Government and Society

Corporate Social Responsibility is essentially about doing good and doing well.It generally refers to the process of integrating social values and mission within business decision making, to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes towards business, environment and the community at large. Concept of CSR includes specific issuesProduct safety Honesty in advertising Affirmative action Employees rights Affirmative action Environmental sustainability Ethical behavior Difference btw illegal and unethical behavior Eg: Buffet: wasted food. Glob csrCorporate Citizenship Concepts Corporate Social Responsibility ïÆ'   Obligation ïÆ'   accountability Corporate Social Responsiveness ïÆ'   Action activity Corporate Social Performance ïÆ'   outcomes resultsBusiness criticism/ social Responsibility cycle4-part definition of CSR Sustainable stakeholder model The Social Responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary ( philanthropic) expectations that societ y has of organizations at a given point of time. Economic ResponsibilitiesBusiness employs many management concepts that are directed toward financial performance of the organization Economic sustainability REQUIRED of biz by society Profitable Max sales, min costs Strategic decisions Legal responsibilities Reflect spciety’s view of â€Å"codified ethics† in the sensethat they embody basic notions of fair practices as established by our law makers Biz’s responsibility toward society to comply with these laws Do not embrace the full range of behaviours expected of biz by society Law is unable to address all issues that biz may faceLaw often lags behind more recent interpretationsof what is considered appropriate behavior Laws are made by lawmakers and may reflect the personal interest and political motivations of legislators rather than appropriate ethical justifications. Laws are essential but not adequateREQUIRED of biz by society Obey all laws, adhere to all r egulationsEthical Responsibilities Embrace activities and practices that are epected or prohibited by society even though they are not codified into aw Embody the full scope of norms, standards values and expectations that reflect what consumers, employes, shareholders, and the community regard as fair, just, and consistent with respect for or protection of stakeholders’ moral rights. Ethics/values are the driving forces behind the initial creation of laws and regulations. EXPECTED of a bizAvoid questionable practices. Do what os fair right and justDiscretionary expectations ( Philantrophic) Reflect current expectaions of biz by the public. Amount and nature of these activities are voluntary or discretionary, guided only bu biz’s desire to engage in social activities that are not mandated, not req by law, and not generally expected by biz in an ethical sense DESIRED/EXPECTED of biz by societyGood corporate citizen Contribute back by providing programs supporting commun ity: education, health or human services etc†¦ Provide for community betterment Engage in volunteerismPyramid of CSR Sustainable stakeholder modelEquation Economic Responsibility + Legal Responsibilities + Ethical Responsibilities + Philantrophic Responsibilities = Total Corporate ResponsibilityArguments against CSR FOR AGAINST Enlightened Self-interest If business is to have a healthy climate in which to operate in the future, it must take actions now to ensure long term viability Long term viability is the pri driver in the current concern for sustainability. Warding off government RegulationsAbility to ward off future govt regulations and intervention May ensure greater freedom in decision making Resources available Biz has a reservoir of management talent functional expertise, and capital.Proacting versus Reacting Proacting is more practical and less costly than simply reacting to problems that have alr occurred. Eg: environmental pollution: Biz cld prevent environmental de teoriration by adopting cleaner alternativesPublic support Classical Economics Social issues are not concerns of biz pp Should be resolved by the unfettered workings of the free market Business not equipped Managers are oriented towards finance and operations and do not have necessary expertise ( social kills) to make social decisions. Less true todayDilutes business purpose Too much power already Global competitiveness Placing biz in a vulnerable position in terms of global competition. Biz has to internalize costs that it formerly passed on to the society: environmenta cisr, discrimination.

Like a Winding Sheet

Ann Petry’s â€Å"Like a Winding Sheet â€Å"defines a pivoting time line in history even though it is a fictional short story. This story took place in 1946 in the time when all the men would be at war and the women would be in factories making all the weapons and equipments that they would need. The women were the focal point in that era because they ensured that the men overseas were well equipped to be at war. The story was set in the summer of ’46 and had numerous place settings in which the conflict took place.The main characters of the story are Mr. Johnson and his wife Mae. Mr. Johnson’s love and fondness for his wife was a true testimony in this story. It also brought about the mere fact of racism and a man’s own conscience and mind playing tricks on him. LIKE A WINDING SHEET Like a Winding Sheet, written by Ann Petry in 1945, is a story that begins with a black man's tough day at work, but takes a twisted turn. Johnson comes home after a hard d ay planning to kick his feet up and enjoy a relaxing evening at home with his wife, Mae.The bad sense of humour Mae possesses begins to send Johnson over the edge and suddenly, something in him snaps. Johnson brutally beats his wife, quite possibly killing her. This story is very shocking, exposing to us a reality of our society, racism. In this essay I will try to show you that racism, specially in the United-States, can be a source for an imprisonment feeling for individuals, in this case, the bl In Ann Petry’s 1945 short story â€Å"Like a Winding Sheet,†. Johnson is a black male struggling with racism and societal pressures. Johnson faces many challenges.As one reads, one cannot help but feel his anger, frustration and tenseness. Petry tells it in the following way, â€Å"The knowledge that he had struck her seeped through him slowly and he was appalled but he couldn’t drag his hands away from her face. † Petry goes on further to tell us, â€Å"He ha d lost all control over his hands. † This rage Johnson is experiencing is described as a â€Å"winding sheet†. Johnson’s everyday routine causes anger and frustration to build up inside him. Get up, go to work and come home; get up, go to work and come home. †¦ are reserved to white people.She sends him an indirect message saying to him that because he is black he does not have the right to enjoy a coffee. This is a prejudice to his liberty and to human equality in general. Again, he cannot do anything about these problems. That day was like any other for John. He was oppressed and disrespected all day and had to take it all in without a word. This pressure might not have shown many effect in the story but the simple fact that John tightens up his knuckles at each of these stressing events shows us that all the anger he feels is kept inside him. Like a Winding Sheet Ann Petry’s â€Å"Like a Winding Sheet â€Å"defines a pivoting time line in history even though it is a fictional short story. This story took place in 1946 in the time when all the men would be at war and the women would be in factories making all the weapons and equipments that they would need. The women were the focal point in that era because they ensured that the men overseas were well equipped to be at war. The story was set in the summer of ’46 and had numerous place settings in which the conflict took place.The main characters of the story are Mr. Johnson and his wife Mae. Mr. Johnson’s love and fondness for his wife was a true testimony in this story. It also brought about the mere fact of racism and a man’s own conscience and mind playing tricks on him. LIKE A WINDING SHEET Like a Winding Sheet, written by Ann Petry in 1945, is a story that begins with a black man's tough day at work, but takes a twisted turn. Johnson comes home after a hard d ay planning to kick his feet up and enjoy a relaxing evening at home with his wife, Mae.The bad sense of humour Mae possesses begins to send Johnson over the edge and suddenly, something in him snaps. Johnson brutally beats his wife, quite possibly killing her. This story is very shocking, exposing to us a reality of our society, racism. In this essay I will try to show you that racism, specially in the United-States, can be a source for an imprisonment feeling for individuals, in this case, the bl In Ann Petry’s 1945 short story â€Å"Like a Winding Sheet,†. Johnson is a black male struggling with racism and societal pressures. Johnson faces many challenges.As one reads, one cannot help but feel his anger, frustration and tenseness. Petry tells it in the following way, â€Å"The knowledge that he had struck her seeped through him slowly and he was appalled but he couldn’t drag his hands away from her face. † Petry goes on further to tell us, â€Å"He ha d lost all control over his hands. † This rage Johnson is experiencing is described as a â€Å"winding sheet†. Johnson’s everyday routine causes anger and frustration to build up inside him. Get up, go to work and come home; get up, go to work and come home. †¦ are reserved to white people.She sends him an indirect message saying to him that because he is black he does not have the right to enjoy a coffee. This is a prejudice to his liberty and to human equality in general. Again, he cannot do anything about these problems. That day was like any other for John. He was oppressed and disrespected all day and had to take it all in without a word. This pressure might not have shown many effect in the story but the simple fact that John tightens up his knuckles at each of these stressing events shows us that all the anger he feels is kept inside him.

Anti-Communism in America

– Analyse the impact of anti-communism in the USA from the late 1940’s to 1953 and the impact this had on tensions between the superpowers during this time. In the years between 1940 and 1953 the capitalist nations of the world such as USA became very concerned about the communist ideologies and its possible spread in the world. As a result, the ideological war period known as the â€Å"Cold War† was developed. With the end of World War II, the USA emerged with a renewed sense of confidence as they believed that their role in the Allie alliance was a key factor when defeating their enemy powers.It was not long, however, before ironically, this alliance between USA and USSR would be the cause for rising tensions in the world. It can be suggested that the rise of Cold War tensions led to the Anti-communist policy being being developed in the USA which not only impacted its own country but also renewed Cold War tensions. This is evident when examining McCarthyism, t he Witch-Hunts and Trials, and the Propaganda campaign. The US historical period known as â€Å"McCarthyism† began long before Joseph McCarthy’s own involvement.There were many factors that contributed to its beginning including; the increased membership in the â€Å"Communist Party of the United States† during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s along with Soviets establishing communist regimes across Central and Eastern Europe. Later USA was concerned with Soviet espionage inside government institutions, and at the same time politicians were slowing down social reforms or criticizing President’s arguing they had been influenced by communism. (R) This practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence was later known as, McCarthyism.Joseph McCarthy’s own involvement began with a speech he made: â€Å"I have here in my hand in my hand a list of 205 – a list of names that were m ade known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. (McCarthy, ). (R) As a result of McCarthyism there were many Anti-communist committees, as well as private agencies, carrying out investigations about possible communists in the USA.Furthermore the federal government, under Harry Truman’s administration with the help of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover initiated a program of Loyalty Review for Federal Employees, with the aim of determining if government employees were disloyal to the government. (R) Hoover’s extreme sense of communist threat and numerous illegal practices including burglaries, opening mail and illegal wiretaps, resulted in thousands of government workers losing their jobs after unfair accusations or sometimes even without having any process. R) Among these victims was, Robert Oppenheimer, scientific director of the Manhattan Project who built the fir st atomic bomb. Historian Ellen Schrecker has written; â€Å"in this country, McCarthyism did more damage to the constitution than the American Communist Party ever did†. (R) It was later proved that Soviet espionage did exist in the USA, but besides that fact it can be suggested that the American government could possibly had a greater threat of danger in order to react in such an extreme way, which created divisions still present in the USA.The House Committee on Un-American Activities(HUAC) was perhaps the most involved in Anti-communist investigations government committee. Earlier, this committee had investigated a number of activities including German-American Nazis during World War II, and later focused on communism, investigating an espionage case against Alger Hiss, American politician accused of perjury, in 1948. It was not until 1947 that HUAC achieved its greatest fame with the investigations into the Hollywood film industry.These investigations involved screenwrit ers, directors, and other professionals in testifying about their known, or suspected membership in the Communist Party, within its members, or support of its beliefs. The â€Å"Hollywood Ten†, as it was known, was a group of people formed by the first ten film industry witnesses that decided not to cooperate, and instead cited the First Amendment’s, which guaranteed freedom in speech and beliefs, but failed and were sentenced to prison (R).Later victims had the option of either being informants, and thus, give names of communist sympathizers or going to prison if refused to cooperate (R). On November25 of 1947, Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Picture Association of America published the â€Å"Waldorf Statement†, which announced the firing of the Hollywood Ten, and stated they would not employ any communist or member of a party which advocates to overthrow the government (R). This generated a †Hollywood Blacklist†, through which over 300 actor s, authors and directors were denied to work in the film industry.Those actions taken by the government not only placed USA’s famous â€Å"freedom† in question and showed an excessive use of power until the point that citizen’s rights were constantly violated but also created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, which sometimes resulted in hysteria. These extreme measures led to a great division in the country that is still present these days. Distribution of Anti-communism propaganda was, without a doubt, one of the most successful measures taken by the USA government during this period of time. [email  protected] edu. au

Lower Leg Ulcers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Lower Leg Ulcers - Essay Example Venous ulcers, often referred to as stasis ulcers or varicose ulcers, are wounds occurring on the legs due to improper functioning of venous valves. Referring to a research organized by Weller, Ademi, Makarounas-Kirchmann and Stoelwinder (2012), venous ulcers are the main causes of chronic wounds that constitute 70-90% of leg ulcer cases. The authors indicate that it develops along the medial distal legal mainly and this medical condition can be very painful. Venous ulcer is the major cause of lower extremity ulceration and it is growing to be a potential health issue in Canada. In their article titled ‘Diagnosis and treatment of venous ulcers’, Collins and Seraj (2010) say that endothelial damage, intracellular edema, platelet aggregation, and inflammatory processes resulting in leukocyte activation are the major identified causes of venous ulcers. The authors add that older age people and individuals with obesity, venous thrombosis, previous leg injuries, and phlebitis are greatly prone to the risk of developing of venous ulcer. Collins and Seraj point out that venous ulcers seem to be irregular and shallow in physical examination and they are mainly located over bony prominences.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies indicate that the chance of developing venous ulcers in Western population is relatively high and 10-20/1000 adults in the Western world are likely to be diagnosed with venous ulcer at some point in their lifetime. In order to evaluate the status of venous ulcers in Canada, a group of researchers including Graham., Harrison, Shafey, and Keast (2003) organized a study about various issues concerning this medical condition. For this, the researchers collected responses from physicians who were members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Among the participants, 107 physicians reported that 226 patients had been diagnosed with leg ulcers but only a few had undergone ultrasound assessment. When 16% of physicians were confident about man aging this complex medical condition, a vast majority (61%) reported that they were not knowledgeable about wound-care products. The researchers noted that over 50% of the participants were unaware of the fact that compression could be an effective treatment for venous ulcers. Referring to the study, the researchers listed a number of issues negatively affecting venous ulcer management. First, physicians often failed to deal with venous ulcer care effectively due to lack of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. In addition, lack of evidence-based protocols in home care agencies also contributed to inefficient disease management. Finally, poor communication among health care providers and restricted access to wound-care produc

How important are the facial expressions of emotion in human Essay

How important are the facial expressions of emotion in human communication - Essay Example He observed various tricks followed by unusual gestures and even took into account the movement of every single facial muscle. After analysing in depth study of human facial muscles accompanied by expressions with respect to emotions he presented two models of facial expressions, "Neuro Cultural Model" and "Social Ecology Model". Neuro Cultural Model also approved and researched by Ekman, states that human being's facial expressions are influenced by cultural as well as biological motives, so the attitude is subjected to change according to one's culture, gender and social status. Social Ecology Model serves as an alternate to cultural model. Although Darwin was not the first one to research on the emotional expressions of human beings. Before Darwin the topic was researched by Charles Bells who believed that facial expressions including smiles, frowns, laughs, sighs, beams, grimace, disgust and anger stand for humans as a natural language to communicate with each other, infact he possessed the view that facial expressions are the main source by which one soul communicates with another. Darwin denied the theological foundation for emotional expression that Bell presented and analysed after making comparisons of facial movements in children, adults, the insane, as well as in animals like monkeys, dogs and cats done with the aid of photography and sketches. He proved by such comparisons several similarities across ages, sexes and mental capacities. (Hodge & Radick, 2003, p. 110) Darwin also analysed the expressions among ancestors and proved that human facial expressions have nothing to do with the communication or souls (Bells' Theory). Its is a certain mental state which is accompanied by actions that brings relief or gratification, then those actions thereafter accompanies the mental state for example, the turning away and the wrinkled nose of disgust, elicited originally by the sight of some repulsive object, might again be displayed due to the feeling alone. Darwin called this the 'principle of serviceable associated habits' and used it to explain various facial gestures like frowning, dejection, smiling and so on. (2003, p. 110) While analysing different states and gestures, Darwin realised the importance of facial expressions in cultural as well as cross cultural studies and proposed that emotional facial expression plays a major role concerning cooperation among members of a society because it allows an exchange of information about affective reactions and behavioural tendencies. In the field of human interaction, the importance of facial expression can be best proved by the example that concerns interaction between mothers and their infants. (Scherer, 1988, p. 162) Besides Neuro cultural model, Darwin also emphasised on cross cultural studies in context with facial expression of emotion, but most of the research is done by Ekman who described the human face as an important source of information in social interaction. Ekman (1978) describes the face as a multimessage, multisignal semiotic system. (1988, p. 162) Ekman along with Friesen continued the work of Darwin on 'muscle movement', and after analysing several studies, which include six pictures of posed, and

What Honda has to offer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What Honda has to offer - Essay Example Honda therefore presents itself as a corporation which is founded upon the solid values of delivering high quality and efficient design cars besides portraying itself as an organization which shows its concerns about preserving the environment. This therefore allows Honda to become attractive especially to such audience which considers its ethical consumers and base their buying decisions on the basis of an organization’s environmental protection records. In order to compete with established firms in aircraft industry, Honda needs to rely more on its legacy and market its past successes in terms of bringing in high quality and efficient design car technology. Further, Honda also needs to ensure that it pitches its message to the audience which is its tested market. Honda has been more successful in markets other than US or Europe therefore in order to compete with these firms, it is critical that Honda must adapt to the regional marketing targeted specially at Asian

Mars and Google Earth Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mars and Google Earth Project - Research Paper Example From the discussion it is clear that  the   main   differences   between the two pictures are   that   the formation of   the different   features are   caused   by s different   climatic conditions. In the Mars, there are no man made properties hanker some of the features within the Mars are naturally caused. However, there are some features within the natural earth structure that are likely to influencing the formation of different structures. Laval flow is one major cause of such features within both the earth and Mars respectively. The earth is habitable and therefore life is possible on earth because of the favorable climatic factors contrary to mars.This study stresses that in both planets the mountain features under study formed as a result of volcanic activity. That is when hot molten rocks finds its way out through earths crust and cool off to form a hard rock. Subsequent activities result in more and more pile up of lava forming a mountain. In planet m ars as the mountain rise due to deposits of layers of lava, it exerts a lot of weight on the subterranean basement system at the base of the mountain. This results in some further landforms e.g. valleys etc. similarly the same phenomenon may result in fault lines leading to sinking of the earth to form a valleys of which the great rift valley of east Africa is a typical example.  Formation of volcanic mountains therefore exhibit similar formation in both planet earth and mars. In contrast Martian planet has no vegetation cover and no visible rivers, sea or oceans exist.a

Your personal reflections discuss the challenges, problems and Essay

Your personal reflections discuss the challenges, problems and conflicts that may occur in teams, Are teams more effective decision makers and problem solvers than individuals - Essay Example However, working with individual eliminates the possibility of collision of many ideas which ultimately stems into chaos. I had a great time with my team members who belong to different cultures and country as a whole. Two of the team members are from Qatar; others are from Egypt, Chad and China. Through this session of team work I have identified the characteristics of each team member and have studied them properly. The exhibition is expected to be successful since each and every team members have the capability to deal with any difficulty or unforeseen situation. The effectiveness of their decision making is high since all of them give their ideas and collectively reach a certain decision which is likely to be successful. The essay highlights my perception and experience during the preparation of the exhibition with my team members (Ahuja, 2006). I have observed that people often forms a group to accomplish some but they may not work together too. However, if they work together they are called a team. A team can be referred as a group of people who first organize themselves for working cooperatively towards a single objective which is set by them. However, according to my perception effective teams cannot be created automatically. There are people in a team who pass through a phase of understanding and cohesion at the same time before they are able to do some useful work and take a critical decision (Ahuja, 2006). During preparation of the exhibition my team is formed by taking the most efficient members who can contribute positively towards the attainment of the goal. The team members are individual researchers who have helped in doing researches about the main topic of the exhibition and share their understanding regarding the same. It is very crucial for me to understand the development of the team since each and every member have different potency and different bent of mind which guards their morality and

Corporate social responsibility and business Essay

Corporate social responsibility and business - Essay Example To answer the research question, there is consideration of the actual meaning of corporate social responsibility which relates to understanding the impact of business on the wider world, and considering the positive impact of the business. Corporate social responsibility is a bottom line determiner of the operation of the business. This is because a business that demonstrates enviable traits receives more customers since the business has a social obligation to its customer, implying that if the business demonstrates appropriate social responsibilities to the community which is also the customers, then they will feel much welcome to purchase from the business. In the study work of Boeger, Murray and Villiers (2008), there is evidence that taking a responsible attitude and going beyond minimum legal requirement without considering the size of the business are vital for the success of the business. The study further demonstrates that following straightforward principles that apply to an y business without considering the size is crucial for the welfare of the business. The research proposal takes into consideration the various forms of social responsibility and the bottom line impact on its success. ... The interview would entail recording of the information on questionnaires consisting of two sections. One section comprises information from the community where most are customers of the business, while the other section would be the information from the business. Most of the information in the reading is sourced as evidenced in the research work of Farquhar (2011). Literature Review Information and Data Analysis From the interview, it is evident that working with the local community comes with its benefits. From the information and previous study work of Heald (2005), many businesses find host in local customers since they are vital sources of sales. To be able to recruit employees, there is a need by the business to improve its reputation since a good relationship with the authorities and the community as a whole makes the operations of the business easy. According to Horrigan (2010), most local authorities award contracts to businesses which have a record of involvement in the com munity. Some of information from the interview explains that getting involved with the community would be in terms of supporting local charity or sponsoring a local event. This helps to prove the expertise of the business and demonstrate the face of the business. The information received explains that many businesses involve their employees while working with the community. This is in support to the research conducted by Jackson, Ones and Dilchert (2012), which explains that some businesses will let the employees choose and do voluntary activities for the community and avail pay off time for their efforts. Information received from the interviews indicates that corporate

Hiram Miller Essay Example for Free

Hiram Miller Essay I. Basic Problem The Hiram Miller Office Products Division does not have an adequate main warehouse facility to support the operations of their business. This is seen throughout the company causing problems with inventory levels, shipping/receiving, and workforce levels. Both the available space outside the warehouse and the building itself are significant problems. II. Support for the Basic Problem Insufficient dock space had more than one second order causal problem. Demurrage and redelivery charges had to be paid, lead time had to be increased by 2-4 weeks on full truck shipments, and larger inventory safety stocks were needed because there were not enough docks to accommodate the shipment load. The charges hurt the company directly with financial losses, the longer lead time meant the company had to rely on forecasting more heavily, and extra safety stock results in unnecessary usage of warehouse space. Trucks were forced to line up in the street, violating traffic rules, which had to be compensated by bribing police officers. This cost the company money and was unethical. The lack of dock space also caused outgoing shipments to be delayed because there was no room to drop a trailer which meant longer lead times for the customers. Weak floors, low ceilings, and the use of elevators created major inefficiencies within the warehouse. Not being able to use forklifts increased the amount of people needed to move merchandise and added time to the unloading/loading process. Pallets couldn’t be stacked with low ceilings so the space sitting inventory used up could be used for other purposes. Animosity between workers is never beneficial to a company and the presence of elevators means that people are continually fighting over who gets to use it, which caused constant battles. III. Alternate Recommendations My first recommendation is to improve the existing building on Jefferson Street by enforcing the floors to allow the use of forklifts. This would cut down on the labor force and make moving merchandise faster, but wouldn’t help the lack of dock space. The company could attempt to buyout land around the Carpenter Street warehouse, renovate it, and use as the main warehouse. This would provide more dock space but could be difficult if no one is willing to give up their land. The Jefferson Street warehouse could be redone to create more docking area, less warehouse square footage, and higher ceilings so that such high inventory safety stock isn’t necessary and merchandise could be stacked higher. This would preserve the company’s current prime location but would be difficult to complete because of the heavy traffic of daily shipments. IV. Best Recommendation The best solution is to build a new warehouse on the thirty acres available. While it’s being constructed, the Jefferson Street warehouse could still be in full operation. There would be more space for docking, customer parking, higher ceilings, and the ability to use forklifts and rail possibly could benefit the company tremendously. V. Methods of Implementation Plans for the number of docks, employees, material handling systems, and office space would be needed. The company’s budget would have to be looked at for inefficiencies with simple fixes in order to fund the project more feasibly. Analysis would be needed in order to gauge the customer’s reactions as well as the cost-savings benefit of becoming much more efficient.

Understanding The Terms Of Semiconductor Devices Information Technology Essay

Understanding The Terms Of Semiconductor Devices Information Technology Essay Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors generally metals and nonconductors or insulators (such as most ceramics). Semiconductors can be pure elements, such as silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide or cadmium selenide. In a process called doping, small amounts of impurities are added to pure semiconductors causing large changes in the conductivity of the material. Semiconductor devices now influence our lives on a daily basis. Although insulators and conductors are useful in their own right, semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide have dramatically changed the way in which billions of people live. Their intermediate ability to conduct electricity at room temperature makes them very useful for electronic applications. For example, the modern computing industry was made possible by the ability of silicon transistors to act as fast on/off switches. 1.2 History: Fig 1: History of Semiconductor Part 2: Project Overview 2.1 Types of Semiconductors 2.1.1 Intrinsic Semiconductors An intrinsic semiconductor is one which is made up of a very pure semiconductor material. In more technical terminology it can stated that an intrinsic semiconductor is one where the number of holes is equal to the number of electrons in the conduction band. The forbidden energy gap in case of such semiconductors is very minute and even the energy available at room temperature is sufficient for the valence electrons to jump across to the conduction band. Another characteristic feature of an intrinsic semiconductor is that the Fermi level of such materials lies somewhere in between the valence band and the conduction band. This can be proved mathematically which is beyond the scope of discussion in this article. In case you are not familiar with the term Fermi level, it refers to that level of energy where the probability of finding an electron is 0.5 or half (remember probability is measured on a scale of 0 to 1). 2.1.2 Extrinsic Semiconductors These are semiconductors in which the pure state of the semiconductor material is deliberately diluted by adding very minute quantities of impurities. To be more specific, the impurities are known as dopants or doping agents. It must be kept in mind that the addition of such impurities is really very miniscule and a typical dopant could have a concentration of the order of 1 part in a hundred million parts or it is equivalent to 0.01 ppm. The materials chosen for doping are deliberately chosen in such a manner that either they have 5 electrons in their valence band, or they have just 3 electrons in their valence band. Accordingly such dopants are known as pentavalent or trivalent dopants respectively. The type of dopant also gives rise to two types of extrinsic semiconductors namely P-type and N-type semiconductors. A pentavalent dopant such as Antimony are known as donor impurities since they donate an extra electron in the crystal structure which is not required for covalent bonding purposes and is readily available to be shifted to the conduction band. This electron does not give rise to a corresponding hole in the valence band because it is already excess, therefore upon doping with such a material, the base material such as Germanium contains more electrons than holes, hence the nomenclature N-type intrinsic semiconductors. On the other hand when a trivalent dopant such as Boron is added to Germanium additional or extra holes get formed due to the exactly reverse process of what was described in the upper section. Hence this dopant which is also known as acceptor creates a P-type semiconductor. Hence electrons are the majority carriers (of current) in N-type while holes are minority carriers. The reverse is true of P-type semiconductors. Another difference is that whereas the Fermi level of intrinsic semiconductors is somewhere midway between the valence band and the conduction band, it shifts upwards in case of N-type while it drifts downward in case of P-type due to obvious reasons. 2.2 Semiconductor Device (Diode): A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor device, and is therefore an excellent beginning point if you want to understand how semiconductors work. In this article, youll learn what a semiconductor is, how doping works and how a diode can be created using semiconductors. But first, lets take a close look at silicon. Silicon is a very common element for example, it is the main element in sand and quartz. If you look silicon up in the periodic table, you will find that it sits next to aluminum, below carbon and above germanium. A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor device. A diode allows current to flow in one direction but not the other. You may have seen turnstiles at a stadium or a subway station that let people go through in only one direction. A diode is a one-way turnstile for electrons. When you put N-type and P-type silicon together as shown in this diagram, you get a very interesting phenomenon that gives a diode its unique properties. Fig 2: Diode Even though N-type silicon by itself is a conductor, and P-type silicon by itself is also a conductor, the combination shown in the diagram does not conduct any electricity. The negative electrons in the N-type silicon get attracted to the positive terminal of the battery. The positive holes in the P-type silicon get attracted to the negative terminal of the battery. No current flows across the junction because the holes and the electrons are each moving in the wrong direction. If you flip the battery around, the diode conducts electricity just fine. The free electrons in the N-type silicon are repelled by the negative terminal of the battery. The holes in the P-type silicon are repelled by the positive terminal. At the junction between the N-type and P-type silicon, holes and free electrons meet. The electrons fill the holes. Those holes and free electrons cease to exist, and new holes and electrons spring up to take their place. The effect is that current flows through the junction. Part 3: Analysis 3.1 Application and Research The building block of most semiconductor devices involves combining p-type and n-type regions into p-n junctions. Imagine bringing together two crystals where one is n-type and the other is p-type. A few of the electrons from the n-type flow toward the p-type material. At the point where the p-type and n-type meet (the interface) electrons from the n-side fill the holes on the p-side and a build-up of oppositely charged ions is generated, and thus a potential across the barrier forms. This build-up of charge is called the junction potential. The barrier prevents further migration of electrons and the net current is zero. If a voltage is applied to the p-n junction with the negative terminal connected to the n-region and the p-region is connected to the positive terminal, the electrons will flow toward the positive terminal, while the holes will flow toward the negative terminal. This is called forward bias and current flows. However, if the positive terminal is connected to the n-type and the negative connected to the p-type, a reverse bias forms and no current flows due to the build up of the potential barrier. In other words, these devices must be placed in an electrical circuit with the correct polarity, or they will not function. This application of the p-n junction is used in many electronic devices. Figure 6 shows the formation of a potential at a p-n junction. Figure 7 shows the effect of forward and negative bias on the p-n junction. Figure 3: A p-n junction before and after the two materials are brought in contact. When the two materials are placed together, electrons from the n-side combine with the holes on the p-side. This results in a positive charge on the n-side of the junction and a negative charge accumulation on the p-side. This separation of charge creates a junction potential. Note: There are no electrons or holes at the junction, they have combined with each other. Figure 4: A p-n junction under forward and reverse bias. Notice that in forward bias, the barrier is lowered, while in reverse bias, the barrier is raised. Thought question: In each case in Figure 4, which side is connected to the positive terminal of the outside voltage source? Will electrons or holes carry current when the junction has this arrangement ? 3.1.1 Electronic Devices: There are many electronic devices that function using combinations of p-n junctions such as diodes, solar cells and transistors. In this section a brief explanation of each of these basic devices will be given. The diode is a p-n junction application that acts as a rectifier for converting alternating current to direct current. This is due to the ability of a diode to allow current flow in one direction but not in the other. Solar cells are p-n junction devices which use sunlight to create electrical energy. It is the energy of the sun`s photons that causes the electrons to be promoted into the conduction bands and carry the current. However, the current derived from the solar cell is small. It takes many solar cells to produce enough current to do a large scale job. If the energy output from solar cells could be increased, solar energy could be used for more than individual, isolated applications. Transistors are another application of the p-n junction. Transistors, unlike diodes, contain more than one p-n junction. Because of this, a transistor can be used in a circuit to amplify a small voltage or current into a larger one or function as an on-off switch. Transistors are of two main types: bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and field effect transistors (FETs). Roughly 95% of all electronic systems utilize one or both of these types of devices. BJTs are composed of three layers of doped materials, either n-p-n or p-n-p in configuration. The BJT acts like a bump or dam in an open stream to control the amount of current let by; thus as the bump is lowered, more current can flow. In the BJT, the height of the bump is controlled by the base current in the semiconductor. The BJT was invented in 1948 by John Bardeen, Walter Brittain and William Shockley using germanium. BJTs remained the only important three terminal semiconductor devices for about a dozen years after their invention, and helped to launch the modern electronics era. Since the early 1960s the FET has been considered one of the most important devices in solid state technology. At present, many of the applications of BJTs have been taken over by metal-oxide semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs). MOSFETs were theorized for many years before they were able to be manufactured. The reason MOSFETs could not be made was that scientists had not yet developed techniques for growing high quality silicon dioxide (SiO2) on silicon. The FET functions more as a gate for controlling the flow of current (like a valve on a faucet). FETs are relatively simple to fabricate compared to BJTs, and they have proven to be extremely fast, reliable switches in miniaturized circuit components with much less power usage than BJTs. Most modern microprocessors are based on FET devicesfrom pentium chips in PCs to the CPUs of super computers. Transistors, diodes, and other electronic devices are combined in many different patterns to form todays integrated circuits. The integrated circuit (IC) has been the workhorse of the microelectronics era which began in the late 1950s. These chips, usually made of silicon, consist of combinations of four fundamental electrical regions. These regions contain resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors. Since 1971, Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) has allowed millions of such regions to be fabricated on a chip that is only one square centimeter. Not only are these circuit elements getting smaller, they are getting faster as well. For example todays typical desktop pentium-based computer can perform tens of millions of operations per second, whereas contemporary super computers are rated in gigaflops (billions of operations per second). Teraflop (trillions of operations per second) machines will be ready for production by the year 2000. 3.2 Semiconductors Applications Worldwide We mentioned just a few of the many different applications of semiconductor devices. The use of these devices has become so widespread that it would be impossible to list all their different applications. Instead, a broad coverage of their specific application is presented. Semiconductor devices are all around us. They can be found in just about every commercial product we touch, from the family car to the pocket calculator. Semiconductor devices are contained in television sets, portable radios, stereo equipment, and much more. Science and industry also rely heavily on semiconductor devices. Research laboratories use these devices in all sorts of electronic instruments to perform tests, measurements, and numerous other experimental tasks. Industrial control systems (such as those used to manufacture automobiles) and automatic telephone exchanges also use semiconductors. Even today heavy-duty versions of the solid-state rectifier diode are being use to convert large amounts of power for electric railroads. Of the many different applications for solid-state devices, space systems, computers, and data processing equipment are some of the largest consumers. The various types of modem military equipment are literally loaded with semiconductor devices. Many radars, communication, and airborne equipment are transistorized. Data display systems, data processing units, computers, and aircraft guidance-control assemblies are also good examples of electronic equipments that use semiconductor devices. All of the specific applications of semiconductor devices would make a long impressive list. The fact is, semiconductors are being used extensively in commercial products, industry, and the military. 3.3 Power semiconductor devices for DC/DC converters As the performance of servers, notebook PCs and graphics cards increases, their power consumption grows as well. At the same time, the trend toward lower operating voltages for components such as CPUs, graphics processing units (GPUs), memory devices and ASICs results in increased current flow. This creates a need for DC/DC converters capable of handling low voltages and large currents. Renesas 12th-generation power MOSFETs, the RJK0210DPA, RJK0211DPA and RJK0212DPA are now available for service in DC/DC converters, which operate by having two power MOSFETs, one for control and the other for synchronous rectification, switching on and off alternately to convert the voltage.   For example the new RJK0210DPA MOSFET is used for control and the Renesas Electronics 11th generation RJK0208DPA device can be used for synchronous rectification. Refinements to the manufacturing process allow the new Renesas MOSFETs to achieve approximately 40 percent improvement in FOM (figure of merit; on-state resistance times gate charge) compared to the companys existing products, which contributes to reduction of the power loss during voltage conversion and thereby enables highly efficient DC/DC converter performance. Using the Renesas Virtual Power Lab MOSFET Design Tool lets you check out these and other MOSFETs without the hassle of waiting for device samples, then having to solder the parts down on test boards.   This tool lets engineers evaluate various solutions in a virtual real-time environment to facilitate the selection of optimum MOSFET combinations for synchronous buck-converter applications. Among its benefits: helping you find the right MOSFETs and interactively get help designing your sync buck converter application; analyzing performance, switching behavior and efficiency of your new buck converter design; evaluating MOSFET behavior under a variety of operating conditions using an interactive datasheet and downloading SPICE models. 3.4 Importance Of Semiconductor in Technologies: Due to their role in the fabrication of electronic devices, semiconductors are an important part of our lives. Imagine life without electronic devices. There would be no radios, no TVs, no computers, no video games, and poor medical diagnostic equipment. Although many electronic devices could be made using vacuum tube technology, the developments in semiconductor technology during the past 50 years have made electronic devices smaller, faster, and more reliable. If we think for a minute of all the encounters we have with electronic devices. How many of the following have we seen or used in the last twenty-four hours? Each has important components that have been manufactured with electronic materials. microwave oven, electronic balance, video games, radio, television, VCR, watch, CD player, stereo, computer, lights, air conditioner, calculator, telephone, musical greeting cards, diagnostic equipment, clock, refrigerator, car, security devices , stove Fig 5: Clockwise from top: A chip, an LED and a transistor are all made from semiconductor material   Source: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/solid-state1.jpg Semiconductors have had a monumental impact on our society. We find semiconductors at the heart of microprocessor chips as well as transistors. Anything thats computerized or uses radio waves depends on semiconductors. Today, most semiconductor chips and transistors are created with silicon. You may have heard expressions like Silicon Valley and the silicon economy, and thats why silicon is the heart of any electronic device. 3.5 Future Trends Since the late 1950s, the discovery and invention of new electronic semiconductor materials and the drastic reduction in the size of electronic devices has moved at a rapid pace. As a result, the speed of electronic devices (particularly integrated circuits) has grown exponentially over the same time period. Great strides have been made by companies such as Bell Laboratories, Intel, Western Electric, American Telephone and Telegraph, Motorola, Rockwell, and IBM. In 1975, Gordon Moore gave a famous talk at the International Electronic Devices Meeting (IEDM) in which he predicted a growth in microchip complexity of roughly a factor of two every year. In most areas of electron device production, his predictions have been met or exceeded. The push for smaller dimensions, which allow for increased functionality and faster devices, also creates problems of long term reliability and heat dissipation. New device designs, new materials, and lower voltages are being employed to make the next generation of devices. One extremely important area of semiconductor technology is the field of telecommunications. The new Information Super Highway requires technology which can transmit and receive information at high rates. One approach which is already being applied to this area is optoelectronics or the use of light to transmit information. Electrons are used to transfer information within computers, but most information sent over long distances uses light pulses traveling through fiber optic cables. The laser diodes which create these pulses and semiconductor receivers that detect the pulses are areas of intensive research. It is clear that semiconductor technology has and will continue to play a major role in the development of the information age. Part 4: Conclusion After the completion of the term paper on Importance Of Semiconductor discovery on Technology I got many new things to learn about. The term paper includes brief description on semiconductors, it also contains the types of Semiconductors and brief description of it. The term paper also gives the importance of Semiconductor in our day today life. It also explains the applications of semiconductor and its uses in some of the technologies. The term paper also gives future trends and research of semiconductor. Through this term paper I wanted to give the reader few ideas about what are semiconductors and about its importance. I have worked very hard on this project and wanted to build it in a very simple and lucid manner so that it could be easy for the reader to go through and understand the term paper. Hopefully, I think that you would have gained some knowledge on semiconductors and could have well understood it. I grant a sincere apologize if any mistake would have crept in my work. Part 5: References http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/electrical/articles/41694.aspx#ixzz145rf13AN http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/diode2.htm http://am.renesas.com/products/discrete/power_mos/vp/vp_landing.jsp http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/sc/prin.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/diode.htm http://www.tpub.com/neets/book7/24a.htm http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/asset_129174_2395.jsp

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay The aim of this module is to produce a 4000 word research proposal that would be capable for supporting the preparation of a Masters dissertation. The project report would include an introduction including a title, which would highlight the content of this business document providing a background, informing the reader of the problem / issue at hand and the context of the situation that would be discussed. The research issue would be provided highlighting the importance of the issue in todays ever-changing and competitive, cut-throat business environment. Adequate linkages would be provided to co-relate the research aims, research objectives, research questions and the hypothesis as such generated. A coherent and critical literature review would follow demonstrating the knowledge of the literature available and linking it to the situation which would be investigated. A research design and methodology would be adopted to investigate the concerned issue providing a rationale as to how the research objectives are to be accomplished explaining the selection of the research paradigm. The research design would include the methods of data capture, the data access issues, the analysis and the interpretation means that would be used to assess the situation and appropriate reasons would be provided for the choice of research tools used. Relevant ethical issues underpinning the research objectives would also be discussed along-with the resources required to complete the research proposal. The last part of this management report would include a timetable that would provide the time that it took to complete each part of the research proposal along-with a list of references utilized to complete the report. INTRODUCTION TITLE: FACTORS INFLUENCING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION BACKGROUND The title of this research proposal is factors influencing strategy implementation. Before we discuss the issue and highlight the importance of the issue in the context of the report it is of prime importance to understand the concept of strategy implementation itself. It is the process by which the business strategy formulated is put into action. It includes the design and management of organizational systems to achieve the best integration of people and structure, allocating resources, managing human resources and developing information and decision processes to achieve organizational objectives. Pierce and Robinson  note that to effectively direct and control the use of the firms resources, mechanisms such as organizational structure, information systems, leadership styles, assignment of key managers, budgeting, rewards, and control systems are essential strategy implementation ingredients. After the creative and analytical aspects of the corporate strategy have been formulated the priority of the management is to convert the strategy into operationally effective action. A strategy is never complete, until it gains a commitment of the firms resources and becomes embodied in its organizational structure. Strategy implementation is an iterative process of implementing strategies, policies, programs and action plans that allows a firm to utilize its resources to take advantage of opportunities in the competitive environment (Harrington, 2006). There is no one definition of strategy implementation as seen from the above citations but for the purpose of this report, taking into consideration the definitions above we can define strategy implementation as an iterative, dynamic and a complex process, which comprises of series of decisions and activities by the management and the administration those affected by many interrelated internal and external factors, to turn strategic plans into reality in order to achieve the objectives of the firm. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY This part of the report would highlight the aim and the objectives of the research, discussing the issue chosen and its importance by proposing a research question and providing an answer to it in the literature review. Many studies have acknowledged that business strategies often fail not because of inadequate strategy formulation, but because of an inappropriate implementation strategy. This report would study the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation. This report would highlight how strategy implementation has been researched so far and how this field may be moved forward so as to help in effective execution of a business strategy. As a result of the literature review undertaken, the report has found nine critical factors for strategy implementation that will be discussed further in the literature. Formulation of an effective strategy, making the strategy work and implementing it throughout the company is a difficult task (Hrebiniak, 2006). Many factors potentially affect the process by which strategic plans are turned into organizational action. Unlike strategy formulation, strategy implementation is more of a craft, rather than a science. After successful formulation of the business strategy, difficulties usually arise during the subsequent implementation process. If the business strategy formulated is not applied correctly to all the aspects of the organisational structure the business model would fail, thus harming the organisation in many aspects, the major being the financial capability of the firm, which would take a huge blow. It is of prime importance to get the implementation right otherwise there would be huge losses for the firm. Noble (1999b) notes, the best-formulated strategies may fail to produce superior performance for the firm if they are not successfully implemented. This issue is of utmost importance in todays day and age because of the cut-throat competition in the ever-changing business world where each firm needs to keep re-modelling their policies and procedures to keep up with the change in the external and internal business environment. There are combination of issues that influence the success of strategy implementation, ranging from the people who communicate or implement the strategy to the systems or mechanisms in place for co-ordination and control. How can we better understand these issues and their importance for successful strategy implementation? In this report we try to respond to this question by the critical analysis of the existing research on the factors that influence strategy implementation. An analysis has been conducted of the most widely used literature databases to identify key factors influencing the process of strategy implementation, to surface current areas of agreement and disagreement on the topic. LITERATURE REVIEW In the following section, the report would review the study sources and assess their research context, theoretical bases, their main results and the research methods used as well as the analytical techniques which are employed for the study. The examined organizational levels and organizational types are the two elements of the research context. The core of the literature review, would concentrate on the nine factors identified through rigorous analysis of the study sources, that play a role in influencing strategy implementation success, as well as the frameworks or models that aggregate or relate the relevant factors to each other. This is followed by the discussion of the theoretical bases of the reviewed studies. Finally, the research methods and analytical techniques adopted will be reviewed to see which methods are still underutilized in the context of strategy implementation. By carrying out a literature review of the existing studies, the report found two types of strategy implementation studies: one that highlight the importance of the individual factors for strategy implementation and the second that emphasize the big pictureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ of how the single factors interrelate and form a strategic implementation environment. The research would highlight nine recurring, individual factors that influence strategy implementation. They are namely the strategy formulation process, the strategy executors (managers, employees), the organizational structure, the communication activities, the level of commitment for the strategy, the consensus regarding the strategy, the relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels, the employed implementation tactics, and the administrative system in place. THE NINE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STARTEGY IMPLEMENTATION 1. Strategy Formulation If the corporate strategy drafted by the business is a poor or a vague strategy, then it can limit the implementation efforts dramatically. Good execution cannot overcome the shortcomings of a bad strategy or a poor strategic planning effort (Hrebiniak, 2006). Several studies mention the fact that the kind of strategy that is developed (Alexander, 1985; Allio, 2005) and the actual process of strategy formulation, namely, how a strategy is developed (KimMauborgne, 1993; Singh, 1998) will influence the effect of implementation. Alexander (1985) believes that the need to start with a formulated strategy that involves a good idea or concept is the most crucial and critical factor which helps promoting its successful implementation. As Allio notes, good implementation naturally starts with good strategic input: the soup is only as good as the ingredients (Allio, 2005). 2. Relationships among different departments and different strategy levels Many studies in the concerned field have stressed that the institutional relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels play a major role in the outcome of strategy implementation (Walker Ruekert, 1987; Gupta, 1987; Slater Olson, 2001; Chimhanzi, 2004; Chimhanzi Morgan, 2005). Walker Ruekert note that marketing policies, inter-functional structures and processes, corporate-business unit relationships and processes are a major influence on business strategy implementation. In addition, allocation of resources, functional competencies, inter-functional conflict, decision-making participation and influence, and coordination also have different effects on the implementation of various kinds of business strategies. Implementation effectiveness is negatively affected by conflict and positively affected by interpersonal communication and not written. Such interdepartmental dynamics are affected by senior management support informal integration and joint re ward systems. Other relationships that have received attention to a lesser extent include finance, manufacturing, engineering, quality, marketing, accounting, and sales. 3. Executors Executors comprise the top management, middle management, lower management and non-management. Effectiveness of strategy implementation is, at least in part, affected by the quality of people involved in the process (Govindarajan, 1989). The quality refers to the capabilities, experience, skills, attitudes, and other characteristics of people required by a specific position (Peng Litteljohn, 2001). Findings indicate that strategy implementation effectiveness, critically depends on the human or people side of project management, and less on organization and systems related factors. Top management refers to the senior-level leaders including presidents, owners, and other high ranking executives (CEO, CFO, COO etc.) and senior-level managers. Hrebiniak and Snow (1982) report that the level of interaction and participation among the top management team typically leads to greater commitment to the firms goals and strategies. This, in turn ensures the successful implementation of the strategy. Gupta and Govindarajan (1984) note that greater the marketing and sales experience of middle managers, the greater would be their willingness to take risk and successfully implement the strategy. Heracleous (2000) also finds that if middle management do not agree with the strategy, or do not feel that they have the skill set to implement it, then they would sabotage its implementation. Middle managers expect the direction from the top management but frequently feel that they are in a better position to start and evaluate alternative courses of action. Also, the lack of shared knowledge with lower-level management and non-management employees would create a barrier to successful strategy implementation. 4. Communication Many researchers have emphasized the importance of adequate communication channels for the process of strategy implementation. Alexander (1985) notes that communication is mentioned more frequently than any other single item that promotes successful strategy implementation. Communication includes explaining what new responsibilities, tasks, and duties need to be performed by the employees in order to implement the strategy. It answers the why behind the changed job activities, and explains the reasons why the new strategic decision was made. Rapert and Wren (1998) find that organizations where employees have easy access to management through open and supportive communication channels outperform those with more restrictive communication environments. Effective communication is a fundamental requirement for any effective strategy implementation. Organizational communication plays an important role in training, knowledge acquisition and applied learning during the process of implementation. In fact, communication is vital in every aspect of strategy implementation, as it relates in to the organizational context, organizing processes and the implementation objectives. 5. Implementation Tactics Nutt (1986) stipulates four types of implementation tactics used by managers in making planned changes: intervention, participation, persuasion, and edict. Intervention refers to strategy adjustments made during the implementation stage by introducing new practices and norms. Participation includes formulating strategic goals and nominating a task force that can develop and propose the corresponding implementation options. Persuasion is the tactic which uses involved parties to convince the employees about the desired course of actions. The issuing of directives is the main focus of the implementation tactic edict. Lehner (2004) considers the implementation tactics as genuine organizational behaviour based on the assumption that implementation in general is dependent on the environment, and various strategic and corporate variables. 6. Consensus Nielsen (1983) notes that firms must achieve consensus both within and outside their organization in order to successfully implement business strategies. The consensus about a firms strategy may differ across the operation channels within the company. If the employees of the company are not on the same information level or if information passes through many layers in the organization, a lower level of consensus would result. This lack of shared understanding may create obstacles to successful strategy implementation.(Noble, 1999b). Floyd and Wooldridge (1992a) label the gulf between strategies conceived by top management and awareness at lower levels as implementation gap. Strategic consensus is the agreement between the top, middle, and lower-level managers on the fundamental policies of the organization. Strategic decisions are initiated by a team of top managers and then mandated to the rest of the organization, overlooking the importance of securing consensus with and commitment to the organizational strategy with the lower level employees, which is a big barrier for effective strategy implementation. 7. Commitment Strategy implementation process may fail if the strategy does not achieve support and commitment by the majority of employees and the middle management. Shared understanding without commitment would result in counter effort and may negatively affect the organisational performance. The understanding between middle management and those at the operational level to that of the top management teams strategic goals is of prime importance to successful implementation. Noble Mokwa (1999) have put forward three dimensions of commitment that are central factors which directly influence strategic outcomes: organizational commitment, strategy commitment and role commitment. Organizational commitment is the extent to which a manager identifies with and works toward organization-related goals and values. Strategy commitment is the extent to which a manager comprehends and supports the goals and objectives of an implementation strategy. Role commitment is the extent to which a manager is determine d to perform his individual implementation responsibilities, regardless of his personal beliefs about the overall strategy. 8. Organisational Structure The type of strategy adopted could differ in many ways and have different requirements regarding an adequate organizational structure. Factors relating to the organizational structure are the second most important implementation barrier according to Heide Grà ¸nhaug Johannessens (2002) study. Drazin and Howard (1984) stipulate that a proper alignment of the strategy with the organisational structure is an important pre-requisite for successful implementation of a corporate business strategy (Noble, 1999b). They note that changes in the competitive environment require adjustments to the organizational structure. If an organisations realignment strategies are lacking, it may exhibit poor performance and be at a major competitive disadvantage. 9. Administrative Systems Roth, Schweiger Morrison (1991) study suggests that organisational business units make use of three administrative mechanisms which are formalization, integrating mechanisms, and centralization, to create operational capabilities of configuration, managerial philosophy and coordination, to support business strategy implementation. Some researchers have also focused on the control systems which are one of important ingredients of administrative systems (Drazin Howard, 1984; Nilsson Rapp, 1999). Drazin and Howard (1984) discuss about the role of formal control system in the process of strategy implementation, and suggest that the fluidity of control system contribute to strategy implementation (Noble, 1999b). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This part of the project report would focus on the research design and methodology adopted to carry out the research of the issue chosen which is the factors influencing strategy implementation. The following literature would highlight the components of the research paradigm chosen to accomplish the study. This section of the project report would provide a detailed rationale on how the study would achieve the research objective put forth in the title. This part would explain the methods of data capture used and the issues which would arise in gathering the required information along with the analysis and the interpretation techniques employed to achieve the research aim. Limitations would be included in the following report to make the reader aware of the shortcomings of the chosen methodology; the relevant ethical issues would also be discussed in the proposed research design along-with the resources required to complete the proposed research. The choice for the research methodology adopted is in congruence with the strategic issue chosen for the research proposal. The selection criteria to choose articles for inclusion in the research analysis: The articles which contain the keywords strategy implementation or strategy execution have been included in the literature .From this; further articles were identified using the references sections of the previously retrieved articles. In this way, the report also includes the articles which treat strategy implementation as one of the major subjects even if their title or keywords did not include the terms strategy implementation or strategy execution. As a final selection criterion it was checked whether the articles explicitly discuss factors impeding or enabling strategy implementation success. Data Collection Secondary Sources In order to identify the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation, the report has analysed relevant academic, peer reviewed journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Executive, Human Relations, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Marketing, etc. using the literature databases of EBSCO Host, ProQuest ABI, Science Direct, JSTOR and Wiley Interscience. Information has also been sourced from Google Scholar and books, newspapers, trade journals, industry portals, government agencies, trade associations, monitoring industry news and developments. The research data would be collected in different organisations or units of an organisation. The organisations were mainly professional service organisations, from both public and private sector. For example, finance, insurance and telecommunications companies, and government departments would be included. The size of the units under study would be 100 to 500 employees. The study would be qualitative in nature, main research method being semi-structured interviews. Primary Sources and Sampling In each organisation or unit, representatives would form three groups, namely the top management, middle management, and lower level personnel, would be interviewed using the questionnaire provided below. Altogether twenty-five interviewees per organisation would be randomly chosen: 2-5 persons representing the top management level, 4-13 persons the middle management level, and 8-17 persons from the lower level personnel. The interviewees would be chosen randomly, ensuring however that different tasks, work groups, and departments were represented equitably. The general topic of the interviews would be strategy implementation. During the interviews, the interviewees would fill out questionnaires, in which they would evaluate the various problem statements. The questionnaire has been given below: Q1. How do you define the concept of strategy implementation? Q2. What kind of issues would you associate strategy implementation with? Q3. How do you participate in the strategy implementation process? Q4. How are the policies pertaining to strategy implementation communicated within the different levels of the organization? Q5. Describe your own role in the process of strategy implementation. Q6. Evaluate the degree of the strategy implementation problems in your organisation. Data Access Issues Some data access issues might arise in the research journey, which could be the unwillingness of the employees to participate in the planned interviews hampering the information gathering capabilities of the subsequent research report along-with lack of co-operation from concerned companies which might not give permission to carry out interviews with its employees fearing a possible leak of its corporate strategy to its competitors. Also finances required for the successful completion of the information gathering process might not be adequate. Data Analysis The results of the questionnaires would be assessed, as well as the comments of the interviewees for the statements would be analysed. The main data analysis method employed would be content analysis of the interviews. The transcribed interviews would be coded accordingly to the central issues of the research. The analysis method would include historical trend analysis and linear regression analysis using software tools, judgmental forecasting, and conjoint analysis. Limitations of the Research Design The approach in conducting the literature review has shortcomings which should be acknowledged. The following are the limitations in the methodology adopted. Collection of articles has been carried out by relying on the databases of EBSCO Host, Science Direct, JSTOR, Wiley Inter Science and ProQuest ABI and the report thus may have overlooked some critical viewpoints on strategy implementation included in monographs or specialists books. Some selective articles in the review, however, rely heavily on concepts from advanced books on corporate strategy thus making up for the shortcoming to a certain extent. The articles have been located using the keywords strategy implementation and strategy execution. This procedure of gathering articles may omit some important articles. The report also excludes some very specific strategy implementation contexts, such as post-merger integration implementation. The research has discovered that most of the conducted studies in the subject focus on the influence of middle managers on strategy implementation. There is no special research relating to lower management and non-management, even if several authors have stated that it is important to consider their effects on strategy implementation as well. Another major research challenge incudes, a lack of understanding between the relationships among the nine reviewed factors, for example, there are major disagreements about the relationship between the variables of communication, commitment and consensus which the report fails to highlight. Also a limiting factor is that there are very few studies that systematically examine how different organizational units and strategy levels can influence strategy implementation, which the report has not included. Strategy implementation involves many theories including agency theory, social learning theory, expectancy theory, organization theory and social system theory. Because of the limited word count it was not feasible to include such theories in the text presented which is also a shortcoming. The lists of journal articles selected are not comprehensive enough, as many other issues could potentially affect strategy implementation. Such other factors, however, are less mentioned or not analysed in-depth, as many of them are also hard to control and modify. Research Ethics For research to be carried out successfully there are many ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration. It is very important to secure the permission and interests of all the people involved in the study. The people involved would be given assurance that any information obtained during the interview process would not be misused as this is the moral responsibility which would be maintained towards the participants. It is the duty of this research to protect the rights of the participants of the study as well as their privacy and sensitivity. The confidentiality of those involved in the observation would be maintained at all times, keeping their anonymity and privacy secure. Resources required for effective research The resources required to carry out the proposed research would require the support and co-operation of the supervisor in charge so as to provide guidance for submitting an effective research analysis report. Also would require permission from the industries chosen for the study of the research issue and the co-operation of its employees for conducting interviews. Adequate financial support would also be required to assist in the completion of the proposed research analysis report to cover the cost of commuting and resultant transportation fares. TIMETABLE TASK SELECTION OF INDUSTRIES FOR RESEARCH FOCUS DAYS 1-5 6-10 10-15 16-20 21-25 25-30 LITERATURE REVIEW/ CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA INTERVIEWING PROCESS INDEPTH STUDY OF VARIOUS SOURCES ASSESSING RESOURCE FOR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK COLLECTION OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALE FOR STUDY FINALLY FORMULATED RESEAERCH PROPOSAL REFRENCES Saunders, M., P. Lewis and A. Thornhill (2007) Research methods for business students, Harlow: FT, Prentice Hall (4th ed.) Blumberg, B., D.R.Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler (2008), Business Research Methods, London: McGraw Hill (second ed.) Wilson, J. 2010, Essentials of Business Research A Guide To Doing Your Research Project London: Sage Allio, M.K. (2005). A Short, Practical Guide to Implementing Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, 26, 12-21. Beer, M., and Eisenstat, R.A(2000). The Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Sloan Management Review, Summer, 29-42. Bourgeois à Ã‚ ¨, L. J., and Brodwin D.R. (1984). Strategic Implementation: Five Approaches to an Elusive Phenomenon. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 241-264 Govindarajan,V., and Fisher.J. (1990). Strategy, Control systems, and resource sharing: effects on business-Unit Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 259-285. Heracleous, L. (2000). The Role of Strategy Implementation in Organization Development Organization Development Journal, 18, 75-86. Higgins, J.M. (2005). The Eight à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s of Successful Strategy Execution. Journal of Change Management, 5, 3-13. Lehner, J. (2004). Strategy Implementation Tactics as Response to Organizational, Strategic, and Environmental Imperatives. Management Revue, 15, 460-480 Noble, C.H. (1999a). Building the Strategy Implementation Network. Business Horizons, 19-27. Nutt, P.C. (1986). Tactics of Implementation. Academy of Management Journal. 29, 230-261. Nutt, P.C. (1989). Selecting Tactics to Implement Strategic Plans. Strategic Management

Legalizing Euthanasia for Terminally Ill Patients is Neccesary Essay e

On average, 151, 600 people die per day (Ross). Countless people live in fear of death, due to the massive uncertainties. They fear the pain and suffering that often precedes death, so they do everything they can to stay alive, even if it means staying connected to life support for months, completely immobile and unresponsive. Because medical technology has advanced substantially in recent years, scientists have created ways to achieve an easy and simple death, now known as euthanasia. In Greek, euthanasia translates to â€Å"easy or painless death† (Barnard). However, in modern times the question of legalizing euthanasia has become majorly controversial. Legalizing euthanasia for terminally ill patients is necessary because it will allow patients to die with dignity, it will prevent patients from having to live a low quality life full of suffering, and it will allow patients to have a choice of life or death rather than be required to by the government. Many people say that euthanasia is wrong because it is murder. However, when patients are terminally ill, they are no longer truly living. Terminal illness is defined as being hopelessly ill with no chance of recovery (Jussim). Legalizing euthanasia will allow terminally ill patients the option to die with dignity. According to the Savannah Morning News, â€Å"There is something to be said for dying with dignity. And ‘heroic measures’ that prolong a person’s physical existence when there is no meaningful hope for recovery can rob patients of that dignity† (Murphy). Many family members want to keep their family member alive for as long as possible, but in the case of terminal illnesses, they are simply prolonging something that is inevitable. Contrary to what many people believe about death... ...e calm after a storm. Death is only the beginning. Works Cited Barnard, Christiaan. Good Life, Good Death: A Doctor’s Case for Euthanasia and Suicide. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc, 1980. Print. Bonin, Angela. â€Å"Human Euthanasia, The Debate: The Arguments for Both Sides.† Examiner.com. Examiner.com. 20 Feb 2012. Web. 27 April 2014. Jussim, Daniel. Euthanasia: The â€Å"Right to Die Issue.† Hillside: Enslow Publishers Inc, 1993. Print. Murphy, Mark. â€Å"There’s Something to be Said for Dying With Dignity.† SavannahNow.Com. Savannah Morning News. 2 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 April 2014. Paris, John J. Euthanasia. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc, 2002. Print. Ross, Stephen. â€Å"Worldwide Missions.† Wholesome Worlds. Wholesome Worlds. n.d. Web. 20 April 2014. Tyson, Peter. â€Å"The Hippocratic Oath Today.† Nova beta. Nova. 27 March 2001. Web. 20 April 2014.

Inside The League by Scott Anderson, and Jon Lee Anderson :: Inside The League Scott Anderson

Inside The League by Scott Anderson, and Jon Lee Anderson   Ã‚  Ã‚   For over ten years progressive researchers in this country and in Europe have been uncovering evidence linking certain American conservatives and rightists to racist and fascist movements around the globe through a shadowy organization called the World Anti-Communist League. Now the book "Inside the League" exposes the hidden nature of the League and documents in devastating detail a parade of League-affiliated authoritarian ideologues marching from the death camps of Nazi Germany into the parlors of Reagan's White House. The idea for the book came when Jon Lee Anderson was researching a series of columns on Latin American death squads for Jack Anderson, (Jon Lee's employer but not his relative). Enlisting the aid of his brother Scott, the two first began tracing the connections between the death squads but soon were unravelling networks and alliances that involved terrorists, Nazi collaborators, racists, assassins, anti-Jewish bigots, and right- wing anti-communist American politicians. The one factor all had in common was their involvement with the World Anti-Communist League.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Latin American death squads, for instance, were found to be linked through an umbrella group of Central and South American rightists called the Latin American Anti-Communist Confederation (CAL). CAL in turn was affiliated with the World Anti-Communist League (WACL), lead by a retired U.S. Major General, John Singlaub.   Singlaub boasts WACL is the coordinating body for raising private aid for the Contras, a task support ed explicitly by the Reagan White House which has sent government officials and glowing letters of support to WACL meetings in recent years.   Ã‚  Ã‚   WACL also serves as an umbrella for several Eastern European emigre groups founded and lead by Nazi collaborators, and there is far more. As the Anderson brothers write:   Ã‚  Ã‚   "We have examined the World Anti-Communist League...because it is the one organization in which representatives of virtually every right-wing extremist movement that has practiced unconventional warfare are to be found. The League is the one constant in this netherworld; whether looking at Croation terrorists, Norwegian neo-Nazis, Japanese war criminals, or American ultra-rightists...." (p. x, Author's Note).   Ã‚  Ã‚   WACL is more than a club for aging facists and their modern- day

Is Cricket Killing Other Sports in India? Essay

It is a fact that people in India eat, live, sleep, talk and walk cricket. Some feel that Cricket in India is becoming an obstacle in the progress of other sports. M. S Gill, the sports minister of the country painstakingly said, â€Å"Television, commercialization and the advertising world have promoted cricket to an extent that it has become a Mount Everest, which is badly affecting other sports in the country. † Cricket has become the religion of India and the national anthem of the country, so much so that the word â€Å"sports† has become synonymous with cricket. Cricket runs as the life flowing blood through the veins of the multitude. Yes, cricket is the â€Å"god of sports† in India. I am not being even the least sarcastic when I say this, but unfortunately this is the sorry state of affairs in our country. Cricket has sounded a death knell to the growth of other sports. Traditional Indian games like hockey, kabaddi, kushti have been demoted to a bygone era. Even international sports like tennis, badminton and football have not been shown any mercy despite us being so â€Å"West-crazy†. We hail cricket as the be all and end all of all sports. Hockey, the so called National Sport of India has shown the most inconsistent progress, if it can actually be called progress. There was a time when India did win the Hockey World Cup in 1975 and people showed a keen interest in the sport, but not so anymore. The sport has died a natural death from lack of leadership and sponsorship. (Rather, it would be more apt to say due to a diversion of sponsors to cricket) We do have a Sania Mirza, a Leander Paes and a Mahesh Bhupati bringing laurels to the country in the field of tennis; a Vishwanathan Anand in the field of chess. Then why have chess and tennis not been accorded their true status as cricket has been? Why aren’t they put on the same pedestal and worshipped as cricket? Millions throng the cricket stadium when there is an India-Pakistan match to boost the morale of their country but where does this â€Å"morale boosting brigade† disappear when sportsmen other than cricketers need them. Don’t Mirza, Paes, Bhupati and Anand also play for their country just as cricketers do? Prime time on television is given to cricket. Even a toddler is able to detail at length, the rules of this sport. All ace cricketers are forever in the news, be it for their promotion of various brands which has regretfully become a second money minting business for them, or for their liaison with some damsel from Bollywood. There is full truth that an equal exposure is not given to all sports in the country. There is a need to reform the other sports too. Let’s take inspiration from cricket and allow sports persons from other fields to have the same opportunities, earnings and affections as well.

A 3000 word reflective account of Solution Focused Brief Therapy within a practice placement setting

This assignment is a personal reflective account on the use of solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) carried out during a practice placement within a Crisis and Home Treatment Team (CRHT). This assignment aims to discuss the importance of the 10 Essential Shared Capabilities, introduce clear definitions of SFBT, evaluate current research of SFBT, and provide an evaluation of the key principles of SFBT. I will make a brief comparison of SFBT and traditional psychotherapy.I will utilise aspects of Gibb’s Model of Reflection (1988) when discussing my own thoughts and feelings in order to critically analyse and evaluate two key features of SFBT interventions used in practice. This will allow me to identify positive aspects of my practice as well as highlighting aspects which need further development. Finally, I will evaluate the theoretical framework underpinning its relevance in current and future practice. De Shazer & Dolan (2007) defined SFBT as â€Å"a future focused, goal or ientated approach to brief therapy†. Iveson (2002) proposes that SFBT focuses on â€Å"solution building rather than problem solving†.As such, SFBT does not require a detailed history of the past or problem due to its solution focused nature. The client is believed to have the necessary resources to implement changes. Furthermore, Macdonald (2007, p. 7) stipulates that the client has the capacity to use these resources to set their own goals for therapy. In a general sense, psychotherapy aims to aid clients to reach their full potential or to develop better coping mechanisms to deal with their problems. During psychotherapy a client will develop skills to become self aware, change their unhelpful cognitive schemas, and develop insight and empathy (O’Connell, 2005).Additionally, psychotherapy assumes that, with guidance, each client has the capacity to overcome their discomfort or distress. There is considerable agreement in literature regarding the main character istics of SFBT (De Shazer & Dolan, 2007; O’Connell, 2005; Lethem, 2002; George, Iveson & Ratner, 1990; Sharry, Darmody & Madden, 2002). It is believed that therapy must convert from focusing on the presenting problem and move towards looking for solutions (O’Connell, 2005). Therefore, the therapist must consider the client’s subjective, individual interpretations of the given problem.O’Connell (2005) reports that this phenomenon is a result of social constructionism. Social constructionism proposes that client’s theories are created as a result of social interaction and negotiations with peers. As result these theories are fluid, constantly changing with knowledge, and therefore move away from any certainty (McNamee, 2010). For example, Walter & Peller (1994, p. 14) reported that if a therapist was to lead from behind, by allowing a client to talk about their experiences, this would encourage the client to become increasingly aware of aspects of th e perceived problem that had previously been disregarded.Rosenbaum, Hoyt & Talmon (1990) theorised that improvements can be achieved by the change of the smallest aspect in the client’s life, and that it is this smallest, positive, initial step that will inevitably lead to greater improvements for the client. Furthermore, Sharry et al (2002) highlight that it is not possible for a client to experience one emotion all of the time, and that there must be times when the problematic emotion is more or less intense. They stipulate that it is the therapists’ role to determine when the emotion is less severe and encourage the client to do more of these behaviours.In addition to this, Sharry et al (2002) advise that the therapist should not focus failed solutions or advise the client to continue with behaviours that are problematic. Clients are advocated to actualize their preferred future by implementing small changes that have proved to be positive solutions. The idea of a p referred future is dominant with the SFBT approach. This is seen throughout a SFBT session, from the initial clarification of the client’s goals for therapy to the client being encouraged to describe in detail what their future without their problem would look like by use of the  miracle question (De Shazer & Dolan, 2007).De Shazer & Molnar (1984) advise that is important to be mindful that clients may think they have to do something which they feel is expected of them by the therapist, even though this may not necessarily be right for them. As such, I feel that asking about the client’s preferred future can be a high risk strategy for vulnerable clients as it may initiate a negative response and prolong feelings of hopelessness. There are many similarities of the underlying assumptions of SFBT and other psychotherapies.For example, the goals for therapy are chosen by the client (O’Connell, 2005). In addition to this, all psychotherapy assumes that the client has the resources they need to implement change (Macdonald, 2007, p. 7). However, the main differences between SFBT and other psychotherapies are that a detailed history is not needed, the perceived problem is not analysed, the treatment process begins within the first session of therapy and that SFBT does not believe a person’s perception is maladjusted or in need of change (O’Connell, 2005).It is evident that SFBT draws upon numerous therapeutic approaches. I believe SFBT shared a number of theoretical principals with person-centred therapy. Rogers (1951) hypothesised that human’s have an intrinsic ability to self-actualise, which can be seen explicitly in SFBT in identifying the clients strengths and resources (Saunders 1998). In terms of person-centred counselling, the way SFBT highlights these factors is directly facilitating the self- actualization of the client. Furthermore, both theories take an eclectic approach to the client’s situation.For exam ple, the importance of the whole person in person-centred counselling is associated with the interest in the whole context of a person’s life in SFBT (Iveson, 2002). Hales (1999) describes how person-centred therapy believes that the client is in control of the counselling process and makes judgements about their decisions and experiences; this is seen much more overtly in SFBT as the clients are asked directly their goals for therapy and how they would know that therapy had been worthwhile.Both approaches provide client-orientated counselling which aims to promote self esteem and coping strategies for the client (Hales, 1999). By employing the underlying principals of SFBT into future training, my practice will remain aligned with the Ten Essential Shared Capabilities (Department of Health, 2004). In particular, SFBT focuses on ‘working in partnership’, ‘identifying people’s needs and strengths’, providing service user care’ and promot ing safety and positive risk taking’ (Department of Health, 2004, p.4).In a literature review, Ferraz & Wellman (2008) emphasise that it is possible to incorporate these essential capabilities into SFBT techniques in current practice. They suggest that SFBT is particularly appropriate when staff have relatively brief contact with clients. SFBT is congruent with these essential capabilities, enabling nurses to develop improved therapeutic relationships with clients, improved communication skills, and a goal orientated approach to recovery (De Shazer & Dolan, 2007).Whilst there is limited research surrounding SFBT in comparison to other psychotherapies, the evidence base has developed in recent years (Gingerich & Eisengart, 2000). However, much of the initial research was conducted by the pioneers of SFBT, e. g. De Shazer & Molnar (1984) and Kiser (1988), and is therefore likely to be in favour of SFBT. In terms of success rate, Kiser (1988) and Kiser & Nunnally (1990) conducte d six month follow up studies which showed an 80% success rate of clients who had received SFBT.However, these studies can be criticised as only 14.7% clients reported considerable improvements beyond meeting their treatment goals. Much research into the effectiveness of SFBT concludes a success rate which is calculated by a combination of clients who achieved their goals and clients who made significant improvements. Further to this, Macdonald (1994; 1997) argued success rates of 64% at a three year follow up. Moreover, DeJong & Berg (1998) report that SFBT achieves 70% or more success rates for multitude of social and mental health issues, including depression, suicidal ideation, relationship difficulties, domestic violence, and self-esteem.As such, the underlying principals of SFBT can be applied to the Seven Stage Crisis Intervention Model (R-SSCIM; Roberts, 1991). For example, stage 3 of Roberts’ model (1991) help clients to identify their strengths, resources and past c oping skills. This can be achieved through the use of exception and coping questions (O’Connell, 2005). De Shazer & Dolan (2007) expand on this by advising that identifying strengths and resources can help build rapport and trust with the client as the focus is shifted away from short-comings and towards complimenting the client.During Stages 4 & 5, feelings and emotions are explored, and alternatives are generated and explored (Roberts, 1991). SFBT utilises these stages by acknowledge client’s current experiences and aiding them to create an action plan. The client I chose to utilise SFBT techniques with had an extensive mental health history. He has been known to community services for the past 5 years, and has a diagnosis of major depression. He had been referred to CRHT following deterioration in mood and was expressing suicidal ideation. The client had consented to me using SFBT techniques during a home treatment visit.I utilised several assessment tools of SFBT i ncluding pre-session changes, goal setting, exception seeking and coping questions, miracle question, scaling question, and task setting. I have chosen to reflect on the use of scaling questions and exception seeking questions. O’Connell (2005, p. 35) stipulates that scaling is a technique whereby the therapist asks the client to rate on a scale of zero to ten, where zero is the worst they have felt recently and ten is the best they have felt recently, for a particular issue.O’Connell (2005, p. 35) goes on to state that scaling can be used to set treatment goals, measure progress, establish priorities, rate the clients motivation, and discover the client’s confidence in resolving their issues. I have chosen to reflect on scaling techniques as I felt confident and noticed my personal strengths but also identified some areas for development. I first introduced scaling with my client when asking about pre-session changes.I explained the scale to him and asked where he would place himself  today and if this was any different from when he had contacted CRHT. I reassured the client by complimenting him for contacting CRHT regarding his mental health. The second time I used scaling questions was following the miracle question. This was to assess whether the client had shown any sessional changes from the score he reported earlier. Finally, I used scaling when amplifying homework tasks. This was to assess whether the client was motivated and confident in achieving these tasks, and whether these tasks would improve the client’s depressive symptoms.Throughout the home visit, I felt extremely nervous, tense and pressurised because I was also being assessed by my mentor as part of the Direct Observation of a Nursing Activity. I was also aware that the client was at crisis point and was somewhat volatile in mental state. This made me feel inexperienced and very aware that I had limited training in SFBT. Initially, I felt apprehensive at making a mistake or asking the wrong question, and this was clear to the client when I had perplexed the explanation of the scale.Upon reflection, my emotions affected my performance throughout the intervention; for example, as I became more relaxed I gave a more apparent explanation of the scale for confidence in completing homework tasks. My strengths were that I was able to obtain a baseline of the client’s rating of their mood, affirm sessional changes to mood, and attain a rating of the client’s motivation and confidence in achieving set tasks. I felt the client responded well to the scaling questions as it did not involve him explaining in depth his feelings, but rather focused on how to resolve his current crisis state (De Shazer & Dolan, 2007).However, I feel my weaknesses lie in the timing of the scaling questions. For example, I introduced the scale near to the start of the home visit and then a further two times during the visit. As a result I felt I had to explai n the scale each time I used it. I feel this made the intervention slightly disordered and therefore illogical to the client.The use of scaling questions following the miracle question was partially inappropriate as the client stated that he had just answered questions regarding his preferred future (i. e.  where the client would like to be on the scale) when amplifying the miracle question. In hindsight, I feel that these questions were somewhat unnecessary. In contrast to this, De Shazer & Dolan (2007) stipulate in their G. E. M. S approach that scaling questions should follow the miracle question due to its effectiveness in obtaining measures of where clients would rate themselves today, and their preferred future. Furthermore, O’Connell (2005, p. 52) describes the importance of scaling questions with regard to communication with a client.He advises that it gives the opportunity for the client to express how they are feeling and eliminates the therapist making assumption s. He argues that scaling provides a comprehensive interpretation of the client’s feelings on a particular issue, with limited scope for individual interpretation. However, there is much research (Chant, Jenkinson, Randle & Russell, 2002; Sumner, 2001) to suggest that communication and interpretation of a client’s feelings is eclectically gained through the practitioner’s emotions, personal development, perception of others, and the circumstances of the interaction.I feel this is particularly relevant to my performance since my communication was adversely affected initially due to my anxieties and the circumstances of being assessed. This therapeutic intervention provided me with first hand experience of these barriers to communication (Sumner, 2001) and as such I am aware of how my communication is affected by anxiety which in turn impacted on the scaling technique I was using. This issue could be resolved through the use of further reflections and SFBT with ot her clients.I feel that utilising SFBT techniques in my future practice will improve my confidence and my ability to concisely deliver explanations of scaling questions as I will no longer feel like a novice. I have also chosen to reflect on the use of exception questions with the client as I feel that I need to expand my current knowledge base of how to carry out these questions effectively in order to develop my skills in SFBT. Macdonald (2007, p. 15) advises that exception seeking questions are particularly useful when clients are feeling hopeless.I feel this was very relevant to my client as he was somewhat resistant to change initially. However, through the use of these questions my client identified small exceptions where he was able to control improve his low mood, which in turn improved his motivation and confidence in setting small tasks. In this instance, I used exception questions with the intention of demonstrating to the client that his low mood was not occurring all of the time. However, my client was vague and negative in his response. I intended to demonstrate previous enjoyment to the client by focusing on spending time with his family.I felt very inexperienced and incompetent when using this technique as I struggled initially to achieve my intentions. As a result, I felt very aware that I was being assessed by my mentor, which added to my anxieties. I felt frustrated that my client was unable to identify any positive aspects in his life, but began to relax when he described the pleasure he gains from spending time with his children. I felt positive and confident when my client became facially bright and was laughing when telling personal anecdotes.De Shazer & Dolan (2007) highlight the difference between previous solutions and exceptions, with exceptions being times when the problem could have occurred but did not. In hindsight, I feel I was searching for previous solutions rather than exceptions. Furthermore, they go to theorise that the rol e of the therapist to recognise opportunity for exceptions during the session rather than actively seek out opportunities to utilise this technique. Therefore, as a skilled therapist I should be seeking opportunities to amplify exceptions rather than explicitly questioning the client in this way.Due to my limited training in SFBT I felt like a novice and did not utilise the true nature of exception seeking questions. Following this reflection I am now more aware of the difference between previous solutions and exceptions that De Shazer & Dolan (2007) hypothesised, and how they can both influence the therapeutic intervention. As I gain experience and further develop my knowledge base of SFBT, I feel that I will be able to use exception questions when required rather than expectantly.In my future practice as a registered mental health nurse, I plan to utilise SFBT techniques with service users, particularly those experiencing relapse, as the use of these tools can provide immediate im provements and allows for a future focused approach rather than problem orientated. I must remain mindful of the barriers that exist in communication (Kiser, Piercy & Lipchink, 1993) and apply this when delivering SFBT techniques. However, De Shazer & Dolan (2007) theorise that scaling is a very effective tool for the client to verbalise their emotions.Therefore, this could be used in my future practice, particularly when building a therapeutic relationship with clients. In terms of current practice, I have effectively demonstrated the scaling technique within cognitive behavioural therapy; however, I am aware that these two therapies use the scale in different ways. To conclude, this assignment has allowed me to develop my knowledge of the key principals of SFBT, the practical applications, and the limitations of my inexperience when utilising SFBT assessment tools.I believe SFBT shares many fundamental assumptions with person centred therapy. The underpinning principals are apt fo r contemporary nursing, particularly as it fits wells with the Ten Essential Shared Capabilities (DoH, 2004). There are some limitations to this approach, such as lack of extensive research (Gingerich & Eisengart, 2000). However, I feel that this approach is appropriate to use with clients who are experiencing mental health difficulties.