Three Brief Topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Brief Topics - Essay Example Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane are enlightens three categories. The Sacred which is a transcendent referent such as God or Nirvana, hierophany which is the advancement of the sacred into human experience where he discusses the revelation of the sacred in a person's life and the third category is idea of homo religiosus where Eliade considers the appreciation and devotion of one to such a breakthrough of supreme power. He describes numinous experience as an appropriate experience of the Sacred by religious human beings or homo religiosus. When a person can experience the amazing, mysterium tremendum and fascinans, both are awesomely fearful and the enthrallingly captivating aspects of the Holy or the wholly other. In expanding and expounding the phenomenological dimensions of the Sacred, Eliade describes the sacred experience in human being as a crucial point of orientation and at the same time it also reveals the ontological reality which is its source of homo religiosus experie nce. For an instance the space is characterized as the boundary between sacred and profane and thus locates the axis mundi as centre. Thus temples and tepees, homes and hearths become sacralized for homo religiosus. ... According to Gerardus even the most ordinary events such as the customary associations with one's neighbors or similarly one's long familiar tasks prove to be replete with mystic interconnections if one examines them more closely. One can completely ignore his own scheme of explanation in terms of single causes and can misconceive life as a broad current of mighty powers. If, for instance, one of the Toradja tribes in Celebes is preparing for an expedition and an earthen pot is broken, then they remain at home, saying that it is measa. This may be translated as a sign, indicating some future misfortune, but that the current of life has been interrupted: If then one thing has been broken, why not more Similarly, when a Ewe tribesman finds refuge from his enemies on a white ant hill he ascribes his escape to the power residing there. Thus the place, the action, the person in which the power reveals itself receives a specific character. Bearers of mana, for example, are sharply distingu ished from the rest of the world: they are self-sufficient.2 References: - The Nature of Religion. The Sacred and The Profane Pages 8-18 by Eliade Mircea Religion in Essence and Manifestation, volume 1 Chapter 4 Potency. Awe. Tabu. by Gerardus Van Der Leeuw, (1967) Pages 43-51 The nature and elements of myth Q2. Discuss the nature and elements of myth and explore a particular myth using the frameworks in the following texts: Chapter 2- Myth and Religion. In Myths: God, Heroes, and Saviors by Billias Leonard J (1986). Chapter 3 'Five monolithic theories'. The Nature of Greek Myths by Kirk G S (1974). Answer: - Myths are the stories from the remote past as in another world or an earlier stage of this

SM Prime Holdings (SMPH): Internal and External Analysis

SM Prime Holdings (SMPH): Internal and External Analysis Introduction Organizations are dynamic nowadays. One reason for this is the complexity of the environment they belong to and the need to constantly respond to this intricacy. Environment consists of various factors that affect how organization operates. These components include both internal and external factors that can either make or break the companys success. In addition to this, they have to react to various trends in which they are subject, for example the emerging environmental awareness of the public. To put all of these into perspective, one company will be used to illustrate how these factors influence the operations of the company. SM Prime Holdings (SMPH) is the mall operations arm of SM Investments Corporation which is todays one of the Philippines biggest conglomerates, occupying a dominant position in most of its lines of business, namely shopping malls; retail merchandising; banking and finance; and property. It all started with a simple vision of its founder and chairman, Mr. Henry Sy, to sell shoes to every Filipino (SMIC, 2009). Today, SMPH is the Philippines largest mall operator that owns and runs world-class malls over the country, providing millions of square meters of floor area for a fully integrated shopping, dining, and entertainment experience (SMIC, 2009). Moreover, it manages the parking area and the amusement facilities of the mall such as SM Cinemas, SM Ice Skating and SM Science Discovery Center. As of December 2008, there are 36 SMPH malls 33 here in the Philippines and 3 in China and this year it is expected that three new SM malls are opening. By the end of 2009 the total gross floor area (GFA) of all SM malls would total to 4.5 million square meters, a 5% increase from 2008s GFA. Above all, SMPH recorded a good financial performance year last year as it delivered a seven percent increase in net profit to Php6.4 billion, from a 12% growth in revenues worth Php17.8 billion (SMPH, 2008). Overview of the Internal Environment Every organization differs from one another. Each has its own unique characteristics that contribute to the over-all success of the company. These unique characteristics are often called the internal environment, which is composed of elements within the organization. These elements include employees, management, and corporate culture (Cliffs Notes, 2009). Out of all of these elements, there are two distinctive attributes that are vital to a company and these are its structure and culture. These two provides background on how the company operates. SMPHs Internal Environment For SMPH, understanding how their internal structure and culture operates allows them to organize, to take advantage of their strengths, to improve their weaknesses, and to develop an environment that breeds and encourages success among its employees (Organizational Culture 101, 2007). Moreover the success of the whole SM Group is attributed to its founder, Mr. Sy, whose determination and passion is considered exceptional. His influence has remained strong and visible both in its organizational structure and culture. Organizational Structure According to Drucker it is the correct design of structure which is of the most significant in determining organizational performance (Mullins, 2005. p. 597). In SMPH, they made sure that the structure is well-defined so that it will lessen confusion for their employees as it limits and controls what they do, for the organization is structured around high levels of formalization and specialization. Also the company has a strict adherence to chain of command that helps employees to identify their position in the company. Lastly, it is highly centralized wherein all decisions have to be made by higher ranking officials (Robbins, 2003, p. 575). In other words, the organizational structure of SMPH describes the management philosophy of Mr. Sy which is conservative yet with fine tuned instincts. Organizational Culture Like every individual, organizations also have their own personality that set them apart from others. In case of SMPH, their work ethics is prominent. For them everything is a serious business. Furthermore, they are guided by traditional Confucian values which are highly influenced by Mr. Sy who is an immigrant from mainland China. Hard work, frugality, discipline, love of study, self-sacrifice for the family welfare and harmonious social relationships are the Confucian values integrated to the company. These are the anchor values of SM Group which are the building blocks of their success (Flores, W. L., 2007). Overview of the External Environment Aside from managing its resources, organizations operate in a larger scale called the external environment. But unlike their internal resources wherein they have a full control of, the external environment suggests otherwise and in some cases may be considered as a threat. The number of the external environment factors is virtually unlimited for there are many macro factors that could impact organizations productivity. The only distinction between these factors is the degree of its impact to the company (NetMBA, 2007). SMPHs External Environment: PESTLE Analysis of SMPH SMPH, being the number one mall operator in the Philippines, regularly reviews its external environment. In their perspective, understanding the environment they belong is vital to the planning function of management for it influences the companys success rate. They identify and analyze the key trends, forces, and phenomena having a potential impact on the formulation and implementation of their strategies. In effect, the environmental assessment attempts to prepare the organization to acclimatize to environmental changes to take advantage of opportunities and to minimize the adverse effects of threats (Appelbaum, 1991). (P)olitics The Philippines is a democratic republic with an elected bicameral legislature, and a multiparty system. Filipinos exercised their right to vote every three years and despite the rumors to the contrary that the current President, Ms. Arroyo would not step down from office; there would be an election next year (US Department of State, 2007). This issue is important for the business sector as the next countrys leader may affect the operations of their organizations. This can influence them due to the reforms the new public officials would take. For SMPH, the results of the upcoming election would greatly affect them because it may affect the stability of the country and may undermine their confidence in their expansion plans. (E)conomics The countrys economic system is mixed economy wherein most of the companies are owned privately; however, government can control when the need for it arises. One of the features of the Philippine economy, it is consumer driven and the sales at the countrys biggest malls have been a gauge of trends in consumer spending. Almost 70% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) is contributed by consumer spending. Moreover the 30% of this total consumer spending happens inside malls, and two-thirds of this slice of the pie is accounted to SM alone (Balea, 2009). But according to the Fitch Ratings Inc. the countrys GDP is predicted to be at its lowest at 2.5%, which is lower than the 1998 Asian Crisis (Burgonio, 2009). Given this forecast, this can predict how SMPH would perform this year. This economic downturn will most probably affect the company and would be visible in its financial statements. (S)ocial-Cultural One social-cultural factor that affects organizations is the consumer buying behavior. Consumers are the source of profit of the company and that is why they are researching in great detail to learn the buying behavior of their consumers in order to track consumer trends and respond to it. Understanding the purchasing patterns answers what consumers buy, where they buy, how much they buy, when they buy and why they buy (Kotler Armstrong 2007. p. 129). In a recent survey conducted by the global market research firm Synovate, it revealed that during the six month stretch of December 2008 to April 2009, 92% of residents in Metro Manila, which is comprised of all social brackets and where malls are concentrated, have cut their spending, while 61% did less impulsive buying. Moreover 55% said theyve focused on food and other necessities and spent less on recreation as well as luxury items. In short, Filipinos are still spending but they are spending for the cheaper and basic things (Balea, 2009). Although SMPH may not be directly affected by this buyer behavior, this may affect its tenants total sales. Since tenants rental fees are determined through a percentage of their income or through a fixed monthly rent basis, SMPHs total revenue may squeeze (Narciso, 2009). (T)echnology The continuous improvement of technology has dramatically changed every organizations process; for example new marketing channels were introduced like the internet. Here in the country, internet penetration is still low. As of 2008, only 14.6% of the Philippine population is internet users; however it is forecasted to record a 23% growth annually. If this trend continues it will revolutionize the way Filipinos live. A good example of this is e-commerce, wherein markets, which were once unreachable because of distance and costs, are now open through cyberspace (Internet World Stats, 2009). Although e-commerce is still an unfamiliar territory here in the country wherein only 3% in National Urban Philippines made online purchase, it has a strong promise especially in the coming years due to the increasing accessibility of the internet, greater PC penetration and enactment by the government of appropriately strong e-commerce legislation (Internet World Stats, 2009). With this implication SMPH may find a new competitor by means of the so-called e-malls. This can be a serious threat for the company since this brings many advantages to consumers such as convenience, accessibility, interactivity and immediate response. (L)egal The current legal system of the Philippines is based on the 1987 Constitution but there is an on-going movement that is aimed to revise the current system. According to several lawmakers the business sector would be the number one beneficiary of the constitutional change as the proposed amendments include creation of a more efficient and competitive business environment among others (Rubio, 2009). SMPH is highly subjected to this change. If this would push through, all corporate laws may be altered which would affect how the SMPH operates taxes may rise, new labor codes may be enacted, ownership act may be amended. (E)co-Environment The Philippines is a developing company and as a result of this is the degradation of the natural environment. That is why theres environmental legislation and provision that protects welfare of the environment. Hence these should be followed strictly by both the private and public business sectors. For SMPH, this is very much applicable since they are mall developers. They have to be in compliance with the rules and standards or else they would be penalized (Kirk, 1998, p. 83). A particular example of an environmental legislation that should be followed by SMPH is to secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) during the conceptualization stage of their expansion plans. Getting an ECC certifies that the project under consideration will not bring about an unacceptable environmental impact and the proponent has complied with all of the environmental legislation preventing and controlling water, air and land pollution. Securing an ECC is important for SMPH because if they fail to do so all their expansion plans will be put on a halt (Kirk, 1998, p. 83). Competition Here in the Philippines, malls have become a huge phenomenon in the country. Most often than not, whether for recreational, dining or shopping purposes, Filipinos go to mall. With this high demand for shopping malls, this translates competition for SMPH and as of now there are three primary players in the shopping mall industry and these are Ayala Land, Robinsons Land and of course SMPH. Although the industry seems attractive with only 2 competitors for SMPH, the rivalry is still high since both Ayala Land and Robinsons Land are also expanding and has its own loyal customers. But an advantage being in the mall operations business is that it has high barriers to entry due to the huge capital needed to start up a mall, to find strategic locations and to attract reputable anchor tenants. With regards to SMPHs stand against its competitors, SMPH, with a 51 year experience under its belt, is still the mall of choice for tenants since they can enjoy heavy consumer traffic with almost 2.5 million foot traffic. This enormous number of SMPHs customers is due to their malls convenience, affordability and diversity, and these translate to high customer power. But theres also threat for substitutes like no-fuss shopping complexes (e.g. Tutuban Centermall, Greenhills) that is becoming a serious peril due to its cheaper prices. Knowledge Management In our daily lives, knowledge is considered as power. Same goes in businesses. But knowledge management is not merely gathering all the data, for it is more involved in processing all these information into a cohesive knowledge. Being efficient with the sourcing, analyzing, dissemination and storage of knowledge can be a source of competitive advantage for a company. With the case of SMPH, knowledge management is essential especially during times of expansion wherein they gather all information demographics of the area, spending capacity, competitive environment level of commercial and retail activities in the surrounding area and distance from other SM malls that will aid them in decision-making (SMPH, 2008). Financial Management The entire worlds economic system depends upon the exchange rate. The currency exchange rates effect global businesses like a thermometer, it measures the health of global economics (JD Files, 2009). Last year the Philippine Peso (php) was one of the worst performing currencies in Asia, closing at 47.52 php to a dollar. This is a 15% decline from the 2007s 41.29 php. (James, 2008) This can affect SMPH, since most of the Overseas Filipino Workers remittances are spent by their beneficiaries in shopping malls, tourism and entertainment. If the peso weakens, it increases the value of dollar remittances and this translates to more OFW beneficiaries spending in their malls. International Market Entry Many companies successfully operate in a niche market without ever expanding into new markets. However, some businesses could achieve increased sales, brand awareness and business stability by entering a new market (My Business, 2009). For instance, the company could review new geographical market to serve and at this time of globalization, many companies try to penetrate the international market as a source of their growth. Relating this to SMPH, the company expanded internationally through an acquisition of three SM shopping malls in China through a share swap agreement. This move allowed SMPH to gain a foothold in Chinas fast-growing economy and use this as a platform for long-term growth outside the Philippines where it is clearly the dominant player in the mall business (SMPH, 2007). Ecology According to Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, ecology means the scientific study of the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and the transformation and flux of energy and matter. (n.d) In other words, ecology is about environmentalism. Today, one of the biggest issues in ecology is the increasing effect of global warming. Global warming as its name suggest is the gradual increase in the temperature here in earth. This is caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the suns heat and causing the planet to warm up (NRDC, 2009). Major sources of CO2 emissions are deforestation and burning of fossil fuels. This global concern is alarming for it may bring about natural disasters that may affect peoples health, bring ecological imbalance, rise in sea levels and change in crop and food supply. Here in the country, the effects of global warming are now being felt. According to World Wide Foundation (WWF), â€Å"The Philippines is extremely vulnerable to the ravages of climate change. Food and freshwater shortages, receding coastlines and an increase in political and economic turmoil are the bleak picture that climate change paints for the country.† (Burgonio, 2007) With these consequences organizations have taken additional measures to respond to these impending catastrophes since they have the leverage to start the change and besides they are also the biggest offenders. In addition to this, various pressure groups, like WWF, are negotiating the companies to adopt energy-efficient saving measures in their operations to help in the global effort to cut CO2 emissions, the leading cause of global warming. (Burgonio, 2007) Ecology and SMPH SM CARES aims to unify and integrate all SMPHs CSR initiatives that are geared towards caring their shoppers and nurturing Mother Earth. Under SM CARES, the company has therefore taken an aggressive stance in protecting the environment through four major initiatives: Solid Waste Management, Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, and Air Quality Efficiency. Below are some of SM CARES programs (SMPH, 2008). SM Cares Activities Solid Waste Management SM Supermalls holds Trash to Cash, a recycling market every first Friday and Saturday of the month in all SM Prime malls in the country. Here, the public can convert their recyclable trash into cash. To date, Trash to Cash has generated over Php10 million in recyclable items and is estimated to have saved nearly 11,000 seven-year-old trees. Mall tenants are also educated on the benefits of waste segregation. As a result, solid waste in the malls garbage depots has been reduced by as much as 20% a month and two tons of garbage per mall is diverted away from landfills every week. Water Conservation Since its inception a few years back, SM Supermalls now saves about 2.4 billion liters of precious water every year through tertiary treatment plants that recycle water for use in the cooling towers of the malls air-conditioning systems, toilet flushing, and landscape irrigation. Add to that, the use of waterless urinals in mens toilets save another 315 million liters of water annually. Energy Efficiency SM malls control their air-conditioning systems through the Focus Enterprise Building Management System. This computerized process closely monitors the building temperature to optimally balance supply versus demand for cool air. As such, mall areas that are full of people are made cooler while those less congested are left a bit warmer. The system saves almost 50 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. All tertiary treatment plants mentioned earlier utilize a device known as a sequential batch reactor that saves up to 500,000 kilowatt hours annually. To reduce the use of light bulbs during the day, the new SM malls are designed to have glass walls and ceilings to light up the mall with sunlight. Lighting has also been replaced from fluorescent to energy efficient bulbs and has saved the malls a considerable amount of kwh annually. SM CARES also avidly supports Earth Hour, an annual global movement that encourages households and establishments to shut down a ll power sources for an hour, thereby heightening awareness for energy conservation. Air Quality Efficiency SM strictly enforces the no-smoking policy inside the malls, and requires all public utility vehicles entering and parking in its mall terminals and depots to present certificates of having passed smoke emission testing. They also encourage the use of bicycles by providing safe parking spaces for them. Green Bags Pioneering efforts to promote eco-shopping in the Philippine retail industry, SM Supermalls recently unveiled the new SM Supermalls Greenbag. The SM Supermalls Greenbag enables shoppers to participate in the global cause to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags. The SM Supermalls Greenbag which is available in all SM malls is made from 100-percent polypropylene (PP) material. It is recyclable, non-toxic, allergy free and nonreactive to human skin. The Greenbags size is equivalent to two regular SM Supermarket shopping bags and has an estimated life span of two years. It is very light, handy and can be folded into a small pack. The SM Supermalls Greenbag comes in four exclusive designs by world-renowned artist Manuel Baldemor, turning this utility item into a prized art piece. Another contribution of SMPH to ecology is through green architecture. Early this year SMPH unveiled their first mall to turn â€Å"green†, the SM North EDSA via the Sky Garden. It uses roof gardens that help in neutralizing global warming for roof gardens are known to reduce the effects of ‘urban heat islands and are energy efficient that cut down up to 20% air-conditioning costs. It also catches rainwater, which will be released into a storm water infrastructure that is subsequently recycled for landscaping and car park maintenance. Lastly roof gardens also lessen the plumbing design and systems expenditure. With all of these green features, the Sky Garden is an example of how a large-scale property developer can contribute to the improvement of the environment (The Philippine Star, 2009). Policies and Decision Making Since SMPH is a mall developer, ecological factors like global warming are always part of their discussion. As a matter fact preserving the environment is part of SMPHs objectives and that is to ensure environmental sustainability through various programs on energy, water and air conservation. For them more than just complying with the legal standards (e.g. environment legislation), they also have the responsibility to the community since their company is in the position to make a difference (SMPH, 2008). The management regularly holds meetings to discuss their effect to the environment as well as to discuss the effectiveness of their programs and their up-and-coming activities. One situation wherein SMPH considers the environment in their decision-making is every time they expand and open new malls. During the conceptualization stage, SMPH constantly explores breakthrough architectural models for its malls that are environment-friendly. The Sky Garden at SM City North EDSA, which is a first in the Philippines, is a noteworthy showcase of the companys innovative thinking. Utilizing the latest in green architecture, the Sky Garden brings their customers closer to nature and at the same time contributes to environmental conservation (The Philippine Star, 2009). To stress even more SMPHs integration of ecology in its company, they held a conference on Sustainability, Energy, and Green Design Initiatives. The conference was aimed at providing a fresh view on how green design initiatives can influence sustainability and promote environmental preservation. Some of the countrys seasoned architects and engineers shared their views on the subject with SMs executives to bring more awareness on how these timely subjects can impact their mall operations (Manila Bulletin, 2008). Through this conference, the management reassessed its policies concerning the environment and recognized the link between a healthy economy and a healthy ecology. Evaluation and Recommendation With all these initiatives on responding to the ecological issues, it seems that SMPH is reacting well but actually they are kind of late already. Their competitor, Ayala Malls, has been the pioneer to this trend and is successful in incorporating ecology programs in their system. Ayala Malls was the first to retrofit the existing structure of their malls to a more eco-friendly one. Furthermore all of their malls show a close-to-nature effect; in contrast to SMPH wherein most of their malls look like a concrete jungle. As a recommendation, SMPH may restructure all of their malls. But this could be done little by little so it will not interrupt the malls activities. Another precaution is that this can be very costly but if SMPH is really determined to be environment-friendly in all their malls this is the best means to show it. An alternative method is to put more in-door plants and garden to make their malls at least appear as eco-friendly. Another first by Ayala Malls is their integration with its mall tenants by means of â€Å"Greenology† that bolsters the malls environment awareness campaign. Through Greenology, Ayala Malls mark the trend of being an eco-friendly and eco-chic establishment by showcasing remarkable events that aims to capture the hearts of concerned mall patrons and environmentalists (Ayala Land, 2008). Although SMPH also has their own mall-wide activities such as Trash to Cash and their Green bag, they do not have monthly activities like the Ayala Malls. In addition to this their tenants do not actively participate as much as those in the Ayala Malls. A likely proposal for SMPH is to create an earth-friendly philosophy encompassing all mall activities that are related to conservation of the environment. Then make an apt title to it so that it will create awareness to the people, like the Ayala Malls Greenology. SMPH should also communicate to its tenants to support and participate in the activities. Together they can brainstorm and come up with ideas that are appropriate with the objective. For example, every month all the mall tenants would feature a product that would help in preserving the environment or are made with environment-friendly materials. But the good news for SMPH is that even though they are not proactive in responding to ecological factors, what matters most is that they are trying to keep up and do all their best to preserve the environment. All of their programs are actually well-thought of and practical. Their advocacies for Solid Waste Management, Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, and Air Quality Efficiency are properly executed. As a matter of fact, SMPH has received some accolades for these activities including an Outstanding Achievement in Energy Efficiency and Conservation from Don Emilio Abello Awards for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Best Practices for Buildings (SMI, 2008). However with all of these good strategies what is lacking to SMPH is publicity. They do not create so much buzz about their environmental concern and activities that makes the public think that they are not doing anything for the sake of the environment. That is why Ayala Malls remains to be the top of mind of the customers when it comes to being eco-friendly mall. To counter this SMPH should make use of public relations to show their plans in connection to greener lifestyle. They should utilize the different kinds of media to create awareness that they are good corporate citizen. Also they can sponsor events such as the yearly celebration of Earth Day to show their support for nature as well as to use this event to promote the earth-friendly facilities of their mall. All in all, SMPH has been sound with all its action plans towards the emerging environmental awareness and it would probably have a 65% marking since theres still a room for improvement. Conclusion Through the years, SM malls has become synonymous to the phrase one-stop shopping. You can ask any Filipino about what mall comes first into their minds and without batting an eyelash, they will respond and say SM. This is how great the impact SM has to the Filipinos. It is more than just the shopping, dining or entertainment experience it is part of the culture already. But before SM became an icon in the country, it started like any other rags to riches story. Its success can be traced back to its founder, Mr. Henry Sy. Even at his age, Mr. Sy is still very hands-on with the business. The countrys shopping mall magnate is a contrarian who not only survived but prospered after every political and economic crisis in the last five decades. This is because he studies the environment very well and handles every downturn as a challenge to seek new opportunities. These work ethics of Mr. Sy is visible in the company and are the main drivers for the continuous achievement of SM. (Tan-Co, 2001) Also contributing to the accomplishment of SM Group is its response to ecology. Although it is still lagging behind its competitors, SMPH is doing its share to conserve Mother Nature. They have opened their first green mall and have conducted various activities to counter their enormous carbon footprint. All these efforts towards being environment-friendly, shows the commitment of SMPH to be the mall of choice that cares to preserve the nature.

Theories of Mass Extinction :: essays research papers

Scientists have found the first evidence that a devastating meteor impact in the Middle East might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilisations more than 4,000 years ago. Studies of satellite images of southern Iraq have revealed a two-mile-wide circular depression which scientists say bears all the hallmarks of an impact crater. If confirmed, it would point to the Middle East being struck by a meteor with the violence equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs. Today's crater lies on what would have been shallow sea 4,000 years ago, and any impact would have caused devastating fires and flooding. The catastrophic effect of these could explain the mystery of why so many early cultures went into sudden decline around 2300 BC. They include the demise of the Akkad culture of central Iraq, with its mysterious semi-mythological emperor Sargon; the end of the fifth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom, following the building of the Great Pyramids and the sudden disappearance of hundreds of early settlements in the Holy Land. Until now, archaeologists have put forward a host of separate explanations for these events, from local wars to environmental changes. Recently, some astronomers have suggested that meteor impacts could explain such historical mysteries. The crater's faint outline was found by Dr Sharad Master, a geologist at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, on satellite images of the Al 'Amarah region, about 10 miles north-west of the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates and home of the Marsh Arabs. "It was a purely accidental discovery," Dr Master told The Telegraph last week. "I was reading a magazine article about the canal-building projects of Saddam Hussein, and there was a photograph showing lots of formations - one of which was very, very circular." Detailed analysis of other satellite images taken since the mid-1980s showed that for many years the crater contained a small lake. The draining of the region, as part of Saddam's campaign against the Marsh Arabs, has since caused the lake to recede, revealing a ring-like ridge inside the larger bowl-like depression - a classic feature of meteor impact craters. The crater also appears to be, in geological terms, very recent. Dr Master said: "The sediments in this region are very young, so whatever caused the crater-like structure, it must have happened within the past 6,000 years." Reporting his finding in the latest issue of the journal Meteoritics &;amp Planetary Science, Dr Master suggests that a recent meteor impact is the most plausible explanation for the structure.

The Death of the Moth Analysis

Life is a constant struggle against the ever present chill of death. Fear, betrayal, and cowardice all stems from life’s distaste of death. Human beings naturally rebuke the unknown, so it is only logical that people fight the inevitability of death. However, most people are ignorant of the reality of one day dying, prompting writer Virginia Woolf to write the essay, â€Å"The Death of the Moth†, in order to convey the frailty of life whilst also showing the awesome might of death.In the essay, her main purpose is to show that the moth embodies the human race, and that death is an inevitable fact of life no matter how much the human race struggles to stay alive. Woolf is able to get her purpose across by utilizing her unique style of writing. This is achieved by sympathizing with the moth throughout the essay, switching the narration between her internal personal struggles and external struggles of the moth, and changing the entire tone of the essay when the different t hemes of life and death are explored.Using her distinct writing style, Woolf delves into the wonders of life, and the ever present battle against death. One of the techniques Woolf uses in her writing style is employing empathy within the readers. She strives to create an emotional connection between the reader and the subject of the essay. In this case, Woolf directs her use of empathy with the main character of the story, which is the moth. Even before delving into the life of the moth, Woolf begins to refer to the moth as â€Å"he† instead of â€Å"it†, suggesting that the reader relates to the moth on a more personal level, rather than viewing him as just another insignificant bug.This creates a personal bond between the reader and the moth, resembling that of a companionship. Instantly, Woolf has been able to get the audience interested and emotionally invested in her essay by simply referring to the moth as a â€Å"he†. Furthermore, she proceeds to observe this moth closely, refusing to divert her attention to the happenings around her. As the moth lives his carefree life by vibrantly flying around, Woolf cannot help but pity the insignificance he has in the grand scale of things. ‘â€Å"One could not help watching him. One, was, indeed, conscious of a queer feeling of pity for him.The possibilities of pleasure seemed that morning so enormous and so various that to have only a moth’s part in life, and a day moth’s at that, appeared a hard fate, and his zest in enjoying his meager opportunities to the full, pathetic’† (Woolf 1). She continually pities the fact that the moth continues to make the most of his desperate and futile situation. No matter his frailty and impending doom, the moth continues to carelessly dance around the windowpane, either because he is unaware that he will soon die, or because he chooses not to care about his demise.However, Woolf begins to realize that the moth’s stre ngth is failing him, and she comes to the cold conclusion that he is at death’s door. Not soon after that, the moth senses that his strength is failing him, but even upon knowing his inevitable death, the moth continues to fight. Woolf’s heart goes out to the insect. ‘â€Å"It was superb this last protest, and so frantic that he succeeded at last in righting himself. One’s sympathies, of course, were all on the side of life (Woolf 2)’†. She resolves to root for the moth, and applaud his final protest against death.By the use of her writing style, Woolf has caused the audience to root for the moth’s final efforts along with her. By getting so emotionally invested in this moth, the audience realizes that no matter what happens, death will win, which saddens the readers. Their fellow comrade will fall, and it alerts everybody of the harshness of the situation. In reality people fight to live, but everyone will die just like that moth, and by creating an emotional attachment between the readers and the moth, people begin to understand the frailty of existence through this insignificant moth.In addition to creating empathy, Woolf uses a beautifully poetic method in getting her purpose across, which is exploring the external struggles of the moth while employing those struggles to her own personal demons. She is able to switch the narratives between external and internal conflict without the audience even realizing it. Through the use of her vivid imagery and lucid writing style, Woolf achieves this double narrative story without the readers even consciously aware of it.This use of story-telling gives the readers multiple sides of the story, and is able to relate the tragic happenings of the moth to the even more tragic workings of Woolf’s mind. At first she explores the failing strength of the moth, which is the entire basis of the essay. ‘â€Å"After perhaps a seventh attempt he slipped from the wooden ledge and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the windowsill. The helplessness of his attitude roused me†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Woolf 2). However, she begins to directly correlate these outside and physical experiences to the internal conflict and drama she’s been feeling.‘â€Å"But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death. I laid the pencil down again’† (Woolf 2). Upon trying to help the moth, she soon sees how her actions would only prove to be futile, causing her to give up trying to help. This leads internal conflict within her, because she questions the use of fighting to stay alive when death will happen anyways. This causes her to pity the moth, who continually attempts to live, even though there’s no use. The internal trauma Woolf feels comes to a climax when the moth succumbs to death.‘â€Å"Just as life had been strange a few mi nutes before, so death was now as strange. The moth having righted himself now lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed. O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am’† (Woolf 3). Woolf is amazed at how quickly and easily death came, and how death was an endless wave of mystery. In the end, she comes to terms with the fact that death will always triumph life, no matter how much people fight to live. By using both internal and external conflict to express this ongoing battle, the reader completely grasps the theme of inevitability of death by seeing multiple examples presented to them.The last technique used by Woolf in her particular style is the use of tone and the words she chooses to employ throughout the entirety of her essay. In the beginning of the essay, the tone is light, having a congenial feel to it. The words used by Woolf flow very smoothly, and through the use of the happy and flowing words, she conveys the joys of life. She is basically celebr ating the life and energy of the moth. ‘â€Å"Nevertheless the present specimen, with his narrow hay-colored wings, fringed with a tassel of the same color, seemed to be content with life.It was a pleasant morning, mid-September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than that of the summer months’† (Woolf 1). Woolf was renowned for her colorful language and the constant flow of the text. However, once the idea of death is introduced, the essay begins to take a morbid turn. A sense of foreboding is introduced into the mix, and the style of the writing changes. Instead of the flowing writing style and beautiful imagery, Woolf switches to longer sentences that contain different literary devices and the use of words is choppier rather than flowing.‘â€Å"When there was nobody to care or to know, this gigantic effort on the part of an insignificant little moth, against a power of such magnitude, to retain what no one else valued or desired to keep, moved o ne strangely. Again, somehow, one saw life, a pure bead’† (Woolf 2). Woolf doesn't utilize just words, but emotions in helping us to understand the full impact of death. Upon the introduction of the death of the moth, the demise of Woolf’s usual flowing writing occurs as well. By using different writing styles within the same essay, Woolf is able to achieve her purpose by creating a sense of dread within the reader.The theme of the inevitability of death is portrayed so skillfully by Woolf’s use of imagery and tone. Woolf’s skillful writing style is used to convey the absoluteness of death in a way that no other author is able to accomplish. By using empathy through the moth, conveying internal and external conflict, and using different tones and writing styles within the essay, Woolf was able to accomplish her purpose of showing the frailty of life, and how death will always triumph, no matter the struggle against it. People usually ignore this har sh fact, but Woolf was able to convey it through emotions rather than words, so people easily understood.

Categorical imperative Essay

Abstract Immanuel Kantis one of the most influential philosophers in the history of the Western philosophy. His contribution two metaphysical epistemology, ethic, and aesthetics have had a profound impact on almost every philosophical movements that followed him. Kant believe that, in knowledge originated in our senses and that the mind is a blank slate, that becames populated with ideas by its interaction with the world. Kant Influence on Criminal Justice In New World Encyclopedia (2013) states that Immanuel Kant was born, and spent the majority of his life in the city Konigsberg , the capital of East Prussia. His father was a German craftsman. His parents baptized him as Emanuel Kant, which he later changed to Immanuel after learning Hebrew. He attended the Collegium Fridiciaum at the age of eight. After eight years of study in there, he went to the University of Konideberg where he studied philosophy and mathematics. The death of his father affected him greatly, however, with the support of a friend he earned and received his doctrine in 1756. After befriending the English merchant Joseph Green, who instilled in Kant arespect for living in accordance to strict observed rules of behavior, he began to live a very regulated life. For the remainder of his life Kant remain unmarried and owned only one piece of art in his household, advocating the absence of passion in flavor of logic. He never left Prussia and rarelyventured out oh his hometown. He was a respected and very competitive university professor for most of his life. Historical repute did not come to him until he was in his late 50’s. In 1740, he went to the University to study philosophers Gottfried Leinbniz and Christian Wolff under the tutelage of Martin Knutsen , who was familiar with the development of British philosophy and science. It is there that Knutsen introduced Kant to a new system of mathematics by Sir Isaac Newton (1997). In 1746, Kant wrote the paper on measurements of reflecting Leibniz’s influence. In 1755 he then became a private lecture at the University, and while there he published â€Å"Inquiry into the Distinctness of the Principles of Natural Theology and Morals† in which he examines the problem of having a logical system of philosophy that was connected with the world of natural philosophy, a concern typically of the period. In that same year he published a piece titled â€Å"In Dreams of a spirit-seer Elucidated by Dreams of Metaphysics†. For the next 10 years, he work solely on the architecture of his own philosophy. Then in 1781 he released the † Critique of Pure Reason†, This work was to become the most influential, widely cited, and distributed work in Western philosophy. He then followed with his work † Ground of Metaphysic of Morals†. Then in 1788 who wrote † Critique of Practical Reason† then he finished and perfected his work on † Critique of Judgment† (2005). Almost all of his work was attacked and criticize seriously, practically his ideas on category, or, the place of free will and determinism, and weather we are capable of processing true and corrected knowledge of eternal reality. In his life Kant wrote a number of lesser known essays on history, politics and the application of philosophy of life. When he died in 1804, he was working on an incomplete manuscript that has since been published as† Opus Postmum†. Immanuel Kant had an interesting system of beliefs. It’s based on the beliefs , that reasoning is the final authority for morality. Actions of any sort, he believed, must be done from a sense of duty dictated by reason, and no action the form for expediency for solely in obedience to the law or custom can be regarded as moral. Moral , according to Kant, is apt done for the right reasons. Kant what are you that to make a promise for wrong reason is not moral, in other words, you might as well not make the promise. You must have a duty, or, correct moral inside of you, and for your folly of lying, your actions would only give you away. Kant described in common command given by reason: the hypothetical imperative, which dictates a given course of action to reach a specific end; and the categorical imperative, which dictates a course of action that must be followed because of moral rightness and necessity. It is also stated that Kant believe it to be irrational to perform in action if the action maxim contradicted itself once made into a universal law of nature (2013). In other words, before you act, you must decide what rules would be following if you were to act, whether you would are willing for rules to be followed by everyone. If you are willing to universalize the act, it must be moral; its not, then the act become morallyimpermissible. Kant police not the welfare of each individual should probably be regarded as in and itself, as stated in † Formula of the End† (2013) in itself: act in such a way that you always treating humanely weather in your own person or in the person of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. Kant believed that the moral rules are without exception. Therefore, it is wrong to kill all situations even the case of self defense. This thought comes from the Universal Law Theory (2010). Since we never wanted to in order to become a universal law then it must be a moral in all situations. For what Kant’ s describe in his rules of absolut Killing, according to Kant, could never made universal law, therefore it is wrong and each in every situation. There are never any extentuating circumstance, such as self defense. Is out current laws were left to Kant , people would be prosecuted for everything since there is no extentuating circumstances. Kant cateorical imperative is a tri-dynamic statement of philosophical thought: (1) Actso that the maximum of your will always hold, at the same time as principles is stablished universal law. (2) Acts so as to treat everything with the upmost humanity, including your own person as well as everyone else, and always as an end but never as a mean. (3) Act according to maxim as a universal legislative member of a mere potential Kingdom of ends (2010). In other words Kant’ s argument that particular actions require constant thoughts for roll covering it, that the rule is acceptable for universal action should be adopted, its not, then it should be rejected. In order to understand whether or not actions follow Kant’ s category imperative, we must prescribe post normal what we wish to be universal laws. The norms that create to value judgement are based on issues involving justice between a few people or groups or nation. He further states that thought his cognitive development of peaceful interaction of building of Republic, we can create a community as natural result of unimpeded development of human facilities (1997). Kant states that because we must believe in all the things develop to the fullest capacity, then we could the theorize that, in summary, through congnitive processes we can create community, based on moral (ethical) action towards every person, thereby creating universal ethic throughout the community. Refrence Immanuel Kant . (2013). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from World Wide Web. http://www. Britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/311398/Immanuel-Kant Immanuel Kant -Biography. (1997). In The Eurpean Graduate School. Retrieved September 30, 2013 from Immanuel Kant (2013, August 5). New World Encyclopedia,. Retrieved 00:44, September 30, 2013 From http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/p/index. php? title=Immanuel_Kant&oldid=972023 Immanuel Kant -Biography. (1997). In The Eurpean Graduate School. Retrieved September 30, 2013 from http://www. egs. edu/library/immanuel-kant/biography/. Immanuel Kant (2013, August 5). New World Encyclopedic, . Retrieved 00:44 September 30, 2013 From http://newworldencyclopedia. org/P/index. php? title=Immanuel_Kant&oldid=972023 McCormick, M. (2005). Immanuel Kant: Metaphysics. In Internet Encyclopedic of Philosophy (April 17, 2001 ed. ) Retrieved September 30, 2013 from http://www. iep. utm. edu/Kantmeta/ Rolf, Micheal. † Immanuel Kant. † The Standford Encyclopedic of Philosophy. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Fall 2010 ed. 2010. Stanford University. Web 30 Sept. 2013. References.

Bioethical Principles in Medical Science Essays

Bioethical Principles in Medical Science Essays Bioethical Principles in Medical Science Essay Bioethical Principles in Medical Science Essay The principlist attack to biomedical moralss is understood on the footing of two cardinal theses. The first thesis is that moral rules are non-absolute and that they do non happen in a determinate order of precedency. This means that every individual rule is leading facie. These leading facie rules are ; beneficence. regard for liberty. non-maleficence and justness. The 2nd cardinal thesis. normally called the planetary pertinence thesis. postulates that the four Prima facie rules derived from common morality make principlism universally applicable. Analysis of ethical inquiries based on the biomedical rules of moralss is cardinal to moral concluding piece at the same clip respects exigencies of circumstance and liberates pluralism ( Beauchamp A ; Childress 14 ; Herissone-Kelly 65 ) . Since this application of ethical rules is sensitive to moral beliefs encountered in mundane lives. it forms the footing of moralss in biomedical pattern. It acts as a usher to action even though the four rules do non run in a determinate order of precedency. In trying to spot the moralss of doctor assisted suicide one cardinal inquiry comes into head. Is assisted suicide morally justified? In a nutshell. assisted self-destruction or more specifically. doctor assisted self-destruction. refers to a instance where the patient has ended his life either with a deadly dosage or any other medically provided instrument after the patient requested for the deadly dose from the doctor who provided the dose for the specific ground of stoping the life. The difference between mercy killing and assisted self-destruction is that in the instance of mercy killing. it is the doctor who administers the lethal dosage or retreat the life support system because the patient in inquiry is unable to administrate the same to him/herself. Thus. the difference lies in the difference in who makes the action that precedes decease. In aided self-destruction. it is the patient who acts last. The pick of taking the deadly dose or forcing the button that will end life entirely rests with the patient and they have the capacity to change their determination before their actions become irreversible. Even though the doctor plays a causal function in both ; the patient kills him/herself in assisted self-destruction while in the latter. it is the doctor who kills the patient. This difference creates an intrinsic moral difference between the two. This brings into inquiry the rule of regard for liberty. The moral rule of regard for liberty refers to a patient’s freedom of autonomy or pick involvements. However. it should non be confused with an all-for-nothing phenomenon. Gradations of liberty and its reading in different fortunes are variable. A patient’s liberty can be interfered with when there is inordinate control ( excessively much intervention with the patient’s determinations ) or when there is excessively small intervention ( disregard of the patient ) . Respect for an individual’s liberty is besides threatened in instances where an individual’s right contravenes another individual’s freedom of pick and their actions ( Brent 40 ) . With regard to assisted self-destruction. the patient in inquiry holding satisfied the makings of doing an informed consent can bespeak the causal aid of the doctor to transport out actions that straight lead to their decease. In such a instance. professional codifications of moralss bind doctors to esteem the patient’s rights to self finding by unobstructing the conditions for the operation of an independent action such as: intentionality. apprehension. and the complete absence of any controlling influence. In a state of affairs where all these conditions are met and the doctor dutifully performs their causal functions. doctor assisted self-destruction is ethically right. This is so because so long as the patient’s rights are supported it automatically follows that ethical permissibility of aided self-destruction is besides granted ( Weir 89 ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. deathreference. com/ ) . In instances whether the patient is enduring from a treatable clinical depression or dementedness which impair the determination doing capacity of the patient. the right to self finding do non use ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www. inclusiondaily. com/ ) . The moral rule of Non maleficence clasp that a individual should non make injury. It specifically holds that one should hold the capacity to spot actions that are morally harmful. However. there is contention as finding the purpose behind an action. At the same clip. finding whether an knowing or unwilled action choruss from action injuries or puts the topic at a hazard of injury. The moral rule of beneficence entails the undermentioned duties: to forestall injury. to extinguish injury. and to make good. These three conditions characterize the steps taken by medical practicians to equilibrate the constituents of hazards. injuries and benefits. Beneficence therefore encompasses professional. personal and social duties ( Brent 41 ) . The rule of beneficence mostly builds on the foundational rule of non maleficence. In this instance assisted self-destruction is ethically allowable on the footing of an individual’s good being. It can be argued that in such a instance. to advancing and protecting the patients good being may be contradictory to the patient’s right to self finding. However. this is non so. Life is frequently is perceived as being good and its value is a merchandise of our chase of goods within life itself. In an aided self-destruction scenario. a individual who is to the full competent to make a determination decides that life prolonging interventions no longer has any benefit but has become a load. Most of these patients are frequently critically ill. deceasing or in a really adynamic and badly compromised province. If such patients request the agencies to stop their lives. it is in line with non maleficence or beneficence because such an act is value to the patient’s life. Unless if the patient is unable to make a competent determination and the dictatorial authorization transferred to a alternate. the right of self finding bases and is non in contradiction to the rules of non maleficence and maleficence ( Weir 90 ) . Furthermore. such a determination is merely ethical if it does non conflict on the moral and professional values of the doctor. Additionally. assisted self-destruction is an act of compassion that eliminates farther agony and hurting. Refusal to allow the patient their claim or entitlement is kindred to seting them to intolerable agony. Finally. the moral rule of justness merely refers to fairness. It is the act of having one’s due ; entitlement or claim. Distributive justness concerns itself with how reasonably benefits can be allocated and distributed. Basically. four considerations guide moral justness. For case. an equal portion. harmonizing to a individuals demand. harmonizing to a person’s attempt. and in conclusion. harmonizing to social part ( Brent 42 ) . Physician assisted self-destruction is supported by the moral rule of justness in the context of treat like instances alike ( hypertext transfer protocol: //depts. Washington. edu/ ) . When competent but terminally sick patients request deadly dose medicines or decline life prolonging interventions with the exclusive intent of rushing decease. it is merely merely that they should be granted their claim. However. these statements are merely suited when the moralss of aided self-destruction is analyzed on a footing of the biomedical ethical rules. BBC News. Assisted suicide danger’ claim. April 20. 2009. hypertext transfer protocol: //news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8008736. short-term memory Beauchamp. Tom L. A ; Childress. James F. Principles of biomedical moralss. Oxford University Press. 2001 ; 1-23 Brent. Nancy J. Nurses and the jurisprudence: a usher to rules and applications. 2nd Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences. 2000 ; 40-47 Reynolds. Dave. Assisted Suicide’s For Mental Illness. Too. Swiss Court Rules. Euthanasia. Assisted Suicide. Eugenicss. Bioethicss. Inclusion Daily Express. February 5. 2007. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. inclusiondaily. com/archives/07/02/05/020507sweuth. htm Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Bioethics. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. deathreference. com/A-Bi/Bioethics. html Harrison-Kelly. Peter. The Principlist attack to bioethics. and its stormy journey overseas. in. Scratching the surface of bioethics . By Matti Hayry. Tuija Takala. Rodopi Press. 2003 ; 65-72 Physician-Assisted Suicide. Ethical motives in Medicine. University of Washington School of Medicine. hypertext transfer protocol: //depts. Washington. edu/bioethx/topics/pas. html Weir. Robert F. Physician-assisted self-destruction. Indiana University Press. 1997 ; 86-97

Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essays

Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essays Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essay Using Teams at the Engineered Materials Business Unit Essay Essay Amalgamate Products is a multibillion-dollar company headquartered in Atlanta. Georgia. which specializes in a big choice of merchandises and services. It is a planetary company with many locations around the universe. The company consists of a really little staff. and its organisational construction is really decentralised. with each concern unit held accountable for its ain P A ; L. In the early 1980’s the corporation began its scheme of geting several new companies. In 1999. Consolidated Products purchased a concern unit. Engineered Materials. from Andreas Manufacturing. Engineered Materials was the smallest of the five companies that were portion of the Consolidated Products acquisitions during the last two decennaries. Amalgamate Products recognized the differences in the company and its new acquisition from the beginning and understood that challenges would ensue in the integrating procedure. Engineered Materials brought along its civilization from Andreas Manufacturing. which was an old school manner of thought and rigorous hierarchal organisational construction. Over the past few old ages. it has focused its attempts on seeking to alter and incorporate the civilization of Engineered Materials in order to suit into the entrepreneurial manner of the overall company. Unfortunately. its attempts were non successful. In 2003. the company’s gross revenues consequences had decreased by eight per centum. while many of its rivals had gained over five per centum. Effective leading and cross-functional squads are ever of import factors within a company to derive success. An effectual leader is critical when it comes to running a company. It is highly of import for an effectual squad leader to possess great communicating accomplishments to be able to pull off several employees or squad members. Besides. a team leader must demo assurance when taking determination and giving out orders to his or her employees. Others look up to person that is confident and that provides the motive to act upon each and everyone one of its staff members to endeavor for success. At the same clip. a team leader should ever be respectful to others and ever cognize when to take the incrimination when something goes incorrect. Even though there is a strong relationship between leading and cross-functional squad leaders. leading it is non the lone of import feature in a cross-functional squad. A cross-functional squad leader must be able to put ends and aims for squad members to carry through. Since employees from different sections of a company are acquiring together to work as a group. it is highly of import for a squad leader to construct upper direction sponsorship and support. to be able to supply all the resources necessary for the squad. Besides. by adding positive squad kineticss with clear and broad communicating. a cross-functional squad leader can be able to accomplish the team’s ends. All these features of leading and cross-functional squad leaders will assist work out the issues in Amalgamate Products. Issues such as employees non being committed to their assignment. or non understanding squad ends. will no longer be a battle within the organisation. Therefore. Amalgamate Products can go even more successful and go on to turn as a company. In any cross-functional squad it is of import to be able to hold the right resources available at all times in orde r to be successful. doing certain that everything is in topographic point before a squad starts working together. Therefore. sing resources and logistics plays an of import function when it comes to a cross-functional squad. Some of the inquiries that cross-functional squad leaders should reply before piecing a group together are: Do you need dedicated squad infinite? Does the squad necessitate a budget? Does the squad member have entree to all the information from the different sections involved? Is a shared country needed for hive awaying information? These are some of the of import issues that can impact the effectivity of a team’s public presentation. By doing certain that upper direction is back uping and patronizing the team’s activities. a cross-functional squad leader would be able to supply the resources necessary to be able to public presentation successfully as a squad. When a company purchases a new division. it is of import that they provide change direction in order to do the passage go swimmingly. In this instance. the new Engineered Materials division is holding som e issues with the new squad based direction manner. One manner to assist passage this division is to supply preparation to the employees. First. you would desire to interview the employees and roll up informations on precisely why they are holding jobs within their squads. We would so desire to take analyze the information and understand which ailments can be fixed by direction. and which ailments are due to the deficiency of preparation in the squads. We would so take all of the factors that can be influenced by preparation and interrupt them up into classs. When analysing the instance. we decided that there are many countries that should be explained better and need extra preparation in order to hold an influence on the squad members. The first measure in the preparation procedure that we decided on would be implementing a wages system that would incentivize the members so that they will non hold the feeling that it is non in their occupation description. They should informed that the squad procedure is portion of their occupation a nd that they will each be held accountable for public presentation. Management besides should put up squad edifice exercisings for each squad. The squads do non cognize each other really good and hence they do non hold assurance in the other members. If the squads were to be involved in exercisings that help to construct relationships among them. so the members would work better together. The squads should be advised on what the ends are for them. Then the direction should include the benefits to accomplishing these ends. The squad members will respond otherwise if they are introduced to benefits that are individualized and non merely company benefits. There should be a scheduled clip for the squads to run into. and the squad public presentation should be evaluated. Management should hold a meeting that every squad member is required to go to. During this meeting. they should discourse the benefits to holding a squad based direction system. Management should besides portion positive experiences that other companies have had that would assist act upon the importance of the construct. During this meeting. companywide ends should be discussed. All employees are funny about what they are working towards in every section. It helps to supply an overview of the vision and what they are endeavoring towards. Whenever squads meet their ends. they should be announced throughout the whole company. Each member of the squad should be given acknowledgment. Last. the direction needs to be cognizant of what the squads need to be successful and should supply them back up to promote them to work difficult towards the ends. Our confer withing squad has decided that if the Consolidated direction follows our suggestions and gathers a farther apprehension of what it takes to construct and keep the squads. they should hold a successful execution of the squads. As we have stated. the company needs to work on doing the members understand the importance of the squad determinations. and they should besides supply them extended preparation. The squad leaders should be provided specific developing on how to take a group successfully. The squad leader must hold full committedness towards the squad. and must work with the members to come up with the best thoughts. Developing a squad typically goes through four phases. The squad goes through organizing. ramping. norming. and executing. The Engineered Materials division is presently in the storming phase. Once equal preparation and apprehension is provided. the company will travel onto the following phase. Transfering a concern from a hierarchal direction manner to a squad based manner is non easy. and takes clip. Plants Citedâ€Å"Setting up a Cross-Functional Team. † – Team Management Skills from MindTools. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Managing Cross-Functional Teams. † – Team Management Training from MindTools. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Bruce Tuckman: Forming Ramping Norming Performing Team Development. † Businessballs. com. N. p. . n. d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. .

Using the Latin Intensive Pronoun Ipse (Self)

Using the Latin Intensive Pronoun ''Ipse'' (''Self'') When learning Latin, intensive pronouns function much as they do in English, intensifying the action or the noun they modify. For example, in English, we might say, The experts themselves say so. The intensive pronoun themselves  intensifies the noun experts, with the implication that if the emphasized experts say so, it must be correct. The intensive pronoun in the following Latin sentence,  Antonius  ipse  me laudavit,  means Anthony himself praised me. In both Latin ipse and English himself, the pronoun intensifies or emphasizes the noun. Ipso Facto The expression ipso facto is the best-known remnant in English of the Latin intensive pronoun. In Latin,  ipso  is masculine and in agreement with facto. Its in the ablative case (ablative indicates that a thing or person is being used as an instrument or tool by another and is translated as by or by means of). Thus ipso facto means by that very fact or act; as an inevitable result. A Few Rules There are a few generalizations we can make about Latin intensive pronouns: They intensify (thus, their name) the function or the noun they modify.Latin intensive pronouns  typically translate as the English -self pronouns: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself in the singular and ourselves, yourselves and themselves in the plural.  But they  can also translate in English as the very... as in  femina ipsa...  (the very woman as an alternative to the woman herself).Latin intensive pronouns double as adjectives  and take the same form when doing so.   Intensive vs. Reflexive Intensive pronouns are often confused with Latin reflexive pronouns, but the two types of pronouns  have different functions. Latin reflexive pronouns  and adjectives (suus, sua, suum) show possession and translate as his or her own, its own, and their own. The reflexive pronoun must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case, and the pronoun always refers back to the subject. Intensives emphasize other words besides the subject. This means that reflexive pronouns can never be nominative. Intensive pronouns, on the other hand, do not indicate possession. They intensify and they can be any case, including nominative. For example: Intensive pronoun:  Praefectus honores civibus ipsis dedit.  (The prefect bestowed/gave honors on/to the citizens themselves.)Reflexive pronoun:  Praefectus honores sibi dedit.  (The prefect bestowed/gave honors on/to himself.) Declension of Latin Intensive Pronouns   Singular (by case and gender: masculine, feminine, neuter) Nominative:  ipse, ipsa, ipsumGenitive:  ipsius, ipsius, ipsiusDative:  ipsi, ipsi, ipsiAccusative:  ipsum, ipsam, ipsumAblative:  ipso, ipsa, ipso Plural (by case and gender: masculine, feminine, neuter) Nominative: ipsi, ipsae, ipsaGenitive: ipsorum, ipsarum, ipsorumDative: ipsis, ipsis, ipsisAccusative: ipsos, ipsas, ipsaAblative: ipsis, ipsis, ipsis

Political and Economic Risk for Brasil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Political and Economic Risk for Brasil - Essay Example In regards to economic changes they are considered extremely risky, as stated in MarketWatch.com "Brazil has been a rollercoaster for investors lately. President Luis Inacio da Silva's government is embroiled in a corruption scandal, with accusations of accepting bribes in exchange for legislative support" (Kollmeyer 2). Luiz Incio Lula da Silva was elected to the position of President in 2002. After being elected Lula changed many of his initial plans regarding retirement, tributary and labor. These changes did not go over smoothly with some members of his cabinet and caused further tension. The President believes one the main problems citizens in Brazil face is hunger and has devised a plan to disperse money to underprivileged citizens. Although this act was positive many citizens believed that this was not the most important issue that Lula could have spent money on. One of the most publicized scandals in Brazil occurred when Brazilian Labor Party member Roberto Jefferson admitted he gave bribes to promote the presidential campaign (Wikipedia). According to the BBC news, "based on a survey of 78 firms conducted in 2003, found that just over half had been asked for bribes by officials responsible for tax collection." The survey also found that more than two-thirds of the firms admitted spending up to 3% of their annual revenues on bribing officialdom, the rest spent more than that. This problem is partially because the Brazilian bureaucracy has always encouraged a flexible guideline to the rules (Plummer). Although the president's ratings did falter for a bit, they are now up again and he is projected to be able to win the upcoming election. According to the Political Risk Yearbook Lula has taken great steps to enforce social growth but at the same time will be hurt as he tries to maintain policies for foreign investment. PRY also feels that Lula has intentionally stalled some major problems like debt and that will come full circle when elections come around as other candidates will be able to highlight these weaknesses. With stalling these economic issues, it makes foreign traders weary to invest and will cause growth rates to be lower than expected. Although the trade surplus was healthy in the past years the import prices have risen and therefore caused a deflation in the export growth. This will cause a deficit over the year and by 2009 the deficit is expected to reach 3.3 billion dollars (Political Risk Yearbook 4). In addition to the many problems the president will face come election time, there is an inflation problem that is still prevalent in Brazil. In 2003 Brazil had a 13 percent inflation rate which is the fourth highest in South America (Political Risk Yearbook 8). In reaction to Lula's actions people have reacted and lashed out against their President. When the President promised to settle families on non-productive land and didn't follow through workers began to "squat" or refuse to leave the land and work to produce goods for their country. Although many of the "squatters" were non- violent they made a stand that affected the

Principles of Accounting-- ratio analysis Essay

Principles of Accounting-- ratio analysis - Essay Example This report provides the financial analysis of e-Generation. Financial ratios will be used as the main approach of financial analysis. Horizontal analysis will also be provided to compare the financial performance of the business in different periods. The calculations will be provided based on the software generated financial information for the business. Although the ratios will be provided for the month of January, comparison will be made between the results at the end of January and the results on 10th of January. This analysis will be important in understanding and evaluating the performance of the business in order to acquire information necessary for decision making by stakeholders. There was higher profit margin in period 2 than period 1. The profit margin foe e-Generation for period is 10.61%. This means that for every unit of sales the company makes 0.1061 profits (Sutton, 2004). This means that the company is making positive profit. This reflects a decrease from the profit margin of period 3 which was 13.38%. Therefore, the company controlled its expenses in period 3 better than period 4. The company did not control its expenses consistently throughout the moth because profit margin ratio fluctuated. Period 2’s gross profit margin was lower than period 1’s. The gross profit for period 4 was 26.3% meaning that the company made a gross profit of 0.263 for every unit of sales. This is a good performance and an increase from period 3. This means that the business managed its cost of sales in period 4 more than period 3. The return on assets ratio was 4.08% in period 4 which means that for every single unit of asset the business earns a profit of 0.0408. In period 3, the business record ROA of 3.7% which means that the company earned more profits for every unit of assets in period 4 compared to the period 3. In period 1 ROE was low compared to period 2. The ROE at period 4 is 12.06% which indicates that the company made a profit

E- Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E- Commerce - Essay Example Many people call this as the knowledge revolution, characterized by an international data highway that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has been far too long since people have acknowledged that the wired or networked world is revolutionizing business. This phenomenon has paved the way for organizations to better communicate with their market and all the stakeholders involved in the production and selling of goods and services. In a nutshell, companies use technology and electronic mediation not just to reach out to its consumers and suppliers but also to automate back-office tasks and industrial operations while pushing ahead with research and development. eCommerce eCommerce or eBusiness is the most prominent consequence of electronic mediation in business. Here, individuals and organizations can sell and/or purchase goods and services through the Internet. The standard definition for eCommerce has been put forward by the US Census Bureau , which defined eCommerce as â₠¬Å"any transaction completed over a computer-mediated network that involves the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services.† (Storz 2007, p. 126) The Internet, however, is not the only channel by which eCommerce can operate. For instance, transactions can be made through different communication and technological channels such as the phone. Nonetheless, the Internet dominates the electronic commerce today. It was created thanks to the personal computer (PC), telecommunications, business software, as well as the advances in office technology industries. (Shi, p. 25) What ecommerce did for companies is to tear down the traditional bricks and mortar business models and imposing its own brand that features increased performance, speed and cost efficiency. In addition, according to Kellerman (2002), â€Å"globalization is quite unique to eCommerce, permitting the creation of global market areas for many products and services,† and that its â€Å"attribute is â €Å"intelligence, whereby eCommerce is aided by sophisticated information tool, such as databases, search engine and the like.† (p. 128) There are fundamentally two classifications by which eCommerce operates: B2B eCommerce and B2C eCommerce. The transactions that are electronically mediated between enterprises are called business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce, while electronically selling goods and services by a company to its consumers is called as business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce. Together they manifest the best possible benefits that a company could reap out of communication and technology. Business to Business With regards to the organization, electronic mediation poses several benefits and opportunities. The most important of these is cost efficiency, productivity and convenience. In the past, for instance, a company would follow the traditional method of procurement, which entails numerous work and human resource in order for products to be bought and sent to the buy er. The consumer would order through a thick and burdensome catalog and would be punished by having to browse each and every page that could rival the number of pages of the telephone directory. After, making the selection, he would then have to phone the selling party, be given several forms to fill, fax his information and proceed with the buy and sell process. This setup can be extremely be aggravated when products and serv

Choose a business firm and discuss What can you say about the firm Term Paper

Choose a business firm and discuss What can you say about the firm from society's perspective - Term Paper Example Nike is considered amongst the top companies that have strong social listening amongst its customers. There is an impression created in the mind of each consumer that the company listens to its customers while developing a product. The product is very much similar to the desired needs of customers which is why the product is appealed more to customers. Social listening and customer advocacy are the important tool for Nike to earn greater profits throughout the different economies of the world. This has led in the development of new designs in the category of shoes and has led to create an option of iPhone application which became a huge success for the company (Nike Inc, 2011). Nike is very considerate about the community work and focuses in participating towards helping the society to be a better place for humans. They have many objectives regarding social responsibility and are particularly concerned about achieving every one of them. Nike has a plan to reduce the emission of carbo n dioxide from the environment by 20% until the very end of the year 2015 (Nike Inc, 2013). The objective was taken as a step to avoid further global warming around the world. ... Nike has a stance that serving the community and performing social corporate responsibility can earn a company huge profits and increases the financial performance of the company. It helps in changing the perception of customers while purchasing their product (Nike Inc, 2009). It becomes highly preferential for a customer to purchase the particular product whose parent company is so willing to serve their community. The idea has developed its image throughout the world, and has provided the company an edge over its competitors. The goodwill of the company is also maintained in the eyes of customers because they are emotionally attached towards buying the company’s products (Nike Inc, 2009). Although the company has some bright perspectives but it is also a reason to contribute towards child labor in different parts of the world. Nike has suppliers all over the world which supplies Nike products according to their guidelines and standards. However, most suppliers employ child s o they could pay less to them and earn even more. The idea affected the reputation of Nike when people got aware of its conduct. The company denied the charges and blamed suppliers for not adhering to their guidelines. However, Nike developed a thorough supplier guidelines and code of conduct in order to manage their work overseas (Nike Inc, 2009). Nike has a positive approach in evaluating the performance of each employee by looking at their contribution in the company. The company monitors individual performance through the use of HR department. As to avoid employee discrimination, the company has created a concept of a drop box. An employee can make complains about the system and the management or being discriminated in a

Mapping Your Conflicts Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mapping Your Conflicts Project - Essay Example In â€Å"Eye to Eye† the conflict is a pretty typical and unavoidable part of living together. The dynamics are that of jumping to conclusions, indirect communication, a lack of listening skills, and partial avoidance. Past fears, future implications, and present attitudes are part of the problem, and â€Å"holes† in the couple's communication styles back end the conversation. Their mutually restrictive behavior patterns will eventually cause the conflict to escalate. Keywords: conflict resolution, Hocker-Wilmot, conflict assessment, arguments and misunderstandings, conflict management Conflict Resolution – Seeing Eye to Eye Nature of Conflict The triggering incident of â€Å"Eye to Eye† has a history. On a particular morning, a newly married couple is deciding how to spend their day. She exhibits excitement about spending the day with her husband, but he seems preoccupied. The first dynamic happens when she relinquishes power by giving in when he says â⠂¬Å"let's see how the day goes first.† Her attention turns to the immediate need—household chores. She mentions it, awaits a response, but does not get it. In her mind, the lack of response means that their marriage is headed in the same direction as her parents, whom she says had plenty of 'loud discussions' over house work.

Romantic Literacture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Romantic Literacture - Essay Example Romantics whether poets or painters, whatever the artist’s inclination was during the Romantic era; pursued their passions with the aim of stirring people’s emotions. Feelings are among the foci of Romanticism and they achieved this with the use of everyday circumstances that most of the people could relate to. For Coleridge and Wordsworth, perhaps one of their ideals was that literary works are worthless when they are not understood by their audiences and that they desired to touch the common people who were unable to appreciate poetry because of their social status. Before the Romantic era, poetry was for the rich, they were written for and by those who had the advantage of being educated and have the luxury of time so that the time of the two most prominent poets attracted ordinary people and actually started the birth of poetry in them. The subject matters during this period were about common events that ordinary people live, based from observations and experiences so that it purposefully allows the reader or listener to the poems or other literary works to be able to understand and ‘feel’ what the poem is all about. ... people observed by poets but also about those who lived around them, acquaintances and loved ones as well and other observations like Youth and Age which talk about the suggested topic. Other subject matters in this era is about feelings which are exemplified by the works of Coleridge like ‘Desire’, ‘Love a Poem’, The Presence of Love’ and ‘Dejection’ to name a few. Another important subject of the romantics is nature. One of the things that naturally stir up man’s emotions is nature whether beautiful or not, a good thing or a disastrous one, romanticism does not just focus on the good things but delves in the facts of life. This is one good argumentative point on the comment of Wu, as we look back to it saying the word romantic during the time of Coleridge and Wordsworth is fanciful. If it were, then the life they had then that was pictured in their poems was fanciful? In addition, those who live life with passion, emotions and as observed during those times, would then called fanciful as well? Probably, to understand more deeply the hearts of the Romantic poets, an individual has to put himself in that situation for him to be able to understand the reality of the situation before making comments that may degrade people who worked hard to establish their names. ‘Light’ is a word that shows how Wu has taken lightly the hard works of Romantic poets. It could have been hard work for them to have observed and meditated about the circumstances and events they wanted to write about so that it would entirely be insensitive for Wu to have referred to their works as ‘light’. Light for me is evasive which when we look into the Romantic literary works will not be evidenced by even one of them as the poets stuck to the objective of the era, that is to

Mapping Your Conflicts Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mapping Your Conflicts Project - Essay Example In â€Å"Eye to Eye† the conflict is a pretty typical and unavoidable part of living together. The dynamics are that of jumping to conclusions, indirect communication, a lack of listening skills, and partial avoidance. Past fears, future implications, and present attitudes are part of the problem, and â€Å"holes† in the couple's communication styles back end the conversation. Their mutually restrictive behavior patterns will eventually cause the conflict to escalate. Keywords: conflict resolution, Hocker-Wilmot, conflict assessment, arguments and misunderstandings, conflict management Conflict Resolution – Seeing Eye to Eye Nature of Conflict The triggering incident of â€Å"Eye to Eye† has a history. On a particular morning, a newly married couple is deciding how to spend their day. She exhibits excitement about spending the day with her husband, but he seems preoccupied. The first dynamic happens when she relinquishes power by giving in when he says â⠂¬Å"let's see how the day goes first.† Her attention turns to the immediate need—household chores. She mentions it, awaits a response, but does not get it. In her mind, the lack of response means that their marriage is headed in the same direction as her parents, whom she says had plenty of 'loud discussions' over house work.

Investment theory and property diversification Essay

Investment theory and property diversification - Essay Example The purpose of having all four-asset classes represented in your portfolio is to take advantage of the different strengths of each class. However, stocks are grouped together because they would, as a group, react more alike than any of the other three classes. The same thing is true for the other three classes. Many people use Real Estate Investment Trusts and other liquid investments to satisfy the real estate leg of the asset class tool. The term investment closely relates the meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. People usually purchase an asset or equivalently a deposit is made in a bank, in the expectation of getting a future return or interest from it. An investor distributes his investments among various classes of investment vehicles (e.g., stocks and bonds) I order to capitulate the cycle of market potentiality. When a portfolio has an active risk, then, we treat it as the annualized standard deviation of the mont hly difference between portfolio return and benchmark return. Thus, an active risk of x per cent would mean that approximately 2/3rd of the portfolio's returns (one standard deviation from mean) can be expected to fall between +x and -x per cent of the mean excess return. It may be calculated as a realized or ex post number or as a forward, ex ante, or predicted, number (usually based on a multifactor model defining the co-variance relationships between each pair of securities in the current portfolio). In case of national investment, the theory goes one-step ahead to merge into diversified areas of productivity. CLASSIFICATION OF ASSETS: THE OBJECTIVITY The best-performing asset varies from year to year and is not easily predictable to calculate the returns in a market movement. Therefore having a mixture of asset classes is more likely to meet our goals. A more fundamental justification for asset allocation is the notion that different asset classes offer non-correlated returns, hence, diversification reduces the overall risk in terms of the variability of returns for a given level of expected return. Academic research has painstakingly explained the importance of asset allocation, and the problems of active management. This explains the steadily rising popularity of passive investment styles using index funds; cash via money market accounts for instance. Bonds procure high yield in government or corporate; short-term, intermediate, long-term; domestic, foreign, emerging markets. Similarly, stocks add value with large-cap versus small-cap; domestic, foreign, emerging markets in case of real estate. Economists refer to a real invest ment such as a machine or a house, while financial economists refer to a financial asset, such as money that is put into a bank or the market, which may then be used to buy a real asset. In real estate, investment is money used to purchase property for the sole purpose of holding or leasing for income and where there is an element of capital risk. Many investors and analysts try to identify whether a market or security is in a profit or loss phase to generate trading strategies to exploit

The Transtheoretical Model Of Health Behaviour

The Transtheoretical Model Of Health Behaviour A Critical evaluation of the Transtheoretical model of health behaviour change in light of my own experience of exercise behaviour change. â€Å"Morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies is due, in part, to individual patterns of behaviour† (Bridle 2004). Individuals contribute to their own health by avoiding health damaging behaviours such as smoking, and by adopting health enhancing behaviours such as exercise or healthy eating. There are many heath interventions in place to help people make positive lifestyle changes, and these interventions are commonly based on stage theories/models of behaviour change, providing a diagrammatic approach and a framework for research, in order to understand, predict and ultimately change behaviour (Bridle 2004 pg284). Behaviour change is seen as a dynamic process involving movement through a sequence of discrete qualitatively distinct stages, and commonly stage based interventions are more effective then non-stage based interventions (Adams and White 2005). However, recent research into the effectiveness of stage based models suggests that despite the widespread popu larity in both practice and research, more caution is necessary (see Bridle et al 2004 for a review). For the purpose of this project I chose to adopt a healthier lifestyle by increasing the amount of exercise that I did each week. The benefits of exercise are well documented (Department of health 2004) and for the purpose of this study I set a target of exercising three times a week (this is around three times as much as I previously exercised) and I did this for a six week period. I began by jogging for as long as I could manage three times a week, but after the first two weeks I realised that I was lacking motivation, so instead I joined the gym, and continued my regime with the better facilities provided at the gym and monitored my progress in the form of a diary. In the forthcoming essay I will evaluate my experience in light of models of health behaviour change, but more specifically the Transactional model of health behaviour. There is no overall consensus regarding which is the best model of behaviour change but The Transtheoretical model (TTM) (Prochaska DiClemente, 1983; (also known as stages of change model) Prochaska, DiClemente Norcross, 1992)) is commonly considered the dominant model of behaviour change in health Psychology (Norman et al 2000). The TTM of health behaviour suggests that behaviour change is not a continuous process but something that occurs through a series of qualitatively different stages (Bridle et al pg284). It suggests a total of five stages that people go through when experiencing a behaviour change and in addition to these five stages, ten social and psychological aspects of health behaviour and different self-change strategies, the so-called ‘processes of change, that are involved in the movement between different stages (Prochaska et al 1997). Different stages are associated with different beliefs such as the assessment of the ‘pros and ‘cons of the behav iour and self-confidence in ability to change the behaviour. Prochaska et al (1997) argue that interventions to promote change should be designed so that they are appropriate to an individuals current stage and moving an individual from one stage to another using the TTM will eventually lead the person to achieve the ‘maintenance whereby long term change is achieved. The Transtheoretical model provided me with a great insight into my motivational behaviour and the factors that affected my motivation within each stage. For example, the transition between ‘contemplation and ‘action only occurred when I re-located my exercise behaviour to the gym, as described in the TTM, I required environmental re-evaluation and consciousness raising (provided by staff at the gym) before I could move to the ‘action stage. However, motivation was a serious problem, even when I was regularly exercising (weeks 5 and 6) my motivation would fluctuate or increase on a whim, my mood was a strong motivating and de-motivating factor and often other factors such as work, money and other commitments would take priority. These factors can be placed within the ‘decisional balance when weighing up the pros and cons, for example in the third week when I had a lot of university work to do, my exercise was less important which is why I moved from ‘act ion to ‘preparation then back to ‘action, and according to the TTM other factors such as self-efficacy and situational temptations may have also had an influence on my mood and exercise behaviour. However, this was not always the case and my behaviour was not always as structured or as cognitively coherent as the TTM describes. Even with support from peers to do more exercise and no reason not to do exercise, I was still not motivated to actually do it, suggesting that my behaviour did not always follow decision making rules such as the pros and cons of exercise behaviour that TTM proposes. West et al (2005) provides commentary on this by suggesting that by focussing on conscious decision making and planning processes draws attention away from what are known to be important underpinnings of human behaviour (West et al 2005). Even if my behaviour was accountable under the ‘processes of change it still remains that on some occasions these processes were not apparent to me, I simply did not want to do exercise and I easily fell into my old routine of no exercise. This however did lead to ‘regret which in turn motivated me. Sometimes I would chose not to do exercise and regret not doing it, then feel motivated by regret at a later date, it may be worth incorporating the Regret Theory (Bell 1982) into TTM as part if the ‘decisional balance. Another problem that I found with the TTM was that I felt that my behaviour was not always ‘stage specific and I at times I felt as though I was in both ‘pre-contemplation and ‘action stages at the same time. However as Sutton et al (1991) observed if one can be in more than one stage at once, â€Å"the concept of stages loses its meaning† (p.195). It is a bold suggestion to make when analysing a widely used model, and research into the evidence for qualitatively different stages has provided mixed outcomes. Prochaska DiClemente claim strong empirical support for the stages of change across a wide range of populations and problems (Prochaska, DiClemente, Velicer, Rossi, 1992; Prochaska Velicer, 1997; Prochaska, Velicer, et al., 1994; Velicer, Hughes, Fava, Prochaska, DiClemente, 1995; Velicer, Rossi, Prochaska, DiClemente, 1996). However a review of stages of change literature (Littell Girvin, 2002) has provided mixed results regarding the validity of t he qualitatively distinct stages. Identifying a person stage is a fundamental step in applying stage-based interventions, but few staging methods have been validated to confirm that they accurately place the individuals in the correct stage of activity change (Adams, 2005). Not only this, researchers often adapt and change existing algorithms when they are not comfortable with the existing one (Brug, 2003). Littells review provides evidence for and against SOC, from a variety of studies using factor analysis and/or cluster charts to reveal patterns of behavioural intention. The studies provided mixed results; Carey et al (1999) found that â€Å"the number of identifiable clusters is sample dependent and highly variable† and that some clusters â€Å"do not have clear correlates in the Transtheoretical Model† (p. 251), however a separate review (Davidson 1998) found â€Å"clear profiles corresponding to the predicted stages emerged with considerable consistency† ( p. 27). This mix match of results lead Littell at al to conclude; with the exception of pre-contemplation â€Å"stages do not emerge with any consistent manner, in principle components within problem behaviours, and rather then being in one stage or another clients show patterns of differential involvement in each of the stages† (Littell, 2002). This lends support to my personal experience of SOC with regards to exercise behaviour, suggesting that the distinct stages of behaviour change identified by Prochaska et al may not be as accurate as they had originally proposed and without an accurate measurement tool, stage based interventions are of limited utility. The application of stage based interventions to exercise has provided some positive results for short term behaviour change, however little research has found support for the long term benefits of stage based interventions in behaviour change. This has been a topic of much debate over recent years, and a review by Adams and White lead to three main reasons why this may be. The aforementioned problems with validated staging algorithms are noted in Adams et als research, but also the complexity of physical activity, and the possibility that the real determinants of activity change are not included in the Transtheoretical model. Adams et al suggest that the exercise behaviour is not a single behaviour but actually a complex set of behaviour patterns. By reducing exercise behaviour down to one single entity interventions are failing to measure a whole behaviour, rather a part of a behaviour. Marttila et al, for example, identified five different categories of physical activity (occupatio nal activities, fitness activities, life style activities, commuting activities, and sports activities), and peoples pros cons and self efficacy beliefs were different for each behaviour. In my case, I had pros associated with going to the gym during my behaviour change but I did not have pros associated with walking to work every day (occupational activities), or going dancing through the night (life style activities), these behaviours do however constitute as physical activity, I was trying to increase my fitness activities and not taking into account any occupational or life style activities. Unlike smoking or substance use, exercise behaviour is multi-faceted and by failing to recognise this, investigators may be failing to recognise the true complexity and specificity of interventions required to promote activity (Adams et al), not only this, it may explain, in part the problem of validating the stages because people are falling into two groups of behaviour change for different behaviours. Adams et al also suggest that motivational factors for exercise behaviour are more complex then TTM can account for, factors such as age, gender and socioeconomic position, these factors all have an effect of our behaviour but why not behaviour change? A study by Kearney et al (1999) looked at stages of change over a nationally representative sample and found that TTM was effective in identifying stage and attitudes towards exercise behaviour but there was considerable ‘intercountry and ‘sociodemographic variation in the distribution of stages of change. They concluded by suggesting that targeted programmes aimed at specific subgroups might be more effective in promoting physical activity. From this brief introduction to TTM research, and in light of my own behaviour change it would appear that TTM and other stage based interventions targeting exercise behaviour have a long way to go before they can significantly aid long-term behaviour change. I believe that the TTM provided me with a good insight into motivational elements my own behaviour change, however, in my opinion the spontaneous nature of my desire to/not to take part in physical activity did not always fall into the features described in the ‘processes of change or ‘decisional balance. My experience showed that consciousness raising and environmental evaluation had a part to play in stage movement, which allowed for a successful short term behaviour change, but I am not convinced that my behaviour was always stage specific. As mentioned by Bandura ‘human functioning is simply too multifaceted and multi-determined to be categorized into a few discrete stages (Bandura, 1997 pg8) and research h as provided evidence to suggest that the staging process may not be validated, confirming my experience of stages of change (TTM). Possible suggestions for the future of TTM are as follows: West et al argues that interventions should revert back to the simplistic supportive role that GPs took before stage based interventions were devised, focussing on desire to change as opposed to stages (West 2005) and Littell et al (2004) argues for a feedback system whereby stage based groups are coupled with discussions about motivation to change. In my opinion, further research is needed in to tailored behaviour interventions, and/or like Littell et al suggests coupling TTM with a personalized interview suitable for long term behaviour change. References: Adams J White, M. (2005) Why dont stage based activity promotion interventions work? Health Education Research. 20. 237-243. Bandura, A. (1977). Self efficacy: Towards a unifying theory of behavioural change. Psychological review. Bell, David E. (1982). Regret in Decision Making Under Uncertainty. Operations Research, 30, 961-981. Bridle, C; Riemsma, P; Pattenden J; Sowden A J, Mather L, Watt, I S; Walker A (2004) Systematic review of the effectiveness of health behaviour interventions based on the Transtheoretical model. Psychology and health, 20(3):283-301. Brug J. (2005) The transtheoretcial model and stages of change: a critique. Observations by five commentators on the paper b y Adams, J. and White M. (2004) Why dont stage based activity promotion interventions work? Health education research theory and practice, vol.20 no.2, 244-258. Carey, K. B., Purnine, D. M., Maisto, S. A.,Carey, M. P. (1999). Assessing readiness to change substance abuse: A critical review of instruments. In Littell, J. H. Girvin H. (2002) stages of change. A critique. Behaviour modification, 26.223-273. Davidson, R. (1998). The transtheoretical model: A critical overview. InW. R. Miller N. Heather (Eds.), Treating addictive behaviors (2nd ed., pp. 25-38). New York: Plenum. Department of health. (2004) At least five a week: evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health. A report from the Chief Medical Officer. London TSO. Kearney, J., de Graaf, C., Damkjaer, S. and Engstrom, L. (1999) Stages of change towards physical activity in a nationally representative sample in the European Union. Public Health Nutrition, 2, 115-124. Littell, J. H. Girvin H. (2002) stages of change. A critique. Behaviour modification, 26.223-273. Marttila, J., Laitakari, J., Nupponen, R., Miilunpalo, S. and Paronen, O. (1998) The versatile nature of physical activity. On the psychological, behavioural and contextual characteristics of health-related physical activity. Patient Education and Counselling, 33, s29-s38. Norman P, Abraham C, Conner M (2000) Understanding and changing health behaviour from health beliefs to self regulation, Harwood academic publishers: pg73-95. Prochaska, J. DiClemente, C. 1983. Transtheoretical therapy: toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practise, 19, 276-288. Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C. (1992). Stages of change in the modification of problem behaviors. In M. Hersen, R. Eisler,P. M. Miller (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification (Vol. 28). New York: Academic Press. Prochaska, J. O., Velicer, W. F. (1997). Misinterpretations and misapplications of the transtheoretical model. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12, 11-12. Prochaska, J. O.,Velicer,W. F.,Rossi, J. S., Goldstein, M. G., Marcus, B. H., Rakowski,W., et al. (1994). Stages of change and decisional balance for 12 problem behaviors. Health Psychology,13, 39-46. Robinson, T, E Berridge, K C (2003) Addiction. Annual Review of psychology, 54, 25-53. In West R (2005) Time for a change: putting the Transtheoretical (stages of change) Model to rest. Society for the study of addiction. Sutton, S R (1996) Can ‘stages of change provide guidance in the treatment of addictions? A critical examination of Prochaska and DiClementes model. In Norman P, Abraham C, and Conner M; (2000) Understanding and changing Health behaviour p.g. 207-210 West R (2005) Time for a change: putting the Transtheoretical (stages of change) Model to rest. Society for the study of addiction.