Organizational Behaviour Case Study Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behaviour Case Study Essay Cases: Automation in the Book Store and The Night Owl Answering Service Part 1) The field of Organizational Behavior is one that is very important when it comes to managing people and to make them work effectively. This begins with training. In order to understand these cases it is important to look at both the structure and environment of the company. In the case of the Automation in the Book Store, the company is a medium sized bookstore. Because this company is a bookstore with very few employees there is not a high level of formalization, less specialization and less authority. Therefore, it has an organic structure. Employees dont have a lot procedures and rules that they must abide by while doing their jobs. In fact the initial company policy required employees to stay with the customer they were serving from the time they walked into the store until the sale was made. Also, there was not a great deal of standardization in that there was not a set procedure on how employees did their work, rather it was a freer organization because there were very few employees and this resulted in greater flexibility. Look more:Â  starbuck problem essay These facts all changed once the new computer system was implemented. This system presented employees with some degree of formalization and standardization in their jobs because now there were precise rules and procedures on how to deal with customers. This includes entering an ID number every time a sale was made and closing the store with the system. Also, because this bookstore was not use to high levels of formalization in the past, the implementation of the training program was affected. There were no instructions on how to close at the end of the day in training. The manager had to come in and prepare a hand-written set of instructions about this routine. This is a sign of bad design and implementation. Also, because the company is more centralized than decentralized, the management must follow head offices requests. This is the exact same thing with employees who must listen to the manager even though the employees were apprehensive, particularly the older staff, about new sys tem. Again, the design of the training program, which was quoted as pretty skimpy and patronizing, was another sign of poor design. However, because the structure of the company was somewhat centralized they had to the training according to the way head office and management wanted. The structure of The Night Owl Answering Services was that it was between mechanistic and organic. This call center was more mechanistic because it was more centralized and more specialization where each individual had a specific role. Bob was responsible for technology, sales and marketing. Mary was responsible for training. This type of structure affected the training because of specialization. Nobody else was responsible for training, so when Mary passed away, everyone else specialized in a different area which left training to be an open mess. Only Mary knew the system the best because she specialized in this. This left the company scrambling to recover and in turn designed a training program that proved to be ineffective and poorly implemented. There was only one lady responsible for training. In the case of Automation in the Boo k Store and The Night Owl Answering Service it is important to look at the organizations environment. In these two cases, the organizations both faced environmental uncertainty. Every organization has the potential for environmental uncertainty. This uncertainty created a poor design for training. This was one of the major similarities in both of these cases. This is when management or people of the organization cant really predict what is going to happen. The cases with Automation in the Book Store and The Night Owl Answering Services had faced environmental uncertainty that prove to be frustrating and challenging. However, because both of these companies had static environments, that is a company that remain fairly stable over time and had the least amount of uncertainty, they were sensitive to change. In The Night Owl Answering Service the head of training, Mary, passed away. This was an unpredictable event. It was clearly evident that there was no back up to Mary. Because this company was so used to certainty, it caught them off guard, particularly Bob. In the medium size booksto re the company had followed the same procedures to ring up sales until it introduced its new system. It took one month for the company to adapt. Again, both companies trained employees in such a way that proved to be ineffective. This means these two organizations ability to adapt to environmental change was poor. Its also important to discuss external environmental factors or outside factors that have a direct effect on the company, which in turn affected training. The answering services company had a good reputation for customer service but when the senior operators started leaving they hired new people and trained very quickly to get people on the phone and take calls. Therefore, the external factor here would be the customer. In The Night Owl Answering Services the customer was always the number one priority because they had a prestige reputation on customer service they wanted to continue providing services in a timely manner. This directly affected the training design and implementation because trainers wanted the trainees on the phone as soon as possible to serve the clients of the company because they were short staffed. As a result of this, the trainers wanted to get trainees on the phone quickly which resulted in an implementation and design that proved to be ineffective. Trainees were expected to learn through trial and error style of training. Senior operators were forced to take calls and train at the same time. This resulted in slower operators and higher errors and more complaints to the call center, which lead to clients (external factor) leaving the call center and find business elsewhere. This company was so focused on getting trainees on the phone, they ignored the fact they lacked the basic phone etiquette and computer skills. Senior Management was continuously on the phone, with out breaks. In The Automation in the Book Store the external environment component that should be discussed is technology. Like every other company, it must keep up with technology and accept current business practices. They were entering an era where technology was becoming widespread and they needed a system to calculate the GST. This is a reason why the bookstore decided to take on the new computer system. The organizations employees were reluctant to have it but didnt have a choice and had to keep up with external technological factors. The company was highly sensitive to this environmental change, which was external, but when the system was implemented, it became an internal factor. There was systematic turbulence in this organization. There ability to adapt to systematic change, the new computer system would be considered systematic turbulence. Systematic turbulence looks at how a company deals with a change in the environment change. This is evident is the case with Automation in the Bookstore. . Part 2) Motivational effects are very important aspects of an organization. People have to be motivated to join and remain in organizations. They also have to carry out their basic work reliability in terms of productivity, quality, and services, requirements and should always interact to accomplish their goal. These are some examples that if were missing in an organization, employees and members of the company began to lose interest and be less motivated. This was the case with these two organizations. One of the major similarities was that both companies faced poor training design and implementation. In Automation in the Bookstore the training was boring and ineffective, which had motivational effects. Lisa was an employee who worked in a medium sized bookstore and was completely dissatisfied with the design of the training. Unfortunately, the training was a mandatory requirement to understand the new system. The first two days started off by having to watch two half an hour videos which Lisa found to be boring and insulting. On the third day of training it went downhill. The computer system was not on training mode the way it was suppose to be. Also, there were no instructions on how close at the end of the day. The manager had to come in and prepare handwritten set of instructions. This caused a lot of problems and created frustration for all members of the organization including management and head office, who wanted to assign blame to someone. The operation of the system was not going according to plan and this got the trainees upset and confused about the policies of the system. Some parts of the training were vague and the continuous frustration had negative motivational effects. Similarly, The Night Owl Answering Services faced great training problems when Mary died, that evidently created negative motivational problems. Bob was forced to take over training without much knowledge o f how to do so, which was also a big problem. Senior operators were forced to work extra hard with no breaks, while at the same time train a new person. New operators were poorly trained and did not know how to handle calls. All these factors started showing in the office environment. These factors inevitably caused negative motivational effects. For example, intrinsic motivations were clearly not met in this organization. Intrinsic is defined as the direct relationship between the worker and the task. In the call center the task was frustrating and created anxiety. If these factors werent here there would be more interested in the position. However, because the training was so poorly done, the intrinsic motivation factor was not being met and created less motivation. It is also important to discuss the Maslows Need Theory and how it applies to these two cases. The needs theory states: NEEDS BEHAVIOR INCENTIVE AND GOALS. Both of these organizations both fit the physiological needs, which include the basic human needs. In safety needs it includes freedom from anxiety, and a structured ordered environment. The safety needs were not bei ng met. Both organizations faced stress and anxiety, particularly the call center, which effected motivation. Results of poor motivation create poor quality of work. The training was poor and it would reflect on the quality of work being performed because they are no longer motivated to work with all the stress factors. Hertrzberg theory should be looked at as well. The first factor is the hygene factor. This includes relationship with fellow employees, security and other various factors. In order for employees to not feel less motivated or dissatisfied is if all these factors are in place. If all these factors are in place you will not feel unsatisfied but that doesnt necessarily mean that you will be satisfied. It just means not being unsatisfied. Both companies didnt even get past the hygene factor of just not being unsatisfied. The second factor of Hertzbergs theory talks about is motivation. This is a sense of achievement and recognition, which would play different in each company. This doesnt have a great effect on the bookstore because their situation was short term in compared to the call center. If the company cant even properly trained there is no chance of being recognized or feel a sense of achievement. The cases state that the trainees felt like they were being under attack by the senior staff. That would have a negative affect and create decrease motivation. There is no room for job enrichment that in turn means no enhancement in intrinsic motivation. Overall the similarities with respect to the training and the two companies were that of implementation and design. The training program was poor due to various reasons as stated in the report. One of the major differences to note was that the call center issue was a more complex problem and more of a long-term problem. The bookstore training was more of short-term problem. The problem only lasted about a month. Also another difference to note is that the bookstore had a smaller number of employees, so controlling the problem was a bit easier. In the call center there were various problems that were even more difficult to control because they had to meet client needs. In these two organizations there was lack of leadership. Particularly transformational leadership. This is when a leader makes his/her representative look beyond the task, or in this case the training, by observing the bigger picture or goal. Not doing this would negatively effect motivation because the individual will then began to purse his or her own self-interest. In the case of the The Night Owl Answering Service, when Mary passed away, nobody was able to step up and show leadership. Because this particularity affected training, the person responsible for training should have demonstrated leadership ethics to make them feel more positively motivated. Nobody had the leadership to motivate people to put forth their best efforts. There were no directive and supportive people in these organizations. The coaching was ineffective and the trainees had no proper direction. Automation in the bookstore did not face a great deal of leadership problems because again, it only employed about 6-8 people.

Water resources management in India

Water resources management in India CHAPTER III India is facing a serious problem of natural resource scarcity, especially that of water in view of population growth and economic development[1]. The annual average rainfall in the Indian terrain is a healthy 1869 cu/Km[2] which is much more the world average. The rainfall in India shows a very high spatial and temporal variability[3]. That indeed is the reason for water resource management becoming a complex affair in India, for, the rainfall that is received during this short period has to be distributed for a variety of activities. Traditionally India has been agriculture based economy and hence is the importance of development of irrigation schemes so as to reduce the dependence on ground water by effective utilisation of the river waters. The annual potential groundwater recharge from rainfall in India is about 342.43 Km3, which is 8.56 % of the total annual rainfall of the country[4]. While rain is a vital source of water for almost the whole of the Indian peninsula, the snowmelt from the glaciers of the Himalayan belt is a significant contributor to the water source to the valley parts and the foothill region of the Himalayas. While an exact value of water resources of the country is a difficult ask, estimates of the water resources has been done in a comprehensive manner by the Ministry of Water Resources. An analysis of the resources gives a very rosy picture, however the complexities involved in harnessing the resources in an optimum manner is what is causing nightmares to the ministry. There is a need t o ensure a delicate balance between the inflows to the water resources of a region and the outflow components. The National Water Policy[5] stipulates that the total quantity of nations ground water pumped out must be limited to annual recharge. Scientist using NASAs Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have determined that ground water in North Western region of India is decreasing at a alarming rate[6]. If the ground water table goes down the government will be forced to think of alternatives which is more efficient use of river waters. The facts state that though water resource availability is adequate till year 2020 but because of the current rate of growth of the population the availability will become critical after 2020. Also the fact that India will be forced to look at other sources of river water than those granted by the IWT. Drought The drought prone area assessed in the country is of the order of 68% of the total land mass[7] which is roughly equivalent to 51.12 Mha[8] . Many interior parts of peninsular India, such as the Deccan plateau, Southern and Central India come under the grips of dry spells even in the monsoon season itself due to scanty rainfall. Drought is not the result of a single cause, but a cumulative effect of many causes. Not only the availability of water for irrigation of agricultural lands is acutely hit, but also the day to day human life is subjected to inconvenience due to shortage of water for personal use. History has chronicled several droughts in India, and no part of India has escaped dry spells due to failure of monsoons and the resultant drought. A disturbing fact as an offshoot of drought conditions is that even crime rates such as robbery and looting steeply increase, as a sequel to the migration of people affected by drought looking for a decent life, but taking to unsocial activities in the absence of job opportunities. Also it is during these times that sharing of river water by riparian states is a cause for concern. What is paradoxical is that states which have a long coastline or lesser water resources at their areas have not taken any steps to come out of this problem by way of concentrating on desalination, drip irrigation, rain harvesting changing crop pattern requiring less water etc. Drought prone areas in India The total area affected by inadequate rainfall is a little over one million square kilometres. The areas which are drought prone are Thar Desert terrain, Kalahandi- Koraput belt, areas such as North Arcot, (Tamil Nadu) Anantpur and Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) Bellary and Bijapur (Karnataka) Osmanabad and Aurangabad ( Maharastra).[9] Most of the areas in this rain shadow zone is densely populated with hard working, knowledgeable and enterprising people. There are several towns having more than 100,000 population, besides innumerable villages situated in this zone. Sparse vegetation, Pediment type of wastelands and deep levels of ground water table make life difficult in these places. Wastelands dominate over cultivable fields and in the cultivable lands too only one crop is grown in an year. Proper water management in this terrain is capable of transforming the arid to semi arid conditions to a highly productive areas This area is ideal for drip/ sprinkler irrigation to reclaim the drou ght affected areas. Examples exist as is done at Israel. A few more pockets of chronic drought prone areas are- Ramanathpuram and Thirunelveli districts of Tamil Nadu, the linear corridor between Coimbatore and Pallakad and the Saurashtra and Kachchh regions of Gujrat. Also reports of arable lands situated slightly further away from the flood plains and the Deltaic regions of Ganges, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers coming under the grip of water scarcity for agricultural activities. Locations like Kodaikanal, Udhagamandalam and Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu,[10] and Dehradun and Mussorie in Uttaranchal are examples of excessive human interference leading to unsustainable urban development and decadent imbalance in availability of water resources in areas otherwise known for copious rainfall. A generation ago farmers in Gujrat used bullocks to lift water from shallow wells in leather buckets. Now farmers draw water from 300 metres below ground using electrical pumps. According to state water officials, water tables are dropping by 6 metres every year. India had a pump revolution in the last four decades and farmers have drilled approximately 21 million tube wells into the saturated strata beneath their fields. Every year farmers bring another million wells into service mostly outside the control of state irrigation authorities.[11] These pumps powered by subsidised electricity work day and night to irrigate fields of more water consuming crops like rice, sugarcane and alfalfa. The problem is serious and severe and keeping in view that agriculture is the backbone of our economy, replenishment methods like placing numerous dams across river beds, water harvesting and water shed schemes to recharge our underground resources besides flood management need to be given the right impetus. In crop production there is a need to encourage modern methods of irrigation. In spite of an abundance of water resources it has not been easy for the state to tap these resources. Discussion of internal water disputes is far beyond the scope of the dissertation and is therefore not being mentioned; however one disagreement due to the distribution of water of the Indus river system is worth having a look. Disagreement over the sharing of river waters from the Indus river system has been one of the major causes of the violent secession movement in the Punjab province of India in the 1980s and 1990s. This Sikh dominated province has been traditionally provided with a water supply from the Beas, Sutlej and Ravi Rivers. The demands of the downstream provinces of Rajasthan and Haryana persuaded the Indian government to construct canals and divert 60 per cent of Punjabs water and energy to Hindu majority regions[12]. This became a major point of confrontation due to which insurgency was encouraged. Water Demand and Resource Management If the total water availability in India is analysed that the logical conclusion would be that that there is adequate water for all. However water availability on the Indian subcontinent is strongly influenced by a number of climatic and geographic factors. Together these combine to provide India with enough freshwater to meet the various demands arising from the agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors. However, the actual distribution of water resources over space and time limits access to certain geographic regions and during a few months of the year. Government policies and economic incentives have also influenced the water distribution and consumption across India[13] Alarming Scarcity of Water in India, NK Garg and Q Hassan, Current Science Vol 93 No 7 10 Oct 2007. National Water Resource at a Glance Wrmin.nic.in accessed on 18 Nov 2009 Rakesh Kumar, R D Singh K D Sharma Water Resources of India Ibid p4. Indian Ministry of Water Resources, National Water Policy. Retrieved 09 Nov 2009 from www.nic.in/writereaderdata/linkimage/nwp2002.pdf GRACE reveals ground water depletion in India. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2009 from www.environmentalresearchweb.org Drought in India , Challenges and Initiatives, p5 , PACS Programme 2001-08 Water Resources of India, Rakesh Kumar, RD Singh and KD Singh, Current Science, Vol 89, No 5 , Sep 2005 ,pp794. H Sarvotham, Water Resources Augmentation, Management Policies p45. Peter P Molinga, On The Waterfront,p61. Harendar Raj Goutam Water Crisis and Rain Water Harvesting Kurukshetra Quaterly p4. Managing Water Conflicts by Ashok Swain , pp 21 Water privatization and Implications in India, Anitha Sampath , Association for Indias Development.

The Role Of Communications In An Organisation English Language Essay

The Role Of Communications In An Organisation English Language Essay Understanding the role of communications in an organization: 1.1: Explain the communication processes used within my organization (TESCO): Communication process is the process of sending data from one source to another intentionally with a meaning perceived by the receiver. If a company wants to survive in the industry then communication plays a vital role. Without proper communication no work can be completed successfully in organization. It is simply passing information from one to another. There are six basic elements of communication process which are sender (encoder), message, channel, receiver (decoder), noise, and feedback. Tesco uses modern communication process where ICT is vital.  Tesco controls and monitor their every aspect of their operation by using ICT, which includes stock, distribution, payroll, communication methods, and so on 1.2: Analyse the purpose of communication process used within TESCO: In Tesco communication helps to achieve its aims and objectives. Although it doesnt help to achieve all of the aims and objective still help to achieve their main aims and objectives such as To make profit To expand To provide good services to the customers To provides jobs Tesco advertise their product thorough brochures, Internet, television to inform people about their product rates and special offers at the stores at the time. Tesco spends lots of money to advertise their products and make sure that have reached their customers. This will attract more customers and enables Tesco to make a profit. Tesco advertises vacancies thorough Internet and newspaper and find a right person for the job to provide good services to the customers. If Tesco makes profit it will help them to expand and create more jobs so advertisements helps Tesco to achieve their aims and objectives such as making profit, expand and creating jobs. Tesco used costly and effective communication method such as demonstration, video in training so that the colleagues can be trained efficiently so they can provide good services to the customers. Tesco used to check their availability of product and order them at right time so they can provide better services. They do not want to disappoint the customers and they advertise their prospectus and advertise their financial performance to attract new shareholders so they can get more money, which will help them expand worldwide. Tesco need to communicate very well because they are running their business at international level. If business wants to expand worldwide or want to create new jobs they need to make profit. Tesco makes 3 million profits a day and serving more than billions of customers per week. Tesco need to check there expire dates and quality of their product so that their customers are not affected. Tesco arranges meeting with the staff so they can discuss and create new ideas and feedback about their services and Tesco used to communicates with customers and take their ideas and complaints to improve their services. Tesco uses to give written warning to their employees and the person who breaches the employment contract and they finally dismiss them they have written evidence and they can use it for future references and they employ the staff that can take care of their customers. Tesco uses overhead projector to analyse the profit forecast with the employees and accountant which is very expensive and Tesco used to arrange meetings with their senior manager so they can get a better decision and to solve problem and this will help them to make profit and expand. Tesco provide walkie-talkie to their security guard to protect their premise and customer belonging in the stores. Tesco use e-mails, mobile phones, and pager and fax to communicate within their employees to pass any urgent information in terms of emergencies such as break down of machines, raw materials needed this will help them to provide good services to the customers. Tesco writes letters to their customer about the nectar value or the amount due to them by the customers. Tesco prepares reports about the company legal obligations, which can be used for future references. 1.3: Analyse communication barriers in TESCO: There can be a few problems with the use of ICT in Tesco.   Faults of computers can slow down the processing systems, fraud can take place and the cost of ICT is very expensive.   But Tesco has the latest ICT equipment and is not getting any major problems.   There ICT system gives them the best support to meet its objectives. Tesco spent about  £133 million on ICT that is about 1.4% of their turnover, this clearly shows that ICT is a great success for the company and is fit for its purpose.  ICT is value for money and very effective in helping Tesco achieve its business objectives. Be able to manage interpersonal communication skills: 2.1 Auditing my Communication Skills: The communication skills that I am used to are: Tone/pitch, Slang, Pace, Gestures, Body language, Listening, Facial expression, Eye contact, Group interactions. 2.2: The use of my communication skills within organizational setting: My tone and pitch was appropriated I did not shout at of my client as this would make him/her angry or even intimidating to talk to me so I kept it at a level that he/she could hear me clearly. I did not used any slangs and jargon because my client may not of understand what I was say so he/she will be confused not only just my clients but others within the group also the only time it is appropriate for me to use slang is when I am talking with my friends. I used appropriate pace I did not talk to fast because people may not heard clearly what I was saying. In order to get my point across I talk slowly  and clearly to that my point could be heard. Gestures- I used appropriate gestures for the other to understand what I was trying to say. Adapted the used of Egan theory of SOLER which stands for Squarely, Open, Lean, Eye contact, Relaxed. I lean forward to show that I was interested in what he/she was saying I kept my contact and I also faced him/her squarely. I had to listen to wha t he/she was saying so that I can summarize my facial expression was welcoming I smiled at him/her to make him/her feel safe and felt I feeling of love and belonging according to Maslow hierarchy of needs I kept my eye contact on the person that was talking to show that I was listening. As I was a group interaction I gave other people time to talk I did not talk over anybody voice. In my group interaction with my client I appeared to be interested and kept good facial expressions.     One 2 one When talking to the child I used the correct tone I did not shout or this would make him angry to I get calmed I also talked slowly and clearly to he can hear what I was saying. I kept good eye contact with the child I listen to what he was saying and I ask him some open question so that he can express himself. I did not stand over him when I was talking or he may feel intimidating. I kept good facial expression mostly my smiling at him. I did not use any slangs or jargon just simple words that he may understand. I also incorporated Maslow by showing love, belonging and safety. I showed hid that he can come and talked to me without by afraid. I played with him nicely and made in happy so that he would know that he is in a safe environment. Care value base I did not shout at the person as they have the right to be treated with respect. I tried to empower them to make their own decision   I done this my asking the seven year old boy what he would like to do. I did not pass any racism comment or else I would be discriminating against their diversity being race religion culture etc. I also gave them the rights to their own beliefs I did not slag them off but I gave them the chance to explain themselves. I maintained confidentiality as this builds trust I done this by not passing important information about the clients to others and also it would breach the data protection act. 2.3: The effectiveness of my communication skills within organizational setting: Communication is the best tool by which a person can express and try to convey its point but it is not necessary that the receiver takes it in the right way as the sender must have perceived.   Why do we learn how to communicate effectively as poor communication and lack of communication skills can lead to misunderstandings, fights, low morale, arguments and change the perception of the audience or the receiver 2.4: A development plan to improve my own communication skills, using feedback from others: Successful communication is not about me and getting what I want; it is about discovering what other people want and need and then adapting my presentation to match their needs. As I practice and develop my skills, I find that people gladly  adopt my ideas because I have subtly helped them to discover them for themselves rather than telling them about them. To development plan to improve my own communication skills, using feedback from others I generally use the following process: Visual- use conversation to describe things check that spectacles are been worn help the person to touch things explain the detail sighted people take for granted Hearing- do not shout, speak normal and clear and make sure your face is visible so that those who can lip read are able to do so write message or use pictures check for hearing aid   Environmental- Check and improve the lighting Change to a quieter setting Work in smaller group if it would help you to see and hear each other more easily. Time- give people more time to talk and understand Be able to manage my workplace communications: 3.1: Improvements to my workplace communications: Improving communication can lead to healthier relationships and further motivation which is much needed in company. From what we can understand, it is hard to measure the motivation of the secretary, which appears quite low. Although it may seem like there are a lot of problems, many other issues are not; for example, poor language skills, hierarchy, and emotional interference. There are two main types of communication; formal and informal. It is important to know which to use for certain information. Formal communication runs through a procedure or protocol whereas informal is quite the opposite, where information is communicated through unreliable sources, such as the grapevine. Communication with the secretary seemed considerably informal; especially at times when it would have been more desirable to be formal. To ensure important information is carried through, it is highly recommended to be formal and use the right medium for communication. 3.2: Implementation of a plan to improve my workplace communications: To implement a plan to improve my workplace communications following are necessary: I believe there are more things to improve on in my group communication because sometimes it was a lot harder as there was more than one person. It was also harder because there was someone who is a resident and then there were 4 staff members between 20-35. There were a few barriers in this communication because we were outside and it was raining, everyone was cold and also we all had umbrellas covering our faces. My active listening sometimes wasnt very good because everyone was talking over one another, I think that if I had spoken up then I could of grasped what was getting said but because I was only there on placement I thought that I shouldnt but in although who I was talking to should have taken turns in speaking.    My eye contact sometimes wasnt very good because it was raining so there were umbrellas in the way of peoples faces and its harder to use eye contact within a group communication. The reason I didnt use much eye contact was because everyone was speaking over one another so I kept glancing at everyone but my main focus was on someone. This was because I wanted him to feel comfortable although it was cold outside. I didnt use touch in my group communication as I thought it wasnt needed. This was because we were all outside and it was cold. Everyone had an umbrella to themselves so you couldnt really get close enough to anyone to touch them. Although I did help someone get out of his chair when it was time to go back inside. To improve on this I believe I could have helped someone a bit more with getting in and out of his chair because then I would have used touch more appropriately rather than just grabbing at his hand to help him walk inside. I didnt grab at his hand because I knew he could walk on his own with the aid of a walking stick but if he had of asked me to hold his hand then I would have done. 3.3: Develop measures to evaluate success of a plan to improve my workplace communications: It is a necessity Nobody can do without communicating we communicate even if we are silent by our facial expression, or the posture we are sitting etc.   Therefore, we need to know the communication process to communicate effectively. It is a two-way process It includes sending a message and the response to that message. It is not complete unless the receiver has correctly known the message and his response (feedback) becomes known to the sender. It always involves two parties sender and receiver Two or more individual are involved in communication, in the organization point of view it can be upward, downward, horizontal or vertical.   The flow of communication is a circular one It is continuous, on-going process. It is a pervasive function; performed in all types of organizations at all the levels of management. Organization surely cannot do without communication. It is like Bow out of the arrow You can never take back your words whatever you say is already said and already observed by the receiver like for e.g. when we are angry we say things which we are not suppose to say even if we apologize it is irreversible.   That is the reason we have to be careful in saying anything to anybody this goes professionally as well personally. Recommendations and Conclusion Improving communication can lead to healthier relationships and further motivation which is much needed in Johns company. From what we can understand, it is hard to measure the motivation of the secretary, which appears quite low. Although it may seem like there are a lot of problems, many other issues are not; for example, poor language skills, hierarchy, and emotional interference. The crucial problems in the organisation can easily be avoided simply by exercising effective communication practice. This would include understanding different methods, forms and mediums of communication.

Lessons Learned from A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Essay -- Enorm

Lessons Learned from A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings      Ã‚   "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" is a short fiction story written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1955. Magical realism plays a major part in this story by the use of fantasy of an old man being portrayed as an angel who has come to create miracles to a family along with many other believers. Some will believe, others will just shoo this so called "angel" away in a painful and heart-breaking way. I enjoyed this story very much. I was able to get very interested. Marquez starts it out with "On the third day of rain." That line right there is magical because angels are of God, and on the third day God's son rose from the grave. It was the third day that Pelayo came upon this very old man who had appeared to be an angel. It was awful how Pelayo had thrown this angel into the pen with the hens. Only after Pelayo and his wife Elisenda were blessed with their child not being sick anymore did he realize that he had done this angel wrong. Pelayo set the angel free so he could go at his will. What was strange was that the angel was there at the light of dawn, right where they had put him when they had first discovered him. At this point, I am thinking this is really a spiritual story. People just have to magically realize what is happening. I see a magical element in this angel. In our everyday life, we see angels as beautiful, clean, and miraculous in certain ways. This angel was inf ested with parasites, it's wings were very dirty, and the miracles performed were weird. The purpose was to get people like me interested in seeing the angel from two different point of views. How people were treating this angel was awful. They would throw things at him and treat him like ... ...as come to create miracles in a family a long with many other believers. This story definitely taught me never to lie to my parents again. I sure never would want to be turned into a spider. I thought that lessons were to be learned. From my point of view, I thought that this story also could possibly have been about the death and resurrection of Christ. I do recommend, if someone who appears to be an angel ever comes knocking at the door, the person should not throw him in with the chickens. Works Cited Faris, Wendy B. "Magical Realism : Post Expressionism. "Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community." Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 163-190. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings." The Norton Introduction to Literature , Ed. Jerome Beaty. N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. 487-492.   

College Athletics :: essays research papers fc

A Scientific Report On Whether Athletics Should Be Instated At Basten College An intercollegiate athletics program at Basten College would provide many positives for the college. We would like to focus on the benefits to the majority of your students which would be spectators and athletes. These include health benefits, social benefits, and the effects on politics and race. We would also like to address the problems associated with sports. After our presentation we hope you will be confident in the positive effects an intercollegiate program will have on your institute. There are obvious benefits to being an athlete, specifically those related to one’s health. Everybody should exercise at least three times a week in order to establish a healthy way of life. When one is part of a team, they are able to develop certain social skills that can benefit them throughout life. Also, participating in a sport can increase one’s level of self-esteem. â€Å"In selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time,† (Dimeo et. al., 5) However, as important as all that is, the majority of the population at Basten College will probably not be varsity athletes. The majority will be spectators and fans. There are three main benefits to being a spectator. The first is the effects on academics. According to Karla Henderson watching sports or athletic events increases endorphin release in the brain, resulting in a higher aptitude and concentration level. So students have the abil ity to focus longer and retain more information while studying or attending class. The second reason deals with female’s personal identity. According to Linda Marsa, â€Å"Participation in sports pays big dividends physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Extensive research shows that girls who are involved in athletics boost their self esteem; improve their physical fitness; do better academically; are less likely to drop out of school, do drugs, smoke or get pregnant; and are more able to weather the physical and emotional storms of adolescence.† The third reason is that it has been found that people who continually participate and associate with athletics, begin to relate facts and literature to sports, enabling them to commit the knowledge to long-term memory better. For example, let’s say Jon Doe loves baseball, specifically the New York Yankees. He watches his favorite team at every leisurely moment he can. At the same time, at his college, the Univer sity of Basten, he is having trouble in his statistics class.

Lifespan Development and Personality

Oprah Winfrey’s development as an individual has a very unique and interesting perspective in terms of Psychological development. Ms. Winfrey is a product of an â€Å"accidental conception† by her parents. Her mother was a house maid and her father was a coil miner. At the age of 6 and 14, she was raped and sexually molested by her uncle and cousin. Her mother was often not around to help her and guide her. Ironically, even though she was having a hard time at home, she still excelled in school and had scholarship to support her education. As a growing child, she was used to poverty and hardships.After the incident of sexual molestations, she was forced to live with her dad. During these times, Oprah was helped by her dad to focus on her studies. At an age of 18 she won the Miss Black Tennessee Beauty pageant and then later on was given a job at a local radio station. Her exposure to media later evolved as she aspired to become a prominent figure in American Television years later. The forces that made big differences in her life are her childhood experiences and family as well as her experiences in her late adolescent years. The mixture of her bad memories and her successful life can be accounted on how she managed the anxieties and problems in which she might have encountered in the process of her maturity as a person.Oprah can be said to have a bad environment growing up. The way of life she lived in the poverty stricken places she grew up on might had opened her eyes on the realities of life even on   a tender age. She was not nurtured well also because her mother was irresponsible. Her father helped her to focus on her studies in her adolescent years but still had missed out a lot of important years in the childhood days. Fortunately, she overcame all adversities with her innate ability to be diligent in her goals.Even though she underwent a depressing phase in her childhood, she was also compensated later on by good education and support f rom her father. Emotionally, she might have chosen to become depressed and angry at life. In fact, she showed signs of rebellion at age 14 when she got regnant but eventually lost her baby. You can see the transition of her life as she was guided by her father. She became more focus and determined in life.There was less hostility in her environment as she entered the late adolescent and it helped her to become the person she is today. Today Oprah is known to be the good moral type of person. She is a philanthropist and helps the needy people in America as well as other parts of the globe. Her view of morality can be traced back to how she saw the injustices in her society in her childhood. The oppression of black people, the life her parents lived, and the way her classmates made fun of her due to her poverty opened her eyes on what’s right and wrong. Her ability today to empathize and sympathize is really a product of her first hand experience with the good and bad experienc es her had.Going back to her moral and emotional development, I want to focus more on the negative experiences she had in her childhood. We can see that Oprah went through a lot in her childhood. In Erik Erikson’s theory of development, she was at around stage three when her sexual molestation experiences happened. This stage is important since this is a stage where a crisis in a person’s development happens (initiative-guilt). The fact that family plays the biggest role in this stage makes her more vulnerable to level on more guilt than initiative. Instead of helping her feel purposeful and learn new skills, her family at that time mistreated her. In her next stage of development (industry and inferiority), she might had leveled on more inferiority than industry.This is where she was having troubles in school and starting to rebel on her family. She might have a sense of â€Å"inertia† or inferiority complex due to the fact that she had not strong support syste m in her family. When â€Å"inertia† happens, the child usually avoids doing something she was not able or failed to do properly (Boeree, 1997). In Oprah’s situation she might had given up on building good relationship with her family. Fortunately she was able to over come it as time went on and she stayed with her father. As she progress on to the stage five (ego-identity and role confusion crisis), she looked like she was successful in balancing out the crisis due to the fact her father offered social support for her and she was excelling in her studies.This might had giver her good amount of confidence to share herself to others and to be comfortable to be oneself. Her excellence in school and constant exposure to media might led her to develop a good social support system. Together with her father’s guidance, she had a healthy support system that helped her achieve many goals in her life. A good social support system of friends and family is vital in everyon e’s growth and security in life. After a turbulent childhood, she was able to find good connection to the world by her achievement. Later on in her life, she was one of the most powerful women in television and Hollywood. She helped people who needed help. She influenced politics. President Bill Clinton even singed an â€Å"Oprah bill† for the creations of a database of child abusers. She opened schools for people who can’t afford to go school. She directed her passion of helping other children and victims of catastrophe. She is said to be one of the most credible and influential Americans in history.Two theories of personality best apply for Ms. Winfrey. Abraham Maslow’s theory of heirrachy of needs can help us understand how Oprah’s traits and actions develop through her career and as a person. In her childhood, she was stuck on surviving on the first level of needs (physiological needs). As she grew older, she was given more and more support by her father, colleagues and friends. She was able to climb up the hierarchy of needs. By the time she was in her 20’s, she had already fulfilled the safety, belonging and esteem part of the hierarchy of needs. Today, she is seen to help others and use her past dispute in life as her tool to help and change other people’s lives.She is on a level in which she is self-actualizing and reaching out to help other since she had already fulfilled her own needs. Being in this self-actualization state, people who reached this usually has the continuous desire to fulfill his potential to become more and more of what you want (Boeree, 1997). In connection to this theory, Viktor Frankl’s theory of transcendence is a good approach in her case. Ms. Winfrey’s painful past could have destroyed her internally and made her a depressed person throughout life but instead she was able to transcend her experience to something useful to the world.She channeled her pain and suffer ing to counseling others in her show. She gave moral support to women who were abused and children who were in the same situation as her.   In comparing the two theories, Viktor Frankl stated that self-actualization is the side-effect of transcendence. In conclusion, the theory of transcendence of Frankl best accounts her behavior. Oprah’s actions and behaviors towards finding meaning in her life and helping others can be seen more of a spiritual and self less acts rather than Maslow’s theory in which people satisfy their own self-actualization needs thus resulting to helping others. Oprah over came a lot of adversities and trial in life and was able to overcome many â€Å"noogenic anxiety† that might have come in her way. She can be said to have found meaning in what she does today. She transforms her life’s experiences and lessons to something for the betterment of others.ReferencesBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship .edu/cgboer/perscontents.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/erikson.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.htmlBoeree, C. (1997). Retrieved on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.htmlDinh, M. & Murphy, J. (2008). Retrived on 24 April 2008 fromhttp://people.com/tag/oprah-winfrey/Unknown. (2008). REtrived on 24 April 2008 fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey

Homelessness: Poverty and Homeless People Essay

Three years ago, my husband, Sithu, and I went to New York City, and we met several homeless people living on the street. They needed help and money. Seeing the faces on the homeless people after we had given them a few dollars gave us the satisfaction of knowing we had done something good, which made me feel better about users.ipfw.edu/andersi/W131Argument.Sample.htm 1/7 1/9/13 Why Homeless People should be provided with myself. These individuals did not have the face of normal people because their faces showed the suffering they had been through in their lives. A human life can change in an instant. One moment things can seem fine, then without warning disaster strikes. Maybe your job is out-sourced, the company has been â€Å"acquired† by a larger corporation, your spouse left, or you have been replaced by the latest technology. We see on television natural disasters that displace families and people who have lost everything because of violence. It could to anyone of us at any time and when these times come, as fellow beings, we have a responsibility to help each other. Right or wrong, in our society one of the first defenses is the government that represents the people. Many people live below the poverty level and along with poverty, homelessness is soon to follow. Homelessness is defined as having no home or permanent place of residence. Homelessness affects hundreds of thousands of people today. Many people make the incorrect generalization that those who are homeless have brought their situation on themselves; therefore, the government is not responsible for changing their plight. The truth is, disaster can strike anyone and without help in times of need, the fabric of our society would disintegrate. There are many reasons society should help the homeless: (1) assistance to the homeless removes obstacles the homeless may not overcome on their own, (2) presents a better image of the city, (3) prevents the spread of infectious diseases, (4) and prevents crime. (T) Our society should provide basic needs for homeless people because assistance removes obstacles the homeless may not be able to overcome on their own.  ® Included in the obstacles they need to overcome and improve their situation are temporary assistance for shelter, food, or jobs. For example, poor people are frequently unable to pay for food, housing, health care, childcare, and education. Moreover, some of these people have lost their jobs, lost their homes to fire, floods or storm, or were forced into homelessness by other disasters. According to Bogard (2001), â€Å"the methodologies of almost all efforts to count homeless people have been closely linked to advocacy activities such as providing shelter and food to those in needs† (p.105). Providing food and shelter has many benefits for homeless people in their lives. In my opinion, we should provide for the homeless because these people may not be able to get jobs, find shelter, and support their family due to circumstances such as a disability, lack of education, low income or continued unemployment. I believe that no one wants to be homeless, but some people could become homeless due to difficulty with money or users. Why Homeless People should be provided with bills. Therefore, we should help the homeless people with food, shelter or finding jobs. On the other hand, some people might argue that it is not the society’s responsibility to help homeless people with food, shelter, and finding employment, because it is not our fault and they might be lazy people. For example, some people might say that if the homeless people really want to work, they can get a job. They should work for a temporary help agency, day labor, and regular part-time employment. These kinds of work arrangements typically offer lower wages, fewer benefits, and less job security, but later they could get high wages, full-time jobs, and job security. Some people feel that whoever would like to obtain employment or secure employment can do so by their own means. It is their duty in life and they should support themselves. I refute this argument by saying that we need to help them because they might be not lazy people but they could have problem with low income, raised rental fees, loss of jobs, destroyed homes (fires), and disabilities. Therefore, our society should be a support in helping the less fortunate in finding employment, so they can become self-reliant. We need to support agencies that help the homeless in areas of improving skills to obtain employment, securing employment, and offering opportunities to become self-reliant. Society’s primary goal should be to help the homeless get a job so they can support themselves. Most people are interested in finding jobs and taking care of themselves. They are willing to look for work, to establish a residence, and want to be in a position to make their contribution to society. Therefore, we as a society have a moral obligation to help homeless people improve their lives. (T) Furthermore, society should help the homeless because this presents a better image of the city and the community.  ® Help of the homeless should include offering job assistance, and giving homeless people a way to avoid sleeping on the streets. For instance, the image of people sleeping in the street, of a filthy urban environment, and violence in the news due to drugs and hopelessness of its citizens is not the picture that civilized society wants to present. We appear much more like a caring society when we see on the news how people are overcoming their obstacles and helping each other. For example, homeless people need help getting off the streets but are unable to do it by themselves. Donahue (2001) said, â€Å"2,500 people sleep on the streets every night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (P.23). This is too large a number to be sleeping on thestreet. People should not just give the homeless the cold shoulder and keep on walking like nothing is wrong. In order for the homeless problem to stop, we must make it end by helping the less fortunate to find shelter or some other sources of help like churches and charitable organizations. Many of these sources provide housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Why Homeless People should be provided with is a major problem in our society because the homeless sleep on the street and they could die on the street from poor health care or other accidents. According to the article â€Å"Out in the cold† (2003) from Current Events magazine, â€Å"Some Boston officials say the freezing weather is too risky for homeless people. They say the city should pass a law so emergency workers can force homeless people to go to shelters when the temperature becomes dangerously cold† (p.3). Nobody wants to stay outside in bad weather but most homeless people are staying in dangerously cold weather, and they could die in these hazardous conditions. Therefore, society should help homeless people because we will see a better image of the city and of ourselves. When the homeless are living on the streets it creates opportunities for other problems in society like crime, drugs, abandoned children, and violence; so the conditions of the homeless refle ct the condition of our society as a whole. It is becoming more apparent that these problems are going to continue and will have a direct consequence on our future in this country. For this reason, we need to help the homeless people because we would like to see our society with a better image and to develop our cities and our country. (T) Moreover, society should help homeless people because we need to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.  ® Society can do this by offering medical coverage and giving medical treatment to the homeless. For example, in our society there is no doubt that health conditions are a very large cost and a very sensitive matter. If someone becomes sick, it can drain finances, damage physical and psychological status, and create contention between family members, friends, and associates. At a broader national level, it is easier to consider. If someone suffers from an infectious disease, it is more than his or her problem. It threatens other people. Plaques, influenza, cholera, and HIV infection are diseases that affect everybody in the community. Therefore, we should help the homeless people to obtain health care and proper diets because of the long-term effects on society as a whole. As discussed previously, it is not only the problem of the homeless, but also it is the problem of every one of us. Because those people are members of our society and we are also subject to infection from these diseases, we need to ask ourselves: why don’t we need to provide health measures? Why don’t we determine to help each other? We are all from the same human race and we all have genuine needs. On the other hand, some people might say the government should not help with the homeless people’s health problems because it is their responsibility to take care of themselves. For example, some people might argue that we should not spend a lot of money on homelessness. They say homeless people use drugs, which makes them prone to these infectious diseases; therefore, they have brought these things on themselves. Why Homeless People should be provided with is not the government’s responsibility to provide healthcare, insurance, or other medical assistance. If we spend a lot of money for the homeless peoples’ illness or diseases, they say it will rob money from other government programs and, therefore, we should not give this support to homeless people. Also, some people who oppose providing for the homeless say it is spending the country’s budget on things that do not benefit the majority of the people. Hopefully, in our society few people think that these people are lazy and will not to try to provide for their health costs. If society provided for the health problems of these homeless people, they would work to provide for themselves and for their families. The costs are high to provide these basic needs, but the cost of not providing them is even higher. We have many reasons to do the responsible thing. First, as said previously, we are a civilized society. We are in the same society and are subject to the same afflictions. The homeless may be more vulnerable, but these diseases can spread through the population to us. For example, if the plague starts with the homeless, it is not only the homeless class or group that will be affected but also the whole town. The whole town will be quarantined. You can imagine the damage caused to many people’s lives. Therefore, if the government provides the health care for homeless, it will prevent the disease from spreading throughout society. Prevention is better than cure for all of us, and will improve society as a whole. Prevention will save money and increase the budget for needs in other areas. This is one of the means of prevention, isn’t it? If you treat the diseases only when outbreak occurs, it is a very short-sighted waste of tax dollars, human resources, and time. Therefo re, we should provide funds, drugs, technologies and human resources to homeless people. We shouldn’t blame them because they are poor. According to the Health and Human Services Agency Group (2003), Secretary Thompson said, â€Å"People with†¦health problems†¦are at risk for a life of homelessness†¦we will be judged by our ability to help the weakest† (para.2). We need to help the homeless people’s health problems, and we should spend our budget for them because they are also human. The spending of tax dollars should solely depend on who really has needs, not on the class. Therefore, by doing this we show human kindness and sympathy. It means we are truly a civilized society. (T) In addition, the government also should help the homeless people in order to prevent crimes such as stealing food and money. This government help should include financial planning, temporary assistance (food, shelter, clothes, and education), and planning for the homeless people’s future. For instance, homeless people lack the food, housing, clothing, and medical care. Why Homeless People should be provided with money in any way available to them. Therefore, these people are more likely to commit crimes to get what they need. Helping homeless people who commit violent crimes is imperative if we are to effectively curtail the growing crime rate in this country. My opinion is that the government needs to help homeless people get back on their feet so that the homeless, including young people, no longer need to commit crimes to survive. According to Kenyon (1991), â€Å"When families with young children become homeless, it is the children who suffer most. Sometimes the children have behavior problems because of an unstable or difficult family life† (p. 26). Homeless young children might have a bad attitude because they need food or other necessities. They might do anything to get what they need; therefore, our society would have more crimes and more dangers. As a result, the government needs to provide help for young homeless people so they will have hope, support, and safe housing to prevent their involvement in crime as victims or offenders. Therefore, when we help the homeless people, we not only prevent crimes, but also improve our society. In conclusion, I believe that we should support help for these homeless because our help will assist the homeless in overcoming difficult obstacles, improve our cities, help to stop the spread of infection, and lower the crime rate; this could seriously help the problems of society and homeless people could get off the street, ending homelessness. Some people agree with my opinion about homelessness, and some people disagree with my attitude about the homeless. But the results speak for themselves; in societies where the homeless and underprivileged are taken care of there is less crime, better public health, and a happier trusting society. Cities are cleaner and safer; there is less pollution, disease, and suffering. In any society there are those who will take advantage of the good will of others or will take advantage of the system, but we can’t let the attitudes of a few determine the destiny of society. The vast majority of people are good; they want to be self-sufficient and make a contribution. If we do not help the many who are just temporarily down on their luck, the few with poor attitudes will become the many. How much is it worth to help those without hope or even knowledge that their life can change their circumstances? What is the value of a human soul? In order for the homeless problem to stop, society must make it end by helping the less fortunate get to shelters, food or to some other source of help. users.ipfw.edu/andersi/W131Argument.Sample.htm References Bogard, C. J. (2001). Advocacy and enumeration: Counting homeless people in a suburban community. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(1). Retrieved April 26, 2004, from http://web18.epnet.com. Donahue, B. (2001). Giving shelter. Mother Jones, 26(4). Retrieved April 5, 2004, http://web18.epnet.com. Kenyon, T. L. (1991). The national alliance to end homelessness: What you can do to help the homeless. New York: Fireside. Out in the cold. (2003). Current Events, 102(22). Retrieved April 5, 2004, from http://web18.epnet.com. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency Group. (2003, June 12). HHS totaling $23 million to provide substance abuse and mental Regulatory Intelligence Database. awards 14 grants from health services for homeless people. FDCH Retrieved April 14, 2004, from http://web18.epnet.com. users.ipfw.edu/andersi/W131Argument.Sample.htm