Saturday, August 31, 2019

Employee Recruitment and Retention on the Plumbing and Heating Industry Essay

The way in which companies recruit and retain their employees is considered as a competitive weapon. Not until recently that firms are becoming serious on the act of recruitment as the Bureau of Labor statistics estimates that jobs will grow faster at a rate that is not proportional with the labor force, hence forcing the aforementioned to appeal to various groups such as omen and minorities. As such not only recruitment is very vital but also retaining employees (Denton, 1992, p. 14). According to Frank Doyle, the senior vice president of corporate relations at General Electric: â€Å"For U.  S. corporations, tomorrow’s competitive battle will be won or lost on the strength of their ability to build and retain a skilled work force† (Richman 1990, 76 as cited from Denton, 1992, p. 14). General Electric believes that labor shortage does not significantly matter if companies know which people to hire and to retain. For instance, companies such as Merck & Co. often times target certain universities or campuses that give a more detailed specialization on certain knowledge and skills that are very vital to their business. The Plumbing and Heating Industry  The plumbing and heating industry has been experiencing shortages as well on their workforce due to the difficulty of finding skilled plumbers and retaining them. It needs several numbers of years training on order to become a qualified plumber and heater and such also requires a deep dedication for a lifelong learning process. Certain skills are also necessary to be a good plumber such as â€Å"need a head for heights, the ability to work in cramped conditions and the stamina to complete physically hard work day after day† (The Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, 2007). In addition with this, plumbers also need the intelligence to solve complex equations. More importantly, they must have the expertise and flexibility to install various systems and the capability to comprehend the logic of various systems. They should also have the ability and initiative to solve a problem and a passion to know and apply various technologies on their work. Plumbers and heaters must also have a creative mind and a sound judgment, and finally they should be professional and honest (The Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, 2007). Employee Recruitment Interviews In order to find the right people, the process of interviewing and getting to know them not only through their answers but also through their eye contacts, body languages and the likes (Dibble, 1999). For instance, some companies like Merck often conduct a 30-minute interview in order to assess the qualifications of prospective employees. Hewlett-Packard did it further by implementing a technique called â€Å"behavioral interviewing† that is developed by organizational psychologist Paul Green that would assess the future behavior of a prospective employee based on his or her past behaviors. In using this technique, interviewers can design employee questions that would allow them to elicit behaviors that are closely related to the job that they are looking for (Denton, 1999, p. 16). The process of behavioral interview often times identifies 21 skills that are very vital for certain jobs such as â€Å"coping, decisiveness, assertiveness, tolerance of ambiguity, written communication skills, creativity, commitment, team building, versatility, and leadership† (Denton, 1999, p. 17). For the aforementioned skills there are still eight job behaviors that are needed to be known such as how prospective employees deal with â€Å"varied duties, deal with diverse groups, respond to others’ needs, be socially flexible, â€Å"roll with the punches†, understand individual differences, make others comfortable, exhibit wide range of social behaviors ( â€Å"More† 1988, as cited from Denton, 1992, p. 17). Decentralized Hiring Traditional recruitment approaches that focuses on interviewing prospective employees by a single person is no longer deemed as vital nowadays. For instance, the Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC) one of America’s most successful small companies still has their hiring process as a group activity. SRC adopts a non-traditional method of recruitment by having all of their applicants have five or six interviews with various individuals that he or she might be working with (Denton, 1992, p. 18). Recruitment through Reputation The reputation of the company is also one of the leading factors in which highly knowledgeable and skilled employees will desire to work for the aforementioned. For instance SRC received more than 2,500 applications for a small company that only employs 300 people. It could also be noted that the company only pays $6 or $7 per hour, yet applicants are still flocking to them. One significant reason for this is its reputation for being one of the best places to work. One of the ways of doing such is the capacity of a company to manage the diversity of their workforce (Denton, 1992, p. 19). The shortages in terms of prospective employees is a growing concern among companies that is why there is a need to focus more on recruiting minorities and women. However, in order for a company to have a wide application pool, such must first establish to have a good reputation of being able to effectively manage organizational diversity (Denton, 1992, p. 20). Aggressive Recruitment for Entry-Level Workers One of the best ways to tap to a good employee resource is through recruiting entry-level workers through implementing various programs such as â€Å"Adopt-a-School† or â€Å"Join-A-School†. These programs allow companies and organizations to establish partnerships between business and schools which may involve elementary school, vocational school or even a university (Denton, 1992, p. 5). The main value of such programs is the establishment of closer relationships between schools and in a macro perspective, creating better understanding businesses and industry. More importantly, partnerships such as like these, would allow companies to easily recruit personnels that can improve the company’s image that could help the prospective applicants to view your company’s business as a career, hence a better chance of creating a wide labor pool (Denton, 1992, p. 26). Employee Retention If finding good people is hard, so as looking for ways to make them stay. One of the companies that have displayed such an admirable trait is Federal Express, wherein they have emphasized the importance of retention, recruitment and employee relations (Dibble, 1999). If a particular company is very careful in terms of recruiting, there is also a relatively better match of keeping them. One best way of doing such is the company centralizing all of its recruitment centers (Denton, p. 47). After which, they provide immense value on putting their people first on their list. Good employee relations for Federal Express involve â€Å"deeds that impress employees and improve relations† (Denton, p. 48). According to Fred Smith, CEO of Federal Express, â€Å"I think a lot of companies talk about how their employees are their most important asset, but where you can really tell whether it is very important or not is how much their senior management spends on the issues† ( Trunick 1989, 19 as cited from Denton, 1992, p. 48). Through implementing the philosophy of â€Å"people, service, Profits† the company makes their people feel that they are indeed needed in the organization. They let them answer several basic questions such as â€Å"What is expected of me, and what do you want me to do? † (p. 48). These questions are answered by having all of their employees attend extensive orientation programs wherein the Federal Express’ values are discussed Incentives Career advancement is not the only incentive that will make people stay within the organization. For instance the use of awards program that is designed to reinforce a particular desired behavior such as superior quality of work and customer centricity played a lot in terms of motivating employees to stay (p. 49). One very good example of this is Federal Express’ â€Å"Bravo Zulu Voucher Program: wherein employees who displayed admirable work performance such as going beyond what is expected of them are able to receive cash or non cash rewards. Also, their â€Å"Suggestion Awards Program† allow employees to participate in the management process by sharing their ideas that will enable the company to improve its operations. Any idea implemented that will lower costs, increase productivity, revenues or promote safer working conditions will receive recognition and $100 to $25,000 worth of cash (p. 49). Communications Open Communication among employees is also vital to solve a problem. The internal employee response program allows employees to find answers to situations that they perceived as something that is disagreeable, controversial or is contrary to existing policies. If employees express negative concerns about their work or with the management, the latter is expected to respond within 14 days. These concerns are assured to be forwarded to the CEO (p. 50). Appeals Board The Appeals Board is a venue wherein decisions among complaints could be given and also disciplines could be implemented. However, it is very important that when keeping such a type of venue for resolution of organizational conflicts, the organization must have the capability to streamline its process to make the time alloted for every case reasonable enough (Denton, 1999, p. 52). Survey, Feedback, Action (SFA) An annual survey of employee attitudes is also important for the company to measure its employee opinions and to make changes that could hopefully change not so favorable employee attitudes to the company (Dibble, 1999). This assures that the management will see clearly what its team feels about the organization. In addition such allows a fair gauge of attitude and anonymity among employees (Denton, 1999, p. 52). Education and Trainings Continued learning is a venue wherein employees themselves would feel that they are indeed valued by the company. As such it us also very relevant as well that the organization will invest on trainings or even scholarships to employees who wanted to continue their education (Logue, Yates and Greider, 2001, p. 46-47). Conclusion The Plumbing and Heating Industry has been experiencing a significant decline in terms of its workforce. Hence in order to solve this problem the industry must be able to adopt effective recruitment and employee retention practices that were formulated in theory and practice of various management scholars and organizations. For the purpose of this research, in order to have an effective recruitment process, the research has emphasized the importance of: Interviews, Decentralized Hiring, Recruitment through Reputation, and Aggressive Recruitment for Entry-Level Workers. On the other hand, in order to retain employees, companies must be able to focus on: Incentives, Communications, Appeals Board, Survey, Feedback, Action (SFA), and Education and Training.

Analysis of General Environment Essay

HSBC Bank (China) is one of the first foreign banks to incorporate locally in mainland. As a foreign-owned bank, HSBC has the largest services network among foreign banks, targeting the middle-class individuals and business-oriented individuals in China. With the globalization, China is seen as the biggest market in the world. The general environment will bring great effect to the future development of the HSBC (China). The specific analysis is as follow. 1. Demographic Environment China has the largest population in the globe that the number has already reached 1.4 billion. Most of the people are living in the east and middle areas. In other words, the middle and above-middle-class people assemble in these two areas with the demand of bank service. (National Bureau of Statistic of China, 2011) As the societal pressure growing heavier, less people are willing to give birth to baby so that the problem of population aging arises. According to the reform and opening policies, the east and south areas are better developed than the central and the west. People in the coastal region have higher average income than others. As a result, HSBC (China) mostly build its banking network in the east and south areas, which are so called first-tier cities. Meanwhile, it has also expanded branches in some second-tier cities in the central area of China. 2. Economic Environment As an emerging market, China is developing at a very fast speed with continually growing Gross Domestic Product as well as high export surplus. However, in terms of global environment, the world still not recovers from the economic recession. The financial market in mainland has been impacted that the exchange rate of RMB has gone higher and higher, which has been result in the inflation. To better control the financial market, the interest rate has been increased to limit the cash flow in the market and personal saving rate goes up that people are encouraged to save money in banks rather than investing. Another economic factor putting effect on HBCS in China is the unemployment rate. China government devotes into keeping the unemployment rate low and stable, because once the rate rises sharply, this will destroy the harmony of the society. Consequently, HSBC (China) should take this factor into account to obtain trust and support from the local government. 3. Political Environment In China, banks are supervised by the China Banking Regulatory Commission. There are many barriers setting in front of those foreign banks in China, such as foreign banks are not permitted to establish a business of any scale in the mainland, since the Chinese legislations limit on how many local banking operations can lean on foreign banks. On the other hand, the new parties have held the power, which means new policies and new reform may come into being. Different policies and reform will significantly affect the existence of HSBC in China. With the improvement of the capital market, the financial environment will be deregulated and gain a more loosening environment. Moreover, foreign banks in China have to be charged tax, which will increase the cost and lower the profits of HSBC in mainland. As the compulsory education popularizing, more and more people think highly of the banking service. They become to have good knowledge to the banking items and are tied closely to those services. 4. Socio-cultural Environment Banks serve for people’s demand and need. People’s attitude towards banks is influenced by the social-cultural environment. In China, customers are more conservative that they prefer saving money. Therefore, more emphasis should be put on the retail banking services in mainland. Recent years, with the impact of financial crisis, people are less trusting banks. Banks are seen as greedy organizations by the public, which was result from arbitrary banking charges. 5. Technological Environment Technological change can bring new style of business to organizations. It can change both the product and business way. Since the constant improvement of the Internet, HSBC has launched its online banking services in China. People can have an electronic account to check user’s balances and transactions, make transfer as well as pay bills. Simultaneously, doing business through the Internet not only save the time for customers, but also simplify the business process for HSBC so that they can cut large amount of cost. Furthermore, the development of the mobile phone also benefits the banking services. People can easily access to their account through the mobile Internet. Secondly, particular applications have been invented for mobile users to manipulate their banking service. For example, HSBC has its own applications which can be used for IOS (iphone) and Android operating systems. These applications are convenient to use and also help HSBC to saving labor as well as time cost. 6. Global Environment The global environment is somewhat cannot be controlled by the organizations itself. The global economy stays in a recession for a period of time and seems to be difficult to recover from it. The subsequent influences of the financial crisis affect the economy in China. HSBC (China) has earned less profit these years. Although the macro environment is not so optimistic, China is still the hugest potential market around the world. Besides China, there are still many emerging countries appear in the world, like India. In the future, HSBC (China) should pay attention to create more advantage competitiveness than those HSBC banks in other international regions. Reference Eternity in an hour. (2009). Environmental Analysis-HSBC(A Marketing Perspective). Available from: http://cloudchronicler.net/2009/10/14/environmental-analysis-hsbc-draft-copy/ HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited Fact Sheet. (2013). Available from: http://www.hsbc.com.cn/1/PA_1_083Q9FFKG80E20RA9Q00000000/content/china/about/docs/factsheeten.pdf HSBC Bank (China). (2013). About HSBC (China). Available from: http://www.hsbc.com.cn/1/2/hsbc-china-cn Sina News. (2012). The War of the Interest Rate. Available from: http://news.dichan.sina.com.cn/2012/08/02/539030.html Studymode. (2012). A PEST Analysis Report of HSBC. Available from: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Pest-Analysis-Hsbc-Holding-Plc-1206636.html The Wall Street Journal. (2011). In China, Foreign Banks Still Lag Behind. Available from:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904491704576574281790473152.html

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire

The Han dynasty stressed effectiveness in their tools, as well as using technology to prevent natural disasters and thrive in their society. The Romans, however, marveled at their civilization’s innovations, but rejected idolizing those who worked with tools and crafts. The control of water was significant in both the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire (Docs 1 and 8). Han officials believed water conservation officers and hydraulic engineers should work together to prevent flooding (Doc 1). The writer requested the formation of water conservation officers in each district, and inspections of waterways, walls, etc.Along with necessary repairs (Doc 1). Document 1 is a letter from a Han government official concerning flood prevention. Considering the status of the writer of document 1 and the fact that the letter is instructional, it seems reasonable to assume he knows what he’s talking about. The Romans also used water engineering, aqueducts, to supply the cities with water (Doc 8). Frontinus boasted about the abundance of water for â€Å"public and private uses (Doc 8). † As a water commissioner, the writer of document 8 only talks about the positives of the water system, possibly to make himself look respectable in the eyes of his superiors.An additional document from a common citizen of Rome describing how aqueducts positively affect their life would support Frontinus, who only provides an official government point of view. Both the Roman and the Han officials wanted to use technology to control water for the benefit of the citizens, but for the Han dynasty, it was more necessary to thrive. Huan Tan, an upper-class Han philosopher, speaks of Fuxi, the wise emperor and inventor of the pestle and mortar (Doc 3). After Fuxi’s invention, there was an improvement in technology with the creation of water power (Doc 3).The attitude toward technology in this document is as technology as a â€Å"gift† from enlightened emperors. Huan Tan , because a philosopher, would praise technology from the emperor as Confucian philosophy views the emperor as a kind father-figure. Huan Tan may have written this document praising the emperor as a way of flattering the current government in hopes of achieving a higher official position. Like Fuxi, Tu Shih, governor of Nanyang, was also a wise and enlightened leader (Doc 4).Tu Shih developed a water-powered blowing-engine that was a labor-saving device, to facilitate cast-iron agricultural implements. â€Å"Tu Shih loved the common people and wished to save their labor† (Doc 4). Technology in this document is also seen as a â€Å"gift† from enlightened leadership. The writer of this document could have been trying to please the emperor in order to reach a higher position in office. Both of these documents show that the Han dynasty saw technology as a way to improve in their society and for the goodness of their people.Cicero, an upper-class Roman political leader desc ribes those who work with their hands as vulgar or common, believing that gentlemen do not work with their hands (Doc 5). Cicero speaks of hired-workers and craftsmen as having unfit occupations (Doc 5). Technology is perceived as necessary in this document, but not fit for enlightened minds. Cicero cannot accurately judge technology’s impact because he is a member of the elite and does not work with technology. According to Seneca, an upper-class Roman philosopher, technology takes being smart, but not enlightenment (Doc 7).Seneca does not believe in the importance of individual technological creations and believes there is a difference between those who work with their hands and those who work with their minds (Doc 7). Both documents show negative Roman attitudes and are degrading towards technology. Huan Guan, a Han government official, suggests that good government should correct the situation of sub-standard tools (Doc 2). Rather than him being negative towards technolog y, he is being negative towards the government’s role. He believes that technology is vital to peasant production and is the government’s responsibility to support it (Doc 2).Plutarch, a Roman high official describes Roman leader, Gauis Gracchus’ improved road building in a glorifying report (Doc 6). Technology according to this document has a practical side, but also one of aesthetics (Doc 6). As a high-ranking official, Plutarch praises another political leader possibly yearning to obtain a promotion. Both documents show technology as necessary, but the Han dynasty shows a need for technology and the Roman empire makes improvements that are not necessarily vital to their society.Additional documents by women would have been helpful in exploring whether there are similarities or differences in Han and Roman attitudes according to gender. Also, documents by workers or the lower class would have given different perspectives toward attitudes and views on technolog y, instead of high officials who do not personally work with technology. The Han dynasty, because of natural disasters and the good of their civilization, were pushed to improve on technology while the Roman empire admired their great, unneeded innovations.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

How you have applied your prior learning at HND Business studies level Essay

How you have applied your prior learning at HND Business studies level in your work - Essay Example from society or behaviour or family. I have achieved Higher National Diploma in 1984 as the result of my study during the span of 1982-84 from Thames Valley University, which is presumed to be the number 1 modern university of London (Thames Valley University, n.d.). The study of HND has been of great help me in the long career of mine. The modules that I studied in the course, way back in 1982 to 1984 always had its real life applications. The modules that were part of the course included economic geography, organisation and human relations, accounting and information systems, international business environment and business and society. Also, the Higher National Diploma had the subjects like buyer behaviour, marketing and the market research, travel and tourism and personnel management. The knowledge that I received in the yearly days of my career helped me lot to shape the future course of action. At the very outset of my career, I had the opportunity to work with the famous ice cream brand, Walls. Though, the job that I was engaged with was really not that significant for such a brand of repute, yet my knowledge and application of Higher National Diploma helped me to soon get promoted. I joined the ice-cream house as the phone sales person. But soon with my flair for the job along with my knowledge in buyer behaviour and aspects of marketing, I over achieved the target and got promoted to the office administration. In the administration of Walls, which is now a subsidiary of the Unilever, I continued for couple of years (Unilever, n.d.). In the mean time, I had an offer from a pub for the post of assistant manager. I presumed the offer to be better than the job that I was into both in terms of monetary benefits and as well as authorities and responsibilities. So, I went for the job of the assistant manager at the pub. Being Assistant Manager at the pub, I could experience wide range of activities. It also helped at developing the managerial skills

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Organizational Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Design - Essay Example Recent reports from all over the world shows that most of the companies reducing their work forces to stay in the market. Though the IT sector and real estate field has immensely affected by the current crisis, all the other sectors also suffered a lot from the current crisis. Apart from financial crisis, so many other factors like growing crime rates and violence are also made it difficult to operate business functions. There is an important relationship between the organizational structure and strategies.† A strategy is the plans and actions necessary to achieve organizational goals† (Griffin and Moorhead, (2007), p.450) The success of a business lies in identifying the proper organizational structure and strategies. The goals of the organization must be well defined before implementing changes in organizational structure. As far as Fruity Foods (FF) store is concerned, the main problem is the location. No store can operate successfully in a poor location even if their products are better compared to others. Second problem of FF is the environment. Customers are normally reluctant in going for shopping in places where the crime rates are more. More over this shop is more vulnerable to theft because of the owner’s inability to take necessary precautions. Since the owners are approaching their retirement, this store needs to be completely restructured in order to sustain in the market. For that purpose, an evaluation of the organizational environment is essential. â€Å"The organizational environment includes all of the elements ---people, other organizations, economic factors, objects and events---that lie outside the boundaries of the organization. The environment is composed of two layers; the general environment and the task environment. The general environment includes all of the broad set of dimensions and a factor within which the organization is operates including political, legal, cultural, technological, international and

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Nur 707 discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nur 707 discussion - Assignment Example When resolving a conflict as a third party, I assume a neutral ground and only propose possible solutions and soften parties’ positions. Objectiveness and communication skills are the foundations of my ability to build trusting collaborative relationships with stakeholders. I however need to improve my decision-making potential and I hope that the class will equip me in this area. A recent situation involving undiscussables was a situation in which a nurse diagnosed a patient based on symptoms alone, and not on laboratory tests, a short cut that Maxfield, Grenny, Lavandero and Groah (n.d.) identify as undiscussable and that led to misdiagnosis. Work overload was the key factor and has lead to many similar cases of diagnosis without laboratory testing. The short cut strategy occasionally leads to poor diagnosis and low quality of health. It however often leads to correct diagnosis and this motivates its use by practitioners, especially because of work overload. Based on the readings, I perceive persistence in the identified problems because even though concerns into the problems are identified, mere recommendations instead of regulatory measures are offered (Grenny, 2009; American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, n.d.). With the existence of an association, I noted possibility of developing professional codes that would have moral motivation into resolving the problems that threaten quality of care. Maxfield, D., Grenny, J., Lavandero, R., and Groah, L. (n.d.). The silent treatment: Why safety and checklists aren’t enough to save lives. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Retrieved from: http://www.aacn.org/WD/hwe/docs/the-silent-treatment.pdf. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. (n.d.). AACN’s healthy work environments initiative. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Retrieved from:

Monday, August 26, 2019

Resources regarding English 1 writing Annotated Bibliography

Resources regarding English 1 writing - Annotated Bibliography Example The types of writing included on this page are cause/effect essay, comparison/contrast essay, definition essay, description essay, narration essay, persuasive essay and process analysis essay. Each page gives three to four points that should be included in this type of essay. It is a handy reference when I’m trying to figure out what to write. This site has a lot of the same information as the â€Å"Types of Writing† site, but adds to it. It discusses the types of writing in a lot more detail, so it would be helpful to come here after I have decided on the type of writing from the other site. After getting an idea of the type of paper I’m going to write, this site would fill in the details of what is expected and gives extra help on how to write an essay and many other forms of writing. This site gives very practical help on how to write a good essay for university. The author is the wife of a teacher and has a long history of editing and helping students. She points out some of the common mistakes students make and will be helpful to make my essays better. This site walks visitors through the writing process. It helps you get your ideas together, organize them neatly and put them together in an academic way. It is helpful because it gives you choices based on different answers to questions like when the topic is assigned or when no topic is assigned. This site talks about the various styles that people can write in such as a conversational style or a poetic style. It is helpful because you don’t always think about styles like this and it helps to use the right style for the kind of writing you are doing. This site gives a lot of writing help like some of the other sites I’ve found, but I think it will be most helpful for helping me find out how to do better research. It provides some resources to go to and talks about the research process. The other sites have better information about the writing

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Individuals who qualify to be entrepreneurs must be creative with abilities to come up with solutions to curb the emerging challenges in the business atmosphere. As a result of their efforts to utilize the resources available and exploit the opportunities available, entrepreneurs enjoy rewards in the form of increased profits and strong customer loyalty. Leadership and creative characteristics of an entrepreneur One of the major leadership characteristics of an entrepreneur is the ability to form strong teams that are vital in the achievement of their own goals as well as those of the entire business. Additionally, management skills are essential for the success of any entrepreneur. For example, since most of the entrepreneurs are manage and control their employees without being accountable to the directors or other senior people, they should have excellent management skills. In this way, they are able to formulate effective policies that guide other employees in their responsibiliti es. In the same way, entrepreneur must have adequate marketing skills. In this way, they will be able to come up with innovative products that will effectively face off their competitors in the market. Skills in customer care and environment analysis are additional characteristics that assist an entrepreneur in maintaining high level of customer loyalty. Skills in environment analysis are fundamental in the sense that they helps an entrepreneur when undertaking a SWOT analysis especially when expanding his or her venture, while contemplating on going global or when forming merger with related firms. How to become a successful entrepreneur One of the major ways to become a successful entrepreneur is by doing what you enjoy most. By undertaking a business venture in the field that one enjoys, an individual will gain from personal satisfaction and financial gain. To ensure a successful business, an entrepreneur should adopt the culture of planning all his or her undertakings. Business planning is vital on the bases that it helps business owners in analyzing business situation thus making a viable conclusion. Additionally, business planning assists entrepreneurs in developing individual and corporate goals. Being used as a yardstick of raising the business to the next level, business plan is used by successful entrepreneurs, as an avenue of raising extra capital from the investors and financial institutions. Successful companies manage money wisely. In order to ensure that businesses meet the short-term and long-term liabilities it is fundamental to ensure that cash outflow is maintained at the minimum level while the inflows are maximized. A successful entrepreneur must be able to pay for the inventory and services as well as replace tools and equipments that are used in the production facility. One of the major ways of effective money management is to ensure that income generated from the exchange of goods and services is appropriately utilized. In this way, a b usiness is able to meet its goals. Secondly, an entrepreneur must ensure that adequate money is kept to cater for wages, supplies and inventory that are vital for the daily

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts Essay - 3

Organizational Behavior Terminology and Concepts - Essay Example Employees or members behave in a particular manner with the knowledge that the employer or leader has control and their processes must be followed to remain with the organization or receive payment. Theory Y is based on models that explain individual motivations as driving behavior in a group or organization. Such models are based on individual need for recognition, self satisfaction and sense of belonging within the organization. It is often thought that such characteristics more accurately explain organizational behavior, as many members perform even when benefit is reduced. In my organization, recognition and self satisfaction are at high levels, though compensation is low. This has caused many workers to seek employment elsewhere, as they still need to support their families and meet basic needs. Recognition without proper financial reward sends mixed messages to employees.Nearly all organizations operate on more than one model, based on the type of leadership and organizational goals that have been established. Cultures within an organization are made up of individuals who contribute to a set of shared values and standards. The set of shared standards or values is known as Organizational culture. Organizational culture varies from one company to another based on the type of work or tasks required, the nature of business conducted and many other contributing factors.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Week 7 discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 7 discussion - Essay Example Each pair of students will stand at the end of a one hundred meters track stretch. Along the track, there will be minor obstacles such as ankle length huddles, tires and a simple block puzzle. One student leads another blind folded student through the obstacles to the end of the track where they will â€Å"tap you are it† the other half of the team and they will go through the same process. . The students, in their respective groups, will carry out the obstacle race activity under strict supervision. It is imperative that the gym instructor is present. Also, the winning team will get small gifts like â€Å"cool† pens. The concept here is to provide a fun way to explore the importance of meaningful interpersonal relationships. The blind fold is crucial to introduce the aspect of human dependence. The students, within the groups, will comprise of different genders, race and ethnic background; the aim is to show that human cooperation goes beyond societal prejudices. The obstacles will make the activity more challenging and competitive. This activity is a break from other activities such as watching films that have graphic scenes of acts of intolerance in society such as racial prejudice. Also, the aspect of fairness will be brought out as the gym instructor and I oversee the activity to ensure that the winner is legitimate. Good morning class? Please confirm that your attire is well won, fitting and shoe laces are well tied to avoid any accidents. In previous lessons, the subject of tolerance and meaningful human interactions has concentrated on books with literature on heroes such as†¦ (The students should then raise their hands to give relevant examples). However, this class needs a practical example on how to set aside differences and work as one human entity. I will divide the students into groups of four, two girls and two boys (it will not be evident to the students that the groups are heterogeneous in

Eastern Philosopher Letter Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eastern Philosopher Letter - Personal Statement Example An individual's life today is determined by the deeds of his past lives and his present deeds in turn would affect how his next lives will turn out to be. In short if an individual commits a good action, traces of its effects would be seen in his or her next several lifetimes, and the same is true for a bad action. The moral quality of an action is determined by the intention with which it is committed, a good action results from a good intention, and a bad intention begets bad action. But Ananda, know that the most significant reason why Human suffering is caused is because of ignorance, which does not leave room for enlightenment; and selfish, egoistical cravings, which make an individual the servant of his or her lusts and desires. Ignorance ensures that an individual does not see the truth for what it is, and so ends up running after things that do not really matter in the path towards attainment of lasting peace and bliss. Due to this ignorance, the individual stays caught up in self-centered cravings which cannot always be truly fulfilled in an uncertain world, where even the best of circumstances can change into the worst in the blink of an eye. The events of this world are mostly beyond human control, and only disappointment and frustration can come of trying to control them. One cannot physically escape aging, death, illness, pain, sorrow, separation and other such avenues of human suffering in this cosmos, and the only way of doing so is to heighten one's spiritual perception of actual reality. Dear Ananda, true release from suffering or nirvana can only come through meditation and self-abnegation, because it is only through these that one can reach enlightenment, and cease to have egoistical cravings. The cycle of reincarnation is brought to a halt through the disciplinary practice of meditation and self-denial, because through these the individual comes to a stage where he or she does not have any self-centered desires. Once the ego becomes non-existent, and the individual stops thinking only about himself or herself, the path for nirvana is cleared. An individual is able to deny his or her self so totally because he or she realizes that what is usually thought of as the Self is not the real Self at all. The real Self is not one's consciousness, nor one's body. It is the spiritual essence within that is essentially free from all worldly contaminations. People forget their natural existence as spirit, and become involved in the temporal illusions of this world, immersing themselves in its transient realities, desiring temporary and materialistic satisfactions. But once an individual knows and accepts his or her original, true nature, the importance of the false self or the ego diminishes by itself. Know, my dear Ananda, that there is human suffering in this world. This suffering has specific and identifiable causes. It can be ended and the way to end suffering is through enlightened living, as expressed in the Eightfold Path I have given you. This path in its components provides guidance for the initial mental outlook of the individual, behavior appropriate for the individual in his or her quest for enlightenment, and the higher mental and spiritual qualities involved in a total dis-attachment from self. The very first of these components is the Right View, which means that to achieve freedom from suffering one has to try and look at reality as it actually is, and to

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Biological Explanation of Anorexia Essay Example for Free

Biological Explanation of Anorexia Essay The biological explanation for Anorexia Nervosa focuses on the role of neurotransmitters. It suggests disturbances in the levels of serotonin and dopamines are characteristic of anorexia. Bailer et al compared serotonin activity in women recovering from restricting anorexia with those recovering from purging type anorexia with a healthy control group. They found that the group recovering from purging type anorexia had higher serotonin activity. They also found the highest levels of serotonin in women who showed the most anxiety. They concluded that this suggests that the disruption of serotonin levels might result in increased anxiety which is one of the clinical characteristics of anorexia. However it can be argued that anxiety might be caused by anorexia rather than causing anorexia. Despite the evidence, a problem with the serotonin explanation for anorexia is that SSRIs have been found to be ineffective in treating anorexic patients. However, Kaye et al found SSRIS were effective with those recovering from anorexia because they prevented relapse. The explanation for this is that SSRIs only work once weight returns to normal because the malnutrition resulting from anorexia changed serotonin function. Kaye et al have looked at the role of another neurotransmitter in anorexia. They used a PET scan to compare a control group of healthy women with a group of recovering female anorexics. They found an over activity of dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia of women recovering from anorexia. They concluded that increased dopamine levels in the basal ganglia alters the way people interpret rewards and that anorexics might find it difficult to associate good feelings with food. Further support comes from a study by Wang et al who found that obese individuals had low levels of dopamine. This contrasts with the high levels found in anorexics suggesting dopamine is inversely related to body weight. However it is unclear whether levels of dopamine cause anorexia or the altered levels are a consequence of anorexia. Other theories propose that AN is a result of brain damage at or shortly after birth. Swedish research, for example, has shown that significantly more anorectics than would be expected have experienced some kind of birth trauma. British research using scanning devices has shown that there is reduced blood flow in the anterior temporal lobes of anorectics as compared with non-anorectics. The biological explanation suffers from culture bias and gender bias. Research has mainly been carried out in Western clinical samples and therefore cannot be generalised to all cultures which makes it difficult to explain why anorexia occurs in non-Western cultures. Research also tends to mostly use female participants therefore resulting in gender bias and as a result, it is difficult to explain why men might become anorexic which may also prevent them from being given the appropriate treatment. A criticism of the biological explanation is that it focuses entirely on nature which ignores nurture factors. This might hinder recovery if treatment of anorexia is only based on biological factors and ignores the social and environmental factors. Also, the biological approach is deterministic as it suggests that individuals with anorexia do not have any control over their condition because it is caused by changed in serotonin levels which are not directly controlled by them. This ignores the role of free will and choice.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cognitive behavioural therapy treatment for severe depression

Cognitive behavioural therapy treatment for severe depression The essay starts with a short definition of the term depression and continues with an abstract about the main basics of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the treatment of depression. The focus is on CBT as it is practised according to Aaron Beck. Due to the shortness of the essay I decided to focus on Beck, rather than on the behavioural approach of Albert Ellis, although Ellis contributed a lot to CBT as it is practised today. Beck is especially useful for the theme of the essay because the treatment of depression was a lifelong focus in his therapeutic work. Most authors refer to him rather than Ellis. In the third part of the essay I want to discuss the benefits and limitations of CBT as a treatment for depression, comparing it with some ideas and strategies of Family Therapy and Hypnotherapy. What is Depression? The terms Depression and being depressed are very common and frequently used. We use them in every day life to express that we are unhappy, in a low mood, disappointed or feel a lack of energy. It seems as though every human being gets to know feelings of depression during his life time and it is within the human range of experiences to get through times of deep disheartenment. So, when does Depression becomes a serious disorder and reaches the state of an illness? The boundaries seem to be fluid, but the usual description of feelings, like being sad, anxious or desperate doesnt capture the depressive experience. It is often described as rather an absence of emotions, a total blankness. (Hell, 1992 p.61) Psychiatrists today mainly use the number of symptoms and the length of their appearance for the classification. According to the ICD-10 criteria, diagnosis of a depressive episode requires at least two, out of the following three core symptoms for most of the day, nearly every day, for a minimum of two weeks:  [1]   Low mood (feeling low, unhappy, sad or miserable) Fatigue (feeling tired or having little energy) Anhedonia (lack of interest or enjoyment in things) Whether a depressive episode is classified as mild, moderate or severe depends on the number of associated symptoms: Sleep disturbance Change in appetite and weight Anxiety Poor concentration and irritability Suicidal thoughts Feelings of guilt and worthlessness These symptoms may occur in a one-off episode (a major depressive episode), can recur more than once (a major depressive disorder) or be less severe but more persistent, which is then called dysthymia. The periodic appearance applies to 50% of the cases. (Hell, 2008 p.49) Depression is often associated with other disturbances such as addiction, anxiety, compulsive disorders or eating disorders. (Brunnhuber and Frauenknecht, 2005 p. 148) It can be masked by fatigue, insomnia, a burn out syndrome and can also appear in conjunction with a physical illness. In addition to the clinical definition of depression I would like to mention Dorothy Rowes assessment that people suffering from depression describe themselves as feeling trapped and isolated from the rest of the world. (1994, p.xxi) Not being in contact with others is in my eyes important because it has an major impact on therapy. The number of people being diagnosed with depression is still increasing. It is said that about 15-20% of the population is likely to suffer from a diagnosable depression once during his life time. Women are two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men. 15% of the people who have been treated in hospital because of depression, later commit suicide. (Brunnhuber and Frauenknecht, 2005 p.147) Despite a great deal of research there is still no evidence of a single cause for depression. Early life experiences, hereditary factors, social risk factors, a chemical disturbance in the brain, all are still said to contribute to the development of a depressive episode. Although I do not intend to address these theories in detail in this essay, the question what causes depression is vitally important to every school of psychotherapy in dealing with the problem. CBT as treatment for depression One reason for NHS to choose CBT as the favoured form of treatment is, that it has been subject to intensive scientific testing for many years and has been found as effective as antidepressant medication and other forms of therapy. (Mulhern et al., 2004 p.185) I dont want to challenge these results in my essay, instead want to understand how CBT works. The CBT explanation of depression derives from the work of Aaron Beck and focuses on the relationship between unhelpful thinking, emotions and behaviour. The proposition is, that negative early life experiences make some people vulnerable to depression, which can be activated later in life by stressful events. Our early experiences decide how we view ourselves, others and the world. The individual develops rules and compensatory assumptions, which have the function to prevent the activation of the negative and painful core beliefs. For example someone who grew up in a family without warmth and approval might have the core belief: Im unlovable. Over the years he might develop a rule, how to get the desired response from others: If I put the needs of others first, then they will love me. Beck called that type the sociotropic personality style, with a greater need to be accepted, placing their self-worth and individual needs after those of others. In contrast autonomous personality types place a greater value on independence and the achievement of individual goals. The autonomous personality may experience depression as a result of failure in achieving goals and external stressors like unemployment, debt, a failed exam etc. The sociotropic style will be vulnerable to depression when interpersonal relationships are threatened or lost. (Mulhern at al, 2004 pp. 184-5) The underlying psychological vulnerability is assessed by using different kinds of questions for detecting the core beliefs and negative automatic thoughts (e.g. Im not good enough). Automatic thoughts are usually outside the conscious attention of a person, but so familiar that they seem to be the ultimate truth. According to Beck it is not a negative event that causes depression, but the interpretation of the event, based on our core beliefs. After detecting the wrong beliefs the client learns to work out for himself, how these thoughts affect his feelings and behaviour. When insight in the mechanism is achieved, the therapist and client work collaboratively to change the dysfunctional thoughts. It is an essential part of the session to clarify the difference between feelings and thoughts. For example the client learns to say I think I am a bad person instead of I feel I am a bad person. CBT therapists have a circular understanding of the relationship between cognition, emotions and behaviour. For example cognitive processes can influence behaviour and feelings, and vice versa, changed behaviour can influence cognitions and feelings. As in other schools of Psychotherapy, warmth, genuineness and empathy are important components of the therapeutic relationship. But cognitive therapy does not use the relationship as the focus of therapy. The aim is to create a therapeutic milieu in which the specific cognitive techniques will be accepted by the client and can be applied most efficiently. (Beck et al, 1997 pp. 45-9) The therapist explains all techniques, how they work and their purpose. Beck uses the picture of two scientists observing the presented problem. Therapist and client are partners in the process of problem-solving. The therapist is directive in the beginning of the process, but the client is supposed to take more and more responsibility for developing his own strategies. Nevertheless there is always a script which leads through the session. The client shall remain emotionally independent from the therapist and the number of sessions is limited. NHS usually pays for 6-20 sessions of CBT, dependent on the severity of the depression. (NCHP, 2009 p.182) Beck himself worked with an average number of 15 sessions over an 11-week period. (Beck et al., 1979 pp. 104-5) The setting of homework is a key stage in CBT, which transfers the learning and changed behaviour into the clients every day life. It also activates the client and may give him first feelings of achieving something. Homework assignments are often presented in the form of behavioural experiments. The activation of the depressed client is one of the most important tasks in CBT. The client is monitoring his activities and rating them as to the pleasure he gets from them. The usual idea of the depressive client of doing and enjoying nothing at all can be altered into a more reasonable view. The patient becomes more sensitized to feelings of satisfaction and thus experience and recalls more pleasurable sensations. (Beck et al., 1979 p.125) The technique of activity scheduling is used to increase step by step the number of activities the client takes part in. Scheduling is also used for breaking down big tasks, which the client feels unable to work on, down into smaller bits and pieces. Rather than ruminating on the cause for the depression, monitoring and later changing thoughts, feelings and behaviour is the goal of therapy. The more objective data shall allow the client to get rid of his self-judgement and feelings of worthlessness. Discussion In the beginning I was really reluctant to write about CBT. It was never very appealing to me and I have no personal experience with it. The books I read seemed to be very schematic and strict, written without empathy and inspiring ideas, a bit too educational and directive. It was the CBT-Weekend at NCHP with Jeannie Bruce, which encouraged me to delve a bit deeper into the subject. Being such an enthusiastic and empathetic therapist, she convinced me that the techniques of CBT are working for people suffering from psychological problems like depression or anxiety. She uses Hypnotherapy as well and I think most CBT-therapists today use additional techniques and borrow from other therapeutic schools. This is probably one of the advantages of CBT today: The openness to integrate with whatever technique is useful for the client. To keep it manageable I want to stay close to the original theories of Aaron Beck about depression, when starting the discussion about the benefits and limitations.  [2]   CBT is not focusing on the cause of depression. The explanation why depression exists is more functional. A kind of protection, when we are in a high-stress environment, like a safety switch or fuse on an electrical circuit environment (Gilbert, 1993 p.33) or evolutionary: Go to the back of the cave and stay there until it is safe again (Gilbert, 1993 p.43) People suffering from depression tend to have a low self-esteem and are very self-critical. The client is supposed to learn, that with his continuous self criticism he is constantly stimulating his natural threat system. Through this permanent stress he is maintaining the depressive state, getting deeper and deeper into exhaustion and inactivity. With that explanation CBT focuses on how the client is maintaining his depression, rather than what causes it. The idea is offered that the individual, who usually feels powerless against the almighty depression, might still have some influence on it. The individual is taking more responsibility for changing his behaviour and thoughts and works his own way out of depression. If you want to bring a change as quickly as possible, this is probably a very straightforward and good approach. As a family therapist Im familiar and mostly agree, with the idea that for initiating a change, it is not necessary to go deeply into the causes of the pronou nced problem. Problems are best solved in the here and now. In Hypnopsychotherapy we use this approach as well. CBT assumes it is the clients thinking that produces his low feelings. Beck even calls it a thinking disorder (1979, p.14) I think this is a very simplistic idea, maybe too simplistic for the complex human psyche. Nevertheless it is true that the way we think can influence our feelings. And it is much easier to change willingly the way we think than the way we feel. Gaining back control will be a big relief. CBT claims, that this is more helpful and longer lasting than the relief a client may get from expressing his feelings. (Beck 1979, p.42) I do have a problem with telling people that what they are thinking and feeling is wrong. It sounds a bit contradictory to explain to someone that his belief that Im not ok, is not o.k. Can that unconsciously consolidate the core belief, Im not ok, despite consciously being trained to say Im a good person? Will stable self-esteem and valuation result from this message? Hypnotherapists believe that core beliefs exist mainly in the subconscious mind and need to be addressed there. Not in simply abandoning them, but in carefully changing them, displacing them step by step with new suggestions. I have more sympathy with an approach that accepts all feelings and thoughts as a part of the individual, and tries to integrate them, rather than declaring them simply wrong. I find CBT techniques helpful in breaking the vicious circle of withdrawal and inactivity, which maintains and even boost the low mood. Withdrawing from people, staying in bed and constantly ruminating would probably also depress a well balanced person. It is difficult to find a way out. With the direct approach to change behaviour CBT can be a useful emergency-tool to escape from the prison of depression. Nearly all experts agree that if client is suffering from a severe depression a therapeutic communication is quite difficult. To improve the mood in the first place is preferable. A CBT session is well structured and follows a fixed script. The script may keep a secure distance between therapist and client. The so called together as scientists approach, signals that the client isnt forced to engage deeply with the therapist. It might be wise not to focus on the therapeutic relationship if the client is deeply withdrawn and distrustful or scared of others. There is another benefit for the therapist. In my experience, working with people who are depressed may easily lead to an atmosphere of emptiness and hopelessness during the session, which could easily infect the therapist as well. If you have a fixed script to follow and concentrate on it, you may be able to avoid being stuck in a problem-trance.  [3]   From a more critical point of view I would like to ask what happens after the case of emergency is accommodated? The individual engages in activity again and is able to follow his everyday chores. Will the change last, if the underlying problems are not addressed? Is a long lasting effect possible without insight? Will the client be able to find more satisfaction in his relationships? There is no answer to the question whether the wrong thinking is really causing the depression or whether it is just the other way round: because the individual is depressed, his thinking is negative and irrational. If you see it as circular not linear, it does not matter from which side you approach the problem and initiate change. But for the individual whos looking for deeper insight into his problem this approach may be unsatisfying. In the view of CBT, depression is an unwanted experience. It causes suffering and therefore is to be eliminated. Other Psychologists were asking: Is there any sense in depression? For example Dorothy Rowe criticizes CBT for ignoring the major questions of life, which deserve to concern us: Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? What happens after death? (1994 p. xviii) The thinking about these questions makes us human beings. It could help the client to talk these through in Psychotherapy.  [4]  An existential fear of death for example, which can appear after an important loss and lead to depression can not simply be rationalised. In my eyes it must be taken seriously and addressed with respect and time. There may also be environmental or social circumstances, which may raise the question, whether it is not reasonable to be depressed and has nothing to do with wrong thinking at all. There is a strong connection between social problems like poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, and the appearance of depression.(Hell, 2008 pp.33-34) Acknowledging that distressing incidences can legitimately cause depression doesnt stop us from looking for solutions. I also have an objection to the way CBT deals with ambivalence. People are complex and able to think, feel and believe two opposite things at one and the same time. For example: Im a talented person and Im a failure. CBT is labelling the negative thinking as wrong and simply tries to eliminate it with changed cognitions, reality testing and training. As a future Hypnotherapist I know that the unconscious mind has many possibilities to store something away, and it might come up with the next challenge or disappointment again. It makes sense for me to address the negative thoughts directly in the unconscious state, rather than with rational techniques. Addressing the unconscious mind can be helpful, especially if we talk about the type of depression which seems to arise out of the nowhere, without an obvious cause. The unconscious mind might give us some answers about unfulfilled needs, hidden wishes and former painful experiences which may contribute to the state in which we are now. Schmidt points out, that it is often the attempt to eliminate ambivalences that leads into depression. The black and white thinking of the depressive individual may cause the trouble. (2004, p.284) Isnt the good and wrong labelling of thoughts and behaviour in CBT supporting this categorical thinking? Im a bit suspicious about the success rate in CBT, because depressed people are often described as being adaptive and well-behaving. (Linares and Campo, 2003 pp. 14-5) The moderate depressed client might follow the instructions and homework assignments willingly, holding back other feelings of anger and resistance. He is more likely to show guilt in case of a relapse and usually blames himself for it. While reading the CBT manuals for depression I sometimes think: That sounds like good parenting to me. For example, scheduling the day with your depressed client, advising him in detail how to start the day, brushing teeth, take a shower, have some breakfast, go to work. Depression is also described as a kind of regression and maybe CBT meets the need of a client to have a good and caring parent in therapy, as compensation for neglect in childhood.  [5]  This can heal a wound, but can also provoke being a good child again, pleasing others, adjusting to the tasks. Without question it depends on the quality of the therapist to recognize and address this. Another thing could be missed if the depressed client is characterized solely as someone with low self-esteem and a negative self-perception. This part of the personality shows up first and is presented quickly. In my eyes it is only one side of the coin. Unipolar depression occurs often later in life, when we realize that we didnt live up to our expectations and we see no solution for that. It is a time when we may have to say goodbye to dreams, fantasies and wishes which helped us to survive as a child and young person. I would always carefully explore whether there are hidden feelings of self-aggrandisement. Between the two poles of devaluation and delusions of grandeur the individual may oscillate. In that case depression could make sense to him as a reason for retaining his delusions of grandeur, and even as an excuse for why he is not able to live up to his (unreasonable) expectations. Depression may also protect us from making further decisions and taking full responsibility f or how we live. It could also simply be a break, for getting some rest and protecting the individual from his own excessive demands. It can transfer information about legitimate and so far neglected needs. (Schmidt, 2004 p.283-285) If depression is a kind of protection, the question should not be how to get rid of it as quickly as possible, but how to protect oneself in different ways, which causes less suffering. Another interesting idea I would carefully explore as a therapist is, whether the client has a problem with regulating closeness and distance. Depression can be a tool in keeping at a distance from other people. It can be a form of withdrawal into ones inner self, if we do not feel allowed to leave an unbearable situation, or to express our needs. Family therapy is looking for the sense in showing yourself depressed in connection with our environment. The assumption is that all human behaviour makes sense and all behaviour is communication. Because it is impossible not to communicate, even a behaviour which consists of withdrawal and bleak silence (how the depressive person is often presenting himself ) is communication. It is a message to the people around and provokes reactions. Depression arises in our relationships. It is not a process inside the individual, but a symptom in the communication between two or more people. Although it appears to be dysfunctional there is an underlyi ng intention for the behaviour. Eliminating the depressive symptoms as quickly as possible could be overhasty, if you dont respect their meaning and function first. The development of other strategies and an improvement in communication would be the prior goals. I find this approach helpful, when the depressed person is living in a constant relationship and obviously the depression interferes with the partner or the whole family.  [6]   Depression is a very complex psychological problem and I hope I was able to show a variety of reasonable approaches and theories which are all based on practical therapeutic experiences and research. Probably no two depressions are the same and every case needs to be explored carefully. As it is such a complex theme, it is a loss that the NHS, mainly for economic reasons, decided to promote CBT as the only treatment of choice. One suits all, that is wishful thinking. There are much more helpful and interesting strategies which would be worth a try. One client may want a quick fix only, another may want to explore the underlying causes and a third may respond to hypnosis rather than to rational approaches. At this moment, we are far from having found the one and only treatment for depression. Working with depressed people is probably one of the biggest challenges as a therapist. If we have in mind the high number of recurrent depressions it might be more economic to pay once for an individualised therapy than for the short term and relatively cheap CBT, as a treatment for all. Words: 3804

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Online Shop Web Design

Online Shop Web Design Shop Online Web Application system, allows the customer to shop online for their required items, and also represents an associated window for the orders selected by the customer. Each Customer will be having their desired page when they login or signup into the Shop Online Web Application. The Customer can select the required items into the cart without logging into their account. But the purchase of the items in the cart has to be done using their registered account in the System using either credit or debit card, they can also cancel the payment or return the items purchased only after a detailed specification of the reason for it. The Logged In customers will be having a wish-list function so that they can put the items they wanted to buy in the wish-list and can buy later. There is one more function price checker, which intimates the customer regarding the item selected by them whenever there is a cut-off in the price of that item, but only for a few selected items. There is also a desired page for the history of items bought by the customers.   The customer can maintain their account and address details. The customer also can reset their password if forgotten by getting a link to reset password to their concerned web mail. Requirements for the system are we will be using Ruby On Rails for the development, and for the web design HTML, Javascript and CSS. The Backend is managed by MySQL. The Database for the System consists of shop online development database which consist of tables for categories, products, product images, users. The Columns for the categories are id, title, weight, products_counter, created_at, updated_at, ancestry. The Columns for products are id, category_id, titile, status, amount, uuid, msrp, price, description, created_at, updated_at, lprice. The Columns for the product images are id, product_id, weight, image_file_name, image_content_type, image_file_sizee, image_updated_at, created_at, updated_at. The Columns for the users are id, email, crypted_password, created_at, updated_at,activation_state, activation_token, activation_token_expires_at, remember_me_token, remember_me_token_expires_at, reset_password_token, reset_password_token_expires_at, reset_password_email_sent_at. Entity Relationship Diagram: FIG. 1 (Relationship between the tables) In ruby on rails the web application code is divided into model, view, controller. Model represents the database access, View represents the html pages before and after access of the database, and controller represents the action to be done once the we get a request from the Web Application. Model Code: (Category) class Category < ApplicationRecord    validates :title, presence: { message: Empty name! }    validates :title, uniqueness: { message: Repeated name! }    has_ancestry orphan_strategy: :destroy    has_many :products, dependent: :destroy    before_validation :correct_ancestry    def self.grouped_data   Ã‚  Ã‚   self.roots.order(weight desc).inject([]) do |result, parent|   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   row = []   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   row { where(status: Status::On) }    module Status   Ã‚  Ã‚   On = on   Ã‚  Ã‚   Off = off    end    private    def set_default_attrs   Ã‚  Ã‚   self.uuid = RandomCode.generate_product_uuid    end end (product image): class ProductImage < ApplicationRecord    belongs_to :product    has_attached_file :image, styles: {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   small: 60^x60,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   middle: 200^x200,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   big: 960x    }    validates_attachment_content_type :image, content_type: /Aimage/.*Z/    validates_attachment_size :image, in: 0..5.megabytes end (User): class User < ApplicationRecord    authenticates_with_sorcery!    attr_accessor :password, :password_confirmation    validates_presence_of :email, message: Email cannot be empty!    validates_format_of :email,message: Email format mistake!,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   with: /w+([-+.]w+)*@w+([-.]w+)*.w+([-.]w+)*/,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if: proc { |user| !user.email.blank? }    validates :email, uniqueness: true    validates_presence_of :password, message: Password cannot be empty!,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if: :need_validate_password    validates_presence_of :password_confirmation, message: Password confirm cannot be empty!,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if: :need_validate_password    validates_confirmation_of :password,message: Password not right ,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if: :need_validate_password    validates_length_of :password, message: Password at least 6 digits, minimum: 6,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   if: :need_validate_password    def username   Ã‚  Ã‚   self.email.split(@).first    end    private    def need_validate_password   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   self.new_record? || (!self.password.nil?||!self.password_confirmation.nil?)    end end Controller Code: (Category) class CategoriesController < ApplicationController    def show   Ã‚  Ã‚   @categories = Category.grouped_data   Ã‚  Ã‚   @category = Category.find(params[:id])   Ã‚  Ã‚   @products = @category.products.onshelf.page(params[:page] || 1).per_page(params[:per_page] || 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .order(id desc).includes(:main_product_image)    end end (Product): class ProductsController < ApplicationController    def show   Ã‚  Ã‚   @categories = Category.grouped_data   Ã‚  Ã‚   @product = Product.find(params[:id])    end end (Session): class SessionsController < ApplicationController    def new    end    def create   Ã‚  Ã‚   if user= login(params[:email],params[:password])#loginsorcery   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   flash[:notice]=You have logged in!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   redirect_to root_path   Ã‚  Ã‚   else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   flash[:notice]=Emails or Password mistake   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   redirect_to new_session_path   Ã‚  Ã‚   end    end    def destroy   Ã‚  Ã‚   logout   Ã‚  Ã‚   flash[:notice]=You already logged out!   Ã‚  Ã‚   redirect_to root_path    end end (User): class UsersController < ApplicationController    def new   Ã‚  Ã‚   @user = User.new    end    def create   Ã‚  Ã‚   @user= User.new(params.require(:user).permit(:email,:password,:password_confirmation))   Ã‚  Ã‚   if @user.save   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   flash[:notice] = sign up successfully! Please log in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   redirect_to new_session_path   Ã‚  Ã‚   else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   render action: :new   Ã‚  Ã‚   end    end end (Welcome): class WelcomeController < ApplicationController    def index   Ã‚  Ã‚   @categories = Category.grouped_data   Ã‚  Ã‚   @products = Product.onshelf.page(params[:page] || 1).per_page(params[:per_page] || 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .order(id desc).includes(:main_product_image)    end end

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and The Nymph’s Reply to the Essay

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd: A comparison ‘The Passionate Shepherd to His Love’ was written by Christopher Marlowe. The poem describes a shepherd’s plea to someone he loves urging them to live with him. Marlowe uses imagery to describe the scenery around the shepherd and his love. The shepherd tries to convince her how happy they will be, surrounded by â€Å"mountain yields† and â€Å"groves† in stanza one. Marlowe does not only use imagery in his poem but he also describes the aroma ‘And a thousand fragrant posies.’ He creates a tranquil atmosphere by describing the harmonious sound in the second and third stanzas. ‘Melodious birds sing madrigals.’ In the third stanza the shepherd tells his love that he will give her anything she wants if she lives with him. The shepherd names beautiful clothes in an attempt to persuade her, ‘Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold.’ In the fourth stanza the shepherd believes that he has succeeded in convincing his love to live with him. He describes what he believes to be a vision of their future, pulling wool from pretty lambs together conveying a sense of unity. The beginning of stanza five is realistic as the shepherd offers to give his love ‘a belt of straw and ivy buds’. However towards the end of the stanza he says that he will give her ‘coral clasps and amber studs’ which is completely unrealistic as he is a shepherd who would not be able to afford such gifts. In the shepherd’s desperation, he resorts to materialism as he believes this is the only way his love will be returned. The second poem ‘The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd’ written by Sir Walter Ralegh is the reply t... ...s beautiful scenery and clothes as a method of persuasion, whilst ‘The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd’ tries to express a sense of realism to the shepherd informing him that things do change like spring to autumn and youth to old age. In my opinion ‘The Passionate Shepherd to His Love’ does deserve a reply. After reading the poem the reader assumes that ‘his love’ will go and live with him as he offers her everything she may want. It is quite unpredictable that she would refuse this offer and so the reply gives the story a conclusion. Even though the reader feels empathy for the shepherd as he is prepared to do anything for the nymph, we appreciate the nymph’s point of view that nothing will stay the same forever. Although the poems are both structurally similar, they express contrasting sentiments, a contrast which I feel makes these poems a success.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Until All The Men Are Back :: essays research papers

Until All The Men Are Back 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it? 'And, when he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and goes home. 'Then he calls [everyone] and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep''; (Jesus Christ: Luke 15:4-6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For some thirty years, two thousand four hundred thirteen (2,413) souls have been crying out for freedom, but they are waiting as lost sheep for their shepherd to find. The title, whether Prisoner Of War, Missing In Action, or Killed In Action b.n.r. (body not recovered) matters not. There is terrible wrong that continues to be allowed to perpetrate the halls of the United States Congress and the office of the President. The United States government considers these men and women more easily pronounced dead than becoming stuck within the quagmire of Vietnam investigations again. The majority attitude is to remember them in a past tense manner, a manner of 'out of sight, out of mind.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The POW/MIA personnel took an oath upon entry into the armed forces, which the United States government needs to reciprocate. Within the context of this oath are phrases such as 'I am prepared to give my life in [my country's] defense.'; There are sworn words such as 'I will never forget that I am an American and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.'; The men and women falling under the aforementioned titles of POW, MIA or KIA (b.n.r.) need the same commitment shown them as the sheep in the scriptural quote above. The shepherd, the people of the United States, should commit to finding the lost and bring them back to the flock. This must be our mutual oath to the ones sitting day and night, year after year in the dejection and despondency of a prison.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As written by Dennis Johnson in his poem 'Missing in Action,'; he speaks in the first person tense of one missing: I am an MIA still waiting here today. In a war that no one wanted I was lost and left behind. I did nothing to dishonor yet you still dishonor me. How can you disremember when my soul is not yet free? I am here because you left me. It's so simple, don't you see?

Saturday, August 17, 2019

A Critique of the research article

This report is a summary of findings of the research conducted by Military Family Research Institute and the DOD Quality of Life Office about the issue of adaptation amongst adolescents in military families when a parent is deployed.The aim of research was to find new ways of dealing with the problems adolescents faced because of parent’s deployment – basically, it was done to investigate and probe their feelings about the issue, so that military and civilian program professionals could be more intentional and directed regarding developing support programs for young people (Angela & Jay, 2005, p.12).Parental deployment can have several negative outcomes for adolescents. These include depression or negative behavioral adjustment, poor academic performance, and increased irritability and impulsiveness (cited in Angela & Jay, 2005).The report provided by the authors is detailed and descriptive in nature. It offers a helpful set of conclusions which can be used by professio nals, family members, the parent at home, and society in general, to make them understand the impact of deployment of a parent from a child’s perspective. To emphasize the importance of this research, the authors Angela J. Huebner and Jay A. Mancini, wrote the following:Because there are just a few systematic studies of adolescents in military families, the present study marks what we hope will be the beginning of an important line of inquiry. The findings presented in this report should confirm observations made by professionals who work with military adolescents and provide a context for exploring new ways to support adolescents who have a deployed parent.MethodsAdolescents between the age group of 12-18 years were chosen from camps sponsored by National Military Family Association. This was done to simplify the process of locating and choosing children with a deployed parent. NMFA camps in Washington, Hawaii, Texas, and Georgia were the ones which participated in this stud y. The methods used during the research were, first, evaluated and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.In all, there were 107 adolescents ranging from 12-18 years of age. These participants were then divided into 14 focus groups comprising of 8-10 participants each. The questions asked during the 90 min sessions were focused on determining adolescents’ experience with the deployment. The answers which they got were audio-taped and transcribed.It is important to know some key questions which were asked to the participants. Also given below is one answer picked randomly.1. What is the worst thing about having a parent deployed? â€Å"The worst time is when the phone rings because you don’t know who is calling. They could be calling, telling you that he got shot or something.†2. Do you see changes in your at-home parent when the other is deployed? â€Å"I’m like always worried about my mom and st uff because, again, she’s always dashing everywhere †¦she’s always so freaking worn out.†3. What is it like when that parent returns? â€Å"Well when my dad left, everything’s going one way when he come back, and he’s starting off right where he left so†¦There’s just a big clash and that starts a lot of problems†¦Like he forgets that he’s been gone for like a year or six months. So he still thinks we’re a lot younger and while he was gone we matured a lot over the year. And he’s still trying to treat us the way we were treated a year ago.†Support to adolescents can come from formal or informal sources. The questions asked in this regards was to determine the real effects both such approaches could have individually.4. Who do you go to when you are stressed?For informal support:â€Å"At first when my dad first got deployed, there was a lot of support as in like people calling, people giving us, you k now, food and stuff. But then as time went one, it just kind of died down and nobody really cared that he was deployed.†

My Father in heaven is Reading out loud Essay

Faith gives us the strength to pursue what we have in our lives. What we perceive in our lives should give us the drive to carry on things which will have an effect in our lifetime in the long run. Essence of love and its intensity would transpire a huge sense of longing at times most especially if we loose a person so dear to us, then the saying which goes like we will just contemplate the importance of a person when he’s gone would truly give weight on this. The poem â€Å"My Father in heaven is Reading out loud† connotes the central theme of death. The realization of a person who is far away circling in the poem, however, being gone does not mean that the love’s gone as well. In view of the poem, it has been epitomize how love can move things and awaken a person to do things efficiently. Though the sad part of the thing called death is at hand, the positive side which would be the element of hope which enable a person to pursue things given the inspiration of his loved one. The character in the poem is simply a loving father who’s gone but his love remains. There is also the child who misses things around as his father’s already gone. A strong character is present in this poem which gives a manly vibe through out the entire deliverance of the poem. The word Father per se exemplifies a huge sincerity of weight to a strong personality. This figurative word that has been used in the entire poem leave a remarkable air of an almighty figure, one which possess strength of power and a role model to everyone. Moreover, this also connote a certain level of consistency of decision – and in this case, a decision to stay around regardless of what faith could give us, â€Å"My Father in Heaven is Reading out loud to himself Psalms or news† (stanza 1, line 1-2, p. 257). The father still makes his role seemingly possible even if he’s away from home and can never have a grip on him in this lifetime. Perhaps, the character has a deep sense of protection power and his views on things contribute a lot to the people sop dear to him. Upon visualizing the varieties of the poem â€Å"My Father in Heaven is Reading out loud†, the setting of a peaceful place is present. A sacred place like that of heaven would be a possible setting for this poem. Heaven which is a good place to oversee things down the earth and monitor what is happening to his loved one, if he is doing the right things in life. Perhaps, this peaceful environment is beneficial in making available the air of tranquillity and peaceful arena. Scrutinizing some main points of the poem will give us a huge sense of understanding towards life and what it entails to realize a lost loved one, or for that matter, a father. â€Å"Now he ponders what he’s read, No. he is listening for the sound of children in the yard. Was that laughing or crying? So much depends upon the answer, for either he will go on reading, or he’ll run to save a child’s day from grief. As it is in heaven, so it was on earth† (stanza 1, line 2-8, p. 257), this goes to say that the father might have some news at hand as he manage to protect his child albeit the fact that he’s gone and so much away. His spirit is still present as he monitors what is happening with his child and maybe he felt the longingness of his child now that he’s gone. Furthermore, he still feels the caress of his child as he plays around. As the father, he enjoys the scenery of his child innocently roaming around tackling his own life. Perhaps, he’s still bothered during those times which he knows that his child misses him and that at the back of what seems to be laughter lays a tears which is continuously flowing. He might have the feeling of longing and parallel to this, there might be some sorrows within as the child looks for a father at a moment. The father was a bit afraid as well because he may no longer give the protection which his child needed since he’s too far to reach and the only thing which he can do is to make his spirit always available showered with love. By means of his affection, heaven could possibly put on earth. Looking at his child feels like heaven to him and all he wants is to make his child happy even if it takes him to just stare at his child and be that far from him. In view of the child’s perspective, his father does a lot of remarkable things for him that he should be proud of for the rest of his life, â€Å"Because my father walked the earth with a grave, determined rhythm, my shoulders ached from his gaze, because my father’s shoulders ached from pulling of oars, my life now moves with a powerful back-and-forth rhythm† (stanza 2, line 1-5, p. 257). At some point the child’s not as good before neglecting the things which his father did to him and now he regrets the past circumstances in his life and wondering if he could turn back those times that he can be at his best – a good son to his good father who truly loves him, â€Å"A remarkable disappointment to him, I am like anyone who arrives late in the millennium and is unable to stay to the end of days† (stanza 3, line 1-4, p. 257). In consonance to this, the child has become confused at some point towards what life is giving him, the challenges that he has as he starts questioning, is it too late for him to change for the reason that he can no longer grab his father. Now that everything is too late for him and his dad, he wants to go back and show how he loves his father and that he can be a better person most especially to his father, â€Å"the world’s beginnings are obscure to me, its outcomes inaccessible, I don’t understand the source of starlight or starlight’s destination† (stanza 3, line 4-7, p. 257). A two way of presentation has been present in this poem, the father figure and a child who looks at things differently based on his father’s showered love. Clearly, the spirit of hope resembles at the end of the poem as the child aspire to get better grasping what his father has taught him. Life mat give us a certain role in this world and albeit with that role lays a challenge which we can surely surpass at a given time. Reference: My Father, in Heaven, Is Reading out loud, Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers, Fourth Edition page 257

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Effects of Misconduct on the Armed Forces

The armed forces of the United States is one of the most feared and respected military organizations in the world. This image is helped by documentaries, news reports and even by the movies. But the real reason why the US military is considered very powerful and a dangerous enemy can be understood after reading the following explanation:The United States military is unique in the amount of power it can project globally. Although France and the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, PRC, and European Union, are capable of projecting power overseas, the United States military is the only one with the higher military capacity to fight a major regional war at a distance from its homeland. The U.S. is also one of the few nations in the world that has a sizable nuclear arsenal and maintains active doctrines for plausible nuclear attack operations. (see Wikipedia: US Military).This is why America is feared and respected. Although there is reason to believe that Americans would pr efer that their country and its citizens are respected rather than feared; there is also a lot of apprehension over the notion that U.S. superpower is a bully in the global theater.This negative image which others believe to be the dark side of this great institution is   putting a lot of pressure on the military organization to behave appropriately and to borrow from their lingo: there should be no conduct unbecoming a military officer. For when this happens the chain reaction can be unbelievable. One indiscretion and the whole structure will be placed in a bad light. Consider for example relatively recent events about U.S. soldiers abusing POW’s and some of its members involved in an alleged rape case overseas are a few instances when the rest of the world shakes its head and would love to believe that all this power had corrupted the men and women in uniform.In order to prevent such misconduct and to keep its integrity intact the U.S. military is keeping in place a syste m of rules, regulations, traditions, and protocols that would ensure that the rest of the world will hold the said institution in high esteem.Military DisciplineThe word discipline when put inside the world of soldiers takes on a different meaning. This has nothing to do with the kind of discipline kids get at home when they fail to do their homework or when they do not clean their room. Discipline in the ordinary day to day life of normal people can sometimes mean a temporary abstinence on doing something or a temporary increase in work volume to accomplish a task or simply to grit ones teeth and do something that is normally not done if the circumstances are more favorable. In the military soldiers do not wait until things are worse before they will begin to be disciplined.In other worlds soldiers do not wait until they are overweight before they start doing morning jogs and calisthenics. They trained before the need arises, they practice long and hard before the fight and they pr epare before the crisis. Discipline in the Army, Navy and the Air Forces is a lifestyle. It can be said that it is more than a lifestyle in fact it is the blood that keeps the institution alive and the invisible force that holds it together. Without discipline the armed forces can easily disintegrate in quickly destroying everything in its path including itself. The infamous tortures at the Abu Ghraib prison – where prisoners of war were being held – was well documented and shown around the world.It was an example of a breakdown in discipline. And noncommissioned officers figured prominently in this fiasco. CNN reporters J. Johns, D. Ensor and M. Mount quoted Rep. Jane Harman in a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Harman said, â€Å"The fog of war is thick, but these acts of abuse and humiliation contradict international norms, military regulations and the very values that our military fights to defend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (see CNN.com)The report adds that a ll the perpetrators were, â€Å"†¦all officers or noncommissioned officers† (Johns, Ensor & Mount). In an ideal setting this should not have happened especially in the presence of NCOs.The Role of Noncommissioned OfficersNCOs are leaders, period. The military cannot function without leadership as much as a body cannot survive without a head. Everything depends upon leadership and in this regard NCOs play a major role.An Army Officer’s guidebook expounds on the meaning of the term and it says:A leader is people fitted by force of ideas, character, or genius, or by strength of will or administrative ability, to arouse, incite, and direct men in conduct and achievement. Leadership is the art of imposing one’s will upon others in such a manner as to command their respect, their confidence, and their whole-hearted cooperation. (Bonn, 320)In the NCO guidebook leadership is seen as basic in the structure of the U.S. armed forces and it says, â€Å"Leadership, des pite the great strides in technology, remains the same – influencing and motivating people to get the job done† (Rush, 34).  With regards to the NCOs taking up a part of the burden of leadership, Rudyard Kipling was quoted as saying, â€Å"The backbone of the army is the noncommissioned man!† (as qtd. in Fisher, 3).An article in Wikipedia’s website expounds on the words of Kipling:The noncommissioned officer corps is the junior management of the military. An experienced NCO corps is a key component of Western armies: in many cases NCOs are credited as being the metaphorical backbone of their service. By contrast, the weak NCO corps of the modern-day Russian armed forces, and those modeled after it, is widely blamed for the general ineffectiveness of those militaries. (see Wikipedia: Noncommissioned Officers)NCOs and the Concept of DisciplineThe U.S. military structure amounts to a pile of junk without discipline and the people that are tasked to instill discipline and order in the ranks are the noncommissioned officers. NCOs do the dirty work and this is very much evident in shaping a bunch of boys who know nothing about authority and following orders prior to enlistment into hardened men who will obey first before they complain.  Discipline is very important in the military because it is an organization tasked to do jobs that are out of the ordinary and in many instances, in life and death situations. These kinds of jobs will determine the safety of a country, the lives of their fellow soldiers or the civilians under their sphere of influence.NCOs instills this concept of a more serious kind of discipline by being an example for his men. In Semper Fi, a book about the highly respected U.S. Marine corps, a description of the NCO’s methodology – in terms of how he earns the respect of his men and how he hammers discipline into their system – was provided by the authors:The authority of the Marine NCO does not rest on fear; its foundation is the well-earned respect of equally tough men. He leads, and inspires, by being the man he wants his troops to become. The NCO personifies his expectations of the men he commands. He wants his Marines to look â€Å"squared away† and so he dresses and marches smartly himself. Since he wants to instill instant obedience, his men will see him obey instantly when an officer commands. He wants his men to be aggressive in combat, so he himself is the epitome of aggressiveness. The Marine Corps NCO, through his own behavior, creates a desire to be like him. (Carrison and Walsh, 69)The apt description of what an NCO is all about as presented by Carrison and Walsh answers the question on what happens when NCOs misbehave. Using the ideas discussed earlier it would be easy to list the reason why NCOs should always be the quintessential soldier.First of all it is due to his position as part of the leadership of the armed forces. An NCOs actions does not go unobserved and will always be an influence and guide to the new recruit and those under his command. If the NCO is unruly, does not follow orders and breaks the code of conduct then it is not surprising for the rest of the soldiers to do the same.An NCO could not afford to appear irresponsible and uncontrollable or speaks in a manner that show disrespect to his superiors and fellow officers simply because he is not in a normal setting. In an office or in a school perhaps undisciplined behavior and a rebellious attitude towards authority will not really cause too much damage in relative proportion to a similar behavior in the army. When NCO acts like a spoiled brat men dies and blood flows unnecessarily. Worse, the unit can be in grave physical danger and the morale of the troops would significantly decrease leading in more losses and more damage.The chain reaction from an NCO’s lack of prudence can not simply be taken lightly as the repercussions will be felt for many generat ions. And this is not an exaggeration. The following is an account of what happened more than 200 years ago – in America’s war of independence – that helped changed the course of history. It is a testament to the fact that undisciplined men would cause a series of events that will lead to catastrophe:Following the British victory at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, Queens County came under military’s control [†¦] From the outset, military officials realized that the war had both military and political dimensions. [†¦] Military misconduct against civilians would only create enmity, hinder the effective prosecution of the war and make post war reconciliation more difficult [†¦] By wars end the people of Queens had become, not loyal subjects, but Patriots – as much by British default as by personal choice. (Fingerhut and Tiedermann, 50)ConclusionThe effect of military misconduct especially when an NCO exhibits such undesirable behavior will first result in a breakdown of discipline but it will not end there. The men under the NCOs command will use said breakdown as an excuse for caving in under pressure. Thus when the going gets tough the men who witnessed insubordination and disrespect to senior officers will use that as an excuses for not following orders and then a chain reaction follows.When things begin to turn really uncontrollable, when the spirit of discipline that holds the army together is gone, the same soldiers who are selfless, hard workers, united and having one mind and heart will suddenly transform into a selfish monster who will do everything that seems to be right base on selfish interests. The result of which is written in the annals of military history. These events are labeled as infamous but it has cost more than shame it has resulted in the deaths and humiliation of the innocents. But from a military’s point of view it all boils down to failure in accomplishing a mission and for some cases it means losing the war.Works CitedBonn, Keith E. Army Officer’s Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002.Carrison, Dan and Rod Walsh. Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way.New York: American Management Association, 1999.Fingerhut, Eugene R., and Tiedermann, J.S. The Other New York: The American RevolutionBeyond New York City. New York: State University of New York Press, 2005.Fisher, E. F. Jr. Guardians of the Republic: A History of the Noncommissioned officer corps of  the U.S. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001.â€Å"Military of the United States.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 .â€Å"Non-commissioned officer.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 .Rush, Robert S. NCO Guide. 7th ed. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.