Management and Illustrations Pearson Education Essay

This workbook will support you in achieving all aspects of your Apprenticeship framework. This section will help you prepare for the ? rst visit by your assessor, and forms part of the induction to your Apprenticeship. In this section you will ? nd an activity to help you prepare and gather evidence for your assessment related to this topic: 1. Preparing for a Level 3 Apprenticeship Some of the evidence you will be asked to provide will be assessed both through documents and tasks that you have completed in your work and by direct observation. You might be observed by your assessor when you are working. Your supervisor or other colleagues can also observe you at work and complete a witness statement to give to your assessor. These observations should be of real work activities and not simulated tasks. If you are recorded while you are working, you may have to get permission from any colleagues present during the recording. The tasks in this Workbook will provide further evidence for all aspects of your framework. You will also take part in professional discussions with your assessor during the visit. Your assessor may want to discuss your progress with your workplace supervisor, so your supervisor will need to know the planned date of the visit. Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 1 1 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration 1 1. PREPARING FOR A LEVEL 3 APPRENTICESHIP As a Business & Administration Level 3 apprentice, you will play an important support role at work. You will be handling day-to-day activities in an of? ce setting within a business organisation. You could, for example, be working in a public sector organisation, a charity, a newspaper or in an of?ce in a retail setting. The exact nature of your job will depend upon your employer. However, it is likely that you will be helping the business run smoothly by doing tasks such as typing up meeting documents, handling spreadsheets, and dealing with incoming and outgoing post for the organisation. Ef? cient admininstration helps a business run smoothly. The tasks in this section of the Workbook will help you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of your Apprenticeship. You will explore the components of the Apprenticeship, the strategies for assessment and the importance of the Apprenticeship agreement. This will help you to develop an individual learning plan (ILP), which will be reviewed on each assessor visit in a meeting you have with your tutor and your supervisor. 2 Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The tasks that follow will require you to study the Business Administration Level 3 Apprenticeship framework. You will look at the components of the framework and explain why they are important and how they will be assessed. You will also explore the purpose and usefulness of the Apprenticeship agreement. WorkSkills Unit 1: 1. 1, 1. 2 1 Task 1a Each Apprenticeship has its own framework. The Business Administration Level 3 Apprenticeship is made up of four elements. These are: †¢ employment rights and responsibilities †¢ competence-based element †¢ knowledge-based element †¢ Key or Functional Skills. Complete the table on page 4 to show the quali? cations that make up each element of your Apprenticeship. State the types of evidence you will need to gather. Entries for the ? rst element of the framework have been provided as an example. Once you have done this, develop strategies you could use to gather evidence for each element and suggest ways you could prepare for any tests in Functional Skills or Key Skills, and in the BTEC certi? cate. Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 3 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration 1 Element Employment rights and responsibilities Quali? cation Why it is important WorkSkills for It helps me to settle into my job Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship and to understand important aspects of being employed. It helps me to assess my time management, learning and personal skills to ensure that I successfully complete my framework. It will help me to think creatively, enquire independently and solve problems. I will look at employment rights and responsibilities, current employment legislation and conditions of service. I’ll examine the role of the trades unions. I will also study con? ict situations and learn the steps to take where there is evidence of bullying or discrimination, and ? nd out about sources of support and advice both in and outside work. I will learn the skills needed to lead a team and the roles and responsibilities of a team leader. Types of evidence Completion of tasks and exercises in my Workbook. Performance evidence, such as observation record and witness testimonies from my supervisor and other colleagues. Work documents, such as contract, job description, payslip, and information about projects that I have worked on. Professional discussions with my assessor. Competencebased element NVQ It will enable me to provide a service level to internal and external customers whilst taking into consideration company expectations/standards and the company code of conduct. Witness statements from my line manager an other colleagues, Planning tools such as flow charts and work plans, Diary pages, Action plans and checklists, e-mails memos and letters. Knowledgebased element BTEC It will help me to understand how Completion of tasks in my to prioritize tasks and produce a workbook and Professional sufficient standard of work. Enable discussions with my assessor. me to understand the requirements of internal and external customers whilst maintaining budgetary requirements. Key or Functional Skills. Functional Skills are to ensure that you have a good level of job supporting skills in English maths and ICT. Assessment through examination. 4 Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration WorkSkills Unit 1: 1. 3 Task 1b The Apprenticeship agreement is a contract entered into between an employer and an apprentice and the Apprenticeship training provider. When you started your Apprenticeship you would have signed an Apprenticeship agreement. The main points that must be covered in this agreement have been set out in legislation. Describe the purpose of the Apprenticeship agreement. Ensure that you cover all the main aspects of the agreement. 1 Agreeing the programme – Business Administration Level 3. Setting out the aims of the programme – to acquire a nationally recognized qualification in a structured programme of work based training. Defining the Training Process – Initial assessment, Individual learning log, Assessment carried out by qualified training and assessment co-ordinators and standards verified by internal and external verifiers/moderators. Monitoring progress, At any time requested plus a formal review, Progress file continually kept up to date. Terms and conditions. Types of training including mentors. Agreed workplace training course. Employment contract and terms and conditions in like with the company policies and employment legislation. Health & Safety – Company or college? Disciplinary principles and procedures – Company or college? Assessment appeals procedure. Preston College will provide me with a competent trainer who is able to offer me the learning, teaching support the relevant work based training, assessment, monitoring and reviews required to enable me to gain the level 3 qualification also offer me an individual work plan and programme which will be validated by the awarding body. I will comply with the terms and conditions set by both my employer and Preston College including attending work and set training sessions with my teacher, whilst working through all the units set in my own time, I will present my portfolio and work assignments for verification as requested. This agreement is to protect all parties involved, the signing of the learning agreement is to show that all parties understand what is required of them throughout the duration of the NVQ training process. WorkSkills Unit 1: 2. 1, 2. 2, 2. 3; Unit 7: 1. 1, 1. 2, 1. 4, 1. 6 PLTS SM: 1, 2, 3 Task 1c You will be required to develop an individual learning plan (ILP) as part of the induction visit. To be prepared for this, you will need to understand progression routes that are available to you and be able to set goals for completion of your framework. It is important to negotiate realistic targets to be included in your ILP. Good targets are ones that meet the SMART test. SMART targets are: †¢ Speci? c – they say exactly what you intend to do †¢ Measurable – you can prove you have reached them †¢ Achievable – they are not beyond your reach †¢ Realistic – you will have access to all the resources you will need to achieve them †¢ Time-related – you have set a deadline for completion. Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 5. BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration 1 Prepare notes on: †¢ the importance of meeting deadlines at work and in learning †¢ the importance of being organised. Being organised is key to meeting targets and deadlines, if you are not organised things can easily be missed resulting in deadlines being missed, when carrying out duties that have a deadline if a person is prepared and well organised the actual task will run a lot smoother resulting in the deadline being more likely to be made if not achieved before the deadline arrives. Organisation within the workplace is key for a healthy running business if a workload is organised it is a lot clearer what the objectives of the task are and how far they have been completed. It is important to have deadlines for tasks to keep business’s running, if no one had a deadline people are more likely to have a more relaxed attitude to completing tasks and workloads thus slowing down the productivity of the business. Then review your development needs and prepare some notes setting out: †¢ your skills and learning requirements †¢ your learning goals. I have been employed by various companies over a 12 year period mainly in administrative rolls but each business has had a variety of different administration needs, there have been customer based, reception based, retail based, admin for a single department and admin for several departments within the business, whilst I do find it beneficial to have a broad knowledge of administration skills most of my abilities are either a basic knowledge or abilities I have developed myself, I would like this course to improve the skills I have already acquired and improve my ability and standard of what I am currently capable of as well as learning new skills to develop my current profession to a very high standard. My goals are to complete the level 3 to a high standard, gain further knowledge of administration & business skills to broaden my capabilities and to be able to give a better work based performance on a day to day basis. 6 Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration Finally, produce targets that you can discuss with your assessor when you meet to ? nalise your individual learning plan. These should be SMART targets, with each having clear deadlines for when they should be achieved. They should relate to: †¢ learning to be undertaken for the completion of the Apprenticeship framework †¢ managing commitments at work and in personal life while on the Apprenticeship †¢ contingency planning for learning not being completed on time. 1 I plan to complete the NVQ with a 17 month period giving myself a month per section, so I can take my time to fully absorb all information required to complete my NVQ to a high standard, to achieve this I plan to spend four hours a week of my personal time, 2 hours on research and planning and 2 hours on practical, written and presentation work, I plan to use any other free time I have in my own time to make sure I am progressing forward at a timely manor which fits in with my out of work commitments, I also plan to use any spare time I may have during working hours to achieve this. As the course must be completed in 24 months I feel that my plan for completion within 17 months gives enough time for any difficulties or unforeseen circumstances I may come across. When you have agreed your plan with your assessor, you should use your targets to check your progress. Remember to ask your assessor on each visit to sign off any targets that you have achieved and completed on time in your individual learning plan (ILP). Do this on every visit. WorkSkills Unit 1: 3. 1, 3. 2 Unit 2: 3. 1, 3. 2, 3. 3 Task 1d When deciding on progression routes, you can look at moving vertically – by going up your career path step by step – or you can move laterally – by looking to see what other careers are open to you at the same level. Administrators develop transferable skills and can ? nd jobs in many different organisations and sectors. You could also go on to further learning in full-time education. Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 7 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration 1 To complete the ? nal section of your individual learning plan, you will need to look at possible progression routes following successful completion of your Apprenticeship. In advance of your assessor’s visit, ? rst research useful sources of information on progression routes. These should cover information on further training and education as well as jobs and careers. List the most useful sources of information here. EducationCollege, adult learning – Various college websites Open University – www. open. ac.uk Full time Education through college or university – Various college and university websites TrainingIn house company training – Line Manager /HR Department Outsourced training such as day / week courses with companies such as Hemsley Fraser or GBS Corporate Training – www. hemsleyfraser. co. uk/ & www. gbscorporate. com/. CareerIn house job shadowing – Line Manager /HR Department Applying for in house promotion Applying for a similar role with better progression opportunities – www. gov. uk/jobsearch Use these sources to identify the occupational opportunities in administration and related sectors that particularly appeal to you. Compare the progression routes that you could take to access these opportunities. Administration can relate to many sectors of a business, personally I like that my current role involves admin for most of our departments as it offers a day to day variation, it also gives a broad knowledge of skills required for each department as the duties are not all the same, the variation offers the opportunity to undergo many different day / week courses to gain more knowledge of a particular department which could lead to a preferred area of the business, you could therefore concentrate on gaining knowledge for that department by job shadowing and taking more intense courses such as adult learning and further education to develop the skills to progress to a higher level in your chosen area of business. 8 Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration Finally, make a note of your preferred career pathway. You should be prepared to discuss your choice when you meet with your assessor. To help you prepare for this meeting, use the space below to set out the steps required to achieve your career ambitions. 1. I personally would like to continue with my career as I feel full time education is not right for me, I would like to continue in my current role for the next approximately 2 years to acquire all the skills I feel I would need to progress, I would then like to look at team leader / junior management positions within the office / administration environment looking after a small team as I feel this would be a natural progression route, once secure in a junior management role I would like to take a further education course such as NVQ level 4 and also job shadowing to gain the skill required for a higher management position. BTEC Unit 9: 1. 1, 1. 2, 1. 3, 1. 4, 1. 5, 1. 6, 2. 1, 2. 2 WorkSkills Unit 4: 1. 1, 1. 2, 1. 3, 1. 4, 2. 1, 2. 2, 2. 3, 2. 4, 3. 1, 3. 2, 3. 3, 3. 4. PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSION Your assessor will conduct a professional discussion with you that will capture evidence necessary to prove your level of knowledge and understanding of relevant topics. Some topic areas you will need to consider when preparing for the professional discussion include: †¢ employment rights †¢ the responsibilities of the employer and the employees †¢ agreed ways of working in your organisation †¢ health, safety and security in the business environment. Your assessor will plan the content of your professional discussion and will offer advice to help you to prepare beforehand. The professional discussion may cover more than the topics considered in this section of your Workbook. Original text and illustrations  ©. Pearson Education Limited, 2011 9 BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 3 Business & Administration 1 Discussion process The questioning process will offer you the opportunity to show your knowledge and understanding of employment rights and responsibilities and to assess your own performance at work. To prepare for this discussion, you should think about how you could answer the type of questions that might be asked. †¢ What is the purpose of a contract of employment? †¢ What terms and conditions are included on your own contract? †¢ What are the main areas of legislation that affect employees and employers? †¢ What are the main employer and employee responsibilities in relation to equality, diversity and discrimination? †¢ Why is it important to ensure that equality and diversity procedures are followed? †¢ What are your employer’s responsibilities for ensuring health, safety and security where you work? †¢ What are your health and safety responsibilities? Why must you comply with health, safety and security procedures? †¢ Where would you ? nd out about employment rights and responsibilities? What are the main sources of information at work, and what are the useful sources of information outside your organisation? †¢ What are the purpose, function and responsibilities of representative bodies that support employees? †¢ What procedures would you follow in the event of a grievance? †¢ What personal information must you keep up to date with your employer? †¢ What are your agreed ways of working? †¢ What information is contained in your pay statement? †¢ What are the main areas of public concern relevant to the sector in which your organisation operates? †¢ How have these concerns altered public views about the sector? 10 Original text and illustrations  © Pearson Education Limited, 2011.

Dyslexia and its manifestation in Secondary School

In 1968, the World Federation of Neurologists defined dyslexia as â€Å" a upset in kids who, despite conventional schoolroom experience, fail to achieve the linguistic communication accomplishments of reading, authorship, and spelling commensurate with their rational abilities † . Harmonizing to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, dyslexia is aA larning disabilityA that can impede a individual ‘s ability to read, compose, spell, and sometimes speak.A Dyslexia is the most common acquisition disablement inA childrenA and persists throughout life. The badness of dyslexia can change from mild to severe. The Oklahoman dyslexia is treated, the more favorable the result ; nevertheless, it is ne'er excessively late for people with dyslexia to larn to better their linguistic communication accomplishments. Children with dyslexia have trouble in larning to read despite traditional direction, at least mean intelligence, and an equal chance to larn. It is caused by damage in the encephalon ‘s ability to interpret images received from the eyes or ears into apprehensible linguistic communication. It does non ensue from vision or hearing jobs. It is non due toA mental deceleration, encephalon harm, or a deficiency of intelligence. Dyslexia can travel undetected in the early classs of schooling. The kid can go frustrated by the trouble in larning to read, and other jobs can originate that will mask dyslexia. The kid may demo marks ofA depressionA and low self-pride. Behaviour jobs at place every bit good as at school are often seen. The kid may go unmotivated and develop a disfavor for school. The kid ‘s success in school may be jeopardized if the job remains untreated. Dyslexia may impact several different maps. Ocular dyslexia is characterized by figure and missive reversals and the inability to compose symbols in the right sequence. Auditory dyslexia involves trouble with sounds of letters or groups of letters. The sounds are perceived as jumbled or non heard right. â€Å" Dysgraphia † refers to the kid ‘s trouble retention and commanding a pencil so that the right markers can be made on the paper. Classroom instructors may non be able to find if a kid has dyslexia. They may observe early marks that suggest farther appraisal by a psychologist or other wellness professional in order to really name the upset. Letter and figure reversals are the most common warning mark. Such reversals are reasonably common up to the age of 7 or 8 and normally diminish by that clip. If they do non, it may be appropriate to prove for dyslexia or other larning jobs. Difficulty copying from the board or a book can besides propose jobs. There may be a general disorganisation of written work. A kid may non be able to retrieve content, even if it involves a favorite picture or storybook. Problems with spacial relationships can widen beyond the schoolroom and be observed on the resort area. The kid may look to be uncoordinated and have trouble with organized athleticss or games. Trouble with left and right is common, and frequently laterality for either manus has non been established. In the early classs , music and dance are frequently used to heighten academic acquisition. Children with dyslexia can hold trouble traveling to the beat of the music. Children may hold dyslexia or a learning disablement if they have one or more of the undermentioned symptoms: Letter or word reversals when reading. ( Such as was/saw, b/d, p/q ) . Letter or word reversals when authorship. Trouble reiterating what is said to them. Poor handwriting or publishing ability. Poor pulling ability. Change by reversaling letters or words when spelling words that are presented orally. Trouble groking written or spoken waies. Trouble with right – left directivity. Trouble understanding or retrieving what is said to them. Trouble understanding or retrieving what they have merely read. Trouble seting their ideas on paper. Auditory jobs in dyslexia encompass a assortment of maps. Normally, a kid may hold trouble retrieving or understanding what he hears. Remembering sequences of things or more than one bid at a clip can be hard. Partss of words or parts of whole sentences may be missed, and words can come out sounding good story. The incorrect word or a similar word may be used alternatively. Children fighting with this job may cognize what they want to state but have problem happening the existent words to show their ideas. Many elusive marks can be observed in kids with dyslexia. Children may go withdrawn and look to be depressed. They may get down to move out, pulling attending off from their acquisition trouble. Problems with self-esteem can originate, and equal and sibling interactions can go labored. These kids may lose their involvement in school-related activities and look to be unmotivated or lazy. The emotional symptoms and marks are merely every bit of import as the academic and require equal attending. Over 180 research surveies to day of the month hold proven that phonics is the best manner to learn reading to all pupils. They besides have shown that phonics is the lone manner to learn reading to pupils with dyslexia and other larning disablements. The challenge for instruction governments is to supply the leading and to concentrate the resources necessary to guarantee the development of dyslexia friendly schools. Bing an effectual school and being dyslexia friendly are two sides of the same coin. Effective schools enjoy strong leading, value staff development and wage close attending to the quality of direction and acquisition. These are schools in which all kids are of import regardless of ability or trouble. Dyslexia in schools demands to be seen to hold position within the school. This can be achieved by guaranting that the governors are steadfastly committed to back uping dyslexic kids across the course of study. The most effectual manner would be through the School Development Plan: Offering comprehensive preparation Explicating a common attack Puting marks based on National Curriculum forms Puting in topographic point monitoring and rating systems. Head instructors need to take the duty of guaranting that the doctrine of the school is dyslexia friendly. This might associate to attitudes and actions held by instructors and support staff. All staff needs to be cognizant that although kids might hold failings with specific parts of course of study entree, they are likely to be at least of mean ability if non a great trade higher. Parents need to be brought into the changing set up, their concerns heard and their cooperation sought where possible. It is of import to indicate out that it is really helpful when kids receive a high grade for content and cognition instead than ever being penalised due to hapless presentation accomplishments, spelling, punctuation and grammar. The kid should be acquiring aid in these countries of failing and should be motivated to maintain seeking pass holding his ideas, thoughts and cognition valued. Within schools there is the necessity for a scope of developing demands to be carried out with relevant staff. It would be ideal to hold a dyslexia-trained specializer in every school. To make so there is the demand for mainstream instructors and knowing larning support helpers in the schoolroom to assist the kid on a regular footing. In add-on it would be extremely utile for caput instructors and governors to go to awareness-raising Sessionss on the demands of the dyslexic kid and the benefits to the school of dyslexia proviso. As Reid ( 1997 ) says of instructor preparation: it is of import that schoolroom instructors receive some preparation in dyslexia offering both theoretical penetrations and practical experience.

Analysis of the Basketball Free Throw

Analysis of the Basketball Free Throw Analysis of the Basketball Free Throw Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze free throw shooting in basketball and to demonstrate the relationship between structural and functional anatomy and movement performance. This paper will discuss the muscles and actions that are important for the movement and how these muscles relate specifically to the movement outcome, limiting/facilitating joints and associated structures. Also discussed is the combination of muscle and joint motions important for movement success. We also briefly discuss the sources of movement failure. The final section of this paper will discuss how this movement is critical for success in sport and what happens with aging, disease, or injury that can compromise function and ability to perform the movement. Introduction The free throw shot is one the most important shots in basketball. In fact, around 20% of all points scored in the NCAA Division 1 are from free throws shots (Kozar, Vaughn, Lord, Whitfield, & Dve 243-248). The importance of this shot increases later in the game, because free throws tend to comprise greater percentage of the points that are scored in the last 5 minutes than the initial 35 minutes by either the wining or the losing team (Kozar et al., 123-129). The free throw shot is considered as the easiest shot for a professional basketball player, as the player stands alone, 15 feet away from the hoop with no defense or distraction. The player needs to get ready target, prime the ball and shoot (Okubo & Hubbard, 2006). A successful free throw shot requires deep concentration, and most importantly good mechanics to take a perfect shot. While a free throw shot does not seem like an action that needs a lot of movement, muscle groups and joints in a body work together in isotonic contractions, utilizing multiple muscle groups in creating the movement. A free throw shot engages elbow, hip and ankle extensors in addition to wrist and shoulder flexors. In the case of the kn ees, the joints are hinged and the movement starts with a flexion, preparing for the free throw. Quadriceps and hamstrings become the antagonist and the agonist. This movement happens as you utilize knee flexion so that the muscles work in pairs. Hamstring contraction pulls the joints which makes the individuals bend their knees. The next movement after the flexion is the knee extension. When the shooter releases the ball, the quadriceps is the agonist and the hamstring is the antagonist. The upper body sequence would be: extension of trunk, shoulder flexion that will follow extension of elbow and wrist flexion. A common error during the shot is performing shoulder flexion and elbow extension at once, so that the elbow extension contributes less in taking the shot and is combined with the shoulder flexion rather than adding to the hand velocity. As the ball is brought up with use of both hands, it passes directly in the front of shooter’s eyes and the shot is aimed with the e yes underneath the basketball (Alexander 9). When the trunk moves from its flexed position to an extension, the upward movement of trunk would push down on the lumbar vertebrae, pushing down on the sacroiliac joints, which in turn will push down on the body’s hip joints. Knee joints respond to downward force transmitted by the hips by producing a greater knee flexion. Players who, for various reasons, do not have the needed trunk flexion in this stage of the free throw shot would decrease their ability to load their legs for the shot and consequently might end up losing full contribution of leg extension from the deeply flexed position to free throw. It has been suggested that trunk extension can help in triggering more forceful moment of knee extension. Additionally, a deeper trunk extension produces added hyperextension at the neck area helping the shooter to retain the focus on the rim (Oddsson 109-118).

Delivering HIGH QUALITY CARE and working with people to provide a Essay

Delivering HIGH QUALITY CARE and working with people to provide a positive experience of care is a fundamental part of the nurse - Essay Example Advocating sometimes also calls for nurses to defends patient views that even they do not agree with. In such cases, nurses will put aside their personal opinions as health care is basicallt concerned with the patient needs, and not the feelings of the patient’s caregivers. The role of nurses as temporary legal advisers comes up because most patients tend to feel overwhelmed when confronted with the treatment options available for them. This is particularly true when the patient has been diagnosed with a terminal or life-threatening ailment. Many times, patients also turn to their nurses when seeking advise on how to handle matters that have to do with insurance. Nurses do not merely act as the advocates of the needs of their patients in a hospital setting, but also in government conventions discussing matters to do with the health sector (Yea-Pyng, Watson and Yun-Fang, 2012). Nurses can share their experiences with various patients with policy makers in such meetings and even give suggestions on how different aspects of the health sector can be improved. In most cases, nurses do not supervise or seek to monitor the way in which other medical practitioners, whether doctors or nurses, perform their responsibilities. However, nurses, because of their closeness in proximity to all patients, may be able to detect signs of maltreatment or the wrong treatment being given to a patient that is not under their care. In such cases, the nurse can exercise legal rights on behalf of the patient by reporting such an incidence to a higher authority. This is a special circumstance that calls for the urse to appeal to higher authorities because the patient’s health may be in jeopardy. Most nurses take this step after due consideration of the consequences because there might be contractual obligations that will result in disciplinary action being taken against the nurse if his or her complaint is misunderstood a defamatory action or breach of the patient and his or her caretaker’s privacy. The role of the Nurse from an Ethical perspective Nursing ethics are descriptive of the doctrines that govern how nurses act towards patients and their families. Nurses have a distinctive relationship with their patients. They tend to people at their most vulnerable point when the patients are unable to make decisions for themselves; and are thus entrusted by their charges with a greater amount of trust than is accorded to even religious leaders (Matiti and Trorey, 2008). Nursing ethics objectives include safe guarding the information volunteered by the patient and protecting his or her rights and giving practical guidance on treatment alternatives inspite of any difference in personal ideologies. Due to the rapid technological developments that have been witnessed in healthcare sector, nurses have had to re-examine the issue of ethics in the present settings. Even though nurses are expected to make ethical decisions in matters concerning their patie nts, they also have to take into account various factors that may affect them. For instance, a nurse may have to make the decision to give expensive treatment to pungent homeless people, drug abusers, or

Business Ethics and social responsibility Essay

Business Ethics and social responsibility - Essay Example Since these are costly ethical activities that seem irrelevant to the business goal of maximizing owner value, many businesses choose to bluff and engage in some amount of deception and mask these little sins by justifying them with ethical theories that say such acts are ethical under the circumstances. This report examines these theories and perspectives on business ethics to determine if businesses can be forgiven for unethical behavior and, if so, at what point should one draw the demarcation line. Business ethics has been the focus of passionate debates since the time of Plato and Socrates. The possible reason for the diverging views is that people always have different concepts and perceptions of what is good or bad, and what is right and wrong. Aronson (2001) believes the study of business ethics can help provide the standards for determining what behavior is good and bad or what is right and wrong. The literature on business ethics suggests ways to discuss the many different perspectives or theories by grouping them according to their similarities. The most frequently used perspectives fall under two groups of theory called deontology and teleology. Deontology is also described as formalism while teleology is utilitarianism, which means that the former is non-consequentialist while the latter is consequentialist (Christensen, 2005). In ethics, formalism is defined as a concept that views an act as right or wrong irrespective of the consequences, while utilitarianism holds that right conduct is determined by its usefulness in promoting the most good for the largest number of persons and thus keeps an eye on the consequences of the act. From these definitions, one can start forming an idea of which of deontology and teleology is the better ethical approach to business. 2.a. Teleology & Deontology Teleology and deontology essentially uphold the same behavior that businesses should observe, which is business ethics. They differ only in their perspectives, means and desired results. Teleological theories focus on the "what" whereas the deontological view looks at the "how" of ethical behavior (Christensen, 2005). This means that in teleology, the outcome is more important than the intent, which is the reverse in deontology. Accordingly, teleology and deontology are traditionally seen as opposing viewpoints, with the former looking into the future to determine the best outcomes for everyone while the latter looking back in history to establish ethical guideposts from traditional culture and religion (Brady, 1985). Teleology is defined as the theory in which the only right-making properties are those that promote the good (Gaus, 2001). As for deontology, it is the perspective of doing what is morally right, regardless of the amount of good or evil that results from the act (Christ ensen,2005). Thus, teleology promotes what is good, while deontology promotes what is right (Gaus, 2001). For teleology, the more important thing is the outcome and less the behavior. It is the other way around for deontology. 2.b. Deontology at Work Deontology is derived from the Greek words deon (duty) and logos

ITM 501 Mgt. Information. System. and Bus. Strategy SESSION LONG Essay

ITM 501 Mgt. Information. System. and Bus. Strategy SESSION LONG PROJECT 1 FRITO-LAY, NASA & GOOGLE - Essay Example The definition of Knowledge management is similar in the three cases and there is a clear focus on accumulating all the knowledge that is available across the organization to build one strong and effective knowledge database. The three companies have faced several problems. Taking the case of Frito Lays, it is clear that the company faced the issue of working unnecessarily to find customers and for sales. It is noted that all the employees worked on the same processes to gain the same information. In the case of NASA, the problem that the organization faces is that it needed a central point for all the information to be provided so all employees in the organization can learn and benefit from the previous mistakes and experiments of others in the organization (DowJones). Also the issue is the amount of risk involved in the space exploration and the human space flights which indeed need a through and well designed and implemented work to ensure that all the NASA employees have the specialized knowledge and are in track with all the events that occur within the company. The lack of centralized point was the main issue of NASA (Murphy and Holm). In the case of Dow Jones, the company has a wide range of data and knowledge and is spread across the over 157 countries with over 23 languages. Hence again the company lacks a well designed and centralized place for all information. The solution implemented by each of the companies is very similar and there is a main idea of developing a centralized control for the company employees to easily access and use to work more effectively (Murphy and Holm). One of the only major differences that is present is that NASA has a more developed and has used higher technology to develop a more complex system, this however is simply due to the nature of the business. The solutions have been

Consumer Behaviour Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Consumer Behaviour - Research Proposal Example They undergo a difficult process in their attempts to select and choose goods. Lack of information by consumer about products is a core setback encountered by consumers around the world (Solomon, 2011). It is said that more than 60% of consumers are unaware of the various products as well as services that are in the market. Despite the products having price tags, the consumers are always want to know more about the product characteristics. Thus, customers want in most instances get deep information of a product’s particular behavior. This research project seeks to assess the various procedures that consumers go through while trying to select goods and services. To achieve the objectives, a cross sectional study will be done to gather information. The data will be gathered using structured questionnaires. The questionnaire content will capture issues regarding French intervention and the impacts of the war as well as French intervention on businesses in the region (Kardes, Cronley & Cline, 2011). The perception of African leaders as well as activities regarding international community intervention will also be looked into. Finally; demographic information will also be gathered. This will provide primary data. Secondary information will be gathered from books, journals and other published information from credible sources like the United Nations website. Participant observation will be used to augment data captured in the questionnaires. Focus group discussions will also be held so as to capture qualitative information. A guide will developed to be used during the focus group discussion. Each focus group will consist of about 9-10 people and will last for about two hours. A web site will be displayed in the internet. Anyone who will click on the site will be directed to a page where there can give their comments France military intervention in Mali and the impacts on business on the region. Eligibility information will be displayed before the actual

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Project Management - Essay Example These individuals are normally picked from the team personnel in order to complete the project as planned. On the other hand, alternative scheduling has to be planned to enable successful completion of both tasks and progress on the project to continue (Pinto 357). Resource management is usually difficult in a multi-project environment because it creates several problems. A single project is advantageous because it fully depends on its allocated resources. However, a single project can lead to under utilization of available resources since it even relies on resources that are currently, not under use (Pinto 369). Team members in a given project are afraid to issue out their resources since they believe that it will be difficult recovering them. Similarly, sharing resources can create a delay in multiple projects. Finally, there can be a decrease in employees’ morality as they attempt to juggle through competing assignments (Pinto 371). Approaches use to allocate resources include mathematical programming, fist in line, greatest resource demand, and minimum late finish

Issue or crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Issue or crisis - Essay Example In fact, analysts such as Essen (2008) consider it a complete failure of the economic system to check and control the investments made by banks that are supposed to be under government regulations. The finance sector is one of the heaviest regulated sectors of the economy yet the present situation has come to a point where investors and finance gurus are calling it the â€Å"worst financial crisis since the Great Depression (Essen, 2008, Pg. 1)†. Of course the full impact of the crisis may only be understood years after the crisis is over but for the moment it is obvious that the basic cause of the crisis was the high risk action of many different banks who loaned out huge amounts of cash to borrowers without the proper risk scrutiny required. In particular, subprime mortgage lending which was done by American banks in recent times made them focus on short term profits, quarterly sales figures and short sighted goals rather than stable business practices that could have given them real returns (Essen, 2008). To fully understand the current crisis, the background must be examined and that shows a story of greed and what is called by Clendenning (2008) as the casino mentality of American banks. During a time of economic health, housing sellers and mortgage brokers suggested and recommended to buyers that they get into mortgages which required little or no cash towards a down payment. Further, these mortgages and loans were given out without a proper examination of the credit risks associated with the loans. Instead of reducing the risks undertaken by banks, these measures only served to expose them more. The crisis might have been minimized had the banks stopped there but the same debts were sold, traded and bartered as high risk investments to several international investors with the expectations of high returns. However, the high returns did not come and the banks

A Problem Critical to the Education in the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

A Problem Critical to the Education in the 21st Century Essay In the 21st century I believe that inequitable opportunity is the most critical education problem. Inequitable opportunity impacts people of different racial backgrounds in various ways. It limits the knowledge a student receives, the rate at which they learn, funds available to the school, the students ability to succeed in the workforce upon graduating, it even affects the knowledge or lack of knowledge a student learns at home. Though this may affect the teaching staff in ways, minorities from a lower income family are the ones impacted most. These students often fail because they are not prepared for success. Students from a lower social class have fewer resources available to them; therefore they do not make it to the top. Schools in poverty stricken areas receive less funding, and this severely impacts the students. The school is unable to provide students with up to date technology, and the resources needed to compete with their peers from more privileged backgrounds. The school will not be able to provide ESL classes for Latino students. Students will more than likely drop out; the ones who actually manage to graduate will probably be less qualified to perform essential job duties. These students will not be as knowledgeable because they may be using outdated texts, and they are not able to learn how to fully utilize technology needed to survive in today’s workforce. Schools that are in a low income neighborhood do not have modern buildings, the school buildings are very out dated. The air conditioning and heating may not be working properly creating a very uncomfortable learning environment. This may discourage students from wanting to go to school and it definitely does not attract quality faculty. Another issue that impacts the student severely is the lack of parent participation in the education process. This is crucial to the development of the child from a very early age; it is imperative that a parent be involved in preparing their child for life, as well as reinforcing things learned at school. Education starts at home and moves to the public arena where social interaction, behavior skills and knowledge are enhanced. Poor parent participation may be the result of work schedules, transportation issues, language barriers, or suitable clothing. Once again children from low- income families suffer the most. Both parents may have to work just to pay the bills, and in some situations there is just one parent, forcing some students to help care of siblings at after school when they should be focusing on homework or studying. As the child ages less attention will be paid to the individual as class size increases, the number of teachers increase with diverse classes, and overall s ize of the school grows. At this point the child will need extra help completing assignments and requiring encouragement to continue the education process consistently and for the duration through some college. The parent is not exempt from the learning process because of inadequacy or exempt because of poor education. As briefly mentioned earlier, in this setting the teaching staff is likely to be under qualified, once again this impacts the student. By the teaching staff not being qualified the type of skill the students will learn will not be up to par. Classroom Managers should also be aware of how they are engaging their students. They should have high expectations of all of their students. There seems to be a lot of racial stereotyping in minority communities. Teachers should know that all Asian students aren’t smart and that all African American students inferior learners. If teachers establish a high expectation of learning from all of their students and expect all of their students to do well then those expectations will be seen by the student. Students are then able to work at their highest potential and are not limited; a teacher should believe that all students are capable of learning at a higher level. The teacher of the 21st Century need to be more culturally responsible and they need to be more aware of what is going on in the classroom. Educators need to be trained in a way that is going to be more beneficial to the educational process as a whole. For example if a teacher has a classroom where the majority of the students are not being successful then that teacher and/ or teaching techniques should be reevaluated. The classroom is not a place where a student is just given work to perform and the teacher is detached, the classroom of the 21st century needs to be an interactive classroom where teachers and students comes together to share ideas, and engage each other in the learning process. Unless a Teacher can step out of the conventional box and begin to assess themselves and what they actually bring to the classroom, it will not evolve. Teachers should interact with students on a more personal level in the classroom and get to know their students as individuals; some children can get lost in the classroom for a number of reasons; including personal problems at home, and learning disabilities. By being involved more with the student’s teachers are better to adapt to a student that is having problems because they are unable to read well, or a student that is simply having problems seeing the board. Without establishing some type of a relationship with the children it is very hard for a teacher to recognize the problems students are having and how to effectively deal with these problems. Just because a student is unable to keep up with fashion, technology receives free lunch does not mean that this student does not have the ability or the will to learn. There are successful people that grew up in poverty, and have gained success through hard work and education. Everyone should have the same opportunity to receive quality education. Students are taught that education is the key to success, so how can one succeed when the education is not equal to their peers, the ones they will be competing against for their spot in the future. Education is the poor man’s dream to a better life. With minorities and Latinos making up a large amount of students in school the effects of inequitable opportunities has a larger impact on them. Students who come from an inferior social-economic level are just as motivated as students who come from a higher social class. You have Latinos who hardly speak English and are attending schools that are incapable of accommodating them; therefore they do not earn a degree and are forced to take a low paying job. â€Å"Status† may have an impact on a student in a social environment, but in the educational system this should not be a factor. The students from a lower social class are being prepared for failure, while the students from a higher social class are being prepared for success. In the 21st century I believe that inequitable opportunity is the most critical education problem. Recognizing the problem is the first step, however we as a society need to find solution on how to better level the playing field in the educational comm unity in order to make schools work for everyone. One thing we can to is to not only encourage proper funding for schools in low income areas but to also make sure that this funding get appropriated to do what is needed in order to make sure that the children have a proper learning environment. Bills and referendums continue to be passed in education s in order to make sure that schools are up to par but sometimes this money does not get to the prosper schools. Some schools get new buildings and a/c systems while other schools just get paint. We need to come together to demand to our elected officials that something be done about the conditions of certain schools. We need to make sure that these school schools have the materials that they need in order for them to produce successful students. Books need to be provided to every student not only in class but also at home as a reference for homework and studying. Computers need to be provided in these schools so that the students don’t fall behind on technology and become inferior to their peers. We elect these officials and we need to demand that they begin to look out for the betterment of our schools. We should go online and see how they are voting on the issues that affect us. If they are not pushing the type of educational reform that we need in our communities and in our school then we need to elect someone who will. Parents need to become more involved in their students learning. We must understand that a lot of parents are working, and most low income households are being led by a single parent; we need to find a way to get these parents involved to help their children so that they don’t continue to fall behind. Even if it’s just educating them on the process of following up with their elected officials and making sure they vote and their vote counted and is heard. Opening up the schools for parent participation and PTO and PTA meeting on a weekend rather than on a school night would make it easier for parents to become more involved. Also, schools could try social networking, and sending up dates to parents Facebook or Twitter pages to keep them up on what’s going on in the schools. This is a new era and the American household has changed and the educational sytem needs to keep up in order to keep these parents involved and up to date on what’s going in their child’s school. Teacher also need to be developed in the classroom and become more responsible for what is going on and have high expectations for all of their students. This will ensure that all student as are working to their best ability to learn. This can be done by giving existing teachers additional training and giving new teachers the training they need to be successful in the 21st century classroom.

The Readymade Garments Industry Of Bangladesh

The Readymade Garments Industry Of Bangladesh The readymade garments industry of Bangladesh is the fastest growing export oriented industry of the country. Starting in late seventies, the ready made garment industry of Bangladesh now accounts for over 64% of the countrys total export earning. A close look at the composition of RMG export of Bangladesh over the last two decades reveals that the woven garments sub-sector constituted the lions share. In fact, the beginning of the development of RMG sector started with woven garments in 1985. In the first half the 90s, the share of woven garments was above 80%. However, the share gradually started to decline to about 70% in five years late and to 62% in 2004 and to 38.80% in 2005-2006 (Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh, 2006). In addition, compared to its double-digit growth in the 90s, the woven garments export grew only about 8% in 2000. Such a declining growth rate and a steep decline of the share of woven garments export in the total RMG export makes it urgent to re-evaluate the status of the sector of Bangladesh vis-Ã  -vis with that of the competing countries. Moreover, with the dominance of the proponents of free market economy, some changes are taking place in the global trade regulations affecting the readymade gar ments sector of Bangladesh in general. One example of such change is the phasing out of the apparel quota on December 31, 2004. Under these circumstances, it is imperative to assess the competitiveness of the woven garments sector of Bangladesh in the global market place. Hence the researcher studied the overall woven garment industry in group and this study analyzes the woven garments industry competitiveness of a single organization from strategic management perspectives. 1.2 Rational of the Study The objectives of the enterprise analysis are the following. To identify the vision, mission, objectives, and values of the company. To identify the process of crafting and executive strategy. To analyze the companys resources and competitive position. To find out the application of the five generic competitive strategies. To find out the application of various complementary strategic options. To find out the fit of the strategies to the company and the industry situations. To identify various diversification strategies. To find out the application of ethics and corporate social responsibility. To identify the leadership styles and corporate culture. 1.3 Scope of the Study The study has some boundaries. The following points delineate those boundaries. Because of the highly fragmented nature of the industry even in the domestic market (with about 400 woven producers present in different parts of the woven garments value chain), aggregation of enterprises could not be provided. Rather, a whole view point of the enterprise has been taken. This limits the researchers of this study not to use financial aggregation as well since only a few woven garments industries (not more than 5) are enlisted with the stock exchange. The analysis has been confined to the key markets of the woven markets. The markets where Bangladesh occasionally exports or where the amount of export is very small, those markets are excluded from the scope of the study. 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Research design The study, given the nature of the objectives, has a descriptive research design. Since this study is going to be one of the earliest studies with similar objectives about the woven garments sector, the research would be of reporting kind. According to Cooper and Schindler (2003), at the very elementary level a reporting study is done to provide an account, or to make a summation of data, or to generate some statistics. They have also argued that a reporting study requires very little inference. However, the current study answers what and why of Macro environment, industry and competitive conditions, and thus, requires a great deal of inference. Hence, the current study would be more appropriately termed as a descriptive study. Therefore, the research design for the study is descriptive research design. 1.4.2 Data collection 1.4.2.1 Primary sources The researchers collected the enterprise data organizing and a number of key informant interviews (KII) with the key persons in Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. as I have selected this organization for the enterprise analysis. Due to time limitation, the participants were chosen through personal contacts and participants willingness to participate in the discussion. The key informants considered were senior managers of the selected organization and a few bankers related to the organization. 1.4.2.2 Key Informant Interview The researcher will select at least 7 owners or managers to interview as key informants. This interview will focus on the enterprise level information like the vision, mission, objective, current performance in both local and international markets, the competitors in both markets, products and so on. 1.4.2.3 Secondary sources The researchers have explored the following secondary sources to meet the objectives of the report. Data inventory of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh (EPB) relating to readymade garments export. Data inventory of Bangladesh Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) On-line news archive of newspapers and news agencies home and abroad Annual report of the company Books and journals at the library of Institute of Business Administration and University Press Limited 1.5 Limitations of the Study The current study is limited by a number of factors. First, the participants for KII have been chosen conveniently. Second, the list of questions KII has been developed from the scratch by the researchers themselves. However, these limitations are not likely to invalidate the conclusions. The reasons are the following. First, the researchers will depend on both primary and secondary sources. Second, the primary sources have been bifurcated into managers of woven garments companies in Bangladesh. Third, the list of questions has been checked for recasting by the instructor of the course. The refinement of the list of questions following the suggestions of such an expert enhances the relevance and reliability of the questions asked. Hence, these two approaches ensure cross-validation of information needed to fulfill the objectives of the report. Strategic Planning process for Rahim Textiles Limited Mission and Goal SWOT External Analysis: Opportunities and Threats Internal Analysis: Strengths and Weakness Functional Level Strategy Business Level Strategy Global Strategy Corporate Level Strategy Corporate Performance, Governance and Ethics Implementing Strategy in a Single Industry Strategy Formulation Implementing Strategy across Industries and Countries 2.0 Company Profile 2.1 Vision The vision statement of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd is to create added value to the common wealth and to benefit the society. From the discussion with company managers, the researcher revealed that by the above stated vision statement they want to mean to improve the well being of valued equity holders, investors, employees and members of the society without interrupting or disordering the universal socio-ecological-economic position and the process of human civilization leading to peaceful co-existence of all the living beings. The vision statement of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. lacks the important characteristics of a vision statement. First of all, from the vision the kind of company cannot be identified. It is too much generic and fails to identify the business or industry to which it is supposed to apply. This vision can be applied to companies of any kind of industry. Secondly, the vision statement is not focused to provide managers with guidance in making decisions and allocating resources. The vision is also bland and lacks motivational power. Finally, the vision statement of the company is vague in meaning; no concrete objective is mentioned in the vision. 2.2 Mission Realize the vision; the mission of the company is to play a leading roll in export oriented textile sector through reasonable application of Knowledge and Skills. This mission is also very weak in meaning. There is no description of the companys present business scope and purpose in the vision statement. 2.3 objectives The objective Rahim Textile Mills Ltd is to maximize our productivity on strict ethical standards at minimum cost to ensure optimum growth of wealth of the company. This is basically falls in the type of strategic objective. Since the company is making profit satisfactorily and the existing financial condition is healthy enough, they are concentrating on the strategic objective. 2.4 History Rahim Textile Mills Ltd started its journey in 31 December, 1981. The company commenced production in the year of 1987. Initially the company was producing only woven garments, afterwards with the expansion strategy the company built its capacity in both woven and knit sector as well as in dyeing. They already established huge factory at shafipur, Kaliakar and Gazipur, all outside but very much near to the capital city. The company has four sister concerns. They are as follows: Malek Spinning Mills Ltd. Knit Asia Ltd. New Asia Ltd. Salek Textile Ltd. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. enlisted in Dhaka stock exchange on 29 March, 1988. 2.5 Products The main woven products of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd are shirts, trousers, hats and jackets, mostly made from cotton. Recently the company are enlarging its product width and producing inner wears for different worldwide famous brands. On the other hand, the company also produces knit garments products, e.g. sweaters and socks. Products Cotton products Shirts, trousers, hats and jackets Knit garments products Sweaters and socks 2.6 Export Volume and Destination As we discussed with the key persons of the company, the informants were declined to disclose the exact quantity of exports from their production, but they mentioned the proportion of export to total production. They mentioned that the company exports about 92% of its products. Most of the export is sent to USA as well as the other major portion in EU countries. From figure 2.3, it can be concluded that earning per share of the company is consistent and higher in the last year. In the last year Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. diversified its business in knitting sector and the result is increased earning per share in the last year. 3.0 Internal Analysis 3.1 Core competencies By the definition of core competence, it is a competitively important activity that a company performs better than other internal activities. In case of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. its core competence is the quality of its products. In production the company has been using its highly experienced and skilled professional in its manufacturing process. Therefore it already gained loyalty from its buyers. The company not only concentrates in quality, but also maintains the cost of the product so that the cost becomes competitive among the rivalry in the industry. 3.2 Distinctive competencies From literature, distinctive competence is a competitively valuable activity that a company performs better than its rivals. The researchers tried to identify distinctive competence of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. through key informant interview with the top level managers of the company. But from the response of the KII participants, it has been revealed that the company has no distinctive competence to attract the vigorous buyers in the market. 3.3 Key resources Key resource strengths of a company generally form the cornerstones of strategy and make the company competitive in the industry. From the KII with the top level managers of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. the researcher identified that key resources of the company are: Highly experienced professional Better technology Better market access 3.4 SWOT Analysis In order to accomplish SWOT analysis the researcher followed the steps below. Figure 3.2: Steps of SWOT analysis. 3.4.1 Resource strength and competitive capabilities From primary data of KII and secondary data, the researchers identified the following resource strength and competitive capabilities. Highly experienced and skilled workforce as its intellectual capital relative to rivals which provides the company learning and experience curve advantages. Better product quality compared to the medium size competitive rivals Better customer base as compared to the small garments companies Technology is on average updated, but not like that of Square textile or Bex-tex Capacity is well-matched with its production volume. 3.4.2 Resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies Potential resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies of the company, as identified by the researcher, are mentioned below. The company has no clear strategic vision to direct the company towards specific targets Behind rivals is using e-commerce for their promotion purpose whereas the company even has no website for the convenience of information gathering by the foreign buyers. Its product line is narrow compared to the other rivals in the industry. It has no brand image in local market and very weak influence of brand in the global market, only with the selected suppliers. Long lead time is another crucial factor for which the foreign buyers are declined to buy its products. 3.4.3 Market opportunities Although Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. had been running their business in woven sector only, they are now expanding their business horizon in the knit sector also. The company realized that its skilled and experienced workforce can be utilized in the knit sector effectively and efficiently. We foresee a brighter future for us. Print and dyeing orders shall increase overall. We must continue to strive to achieve more orders which shall ensure greater progress and prosperity. It has become essential for us to embark upon capacity enhancement and balancing of our dyeing printing machineries urgently to meet the stringent quality assurances imposed by the buyers. We need to improve labor productivity and consistency in quality. We will face tougher competition both from within and outside. We need to resolve issues related to bond and customs to ensure faster disposal of imported raw materials. We need to work extensively and pursue the government to have provision of subsidy and other incen tives at different stages of production and process to remain competitive in the international market. The concerted and coordinated efforts will ensure higher production, better quality to make the production year 2007-2008 the year of greater progress and prosperity. 3.4.4 Threats to the future profitability Day by day the strong rivals are capturing the markets available to the industry in Bangladesh. Another threat is coming from technological change. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is not large enough to regularly update its technology to compete with other key rivals and so losing market share gradually. Besides, the company is facing cost cut competition from the rivals. 3.5 Prices and costs competitiveness The rise in the price of chemicals and dyes by over 30% also affected the order acceptance and overall production. Exporting countries of dyes, Chemicals and Colors especially China, India increased their prices making the market very competitive and difficult. Buyers took advantage of the competition amongst similar dyeing printing Factories and offered lower price. Despite such a situation we could improve both export and local market prices. Dearth of the trained manpower had led to poor labor productivity and inconsistency in the quality of textile products. 3.6 Business model A companys business model relates to whether the revenue-cost-profit economics of its strategy demonstrate the viability of the business enterprise as a whole. In case of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. business model of the company is not only viable but also it shows its success in many consecutive year as the company is making huge amount of profit regularly. The business model of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is a proven model which ensures the companys viability in the market for a long period- from 1986. 3.7 Value chain of the company The value chain of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is similar to the following value chain model. Absent Figure 3.3: Value chain model for Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. On the value chain model, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. lacks efficiency in sales and marketing. Therefore the company is loosing market share to the competitive rivals. Also there is no R D department in the company. This is why they are lacking in product innovation and product differentiation. 3.8 Dimensions of organizational culture Culture of an organization consists of the characteristics as described in the following figure. Figure 8.1: dimensions of organizational culture From the perspective of the woven garments industry in Bangladesh, most of the employees in the industry come from inferior background in terms of both academic and social status. Almost all the workers educational background is either SSC or below SSC. They are mostly unaware about the culture of the organization. Even the managers are very little concerned about the culture of their organization. From our focus group discussion, the discussants give importance on the following characteristics of organizational culture: Aggressiveness The managers are aggressive with their workers rather than easygoing. The managers always give pressure to the workers about their performance. Even a worker is performing satisfactorily; she or he is not given any kind of motivational incentive or compliments to continue his performance. Team orientation In this industry team orientation among the employees is nearly absent. The managers, in most of the cases being unaware about synergy, do not bother about the performance of team, rather always prefer individual performance. People orientation People orientation reflects the degree to which the management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. By definition and comments of the discussants of FGD, this characteristic of organizational culture is rarely practiced by the managers in planning, design and implementation of production. Outcome orientation Outcome orientation measures the degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. In most of the woven garment industry the production managers are outcome oriented. They attach importance to the quality of the products rather than their production process and technology used in production. Attention to detail Attention to detail is the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Since most of the workers in the garment industry are unskilled and even they are not provided any kind of training, they must follow the guidelines of their work literally as mentioned by the managers. 4. External Analysis 4.1 Competitor Analysis Major competitors of the Rahim Textile Limited is given below Monno fabric, Babylon Garments, Desh garments and Viella-tex Square Textile Mills Beximco Textiles The factors of similarity are mostly activism in marketing and selling, availability of local raw materials, delivery reliability, and level of backward linkage. 4.2 Competitive Positioning In order to identify the competitive position of the company, the researcher used strategic group mapping considering the selected 7 companies by the group. In strategic group mapping researchers has given importance to the cost of the products, product quality, active marketing, lead time, delivery time, and export quantity. The figure above shows that Monno fabric, Rahim textile, Babylon Garments, Desh garments and Viella-tex have similar ranking on the basis of the two attributes. All these five companies have higher quality while they are low in price. So, these five companies emerge as a strategic group. On the other hand, Square and Bex-tex have average performance on each of the considered factors of the mapping and hence, they can be said to fall in the same group. 4.3 Textile Industry: The textile industry in Bangladesh occupies a prominent position within the countrys industrial structure. It is the largest manufacturing sector, providing jobs for some 50% of the total industrial workforce and contributing 9.5% of the countrys GDP. Also, it accounts for almost 77% of total exports, making it Bangladeshs leading foreign exchange earner. In the early 1980s exports were dominated by jute while garment sales were insignificant. But today garment exports are by far the leading export category. In 2001/02 the clothing sector generated as much as US$4.58 bl in foreign exchange. The industry benefits from special access to markets in the EU, Canada, Norway and Japan. Because Bangladesh is a least developed country, its textile and clothing exports enter these countries quota-free and duty-free. This concession, together with low labour costs, provides the garment sector with a strong competitive advantage. But in order to produce garments for export, the sector has to purchase a large share of its yarn and fabric needs from abroad, especially woven fabrics. Few local textile firms are able to produce materials of the required quality or in adequate quantities. The Bangladeshi government is attempting to remedy this situation. To reduce the countrys import bill, it is offering tax concessions and incentives aimed at encouraging investors to develop the necessary backward linkages. Profitability of a market/industry depends on strength of five threats to profitability: 4.4 Porters Five Factor Analysis: 4.5 Industry life cycle Analysis: A useful tool for analyzing the effects of industry evolution on competitive forces is the industry life model, which identifies five sequential stages in the evolution of an industry that lead to five distinct kinds of industry environment: embryonic, growth, stakeout, mature and decline. Embryonic Shakeout Decline Maturity Growth Textiles industry is at maturity stage in the industrial product life cycle stage. 5.0. Strategy Analysis 5.1 Generic Competitive Strategy A competitive strategy concerns the specifics of managements game plan for competing successfully and achieving a competitive edge over rivals. A company achieves competitive advantages whenever it has some type of edge over rivals in attracting buyers and coping with competitive forces. There are countless variations in the competitive strategies that companies employ. Mainly because each companys strategic approach entails custom-designed actions to fit its own circumstances and industry environment. The mostly used five competitive strategies are shown in the following figure: Figure 4.1: Five generic competitive strategies 5.2 Low-cost provider strategy Among the five mentioned competitive strategies, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. achieve overall low-cost provider strategy. The company is the lowest cost provider rather than just being one of perhaps several competitors with comparatively low costs. The companys strategic target is meaningfully lower costs than rivals but not necessarily the absolute lowest possible cost. 5.3 Fitness of the strategy Ready made garment industry is moving very fast, new competitors are emerging in the market frequently; growth rate is decreasing year after year. To cope with changes Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. must tailor its strategy so that the company can become profitable and competitive to surrounding rivalry establishing a distinctive competence. 5.4 Strategies for entering the market More and more companies are finding themselves in industry situations characterized by rapid technological change short product cycles because of entry of important and fast-evolving customer requirements and expectations -all occurring at once. Due to the entrance of new competitors the market for Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is shrinking. To compete with these fast moving changes, this company has to be technologically sound, product innovative to attract the change-demanding customer and product diversification. 5.5 Strategies for coping with rapid changes It is very important to understand the key driving forces of an industry to decide upon the strategy of any company inside the industry. By searching the internet, reviewing related literatures, implementing key informant technique, and by organizing focused group discussion the following key forces have been identified. Growing use of internet technology and applications Increasing globalization Changes in the buyers requirements Changes in cost and efficiency Changes in global regulations in the textiles and apparels industry In Bangladesh internet technology and web applications play a vital role in establishing collaboration between importers and buyers abroad. Exporters communicate with Importers though internet where buyers put their proposal and ask for bidding. Prospective sellers bid through the internet and the lowest bidder is rewarded with sales contract This is how internet technology acts as a bridge in connecting business people across different parts of the world. In domestic market there is no such seller who uses websites as a part of their supply chain. Amazon uses website as a competitive tool in gaining customers. But such facilities havent yet gained prominence in a developing country like Bangladesh. So Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. can take an initiative eto develop website for buyers and suppliers. The overall global trade is increasing phenomenally every year and after. In business the process of going global is largely marked by increasing volume of export and import and greater number of licensing, franchising, strategic alliances, joint venture and setting up of foreign subsidiaries by business houses. Thomas Friedman while describing the trend of globalization summed it up in one sentence that globalization is farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper.(Hossain and Sandhir 2004) Key informant interviews reveal that trade liberalization has made it much easier for entering into new market and carry out manufacturing activities by out sourcing them. Brands like Reebok, Marks Spencer, Denim, Wall Mart, Levies, Nike etc. out source their manufacturing activities to countries like Bangladesh where they can get value chain activities done cheaper than any other part of the world. Although the ready made garment sector is not so much speedy changing, it has to be proactive about the market demand and thereby make itself prepared for the market demand. Other option is the company can react with the change. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is considering the latter approach. It is reacting with the changes. When the other companies are fighting to reduce lead time and improve delivery time, this company also trying to walk in the same way. The company is trying to incorporate new technology for its production process. 5.6 Strategies for sustaining rapid company growth As Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is medium size company in the woven sector industry in Bangladesh, the company is following horizon 1: short-jump for sustaining rapid company growth. By this technique, the company is adding new items to the companys present product line, expanding into new geographic areas where the company does not yet have a market presence and launching offensives to take market share away from rivals. The objective of this short jump is to capitalize fully on whatever growth potential exists in the companys present business arenas. The sustainability of exports of woven garments in Bangladesh remains under question as the sector lacks backward linkages far from the requirements. At present, around 20 to 25 per cent of the raw materials required for the woven garments are supplied domestically whereas the same for the kit garment is 75 to 80 per cent. The manufacturers depend on the international market for the rest of the raw materials required for both the sectors. Given the pattern of growing demand for TC in the international market and the increasing competitiveness from the major exporting countries it would be difficult for Bangladesh to stand in the competition with her limited supply-side capacity. Bangladesh may supper a serious setback in outsourcing raw materials from the international market. 5.7 Diversification Strategy The big risk of a single-business company is having all of rhe firms eggs in one industry basket. If the market is eroded by the appearance of new technologies, new products, or fast-shifting buyer preference, then a companys prospects can quickly dim. For these reasons the company takes diversification strategy to broaden its business horizon. In the researchers case analysis, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has also realized the risk of single-business Company and also realized that the existing potential resources can be utilized efficiently if the business is broadened with the similar sectors. From this view point, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has extended its business in knitting sector as well as spinning. 5.8 Strategies for entering new businesses From the view point of input side, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. considered the following factors in expanding its business horizon in new businesses. Existing technologies and expertise complement to the expanded business Existing competencies and capabilities are same valuable competitive assets for the expanded business New business in spinning and knitting is closely related to existing woven garments and so opens new avenues for reduction of cost The existing suppliers expanded their supply in spinning and knitting raw materials as well as buyers demanding products of knitting garments. Besides the management of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has thought about the outcome and the benefit of shareholders so that value is added to them.. There were three different choices for the company to diversify in the new business. The choices are as follows: Acquisition of an existing business

Physical Education Class: the Perfect Place to be Bullied? :: essays research papers

Physical Education Class: the Perfect Place to be Bullied?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every day we are seeing how the population in our society acquires really bad habits that risk their health. Obesity has become an issue touching everybodyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life. People are wondering what the solution of the problem might be, and a good amount of them think that the only way to stop this increasing problem is to fight it from childhood. One of the ways to keep children from getting obese is by making them do sports. Some people are convinced that forcing children to take gym class is the magical way that will help children to stay healthy and in good spirits. I agree with the fact that children should be involved in activities that make them exercise. However, I think that even if children should get some kind of physical activity everyday, they shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be forced to take gym class since it encourages other kids to intimidate the ones that arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t perfect looking and bully the ones that arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t t alented at sports.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To begin with, kids at gym class intimidate their not-so-perfect classmates with their evil jokes. I remember when I was at high school and everybody made fun of the chubby girl who wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t as slim and tall as the other ones. Teenagersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ intimidating their classmates isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t something that just happens in movies, in real life kids are cruel and mean with their fragile mates. In Gym class, children have to put the uniforms that force them to show their body. In an age when childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s self esteem is very delicate, exposing their body is not something they are so excited about. I can still recall the way the girls of my gym class made fun of my legs since they were so skinny and bony. For a long time, I felt embarrassed of my legs and refused to wear skirts or shorts. And that was something that happened to a skinny girl, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even want to think how the chubby girls felt when they wer e molested by our other classmates who made fun of their fuller bodies. Thanks to the evil jokes of our classmates, thinking about gym class was an awful nightmare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, the intimidation caused by stronger kids is nothing compared to the way they bully the children who are not talented at sports. Everybody is born with a special kind of intelligence. There are people who have the musical intelligence and can play instruments, sing, compose, etc.

American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of Rights :: American America History

American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of Rights Few political documents have affected the world quite like the American Declaration of Independence or the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The repercussions of each have had a profound effect on world history up to this point. But why did these documents have such an effect? The answer lies in the common philosophical backgrounds of the two. The writings of Rousseau, Locke and Montesquieu all contained ideas that were later used by Thomas Jefferson and the National Assembly to compose the two documents. Rousseau's ideas of a social contract, which states that the general will and the people were sovereign, and if a king abuses the liberty of the people they have a right and a duty to dissolve the current government and create a new one (McKay, 581), were central to both documents. Jefferson had Rousseau's ideas in mind when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states...a prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people...we therefore...solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are...independent states... (Jefferson, 1-2). The reasons, such as suspension of colonial legislatures, impressment of American sailors and the importation of mercenaries (Jefferson, 2), given for the dissolution of the political connections that the American and British people have held for over 100 years all relate to the King's tyrannical tendencies and the peoples right to choose a different government. The edict also states that although petitions of grievances were issued, the King turned a deaf ear. The Declaration of the Rights of Man is not only built on the social contract, but also on Rousseau's idea of general will of the people. He defines the general will as being, "Sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of the people, who have displaced the monarch as the holder of the sovereign powers. (McKay, 581)" Passing and enforcing arbitrary laws are considered to be an act of tyranny and a substantial reason, according to Rousseau, to declare the current government void and establish a new one. Article VII clearly states that arbitrary laws and orders cannot exist.

Search for the American Dream in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman :: Death of a Salesman

Search for the American Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman What is the American Dream? Some believe in the nineteen fifties ideal created through television. Successful children, perfect families, and a happy stay-at-home mother are all associated with this version. Yet, everyone knows that the children are not always successful, there are family fights, and not every mother can be at home and happy. Many families have lifelong searches for the ideal American Dreams and never find one. These types of families are seen as failures. One family in this type of search is represented in Death of a Salesman through Willy, Linda, and their sons. Willy Loman is the first character to represent the search of the American Dream. First, Willy has a strong belief of the American Dream because of his brother Ben. "Why boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich." This quote by Ben is the bases of Willy’s beliefs for his family and himself. By this understanding, Willy thinks he will never need to search for anything; it would come to him. Next, Willy instills this same belief within his sons. "Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben!" When Willy states this to Ben he wants his boys to have the same thought on life as himself. Though, like their father, the two sons are led to the idea that greatness will come to them. Finally, Willy does not ever understand his search until the end of the play. "What-what’s the secret?" Willy asks Bernard this question which shows he is still searching for the key to the American Dre am. At the end of the play, Willy believes that the only answer to the success of his family is through his death. Linda Loman is the next character to represent her search for the American Dream. At first, Linda’s search is for good family relationships. After the big plans are made for the sporting goods shop, Linda’s spirits seem very high. Everyone in her family is getting along, therefore she is happy. These little perks of happiness are enough to keep her dream alive. Then, Linda has a more true view on her family’s search. Comments like, "Your such a boy," and, "One a philandering bum," are insights on what Linda sees within her sons.

Earhquake in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia

On December 26, 2004, mass destruction and devastation was the result of a large earthquake off of the West Coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake began in the early morning on Sunday at 7:58:53 AM, and wreaked havoc on thousands in the affected areas. BBC News reported on the earthquake, stating that â€Å"Sunday’s tremor – the fourth largest since 1990 – had a particularly widespread effect because it seems to have taken place just below the surface of the ocean, analysts say† (BBC News). The earthquake had significant effect on the region and the people living in these regions. Not only was the earthquake damaging and devastating, but the quake was also the cause of a correlated tsunami that caused even more damage and destruction to the area. â€Å"This earthquake is the largest event in the world in 40 years, and produced the most devastating tsunami recorded in history† (Lay). â€Å"Coastal communities across South Asia – and more than 4,000 km away in Africa – were swept away and homes engulfed by waves up to 10 m high after the quake created a tsunami that sped across the ocean† (BBC News). The geographic location of the Earthquake in absolute location is 3. 316? North, 95. 854? East; and the relative location of the quake was off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra, which was 155 miles South Southeast of Banda Aceh, Sumatra Indonesia, and 185 miles West of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia (USGS). The earthquake that shook the West of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, as well as many other neighboring countries, was of a great 9. 0 magnitude on the Richter scale. â€Å"At the source of the earthquake, the interface between the India plate and the Burma plate dips about 10 degrees to the east-northeast. The subducting plate dips more steeply at greater depths†(USGS). The quake occurred when the Earth’s crust, a 1,200 km segment of the crust, shifted beneath the Indian Ocean, as far as 10 to 20 meters below (Marshall). As the crust shifted and the quake went into motion, a substantial amount of energy was released. Energy released by this overwhelming earthquake was an â€Å"estimated 20X10^17 Joules, or 475,000 kilotons (475 megatons) of TNT, or the equivalent of 23,000 Nagasaki bombs† (Marshall). All of this stored elastic energy that was released by the earthquake, in turn initiated the† uplift of the seafloor and the displacement of billions of gallons of seawater† (Marshall). These events lead to a massive tsunami. â€Å"Over a period of 10 hours, the tsunami triggered by the quake struck the coasts of over 12 countries† (Marshall). â€Å"The region where the great earthquake occurred on 26 December 2004, marks the seismic boundary formed by the movement of the Indo-Australian plate as it collides with the Burma subplate, which is part of the Eurasian plate† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"For millions of years the India tectonic plate has drifted and moved in a north/northeast direction, colliding with the Eurasian tectonic plate and forming the Himalayan Mountains. As a result of such migration and collision with both the Eurasian and the Australian tectonic plates, the Indian plate’s eastern boundary is a diffuse zone of seismicity and deformation, characterized by the extensive faulting and numerous large earthquakes† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"Previous major earthquakes have occurred further north, in the Andaman Sea and further South along the Sumatra, Java and Sunda section of one of the earth’s greatest fault zones, a subduction zone known as the Sunda Trench. Slippage and plate subduction make this region highly seismic† (Pararas-Carayannis). In addition to the Sunda Trench, the Sumatra Fault is responsible for seismic activity on the Island of Sumatra. This is a strike-slip type of fault which extends along the entire length of the island† (Pararas-Carayannis). East of northwest Sumatra, â€Å"a divergent plate boundary separates the Burma plate from the Sunda plate† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"More specifically, in the region off the west coast of northern Sumatra, the India plate is moving in a northeastward direction at about 5 to 5. 5 cm per year relative to the Burma plate† (Pararas-Carayannis). The region where the earthquake occurred –and particularly the Andaman Sea- is a very active seismic area. Also Sumatra is in the center of one of the world’s most seismically active regions. Earthquakes with magnitude greater than 8 struck Sumatra in 1797, 1833, and 1861† (Pararas-Carayannis). It is obvious that Indonesia is an area that is highly susceptible to earthquakes, because of the shifts and movements of the tectonic plates that Indonesia lies on. â€Å"Indonesia is surrounded by four major tectonic plates, the Pacific, the Eurasian, the Australian, and the Philippine plates. All these major tectonic plates and their subplates are presently active. Major earthquakes and tsunamis can be expected in the semi-enclosed seas and along the Indian Ocean side of Indonesia. Major earthquakes in the semi-enclosed seas can generate destructive local tsunamis in the Sulu, Banda, and Java Seas. Major earthquakes along the Sunda Trench can generate tsunamis that can be destructive not only in Indonesia but to other countries bordering the Indian Ocean† (Pararas-Carayannis). The major tectonic feature in the region is the Sunda Arc that extends approximately 5,600 km between the Andaman Islands in the northwest and the Banda Arc in the east. The Sunda Arc consists of three primary segments; the Sumatra segment, the Sunda Strait Segment and the Java Segment. These locations represent the area of greatest seismic exposure†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"In the immediate vicinity off Northern Sumatra, most of the stress and energy that had accumulated were released by the crustal movement that caused the 26 December 2004 earthquake. The subduction of the India tectonic plate underneath the Burma plate cause upward thrusting of an extensive block and generated the destructive tsunami† (Pararas-Carayannis). As the Burma plate â€Å"snapped upward, it was a huge geologic event. The dislocation of the boundary between the Indian and Burma plates took place over a length of 745 miles and within three days had set off 69 aftershocks† (Elliot). â€Å"The aftersocks represent nature’s way of restoring stability and temporary equilibrium. It is unlikely that a destructive tsunami will occur again soon in the same region, however caution is advised for coastal residents in Northern Sumatra and in the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. If an afterschock is strong enough and it is strongly felt, evacuation to higher elevation is advised. In fact, strong shaking of the ground is nature’s warning that a tsunami may be imminent† (Pararas-Carayannis). The natural disasters also create natural warning signs that more damage may be upcoming. The aftershocks suggest that the earthquake rupture had a maximum length of 1200—1300 km parallel to the Sunda trench and a width of over 100 km perpendicular to the earthquake source† (USGS). Many things can be taken into account, analyzed, and hopefully used in the future to reduce the number of casualties and losses as a result of an earthquake of such magnitude. The importance of this earthquake and its effects on the communities devastated by this earthquake are many. â€Å"According to the latest official reports (Ministry of Health) 166,320 people were killed, 127,774 are still missing and 655,000 people were displaced in Northern Sumatra. A total of 110 bridges were destroyed, 5 seaports and 2 airports sustained considerable damage, and 82% of all roads were severely damaged. The death toll is expected to rise† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"There were many lessons already learned from this tragic event in Southeast Asia. Many more lessons will be learned in the near future as this tragedy unfolds and reveals the many failures to value and protect human life in this neglected region of the world. Indeed a bitter lesson was already learned that great earthquakes and destructive tsunamis do occur in this region† (Pararas-Carayannis). The communities of people living in this region that is highly susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis could learn important information about the somewhat safer areas to reside, or safety techniques to carry out and be aware of while in the midst of a natural disaster. â€Å"The magnitude of the tsunami disaster could have been mitigated with a proper disaster preparedness plan and a functioning early warning system† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"However the strong shaking by the earthquake should have been nature’s warning for local residents that a tsunami was imminent and they could have run to higher ground to save their lives. A simple program of public education and awareness of the potential hazard could have saved many lives in the immediate area† (Pararas-Carayannis). It would be imagined after having at least four earthquakes of 9. 0 magnitude or greater in the region, that residents, public officials, and even tourists could easily find or allowed , much less given, information needed to promote awareness for the possible catastrophes and preventive methods for any type of damage that can be sustained and anticipated. For the more distant coastlines of India, Shri-Lanka, and other locations in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, there was ample time to issue a warning –if only an early warning system existed for this region of the world and if there was a way of communicating the information to the coastal residents of threatened areas. No such warning system exists at the present time –the lack of disaster awareness or preparedness is appalling. A simple educational program on hazard awareness could have prevented the extensive losses of lives –particularly of children. One third of those that perished were children† (Pararas-Carayannis). The severity of damages resulting from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami is devastating, and what makes this natural disaster even more tragic is to know that some preventive measures could have been taken. There are adequate instruments and warning systems that have been developed and are currently being used currently in other locations around the world where devices sufficiently predict and send signal out for the warning of tsunamis. It is often because of insufficient funds or simple neglect for an organized plan of action to take in cases of emergencies as such. â€Å"India and Shri-Lanka are not members of the International Warning System in the Pacific and they have not shown interest in joining any regional early warning systems. An erroneous belief has persisted that tsunamis do not occur frequently enough to warrantee participation into a regional tsunami warning system. Local government authorities in the region did not even have a plan for disseminating warning information to threatened coastlines –even if a warning had been provided. There was not even a basic educational plan for disaster preparedness. It should be obvious that such a program is necessary to prevent similar tragedies in the future† (Pararas-Carayannis). â€Å"In Sri-Lanka alone, more than one million people are displaced and aid workers are under pressure to ensure they have clean water and sanitation to prevent an outbreak of disease† (BBC News). This earthquake is significantly important to the people affected in the surrounding communities, as well as the geologic setting of this disaster. â€Å"Five main reasons why this disaster was so deadly: 1) High population density on low-lying coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, 2) Short distance from tsunami source to populated low lying coasts, leaving little time for warning, 3) No tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean, 4)Poor and developing countries with vulnerable infrastructure and minimal disaster preparedness, 5) Little public awareness of tsunami hazard† (Marshall). It is impossible to be able to prevent natural disasters from occurring, but there are some measures that can be taken to help prevent the cause of some injuries and deaths. The measures that can be taken to prevent more harm than already caused may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of the disaster, yet the smallest preventive measures and knowledge to be aware of certain signals to promote safety awareness, such as knowing when to move to higher ground after initial shaking or some basic understanding of simple, but possibly life-saving medical treatments. It is apparent that Indonesia and surrounding countries are vulnerable to earthquakes with possible tsunamis that may cause mass destruction. Residents in Indonesia and surrounding countries should be informed and aware of the potential disaster zones they live in, in efforts to take some sort of preventive procedures such as building more secure homes on more stable location, to keep medical aid kits stocked and easily accessible, and emergency plans of action if disaster strikes and a family is separated for example. The damage resulting from the 2004 Sumatra, Indonesia Earthquake was remarkably widespread, causing extensive devastation to the land, buildings, and communities including hundreds of thousands deaths and injuries across thousands of kilometers It is also obvious that Indonesia and majority of the adjacent countries need to significantly work to create a disaster plan, educational programs to make people knowledgeable about nature’s hazards, and to adapt a system to detect and transmit information and messages for early warning signs. The great amount of destruction and loss of human life due to these kinds of natural hazards cannot be prevented, but the amount of devastation suffered would be substantially less if these precautions were taken advantage of and actually put into effect.