William Blake

Name: Brandon Clark William Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757, Blake passed away on 12 August 1827. James Hess father, a hosier, and Catherine Blake Hess mother. Two of his six siblings died in infancy. From early childhood, Blake spoke of having visions at four he saw God â€Å"put his head to the window†; around age nine, while walking through the countryside, he saw a tree filled with angels. Although his parent's tried to discourage him from â€Å"lying,† they did observe that he was different from his peers and did not force him to attend conventional school.He learned to read and write at mom. At age ten, Blake expressed a wish to become a painter, so his parent's sent him to drawing school. Two years later, Blake began writing poetry. When he turned fourteen, he apprenticed with an engraver because art school proved too costly. One of Flake's assignments as apprentice was to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey, exposing him to a variety of Gothic s tyles from which he would draw inspiration throughout his career. After his seven-year term ended, he studied briefly at the Royal Academy.Flake's first printed work, Poetical Sketches (1783), is a collection of apprentice verse, costly imitating classical models. The poems protest against war, tyranny, and King George Ills treatment of the American colonies. William Blake and his works have been extensively discussed and criticized over the twentieth and now this century, until then he was barely known. He started to become more popular around 1863 with Alexander Gilchrest biography â€Å"Life† and only fully appreciated and recognized at the beginning of the twentieth century.It seems his art had been too adventurous and unconventional for the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, maybe you could even say he was ahead of his time? Either way, today he is a hugely famous figure of Romantic literature, whose work is open to various interpretations, which has been know n to take a lifetime to establish. As well as his works being difficult to interpret, him as a person has also provoked much debate.Henry Crab Robinson, who was a diarist and friend of Flake's at the end of his life asked the question many students of Blake are still unable to conclusively answer: In his life, Blake rejected conventional religion. His poems are influenced by this. Blake wrote a poem called ‘The Little Black Boy' ‘My mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! My soul is white; White as an angel is the English child: But I am black as if bereaved of light. My mother taught me underneath a tree And sitting down before the heat of day, She took me on her lap and kissed me, And pointing to the east began to say.Look on the rising sun: there God does live And gives his light, and gives his heat away. And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive Comfort in morning Joy in the noonday. And we are put on earth a little space, That we may learn to bear the beams of love, And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove. For when our souls have learned the heat to bear The cloud will vanish we shall hear his voice. Saying: come out from the grove my love & care, And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.Thus did my mother say and kissed me, And thus I say to little English boy. When I from black and he from white cloud free, And round the tent of God like lambs we Joy: Ill shade him from the heat till he can bear, To lean in Joy upon our fathers knee. And then I'll stand and stroke his silver hair, And be like him and he will then love me. ‘ Summary: A black child tells the story of how he came to know his own identity and to now God. The boy, who was born in â€Å"the southern wild† of Africa, first explains that though his skin is black his soul is as white as that of an English child.He relates how his loving mother taught him about God who lives in the East, who gives light and life to all creation and comfort and Joy to men. â€Å"We are put on earth,† his mother says, to learn to accept God's love. He is told that his black skin â€Å"is but a cloud† that will be dissipated when his soul meets God in heaven. The black boy passes on this lesson to an English child, explaining that his white skin is likewise a cloud. He vows that hen they are both free of their bodies and delighting in the presence of God, he will shade his white friend until he, too, learns to bear the heat of God's love.Then, the black boy says, he will be like the English boy, and the English boy will love him. Shows the conflict between races in religion, suggesting that people of black nationality are of a lesser standard and inferior to whites; throughout the poem the black boy is comparing himself to the white child and wanting to be friends. This Poem has several techniques a few being Rhyme (ABA), personification example of this is when he sass â€Å"for when our souls have learned† . Metaphor an example of metaphor is shown when he writes â€Å"And I am black, but O!

Research on Liquid Waste Management Essay

The topic we are selected for our research is â€Å"LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENTS IN VAGAMON†. This topic has a wide scope for research. In order to conduct an exploratory research, we will start doing the location analysis. For that we will collect data on the population, households, population density, factories, labours, sanitation, water reserves†¦etc. Based on the data collected, we select a sample frame where the population density is high and which will be a true representative of vagamon as a whole. In order to find out the objectives of descriptive research, we will frame a questionnaire to find out the problems they are facing due to liquid wastes in their daily lives. Read Also:  What Topics Can Be Good to Do an Exploratory Essay? Based on the similar answers, we will set the objectives for the descriptive study. Next step of exploratory research will be conducted inside the factory and its premises. We will frame a questionnaire for the factory personnel to be answered to find out the liquid wastes the factories are producing and how they are processed. Then we will be conducting an exploratory research among the people living in the factory premises and will find out how the liquid wastes affecting their lives. By integrating all data collected from factories, households, and the secondary data collected from the village authorities, we will set objectives for the descriptive research. The steps for our research is 1. Collect the details of households, population, factory’s from panchayat. 2. Collect the details about the existing rules & regulations followed by panchayat for controlling the liquid waste. 3. Collect the details about the existing sanitation facilities exist in households & factory’s. The main objectives of our descriptive research are 1. To find out the various liquid waste management techniques presently using by the households and factory’s. 2. To know about the efficiency of current liquid waste management. 3. To know whether the waste water affect the public health. 4. To know about the opinion of people about the recycling of waste water.

Justifiable and Unjustifiable Government Interference

Since the Patriot Act was enacted after September 11, 2001. There has been an ongoing argument about the validity of the Patriot Act and whether or not it is a violation of civil rights. The question is how far is too far? How much intrusion will Americans allow into their lives for the sake of national security? The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001. The Patriot Act has 16 provisions that give the government surveillance and legal powers to use against terrorists. Since 9/11, there have been no other terror attacks on American soil. Since this time has passed with no other attacks, people are starting to question whether the Patriot Act should be scaled back or whether we even need it at all. The Patriot Act addresses several new areas in surveillance. I will touch on a couple of those new provisions and what they mean. Pen Register or Trap and Trace Orders: Currently, law enforcement agencies involved in intelligence investigations can obtain a ‘pen register’ or ‘trap and trace’ order under which they can have access to numbers dialed and received by a particular phone. In order to obtain a pen/trap order, law enforcement must show that the information they are seeking is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation and that the suspect that they are tracking is ‘in communication with’ someone involved in international terrorism or intelligence activities. This is a much lower standard than the probable cause standard used in criminal investigations. The Patriot Act reduces this standard even further, eliminating the ‘in communication with’ requirement. Law enforcement officials must simply show that the information they are seeking is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. Under this provision, when law enforcement requests a pen/trap order from a judge, he must issue it. The judge has no discretion to refuse, even if he/she views it as unnecessary or unjust. These are the types of provisions that concern opponents to the Patriot Act and those who think our privacy is being threatened. Although, it this may help in the fight against terrorists, opponents contend that it could be used against all citizens. I have a hard time believing that law enforcement is going to be wasting their time with people that are not involved in some type of terrorist or criminal activity. This doesn’t mean that the powers could not be abused or that mistakes could not be made. Just that in the grand scheme of things, these instances are unlikely. And if they do happen, the consequences in relation to the issue of national security is not likely to be all that great. The PA also extends the scope of information that can be obtained using a pen/trap order. Law enforcement may now have access to ‘dialing, routing, and signaling’ information where in the past it could only be used to obtain telephone numbers dialed and received. The reference to routing information refer specifically to internet use – either for email or browsing. The PA expressly states that the â€Å"contents† of communications may not be obtained with trap/trace orders, but the PA does not define the term. The FBI began using a new tool called â€Å"Carnivore† to monitor email and instant messages. They claim it will be very effective against terrorists. Opponents claim it can be used against any citizen. Carnivore lets them monitor everyone who uses the same internet provider that the suspect uses, whether they are under investigation or not. The argument is that new rules need to be put into place to prevent innocent people from being tracked instead of relying on the FBI to filter out any non-relevant information. Because content cannot easily be separated from internet routing information, in order to obtain an email address, law enforcement must be given access to the entire email packet and then is entrusted to only viewing the address and deleting the content without viewing it. With internet browsing, content cannot be easily separated from internet routing information either. This is different from telephone calls where the numbers dialed and received can easily be separated from the content of the phone call. The PA increases the scope of subpoenas. In the past, the government could use a subpoena to compel an ISP or website to release the following information about their subscribers: customer’s name, address, length of service, and method of payment. The government could not get credit cards numbers, bank account numbers or other more specific indentifying information. PA now authorizes the government to obtain credit card numbers and bank account numbers through subpoenas. Law enforcement argues that this is essential information as many people register with websites using false names and this is the only way to get a positive ID. There is no judicial review involved in the subpoena process and therefore no check to make sure law enforcement has the proper grounds. As you can see, the PA has given much broader authority to law enforcement personnel. This increase in power has raised alarms from opponents of the PA. Civil libertarians fear that concerns about national security will erode civil liberties. The key is to try and find some sort of balance. The problem is that both sides continue to argue for their point of view. Can there be a balance when you’re talking about our national security? Which is more important? Are civil liberties more important than the national security of our country? I personally don’t see how you can prioritize civil liberties over our national security. History shows that we have underestimated dangers many times in the past. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Cold War espionage, Cuban missile crisis, the Tet Offensive to name a few. There are even theories out there that we had advance knowledge of 9/11. Perhaps we tend to overreact. But we cannot underestimate the importance of national security. We already know that there are plenty of people out there that want to see our destruction. It doesn’t matter what we do, what we say, how we handle things. They want us destroyed no matter what, so this whole theory of trying to figure out what we did wrong or why they hate us is a complete waste of time. Because they don’t care. They have one objective only. I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to strike a balance that is acceptable to both sides. I understand the need to protect civil liberties. The issue I have is that situations sometimes dictate what needs to be done. I don’t think the fears that we’ll lose our civil liberties is a valid one. This idea that they’ll take a little at a time and pretty soon we’ll have none. I just don’t buy it. Not in this Country. It’s too strong, there’s too much individualism in America. The people would never allow it. There would be a revolt before it would ever happen. I guess since I have nothing to hide, I don’t mind that the government has certain powers or takes certain steps to ensure the security of our nation.

Internal and External Factors of Labour Market Essay

Internal and External Factors of Labour Market - Essay Example Labour market of Europe is suffering for aging workforce issues. Study suggests that there will be 4% hike in aging population within next eight years (Krenn and Oehlke, 2001). Companies are aware of the fact but they do not have much choice left due to following reasons: The world is going through one of the most turbulent financial period in the history of mankind. Companies are struggling due sluggish growth rate and low return on investment. They are not ready to invest money on recruiting new staff and designing training & development. Companies like P&G use â€Å"Build from within† strategy in order to give new job responsibility to existing employees without hiring external candidates. Many companies use â€Å"Build from within† strategy in order to reduce cost of developing untrained and fresh human resource pool. In 1993, Polachek and Siebert proposed Human Capital theory in order to address aging population issue (Polachek and Siebert, 1993, pp. 23-67). They h ave pointed out that life can be segregated into two phases. In the first phase young people develop human capital in terms of skill, knowledge and education while in the second phase they earn employment on the basis of developed human capital. The study suggests that substandard aging population has less human capital in comparison to talented young human resource. Human capital decreases due to aging. Labour market is heterogeneous because employers can never forecast accurately future productivity of particular employee.

Legal Homework 3 B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Legal Homework 3 B - Essay Example Thirdly, Judy’s isolation, the entry and unannounced exit of the psychiatrist are clear signs of failure to put Judy and her family at the heart of care; fourthly, the psychiatrist and the nurse have violated the principle of communication and co-ordinated care in the treatment of the patient, otherwise the change of guard could have been more seamless to avoid suicide attempts. 2. Was the nurse negligent for unlocking the bathroom door and allowing Judy to shower by herself? The nurse was negligent for unlocking the bathroom and allowing the patient to shower by herself, because technically it was impossible for her to carry out any meaningful grooming due to her mental disorder. Moreover, she had spent many days without taking a bath. 3. Was it below the standard of care the nurse to leave the bathroom door unlocked when the psychiatrist came to see Judy? Leaving the bathroom door unlocked was in order, since the patient’s movements would be monitored by the psychiatr ist. And if in any case the nurse’s helping hand was urgently needed, he or she would have accessed the room more easily than when it was locked. 4. Is there a greater duty to this patient from an ethical perspective? Why or why not? Judy is undergoing involuntary psychiatric treatment preferred under the doctrines of police power and state’s parens patriae, however this condition does not strip her of patient rights and ethical treatment. By contrast, mandated treatment naturally invokes ethical tensions for psychiatrists and their assistants that need a delicate balancing act. Whereas, Judy’s personal freedoms should be restricted by virtue of her mental health, there ought to be a greater duty to her by considering principles that obligate the clinicians to treat her with more respect and dignity (McSherry, McSherry, & Watson, 2012). Whereas deterrence of suicide in Judy’s case requires a stricter environment, she deserves a closer, friendlier environm ent since suicide cases do not just happen out of blues; there are imminent signs like preparation of ropes as witnessed in this case. In acknowledging the gravity of denying Judy the freedom of patients, she should be granted: a judicial review of her situation, a legal counsel, and a better, less restrictive option than hospitalization. Moreover, greater duty of care requires that the emergency health care facility to collaborate more with Judy’s decision-makers in exploring viable treatment options to restore her health, because it is only ethical if the health care staff work towards her wellbeing rather than confining her in an isolated room, which only serves to aggravate her condition. 5. What ethical principles must be considered when caring for such a patient? a) The main ethical principle that should be considered in this case is treatment through informed consent. Owing to Judy’s mental health condition, her kin through a legitimate surrogate decision-maker reserve the right to be furnished with balanced professional information regarding Judy’s health condition and viable treatment options in order to arrive at appropriate decisions without undue influence. b). Secondly there should be a friendly, professional distance and esteem between Judy and her clinicians that creates a safer and more predictable environment for her recovery. This would create room

Qualitative Data Collection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Qualitative Data Collection - Essay Example Therefore, qualitative research in education approved of the researcher’s point of view as a critical aspect of the research. Thus, qualitative research in education asserts that the bias or subjectivity of the researcher is fundamental. Consequently, the perspective and value judgment of the researcher are profoundly bonded to the research (Darlington, 2002). In this perspective, the rapport or researcher and the issue that is being studied impossible to disconnect. In simple terms, what a researcher prefers to investigate is connected to his value judgment. There is an idea that research information and researcher’s value-laden conclusions or research interpretation cannot subsist independently. To a certain extent, information and researcher’s perspective are firmly interwoven with each other. Specifically, a researcher is regarded to be an ‘insider to the research’. In principle, this perspective is founded on a ‘subject-subject relationship’ (Darlington, 2002, 15) in which realities in human societies are subjective. There is an assumption that the researcher responds based on his personal value judgment. In any research approach, whether quantitative or qualitative, one of the most important steps is the data collection. In qualitative research in education, there are four major data collection methods, namely, ethnography, educational criticism, action research and case study. Ethnographers try to record, in a systematic manner, how indigenous people behave and how they rationalize their behavior. And ethnography, in principle, is a systematic account of this documentation. Indigenous people are individuals in circumstances anywhere, including youngsters and adolescents in schools, not merely people who subsist in isolated and hostile environments such as jungles or peasant villages (Sherman, 2001). Many researchers

Organisation Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Organisation Behaviour - Essay Example Without doubt, employees form the most critical resource in any organisation. Leaders are faced with the compulsion of managing human resource effectively in promoting the goals of the organisation. Leaders who appreciate the diversity in personalities exhibited by different employees cannot achieve this. There is a salient need for leaders to gain familiarity with different personality types by understanding their common trait preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. With such an understanding and appreciation, a leader can choose the effective management styles for employees with different personality types. In addition, the modern workplace exhibits a high level of diversity in terms of cultures. Therefore, leaders have to prove competency in managing people of different cultures. Since employees do not exhibit similar levels of performance, it is critical for a leader to be able to handle employees of varying capacities. This paper will discuss how a leader can prove to be compete nt when dealing with different types of employees. In order to manage type A personalities effectively, leaders should make efforts to understand their specific personality traits. Moreover, it is important to establish what they value most in their lives and things that they consider as priorities. Type A individuals are a unique set of personalities who are characterized by obsession with work and competitiveness. They exhibit a competitive spirit in everything that they indulge in. They are individuals who are determined to emerge as the best. They are unlikely to settle for less and prove to be extremely ambitious. Their ambition is what leads to an ardent obsession with work. They exhibit concern for meeting stringent deadlines and have a sense of urgency that defines their entire lives (Hanif & Sarwat 2011, p. 93). Usually, their sense of urgency may lead them to exhibit a high level of impatience, especially when things do not happen at the pace they want. Their impatience

20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get - Assignment Example The assignment "20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get" analyzes the article which is a good piece fit for young graduates or those yet to complete their studies. It gives pieces of advice to young people on how to face life once they come out of school. It targets both the employed young people and those yet to secure jobs who share the objective of excelling in life. The tips are applicable in the real life and are vital in overcoming the challenges that come with employment, especially for the young generation. Young people require reminder on the necessity to protect and maintain a good reputation. Damaged reputation follows you wherever you go. On working hard, the author is not very right. Being first to arrive at work and the last to leave does not translate to being effective in the workplace. It is better to work smart and achieve the set goals than spending more hours at the workplace. Hard work does not depend on the number of hours spent working but on the quality and timely delivery of targets. The point that I will take from the article is advancing in technical skills to complement my degree. According to the article, this will boost the chances of getting employment. The author also stresses on networking as a strategy for ensuring employment. It is true that securing jobs today rely more on the people that one knows than skills possessed by the person. Expanding on the network guarantees the timely receipt of information about employment opportunities.

Risk Assessment Continuity Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Risk Assessment Continuity Plan - Essay Example Simply put, a continuity plan comes into play when internal or external factors influence the company to resort to emergency actions in order to continue providing services to their clients. In our case, the company’s continuity plan comes into action if the database integrity is damaged or information security is compromised. As suggested by Britt (2005) a modular stepwise plan is most effective and that is how our continuity plan would function if the risk assessment recommendations are already established. Since our security is working on several layers, the continuity plan would also work in layers which will be connected to how bad a breach is made into our systems. For instance, if a hacker attack has been detected and we know that the hacker did not manage to go thorough any layers of our security, it would be useless to require a physical change of location for our database storage servers since it would simply mean that we are reacting too much. On the other hand, if there is a fire in the building which damages the property to such an extent that business becomes impossible to continue in the same location, a secondary location must be activated where we can continue to provide services to our clients and maintain our operations at more or less the same levels. Similarly, a virus which brings down our network or corrupts the database stored on one location might require the activation of a secondary location where the most recent backup of the database could be used for continuity of business (Britt, 2005). As it has been ascertained by nearly every writer working on the topic of continuity plans, backups are essential for a smooth recovery from disaster (Gouldson, 2002). An accidental disaster does mean a flood or hurricane since in those cases a company may have a few days of warning to ensure that everything is in place to counter that. An accidental disaster can be natural, i.e. earthquake or lightning strike but

Mintaka Star Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mintaka Star - Research Paper Example While looking up to the sky during the Tasmanian Summer, it is possible for one to pick up the popular Orion constellation. One of the major captivating features that people see in the Orion belt is the three stars, which people consider to be the giant’s belt. Mintaka is the star that is situated to the westernmost end of the belt, and it is an Arabic word that is associated with a belt. Alnilam is the central star and it refers to â€Å"a belt of pearls†. Alnitak is situated to the easternmost side and it refers to a â€Å"girdle†. All these stars are said to have been formed at the same time and are also situated at an equal distance from earth. Rigel, Saiph, Bellatrix and Betelgeuse stars were formed almost at the same time as the three stars (Gonzalez). When observing all these stars on the celestial sphere, Rigel appears to be the brightest one, and it is characterized by a white/blue appearance, while star Betelgeuse shines brightly with a reddish hue. The other stars have varying degrees of brightness, all emitting whitish color. Like in the case with most constellations, the unique stars which are associated with a unique figure are positioned at varying degrees of distance from the viewing positions that people adopt here on earth but they do not have a mutual â€Å"ancestry.† However, in Table 1, the stars that are situated in Orion’s belt together with the other fainter stars that are above and to the right of the belt share a common distance, which is approximately 1000 light years from earth (Starr).

Differences between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management Essay

Differences between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management - Essay Example Over the years, there has been unending debates and continuous conversations between human resource authors on whether there are actual difference between HRM and personnel management. A host of these authors have argued that the most obvious change has been the â€Å"re-labeling process† (Koster, 2007.p.4). Koster argues that the relabeling would not have necessarily represented any change but was important in that it helped rid personnel management from its unlikeable welfare image. The overall effect was that it helped safeguard personnel management from marginalization. All the same, this study surmises that the development of HRM was not entirely a â€Å"re-labeling† campaign but there must have been a change of concept or approach (Koster, 2007.p.6). It is this change that defines the difference between personnel management and HRM. In this study, we trace these differences in light of various models as well as examine their application using two functional areas, recruitment and selection and training and development. Personnel Management and HRM Over the past 50 years, the term personnel management has been employed to refer to the function of management that deals with the recruitment, employment, training, redeployment, safety and departure of employees (Cole, 2004.p.4). Simply, personnel management was a function within the organization concerned with managing people, the main goal being achieving efficiency and justice for all those within an enterprise. Key in this definition were the reference to justice and efficiency, this represented a cordial approach to employee affairs within an organization. Up to the 1990s, personnel management was holistically involved in handling collective relationships with employees and their representatives and mediating individual employment relationships (Cole, 2004.p.5). In regard to stakeholder roles and relationships, the personnel manager was largely under pressure from the managing director, trad e union representatives, and line management colleagues. Around the personnel managers there would be the board of directors at the top whereas at the same level or just below them there would be: the senior line managers, junior colleagues, union representatives, statutory bodies and individuals employees. The board, and especially the managing director, would be dependent on the personnel manager to guarantee that workers relationships were both calm and predictable (Storey, 1999.p.26). Senior line managers were keen to guarantee that there would be no interruptions to their production programs. The conditions therefore in which personnel management was conducted at the time could conveniently be explained as highly synchronized, subject to considerations of relative power among the board and worker’s representatives, and rigid in regard to labor mobility (Cole, 2004.p.6). In this context, personnel managers were treated like the highly-respected company advocates charged w ith advising the senior management on how best to avoid, or curtail conflict. It is because of this In the contemporary situation, the prime role of personnel/HR practitioners is that of developing the organization’s staff resources so as to enable people to make a flexible, multi-skilled input to the general

Why a BSN is the future over ADN Essay Example for Free

Why a BSN is the future over ADN Essay Associate -Degree Versus the Baccalaureate degree level in nursing My theory is that the more education a nurse has the better he/she can be at their job of taking care of patient as a whole and on a complex level. To obtain a Nursing Degree one can start at the LVN or go all the way to a PHD in nursing. This paper will focus on the abilities or competencies of a prepared Associate Degree nurse, and the abilities or competencies of a Baccalaureate Degree Nurse. This is a hot topic now and has been for many years. I have been hearing for many years that ADN will be phased out, and only BSN will be used in the future. The time period in which to mandate this event is governed differently by the state where the nurse works. There are catchy phrases out there like BNS in 10, or BSN by 2020. â€Å"As of 2010, at least 18 states, including New York, New Jersey, were considering BSN in 10 legislation.† (nursing link 2011, 07.) The first step is to define nursing. â€Å"Nursing is the knowledge based discipline, which focuses on the wholeness of human being.† The ADN nurse and BSN take a different approach in teaching their students. They both take the same state mandated NCLEX, but have a different time of training. â€Å"The Associated Degree takes a shorter path of two years where the BSN takes a longer with 4 years of education to complete the degree.† Now to break this down and let you know the difference of a 2 and 4 year nursing program. The Associate trained nurse is more task oriented, while the BSN is based on theory and research. I having a diploma hospital based program spent 4 or more days in the hospital setting, but my wife has her BSN and she tells me she usually only spent 1 or 1.5 days at the hospital. I see this now also, where I work we see the Associate nurses more than the BSN students. The clinical experience is only part of what a BSN is exposed to. â€Å"You will receive crucial training in key areas like communication, leadership and critical thinking enhanced knowledge that will become ever more valuable in the complex and changing future of health care  delivery.†(NY Times 2012,06). In short a nurse that takes the extra time of going to a BSN is better educated to take care of their patient’s special and unique needs. Can provide a higher level of care and uses the tool of critical thinking as part of their treatment process. The arguments of BSN over Associate diploma will be supported with the following examples. The Association of College of Nursing provided examples and has linked it to better outcomes for patients, and is pressing for a higher educated nursing force. â€Å"In the October issue of medical Care, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that surgical patients in Magnet hospitals had 14% lower odds of inpatient death within 30 days and 12 % lower odds of failure to-rescue comp ared with patients cared for in non- Magnet Hospitals.† (aacn. 2012.10).This research is reflective of Magnet hospitals have a higher proportion of BSN. The push for higher education in nursing work force had shown to be beneficial. In its October 2010 report The Future of Nursing, the Institute of Medicine states â€Å" and increase in the percentage of nurses with a BSN is imperative as the scope of what the public needs from nurses grows, expectation of surrounding quality heighten, and settings where nurses are needed proliferates and become more complex.† Institute of Medicine 2010). This means that the population is getting sicker, living longer, becoming more complex to treat, and are in need of higher educated nurses. Knowledge of basic nursing skill in is not enough to get by on you need a higher level of education. â€Å"According to the IOM Institute of Medicine, core competencies for today’s nurse include : Leadership, Healthy policy, System improvement, Research and evidence-based practice, Teamwork and collaboration, Competency in specific content areas such as community and public health and geriatrics, and Technological knowledge.† (nursing link 2011, 07.) This means that nur sing educational need are an ongoing process to meet the special needs of our complex, elderly, and sick patients. An advantage that a BSN will have over an Associate nurse is job opportunity. In the world of professional nursing BSN are chosen before, and is some case required to be in management position. Also it opens the door for further education such as but not limited to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia, Nurse Practitioner, and the list goes on, but these are my hot buttons. To conclude this paper it is imperative to pursue a BSN degree. It helps provide a higher level of care  to the population needs. Patient outcome has been proven to be improved. At some point a BSN is probably going to be mandated any way. The information here strongly supports the need for a BSN education. The oppurinity is out there. However one pursues a higher education on line, or in the classroom lets up the bar to give our population the highest level of care they deserve. References Fink, J. (2011, 07 11). 6 reasons to get a BSN. Retrieved from nursinglink.monster.com/education/articles/3542-6-reasons-to-get-a-bsn?print+=true. Marybabu. (2012, 02). Bsn vs Associate Degree in Nursing. Retrieved from studymode.com/essays/Bsn-Vs-Associate-Degree-In-Nursing . Medicine, I. o. (2010). The Future of Nursing. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. PÉREZ-PEÑA, R. (2012, 06 23). Why a BSN? The New York Times, pp. 1-2. Rosseter, R. (2012, 10 24). American Association of nursing Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce. Retrieved from www.accn.nche.edu/media-relation/facts-sheets/nursing-workforce. Smoothieshah. (2012, 08 30). Difference between adn and bsn nurses. Retrieved from studymode.com/essy/Differences-between-adn-and-bsn.

Resilience in children

Resilience in children Abstract There is a great deal of research into resilience in children, whether they are housed or homeless. However, there is less research about resilience in adults, whether they are housed or homeless. Childrens well-being, which includes their resilience, is directly correlated with that of the adults in their families. Given this reality I decided to investigate if resilience reduces negative effects of homelessness in adults and in their transition after becoming housed. The information I find can be useful for those working with adults who are homeless and those making the transition from being homeless to being housed. Literature review According to the Stuart B. McKinney Act, a person is considered homeless if he or she lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence and has a primary night time residence that is: 1) supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; 2) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, including mental health facilities or hospitals; 3) a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, which includes cars and parks. This definition does not include those imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to an act of Congress or a state law (NCH, Fact Sheet #3). Difficult childhoods (including sexual and/or physical abuse, addiction, mental illness, and so on) may play a role in adult homelessness. More women report living with an abusive parent than men (Smith, et al, p. 5). Battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness (NCH, Fact Sheet #3). Approximately half of all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence (NCH, Fact Sheet #3). Immigrants also cite language barriers (Smith et al, page 13). Many kinds of people become homeless, leading to a diverse homeless population (Tompsett, p 86). It is important to include the services that are most important for that particular group, especially in this time of limited funds for services (Tompsett, pp 87). Even though homelessness affects people in different ways, it can have a corrosive effect on peoples self-esteem and well-being; fifty-three percent of respondents say that being homeless destroyed their self-esteem and self-confidence. Unlike gender, age, ethnicity and nationality made no difference in how people answered the questions (Smith et al, page 9). Thirty-nine percent of men and nine percent of women said that being homeless led to depression, mental health problems and anxiety (Smith, page 10). However, many women report being depressed and having a history of mental health problems prior to homelessness (Smith et al, page 10). Homelessness can damage: peoples capability through loss of skills; their inability to think about employment while worrying housing; their health becoming impaired while homeless; their resilience and self-confidence, particularly mens (Smith, et al, page 9). This emphasizes the need to activities that help people build self-esteem and the social interactions helping them release their capabilities (Smith et al, page 10). The literature I found does not explain how these activities help in this way. Whether or not people develop depression or resilience depends mostly on their feelings of powerlessness or capability and the belief that one is can plan and carry out plans to achieve their goals. In order to become resilient, they must feel they are able to do something about the situations and meet their challenges. Depression can develop when someone doubts their ability to find a successful solution (Grotberg, page 66). Feelings of powerlessness can be changed to those of capability by teaching the five basic building blocks of resilience: trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, and identity (Grotberg, page 67). What is resilience? Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress; it means bouncing back from difficult experiences (APA, p. 2). Resilience is a persons ability to rely on their own core self-belief and stability, enabling him or her to successfully resist harmful life events that would damage someone else (Smith et al, p. 3). Reactions to stress are not isolated events; they are the consequences of what has occurred before. There is a dynamic interaction of patterns of coping responses, personality characteristics, social support (Tusaie and Dyer, p. 6) Research shows that resilience is commonplace not extraordinary or exceptional. People commonly demonstrate resilience. Resilience involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone (APA, p. 2). Resilience is a dynamic process whereby individuals can show great coping skills in the face of significant adversity. It is not one-dimensional but a sort of chain reaction that leads to resilience later; that chain reaction begins when children are very young (Gorman, et al). Many professionals believe that resilience can be learned. Others debate whether or not resilient qualities are learned or part of ones genetic nature. These resilient characteristics have been referred to as protective factors defined as the positive conditions, personal and social resources that promote resiliency, protect and buffer the individual, and reduce the potential for high-risk behaviors (MHW) footnote the definition or developmental assets, defined as the positive relationships, opportunities, skills, and values that promote the positive development of all children and adolescents [http://www.soyreport.org/40developmentalAssets.php]footnote the definition(Richardson, page 309). Experts disagree about how much of resilience is genetic. People seem to differ in their inborn ability to handle lifes stresses. Resilience can be cultivated. To the degree it is learned, resilience seems to develop out of the challenge to maintain self-esteem. (Psychology Today, page 1). Resilience is a complex process that is in some ways as unpredictable as the weather. A number of negative factors may weaken resilience. Those factors include violence, physical or sexual abuse, direct exposure to alcoholism and removal from the home. The toll increases as the negative factors increase. If resilience is strength under adversity, then multiple-risk exposures (four or more) limit emotional endurance (Gorman, et al, page A53). Attitudes and characteristics of resilient people Research often focuses on limitations, negatives and the problematic. As a result, strengths may be often overlooked. Research shows that women between the ages of 35 and t3 years who had overcome homelessness and found that they had person, interpersonal and transpersonal strengths such as pride, moral principles, determination, and commitment to personal relationships citation. These strengths served to protect them from adverse health outcomes associated with being homeless. Homeless adolescents found numerous pathways to health. In particular, participants exhibited self-confidence and considered themselves to be the primary resource for health promotion (Rew and Horner, p. 90). Research also shows that the motivation for engaging in health promotive behaviors stems more from positive factors or strengths, such as the desire for growth and human potential than from negative factors (Rew and Horner, p. 91). Resilient people harness inner strengths and rebound more quickly from a setback or challenge. Those who are less resilient may dwell on problems, feel victimized, become overwhelmed and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse (Mayo Clinic, p. 1). Those who lived with relationship trauma can develop resilient qualities associated with resilience. They may develop strategies for managing chaos that can become assets if they can work through their downside. Those who have thrived despite the odds can be inventive when dealing with problems. Their ability to think outside the box think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective, be creative and smart-thinking footnote the definition when solving complex family situations shows creativity and originality, which are assets in all areas of life. Humor is another asset of those coming from problematic backgrounds. Humor is used for very specific reasons, including managing the unmanageable, lightening the familys emotional load by easing tension, and finding alternative ways to bond and feel good (Dayton, pages 99-100). Steve At the heart of resilience is a belief in oneself and a belief in something larger than oneself. Resilient people dont let adversity define them, move towards a goal beyond themselves and transcend pain and grief by perceiving bad times as a temporary state of affairs (Psychology Today, p. 1). Resilient people see their problems as a temporary state of affairs rather than a permanent state; tend not to globalize; have the capacity to see beyond themselves into a different kind of life; believe that life will work out (optimistic) (Dayton, page 101). Resilience helps us understand that adversity can help develop strength (Dayton, page 103). There are many ways to build resilience, including: 1) reach out to make connections, create a support system, find someone who believes in you wholeheartedly, find people who can help you (Psychology Today, page; APA, page 4;Mayo Clinic); 2) keep things in perspective (APA, age 4; Mayo Clinic); avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems; 3) accept that change is a part of living; move toward your goals; take decisive actions; look for opportunities for self-discovery; nurture a positive view of yourself; maintain a hopeful outlook (APA, page 4; Mayo Clinic); take care of yourself (APA, page 4). 4) Reframe and reinterpret past events to find the strengths one had all along (Psychology Today; Dayton, page 107). 5) Be self-aware; gain skills and tools for staying safe; help others; teach parenting skills, when possible (Gorman, et al). 6) Learn from your experiences (Mayo Clinic, p. ; Collingwood, p. 2). 7) Dont retreat from life; ask penetrating questions and answer them honestly. 8) Take a while to think through the problem to find the best solution and then tell yourself to take the first step (Dayton, p. 108; Collingwood, p. 2). 9) Develop inner resources and strengthen inner self; work through unresolved issues from the past; maintain good boundaries; stay away from victim thinking (Dayton, pp. 108-109). Activities help people build their self-esteem and the social interactions that help them release their capabilities. These activities include creative writing, art and crafts, music, and walking. Doing so enabled them to relax and feel more positive about life, as well as developing transferable skills. These activities also reached those who were most vulnerable and marginalized, including those misusing substances and those most severely mentally ill (Smith et al, page 10). Steve The most commonly reported sources of informal support include family, friends, as well as faith and community organizations (Smith et al, page 13). The amount of contact homeless people have varies depending on their circumstances. Services are often identified as a key source of support and are used in a variety of ways. Services that participants consider the most important include affordable housing, day centers and shelters, learning and training opportunities, translation services, detox and substance abuse programs, and other health services (medical and mental health) (Smith et al, pages 13, 15, 18). People experiencing homelessness use services in different ways (Smith et al, page 21). Some need practical help for brief times while others likely need those services for much longer. The best services are those that are inclusive, open access and treat their service uses with respect and empathy (Smith et al, page 21). Employment and entry to the labor market are currently thought of as the main way out of poverty and welfare dependency. Developing job skills that improve their chances of employment is important but should happen at the expense of activities that build self-esteem and social interactions (Smith et al, page 21). Developing resilience is a personal lifelong journey, one worth making.

Reflective Report On Clinical Education In Practice Nursing Essay

Reflective Report On Clinical Education In Practice Nursing Essay This assignment will critically reflect and analyse clinical supervision of third year dental students during their infield placement of Dental Public Health in a school environment, a module within Preventive Dentistry. Clinical supervision of dental surgery assistants during their short clinical placement at the Periodontology Section will also be delved into. The preparation, planning, implementation and evaluation of the supervised sessions will be incorporated, as also the rationale for the choice of particular learning, teaching and assessment strategies. Finally, I will conclude by outlining areas of personal and professional growth, identifying strengths and challenges and putting forward an action plan for my future professional development as a clinical supervisor. Dental public health placement of third year dental students. Description I was assigned direct supervision of ten 3rd year dental students by the Faculty of Dental Surgery for four, weekly sessions at schools of my choice. The objectives were to expose the students to public dental health within a school environment and develop some of the skills necessary to convey dental health education to children of different age groups. Their competence level in communication skills were to be assessed and a report sent to the consultant dental surgeon in public health. Preparation Heidenreich et al (2000) suggests priming students for activities by debriefing them prior to engagement. In view of this, and also bearing in mind that I had never even met these ten dental students, I organised a 45 minute discussion session in our department lecture room. I specifically asked them to prepare a plan of how they propose to organise such an activity of delivering dental talks to children of different age groups. I also suggested that they write down any fears and queries they might have. My intensions were two fold. I needed to familiarize myself with the students- who they were, how they process thoughts and ideas, their feelings and apprehensions towards public speaking and an overview of their knowledge, perceptions and communication skills. I also wanted to use a constructive paradigm as discussed by McMillan (2011), where the knowledge is not transmitted by direct instruction and imposed on the students, but rather were they are actively involved in shaping their own learning experience. When describing androgogy (adult learning), Knowles (1984), states that adults learn best when learning is self-directed. They learn because they chose to do so and thus are more motivated and more reflective. Therefore transformation of knowledge acquired is more permanent. These students were academically mature 21-24 year olds, with their own individual experiences and personal perceptions. I intended to promote a deep learning approach by stimulating their genuine desire to engage in this learning task and to appreciate its value, integrate the experience in the students own biography (Jarvis, 2005). Implementation and evaluation The discussion forum proved to satisfy all its purposes. The students came well prepared, so, after the introductions, I clearly conveyed the learning objectives of the placement as dictated by the faculty and the assessment criteria. However, I wanted to establish what they feel should be the outcome of this placement, what they expect to learn and what kind of feedback they think is most helpful for them. So, we discussed and negotiated these issues first. McGrath et al (2005) propose that in order to promote understanding the supervisor should guide students in contextualizing their theoretical knowledge, bridging the potential divide that exists between the theory they learnt in the lectures and what they actually need to use in practice. The in-depth knowledge studied had to now be broken down into blocks, simplified and used according to the scenario presented. The language by which we speak to young children to convey a message cannot be full of scientific jargon. All the students were actively involved in this open discussion. The two foreigners in the group had to be encouraged and prompted a little but they integrated eventually. As an empirical study by Sweet et al (2008) suggests, when the students worked together and talked about and criticised each others planned activities they learnt in a way that changed their perspectives. I was practically a non-participant observer except when some misconceptions had to be clarified and some fears and queries needed to be addressed. Throughout the discussion I had one of the students create a concept map identifying the salient points. This was used at the end of the session when I summarized their thoughts and together we established how we were going to work on the four placement days. The students felt more comfortable if they observed me giving the first dental talk, then we decided that they are to be grouped in pairs to give talks on the first day and progress in giving individual talks in t he 3 sessions after that. On the day, the sessions went as planned with only a few hiccups. After the students observed me delivering the initial talk I had 20 minutes to give feedback and to answer any questions. This proved to be vital. Most of the students needed reassurance and encouragement. In retrospect, the decision to work in pairs was very sound since this eased some anxieties. At the end of the day we regrouped and I gave feedback to each student individually. Kilminster et al (2007) propose that the supervisor should prioritise and balance the negative and positive feedback. They also suggest that brief and targeted feedback with reinforcement of correct behaviours is very important. I followed this line of thought during the short briefing after the session, pointing out their strengths and commenting on how what they could improve. The students comments suggested that they enjoyed this learning experience. As the students progressed through the rest of the placement they gained confidence and their communication skills improved. There was one student in particular who did not wish to give a talk to the 6year old children. He felt he could not cope with their short concentration span and restlessness and he was afraid that he was incapable of going down to such a simple level of explanation. I had a chat with him were we clarified some negative ideas and attempted to dispel them in view of the wider ramifications that can impact his performance even in a clinical setting in the future. After all, eventually, he will not be having a choice of who he is to treat. At the end, he did deliver this talk, but I suggested that he could make use of a cartoon to capture the childrens attention, and to his surprise he actually managed and enjoyed it. . Hattie and Timperley (2007) state that asking students for an appraisal of their own performance before giving feedback has the potential to develop self-assessment and self-reflective skills which are pre-requisites for becoming competent, independent practitioners. The students were, therefore, asked to write a short reflective account of their experience, after which I gave online feedback. I was not allocated any additional time to have another discussion with the students, which I would have preferred. This formative assessment had to be followed by a summative assessment which was interwoven with the learning process, so the students had the opportunity to demonstrate their competencies in communication skills in a variety of contexts within the school dental education program. First year student dental surgery assistants Description Dental assistants are given five, weekly sessions to learn some basic yet essential skills after attending lectures on the topics. When these students are given the clinical placement, they are simply ushered into the periodontal clinics with barely any introductions let alone learning objectives. I decided that this placement was going to be slightly different. Preparation I took the initiative and asked their coordinator what these students need to learn and what skills need to be mastered in this placement. I also asked for a rough overview of their theoretical knowledge. Jarvis (1999: 46-47) situates learning under the umbrella of practice when he summarises practical knowledge as being practical, dynamic integrated knowledge that has been legitimised in practice, through a combination of process knowledge and content knowledge. Hence, although the dental assistants would have been taught about the theory, they will still need to learn how to implement and practice these skills in a clinical context. I planned the five sessions so as to have some sequence in their learning, from simple to more complex, and not to overload these students with more information than they can process (Heinderlich et al, 2000). I had to keep in mind that these were 16-18 year olds with an average academic level. Implementation and evaluation I felt that my primary role with these novice students was to encourage them to first reflect on what they know and understand, then demonstrate the skills; finally they can perform the skills themselves. A lot of learning in our work context takes the form of experiential learning. Kolb (1984) states that students learn best when experiences are put into practice after observing and analysing possible outcomes, reflecting and assimilating the concepts and coming up with their own possible solutions. In view of this, it was up to me to create the necessary opportunities for the students to meet, observe, interact and consult with people who have more expertise. I made the necessary arrangements to allocate students to reliable clinicians. Bandura (1977) claims that affable and motivated role models compel replication of good practice. Students not only observe the carrying out of the skills but also learn prioritisation, time management, problem solving and how to build relationships with patients and other staff members. The actual practical part came later, since I needed to make sure that the students will perform safe practices. Ultimately I was responsible. I organized a meeting before the start of the placement. I tried to help the students set appropriate learning objectives and establish some ground rules. The students were passive, so I used simple open ended questions to make them feel comfortable. I needed to form a professional relationship of trust and of mutual respect with these students so that eventually they would have the confidence to ask questions, reflect on the practices observed, discuss openly and finally together we could amalgamate all they learn. Questioning also helped me establish their individual baseline knowledge which we linked to the skills they were about to practice. Their academic level varied. Some students could be challenged further with more thought-provoking questions, while others needed more repetition and guidance. I was informed that they use reflective journals throughout their course. So, I exploited this and suggested to the students to write a SWOT analysis. I offered that if they wished to go through it with me I would oblige and offer any assistance on issues which crop up. This was a way to encourage students reflect and think on their own learning process. . I also gave some tips on basic survival skills they need in the challenging setting of a clinic. I explained that empathic and ethical behaviour with the clients is imperative During the actual clinical placement, I made time for short discussions within the clinic itself. Here, I formed an outline of the students individual values, attitudes and beliefs and gained insight to the students preferred mode of taking in information. Some were visual learners, others auditory and others learn best through hands-on approaches. Some students were self-directed and learnt on their own, while others were more passive and need to be encouraged and guided. This directed my teaching style and interaction with individual students. During this time the students themselves had the opportunity to identify any difficulties and analyse the procedures they had seen. I think these short discussions provided a positive learning environment where the students felt unthreatened and free to address their own learning inconsistencies. I also found that after a patient procedure is completed, a few Socratic questions helped develop the students problem solving skills and verbalise their understanding or misunderstanding of concepts (Heidenreich et al, 2000). Some students were asked to look up further on the some of the issues presented and offer their views on a later date. When the observation part of the session was over, the students actively participated in the hands-on practice of the skills. It is through practice that students continuously build a body of knowledge about their own practice, through reflecting, doing, thinking and learning (Jarvis 1992). Although, psychomotor skills varied from one student to another not necessarily in line with the knowledge they had, all of them were given the same opportunity to practice skills in the clinic. Some were more enthusiastic than others, asked questions, used every opportunity to practice and even went further and looked up additional information. Eraut et al (2004) maintain that central to all learning is the confidence and commitment to try out skills and to be proactive in seeking learning opportunities and therefore, the ultimate control over learning rests with the student. My main goal was to gradually and systematically withdraw to a watchful distance while the students carried out the proced ures assigned, safely without jeopardising the health of the clients. Self-assessment I have embarked on a steep learning curve. Although I have supervised dental, dental hygiene and dental assistants students for more than a decade, I must admit that this was the first supervision experience that had true meaning and value I could truly explain the reasons for my actions and decisions and planned the supervision sessions while envisaging outcomes. Subconsciously, I continuously referred to the theories and strategies of teaching and learning sometimes even unintentionally. Today, I can identify problems and loopholes within the systems currently employed to teach the various professions within the dental team. We can give so much more to empower the students to face the challenges of a clinic and to support them in their journey of becoming competent professionals. However, faculty, management, supervisors and clinicians alike need to work together, change and adapt current protocols and be open to innovations. A competency based approach might be a way forward. Competency frameworks are building blocks of a transparent process with hopefully, an end product of a competent graduate. This approach can be used to establish common ground of qualifications in the increasingly mobile European health care work force (Adam, 2004). Reflecting on my role in all this, I realise that I have many hurdles to surpass. With perseverance, commitment, negotiation and continued education I hope I can bring about some changes. However, I need to become more self-aware, since I believe that this empowers me to believe in what I am doing and to be more assertive. I intend to work for a more systematically coordinated, constructive, student-friendly, objective system of clinical supervision within the dental team. Conclusion Learning can be accidental, but teaching definitely cannot. Supervisors need to make use of the various teaching strategies and techniques and adjust them to the student learning needs to reach the ultimate objective of helping in the formation of competent practitioners.

The Storm :: essays research papers

â€Å"The Storm† may be interpreted as a condemnation of societal constraints upon feminine sexuality. As Calixta â€Å"unfastened her white sacque at the throat† she was taking off chains of oppression of her sexuality. When Calixta â€Å"nervously began to gather up from the floor the lengths of a cotton sheet which she had been sewing† she is putting her duties away for pleasure and is finally going to fulfill her birthright for passionate sex. In â€Å"The Storm† Calixta is a shameless married woman who â€Å"lifted her pretty chin in the air and laughed aloud† after committing an adulteress act. Kate Chopin had a unique style of writing for her time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Calixta’s time, showing of the neck and chest was inappropriate and forbidden. So when â€Å"she unfastened her white sacque at the throat† she is expressing that she is a sexual being and is defying against restraints on feminine sexuality. Kate Chopin was a daring writer. In the time of the composition of the storm women were considered property and expected to accept their housewife duties. Women could not freely express their sexuality and Kate was out to change that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Calixta â€Å"nervously began to gather up from the floor the lengths of a cotton sheet which she had been sewing† she is rebelling against traditional 1890’s womanhood. Women were not permitted to feel sexual. By putting it away she was lowering the priority of her duties for sex. Sex was something she was unfamiliar to and not something married women did for pleasure. Calixta is going all out!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Alcee rides off, he smiles and Calixta â€Å"lifted her pretty chin in the air and laughed aloud.† This action was a proclamation of her freedom from sexual oppression. Calixta was prepared for sex and embraced it. She is not ashamed of her act and she fulfilled her birthright for passionate sex. Calixta is a loose woman?

Personal Narrative - Flying on the Wings of Love Essay -- Personal Nar

Flying on the Wings of Love The seat rumbled in the window seat of the plane. I looked out across the wing at the tiny men running frantically around in their orange vests. I started thinking about where I was about to go and my palms started to sweat. "Oh no" I thought to myself as I felt my body tensing. I was getting nervous although I had no clue about how my life was about to change. The plane began to move. We were taking off. With each minute, and each thought, I became more and more anxious. I looked out the window. The ground moved faster and faster, soon the gravel began to look like blurry streaks and suddenly the plane lifted. My mind cleared and I just watched... I looked down upon the tiny little towns, my nose pressed up against the cold, plastic window, and my imagination took over... I began to dream of living in foreign lands. A huge mansion on a vineyard property perhaps. The sunshine pouring through my window every morning. I then pictured myself getting up, putting on a silk robe and walking downstairs. The scent of grape blossoms ...

Arthur Schnitzler’s dream story Essay

The focal point of this paper is to discuss and evaluate Arthur Schnitzler’s ‘Dream Story’ in the light of the inevitability of the conflict between desire and social responsibility. The source text is the translation of the original German work ‘Traumnovelle’ by author Arthur Schnitzler. The translation is done by J. M. Q. Davies. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian doctor by profession and was a noted author of his time (1862- 1931). His noted works includes Dying, Lieutenant Gustl, Berta Garlan, Blind Geronimo and his Brother, The Prophecy, Casanova’s Homecoming, The Road into the Open, The Green Cockatoo, The Lonely Way, Countess Mizzi and Living Hours. Dream Story was written in 1926 and is regarded as a novella by the critics. It could be enumerated as a plot that ventures into the inner self of Doctor Fridolin and narrates the incidents from his psychological perspectives and the eventual transformation of his self. The entire episode is formulated over a relatively brief period of time spanning over a period of 48 hours. Within this short time span Arthur Schnitzler incorporates several characters that Doctor Fridolin meets and which the author imports to create a world of affairs that provides us a clue of the circumstances that are inevitable in the immediate future. This immediate future culminates into the development of a masquerade ball where the author culminates several events that are wondrous in nature with the presence of individuals in masks. There is a flurry of sex involved with the indication of danger where Doctor Fridolin finds himself to be placed as a total outsider. Everything in this episode is projected as a point of view that is seen from the perspective of Doctor Fridolin. This part appears to be presented predominantly as a metaphor of Doctor Fridolin’s inner self of desire and lust. This episode of masquerade ball adds to the mystery of self discovery of Doctor Fridolin. Here the self discovery of Doctor Fridolin could be enumerated as a decent into the abyss of his self image. This is also a transition of relations among people in a certain sense too where the outer world is found to be involved in the changes along with individual shift of priority of life and discovery of greater truth of nature within the parameters of social norms. This novella could also be depicted as a plethora of symbolism and imagery where a person revels himself to the audience and the inner self at the same time that is predominantly psychological in nature. Arthur Schnitzler was a friend and contemporary of the noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud of Vienna. However, these two men had opposite theories, if not different, on human sexuality. Arthur Schnitzler firmly believed that the course of action of human sexuality is dependent upon instinct than anything else. But despite all the differences it is evident that a heavy influence of Freud can be felt while going through the text. This is exactly what is reflected in his novella ‘Dream Story’. For an age of 1920’s it is obvious that his views along with this work was extremely shocking as a subject and its narration as the basic conceptualization of the novella is based on the sexual fantasy of a couple and the eventual defoliation of relation due to these fantasies. On the other hand this novella could also be taken up as an account of truth, permissible or not, that is juxtaposed within the system of marriage and self individuality. The storyline zooms in the intimate conversation of the primal characters Fridolin and his wife Albertine. They are basically quite affluent and respectable in Vienna. The wife is found to be an able home maker where the central position is occupied by their daughter who is six. The conversation takes off when the little girl is put to the bed. The subject of the conversation is about the masquerade ball that they attended. Initially the dialogues were kept into the parameters of the adventures of Fridolin and his wife Albertine in the mask ball. Soon, the conversation developed into the stage where they revealed to each other that if there was enough chances and coincidences along with favorable situations both of them would have been unfaithful to each other. For the man it was a fifteen year old girl and for the wife it was man with a yellow suitcase. Both of them wanted to take revenge on the other and before the dialogue was able to unfold into greater adversaries they were interrupted by an emergency call from a patient. The doctor had to leave. From this point the novella turns into an intermingled atmosphere of mystery, fantasy and fairy tale mode. Doctor Fridolin is approached by numerous women for sexual pleasure or otherwise and Doctor Fridolin passes from one woman to another and ultimately ending up into the midst of a masquerade ball where the password appeared to be â€Å"Denmark† and as his friend told him there would be lots of naked women. But there is problem with this secret society. If one is identified as an outsider there is sure to be trouble. Doctor Fridolin is soon traced out as an outsider but is saved by a mystery woman. Now the paradox of social responsibilities and desire completes a full circle as the author indicates indirectly the identity of this mystery woman. This is because there is every chance that this woman is Albertine, but with no specific proof for Doctor Fridolin. Thus the social responsibility of a wife towards her man is completed successfully by the mystery woman if the woman is indeed his wife. Now if the mystery woman is really his wife Doctor Fridolin has every reason to be cheated as she appeared in the orgy. But at the same time Doctor Fridolin himself had every intention to join the orgy. Thus the paradox continues. Either it is desire that is to be forecasted and relished by an individual or it is important to engage into the human spirit of social interest? The answer appears to be cleared by the author himself in a way, though not in a very vivid manner, as he puts the social relation between a man and a woman hanging without ramifying the norms of the society by a large extent. Doctor Fridolin is saved by Albertine and that seems to be the bottom line of the story where the man understands the value of social bondage after an outrageous adventure of inner self. Reference Schnitzler, Arthur; Dream Story; translated by J. M. Q. Davies; Penguin Books; 2005.

Management Processes of Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Contemporary Trends and Developing and Organizing Management Assignment MANAGEMENT PROCESSES OF NINTENDO CO. LTD. [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. History of management and achivements3 1. 1Introduction3 1. 2History of management and achivements3 2. Corporate culture and social responsobility programs8 2. 1Corporate culture8 2. 2Social responsobility programs8 3. External and internal environment of organization9 3. 1External environment9 3. 2Internal environment9 4. Strategic planning and competetive advantages10 4. 1Strategic planning10 4. 2Competetive advantages12 5. Organizational structure and design 12 6. Motivation and HR principles12 6. 1Motivation12 6. 2HR principles12 7. Control process and quality management 13 8. Communications and decision making 13 9. Conclusion 13 10. References 16 History of management and achievements 1. Introduction The history of Nintendo is a way of little firm seeking its niche on service and entertainments market who became a giant corporation, affected and affects on life of few generations and determinant of modern fashion on virtual scene. The history of Nintendo it’s a well learned lessons of market and talented employees. The history of Nintendo it’s a history of Mario, Pokemons, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, Kid Icarus and many other personages who transforms into popular trade marks. 1. 2 History of management and achievements It is funny, but Nintendo Koppai primordial works in entertainment field. The corporation was founded in 1889 by manufacturer Fusajiro Yamauchi and foundation of business for long years was production of playing cards. Singular popularity was had the Hanafuda card game, which is a distance relative of Chinese mahjong game. The deck consists from hieroglyphs, images and symbols and the principles of the game were to find the second pair of cards. From competitors production the products of Nintendo was different by its quality – all gaming cards was hand made painted and covered with varnish. In recognition of card-playing roots, the name â€Å"Nintendo† (Nin ten do means â€Å"leave luck to heaven†). In 1902 Nintendo became very lucky – Fusajiro Yamauchi was the first in Japan who receive a license to produce playing cards in western style. It brings very successful business for that time. The company swiftly grows, builds new manufacturers, creates its own distribution net using tobacco shops and salt benches and strictly watched over quality. Until 1949 the name of company changed twice: in 1933 – to Yamauchi Nintendo & Company and in 1949 – to Nintendo Playing Card Company. In 1953, Nintendo became the first company in Japan who produce playing cards from plastic. This was a huge hit and allowed Nintendo to dominate the card market. Starting point of formation the main philosophy of now days â€Å"big N† was 1956. Exactly then 3rd president of Nintendo and grandson of Nintendo founder Hiroshi Yamauchi arrived to USA to establish business relations with Southern America’s first-rate playing cards firm – United States Playing Card Company. Japanese was amazed not by business acumen, not by swing of enterprise and not by perspective for his own business, but by little office which has lower than a dozen employees. This was a turning point for Yamauchi, who then realized the limitations of the playing card business. In 1959, Nintendo struck a deal with Disney to have them allow Nintendo to use Disney's characters on Nintendo's playing cards. By tying playing cards to Disney and selling books explaining the different games one could play with the cards, Nintendo could sell the product to Japanese households. The tie-in was a success and the company sold at least 600,000 card packs in a single year. Due to this success, in 1962, Yamauchi took Nintendo public, listing the company in Osaka Stock Exchange Second division. A little state of managers and an army of heroes, representing the market, was the main strategy of Nintendo over the years. Following the aforementioned success, in 1963 Nintendo Playing Card Company Limited was renamed to Nintendo Company, Limited by Hiroshi. Nintendo now began to experiment in other areas of business using the newly injected capital. During the period of time between 1963 and 1968, Nintendo set up a taxi company, a â€Å"love hotel† chain, a food company (trying to sell instant rice, similar to instant noodles), and several other things. All these ventures failed, except toy making, where they had some earlier experience from selling playing cards. Then the bottom dropped out. In 1964, while Japan was experiencing an economic boom due to the Tokyo Olympics, the playing card business reached its saturation point. Japanese households stopped buying playing cards, and the price of Nintendo stock fell down. All undertaking awaits shameful bankruptcy and company predicted the final devastation. The rescue came from little experimental division – Nintendo Games. Modest engineer Gunpei Yokoi offers to sale some of his inventions as baby toys. Along with experimental models were the future bestsellers – mechanic hand The Ultra Hand (one of Nintendo's earliest toy blockbusters, selling over a million units), electronic toy for sweethearts The Love Tester and a slot-machine for baseball balls Ultra Machine. Yokoi was soon moved from maintenance duty to product development. Toys rescued the company from bankruptcy but don’t make bygone profits. Per se every season customers wait from Nintendo something new, no ordinary. Jointly with Sharp, Nintendo Games develops successful enough light shooting-range – Beam Gun and undertake development of high growth sector of entertainment – electronic games. This was the beginning of a major new era for Nintendo. In 1977, Nintendo saw the hiring of Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who (along with Yokoi) become a living legend in the world of gaming, the father of hundreds ersonages, genius of virtual worlds and the secret to Nintendo's longevity; his creative vision was instrumental in determining the path Nintendo's future (and indeed, the industry's as a whole) would follow. Yokoi began to mentor Miyamoto during this period of time in R&D, teaching him all that he knew. The company cope the new market in Japan. Approach on customers g uides by three directions: arcade automatic machines, home and pocket game systems. In 1977 Nintendo released its first â€Å"Color TV Game 6†³ and â€Å"Color TV Game 15† (6 and 15 indicates the number of games) which offers a few games: tennis, rally and arcanoid. One year later in western markets announced Computer Othello (analogue of reversi game). First releases doesn’t has a big success, unless the console sold by million copies. In 1980 Gunpei Yokoi releases the real bomb of free time annihilation – pocket game platform Game & Watch. Each console came with one game with two different level difficulties. Simple game mechanic changes lightly: the gamer must press the right button on the right time. Environment and decoration of games were different: that were Mickey Mouse who catches the eggs, was firemen who catches the survivors from houses and so on. Copies of those games were released even in Soviet â€Å"Electronica† pocket games were not Mickey Mouse, but the Wolf and the Hare became main heroes. 59 games of Nintendo sold all over the world more than 10 million copies. In 1981 along with Shigeru Miyamoto Nintendo launched Radar Scope – modest and plain scroll shooter, which dedicated to be a star within arcade automated machines but it fails. Thanks to Shigeru Miyamoto, who completely change the game and automated machines hardware to work with new game, the Radar Scope launched with different name and game – under the name of Donkey Kong. The game has fantastic success and it became one of the most popular games of all time. In 1981 along with giant monkey, in Donkey Kong game, first time debut two small pieces of red and pink pixels, which soon find their names – Mario and princess Pitch. Total sales of games with little sanitary technician Mario on cover, step the barrier over 250 million copies in 2008. After great success of Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto begins his tight collaboration with Gunpei Yokoi. This friendship helps to born almost all future hits of Nintendo: from Super Mario to Metroid. The success of arcade slot machines with games from Shigeru Miyamoto allows engineer Masayuki Uemura to finish his development of second gaming system from Nintendo: in 1983 in Japan launched Famicom (Family Computer), which has selling over 500,000 units within two months. The console was also a technical insulation and inexpensive when compared to its competitors, priced at about 100 dollars. By 1985, the Famicom had proven to be a huge continued success in Japan. However, Nintendo also encountered a problem with the sudden popularity of the Famicom — they did not have the resources to manufacture games at the same pace they were selling them. To combat this, Yamauchi decided to divide his employees into three groups, the groups being Research & Development 1 (R&D 1), Research & Development 2 (R&D 2) and Research & Development 3 (R&D 3). R&D 1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi, R&D 2 was headed by Masayuki Uemura, and R&D 3 was headed by Genyo Takeda. Using these groups, Yamauchi hoped Nintendo would produce a small number of high quality games rather than a large number of average quality games. During this period of time, Nintendo rekindled their desire to release the Famicom in the USA. But the launch slows down. The reason was not in production and not in localization – but the company seeks reliable partner in USA. Since the company had very little experience with the United States market, they had previously attempted to contract with Atari for the system's distribution in 1983. However, a fiasco involving Coleco and Donkey Kong soured the relationship between the two during the negotiations, and Atari refused to back Nintendo's console. The video game crash of 1983 soon took out not only Atari, but the vast majority of the American market itself. Nintendo was on its own. Nintendo was determined not to make the same mistakes in the US that Atari had. Because of massive influxes of games that were regarded as some of the worst ever created, gaming had almost completely died out in America. Nintendo decided that to avoid facing the same problems, they would only allow games that received their â€Å"Seal of Quality† to be sold for the Famicom, using a chip called 10NES to â€Å"lockout† or prevent unlicensed games from working. In 1985, Nintendo announced that they were releasing the Famicom worldwide — except under a different name — the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) — and with a different design. It is one of the most popular consoles of all time. In Japan the NES console sold by 100 dollars without additional accessories. From US market the price was expensive almost twice – for 199 dollars the gamers receive the console and the new megahit – Super Mario Bros. Total sales from Japan and US was approximately the same – in Japan – a little more than 32 million, and in US – almost 30 million. There are a few reasons of popularity. First, both for Japanese and US gamers, games from new producer was a draught of fresh air, which forever changes conceptions about genres and games. Second, the lucky concatenation of circumstances – the only competitor was distressed Atari and that fact allows Nintendo to control over 90% of console market. Third, the cheaper prime cost of console – for self-repayment and profit earning it is enough to sell the console for silly 75 dollars. Not the last role keeps the cartridge – holder of information, which works up a market with its simplicity and reliability. Interval of three years, during which the company seeks for reliable partner in USA to launch NES, allows developing percussive army of hits. On console scrapes first melodies of Mario (1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, Link twice goes to his mystic adventures (The Legend of Zelda – 1986 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link – 1988) and Samus Aran goes for her first mission given by Galactic Federation (1986). Final Fantasy (1987) and Metal Gear (1988) achieves phenomenal success. The family of Belmonts three times goes to quilt Dracula by family whip in Castelvania (Castelvania – 1986, Castelvania II: Simon’s Quest – 1987, Castelvania III: Dracula’s Curse – 1989). The ninja Ru also three times goes versus demons and monsters (Ninja Gaiden – 1989; Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos – 1990; Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom – 1991). Almost all games sold with fantastic numbers of copies. Absolute record has Mario (recognized as one of the best games in all times) – trilogy Super Mario Bros sold over 68 million copies (total Mario series sales from 1983 up to 2008 are over 250 million copies). Next came The Legend of Zelda (the 5th series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, recognized as the best game ever created in gaming industry) – 20 million copies (total sales of The Legend of Zelda (12 series) from 1986 up to 2008 are over 220 million copies). Rest of Nintendo games against a background of such achievement achieves only â€Å"modest† few million copies. The last major blockbuster game for the NES, Super Mario Bros. 3, was released in early 1990. The game went on to sell over 18 million units. In 1988, Nintendo of America unveiled Nintendo Power, a monthly news and strategy magazine from Nintendo that served to advertise new games. The first issue published was the July/August edition, which spotlighted the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo Power is still published today with its two hundredth issue released in February 2006. Phenomenal success of its ancestors repeats the new pocket console. In 1989 Nintendo launched Game Boy (created by Gunpei Yokoi), which easily sends to nowhere the last argument from Atari – the Lynx console with color screen. Twice, in 1998 and 2001, Nintendo launched new modifications of Game Boy and confidently defends its niche from any invaders. Sales of 200 million Game Boy consoles – and superiority of big N in 21st century is inaccessible to competitors. It eventually became the best selling portable game system of all time. Later, Super Mario Land was also released for the Game Boy, which sold 14 million copies worldwide. The games don’t remain behind as well. Very successfully was vested interests on Tetris – the Russian casual game of all times and nations easy sold over 33 million copies. However, soon the tastes of auditorium changed – the tamagochies and pokemons gather fantastic popularity, but Nintendo was on time to buy license from owners. Games with silly small animals-gladiators easy beats Tetris sales – over 35 million copies sold on the first two models of Game Boy and another 32 millions – on Game Boy Advance (GBA). Since then Mario and The Legend of Zelda was created, the Pokemon trademark was 3rd amazing success of Nintendo Corporation. Total sales of game exceeded the barrier of 180 million copies (up to 2008). Even the legendary The Legend of Zelda 2 was unable to beat Pokemons with its â€Å"only† 17 million copies. The Super Famicom was released in Japan on November 21, 1990. The system's launch was widely successful, and the Super Famicom was sold out across Japan within three days. In August 1991, the Super Famicom was launched in the US under the name â€Å"Super Nintendo Entertainment System† (SNES). The SNES was released in Europe in 1992. In Japan, the Super Famicom easily took control of the gaming market. In the US, due to a late start and an aggressive marketing campaign by Sega. Nintendo has serious competitor as Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis which pass ahead Nintendo by 3 years, when Nintendo seeks for a partner in US, and have time to take lead position in 16 bit systems market. Nintendo saw its market share take a precipitous plunge from 90-95% with the NES to a low of approximately 35% against the Sega Genesis. Over the course of several years, the SNES in North America eventually overtook the Sega Genesis, thanks to franchise titles such as Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Street Fighter II, and the Final Fantasy series. Total worldwide sales of the SNES were higher than the Genesis. With essential loses the combat wins the big N – over 60 million sales against 29 from Sega. In 1992 Gunpei Yokoi and the rest of R 1 began planning on a new virtual reality console to be called the Virtual Boy. Hiroshi Yamauchi also bought majority shares of the Seattle Mariners in 1992. Alas, but Virtual Boy with helmet instead of screen had a fiasco in 1995. Also in 1995, Nintendo again found themselves in a competitive situation. Competitor Sega introduced their 32-bit Saturn, while newcomer Sony introduced the 32-bit PlayStation. Sony's fierce marketing campaigns ensued, and it started to cut into Nintendo and Sega's market share. On June 23 1996, the Nintendo 64 (N64) was released in Japan and became a huge hit, selling over 500,000 units on the first day of its release. On September 29 1996, Nintendo released the Nintendo 64 in North America, and it too was a success. Many feel that the advertising onslaught by Sony at this time did not truly begin to take effect until many of the consumers who held out for the N64 became frustrated at the lack of software following the first few months after the system's release. What also greatly contributed to the extremely competitive climate that Nintendo was entrenched in was the fact that many third-party companies immediately began developing and releasing many of their leading games for Nintendo's competing consoles. Many of those third party companies cited cheaper development and manufacturing costs for the CD format, versus the cartridge format. In 1996, Pocket Monsters (known internationally as â€Å"Pokemon†) was released in Japan to a huge following. The Pokemon franchise, created by Satoshi Tajiri, was proving so popular in America, Europe, and Japan, that for a brief time, Nintendo took back their place as the supreme power in the games industry. In 1997, Gunpei Yokoi died in a car accident at the age of 57. On October 13 1998, the Game Boy Color was released in Japan, with releases in North America and Europe a month later. Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21 2001. This was followed by the North American launch on June 11 and the European launch on June 22. Nintendo released the GameCube home video game console on September 14 2001 in Japan. It was released in North America on November 18 2001, Europe on May 3 2002 and Australia on May 17 2002. In 2002, Hiroshi Yamauchi stepped down as the president of Nintendo and named Satoru Iwata his successor. Nintendo and Chinese-American scientist Dr Wei Yen co-founded iQue to manufacture and distribute official Nintendo consoles and games for the mainland Chinese market under the iQue brand. During the same year, Nintendo's aggressive business tactics in Europe would catch up to them. The European Commission determined that Nintendo had engaged in anticompetitive price-fixing business practices dating at least as far back as the early 90s. This resulted in a heavy fine being laid against the company- â‚ ¬149 million, one of the largest antitrust fines applied in the history of the commission. In May 2004, Nintendo announced plans to release a new brand of handheld, unrelated to the Game Boy, featuring two screens, one of which was touch-sensitive. The Nintendo DS, released on November 21 2004, received over three million pre-orders. In addition to the touch screen, the DS can also create three-dimensional graphics, similar to those of the Nintendo 64, although its lack of hardware support for texture filtering results in more pixilated graphics than on the Nintendo 64. At E3 in May 2005, Nintendo displayed the first prototype for their â€Å"next-generation† system, codenamed the Nintendo Revolution (now known as the Wii), its controller revealed at the Tokyo Game Show later that year. On January 26 2006, Nintendo announced a new version of their Nintendo DS handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite, designed to be smaller and lighter, with a brighter screen. It was launched in Japan on March 2 2006. On June 11 2006, Nintendo released their update to the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo DS Lite, in North America, also on this day Nintendo opened its official US press site to the public which continued until June 17 2006. On June 23 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite in Europe. On July 7 2006, Nintendo officially established a South Korean subsidiary, Nintendo Korea, in the country's capital, Seoul, which replaced Daewon Media as the official distributor of Nintendo products in South Korea. In early August 2006, it was revealed that the Nintendo corporation (along with Microsoft) was the target of a patent-infringement lawsuit. Leveled by the Anascape Corporation, the suit claims that Nintendo's use of analog technology in their remote game controllers constitutes a violation of their patents. Microsoft is also named in the lawsuit, for the same reasons. The lawsuit seeks to bring damages to both corporations and possibly force them to stop selling controllers with the violating technology. Corporate culture and social responsobility programs 2. 1 Corporate culture Men/ Women There is a majority of women in the many headquarters. An estimated 70% of the employees are women. However, the top positions in the company, for example management positions, are still mainly occupied by men. This might have something to do with the fact that the Japanese headquarters are in charge and that they much rather work with men than women. Nationalities There are about 25 different nationalities working in each Nintendo branch. They come from all different branches all over the world. This causes little difficulties. Of course there are always some minor issues but nothing really worth mentioning. The biggest problems occur when doing business with the Japanese because their culture is so very different. Due to all these different nationalities the company language is English. Innovation What is a huge and important part of Nintendo culture is innovation. They have always done this and they always will. They realize that innovation piques the human intellect and allows them to develop a constant stream of new entertainment ideas. Heroes and beliefs There are heroes and beliefs in Nintendo Corporation. One of the heroes is Gunpei Yokoi, which has incredible creativity, talent and modesty. He is a bright example to imitate and follow. Another one is Shigeru Miyamoto. With his name concerned a belief that brilliant creations can be easy as technician Mario and that the excellent things is a simple things. Events They took on an American habit called â€Å"Casual Friday†. This means that on Friday no one wears ties or suits, everyone comes to work in a casual, comfortable outfit. As there are a lot of young people in the company this initiative is very appreciated among the employees. Team building events are organized every now and then to strengthen the bond between the employees. There are several parties during the year, they have a Christmas party and a summer party. They are very important for the staff and whenever the management tries to move one of these to a later date the employees are not very happy. Events like these are very important to maintain a positive atmosphere within the company. 2. 2 Social responsibility programs One of the Nintendo Wii’s social responsibilities: We see a responsibility to have our players up and moving around, because sitting in place can cause health problems – every body needs to move to be healthy. That’s how Wii Sports was born, and the next idea in pushing that forward is Wii Fit. It even more than a game – creating an experience that gives back to the player in ways that are physically beneficial and emotionally beneficial. It’s something that Nintendo is passionate about as a company. External and internal environment of organization 3. 1 External environment Competitors Nintendo has some competitors, these are: ? Playstation, Playstation2, Playstation3 â€Å"Sony computer entertainment Inc. â€Å" ? XBox â€Å"Microsoft Corporation† Market share Nintendo is a Japan’s third most valuable listed company with a market value of more than 85 billion US dollars. Company earnings in 2007 year is 966,5 billion yen ($8,19 billion), net profit — 174,3 billion yen ($1,48 billion). According to NPD data, Nintendo was responsible for 69% of US game industry growth in the first five months of 2007. In Wii households 66% of those aged 25 – 49 play the console regularly. And about 50% of men 50 or older have tried the Wii. 70% of US spending on video games in 2002 were for console hardware and games, 30% for portables. In 2006, it was a 50/50 split. Traditionally a bastion for young gamers, sales for Nintendo products in North and South America in 2005 was 28% by those 25 or older. In 2007, it increased to 32%. For those 18 – 24, the share increased from 15 to 21 % over the same period. The DS passed 40 mln sold worldwide in the first half of 2007. In the US currently, there are 60 Wii games and 300 DS games available. By the end of 2007, there will be 100 Wii titles and 140 more DS titles. 3. 2 Internal environment Number of headquarters employees: 3,768 Board of directors Satoru Iwata: President & CEO Reggie Fils-Aime: President & COO of NOA Conrad Abbott: President of NOC Rose Lappin: President of Nintendo Australia Hiroshi Yamauchi: Former President & Chairman Minoru Arakawa & Howard Lincoln: Former heads of NOA Satoru Shibata: President of NOE Masaharu Matsumoto:Managing Director and Director Eiichi Suzuki:Managing Director and Director– Yoshihiro Mori: Senior Managing Director, General Manager – Corporate Analysis & Administration Division and Representative Director Shinji Hatano: Senior Managing Director – Licensing Division, General Manager – Licensing Division and Representative Director Shigeru Miyamoto: Senior Managing Director – Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, General Manager – Entertainment Analysis & Development Division and Representative Director Nobuo Nagai: Senior Managing Director and Representative Director Genyo Takeda: Senior Managing Director of Integrated Research & Development Division, General Manager – Integrated Research & Development Division and Representative Director Strategic planning and competetive advanteges Much of Nintendo’s success can likely be attributed to their focus on younger and casual gamers that have not recently been the focus of Microsoft and Sony. Nintendo’s main strategy is to peoduce less games qith superiour quality than to produce more games but without superiour quality. 4. Strategic planning Corporate mission and philosophy At Nintendo we are proud to be working for the leading company in our industry. We are strongly committed to producing and marketing the best products and support services available. We believe it is essential not only to provide products of the highest quality, but to treat every customer with attention, consideration an d respect. By listening closely to our customers, we constantly improve our products and services. We feel an equal commitment toward our employees. We want to maintain an atmosphere in which talented individuals can work together as a team. Commitment and enthusiasm are crucial to the high quality of our products and support services. We believe in treating our employees with the same consideration and respect that we, as a company, show our customers. SWOT analysis Strengths: Nintendo has four main strengths: a strong brand name, high returns, high employee efficiency, and debt free status. Nintendo’s strong brand name comes from about twenty-five years experience in the video gaming business. Not only do they have a strong presence in the console market but they are the leader in the handheld console market. They pioneered this market in 1989 with the original Game Boy. Since then, they have upgraded to create Game Boy Advanced and Nintendo DS, which sold 79. 5 million units and 40. 3 million units, respectively, in fiscal 2007. The Nintendo Wii, which is their most updated console, sold 5. 84 million units in the first five months in its launch alone. This system consists of motion sensors attached to the end of the controllers as well as the console, which makes the games more interactive. A high percentage of the people that play video games in today’s day are college students. Being part of that percentage, I know that I think highly of Nintendo based mainly on the fact that they created regular Nintendo. If I could choose today between playing the most technologically advanced gaming console and the original Legend of Zelda, I would play Legend of Zelda for hours. Nintendo has also been very successful in investing their resources in profitable companies and ideas. This would include their ownership in the Seattle Mariners and the Atlanta Hawks. It also refers to their high return on assets and equity when compared with other companies in the same industry. Nintendo also has high employee efficiency. According to Datamonitor, â€Å"revenue per employee was about $206,960 in fiscal year 2007, significantly higher compared to the industry average of about $3,684 during the same period. † Nintendo’s biggest strength in my opinion is their ability to stay debt free. Their most recent debt to equity ratio was zero compared to the industry’s average of 11. 9%. This not only shows that they are able to efficiently finance its’ operations but also enjoys a lot of financial flexibility. Weaknesses: Nintendo’s two biggest weaknesses are having a dependence on contract manufacturers as well as having low earnings per share. In regards to the dependence on contract manufacturers, Nintendo reaches out to companies to produce the key components of their consoles as well as assembling the finished products. The problem is, the new Nintendo Wii console is under such high demand that the manufacturers are not able to supply the key components or assemble the products fast enough creating a lack of finished products to be sold. It is assumed that this shortage will have a sizeable affect on the company’s overall revenue. Low earnings per share is calculated by dividing profit by the weighted average common shares. Nintendo recorded a 12. 6% decline in its earnings per share for five year period, from 2003 to 2007, significantly lower compared to the corresponding industry average of 43. 9%. † This is important to note because it may affect the investors in the company negatively by lowering their confidence. A third weakness is the lack of games produced for Nintendo consoles. In my personal opini on, I have steered away from recent Nintendo products such as Gamecube and Wii because of the lack of games so far. Regular Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Gameboy, and Nintendo 64 all had a wide variety of games. Gamecube and Wii, however, have been overshadowed by other systems with many more games such as Playstation 2, Xbox, and Xbox360. It seems as if Nintendo is always so anxious to get their gaming systems out that they never wait to have enough games to satisfy their customers. Opportunities: Nintendo has a few different opportunities. For starters, the United States game software market is soaring right now. Video games and consoles are some of the most sold items, especially during the holiday season. Because of their reasonable prices, games can be given as gifts by pretty much anyone. The video game market is also soaring as is evident by the $8 billion dollars in revenues in 2006 in addition to the consoles market generating $6. 6 billion dollars in revenues during the same year. These figures are expected to increase as well over the next couple years to reach up to $10. 3 billion dollars at the end of 2011. Another grand opportunity that Nintendo is planning on attacking is the Indian console market. Although the revenues are not nearly as much as the American market, the Indian market for consoles is expected to skyrocket to $120 million by 2010 from just $13. 3 million in 2006. Because of Nintendo’s great brand image, as discussed under strengths, Nintendo will succeed in these new markets. The greatest opportunity, however, is in the online gaming market. The world is continuing to become more computer oriented in such that computers are now about as normal household item as a television set. Because of this, and the generation of children growing up in this kind of environment, the market of online gaming is become increasingly large. In 2006, only 46 million people were using broadband connections to play video games online. That number is expected to jump up to 413 million users by the year 2010. Nintendo has taken steps to attract this audience by setting up their Wii system to be internet accessible and have the ability to update content, including up to date weather services and news feeds. Threats: There are a handful of threats that go along with all of these opportunities and strengths, however. For one, Nintendo products are often very pricey. This allows other products with similar or slightly lesser quality to steal customers by pricing their respective consoles and games to make them more affordable. Another knock on the Nintendo products is their short lifecycle. In the video game industry, products â€Å"lose their flavor† after approximately nine months, at which point a different product will come out that seems to be more updated and technologically advanced. Because of this, Nintendo will have to make sure to release all products on time and be able to meet the demand of their products with their supply. Leaving stores sold out of products will result in loss of sales in the long run due to the short lifecycle that each product will enjoy. The last threat to Nintendo products is their poor durability. The Nintendo Wii controllers have had the most significant problems when it comes to this. In many circumstances, the Wii controllers have not been properly designed resulting in the controller flying from the user’s hands and into televisions sets. Having problems such as these results in recalls, which is a very lengthy and expensive process. To prevent this, Nintendo must confirm that all products are being properly designed and manufactured prior to release. 4. 2 Competitive advantages The advantages to Nintendo are firstly that it makes their console cheaper to manufacture. This means that they can sell the base console at a profit whilst their competitors have to subsidise the retail price. It also gives Nintendo far more room to manoevre when it comes to using the price mechanism to take on that competition. The second advantage is that games are a lot easier, quicker and cheaper to develop. In fact they are more comparable with PS2 games in this area. This, obviously, has a massive effect on what appears on the game shop shelf and when it appears. Quite simply, it should be far easier for a publisher to make a profit on Wii, which explains why so much development resource has been directed at it. Organizational structure and design Branches Nintendo has branches all over the world: America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Their headquarters are located in Japan and the European headquarters â€Å"Nintendo of Europe GmbHâ€Å"is located in Germany, Gro? ostheim. Hierarchy The headquarters in Japan are at the top of the hierarchy, they give direct orders to Nintendono of Europe GmbH, which is under the supervision of a president. The company in Germany consists of many different parts: Legal services, administration and marketing and sales. In charge of those are senior managers who report directly to the president. Those senior managers are in charge of a team of directors, to whom the employees must report to. Motivation and HR principles 6. 1 Motivation High salaries and great bonuses. – Health and other insurances. – Creative multinational environment. – Career grows opportunities. 6. 2 HR principles Trainings and seminars Nintendo organize English classes for their employees, as well as seminars in order to educate their employees on different subjects so that they can functi on better within the company. Recruitment Nintendo is constantly recruiting people. There are different possibilities to recruit employees, depending on the position. For important positions such as management, they tend to use headhunters. There is also an online application form, where people can apply for a job. Quite often they put advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Another common way of filling in vacancies is recruiting within the company or you can find the person you need through connections such as friends or former colleagues etc. Requirements The requirements are very different, depending on the job. When it comes to finding warehouse workers training is of course the most important. In higher positions however, a good combination of training and social skills is inevitable. Naturally, the importance of the latter is higher in positions where there is a lot of interaction with other people, for example customer services and sales. When it comes to appearances we could say that there is no real formal dress code, mainly because there are a lot of young people in the company. Controll porcess and quality management Nintendo has it own quality standards: Nintendo Seal of Quality. Originally, for NTSC countries, the seal was a large, black and gold circular starburst. The seal read as follows: â€Å"This seal is your assurance that NINTENDO has approved and guaranteed the quality of this product. † This seal was later altered in 1988; â€Å"approved and guaranteed† was changed to â€Å"evaluated and approved†. In 1989, the seal became gold and white, like it currently appears, with a shortened phrase, â€Å"Official NINTENDO Seal of Quality†. The symbol remained unchanged until 2003 when â€Å"of Quality† was removed. 1. Communications and decision making Nintendo of Europe GmbH does not experience many problems within Europe or with the USA, but due to enormous cultural differences there are quite a few problems when it comes to dealing with Japan. The Japanese headquarters want to be in control at all times. They are not trusting towards the Europeans and want them to do everything like it is done in Japan. Their way of doing business is very dominating. For instance in Japan the Human Resource department is situated above the company entrance, so they can check the exact times when the employees arrive and leave again. They try to make the Europeans do the same and of course this is not possible because in most companies we fill in our timesheets manually and in general, bosses and employees are happy with that way of working, which is very hard to understand for the Japanese. When it comes to dealing with problem situations, and there are meetings with Europeans and Japanese, everyone can sense that the Japanese are not really taking the European opinions into account. At the end of the day, they feel it is their decision and they solve the problems their way. Conclusion In conclusion, Nintendo has done a great job at creating a good brand image within the video game industry. With the disappointing failure of the Playstation 3, a console expected to rival the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo has been able to enjoy much success with their Wii. Interesting enough, the high prices did not steer consumers away from the console. Instead, during the holiday season, many retail stores were sold out. For the time being it seems as if the Wii will continue to enjoy success by introducing new games to the system. Having a unique system with controls that actually have sensors in which you have to move around to control game has captured everyone’s interest. For the future, I would like to say that Nintendo should begin the planning and preparing process for the release of systems and games sooner so that there is not a higher demand than the supply. However, for some reason or another, Nintendo has done this with most of their products, and with the word-of-mouth marketing, and high product quality, Nintendo has been able to keep their â€Å"flavor of the month† status for longer than most other companies. It can be comparable to the Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls. When they were hard to get, everyone wanted one and would pay thousands of dollars on Ebay just to get one. As soon as they filled the stores though, nobody had any interest anymore. The main managerial issue of the company is that Japanese wants to control all the processes whole time and they never taking into consideration opinion and ideas of them colleagues, which reduced brand loyalty and trust and makes efficiency and effectiveness go down. And if there no trust, there is no wiliness to work effectively and the motivation can decrease dramatically. Japanese must understand, that controlling over the quality doesn’t mean to control over all processes and it doesn’t mean, that they must not taking into consideration their colleagues ideas and opinion. They even don’t want to understand that there are many factors, such as local culture, which they can force to follow by their culture. Moreover it makes limitation to other headquarters managers and top managers’ ideas and decisions, which can be very creative and useful and can solve many problems and make new ideas. And the fact that Japanese don’t take into consideration of their foreign colleague’s opinion is decreasing overall management process of whole company. Japanese needs to change their point of views, otherwise they company will lose their position in the market. This managerial issue is a part of internal environment as well, so it is important to change managerial style and give some creative and decision making freedom to the rest of colleagues. The situation in external environment of organization is much better, than internal. There are not many comments to say, because company’s business is great in the market. For statistic it will be useful to bring the following information: As December 2008 came to a close, one thing was very clear. Nintendo was blowing away the competition in console sales. The company sold 485,000 DS units and 335,000 Wii consoles for the month. During the same period Microsoft's Xbox360 sold 228,000 units and Sony's PlayStation 3 lagged behind with 127,000 units sold. By using some simple math, we can see that Nintendo's latest console, the Wii, almost outsold it main competitors' combined sales for the month. Why are the Nintendo consoles selling so well? We can give a simple answer: â€Å"Keeping it simple, stupid, is winning†¦ Both Wii and the DS don't require big instruction books and that's expanded the audience†¦ Sony and Microsoft took a different path, producing consoles of stunning power and complexity †¦ and price. † â€Å"They've gotten complicated and both companies are following a core gamer audience †¦ whereas Wii and DS are working for both young and old (newcomers to gaming)†¦ the DS has games that go down to pre-school level and the Wii has games where you don't even need to crack the instruction manual at all to play. As future strategic plan, I strongly recommend Nintendo to think about realising gaming mobile phone that will be able to play high quality games as well. Today mobile communications market is one of the biggest in the world and now it is more than communication – it is global thing, combining with internet technologies, photo and video cameras, games, complex prog rams and much more – it’s a new communication of 21st century. And Nintendo can easily and profitable combine one product to do all that thinks perfect. Practice shows that Game Boy was the best pocket gaming console in the world. And if they combine Game Boy with mobile device, it will be amazing and it will be a new super hit of the market. And if they combine their new technologies in a mobile device, like movement sensor in Wii, it will beat the market for sure and will be even successful than the iPhone. But they must be hurry until their main competitors – Microsoft or Sony hit upon it. In that case, they will have competitors in mobile market as well. Along with that, Nintendo must think about on-line internet gaming. Not enhancing a Wii, but making new servers, in which players for example, can directly play with each other by Wii or by PC. In case of PC they can produce additional hardware that will works fine with internet gaming by Nintendo. Using that strategy, Nintendo can create the new virtual gaming world in internet and it will work excellent. Now days fashion in game world is a virtual on-line gaming. And if Nintendo implements new ideas and creates new on-line games using both new and old characters, it will be great advantage in this sphere and will attract more and more gamers to buy Nintendo products. The next steep of strategy is strong advertising. Many peoples, especially the old generation, doesn’t even know that Nintendo exist now days and that it’s as before is a leader of gaming industry. Strong advertising will remind those people, that Nintendo exist and will be attract more and more customers. People, especially children like advertising. They like to watch advertising and say to each other â€Å"See, I already have this device that is on TV – it is great!! † Strong advertising will bring more potential customers. The next major steep will be promotions nd enhancements of social responsibility. It means to actively collaborate in sponsorship programs, like education, social aid, be a sponsor of some huge TV projects, make promotions and seminars for students, who can be potential employee tomorrow. The next would be producing more games. There are not many games on Nintendo, but competitors have a lot of games. Of course, it is not necessary t o make 10000 games to get against Nintendo’s main strategy, but they just can make 50 more quality games and it will works. And it’s time for thinking about new megahit personages. There is already many games and ideas, but they are not mega popular – they need to think about popular ones. Of course, it is interesting to play Castelvania or The Legend of Zelda, but the fans, who played Castelvania 25 years ago are now a little old for that and the new generation doesn’t appreciate so much old personages, because they not grow in that period and they are not fans and they will never buy Wii only for Castelvania like fans. I think Nintendo can easily generate new ideas and new personages, whose can be the next generation’s new mega hits and the new words in fashion. I believe Nintendo will succeed in the new digital media environment because they seem to be a company that can adjust to the market. Thus, for example, analytics consider that Nintendo can control a piece of 85 billion dollars on the entertainment market! Really, it’s not bad for the company who started with two little shops, is it not? References 1. David Sheff â€Å"Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The Worldâ€Å", 1993 2. www. nintendo. com 3. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nintendo 4. http://boomson. blogspot. com/2008/02/nintendo-swot-analysis. html