Adolescents in Education

Studying in college means new life. It allows new experiences and challenges. This can be exciting but it can also be stressful and make someone feel sad as well. The role of guide counselor is of great importance regarding the student’s adaptation in academic environment. The realization of student’s professional and personal skills depends a lot on the degree of the success of counselor’s activities.The main aim of this research is to show that today the counselors’ practices still are not perfect. They are some narrow-directed and are composed mostly as the instructions for dealing with a student who is already in stress. Also, the scheme of organization of counselor’s activities which is suggested to make their work more efficient will be proposed.As Kenneth W. Merrel says in his â€Å"Helping students overcome depression and anxiety: a practical guide† (2001): â€Å"Depression, anxiety, and related â€Å"internalizing† problems o f children and adolescents have been the focus of increased professional concern during the past two or tree decades. During the majority of the 20th century, relatively little attention was given to these problems†.Meanwhile, recently depression and stress have become rather a common phenomenon of students’ life. For many young adults, the transition from high school to college is one of the most exciting periods of their lives. Normative developmental tasks, such as moving away from home, learning new academic material, forming adult relationships, and managing time and money, can create feelings of independence and generate a sense of mastery and competence unparalleled in earlier adolescence.As educators are well aware, however, these critical tasks can become a source of chronic stress, especially during the freshman year. If left unchecked, such stress can uncover or lead to more serious psychological disorders, which can, in turn, cause social isolation, school f ailure, and self-destructive behaviors.The Nation’s Voice on Mental Illness (2005) affirms that: â€Å"Most illnesses develop between the ages of 17 to 25, but that's not to say it can't start sooner or later than that.†Ã‚   Speaking about American students, NYU Child Study Center (2004) shows also that:â€Å"- depression affects over 19 million American adults annually, including college students. At colleges nationwide, large percentages of students are feeling overwhelmed, sad, hopeless and so depressed that they are unable to function†¦Ã‚  -eating disorders affect 5-10 million women and one million men nationwide, with the highest rates occurring among college-aged women.   -suicide was the eighth leading cause of death for all Americans, the third leading cause of death for those aged 15-24 years, and the second leading killer in the college population in 1998.   -nearly 50% of American teenagers of high-school age are currently, or have been, sexually a ctive. Everyday, 8,000 teenagers in the United States become infected by a sexually transmitted disease (STD)†¦ †The transition to student life has always been unsettling but being a student is quite different now from 20 years ago. Today we have a mass higher education system, so universities tend to be much larger and less personal.  It's very rare for students to go through a degree program with the same 20 or 30 people – instead they take different modules with large numbers of different people so it's hard for them to build up support networks.   And one don't just have finals now, one have exams twice a year, every year, so the pressure is on from the moment one start until the moment he finishes.The causes of depression are complex. Very often a combination of genetic, psychological and environmental factors is involved in the onset of clinical depression.Common stressors in college life include: greater academic demands, being on your own in a new envir onment, changes in family relations, financial responsibilities, changes in your social life, exposure to new people, ideas, and temptations, awareness of your sexual identity and orientation, preparing for life after graduation. At times, however, depression occurs for no apparent reason.Whatever the cause is, depression is almost always treatable. But the problem is not only to get rid of the stress but to learn how to manage with it or (what would be the best solution) how to prevent it.The problem is also not only in a great threat for student’s health which is issued by stress but in making a student unable to develop his skills. Hundreds of students, sometimes very gifted ones, suffer because of depression which is a great obstacle on the way of their development as personalities.It must be said that nowdays the net of guide counselors is developed quite well and practically all educational establishments of famous have among their personnel professional psychologists w ho make a great deal of work. But it also must be noted that in recent years the intensity of so-called â€Å"students’ stress† hasn’t decreased but quite the contrary, it has increased a lot.Therefore, the main task of guide counselors is to learn to reveal the symptoms of depression at its early stage, identify the students who are especially vulnerable to stress form the very beginning of their education and direct their behavior to the safe path.So, as it was already said, the first step in defeating depression is recognizing it. It's normal to have some signs of depression some of the time. But five or more symptoms for two weeks or longer, or noticeable changes in usual functioning, are all factors that should be evaluated by a health or mental health professional.Depressive illnesses come in different forms. The following are descriptions of the three most prevalent, though for an individual, the number, severity, and duration of symptoms will vary:Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that interfere with one’s ability to work, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. These episodes can occur once, twice, or several times in a lifetime.Symptoms include: sadness, anxiety, or â€Å"empty† feeling, decreased energy, fatigue, being â€Å"slowed down†, loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, appetite and weight changes (either loss or gain) ,sleep disturbances (insomnia, oversleeping, waking much earlier than usual), feelings of hopelessness, guilt, and worthlessness, thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts difficulty concentrating, making decisions, remembering, irritability or excessive crying, chronic aches or pain not explained by other physical condition.A less intense type of depression- dysthymia, involves long-term, chronic symptoms that are less severe, but keep you from functioning at your full ability and from feeling well. In bipolar illness (also known as manic-depressive illness), cycles of depression alternate with cycles of elation and increased activity, known as mania.Bipolar disorder is a type of depressive illness that involves mood swings that go from periods of depression to periods of being overly â€Å"up† and irritable. Sometimes the mood swings are dramatic or rapid, but most often they occur gradually, over several weeks.The â€Å"up† or manic phase can include increased energy and activity, insomnia, grandiose notions and impulsive or reckless behavior, including sexual promiscuity. Medication usually is effective in controlling manic symptoms and preventing the recurrence of both manic and depressive episodes.When the depression lasts for two weeks and more or interferes with academic or social functioning it may be clinical depression. Clinical depression is a common, frequently unrecognized illness that can be effectively treated. Clinical depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavio r.It can change your eating habits, how you feel and think, your ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be willed away.Clinically depressed people cannot â€Å"pull themselves together† and get better. Depression can be successfully treated. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few weeks.The notion of stress or depression is connected tightly with alcohol and drugs and suicide intentions. A lot of depressed people, especially teenagers, also have problems with alcohol or other drugs. Sometimes depression comes first and people try drugs as a way to escape it.Other times, the alcohol or other drug use comes first, and depression is caused by the drug itself, or withdrawal from it, or the problems that substance use causes. And sometimes one can't tell which came first. The importa nt point is that when one has both of these problems, the sooner he gets treatment, the better.Thoughts of death or suicide are usually signs of severe depression. Talking to a professional in this case can get student past those intense feelings and save his life. Suicidal thoughts, impulses, or behaviors always should be taken seriously.   It is necessary to contact someone he or she trusts: a good friend, academic or resident advisor.All the above mentioned problems referred to students’ stresses and depressions are suggested to be treated by counselors. The counselor is a teacher and psychologist at the same time. The relationship between teacher and learner essentially poses problems of human relations. Teachers bring more than knowledge to the relationship: they are motivators, experts, judges.Teachers and learners share responsibility for learning, and some question whether â€Å"teaching† has occurred if no â€Å"learning† occurred.Studies of teaching that produces the most learning suggest that â€Å"effective† teachers use an analytical and synthetic approach to the subject matter, organize the material well to make it clear, and establish rapport with their students.Most studies identify enthusiasm as important in promoting students' learning. The key seems to be to make college courses challenging but not threatening.Many stress models emphasize a â€Å"mismatch† between the individual and his or her environment. Both too little and too much stress inhibits learning. Stress is difficult to define because individuals react to it very differently, and a situation that is stressful for one person may not be for another. Further, stressed individuals vary widely in the effectiveness of their coping.The professional or academic adaptation is a kind of social adaptation. Academic adaptation consists of professional and psychological components. The psychological aspect has the leading role as it is the base for all th e other stages of human’s socialization.The academic adaptation is an intensive, dynamic and complex process in the course of which the individual elaborates constant skills of adaptation within the demands of his new environment. At the very beginning there is an adaptation to the social environment of high school, and on the senior rates – to the elected trade and profession.Thus, professional adaptation of the student at each subsequent stage includes adaptable abilities and the skills received at the previous stage as a basis. Each subsequent stage is the result of the development of the previous one with qualitatively new formations.It is necessary to point out a number of the initial subjective factors which negatively influence on the process of adaptation and underlying typical difficulties: 1. An insufficient level of actual readiness for the high school program, neglect of many knowledge from rates of school disciplines what leads to backwardness of diligence and inquisitiveness, deficiency of the personal responsibility and educational activity, a low level of spiritual and intellectual potentials. 2. Feebly marked studies skills, insufficiently advanced verbal (abstract) thinking, backwardness of concentration and distribution of attention, ignorance of effective mnemonic receptions, weakness of strong-willed regulation. 3. A low level of culture and moral shown on a background limited life experience and a social maturity; world outlook and social infantilism. 4. Uncertainty in one’s own forces, doubt in an opportunity of successful training in high schoolConsidering professional adaptation of the person as process, using concept â€Å"professional adaptation â€Å", we designate result of this process. Thus, professional adaptation is a result of personal changes during the coordination of professional intentions, qualities of the person and requirements of concrete professional work at adequate reaction to own changes, cha nges of professional work and the professional environment under influence of the factors generated at inclusion of the person in system of continuous education.Hence, professional adaptation of the person of the student forms a psychological basis of his vocational training. The challenges while getting education are especially important for gifted students. Many gifted youngsters have a heightened sensitivity to their surroundings, to events, to ideas, and to expectations. Some experience their own high expectations for achievement as a relentless pressure to excel. Constant striving to live up to self-expectations-or those of others-to be first, best, or both can be very stressful. With every new course, new teacher, or new school questions arise about achievement and performance, since every new situation carries with it the frightening risk of being mediocre.Striving becomes even more stressful when unrealistic or unclear expectations are imposed by adults or peers. The pressur e to excel, accompanied by other concerns such as feeling different, self-doubt (the â€Å"imposter† syndrome), and the need to prove their giftedness can drain the energy of gifted students and result in additional stress.Stress occurs even when everything is going well. Youngsters get tired from their constant efforts and may secretly fear that next time they will not be as successful.Many gifted students accept responsibility for a variety of activities such as a demanding course load; leadership in school activities, clubs, or sports and part-time jobs. Even if it were humanly possible, doing everything well would be physically and emotionally stressful.

A Day in the Life of Deaf Culture Essay

After watching the videos about how deaf people go along with their daily life, I realized there isn’t very much that is different than how someone who can hear lives there daily life. When watching all of the 5 people, I noticed that every single one of them used a video phone or cell phone, computers, and other gadgets. I didn’t know how much technology they actually used, and I was quite surprised, and interested in more, or other technology that is out there for the deaf community. Detoine, who was in the second video mentioned how he goes along with his day starting with school, followed by going to work, and then hanging out with his hearing friends. Even though he can’t hear, he still does everything that someone who can hear does. This goes for all of the others except Ashley, but only because she cannot see well. Ashley has a disease that has left her deaf and partially blind. It’s scary that the disease she has can still worsen and leave her completely blind. See more:  Capital budgeting essay Being blind and deaf combined would be terrifying and how someone could live with it; I don’t know. Even though she cant drive, she still does everything else a parent does. She takes care of her son and she even works. They may be deaf, but all of them live their lives and want to make something of themselves just like anyone else in this world does. Every one of them shares a common thing and that is that they like to communicate with the hearing weather it’s from signing or texting (technology) or writing notes. And they encourage us hearing people to try and communicate with them. Like they said they are just like anyone else that you’ll meet. Martha reminds me of my two younger sisters. All they do is go to school come home, do homework, play around, listen to music, write, and draw. And there is nothing wrong with that; what else can a kid do? She’s just like any kid out there. I think it is really cool that there are schools for the deaf. Not only are there deaf schools for kids like elementary through high school, there are also deaf colleges or normal collages that are mixed with deaf and hearing. Julian, who works at a camp as a counselor, seems very nice and he talks about how he loves sports. He is the only one in his family who is deaf. The only problem he has with being deaf is that he can’t hear people knocking at the door, and his parents have to let him know if there is someone at the door. He also talks about getting food at a fast food restaurant; he has to order inside, and not the through the drive through. I heard that problem a lot throughout this video. Julian talks about how he and the deaf community are different; they have their own culture, standard language (ASL) and history. During this video there was some that someone had said that really stuck out to me. â€Å"I am deaf, I am different. We are all different. † Julian said that, and I really agree with him. But even though everyone is different, I believe that the deaf and hearing communities are very much alike. Watching these videos made me appreciate this class more because there’s so much that I can learn from ASL, and the Deaf Community.

How To Motivate Students Education Essay

What is physical instruction? What do people presents know about the importance of wellness fittingness? Physical instruction is a class taken in primary and secondary instruction which involves physically learning and psychomotor acquisition. People presents take everything for granted ; they take their ain wellness for granted. They do n't truly care about fittingness and psychomotor acquisition. This is why physical instruction non treated earnestly in every educational institute. Based on some researches, there is a study has been conducted by â€Å" Singapore athleticss council in 2001 shows that most of the pupils does non exert on a regular basis. † Besides, there is another study on the new consumption of 800 pupils conducted in ITE East ( Yishun ) in 2001 showed that up to 94 % did non like PE and ne'er exercised on a regular basis. ( adapted from â€Å" advanced ways in actuating pupils in physical instruction class- HUSSAIN KADIR ( SH/PE/YS ) TAN MENG HUAY ( SH/PE/MP ) ) . Our instruction system is concentrates more on faculty members alternatively on pupils ‘ physical development. Schools in Malaysia instead to state neglected the importance of physical instruction. Based on the timetable in every school, physical instruction category seems likely to be one time a hebdomad and 40 proceedingss. Students get demotivated and lost their involvement in physical instruction category. Based on a instructor who mentioned that â€Å" Peoples did, and possibly still do, believe of physical instruction as recess clip, † said Shelley Randall, a P.E. instructor at Obsidian Middle School and a member of the Oregon Department of Education commission developing the criterions. ( Adapted from Taylor, Ted. ( December 4, 2000 ) . The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. ) . This shows that people still in their conservative ‘s head which academic ways excessively of import than anything else that they neglected that physical instruction plays an of import function in academic as good. Harmonizing to an article, Judith Young, executive manager of the National Association of Sports and Physical Education, said she was n't certain P.E. of all time had a major academic function. â€Å" But honestly, we are seeing a demand for it now because our life styles are acquiring progressively sedentary, † she said, mentioning many immature people who would instead play a football game on a computing machine than travel outside and toss the pigskin around with friends. ( Adapted from Taylor, Ted. ( December 4, 2000 ) . The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. ) . These are the groundss show that physical instruction was n't truly treated earnestly in school that is why demotivates pupils in their physical instruction category.Why pupils were n't interested in physica l instruction ‘s category?The whole worldwide is promoting that in reinforce the instruction system by stress the importance in physical instruction. As we know that physical instruction non merely merely helps to better wellness but accomplishment development, which allows for gratifying engagement in any physical activities in a proper appropriate techniques. But, why pupils presents were n't interested in physical instruction category? Many factor either from internal or external bring immense impacts on the school childs ‘ involvement in school. First, the school plays an of import function in taking attention of pupils ‘ academic public presentations. The school concerns their pupils ‘ academic public presentations and their school good built repute. This is the ground how the school pushes the pupils and instructors so hard to keep their public presentations in such a nerve-racking state of affairs. The category timetable consisted 9 periods a twenty-four hours, and each period is 40 proceedingss. Apparently, the whole twenty-four hours in school was sedentary activities alternatively of holding any physical activities. Students were all twenty-four hours packed with talks in category and stuck on the chair about half a twenty-four hours non-stop. The lone thing they will travel their organic structure is when they have to go to to the washroom or their 20 proceedingss recess times which they w ill merely sit and eat. Initially, school cut down the physical instruction category into 2 periods one time in a hebdomad for each category. Basically, one time a hebdomad the pupils have their physical instruction category or the full one and a half hours. The clip agendas for physical instruction is merely unjust, either they arranges the category to after recess clip or 2 periods before the school terminal. In the forenoon session, some physical instruction category arranges after deferral clip or in the center of 3rd or 4th period right before the deferral clip. This uneven timing discourage pupils ‘ involvement in participate themselves in the category. Students need times to acquire alteration and took up half of the clip that affected the instruction procedure in the category. Besides, some instructor who might took up the excess times after the bell rang, and this is one of the issues that affected the physical instruction category. Therefore, pupils have deficient clip to acquire alteration and gather at the gym or school field. P.E instructor ever faces this sort of jobs, deficient times to complete her learning course of study. Plus, pupils hates to acquire alteration once more and once more for that one hr plus. They think it was truly troublesome particularly for misss. Students need to wait in a long line to acquire alter back to pinafore under the sweaty, uncomfortable state of affairs. Girls particularly who have menses job will seek their really best to avoid participate in P.E category. School ‘s environment besides is an issue in detering pupils participates in P.E category. The school environment such as the washrooms, the location for P.E category, and so on. School that have deficient washrooms may impact the pupils larning temper and enthusiastic in larning. If the washroom is excessively little or deficient, pupils face jobs in waiting in a long line to acquire alteration. Possibly there are 20-25 misss in a category and they might necessitate some times to acquire alteration and delay in a line. This will impact the clip direction in P.E category, and the whole instruction process. Besides, if the washroom ‘s status was unhygienic is such a bend off for pupils to travel in and alter into their P.E suits. Students will happen alibis such as left their suits at place, or non experiencing good merely to avoid acquire alteration and fall in the category. Furthermore, some school does n't possess with full equipment such as broad field, equipment room, basic games ‘ tribunals. Students and instructor ever cracks their caput looking for topographic points to hold their category. Students will experience tired and demotivated and acquire bored easy. Incomplete equipment such as insufficient of balls and so on might impact the instruction activities and pupils will acquire distracted because have to wait for their bend to play the game. Next, the instructor and pupils ‘ parents think that physical instruction was n't a existent topic. But, the fact is critical. On the school field, there are 30 over pupils environing their P.E instructor. But, when the instructor carries out an activity with the pupils the responds from the pupils are so direct and clear that whether they are basking the category. We can see that there are a batch of childs standing about and socialising or waiting in line or watching other kids play. This proves that the basic lesson program was n't truly good prepared. Besides, experts have determined what ‘s incorrect is that in most schools, the P.E. instructors are undertrained. In my sentiment, I doubted that Malaysia do hold sufficient trained P.E instructors. Malaysia ‘s schools system considered instead uneven, they merely offer the P.E category to some instructors who are non trained in this field. So, is truly common that mathematics teacher or possibly English instructo r who are learning P.E every bit good. Those untrained instructor decidedly conducted the category by utilizing the text edition and ball games were n't truly learning the correct and accurate techniques and accomplishments to the pupils. That is why lesson program was n't truly good planned and prepared, and state of affairs such as pupils rolling about, socialising with one another, instead stares at the grass, deficiency of involvement in take parting in the category occurs. The chief ground is the category is tiring and non good managed. Parents on the other manus, who thinks faculty members are extremely of import that determined their kids ‘s hereafter. In fact, when a existent trained P.E instructor was carry oning the category parents should come in and see that there ‘s existent direction traveling on. Quality physical instruction is non roll out the ball and drama. Parents ever thinks that eat healthier will better wellness. Although they knows that exercising on a regular basis is the best manner to maintain healthy and fitness, deep down in their head was that such a waste of clip for their childs to run along and turn over with the balls. Physical instruction non merely educates pupils but parents every bit good. Harmonizing to Welscher from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, â€Å" They need to cognize that what it ‘s traveling to learn is things that are traveling to do them unrecorded longer, a whole batch happier, protect them from a batch of negative behaviours, better their mental wellness and this is at least every bit of import as many of the other topics. † Parents should hold encourages their kids take part in P.E category. As a parent, it is of import for them to keep engagement in kids ‘s instruction so that can guarantee he or she attains the cognition, accomplishments and attitudes necessary to take a healthy, active and productive life.How to actuate pupils to take portion in physical instruction ‘s category?There are few tips that show that benefits in taking portion in physical activities, such as it helps to better wellness. Regular exercisings helps to go around our blood circulation and our articulations wo n't turn to rusty. It helps to forestall bosom diseases, counteracts with the hazard in fleshiness, diseases, inaction and high blood pressure. With 20 proceedingss walk can assist to go around the blood circulation around our bosom and heighten the map of our bosom in healthy status. Obesity and high blood pressure c an forestall with 30 proceedingss jogs. After some physical activities, it helps to review a individual ‘s head. After discoursing the benefits of regular physical activity and all the factors that demotivated pupils take parting in P.E category, there are ways in motivates them in the category. How to promote and actuate pupils take portion in their P.E category? There are many ways in motivate pupils take portion in the category. Of class we opted for long term solutions alternatively of short term solutions. Short term solutions such as payoffs the pupils by utilizing extravaganza ‘s awards or possibly hard currencies to tempt the pupils in taking portion in the category. This will ne'er work out. They are temporally attracted pupils for a short clip and the aims will ne'er accomplish. The school, instructors, pupils and parents have the duty to get the better of this job. The school should seek to see this as serious affair by non merely stress in academic public presentation. School should hold tried to work out some plans to promote pupils take portion in physical instruction category. They should hold planned to hold their athleticss twenty-four hours during the weekdays as attending is mandatory. Many schools usually have their athleticss twenty-four hours during weekend. Weekends supposed to be non school twenty-four hours, this is the chief ground that pupils will ne'er turned up and shows the enterprise to take part in any athleticss plans. Even the instructors were deficiency of motive to carry on the event or activity in a proper mode. In my sentiment, the school should form some athleticss plans or activities for the whole hebdomad. In the whole hebdomad, half of the twenty-four hours pupils are occupied with all kinds of plans. Such as interclass games competition, some in charge of holding healthy and fitness mini seminar. The school can ask for professionals to give negotiations or seminars to the pupils. This whole physical instruction hebdomad should form systematically, is meaningful and instruction intents. Besides, pupils felt bored in P.E category is because of the instructor is untrained and was n't specialized in this field. This may do confusion to the pupils. The best thing that can make is, have the instructors attend the workshop in physical instruction. A productive and knowing instructor is a successful pedagogue. Teacher who are specialized or non in this field should educate themselves more in this field, they should fix themselves in any state of affairs such as learning the topic that they may non familiar with. Teacher should fix interesting lesson program and activities in order to allow larning come on takes topographic point. Teacher should be willing to larn and derive more Cognition: As a physical instruction teacher have to larn about new activities and games, and use them into their lesson programs. P.E instructors should larn new games and convey them into category. By conveying in new games it will non merely broaden pupils ‘ cognition of new accomplishment s, but they will besides hold merriment larning new and different accomplishments. The instructor ‘s attitude is besides really of import in learning. Teacher should cognize how to manage schoolroom direction so that pupils will esteem he/her and take things earnestly in physical instruction. Teachers should ever possesses with positives attitude, ever promote pupils, ne'er give up easy, and should act upon the pupils in what is meant to be good for them. The most of import thing is acquire to cognize them, understand them, and acquire to cognize what their demands are. Caring is ever the most effectual ways in learning advancement. Following, parents and schools bond with each other in an indirect manner. Parents play an of import function in this issue. Most of the parents thought that P.E category is such a waste of clip, and a load to a kid for conveying excess apparels to school. Most parents have irrational ideas such as, a batch of wash to make if conveying excess P.E suits and so on. Parents should hold promote their kids how of import P.E is and should take part to the full in the category. Besides, parents should frequently exposed P.E activity to their kids since immature or day-to-day. It is a necessity to expose physical activity to kids daily so that they will maintain it as a wont. While the school environment besides of import in work outing this job. School should concern and take this earnestly in bettering the installations in school. Such as, the athletics ‘s field, the equipment room and etc. Particularly the field, school authorization should take attention of the field as in trim the grass or repair the holes on the land. This can cut down the hazard of hurt among the pupils. With a good cared field, pupils will love the field and willing to stretch their articulations in any conditions. The equipment room should ever updates. Balls particularly ever a job for every school, deficient sums of balls ever create mayhem in P.E category. The school individual in charge should look into the staying stocks systematically. Replace those equipments which are disfunctions with new, add in better equipment in order to heighten the quality in learning. The school environment such as renovates the lavatory into broad infinite for pupils able to acquire alterat ion or built in athleticss shower room for pupils to take a shower before they continue their following category. Besides, authorities should take this earnestly as in advancing how of import P.E is and encourages the society starts to concentrate in P.E activity. The authorities should advance scholarship strategies or better offer in athleticss academy for every pupil who contributes in athleticss or P.E category. The authorities should promote each school to hold a certified certifications to demo properties to all the pupils who did good in their P.E category. This will promote and motivates the P.E civilization in Malaysia shortly. â€Å" The best P.E. category and plan will maintain pupils in head that this cognition can last for a life-time. † ( Adapted from article: I hate P.E )

Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Gender - Essay Example Feminist theory embraced in totality the concept of the distinction between the concept of biological sex and the socio-cultural construct of gender. In the current conservative societal systems, the gender-biological sex distinction is strictly followed in specific contexts, especially the documents written by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the social sciences. Put differently in other contexts, including social science areas, gender is the basic inclusion of sexuality, or it replaces sexuality. Although the change in gender meaning is overly traced in the 1980s, a meager acceleration of gender context in the scientific field was liberally observed in 1993 in the United States. This is the period in which USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began using the terminology gender instead of sex. Therefore, gender was reversely used during this period as a sexual view of individuals or as a person’s self-assessment and self-representation as male or female. Thi s paper, therefore, describes how individual social role players construct gender in a culture other than the ordinarily known cultures. Natural languages often make up all the gender distinctions. Gender relation and language may be of various kinds. Gender and language distinctions socially are more or less loosely associated with analogies of either perceived or actual differences between men and women. Some grammatical gender issues go far much beyond or totally ignore the masculine-feminine distinctions. In the explanation of gender and languages, the following are the key and elementary attributes of gender as a cultural construction concept. Firstly, languages include the terminologies used unequally while referring to men and women (Jowett, 2005). The conservative societal concern that the current language structures may be biased in favor of only

Narrative Description and Reflection Assignment

Narrative Description and Reflection - Assignment Example The book offers directions on issues relating to problem solving, critical thinking and creativity. Teachers can implement active learning by using this book to get information on previous cases and the results that were achieved. Borasi and Rose have been focusing on how to improve the college algebra course by introducing journal writing as a means of allowing students to reflect on the contents of the course and encourage them to share their feelings. This article defines the educational value of engaging students to practice journal writing. Its main objective is to show the potential contribution that writing can provide in terms of the student’s writing and communication skills and encouraging independent thinking. A journal writing process designed for classrooms is also presented with other suggestions and recommendations on how to effectively encourage personal writing. The evaluation procedures and design will save instructors time in application and improve student’s participation. This article will offer help to instructors who have not yet adopted the model of journal writing in the classes by simplifying the complexity in introducing students to writing. Emig is among the first originators of writing to learn methodology. She argues that writing presents a special way of learning different from reading, talking and listening. In this book, she differentiates the nature of writing from other means of learning while taking note of problems in courses that primarily focus on reading and listening only. The book tries to show how writing is an active learning process by defining it as an organic process that engages a person in whole. The chapters elaborate that writing involves use of the eyes, hands and the brain making it a unique multi-representational mode for learning. In the last chapter, the book relates writing to the journals and notes that are a

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 129

Summary - Essay Example f a student’s integration into social communities of the college and also the greater the level of subsequent of the initial commitment to the institution, the greater the likelihood of the student persistence in college. The second factor is the role played by the college classrooms. Pinto (1997) contends that if social integration is to occur, then it must take place in the classrooms. This is due to the fact that the classrooms function as the gateway for the student involvement in the academic, and social communities in college. Thirdly, more often active learning is confused with academic integration. Academic integration reflects a student’s experience with academic systems and academic communities. Such experiences finds expression in a student’s sense of normative congruence and affiliation. Lastly is the art of active learning. According to American College Personnel Association (1994), active learning enhances a student’s knowledge and understanding of course content. Students who frequently encounter active learning in their course perceive themselves gaining knowledge and understanding from their course work, thus resulting to such students viewing their collegiate experience as personally rewarding which further triggers their investment of psychological energy needed to establish membership in the social communities of their college or

Risk Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk Assessment - Essay Example In the first given case study of Colleen M. who is fifteen year old girl and determined juvenile by the court. When a teen is considered as juvenile or delinquent, his/ her future is put on stake and society also does not accept them. Colleen M. is not any criminal or gang member neither she has crime history prior but her minor quarrel with her neighbor took an ugly turn. In an argument with her neighbor, she threw a bucket of pesticide on her which caused major injuries to her and she immediately died on the spot. Though the accident took place in the negligence of Colleen yet it is sufficient to devastating her future. On the contrary, in the case of Xander who is a seventeen year old African American male is a documented gang member. He was convicted as juvenile when he was thirteen for drug possession, purse snatching and breaking and entering. Till date he has faced three police custodies one of which is for possession of a concealed weapon, to which he has pled guilty. When bo th the case studies are compared, the first difference which is noticed is that Xander had a criminal background but Colleen hadn’t had such background. ... On the contrary, Xander is in contact with his mother and had cordial relations with her, though he does not have any contact with his father. In spite of having love and support of his mother, Xander is a documented member of a gang and have been involved in criminal offences since the age of 13 whereas there are no criminal charges against Colleen before this particular case. Along with this, comparison of these two individuals also indicates that both of them are not good at academics. In fact, Xander is a high school dropout whereas no information provided about Colleen. Therefore, there is room for information about Colleen’s academics background however her actions imply that she is not a regular student in school. Furthermore, their present case status demonstrate that they are involved in great risk as precious years of their young life are stuck into the police case which hinders their personality to grow. It is the time for them when they can polish their skills and become a responsible citizen as well as a family member but their unwarranted actions are slowly spoiling their life. The level of risk in their life is on high level. In the teen age they are accused of crimes like involuntary manslaughter and possession of weapons which is a clear indication of their troubled mental state. Colleen used to live with her aunt but many times she ran away from her home. Again, it shows that she is not happy with her and something immensely disturbing her. Court also doubts that she is a drug addict and but she refused this by saying that while traveling with three homeless men, they unknowingly stumbled upon a field of poppies and that before they knew it; the intoxicating aroma caused her

Why has United Nations been more successful than League of Nations Essay

Why has United Nations been more successful than League of Nations - Essay Example Any comparison between the two international bodies as League of Nations and United Nations can be done only by tracing their origin.In order to amply answer the thesis question, one needs to analyze in details the prevailing world situation when these two bodies were formed. One needs to appreciate that both the bodies were formed in the aftermath of World Wars that ravaged a large part of the developed world when nations tired of war were thinking of some permanent solution to banish war for ever from the face of the earth. The nations thought of creating some international supervisory body that would mediate and diffuse tensions that might brew between nations and ensure that such tensions never spill over into full fledged armed conflict. The bane of war was very much realized by all the combatants what with European economy in tatters after the savagery and mindless destruction that was unleashed during the two World Wars. It seemed that all parties concerned had come to their s enses and have realized the hard way that war can never be a solution; one war inevitably leads to other wars more savage and more ferocious than the previous one. The stage was set, as one would assume, for the creation of one such international body at the end of First World War. This body would, or at least those who took leading part in its formation thought so, would be an international mediator that would diffuse the glowing embers of a potential armed confrontation before it turned into an uncontrollable inferno (Knock, 1995). Inception of League of Nations By mid-December 1918 World War I was practically over, the shooting part, that is, and USS George Washington was approaching French coastline with US President Woodrow Wilson on board. The President was buoyant with notions of setting up a world order that would usher in everlasting peace in world. The idea and mission was surely a laudable one but little did the President know of the pitfalls that lay ahead in implementin g his grandiose and eminently lofty plans that would prevent forever any war from erupting into a frenzy of genocide and destruction. This effort of his earned him the Nobel Prize for peace in 1919 but Wilson was perhaps not aware that his allies were determined that Germany atone for her sins by paying heavily and were in no mood to forgive and forget and start afresh. But why blame only the European nations? Many Americans also feared that the birth of any multinational body like the League of Nations would take on the role of a global monitor and prevent member nations from pursuing their independent foreign policies. This strain of isolationism had pervaded foreign policy relations of United States right from its arrival on the international scene as a power of consequence. This trait perhaps had a direct link with its geographical location being bound on either sides by oceans and thus not having to share boundaries with equally powerful nations as most European countries had t o. Canada on the north and Mexico on the south were so inferior in military and economic strength as compared to itself that United States had never faced the predicament of dealing with a prickly and potentially dangerous neighbor. Hence, the general feeling among American public was not favorable towards the formation of an international body. They, instead, felt their independence in charting their foreign policy course to be much more important than engaging in some sort of understanding and compromise with fellow developed countries so that a World war is never repeated. League of Nations thus started its journey amid much misgivings and mutual distrust and was doomed perhaps even before it was formally brought into being (Lerner, 2004).

Economic Background of Tesco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic Background of Tesco - Case Study Example As a group its turnover is 28 billion per year and even as a leader it continues to build market share because of its winning strategy.( Corporate Watch, 2004). In this paper we aim to get an insight into Tesco's economic strategy and analyse the different problems it currently faces and might encounter in the future. We also aim to present plausible solutions to tackle the stated problems. Tesco has an insatiable appetite for space, and relentlessly pursues the best new sites. When it comes to just number of stores and locations, Tesco leaves its rivals standing. In the 1960s, Tesco was buying up literally hundreds of grocery stores and small grocery chains around the country. It introduced 'Home 'n' Wear' departments into larger stores to carry higher-margin non-food merchandise, including clothing and household items, and opened its first 40,000ft 'superstore' in Crawley, Sussex. In 2002, it stunned experts and the competition by buying T&S, a chain of 850 convenience stores across the country. The deal doubled the group's store count in the UK at a stroke. The scale of it allowed them to capture quite an increase in market share, and they really caught the rest of the industry off guard. Learning from its past mistakes, Tesco diversified its level of products and prices to appeal to all income brackets in the same store. Tesco offers three distinct ranges of own-brand products, from Value to Finest, priced to attract all types of shoppers to its stores. Therefore in spite of its humble beginnings as a 'thrifty' store, Tesco now has more upmarket customers than M&S and Waitrose put together attracting 15 million customers per week to its stores comprising of the high and low income customer segments. Investing in Growth, Diversification and Expansion-Thinking Big: Tesco has multiplied its power and standing by reaching far and wide both in terms of diversification and expansion in terms of products and locations. It has expanded its grocery retailing at home in UK by finding innovative and energetic in finding ways to expand, such as making a large-scale move into the convenience-store sector, which the major supermarket chains have traditionally shunned. Tesco has found stunning success in its diversification to non-food business. In 1974, in a deal with Esso, Tesco began to open petrol stations on the grounds of its superstores. The idea was successful and by 1991 Tesco was the country's largest independent petrol retailer: it now accounts for 12.5% of all petrol sold in the UK. (Corporate Watch,2004).By late 2004 it was widely regarded as a major competitive threat to traditional high street chains in many sectors, from clothing to consumer electronics to health and beauty to media products. Tesco sells an expanding range of own-brand non- food products, including non-food Value and Finest ranges. Tesco has pioneered the concept of retail services. Tesco has taken the lead in its sector in

New Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New - Article Example The main objective of this paper is to provide vivid explanations about the reason behind leaking pentagonal papers by Snowden. With the increasing advent of technology in an individual’s life, it is considered that crime rate is also increasing at a great extent. Additionally, it has also been viewed that the government of different countries are adapting new policies and implementing new policies to safeguard the civilians from the increasing crime around the globe. However, it has been ascertained that though the federal body are implementing new policies to safe guards the people from foreign enemies but the new polices are violating the basic freedom of the people. For instance recently it has been witnessed that Snowden a former employee of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and an technical contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) has leaked pentagonal papers that helped the United nations (U.S) intelligence organizations to track the outgoing calls, monitors e-mail and usage of internet of almost all Americans directly violating the freedom of an individual to provide security. Further more, it has been revealed that Snowden also leaked the pentagonal papers relating the Vietnam War (Starr and Yan, â€Å"Man behind NSA leaks says he did it to safeguard privacy, liberty†). The major player that can be witnessed in the case is Edward Snowden and the United Nation’s government that developed programme that tracked phone calls, and monitors e-mail of the civilians violating the freedom of the civilians with the prime motive of providing them security. Freedom and security are considered to be two vital aspects in every individual’s life. It is also the duty of the government to safe guard its people by implementing police and laws that would not result in taking away the freedom and would also provide security to the civilians. However, in this case it has been observed that the U.S government was collecting and tracing phone calls

Comprehensive Plan to Improve Human Resources Essay Example for Free

Comprehensive Plan to Improve Human Resources Essay Whole Foods Market- a company that doesn’t think of itself as a company, but as a community of people working to make a difference in the world. At Whole Foods, the mission matters as much as the bottom line. But who is Whole Foods Market, and how does their Human Resource Management (HRM) play a role in the development of their culture or work environment? This comprehensive plan will describe Whole Foods Market’s history and the challenges and/or opportunities of the company. It will explore the effectiveness of the organizations current human resource practices with regard to the employees and describe strategies to improve the quality of those practices. Additionally, the impact of implementing the strategic improvements and how the organization would measure success upon implementation will be discussed. Whole Foods Market: The Organization Whole Foods Market is the world’s leader in natural and organic foods. With more than 270 stores in North America and the United Kingdom, the organization seeks out the best natural and organic foods obtainable; while preserving better-quality standards in the industry. According to Porter and Kramer (2009), the intention of the organization is to sell organic, natural, and healthy food products to its consumers who are passionate about food and the environment. Whole Foods Market focuses on unrefined foods, health and nutrition. They are definitely not like any other grocery store. Their ultimate goal is to become an international brand identical with not just natural and organic goods, but also with being the greatest food retailer in every community in which they are located. Therefore, Whole Foods Market must purposefully plan and assess the marketing of its goods according to the demand of the customers (Whole Foods Market, n. d). For the last thirteen years, team members at Whole Foods Market, named their company as one of Fortune magazine’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to work for. † In 2010, they were ranked number eighteen. Whole Foods is acknowledged for its team-based operations and employee-oriented work culture, which are considered to be the foundations of its development and success within the industry (Whole Foods Market, n. d. ). Whole Foods Market takes pride in setting themselves apart from their competitors within the industry. No matter how much the company excels in size or makes changes to the organization, the organization supports change by establishing and maintaining seven core values. According to Whole Foods Market (n. ), the core values are â€Å"selling the highest quality of natural and organic products available, satisfying and delighting customers, supporting team member happiness and excellence, creating wealth through profit and growth, caring about the community and environment, creating an ongoing win-win partnership with suppliers, and promoting the health of stakeholders through healthy eating education. † Included in these core values are open communication and transparency, education and training, and staff empowerment. No matter how large a company Whole Foods Market becomes, they preserve what makes them unique through these core values. Whole Foods Market: Challenges and Opportunities As with many organizations, the past economic down turn has caused many organizations to face a lot of challenges and to make difficult business decisions. Whole Foods Market created a permanent modification in how they operate many vital areas of the business. This year, 2010, the company’s business model includes continued focus on vital areas of the company by focusing in on purchasing with regards to the business while creating more worth for the consumer regarding pricing (Whole Foods Market, n. d). In the letter to the stakeholders (2009), Mackey, CEO desires to stay focused on dropping operating cost without harming the customer experience. Additionally, he states that as an organization they are committed to being better custodians of capital and producing free cash flow on a yearly basis. In the future, Mackey foresees new smaller stores that are less expensive, and an increase return on invested capital. A recent 2009 SWOT Analysis of the organization from Datamonitor (2009) listed some additional opportunities such as the recent strategic acquisitions that helped in strengthening their market position. These acquisitions also help the organization to expand its operations in the natural and organic foods markets as well as increase its client base and the number of product categories. One acquisition in particular is the merge with Wild Oats Market in 2007. Other opportunities recorded by Datamonitor (2009) include the growing demand for private label products. Recent economic conditions have warranted companies to offer less expensive private label products as an alternative to the customers’ needs. Whole Foods Market: Human Resource Management Strategies What makes Whole Foods stand out from others in the industry is not a single management process but a distinctive managing structure which includes Human Resource Management support. According to Rose and Kumar (2006) it is important that organizations utilize HRM practices that make best use of its employees, and that is just what Whole Foods Market has done. For example, at Whole Foods, the basic organizational unit isn’t the store but small teams that manage departments such as fresh produce, prepared foods, and seafood. Teams are consulted on all store-level decisions and they have been given a degree of independence that is very unique in the industry (Whole Foods Market, n. d). According to Hamel (2006), each team makes decisions concerning stock, and new hires. Bonuses are paid to the teams, not to individuals. Members have access to comprehensive fiscal information, including the details of every coworker’s wage. Whole Foods Market has been very successful with their ability to recruit and retain good employees. The recruiting process is exceptionally unique. According to Whole Foods Market (n. d), applicants are generally screened by store management or by a human resources person through a preliminary interview. Once the individual is screened for overall job skills and qualifications, the application is referred to the appropriate department managers for a final interview. The final interview process may be conducted by a team or panel depending on the position. Team member’s partaking in group interviews is one way the company puts its culture of empowerment into action. Hamel and Breen (2007), state that this recruiting process is used for all new employees; including those hoping to join teams at Whole Foods’ center of operations, such as the national IT or finance groups. Additional HRM practices include the organizations focus on compensation and incentive based rewards. According to Erickson and Gratton (2007), this is one of the main components of their rewards system within the organization. Each team’s compensation is directly linked to how well that team functions. Team performance is considered in terms of overall productivity; profit-sharing based on those numbers are added directly to each team member’s compensation. Teams are responsible for a different product category or aspect of store operations such as customer service, prepared foods, or grocery, among others. Whole Foods believes in a company-wide awareness of sharing the fate of the business by combining the wellbeing of team members as directly as possible with the interests of the shareholders. The organization uses a gain sharing program to reinforce concept. This program rewards things that members of the team can control such as work efficiency which gives members a direct stake in the victories of the company (Whole Foods Market, n. d). Whole Foods also encourages stock ownership options in plans such as the Team Member Stock Option Plan. Within this plan, all members are entitled to receive a grant of stock options each year. According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (2007), the grant has two components: the Annual Leadership Grants identify and motivate team member performance; and the Service Hour Grants identify team member service within the Company. Another plan is the Team Member Stock Purchase Plan. Through payroll deductions, all non-seasonal team members with at least 400 service hours may choose to buy unlimited shares of stock at 95% of market worth on the purchase date. Whole Foods Human Resource practices are effective because the culture allows for an atmosphere of transparency, with open books and open people. These processes include the organizations team process which allows for autonomy and a high level of responsibility of line staff. Through such a practice, members use their decision-making authority to take part in driving the business forward. Additionally, the team process promotes healthy competition, trust between members. Whole Foods Market: Recommended Strategies for Improvement Although Whole Foods HRM practices seem successful, there is room for improvement. The following strategies are recommended in the area of team implementation and practices: * If the organization maintains the team concept it is important that management ensures that members do not to obstruct the team authority over the individual. Members should merely feel responsible to each other, but still free to be themselves. Members should also be recognized as individuals. Individuals have a need to be recognized for hard work and individual achievement. Providing a reward system for individual milestones and achievements might also allow for successful company performance. * The organization should provide opportunities for personal growth and promotion through training and education. * The organization should ensure that there are no cliques within the teams. Cliques could make it difficult to maintain cohesion and cooperation within the team. Management should also ensure or encourage subtle unsanctioned norms that steer the actions of team members, saying what’s suitable and what’s not suitable behavior especially within the recruitment process in which members choose their team members. * The organization should periodically evaluate the alignment of team compensation and incentives for the work that is likely to be performed. * HR should monitor changes in team compensation systems to ensure the organization’s compensation is clearly understood by staff and that any changes, including team incentive pay, is also communicated. HR should ensure that employees within the team are able to see and understand the goals of the team, and gain an understanding of his or her importance as a member. These improvement strategies can only make Whole Foods Market more successful than they are already. These improvements will drive the business success, by assisting in promoting productivity, by increasing job satisfaction and retention, and by increasing profits within the organization. Whole Foods Market: Plan Evaluation and Measurements Before implementation of new strategies, employees will be informed of the proposed implementation and changes. Managers will ensure that staffs understand what is being implemented and the impact to employees if any. The success of this plan will be evaluated by reviewing the success of the implemented strategies periodically to ensure continuous improvement. The evaluation of the strategies will include internal assessments and/or employee surveys/questionnaires. The internal assessments and/or employee surveys/questionnaires will be aimed to ascertain the employees’ satisfaction of those methods and strategies. Results of the evaluation and measurements will be compiled and reviewed by the organizations HR team. The team will seek to: (1) determine if implemented strategies are predictive of organizations mission and business plan, (2) understand how implemented strategies improved or did not improve current HR practices and finally, (3) determine if there is a relationship between the implemented strategies and overall retention and job satisfaction. If the results are satisfactory, strategies will continue to be implemented monitored and reviewed. Results that are unsatisfactory will be discussed with employees to determine why the implemented strategy was not a success and to determine necessary changes if applicable. Whole Foods Market: Conclusion In conclusion both management and HR play an important role in the strategy and betterment of Whole Foods Market. This organization has already established a culture that reduces fear and increases trust. The company prides itself in the transparency between management level staff and line staff. Implementation of these strategies will only assist to increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Manipulation techniques Essay Example for Free

Manipulation techniques Essay Richard is generally a callous person who shows no remorse to anyone or any action. He is duplicitous, manipulative, deceiving. He counter argues, compliments, quickly responds and twists peoples words.  Towards women, he is a different man. He is a very good actor and uses this as an advantage. He normally showers them with compliments and manipulates them.  In act 1 scene 2, Richard is put to the test of making Anne agree to marry him. This would prove difficult, as Richard has killed Annes husband and father-in-law. He compliments her in this scene so much, to pacify her. At this stage, Anne is angry and will not listen to him. For Richard to actually persuade her to marry him would be quite difficult. This is where his manipulation techniques come in. Nay, do not pause: for I did kill King Henry-but twas thy beauty that provokes me. Nay, now dispatch twas I that stabbed young Edward but twas thy heavenly face that set me on. This speech from Richard puts Anne in a very difficult position. She ha a sword in her hand, and he is in a vulnerable position. Anne knows he is a murderer and will feel petrified. This is how he manipulates her, Throughout the scene, there is a certain stichomythia. Where Anne makes fun of Richard and then Richard instantly responds about her beauty. He does not hesitate. Would it were mortal poison, for thy snake!, Never came poison from so sweet a place. He is responding very quickly and does not give up.  Richard says he killed her husband because of her beauty: Your beauty was the cause of this defect. He is saying she is so beautiful that he had to kill her husband so she could be free to marry him. He is trying to make out that she is responsible for her husbands death because he wants to make her feel guilty if she feel guilty, she will be even more vulnerable. He also uses very romantic language your beauty that did haunt me in my sleep. He knows women like to be called beautiful and telling her he killed because of her beauty emphasises how beautiful he finds her. Despite Annes initial hostility, Richards persuasive skills win her over. He is so effective that he makes Anne think Richard has become penitent who is honest and show remorse.  In act 4 scene 4, Richard talks to Elizabeth in a different tone in contrast to Anne. He doesnt shower her with compliments but he gives her ideas of thoughts that could be achieved if she agrees to make her daughter marry him.  Richard acts very innocent towards Elizabeth as if he has done nothing wrong. You speak as if that I had slain my cousins. He is trying to make Elizabeth think that Richard is calm, gentle and caring instead of malicious and cruel. Richard talks to Elizabeth a lot about advantages for Richard marrying her daughter: I do intend to make her queen of England. This would mean Elizabeth would be the queens mother.But mine shall be a comfort to your age. This means they will have children and she will be a grandmother and have a family again.  When Elizabeth sarcastically goes over all the ways he has hurt her family, Richard says, You mock me, madam. This is not the way to win your daughter. Richard answers simply and directly because he does not know what else to say. Faced with Elizabeths bitter sarcasm Richard is no longer being clever, witty and cynical. For the first time, he has met someone who can be more sarcastic than him and he doesnt know how to answer her. She is not frightened of him, so he cannot threaten her and, in any case, he needs her help to marry her daughter. He realises he cant get anywhere with her by being so clever, so he decides to persuade her by talking about what she will get out of allowing him to marry her daughter: wealth, status, grandchildren, he son allowed to return from exile. For the first time in the play, he has to treat someone as an equal.  Richards treatment of Anne in the first extract is different to the treatment of Elizabeth in the second in several ways: He showers Anne with compliments; he talks to Elizabeth about advantages of her daughter marring him; his conversation to Anne is a lot faster and rapid than the one to Elizabeth.

Political Impacts Of Andrew Jackson And Theodore Roosevelt Politics Essay

Political Impacts Of Andrew Jackson And Theodore Roosevelt Politics Essay Our seventh and twenty-sixth presidents, Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt are both recognized for their subsequent impact on history. These two men are considered two of the greatest presidents of our history for their reformative actions. Despite their obvious differences such as backgrounds, time period and political stand points, their personalities, moral opinions, and character link each another. Furthermore, the different contributions that both presidents have made have left a great impact on the history of the United States. The two opposing political parties today, Democrat and Republican, were also the different standpoints of Presidents Jackson and Roosevelt. Andrew Jacksons presidency, also known as the Jacksonian Democracy was based on the ideals of the old Republican party of Jefferson. It positioned itself around a limited government, white male suffrage and strong state governments. The Democratic Party mostly consisted of people like Jackson himself- Southern farmers, Westerners and urban workers. Theodore Roosevelt however, differed completely. Born into wealth, he automatically took the position of any other wealthy men, northern businessmen and professional workers- a Republican. Republicanism, based on former Whigs, and free-soil Democrats believed in supporting banks, business and gold standard- the complete opposite of democratic ideals. The different time periods of Jackson and Roosevelts presidencies also increased their dissimilarities because of the different issues each had to suffice . Due to the time difference of approximately 70 years from when Jackson was in office to Roosevelts administration, the different time periods have emerged and resolved different social issues. Because Jacksons term in office lasted from 1829-1837, his presidency concerned social issues that did not also exist during Roosevelts term which lasted from 1901 to 1909. For example, Roosevelt is responsible for adding the corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which expanded it and authorized the United States to intervene with any foreign powers and affairs. This was a result of the Venezuelan incident with Great Britain and Germany. Germany and Great Britain were attempting to collect money owed them by Venezuela, but Roosevelt considered this a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He then took out his big stick and ordered a U.S. fleet to the coast of Venezuela. It was then decided by the British, Germany and Venezuela to negotiate with Roosevelt as their mediator. This declaration was called the Roosevelt Corollary. Rather than letting Europeans intervene in Latin America, Roosevelt declared that the United States would intervene instead. Roosevelt, unlike Jackson, had to encounter foreign matters such as the Venezuelan incident, and the Panama Canal. Nevertheless, Jackson also had to resolve other issues that did not exist in the later years, the opposition and dispute of the National Bank, the issue of the Nullification theory and the debate over the Indian Removal Act of 1830. These two men with different views however, had the same approach to dealing and reforming America- they did not have the same ideals but they both had the same moral principles and same approaches in resolution and reformation. Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson were both known for their tough, aggressive tactics in resolving issues and these two presidents have shown activism in government. President Roosevelt, who did not only believe in Republican ideals, was also considered a Progressive President for the social reformations he completed. Roosevelt, unlike his precedent Republican presidents did not only side with big business, but tried to mediate the workers and their employers instead. In 1902, the United Mine Workers held a strike and Roosevelt became the first President to intervene in a labor management dispute by forcing both sides to settle on a compromise. This was called the Square Deal for labor. It helped improve the equality between laborers and workers rather than just siding with the wealthy as former presidents have always done. Roosevelt further increased reformation when he enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act, regulated railroads, and passed laws such as the Pure Food and Drug Act an d the Meat Inspection Act. During his two terms, he helped increase labor standards which helped the poor, and working class. Andrew Jackson, as a Southern famer, also revolved his presidency around helping and favoring the low, working and middle class. Jackson believed that the bank hurt the working class and only benefitted the upper classes and therefore vetoed the second re-chartering of the National Bank. He once said It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes. (sfgjkkdfjsodkfj) It was Jacksons belief that the bank hurt the working class while benefiting the wealthy upper class, and he never stood for the disenfranchisement of the working class. The banks charter expired in 1836 after Jackson refused to renew it and used one of his presidential vetoes to override congressional votes. This was one of many battles that Jackson felt strongly about, fought, and won. Similarly, Roosevelt fought against instit utions he felt harmed the working class. Both these presidents believed in actively participating in the government but still, these actions could not have been achieved if it werent for the unconventional techniques they used. These two war-time heroes displayed their aggression in dealing with political issues. For example, Theodore Roosevelt had only accomplished the Square Deal by threatening to take over the mines with his federal troops if they did not compromise. He also displayed hostility while dealing with foreign affairs, referred to as the Big-Stick policy by acting boldly and decisively and intimidating other foreign powers. Jackson also threatened and used aggression to achieve what he wanted. During the nullification theory crisis, Jackson debated against John C. Calhoun of South Carolina against the tariff of 1828. Calhoun argued that each state had the right to decide whether to obey a law or to declare it null and could leave the union. Jackson, who wanted to preserve the union, passed the Force Bill which gave him the authority to use military action against any state who threatened the union. At the same time, he privately threatened to kill Calhoun by public hanging. Calhoun gave into Jacksons demands and compromised, thus upholding the tariff without bloodshed and winning a battle against the doctrine of nullification. And although the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was ultimately overturned in the case of Worcester v. Georgia, he supported forcing the Cherokee Indians to move and resettle in the West of the Mississippi to satisfy American citizens. In effect, both these presidents earned the reputations of being tough because of their assertive actions. They both believed in the morality of helping the working class and used aggression to achieve reformation. Reform of social equality for the common man was the principle improvement during both administrations, but Jackson and Roosevelt found different institutions to reform. The contributions and accomplishments that Jackson made during his presidency were mostly political- the spoils system, the pet banks, and the specie circular. Andrew Jackson started the spoils system which rewarded people to federal jobs for one term if they voted for his Democratic party. Because he did not believe in a national bank which he considered to be constitutionally impute, socially unequal, corrupted and instable, (ndfujsfkgjdfg) he vetoed the re-charter of the second bank and withdrew all federal funds and transferred them to various state banks referred to as pet banks. He then hoped to help the effect of inflation by requiring purchases of federal land to be made in gold and silver rather than in paper banknotes. The contributions that Roosevelt made were predominantly social- the Panama Canal, the Ro osevelt Corollary, railroad regulation, the Square Deal of labor, natural conservation and regulatory laws. Roosevelt also worked to trust-bust by enforcing Sherman Act and protective tariffs effectively. He also supported bills for shorter workdays for women and children and state safety inspection of factories. When these bills passed, he appointed inspectors to oversee enforcement of the new rules. He was applauded by working people, social workers, union officials, and citizensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Whitelaw, 107) Of the two, President Roosevelt had a greater impact on American history because unlike President Jackson, Roosevelts reformative actions and policies are still adequate today. The actions by President Jackson were however, later reversed or repealed. Although his spoil system helped build a strong two-party system, it was later criticized for being corrupted and was later destroyed. Jacksons pet banks eventually caused inflation and specie circular did not help the crisis b ut instead caused the Panic of 1837. This too was eventually overturned and formed into what we have today, a national bank and paper money. President Roosevelt, known as the first modern president has made a bigger impact because his ideals have lasted and has helped politically improve the nation. Trust-busting, the square deal and railroad regulation has economically and morally helped the low working class, and regulatory laws have improved consumer protection. Roosevelt also set aside 150 million acres of land to help build parks. His nature conservation is one of the biggest impacts that still exist today. Though they improved different areas of society, the impacts of their actions were significant. Both Roosevelt and Jackson took on duties that Presidents before them would not have imagined. Their assertive personalities allowed them to get things done that other presidents could not have achieved. They are known as presidents who have set lessons for future leaders. For example, Jackson stood up against a strong British army and won. That gave him the courage to take on foes like the Second U.S. Bank (Kliff) and Theodore Roosevelt understood the power of personality and how much it can aid a presidents success. (Kliff) They protected the common man, and stood up for the working class. Jackson worked to cripple an aristocracy driven, government monopoly in the Second Bank of the United States. Roosevelt used his power to foster a settlement between miners and their employers who mistreated them. They pioneered new policies, while ensuring old laws already in place. Although Roosevelt and Jacksons lives and presidencies were not exactly similar, they share some very unique parallels such as their moral principles and characteristics.

Human Cloning Should be Illegal :: Opposing Perspective Essays

Human Cloning Should be Illegal Can you imagine a world where everyone looked the same and had the same DNA? This could become true due to the advances in science in the field of cloning. We are coming into an age where scientists have started cloning non-human mammals as well as fish. Soon, they will want to start cloning humans. Since human cloning is so dangerous, unethical, and too expensive for reproductive purposes, it should be illegal. Human cloning is dangerous. It is estimated that between 95 and 98 percent of cloning experiments have failed (Genetics and Society). These downfalls to cloning are in the form of miscarriages and stillbirths (Genetics and Society). Cloned human beings also run the risk of having severe genetic abnormalities. Children cloned from adult DNA would, in a sense, already have â€Å"old† genes. These children’s main problem would be developing and growing old too quickly. This includes arthritis, appearance, and organ function. Since the chance of having a child with mental and physical problems is so much higher than that of a normally conceived child, cloning should be illegal. Human cloning is also unethical. Cloning, especially therapeutic cloning, requires the use of human embryos. Using these embryos would mean killing unborn children. Therapeutic cloning begins by removing the stem cells from an embryo (Human Cloning). The stem cells are used to grow bone, nerve, and muscle tissue. In the process of therapeutic cloning, an embryo, or a baby in the early stages of development, is taken and parts of it are grown to develop parts of the body including organs and limbs (Human Cloning). Removing these stem cells would kill the embryo. The embryo, which would result in a child if left in the mother’s womb, is separated into parts, which are used for science. Finally, human cloning for reproductive purposes is too expensive. The cost to clone one human could be more than $100,000 (Herper). That is extremely high considering the cost of in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization costs between $3,500 and $25,000 depending on the procedure (Advanced Fertility Services). If someone could not become pregnant it is much more likely that they would chose to use fertilization and be guaranteed a healthy, normal child rather than spend the money to clone a child that could have defects. With fertilization costing only one fourth of cloning, why would someone choose to clone?

The Role of Chance in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Romeo and Juliet Essays

The Role of Chance in Romeo and Juliet In William Shakespeare's classic Elizabethan Tragedy "Romeo & Juliet" we are asked to determine what events in the story are chance, coincidence or fate. Although some scholars are persuaded to relate as to how chance and coincidence are tools of fate, I feel as though everything is either chance or coincidence. If everything was controlled by fate then life would be pointless. We would have no decisions to make, it would all be predetermined. That is why I don't believe in fate, and so, naturally I have determined that "Romeo & Juliet" is not controlled by fate. I was also told that people in the Middle East believe in fate full out. So much that they travel at crazy speeds in their cars around corners without thinking twice. They believe that if there is a car around that corner, then it was fated to happen and they would still die if they were going the speed limit. I believe that Romeo & Juliet dug there own holes with bad decisions. Chance plays a major part in the story. Everything starts in the very beginning when Montegue and Capulet servants just happen to cross paths in a public place. This is a chance meeting. Coincidence cannot be involved now because it is too early in the story. Also by chance, the servants are talking of their hatred of the other family and there unwillingness to bear insults. The opening line of the play is, "Gregory, on my word, we'll not carry coals. "(pg.6)" Meaning he will not stand for any insults. This results in the fight that forces Prince Escalus to make the decree that "If ever you disturb our streets again your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace." (pg.14) He is saying that the next person who starts a fight will be executed. This decree results in Romeo's banishment, and his banishment is the reason for Juliet faking her death, which caused both of them to die. Another act of chance is when Romeo climbs over the Capulet house's wall right next to Juliet's room. The very first coincidental event is on page 4, before the actual play begins, it is that the Montagues and Capulets are fighting.

Crazy Horse :: essays research papers fc

Crazy Horse When I think back of the stories that I have heard about howthe Native American Indians were driven from their land andforced to live on the reservations one particular event comes tomy mind. That event is the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It isone of the few times that the Oglala Sioux made history with thembeing the ones who left the battlefield as winners. When storiesare told, or when the media dares to tamper with history, it isusually the American Indians who are looked upon as the bad guys.They are portrayed as savages who spent their time raiding wagontrains and scalping the white settlers just for fun. The mediahas lead us to believe that the American government was forced totake the land from these savage Indians. We should put the blamewhere it belongs, on the U.S. Government who lied, cheated, andstole from the Oglala forcing Crazy Horse, the great war chief,and many other leaders to surrender their nation in order to savethe lives of their people. In the nin eteenth century the most dominant nation in thewestern plains was the Sioux Nation. This nation was divided intoseven tribes: Oglala's, Brule', Minneconjou, Hunkpapa, No Bow,Two Kettle, and the Blackfoot. Of these tribes they had differentband. The Hunkpatila was one band of the Oglala's . One of the greatest war chiefs of all times came from thisband. His name was Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse was not given this name, on his birth date inthe fall of 1841. He was born of his father, Crazy Horse anOglala holy man, and his mother a sister of a Brule' warrior,Spotted Tail. As the boy grew older his hair was wavy so his people gave him the nickname of Curly . He was togo by Curly until the summer of 1858, after a battle with theArapaho's. Curly's brave charged against the Arapaho's led hisfather to give Curly the name Crazy Horse. This was the name ofhis father and of many fathers before him . In the 1850's, the country where the Sioux Nation lived, wasbeing invaded by the white settlers. Th is was upsetting for manyof the tribes. They did not understand the ways of the whites.When the whites tore into the land with plows and hunted thesacred buffalo just for the hides this went against the moraleand religious beliefs of the Sioux. The white government began tobuild forts. In 1851, Fort Laramie was built along the NorthPlatte river in Sioux territory .

Designing High-Performance Jobs

Improving the performance of key people is often as simple—and as profound—as changing the resources they control and the results for which they are accountable. by Robert Simons You have a compelling product, an exciting vision, and a clear strategy for your new business. You’ve hired good people and forged relationships with critical suppliers and distributors. You’ve launched a marketing campaign targeting high-value customers. All that remains is to build an organization that can deliver on the promise. But implementation goes badly. Managers in the regional offices don’t show enough entrepreneurial spirit. They are too complacent and far too slow in responding to customers. Moreover, it’s proving very difficult to coordinate activities across units to serve large, multisite customers. Decision making is fragmented, and time to market is much longer than expected. Excessive costs are eating away at profit margins. You begin to wonder: â€Å"Have I put the wrong people in critical jobs? † But the problems are more widespread than that—in fact, they’re systemic across the organization. This tale of a great strategy derailed by poor execution is all too common. Of course, there are many possible reasons for such a failure and many people who might be to blame. But if this story reminds you of your own experience, have you considered the possibility that your organization is designed to fail? Specifically, are key jobs structured to achieve the business’s performance potential? If not, unhappy consequences are all but inevitable. In this article, I present an action-oriented framework that will show you how to design jobs for high performance. My basic point is straightforward: For your business to achieve its potential, each employee’s supply of organizational resources should equal his or her demand for them, and the same supply-and-demand balance must apply to every function, every business unit, and the entire company. Sounds simple, and it is. But only if you understand what determines this balance and how you can influence it. The Four Spans of Job Design To understand what determines whether a job is designed for high performance, you must put yourself in the shoes of your organization’s managers. To carry out his or her job, each employee has to know the answer to four basic questions: †¢ â€Å"What resources do I control to accomplish my tasks? † †¢ â€Å"What measures will be used to evaluate my performance? † †¢ â€Å"Who do I need to interact with and influence to achieve my goals? † †¢ â€Å"How much support can I expect when I reach out to others for help? † The questions correspond to what I call the four basic spans of a job: control, accountability, influence, and support. Each span can be adjusted so that it is narrow or wide or somewhere in between. I think of the adjustments as being made on sliders, like those found on music amplifiers. If you get the settings right, you can design a job in which a talented individual can successfully execute your company’s strategy. But if you get the settings wrong, it will be difficult for any employee to be effective. I’ll look at each span in detail and discuss how managers can adjust the settings. (The exhibit â€Å"The Four Spans† provides a summary. ) The Span of Control. The first span defines the range of resources—not only people but also assets and infrastructure—for which a manager is given decision rights. These are also the resources whose performance the manager is held accountable for. Executives must adjust the span of control for each key position and unit on the basis of how the company delivers value to customers. Consider Wal-Mart, which has configured its entire organization to deliver low prices. Wal-Mart’s strategy depends on standardization of store operations coupled with economies of scale in merchandising, marketing, and distribution. To ensure standardization, Wal-Mart sets the span of control for store managers at the â€Å"narrow† end of the scale. Although they nominally control their stores, Wal-Mart site managers have limited decision rights regarding hours of operation, merchandising displays, and pricing. By contrast, the span of control for managers at corporate headquarters who oversee merchandising and other core operations is set at â€Å"wide. † They are responsible for implementing best practices and consolidating operations to capture economies of scale. In addition to controlling purchasing, merchandising, and distribution, these managers even control the lighting and temperature at Wal-Mart’s 3,500 stores by remote computer. (The settings for the two jobs are compared in the exhibit â€Å"Spans of Control at Wal-Mart. †) Spans of Control at Wal-Mart (Located at the end of this rticle) Of course, the spans of control will be set very differently in companies that follow different strategies. Consider Nestle, a food company that reformulates its products in response to regional tastes for spices and sweets. In this â€Å"local value creation† configuration, the span of control for regional business managers is set very wide so that they have all the resources they need to customize products and respond to customers. Regional managers take responsibility for sales, product development, distribution, and manufacturing. As a consequence, the spans of control for managers back at the head office are relatively narrow, covering only logistics, the supply chain, global contracts, and accounting and finance. The Span of Accountability. The second span refers to the range of trade-offs affecting the measures used to evaluate a manager’s achievements. For example, a person who is accountable for head count or specific expenses in an operating budget can make few trade-offs in trying to improve the measured dimensions of performance and so has a narrow span of accountability. By contrast, a manager responsible for market share or business profit can make many trade-offs and thus has a relatively wide span of accountability. Your setting for this span is determined by the kind of behavior you want to see. To ensure compliance with detailed directives, hold managers to narrow measures. To encourage creative thinking, make them responsible for broad metrics such as market share, customer satisfaction, and return on capital employed, which allow them greater freedom. The span of control and the span of accountability are not independent. They must be considered together. The first defines the resources available to a manager; the second defines the goals the manager is expected to achieve. You might conclude, therefore, that the two spans should be equally wide or narrow. As the adage goes, authority should match responsibility. But in high-performing organizations, many people are held to broad performance measures such as brand profit and customer satisfaction, even though they do not control all the resources—manufacturing and service, for example—needed to achieve the desired results. There is a good reason for this discrepancy. By explicitly setting the span of accountability wider than the span of control, executives can force their managerial subordinates to become entrepreneurs. In fact, entrepreneurship has been defined (by Howard H. Stevenson and J. Carlos Jarillo) as â€Å"the process by which individuals—either on their own or inside organizations—pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control. † What happens when employees are faced with this entrepreneurial gap? They must use their energy and creativity to figure out how to succeed without direct control of the resources they need. See the exhibit â€Å"Creating the Entrepreneurial Gap. †) Thus, managers can adjust these two spans to stimulate creativity and entrepreneurial behavior. Creating the Entrepreneurial Gap (Located at the end of this article) Of course, spans of accountability vary by level in most organizations—in general, they are wider at the top of a company and narrower at the bottom. The CEO of McDonald’s has a wide span of accountability that encompasses stock price, earnings per share, and competitive market position. A McDonald’s store manager has a much narrower span. She must focus on compliance with standard operating procedures, and she is monitored through detailed input and process measures. The Span of Influence. The third span corresponds to the width of the net that an individual needs to cast in collecting data, probing for new information, and attempting to influence the work of others. An employee with a narrow span of influence does not need to pay much attention to people outside his small area to do his job effectively. An individual with a wide span must interact extensively with, and influence, people in other units. As is the case with the other spans, senior managers can adjust the span of influence to promote desired behaviors. They can widen the span when they want to stimulate people to think outside the box to develop new ways of serving customers, increasing internal efficiencies, or adapting to changes in external markets. In many companies, widening the span of influence counteracts the rigidity of organizational structures based on boxes and silos. For example, although global companies like Procter & Gamble need to be responsive to local customers’ needs, they must also create pressure for people in different operations to look beyond their silos to consolidate operations and share best practices to lower costs. Similarly, firms such as big-box retailers that centralize merchandising and distribution to deliver low prices must ensure that they continue to monitor changing competitive dynamics. Operations managers who are insulated from the marketplace must be forced to interact with people in units that are closest to customers. In all of these cases, it’s up to senior managers to ensure that individuals work across organizational boundaries to test new ideas, share information, and learn. Executives can widen a manager’s span of influence by redesigning her job—placing her on a cross-functional team, for example, or giving her an assignment that requires her to report to two bosses. They can also adjust a job’s span of influence through the level of goals they set. Although the nature of a manager’s goals drives her span of accountability (by determining the trade-offs she can make), the level, or difficulty, drives her sphere of influence. Someone given a stretch goal will often be forced to seek out and interact with more people than someone whose goal is set at a much lower level. Finally, executives can use accounting and control systems to adjust the span of influence. For example, the span will be wider for managers who are forced to bear the burden of indirect cost allocations generated by other units, because they will attempt to influence the decisions of the units responsible for the costs. The more complex and interdependent the job, the more important a wide span of influence becomes. In fact, a wide influence span is often an indication of both the power and effectiveness of an executive. In describing eBay’s Meg Whitman, for example, A. G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble, said, â€Å"The measure of a powerful person is that their circle of influence is greater than their circle of control. † The Span of Support. This final span refers to the amount of help an individual can expect from people in other organizational units. Again, the slider can be set anywhere from narrow to wide depending on how much commitment from others the person needs in order to implement strategy. Jobs in some organizations—particularly positions such as commission-based sales in efficient and liquid markets—do not need wide spans of support. In fact, such organizations generally operate more efficiently with narrow spans, since each job is independent and individual contributions can be calculated easily at day’s end. Traders in financial institutions, for example, need little support from their fellow traders, and their colleagues can and should stay focused on their own work (and should be compensated solely for their success in generating profit). But wide spans of support become critically important when customer loyalty is vital to strategy implementation (for example, at exclusive hotel chains) or when the organizational design is highly complex because of sophisticated technologies and a complex value chain (in aerospace or computers, for instance). In these cases, individuals throughout the company must move beyond their job descriptions to respond to requests for help from others who are attempting to satisfy customers or navigate organizational processes. Managers cannot adjust a job’s span of support in isolation. That’s because the span is largely determined by people’s sense of shared responsibilities, which in turn stems from a company’s culture and values. In many cases, therefore, all or most of a company’s jobs will have a wide span of support, or none will. But even within a given company culture, there are often circumstances in which managers need to widen the span of support separately for key business units (for example, to support a new division created to bundle and cross sell products from other units) or for key positions (for example, to facilitate the work of cross-functional task forces). There are various policies that managers can employ to widen spans of support. For example, a focus on a customer based mission typically creates a sense of shared purpose. In addition, broad-based stock ownership plans and team- and group-centered incentive programs often foster a sense of equity and belonging and encourage people to help others achieve shared goals. Firms that are characterized by wide spans of support also frown on letting top executives flaunt the trappings of privilege and generally follow a policy of promoting people internally to senior positions. The slider settings for the four spans in any job or business unit are a function of the business’s strategy and the role of that job or unit in implementing it. When you are adjusting job or unit design, the first step is to set the span of control to reflect the resources allocated to each position and unit that plays an important role in delivering customer value. This setting, like the others, is determined by how the business creates value for customers and differentiates its products and services from competitors’. Next, you can dial in different levels of entrepreneurial behavior and creative tension for specific jobs and units by widening or narrowing spans of accountability and influence. Finally, you must adjust the span of support to ensure that the job or unit will get the informal help it needs. The exhibit â€Å"Four Spans at a Software Company† displays the settings of the spans for a marketing and sales manager at a well-known company that develops and sells complex software for large corporate clients. The span of control for this job is quite narrow. As the manager stated, â€Å"To do my day-to-day job, I depend on sales, sales consulting, competency groups, alliances, technical support, corporate marketing, field marketing, and integrated marketing communications. None of these functions reports to me, and most do not even report to my group. † The span of accountability, by contrast, is wide. The manager is accountable, along with others throughout the business, for revenue growth, profit, and customer satisfaction—measures that require responsiveness and a willingness to make many trade-offs. Four Spans at a Software Company (Located at the end of this article) Note that the span of influence is set somewhat wider than the span of control. To get things done, the manager has to cross boundaries and convince people in other units (whom he cannot command) to help him. So that the manager receives the help he needs, the CEO works hard to ensure that the job’s span of support is wide. An ethos of mutual responsibilities has been created through shared goals, strong group identification, trust, and an equity component in compensation. As the manager noted, â€Å"Coordination happens because we all have customer satisfaction as our first priority. We are in constant communication, and we all are given consistent customer-satisfaction objectives. † Achieving Equilibrium At this point, you’re probably wondering how to determine whether specific jobs or business units in your organization are properly designed. Jobs vary within any business, and firms operate in different markets with unique strategies. How exactly should the spans be set in these many circumstances? After the spans have been adjusted to implement your strategy, there’s an easy way to find out whether a specific job is designed for high performance. It’s a test that can (and should) be applied to every key job, function, and unit in your business. I’ll get to the details shortly, but first, it’s important to recognize the underlying nature of the four spans. Two of the spans measure the supply of organizational resources the company provides to individuals. The span of control relates to the level of direct ontrol a person has over people, assets, and information. The span of support is its â€Å"softer† counterpart, reflecting the supply of resources in the form of help from people in the organization. The other two spans—the span of accountability (hard) and the span of influence (soft)—determine the individual’s demand for organizational resources. The level of an employee’s accountability, as defined by the compan y, directly affects the level of pressure on him to make trade-offs; that pressure in turn drives his need for organizational resources. His level of influence, as determined by the structure of his job and the broader system in which his job is embedded, also reflects the extent to which he needs resources. As I pointed out earlier, when an employee joins a multidisciplinary initiative, or works for two bosses, or gets a stretch goal, he begins reaching out across units more frequently. For any organization to operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness, the supply of resources for each job and each unit must equal the demand. In other words, span of control plus span of support must equal span of accountability plus span of influence. You can determine whether any job in your organization is poised for sustained high performance—or is designed to fail—by applying this simple test: Using â€Å"Four Spans at a Software Company† as an example, draw two lines, one connecting span of control and span of support (the supply of resources) and the other connecting span of accountability and span of influence (the demand for resources). If these two lines intersect, forming an X, as they do in the exhibit, then demand equals supply (at least roughly) and the job is properly designed for sustained performance. If the lines do not cross, then the spans are misaligned—with predictable consequences. If resources (span of control plus span of support) are insufficient for the task at hand, strategy implementation will fail; if resources are excessive, underutilization of assets and poor economic performance can be predicted. Depending on the desired unit of analysis, this test can be applied to an individual job, a function, a business unit, and even an entire company. When Spans Are Misaligned Consider the case of a struggling high-tech company that makes medical devices. One division was rapidly losing revenue and market share to new competitors because of insufficient sales-force coverage and a lack of new-product development. In another division, created to bundle and cross sell products, managers were unable to get the collaboration they needed to provide a unified solution for a large potential customer. In a third, local managers were making decisions that did not support or build on the company’s overall direction and strategy. These situations arose because senior managers had failed to align the four spans for key jobs and for the divisions overall. In particular, the problems this company encountered reflect three common situations that can limit performance potential. The Crisis of Resources. In some cases, the supply of resources is simply inadequate for the job at hand, leading to a failure of strategy implementation. In the medical devices company, the sales staff had neither enough people to cover the competition (a narrow span of control) nor support from R&D to bring new products to market rapidly (a narrow span of support). A crisis of resources is most likely to occur when executives spend too much time thinking about control, influence, and accountability and not enough time thinking about support. They may, for instance, set the span of accountability wider than the span of control to encourage entrepreneurial behavior. And they may set the span of influence wider than the span of control to stimulate people to interact and work across units. But if the span of support is not widened to compensate for the relatively narrow span of control, people in other units will be unwilling to help when asked. Consider the local subsidiary of a regional investment bank. The managers had few direct resources (a narrow span of control) and relied on specialists from corporate headquarters to fly in to manage deals. Yet their span of accountability was relatively wide, with performance measures focusing on successful deals and revenue generation. Evaluations of the local managers failed to recognize or reward people’s commitment to help others in the organization. As a result, the span of support was too low to support the strategy of the business, which eventually failed. The Crisis of Control. Sometimes the supply of resources exceeds demand, leading to suboptimal economic performance. In highly decentralized organizations where separate business units are created to be close to customers, a crisis of control can occur when the supply of resources (the span of control plus the span of support) exceeds corporate management’s ability to effectively monitor trade-offs (the span of accountability) and to ensure coordination of knowledge sharing with other units (the span of influence). The result is uncoordinated activities across units, missed opportunities, and wasted resources. Consider a large telecommunications company in which regions were organized as independent business units. Because of rapid growth, division managers were able to create fiefdoms in which resources were plentiful. And because of the company’s success, commitment to the business mission was strong. But before long, the lack of effective performance monitoring by corporate superiors caught up with the business. The strategies of the divisions often worked at cross-purposes; there was waste and redundancy. Competitors that were more focused began overtaking the units. The Crisis of Red Tape. This can occur in any organization where powerful staff groups, overseeing key internal processes such as strategic planning and resource allocation, design performance management systems that are too complex for the organization. In such circumstances, spans of accountability and influence are very high, but resources are insufficient and misdirected. Endless time spent in staff meetings wastes resources, slows decision making, and makes the organization unable to respond rapidly to changing customer needs and competitive actions. The demand for resources exceeds supply, and strategy execution fails as more nimble competitors move in. Adjusting the Spans over Time Of course, organizations and job designs must change with shifting circumstances and strategies. To see how this plays out in practice, let’s look at how the job spans for a typical market-facing sales unit at IBM evolved as a result of the strategic choices made by successive CEOs. We pick up the story in 1981, when John Opel became IBM’s chief executive. IBM had been organized into stand-alone product groups that were run as profit centers. Reacting to threats from Japanese companies, Opel wanted to reposition the business as a low-cost competitor. For purposes of increasing cost efficiency, the business was reorganized on a functional basis. The span of control for operating-core units such as manufacturing was widened dramatically, and there was a corresponding reduction in the spans of control and accountability for market-facing sales units (illustrated in the top panel of the exhibit â€Å"Three Eras at IBM†). The company also enlarged its definition of â€Å"customer. † Rather than focus narrowly on professional IT managers in governments and large companies, IBM began marketing to small companies, resellers, and distributors. It created experimental independent business units and gave resources for experimentation without imposing any accountability for performance. By the end of Opel’s tenure, IBM was criticized for confusion about strategy and priorities. As one writer noted, â€Å"IBM settled into a feeling that it could be all things to all customers. However, the effects of these problems were masked by the dramatic and unrelenting growth of the computer industry during this period. In 1985, John Akers took over as CEO. The organization he inherited was configured to develop, manufacture, and market computing hardware in independent silos. Not only were products incompatible across categories, they failed to meet customer needs in a world that was moving quickly from hardware to software and customer solutions. To get closer to customers, Akers created a unified marketing and services group, organized by region. The mission of this new market-facing unit was to translate customer needs into integrated product solutions and coordinate internal resources to deliver the right products to customers. Business units and divisions were consolidated into six lines of business. The span of control for the market-facing sales units widened dramatically. The new marketing and services group was made accountable for profit, and, as a result, many new profit centers were created. Unfortunately, the existing accounting system was not capable of calculating profit at the branch level or for individual customers and product lines. Instead, a top-down planning system run by centralized staff groups set sales quotas for individual product categories. Customer sales representatives thus had few choices or trade-offs; their span of accountability was not wide enough to support the company’s new strategy. To make matters worse, the new profit centers made the company extremely complex and fragmented, a situation reflected in the unit’s relatively narrow spans of influence and support. As the strategy’s failure became evident and losses mounted, Akers considered breaking the corporation into separate entities. Lou Gerstner took charge in 1993. He restructured the business around specific industry groups, narrowing the spans of control and widening the spans of accountability for marketing and sales units. At the same time, he widened the spans of influence by formally pairing product specialists with global industry teams, which worked closely with customers. To widen the spans of support, the company reconfigured bonuses to give more weight to corporate results than to business-unit performance. Sam Palmisano took over as CEO in 2002 and reinforced the positive changes wrought by Gerstner. The new CEO’s strategy emphasized â€Å"on-demand† computing solutions delivered through seamless integration of hardware, software, and services. This involved adopting a team-based, â€Å"dedicated service relationship† configuration at the sales units. To ensure that all employees in such a complex organization would be willing to work across units to build customer loyalty, Palmisano worked to widen spans of support further. In a well-publicized initiative, he returned the company to its roots by reemphasizing the importance of IBM values such as dedication to client success, innovation, and trust and personal responsibility in all relationships. To increase trust within the company and heighten the perception of fairness—necessary actions before people will assume responsibility for helping others—Palmisano asked the board to allocate half of his 2003 bonus to other IBM executives who would be critical leaders of the new team-based strategy. A Precarious Balance As IBM illustrates, complex strategies for large firms usually require that all the spans of key jobs widen, indicating high levels of both demand for, and supply of, organizational resources. But the potential for problems is great in any organization where all four spans are wide and tightly aligned. A relatively small change in any one of them will disrupt the balance of supply and demand and tip the organization toward disequilibrium. In the short run, of course, the dedication and hard work of good people can often compensate for a misalignment. But the more dynamic your markets and the more demanding your customers, the more critical and difficult it becomes to ensure that all four spans of organization design are aligned to allow your business to reach its performance potential. Spans of Control at Wal-Mart The spans of control for a store manager and a merchandising manager at Wal-Mart are quite different. To ensure standardization in operations, Wal-Mart gives the store manager relatively little control. To promote the implementation of best practices, the company gives the merchandising manager a â€Å"wide† setting. Creating the Entrepreneurial Gap By holding managers accountable for more than they control, a company can encourage entrepreneurial behavior. Four Spans at a Software Company The settings for a marketing and sales manager show a relatively narrow span of control and a relatively wide span of accountability. The discrepancy indicates that the company wants the manager to be entrepreneurial. A reasonable span of influence ensures that he has a respectable level of collaboration with colleagues outside his unit to compensate for his low span of control. Company policies designed to provide a wide span of support ensure that his entrepreneurial initiatives will get a favorable response. The dotted line connecting the two spans that describe the resources available to the job (span of control and span of support) intersects with the line connecting the two spans that describe the job’s demand for resources (span of accountability and span of influence). This shows that the supply of, and demand for, resources that apply to this job are in rough balance; the job has been designed to enable the manager to succeed.