Who do you think was the most important figure in Russian history – Lenin or Stalin?

Both leaders play important roles in the Russian history. Lenin gave birth to Communism in Russia and helped it survive during its first critical years. He set up a one-party rule, his style of leadership was borrowed with only slight alterations by six consecutive leaders and command economy with Communism lasted till 1991. Stalin continued along Lenin's way, but took Russia more into ‘extremes'. Out of the backward Russia he created an influential and industrialised totalitarian state feared by the West. He expanded the Soviet Unions' borders up to Eastern Europe and helped in the spread of Communism right 100 km from the most dominant capitalist state, the USA. He introduced Collectivisation, helped Russia win the 2nd World War, but at the same time killed millions of people, most of them during the Purges. But could all this have happened without Lenin? It is possible that without Lenin Communism would have never emerged in Russia. If he wouldn't have returned from Finland twice, first to raise the Bolshevik's popularity – from a barely known Party to the third most influential one – and the second time to persuade other fellow party members to seize power, then the Bolsheviks might have never won enough support or might have failed to seize the right moment for the overthrow of the Provisional Government. Considering that Communism lasted for more than 70 year in Russia, his importance in the Russian history seems to be enormous. Furthermore, Lenin helped Communism to survive in perhaps the most critical times of a new regime: right after it has been set up. He closed down the Constituent Assembly and made peace with Germany so he can concentrate on Russia's internal affairs. During the Civil War in 1918 he made some very tactful decisions, like letting Trotsky to lead the Red Army and introducing War Communism to supply the soldiers. From all these, we can easily see that Lenin's role in the set up of Communism is absolutely crucial, making him a very important figure in the Russian history. Stalin had a huge impact on Russia as well. After emerging as the new ruler in 1922, he had great plans for Russia, which mostly were fulfilled. He industrialised Russia at an incredible pace and introduced Collectivisation. Both of these new reforms were carried out by 5 of his successors. However, Lenin was the one who first introduced a state planned economy, and quite a strict one, especially during the Civil War. Therefore Stalin's ideas were ‘ borrowed' from Lenin, proving that without Lenin Stalin might have never introduced the same reforms and thus have the impact that it created. Stalin had a great importance in Russia's history because he expanded greatly the boundaries of the country so they included 5 whole countries from Eastern Europe and the Baltic Countries up till 1990. With this he managed to increase the hostility between Russia and Western Capitalist Countries, who felt threatened by the rapidly expanding Communism throughout the world. Thus it can be seen that Stalin played an important role in the Cold War, especially in the early stages. However, this rivalry between Communist and Capitalist countries was commenced by Lenin, who with his idea of ‘Permanent Revolution' induced fear in the mind of the capitalist countries' leaders. Also during the Russian Civil war in 1918, the Red Army fought against foreign troops as well, who were trying to restore the old Tsarist rule. Therefore Stalin didn't start the rivalry between Capitalists and Russia (Communists); he simply carried on what Lenin started a longer time ago. During the 1930s Stalin began the Cult of Personality, when all types of media and communication glorified Stalin and the achievements of the USSR as an influential Communist power. The result of these was that many generation's minds were indoctrinated by the extensive use of propaganda. However, even thou Lenin didn't glorify himself as a God-like being, he introduced widespread propaganda much earlier in Russia during the Civil War. Stalin introduced the Purges to eliminate any kind of opposition and to assure his place as an unquestionable leader. During his ruling period the secret police was very active, arresting, executing or sending to exile any people who opposed or might oppose the current government. In this way millions of lives were lost, and the remaining surviving ones lived in fear and terror. This style of ruling, by keeping the nation under a strict, tight control was introduced by Lenin, who also made use of the secret police to calm down any possible resistance against the new regime. The same thing happened with religion as well. As a good Communist Lenin forbade the practice of religion, and Stalin – just like Lenin – continued the suppression of religious freedom. Therefore we can see that Stalin had an important role in the Russian history, but if we look more closely, it is easy to spot that he just followed Lenin's path. All this prove, that even thou Stalin might have had a greater impact on Russia, Lenin had a greater importance than him, because he was the one who was mostly involved in the set up of Communism and putting it into practice using different new reforms. Ultimately, Stalin might have never emerged as a leader if Lenin wouldn't have gave him the position as the general secretary of the Communist Party, which allowed Stalin to win the power struggle. Therefore his importance in the Russian history is less than Lenin's.

Health Expenditure Poverty Essay

Condition where people’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. According to World Bank: Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life. According to United Nations: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to food and clothing a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. Type of Poverty: Poverty is generally of two types which are as follow. Absolute poverty Absolute poverty is synonymous with destitution and occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources (measured in terms of calories or nutrition) to support a minimum level of physical health. Absolute poverty means about the same everywhere, and can be eradicated as demonstrated by some countries. Relative poverty Relative poverty occurs when people do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standards as determined by a government (and enjoyed by the bulk of the population) that vary from country to country, sometimes within the same country. Relative poverty occurs everywhere, is said to be increasing, and may never be eradicated. Psychological Cause of poverty Poverty is regarded as a vicious circle. It is the product of different causes. Some of the thinkers have attributed it to a single cause but as poverty is a multi dimensional problem, multiple factors are responsible for it. According to hennery George, the main cause of poverty is the personal ownership and monopoly of individual on the land. He writes â€Å"in great cities where land is so valuable that it is measured by foot you will find extreme of poverty and of luxury.† Marx said the main causes of poverty are the exploitation laborers by the capitalists. Malthus said, poverty increases because of the fact that, while the food production increases in arithmetical progression, the population increase in geometric progression. These views lay emphasis on a singular cause of poverty but modern social scientists consider that poverty is the result of multiple factors. Personal factors: Personal factors play important role in economic status of a person. In this modern scientific era, one may not believe in the fate but no one can deny the importance of personal capacity and efforts in his life style and life pattern. The important personal factors cause poverty is as follows. i) Sickness: Due to sickness a person is unable to work or his income decreases. A major portion of his income is spent on the cure of the diseases. Sickness increases poverty. Hunter has rightly pointed out that â€Å"Poverty and sickness form a vicious partnership each helping the other to add to the miseries of most unfortunate of mankind.† ii) Mental disease: Mental disease and frustration also increase poverty. Owing to this, a man looses the balance of his mind by which he is incapable of doing anything. So his family becomes poor and it aggravates poverty. iii) Accident: Accident of any kind may make a person incapable of working, as a result of which he becomes a parasite on society or his income decreases. When income decreases poverty increases. iv) Idleness and extravagance: India is a rich country inhabited by poor. Idle and lazy persons do not work although they are able to work. Hence they remain poor. There are also extravagant persons who can waste any amount of money in no time. So the cause of poverty is not the lower income but excess of expenditure over income. Such persons also spent lavishly during festive occasions like marriage ceremony, many social religious festivals etc, and they always remain poor. v) Demoralizations: Due to lower morale some person are addicted to drinking, prostitution, gambling and other social evils. Such persons spent high proportion of their income on these evil habits and finally become pauper. Biological factors: Rapid growth of population is one of the most important causes of poetry. Malthus has pointed out that the geometric progress of population is the root cause of poverty. Due to the development of medical science, reduction of famine, control of epidemics and natural calamities death rate has decreased. At the same time birth rate has not been effectively controlled. If a man has too many children his standard of living is definitely lowered and he becomes relatively poor.† Besides, other factors like the power of fertility of Indian women, early age of marriage are also indirectly responsible for poverty. Global Distribution of Resources Many experts agree that the legacy of colonialism accounts for much of the unequal distribution of resources in the world economy. In many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In recent decades most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with industry and technology with varying levels of success. Some nations have become fairly wealthy, including the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Many developing countries, however, lack essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through formal education and training. They also often lack the infrastructure provided by, for example, transportation systems and power-generating facilities. Because these things are necessary for the development of industry, developing countries generally must rely on trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much. Some social scientists argue that wealthier developed countries continue to practice a form of colonialism, known as neocolonialism. The affluence of these countries is based to a large extent on favorable trade with the developing world. Developed countries have been able to get inexpensive natural resources from poorer countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including oil for power, ores and minerals for manufacturing durable goods, and manufactured goods made by low-wage workers in factories operated by multinational corporations. This practice contributes to the dependency of poorer countries while not raising their standards of living. Economical factors: The most fundamental cause of poverty is economics. The important economical factors are as follows. i) Backwardness of agriculture: Indian Agriculture is carried on with primitive techniques. Due to the absence of modern machines, tools, implements, improved seeds, manures, inadequate irrigation facilities, constant fragmentation of land and exploitation by the landlords etc. Agricultural production hampers to a great extent. Besides these our agricultural system is not sufficient to provide adequate number of jobs or better price for agricultural products. This increase poverty among the rural farmers. ii) Slow and defective industrialization: In India industrialization is taking place at a snail’s pace, due to inadequate finance, paucity of skilled and technically trained personnel, irregular supply of power and raw materials etc. Therefore it is not possible in India to provide employment in large scale tot he persons who are willing to work. Further the concentration of industries in urban areas also deprives the rural poor from getting employment in industries. iii) Unequal distribution: Distribution of wealth is unequal in India. Wealth is mostly concentrated in the hands of a few. These people after an optimum of investment keep the wealth in iron chests. On the other hand, the people who would have invested it for productive purpose do not get it. This leaves a majority of population in this state of unemployment. iv) Unwise economic policy: Indian is rich in respect of natural resources, but poor in making proper utilization of it. Till now we are not able to make optimum utilization of resources as a result of which it remains unutilized or misused. Sometimes due to defective policy of the government people remain poor. Psychological effects of poverty Psychological research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our nation’s children. Poverty impacts children within their various contexts at home, in school, and in their neighborhoods and communities. Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and under resourced schools which adversely impact our nation’s children. Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socio emotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays. These effects are compounded by the barriers children and their families encounter when trying to access physical and mental health care. Economists estimate that child poverty costs an estimated $500 billion a year to the U.S. economy; reduces productivity and economic output by 1.3 percent of GDP; raises crime and increases health expenditure Poverty and academic achievement Poverty has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children, especially during early childhood. Chronic stress associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely affect children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability to learn. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2008, the dropout rate of students living in low-income families was about four and one-half times greater than the rate of children from higher-income families (8.7 percent versus 2.0 percent). The academic achievement gap for poorer youth is particularly pronounced for low-income African American and Hispanic children compared with their more affluent White peers. Poverty and psychosocial outcomes Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems. Some behavioral problems may include impulsiveness, difficulty getting along with peers, aggression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder. ïÆ'ËœSome emotional problems may include feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Poverty and economic hardship is particularly difficult for parents who may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes for children. Unsafe neighborhoods may expose low-income children to violence which can cause a number of psychosocial difficulties. Violence exposure can also predict future violent behavior in youth which places them at greater risk of injury and mortality and entry into the juvenile justice system. Underresourced schools in poorer communities struggle to meet the learning needs of their students and aid them in fulfilling their potential. Inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty by making it more difficult for low-income children to lift themselves and future generations out of poverty. Violence According to experts, many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of which is prostitution, as a means of survival and economic desperation. Deterioration of living conditions can often compel children to abandon school in order to contribute to the family income, putting them at risk of being exploited, according to ECPAT International, an NGO designed to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For example, in Zimbabwe, a number of girls are turning to prostitution for food to survive because of the increasing poverty. In one survey, 67% of children from disadvantaged inner cities said they had witnessed a serious assault, and 33% reported witnessing a homicide. 51% of fifth graders from New Orleans (median income for a household have been found to be victims of violence, compared to 32% in Washington, DC (mean income for a household

Progression of Humans

The Dawn of A New Day Preface The creation of man begins with † In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth†. One sentence that if proven correct, depicts that a certain scientific theory taught generation after generation is completely and indefinitely ludicrous. If this sentence is wrong, various religions cease to exist. Ah, but does Christianity need to be proven? In our minds, the correct answer to this question is no, to believe is to see. But as human beings, sinners in the eye of God, to see is to believe.Now stay tit me here. As the mundane world revolves around the simplistic idea that happiness can be achieved by buying the world, certain people rise among the filth. Go-getters. Transcendentalists, if you may. These people are the true â€Å"Hipsters† among the conforming young generation set upon being differently the same. They are the people who pay little or no attention to the world of Consumerism evolving around them. They may be differ ent; hell they might even be bizarre. The point is that these are the people who change lives.They are the people that can truly make difference in this god-forsaken planet we call home. They may not be of faith, but they can be compared to the disciples of Jesus Christ. Now back in the day, the disciples weren't some group of â€Å"religious freaks†. They were not celebrities. They weren't even liked. These disciples were the people who stood up for what they believed in, facing both death and the fate of being cast away as outsiders. You see, it doesn't take much for change to occur. It Just takes a person who has the courage to partake in disorder.There are four point two babies born per second. One point seven deaths per second. As life goes on, 27 phones are sold per second. One point six cars produced per second, and 168 tons of foods are produced per second. Life goes by in seconds. Every minute you are aging. Day by day you are changing. An hour passes by, how many pe ople have died in that hour? The point of this crazy numbering is to show you how fast moments of your life pass you by. There is no way of knowing the exact moment of when your life will come to an abrupt stop. You will cease to exist.Life will end, as you know it. Will you be remembered? Will the memories your loved ones have from you be worth remembrance? The days you spend locked away from the majestic wonders of the world are limited. Live your life the way you want to live it. You only live one life, so you better make it worth living. The harsh reality of our situation on this planet is that one day it will be your time to go. Will you make a difference? As generations pass by, the improvements we make to society are crucial to the progression of humans.

EBay, Net-a-porter, and Topshop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

EBay, Net-a-porter, and Topshop - Essay Example The transaction at eBay is all through auction, and the auction period can be set for 3, 5 or 7 days at the discretion of the seller. Once the successful bidder is decided based on the highest bid through the auction, e-mail is sent automatically to both the parties. The contract has to be concluded within three days, and in the event that the contract is not concluded within the stipulated time, the seller has the option to start a fresh contract with the purchaser that has suggested the second highest bid. Â  The purchaser has the right and option to inquire about the quality, delivery method and period, payment and condition of the auction products before placing the bid. This results from the philosophy of eBay that they do not guarantee the quality of the products auctioned at eBay. They leave this to the two parties concerned. eBay only performs the role that connects the seller and purchaser and is not concerned about the items enlisted in the auction. They get their fees according to the rules set, such as registration fee of the auction advertisements and the final value fee after sales from the seller, in case the transaction is made as per agreement Since eBay does not wholesale or retail the products directly, the transportation, package, and management related to the inventory do not arise. Â  There is no cost in participating in the auction to purchase the product as the membership is free. There may be no visitors if cost is levied to participate in the auction. eBay auctions are open even to the nonmembers, and in case they want to participate in the auction, all that is required is to register as a member. Â  Anyone who has an email ID can have access to eBay or have a virtual account.

Galileo's Siderius Nuncius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Galileo's Siderius Nuncius - Essay Example k became a sensation that made Galileo famous and well-known in his time, as well as initiating further discoveries of how celestial bodies such as the rocky planets, the Earth’s moon, Jupiter and its satellites, the Sun’s spots as well as discovering larger numbers of stars in constellations such as Orion and the Pleiades that cannot be easily seen by naked eyes through a compound telescope (13). While Galileo’s discoveries stirred controversy with the Catholic Church by disproving the scriptures regarding how planets, the sun, and other celestial bodies orbit the Earth, his method of observing the movement of planets with satellites, mainly Jupiter and its four moons allowed for the support of the Copernican theory of planetary movement, and initialising the disproving of the traditionally-accepted Aristotelian theory of a geocentric view of the cosmos. Galileo reported his initial observations of three bright bodies around the planet Jupiter, which he noticed to change positions in the course of a few months, from January to March of 1610, but remarkably remained in a straight line all throughout the time of observation (64). He begun observing the large planet around early January, wherein he records the appearance of three bright stars orbiting around Jupiter, but do not have similar sizes, and in which Galileo describes as such: â€Å"the more eastern one and the western one appeared a bit larger than the remaining one† (65). After a few days, Galileo observed another star which was hidden behind Jupiter, emerging and trailing in a straight line along the other three stars that were initially discovered a few days prior, in which Galileo describes the alignment to be similar to the alignment of the zodiac constellations (66). After observing Jupiter and its Medicean stars (later found out to be its satellites or moons) f or a period of three months, Galileo was able to compare the stars’ orbit to the Earth’s and Mars’ moons, which change phases at

Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethnicity - Essay Example These problems when studied under scientific observation can help in countering the problem. The ethnic groups are so diverse and widely distributed; this diversity leads to various ethnic conflicts and problems. Today, Ethnic conflict is recognized as one of the major social conflicts internationally. In order to address the problem properly and dig out its solution there is a need of clear understanding of theories and concepts that can solve the conflict. This paper observes the contemporary conceptual and theoretical debates that are related to the ethnic clash. It shows some advantages and disadvantages of the disputes that have prevailed in the recent times in the ethnic conflict analysis. Social sciences scholars view the concept in different ways; some of them consider it an entity that is objective and has its own characteristic boundaries, while other social science scholars view it from subjective aspect vulnerable to change. (Hussein) Viewed from the objective perspective, ethnic group is a category of the population of humans that shares some attributes as common. These attributes can be in common in the form of language, culture, origin etc. this common entity also proves as distinguished characteristic based on one common entity. Subjective perspective sees these groups as a flexible and changing phenomenon which can be doomed to the alteration through the interaction of an ethnic group. The prevailing circumstances determine the information and symbol of an ethnic group which is socially constructed as fluid identity. Another issue that makes the understanding of the concept difficult is the issue of having different derivatives for the same meaning. The world race, ethnicity and culture and their various derivatives are very familiar. People tend to confuse these terms with each other. In the absence of appropriate analytical vocabulary it is not able to

Partnership With The Patient Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Partnership With The Patient - Essay Example Upon the arrival of the consultant, a CT scan was carried out and came out alright. The respiratory team was as well called to assess the patient.  When the hand-over was done the following day, I was again allocated the patient for continuity of care. The patient’s condition remained the same. The patient’s family was then involved to speak to the patient in mother tongue to see if it was going to help in bringing back patient. The respiratory team did a follow-up and the GCS improved through the involvement of family and healthcare teams. In the process of working with the patient, I was able to develop my understanding of respiration and the procedures of a patient being in the coma.  At about 17:00, the patient came out of the coma, the GCS went back to 14/15 and the neurological observation was fine. Even though the patient was not speaking, I was pleased with the result of the shift worked.  I clean my hands every time I attend to a patient and use the steri lizers to make sure the patient is not infected. This includes thorough cleaning and removing of blood spillages and any other body fluids to ensure the maximum safety of patients. Without cleaning spillages, infections will spread to the patient (Department of Health 2003).  I ensured that every time I cleaned and stored at appropriate place the care equipment so as to also reduce the spread of infections. Equipment is very useful and important. If it not cleaned and kept well, it can put the life of patient at risk (Burnard & Gill 2008). I utilised personal equipment also for protection to prevent infections. To further prevent infections, I ensure that I dispose of any waste during my daily routine of providing healthcare support.  Used linen always spreads infections in most cases and to prevent that, I was extra cautious when removing it and disposing (Naidoo & Wills 2005).  

On Dreams by Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On Dreams by Aristotle - Essay Example Among other phenomena of life, Aristotle interpreted dreams too. Early Greek impression of dreams was that they are from God and are seen during sleep to provide guidance from divine spirits. Aristotle, on the contrary, studied dreams in a more rational way, by saying that dreams are not from God as animals can have dreams too; rather they are the reflections of our daily life activities. He said that we can interpret dreams analogous to the reflections seen in water. According to him, all of the external effects are nullified when we are asleep, but our internal keeps open its eyes and remain aware of our general activities and thoughts, which then we see as a dream. Dreams are mostly consists of fantasies is due to the fact that our common sense does not work while we are asleep, thus we cannot distinguish between a reality and a fantasy in our dreams. He correctly recognized that what we see or hear in our dreams is quite different than what we actually perceive and think. Apart f rom internal awareness, dreams can also be a mixture of events we experience while awakening, thus we dream these events as we want the things to happen in actual. He interpreted this by using the term â€Å"lucid dreaming†, which means to have a clear view in dreams and he explained that due to our unconscious who remains asleep, we can see dreams clearly, but these dreams can be termed as an after-image of everything we go through in day time (On Dreams By Aristotle. 2011, Bixler. Thomas. 1998). Aristotle also claimed that not everybody dreams during sleep, the very likely case is of children who may never dream. He also said that we have dreams during sleep because we are in a sense gets cut-off with the rest of happenings around us. In this process, our sensory organs also respond less than the time when we are awake. These organs develop the after images of objects which remained in-touch with any of the sensory organ in day’s activity. These after images then com bine with our imagination and create dreams. When we are asleep and dreaming, we are thinking as this is the actual reality because according to Aristotle, all logics of real world like reason or judgment do not exist. But sometimes it happens too that dream become an illusion. It happens when we become able to differentiate between the reality and our dream and recognize dream as a dream itself. In addition to this, he also claimed that dreams reflect the condition of health of a person and can be used as a source to determine and cure illness, if any. Many doctors and physicians who followed him proved this by treating their patients in the light of this theory (Aristotle, Gallop. 1996). By reading all these views of Aristotle, I personally agree with him. Most of the times I myself dreamt of such things which I want to happen or occur, and these things keep residing in my thoughts until either I achieve the goal or it does not come up with me. Aristotle’s overall interpret ation is exactly according to human psychology, dreams are not from divine forces, they are there to make us certain about our wanting and needs, and they definitely reflect all activities which happen during whole day. I myself have almost the same views regarding dreams, but the article made me clearer and provided me more knowledge in interpreting my own dreams. Dreams are natural to occur, most of us have dreams in sleep, it is not at all

The Current U.S. Economic Crisis and Potential Fixes Essay

The Current U.S. Economic Crisis and Potential Fixes - Essay Example The outbreak of the recent sub-prime crises came after warning signals of write-downs in the value of mortgages late last year6. House prices in the U.S witnessed an unusual growth between 1997 and 2005. For example, prices increased by approximately 85% during this period. The period 2001 and 2005 witnessed the highest rates of appreciation7. Sub-prime delinquencies and foreclosures were therefore mitigated by house price appreciations during these years. This is so because borrowers facing difficulties to make regular mortgage payments could depend on the appreciation of the value of their property to solve their financial problems by refinancing the mortgage and withdrawing cash from the increased equity in the house thereby sustaining the new mortgage for a while. Borrowers could repay the principal by selling off the property8. Appreciation in property prices therefore significantly improved the performance of sub-prime loans9. However, Ellis (2007) argues that house prices began to decline in 2006, and as at October 2007, prices were down by approximately 3.2% of their peak in the second quarter of 2006. Banks and financial institutions were expected to face an uphill earnings battle early this year. "certainly, we will not be at the levels of profits we saw within the last 12 months". This is a quote by Mark Batty, a financial services analyst at PNC wealth Management Philadelphia, which manages about $77billion of assets10. According Ellis (2007) investment banks and brokerages in the S&P 500 such as Goladman Sach a member of the Fortune 500 and Merrill Lynch a fortune 500 member as well were expecting to experience a 10% decrease in earnings growth in the fourth quarter of 2006. Diversified Financial firms like Citigroup... From the report it is clear that  sub-prime delinquencies and foreclosures were therefore mitigated by house price appreciations during these years. This is so because borrowers facing difficulties to make regular mortgage payments could depend on the appreciation of the value of their property to solve their financial problems by refinancing the mortgage and withdrawing cash from the increased equity in the house thereby sustaining the new mortgage for a while. Borrowers could repay the principal by selling off the property.This essay stresses that  banks are currently facing declining demand for mortgages and home equity loans as well as rising illiquidity and foreclosures among home owners. Bank of America recently announced its intention to get out of the wholesale mortgage market and it is planning to retrench 700 workers following a huge drop in earnings. The demand for asset-backed loans such as commercial paper has witnessed a drop. Financial services firms depended a lot on real estates as a means of backing their loans to debtors. Companies and financial institutions rely on these loans to raise short-term loans and a fall in demand implies that earnings to financial institutions will remain under pressure.  The evidence suggests a significant relationship between â€Å"policy-induced† driving up of U.S silver and Chinese exchange rate appreciation and price deflation. The reversal of the silver flow into Shangai led to a credit crunch in the city.

Night by Elie Weisel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Night by Elie Weisel - Essay Example The story opens up to the feelings of Eliezer, his faith in God, and how his relationship particularly changed with his father throughout the novel. As Eliezer goes on to suffer some of the worst scenarios of the holocaust, he develops a strange relationship with his father. The only perception of his father is what he narrates himself, thus the readers do not know what the father thinks or feels. Throughout the novel, it is evident that his father, Shlomo, remains a constant factor that is with him at all times. His father is an old, emotional man, who loved Eliezer and is totally dependent on him for support. As the story begins, Eliezer starts to suffer at the hands of the Nazis, and that slowly gets him to lose his faith in God. He and his father survive the severe conditions together and he helps his old father as much as he can. Even though the cruelties have led Eliezer to lose faith in God and trust in all the people around him, he manages to maintain the bond of love that he has for his father. He thinks of his father and cares for him as he says â€Å"I was thinking of my father. He must have suffered more than I did† (Wiesel 56). Even though he sees many people in his camp that beat their fathers and abuses them out of frustration, he controls his fears and lets the father-son relationship be the factor that keeps him struggling. He also prays to the Lord to give him strength to never do what other children have done to their fathers. However, there is a time in the story when Eliezer explains his experience with some worse conditions. He faces intense situations which breaks him to pieces and takes away all the love, care, patience, and faith from his heart. In fact, there are many moments in the story when Eliezer describes his numb feeling towards his father and then how he tries to wash it away. At one occasion he says â€Å"I stood petrified. What

Employee Safety, Health, and Welfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee Safety, Health, and Welfare - Essay Example Thirty days before the leave, a notice should be given to the employer, or in case of emergency, as soon as possible. Employers can also ask for a medical certificate of the employee, spouse, and son, relative or of whoever has a serious illness that causes the leave. Upon the return of any employee from a leave, his position, benefits, salary and other conditions should still be the same. ( U.S. Office of Personnel Management) Accidents can never be avoided and it comes very unexpectedly. That is why the worker's compensation law was imposed to ensure the medical support that an employee will receive in case of an accident. The worker's compensation law has several benefits available depending on the different factors such as the graveness of the injury, the ability of the worker in his work, the level of his disability whether it will be permanent or temporarily only, the availability of his job, and the need for health assistance. The compensation is usually calculated as two-thirds of the gross average weekly salary of the employee. (Moorehead) One type of benefit includes the medical treatment for the job injury or disease which is only available while recuperating and have'nt reached the maximum recovery. For a case of an intense injury or disease, medical benefits may last a lifetime. The employer is resposible for all the medical expenses of the injured employee including the health services, supplies, medicines, and other necessary care without deductible pay from the employee. Temporary weekly benefits willl be granted while the worker is unable to work because of his injury or disease and will end when he returned to work or when the doctor certifies that he has recovered. The compensation will not be paid in the first week of the temporary total disability unless it resulted a disability of more than fourteen days, but the compensation will be paid from the date of disability. (Moorehead) When an employee has reached his maximum healing but still unable to work, such as when you injure your eyes, back and other body parts that will not function as good as before, permanent partial disability benefits should be granted with the appropriate percentage loss or malfunctioning of the body parts. Limits on compensation depends on the body part that is not functioning well and to the empployee's weekly compensation rate. This is paid together with the temporary total disability benefits. (Moorehead) In case of a very severe injury that it is no longer enabling the employee to be engaged in any kinds of work, a permanent total benefit is entitled to him wherein he will be given a five hundred weeks of compensation plus a lifetime medical treatment for his injury. If unluckily, the employee died within two years of disability, or while the total disability continues or within six years after the accident, the relatives of the diseased employee should receive 66.67 percent of his weekly wages for a period of 5five hundred weeks. (Moorehead) The Occupational Safety and Health Act

As Psychology Locus of Control Essay Example for Free

As Psychology Locus of Control Essay Discuss the role of locus of control on independent behaviour. (12 marks) Locus of control refers to a person’s perception of personal control over their own behaviour. There are two types of locus of control; internal and external. Internal locus of control occurs when individuals feel they are in control of their behaviour and are responsible for their actions. External locus of control occurs when individuals feel their behaviour is controlled by external forces (e. g. luck or fate) and they are not responsible for their own actions. Those with internal locus of control are more likely to show independent behaviour and resist the pressures to conform or obey whereas those with external locus of control are more likely to obey and conform. High internals do not rely on the opinions of others. They are better able to resist coercion and are more achievement-orientated. High internal locus of control has been linked to leadership and individuals with high internal locus of control are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Anderson and Schneier found that group members possessing an internal locus of control were more likely to emerge as leaders in their groups. This may be because individuals who take responsibility for their own actions feel that they can cause changes in their environment, including the behaviour of those around them. There is lots of research evidence to support locus of control. Oliner and Oliner found that people who had gone against the majority and protected the Jews from the Nazis tended to score higher on measures of internal locus of control. This means they believed they had influence over events in their life including success and failures. It may be this that made them independent. Also, Elms and Milgram found that the people that were disobedient in Milgram’s study of obedience shows higher internal locus of control and social responsibility. Avtigis did a meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationship between locus of control and conformity and found high scores of external locus of control were more likely to conform than those with a low score. The average correlation between locus of control and conformity was 0. 37. This suggests that there are higher rates of conformity shown in external locus of control when compared to internal locus of control. There are a number of problems with using a meta-analysis. The studies are secondary data that the researcher has compiled. This means the study could suffer from researcher bias as they may have only found studies that supported their view. Also, as the study is correlational, cause and effect cannot be established. It does not comment on why there is a link or which factors were most important it only states that there is a relationship between the two variables. However, as the data is secondary data there are no ethical issues linked to the use of a meta-analysis to study the patterns between locus of control and conformity. On the other hand, Williams and Warchal gave 30 students a range of conformity tasks based on Asch’s study and assessed them using the Rotter’s locus of control scale. They found that those who conformed were the least assertive but did not score differently on the locus of control scale. This suggests that assertion may be more important in conformity than locus of control. There are also research studies that suggest that independent behaviour can be fostered or encouraged through modelling. Nemeth and Chiles found that those who had been exposed to a minority (four participants, one confederate) who gave a different answer were more likely to stand their ground and defy the majority in the second part of the experiment when they became a minority (four confederates, one participant). This study implies that exposure to a model of independent behaviour can influence the individual’s ability to stand firm against the majority and resist the group pressure to conform. However, there are problems with research into locus of control. Many of the studies that support locus of control are carried out in laboratories. This means they lack ecological validity and the results may not be applicable to real life situations. Also, demand characteristics may be present. The participant may have guessed the aim of the experiment and acted accordingly to fit the results they assume the researcher wanted. Also, it is difficult to measure personality. The use of questionnaires could mean that the studies suffer from social desirability bias as people may have altered their answers to appear more normal or to fit with what they assume the researcher wanted. Lastly, situational factors may be more important as personality is not always consistent. McGuire found that conforming behaviour differed across situations. If conformists and independents are not consistent in their behaviour it is hard to conclude that it is their personality that solely affects their choice whether or not to conform. Situational factors may influence behaviour too as they tend to conform in certain situations but not in others.

In The Time Of The Butterflies Essay

In The Time Of The Butterflies Essay Many years ago, people believed that women did not have the right to express their ideas and feelings. These people thought that women were born just to get married and become mothers, and if they considered going to school they were often punished by society. At that time, women were not allowed to go to school or to have a job because they had to be in charge of the house. At home, women had not only to take care of their children but also they had to satisfy their husbands, take care of the old and sick members of the family and do the housework. Something very important that we have to consider is that in those times the families did not have just one or two children, but six or seven. This made it even more difficult for them. Women of that time were discriminated against socially. They did not have the same opportunities as men. Women could not have important jobs, and if they had, they did not receive the same treatment and salaries as men. Women were the worst paid and the mo st exploited. Women had always a secondary role in the family and society. Fortunately now, the situation has changed and society has established more rights for the protection of the women. However, there are still some places where people continue to have the negative beliefs about keeping women always at home. Nowadays, women have rebelled against those who think they are just an object that can be bought and sold. Most of them are not afraid to fight for their rights anymore, they are now allowed to do everything they want; they can work, they can express their opinions, they can attend school, and they can even vote and have important jobs in our society. In our new society, women can have as important jobs as men. For example, in Germany, the citizens have a woman as president because now society supports them and believes in them. In this paper, the two stories that I am going to analyse are In The Time of the Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez and The Color Purple written by Alice Walker. My essay is going to focus on the role of the main women in each story. Celie, Nettie, Sofia and the Mirabal sisters. The reason I decided to talk about this topic is because even though I am a man, I think women should receive the same treatment and opportunities as us, men. And also because it is very important to know that women have an important and essential role not only at home but also in labour lives. In The Time of the Butterflies is a story that talks about the lives of the Mirabal family, especially of the Mirabal sisters. This story takes place in the Dominican Republic where each Mirabal sister narrates the story according to her point of view. The Mirabal sisters called Patria, Minerva, Dedà © and Maria Teresa. These women were involved in a movement against Trujillo, who at that time governed the Dominican Republic. This man was an oppressor and he governed the nation in a brutal and cruel way. This movement against Trujillo shows the Mirabal sisters as strong women, women who fought for their rights and who gave their lives in order to get the treatment any woman deserved. On the other hand, The Color Purple is a story about violence, oppression and discrimination against women. Celie, a little black girl, is raped by her stepfather many times. She had two babies by him. Celie receives discrimination from white people, who treat black people as animals or, at best, as servants. Celie is given to Mr Black by her stepfather. Mr Black forces Celie to have sexual relations with him. He beats her. The babies Celie has had from her stepfather have been taken away from her. Celie is just fourteen years old, but she has now to take care of Mr Blacks children. Celie knows nothing about love because she has never experienced that feeling. She has just received beating and oppression from everyone. Mr Black has a son, Harpo, who marries to Sofia. Harpo humiliates and hits Sofia. But he gets a huge surprise; Sofia will not allow it. Sofia is a strong and independent woman who fights for her rights. Nettie, Celie ´s sister, is discriminated against as well. As we see, these two stories have many things in common, and one of the most important is the role that women play in each novel. In The Time of the Butterflies, the Mirabal sisters grew up in an upper class because their father was a businessman. The Mirabal sisters were very close and they were expected to get married and to have babies, and that is what they did. The Mirabal sisters supported each other in any decision they made. Here we can find a clear similarity with The Color Purple; it is because in this novel the sisters Celie and Nettie were always very close as well. Even though these sisters were separated from each other, they were together their thoughts. Another similarity between these two stories is that in both novels women have very traditional roles. For example, in The Color Purple when Celie is taken to Mr Black ´s house, she has to take care of the children, do the housework and satisfy Mr Black. She has to do everything Mr Black wants; she was even forc ed to have sexual relations. Celie was hit by Mr Black and she received a terrible treatment. Even though Celie was just fourteen years old Mr Black did not allow her to attend school. Women at that time were expected to get married and become mothers and going to school did not make any sense at all. It is another similarity with In The Time of the Butterflies, people also thought that women should stay at home with the children. A clear difference between these women is that in The Color Purple Celie, the protagonist of the novel, and her sister Nettie, did not have the opportunity of attending school. They were poor and they did not have someone who could support them. On the other hand, In The Time of the Butterflies, the Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dedà ©, Maria Teresa and Minerva had the opportunity to study because their father, Don Enrique Mirabal, earned enough money to send them to school. However, these sisters suffered too, but in a different way. The Mirabal sisters suffered because of Trujillo. Trujillo was the government of Dominican Republic at that time. He was an oppressor and his dictatorship was brutal. Trujillo used to treat women as objects, he could have any woman he wanted because he had the power. Here, we have another similarity with The Color Purple, in this novel Mr Black was an oppressor and a dictator too. He forces Celie to do things she did not want to do. However, Celie had to ob ey him, and she did not have the opportunity to say what she really thought. Mr Black had Celie as a servant in his house while he spent time with Shug Avery, a woman who Mr. Black loved. Thats why Trujillo and Mr Black have many things in common. Both were machinists. In The Color Purple we have Sofia, character who for me is the strongest woman in the novel. Sofia married Harpo, Mr. Black ´s son. Harpo wants to treat Sofia, his wife; of the same manner, his father treats Celie. However, Sofia is a very intelligent woman and she does not allow it. On the contrary, Sofia takes control of the house and she does not allow herself to be insulted by anybody. She confronts even the white community, this community treated blacks as animals, but Sofia rebelled against that and she fought for her freedom. Unfortunately, she was taken to jail because she hits and insults a very important white man in the town. The similarity with In The Time of the Butterflies is that Sofia has the same courage that Minerva, one of the Mirabal sisters. For me, Minerva was also the bravest and strongest woman in this novel. I think these two women are similar. They have the same purpose in fighting; they wanted freedom for themselves and for their families. These two women did not really care if they lost their freedom in order to get their fights. Minerva Mirabal gave her life in order to have a better country and Sofia, from The Color Purple, lost her freedom in order to get a better treatment for her family and for the black community. Another similarity I found is that in each novel there is one woman who narrates or tells her story through writings. For example, in In The Time of the Butterflies Dedà © narrates her story through a diary, in which she wrote all that happened to her. On the other hand, In The Color Purple Celie tells her story through letters to God. In these papers, Celi and Dedà ¨ could write all their thought and all those things they could not say in front of people. In these papers, they expressed all they felt. And I could say that these papers were like a person they could talk to. In conclusion, I can say that these two stories made me think about the life I want for my daughters in a future. In these novels there was much tragedy but they showed me the value people should give to the women. I personally believe that all women have to have the same opportunities. The society should not distinguish between black and white women, because they are all equals. Consequently, they have to be treated in the same manner as the society treats men. Women have the same and even more capacity as men and sometimes they are stronger. Women have the power to sacrifice her life in order to save their relatives not matter what. The difference between genders is just an obstacle created by the human mind.

Barclays Organizational Behavior

Barclays Organizational Behavior Organizational behavior is a study that looks at the individuals, employees, and how management teams behave and interact within the organization in a workplace setting. OB is therefore an interdisciplinary field that comprises communication, sociology, psychology, and management.  The key issues that influence organizational behavior include; organizational change, corporate culture within the industry, organizational development, and customer expectations that usually shape the organizational values. This research paper tries to explain the basic but vital principles of organizational behavior in order to equip the management teams with adequate theoretical knowledge regarding essential concepts necessary for the efficient and effective management their work, and to understand some of the concepts and challenges related to the management of behavior in organizations. This is done with focus on Barclays bank, to identify the correlation between employees and the organizations in w hich they work. The research methodologies adopted are online questionnaire, interviews, and the use of observation of the operation of Barclays bank employees. There is an increase in the drive by companies to develop mature organizational behavior and culture, owing to the perceived benefits and success associated with it that companies enjoy. Key words: Organizational behavior Organizational Behavior Research on Barclays Bank This paper seeks to analyze the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays bank across the world. Barclays PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company, which is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Barclays PLC operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Africa including Kenya, with a total number of customers exceeding 48 million globally and the fourth-largest bank worldwide by asset (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). Barclays is organized in two business clusters, (1) the corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management and (2), retail and business banking. The corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management cluster covers three business units: the corporate banking; Investment banking; and Wealth and investment management, while the retail and business banking cluster involve four business units that include Africa retail and business banking; Barclaycard; Europe retail and business banking; and UK retail and business banking (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). Most subsidiaries of Barclays PLC operate under Retail, Corporate, Treasury and Card Services with cross functional relationships to support the segments of local business and small to mid-sized enterprises (SME). Barclays financial strength coupled with extensive local and international resources have positioned Barclays as the top provider of financial services in the market for the past several years. Moreover, Barclays consistent financial performance has built confidence in their leadership and management among the Banks shareholders, as well as the indus try in general making it an easy go brand. For example, the Kenyan subsidiary known as Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited has been in operation for 95 years, and has consequently built an extensive network of 117 branches and over 230 ATMs countrywide (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). The network is supported by Internet and mobile banking channels plus a Customer Service Centre that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The multinational nature of Barclays bank and the diverse clusters operating in different business environment globally present different challenges to the bank that are related to the industry environment. Similarly, Barclays bank in this regards is influenced by both local and international industry environment since decisions made at the international regions have a direct bearing on the operation of other subsidiaries around the world. The bank draws its employees across all nationalities, races, and cultures as a result of the increasing globalization and interconnectivity where people from different nationalities are hired to work far away from their countries of birth bringing with them different values, norms and cultures. To deal with this, Barclays bank has successfully managed to develop workable and standard organization behavior and culture that that cuts across the nationalities to ensure harmonious operations. Organizational Behavior Principles The success of multinational organizations is dependent upon the organizational behavior principles adopted and applied in the respective subsidiaries. The OB principles that re relevant to this study are customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership. Customer Responsiveness Being that Barclays operates in a service industry; their success is fully attributed to the quality of service and the fast level of responsiveness when handling customer queries. One of the values adopted by the bank is the declaration that customer first, to mean that customers must be attended to first before anything else. This has become part of the organizational behavior, making the bank to strengthen their customer service department by ensuring that all employees handling customers are well trained to offer quality service within the shortest time possible. Every one including the management team is oriented to treat the customers as the boss in all circumstances. Customer responsiveness is also achieved through product diversification to meet the demands of all groups of customers irrespective of their socio-economic status. This is much evident through the introduction of flexible and diversified credit card products commonly known as Barclaycards that match different needs. The market and customers expectation has been modeled to demand flexible and cheaper cards that match diverse needs of the members (Barclays.co.uk 2013a). For example, Barclaycard being the first credit card provider in Britain offers a range of quality products that match the need of all customers including those who require competitive interest-free product, or those in need of first credit card at competitive rates. Similarly, there are low standard-rate credit cards that are preserved for clients with excellent credit histories. This range of product ensures there is a suitable product for every category of customers. It is what is missing in HSBC that needs to be pr ovided to ensure that customers satisfaction are met, corporate communication, group behavior, human decision making. Personality and Organization To develop a good organizational behavior, the management need to understand personality of employees in order to develop a workable interaction model within the organization. Personality involves characteristics, qualities, skills, and competencies of employees, combined with other traits such as grooming and attitude. Personality in most cases is influence by the environment and the social settings. However, there are particular universal characteristics which always emerge in individuals that are acceptable across the board. For example, customer service executives are expected to be aggressive, humble and respectful, have a listening ability, assertive and welcoming. These traits, thoughts, and feelings should be translated into visible behavior that can attract and retain the customers. Communication Clear communication within the organization is very important since it is essential in inculcating common objective. Failure in communication can result when clear purpose is not conveyed or when the message is distorted along the channel of communication followed. Communication setting can also bar clear conveyance of information as a result of unclear chain of command. Some of the barriers of effective communication may include assumptions by the sender who ignores parts of the information to be relayed, preconception among the receivers and biases in delivery. It is therefore imperative for the organization to develop communication culture as part of the organization behavior (Ashraf, 2012). Such culture clearly stipulates the chain of command of communication, communication channel and generally the type of language to be used in any delivery of information, which must strictly be official. Everyone including the management must communicate well with all people within the organiz ation irrespective of being subordinates. This will instill respect and accurate execution of the command as clearly outlined. Clear communication also plays a major role in the satisfaction of customer demands and to provide all the information needed by the customer for decision making Work Motivation Full compliance to the organizational culture and behavior is also influenced by the level of motivation among the staff and the entire workforce. Motivation brings the intrinsic urge to perform at work place, and is connected to the psychological and emotional well-being. The level of motivation among the staff within the organization therefore, activates behavior or an urge that is directed at a goal (Ashraf, 2012).This means that for the organizations culture and behavior to be adhered to at all times, the management need to develop a highly motivated staff that understands and fully embraces the values of the organization. To achieve the work motivation that has direct impact on productivity, several factors can be adopted as part of organization culture to encourage competition among the employees towards production. Some of the factors include; Job Enrichment: Jobs need to be designed to offer opportunities for responsibility growth, achievement, and recognition for good performance. This involves providing challenging responsibilities that fully engages the employees through greater utilization of skills and offers opportunity for personal development. Flexi time: This concept is meant to allow employees to occasionally control their work schedule, such that they decide which work to start with (Ashraf, 2012). This system makes employees more responsible and accountable, and eliminates the general feeling that they are micromanaged to perform. Empowerment: This involves giving employees authority in their area of operation to make decisions and be able to resolve their work related problems without approval from the management. Employees stock ownership plan: this method has become a key tool in attracting, retaining, and motivating workforce in business organizations. The system allows employees to own the companys stock to be part of the stockholders and as part of their benefit package. This motivates employees work harder and protects the organization since their service directly impacts the performance of the company. Low employees productivity means lower value of the stock prices. This strategy was adopted by Equity Bank, which is currently the fastest growing bank in the sub-Saharan Africa, thus should be adopted by market leaders like Barclays bank. Job Satisfaction and Reward Management Organization behavior should be one that promotes job satisfaction, which is the employees overall attitude towards their jobs. It is the fulfillment an employee develops after evaluation of a job or job experience. Job satisfaction can be derived from a number of features such as the amount of pay, promotion opportunities, the work itself, supervision, conducive work environment, and relationship with co- workers. Every organization should therefore create a standard organizational behavior that includes employee promotion on merit, professional supervision, and standard remuneration of employees based on productivity and job group. Although different people may derive satisfaction from different features, the most common elements are as mentioned above and a wider approach to improve job design, work organization and general quality of life. In addition to job satisfaction, effective reward management needs to be developed that fairly recognizes employees efforts to reinforce produ ctivity or adherence to organizational values and behavior standards. Usually, in case peoples good behavior are effectively recognized or rewarded through any means, the desired behavior is usually repeated. Organizations such as Barclays in this regard need to consider designing a standards reward system that is sustainable to the business and make it an organizational culture and behavior promotion tool. Leadership This involves controlling and directing individuals, groups and subordinates within the firm. It includes hiring, training, guiding, and assessment of processes in order to achieve the best performance from employees. Organizations that succeed in their operations usually maximize on the talents and energies of their employees (Ashraf, 2012). This is because such firms develop competitive advantage against their rivals as a result of maximum production. Due to the fact that employees are vital resource to the achievement of the organizational goals, managers should be careful on how they interact and handle their subordinates. This means that managers who are knowledgeable and skilled in organizational behaviors are likely to effectively and efficiently manage their teams and influence them to fully support the companys goals. Different leadership styles such as autocratic, consultative and free will may be adopted depending on the situation (Locke, 2009). Organizational behavior in relation to the leadership style adopted in all the management levels is very important to the success of the organization. The management structure adopted by Barclays bank is usually the vertical line where top management that comprise CEO and the board of directors issue directives that are implemented at the middle and lower level. However, before the decision is communicated downwards, consultation at the tactic level of management takes place, involving the finance department which is responsible for the strategy development process, driving business performance and financial control across Barclays Africa. Other management functions include human resource, operations, consumer banking, risk management, corporate banking, treasury services and card business departments. This also includes the personnel in each of the departments. It is important for organizations to note that decisions made collectively are often easier to implement than forced decisions. Whereas different leadership styles can be adopted in different situations, organizations mindfully need to create a leadership culture that has clear distinction of roles and clear definition of responsibility to enable efficient flow of duties. Leadership must be concerned and emphasize on peoples issues just as the organizational issues (Locke, 2009). Employees are very important resource that must be valued if the organization is to succeed, thus their complaints must be addressed well without ant victimization from the leadership. Organizations must therefore adopt leadership behavior that respects the employees, treats them fairl y in order to improve their attitude towards work and the firm in general. Theoretical Framework Organizational behavior refers to the study of groups and individual dynamics within an organization, as well as the nature of the organizations. The interaction between human resource and the organization and the interaction amongst employees themselves usually bring several factors into play and in turn define the organizational behavior. Presently, different people with diverse cultural values and backgrounds work together in different institutions. Organizational behavior in this respect seeks to bring an understanding and emphasize the acceptable behavior in organizations in orders to develop competencies and standards in which people likely to behave. These finding are therefore, to assist in controlling behaviors that go against the regulations and objectives of the organizations. Equally, it is significant to note that in an organization, the social system comprises all the people, considering how they relate to the rest of the world. Normally, the behavior of one person has impact on the behavior of others either directly or indirectly. Culture refers to the conventional behavior of a society that comprises knowledge, beliefs, customs, and practices and people depend on culture since it guarantees them understanding, stability, security, and the ability to react to a given situation. It shapes human behavior, even if not fully embraced. In an organization set up, people fear change in culture and behavior for fear instability, and loss of security. The operation of organization is usually based on the managements philosophy, vision and mission, values and goals that guide employees. These consequently define the organizations culture or behavior, which is composed of the formal and informal organizations, and borrowed from the social environment. The organizations culture determines the type of leadership adopted, communication channels and chain, and group and individual dynamics within the organization. Existence of such working environment, culture, and behavior becomes a motivating factor to the workforce, leading into high performance, individual and group satisfaction, and personal growth and development. The combination of these elements constructs the framework that guides the operation of the organization. Research Methodology The choice of research methodology to determine the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays bank was depended on the objectivity, reliability and sustainability of the method based on the environment and nature if the industry. To clearly meet the purpose, three methods were used alternatively to determine the employees feelings concerning the organizations culture and the customers feelings on whether the organizations behavior is suitable in the service industry. Online questionnaire was used to collect data from 25 employees in different ranks within the organization equally distributed from the middle management to the cleaners through clerks. This was after securing their email addresses, having that time constraints could not allow them to adequately respond to interview questions. Face to face interview was also used to specifically interview 15 randomly selected walk-in customers from across socio-economic class and age bracket with an intention to gauge if they were sati sfied with the reception and service they received from the bank staff. Their feelings on the general arrangement within the banking hall and personal grooming of the staff were also sought. Finally, observation was used to monitor staff response to customers enquiries and the speed of service. This observation was done during my routine visit to the bank to carry out transactions. The structured online questionnaires were filled by the respondents at their convenient times. Prior to the collection of data, authorization was sought from the bank management, who in turn briefed the security agencies for the days the data were collected. This arrangement was done silently without notifying the staff members to ensure that the data collected in not skewed when employees try to conceal their right attitude and behavior. It is also important to note that more information about the profile and background of Barclays bank was sought from the banks website. This gave a clear understanding of the banks operations and the actual values, vision, mission, culture and the organizational behavior that the bank stand for, to be used gage the level of compliance by the employees. Results and Findings According to the online questionnaire survey that was filled by 25 randomly selected Barclays bank employees from across the socio-economic class and age bracket, most respondents especially the non-management staff who responded to the questions as indicated in the appendix section of this paper disapproved the organizations culture and behavior, while most of those in management positions approved the organization behavior. One of the reasons for disapproval is that management was authoritative in decision instead of being consultative and felt that their views are not accommodated in the running of the system. The interview that involved 15 customers sought to know their view on Barclays banks organizational behavior. The analysis found that 90% or the customers interviewed were satisfied by the arrangement of counters and service points inside the banking hall. Similarly, an overwhelming majority of 14 customers were of the opinion that the official dressing as part of their behavior was commendable and should continue, while only 1 felt the type of dress was not concern. The observations made also confirmed the values of the bank as they are in the mission statement. The declaration that customer comes first in their list of priority was evident, especially in relation to how customers were ushered in and allowed to sit while awaiting to be served. Are Organizations Behavior principles applied in Barclays Bank? The principle of effective reward management is partially applied in the bank based on the findings. Most junior staff complained that the difference in salary bracket between the management, the clerks, and other staff members such as cleaners was very big. It showed that management teams are paid much higher than the rest, thus the feeling that effective reward system be adopted. One area reward that if fully implemented is on earning of bonuses at the end of the year and the yearly increments according to the collective bargain agreement. This is however dependent on individual performance as indicated by the balance score card assessment sheet. Employee recognition based on particular achievements is done within the banks, both formally and informally. As indicated in the principle above, reward is a tool that reinforces good behavior. According to the management, several staff members are given recognition cards for being best communication agents, best time managers, and best i n minimizing the wastage of papers. This reward system needs to continue since it encourages other to work harder to earn bonuses at the end of the year after meeting their yearly targets and receiving nomination cards that improve profile for future promotions. One the standard sustainable reward behavior is adopted; all sectors are covered without discrimination. This research found out that measuring job satisfaction has been a challenging process to most managers. Based on the determinants of job satisfaction such as amount of pay, promotion opportunities, the work itself, supervision, conducive work environment, and relationship with co- workers, several employees, several employees are not satisfied with their jobs, either because of the perception of inequality in the pay structure, the management being too authoritative and the generally routine nature of the jobs that offer little opportunity for personal growth. Customer responsiveness is a principle that is fully applied in the entire Barclays bank. Based on their value that makes customer first, it was evident through the observation that customers were well received, advised, and served within the shortest time possible. Whenever a customer walks into the bank they are advised by the customer care representative on which counter to go to for the desired service. This was also confirmed by the customers themselves who said that they are satisfied with the manner they are handled by the bank staff. Customer responsiveness is also proved by the diversified products offered by the bank that are meant to meet the demands of all customers in all socio-economic groups. The most outstanding product line is the Barclaycard that covers all needs from low interest to low interest cards, as well as those meant for students. Barclays bank personnel composition is composed of top level management that involve the CEO and the Board of directors at the local level, middle management including the branch managers and operation and departmental managers and the lower level staff including clerks and sales representatives. Leadership is in this case is well structured with very clear chain of command from the strategic level to the regional directors and to local subsidiary branches (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2012). This has clearly assisted in separation of responsibilities and entrenched accountability systems within the management. In the recent economic recession, the bank recently adopted restructuring that saw several employees lose their jobs and adoption of the system where junior staffs like the clerks, cashiers are employed on a contract basis in most subsidiaries. This is a human resource policy, accompanied by lower remuneration structures led to mass exodus of staff. Conclusion and Recommendations This research paper looked at the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays PLC, which is a British multinational banking and financial services company with its headquarter in London, United Kingdom. Barclays PLC operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Africa including Kenya, with a total number of customers exceeding 48 million globally and the fourth-largest bank worldwide by asset (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2012). Organizational behavior is concerned with how individuals, employees, and management behave and interact within the organization in a workplace setting. It is an interdisciplinary field that comprises communication, sociology, psychology, and management. The key issues that influence organizational behavior include organizational change, corporate culture within the industry, organizational development, and customer expectations that usually shape the organizational values. Organizational Behavior Principles are also very i mportant since they guide companies in setting their organizational behavior standards. This paper has discussed customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership as major principles of OB. The methodologies employed in this study are online questionnaire filled in by employees, face to face interview of customers and observation methods. The observation methods were instrumental in monitoring how the staff receive, address, and serve customers if within the organizational behavior standards. These methods were selected based on their objectivity, reliability and sustainability of the method based on the environment and nature if the industry. To clearly meet the purpose, the three methods were used alternatively to determine the employees feelings concerning the organizations culture and the customers feelings on whether the organizations behavior is suitable in the service industry. The study found that most of respondents especially the non-management staff who responded to the questions as indicated in the appendix section of this paper disapproved the organizations culture and behavior, while most of those in management positions approved the organization behavior. Recommendations The success of organizations is dependent upon the organizational behavior principles adopted and applied in the respective subsidiaries. The OB principles that are relevant and should be adopted by organizations include customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership. In order to develop a good organizational behavior, the management needs to understand personality of employees in order to develop a workable interaction model within the organization. Personality involves characteristics, qualities, skills, and competencies of employees, combined with other traits such as grooming and attitude. Personality in most cases is influence by the environment and the social settings. However, there are particular universal characteristics which always emerge in individuals that are acceptable across the board. For example, customer service staff members are expected to be aggressive, humble and respectful, have a listening ability, assertive and welcoming Every organization should therefore create a standard organizational behavior that includes employee promotion on merit, professional supervision, and standard remuneration of employees based on productivity and job group

Ghost Story of a Hell House :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Ghost Story of a Hell House The legend that I collected is a popular local myth about an old building and its resident out in the woods near the story's location. The person who told this story to me is my roommate; he is a white, middle-class, twenty-year-old who is studying government and psychology. I collected the story from him in our apartment one Tuesday night, sitting on our couch amidst a group of friends while listening to some loud music. The teller’s performance of the story is important to note. Due to the loud music and distracting atmosphere, the story was not told very smoothly. The teller made a lot of pauses and had to repeat himself several times. Furthermore, the teller did not know any solid facts, such as specific dates. Everything that he mentioned in terms of time were clearly estimates, as indicated by his facial expressions and verbal pauses. The teller prefaced the story by trying to get me to recognize the location of the Hell House. We had gone hiking around the state park where near the house, and he explained its location by saying â€Å"you know that hill and those woods near the train tracks at the bottom of the mountain†¦Well, Hell House is over near there. I’m sure you’ve seen it dude.† I admitted that I knew where it was so that he would go on with the story, even though I was certain I hadn’t seen any creepy looking houses when I was over in that area. He continued the story by explaining that the place was originally â€Å"Mount Saint Mary’s† college in Old Catonsville, Maryland during the 1800s. He then said â€Å"oh right, it was actually a women’s school.† He paused here for a minute and then carried on to tell me that most of it burned down in the 1930s and a whole lot of people died. After a moment he said â€Å"actually it may have been the 10s or the 20s, I’m not so sure.† The only thing that remained after this fire was an old burnt up house that the groundskeeper lived in and continues to live in. The teller then said that the groundskeeper was â€Å"seriously old and weird† and that he is not sure whether he is alive or dead, but he made sure to emphasize that â€Å"if he is still alive he is probably real [expletive deleted by author] old.

The Scaffold and Forest in Nathaniel Hawthornes Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scaffold and Forest in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, focuses on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the center of the town is a " . . .weather darkened scaffold. . . (234)" where sinners are made to face the condemning public. The accused experience strange phenomena while on the scaffold - some become braver, some meeker. And whether the public is looking at them or not, they become their true selves on the scaffold. In essence, everything that is real and true occurs on the scaffold, and everything that is illusion or hypocrisy occurs everywhere else. The forest is also a setting where characters find the truth about themselves. Most settlers to the forest are people who are outsiders from society. They are untainted by the views of the townspeople and can see beyond the lies and hypocrisy of the townspeople. The experiences of the people on the scaffold and in the forest lend themselves to a higher issue, reality vs. perception. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows how people create their own reality with what they see. The Scaffold is not only a high view point the in market place but a site where one can see beyond the restraints of town and even time. For one person, " . . . the scaffold of the pillory was the point of view that revealed to Hester Prynne the entire track which she had been treading since her happy infancy (p65)". The experience of the scaffold has a profound effect on Hester. Living on the border between the town and the forest, she learns new freedom while seeing the conformist repression of the town. Hester sees what the townspeople ignore. She soon believes that because of her punishment on the scaffold and her perpetual reminder of it, the scarlet letter, she sees the sins of the entire townspeople and the hypocrisy of keeping them secret. Thus, her time on the scaffold has made her see the truth of the town and its lies. Reverend Dimmesdale has a similar experience on the scaffold. Troubled by his sins and his failure to confess them, the reverend ascends the pillory in the dead of night to "confess" his sins to the world. Even though on one sees him, Dimmesdale feels " . The Scaffold and Forest in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays The Scaffold and Forest in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, focuses on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the center of the town is a " . . .weather darkened scaffold. . . (234)" where sinners are made to face the condemning public. The accused experience strange phenomena while on the scaffold - some become braver, some meeker. And whether the public is looking at them or not, they become their true selves on the scaffold. In essence, everything that is real and true occurs on the scaffold, and everything that is illusion or hypocrisy occurs everywhere else. The forest is also a setting where characters find the truth about themselves. Most settlers to the forest are people who are outsiders from society. They are untainted by the views of the townspeople and can see beyond the lies and hypocrisy of the townspeople. The experiences of the people on the scaffold and in the forest lend themselves to a higher issue, reality vs. perception. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows how people create their own reality with what they see. The Scaffold is not only a high view point the in market place but a site where one can see beyond the restraints of town and even time. For one person, " . . . the scaffold of the pillory was the point of view that revealed to Hester Prynne the entire track which she had been treading since her happy infancy (p65)". The experience of the scaffold has a profound effect on Hester. Living on the border between the town and the forest, she learns new freedom while seeing the conformist repression of the town. Hester sees what the townspeople ignore. She soon believes that because of her punishment on the scaffold and her perpetual reminder of it, the scarlet letter, she sees the sins of the entire townspeople and the hypocrisy of keeping them secret. Thus, her time on the scaffold has made her see the truth of the town and its lies. Reverend Dimmesdale has a similar experience on the scaffold. Troubled by his sins and his failure to confess them, the reverend ascends the pillory in the dead of night to "confess" his sins to the world. Even though on one sees him, Dimmesdale feels " .

Medicine in Ancient Egypt as seen by the Archaeological Evidence of Pap

The Ancient Egyptian civilization’s development centered around the luxurious, green and fertile Nile river. Astonishingly, they accurately predicted Nile floods to produce surplus crops and allow the growth of society and culture. In the North of Africa, Egyptians flourished until 525 BC. The lands were ruled by powerful pharaohs who provided dominance and control to their people. The Egyptians every day lives centered around an elaborate system of religious and spiritual beliefs. In tribute to their religious beliefs, pharaohs and gods, the Egyptians built breath taking monuments that often included decoration and hieroglyphs that were symbolizations of their spirituality. The amazing architecture and the mystery to how they built these gigantic structures is one of the most intriguing issues of the ancient world. However, the aspect of society and culture also inspire individuals to ask questions about how the Ancient Egyptians went about their everyday lives, and how the y managed to develop such a civilized way of living. The illustrations that adorned tombs, and monuments all around Egypt added insight into the lives of the Ancients. Along with the development of writing, the depiction of effective use in medicine became evident. â€Å"Medicine was one of the oldest professions in the Nile valley.†(White 1970) Their medical practices were highly advanced for their time and included several doctors and medical practioners. Medical care was provided by workers who laid claim to specific title such as a specailist in animal bites. Or patients would resort to traditional cures handed down throughout generations.(Donadoni 1990) Doctoral specialization was apparently related to the fields of expertise and included surgeons, general pr... ...nderstanding of human anatomy. The Kahun Gynaecological papyrus was the first to acknowledge the female anatomy almost solely. Ancients were able to detect pregnancy, as well as how to prevent pregnancy. The Kahun papyrus also included a short section on veterinary medicine which shows their level of understanding of animals anatomy as well. The Hearst papyrus is composed of several general medical problems and how to treat them. Finally, the Berlin papyrus is made up of several sections including : general treatments and diagnoses, gynaecological prescriptions, and a large portion dedicated to spells and magic. Overall, as shown by the five papyri the Ancient Egyptians had an extremely civilized manner of diagnosing and treating common aliments of their time. Their incredible knowledge not only human but animal anatomy allowed them to successfully treat patients. Medicine in Ancient Egypt as seen by the Archaeological Evidence of Pap The Ancient Egyptian civilization’s development centered around the luxurious, green and fertile Nile river. Astonishingly, they accurately predicted Nile floods to produce surplus crops and allow the growth of society and culture. In the North of Africa, Egyptians flourished until 525 BC. The lands were ruled by powerful pharaohs who provided dominance and control to their people. The Egyptians every day lives centered around an elaborate system of religious and spiritual beliefs. In tribute to their religious beliefs, pharaohs and gods, the Egyptians built breath taking monuments that often included decoration and hieroglyphs that were symbolizations of their spirituality. The amazing architecture and the mystery to how they built these gigantic structures is one of the most intriguing issues of the ancient world. However, the aspect of society and culture also inspire individuals to ask questions about how the Ancient Egyptians went about their everyday lives, and how the y managed to develop such a civilized way of living. The illustrations that adorned tombs, and monuments all around Egypt added insight into the lives of the Ancients. Along with the development of writing, the depiction of effective use in medicine became evident. â€Å"Medicine was one of the oldest professions in the Nile valley.†(White 1970) Their medical practices were highly advanced for their time and included several doctors and medical practioners. Medical care was provided by workers who laid claim to specific title such as a specailist in animal bites. Or patients would resort to traditional cures handed down throughout generations.(Donadoni 1990) Doctoral specialization was apparently related to the fields of expertise and included surgeons, general pr... ...nderstanding of human anatomy. The Kahun Gynaecological papyrus was the first to acknowledge the female anatomy almost solely. Ancients were able to detect pregnancy, as well as how to prevent pregnancy. The Kahun papyrus also included a short section on veterinary medicine which shows their level of understanding of animals anatomy as well. The Hearst papyrus is composed of several general medical problems and how to treat them. Finally, the Berlin papyrus is made up of several sections including : general treatments and diagnoses, gynaecological prescriptions, and a large portion dedicated to spells and magic. Overall, as shown by the five papyri the Ancient Egyptians had an extremely civilized manner of diagnosing and treating common aliments of their time. Their incredible knowledge not only human but animal anatomy allowed them to successfully treat patients. Medicine in Ancient Egypt as seen by the Archaeological Evidence of Pap The Ancient Egyptian civilization’s development centered around the luxurious, green and fertile Nile river. Astonishingly, they accurately predicted Nile floods to produce surplus crops and allow the growth of society and culture. In the North of Africa, Egyptians flourished until 525 BC. The lands were ruled by powerful pharaohs who provided dominance and control to their people. The Egyptians every day lives centered around an elaborate system of religious and spiritual beliefs. In tribute to their religious beliefs, pharaohs and gods, the Egyptians built breath taking monuments that often included decoration and hieroglyphs that were symbolizations of their spirituality. The amazing architecture and the mystery to how they built these gigantic structures is one of the most intriguing issues of the ancient world. However, the aspect of society and culture also inspire individuals to ask questions about how the Ancient Egyptians went about their everyday lives, and how the y managed to develop such a civilized way of living. The illustrations that adorned tombs, and monuments all around Egypt added insight into the lives of the Ancients. Along with the development of writing, the depiction of effective use in medicine became evident. â€Å"Medicine was one of the oldest professions in the Nile valley.†(White 1970) Their medical practices were highly advanced for their time and included several doctors and medical practioners. Medical care was provided by workers who laid claim to specific title such as a specailist in animal bites. Or patients would resort to traditional cures handed down throughout generations.(Donadoni 1990) Doctoral specialization was apparently related to the fields of expertise and included surgeons, general pr... ...nderstanding of human anatomy. The Kahun Gynaecological papyrus was the first to acknowledge the female anatomy almost solely. Ancients were able to detect pregnancy, as well as how to prevent pregnancy. The Kahun papyrus also included a short section on veterinary medicine which shows their level of understanding of animals anatomy as well. The Hearst papyrus is composed of several general medical problems and how to treat them. Finally, the Berlin papyrus is made up of several sections including : general treatments and diagnoses, gynaecological prescriptions, and a large portion dedicated to spells and magic. Overall, as shown by the five papyri the Ancient Egyptians had an extremely civilized manner of diagnosing and treating common aliments of their time. Their incredible knowledge not only human but animal anatomy allowed them to successfully treat patients.

Family Values Paper

Family is a term that can be interpreted differently by every individual, as it defines itself by one’s personal experiences and expectations. In health care, one would define a family as a support system to an individual in a state of compromised health. The family role in the health care setting can vary based on the patient’s condition. In the intensive care unit the families play a large role especially, for those individuals whom lose his or her ability to provide self-care and make self-care decisions.As a health care provider it is important to understand the role of family system, family concept, and the application of an appropriate family nursing theory. Family System/Concept of Family For a family system to have a positive role in the intensive care unit the family must serve as a system in support of the individual family member. The family often plays a role in the plan of care, as the individual suffering the illness cannot serve as the sole provider of se lf-care.In some cases the ill individual cannot play a role in self-care. The family can play a role in the individual’s recovery by coming together as one to support healing, or simply identifying, and achieving individual health goals. All individuals in the intensive care unit develop a plan of care with the assistance of a multi-disciplinary team, including nursing, physicians, social work, and case management. In some cases end-of-life ecisions must be made primarily based on known individual wishes or documents, and the support of the family. Even when a patient in the intensive care unit has an opportunity for a positive outcome there are difficult decisions, difficult messages, and difficult conversations to be had. According to a study completed by Caroline Williams; the family plays a larger role than providing information about the individual; including emotional support to the patient, and a positive psychological effect (Williams, 2005).In the situation which a f amily members health is compromised to the level that they need to be in the intensive care unit, not only does the family need to come together to serve as a support for the patient, but also a support for one another. As health care providers one must serve a role in this process as well. According to Damboise and Cardin, the family’s needs include; information, reassurance, support, and the need to be near the patient (2003).Family Nursing Theory. Orem’s Self Care Model of Nursing involves the understanding that patients not only have the ability, but also the right, and responsibility to care for themselves (Clark, 1986). One believes that Orem’s model is important in the intensive care setting, often-times we rely too heavily on the families and support personnel, and forget to rely on the theoretical framework to encourage and guide the individual to provide self-care and make self-care decisions (Orem, 2001).When an individual is cannot provide self-care, as often is the case in the critical care setting it is important for the family to approach oneself needs as a system. One believes it is important for the family to understand the complexity of the self-care needs. Decisions for plan of care can be based on what the family perceives as the individual needs, which can be a deception of reality if nursing and health care personnel are solely providing such care needs. Many families visit the hospital and see the best of the patients day.The health care professional provide all self-care; they never see the patient struggle to take a bite of food, be cleaned up from numerous incidents of incontinence, or the struggle to get he or she into the chair prior to his or her visit. When this happens, the families’ reality of taking the individual home does not seem so unreachable. It is when the family plays an active role in such activities that they see the reality of providing care to an individual with debilitating health condit ions. By managing ones hospital stay be Orem’s Self Care Model, a family can make educated decisions on the plan of care.Conclusion Anytime an individual is in the hospital no matter what level of care the emotional stress on the individual and family can be very overwhelming. By supporting the individual with the concept of the family as a system, one is on track for the best outcomes. In some cases the best possible outcome is making a difficult decision to maintain the integrity of the individual involved. By practicing nursing care based on theories such as Orem’s we can ensure that one has done everything he or she can do to support positive individual outcomes.