Individual’s values and the corporate values

Value AlignmentIn the following paragraphs team A will provide a brief analysis in regard to the origins and evolution of values at a personal level and in the workplace. The team will explain throughout the paper how an individual’s values can drive actions and behaviors, and the alignment between values, actions and behaviors. The team will include in the mentioned analysis the degree of alignment between Wal-Mart’s stated values, and the company’s plans, and actions. Last the team will explain the differences, between personal values and Wal-Mart’s values as reflected by Wal-Mart’s plans and actions.Origin and EvolutionAccording to sociologists, values are formed during the early years of a person’s life. One sociologist’s research suggested values are formed during four periods. This sociologist, Morris Massey, believed these values originate at pre-birth and continue to the age of approximately 21. The first period begins at pre-b irth and continues through four years, and is considered the basic programming period. During this time, a child is not capable of differentiating between important and not important information so all experiences are absorbed and values are formed. Subsequently, a person’s first job experience, which is usually at about the age of 16 to 18 years, plays a large role in forming workplace values. Without any previous exposure to workplace ethics, his or her first experiences are absorbed without differentiation (Squidoo, 2010).The second stage is the imprint period that takes place up to the about the age of seven. Children continue to absorb information from experiences. They become aware of their environment and culture from family and people they are exposed to and begin  to store this information.This information is imprinted in their minds and begins to form their values from their experiences, which are reflected later in a person’s individual behaviors and actio ns. Similar to the basic period, a person’s first job experiences are absorbed in his or her mind forming their workplace values and behaviors. For example, if a teenager witnesses a manager skimming money from the cash register without remorse, this memory is imprinted in his or her mind. Unless his or her individual values are in place correctly, the unethical behavior displayed to them at an impressionable stage may be carried into future workplace ethics.The next period of forming values happens between the ages of 13 to 18. Labeled the modeling period, a person begins to mirror or model behaviors of other people. A person’s constant exposure to ethical or unethical behavior during this time is often mimicked. According to the Squidoo (2010) website, â€Å"from Massey’s research he suggests that our major values about life are picked up during this period at about age 10† (How Values Are Formed, para. 6).Further, he infers that world happenings and wh ere a person was at the time is a basis for forming values. With the recent state of the United States’ economy over the past few years, it leaves one to wonder the repercussions to workplace ethics. Individual ethics may improve because people will appreciate their jobs and decide to make better decisions in the workplace. Conversely, people may believe they are trapped in their current position and may make poor ethical decisions.Massey’s last period of developing values is the socialization period, which takes place between the ages of 14 to 21. A person develops relationship and social values during this time, and these values are the formation of a person’s core values that usually stays with him or her throughout his or her life. As a person develops these core values individually, a person may develop his or her core workplace values as well, which may stay for a lifetime. People experience many events up to 21, which are pivotal to shaping their values. As people formed their values, the foundation of how they perform as an individual and in the workplace became aligned. During childhood, for example, parents often tell children to do their best in school.That value is imprinted into their personalities and is carried  into the workplace; those children become adults who do their best at work every day. Throughout the periods suggested by Massey, the experiences form our values and become a compass to our actions, decisions, and behaviors, both personally, and professionally. Wal-Mart’s stated values versus Wal-Mart’s plans and actions The authors’ employer shares some basic values with those of Wal-Mart. The employer values the respect of coworkers, diversity, inclusion, providing exceptional customer service, and offering a variety of quality products for a reasonable price. Wal-Mart focuses on being a diverse organization, providing excellent customer service, and providing a variety of good quality produc ts for a reasonable price as well. The organization also shares the valued of volunteering in the community.The focus of the organization is to make the customers happy, so they continue to come back. The degree of alignment between Wal-Mart’s stated values plans and actions show that the company has balanced the two to some extent. Wal-Mart values its customers, and its number one priority is putting the customer first by offering low prices. Wal-Mart also matches its competitor’s prices for customers. Wal-Mart employees are valued and offered career development so they have the opportunity to move to higher positions within the organization. Most of the employees at each level are treated with respect and receive suitable benefits, but sometimes the company loses sight of its stated values’ therefore, its plans and actions do not always follow suit.DifferencesThe differences between an individual’s values and the corporate values depend on the individua l. Corporations design the strategy to align with the culture’s values. For instance, Wal-Mart’s vision â€Å"to become the world’s largest retailer,† so the company has to reflect the values all the time. Developing one vision helps employees to adhere to the corporate values regardless of the local values. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart says â€Å"Personal and moral integrity is one of our basic fundamentals and it has to start with each of us.† An example is the use of the whistleblowers form available to employees and customers alike. If an employee is found to be violating the corporate policies, another employee may report the  incident without fear of reprisal.Wal-Mart encourages every employee to use Wal-Mart’s Statement of Ethics, introduces the associates to the types of attitudes and conduct that create an honest, fair, and legal workplace (Wal-Mart, 2010). They learn how to recognize situations that may come up on their jo b that could be a violation of Wal-Mart’s ethics, also what to do if they have any questions or concerns about what is correct and ethical conduct. As an individual, knowing what the company will allow should make the job easier to comply with policy. Clear and concise writing allows very little interpretation on expectations of the company. To conclude, team A as provided the readers with a brief analysis of the basic origins and evolution of values at a personal level and workplace values.Team A also explained how an individual’s values can drive actions and behaviors, along with the alignment between ones values, actions, and behaviors. The team was able to briefly analyze the degree of alignment between Wal-Mart’s stated values and the company’s plans, and actions. Last, the team explained the differences, and the degree of alignment between personal values, and Wal-Mart’s values as the values were reflected by Wal-Mart’s plan, and actio ns.ReferencesSquidoo. (2010). Going For Gold-Goal Setting That Really Works. Retrieved from http://www.squidoo.com/GoForGold-GoalSettingThatWorks http://ethics.walmartstores.com/StatementofEthics/MSGfromCEO.aspx

How the Environment plays a role in Learning Essay

Learning is a process which touches on almost every aspect of human life. Surprisingly, it is through learning that the experiences of the past are passed on to the younger generation by parents as well as educators. It is impossible to get knowledge without learning. Apart from knowledge, learning equips people with skills and abilities that enable them to deal perfectly with the complexities of life. Through learning for instance, individuals get to know about the rules that enable them to interact in their social lives. Learning is however not unique. It networks with an individual’s social life and the environment (Custom Essay, 2009). Richlin in his book, Blue print for learning: constructing collage courses to facilitate, access and document learning, acknowledges that â€Å"Learning does not occur in a vacuum. † It cannot occur in isolation either and is dependent on various factors such as the environment (Richlin, 2006). The environment is the substance upon which learning is laid upon. It forms the backbone of learning. Environment thus plays a significant role as far as the learning process is concerned. The environment can affect the learning process either positively or negatively. This research paper seeks to look at various environmental factors and the roles they play in the learning process. The Natural Environment Though in the current world there is a high rise of technology and people can change the environment to suit their needs, the impact of natural environment on learning is still so strong and cannot be ignored. For example, people who were brought up in rural areas are very different from those in urban area. This is in respect to what each has learned. Those from the remote areas are in contact with nature itself. They learn so much from nature since their dwelling place is so natural and has not been contaminated by human activities. On the other hand, a city dweller has no natural environment access and barely learns much from it. He or she is even less concerned with what is happening in the natural environment. Lessons on nature become challenging to city dwellers but remote dwellers learn with ease (Custom Essay, 2009). It is in the natural environment that historical, scientific, and geographical materials for learning are found in plenty. These natural features are fun to learn when individuals know what they are learning about. For instance, those located near the ocean or sea will have fun learning about the marine ecosystem. Likewise those in mountainous regions will enjoy a geography lesson on types of mountains. Learning in these natural environments is so real, so natural, and so meaningful and students tend to perform better than those who learn in the theoretical way in the cities (Smith, 2010). Social Environment Many people do not know that social environment plays a fundamental role in the process of learning. Humans are social beings and they can neither live nor learn in an isolated situation. Ones a child is born, the learning process begins from the social environment. By crying, the child knows that it will be attended to by the society around it. The first people to get in touch with an individual from an early age are from the family members. The family at this level is the social environment for the child. Basic knowledge is learned from the parents and it becomes the foundation of an individual’s future life. The social environment then expands as the individual advances in age. He or she can learn from friends, peers, and influential adults (Custom Essay, 2009). However, different people that an individual comes into contact with, impact differently on his or her learning process. At the early stage of a person’s life, parents shape the views, beliefs and equip the person with basic knowledge, skills and the abilities. The family can affect the child negatively or positively. For instance, statistics reveal that children under family abuse score less in exams than the ones who have been raised normally free from abuse. Abused children feel useless and they develop a negative self image. They undermine their learning ability and hence perform poorly in the learning process. In contrast, a family can positively motivate a child by encouraging them to believe they can. Such children build confidence in themselves that enable them to face challenges at home and in school. This positively influences their learning. The time the parents spend with their children also influences learning. Very committed parents like those in the military have little time for their children and therefore children do not get all the knowledge that they require. Other parents have a high priority for discipline and they will raise-up disciplined children. High level discipline augers well with learning (Smith, 2010). At the adolescent stage, peers mean everything to an individual’s life. An individual develops personality through the interaction with his or her peers (Custom Essay, 2009). Learning can be impaired if the teen chooses a bad social grouping. Anti-social behaviors like drug and substance abuse will no doubt impair a person’s learning process. Drug and substance abuse interferes with the activity of the mind in processing information. There is also the interference with the normal functioning of the body. In addition, some people spend much of their time in non-constructive activities like gambling. They therefore do not concentrate in their classroom activities leading to poor performance (Smith, 2010). Despite the fact that most of a person’s personality has already been shaped by the time they reach adulthood, adults still learn even in old age. The social environment affects the learning process of an adult (Custom Essay, 2009). The Physical Environment The physical environment also affects the learning process. To start with, the structures in which people, particularly students, spend most of their days will determine the quality of learning. Research has shown that students in shabby schools rarely perform well as compared to those in decent schools. Shabby structures are not attractive to the learners and they do not feel motivated to learn either. They might also be missing some structures such as windows which will pose a danger to learning especially in times of hurricanes and rains. A good physical environment is attractive and cultivates positive attitudes in both learners and teachers. Schools or learning environments should be friendly if at all the desirable learning is going to take place. There should be attractive spaces to give students comfort the way they would in a cafe. Learning is therefore improved with the physical environment improvement. In the classrooms, the arrangement of desks and spacing all count to the learning process. Studies have revealed that students who are less attentive and barely successful are mostly affected by arrangement of desks. Their queer behaviors will tend to increase when they are in rows rather than around tables. To make sure that all students are monitored, clustering of students should be avoided. This ensures that there is enough space for every student and there is no opportunity for the misconduct of students. The students therefore will be serious and of course learn more in spacious classes (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). Other physical aspects that determine the process of learning include climate, noise, and color. Extreme temperatures negatively affect the quality of learning (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). Hurricanes will also have their part to play. Many other disastrous weather conditions affect learning negatively. The student will spend more time fighting with the disasters than in their studies. Poor weather reduces the level of concentration (Smith, 2010). Noise disrupts the whole process of teaching and learning. Too much noise leads to the impairment of the cognitive function. Most reading and studying problems are associated with noise. Furthermore it is difficult for a student to hear what the teacher is saying if there is a lot of noise in the environment. Likewise color affects the efficiency and motivation in learning. Choice of colors depends primarily on the learners’ age and gender. Brighter colors go well with young children and adolescents will be attracted by subdued colors. Males feel at peace with brighter colors but females would like softer colors. Careful considerations should therefore be made when furnishing classrooms to avoid negative influences (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). The Cultural Environment Individuals are from different cultural backgrounds. The styles of learning differ from one culture to another. In the developing worlds like Asia and Africa, teachers, mentors and parents insist on the observation of strict discipline in the process of teaching and learning. Children are not given time to air their views. In contrast, in developed countries like US, learning is less controlled and children are allowed to actively participate in learning and teaching processes. This may go a long way to motivating students for better performance. Restrictions on the other hand will make students hate the whole process of learning and teaching (Smith, 2010). The learning process is also affected by the nature of the cultural environment. Some cultures may have a special respect when it comes to knowledge acquisition. People who are learned are greatly respected. These people become mentors to the learner and boost their morale. For example, if a child grows up admiring a certain engineer, chances are that he or she will learn more to become that engineer. Additionally, in the developed countries almost everyone is educated. They also have better resources such as equipped libraries and internet facilities. Their children therefore receive information they require in learning from diverse areas. The more the resources, the more simplified the learning process will be. On the other hand, inadequate resources will always pose a threat to the learning process. In addition, poor countries have a high number of uneducated people and thus do not act as motivators to learning (Smith, 2010). Some cultures also may influence learning by holding a special position in a particular area of study. For along time, there have been talks on mathematics, sciences and languages. Certain cultural backgrounds may fail to put weight on the study of language such as in Myanmar. Some tribes here have no records of their written language. Students from such localities are restricted by their cultural environment to learn the language. They will only have few language experiences. Other cultures will put more emphasis on subjects like mathematics. Learning mathematics for students from these environments will not be a difficult task. The cultural environment therefore dictates what is to be learnt and to what extent (Catherine, 2010). Classroom Setting There are different classroom settings all of which affect the process of learning. Learners tend to perceive various settings differently. For instance, in comparing the traditional classroom teaching with online learning, traditional though passed by time, provides the best setting. Online learning does not monitor the learner’s move. Learning therefore is at the mercy of the learner’s self discipline. More so, there is no reinforcement offered by online learning and there is no educator-recipient direct interaction. In traditional classroom environment, the learner’s moves are closely monitored, there is teacher-student contact and therefore reinforcement is guaranteed. The teacher is in a position to learn the psychological weakness of a student. Once the problem is known, the student can be helped out. Students of the traditional setting will always perform better academically than online students. The learning process is therefore affected by the kind of setting selected (Smith, 2010).

Should Gay Adoption Be More Available

Imagine a child living in foster care waiting for months, even years, for a couple to come and adopt them and make them a part of their family. Then, finally, after a long time of heartbreak and loneliness, a family does come. Two people want to give the child a home. These two people have everything that any parent should such as: money, a stabilized job, no criminal records, plans for the future, domestic peace, and all the love anyone could ever give to a child. Yet, at the end of this day, they are turned down and the child is at loss for the opportunity of having a good, loving family. Why? Because the couple that wanted to adopt that child were two men. Does the situation above seem fair to you? Is it right that these two men are turned away from having a child just because they’re homosexuals? If they had terrible records with crimes and they were constantly being fired and other unhealthy activities it would have been right to turn them away, but for two people that were completely competent to adopt a child to be turned away like that is unfair. I believe that homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children, so long as they are healthy and well-functioning. When you think of a child being raised in a gay community and being often surrounded with the familiarization of lesbians and gays, you may think the child will later in life turn homosexual. Some might, it’s is their choice and there’s nothing wrong with it. However, people that grew up with homosexual parents say that they have never pressured them to follow in their footsteps. Another reason why gays should be allowed to adopt a child is when they have a kid, they intentionally have to go get one, rather than a heterosexual couple can have a â€Å"surprise† child, which may lead to neglect later in the child’s life. When adopting both members of the relationship feel they are both mature and responsible enough to support a child. I’m not trying to state that homosexuals necessarily make better parents than heterosexual couples, but there is a lesser chance of the children being abused or neglected. In parenting, they’re just like you and me. The only thing that’s different is their social status. The only possible downside to a homosexual couple adopting a child that I can find is the child may have a missing father or mother figure. However, there are plenty of children that came from heterosexual parents that face this as well whether it be because of death, divorce, separation, or a night in Vegas. Missing a certain parental figure is not as tragic as you would think, for example, I grew up most of my years not being around my father and I believe I turned out very well rounded. Now I want you to think of a scenario with two parts to it. First is a financially stable, loving, mature, and educated gay couple trying to adopt a child. The other part is a fourteen year old girl that got pregnant and wants to keep her baby. Which one seems easier to do? Sadly, it is easier for a fourteen year old to keep her baby, than it is for the couple to keep theirs. So really, letting gay couples adopt wouldn’t hurt or hinder themselves, the child, or society. When choosing who to let take home a child, consider the two women that have taken interest. Let the fully committed men adopt so long as they pass the inspection. If you do I can almost guarantee that the child will grow up in a loving home with wonderful parents with less chance of abuse and neglect. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Merger Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Merger Control - Essay Example In order to ensure free competition in the Single Market, agreements which not only have a significant effect on the trade between the Member States but also prevent, restrict or distort competition in the Single Market are prohibited by Article 81. Prohibition of behaviour which discourages competition is described in Article 81 (1) of the EC Treaty. In respect of investigations relating to mergers, to determine whether Article 81 EC will be applcable and to justify exceptions to the rule that there exists a distinction between merger control and the general competition law, a casual link must be established between the merger and the restriction of competition. In the absence of such a link, "the relevant coordination of the participants must be assessed in a separate proceeding under Article 81 (1) EC rather than as part of the merger control investigation under the E.C.M.R." An assessment under Article 81 of the EC, leads to the stoppage of the merger from going through and this constitutes an early attack on the parties. Investigation under Article 81 EC results in leaving the concentration untouched and this necessitates the intervention of the European Commission to correct this behaviour. ... The European Commission, while analyzing a merger under Article 81 (1) of the EC, considers in particular whether "two or more participating companies retain to a significant extent activities in the same market as the joint venture, or in a market which is downstream or upstream from that of the joint venture, or in a neighbouring market closely related to the relevant market." The final issue to be decided is whether the coordination, resulting from the creation of the joint venture, enables the participants to eliminate competition in respect of a major portion of the products or services being dealt with. The interstate clause defines the boundary in-between the areas respectively covered by the law of the Member States and the Community law. Agreements which do not affect trade between member states are not covered by Article 81 EC. These agreements are the exclusive domain of the national authorities. This basic test of whether or not interstate trade was affected or not was dealt with by the E.C.J. in Socit Technique Minire v. Maschinenbau Ulm1, the E.C.J. held that "it must be possible to foresee with a sufficient degree of probability on the basis of a set of objective factors of law or of fact that the agreement in question may have an influence, direct or indirect, actual or potential, on the pattern of trade between Member States." In respect of B2Bs, the test developed in Socit Technique Minire v. Maschinenbau Ulm, is apparently cleared without much difficulty, because of the type of the platforms, which function by utilizing the Internet. It is required by Article 81 (1) EC for every agreement to have as its objective or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of fair competition. "The E.C.J. has held that these

Limits of Human Knowledge and Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Limits of Human Knowledge and Experience - Essay Example This essay highlights that  mathematician Leibnitz has contributed to our understanding of human limitations in acquiring knowledge.   He famously coined the term â€Å"human finitude†, behind which were questions such as â€Å"How much can someone possibly know? What could reasonably be viewed as an upper limit of an individual's knowledge--supposing that factually informative knowledge rather than performative how-to knowledge or subliminally tacit knowledge is to be at issue?† To essay an answer to these questions, let us consider a hypothetical attempt by a human to acquire maximum knowledge.   For this thought experiment, we are assuming that this hypothetical person has perfect recall and an infinite memory.  Ã‚  According to the report findings  in the Western intellectual tradition that has evolved over the last two millennia, knowledge was the â€Å"essential resource for those mortal and particular human beings struggling to cope with a world that c ould be imagined as being independent from any observer.† Scientific endeavor was thus directed to make knowledge independent of the observer (subjective) into an enduring truth.  For a human being to ‘know’ something is one way of gaining access to that aspect of the world.   The tradition of ‘reasonable knowledge’ is one that brings into concurrence an individual’s observation through sight, sound and logical analysis with the truth associated with the object being studied.

Article critique Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critique - Article Example states where same-sex marriage is prohibited. Research Objective The authors aimed to examine the impact of pro-gay marriage policies, enacted in 2003 in Massachusetts, on health care use and expenditures among gays and bisexuals. They postulated that if same-sex marriage policies can reduce health problems among gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, then such policies may have implications on the health care use and expenditures of sexual minority men. It was clear that the authors were only interested in examining the effect of pro-gay marriage policies on the health care use and expenditures among gay and bisexual men. Theory/Framework Although the theoretical framework was not explicitly presented, it is apparent that the study was anchored on the notion that same-sex marriage policies could improve the physical and mental health conditions of gays, bisexuals, and lesbians. They postulated that same-sex marriage policies reduce structural forms of discrimination against gays, bisexuals, and lesbians, resulting in the reduction of health care use by such groups of individuals. Methods The authors employed quasi-natural experiment method to examine the impact of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on the health care use and expenditures among sexual minority men. This research design lacks random assignment of participants to comparison groups. Similar to a true experiment, a quasi-experiment has a control group and a treatment group, but the members of these groups are not explicitly or randomly chosen by researchers. Rather, these groups naturally arise from an exogenous event. Through random selection, research participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either control group or treatment group. Thus, the resulting groups are statistically identical at baseline, on both observed and unobserved characteristics. Any changes in such characteristics can be attributed to the intervention made. However, this is not the case for quasi-experi ments. Since the control and treatment groups are not randomly selected, the quasi-experiment method faces threats to internal validity. That is, a causal link between the treatment and outcomes may not clearly establish. Independent and Dependent Variables The independent variable is the same-sex marriage policies while the dependent variable is the health care use and costs. The factors measured were sexual orientation, partnership status, and health care use and costs. However, the measures or instruments used were not properly referenced and their reliability was not even mentioned. Study Design The authors employed a quasi-experiment design, which has threats to internal validity because the participants were not randomly selected to be assigned in either control group or treatment group. Hence, the participants’ groups in the study may not statistically comparable at baseline. Consequently, any changes in the observed and unobserved characteristics of the participants m ay not absolutely be attributed to same-sex marriage policies. Quasi-experiments can be utilized in studies where many variables are involved because this research design can control extraneous variables and may infer cause-and-effect relationships. However, if there are differences between the control and t

Tribal customs of the Ibo (Igbo) people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tribal customs of the Ibo (Igbo) people - Essay Example He eventually kills himself because of the Christianity (Achebe p208). As Achebe accurately depicts, the Ibo people have a rich culture as evidenced by their tribal customs such as their values, social structure, language, religious beliefs and government. His main aim or theme therefore was to depict traditional Ibo life prior to and after the advent of the Christians missionaries. Tribal custom dictates every aspect of members lives. In a wonderfully unbiased approach, Achebe’s text offers the reader the cultural roots of the Igbo people, all their beliefs, customs and historical past. In the whole of section one of the text, Achebe explains the details of the Ibo culture. To immerse the reader in the Ibo way of life, he goes into detail talking about the more subtle cultural aspects of the community such as the customs of feasts and communal activities, sporting events and crop rotation. In the tribe, the number of yams a man grows, the number of titles he holds and the number of wives he acquires determines his worth. Their acknowledgement of a mans very being is by the gods approval. Okonkwo struggles to live up to what he perceives as traditional standards of masculinity. His failure to adapt to the changing world points out the importance of tradition and custom in the novel. In the novel, the tribe of Ibo defines itself through the age-old traditions it practices. While some habits mold the daily lives of the people, other customs are reserved for special ceremonies. An example of habits that mold the daily lives of the people is when the head of a family honors male guests by praying over and sharing a kola nut with them. He offers the guest the privilege of breaking the nut and after the provider of palm-wine tastes it, they drink together with the oldest person taking the first sip. Ceremonial customs on the other hand are more elaborate. One example is The

Managerial Leadership. The skills and expertise required for being an Essay

Managerial Leadership. The skills and expertise required for being an authentic leader - Essay Example In order to evaluate my leadership potentials I have used primary research. After analyzing those data I do have a clear idea about myself and also evaluated the requirements within myself in order to become a successful authentic leader. Authentic Leaders: - Authentic leaders are the persons who actually know themselves and portray what they know about themselves from their heart. Some of the essential characteristics of an authentic leaders are they always speak the truth, leads from inside, courageous and ambitious (Holden Leadership center, n.d.). Introduction The purpose of the report is to critically evaluate my competence and efficacy as an Authentic Leader. The report will highlight the applications of the presented models within the lecture. Apart from this the report will also highlight on the Personal intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The report will also portray the primary and secondary research conducted by me for the completion of the entire project. Report Aim and O bjectives The report is principally focused to demonstrate the four factors such as authentic leadership, values, self awareness and motivation. ... are indisputable in their purpose and recognize the purpose of their leadership as serving the customers, employees and investors and not the one related to self interest. Authentic leaders must perform their values constantly, balance their extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, build reliable relationships and operate with high levels of personal discipline and obedience. Therefore to become an efficient authentic leader self awareness is the most important factor. It comes from the understanding of the life stories of some eminent leaders and the impact of their crucibles and reflects on how their life stories and crucibles add to their motivations and their behavioural patterns. The leaders who do not take time their time out for introspection and manifestation of their life stories, crucibles and experiences are considered more susceptible towards being seduced. The seducing factors are external rewards such as authority, money, and recognition. The leaders may also feel the need to appear in such an ideal way so that other cannot confess any ill-activities and disclose their faults. In the process of becoming more self-aware, I have learned to find and accept my weak points, failures, and vulnerabilities, as like we appreciate our strengths and successes. While doing so, I gain compassion for myself and also tried to relate to the world around myself in authentic ways. This also allows me to release from the need to adopt pretences to astonish other people. This also helped in self understanding and what I am at an interior level. The report will also reveal how I learnt to reframe my failures and negative experiences into positive growth opportunities. Mindful leadership is a worldly idea which enables people to maintain effective leadership throughout their

Communication Memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Communication Memo - Assignment Example manager, allow me to share some relevant techniques and strategies in enhancing group communication, as well as in introducing the new employees to their teammates. I would initially provide some insights regarding potential barriers that might exist in group communication. Subsequently, I would describe relevant techniques to overcome those barriers and enhance group communication; prior to delving in expounding on the role of conflict in effective group communication. Authoritative sources are listed as a reference page for your perusal. Our organization welcomes new employees through an orientation program which aims to provide crucial information regarding the organization’s brief history, member of the executive management team and the organizational structure, policies and procedures, code of conduct and discipline, as well as the employees’ roles and responsibilities in their respective departments. The human resources department (HRD) has recently hired five (5) new employees to assume the position of HRD personnel in charge of assisting in various human resources functions: acquisition, development, and maintenance, among others. Currently, there are ten (10) human resources personnel who have effectively assisted the manager in undertaking these functions in the most effective manner. It was, therefore, recognized that effective group communication is a relevant aspect of the development of a cohesive group through collaboration and camaraderie. With the entry of five (5) new employees, there is a need to immerse these members to the HRD through the assumption of their respective roles. As such, theoretical frameworks of group development, conflict management, and application of effective group communication techniques through identification of barriers in group communication, would be proposed, as deemed necessary. There are barriers to communication that impede the flow and affect the ability to understand the messages transmitted in the most

Prison and National Probation Service cooperation Essay

Prison and National Probation Service cooperation - Essay Example While some perceived of it as a constructive step toward the reduction of reoffending rates and a positive contribution towards the greater national aim of crime reduction, others critiqued it as a misinformed strategy which would confuse the boundaries between prison' and community.' Such confusion, as critics maintain, will have dire societal consequences insofar as it is predicated on the assumption that inmate and out-mate offender management subscribe to the same concern, principles, aims and, thus, paradigms (Valios, 2004; Palmer, 2003; Peters, LeVasseur and Chandler, 2004). Proceeding from the background and controversy outlined in the above, the dissertation shall focus on the aims of the proposed justice system reform, critically analysing Noms from the perspective of best practices managerial theories. The rationale for selection did not simply emanate from the contemporaneous nature of the issue, or solely from its societal value but because the researcher has been professionally involved in both prison and probation services for a number of years and is, consequently, in a position to analyse Noms and argue the exigencies of its implementation on the basis of experiential evidence. Apart from the experiential knowledge and both subjective and professional interest in the issue, the topic was further selected consequent to the fact that the researcher's professional background places him in a position whereby he can collect primary data, conduct the requisite surveys and administer the necessary questionnaires with comparative ease. In other words, the researcher's professional background and awareness of the fact that community safety and societal interests are best served through the articulation and implementation of an effective and...As earlier stated, the primary areas of co ncern are the National Offender Management Service and organisational and people management theory. As pertains to either of these two issues, the existent wealth of academic literature testifies to their respective values and the extent to which the latter may be constructively informed by the former. Over the past two decades, offender management literature has articulated the imperatives of utilising existent people and organisational management tools and strategies in order to attain the managerial efficiency and effectiveness level upon which the goals of the justice system are predicated. The justice system, operating according to the principles of offender exclusion and rehabilitation within a prison system, followed by the release of offenders into society and under the supervisory guidance of the probation service, has been largely incapable of satisfying the justice system’s expressed goal of reducing overall offence rates and eliminating reoffending. The persistent inability to satisfy the articulated goals exposes what some have identified as a fundamentally flawed people and organisational management paradigm. According to the aforementioned perspective, the failure of the justice system to either reduce crime rates or rehabilitate offenders, thereby offsetting reoffense potentialities, is indicative of the greater failure to embrace effective and efficient people and organisational management paradigms.

The Right to an Occupational License Research Paper

The Right to an Occupational License - Research Paper Example There might also be a residency issue because the prisoner may be serving time in an institution that is not in his or her home state and, therefore, may not meet the residency requirement. All that being said, this student believes that prisoners should be able to vote in that they are likely affected as much as any ordinary citizen by who wins. Furthermore, if felons could vote, perhaps an interest in the upcoming election could occur, thereby giving the prisoners a greater understanding and appreciation for the law. This student’s answer for 1 (a) was not any, but I would just like to say that I can see no reason why a prisoner let out into the community should not be able to vote. This student wonders why after a prisoner has served his or her time he would not enjoy the same rights as all the eligible citizens who have not served time. The released individual should not have to apply to have his or her voting rights restored. Citizen B, basically, committed several offenc es; namely, sexual harassment per se; intimidation; and firing an employee who would not acquiesce to her demands. Although the question states that she successfully â€Å"served† her two years of probation, it gives no indication that she carried out appropriate community service and/or took counselling designed to help her to understand her behaviour and to refrain from it in the future. She did not serve jail time and, apparently, did not make restitution to the fired employee. Consequently, at this time, I do not believe that she should be allowed to hold public office.

Portrayals and portraits Essay Example for Free

Portrayals and portraits Essay The processes of public memory in regard to Sojourner Truth already are framed by the multiple figurations that existed in the public consciousness prior to the three specific commemorative campaigns that form the focus of this study. Although some of the specific details vary, the basic outlines of Truths life are accessible. Born as a slave in upstate New York around 1797 and originally named Isabella, Truth was freed according to the dictates of state law in 1827. She adopted the name of Sojourner Truth and began a life of freedom that progressed through three distinct stages. The first stage is marked by her involvement with the Kingdom, an infamous religious community led Robert Matthews, also know as Matthias. After Truth left the Kingdom in 1834 she traveled through New York and Connecticut, speaking at various religious camp meetings. Friends eventually directed her to the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts, a group founded on socialist and transcendentalist ideas. In this second stage, Truths involvement with the Northampton group introduced her to several notable public advocates, including William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Olive Gilbert, who would later become her first collaborator on her Narrative (Fitch Mandziuk, 1997, p. 16). When the Northampton Association disbanded in 1849, Truth entered her third stage as an advocate for the anti-slavery and womens rights causes. She lived and traveled in Ohio for a few years, finally settling in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1857 where she resided until her death. During this third stage, Truth traveled widely through eastern and mid-western states, often appearing as a popular speaker at conventions and meetings. Among the events in this third stage of Truths life that have become the fuel for her mythic meanings were her famous 1851 speech at a womens rights convention in Akron, Ohio and an 1858 confrontation with a hostile male audience in Silver Lake, Indiana where she bared her breast to prove she was female. In her own time, Truths contemporaries in their descriptions and accounts had transformed her tale variously to depict her as a tragic victim of slavery, a religious pilgrim, a comic caricature, and a fiery orator and advocate for womens rights (Fitch Mandziuk, 1997; Mabee Newhouse, 1993; Mandziuk Fitch, 2001; Painter 1994, 1996). While it is impossible to know how much control Truth actually exerted over the costuming and posing of these images, they do offer a striking alternative to the often grotesque, defiant, or devout descriptions of her that were available in print at the time. In all but one, Truth is seated. In these she is located in settings containing middle-class accoutrements such as bookcases, carved chairs, flowers, and books. In all of the portraits she is dressed in a fringed shawl and wears tailored clothing of heavy, patterned fabrics. In some she holds knitting; in one an open portrait of a young male rests in her lap. In the other portrait she is standing, her right hand resting on a cane with her left arm at her side. In all but two, she wears eyeglasses. In some she looks past the camera, directing her glance sideways or downward; in others her glance is more leveled and direct. The images are striking for their middle-class depictions; as Painter (1996) observes, In none of these portraits is there anything beyond blackness that would inspire charitynothing of the piteous slave mother or the weird Matthias Kingdom, no bared arms, no bodice taken down in public, nothing of Stowes amusing naif. The cartes de visite show a solid bourgeoisie (p. 196). These photographic images have been reproduced ever since on posters, buttons, cards, and t-shirts; importantly, they serve as the primary source material for any other interpretations and representations of Truths physical appearance. Contemporary campaigns to commemorate Truth in material form necessarily draw from these available portrayals and portraits. There is much room for negotiation and advocacy, however, around precisely which version of Truth will be visualized at a particular time and place, as well as who has the right to control and retain ownership of that image. As Painter (1996) concludes, Even today, when Truth can symbolize the angry black woman for most of her audience, others can see her as a kind of pet (p. 129). In the three recent debates over establishing statues of Truth, the ideological implications of the choices made indicate clear differences regarding her symbolic meanings. A preference for the bourgeois, devout, serious image among predominantly white communities marks her as a symbol of accommodation, while African American public memory continues to evoke the mythology of Gages defiant advocate and radical critique of white audiences. In each debate over how Truth would be remembered the concept of character provides an important lens to assess the meaning of each commemoration. From among the available portrayals and photographic records, each representation of Truth selected particular elements while deflecting others. The dimensions included in each characterization of Truth provide a revelatory index to the particular values of the community and the means through which her image was adapted to suit various purposes. Essentially, character provides the window to how questions of identity politics were negotiated in each instance. In the Portrait Monument dispute, the image of Truth in evoked by the National Political Congress of Black Women reference the angry orator first envisioned by Frances Gage in 1863. In this version, Truth symbolizes the defiant insistence on race as a central consideration in public debate and the processes of public memory, an adaptation of this persona often used by black women to challenge white exclusionary tactics. The characteristics depicted in the Battle Creek and Northampton statues invoke the alternative image of Truth as the upholder of principles of equality and faith. These two commemorations replicate the bourgeois aspects of Truths cartes de visite, yet also depict her in safe and comforting ways. The defiant Truth is subordinated in favor of likenesses that reflect abstract values and celebrate conciliation rather than ones that insist on recognizing am valuing difference. Evaluation of the dimension of character in the process of public memory thus reveals the ideological functions served by a particular commemorative representation. These campaigns to re-present Truth in a material form reveal the uncertainties in the process of public memory, as well as the ways in which the practice often accommodates and dissipates political challenges to the values held dear by dominant culture. Among the potential meanings of Truth, her symbolic appropriation as a sign of the ideals of equality and justice easily is reconcilable with our American democratic mythology and frequent delusion that inequities can be solved simply through individual acts of faith and hope. Consequently, Truth is appropriated in her most bourgeois, benign, and reverent form. The Truth commemorated is an image that is ambiguous enough for us to find residues of her race and gender meanings within it if we so desire, but is also abstract enough to be of no threat on either front. (Manziuk, 2003) Genealogical research, when conducted within the context of African-American history using a variety of resources, offers a more encompassing perspective of the African American family in American society. In other words, our individual family photographs can provide a wealth of information about society in general.

Benefits of DuPont Analysis

Benefits of DuPont Analysis The dynamic environment of the world today suggests that one should be apt enough to apply his skills immanent to a system and also external with respect to credit management function. These functions include financial planning, plausibility of a defined business strategy or whether a particular merger or acquisition is feasible or not. This has to be done in a rapid yet meaningful way so as to be of immediate need to a particular firm or investor. There are basically four major reasons for an effective financial statement analysis. These have been mentioned as follows: It is useful for long-run business viability so as to determine whether a firm would be able to provide adequate business return when compared to the amount of risks taken. This is essential for outside investors. It is also used by creditors so as to find out whether a potential buyer has the capability to service the loans that are being made or not. Also, the analysts concerned about the internal development of a firm, require financial statement analysis so as to monitor the outcome as a result of applying the policy decisions, to make future predictions with regard to the performance targets, and also make an assessment of the capital needs of a company. The function of DuPont analysis in this is that it is used as a tool to provide an overview of financial statement analysis for the purposes as stated and also provide a focus for such analysis. In order to assess the financial health of a firm from the perspective of an insider or an outsider, there are four major areas that are covered. These have been stated as follows: Liquidity Leverage Operational Efficiency Profitability In this process, the DuPont analysis can be used as a compass so as to help the analysts find out the areas that are of significant strength and weakness (as applicable) from the financial statements. DuPont analysis stands as an appropriate place to commence the financial statement analysis as it measures the Return on Equity (ROE). As this indicates the rate of growth of the ownersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wealth, it becomes one of the most important ratios. So, DuPont analysis might not be able to provide a detailed description just like a proper financial statement analysis, but it certainly stands places in providing an excellent snapshot an impeccable starting point of financial analysis. It covers the major areas of profitability, operating efficiency and also leverage. It can be seen in the form of equations as follows: ROE = (Net Income/Sales) X (Sales/Average Assets) X (Average Assets/Average Equity) Net Income/ Sales: Profitability Sales/Average Assets: Total Asset Turnover Average Assets/Average Equity: Leverage Multiplier Further, as the requirement of the company stands, one can also calculate the Return on Assets (ROA) by making a DuPont Chart. This can be done in the following manner: ROA = (Profit before Income and Tax/ Total Assets) = (PBIT/Sales) X (Sales/ Total Assets) DuPont Calculations and Analysis (Note: In this case we are making a comparison of two years) Profitability: Net Income/Sales 2008 6,536,358,000/ 17,868,672,000 = 36.5% 2009 3,080,531,000/ 16,015,133,000 = 19% This ratio indicates the rate at which a company uses the sales to generate profits for the company. One can see that it has decreased tremendously over a year. This suggests that the company has been trying to lure the customers with better benefits so as to decrease its profits. As the total sales have increased only marginally, it indicates that the market is in a risky position with companies cutting on profits to maintain previous customers and generate new ones. Total Assets Turnover: Sales/Average Assets: Total Asset Turnover 2008 17,868,672,000/ 54,790,875,000 = 0.32 2009 16,015,133,000/ 60,690,798,000 = 0.27 Return on Total Assets indicates how well a company has been using its assets to generate sales. It is significant as a company might be generating a huge amount of profit out of sales involved, but then it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t check the efficiency with which it is using the assets for generating the amount of sales involved. In this, case the operating efficiency has decreased which means that the company has either made long-term installations which have not been used to implement sales in the best possible manner or there is a deficiency in the company functioning. Leverage Multiplier: Average Assets/Average Equity 2008 54,790,875,000/ 36,536,040,000 = 1.5 2009 60,690,798,000/ 36,000,753,000 = 1.68 The leverage multiplier is used for determining the debt financing as compared to the equity financing of a company. Generally, if a company increases the debts over equity for financing its requirements, it does it as the cost of debt is less because of tax-deductible interests but then there is a larger risks involved here. A company would have to pay a certain amount for sure before they can make use of the net income. Here, the ratio has increased indicating the fact that Emaar has taken more debt than a year before which means that it requires immediate funding to carry out its operations. Return on Equity The above results can be combined to calculate the DuPont ratio which in this case is ROE. ROE for 2008: 18% ROE for 2009: 8.5% Now, we know that ROE determines the profit as compared to the shareholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ equity. This has decreased over a span of one year which signifies the fact that the company would find it difficult to arrange for internal cash as it seems less attractive for shareholders. This is also evident from the fact that leverage multiplier had increased significantly. Gross Profit Margin: EBIT/ Sales 2008 7,053,765,000/ 17,868,672,000 = 0.394 2009 6,811,358,000/ 16,015,133,000 = 0.425 The gross profit margin of the company has increased which is again indicative of the fact that the company is paying too much of interests which decreases the net income. Return on Assets 2008 12.0% 2009 5% The net return on assets of the company has also decreased indicating the fact that the company has so far not made the type of income it has been looking to make with the assets that it has. This shows that the company looks to make long-term benefits out of the assets that it has generated.

The History Of Incidental Advertising Exposure Psychology Essay

The History Of Incidental Advertising Exposure Psychology Essay Following the suggestion, the effects of incidental advertising will be examined in terms of implicit memories (cognitive responses), emotions and attitudes (affective responses) and consideration set (behavioural responses). The endogenous variables consist of factors that, as consumer traits, affect the whole advertising response process. Among various factors, involvement and cognitive style were two principal psychological variables that influence consumers incidental ad processing, while gender was considered an important demographic variable. Comparing to the meta-analytic model, we choose to introduce two new variables that were never been tested in the context of incidental advertising: gender and cognitive style. III.2. Incidental advertising exposure Ferraro, Chartrand and Fitzsimons (2005) define incidental exposure as an automatic processing of visual brand information while conscious attention is directed elsewhere. Vanhuele et al. (2005) talked about focal versus non-focal attention in the case of visual perception. Focal vision is restricted to 1,5 to 5 degrees from the current point of focus. To define it, Shapiro (1999) suggests that while a person spotlights conscious attention on a primary task, other information that is not attended to can be processed. This nonconscious, incidental exposure often occurs without explicit memory for advertisement, product, or marketing stimuli and can affect persuasion. Scholars call incidental advertising by preattentive advertising (Droulers, 2004, Yoo, 2005, Adams, 2007). This preattentive processing can be distinguished from attentive processing in individuals lack of awareness of the stimuli, deficit of a speci ¬Ã‚ c goal for the process, inability to control the process, and att ention resources not required for the process. More speci ¬Ã‚ cally, preattentive processing occurs when an individual is preconscious exposed to stimulus in his peripheral  ¬Ã‚ eld of vision (e.g., banner advertisements) while focusing his attention on a primary task (e.g., reading an article on the web) (Ruy and al, 2006). In the field of advertising Shapiro, McInnis and Heckler (1997) were the first to propose the incidental exposure paradigm where they stipulate that subjects are directed to focus their attention on primary task, thus reducing the resources accessible to process secondary information bordering the primary information. In most cases, the secondary information is located to the left or the right of the primary information and is described by its distance (in degrees) from the primary information (parafoveal is 1.5-5 degrees from the attended information, peripheral is greater than 5 degrees) (Janiszewski, 1988). Attentional resources available for processing the secondary information are limited, so secondary information cannot be explicitly recognised-memory traces for this information are unlikely to be strong enough to be restored during a direct search for memory. When reading a newspaper, subjects are inable to recognise having previously seen the ads, Janiszewski (1988) has shown , however that this exposure can boost a consumers liking for the ads and brands. Some marketing studies have investigated conditions that facilitate processing of secondary information (Janiszewski, 1993), the effect this processing has on the comprehension of focally attended material (Janiszewski, 1990), and why this processing affects ad attitudes (Janiszewski, 1993, Shapiro and McInnis, 1992). Prior research has attributed incidental advertising exposure effects to perceptual fluency arising from a feature analysis that occurs during exposure (Janiszewski, 1993; Shapiro et al., 1997). It is necessary to review the process by which preattentive processing may facilitate individuals responses. Two underlying mechanisms have been suggested: feature and semantic analysis. Both analysis mechanisms during preattentive processing will be briefly discussed: Feature analysis: Perceptual fluency asserts that when exposure leads to a memory trace for the perceptual features of the stimulus (e.g., shape and brightness), the features of the stimulus are more easily processed on a subsequent occasion. Without explicit memory for having just seen the stimulus, this ease in processing is misattributed as an increase in familiarity and/or preference for the stimulus (Bornstein, 1989). Perceptual fluency may be ascertained as the ease of processing the perceptual features of a stimulus (Jacoby and Kelley, 1987). Prior exposure is thought to create a feature based representation of the stimulus in memory, with the result that processing of the stimulus on subsequent encounters is facilitated and experienced as subjective ease. Shapiro, McInnis and Heckler (1997) indicate that the effects of incidental ad exposure on stimulus-based judgements (attitude judgements made in the presence of an ad or brand) are due at feature analysis that occurs during processing (Janiszewski, 1993). This processing allows secondary information to subsequently be perceived more easily and hence thought to be more familiar, evaluated more highly. When a person builds a mental representation of a distinguishing item, any ensuing processing takes place faster and, in many situations, lets the messages give the impression more appealing and accurate than they would be if they were crucial or perturbed to process (Reber and Schwarz, 1999). Furthermore, Bornstein and DAgostino (1994) construed the likeability of more readily accessible information conceding to a cognitive perceptual fluency/misattribution model, whereas Winkielman and Cacioppo (2001) suggest a hedonistic fluency model that ascertains constructing smoothly positive affective responses toward fluently processed stimuli. Referring to hedonistic fluency, gracious and affirmative emotional responses happen in consequence of the fact that accustomed stimuli frequently signify a harmless situation, successful. Recognition generates good feelings and comprehensible interpretation attends to positive mood. Janiszewski (1993) further leads the hemispheric approach to the branch of incidental advertising exposure and discerns that abonded verbal messages are more persuasive when they emerge on the right side of the chief area, but they convince inferior to visual cues if they are located on the left. Rendering to Janiszewski (1993) explanations of secondary messages are actuated chiefly by feature analysis, which contains the recognition and processing of the perceptual features of the stimulus in the subconscious mind (Shapiro, 1999). Therefore, when both test and visual stimuli appears to the left of focal point, viewers brains naturally accredit more capacity to treat the visual cues, which commences in higher acquaintance and likeability for the visual messages during ensuing confrontations. However McQuarrie and Mick (2003) found that incidentally exposed with ads figures produce more favourable attitudes and improved memory, whereas Clark and Brock(1994) declare no significant effects of images in ensuing processed ad warnings, along with greater attitude alterations after the exposure to peripheral verbal warnings (Acar, 2007). Semantic analysis: Although perceptual fluency relies on the encoding of feature information during exposure, an analogous process may occur if incidental ad exposure involves the processing of semantic information (Shapiro, 1997). A study by Whittlesea (1993) shows that fluency effects can instead beyond instances of perceptual processing by demonstrating that semantic processing can lead to feelings of conceptual (vs. perceptual) fluency. Whittlesea (1993) suggests that conceptual fluency will affect any judgement regarding a stimulus that relies on conceptually based processes, such as decisions of semantic relatedness. It was mentioned previously that perceptual enhancement may be used as a criterion for determining inclusion in a consideration set. The predominant theory accounting for this facilitation effect suggests that contextual scene information activates a schema for the theme or gist of a scene prior to object identification. The activated schema in turn creates expectancies about what objects are likely to be present. These expectations facilitate object identification (Shapiro, 1997). Di pace et al. (1991) found incidental semantic priming effects after 200milliseconds but not after 2,000 milliseconds. This supported their notion that automatic, non intentional semantic processing of parafoveal information is very short lived (Shapiro, McInnis, Heckler, 1997). In his research, Shapiro (1999) concludes that ad information can undergo a semantic analysis during incidental exposure. Advertised products can more easily take advantage of this analysis when they are depicted in a consistent scene. When advertised products are depicted in this fashion, incidental ad exposure leads to conceptual fluency effects, exerting unconscious ad influence during consideration set formation. When a product is depicted by itself, unconscious ad influences rely on a feature analysis that occurs during exposure. This analysi s creates perceptual fluency effects. The results of experiments in Shapiros (1999) study showed that subjects in the context condition had greater levels of unconscious ad influence and those in the no context condition. This demonstrated that semantic relatedness between the product and other contextual ad information affects differentially the likelihood that the products name would be activated in memory, and, thus, the likelihood that the advertised product would be included in consideration set. This suggests that semantic processing of contextual ad information is what accounts for the context facilitations effects. In our work, we refer to one of the major theories that explain the effects of incidental advertising which is the theory of Zajonc (1968) called  «mere exposure and subconscious processing ». In fact, Zajonc (1968) defines the mere exposure effect as the observation that « mere repeated exposure of individual to a stimulus is a sufficient condition for the improvement of his attitude toward it ». By mere exposure is meant a condition which just makes the given stimulus attainable to the individuals perception. It arises when repeated or single exposure to a stimulus, even in the absence of acquaintance, results in the formation of a positive affective reaction to the stimulus (Zajonc, 1968). In another side, Janiszewski (1993) defines mere exposure to a brand name or product package as the process that encourages a consumer to have a more favourable attitude toward the brand, even when the consumer cannot recollect the basic exposure. This theory is interesting for our study as Zajonc (1968) found that as number of exposure increased, so too did the favourable evaluations. Bornstein, Leone and Galley (1987) have approved these effects when participants are aware as well as not of the presence of stimuli. Further, Ye and Raaij (1997) suggested another definition of mere exposure as they claim that the mere-exposure effect in the absence of awareness represents implicit memory. Mere exposure is the formation of a positive affective reaction to repeated or single exposure to a stimulus, even in the absence of awareness. Bronstein (1989) reveals that research on the influence of repeated stimulus exposures has demonstrated that preferences can be formed without an accompanying awareness of the preference formation process. Thus, there was a positive affective reaction to the previously presented stimuli (as assessed by their preference judgements) in spite of the fact that these stimuli had not been perceived consciou sly. Another major theory that explains the effects of incidental advertising is the theory of hemispheric processing styles. In reality, many a myth has advanced around the brains asymmetry. The left cerebral hemisphere is supposed to be the calculatedly logical, verbal and governing half of the brain, while the right is the utopian side, emotional, spatially aware but suppressed (McCrone, 2000). Recording to this theory, the human visual system is organized as stimuli located within the individuals field of foveal vision, roughly 1.5 degrees to the left or right of the current field of focus are initially sent to the right hemisphere for processing, and stimuli placed to the right hemisphere for altering, and stimuli placed to the current field of focus are originally sent to the left hemisphere. This theory suggests that summing information to support verbal claims in an advertisement may influence the subconscious processing of the claims. Janiszewski (1990) affirms that processing st yle refers to the procedure or process each hemisphere uses when attacking to achieve a task. Hemispheric resource theory predicts that the availability of resources to form a memory trace of the outputs of a feature analysis may be sensitive to an activation created by the feature analysis its self. To apprehend the effects of incidental exposure to advertising, Janiszewski (1990) recommends the cooperative interaction model which is based on two hypotheses that affect directly to the problems of a dual strategy processing system. The first is that the brain is reciprocal, parallel processor-each hemisphere has its own independent bank of resources and each hemisphere is able of involving concurrently in multiple operations (Janiszewski, 1990).The second assumptions that the hemispheres collaborate cooperatively (Allen, 1983).The assumptions of the cooperative interaction model can be applied to anticipate how nonattended material might intercede with the apprehension of an unattended verbal messages (Janiszewski, 1990).The model is based on capacity theories of attention ( Broadbent 1971; Kahneman, 1973) as well as on general models of information processing, in which motivation, competence and opportunity factors affecting message processing are synthesized (MacInnis and Jawor ski 1990). A key belief underlying these theories and models is that the attentional faculty (or processing capacity) that is accessible to a consumer at a distinct point in time is limited, and that the part that is designated to the stimulus studied is a function of both exogenous (opportunity) and endogenous factors (motivation and ability). The autonomy versus cognition mediation controversy has come to an impasse and has been surpassed by the rise of perceptual fluency as a popular account of the mere exposure effect. Consistently, Wang et al. (2002) found that placing a brand name to the right of attended pictorial information should send it to the less activated left hemisphere, where it will receive a greater degree of subconscious processing than if sent to the right hemisphere. The possibility that placement influences evaluation of a peripherally placed stimulus stems from the hypothesis that the hemispheres have different processing styles. The differential competency of the left and right hemisphere for forming a mental representation of a stimulus during a preattentive processing has a direct implication for our understanding of one potential benefit from manipulating the location of the incidental ads. Thats why we adopt this theory. In fact, referring to the works of Janiszewski (1988, 1993, and 1999) we suppose that ads were more liked when placed in the left, as opposed to the right, visual field because this draft encouraged the viewer to use the holistic processing resources of the right hemisphere to initially. This theory is very ancient, many researchers adopted it and even neuroscientists have supported it. Neuroscientists affirmed, in fact, the distinction between the processing that occurs in the right hemisphere and left hemisphere. In this study we stipulate that incidental ads placed in the left were more liked. III.3. Implicit memory One of the important cognitive responses are memories. A large number of studies have studied memory for advertisement. Yoo (2005) revealed that prior literature in memory research suggests that when consumers are exposed to an advertisement, multiple representations of the advertisement are encoded in memory. In this study, we give a great importance in studying the memory. In fact, to understand how unconscious advertising affects consumer preference, it is first necessary to understand something about how consumers think. But previously marketing studies examining memory for advertisements have relied approximately wholly on examining effects contingent on explicit memory retrieval. In psychology, memory is an organisms ability to store, retain, and recall information. Kronlund, Whittlesea and Yoon (2001) define memory as the commander of all acquired human behaviour, containing speech, conceptual apprehension, skilled activities, social interactions, and consumer preferences. In another side, neuroscientists define memory as the retention of learned information, the acquisition, storage and retrieval of information. To achieve a true understanding of any aspect of human behaviour, it is therefore essential to have an effective theory of memory. In fact, extant literature offers strong evidence that product judgement and brand choice decisions are often influenced by information retrieved from memory (Alba and Hutchinson, and Lynch, 1992). One type of memory that emerges from an exposure event is explicit memory (Yoo, 2005). At the time of exposure, a depiction of the information is encoded in memory and is correlated with a spatio-temporal context that attaches the information to the exposure incident. This memory depiction is attributed to as explicit memory, as known as episodic memory. Explicit memory is characterised by a persons conscious recall of the event and replies what he or she remembers about the event (Lee, 2002). Its also, characterized by a respondents conscious recollection of the preceding exposure. Thus measures of explicit memory make direct reference to the past exposure, and suspects are interrogated to demonstrate what they can remember about the prior event (Yoo, 2007). In fact, Bertrand and Girardi (2007) reveal that explicit memory codifies information on autobiographical events, moreover knowledge of facts. Its creation builds upon cognitive processes of the evaluation, conflicting and assum ing type. Implicit memory has an unintentional and impulsive attribute, and its formation and recall are not entirely dependent on the aptitude of having or attaining knowledge of cognitive processes (Lee, 2002). Cooper and Schacter (1992) defined implicit memory as nonintentional, nonconscious retrieval of previously acquired information and is demonstrated by enhanced performance on tests that do not require conscious recollection of the past. Explicit memory: on the other hand, requires intentional, conscious recollection of the past. The difference between implicit and explicit memory in terms of nonconscious and conscious retrospection is enigmatic because these states of consciousness loss accepted defining criteria. However, the term implicit memory was formulated by Graf and Schacter (1985), with attributing to the phenomenon of remembering without awareness (Lee, 2001). Implicit memory is analyzed to be revealed by relief in tasks that use memory whereas explicit memory is affirmed by straight testing memory (Jacoby, 1991). This memory is unallied of cognitive resource, acts constantly and inevitably whether we are paying a lot or a little attention or even no attention at all, and i s able of attaching emotional meaning to anything that it perceives (Heath, 2007). Our interest to study those memories comes from the fact that Shapiro, McInnis and Heckler (1997) advice that the presence of unconscious processing would be indicated by two measures: (1) implicit memory for the object brand names (2) no manifestation of explicit memory of the target ad (Yoo, 2005). Berry and Dienes (1993) affirm that in the case of incidental advertising, contextual knowledge is acquired through implicit attaining processes which concede complicated information about the stimulus environment to be without intention or awareness. They supplementary propose that incidentally acquired contextual knowledge forms a highly robust, instance based and implicit memory for context. The favour of implicit learning is that permits more information to be acquired than is possible through consciously linked channels. The capital advantage of implicit learning is that it may allow cognitive systems to memorize more information about stimuli than can be processed through consciously controlled channels (Lewicki et al., 1988). Jacoby and Dallas (1981) define the facility with which a person recognise the physical characteristics of a stimulus as perceptual fluency and is identified to be enhanced through preceding exposures. Especially, empirical proof from implicit memory research arrays that prior exposure to a target of ten benefits task performances such as lexical decision, word completion and anagram solving that involves the identification of the perceptual features of the target (Lee and Labroo, 2002). They reported that conceptual fluency eases consideration-set membership and memory based-choice as the result of extended accessibility of the brand in memory (Lee, 2002, Nedungadi, 1990, Shapiro, McInnis and Heckler, 1997) and they lead to the apprehending of the processing fluency model by showing that conceptual fluency influence judgements, too. Enhanced performance has been examined even when respondents are not aware of their having been exposed to the information earlier. Enhanced performance as the termination of preceding exposure recommends that people have memory of the exposure event, even though they may not consciously remember it. This enhancement reflects implicit memory of the event and is often mentioned to as priming. According to the cue accessibility hypothesis, an emotion may effect ones evaluations of ad stimuli because materials stored in memory that are conforming that emotion state will be more available, and consequently more likely to come to mind then they would at another time. Current findings in the mere exposure literature show that perceptual fluency is positively valenced, thus peoples assessment of an object grows as it becomes perceptually more fluent. Extended literature has displayed that the level of attention in encoding does not affect implicit memory but actively influences explicit memory. Schacter (1987) check out numerous alternative theoretical clarifications of such dissociations. One explanation, the activation view, holds that implicit memory performance rests on concepts that are briefly activated in memory due to the antecedent exposure (Yoo, 2007). One of the theories conducted in the field of neuroscience is the competence hemispheric theory. This theory recommends that memory traces are essential to bring the order in which material is presented. The right hemisphere has a more accurate performance of sequentially presented events because it does not commonly essay to reconfigure information as does the left hemisphere (Janiszewski, 1990). The left hemisphere sounds more able to process written or verbal ads, where as the right part of the brain triumph at visual ads. Janiszewski (1990) support Friedman and Polsons matching activation hypothesis and suggests that the greater activation of the right (left) hemisphere during the processing of attended pictorial(verbal) information should improve processing of supplementary material represented within the left(right) hemisphere provided that the material in opposing hemisphere can be treated by that hemisphere. During preattentive processing, if individuals bank only on perceptual fluency (feature analysis), their responses should be independant to the advertisement message, if indeed the individuals are knowledgeable only of features (e.g. size, color) in print advertising. However, if semantic analysis is possible, cognitive responses may implicitly embody the advertisement message, such as a brand name or impressive message cues, even though individuals do not explicitly remember them. Sine this research predicted that semantic analysis is also struggled during preattentive processing, it is anticipated that individuals have implicit memories of print advertisement message as a result of preattentive processing. Processing a print advertisement in a preattentive way will notify the brand delineated within the advertisement and thus construct an implicit memory trace for the brand, even though an individuals explicit memories for of the advertisement will be at levels no greater than thos e awaited by chance (Raman and Leckenby, 1998). Based on the above discussion and the results of anterior studies, the first hypothesis is suggested: Hypothesis 1. Incidental processed advertising is more likely to generate implicit memory than that expected by chance. III.4. Emotional responses Until now, there is no scientific and precise definition of the term emotion. In colloquial language, the term is used to refer to feelings and moods and also refers to the way these are expressed both in behaviour and bodily answers (Kandel; Schwartz and Jess ell, 2000). The Longman Dictionary definition of emotion is strong feeling (e.g. anger, fear, joy) usually incorporating physiological change (1984). Further, according to the complete Oxford English Dictionary, in a psychological classification the term emotion refers to a mental feeling or affection (e.g.: of pleasure or pain, desire or aversion, surprise, hope or fear, etc.) as distinguished from cognitive or volitional states or consciousness also abstr feeling as distinguished from the other classes of mental phenomena (OED, 1994 version). Far from the traditional approach to the study, the cognition accentuates information processing of view that has generally excluded emotion. In contrast, the recent emergence of cogniti ve neuroscience as an inspiration for understanding human cognition has stressed its interaction with emotion. An understanding of human cognition requires the consideration of emotion. Research in neuroscience has resulted in a definition that is distinct from feeling. In contemporary neurological research, emotions are unconscious processes, occurring in the inner and most primitive parts of the brain. Damasio (2003) have written that emotions play out in the theatre of the body so by contrast feelings play out in the theatre of the body. To understand the effects of incidental advertising on emotion we refer to the works of neuroscientists. In fact, decision neuroscience offers the commitment of deepening our understanding of emotion and decision making in a number of ways. Neuroscientists like Damasio and Le Doux have shed a great deal of light on the critical roles that emotion plays in the brain (Damasio, 1994; Le Doux, 1996). Le Doux (2002) claims that emotion can be defined as the process by which the brain determines or computes the value of stimulus. Other aspects of emotion than duplicate from this computation (Meyer-Dinkgrà ¤fe, 2007). In his book, Descartes Error, Damasio declares that the French philosopher may have blow when he came up with his famous dictum, I think, therefore I am. Had Descartes understood the central role that emotions play in the workings of the m ind, he may well have written, I feel, therefore I am (Plessis, 2005). Damasio (1994) can be trusted with initiating modern thinking about how emotions are processed. He uses the concept of a limbic system in the mammalian brain, a construct developed by MacLean (1952) to represent the original mammalian brain, which lies beneath the more recently developed neo-cortex. He shows that activity in the proto-self always anticipated activity in core consciousness. This therefore means that emotions and feelings are always formed pre-cognitively (Heath, 2007). The role of emotion in mental processes is a matter of fervent reflection, where Damasio (1994) argues for strong, but not unique, role for emotion within an exhibited nervous system in general. In particular, the research reviewed above confirms that ads victoriously appealing to the emotions are better remember than their cognitive cousins, although very little is known about the mechanisms supporting the formation of the emotional memories and their effects on consumer choices (Palessman, 2005). It is so important to differentiate between the affective responses toward the stimulus and the global feelings. In this context, emotion represents specific feeling states at the time of incidental exposure. This goes with the definition of Batra and Holbrook (1987) who have distinguished emotional reactions from subcategories of affective responses toward the advertisement. We have also to distinguish emotion from moods. Different to moods, emotions are more stimulus particular (Cohen and Areni, 1991) and emotions may fluctuate highly in their intensity level. Thus, emotions may impact the effectiveness of print ads differently than do moods (Mherabian and Russell, 1974). As there is a delay between the incidental advertising exposure and subsequent brand choice, memory processes ought to be important in determining the effectiveness of particular kinds of advertising. We will examine in the experimental part the critical link between emotion and memory and look how this argues strongly for a dynamic understanding of the way emotion works as we process advertising. The findings of Percy (2003) suggest that in addition to the words and visual images, we also store the emotions that are present at the time so when we recall that event, the emotions associated with it are also recalled whether we are conscious or unconscious of those feelings. Memory in particular, has been studied in terms of its relationship to affect by a number of researchers (Batra and Holbrook, 1987). Hall et al. (2006) stipulate that emotionally arousing the scenes are better remembered than neutral one so emotion has an impact of the memory formation. Events associated with emotions were found to be more memorable. Canli et al. (2000) have found that amygdala activation reflects moment-to-moment subjective emotional experience that this activation enhances memory in relation to the emotional experience and that this activation enhances memory in relation to emotional intensity of experience. They discover also that memory for emotional stimuli and experiences varied the sexes; women seem recalling emotional autobiographical events than men, produce memory with greater emotional intensity in response to cues. Always referring to neuroscience, it has been known for some time that the amygdala is a key brain region for the formation of emotional memories. Cognitive neuroscientists have begun recently to illuminate the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying emotional holding of past events (Percy, 2003; Plessis, 2005). Emotion-memory interactions occur at several stages of information processing. By adopting the perspective of neuroscientists, we struggle to forward our understanding of the link emotion and memory. LaBar and Cabeza (2006) reported that emotion has authoritative influences on learning and memory that comprise multiple brain systems engaged in at different stages of information processing. Further witness of the link between emotion and memory was provided by Ashby et al. (1999). They found that positive affect of individuals facilitates the reinforcement of long term memory as it systematically influences performance on many tasks; their new neuropsychological theory postulate that accounts for many of these effects by assuming that positive affect is associated with increased brain dopamine levels. For Jacoby (1991), recognition memory is treated as dual process that includes recollection (a conscious, controlled process) and familiarity (an unconscious, automatic process). The dual process model stipulates that, for recognition, recollection acts as a discrete state and familiarity can be vi

What Montag Learned in Fahrenheit 451 :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

Simplicity vs. Reality Above all things, Montag loved to burn. It was pleasurable for him to set aside his ignorance, watching as the little papery ashes shrivel up, and wisp into the air like fireflies. But that was before he took the time to ask why. Montag had to ask himself why he was burning these books, when he didn’t even know what they were. So he decided to take action and read them. Where he lives, this is illegal. Reading these books brought misfortune, like loosing his wife, house, and being forced to become a nomad. But he also benefited from this. By reading these books and ruining his life he also gained many things. A few of these are knowledge, feelings, and understanding. Gaining this knowledge is the very thing that ruined his life, though it gave him a sense of meaning. Through all of this Montag learns the information he finds in the books was what he needed all along. The life he was living was a lie. He was an ant to his society, and it must have come as a relief to finally realize he was no longer being controlled by his lack of intelligence. Throughout this story as I started to become more familiar with the characters I noticed something quite unusual. In essence, the people around Montag only have two basic feelings, happiness and sadness. All these people ever know is that they want to be happy and they don’t care at what cost. They don’t have any knowledge or understanding of the way things work and that’s exactly what their government wants for them, because as soon as you have knowledge and understanding you start having more in depth emotions and begin asking questions, which leads to trying to makes changes. This causes complication, and that’s just the sort of thing they cannot allow in their simple, ant-like society. Montag gets feeling from the books, and the feelings he gets motivates him to do what’s right. Even if everyone else around him is self centered, they only care about their own happiness. In chapter One Clarisse asks Montag if he’s happy. She makes it seem like such an easy question, while in fact it’s one of the hardest questions he has ever had to ask himself. The truth is that Montag doesn’t understand what true happiness is. All he knows is that he needs to make some drastic changes, and Montag doesn’t even know how.

Evolutionary Basis for Ethics and Morals :: Science

Evolutionary Basis for Ethics and Morals With the advent of Darwin's theories of evolution and the rising popularity of biological science as the explanation of human origins, it is perhaps no surprise that philosophers began to tackle the notion of ethics and morals from an evolutionary perspective, eschewing reliance on religious texts and yet seeking to find in science the basis for such characteristics that have long been under the purview of religion and used to separate humanity from its fellow animals. While sociobiologists studied "the evolution of interrelations between organisms in pairs, groups, herds, colonies, [and] nations," both Thomas Hobbes and Friedrich Nietzsche attempted to derive the origins of such groups and nations and the foundation of their morality by using an biological evolutionary model (Dennett 483). Hobbes and Nietzsche tell stories of their own making to explain how such "moral" civilizations were brought into being. In the Hobbesian version, humans once existed in an amoral state in which there was no concept of good and evil – simply good and bad, with all ethics removed. For example, "although they distinguished a good spear from a bad spear...they had no concept of a good or bad person, a moral person, or a good act, a moral act – or their contraries, villains and vices" ( Dennett 454). Mankind persisted in this "state of nature...nasty, brutish and short," Hobbes believed, until several enterprising members of the population arrived at the notion of a "social contract." Instead of remaining in constant competition with each other, humans began to band together outside of simple insular family groups for the protection and sustenance of all – the state, in its nascent form. Dennett draws attention to "Lynn Margulis' story of the eukaryotic revolution," which does provide a useful basis for comparison between the evolution of human civilization and the evolution of species (Dennet 454). "Throughout the Precambrian period," Ernst Mayr writes in What Evolution Is, "the rich diversity of protists gave rise to multicellular descendant, some of which then led to plants, fungi, and animals," and indeed the change from simple prokaryotes to the more complex eukaryotes, and from single-celled eukaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes, seems to mirror human development into ethical beings – assuming that Hobbes' story is true (Mayr 60). The multicellular organisms, "which, thanks to a division of labor among a gang of specialist cells," could now pursue a more complex and

Equality and Diversity in the Care Home Setting

Our work place policies, procedures, codes of practice and legislation requirements for:- Diversity is respecting and maintaining the dignity and privacy of clients recognizing issues associated with the identity needs of other service users as well as the clients own interpretation of dignity and respect and the right to express his/her own identity, culture and lifestyle. Equality is ensuring people are treat with fairness no what their age, race or gender; treating people according to their individual needs.To protect the rights and promote the interests of clients and employees respect for individuality proving and promoting equal opportunities recognizing individuals needs of care and preferences. Supporting clients to take control of their own life choice and independence. For example I was facilitating a group regarding substance misuse and a client told me she didn’t need to be there as she never used drugs and wasn’t a â€Å"junky† but everyone else did. I explained to the client that alcohol was a drug and that the group was to inform everyone of the potential risk of any drug and that it would be beneficial for her to stay and also within the unit no matter what substance a client used everyone was here for the same reasons. Inclusive practice is about the attitudes, approaches and strategies taken to ensure that people are not excluded or isolated. It means supporting diversity by accepting and welcoming people’s differences, and promoting equality by ensuring equal opportunities for all.I use this daily in my job by including all clients in activities that I am undertaking for example a quiz or relaxation, everyone is welcome and to those who are too poorly I reassure that there will be other activities on during the week. Discrimination is upholding public trust and confidence in social care services and not abusing, neglecting or exploiting clients or colleagues. Not discriminating or condoning discrimination or placing yourself or others at necessary risk.Providing clients and employees, a work place with freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, ability, sexuality or religion. Again I use this on a daily basis as we don’t discriminate against anyone. Everyone can use our service providing they meet the criteria (ie substance misuser). We have groups for everyone and ask for participation off everyone. If a client was needing any external services ie for religious matters we try to accommodate as best we can.The following legislation relates to all of the above and is used everyday where I work by myself, my colleagues and some by the clients that use our service. †¢The Human Rights Act 1998- This covers many different types of discrimination, including some that are not covered by other discrimination laws. Rights under the Act can be used only against a public authority, for example, the police or a local council, and not a private company. However, court decisions on d iscrimination usually have to take into account what the Human Rights Act says. The Equal Pay Act 1970 (amended 1984)- This says that women must be paid the same as men when they are doing the same (or broadly similar) work, work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme, or work of equal value. †¢The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (amended 1986)-This makes it unlawful to discriminate against men or women in employment, education, housing or in providing goods and services, and also in advertisements for these things. It’s also against the law, but only in work-related matters, to discriminate against someone because they are married or in a civil partnership. Race Relations Act 1976 (amended 2000)- This states that everyone must be treated fairly regardless of their race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins. †¢Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This states that a person with a disability must not be treated less fairly than someone who is able-bodied. †¢Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This says it is unlawful to discriminate against people at work because of their religion or belief. The regulations also cover training that is to do with work. Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006- This says it is unlawful for an employer or potential employer to discriminate against you at work because of your age. The Residential Care and Nursing Homes Regulations 2002. This protects the rights of people living in care homes. †¢Health and Social Care Act 2008. – This Act established the Care Quality Commission (CQC), whose remit is to protect and promote the right of people using health and social care services in England to quality care and to regulate its provision.In October 2010 a new legislation began that was the Equality act 2010 this involves most of the above legislation and brings them all together into one act. This means that within my workplace each member of staff has to adhere to t his legislation and ensure that everyone that comes into our building is treated with dignity and respect, they are not discriminated against in any way and everyone receives the correct level of treatment as and when needed. The most common forms of discrimination are racial remarks, slurs, being called insulting names and being the butt of hurtful jokes.Studies have found that discrimination, racism and harassment may have significant mental and physical health consequences such as frustration, stress, anxiety, depression, possible nervous breakdown, or high blood pressure that can cause heart attacks. Effects of discrimination physically and emotionally: Depression, Anger, Loss of self-esteem, Isolation, Feeling stressed or unable to cope. Stereotyping is another form of discrimination for example we stereotype a teenager, with a hood up, as being bad and up to no good.This is wrong they could just be cold. But if this teenager is told over and over again that they are bad there is always a possibility that they could think well if I am getting labelled I may as well do it. This is a damaging effect of discrimination and one that happens every minute throughout the world. Inclusive practice is best practice. Health and social care workers demonstrate inclusive practice by working in ways that recognise, respect, value and make the most of all aspects of diversity.Having a sound awareness of and responding sensitively to an individual’s diverse needs supports them in developing a sense of belonging, well-being and confidence in their identity and abilities. And it helps them to achieve their potential and take their rightful place in society. Inclusive practice involves having an understanding of the disastrous impact that discrimination, inequality and social exclusion can have on an individual’s physical and mental health. Having such an understanding ensures appropriate, personalised care and support, thereby enabling an individual to develo p self-respect and maintain a valued role in society.Because people who fail to support diversity or promote equality are usually entirely unaware of their attitudes and the impact of their behaviour, inclusive practice involves reflecting on and challenging one’s own prejudices, behaviours and work practices. It also involves challenging those of colleagues and other service providers, with a view to adapting ways of thinking and working and to changing services to build on good practice and to better support diversity and promote equality. If I suspected a colleague was discriminating against a client within the nit I would report this immediately to the nurse in charge and then report it to the clinical lead and management. I would offer the client support and advice and also reassure them that inappropriate behaviour from staff is not tolerated within the unit and I would also offer them a complaints form and reinforce them to report any further incidents to staff on duty immediately. However if I feel I am the one that has been discriminated against I should then raise a grievance in accordance with the grievance procedure or through the bullying and harassment procedure.Information, advice and guidance about equality, diversity and discrimination can be sourced via the internet, companies policies and procedures, employee handbooks, line managers and managers, also from colleagues. I have found working on my NVQ I have had to research a lot. Therefore the internet has been invaluable. It is also amazing what resources I have found at work when asking colleagues advice and found there knowledge a big help when discussing iot with them. Duty of care means providing care and support for individuals with the law and also within the policies and procedures and agreed ways of working with your employer.It is about avoiding abuse and injury to individuals, their family, friends and property. I have a duty of care to safeguard individuals from harm, repor ting concerns of abuse/ neglect this may include evidence or suspicion of bad practice by colleagues or managers or abuse by another individual- worker, family or friend. It means that when someone is a patient or even under care in a residential home or their own, the care giver has a duty to provide whatever care is best for them!They should see that they are treated with respect, provided with help when needed, given medication when required and generally looked after. We have a duty of care to everyone that walks in the building including colleagues and visitors, everyone has there own duty of care to themselves and the others around them. For example if the fire alarm was to sound we have a duty of care to ensure everyone gets out of the building including ourselves. A potential dilemma I have faced recently was that I overheard a conversation between two clients.One client telling the other that they had drunk over the weekend, but had not told a member of staff and when they returned to the unit on Sunday evening, had not registered on the breathalyzer, therefore had not been â€Å"found out†. The client did not realise that I had over heard the conversation and went back to his room. I felt it was my duty of care to inform his keyworker of this but felt it was his right as a person to tell her himself, as I had only overheard the conversation, it was not directed at me.I went to see my line manager with a hypothetical scenario and asked her advice. She advised me to speak with the client and let him know that I had overheard the conversation and I was leaving it up to him to decide what he would do. So I did this. I advised the client that I had overheard him and I felt he was putting himself and others at risk because he thought he could do this again and get away with it again and other clients would start to do the same. He agreed with me and asked if I could tell his keyworker he wanted to speak to her.He told her everything and was put on a no pass for 4 days. Another potential dilemma is if I suspect a client has been using drugs or drinking alcohol within the unit I am able to breathalyse or urine screen whenever I feel the need. This is providing a duty of care to all clients. Assessing the levels of risk are always done before a client enters the building, the referrer has to send a level 3 assessment before the client has an assessment in the unit or admitted a level 3 assessment provides all the information about the clients past that health professionals must be aware of.The risk assessment is studied carefully and if the client has a high risk record towards staff or other clients they will be refused an assessment or admission to the unit. Risk assessments are done by a nurse before the client even enters the building if they think they may be a threat to themselves or others they will not be permitted to use our service. If the nurse feels there is no threat and that client is allowed in the unit then a care plan is drafted on admission and the client is made aware of any circumstances that will be involved if any risk is felt throughout there stay.If the client is low to medium we would put in place to appropriate action and steps into place to avoid any staff or other clients in the unit of any risks for example staff members working in pairs and monitoring the client at all times reinforcing to the client any inappropriate behaviour towards clients or staff will not be tolerated and company policies and rules must be followed at all times while they are a res ident in the unit. If the client was to breech company rules or intimidate a client or member of staff they would be immediately discharged and they will be made aware of this on admission.Managing risk associated with conflict or dilemma is done by mainly doing risk assessments. On some occasions this may need to be done on the spot and action taken immediately for example if a trip was going ahead and two clients were arguing you have to think on your feet to calm the situation down firstly and then think of the next step for example saying that neither client is now coming on the trip and explain your rationale behind the decision whether it is that you do not feel the clients will be able to get along outside of the unit and may start arguing again therefore putting themselves and others at risk.Or that you decide both clients come on the trip but think of a care plan for while you are out so everyone is aware of what is happening and what is going to happen. We have had examples of risk on several occasions the main one being if a clients visitor is under the influence on arrival to the unit and not allowed to visit. They must be escorted off the premises as soon as possible and sometimes they become very angry or agitated because of this.If this was to happen I have to think on the spot and work out the best plan of action it could be talking rationally and explaining the nature of the building and that there is no way we could let a visitor in that was intoxicated even if they would cause no harm it is unfair on other clients having to smell the alcohol. I would explain that they could return the next day if this was convenient as long as they were not under the influence. If this did not work I would try to talk to them again and explain if they did not leave then I would have to phone the police.All clients are made aware on admission of the companies complaints policy, forms are available from any member of staff and will also be within the client handbook given on admission. If a client asks for a complaints form then I would ask them if there was anything that I could help with firstly or another member of staff if they wish. If they say no then I would get the complaints form and reiterate the policy that the complaints form should only be given to the person in charge of the building at that time and that if that person can deal with the complaint then this would be do ne if not another member of staff may need to be involved.