Seiu-Caw Dispute Essay Example for Free

Seiu-Caw Dispute Essay I do not believe it had such a big effect on democracy as even when the vote was held 10,000 workers voted 92% in favor of joining the CAW which shows that democracy was still implemented by them holding a vote and 92% wanting to join the CAW. 3. Some of the damages the Canadian labour union might suffer due to disputes such as this are international alliances between unions could be hurt if the international unions are not able to trust their locals for support and their backing in all situations. Also with more Canadian unions starting to move toward national unions instead of international unions disputes such as this might slow the switch down once they see the challenges and possible repercussions they face from breaking away from the international unions. Disputes like this can also have an effect on gaining new members into unions and many individuals may see these disputes as unwanted and something can occur if they join a union which might persuade them to not consider joining. 5. National autonomy from International parent unions has to deal with local unions gaining independence to make their own decisions, apart from the decisions being made by a parent union outside the country which usually does not understand the demands and wants of the local union members and uses strategies and polices that are effective in their country which might not be effective in Canada. A local union can gain autonomy from their International parent by instituting and governing some of their own policies that are more representative of the local members that they represent. A local union can also join a district labour council which functions to advance the interests of the labour movement at the local and municipal level whereas the international parent union probably does not understand the issue at the local level. If the local union implements these strategies they can enjoy some autonomy from their international parent union while still enjoying some of the benefits of the parent union such as the specialists they usually have in different areas such as bargaining and grievances and in training programs available to their members.

Challenges Faced By Medical Laboratories Information Technology Essay

Challenges Faced By Medical Laboratories Information Technology Essay Healthcare is always a top priority within any collection of individuals, whether it is the workforce, schools, churches, communities, states, countries etc. This is because mortality rates are directly affected by the level of healthcare available, and effective productivity is dependent on good health and high mortality rates. Developed nations tend to invest large sums of money into healthcare, in order to prevent most ailments before they become epidemics, however, due to lack of emphasis on the importance of healthcare, African nations suffer from low mortality rates caused by lack of proper laboratory procedures and equipment, to test and accurately diagnose problems ahead of time. Even though we are now in a highly advanced technological era, Nigerian hospitals still conduct tests, data collection, and calculations manually, leaving a huge opening for errors which could lead to wrong diagnosis and in turn, wrong treatment. As we humans become ever increasingly dependent on computer technology in our daily lives, it then would be appropriate to utilize technological solutions to problems conventional methods prove inefficient at. These problems can be solved with the use of a properly configured software system to manage all administrative tasks in the laboratories. The most effective use of technology to solve to these issues would be carried out using open source software popularly known as a Laboratory Information System (L.I.M.S). The model of this work seeks to provide an application which will enable vital functionalities such as proper documentation and storage of patient information, patient specimen/sample tracking, and most important, patient test results. In the light of the above, the proposed system applies the web application development approach in its information architecture and processing, however this system will run on a local machine as opposed to running on a remote server over the internet. Consequently at completion of this work, the end product should be a Laboratory information management system which handles activities in the lab from the entry of a patient to the laboratory to the generating of a test result or Laboratory report. BACKGROUND OF STUDY The study for the development of the laboratory information management system uses a medical laboratory facility: Bakor Medical laboratory as its case study. Investigations indicate that the following steps or procedures are undertaken in the process of getting tested in the medical laboratory. On entry into the laboratory a document known as the Patient Investigation form. This form holds information such as the Patients name, age sex, on filling this form the patient is then billed. The patient Investigation form is then transferred to a second laboratory attendant who then uses the information retrieved from the aforementioned form to fill the laboratory request book. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In recent times, due to increase in population, there is constant pressure on providers of various services to provide innovative methods of dispensing a sizable amount of services to great amount of people in the shortest possible time. Consequently, organizations are constantly resorting to technological solutions to meet up with the ever increasing demand for quality and speedy service delivery and with virtually everything in our day to day lives being technologically driven, should there not be a scenario where paper documentation is completely annihilated from medical laboratories?, where a system is adopted in which patient records and data are properly stored such as to enable features such as patient/visitor history tracker, where a returning patients history can aid the laboratory in deducing what type of test a visitor would request for, statistical reports generation where useful statistical information is inferred based on test results e.g whether or not there is an incr ease or decrease of new HIV infections, should there not be a software/application where other stakeholders in the health-care delivery processes such as doctors and pharmacists have access to laboratory generated information to aid in their health-care administration?, should the retrieval of patient test records be slow and cumbersome?, why must results be entered directly on the result document, therefore a backup copy is unavailable. Questions such as these will serve as a guide to the development of a robust system than manages various tasks in the medical laboratory. 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Based on the statement of the problems above the research question for this study are: How will the development of a laboratory information management System greatly increase the laboratorys efficiency? OBJECTIVE OF STUDY To design a robust Laboratory information System that will efficiently aid in the running of the laboratory facility To hold and provide timely information about each visitor to the laboratory To reduce the need to hire staff through the proper application of technological solutions therefore cutting cost. With a proper functioning and comprehensively designed application, Laboratory tasks such the following can be achieved: SAMPLES MANAGEMENT A LIMS can automate the management of samples. An organization can configure its analytical parameters and calculations into the LIMS before implementing the software in the laboratory. After sample registration, the system can print barcodes which it can scan at the end of the analysis when loading results into the LIMS. The system can check the completed results, automatically validating those which comply with specifications; and reporting (but not validating) out-of-specification results. A LIMS may release or retain lots and batches, according to a laboratorys specifications and calculations. Once results come available for the labs clients or owners, they can extract them in  PDF, XML  or spreadsheet files from the LIMS interface. (Note that moving insufficient data to a spreadsheet may lose the traceability of changes). LABORATORY USERS One may configure a LIMS for use by an unlimited  number of users. Each user owns an interface, protected by security mechanisms such as a login and a password. Users may have customized interfaces. A laboratory manager might have full access to all of a LIMS functions, whereas technicians might have access only to functionality needed for their individual work-tasks. ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS AUTOMATION As of 2009  LIMS implementations can manage laboratory sampling, consumables sampling schedule and financial (invoices). SCOPE OF STUDY Bakor Medical centre has various departments and sections based on the issue at hand to be dealt with; however this study focuses mainly on the lab processes, including data collection and management. This study takes the patient from the moment of entry into the medical centre, filling forms, up till the moment the test is taken, from that point onwards the study will focus on the methods used by the laboratory attendant to collect and store data, through recording of findings and submission of results This study will also concentrate on data backup and retrieval methods and will highlight potential errors and problems that could be encountered if the entire process was carried out manually instead of using a well configured computer application. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY The Computer based Laboratory information management System is quite desirable as it will benefit the laboratory in the area of repetitive task automation. It will serve as an assistant to the medical laboratory scientist. It will also benefit patients as they will be able to retrieve record from previous visits to the laboratory. LIMITATIONS OF STUDY The limitations of this study include: Inability to obtain actual test result document, as this goes against medical ethics for a third party to view Laboratory specimen or test results. Unavailability of qualified laboratory scientist at the study locations to properly explain terms and laboratory procedures. LITERATURE REVIEW From tasting urine to microscopy to molecular testing, the sophistication of diagnostic techniques has come a long way and continues to develop at breakneck speed. The history of the laboratory is the story of medicines evolution from empirical to experimental techniques and proves that the clinical lab is the true source of medical authority. Three distinct periods in the history of medicine are associated with three different places and therefore different methods of determining diagnosis: From the middle ages to the 18th century, bedside medicine was prevalent; then between 1794 and 1848 came hospital medicine; and from that time forward, laboratory medicine has served as medicines lodestar. The laboratorys contribution to modern medicine has only recently been recognized by historians as something more than the addition of another resource to medical science and is now being appreciated as the seat of medicine, where clinicians account for what they observe in their patients. The first medical diagnoses made by humans were based on what ancient physicians could observe with their eyes and ears, which sometimes also included the examination of human specimens. The ancient Greeks attributed all disease to disorders of bodily fluids called humors, and during the late medieval period, doctors routinely performed uroscopy. Later, the microscope revealed not only the cellular structure of human tissue, but also the organisms that cause disease. More sophisticated diagnostic tools and techniques such as the thermometer for measuring temperature and the stethoscope for measuring heart rate were not in widespread use until the end of the 19th century. The clinical laboratory would not become a standard fixture of medicine until the beginning of the 20th century. Ancient diagnostic methods In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the earliest physicians made diagnoses and recommended treatments based primarily on observation of clinical symptoms. Palpation and auscultation were also used. Physicians were able to describe dysfunctions of the digestive tract, heart and circulation, the liver and spleen, and menstrual disturbances; unfortunately, this empiric medicine was reserved for royalty and the wealthy. Other less-than-scientific methods of diagnosis used in treating the middle and lower classes included divination through ritual sacrifice to predict the outcome of illness. Usually a sheep would be killed before the statue of a god. Its liver was examined for malformations or peculiarities; the shape of the lobes and the orientation of the common duct were then used to predict the fate of the patient. Ancient physicians also began the practice of examining patient specimens. The oldest known test on body fluids was done on urine in ancient times (before 400 BC). Urine was poured on the ground and observed to see whether it attracted insects. If it did, patients were diagnosed with boils. The ancient Greeks also saw the value in examining body fluids to predict disease. At around 300 BC, Hippocrates promoted the use of the mind and senses as diagnostic tools, a principle that played a large part in his reputation as the Father of Medicine. The central Hippocratic doctrine of humoral pathology attributed all disease to disorders of fluids of the body. To obtain a clear picture of disease, Hippocrates advocated a diagnostic protocol that included tasting the patients urine, listening to the lungs, and observing skin color and other outward appearances. Beyond that, the physician was to understand the patient as an individual. Hippocrates related the appearance of bubbles on the surface of urine specimens to kidney disease and chronic illness. He also related certain urine sediments and blood and pus in urine to disease. The first description of hematuria or the presence of blood in urine, by Rufus of Ephesus surfaced at around AD 50 and was attributed to the failure of kidneys to function properly in filtering the blood. Later (c. AD 180), Galen (AD 131-201), who is recognized as the founder of experimental physiology, created a system of pathology that combined Hippocrates humoral theories with the Pythagorean theory, which held that the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), corresponded to various combinations of the physiologic qualifies of dry, cold, hot, and moist. These combinations of physiologic characteristics corresponded roughly to the four humors of the human body: hot moist = blood; hot dry = yellow bile; cold moist = phlegm; and cold dry = black bile. Galen was known for explaining everything in light of his theory and for having an explanation for everything. He also described diabetes as diarrhea of urine and noted the normal relationship between fluid intake and urine volume. His unwavering belief in his own infallibility appealed to complacency and reverence for authority. That dogmatism essentially brought innovation and discovery in European medicine to a standstill for nea rly 14 centuries. Anything relating to anatomy, physiology, and disease was simply referred back to Galen as the final authority from whom there could be no appeal. Middle Ages In medieval Europe, early Christians believed that disease was either punishment for sin or the result of witchcraft or possession. Diagnosis was superfluous. The basic therapy was prayer, penitence, and invocation of saints. Lay medicine based diagnosis on symptoms, examination, pulse, palpitation, percussion, and inspection of excreta and sometimes semen. Diagnosis by water casting (uroscopy) was practiced, and the urine flask became the emblem of medieval medicine. By AD 900, Isaac Judaeus, a Jewish physician and philosopher, had devised guidelines for the use of urine as a diagnostic aid; and under the Jerusalem Code of 1090, failure to examine the urine exposed a physician to public beatings. Patients carried their urine to physicians in decorative flasks cradled in wicker baskets, and because urine could be shipped, diagnosis at long distance was common. The first book detailing the color, density, quality, and sediment found in urine was written around this time, as well. By a round AD 1300, uroscopy became so widespread that it was at the point of near universality in European medicine. Consequently, the clinical laboratory became a standard fixture of medicine at the beginning of the 20th century; it is now an integral part of the health-care delivery process and is seen as the basis for medical diagnosis. In recent times a medical laboratory scientist (MLS), formerly known as a medical technologist (MT) or clinical laboratory scientist (CLS), functions as a medical detective, performing laboratory tests that provide physicians with information that assists them in preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases and maintaining patient wellness.   The medical laboratory scientist performs a wide variety of laboratory tests, ranging from simple dipstick urine tests to complex DNA tests that help physicians assess risk of diseases. Using test results, physicians can uncover diabetes, cancer, heart attacks, infections and many other diseases.   Medical laboratory scientists interact with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other members of the healthcare team to provide timely, accurate information so the patient can receive the correct medical treatment.   Medical laboratory scientists use sophisticated biomedical instruments and technology, microscopes, complex electronic equipment, computers, and methods requiring manual dexterity to perform tests on blood, body fluids, and tissue specimens. Clinical laboratory testing sections include clinical chemistry, hematology, Immunohematology (Blood Bank), immunology, microbiology and molecular diagnostics. EFFECTS OF MEDICAL LABORATORIES Medical Laboratories have played a pivotal role over the years. As stated above, in ancient times, physicians relied on various inaccurate means of disease diagnosis such as urine tasting, listening to the lungs etc. However with the advent and subsequent evolution of modern medical laboratory facilities, plus the discovery of the cellular nature of human tissue and the invention of the microscope, medical diagnosis made a tremendous leap from a 50-50 accuracy ratio to an 80% accuracy rating for laboratory based medical diagnosis. Therefore the use of medical laboratories has greatly increased the accuracy of diagnosis; hence the physician can administer the proper kind of treatment. The use of laboratories has also led to various discoveries, such as new strands of Viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. It also acts as a monitor for new strands of drug resistant bacteria. CHALLENGES FACED BY MEDICAL LABORATORIES The main challenges and bottle-necks encountered by medical laboratories over the years include. Inability to preserve patient samples or specimens such as blood, sputum, stool, over a long period of time for reference purposes hence making patient to specimen matching and tracking, Efficient information sharing and retrieval between the laboratory scientist and those administering treatment has been a problem. MEDICAL LABORATORIES: IMPROVEMENTS AND THE FUTURE For the efficient functioning of the diagnosis system, health-care delivery, scientific research into bacteriology and disease causing organisms, technology should be applied to automate administrative tasks, such as the visitor registration and result documentation. By making judicious use of computer software to automate and manage tasks in the laboratory there will be a dramatic increase in its efficiency. Consequently this will greatly reduce the need to recruit and pay personnel to carry out administrative duties therefore such resources can be channeled towards more important needs of the laboratory. TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM/PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE TO BE USED IN STUDY The technologies to be used in the development of this Laboratory Information Management system is an open source programming language known as PHP, together with a MYSQL driven database, a solid browser based application will be developed. PHP: PHP also known as Hypertext Pre-processor, it belongs to a class of languages known as middleware (Needham, 2006). These languages work closely with the web server to interpret the request made from the web, processes these request, interact with other programs on the server to fulfill the request and then indicates to the web server exactly what to serve to the clients browser. It is the leading web programming language for design of web applications. It possesses a language similar to C, Java or Pearl. Its uses include: retrieving user input and saving it in a database, retrieving information from a database and general data manipulation processes. THE CLIENT: Simply refers to end users of an application that connect to a remote server to carry out computational processes THE SERVER: An application known as a web server listens for requests a client makes, responds to those requests and serves out the appropriate response (Greenspan, 2002) MYSQL: Refers to an open source relational database management system with a set of programs that access and manipulate these records. (Descartes, 2003). It is a  relational database management system (RDBMS)  that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. APACHE WEB SERVER: Apache is a web server notable for playing an important role in the initial growth of the world-wide web. It is responsible for accepting Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request from web client (web browsers) and serving the HTTP responses along with optional data content which usually are HTML pages. These platforms are used in this research work because: There are open source meaning there are free to use and develop with without having to purchase licenses or fulfill any legal obligation to the owners of the technology. It is easy to deploy on a local machine Its hardware requirements are minimal therefore making its installation and usage less cumbersome. Developer tools and support services for the platform/technology are readily available at absolutely no cost. DATA COLLECTED FOR LABORATORY TEST Lab Investigation Form: This form is used for general patient registration and data collection. Data collected on this form include Patient Name Patient age Hospital Number Specimen Blood Specimen Sputum Stool Urea Various Swap Investigation Record Clinic Details Name of Doctor Lab Request Book: Used to record Patients data for that day. Name Lab Investigation Done Amount Time in Data Collected for lab tests Lab result book (Used for recording patients results) Patients Name Date of birth Gender Test Results Date Hospital registration Number Extra Comments SUMMARY The use of technological solutions greatly reduces costs, increase profits, save human effort and provide better services to customers/clients The use of an LIS (Laboratory information System) in the running of a medical laboratory facility greatly improves the documentation process; makes patients records retrieval a lot easier and faster, records are not lost and are kept safe via regular backup of the available data. With the use of a Laboratory information system, various kinds of data deductions, surveys and reports can be easily generated for statistical purposes such as the average percentage of persons with a certain kind of disease, Genotype or blood type etc. CONCLUSION A properly developed Medical Laboratory information system will greatly increase productivity, increase the quality of services delivered by the facility and greatly reduce the amount of man hours put into the delivering the laboratory services

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED APPLYING FOR JOB IN HOTEL INDUSTRY

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED APPLYING FOR JOB IN HOTEL INDUSTRY Hotels and motels are not only places where one can obtain great food and comfortable rooms; they are also the center of community life, with facilities for meeting, entertainment, communication and personal service. Their stock in trade has always been hospitality and service, and hotel and motel have made an art of dispensing comfort, pleasing the palate and creating an atmosphere of home for guests. As far as career opportunities are concerned, in United States alone, the hospitality industry is one of the largest of all industries, surpassed only by the automotive and food industry. Wage and salary opportunities in hotel and other accommodations is expected to increase by 17 percent through 2012, compared with 16 percent growth projected for all industries combined. Dr. Robert A. Beck, former dean of the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, and an eminent consultant, describes the challenges and opportunities of the Hotel industry. The hospitality industry offers todays young men and young women a most interesting and exciting career. Management of a hotel or a restaurant calls for a wide range of capabilities. Guests must be received with cordiality and provided with comfortable, well-designed, and tastefully decorated surroundings. They need appetizing, wholesome food that has been wisely bought, properly stored, skillfully prepared, and graciously served. Various other conveniences in public areas, conference and exhibit rooms, communication systems, and travel systems are required for proper guest service. Further, a staff of employees must be recruited, trained, and motivated to provide hospitable service. Moreover, all must be successfully coordinated to return a profit to the establishments investors. For those wishing a rewarding and challenging life in service to their fellow man, a future in the hospitality field should certainly be considered. SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: Social Skills: At the core of this profession is service and hospitality, so people need to enjoy working with people and helping to teach, inform and entertain them. Social skills generally include talking to people and making them feel at ease with you. If the person does not possess excellent social skills, then it will be very difficult for him to survive in the service industry. A guest would never like to stay at a hotel where the staff is stiff and unfriendly no matter how beautiful and comfortable the hotel is. respectful, patient and tolerant: Graciousness is one of the key personal skills needed in the service industry. At times, the customer will truly test your patience but at times like that one must be polite with irritable, short-tempered customers. It is important to remember to never quarrel with the customer as he is the reason for your bread and butter. The most basic quality in a manager is for him to be respectful to others. Pride is the most precious thing to people and if the manager takes that away from his employees, they will never trust him again. That will make extracting work from them very difficult. A managers job is to make sure that the employees are learning, growing and performing to their utmost potential and that can only be achieved through a relationship of mutual trust and kindness. Leadership skills: The most important job of a leader is to assist the employees and his team into giving their best efforts towards the organizational goal. Leaders inspire others to act by setting a good example. They drive and perseverance spurs others on. A leaders responsibilities are many. He must inspire others, be able to give positive and negative feedback, organize and entrust projects and responsibilities, solve problems and make decisions and monitor the teams progress and setting goals for himself and his team. Business skills: Business skills are important for any employee in the hotel industry. He should have sound knowledge of the profitability aspect of his hotel. He should be completely aware of the organizations goals and the strategies developed to achieve those goals. He should know sources and methods of the funding and management of the resources. Business skills also include human resource management and delegating work and resources. Valuing diversity: To work with an assortment of individual cultures at one place is tough. Especially in this day and age of competition, if a company recognizes and respects individuality, then it can maintain a strategic edge over others. These cultural differences, if managed positively can foster creativity, better decision making, higher performance and competitive advantage. In the hotel industry, one is constantly meeting people from different cultures, backgrounds and language. It is essential to not only understand but also respect people from diverse societies and locations. A person can understand more about culturally different people by travelling around the world and interacting with such people. Besides that, reading can also teach a person much about different customs and traditions. It is important that the guests feel right at home when they visit your hotel and the only way to do that is to make the environment as close to their own environment as possible. Ingenuity and imagination: Since the hotel industry is a highly competitive industry, the customer must not only have a good but a delightful experience to gain his loyalty. For this, employees in the hotel industry must introduce originality, creativity and imagination in their service. It is also essential that they are also given enough resources and authority by their employers in their tasks to completely satisfy the customer. Inventory management skills: Inventory management skills include purchasing, stock control and merchandise display. Inventory management skills consist of proper planning strategy of the stock and supplies to be purchased, how they will be transported to the destination, where they will be stored, when will the new stock be ordered and how long will it take to be delivered. Since the hotel industry is highly competitive and gourmet is an essential part of the hotel industry, it is essential that the food served is always fresh, cooked well and nicely presented. Along with that, it is important for the person managing the inventory to be a good negotiator so that he may get maximum utility out of the price paid for the supply. Negotiator: Negotiation is gaining the favor of people from whom we want things such as money, justice, status and recognition. Both technical and non-technical persons need negotiating skills to obtain help from and support of colleagues, supervisors, peers, customers, suppliers and even friends and family. In the hotel industry one is constant negotiating with customers, colleagues, and suppliers and needs to be quite skillful at it. Technical Skills: Technical skills mean having the ability to understand and aptitude to function the techniques, equipments and methods used in the organization. These skills are important in all fields of job whether its finance, engineering or manufacturing. Rodney Mott, plant manager at Nucor Corp.s new Hickman, Arkansas, steel mill, needed technical skills to decide on the installation of a new $50 million caster, which turns liquid metal into bands of steel. The move nearly doubled the Hickman plants capacity, to 36000 tons a week. Technical skills are particularly important al lower organizational levels. It is very difficult for a manager to survive in the business world if he does not possess adequate technical skills. His initial escalation in the organization depends on his technical skills. But for the top management of the company, the technical skills are not as important as the conceptual skills are. Even in the hotel industry, technical skills are quite important as one will constantly be using or supervising use of new systems and equipments and needs to be an expert at it. Active Listener: Active listening is one of the most powerful personal and management tools. It involves more than just hearing. It involves your powers of observation as well. Observing body language is also a part of active listening as often the words completely contradict the body language. It is the process of taking action to help someone say exactly what he or she really means and then applying that information to the best possible way. In the service industry, active listening is extremely important as it determines the efficiency and the effectiveness of the service delivered to the customers. SAMPLE CV: Objective: to seek the position of a hotel manager in a reputed hotel in order to use all my expertise and proficiency in this area towards the development of the hotel business. Knowledge: Proficiency in MS Access, MS Excel, MS Power Point etc. Proficiency in SQL. Professional Skills: Capable of maintaining customers reservations and creating customer databases Excellent oral and written communication Able to complete assignments within deadline. Able to work and direct teams Capable in handling phone calls and e-mail of customers. Capable of addressing customers complaints and queries. Able to organize big and small events. Educational Background: Bachelors in Hotel Management from Boston University in 1997. Job Experience: Worked as a assistant front office in ABC Hotel from 2005 to 2007 Worked as a hotel manager XYZ Hotel from 2007 till date. Summary: Handled customers queries and complaints via calls, emails and fax etc Handled inventory management Monitored and overseen all employees duties. Administered complete hotel operations SKILLS AUDIT: Social Skills: I believe I have good social skills since I like interacting with people and getting to know them. I have a friendly personality due to which people find it easy to talk to me. They are at ease with me. Often, I have also been the entertainer of my peer group and amongst friends. I also believe in helping people out without expecting any reward in return. In college I am a part of several societies so I am constantly meeting new people and working with them. respectful, patient and tolerant: Since childhood I have been a part of several community services. The experience there has taught me how to be patient, tolerant and respectful towards people. A lot of times, we come across people who prove to be quite difficult and working with them can be quite challenging, but Ive learned very early that politeness can turn any frown into a smile and I apply the same rule in my life. Leadership skills: I have often directed groups and teams in several societies as Im very actively social in my community as well as am a part of a few societies at the university. The most recent experience is leading a group of people who were chosen to prepare an extensive business plan on a new business initiated. Here we had to visit several organizations and people, gather relevant market information, conduct research and develop a whole business plan that comprised of the marketing and promotion plan too. As a leader I took upon myself to delegate tasks to the group members, give them deadline for the task, supervise their work and performance and motivate them to work towards the goal. Business skills: Having courses of business studies has taught me a lot of how a business should be conducted effectively. But I do believe that business management is a skill that cannot be excelled at until one gets practical experience in the same. Valuing diversity: Since I am a part of several societies, meeting people from different cultures and diverse backgrounds is quite common. The challenge I face here is understanding their customs and traditions and respecting them. Some words of actions that are quite respectful here may prove to be quite offensive to them. So one has to be quite careful while working with them. One advantage of working with people from diverse backgrounds is the generation of new and unique ideas that one is introduced to. These differences managed positively can foster creativity, better decision making, higher performance and competitive advantage. Inventory management skills: This summer I had an internship at a local motel where I was assisting in inventory management. My daily duties consisted of physically counting and keeping records of the stock and place order when the supplies were close to their last stages. I also had to make sure that the supplies I ordered were delivered on time and make a check that the delivered supplies were fresh. I was able to handle the job efficiently and it gave me a great experience in the world of inventory management. Technical Skills: I believe I do not have the best technical skills at the time as these are skills that are polished with time and experience. But I do possess proficiency in using the Microsoft Office and can read make reports and financial statements and interpret them. With time, I believe I shall be more adept in technical skills. Active Listener: I use active listening skills every day while communicating with my classmates, friends and even family. By carefully observing their body language and repeating important words of what they are saying, I make sure that I understand exactly what they are trying to communicate to me to avoid any misunderstandings. Active listening is a very important skill that is useful in all aspects of life whether it is college life, family life or work life. REFLECTIVE LEARNING: This module has been very helpful for me in terms of personal development. A few of the skills that I think I must learn/posses are as follows: Peoples person: One thing I have learned is that one needs to be a peoples person. The main task of a manager is to interact with people. These people can be his own organizations employees, his team and staff and it can also be persons from outside the organization that is the supplier, customers or outsourced people. Since every person has a different personality and outlook towards things, the manager must be flexible enough to change according to the situation that requires him to be. Only then can he be a good negotiator and can get things down the way he wants it. Become achievement/results oriented: To survive in the professional world, one needs to become achievement/results oriented. This includes the aspiration to get the assigned tasks completed efficiently and effectively. An achievement oriented manager must constantly challenge himself with new tasks and projects and set and must surpass his benchmark to be the best. But becoming achievement oriented is not easy. This requires proper and vigorous planning and foreseeing all future obstacles and finding ways to meet them. Assertiveness: Assertiveness means standing up for your own rights in such a way that you do not violate others persons rights. Here, you are expressing your needs, wants, and opinions, feelings in beliefs in a direct, honest and appropriate manner. Behaving assertively puts you in a position of being able to influence people properly and react to them positively. Business awareness: It is extremely important to have business awareness if the manager wishes to grow professionally. The manager must constantly look for new business opportunities and must exploit them whenever he can. He should have a clear idea of what his organizations overall goals are and what steps the organization is taking to achieve them. Only then can his organization and he himself can rise in the business world. Excellent communication skills: Communication is an essential tool in the professional life no matter which industry or sector you belong to. The talent to communicate well, orally and in writing goes a long way. The communication skills also include observing the non-verbal communication. It means listening to the words that are being said but also use other clues that convey its meaning. Several things clue the non verbal communication, for example, the shape of the eyes, the muscles of the face, even posture. Collaboration: Collaborating is the work platform of the 21st century. It is the epitome of the we workplace, where extending request and excellent service to fellow workers is the foundation of all interactions. Collaboration takes advantage of the most effective actions possible because it focuses on and utilizes the unique gifts and strengths of the many. Everyones skills complement and reinforce one anothers. Collaboration creates and energy that inspires and motivates. Through collaboration, people gain a stronger appreciation for how their efforts align, add value, and produce results for the company. One more point about collaboration is pertinent. Savvy managers know that collaboration requires employees to be a part of something larger than themselves a project with meaning and importance. To that end, they artfully help employees relinquish ego behaviors, replacing them with mutually beneficial ones. They act consciously to ensure that every person knows how much his or her contribution adds to the projects success. As companies move to more virtual projects executed globally, utilizing a host of virtual communication technologies, collaboration challenges with intensity. Building your collaboration skills allows you to handle disparate work spread across various cultures and times zones and to transcend various boundaries. It becomes your strategy for bringing out the best in each person. Working under unpredictable circumstances: Work is often unpredictable. Situations and circumstances change and due to that the pressure of the project increases. The best laid plans are therefore disrupted and the established priorities are abandoned. In these situations, one needs to be able to handle such circumstances and make quick decisions as they arise. Periodic Trainings: Periodic trainings are very important to keep the employees up to date with the current systems and trends. Many institutions are now offering trainings to their business executives as a means of developing skills. These trainings prove to be very useful in initiating and promoting entrepreneurship. Trainings are required to get sound knowledge of technical and non-technical skills. International trainings are also a good forum for the manager to create new personal relationships and interact with new people. Analyze past mistakes and note down learning points: One way to learn from past mistakes is to analyze the past. Ask yourself what went wrong. What have I learnt from it? How can I improve the situation? Even if one fails to achieve a certain goal, instead of being discouraged he should jot down points of what he has learned from the situation and if he had to face a similar situation again, what would he do differently the next time. Self-analysis is a very effective learning method. Interacting with people from different cultures and environments: To further broaden ones horizon, one constantly needs to interact with people from different environments are cultures. This enables us to learn about the different cultural dynamics and let go of our preconceived notions. This way one also learns to use that cultural diversity to the organizations advantage. When a group of people from different cultures come together originality and creativity is introduced. In todays day and age, where cities are becoming more and more metropolitan, it is important to be able to interact with and respect people from different places and appreciate their difference. personal development plan: What do I need to learn? Develop technical skills pertaining to my professional life. How have I established such need? I have come to know that I am not quite as proficient in technical skills and they are an essential requirement for the kind of profession I wish to pursue. What is the aim of my learning? I aim to be proficient at technical skills. What are the specific objectives I need to achieve? Demonstrate evidence of improvement in these skills. How will I accomplish my objectives? I plan to take courses in new systems and software that are being used in the business world nowadays. I shall also read about the new systems and softwares, their purpose and contribution in the overall organizations goals. What is my timescale? On-going. I plan to keep practicing and learning new systems and soft wares to keep myself proficient.

Reflections on Shevchenkos Kateryna Essay -- Poetry Analysis

Purpose Statement The purpose of this research paper is to discover why Taras Shevchenko uses of women in his poetry. Along with the poem â€Å"Kateryna†, women are used quite heavily by the author. The women in his poetry appear to symbolize the czarist imposition of serfdom in the Ukraine. The irony was written when his own freedom was purchased by a friend. Women are usually seen as becoming impregnated by Moscals and then abandon by their impregnators. Shevchenko desire is to reveal how the czars imprison the Ukrainian people just as women are put into a prison by the seduction of the soldiers from Moscow. Problem Statement Taras Shevchenko, through his poem, "Kateryna," was addressing the issue of Petersburg imposing serfdom upon the Ukraine. He used the symbol of women who gave themselves to the Moscals soldiers. The problem Shevchenko perceived was twofold. He was concerned about how Ukraine purity was being filed by the introduction of Russian genes by these women's pregnancies. The second was Russian interference into everyday Ukrainian life as symbolized by the pregnant women being abandoned by the Moscal soldier. Introduction Not taking into account all challenges and difficulties, Taras Shevchenko, ninetieth century Ukrainian romantic national poet, wrote in Ukrainian and about Ukraine. He demonstrated that the Ukrainian language deserves literary attention and in turn rekindling a latent Ukrainian national spirit. George Luckyj writes â€Å"Shevchenko provided in his poems the raison d’à ªtre of the modern Ukrainian nation. The mythic poet became a national prophet†. Thus his first importance to Ukraine is clear: his works for the first time proved the intellectual maturity of the Ukrainian language and culture. Although... ...uel before your grief. (Shevchenko) Works Cited "Early Ukrainian Identity: The Case of Taras Shevchenko." Perspectives Student Journal of Germanic and Slavic Studies. Winter 2004. Web. 4 May 2012. Luckyj, George S.N. "The Archetype of the Bastard in Shevchenko's Poetry." Shevchenko and the critics, 1861-1980. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980. pp. 386-394. Rudnichenko, Nataliya. Being a women in Ukraine. Welcome to Ukraine n.d. Web. 5 May 2012. Shevchenko, Taras. "If You but Knew." 1961. Shevchenko Poetry. Taras Shevchenko Museum. n.d. Web. 6 May 2012. Shevchenko, Taras. "Katerina." 1960. Electronic Library of Ukraine Literature. University of Toronto. n.d. Web. 5 May 2012. Zheleznova, Irina, John Weir and Olga Shartse. "Selected Works by Taras Shevchenko." Spring, 1984. The Modern Language Journal , Vol. 68, No. 1 (Spring, 1984), pp. 89-90.

Comparison of Stereotypes and Stereotyping in A Dolls House and The Breakfast Club :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Stereotyping in A Doll's House and The Breakfast Club      Ã‚   When you see someone with expensive jewelry, driving a Lexus with tinted windows, rap music blaring from a mega stereo system, do you assume that he is a punk or drug dealer? This is an example of stereotyping. How are stereotypes assigned? Often they are created by society and are based on gender, race, religion, age, or social standing. Henrick Ibsen focused on the theme of stereotyping in his play A Doll's House.    In A Doll's House, Nora is seen as more an object than a person. When the play was written, women in general were viewed as wives and mothers, not individuals. Nora skillfully plays the part of obedient wife as Torvald questions her about what she did in town, assuring him that she "would never dream of doing anything [he] didn't want [her] to (Ibsen 933)." In "The Breakfast Club," the characters' peers designate stereotypes as a result of a combination of social status and behavior. Brian is "the brain" because he is an A student, Bender is "the criminal" on account of his rebellious behavior, and so forth. In his essay to Mr. Vernon, Brian addresses the stereotypes that have been placed on him and his peers:    "...we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed" (Hughes).    In agreement with the opening quote from the movie, these characters "are quite aware of what they're going through" (Hughes).    Stereotypes are superficial, however, and when they are peeled off they often reveal something completely unexpected. When Torvald receives the letter from Mr. Krogstad and learns of Nora's secret, he begins to see her as "a hypocrite, a liar...a criminal" (Ibsen 974). When the conflict is resolved and it becomes clear that no one will suffer because of her forgery, Torvald returns Nora's stereotype of vulnerable woman, telling her he "wouldn't be a proper man if [he] didn't find a woman doubly attractive for being so obviously helpless" (Ibsen 975). In "The Breakfast Club," the teenagers have been aware of their stereotypes for quite some time.

The Effect Conflict Has on People

Good morning teachers and peers, today I'm going to discuss conflict, the affects it has on people with examples from two texts. | What is conflict? Conflict is another word for fighting, battling, or struggle. Conflict can be expressed in many ways, such as; war, hate, aggression, bullying, and competiveness. Conflict has negative effects on people. Conflict can result in death, mental illness, suicide, and destruction. Conflict is cause by many reasons including differences in values, desires, needs, habits, and wealth. The first text I'm going to discuss today is a poem called Dulce Et Decorum Est by a famous poet named Wilfred Owen. The poem is based on first hand experiences in France, in world war one. The poem describes owen’s firsthand experience in the front line. | The poem is about how going to war for your country is not a noble thing to do, that Dulce et Decorum Est is a lie mentioned in line 27 in stanza 3 meaning it is not a sweet and right thing to do. Owen at first thinks that going to war for your country is Dulce Et Decorum Est, Latin for sweet and right, but after he experiences conflict his opinion changes on conflict. The next text I'm going to discuss today is a film called â€Å"Tomorrow when the war began†. Tomorrow, when the war began is a 2010 Australian adventure film written and directed by Stuart Beattie and based on the novel of the same name by John Marsden. | Wilfred Owen has written the poem in such a way that it gives the audience the feeling that they are experiencing conflict in the front line and in a similar way to the film. He gives this feeling by putting repetition in the poem like Gas! Gas! Quick boys! In line 9 in stanza 2. By doing this he reinforces to the audience the horror and brutality of conflict. This helps Owen to bring the poem alive and engage the audience. | He also gives the feeling by putting imagery in the poem by saying â€Å"men marched asleep in line 5 in stanza 1 or the white eyes writhing in his face in line 19 in stanza 3. Owen uses this imagery to express just how oppressive warfare is on the soldiers’ soul. The film gives that feeling by showing gunfire and explosions for example when Elli the main character blows up a barrel killing multiple soldiers. The film uses this to show how conflict can desensitises people. | Conflict is destructive. It will ruin people’s homes, break up their families, destroys people’s friendships/ relationships and It also breaks people physically and mentally. In the poem Dulce Et Decorum Est, it is outlined very clearly that conflict is destructive, seen by the experiences and the effects it had on the soldiers. | In the film however, it does show the destructive nature of conflict but the film also shows how conflict desensitizes people. The film shows this when Elli threatens to kill her friend named Chris for falling asleep on watch. The soldiers in the poem are said to be â€Å"bent double, like old beggars under sacks† in line one, this is a simile that outlines the condition of the soldiers and how bad of an effect it is having on them. It is making them brittle and weak, this shows just how destructive conflict actually is. | In the poem it describes how a man is watching his friend die right in front of him after the gas attack. Owen describes this by putting in metaphors, for example as under a green sea, I saw him drowning in line 14. He also uses similes like, floundering like a man in fire or lime in line 12. In the film it shows how people’s homes get torn apart. They show this when the teenaged group get back from a place they call hell, and all their families are gone. Also how they witness one of the characters home getting blown up by a fighter jet. | The two texts I have studied are both similar and different in various ways. Both the texts are expressed from a first person view. They both tell us about how negative and destructive conflict actually is. However the poem is told from the front line and the film is told from a different perspective yet still tell us how negative conflict is. | My personal opinion on conflict is a negative one, after studying these two texts my perspective has changed on conflict. Conflict should be a last resort for resolving matters, not the first. It is simply to destructive for anyone to have a positive view on it. Thank you for listening to my speech and have a nice day.

Why Did Fascism Rise in Europe During the 1920s? Could It Have in the 1930s US?

What kind of economic environment would embrace Fascism? What kind of society would allow their country’s freedoms and future to be placed into one dictator’s hands? Germany was surrounded by perceived forces of evil. The exploitation of fear from the French to the West and the Russians to the East would break the spirit of the German people. The fear of these two forces against a nationalized Germany would be used by Adolf Hitler to gain power. In Italy, Benito Mussolini used alliances with the Catholic Church, unions, and industry bosses to gain political power. That, along with using brute force against his political opponents, Mussolini’s form of Fascism was gradually built with eleven years of severe political maneuvering. Both Hitler and Mussolini took advantage of a political environment to form a new lofty ideal, fascism, an ideal that would lead to a second escalation in the early 20th century. World War I ended very badly for the Prussians. They were broken into smaller nations. Lands were taken from them. Their methods of wealth gathering from previous investments were seized away from them. Any possible modes of financial stability were looking bleaker with the continuance of the reparations coming out of the Great War. Even when the new Germany did create wealth, the French would take it away from them because of overdue payments. There was no financial hope because the French were so relentless with their strict enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles. The enduring vengeance that the French leaders had towards Germany after WWI was eventually viewed by Germans as greed. The ruthless attitude of the French capitalists developed into an overall German distaste for the existing capitalist movement. To the East there was also a newly formed communist Russia that was growing in structure and power. There was an anxiety among the German people with what was going on in Russia. By outsiders, communism was understood as simply a loss of private property. The loss of private property was something that the new Furher, or leader, of Germany would claim to protect. Exploiting the people’s anxiety for a state-owned economic system was a main tool used by Hitler. Germany didn’t want to be like the greedy French capitalists, nor did they want to be like the War-Communist, Stalin-led Russians. These two forces to either side of Germany created a vacuum of ideas. Within this vacuum, Hitler forced his own ideas that in 1926 he laid-out in his work Mein Kampf . At this point of Germany’s economic disrepair, Hitler could have sold the German near anything especially because it was neither like the French nor the Russian respective economic futures. Hitler also used the Jews as his own capitalist scapegoats for why the country was in such economic peril. He used this as a rallying cry, a distraction for something to move against at home. All they had to do was to exterminate the Jews, follow Furher, and he would lead Germany back to being a reunified world power. Benito Mussolini in Italy went another route. After he was elected Prime Minister in 1922 he slowly used political force to gain and maintain power. He gained the support of the Catholic Church by mandating Catholic school for children. He somehow aligned himself with both unions and industry bosses by mandating an eight hour workday and freeing the industries of back payments from WWI. And in order to get his way in the elected government he would use his seemingly endless political power to dissuade the elected liberals. He would threaten or even assassinate anyone who opposed his rise to power. â€Å"I declare†¦. in front of the Italian people†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦that I alone assume the political, moral and historic responsibility for everything that has happened. Italy wants peace and quiet, work and calm. I will give these things with love if possible and with force if necessary. † Peace via force? Somehow that doesn’t seem possible, but the fascist government led by its Il Duce, or leader, got its way. Exterminating, not Jews as Hitler was then doing, but liberals in Italian places of power. In the 1930’s America it was a dire time financially. People were voting with their stomachs and they were all ears in following the leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was a very popular American leader as he was voted into the highest office four times. America was not quite as broken as Germany was. America still had its ideals intact as evidenced by its strong opposition to FDRs attempted amendment to the Constitution adding six members to the Supreme Court. Despite the financial hardships that the American people were experiencing in the 1930s, Fascism was much too different for appeal to the Americans. They were too proud of their existing American democracy to ever be influenced enough to change the ideology from a capitalist democracy towards a fascist dictator. Americans were much more interested in FDR’s ‘tweaks’ than in a complete government overhaul as either Mussolini or Hitler would have advocated. With a thriving fascist government, when is enough, enough? When dealing with fascism there is never really a true stopping point. Whether it was someone within the nation, like the liberals in Italy or the Jews of Germany, or an outside threat, like the communists of Russia or the French Capitalists, there will always be an opposing party. It begs the question whether a successful WWII campaign by Italy and Germany would have eventually pitted them against each other?