Human Resources Management in Business Essay

Human resources department is a part of business that deals with its staff. The department is seen as part of strategic management, in the effort to achieve the goals of the business, and is crucial to the business’s success. Some of the human resources department’s responsibilities include recruitment, retention, selection, job enlargement/enrichment, motivation and leadership, job role allocations, training, and payroll appraisals. The department’s decisions are influenced by, however, internal issues for workforce planning. One of the issues could be the cost of its operations. The business would want to minimize cost, so any decisions made by Human resources should be cost-effective. Another issue could be the company’s business strategy, for example when the company want to expand, the Human resources department would have to recruit more employees; if the company wants to cut costs and increase profit, the department would have to consider reducing the number of staff. It is also responsible for training current employees for any new equipments. There are also external factors that affect how workforce planning is carried out. These external factors include government actions that affect the business environment. For example, the government can impose new minimum wages that would increase the Human resources department’s spending on wages payment. The education situation of the country can also affect Human resources, as education is the means that workers gain their skills; without proper education, Human resources wouldn’t be able to recruit highly skilled workers without paying large salaries or recruit foreign nationals. An important external factor is the economic situation of the economy. If unemployment rates are high, Human resources would be able to recruit new employees much easier and cheaper than when the economy is in boom, which makes labour more expensive. The age ranges of the labour force can affect Human resources decisions, since they don’t want to recruit too old of employees who are going to retire soon. The business often want more young employees who can potentially contribute to the company for a long period of time, and can also be more innovative. Another external factor is technology advancements, as this may result in the introduction of new equipments into the company. The Human resources department would then have to organise training for their current staff to enable them to work with the newly acquired machineries. There are many benefits to Human Resources planning. One of the most important purpose of the Human Resources department is to motivate staff. This can be done by means of promotions, training, and rewards. Another benefit is that Human Resources help import important skills into the business through the process of recruitment. Human Resources would compose a recruitment process that selects the right people for the business. Without a Human Resources department, a firm cannot efficiently recruit employees that they need. Also, the department helps the business plan the right number of workers. They make sure that there are no redundancy or shortages of labour in the company, and if there is any, Human Resources would fix this either by cutting or recruiting staff. Human Resources department also ensures smooth operations in regards to labour management. This means they make sure that employees arrive when they are needed, and are allocated to the right tasks, and that each workers know their role within the business. In addition, they resolve whatever arguments that may arise between the workers and company management, making sure that the employees are clear of company regulations, and that management are clear of their workers’ conditions. Finally, the Human Resources department ensures that no laws are broken in regards to labour employment. For example, the recruitment process must not violate discrimination laws. All necessary laws are briefed to staff to ensure no illegal activities are conducted within the company. Before selecting staff for any position, key skills needed for that particular job need to be identified, creating a list of criteria for candidate selection. British Sugar is one of the largest provider of sugar products in the UK. Their Human Resources department has been directed to recruit three new production managers, as part of the company’s expansion project in China. The Human Resources department has identified the key skills for a potential production manager: Confidence: the manager needs to be confident in handling large responsibilities, whether it be meeting production deadlines, ensuring worker safety etc. They need confidence to be able to make decisive actions, taking the initiative without too much dependence on higher directives. As they direct the production process, confidence is also needed for negotiating with suppliers, making the best deals for the factory. Technical skills: a production manager has to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the production technology of their factory, to be able to understand and resolve technical problems should they arise. Technical knowledge of a manager does not have to be detailed, but must be sufficient to issue correct directives to the factory’s engineer force. High technical skills is preferred, as the manager will be more likely to be innovative in improving production methods of the firm. Communication skills: a good production manager is able to communicate to all different divisions of the company. They are quick to absorb information from different levels of the company, whether it be top management or floor workers, and then provide quick and effective feedback. Communication skills are crucial in a manager, as it helps him ensure the coordination between different elements of the company. Problem-solving skills: the production manager should be able to independently deal with problems within their factory. They will be extremely resourceful in coordinating factory or company-level efforts to solve problems. This requires an intelligent person that can improvise upon their resources to damage-control and reverse the problem and put the factory back onto its original course. Motivating staff is an important part of company operation, as it ensure the employees do their best and be productive while working for the company. There is a variety of reasons why employees would want to work harder in their working environment. Such reasons could be money, bonuses, power, working with friends, social aspects of work, the need to provide for family, promotion, team work, and promotion. Frederick Taylor’s theory of motivation simply stated that all workers are worked by money. This means that in order to better motivate employees, the employer simply just has to raise their pay, and this would make them work harder. Taylor introduced the Theory of Scientific Management, which said that workers are naturally lazy and need close supervisions and control. The theory also says that managers should break down work to the simplest tasks to their employees. Workers also need adequate training and equipment to perform their simple tasks as efficiently as possible, then they would be paid according to the amount of products they had produced. The theory is often applied in mass production lines which involves repetitive tasks. Elton Mayo later introduced a new theory of motivation of his own. He believed that money is only part of the worker’s concern, and social needs are more important in motivating workers at their work place. Mayo published the Human Relation school of thought, which encourage managers to focus more on social interactions between workers. Mayo went further in his studies and conducted his own experiment at the Hawthorne factory in Chicago. From these series of experiments, he concluded that although physical conditions worsened, they do not affect the productivity of the Hawthorne workers. Instead, social factors such as better communication between workers and managers, better involvement in employees’ lives from their manager, and team work was what improved productivity levels. In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow introduced the Neo-Human Relation school of thought. This new theory focus on the employee’s psychological needs, which are structured into five different levels of needs. The theory says that once a lower level of needs is satisfied, would then the worker could be motivated by an upper level of needs. These levels of needs in lower to higher order are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation respectively. Managers also need to realise that each worker moves up this ladder at a different pace, and therefore might need different sets of incentives from worker to worker. In financial-related type of motivations, the most common motivation is salaries and wages. Salaries are what permanent employees are paid monthly or annually. Wages, on the other hand, is what is paid to workers per hour they have worked. These can motivate the employees, for the harder they work, the more they would earn. A piece rate system is when an employee is paid a fixed rate for each unit of production; In other words, they are paid by results, which motivate them to achieve better results. Commission and fees are similarly dependent on the results of the workers. Commission is a percentage of the sale revenue, and fees are fixed amounts that are earned after sale. The more the employee sells, the more commission or fees they get, motivating them to sell more. Fringe benefits are any non-wage payment or benefit such as pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. Having these extra benefit with their jobs can make the employees feel more secure and work harder. Performance-related pay or pay by performance is money paid relating to how well the employee works. This would motivate them by giving them knowledge that the better they perform in their field, the better their assessment would be and the more they would be paid. Profit sharing is another way of motivating staff, it consists of a plan that gives employees a share in the profit of the company. Each employee receives a percentage of those profit based on the company’s earnings. This makes staff work harder, knowing the more their company earns, the more they would get in shared profit. Share ownership is when employees who have worked in the company for a long time are given part of the business as shares. These shares would give the employees power, and they get to take part deciding how the company is run. Other than financial motivations, there are non-financial ones that could boost motivation while costing minimal for the business. Job redesign involves restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees. Job enlargement is basically increasing the employees’ work load, so that they feel more responsible and work harder. Job rotation is when employees are moved between two or more jobs in a planned manner. The purpose of this is to expose the employees to different experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job satisfaction and to cross-train them. Job enrichment is a variation of job enlargement. Job enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. Team work is a Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve a common goal. Working in a team may motivate employees to do better to fulfill their part on the team. External link for employees motivating can be found here: http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/ The fundamental method which British Sugar would use to motivate their staff is to make them feel safe. Feeling safe would clear the employees’ minds from external worries, helping them to focus more on their tasks and try harder to achieve. This method would include providing their employees with adequate facilities to work in. This means that British Sugar’s factories and offices would to the most basic safety regulations such as fire safety, electrical safety, and protection from hazardous conditions inside their factories. British Sugar would also make sure that their facilities have appropriate security measures to protect employees and their possessions safe. This method of motivation is one of the most basic levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Another method that British Sugar uses is providing extra employee benefits beside their regular salaries and wages. They would give company cars for manager and directors, along with free O2 mobile phones. British Sugar also looks after their employees by providing them with free healthcare in the form of free check-ups with company nurse, eyesight tests and glasses, and subsidised scheme with AXA. Families of employees can also enjoy company benefits with provided child vouchers and team meals for spouses. British Sugar’s factory workers are also provided with free safety work wear. There are numerous other benefits that employees can enjoy working for British Sugar, which includes sports clubs, gym facilities, free parking†¦etc. A popular method of motivation from Taylor’s school of thought is recognition. British Sugar would give out tokens of appreciation and to recognise employees/teams that have made a significant contribution over and above that reasonably expected. Company managers would award their employees with vouchers, meals, bouquet of flowers, or bottles of wine to boost their work morale. Long Service Awards are given to employees with significant length of service. Annual bonuses of ? 400, ? 600, ? 800, and ? 900 are given to employees who have served 20, 30, 40, or 45 years in the company respectively. British Sugar also use chances of promotion to encourage their employees. This is a process known as internal recruitment. When a position is open, employees are often promoted to fill the position instead of recruiting new people externally. This keeps the employees motivated to work harder, knowing there are chances of future promotion. Another method of motivation used by British Sugar is performance management. Performance management is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. To ensure the proper functioning of the business, British Sugar would have to maintain a high level of cooperation and satisfaction in its employees. Making employees cooperate would increase productivity, reduce labour turnover, and make sure that they can maintain the quantity and quality of work they are capable of. One of the methods of doing this is by communication. This method involves staying in touch with the staff to make sure they are updated with company information. When staff have the information that they need for their job, they will be more likely to be oriented towards their tasks, and be able to do it correctly and more efficiently. Communication with employees can be done by many means. It includes emails, which are quick, efficient, and reliable. Face-to-face communication is an important form of communication, often in the form of meetings; however it has time and distance limitations , for example a manager might not have the time to see all of his employees to talk about new policies, while he could just send them all an email. There are other methods such as telephone calls, which can be made easily over long distance or face-time technology that allows employees to communicate despite the long distance. Another way of improving employees’ cooperation and commitment in the business is making them more involved in it. In British sugar, this is know as the â€Å"quality circle†. British Sugar would engage its employees group discussions, where groups of workers meet and discuss the good and bad side of the issues that they face. The employees would try to resolve their problems together, and discuss ways to improve how they work and how the company works. This method generates a feeling of involvement, employees would feel that they are a contributing part of a team, and therefore view their work more positively and become more inclined to cooperate with other employees as well as the company managers. Clear employment contracts also help boost staff cooperation and commitment. A clear contract would have to explicitly explain the details of the job, such as explaining the roles and duties that the employee is expected to carry out, along with the hours of work required. The business would also need clearly identified procedures such as disciplinary policies or grievance policies. A clear pay structure that explains basic time as well as overtime is essential. All of these will reduce arguments in the company, enabling more efficiency and cooperation within the business. Motivational methods are a way of getting more cooperation from staff. Motivated employees would perform better while feeling better about their prospects than demotivated ones, therefore cooperating more in their work. Similarly, training and charity links should also be used to boost the morale of workers. Training would increase the employees motivation and performance, as well as charitable activities such as helping out the local community. A well-motivated workforce with high morale is more likely to cooperate with the company and to each other. The culture of the business itself will also affect how its employees cooperate. If the company has a culture of cooperation and an atmosphere of teamwork, then the employees are more likely to have more cooperation in their work. Training in a large organisation such as British Sugar is carried out extensively. An example of British Sugar’s training operation is their Graduate scheme, a scheme in which British Sugar finds apprentice in universities. The company would offer university graduates a period of vocational training, with the assurance of a job at the end of their training, in addition to have year-long job placements for engineering students. British Sugar also organises over 1000 training courses every year involves all levels from senior managers to new apprentices and our seasonal workers. The company encourages its sites to play an active role in local communities through media visits, schools activities, agricultural and environmental events. British Sugar have regular dialogues with leading and local non-government organisations. They also organise sponsorships and charitable funds, allocated to their employee fundraising activities through a â€Å"Supporting YOU to support others† programme. Measuring the workforce can be done by a number of ways. This is generally looking at the key indicators in the business’ workforce such as labour productivity, health and safety, labour turnover and absenteeism. Labour productivity is how much the workers produce in terms of goods and services per hour worked. In the business, it can be measured by looking at the efficiency of individual or teams. However, this method should be used with cation, because there are factors that could affect labour productivity such as the age of machinery, type of sector that the business is in or whether production is automated or labour-intensive. If machineries are old, they wouldn’t be able to produce as much, therefore being the cause of low labour productivity. A business in the secondary sector would be more productive than one in the tertiary sector since manufacturing makes more products than service. Similarly, a business that has automated production will be much more productive than one with labour-intensive production, since machines are able to mass produce more products than individual workers. A business can try to improve labour productivity by using motivational tools such as bonuses. Training can also be used to add productivity to workers, and business plans help staff work more efficiently. The business can also buy new equipments to improve productivity of their workers. Another measurement is health and safety. As it is one of the motivational factor, the quality of health and safety at the workplace can affect the staff. The better the health and safety standard, the better the staff will perform. The business must consider the possible causes of poor health and safety, such as poor equipment, dangerous environment and also the poor training in the matter. Labour turnover can also be used to measure a company’s workforce. Labour turnover is the proportion of staff leaving the business over a period of time, usually each year. A company can lose their staff due to de-motivation, retirement, social factors, better opportunity elsewhere ,or that the employee wants to start their won business. Staff leaving can also be involuntarily as their positions become redundant or they are fired due to performance. A high labour turnover is generally not good because it spawns many problems such as the loss of productive capacity, the costs and the time taken to recruit new staff, and the extra training and induction programmes to new employees. However, new staff can bring benefits such as introduction of new ideas to the business, or more efficient workers. Absenteeism is another measurement to the company’s workforce, as it tells managers how much their staff go on break from work. This can be a substantial problem for the business, because production output will suffer if employees are absent, projects will run into delays, and the quality of products affected due to the lack of staff. There are many other costs associated with absent staff, such as sick pay, and temporary staff pay, which is often expensive. Absenteeism also cause de-motivation in the business, as other employees will have to take the work load of the absent employees. To lower the level of absenteeism, the business can issue fines to absent staff, improve the safety of the work environment so staff would want to be at work, and improve their motivational methods. British Sugar uses a range of performance indicators to evaluate and improve their performance. SMART targets are a set of criteria that are based on the specific words: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. These criteria are applied in the process of making goals and objectives, to maximise the business chances of obtaining them. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. Attendance is the frequency with which a person is present. An appraisal system, or performance management, is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. It is very useful as it is both a motivational strategy and a review system where mangers can assess their employees. The appraisal system would fulfill the employees’ social and recognition needs according Maslow’ theories, motivating to work harder to achieve more and be more recognised. The system is not without flaws, however. The appraisal system can be very costly, requiring a lot of administrative work, and is time-consuming. It is also exposed to favouritism. Managers can tend to trust and praise some employees more than others, causing distrust discontentment among team members.

Marketing Simulation Essay

The rest of the sales force time would be equally divided between the segments B, C and D. Change in Strategy: During simulation, we studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is almost three times of segment A’s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Hence, we dec ided to increase the sales force percentage time for segment D to 40% and for segment A to 30%. We decreased the sales force time percentage for segments B and C to 15% each. Also, we reduced the list price from $142 to $136. Challenges during simulation: During simulation, the primary challenge we faced was to decide on the key parameters that should be changed and the level of change in each of these parameters to get optimum profit and higher market share. Key decisions: Since our initial strategy was to increase the sales volume of segment A, we decided to concentrate on sales force time percentage parameter for each segment and the list price of the motors. We studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price on the overall profit of the company. Solution Analysis Decrease in list price from $142 to $136 and increase in sales force time percentage to 40% for segment D and to 30% for segment A. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is almost three times of segment A’s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Segments B and C sales force time was reduced because of the high competition that MM faces in these categories on the basis of the rmal resistance parameter. Hence, in the long run, MM can target for higher profit margins than for higher sales volume if it concentrates the sales and market research resources to segments A, B and C. The main challenge with this approach is that it would difficult to attract customers from these segments who are already loyal to competitors and would require much more effort from the sales team and the product development team to come up with a product that caters the needs of these segments especially segments B and C where MM has yet to prove its overall competitiveness. Learning and experience This simulation exercise helped us to validate whether our suggested solution was an optimal one and also helped us to arrive at new solutions through experimentation which finally led to change in our overall decisions and strategy. It also showed us how varying a single parameter can change the overall market share and overall profits of the company. Finally, it reinforced the theory behind segmentation of customers according to their buying behavior to achieve optimal marketing strategies.

Applications in Corporate Finance. Buildalot Essay

Applications in Corporate Finance. Buildalot - Essay Example Background of the company Buildalot is a 50 years old construction company of Ireland. The company was incorporated 30 years back as a group of companies. This consists of many wholly owned subsidiaries that operate in different segment of construction industry. Three segments where company’s business operates are major construction projects, house building construction and office building construction. Subsidiary that operates in major construction project is based on types of undertaken projects. Office building subsidiaries undertake projects related to office constructions. It operates in Europe and Middle East along with successful penetration in the home country of Ireland. The company House building subsidiaries also operate in internationally. The company initially used to engage in residential house building in Ireland started these constructions in these major segments after incorporation in 30 years back. . Business environment analysis Market economy The company operates maximum in domestic market i.e. Ireland. Therefore, this market has substantial influence on this business. Age of democracy and age of the company is similar. So, the company has experienced gradual growth of expenditure of people of this country over the years. Inflation rate in this economy has remained 4% annually over last few years and GDP of this country has been expected to grow 4% annually for next few years. Countries in European Union are the main trading partner of this country. Market competition The extent of competition among the firms in construction industry in this market is high. Eight large companies have been leading the construction market in Ireland. There three other companies including Buildalot who are highly involved in construction work in domestic market as well international markets. According to company’s annual financial data of 2010, it constructed 12% of total new units during this financial year. But, in case of internati onal operation, its business is very small compared to other international companies. The company has generated substantial market share in Ireland especially in office construction segment. Construction projects subsidiaries also awarded many contracts in foreign markets also. Therefore, the company has successfully developed competency and brand value in domestic as well foreign markets. Equity capital structure of the company Buildalot is public limited company which has 441.6 million shares in issue out of total 800 million shares. Issuing price of share is ?0.50. Company’s shares price rose up all time high at ?13.82 at 30th June, 2011. This is a good indicator of company’s growth and it was because of its more than expected results in 2010 financial year. Institutional shareholders have maximum stake than individual shareholders

Business marketing report (imptoving quality service and crafting the Essay

Business marketing report (imptoving quality service and crafting the service environment) - Essay Example Major issues explored are the differentiation, managing the human resources and automation element. Suggested solutions are provided to allow the company redesign its service processes and better them. Use of diagrams and graphs has been made to anchor the understanding of the reader. Bunzl vending services boasts of 25 years of glorious experience in providing vending services of all sizes and complexities across UK. With organizational culture of efficiency and detailed attention, it leads the home refreshment services industry by continually incorporating innovation and quality in its services assortments. The company is ISO 14001 and 19001 certified which shows its quality-oriented business proposition. The company provides all sorts of vending services namely coffee, water, snacks and others for both commercial and industrial purposes. Its environment friendly initiative puts in place the objective of proper cleaning of vending machines through harmless chemicals, recycling of waste and minimizing transportation and storage costs of stocks by contracting with local suppliers (Bunzl Vending Services n.d). As already remarked, Bunzl vending services are ahead of their competitors in the service quality level. Identification of shortcomings in the service processes and delivery obviate strategic hiccups in the service designing of the company. Vending services are common to all that they are more technology and automation oriented, yet the success of these services rely on how well the service components are distinguished and differentiated from the traditional aspects (Lovelock & Wirtz 2007). For Bunzl vending services, its own employees are only technical facilitators while its customers are the actual employees because they themselves operate the machines, manage the vending area and are responsible for other facility issues arising. In this regard, it becomes essential that the

The Banatao Brothers Build Boards for the Green Wave Assignment

The Banatao Brothers Build Boards for the Green Wave - Assignment Example 1.2 Cost In USA cost of any entrepreneur to run the shop is at least $400 while average hourly manufacturing cost for Asian competitors is $2.50. Minimum purchase price for polyurethane board in the country is around $300 but Asian competitors can manufacture the same product at five times a cheaper price. 1.3 Stringent Business Environment Domestic surf board entrepreneurs are searching headway to compete against cheap import from Asia but till now there is no sign of relief for them. In 2005, surfboard blanks a domestic manufacturer closed their business due to stringent cost competition from Asian counterparts. Government announced hike in the raw material cost to manufacture due untamable recession started in 2007. Clark Foam was the major supplier of polyurethane blanks for surfboard manufacturers but after recession price of polyurethane blank has increased. In this condition Clark Foam ceased production in the year 2007. After the closure of Clark Foam, small and midsized entr epreneurs do not have any choice but close business due to zero inventory of polyurethane blanks inventory. At that time big players banked on existing polyurethane blanks inventory while the condition was perfect storm for small entrepreneurs like Banatao Brothers due to various reasons like loss of main supplier, low priced import from Asia and slump in bottom line. Domestic sales volume for surf board manufacturers has decreased ten percent in last five years due to low cost import from Asia (Rizzo). 2.0 Support Required for Entrepreneur & Source of Support 2.1 Import Quota According to Professor Hill, import quota can be described as direct restraint on quantity of imported goods. Import quota is directly connected with issuing import license to business organization or individual. For example, Federal Government can create trade barriers for Asian competitors by setting annual import limit for polyurethane blanks and other surf board materials. In this way government can help s mall entrepreneurs from international competition and domestic big players (Hill 205-210). 2.2 Environmentally Friendly Materials Banatao Brothers have planned to manufacture Entropy surfboard with sugar beet foam core that is wrapped in hemp cloth instead of a polyurethane foam core encased in fiberglass. This is a green initiative by them and they need further research on creating bio surfboard. They can take help of various university research scholars having expertise in green technology. Further research on chemical composition of sugar beet foam core might help them to create more diversified product line in future. The company is currently taking help from Bayer Corporation but in future taking help from USA universities will decrease their cost on research & development (Boone, and Kurtz 33). 3.0 Lifestyle Changes and Opportunity 3.1 What Customers Buy Surfing industry is worth of $7 billion and its business pattern is constantly evolving with respect to customer demand. In recent years customers of USA are showing their back to petrochemical based surfing board material due to its poor durability in contrast to

Marketing - Exam on Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing - Exam on Marketing - Essay Example The role of integrated marketing communication is to use advertising as a means of creating a sound and meaningful relationship between the business and the specific audience the business is trying to reach. II. While integrated marketing communication is a complex field, there are a number of specific IMC drivers. The primary drivers of integrated marketing communications include message clutter. Another notable driver is the need for consistency in brand differentiation. One considers that in organizations such as Coca-Cola this is evident in that a single logo and advertising campaign that are implemented for set periods. Still, other drivers are evolving technology and forming transaction to relationships. One considers that there are a variety of specific examples where these elements occur. In terms of evolving technology the Internet has presented many news ways companies can improve transaction to relationships and a fusion of entertainment to consumption. Among the most prom inent recent examples include advertising specifically tailored to the customer and email marketing campaigns. Domino’s Pizza, for instance, recently developed an advertising campaign where if individuals clicked on their Facebook page they were eligible for a discounted pizza. There are a variety of different IMC communication tools. Different tools have different uses. These tools creative a hierarchy of effects. Promotional tools are one prominent example. These tools must be developed so the target audience receives a message that is consistent throughout. For example, a business should use similar marketing designs and slogans throughout the organization so the customer comes to identify these elements with the business. This has become a prominent element of major corporations such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola. Other prominent marketing tools include publication relations, personal selling, and sales and promotion. In addition there are internal elements, including accoun tability where the organization considers cost elements. Another important consideration is integrated marketing communication from a managing perspective. Most importantly, IMC can be a challenging management task, as it involves a number of elements within the business. It follows that management must be highly coordinated in instituting these new forms of advertising inline with new forms of technology and communication. Today nearly all major corporate elements, one considers Wal-Mart, have a social media presence. There are a number of barriers to IMC. Many of these can be considered along a spectrum. For instance, talent and skills are potential barriers within the business. Other major barriers include control and coordination issues, business culture challenges, and modification challenges. There are a variety of advantages and disadvantages to IMC. The primary advantage is that IMC implements an approach to advertising that directly targets consumers with specific interests . This allows for more effective communication and a competitive advantage through more efficient marketing. In terms of disadvantages, there is a greater advertising burden placed on the organization. This increased burden also involves bureaucratic procedures and a uniformity of style and message. In conclusion, integrated marketing communication constitutes a new and highly adaptive form of advertising and marketing. The approach involves a comprehensive and customer centric approach to

Jean Tirole Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jean Tirole - Essay Example Most of the economists frequently regard fiercely competitive markets as the public interest. When the producers in the said markets fight to earn a profit or gains, they are guided, as if by an invisible hand, in delivering high quality at the lowest cost possible. But most the industries are not competitive, and due to the lack of competition, there is the need for intervention the public’s interest. Competition policies and theories of regulation are aimed at providing useful scientific guidance in such interventions. Stigler George was awarded a Prize in Economic Sciences in 1982 â€Å"for his seminal studies in functioning of markets, industrial structures, and the causes and effects of public regulations†; however the study did not cater for the rapidly developing, revolutionary, industrial organization (IO) field. Jean Tirole is the best among the contributors to the analytical revolution; he has enhanced the understanding of the IO in general, and particularly the optimal policy interventions. The theoretical advancements, by Tirole, are in line with great public-policy interest, for example, in the 1980s and 1990s most of the countries pursued pro-competitive liberalization and regulatory reforms. The European Union (EU) came up with a single market; new issues sprung and could not be fruitfully analyzed with the existing theories, Stigler George, and others; the EU analysis required synchronization of the oligopoly theory contract theory, the principal-agent, with combination of industrial economics combined with public economics. Jean Tirole’s expertise covered all the above fields, hence was ideally positioned at making a lasting contribution (Tirole & Lerner, 2013). Tirole created a synchronized framework used in regulation and IO theory, based on a thorough analysis of information and strategic behavior economics. He consistently extracted his results from the fundamental

Business analysis of Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal, Honduras Essay

Business analysis of Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal, Honduras - Essay Example As a business enterprise, Guajilote Cooperative is a socially oriented not-for-profit organization of illiterate farmers who serve the market of furniture makers by providing low-priced, high-quality mahogany lumber. The cooperative does not seem to have any sufficient strategic direction beyond the good intentions of its original project proponents, the USAID (the foreign aid agency of the United States government) and COHDEFOR (the forestry development service of Honduras), to develop a sustainable model that can be imitated by other national parks for social, environmental, and political motives. Strategic direction is lacking because there are no specific plans to assess the cooperative’s strengths and weaknesses and how these can help address the opportunities and threats it is currently facing. The cooperative needs a strategic plan because without one, it may lose its viability as a business enterprise and collapse from the external and internal pressures that similar organizations face when dealing with the market. This strategic direction that will allow Guajilote to continue to exist and compete in the marketplace is also known as the organization’s competitive strategy, a concept that we define below. Without a strategy, the cooperative can fail as a business venture and a model project, causing serious social consequences: the shortage of mahogany lumber; the return of its members to a life of poverty; dashed hopes for Honduran farmers in other parts of the country who want and expect the project to succeed; and many other imaginable political, economic, and social costs. The strategic plan begins with an assessment of the enterprise and its business environment, and there are three popular tools we can use: the SWOT analysis (Andrews, 1971/1987; Ansoff, 1965; Chandler, 1962), the PEST(EL) analysis (Steiner, 1979; Andrews, 1987), and Porter’s Five Forces model and

Preparing Your First Speech Essay Example for Free

Preparing Your First Speech Essay Since this is a public speaking class, it means that you will indeed have to present speeches! Since many people become nervous at this prospect, I like to get the first one done early in the semester. It’s like ripping off a band-aid: rip it off fast to feel less pain. Your Introductory Speech is your first baby step into this field. This assignment is meant to be easy. It’s meant to be a way to get you up in front of the group and doing something for 2-4 minutes, not to be a heavy, taxing assignment. Therefore, if you find that it’s really hard, you’re doing it wrong! Take a deep breath, remember it’s supposed to be simple, and start over again. Because I want this assignment to be easy and I want everyone to be on about the same level, this is the one speech in the semester where I’m going to give you topics to choose from rather than just letting you pick something on your own. Don’t worry, after this one you can talk about any appropriate subjects you want, but for now, your choices are limited to five. Topics Your first topic option is called a â€Å"coat of arms† speech. A coat of arms is also often called a family crest. In Medieval heraldry, pictures were emblazoned on a knight’s shield or armor which represented that person’s character or ancestry. A family crest has pictures that tell about a family’s history. Don’t worry; I’m not going to ask you to research your genealogy! Instead, for this topic, I want you to create your own personal coat of arms. To do this, you should choose between 2 and 4 objects that represent something about you. For instance, if I were to create a coat of arms for myself, I would choose a golf club, a suitcase, and a roller coaster because those represent three of my favorite hobbies. I love to play golf (though I’m not very good at it), I seek any opportunity to travel, and I’m a huge roller coaster nut who will go anywhere to ride the latest and greatest ride. You could choose hobbies, as I have don e, or you may choose a person or people, a pet, something related to your future career, etc. You can choose anything that tells us a little bit about you, who you are, and what you like. You don’t have to get deep and personal, just tell us some basic, surface-level things about yourself. Since some people don’t like to talk about themselves, you have other options as well. Your second topic to choice is: if you could invite any three people to dinner, living or dead, fictional or non-fictional, who would they be and why? Who would you most like to meet and talk to, either from the past or the present? What would you like to learn from them? Since they don’t have to be living, I could choose Adolph Hitler if I wanted to. Since they can be fictional, I can choose Bugs Bunny if I want to. They don’t have to be famous people or characters, either. I know someone who would be at the top of my invitation list would be my grandmother, who died 25 years ago, and I’d just like to sit down and talk with her again. You might also address what that combination of people would be like at dinner. Are Hitler and Bugs Bunny going to get along, or will there be trouble? Will my grandmother be able to put Hitler in his place? Your third topic option is: if you were going to be stranded on a deserted island, what three books would you want to have with you? Do you want to entertain yourself with fiction? Would you prefer a survival or spiritual guide? Would you pick â€Å"A thousand and one ways to prepare coconuts† or â€Å"How to build a raft and get off a deserted island†? ï Å  When I bring up this topic option in a live class, students often groan that they don’t read or like a lot of books, so I’m not completely hung up on your choosing them, but I would like you pick some form of media such as magazines, music, movies, newspapers, journals, etc. We’ll just pretend you have a lifetime supply of batteries so you can watch those movies or listen to that music! Your first three choices have all been â€Å"informative†-type speeches, because you’d just be telling us about yourself, the people you’d like to meet, or the books you’d like to have. Your fourth topic option is a persuasive one: a sales speech. You can sell us any product or service. It can be a real product, or you can make up a fake one (and yes, it can be funny and creative). I know that many students I have in class work in sales, and if that’s the case with you, you can sell us the product you sell at work. The bottom line is: if you choose this option, your goal is to make us want the product by the end of your speech. Keep in mind that it isn’t meant to be a TV commercial; it should still be a proper speech in proper speech format. Your final option could be either informative or persuasive, depending on how you approach it. It is a speech about your pet peeves. What are the little nit-picky things other people do that really get on your nerves? Is it people who chew with their mouth open or fail to replace the toilet paper roll when it runs out? Is it all the bad drivers in Columbia? You could approach this topic option in a couple of different ways. You could pick out two or three different pet peeves and talk about each, or you could give two or three reasons why one thing is a big pet peeve of yours. For instance, I once had a woman in class who talked about the three things she found most irritating at Wal-Mart. Keep in mind that pet peeves are supposed to be minor irritations. Something like domestic abuse, for instance, isn’t a pet peeve, but a major social issue! Hopefully, you find at least one of those topic options appealing. Remember the assignment is supposed to be easy, so choose the one where ideas come to you most easily. Sometimes, upon first hearing the topic choices one stands out as â€Å"THE one† you’re going to do, but when you sit down to write it you can’t think of anything to say. If that’s the case, try another one to see if the ideas come to you more easily. You want the writing part of this to be easy so that you’ll have plenty of time to practice your speech before it’s due. You may also consider using a visual aid with this presentation. It’s not a requirement, but if you’re particularly nervous about speaking, you might consider it for a couple of reasons. First, having a visual aid may make you less nervous because it gives the audience something else to look at for a moment rather than you! Second, the visual aid will help you remember what you want to say in your speech. If I have a golf club lying on the table, I’m not likely to forget that I want to talk about golf! The visual aid could be an actual object, a picture, a power point slide show, or whatever may be appropriate for the subject you’re discussing. Writing and Organizing the Speech Regardless of which topic option you choose, your speech should contain certain basic elements that are present in all speeches that you will present in this class. First, the speech should begin with an introduction to lead the audience in to the main content of the speech. You should spend 10-15% of your speaking time setting up the speech in the introduction and it should include at least these two elements: an attention-getter, and a thesis that previews the main points. When a speaker first stands up to speak, the audience is doing a hundred other things rather than listening. They’re talking to each other, daydreaming, reading, doodling, and who knows what else? So, your first goal as a speaker is to get the audience to stop doing those things and to want to listen to what you have to say. You can accomplish this by having an effective attention device as the opening of your speech. There are several techniques you can use to draw the audience in. Attention Getters 1. You could ask the audience a question, which forces them to participate in some way. You could ask a rhetorical question that makes the audience wonder where you’re going with the speech, or you could ask for a show of hands in response to your question, which forces them to physically participate. In order for this to be an effective device, though, you have to make sure it’s a good question! If the question has an obvious answer, instead of drawing the audience in, you’ll turn them off! For instance, I once had a student who started his speech with â€Å"How many of you have ever watched television?† The audience laughed and nobody raised their hands. The speaker then timidly said, â€Å"No, really. Raise your hand if you’ve ever watched TV.† The audiences sighed and grudgingly held up their hands. The audience felt that it was obvious that they had all seen TV before, and resented having to actually answer that question, so the speakerà ¢â‚¬â„¢s attention getter backfired. 2. You could tell a joke. Humor is actually a wonderful way to begin a presentation. It lightens the mood and makes the audience want to hear more. Most speakers report feeling the most nervous right before starting their speech, so if you can tell a good joke and get the audience laughing, it will help you feel like they’re with you and you’ll start to relax. There are a couple of catches to this technique, though. First, the audience may expect you to continue to be funny throughout your speech. Second, you want to make sure it’s a good joke! If you tell a joke, you’ve got â€Å"wait for laughter† written in your notes, no one laughs, and you can hear the crickets chirping, it will make you more nervous! 3. You could use a quotation. If you’re choosing the people you would invite to dinner or the books you’d take to a deserted island, this could be a good attention device for you. Choose a powerful quotation from one of the people or a dramatic passage from one of your books, and it can help to set the mood of your speech. 4. You could make a shocking statement or give a surprising fact or statistic to begin the speech. A surprising fact about the subject can make the audience want to hear more about your subject and your research. 5. You could use a visual aid or physical demonstration to draw the audience in. For instance, if one of the objects you’ve chosen to represent yourself is something unusual, it may make the audience curious about what you’ll be discussing. I once had a student that opened his speech in a way that scared me to death. He stood up and started talking, when suddenly; another man burst in the door and attacked him! I was panicked! I thought, â€Å"Oh no, a fight! They’re going to kill each other!† Just as I was getting ready to call security, it became clear that this was a pre-planned â€Å"skit† for a speech about self-defense. The speaker was showing how to get out of a hold by an attacker. It was frightening, but it definitely got our atten tion! Not everyone is comfortable with being quite that dramatic, though, so feel free to use one of the other techniques. 6. A more subtle approach might be to tell a story. A story can gently draw the audience into your speech and topic. For instance, if I were doing my coat of arms speech, I might tell a story about a day at the amusement park. These are the main techniques speakers use to start a speech. You might also reference a historical event or a previous speaker. The main thing I want to get across to you is that you should NOT start a speech by stating the topic. Saying, â€Å"My name is Cindy and today I’m going to tell you about my coat of arms† is boring and not likely to make the audience interested. Don’t say, â€Å"My speech is on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"My topic is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Use a good, well thought-out attention getter. Keep in mind as well that the attention getter MUST be related to the content of the speech in some way. Don’t tell a random joke, for instance, tell a joke that’s related to something you’re actually going to talk about i n your speech. I feel that the attention getter is one of the hardest parts of the speech to write, and I would save it as one of the last things I write. You want to know what your main content is going to be before you decide how to start the speech. These with Preview of Main Points The second part of the introduction is to have a clear thesis that previews the main points you’ll discuss in the body of the speech. Just like a paper has a central thesis it’s trying to get across to the reader, a speech has a central thesis it’s trying to get across to the listeners. The thesis takes your entire speech and summarizes it in one sentence. It is THE thing you want the audience to remember, even if they remember nothing else about your speech. The thesis includes a preview of the main points that will be discussed in the body of the speech as well. This means that I’m literally going to state my main points in my introduction, as part of that thesis. For instance, a potential thesis for my coat of arms speech might be something like, â€Å"You’ll get to know me better once you see how much I like golf, travel, and roller coasters.† Now the audience knows that I’ll be discussing those three specific topics in my speech. One thing you’ll learn in this class is that most people aren’t particularly strong listeners, so you have to keep reminding them of what you want them to know. A general rule of speech making is â€Å"tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em. Tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.† The preview is telling them what you’re going to tell them. I’ve had some students in the past that really hated the idea of doing a preview. They were afraid it would make the speech boring and repetitive or that it was giving away all the potential suspense in their speech. Well, it might be a bit repetitive, but that’s a necessary evil when dealing with oral communication. It’s also still possible to leave people in suspense while still previewing the body. For instance, in my â€Å"three people I’d invite to dinner speech† I could have the thesis of: â€Å"The three people I’d most like to have to dinner include a relative, a historical figure, and a cartoon character.† I’ve still previewed, but the audience won’t know which relative, historical figure, or cartoon character I’ve chosen until I talk about them in the body.

Understanding the affordable care act Essay Example for Free

Understanding the affordable care act Essay Understanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA or ACA) can be difficult but it is not as confusing as it may seem. This paper will highlight some of the provisions that have already been implemented and will discuss how it affects me, healthcare workers, and the citizens of Arkansas. There are two provisions I will discuss that went into effect on January 1, 2011. One is known as the Medical-Loss Ratio(MLR) and the other is a policy focused on Bringing down healthcare premiums. The MLR policy will put an end to insurance companies being able to raise rates without explaining their actions, or justifying the reason for their high premiums. The policy aims to bring transparency to the healthcare rate changes by requiring â€Å"that all insurers seeking rate increases of 10% or more in the individual or small group market publicly disclose the proposed increases and the justification for them†. (Insurance Rate Increases, Posted: December 21, 2010, para. 4) These proposed increases will be analyzed further by the affected state before approval to determine if they are in fact reasonable. The ACA provides funding to states in order to strengthen or create rate review processes and consumers will be provided with detailed information on proposed increases from their insurance provider. The other significant policy made effective at the same time is one that will bring down the cost of insurance premiums. Under this provision, insurers must spend 80% (for individual or small group insurers) or 85% (for large group insurers) of premium dollars on health costs and claims, leaving only 20% or 15% respectively for adminis trative costs and profits. If an insurer fails to meet this requirement, there is no penalty, but a rebate must be issued to the policy holder. (Key Features of the ACA, n.d.) This affects me by protecting me from unreasonable rate increases. As I get older, I make more frequent visits to a healthcare provider for both acute and chronic illness. The costs add up quickly and with a limited source of income, anything that I can save helps greatly. A common feeling among insurance holders is that we are paying for something that we never use so the idea of a rebate for overpayment of premiums will be welcomed by all. There is one provision that became effective on September 23, 2010 that was a relief to my family in a time of despair. My mother underwent many procedures and surgeries in the last few years of her life and we were concerned about limits on annual or lifetime coverage placed on her by the insurance company. Under the law, insurance companies are prohibited from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits, and their use of annual dollar limits on the amount of insurance coverage a patient may receive will be restricted. Her medical bills were significant, but we never had to worry about her coverage expiring. The American Nurses Association has fighting for health care reform for many years. By doing so, the ANA is promoting our core value of patient advocacy. We have been taught that we should represent our patients’ best interests in regards to healthcare at all times. So supporting measures that will allow for more affordable healthcare, is what nurses should do. The ANA has been working to ensure that RNs are â€Å"fully included as leaders and eligible health care providers in new, patient-centered, team-based models of care, and accountable care organizations. ANA continues to urge federal agencies to include advanced practice registered nurses as primary care providers, and for nurse-managed clinics to qualify as essential community providers.† (Still The Law, August 2012, para. 7) Arkansas has put much effort into forming our Health Insurance Benefits Exchange, called the Arkansas Health Connector. It is a program through which our more than 500,000 uninsured Arkansas can shop for affordable health insurance. The plans are required to offer 10 essen tial services. Some of which include prescription drugs, emergency and hospital care, doctor visits, maternity and mental health services, rehabilitation and lab services. â€Å"The Arkansas insurance Department(AID) has been awarded a one year, $1 million planning grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight CCIIO) to assist with studying options for development of the best possible Insurance Exchange for Arkansans.† (Planning for HBE, n.d., para. 2) This Arkansas Health Connector makes it easier for uninsured individuals to shop for comparable and affordable health plans. The requirements placed on these plans are also greatly needed in order to provide complete healthcare and prevent future healthcare related costs. The only cons that I will mention are that not enough people know about the availability of this program and that if people do not already know, they will found out rather abruptly when they are assessed a $95 penalty on their filed income tax return. The ACA  outlines plans to reduce episodic based care and increase population(community) base d care. The idea is to provide a higher value of healthcare instead of volume, while reducing readmissions for nosocomial infections, preventable diseases, or complications from chronic conditions and illnesses. By implementing community based programs to promote healthcare, we can reduce healthcare costs and help patients live healthier lives with reducing the risks of significant and recurring medical problems as well as their associated costs. Regardless of arguments against the ACA, the most important aspect is that it helps Americans to become and remain healthier people. It teaches our next generation to value healthcare, and to take an active role in being healthier adults. The ACA will affect me professionally as well as personally. Another provision of the ACA provides for the increase of payments for rural healthcare providers. The majority of communities who are most in need of higher quality and more affordable healthcare, are located in the rural areas of our country. These communities often have trouble attracting and retaining medical professionals. My wife is also a nursing student, and we live in a rural area, so we plan to take advantage of these incentives to provide a hig her standard of healthcare to those in need. A similar provision worth mentioning calls for the rebuilding of the primary care workforce. In order to strengthen the availability and quality of healthcare, there has been increased funding for scholarships and loan repayments for primary care physicians and nurses working in underserved areas, as well as tax free student loan payments for these health professionals. (Key Features of the ACA, n.d.) Again this affects my wife and I directly through scholarship opportunities and reduced financial burden after we graduate. Also affecting me is the increase in the number of patients seeking healthcare due to more people have health insurance. This will increase the demand for both registered and advanced practice nurses in episodic based care as well as in the community. Our role as an educator will be more important than ever when teaching patients who have never had affordable health care. There are many arguments against this legislation, but as an aspiring nurse, I have yet to fin d one that suggests ACA is not the best option we have for making a healthier future for America. References Affordable care act is still the law. (August 2012). Retrieved from http://www.theamericannurse.org/index.php/2012/08/06/affordable-care-act-is-still-the-law/ Key features of the affordable care act by year. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/timeline/timeline-text.html#2010 Planning for the arkansas health benefits exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hbe.arkansas.gov/Planning.pdf Shining a light on health insurance rate increases. (Posted: December 21, 2010). Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/ratereview.html

The cinema of shane meadows

The cinema of shane meadows Over the last ten years Shane Meadows has helped to create a realistic portrayal of Working classed Britain. Director of films such as; Twenty four seven, A Room for Romeo Brass, Dead mans Shoes and This is England, Shane Meadows has helped to bring and to create social realist films for a new generation. His films stand side by side with more mainstream titles such as Brassed off, The Full Monty and Billy Elliot, each helping to bring the working classes and the social issues which they have faced to the forefront of National British cinema. What this essay intends to do is to explore Shane Meadows work as a director of British films, looking directly at how the past reflects the aesthetics and conventions within his films, how his cinema embodies the spirit of working classed identity and the social issues that are touched upon within his work and also why Meadows has become a popular film maker in contemporary Britain. The essay will look at three of Meadows films in particular; TwentyFourSeven, A Room for Romeo Brass and This is England, and will analyse the relationship that each film has with one another and why he has constructed an autobiographical take upon each of these films. Shane Meadows born in 1972 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, grew up within a working classed community. Meadows teenaged years were in a time which saw great political change for many people in the 1980s, with the working classes seeing only negative outcome to a new British government. Industrial areas, most notably within the North of England, saw the threat of unemployment around every corner and the very essence of working classed life was destroyed by Thatchers government, in her quest for a post industrial, classless society. Meadows experiences as a youth and the political and social changes that took place within the 1980s have been established throughout Meadows works. I think my 1980s is a richer time to draw on than any other.† Meadows has said when questioned on the reasons why his own childhood experiences are prominently featured in many of his films. As a British Realist film maker, Shane Meadows has distinctly borrowed from recognisable techniques and traditions from movements of the past. His notable influences are in the New wave cinema of film makers such as Karl Reisz, Lindsay Anderson and Tony Richardson from the 1960s and Mike Leigh and Ken Loach who have contributed to socio-realist cinema throughout the 1980s up until present day. What this has meant for Meadows is that his films are able to create a recognisable identity for a nation that people can be able to associate with. By creating a bond to the cinema of New wave and Realist cinema, Meadows is able to critique our nation through the use of a popular and recognisable aesthetic which is associated with many British dramas. The British New Wave cinema was the first step into creating a realist aesthetic in British narrative films. Through the inspiration of Documentary and the Italian neo-realist films that had come before, its film makers such as Karl Reisz and Lindsay Anderson were able to create a cinema which focused upon the intent of bringing social issues to the screen through realistic interpretations. Before they contributed to narrative cinema, Anderson and Reisz focused their talents upon Documentary, in which they created a movement, known at the time as the Free Cinema movement. Their approach was opposed to the traditional expository mode which British documentary film maker John Grierson produced within his production company; GPO pictures. Griersons documentaries sought to tackle the social problems of the working class misrepresented in British cinema, by siding with them. The voice of god narration and selective viewpoint was avoided within the Free Cinema movement, providing a poetic approach that stripped their documentaries of voice-overs and the right wing political stand point of the Grierson styled documentary, became left wing, criticising the British political system by focusing on the real working class, although, from a distance. I want to make people ordinary people, not just top people feel their dignity and their importance.† Lindsay Anderson said of his commitment to presenting the working class within his works. Although Griersons approach was highly criticised by the filmmakers of the free cinema movement, it was from Grierson himself who said that documentary was The Creative treatment of actuality.† This broadly used term could simply be interpreted as the way the film maker is able to create a display of artistic elements, from the construction of real people with real problems in real settings. Implicit in the Free cinema formulation were two related conceptions of freedom: on the one hand, a freedom from commercial constraint and, on the other, a freedom to give vent to a personal or unusual, point of view of vision.† The importance of the realist aesthetic within the Free cinema documentaries and the New wave narrative film was to make it clear that the artist was at the centre of the work. This did not necessarily mean that he was involved within the film itself, but the style of the film, ideologies and messages were that the film maker was trying to get across. The other importance was the ability to create the feeling of something new, to transform the real from Meer observation but to create a poetry which was able to work upon more than one level, and it was through the representation of a group of outsiders (the working class) that the film makers were able to do this. Films such as The Loneliness of the Long distance runner, A taste of Honey, A Sporting Life and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, shifted the emphasis from middle class idealistic families, to a focus upon the youth living and working within industrial cities, situated in the Northern areas of England. The late 1950s/early 1960s became the first time since the Second World War that workers started to benefit from decent salaries and some, an almost disposable income. The youth in particular were able to separate themselves from their work lives and the authority figures that held a grasp over them, enabling them to spend their wages on the consummation of the latest in fashionable products. This is also true of New Wave films, which focused less on the importance of work within the lives of the characters but on their leisurely activities. The decline in the working class traditions and the rise of the working classed youth became notable. They were becoming defined not by what they produce but of what they consume and this was an indicator of the times. When looking at Saturday night Sunday morning by Karl Reisz, the main protagonist, Arthur Seaton (Albert Finney) may work within the confines of a factory, but when his working is shown, it is briefly and only to underline the important images or to support the leisurely aspect of his life. E.G. when he is finishing work. By wasting his money upon a sex, drugs and almost rock and roll lifestyle he is separating himself from the authority figures that keep him in his place during his working hours. Its not a unity of a working class that can be seen within this film or many of the New wave films of the 1960s, it is very much about issues of one person in particular, in the case of Saturday night, Sunday Morning, it is Arthur. Writer John Hill stated that Despite the ostensive commitment to represent the working class, the British New Wave, through their adoption of conventional narrativity and realism, tend to have the opposing effect, that is, the creation of an accentuated individualism.† The emphasis on the individual in this working class aesthetic of the New wave films may come down to the absence of work as a dominant presence. Instead it seems that the importance of working class life, as a youth, is separating themselves from the authority figures and dominant forces of work and instead making leisure and the way in which the characters separate themselves from work in their free time. In Meadows work, there is a felt presence of the New wave films throughout his work The focus upon just one main protagonist and their personal struggle rather than the united struggle of the working class is that it is extremely difficult to represent political problems within narrative film, without a need to create a bond to the personal effects that the political has upon the working class within realist cinema. But what exactly did the filmmakers do to try and create a believable and purposeful reality, and at once avoid the idealistic and theatrical approach that the Traditional Hollywood films employed? The main focus of reality in these New Wave films is by Meadows first feature film TwentyFourSeven was released in 1997. A resurgence in British Realism lead to a shift in focus for many of the films released within the 1990s. Whereas the films of the New Wave in the 60s, focused upon the employed youths personal struggle with working classed life and the hedonistic, anti-establishment attitude they portrayed in their leisurely pursuits and the 80s saw reactions against the Thatchers governments destruction of traditional working classed values and perceptions, the 90s took upon a different perspective, with Britain very much a post industrial nation, class now determined not what they made and who they were as a unified work force, but instead was now determined by what they consumed. This perspective now shifted upon the youth of today, from pre pubescent Children to teenagers growing up on rough, poverty stricken council estates. Unemployment has left the youth in the same position and status. Samantha Lay stated that Dramas focus more tightly on family relationships and partnerships. Poverty, unemployment and social exclusion are not the driving forces of their narratives, but are merely signalled as contributory factors to family strife, so that it is the working class family that has failed, not the state or capitalist society.† British Realist films focus upon the effect that politics have had upon the class system, specifically the working class whos inevitable decline since the 1950s has lead to an alienation of masculine identity and the emphasis as class as a unification. Meadows films are about the alienation of family life and the journey of finding a place to really belong. The perspective of a child or in the case of Twenty Four Seven; Young Adults, gives Meadow a chance to see the Working Class from a different perspective. What Meadows films do which many mainstream British films do not do is to question the stereotypical view of the average British person, by keeping to a low budget, Meadows keeps the focus upon the identities within his own regional upbringing. Unemployment plays a big role within the films of the British realist aesthetic that were made within the 1980s up until our contemporary time. Children and the youth are not affected in the same in which the adults are but their perspective is of the upmost importance. The period aspect to this is England, Twenty Four Seven and A Room for Romeo Brass gives you an aspect of political change. Within the 90s and the 2000s working class focused films created a way of escaping from the reality of the situation. Characters were able to find success from the economic situations that have dragged them down, most notably through entertainment. This can be seen within films such as Billy Elliot, Brassed off, The Full Monty and to an extent Trainspotting. Each of these films proved popular to the British movie going audience and tried showing how the working class could develop and escape from the working class life that had been dragging them down. Meadows approach, although not entirely pessimistic is about the positive which comes out of the negative situations, or the defeat of people. Unstable protagonists at the start of each three films, struggle with the uneven situations that their parents are entangled within, often dragging the children down with them. It is this alienation from family life which causes distress and change from these characters. Their questionable actions often ending in violence leads to the chance meetings in which potential father figures, genuinely interested in the emotional and physical state of the these characters help the characters from emotional unrest. In This is England, Shauns violent playground fight is caused from the mention of his Dads death. His walk home from school leads to the meeting of a Skinhead gang, most notably Woody who notes Shauns unhappy presence. His happy go lucky attitude and genuine care for Shaun makes him feel wanted in a place where hes alienated not only from family life but from being part of a sub culture which will accept him for who he is, which is evident from the mocking attitude of some of Woodys friends who are not as caring as Woodys father attitude to the situation is. In A Room for Romeo Brass, the fight between Romeo and the two boys leads to the rescue from Morell who is alerted from nearby. Again, the importance of chance turns a violent hateful act, into one with positive outcomes, in which children/teenagers are brought into the world of the adult. The Subculture is what draws the children into an adults world. Leisure drives them from the woes of family life and from the authority figures which are bringing them down. The masculine father figures within Meadows films help to refocus the output of the violence of the youth that they have taken under their wing. The troubled teenagers caught in violent episodes, find new ways in which to focus their negative energies. This frustration for life in post industrial estates, in which domestic problems of parents causes great angst often leads to violence. By refocusing these ill thoughts and actions through healthy attitudes, the Father figure is able to guide the youth away from everything that is holding them back. Woodys optimistic and peaceful father figure for fatherless tearaway Shaun in This is England, enables his alienation from a social perspective to be reinstated into a group in which he belongs. The anger and frustration of these Skinhead youths does not lead to the targeting of people, but of decrepit, rundown buildings on council estates.

Censorship Should NOT be Placed on Books Essay -- Censorship Censors

Censorship Should NOT be Placed on Books   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "Censorship... a system under which official censors must give permission before communications of a specified type can lawfully be made" (Wilgoren, 1). Recently censorship has become a major problem in our society. Censorship should not be banned on books. People should not be told they cannot read a book. Unfortunately history has shown that words can be used for ill as well as for good, to destroy lives as well as to enhance them? (Steffens, 9) Words and reading them gives us a better understanding of other peoples views. Censorship should not be placed on books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every person can find a particular section in a book that they do not agree is appropriate. ?Many local censorship incidents still consist of one parent complaining about one book? (Fege, 10). ?In Colorado kids were eager to hear the fascinating tales of Harry Potter. That all stopped when people thought the book was evil and thought that it did not belong in the schools.? (1) How can people take a book that a child enjoys based on their views? In schools some kids may or may not have read the book Huckleberry Finn. ?Huckleberry Finn is not only one of the best books ever written in this country but it?s also the most influential? (West, 43). Reading books gives people a sense of what history is all about. ?If black kids are never taught Huckleberry Finn they are put at a real disadvantage if they ever go on to study literature at the college level? (43). ?You can get all hyped up about the fact that the word ?nigger? appears in the book over two hundred times, but that was what black Americans were called in the 1840?s, which when the book takes place? (43). Some people might take the word nigger in an unfashionable way. It was never meant to do any harm. ?Even though Huck calls Jim ?nigger,? he treats him like a friend? (43). Slaves were known as niggers at that point of history. ?Black kids need to know the history behind the word so that when they hear it on the playground they know where it comes from? (43). ?They (parents) might not want their own children to declare their own independence in the way that Huck does at the end of the book, and perhaps this is one of the reasons why they don?t want the book taught in the schools? (44). One alternative from the banning of any book is to provide a different bo... ...1991:10-12. Lueker, Donna Harrington. ?Book Battles.? American School   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Board Journal Feb. 1991: 18+ Ockerbloom, John Mark. The on-line Books Page Presents   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Banned Books On-Line. 13. Oct. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/banned-books.html. Sipe, Rebecca Bowers. ?Don?t Confront Censors, Prepare for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Them.? Education Digest Feb. 1996: 42-46. Steffens, Bradley. Censorship. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1996. West, Mark I. ?Some Thoughts on Censorship and the Teaching   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  of Huckleberry Finn.? Multi-Cultural Review December. 1996: 42-44. Wilgoren, Jodi. ?Don?t Give Us Little Wizards, The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anti-Potter Parents Cry.? New York Times 1 Nov. 1999:1. Thesis: Censorshipe should not be placed on books. I. Unfairness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Listening   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Parents Views   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Kids Views   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. Teachers Views   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. Freedom of Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. Expressing Views   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Trust II. Choice  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Kids and Parents   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. People  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1. School Boards   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2. Government Officials   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3. Censors III. Constitutional Rights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. What it states   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. How we can change Censorship by an alternative

Essay --

Every day, advances in technology lead us nearer and nearer to fully autonomous robots, but even today, robots play a huge role in our lives. Robots exist obviously in software, just look at your smartphone, but robots in hardware exist too, recently, robots such as â€Å"Asimo,† â€Å"Watson,† and â€Å"Deep Blue† were able to perform actions which were thought to be exclusively human such as scaling stairs, making meaningful conversation, and playing chess. But with so many robots already existing, and the rapid progress we are making in the field of robotics, will robots eventually become the dominant life form? This question has puzzled philosophers and sci-fi authors alike for decades; however, the truth of the matter is that robots already have taken over. Without robots in our lives, we simply could not survive as we are. Additionally, robots are not plagued by consciousness, and would never jeopardise their own existence as humans so often do. Finally, ro bots today have the ability to reproduce themselves; this innate and conventionally biological trait is what turns a mere object into an animate life-form. Robots play an integral part in our society, they run our businesses, maintain our economy and do our manufacturing, without them, the routines we have set would crumble. Robots however, are not dependant on human existence; they could theoretically remain self-sufficient forever. By 2014, active cell phones will outnumber humans. These devices are a prime example of consumer robotics and artificial intelligence; we are connected to them at all times, and could not communicate without them. Furthermore, we rely on our robots to run our industry, manufacturing, business administration and plant automation would not be possible without ... ...anufacture. This is shown in many robotic assembly lines, where robots are able to produce a product, or indeed another robot, in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do so. This vastly superior reproduction process not only qualifies robots as a bona fide life form, but also sets them higher from humans with respect to dominance. Robots play a huge role in the life of the human race, but robots, while they are the servants of the human race, are dominant already. Robots are quicker, smarter and more powerful than any biological life form, pocket calculators will outsmart even the cleverest humans, it is for this reason that we rely on them so much, and with them having a greater survivability and a better reproduction system than humans, it is obvious why robots already are superior, and therefore more dominant in numbers, strength and size, than humans.

The Physician Assistant Program

The Physician Assistant Program, on the other hand, delivers a comprehensive masters education teachings that are essential for the aspiring physician assistant (â€Å"Physician Assistants,† n.d.). This program entails   thorough learnings in the formal practice of a physician assistant.Furthermore, the master's program for physician assistant equips the aspirants the necessary academic and clinical background in able to achieve professional certification to become qualified, reliable and competent physician assistant (â€Å"Physician Assistants,† n.d.).  As an aspiring Physician assistant, I truly understand that my clinical role will include primary and specialty care in medical as well in surgical practice. I understand that a physician assistant position is a complex task to do that focuses to provide of patient care. With this, I hereby accept the fact that the only way to achieve this and be competent in the position is submit myself into the formal education program for Physician Assistant.With the kind of training I had as a Nurse aid for two years, I decided to pursue a career as physician assistant. Although, I hold a masters degree in Library Science from University of Wisconsin, I could not find the appropriate job or work that is in line with the education that I have finished.Hence, in my two years of stay in the hospital as a nurse aid, I came to a point of realization that I am comfortable to work in such position and finally pursue a career in physical assistance.Being in hospital as a nurse aid, I can say my preparation for this objective of is my formal experience in medical field by providing nursing aid. In terms of preparation, I can say that I am on the ideal shape to start a new career as I am familiar with the practice in the clinic and in hospital chores. Moreover, I attended and completed all the prerequisite courses in nurse aid.Being an alumna of the school, I prefer to have my formal physician assistant education program in University of Wisconsin, as I believe that the method of teaching by the university is proven and effective. Therefore, I wish to achieve another milestone in my life as a qualified and ratified physician assistant under the uplifting educational support of the University that I truly trust and believe.In the end, if I get the chance to complete the program and be one of the countries prime physician assistant, my primary goal as a professional is a effect changes that I believe to be the best in providing patient care. Thus, I wish to achieve the reputation that I long as valuable and competent physician assistant, through my whole hearted service with my patient and with the attending physician.ReferencesPhysician Assistants. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2008 from http://www.answers.com/topic/physician-assistant?cat=health

Naturalistic Observation Essay

? Naturalistic Observation In order to study human development and perform naturalistic observation I went to the mall. I selected a 9-year-old white girl as the subject for my observation. I observed the subject for 30 minutes. During my observation the subject was not interrupted and was not aware of my study. The girl was spending time with her mother and brother at the mall. She was enjoying herself. She played some games with her brother. The games included jumping and running. During one of the games the girl had a short conversation with her brother. After that the girl started drawing pictures in her notebook. Mother of the subject had a very satisfied expression on her face when she saw the drawing her daughter made. During the whole observational period the girl looked relaxed and happy. The approximate height of the subject is 4ft 2in, the approximate weight is 70 lbs. She was well-dressed, her clothes were new and tidy. The girl was physically developed according to her age. During my whole observation the subject was very active, the girl was running and jumping, it was obvious that she had a good coordination. The child was also drawing pictures in her notebook, so I came to the conclusion that both her gross motor skills and fine manipulative skills were developed properly. Cognitive development of the subject was on a sufficient level. I observed the girl when she was buying an ice cream, she saw that one of the portions was on the bigger plate, but she chose one on the smaller plate because she liked the shape of it more. The girl was able to understand that if something changes in appearance it does not mean that the quantity of it changed. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the girl was on the concrete operational stage. It is the very important stage, because the child starts thinking logically and operationally. Being on this particular stage is absolutely adequate for children at the age of 9. The girl was emotionally and socially well developed. She obeyed the rules of the game and the rules of the mall while playing. During my observation the girl demonstrated that she was able to work in a team with her brother. She was friendly and well socialized. According to Erikson’s stages of social and emotional development this kind of behavior means that the girl was on the ‘school age’ stage. It is absolutely normal to be on this stage of social and emotional development at the age of 9. After my observation I came to the conclusion that the subject meets the milestones and stages for the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. Judging from the drawing that the girl made we can assume that the girl is gifted. According to my naturalistic observation there is nothing unusual in the development of the girl. According to her age she is absolutely adequate. The observation was a very interesting and informative process. It gave me the opportunity to apply different theories of development. The biggest advantage of this psychological method is the opportunity to observe the subject in the natural surrounding and watch his natural behavior. To sum up, during my naturalistic observation I applied Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Erikson’s theory of emotional and social development. Both of these theories gave me the opportunity to understand the subject better. According to my observation, all physical skills of the girl were developed properly. After analysis I came to the conclusion that the subject is on the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, and on the ‘school age’ stage of social and emotional development. The girl is normally developed according to her age.

Examination Paper of Business Communication Essay

Examination Paper MM.100 Subject Code-B-109 Business Communication Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks) ï‚ ·This section consists of multiple choices and Short Notes type questions. ï‚ ·Answer all the questions. ï‚ ·Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 4 marks each. Part one: Multiple choices: 1.__________is an essential function of Business Organizations: a. Information b. Communication c. Power d. None of the above 2. Physiological Barriers of listening are: a. Hearing impairment b. Physical conditions c. Prejudices d. All of the above 3.Which presentation tend to make you speak more quickly than usual: a. Electronic b. Oral c. Both „a‟ and „b‟ d. None of the above 4. What is the main function of Business Communication: a. Sincerity b. Positive language c. Persuasion d. Ethical standard 5. The responsibilities of the office manager in a firm that produces electronics spares is: a. Everything in the office runs efficiently b. Furniture and other equipment in the office is adequate c. Processing all the incoming official mail and responding to some d. All of the above 6.Labov‟s Storytelling Model based on: a. Communication through speech b. Language learning c. Group Discussions d. None of the above 7. Diagonal Communication is basically the: a.Communication across boundaries b.Communication between the CEO and the managers c.Communication through body language d.Communication within a department 8.How to make Oral Communication Effective? a.By Clarity b.By Brevity c.By Right words d.All of the above 9. Direct Eye contact of more than 10 seconds can create: a.Discomfort & Anxiety b.Emotional relationship between listeners and speakers c.Excitement d.None of the above 10. Encoding means: a.Transmission b.Perception c.Ideation d.None of the above Part Two: 1. Define 7C‟s of effective communication. The 7C’s of effective communication is the seven term starting with the letter C which makes communication more understanding, valuable and effective. They are:- Courtesy & Consideration – To improve relationship Completeness & Consistency- To introduce stability Clarity – To make comprehension better Concreteness – Reinforcing confidence Credibility- for building trust Conciseness – Saves time Correctness – for building confidence 2. Explain ‘Space Language’. Space language is how we communicate with the space around us. The space around its content and the people surrounding around the organisation differ to convey a definite meaning. For example, the personal space such as the office environment, defined for higher ranked workers differs from that of lower ranked workers in terms of comfort in seating and settings. 3. Differentiate between good listeners and bad listeners. Good listener Bad listener Finds opportunity and ask question Tunes out dry subject Does not judge until he understands fully and interrupts only to clarify Argumentative in approach Listens for central themes Listen for facts More flexible in its approach to taking notes Less flexible approach to taking notes Fights/avoids distraction and tolerates bad habit and knows how to concentrate Distracted easily Exercise the mind by working on heavier material Seeks light material Interprets emotional without getting hung up Reacts to emotional words 4. List the different types of business report. Business reports can be classified based on the purpose of preparation: a)Routine Reports:- Progress reports Inspection reports Performance Appraisals Periodical reports b) Special Reports Investigation Reports Survey/feasibility reports First information reports Business Reports can also be classified based on content of report such as: Informational reports Analytical reports 5. Define ‘Kinesics’. Kinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures or, more formally, non-verbal behaviour related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole. ‘Kinesics’ means body movements. Using these movements or body language, communication is possible. It can reflect thought, feelings and position. Examples of body language are blinking our eyes, nodding our head or waving our hand. Kinesics is important for communication since it is a form of communication the receiver of the communication can interpret and can act on. For example, the nodding of the head can be a response such as ‘yes’ and the waiving of a hand can mean ‘move’. However one of disadvantage of kinesics is that sometimes the body language can be wrongly interpreted to represent the wrong information received by the receiver from the sender. This barrier communication with kinesics is an issue can be synonymous as having a breakdo wn in communication and also since it is non-verbal, ‘kinesics’ can also be a hindrant to communication if overemphasised in its use. However Kinesics can be a facilitator to communication if it is used in an efficient and conformed way. A typical example is the use of giving signs such as  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHand signals’ on the road by traffic officers to facilitate traffic flow. In Organisations and communication, ‘Kinesics’ can help to direct communication when used in conjunction with verbal communication. END OF SECTION A Examination Paper of Business Communication Section B: Caselets (40 marks) ï‚ ·This section consists of Caselets. ï‚ ·Answer all the questions. ï‚ ·Each Caselet carries 20 marks. ï‚ ·Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). Caselet 1 Mr. and Mrs. Sharma went to Woodlands Apparel to buy a shirt. Mr. Sharma did not read the price tag on the piece selected by him. At the counter, while making the payment he asked for the price. Rs. 950 was the answer. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sharma, who was still shopping came back and joined her husband. She was glad that he had selected a nice black shirt for himself. She pointed out that there was a 25% discount on that item. The counter person nodded in agreement. Mr. Sharma was thrilled to hear that â€Å"It means the price of this shirt is just Rs. 712. That’s fantastic†, said Mr. Sharma. He decided to buy one more shirt in blue color. In no time, he returned with the second shirt and asked them to be packed. When he received the cash memo for payment, he was astonished to find that he had to pay Rs. 1,900 and Rs. 1,424. Mr. Sharma could hardly reconcile himself to the fact that the counter person had quoted the discounted price which was Rs. 950. The original price prin ted on the price tag was Rs. 1,266. Questions 1. What should Mr. Sharma have done to avoid the misunderstanding? It was apparent that Mr. Sharma did not read the price tag. By reading the price tag, he would have known about the actual price.Mr. Sharma should have also  asked the counter person about the actual price of the shirt instead of relying on Mrs Sharma’s interpretation of the price. The fact that the counter person nodded when Mrs Sharma pointed out about the discount meant that there was no verbal understanding when they received their cash memo. 2. Discuss the main features involved in this case. The main features involves in this case is that the right message was not conveyed to the user. In fact, the message was ineffective to Mr. Sharma since he failed to communicate using the linear model. This meant that the sender did not encode the message by not reading the price tag and hence failed to decode and receive the message properly. This meant a breakdown in communication. Also the two-way communication did not work since the feedback was not appropriate and lead to disastrous outcome when payment receipt was given. Also body language was wrongly interpreted hence leading to failure in effective and correct response. All these features meant that there were barriers to communication leading to undesired result. Caselet 2 I don’t want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the US,† hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be as polite as she could. At another call centre, another day, another young girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, â€Å"Young lady, do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs?† The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centres. Supervisors tell them to be „cool‟. Avinash Vashistha, managing partner of NEOIT, a leading US-based consultancy firm says, â€Å"Companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone.† Vashistha says Indian call centres should train their operators how to handle such calls. Indeed, the furor rais ed by the Western media over job losses because of outsourcing has made ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact that their calls are being taken not from their midst, but in countries such as India and the Philippines. The angry outbursts the  operators face border on the racist and sexist, says the manager of a call centre in Hyderabad. But operators and senior executives of call centres refuse to go on record for fear of kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies‟ losing clients overseas. â€Å"It’s happening often enough and so let’s face it,† says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, â€Å"This doesn’t have any impact on business.† Questions 1) Suppose you are working as an operator in a call centre in India and receiving calls from Americans and Londoners. How would you handle such calls? Handling such calls involves effective communication to limit the misunderstanding between callers and receivers. It is crucial that the caller is handled with the best practice of effective communication and this involves basic knowledge of elements of communication process. For example, the caller is basically the sender and must be interpreted properly by the receiver who in turns encodes the message for a desired outcome. Through this channel of communication, it is important that the receiver does not give feedback which influences the sender’s moods and attitude and is not in accordance with the sender’s expectation. For example, angry outburst can sometimes be remedied by controlled ideas of reinforcement or correct ideas in the mind of the receiver. Such can be seen in examples whereby proper questions as well as words are used to the sender is asked and proper as well as correct answers is provided to eliminate doubt in the senders mind. Handling such calls inv olved having the proper mindset in terms of communication in the operators mind as well as proper training. 2) Do you agree with the view such abusive happenings on the telephone do not have any Impact on business? When communication is effective such abusive happenings will be limited although there is what we call ‘difficult customers’. Impact on business can be positive if abusive calls are turned into ‘happy successful stories’. These customers will show appreciation if they are handled with care. Whilst of course, it is not always easy to please everyone; effective communication can help build bridges between the callers and the person handling these calls. Racist remarks can sometimes be ignored and maybe misunderstood due to cultural barriers at times. Callers must be diverted to stay on the course of achieving the goal of communication and hence limit the impact on business. END OF SECTION B Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks) ï‚ ·This section consists of Applied Theory Questions. ï‚ ·Answer all the questions. ï‚ ·Each question carries 15 marks. ï‚ ·Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). ` 1.What do you understand by Communication Barriers? How and why do they occur? What can be done to overcome the Barriers to Communication? Communication barriers happen when there are negative forces affecting effective communication. Since communication is a process of transfer of ideas and expressions, it is crucial that the basic elements of communication are achieved in terms of sender and receiver via proper channels of communication. Barriers can be semantic whereby meaning of message is wrongly receipted via sender to receiver. An organizational barrier occurs when there is negative communication influence within the organization limiting effective communication. An interpersonal barrier happens upon inter-relations, values held and attitudes of individuals also limiting the correct flow and effectiveness of communication. Individual barriers also limit effective communication and are also called psycho-sociological barriers. Most of the individual barriers is due to the incom petence to process the information properly and results in negative flow of information thus providing a communication barrier. Cross-cultural barrier occurs based on cultural perception by the individual thus also limiting communication effectiveness. Physical barrier are occurring whenever there is noise, distance or any physical-related barriers limiting  the proper flow of communication. Technological barriers also affect effective communication due to the technological advancement used in disseminating the communication. In order to overcome the barriers to communication, it is vital that meaning of messages is clear, precise and not ambiguous to convey the correct meaning to the receiver. Information sent and received must not be wrongly interpretation by proper contextualising and also properly defined to achieve 100 percent transmission efficiency from sender to receiver. Organizational barriers can be limited by implementing positive communication influence with example s uch as proximity of telephones to operators and effective communication procedures in place. Interpersonal barriers can be adjusted by overcoming superior and subordinate relationship in the organization. Individual barriers can be limited by working on effective communication in interpersonal communication. Cross-cultural communication can be overcome by understanding the customs of the communicator and responding appropriately to their cultural diversity. Physical barriers need to be resolved in terms of limiting loss of content and message when sending and delivering as well as in the process of the information for an effective communication. Technological assets need to be carefully selected before being implemented to limit communication effectiveness. To overcome the barriers, the sender should know who the message is for, Why should the message be communicated, what to communicate, When to communicate the message and How and Where the message should be communicated. The recei ver should be ready to accept the message by being attentive, listening actively, clarifying and repeating where necessary and check receipt of information with sender. 1. Define and explain the term Negotiation and also briefly explain the phases of Negotiation. Negotiation is a process by which a compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument. In order, to achieve negotiation, one must negotiate effectively and hence use effective communication to achieve a positive end result such as a positive agreement or compromise. In order for any negotiation to be effective, individuals must achieve the best possible outcome for their position or for the organisation they represent. The  principles of fairness, seeking mutual benefit and maintaining a relationship are the keys to a successful outcome. Negotiation is important to reduce conflict and disagreement that arise from misunderstanding and ineffective communication. The process of negotiation includes the following stages: Preparation, Discussion, Clarifying goal, Negotiate towards a positive outcome, Agreement, Implementation Preparation: In order for negotiation to take place, and to be effective a decision needs to be taken as to when and where a meeting will take place to discuss the problem and who will attend. Setting a time-scale is important to prevent the disagreement continuing. The Preparation stage will help to avoid further conflict and unnecessarily wasting time during the meeting. Discussion: In the discussion stage, individuals or members of each side submit and put forward their case as they see it, i.e. their understanding of the situation. Important key skills during the discussion stage are questioning, listening and clarifying. Sometimes, notes during the discussion stage are taken to record all points put forward in case as there is need for further clarification. Clarification of goals: Based on discussion, the goals, interests and viewpoints of both parties in the disagreement need to be clarified. Through this clarification it is often possible to identify or establish common groun d. Negotiate towards a Positive outcome: A positive outcome or Win-win situation is emphasized at this stage. If such is not possible, parties will try to compromise and try not to differ as much as possible for arguments and agreements sake. Agreement: Once both sides have understood the terms of the negotiation, agreements are reached by both sides with the objectives of being clear of what has been decided and agreed upon. Implementation of a course of action: Based on the agreement, a course of action is therefore implemented to carry through the decision. Failure to achieve negotiation might involve recalling or rescheduling another meeting to re-discuss. There are instances where negotiation can be informal and these can happen when there is different in opinion or how the matter at hand is settled. The three elements that affect negotiation outcomes are: 1. Attitudes 2. Knowledge 3. Interpersonal Skills Dismissal of the negotiatiated issue can also occur if there is no solution to the negotiation. END OF SECTION C