How can nutrition and recovery strategies affect performance

Why is a well balance training diet essential for an athlete? A well balance training diet Is essential for an athlete. Good diet and nutrition can enhance sporting performance. Carbohydrates should form the basis of the sportsperson diet. For most athletes, a varied healthy diet will provide vitamins and minerals, as well as protein, to promote growth and repair of muscle tissues. Adequate fluid intake is essential to help performance and prevent dehydration. 55.What are the relative recommended percentage of CHOC, Fats and Protein for a. Athletes b. ) Non-athletes 56. What are the pre-performance recommendations for an athlete? A pre- performance routine Is a consistent procedure that athletes use to prepare themselves for competition. It is recommended that athletes must time their carbohydrate intake, a substantial amount of carbohydrate (200-egg) in the 2-4 hours prior the event. The carbohydrate foods most suited to pre-exercise eating are low-fat, low-fiber and low to moderate in protein; these are less likely to cause gastrointestinal upset.Liquid meal supplements (such as a protein shake) or reverberate-containing sports bars (such as Powerboat Performance Bar) can be useful for athletes who suffer from pre-event nerves or have an unpredictable pre- event timetable 57. What is a carbohydrate loading? Explain the process. Carbohydrate loading Is a strategy Involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximize muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition. This diet typically involves a 3-4 day ‘depletion phase' involving 3-4 days of hard training plus a low carbohydrate diet.This depletion phase was thought to be necessary to stimulate the enzyme glycogen synthesize. This was then followed immediately by a 3-4 day ‘loading phase' involving rest combined with a high carbohydrate diet. The combination of the two phases was shown to boost muscle carbohydrate stores beyond their usual resting levels. 58. Why is it though beneficial? To what types of athletes? The extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time.It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can improve performance over a set distance by 2-3%. An individual who exercises continuously at a moderate o high Intensity for 90 minutes or longer Is likely to benefit from carbohydrate loading. Typically, sports such as cycling, marathon running, longer distance triathlon, cross-country skiing and endurance swimming benefit from carbohydrate loading. 59. What is recommended for an athlete to eat/drink during competition? It is recommended that a sport drink containing 30 grams of carbohydrate and 1 5 grams of protein (In 500 ml water) per hour of exercise could be taken.With multiple events back to back, a larger amount of this beverage should be consumed 1 org recommended for an athlete to eat/drink after competition? Post-workout nutri tion squires two things: protein to aid in protein synthesis and carbohydrates to replace muscle glycogen. Egg. Chicken breast (protein) with broccoli and brown rice (carbohydrates) 61 . What is meant by the term supplementation? The word â€Å"supplement† means exactly that: a nutrient or group of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats and oils) that are meant to supplement, but not substitute for a healthy diet that you eat on a regular basis.Nutrition supplements come in a variety of forms: pills, capsules, powders, liquids, and even in gel form. The cost of nutrition supplements can range from almost â€Å"at cost† to being outrageously expensive. 62. Are there any benefits of supplementation of vitamins, minerals, and protein to performance? The body is unable to manufacture vitamins, so diet must supply them as vitamins are essential to maintain bodily functions. Protein is responsible for the growth, repair and maintenance of body tissue the use of protein supplements is common amongst power and strength athletes such as weight-lifters, rugby league and rugby union players. 3. Are there benefits from the use of sports drinks; liquid meal supplements, calcium supplements; iron supplements? Why? The benefits of sports drinks are; Convenient, easy to consume 64. What evidence is there for against vitamins/minerals supplementation? Loss of time, effort and money. Overdoses of the fat-soluble kind are the real culprits. The results of overdoses are many. For example, an overdose of vitamin A could cause ringing in the ears, blurred vision, hair loss and a host of other effects. Excessive quantities of some vitamins and minerals can be unnecessary, expensive and potentially dangerous. 5. What evidence is there for against creating supplementation? Creating is possibly unsafe when taken with a high dosage. There is some concern that it could harm the kidney and the liver, or heart function. Creating also causes muscles to dra w water from the rest of the body and could cause dehydration. 66. What evidence is there for against caffeine supplementation? Caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness and restlessness, stomach irritation, nausea and vomiting, increased heart rate and respiration, and other side effects.Caffeine can make sleep disorders in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) worse. Larger doses might cause headache, anxiety, agitation, chest pain, and ringing in the ears. Large goes may be unsafe and can cause irregular heartbeats and even death. 67. Explain physiological strategies for recovery strategies? Egg. Cool down and hydration. Physiological recovery strategies aim to remove the metabolic by-products of exercise through a cool down period as well as replace lost fluids and energy.Cool down: The cool down, or active recovery, is a group of lower intensity exercises performed immediately after exercise to remove waste products, decrease muscle soreness (DOOMS), improve mu scular relaxation, bring the cardiovascular system back to rest and allow time to reflect on the training or performance. This could involve short Jogging repetitions, slow swimming or similar low intensity activity. Static reduce the risk of injury. Hydration: To replenish fluid lost during training or games the athlete should consume approximately one litter of water for every kilogram of body weight lost.The addition of carbohydrates will speed up fluid replacement as well as refueling muscle glycogen stores. The foods eaten in the 30 minutes immediately after exercise should be medium to high glycerin. Sports drinks are useful because they provide fuel and fluid but should be limited to the 30 minute period following exercise. Solid foods, such as fruit, should be encouraged as they provide additional nutritional value. 68. Explain the neural recovery strategies for recovery egg. Hydrotherapy, massage. Neural recovery strategies such as hydrotherapy and massage help replenish th e nervous system.The change in chemicals found in muscles following heavy bouts of exercise or psychological stress can be addressed by these neural strategies. Hydrotherapy: Hydrotherapy involves the use of water to relax, soothe pain and assist metabolic recovery whilst providing support for movements which eliminate Jarring and straining movements. Typical hydrotherapy methods include spas, underwater massage and swimming pools (heated and non-heated). Active exercise can be incorporated into hydrotherapy sessions allowing a gravity assisted environment.Massage: The main purpose of massage is to assist in reducing training fatigue. It can also be helpful in a preventative way in reducing localized muscle tension that can with time lead to overuse injury. 69. Explain the tissue damage recovery strategies egg. Cryptography Cryptography: Cryptography, or cold therapy, is the local or general use of low temperatures to remove heat from a body part. The goal of cryptography is to decr ease pain and inflammation, promote vasoconstriction and prevent the build up of waste products.Various forms of cryptography have become popular as recovery strategies for many athletes. Examples of various forms are cryptography are ice packs and a Cryogenic chamber. 70. Explain the psychological recovery strategies, egg. Relaxation. Psychological recovery strategies aim to disengage the athlete from the performance. Heart rate, breathing and body temperature remain elevated post exercise and may take time to drop as do anxiety levels about the performance or true performances. Strategies such as relaxation assist to bring these levels to normal levels.Following intense training and demanding performances, athletes may experience symptoms of low concentration, lack of motivation and increased levels of anxiety. Psychological strategies can play an important part in emotional and possibly spiritual recovery by assisting in recovery of concentration, lifting motivation and decreasin g anxiety levels. Some psychological strategies that can be used to enhance recovery are outlined below. Debriefing – Effectively evaluating a performance can be useful way to provide emotional and psychological support after training or competition. This should focus on the process not the outcome.Debriefing allows the athlete to achieve ‘closure' with regards to a past performance and set goals for future performances. This is usually logical, rational discussion removed from the hype and the emotion of performance. Contingency planning – Simple strategies or distracted, such as mood-lifting activities, which are used in situations such as a major performance setback or traumatic event. Social support -Athletes need to build up a network of support contacts outside their athletic lives. Relaxation skills – These relax in many different ways, with some preferring to read a book, listen to music or watch television.Specialized relaxation techniques are als o widely used, including meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization, breathing exercises, positive self-talk and flotation. The athlete needs to practice only one or two techniques on a regular basis for these to become effective tools to use to aid recovery. The choice of relaxation methods is quite individual and involves experimentation to establish which technique works best. Rest and sleep – Rest days are essential and a least one ay per week should be a non-training day.This allows time for physical and psychological recovery as well as time for other interests and activities. Adequate sleep (7-9 hours) is regarded as probably the most important recovery strategy as it provides regeneration and restoration of the body's systems to allow adaptation to training. Too much sleep however, can be detrimental, contributing to sluggishness and lethargy. How does the acquisition of skill affect performance? 71 . What is meant by the term ‘skill acquisition? S kill acquisition refers to the process that athletes use to learn or acquire a new skill.A skill can be defined as an act or task such as typing or drawing, or in the instance of sport, catching, throwing, and running. 72. What is meant by cognitive stage? The cognitive stage of skill acquisition is the early identification and understanding of the skill to be learned. Individuals focus on what to do, that is most of the learning activities during this stage will be in the mind, egg. Watching, thinking, analyzing, reasoning, Judging and visualizing, rather than lots of practice. During this stage the learner develops an in-depth understanding of the skill to be acquired. 73. What is meant by associative stage?The associative stage of skill acquisition really focuses on the idea of practice with the learner learning how to do it. Practice at this stage increases the learner's ability to perform the skill or task. They may not necessarily perform the skill well but have an understandi ng of how to do it. Most learners stay in this stage for a long period of time, with most not progressing to the next stage. 74. What is meant by the autonomous stage? The autonomous stage of skill acquisition revolves around executing a skill automatically without having to stop and think about what to do next or how to o it.It is an advanced level of performance where the individual can perform the skill fluently and instinctively and where outside influences do not affect the outcome. It may take individuals a long time to achieve this stage with many never reaching it. This may be due to the training demands, the complexity of the task or a lack of motivation. 75. Provide an example of how someone would progress through the stages of skill acquisition. An example of an individual progressing from the stages of skill acquisition would able to perform a certain skill without failure and loud have a skill as a second nature. 6. Describe the characteristics of a learner (personality , heredity, confidence, prior experience, ability) The learner brings many influence the capacity of the learner to acquire skills. Personality, heredity, confidence, prior experience, and ability particularly influence the direction of the learning experience. These characteristics influence the speed with which that person may acquire a skill. Personality: Refers to an individual's characteristic way of behaving and develops as a result of infinite social interactions and learning experiences throughout life.From a motor learning point of view, certain aspects of personality tend to be favorable with certain learning environments for example elite coaches tend to select athletes not only with superior physical talent but also those who possess positive learning attributes such as determination, enthusiasm and dedication. Learners whose personality reflects positive ways of behaving are more receptive to instruction and advice, more cooperative in performing set tasks and more help ful in creating a productive learning environment.If they possess patience, a willingness to try new things, listen to advice and can co-operate with OTOH other team members and the coach, they are more likely to have a positive outcome from a skill learning experience. If however an individual loses patience easily, cannot accept advice or cannot share experiences with others they will be slower in developing their skills. Heredity: Refers to the genetic characteristics inherited from our parents. These are unchangeable and limit the dimensions of our potential. The environment determines if we can reach the limits set by heredity.Specific hereditary characteristics influence the potential for success in specific ports/skills. Confidence: As an individual begins to learn skills and experiences success, they begin to develop a sense of self-belief in their ability to perform. Some level of confidence is internally generated, based on how the learner sees themselves (related to their personality). This confidence will then pass into the next level of learning. By learning and performing skills from a simple to a complex level, confidence will rise as the individual is more likely to experience success as they develop their skills.If however, they are given complex tasks early in their placement and they experience frequent failure, confidence is more likely to fall, which may slow down improvements in the individual's skill level. Prior Experience: If an individual has participated in an activity which involves similar qualities, such the hand/eye co-ordination found in hockey, they may be able to learn the skills involved in other sports such as cricket or golf more effectively. It can also be seen between sports such as basketball and netball, and gymnastics and diving.Ability: Ability is the ease with which an individual is able to perform a movement or routine. We often all these individual's gifted or talented as they often show ease and precision when exe cuting a skill. Ability can also be seen in the way in which an individual is able to learn process and implement new skills. Ability incorporates a range of factors, such as sense of acuity, perception, reaction time and intelligence, which combine to allow the individual to do readily what is intended. 77. How can the physical environment affect the skill acquisition?The physical learning environment can have a positive and negative impact on the learning process and is a major factor in the development of skills. The learning environment refers to everything outside the learner, including the weather, the skill itself, the situation it is practiced in, and information from coaches. 78. How can the nature of the skill affect skill acquisition? Stability of the environment (open or closed skills) the precision of the movement (gross or fine skills) the distinctiveness of the beginning and end points (discrete, serial or continuous skills) Timing (externally paced or self-paced skil ls). 9. What is an open skill? Close skill? Gross Motor skill? Fine motor skill? Extremely paced? Internally paced? Continuous skill? Discrete Skill? Serial skill? Examples? Open Skill: occurs in an unpredictable and frequently changing environment (weather, field, opponents) where the timing and the placement of the performance are dependent upon factors outside the control of the performer. Performance of the skill is greatly influenced by external factors and as such most open skills are externally paced. The unpredictability of the environment forces the performer to respond in a variety of ways.Close Skill: occurs in a stable and predictable environment, where the timing of the skill is self-paced and to a large extent, the reformer determines the place where the skill will be performed. Gross Motor skill: involve the use of large muscle groups (arms and legs) and include such things as walking, Jumping, running and kicking. Fine Motor skill: involve smaller muscle groups and f ine movements, such as catching a tennis ball, playing darts and positioning the hand and fingers during a dance performance. Extremely Paced: where the factors external to the performer set the time of execution of the movement.Rhythmic performances such as gymnastics, dancing, and aerobics, are externally paced as the movements must be performed in time with the music. Internally Paced: where the performer determines the time and pace of execution. Examples include serving in tennis and a corner kick in soccer. Continuous skill: A continuous skill is one that has no real beginning or end but is maintained in a repetitive fashion. The starting and finishing point of these skills are determined by the performer, not by the skill itself. This includes the leg action when running, cycling or swimming.Discrete skill: A discrete movement skill has a clearly defined beginning and end. It may include a throw or kick or a forward roll in gymnastics. Serial skill: this skill requires a numb er of separate skills to be performed in a specific order to achieve the set movement required. Activities such as bowling in cricket where a run up, a delivery phase and the follow through need to be combined for effective performance. 80. How are the relevant performance element incorporated into practice? For effective performance in game or competition, athletes need to be able to perform movements under pressure.Performance elements such as tactics, strategies and team plans need to be part of skill practice to enable optimal performance. Egg. Decision making & strategic and tactical development Decision making: Athletes need to make many decisions that will influence the quality of the performance. These include decisions such as who to pass to, whether to shoot for goal or pass, or decisions to accelerate in a cycling or distance running event. Coaches need to provide opportunities for decision making in practice so the athlete can improve their skills resulting in clear deci sions when performing.Strategic and tactical development: Some sports have a high strategic and tactical component. In tactical sports such as basketball, touch football or cricket, the learning environment just reflect the game situations to develop players understanding of how to with game play are can be similar across some sports, such as moving into space or marking a player. Athletes can develop an awareness of the tactics required and apply these skills in a variety of game situations. Tactical development requires practice of pressure situations similar to a game, rather than stationary practice or drills.As tactical development improves, game like practices can become more complex allowing for development of decision making and problem solving. 81 . What are the 4 types of practice methods used to learn skills? The 4 types of practice methods used to learn skills are massed, distributed, whole and part. 82. Describe each, giving examples. When would each be best used â€⠀œ for what types of skill and/ or types of learner? Massed: Massed practice occurs when one skill is continuously practiced in a session with only brief rest periods or none at all.This may involve a variety of drills aimed at improving the one skill performed one after the other. Distributed: Distributed practice can follow one of two forms. One form is when a range of skills, for example soccer dribbling, passing, and shooting. The other is where one skill is practiced, either through a single drill or a variety of skill drills, and broken up by moderate rest periods. Whole : refers to practicing a skill in its entirety, such as a softball pitch, whereas the part method involves a skill being broken into smaller components and each subsoil practiced separately, such as a basketball lay-up.Part: involves learning a part before adding another related part. Many coaches use a combination of methods, where the whole skill is taught, and then if difficulties arise, the skill is broken down and taught as the part method. Regardless of the way it is initially learnt and practiced it eventually needs to be put into a whole skill practice and performance or the co-ordination of the parts cannot occur effectively. 83. How do instructions vary according to the characteristics of the learner? 84. What is feedback?Feedback is the process of providing a performer with information about the nature or result of their performance. The performer will receive information from internal and external sources which may be concurrent or delayed. 85. The sources of feedback are internal and external. Explain these. Feedback can come from internal ND external sources; it may be given at different times such as concurrent or delayed; and it may provide different information such as knowledge of performance and knowledge of results. Internal feedback information received from the senses as a result of movement or self-talk.This helps athletes develop a kinesthesia sense or feel for a movement which allows them to distinguish between a skilled or less skilled performance. For example, when passing a netball, the athlete feels the ball in their hands and is aware of the ball leaving the hand as they can see, feel and hear it moving through the air and being caught by another player. External feedback is information received from external sources (outside the body) such as the crowd or the environment. 86. The types of feedback are knowledge of results (KERR) and knowledge of performance (KIP). Explain each and give examples.Knowledge of results (KERR): suggests how successful the skill was performed, and comes from an external source. This could include a coach discussing the outcome of a performance with the athlete, an athlete seeing the ball drop into the basket from a Jump shot, or from score boards. If the skill execution is successful the athlete is aware of the need o repeat the performance. If results are not favorable, a change must be made to improve per formance. Knowledge of performance (KIP): information received about how well a skill was performed. It may be internal or external.For example a diver may gain information from an external source such as video replay about the position of her body during a movement or a basketball may put up shot and feels the execution is incorrect resulting in the shot being missed. 87. The timing of feedback can be concurrent or delayed. Explain each with examples. Concurrent feedback: information received during a performance. This is most often internal feedback but can also be from external sources. This feedback allows for immediate correction of body position to improve results during the performance of a skill.For example, during a tennis serve, the server recognizes that their ball toss is off direction. This concurrent feedback allows the player to stop the serve and improve the toss, rather than continuing the serve and being forced into error. Delayed Feedback: information provided to the athlete after the skill has been performed, and is therefore received too late to produce a response at the time. An example of allayed feedback is a comment from the coach at the end of the activity, at half time or from video analysis after the game.This information allows for changes to technique in future performances. 88. How is feedback used as learner's progress through the stages of skill acquisition? Feedback is an essential component in the successful acquisition and development of skills, regardless of the stage of acquisition or age of the learner. Feedback provides information about the performance that allows the learner to adjust and improve or continue efficient performance. 89. What are the characteristics of a skilled performer? List and briefly explain what they mean?A skilled performer demonstrates characteristics and abilities which allows them to perform consistently at a very high level. Kinesthesia sense: Kinesthesia refers to the sensory information rece ived from the body about their body position and awareness of limbs during a movement. A skilled athlete's neuromuscular pathways are trained to ‘feel' the movement resulting in better coordination and greater ability to make corrections and modifications while executing the movement. Anticipation: A skilled performer is capable of predicting hat might happen next, by reading cues, and choosing the appropriate response to the action.This gives skilled athletes an advantage over other performers as they can position themselves in preparation for the next phase of play to counteract an opponent's move. Anticipation is particularly important in externally paced activities or where fast movement and decision making is required. For example, by watching the ball from the bowler's hand, a skilled cricket batsman can anticipate the bounce shot. Consistency: Skilled performers demonstrate greater consistency resulting in fewer errors during a performance. An unskilled athlete may occa sionally ‘fluke' a good performance whereas a skilled athlete can perform well over and over.Skilled performers have progressed to the autonomous stage of skill acquisition, resulting in an automatic performance of skill. Unskilled athletes make gross errors frequently and rely on external feedback to correct these errors for future performances. Skilled performers use internal feedback and knowledge of performance. Thus they correct small errors during performance to demonstrate greater consistency and efficiency. Technique: Skilled athletes tend to maintain correct technique despite fatigue or the name situation. They have developed their skills to be fluent, smooth and well performed.The movement is more economical, will not use as much energy, and is phonemically correct and therefore less likely to cause injury. Mental Approach: Mental approach is the ability of an athlete to control their mind as they work towards a movement goal. Skilled athletes are able to achieve thi s through goal setting, visualization, concentration and focus. They are often more competitive, ambitious, confident and committed than unskilled athletes. They are more capable f controlling anxiety and arousal resulting in optimal performance and reduced errors.They are able to perform skills as part of complex movement pattern and strategic play while making complex decisions. The mental discipline of an athlete becomes increasingly important as they move towards the elite level in their sport. 90. How do we recognize a skilled performer? A skilled performer is often stronger, more flexible, better coordinated, balanced and fitter than unskilled performers. They are able to perceive, decide and act in a manner that is efficient in terms of both energy and time. 92. What is subjective appraisal? Examples?

Africans in the Berlin Conference

Africans in the Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 established most of the borders of contemporary nation-states on the African continents today. The Conference set in motion the â€Å"scramble for Africa. † Out of the 14 African states no African leader was present at the conference to assert claims to territory and to agree to regulations on trading. Five of the states at the conference did not even end up with any colonies but had more of a say than all the African leaders. The boundaries in Africa, drawn during the Berlin Conference, greatly attributed to the political unrest in Africa.During the Berlin Conference all the participants signed a notion that said they could not have colonies unless they have full control of the territory they encompassed. The European powers had to send expeditionary forces to pacify what were called their African â€Å"spheres of influence. † This process was bloody and ugly due to the amount of Africans fighting bac k. These pacifications lasted all the way up to World War 1. These uprisings caused anarchy in some places in Africa. Only Ethiopia successfully kept their freedom militarily. But all across Africa, hundreds of polities large, and small fought to destroy these superimposed boundaries.Pre-existing political entities found themselves arbitrarily or deliberately divided in two, three, or even four parts. The main Hausa territories were split between French Niger and British Nigeria, the Maasai suddenly had to practice nomadic pastoralism across a line between German and British East Africa. Conflicts in Africa could definitely were partly caused by boundaries drawn during the Berlin Conference. Uganda’s numerous civil conflicts are pure evidence. Also the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1971 can partly be traced back to the Berlin Conference.Conflicts between states also can be traced to the Conference because of the ridiculous political geography they put in place. Examples of these conflicts are Cameroon and Libya’s with Chad. The finger of Namibia that sticks out across the top of Botswana, known as the Caprivi Strip has been a geopolitical hotspot ever since it appeared on the map. The Berlin Conference was a very unjust and unethical. They drew out boundaries for Africa without the African leaders consent and then took over all of the nations. The Berlin Conference was definitely connected to the political unrest in Africa.

Leadership Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership Managment - Essay Example .while a satisfied customer brings along with him 3 to 5 customers. Socially active and interactive members are sought for this role and they should be highly friendly towards the customers. More than technical knowledge, the response and handling of customers is important in the customers service assistant position. Proper training and education helps improving the level of customer care and reaping maximum benefits out of the entire situation. Line manager: Line manager position of high importance as well as they ensure the smooth working of the overall organization. Their task is to ensure that the message and instructions are being conveyed accurately from top management and that the lower management and those involved in the frontline delivery are performing according to the requirement. The top management may be faced with an array of situations. Ranging from routine situations to that of emergency and unexpected. Defining the leader and leadership: Leader is the captain of the entire ship. His navigation skills enable achieving the objectives and completing the journey. However his role is not isolated and he is expected to coordinate with the unit itself. Leadership is an integrative process that involves equal participation of the members. Leaders must have the ability to take along the members with him. Involve them in decision making, bring the best out of them and provide them with all the requirements and facilities that are needed by the members in accomplishing the tasks. Leaders are also responsible for the appointment of suitable person for the suitable task. The principle of right man for the right job should be followed and a leader must be able enough to select the... This paper approves that a leader has a list of options to choose from with regard to his leadership style. While some might use the stick and carrot approach, others use total cooperative strategy that is more loosely based on the family structure where each is equal and contributes equally. While the participative theory provides the basis that the leader contributes in equal amount as do the team members. The transactional theory on other side is the contrast where the leader mostly monitors, and responds according to the performance. In such situations the leader more loosely acts as the watch dog and allows the team members to continue working as long as they are going smoothly and instructs them only when the leader feels for guiding and direction and strategy change. This essay makes a conclusion that without a leader an organization cannot expect to survive or work. Leaders are the like the pillars to the building and without them no building can with stand. However leadership without proper team work and team members cannot produce the desired results. A leader may choose any operative leadership strategy and theory as long as it is contributive enough towards the main goal of organization. The performance of team members is directly subject to the leaders’ performance and their responses. Motivation from them and guidance can improve the performance many folds while improper direction and lack of guidance can not only harm the individuals but the organization itself.

How to drive defensively Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to drive defensively - Essay Example learning to ride a motorcycle it was necessary for me to always remember that other people were unlikely to see me due to the fact that I took up such a small place on the road. With this in mind, I would oftentimes remind myself that I was in fact invisible once I was on the road. In this way, I was sure to be able to anticipate the actions and maneuvers of erratic drivers that necessarily existed on the roads (Gravelle 16). Furthermore, when I would transition to driving the car, I would oftentimes forget that I was not still on the motorcycle and was able to still keep the invisibility frame of mind open with respect to driving the car. Although it is somewhat silly, this frame of mind is an integral part of what defensive driving involves. As such, defensive driving involves the correct frame of mind, a cognizance that other drivers might do the unexpected, and a perpetual state of alertness. With respect to the perpetual state of alertness, it is easy for one to become preoccupied by the many distractions that exist both on the road and inside the vehicle (Lithing 12). For instance, answering a cell phone, speaking with a friend in the passenger or back seat, straining to find an address or attempting to read a sign or billboard, changing a radio station or selecting a particular song from a playlist, even flirting with the occupant of the car beside you in traffic are all prime examples of just a few of the many ways that a driver can be distracted. Similarly, this distraction does not only apply to the driver who is fighting to maintain a focus, but also to those drivers with whom the defensive driver is trying to avoid and/or anticipate. This leads us to the last component of defensive driving – anticipation. As previously discussed, the tools that have been presented revolve around the driver keeping a correct frame of mind and avoiding distraction. As such, both of these skills rationally lead up to the concept of anticipation (Williams 4).

Criminal Law Prosecutors Perspective Research Paper

Criminal Law Prosecutors Perspective - Research Paper Example Accordingly, this brief essay will examine the moral and ethical ramifications, as well as unique perspectives, that the prosecuting attorney faces with relation to the many different cases that are brought before him/her. The fact of the matter is that the role of the prosecuting attorney is oftentimes equally ethically grey as that of the defense attorney. This is due to a number of reasons which will be detailed in the following analysis. Furthermore, the underlying motives of the prosecutor will be analyzed along with commonly held misconceptions regarding the nature of their work and the type of justice that they are tasked with upholding. Firstly, a prosecuting attorney is encouraged to obtain convictions; regardless of the level of guilt. This encourages a situation in which many individuals are punished for crimes they either did not commit or did not commit to the degree that the State is interested in punishing them for. Furthermore, the drive to obtain convictions oftentimes dulls the sense of justice that the State should ultimately be pursuing. As prosecuting attorneys are interested in increasing their overall conviction tally, they are oftentimes oblivious to the legality and/or legitimacy of the cases that they prosecute. A further complication of the role and perspective of a prosecutor is the fact that they are often encouraged to disregard the moral standard in which a certain crime is prescribed to be punished. What is meant by this is that the prosecuting attorney is intimately aware of the penalty for infraction of a given law; however, this penalty is not always upheld when it comes time to prosecute the crime (Silbert 1718). The reason for this can be any number of things from the fact that the criminal has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution, another party involved has chosen to inform the authorities as to the specific details and nature of

Healthy Alternatives to Prescription Medications Term Paper

Healthy Alternatives to Prescription Medications - Term Paper Example    All these categories may be used complementarily with medical prescriptions or entirely on their own, as alternatives to western medicine. In general, the use of CAM does not imply the rejection of conventional medicine, but as a critical part of self-care management that shows ones responsibility for health and a pragmatic approach to managing the chronic condition in the best possible way (Moses 64). Notably, some cases require the use of the alternative medicine in place of prescription medication. For instance, a person may opt for physiotherapy instead of antidepressants to relieve stress. Of great importance is the need to ensure that the alternative medications are healthy since ensuring the safety of the patient is very important. The effectiveness of any alternative treatment should be accompanied by lack of adverse effects. The use of alternatives to prescription medication is healthy if undertaken under the principles of quality use of medicine, which calls for judiciousness, appropriateness, safety, and efficacy. Prescription medication is not always effective and in some instances, it does not work well enough as the alternative form of treatment. To begin with, the ineffectiveness of the conventional medication leads people to seek alternative medicine. For instance, biomedical treatment of chronic pain using long-term opioids, anticonvulsants, topical preparations, and tricyclic antidepressants is only marginally effective (Tan, Alvarez and Jensen 1420). For instance, Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FM), a chronically painful disorder of unknown origin that defies all clinical treatments is effectively managed by alternative treatments such as acupuncture, herbal and nutritional supplements, and massage  therapy (Sarac and Gur 48).  

In the novel Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, how does the second Essay

In the novel Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, how does the second part of the novel comment and reflect on the themes and events of the first part - Essay Example Ben’s life mirrors Jakob’s in some respects. Death is the predominant theme of the novel. At the very onset, the reader is informed of Jakob’s untimely demise in a car-accident. The events unfolded in the subsequent pages are therefore viewed through the eyes of a dead man. Thus the spectre of death looms large over the narrative. Jakob was the aural witness to the savage murder of his parents and the abduction of his beloved sister Bella. From that moment on he is haunted by the constant presence of his sister in his life. He is tormented by his abject ignorance of her fate. He reiterates his belief that the dead wield a permanent influence over the living, â€Å"It’s no metaphor to feel the influence of the dead in the world.†(Michaels, 53) Death makes its presence felt in Ben’s narrative as well. He is a child of the second generation but nevertheless he is a victim of the holocaust. His parents are living reminders of the horrors of the past and their very home is permeated with the remnants of the evil of those dark times. His situation is outlined in Jakob’s description of the mass graves in the first part, â€Å"When the prisoners were forced to dig up the mass graves, the dead entered them through their pores and were carried through their bloodstreams to their brains and heart. And through their blood into another generation.†(52) The role of history and memory in the lives of the protagonists constitutes another theme of the novel and is reiterated in the second part echoing its occurrence in the first part. Jakob and Ben are trapped in their traumatic pasts and there is no hope for fulfilment in their present lives and possibly the future as well. Jakob is repelled by history and its clinical detachment in the face of atrocity and immorality and prefers to seek recourse in the intimate confines of memory. â€Å"History is amoral: events

Individual and Collective Responsibility in the Society Assignment

Individual and Collective Responsibility in the Society - Assignment Example In developing his society, Alexie uses the ordinary people in any other society such as fathers, sons, husbands, laborers, and artists among many others. He develops a perilous poise between external responsibility and self-preservation through family, art and the entire world through by extrapolation. â€Å"Yes the kid was a decent athlete, yet the kid was a descent yes the kid was a decent person. But he had broken into my house† Alexie 14. The adults interact with the children effectively and in a bid to create a peaceful and cohesive society, they must maintain a sense of order by addressing such social vices and deterrence to peace as theft, which the author portrays here. He develops a good child who epitomizes the desirable qualities, but due to lack in the society and poor upbringing, the child breaks into other people’s houses and steal. The society must develop ways of punishing and rectifying such. Relations and interactions exist at different levels in society. In their relations, the characters maintain the decorum that is mandatory in the development of a cohesive society. In portraying the relationship among the character, Alexie develops the balance between self-portrayal and external responsibility by defining the specific individual and communal role. At family levels, the characters maintain a level of intimacy required of couples by sharing fundamental information that sustains such relationships, â€Å"My wife paused before answering, and in the pause, I heard all the doubt and fear. So I got out of bed, dressed and left the house† (Alexie 15). Alexis develops communal responsibility as that which everyone must maintain in order to achieve a desirable and society in which people observed laws and maintained the social order â€Å"But this time when those black people walked in slow motion in front of mei did not smile or laugh.  

Nordstrom's Success Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nordstrom's Success - Term Paper Example They have knowledgeable sales clerks and sales people who pay more attention to customers (Lamb, et. al, 2011). Nordstrom’s level of service is known to be high full service. Sales people are taught to always try to understand their customers. They should try to make their customers have the best shopping experience at any time they visit the store. Nordstrom is therefore at the full service continuum level since its employees would do whatever is possible to make their customers happy. Nordstrom aims at giving the best experience to its customers, whether they are shopping on- line, in their stores or through a mail order catalogue. A good example of a business that is on the other end of the continuum is Target. Although they have good customer service, it cannot be compared to that at Nordstrom. Customers will just be greeted at the door when going into the store and not much assistance will be given to them. Their sales people with focus on making sales rather than assisting customers fully. Target does not depend on high quality customer service. The store will just ensure that products are well displayed on the shelves and that the store processes are running smoothly. The self-service model is more important at target store since customers will just walk around the store and look for whatever they wish to buy by themselves. Nordstrom has knowledgeable sales people who provide quality services to their customers because they know that each customer would love to get a unique shopping experience. The highly trained employees will create personal interactions with each customer and this will ensure that their needs and wants are satisfied. Nordstrom also uses selective distribution as a method of retailing. The departments now manage inventories at its stores and website as one big entity. When a customer is shopping online and the product is

Animal Cruelty Essay Example for Free

Animal Cruelty Essay Animal cruelty is the crime of inflicting physical pain, suffering or death on an animal. Society has become a dreadful place for animals where humans can no longer be trusted because of their incongruous behaviour. The animals of the world exist for their own reasons; they were not made for humans to abuse and experiment, however, society has become decayed and inhumane. In the poem ‘Foxes among the lamb’ Ernest G. Moll demonstrates how the farmer poisons the foxes and leaves them to suffer and eventually die. When individuals glance at an animal they judge them as aggressive creatures. The visual poster portrays how animals are innocent and vulnerable creatures to society. ‘The Panther’ by Rainer Maria Rilke displays how animals should not be locked up in cages. Animal cruelty, the abominable way humans treat animals, reflects our decaying society, one that seems to be losing its humanity due to the sadistic nature of humans who lack empathy for others. The poem ‘Foxes Among the lamb’ portrays how foxes eat the lamb and how the farmer acts in an inappropriate abhorrent way. This behaviour is illustrated through the metaphor ‘gift’ which demonstrates the poison that the farmer gives to the foxes to die in a beastly bloodcurdling death. Furthermore the personification ‘Half-frightened eagerness of hate’ presents how the farmer is anxious and determined to kill the foxes and how eager the farmer is to manipulate the foxes. The composer’s use of alliteration â€Å"this time then † this proves how the farmer had to pause and pay attention to make sure that the fox had died. Therefore, humans can no longer be trustworthy among animals because of their antagonistic behaviour which imitates our society. Recognising animal rights will result in an individual having deep respect for animals. The visual poster indicates the innocence of animal and why humans should look after them as well as treat them in a respectful way. The background of the poster represents the manifestation of the dog delighted to be free and not stuck in a cage. It also reveals the dog in a park where he could run around and not locked up. The first thing an observer sees on the poster is the salience of the dog that looks harmless, healthy and blithe. When the audience beholds this, their first impression would be to save these helpless animals. The only thing that animals have done to humans is becoming man’s best friend. Finally, close up shot of the dog has been used to show the guiltlessness and exploitation of animals. This effect makes the audience focus their attention on the animal’s expression, to show the significance of animals and the way society has become an appalling place for them. Hence, humans have to earn the respect and treat animal just like the way they would like to be treated because animals too have a soul and emotions. Animal cruelty is locking animals in cages and keeping them as captives to satisfy and amaze people that are sadistic. The poem ‘The Panther’ conveys how a panther is locked up in a cage in the zoo to astonish people and how the panther feels about having no freedom. The use of imagery in the first stanza â€Å"his weary glance from passing by the bars,† portrays how the panther is tired of looking outside and exhausted of waiting for his liberty. Moreover, hyperbole is revealed in â€Å"only to sink and die within his heart. † This emphasis the sadness and reaction of the panther’s being lonely. In stanza two the simile â€Å"The iron bands is like a dance,† this emphasis how the panther is aware of everything around him but he just really wants to get out of the cage and be free. Thus, humans should not steal the freedom of animals because they too have the right to live their own life. In conclusion, humans have become violently atrocious and antipathetic that they no longer can be reliable in the animal world. This is evident in the text ‘Foxes among the Lamb,’ ‘The panther’ and the visual poster. Continuing to abuse animals and trying to manipulate them will only lead to a decayed society because of our irresponsible actions.

Yips Drivers Of Globalisation Management Essay

Yips Drivers Of Globalisation Management Essay There is an increasing trend to market globalisation for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signalled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalise, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who an operate on a global basis. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalisation- the obvious example being the impact of the internet. Marketing policies, brand names and identifies, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Cost globalisation may give potential for competitive advantage since some organisations will have greater access to and/be more aware of these advantages than others. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lower cost suppliers across the world. Country specific costs such as labour or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labour, software companies and call centres are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalisation of industry. Changes in the macro environment are increasing the global competition, which, in turn, encourages further globalisation. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalisation pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global scale. Porters 5 forces (diagram p.80) Porters five forces framework was originally developed as a way of assessing the attractiveness of different industries. As such it can help identifying the sources of competition in an industry or sector. Although initially used with businesses in mind, it is of value to most organisations. It must be used at the level of SBUs and not at the level of the whole organisation. For example an airline might compete simultaneously in several different arenas such as domestic and long haul, and target different customer groups such as leisure, business ad freight. The impact of competitive force may be different for each of theses SBUs. Understanding the connections between competitive forces and the key drivers in the macro environment are essential. For example technological changes can destroy many of the competitive advantages and barriers that have protected organisations historically. The five forces are not independent of each other. Pressures from one direction can trigger off changes in another in dynamic process of shifting sources of competition. Competitive behaviour may be concerned with disrupting these forces and not simply accommodating them. Threat of entry will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. These are factors that need to be overcome by new entrants if they are to compete successfully. These should be seen as providing delays to entry and not as permanent barriers to determined potential entrants. They may deter some potential entrants but not others. Typical barriers are as follows- Economies of scale The capital requirement of entry. The capital cost of entry will vary according to technology and scale. Access to supply or distribution channels. In many industries manufacturers have had control over supply or/and distribution channels. Customer or supplier loyalty. It is difficult for a competitor to break into an industry if there are one or more established operators that now the industry well and have good relationships with the key buyers and suppliers. Experience. Early entrants into an industry gain experience sooner than others. This can give them advantage in terms of cost and/or customer/supplier loyalty. Legislation or government action. Legal restraints on competition vary from patent protection, to regulation of markets through to direct government action. Threat of substitutes. Substitutes reduces demand for a particular class of products as customers switch to the alternatives-even to the extent that this lass of products or services become obsolete. This depends on whether a substitute provides a higher perceived benefit or value. Substitution may take different forms- There could be product for product substitution- for example email, substituting for a postal service. There may also be other organisations that are complementors-meaning that they have products and services that make organisations products more competitive-and vice versa. There may be substitution of need by a new product or service, rendering an existing product or service redundant. For example, more reliable and cheaper domestic appliances reducing the need for maintenance and repair services. Generic substitution occurs where products or services compete for disposable income, for example furniture manufacturers compete for available household expenditure with suppliers of televisions, videos, cookers, cars and holidays. The power of buyers and suppliers. Buyer power is likely to be high when some of the following conditions prevail. There is a concentration of buyers, particularly if the volumes purchased by buyers are high and/or the supplying industry comprises a large number of small operators. This is the case on items such as milk in the grocery sector in many European countries, where just a few retailers dominate the market. The cost of switching a supplier is low or involves little risk-for example, if there are no long term contract or supplier approval requirements. There is a threat of the supplier being acquired by the buyer and/or the buyer setting up in competition with the supplier. This is called backward integration and might occur if satisfactory prices or quality from suppliers cannot be obtained. Supplier power is likely to be high when: There is a concentration of suppliers rather than a fragmented source of supply. The switching costs from one supplier to another are high, perhaps because an organisations processes are dependant on the specialist products of a supplier, as in the aerospace industry, or where a product is clearly differentiated-such as Microsoft products. There is the possibility of the suppliers competing directly with their buyers(this s called forward integration) if they do not obtain the prices, and hence the margins, that they seek. Competitive rivals are organisations with similar products and services aimed at the same customer group. There are a number of factors that affect the degree of competitive rivalry in an industry or sector: The extent to which competitors are in balance. Where competitors are of roughly equal size there is the danger of intense competition as on competitor attempts to gain dominance over another. Industry growth rates may affect rivalry. The idea of the life cycle suggests that the stage of development of an industry or sector is important in terms of competitive behaviour. High fixed costs in an industry, perhaps through capital intensity, may result in price wars and low margins if industry capacity exceeds demand as capacity fill becomes a prerogative. Where there are high exit barriers to an industry, there is again likely to be the persistence of excess capacity and, consequently, increased competition. Differentiation can, again, be important. In a commodity market, where products r services are undifferentiated, there is little to stop customers switching between competitors increasing rivalry. The following questions help focus on the implications of these forces- Are some industries ore attractive than others? This was the original purpose of the 5 forces model, the argument being that an industry is attractive when the forces are weak. For example, if entry is difficult, suppliers and/or buyers have little power and rivalry is low. What are the underlying forces in the macro environment that are driving the competitive forces? For example, the lower labour costs for software and service operators located in India are both an opportunity and a threat to European and US companies. So five forces needs to be linked to PESTEL as mentioned earlier. Critical success factors-from the potential providers viewpoint it is valuable to understand which features are of particular importance to a group of customers(market segment). These are known as the critical success factors. Critical success factors are those product features that are particularly valued by a group of customers and, therefore, where the organisation excel to outperform competition. Strategic capability can be defined as the adequacy and suitability of the resources and competences of an organisation for it to survive and prosper. Tangible resources- are the physical assets of an organisation such as plant, labour and finance. Intangible resources- are non physical assets such as information, reputation and knowledge. Typically, an organisations resources can be considered under the following 4 categories: Physical resources- such as the number of machines, buildings or the production capacity of the orgnaisation. The nature of these resources, such as the age, condition, capacity and location of each resource, will determine the usefulness of suc resources. Financial resources- such as captal, cash, debtors, and creditors, and suppliers of money (shareholders, bankers, etc) Human resources- including the number and mix of people in an organisation. The intangible resource of their sills and knowledge is also likely to be important. This applies both to employees and other people in an organisations networks. In knowledge based economies people do genuinely become the most valuable asset. Intellectual capital is an important aspect of the intangible resources of an organisation. This includes patents, brands, business systems and customer databases. There should be no doubt that these intangible resources have a value, since when businesses are sold part of the value is goodwill. In a knowledge based economy intellectual capital is likely to be a major asset of many organisations. Such resources are certainly important but what an organisation does-how it employs and deploys its resources-matters at least as much as what resources it has. There would be no point in having state of the art equipment or valuable knowledge or a valuable brand if they were not used effectively. The efficiency and effectiveness of physical or financial resources, or the people in an organisation, depends on not just their existence bt how they are managed, the cooperation between people, their adaptability, their innovatory capacity, the relationship with customers and suppliers and the experience and learning about what works well and what does not. Competences is used to mean the activities and processes through which n organisation deploys its resources effectively. In understanding strategic capability, the emphasis is, then, not just on what resources exist but on ho they are used. Threshold capabilities are those essential for the organisation to be able to compete in a given market. Without these an organisation is unlikely to be able to survive in the market. The first 2 basic questions are- -what are the threshold resources needed to support particular strategies? If an organisation des not possess these resources it will be unable to meet customers minimum requirements and therefore be unable to continue to exist. For example, the increasing demands by modern multiple retailers made on their suppliers means that those suppliers have to possess quite sophisticated IT infrastructure to stand a chance of meeting retailer requirements. Threshold levels of capabilities will change and will usually rise over time as critical success factors change and through the activities of competitors and new entrants. An example is the way in which the premier league developed during the 1990s created a gulf between those who were able to spend money on players and who were not. While threshold capabilities are fundamentally important they do not of themselves create competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is more likely to be created and sustained if the organisation if the organisation has distinctive or unique capabilities that competitors cannot imitate. This may be because the organisation has unique resources. Unique resources- are those resources that critically underpin competitive advantage and that others cannot imitate or obtain. It is, however, more likely that an organisation is able to achieve competitive advantage because it has distinctive, or core, competences. Core competences- are taken to mean the activities and processes through which resources are deployed in such a way as to achieve competitive advantage in ways that others cannot obtain or imitate. For example, supplier that achieves a competitive advantage in a retail market might have done so on the basis of a unique resource such as powerful brand, or by finding ways of providing service or building relationships with that retailer in ways that its competitors find it difficult to imitate, a core competence. The summary argument is this. To survive and prosper an organisation needs to address the challenges of the environment that it faces. In particular it must be capable of delivering against the critical success factors that arise from demands and needs of its customers. The strategic capability to do so is dependant on the resources plus the competences it has. These must reach a threshold level in order for the organisation to survive. The further challenge is to achieve competitive advantage. This requires it to have strategic capabilities that its competitors find difficult to imitate or obtain. These could be unique resources but are more likely to be the core competences of the organisation. Cost efficiency An important strategic capability in any organisation is to ensure attention is paid to achieving and continually improving cost efficiency. This will involve having both appropriate resources and the competences to manage costs. The management of the cost base of an organisation could be a basis for achieving competitive advantage. However, for many organisations in many markets this is becoming a threshold strategic capability for 2 reasons; First, because customers do not value product features at any price. If the price rises too high they will be prepared to sacrifice value and opt for a lower priced product. Second, competitive rivalry will continually require the driving down of cost because competitors will be trying to reduce their cost so as to under price their rivals while offering similar value. Sustainable competitive advantage If capabilities of an organisation do not meet customer needs, at least to a threshold level, the organisation cannot survive. If it cannot manage its costs efficiently and continue to improve on this, it will be vulnerable to those who can. However, if the aim is to achieve competitive advantage then this itself is not enough. The question then becomes, what resources and competences might provide competitive advantage in ways that can be sustained over time? If this is to be achieved, then strategic capability has to meet other criteria. It is important to emphasise that if an organisation seeks to build competitive advantage it must meet the needs and expectations of its customers. There is little point in having capabilities that are valueless in customer terms; the strategic capabilities must be able to deliver what the customer values in terms of product or service. Given this fundamental requirement, there are then other key capability requirements to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Rarity of strategic capabilities Competitive advantage cannot be achieved if the strategic capability of an organisation is the same as other organisations. It could, however, be that a competitor possesses some unique r rare capability providing competitive advantage. For example some libraries have unique collections of books unavailable elsewhere. Competitive advantage could also be based on rare competences such as years of experience in, for example, brand management or building relationships with key customers; or perhaps the way in which different parts of a global business have learned to work harmoniously. Rarity may depend on who owns the competence and how easily transferable it is. For example, the competitive advantages of some professional service organisations are built around the competence of specific individuals- such as a doctor in leading edge medicine. An organisation may have secured preferred access to customers or suppliers perhaps through an approval process or by winning a bidding process. This may be particularly advantageous if this approval for access cannot be obtained without a specific history of operation or having followed a specified development programme-say with pharmaceutical products. This means that a competitor cannot find a short cut to imitation. Some competences are situation dependant and not transferable because they are only of value if used in a particular organisation. For example, the systems for operating particular machines are not applicable to organisations that do not use those same machines. Sometimes incumbent organisations have advantage because they have sunk costs that are already written off and they are able to operate at significantly lower overall cost. Other organisations would face much higher costs to set up to compete. Whilst rarity of strategic capabilities can, then, provide the basis of competitive advantage, there are dangers of redundancy. Rare capabilities may come to be core rigidities difficult to change and damaging to the organisation and its markets. Robustness of strategic capabilities (diagram p.128) It should be clear by now that the search for strategic capability that provides sustainable competitive advantage is not straightforward. It involves identifying capabilities that are likely to be durable and which competitors find difficult to imitate or obtain. Indeed the criterion of robustness is sometimes referred to as non-imitable. Advantage is more likely to be determined by the way in which resources are deployed to create competences in the organisations activities. For example, as suggested earlier an IT system itself will not improve an organisations competitive standing; it is how it is used that matters. Indeed what will probably make most difference is how the system is used to bring together customer needs with areas of activities and knowledge both inside and outside the organisation. It is therefore to do with linking sets of competences. Core competences are likely to be the liked activities or processes through which resources are deployed in such a way as to achieve competitive advantage. They create and sustain the ability to meet the critical success factors of particular customer groups better than other providers and in ways that are difficult to imitate. In order to achieve this advantage, core competences therefore need to fulfil the following criteria: -they must relate to an actitvity or process that underpins the value in the product or service features-as seen through the eyes of the customer. -the competences must lead to levels of performance that are significantly better than competitors. -the competences must be robust-that is, difficult for competitors to imitate. Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on an organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends. Important external stakeholders usually include financial institutions, customers, suppliers, shareholders and unions. External stakeholders can be usefully divided into 3 types in terms of the nature of their relationship with the organisation and therefore, how they might affect the success or failure of a particular strategy. -stakeholders from the market environment such as suppliers, competitors, distributors, shareholders. These stakeholders have an economic relationship with the organisation and influence the value creation process as members of the value network. -stakeholders from the social/political environment such as policy makers, regulators, government agencies who will influence the social legitimacy. -stakeholders in the technological environment such as key adopters, standards agencies and owners of competitive technologies who will influence the diffusion of new technologies and the adoption of industry standards. These 3 sets of stakeholders are rarely of equal importance in any specific situation. For example the technological group are clearly crucial for strategies of new product introduction whilst the social/political group are usually particularly influential in the public sector context. Since the expectations of stakeholder groups will differ, it is quite normal for conflict to exist regarding the importance or desirability of many aspects of strategy. Stakeholder mapping identifies stakeholder expectations and power and helps in understanding political priorities. It underlines the importance of 2 issues: -How interested each stakeholder group is to impress its expectations on the organisations purposes and choice of specific strategies. -Whether stakeholders have the power to do so. Power/interest matrix(diagram p.182) It seeks to describe the political context within which an individual strategy would be pursued. It does this by classifying stakeholders in relation to the power they hold an the extent to which they are likely to show interest in supporting or opposing a particular strategy. Stakeholder mapping might help in understanding better some of the following issues: -whether the actual levels of interest and power of stakeholders properly reflect the corporate governance framework within which the organisation is operating. -who the key blocker and facilitors of a strategy are likely to be and how this could be responded to. -whether repositioning of certain stakeholders is desirable and/or feasible. -maintaining the level of interest or power of some key stakeholders may be essential. Equally it may be necessary to discourage some stakeholders from repositioning themselves. Stakeholder groups are not usually homogeneous but contain a variety of sub groups with somewhat different expectations and power. Most stakeholder groups consist of large numbers of individuals (such as customers or shareholders), and hence can be thought of largely independently of the expectations of individuals within this group. Power Power is the mechanism by which expectations are able to influence purposes and strategies. It has been seen that, in most organisations, power will be unequally shared between the various stakeholders. For the purposes of this discussion, power is the ability of individuals or groups to persuade, induce or coerce others into following certain courses of action. There are many different sources of power. On the other hand, there is power that people or groups derive from their position within the organisation and through the formal corporate governance arrangement. since there are a variety of different sources of power, it is useful to look for indicators of power, which are the visible signs that stakeholders have been able to exploit one or more of the sources of power. Corporate parent The levels of management above that of business units are referred to as the corporate parent. So, a corporate centre or the divisions within a corporation which look after several business units act in a corporate parenting role. The corporate parent refers to the levels of management above that of business units and therefore without direct interaction with buyers and competitors. The discussion does not only relate to large conglomerate businesses. Even small businesses may consist of a number of business units. For example, a local builder maybe undertaking contract work for local government, work for industrial buyers and for local homeowners. Product/market diversity An underpinning issue related to how a corporate parent may or may not add value to that created by its business units is the extent and nature of the diversity of the products or services it offers. Diversification may be undertaken for a variey of reasons some more value creating than others. These are as follows- First, there may be effieciency gains from applying the organisations existing resources or capabilities to new markets and products or services. These are known as economies of scope. Second, there may also be gains from applying corporate managerial capabilities to new markets and products and services Third, having a diverse range of products or services can increase market power. With a diverse range of products or services, an organisation can afford to susidise one product from the surpluses earned by another, in a way that competitors may not be able to. Related diversification can be defined as strategy development beyond current products and markets, but within the capabilities or value network of the organisation. For example procter and gamble and unilever are diversified corporations, but virtually all of their interests are in fast moving consumer goods distributed to retailers, and increasingly in building global brands in that arena. Related diversification is often seen s superior to unrelated diversification, In particular because it is likely to yield economies of scope. However, it is useful to consider reasons why related diversification can be problematic. These include- -the time and cost involved in top management at the corporate level trying to ensure that the benefits or relatedness are achieved through sharing or transfer across business units. -the difficulty for business unit managers in sharing resources with other business units, or adapting to corporate wide policies, especially when they are incentivised and rewarded primarily on the basis of the performance of their own business alone. Unrelated diversification is the development of products or services beyond the current capabilities or value network. Unrelated diversification is often described as a conglomerate strategy. Because there are no obvious economies of scope between the different businesses, but there is an obvious cost of the headquarters, unrelated diversification companies share prices often suffer. It is important also to recognise that the distinction between related and unrelated diversification is a matter of degree. It is the role of any corporate parent to ensure it does add value rather than to destroy it. Indeed how many corporate parents create value is central not only to the performance of companies but also to their survival. (diagram p.309)The portfolio manager is, in effect, a corporate parent acting as an agent on behalf of financial markets and shareholders with a view to enhancing the value attained from the various businesses in a more efficient and effective way than financial markets could. Its role is to identify and acquire under-valued assets or businesses and improve them. It might do this, for example, by acquiring another corporation, divesting low performance businesses within it and encouraging the improved performance of those with potential. Portfolio managers seek to keep the cost of the centre low, for example by having a small corporate staff with few central services, leaving the business units alone so that their chief executives have a high degree of autonomy. Synergy manager a corporate parent seeking to enhance value across business units by managing synergies cross business units. Resources or activities might be shared, for example, common distribution systems might be used for different businesses, overseas offices may be shared by smaller business units acting in different geographical areas. There may exist common skills or competences across businesses. The parental developer seeks to employ its own competences as a parent to add value to its businesses. Rather parental developers have to be clear about the relevant resources or capabilities they themselves have as parents to enhance the potential of business units. The parental developer; a corporate parent seeking to employ its own competences as a parent to add value to its businesses and build parenting skills that are appropriate for their portfolio of business units. Managing the corporate portfolio This section is to do with the models managers might use to make sense of the nature and diversity of the business units within the portfolio, or businesses they might be considering adding given the different rationales described above. A number of tools have been developed to help managers choose what business units to have in a portfolio. Each tool gives more or less focus on one of these criteria: -the balance of the portfolio, eg in relation to its markets and the needs of the corporation; -the attractiveness of the business units in the portfolio in terms of how profitable they are or are likely to be and how fast they are growing; and -the degree of fit that the business units have with each other in terms of potential synergies or the extent to which the corporate parent will be good at looking after them. The growth share (or BCG) matrix (diagram p.315) One of the most common and long standing ways of conceiving the balance of a portfolio of businesses in terms of the relationship between market share and market growth identified by the Boston Consulting Group. The types f businesses in such a portfolio are- -star is a business unit which has a high market share in a growing market. The business unit may be spending heavily to gain that share. -question mark or problem child is a business unit in a growing market, but without a high market share. Cash cow is a business unit with a high market share in a mature market Dogs are business units with a low share in static or declining markets. The growth share matrix permits business units to be examined in relation to (a) market (segment) share and (b) the growth rate of that market and in this respect the life cycle development of that market. It is therefore a way of considering the balance and development of a portfolio. It is argued that market growth rate is important for a business unit seeking to dominate a ma

Sphere :: essays research papers

Title: SPHERE Author: Michael Crichton Copyright: 1987 Main Characters: Harry, Beth, "Jerry", Norman, Ted, Barnes Setting South Pacific under water 1,00 feet under in a cylinder habitat. My name is Norman Johnson and I am a Psychologist. I am 54 and I am married. I have been called to a crash scene before to administer but this wasn't just any crash scene it would change my life. I was called out by the military to a site in the south pacific. I didn't hear any reports of an airline crashes so I thought it must be military craft. When I got to the site there were military craft everywhere. The helicopter dropped me off on the main ship where I was meet by Captain Barnes the leader of this project. I found out I wasn't the only specialist called out on this project. He also called out a marine biologist and science professionals. I started to think that this wasn't just any airline crash. I knew something was up. Later Barnes called a meeting where I learned that we were all here for reason. Barnes told us that a UFO crashed. I was skeptical at first and didn't believe it. Then bares said we are going to go down and take a look at it, I thought this meant them but a few hours later I was going to the bottom in a submarine. The site is 1,000 feet under water which is shallow compared tot he rest of the pacific. At the site there was a huge grid on lights and a massive metallic fin sticking up out of the grid. It was part of the craft and it looked like nothing I have ever seen. We settled into he habitat it was more comfortable then I though it would be it had showers and beds and everything a house had. The only strange thing was your voice†¦ The air down here had a more helium concentrate so it made your voice funny. To prevent this we use ' Breathers" a device that goes around you throat to normalize your speech. At this depth there is almost no sign on life hardly any plants or fish at all. Barnes called a meeting. We have found a craft, which we believe, is 300 years old and may contain life that's why all of u have been called in. Right now we are looking for the "front door" he said.

Demand Management and Fiscal Policy Essay examples -- Fiscal Policy In

Demand Management and Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy is the manipulation of aggregate demand using taxation and or government spending. The government tends to make most of its fiscal decisions in the annual budget, usually announced in March of each year. However, there are a number of problems in using fiscal policy to control aggregate demand - one of the most significant is the problem of time-lags. 1. Time Lags Many aspects of fiscal policy have a delayed effect on aggregate demand. Changing the fiscal stance can take some time to achieve. For example switching to an expansionary fiscal policy through increased government spending can take some time before the full multiplied effects are felt on the economy. If the government announced increased health service spending, there could be considerable delays, as various committees decide how best to allocate the new funding. Then, if some extra construction work is planned, contracts need negotiating and awarding, all before actual spending takes place. On top of all these delays, major capital projects such as new hospital extensions could themselves take some time to complete. The net effect is that there may be months if not years before the planned increased in government spending actually has its full effect on the economy. This scenario is equally appropriate if the government is intending to build more roads, employ more teachers, invest more in the military etc. Admittedly, a tax change is probably quicker to introduce, although often businesses need some advanced warning so they can accommodate any change - again building-in some delay. Question: So what is his the problem of this for demand management ? The danger is that if the government was attempting to reflate the economy ( ie boost AD ) because of a lack of demand and economic activity, by the time the expansionary fiscal policy takes effect - the economy could have entered an upswing. Thus the economy might end up being stimulated at exactly the most inappropriate time. This time lag in fiscal policy could lead to exaggerated swings in the trade cycle - increasing volatility and hence inducing more uncertainty. 2. Fine Tuning -------------- Fine tuning is difficult when using fiscal policy. This refers to the ability to manipulate taxes and spending plans to bring abo... ...there any benefits ? Alternatively, an interest rate decrease is likely to lead to some capital outflows and hence a weakening of the currency. 2. Interest rates and time lags There can be some delays before the full effects of interest rates change are felt on the economy. When the Bank of England push up rates for example, it will take some time for the full effects to filter through the economy. Some estimates put this delay as being as long as 18 months. This is because, some banks eg HSBC, NatWest may not immediately adjust their rates straight away. Even if they do, some individuals may have fixed rate loans or mortgages, or they have some period of fixed rate ( eg for the first 3 years of a mortgage). Therefore, these individuals will not have their discretionary income changed for some time. Individuals with outstanding amounts on credit cards may also benefit from a couple of months delay before they start to notice that their interest payments have started to rise. Nevertheless, interest rate changes are thought to be much faster acting that fiscal policy changes, as at least an interest change will have some immediate impact straight away.

Christian Dior and the House of Dior: Luxury and Brilliant Style Combin

â€Å"When I opened my couture house I decided to dress only the most fashionable women from the first ranks of society.† –Christian Dior Christian Dior impacted fashion by establishing the house of Dior, and creating the New Look in 1947. When Dior created his designs, he looked back on his French country heritage and childhood for inspiration. The House of Dior still incorporates Christian Dior’s past into modern day designs and honors his traditions. (De Racogne) The New Look shocked people out of World War II and austerity and into a new era of elegant fashion. Dior’s New Look made him, the House of Dior, and Paris, the recognized fashion icons, which have also been influential in modern times. The House of Dior is one of the most recognized luxury brands in fashion. Christian Dior, the original genius behind the brand, massively changed the fashion world by introducing his New Look in 1947. His design changed a world of dreariness and sacrifice of World War II into one with a bright future, especially in fashion. Many people loved the gentle curves of the silhouette, emphasizing the women’s hi ps and small waist. The New Look trickled down to the mass markets at a lower cost. Everyone had access to the basic design of the New Look. Even in today’s House of Dior, luxury and heritage is a priority. Monsieur Dior always tied his designs back to his childhood, which designers still do today. Every piece of an outfit has a meaning to it from Christian Dior’s life. Luxury is also supremacy in the House of Dior, much like it was for Mr. Dior. Overall, without Christian Dior, the world may still be in an unfashionable rut. His New Look shocked everyone out of the war and into a prosperous future. His house carries his legacy today. Chr... ...ten work in the garden. Also, when he was older, and needed inspiration, he would visit his summer home to â€Å"be one with nature†. â€Å"Happiness pink† is a term Dior created to describe a light, soft pink. In stands for the color of his childhood home in Granville, which is now a museum. Black, red, and gray are also very common colors, which Dior thinks flatter almost everyone. â€Å"Red is the magical color that has created the strongest link between Dior and Galliano.† Finally, three other common fabrics are houndstooth, Prince of Wales plaid, and lace. (Offices of the House of Dior) Designers must study these stories, in order to create a true Dior-esque collection. Famous lines from the house of Dior are the Zig-zag, in 1948, the Vertical, in 1950, the Tulip, in 1953, the H-line, in 1954, the A-line, in 1955, the Y-line, in 1955, and the Spindle line in 1957. (Krebs)

Love in Shakespeare plays “Twelfth night †Romeo & Juliet” Essay

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England in1564 He has enduring fame because he dared to be different, though he is known mainly through his plays. One of the most famous plays he wrote is Romeo and Juliet, a well-known love story. Also, he wrote Hamlet and Macbeth, two other well known plays. He is famous because of his creativty and giftedness with writing plays as well as his acting abilities . Althought his play † twelfth night † is a romantic comedy while † Romeo & Juliet † is romatic tragedy , they both show that love can cause pain ; Many of the characters claim to suffer painfully from beying in love .. In the † twelfth night † we have more than one love story , Olivia describes love as a plague from which she suffers terribly ; Viola also seems unhappy † My state is desperate for my master’s love † ; Viola falls in love with Orsino but can not tell him , because he thinks she is a man , while Olivia , the object of Orsino’s affection , love Viola ‘ Cesario ‘ , Olivia wants to let Cesario know that she loves him by sending him a ring by way of Malvolio , it was her way of expressing her love . Love in this play is coming out of apure hearted people , who , loves for love . the characters in this play have a very deep sense of love , that they love each other spirtualy away from any phisical impact on their passion . In Romeo & Juliet passion and love spring up at the first sight between Romeo & Juliet , we can see the powerful nature of love in the way they described it from the first time they met † A like bewitched by the charm of looks † ( II.prologue ) Juliet , perhaps , most perfectly describes her love for Romeo by refusing to describe it : † But my true love is grown to such excess / i can not sum up some of half my wealth ( III.i.33-34 ) the events in this love story are always connected to passion , whether that passion is love or hate . The blind passion of love leads the lover to struggle against public and social institutions that either explicitly or implicitly oppose the existence of their love , the famelies of the lovers are enemies , which make their dream hard to come true Althought Romeo & Juliet is the most famous love story in english literary tradition , which end with a very tragedy ending when the couple sicide , theire suicides can be understood as the ultimate night , the ultimate privcy where thy don’t have to fac a new day and a new social struggle . From my own prespective i think love in the Twelfth night is strongr and deeper while in Romeo & Juliet we have eye love which is baced  on the physical appearance , what makes the story look so passionate is th impossibility of their marriage , As every body knows , human nature desired to struggle and face difficalties , such love will end as soon as they satisfy their desires , but love in the Twelfth night wont end easily because it was not easily given †¦ the emotions which can be easily given , they will disappear easily . These two plays are great to study and analyse , although they have different dramatic style of writing , but still have the same spirit that presents human emotions and feelings in agreat smooth way to understand .

Education In the Future

The future will have many new advances in education. Like the great Benjamin Franklin wrote thirteen virtues for basic living, there will be virtues in education that will be necessary to provide an equal opportunity to learn. Educational virtues will have to be followed in the future to better the knowledge of the world. Basic courtesy should be common in an educational environment. Tolerance will be needed so that everyone will have an equal opportunity to gain knowledge. No one person will learn more than others. Being opinionated of others can lead to problems, and arguments. No judgements of people should be based on knowledge. Every opinion is as valuable as another. Everyone will be treated equal, and all people will respect each other. Equality will be a very important value in the future. Education will take on many different changes, which will make the learning process a timely, organized part of life. Progression will change the way people learn. Basic skills will progress overtime. Everything will be gradually taught at a younger age. The learning process will be an important aspect of life. Observation will be an important key to everyday life, especially education. By obtaining information by using ears rather than words, everyone can hear what everyone has to say. Effort is key to developing a full rewarding education. By trying the hardest for everything, there can be great rewards. All people may reach full potential, if there is an aspiration to succeed. Everyone should be driven to learn and grow smarter. By having full awareness to details and paying attention to them, everything should come naturally. In general, education will pave the way to the future, by changing the way people think. By having goodwill and using special skills for the good of all, there should be no intent to harm another through what is not known. Devotion is a positive attribute that helps all people attain a higher level of knowledge. By contributing all thoughts others do not have, everyone can have the same level of understanding. Balance is needed to help spread the learning process out, over the period of a lifetime, and to prevent overdoing it too quickly. By having control people will learn to respect authority. Learning to control anger and aggression towards one another will lead to unity. There is a total abundance of information that can be learned through the education process. There is no limit or maximum amount of knowledge that can be gained during a lifetime. Educational virtues will be needed in the future to better the knowledge of the world. Learning will be a lifelong steady process. It will be rewarding and challenging yet fun and enjoyable. Courtesy to others will be necessary to find unity and peace. The learning process will be in every part of daily life. Education will make the future a better place to live by paving the way people think. Just as Benjamin Franklin†s virtues were created to turn bad habits into good, educational virtues will make learning a smoother part of life and will provide a path for all children to follow in the future.

Medical Billing and Coding Essay

Today the cause and effect of medical billing and coding is that they share a relationship because they each share something similar in a way. They are both understood when they are spoke about. But as you know billing and coding are and can be combined together as well. But what I would like my reader to know is my goals and achievements to become a medical billing and coding specialists as well the understanding of medical billing and coding and what is has to offer if you wanted to take up this major or was looking to get a job in this field of work. And because of the cause and effect of billing relationship medical billing and medical coding share is good for coding to have basic knowledge of the billing process and for a specialist to have a basic knowledge of the coding process. What is medical billing and coding? Medical billing and coding specialists is healthcare professional responsible for processing patient data between physician’s such as treatment records and related insurance information as well as third party payers. Without them, healthcare businesses could not function efficiently. Its also the process of submitting and followed up on claims to insurance companies in order to receive payment for the service. Medical billing and coding professionals hold pivot roles in hospitals; doctor’s offices; physician’s practices and specialty medical practices. Medical billing and coding is a robust career field that is open to anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent GED certificate. I believe my goals for becoming a medical coding and billing specialists I am going to continue working to achieve my A.A. Degree as well as continue into taking some medical courses such as medical terminology, Coding Courses like Part 2 intermediate coding exercises ICD-9-CM coding Instructions. Sequence the ICD-9-CM principal diagnosis in the first diagnosis position. Assigning all reportable secondary diagnosis including V codes and E codes (both cause of injury and place of occurrence) also some Software courses as well as  business classes. In order for me to achieve to become a medical billing and coding specialists I’m going to have to work hard and stay positive and not be a procrastinator. Achieving to become a medical billing and coding specialists to me will be somewhat challenging considering that having a full time job that requires a certain amount of hours a week, so that means you have to take courses around that schedule. That means I’m going to have to work harder to achieve my goals and achievements to become a medical billing and coding specialists. But you know what? I’m going to overcome every obstacle that comes in front of me to achieve my goals to become a medical billing and coding specialists. I’m going to accomplish every step and every achievement that needs to be done in order for me to become a medical billing and coding specialist. As a child growing up, I have seen aunts; uncles and cousins pursue a career in the medical field. So as I get older I wanted a career in the medical field too. My first step would be to talk with an adviser and see what my options would be in order to start course for medical billing and coding and my second step would be to start out with classes that I know need to be done first in order to get myself in the door in a place were I can start and career and finish out the rest of the courses in the meantime as needed for company policy and also make an effort to better my self for a good career and get on the right path . My final step would be to get a certificate so I can work in an office setting and help patients with a different varieties of payment options that better suits them and there needs and as I am done with all courses I can look back and say I am a very good achiever and be proud of myself for achieving my goals. In Conclusion through this essay I gave an idea on what medical billing and coding specialist are and what they do as well as some information about myself as I am also wanting to achieve and give my self goals to become a medical billing and coding specialists. I plan on becoming a medical billing and coding specialists here in the near future so I can tell my self I have a career and that I am on the right path. It is a very good career to overcome. Its always nice to help patients and make them feel good that they walked away knowing that the specialist who helped them find the right payment option for them that fits there needs. Helping anyone has always been one of my goals I love helping people and knowing that is always  a good thing to do. Knowing to have a good career always gives me hope and happiness. Through dedication, hard work and goals and achievements as well as accomplishment I will become a medical billing and coding specialist in no time.