Apollo Shoes Confirmation Letter

to:Darlene wardlaw FROM: SUBJECT:CONFIRMATION REQUESTS DATE:OCTOBER 30, 2012 Two Forms of Confirmations We used both positive confirmations and negative confirmations. This is a required audit procedure by audit standards. Confirmations show existence and valuation of accounts and notes receivable. The positive confirmations are used to ask the customer to respond whether the balance is correct or incorrect. The negative confirmations ask for a response only if something is wrong with the balance. If no response is received, it is considered evidence that the account is stated fairly.With the positive confirmations, we are trying to find information on account balances or specific invoices. We sent positive confirmations to Neutralizer, Mall-Wart, Run For Your Life Shoes, Paul Bunion Footwear, Sassy Shoes, and International Soccer Federation. We sent a negative confirmation to Tread. The ones that we sent a positive confirmation to, we were wondering about some discrepancies in the n umbers and needed confirmation that payments were being made. The negative confirmation was sent with confidence that there were no errors. Therefore, we did not need a response if nothing was found.We checked the numbers that we received from the confirmation and compared them to the aged trial balance for account receivable. The numbers matched up. Alternative Procedures Sometimes customers are not able to send a response. A reason for this could be that they are on a voucher system that lists payables by invoice instead of by vendor account. In a case like this, we have to perform alternative procedures. We could examine subsequent cash receipts. We could examine sales orders, invoices and shipping documents. We could also examine correspondence files for past due accounts.

Scalia vs. Breyer: Differences in Constitution and Statutory Construction

Justice Scalia’s decision-making process could be summed up in two words: text and tradition. Scalia is wary of any departure from the original meaning of the Constitution’s text, strongly criticizing Supreme Court decisions that he believes demonstrate an activist judiciary rather than a neutral decision-making branch of a democracy. Scalia â€Å"argues that primacy must be accorded to the text, structure, and history of the document being interpreted and that the job of the judge is to apply either the clear textual language of the Constitution or statute if the text is ambiguous, yielding several conflicting interpretations, Scalia turns to the specific legal tradition flowing from that text to what it meant to the society that adopted it.In the case of Schwarzenegger v Entertainment Merchants Association, Justice Scalia will most likely find that California’s law to censor patently offensive video games for minors is unconstitutional, and reject Californiaâ €™s assertion that the court should use a new Ginsberg standard rather than the strict scrutiny standard when evaluating the Bill in dispute, because his textualist approach would be highly inhospitable to California’s arguments.On the other hand, Stephen Breyer promotes a highly specialized Constitutional philosophy known as the living constitution or evolutionist approach. In his book Active Liberty, he illustrates this approach to constitutional interpretation, which focuses primarily on making America’s experiment in democracy functional by giving a voice to the people through the collective opinions and judgments of the nine unelected Justices of the Supreme Court.The notion of active liberty allows not only a democratic boost of power to American citizens by giving their convictions influence over judges’ interpretation of the Constitution, but also focuses practically on the consequences that rulings have for the American people and their ability to e ngage in democratic self-governance. Additionally, Breyer defends The Living Constitution approach and adds a new theoretical framework to propel the evolution of Constitutional interpretation a democratically-minded approach when interpreting a legal text will yield better law; law that helps a community of individuals democratically find practical solutions to important contemporary problems.

Discuss the relationship between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour in relation to the evolutionary theory

Differences exist between the male and female reproductive behaviours and according to evolutionary theory, these are due to different selective pressures. Characteristics that indicate reproductive success are selected for our mates. Dunbar and Waynforth found men valued physical attractiveness and youth in females, supporting the concept that males seek fertility and reproductive success in females. Females on the other hand value financial security in males to ensure they can support and provide for a family. These findings have cross-cultural strengths as Buss collected data from 33 countries. This suggests that these traits are genetically determined with an evolutionary value rather than a nurtured preference. However, Bereczkel et al found that women actually want males that are more family orientated therefore are less concerned about resources therefore contradicting this theory of choosiness and human reproductive behaviour. In addition, it has been argued that men prefer a youthful female because of social power. Younger women are easier to control and are therefore preferable as mates. But Kenrick et al found that that teenage males are attracted to females who were 5 years older. This therefore goes against the evolutionary explanation. Buss’s study also may not provide strong support for the relationship between sexual selection and human reproductive behaviour because answers they gained may be what they preferred but not what they had because they may have compromised. However, another study conducted by Buss of actual married couples supported the original results that men do marry women that are younger than them, thus increasing the validity of this explanation. According to Darwin selection processes shape are reproductive behaviours. Intersexual selection (competition between genders) is dominant within females, whilst Intrasexual selection (completion within the same gender) is more dominant in males. Therefore men’s best mating strategy is to have many sexual partners to ensure reproductive success as they have lots of small mobile sperm which they produce over a long period of time. Whereas women benefit from nurturing selected offspring as they produce, fewer larger eggs over a short time. Penton-Voak et al supported the idea that females use intersexual selection. They found that the female mate preference varied depending on menstrual cycle stages. During high contraceptive risk phase of the cycle, females preferred masculinised faces and short term sexual relationships. In contrast outside this stage, they focus on long-term relationships. This supports that our sexual selection is underpinned by reproductive behaviours and evolutionary origin. This is because short term mating is linked with childbearing and therefore key preferences could be strong genes and attractiveness emphasised by masculine measures, whereas long term the mores important traits are competence in raising a child and resources so softer features associated with support and nurturing. Miller et al’s research does suggest that despite gender stereotypes, women are biologically programmed from reproductive opportunities. He found that lap dancing females who were in the most fertile stage of the cycle gained more tips. Suggesting males are most attracted to females who are in the most fertile point. However, clear gender difference in the general willingness to engage in uncommitted sex. Clark and Hatfield found 57% of males would accept an offer for a one night stand with a stranger compared to 0 females. This suggests males have evolved a motivation for casual sex. The implications of the research were supported by Buss et al who found that women want less sexual partners then males. This approach suffers from a strong gender bias as males are accused of wanting to spread their seeds due to evolutionary reasons but this behaviour would not be learned without willing females. As a result, the role of females in this process is under evaluated. Grilling and Buss suggested that females could also profit from short term mating such as a way to leave a poor relationship or producing more genetically diverse offspring. Therefore, short term mating suffers from gender bias, particularly saying that women cannot be sexually promiscuous and that it is a male characteristic, which is isn’t in modern society. Overall, these explanations can be criticised for being reductionistic as they cannot explain homosexual relationships and the drive for these relationships, as there are no reproductive advantages. Reproductive behaviours have changed dramatically over the last century with non-heterosexual relationships, widespread of contraception and choosing to not have children. This implies we have more free will over our behaviour than implied by the evolutionary approach. The approach also supports gender stereotyping with men being players which suffers from ethical implications. Therefore a more holistic approach which included psychological rationale might be more appropriate form explain homosexual relationships and provide a more balanced explanation rather than an approach that suggests we are a product of our genes.

Peculiarities of Movies' Promotion as Intangible Products Assignment

Peculiarities of Movies' Promotion as Intangible Products - Assignment Example Movies are deemed intangible or experiential because they appeal both to the senses and the emotions. Movies, unlike tangible products such as toothpaste, have experiential attributes like â€Å"the original movie’s storyline, its genre, and memorable scenes. These attributes are typically featured in movie trailers and television ads; hence, they should be relatively easy to recall. In contrast to physical goods, we suggest that experiential attributes such as the storyline and genre tend to satiate such that consumers prefer to experience something different in the sequel; hence, dissimilarity is preferred to similarity†   (Sanjay Sood). There are three studies completed in the research article to examine four hypotheses. If you were planning the marketing strategy of a sequel, which hypothesis would be the most interesting to you? Which study? Why? The most interesting fact for someone planning a marketing strategy is Hypothesis 2: There will be an interaction between naming strategy and order of presentation in sequel evaluations. Numbered extensions will be rated more favorably when the title is presented after the description that when the title is presented before the description. There will be no significant difference in sequel evaluations when a naming strategy is used. This hypothesis is highly confirmed by Study 2. The study has the following findings: The pattern of interactions between presentation order and naming strategy suggests that numbered-sequel evaluations involved a greater degree of assimilation, indicating a greater reliance on the original movie as a basis for evaluations. When the numbered title was shown after the sequel description, respondents took longer to evaluate the sequels, they recalled more about the sequels, and they evaluated the numbered sequels more favorably. On the other hand, Consistent with a more piecemeal processing strategy, named sequels took longer to evaluate, and recall of sequel information was higher relative to a numbered sequel   (Sanjay Sood).

Do you have what it takes to become an effective manager An in-depth Essay

Do you have what it takes to become an effective manager An in-depth self-evaluation - Essay Example nteered to support our activities which involved bush clearing along public roads, clearing drainage systems in our local village as well as helping the aged in tilling their land and landscaping their home compounds for no fee. I also had the privilege of playing leading roles in high school whereby I was assigned the role of a student leader, which was a challenging task as it required restraint as well as rigidity to avoid conflicts with my fellow students and the administration. This is due to the fact that whereas the administration expected me to report and manage the student’s affairs, the students on the other hand expected favoritism, which I could not accept. Due to this exposure to leadership, I developed a strong leadership style that makes me confident of my managerial skills and principles, which I am always guided by whenever I am discharging my duties. Through my training period in Human Resource management as well as my Christian back ground, I have always believed that the employees’ interests are as important as those of the firm I am working for. This is because without them, the firm would not be able to achieve its objective of maximizing profit. To achieve this, I believe that employee motivation should be a policy in the management procedures. Through my experience in Human resource management, I know that different individuals have different motivation factors (Mullins 2007 p 259). As such I am able to apply my skills by ensuring for example that the employees are provided with free transport, training opportunities to expand their knowledge at a subsidized cost, rewarding bonuses to the best performers etc. Whereas these priorities may be argued as to cost more expenses to the firm, the overall benefits that can be reaped are worth it. As a manager, one of my roles is to ensure that there are no conflicts between the employees and the administration (Mullins 2007 p 529). I believe that to achieve this, divide and rule policy should

Leisure in Victorian and Edwardian England Essay

Leisure in Victorian and Edwardian England - Essay Example Travel and tourism as a form of entertainment shall also be looked into. The perspective that shall inform these readings shall be that of class and its ramifications, its importance in shaping the consciousness of a society and communities within it.   Leisure in the Victorian and Edwardian Eras Forms of leisure in most societies are an important indicator of the class identities of the people who practice them. Access to certain forms of leisure is denied to people of the lower classes and this serves to demarcate them from the upper classes. In popular representations of the Victorian and the Edwardian eras, this demarcation is clear and is used, on most occasions to distinguish between the upper and lower classes. Conversely, this also affects the way the class consciousness of a particular community is formed. The activities of leisure that a community indulges itself in is something that is formed by its class consciousness, but at the same time, also forms the class consciou sness of that community. The Victorian and Edwardian eras in England were marked by an opulence that was based on the wealth earned through the imperial endeavours of the British state. This paper shall seek to analyse the development of the consciousness of communities belonging to different classes, through an analysis of different social institutions. The different institutions shall be analysed in different paragraphs. The rise of the novel as the main form of entertainment during the Victorian age says a lot about the changing social structures of this age. Social mobility was a major feature of the Victorian age. This came about as a result of the increase in trade during this age and the dismantling of the social hierarchies that privileged the gentry, to a certain extent. This was partially a result of the French revolution that questioned the sanctity of these class-relations (Hobsbawm). This mobility gets reflected in the features of the novel of this period. Not only was the novel considered a means of entertainment for the lower and the middle classes, they were also considered as the suitable form of entertainment for women, thus being a proof of the social turmoil that was characteristic of the period. The novels of this period showcased the rise of men and women from positions of social inferiority to high ranks within the society. This was a result of the readership of the novel which consisted mainly of the emergent bourgeoisie and also the larger context of the novel, the upwardly mobile lower and middle classes of England. For instance, in Jane Austen’s famous work, Pride and Prejudice, apart from the heroine’s rise from a lower position in the society to that of a high ranking lady, it is also interesting to note that case of the Bingleys. Having acquired wealth through trade and commerce, Mr. Bingley is an extremely eligible bachelor and a nice ‘catch’ even for the Bennets, who essentially belong to the aristocra cy. The social mobility of Mr. Bingley is one of the most interesting features of this book and forms a part of its significance for a study of the Victorian age (Austen). Not only does the novel talk about social mobility, it also influenced the way people thought about themselves and their position on the social ladder. The ideas given in novels also resulted in a lot of people of the middle classes actively trying to improve their lot. The situation was thus, one where the emergence of the novel influenced the bourgeoisie and vice-versa. This proves what leisure historians like J.A. Mangan has argued, where they talk of the â€Å"ways in which differential types of leisure and the values embodied in them are linked to social

The Diverse Nature of Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Diverse Nature of Counseling - Essay Example Psychoanalytic therapy was the first to develop in the area of counseling. It was created by an Austrian doctor by the name of Sigmund Freud. He wrote many aspects of the personality such as the id, ego, and superego. He also came up with the idea of reaction mechanisms in response to anxiety as well as thoughts of the consciousness and unconsciousness. In regards to therapy, the goal of therapy in psychotherapy is to bring the unconscious into the conscious realm through dream interpretation and talking therapy. In addition, it focuses on the strengthening of the ego so that the person becomes more integrated with reality. This was the foundation for all of the other therapies in psychology. The next major form of therapy to develop in counseling was Alderian therapy. It was started by Alfred Adler, who was a student of Freud’s, so there is some psychoanalytical influence on this theory. His basis for this therapy was that people are strongly influenced by the events of the p ast in which they either witnessed or experienced. Unlike in psychoanalysis which is purely deterministic, Alderian therapy acknowledges that both biological and environmental factors can impact a person. Many times, Alderian therapy is used in family and child therapy due to the emphasis on birth order and family constellations. Many times the goal in therapy is helping the person overcome inferiority and modifying faulty lifestyles and motivation. (Rule, & Bishop, 2006). Existential therapy is one of the theories which is more derived from philosophy rather than the behavioral sciences. It was created and supported by Victor Frankl and Rollo May. They reject the deterministic behavior of psychoanalysis in favor of the idea that we have the freedom to choose who and what we want to be. It is in this attempt to find oneself in which the therapy is developed. Logotherapy, the search for meaning, was created using this philosophy on counseling. The goal in counseling is helping the in dividual discover themselves and allowing them to redefine themselves through personal expression and genuineness expressed by the therapist (Yalom, 1980). Person-centered therapy was started by Carol Rogers. Again, rather than the purely biological nature of psychoanalysis, person centered therapy relies on concepts from the humanistic psychology. The main aspects of person centered therapy, as a therapist, are to have unconditional positive regard for a person, congruence, and be able to be empathetic towards the individual. The idea behind person centered therapy is that growth in the client is attained by the genuineness of the client-therapist relationship. This was unlike many of the prior therapy philosophies in that the main goal of therapy is based on the client-therapist relationship (Tudor, & Worrall, 2006). Gestalt therapy is the based on the here and now. According to Fritz Pearls, the goal in helping the client overcome neuroticism is by making them experience their pa st emotions and experiences as if they are a current feeling. Some of the principles of Gestalt therapy included

Southwark Cathedral Millennium Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Southwark Cathedral Millennium Project - Essay Example The history of the Southwark Cathedral Millennium Project goes back as far as 1930 when it was first initiated. The main objective of this project was to create an environment that would be good enough to meet the emerging needs of not only the congregation, but also the visitors and staff. The financial support for this project came mainly from the Millennium Commission. The plans for the project included the construction of a new library building, refectory and shop. The exhibition space was also expected to be expanded under the Southwark Cathedral Millennium Project (Millennium Commission, 2010). As part of the project, the old buildings were also supposed to be upgraded and the surrounding environment which was degrading at the time was expected to be improved. In 1997, London-based architects, Elizabeth Banks Associates, were given the responsibility of redesigning the cathedral grounds with the help and recommendation of Richard Griffiths Associates, who were the lead architect of the establishment. The upgrading and improvements were finally completed in 2001 (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2011). The result was a recast churchyard and an improved access for the disabled. There were also new improved garden spaces and a public square which is found on the northern side of the cathedral. New refectory building and visitor centres were also added as part of the project. The project cost a total of 10,682,738 pounds and it was seen as part of the wider scheme of regenerating the south bank of the River Thames (Millennium Commission, 2010). Figure one below shows the Southwark Cathedral. Fig 1: Southwark Cathedral Courtesy of Anglican Mainstram OGC Gateway Review Model This project review will follow the OGC Gateway R eview Model, which is designed to confirm whether or not the expected benefits of a project have been achieved and operations are running smoothly. This review model is based on six main aspects. These are: review of operating phase, business case and benefits management, plans for ongoing improvements in value for money, plans for ongoing improvements in performance and innovation, review of organizational learning and maturity targets and readiness for the future (Office of Government Commerce, 2010). In 1997, Elizabeth Banks Associates (EBA) was given the task of working on the Southwark project after a recommendation by the official architects of the Cathedral, Richard Griffiths Architects. The other project team members included: Max Fordham Associates who were in charge of the services, Alan Baxter Associates as the structural engineers, Citex were the project managers, Bucknall Austin were the quantity surveyors while the Pre-construction Archaeology provided Archaeological s urveying services. Sutton Vane Associates were in charge of lighting throughout the project duration. Their main

Describe the relationship between the concepts of consumer surplus, Essay

Describe the relationship between the concepts of consumer surplus, moral hazard, and welfare loss - Essay Example For example, it works less well if commodity prices no longer represent the true cost of producing goods, or if the prices of resources no longer indicate their relative scarcity. It also works less well if agents are prevented from responding to price signals. Interventions of this kind include taxes and subsidies and quantity constraints (Leach 8). Hence, in a free, competitive market, the increased presence of interventions (e.g. taxes and quantity constraints) reduces the capacity of agents to respond to price-signals, and then surplus is not maximized but lessened. The lost surplus is called the welfare cost. However, Leach noted that there are also intervention types that do not harm this price-signaling mechanism such as the case of redistribution (8). In the case of a subsidy, which is the opposite of tax imposition, although both of the consumers and producers enjoy an increase in their surpluses, the gains in consumer and producer surplus would again be exceeded by the gove rnment's loss of surplus, thus incurring a welfare cost (Leach 14). Leach (12) cites that the welfare cost in this case occurs because the subsidy encourages trades that are not mutually beneficial. Each of these units was sold by a producer who placed a value of at least p* on the unit, and bought by a consumer who placed a value of no more than p* on it.

Time for a Change Essay Example for Free

Time for a Change Essay Part of running a major business involves periodically examining what’s working and what can get better (Hogg, 2010). As everyone knows, just as every other company needs to work to remain relevant, we have to keep up with our primary competitors including Allstate, Farmers, Geico and Progressive. We need to do work better to perform processes uniformly across the state and the only way to do so is go from four regional offices in California, to one regional office. We first will need to create a transition committee that will have supervisors from each offices, section and division managers as well communication with other zones that have gone through similar transitional change. With this transition, we will also need to take into consideration how much this will cost the company and also how much will be saved as a result in the conclusion of the process. Which office will be the first to close, which will come second which will close last and finally which will remain open? There will also need to be a plan for the increase of work load when we close the offices and how we will keep the work load down and manageable by adding specialty teams that focus on certain areas of the work instead of handling it all. Additionally, we will also need to review how this will affect the potential impacted communities, and how we will handle the internal and external communication plans. When creating a transitional committee we need to select the right members for this committee. We understand that some may not be making the move but their assistants will be beneficial to everyone. Within this committee we need to select who will handle what roles each person will be in charge of. We will have groups in charge of different areas. Such as people count, communication, timelines, training and expenses. For the people count, this group will be in charge of finding out how many people will be moving and how many will be leaving. With this information they ill be required to determine the amount of new associates that need to be hired and how many hiring waves. The group that will handle communication will be the ones who will communicate to associates the time line of transition as well as information on the specialty teams that will be formed. This group of individuals will be required to travel to all offices to a job fair for associates so that they can see how their department is changing and what the new roles will look like. It will give them an opportunity to find out if they would be interested in a certain specialty team. For the training group, their job is to determine how many trainers will be needed and if temporary trainers will need to be pulled to help train new associates as well as set up refresher courses for existing associates. The expense committee will not only be covering the transition expenses, but also travel expenses and hiring expenses. Why is it necessary to transition from 4 regional offices to one? First, with the recent move of our payment plan department and our Life/Health department to other states all four regional offices now have less than 60 percent occupancy. One of our offices is even at 40 percent and the building itself needs some costly upgrades to minimally keep it as a viable work location. Another reason why we need to close these offices is due to the fact that each office seems to do work their own way in lieu of processing work items in the same manner as intended and designed by the corporate office. By combining everything into one singular location, we can ensure that processing consistency is achieved while also aiming to treat every policyholder in the state exactly the same way with consistent high quality service. Doing so would enable our Zone to achieve and retain the Remarkable expectations set forth by policyholders. Another reason why it would be highly beneficial to transition from 4 regional offices to 1 is the day to day expense. The current cost per average month to simply cover electrical utility expenses is one hundred thousand dollars in a single office with gas expenses around fifteen thousand and forty thousand in public water fees. Since we are not a company regulated by stakeholders but a company literally managed by our policyholders also referred to as a mutual company, it is our policyholders who are paying for all the utilities on 4 offices that are not being used at full capacity. In transitioning to a single office we will be saving our policyholders an estimated 5. 6 million ollars annually which can be reinvested into the organization by way of rate reductions and directly benefit customers. We need to determine which office will remain open. Since a separate entity of the company manages facilities and all are owned the decision really comes down to a few details. Which facility can house a majority of the associates, can new talent be recruited in that community to sustain the growth, which facility is the most energy efficient, which facility needs the least amount of necessary upgrades, and where would a majority of our associates be willing to relocate to? This decision was relatively simple as the Central California office location was the newest facility and the only that was not a single level structure, is in a growing city that has an established university and the ability to add much more housing that will be required. An added benefit is that water expenses are minimized as the grounds are all hydrated with reclaimed well water. As a result of that decision the next decision is determining which office to close first. We will first close our West Lake and Costa Mesa offices as each is very costly to keep open and sit on prime freeway real-estate. When any transition involving associates is being planned, one must realize that there are numerous impacts both positive and negative. While the realization is there that we will lose very loyal, experienced, tenured associates we must also realize that we will also shed a significant expense. Employee compensation is our largest investment in the organization. With the loss of those associates and backfill with newer associates there will naturally be a savings component in conjunctions with that realization and change. Newer associates will have a lower base salary, fewer vacation benefits resulting in increased days producing at the office, and potentially an improved work ethic as they are very happy, not for a new job but the potential for a new career. Combined occupancy of the southern office locations were at a total of 70 percent capacity. For those associates there will be a few options. We will offer early retirement packages for those who are at retirement age. We will offer a relocation package to all employees who are willing to relocate and we will provide them with a weekend tour of the new facility and community to assist them with their decision. This package also includes a bonus if they were able to sale their house prior to the move. If not, State Farm will buy their house and sell it for them. The last office that will close will be our Northern California office. That will not happen for at least 3 years after the first two offices close in an effort to minimize work flow disruption and well as mitigate the loss of tenured employee capital. With the closing of the two offices, we will need to learn the number of employees that will be part of the transition and how many employees that will take the early retirement package and how many will quit State Farm all together. We will need to determine the work flow as well as how many new associates that need to be hired in the final location. Also being incorporated into the transition process is a new workflow distribution system along with a new specialized team concept approach to facilitate with training new associates to make each job responsibility less than what it currently is. Different associates are strong in certain areas and weaker in others so the thought is to capitalize on each of the strengths. The teams that we need to create should be the following. For example in our Auto Department, they will be going to the following. New business application issuance team consisting of both underwriters and assistants, added car application issuance teams, three processing/production teams, one rating/accounting team, three call center teams finally one training team and one quality review/improvement team. Our Personal Lines Fire team will be doing something very similar as well as our Business Lines Department. Our claims department will also go into smaller specialized teams. With these specialty teams in place it will help with the work flow as well as ensure that the work gets processed correctly an efficiently. Additionally, since our current underwriting assistant training program last a surprising three years due to the complexity of the job. With the specialty teams that will be in place the training will not need to be as long as the focus of each role will evolve to its new state. The new training program will last up to 15 to 18 months to get fully proficient with continuing development to refine complex skill sets in their respective specialty areas. The first year training will be focused on the basics and once the trainers get a feel for what the trainees strengths are after that year, the next 8 months will be focused on their area of specialization. By doing this, we will provide better and more accurate service to our policyholders and more time will be spent doing the work. When we get to the point of communicating to our employees we will be earing different remarks from them such as why us, why not the other office, what am I going to do and so on and so on. They’ll need information to make decisions about their and their family’s future (Van Camp, 2012). When we determine when we are going to tell them employees there are five key concepts that we need to remember when we are communicating to all employees. The news we will be providin g will be life changing for numerous amount of people and we will need to be prepared to handle a large amount of questions and backlash and personal feelings. What we need to do and focus on is providing regular, weekly e-mail blasts from leadership describing the changing events. Let employees know when major decisions are expected to be made; for example, communicate when benefit and personnel information will be released. Encourage dialogue between managers and their teams. If needed, have leadership step in and directly communicate with employees through town hall-style meetings and discussions. Create a channel for two-way open communication. For example, create a virtual suggestion box or a forum for discussion between employees and leadership. Posts can remain anonymous for employees at every level through the organization. If there is no information available or something has yet to be decided, let employees know that, but don’t keep them guessing. Employees who have to wonder about their futures are not engages in their jobs, and productivity and loyalty will be affected (Van Camp, 2012). When we go to the public with this information we will need to provide our plans in writing so that the media does not misconstrue any of our information. We do not want false information being provided and pushed out to the public. We already know that we are changing the lives of our employees but we will also be changing the communities. We also need to be prepared for questions such as what will this do to smaller area’s that depend on the business from State Farm associates, impact to the local housing market and loss of existing talent. For associates not wanting to continue with the company we will assist them with their resumes and interviewing skills in an effort to minimize their personal impacts of the transition. There will be numerous classes to assist with resumes and interviews as well as letter of recommendation from their supervisor to help them get another job. Finally we will have our operations managers from each office deliver the message of the closing of the offices. No one looks forward to addressing an angry audience, but you do have one major factor working in your favor: People definitely care about your message. As with an apprehensive audience, treat their emotions with respect and avoid humor. Prepare thoroughly so you can provide complete information in a calm, rational manner. Consider using the indirect approach to build support for your message while addressing points of concern along the way. Remain calm and don’t engage in emotional exchanges with the audience (Bovee Thill, 2012, p. 477). Our operations managers would be the perfect candidates that will be able to deliver this message so that they will be able to hear the compassion in their voice and to understand that this is not an easy move on anyone. We want to remain ahead of our competitors. We want to ensure that we are not one of those companies that will start having massive layoffs due to the decline of the business. State Farm has been around for 90 years and we want to be around for even more. By having a transitional committee, we will be able to affectively shut down 3 offices and move the work load and employees to one. We will be able to have specialized teams within all of the departments. We will drastically reduce cost which will allow our policyholders to have more rate decreases on their auto and homeowners policies. We will show compassion when delivering speaking to our associates and to the media. Last but not least we will keep everyone in the loop through emails and meetings with management so no one is left in the dark.

The HC Bridge Frame Work

The HC Bridge Frame Work â€Å"The traditional HR paradigm defines HR contribution as supporting organisation goals through aligned HR services, policies, practices, and programs†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). Typically, this HR paradigm is combined with the traditional definition of organisations success. The result is an emphasis on reducing risks of costly legal actions in HR process such as reducing cost per hire, time taken for training, HR staff per employee and the client satisfaction with HR practices. The best example is measuring return on investment of HR programmes, such as showing that improved sales knowledge which are offset by training costs, leads to increase in sales. â€Å"The traditional HR paradigm of service delivery is also typically how HR connects to sustainability†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). For example, the ILO declaration urges the elimination of child labor, employment discrimination and promotion of free association and collective bargaining. â€Å"The UN Global Compac t adds that companies should protect internationally proclaimed human rights abuses†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). HR programs such as performance management, selection and training can reflect upon respect for collective association rights and reward not only economic performance, but also community involvement. HR can measure sustainability-related knowledge, behaviors and motivations, and employee health and safety. Such measures are often reported in corporate sustainability or social responsibility while reporting to the investors. â€Å"While this is important, but the HR paradigm is still traditional-applying sustainability to the policies, practices and activities within the HR function†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). â€Å"HR has struggled to define what it means to be ‘strategic. The answer can be discovered not only in benchmarking HR organisations, but also in benchmarking the evolution of more mature strategic functions such as finance and marketing†, (Bodreau, et al., 1997, 2003). The decisions on marketing focuses on decisions about customers and the finance decisions focuses on money and cash flows, so a decision on talent should enhance decisions about talent, both within and outside the HR function. The finance decisions are not always generally made by the finance department, the decisions are made by managers across the organisations. These finance decisions is different from accounting but accounting still remains as a critical professional practice. â€Å"Todays HR is similar to accounting. It is and will remain a critical and important professional practice†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). Yet, we still lack a well developed decision science for talent. It is increasin gly important to enhance talent decisions, including structures, behaviors, capability, learning, collaboration and shared culture. â€Å"In several companies, we have labeled it talent ship, because it focuses on decisions that improve the stewardship of the hidden and apparent talents of employees†, (Bodreau, et al., 2005). Any decision science will involve one element i.e. the logic, which connects decisions about the resource to organisations success. In finance though the formula for return on investment produces a number but it is important to know what factors are relevant to financial decisions. Similarly, a talent decision science requires showing factors those are relevant to make talent decisions. Boudreau and Ramstad created a model, the HC BRidge Decision frame work, which outlines the logical connections supporting talent ship. The HC BRidge framework is based on 3 anchor points efficiency, effectiveness and impact-that are common to all business decision sciences (see Figure-1). Efficiency The efficiency anchor point focuses on the resources that are used to deliver HR practices. Typical indicators of efficiency would be cost-per-hire and time to fill vacancies. When applied to sustainability, efficiency would focus on resources used to bring HR practices in to compliance that reflects upon community environment and social goals. Effectiveness The effectiveness focuses on the HR policies and practices that affect the talent pools and organisation structures to which they are directed. Effectiveness also refers to the outcomes of HR policies and practices on human capacity and the resulting aligned actions of the target talent pools. Impact Impact illustrates the fundamental differences revealed by a focus on talent decisions, beyond simply HR service delivery. Impact asks, â€Å"How do differences in the quality or availability of different talent pools affect strategic success?† Impact can deliver surprising results by using the traditional financial definition for success. HR investments, which had been relatively ignored can make a bigger difference in the talent pool affecting product development and thus offering improvement opportunity. Talent Management A review of the talent management literature reveals that their is a degree of debate as to the conceptual boundaries of the topic. Aston and Morton (2005: 30) noted that there â€Å"isnt a single consistent or concise definition† of talent management. â€Å"Lewis and Heckman (2006)identified three key streams of thought around the concept of talent management. First, those who merely substitute the label talent management for human resource management. A second strand of literature emphasises the development of talent pools focusing on â€Å"projecting employee/staffing needs and managing the progression of employees through positions†(Lewis Heckman, 2006: 140). The third stream focuses on the management of talented people†, (Collings, et al., 2009). Studies in the first part, which merely substitutes the label talent management for human resource management, limit their focus to few particular HR practices like recruitment, leadership development and succession planning. The contribution of this particular literature is limited beyond the strategic HR literature, as this relates largely to a rebranding of Human Resource Management. In the second part, by adopting a narrow focus, the literature builds on earlier research in manpower planning or succession planning. Studies in this tradition, at least provides a degree of differentiation as to what talent management is vis-à  -vis HRM. In the third part, literature argues that all roles within the organisation should be filled with â€Å"A performers†, referred to as â€Å"top grading† (Smart, 1999) and emphasises the management of â€Å"C players†, or consistently poor performers, out of the organisation (Michaels et al., 2001). â€Å"While the third approach is highly influential, we recognise limitations to this approach and argue it is neither desirable nor appropriate to fill all positions within the organisation with top performers. Equally, if the talent management system is applied to all of an organisations employees (i.e. including poor performers as well as top performing employees), it is difficult to differentiate talent management from conventional human resource management†, (Collings, et al., 2009). In addition to the above three streams, (Boudreau and Ramstad, 2005) and(Huselid et al., 2005) identified a fourth stream that emphasises on the identification of key positions that had the potential to impact the competitive advantage of the firm. The starting point here is to identify the key positions rather than talented individuals. â€Å"Therefore, as noted above, we view an organisational talent management as activities and processes that involve the systematic identification of key positions which differentially contribute to the organisations sustainable competitive advantage, the development of a talent pool of high potential and high performing incumbents to fill these roles, and the development of a differentiated human resource architecture to facilitate filling these positions with competent incumbents and to ensure their continued commitment to the organisation†, (Collings, et al., 2009). Over all we can say Talent Management is getting the right people in the right jobs at the right time. Talent is also defined as â€Å" Talent is seen in individual terms comprising ‘a sharp strategic mind, leadership ability, emotional maturity, communication skills, the ability to attract and inspire other talented people, entrepreneurial instincts, functional skills and the ability to deliver results ( Michaels et al., 2001, p. X)†, (Martin et al., 2009). Approaches towards Talent Management Talent management requires a new mind set among business leaders mainly because talent being so mission critical in todays world should not be left alone only to HR departments, instead the organisations board of directors should directly support and make talent as a core element of the work (See Table-1). Table-1, The new talent mindset. Old HR mindset New talent mindset The vague leadership and HR rhetoric of ‘people being our most important asset A deeply held conviction that talented people produce better organisational performance. The responsibility for people management lies with HR. The responsibility for managers to do all they can to strengthen the talent pool. Small-scale and infrequent programmes for succession planning and training managers in acquiring and nurturing people. Talent management as a central component of the business and part of the ongoing role of senior leaders. Managers have to work with the people they inherit. Managers constantly taking active and bold steps to attract and develop their talent pool and actively manage low performers. Source: Adapted from Handfield-jones et al., 2001 The organisations to become top performers should not only follow new talent mindset but also they should implement the three main elements of a talent management approach. (See Table-2) Disciplined talent management, by developing managers and matching them with the right jobs also rigorous and continuous assessment of employees. Creative recruitment and retention of employees through refined and meaningful employee value propositions. Executive development, using coaching and mentoring. Table-2, Three elements of a talent management approach. Danger signs Signs of progress Signs of achievement Disciplined talent management A focus only on obvious successors in succession planning exercises Some discussion of incumbents performance Clear identification of A, B and C performers in each talent pool Lists of high potential people, but little action Consultation of list when vacancies occur Written action plans for each high potentials development and retention Belief that there are no poor performers Admit that there are likely to be some, but avoid doing much about it Act decisively on poor performance by improving or replacing them Hold no one accountable for talent management except for HR Evaluate managers on how well they manage their staff Hold leaders directly accountable for developing their talent pool Creative recruitment and retention Empty rhetoric about being a good employer to work for Think about EVPs for each type of talent Understand the strengths and weakness of the EVPs for each type of talent and plan to strengthen them Hire only at entry levels and grow only from internal hires Occasionally bring in senior or specialist people from outside Recruit a steady flow of talent at all levels Go to the same sources for recruiting talent Experiment with new sources, but look for similar backgrounds Creatively tap new pools of talent, looking for essential capabilities Have high and consistent attrition rates among managers Analyse attrition data by department and type Know the attrition rates of A, B and C performers and understand why they are leaving, performing or underperforming Thoughtful executive development Leave the job assignments of managers to the manager who hires them Suggest some candidates from the high potential list or job posting systems Involve leadership teams on every assignment decision, seeking to optimise these across the company Recruit most qualified candidate with no discussion of development Stretch people, but not in the context of any development plan Thoughtfully consider the development needs of each assignment and the development needs of each candidate Assume that the best way to develop people is by throwing them in at the deep end Provide formal feedback through appraisal once a year Embed candidate feedback and coaching into the routines of the organisation and the jobs of leaders Invest in training driven by top-down assessments of candidates and then only in response to immediate needs, threats or crisis. Offer regular but basic programmes for management development and leadership, usually off-the-job Offer integrated management/leadership learning programmes for each transition point of managerial careers Source: Adapted from Handfield-jones, WWW.handfieldjones.com/diagnose/index.html (28 February 2006) Another similar approach to talent management is found in the four categories of employees that make up a ‘talent value chain (Rosen and Wilson, 2005; Zingheim, 2005). This approach can also be referred to as segmenting the employees within the organisation. The segments are as follows: The Super keepers: They are that 3-5% of employees who consistently demonstrate superior performance in ways that reflect the core values of organisation and also help others to do so. The Keepers: They are 25-30% of the organisation who exceed both performance expectations and in the demonstration of core competencies. The Solid citizens: They consist of 65% of employees who meet normal expectations of the job and sometimes they exercise leadership in some situations. The Misfits: The 3-5% of people who continuously underperform and does not meet the requirements of job skills. After identifying the segments we have to follow a process called as Talent Management process (TM process) (see Figure-2) Source: L.A. Berger and Associates Ltd. A handbook of talent management 2004 Competency Models Competency models helps organisations avoid business problems and thus enhance their business. We shall see this by looking at each and every available model. Daniel Golemans emotional intelligence model: Goleman in his model uses the research of David McClelland and his colleagues at McBer and Company. He ties that with modern theories of brain functioning that shows how these characteristics work and why they are important. He also shows that because these characteristics are tied to the brain, people are capable of developing and learning these characteristics. Goleman proposes that emotional intelligence is shown in four areas: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management (see Figure-3). Aspects of emotional intelligence. Self Awareness Emotional Self-Awareness Accurate Self-Assessment Self-Confidence Social Awareness Empathy Organisational Awareness Service Orientation Self-Management Emotional Self-Control Transparency Adaptability Achievement Initiative Optimisim Relationship Management Developing others Inspirational Leadership Influence Change catalyst Conflict Management Teamwork and collaboration Source: Goleman, Daniel, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, 1998 Building Models for Job Families: Finding the right project management competencies for a financial service company would had been the upmost priority but it will not solve the whole issue. There is another approach to competencies that is especially useful when looking at specific functions. This involves finding the right set of skills that people should have in order to perform a job (see Figure-4). After following through this process as shown in Figure-4, a company should be able to find the right talent for the job and thus can improve its returns on that particular project. The top managment should play a very important role in implementing this kind of model for executing specific tasks. Building Models of Leadership: Using the Management Team There are three connected methods management groups can use to build a model for competencies that they agree should drive leadership or key roles in their company (see Figure-5). Figure-4 illustrates that firstly managers can use a list of characters and come to a consensus that which of these in the list is most necessary for companys success. If they had to choose only a limited number of people, they have to decide, which of these differentiate the best performers from average performers, they should also make a point on devastating impact they would create if not considered for the job. Secondly, management team can decide upon the key requirement for the role and make a matrix and map out critical competencies and later decide upon which individual can fulfill their accountabilities in really super ways. Alternatively, a management group could agree upon key accountability for the role, answer the question, â€Å"what attributes, characteristics, skills or competencies will enable the person in the role to perform this accountability in an outstanding manner?† This list of attributes will describe someone who is displaying that competence in an outstanding way. Thirdly, the group of managers should think concretely about whom they see as top performers and then keep a image of them in their mind. They then take some others who are typical performers but not below average and form their picture in their mind. Then chart out the differences that top performers create in accordance with typical performers. See what makes them outstanding? What motivates them? The managers should not only focus on results but also on what top performers are doing. After this exercise, the management can come out with one particular key player who can satisfy all their requirements. Also this exercise is not a step by step procedure; managers can take any one it and access it accordingly. Behavioral Benchmarking When organisations face changes or new situations, they often tend to rigorously study their best peoples actions, their behaviors, how these best people compare with others in the organisation or with people in different companies. Behavioral benchmarking is probably the most recent evolution from the competency approaches that spurred on all the attention to this area. Competency models used in any of these approaches are fundamental underpinnings of human resource systems. Organisations have different styles for describing their recruiting methods, training requirements, or criterias for promotions. Using a common competency model, companys can create a common language through which all of these organisational initiatives can converge. Principles of Talent Management After knowing about Talent management and the competency models involved in talent management it is far more necessary to know the risks which are being involved in talent management. The main problem which companies faces is â€Å"How to quickly respond to the changes in a competitive environment customer demands, innovation, regulatory factors, and quality standards which is marked by less predictable product markets and the pressures to have a financial returns for every set of uncertainty?† The risks involved in Talent management are mainly the mismatch between people and skills and the cost of losing your talent. Capellis four principles can be seen as the utilisation of HR performance management and succession planning practices within firms to overcome the above two risks mentioned. The important new contribution is the use of techniques from operations management and business forecasting to guide the choice of practices and organisational processes. Principle 1: Make and Buy to manage risk A deep bench of talent is expensive, companies should workout their estimates of their requirements and plan to hire from outside incase of any shortfall. Some positions may be filled easily from outside, so the companies must carefully assess about deploying their precious resources in development. For e.g. Think of situation where the supply chain fails down. We need to work out the immediate costs, the repair costs and the replacement costs. We should also answer the following questions: How long will it take to get new talent? The longer the talent is needed, easier to make investments in internal development payoff. Is there a hierarchy of skills that will enable you to learn through internal development? The more it is the easier to develop talent internally. How important is it to keep your culture? Especially at the senior level, outside people carry different norms and values. How accurate are your forecasts? Less certainty about forecasts, greater the risk and cost of internal development. Can you estimate mismatch costs? How can you estimate the demand for talent? Principle 2: Uncertainty in Talent Demand Uncertainty in demand is always present and smart companies find ways to adapt to it. One approach would be breaking up the development programmes in to shorter units and bringing all the functions together in a short duration say 18 month course that teaches general management skills and then send them back to their own departments to specialise. Another option would be creating talent pool that can be allocated as needs arises in the business units. The business approach would be: Use of models to estimate growth of talent requirements. Estimating the cost of hiring from outside but reducing the chances of promotion within. Estimate the costs of the time lag effect. Supply of labour always behind market demand. Design a development programme. Consider the problems that occur in a decentralised organisation. Should there be lots of different programmes or a corporate format? The first can be inefficient. The second costly if managers try to hide their key performers. Delays occur because of different time scales of different programmes. Managers end up waiting for specific development opportunities. Principle 3: Improve the Return on Investment in developing employees. The main problem is that employees want to acquire both firm specific but also general industrial and occupational skills. If the organisation is able to retain its employees then this is not a problem but in todays market scenario companys are seeking experienced people. One way to improve the payoff is to get employees to share in the cost of development that is asking them to volunteer on assignments. Another approach is to maintaining relationship with former employees, hoping that they might return back someday thus bringing back the investment and the skills. Third approach would be on reducing costs by mixing organisational and occupational learning with development, this would involve: Identify competencies associated with successful managers and identify assignments that will require their use. Learning from peers and colleagues. Training before hiring and then ‘promote and coach. Involving people in project work. Encourage working outside the organisation. Share the costs and connect development with retention. Try to ensure that you promote the right person on ‘economic ground. Principle 4: Preserve the investment by balancing Employee-Employer Interests. The main reason good employees leave an organisation is that they find better opportunities elsewhere. This makes talent development a perishable commodity. The key to preserving the investments made in developing efforts is by creating a balance in the interests of employees and employer by having them share in advancement decisions. Also to manage an internal market following things can be considered. Empowering employees to bid for jobs. Developing IT systems to match competencies with job requirements. Producing up to date information on what skills the company now requires in various job Identifying competencies for specific career paths. Conclusion The business environment is changing, more and more companies are going global. Corporate desicions should be rapid in order to prevent the competitors to take desicions. The search for talent is going to be a never ending process. With too many people in the higher management retiring in a very short period of time, HR department has a challenging job in filling these positions and thus keeping their companies competitive in this challenging environment. We have seen the traditional HR policies and the present HR policies, which emphasises more on talent ship. Companys have various competency models for identifying talents and methods for retaining them. Capellis four principles also help Companys to overcome the risks in talent management. With so much of available resources to the HR department and the constant management support in Talent management, in this process of talent hunt, are they neglecting the existing employees who are at the junior management level? The new policies in HR which emphasises on the Right man at the Right job at the right time will bring in more criticisms at the junior management level. In this present situation the companys are willing to invest more on junior management as the investment cost is very less when compared to the costs on higher management. The companies are looking to fill in the best talented people at this junior level. They train the junior management to become the future leaders, in this process if they do not find any one fitting in to the job position, there are more chances for that individual to be thrown out of the company. The chances to be thrown out are more for a existing employee. So what next to that individual? Will the company promise him a job; will they give him any benefits? If no, then how are they going to solve this issue, it just cannot be neglected. This is major challenge for the HR department in the coming years. Though Talent management helps companies to produce the best resources, the company should also learn to develop a resource which is not the best and make it best, as there is prediction in lack of resources for the future. References Arthur, 1994M.B. Arthur, The boundary less career: A new perspective for organizational enquiry,Journal of Organizational Behaviour15(1994), pp. 295-306. Arthur and Rousseau, 1996In: M.B. Arthur and D.M. Rousseau, Editors,The boundary less career, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1996). Arthur et al., 2005M.B. Arthur, S.N. Khapova and C.P.M. Wilderom, â€Å"Career success in a boundary less world,Journal of Organizational Behavior26(2005), pp. 177-202. Aston and Morton, 2005C. Aston and L. Morton, Managing talent for competitive advantage,Strategic HR Review4(5) (2005), pp. 28-31. Axelrod et al., 2002B. Axelrod, H. Handfield-Jones and E. Michaels, A new game plan for C players,Harvard Business Review, January(2002), pp. 81-88. Baterman and Organ, 1983T.S. Baterman and D.W. Organ, â€Å"Job satisfaction and the good soldier: The relationship between affect and employee citizenship,Academy of Management Journal26(1983), pp. 578-595. Batt, 2000R. Batt, Strategic segmentation in front-line services: Matching customers, employees and human resource systems,International Journal of Human Resource Management11(2000), pp. 540-561. Batt, 2002R. Batt, Managing customer services: Human resource practices, quit rates, and sales growth,Academy of Management Journal45(2002), pp. 587-597. Becker, Gerhart, (1996)B. Becker and B. Gerhart, ‘The impact of human resource management on organizational performance: Progress and prospects,Academy of Management Journal39(4) (1996), pp. 779-801. Becker and Haunschild, 2003K.H. Becker and A. Haunschild, The impact of boundaryless careers on organizational decision making: An analysis from the perspective of Luhmanns theory of social systems,International Journal of Human Resource Management14(2003), pp. 713-727. Becker and Huselid, 2006B.E. Becker and M.A. Huselid, â€Å"Strategic human resource management: Where do we go from here?,Journal of Management32(2006), pp. 898-925. Blumberg and Pringle, 1982M. Blumberg and C.D. Pringle, â€Å"The missing opportunity in organizational research: Some implications for a theory of work performance,Academy of Management Review7(1982), pp. 560-569. Boselie et al., 2005P. Boselie, G. Dietz and C. Boon, â€Å"Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and performance research,Human Resource Management Journal15(2005), pp. 67-94. Boston Consulting Group, 2007Boston Consulting Group, The future of HR: Key challenges through 2015, Boston Consulting Group, Dusseldorf (2007). Boudreau, J. W., Ramstad, P. M. (1997). Measuring intellectual capital: Learning from financial history. Human Resource Management, 36, 343-356. Boudreau, J. W., Ramstad, P. M. (2003). Strategic HRM measurement in the 21st century: From justifying HR to strategic talent leadership. In M. Goldsmith, R. P. Gandossy, M. S. Efron (Eds.), HRM in the 21st century (pp.79-90). New York: Wiley. Boudreau, J. W. (2004). Organizational behavior, strategy, performance and design in Management Science. Management Science, 50, 1463-1476. Boudreau, J. W., Ramstad, P. M. (2004a). Talent ship and the evolution of human resource Management: From â€Å"professional practices† to â€Å"strategi

Journeys End by RC Sheriff - How does the Opening Grab the Audience’s Attention? :: English Literature

How does the Opening of Journey’s End grab the Audience’s Attention? R.C Sheriff’s â€Å"Journey’s End† is a piece of First World War literature and presents a realistic picture of life in the trenches as he had known it and a interpretation of the horrors from the war. It is set in 1918, and opens on Monday March 18th. It is placed in a dugout in the British Trenches before St Quentin. It is a powerful play expressing many different sides of the war from the death and fighting to the way the recruits spend their spare time. This play involves the â€Å"C† Company including a Company Commander and four officers. In Act 1 scene 1 the previous company has had a quiet posting with only irregular attacks and the German troup movements are just starting. The opening is one example of the way R.C Sherriff has tried to make it fun as well as stern. He opens with Hardy singing a song, â€Å"One and Two, it’s with Maud and Lou†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , which also shows that some parts are unrealistic and not showing a war the way we all know a war to be like. The first two characters we are introduced with are Hardy and Osborne. Hardy is the incompetent, casual and good humoured soldier which brings the hilarity and light hearted side of war to the audience’s attention. Osborne on the other hand is the opposite from Hardy. He displays experience and discipline to the dugout. He is also very fair-minded and level headed. In this scene they introduce Stanhope to the viewers but they have conflicting views on him. Hardy quotes: â€Å"Stanhope really is a freak† showing he doesn’t have a positive opinion on Stanhope. Whereas Osborne quotes in his favour â€Å"He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got†. With the contrast in views and the appearance of Stanhope yet to be seen is making the audience question: â€Å"What is Stanhope really like?†. During the conversation between Hardy and Osborne we’re told that they are expecting a new officer, from Osborne saying, â€Å"I hope we’re lucky and get a youngster straight from school. They’re the kind that do best†. There is also a question over â€Å"The Big Attack† which we are yet to be knowledgeable about. This is known because the conversation, â€Å"†¦the big German attack’s expected any day now†¦ I should think you’ll get it right in the neck† between the two officers tells us so, which keeps us interested to find out more. This play is a slice of real life with documentary realism. It has all the right parts to it from the comic of Hardy’s jokes to the

Pride And Prejudice :: essays research papers

Elizabeth’s Pride and Darcy’s Prejudice?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a timeless social comedy which is both satirical and full of sentiment. The title refers to the personalities of the two main characters and cues the reader to Austen’s broader thematic purpose: to satirize nineteenth century manners and morals, especially as they relate to courtship and manners. Although both characters contain both these traits, it is mainly Mr. Darcy who exemplifies ‘pride’ while Elizabeth Bennet exemplifies ‘prejudice.’ However, one of the book’s many ironies is that the prejudiced Elizabeth thinks it is Mr. Darcy who has the overall prejudiced disposition. Likewise, proud Darcy thinks it is Elizabeth who is most often proud. Through the course of the novel, these characters grow and through each other, discover their own foibles-- Elizabeth is indeed prejudiced and Darcy is indeed proud. Armed with this growth and heightened moral insight, the couple is rewarded wi th happiness and fulfillment at the end of the novel. But what if their initial beliefs were correct? Let’s say that Mr. Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice were switched within the context of Austen’s plot and narrative structure. Could a proud Elizabeth and a prejudice Darcy grow in self-awareness through the circumstances of the novel and gain a better understanding of human condition? Before Austen allows her characters to have a ‘fairy-tale’ ending, they must undergo self-growth. Given Austen’s overall view of English class structure and her empathy towards independent and spirited young women, it would be unlikely that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would resolve their differences and grow as human beings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is Mary, Elizabeth Bennet’s younger sister who seems to pinpoint a working definition of “pride'; as it is portrayed in the novel. She says: “Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary... Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves...'; (67) Both Elizabeth and Darcy’s characters show evidence of pride, yet Austen clearly takes Darcy’s pride to an extreme. His character is first introduced at Netherfield Ball-- he quietly keeps to himself, occasionally speaks to one of the upper class, and declines all introductions to any young ladies.

Correlation of the Behavior of Female Waitresses at Sports Bars and the

When we go out to eat or drink at a sports bar, we usually find that a majority of the servers and bartenders are females. Why is this, one might ask. The most obvious reason is that they draw in more male customers to drink beer and eat food. If a male patron were to walk into a sports bar, he would stay longer and spend more money because he would tend to be checking out a server that he considered attractive. Servers usually know this so they tend to expose themselves more and dress accordingly to attract more guys and hopefully to receive larger tips. One bartender interviewed for this project, who works at Buffalo Wild Wings, would climb on ladders behind the bar, to draw attention to herself. She hoped that her actions would result in the customers giving her a larger tip than they would otherswise. Based upon the tips received, this strategy worked. Seeing this interested the writer to look into the topic of how servers use their physical appearance for a better tip . With further research, this was proved true for almost every restaurant investigated. Waitresses go above and beyond from simply applying makeup to changing their hair color, and changing the way they would serve an average customer to fit their needs. The customers also play a role in the tip given, which can usually be determined by the gender, race, age, and connections to the waitress. If customers would tip based on the service provided, then the female waitresses wouldn’t have to flirt or make the guest feel like that need to tip better. Background Review of Literature Many of the sources address the way the waitresses change their physical appearances and the outcomes. However, some also discuss the emotional side of the server or the pr... ... Works Cited Gatta, M. (2009). Restaurants servers, tipping, and resistance. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 6(1-2), 70-82. Guà ©guen, N. (2012). Hair color and wages: Waitresses with blond hair have more fun. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 41(4), 370-372. Guà ©guen, N. (2009). Menstrual cycle phases and female receptivity to a courtship solicitation: An evaluation in a nightclub. Evolution and human behavior, 30(5), 351-355. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.03.004 Jacob, C., Guà ©guen, N., Boulbry, G., & Ardiccioni, R. (2009). Waitresses' facial cosmetics and tipping: A field experiment. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2009.04.003 McCall, M., & Lynn, A. (2009). Restaurant servers' perceptions of customer tipping intentions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 188-190.

Freedom Writers Essay

In Long Beach, California, a war is raging. You can’t always see it, but its soldiers know it’s there. You need to go and watch â€Å"Freedom Writers† right this instant. In this heartwarming movie, Hillary Swank plays quirky school teacher Erin Gruwell who, alongside her unsupportive husband (played by Patrick Dempsey) attempts to make history with her class of integration students, played by April Lee Hernandez, Jaclyn Ngan, Armand Jones and many more. The movie plays for 122 minutes of pure joy and raw emotion, where we get to see wonderful changes in the most unlikely people. The film was directed by Richard LaGravanese and released by Paramount Pictures on January 5th, 2007. â€Å"The Freedom Writers† is an emotional drama, filled to the brim with suspense and hope that will leave its viewers in a state of mixed emotion. In the movie, there is a war being fought in Long Beach between the Blacks, Latinas and Asians and it seems irresolvable. On Erin Gruwell’s first day teaching at Wilson High, words are being spat out and fights are erupting, she sees that the students do truly hate each other. She then makes it her mission to teach the students of room 203 about respect, about dignity, and what it will really mean when you fight for â€Å"your own† or die trying. Through Snoop Dog and Tupac, the peppy teacher somehow gets through to her students and learns that each and every one of them has been somehow affected by gangs and gang violence. Throughout freshman and sophomore year, the students of Erin’s English class find themselves respecting her, and respecting each other, which shocks them all. They are taught to write in a diary, which showed them that it doesn’t matter what is read, but what has been written. The school seems to have finally found peace within itself and room 203, but disaster strikes when we find out that Erin is not allowed to teach junior and senior years, and that her students must go on without her. Does this mean that gangs will reconnect? Shootings, will they start back up again? Can the balance of peace really be kept one, very strange, second year teacher? The climax of this film touches the heart and minds of the viewers, and makes the long rising action worth every minute. â€Å"Freedom Writers† takes place in Long Beach, California and is set in 1994-1996. It travels through the treacherous homes of the students, and shows the viewer what it’s really like to live a day like them. The setting sets a dim mood and shows the viewer how poor the kids truly are. It makes the viewer think about how hard life can be, while the plot shows us the harsh truth. The special effects in the film add an edge to what would have otherwise been a very slow film. Sound effects were few and far between, but added an edge where they were placed. A more plentiful effect would be voiceovers, where the students read excerpts from â€Å"The Diary of Anne Frank† and their own personal diaries. It showed the viewer that they were getting a voice, and that they were no longer afraid to speak up. The costumes and lighting reflected the variation of cultures and gangs in Wilson, and enhanced the overall mood of the story. Special effects and elements were very strategically placed in â€Å"Freedom Writers†, they were not sparse enough for the viewer to lost interest, but they were also not overused to enhance a certain concept. In â€Å"Freedom Writers†, there were many actors that played very important parts in making the film so touching and sad. The main character was Erin Gruwell, played by Hillary Swank who does a wonderful job catching the essence of a believer. Swank puts forth a believable performance, where the viewer really thinks that she is feeling some kind of a connection to her students. With great facial expression and the ability to look as if she is holding back fake tears, Hillary Swank makes the viewers feel as if they too can experience such real, hard emotion. Another character that played a key role in the film was named Jamal Hill; who was played by Deance Wyatt. Jamal was a student of room 203, and to the untrained eye, he comes off as your stereotypical gangster who could care less about school and everybody else around him. However, when a racial caricature of Jamal with very large lips circulated through the class, he begins to cry and we see that gangs have almost ruined his life. Later on in the movie, Deance Wyatt reads from his characters diary with such passion and power, saying: â€Å"At sixteen, I’ve seen more bodies than a mortician. Every time I step out my door I face the risk of being shot. To the rest of the world it’s just another dead body on a street corner. They don’t know that he was my friend† The way that Wyatt read these words made them so true, so passionate and it makes the viewer feel that there is a little bit of Jamal in all everybody. These two actors made the movie feel so real and so true; they did an excellent job portraying the true meaning of what it’s like to be a Freedom Writer. The film â€Å"Freedom Writers† has so many different meanings, so many different themes that their interpretations are up to the viewers. Social issues were touched upon making the story extremely controversial and yet somehow important for all teenagers to see. It touches mainly on racial discrimination and how at that school, African-American, Mexican and Asian students in gangs do not get a voice. As Mrs. Gruwell develops relationships with each and every one of her students, she learns that all they truly want is for somebody to hear them, for somebody to remember them if they die. By giving the students their diaries, Erin attempts to get them in touch with who they truly are, and what they do with such a quiet voice shocks her. The movie shows viewers that together, they can move mountains. The viewer will explore touching diary entries, teaching them that everything that is said will make a difference to somebody. It doesn’t matter what is spoken, or what is written, what matters will always be the moments when somebody hears the author. Hears them not by reading what is written, but by understanding that everybody has a story to tell and everybody’s story is important. The viewer will grasp a new found respect for everybody that they meet because, as learned though the movie, everybody has a voice, they just need to learn how to use it. â€Å"Freedom Writers† was a wonderful film and an even better experience for its viewers. It touched upon so many different social issues so that there is something for everybody to relate to making it such a great movie to watch with others. There are so many different interpretations to be made, so this film is recommended for teenagers aged 13-18, because that is the age of the characters along their journey. This was an amazing movie, and everybody that watches it should agree. There is not one possible way that any viewer will not find a character that reminds them of themselves and what they’ve been through, even at a less intense level. Freedom Writers† compares to â€Å"Pay It Forward† and this is because it explores the concept of respecting each other and respecting oneself. The idea of a few people being able to change the world is also explored and well conveyed in each film, making them incredibly relatable and inspirational. The film was touching, and impressively well made. The actors were phenomenal, the effects were catchy and there were many other elements that the viewer will discover on their own. â€Å"Freedom Writers† is recommended to anybody that wants to learn a little bit more about respect, dignity, love and the harsh, cruel world around us.

Movie: The Power of One Essay

The director John G. Avildsen has made the concert scene memorable from the film â€Å"The Power of One† which was set in apartheid time in Africa by using many visual and verbal techniques such as lighting, music and dialog that support all the suggestions that the scene makes. These techniques make this scene and film memorable. During the concert scene Peekay conducted a group of non-white African prisoners to sing for the commandant. Peekay was proven to be smart and determined in this scene because he translated the guards speech to the prisoners incorrectly to encourage the tribes to unite. The Guard told Peekay to translate â€Å"†¦sorriest prisoners in all of Africa!† but Peekay translate it to â€Å"Let us be one under the African Sky†. The prisoners sang a song about the guards â€Å"they run this way, they run that way, they are afraid, they are cowards..† in Zulu. Sergent Boreman cornered Peet and made him tell what the words to the song meant and then beat him to death because he was aggravated about what the prisoners were singing. Peekay got to Peet in time for him to say his last words: â€Å"All the tribes as one, thanks to you rainmaker†. A visual technique which made the concert scene memorable was lighting. The dark dim lighting suggested that the conditions of the prison were harsh. An example of this is when Geil Peet is beaten to death by Sergeant Boreman, the lighting was harsh, artificial and spot lighten which made Boreman look evil. The lighting gives the audience clues about the dark emotions experienced by Geil Peet in this scene. Another technique used in this film is the music during this scene. There were only two types of music, the piano and the background singing of the African prisoners which suggest a lot of things, for example the prisoners singing from different tribes could suggest co-operation and equality between tribes and the singing in Zulu meant that the commandant and Sergeant and guards could not understand what the tribes were singing about the guards being cowards and afraid. â€Å"Alyea Olyeah mon!† is what one of the prisoners was shouting out. Peekay in this scene translated the commandants speech incorrectly which gave the prisoners encouragement to bring honor to  their tribe. The dialog also made this scene memorable in this film. The dialog was very moving and powerful. The speeches were moving because the verbal and visuals at each part of the scene were supporting each other to create something beautiful even though Geil Peet was dieing in Peekay’s arms saying â€Å"†¦ rainmaker† the over narration when Geil dies is also moving â€Å"†¦for a brief moment he was a freeman†. This suggest that Peet had a hard life before if he was a freeman just before he died. The actual English speech of the commandant suggest that he hated all black people and thought that whites are superior which also suggest racism. I believe that this film â€Å"The Power of One† is a bold, strong and moving film and many memorable and important scenes like the concert scene. The Director John G. Avildsen has attempted to recreate what apartheid was like in Africa and I strongly believe that this film has captured that image.

How Society Views Mental Health Changed over Time

School of Health and Social Care Psychology of Health and Illness unit Observational record template What happened Initial thoughts Whilst at work I saw the nurse take bloods from a patient which was a monthly routine for the patient it has always gone ok and the patient has been fine with having her bloods taken before. The nurse told the patient it wouldn’t hurt at all. Something happened whereby the nurse couldn’t get the blood and had to re-attempt the procedure.The patient also experienced some pain during this procedure which she wasn’t expecting, the patient found this a quite traumatic experience The patient was elderly and appeared confused. The patient became anxious and next time a blood test was due became increasingly worried and reluctant to have the procedure. She appeared frightened of the needle What happened My initial thought was why did the procedure not go to plan and why did the patient react in the way she did.The previous procedure was fin e and she knew what it involved she had her arm out ready for her bloods to be taken, she thought it wouldn’t hurt because it has always gone ok for her with minimal distress and pain so she wouldn’t be expecting that experience. Now the behaviour has changed and gets distressed when she sees the nurse with the needle. Another thought would be is she afraid of the nurse or the needle. Does the patient feel under pressure now to have her bloods taken. Initial thoughts One of my family members called may has lost both of her sons in the same year a few years ago they were both identical twins.This caused her to feel very low and had become depressed whilst grieving for her sons. Her husband has recently become disabled and is unable to cope alone at home. It is coming up to the twins birthday and she is feeling low she said to myself that she doesn’t think she can be happy and she always has bad luck. The other day she forgot she was cooking and burnt her food and also has forgot she is suppose to be at work . She has lost a lot of weight since she has been at home more helping her husband. She has been a light smoker most of her life but is not smoking a lot more.May is not the lady’s real name it is used for confidentiality reasons. My first thoughts is that the patient could be stressed after the life events that have occurred There are the daily pressures of work and general life with her still grieving for her sons, then on top her husband is recently disabled. The build up can be the stressor she could suffer with burnout if she is stressed for too long which could also lead back to depression. She is blaming external forces her saying that she always has had bad luck.Her feelings and thoughts in the mind is with her forgetting things, is this because she has other things on her mind due to pressure and replacing her long term memory with new memories. Not many of her needs have been met to achieve a sense of wellbeing. Another thought is how would she cope with the situation in hand which way would she go, good or bad meaning action response or palliative coping. If the patient is controlled by others or feels disempowered then they could become increasingly helpless whereby they completely rely on others and depend on them to make decisions for them this could also Increase stress.This essay will provide a definition of the term psychology and look at a brief history of how psychology originated. It will discuss psychological theorists and look at how their studies influenced how we view psychological concepts today. The essay will relate how psychological studies and theories can inform nursing care. It will outline a selection of psychological approaches such as the biological, humanistic and psychodynamic. It will discuss in further detail and focus upon the behaviourist and cognitive approaches. It will then go on to explore how the observations A and B can be explained within psychological theory.Ob servation A will apply the behaviourist approach to the situation and try to explore how this theory relates to the observation. It will discuss how a routine procedure could impact upon a person and their behaviours. Observation B will utilise the cognitive approach and apply this to the experiences of a person experiencing stressful life challenges it will explore key issues such as coping and information processing. The concept of Psychology originated from philosophy and biology which are two factors used in psychology today (Eysenck 2009).Psychology represents ‘study of the mind’ (Gross 2005). Psychology is a type of science which studies the behaviour of humans and animals, psychology tries to understand why people behave in certain ways taking into consideration their thoughts and feelings (Eysenck 2009). The term psychology was founded from the Greek word, psyche which means mind, soul or spirit combined with the Latin word logos which means’ the study of ’ (Gross 2005). Psychology dates back to ancient civilizations who were interested in workings of the the mind and behaviours (Payne and Walker 2003).Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychological laboratory in 1879 (Glassman 2008). Wundt and his co workers studied the structures that make up the mind, he was the first theorist to use psychology as a self conscious experiment studying perceptions and conscious awareness (Gross 2005). Psychology is relevant to nurses and health care professionals because both nurses and psychologists seek to understand the range of needs of an individual (Barker 2007). They also look at ways of adapting behaviours to make it possible for the individual to achieve a sense of well being. Barker 2007). According to the NMC (2008) nursing focuses on the individual as a whole taking in their physical, psychological, social or cultural needs rather than a specific aspect of an individual. Psychology gives nurses an insight into human behaviour and can inform them when providing care for people (Payne and Walker 2003). There are certain psychological based therapies in place such as person centred counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy to help people deal with anxiety and depression (Gross 2005).The biological approach assumes that our individual behaviour and experiences happen because of the activity in the nervous system (Glassman and Hadad 2004). Our central nervous system (CNS) is made up of neurons which are billions of nerve endings within the body (Glassman and Hadad 2004). According to this approach it is believed that a person’s thoughts feelings and actions are caused by the CNS (Livingstone 2009). Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was the first to suggest that we should view behaviour from a biological perspective. He saw the importance of children resembling their arents and the variations in humans and how individuals inherit genes as a cause of evolution (Eysenck 2009). The humanistic approach concentrates o n a person’s individual perceptions and understanding of their own actions (Payne and Walker 2003). Individuals have their own free will to choose how they act in situations(Gross 2005). Carl Rogers explored the theory of self concept (Gross 2005). He believed individuals are at their happiest when they have a positive regard of themselves, to achieve this status they must have an unconditional positive regard from other individuals (Payne and Walker 2003).If the individual does not have this they will not achieve a sense of worth. Abraham Maslow suggested the person centred theory of the hierarchy of needs ( 1943 cited Barker 2007). This suggests individuals have a responsibility to themselves to reach self actualization (Barker 2007). This theory is popular in the health profession because it looks at a person as a whole (Eysenck 2009). The psychodynamic approach suggests behaviour forms from our unconscious mind (Glassman and Hadad 2004). The forces in a person’s pe rsonality motivate different types of behaviour for example the unconscious and subconscious (Glassman and Hadad 2004).Sigmund Freud influenced the psychodynamic approach through his psychoanalytic theory of personality (WJEC 2009). Behaviour can be influenced by three parts of the mind; Id, Ego and Superego (Gross 2005). Id is an impulsive part of an individual’s personality, the Id influences basic biological drives such as eating and drinking (Glassman and Hadad 2004) . The aim of Id is to get what you need at any cost to maintain basic survival needs (WJEC 2009). The Ego is where individuals become rational, the ego balances the needs of the Id and Superego.The superego understands right from wrong, it rationalises behaviour that is learnt by parents and other surrounding influences (WJEC 2009). The ego will protect itself from unwanted thoughts for example painful memories can be pushed into the unconscious mind which can then be forgotten (Glassman and Hadad 2004). It i s suggested behaviour is influenced by childhood experiences, while in the stage of childhood the ego is not developed enough to deal with a life event such as a traumatic experience (WJEC 2009).The behaviourist approach assumes the way we behave is the result of an experience, the approach looks at the environmental stimuli which could be an experience and how this influences the way in which someone learns (Glassman and Hadad 2004). Watson researched ways in which this theory could be measured and observed (Glassman and Hadad 2004). One of his studies was the ‘Little Albert’ whereby he thought children have three basic emotional reactions fear, rage, and love. He wanted to prove these three reactions could be conditioned in children.Watson used Albert to test his theory, He repeatedly presented Albert a rat in combination with a sudden, loud noise to classically condition fear (Gross 2005). ). Ivan Pavlov researched classical conditioning, while looking at the salivat ion of dogs he noticed what he called psychic salivation (Gross 2005). This is where a dog would salivate before it was given food (Gross 2005). Pavlov founded a basis for what we now call classical conditioning (Glassman and Hadad 2004). The theorist Skinner researched operant conditioning, one of his studies was a ‘skinner box’.A rat or pigeon would be studied doing certain tasks for example pushing a lever in the box for a reward thus becoming conditioned (Gross 2005). There are two forms of conditioning; classical and operant. Within classical conditioning an unconditioned response (UR) is when a response is not conditioned (Eysenck 2009). A neutral stimulus (NS) is the object which causes the UR (Gross 2005). The conditioned stimuli (CS) is an object which is associated with the NS pairing these two together after a number of attempts will soon create a conditioned response (CR) which would be classical conditioning (Eysenck 2009).If the CS is used by its self for a while the response will become extinct, after extinction it is possible to introduce the NS again and this creates spontaneous recovery (Eysenck 2009). In operant conditioning there are positive reinforces which are things given to strengthen the behaviour for example the rats used in the skinner box were given food every time they pushed the button (Gross 2005). A negative reinforce is something which is taken away to increase a behaviour (Glassman and Hadad 2004).Punishment is a form of a negative reinforce this could be something like a slap on the wrists for a child showing naughty behaviour this may result in a decrease of the response (Glassman and Hadad 2004) This essay will discuss how the behaviourist approach can be applied to observation A and how conditioning applies. Within classical conditioning the neutral stimulus and unconditional stimulus needs to be paired multiple times to achieve the conditioned response. If the patient in the observation viewed the pain as a traumatic experience then the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus ill only need to be paired once to get the conditioned response. Before learning the neutral stimulus would be the needle and the unconditioned response would be the patient in distress. The unconditioned stimulus would be the pain so during the observation, the needle is the neutral stimulus which before would give the patient no response. Then during the procedure the neutral stimulus (needle) gives the patient an unpleasant pain which is the unconditioned response. The next time the patient’s routine bloods were due when she saw the needle which is the conditioned stimulus it gave the patient distress which is the conditioned response.Applying the approach to the observation the patient appears to have been classically conditioned. This is because before the observation when the patient had the procedure they appeared fine. During the observation the patient appeared to experience pain which lead her to become distressed because of the discomfort. After the conditioning when the nurse came in the room the patient associated the procedure with the pain so was scared to have the procedure, she is showing signs of fear when associating needle and pain.Although the needle could be viewed as a NS the nurse also could be, because in the patients mind the nurse gave her the pain. Other factors could also incorporate conditioning such as the environment for example if the patient was hot and uncomfortable can also be a trigger for becoming distressed. The cognitive approach looks at the role of the thought processes within the mind such as memory and information processing (Payne and Walker 2003). Cognitive psychologists are interested with brain thoughts that guide and cause different behaviour (Gross 2005).Until the 1990’s the cognitive approach only assumed how information was stored in the brain (Glassman and Hadad 2004). More enhanced technology including brain imaging tech niques which helped psychologists and neuroscientists to map out brain function in coalition with behaviour (Payne and Walker 2003). Studies have shown that the relationships between thinking and languages can influence the way we think (Payne and Walker 2003). The information processing model has broadened our understanding of memory and problem solving (Glassman and Hadad 2004).Cognitive psychologists see the human mind as an information processor; we take the information from an environment and interpret in our own way to produce behaviour (Glassman and Hadad 2004). The response model of stress defines stress as the reactions of the person by the demands (Gross 2005). Stress can fall under 3 categories stress can be a stimulus, response or an interaction between an individual and its environment (Gross 2005). The categories of stress can correspond to the three models of stress (Cox 1978 cited in Gross 2005).Holmes and Rahe (1967 cited Eysenck 2009) developed the social readjustm ent rating scale (SRRS) to assess life events. They suggested that if a person has had many life events they are likely to be stressed (Gross 2005). Rotter (1966 cited Gross 2005) found that life events are more stressful if their locus of control was external. An external locus of control means that their behaviour is guided by fate, luck or other external circumstances such as other people (Barker 2007). According to Martin Seligman (1967 cited in Gross 2005), learned helplessness can happen when individuals have no control over their life or situation.They begin to think they are helpless, people who have learned helplessness appear to miss the opportunities to help change their situation (Gross 2005). Walter Canon (1932) suggested the principle of the fight or flight response, fight or flight means we prepare ourselves for attack harm or threat, when an individual is stressed the body reacts to make the fight or flight response (Gross 2005). According to Gross (2005) Hans Selye (1956) further developed this to create the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).GAS stands for the body’s way of defending against stress, individuals will act in response to any stressor in the same way within the body (Gross 2005). According to Gross (2005) coping means dealing with a situation to act and overcome a situation. Cohen and Lazarus (1979) classified different ways in which individuals cope (Eysenck 2009). Direct coping is when a person deals with the situation by changing, or removing the stressor. The individual looks at the situation to understand it, then if a similar stressor arises the individual can deal with it (Gross 2005).Emotion focused coping looks at trying to take away the off putting emotion to make the individual feel better for example ignoring the stress and doing something that makes the individual feel good (Gross 2005). Palliative coping is when the individuals turn to relief which is short term they will change the internal environment for ex ample alcohol (Gross2005). When applying the cognitive approach to observation B, May appears to be stressed. The information processing model has taken the information from the stimulus which is May’s ife events which and interpreted it into stress (Glassman and Hadad 2004). This applies to the information processing model because she is taking information from the environment and situation to interpret it in her own way formulating negative thoughts and behaviours (Gross 2005). She is responding to the events that have occurred in her life, for example her sons dying and her husband becoming recently disabled, she has had to try and balance her daily life demands and incorporate caring for her husband at the same time.When there is an imbalance it is likely stress can occur, this applies to May. According to the SRRS May has had many major life events which can cause her a high level of stress and she had already suffered with depression which is proved to be significant on the scale (Eysenck 2009). May’s locus of control is external, this is because according to May she does not think she will ever be happy again, and she has bad luck her emotions are low so her helplessness can result in stress (Barker 2007).May also maybe stressed due to the fight or flight response, this is because she is perceiving her life experiences and current situation as a threat (Gross 2005). May has not yet seen any opportunity to help herself from this stress she has not yet looked at a way of removing the stress if she stays in this situation she may have learned helplessness (Gross 2005). Applying to Mays way of coping, she appears to be palliative coping, this is because she has turned to short term relief such as smoking which is changing her internal environment (Gross 2005).In conclusion this essay has given a definition of psychology, It has understood why psychology is relevant to the nursing profession. The essay has given an overview of the biological ap proach which assumes that person’s behaviour happens because of the CNS. It has also given an overview of the humanistic approach which explains a person has their own perceptions and understanding of their actions, the approach is more relevant to nursing because it takes into consideration the whole aspects of a person to help achieve self actualisation.The essay has given an overview of the psychodynamic approach which suggests that behaviour forms from our unconscious mind. It has given an explanation of the behaviourist approach explaining classical and operant conditioning. Then given an overview of how this approach has applied to observation A, using classical conditioning. Finally this essay has explained the cognitive approach relating it to the model of stress & coping and explained how observation B can be demonstrated within the cognitive approach. References Barker. S. , 2007.Vital notes for nurses: Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell publishing. Glassman. W and Hadad . M. , 2004. Approaches to psychology. 4th edition. Buckingham: open university press. Gross. R. , 2005. Psychology the Science of Mind and Behaviour. 5th edition. London: Green Gate. Livingstone. C. , 2009. Psychology and sociology applied to medicine. 3rd edition. London: Harcourt publishers. Nursing and Midwifery council. , 2008. The code. UK: nursing midwifery council. Available from: http://www. nmc-uk. org/Documents/Standards/The-code-A4-20100406. df [accessed 14/02/12] Payne. S. and Walker. J. , 2003. Psychology for nurses and the caring professionals. Berkshire: Open university press. Royal College of Nursing. , 2003. P. 3, Defining Nursing. London: The Royal College of Nursing. Available from: http://www. rcn. org. uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/78569/001998. pdf [accessed 14/02/12] WJEC. , 2009. Psychology AS. Dublin: Folens publishers. available from: http://onlineclassroom. tv/files/posts/the_psychodynamic_approach_free_chapter/document00/WJEC_AS_Ch_03. pdf [accessed 9/0 2/12]