Monday, September 30, 2019

Ethical Leadership: What It Is and How We Use It in Schools Essay

In the context of the present century, when the entire course of life is changing much faster than ever, rapidly increasing body of knowledge in every walk of life has made tinier issues look magnified. Today, what is considered as a most important requisite of a plan or strategy may not have even been noticed in the past days. As such, education is one domain where challenges of the present time of diversity are felt more than in any other area. Thus educational management and leadership is one area that catches a good deal of scholarly attention. When it comes to leadership, ethical leadership takes the lead because today leadership in schools is something highly challenging due to the diverse environment of cultural diversity and so on. The present paper carefully examines the phenomenon of ethical leadership, and then makes empirical analysis as how it can be employed usefully in schools for better outcomes. For this purpose, the present paper takes into account extensive research with regard to ethical leadership in schools. Today, the need for exploring the phenomenon of ethical leadership in an academic environment has become a necessity especially for those working at such positions: principals and teachers. The present writer is a teacher and considers that the study of ethical leadership is highly important for professional growth and substantial results with regard to training of pupils being taught at any level of schools. This study, henceforth, is useful not only for professional teachers, but it also encompasses grounds for other related people in the field. It will also be worthwhile for the common reader. Problem Statement On the face value, the phenomenon of ethical leadership remains a complex area which is in need of exploration for its better understanding and implication in practical ways in a school or college, etc. For example, what is known from the observable behaviors of leaders like principals and teachers may not be sufficient to mark any solid statement with regard to the definition and implication of ethical leadership. However, this is another grey area to point out that observable behaviors have not been fully investigated in this regard. Different practices of leadership, say across the educational setting of the United States of America, exist and need to be interpreted for a comprehensive exploration of ethics and the use of ethics to lead. As such it is important to address both these areas. From the explicit definition of explanation of what ethical leadership is to how it can be best practiced to positively influence an academic environment is at the core of the problem. A number of researchers have already delved into this area; however, more digging is needed. The present paper looks at the issues from both the sides: from its explanation to its implementation in best possible conditions. Literature Review Available literature on ethical leadership yields a good deal of information. The Concise Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Craig, p. 256, 2000) states the following explanation for ethics: â€Å"What is ethics? First, the systems of value and custom instantiated in the lives of particular groups of human beings are described as the ethics of these groups†. This definition tells us that ethical leadership is about practices that leaders exercise with regard to pupils studying in their institutions. It means not merely controlling the physical actions of the learners but influencing their values and customs in a positive way. To Campbell (2000), â€Å"Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as duty, honor, and integrity that motivate attitudes and actions† (p. 23). As such, ethical leadership is something that aims at addressing the issues of attitudes and strikes morally the attitudes of workers and students in such a manner which positively provokes high level of motivation. According to Covrig, D. M. 2000), ethical leadership â€Å"is the practice of effective ethical decision making and leadership which responds to, preserves and clarifies the organization’s core values. Conflict and conflict resolution suggest a healthy moral administrative process† (p. 40). If we look at this definition, we will notice that preserving and clarifying an organization’s core values is one important factor that keep s the ethical leadership going. As such one simply observable point here is that an organization, say a school, will only adhere to its core values only when these values are well defined and logged. If the values are not well defined, no effort will result in preserving any value because, according to the present writer, there will not be any values worth mentioning. This will, in turn, give no positive feedback for the practice of ethical leadership. Sergiovanni (1992) defines ethics in the following manner: When purpose, social contract, and local school autonomy become the basis of schooling, two important things happen. The school is transformed from an organisation to a covenantal community, and the basis of authority changes from an emphasis on bureaucratic and psychological authority to moral authority (p. 102). Foster (1986) pointed out the serious implication and significance of ethics in educational management as he penned that, â€Å"Each administrative decision carries with it a restructuring of human life: that is why administration at its heart is the resolution of moral dilemmas† (p. 33). This definition again informs us of the importance of dealing with values and moral code of students instead of controlling them outwardly so that true basis of character can be fostered. The ethical leadership also addresses the role played by faculty and teachers. This is a switch-over from traditional views about leadership because they are simply top-down. They consider influence in terms of a mechanical process. Hashem (1997) observes that â€Å"The conventional leadership concepts and practices which rely on top-down philosophy, decisiveness, unemotional, and total control have been challenged by the transformational concept and more empowering practices† (p. 94). When it comes to ethical leadership, ‘what is to be achieved? ’ is the question often asked by the critical eyes. The purpose of ethical leadership is to seed in students the confidence to build or construct knowledge genuinely by addressing their natural demands. Hence ethical leadership is constructivist in approach. According to Henson (2004) by this approach, students construct knowledge through the process in which an interaction between their perception about their knowledge and new knowledge and ideas and experiences that come to their way of learning. This way the students practice highest possible model of ethical learning which is possible only if leaders practice ethical code to train their students. Initial research worth-noticing in this area links as back to the past as the 1980s. Forty empirically conducted studies were reviewed by Reid et al. 2004). They investigated the impact of school heads on different aspects of students’ functioning and teacher’s activities. With regard to the leadership impact on students, they found out positive attitudes of students to school, better mathematical and reading skills, and absenteeism + vandalism were reduced. With regard to the impact of school leaders on teachers, Reid at el. found out that teachers’ satisfaction for job increased; they used innovative techniques in classroom. Additionally, seven studies were conducted by Majestic et al. 2004). These studies also affirm that leadership by principals in schools positively impacted students’ basic learning skills and teachers’ attitude toward job satisfaction and employment of innovation by them in classroom settings. However, the researchers also came up with four additional types of impacts. Andrews et al. (2002) also undertook a study in which they analyzed scores gained by students on standardized tests to examine the influence of school leaders. Teachers rated their principals on a band of strong, average, and weak leaders. The findings presented high correlations between what was achieved and how strong ethical leadership of these leaders was in both mathematical and reading skills. Four major areas were listed in this study, which were directly or indirectly influential for the strength of ethical leadership. These were: (i) mobilization of human and material capital by principals to meet school’s targets; (ii) effective communication with regard to negotiating the set-goals; (iii) their active involvement in school’s teaching practices; and (iv) the time span that these principals spent to make their presence known at school. These four areas are very influential if the leaders are at the top of the grid, that is, if they are trying their level best to perform better in these four areas. As far as loyalty of teachers with regard to their teaching practices and leadership influence down to students, the principals who had the ability to address the moral issues of both the faculty and students were successful in attaining higher level of loyalty from their teachers (Spillane, 2004). As such, a number of school administrations have come to realize the importance of ethical leadership as being the powerful tool that can yield higher results in students not only with regard to their learning but also to the higher order thinking and moral strength of these students as prospective individual citizens. Now the focus should be how effectively these ethical leaders affect the course of learning of their students in connection with the above as well as in the present context of changing cultures, cultural assimilations, self-concept in the fast-paced world, sense of community service, and so forth. This should be our future schools (Hargreaves 2004 8-13). In this very regard, Hart (2004) points out to the importance of understanding and addressing the inside-school culture and its impact on the knowledge-construction and ethical character of the learners. According to him, future research should focus on the elements as to what extent the culture of a school helps train students ethical healthy and how much contribution can be made on the side of the principals and teachers (pp. 117-28). With this all review of literature review, what can be noticed is that ethical leadership is not a simple phenomenon which addresses only one or two areas of school leadership and the training of the learners in a school. Substantially, ethical leadership is about building better moral values for character building and higher order thinking and learning. The process of ethical leadership is not simply top-down or bottom-up (which in contrast to traditional views of leadership); in fact, it is a combination of a number of processes taking place at a number of places in an organization like a school. These processes are present anywhere in the faculty, administrative staff, and students themselves. Thus, ethical leadership is the outcome of efforts put by all the major players in a school context. There is no doubt that such an approach to understanding ethical leadership and its implementation is the need of the present as well as future time so that higher order thinking and learning can be obtained making the students ethically strong.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

WeekOneTeamWorkEditTwo

If your sample textbook does not contain NY of the graphs listed below, please indicate that as you complete the table. Grade Book Name Picture Graph (How and when introduced) Bar Graph Line Graph Circle Graph Other Kindergarten Sahara, J. , & Clement, D. H. (2006). Mathematics in kindergarten. (5 De. , Volvo. 61, p. 38). Pro Quest Central. Data analysis is part of kindergarten and includes graphing. Children in kindergarten use different kinds of photographs to represent the answer to a question. Picture Graphs are also used to represent the answers to questions.There Were no bars graphs introduced in this excerpt from the book. Although through further research learned that bar graphs are introduced in second grade. There were also no line graphs used in this book excerpt. In further research I found that line plots were beginning to be taught in the second grade. There was no mention of circle graphs in this excerpt. In doing further research though found that circle graphs are be ginning to be introduced in the fifth grade. Geometric shapes are learned. What is a circle?Where do we see circles in everyday life? Putting shapes together to make other shapes. Transformations, symmetry, measurements, and patterns are also introduced in kindergarten. 4 Hake, Stephen & Saxon, John. (2004) Saxon Math 5/4 Student Edition The picture graph is the first one to be introduced in this book although it is being reviewed because it was introduced in a previous grade. This particular book collected data from the students about which type of food they liked most and used pictures of the food to represent that number.The bar graph was introduced after the picture graph. The information used in the picture graph was transferred to a bar graph to show the students the same information in a different format. The line graph was introduced at the end of third grade, but not in much detail. In this edition, the line graph is used to display a person's height from birth to ID years of age. The circle graph, also known as a pie chart or graph, was introduced after the line graph. The example in the book was someone keeping track and showing how they spend their day.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Why the sale of human organs should be legalized Research Paper

Why the sale of human organs should be legalized - Research Paper Example While societal morals may not allow sales of the organs, the contemporary market promises a price for the organs just like any other commodity in the market. In the US, just like in many parts of the world, sale of organs is permitted. However, this can only be done when one passes away, but not the other way round. Studies show that the number of people on the queue to get life-saving organs (often the kidneys, eyes parts) have been growing steadily over the last two decades, whereas the number of potential organ donors has stayed constant (Woodcock 1-3). While in the US the black-market is experiencing an increase in the sales of body organs; blood donation, which is legal, is also on the increase (Kennedy 34). In fact, donation of blood attracts rewards such as free tickets to an event and free clothes, among other gifts. Opponents of selling organs also underscore the fact that if the free market is allowed, there would be a proliferation of vulnerable groups (such poor people) d ue to market imperfection. This paper supports the argument that the sale of human organs should be legalized. Although many people are waiting for organ transplantation in the US, the supply of organs is limited or even unavailable; hence legalization of selling organs would be importance as it would lead to saving of many lives. For instance, the number of patients in the US, who are waiting for an organ transplant, is bigger than the number of donors by almost four folds (The Voice of Russia 1). As a result, on a daily basis, nearly 18 people pass away as they wait for someone to donate them an organ (The Voice of Russia 1). Therefore, permitting the sale of organs will stimulate supply to meet the ever increasing demand. In the US, those who decide to become organ donors are supposed to have the word ‘organ donor’ marked on their licenses, but the donation is only possible after the eligible donor passes

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Economist Magazine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Economist Magazine - Research Paper Example As the paper discusses digging back into the history of The Economist magazine, it only began with consumers not more than 1,969. As at present, a global record of March 2014 listed The Economist as the most read magazine by the world’s business and political leaders with a standing circulation of over 1.5 million. Launching of The Economist first edition in Spanish in 1967 helped a great deal in increasing its readers mainly aimed at Latin America. It boosted the sales to 100,000 by 1970. Almost at the same time in 1974, Andrew Knight, the new editor of The Economist at that time introduced pages on science and technology. According to the discussion the magazine further advanced with editor, Rupert Pennant-Rea, in 1986 innovating the Asian section, the Bagehot, and a page outlining sport in addition to the Lexington columns. Later in 1991, the Economist group took over Public Network Europe (PNE) that enabled them to publish the monthly magazine for the European executives in telecommunication network corporations†. By this time, 500,000 magazines were in circulation. Most changes in The Economist Group occurred in 1993 with Marjorie Scardino as the chief executive and Bill Emmott as the editor. He introduced the column for American. The sections included obituary page, Technology Quarterly, emerging market indicators and Charlemagne. At this point, foreign sales added up to about 80% of the total sales. It is this year that The Economist marked 150th anniversary. With a steady progress, in 1995, the group acquired a journal on commerce that was the primary source of information on shipping and transportation industries that were in the US.  

Thursday, September 26, 2019

School violence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School violence - Term Paper Example Those kids that perpetually commit violent acts towards classmates are more likely to use drugs and alcohol, to quit going to school altogether and go on to be involved in criminal behaviour later in life. Children who are often the victims of schoolyard violence tend to experience more stress in their lives which leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression, physical illnesses and thoughts of suicide than those that do not. For both bully and bullied, these actions negatively affect learning potentials and retards personal development. The seemingly never ending cycle of intimidating actions works to tear apart the underpinnings of a civil society from the bottom up. The reason children act out violently towards others is because they have been treated with disrespect or have been bullied themselves. A pattern of poor social adjustment perpetuates itself from one child to another and from one generation to the next. Factors including an unstable household, pressures from school and the perceived feeling of control as well as the individual characteristics of impulsivity, a low self-esteem and a lack of self control are predictors of violent behaviors.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

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

Thermodynamics - Essay Example work (W) is made of electrical work (We,in), paddle-wheel work (Wpw,in), and boundary work (Wb) and for a piston – cylinder setup with insulation, ‘Q’ zeroes out (since there would be ‘no heat transfer’ between the system and its surroundings). Hot exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine are to be used to produce saturated water vapour at 2 MPa pressure. The exhaust gases enter the heat exchanger at 400ï‚ °C at a rate of 32 kg/min while water enters at 15ï‚ °C. The heat exchanger is not well insulated, and it is estimated that 10% of heat given up by the exhaust gases is lost to the surroundings. If the mass flow rate of the exhaust is 15 times that of water, determine: An air-conditioning system involves the mixing of cold air and warm outdoor air before the mixture is routed to the conditioned room in steady operation. Cold air enters the mixing chamber at 5ï‚ °C and 105 kPa at a rate of 1.25 m3/s while warm air enters at 34ï‚ °C and 105 kPa. The air leaves the room at 24ï‚ °C. The ratio of the mass flow rates of the hot to cold air streams is 1.6. Using variable specific heats,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

New york landmarks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New york landmarks - Essay Example Accordingly, it stood as the tallest building in the world for more than forty years. It was replaced by the World Trade Center as the tallest building in City of New York but regained this important position following the horrendous destruction of the World Trade Center in the infamous attacks of September 11, 2001. The Statue of Liberty is a pure copper monument which stands overlooking Manhattan on the Island of Liberty. It is officially entitled Liberty Enlightening the World and was a monument donated to the City of New York by the French government on the 100 year anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. What is significant about the Statue of Liberty is that it is a beacon of hope and signifies the important role that liberty played in the development of the United States of America. Liberty Island is an important transit point for migrants and travelers who arrive by ship. Accordingly, this monument has come to signify the United States to millions of people account the world. Madison Square Garden is an iconic sports stadium found in Midtown Manhattan. It was built more than one hundred years ago and is home to the New York Nicks, the New York Rangers and a whole host of other events including concerts and conventions. In its present location for more than sixty years, Madison Square Garden presently sits at Pennsylvania Plaza in midtown Manhattan and is representative of the sports entertainment community in New York. The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco landmark – not too dissimilar to the Empire State Building – and was the tallest building in the world until the construction of the Empire State Building in 1931. It is a landmark because of the stylistic interpretation of the designers and can be seen far and wide from the shores of the surrounding boroughs. It represents the Art Deco design par excellence and is viewed as an important landmark on the Manhattan horizon. Finally, the World

Monday, September 23, 2019

T847CA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

T847CA - Essay Example I was lucky to be able to help students whom patient did not show up or did not have a patient because there were two new patients from downstairs. The next most important thing about clinical assistance was listening to detail with different other tasks. I wrote down on the paper each task given, so that I could remember what Irma said. In the meantime, my task was to update appointment on the Axiam. I noticed by adding the code in the treatment plan for group 2 was simple as well as scheduling the patient on Lunex. The students should be able to reschedule their appointment in the Lunex without going through Irma. As a result, Jackson can save her overload work. Because I was cheerful in a calmly manner, everyone we helped went smoothly through the process. For me, this clinical assistant rotation was a great experience as a learner because I realized that Jackson had to work in the office by herself. I was also able to update the entry record in the Lunex which was also a great experience. I would recommend this rotation to everyone especially for this purpose, because one can gain more knowledge and admiration aspect of being in the clinic office. I did not encounter any negative incident and I am happy to conclude that generally, the whole rotation experience was not only wonderful but also

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc Essay Example for Free

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc Essay Dr Pepper Snapple group, Inc. is a major integrated brand owner, bottler, and distributer of nonalcoholic beverages in the United States. In 2007 they had net sales of $5.748 billion, 21 manufacturing facilities and approximately 200 distribution centers in the United States. They are the number one Company in carbonated soft drink products in the United States. Their business strategy is to invest most heavily in their key brands to drive profitable and sustainable growth by strengthening consumer awareness, developing innovative products, and brand extensions to take advantage of evolving consumer trends, improving distribution and increasing promotional effectiveness. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. also wants to focus on driving growth in their business with emerging categories, through brand extensions, new product launches, and selective acquisitions of brands and distribution rights. The company has a future goal of significantly increasing the number of branded coolers and other cold drink equipment over the next few years, which is expected to provide an attractive return on investment. The company also intends to leverage its integrated business model to reduce costs by strategically creating greater geographic manufacturing and distribution coverage and to be more flexible and responsive to the changing needs of large retail customers by coordinating sales, service, distribution, promotions, and product launches. A question came into play of whether or not a profitable market opportunity existed for a new energy beverage brand to be produced, marketed, and distributed by the company in 2008. With the company’s current strengths, business strategy, and positive reputation, it would seem to be a good move. But one must first consider the competition, customer, and if the company itself can successfully introduce a new product to a specific market. The company has several succinct strengths. They have a strong portfolio of leading consumer- preferred brands. This means that they have a diverse portfolio of bottlers, distributors, and retailers with a wide variety of products and provide a foundation for growth and profitability. Their Snapple brand is also a leading ready to drink tea. Overall, in 2007 more than 75 percent of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. volume was generated by brands that hold either the first or second position in their category. The strength of these key  supporting brands has served as a platform for lunching innovations and brand extensions in the past such as Accelerade RTD, a ready to drink sports drink that launched in late May 2007. The company therefore had experience in what it truly meant to create a new branded energy drink which would serve to be useful, as the strategy would be similar. Entering a new product market. A second strength the company possesses is their Integrated Business Model. This provides opportunities for net sales and profit growth through the alignment of the economic interest of its brand ownership and its bottling and distribution business. Thirdly, they have strong and long standing customer relationships. This is so important for the success of a company. They have a wide range of strong relationships from bottlers and distributors, to national retailers, large food service, and convenience store customers. They also have strong relationships with some of the most important U.S. retailers including Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, and Target. Another strength is their attractive positioning within a large, growing, and profitable market. They hold the number three position in the United St ates, Canada, and Mexico beverage market. The company has a great competitive edge, as they cater to the need for convince and the demand for product with health and wellness benefits more so than any of their competitors. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. also has a broad geographic manufacturing and distribution coverage. They have 21 manufacturing facilities and approximately 200 distribution centers in the United States. The company has strategically laced their warehouse at or near bottling pants and geographically dispersed them across sales regions to ensure company products are available to meet consumer demand. This enables them to better align their operations with customers, reduce transportation costs, and have greater control over the timing and coordination of new product launches. Another strength is their strong operating margins and significant stable cash flows. The breadth and strength of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. product portfolio has enabled the company to generate strong operating margins, which combined with relatively modest capital expenditures, have delivered significant and stable cash flows. This in turn creates stockholder value by enabling the company to consider a var iety of alternatives, such as investing in its business, reducing debt and returning capital to its stockholders. Lastly, they have an experienced executive  management team. They all have an average of more than 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. The team has a broad experience in brand ownership, bottling, distribution, and enjoys strong relations both within the industry and with major customers. They also have diverse skills that support operating strategies, including driving organic growth through target and efficient marketing, reducing operating costs, enhancing distribution efficiencies, aligning manufacturing, bottling, distribution interests, and executing strategic acquisitions. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. realized they had a weakness, as they were the only major nonalcoholic beverage company with no energy drink brand of their own. They also recognized an opportunity, no company had yet positioned themselves as an adult energy drink. Going into the Energy beverage market also seemed to correlate with what their future and current goals were. Industry analysts were projecting an average annual growth rate of 10.5 percent from 2007 to 2011. Also, since their current demographic was more health conscious then the c ompetition, which gives them a competitive competency, they also had another untapped opportunity to market their energy drink by differentiation. Currently, there are five major competitors that dominate the U.S. energy beverage market: Red Bull North America, Hansen Natural Corporation, Pepsi-Cola, Rockstar Inc., and Coca-Cola. Pepsi and Coca-Cola also compete with what Dr Pepper already offers from an industry and market point of view. Sadly, when it comes to advertising funds available, Dr Pepper has some funds available, but not nearly close to what Red Bull has. With that being the case, we feel that an avoidance of the competition, by going the route of a product innovation technique by means of differentiation, would be the best route for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. to be successful. There are some warning signs in the industry. The energy beverage market has experienced product proliferation and price erosion in recent years. Proliferation resulted from line extensions new packaging and size, and market segmentation. Existing brands also typically offer regular and sugar free verities which have a sizeable share already in the market. Brand position typically emphasizes an energy boost, metal alertness, refreshment, and taste. This is why our product differentiation positioning is so important for the brand to be truly successful. Several opportunities for product differentiation exist. One of which are the ingredients. Specifically, a new brand could augment the energy and mental alertness benefits by increasing the amount of herbs, vitamins, and natural ingredients. Secondly, no brand has positioned itself as an adult energy drink. Adults between the ages of 35 to 54 consumed energy beverages at a rate that was only slightly less than consumers under 24. Thirdly, the packaging. All the energy brands on the market lacked meaningful differentiation. They all looked the same. With the product, they felt it would be smart to introduce a new drink with a re-sealable lid, something that would stand out in the crowd. The current energy beverage consumer typically consists of males between the ages of 18-24. Energy beverages are most often consumed in the afternoon, the second most popular time of day is morning consumption. Convenience stores and supermarkets are the dominant off-premise retail channels for energy beverages. In general, energy beverage manufactures with a broad product line and an extensive distribution network have had the greatest success in gaining shelf space in supermarkets and mass merchandisers for their brand. This would correlate with Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. strength of having great relationships with their vendors. We would recommend that they follow suit with partnerships with the dominate off-premise retail channels, but as a more health conscious beverage. The solution that we came up with for the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group was to incorporate all of these opportunities into a new product called RAM, which stands for Real Alive Micro-Nutrients. The product’s target market will be adults ages 25- 44 both males and females, who are interested in their health. In specific we are targeting the working middle class. Our average consumer would be someone working long hours that need constant energy throughout the day, even after work when they need to go home and take care of their families. They are constantly on the go and busy. When developing a new product you must implement the marketing mix. The first being the product, RAM energy drink. Our product is focused on providing the same alert and energized feeling as traditional energy drinks, without including ingredients that have harmful side effects. Other drinks such as Red Bull can lead to dangers such as cardiac arrest, headaches, insomnia, type two diabetes, and many other health issues (Top 10  Energy Drink Dangers). Our new product RAM, will be replacing ingredients that lead to these dangers with more vitamins. For example our product will not include ingredients such as Carnitine, Guarnana, Ginseng, and Ginko Biloba. All of which are commonly used in energy beverages but there presence is not clearly reflected on their labels. Inst ead they cover it up by listing them as â€Å"part of a 5000- mg energy blend† these ingredients can be extremely dangerous (Higgens). Instead, we will have ingredients such as Iron, Biotin, Zinc, Omega -3 fatty acids, antioxidants, Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, C, D. All of these attributes to healthy energy levels but are a more natural way of doing so. Another detail of RAM will be lower calories, right now out of the five leading companies in the energy beverage market, not including sugar free products, Monster has the lowest calories being 200 per 16oz can. We want our product RAM to be around 150 calories per bottle, with only about 25 grams of sugar. Compared to Monster, which has 54 grams of sugar. RAM will also only be made up of natural flavors with no added artificial flavors or colors added, whereas the other lead competitors all ad coloring and most admit to adding artificial flavoring when some do not list the specification, which usually means they are trying to hide something. We want our customers to know every little ingredient that makes up RAM and hopefully this will build trust and r elationships in return. Many people are just now starting to notice all of the potential dangers that energy drinks contain, which is why our product will stand out as a healthier choice that offers the same benefits. The look of our product will be completely unlike any other energy drink, which are usually un-sealable cans. RAM will be sold in a 17 ounce recyclable cardboard bottle with a re-sealable screw on cap, similar to those that Vita Coco coconut water uses. This type of bottling will fit better with the target market’s lifestyle because the container will be easier to bring on the go with no spills or messes. They are also able to drink some now and easily save the rest for later. When designing the prototype of the bottle we choose the colors dark blue and black so that they would be gender neutral and attract the more mature market. The label is also clear and easy to read. We suggest that RAM only starts off introducing two flavors and see how they perform and introducing a new flavor wi thin the next 8 months of the campaign. The two flavors to start  with might be RAM berry and citrus, because they are common and consumers might be more willing to try. From there they can extend the product line even further by offering a sugar-free option and even being sold in packs of four or large cases. The next aspect of the marketing mix to look at with RAM is pricing. We think that it is best to price themselves competitively at about $2.15 a bottle. Which is only a few cents cheaper than drinks such as Monster and Amp depending on the location. The third part of the marketing mix is place. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. has a wide range of strong relationships from bottlers and distributors, to national retailers, large food service, and convenience stores, such as 7-11, and their customers. They also have strong relationships with some of the most important U.S. retailers including Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, and Target. Building on their current strength of market channels, we felt that off premise retailers wo uld represent the best choice for the product to be carried. Lastly, we have to figure out the promotion that will be used for RAM. Since our funds are low compared to competitors, and we are going to avoid any conflict, we will be focusing on giving out samples while the product is being first introduced. We recommend the company hires sales reps to go to local grocery stores, with whom they already are doing business with, to give out samples to customers for them to try the new drink. It would also be a good idea to promote the new brand at events such races, athletic games, and concerts that our target market would be attending. This can be as simple as setting up a tent offering free samples and coupons. We also recommend using social media as a platform because it is extremely cost efficient and we can easily select our target. By means of analyzing the company’s strengths, tactics, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats, we were able to come up with a product that would be successful. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. vision statement says, â€Å"It is our vision to be the best beverage business in the Americas. Our brands have been synonymous with refreshment, fun, and flavor for generations, and our sales are poised to keep growing into the future.† We feel that by building on their current strengths and marketing a product by means of differentiation through its ingredients, demographic, unisex packaging, and partnerships with loyal vendors, we will have a success with RAM. Real, Alive, Micro-nutrients. Works Cited Higgens, John. Energy Beverage: Content and Safety. (2011). Print. Top 10 Energy Drink Dangers. Caffeine Informer. 24 Apr. 2012. Web.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

A Comprehensive Study on Banks Essay Example for Free

A Comprehensive Study on Banks Essay Every business needs funds for two purposes for its establishment and to carry out its day-to-day operations. Long terms funds are required to create production facilities through purchase of fixed assets such as plant and machinery, land, building, etc. Investments in these assets represent that part of firms capital which is blocked on permanent or fixed basis and is called fixed capital. Funds are also needed for short-term purpose for the purchase of raw material, payment of wages and other day-to-day expenses etc. These funds are known as working capital. In simple terms, working capital refers to that part of the firms capital which is required for financing short-term of current assets such as cash, marketable securities, debtors inventories. Funds, thus, invested in current assets keep revolving fast and are being constantly converted into cash and this cash flow out again in exchange for other current assets. Hence, it is also known as revolving or circulating capital or short term capital. 1) Jeng-Ren, C. Cheng, L. (2006) in their article, â€Å"Determinants of working capital† investigate the determinants of working capital management. This study investigates the relation of business indicator and management of short-term capital from the perspective of a firms working capital management, which traditionally is rated by current ratio, quick ratio, and net working capital.The authors have used net liquid balance and working capital requirements as measures of a companys working capital management. Results indicate that the debt ratio and operating cash flow affect the companys working capital management, and how it influences the business cycle, industry effect, growth of the company, performance of the company and firm size. From the data it can be seen that companies could maintain relatively loose capital management during the prosperous period (1999-2000), when capital was readily available in the market. When the economy slumped dramatically at the end of 2000, financial institutions began to tighten their capital policies, forcing companies to gradually operate a looser policy in working capital management. The regression results show the company has to operate a looser working capital management policy in times of recession, as it is not easy to raise capital from outside the firm, so more liquid assets are kept to maintain a relatively higher NLB. The authors conclude that debt ratio and operating cash flow evaluated by both WCR and NLB exert influence on working capital management. 2) Harris, A. (2005) conducted a study â€Å"Working capital management: difficult, but rewarding†. It focuses on the different requirements and the important role that human beings play in the working capital management process. There are various important steps that need to be met in order for them to manage their short term needs primiarily. The author compares Working Capital Management in theory and practice. Internal considerations such as organizational structure, shared systems, autonomous business units, multinational operations and even information technology can impact working capital. The author also stresses on the importance of proper forecasting for efficient Working Capital Management. 3) Filbeck, G. Krueger, T. (2005) in their article, â€Å"An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries,† find that all industries use different modes of working capital managament techniques for their functioning. Even their techniques change over time. Industry factors may impact firm credit policy, inventory management, and bill-paying activities. Some firms may be better suited to minimize receivables and inventory, while others maximize payables. Given everything the importance of working capital cannot be ignored and its reticfication to cope with the changing environment should be the main focus of the company. 4) Pimplapure, V. Kulkarni, P. (2011) conducted a study, â€Å"Working Capital Management: Impact of Profitability†. A firm can be very profitable, but if this is not rendered into cash from operations within the same operating cycle, the firm would need to borrow to support its continued working capital needs. For this study various statistical tools such as correlation and multiple regressions can be used. These tools are used to understand the direct impact of working capital on the profitablity of the firm. 5) Erasmus, P. (2010) in his article, â€Å"Working capital management and profitability: The relationship between the net trade cycle and return on assets,† states that, efficient working capital management should contribute to the creation of shareholder value. This study investigates the relationship between working capital management and firm profitability. Based on the results of the study done in this article, it would appear that management could attempt to improve firm profitability by decreasing the overall investment in net working capital. There is an indirect relationship between the two this is also proved in the article, â€Å"Working Capital Management: Impact of Profitability.† Regarding the normal operations of a firm, working capital management attracts less attention than capital budget and capital structure in financial management. Working capital management relates to the source and application of short-term capital. When working capital is managed improperly, allocating more than enough of it will render management non-efficient and reduce the benefits of short-term investment. On the other hand, if working capital is too low, the company may miss profitable investment opportunities or suffer short-term liquidity crises, leading to degradation of company credit, as it cannot respond effectively to temporary capital requirements. We cannot dimiss the importance of the working capital management in the working of a successful enterprise. 6) Singh, P. (2008) conducted a study titled, â€Å"Inventory and Working Capital Management: An Empirical Analysis†. The importance of working capital management is due to two reasons: (i) a substantial portion of the investment is invested in current assets, and (ii) level of current assets will change quickly, with the variation in sales. Hence, in this study, an attempt has been made to analyze the size and composition of working capital and whether such an investment has increased or declined over a period. We need to first determine the requirement of current assets, one of the important tasks of the financial manager is to select a group of appropriate sources of finance for the current assets. Normally, the excess of current assets over current liabilities should be financed by the long-term sources. It is not possible to find out precisely which long-term sources has been used to finance current assets, but it can be examined as to what proportion of current assets has been financed by long-term funds. Therefore, this article tries to carry out a study in this regard. Inventory is one of the major components of current assets, which requires huge investments. The main purpose of carrying inventory is to uncouple the operation, to make each function of the firm independent of the other functions, so that delay in one area does not affect the production and sales activities. As the shutting down of the production results in increased costs and delay in the delivery can result in loosing the customers, inventory management assumes significance in any firm and it is of great concern to any financial manager. Any firm would like to hold higher inventory. This will enable the firm to be more flexible in supply and find ease in its production schedule. Most of the customers may require immediate help in meeting their demands. However, there is always a cost involved in the inventories. This cost includes the capital cost of the stock and the cost of storing and carrying. Inventories are the assets of the firm and as such, they represent an investment. As such investments require a commitment of funds, managers must ensure that the firm maintains inventories at the correct level. If they become too large, the firm loses the opportunities to employ those funds more effectively. Similarly, if they are too small, the firm may lose sales. Therefore, it is better to maintain an optimum level of inventories that is needed in an organization. While analyzing working capital, it is important to analyze the various components of working capital especially inventory, because inventory is one of the major components and is nearly 50% of the current assets. Hence, it is necessary to analyze the size of inventory and the impact on working capital management. 7) Lifland, S. (2010) in his article, â€Å"The Corporate Soap-Opera, As the Cash Turns: Management of Working Capital and Potential External Financing Needs† finds that firms that efficiently manage their working capital are characterized as having increasing asset turnover ratios and decreasing days of receivables and inventories over the years, are ‘freeing up’ capital. Corporations use these ‘found’ funds to improve their supply chains, corporate logistics, and payment systems. The Days of the Working Capital Cycle represents the average number of days that cash must be committed to the management of a company’s working capital needs. A decline in the ratio translates into the firm’s ability to improve its inflows and management of cash. The existence and maintenance of working capital is the lifeblood of a corporation. It is the cash flow that revitalizes operations or slows it down to inoperable levels. Regardless of the size of th e company, the management of working capital accounts should influence its financial health. Kargar and Blumenthal (1994) found that small businesses were significantly impacted by management’s ability to successfully plan the cash requirements of the firm. Managers need to monitor the ratio of total working capital to total company assets, as a relatively high figure can signal future strains on the operational financial health of the firm. 8) Kelleher, J. MacCormack, J. (2005) consider the complexity of considering the internal rate of return (IRR) on capital projects. A survey was conducted by the management consulting firm McKinsey Co. This study asked 30 executives about the risks of this practice, They were surprised to find that only six were aware of IRRs deficiencies. The article defines the risks IRR poses to capital budget management, considers the use of modified internal rate of return. IRR is a true indication of a projects annual return on investment only when the project generates no interim cash flows — or when those interim cash flows really can be invested at the actual IRR. 9) Etiennot, H. Preve, L. (2012) in their study, â€Å"Working Capital Management: An Exploratory Study.† found that Working capital management is an issue in which finance research is scarce. One possible reason behind this fact might relate to the relative ease with which efficient financial markets correct deviations from optimal working capital policies. However, in less efficient financial markets, pervasive among emerging economies, working capital management is critical for both firms performance and survival. The difference in the markets ability for providing immediate assistance to firms might explain the differential consequences on firms profitability and financial distress. This article explains the fundamentals of working capital management, the importance of its interaction with financial markets, and how this interaction might explain working capital patterns around the world and in the various successful organizations that use it. 10) Singh, J. Pandey, S. (2008) conducted a study, â€Å"Impact of Working Capital Management in the Profitability of Hindalco Industries Limited.† For any successful working of any business organization, fixed and current assets play a vital role. Management of working capital is essential as it has a direct impact on profitability and liquidity. This is a study of the working capital components and the impact of working capital management on profitability of Hindalco Industries Limited. The study is based on secondary data collected from annual reports of Hindalco for the study period 1990 to 2007. The ratio analysis, percentage method and coefficient of correlation have been used to analyze the data. The current assets of Hindalco witnessed a steady growth over the past years which were 40 times more in 2007 in comparison to that of 1990. Inventory and loans and advances mainly supported this increase. The study also shows that the contribution of long term source in working capital is below 30% in all the study period. This study effectively showed that working capital has a big impact on the profitability of the firm.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Four Causes And The Problem Of Change

Four Causes And The Problem Of Change Once a buffalo entered a field and began to destroy it. Suddenly the owner of the field saw it, took the stick, and hit the buffalo. The buffalo ran away from the field. Here we see two actions taking place, firstly the owner hitting the buffalo, which we can call as the cause and the second action is the buffalo running away from the field, which we can call the effect. Therefore, there is a clear relationship between these two actions or events. The word cause gives us the clear meaning that anything responsible for change, motion, or action,  [1]  as we saw in the above action. There are many philosophers who spoke about the cause especially Aristotle. He explains what cause is. Why there are causes? In order to make us understand He wrote about four important causes because, whatever he saw on the earth he began to question why? Therefore, the outcome of this question is the theory of causality and the problem of change. In this assignment, I would like to go in depth into Ar istotles theory of four causes and the problem of change. Because in this universe the Non- livings and the livings do not remain the same; rather they change in anything and everything. Aristotles theory of four causes and the problem of change As we know, Aristotle is one of the great Greek philosophers. He studied under Plato. He has written many books on many subjects. He is a father of many subjects like logic, political science, etc. Aristotle was convinced about his ideas and thoughts that is why he did not agree with some of the ideas of his guru and even with the other philosophers like Parmenides arguments. Plato believed in the world of ideas, for him the idea and the form were real. However, For Aristotle the individual things were real, he believed in the world of reality. Since he believed in the world of reality, he saw on this earth many beings so he called them as substances. Aristotle says, The substance is a unity of form and matter. Substances undergo two types of changes: accidental and radical.  [2]  Since he spoke about changes, there was a clash between Parmenides and Aristotle. The Greek philosopher Parmenides said, Reality is one and stable,  [3]  that means there cannot be any change. In other words, In reality there is no change at all; all change is mere appearance; because reality is one, which is unchanging.  [4]  Because Parmenides believed that there are only two possibilities, they are being and non-being. According to Parmenides if there is something then only something comes out and if there is nothing how can you expect something? The problem was that later he said that from being no being comes because He has no idea of potentiality in being. However, Aristotle says, every being has potentiality therefore there is change in everything. Since Aristotle said about the change, he had to bring out the proper arguments. Therefore, He began to explain by giving theory of four causes and the problem of change. Aristotle begins his arguments by saying that If something comes to be it must be rooted in something. It cannot be rooted in nothing. But also it cannot be rooted in itself. So it must be rooted in a potentiality that something has for a range of (opposite, contrary) properties.  [5]  What he says is true because nothing can come from nothing rather. For example if you have an apple then only you can cut it and give it to others if we do not have how can we think of giving to others. Similarly, if we want something to come then there has to be something. A something that exists he calls them as substance. This substance under goes two types of changes as I mentioned earlier. He calls them as accidental change. In this type, a sculptor goes to sculpt a statue from a marble; there he realizes that inside that marble the statue exists. From this incident, Aristotle discovers the concept of potency. The word potency means the ability or the power. For instance, the marble has the po tency to become a statue. Finally, he concludes by saying every being has the potency to change. He calls another change as the substantial change. In which an animal is dead and the other animal eats the dead animal here substance turns to something different which is not the same. Finally, with these incidents Aristotle comes to conclusion that the substance undergoes changes. These substances are functioned by four causes. Now let us see the theory of the four causes by Aristotle. The material cause: material cause deals with whatness of the substance. In other words, what an object or matter consists is a material cause. Every substance or object under goes a change, that receives a new form or a new look. We can take an example a carpenter makes a table out of wood. This we can call as an accidental change. We can take an another example a jack fruit is fallen down and a monkey begins to eat now the jack fruit is no more a jack fruit rather it is a part of that monkey. This kind of change we can call as a substantial change because the substance loses its original form and becomes something else; this is very common in this world because every day the animals, plants etc die, they become different forms. Therefore, this kind of change we can call as a material cause. I personally understand material cause as, in this universe whatever that exists has the matter and the form. The thing what it is I would call it as the material cause. Even when a new thing co mes out and that new thing has identified by what it is therefore I would agree with Aristotle. The formal cause: In this cause, the word formal itself gives us the idea of a form. As we read in the beginning there is no matter without form and no form without matter. Any wood is a substance and it is made of matter and the form. For example a brick, when a man makes the brick by giving the proper shape to it then only it becomes as a brick and secondly he has the idea of the brick in his mind therefore he makes the brick. According to the formal cause, the word form itself gives us the idea, that which exists should have the form. So similarly, a person has the idea of a brick in his mind and makes the brick. When the same bricks have arranged in proper order to build a house it has called as the formal cause. If a builder uses the bricks however he wants the wall will not rise and even if it rises it collapses. Similarly, if the librarian does not arrange the books in proper order then it will be something else but if the librarian arranges the books in the cupboard then it t akes a better look and the shape. It has called as the formal cause. Finally, I want to say in simple words that the idea or the imagination that the maker has in his mind, the characteristics of the object that the maker or the designer gives to a thing can be called as the formal cause. The Efficient cause: the efficient cause is the effort and the work of the designer or the agent, which changes the object. It means how the designer plans and what are the instruments he uses, how much hard he works counted in the efficient cause. So the efficient cause begins with the agent or the designer. In other words, that from which the change or the freedom from change first begins, e.g. the adviser is a cause of the action, and the father a cause of the child.  [6]  I would like to explain it through an example. I am going to a pond and collecting some clay and I prepare a beautiful statue. Here my effort and the force, which I used to make the statue, is the reason for the efficient cause. In this example, I have an idea of a statue and since I have an idea, I make the statue. It is because of my effort and hard work that a new statue comes to existence. I would say that it is an important cause because of this cause; a new thing comes to exist. The final cause: the final cause is an important cause in which a new thing exists. Here a question arises why the agent or the designer made this thing for example the same story of mine making a pot out of clay. I make the pot because I wanted to keep it in my house in order to make use of cooking and to keep water in it. Similarly, a carpenter makes chair in order to sit on the chair. I walk everyday because it is necessary for my health so the final cause is the purpose for which the change takes place. Therefore, there is a clear connection between all these four causes. These are the four causes of Aristotle. Later another great Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas adds one more cause to these four causes. Which is called as an exemplary cause. Exemplary causality is the casual influence exercised by a model or an exemplar on the operation.  [7]  If I take the same example of the clay and the statue here, first I have an idea in my mind therefore I make the statue. This idea in the mind we can call as the exemplary cause. However, it may have the same resemblance of the other causes but it deals with the idea. It guides the inner intellect. Aristotles causes were mainly on actuality but Aquinass cause is on potentiality and actuality that means on idea and the actual factor. Since Aristotle also dealt about this, Aquinas gives more importance on idea, which he calls as essence. Since he added to the theory of Aristotle on existence and essence, Aristotles theory took a better form and got more value than earlier. Finally, Aristotle concludes his theory of four causes by saying there is cause and effect, everything under goes a change. As I mentioned in the beginning Aristotle saw everything that exists and asked why these are in this way. This made him to find out why everything changes in this world. Finally, when he finds out the reasons for change he concludes by saying that there must be somebody who is a supreme mover and the cause for a change. Because according to his theory if there is a watch there must be a designer or the Watchmaker, similarly when there is a change in everything there must be someone who is a cause maker. Aristotle calls him as a prime mover. He also believes that the prime mover is the final cause and he is unchangeable, because he has no form. For Aristotle the prime mover is divine. After long arguments and disagreements with other philosophers Aristotle says, in the universe everything changes. The whole universe depends on the prime mover and he is cause for all the changes, which take place. He is the ultimate cause or the prime mover. Aristotle calls him as a supreme being or the supreme mover but the great Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas calls him as a God. I too agree with Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle because both believe in the divinity. Since I believe that if I have something then must be a creator of that so when I say this universe exists it is sure that the creator of the universe exists. I also agree that in this universe everything changes. God is the prime mover. Conclusion I would conclude by saying that the four causes of Aristotle and the other one cause by Thomas Aquinas are the main reasons, which affects an object. The five causes play an important role in everything that exists in the universe. All these causes linked to each other. Each and everything that exists on this universe has a purpose that is why all the causes explain to us the existence of the beings. These beings undergo a change. God is the ultimate change maker or the beginner of all the causes.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Patriarchy in India, China, Greece and Rome Essay -- Sociology, Classi

Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics. Because they did not have a traditional role in government, women had work their way around the system to gain any type of political leverage. Empress Lu violated every cultural and social norm by retaining power as a regent throughout the reins of her son, grandson and adopted grandson. Tradidtionaly regents ruled from behind the scenes while the emperor himself was unable to make decisions, usualy due to age or heath complications, however Empress Lu eradicated any competitors for the thrown. As the end of her reign was nearing, she expected her nephews to succeed her. Even as the first empress, not unfamiliar with disrupting tradition, she left the emperorship to the next male in her bloodline (Doc. 5) not a female. Though Empress Lu defied all expectations of women, her power as an Empress was still undisputed due to the Mandate of Heaven, an idea originating in the Shang dynasty.... ...c. 4). This is an example of one of the seven unequal relationships in Confucianism. Much of the social structure of classical China was based on Confucian ideals (Doc. 3). In Greece the relationship between a husband and wife also very unequal due to her young age and lack of education. Alone a woman had no political rights and limited legal powers therefore is was necessary for a husband to provide for his wife much like a father would (Doc. 6) A woman would learn house hold management and eventually produce heirs. These two similar systems of social roles was not a benevolent system. It did not take into account the welfare of individuals, particularly woman who had little power to leave in a bad marital situation. However by insuring that people know their place, which kept them in line, classical societies were more prosperous and able to run more smoothly.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Prejudice and Racism †All We Need is Love, All We Got is Hate :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays

As the snow covered the house that my grandma occupies, I looked out the window to the neighbor's front door, their mailbox, and the circular driveway they had. It was just another home, where kids could build a snowman or throw snowballs on the front lawn. But there where no children or snowmen here. And beneath the snow, the word "N-I-G-G-E-R" was written in the grass. A family- a home- where they had bothered no one. One night someone decided to take weed killer and burn it in giant letters into their lawn. This is why our nation, the melting pot of many races, needs to confront the problem and deal with what really is in front of us. When I first really thought about this, I thought, this is not Mississippi, or Alabama; this is Michigan, and it's in my grandma's neighborhood. And the thing is, their a normal family, just like any other. They went on trips in the summer, and spring, and this time came back to a message on the lawn. I sat there that day watching cars go by their house as if it were haunted or something. I guess it can happen anywhere. But this snow-covered house is still a reflection of America, white on top with a hatred burning underneath. I go to a college, where the races meet every day. Colored man helps white man; white man helps colored man. Doesn't sound right ? That's how bad our society has gotten. Disturbing? Of course. But what is more disturbing is, lately when these issues of racism have come up, there seems to be impatience and annoyance. "Does everything have to be racism?" people ask. And they're always complaining that "It's just a little thing." No, it's not. People are always saying that there is little prejudice. But how is that true ? It's like saying you're a little pregnant; can't happen. But this is nothing new. How many times have you heard "He's fast; for a white guy." Or "White men can't jump," Or "All black guys can jump and dance." And in reality these are all hateful things to say. As whites, we are the majority, and don't always realize it. And whenever there's racist complaints, we say "OK, we'll change" with a sigh. It's the white's who go crazy to get black athlete's autographs. They say "We love you!" yet how many would let them date your daughter? Although I say this, I do believe that some progress has been made. But I do think that when you're the majority, you do have to guard against

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Supraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block Health And Social Care Essay

The brachial rete is a complex agreement of nervus fibers arising from the spinal column via the ventral rami of the 5th cervical to the first thoracic nervus roots. It proceeds through the cervix, armpit and into the arm where it terminates into single peripheral nervousnesss most notably average, radial, ulnar and musculocutaneous nervousnesss. These nervousnesss contribute motor and centripetal nervus supply to the upper limb. Barricading these nervousnesss near to their beginning between the cervix and the axilla is called brachial rete block. Supraclavicular block is used to providesurgical anesthesia and postoperative analgesia forthe upper limb operations. The brachial rete traditionally performed via interscalene, supraclavicular, infraclavicular and alar attacks with clinically of import advantages and disadvantages of each. The supraclavicular attack is popular for surgery affecting the manus to the elbow,1 and the brachial rete can be easy visualized by puting an ultrasound investigation at the base of the cervix merely above the collarbone. Ultrasound is used routinely for supraclavicular brachial rete blocks forsurgery affecting the manus, forearm or the cubitus. Surveies have shown that ultrasound improves the efficaciousness and safety and clip to execute the the block.2,3,4 With the blessing of the Local Ethics Committee, a prospective survey will be conducted in up to 40 ASA I, II or III patients of either sex undergoing elected upper limb surgery. A verbal account of the test, patient information sheet will be provided by the attention ( clinical/medical ) staff for the patient to see which will be about 6 hebdomads before the twenty-four hours of surgery. This will include elaborate information about the principle, design and personal deductions of the survey. When the patients will be admitted to the infirmary, they will be approached by one of the research workers farther information and account for any inquiries to assist them take an informed determination on engagement or non-participation into the trial.Following information proviso, patients will hold at least 24 hours to see engagement and will be given the chance to discourse the test with their household and health care professionals before they are asked whether they would be willing to ta ke portion in the test. The chief research worker or the co-investigator will accept the patients. All are qualified by experience and educational course of study as an anesthetic physician to take the consent for this in their everyday pattern. Assenting patients will so be officially assessed for eligibility and invited to supply informed, written consent. The right of the patient to decline consent without giving grounds will be respected. Further, the patient will stay free to retreat from the survey at any clip without giving grounds and without prejudicing any farther intervention. A transcript of the consent will be given to the patient, one filed in the Trial Master File, one filed in the infirmary notes and a 4th transcript sent to the Sponsor. For the supraclavicular block, the brachial rete will be visualized utilizing a Sonosite Titan ultrasound machine with 10MHz additive investigation. The overlying tegument will be infiltrated with 1 % lignocaine and a nervus block acerate leaf passed under ultrasound counsel so that its tip lies next to the brachial rete. After negative aspiration on the needle the survey dosage of bupivacaine will be injected. This will be done under ultrasound visual image to guarantee right location of the acerate leaf is maintained. Bupivacaine will be prepared newly for each patient. Efficacy will be assessed at 15-minute intervals for up to 45 proceedingss at the centripetal dermatomes of the average, ulnar, radial and musculocutaneous nervousnesss in the upper limb to cold utilizing an intoxicant swab ( i.e at 15, 30 and 45 proceedingss after the injection is finished ) . Failure to accomplish loss of cold esthesis with intoxicant swab at all four of the centripetal dermatomes of the average, ulnar, radial and musculocutaneous nervousnesss in the upper limb after 45 proceedingss will be considered uneffective block. This will be considered as the terminal of the survey for the participant and repetition injection utilizing 5 to 10 milliliters of local anesthetic will be done under ultrasound counsel. This will non ache because the local anesthesia of the overlying tegument from the old injection normally lasts more than 2 hours. The following patient will so have a dosage based on the CRM. The block will be assessed by the co-investigator who will non be present during the behavior of the block and hence will be wholly blind to the dosage used. The topics will non be cognizant of the dosage of the local anesthetic used. The survey is therefore double blinded since the topic the research worker and the assessor are blinded to the dosage of the local anesthetic used. The blinding of the survey will take the prejudice that may be at that place if the individual executing the block assesses the block every bit good.Statistical considerations & A ; power analysisPersonal and surgical inside informations will be collected and the informations will be presented as average ( interquartile and scope ) or per centum as appropriate. The minimum effectual dosage ( MED95 ) will be estimated utilizing CRM. Our confederates, Dr Sylvie Chevret and Dr Sarah Zohar will supply the statistical expertness for the current test. These confederates are experts in the field of CRM and have advised that a sample size of 40 patients is sufficient in theory to supply an reply to the inquiry of ED95. The design of this dose-finding, double-blind survey was chosen in order to measure the dose-response relationship of bupivacaine for supraclavicular brachial rete block utilizing ultrasound. The CRM ( Oaa‚ ¬a„?Quigley et al 1990 ) 6 utilizing a alteration in order to command outliers observations ( Resche-Rigon et al. 2008 ) 7 will be used in order to find the minimum effectual dosage ( MED ) of Bupivacaine for supraclavicular brachial rete block of 95 % of patients. The CRM is consecutive Bayesian method based on a one-parameter theoretical account, which aims at gauging the percentile of dose-response among thousand distinct dose degrees di ( i=1, †¦ ,5 ) . Each one of the six dosage degrees was randomly associated by the research worker ( harmonizing to his/her personal experience and available informations in the literature at the clip of induction of the test ) with the following prior estimated success chance, 0.5, 0.75, 0.90, 0.95, 0.98 and 0.99 for the 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 27 volume integrity dose severally. Then, a one-parameter power theoretical account will be used to suit the dose-response curve, with an exponential anterior distribution ( with mean = 1 ) for the theoretical account parametric quantity. The posterior response chance of each dose degree will be re-estimated after each new inclusion of cohort patients ( 2 patients per cohort ) ( see following page ) . The allocated dosage to each new cohort of patients was the dose degree with the updated posterior response chance closest to 0.95. In the present survey, the first cohort of patients will have a lading dosage of 21 volume units with the anterior success chance closest to the mark ( 0.95 ) . The MED is defined as the dose degree among the six chosen dose that had a concluding response chance closest to the mark. The determination to stop the survey was based on halting standards, in order to observe whether all doses were likely to be inefficient or a suited appraisal of the MED has been reached ( Zohar and Chevret 2001 ) .8

Monday, September 16, 2019

Gave willingly to the company Essay

In my own personal experience I found that in Ikea there were many divorcees and single people. There were also an unusually high number of couples that had met through Ikea and then worked together in the same building. Some of the divorcees openly blamed their relationship break-up on the fact that they work for Ikea; their partners simply did not understand the commitment, in terms of time, that they gave willingly to the company. My own relationship with my partner started to suffer quite soon after the initial 3-month period, I had bonded with my new colleagues and I was enthusiastic and committed to this new way of working my attitude to work and my commitment had changed in favour of Ikea (Festinger, 1957). As a manager it was encouraged that examples should be set by giving that little bit extra to help co-workers across the store, so for example; if the tills were busy at the end of the evening it was an unspoken rule that all managers should stay until closing time to help clear the backlog of customers, this sometimes meant leaving the store an hour and a half after the official end of the day. I found it difficult to go against the norm as everyone else appeared to take it for granted, I wanted to leave at my normal time of 6.00pm but found it impossible to do so when my colleagues were staying behind and helping out. Solomon Asch describes this type of behaviour as yielding (Gross, 1996: Ch 20) conforming to group pressure. Festinger talks about the five conditions for increased fervour in a belief following the disconfirmation of a belief, this is comparable to an example when a close friend of mine at Ikea (store manager) had been working hard and consequently there had been some irrevocable conflict within his marriage about the job and the expectations of Ikea. After his initial split with his wife he dealt with her condemnation of Ikea by â€Å"spreading the word of Ikea† with increased enthusiasm and renewed passion, he saw the Ikea family as his support network and this reliance on the company and Ikea â€Å"family members† simply reinforced the belief in his decision (Festinger, 1959) of ending his marriage. On a similar personal level my job and my alliance to it became an increasing problem at home. My behaviour changed at home, I made excuses about going into work early and staying late. In the initial few months I found myself defending Ikea as I felt so close to my new colleagues and didn’t want to let them down, however as time went on I realised that I missed the quality time with my partner and I saw that my priorities had become affected by my commitment to work. At work I saw friends splitting up with their partners because of similar reasons and then justifying their action by criticising their relationship. This type of validation for their behaviour resembles what Festinger wrote about in â€Å"When Prophecy Fails†. Where dissonance is rationalised through the support of your fellow believers (in this case fellow co-workers). After 12 months I sustained an injury that lead to a back operation and this period away from work (3 months) gave me time to reflect on my time there and started to see how I had been influenced by the Ikea way and how I had conformed to this way incredibly fast. Conformity involves a change of behaviour or opinion in order to fit in with a group. According to Crutchfield â€Å"Conformity is a yielding to group pressure when there is no direct request to comply with the group. † (Gross, 1996: 479). However according to Zimbardo & Leippe † Conformity is a change in belief or behaviour in response to real or imagined group pressure where there is no direct request to comply with the group norm. † (Gross, 1996:479). Majority influence is when a larger group influences a smaller group or individual. Although Asch was generally concerned with how one can resist majority influence and pressure, his experiments are generally deemed to exhibit the power of majority influence. Similar to the influence of the majority found in Ikea. Needless to say upon my return I decided to leave Ikea and 3 months later I moved to another job with a different company. In the first few weeks I felt a great sense of great loss almost a grief my regrets were therefore twofold, I felt a regret of leaving the fold of Ikea and also a regret that conflicted with this and that was of not realising sooner my behavioural and attitude changes that had affected my personal life. In summing up this paper we have looked at Ikea and how its culture was aligned to sociological groups. We have covered the way of working within this organisation and how this relates to conformity and group influence again drawing parallels to similar sociological findings. It has been interesting journey to relate this instance where my own personal experience has been influenced by the belonging of a group, especially a group with such strong cultural roots as Ikea. The analogies found in this paper make it more understandable as to how social influences can have such wide-ranging affects on individuals. And how many situations (from the impact of TV on the masses through to major historical events such as the rise of Nazism) can arise. It certainly makes the self and our interaction with others food for thought. References (Festinger, 1957) Gross, 1996: 448 â€Å"cognitive dissonance theory†. Gross, R. (1999). The Science of Mind and Behavior. (3rd Ed). Hodder & Stoughton. Press) (Festinger, 1959)

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Cultural Landscape Essay

A cultural landscape is a piece of land that possesses natural and cultural resources related to an historic event, person, or group of people. They are usually man-made lexis of relationships with the nature and/or society or culture. These can include grand estates, public gardens and parks, educational institutions, cemeteries, highways, and industrial sites. Cultural landscapes are also humanist works of art, texts and narratives of cultures that express regional and cultural identity. They also present relationship to their ecological perspective. Human activities have turned out to be a major cause of shaping most cultivated landscapes on the surface of Earth. Human, animal and machine labor expended in using the land can create outstanding cultural landscapes with high aesthetic, cultural and ecological value such as the paddy-field rice terraces of south-east Asia, but may as well result in land degradation as is the case in some regions in the Mediterranean. The distribution of landforms such as steep slopes, fertile plains, inundated valleys in a landscape sets the frame for land use by determining factors such as accessibility, water and nutrient availability, but may over long periods of time also be changed through land use. On the other hand, land use serves distinct socio-economic purposes: land may supply materials and energy through hunting, agriculture or forestry, it may host infrastructure, or it may be needed to absorb waste and emissions (Haberl et al. , 2004). Landscapes can be seen as the contingent and historically variable outcome of this interplay between socio-economic and biophysical forces. During the evolution of cultural landscapes throughout the world, humans have developed adaptive land-use techniques and created specific patterns of fields, farmsteads, remnant woodlots and the like that depended on both natural and socio-economic conditions. In European agricultural landscapes, the long history of land transformation has led to regionally distinct regular patterns of geometrically arranged landscape elements, reflecting the historical and cultural background of the prevailing land-use system of a region (Bell, 1999). The spatial distribution of ecotopes, the so-called landscape structure, has therefore often been regarded as a mosaic of ‘frozen processes’; i. e. landscape structure assumedly mirrors the processes which had been going on in a landscape. This perception has even become a central paradigm in modern landscape ecology. While many ecosystem processes are difficult to observe directly, landscape structure can be derived from mapping as well as from remote-sensing data; therefore, landscape structure was often not only used to evaluate the ecological value of landscapes, but also to judge ecological aspects of the sustainability of land-use patterns (Wrbka et al. , 1999b). The Influence Of Land Form On The Intensity Of Land Use Cultural landscapes have, in contrast to natural and semi-natural landscapes, special characteristics. The disturbance regime as well as the major material and energy fluxes in these transformed landscapes is controlled to a large extent by humans. This is done by the different land-use practices applied for meadows, arable land or forests. Decisions about land use are made according to the local agro-ecological characteristics which are nested in a hierarchy of social, economical and technical constraints. Cultural landscapes can thus only be understood by analyzing the interplay between biophysical and socioeconomic patterns and processes. Landscape Structure And Intensity Of Land Use Odum and Turner (1989) found that the landscape elements of the Georgia landscape in the early 1930s had a higher fractal dimension than the elements of the same region in the 1980s. During the same period of time the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals increased dramatically. This illustrates that the growing human impact on the land may result in a landscape with decreasing geometrical complexity. Human activities introduce rectangularity and rectilinearity into landscapes, producing regular shapes with straight borders (Forman, 1999; Forman and Moore, 1992). Various studies suggest that the rate of landscape transformation is a function of land-use intensity (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Hietala-Koivu, 1999; Mander et al. , 1999; Odum and Turner, 1989), and that the geometric complexity of a landscape in particular decreases with increasing land-use intensity accompanied by a decrease of habitat heterogeneity and an increase of production units. Applying the thermodynamic laws to landscape structure, Forman and Moore (1992) suggested that the concentrated input of energy (e. g. , by tractor ploughing, plant production, wildfire) decreases the entropy of patches compared to adjacent areas and produces straight and abrupt boundaries. In other words, energy is required to convert natural curvilinear boundaries into straight lines and energy is required to maintain them. The reduction of the energy input increases entropy and revegetation convolutes and softens landscape boundaries. This means that the ‘landscape structure’, in the sense of Forman and Godron (1986), can be regarded as ‘frozen processes’. Landscape Structure And Biodiversity Many surveys show that species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes normally decreases with land-use intensity (Luoto, 2000; Mander et al. , 1999; Zechmeister and Moser, 2001; Zechmeister et al. , 2003). As the link between landscape structure and land-use intensity could be established, shape complexity as a measure of land-use intensity seems to be also a good predictor of species richness (Moser et al. , 2002; Wrbka et al. , 1999a). Accordingly, higher species richness in areas with high LD and richness values can be expected. The use of shape complexity indices as indicators for plant species richness is based on an assumed correlation between geometric landscape complexity and biodiversity (Moser et al. , 2002). Obviously, this correlation is not mechanistic but it is supposed to be due to congruent effects of land-use intensity on landscape shape complexity and species richness. Moser et al. (2002) gives a good literature overview about the driving factors responsible for the decrease of landscape complexity with increasing land-use intensity, which resulted in the following key findings: * The majority of landscape elements in agricultural landscapes are designed by humans as rectangles with straight and distinct boundaries (Forman, 1999). * Outside boundaries of semi-natural or natural patches are straightened by neighboring cultivated areas (). * Increasing land-use intensity is accompanied by a decrease of semi-natural and natural areas (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Mander et al. , 1999), resulting in a decrease of natural curvilinear boundaries. * Intensification in agriculture tends to increase the size of production units (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Hietala-Koivu, 1999). In addition to that intensification of land use on the production unit, e. g. , by fertilizing or increased mowing intensity, also leads to a dramatic decrease of the species richness (Zechmeister et al. , 2003). The description of the degradation of semi-natural and agricultural landscapes shows clearly the interdependence of biodiversity and landscape heterogeneity, induced by closely interwoven ecological, demographical, socio-economic and cultural factors. For an effective conservation management of biodiversity and landscape eco-diversity, a clear understanding of the ecological and cultural processes and their perturbations is essential. Intermediate disturbance levels lead to a highly complex and diverse cultural landscape which can host many plant and animal species. Landscapes, with ‘eco-diversity hotspots’, can be regarded as hint for ‘biodiversity hotspots’. Landscape pattern indicators therefore play an important role for landscape conservation planning. The understanding of landscape processes is crucial for the conservation of both, landscape eco-diversity and biodiversity. Conclusions From a conservation biology point of view, the ongoing process of genetic erosion and biodiversity loss as well as the replacement of specific recognizable cultural landscapes by monotonous ubiquistic production sites will continue. The biophysical characteristics and natural constraints of the investigated landscapes are interwoven with the regional historic and socio-economical development. This interplay is the background for the development of a variety of cultural landscapes which have their own specific characteristics. Geo-ecological land-units provide one solution. This is of special importance when the relationship of landscape patterns and underlying processes is under investigation. Works Cited Alard, D. , Poudevigne, I. Factors controlling plant diversity in rural landscapes: a functional approach. Landscape and Urban Planning, 1999: 46, 29–39 Bell, S. , Landscape—Pattern, Perception and Process. E. &F. N. Spon, London, 1999 Forman, R. T. T. , & Godron, M. Landscape Ecology. Wiley, New York, 1986. Forman, R. T. T. , & Moore, P. N. Theoretical foundations for understanding boundaries in landscape mosaics. In: Hansen, F. J. , Castri, F. (Eds. ), Landscape Boundaries. Consequences for Biotic Diversity and Ecological Flows. Springer, New York, 1992, pp. 236–258. Forman, R. T. T. Horizontal processes, roads, suburbs, societal objectives in landscape ecology. In: Klopatek, M. , Gardner, R. H. (Eds. ), Landscape Ecological Analysis: Issues and Applications. Springer, New York, 1999, pp. 35–53. Haberl, H. , Wackernagel, M. , Krausmann, F. , Erb, K. -H. , Monfreda, C. Ecological footprints and human appropriation of net primary production: A comparison. Land Use Policy, doi:10. 1016/ j. landusepol. 2003. 10. 008. , 2004 Hietala-Koivu, R. Agricultural landscape change: a case study in Y lane, Southwest Finland. Landscape and Urban Planning , 1999: 46, 103–108. Luoto, M.. Modelling of rare plant species richness by landscape variables in an agriculture area in Finland. Plant Ecology , 2000: 149, 157–168. Mander, U. , Mikk, M. , Ku. lvik, M.. Ecological and low intensity agriculture as contributors to landscape and biological diversity. Landscape and Urban Planning , 1999: 46, 169–177.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

A Personal Perspective: Personal Reflections on Followership and Leadership Essay

I will discuss personal follower and leader interactions with two individuals that I have worked with over the last five to seven years. I selected these individuals because of my relationship with them and their leadership capabilities. Secondly, I admire and model after both of them. Finally, I selected these individuals because they believe in me and have invested in my professional and personal development. I will discuss their leadership style in context with course materials and illustrate how I am able to be an effective follower under their leadership. I will also discuss the leadership qualities that make them highly effective leaders. A Personal Perspective: Personal Reflections on Followership and Leadership Trust is the most important factor in most relationships, professional and personal. It is very easy to follow someone that you trust, even when there are differences of opinion. I have worked under the leadership of two dynamic leaders for the last five to seven years. The first is my boss, Karen Schrock, President & CEO of Adult Well-Being Services. The second individual I selected is my Pastor, James Minnick. I selected Karen and James because of my relationship with them. They are both highly effective leaders that I admire for their ability to lead under pressure, manage difficult people and situations, accomplish what needs to be accomplish and remain positive. They believe in me and have invested in my professional and personal development. I strongly concur with the statement leaders are only as good as the people who follow (Johnson, 2011). Bjudstads defines followership as the ability to effectively follow the directives and support the efforts of a leader to maximize the organization (Bjudstad, 2006). An effective follower is one who is enthusiastic, self-reliant, and fulfills their duties with enthusiasm (Kelly, 1998). Courageous, honesty, credibility, competence, and focus are  also qualities of a good follower. It is easy to follow when you are lead by leaders who are competent, passionate, exhibit compassion, and are able to communicate the vision, goals and objectives. I have worked with Karen for seven years, first as her Administrative Assistant and now as the Manager of Executive Office Operations and Stapleton Operations. I worked as a project manager with my previous employer and the skills I developed in that position enabled me to transition to the position of Administrative Assistant for the President & CEO of an organization with ease. They refer to us as the dynamic duo because we work so well together. Karen is very organized, a detailed planner, and clearly communicates her expectations. I am very organized and a detailed planner. We meet at the beginning of each week. We both prepare a list of priorities (often they contain the same items). We differ in communication style. I prefer emails. She prefers face to face or phone communication. A good follower adapts to the style of the leader when necessary. So, I’ve adapted my style somewhat. When managing contacts for her, I will make the call or contact in person. Leaders and foll owers have to be flexible. I am able to approach her and discuss my view when we disagree because of our relationship and her leadership style. She always takes the time to make sure I understand even high level decisions. She shares information so that I am able to make better decisions and work more effectively as a follower. I follow her because I trust that she has my best interest, as well as the best interest of the organization, in her perspective as she leads us. Another quality that allows me to be an effective follower is Karen allows me to do my work. I cannot imagine how frustrating it is to be micromanaged. I don’t require a lot of supervision. I know her expectations. I know the organization. I ask questions and for help when necessary. I am also proactive. It is not necessary for her to tell me what needs to be done in every instance. After working with her for so long, I often know what is expected and accomplish it before it is requested. I advise her of ongoing projects and issues that require her attention. It is my responsibility as a follower to ensure she is informed. Johnson states followers have a responsibility to give good information (Johnson, 2011). Good information i s not necessarily pleasant. I am able  to tell her things others often sugar coat. If something is not working, she needs to know. I also present her with possible solutions when presenting problems. I am comfortable making decisions and informing her of the problem and my resolution. If I make a bad decision, she uses that as a learning opportunity. This is empowering, and has built my confidence and helped me develop as a manager. My relationship with James Minnick started many years ago. We grew up in our local church and I have known him for over thirty five years. I did not work closely with him until he became our Pastor. Shortly after becoming Pastor, he asked me to serve as a Trustee. I am now the Assistant Financial Secretary. It is in this capacity that I have grown to respect him as an effective leader. I am able to exhibit the same qualities of a follower as a Trustee that I exhibit when working with Karen. The environment is different; however, I am who I am. I am just as efficient at a Trustee a nd Assistant Financial Secretary as I am as an employee of Adult Well-Being Services. Good stewardship is required in both environments. Good leaders are able to identify the talents and abilities of their followers to fulfill the vision and mission of the organization in business and non-business environments. I have the same commitment to the Church and its leader as I have to the organization that I work for. I follow James because I trust him and his ability to lead membership. It is easy to follow him because he allows each of us to first recognize, and then use our gifts to support the ministry. I have grown tremendously under the leadership of both of the individuals I’ve discussed. I am able to use my skills, talents and abilities at both organizations and use the resources of both organizations for the common good. I have learned from experiences at Adult Well-Being Services that have helped me as a Trustee and Financial Secretary at the church. They have assigned me projects that I did not believe I was capable of managing but with their encouragement, I accomplished them. James is also the Director of Transportation for Detroit Public Schools. I volunteered to head a project at work to use his expertise to improve our transportation operations. I have watched Karen develop collaborations and relationships to benefit the organization, and used this as a model to develop opportunities and relationships that benefit the organization and church. Goleman (2000) identified six leadership styles: coercive, reflective, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting and coaching. Goleman and Gupta explain good leaders use all of the leadership styles; however, they consistently use only four of the leadership styles. Not all of the styles produce positive results and a positive work climate (Goleman, 82). I was able to visualize how Karen and James use the styles presented and their impact on the organizations they lead. On a more personal note, I was able to see how the styles have impacted my relationship with them and my ability to be an effective follower. The four leadership styles that produce positive results and create a positive work environment are: 1. Authoritative (Mobilizes people toward a vision, encourages others to be a part); 2. Democratic (Works towards consensus, seeks the input of others); 3. Affliliative (Builds harmony and emotional bonds, people come first); and 4. Coaching (Develops people for the future, encourages new ideas/actions). These four styles, as well as the coercive and pacesetting, are demonstrated in the follower and leader interactions I have with James and Karen. I have to admit there are times when I say to them â€Å"Hold-up. You’re taking me too fast.† But I later appreciate that they trust my ability to do what they are asking me to do (even when I don’t). There are also times when they have to pull rank and say â€Å"just do it† because I am resistant and may not want to comply with what I’m being asked to do. I’m learning that there are times when they just want things accomplished. While it may not be my responsibility, it would prolong their desire to have the task accomplished if I don’t do it. Most of the time their leadership styles exhibit the characteristics of leadership apparent in the democratic, coaching, authoritative, and affliliative leadership styles. Not only are these leadership styles beneficial to me, they benefit the organizations the lead. Under their leadership, stressful and chaotic situations become less stressful and chaotic. No one can ever say that they don’t know what’s expected of them because the goals and objectives are always communicated clearly. Karen and James possess values that enable me to follow without reservation. Honesty is first and foremost. They also value people as individuals, recognizing individual strengths and weaknesses. Bjugstad theorizes that organizations can maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of leader-follower relationships by matching the styles of leaders and followers (Bjugstad, 2006). I did not seek leaders from the delegating leadership quadrant. The selected me and  have allowed me to develop into an exemplary follower. I also model their leadership styles and am growing as a leader. Exemplary leaders make it easy for others to be exemplary followers. References Bjugstad, K., Thach, E. C., Thompson, K. J., & Morris, A. (2006). A fresh look at followership: A model for matching followership and leadership styles. Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 7(3), 304–319. Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78-90. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from the Business Source Complete database. Gupta, S. (2011, July). Leadership that delivers results. Siliconindia, 14(7), 34-35. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from Business Source Complete. Retrieved from the Walden University library database. Johnson, B. (2011, September). Good followership. Training Journal, 32–36. Retrieved March 15, 2014, from the Walden Library databases. Kelley, R. E. (1988). In praise of followers. Harvard Business Review, 66(6), 142–148. Retrieved March 15m 2014, from the Walden Library databases. Walumbwa, F. O., Lawler, J. J., & Avolio. B. J. (2007). Leadership, individual differences, and work-related attitudes: A cr oss cultural investigation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 56(2), 212-230. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from the Business Source Complete database.