Child Responsibilities Essay

Many parents may be very strict on their kids when it comes to doing things like playing with fire, using power tools, having a job, or even owning a pocket knife, but I on the other hand, disagree. Although I understand that it’s very dangerous for kids to be handling such things, it also builds their character. You wouldn’t just allow any kid to be in charge of such thing, they must have maturity and responsibility up to a certain point to be able to be trusted in these situations. A speech titled â€Å"5 Dangerous Things you should let your kid do† by Gever Tulley on TED.com talks about kids who are allowed and even encouraged to do things most parents would never dare to let their kids be involved in. Tulley discusses how kids who participate in these activities build strong character. It’s good for kids to be in these kinds of environments as long as they already have responsibility up to a certain level. An issue similar to this that is thrown around in politic and economic discussions now days is child labor. Should we allow kids to have jobs? Should families who are economically struggling allow their kids to work in order to bring in enough food and necessities to the family? I don’t see a problem in child labor. Like Tulley, I agree with these ideas and think they build better personalities and make a child more understanding. Although, I do not think that a family should be able to force a kid to work, it’s also important to a kid’s childhood that they get a chance to be a kid, and not have to worry about work. The earlier a person starts working, the bigger chance they have to be successful in life. I can understand why some parent’s wouldn’t be willing to let their kids be in such environments, these environments can be very unsafe sometimes. A kid could have the possibility of cutting a finger off, or doing something that they would have to live with for the rest of their lives, but with adult supervision this is less likely to happen. Although UNICEF has stated that children are more likely to get hurt then adults because they have yet to learn what not to do, we have to understand that getting hurt can happen in any activity that a person participates in, that’s just part of life.

Research Paper Essay

Abstract This research paper will evaluate the biological aspects of addictive substance or behavior and how it affects the brain and organs. Biological aspects include dopamine levels that are replaced in the brain due to the reward system being overtaken and the absorption rate of the drug once it is ingested will be discussed. The biological aspects are extensive and permanent if the individual does not get the help they need. Furthermore the clinical issues of addictive substance or behavior will be discussed along with medical treatments and ethical issues. This includes treatments such as counseling and treatment programs that are effective. Lastly the Christian worldview implications and how it affects Christian counselors will be addressed. How the church may view individuals who have an addiction and how a counselor approaches a client with an addiction. Addiction is something that is an epidemic in the world of the devil and it should be evaluated and taken seriously. People use drugs for a variety of reasons, some may be to self-medicate, to overcome anxiety, to deal with a past that they want to forget, or even just to fit in with a crowd. However, most of the users, initially, do not think or care of the after side effects which could include addiction. There are many factors that come into play on if a person will be more susceptible to addictions such as â€Å"heredity, environment, psychoactive drugs and compulsive behaviors† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Substance/Behavior Drugs affect many areas of a person’s body, the central nervous system (CNS) is effected â€Å"causing mental, emotional and physical changes† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Pharmacokinetics describes this process by which a drug is â€Å"absorbed, distributed, metabolized, eliminated, and excreted by the body† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The factors that contribute to this process include: â€Å"route of  administration, speed of transit to the brain, rates of metabolism, process of elimination, affinity for nerve cells and neurotransmitters† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). All of these factors contribute to how the drug biogically affects the person administering the drug. A person who injects heroine on an empty stomach will not have the same effect as a person who digests a pill of heroine after a meal. There are more aspects that involve if the person will become addicted to the drug. Metabolism and excretion also play a part in the effects on the brain. Metabolism is â €Å"the body’s mechanism for processing, using, and inactivating a foreign substance that has entered the body† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.7, 2011). Metabolism applies to everything that is ingested into our bodies, including food. Excretion is â€Å"the process of eliminating the foreign substance and its metabolites from the body† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.7, 2011). When a drug is ingested the metabolic process begins along with the excretion process by the kidney. This explains why alcoholics have kidney problems and sometimes failure after years of alcohol abuse. An example of how a drug travels from Inaba and Cohen is: â€Å"when someone swallows a 10 milligram tablet of Vicodin or drinks a beer the drug passes through the esophagus and the stomach into the small intestine, where it is absorbed into the capillaries enmeshed into the intestine walls. The capillaries transport the drug into the veins which carry it to the liver where it is partially metabolized. It is then pumped back to the heart and subsequently to the rest of the body.† That is just one example of how a drug is passed through the body and absorbed into the users system. There are many other ways that the drug can enter into the body. The first time alcohol or drugs are ingested â€Å"dopamine levels spike higher than they do with food†¦and that experience is remembered,† the experience is stored in the amygdala which controls emotion and hippocampus which controls emotion. After using the substance over and over the brain no longer produces its own dopamine. (Carlson & Carlson, 2013). There are more side effects that occur if the substance is not taken again, including depression and sometimes physical symptoms. (Carlson & Carlson, p.35, 2013). If the person stopped filling the void they have created with the substance their brain will eventually start reproducing its own dopamine again. There are addictions that can develop from behavior disorders, non-substance abuse disorders. These could be gambling, shopping, and many other compulsive/impulse control disorders. There are studies that suggest that â€Å"26-37% of those with alcohol dependence also had a lifetime history of a mood disorder (with depression being the most common), whereas 32-37% met lifetime criteria for an anxiety disorder† (McLachlan & Starkey, 2012). When a person who is addicted to a compulsive disorder is going through withdrawals â€Å"the urge or craving while abstaining from the behaviors may have a similarity with cravings during drug withdrawal in substance addictions† (El-Guebaly, Mudry, Zohar, Tavares,& Potenza, 2012). To a person who is withdrawing from a gambling addiction they will feel the same way as a person who is trying to stop drinking. There are groups such as Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous that help these individuals through the process of overcoming their addictions. When a person who is suffering from an addiction decides to make a change they can go through a process before they decide to take action. The stages are pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation/ready for action, action, maintenance, and possibly relapse. (James, p. 74, 2012). Pre-contemplation is when the person is not considering change and denying they have a problem. Contemplation is when the addict is sitting on the fence about if they have a problem or not. Preparation/ready for action is described as when they are making a mental plan for how and when they are going to act. Action is practicing the new behavior for three to six months. The maintenance stage is continuing to maintain the new behavior for more than six months after the action plan. Relapse occurs if the old behaviors happen again, (James, 2012). An important part of overcoming the behaviors that go along with addiction is the creation of memories. Memories are created from the time we are born, we learn things about ourselves such as what makes us laugh or what makes us cry. A person may have a bad experience with a drug or alcohol and that memory stays with them. It could even deter them from trying it again or the person could be pressured into giving it one more try before they decide. Memories are actually â€Å"solid bits of protein imprinted on the brain as microscopic memory bumps called dendritic spines† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.12, 2011). When people use psyc hoactive drugs the memories are imprinted on the brain. These memories include, â€Å"where they got the drug, the reason they used it, and what feelings resulted† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). These memories are problematic because they are especially  powerful for the user’s brain. The memories will affect how often a person uses in the future. If a person has a euphoric and amazing experience when they use a drug they will remember it vividly and have a hard time forgetting the experience. If something happens to them that causes depression or makes them have a bad day they will go back to this euphoric state and want to recreate that situation again. Furthermore, if the person has a preconceived susceptibility to addiction to a substance they are more likely to continue to go back to this substance to solve their problems rather than dealing with them in a healthy way. Many factors such as environment when the person was raised will also play a factor, if the person was not taught the proper coping skills in dealing with issues their only memory of how to escape a problem will be the occurrence of the drug use. The same instance occurs with a person who suffers from a behavioral disorder such as gambling. When a person gambles they feel valued and appreciated. A person with a gambling addiction is treated like a king when they walk into a casino or a place that caters to gamblers. They bring them drinks to their table, they have beautiful girls around them, and they a re treated as if they are someone important. To a person who has never been treated like that in their life, it can develop into an addiction, an addiction to winning the money and an addiction to being treated like a king. Their memories and reward systems are replaced with this experience and it is hard to overcome. The reward/control pathway of the brain â€Å"encourages a human to perform or repeat an action that promotes survival† (Inaba & Cohen, p. 2.14, 2011). A psychoactive drug urges a person to take the drug again because it closely resembles the natural reward system of the brain. For substance abusers this pathway is seriously altered, â€Å"the go circuit becomes overactive and the stop circuit becomes dysfunctional and does not shut off the craving† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The craving to do the drug again becomes seemingly unbearable for the individual because their reward system is in overload. The individual may wish that they could stop the addiction or not even want to but they cannot stop because of the affect the drug/habit has had on their brain. The reversal of the reward system also makes normally enjoyable circumstances not enjoyable to the individual suffering from an addiction. A person who may have enjoyed painting or walking around the park will be able to think about nothing other than  taking another hit of cocaine because their brains reward system is not happy until that is experienced. It takes a very strong individual to be able to overcome this and recognize it in their own brains. That is why there are programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous to help individuals process these changes in a step by step basis, because it is so hard to just quit something that has such a hold on the person. Clinical Issues There are aspects of treatment that dominate in the field of treatment of a behavioral or chemical dependency. These aspects begin with the fact that medications are used more to treat addictions, there are many reasons that a drug may be used in the treatment process including; â€Å"drugs lessen the withdrawal symptoms, drugs lessen cravings, substitute medications that are less damaging than the primary substance of abuse, nutritional supplements, and antidepressants† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Some addicts do require drug use but some do not, it depends on how addicted to the substance or behavior the person was as well as how long they were using. Another issue in treatment is that new imaging techniques are being used to â€Å"visualize the structural and physiological effects of addiction on the human brain† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). These techniques include CAT (computerized axial tomography) scans to show the damage to the brain tissues, MRI (magnetic resonance imagin g), fMRI (functional MRI), PET (positron emission tomography), SPECT (single-photon emission computerized tomography, and DTI (Diffusion tensor imaging) (Inaba & Cohen, p. 9.5, 2011) These techniques allow doctors to study the brain as the addict goes through such things as the reward cycle when using a drug. These tests will help to better understand the processes of the brain and possibly be able to further combat the problem of addiction. The more a process in understood, the more educated a doctor can be with their patient the better treatment process they can prescribe for the patient. Internet-based therapies involve â€Å"structured, treatment programs delivered via the internet that incorporate some degree of therapist interaction† (Blaszczynski, A., Gainsbury, S., 2011). The internet based therapy mostly occurs via e-mails, telephone or face to face between the client and the counselor; it can benefit a wide range of people including those with alcohol and drug addictions. It is also beneficial for those with behavioral addictions such as gambling. Internet based therapy  has been largely successful with less than â€Å"25% of people with addiction-related problems ever entering formal treatment† (Blaszcynski, 2011). The internet based therapy could be widely popular as well because it is anonymous and they do not have to attend a meeting or go out of their way to a counselor’s office. The appointments are on the person’s own time when they are available. Treatment for individuals such as the elderly depends on patient placement after they are evaluated for abuse or addiction as well as physical or psychiatric problems. Treatment is then evaluated on the risks that could affect the elderly person. There are six dimensions â€Å"established by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM): acute intoxication and/or withdrawal potential; biomedical conditions and complications; behavioral conditions and complications; treatment acceptance/resistance; relapse potential; and recovery environment† (Clay, 2010). An elderly individual struggling from addiction can also be placed in an outpatient treatment such as â€Å"brief intervention, motivational interviewing and pharmaceuticals† (Clay, 2010). It is recommended that the least intensive approach be considered first and then the condition be further assessed. Individuals who are addicted to heroin have a treatment that is called Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) this involves prescribing opioids to those who are opioid dependent. A person who is addicted to heroin will go through â€Å"daily withdrawal symptoms, and are at increased risk of persisting in use of heroin and other drugs.† (Bell,2012). The i dea is to prescribe low dosage methadone (30-60 mg a day) or buprenorphine (4-8mg/day) to help control the withdrawal symptoms. Another reason for this approach is, â€Å"at higher methadone doses, people become more tolerant to opioids, and blocking the effects of heroin and suppressing continued heroin use† (Bell, 2012). Another approach to treatment is coerced treatment. Coerced treatment is when it is â€Å"mandated by the criminal justice system, through drug courts mandatory sentencing, probation/parole stipulations, and state or federal legislation requiring compulsory treatment† (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison program measured the effectiveness of the treatment programs that were mandatory and found reductions in the re-arrest rate, reconviction rate and return to prison rate. The downfall to the coerced programs is that there may not be space available for people who want to voluntarily get help before they are  arrested or in trouble with the legal system. The reduction in the economy over the years has caused a lot of government funded programs to be closed due to funding issues, leaving less places for addicts to go for help. (Inaba & Cohen, 2011). Christian Worldview Implications Addictions can come in many shape and forms to a Christian counselor. There are sexual addictions, gambling addictions, alcohol addictions, substance addictions etc. From a biblical standpoint a Christian counselor would want to introduce biblical morals and values so the person can rely on a higher power other than themselves to overcome the addiction. Addictions come straight from the devil when they are attacking a person and causing them to sin. A counselor should consider themselves to be warriors of God in the war against addictions. There are many in the Christian environments that consider addiction to be an act of will. A church congregation may not take an addiction as seriously as they would take someone who was diagnosed with cancer. It is important that the counselor help the client see that their addiction is important to overcome, confessing their addiction and the problem with it can be the first step when a person is struggling with an addiction. The person may feel that it is easier to hide the addiction rather than admit there is a problem, but to confess the sin is the most important first step. References Bell, J. (2012). Buprenorphine in The Treatment of Heroin Addiction. Dusunen Adam: Journal Of Psychiatry & Neurological Sciences, 25(2), 93-100. doi:10.5350/DAJPN20122502001 Blaszczynski, A., Gainsbury, S. (2011). A systematic review of Internet-based therapy for the treatment of addictions, Clinical Psychology Review. Vol. 31(3). Carlson, D., & Carlson, H. (2013). Addiction : The brain disease. Madison, CT, USA: Bick Publishing House. Clay, S. W. (2010). Treatment of addiction in the elderly. Aging Health, 6(2), 177-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/ahe.10.14 El-Guebaly, N., Mudry, T., Zohar, J., Tavares, H. and Potenza, M. N. (2012), Compulsive features in behavioural addictions: the case of pathological gambling. Addiction, 107: 1726–1734. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03546.x Inaba, D. S. & Cohen, W. E. (2011). Uppers, downers, all arounders: Physical and mental effects of psychoactive drugs. (7th ed.). Medford, OR: CNS Productions James, R. L. (2012). Sexuality and addiction. Westport, CT, USA: ABC-CLIO. McLachlan, A. D., & Starkey, N. J. (2012). The classification of substance and behavioural addictions: a preliminary investigation. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 41(1)

Skill Acquisition Volleyball

The term ‘skill acquisition' Is used to describe the ability to learn a new skill. There Is no specification as to what Is classified as a skill, a skill can be anything from intellectual activities to physical activities, a skill can even be something as a simple as listening. The objective of skill acquisition is to select a new skill and study that skill until you have learnt it.Skill acquisition is an extremely important part of sport making it a heavily researched and investigated topic and therefore there are many efferent theories on the best way to acquire a skill. According to (Skill acquisition and performance Improvement, Abernathy B, 2005) with practice, skills become less consciously controlled and more automatic, this provides highly-skilled performers with the ability to perform multiple tasks relating to that skill concurrently and therefore for efficiently.This report will outline the stages of learning a skill, open and closed skills, types of practice, how fe edback can improve the process of skill acquisition and skill acquisition relating to volleyball. There are three stages of skill learning: cognitive stage, associated stage and autonomous stage, the aim of progressing through each stage Is to coherently understand the level that the player is at and therefore create a better understanding of what type of practice is needed to improve.The first stage of learning, the cognitive stage involves mental understanding, watching a demonstration and then having a coach to provide feedback as stated by (M Broadcloth, stages of skill acquisition, 2008). The aim of the cognitive stage is to be educated on the dynamics of the skill for example, a basketball player might watch a demonstration of the basic technique Involved In shooting a free throw, examining the technique they would then try to mimic It and If unsuccessful a coach or someone with a better understanding could then provide ways to improve the result.The next stage, the associated stage involves trial and error, tuning and honing and lots of practice, the basketball player once given feedback would adjust their technique and then practice it over and over according o (A Gibson, Perez, 2011) for example, shooting one hundred free throws one after the other In order to gain repetition and confidence. The final stage of skill calculations, the autonomous stage involves automatic execution of the skill and then the ability to focus on tactics and decision making.The autonomous stage of learning is extremely difficult to advance to, once the skill has been successfully learned, the autonomous stage enables the player to execute that skill consistently as stated by (Bored of studies, stages of skill acquisition, 2006) for example the basketball player, once able to shoot free throws every time, would have to execute this skill under pressure with another player trying to block or execute It with a time limit.Currently, I am at the associative stage of learning in terms of the ‘digging' skill in volleyball as I understand the skill and I have been given feedback in order to improve; I am focusing on repetition of the skill by doing continuous practice with simple digs. Each stage can be supported through the use open and closed skill knowledge. An Open Motor skill Is a skill which Is performed In an unstable environment, where reformed in a stationery environment where the performer chooses when to start the skill according to (Hubcap's, closed motor skills vs.. Open motor skills, 2012).Sports that involve the use of open skills include: netball, soccer and hockey as the environments in these sports are constantly changing and therefore movements have to be continually adapted. Closed motor skills include: serving in tennis and squash as the environments of these sports are stable and predictable, the players know which movements to make and when (Abashes, P. ND Taylor, J. 1996). The skill I am studying in volleyball is the dig, this sk ill is an open motor skill as it is performed in an unstable environment, the ball can be placed in my area at any time and the required skill may not always be a dig.There are different methods of practice when acquiring a skill, the quality and quantity of practice plays an important role in this process and is defined as massed and distributed practice by (NEWS HAS, The practice method). Massed practice occurs when one skill is continuously practiced in a session with only brief rest periods or none at all whereas, distributed practice requires a skill to be practiced through a variety of training drills with moderate rest periods as stated by (NEWS HAS, The practice method).The distributed practice method would be the far more effective method as the stage of learning I am currently at is the associative stage and the associative stage requires massed practice. Each training session I used massed practice to focus on digging; this was achieved by completing at least fifty digs f rom a set point each session. Through eased practice I have reached a consistent level in terms of accuracy when digging the ball and I have been able to take this skill into each game situation. The use of feedback has also contributed to improving each training session.Feedback is information that is given about a certain activity after it has performed in order to provide a better understanding. There are two types of feedback, descriptive feedback and prescriptive feedback according to (Craig Wringers, Human Kinetics). Descriptive feedback is when someone describes to the player what they did when reforming the skill whereas prescriptive feedback is when the player is given an explanation on what they can do to improve that skill (Craig Wringers, Human Kinetics).For example, during each volleyball training session after completing my skill, my partner wrote down descriptive and prescriptive feedback. In doing so, I was able to gather an understanding of how I was achieving the s kill and what was needed to improve (See Appendix 1). Through this feedback, finding the weak point of my skill was made easier and I discovered that the preparation needed to be improved when digging the ball; from here I was able to change from focusing on the execution to the preparation.

Alpha Plantations and Major Crisis in 1999 Term Paper - 1

Alpha Plantations and Major Crisis in 1999 - Term Paper Example The oil palm company Alpha Plantations Sdn Bhd in Malaysia has two major divisions namely Oil Palm Estate and Palm Oil Mills. This company is owned by a British Company and aims to supply oil to the parent company’s detergent manufacturing business. The company employs local workers to meet the workforce needs. The mill carries out its operations in a shift based environment with three shifts employing 25 works per shift. Supervisors are appointed to watch over the work of each shift. Among the most senior members of the company is Mr. Ang. He is working in the company since 1965 and has achieved the designation of the senior production supervisor through constant efforts and struggles. Mr. Ang is supposedly experienced in dealing with almost every situation surrounded by the company’s premises. He deals with the workers, solves their normal issues, is responsible for the undisrupted operations of the business, involved in the coordination of shift planning, responsible for the preparation of daily production reports, sets short-term performance targets for the shifts and also helps in Human Resource Planning issues. He also acts as a ‘Gatekeeper’ which directs towards his important role as an assistant to the mill manager and every issue comes into his supervision before it reaches the mill manager. Owing to the multitasking and untiring efforts of Mr. Ang, the mill manager is quite satisfied and contented with the firm, methodical and almost militarily efficient way of running the business. The year 1999 acted as a devastating experience for Alpha mills. The basic reason behind the deteriorated financial performance was the cut off in the oil prices. The mill manager, Captain Chubb, could not find a better way to overcome the situation and restrain the regular losses. Captain Chubb was replaced by Mr. Ian Davison who was appointed as a new mill manager to Alpha mills.

A Consideration of Necessity in the Work of David Hume Essay

A Consideration of Necessity in the Work of David Hume - Essay Example In his Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume delineates his theory of human morality. The form of argument Hume takes is the concept that human morality is not based on coherent thought and logical reason, but is instead the upshot of humanity's passionate fervor. Since this fervor cannot present itself as the creation of logical reason, it would be consequently be the ultimate in the lack of logical thinking to adjudicate any moral deed as being the result of either rational or irrational thought. Hume delivers a succession of explanations that serve to reveal why humanity should express scepticism toward any conclusion based upon reasoning that is arrived at through familiarities based on sensory perception.Hume concludes that even in the face of complexities that are presented by virtue of the illogic inherent in sensory perception, humans still maintain a forcible belief in illogical conclusions due to psychology.This presents the paradoxical notion that strong belief is often gro unded in contradictions.Hume's argument posits that it is even within the realm of possibility that the most grounded and confident reasonable conclusions are, in fact, merely probable and that the degrees of probability are subject to intense scrutiny with each additional analysis. Mistakes made on the basis of supposedly rational certainty are legion due to the inescapable imperfectability of human judgment. The ironic paradox of human judgment resides in the fact that each further analysis of the previous judgment decreases the probability of correctness in the original judgment. This has particularly chilling aspects when considered against the potential for reductions of probability in those elements that humans invest the utmost confidence in regarding the infallibility of correctness, such as laws of mathematics and science. Hume emphasises that there are three stipulations required to confirm merely through observation. The first he termed the aspect of constant conjunction, in which the cause and the effect are required to be both spatially and constantly extant. The second stipulates that the cause must have come before the effect itself. And finally, there must be a connection of necessity; that is it must be possible to ascertain why the cause produces the effect. Hume's appraisal of causation necessarily dictates that it can only be inferred and not examined and his conclusions indicate that it is impossible to achieve an impression of a necessary connection; rather, one must experience constant conjunction and temporal priority: "Experience only teaches us how one event constantly follows another, without instructing us in the secret connection which binds them together" (Hume, 1870, p. 347). Ultimately, Hume asserts that there are significant limitations to reason. Hume maintains that humans remain convinced that any object that is observed exists independently. Once this belief is subject to analysis, however, it is determined to be without basis and that paradox provides a basis for conflict in the process of reasonable determination. All perceptions are dependent upon human observation and even the slightest modification in the senses can distort that perception. Since this is one of the few absolute truths that exists, it is not logical to assume that perception can be something existing independently of us, nor can it possibly exist when there is nobody there to perceive it. Despite this Hume asserts that people will almost never surrender their natural belief in the existence of an external world that is separate from their perceptions. The

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Essay Example Jurgis is young and energetic; hence it does not take long for him to get a job, just like do Marija, Jonas and Teta, who are their close relatives. The family agrees to purchase a house, but this does not materialize since the deal is simply a swindle; there are too many hidden aspects of the agreement, and the house is poorly maintained and shoddy. Later, we learn that the family’s expenses are enhanced, which forces even Ona to seek employment. It is really difficult to land a job in Packingtown because the working conditions are very hard and unsafe. Besides, there is no disregard for workers’ safety in this region. Moreover, the immigrant community in Packingtown is exposed to corruption and crime, which extremely complicates life in the area. We are informed that Dede Antanas, the father of Jurgis, lands a job, but, this he achieves through corrupt means. Late, the old man succumbs to death since the job he got was too difficult for him (Bloom 25). Winter accordin g to the author is the most dangerous period in Packington, and this even translates into the working conditions. For example, we are informed that the place that Jurgis works in brings risks into his life each time he goes for work. There are too many hardships as evidenced by various events in the novel. For example, Marija and Tamoszius are never able to marry due to financial difficulties. Later, Marija’s financial woes worsen since her factory closes down and she later loses her job. Jurgis is very stressed about these living conditions of his family members, which prompts him to join a union. It is at this union that Jurgis starts to get enlightened concerning corruption, fraud and bribery, three vices that make sure that Packingtown is able to conduct its affairs. Jurgis wants to improve his family woes very much to the point of starting to learn English. At Packingtown, it was easier to adjust to life if one was conversant with English since it was the language that w as used by most people (Bloom 37). From the tale, we learn that, Jurgis’ family members face extreme hardships as they try to settle in Packingtown permanently. We learn that Marija is fired from her job even after regaining it later, Ona gets pregnant and as a result, her job becomes an extremely difficult affair. Later, Ona gives birth to a boy who is named Antanas, in memory of Jurgis’s late father. Her bosses do not even sympathize with her situation since they compel her to resume working after just seven days of leave. Many mishaps in this region have ensured that families are easily ruined. For example, when Jurgis is injured, he is bedridden for a period of three months, unable to perform any work. His accident had been caused by poor working conditions at the factory, but, the factory does not consider this. Instead, they scrap him off from the pay list. Jonas is unable to put up with this misery, hence he runs away from the family without ever informing anyon e of his actions. The family’s problems are compounded because the youngest child of Teta passes on from poisoning. Jurgis does not give up at this point; and instead he takes a very long time trying to look for a job. He is so frustrated that he decides to take up a job in a fertilizer plant that is close to his home. He is forced to do this since he feels

Pop-Tarts BRAND ANALYSIS PROJECT Research Paper

Pop-Tarts BRAND ANALYSIS PROJECT - Research Paper Example In addition, the intervention would improve the presence of the product in the market. In addition, the Company should shift its attention to the social media. In the meantime, people are shifting to social media is order to look for information concerning their products of choice. Furthermore, they are using the platform to assess the reviews of the people who have already used the products (Natow and Jo-Ann 109). This would enable the company to reach a mass market. On the other hand, the marketing department can use the platform to chat with the customers and understand various aspects that affect their consumption behavior. This would make it possible for the business to make changes on the product in order to satisfy the interests of the target market. In the past few years, there has a stiff price war between Pop-Tart and competitors products such as Toastettes, Toastables, and Toaster Strudels. This aspect is threatening the market share of the business and competitive advantage of the product. As a result, The Company should invest in the latest technology in order to lower the breakeven price. Furthermore, the company should invest heavily on improving operation efficiency, an aspect that will play a significant role in reducing unnecessary costs. This will make it possible to reduce the price of Pop-Tart in the market. Pop-Tart recorded sales have been in an increasing trend over the years However, if the company focuses more on the Spanish speaking community, it is likely to gain ground and recover its lost market share. The product has dominated the US, Canada, and UK market (Natow and Jo-Ann 76). However, in Canada and UK, the product is facing stiff competition from the local firms. This is because the firms are taking advantage of the local cultures which advocate for the consumption of locally produced goods. In addition, people in this region want to be associated with a company that

Case10 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case10 - Assignment Example Various marketing concepts such as the 4 P’s i.e. pricing, products, place and promotion shall be discussed in this report: It shall focus on how these concepts are presented in the article and how other external sources dwell with this issue. Consequently, the analysis shall focus on provision of a conclusion that basically describes the writer’s understanding of the lessons learned from the article as well as other external sources that delve on issues ascribed to the information indicated in the article. Additionally, the conclusion section will explicate various recommendations; specifically indicating way forward on challenges faced in marketing activities. The article begins by describing a scenario of a certain client, Mr. Richard Garber relates with car higher company, Hertz Car Hire Company. He is described as a loyal customer to the company for over a long period of time. However, he is currently re-thinking on whether to divert his loyalty to another company owing to the current challenges he is facing with Hertz. In addition, the article provides various reasons why the company is currently experiencing challenges with its clients. It asserts that many companies are currently facing operational challenges due to the economic recession that has affected many large business enterprises; hence reducing their overall level of profitability. It is apparent that the article is an economic situational analysis; providing various issues that may affect the overall performance of companies for instance: In the article, economic recession that has affected the success of many companies, is identified as the reason that has affected the relationship between Hertz Company and Mr. Garber. The article attributes this issue to the fact that the Hertz Company has laid-off many of its workers even those who facilitate

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that Essay

The podiatrist has a legal obligation and duty of care to ensure that practice protocols adequately protect themselves and service users from the risk of infection. discuss this statement - Essay Example Globally, infection control is a changing area in medicine and medicinal practices. This is given the advancement in technology, the regulatory changes, and even microbial evolution (Simmers 2004, p. 67). This paper will try and examine some of the guidelines that reflect some of the best practices involved in preventing infection and cross-infection, and how these practices may set the target for infection control in podiatry. In order for the podiatric practice and practitioners to ensure safety among all service users and staff, it is vital for all the involved parties to have infection control principles that guide their everyday operations. These include work practices that have been adopted to achieve a specific level of infection control, which apply to the service users and staff. This is regardless of their perceived level of risk. By ensuring that standard precautions are properly conducted, it should be easier to ensure that all infections and their transmission can be prevented. Some of the standard precautions in the podiatric practice involve; proper hygiene practices, correct aseptic techniques, use of appropriate personal protective equipment, apposite protocols of waste disposal, and proper practices for cleaning and maintenance of the podiatric health center (Simmers 2004, p. 73). In any medical practice, hand washing may be the most crucial and important measure of infection reduction or minimization. The washing of hands must be done by the podiatrist and staff before and after the handling of any patient, or any activity that might increase the chances of risk infection. All hand washing amenities must be present in all consultation areas and these may include; hand basins and apt products that may not affect the outcome of the next patient consultation or meet (Kane, Schiefman & Vickers 1992, p. 37). The technique involved in hand washing also matters significantly, which involves; the duration and the quantity and type of

Environmental Audit (Data Response) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental Audit (Data Response) - Essay Example Together, these three indicators or drivers should adequately give an investor a clearer idea about the feasibility of any economic investment in that country. Against this background, the three key economic drivers are discussed as follows. Tax Policy of Portugal The payment of taxes is mandatory as an economic policy in almost all economies of the world. Taxes are targeted at all groups of persons living in a country, who make an earning. The tax situation is no different in Portugal. There exist two major forms of taxes in Portugal. These two major forms of taxes in Portugal are individual tax and corporate tax (Abednego, 2003). Individual tax taxes are those that are paid by earning or income making citizens and foreigners. In this direction, the Investor Glossary (2011) explains that â€Å"An individual tax return is used to determine a person's personal income tax liability. On the contrary, corporate tax may best be referred to as business tax because it is paid by people in business. It is the kind of tax that is paid by companies, organizations and institutions. Corporate taxes are generally higher than individual taxes because corporate entities are profit making bodies are believed to be earning more than individuals. Any of the two forms of taxes affect businesses and by extension the company wishing to enter Portugal. This not withstanding, the tax environment in Portugal is one that can be described not to be too hostile; especially in comparison with what exists in other countries. In Portugal, individual taxes come in different forms as far as the executives in the company seeking to enter are going to make income they are likely to pay one form of individual tax or the other. The AngloINFO Lisbon (2011) explains that individual taxes paid in Portugal include taxes on salaries, capital gains and real estate income. On the broader scene, there is a 25% individual tax paid on earnings even though â€Å"income derived from real estate is subject to a tax rate of 15 percent† (AngloINFO Lisbon, 2011). The corporate tax payment regime that exists in portugal presently is not as lucrative as it used to be before the coming of the European Union and OECD. This is because before these era, Lowtax (2011) observes that â€Å"Portugal used to offer a number of special corporate income tax regimes by which businesses either paid reduced corporate income tax rates, were exempted from certain taxes altogether or were able to artificially inflate tax deductible allowances so as to reduce taxable profits.† Today, these tax incentives do not exist any longer. There is however other prudent measures taken by the government to ensure that the payment of taxes does not become a burden unto foreign investors. On the whole, there is â€Å"25% + a municipal surcharge (up to 1.5% of the taxable income): Effective rate: 26.5%† for foreign companies and taxes are exclusively on income made only in Portugal (Emporiki Bank, 2011) . Regulatory Policy of Portugal Regulatory policy refers to the kind of rules, regulations and laws that binds businesses and corporate entities that which to establish themselves in Portugal. Contrary to the ascertion that regulatory policies are in place to sabotage the

The U.S cultures and business perspectives Essay

The U.S cultures and business perspectives - Essay Example Just like the U.S.A, Brazil is a melting pot of nationalities due to long periods of slavery and European domination. The country has about 190 million people, whereby 50% of the people are white. Majority of the Brazilian people are Catholics and speak Portuguese as a national language. Bananas are the staple food in Brazil. Bananas are also grown in America, Texas. The Brazilians prefer to deal with companies, rather than individuals when doing business. The people have a close adherence to business etiquette like the Americans. The Saudi Arabians are primarily Arabs and Muslims. Greetings are very formal in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, people in the U.S don’t take too much time greeting each other. Women in Saudi Arabia dress in abayas (cloths that cover the entire body except the face and hands). The manner of doing business in Saudi Arabia is largely similar to that of the U.S.A in terms of etiquette and communication style. The country is the Middle East’s lar gest trading partner of the U.K. Dressing in suits and ties is a similarity for Saudi and American businessmen.  Territorial-wise, Russia is the largest country in the world. With Russian serving as the main language, the country has over 190 ethnic groups. Christianity, Islam and Tengrism are the primary religions of Russia. The Russians eat unique foods such as Borshch, Caviar and Pirozhkis. The Russians value time keeping highly when doing business. The ceremonial practice of receiving and exchanging business cards is taken seriously in Russia.

Reflective Paper Essay Example for Free

Reflective Paper Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organization in the business and industrial setting is like a very interesting organism worthy of effort and time for study. The behavior of people and the environments with which they are in constant interaction is a ceaseless source for curiosity and fascinating research. This is so especially during this particular century when technology sparks the many changes that take place. This generation is in the epoch of organizational reform and innovation. The time is marked with rapid changes in the demography of workforce, changing corporate culture, and changing institutions. In the light of the rapid shift in today’s organizations, the skills required of managers, beginners in the profession and even aspiring students in the discipline, rest on the foundation of knowledge on the whole gamut of organizational development. Corporate America is not without its complications. When the company â€Å"succeeds,† there is with it (the success) a corresponding notion of responsibilities and liabilities. Organizations thrive today because of the policies and guidelines they have managed to fixed firmly in their set-up and translated into their day to day affairs. Big businesses have the competitive edge over others – i.e., over small entrepreneurs, because they have arrived at their positions in the market place by securing certain parameters in the many facets that comprise their organizations. This is especially true on government laws and regulations (McKenna, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is imperative that organizations in industry and business compete with the changing times. To fail to do so may spell substantial loss in both the financial and human capitals; two major components necessary in an organization. Being competitive in today’s business jargon is not as simple as it sounds; it involves a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the whole gamut of organizational behavior and the complex changes that are dynamic in nature (Mangelsdorff, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper attempts to express in prà ©cis the various facets of the nature of organization with specific intentions to elaborate on the student researcher’s understanding, insights and learnings regarding how quality management and control systems relate with human motivation. It takes into consideration the importance of how all these concepts are of significance in one’s individual relationships as well as their relevance of the person’s (especially the student researcher’s) professional plans and actual work situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational change though oftentimes unpredictable and incomprehensible to many, still goes through a cycle; the nature of which makes it possible for concerned people to study with the hopes and intentions of ultimately, implementing revisions or remodeling. These serve to enhance and improve systems and discover excellent procedures of handling things or procedures and people (Mangelsdorff, 2007). Problem Statements   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To be specific, the following questions are addressed in this paper: Define what is meant by â€Å"strategic planning.† Distinguish this from long-range planning and other forms of planning. Planning can lead to organizational change. What do the text writers feel are the issues that face the managerwho plans to bring about organizational change? How should a planner go about the process of identifying strengths, weaknesses, and distinctive competencies in an organization? What is the impact of the findings on planning? Discuss the relationship between mission statements, planned change, and unplanned change. Use Discussion Define what is meant by â€Å"strategic planning.† Distinguish this from long-range planning and other forms of planning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bruffee, author of Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge (1993), explains the need for a more efficient, economical and equitable management of the people in the industry or organization has never been as pronounced as it is today. This need has never been brought about by factors which inevitably affect not only the established structures and ways of doing things within the personnel area but also by the more meaningful and substantial task of managing the organization’s most important asset – the human capital. Among these factors are: stiffer competition in business; rapid changes in technological, competitive and economic environments; the explosion of technical and managerial knowledge; spiraling wage and benefits cost and so many others. These factors have no doubt been responsible for the emergence of the personnel function as a vital area in the implementation of corporate strategy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Demick and Miller (1993) places in context first what an organization is like and settles how it can affect behavior in general and when that is established, proceeded to explain leadership and management in this context. In organizational behavior which is basic to the management of human resource, it points to the inquiry and application of learning about how people, individuals, and groups perform, operate, and work in organizations. It accomplishes this by means of adopting a system approach. Explicitly, it infers people-organization affairs in terms of the entire person, group totality, complete organization, and total social structure. Its intention is to put up enhance relations by attaining human goals, organizational purposes, and social goals. In such a milieu, the goals to effect change are influenced by several significant factors which are crucial to the overall results. Hence, there are expected leadership behaviors that maintain momentum during the change process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Effective strategic planning is a process of analyzing an organization’s assets and its needs under changing conditions and developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs. It is essentially a two-step process. The emphasis is on techniques or systems to be applied. The forecasting of needs allows determining of priorities and allocating of resources to where they can do the most good. Analysis of needs leads to program planning. The planning approach defines human resource needs in relation to the organization’s overall needs and defines a strategy to satisfy them. In this way, individual development, training programs, recruitment, compensation and other activities become integral part of a dynamic process. There are different types of planning aside from strategic type of plan. These include the alignment type, the goal-based type, the self-organizing type, and the scenario-based type (McNamara, 2006). The goal-based type of planning is involved with tailoring the process of improving and enhancing the system of operation of an organization with the focus on the organizations’ goals which may be further specialized according to each of that organization’s departments. The alignment type bases its planning strictly on the organization’s mission and tailors all activities according to that specific aspect of organizational flow. In particular, the scenario type of planning, however, makes use of the critical areas of the organization’s set-up which nay be experiencing problems and issues that may emanate from the external environment such as changing laws and problems outside the firm or establishment which may affect the life, continuity and effective productivity of the organization.   Lastly, self-organizing type of planning is centered on the organization’s core of values and that any or all of the various problems or issues encountered have to be evaluated according to the values of great importance to the members of the organization (McNamara, 2006). -Planning can lead to organizational change. What do the text writers feel are the issues that face the manager who plans to bring about organizational change?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational behavior is actually a complex and dynamic mechanism. It includes the application and integration of theoretical perspectives from the social and behavioral sciences to shed light on how and why individuals behave in a variety of ways in organizations. Included in the study are the ways the individuals carry out their tasks, the structure, design and operation of human persons in simple and complex organizational set-ups (Mangelsdorff, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This is accomplished utilizing the systems approach or systems model. The latter is meant as interpreting people and organizational relationships in reference to the whole individual, â€Å"whole group, whole organization, and whole social system† (Knoster et al., 2000). The objective is developing improved and enhanced relationships by attaining individual aims, organizational goals and social aspirations (Mangelsdorff, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Specifically, any student who pursues the study of the concepts involved in the matter will examine how individuals work in groups; acquire insights into human strengths and interpersonal relationships. Intertwined in the study is to delve into theories or principles of motivation of personnel, effective leadership with the goal of formulating a sound thinking and values of management and leadership. Moreover, organizational behavior investigates scientific data and utilizes a variety of research traditions to further understand how individuals work and function efficiently in diverse forms of structures (Shortell et al., 2000)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concepts that are pursued in organizational behavior include the following: the evolution and organizational and management theories; the rich historical background of management, organizational theories and the development of management thought, are adequately covered in this particular aspect (Robbins,1997).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational behavior, when scrutinized closely, thus far covers a lot of topics. It embraces the understanding of structure, design of the organization itself. It also includes the study of the work design, policies and practices of the human resource, job design, and decision making as an organization. Furthermore, it also examines the organizational culture, its dynamics where change is aimed to be implemented (Revans, 1982) How should a planner go about the process of identifying strengths, weaknesses, and distinctive competencies in an organization? What is the impact of the findings on planning?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Working relationships are a central portion of a person’s life.   Motivation and dedication to any endeavor (e.g. work) and the pleasure from it are collective concerns of the organization and the individual. There are definite factors that generate satisfaction, the so-called â€Å"motivator† factors according to Herzberg. These factors push the worker to the highest levels of accomplishment possible. They are an inherent part of the work itself and consist of the nature of the work, the person’s sense of achievement, level of responsibility, and individual development and improvement. These motivator needs can only be rewarded by stimulating, challenging, and absorbing work. Consequently, the goal of motivation should be to enhance individual growth and advancement, develop sense of accomplishment and liability, and provide recognition (Franken, 1994).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychology recognizes different perspectives of motivation. One of these viewpoints pertains to the idea of â€Å"motivational inducements,† otherwise known as incentives. Incentives are referenced from either the vantage point of internal, or that of external motivation. An inducement coming from within the individual is called intrinsic or internal motivation. It is, according to Morris and Maisto, about the â€Å". . . desire to perform a behavior that originates within the individual.† An inducement coming from outside the individual is called external or extrinsic motivation. It is the aspiration to do or achieve a goal in order to acquire a type of incentives or escape or steer clear of punishment (Morris and Maisto, 1999, p.316). People are often induced by the presence of external incentives to perform expected tasks or avoid incurring punishment. For motivation experts, however, a person developing the internal type of motivation will reap more lasting and beneficial effects compared with external motivation (Morris and Maisto, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For instance, in taking care of a medical surgical unit and handling newly hired nurses with a few years of experience only, myriads of problems are not remote possibilities. From issues of tardiness during call of duty, in irresponsibility in dispensing of medicines and relational clashes, to grave misconduct within the workplace such as sexual harassment between employees, these are all stark realities that are potential complex problems. Initiating the Herzberg idea can probably be useful. I will groom first the few expert nurses and those who will be directly supervising others that they practice and execute specific agenda for increasing motivation, one of which is Management by Objectives (MBO). It entails having faith in involving the employees in goal-setting and in decision-making. MBO works by integrating goal-setting into individual participation in decision-making in order to establish individual work goals to which the employee feels reasonably committed. At the motivational level, it is theorized that resistance to change is decreased if individuals participate in decisions regarding change and that individuals accept and are more committed to decisions in which they have participated in making. To further encourage and increase involvement, the hospital provides suggestion boxes and hold monthly contests where they give monetary rewards for the best three suggestions. These give the employee a sense of achievement and responsibility for its success. For this workplace in particular, the employees receive incentives in the form of Ladder promotion, general salary increase annually plus performance rating salary increases, CBA – employees can expect a minimum of 15% increase in salary annually within three years; and welfare benefits which include group insurances, medical insurance, accident benefits among others (Baron, 1983). A set-up like this goes to such great lengths at least to assure that it does something for sustaining employees’ morale and motivation. -Discuss the relationship between mission statements, planned change, and unplanned change. Use illustrations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The elements of organizational behavior lean upon management’s plan and philosophy, vision and objectives. Basing on this foundation springs the organizational culture where the formal and informal types of organization and the social environment are best understood (Knoster et al., 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every person in direct supervision of employees or workers knows the intricacies of leadership and management of people under his/her care. Whenever possible, it is to the best interest of the organization and employer in general that the workers perform their respective jobs efficiently and on a continuous or consistent manner. This is the aspiration of every owner of a company or those delegated to deliver their/his/her goals. However, this will only work so long as the individuals in their various places or positions know and understand what they want and where they want to go in the context of the overall goals of their organization. Intertwined in this idea is the fact that individuals are motivated to work not only for them but that the vision and mission, goals of the corporate world where they belong must be their own also. Ownership as a motivational factor is critical for the survival and sustainability of both the individual worker and the organization as a whole. Studies reveal that how an organization runs depends upon every human person within the workplace functioning as he/she should be in order that productivity is achieved. This is actually a cyclical picture; both the organization or employer level and the rank and file levels must understand the team and group dynamics that must work to achieve their own objectives. However this seemed to be easy to understand, the applications of which are complex involving multiple disciplines (Mangelsdorff, 2007). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The problem of employee motivation is critical in all kinds of organizations today and is responsible for the shoddy products we buy and the careless service we receive. It was thought that all that was necessary to produce high motivation in workers was to pay them more; this idea may no longer be valid for a large portion of the work force (Adams, 1965). Modern workers demand jobs that satisfy their inner needs for fulfillment, expression, and self-actualization. Traditional values involved loyalty to the company and a strong drive for money, status, promotion and security. The new breed of workers focuses on self-fulfillment and self-actualization and demands jobs that are challenging and that allow participation in decision-making (McClelland, 1976). They have little loyalty to the organization and less concern with money, status and security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Psychologists have proposed several theories of motivation. The need for achievement by McClelland posits the existence to be the best in whatever they undertake. Studies show that good executives are higher in Ach than poor ones. High in ability and take calculated risks and set moderate achievement goals. These individuals constantly need feedback on their progress (Halonen Santrock, 1996).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These theories deal with content of motivation, with internal needs that arouse and guide behavior. Process theories of motivation focus on the psychological processes involved in making decisions and choices about work. This is illustrated in the goal-setting theory, which argues that employee motivation is defined by our intention to achieve a particular goal; and equity theory, which deals with our perceived ratio or outcome to input and how equitably that ratio compares with those co-workers (Halonen Santrock, 1996).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The workplace today considers any of the perspectives mentioned in this paper. However, what are more reflective at many organizations are their strategies in enhancing the life of the average worker. The understanding of the needs or drives that motivate people is therefore critical in the choice of what â€Å"motivator variables† that the management may employ to encourage their people to do or sustain an excellent job or an efficient performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mentoring and its application is very much the vogue today in corporate America. It is a strategy employed by companies or institutions to enhance professionalism and the increased transfer of learning and building of skills from the more adept and/or experienced to the junior or neophyte employee. It is also a way of improved retention rate within a company. Reference: Baron, R. 1983. Behavior in Organizations: Understanding and Managing the Human Side of Work, Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Bruffee, Kenneth A. Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1993. Demick, J. and Miller, P., Development in the Workplace, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, New Jersey, 1993. Druckman, Daniel, Jerome E. Singer, and Harold Van Cott (Editors) (1997). Enhancing Organizational Performance. National Academy Press: Washington, D.C. (optional) Franken, R.E. 1994, Human Motivation (Belmont, CA, Wadsworth). Halonen, JS and JW Santrock, 1996. Psychology: Contexts of Behavior, Dubuque, IA: Brown    and Benchmark, p.810. Knoster, T., Villa, R., Thousand, J. (2000). A  framework for thinking about systems change. In R. Villa J. Thousand (Eds.), Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together (pp. 93-128). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Landy, F.J. 1985. Psychology of Work behavior. 3rd Ed. Dorsey Press. Mangelsdorff, David A.2001. â€Å"Organizational Behavior and Theory. Accessed August 19, 2008 http://users.idworld.net/dmangels/orgbeh.htm McClelland, D. C., Burnham, D. H. 1976. Power is the great motivator. Harvard Business Review, 54(2), 100-110. McKenna, Eugene, 2000. Business Psychology and Organizational Behavior: A Student’s Handbook. 3rd Ed. Psychology press: Taylor and Francis Group. McNamara, Carter. 2006. â€Å"Basic Overview of Various Strategic planning models.† Retrieved August 19, 2008. http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/models.htm Morris, Charles G., Maisto, Albert A., 1999. Understanding Psychology.4th ed., Prentice Hall: New Jersey, pp.315-316. Revans, R. W. 1982. The Origin and Growth of Action Learning. Hunt, England: Chatwell-Bratt, Bickley Robbins, Stephen P. 1997. Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications, Eighth Edition, Prentice Hall. Shortell, Stephen M. and Arnold D. Kaluzny. 2000. Health Care Management: Organization Design and Behavior, Fourth Edition, Delmar Publishers Inc. Revans, R. W. 1982. The Origin and Growth of Action Learning. Hunt, England: Chatwell-Bratt, Bickley Robbins, Stephen P. 1997. Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications, Eighth Edition, Prentice Hall.

Grocery market in UK

Grocery market in UK INTRODUCTION It is a fact that the last couple of years most of the industry and service sectors worldwide have lost their reliability on customers confidence. Fortunately, lately there have been some significant efforts by some industries mainly with the help of their major players (larger companies), to get back to the game. The industry sector that we are going to analyse is the food industry retailing in the United Kingdom. In order to help the simple reader to have a taste of what are the situations that occur inside the sector, we will provide some significant informations about the size of the sector, the general activities taking place in it, statistics and forecasts and generally as many informations as we can to help him understand whats happening inside the sector. Size of the grocery market in UK The calendar year 2009, the grocery markets value was  £146.3bn, an increase of 4.8% concerning 2008. For every  £1 of food and grocery expenditure , 52p goes for retail accounts for in every . 21p in every  £1 spent in food grocery is spent in convenience stores. Number of grocery stores in the UK The number of grocery stores in UK is 92,796. There are split into four main sectors, which are defined as followed : 1. Convenience stores: These are stores with less than 3.000 sq ft sales area. They are open for many hours during the day and their selling products that have at least eight different grocery categories, (e.g Co-operative Group, Londis, SPAR). Traditional retail: These stores have less than 3,000 sq ft sales area.This includes newsagents (selling confectionary, newspapers and tobacco), specialist off-licences,specialist grocers, food specialists (chains of bakers, health foods,butchers, etc.) and independent specialists. Hypermarket, supermarkets superstores: In this category, we have the Supermarkets which have sales area of 3,000-25,000 sq ft ,Superstores with sales area over 25,000 sq ft and Hypermarkets with over 60,000 sq ft sales area. All of them are selling a broad range and a variety of mainly grocery items. Non-food products are also sold in those stores (eg Tesco, Asda). Online channel: Here we have the category of sales via internet. We must mention the fact that approximately 70% of sales are made in superstores and supermarkets. The remainder majority is accounted by convenience retailing, with traditional small retailers that account for only 7% of sales. Table 1 provides a breakdown by category. Table 1 UK Grocery Retail Sales by Category, 2009 value % food and drink  £ 91.6 bn 62.6 % tobacco  £ 16 bn 11 % non-food grocery  £ 23.5 bn 16.1 % non-grocery  £ 15.2 bn 10.3 % Total retail sales through UK grocery outlets  £ 146.3 bn source: IGD Grocery Retailing 2009 As we can see from table 1, food and drink are by far the category that is consumed more by the public. What is really interesting and for that reason we provide Table 2 is the increase of non-food grocery category by the amount of  £6.5 bn (38%) from 2005 to 2009. It is also very important the fact that there has been a general increase of the total retail sales through UK grocery outlets by 21% in that period of time. UK Grocery Retail Sales by Category, 2005 value % food and drink  £ 78 bn 65 % tobacco  £ 12 bn 10 % non-food grocery  £ 17 bn 14 % non-grocery  £ 12 bn 10 % Total retail sales through UK grocery outlets  £ 120 bn source: IGD Grocery Retailing 2005 Value of sales Continuing the above, we add the fact that through grocery, outlets have increased by 3% per annum in real terms over the last 10 years. This growth reflects rising non-grocery sales and higher average spend (i.e. better quality or ‘premium food, more convenience purchasing etc). UK Grocery Market Performance Grocery market performance. Source: IGD Research 2009 As we can observe from the diagram above, year by year there has been an improvement on the UKs Grocery Market Performance. Some of the multiple reasons that we present here is first the fact that demand and technological trends have reinforced each other. Larger stores with a wider product variety and range have encouraged customers to make larger and less frequent shops. Also, the technological improvements (i.e. checkout scanning, stock control, longer shelf-lives, fresh produce) have further reduced the costs and attracted consumers. Loyalty card schemes have indeed given retailers a new insight into consumer preferences as well as managed to enable them to get more involved into product development. Aggregate Market Share The diagram below shows the larger groceries in UK, according to their share in the domestic market. Tesco currently has a steadily and commanding increasing of slightly more than 30 % share of the non-convenience grocery market in the UK. During the 1990s, Sainsbury and Tesco enjoyed analogous market shares (of 20 to 25 %), however Sainsbury has lost a lot of ground since. Number of employees Employment in food drink retailing exceeded the number 1.2 million of employees in December 2009. This number aproaches almost 5 % of the employees in the UK. Over 60 % of the employees were either part-time or female employees (45 % were both female as well as part-time occupied). Profit Margins Supermarket profit margins range typically between 2% and 6%. According to Food Industry News, (just-food.com, 2010), the beginning of 2010 for the UK grocery retailing group were much improved in comparison with last year. More accurately, there was a 4% rise on grocery sales in relationship with 2009. Group revenue from ABFs (Assosiated British Foods) continuing businesses was 17% ahead of the same period last year. The matrix below shows the sales and the profit margins for the year 2009 for the UK retailers. source: DTI Added Value Scoreboard 2009 Forecast Circumstances look set to remain really challenging for retail throughout 2010. Verdict is forecasting growth of just 1.3% for 2010, the second smallest growth rate, following 2009. Verdict is predicting a low growth in retail sector over the next couple of years, as the impact of the recession continue to be felt by customers. Food inflation continues to ease in Q1 2010, at 1.7%, compared to 8.9% in the same period a year ago. Inflationary pressures are subsiding due to falling commodity prices, less seasonal price fluctuations and price competition within the sector. In fact, we are forecasting food inflation of 1.9% for the year, down from 4.4% in 2009. Major Challenges Establishing an Online Grocery One of the major challenges that food retailing industry is dealing with nowadays is the online grocery market. The Internet grocery market is an extension of the home-shopping philosophy. It is a sector that has already demonstrated considerable growth and that promises further substantial increases in the future. Online grocery sales in the UK are expected to double by 2014, according to researchby industry analystsIGD (just-food.com, 2010). Internet sales across many product sectors have achieved and continue to achieve high annual growth rates in the UK. Indeed, consumers passion for and propensity towards purchasing items online show no sign of abating. Last year, 13% of adults shopped online for groceries an increase of 63% on 2008, according to the IGD data. UK consumers will spend GBP7.2bn on food and grocery shopping online by 2014, nearly double the figure for 2009, IGD supports. For retailers, the online option provides a new channel through which to sell their products, display a wide range of items to their customers and develop their share of what continues to be one of the fa stest-growing sectors of the grocery market. Internet grocery, offers to the consumer, a variety of options and a number of advantages: It enables them to view a wide range of products, to compare prices and to arrange delivery at a convenient time. From the moment that these options and these benefits are appeared to the consuming public, a necessity is created for the food retailing sector and more specific for the large supermarkets to respond to this major challenge. The Internet or online grocery market in the UK is dominated by four of the UKs major supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Waitrose and by a fifth supplier, Ocado, which is a warehouse-based online operation and a partner distributor to Waitrose. Outside of these five major suppliers, the market is mainly populated by a wide range of niche, specialised retailers, many of which offer products that are not always available in the major supermarkets. Apart from the five leading online suppliers, no other supermarket chain in the UK operates in the online grocery market not even Morrisons, which is the fourth-largest supermarket chain by market share. The way UKs retailing sector and its marketers are responding to this major challenge, is -as we have just mentioned- by setting in the front line its Supermarket and hypermarket chains to create a profitable and competitive online grocery. Tesco, leading the online offers in the domestic market, provides a variety of benefits that the customer-member can enjoy. Visiting the companys site (www.tesco.com) we can find not only everything that is related with food-product variety and prices, but also a number of other services (non-food) like books and entertainment, clothing, mobiles and a number of banking and insurance services as well. This way, the consumer can be informed about any price of the product that he is interested on buying and calculate the exact total amount of money needed for his/her supermarket expenses, rather than making an off-hand calculation in the duration of his/her shopping. Also, the non-food services create the feeling of a complete market in which the con sumer can find almost everything. A similar approach is been followed by the other supermarkets too. Another innovative way that the British grocery has invented is the club-card. This card is provided to every customer-member of a specific supermarket, either by registering online or by simply asking to the supermarket to provide him/her one when he/she visits the supermarket for shopping. That way, every time the consumer buys a product, a small amount of money is been credited in his account with the form of points, and after a predetermined period of time -when a number of points is collected-, a letter arrives to his address informing him that he can exchange the number of points with a number of products depended on his decision (i.e. a voucher of 10 pounds for consuming products), or with a number of gifts that the supermarket has decided to provide (i.e. a T.V. set for each consumption of products, valued above 500 pounds ). Home delivery, is another very important benefit of services that the online grocery provides. Throughout a wide variety of products that the consumer can find on the web-site of every online grocery, he can order the desirable products and have them home delivered in an exchange of a small amount of money (usually 4-5 pounds). That way he can save a lot of time from going to the supermarket, waiting in the queue and carry all those bugs to his house. In addition, exclusive research commissioned for this report showed that 17.8% of all respondents purchased groceries via the Internet at least once in a year, with 3.8% making online purchases at least once a week and a further 2.4% making them two or three times a month. One in 20 respondents said they purchased groceries online once a month. However, almost a third of those who said they bought groceries via the Internet agreed that, due to the recession, they had reduced the amount they usually spent on online grocery purchases. The recent focus of the five major online grocers has seen them expand their distribution networks, improve their stock availability levels and enhance the functionality of their websites. However, in the current recession, other factors are now being given more attention particularly price competition between the sites, which is becoming increasingly important. In addition, environmental issues have become more significant. For example, the leading suppliers have introduced measures to reduce the number of plastic bags used for home-delivered orders and to use more fuel-efficient delivery vehicles. As at December 2008, the UK had the fifth-highest number of broadband subscriptions among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of countries (and the third-largest number among the European OECD countries). These high broadband connection rates have enabled the UK to become a leading centre for online sales in general, and for online sales of grocery products in particular. Plans have been outlined to construct a super-fast broadband network across the UK, and this should in turn allow the online grocers to develop new website designs and technologies in order to take advantage of such developments. Key Note forecasts that in the 5 years up to 2013, the UK Internet grocery market will continue to demonstrate high annual rates of market expansion and to account for an increasing proportion of grocery sales overall. The value of the Internet grocery market is projected to more than double by 2013, compared with the size of the market in 2008. Promoting Sales of Healthy Brands Another great challenge for the British food retailing sector -in order to maintain its position, its good reputation but also to increase it is to promote the sales of healthy strong brands. But what is a healthy strong brand and what are the key points for the marketers for energizing a healthy brand? A healthy and strong brand generates more results than just bigger sales. It sustains a product over time through consistency and excellent communication, providing at the same time value to its target customers. It is based on a proposition of genuine substance and value to the target customer. It wins, builds and retains customer loyalty and also maintains its relevance over time by evolving in response to changing customer expectations and perceptions. It creates a competitive advantage, increases the profitability of the business and also it is consistent with the business strategy. It provides a protective for growth strategies but also tries and most of the times succeeds to become a barrier for new entrants or substitutes to the market. Ways of succeeding some of the above goals we are providing to the following paragraphs. Trust is one of the drivers of brand credibility. Its an intangible that overrides the importance of any product, service or experience. Yet, as we have mentioned in the beginning (the latest years most of the industry and service sectors worldwide have lost their reliability on customers confidence), trust has eroded. In order for a company to gain customer trust is first of all to be simple and dont give great promises that could be proved untrue or impossible to be realised. Of course every promise must be kept. Going forward, trust is growing in importance, to become one of the most important and sustainable competitive advantages an organisation can own. If a brand and its marketers follow that strategy combining with being close to the customers, the long term affects could be unpredictably well. Adding value to the brand is in our opinion also a major factor to the sales promotion of a healthy brand and in order to achieve this we need what we call innovation. Imagining and creating new value requires seeing what others dont. In a food retailing sector, innovation could be achieved either by influencing or shaping the companys vision, or to inspire to come up with a new business concept, an entirely new venture, or a new brand. vale edo mia kainotomia ton supermarket morrisson. Other innovative ways could also be the addition of a new product, service or experience for a certain customer segment or the effort to speak the language of those consumers already â€Å"living† a trend so they can produce new products adjusted to the new trends and needs. The goal of any organisation is to create sustainable competitive differentiation, by providing to customers what they value and want in ways that others cant. One way to beat competition, according to Kim and Mauborgne in their book Blue Ocean Strategy, is to stop trying to beat the competition. Instead, create uncontested market space to create and capture new demand. Thereby, the competition becomes irrelevant. The classic example of creating a blue ocean (referenced in their book) is Cirque du Soleil. From a group of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque is now a major artistic entertainment company delighting almost 90 million spectators a year. The company looked at traditional circus acts like Ringling Brothers and transformed them into â€Å"Broadway meets artistic music and dance† experiences. While increasing customer value and ticket prices, they simultaneously eliminated the largest cost items of the circus, including the star performers and animal shows. This is an extremely good example of how health brand marketers managed to create an uncontested market space. Finally, we can support that the more you know about your customers as real people looking beyond their obvious needs to their hopes, dreams, fears and challenges the more you can help them achieve. In return, you will have customers who become enthusiastic fans of your organisation. The most significant method that should be used to achieve this is through the social media and its ways. Social media has really changed the way brands are connecting with their customers. More and more companies are starting to realize the value of social media and are quickly adapting this new form of communication. However in order to have a successful social media strategy, it is important to have an internal culture that is ready to accept and learn. Some effective ways to achieve social media method are the following: 1.Internal engagement. Internal engagement gives employees, the ones who power your brand, the chance to shine. One of the best examples is Best Buy Connect. Best Buy has been a brand at the forefront of social media, using blogs, social networking tools, forums, and video to build brand awareness and keep consumers up-to-date with Best Buy News. Best Buy has given people a platform to share and discuss technology and tech-related products. In this platform, someone can find â€Å"Product Discussions† and discuss topics like Computers, TV, Gaming, Appliances, Audio, Cameras, iPods, Mobile Devices and more. They also have a section for â€Å"Customer Service†, â€Å"Reward Points†, and â€Å"Meet the Moderators†; who by the way take the time to make sure the forum is a stimulating environment where there are valuable conversations. 2. Collaboration. Another very important technique is to create mechanisms for customers to influence your products and services. The best example here is Dells IdeaStorm. Through this innovative website-idea of Dell the visitors-customers of the website can view all the posted ideas from the community, post their ideas for Dell products or services, promote or demote ideas by voting, or seen their ideas become a reality by sending them to authorised people of the company who examine them and if there are eligible they make them true. By surfing a little bit on the web-site, we found some amazing informations like that people who where participating to this web-site have contributed 11,790 ideas, theyve posted 84,546 comments and the site has been promoted 667,054 times. Most important, Dell has implemented 337 ideas based on customer input.This web-site provides a real contact with the customer. It is a web-site where everybodys ideas reign. 3. Authenticity. Hear we provide an excellent example where Mayo Clinic (One of the best clinics in the USA) keep their customers (old people in this specific example) happy by buying them a piano. In the video that we are referencing, someone can really see the happiness on their faces when the old couple is playing the piano. 4. Feedback. Some companies lately have created a site that really communicates with the customers. An expert daily replies to a number of customers through twitter or other similar methods where he really helps them with any kind of problems that they have or answer to any possible question. ComcastCares is a very good example to describe such a situation. 5. Participation. My Starbucks Idea is a web-site that Starbucks has created where they have pursuit their customers that they know better than anyone else what they want from Starbucks. There, people are able to share their ideas, express what they think of other peoples ideas and join the discussions. Finally experiences (create new ways of delivering experiences that fit with their lifestyles), conduit (allowing customers to share with each other through you rather than driven by you) and sharing (allow customers to share their ratings) are some supplementary methods that can be considered as effective ways to achieve social media method. Summary-Conclusion As we have seen so far, there has been a significant effort with a variety of ways -by the food retailing sector in Britain- to attract their customer confidence again. In our opinion, the approach that overrules every other method is the fact that the new strategy includes the customer as a real part of the organisation or the sector. This new era, sets the customer in the top of the pyramid making him the one who takes the basic decisions of what he really needs and giving then the green light to the companies to make it true. When people feel like they matter to the company, and when you engage them in ways they value and want, theyll matter more about you. This way, company and customers are acting no more individually and rivalry to each other. On the contrary, they move hand by hand on the same side of the river trying to accomplish the best outcome for both of them. Once again, the forecast predicts rise tade% until 2015 Finally, if the online grocery continuous this way, it will give more push to the top

The consultants responsibility to facilitate client decisions

The consultants responsibility to facilitate client decisions Management consulting can be defined as the creation of value for organizations, through the application of knowledge, techniques and assets to improve business performance. This is achieved through the rendering of objective advice and/or the implementation of business solution (MCA 2009 as stated in Matthias 2011). Central to the notion of management consulting is the ability to identify a problem, research and recommend a solution and help implement that solution. The role of the consultant have become central to the life of many organizations, today the question isnt how many companies are using consultants but how many are not using consultant (Pellegrinelli 2002). However the role of the consultant and their impact on the decision making process in client organization has been the subject of many debates. This essay examines the role of consultant in decision making process of a client. The essay starts by looking at the role of the consultant as a facilitator of the client decision, without altering such decision. Then proceed to look at the role of consultant as an expert who can be seen as being responsible for the decision and outcome for the execution of project. Furthermore, the two distinct roles are considered side on side and we look at other approaches to decisions making in the consultant clients relationship. Facilitating Clients Decision Decision making is one of the most important management decisions, if not the most important of all management activities (Mintzberg 1989 as stated in Buchanan and Huczynski 2010). The consultant goal is to influence decision making in organization, therefore it is pertinent that the consultant understands how decisions are made in organizations. Wickham and Wickham (2008) suggests that there are three major decision making models in practice, the normative decision making model, the descriptive or the prescriptive model of decision making. Facilitation is the process of providing opportunities, resources, encouragement and support for a group to succeed in achieving its objectives, and to do this through enabling the group to take control and responsibility for the way they proceed (Matthias 2011, p6). Facilitation is a complex, iterative process which enables things to happen (Velden and Leenknegt 2006). At the center of process facilitation is the need to build relationship. The facilitator primary responsibility is to help client with process-type interventions to make decisions. The goal of process facilitation is to increase the client systems capacity for learning so that it can fix its own problems (Schein 1999). Here the decision-making and action lies predominantly in the hand of the client (Whittle 2006) with the consultant playing a passive role. Sometimes the consultants may deliberately enroll internal champions to create internal ownership of ideas (Fincham, 2002 as stated in Whittle 2006). Different authors have used different names in defining the role of the consultant as a facilitator including Schein who called it the process consulting model. He suggested that consultants are facilitators who help to empower the clients to solve his own problem and not own the problem. Similar to the process model is the role of the collaborator (Block 2000 as stated in Cameron and Green 2004). Also, Nees and Greiner defines a facilitator as the friendly co-pilot in their model (Appelbaum and Steed 2005), associating the knowledge based of the facilitator to business experience. The application of facilitation in practice however, depends largely on what level of change is required and organizational development. Sherwood and Callahan (2006) developed strategic process consulting where they used undergraduates to facilitate the changes in the strategic processes in two organizations with the client making the key decisions but at their level of expertise. Also, Ambler 2006 used a combination of part training/ part facilitation/ part consulting to engage in a consulting project that required managers in clients organization to take more responsibility. Both projects had to deal with facilitating changes in non-technical part of the business. However Stager (1986) and Cameron and Green (2004) argue that facilitation can be useful even in technical field like IT. There are different assumptions that the process model is built on; first, the client not only helps in making the diagnosis, they also benefit from participating in the diagnosis especially when the problem is a nontechnical one. Secondly, the client has helpful intent and has some problem solving ability, thirdly the client knows the form of intervention or solution that will work best in the organization because he or she understand contextual issues like power and politics in the organization. The clients problem solving abilities is improved upon as clients engage in the diagnosis of the problem and the selection and implementing the solutions (Rockwood 1993). Facilitation is useful when: there are Complex (unknown or conflicting) objectives, the process is complex, there are disagreements, buy-in is essential, multiple inputs are required, Ownership is required and lastly, managing hierarchical issue (Matthias 2011). Advantages of the facilitator model includes that it offers new approaches to solutions. Secondly, they are able to spot risk and focus on issues not agendas and, they are able to see potential for wider application NCAS (2006). Also the process consultation model is important for building long term relationships because it focuses on the future of the organization client and also helping to build the required expertise in the clients organization. Matthias (2011) suggests that the process consulting model is most useful in achieving long term result. Buckenmyer and Stough (1998) argue that the concepts of empowerment, participation and involvement are not always 100 percent positive. One consequence of unbridled empowerment can be dysfunctional organization. Also processes facilitation exposes clients to the risk of group think and group polarization which does not lead to the optimal solution being chosen (Buchanan and Huczynski 2010). Facilitation is more time consuming than content models (Stager 1986), and sometimes clients crave quicker and proactive intervention (Whittle 2006). Expert decision making The alternative approach to client consultant decision making argument is to understand when the client places the decision making powers to the consultant. The concept of consultant having decision making power or significant influence in decision making is plausible when the consultant plays the expert role. Edgar Schein developed content models which are divided into the purchase of expertise model and the doctor-patient model. Schein purchase-of-expertise and doctor-patient models are similar to Blocks expert and pair-of-hands roles of the consultant respectively. Appelbaum and Steed (2005) suggests that Scheins content models are similar to Nees and Greniers model for role of consultancy. They link the mental adventurer to the expert role, the strategic navigator, management physician and system architect to the doctor-patient model. The purchase-of-expertise model suggests that consultant needs to provide some type of expertise; this model allows the client to remove themselves from the problem (Rockwood 1993). This model is useful when the problem is straightforward and client organization does not possess the needed expertize (Schein 1978). In the expert role, the client delegates full authority to the consultant to plan and implement the changes. Decisions are made by the consultant on the base of his or her judgment, Client responds only when asked to. The goal is to solve the immediate problem (Cameron and Green 2004). The expert role is a specialist area (Witham and Witcham 2008) and requires technical knowledge Werr and Linnarsson (2001). However, the problem of the purchase-of-expertise model is that it places enormous responsibility on the client to diagnose the problem properly and the also difficult to use when the problem is tricky and difficult to diagnose and the consultant is not held responsible for wrong consequences (Schein 1978). It is doubtful if any expert body of knowledge exists in management realm (Williams and Rattray 2004), and the consultant doesnt know everything (Stager 1986). Another problem with the expert approach is that the client is distanced from the process of problem solving. They also downplay the role of power and politics in the client organization. In addition, placing decision making in the hands of the client may create a superior/inferior relationship, which is offensive to some clients (Stager 1986). Role of clients There is no doubt, that there exist different client roles in consulting project, however authors like Appelbaum and Steed (2005), Pellegrinelli (2002) argue that in reality the question of client is ambiguous and problematic. However, Schein (1997) proposes a model to understand different types of client relationship, he identified five types of clients: The first is the contact clients, the individual who is first contacted by the consultant; the intermediate clients, the individuals or groups who gets involved in different activities as project evolves; the primary clients, is the client who ultimately own the problem and they are the ones who are responsible for paying the consulting bills. The unwitting clients are the clients who will be affected but who are not aware that they would be impacted. The indirect clients are members of the organization who are aware that they will be affected but who are unknown to the consultant. Ultimate clients; are those whose welfare must be c onsidered, they include the total community and the total organization. This raises the ethical dilemma as the consultant needs to be able to manage the different types of clients and their different interest, influence and level of participation. Pellegrinelli (2002) suggests that facilitation model requires the consultant to be far more conscious of their various clients and stakeholders while the expert model, the interest of the senior manager commissioning the work tends to suffice. Also not all interventions are assumed to be helpful. The very presence of a consultant, and even mere data gathering changes things for the client/subject, and/or their stakeholder (Williams 2001). Also the fact that the facilitator does not own the problem raises the question of the contribution of the consultants (Wickham and Wickham 2008). Regardless of the mode of consulting employed, the consultant runs the dilemma of choosing between what needs to be done and what the paying client expects to be done (Williams 2001). In our understanding of the consultant roles and decision making, it is important that we identify who owns and makes the decision. Bartecko (2010) argued that the clients should not allow the consultant make decision for them, she attributes the failures of many projects to the lack of ownership on the project. The expert role can be susceptible to the risk of being used as rubber stamp and tools in the hand of senior management especially when making tough decision (Shapirro et al 1993). While the facilitator can also be used to push managements agenda to the group and the facilitator can manipulate the group (Matthias 2011) however, the purchase of advice can be interpreted as a sign of managerial ineffectiveness or if consultants renew the management concerns they were enlisted to lessen (Whittle 2006). Organisational Learning The knowledge and the learning objectives of the client have impact on what role the consultant wants to play and how it is received within the organization. One of the key requirements sought by clients is that the consultant must be knowledgeable (Minter 1994). The export model is seen as a specialist area and it is known to be technical (Wickham and Wickham 2008). The facilitator seems non-technical and deals with the soft skills in organization (Cameron and Green 2004). The authoritative leaders or expert can make the consultant appear arrogant and insensitive in the eyes of clients (Shapiro et al; Clark and Fincham, 2002 as stated in Whittle 2006). Werr and Linnarson (2001) also opine that the traditional expert role creates a dangerous situation where the client loses knowledge to the consultant making them dependent on the consultant. From the foregoing it is arguable that the consultant facilitating helps build and retain organizational learning. The lack of success in consul ting process isnt so much the lack of experience but not understanding what it is to help someone and not operating by those principles (Schein 1999). An example of the failure of the expert model of changing clients decision can be seen with the Nett positive, a Business Analysis consulting company from India taking on a project in FCMB a bank in Nigerian. Nett positive took the expert role and were trying to reintroduce an online performance management system which was the brief from the bank. However, they had two problems that beguiled the project, firstly they ignored the power and conflict in the organization and secondly they were seen to be protecting the interest of the contact client and not the primary contact. As the expert moved to try and develop the data needed as required by the client, the client decided to challenge the knowledge in-house to design the same system. So a cross functional team from IT, Finance and Sales was formed and given the mandate to design the task. Eventually the new performance management system was designed and the contract with Nett Positive was cancelled. Bridging the different Approaches While authors like Schein as stated in (Rockwood 1993) and (Velden and Leenkgert 2006) suggest that consultants decisions often time lie between facilitating and expert mode based on the situation and context. Schein however proposed that what is important is that all consultant and client relationship should be based on helping the client. Schumacher (n.d.) identified three new approaches to consulting. The first is the complimentary consulting which tries to integrate the expert and process consulting modes in a complete and cooperative manner. The integrated consulting was developed based on shared understanding of communication, feedback mechanism and reflection loops. However, the integrated approach does not have concrete realization in practice (Schumacher n.d.). The third modus of consulting is the client ownership-role of his problem and does not delegate to the consultant. The consultant only offers cooperation architecture and acts as sparring partner. However for long ter m stability of organizations, any model that places the decision in the hands of the client and the consultant as a partner is arguable better. Conclusion Facilitating client decision is all about the consultant helping the clients to make accurate decision. The strengths of the argument for the consultant facilitating clients decision is that the client was part of the process that developed the solution. On the other hand the consultant can change clients decision by taking on the role of the expert, in this mode the decision actually lies in the hand of the consultant however the effectiveness of this method is contentious. However the consultant that chooses to facilitate needs to be able to manage the different clients roles in the organization without being seen to be protecting the interest of any group. Facilitation helps the consultant to ensure that the client grows the knowledge required to make good decisions. Lastly the FCMB, net positive case was studied to see the failures associated with the consultant trying to change clients decision instead of facilitating it. This example further reiterates the fact that for long term sustainability and growth of the client-consultant relationship, the consultant should encourage facilitation instead of trying to change the clients decision.