A Galaxy Essays - Galaxies, Spiral Galaxy, Extragalactic Astronomy

A Galaxy A Galaxy: Characteristics, Contents and Types Galaxies are huge and contain billions of stars. They contain all of the stars of the Herzspring-Russell diagram, open cluster, emission, nubula, reflection nubula, nova remnants and supernova remnants. We have three different and distinct types of galaxies, which are spiral galaxies, eluptical galaxies, and last but not least irregular galaxies. The Milky Way galaxy, which is a representative of a spiral galaxy, is basically lens-shaped. Its circumference is about 120,000 light years across. On a dark summer night, we are able to see a few of the Milky Way's arm. The Milky Way, as all spiral galaxies, rotates on its axis. However, it does not rotate uniformly. The budge rotates much faster than the arms and it takes about 250 million years to make a single rotation. In the Milky Way galaxy, as in all spiral galaxies, there are two star populations. Population I Stars are similar to our sun. Those stars are relatively young and orbit in circular orbits in the galactic disk. The small mass of these stars consists of heavy elements. These elements are heavier than helium and include carbon, oxygen, silicon and iron. The Population II Stars are nearly pure hydrogen and helium with a small percentage of heavy elements. These stars are in the center of our galaxy. Their orbits are random around the bulge. These stars as a group us ually have less mass and are redder in color. Eliptica Galaxies are mostly made of old stars and contain almost no dust. These stars can range from dwarf size to very massive. These galaxies can be up to two or three times larger than the Milky Way Galaxy. They are smooth shaped and have no spiral arms. Irregular Galaxies come in many shapes and are usually smaller than the Milky Way Galaxy. There are several different types of Irregular Galaxies like Type I, Type II, Peculiar. Some common properties that galaxies are measured by are distance and size. Distance, which is the most basic property, is not an exact science. Galaxies do not have sharp edges and vary in size, so it's very hard to get an exact measurement. Galaxies may be as few as thousands of light years in diameter and as much as 600,000 light years. Size is measured by luminosity. Two issues must be addressed to calculate luminosity. First, one must measure the total range of radiation given off by the galaxy. Second, one must compensate for the fact that the light given off is not evenly distributed across its diameter. With these two issues in consideration astronomers can make a model of light distribution and use it to calculate luminosity. Color and rotation are two other properties used to classify galaxies. But the most important and hardest to measure is mass. There is a relationship between mass and luminosity. The more mass the brighter the star and the reverse is also true. Also, about 90% of the mass of a galaxy is dark matter. Galaxies also can do other interesting exhibits. They can collide, interact and merge with each other. They can also form clusters and super clusters. These big blobs of gas and dust are magnificent and almost have a life of their own. Astronomy

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!

Disraelian Conservatism essays

Disraelian Conservatism essays "The objective of establishing the Conservative Party as a party of government explains most the actions of Disraeli in passing the 1867 Reform Act" [Robert Blake' an academic historian specialist in the history of the conservative party, The History of the Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher (1985)] How valid is this interpretation of Disraelian Conservatism? Robert Blake is stating that the desire to make the conservative party the majority party in the House of Commons was the main reason that Disraeli passed the 1867 Reform Act. I do not agree with Blake that the passing of the 1867 Reform Bill by Disraeli was an attempt to secure a majority vote for the conservative party. Benjamin Disraeli did not propose the 1867 Reform Act to simply earn a few votes and secure the majority in the House of Commons. He proposed it due to his own personal convictions and morals. Disraeli was a progressive Tory and advocated triennial parliaments and the secret ballot. Previously to the 1867 reform act proposal, Disraeli was sympathetic to the demands of the Chartists who wanted further reform to the Political system, and in one speech argued that the "rights of labour were as sacred as the rights of property". In 1842 Disraeli helped to form the Young England group. Disraeli and members of his group argued that the middle class now had too much political power and advocated an alliance between the aristocracy and the working class. Disraeli suggested that the aristocracy should use their power to help protect the poor. This political philosophy was expressed in Disraeli's novels, Coningsby (1844), Sybil (1845) and Tancred (1847). In these books the leading characters show concern about poverty and the injustice of the parliamentary system. Disraeli was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He also became leader of the House of Commons and was responsible for the introduction of measures to refo ...

Cell Phones Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cell Phones - Research Paper Example Body Past, Present and Future Cell phone use has elevated over the years and alone in the region of United States the number of Cell phone users within a time period of 5 years starting from 2007 and ending in 2012 have increased from over 255.4 million users to 326.4 million users and this accounts for an increase in mobile phone users by 27% (CTIA 1). The first cell phone was born around 40 years back when the very first phone call through a cell phone was made by Martin Cooper and the cell phone that was used to make that call was named as DynaTAC and it was an invention made by Motorola Company. This phone was commonly renowned as the brick since it was similar to the size and shape of a brick and was quite heavy to travel with (Yahoo News 1). The initial phones were not only quite difficult to carry around, they were even quite expensive and a few members of the society who belonged to the category of elites could purchase such phones. There was a need for innovation in the tech nology and this motivated the designers to create phones which were much easier to carry around and inexpensive to purchase so that all the members of the society could use them. The designers were not only motivated to create phones that were easy to carry and affordable, their motivation to innovate the technology was even backed by several other needs of consumers. These needs included communication needs, entertainment needs as well as need to socialize. Various innovations in the cell phone technology that have occurred over the course of past 40 years includes phones such as Nokia 5110 which was quite renowned for its entertainment features such as the game snake, and Motorola Razr V3 which was quite popular for being sleek and providing abundant amount of talk time and as recent as the invention of Android phones which are recognized for fulfilling business, social and entertainment needs (Yahoo News 1 & Webster 1). Designers of cell phone technology continue to innovate and excite the cell phone consumers and in future it is expected that they will create cell phones that have never been thought off as previously experienced by the industry. Benefits versus Disadvantages of Cell Phones Since the inception of cell phones and since the acceptance of cell phones as a necessity, there has been heavy debate regarding whether cell phones have benefited the society or harmed the society. Cell phones can be both beneficial as well as harmful for society, but if used in an appropriate manner, cell phones can cause more benefits than disadvantages for the society as well as the individual members and groups within it. Cell phones have benefited people of different ages along with businesses as they serve several purposes. Cell phones help people remain connected with their loved ones as well as business partners at all time (Berger 427). Cell phones allow individuals with the ease of carry and this helps individuals in communicating with other individuals at any point in time. Businesses even get the benefit of remaining in touch with various stakeholders including customers as well as employees due to the widely acceptability of

Medication Errors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medication Errors - Essay Example Since in the healthcare setting, especially in the hospital in-patient environment, the nurse remains in contact with the patient for the better half of the time, the nurses are the executors of care, and they are the final common pathways of transmission of the care processes. As a result, any error made in any step of the care being undetected will appear as a deficit in standards of practice on the part of the nurses. It is not true that nurses do not make any errors, but despite being very careful, there are many other factors that may be found involved in such a medication error incident. Despite not being directly committed by the nurse if an adverse event from drug happens due to error, the nurse is often implicated in such a situation. Present scenario of healthcare demands that every professional should exercise their knowledge and expertise in every step of administered healthcare to prevent such errors. Unfortunately, the blame often falls on the nurse, but it is imperativ e to find out the preventative solutions to this problem rather than finding the scapegoat (Strand, J.N., Ferner, R. E., Anthony, C., Teichman, P., and Bates, D.W., 2001). The First Article: Published on June 15, 2006, in The Times and written by Lisa Greene, this article carried the headline, Nurse Error Spotlight Drug's Danger: A pregnant woman died of a magnesium sulfate overdose at South Florida Baptist, despite the drug's well-known hazards. The byline adds comments that an 18-year-old patient was given magnesium sulfate to slow down premature contractions of the uterus; although, the baby son survived, the lady expired, and the hospital issued a statement that error killed the woman. The drug magnesium sulfate is useful in certain situations despite it being a known hazard in the sense that it is reported to cause fatal clinical events. In this care, reportedly, the nurse made an error in calculating the dose. This is apparent from a quotation of a scientific journal article that reports incidences of 52 adverse overdose incidents that included 7 cases of persistent vegetative state or death. In case of this specific patient, the patient attende d the hospital with pre-term labor, and the nurse gave her magnesium sulfate which was administered in a larger-than necessary dose. The baby survived, but the mother expired out of respiratory failure despite attempts to revive. The hospital spokes person directly termed this situation as a single incidence of error by an expert professional, and it was accepted to be a calculation of the dose error by the nurses. Naturally, since the authority is concerned about a lawsuit, none other than this is available to analyze the information, but this overlooks another important aspect of the problem. It is well known that even the most experienced nurse may end up in a "single tragic mistake", but it is the responsibility of the hospital authority of health system to have a safety or governance system in place that would make multiple checks before the error happens, especially when the error may be fatal in nature. This throws spotlights to a system's deficiency in designing a process th at can identify a person's math error before even the error can reach the patient. This was a terrible and isolated incident, but this calls for well-lubricated and functional safety systems at all levels including prescription, pharmacy, and nursing. Computerized and automated systems even

Analysis of Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas G Carr Essay

Analysis of Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas G Carr - Essay Example AI is nothing more than the collective compilation of human knowledge accumulated over bodies of knowledge previously learned.people with very high I.Q.s may think so (from whence such comments may come), they missed to consider the fact that a person with the highest I.Q. still cannot match the speed by which a computer makes calculations and even decisions on the most complex matters. In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, quoted by Carr in this essay, â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?,† Dr David Bowman’s and Dr Frank Pooles mission aboard the American spaceship Discovery One bound for Jupiter experienced trouble with their supercomputer HAL (an acronym for Heuristic Algorithm). After surviving several attempts to shut him out of the spaceship, Bowman coldly disconnected HAL’s circuits after it nearly sent him to a deep-space death after a malfunction. Whatever human qualities it has subsumed, machines are still made by men. Bowman’s attachment to this machine was a product of science which allowed the machine to possess a seeming human quality. If a man does succeed to make a replica of himself and enhance this subsumation to make the machine assume fine human qualities, there exists an ethical issue. If that machine, as most people and Carr fear, dominates over man, there is a question where to set the limits of manâ€℠¢s reliance on artificial intelligence must end. In the end, that machine still has no soul. It is still a machine unless you can manufacture the soul and add it to that contraption. The author’s personal experience using Google, with so many features on the fly, was enjoyable saved for unavoidable ungrammatical chat language (jejemon). It has shaped language so that it is deliverable in short quips as in telegrams cutting across language barriers, with its ultimate aim, among other things that the information technology may bring.  

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Marketing - Essay Example Examples of multinational companies are Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation and Procter & Gamble Company (Doole & Lowe, 2008). International Marketing In international marketing, multinational companies may adopt either a global marketing approach or a multi-domestic marketing approach. The global marketing approach involves developing a standardized marketing plan, which is implemented with minimal modifications in both home and all international markets. An advantage of global marketing approach is the economies of scale to production and marketing activities. This standardized strategy cuts costs since it allows large-scale production runs and strengthens the image of the brand. A global marketing strategy can nurture collaborative innovation and can excellently boost sales of goods and services to across markets that have common cultures and languages. This strategy is effective particularly in marketing goods with strong, universal appeal. Global advertising media su ch as international print and broadcasting channels help companies to convey a single message to the international audience (Kaynak, 2002). Cost-effectiveness in the implementation of the global marketing approach is its major but most multinational companies are often faced with the need to segment their international markets and develop marketing strategies that meet the unique needs of the target market in specific countries. Multi-domestic marketing approach takes into consideration the differences between the characteristics of different international markets and develops marketing strategies tailored for each market. Most multi-national companies modify their marketing approaches to successfully appeal to individual target markets in the belief that most goods and services demand multi-domestic marketing approaches to give them an appeal on the global market. Market characteristics such as geography, culture and language make it difficult to employ a single market strategy acr oss different segments of international markets. Nevertheless, some particular situations may let multinational companies standardize some aspects of the marketing strategies but tailor others. Some multi-domestic marketing mix approaches for selecting the most appropriate marketing strategy for a particular international market are product invention, straight extension, dual adaptation, promotion adaptation and product adaptation (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008). Multinational companies may also choose among countertrade, distribution and distribution strategies. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart is one of the largest retail chains globally operating diverse kinds of retail stores. The stores range from neighborhood stores, supercenters, discount stores and online retail stores/clubs. Wal-Mart offers wide-ranging products, goods and services including drugs and pharmaceutical products; fitness and beauty aids; cameras, optical supplies and photograph processing; household goods and chemicals; apparels; clothes and shoes; stationery and books; housewares and furnishings; electronics; appliances; automobile accessories; horticultural products, sporting merchandises; toys; pet food and items (Kaynak, 2002). The neighborhood markets include fresh groceries, meat and dairy products, deli, baked foods, frozen foods, medications, paper goods and general merchandise

Three Different Type of Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Three Different Type of Family - Essay Example I was supposed to be at the Saudi Embassy by 11:00 o’ clock. I was in West Los Angeles. My heart was beating fast and I was immersed in perspiration beads. I feared that I might miss the opportunity to apply for the passport in time. It had taken a lot of effort to get the date for application and I could not afford missing that opportunity. I managed to reach the Saudi Embassy in ten minutes. I was pleased I was not quite late, but the staff did not cooperate with me the much I expected them to. They referred me to one another which frustrated me. Anyway, I managed to apply for the passport. I had not done the breakfast to my full and was feeling really hungry. Since morning, I had been moving here and there in frustration. I was overwhelmed with anxiety and wanted a good lunch to energize myself. I was feeling very low and was red in the face. It felt like I was having a very high blood pressure. On my way to Santa Monica, I drove across my girlfriend’s favorite pizza restaurant. Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze filling me. I wondered if love was powerful enough to make me happy at this point in my life when I was feeling very low. My blood pressure started to regulate. I decided to have the lunch, so I parked my car aside the restaurant. Even before I had entered the restaurant, I knew where I was going to sit or what I was going to order. I planned to occupy the same table where my girlfriend and I had sat the last time and order the same meal we had had then. But unfortunately, that table was already occupied by a family. There were a total of three families in the restaurant. The family occupying my table had four members in it; a father, a mother and two sons. This was the first family. It felt very much like a projection of my dream family, wherein I would have two sons from my girlfriend. The family sitting on the left of that table had two members in it. There was a man a child. The man seemed like the father and the child seemed like his son. This was the second family. To the right was another family with six people in it. There was a man and a woman that seemed like a husband and a wife. To the left of the husband were two sons. In between the husband and the wife was a one year old child, and to the right of the wife was a daughter. This was the third family. The first family was a dual parent family. The sons had their biological children with them. The second family represented single parent family. The mother had left the child’s father and had married her lover. The child had no sibling but had his biological father with him. The third family was a merging family. In between the husband and the wife was their biological child. To the right of the wife was the daughter from her previous husband. To the left of the husband were the two sons from his previous wife. The first family was a biracial family. The wife was African American whereas the husband was Caucasian American. The sons had tanned skin whi le the color of one son was darker than the other. The second and third families were uniracial in that all members belonged to the same race. In the second family, both the father and the son were Asian Americans. They seemed like Indians that had immigrated to the US. The third family was of Caucasian Americans. All family members were white. It seemed like the girl’

Environment on Darfur After the Conflict Essay Example for Free

Environment on Darfur After the Conflict Essay The world has experienced a lot of conflicts for quite a long time throughout history. All the time there is a conflict, the damages caused is mostly documented in terms of how many casualties have been reported, and the impact it has caused on the economy. It is however rare to hear people talking on the effects these conflicts can have on the natural environment or which steps have been taken to protect the natural environment from such conflicts. The natural environment for a long time has been a silent victim of the conflicts that occurs either locally or internationally leaving the repercussions to be felt for quite some time. In many cases, the impact the war and other conflicts have been having on the environment has been generally very devastating. There are many pollutants that are released in the environment during the war which can end up affecting the natural resources. On the other hand, there are other natural resources that are depleted during the conflict leaving the environment at a worse position. A major problem is that most of the current conflicts are witnessed in the developing countries which do not have the economic capacity to deal with the environmental problems hence causing a major setback. Africa has had quite long cases of civil wars some which started during the colonial period and still taking place to now. These countries have been mostly been fighting over the borders which were drawn by the colonial powers for their on interests. Most of the wars taking place in Africa are as a cause of fighting for natural resources such as fertile farming land or water. Due to the long history of these civil wars in Africa, it is difficult to know exactly what these conflicts have caused to the environment. However, looking at the rate of the loss of biodiversity in the affected regions, it can be easy to realize how serious the situation has left the damage to the environment. Darfur Conflict and the Impact It Has Caused on the Environment Southern Sudan has witnessed along civil war that has caused many nations through the United Nations body and the African unity to try and broker peace in the region and bring things to the normal situation. The conflict that is being witnessed in the region right now is considered as a war between the different ethnic and tribal lines (IRIN, para 2). The sides that are mostly conflicting are the government’s military and the Janjaweed group. There are other rebel groups that have also made the situation to be worse. The major cause of the war in Sudan has been attributed to fighting for water between the Baggara nomads who moved to the south, a region mostly occupied by the farming communities to search for water. This conflict has led to many casualties being reported throughout. Despite putting in place a government of national unity, and increasing the presence of the African Union Peace keepers, the situation has not improved in any way (Borger, para 2). There have been many reasons given as a source to the Darfur conflict, though the major reasons have been cited to be the increasing population which the current natural resources can not hold, hence making these people to fight for the scarce resources. On the other hand, there have been claims that the conflict is as a result of the Arab dominants intention to wipe out the black Africans. This has even made the United States to refer to this as a form of genocide in the area. Whichever the cause of the war, it has caused so many untold damages. The focus on this conflict has always been the number of people who have died in the region, or the number of those displaced. It is important that people’s life and welfare is put first. This is what has been the major concern of many bodies, organizations and other nations. However, like many other conflicts, little concern has put on what effect this conflict is causing to the environment (AP, para 6). As earlier argued, the war in Sudan was triggered by the environmental problems which led to the communities to fight over scarce resources. It is however a worrying trend that the continued conflict is further endangering the environment that is supposed to support the whole population. The environment has been made worse by this conflict and made the land to become uninhabitable. This means that the tension between the conflicting communities gets to be more intense when it occurs that the natural resources are not going to support all of them as expected (Beyrer, Pizer pp 67). Environmental degradation in Darfur has been on the rise due to the continued conflict. It means that the conflict that started as a result of the environmental problems is being escalated by destroying the environment further. The issues in Sudan over the environment indicate how complex the environmental matters can be in the causing breach to peace. This region has witnessed the decreased cases of traditional methods of environmental management systems, and in some places being disregarded completely. The conflict over resources in Darfur was at a local level but expanded to national level where political and economic marginalization was heightened. Ethnic differences have contributed to making the matters worse to the situation. Therefore, despite having the political and economic factors leading to the problems in Darfur, the major issue surrounds natural resources (de Montesquiou, para 8). The Sudanese Arabs moved to the south to look for pasture for their animals due to the prolonged drought that was experienced in their regions. This led to them conflicting with the black farmers whose land the Arabs were grazing on. The grazing of the animals on the farming land worsened the situation as there was increased soil erosion which made land to be poor for farming. When the black farmers realized that the Khartoum government was indifferent in solving the matter, they rebelled against them. By rebelling, the people started to fight destroying many manmade and natural resources that were on the way (Borger, para 7). When the nomads inhabited the farming areas, they started to cut down the trees. To the farmers, the cut trees were very important as they provided shade for their crops and holding together the soil to avoid erosion. Due to the conflict of interest, these important natural resources were destroyed as they were caught in between the fighting. With no trees cover, the problem of lack of rainfall becomes even heightened, which is a big trouble to both the farmers and the nomads since they cannot be able to get rain that is important for the crops and animals respectively. Due to the bare land caused by the cutting of the trees, it has become harder for the farmers at the refugee camps to go back to their homes as they can not carry out any meaningful activities to such bare lands. With this kind of the situation, it becomes difficult to control human suffering without further harm to the environment (HPN, para 3) Many people have been killed in the conflict while millions of others have been living in the camps after being left homeless. At the camps, the refugees need to be given their basic needs. Water is a very important commodity that no human beings can do without. In fact as argued throughout, the conflict has been surrounding fighting for water resources. Therefore, while at the camps, the refugees have to be provided with water. This has led to the humanitarian organizations to dig boreholes to help the refugees get water. Considering that the land in Darfur is largely dominated by hard rocks, it means that the rains that fall in the short season mostly wash away, hence, the boreholes depends on the underground reserves. Considering the rate at which the reserves are being used, it is tough to imagine the consequences that await the Darfur people when the reserves will finally be depleted. The situation might lead to the refugees being moved to another region that can support them. There are already some areas that have reported the drying up of the boreholes. Apart from water, the refugees also need other resources for their daily work. There have been many trees that have been cut by the refugees near the camps to provide them with firewood. The trees are also cut and used to construct and reinforce the makeshift houses of the refugees. This implies that trees are being used at a higher rate than they are being replaced. There are some refugees who are involved in some economic activities. The common economic activity that the refugees are involved with is making mud bricks. The refugees are involved with this activity mostly because it does not need skilled labor, and the materials are readily available. A lot of water is usually used in the making of the bricks. A lot of water is used considering the dryness on most of the camp soils. Furthermore, since the refugees want to make a lot of money, they try to make as many bricks as possible. The more work they do, the many materials are required. The areas that the soil for making the bricks is dug usually leaves many holes indicating the rate at which the soil is being depleted. The formation of a layer of soil takes many years, however, the refugees depletes many layers in a very short time. It is very bad to notice that the fertile soils that can be used for agricultural production is actually used for the making bricks. These soils can not be replenished in the short run as it is being depleted. In the areas that the refugees remove the soils to make the bricks, they leave the tree roots exposed which contributes to the wilting of the trees (Homer-Dixon, pp 19). Therefore, this still adds the woes the refuges already have. Furthermore, since to make the bricks requires a lot of water, it means that the refugees have to compete on how to use the water for the domestic work and the production of the bricks. In the end, the action contributes to the hastened depletion of the water resources. The bricks cannot be complete if they have not been burnt in the kiln. The kiln requires using a lot of firewood. This means several trees have to be felled to be used in the kiln. One kiln can take as many as 35 trees for the bricks to be ready. This shows the impact this single activity can have on the important natural resources. There have been increased sand dunes in the areas that had once been covered by trees just a few years ago. This is all because of the refugees activities in trying to earn a living. Most of the dams in Sudan are drying and having a lot of sedimentation as a result of deforestation. Many dams have lost their holding capacity due to these reasons (HPN, para 8). Once the war comes to an end as is presupposed, the refugees will have to go back to their homes to start a new life. They will first need to rebuild their damaged homes, which will basically require that they cut more trees to build these homes. Considering the already cut trees in their former homes, there are therefore no trees left behind to cater for their needs. This implies the building materials will have to be sourced somewhere else, which automatically will be increasing the base of the damage to other regions. Having realized the impact the conflict is leading to the refugees affecting the environment, especially on trees, several organizations like the US aid have helped the refugees to design the cooking stoves that uses a completely reduced amount of fuel as a way of the saving the environment. This stoves though taken as a move to save the environment, it has a big impact on the social and cultural life (de Montesquiou, para 11). Since the conflict is between two ethnic groups with two distinct lifestyles, each group undertakes an activity that they think will destroy the other. For instance, the nomads usually graze their animals on the farmers’ crops. This leaves the farmers with nothing as their crops are destroyed by the animals. On the other hand, the farmers on their side burn the grazing lands for the nomads. This is even a worse action to take as it does not only affect the nomads in terms of lacking food, but it affects the farmers themselves in that the burning of the ground destroys the important living organisms that are found in the soil which helps in improving the soil fertility. This means that the soil is left unproductive which will affect both the nomads and the farmers in the long run. Furthermore, the nomads are used to grazing their animals and moving from one region to another after the feeds in that area have reduced. However, due to the conflict, the migration routes for the nomads were blocked by the farmers. This made it impossible for the nomads to move from one region to another with their animals, hence meaning overgrazing in one region. The overgrazed areas will generally have very poor production as there will be increased soil erosion (Homer-Dixon, pp 29). In general, humanitarian issues are usually given much priority over the environment as a short term solution to any crisis. Therefore, whatever actions that are taken by the involved bodies do not give much or even any consideration to the environment. For instance, when the refugee camps are set up, it is aimed at providing security and a better life to the refugees. No consideration is put on what activities the refugees are going to carry out that might affect the environment whether in the long or short run. This is being evidenced by the number of boreholes drying up in various refugee camps (HPN, para 16). There are hundreds of thousands of the Darfur refugees who have been granted asylum in Chad. The Chadian locals are thus forced to compete for the natural resources in their territory with the refugees. Putting in mind the activities the refugees are engaged with, and the major aims of the organization that are associated with the taking care of the refugees which are just humanitarian care, the refugees can have a very big impact on the environment of the host country. The refugees in the camps hopes for someday to go back home. This implies they cannot have long term projects that will help in the development and taking care of the region that has granted them asylum. This might make them to be at loggerheads with the host country and thus be denied the asylum (Gouroukoun, para 7). Furthermore, as the refugees enter the Chadian soil, it is not guaranteed that they have their safety. The Janjaweed have been following the refugees in their camps attacking them. This has also posed danger to the Chadian nationals making them to move closer to where there is security in their country. In essence, the Chadian people are not even free in their own land because of hosting the refugees. As the Chadian moves to the place they feel is more secure, they also cause congestion and constraint to the resources that are supposed to host them. There are many other effects that the conflict has caused to the environment. As the conflict rages on, both sides are heavily armed. The weapons used to attack one group leave a lot of damages to the environment. For instance, there have been many crops, homesteads and the grazing grounds for each group that have been burnt by the opposing group. The oils and chemicals used to burn these properties, and the residue of the burnt products find their ways into the water bodies contaminating them. This on the other hand affects the lives in the water bodies. Furthermore, as the crisis continues, weapons used like bombs have continued to pollute the environment and their effect left in the environment for along time affecting the quality of life. It is very difficult to find crops growing in a region that has experienced a battle field. This is because of the effect that the weapons and chemicals used in the process have on the environment. It is common to find that the areas that had been bombed can not sustain any agricultural activity. It thus means that as the communities fight over the scarce natural resources and keep on destroying them during the fight, it only helps in escalating the problem they are already facing (Homer-Dixon, pp 41). The Janjaweed and the other militias in the Darfur conflict are always in the hideout. Most of the hideouts are in the forests. This implies that they have to depend so much on the forests for their own needs. For instance, they have to cut down the trees to use for fuel, hunt wild animals for food, and all these activities upsets the natural environment settings. There are many regions that used to be occupied by trees and wild animals like the elephants and the antelopes but when looked at now are bare because of the activities that have been taking place in the regions. Conclusion The Darfur crisis has actually been said to have started for over three decades ago. However, it only escalated in 2003 when the current crisis became out of control. The major cause of the war has been attributed to lack of enough natural resources. The problem is that because the fights were due to the protection and the need to acquire more natural resources, it is ironical that the same resources are being destroyed. In essence, this seems to increase the problems already faced. This has created the vicious cycle of the war in the Darfur region. Therefore, unless the concerned bodies look for a way of dealing with the problem of these natural resources, it is not possible to stop this war despite the many peace agreements that might be signed by the leaders of the region. Work Cited AP. Darfur conflict worsens environment, 2007. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://platform. blogs. com/passionofthepresent/2007/06/darfur-conflict. html. Beyrer, Chris Pizer, Hank. Public Health and Human Rights: Evidence-based Approaches; ISBN 0801886465, JHU Press, 2007. Borger, Julian. Darfur conflict heralds era of wars triggered by climate change, UN report warns, 2007. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://www. guardian. co. uk/environment/2007/jun/23/sudan. climatechange. de Montesquiou, Alfred. Darfur violence leaves environmental scars, 2007. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/19357602/. IRIN. SUDAN: Climate change only one cause among many for Darfur conflict, 2007. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://www. globalsecurity. org/military/library/news/2007/06/mil-070628-irin03. htm. Gouroukoun. Chadians Increasingly Feel Impact of Darfur Conflict, 2006. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://www. voanews. com/english/archive/2006-04/2006-04-21-voa44. cfm. Homer-Dixon, F. Thomas. Environment, Scarcity, and Violence; ISBN 0691089795, Princeton University Press, 2001. HPN. Environmental degradation and conflict in Darfur: implications for peace and recovery, 2008. Retrieved on October 29, 2008 from http://www. alertnet. org/thenews/newsdesk/HPN/10adb58d76337a4eb2b436c319bf427e. htm.

Change Management in an Organisation

Change Management in an Organisation The assignment focuses on the outcomes of the study of the module-Organizational Behaviour which deals with the importance of the organizational principles in any company linked to its success in long run. I have focused myself to study the Case of BHARAT PETROLEUM COMPANY LIMITED in reference to change of organisation structure bringing in success. Though the objective of the study is to analyse the organisation in the context of dynamics of change affecting its very functioning with respect of organizational issues, the limitation of the study is inability to take up all issues considering organisation behaviour. In 1952 two different companies Shell Petroleum Company and Burmah Oil Company, UK signed an agreement with the Indian Government to prepare a new refinery in Mumbai and the name of the refinery was Burmah Oil Refineries Ltd. In 1957 it started and worked in a proper flow, In 1976 Indian Government changed their policy and nationalized the petroleum industry. Indian Government acquired the complete equity in Burmah Oil Refineries Ltd and changed from Burmah Oil Refineries Ltd to Bharat Refineries Ltd. In 1977 the Indian Government again changed its name to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL). Industry Environment Indian governments acquired BPCL in 1970 in the act of nationalisation arrangement of Indian governments. In 1991 It was monitored and under the supervision of government till economic reorganizations. Government monitored the all the expenses, raw materials and the end products purchase and selling price, manufacture capacity, uses of the raw materials, circulation, and what is the return on investment were monitored by the government. Three main combined marketing and purifying companies were there at that time and many small and independent companies were supplying their product to these companies. Government improved their strategy for work and enlarged the distribution network in all over the country, like setup new retail outlets to reduce the competition along with their competitor. Privatization As a part of the ongoing economic reforms the government was actively pursuing privatization of the public sector companies. A couple of senior managers state Privatization is a slight that will happen. One cant bother too much about the future without knowing what is going to happen. It is inevitable and we cant do about it. We dont know what will happen to BPCL and us. Tomorrow we may not exist as BPCL. We might become a part of Shell or Reliance or some other organization. The impeding competition as well as the uncertainty of existence in the present form created anxiety in the organization across all levels. Some considered it to be an opportunity where as others considered it as a let down by the government and the organization. The organization initiated numerous changes in order to transform itself to face the future competition. Initiation of the Restructuring Process The initiation for restructuring the organization was by the personal initiative of the CMD Mr. U Sundararajan. He had earlier been appointed by the government to study the petroleum industry in other countries as a preamble for deregulation. He had formed a cross well-designed team for studying the effectiveness of the models followed by different countries. Mr. Sundararajan and the team studied more than two hundred books and numerous articles on deregulation, oil industry and best practices. Mr. Sundararajan realized the inability of his organization to compete with MNCs with deregulation. He started the reorganization process through discussions with the top management, the board and the government The path which BPCL LTD choose to face the competition and initiatives taken in terms of organizational Behaviour has been assessed in this assignment. For the purpose of analyzing the focus was laid down on key aspects of organization behavior which are organizational structure, change of team and organizational culture and climate in terms of Coaches of Organizational Learning which can be correlated to the case. Coaches of Organizational Learning Consultants from Innovation Associates (a subsidiary of ADL) initially trained a group of trainer in systems idea and organizational education. A team of around thirty full time coaches and more than sixty part time coaches were trained in turn by these. These coaches conducted two programs namely Visionary Leadership Planning (VLP) and Foundations of Organisational Learning (FOL). More than six hundred managers have undergone VLP and more than five thousand management and non-management staff have undergone FOL. VLP program is designed to help teams clarify and understand reasons for their unique existence, co-create team aspirations, realistically assess current reality and formulate a Strategy to cover up the gap. The teams identify High Leverage Results they are passionate about and assign responsibilities to a few members with the whole team agreeing to support the process. FOL program is designed to create a common language of learning in organizations. The coaches were instrum ental in creating a non-threatening atmosphere for change and also in providing the inputs on systems thinking and learning organization, enabling effectiveness of the various task forces empowered for quick result changes. One of the trainer states We have applied for instructor education with skeptism. We later realized the importance of systems ideas and organizational education. The first program was a mind opening experience. The inputs on functional silos reflected our organization. Now we are hardcore followers of systems ideas. Communication Communication played a important role during out the change process. A bulletin was promoted that provided usual updates to the whole organization about the visioning exercise, the assessment of current reality, status of the quick fix opportunities and the new structure. In every stage the break through teams had a high level of interaction with the concerned divisions. The informal channel of communication was also taken care of by including community from all realistic constituencies in the change break through teams. A top down approach was used to communicate the change plan with help from the break through team members. One CUSECS member reiterates Communication played a fundamental role in CUSECS project. The common updates through the newsletter and informal communication through the members to their parent departments was useful in updating the whole organization quickly. We identified enablers in each department, people who are opinion shapers and we particularly embattled them. We convinced them first and then asked them to communicate to others about the change Top Management Involvement The CMD was occupied throughout the reorganization process. He communicated his hold to the change activities by personal involvement, and regular appreciation to the change management team and the particular task forces. He played the role of a mentor to the team members. He also interacted with a large number of employees during the visioning, assessment and finishing point stages. Young managers recount stories of his support to the change team, where he gave total freedom to come up with creative ideas and safe guarded them from backlashes from well-known constituencies. Mr. Sundararajan recalls In the prime period I talked to lots of group of people regarding the need for reorganization. The leader has to act not just talk. Lip service will not work for long. If individual says one will take of care of the subordinates then one has to when something happens Change Opportunities for Quick Results During the assessment process, the break through teams identified many opportunities where small changes were likely to produce foremost results. Special task forces for working on the identified opportunities were created and started working in equivalent. The job forces were provided with adequate training and were in constant communication with the break through teams. At one point of time there were more than six hundred task forces working across the organization on thousands of opportunities identified in the change plan. Market study, brand building, packaging, operational efficiency of plants, correct quantity and quality of products, cash collections, and safety are some areas where task forces worked to produce quick results. Creating a Shared Vision The visioning exercise was conducted to develop clarity and common understanding about the potential of the association. The visioning work out started with the panel. The exercise was extended across the company in a escalation approach flowing from the top management to the junior management facilitated by internal experts trained particularly for the same. The core of the vision as articulated by the organizational members across the organization is given below. Be the BEST Establish first class brands and Make the workplace exciting corporate image Improve boundary management Excellent customer care and service Fulfill social responsibilities, to Go for excellent performance and ethical operational efficiency Apply the best technology. Make people a source of improvement Make systems strong and dynamic. Below figure elaborates the nine broad themes in the shared vision of BPCL. The visioning exercise provided an opportunity for articulation of the aspirations of the people. The process brought the whole organization out of lethargy, and increased the energy levels and expectations on persons, teams and the company. Since the vision was iterated throughout the organization, there was greater buy in for the change. One of the managers states We were all amazed that the vision was so much in unison across the organization. It clearly stated that people had great aspirations but never expressed them. This exercise made us realize the possibilities for the future of BPCL. Change Plan Based on the inputs from the shared vision and current reality, a workshop was conducted to develop a change plan. The change plan came to six volumes with over one thousand and six hundred pages. The change plan included the Organizational assessment Well defined corporate values Vision articulated in terms of critical business processes, and Areas of change to achieve the vision Organizational Assessment Current Reality Based on the initial diagnosis by the CUSECS team and the visioning workshop for top management, it was decided that an organization wide assessment exercise would be conducted simultaneously with the shared visioning exercise. Six break through teams were formed. The teams were responsible for assessing the organizational reality in terms of Marketing, Lubricants and Refining Support services and management Logistics processes LPG. The marketing team looked at the customer management processes, product management processes and execution management processes. The refining team compared the effectiveness of the refinery; lube oil processing and LPG plants with the best international players taking into account the machinery age and technology employed. Various performance parameters like crude acquisition, energy consumption, and capital expenditure were assessed. The logistics team also looked at the existing logistics infrastructure, economics of supply and distribution, opportunities for cost reduction, supply points vs. consumption centers, impact of taxes and duty, and comparison with benchmarks and competitors. The LPG team compared the LPG marketing with that of the international and local competitors. The customer base, pricing policies, interface between the customer and marketing and future plans were critically reviewed. The lubricants team analyzed the organizational competitive position in comparison to the competition. It also looked at the packaging, pricing, branding, trade channels, the existing joint venture arrangements, and future plans. The team responsible for support services and management processes evaluated the human resource practices (for example work culture, HR processes, training and development, and appraisal and compensation), the information systems (for example use of different software packages, integration and use of IT), and accounting practices in terms of clarity, speed and cost. The break through teams also assessed the organizational structure in terms of roles and responsibilities, levels and accountability, human resource development in terms of training, appraisal and compensation. Each team interacted with all the stakeholders concerned including the unions, suppliers, distributors, customers, financial institutes, local communities, government officials, and so on. Assessment was carried out in a non- threatening manner, with constant and rich communication of the activities carried out by the break through teams. The assessment exercise created an internal environment for change. The organizational assessment exercise found the following Collective dissatisfaction with the status quo Low customer focus and customer orientation Huge gap between the vision and capabilities to achieve it, and Many opportunities for quick improvement Change Team A change team was formed with twenty-two managers nominated from various functions across levels. The team size grew to thirty as the project progressed. The team members had varied performance records, educational qualifications and experience. The CMD did not believe in giving importance to those with higher degrees over others. His philosophy was to provide an opportunity to average people in an empowered and enabled environment to achieve great results. Mr. Sundararajan says Initially when we formed the change team I asked for nominations from various departments and they nominated all kinds of people. I did not nominate the best mangers in BPCL because I have observed many times in my career, if people are given the right environment and opportunities they would rise up to it. And my faith was not misplaced. These youngsters did a wonderful job. The change project was titled CUSECS for Customer Service Customer Satisfaction. The consultant ADL trained the CUSECS team. The training included topics like negotiations, interpersonal effectiveness, presentations, systems thinking, and best practices. The CUSECS team was provided with all the information and support required to develop skills in diagnosis, change strategy formulation, organization design, and implementation. Those who could not take up the huge workload and stress were requested to leave and join their parent departments. The team conducted a short diagnosis of the organizational issues with facilitation by consultants and made presentations to the top management. One of the CUSECS team members state: We were initially frustrated and unable to understand why ADL wanted us to think through everything ourselves, rather than telling us what is best. Later, we appreciated their approach in enabling us to think and decide for ourselves what is best for the organization. We were trained exhaustively starting from presentation skills, negotiation skills to systems thinking and so on. Designing the New Structure There was a clear consensus among the change management team, top management team and the consultants that the functional structure would not be able to sustain initiatives taken to create the customer centric organization. The obvious solution was to create customer centric strategic business units (SBUs). The change management team with assistance of the consultants considered various options. The redesign process took about a month. The CMD was personally involved in this. To prevent any interference from day to day activities he officially took leave and was present as a resource person. The change team discussed the various choices in structure with all the stakeholders. There were apprehensions among senior managers regarding the new structure and no consensus emerged on the new structure. Politicking and power plays were observed, with each function trying to retain the existing status in terms of power and control. Finally the CMD personally called for a meeting of the functi onal heads and other senior managers. Asking the group to discuss, negotiate and come with a concrete solution acceptable to everyone, he locked the room and waited outside. Finally a design was approved that was acceptable to all. The final structure was not the optimum structure as envisioned by the change team but one acceptable to all the members of the top management team. Implementation The new structure was rolled out in phased manner to ensure effective implementation. The new structure was first implemented in the LPG SBU. Based on the experience, the new design was implemented across the organization with necessary modifications. Further, in each of the proposed SBUs specific regions were identified and the new structure was implemented to verify the smooth functioning before full implementation. Organizational Structure The older structure was functionally organized. There were mainly four functions (refineries, marketing, finance and personnel) each headed by an executive director reporting to the (CMD). Other support departments like corporate affairs, legal, audit, vigilance, coordination and company secretary were directly under the CMD. The Director refinery was in charge of refinery, corporate planning, JV refineries and special projects. Other than corporate finance and marketing finance EDP was also under the Director finance. In marketing, there were different departments for retail, industry, LPG, lubricants and aviation segments. Corporate communication was also under Director meeting. The whole of India was divided into four regions and further into 22 divisions. Each region was headed by a Regional Manager who was in charge of all activities within the region and reported to the Director marketing. Each region had a manager in charge of each of regional personnel, regional engineering, regional industrial customers, regional retail, and regional finance. Regional LPG was under regional industrial customers. The division was the responsibility of the Divisional Manager reporting to the Regional Manager. He had a manager each for sales, operations and engineering. Each of these was responsible for sales, depots and engineering respectively for all the customer segments. Across the marketing function, except for the corporate departments (LPG, industrial customer, etc.) specifically looking after a customer segment, every individual and role is focused on multiple customer segments. For example any strategy addressing the industrial customers originates from the Corporate Department (Industrial Customer), goes via the Director Marketing, Regional Manager, Divisional Manager to the Sales Officer. All of them are responsible for multiple customer segments like retail, LPG, industrial, etc. and deal with different classes of customers. Hence there was very low customer awareness in terms of the unique needs of the different customer segments, with no single individual at the operational level having clarity on any single customer segment. Moreover, the marketing strategy was formulated by people who were far from the customer with very low understanding of the customer they were targeting. The implementers were responsible for diverse customers with a l ow understanding of the logic of these strategies meant for each customer segment. Thus the old structure had created a bottleneck between the strategy formulators and implementers in terms of the regional structure, and between the field staff and the corporate offices and refinery. Activities of a business process are spread out across different functions and levels of hierarchy, engaging many individuals. There was a long chain of non-value adding linkages between any two activities targeting a business / customer. For example, when an industrial customer gives a special order of lubes to the sales officer, the corporate lubes purchases the base oil, plant blends it, SD packs it and the sales officer sells it. The Sales Officer would communicate the order to the Divisional Manager, who passes it on to the Regional Manager. Then the order would be routed to the Corporate Lubes for processing. Everyone involved in the activities of this process belong to different functions and hierarchy levels. This long chain of communication had led to a lack of customer orientation, low awareness of customer needs and expectations and slow response. The New SBU Structure The new structure was focused on the business processes and the customer. The new structure at the top management level is the same. Five SBUs Retail, Lubes, Industry/Commercial, LPG and Aviation are customer centered SBUs and come under the director (marketing). The sixth SBU, Refinery along with two new departments IT Supply Chain and RD are under the director (refineries). Each SBU would have its own HR, IS, finance, logistics, sales, engineering, etc. The number of layers in the organization was reduced to four from six or seven. The major change is the introduction of the territories covering a smaller geographical area and focusing on specific customer segments. In retail SBU the new structure had 669 territories reporting to the four regional offices, where as in the earlier structure there were only 22 divisions which catered to all segments. In other SBUs the regional office was removed and territories were designed to directly report to the SBU heads. Each territory team leader was responsible for sales in the territory only for a specific product. The territory structure was designed to enable the field staff to focus on specific customer segments. Authority was also delegated down the hierarchy and decision making pushed to the lowest possible levels. Decisions earlier taken at the regional level were taken now at the territory level. Further authority was delegated to the role and not the hierarchy level. Administrative offices have been moved to supply locations that consist of 125 terminals for mai n fuels and 35 LPG bottling ones. In LPG SBU head office there are only nine personnel and across the territories even managers at senior positions have been forced to get business. The new design incorporated recalibration of roles and responsibilities and redeployment of more than two thousand people (around one fifth of total employee strength) across the organization. It created new roles at the front effectively using redundant manpower to increase customer interface and interaction. Since the corporate and support functions are now located within the SBUs the new design included lateral linkage mechanisms (see Appendix C). Governance Councils, Process Councils, and Task forces (to address specific organizational issues) were the mechanisms for integrating the different parts of the organization. Some Salient Features of New Structure were Highly empowered work force Decentralized decision making De-linking of authority from hierarchical levels Orientation towards internal and external customers Regular market research and customer surveys Conscious brand building efforts Organizational Structure before redesign Organizational Structure after redesign Conclusion Bharat Petroleum realises that, in the long run, success can only come with a total reorientation and change in approach with the customer as the focal point. Today, Bharat Petroleum is restructured into a Corporate Centre, Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Shared Services and Entities. From the last many years Bharat Petroleum continues face many challenges of the quickly changing environment. Bharat petroleum make advance and changes their products and services according to the changing environment. In day by day changing in bharat petroleum only one factor has remained unchanged this is Bharat Petroleums employees which are the source of strength and motivation of Bharat Petroleums in their future innovations. Bharat Petroleum wants their employees to understand the complexity of the market, customers requirements, and offer the innovative products to meets the customers requirements. For Bharat Petroleum, promise by its staffs is a critical resource. BPCL believe that only a cheerful worker will place his best result and a good relationship with the customs, Bharat Petroleum deployed and also will plan to implement several steps to make the organisation a great place to work or worker get best organisation environment. Hewitt Associates conducted a survey for Business Today magazine in the January 2001 issue to identify the best employers, and in this survey Bharat Petroleum was one of top ten employers in India. The main motive of the survey was to discover out which companies had really charged the expressive and intellectual energy of their employees. The companies who were in the top list were Hughes, ICICI, P and G, Asian Paints, Hewlett-Packard, HLL, Infosys, LG and Compaq. Bharat Petroleum adopts significant value-based HR methods for growth of individuals and their organisational skills with a assessment to provide them with a competitive edge and also to realise their private vision in tandem with the commercial vision. Bharat Petroleum has been conferred the National HRD Award 2000 by National HRD Network for making Outstanding Contribution to HRD. At the National Petroleum Management Programme (NPMP) on Excellence in Creativity and Innovation (1999-2000), Bharat Petroleum employees bagged all the three awards in the individual category, along with four certificates of recognition in the team category.

Nursing Homes And The Lutheran Home For The Aging Essay -- essays rese

Nursing Homes and The Lutheran Home for the Aging Recently, I had the pleasure of having a personal tour of the Lutheran Home for the Aging located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. I chose this area of study because it happened to be convenient in location for me as well as easily accessible to a source of an interviewee that I felt comfortable with and who is also very comfortable with myself. I find it much easier to conduct an interview and get more relevant information from a source that I've already had former contact with and also established a friendship with. I interviewed, age 48, who was a social worker at the Lutheran Home for the Aging for 12 years until she changed career paths that would benefit herself more as well as her family. graduated from the University of with a Social Work degree and is presently pursing a two year Dental Hygiene degree(Associate Degree). She explained to me that at the time she was hired at the nursing home it was not necessary for social workers to have to take a test in order to obtain a license and a position in the social work field, a position that she held for twelve years explained to me how she was "Grandfathered" into her social worker position and did not have to take a test for a license until it was required after years of responsible and professional work in the Home for the Aging. The Lutheran Home for the Aging was founded in 1906 by John C. Koch, with the motivation and desire to promote residential care for his fellow aging Lutheran constituents. Along with the supportive interests of other Lutherans, he purchased approximately eight acres of land. A large house on the property served as the Home's first building and within a year of its founding, it had reached a capacity of twenty members. Today the same desire and motivation has increased the residential population to 313 members, age 65 and over. The founders of the Home did more than provide a place to live for the Aging. They founded a tradition of excellence and quality care that continues even to this day. The mission of the home is to "take a leadership role in resident satisfaction by providing superior services in a Christian atmosphere that meet or exceed the expectations of each resident and his or her family" ("Lutheran Home for the Aging" 1). Through th... ...am B. "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society." Online. Internet. Available http://www.wwilkins.com/wavcat- bin/journals_ops/ID0856948/0002-8614/prod. "Code of Ethics." Online. Internet. Available http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/†¦tml#Ethical Duties and Obligations. Lutheran Home for the Aging. Wauwatosa: Lutheran Home for the Aging, 1996. "Long-Term Care and Nursing Homes." Online. Internet. Available http://freenet.uchsc.edu/2000/senior/nurshome/menu.html. "Nursing Home, Home Health and Hospice." Online. Internet. Available http://www.math.utah.edu/~c-pkse/medfile/hhh.html. "Nursing Homes and Long Term Care Facilities." Online. Internet. Available http://www.medaccess.com/locator/nursehome/nsgh01.htm. Sager, M. Measurement of Activities of Daily Living in Hospitalized Elderly: A Comparison of Self-report and Performance-based measures. Wisconsin: Geriatric Society, 1992. 457-462. "Senior Care Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid." Online. Internet. Available http://seniors-site.com/ads/medicare.html. Lutheran Home for the Aging: "A warm, caring place where life always has quality, value and dignity."

Adults and Children as Learners Essay -- Education Psychology Essays

Adults and Children as Learners Teaching adults should be different if adults learn differently than children do. Theories or perspectives on adult learning, such as andragogy, make a number of assertions about the characteristics of adults as learners: adults need learning to be meaningful; they are autonomous, independent, and self-directed; prior experiences are a rich learning resource; their readiness to learn is associated with a transition point or a need to perform a task; their orientation is centered on problems, not content; they are intrinsically motivated; their participation in learning is voluntary (Draper 1998; Sipe 2001; Tice 1997; Titmus 1999). For some, "the major difference between adults and younger learners is the wealth of their experience" (Taylor, Marienau, and Fiddler 2000, p. 7). For others, the capacity for critical thinking or transformative learning is what distinguishes adults (Vaske 2001). In contrast, pedagogy assumes that the child learner is a dependent personality, has limited ex perience, is ready to learn based on age level, is oriented to learning a particular subject matter, and is motivated by external rewards and punishment (Guffey and Rampp 1997; Sipe 2001). If there are indeed "distinctive characteristics of adults, on which claims for the uniqueness and coherence of adult education are based, then one might expect them to be taken into account in all organized education for adults" (Titmus 1999, p. 347). However, each of these characteristics is contested. Courtney et al. (1999) assert that "characteristics of adult learners" refers to a small number of identified factors with little empirical evidence to support them. Andragogy has been criticized for characterizing adults as w... ...ctions for Adult and Continuing Education no. 91, edited by C. A. Hansman and P. A. Sissel, pp. 17-27. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Fall 2001. Smith, M. C., and Pourchot, T., eds. Adult Learning and Development. Perspectives from Educational Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1998. Taylor, K.; Marienau, C.; and Fiddler, M. Developing Adult Learners. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Tice, E. T. "Educating Adults: A Matter of Balance." Adult Learning 9, no. 1 (Fall 1997): 18-21. Titmus, C. "Concepts and Practices of Education and Adult Education: Obstacles to Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning?" International Journal of Lifelong Education 18, no. 5 (September-October 1999): 343-354. Vaske, J. M. "Critical Thinking in Adult Education: An Elusive Quest for a Definition of the Field." Ed.D. dissertation, Drake University, 2001. (ED 456 251)

Leadership 101

John C. Maxwell is an Evangelical Christian author, speaker, and pastor. He has written over sixty books, known internationally as a leadership expert and coach. Dr. Maxwell has co-founded the company Equip, which is a non-profit leadership company. Also he founded The John Maxwell Company, known for training leaders all over the world. He speaks at many companies and different organizations throughout the years, as well write many books within that time. He has written books for people who cannot attend one of his incredible conferences. The book written by John C. Maxwell, titled â€Å"Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know. He discussed three main points important to enhancing people leadership abilities. These points include leadership development, traits of successful leader, and what type of impact a leader could have. The first point Dr. Maxwell explains his concept called â€Å"The Law of the Lid. † In this principle the lid is the leadership ability that det ermines a person level of effectiveness. The lower the lid indicates an individual lack of leadership ability which leads to poor effectiveness. On the other hand leaders with greater abilities have greater effectiveness. This means your leadership ability determines your level of effectiveness.Dr. Maxwell said â€Å"Success is within the reach of everyone, and personal success without leadership brings limited effectiveness† (Maxwell 7). Basically leadership and effectiveness goes hand and hand. The next topic Dr. Maxwell discussed in his book was the traits that every leader should posses. One important trait for leaders is self discipline. Dr Maxwell said â€Å"no matter how gifted a leader is he will never reach his full potential without the application of self discipline† (Maxwell 26). Self discipline is the ability to accomplish goals within a certain time period.In order for a leader to be successful they must be able to manage and prioritize their time to reac h their goals. Another important thing related to time manegment and leadership is where to focus your time. Dr. Maxwell also dicusses the twenty / eighty principle, which states twenty percent of your priorities, will give you eighty percent of the production (Maxwell 30). This means the top twenty percent of an individual leadership produces and the next eighty percent is spent to develop it to its greatest potential. Additional traits important for leaders include character traits and vision.Vision allows you to see the final goal that you want to obtain. A leader also needs to relate or connect with others to share that vision. The last topic Dr. Maxwell discusses was the type of impact a leader could have. A leader needs to be able to influence the people around them. Dr. Maxwell said â€Å"the true measure of leadership is influence- nothing more, nothing less† (Maxwell 61). Basically leadership is influence. Influence can be develop and use effectively to get an amazin g outcome that every leader wants to see. By having influence you can make your leadership last. A leader is a lasting value measure by succession†, said Dr. Maxwell (Maxwell 98). Leaders leave legacy of succession. As I read this book, I’ve realize I can be more effective leader by growing and also learning. As I get older, I’m getting wiser. Reading this book the points Dr. Maxwell discussed developing and traits of a leader. I have certain traits that each leader has, and I’m not using my full potential to be as effective as I can be. Dr. Maxwell asked â€Å"Will you leave a legacy? † (Maxwell 99). I know I will one day leave a legacy in the world. I just need to grow and keep learning to be a good leader.

The Role of Violence in Beowulf

It is clear that violence, or at least military action plays an important role in the world of Beowulf. The events in Beowulf's life are strongly connected to combat: he saves the Kingdom of Denmark by defeating both Grendel and his mother; he serves as the King of Geatland's advisor and champion; he is elected King of Geatland after the former king and his son are killed in battle and successfully for fifty years; and he kills the fire-monster and save Geatland (Slade; Bullfinch).The violence in Beowulf does not appear to be engaged in gratuitously, for its own sake, or out of cruelty. Instead, the violence serves as a tool to achieve various goals. The men in Beowulf engage in violence in defense against an attack, threat or as Hill suggests, a feud. Military action is used as a method of getting wealth and additional territory. Lastly the use of violence is seen in terms of good versus evil, with Beowulf and his people in the role of the good.Both of the major scenes of violence i n the poem are aimed at specific targets and occur as responses to attacks made by Grendel, his mother, the lady troll-wife on Denmark, and by the dragon that attacks Geatland. When Beowulf saves the kingdom of Demark from destruction at the claws of Grendel he is responding to the attacks Grendel has been making on the Danish court. Hrothgar, king of Denmark, was â€Å". . . success in warcraft given,/honour in war, so that his retainers/ eagerly served him until the young war-band grew/into a mighty battalion† (Slade, 64-66).As a result of his success he decides to build a â€Å"mead-hall† where he can give his wealth to â€Å"young and old, such as God gave him† (Slade, 72). The poem does not tell us against whom Hrothgar has fought to gain his wealth, but the description of his lineage is a positive one that does not lend itself to indiscriminate attacks and raiding (Slade 1-63). When the Danes are unable to defeat Grendel Beowulf leads a group of men and su cceeds in killing Grendel and, when she seeks revenge on Beowulf the next day, Grendel's mother.Although Beowulf's purpose was to save Denmark from Grendel, due to his great deed, Beowulf receives both wealth and reputation. He returns to his own country: Geatland. There he serves the country well, ultimately becoming King of Geatland. After Beowulf had been king for fifty years, a dragon attacks the country; Beowulf is the only one who will fight it. He succeeds in killing the dragon, but is killed during the fight. It is clear the people in the world of Beowulf used violence to gain both wealth and honor. As mentioned above Hrothgar has made his fortune by military action.Since Hrothgar is not condemned for his acts, but is celebrated by men and given gifts from the gods, in fact the poet tells us that Hrothgar is â€Å"old and good† (Slade 130) Based on this it appears unlikely that such a method of gaining wealth was considered inappropriate, but is a tool to be used to g ain wealth. Beowulf himself leaves Denmark with a great wealth of gold and an honorable reputation for his abilities to fight. Since Beowulf is the celebrated hero of the poem it appears certain that violence as a means to wealth is accepted by the people in the world of the poem.The people in the poem regard themselves as engaging in the universal fight between good and evil with themselves fight on the side of goodness. The poet tells us that Grendel was â€Å"condemned with the kin of Cain† (Slade) and a result of the feud between Abel and Cain, i. e. , good versus evil (Slade 106-114). Consequently when Beowulf fights against Grendel, his mother, and the dragon, he is fighting against creatures that were brought into being when Cain murdered his brother.Kennedy proposes that not only does Beowulf describe the battle between good and evil, but contains â€Å"a deeply pervasive infusion of Christian spirit coloring thought and judgment, governing motive and action, a conti nuous and active agent in the process of transformation† (Kennedy, xlix). Gordon takes a more conservative approach and points out that Christianity did not supplant the native pagan beliefs all at once, but co-existed in Northern Europe at this time (Gordon 1). It is evident that violence plays an important part in the live and traditions of the people of the poem.It appears however that instead of indiscriminate raiding, raping, and pillaging one associates with the Vikings, violence was seen as a tool for defense, building wealth, and participating in the fight against evil. However it must be remembered that Beowulf presents only the side of the Danes and the Geats and does not tell how the people who lost their lives and wealth to Hrothgar viewed these people.Works CitedBullfinch, Thomas. The Age of Fable. Published April 2000 by Bartleby. com;  © 2000 Copyright Bartleby. com, Inc. 29 Mar. 2007 < http://www.bartleby. com/182/301. html>.Gordon, R. K. trans. Anglo-Saxon P oetry. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1954.Hill, John M. â€Å"Anthropological Approaches to Old English Literature: A Special Issue. † Philological Quarterly (1999): 1. Questia. 30 Mar. 2007 .Kennedy, Charles W. trans. Beowulf: The Oldest English Epic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.Slade, Benjamin, Ed. and Trans. , 2003. Diacritically Marked Text of Beowulf Facing a New Translation. 29 Mar. 2007 < http://www. heorot. dk/beo-intro-rede. html>.

Boys Without Girlfriends

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.