What is popular culture Essay Example For Students

What is popular culture? Essay It is very difficult to define this word, isnt it? Many people have spent plenty of time to give definition of this word. In order to define popular culture we first need to define the term culture . According to Raymond Williams, culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language. Williams suggests three main categories in the definition of culture. First of all, the ideal, in which culture is a general process in human perfection, intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development. We could use as an example, great philosophers, artists and poets (referring only to intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic factors in Western Europe). A second use of the word culture, the documentary, can be referring to particular way of life of people, a period, or a group. These are referred to, as cultural practices or lived cultures, e. g. Christmas. Finally, there is the social definition of culture which can be referred to the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activities such as poetry, ballet, film, etc. (Idea from Storey, 1998,p. We will write a custom essay on What is popular culture? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now 2 and Storey , 1994 ,p. 56) An obvious starting point in defining popular culture is to say that it is one widely favoured or well liked by many people. That can be proved from a quantitative index would meet the approval of many people (Storey, 1998, p. 56). We could examine sales of books, sales of CDs and video, also attendance records at concerts, sporting events, festivals and of course preferences for different television programs. But we might find things are so well liked that they become useless as a conceptual definition of popular culture. Such counting would almost certainly include the officially sanctioned high culture which in terms of book and record sales and audience ratings for television dramatization of the classics, can justifiable claim to be popular in this sense. A second way of defining of popular culture is to suggest that it is the culture which is left over after we have decided what high culture is. Popular culture becomes a residual category, one that accommodates those things which is failed to meet the required standards a high culture. In other words, popular culture as interior culture. Such distinctions are often supported by claims that popular culture is mass produced commercial culture, whereas high culture is the result of an individual act of creation. The division between the two is absolutely clear. (Storey, 1998, p. 7) Moreover, there are many problems especially if the division is dependent and supposed essential textual qualities. Can we say when popular culture is good or bad? For example, William Shakespeare is now seen as epitome of high culture. In the nineteenth century he wrote for the masses, for the ordinary people. He was not considered as a high culture. He was popular and worked for the popular theatre. And also film noir started as popular cinema and is now the preserve of academic and film clubs. And finally one recant example of cultural traffic moving in the other direction is Luciano Pavarottis recording of Puccinis Nessun Dorma. When Pavarottis, in 1990, managed to take nassun dorma to number one in the British charts, such commercial success on any quantitative analysis would make the composer, the performer and the song popular culture. A third way of defining popular culture is as a mass culture it is similar to the previous definition. The first that those who refer to popular culture as mass culture want to establish is that popular culture is a hopelessly commercial culture. It is mass produce for mass consumption. (Storey, 1998, p. 8) . According to Fiske and Frith, 80 and 90 per cent of singes and albums lose money. Such statistics should clearly call into question the notion of cultural consumption as an automatic and passive activity. For some cultural critics, mass culture, is an imported American culture and operates under the term Americanization but two things we can say with confident. .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .postImageUrl , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:hover , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:visited , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:active { border:0!important; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:active , .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59 .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud07bc131e972b8be314f1f579d4b1c59:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Fall Of The Western Roman Empire EssayFirst, as Andrew Ross said, popular culture has been socially and institutionally central in American for longer and in more significant way than in Europe. Second that the influence of American culture worldwide is undoubted. Popular culture is understood as collected dream-world(Storey, 1998, p. 8). A forth definition contents that popular culture is the culture which originates from the people. This view takes issue with any approach that insists that popular culture is something imposed upon the people from above.

8 Jobs Where You Can Be Your Own Boss

8 Jobs Where You Can Be Your Own Boss working hard and never seeming to get anywhere? your salary doesn’t stretch that far and there are few raises on the horizon? your coworkers don’t seem to be pulling the same weight you are, and yet you feel totally stuck in the hamster wheel of the working world? maybe it’s time to consider being your own boss for once. this doesn’t need to be a pipe dream. there are careers out there in which you can determine your own salary, work on your own terms, and the sky can be the limit.here are 8 jobs where all this and more could be possible if you work hard enough.1. real estate agentyou’ll need at least a high school diploma, plus a real estate license, but then you can earn an average wage of between $50 and $111k per year. real estate agents work on commission, so the more properties you sell, the more you’ll make. houses, commercial buildings, plots of land, farms, you name it. if you can sell it, you can earn. and remember that commissions will be higher the higher the value of the property. focus on the high-end stuff and start raking it in.2. real estate brokerfor the same amount of education and training, you can make even more money (an average of $80-$167k per year). as a broker, you can sell properties yourself and also manage an agency of other sellers, earning a percentage of their sales and overseeing the business as a whole. in this job, the amount you can earn is almost limitless. start as an agent, and work your way up.3. medical device saleswith a bachelor’s degree- or just a high school diploma, you can earn an average of between $50 and $165k per year. as sales jobs go, this is one of the most complex. it requires a great deal of knowledge of the products, and a great talent for selling things to doctors and medical professionals who are wary of being sold to. you might also have to be trained in demonstrating your products in action. it’s a demanding and competitive field, but can be incr edible lucrative and flexible.4. freelance writingthe education required is utterly negotiable, but the rewards are high. if you have the talent, you have the opportunity to write all over the internet- from blogs to website content to articles, whatever you can find. the first jobs are often the hardest to find, but success builds more and more success.you’ll want to be familiar with blog platforms like wordpress and online media. once you get started, your only limit is the amount of time you can devote to writing more and more pieces.5. insurance sales agentyou’ll need a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree, but the money can be excellent. some of these jobs pay a fairly standard salary, but some offer a smaller salary and the potential for enormous commissions. you’ll need to put your money where your mouth is and perform, but if you’re up for it, you can really make bank.6. sales manageryou’ll have to work your way up in sales fir st in order to get to this level, but you can nearly double your money if you’re good enough. you’ll manage your own sales team, but also have the ability to make sales on your own in addition. that means commissions for you, plus a percentage of your subordinates’ commissions. you’ll need to be a good leader as well, able to motivate people to perform almost as well as you.7.  personal finance advisoryou’ll need a bachelor’s degree, but you can make anywhere from an average of $118 to $153k per year. this is another job that works mostly on commissions. you’ll have to have a sound financial mind and a knowledge of how the market works, in order to help clients manage their investments, but it can pay off for you as well.8.  sales engineeryou’ll need a bachelor’s degree for this position as well, but the monetary potential is solid. sales engineers sell scientific and tech products to companies and corporations. youà ¢â‚¬â„¢ll need a good base in sales, plus the ability to manage relationships and assert your skills with confidence. public speaking, technical presentations, and sweet talking will stand you in good stead too.so if you’re drudging away for the man and don’t feel you’re earning up to your full potential, consider breaking free of the mold and taking the courageous steps towards building your own self-determined career.

Learning Team Charter Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Learning Team Charter Analysis - Essay Example The group must lay down some criteria on what kind of violations would merit being kicked out from the group. It would also be good to solicit feedback from the member who failed to perform as expected. Feedback can be used for planning when drafting guidelines. As for team B, the distribution of workload is properly managed by the leader. They also observe correct protocol by having the immediate supervisor address the issues first. This reflects more organized way of doing things. However, additional strategies can be formulated to make the whole process efficient. First, the conflict manager can have one-on-one discussions with team members who have issues before elevating them to the instructor. Second , models for conflict resolutions can be discussed to see which approach is more appropriate. In conclusion, conflict resolution in groups begins with carefully laid established guidelines that team members can rely

Legal application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legal application - Essay Example It is essential to properly communicate with drawl of an offer to the offeree. Moreover, a revocation need not be in any particular form. An offer is considered to have been revoked if communication to the effect that the property has been sold reaches the offeree. Such a communication of revocation is valid, even if it is delivered to the offeree’s residence, place of business or agent. A valid contract results if the offeree accepts the offer before its revocation. Some exceptions are first, option contracts, in which the contract has to be kept open for a specified period of time and in which the offeror receives consideration for keeping the offer open. Second, firm offers, in such contracts the offeror cannot revoke the contract till such time as the expiration date of the contract is not over (Twomey 2004, p. 266). To prevent revocation of an offer, an option can be secured by a separate contract to make the offer irrevocable for a specified period of time. In Errington v Errington and Woods (1952) 1 KB 290,1 All ER 149 CA, the Court decided that a unilateral offer could not be withdrawn once performance had commenced, even though there would be no binding contract if the performance was left incomplete. Jack offered to sell a mobile phone to Cameron on the 2nd of October, stating that this offer would be valid for a week. Cameron informed his brother that he was interested in accepting Jack’s offer. On the 3rd of October, without the knowledge of Cameron, his brother gave this information to Jack. On the 4th of October, Jack, sold the mobile phone to Chad in the presence of his flatmate. This flatmate informed Cameron about this sale on the very same day of the sale. On the 5th of October, Cameron delivered a letter of acceptance to Jack but later in that day Jack informed Cameron that he had already sold

How the Police Access Data to Obtain Criminal Information Assignment

How the Police Access Data to Obtain Criminal Information - Assignment Example He lives in California and was visiting us in Miami for a break from his work, about which we knew nothing about. It was a cool evening and we being late for the opening pitch, uncle Bobby was driving way over the speed limit when a police patrol car appeared from nowhere and told us to pull over which we did. My uncle told me to stay in the car while he went out to talk to this big cop. After a few moments the cop reached for his radio and mumbled something into it. After a few minutes to my horror he handcuffed my uncle, checked my license and told me to drive home, just after he told me that my uncle had a warrant out in California. Research How did a cop of MPD know about outstanding warrants in California? I got intrigued and started looking for answers. I came up with a few observations about the digital media and its integration with the modern police force. Firstly, my uncle had previous criminal record in California. Therefore the police Record Management System (RMS) in Cal ifornia had every piece of personal information of an offender in there state properly indexed and catalogued (Raymond, 2005). So now comes the query that even if a criminal has outstanding warrants and all sorts of records in the state of California, how a trooper retrieved that information on a highway from his car through a wireless radio.

Reflective essay of personal and professional development

Reflective essay of personal and professional development This assignment is a critical analysis and reflection of my continuing personal and professional development (CPPD) needs in practice. This account will identify practical needs that I must improve with supportive evidence based research, and evaluate the impact of this need for my personal development as a future qualified nurse. My learning need was with assertiveness in communication when working with a staff nurse during admission. To meet the need and demonstrate the ability to engage in advancing my care, Gibbs (1988) framework model of reflection will be used. To maintain confidentiality as emphasised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008), a pseudonym Tommy will be used to protect the patient’s anonymity. In addition, I will be using the post-registration education and practice (PREP) guidelines (NMC 2011) to maintain up to date knowledge and skills as well as empowering a lifelong learning in my nursing career. (NMC 2012) My skills in communication have improved in all contact and this has been acknowledged in every practice. However, I thought of this learning need, when I recognised my weakness was with assertiveness in communication when working with a staff nurse, faced with a difficult patient during admission. I took part in this learning activity in November, 2014 during my placement in hospital. I identified this need during the second week of placement, as I was able to perform patient admissions under the supervision of my mentor. The need to improve this skill was established from my mentor’s feedback and I agreed that it must be developed in order to help avoiding errors in future practice, improving my decision-making skills and professional satisfaction. I have spent a good amount of time to research and critically analyse this learning need However I felt this could be an ongoing process of improvement as Webb (2011) identified, supported by the Department of Health’s (201 3) ongoing process of improvement in the NHS to be more efficient and less bureaucratic. I again felt this was important for me to work on because it had an impact on the patient and me as a future qualified nurse (Fowler, 2008). Tommy is a 50 year old who suffers from right leg cellulitis and lives alone with his cat. I felt my first meeting with Tommy was challenging as I found it difficult to present myself as a self-assured, assertive and empathetic student nurse due to the impression that the situation was out of my comfort zone. I observed from the beginning of the visit that this gentleman was unable to cope; however I felt that I could not make a direct statement without coming across as patronising or a dominant student nurse. On the positive side, I chose to improve this learning need so that I would learn to be prepared with the knowledge and set of skills I must have in managing complex patient care in future placements (Fowler, 2008). Having encountered patients who have refused requests from other student nurses and staff nurses alike by expressing their dislikes, disagreements and sometimes even anger when offered treatment, I have observed that patients sense how the student nurses present themselves and could base their decision on the student nurses’ abilities to communicate assertively (Fowler, 2008). This also made me think about my self-awareness and empathetic skills. As I listened to Tommy’s emotional concerns, he opened up about being terrified of not having anyone in his house to feed his cat while he was in hospital because he had no close relatives. I responded calmly and confidently, using clear language that my intention was to obtain his permission to allow health professionals offer long term support to him (Fischhoff et al, 2011). As student nurses, our main role involves patient interaction and several studies have indicated that student nurses lack assertive skills evidenced by Bekkum and Hilton (2013) McCabe and Timmins (2005) qualitative study in two schools (n=30). It highlighted that most student nurses were assertive but chose not to display this skill to maintain positive interpersonal relations and avoid conflict. However, quantitative study (n=72) by Almost (2006) deemed it important to measure nursing students’ level of assertiveness prior to, and near completion of their pre-registration programme and to offer help throughout their programme to develop their assertiveness. Almost also considered the conflicts mainly developed from the multi-professional roles that student nurses have and that the basic nursing functions of caring and controlling can result in tension. Many researchers have challenged these such as Iglesias and Vallejo (2012) qualitative study identified that work have established that conflict resolution techniques can be achieved through compromise and collaboration which the nurses can use for their specific work environments. However all the previously mentioned approaches suffered from serious limitations as Tommy’s safety could have been compromised when nurses failed to speak up or be heard, identified by Page’s (2004) qualitative study. I found Almost (2013) very appropriate when giving personal care because this technique would have enhanced my learning need earlier in my nursing programme to improve patient care. Bekkum Hilton, (2013) qualitative study support and acknowledgement on these account findings imply that, education programs ought to be taken into account. The perceptions of the participants risks involved in not being assertive and the focal point must be on changing these perceptions rather tha n attempting to change student nurses’ values or focusing solely on specific assertive behaviours to improve student emotional intelligence. Based on the findings, I realised that my practice was out of date therefore would cost the National Health Service (NHS) and impact negatively on patients’ care. As identified by Smith’s (2012) phenomenological study, 75 per cent (n=20) of student nurses felt unable to verbally express their concerns when working with qualified nurses. Yet Jones’ (2013) qualitative study identified that 60 per cent (n=30) of student nurses felt confident by the end of their training. However, there is little consensus in the research available although I feel my experience reflects Smith’s (2013) findings. My inability to be assertive during patient admission was because I was working with an experienced qualified nurse and hiding behind my mentor limited my development in skill. This impacted on my clinical ability when I failed to be an assertive student nurse. It also shows in these research studies I was not using up to date practice. White’s (2009) phenomenological study identified that 75 per cent (n=28) nursing students in clinical placements suffer from self-doubt, have anxiety about their clinical performance and do not possess the characteristics of strong self-confidence. A qualitative study conducted for student nurses by Jones, Mccoy and Pitt (2013) have indicated that majority of student and staff relationships highlight that a sense of belonging was central for student nurses for a good clinical experience. A students sense of belonging and feeling a part of the team were essential before students could learn. This is reflected in Lathlean and Levett-Jones’ (2009) quantitative study (n=200) of student findings on third year student nurses who participated in the study as they had been on a number of clinical placements. This explanation, however, seemed to overlook the fact that many students feel compelled to work hard in order to fit in the nursing team rather than become motivated to le arn. This has made me realise that although being in a good nursing team, I would still prioritise looking after my patients by paying more attention to the patient needs and expectations. A qualitative study conducted by Lyndon (2006) mentioned that student nurses’ ability to make a clinical decision could be influenced by patient situation, availability of resources and interpersonal relationships. Student nurses, however, on a variety of situations, can experience moral distress as Ganske, Iseminger, Lachman and Murray (2012) have identified in their phenomenological study. These two articles revealed that the ability to communicate with patients should not cause moral distress as student nurses would neither be aggressive nor patronising, nonetheless the interaction would achieve the patient’s best interest. This is reinforced by Grumbach and Bodenheimer, (2004) qualitative study which identified (n=18) of student nurse, who noted that greater disability may be as a result of anxiety in some cases and loss of self-confidence. However, Begley (2010) phenomenological study (n=20) identified and argues, little has been investigated to explain the reasons why assertive behaviour occurs in one situation and not in another. Results suggest that, student nurses’ standard measures of assertiveness and of anxiety are irrespective of their scores p=00.1 chances. One should consider the consequences of student practitioners being assertive, while making a decision regarding how to behave I felt this was helpful in reminding me how important self- confident skills can aid improved patient care. Although, their underlying theories of subjectivity are very different, there are some important affinities between the researches that correlate which I believe would help me care better in future pla cement. In addition, Begley’s (2010) qualitative study established that patients were to be considered as partners in their health care delivery. Trust does not come easily for people and I have since learnt from past experiences that patients need to be included and actively involved in the planning and evaluation of their care. By learning to ask open questions helped promote and encouraged patient expression and enabled patients to enhance trust in a relationship as I have shown my interest and investment in the patient’s care and treatment. This study has an impact in addressing my need and offered help on how to be assertive when dealing with difficult patients. As highlighted by White (2014) qualitative study, majority of student nurse depend on their mentors to be assertive and sometimes adopt it as coping strategies. Even though, this is a small number of student nurses, (n=30) to base a judgement on, it provides statistically relevant data and allows an insight into practical experiences. I also felt this research was significant for me to work on my assertiveness, because it had an effect towards the patient and me as a future qualified nurse. I solely depended on my mentors for assertiveness as a coping strategy. Conversely, these poor coping strategies I adopted were highlighted in a qualitative study by Fischhoff et al, (2011) where common coping strategies utilised by student nurses being assertive in clinical settings are explored. Although this is a small sample size (n=18) which does not provide statistically relevant data, it is qualitative design allows an insight into the student nurses experience of assertiveness coping strategies (Parahoo, 2006). I found these results of the thematic critical analysis linked to my own clinical experience, including the poor coping assertiveness strategy I adopted. This was due to underestimating my capacity from the onset of being self-assured and self-confident without being aggressive (REF). I found that these researches gave me insight into how unethical and limiting avoidance practices are when dealing with patients, which was seen in a small number of participants in this study (n=3) (Morris Turnball, 2006). I felt this was helpful in remindi ng me how important assertiveness skills can improve patient care (Morris Turnbull, 2006). Besides, Fischhoff et al, (2011), descriptive study postulates assertiveness in student nurses who become attached to their mentors remain as consistent helpers for weeks in their placement during the period from the first till the third year, and it is suggested that this is due to the students underestimating their capacity from the onset of being self-assured. Although this is a small sample size (n=207) which does provide statistically significant relevant data, 60 percent (n=127) were more positive compared to 40 percent (n=83). Its quantitative design allows an insight into the student nurses’ experience of assertiveness skills (Begley, 2010). Nonetheless, Phillips and Simmonds (2012) phenomenological study supported this descriptive study and further on said this is a key concern for some student nurses within practice setting. The concept of assertiveness and understanding concept as student nurses will enable them to consider that the patient’s aggressiveness might be about other issues rather than their care. In a phenomenological study of (n=50) nursing students in London, Monsu (2014) identified that greater disability may be as a result of anxiety and loss of self-confidence dealing with a difficult patient. Findings of these researches do not seek to be generalised but were reliable to me due to the appropriateness of the methodology and the thematic analysis being correctly applied. This will aid me in caring for my patients in future practice. In a questionnaire survey of (n=200) student nurses in London, Smith (2013) identified that 70 per cent (n=49) of university students preferred mentors to do all the assertiveness communication for them due to underestimating their ability. Only 20 per cent (n=4) of students responded and of those who did respond, many of them did not fully complete the questionnaire. The data suggested that 70 per cent of students who preferred a mentor to do all the assertiveness communication do not constitute very strong evidence. Yet Monsu (2013) argues that from his own experience as a student in placement, there was a strong attachment with mentors being assertive in all him / her communication which did help with the assertiveness skills needed for future practice. This cannot be generalised as Monsu (2013) is not referring to a piece of empirical research but to his own experience. Having identified the context of Monsu’s (2013) own experience argument, I found it very relevant to me and it topped my hierarchy of evidence, but does not appear to have been undertaken in a thorough manner to help my caring for patients in future due to their lack of a soundly-based qualitative theory compared to Smith (2013). Having discussed with my mentor what happened during the admission; it felt good to have attempted the interaction with the patient and recognised some of his needs. Even though the patient seemed reluctant, I demonstrated the ability to remain calm although I did struggle with my approach when I spoke to him about offering more support. Instead, I focused to help the client respond to my questions and identify what his concerns were. I believe during that incident, I showed assertive behaviour because I maintained my duty of care to the patient. I have reflected that this would have an effect on my clinical ability if I had failed to be the patient’s advocate. With the DOH (2009) updated work on providing guidelines on consent to treatment and putting these principles of consent into practice, my actions caused me to consider my practice whether obtaining informed consent would be an issue. Tommy fully realised that he should comply with the nurse as she understood the conseq uences if his pains were not treated (Cole, 2012). According to Baldwin, Duffield, Fry and Merrick (2011) the interaction between the decision-making, skill development opportunities, social support and identity comes with the nursing role so as to be prepared for the upcoming nurse population to meet new challenges. When this type of situation happens again, I believe I have the skill to show my assertiveness skills by using compromise as well as recognising the boundaries of my actions. Using clinical decision skills and asking open questions, which I can gain from meeting other patients would enable me to show that I am a self- assured, reliable and trustworthy student nurse. I need to try and achieve leadership skills that could be essential for patient satisfaction and to achieve this, I have learnt to engage in leadership activities such as handovers and undertaking tasks on behalf of my mentor. I recognised that once I fitted into the clinical environment, I needed to be more actively involved in challenging clinical situations such as detecting unpredictable patient deterioration and learning to make quick clinical decisions. Cook Leathard (2004) suggested that good student nursing leadership and good quality nursing care will be effective if nurses go through leadership training program mes during the early stages of their career. This can help me in preparation to become more aware of how I feel, think and act in front of my patients. Reflecting and learning to be assertive can increase my confidence and self-esteem through appreciating what I have done well and maturely, accepting the improvements I must make to become a better nurse in the future. Having said that, I was satisfied that I had the opportunity to practice nursing handover, as it is one of the vital roles of a qualified nurse and one aspect of nursing care that is required of me when I am qualified.Loseby, Hudson Lyon (2013) wrote, handovers are information that can influence the delivery of care. In the process of this learning experience I felt well supported by my mentor giving me several opportunities to practice my handover until I felt more confident and less anxious because she created quality time for me and necessary feedback that helped my learning need as well as other aspects ofnursing. McCloughen, O’Brien Jackson (2010) defines a mentor as someone that helps others grow by teaching them, encouraging them and being interested in their success. This is also further supported byHamric, B.A., Hanson, M.C., Tracy, F.M., OGrady, T.E.,(2013) who indicated that a good mentor is one who spends quality time to foster growth, committed to the developme nt of their learning need, willing to share and feedback on any rough spot in their career development. In conclusion, I have critically analysed and reflected on clinical learning needs, which are essential for my continuing professional development. As a student, critical analysis and reflection helped to facilitate good learning outcomes so that I can relate and apply concepts to clinically orientated situations as well as explore and evaluate evidence. Also my clinical learning need was acknowledged through mentor feedback by showing assertive skills in communication with difficult patients. This need is an on-going process of development for me. However; I recognised that attempting interactions with patients and collaborating with nursing staff will help in my development to be a more self-assured nurse. Participating and engaging in leadership activities such as handovers and task delegation would be beneficial at this stage of my learning. Through the reflection and recognition of these learning needs, I could only move forward and continue to develop my learning proficiency as a student nurse towards professional competency as a qualified nurse. 1 | Page

Free Essay on Homers Odyssey: Hospitality :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Hospitality in Homer's Odyssey      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hospitality: Greek philoxenia; literally â€Å"love of strangers.†Ã‚   Homer might have had such a definition in mind when he introduced the theme of hospitality to his epic poem the Odyssey.   A multitude of reasons for the prominent position this theme plays, both in the Odyssey and perhaps in Homer’s own society, are hinted at in the introductory books, often referred to as the Telemachy.   Just two of these, namely the hunger for news and the belief in divinity, are illustrated by the words and actions of the hosts Telemakhos and Nestor.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first words the reader hears from young Telemakhos are those of greeting to an unknown visitor.   Seating the stranger in an elaborate throne to one side, providing finely worked implements, and acquiring generous portions of food and drink, Telemakhos displays the very soul of hospitality.   Why?   The poet states in Book 1, line 167 â€Å"†¦he wished privacy to ask for news/about his father, gone for years.†Ã‚   The island of Ithaka and indeed the whole of Greece were composed of isolated pockets of civilization.   Travel on the unpredictable sea and over the mainland’s mountainous terrain was no easy feat;   therefore news of the world by any means, even at the mouth of strangers, was welcomed and well-rewarded with hospitality.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nestor’s case is somewhat more entertaining.   Arriving amidst a sacrificial feast to the god Posidon, Telemakhos and Athena-as-Mentor are greeted by a crowd of celebrants and invited by one son of Nestor to recline in comfort close to the lord himself, honored further by being given the opportunity to make libations to the sea god from a precious golden cup.   Did Nestor believe these two were emissaries of or one even the great earth shaker himself?   Probably not, but one can never be too certain in a society in which Gods are purported to walk among men.   Greek culture of the time relied heavily on divination and searched constantly for omens as seen in the repeated motif of â€Å"bird signs.†Ã‚   The auspicious arrival of the pair likely suggested something of importance to the aged lord.   As it happens, Poseidon was â€Å"far off among the sunburnt races† being â€Å"regaled by smoke of thighbones burning† at the mome nt and Nestor had to make due with a disguised, grey-eyed goddess of wisdom and war (Book 1, lines 36 and 39).   Perhaps such cases of visiting deities were not as common in Homer’s Ionian Asia-Monor;   however, there are numerous tales of prominent dignitaries, often viewed with god-like awe, traveling incognito.

Life Developed Only on Earth Essay

Life developed only on this one small planet in this one small galaxy. There are several reasons to explain this and some of these are the following: First of all, water is sufficient on Earth making it fit for life to exist (BBC, n. d. ). Second, oxygen is available on Earth for a life to carry on living (BBC, n. d. ). Third, neither earth is too close nor too far from the Sun, thus neither it is not too warm nor is it too cold to live in (BBC, n. d. ). Fourth, the chemicals necessitated to create a living cell are more than enough (BBC, n. d. ). Fifth, a considerable amount of plant and animal species have already developed and adjusted to the environment (BBC, n. d. ). Sixth, the surface of the Earth is perfectly designed since it amazingly protects it from the rays of the Sun (BBC, n. d. ). This is the same reason why the Earth gets the right temperature while other planets are either extremely hot or excessively cold (BBC, n. d. ). Consequently, this also made it possible for water to be available in its liquid state (BBC, n. d. ). Seventh, even if it has been said that life exists in Mars, there are no evidences that support such yet (Fisher, 2005). Furthermore, telescopes are not that good enough to provide details as to whether life really exists there or not (Fisher, 2005). Moreover, to declare such a statement would entail a closer scrutiny of the aforementioned (Fisher, 2005). Eighth, unfortunately, nobody from Earth can leave for Mars (Fisher, 2005). In fact, even NASA say â€Å"no such mission will be attempted for several years† (Fisher, 2005). Last but not least, the Earth is the only planet which has a magnetic field that â€Å"turns away dangerous particles of space radiation† (Fisher, 2005). This means that other planets have a much lesser air and have a much colder temperature, thus living will be quite impossible (Fisher, 2005). References BBC. (n. d. ). Why is There Life on Earth? Retrieved August 22, 2007 from http://www. open2. net/science/finalfrontier/life/why. htm Fisher, D. (2005). Is there Life on Mars. Retrieved August 22, 2007 from http://spaceplace. nasa. gov/en/kids/phonedrmarc/2002_june. shtml

Targeting Bilateral Aid For The Poor

The debate over foreign aid has been raging for quite a while now. Some critics have argued that aid does precious little to the poor countries it reaches. Others arguing against this pessimism have stated that aid brings in investment, which then fosters growth. However what is indeed a matter of concern is that most countries do not have the capability of absorbing aid.This is often a function of poor administrative processes, but could also arise out of poor governance structures that allow the siphoning away of funds due to the lack of accountability in these countries. There are a number of instances that are cited by skeptics to argue against foreign aid as it encourages corruption and leakage.De Soto (1989) gives some extremely clear examples of how corruption in developing countries has left the poor miserable and vulnerable. Boone(1994) shows how aid gives rise to varying outcomes in various countries.Weisskopf (1972) had pointed out how domestic savings and therefore domest ic investment gets affected by various kinds of foreign aid and foreign investment. This kind of intervention is not always in the best interest of the developing country.The debateThe issues are several. Donor countries often give aid for specific purposes. However, what might happen at the recipient’s end is that the aid gets diverted. For example, aid for expenditure of health might get diverted to spending on education.This often depends on what constituencies are more powerful in the country receiving aid. The same is true at the donor end, where more powerful lobbies ensure that it is the sector that gets the benefit of aid.Pharmaceutical sectors in developed countries have very often been blamed for diverting most aid into the health sector while the problems afflicting poor nations might be more acute in terms of starvation and malnutrition.Another reason for disgruntlement against foreign aid is that it tends to distort the domestic development agenda and takes it aw ay towards issues that might not be priority areas. Pfaff (2004) demonstrates how the environment debate in the developed world got transferred to the developing countries riding on massive amounts of aid.In the entire environmental revolution that came about in the seventies and the eighties, the industrialized and developed world ties most of its concern over the environment with aid packages. Additionally, what happens is that aid comes in for sectors, which are highly underdeveloped, and therefore the resources required to handle this aid might not be locally available.These resources are usually both human and material resources. With the non-availability of trained personnel in host countries, the modalities of aid therefore ensure that expatriates are then responsible for the distribution and utilization of such aid. Foreign experts are, to say the least, expensive.What adds to the problem is the bias this builds into the entire process. There is already enough suspicion that exists against foreigners. In addition, there is the entire issue of the lack of familiarity with local issues and local priorities.This gives rise to a disgruntlement with the management of aid and with locals feeling left out and the managers feeling uncomfortable; the efficacy of such aid reduces significantly.The foreigner manager has different sets of priorities and an alien understanding of conditions under which the local population understands the need for assistance and this duality of purpose could lead to tension and misunderstanding. How Aid helps bad governments survive By far the most stringent criticism of foreign aid has been by way of the evidence that poorly governments in developing countries have managed to survive because of the aid they are able to attract.These governments have used the aid to push policies in their countries that have been detrimental to the development of markets due to the poor economic and industrial policy environment that has been put i n place. Aid has lead to complacency as some constituencies receive enough sops and therefore do not exert pressure on their governments.Aid gives rise to protectionist measures and the competitive environment that must exist and evolve in developing economies just does not come through.Therefore poor governance continues to thrive and the dependence on foreign aid becomes perpetual. Krueger (1974) shows how this situation helps rent seekers in developing societies thrive on the poor state of political processes, especially in times of economic distress.What has also been observed that aid that comes tied to certain conditions, forces structural adjustment programs on countries that are unable to protest.However unwillingly, these countries must undergo painful reforms to satisfy the conditions laid by donors. This has often resulted in large reductions in public investments and in subsidies to the targeted poor. The famous examples where such pressure has caused domestic damage are in the structural adjustments that were forced upon Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.With pressure on them to reduce fiscal deficits, these countries went in for stringent reform measures leading to high inflation and acute stagnation. Locke (2001) shows the extent to which governments can pressurize other nations to manage policies to restructure economies in a particular fashion.However it must be pointed out that this debate is not one sided. There are countries like Zambia that have been at the receiving end. With aid increasing annually over the seventies and the eighties, the economic situation in Zambia went form bad to worse. On the other hand is Ghana in the same region.Here aid helped foster a friendly environment for the domestic policy to correct itself and help the local economy grow. In Zambia, increased aid coincided with poor policy, while in Ghana as aid levels went up, there were marked improvements seen in the fiscal and monetary sectors as also in the external secto r with trade policy improving considerably.Levinsohn and McMillan (2005) argue that aid to Ethiopia actually was pro poor and enabled the country move towards food sufficiency and food security by ensuring that the poor were given access to food supplies. Â  The authors show how households, especially the very poor, benefited when aid went into the provision of wheat in Ethiopia. The paper further argues that the very poor actually benefited the most in this process.

Doing Business with Multinational Organizations Essay Example

Doing Business with Multinational Organizations Essay Example Doing Business with Multinational Organizations Essay Doing Business with Multinational Organizations Essay 1997). These communications styles are: 1. 2. 1. Explicit Vs Implicit Communication Explicit communications is where someone when someone talks it is straight to the point and unambiguous for example Americans. Implicit communication is usually indirect and inexact for example Indonesian communication. For instance a mother telling a man that he is not compatible with her daughter serves him with tea and bananas instead of telling him directly (Gallois and Callan ,1997). 1. 2. 2. Direct Vs Indirect Communication Direct communication states direct action for example ‘has this report done before you go home’. When someone hears direct speech they know what is to be done. Greek employees prefer this kind of communication as they prefer orders as compared to their contribution in management decisions. Indirect communication is not authoritative and encourages input from the listener. American managers prefer this kind of communication as it goes with their managerial style of participatory management. 1. 2. 3. Silence Vs Verbal exaggeration Silence is also seen as a way of communication but different cultures perceive silence in different contexts. The Japanese use silence during negotiations as a strategy to control the negotiation process however if their counterparts are 3 Americans, they would see this silence as lack of knowledge or an indication to move to the next point. On the other hand some cultures dramatization and over emphasize to express the gravity of the matter. This has been observed in the Arab states where common words are used at the end of sentences and pronouns will be repeated for emphasis also used are graphical similes and metaphors. Managers in multinational corporations should therefore study very carefully which communication style takes prevalence in what area and use what is preferred (Gallois and Callan ,1997). 1. 3. Non-verbal communication Non-verbal is another way of communicating messages and portrays messages with more emphasis than words as they say actions speak louder than words. Non-verbal communication includes body movements, posture and gestures, facial expressions. In intercultural communication, it is possible that people rely on nons of non-verbal communication cues are proxemics (space), tone of voice, body gestures, facial expressions and eye contact (Gallois and Callan ,1997). . 4. Negotiations This is a process where business people engage in discussions with the objective of 4 reaching an agreement that will result in the parties involved benefiting. Negotiations for multinational corporations are usually with the suppliers of capital (investors), suppliers, service providers, the Governments involved (either domestic or foreign), customers and the society. Managers should be aware of the sensitivity and complexities of negotiations especially that are caused by cultural differences as these are usually the key to success (Horst,1972). The multicultural negotiation process is as outlined below 1. 4. 1. Preparation: Understand the counterpart’s culture as compared to ours and identifying the differences. Meant to make us understand the counterparts culture 1. 4. 2. Relationship building: This stage is used to build trust, some cultures find this step irrelevant while others emphasize on relationship building and spend more time here. 1. 4. 3. Exchange task related information: Presentation of details by each the parties and they state their stands. Culture dictates how much information is revealed. . 4. 4. Persuasion: Each party tries to convince the counterparts to take their option by explaining the benefits each would get from their stand. 1. 4. 5. Concession and agreements: This is where agreements are reached and using culture, negotiators know how they will get to this point. 1. 5 Motivation This is what gives human beings or groups the desire or willingness to do something 5 in terms of work and person al life and such a context is greatly influenced by cultural variables that affect attitudes and behavior. Using Hofstede’s ultural dimensions we can evaluate how different motivation methods by multinational corporations would affect employees from different cultures especially if they use the same methods across several countries. 1. 4. 6. Individualism/Collectiveness People who are members to a culture that promote individualism such as the American culture would be motivated by opportunities for individual advancement and autonomy plus they would prefer individual rewarding systems than people of a collectivist nature who would prefer rewards of the entire group and would be motivated with what will advance the entire group. . 4. 7. Uncertainty/Avoidance People who are members of cultures who prefer to avoid opportunity would prefer job security while the opposite would be motivated with risky opportunities for variety and fast track development. 1. 4. 8. Power distance A low power distance culture will be motivated by team work, contribution coming from all members while in a high power distance, motivations comes from the relation ship of the managers and the subordinates. 1. 4. 9. Masculinity/Femininity A masculine culture would prefer the traditional division of work and roles by gender and each gender to stay in their positions for example the traditional African culture 6 while in a feminine culture is open and will motivate people through flexible roles and equal opportunity . (Harris and Moran ,2000) 2. ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES Globalization has led to the development of worldwide and regional governing bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), European Union (EU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). They are tasked with regulating interactions between economies and preventing conflicts as well as ensuring business ethics and legal measures are taken care of (Farrell et al, 2008) 2. 1Examples of Regional and world governing bodies 2. 1. 1. World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goals of the WTO include among others the administration of trade agreements, facilitation of trade negotiations, settlement of trade disputes, provision of legally binding ground rules for international commerce and trade policy. Basically WTO attempts to reduce barriers to trade between and within nations and settle trade disputes ( Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2008). The WTO can be said to favour the powerful multi-national corporations, which daily strengthen their grip on the world economy. This has led to smaller nations being forced to open up their trade areas e. China being forced by US to open up its trade 7 to allow U. S imports. Globalization of multinationals has many adverse effects on millions of people throughout the world. The overriding aim of the WTO, in short, is to create a world eminently fit for the multi-national corporations to live in. 2. 1. 2. European Union The European Union is the economic association of over two dozen European countries, which seek to create a unified, barrier-free market for products and services throughout the continent, as well as a common currency with a unified authority over that currency. The EU relies on member states to protect collective labor rights. The EU expects member states to have thriving trade unions and employees associations to participate in the legislative process at EU level that can help to implement directives at the national level. The EU also places considerable importance on upholding human rights standards in its dealings with 3rd world countries (Alston, 2005). 2. 1. 3. COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a preferential trading area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981. The main objective of COMESA is to facilitate the removal of all structural and institutional weaknesses of member States, and the promotion of peace; security and stability so as to enable them attain sustained development individually and collectively as a regional bloc. Among other things, COMESA member States have agreed on the need to create and maintain: 8 ? a full free trade area guaranteeing the free movement of goods and services produced within COMESA and the removal of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers; a Customs Union under which goods and services imported from nonCOMESA countries will attract an agreed single tariff in all COMESA states; ? free movement of capita and investment supported by the adoption of common investment practices and policies so as to create a more favorable investment climate for the COMESA region; ? a gradual establishment of a payments union based on the COMESA Clearing House and the eventual establishment of a common monetary union with a common currency; and ? The adoption of common visa arrangements, including the right of establishment leading eventually to the free movement of bona fide persons. 2. 2. Effects of World Governing Bodies on globalization and business World governing bodies have opened up trade between member countries and as a result increased globalization namely through: 1. Reducing barriers to international trade through international agreements such as WTO agreements 2. Elimination of tariffs; creation of free trade zones with small or no tariffs 3. Reduced transportation costs, especially resulting from development of containerization for ocean shipping. 4. Reduction or elimination of capital controls 5. Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses 9 6. Creation of subsidies for global corporations 7. Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of states, with more restrictions 8. Supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e. g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States) 9. Globalization has brought about the formation of alliances between countries such as the G8, NAFTA, EU, such alliances want to improve trade and business amongst themselves and companies operating outside these alliances have quite some disadvantage e. g. flower companies in Kenya selling flowers to the EU 10. World governing bodies and trade alliances such as EU, WTO stipulates the basic ethical rules that should be used in their member states. If companies do not comply they would have campaigns against them creating boycotts for their products. 10 3. STRATEGIES During the last half of the twentieth century, many barriers to international trade fell and a wave of firms began pursuing international strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Business strategies may include geographic expansion, diversification, acquisition, product development, market penetration, retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation, and joint venture. Strategic management enables organizations to recognize and a dopt to change more readily; successfully adapting to change is the key to survival and prosperity. 2. 3. Two types of international strategy 2. 3. 1. Global strategy Treat the world as a single market. It is applied where forces for global integration are strong and force for national responsiveness is weak. For example this is true of consumer electronics market. Global Strategy is suitable for: ? ? ? Product is the same in all countries. Centralized control little decision-making authority on the local level Effective when differences between countries are small 2. 3. 2. Multinational Strategy It treats the world as a portfolio of national opportunities. It is applied where forces for global integration are weak and force for national responsiveness is strong. For example this is true of branded packaged goods business for 11 example strategy pursued by Unilever. Multi domestic strategy is suitable for ? ? ? Products customized for each market Decentralized control – local decision making Effective when there are wide differences between the countries 2. 4. Strategies of investing abroad 2. 4. 1. Joint venture Marula (2006) defines joint venture as a venture that is jointly owned and operated by two or more firms. He further explains that many firms penetrate foreign market by engaging in a joint venture with firms that reside in those markets. Advantages of a Joint venture First these organizations are able to apply their respective comparative advantages in a given project and Marula (2006) gives an example of General Mills Inc which joined in a venture with Nestle SA so as that cereals produced by General Mill could be sold through the overseas sales distribution network by Nestle also Xerox Corp and Fuji Co. of Japan engaged in a joint venture that allowed Xerox Corp to penetrate the Japanese market and allowed Fuji to enter the photocopying business. Secondly a joint ventures enables organization especially in the automobile to offer its technological advantages for example General Motors has ongoing joint ventures with automobile manufactures in several different countries. 12 Disadvantages of Joint Ventures Association of Certified Charted Accountants (2004) asserts that disagreements may arise over profit shares, amount invested, the management of the joint venture , making the strategy and finally one partner may wish to withdraw from the arrangement. 2. 4. 2. Contract Manufacturing or Licensing Pearce and Robison (2004) define licensing as the transfer of some industrial property right from the licensor to a motivated licensee. They further explain that most tend to be patterns, trademarks, or technical know how that are granted to the licensee for a specified time in return for a royalty and for avoiding tariffs or import quotas. Advantages of Licensing Pearce and Robison (2003) argue that firms that use licensing will benefit from lowering the risk of entry into the foreign markets and used best in companies large enough to have a ombination of international strategic activities and for firms with standardized products in narrow margin industries. Disadvantages of Licensing According to Pearce and Robison (2004) is the possibility that the foreign partner will gain the experience and evolve into a major competitor after the contract expires as this was a case between U. S electronics firms with Japanese companies. Secondly they argue th at another potential problem stems from the control that the licensor forfeits on production, marketing and 13 general distribution of its products. And this loss of control minimizes a company’s degrees of freedom as it reevaluates its future options. 2. 4. 3. Franchising Pearce and Robison (2004) define Franchising as form of licensing which allows the franchise to sell a highly publicized product or service, using the parent’s brand name or trademark, carefully developed procedures, and marketing strategies. In exchange the franchisee pays a fee to the parent company, typically based on the volume of sales of the franchisor in its defined market area. The local investor who must adhere to the strict policies of the parent operates the franchise. Examples are Avis, Burger King, CocaCola, Hilton, Kentucky fried chicken, Manpower and Pepsi. ACCA (2004) asserts that the franchiser provides the name, any good will associated with it, systems, business methods, support services such as advertising, training and site decoration while the franchisee provides the capital, personal involvement, local market knowledge, payment to the franchiser for the rights, support services and responsibility for day to day running and the ultimate profitability of the franchise. Disadvantages of franchising According to ACCA (2004) search for competent candidates is both costly and time consuming where the franchiser requires many outlets for example McDonalds in UK. Also the control over franchisees is demanding as they are spread over many locations. 14 2. 4. 4. Transnational Alliances Levi (1996) defines transnational alliances as associations of firms in different countries working together to overcome the limitation of working alone. One of the motivations to form a ransnational alliance is cooperation over research where cost and risks may be too high for any one firm or where different firms may possess different abilities. He gives an example IBM and Siemens of Germany in Memory chip development or marketing of Geo produced in Korea by GM. He further asserts that transnational alliances are compromise between a firm doing everything itself and dealing with a stranger. Advantages Of transnational alliances As Levi (1996) argues organizations form tran snational alliances to gain access to foreign markets, to exploit complementary technologies and to reduce time taken for innovation. . 4. 5. Wholly owned foreign subsidiaries Based on a study done by Richard Vernon of Harvard Business School where 187 United States manufacturing with six or more foreign subsidiaries outside of Canada the researcher concluded that these multinational corporations tend to be larger, more profitable more advertising and research oriented and more diversified than firms which have not invested abroad. (Horst, 1972) 4. 0 INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS Economic reforms/environment affects the business and industry directly. Business plans and programmers are directly influenced by economic factors, 15 such as, interest rates, money supply, price level, consumers’ credit etc. Economic conditions leading to inflation or deflation affect the business activities. Inflation leads to rise in general price-level, whereas deflation leads to fall in price level. Higher petrol prices in the country resulted to a trend in favor of small like Maruti and starlet cars. State of industrial trade and business booms and slumps constitute the economics of market environment, (Lewis, 2006). Recently government initiated various economic policies. As such the impact of these reforms changes on business and industry in the following manner: 2. 5. Buyers’ market In the liberalized policy regime shortages of goods are no more, but there are surplus of goods. These arise due to competition, reduction in cost, up-gradation of technology, improvement in quality and customer convenience. Removal of government restrictions on capacity creation and capacity utilization has also helped increase in the supply of goods. Industry has been given total freedom to expand and diversify. Price control has been removed. Investment now takes place in the areas of demand. All these changes have made the buyer, the sovereign of the market. 2. 6. Export is required for survival Implementation of new trade policy has linked imports to exports. The enterprises should earn foreign exchange by exports and use the same foreign exchange for importing raw material spares and equipments. For example: Reliance Group, Essar World Trade, Ceat, Videocon, Eicher, MRF etc, are being benefited by the 16 new policy. 2. 7. Threat from multinational companies Due to the present policy of liberalization of our government, massive entry of multinationals in the country has started. The vast resources and the modern technology of the present multi-national companies have enabled their subsidiary companies to boost sales and enjoy strategic advantage over their competitors. The presence of multinational companies has been rendering valuable services to our economy. It is supplying superior quality of goods, generating more employment opportunities, promoting modern technology and awakening our business community. Presence of multinational companies has also boosted growth of small industries in the country. 2. 8. Overall competition The new competitive environment has thrown the economy open. There is tough competition between multinationals and there is also competition between local enterprises and foreign enterprises. Competition has now become global. It is not confined to national boundaries. For instance, Weston Electronics Company, which held about 18% of the television market, has been virtually thrown out of the market due to cutthroat competition and technological backwardness. . 9. World class technology Changes in government policy regarding business and industry have provided us with world-class technology. Most companies have also started making investment in research and development. Pharmaceutical industries in countries such as India made 2% investment in R D. In developed countries investment in 17 research and development is approximately 12%. Multinationals are also bring ing world-class technology in the country. This has enabled faster growth of industries. 2. 10. Future not guided by past failures It is rightly said that future starts afresh for companies. Future now needs new strategies, high technologies, determined efforts, enthusiasm, organization and leadership. New approaches, systems structures and new leadership must emerge to compete with the multinationals. We must forget the past, bury its failures and start working with new endeavor, approaches and leadership. 2. 11. Wider and diverse markets Due to globalization markets have been opened up and can now be widely accessed by companies from various countries. Countries have lift barriers improving flow of goods between them. This has boosted import and export trade among various countries. Regional trading blocks have been formed to improve trade and allow free flow of goods and services among member countries. In the agricultural sector, crop imports are traded at cheaper prices and exchanged for another commodity because of the free trade as entailed among the provisions of bodies such as COMESA or WTO. A country such as Philippines could purchase or import crops from another country at cheaper tariff rates, in case of a shortage. However, on the downside, countries that are more progressive agriculturally could just dump their third-rate or low-class products to their third-world trading counterparts. 18 2. 12. Foreign direct investment inflows Local industries which have invested abroad such as Bidco oil refinery is reaping huge profits from its foreign direct investments such as from its investment in Uganda palm plantation. Creation of common markets has given countries incentives to invest in those countries thus leading to investment inflows. Lowering of tariffs: countries such as India have been reaping from enormous opportunities emerging from globalization such as consequent lowering of tariff barriers. Information Technology has given Indian industries formidable brand equity in the global markets. Indian companies have a unique distinction of providing efficient business solutions with cost and quality as an advantage by using state of art technology. Outsourcing is the act of giving a third-party the responsibility of running hat would otherwise be an internal system or service. Due to globalization, most companies and businesses have sought to contract most of its services or processes to outsiders. Most industries now use outsourcing such as call centers and can outsource its functions such as marketing, financial, training, transport and distribution and so forth. Capitalize on global trade: most domestic industries now capitalize on global trade by concentrating on the domestic market and then leverage their eco nomies of scale overseas. 2. 13. Devaluation Some countries have had to cope up with the trend of globalization by devaluing their currency such as India. The first step towards globalization was taken with the announcement of the devaluation of Indian currency by 18-19 percent against 19 major currencies in the international foreign exchange market. This was a measure taken in order to resolve the balance of payment crisis. 5. 0 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION In conclusion my own critique on globalization is that the whole process has increased power that multinational corporations seems to enjoy . This is seen as a particularly worrying phenomenon because it affects the issues that are raised and witnessed everywhere we have a multinational company. An overriding concern is that globalization increases the gap between the haves and the have-not of the world. Unfair labor practices such as child labour, poor working conditions and low remuneration packages are some of issues that have been witnessed in the recent past. Although it’s not clear whether the forces of globalization may produce a general deterioration of working conditions around the world or increase the inequality of working conditions among countries . espite the above ,in rich countries the picture is totally different thus self-interested opposition to globalization with fears that cheap imports or immigrants from other countries will lower the relative wages of low-skilled workers, more rapid economic change and shifting patterns of comparative advantage will increase economic insecurity and internation al competition. Despite all this countering the claims of globalization skeptics is a century-old economy theory that predicts free trade will reduce a convergence of labour conditions around the world. 20 6. References: ACCA (2004) Strategic business planning and development (paper 3. 5). London: BPP Professional Education Alston, P. (2005). Labour rights as human rights. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Deresky, H. (2008). International Management : Managing Across Borders and Culture (6th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education. Gallois, C. , Callan, V. (1997). Communication and culture: A guide for practice. Chichester, UK, Wiley. Ferrell, O. , Fraedrich, J. , Ferrell, L. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Horst T. 1972) Firm and Industry Determinants of the Decision to Invest Abroad: An Empirical Study The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Aug. , 1972), pp. 258-266 Kotler, Philip: Market ing Management: nineth edition, Prentice Hall India Lewis D. 3rd ed. (2006): When cultures collide. Leading across cultures. London. Nicholas Brealey International. Levi, Maurice D (1996) International Finance; The markets and financial management multinational business (3rd ed) Singapore: McGraw- 21 McFarlin, D. B. , Sweeney, P. D. (2006). International Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges (3rd ed. . Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company. O’Carroll, G. (n. d. ). Intercultural Communication Module: [Intercultural communication]. Retrieved from ECO European Career Orientation website: http://eco. ittralee. ie// Pearce, J. and Robinson, R. (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation and Control. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Schermehorn, J. R. (2005). Organizational Behavior (9th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ Thomas, D. C. (2002). Essentials of International Management: A cross culture Perspective. 2455 Teller Road, Sage Publications Inc. 22

The Cost and Reimburstements of Medicare Research Paper

The Cost and Reimburstements of Medicare - Research Paper Example This study focuses on cost and reimbursement of Medicare as well as challenges facing the program. Medicare services can be provided to the beneficiaries either through traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program or private health plans such as Medicare Advantage (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). Whereas clients can be served in any hospital and by any doctor under FFS those using Medicare Advantage should be treated by providers in a network or pay extra charges for treatments received from out-of network providers (Mason et al., 2013). The program is available in four parts namely Part A, B, C and D. "Medicare covers Hospital Insurance (part A), Medical Insurance (part B), Prescription Drugs (part C) and Medicare Advantage" (part D) (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). Clients who apply for part C receives various benefits offered in other parts. Currently, some people prefer Medicare Advantage because it offers extra services in addition to those provided under FFS. Part A of the Medicare is financed through payroll tax charged on employees and the employers whereby each contributes 1.45% to make a total of 2.9% while for self employed persons they contribute full 2.9% since they are both employees and employers (Mason et al., 2013). Part C and D are financed by premiums contributed by enrollees of the Medicare and revenue from the general fund. Medicare in partnership with local insurance companies pay compensation to claims presented each year by the Medicare beneficiaries (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). The Medicare uses various methods to compensate the medical service providers for the services they offer to their clients covered by health insurance. For example, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services introduced Accounting Care Organization model to harmonize medical service delivery among the service providers by enabling them to coordinate their service delivery to reduce expenses, improve quality and outcome of the

Healing Literature and Society Views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Healing Literature and Society Views - Essay Example Here too prejudices and hatred held sway. The literature that tried to answer and guide people during the century, had to be either Utopian or dystopian, showing them the ideal ways of living and ideal solutions. or, hold a mirror to their mistakes by showing a world where everything is wrong. (The dystopia Novel). The solution should be somewhere in between and include all perspectives and points of view.NATURE WRITING movement started by Henry David Thoreau pointed to ways of living fundamentally divergent from the ones laid down by dominant dictates and attitudes of society. (David L.Barnhill).Other authors have followed in the footsteps giving their poetic solutions in their Fictions and Essays. Iron John , is a Work of the Vietnam war trying earnestly to heal the wounds and bring together the alienated members of the society. The book talks about the industrial civilization which cut asunder the father and son who once worked shoulder to shoulder , teaching and learning , bonded by that common experience. The father figure is no longer a reality in the war- ravaged America. He is at best a frustrated, battered man who returns from the pressures and stress of the workplace, too irritable to empathize, and at worst, a drunk, and more often, a deserter of the family. The youth are angry with the older men for pushing them into a war, butchering them without mercy while they themselves are safe .Old men fend for themselves and have not time to spend in understanding the grievance of the younger generation. Men just grow up angry at the loss of their childhood, disappointed with the barrenness of their manhood and tired of having to play roles imposed on them by society;they become...But that is wrong; for, he must have the instinctive answer to the challenge of violence. Men must not be playing roles according to societal demands. The boys, in order to achieve this instinctive wisdom, must be early on removed from their mothers and even fathers, to learn in a commune as in all ancient cultures and civilizations.( BLY) Bly's conviction is that Man must mature and discover his maleness , by not losing touch with the earth ,and the historic and anthropologic roots of Masculinity. This world demands that Man must be successful. He obeys and achieves it, but at a cost. His vitality is lost. Instead, Bly asks them to turn to the inner consciousness "from where all poetry and mythology springs."(BLY) It is his prescription to cure the crippled inner life. Bly touched a cord in all the American minds that had also been smarting under the pain. But he also invited the criticism that he was propagating a male chauvinist society. For, he seemed to address only the White and did not seem to take the Homosexuals into his reckoning. Starhawk who wrote during the same period, and against the same Vietnam war backdrop, had an utopian solution to offer. She creates an oasis of verdant ,fruitful , and happy people of multi generation and multi culture living in harmony with nature and in amity among themselves.