The Philosophy of Groundhog Day Essay Example For Students

The Philosophy of Groundhog Day Essay Who said that movies couldnt be a reference for education? Yeah movies may be funny, scary, heartbreaking etc. , but they always find a way to allow us to make connections. For instance, Groundhog Day serves as a great visual interpretation of Platos teaching discussed in The Phaedo?. The main teachings that are showcases in this comedy are; recollection, opposites, indestructibility, reincarnation, and the cave. By illustrating Platos teaching in the movie, we are able to see what being human is all about. Although some may argue that Aristotle embodies the idea of what being human is all about, Groundhog Day uses more of Platos teaching that Aristotles. The first argument that Plato introduced is recollection. This argument allows us understand how to process of learning works in humans. This same concept is seen through the main character; Phil. Phil uses recollection in many ways throughout the movie. Some examples are when he asks Nancy where she went to school and who her teacher was. The following day he walks up to her and recollecting the knowledge he acquired the day before he pretends he knows her. We will write a custom essay on The Philosophy of Groundhog Day specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Another example is when day after day Phil keeps stepping into the puddle as he makes his way to the parade. On the third day he remembers that there is a puddle and just as he is about to walk into it he stops, waits for someone else to step on it, and calmly jumps over it. Now what exactly does Plato say recollection means? Recollection is most commonly a process of recovering what has been already forgotten through time and inattention ?. (Plato 12). Since Phil is constantly reliving the same he begins to remember everything that happened the day before ?. After repeating the same day over and over again it is kind of hard to forget what happened. So he begins using this to his advantage. He walks over the puddle, he remembers who Nancy was, he gets to know Rita, etc. Without interpretation it is hard to understand what Plato means through recollection. Thanks to Groundhog Day we can see how we as humans use recollection from prior experiences to make sure we dont make the same mistakes. Much like Phil did to walk over the puddle and avoid getting his foot soaked. Phil also demonstrated the argument of indestructibility very well in the movie. After repeatedly failing to pass on to February 3rd Phil becomes desperate. He looks for any way possible to get out of this curse. At his lowest point he decides to turn to suicide. Time after time Phil continues to wake up in his bed on February 2nd. How does this show indestructibility? Well in Platos argument he states, The soul is very like the divine and immortal and intellectual and uniform and incorruptible and unchangeable, while the body is very like the human and mortal and unintellectual and multiform and corruptible and changeable ? (Plato 16). Phils physical being his body changes over time. If you pay close attention you can see Phil look more and more tired as the days go by while his soul remains the same. Now one might have to disagree with this example of indestructibility and favor Aristotles philosophy. Aristotle states, separate existence is impossible ? (Aristotle 56). Aristotle states that once the body dies the soul dies as well. One could easily say that the soul and the body died together because there is no clear image of the soul living on its own after Phils various suicides. Although this counterargument is very valid as to why Plato is wrong. .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .postImageUrl , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:hover , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:visited , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:active { border:0!important; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:active , .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28 .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf58ed99d4cade84ad9977defd9f34e28:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Beowulf v. Star Wars Compare The Phaedo ?. Every time Phil attempts suicide you can say that he succeeds. We arent so sure what happened to his body when he dies and we dont know what happens to his soul. The only thing we do know is that he reincarnates back to his original body. Therefore his soul must have been alive after his suicide and before his reincarnation proving that the soul is immortal. Next, Phil at one point or another strives to be the opposite of what he was in the beginning. He went from being and arrogant, self-centered news caster to being a man for others. Now this whole opposite thing displayed in the movie somewhat manages to compare to what Plato tries to say while answering what a human is. Plato states, Are not all things generated from there opposites? ? (pg 11). According to the movie this is true; he goes from self-center and caring about himself, to caring about others. Plato also states, If generation were a straight line  ¦then you know that all things would have the same form and pass into the same state ? (pg. 12). What Plato is trying to say by this is that if there was no sort of cycle of opposites; good to bad and bad to good, then everything would either be bad or good. If everything were this way than there would be no way to learn. For example, the whole point of Phil repeating his day was for him to do the opposite he did before; to be good. If there was no opposites or if he were to have never repeated his day than he would have never learned from his mistakes and he would have continued to be bad. Thanks to this idea of opposites, we know that the whole purpose of being human is to try and turn the bad that we did the day before to good. Finally, the last connection to be made from Groundhog Day to Plato would have to be the Allegory of the Cave ?. The Allegory of the Cave ? mentions many different things. One thing that really connects to this film is when Plato says, At first hed see shadows most easily, then images of men and other things in the water, then the things themselves ? (188). Plato tries to explain the process in which humans learn; through a process called progressive learning. We see this method of learning quite a few times th roughout Groundhog Day. For example the first day Phil and Rita are at the bar he looks at it as a shadow because he learns what she like to drink. The second day he comes in and confidently says, Tequila with lime, gold if youve got it ?, but he messes it up by saying to the grounghog! ? because Rita usually prays for world peace. This day is like him looking at a reflection of what happened the day before. The third day he nails it, He orders the same exact drink and immediately toast to world peace ?. The third day can be seen as him looking at the object itself. Another reference that can be made to the Allegory of the Cave ? is how it mentions that the sun  ¦is in some way the cause of all things that he used to see ? (188). The sun is what caused us to see and it is the source of everything good. The movie symbolically shows this idea of the sun being the source of all good. If you pay close attention you can see that throughout the movie as Phil repeats the same day over and over again. Those days are always dark and gloomy. Suddenly when he finally breaks free of this curse and moves on the February 3rd we see the sun come out and shine through the windows and on the snow. This symbolically shows that Phil has found the good ? which Plato tends to label as everyones goal in life: to reach the good. .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .postImageUrl , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:hover , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:visited , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:active { border:0!important; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:active , .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55 .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u42e5c56a121b17c5284f32799faffb55:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Film and Text - V for Vendetta EssaySo as you can see there are many parallels that can be made from Groundhog Day to Platos teaching. Groundhog Day uses Platos teachings of recollection, opposites, indestructibility and the cave to visually interprets and answer the question on everyones mind: What does it mean to be a human? Although Aristotle does make many great points, they werent as strong as Platos. Platos teaching in The Phaedo ? and in The Allegory of the Cave ? serve as two of the best sources in answering what it means to be Human.

The Cutest Baby Shower Wishes That Make Moms Go Crazy

The Cutest Baby Shower Wishes That Make Moms Go Crazy People are often unsure as to how they should wish the parents of the new baby on the occasion of a baby shower. Greetings like Congratulations dont seem impressive enough, while statements like, So you are going to have a baby! seem downright foolish! Baby showers are great occasions to make use of thought-provoking and memorable quotes. Greet the parents-to-be with well-meaning baby shower quotes. Memorable Quotes   Anne Morrow LindberghIn the sheltered simplicity of the first days after a baby is born, one sees again the magical closed circle, the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other.Ed HoweFamilies with babies and families without babies are sorry for each other.George MacDonald, At the Back of the North WindWhere did you come from, baby dear?Out of the everywhere and into here.Mark TwainA babys an inestimable blessing and bother.Barbara Christine SeifertA baby is a blank cheque made payable to the human race.Charles OsgoodBabies are always more trouble than you thought - and more wonderful.Andy WarholSince people are going to be living longer and getting older, theyll just have to learn how to be babies longer.Henny YoungmanWhat is a home without children? Quiet.Edwin H. ChapinNo language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mothers love.Theresa BloomingdaleIf your baby is beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time, youre the grandma. Brienne KearneyBabies make your heart bigger!Matthew BroderickHaving a baby changes the way you view your in-laws. I love it when they come to visit now. They can hold the baby and I can go out.Don HeroldBabies are such a nice way to start people.Eda J. Le ShanBabies are necessary to grown-ups. A new baby is like the beginning of all things- wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. In a world that is cutting down its trees to build highways, losing its earth to concrete... babies are almost the only remaining link with nature, with the natural world of living things from which we spring.Trevor FishlockBabies here seem to be almost as rare as panda cubs.Jarod KintzI love how babies look like old people. I saw a baby the other day that looked exactly like my grandpa, only taller.Cass ElliotHaving the baby changed my life a lot. I dont want to go on the road.Bill CosbyHaving a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.Sigmund FreudNo one who h as seen a baby sinking back satiated from the breast and falling asleep with flushed cheeks and a blissful smile can escape the reflection that this picture persists as a prototype of the expression of sexual satisfaction in later life. Anne LamottFeeding a baby is like filling a hole with putty- you get it in and then you sort of shave off all the excess around the hole and get it back in, like youre spackling.Frank A. ClarkA baby is born with a need to be loved and never outgrows it.Ronald KnoxA baby is a loud noise at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.Robert PaulDid you ever notice that a new baby always seem to bear a striking resemblance to the relative who has the most money?Jill WoodhullDont ever tell the mother of a newborn that her babys smile is just gas.Mark TwainA soiled baby with a neglected nose cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty.

Why hotel firms choose to integrate both vertically and horizontally Essay

Why hotel firms choose to integrate both vertically and horizontally within the wider tourism industry - Essay Example The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. As hotel firms are dynamically evolving entities operating within a dynamically evolving environment, some means of evaluation of the way in which the two interact has to be found to enable them to be better matched. In order to achieve these goals tourism and hospitality industry choose to integrate both vertically and horizontally to meet the needs of their customers and achieve overall objectives. It should be mentioned that integration is development beyond the present product and market, but still within the broad confines of the 'industry' within which the company operates: for example, Sheraton and Crowne Plaza are diversified corporations, but virtually all their interests are in the consumer service industry. Integration both vertical and horizontal therefore builds on the assets or activities which the firm has developed in service or market terms (Nebel, 1991). 1.1. Vertical integration. Vertical integration is a broader term used to describe either backward or forward integration. Backward integration is popular in tourism and hospitality industry. It refers to development into activities which are concerned with the inputs into the company's current business (i.e. are further back in the value system). Backward integration is important for tourism and hospitality industry because it refers to development into activities which are concerned with a company's outputs (i.e. are further forward in the value system), such as transport, distribution, repairs and servicing (Powers, Barrows, 2002). 1.2. Horizontal integration. Horizontal integration refers to development into activities which are competitive with, or directly complementary to, a company's present activities. A lending library's extension into tourist information or video cassette material would be an example (Stutts, 2001). The acquisition of, or merger with, a competitor would be one way of achieving this, for example. The strategic logic behind horizontal development is typically to gain leverage or market power over suppliers or buyers. Higher volume generally confers greater scale economies in purchasing whereas larger product market share confers greater pricing power over customers. 2. The role of vertical integration in hospitality and tourism industry Backward vertical development is movement towards a supplier of resources used by the business. This might be an attempt to secure supply of a key resource or to gain a cost advantage over competitors by 'locking in' a supplier. Conversely, forward vertical development is growth towards the next stage in the supply chain by gaining an interest in a buyer of the company's outputs. In both cases, the strategic logic is to secure a foothold in the same supply chain to guarantee supply or distribution. This degree of vertical integration was unusual in an industry which had become characterised by specialist companies concentrating on just one of these roles. The company believed the strength of its philosophy was that one division could help out another when times got hard, as in the recession of the early 1990s. For example, although demand for low rate hotels had declined, but standard services had experienced strong. As a result, the low rate hotels h

Managerial report speech about workplace bullying Term Paper

Managerial report speech about workplace bullying - Term Paper Example More than a third of the employees in the US have been affected by work place bullying according to a study conducted by the Workplace bullying institute (Namie, 2008). Work place bullying is defined as the behavior that is aimed at making other employees feel offended or intimidated (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper, 2005). Examples of work place bullying includes unfair treatment, picking on one employee to do all the work, spreading malicious rumors, denying a particular worker promotion and training opportunities and undermining an experienced worker (Oade, 2009). It can happen by email, via phone, by letter or face to face. Employees are bullied for a number of reasons such as age, gender, sexual preference, disability and religion. Types of work place bullying There are different forms of bullying that cause unnecessary stress to the victims of bullying. Occurrences of bullying may lead to the overworking of employees to an extent of a physical breakdown, isolating them or makin g them quit working with the company (Lester, 2013). Various types of bullying are discussed below: i) Verbal abuse This involves the use of a words to inflict harm, attack, control, intimidate or verbally attack another person. In other words, it entails inflicting mental cruelty to employees in an attempt to demoralize them or force them take part in activities they are not willing to (Oade, 2009). ii) Work interference This is where an employee or the management gets in the way of the work of another employee through sabotage (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper, 2005). iii) Cyber bullying This is the most prevalent and modern way of bullying where offensive emails are sent to employees with the sole intention of offending them (Lester, 2013). Such emails have been known to contain offensive or sexual messages that offend the employees. iv) Regulation bullying This entails legal bullying which is one of the worst forms of bullying as it manipulates the law to bully the employees (Oad e, 2009). Companies identify the weakness in a particular litigation and use it to bully workers by making them work for longer hours or sign unfair contracts. v) Corporate bullying This is where employers take advantage of their employees owing to the facts that the litigation in a particular industry is weak and there is a scarcity of employment opportunities. For example, there are companies who force their employees to work for longer hours and dismiss those who object (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper, 2005). By employing employees on short- term contracts and those who object are fired. vi) Institutional bullying This is a form of bullying that is similar to corporate bullying. The only difference is that is that bullying has become a common practice in the organization such that it is a part of the organization’s culture (Oade, 2009). vii) Client bullying This is where employees are bullied by those they work for. For example, bankers or those in the service industry ar e bullied by their customers, social workers and nurses are bullied by their patients and families while teachers are bullied by students and parents. These are the major forms of workplace bullying that are common in the contemporary world (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper, 2005). Statics and supporting evidence on work place bullying The

Hostile Takeover Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hostile Takeover - Research Paper Example er owns a substantial block of target’s stock commonly referred as the foothold block that can demonstrably afford to finance a hostile offer for control. Hostile dodder may require making merger to gain total control of the target’s assets this is accomplished once the bidder has purchased a majority voting stock (Anderson, 2006). Hostile tenders are known to have been around for decades; however they remain rare. The adoption of the second generation of state-level antitakeover laws that was applied between 1987 and 1990 provides an exogenous increase in the cost of hostile takeover, which go hand in hand with a natural control sample of sample of states that did not pass such laws. Additionally, the effectiveness of these laws is criticized by the question of how frequent the takeovers may be. Hostile takeover has been criticized using stakeholder’s model which is able to predict hostile takeovers as occasions for the redistribution rather than the generation of wealth. Managers find out that the gains that are made by shareholders accrue from greater efficiency in the management of assets rather than income transfers (Anderson, 2006). Hostile takeovers can be regarded as a mechanism both for raising shareholder value and for enhancing the efficiency of the corporate system as a whole. However this hostile bids has two major effects, the first effect is that the threat of an unwelcome bid served to improve the performance of incumbent managers made to align their interest more completely with the shareholders. Secondly, with hostile bids, even in unsuccessful situation they tend to induce corporate restructurings which in turn freed up productive resources to be reallocated and be more efficient hence useful elsewhere in the economy. Corporate managers have secrecy over capital structures choices this is evident as the firms’ founding shareholders cannot write a comprehensive contract specifying all future financing decisions. However, capital

Identify How Employees Resist To Organizational Change Management Essay

Identify How Employees Resist To Organizational Change Management Essay The purpose of this paper is to review recently published research to identify how employees resist to organizational change and which change strategies could be used in order to minimize employee resistance to organizational change. In the literature review it is discussed why employees show resistance to change. Communication and Participation are selected for discussion as significant change strategies after identifying various other change strategies that can be adopted by the organization to minimize the level of resistance. At the end of this seminar paper, the limitations of this study are discussed and recommendations are made for future researches. Keywords: Organizational Change, Change strategies, Employee Resistance, Introduction Organizations today are facing more changes than ever before (Conner, 1992, cited in Wanberg and Bans, 2000). As they strive to more competitive edge, they are reorganizing, downsizing, focusing on incremental changes and radical changes through the implementation of new technologies. The success rate of change initiatives is dependent on diverse number of obstacles. Among them the main obstacle to organizational change achievement is human resistance. Employees reactions to change are considered critical for the success of change effort (Piderit, 2000). Bovey and Hede (2001) cited numerous studies including one of 500 Australian organizations indicating resistance as the most common problem faced by management in implementing change. Despite this claim that it is difficult for the individuals to cope the change that is why they try to resist. Human resistance may be the main hurdle in the success of organizational change. Researchers and practitioners have been working on employee r esistance to organizational change from the decades. But they may be defining the phenomenon inconsistently and studying it incompletely. It has been reported that resistance is likely to occur because the change process involves moving form known to unknown (Coghlan, 1993; Steinburg, 1992; Myers and Robbins, 1991; Nadler, 1981, cited in Bovey and Hede, 2001). Each individual resist the change in a different manner, it is important to assess how individuals resist changing and why so that manager could select an appropriate way to overcome resistance (Kotter and Schlesinger 1979). Much of the organizations face difficulties with employee resistance. Successfully managing resistance is one of the major challenges faced by change initiators and is the more important aspect of change process. Different researcher proposed different change strategies that would help in successfully implementing change process and could also be helpful in minimizing employee resistance to change. Focus of this study is to identify different change strategies and to highlight those change strategies that play major role in minimizing much of the resistance by the employees. Problem Statement In support of organizational change practice, this study attempts to answer the question: Which change strategies are most helpful in minimizing employee resistance to change? .Scope of Study Much of this paper will cover how employees resist to organizational change and which change strategies are most beneficial in minimizing the employee resistance in the course of change implementation. The goal of this paper is to provide change agents and managers with the theoretical insight to employee resistance to organizational change and practical guidance in dealing and ultimately minimizing employee resistance to organizational change, based on previous research. Literature Review Resistance to Change Change is defined as a move from the present current state to some desired future state and a denial to that movement is said to be the resistance. The studies discussed under this subject suggest a comprehensive definition of employee resistance to organizational change. Resistance to change is a concept explaining why efforts to organizational change fall short of expectations and usually fail. The word Resistance is always considered a negative connotation. Organizational change often incurs two types of responses: positive or negative, supportive and resistant etc. Resistance is mainly due to the fact that key interests of employees get at risk during the change process. The key concerns of the individuals upon the announcement of the change that may affect resistance to change may include threats and benefits of change, personal capabilities to accomplish change (Dennis G. Erwin Andrew N. Garman, 2009).Dianne and Amrik (1998) explained resistance to change has been recognized a s an important factor that can influence the success or failure of organizational change effort. Resistance if not properly handled leads towards the failure of the organizational change. So resistance is defined as the negative employee attitude with counter-productive behaviors. Resistance among employees arises because of the negative feelings they have about the change and these negative feelings arise because all the information regarding change process is not properly communicated to them by the management themselves, their only source of information is either word of mouth or local newspapers. So because of these sources of information a feeling arise in them that management itself is not very clear about the change and its objectives and as a result this causes them to resist (Tony proctor Ioanna Doukakis 2003). Change Strategies Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) identified six strategies to organizational change such as Education, Participation, Facilitation, Negotiation, Manipulation, and Coercion. Education means informing and communicating the desired changes and giving reasons for them. Participation is to involve the potential resisters and even employees in designing change plan and implementing change. Facilitation is a process that includes training employees in new skills and giving them emotional support by listening to them. Negotiation is offering incentives to potential resisters. Manipulation means involving the selective use of information and conscious structuring of events. And finally coercion is basically forcing people to accept change and threatening them. Focus of this study to identify those strategies that play a major role in minimizing employee resistance to change. Out of Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) mentioned strategies, communication and participation will be the focal point here. Purpose is to study the role of these two strategies (Communication and participation) in minimizing employee resistance to change. These strategies as factors of change process influence individual attitudes and resistances toward change. Communication Different researchers defined the concept of change communication differently. For example, Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) defined communication as informing and communicating the desired changes and giving reasons for them. According to Lewis (2006), Communication about the change is dissemination of information that is the dispersal of knowledge, ideas, training, facts and respects or directives of action concerning the change. Oreg (2006) defined communication as the amount and quality of information that is provided to employees about the change. Van Dam et al. (2007) defined communication as providing information about the change is to keep employees knowledgeable of anticipated events such as specific changes that will occur, the consequences of the changes and new roles of the employees. Effective communication is the main reason for the success of organizations as it helps the managers to get employees involved in the particular task of change and thus helping them in implementing change successfully (Mary Welch Paul R. Jackson, 2007). It has been suggested that inadequate information leads to more uncertainty about specific changes because it will give rise to feelings such as how change will affect their job and organization or how to respond to that change (Milliken, 1987, cited in Wanberg Banas, 2000). It has been proposed that in order to improve employees attitude towards organizational change, information about the change helps to reduce employee anxiety and uncertainty (K.I. Miller Monge, 1985; Schweiger DeNisis, 1991, cited in Wanberg Banas, 2000). Lewis (2006) defined that communication is critical in the process of creating and articulating vision; channeling feedback between implementers, key decision makers, and key users; providing social support; forestalling and constructive use of resistance and assessing and promoting results. Study of Lewis describes how employee experience communication of change messages; the types of channels they use to communicate with implementers; and finally the qualities of implementers change communication that employees associated with the change outcomes. Employees perceive the communication about the change differently than do implementers themselves. Implementers usually have clear idea about the change process as they themselves the change agents whereas employees have lesser knowledge about the change program, formal goals and progress of the change. Participation Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) defined participation is a process to involve the potential resisters and even employees in designing change plan and implementing change. Lewis (2006) defined participation as employees cooperation during the change initiatives is the key to success to organizational changes. It has been argued that participation lead to qualitatively better strategic decision (Kim and Mauborgne, 1998, cited in Lines, 2004). Giangreco and Peccei (2005) reported that more participation of employees in change process is associated with more positive attitudes towards the change and it will minimize resistance to change. Wanberg Banas (2000) proposed that higher level of participation in the change process is related to more positive view of the change. Higher level of involvement is associated with a view that changes are beneficial. Lewis (2006) explained that Participatory structures in organization that value the input of participants and that allow them opportunities to influence decision making are more likely to succeed in reaching the desired goals. So, employees who feel that they have more participatory opportunities and the organization value their inputs are more likely to adopt the change process and are less likely to observe resistance to change. Lack of participatory involvement of employees in change process will predict more resistance to change. The more the employee input is valued and is allowed to participate in the change process, the less will be the resistance. Lines (2004) studied the influence of participation on resistance to change. Lines identified a strong relationship exists between employee perceptions of their participation in change process and reduced resistance to change. Lines defined participation as involvement of employees in the initial assessment and development of change plan. Lines suggested that participation allows more interaction between the change agents and change recipients who will help them to overcome their resistance to change. Lines concluded that use of participation will lead towards successful implementation of change. Van Dam at el (2007) reported that participation of employees in the change planning and implementation process increases the change acceptance. Participation often offers number of benefits: such as increased understanding of the circumstances that make change necessary and a sense of ownership and control over the change process increases the readiness for change. Van Dam et al. found a significant relationship between resistance to change and change strategies such as communication and participation. Dianne and Amrik (1998) reported that participation of employees in change process is the best method of handling resistance. It has been suggested that involving employees in learning, planning and implementation stages of the change process tends to increase employee commitment to change and will ultimately lowers the resistance to change (Lewin, 1991; Coch French, 1948, cited in Dianne Amrik, 1998). Employees must be given the opportunity to be involved in every aspect of change process and they must be given the opportunity to provide feedback. Involving management and employees in the change process will help to overcome many of the difficulties experience during the change process. Discussion Literature indicated a significant relationship between change strategy communication about the change, participation of employees in change process and employee resistance to change. If there is higher level of communication about the change process, there will be lesser employee resistance to change. If the employee tends to participate in the change process, there will be lesser resistance to change. After going through the above literature it is established that the communication as a change strategy helps in minimizing resistance to change. Resistance to change can be minimized by informing about the change and providing reasons for change (Kotter and Schlesinger 1979). Communicating about the change, its consequences and new roles of the employees will play a positive role in minimizing resistance to change (Van Dam at el 2008). Effective communication helps in minimizing resistance to change by involving employees in the change process and implementing it (Mary Welch Paul R. Jackson, 2007). Minimal information about the change process results in uncertainty and ambiguity. Individuals being uncertain and ambiguous about the change process will incorporate ideas that how change will affect them, their department and their organization and how to respond to change, such feelings usually give rise to resistance to change so adequate information about the change facilitates lowering the level of resistance to change (Milliken, 1987, cited in Wanberg Banas, 2000). (K.I. Miller Monge, 1985; Schweiger DeNisis, 1991, cited in Wanberg Banas, 2000) develop a connection between flow of information and acceptance level of employees in a way that sufficient level of information increase the level of acceptance among employees which in turn decreases the resistance. Lewis (2006) examined a relationship between communication of the change and employee resistance to change. Lewis found that communication of change influences the resistance to change and if the employees receive more information about the change, there will be less resistance to change. Participation of employees in the change process in one way or other assists managers to overcome the resistance. One way is the involvement of employees in the change process that has significant effect on individuals attitudes towards the change itself, which in turn directly influence their reactions to change. Individuals who are more involved in change process will have positive attitudes towards change, so they will react to it in less negative way (Giangreco and Peccei 2005). Wanberg Banass study in 2000 also supported the above mentioned findings. Lewis (2006) proposed that if employees are not allowed to participate in change process, they might feel that their opinions and suggestions are not wanted and valued. So they will actively resist change. According to Van Dam at el (2007) participation offers certain benefits to employees which minimize the level of resistance by the employees. Dianne and Amrik (1998) study reveals that the participation increases the level of commitment among employees and decreases their level of resistances towards a particular change. Limitations of Study This study is limited to reviewing previously published research involving employee resistance to change and change strategies which will help in reducing employee resistance to organizational change. Study focused on two major change strategies: communication and participation and their relationship with the employee resistance to change. Impact of these strategies (communication and participation) is studied on employee resistance to change unilaterally meaning that resistance is considered only a single dimension concept. Future Research Present study focused solely on the relationship between change strategies (communication and participation) and employee resistance to change as a one-dimensional concept. Oreg (2006) found that not enough information, as well as too much information about the change may be detrimental and can increase employees resistance. He suggested that moderate amount of information about the change would be optimal when introducing organizational change. So, future research could be done in order to identify the contexts and processes in which information can reduce the resistance instead of enhancing it. As there are other strategies of change such as Facilitation, Negotiation, Manipulation, and Coercion which also play a role in minimizing resistance to change. Facilitation will help overcome the resistance when people are fearful and anxious about the change. Negotiation helps deal with resistance when people are losing through the change and they have enough power to influence the change process. So offering them incentive will help defuse their major resistance. Manipulation is helpful in resisting change by co-optation i.e. involving an individual in design or implementation of change. It is relatively easier, quicker and cheaper solution to the problem Future research could further explore the relationship between these strategies and employee resistance to change. -à Ãƒâ€˜Ãƒâ€™ ÑÒ ÑÒà  -

The Consensus Perspective Essay -- Crime

Criminologists have long tried to fight crime and they have developed many theories along the way as tools to help them understand criminals. In the process of doing so, criminologist have realized that in order to really understand why criminals are criminals, they had to first understand the interrelationship between the law and society. A clear and thorough understanding of how they relatively connect with criminal behavior is necessary. Therefore, they then created three analytical perspectives which would help them tie the dots between social order and law, the consensus, the pluralist and the conflict perspectives. Each provides a significantly different view of society as relative to the law. However, while they all aim to the same exact purpose which is to help us understand crimes from a social viewpoint, the consensus perspective is more effective as it presents a more radical and logical view of how society interacts with the law. For instance, the consensus view focuses m ore on norms, unification, and equality. At the same time, it questions individuals ‘self-control as causes of crime. As Michalowski described it, most members of a society believe in the existence of core values (Schmalleger, 2012). The consensus view is about nothing but values, the different that are commonly known as right and wrong. The teaching of those values start at a very early stage of one’s life and we tend to adapt to them quite effectively. Most importantly, they become part of our lives to a point where we do not very much need a piece of paper to demonstrate it, we just grow to know that, for example, the killing of another person is wrong and respect for others is right. Those are the things that we know and believe and what makes it ... ...at it really is. It presents society as a united force respecting and following the norms as to every member can be satisfied. It is equal and common as to what is what and what to expect. It also projects that there probably would not be laws if it were not for the norms, as we, as a society agree on what is unacceptable and considered a violation. Finally, the consensus perspective sees violators of the norms as weak people with very low self-control. Bibliography Agnew, R. (2011). Toward a Unified Criminology: Integrating Assumptions about Crime, People and Society (New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and Law Series). New York: NYU Press. Luckenbill, E. H. (1992). Principles of Criminology (The Reynolds Series in Sociology). New York: Altamira Press. Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. The Consensus Perspective Essay -- Crime Criminologists have long tried to fight crime and they have developed many theories along the way as tools to help them understand criminals. In the process of doing so, criminologist have realized that in order to really understand why criminals are criminals, they had to first understand the interrelationship between the law and society. A clear and thorough understanding of how they relatively connect with criminal behavior is necessary. Therefore, they then created three analytical perspectives which would help them tie the dots between social order and law, the consensus, the pluralist and the conflict perspectives. Each provides a significantly different view of society as relative to the law. However, while they all aim to the same exact purpose which is to help us understand crimes from a social viewpoint, the consensus perspective is more effective as it presents a more radical and logical view of how society interacts with the law. For instance, the consensus view focuses m ore on norms, unification, and equality. At the same time, it questions individuals ‘self-control as causes of crime. As Michalowski described it, most members of a society believe in the existence of core values (Schmalleger, 2012). The consensus view is about nothing but values, the different that are commonly known as right and wrong. The teaching of those values start at a very early stage of one’s life and we tend to adapt to them quite effectively. Most importantly, they become part of our lives to a point where we do not very much need a piece of paper to demonstrate it, we just grow to know that, for example, the killing of another person is wrong and respect for others is right. Those are the things that we know and believe and what makes it ... ...at it really is. It presents society as a united force respecting and following the norms as to every member can be satisfied. It is equal and common as to what is what and what to expect. It also projects that there probably would not be laws if it were not for the norms, as we, as a society agree on what is unacceptable and considered a violation. Finally, the consensus perspective sees violators of the norms as weak people with very low self-control. Bibliography Agnew, R. (2011). Toward a Unified Criminology: Integrating Assumptions about Crime, People and Society (New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and Law Series). New York: NYU Press. Luckenbill, E. H. (1992). Principles of Criminology (The Reynolds Series in Sociology). New York: Altamira Press. Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Organizational Behaviors Essay

Every organization knows that they need a good leader to run their companies and make sure that everything is going well. Therefore, it is important that leaders have the capacity to lead themselves first before trying to lead others. If they do not have power over themselves, they will not be able to properly demonstrate their leadership skills to their subordinates. Self leadership takes several processes where people have the ability to control their own behavior. To acquire self-leadership skills, a person must first â€Å"practice self-observation, setting challenging personal goals, self-direction, and self-reinforcement. Every thing must come from one’s self first before it could be given to others. This holds true when it comes to leadership. A person cannot lead others if he or she cannot lead him or herself. If others cannot see effective leadership skills in an individual, they might not follow the person and bypass his or her authority. A good leader should also make it a point to encourage his or her subordinates or colleagues to establish their goals, which is important to have even for one’s personal life. Goals establish direction, as to where a person is heading and what his or her plans in life are. They make an individual motivated enough to achieve what he or she wants in life and be successful in the future. They would become goal-oriented individuals, which would ultimately benefit the organization in the long run. Motivation is an important factor for an employee because if this is not present, the employee might feel burnt out from the job. Self-rewarding, no matter how big or small, can influence a worker to perform better and develop a better attitude towards the work and workplace. Having this kind of behavior would result to a successful organization and more harmonious relationship in the working environment. Self-leadership can also be acquired through positive thinking. It is always better to think of the brighter side of things rather than dwell on the negative things. Having a positive outlook can change one’s perspective on things and can look at situations differently, which would result to better judgments and better leadership skills. It is also important for leaders or employers to create an environment that is suitable for self-leadership. Employees will feel that they are important when they have opportunities to grow in terms of their professional paths. They can demonstrate their skills better and become motivated because they know that their efforts will return appreciated. The final thing that employees need to remember when trying to learn self-leadership skills is to allow self-criticism. A mature person knows that he or she cannot please everyone and criticisms should be regarded as positive things taken to improve one’s self. If an individual take criticisms personally it could be destructive and would affect his or her performance at work. Self-criticisms provide a way for people to be aware of their actions and that they are not perfect. They should remember to always have room for improvement. Leaders who can lead themselves as effective as how they lead others are important, especially with the emergence of groups or teams at the workplace nowadays. People who do not know how to direct themselves would have a hard time making others follow them because they themselves do not demonstrate what and how a good leader should be.

Understanding and Using Pointers in Delphi

Understanding and Using Pointers in Delphi Even though pointers arent as important in Delphi as they are in C or C, theyre such a basic tool that almost anything having to do with programming must deal with pointers in some fashion. Its for that reason that you might read about how a string or object is really just a pointer, or that an event handler such as OnClick, is actually a pointer to a procedure. Pointer to Data Type Simply put, a pointer is a variable that holds the address of anything in memory. To concrete this definition, keep in mind that everything used by an application is stored somewhere in the computers memory. Because a pointer holds the address of another variable, its said to point to that variable. Most of the time, pointers in Delphi point to a specific type: variValue, j : integer;pIntValue : ^integer;beginiValue : 2001;pIntValue : iValue;...j: pIntValue^;end; The syntax to declare a pointer data type uses a caret (^). In the above code, iValue is an integer type variable and pIntValue is an integer type pointer. Since a pointer is nothing more than an address in memory, we must assign to it the location (address) of the value stored in the iValue integer variable. The operator returns the address of a variable (or a function or procedure as will be seen below). Equivalent to the operator is Addr function. Note that pIntValues value is not 2001. In this sample code, pIntValue is a typed integer pointer. Good programming style is to use typed pointers as much as you can. The Pointer data type is a generic pointer type; it represents a pointer to any data. Note that when ^ appears after a pointer variable, it de-references the pointer; that is, it returns the value stored at the memory address held by the pointer. In this example, variable j has the same value as iValue. It might look like this has no purpose when we can simply assign iValue to j, but this piece of code lies behind most calls to Win API. NILing Pointers Unassigned pointers are dangerous. Since pointers let us work directly with computers memory, if we try to (by mistake) write to a protected location in memory, we could get an access violation error. This is the reason we should always initialize a pointer to NIL. NIL is a special constant that can be assigned to any pointer. When nil is assigned to a pointer, the pointer doesn’t reference anything. Delphi presents, for example, an empty dynamic array or a long string as a nil pointer. Character Pointers The fundamental types PAnsiChar and PWideChar represent pointers to AnsiChar and WideChar values. The generic PChar represents a pointer to a Char variable. These character pointers are used to manipulate null-terminated strings. Think of a PChar as being a pointer to a null-terminated string or to the array that represents one. Pointers to Records When we define a record or other data type, its a common practice also to define a pointer to that type. This makes it easy to manipulate instances of the type without copying large blocks of memory. The ability to have pointers to records (and arrays) makes it much easier to set up complicated data structures as linked lists and trees. typepNextItem ^TLinkedListItemTLinkedListItem recordsName : String;iValue : Integer;NextItem : pNextItem;end; The idea behind linked lists is to give us the possibility to store the address to the next linked item in a list inside a NextItem record field. Pointers to records can also be used when storing custom data for every tree view item, for example. Procedural and Method Pointers Another important pointer concept in Delphi is procedure and method pointers. Pointers that point to the address of a procedure or function are called procedural pointers. Method pointers are similar to procedure pointers. However, instead of pointing to standalone procedures, they must point to class methods. Method pointer is a pointer that contains information about both the name and object thats being invoked. Pointers and Windows API The most common use for pointers in Delphi is interfacing to C and C code, which includes accessing the Windows API. Windows API functions use a number of data types that might be unfamiliar to the Delphi programmer. Most of the parameters in calling API functions are pointers to some data type. As stated above, we use null-terminated strings in Delphi when calling Windows API functions. In many cases, when an API call returns a value in a buffer or pointer to a data structure, these buffers and data structures must be allocated by the application before the API call is made. The SHBrowseForFolder Windows API function is one example. Pointer and Memory Allocation The real power of pointers comes from the ability to set aside memory while the program is executing. This piece of code should be enough to prove that working with pointers is not as hard as it might seem at first. Its used to change the text (caption) of the control with the Handle provided. procedure GetTextFromHandle(hWND: THandle) ;var pText : PChar; //a pointer to char (see above)TextLen : integer;begin{get the length of the text}TextLen:GetWindowTextLength(hWND) ;{alocate memory}GetMem(pText,TextLen) ; // takes a pointer{get the controls text}GetWindowText(hWND, pText, TextLen 1) ;{display the text}ShowMessage(String(pText)){free the memory}FreeMem(pText) ;end;

Leadership in Nursing

Leadership in Nursing Mahoney (2001) points out the importance of developing future leaders among nurses. Leadership qualities are often required in nurses’ work, especially when they treat people who work in the top-management sector. According to Curtis, DeVries, and Sheerin (2011), everyone who is responsible for assistance, and everyone who is considered an authority (for example, medics who treat patients) is a leader. Leaders among nurses are involved in development of treatment methods; they improve treatment and provide new approaches (Cook, 2001). Along with this, we consider leadership not a specific skill or a group of skills, but an example of proper behavior (Cook, 2001). Leadership also includes an example of perfect performance. Main goal of every leader is not to just control others, but to organize and plan all actions of other employees, as well as to create all necessary conditions for them to benefit from work (Jooste, 2004). Many experts defined leadership in different ways, but some features are common for a lot of different definitions. Most authors agree that leadership includes influence; it develops within groups, it depends on a particular goal, and it is present on every level (Faugier Woolnough, 2002). There are a few different types of leadership. For example, there is an autocratic type of leadership that excludes any participation in decision-making (Curtis, DeVries, and Sheering, 2011). At the same time, bureaucratic type of leadership implies strict adherence to established system of rules and regulations. Another type of leadership allows other employees to search for a best decision, considering different solutions, and making employees participate in planning and in success of the overall work (Fradd, 2004). Another type of leadership is called laissez-faire leadership, and it gives employees almost total freedom in decision-making and goal setting. This type is described by Faugier Woo lnough (2002) as the most risky one. The most flexible type of leadership is situational leadership, where a leader switches among different styles, depending on a situation and a particular goal. We considered the basis of a leadership theory and common types of leadership. Moiden (2002) states that theory is used to describe reality, while various types of leadership are different ways to implement such a theory. Every organization has to consider different approaches and choose a style that corresponds to particular goals. Choosing a necessary style, an organization must look for a best performance in various conditions. Here the point is to provide highest efficiency in any circumstances (Moiden, 2002). We also have to highlight the key difference between leadership and management. Leaders provide motivation, proper vision, and inspiration, while managers provide control and planning (Faugier Woolnough, 2002). Transformational Leadership VS Transactional Leadership According to Outhwaite (2003), transactional type of leadership requires certain skills which can improve everyday routine and increase its efficiency. The main goal of transformational leadership is to ensure that all members of team cooperate and benefit from innovations. Good leader is able to assess everyone’s potential and interests of any particular employee, sorting tasks and involving members of a team depending on their individual skills. In turn, such an approach helps the leader develop his or her leadership abilities, which creates necessary environment for the further development of their careers. According to Outhwaite (2003), leaders must be able to determine obstacles and possible conflicts, in order to solve any problems at the very beginning. Leader should be close to the team, participating in the process, and staying in touch with all members of the team. When a leader is an important part of the team, he or she serves as an example, and is able to estimate all difficulties, goals, and perspectives. Thus, a real leader must be responsible and qualified. While the goal of transactional leaders is to provide effective everyday work, transformational leaders must help employees unleash and develop their full potential. This type of leader should create the necessary direction and motivate everyone to focus on necessary tasks. According to Cook (2001), transformational leader must influence others, giving them understanding of most important goals. Faugier Woolnough (2002) point out the importance of articulating and developing necessary vision among different members of a team. While transactional leaders should provide efficient management, transformational leaders, must be able to increase possibilities of employees, and so provide better conditions for the entire project. De Geest et al. (2003) describe feature of transformational management on the example of Magnet hospitals. They illustrate how development of leadership positions improved the level of treatment among employees, as well as patients. These hospitals provided a number of innovations, creating the atmosphere of trust, providing highest ethical standards, and estimating all possibilities of development in future (De Geest et al., 2003). Authors note that leadership skills are mostly important today, when directions of health care change all the time, due to technological innovations and increase in demand among patients. Authors state that such a type of leadership provides much higher level of satisfaction among employees, therefore creating necessary motivation and increasing performance. In turn, such changes provide higher level of satisfaction among patients. According to De Geest et al. (2003), leaders have to implement democratic, efficient, and supportive methods, to provide non- stop development, and guarantee benefits for both patients and employees. Transformational leadership considers interpersonal relations between the leader and other employees, which is why we must mention empowerment (Hyett, 2003). Empowerment gives nurses confidence and will to act efficiently in any circumstances. Implementing a team approach, leaders must be able to create strict boundaries and formulate clear goals. The team must be supported on every stage of the process. At the same time, Welford (2002) notes that a nurse manager must be able to create a balance between the use of power and democratic methods, in order to avoid abuse of power. Hyett (2003) focuses on the atmosphere of trust and respect, defining it as the key feature of transformational leadership. Clinical Governance VS Shared Governance Generally, clinical governance is a relatively new approach, which implies the National Health Service’s control over the quality of service, as well as provides new standards of treatment. Moiden (2002) writes about the creation of necessary environment to improve clinical service. Modern standards of UK government imply new types of leadership that are able to support diversity among employees, building a strong community at the same time. Scott and Caress (2005) note that development of leadership approaches is necessary for professional development of staff. Shared governance is one of methods used to realize such a goal (Hyett, 2003). First of all, this method implies empowerment of all staff, making them able to work on common goals and participate in decision making process. Rycroft et al. (2004) call it multi-professional care. Scott and Caress (2005) note that this approach helps to decentralize management, motivating staff to work together, and increasing responsibil ities. This method provides much better results than a classical system of hierarchy. It increases motivation and satisfaction of staff, which makes employees want to make significant contribution, using their creativity and improving their most useful skills. Skills and Knowledge of a Nurse Leader Obviously, leaders must have necessary knowledge of management. They have to create proper atmosphere within a team, as well as understand necessary details about finances and economics. Mahoney (2001) notes that leaders must also have knowledge of evidence-based outcomes. However, according to Mahoney (2001), this list of skills is not complete, since every nurse leader also must be competent, and creative. Leaders must easily collaborate with other workers and stay up to date about all changes in standards of treatment. Not only have they to be aware of the latest medical trends, but also to implement these standards and make sure that they are applied efficiently. Moiden (2003) notes that leaders must be able to understand needs of staff, creating necessary conditions for work, in order to increase productivity. Strong leadership is based on three main things, such as influence, authority, and power (Jooste, 2004). Taking into account modern tendencies in management, we can conclude that a leader must use influence more, trying to use less power. A leader must be able to find common ground in every situation, negotiating with staff, motivating and persuading them. Author highlights three necessary methods that help improve communication between workers and a leader, such as instructions, caring relationships, and modelling, which is supporting a point with examples. De Geest et al. (2004) sorts necessary skills, and creates a list of five necessary practices for leaders, including modelling, inspiring, motivating to act in a certain way, challenging, and encouraging. A leader must be able to correctly assess contributions, creating the atmosphere of competition among employees, therefore encouraging them and increasing performance. Mahoney (2001) states that such an approach helps the leader to focus not only on leadership issues, but on the whole team as well. Practice Settings Hyett (2003) notes that most health visitors have no necessary mechanisms of self-control, which could help them make decisions and take them out of a self-led environment. In such conditions, nurses don’t initiate changes, since such initiatives don’t find support. As a result, most active nurses lose their confidence and don’t feel able to support their colleagues. Fradd (2004) states that such problems are the most important issue in a context of motivation, noting that the lack of motivation directly affects the quality of medical care. Often managers don’t pay necessary attention to self-esteem of staff, focusing only on a range of medical services, and so increasing dependence, and decreasing motivation. Hyett (2003) states that such conditions may be the reason for workers to leave their job, or even change their line of work. Every time when a nurse leaves a position, an organization faces the need to find new employee, and so spend extra time on t raining. In turn, it means additional costs on training and recruitment. According to statistics based on focus groups, most nurses describe leaders as enthusiasts, who can easily show them necessary direction, inspire them, and support them with necessary advice. Rycroft-Malone et al. (2004) claims that nurses don’t want a leader who will speak from the position of power; a real leader must have enough knowledge, and be able to collaborate with others, working on the same goals, managing them, and demonstrating his or her developed skills. Social Context Nurse leaders participate in every stage of work, providing effective management. We can see how leadership changed through time, moving towards smart management, and excluding the role of overpowering. According to Jooste (2004), now difference between lower, middle, and top management slowly disappears, because leaders of each level are no more limited in their tasks. Now each leader must be flexible and able to act in unexpected situations. This fact leads to wider responsibilities, and so to new standards of health care. Large et al. (2005) consider a leadership program of the Royal College of Nursing. This program of political leadership includes several steps. First of all, leaders should be able to estimate the most important issues, creating a proposal for change. They must involve more participants in discussion, talking to both supporters and opponents of each project. Leaders must build communication and deliver effective messages, creating healthy environment for collaboration between different parts of an organization. Education Cook (2001) points out the importance of investment in education. We must teach nurses how to be a leader. Cook insists on including leadership into the basic nursing curricula, also noting that such a type of education must be available not only during training, but also during their careers. Such an approach is wide, and we can consider its benefits on the example of evidence evaluation. Nurses must be able to analyze evidences and make decisions based on the strongest evidence. To make it possible, we need to provide nurses with necessary knowledge, as well as to train them. They must be able to adapt to unexpected circumstances, and make decisions fast and effectively. According to Moiden (2002), we must provide nurses with understanding of possible situations, and with necessary knowledge, so they could find solutions for unexpected issues. To support the use of transformational leadership, NHS created the Leading an Empowered Organization. They hope that such incentives will help nurses develop and realize their authority and responsibility. This program defines the goal as an ability to take risks, solve unexpected problems, and develop autonomy. Along with the Leading an Empowered Organization, another program was created to help nurses discover their leadership qualities. It’s the RCN Clinical Leaders Program (Faugier Woolnough, 2002). New Challenges and Opportunities Jooste (2004) states that health care constantly produces new challenges and changes the environment for nurses. They must be able to react to unexpected events immediately, take the initiative and make important decisions. This all is impossible with the old hierarchic approach to leadership. New approaches make it possible to introduce new methods of motivation, creating necessary conditions for talking, listening, and encouraging. Hyett (2003) describes leadership as an ability to develop new methods and introduce new systems, in order to provide understanding of a desired vision. Now we are saying that everyone can be a leader, since all a future leader needs is a number of certain skills and practices. First of all, nurse leaders must be flexible, confident, and have necessary knowledge (Hyett, 2003). Empowering Patients Fradd (2004) states that only those organizations that have good leaders are able to satisfy patients. Most patients assess medical care depending on the nurse’s behavior, so this profession is one of the most important medical professions in the context of individual trust. A patient can be more or less involved in care, and in this case everything depends on the nurse. Many patients understand features of their disease, or at least want to be as informed about it, as possible. Thus, patients must be involved in discussions, getting necessary information about features of their treatment. Patients need to talk to nurses, and nurses have to be able to argue with patients, as well as to reassure them, and give them necessary information in an understandable way. According to Outhwaite (2003), nurses must be able to protect interests of the patient, in case if a doctor places his own opinion above patient’s opinion. According to Welford (2002), transformational leadership is a method that allows followers participate in important process along with a leader. This method also provides a flexible structure of management, which helps both the leader and followers adapt to fast changes. Mahoney (2001) states that getting rid of hierarchical structures, organizations are able to form strong teams, where all experts and professions collaborate, and so increase performance of the entire organization. As a result, both patients and nurses are satisfied, and this result helps add value for customers and for staff as well. This is an example of an essay. Don’t present it as your own work, since it wouldn’t pass a plagiarism check. If you’re looking for qualitative and affordable college papers, just contact us now!

Q1 - Using Knowledge & skills to Assess Usage of Web Technologies in Essay

Q1 - Using Knowledge & skills to Assess Usage of Web Technologies in Your organization - Essay Example This practice also assists organizations to trim down their operating expenses and thereby offer best quality products and services to consumers at affordable prices. Therefore, any flaw in the use of web technologies would raise potential challenges to the competitiveness of the organization, and this in turn may cause the firm to lose its market share to competitors. In this situation, it is necessary for every firm to maintain a multidisciplinary team capable of assessing the firm’s use of web technologies. Evidently, combined use of IT and management skills is inevitable to evaluate the use of web technologies in the organization effectively. Undoubtedly, improved IT skills are the most prioritized need when it comes to assessing the efficiency of the firm’s technological base. An organization’s databases and network servers contain a wide range of customer data and information that are sensitive in nature. Hence, it is the duty of this team to ensure that sensitive customer data are secure at the best level and they are not exposed to growing security vulnerabilities. Presence of individuals with great IT skills in the team is vital to add advanced security features to the firm’s internal servers and networks, and this will reduce the threat of hacking and other malware attacks (Lemos, n.d.). In addition, it is also essential to identify security pitfalls in the firm’s databases and networks (if any) and resolve those issues immediately. Similarly, the combined use of IT and management skills is essential to make employees aware of the dreadful consequences of the data loss or theft, and enlighten them about improved data management practices. Reports indicate that inappropriate data management practices by employees is one of the major problems making sensitive customer/management data vulnerable to external security threats (Cisco, n.d.). The team charged with

Where does Europe end and why Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Where does Europe end and why - Essay Example The boundaries which constitute Europe are thus vague, rather dynamic as Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005) indicate, i.e. Europe is still going through an economic as well as political transformation whereby it is struggling to incorporate the spaces surrounding the traditional Europe as buffer regions, stability of which is crucial for the sustainability of European states. The European Union is consistently going through a transition which is further expected to enlarge after the incorporation of Turkey into the European Union. In this case, according to the social theory model of EU proposed by Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005), the boundary in further going to be enhanced creating a further confusion about the end of Europe. The paper aims at answering the question in geographical as well as in economical, political and sociological perspectives to give the most valid explanations about where does Europe actually end. The paper intend on arguing that the boundaries of Europe in its true sens e extend beyond the Russian as well as Turkish borders. To further draw patterns and conclusions across variables, it is important to assess the traditional borders of Europe which the geographers have relied upon for years. According to the geographers, Europe is divided from Asia at the East from Ural Mountains and seas, whereas it is surrounded by watersheds on other sides. By this explanation, Europe ends somewhere around Russia at its East, and in Turkey around it`s South East where Asia or rather Middle East begins. This is where the problems still lie. Russia and Turkey both are located about halfway in Europe, thus it becomes difficult to assess where the other continents begin. Geography can`t be studied keeping political and sociological angles aside, thus when these factors are also considered it becomes difficult to decide where Europe ends. It can however be concluded, for the purpose of eliminating confusion that Europe ends