Children Today Essay Example for Free

Children Today Essay There are many factors which lead to the way children act today. The way a child is raised, is a reflection of the lack of respect which an adolescent embraces for their elders. Over time, generations of human beings have become more reliant on technology. This has made mankind lazy and uncultured, causing a reflection on our children. Also, there have been many laws which were set against structure in a childs life. Whether the child is at home, school, or with a care giver such as a â€Å"babysitter†, there are limits to how a child can be disciplined. However, when a child has a lack of authoritative parents, it often times produces the young ones disrespect for others. The powerful painting by Banksy entitled, Girl Patting Down Army Soldier, demonstrates role reversal between child and adult. The image clearly illustrates a young girl in a pink dress and pig-tails, patting down a strong, fierce soldier. Soldiers represent power and authority, and this little girl is taking over that roll. This, to an extent, is the way our generation of children are becoming. They believe they are equals with adults in this world. They do this by bossing their parents around, and disrespecting them day after day. The way our world uses technology is only part of the reason why our children are so ignorant today. In the past, parents would send their children outside to get their pride and joy out of their hair and to have some fresh air. Presently, they set their child in front of a television to watch a show or play a video game. Due to the fact that most parents do not monitor every show or game their child takes part of, many children begin learning how to act by observing what is on the television screen in front of them. The television show entitled, Toddlers and Tiaras, is a prime example of these types of shows. Here, children of various ages dress as though they are twenty years old, yet act the total opposite. Kids which are two and three yeas old talk back to their parents and constantly role their eyes at the people they love. There are also multiple children hitting their competition and parents when they do not get what they want. When any child watches this type of show, they often times will begin to mirror the negative behavior. In fact, according to Illinois State Medical Societys  experiment entitled, Monkey See Monkey Do, â€Å"In a matter of seconds, most children can mimic a movie or TV character, sing an advertising jingle or give other examples of what they have learned from watching media. These examples may include naming a popular brand of beer, striking a â€Å"sexy† pose, acting impolitely, or play fighting. Children only have to put a movie into the DVD player, flip through the channels, open a magazine, click on a web site, pop a video game into an X-Box or watch television to experience all kinds of messages. The impact of these messages can build slowly when children see and hear them over and over again.† Our youth today does not understand what is real and what is not on the T.V. If kids do not have guidance from their parents, they will most likely begin transforming into impolite little people. Therefore, parents need to not place their child in front of the television, but rather spend more time with them. Many kids care givers are also beginning to spend more time with their technology instead of their child. This is beginning to cause children to act up due to the fact they feel they are getting no attention. An article on The Washington Post entitled, Parents are ignoring their children for their Blackberry, stated, If youre taking [parental attention] away from the child, for what looks like it is not a good reason, kids might think, What am I doing wrong that my parents dont like me? and may start acting out to get their parents attention because they have a hard time distinguishing positive from negative attention. Although parents do not mean to push their child away and make them feel as though they are less important than their phone, they are. This is why our generation of kids are beginning to throw tantrums and are becoming more impolite. The laws which have been set against a childs punishment have changed tremendously over the past fifty years. This is a large factor of why our children have become so disrespectful to the people around them. In the past, teachers had the right to inflict corporal punishments on children. This is a form of discipline which ended around 1989 in Oregon. According to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, corporal punishment is a method which a, â€Å"Supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a childs unacceptable behavior.† The purpose for this  type of punishment was to try to prevent non-tolerated actions to reoccur. It was meant to change their long-term behaviors and to show the child what was and was not acceptable. In current times, children can not be touched in any physical matter from any one other than their parent or guardian. This is because it is now illegal to physically harm kids. This law has led some children to understand they can get away with excessive amounts of negative behaviors due to the fact there are less ramifications that follow their unfavorable actions. Because of these laws, kids can not be disciplined to any amount which the state would find excessive. Therefor, when these kids become disrespectful, there is no possible way for the children to be disciplined by any teacher or caregiver. The law of non corporal punishment has effected our children to a point because they cannot be punished for their actions, making them more disrespectful. There are many parents who hold a lack of authority. This is part of what is producing our youths disrespect for others. An authoritative parent is someone who expects a lot from their child. They also have strict rules which they predict will be followed at all times. These parents are also a large part of child rearing. According to ChildRearingMatters.com, â€Å"The aim is always to bring?out?the best in each child, and to prevent and overcome difficulties.† In other words, parenting. When a childs parents lack this, their children in most cases, end up running the house. These children think they are their own parent. When this occurs, the adolescent ends up pushing their own parents around as well as the others around them. Many children today are becoming unexceptionably disrespectful to their elders and others around them. This is due to the way they are raised and brought up since birth. There are three main aspects which have created this issue which is occurring now. These include the number of parents relying on technology, the laws which protect children from any form of physical discipline, and the lack of authoritative parents which these children have. If the way our children are raised never changes, the issue of disrespect towards others is only going to worsen. Having respect for other is a large aspect of life. If children can not learn how to respect others, how are they supposed to respect themselves?

Reflective Account: Ethical Dilemma Treating Cancer

Reflective Account: Ethical Dilemma Treating Cancer This reflective account will discuss an ethical dilemma which arose during a placement within a community setting. To assist the reflection process, the Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle which encompasses 6 stages; description, thoughts and feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan will be used which will improve and strengthen my nursing skills by continuously learning from both good and bad experiences, and develop my self confidence in relation to caring for others (Siviter 2008). To comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Code of Conduct (NMC) (2008) and maintain confidentiality all names have been changed and therefore for the purpose of this reflection the patient will be referred to as Bob. Bob is a forty four year old man who has been receiving aggressive and invasive treatment for several months in the form of chemotherapy in an attempt to cure his Hodgkinsons lymphoma cancer. Throughout the treatment Bob remained positive that he would be able to put the worries behind him and live a normal life with his partner and teenage daughter. However, Bob was unable to control his body temperature, which was a possible sign the chemotherapy had not been successful and was offered further investigations to establish his prognosis. Whilst my mentor who is a Community Matron, was talking to Bob, his partner Sue took me to one side and asked me if the investigations revealed bad news would it be possible to withhold this information from Bob because she felt he would not be able to deal with a poor prognosis and would give up hope. Prior to Bobs original admission the possibility of f the chemotherapy failing was discussed but he refused to consider this was an option and was convinced the condition could be treated successfully. I explained to Sue that this situation was outside of my area of expertise but with her permission would discuss it with my mentor and ask her to contact Sue at a mutually convenient time to discuss further. My mentor contacted Sue and advised her that she would discuss the situation with Bobs Consultant once they had received the results of his tests. However, my mentor diplomatically informed Sue that she has no legal right to insist that information be kept from Robert (Dimond 2005). As expected Bobs test results concluded the chemotherapy treatment was unsuccessful. Considering what he knew of Bob, the consultant agreed it would be advantageous to withhold the diagnosis from him. Therefore it was agreed to discuss Bobs test results with his partner. Thoughts and feelings In the first instance I felt that the Consultant was ethically wrong to withhold the results of the investigations from Bob and not necessarily acting in his best interests. I felt that in order to ensure Bobs rights were protected and to give him the opportunity to be involved in his own plan of care he should be informed of the outcome of the tests. Bob had the capacity to consent and as during my placement would be acting as an advocate for him. I felt that if I was in Bobs position, I would want to know what the outcome of any investigations were and it did not seen right that the diagnosis would be documented in his records and his family and possibly friends around him would be aware of his diagnosis whilst he was kept in the dark. I felt that if we were to visit on a regular basis that I would feel very uncomfortable knowing something that had been kept from him and possibly have to lie to him or avoid answering directly when asked difficult questions. I felt that I would be a ble to have a better relationship and understand the care he wanted if he was told the truth about his condition. I also felt that his family were taking denying him the right to autonomy and th right to make informed choices in his end of life care. Analysis The situation was complex in terms of ethical principles. It was not just a matter of clinical practices but providing the best holistic care to Bob during his forthcoming terminal illness. This situation gave rise to multi-disciplinary team discussions to assess whether the diagnosis should have been delivered to Bob. Standing back from the situation, I realize that my own feelings were perhaps judgmental and that I should have taken a more holistic approach rather than just clinical. It also made me aware of the importance of promoting advance directives to patients in situations where an illness may lead to terminal care Evaluation Today patient autonomy is a highly regarded principle that healthcare professionals promote at all times and is fundamental for all patient interactions of which telling the truth to a patient about their diagnosis and prognosis is part (Dimond 2005). Lo (2009) says to be totally autonomous competent patients have to be told the nature of their illness, recovery prospects, how their illness will develop, treatments available and the consequences of any such treatments to enable them to make an informed choice in order to grant consent to treatment of their choice or refuse treatment they do not want. However this has not always been the case, traditionally, paternalism, where the doctor alone would make a decision about whether or not to inform their patient of the diagnosis used to be the preferred method of treating and caring for patients (Lo B 2009). It is only over the past 20 years or so where it is the norm to share decision making with the patient to enable them to make informed choices in their preferred care and treatment (Boyle 1995). However not all patients want to know their prognosis or take part in their end of terminal treatment and care. A study which took place in 1995 concluded that some ethnic groups were less likely to approve of truth telling in respect of diagnosis than others (Blackwell 1995). The UK is culturally diverse and not all patients and families want or accept autonomy. When a person is sick in some cultures, the family prefers to take responsibility for the medical decisions and often wish to receive the diagnosis and nursing plan before the patient. Although this is often the case within Chinese and Japanese cultures, it does not automatically mean that the request to withhold diagnosis from the patient will be upheld. To add to this complex issue, there may be differences within these cultures, such as recent immigrants and older family members wishing to adhere to cultural traditions and younger family members wishing to practice autonomy (Lo B 2009). Advanced care directives definition are used to enable a person to have autonomy. These ethicalBarbosa da Silva (2002) defines an ethical dilemma as: A situation where a person experiences a conflict where he or she is obliged to perform two or more duties, but realizes that whoever action he or she chooses will be an ethically wrog one. Many experts agree healthcare professionals are faced with many ethical dilemmas when caring for terminally ill cancer patients. Communicating the diagnosis and subsequent prognosis is one of the most common (Kuupelomaki and Lauri 1998)(Roy and MacDonald 1998). It is not unusual for relatives to ask a Consultant to withhold information (Alexander et al 2006) which Kenworthy et al (2002) says family members request out of compassion and love. However, (2006) disagrees and suggests it is often the relatives who are unable to cope and have difficulty coming to terms with the impending prognosis. Dimond (2005) suggests withholding the truth can be harmful or lead to a conspiracy of silence but may be justifiable if it is in the patients best interest not to know. In agreement, Lo (2009) points out receiving bad news can have a negative and drastic effect on a patients view of their future. Nurses have a duty in accordance with their professional code of conduct to act as a patients advocate. Whatever their personal thoughts are in relation to withholding diagnosis from a patient, if the Consultant deems it in the best interest of the patient then a nurse has a duty to adhere to the Consultants decision (Dimond 2005).However Georges and Grypdonk 2002 suggest this can lead to nurses feeling powerless, frustrated and concern when involved in palliative care. Evidence suggests that if a Consultant establishes it is not advisable to inform the patient of the diagnosis or prognosis then it is right to give information to the family (Rumbold 2006). Dimond (2005) states patients have no legal rights to information and therefore if a Consultants believes it is in the best interest of the patient they can refuse to give a diagnosis to them. However, some would argue to withhold information would be considered paternalism (Lo B 2009). Paternalism is when an individual, in this case the Consultant, believes they are in a position to act in the best interest of another individual. Although Bobs welfare is key, the consultant has taken away his right to his autonomy to make future healthcare choices including important end of life decisions by making the decision not to inform him of his diagnosis (Sandman and Munthe 2010). Tingle and Cribb (2005) define this as hard paternalism as opposed to soft paternalism in which Bob would not have the capacity to make an informed decision regarding treatment and care following his diagnosis. The may be in beneficience to the patient but conflicts with autonomy. While considering the decision to not tell Bob the truth regarding his diagnosis, the consultant would have taken into account the ethical principles of beneficence (to do good) and non-malifience (to cause no harm) (Dimond 2005). In Rumbolds (2006) opinion it is wrong to not tell the truth or withhold information from a patient as it denies the patient autonomy and is in conflict with the ethical principles of beneficence and non-malificience. Research carried out by Sullivan (2001) suggests patients believe that Doctors should tell them the truth with a staggering ninety nine per cent of patients wanting to be informed of their diagnosis. However there is evidence to suggest the consultant was right to withhold diagnosis as it can initiate denial, and cause the patient psychological damage (Kenworthy et al 2002). Patients react differently to bad news and Elliott and Oliver (2007) suggests information should given slowly enabling the patient to have enough time to absorb the information given. Sadness, despair, anxiety and depression are feelings patients suffer when faced with life threatening illness. >believes that if healthcare professionals have an open and honest relationship with their patients it enables greater trust (Elliott and Oliver 2007). Bowers and Arnold (2010) agrees with this and adds that an open relationship based on trust enables healthcare professionals to support patients to be in control and make preferred choices with issues relating to their end of life care. However, Kenworthy, Snowley, Gilling (2002) are in disagreement with these statement say to force a patient into to face the trust regarding their diagnosis is both unethical wrong and damaging. Millard and Florin (2006) (nursingtimes) says that patients have different needs which can often be complex and it is important to recognise that some patients choose not be involved, that some individuals do not want to be part of their care but put their trust in health care professionals who are t rained in what they do. Elliott and Oliver (2007) states that a hope is fundamental to a terminally ill persons wellbeing and as such is something to be protected. She adds that hope of a cure whilst facing a terminal illness is an individuals right and helps them to face the final stages of life and points out that if hope is taken away it leaves a patient with only fear. Conclusion This experience has made me aware that good listening, hearing and communication skills are vital to gain a holistic view when dealing with patients and close ones in end of life care. It is also important to liaise with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that the best possible approach and care is delivered to the patient. It is important not to be judgemental but to incorporate all issues when taking a holistiv view in order to make the right decision. As this was my first experience of end of life care in the community, I was in unfamiliar surroundings and as such not experienced enough to make the right decision in Bobs case. The consultant was correct in determining that Bob was not in a position to accept a poor diagnosis and therefore withholding the information was the correct decision. Action Plan. My action plan is to promote advanced decision and power of attorney Assess holistically and taken into account I also feel than advance directives may have cleared some of this issues and will read about their importance in would have resolved some of this issues and read about their importance and promote their importance when the opportunity arises However, the circumstances surrounding this decision could only be applied to Bobs situation. I believe that as a Nurse I will be involved in ethical dilemmas again however I feel that now I my decisions will be based on each unique patient recognising their own individual needs and wants. Delegation This essay is a reflection of a situation I came across whilst on Community Placement. To assist with this process, Driscolls model of reflection will be used to focus my thought processes whilst learning. Driscolls is a straight forward model which encourages one to return to a situation to understand it better and improve future experiences (Driscoll 2000). To comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Code of Conduct (NMC) (2008) and protect the confidentiality of patients pseudonyms have been used throughout. As required by the first stage of Driscolls model I will describe the event s which took place whilst my mentor was on annual leave and I was assigned to Dianne, another district nurse within the community team. The reason I have decided to return to this situation is because registered nurses should ensure their practice does not compromise duty of care to individuals and at the time I felt that Dianne was delegating duties inappropriately and therefore may have been in breach of NMC requirements (NMC 2004). Whilst assigning the days work Dianne said that it would be a good opportunity for my personal development to go out unsupervised to visit patients within the area to carry out their care and treatment. I was asked to visit a 92 year old patient called Rose who the team visited on two or three times a week to treat a couple of problems. Firstly, she had ulcerated legs which the team were treating with four layer compression bandaging which evidence suggests is the best way to encourage venous return in order to maximise the healing process (OMeara et al 2009). Secondly she had a small sacrum sinus which was packed and redressed. Diannes request put me in an awkward position as I had visited Rose on a number of occasions with my mentor and with her supervision had been able to assess, treat and care for Roses problems appropriately with the exception of applying compression bandages as my mentor had explained to me were only to be applied by staff who had received appropriate training . I am keen to take advantage of any professional development opportunities and improve my clinical skills. However I felt that although I was able to manage most of the delivery of care to Rose as required by the NMC Code of Conduct (2008) applying the compression bandaging was outside my remit and would have been unsafe practice. My feelings were that Dianne was not doing this for my personal development but for her own personal reasons resulting in her abdicating her responsibilities. She did not ask me how I felt about attending patients without supervision or check I had the necessary clinical skills. With this in mind I agreed I would visit Rose, take down her dressings, assess and debride the wound, apply appropriate dressings and the first two layers of bandages. However I requested that Dianne called in after me to apply the compression bandages. Dianne did not appear to be very happy with my request but reluctantly agreed. When I arrived at Roses I introduced myself and explained the purpose of my visit and that Dianne would follow me to apply the compression bandages. I explained at each stage what I was doing, to put Rose at ease, remembering look up and face Rose, so that she could hear clearly what I was saying or read my lips and facial expression as she was partially deaf. As agreed with Dianne I took down the existing dressings, debrided and assessed the wound against the current wound care plan. The wound bed had reduced considerably and although an Inodine dressing had been applied previously, the wound had dried considerably and in my opinion did not require replacing. Therefore I telephone Dianne to let her know of my assessment and it was agreed to dress the wound with a simple NA dressing before bandaging. Whilst at Roses I took the opportunity to update the wound care plan and therefore documented the size of the wound, excudate, smell etc etc and documented all my findings and actions in the care plan. Whilst at Roses I also required to redress the sacral sinus in accordance with her care plan. When assessing the wound I noticed that although her skin was not broken, her sacrum was very red. I had also previously noticed that although she had a pressure cushion sitting on another chair I had never actually seen her sat on it. Therefore I took the opportunity to encourage her to become involved in promoting her own health and explained that her sacrum was very red and that as she sat for long periods of time, it was possibly that her skin would break down, which was why she had been issued with a pressure cushion. We discussed why she did not use the pressure cushion, she said that she did not find it very comfortable in her favourite chair, I explained the benefits of the pressure cushion and we agreed that she would sit in another chair with the pressure cushion in situ for a least part of the day and that we would discuss how she got on next time I visited. Before leaving Roses I documented my assessments, nursing interventions, evaluation and actions in her care plan. The second stage of Driscolls entitled now what will look at the chain of events which has led me to reflect on when it is appropriate to delegate care. Delegation involves entrusting and transferring a task or responsibility to another person who is able to accept responsibility for the task, typically one who is less senior than oneself (Sullivan and Decker 2005, Oxford dictionary 2011). However Wheeler (2004) argues that delegation and abdication amount to the same thing. On the other hand MacKenzie (1998) states that abdication is giving up either by abandonment or resignation and says that whilst delegation can offer potential benefits to both individuals and organisations, many nurses practice abdication which can be attributable to the current economic climate of underpaid and overstretched employees. Whilst I did appreciate that Dianne thought I was capable to deliver appropriate care to Rose I also suspected that she thought it she would have an easier day if she asked me to carry out the more routine and mundane tasks. The NMC standards of proficiency (2004) state whilst nurses should delegate care to others they should also accept responsibility and accountability for such delegation. As a registered nurse under the NMC Code of Conduct (2008) nurses have a duty of care to ensure that patients receive care in a safe and skilled manner. Dianne was not aware if I was competent or not to carry out compression bandaging as she had neither previously worked with me or questioned me about my clinical skills. In line with the NMC Code of Conduct (2008) I understand that I must work within the scope of my professional competence and it is for this reason I refused to apply the compression layer. It is important for organisations and individuations to delegate in order for them to develop and function resourcefully and successfully (Ellis and Hartley 2004). Effective Delegation requires skills in planning, analysis and self-confidence. The tasks to be delegated should be assessed, planned, communicated, implemented, monitored and evaluated (Royal College of Nursing 2006). In the UK, the rate of change is accelerating and the delivery of services are regularly restructured in an attempt to provide the most effective and efficient care to patients (Shepherd 2008). This environment has lead to the evolvement of work from junior doctors to nursing staff such as giving intravenous therapy and with the evolvement of nursing practitioners many agree that the role of the nurse is increasingly difficult to define as the boundaries are constantly changing (Shephard 2008, Spilbury and Meyer 2005, McKenna et al 2006). A study conducted by Ulster University condones that there is much ambiguity amongst the nursing role. It concluded that although nurses are happy with role extensions they have less patient contact as they would like. Some nurses like the role extension of technical jobs, however others see it at the menial tasks Doctors do not want to do (Allen 2002). However this was only a small survey of 26 nurses and therefore may not be a true representation of all RGNs (McKenna et al 2006). It can be assumed therefore that demands on nursing care at times are greater than RGNs can cope with, and therefore increasing expected to to delegate some tasks routinely, traditionally carried out by RGNs, such as personal care (Curtis and Nicholl 2004). Effective delegation can give RGNs more time for other activities which enables them to focus on doing fewer tasks well rather than many tasks poorly and offer HCAs the opportunity to become competent and improved confidence (Kourdi 1999). Shepherd (2008) articulates that it is important for these tasks to be defined and when devolved it should not be at the detriment to the patient. As a result health care assistant (HCA) roles have increased in both numbers and cope of activity undertaken and it is therefore important that all health care staff understand their roles and accountability in the delegation process. Health care staff need to work together in order for patients to receive safe and effective care from the most appropriate personnel (Pearcey 2007). However some nurses find it difficult to relinquish any part of their role and find it difficult to delegate (Wheeler 2004) Zimmerman (1996) suggests this might be because some nurses were trained before delegation skills were required. However Nicholl and Curtis (2004) state that delegation is not an art and but a nursing skill which can be learned and is becoming increasing important in changing times. Delegation also enables health care professionals to train in new skills and broaden their skill range. However Wheeler argues that some could abuse their power of delegation for example to provide themselves with extra breaks while their subordinates may have to forfeit theirs to complete additional tasks. Or one nurse could favour a subordinate resulting in some always receiving more appealing tasks than others. Delegation is a complex process and to successfully delegate consideration should be given to both existing workload and skill mix of staff should be known. Delegation of too many tasks may result in loss of control, but failing to delegate may lead to one member of staff being overwhelmed, overworked and can lead to incompletion of duties and de-motivated and un-cooperative team. Most HCAs give personal care due to the fact they are usually more available than RGNS. Many studies have indicated that RGNS favour the employment of HCAs (McKenna and Hansson 2002). However the MIDRIS (2001) study suggests that care provided by HCAS is task based and fragmented. There are many pros and cons for delegating tasks. Detailed Job Descriptions (JD) may result in staff being reluctant to take on new responsibilities that are not specified on their JD. Others will be reluctant and believe if you want a job done properly do it yourself. This can inhibit delegation leading to nurses being overworked stressed with little job satisfaction (Kourdi 1999). On the other hand Wheeler (2001) suggests effective delegation encourages staff to have a better understanding and be able to influence the way in which work is carried out. She also says that by participating in decision-making it will increase motivation, morale and ultimately job performance enabling the organisation to become more flexible and responsive to change. Effective delegation will enable a business to move forward as new ideas and viewpoints will be encourage and it will better prepare nurses to be able to cope when career opportunities arise (Wheeler 2001). Delegation frees up time to enable a nurse to carry out other duties which cannot be delegated. Although at first the time saved might me minimal once the HCA becomes proficient more time will become available. Fewer tasks are better than many that are inefficient (Kourdi 1999). In order to delegate effectively it important to decide which task to delegate , select the best person to carry out that task, assessing the task in detail and offer clearly the level of authority associated with it, , check the skills and experience of the delegates, follow the task process and assess and discuss the progress (Curtis and Nicholl 2004). Cohen suggests it is right to delegate in order to carry out an organisations needs as long as certain criteria is met such as right task, right circumstance, right person right communication and right supervision. The third stage, of the Driscolls reflection model requires what can be done differently in the future and what actions to be taken. Dianne was right to delegate the more junior tasks in order to ensure the fewer tasks she had were carried out more effectively. However should have verified my competence prior to delegating. If she had communicated with me effectively to assess my competence I would not have felt awkward having to point out that I did not have the skills to carry out compression bandaging and only practice within my capabilities (NMC 2008). In the future in such a situation I would not do anything differently as I believe I have a responsibility for practicing within my own capabilities in line with the NMC Code of Conduct (2008). Had I been a permanent member of staff I would have asked for compression training, however this would have been impractical as I was on placement for only a short period of time. When I qualify this situation I will be aware that I am ultimately responsible for the care of patients even when tasks are delegated to HCAs. I will also ensure that I do not delegate anything that involves critical thinking skills such as nursing assessments, planning and evaluation of patient care and nursing judgement. (take off 90 for references)

Have We Overcome Segregation? Essay -- Segregation, history, USA,

1950. America was in the midst of a racial battle. African Americans used separate bathrooms, went to separate schools and were treated with the least amount of respect. The world was a much different place where segregation was the norm. Today though, the majority of Americans believe we have overcome this inequality. But have we really? When looking at the educational system in today’s society, you can easily find flaws in almost every aspect of it. Although I agree that we have came a long way in overcoming a lot of these issues there is still one that remains very prominent in almost every school in America: segregation. While segregation may no longer be taught or enforced nationwide, you still see it across schools within cliques, gangs, and social settings. Even though it may be human nature to â€Å"hang out† with people you can identify with the most, it is the negative acts against everyone else of different ethnicity that causes problems. Today these problems are widespread but because we live in a country that pretends we have overcome racism, it goes unpublicized. However, within doing some research you can find some of these stories of segregation in today’s society everywhere from the news to Hollywood videos. In a 2006 NBC News story, a school in Omaha, Nebraska was debating on splitting the school up into three different districts. The first district would be white, the second black and the third Latino. In defense for this proposal the state senator is saying, â€Å"Segregation exists right now. Our children are failing and our schools are failing. The gap between the achievements of white children and black children in their respective schools is not narrowing (Tibbles).† He proposes that each school would be able to ... ... are acting out the way they are. A change is going to have to occur within the educational system and parenting, in order to see a change in society. Children learn a good majority of their social skills, including how to segregate from one another in school. When we have our children growing up with these ideas being instilled at home and at school, how can we expect any change in the future? If we are still having segregated proms and noose’s hanging from trees in the year 2009, where equality obviously doesn’t exist, when is the â€Å"real† change going to occur? Are we soon going to be going back to a time where African Americans used separate bathrooms, attend separate schools and are no longer treated with the respect they deserve? I believe if we continue allowing segregation the way we have been, that yes, we will eventually find ourselves reliving the 1950’s. Have We Overcome Segregation? Essay -- Segregation, history, USA, 1950. America was in the midst of a racial battle. African Americans used separate bathrooms, went to separate schools and were treated with the least amount of respect. The world was a much different place where segregation was the norm. Today though, the majority of Americans believe we have overcome this inequality. But have we really? When looking at the educational system in today’s society, you can easily find flaws in almost every aspect of it. Although I agree that we have came a long way in overcoming a lot of these issues there is still one that remains very prominent in almost every school in America: segregation. While segregation may no longer be taught or enforced nationwide, you still see it across schools within cliques, gangs, and social settings. Even though it may be human nature to â€Å"hang out† with people you can identify with the most, it is the negative acts against everyone else of different ethnicity that causes problems. Today these problems are widespread but because we live in a country that pretends we have overcome racism, it goes unpublicized. However, within doing some research you can find some of these stories of segregation in today’s society everywhere from the news to Hollywood videos. In a 2006 NBC News story, a school in Omaha, Nebraska was debating on splitting the school up into three different districts. The first district would be white, the second black and the third Latino. In defense for this proposal the state senator is saying, â€Å"Segregation exists right now. Our children are failing and our schools are failing. The gap between the achievements of white children and black children in their respective schools is not narrowing (Tibbles).† He proposes that each school would be able to ... ... are acting out the way they are. A change is going to have to occur within the educational system and parenting, in order to see a change in society. Children learn a good majority of their social skills, including how to segregate from one another in school. When we have our children growing up with these ideas being instilled at home and at school, how can we expect any change in the future? If we are still having segregated proms and noose’s hanging from trees in the year 2009, where equality obviously doesn’t exist, when is the â€Å"real† change going to occur? Are we soon going to be going back to a time where African Americans used separate bathrooms, attend separate schools and are no longer treated with the respect they deserve? I believe if we continue allowing segregation the way we have been, that yes, we will eventually find ourselves reliving the 1950’s.

Alice Munros The Red Dress and The Day of The Butterfly Essays

Alice Munro's The Red Dress and The Day of The Butterfly â€Å"The Red Dress† and â€Å"The Day of The Butterfly† are two very interesting stories, written by an exceptional Canadian author, Alice Munro. Both of these stories are well written and can be associated with what goes on in today’s society. The principal characters, human relationships, and the importance of symbolism exist, in both of these stories, strongly. There are many similarities, and also differences between the two short stories, that compare and contrast what can be viewed upon in our daily lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The principal characters of â€Å"The Red Dress† is the narrator, who’s name never gets revealed throughout the story, and the principal character in â€Å"The Day of The Butterfly†, Myra, have many similarities. These principal characters are both females with low self-esteems. Both Myra, and the narrator have no control over their lives, and therefore strive for their own unique individuality. However they both suffer because of the control that their parents have over their lives. They both have few friends and strive to be popular. However until they become individuals themselves they will continue to suffer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another contribution to the story is the human relationships, that take place between both of the main characters. These character relationships are completely different. The narrator has many problems with her mother, and her best friend. The main conflicts that take place between both of the stories...

Aims and Objectives Of A Business :: Business Management Strategy

Business aims Every business has aims, these are long-term goals of a business. They are designed to provide a focus for staff and to help a business achieve its key purpose. The aims in the privately owned business usually are to provide goods and/or services to the best of the business ability and to make enough profit to survive. The aims of a public sector business usually are to provide essential and efficient services for the state. A business can have more than one aim but it is sensible for them not to have too many so they can focus on the aims which are most appropriate to the main purpose of their business. Business Objectives Business objectives are more detailed goals than business aims, they are targets which get set to accomplish the business aims. Generally, business objectives are easier to achieve than business aims as they are broken down into smaller and easier steps. The objectives of a privately owned business would usually be to increase sales, to increase the number of customers or to reduce costs so that more customers are interested in their business. The objectives of a public sector business would usually be to meet customer targets (an example of this would be to reduce waiting times or to employ more staff) or to keep costs low. Mission statement Every large business has a mission statement. A mission statement is the main purpose that the business is working towards. It is often short and catchy. Mission statements that privately owned businesses create often mention increasing customers, improving employees, lowering or increasing the cost of their products and making their products better value for money whilst publicly owned organisations mention improving the service they provide by concentrating on the quality of their service, the efficiency and especially the customer service. Survival When in a business we talk about “survival” we refer to when a business is facing a hard time and whether or not they can get out of it or whether they will have to close down. This happens when trading becomes difficult. A method by which businesses survive is to aim to break-even (make enough money to cover the total costs involved in producing, selling goods or services and running the business) over a certain period. This doesn’t make the business any profit but neither does the business lose any money, and therefore they are able to survive.

Vitro Corning

Identify and discuss Corning's strategic predisposition toward a joint venture with Vitro. Because of long histories of successful joint ventures and had been an innovative leader in foreign alliances for over 73 years, Corning's strategy of establishing the joint venture relationship with Vitro seems to be a ideal combination and will lead to success. However, the joint venture became subject to a series of cultural and other conflicts that began to undermine this vision. According to company officials and external analysts, cultural differences were a principal cause of the alliance's failure. Therefore, lack of fully understanding Mexico culture is the key predisposition of Corning's strategy. What is culture? One of the well-accepted definitions is given by Goodenough (1971), who has defined culture as a set of beliefs or standards, shared by a group of people, which help the individual decide what is, what can be, how to feel, what to do and how to go about doing it. The main cultural clashes between two companies are discussed as follow: Different decision-making style between Mexican and American: Vitro and other Mexican businesses are much more hierarchical, with loyalty to fathers and patrons somehow carried over to the modern corporation. As a matter of loyalty or tradition, decisions are often left either to a member of the controlling family or to top executives, while middle level managers are often not asked their opinions. As a result, Corning managers who work in the joint venture were sometimes left waiting for important decisions about marketing and sales. Refers to a Corning executive: â€Å"If we were looking at a distribution decision, or a customer decision, we typically would have a group of people in a room, they would do an assessment, figure alternatives and make a decision, and I as chief executive would never know about it. † My experience on the Mexican side is that someone in the organization would have a solution in mind, but then the decision had to be kicked up a few levels. ‘ Different working efficiency: The Mexicans sometimes saw the Americans as too direct, while Vitro managers, in their dogged pursuit of politeness, sometimes seemed to the Americans unwilling to acknowledge problems and faults. The Mexicans sometimes thought Corning moved too fast; the Americans felt Vitro was too slow. Other difference in culture: America is a advanced country in modern society with only 227 years history, traditional culture has far less important position than fashion in most Americans' mind, contrarily, traditional culture plays a significant role in Mexico, most Mexican are conservative even in large companies. For instance, Corning's offices in upstate New York are in a modern glass enclosed building, while Vitro's headquarters in Monterrey, often thought of as Mexico's Pittsburgh, are in a replica of a 16th century convent, with artwork, arched ceilings and antique reproductions. To sum up, attitudes, orientations, emotions, and expressions differ strongly among people from American or Mexican. These differences are fundamentally cultural. According to Hofstede's culture dimensions, we can get the conclusion as the table demonstrated below: As shown in the table, although culture of both countries has masculinity characters, there is still a large culture gap in other aspects between American and Mexican. Therefore, without fully understanding Mexico's culture leads to the failure of Corning's alliance strategy with Vitro. Cultural clashes among partners in joint ventures are not a new issue. Discuss why an MNC, and specifically Corning, would be interested in fully understanding the culture of a potential before deciding on an alliance. Culture clash – the cultures of the companies are not compatible and compete for dominance. The businesses of both companies suffer while attention is diverted to the contest and it may destroy the key element of prior success. (Jeff Jacobs 2001) Although there is evidence of increasing cultural convergence between countries around the world, cultural differences among countries will persist. It is widely recognized that cultural differences between the partners of a merger are one of the most common reasons for failure in mergers, this may happen during pre-merger negotiations or during post-merger integration. Thus, fully understanding the culture of a potential can help managers anticipate problems in negotiating mergers and prevent them from disrupting what can be an attractive and mutually beneficial market entry strategy. In this case, as an innovative leader in foreign alliances, Corning has formed approximately 50 ventures over the years. Only 9 had failed (dissolved), an impressive number considering one recent study found that over one-half of foreign and national alliances do not succeed. With this proud record, Corning was confident of being succeed in the joint venture of Vitro, however, the joint venture became subject to a series of cultural and other conflicts that began to undermine this vision. Culture is about shared assumption, beliefs, values and norms. Each organization has its own culture developed from its own particular experience, its own role and the way its owners or managers get things done (Hellard, 1995). Since culture may affect the MNC in many aspect of its international development, even like Corning, which has rich foreign alliance experience, cannot ignore the effect cause by culture clash. It is unalterable principle for Corning to fully understanding the culture of its partner before it decides on an alliance. International alliances are an ideal setting within which to explore cultural differences in negotiations because they involve not only up-front negotiations over the initial structure of the relationship, but also constant and ongoing negotiation to manage what can be an inherently unstable and continuously evolving organizational form. If Corning and Vitro still want to remain in the alliance, understanding and accepting the other part's culture is the precondition. According to there is large culture gap between America and Mexico, how to narrow this gap or create an agreement of new value concept is the possible solution. The specific method advised as follow: 1. Managers from USA and Mexico who will work together in the alliance should meet and negotiate the detail of establishing the new company in each country before they carrying out the merging plan. 2. Employees from both companies should learn about how to minimize the breakage of culture clash. There should be a particular training for the employees who will work together in the new merger. The skills to overcome an embarrass situation are indispensable for them. 3. In order to get used to working in a new environment with different culture, Corning and Vitro can implement a manager-exchange program before new company established. Managers participated in the program will be assigned to the partner country and pursuit as probation period for the purpose of experiencing the local culture. 4. After new company established, localization is a important key to keep it operating properly and performing well, which mean among employees of the new company, local residents should have larger proportion. In addition, the final decision of the new company should be made by the local manager, and manager from the other part just take the responsibility of supervision and report the current operating situation to parent company. 5. In the early days of the alliance, executives from both companies should gather frequently to summarize the new company's performance of the previous period, exchange the information they collect from the operation of local company. Till the new companies enter into the right path, they can meet quarterly for further strategies. Discuss why both companies would continue to distribute each other's product after the joint venture failed. What impact might the public statements about the failure have on the relationship? Both Corning and Vitro remain in the situation of distributing each other's product even after the joint venture failed. The main reason is they still can make profit from counterparts' market. We can understand it easier from the first purpose of why Corning enters into joint venture: to gain access to markets that it cannot penetrate quickly enough to obtain a competitive advantage. In addition, both companies were globally oriented, and both had founding families still at their centers, Corning specialized in cookware and Vitro in tableware. Corning was accomplished at melting glass, while Vitro was expert in molding it. The companies intended to combine product lines based on where each company had technical leadership, and they began to swap technology to enhance their respective capabilities. Even though the alliance had been failed, both of them still can get competitive advantages from each other. Furthermore, if the culture clash problem can be solved or minimized, they still have opportunity to merge. Someone might consider the impact of public statement on the failure of their partnership negative. In fact, it might be a good thing; there is a famous saying in China: a loss may turn out to be a gain, a blessing in disguise. As we know, no company's development is plain sailing on their way to success, frustration is inescapable, what can you learn from the frustration is more important. In this case, the joint venture dissolved illustrate there is a culture gap between both companies, but not the quality of products or managing skills and something else. The failure can provide a clear orientation to Corning and Vitro's further positioning, once they can acknowledge and face bravely to the failure, and analyze the reason lead to the failure, the rare experience they gain is much larger than they lost. In future operation, they will consider more cautiously and more comprehensively before they decide to establish a new joint venture. Certainly, culture clash factors included. Reference: Goodenough, Ward H. , 1971, Culture language and society , modular publications, 7, Addison- Wesley: Reading MA Hellard, R. B. (1995), Project Partnering: Principle and Practice Hofstede, G. 2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed. ). Jackson, T, (ed), (1995). Cross-Cultural Management, Jeff Jacobs. (2001). How Culture Affects Mergers and Acquisitions X. Zhang, Y. Wang, J. Wrathall & M. Berrell, 2002, International Management–Managing in the Era of Globalization, P eople's University Press, China Available: http://www62. homepage. villanova. edu/jonathan. doh/CORNINGcase. rev. doc Available: http://www-edocs. unimaas. nl/files/mer95011. pdf ;/pre;;/body;;/html;

My School

School is a temple of learning and a training ground for future citizens. The name of my school is JB High School. It was set up in 1943 by a land-lord in our area. He donated land and money for the school. The atmosphere in which our school is situated is very pleasant. It is surrounded by a play ground on one side and a garden with a small pond on the other. The school has two rows of big buildings. The name of the school is written on the front building. There are ten class rooms in the front building. Other ten rooms in the back building are used for different purposes such as the Head Master's Office, Library, the Clerk's Office, the Science Laboratory, the Teachers' Common-room, the N. C. C. and Scout Room, etc. There is also a hostel in our school campus. There are twenty teachers, a PET, a librarian, a clerk and two peons in our school. All the teachers are qualified and experienced. The Head Master is a learned man. He teaches Science and Geography. He also teaches English. The total number of students of our school is about five hundred. We go to school in uniform. The uniform for boys consists of blue half-pant and white half shirt. For girls it consists of blue skirt and white blouse. The school functions from 10. 30 A. M. to 4 P. M. classes begin after a mass prayer. During the recess hour we go to play ground. Some students also go to library and read newspaper there. In games period we play football, volley ball, etc. Girl students play ring ball too. The library of our school is a big one. There are about two thousand books on different subjects; we have a library period in our weekly routine. We borrow books from our library and refund them after a week. We observe the Republic Day, the Independence Day, the Teacher's Day in our school. We also celebrate the Ganesh Puja and the Saraswati Puja in our school. We also hold debate competitions and games and sports every year. The school magazine named â€Å"the Shree† is published every year. In annual examinations the students from our school show brilliant performance. Many students from this school have occupied glorious position in our state. The District Science Exhibition is also held in our school. Two years ago a classical teacher from our school won the Governor's Award. The discipline, the study atmosphere and the brilliant academic result of our school attract many meritorious students from distant parts of our state. It is an ideal school in all respects.