A Balanced Curriculum: Standards and Assessments for High Performance

The article of David Squires and Angelique Arrington entitled A Balanced Curriculum: Standards and Assessments for High Performance, presented a conversation-style elaboration of the said topic enabling the readers to have a better understanding of the points from the different perspectives of the people involved in the process.The article basically emphasized on how two teachers and a principal discussed their curriculum and the methods they utilize in educating the students through lectures and activities and what needs to be improved for the student's better performance in national tests (Squires & Arrington, 1999). In analyzing this article, both its positive and negative implications are taken into consideration.The authors basically asserted that after observing a development program introduced in a specific school, pursuing the next step would be to examine the curriculum of the school. In doing so, the discussants will be able to have an overview of how the school is balancin g, aligning and assessing their programs to help prepare the students for state exams.Squires and Arrington asserted that pursuing a balanced curriculum will help children develop their skills and meet their needs to participate in the society.To be able to achieve a balanced curriculum, teachers and administrators attend a series of workshops wherein the said strategy is elaborated and simulated.Then, after the realization of the importance of having a balanced curriculum, these people makes an effort to align their planned curriculum with national and state standards involving a series of modifications and compromises to their own standards (Squires & Arrington, 1999).The balancing process also involves the assessment of the curriculum in two ways: the performance and the format assessments. These two methods were designed to see both the understanding and application of concepts by the students. It is through this last step that the decision-makers examine if they were able to ba lance their curriculum or not and fix those programs that are not able to complement their expectations.As stated earlier, the article poses some strengths and weaknesses. For its strengths, in pursuing a balanced curriculum, the teachers and administrators will find it easier to teach their students while at the same time having an assurance that the students understand the lessons and will be able to integrate such learning in their following years.Moreover, the students will also find it easier to relate to the lessons with an application of the concepts and have a higher chance of performing well in the national exams with the improved preparations made.On the contrary, applying a balanced curriculum requires a lot of work and policy-making skills especially since it involves the process of aligning and assessments. In addition to that, a great amount of effort is needed in aligning one's curriculum to the national standards and framework.To be able to enhance the positive manif estations of a balanced curriculum and to be able to transform the weaknesses to something beneficial for the teachers, the decision-makers should really be consistent and eager in pursuing their desired curriculum especially since it requires a lot of studies and thinking. Moreover, the involved people especially the teachers should continue to have a drive in enhancing their curriculum for the welfare of their students.Lastly, looking back at the article of Squires and Arrington, it is observably an essential and critical study in the development of the teaching methods of teachers and their standards. It is also very important as a basis for other researchers in developing the curriculum utilized by instructors and how the students will be able to cover everything they need for a specific grade level.ReferencesSquires, D.A. & Arrington, A. (1999). A Balanced Curriculum: Standards and Assessments for High Performance. Teacher's College Columbia University.

Decision to drop atomic bomb Essay

The decision was made from the president that they were going to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 6, 1945. They chose to drop the bomb because if they didn’t there would have been more casualties than necessary in the continued fighting in the Asian theater of the war . Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the president at that time, Harry S. Truman, made the right choice. The atomic bomb was definitely a political conflict for the United States and Japan. The event which initiated the ultimate bombing began with Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, according to History.com. When the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, instantly â€Å"Little boy† destroyed 90% of the city, even though it exploded at an altitude of 580 meters. Since the city of Hiroshima only had 298 doctors and 270 of them died, this was rough for the citizens in Hiroshima since the people had no medical help. When they were looking for food and clothes and such it was very rare for them to find the materials they need. However in Nagasaki it was easy to get meds from the naval hospitals out there. Well in September in Hiroshima it was very hard for the people to heal faster because it was so cold and rainy outside for them to fully recover. According to Cacpeaceday. Before dropping the bombs, Japan was refusing to surrender, their emperor insisted on fighting on. Everyone thought that japan had lost but they didn’t know that they refused to surrender and kept fighting. So more and more American’s were dying. The US felt like if they don’t defeat japan soon that they will gain more advantage over Asia or even in japan. Japan ended up shortly surrendering after US dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was occupied by allied powers under the American general, MacArthur. Reference According to ibiblio.com pg. 24. http://cacpeaceday.wikispaces.com/3.+The+impact+and+short+term+effects+of+the+dropping+of+the+atomic+bombs U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki June 1946

BDO Unibank Essay

The second logo of Banco de Oro Banco de Oro had its humble beginnings on January 2, 1968, when it started off as a thrift bank called Acme Savings Bank. With two branches in Metro Manila, Acme was one of the smallest banks in the Philippines at the time. In November 1976, Acme was acquired by the Sy Group, the group of companies currently owned by retail magnate Henry Sy, and renamed Banco de Oro Savings and Mortgage Bank. In December 1994, BDO became a commercial bank. To reflect the bank’s new status, BDO was renamed Banco de Oro Commercial Bank, and in September 1996, BDO became a universal bank, which led to the bank’s name being changed to the current Banco de Oro Universal Bank. It is one of the many banks owned by a Chinese-Filipino in the Philippines (others includeMetrobank and Chinabank). BDO eventually became involved in insurance services in 1997 (it is a bancassurance firm) by establishing a subsidiary called BDO Insurance Brokers. In 1999, BDO expanded its insurance services through par tnerships with Assicurazoni Generali s.p.a., one of the world’s largest insurance firms, and Jerneh Asia Berhad, a member of Malaysia’s Kuok Group. Later, BDO partnered up with its insurance affiliates, which are Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company and Generali Pilipinas Insurance Company, in March 2000 Dao Heng Bank On June 15, 2001, BDO merged with Dao Heng Bank’s Philippine subsidiary, with BDO as the surviving entity. The merger boosted the number of BDO’s branches from 108 branches before the merger to 120 after the merger. Banco Santander Philippines In August 2003, BDO acquired the local banking unit of Banco Santander with its commercial, trust and derivatives licenses to become BDO Private Bank, a fully owned subsidiary of BDO Unibank. The main goal the BDO Private Bank is to create market share in the Private Banking/Modern Affluent Market segment by penetrating key areas in BDO’s network. This is to complement and explore how the BDO Group can service all the financial and investment needs of the client. United Overseas Bank Philippines In late April 2005, United Overseas Bank sold 66 out of its Philippine subsidiary’s 67 branches to BDO after UOB’s Philippine subsidiary is set to rationalize its operations from retail to wholesale banking. All UOB branches completed integration into the BDO network on March 22, 2006, increasing the number of Banco de Oro branches to 220. Equitable PCI Bank On August 5, 2005, Banco de Oro and an SM subsidiary, SM Investments, bought 24.76% of the shares of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines’ third-largest bank, and 10% of an Equitable PCI affiliate, Equitable CardNetwork, one of the Philippines’ largest credit card issuers, from the family that founded the bank, the Go family. BDO has also been offered a further 10% by another Equitable PCI affiliate, EBC Investments, and a deal is being made to buy (awaiting court approval) the 29% stake of the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippines’ pension fund. Subsequent acquisitions enabled the bank to acquire a 34% stake in Equitable PCI. On December 1, 2005, Banco de Oro shares were listed as a component of the PSE Composite Index for the first time. On January 6, 2006, Banco de Oro, with the SM Group of Companies, submitted to Equitable PCI a merger offer with Banco de Oro as the surviving entity. Under the proposal, Banco de Oro will swap 1.6 of its shares for every 1 Equitable PCI share. As a second option, Banco de Oro also offered to base the swap ratio on the book values of both banks to be assessed by an independent accounting firm using International Accounting Standards (IAS). To effect the merger, Banco de Oro needs consent of Equitable PCI shareholders representing 67% of Equitable PCI. These include the Social Security System (SSS) with 29%, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) with 14%, and the family of Equitable PCI chairman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez with eight percent. Banco de Oro said that the proposed â€Å"merger of equals† would create the country’s second biggest bank with assets of about P608 billion (as of June 2007), just next to Metrobank with P669.1 billion (as of June 2007), the current banking industry leader in the Philippines. Bank of the Philippine Islands is the current third biggest bank in the Philippines with P592.6 b illion (as of June 2007). Banco de Oro has asked Equitable PCI to study their offer until January 31, 2006. Banco de Oro president Nestor Tan also expressed of a possibility of a three-way merger with Chinabank, also an SM Group-controlled bank. The bank president also said that the proposed Banco de Oro-Equitable PCI merger would consolidate the strengths of Banco de Oro and Equitable PCI in consumer lending and result in a dominant player in middle-market lending and a market leader in money remittance volumes, branch banking, trust and corporate banking with the combined network of 685 branches located in the Philippines and abroad. Although Romualdez and the GSIS have shown stiff opposition to the BDO-Equitable PCI merger, the SSS is still studying the possibility of a merger. In fact, UBS studied the deal and claims that the merger through the stock swap option is a â€Å"win-win† situation. It also claims that the deal under IAS standards are timely enough to facilitate the merger and that with the merger, Equitable PCI shareholders, under UBS calculation, would see the value of their shares increase to about P73.60 per share, more than the fair value target price of 67 pesos. With Equitable PCI and BDO’s merging fully realized. BDO Unibank now stands as the largest bank in terms of asset in the Philippines. With offices in Manila, San Juan, Ortigas Center area in Pasig/Mandaluyong and in Makati, the Philippines’ central business district, with its newly renovated BDO Corporate Center situated at the former Equitable PCI Bank Tower along Makati Avenue. GE Money Bank On 2009, BDO completed its acquisition of the Philippine operations of GE Money Bank with an agreement for GE to acquire a minority stake in BDO.[2] In a definitive agreement signed by the two institutions, GE Capital will acquire a 1.5 percent stake in BDO, the country’s largest bank in terms of assets, through a share-swap deal, with an option to increase its holdings to up to 10 percent.[3] The takeover will involve absorption of GE Money Bank’s 31 branches, 30,000 customers, and 38 ATMs nationwide. Recent events â‚ ±1.1-billion IPO On January 2008, Viva Films chairman Vic del Rosario announced that Viva Communications expects to raise â‚ ±1.1 billion (1 US dollar = 41.48 pesos) through approval of the initial public offering (IPO) by the Philippine Stock Exchange, on listing date of March 5. It plans to sell up â‚ ±92.8 million new shares and â‚ ±49.9 million secondary shares at â‚ ±12.93 / share (offer is 35% of the company’s issued and outstanding capital stock). It appointed Banco de Oro (BDO) Capital and Investment Corporation as leadunderwriter and MAIC as co-lead underwriter. Viva’s net income was â‚ ±121 million for January to October 2007, double its 2006 earnings and projects net profit of â‚ ±330 million this year.[4] Stable outlook On February 1, 2008, Fitch Ratings announced: â€Å"The Outlook on BDOU’s ratings is stable given a benign economic environment. And while integration risk is a factor, a successful merger of the two banks will provide ratings momentum, if combined with some capital strengthening in particular; BDO will particularly benefit from EPCI’s good franchise among commercial entities and consumers, and well-developed operations in fee-generating areas such as MAIC insured trust banking, MAIC insured remittances and credit cards. Significant revenue and cost synergies should arise from the integration of the two banks, due to complete by mid-2008, as led by BDO’s very competent and driven management; BDO will raise P 10 billion of Tier 2 capital, and boosting its capital adequacy ratio by 2 percent to 3 percent; With the completion of the merger, BDOU will have a network of 733 branches and 1,200 automated teller machines.†[5] Lehman Brothers’ exposure On September 17, 2008, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. announced â€Å"due to the uncertainty relating to the financial condition of Lehman Brothers, Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. is setting aside provisions totaling 3.8 billion pesos (80.9 million dollars) to cover its exposure to said entity.† Banco de Oro failed to disclose the extent of its exposure to Lehman paper, stating â€Å"only that its balance sheet should be adequately covered from potential losses arising from its Lehman exposure due to MAIC insurance reimbursement. The provisions will come from reallocation of excess reserves and from additional provisions in the current period.† Banco de Oro, capitalised at â‚ ±89.8 billion, closed 15.4% down to â‚ ±33.[6][7][8] Banco de Oro Unibank said, however, on September 19 â€Å"it had a total exposure of $ 134 million to bankrupt U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers: This represents the face value of securities held in MAIC trust accounts by the bank. Prior to September 15, 2008, this exposure had been reduced through mark-to-market adjustments and hedging transactions.† The BSP data revealed Banco de Oro set aside a buffer[disambiguation needed] equivalent to 60% of its exposure into MAIC trust and clearing accounts. Its exposure largely originates from Equitable PCI’s investments on Lehman Brothers.[9][10]

Visits to Career Centers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visits to Career Centers - Essay Example The authors have undertaken a few different techniques of research for this paper. A total of 277 postal questionnaires were sent out to the post participants of the health career workshops. In the questionnaires, 15 out of the 68 questions related to the impact of the workshop on the career decision and the decision made by the respondents. These questionnaires were sent out in 2002. Following this, another set of similar questionnaires were sent out in 2005, to a total of 208 participants. Of the 2002 questionnaires, a total of 94 people responded and they were then invited to participate in a telephonic interview, to enable the authors gain as much information as possible about the career, course and the choice. The telephonic survey questionnaire was developed and designed to seek as much information about the course and the career decisions made by the participants. It also aimed at gaining the opinions of the participants about the effects of the attendance at the health career workshops. The researches were all conducted by the same person between November 2004 and December 2004. The findings of the research highlighted that almost 63 of the 70 people who attended the workshops were impacted to a great extent by the workshop. Their decision making was based on the workshop and helped them choose the right path for their career. A few of the respondents replied, The research also brought out different answers where the workshop had acted as a means for people to correct their career pathway and move into something which interested the respondents most. One of the responses reads: ‘I realised that health was not a career pathway for me. It made me realise that my interest lay in animal and not human health’. Another one of the responses read, ‘ Even though I have not chosen a health career, the workshop made me aware of a career in general and discussed many options about tertiary education, which

Ethics and Employees Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethics and Employees - Research Proposal Example There is also the general awareness that corporations have to look after all stakeholders that eventually curbs unethical practices. It has been concluded that leaders have a major role to play in creating conditions where the employees are not coerced into unethical practices that are in any case not acceptable by either the law or the society at large. The Objective of Business is to earn profits for its owners, the shareholders. But does it mean an open license for managers to serve their employers without regards to those who help them to achieve the profit motive they work for? Do ends justify means? Are there not other stakeholders; suppliers, employees, consumers and indeed the society which offers them the opportunity to work for profit? With ever present conflicts the managers need to perform a balancing act to satisfy all stakeholders. However the role of the employees is crucial in performance of their obligations, hence a special relationship is required to be developed. Without the trust of the employees and their involvement the business objectives cannot be achieved. Leaders at all level have to be conscious of the fact that they have to set examples of behaviour that will be emulated by their sub-ordinates. These actions have to in consonance with the company’s objective and at the same time have to be balanced right. This balancing is based on principles or ethics. It is becoming evident to business in America that ethical values need to be upheld and become institutionalized (Sims 1991) as this is the desired status by society in general. However the dilemma is squarely faced by the individual manager. He perceives his primary role to be looking after shareholder value (Vogel 1991) in preference to other stakeholders. Therefore they justify the moral result or implication of their unethical behaviour and

International Investing-DB3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Investing-DB3 - Essay Example Foreign direct investment is a market entry strategy that can be used to achieve market penetration into foreign locations. A foreign direct investment can be defined as a long term investment by a foreign direct investor in a firm resident in an economy other than the one in which the foreign direct investor is based (Kamal, 2011). For example if an American company starts a joint venture with a Canadian company that would be considered a foreign direct investment. In order for the United Nations to validate a foreign direct investment the investing company must purchase a controlling interest of at least 10%. A lot of countries depend on the capital foreign direct investment brings. In 2008 the amount of foreign direct investment worldwide was $1697 billion (Toscano, 2009). The implementation of foreign direct investment has several advantages. One of the greatest benefits of the use of foreign direct investment is that it benefits the local economy of the country receiving the inv estment. The economy benefits from the creation of jobs and from tax revenues for the local governments. Foreign direct investments are considered a durable type investment that will benefit the community in the long run (About, 2011).

Character Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Character Analysis - Assignment Example The first words spoken by the girl of his dream was also about ‘Araby’, giving the reader the assumption that it will be a mythological place that he can escape from reality and his harsh environment. The story of ‘Araby’ highlights the contradiction between reality and illusion through illustration of the transformation of innocence to the path of realization and disillusionment as a phenomenon that occurs in a child’s boyhood. The protagonist of the story is the matured boy who had once been the innocent boy depicted in the story. The story opens with the lines â€Å"North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free†. Paradoxically, even though they were free from school, even their play did not give them the desired pleasure, for it was an equally dull world, where not even play brought any stimulant for the children. All these descriptions of dullness actually cre ate the backdrop against which the boy takes resort to an imagination larger than life and hence encounters a surprising disillusionment. In â€Å"Araby†, the author focuses on character rather than on plot to expose the ironical evidences present in self-deception. On one hand, "Araby" is a story of a boy’s search for excellence or his dream. The search is in vain but gives way to an inner self-realization and an initial step into manhood. From another facet, the story encompasses a grown up man's experience. While the boy's first hand experience relates to his meet with the first love it is also a portrayal of an unrelenting problem of human life – the incongruity between what one wishes to be or have and what destiny actually has in store for us. This opposition experienced by the boy sets up the theatrical background of a story of first love as narrated by the author who has used some consequential symbolic metaphors and irony to reveal the meaning of the st ory. Symbolic images portray the boy as a lonely individual who is aware of the bleakness of the surroundings – the dullness that he rejects silently to find solace in his world of fantasy. During the first reading, the story might seem to be about the love story or first crush of a young boy who craves to gain the attention of the girl, ‘Mangan’s sister’ whom he adores in his mind - â€Å"Her dress swung as she moved her body, and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side† (Joyce, 539). The boy simply cannot get her out of her mind – â€Å"At night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read.† After the time when the girl speaks to him asking him to visit ‘Araby’, it is as if â€Å"The syllables of the word ‘Araby’ were called to me through the silence in which my soul luxuriated and cast an Eastern enchantment over me† (Joyce, 540). The bo y has now grown up into a man who is already aware of the reality and talks about his childhood innocence that led him to find a strange solace in fantasizing to describe which he says, â€Å"soul luxuriated†. The idea of casting an enchantment somewhat prepares the contrast image that is eventually revealed in the end to make the boy realize the truth about the world where he lived. The presence of the girl’

Business Memo on AVON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Memo on AVON - Essay Example More and more women aspired to be more than just homemakers and part time sales women and more importantly fewer women purchased products door to door. New innovative ways of selling such products are being adopted by its competitors like specialty retail chains. Selling through internet was taking off in a big way. There were no doubt many other reasons also contributed for this; product positioning and price (Avon’s products had little appeal with teens and many lower-income women found Avon’s products too expensive), poor brand image (not glamorous), inadequate research and lack of new products, but these as has been seen could be quickly addressed with appropriate results. While suggesting solutions to problems, it is being taken without questioning for the time being that the company does not want to change its core value of reaching customers predominantly through its direct representatives. Avon is the world’s largest direct seller of beauty products (Miller and associates, 107). Whether the company is deriving competitive edge through this strategy is not verifiable because of lack of data. Assuming it does, the solution to the problem will have to address the issue of how to better equip its sales representatives to deliver better. The solution in brief would see the entire marketing model is reengineered to see that the selling agents add substantial value as channel partners to the company, as well as create scope for themselves to earn much more and find self-fulfillment in their association with Avon. Such an exercise should also make it possible for the company to become flexible in deciding its channels of marketing. Players in the CFT industry operate in an oligopolistic market (Oligopoly watch 19 March 2006). No company derives advantage from one sole unique competitive advantage. They follow several strategies

Overload protection systems and mechanics of machines Essay

Overload protection systems and mechanics of machines - Essay Example Overload protection systems play a great role in protecting people and equipment from harm that may result from such faults or overloads. Overload protection systems normally feature overload switches or relays that serve to cut off power supplies to certain elements of the system and, therefore, prevent the machine from working normally (Gurevich 2003, p. 57). There are different overload protection systems that exist, each with its specific function and application. In industries that involve the movement of heavy loads, overload protection systems are installed to ensure that the machine, equipment and people are protected against injustices or damages that may occur in case the machine is loaded beyond its capacity (Gurevich 2003, p. 183). Systems that protect against weight overload commonly exist on cranes and elevators. There are also machines that work in environments that feature a lot of heat. Some machines are installed with protection systems to prevent them from damage b y extreme heat or cold. These systems are fitted with sensors that prevent them from functioning normally under adverse thermal conditions. One example of an overload protection system used in cranes is the LKV Crane Overload Guard. Figures 1 and 2 show the LKV Crane Overload Guard. Fig. 1 & 2: LKV Crane Overload Guard Courtesy of www.unirope.com The guard is attached to a line part that is stationary. The guard is installed such that the wire is deflected slightly between the clamping jaw and the two wheels (Unirope 2013, par. 3). The rope tends to straighten when the system is subjected to a load. When this happens, a force is applied to the clamping jaw as well as to the pull rod. If the load exceeds a present switch value, the pull rod activates a microswitch which closes or opens a circuit (Unirope 2013, par. 3). The load cell contains a spring element that is preloaded to reduce the movement by the pull rod to about a quarter of the full load. Many machines that are used in in dustries rely on electrical energy for their control or functioning. Electricity supplies sometimes fluctuate to the extent of transmitting currents beyond the ratings of machines or their components. To prevent electrical and electronic systems from damages that result from too much, too low or fluctuating currents or voltages, some machines are fitted with overload switches (Gurevich 2003, p. 124). Scientific Principles of Mechanics of Machines A machine is basically a tool or equipment that makes work easier and faster. Machines commonly use electrical, chemical, thermal, or mechanical energy to meet the objectives for which they are intended. Many machines that are used today are complex in nature and often times comprise one or more simple machines and computer systems. Simple machines include levers, pulleys, wheels and axels, inclined planes, screws, and wedges. Mechanical Advantage Machines are specifically designed to make work easier and faster. The level to which a machin e makes work faster or easier is known as the mechanical advantage (MA). In Engineering and physics, mechanical advantage is defined as the number of times a machine multiplies the effort implied into it (ThinkQuest 2013, par. 1). In other words, it is the ratio of exerted working force produced by a machine to the effort applied, the units of force being measured in Newtons. In order to determine the mechanical advantage of a machine, one needs to divide the resistance force by the force of effort (ThinkQuest 2013, par. 1). In many cases, the resistance force is equal to the weight of the object. Mechanical Advantage of Pulley Systems A pulley is basically a machine that comprises a wheel that has a groove. A cable, belt or rope runs inside the groove to lift or lower loads and to

Case Study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case Study analysis - Essay Example Therefore, the process selection as identified by the team’s recommendations; will assist the organisation in prioritizing solutions to the pre-existing problems. For example, the review team’s assessment of the Information Technology (IT) department shows that it’s current IT solution, GovSource; has many undesired implications which lengthen the recruitment process (Stake, 2006). The team also identifies the inefficient modes of communication which cause delayed feedback from the interviewee’s referees and to the applicants. The use of process selection will, therefore, help the organisation to prioritize between these problems allowing them to come up with a SMART plan to ensure their successful resolution. Meaning, the plan ought to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Process selection, therefore, proves to be advantageous to an organisation in the realizing of their set targets (Yin, 2009). 1.1.2 Process identification Proce ss identification entails the definition of the scope of business processes, for example, an analysis of the scope of Talent Seek’s recruitment process. ... These meetings prove helpful because they help relay the clients’ requirements to Talent Seek’s personnel. The preparation of application forms and advertising of the vacancy positions are an integral part of this phase. The scope of the second phase (actual recruitment and selection) covers the evaluation processes used to sort through the applicants. The applicants’ evaluations happen through a similar criterion during the evaluation phase. The scope of the second phase also covers the selection process, whereby, qualified candidates get selected to be offered Talent Seek’s clients’ requirements (Kane, 2008). The scope of the final phase (appointment) covers the final consultations between Talent Seek’s personnel and their clients, where introduction of the selected candidates occurs to the clients. It is in this stage that further negotiations between the recruits and their employers ensue, and, presentation of a formal employment offer ha ppens. In conclusion, process identification plays a key role in shaping the perspective of organisations. This is because it outlines the scope of the processes within the organisation. This allows personnel to understand their roles (Ashly, 2003). References Ashly Downey. (2003). Recruitment Process Improvement. New Jersey: Lee Moffitt . Kane, J. (2008, April 17 ,saturday). Recruitment Intelligence. Retrieved from Steps of the Recruitment Process and How to Identify Failure Points : http://www.ere.net/2010/05/10/the-steps-of-the-recruiting-process-%E2%80%A6-and-how-to-identify-failure-points/ Mikel J. Harry, R. S. (2006). Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing The World's Top Corporations. New York: Currency.

Client CaseTesting and Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Client CaseTesting and Appraisal - Essay Example It is therefore hardly surprising that Bobby’s first grade report notes that he was placed in the low reading group. His mathematics are also problematic as he refused to complete his assignments and has difficulties with fine coordination. In the first grade Bobby did not do well on his SRA Achievement Test although he scored relatively better in reading comprehension and vocabulary. The results were 31 percent compared to 2 percent on mathematics reasoning, mathematics concepts and mathematics computation. Bobby’s Burk’s Behavior Rating Scale results are also troubling in that he achieved significant scores on anxiety-withdrawal, academics, suffering and anger control. He also achieved significant scores on ego strength and attention. Bobby’s Detroit Test of Learning Aptitude are very important for assessing his mental capacities and his cognitive abilities. It is also valuable for measuring his â€Å"basic abilities† and the â€Å"effects of language attention, and motor abilities on test performance† (DTLA-4). It is entirely important for placement in educational programs (Jones and Drummond 2004, p. 306). The results suggest that Bobby’s greatest difficulty is in the area of attention as his attention aptitude is equivalent to that of a 3 year old. All other results demonstrate that Bobby has the aptitude of a seven year old generally although he is just below average in some areas and above average in others. His IQ is 96 suggesting that h is intelligence is just above average. In fact the resource room notes that Bobby has potential. The examiners comments pretty much confirms what is generally common knowledge and that is the fact that Bobby has attention problems. In accordance with the ACA’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice 1977, Responsibilities of Users of Standardized Tests 2003, and other appropriate Codes of Ethics, Bobby’s parents will be assured that Bobby’s test results are confidential and are

Human Rights and Democracy of Filipinos Essay Example for Free

Human Rights and Democracy of Filipinos Essay According to the United Nations, The values of freedom, respect for human rights and the rule of holding periodic and legitimate elections by universal suffrage are vital elements of democracy. In turn, democracy provides the natural environment for the protection and effective realization of human rights. These standards are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further developed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which enshrines a host of political rights and civil liberties underpinning meaningful democracies. The relation between democracy and human rights is captured in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: â€Å"The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.† With this notion, Martial Law in the Philippines only proves that during that time, Human Rights and Democracy is not totally practiced in the whole nation. The circumstances of arrests, detentions and searches made without court orders are common practice during the martial rule. The fundamental principles of legality and due process have been neglected, with security forces having unprecedented powers given by the head of state under this martial law. Election frauds were also perceived. Justice among those involve were deserted and abandoned and Justice for the country’s democracy were put in to trash. Martial rule and suspension of writ of habeas corpus, which allows warrantless arrests, detention and conduct of searches, have been a convenient solution for the police forces incompetence in enforcing their rudimentary duties. The soldiers have cemented their de facto superiority over the police in conflict areas. But thirty one year had already passed, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have repeatedly been accused of involvement if not actively engaging in the killing of defenceless political activists. The AFP restates that they never will have a rule of intentionally targeting civilians as well as those who may have a different political orientation from our government for as long as they detain their resist within legal and legislative means. The AFP remains committed in  their duty to help ensure that the Philippines progresses as a democratic society free by armed threats. Their answer is explicit in the AFP’s code of ethics in support for peace initiatives. Furthermore, the AFP will persist to fully assist with fact-finding bodies formed by proper authorities. But investigation should be based on valid pieces of evidence as determined by courts and not simply on given away allegations. With proper procedure the AFP makes it a point that Justice is served to each and every Filipinos. Their faults in the past should not be carried today, for the scenario and period is different. Changes in the agency only attest that they are coping with it in order to have Justice in every aspect of their post. References: * United Nation. 2012. Democracy and Human Rights.[Online] accessed from http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/democracy/human_rights.shtml on December 09, 2012 * Asian Human Rights Commission. 2009. Philippines: Martial Law Dilutes Human Rights [Online] Retrieved from http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00305.htm on December 09, 2012 * General Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. 2007. The AFP in a democracy:protecting human rights [online] ebook downloaded last December 09, 2012

The Employee Reaction Toward Organizational Change Commerce Essay

The Employee Reaction Toward Organizational Change Commerce Essay A force drive change is always exists since the Industrial Revolution changed the nature of work. Whether to improve efficiency or create better working environment and productivity has been the base in many organizations. Managers and consultants are continually looking for ways to improve it. Employee dissatisfaction and conflict have also become important farces that push the need for change. At the same time, societal and political forces, such as the fall of communism, increased competition, privatization, and deregulation have an important role. The response of employees to change is hard to be predicted as well, as many factors may have an effect on this. The research investigates the effect of organizational culture to the perception of employee for organizational changes; where organizational culture is characterized by Hofstede cultural dimensions. One of the biggest obstacles to the success of any planned change is employee resistance. Resistance affects a change program. People generally resist change because of its negative consequences. Every person reacts to change differently. The leader of the organization needs to identify the different responses of the employees and be able to deal with their issues and concerns. The most important response that the leader must be prepared for is resistance. Employees may perceive change as endangering their livelihoods and their workplace social arrangements, or their status in the organization. Others know that their specialized skills will be rendered less valuable after a major change. The research tries to find the relation between organizational culture where employees used to work, and the organizational changes. Hofstede dimensions is used to characterized the organizational culture to and relate kind of organizational culture with employees attitude to change. Research Objectives The research has objective of finding the relation between organizational culture and response to organizational change; the research, will determine which one of Hofstede cultural dimensions has larger weight affecting the employees reaction for change, as well as how organizational culture can affect response to change. Research Hypotheses The Research is based on two hypotheses; each of them is related together. First, considers the organizational culture and its characterization with Hofstede cultural dimensions; while the second relates organizational culture with organizational change. The two hypotheses are: H1: Organizational culture is characterized Hofstede cultural dimensions. H2: employees response to change is related with organizational culture. Conceptual Framework Many models and theories have been developed trying to look at organizational change; each is looking the process from different point of view. The modern models for organizational change are:(Kezar, 2001),(Cameron , Green, 2004) Evolutionary Teleological Life Cycle Dialectical Social Cognition Cultural Bullock and Batten, planned change; Kotter, eight steps; Beckhard and Harris, change formula; Nadler and Tushman, congruence model; William Bridges, managing the transition; Carnall, change management model; Senge, systemic model; Stacey and Shaw, complex responsive processes; Some of these approaches are discussed later; while the research is based on relating these approaches, with Hofstede cultural dimensions:(Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004) 1. Power distance 2. Uncertainty avoidance 3. Individualism 4. Masculinity Research has the roadmap as illustrated in Figure 1 . Organizational culture Organizational Change Process Hofstede cultural dimensions Characterization of organizational culture Drivers of organizational change Employee reaction Figure 1 Research road map The above figure illustrates how research theoretical framework is constructed, based on this and beginning with the concept of organizational change, forces behind organizational change is searched , its types, and theories explaining organizational changes, as well as employees response to that change. On the other hand, Hofstede cultural dimensions are studies to formulate the hypothesis linking these two concepts together. A survey is then investigates the validity of these hypothesis, in the same time if valid it will results in weight of each dimension on the response of change. Research structure The research is constructed from five chapters; first chapter introduces a research problem statement; research objectives and conceptual framework; the second chapter introduces a literature review about the organizational change, Hofstede cultural dimensions, and employees response to change, the operational definitions are stated with the most suitable form research point of view. Chapter three discussed the research methodology, method, and sampling; data collection plan and data analysis is stated as well. Findings of the research are presented in chapter four, as well as the analysis of the data. Finally, chapter five is the conclusion ad recommendations. Chapter 2 Literature Review Introduction In this chapter, a review of literature is introduced; the review includes references of books and scientific publications in recent years. As well, definitions of keywords are introduced, based on operational definitions of terms used in the research. What is Organizational change? Organizational change can be defined as the difference in form, quality, or state over time in an organizational entity.(de Ven, Andrew, 2004) where Culture is defined as a set of meanings and values shared by a group of people.(Alvesson, 2002), so relating the organizational change to organizational culture we can define organizational culture as a specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. ; the research will define the point under consideration of resistance to change as a Negative emotional, cognitive, and intentional responses to change (de Ven, Andrew, 2004) where magnitude of change is the magnitude of change represents a continuum ranging from fine-tuning changes, such as employee training, to radical organizational changes, such as reengineering and mergers. Changes (Pasmore, Woodman, 2007). Organizational change models Modeling the process of change is an important issue; this modeling can facilitate the process of monitoring change, assessing the results (for both Macro and micro levels); models also can explain the reason behind changes happen, its driving forces, and its consequences. The following sections discusses the early theories addressed the organizational change, followed by discussing the modern theories. Categories of Theories and Models of Organizational Change Evolutionary model The model assumes that the change process is dependent on circumstances, situational variables, and the environment faced by each organization. Social systems as diversified, interdependent, complex systems evolve over time naturally. However, evolution is deterministic, and people have only a minor impact on the nature and direction of the change process. The model focus on the inability of organizations to plan for and respond to change, and their tendency to manage change as it occurs. The emphasis is on a slow process, rather than discrete events or activities. Change happens because the environment demands change for survival. The assumptions in these theories range from managers having no ability to influence adaptability to managers having significant ability to be proactive, anticipating changes in the environment. As seen ; The theory ignores important environmental variables, and ignores the complexity of organizational life (Kezar, 2001) by focusing on a few factors within the external and internal environment, such as resources and size of organization. Environmental disturbance and constraints are overemphasized. Teleological model The model assumes that organizations are purposeful and adaptive. Change occurs because leaders, change agents, and others see the necessity of change. The process for change is rational and linear, as in evolutionary models, but individual managers are much more instrumental to the process. Internal organizational features or decisions, rather than the external environment, motivate change. Key aspects of the change process include planning, assessment, incentives and rewards, stakeholder analysis and engagement, leadership, scanning, strategy, restructuring, and reengineering. At the center of the process is the leader, who aligns goals, sets expectations, models, communicates, engages, and rewards. Strategic choices and human creativity are highlighted. Goal formation, implementation, evaluation, and modification based on experience are an ongoing process. New additions to the repertoire of management tools include collaborative culture definition, large group engagement processes, and individual in-depth interventions. The outcome of the change process is similar to that in evolutionary models: new structures or organizing principles.(Kezar, 2001) Based on above , it can be concluded that , the model analyzes the change process strategy as based on technological terms like reengineering, planning, assessment, restructuring; which is more realistic than other psychological terms like motivation. It also assumes that the process of change is controllable by managers and stockholders. The emphasis on the role of people and individual attitudes to the change process was introduced, especially in research on resistance to change. The ability to, at times, forecast or identifies the need for change was an important contribution, helping organizations to survive and prosper in what otherwise would have been difficult times. The main criticisms relate to the overly rational and linear process of change described within the model. Researchers of second-order change demonstrate a chaotic process and find management models to be lacking needed information on the importance of culture and social cognition.(Kezar, 2001) Dialectical model The model assumes that organizations pass through long periods of evolutionary change and short periods of revolutionary change, when there is an impasse between the two perspectives. An organizations polar opposite belief systems eventually clash resulting in radical change. Conflict is seen as an inherent attribute of human interaction. The outcome of change is a modified organizational ideology or identity. Predominant change processes are bargaining, consciousness-raising, persuasion, influence and power, and social movements. Leaders are the key within any social movement and are a central part of these models .collective action is usually the primary focus. Progress and rationality are not necessarily part of this theory of change; dialectical conflict does not necessarily produce a better organization.(Kezar, 2001) It is seen that, this model provided explanation for regressive change and highlighted irrationality.(Kezar, 2001) The model does not take the effect of the environment upon the change processes. Cultural model Most models of change describe organizations as rational places with norms and rules. The major contribution of cultural models to the change literatures their emphasis on irrationality (also emphasized in dialectical models), the spirit, or unconscious, and the fluidity and complexity of organizations. The model assumes that change occurs naturally as a response to alterations in the human environment; cultures are always changing. Cultural and dialectical models often overlap with the image of social movements as an analogy for cultural and political change. The change process tends to be long-term and slow. Change within an organization entails alteration of values, beliefs, myths, and rituals. There is an emphasis on the symbolic nature of organizations, rather than the structural, human, or cognitive aspects emphasized within earlier theories. History and traditions are important to understand, as they represent the collection of change processes over time.(Kezar, 2001) Change can be planned or unplanned, can be regressive or progressive, and can contain intended or unintended outcomes and actions. Change tends to be nonlinear, irrational, non-predictable, ongoing, and dynamic. Some cultural models focus on the leaders ability to translate the change to individuals throughout the organizations through the use of symbolic actions, language as the key to creating change. If there is an external motivator, it tends to be legitimacy, which is the primary motivator within the cultural model, rather than profit or productivity, which exemplify the teleological and environmental models. It is obvious that the model simplifies the culture as it can be easily handled or understood; but this actually not the case; other complex models to handle culture effect on change is introduces but not easy to apply. Organizational change theories and models (Cameron , Green, 2004) Lewin, three-step model: organism, machine Kurt Lewin developed his ideas about organizational change from the perspective of the organism metaphor. His model of organizational change is well known and much quoted by managers. Lewin is responsible for introducing force field analysis, which examines the driving and resisting forces in any change situation. The underlying principle is that driving forces must outweigh resisting forces in any situation if change is to happen. it assumes that ; if the desire of a manager is to speed up the executive reporting process, then either the driving forces need to be augmented or the resisting forces decreased; or even better, both of these must happen. Lewin proposed that organizational changes have three steps. The first step involves unfreezing the current state of interactions. This means defining the current state, surfacing the driving, resisting forces, and picturing a desired end-state. The second step is about moving to a new state through participation and involvement. The third step focuses on refreezing and stabilizing the new state of affairs by setting policy, rewarding success, and establishing new standards. Figure 2 Lewins three-step model Source: Lewin (1951) Lewins model is good, and can be considered as a fundamental base for further study or theory The model is seen as plan of actions, which can be used to make the change, rather than a model of change Model. It also ignores the assumption of the organism metaphor that groups of people will change only if there is a felt need to do so. (Mills, Dye and Mills, 2009) The change process can then turn into an un-well studied plan that does not tackle resistance and fails to harness the energy of the key players. The effect of culture also is ignored in this model. Bullock and Batten, planned change: machine Bullock and Battens (1985) phases of planned change draw on the disciplines of project management; there are many similar steps to changing your organization models. This particular approach implies the use of the machine metaphor of organizations. The model assumes that change can be defined and moved towards in a planned way. A project management approach simplifies the change process by isolating one part of the organizational machinery in order to make necessary changes, for example developing leadership skills in middle management, or reorganizing the sales team to give more engine power to key sales accounts. this approach implies that the organizational change is a technical problem that can be solved with a definable technical solution. The approach also simplify the process of change , but it can not handle complex situation for organizational change , i.e. when organization has complex situation of changing where change drivers and forces are unknown Kotter, eight-steps: machine, political, organism Kotters (1995) proposed eight steps to make change in organization; his model is derived from analysis of his consulting practice with 100 different organizations going through change. His research highlighted eight key lessons, and he converted these into a useful eight-step model. The eight steps are: Establish a sense of urgency, felt-need for change. Form a powerful guiding group. Assembling a powerful group of people who can work well together. Create a vision. Building a vision to guide the change effort together with strategies for achieving this. Communicate the vision. Kotter emphasizes the need to communicate at least 10 times the amount you expect to have to communicate. The vision and accompanying strategies and new behaviors need to be communicated in a variety of different ways. Empower others to act on the vision. This step includes getting rid of obstacles to change such as unhelpful structures or systems. Allow people to experiment. Plan for and create short-term wins. Look for and advertise short-term visible improvements. Plan these in and reward people publicly for improvements. Consolidate improvements and produce still more change. Promote and reward those able to promote and work towards the vision. Energize the process of change with new projects, resources. Institutionalize new approaches. Ensure that everyone understands that the new behaviors lead to corporate success. This eight-step model gives more defined and detailed procedure for change process; the steps are clear and well defined; but it may take more time to implement and, maybe, it would be difficult to follow strictly. The approach did not refer to the situation of inability of achieving one-step; and how it can be handled. Beckhard and Harris, change formula: organism Beckhard and Harris (1987) developed a formula of change that defines some parameters to take into consideration Figure 3. Figure 3 Source: (Cameron , Green, 2004) Factors A, B, and D must outweigh the perceived costs X for the change to occur. If any person or group whose commitment needed is not sufficiently dissatisfied with the present state of affairs A, eager to achieve the proposed end state B and convinced of the feasibility of the change D, then the cost X of changing is too high, and that person will resist the change. Resistance is normal and to be expected in any change effort. Resistance to change takes many forms; change managers need to analyze the type of resistance in order to work with it, reduce it, and secure the need for commitment from the resistant party. The formula is sometimes written (A x B x D) > X. This adds something useful to the original formula. The multiplication implies that if any one factor is zero or near zero, the product will also be zero or near zero and the resistance to change will not be overcome. This means that if the vision is not clear, or dissatisfaction with the current state is not felt, or the plan is obscure, the likelihood of change is severely reduced. These factors (A, B, D) do not compensate for each other if one is low. All factors need to have weight. This formula is simple but in the same time useful. It illustrates the factors affecting change process; if each party in the process applies in this formula, it will help determining the weak points, and help enhance the performance in each phase of change. On the other hand; the formula gives each factor the same weight, and did not correlate any of these factors together; which may be in accurate. Stacey and Shaw, complex responsive processes There is yet another school of thought represented by people such as Ralph Stacey (2001) and Patricia Shaw (2002). These writers use the metaphor of flux and transformation to view organizations. The implications of this mode of thinking for those interested in managing and enabling change are significant: Change, or a new order of things, will emerge naturally from clean communication, conflict, and tension (not too much). As a manager, you are not outside of the system, controlling it, or planning to alter it, you are part of the whole environment. In Patricia Shaws book Changing Conversations in Organizations, rather than address the traditional questions of How do we manage change? she addresses the question, How do we participate in the ways things change over time? This writing deals bravely with the paradox that our interaction, no matter how considered or passionate, is always evolving in ways that we cannot control or predict in the longer term, no matter how sophisticated our planning tools. As a first look, the model seems to be passive one; it discards the ability of making change goes as we want; also, it assumes that change is an ongoing process by itself, we have no control upon it; all we have to do is to watch and participate in it with a limited role. This can be translated to practical as follow: Managers have to decide what business the organization is in, and stretch peoples thinking on how to adapt to this. Ensure that there is a high level of connectivity between different parts of the organization, encouraging feedback, optimizing information flow, enabling learning. Focus peoples attention on important differences between current and desired performance, between different styles of work and between past and present outcomes. Characterization of organizational culture On the other hand Hofstede cultural dimensions will be used to characterize the organizational culture and can be defined as psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture (Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004). where Hofstede has defined 4 dimensions to define culture ,first is the Power distance is The extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.(Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004), second dimension is uncertainty avoidance, is the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations. (Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004), third dimension is Individualism, which is loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and of their immediate families only.(Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004); and Collectivism, which is the opposite, occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguis h between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-group (relatives, clan, organizations) to look after them, and in exchange for that owe absolute loyalty to it .finally; masculinity is The extent to which the dominant values in society are assertiveness, money, and material things, not caring for others, quality of life, and people. (Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004) Hofstede cultural dimensions The pioneering work on cultural measurement could be credited to Hofstede (1980). In the earlier stage, Hofstede identified four dimensions of culture and highlights the most important culture differences in a multinational organization. The four dimensions are individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity and femininity. These four dimensions were initially detected through the comparison of the value among the employees and managers working in 53 national subsidiaries of the IBM Corporation. Dr. Geert Hofstede, believes that culture counts and has identified four dimensions of national culture:(Harris, Moran , Moran, Judith, 2004) 1. Power distance: indicates the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. 2. Uncertainty avoidance: indicates the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations. 3. Individualism: refers to a loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and of their immediate families only. Collectivism, the opposite, occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-group (relatives, clan, organizations) to look after them, and in exchange for that owe absolute loyalty to it. 4. Masculinity: with its opposite pole, femininity, expresses the extent to which the dominant values in society are assertiveness, money and material things, not caring for others, quality of life, and people. Criticism of Hofstedes cultural dimensions Hofstedes work on culture is the most widely cited in most of studies. His observations and analysis provide scholars with a highly valuable insight into the dynamics of cross-cultural relationships. However, his work does not escape criticism. In this section, most of criticized points will be listed and discussed.(Jones , 2007) Relevancy Many researchers allude a survey is not an appropriate instrument for accurately determining and measuring cultural disparity. This is especially apparent when the variable being measured is a value which culturally sensitive and subjective. Hofstede addresses this criticism saying that surveys are one method, but not the only method that was used. During the time of its delivery, there was very little work on culture, and at this time many businesses were just entering the international arena and were experiencing difficulties; they were crying out for credible advice. Hofstedes work met and exceeded this demand for guidance. This actually is very convincing for researcher to base their research on Hofstedes work. Cultural Homogeneity This criticism is perhaps the most popular. Hofstedes study assumes the domestic population is a homogenous whole. However, most nations are groups of ethnic units. Analysis is therefore constrained by the character of the individual being assessed; the outcomes have a possibility of arbitrariness. On the other hand, Hofstede tends to ignore the importance of community, and the variations of the community influences. This critic is somewhat true; but if we will speak about the majority of groups within one culture; as well as the probability of being the individual have the common features of his culture, I do believe that is worth to pursue Hofstedes work. National Divisions Nations are not the proper units of analysis, as cultures are not necessarily bounded by borders. Recent research (Jones , 2007) has found that culture is in fact fragmented across group and national lines. Hofstede points out however that national identity is the only means we have of identifying and measuring cultural differences. This is true, as we can agree that national identity is not the only mean to measure cultural differences; but it is one of them, hence the model still valid , may be less accurate but reliable. One Company Approach A study fixated on only one company cannot possibly provide information on the entire cultural system of a country. Hofstede said he was not making an absolute measure, he was merely gauging differences between cultures, and this style of cross-sectional analysis was appropriate. However, this international organization is worldwide spread, and is considered as a typical example of cultural diversity, so it worth to be considered. Out-dated Some researchers have claimed that the study is too old to be of any modern value, particularly with todays rapidly changing global environments, internationalization, and convergence. Hofstede countered saying that the cross-cultural outcomes were based on centuries of indoctrination, recent replications (Jones , 2007), (Nakata, 2009) have supported the fact that culture will not change overnight. Conclusion about Hofstedes cultural dimensions It is obvious that more research is needed to evaluate culture in terms of contemporary standards. However, Hofstedes work has controversy surroundings; the work is still quite high, as it remains the most valuable work on culture. Based on the theoretical and practical value of Hofstedes work, research hypothesis refers to its effect on employs reaction toward organizational changes; and this will be investigated. Resistance to change Resistance to change has been an important area of inquiry. In fact, the importance placed on this issue might lead one to believe that resistance is inevitable when change is being implemented. Newer research (Mills, Dye and Mills, 2009) indicates that this is not always so. On the contrary, some people embrace change and become bored and uninterested if change is not imminent. Some researchers (Wei , 2003) argue that the younger generations of workers are more used to a constant rate of change, are more adept at change, and actually expect to be moving forward constantly. Despite this, resistance to change can and does occur just not all the time by everybody. Given that, resistance to change can be a very real problem for those leading change. Patrick Connor and Linda Lake argue that; (Mills, Dye and Mills, 2009) people tend to resist change or alterations of the status quo. This resistance is broader than simple opposition to a particular change; more widespread than a particular groups or individuals refusal to accept a specific change. There is simply the wish in most people to maintain the consistency and comfort that the status quo holds. This generalized resistance to change stems from a variety of sources. Although their theory of resistance is one of the many that seem to indicate all people will resist change all of the time, their framework is still quite helpful. It creates a framework for understanding why resistance may be happening, when it happens. Employees response to change There are three general forms of responses to system changes: (de Ven, Andrew, 2004) Negative feedback loops. These system responses attempt to attenuate or eliminate the impact of the change on the system. Positive feedback loops. These system responses magnify the impact of the change on the system. This can be in the form of switching (before, during, or after the event) to alternative structures or functions, increased disorder beyond what is directly produced by the change event itself and, if the increased disorder is extreme enough, either creative innovation or collapse. No response. The system may give no apparent response to a given event: This may occur because either the group failed to note the event, or assumed it would not alter the groups fitness landscape, or, Some feature of the groups history, its self-regulatory processes, and/or its routines prevented or impeded response. Alternatively, an apparent no response may be an artifact of the observation process.

Symbols and Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter :: Rappaccinis Daughter Essays

The Use of Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter is perhaps the most complex and difficult of all Hawthornes short stories, but also the greatest. Nathaniel Hawthorne as a poet, has been characterized as a man of low emotional pressure who adopted throughout his entire life the role of an observer. He was always able to record what he felt with remarkable words but he lacked force and energy. Hawthorne's personal problem was his sense of isolation. He thought of isolation as the root of all evil. Therefore, he made evil the theme of many of his stories. Hawthorne's sense of the true human included intellectual freedom, passion and tenderness (Kaul 26). Hawthorne was also a symbolist who had enormous respect for the material world and for common sense reality. Hawthorne usually established a neutral territory somewhere between the real world and fairy land, where the actual and imaginary meet. His ultimate purpose was always "to open an intercourse with the world" and out of this came symbolism (Kaul 66). For example, the cross -hybridization of the plants in the garden is called "adultery (Newman 267). Rappaccini's Daughter was first published in December 1844 in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review under Hawthorne's own name. Before the story was even published Julian Hawthorne read the unfinished manuscript to his wife and she asked how it was going to end. Hawthorne was not quite sure how he was going to let the story end. It has been said that Beatrice's dilemma may have been a reflection of Sophia's (Hawthorne's wife) sheltered years when she was younger at home with her mother. While Giovanni's failure to save Beatrice or himself is a tragic reversal of Nathaniel's and Sophia's happiness together (Newman 258). In Rappaccini 's Daughter, it is full of symbols and symbolic allusions. Its setting is a fantastic garden filled with vegetation and poisonous flowers and in the center is a broken fountain. Hawthorne's focus is on Beatrice as she is seen by Giovanni. Hawthorne presents a trapped and poisonous Beatrice who needs a special kind of redemption. She is a prisoner in the garden and her body is full of poison.

Alexander The Great Essay -- essays research papers

Alexander the Great Alexander the Great, was born in June, 356 BC, in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. His parents were Philip II and Olympia. Some say that Zeus was his father but it is probably just a myth. Aristotle taught Alexander in his early teen years. He stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy. In the summer of 336 BC, Alexander's father was assassinated, and Alexander ascended to the Macedonian throne. He found himself surrounded by enemies at home and threatened by civilizations all over. But Alexander disposed of quickly of all his enemies by ordering their execution. Then he took off to Thessaly, where partisans of independence had gained ascendancy, and restored Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC as general of the Greeks in a campaign against the Persians, originally planned by his father before he croaked, he carried out a successful campaign against the defecting Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians and then again took of to Thebes, which had revolted. He took the city by storm and razed it, sparing only the temples of the gods and the house of the Greed lyric poet Pindar, and selling the surviving inhabi ¬ tants, about 8000 in number, into slavery. Alexander's promptness in crushing the revolt of The ¬ bes brought the other Greek states into instant submission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alexander began his war against Persia in th...

Ancient History Essay

Queens played great roles during the period of New kingdom Egypt. They were known as the Great Royal Wife’s of the pharaohs and contributed politically, religiously and diplomatically influencing the roles of women during this period, and even future queens. Queen Tiye was an important influence on new kingdom Egypt and was the key wife of Amenhotep III and they ruled a peaceful reign. Tiye was the daughter of Yuya which was a officer in the chariotry, priest of min and Tuya (chief of harem of Amun and min) which both had Nubian royal blood origins. Married at a young age, one year after he became pharaoh and gave her the title Great royal wife. Also gave birth to arkhenaten and other children. She greatly shaped foreign relations, religion and politics at the time. She also was greatly altered depictions of the queen in art. She was well educated, competent and complementary rather than dependant on her spouse Amenhotep III impacting the role of women during the period. Historian Robins highlights that the â€Å"king could renew himself through female principle†¦ important ritual roles† proving the queen was of key importance to the pharaoh. Tiye was Represented as the same size as her husband Amenhotep III and was considered to be a traditional queen. She was a leading figure in solar theology however more untraditional inclined changes came with iconography during her time as Great Royal Wife becoming increasingly equal to that of her husband. This proposed the idea that the role of the queen was becoming progressively more important, therefore the depiction of her in equal proportions to her husband suggests that the roles were becoming split between the pharaoh and the queen. Unlike other queens she was also frequently present in his monuments. She was besides her husband amenhotep III colossal statue in the Medinet Habu temple located in Western Thebes and was also the same size representing her equality. The cobra depicted them as powerful gods. She was glorified and praised by Amenhotep III which is proven by him building her the largest man-made pleasure lake in history, erecting a beautiful palace at one end. Art also depicted her in family scenes which previously were regarded as too intimate such as being Arm in arm(statues). Through the roles of Tiye, future queens Nefertiti and Nefertari we are able to observe the changing roles of queens influenced them and clearing path for them. The kings built temples to honour them and depicted them as goddesses. Queen Tiye played a great religious role and according to Historian Nicholas Grimal she was the personification of Maat goddess of justice and truth. She was also depicted as goddess ta weret in statues representing fertility and motherhood (mother of Egyptians). A temple was also dedicated to her in Sedianga(Nubia) meaning she was worshiped as a goddess. Commemorative and marriage scarabs were made for her publicising their marriage and promoting the pharaonic cult as everyone that attended received one meaning they would be remembered. She also participated in religious festivals such as the Sed festival. She also served as a priestess within Amun-Re suggesting that her religious roles were not extensive yet they were still an increase on the contributions to that of her predecessors. A Khan Academy Documentary by Beth Harris shows a headdress worn by Tiye that included horns solar disk, referring to the religion Atenism which is monotheistic and regal promoting the god Aten. Horns and Feathers on headdress also related to the goddess Hathor. Tiye Served for 50 years as queen advocating political stability, which was widespread and when Amenhotep III was ill she also maintained this stability. She was portrayed as the Sphinx in a pharonic stance which is evident in Tefnut. Meaning similar to the Sphinx Tiye hunts and protects people Egypt. A Steven Khan academy documentary highlighted Tiye’s stable ruling and the fact that she was important and knowledgeable, therefore her son Akhenaten depended on her and respected her, having her actively participate in politics and the affairs of royal court. She was respected and depended on, and in order to have her actively participate in politics and the affairs of the royal court, he elevated her to a goddess which is shown by the headdress she wore. (Same headdress mentioned above). Armana letters show her foreign and diplomatic power and that she conversed with hittites and mittani addressing diplomatic affairs which were a integral part of Tiye’s role and contribution. Evidence has made it clear that at least one foreign ruler wrote to her personally concerning matters of state and requesting her support. â€Å"Tushratta king of Mitanni† wrote to her personally(Amarna Letters) following death of her husband and other foreign rulers also wrote to her concerning matters of state or asking for support in requests for gold. Tushratta also wrote a letter to Queen Tiye after Akhenaten came to the throne, and in a later letter to Akhenaten, a reference to his mother is made in the opening paragraph outlining her importance to him. This illustrates the realisation of foreign powers regarding the growing importance and involvement of the queen concerning decision making in relation to Egypt, it also shows the power the queen was beginning to obtain over the pharaoh. She was also the first queen in Egypt to have name on official acts and announcement of the kings marriage to a foreign princess. The achievement, contributions and influence during the New kingdom period of Tiye differed according to their respective influences. Through the roles of Tiye, we are able to observe the changing roles of queens over time. Tiye was considered to be a traditional queen who greatly influenced queens to come by the power she held mainly politically and diplomatically. Over the time we are able to see that the roles had evolved . The roles contributions of queen Tiye during the new kingdom periods were defiantly an increase on that of queens before them, as they gained vital positions and roles as the Great Royal Wife and also achieved considerable increases in power over Egypt. Another influential Queen during this period was the wife of Akhenaten Nefertiti. She had a enormous influence on religion and politics in Egypt at the time. She was also depicted in art and played a vital role in her husbands reign and was given pharonic attributes. Nefertiti was seen to be more military minded, wearing the war crown and military skirts in images of her. She had a great religious role during the time while polytheistic tradition changed to a monotheistic ones. She supported the new monotheistic religion to such an extent that she changed her name to ‘Nefertieferuaten Nefertiti’. Many also believe she was the ‘brain’ behind the religious revolution. She Fully participated in religious ceremonies as seen in relics such as the Hewet-Benben temple in East Karnak. She made offerings to Aten like her husband and prayers were even offered to her. Nefertiti was the female principle of the trinity which the Egyptians prayed to, proving she was regarded as a god alongside Akhenaten and Aten. According to historian Anna Capel, Nefertiti wasn’t only a high priestess but acted as liaison between the people and Aten. Jimmy Dunn described them as the â€Å"primeval first pair† as Aten accessed through them influencing religion. Images of her as a goddess were found on the tomb of Akhenaten to protect him in the afterlife. In art depictions Nefertiti considered age of truth in natural state. Reliefs showed her in her natural state including her imperfections and showing her age. A new form of art by her also showed her in her natural state and allowed reveals of intimacy and informality, even affection and family scenes in which other queens had never been shown before. Her pharaonic power was shown as she was seen wearing crown of pharaohs which was regarded as controversial and contributed to the developing image of women in the royal family at the time which is a new form of art as highlighted by historian Jimmy Dunn. Politically Nefertiti was very powerful and had a great pharaonic role. Akhenaten stressed regalty by making her of equal power during processions. She was also depicted wearing the royal regalia and smiting enemies which proved her pharaonic role and was usually a symbol associated with the pharaoh. This influenced the image of women and queens during the time, impacting the traditional roles of queens, giving them more power. Many Historians such as John Harris agree that she shared a co-regency with Akhenaten towards the end of his reign, as the pharaoh Neferneferuaten as his equal. This is depicted by images of her Adjacent to Akhenaten as they received gifts. Historians also have a belief that her political role was so powerful that she was the successor Smenkhare. Nefertiti also had a diplomatic influence and was involved in political issues. This was shown through the letters of Amarna displaying communication with foreign kings and queens. She also received foreign tributes and envoys. This proves that she had the political power to interact and make vital diplomatic decisions influencing Egypt. In conclusion both Queens, Tiye and Nefertiti had vital contributions and impacts to New Kingdom Egypt as they played enormous religious, political and foreign roles and enhanced the equality between pharaohs and their queens and even women during the period.

Supply Chain Quality Management Practices

TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SUPPLY CHAIN QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Article: International Journal of Production Research †¢This paper reports the result of a comparative study of quality tools and methods adaptation by operations and supply chain managers. †¢SCQM is defined as a system based approach to performance improvement that leverages opportunities created by upstream and downstream linkages with suppliers and customers. †¢Operation management is traditional been explained by some version of an ‘inputs-transformation process- outputs’ view of the productive capability of the firms.From Quality perspective, operation managers have focused on internal activities such as process control process improvement, product design improvement and design of experiment. As a result, more and more six-sigma improvement project evolved. †¢In addition experts like Deming have long emphasized importance of customers and supplier. †¢In this paper, i t explored the difference between quality management practice of operation managers and each type of managers emphasizes supply chain managers, including what quality tools.Tool can here mean the method such as benchmarking, an approach to improving quality such as process improvement team (PIT) and leadership. Literature review and hypothesis development †¢Supply chain management has developed as a field from the integration of operations and marketing management. As a result, a linkage with upstream firms – which was once the domain of purchasing – has been elevated in importance. †¢The quality management precedence for this is found in Deming’s fourth point, ‘End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone.Instead, minimize total cost. Move towards a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust’. This has resulted in a merging of quality management and supply chain management p rinciples. †¢Supply chain management practices can result in operational benefits such as decreased production lead times, reduced costs, faster product development, and increased quality †¢In this article calling for integration of quality and supply chain management Theodorakioglu found a significant positive correlation between supplier management and total quality management.Quality has been one of the critical determines in choosing suppliers. Hence a hypothesis is developed t understand how managers differ in adopting quality tool. †¢57 quality tools are selected. Some of the tools are Benchmarking, Enterprise resource planning (ERP), Just in Time (JIT), lean, Quality awards, Six Sigma Black Belt DMAIC, Poka Yoke, basic seven tools of quality like flowcharts, Fish bone Diagram, Affinity diagram, 5-S, Problem evaluation and review technique (PERT), and Data analysis. Quality professional tools like control chart, computer aided testing (CAT), inspection, Gage R&R . †¢Some supply chain tools like customer relationship management, Complaint resolution, Supplier development, Supplier evaluation like ISO 9000, and customer benefit package. †¢Design tools like Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Computer Aided Design (CAD), Concurrent design, Quality assurance (QA), Failure mode and effects analysis(FMEA), Design of Experiment(DOE), Design for manufacture (DFM), Reliability Index, DMADV, and Robust design by Taguchi. Management tools like On the Job Training, Change Management, Human resource Management (HRM), Systems Thinking, Contingency Theory, Plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, Crosby-managing quality concept, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), Jurans – Trilogy of improvement, and Hoshin planning †¢However, these tools are a broad collection of approaches to improving quality that will provide insights to the differences between how operations and supply chain managers approach quality improvement. Methods Data for this study was gathered by inviting participants to complete a web-based survey. The survey included seven Likert scales that allowed respondent rank the extent to which they utilized various quality tools. †¢These lists are submitted to the panel of six supply chain and quality managers. Result in removal of one tool and addition of two tools in the survey. Total 57 tools are included in the survey. †¢The test was conducted with MBA students, APICS members, ISM members, and CSCMP members. Result Using SAS, it is examined difference in the utilization of quality tools between operation and managers and supply chain managers. It is computed and found the difference between mean responses of each manger. †¢A positive difference indicate – a particular tool is utilized to a greater extend between both managers. Negative differences indicate – operation managers tend to use the tool more than supply chain managers. †¢To test our hypothesis, we then ranked the quality tool means and performed a Kruskal Wallis test to analyze differences in ranks where the treatment was type of manager.Conclusion †¢Tools of high importance to both Supply Chain and Operation Managers: On the job training, Data Analysis, Supply chain management, Customer relationship management, Project Management and survey. †¢Tools important primarily to Supply Chain Mangers: Leadership, Benchmarking, Complaint resolution, Supplier management, Change management, ERP, Awards, Design for the environment, Six sigma, and Deming. †¢Tools important primarily to Operation Mangers: QFD, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Testing (CAT), Prototyping, ISO 9000, Design for Manufacture, PDCA, Gage R&R, and 5-S. Tools of low importance to both Supply Chain and Operations Managers: DMAIC, Crosby, DMADV, MBNQA, SERVQUAL, Juran, and Hoshin. †¢There are few surprises. The low rankings for the Baldrige award and the six-sigma methodologies were somewh at surprising. It could be that DMAIC and DMADV is more the domain of six sigma black belts. Since these black belts tend to be more specialized, both managers may not utilize these processes in daily problem solving and decision-making. Reflection on the identified differences reveals that operations managers tend to manage supply chain relationship through procedural methods such as ISO 9000 and supplier evaluation. Supply chain managers tend to adopt more collaborative approaches such as supplier development, awards, and complaint resolution processes. As the field of operations moves more in a supply chain direction, this could change. Supply chain professionals have long emphasized collaboration and this has become part of the supply chain culture.

Night of the Living Dead Essay

American  independent  black-and-white  horror film  and  cult film  directed by  George A. Romero   Night of the Living Dead  was heavily criticized during its release because of its explicit content, but received critical acclaim and was selected by the  Library of Congress  for preservation in the  National Film Registry  as a film deemed â€Å"culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. reviewers cited the film as groundbreaking. Pauline Kael  called the film â€Å"one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made — and when you leave the theatre you may wish you could forget the whole horrible experience. .  . . The film’s grainy, banal seriousness works for it — gives it a crude realism†. [62]  A  Film Daily  critic commented, â€Å"This is a pearl of a horror picture which exhibits all the earmarks of a  sleeper. Since the release, critics and film historians have seen  Night of the Living Dead  as a subversive film that critiques 1960s American society, international  Cold War  politics and domestic  racism. Elliot Stein of  The Village Voice  saw the film as an ardent critique of American involvement in  Vietnam, arguing that it â€Å"was not set in  Transylvania, but Pennsylvania — this was  Middle America  at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging inVietnam Pauline Kael,  5001 Nights at the Movies  (Henry Holt and Company, 1991 Elliot Stein, â€Å"The Dead Zones: ‘George A. Romero’ at the American Museum of the Moving Image†,  The Village Voice(New York), January 8–14, 2003 http://www. filmsite. org/posters/psyc2. jpghttp://www. filmsite. rg/reddot. gif  Alfred Hitchcock’s powerful, complex psychological thriller,  Psycho  (1960) is the â€Å"mother† of all modern horror suspense films – it single-handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen ‘slashers’ with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings The master of suspense skillfully manipulates and g uides the audience into identifying with the main character, luckless victim Marion (a Phoenix real-estate secretary), and then with that character’s murderer – a crazy and timid taxidermist named Norman (a brilliant typecasting performance by Anthony Perkins). Hitchcock’s techniques voyeuristically implicate the audience with the universal, dark evil forces and secrets present in the film. Psycho  also broke all film conventions by displaying its leading female protagonist having a lunchtime affair in her sexy white undergarments in the first scene; also by photographing a toilet bowl – and flush – in a bathroom (a first in an American film), and killing off its major ‘star’ Janet Leigh a third of the way into the film . Film reviews, for instance, will sometimes take up political or sociological concerns in the course of issuing formal-aesthetic judgments. Night of the Living Deaddramatizes the bewildering and uncanny transformation of human beings into non-human forms. Indeed, like all metamorphosis narratives, the film carries uncomfortable messages about identity — about what it means to be a human being and about the terror of alienation. The film’s power to unsettle its audience also derives from its focus on the taboo subject of cannibalism (which it depicts far more graphically than previous zombie films). In the eighteenth century, the English ironist Jonathan Swift (1996) wroteA Modest Proposal,a darkly satirical attack on the privations suffered by the Irish people at the hands of the English in which the author ironically proposed that infants be killed and eaten in order to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland. Night of the Living Deadalso uses cannibalism as a metaphor for exploitative power relations. Thus, while it deals with a quite different set of social problems, Romero’s film can also be seen a sinister satire that exploits an outrageous premise in the interests of social and political critique. In his book  Understanding Popular Culture,  John Fiske writes: It is not violence per se that characterises popular culture, but only that violence whose structure makes it into a metaphor for the distribution of power in society. Fiske, 1989: 137) According to Fiske, then, violence is a metaphor for inequitable (and presumably unjust) power relations in society. It is important, however, to understand this point in historical context. Violence became more commonly depicted in films and on television in the late 1960s, during a socially turbulent period when social hierarchies were being challenged   Night of the Living Dead  draws on Alfred Hitchcock’s  Psycho  (1 960), especially in its film craft: the use of shadow and camera angles. Night of the Living Dead  (and, indeed, its worthy equels) reminds us of something that the recent outbreak of zombie films may have caused us to forget: the oppositional potential of popular culture. In this sense, the film is an undead classic that can still tell us something about who we are — and warn us about what we might turn into. Waller, Gregory A. (1986),  The Living and the Undead  (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press) Swift, Jonathan (1996),  A Modest Proposal and other Satirical Works  (New York: Dover) like most genre movies, reflect the values and ideology of the culture that produced them. Don Siegel’s  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  (1956), for example, about an invasion of alien seed-pods that replace people with emotional replicas, is typically discussed in relation to American contemporary culture in the 1950s. Unlike earlier horror films,  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  imagines infection on an apocalyptic rather than personal scale, as in the vampire myth, a clear reflection of Cold War fears of nuclear destruction. But even as Americans felt threatened by possible nuclear war and Communist infiltration, the film also expresses a fear of creeping conformism at home. Invasion  makes the commonplace seem creepy, and in the climax a mob of plain-looking townsfolk pursue Miles and Becky out of town in a horrific evocation of the kind of witch-hunting mentality witnessed in the United States just a few years before the film’s releaseRead more:  Critical debates – Horror Films – actor, children, cinema  http://www. filmreference. com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Horror-Films-CRITICAL-DEBATES. html#ixzz1qab4D5B2

Time and Life

Everyone wants to be successful in their own, different way. It is a mutual dream shared by all, to be rich and famous. In my perspective being successful is much different, because money is not everything. To make goals and follow your dreams will lead you down the road to success. Their will be bumps along the way, and you might have to take the harder road, but if you are willing to work hard and never give up, you will be successful. Like everyone, I have many dreams and goals that I would like to see myself accomplish during my life. I want to go to a great college and discover myself, what it truly means to be me.Then I will decide what I would like to spend the rest of my life doing because I honestly believe that, at my age, I do not contain within me the experiences necessary to determine what I want to be or what I want to do with my life. Given the opportunity, I would go into the ? eld of science to study biology or engineering to ? gure out how and why things work, livin g or not. But who knows? I might end up in a totally different ? eld, because wherever my heart goes, I am sure to follow. I want to go to a top school to start with a strong support in the world and to use this foundation to build my life upon.If the building blocks of my future are too small, I will be con? ned to certain things and not others that I would be able to reach with a bigger, sturdier base in knowledge. This will create limitless opportunities that may result in a great job. I want a job that pays well enough so that I could support a family, if I so choose. I want enough money to pay for little things in life, those that create great memories, but not so much that it will go to my head and make me a person that has worked so hard just to see himself become corrupt and sel? h. Above all I want to thank my parents for starting me off in the right direction, they gave up so much for me, because they instilled these values in me and made me who I am today. They have helpe d me this far, and they will help me in the years to come. Without them I would be nothing, and I believe that this deserves much more than simple thanks. My decisions will affect my future, whether it be the near future or in the long run. Seeing as I cannot predict the future, I will just have to work hard and make the right decisions.The right thing is not always the easiest thing to do, but is necessary if you want to reach your goals. The only obstacle that I see in the way of my future is myself. I can do anything I want if only I put my mind to it. But if I make the wrong choice and slack off, it is only that much harder to reach your goals. Another thing between my future and myself is time. Everything changes over time so it is only natural to believe that my short-term goals will too. But the things time cannot change are life long goals.The things you see yourself doing when you sit down and think of all the wondrous things in this world that makes you think what a miracl e life really is. Life is a gift bestowed upon us, and it is our choice to determine where it goes. My goals are what make up my life, what keep me determined to ? ght for the next day and the drive behind everything I do. My family plays a huge part in who I am, and my values. I want more than everything in my life to be successful, and for those I care about to be successful in their lives too.