. George says, â€Å"Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much, you gonna be sick like you was last night.† This shows he cares about Lennie. In the beginning, Lennie assaults a lady by tearing the front side of her dress  off in their old town Weeds. George could’ve easily left Lennie to fend for himself but he realized that wasn’t the right thing to do. Lennie hears his dead aunt Clara telling him â€Å"When he got a piece of pie you always got half or more’n half.† â€Å"An’ if there was any ketchup, why he’d give it all to you.† As the novel progresses, Lennie’s past catches up with him and the authorities start looking for him. George knows that if it is caught, the officers would throw him in jail and he wouldn’t survive. So George shoots Lennie to basically put him out of his misery. Clearly, they have a genuine friendship. With every friendship, there are many adventures along the way. The novel starts off in a scenic woodsy area by a lake. Lennie and George run away together from their home town of Weed to run from the authorities and start a new life as migrant workers. When they’ve finally reached the barn, they meet new people and build relationships with them. The boss, Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim, Crooks, and Carlson. Lennie is always getting into trouble and George is always looking to get him out of it. Lennie kills a mouse, strangles Curley’s wife and also kills the dog. Although this book had many twist and turns, it was a heart- warming thriller that illustrated what life was like back in the 1930s. it surely wasn’t easy but having a dream meant a lot to the characters and made them strive to live their dream.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Fiscal and Monetary Policy

Introduction As an assistant manager for Skanska I have been asked by my manager to explain how fiscal and monetary policy decisions affect the business in which I work. To undertake this task I will provide explanation of the fiscal and monetary policies. I will also explain what interest rate is and what could be possible changes on it. Additionally, I will explain how both policies could make changes in employment level. Fiscal policy Economic climate is essential to be controlled within every single county because this helps control important activities within the particular country.All countries where economy is developed created and follow polices which ensure that money spent by government are used in an appropriate way. Those policies are known as fiscal and monetary policies. Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy could be defined as a legislation which was introduced by government to control the economy. The fiscal policy control and affects public taxation, public expenditure and bor rowing money. Fiscal policy includes direct and indirect taxation, public finances, public sector borrowing, pre-budget report and redistribution of income.The purpose of fiscal policy is to monitor, control and support economy as a whole. (Ref. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/f/fiscalpolicy. asp#ixzz1nhAdVG74) Taxation Taxation could be defines as a collection of money by government from their citizens and corporation businesses to found operational expenditure of the country. Changes in taxation would have a large influence on economy because amount of obtained money could be spent for different purposes or needs of the country. Taxation could be divided into two main types which are direct and indirect taxation. Ref. Book: Business level 3, Book Publisher: Edexcel Page: 300 Author John Bevan) Direct Taxation This particular type of taxes is paid by population and businesses on their income and profit. If the amount of income is higher than the higher will be direct tax which will have to be paid. Direct taxes could be collected by government in form of income tax, corporation tax, council tax, working tax, road tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty, national insurance (NI). (Ref. Class notes- Direct and Indirect taxation Lecturer- Brenda Horan Date- 06/02/2012) Income TaxIncome Tax rates 2011-12 by tax band and type of income Income tax is a main financial source for government to found activities of the country and public services. This is pay by anyone within the country who has an income. It is protected by legislation that organisations and individuals have to proof how much income was generated for each year. Income tax could be calculated in three ways which is 20, 40 and 50 percent. Additionally, there is a possibility of personal allowance which means that some people income is not taxable as they do not earned enough to pay income tax.This tax year the basic personal allowance or tax-free amount is ? 7,475. Furthermore, some peopl e may be entitled to a higher Personal Allowance if they have reached the age of 65 or over. (Ref. http://www. hmrc. gov. uk/incometax/basics. htm) †¢ National Insurance Contributions This is another form of tax which is based on income. National Insurance contribution also known as NI is paid by employees and employers to the government. NI is dependable on the amount of money which is earned by each party and whether people are employed or self-employed.Through National Insurance contributions employees are building up to entitlement for different social benefits if they have to. Additionally, NI building up a form of state pensions when employees would be retired. There is one restriction where people do not have to pay NI and this is when they reach retirement age. (Ref. http://www. hmrc. gov. uk/incometax/basics. htm) †¢ Corporation Tax Corporation tax is a form of tax which is based on taxable profits of all businesses. This is why organisations do their best to redu ce amount of corporation tax.The most common way to deduct the amount of corporation tax is to reinvest the profit into the further development of the business. (Ref. http://lexicon. ft. com/Term? term=corporation-tax) Indirect Taxation Indirect taxes are charged by government on producers or suppliers. The main aim of these taxes is to reduce pollution and improve the environment. The examples of indirect taxes are value added tax (VAT), excise duty, air passenger duty, insurance taxes such as car, home or pet insurance, TV licence or driving licence. (Ref. http://tutor2u. net/economics/revision-notes/as-marketfailure-indirect-taxation. tml) †¢ Value Added Tax (VAT) This type of tax is charged almost on all products or services provided by organisations. For instance businesses pay VAT for all products which are needed to manufacture the products and then VAT is paid by customers if they want to buy manufactured products. VAT could be charged into three different rates which a re standard rate 20%, reduced rate 5% and zero rated 0%. Standard rate is most common form of VAT and this is paid on almost all products or services unless they have been specified to reduce or zero rate.Reduced rate is depend on products it’s self and the circumstances of the sale. The most common example of reduced rate VAT are domestic fuel and power, installation of energy saving materials, sanitary hygiene goods or children’s car seats. Zero rated VAT is similar to the reduced rated VAT as is depend on products it’s self and the circumstances of the sale. The example of this type of VAT could be products or services such as food apart from the meals purchased in restaurants or hot takeaways, books and newspapers, children's clothes and shoes, public transport. (Ref. http://www. hmrc. gov. k/vat/start/introduction. htm) †¢ Excise Duty This is another form of indirect tax which is only paid for certain products on the market. Excise duty tax is added to the goods or services which might be luxuries, danger for environment and harmful for the health of population. The examples of products which include excise duty are tobacco, spirits and beers, oil or gambling. The government has introduced excise duty to increase amount of overall collected taxes but also to decrease the demand for particular products. (Ref. http://customs. hmrc. gov. uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp. ortal? _nfpb=true;_pageLabel=pageExcise_InfoGuides) †¢ Air Passenger Duty Air passenger duty is paid by airlines to the government for carriage passengers from UK airports. International booked passengers who are coming into the country are exempted to pay this duty. Since 2009 air passenger duty is paid by the amount of flies whereas use to it was charged by every single passenger. The changes amended in this type of taxation increased prices of airline tickets as organisations are forced to pay more taxes. The main purpose of collection of air pas senger duty is to raise extra funds to upport economy but also for environmental reasons. (Ref. Book: Business level 3, Book Publisher: Edexcel Page: 301 Author John Bevan) Public Finances Public finances could be referred as the amount of money which government pays for its expenditures through collection of taxes and borrowing. To support community within the country the government provides valuable activities such as security, education, transport and health support. Running the following activities might cost government millions so this is why appropriate amount of collected taxes is essential.Government have to balance overheads for different departments in appropriate way and ensure that money spent in certain area would benefit population and generate future return in the economy. (Ref. http://glossary. econguru. com/economic-term/public+finance http://www. etvotenow. org/financial-tips/public-finance-definition-know-your-environment-in-the-business-world-233. html) Public Se ctor Borrowing Public sector borrowing also known as a Public Sector Cash Requirement could be defined as an amount of money which government has to borrow from Bank of England to operate essential activities provided to the public.Public sector cash requirement occurs when the country does not collect enough finances to cover overheads of essential activities. If that would happen, then country will start going into the debt what would disadvantage economy and community as less money might be invested in public interest. (Ref. http://www. qfinance. com/dictionary/public-sector-borrowing-requirement) Impact of Fiscal policies on Skanska? Changes made within Fiscal policy would have a large impact on business operations. Skanska could be affected by any decisions made within these policies as any decisions could change the activities and revenues of the business.For instance, if government cut down the spending costs to build hospitals or motorways then Skanska will lose contracts, w hich simply means there would not be projects undertaken by my organisation. This situation would be reflected in the release of employees as the organisation might not be able to afford to maintain workforce. Additionally, this would affect the manufacturing organisations as they would not be able to supply Skanska with their products and therefore less money will be generated and flowed into the economy.How does Fiscal policy affect Skanska? Skanska operates in construction industry so any changes in fiscal policy would affect overall operation of this business. Skanska as a one of leading construction organisations in the United Kingdom would be affected by positive or negative outcome. For instance, if government would change income tax band from taxation element for higher then this would benefit this organisation as there would be a possibility to pay lower amount of taxes by Skanska.The example could be that if government increase the income tax band of 50% from 150,000 to 20 0,000 then my chosen organisation would generate higher revenue as even if they would achieve revenue of 180,000 the business will under the 40% of income tax band. The effect of changes in this fiscal policy could create more profit for Skanska so owners, stakeholders and employees might benefit from this fact as higher amount of money obtained by the business could be shared into these parties. Additionally, the result of fewer taxes paid by my organisation would nathnelo investors and owners to reinvest extra income in the business.Reinvestment of generated profit would be equalised to the expansion of Skanska what might create new jobs for employees due to further investments. Changes in public sector borrowing would also affect Skanska because if government would not collect enough taxes than it automatically decrease amount of possible spending’s into the economy. In the past the government applied Golden Rule of public borrowing which state that it should never be borr owed more than 40% of overall income from economy. Due to recession in United Kingdom the government has to break this rule to reduce possibility of bank collapse.In 2010 the government decided to introduce Fiscal Responsibility Act which is about limiting the amount of government borrowing. This act is mended to stop the country to follow into the debt. Due to breaking Golden Rule decision my chosen organisation had better opportunities to undertake any projects as more money were flowing into the economy. (Ref. Book: Business level 3, Book Publisher: Edexcel Page: 301 Author John Bevan) Monetary Policy Monetary policy is interlinked to fiscal policy and it was created by the government to support and control an economy activities.Monetary policy influence aggregate demand, employment level, money supply, the interest rate that is offered by central bank and the level exchange rate within the country. In the United Kingdom the central bank is the Bank of England which is in charge of interest and exchange rates or money supply. Additionally, the Bank of England is responsible for the amount of money that banks need to keep in the vault which is also known as bank reserves. The purpose of monetary policy is to control and stabilize overall economy within the country. (Ref. http://www. nvestopedia. com/terms/m/monetarypolicy. asp#ixzz1oQuE0cW4) Aggregate Demand Aggregate Demand could be defined as the total demand for provided goods and services produced within the economy over a certain period of time. Aggregate demand is considered as the sum of consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports. Aggregate demand has a large influence on the economy as a whole because its increase or decrease would generate positive or negative outcomes in the economy. (Ref. http://finance-dictionary. com/definition/a/aggregate-demand/) Interest RateInterest rate could be defined as the amount of percentage charged by lender usually banks to the borrower. The perce ntage of interest rate is based on the annual basis also known as Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and this is dependable on the value of borrowed money or assets. The example of borrowed assets could be cash, beneficial goods of consumers and large assets such as vehicles or premises. If the interest rate is low then there is frequent possibility of larger investments as the businesses do not have to pay back much more than it was borrowed from the bank. Ref. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/i/interestrate. asp#axzz1oRT2mwKL) Employment Level Employment level could be defined as the population who is currently working and this is presented in form of percentage. The level of employment is very important factor to be considered by government because through this aspect the taxes are collected which could be reinvested into the economy. Employment level is affected by monetary policy because if inflation level would increase then more likely the wages of employees would be higher.The overall result from this situation could be that the employer might reduce workforce to cut down cost which possibly would decrease aggregate demand due to less people would have confidence in spending money. (Ref. http://www. economicshelp. org/blog/453/unemployment/definition-of-full-employment/) Impact of Monetary policies on Skanska The changes in monetary policy would have a large influence on my chosen business because changes amended in these policies could have knock-on effect in my organization.For instance, changes of the interest rate for lower could lead to the situation where Skanska might invest in latest machinery as interest rate on this purchase will be lower so the business would save money if the make a purchase in this period. Additionally, low interest rate might create situation where population would be less likely to make a savings due to low interest which they could receive. If population would not be interested in saving then they would prefer to spend the money which they earn so the economy would benefit as the aggregate demand would increase.How does Monetary policy affect Skanska? Implementation of monetary policy could affect industry within my chosen business operates. Through increase or decrease of interest rates Skanska would be affected by the changes in demand of provided services by population. For instance, if government would decrease the level of interest rate than this might stimulate higher aggregate demand because people would have more money to spent. If population have a confidence to spend money than my chosen business is more likely to convince potential customers to make the purchase.Additionally, lower interest rate would attract Skanska for new investments due to low interests which need to be paid back. This is also easier for construction industry to find new invertors all over the world as in this period investors are able to generate large return of invested finances. If government and central bank would decide to raise interest rate than this would disadvantage my chosen organisation as opposite effect which most likely would reduce aggregate demand and inflation. Employment level would be affected by changes in monetary policy which could create different situations within operation of Skanska.Government do their best to keep inflation at 2% which means that economy would be stable and wages would be increase by similar level. Low raise of inflation would means that employees have a job security due to steady costs of business. For instance, if inflation would drastically rise then wages would increase too so as a result business might not be able to afford workforce due to too high overheads. (Ref. http://tutor2u. net/economics/content/topics/ad_as/ad-as_notes. htm) How fiscal and monetary policy would help Skanska to achieve its objectives.Skanska committed their selves to outperform business in the management of the environment, health ; safety and the engagement with the commu nities they work in as well as the project performance and profitability. The achievement of main aims is depended on the legislations of government. Through changes in fiscal policy my chosen organisation would be able to generate outcome which would benefit the business and the productivity of economy. For instance, if inflation increased due to raise of aggregate demand than increased spending would most probably decrease national debt at least in short term.Also decrease of income tax would increase the amount of available organisational income which might increase the aggregate demand. Appropriate changes in fiscal policy could create significantly impact the national income and therefore have immediate effect on the economy. Another benefit which Skanska could obtain from changes in fiscal policy is higher profitability and motivation of workforce if taxes on wages would be decreased. Additionally, if higher amount of people and organizations would earn more than automatically the government would collect more taxes such as VAT or income tax.Growth of economy would also means that government would spend less money for different types of benefits which support unemployment community. (Ref. http://12chunso. wordpress. com/2011/05/11/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-fiscal-policy/ http://library. thinkquest. org/19110/english/advantag/index. html http://www. economicshelp. org/macroeconomics/fiscal-policy/fiscal_policy. html) On the other hand, Fiscal policy have great influence on businesses operation so government have to ensure that amended changes do not affect the organisations in the way that they would not be able to operate.For instance if government would increase the income tax as too high level than organisation would not be interested in feather operations as too much amount of taxes which will have to be paid to government would be seen as not reasonable and the organisations might be closed down. This would create negative outcome for economy b ecause if businesses will be closed down then unemployment would increase and more money government will have to spend to support those people and no taxes at all would be collected as organisations would abandon from operations.Additionally, changes in direct taxation or government spending may take considerable time because of both political and moral reasons. For instance, taxing rich people more than the others might be seen as unfair treatment for parties who are charged higher. (Ref. http://12chunso. wordpress. com/2011/05/11/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-fiscal-policy/ How monetary policy would help Skanska to achieve its objectives. http://www. ehow. com/facts_5796267_benefits-policy-over-fiscal-policy_. html) ConclusionOverall, I have described what fiscal and monetary policies are and what is involved in those aspects. Also I have explained how does policies affect my chosen organisations and what out6come could be generated through changes in both policies. The fiscal a nd monetary policies are closely interlinked to each other. Fiscal and monetary policies are very important to be managed in an appropriate manner by government because wrong changes would not only affect businesses within the country but also the economy as a whole will be affected.Bibliography AuthorPageDate John Bevan Book- Business level 3 Page: 300-305 Publisher: Edexcel Class notes- Direct and Indirect taxation Lecturer- Brenda Horan Date- 06/02/2012 http://www. investopedia. com/terms/f/fiscalpolicy. asp#ixzz1nhAdVG74 http://www. hmrc. gov. uk/incometax/basics. htm http://lexicon. ft. com/Term? term=corporation-tax http://tutor2u. net/economics/revision-notes/as-marketfailure-indirect-taxation. html http://www. hmrc. gov. uk/vat/start/introduction. htm http://customs. hmrc. gov. k/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp. portal? _nfpb=true;_pageLabel=pageExcise_InfoGuides http://glossary. econguru. com/economic-term/public+finance http://www. etvotenow. org/financial-tips/p ublic-finance-definition-know-your-environment-in-the-business-world-233. html http://www. qfinance. com/dictionary/public-sector-borrowing-requirement http://www. investopedia. com/terms/m/monetarypolicy. asp#ixzz1oQuE0cW4 http://finance-dictionary. com/definition/a/aggregate-demand/ http://www. investopedia. com/terms/i/interestrate. asp#axzz1oRT2mwKL Fiscal and Monetary Policy TOMAS L. OLFATO ANSWERS TO GROUP 4 EXAM ECON 204 (NOTE: ANSWERS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW) PART I. (5 points each) A. An increase in government spending will shift the IS curve to left increasing output with higher interest rate. [pic] Expansionary monetary policy or Contractionary monetary policy. a) To maintain the same level of output, what monetary policy should BSP implement? ANSWER: EXPANSIONARY MONETARY POLICY (Increasing money supply lowers interest rate) b) To maintain the same level of interest rate, what monetary policy should BSP implement?ANSWER: CONTRACTIONARY MONETARY POLICY (Reducing money supply results to an increase in interest rate) B. An inflationary gap occurs when aggregate demand exceeds aggregate supply at full employment level of output. When there is increased spending and availability of money are high, prices start to rise resulting to an inflationary gap. What fiscal policy (Expansionary or Restrictive) should the government implement to dampen growth an d lower inflationary pressures(5 points). ANSWER: RESTRICTIVE FISCAL POLICY (Racing taxes or cutting government spending to dampen GDP(Aggregate Demand) growth and lower inflationary ressures) [pic] C. A Deflationary gap occurs when aggregate supply exceeds aggregate demands at full employment level of output. The opposite of Inflation, deflation has the side effect of increased unemployment which can lead to economic depression. What fiscal policy (Expansionary or Restrictive) can government implement to stop severe deflation(5 points). ANSWER: EXPANSIONARY FISCAL POLICY ( Increasing government purchases, decrease in taxes and/or increase in transfer payments closes a recessionary gap, stimulate the economy and decreases the unemployment rate) pic] PART II. (2 points each) True or False: FALSE 1. The Keynesian school of thought is based on the premise that free markets can regulate themselves alone, free of any human intervention. There is an invisible hand that moves market toward s a natural equilibrium, without the requirement of an intervention. TRUE2. Keynesian economic models stress the fact that government intervention is absolutely necessary to ensure growth and economic stability. The government has the very important job of smoothing out the business cycle bumps.TRUE3. In the Goods market, an increase in interest rate will result to a decrease in Money Demand while a decrease interest rate will result to an increase in Money Demand. TRUE4. In the financial market, an increase in interest rate will increase Money Supply while a decrease in interest rate will decrease Money Supply TRUE5. In liquidity trap, people are indifferent as to how much money or how many bonds they hold, so they are willing to hold fewer bonds and more money (more liquid) at the same nominal interest rate.The money supply will increase but the effect on the nominal interest rate remains zero. All the additional money is held as idle balances and equilibrium is unchanged. FALSE6. Disposable Income excludes both the negative impact of taxes and positive impact of transfer payments. FALSE7. Transfer payments decreases disposable income TRUE8. Fiscal neutrality creates a condition where demand is neither stimulated nor diminished by taxation and government spending. TRUE9. Crowding out effect happens when expansionary fiscal policy causes interest rates to rise, thereby reducing the investment or spending.If an increase in government spending and/or a decrease in tax leads to a budget deficit and this deficit is financed by increased borrowing, this creates demand for money and loanable funds. This will increase interest rates leading to a reduction in private consumption or investment. FALSE10. Expansionary fiscal policy increases national saving thereby reducing the supply of loanable funds and raising the equilibrium of the interest rate. PART III. (5 points each) 1. A monetary policy wherein the government steps on the break. RESTRICTIVE MONETARY POLICY 2. A policy that focuses on controlling price and interest rates.MONETARY POLICY 3. The most popular policy instrument. OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS 4. A monetary policy instrument in which BSP have no total control. DISCOUNT RATE 5. When the government wants to reduce the money supply in open market, it has to. SELL BONDS TO THE PUBLIC PART IV. (10 points) If the government wants to solve the issue on economic growth by increasing the money supply, what should be the effect on interest rate, investment, and consumption? ^MONEY SUPPLY, v INTEREST RATE, ^INVESTMENT, ^ CONSUMPTION Please email your answers to [email  protected] com with copy to [email  protected] com and [email  protected] com THANKS

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Service marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Service marketing - Essay Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Case Encounter 1: Travel & Tourism Industry 4 Case Encounter 2: Telecommunications Ltd 7 Case Encounter 3: Movie Rental 9 Case Encounter 4: Online Book Ordering 11 Case Encounter 5: Airline Ticket Booking 12 Conclusion 14 Journal Template 15 Introduction Services are intangible products offered to customers and are usually a series of activities which take place as a result of interaction between the customers and the service provider. Execution of different strategies has been complied under thoughtful consideration, which is also called the gap model of service quality (Zeithaml, et. al., 2011).This type of marketing is also known as relationship marketing, which revolves around delivering customer expectations and transactional marketing (Rao, 2011). Services are difficult to describe and communicate and are evident when there is new service development and the management works upon these concepts to fulfil t he customer needs and expectations (Udayton, n.d.). The quality of the services delivered by the manufacturer to develop contact with customers personally is influenced by the generalized market standards. These generalized markets standards are basically prepared against the benchmark standards for evaluation of their effectiveness. These service standards do not signify the actual customer requirements, expectations, quality of services and customer perception but they define the quality expected from the manufacturer (Mills, 2002). The five service delivery encounter by me signifies the service performance gap of the different service providers and also the experience encountered by the customers. Recording of different service provider will help in distinguishing between resources employed by these providers and also their actual quality of services. Case Encounter 1: Travel & Tourism Industry Featherworks Limited is renowned travel and Tourism Company which offers travel and to urism services to customers who want to travel in Asian and South East Asian region. The company specializes in offering excusive travel packages as well as guidance that are willing to travel in the above mentioned locations. As a first time customer, I had researched about the company and its travel tours and packages facilities. I had decided to book a travel package for three members. Service Encounter I had decided to purchase the tickets through their city branch office located at Manchester. The staff at Manchester travel city office were not only courteous and well informed about their existing services and offers, but also develop an excellent rapport with the others customers. An adequately staffed organization not only ensured that the customers are not kept waiting but also feel the pleasant ambience. Thorough product knowledge enable me to not only thoughtfully consider an array of travel options at affordable prices, but also helped me in matching the travel packages w ith my allocated budget. The booking of tickets was done immediately and prior to the booking I was made to fill up personal and professional information as per the policy of the company. Breadth of Model Used: Service Quality The quality of the service decides the customer loyalty and the customer retention power of the company. Managing service quality will help the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

District Budget Comparison Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

District Budget Comparison - Research Paper Example When comparing two Texas school districts- Lubbock Independent School District and Laredo Independent School District- research will show a few similarities and differences among the districts in terms of demographics and budget analysis. All data and research conducted will be derived from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) Reports and each district’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the 2010-2011 academic school years. Student Population Student Population by Grades Lubbock Independent School District is located in Lubbock city, Texas in Region 17. According to the AEIS report, Lubbock ISD has 28, 680 students in over fifty schools. The district is composed of 35 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, 4 high schools, and 3 disciplinary alternative education programs. Lubbock ISD has 53.1% of its student population at the elementary level. Local high school enrollment accounts for 25.4% of the student population and the middle scho ol for 21.5%. ... At the elementary level, the district has 57.4% of the student population enrolled. Local high school enrollment accounts for 23.6% of the student population and the middle school for 19.1%. Table 1.1: Student Enrollment by Grade Level Grade Level Laredo ISD Lubbock ISD State Elementary 57.4% 53.1% 50.8% Middle 19.1% 21.5% 21.9% High School 23.6% 24.4% 27.2% Graph 1.1: Student Enrollment by Grade Level Source: TEA, Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), 2010-11. Laredo ISD enrolls more students in the elementary level when compared to Lubbock and State. On the other hand, the proportion of its middle and high school is less than that of Lubbock and state. The proportions of Laredo ISD and those of states are quite similar. Student Population by Ethnicity Laredo ISD has a predominantly set in terms of ethnicity and overall student population, meaning that the student population in general is stable and one sided, compared to other districts with more diversity. Laredo ISD has a dominant Hispanic distribution. Almost 100% percent of the student population is Hispanic. However, Lubbock ISD is a little more diverse in its ethnicity makeup even though Hispanics still dominate. Hispanics enrolled account for 53.9% of the student population, while whites follow with 29.1%. African Americans account for 13.3%, American Indian 0.4%, Asian/Pacific 1.7% and other ethnics 1.6% of the Lubbock ISD student population. Table 1.2: Ethnicity Comparison Ethnicity Laredo ISD Lubbock ISD State African American 0.1% 13.3% 12.9% Hispanic 99.5% 53.9% 50.3% White 0.3% 29.1% 31.2% American Indian 0.0% 0.4% 0.5% Asian/Pacific 0.2% 1.7% 3.5% Others 0.0% 1.6% 1.6% Graph1.2: Ethnicity Comparison

Medication errors Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medication errors - Assignment Example I would recommend that the CEO focuses on ensuring a harmonious working relationship amongst the employees. She has to work hard to building trust within the organization, promote freedoms and allow all employees of the organization time to be heard through asking questions during meetings and providing their suggestions for the way forward. The CEO has to change the organizational culture and make the organization more flexible and ready to accept and accommodate new changes in personnel, technology.What should quality data be reported and utilized by this board of directors?The organization’s board of directors should utilize the quality performance measures to turn around the fortunes of the hospital. Once the health facility improves the quality of its performance, their customers or patients will certainly be satisfied with their work. Improving quality performance implies dealing with data on medication errors, hospital infections, and x-ray discrepancies among others in order improve on these figures.The minutes of the board’s meetings definitely do not reflect the discussions held in the meeting. This is because some members are not willing to put out their views during the meetings. The organization’s culture and tradition have for a long time undermined contribution from other members. Therefore, while the minutes of the Board minutes may represent the issues deliberated upon in the meetings, they do not definitely reflect the views of every member present at the meeting.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Business Management - Essay Example The present discourse is an in-depth evaluation of operations management from a strategic operations management perspective. Hence, establishing a link between operations strategy and corporate strategy will help in analyzing how and what competitive priorities are chosen by organisations. Further, key management functions such as planning, controlling, coordinating, and leadership are applied to operations management. These aspects of operations management are studied taking the example of the Toyota Production System. Operations refer to all the activities performed by an organisation in order to produce products or services. Management of these activities directly related to the production of goods and services is termed as operations management. For example, activities related to banking, transportation, shipping, and manufacturing of goods or products such as automobiles, food items, textiles etc all constitute operations management (Chase Jacobs & Aquilano, 2005). ... roduction, planning and designing production processes of goods and services, and also effective integration of marketing, finance, human resources management and strategy which facilitate the business to enter the market and also compete with both new and existing organisations in the market. In other words, operations management helps the firm to establish itself and also provide operational capabilities that promote its success and sustainability. Operations management involves complex processes that are interdependent; the core processes involve capacity planning, supply management, inventory management, quality and efficiency, technology and systems and human resources management. Theoretical aspects of operations management in manufacturing and service industries constitute a combination of three distinct functions, strategic functions, tactical functions and operational planning and control functions (Chase et al, 2005). The main management functions such as planning, organisi ng, controlling and leadership are applicable to operations management. Main operational processes in operations management include planning, production, purchasing or inventory management, supply chain management, distribution and marketing. All operations functions are strategically aligned to its larger or strategic business goals. Thus, operations functions are designed based on strategic decisions that match the organisational strategies (Heizer & Render, 2008). These strategic decisions are referred to as operations strategies. These strategic decisions define the conditions in which operations will be carried out in short and long terms. Operations strategies are the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of an operation and their contribution to overall

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Landfill, Civilization, Disposability, Material Culture, Essay - 1

Landfill, Civilization, Disposability, Material Culture, - Essay Example 1 Production of disposable materials is a key concept in waste management. Common waste management practices include decreasing overall waste production, production of disposable materials, use of landfill and recycling. However, use of disposable materials as means of managing waste products has received much criticism from environmentalists.2 For example, recycling of disposable glass bottles, needles and syringes is responsible for spreading HIV, Hepatitis and other viral diseases. In addition to this, production of disposable material has led to dirtying the environment s such material take time to decompose. In addition to this, as the material decompose; they harbor bacteria and other organisms which cause diseases such as cholera. Lastly, disposable materials encourage users to be irresponsible as they throw waste material anywhere hoping it will decompose.3 It is therefore pointless for individuals to rely on disposable products. Instead, they should rely on recyclable materials. For example, shoppers can carry their goods in reusable bags rather than disposable plastic bags. Similarly, hand towels as well as other disposables should be replaced with cloth towel or hand

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Government Job vs Private Job Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Government Job vs Private Job - Research Paper Example The â€Å"game† presents no investment in the future of the company or corporation, its merle an exchange of wealth. This scenario contributes many problems to the current operating business atmosphere. Mergers bring about immediate economic problems that include, loss of markets to foreign competitors, continuing trade deficits, inadequate operating capital, declining productivity, debt-heavy corporations, and loss of many jobs. The debt is due mainly to financing in order to carry out the merger. These problems plus lagging research and development add to the complications of business operations after the merger is finalized. Another factor that has played a significant role in the situation of state and federal government budgets now are government financial bailouts. The first of these was the Savings and Loan Bailout of 1989 due to more than half of America’s Savings and Loans failing between 1986 and 1989. This was primarily due to lax government lending policies. These business bailouts have directly affected the budget, deficits, and economic stability of our federal and state governments. The US passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act in October 2008 for a $700 billion financial sector bailout. This resulted in the bank rescue of 2008, which called for a $250 billion cash infusion into the banking system. The bailout of Bear Stearns in April 2008 ended in lending the firm $29 billion to JP Morgan to buy the troubled firm. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed in the late summer of 2008. The federal government committed up to $200 billion to save both these giant mortgage lenders. Also, $100 billion in cash credits was guaranteed to each of them to prevent bankruptcy. American International Group (AIG), who was one of the largest insurance companies in the world. The government took control of the company and guaranteed them $85 billion in loans.

Friday, August 23, 2019

What is news and which are the influences exercised on the daily news Essay

What is news and which are the influences exercised on the daily news production processes Discuss critically the pressures put upon news gathering, selection - Essay Example What exactly is news? What is it about news that makes it an integral part of us? What is there in the words we hear and read that make us feel equal with almost every great leader and genius out there? Learning something from the news we hear and having the ability to discuss it with anyone make us feel as if we have become an important part of the world. And we are. This is the reason why we feel connected with almost every person, regardless of the color of our skin and the language of our tongue. With the ever-growing presence of technologies developed each day, there’s no reason for us to feel alone whenever something happens to us, may it be victory or tragedy, because we know that some people from the next town or halfway around the world share our feelings. A good story answers those questions above and contains all the elements therein to create and report complete and accurate news. And while there’s good news, there’s also the bad news, those that were badly written and reported. No reporter, writer, editor, and publisher can escape the production of bad news but there are always ways to avoid mistakes and errors. There is a big definition of news out there that we can’t simply put them all in one complete line. In defining news, we have to consider the presence of all the elements in it that makes news. Otherwise, we could end up having something new and uncommon but doesn’t really make us care about it. It was like eating an unusual type of fruit for the very first time but the moment we try to make something big out of it, we realized nobody even bothered to care. That is not news at all. There are a number of elements to remember before we start writing about a person, an event, or a place. According to Parks (2006), these will serve as the guiding values when we write and present news stories. Anything that happened yesterday, this morning, or an hour ago tends to attract more

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Presidential vs. Parliamentary Government Essay Example for Free

Presidential vs. Parliamentary Government Essay Every nation, ever since the dawn of civilization, has always had some form of government. It is of necessity rather than need, as a nation without one will always result to anarchy. Today, two of the most popular and well-known forms of government are the presidential form of government and the parliamentary form of government. Each form of government has its own pros and cons, and the debate of whether one is better than the other has long been a subject of discussion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main difference between the two forms of government is how the extent governmental powers are distributed and/or separated between branches of the government, and whether one branch has or does not have power over another. In the presidential form of government, political and administrative powers are distinctly divided between the executive branch (the President), the legislative branch (i.e., the congress/senate), and the judiciary branch. The powers vested in the executive branch is usually balanced against those given to the legislature. Laws and bills are made by the legislature and it is the executive branch which enacts it. The President has the power to veto the bill, preventing its execution, but the legislature may override the Presidents veto, provided they can gather enough votes to do so (â€Å"Parliamentary versus Presidential governments†). This serves as a check and balance for both branches, ensuring that one does not overpower the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the parliamentary form of government, however, there is a fusion of power between the legislative and executive branch. This is mostly due to the fact that the head of government, the Prime Minister, is voted into position by the legislature, which is often mostly composed of the ruling party or coalition. Hence, almost always, the constituents of the executive and the legislature branches are the same (â€Å"Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations†).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The terms of office for both heads of the government also varies. In the presidential system of government, the President serves a specific, defined term. In the parliamentary system, the Prime Minister stays in power for as long as he or she has the support of the majority of the legislation. Political parties also hold less of an impact on the presidential system than on then parliamentary system since the President can still be voted in office regardless of whether his or her political party is a minority or not. In parliamentary system, its almost always the ruling party which holds dominance over the outcome of the election of head of government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Given the choice, from the points stated, I would rather be a citizen of a country ruled by a parliamentary government, like the United Kingdom. There is more cohesion and unity given the fact that the legislative and the executive powers come from one ruling, common party. This would mean that bills are passed much quicker. Also, ethnicity, race, and ideology wont be much of a conflicting factor, especially for a very diverse country, since power is equally divided amongst the legislators, and not just focused on one (e.g. the President). Lastly, a study conducted by the World Bank has found out that a parliamentary system is associated with lower corruption (Lederman, Loayza, Soares, par. 1). Works Cited â€Å"Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations.† UNDP: Governance: Political   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   systems and their impact on Governing Relations. 2006. 18 December 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.undp.org/governance/docs/Parl-Pub-govern.htm Lederman, Daniel and Normal Loayza and Rodrigo R. Soares. â€Å"Accountability and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corruption: Political Institutions Matter.† World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 2708. 2001. 18 December 2007. http://ssrn.com/abstract=632777 â€Å"Parliamentary Versus Presidential Governments.† eSSORTMENT. 2002. 18 December 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://mi.essortment.com/presidentialpar_rket.htm

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

E-Books Should Not Replace Conventional Books Essay Example for Free

E-Books Should Not Replace Conventional Books Essay Books have been around for centuries. Technology has greatly impacted the society thus leading to inventions such as E-books. E-books should not replace conventional books mainly because, with books, there is never a need for upgrade in software unlike an E-book. Secondly conventional books are more user friendly for kids and older adults, and are cost effective. And finally if E-books were to replace conventional books this would mean the end of one of the world’s oldest institutions, libraries. Times are changing and Kindles appeal to the modern citizen, we dont want to carry around cumbersome books, we want to be able to read when we want, whatever we want. Not having to order and wait for a book, or go to a bookstore, is incredibly convenient and means particularly that children can get their books immediately, ensuring that when they feel like reading, parents can ensure that they are able to. But, what can compare to the smell of a paperback, or the feel an old book with browned pages? The kindle is as replaceable as any technology, a book you have on your kindle won’t be there ten years from now, because the kindle won’t be there, however, a tangible real book that you’ve treasured and kept safe since childhood will. Not to mention there is never a need for an upgrade in software or updates on a traditional book unlike an E-book. Secondly, books are without a shadow of a doubt cost effective and are more user friendly for children and older adults in that which it is much easier to operate. Conventional books don’t need to be charged and is affordable for one and all; unlike an E-book that needs to be charged and is very expensive. While some may argue that E-books are eco-friendly and saves millions of trees, it is still nothing compared to physical books which satisfy a tactile need in us that e-readers cant stimulate. The scent, the feel, the weight of a book in the hand is a true comfort. Statistics showed that the US giant Borders was forced t close its 600 stores recently, physical book sales having declined so sharply, whilst Amazon’s sales of Kindles and E-books continue to thrive. How do you browse the shelves of a virtual book store? Not everyone enters a bookstore to specifically purchase book X and then leave the easy browsing and discovery of titles that you wouldnt otherwise consider has not been replicated online. Can you throw a kindle in the bottom of your bag and take it to the beach? And not care if you drop it in the sand? So the statistics suggest anyway; the US giant Borders was forced to close its 600 stores recently, physical book sales having declined so sharply, whilst Amazon’s sales of Kindles and E-books continue to thrive. Where to for the future of the physical book If Im reading a book and I am incredibly enticed and the page is about to end, I want that feeling of paper between my fingers, waiting to finish this first half of the sentence and find out what happens next. An ebook is just a button or a finger sliding on a cold glass surface. And along with the two reasons above, there is the reason that you NEVER own the ebook youre only licensed it. You can only read it on that device, you cant share it with your friends or family. They have to buy it themselves. The only way I could think of is by letting that person borrow said device. With an actual physical book, I can SHARE it to my friends and family. I can let them BORROW it. I have the comfort that I OWN the book and am not licensed it.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Critical Analysis of Leadership Theories and Assessing Links

Critical Analysis of Leadership Theories and Assessing Links An organization is comprised of a large set of individuals, working together to attain a specified common goal. The concrete organisational framework is based upon specified values and positive culture escorted by charismatic leaders that are required to comprehend their roles and responsibilities towards both the employees and the organisation. A positive work environment is comprised of intellectual and enigmatic leaders that believe in empowering employees and appreciate their active participation in the progression of the company (Balain, and Sparrow 2009, p. 227). The concept of leadership is generated to monitor the behavioural patterns of employees including and motivate them to enhance their loyalty towards the organisation. The behavioural patterns of employees greatly vary depending upon their individual circumstances and therefore, it is extremely crucial for the leaders to develop an empathetic approach towards resolving the issues of employees and to inspire them for eff ective contribution to achieve the organisational objectives. It is the responsibility of the organisational leaders to develop challenging but achievable goals and boost the team spirit amongst the employees to achieve maximum organisational productivity (Knight, Durham and Locke 2001, p. 329). There could be diverse range of motivational factors that might influence an individuals conviction and the effective leaders have the ability to single out those factors to persuade the employees to enhance organisational growth and maximise its productivity (Choi 2006, p. 26). This paper is intended to analyse the role of leadership and employee motivation in long term organisational success by critical evaluation of the theoretical underpinnings of the subject. The idea is to reflect the behavioural patterns of both the leaders and employees by recognizing the need for employee motivation and understanding the role of leaders to optimistically incite the employees in the best interest of the organisation (Knight, Durham and Locke 2001, p. 335). The main objective of this paper is to explicate the functional features of an organisation in which the role of leadership becomes extremely significant in order to develop smart employee motivational strategies to ensure their satisfaction and thereby, producing constructive employees attitudes to preserve long term organisational success. ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANISATIONAL SUCCESS Routine official work environment has several challenges and issues which are required to be sorted with sheer intelligence and determination. Organisational structure is extremely complex including diverse nature of employees and therefore, the role of leader becomes extremely significant to maintain a positive and constructive workplace (Hamlin 2002). The most integral aspect of a leaders personality is the understanding towards responsibilities and willingness to combat with difficulties and challenges. Not all managers can become effective leaders (Knight, Durham and Locke 2001, p. 335) as the complex organisational structure and diversity of employees makes it difficult to realize the dynamics of key motivating factors that facilitate in enhanced organisational productivity. The globalised work environment of today is comprised of organisations having employees coming from different backgrounds, speaking diversified languages and competent in varying range of skills and therefor e, leaders today, are not just required to focus on task accomplishment but must also address the employees expectations by engaging them as effectively contributing member of the organisation. Employees look upon their organisational leaders as a coach who enables them to understand and perform their task in correct manner (Hamlin 2002). Employees expect their leaders to effectively communicate and direct them to prevail over the work-related issues and obstacles by motivational skills. The concept of leadership is based upon the combination of personality, ideologies, intellect, motivation and trust (Balain, and Sparrow 2009, p. 228). Organisations endeavour fiscal growth and productivity which can be achieved by progressive employees followed by a charismatic leader. It is significant for the organisational leaders to recruit maximum number of followers and for that, leaders through their personal charm, ideologies and intellect gain trust of employees and motivate them to accomp lish organisational goals (Kaplan and Norton 2004, p. 37). Long term organisational success is highly dependent upon leadership and employee motivation. It has been studied that, in order to achieve long-term organisational success, leaders are required to gain trust of employees and motivate them (Baldoni, 2005, p. 175). The distinct qualities encompassing excellence in performance and management skills ascertain the organisational leaders. The ability to envision, empathise, and empower are the three core components that determine the charismatic attribute of a leader. Envisioning behaviour of a leader influences other organisational members by stimulating a need to accomplish and the empathic behaviour facilitate the followers to gel with their leader based on ideological affiliations (Choi, 2006, p. 41). ANALYISING THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP Leaders are the symbol of ideologies that are followed by others and organisations acquire tremendous growth and success by integrating charismatic leadership within their work environment. Interaction of leaders with the followers tends to develop a positive and highly motivated work environment which eventually results in the organisational success (Pratti et al, 2003, p. 27). The six most integral leadership theories have been critically analysed to understand the reasons behind advanced performance levels which enhances the economic and organisational strength. Great Man Theory The theoretical model of Great Man theory was based on a belief that the leadership is confine only to the aristocratic people that are destined to escort the rest. Formerly the people belonging to upper-class were treated differently and were looked upon by others due to specific qualities they posses or the exceptional standard of living they enjoyed. It was believed that only a limited number of people were uniquely gifted with certain abilities and traits that made it possible for them to become leaders and the rest are meant to follow them (Pratti et al, 2003, p. 32). The most critical element of the Great Man theory was the blind conviction in the leadership of aristocratic people and firmly believing that the traits of leadership can never be inherited, developed, learnt, or acquired (Baldoni, 2005, p. 179), which limited the scope of leadership. The term Great Man itself has a limited scope as the theoretical model is primarily male, military and west oriented. While analysin g the phenomenon of intrinsic supremacy of the Great Man theory, it is indeed true that there are certain men possessing some congenital power to influence over their contemporaries, substantiating their right to leadership however, the concept of limiting the headship to a group of aristocratic is inequitable (Choi 2006, p. 42). If the Great Man model is applied to the contemporary organisational structure, it might produce unconstructive outcomes as the diversification of employees background, languages, skills and individual circumstance has given rise to a much perplexed work environment where aristocratic aspect of Great Man theory would develop pessimism amongst employees. The globalised nature of work environment has developed a breed of employees that are much more aware, educated, skilful and competent (Hamlin 2002). Employees today do not necessarily be content with handsome remuneration package instead they look forward to professional growth and enhanced opportunities. T he Great Man theoretical model does not address the prospects and expectations of existing organisational workforce as it is confined to offer leadership opportunities to aristocratic group of people only. Followed by the Great Man theoretical model which advocates the innate superiority, the exceptional traits, qualities and attributes of the leaders were explored and as a result of which Trait Theory was developed. Trait Theories The Trait Theories were developed with a purpose of determining the core characteristics of leaders that contributed towards organisational success. The theory was put forward with intent to facilitate the organisations in the identification of key traits, qualities and attributes of leaders so that the correct set of people can be recruited and installed into leadership positions of the organisation. There are a number of leadership traits identified by several studies including adaptability, decisiveness, cooperation, dependability, assertiveness, determination, self confidence (Wheatley 2001, p. 92) however, it has been observed that there is no quantifiable means to identify leadership characteristics and there are no consistent set of qualities that might support the concept of a true leader (Baldoni, 2005, p. 212). Human beings have numerous positive and negative traits that are responsible in shaping up the overall personality of an individual. All leaders posses the universal quality to influence others however, the set of fundamental traits that enables them to dominate over their contemporaries might considerably differ (Pratti et al, 2003, p. 37). It has been studied that the generic qualities of a leader such as charismatic personality, sociability and intelligence are not limited to themselves only instead the most commonly held traits of leaders can also be shared by diverse group of people which do not necessarily become leaders. On the other hand, generic traits of the leaders might be similar however, the absence of some of these generic traits do not make them any less leader. There has been somewhat consistency in the generic traits of leaders that may include administrative skills, decisiveness, responsiveness and astuteness which enables them to ensure enhanced organisational productivity. It has been argued that there is the probability of prominent leaders being gifted by few common traits nevertheless; it is nearly impracticable that all leaders pose a collective set of characteristics (Pratti et al, 2003, p. 39) and hence, the Trait Theory failed to sustain its momentum. It is significant to note that, neither the authoritative traits corroborate the position of a leader and nor the position of leadership can be acquired by the identified authoritative characteristics (Gosling and Mintzberg 2003). Behavioural Theories The contradictory nature of the Trait Theories, lead the researchers to focus on the behavioural aspect of organisational leaders and as a result of which the Behavioural Theories were formulated that are primarily based on studying the varying leadership styles. The McGregors X Y Managers Theory has been widely publicised stating that the leaders assumptions about human nature greatly influences the overall organisational leadership stratagem. In accordance with McGregors theoretical model, the theory X managers deem that there is an intrinsic aversion amongst human beings towards obligations and responsibilities which circumvents their desire to work unless persuaded. Theory X managers are required to consistently direct and control their workforce to achieve organisational objectives. On the other hand, theory Y managers believe that correct work atmosphere combined with employees commitment facilitates people in exercising self-direction and self-control that ultimately aid in a ccomplishing the pre-set organisational goals. By analysing the McGregors theoretical model, it can be observed that the theory X mangers support the domineering style whereas; theory Y managers support a participative approach of leadership. The domineering leaders have strict control over their employees characterised by their decisiveness conversely, the participative leaders are much more considerate and are found to behave sympathetically towards the employees and thereby, develop a sense of affiliation and trust (Pratti et al, 2003, p. 40). While contrasting both the leadership behaviours it can be constituted that the autocratic leaders are strict but disciplined which results in obtaining better results in terms of enhanced fiscal growth conversely, the participative leaders are the preferred choice of the employees but the performance margin is considerably reduced due to their considerate behaviour. The Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid is another behavioural theory focuse s on organisational production and employee orientations by analysing the combinations of concerns between the two extremes. Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid measures the leaders concerns for production on horizontal and concerns for people on the vertical axis by identifying the five key leadership styles. By analysing the Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid, it has been observed that the most crucial aspect of leadership behaviour is to value the collaborative approach and teamwork that eventually results in long-term organisational success. Situational Contingency Theories Depending upon the consistently evolving work environment and inconsistent circumstances, it can be constituted that the leadership styles has to be considerably flexible and adaptive in order to address the underlying organisational issues. After identifying the behavioural aspects of leadership it was inevitable to apply them in varying situations to assess their practicability. Fiedlers Contingency Model was put forward with intent to address workplace issues that are highly reliant upon the impinged situational factors explicating that mechanistic organisational environment may progress well with autocratic leadership style whereas a participative approach is suited to a dynamic work environment having a flexible approach (Heslin, VandeWalle, Latham 2006, p. 882). Fiedler Contingency Model categorised managers in two distinct groups i.e. task and relationship oriented and environment as favourable or unfavourable. This model enables the leaders to manipulate the environmental var iables to match their leadership styles. In accordance with the contingency model the relationship and power positioning of a leader with its team members greatly influences the task structure (Baum and Locke 2004, p. 587) and it has been observed that the favourable work environment characterised by constructive leader-member relationship tends to yield a high task structure where a leader has the power to appreciate or penalize its employees with absolute authority and vice versa. Both the task motivated and relationship motivated leadership styles comes with their relative set of pros and cons as the task-motivated leaders can gain fiscal growth by outperforming the key competitors (Kaplan and Norton 2004, p. 42) whereas, the relationship motivated leaders gain customer satisfaction which establishes the positive image of the organisation which fairly contributes in attaining long-term organisational success. The theoretical grounds of Hersey-Blanchard Model of Leadership are bas ed on assessing the developmental capacity of employees which tends to determine the suitability of a leadership style in a specific situation. The theory is based on the combination of task behaviour and relationship behaviour of a leader depending upon the maturity of its subordinates within a workplace setting. With respect to the situational variables of subordinates maturity levels, the leadership style have been categorised into four kinds out of which two major leadership styles including directive behaviour and supportive behaviours are deemed as the most significant (Perren and Burgoyne 2001). In directive behaviour category the leaders adopt a one-way communication strategy where leaders decide, communicate, direct and closely monitor the performance of the subordinates to achieve the core organisational objectives (Balain, and Sparrow 2009, p. 229). On the other hand, the supportive behaviour of a leader is two-way communication process in which leaders adopt a flexible a pproach by engaging the subordinates in the decision making process, listen to their views, offer support and encourage their contributions in task performance. The most significant aspect of Hersey-Blanchard Model is that, it provides a multi-purpose approach by allowing the leaders to assess the maturity level of their subordinates and thereby, adjust their behaviours accordingly. The theory emphasises on enhancing the maturity level of subordinates by effective coaching techniques, increased support and motivational schemes so that the burden on leadership can be fine-tuned as per the developmental capacity of the employees which not only benefits the leaders but is equally favourable to the organisation in longer run. The Tannenbaum Schmidts Continuum model is an extension of contingency theories suggesting that there are four main leadership behaviours varies along a continuum including autocratic or telling style, persuasive or selling style, consultative or consulting style and democratic or joining style. The continuum model has distinguished the leadership styles and applied them to specified situations as for example telling style is most suited to mature team in an emergency situation, the selling style is applicable to an aggressive work setting where leader is decisive however the enthusiastic participation of the subordinates is equally valued. The consulting and joining leadership is complimentary to somewhat similar situation where collective decision making by both the leaders and subordinates result in enhanced productivity of the organisation (Heslin, VandeWalle, Latham 2006, p. 886). Another significant situational or contingency model is the Adairs Action-Centred leadership which is characterised by a three circle diagram. The situational and contingent elements determine the responsiveness of leader to address the organisational issues and achieve the desired goals. Leaders and Followers Previously the concept of leadership was confined to idealise the solo frontal figures that contributes in achieving organisational objectives. The theories of Leaders and Followers are intended to highlight the interdependency of leaders and their subordinates and reflect the significance of collaborative work environment. The theory of Servant Leadership determines the individual perception to serve first and then lead by encouraging teamwork, prescience and trust within the organisational structure by empowering all and treating them with fairness. Team Leadership is another theoretical approach that is put forward by Meredith Belbin emphasising on the balanced team efforts by proposing a network of individuals working together for a common organisational goal having both individual strengths and weaknesses. Team work is most suited to the complex structure of globalised work environment as the leaders are less interfering and believe in engaging their subordinates as actively par ticipating members of the organisation (Goleman, McKee and Boyatzis 2002, p. 22). The volatile organisational structure of today requires concerted working relationships due to its diverse nature and the leadership style that promotes employees development offers a holistic approach where problem solving and decisiveness of a leader is complimented and supported by the entire team. In addition to this, James MacGregor Burns came up with the Transactional and Transformational Leadership Model which is which enables to develop an understanding of monetary and ethical needs of organisation followed by a leader. The transactional leadership is based on business perspective by relying on short term fiscal benefits to maximise organisational efficiency. The transactional leadership focuses on tactical issues and is hard data orientation by supporting the entrenched structure and systems and is predominantly occupied by power, politics and perks (Baum and Locke 2004, p. 589). On the other hand, the foundation of transformational leadership is has high moral and ethical grounds based on pre-defined purposes. The significance of transformational leadership is the diffusion of duties and responsibilities amongst the team to acquire meaningful and challenging job roles for the subordinates in order to develop a sense of self-worth by acknowledging the human potential (Drach-Zahavy and Erez 2002, p. 668). Transformational leaders work towards acquiring long-term organisational success by prudently aligning the internal structure and systems without comprising the core values and principles. Dispersed Leadership It is an informal leadership style that is significantly dissociated with the organisational hierarchal model. The Dispersed Leadership model is the most contemporary theoretical model which encourages the all individuals within an organisation to contribute their leadership skills without any limitations of hierarchy and positively influence their colleagues to maximise organisational productivity. It has been studied that, by developing leaderful culture and work environment by the help of synchronized, cooperative and empathetic leadership model (Raelin 2003, p. 62), the organisations can become more progressive as the responsibility and commitment of a leader can be extensively entrenched throughout the entire organisation without the limitations imposed by formal chain of commands. The relationship and social behaviour of an individual determines its leadership qualities and the intrinsic characteristics and traits of a leader have the power to influence other by producing follo wers (James and Burgoyne 2001). Hence, the phenomenon of dispersed leadership i.e. encouraging the development of leaders amongst the small groups of same ideologies may also benefit the organisation by the prelude of a modern work environment having shared set of responsibilities. ASSESSING THE LINKAGE BETWEEN LEADERSHIP EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION Leaders are expected to generate enthusiasm within their subordinates to maximise their efficiencies and are far-sighted to develop effectual strategies to overcome the obstacles that may hinder in smooth progression of the organisation. The most highly equipped organisational leaders utilise useful tools of communication, problem solving, people management, decision making and motivation to develop a strong bond with their team members and gain their trust to extort utmost output of their organisational performances (James and Burgoyne 2001). Suited to the diverse range of situations and contexts, the organisations put forward effective leadership styles in order to develop affiliations with their employees by exhibiting incredible drive and enthusiasm in order to achieve the desired goals. To acquire the desired results by the enhanced efficiency of their subordinates, leaders are required to stimulate them with the help of numerous motivational tools including incentives, growth o pportunities and rewards (Rodgers, Frearson, Holden and Gold 2003). Leadership theories combined with correct motivational strategies tends to deliver enhanced organisational productivity. Leaders are therefore anticipated to understand the human psychology as the organisational performances are greatly influenced by the psychosocial objectives of an individual (Heslin, VandeWalle, Latham 2006, p. 882). It is extremely significant to acknowledge the substance of human needs while developing organisational objectives as the labour force of the organisation is predominantly humans that are engaged in specific job roles to fulfil their basic needs. Apart from monetary benefits, an individual may also have varying psycho-social needs that develops an individual personality based on a personal belief system (Raelin 2003, p. 65). An organisation can successfully develop a high-performing workforce by addressing the psycho-social needs of its employees through monetary and symbolic rewards that tends to enhance a sense of self-worth and thereby contribute in acquiring the desired organisational goals (Renn 2003, p. 572). Considering the primary human needs and psychosocial necessitates, smart leaders develop effectual strategies to motivate their subordinates by unswervingly stimulating the correct individual motives (Wegge and Haslam 2005, p. 404). The employees of today have tremendously grown in terms of educational qualifications and thrive on knowledge based work environments where they expect to receive the due respect to their ideologies and acknowledgement of their contributions and efforts benefiting the organisation. Leaders are the primary and the most vital connecting point of the workforce with the organisation that enables the workforce to express their views with complete freedom and recognise their organisational contributions Goleman, McKee and Boyatzis 2002, p. 22). The previous methods of managing subordinates through leaders have been replaced by the contemporary techniques of employing personnel-centric strategies within the organisation in order to exceedingly motivate employees to gain competitive advantage in the market. Managers are required to motivate the employees and attain their utmost loyalty and devotion by inspiring them through effective leadership styles. The democratic nature of contemporary organisation supports the idea of empowering their employees and the leaders are now anticipated to produce their followers by adopting a flexible approach and widely accepted leadership style. Today, the products and services offered by the organisations are not the only means to compete in the market but the power of an organisation to retain a highly competitive, loyal and productive workforce determine their market supremacy (Drach-Zahavy and Erez 2002, p. 669). The linkage between true leadership and motivational strategies has been greatly emphasised by the organisations and it has been observed that leaders with their motivational stratagem play an integral role in maximising organisational productivity. The autocratic leadership styles followed by strictly hierarchal organisational structures have been subsided in the contemporary globalised work environment where employees prefer a democratic leadership that is meant to respect their psy cho-social objectives and is fair towards acknowledging their individual contributions in the overall organisational success. It has been identified that the contemporary workforce appreciates leaders that are persuasive and not coercive. Employees have now become more inclined towards professional pragmatism and challenging job roles rather than restricting their growth opportunities to short-term benefits like status and position (Goleman, McKee and Boyatzis 2002, p. 39). Therefore, organisations have also recognised the strong bond between effective leadership and motivational strategies and have put forward their enigmatic leaders that are willing to acclimatize their leadership skills in order to address the psycho-social needs of todays workforce. The long-term organisational success is highly reliant upon its progressive and devoted workforce (Hamlin 2002) that can be achieved by integrating the right set of motivational strategies through the most appropriate leadership styl es. Organisations prudently choose the appropriate leaders that have sufficient proclivity of analysing the core psycho-social needs of the employees and correct knowledge about the organisational environment (Wegge and Haslam 2005, p. 401). The intensity of leaders receptiveness to appropriately retort towards the consistently evolving situations together with their ability to address the unprecedented expectations of employees, ascertains the long-term organisational success. CONCLUSION (250) Peoples attitudes towards their employment have been considerably altered due to a shift from manual to knowledge based work environment in the contemporary globalised organisational structure. The fast-paced work environment combined with highly responsive employees behaviour has enhanced living standards and employees expectations and therefore, effectual and integrated leadership has become indispensible to motivate the organisational workforce of today. Depending upon varying situations, organisations position their best leaders that are required to motivate their subordinates through the most suitable leadership techniques in order to preserve the loyalty and commitment of the employees towards achieving maximum organisational productivity. To conclude, there is a strong relationship between effective leadership and employee motivational strategies that not only generate fiscal benefits by enhanced organisational productivity but also contribute in accomplishing long-term organi sational success.

Essay --

Another major principle of Islamic is fairness. In Islamic banking, fairness is highlighted through its operations which the dubious terms and condition transactions are not engaged with Islamic banks. Terms and conditions needed in a transaction are disclosed in the agreement. In addition, everyone in the transaction can make informed decision which are not misled or cheated. Besides, according to article for WIBC on Islamic Banking and Finance, there is a clear division between the allowed and forbidden of the activities. For example, transactions involving alcohol, gambling, armaments, pork related products, and other socially detrimental activities should be avoided in Islamic Finance. In Islamic banking, there are still five main concepts which are profit and sharing, Wadiah, Musharakah, Murabaha and Ijarah. Profit and loss principle is actually based on mudarabah principle. Under this principle, profits will be shared between owner of capital (financier) and the entrepreneur on the basis of contractual agreement. However, financier will lost it money invest if the business fail. This means that, income from the money invest by financier is not guarantee. For wadiah, refund of the principal is guarantee by the bank. Depositor under this principle might receive a share on profit of the bank’s business. Wadiah is safekeeping as their principal is guarantee in full of demand although the profit of investment by bank is not guarantee. Musharakah is a joint enterprise or partnership business which both parties will manage the business together. Under this principle, ratio of profit or loss pre-determined basic. After a certain periods, a party can terminate the joint venture gradually. Murabaha is another principle of Islamic ban... ...e in financial resources. The principle of Islamic is Syariah, it is developed through four main Islamic juristic schools which is Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali. However, Quran and Sunna is the two main sources which the Shariah derived from. In Islamic finance, there are three major principles. Firstly, the prohibition of usury or interest (riba). In the words of Maulana Maudoodi, page 139, Riba can be defined as the stationary increase on the capital which collected against a fixed period. This means that interest is consider as riba if the amount loaned is going doubled and re-doubled and it is given as consumption needs instead of productive needs. One of the examples of riba is rental income. According to Chapter 2, Verse 275 of the Qu’ran, involve in trade activities although is sound like soft of riba but actually is encouraged by Islam but not for riba.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Role of the Nativity in Magi and Carol of the Brown King :: Magi Carol Brown King Essays

The Role of the Nativity in "Magi" and "Carol of the Brown King"  Ã‚  Ã‚   What were the Three Wise Men searching for when they followed the North Star? They were obviously seeking the Christ child, but they were also searching for the truth and righteousness that he represents. Sylvia Plath in her poem "Magi" and Langston Hughes in his poem "Carol of the Brown King" discuss the merit of their respective minority groups through allusions to the nativity. Plath uses the journey to discuss both the ignorance of philosophers' quest for the "truth" and its neglect of females, and Hughes uses the righteousness of the nativity to emphasize the importance of blacks.    Plath's poem "Magi" ridicules the intellectual's theory-based search for truth: "They mistake their star, these papery godfolk" (15). Instead of searching for the meaning to life through living, they seek it in inanimate books. Plath says of the abstracts, "They're the real thing, all right: the Good, the True," however, her other references to them are contradictory, indicating that this is mockery (6). When she remarks that they "hover like dull angels," she explains that they are not spoiled with anything "so vulgar as a nose or an eye," and yet, what is a face without features (1-2)? These abstracts are "pure as boiled water, loveless as the multiplication table," but how could something so lifeless describe life (8)? By describing the dullness of the abstracts, Plath indicates their unsuitability to guide the search for truth. While the abstracts lead the "papery godfolk" to the "crib of some lamp-headed Plato," Plath leads her readers to the crib of a baby girl (16). While the abstracts are "pure as boiled water" the infant is also pure: "the heavy notion of Evil attending her cot is less than a belly ache" (7,13). However, although the theory-filled abstracts are "loveless as the multiplication table," the child is nourished by "Love the mother of milk, no theory" (8,14). The abstracts' truth is founded in theory; the baby's truth is founded in love. Plath is content that the "papery godfolk" do not seek the crib of her baby girl. "What girl ever flourished in such company?" (18). This question attacks the male-dominated hierarchy in which no women of her time prospered. The main message of Plath's poem is that we learn truth in the school of life, but why did she use a baby girl instead of a boy?

Sunday, August 18, 2019

General Structure of Comedy and the Importance of Being Earnest by Osca

General Structure of Comedy and the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde GeneralStructure of Comedy: * Things start out badly and end well * The deeper aim is broadly social: the kingdom or other city space is at first badly ruled or in turmoil for some reason--perhaps the values and institutions of the citizens and/or rulers are in need of some re-examination. * Next, the main characters leave (willingly or otherwise) the city setting and wind up in the countryside, in a pastoral setting. This setting allows for the necessary re-examination of values and social roles. * Magical transformations of characters occur; they are put in situations that could not occur in the city or the kingdom; the forest or countryside's magic opens up new possibilities to them. * After this reappraisal and readjustment period has been completed, the main characters come together--the young by marriage, the foundational institution of the civil order and its only hope for regeneration. * Finally, the characters return to the "kingdom" proper or are about to return when the play ends. Comedy of Manners: This kind of comedy is the one that best describes The Importance of Being Earnest. English comedies deal with "the relations and intrigues of men and women living in a polished and sophisticated society, relying for comic effect in great part on the wit and sparkle of the dialogue--often in the form of repartee, a witty conversational give-and-take which constitutes a kind of verbal fencing match--and to a lesser degree, on the ridiculous violations of social conventions and decorum by stupid characters such as would-be-wits, jealous husbands, and foppish dandies." The Impor... ...y ideal to love someone by the name of Ernest." One view among critics is that Wilde is saying that marriage based on class by birthright is no less stupid that marriage based on something else a baby cannot control: say, his name. In the play many other examples occur of things that cannot be controlled but people act as if they could be: "Some aunts are tall, some aunts are not tall. That is surely a matter that an aunt may be allowed to decide for herself." "I think it is high time that Mr Bunbury made up his mind whether he was to live or die." The play also trivialises other things, like religion, death, customs and manners, etc. For instance, when Algy tells his Aunt Augusta that his friend Bunbury died when his doctors told him he could not possibly live, her only concern is that he acted under the proper medical advice of his physician.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Eisenhower, Cold War: DBQ Essay

Many results of the Cold War came that the American people feared in the aftermath of the Second World War according to Eisenhower in a press conference in 1954. The American public feared the Soviets for many reasons. On one hand the Soviets had nuclear technology and on the other their communist government frightened the American people as stated by John Foster Dulles. Because at this time China was becoming Communist as well The fear of the American public increased, however President Eisenhower addressed these fears with the safety of the American people in mind. Eisenhower made many of his decisions based on the input of others which made him a very popular president. Eisenhower’s plan for communism, as drastic as it was, became one of his administration’s most decisive and efficient policy. Eisenhower and his administration soon after the spread of communism developed a new policy. This policy was developed from Eisenhower’s new program called the New Look. Eisenhower’s new plan involved threat of using nuclear weapons as a form of containment. The policy of Eisenhower’s had potentially dangerous results however. In the case of an actual Communist action, the US would only be able to respond with nuclear war, or to devise a new plan. This also encouraged the Soviets to increase funding and time to their research, shown in a US News and World Report(1957). With Eisenhower’s New Look, the United States would be prepared for Communism of any form. When the American public became informed of Soviet nuclear technology rumors of another war became rampant. Eisenhower’s relief came with the FCDA insuring safety to the public if preparations were made. The relief of the FCDA came in the form of bomb shelters(sealed barricades to preserve life for an extended period of time from such an attack), displayed in Life Magazine(1955). Along with nuclear technology the American public feared the Soviets were more advanced due to their progress in the â€Å"Space Race.† To counter these Soviet actions the US put money in to the education for scientists and engineers according to a message from Eisenhower on education. Eisenhower’s administration was formed and managed on the basis that the fears of the American public after World War II would be dealt with and pacified. His administration was extremely efficient in proposing plans to calm the American people in a time of confusion and angst. Eisenhower’s  plans ranged from assaulting communism(at home and across seas) developing the Interstate System, mentioned in the Saturday Evening Post(1956). Eisenhower’s presidency was a time for the American people of security.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Children with Incarcerated Parents

Juvenile Justice And The effects on Children of Incarcerated Parents Loretta R. Lynch Capstone 480 Ms. Mel Jones Abstract Today prisons are overcrowded and over two million Americans, male, and female are sitting in jail or prison, and two thirds of those people incarcerated are parents (U. S. Department of Justice). Approximately two million of these children are separated from their mom or dad because of incarceration of which these are the custodial parent.These children suffer from poverty, inconsistency in caregivers, separation from siblings, reduced education, increased risk for substance abuse, alcoholism and incarceration themselves. Studies have shown that children who lack parental relationships that combine loving support with structured discipline will show increased signs of antisocial behavior (Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(4). This behavior is exhibited in children with incarcerated parents because bonds are likely to have never formed or are broken upo n imprisonment.The attachment a child has to their parent, as well as the indirect controls a parent has over the child, forms protective factors that reduce the incidence of delinquency (Abidin, R. 1983). Children of incarcerated parents are not always afforded protective factors, and are exposed to higher levels of risk factors that can contribute to delinquent behavior. Parental incarceration increases a child’s chance of experiencing disruptions, ineffective parenting, and loss of parental contact and academic difficulties, which can lead to juvenile delinquency.In the last three decades, family life in the United States has changed dramatically. Currently over eight point five million families with children under eighteen years of age are maintained by single parents, eighty percent of which are single as a result of separation or divorce (Hamner & Turner, 1990). A significant contributing factor to single parent households is the estimated eight percent of the children in the United States who have one parent who is incarcerated (Butterworth, 1987).In my interview with one family court judge at the Chesterfield County Juvenile Justice Court (Brice, 2012), it was apparent to me that these children are more likely than their peers to become incarcerated as adults (. The parent-child relationship, which is extremely important in a child’s development when broken, can have strong implications on the behavior that has exhibited from the child. It was also apparent that according to statistics nationwide, more than 2 million children have a parent who is incarcerated in state or federal prison (U. S. Department of Justice Report 2009).Loosing a parent to incarceration can have a wide range of devastating effects on prisoner’s children. In an interview with a female inmate (Inmate X, 2012), a mother of three children, it was apparent that the lack of parental bonding had affected not only the relationship with her mother who was seventy-one and in bad health, but also with her children. On top of her worry of being incarcerated, the inmate had just learned that her oldest was beginning to show signs of acting out and smoking marijuana. She spoke to me about her children ranging from ages two, seven and twelve.This female inmate discusses how much she missed and loved them her children, but due to circumstances, she would not be able to be in their lives for five years. She stated that it was her decision for her mother not to bring the children to the facility for any visits for fear of the impact it might cause on them seeing her in a place behind bars. When I asked her what made her in up in prison, she stated drugs. As a child, she was raped by her step-grandfather and she had turned to drugs to cope. In another interview with a female inmate (Inmate Y, 2012), she shared how he was raised in a single parent household. Her father was in and out jail for various crimes until 1996 when charged with Involuntary Manslau ghter during the commission of a robbery when she was approximately twelve. It was toward the end of the interview that I learned she is one of five children in a family of two girls and three boys. The saddening fact was that in this family of five, three of her siblings were incarcerated for various crimes. Forty-two percent of men and woman today had a parent who was also incarcerated (U. S. Department of Statistics 2009).We know much more about incarcerated mothers than we know about incarcerated fathers. For example, over 70% of female inmates are mothers of dependent children under the age of eighteen. Almost 90% of incarcerated females are single parents and heads of households. According to some estimates, a quarter of a million children are separated from their parents each year by jail and prison (Glick & Neto, 1977; McGowan & Blumenthal, 1978; McPeek & Tse, 1988; U. S. Department of Justice, 1992). We do not have this kind of information about incarcerated fathers.The lac k of statistics concerning fathers in prison may suggest that they are a forgotten group. Research has revealed that a father’s involvement in his child’s life greatly improves the child’s chances for success. Helping incarcerated fathers foster stronger connections with their children (where appropriate) can have a positive effect for children. What is needed is stronger training of social workers and prison personnel to help males with bonding and effective parenting skills. Prisons also need to work on reorganizing visiting spaces in prisons because they are not always child friendly.This also makes it extremely hard for families. According to a report written by Sarah Schirmer, Ashley Nellis, and Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project, â€Å"The increasing incarceration of women means that more mothers are being incarcerated than ever before. There is some evidence that maternal incarceration can be more damaging to a child than paternal incarceration, which results in more children now suffering negative consequences†. First, fewer correctional institutions for women means that mothers are often located far away from the homes of their children.Second, children of female offenders are more than twice more likely to be placed in foster care than are children of male offenders because children of incarcerated fathers typically remain with the mother. Incarceration can add a tremendous burden to the already stressful situation of not having contact with the family. Many inmates are placed not in the same vicinity as their families, and many families cannot afford to relocate close to a prison, in order for the incarcerated parent to stay involved with the family. Thus, there is limited interaction between parent and child.This is especially hard for female inmates whose prisons are usually not in the same state in which they live. The average frequency of visits, according to some accounts, is at the most once a month, maybe less. T he only time inmates get to interact with their children is when someone chooses to bring the children to the institution. Even when children visit, it is common for the incarcerated parent to lose a sense of closeness with them since most of the children who visit their parents are unable to touch them. Nearly half of them grew up in families that received welfare, and had a substance-abusing parent.Family poverty, alcoholism and crime set up a subsequent cycle of generational recidivism. In my interview and time working in a boys group home seems as though the effects of their separation from an incarcerated parents was significant and played a major role in why they were now themselves locked up. They spoke of feelings of abandoned, while at the same time feeling a sense of freedom to do whatever they choose to do. This is extremely sad working with them because they are not bad kids they have just been thrown into bad situations and most of them are just looking for someone to s how them affection and attention.In my interview with a fourteen year old (boy A, 2012) raise by his paternal grandmother said that she was an older woman of eighty and could not discipline him; instead, she spoiled him and gave him everything he wanted. Another juvenile, age eleven (boy B) was raised by his mother’s sister who gave him little or no attention because she had 4 children of her own; and before he knew it he was stealing cars and getting into trouble for attention My last interview with a juvenile aged sixteen (boy C, 2013) was the saddest because he was raised by his brother and sister in law.The twist of the story was that his sister-in-law was molesting him and so in turn, he started molesting younger girls in his family. Statistics have shown that these boys were four times more likely to become involved in criminal activities than children from the same social economic background were with parents at home. The pattern continues as they enter their adult lif e, where research clearly indicates that children who had an incarcerated parent are at high risk for incarceration as a juvenile or adult (Burchinal, L. , Hawkes, G. , & Gardner, B. 957). The statistics that I have learned while doing my research is horrifying. These young children are critical to our society and they are our future generation of potential lawyers and doctors. The question has always been how do we address this problem? I do not think there is any easy answer to this dilemma, but we must try to find a solution because our children are suffering. Some are suffering in silence and some are suffering aloud. Whatever way they are suffering, they are crying for attention and we must listen and hear their cries.The crimes that these people commit not only effect society, but on their children as well. My thoughts are, the sooner they realize the effects they are having on their children, the sooner we might be able to find a solution to juvenile crime, and delinquency an d save our children. Figure 1. A transactional model of the predictors of children's adjustment following parental incarceration and reunion after (Conger & Elder, 1994; Hetherington et al. , 1998). References Adalist-Estrin, A. (1986). Parenting from behind bars. Family Resource Coalition – FRC Report, 1, 12-13.Abidin, R. (1983). Parenting stress index. Charlottesville, VA: Pediatric Psychology Press. Burchinal, L. , Hawkes, G. , & Gardner, B. (1957). The relationship between parental acceptance and adjustment of children. Child Development, 28, 67-77. Inmate X. (2012, December). Interview by L Lynch [Personal Interview] housed at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women Inmate Y, (2013, December). Interview by L Lynch [Personal Interview] housed at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women Boy A. (2012, December). Interview by L Lynch [Personal Interview]. Boy B. 2012, December). Interview by L Lynch [Personal Interview]. Boy C. (2013, December). Interview by L Lynch [Pe rsonal Interview]. Brice, L. (2012, December 14). Interview by L Lynch [Personal Interview]. Juvenile justice system. http://www. fcnetwork. org/AECFChildren%20of%20Incarcerated%20Parents%20Factsheet. pdf La Vigne, N. G. , Naser, R. L. Brooks, L. E. & Castro, J. L. (2005). Examining the effect of incarceration and in-prison family contact on prisoners’ family relationships. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(4). ———————– [pic]