Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease - Essay Example This brain and neuron disorder seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. This condition, called Dementia, which initially affects the parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language, is taken to be a route map of the progression of Alzheimer's. From a medical perspective, the first signs of Alzheimer's disease are detectable from the lifestyle of affected individuals. However, the simplicity of these symptoms often result in them being ignored or dismissed as natural signs of old age. One of the earliest, yet most unnoticed symptoms of Alzheimer's disease is short-term memory loss. Very often, the patient appears to have skipped memories pertaining to a generation, or a similar time span, which essentially involves the present. Very recent incidents may be forgotten, while those which happened a relatively long time ago are vividly remembered, and oft quoted. Also, individuals and recent acquaintances may be completely forgotten, and may even be mistaken to be some individual the patient had acquaintance with, in the past. One hypothetical, yet practically very common, instance worth referring to is a case where a patient has no memory of his grandson's existence. On seeing the grandson, he may be mistaken to be the patient's son, and the patient may even make attempts to communicate with him in that context. Further symptoms may include problems with writing and speaking. The patient may forget simple words and make statements that don't make any sense. Familiar and routine tasks may prove difficult as time progresses. Common instruments used in daily life such as pens, towels, etc may appear meaningless to the patient. The patient may begin to dress inappropriately, completely forget to keep appointments and may even forget regularly used phone numbers. This is said to be a loss of the power of "Abstract Thinking" (Guide to Long Term Care.com). Also, repeated and unexplained mood swings and behavioural changes, quite contrary to the normal character are observed in such patients. As the disease progresses in the individual there may be a marked deterioration of control over his motor neurons, resulting in loss of mobility to considerable extents. The patient may be unable to feed himself, and incontinence may set in. 'Once identified, the average lifespan of patients living with Alzheimer's disease is approximately 7-10 years, although cases are known where reaching the final stage occurs within 4-5 years or at the other extreme they may survive up to 21 years'(Wikipedia, 2007a). Diagnosis and Clinical Perspectives Granted that the primary indications of a possibility of Alzheimer's disease in an individual are based on observations of the daily activities of the individual, the fact remains that it is primarily a clinical condition requiring diagnosis by qualified medical practitioners. Such a study shall be based on characteristic neuropsychological features and it must be ensured that no deferential diagnosis shall exist, considering the gravity of the possible result. Such a determination of the neurological feature shall consider the patient's medical history and clinical observation, while any neuropsychological evaluation will include testing and assessment of intellectual functioning over a series of weeks or

Human Resource Management in a Business Context Essay - 2

Human Resource Management in a Business Context - Essay Example claim strategic HRM as organizational systems that use people as a means to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Snell et al., 1996). Nevertheless, almost all theorists agree on the fact that strategic HRM involves the achievement of a strategic fit between business strategy and HR strategy. For instance, rather than waiting for the employee to design and find his/her replacement, managers now proactively get involved in strategic planning to determine the staffing needs of organizations and conduct recruitment and selection accordingly. This has given way to the matching model whereby HR strategy flows out of the business strategy. The â€Å"fit† perspective has been widely acknowledged in HRM literature with the claim that the HR function needs to be aligned with other functions in the organization. Holistically, HR domains such as the recruitment, selection, training and development of employees are contingent on organizational goals. For instance, companies wishing to enhance their customer management would require corresponding HR practices that empower employees to ensure their satisfaction so that they may keep their customers satisfied. Furthermore, it is important to note that this â€Å"fit† may be internal or external. An external fit would require HR practices to be aligned with external environment (such as recession, outsourcing, downsizing, increased female participation), whereas, an internal fit would require the HR working in sync with other departments in the organization such as finance, IT, marketing etc. In the contemporary world, however, an â€Å"internal† fit is alm ost always assumed with HR of most organizations. It is the â€Å"external† fit that is gaining momentum owing to globalization and the volatile environment. Strategic HRM has evolved as a means of securing sustainable competitive advantage. This is in line with the theory of â€Å"rational choice† which claims that giving strategic

What Literacy Means to Me Essay Example for Free

What Literacy Means to Me Essay What literacy means for me and the impact that it has had on my life. Literacy refers to the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently, and think critically about the written word. The primary sense of literacy still represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from a critical interpretation of the written or printed text. Key to all literacy is reading development, a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and culminates in the deep understanding of text. Literacy is taught through parents by making reading to your child a regular part of your daily schedule, just as my mother did when I was younger. She would read both early readers and chapter books to me. When reading, she would point to the words as she said them and read slowly. This allowed me to read along with her. Once she noticed that I understood certain words, such as the word the, my mother would let me say that word a few times when it appears in the story. This method taught me to be quite an advanced reader by the age of 5 and was heading into kindergarten. The definition of literacy is a difficult one to answer. When the word literacy comes to mind I think of it first in basic terms of just being able to read, but I know it contains more elements of being just able to read. In my mind literacy as a whole defines the relationship that people have with literature. Just like the way my mother taught me the love of reading, which has continued to grow as Ive aged and encouraged me to develop a love for chapter books and the stories depicted in them. I find myself becoming engrossed in these stories and sometimes even comparing them to my own life experiences. Literacy as a whole means the relationship with different types of literature and how well people can comprehend them. There is the basic standard of literacy which would be reading. Then the next step would be how well the reader could comprehend what is being read. Understanding the words written and know most of their meaning. After that it would be how well the reader could analyze the text. The next step from there would be if the writer could then analyze the text well enough to point out anomalies, binaries, patterns, strands, and any repetition that the literature being read may have. After the interpretation of reading and understanding the literature one should be able to write about it. When writing on the literature the reader should be able to communicate clear decisive thoughts about the text that isn’t already spelled out in the literature. With a sharp focused analytical claim. This shows that the reader understood the literature and is capable of translating it to others without retelling the literature that has already been read. For me literacy is very important and has a really strong impact in my life. When I was a kid I remember my mother always telling me â€Å"the more you know the better it is†. I never really understood what she meant nor did I pay that much attention. Society has proven time and time again, it will reward those individuals who are competent and impede those who are not, whether expressed in terms of employment opportunities or just on a social level. One needs look no further than their everyday activities in order to realize how important literacy is. Without adequate literary skills one may not be able to identify on a label the correct amount of medicine to give a child, or read and interpret a sign giving instructions on what to do in case of a fire. These two examples bring perspective to literacys importance. I discovered that I mainly use text or literacy to communicate with others for maintaining family connections or for work related information. I use text or literacy for entertainment as well, but I spend far less time using it for work than I do for entertainment. Overall, I think literacy is a very fluid concept—it is ever changing and evolving as we change and as our way of life changes. A generation or two ago, it was merely important to be able to read and write. Now, one must be able to read and write and use technology to be successful in the world. And for this necessary ability, I have my mother to thank for all her hard work teaching me these skills as a young child.

Managing Cultural Dynamics In Global Markets Commerce Essay

Managing Cultural Dynamics In Global Markets Commerce Essay Culture defines a certain way of life. The study of culture is one of the prerequisite for the studies of management and international management in particular. The knowledge of culture is also required for designing products and business strategies for the consumers of a foreign market. Figure 7: Components of Culture The management is a dynamic process and needs constant innovation and changes to accomodate as per economic conditions and cultural influences.The business strategy is formed as result of business effort, economic conditions and other components of culture. In this chapter of thesis, i choose to describe the sensitivity of management to dynamics of culture. It also focuses on origin and elements of cultures in different countries. 2.2 Cultures Pervasive Impact The culture affect the life of an individual from birth to death. It influences the consumption pattern as well as other habits. For example, Spanish are considered sleeping less than other Europeans. The birth rates  [2]  have been severely effected by other religious beliefs. For example, in China, there is more child births in the year of dragon(12 animals) as it is a symbol of good luck. The year witnessed huge sales of toys, diapers etc. So, the managerial decisions need to take account of such things. The below mentioned table shows the different consumption pattern existing across different countries: Table 1- Consumption patterns( annual per capita) Country Cut Flowers Chocolate (Kg) Fish (Kg) Pasta ( Kg) Tobacco (sticks) Wine (Lt) France 81 4.3 27.6 4.6 1375 30.4 Germany 120 8.7 10.2 5.1 1719 21.3 Italy 87 2.5 22.2 20.7 1869 34.4 Netherlands 125 5.0 22.6 2.5 1050 17.9 Spain 33 1.7 37.4 4.4 2288 13.1 United Kingdom 48 10.5 15.4 2.1 973 15.7 Japan 110 1.8 37.8 10.9 2472 6.9 United States 75 5.6 19.0 3.5 1428 5.9 Source: Euro monitor international, 2010 and 2011 From the above table, one can see the British consume highest amount of chocolate. This habit can be attributed to cool British environment, which enables better storage and taste. There is also trends of declining chocolate consumption in Six of European countries with decreasing latitude. Another important thing is about the fish consumption of Japan, as Japanese island is surrounded with water there is a special liking for Fish and seafoods. The Spanish have special liking for fish as well while the flat geography of England is suited for red meat consumption and production. The high noodle consumption of Japan is because of its proximity to China. There is one more interesting table on data related to consequences of consumption. Table 2: Consequences of Consumption Country Birthrate (per 100,000) Life expectancy Heart Disease Liver Diseases Lung Cancer Stomach cancer France 12.3 79 75 16 42 9 Germany 8.2 78 241 22 46 16 Italy 8.6 79 131 19 55 19 Netherlands 10.6 78 113 5 54 11 Spain 8.9 78 100 15 59 15 United Kingdom 10.6 77 162 9 57 12 Japan 9.2 81 59 11 42 41 United States 13.1 78 193 11 55 5 Source: http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm The longest life of Japanese is attributed to their fish consumption. But high incidence of stomach cancer is because of salty food, like soya sauce and bacterium Helicobacter pylori. This bacteria is because of unhealthy sanitaery conditions in aftermath of world war 2.This has also lead to inventions of some of the best methods to fight stomach cancer in Japan. Similiarly, the high rates of lung cancer among Spanish people is because of their high cigarette consumption. 2.3 Origin of Culture  [3]   To study how the culture of a particular country originated, its needed to study the things like geography, history, social institutions, economy etc. 2.3.1 Geography It is a broad term which includes climate, topography, flora, fauna and micro biology. The presence of large amount of sea water and ports in a country made it a trading hub. Also, Netherlands being a country with lesser colour due to year round snow fall made the people to bring best flowers to country. 2.3.2 History: The historical events have a strong effect on technology, social institutions, cultural values and consumer behavior. The most recent example is of 2003 Middle east conflict. Due to hatred against American product in particular Coca Cola, there were several brands born for example, Mecca Cola, Muslim Up, Arab Cola etc. There are thousands of examples, one is the formation of independent America and its values in 1776 after the publication of Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations. 2.3.3 The Political Economy: The most prominent ways to govern a country was of three types- Fascism. Communism. Democracy. The Fascism collapsed in 1945 followed by communism in 1990s. Another things to affect the political economy was seen in aftermath of September 9/11. The effect of political economy on cultural values will be detailed in next sections of this chapter. Figure 8: Origin elements and Consequences of Culture 2.3.4 Technology: One can easily notice the impact of technology on cultural values in United states. Apart from the inventions of jet, Internet the most influencing technology is the advent of birth control pills in USA. It was because of this that the women participation in United states workforce increased. Although, roman catholic church had criticized the advent of this technology . 2.3.5 Social Institutions  [4]  : The social institutions include family, religion, school, government and organization. These all institutions help people to organize and live collectively. Every culture has its own criterion related to the family, group behavior, men and women equality etc. For example, As Canada is diverse and has various sub cultures, a travel advertisement shows picture of a wife alone for English-speaking Canada and wife with husband for French speaking Canada. 2.3.6 Family: The family types vary around the globe. For example, Nepotism is favored in Chinese and Mexican cultures, while it is criticised in American culture. The size of family do vary with cultures, for example, Japanese mothers tend to care for her children alone and also sleep with them. An American family has parents working hard to support their kids. Also, the kids are taught lessons of individualism very early as they are put in separate bassinette. Also, the higher percentage of boys in India and China are because of the favoritism towards male child. 2.3.7 Religion: Religion is the first social institution a child faces on coming out of his house. The protestants believe in confessing directly to god unlike roman catholics, who confess via church. Some scholars are of thought that the protestants action promote equality among people. So, its important for business managers to understand others religion. It is not an easy task, for example, despite having close to 1.2 billion people following Islam, the MNCs often hurt their sentiments. 2.3.8 School: The school is another important social institution, which helps to shape consumer behavior. There are studies that show strong relation between literacy rates and economic development of a country. The world bank report also supports the above fact as it says that the countries with less than 50 per cent literacy rates are unable to develop properly. The good literacy rates of a country also helps in business communication, which is an important tool for business managers. 2.3.9 The Media: Media is the fourth most influential social institution after school, church and family. This emergence of media in past 30 years comes from the fact that the women have increased their participation in media work force and hence the influence of family has reduced over time. And, on average an American kid attends school 180 days per year. So, leaving plenty of time for too much media exposure and now it is being criticized as well. 2.3.10 Government: The government does not influence the thinking of a child or adolescence. The government has responsibility to effect the mid set of adults. For example, the French government promotes procreation among its citizen and also offers money as birth bonus. The Chinese and Japanese governments are promoting creative thinking by changing school activities and timings. Many times the government is also involved in influencing consumption. For example, after a research showing that drinking caused a lost 2 percent of Irish GDP, the government further tightened the rules to prevent under age drinking. 2.3.11 Organizations: The organizations have a say in media. They have access to global markets and has ability to influence innovation. The organizations can promote a new way of thinking and hence influence a culture. 2.4 Elements of Culture  [5]   As the culture has been defined as a combination of values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought process. The management should give due importance to all of five elements. 2.4.1 Cultural values The cultural values differ from one country to another because of existing diversity across the borders. The study of Geert Hofstede explains how a culture affect the business behavior. His studies covered 90,000 people across 66 countries and he put emphasis on four basic dimensions. The Individualism/Collective Index(IDV). Power Distance Index(PDI). Uncertainity Avoidance Index(UAI). Masculinity/Femininity Index(MAS). The MAS index, which focuses on achievement is least important of above four and i chose to not discuss it in my thesis. Table 3: Hofstedes indexes, Languages, and Linguistic Distance Country IDV Score PDI Score UAI Score Primary Language Distance From English Arab countries 38 80 68 Arabic 5 Australia 90 36 51 English 0 Brazil 38 69 76 Portugese 3 Canada 80 39 48 English 3 Colombia 13 67 80 Spanish 3 Finland 63 33 59 Finnish 4 France 71 68 86 French 3 Germany 67 35 65 German 1 Great Britain 89 35 35 English 0 Greece 35 60 112 Greek 3 Guatemala 6 95 101 Spanish 3 India 48 77 40 Hindi 3 Indonesia 14 78 48 Bahsa 7 Iran 41 58 59 Farsi 3 Japan 46 54 92 Japanese 4 Mexico 30 81 82 Spanish 3 Netherlands 80 38 53 Dutch 1 New Zealand 79 22 49 English 0 Pakistan 14 55 70 Urdu 3 South Korea 18 60 85 Korean 4 Taiwan 17 58 69 Taiwanese 6 Turkey 37 66 85 Turkish 4 United States 91 40 46 English 0 Uruguay 36 61 100 Spanish 3 Venezuela 12 81 76 Spanish 3 Source: From Geert Hofstede, Cultures Consequences,2001. 2.4.1.1 Individualism/Collectivism Index: It shows the behavior which promotes self interests. The cultures that score high on this index promotes individuality by rewarding individual efforts while the low score countries promote group work. Individualism refer to a culture where everyone is independent to other members of family and look after themselves. Although, individualism do promote group work only with the difference that individual performance is identified and rewarded. 2.4.1.2 Power Distance Index: This index is a measure of inequality existing in a society. It generally refer to superiors and sub ordinates relationships. The cultures with higher PDI scores in above table reflect hierarchical organization set up and a sense of privilege for the managers enjoying power. The cultures with low PDI score promote equality. 2.4.1.3Uncertainty Avoidance Index: This index deals with the ease of acceptance of changes by the society. The cultures with high UAI scores are unwelcoming to new ideas. These societies have rules to check anxiety and avoid risks. The countries with lower UAI scores are risk takers. 2.4.1.4 Cultural values and Consumer Behavior: The Hofstede index scores do reflect the cultural values and behaviors existing across different countries. For example, the high scores of United States(91) on IDV reflects that the people like to sit alone and have separate office space etc. While high scores on Hofstede uncertainity avoidance index for Japan(92) and France(86) shows the rejection of risk taking behavior or these citizens might be happier not taking risks in stock markets. Americans have a score of (46) and it signals otherwise. 2.4.1.5 Rituals The rituals include behavior patterns that are learned over a period of time and repeated.For example, Marriages ,funerals or graduation ceremony. The rituals differ across countries. The rituals can be of dinning in a restaurant, in Madrid its common to have dessert first and dinner in midnight, the whole process may last for around three hours. So, the rituals help to form expectation among people. 2.4.1.6 Symbols  [6]   The researcher and anthropolgist Edward T. Hall outlines that culture is a type of communication. He further adds that interpreting symbols around us is an indication of socialization. The child starts listening, watching and learning languages, symbols around him. I start discussing step by step, starting with Language. 2.4.1.7Language The languages are in themselves a social institution and also holds political significance. For Example, in Canada there were political disputes over English/French languages in past. The French people are always trying to maintain purity of their language. In world, many of the languages are on the verge of extinction and the cultural diversity is decreasing with time. The importance of language is for managers, for example, a marketer wanting to sell products in Francemust be familiar with French. So, it is not unfair to say that linguistic distances are a measure of trade affairs among different countries and greater distances accompany with higher transaction costs. With time, the researcher have grouped languages into families, For example, Spanish, Italian, French and Portugese have roots in Latin. However, German, Chinese, Japanese are different branches of a language tree. The distance of these languages from english has been shown in previous table. Also, one can predict and expect different behavior based on the above mentioned index. For example, higher distance from English language is a reflection of lesser individualism. Also, French language has two words for you while English has just one, so English language promotes the equivalence of social status. 2.4 2 Aesthetics as Symbols  [7]   As we know an art has tendency to communicate. For example, in lieu of writing 1000 words one can draw a picture. So, aesthetics become an important issue to be tackled by business managers. Every culture has its own unique myths and metaphors. For example, if one goes to a Japanese restaurant, its common to hear subtle earth tones while if one goes to an ethnic Chinese restaurant, its normal to encounter bright red and yellow lights. The error on aesthetics issues can lead to huge business blunders. These issues are of more importance in deciding advertising, packaging signs of a product. For example, the Japanese word for four is shi, it also means death. In Japan, the teacups are sold in set of five not four. There are a set of different metaphors representing different cultures as shown in below mentioned table. Table 4: Metaphorical of 23 Countries The Thai Kingdom The Traditional British House The Japanese Garden The Malaysian Balik Kampung India: The Dance of Shiva The Nigerian Marketplace Bedouin Jewelry and Saudi Arabia The Israeli Kibbutzim and Moshavim The Turkish Coffeehouse The Italian Opera The Brazilian Samba Belgian Lace The Polish village Church The Mexican Fiesta Kimchi and Korea The Russian Ballet The German Symphony The Spanish Bullfight The Swedish Stuga The Portugese Bullfight Irish Conversations The Chinese Family Altar American Football Source: Martin J Gannon, Understanding global culture 2.4.3 Beliefs  [8]   The human belief is generally formed from reading religious texts. For example, the Western world donot like to use number 13, as they consider it unauspicious. This eminates from the fact that Jesus sat with 12 people in his last supper. There are various secular beliefs as well and they are also called superstition. For Example, the belief of ghosts and demons prevelant in many countries. The Chinese has special significance of number 8, as it denotes prosperity, so the business managers try to put price tags such that they end with number 8. There is another very interesting belief in China, that is of feng shui. It is a way to link a human body to external or driving source of energy, which is responsible for life. The fundamental is to reduce negative energy and ensure good luck, prosperity and good health to owner of the house. The business people often seek the advice of feng shui master to decide entrance of house, day of establishing business etc. In China, people donot like houses having North-West and South-West entrances, as both of the directions are considered to be of devils. This kind of practices must be taken care by business leaders. For Example, Hong-Kong Disney Land is built with the help of a feng shui master. Generally, it is found that some beliefs of a culture are not taken seriously by persons belonging to another culture. Such mistakes should be minimized as beliefs are a culturtal fabric and guide behavior of a society. Thought Processes: Across different cultures around the globe, the thinking method is very different. The book by Richard Nisbett The Geography of Thought is a master work on this issue and shows the existing different thinking patterns prevelant in Asian and Western societies. The author cautions that one should not try to generalize Japanese, Chinese and Korean culture as well as European and American culture. The general findings of the book are consistent with the data used in this thesis. The Nisbetts book shows one very good example of different way to look at a figure by Asians and Europeans. He found that if an Asian sees a picture, he will recall the key figure as well as backlground. But, if an European looks at the same figure, he will only recall the key central figure. This variation of thinking shows wide differences in preferences, values and expectations. The business managers need to be prompt in the above criterion, particularily in case of selling a new product or service. 2.5 Cultural Knowledge  [9]   The cultural knowledge cab be divided into two parts: Factual Knowledge. Interpretive Knowledge. The factual knowledge is associated with the facts which a manager is obliged to learn like, meanings of symbols, colours and tastes. The managers are also required to anticipate various cultural traits. The interpretive knowledge includes learning things like , the peoples attitude towards others, value of time and other cultural patterns. The interpretive knowledge also includes meaning of life in a particular culture etc. 2.5.1 Factual Versus Interpretive Knowledge  [10]   It is very important for managers to have full understanding of factual as well as interpretive knowledge of a society. For example, it is a well known fact that 98 percent of Mexican population is Roman catholic. But, it is also very important to understand that being a catholic in Mexico is different from being a catholic is Spain or Poland. For example, in all catholic countries All souls day is an important festival. The Mexicans also name it as The Day of Dead and believe that the dead persons come to feast and put the favorite food of ancestors on their graves. Its common to see market full of chocolates in the shape of bones etc. Also, the prayers are offered, candles lit. The later activities are catholic but the dead feasting is pre-christain Mexican thinking. The same day is celebrated very differently in other catholic countries. The interpretive knowledge includes the understanding of feelings. Although, this knowledge is dependent on past experiences but should be kept distant from the home countrys self reference criterion(SRC). The managers can be dependent on the text materials related to a culture for learning but the best method of learning is to spend some time in that culture. 2.5.2 Cultural sensitivity and tolerance  [11]   The managers need to analysze objectively any new culture. The managers need to be open in accepting new cultural values. The managers should not judge culture as right or wrong but as a different way of life. One should always keep in mind that for every annoying trait the people see in another culture, there are also some annoying facts in own culture. For Example, It may be a compulsion to use perfumes in one culture while the people in other culture may like to maintain their natural body odor. As the job of managers involve introducing changes and improvements, the managers must be open to accepting or rejecting new ideas and suggestions. The business managers must also be aware of methods to unleash any resistances to change as well. 2.5.2.1 Cultural Change The culture has been defined by many researchers as a living object as it is always going through transformations. The cultures changes in different ways, some culture are influenced by any natural distater or they are influenced by some external disturbances like the case of Japan after world war 2. The societies change to adjust for the changing environment. In order words, a culture is the best way to answer common problems poised by external environment of a society. The cultures also try to diagnose themselves by an activity known as cultural borrowings. This refers to looking into anothers culture for solutions to the problem faced in ones own culture. Another way to solve the problems is through inventions. 2.5.2.2 Cultural Borrowing  [12]   As discussed before, it is a systematic way of looking into another societies to solve the problems being faced in one owns society. For example, nowadays a person living in one country frequently uses the things manufactured in another countries, this is a clear demonstration of a way to solve needs of a society in best way. These cultural facets can be in the form of food, things and habits. It should also be noticed that once a solution is found, it is communicated to next generation and with time becomes a culture heritage. This cultural heritage is an important differenciating factor between human beings and animals. The cultural heritage may contain some borrowed behaviors but it becomes unique for a society and business managers need to demonstrate a clear understanding of them in order to ensure cultural empathy. Similarities: An Illusion The inexperienced business managers get illusive in drawing similarities among cultures which is unexistant. There are several nations in the globe who speak same language, have similar cultural heritage but a product acceptable in one culture might not be acceptable to another culture. That same applies to advertisements as well. Even is English speaking countries like USA and Britain, Although the spoken language is same, there may exists different meanings of a same word or phrase. For example, The Americans call bathroom as toilet in general context but in England bathrooms serve the purpose of only bathing. Another example is that an American asks for elevator and British for lift. Anthropologist Edward Hall says that the world pre assumes similiarities in American and British culture, which is not correct approach. Another interesting event for cultural unification is of Europe, the business managers and MNCs have started to refer them as European customers. Although, the concept of European integration is based on the fact that the barriers to trade and commerce must be reduced but this does not make the business managers to believe that all Europeans have same preferences and tastes. Even in European union, the different countries have their own traditions based on hundreds of years of their heritage. It will not be possible to remove those cultural heritages. The differences exist across a country as well, for example, the East and West Germans have seperate cultural values. In USA, the people in Southern parts have different cultural values than Northern part and so on. The business managers should not formulate common policies based on accepted beliefs, they should focus on the innate needs of individual markets. Although, with time the international markets will integrate and countries will have more economic and social interdependence. The managers need to recognise the pattern of cultural borrowings and keep away from mistakes of cultural unifications. As, culture is a broad term the managers should develop strategies according to the needs of culture . The cultural dynamics will keep on innovating with the help of inside inventions and borrowings, and it will always be an assignment for managers to identify and solve those challenges. 2.6 Resistance to Change  [13]   Although the human behavior, taste, habits and life styles change over years but this change is a gradual process. Any body needs some time to adjust in a new role. So, its usual to notice some resistance to change. The extent to which a change faces resistance depends and varies from one society to another. There are socieites where people readily accept new ideas and habits, geberally in the countries having high scores of high individualism( IDV), lower power distance (PDI) and uncertainity Avoidance index( UAI) like USA, there is special space for innovations. There are some other types of studies which try to find the extent of acceptance of innovation in a society. The research findings indicate that the innovations which resolve the innate needs and interests of a society are most readily acceptable. The best example is the industralization in Europe and the development of methods to make life more productive and the growth of supportive systems like fast food services to support valuable time mentality. Another case is of the rejection of genetically modified food items in Europe. The Europe saw first widespread protests against genetically modified tomatoes where as the other countries of Asia and America had it without any problems untill 2000. It was then that the people started protests and the federal government intervened to define new food standards. With time the resistance  [14]  to change fades away as people become aware for the need to change. Generally, the resistance to new ideas can be overcome in few months but for some complex ideas it may take centuries to overcome resistance. 2.6.1 Planned and Unplanned Cultural Change  [15]   In order to plan the implementation of changes, first it is necessary to identify those cultural factors which are

THE SECOND COMING BY WILLIAM YEATS Essay -- essays research papers

William Butler Yeats, a multitalented individual won the Nobel Prize in 1923. Born the son of a well known Irish painter and religious skeptic had many influences in his life. Eventually, he converted to Paganism from Christianity. He is till this day considered one of the greatest poets that ever lived. To understand the meaning of William Butler Yeats poem â€Å"The Second Coming†, you must first understand the difference between Christianity and Paganism. Yeats was raised as a Christian and turned to pagan mysticism later in his life. Therefore, we can find the subject of this poem by tracing his flow of thought through Christianity up to the point when he diverged from it. Christianity is based around the soul. The soul becomes healthy by its removal from the sin, which it inherits in the world. A healthy or virtuous soul is close to God by contact with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be considered the spirit of God on earth. Jesus Christ is thought to be the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, therefore the embodiment of virtue. In contrast, Pagans worship the spirit of earth as a god, believing it to be the ultimate force, which is neither good nor evil. The religion states the more base human tendencies that Christians would call sinful would be glorified as the reflections of nature. These would include pursuits of pleasure, luxury, or sexual gratification. Many modern pagans especially the ones Yeats associated with do not dispute the ideas of Christianity concerning God but they do not worship him. Early leaders of this movement, like Alister Crowley, with whom Yeats was associated with considered themselves Satanists in this right since Christians equate the spirit of the world with the devil. Yeats was certainly a Christian at some point in his life and makes allusions to Christian faith in â€Å"The Second Coming†, which would indicate that he lends some credence to it, so we can assume that he took the Satanist point of view. As the world turned towards paganism so did Yeats. The poem, while on one level is an earnest description of the change that is occurring to mankind, it is also an earnest illustration of his change to paganism. The opening eight lines illustrate the strife Yeats had seen in his lifetime from a Christian point of view. They describe man as moving away from God in a desperate tone, obviously not written by a pagan. Upon his cries to... ... Alliteration â€Å"surely some†, â€Å"stony sleep†. Onomatopoeia is also on display â€Å"vexed†, â€Å"slouches†. The piece also includes some simile â€Å"blank and pitiless as the sun†, and metaphor â€Å"stony sleep†. The tone is set early on in the poem. It opens with a neutral tone; the non-realistic imagery makes the opening disengaged. The impact of the first two lines is not lent by tone, but by their peculiarity and imagery. The sense of devastation that pervades the poem is introduced in the second part, it is explicitly stated that â€Å"things fall apart†, and this is further emphasized by the words â€Å"anarchy†, â€Å"blood-dimmed tide†, â€Å"passionate intensity†. However, the poem itself, which is so far dealing in abstractions, lacks this passionate intensity. Its tone could be described as anxious. In conclusion, â€Å"The Second Coming† is about William Butler Yeats belief in Paganism. He vividly describes this religion and compares it to Christianity in his poem. This message although hidden can be uncovered through careful analysis and patient reading. This poem is Yeats way of telling people that the world will start to switch to paganism and as he already did at the time of writing this great piece of work.

History evacuation course work Essay

The two sources are different, source B is a picture taken during the war in1939 the year in which the war had started in September. It seems to have been used as a government propaganda source. The photo is to encourage people to evacuate their children, also to get people to look at the people in the picture see the faces in the picture and look at their spirit and get them to follow the example. I have made this conclusion because the picture looks as if it has been taken from high up and at an angle looking down, also all the people are waving and they all look happy and the formation they’re walking in is pretty organized. The government wanted this because they wanted people two evacuate. Source C is a teacher being interviewed in 1988 remembering what happened the teacher tells us about the start of the journey at the train station about the mothers trying to shout to there children good bye because they wont see them for a long time. The teacher might not remember every thing because its 50 years after the event so his memory would be patchy or might only focus on just the bad points in instead of the good. This source was probably made for teaching aides or an archive because sources e and f are also dated 1988. I think that source C is the most valuable source as evidence as what happened because source b was probably set up by the government to get people to agree with them that children should be evacuated this was important to the government because they don’t want children among the casualty list also they want to keep that generation because in ww1 they lost a generation of men. Source C is someone who was their giving their opinion on the matter this is valuable because someone is recalling the truth as they saw it happening before them. The extract comes from a book called Carries war it was written in 1973 by Nina Bowden. The book is a children’s novel it has been written to entertain children. This would affect the book by changing facts and figures because she needs to make it more interesting. The context of this story is the evacuees Carrie and nick being taken back to there evacuation home by there carer Miss Evans before this scene they would have had been at the train station being issued to there cares. Miss Evans thinks that the evacuees Nick and Carrie are poor Carrie and Nick think that it’s funny and aren’t really bothered. The characters think this because the children saw evacuation as a big adventure but the adults saw the children as smelly little things. The conditions some of the children come from were terrible the houses were terraced close together and very poor quality. I think this source is not very reliable at all it is a story it is a story it is made to entertain little children problems would be that the facts may be different and could that the author doesn’t have a clue.

Analysis Swot Tows and Financial Herman Miller

Financial Ratios and Analysis of Herman Miller Liquidity Ratios Liquidity ratios for a company help whomever is analyzing the data determine the company’s liquidity. When a company has good liquidity they are able to pay off their short term debt without having to take out any additional financing. We will look at Herman Miller’s current ratio for 2009 and 2010. The current ratio is calculated by taking the company’s current assets and dividing it by the current liabilities. It shows how many times the current assets can cover the current liabilities. 2009 current ratio | 2010 current ratio | 50. 9/282. 2= 1. 597| 394. 7/313= 1. 261| Herman miller’s current ratio in 2009 of 1. 597 shows they have approximately $1. 60 of current assets to ever $1. 00 in current liabilities. In 2010 they had $1. 26 of current assets to ever $1. 00 of current liabilities. This is a bit of a drop from 2009 to 2010. With the ideal point for the current ratio being above 1. 0; Herman Miller can cover their short term debt without any financing but, the ratio is still mediocre. Debt Management Ratios Debt management ratios show to what extent a company uses borrowed funds to finance its operations.These ratios are important to a company because creditors use them to determine the riskiness of the company’s financial position. Using the debt ratio we can determine how much of Herman Miller’s assets are provided through debt. The debt ratio is found by taking the company’s total debt and dividing it by the total assets of the company. Here is the debt ratio for 2009 and 2010 Debt Ratio 2009| Debt Ratio 2010| 759. 3/767. 3= . 99| 690. 5/770. 6= . 896| From the debt ratio we can tell that Herman Miller has nearly as much debt as assets in 2009. This could shy away some creditors.In 2010 they improved y about 10% which really helps their potential ability to gain more financing from creditors. With ideal ratio being below 1 Herman Miller is ok here but far from good. Profitability Ratios Profitability ratios are used to determine how profitable a company is during a specific period of time. These ratios are important because most investors will look at them when deciding whether or not to take stake in your company. High profitability shows that your company is strong financially, and, can also show that your company is growing. We will look at the return on assets ratio for Herman Miller.The ROA is found by taking the net income an d dividing it by the total assets of the company. The ROA shows how well a company can turn the money it has to invest into net income. Here is the Herman Miller’s ROA for 2009 and 2010 ROA 2009 | ROA 2010 | 68. 0/767. 3= 8. 86%| 28. 3/770. 6= 3. 67%| Herman Miller has pretty good ROA considering the industry they are in. according to statistics posted by Fortune 500 on money. cnn. com Herman miller was one of the few profitable companies in their industry with many of the top competitors losing money from 2007-2009. So looking at the industry this is a strong ROA. http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/industries/216/index. html)SWOT Analysis Strength The first strength we will talk about is that Herman Miller is a profitable organization. In the two years that we looked at (2009 & 2010) Herman Miller had a positive ROA. This shows that even during the harsh economic times in the United States over the last four years Herman Miller has managed to make a pro fit where a lot of their competition struggled. Another strength that Herman Miller has is its management. The best example of this being a strength is the fact that Herman Millers top executives are illing to take pay cuts before the general workforce in 2009 they took a 10% cut in January and another 10% in march when they cut all other employees 10%. Showing your workforce that you are willing to make the sacrifices to stay employed before they bottom of the totem pole makes the employees feel appreciated and more willing to go along with a pay cut when necessary. The third strength we recognized is that Herman Miller creates an empowered and positive workforce. Employees at Herman Miller feel empowered they have no problem telling a supervisor that they are breaking the rules and also feel like they can make some decisions.Empowering your workforce even just a little boosts morale and makes workers feel like they are important to the company. This in The last strength we will me ntion is Herman Miller’s production. Herman Miller implements the process of lean manufacturing. They call their process the â€Å"Herman Miller Performance System†. They maintain efficiencies and cost savings by minimizing the amount of inventory on hand by using â€Å"just in time† inventory process in the case they mention that some suppliers deliver to Herman Miller multiple times daily. Weaknesses The first weakness would be how close their debt ratio is to 1.Having such high debt ratio could chase away creditors. When you have a small amount of creditors to choose from then you lose the power to choose between different creditors depending on interest rates and other variables. This could greatly increase things like interest expense. Another weakness Herman Miller might have is also a strength. The manufacturing strategy and using just in time inventory can be very efficient but, it can sometimes create problems. If a supplier ran out of material or some other type of crisis could cause Herman Miller to lose out on orders and in relation lose out on sales.The third weakness is their participative management style. Although this could be considered a strength if this style isn’t used appropriately it could affect the company in a bad way. If managers take too much time making decisions because they want to have their employees participate in all decisions then it is extremely difficult to make the quick decision when needed. Sometimes in business managers need to make this quick decision and, with participative management if made fully participative some employees may feel different emotions about a decision being made without them knowing it was being made.The last weakness is they are in somewhat of a specialty market during a harsh economy. Being the manufacturer of high end office furniture during a recession is a big weakness when it comes to growth. Not many consumers are looking for high end products right now although they are still profitable with the strategy they have it could take a serious downturn if things were to get worse. Opportunities One opportunity that Herman Miller has is to become totally green. This means having next to no waste and using renewable resources.Herman miller has been working a little bit towards this in the past years. With the demand of environmentally friendly products on the rise this would open up the opportunity to break into and dominate a new market segment. Another opportunity is the increased amount of time spent by people in front of their computers. This is an opportunity because it opens up the idea of making ergonomically superior office furniture that would make the consumers time in front of their computer more comfortable and reduce the risk of injury. The third opportunity is the growth in the Mexican economy.With the Mexican economy rapidly growing this opens up a whole new country that Herman Miller could potentially do business in. the possibilit y of a whole new demographic of customers along with the possibility of opening a new location. The last opportunity Is the rising demand of senior housing in the United States. The baby boomers are getting older every year and with senior housing overflowing all over the US there will be more housing opening. These housing centers will need office furniture along with household furniture to furnish the units. Threats The first threat we will mention is the rise in telecommuting.With more and more people and business using telecommuting the demand for office furniture will see a hit. This could potentially hurt the sales for Herman Miller. Another threat is the possibility of new entrants in the market from overseas. Having international competitors enter the market can really hurt Herman Miller because of their ability to obtain low cost material while still creating a quality product. The third threat is the possibility of another economic downturn. With the economy on the downsid e right now Herman Miller is remaining profitable but would they be able to take an even harsher recession.The last threat is the shortage of skilled workers in the US. With skilled workers declining steadily in the US it is starting to effect manufacturing companies. Without skilled workers you have a higher turnover rate and longer training periods. This will boost up cost and will lose Herman Miller money in the long run.TOWS Analysis Strengths and Opportunities Herman Miller’s strength of an empowered good willed workforce could help them take advantage of the opportunity of the growing senior housing demand.With a workforce that is happy and willing to work they would have no problem taking on the extra hours and work needed to keep up with the added demand. Another strength that Herman Miller could use to take advantage of an opportunity is their production strategy would work well with the opportunity of a growing economy in Mexico. Using their production strategy and opening a new location in Mexico could help them benefit from the rapid growth of the Mexican economy. Strengths and Threats The strength of having empowered and good willed employees could help with the threat of declining skilled workers in the US.If the employees you get that are skilled are less likely to leave you company if they feel empowered and enjoy working there. This will lower your turnover rate and your demand for more skilled workers. Another strength that Herman Miller has is their management willing to take pay cuts. This could help during the threat of an economic downturn. During economic downturn most companies need to cut cost for the decrease in demand of their product having top executives take 10-20% pay cuts really helps the cost cutting process and, could be the difference between going under and staying afloat during a recession.Weaknesses and Opportunities A weakness for Herman Miller is operating in a high end market during a harsh economy. They could op en up a new location in Mexico where the economy is booming to help balance the loss of demand in the United States. With a dollar going a lot further in Mexico than it does in the US having a plant there would be more beneficial than exporting their goods from the United States. Using the same weakness Herman Miller could break into the rise of senior housing demand.Even with the economy being in a recession there are still customers that want your product it’s just a matter of getting the contracts and, having the willingness to make a product that suits the customers’ needs and wants. Weaknesses and Threats Herman miller has some weaknesses and threats that a related the goal is to turn them into opportunities and strengths. Every company tries to do this and the successful companies are good at it. Herman Miller needs to use their strengths as a counter when they see a weakness or a threat arise. They have done a good job at it thus far and will continue to stay a profitable company in the future.