Leadership Theories Essays

Leadership Theories Essays Leadership Theories Essay Leadership Theories Essay Introduction Numerous studies have been conducted on leadership styles and theories, leading to an abundance of information on the topic. This paper will identify leadership styles and theories that the author has experienced in the maintenance field. Given the leadership styles identified, the author has identified one leadership theory that has influenced their leadership style for an ongoing project that they are currently working on. The study of leadership has identified many different styles exhibited by leaders. Leaders may be of predominantly a single style or may demonstrate the use of different styles depending on the environment that they find themselves in. Goleman (2000) has identified six styles which have been summarised below, however the descriptions of each style may be known by other titles according to different authors. Coercive – ‘Do as I tell you’. Demands that people follow the instructions given to them and leaves no room for their input or initiative. Rules from the top down. Can make people feel devalued and so resentful that they feel no compulsion to help the leader or business. It can however be used in times of crisis, during a turnaround and to deal with problematic employees, however it should ceased to be used when then issue is dealt with. Authoritative – ‘Come with me’. Authoritative leaders build a vision and inspire people to achieve the vision. Establishes a clear vision and encourages everyone to achieve the vision with true enthusiasm. They motivate people by demonstrating to them how their work fits into the larger vision of the organisation, and generally offers people the freedom to develop their own methods to achieve the stated vision. Affiliative – ‘People come first’. The Affiliative leader has a caring, nurturing approach building strong emotional bonds with people to develop fierce loyalty among people. They provide the freedom for people to choose the most effective way to do their work. Affiliative leaders offer positive feedback to personnel providing a sense of recognition and reward for work well done which in turn generates motivation and a sense of belonging among personnel. Democratic – ‘What do you think? ’. By listening to other people’s ideas and getting their buy-in, the democratic leader seeks consensus among personnel in how the work is to be done to achieve their goals and in setting the goals. This leadership method can create high morale and flexibility within a workforce due to personnel having a say in what is happening. Leaders can use this method to put off decision making or gain input from personnel to make decisions, however there is a risk that if a consensus cannot be reached on issues, many meetings may soon start to occur where decisions are not made, and more meetings are required. It is also a style not recommended when personnel are not competent or well enough informed to be able to make sound decisions. Pacesetting – ‘Do as I do, now’. The pace setting leader sets extremely high performance standards and then exemplifies them himself, expecting the others around him to do the same. If used inappropriately, it will negatively affect the work climate by the pacesetter overwhelming employees with their demands for excellence by making them feel as though they cannot be trusted to do their work. Initiative, flexibility and responsibility among personnel will also diminish. This approach however may work well with a group of like minded, competent personnel who have a set goal or project to complete. Coaching – ‘Try this’. By helping personnel to identify their strengths and weaknesses, the coaching leader helps to determine long term development goals and formulate an action plan to attain those goals. Coaching leaders are prepared to assign challenging tasks to personnel and accept the risk of short term failure if it furthers long term learning. Paradoxically, coaching primarily focuses on personal development rather than the immediate work related tasks, however coaching reinforces many factors that drive work climate – constant dialogue, constant and constructive feedback, clear expectations, responsibility, flexibility and commitment all of which have a positive effect on business performance. Although Goleman (2000, p. 87) identifies 6 individual leadership styles, he also goes on to state: Leaders who have mastered four or more – especially the authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching styles – have the very best climate and performance. And the most effective leaders switch flexibility among the leadership styles as needed. Other leadership styles and theories include: Charismatic – According to Fatt (2000), â€Å"the charismatic leader is a visionary, specifically, having a vision of extraordinary goals and the ability to motivate those around him or her to achieve that vision†. The charismatic leader is able to express the vision, both in terms of communicating the vision and through their personal behaviour to realise the vision, explain the vision to others capturing both benefits to the business and the individual, extend the vision throughout the organisation and expand the vision in different ways and circumstances addressing whatever is required to achieve the vision. Charisma is often conferred by followers onto the leader, creating loyalty to the leader. The climate created by the leader is liable to change when the charismatic leader is removed or the situation changes and the need for a charismatic leader is no longer there. Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) – SLT suggests that leaders demonstrate a combination of both task and relationship orientated behaviours in various ratios when dealing with their subordinates depending on the maturity (ability and willingness) of the subordinate to able to complete the task. Blank et al (1990) suggest â€Å"subordinate â€Å"maturity† as the key situational characteristic that is said to moderate the relationship between leader behaviour (task and relationship) and leader effectiveness (Hersey Blanchard, 1969, 1982)†. It can be said then that as a workers maturity grows, their relationship with their leader will also change in terms of the leader demonstrating more relationship based behaviour and less task orientated behaviours. Path Goal Theory (PGT) – â€Å"The theory states that the main goal of the leader is to help subordinates attain the subordinates’ goals effectively, and to provide them with the necessary direction and support to achieve their own goals as well as those of the company. † Silverthorne (2001). In trying to achieve this, the leader needs to be adept in adopting directive, supportive, participative and achievement-orientated behaviours where necessary in order to assist the worker in achieving their goals. The leadership behaviour required will be decided by the nature of the task and the needs of the workers who have been set the task. Transactional – Transactional leadership involves the setting of tasks or goals and the provision of recognition or rewards for achieving the desired results. Bass et al. (2003), further this by stating â€Å"Exhibiting transactional leadership meant that followers agreed with, accepted, or complied with the leader in exchange for praise, rewards and resources or the avoidance of disciplinary action†. This includes a behaviour known as active management by exception whereas the leader specifies the standards for compliance, what will be deemed as non-conformance, and often details consequences of non-conformance. Transformational – â€Å"Transformational leadership refers to a leadership style in which leaders possess charisma and provide intellectual stimulation, individualised consideration and inspirational motivation to followers† Beugre et al. (2006). By clearly defining the organisations goals and objectives to workers, the transformational leader then inspires and motivates workers to achieve, beyond the task – reward behaviours exhibited by transactional leaders, the goals and objectives of the organisation. Transformational leadership is an effective style when an organisation needs to encompass change as transformational leaders identify new ways of working, seek opportunities and effective resolutions to problems rather than efficient solutions. Leadership styles can be many and varied or a leader can sometimes exhibit a dominant style. Generally throughout the research the author has conducted, the more styles a leader is competent in, the more likely they are to achieve the results they are after. The leadership style adopted by a leader in a given situation can have a large affect on the work climate and consequently, aid or inhibit them from achieving their objectives and goals. References Bass, B, Avolio, B, Jung, D, Berson, Y 2003, ‘Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership’, Journal of Applied Psycology, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 207-218 Beugre, C, Acar, W, Braun, W 2006, ‘Transformational leadership in organisations: an environment-induced model’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 52-62 Blank, W, Weitzel, J, Green, S 1990, ‘A test of situational leadership theory’, Personnel Psychology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 579-597 Fatt, J 2000, ‘Charismatic leadership’, Equal Opportunities International, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 24-28 Goleman, D 2000, ‘Leadership that gets results’, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 78-90 Sagie, A, Koslowsky, M 1994, ‘Organisational attitudes and behaviours as a function of participation in strategic and tactical change decisions: an application of path-goal theory’, Journal of Organisational Behaviour, vol. 15 , no. 1, pp. 37-47 Silverthorne, C 2001, ‘A test of the path-goal leadership theory in Taiwan’, Leadership Organisational Development Journal, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 151-158

Quotes for Saying Goodbye

Quotes for Saying Goodbye Moving on sometimes becomes inevitable. Whether it is to pursue a new job opportunity, go to school, or care for a loved one, people often relocate. When you move away, it can be challenging to leave your old life behind and say goodbye to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. Finding the words to express how you feel can be even harder. Saying goodbye becomes a little easier with the help of quotes from famous writers, artists, and entertainers. You can borrow some of their tender words and use them in your saying goodbye messages, cards, and presents. The words will reverberate in the hearts of your loved ones. J.M. Barrie Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting. Alfred Tennyson Gone- flitted away,Taken the stars from the night and the sunFrom the day!Gone, and a cloud in my heart. Ernie Harwell Its time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and Id much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure. Trey Parker Saying goodbye doesnt mean anything. Its the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it. Tom Petty You and I will meet again, When were least expecting it, One day in some far-off place, I will recognize your face, I wont say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again. Genevieve Gorder And the relationships that happen become so intense, deep, involved, and complex and really hard to say goodbye to. The hardest part of the show is saying goodbye when its all done. It really breaks you. William Shakespeare Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow. Ann M. Martin I wonder how you say goodbye to someone forever? Angela Ruggiero It feels right. But its emotional. Saying goodbye to anything youve done that long is hard. Robert Southey No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each others worth. Richard Bach Can miles truly separate you from friends? If you want to be with someone you love, arent you already there? Victor Hugo Promise to give me a kiss on my brow when I am dead. I shall feel it. George Eliot Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love. Kay Knudsen Love is missing someone whenever youre apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because youre close in heart. Nicholas Sparks The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Dr. Seuss Remember me and smile, for its better to forget than to remember me and cry. Helen Rowland A man never knows how to say goodbye; a woman never knows when to say it. Henry David Thoreau Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. Meredith Willson Where is the good in goodbye? R.M. Grenon Goodbye, goodbye, I hate the word. Solitude has long since turned brown and withered, sitting bitter in my mouth and heavy in my veins. Jarod Kintz Goodbyes, they often come in waves. Cassandra Clare You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it. That is all. A.A. Milne How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. Charles Dickens The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again. Paulo Coelho If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello. Charlie Brown Goodbye always makes my throat hurt. William Cowper Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair. Khalil Gibran Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. Yann Martel It’s important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse. Alan Alda The best things said come last. People will talk for hours saying nothing much and then linger at the door with words that come with a rush from the heart. John Gay We only part to meet again. Mahatma Gandhi There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart. Helen Keller So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good. Rumi Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. Irish Blessing May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. Claudia Adrienne Grandi If I had a single flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden.

Training and Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Training and Development - Research Paper Example For example, if a sales agent values success in the form of promotion and commission on sales as the most important objectives and also considers that a particular sales training program will help him achieve this objective, his expectancy for the training program will be increased and the outcome valence will also be valued. Hence, the agent will perform through an extra effort in the training session and will therefore succeed in it. For the company, the case of this sales agent will be very beneficial as the improved performance of the sales agent will also boost up the sales figures of the company. The benefits that the company can gain from applying this theory are humongous as the company will not only succeed in the short run with the performance boost of the employee but will also keep on reaping benefits from his performance until he leaves the company (National Research Council, 1998). Thus, it is quite evident that there are phenomenal benefits for the company, as well as the employees, if Expectancy theory is applied to the job roles and trainings for the employees. In order to implement the theory practically, the human resources department of the company has to come up with certain measures that would ensure a systematic procedure for carrying out the process required. The human resources department of the company should first clearly identify the ultimate goals that the company wants to achieve in the long run. After clearly identifying the long term objectives of the company and of the relevant department, the concerned authorities will have to identify the goal performances that are needed from the employees to ensure their success. The department has to be specific about the performance requirements and the feasible activities because with the already burdensome job criteria’s, the employees are usually reluctant to take part in the new initiatives. To ensure the optimal motivational levels of the employees, the human resource people sh ould sort all the possible training and performance tasks and come up with a few selected performance measures. Once the required tasks are selected, then the concerned people will have to launch an extensive awareness campaign for the employees (Human Performance Journal, 2002). The awareness campaign should appeal to the employees and show them how much, opting for the desired initiatives will benefit their individual positions. While, promoting the benefits the members should keep in mind how much the employee values certain things. They need to consider whether the certain employee aspires, position, pay raise, allowances, benefits and perks, involvement in projects, or success in initiatives. And depending on their preference, the concerned persons shall have to approach them and change their attitudes towards the initiative. Then the department has to set up platforms through which they can communicate the same objectives to the employees. These mentioned steps will help the e mployees in correlating their efforts to the benefits, and help them analyse the opportunity an optimistic manner. This initiative of the department will motivate the employees in opting for the initiative and benefiting themselves as well as the company in the long run (Noe, 1999). However, the scenario of implementation requires certain key measures

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

Reproduction - Essay Example Estrogen induces oxytocin receptors in the uterine musculature while progesterone softens the cervix. Signals from the moving fetus signals greater secretion of oxytocin which initiates a positive feedback by increasing uterine contractions (Despopoulos & Silbernagl, 2003, p 303). Thus oxytocin causes rhythmic contractions of the strong uterine muscles and helping in easy birth of the birth and prevents chances of post-partum hemorrhage (Odent, 1998. Milk production after the birth of the child is initiated by another hormone called prolactin. Post-parturition, estrogen and progesterone levels fall; because of this the inhibitory action of these hormones on prolactin is removed. Prolactin then induces secretion of milk in the glands. Though oxytocin has no direct role in milk production it plays an important role in the release of milk or the reflex of â€Å"milk let-down† (Mackenna & Callander, 1997). The infant’s suckling acts as the stimulus which initiates release of oxytocin from the pituitary (Campbell & Reece, 2009, p 986). Oxytocin then induces contraction of the muscles of the mammary glands to initiate the flow of milk from the glands to the nipples under the control of prolactin. Hence, it has also been named milk ejection

Scarecrows Pythagorean Theorem Essay Example for Free

Scarecrows Pythagorean Theorem Essay The Pythagorean theorem is one of the earliest theorems known to ancient civilization. The well-known theorem is named after the Greek mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras. In the Wizard of Oz, after the Scarecrow gets a brain, he states the Pythagorean theorem. However, he mistakenly says it applies to an isosceles triangle when it applies to a right triangle. He not only says the wrong triangle, he also gets the equation wrong. The Scarecrow says, â€Å"The sum of the square root of two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the third side. † The correct equation for the Pythagorean theorem is, â€Å"The sum of the squares of the two legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.† The isosceles triangle is a triangle with at least two equal sides; it also has two equal angles. The Pythagorean theorem is a statement about triangles containing a right angle. A right triangle is a triangle with a ninety-degree angle. With the Pythagorean theorem, you take a triangle with a right angle and make a square on each of the three sides; the biggest square has the exact same area as the two other squares put together. A square root of a number is a value that can be multiplied by itself to give the original number. Here is an example of a square root; the square root of nine is three because when three is multiplied by itself you get nine. To square a number, you just  multiply it by itself, as in the Pythagorean theorem. You can also square negative numbers, when you square a negative number you get a positive answer.  Although the Scarecrow got a brain from the wizard, he didn’t necessarily get the knowledge of having a brain. He messed up the Pythagorean theorem multiple times. He said that it had to do with square roots and isosceles triangles when the correct equation has to do with right triangles and the sum of the squares. References http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt669/student.folders/morris.stephanie/emt.669/essay.1/pythagorean.html http://www.moviemistakes.com/film1418/corrections/page4 http://www.mathsisfun.com/square-root.html

Communication Patterns of Men and Women :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"The whole goddamn business of what you’re calling intimacy bugs the hell out of me. I never know what you women mean when you talk about it. Karen complains that I don’t talk to her, but it’s not talk she wants, it’s some other damn thing, only I don’t know what the hell it is!† This quote from a man interviewed by Lillian Rubin is the perfect example of the differences in communication between men and women. These differences in communication methods of women and men are born of a complex interaction between society and the individual. Men seem to struggle with intimacy and emotional expression, while women rely on this type of communication causing much struggle between the sexes. Lillian Rubin suggests that intimacy, a form of communication between men and women, itself is an ambiguous or difficult term to define, but asserts that it does embody the idea of the ability to put away a public persona and be cared about or care for the â€Å"real person†. This alludes to a struggle between the human need for intimacy and that for independence suggested by other sociologists. In addition to this idea of intimacy, Rubin looks deeper into the human psyche and analyzes the different ways in which men and women communicate their emotions. Rubin explains that while women can easily explain what emotions they are feeling and what has caused these, men struggle to verbalize their feelings and this causes animosities between men and women. Women want men to communicate their emotions while men don’t understand why they should or how to go about doing this (Rubin, p. 384-386). Rubin’s explanation for the differences in communication is that it stems from societal pressures that encourage men to suppress their emotions, and act â€Å"rationally†. Men are socialized to believe that acting emotionally like women is not normal. She states that â€Å"this is the single most dispiriting dilemma between women and men.† Finally Rubin goes on to suggest that while men can act out anger and frustration inside the family, the expression of fear, dependency, or sadness would expose vulnerability, and is difficult for men to do (Rubin p. 383-388). Another Sociologist, Deborah Tannon, has done research in the differences between communication methods of women and men. She also suggests that conflicting ideas of intimacy and independence plays a critical role in the differing views of communication.

Katherine Mansfield Essay

How is the link between Mansfield’s personal views and experiences and the characters in her short stories reflected in her writing style? Today I will be talking about the similarities between Katherine Mansfield’s personal views, experiences and short stories. The portrayal of characters and their interactions in her short stories mirror many of her own relationships and experiences. I will be explaining how these parallels are reflected in the style of writing Mansfield uses. Although the stories were not completely identical to her real life experiences they were based on them and were strongly linked in the underlying themes. â€Å"At The Bay† is a brief insight into the relationship of Mr and Mrs Kember, focusing more so on Mrs Kember. Mansfield’s rebellious attitude is seen in her character development of Mrs Kember as an exaggerated, more unrefined version of herself. The character is described by other women as being â€Å"very fast† and she â€Å"treated men as though she were one of them† creating the impression that she does not behave like a conventional woman was expected to in those days. She uses negatively connoted language to demonstrate the disapproval of the other women towards Mrs Kember which could symbolize how Mansfield disappointed her mother and eventually became estranged from her. Her unconventional behaviour is reflected in her use of contrasting imagery when she draws comparisons between Mrs Kember and the other women of the bay, such as Beryl. This contrasting imagery is portrayed through the women’s clothing and mannerisms. Beryl â€Å"steps out of her skirt and shed her jersey, and stood up in her short white petticoat, and her camisole with ribbon bows on the shoulders† whereas Mrs Kember â€Å"rose, yawned, unsnapped her belt buckle, and tugged at the tape of her blouse.† The way in which Beryl undresses shows she is graceful and proper while the image of ribbon bows gives alludes to her femininity. The way Mrs Kember undresses is brash and her clothing is much plainer; the unsnapping of her belt and tugging of her blouse is related to manly gesture. The juxtaposition of the characters, Mrs Kember and Beryl, acts as a metaphor of her own incongruence to society’s norms and expectations of what it is to be a woman. During Mansfield’s life, she had her fair share of relationships and sexual partners. She had two lesbian relationships which were famous for their significant presence in her journal entries and stories however she also continued to have male lovers. Her bisexuality is explored in the stories â€Å"At the Bay† and â€Å"Bliss† perhaps using her characters as mouthpieces for her own feelings towards women or her intimate experiences with them. Like in her real life, both the characters she portrays as being attracted to women, already have men in their lives and believe themselves to be heterosexual despite their apparent feelings for other women. In â€Å"At the Bay† she uses dialogue between Mrs Kember and Beryl to establish a sensual under tone and express Mrs Kember’s attraction to Beryl. Remarks such as â€Å"what a little beauty you are† and â€Å"it’s a sin for you to wear clothes, my dear† coupled with Mrs Kember touching Beryl’s waist could be interpreted as flirtatious especially when combined with Mrs Kember’s masculine nature. It also felt as if Mrs Kember was corrupting innocent, naà ¯ve Beryl and yet Beryl seemed to welcome it. She â€Å"felt that she was being poisoned by this cold woman but she longed to hear it† which reinforces the impression of forbidden feelings and sexual tension between the women. â€Å"Bliss† is about a woman Bertha Young who is attracted to a female friend, Pearl Fulton. She has everything she could ask for, a husband, a baby and a beautiful home. She is overwhelmed with joy at the thought of her wonderful life but this takes a turn for the worst when it is revealed that her husband is having an affair with Pearl. Bertha’s state of mind is established within the first paragraph of the story; she is â€Å"overcome, suddenly, by a feeling of bliss-absolute bliss!† and feels like she has â€Å"swallowed a bright piece of that late afternoon sun†. The fragmented sentences used by Mansfield reveal the erratic behaviour of not only the character Bertha but of her as well. Through the repetition of words like â€Å"†¦deeply, deeply† and â€Å"..passionately, passionately† to describe even the most ordinary action of breathing Mansfield’s impulsive behaviour and passionate outlook on life is shown. Again Mansfield shows her dislike for conformity through the phrase of â€Å"oh, is there no way you can express it without being drunk and disorderly? How idiotic civilisation is! â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† is centred on Frau Brechenmacher who is a mother of five and the wife of a postman. The story is written in third person omniscient, focusing on Frau, and Mansfield uses the omniscient narrator to comment on her dislike for the patriarchal society in which she lived. She uses Herr Brechenmacher as an example of a typical man and by using short, abrupt sentences to express himself she shows the demanding, controlling nature of men. His dialogue mostly consisted of orders and claims like â€Å"Here, come and fasten this buckle† and â€Å"No. I’ll get my feet damp-you hurry!† She also likens men to animals through her vivid description of him â€Å"gesticulating wildly† with â€Å"saliva spluttering out of his mouth† when h e is drunk. The carnal imagery underpins her views that society’s expectation of gender roles was quite primitive. Furthermore she depicts Frau Brechenmacher as a victim at the mercy of her husband. Her repeated use of the words â€Å"her man† alludes to Herr Brechenmacher being her master which reflects Mansfield’s perception that society believed a woman, was like property and belonged to a man. The first image Mansfield introduces at the beginning of her story is that of the character Frau Brechenmacher carrying out the stereotypical duties of a women in the home; putting her children to sleep, polishing buttons and ironing her husband’s clothes. She also shows her daughter helping and learning from her. Mansfield uses the interaction between Frau Brechenmacher and her daughter to show how engrained the idea women are bred for domestic life is. It is a continuous cycle and that notion is passed on from generation to generation. The bride in the story is wearing a â€Å"white dress trimmed with stripes and bows of coloured ribbon, giving her the appearance of an iced cake all ready to be cut and served in neat little pieces to the bridegroom beside her†. The description Mansfield uses to equate the bride to cake that is to be served to the bridegroom is delivered with an air of disdain. She shows signs of pitying the bride. It also illustrates the purpose of women as objects of pleasure. The link between the cake and bride is indicative of Mansfield’s interpretation of marriage; a woman is consumed by her husband and loses her sense of self. Overall the tone in many of her stories is sombre, with very brief moments of joy mimicking the ups and down’s of Mansfield’s life as well as her feelings of being constrained by society. There are also strong themes of restlessness between the person she is and the person she portrays to the world. This is exhibited in her writing style through the differences between how the dialogue presents a character and how the omniscient narrator presents them. The endings to her story always appear incomplete as if there is unfinished business that the character has left to resolve much like Mansfield’s own experiences where she unresolved feelings for her lovers. The lack of closure in the endings leaves the audience with a sense of yearning and dissatisfaction. In parts of her stories where the mood is depressing her pace of her writing is quite slow with lengthy sentence structures. In parts that are positive and optimistic her pace of writing switches between succinct, bursts of bubbly language and sentence structure to ornately descriptive verses reflecting the sense of fulfilment and ecstasy. After analysing Mansfield’s writing style I have come to the conclusion that her use of imagery, sentence structure and use of narration are her most utilised devices. Her ability to develop her characters and relationships between characters so in depth, so quickly is a credit to her writing abilities and the way her personal experiences and views are communicated through her writing strengthens her connection with the audience.

Skills and Learning Statement

OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY Skills and Learning Statement for Topic 8: An analysis and evaluation of the business and financial performance of an organization over a three years period Being a Research and Analysis Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of: BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting Oxford Brookes University By: Name: Tao De ACCA Registration Number: 2171332 Submission Date: 24th May 2012 Words Count: 1881 Table of Contents Lessons Learned From Meetings With Project Mentor3Extent to Which Research Questions Have Been Answered5 Demonstration of Interpersonal and Communication Skills During Project Work7 Benefits Of Undertaking The RAP In Accountancy Studies and/or Current Employment Role8 Copy of Presentation Slides9 Lessons Learned From Meetings With Project Mentor During the project, I meet with my project mentor, Sonny Chan, for three times. In the three meetings with him, he gave me general guidance over my project progress, pointed out problems that I h ad made and took enquiries from me. First MeetingIn the first meeting, I came up with an idea of writing topic 8, and my mentor supported my idea. He gave me suggestions that potential problems that I may come up with, e. g. ratio explanation; and suggest me to review F7 (Financial Reporting) first to quickly pick up knowledge that I might forgotten, e. g. ratio analysis. After deciding the topic, I gave my mentor a list of companies that I want to analyze. The companies I selected are mainly operating in real estate industry, e. g. Frasers Centrepoint Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust and Suntec Real Estate Trust.Mr. Chan suggested that I need to choose a company that can make comparison, which means they have to have same year ending, similar operating area and both in form of trust. Only in this way, the ratios that have been calculated are meaningful and can be compared between two companies. From the first meeting, I learnt that a good targeted company and a good comparable co mpany selection is critical for a report. And also after the first meeting, I went through all the financial ratios, which helped me refresh my memory of what I have learnt during the F7 study.Second Meeting In the second meeting, I had finished main parts (financial analysis and business analysis) in my RAP project. After reviewed those analysis, my mentor pointed out that my explanation of ratios are not sufficient, and he shows me with examples as what is a sufficient explanation of ratio. He also suggests that I should have a segmental analysis regarding to Suntec REIT’ revenue. Besides these, he thought I needed to improve my references, which can make the analysis more convincing and have academic support.The second meeting is very meaningful indeed. It helps me improved my research report and taught me to think â€Å"deep†. For example, further explanation of ratios according to case helps my financial analysis much more meaningful. And it also helps me to know how to apply what I learnt in F7 study. Third Meeting The third meeting is relatively smooth; and my mentor’s main focus is on the format and presentation of my RAP projects. He pointed out certain wrong format of my references and inappropriate presentations, e. g. paper size, font size and line spacing.When the analysis report is about to finish, I was asked to prepare a presentation to my mentor and other students. After the presentation my mentor thought that I should improve my tone of speech to make it more convincing and encouraged me by saying that the RAP project is well prepared and he is very satisfied with my work. The third meeting with my mentor helps me to finalize my research report by adjusting things like font size and reference list. It let me know how to produce a standard and formal report, which will definitely be useful in future.And from presentation session, I learnt how to give an effective presentation to present my works. Extent to Which Research Q uestions Have Been Answered The objective that I set is to analyze the operation of Suntec REIT from financial and business perspective and try to help potential investors form a decision over the company. I believe after the research has been finished I have met the objective that I set and answered all the research questions. Though the research process is tedious, I managed myself to meet the objective answer the questions that I have set.Financial Analysis Firstly, I collect relevant information, e. g. 3 consecutive years of Annual Report of Suntec REIT and CCT REIT. Then transfer the Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Comprehensive Income in the Annual Report into excel format. After the transfer, I used excel to compute basic ratios, e. g. net profit margin, current ratio and gearing; and form another tab to put these ratios in organized form (table). For explanation purposes, charts and tables were made based on those ratios and absolute numbers, e. . profit and revenue; and again being put into separate tab in the excel, ready to be used in the writing process. After the primary data being transformed into easily explainable table and charts, the financial analysis process begins. The financial analysis proceeds in the order of segmental analysis, profitability, liquidity, leverage and investment ratios. Under each heading, the relevant ratios are compared between two companies, underlying meaning of the ratio are explained and the reason for adverse/favorable are explained.For certain ratios, the potential impact is also discussed. Business Analysis At the start of this part, the business model to be used was quickly decided. At that time, I thought PESTEL analysis and SWOT analysis would be appropriate for the analysis, as PESTEL analysis gives an external picture of the business environment and SWOT analysis can provide general view of the business operation. However, during the business analysis, I found SWOT and PESTEL have certain p arts are overlapping, and this gives me a serious lesson of careful picking business analysis model.And to mitigate the problem, I try to more specifically differentiate the overlapping parts, e. g. PESTEL more focus on specific external factors while Opportunities and Threats are more general view of the environment that he company facing. Same as financial analysis, business analysis begins with information collection. During this period, I visited websites that relate to the real estate industry, e. g. Singapore REITs (http://sreit. reitdata. com), went to school library and review previous text books.During I reading the information, I took down the relevant information may useful as preparation for the business analysis. The writing process of the business analysis is mainly relying on the information being gathered. The information is written under the relevant headings of the models. Besides with this, the potential impacts are discussed. The two analysis can help potential i nvestors to have a general view of Suntec REIT’s operation both from the internal financial analysis and analysis based from business analysis model.And this can help them to make their decisions over the company. Therefore I confidently believe that I met the objective that I met. Demonstration of Interpersonal and Communication Skills During Project Work I believe that interpersonal and communication skills have been showed throughout the course of my RAP. Oral skills were required when I met up with my mentor and when making my presentation to my mentor and other students. And my writing communication skill is demonstrated through my writing of my research report.Effective communication is significantly important in have a productive interaction between my mentor and me. Every meeting with my mentor must be effective. As such, I will spend time to form my questions on the issues that I wanted to ask and diligently write down whatever suggestions that Mr. chan gave me durin g our meetings. As far as I can, I will play an active role in the oral discussion about the issues that I prepared before the meeting. Open-ended questions were asked when I needed more elaboration on certain issues.And I will also ask close-ended questions when I need a confirmation on specific issues. Besides face-to-face meeting, I discussed with my mentor through emails, text messages, Skype and MSN between meetings. In order to avoid misinterpretations, I tried to make sure that every message was well thought and organized before transmission. Writing research report requires me to have good written communication skills. This includes proper grammar and appropriate vocabulary. Except for that, I must be able to do good summaries.During the meetings and other methods of communication with my mentor, I have realized that conveying my message in a specific manner is crucial. I must not be too ‘wordy’ and always should present my points in an organized manner and try to progress into details. In the presentation of my research report, I found encouraging audience participation is an important aspect in the presentation. I have used my body language to emphasize important points. Besides that, I have also made regular eye contacts with the audience so that they can remain interested in my speech.Except for that, I also need to be sure that I am perfectly competent to take any questions during the Q&A after the presentation. And in order to do so, I predicted any areas that the audience may question about and prepare my answer for it, so that I won’t be brain go bland and come up with meaningless answers. Benefits Of Undertaking The RAP In Accountancy Studies and/or Current Employment Role The RAP is a completely new adventure for me and gives me significant challenge to finish such a big project, which takes almost 4 months. And I believe I benefit a lot during the project.In the project I reviewed the knowledge that I have learnt, e. g. F 7, F9 and P3; and applied them in the chosen companies, i. e. Suntec REIT and CCT REIT. This experience helps me to have further understanding of the knowledge I have learnt, e. g. actual meaning of those ratios instead of their computation and the application of PESTEL instead of theoretical concepts. Besides that, I also find certain areas that I need to enhance on. In the business analysis, I used an overlapping business model being introduced to analyze the chosen company.This shows my weak understanding over that area. Immediately after the project, I read up relevant material in P3 so that to enhance my better understanding over the subject and to apply it more proficiently in the future. After the project, I also find more about myself. I find my advantages, e. g. organizing random and complex information. These advantages can help me recognize which area I am good at and take advantage of in the future. And at the same time I also find some short comes that I need to avoid o r improve in the future e. g. ack of time control and weak at prioritizing tasks. And these can help me to know what need to be pre-considered to avoid same issue happen again. Besides these, the journey of completing the project can somehow help me to promote my career in the future. †¢ In the research report, it taught me how to form an official report with convincing tone and objective facts. And this experience may let me to form formal report in the future work place. †¢ From the presentation part, I learnt how to give a great presentation to fellow mates and pass information effectively.In the future, I can know how to give a much greater presentation based on the OBU project experience. †¢ The application of those ratios into real cases builds my confidence in using them to analyze financial performance of companies in practice. All these experiences can help me to better prepare for my future career and increase my opportunity to â€Å"shine† in the wor k place. In conclusion, I have to testify here that RAP provides me an experience that will definitely contribute to my further ACCA study and future employment.

buy custom Malaria essay

buy custom Malaria essay Malaria is a disease which has existed for more than fifty years. Malaria is believed to have affected people during the ancient world. For example, in 2700 BC, some cases of malaria were reported in China. The Roman Empire was also plagued by malaria. In Rome, it was referred to as the Roman fever. Thus, the term malaria originated from the Medieval Italian word: mala aria meaning bad air(Randall 24). Initially, malaria was pervasive in Europe and some parts of America especially in the north, however, few cases of this disease have been reported at present. Since 1896, scientific research has been conducted to establish the nature of malaria. Although malaria is closely linked with poverty, it also leads to poverty. This is because it hinders economic progress in many countries especially in Africa where it is endemic. At present, tropical regions register the highest percentages of malaria infections, but some temperate regions also experience malaria infections. Poverty serves as both a cause and impact of malaria. This is because poor individuals lack resources to curb and cure malaria. The economy is also affected since many resources are channeled toward dealing with malaria. Demographic transition has also stagnated in places like Africa where malaria has not been properly handled. Besides this, child mortality is relatively high in malaria infested regions. Causes of Malaria Plasmodium parasites are responsible for malaria infections among humans, birds, and animals. In humans, malaria is caused by P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax and P. knowlesi(Zimmerman 45). Nonetheless, malaria infections are primarily caused by P. Vivax. On the other hand, P. falciparum is extremely lethal, and it causes majority of malaria deaths. Humans and some vertebrates act as intermediate hosts of parasites. Anopheles mosquitoes serve as the major hosts, and they also act as key transmission vectors. Female mosquitoes usually transmit the parasites because they feed on blood. Male mosquitoes do not participate in transmission of vectors because they eat plant nectars, and they do not rely on blood meals. Apart from mosquitoes, blood transfusion may also lead to transmission of malaria, but this occurs rarely. Malaria often recurs among patients who have received medication because of the following factors. In some cases, some parasites may not be completely destroyed through treatment. Hence, they can multiply and trigger another infection. This mode of infection is known as recrudescence. Secondly, malaria re-infection often occurs when an individual is exposed to the parasites after treatment. Relapse is the third mode of infection. It is speific to P. vivax and P. ovale and involves re-emergence of blood-stage parasites from latent parasites in the liver(Zimmerman 56). Development of malaria takes place in two phases. The first one is known as exoerythrocytic phase, which is characterized by liver infection. The second level is known as erythrocytic phase, and the parasites infect and damage the red blood cells. After a mosquito bite, the pathogens are transmitted to the liver through the blood stream. Once in the liver, the organisms differentiate to yield thousands of merozoites, which escape into the blood stream and infect the red blood cells, thus beginning the erthrocytic stage of the life cycle(Sutherland 551). After this, an infected individual starts experiencing the symptoms which include the following. Signs and symptoms Symptoms of malaria include fever, shivering, vomiting, anemia, retinal damage and convulsions(Webb 134). An infected individual may experience sweating followed by sudden coldness especially in a case where one is infected by P.vivax. In some cases, an individual may experience abdominal pain. Besides this, victims of malaria infection may also sustain cognitive impairments, and this majorly occurs among children. Retinal whitening is a distinct symptom among individuals having cerebral malaria infections. At an advanced stage, a malaria patient experience a coma, and a patient can easily die due to serious body malfunctioning caused by acute damage of blood cells. Plasmodium falciparum is more dangerous than other malaria parasites because it causes severe malaria that is not easily treated. Diagnosis Blood examination conducted through laboratory procedures is the main way of diagnosing malaria. A part from blood analysis, urine and saliva can also be used as alternative samples for diagnosis of malaria, but they are less invasive specimens. Antigen tests are among the new mechanisms for conducting clinical examination for malaria. In areas where laboratory tests are absent, analysis of the common symptoms such as subjective fever can be used to identify the presence of malaria in a patient. Treatment A malaria patient is able to recover completely if he or she receives proper medication. The manner malaria treatment is administered depends on the severity of the infection. For instance, oral drugs can be applied in treating normal malaria infections. Anti-malarial drugs are mainly used in cases of severe infection. Support measures are also important for seriously infected individuals. Chlroquine and quinine have been commonly used, but moree effective drugs with few side effects have been introduced. Use of prophylactic drugs is seldom practical for full-time residents of malaria-endemic regions(Webb 245). Control Apart from treatment, various mechanisms can be used to reduce the spread of malaria parasites, and they include the following. Malaria can best be dealt with through elimination of mosquitoes. For example, vector control initiatives were successful in the eradication of malaria especially in Europe and America. Draining of wetlands is also important in this process because it reduces the rate of mosquito breeding. Better sanitation and pesticide DDT have also contributed to a significant reduction of mosquito breeding. Before DDT, malaria was successfully eradicated or controlled in several tropical areas by removing or poisoning the breeding grounds of the mosquitoes or the aquatic habitats of the larva stages(Webb 89). Another viable method of curbing malaria that was recently discovered is called sterile insect technique. This involves creating transgenic mosquitoes that are resistant to malaria. This procedure will gradually make mosquitoes less harmful since most of them will no longer participate in vector transmission. Researchers from Arizona University have also made a noble contribution toward malaria elimination by engineering mosquitoes that cannot be affected by malaria. Indoor residual spraying involves the use of insecticides to eliminate mosquitoes which inhabit homes. In this case, interior parts of residential houses can be sprayed with insecticides, and it has been recommended for people living in highly infested areas. Besides this, mosquito nets are also useful in enhancing protection of people from potential malaria infections. People should also be sensitized on how to deal with malaria related challenges. Conclusion The above discussion reveals that malaria has been a challenge to humans for a long time. In this case, many measures have been taken to deal with it. Malaria has been eliminated successfully in some regions, but it has remained endemic especially in the third world. This is because poor countries are still not prepared to eliminate it. Apart from causing many annual death cases, malaria has posed a great challenge on the entire world economy. This is because many resources have been diverted towards dealing with it. Scientist should, therefore, strive to formulate sustainable solutions for malaria. For instance, they can develop better drugs and vaccines to enhance the elimination of malaria. Last but more importantly, everyone should remain committed in the fight against malaria. Buy custom Malaria essay

Time Values for Access SQL in Delphi

Format Date/Time Values for Access SQL in Delphi Ever get the awful Parameter object is improperly defined. Inconsistent or incomplete information was provided JET error? Heres how to rectify the situation. When you need to create a SQL query against ​an Access database where a date (or a date time) value is used you need to make sure the correct formatting is used. For example, in a SQL query: SELECT * FROM TBL WHERE DateField 10/12/2008 you want to get all the records from the table named TBL where a general date field DateField equals 10/12/2008. Is the line above clear? Is that December, 10 or October, 12? Luckily, we are pretty sure the year in the query is 2008. Should the date part of the query be specified as MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY or maybe YYYYMMDD? And do regional settings play a role here? MS Access, Jet, Date Time Formatting When using Access and JET (dbGo - ADO Delphi controls) the formatting of the SQL for the date field should *always* be: #YYYY-MM-DD# Anything else might work in limited testing but can often lead to unexpected results or errors on the users machine. Heres a custom Delphi function you can use to format a date value for the Access SQL query. function DateForSQL(const date : TDate) : string;var   Ã‚  y, m, d : word; begin   Ã‚  DecodeDate(date, y, m, d) ;   Ã‚  result : Format(#%.*d-%.*d-%.*d#,[4, y, 2, m, 2, d]) ; end; For January 29, 1973 the function will return the string #1973-01-29#. Access SQL Date Time Format? As for the date and time formatting, the general format is: #yyyy-mm-dd HH:MM:SS# This is: #year-month-daySPACEhour:minute:second# As soon as you construct a valid date time string for the SQL using the above general format and try it using any of Delphis dataset components as TADOQuery, you will receive the awful Parameter object is improperly defined. Inconsistent or incomplete information was provided error at run-time! The problem with the format above is in the : character - as it is used for parameters in parametrized Delphi queries. As in ... WHERE DateField :dateValue - here dateValue is a parameter and the : is used to mark it. One way to fix the error is to use another format for date/time (replace : with .): #yyyy-mm-dd HH.MM.SS# And heres a custom Delphi function to return a string from a date time value you can use when constructing SQL queries for Access where you need to search for a date-time value: function DateTimeForSQL(const dateTime : TDateTime) : string;var   Ã‚  y, m, d : word;   Ã‚  hour, min, sec, msec : word; begin   Ã‚  DecodeDate(dateTime, y, m, d) ;   Ã‚  DecodeTime(dateTime, hour, min, sec, msec) ;   Ã‚  result : Format(#%.*d-%.*d-%.*d %.*d.%.*d.%.*d#,[4, y, 2, m, 2, d, 2, hour, 2, min, 2, sec]) ; end; The format looks weird but will result in the correctly formatted date time string value to be used in SQL queries! Heres a shorter version using the FormatDateTime routine: function DateTimeForSQL(const dateTime : TDateTime) : string;begin   Ã‚  result : FormatDateTime(#yyyy-mm-dd hh.nn.ss#, dateTime) ; end;

Examine the Treatment of Women and Minortities in Corportations Essay

Examine the Treatment of Women and Minortities in Corportations - Essay Example But, despite these changes, many in the world in positions of power do not have the patience or adaptability to accept the fact that woman can play a leading role, and so discrimination has become a normal experience for women. This paper examines how females are treated in companies as they have now become a threat to the continued economic and political ascendancy of men. Table of content Introduction 4 Public policies 6 Public policies about women and minorities 7 Role of corporations in affecting public policies about women and minorities 8 Programs run by the corporation that helps in affecting women and minorities 10 Mission statements for how women shall be treated in corporations 11 Conclusion 12 Examine the Treatment of Women and Minorities in Corporations Introduction Women in America face different opportunities, types and levels of treatment, and cultural acceptance and norms than a century ago. Women a hundred years ago were not expected to have full and free civic and c ultural participation, and were expected to ultimately deserve domestic tasks, have and raise offspring. Social norms constructed women as passive and frail, and not as competent to achieve strongly or intellectual all that men could. Men were supposed to be breadwinners, strong John Wayne figures with unquestioned authority over the home and over children. Though this was always an idealized view of the world, and ignored micro-conflicts going on in the culture at all times (especially since the feminist movement is as old as the 19th century), certainly these archetypes and schema are still important to cultural formation today. Changing role of women today Counterintuitively, despite obvious cultural and social changes, family responsibilities have not modified much in today's society. Women might be in the workplace more often, but the conventional responsibilities of women are still dominant. They are still the very compassionate provider and nurturer of infants and children, t he comforter for the weeping young offspring and the feminine existence of the household. While the husband's job has diversified into more domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, attending PTA meetings, and going to soccer games, they still overwhelmingly are considered to have the role as head of the household, not its manager. Women have picked up more economic labor, but this has not been met by men picking up commensurate domestic labor (Hochschild, 1990). This is of course increasingly at odds with a world where women can often out-earn their male counterparts and are often more educated and qualified. Can women truly "be like the man", in terms of domestic authority, economic power, etc.? Arguably, yes. Women are increasingly capable of managing money, handling home improvement projects, and being single parents and sole breadwinners. Women aren’t likely to become as physically strong as men, but that has never been a truly important consideration in an industrializ ed society. Women are increasingly capable of thinking like men, but still being in a somewhat subordinate period and having different gender norms and construction have made it unlikely that women will be like men in terms of lived experiences, values and