Ethical Behavior and Social Responsibility of Organizations Essay

Introduction Proper ethical behavior is a significant part of conducting business. Organizations must therefore find ways to incorporate ethical considerations into their strategic plan. Firms need to practice self governance and obey existing laws if they are to ensure their survival and the well-being of the society in which they exist. The decisions made by an organization affect society as a whole. This paper will examine the social responsibilities of organizations to each of their stakeholders. These include: customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, the local government and the environment. Each section of this report is supplemented with a case study illustrating the consequences of unethical behavior in business. Defining Ethics Ethics is a ubiquitous term that is subject to personal interpretation. Individuals and groups are guided by moral principles or values. Their beliefs help them to set standards for deciphering right from wrong (Little, 2011). Ethical values are dynamic and are therefore subject to renegotiation and change. These changes are often influenced by periodic and contextual circumstances. As ethical beliefs differ from person to person, it may not be entirely possible to instill a universal set of values. Also, many individuals have different points of reference when determining what is right and what is wrong (Little, 2011). Domestically, ethical values tend to be closely aligned. Individuals who have been socialized in a particular region are more likely to have similar values, laws, religion, knowledge and culture. With the emergence of free-trade agreements, many firms have the opportunity to conduct international business. Although these organizations are usually successful in aligning their economic interests, many have failed to recognize or understand the cultural norms, laws and ethical practices of the country they are conducting business with. Defining Social Responsibility An organization’s approach to social responsibility can impact its image and reputation. Depending on how an organization addresses this aspect of business, ethics can either be a strength or a weakness. Social responsibility can be divided into three categories: obligatory, reactive or responsive behavior (Duening & Ivancevisch, 2008). An organization that acts out of social obligation tends to direct its behavior to the legal pursuit of profit (Duening et al., 2008). Socially reactive organizations often adhere to social norms, values and performance expectations (Duening et al., 2008). These organizations must be accountable for the ecological, environmental and social costs incurred by their actions (Duening et al., 2008). Lastly, socially responsive organizations often engage in behavior that exceeds the actions taken by socially obligated and socially reactive organizations. For example, these firms take stands on public issues, account for their actions, anticipate future needs of society, move toward satisfying them, and communicate with the government regarding existing and anticipated socially desirable legislation (Duening et al., 2008). As illustrated above, social responsibility can mean different things to different people. In a broad sense, social responsibility is a compliance to the legal obligations, social norms and ethical standards of society. For the purpose of this paper, I will use the broad sense of the term, unless otherwise specified. Social Responsibility of Organizations to Internal Beneficiaries Social Responsibility to Employees Legally, organizations are responsible for providing their employees with a minimum wage, safe working conditions and the freedom to form a union (Duening et al., 2008). These laws discourage management from creating workplaces that violate employee civil rights (Duening et al., 2008). However, many part-time employers, fast food restaurants and retailers provide only the minimum. Historically, employee benefits emerged out of pressure from employees, unions and the community. Today, most organizations are expected to go beyond the minimum legal requirements by providing their employees with â€Å"fringe benefits†, such as retirement funds, health and accident insurance (Duening et al., 2008). Many socially reactive and socially responsive organizations have extended their benefits to include training, career development, counseling, employee assistance programs, day-care and flex-time policies. As employee family life becomes more complex, organizations must find ways to offer support. Many modern organizations are concerned about employee satisfaction and the benefits associated with it. Employees who are content demonstrate a higher commitment to the organization, which often translates into less absenteeism, higher morale and higher productivity. Overall, the modern worker wants his job to be both meaningful and fulfilling (Duening et al., 2008). Social Irresponsibility to Employees: Wal-Mart Wal-mart is one of the most profitable and efficiently run organizations in the world. In 2005, the corporation grossed two-hundred and forty billion dollars in sales, yet still failed to provide its employees with health care benefits and a livable wage (Greenwald & Gilliam, 2005). On numerous occasions, the organization neglected to provide its employees with the basic legal requirements. As a result, Wal-mart is now facing a number of class action law suits. Reports suggest that the organization is also notorious for keeping its stores understaffed. Although overtime is rarely an option, employees are still expected to work off the clock to get the job done (Greenwald et al., 2005). Workers are ordered to complete their tasks and are often told that they can be replaced. Given their unfortunate personal circumstances, many employees put up with this abuse. In terms of employee well-being, a large majority of Walmart’s workers cannot afford the company’s basic medical insurance at just seventy-five dollars per month. (Greenwald et al., 2005). However, Wal-mart encourages its employees to seek out section-8 housing, food stamps and government-provided health insurance. (Greenwald et al., 2005). Evidently, Wal-mart’s everyday low prices are a result of taxpayer subsidies. Nationwide, Wal-mart is costing taxpayers over one and a half billion dollars a year in subsidies for its employees (Greenwald et al., 2005). As a result of these policies, Walmart’s average sales employee is living below the Federal Poverty Line. (Greenwald et al., 2005). In 2001, Barbara Ehrenreich conducted a sociological study to determine whether or not she could survive on a low wage. She found a job at Wal-mart in Minnesota. Her study reaffirmed the poor working conditions that Wal-mart employees often endure. In the following quote Ehrenreich talks about a shirt that she wanted to purchase for work: â€Å"One of the rules is that our shirts have to have collars, so they have to be polos, not tees. Somehow I’d missed this during orientation†¦ At $7 an hour, a $7 shirt is just not going to make it to my shopping list† (Ehrenreich, 2002, p.88). Given the low wage that she earns, she has difficulty justifying the purchase of a seven dollar work shirt. In the next quote, her co-worker Alyssa finds herself in a more difficult situation: â€Å"Alyssa is another target for my crusade. When she returns to check yet again on that $7 polo, she finds a stain on it. What could she get off for that? I think 10 percent, and if you add in the 10 percent employee discount, we’d be down to $5.60. I’m trying to negotiate a 20 percent price reduction with the fitting room lady when rotten luck Howard shows up and announces that there are no reductions and no employee discounts on clearanced items. Those are the rules. Alyssa looks crushed, and I tell her, when Howard’s out of sight, that there’s something wrong when you’re not paid enough to buy a Wal-Mart shirt, a clearanced Wal-Mart shirt with a stain on it. â€Å"I hear you,† she says, and admits Wal-Mart isn’t working for her either, if the goal is to make a living† (Ehrenreich, 2002, p.100). Wal-mart is also notorious for squashing unions. If a branch plans to hold a union vote, the organization will hire new employees to dilute the number of people who are pro union. Moreover, the organization allots each store a seven-thousand dollar anti-union package; a thirty-thousand dollar undercover spy van, access to the organization’s one hundred thousand dollar anti-union hot-line; and the use of its seven-million dollar corporate jet for rapid response (Greenwald et al., 2005). If a branch is successful in a union vote, Wal-mart will not hesitate to close down that particular retail outlet. In summary, with the absence of unions and the current mind-set of management, it is highly unlikely that employee working conditions will improve any time soon. Social Responsibility to Shareholders Organizations have a social responsibility to their shareholders and must provide accurate information for investment decisions. (Duening et al., 2008). As stated by Duening and Ivancevich, â€Å"the ultimate action a stockholder can take is to sell the stock† (2008). It is important that organizational information be transparent and accessible. Also, organizations must be as efficient and effective as possible with the use of their resources. Any process or product feature that does not add value is wasteful and has an adverse effect on the bottom line. Investors of the twenty-first century want instant gratification and are therefore often fixated on short-term earnings. As corporations and their managers face pressure from shareholders to produce appeasing quarterly results, they often fail to think about the long-term well being of the organization, its employees and the environment. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in performance-based bonuses. In many multinational organizations, executives earn exponentially more than their lowest paid employees. As an incentive, executives often receive options for shares in the company. The value of those options is contingent upon the company’s short, medium or long-term performance. In 2010, chief executives at the United States’ five hundred largest firms collectively took home four billion dollars (DeCarlo, 2010). The value realized from exercised stock options accounted for the main component of their pay (DeCarlo, 2010). When managers act in their own self interest, bonus-based compensation schemes can have dire consequences for all parties involved. Social Irresponsibility to Shareholders: Enron In 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy (Bryce, 2003). At the time, it was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States. The management cooked the books and misrepresented their position to shareholders (Little, 2011). Enron used mark-to-market accounting practices to manipulate earnings and to create a mirage of success. On several occasions, company executives lied to investors, overstated earnings and omitted critical information (Bryce, 2003). As a result, stakeholders lost billions of dollars. Also, the employee pension plan contained over two billion dollars in assets with sixty-two percent of the funds invested in Enron stock (Bryce, 2003). Thousands of Enron employees lost a bulk of their life savings. In addition, the California Public Employees Retirement system lost three billion dollars (Bryce, 2003). Many individuals, investment firms and hedge funds lost billions of dollars as well. While thousands of individuals lost large sums of money, Enron executives netted significant returns from their unethical stock manipulation and insider trading. Social Responsibility to the Supply Chain The supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from the supplier to the consumer (Shafer et al., 2010). Within the chain, an organization can be both a supplier and a customer. Today, many organizations realize the importance of strengthening relationships and working with fewer suppliers. In effect, suppliers and their customers have become interdependent on one another. Traditionally, customers pitted suppliers against each other in hopes of getting the best price. Today, however, many suppliers play a vital role in the operations process. Through vendor-managed inventory systems, organizations have been able to avoid stockouts, thus reducing inventory costs (Shafer et al., 2010). Corporations that rely on sole sourcing have a partner-like relationship with their suppliers. The just-in-time delivery system is based on customers pulling their orders through the supply chain while suppliers ensure the inputs arrive according to schedule. Companies are also responsible for ensuring that their suppliers are treated respectfully and paid on time. In this relationship, both organizations have to turn a profit to ensure their survival. Social Irresponsibility to the Supply Chain: Monsanto Monsanto is an organization that has little regard for the farmers who use its products or the end users that consume them. In 1994, Monsanto introduced Posilac to the American market. Posilac is a bovine growth hormone that was developed to increase milk production. Today, â€Å"the United States is the only developed nation that permits humans to drink milk from cows that have been given artificial growth hormone† (Laskawy, 2010, para 3). This product was banned in twenty-seven countries including Canada and the European Union (Achbar et al.,2004). Moreover, Posilac was tested for only ninety days to assess for human toxicity (Achbar et al., 2004). There is widespread concern regarding the long-term effects of this product on the well-being of humans and animals. Despite these concerns, this product was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Either Monsanto misreported its findings or the Food and Drug Administration did not look at them. Health Canada research showed that bovine growth hormone could be absorbed by the human body with the possibility of a link to cancer (Achbar et al.,2004). In addition to being harmful, Posilac is of little value to farmers and end users. Prior to Posilac’s release, there was an abundance of milk in the marketplace and farmers were told to produce less of it (Achbar et al.,2004) Monsanto is an organization that supplies harmful products and expects farmers to distribute them to the general population. This organization is responsible for the premature release of bio-engineered foods in the marketplace. The long-term effects of genetically-modified food are still unknown. However, Monsanto requires a high level of coordination to get its products to market. The firm often requires help from politicians, professors, scientists, experts, the general public, reporters, and the Food and Drug Administration (Achbar et al.,2004). Monsanto also engineers terminator seeds. These are seeds that terminate themselves through a suicide gene (Achbar et al.,2004). Since terminator seeds are only good for one season, Monsanto has lowered the intrinsic value of them. In nature, seeds are meant to be replanted annually. However, this product goes against evolution and human well-being. There are billions of people around the world who are starving to death and farmers have been denied the opportunity to replant their seeds on an annual basis.This product is immoral to its customers, the end users, and humanity as a whole. Nonetheless, Monsanto still expects its customers to distribute these products to the end users. Social Responsibility to Customers Value is defined as any action or process that a customer is willing to pay for (Shafer & Meredith, 2010). To eliminate unnecessary waste, organizations should always be mindful of customer needs. Processes that drive up costs but do not increase the overall value of a product are wasteful. Firms should strive to reduce overproduction, inventory costs, unnecessary processing, wait times, transportation costs, and unnecessary human motions while minimizing the number of defects (Shafer et al., 2010). Competitive organizations continue to improve the quality and durability of their products (Shafer et al., 2010). However, if an organization fails to use its resources efficiently and effectively, it will likely be punished in the marketplace. A consumer has the ultimate decision on whether or not they will purchase a particular product. Therefore, companies should be adequately prepared to address consumer concerns and after-service needs, should they arise. Also, consumer goods should not do any biological or psychological harm to their customers. Products that have the potential to do harm to others should be put through rigorous testing to ensure they are safe for human use and consumption. Social Irresponsibility to Customers: Aguas del Tunari For twenty years, the World Bank has been working alongside successive governments toward independent development in Bolivia. The World Bank believes that a high proportion of leaders in developing nations are susceptible to corruption, including those in Bolivia. As a result, the organization has played a significant role in assisting the Bolivian government with privatization of its state-owned enterprises. In 2000, Aguas del Tunari corporation signed a forty-year contract with the Bolivian government to provide water to impoverished citizens in Cochabamba City, Bolivia. Aguas del Tunari was guaranteed a minimum annual return of fifteen percent on their two-and-a-half billion dollar investment (Salina & Starr, 2008). As part of the deal, Aguas del Tunari Corporation agreed to repay thirty million dollars of debt accumulated by the state utility company (Salina et al., 2008). In an effort to pay off the debt, Aguas del Tunari corporation increased water rates to twenty dollars per month — a thirty-five percent increase (Achbar, Abbott, Bakan & Simpson, ,2004). However, the company failed to consider the fact that many of its new clients were surviving on only two dollars a day (Achbar et al., 2004). This meant that the cost of water would account for roughly twenty-five percent of their daily income (Achbar et al., 2004). To make matters worse, the government had privatized rain water, making it illegal to collect the rainfall (Achbar et al.,2004). When the newly-owned utility company shut off the water supply to non-paying customers, violent protests erupted across all classes of society. Ninety-six percent of citizens demanded that the contract with Aguas del Tunari be terminated (Salina & Starr, 2008) . The government of Bolivia refused and told its citizens that there was nothing to negotiate. Protests spread to other major cities in Bolivia, eventually causing a ripple effect that would put the country into a state of emergency. To remedy this problem, the Bolivian government kicked Aguas del Tunari out of the country and resumed its role as the nation’s utility operator. In this unique case, it is difficult to conceptualize water as a commodity. Water is essential for survival and is seen as a birth right. Many would argue that the local government is responsible for regulating the cost of water and ensuring that it is affordable for all citizens. Since water surrounds us and falls naturally from the sky, it is difficult for a corporation to add value to it. Privatization of rain water is an extreme concept and certainly crosses some ethical boundaries. Social Responsibility of Corporations to External Beneficiaries Social Responsibility to Local Governments Elected officials have a social responsibility to the people whom they represent. Although corporations cannot directly cast a vote, they can leverage their power by donating large sums of money to political campaigns. In return, they often expect regulatory favors, exceptions, and preferential treatment. Corporations must however respect the local government and prohibit themselves from lobbying, bribing or manipulating local officials for the financial benefit of the organization. Although firms should not tempt government officials, politicians should also avoid situations where they may become vulnerable. As governments and organizations continue to work closely to achieve their objectives, they must ensure they maintain their ethical boundaries. When corporations gain power, the relative authority of local government diminishes and their authoritative power is often confined to their given jurisdiction. As organizations continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to be audited by local governments and regulatory bodies. For this reason, governments should consider implementing more rules and tougher sanctions to prevent legal and ethical misconduct. As history has shown, corporations are not always capable of self- governance. Social Irresponsibility to Local Governments: Long-Term Capital Management Deregulation of public enterprises and new business practices may not always be in the best interest of the general public. In 2000, the Clinton administration passed a bill that would deregulate the derivatives market and establish legal certainty for bankers (Lowenstein, 2002). The three major classes of derivatives are: futures, options and swaps. In detail, the derivatives market is not well understood by policy makers. There have been numerous cases of corporate fraud, financial mismanagement and unnecessary risk. Moreover, taxpayers have fronted billions of dollars to bail out financial institutions. In 2008, the value of the overall derivatives market was an astonishing six-hundred and sixty-eight trillion dollars (Sheridan, 2008). In 1994, Long-term Capital Management took the financial world by storm. This hedge fund was established by two proven Wall Street traders and two Nobel Laureates (Lowenstein, 2002). The fund started with four billion dollars in capital from its investors. The firm enjoyed four straight years of prosperity without a single monthly loss to be reported on their balance sheet. LTCM was thought to be the perfect hedge fund. It simply could not lose. LTCM leveraged its balance sheet trading by 30 to 1, while leveraging its off balance sheet trading by 250 to 1 (Lowenstein, 2002). At one point, the company had in excess of one trillion dollars in derivatives exposure (Lowenstein, 2002). In a short period of time, LTCM had lost nearly everything and turned to banks and the federal reserve for a bailout. At the time, this was the largest bailout ever. In Wall Street’s eyes, LTCM was simply too big to fail. It was thought that its demise would have had dire consequences for the entire economy. Since then, bigger investment firms have failed, bigger bailouts have been distributed and derivatives are still being heavily traded. It appears Wall Street still has a lesson to learn. It was the government’s deregulation of derivatives that allowed LTCM and other investment firms to behave unethically and do as they pleased. As a regulatory body, the Federal Reserve sent out the wrong message by bailing out LTCM. Condoning the behavior of this hedge fund created an environment that would encourage other financial institutions to take the same risks. Social Responsibility to the Environment and Future Generations Today, consumers and citizens increasingly expect more from organizations. Traditionally, firms externalized their costs while internalizing their profits. Today, however, many corporations are becoming ethically conscious and are working toward minimizing their carbon footprint. They have started to use mechanisms known as stakeholder management devices to respond to stakeholder claims (Duening et al., 2008). Progressive organizations have started working toward sustainable development to help create a world that is suitable for future generations. Many firms are also taking an interest in social issues. Some have started practicing corporate philanthropy. These positive efforts enhance a corporation’s good will and improves its overall image. This often translates into more sales and higher profit margins. Organizations that fail to take responsibility for their actions are often looked down upon. For example, an organization that shows complete disregard for the environment will likely tarnish their image and build up ill will. In effect, companies that act out of social obligation are viewed less positively than those that are socially responsive. Social Responsibility to the Environment and Future Generations: Tokyo Electric Power Company In March of 2011, the Japanese coast was rattled by a forceful 9.0 earthquake and a gigantic tsunami. The Fukushima Dai-chi and Fukushima Dai-ni power plants sustained critical damage (TEPCO to Compensate Nuclear Plant Victims, 2011). Both of these power plants are privately owned by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO to Compensate Nuclear Plant Victims, 2011). The nuclear disaster revealed the company’s misplaced confidence and a failure to adequately forecast its worst case scenario. Furthermore, the company chose to disregard Japan’s tsunami history and relevant GPS data. TEPCO engineers did not factor in earthquakes that occurred prior to 1896 (TEPCO Dimissed Important Scientific Evidence in Planning Nuclear Plant’s Defense, 2011). Tsunami modelers at TEPCO factored in an earthquake of 8.6 magnitude in its worst case scenario model (TEPCO Dimissed Important Scientific Evidence in Planning Nuclear Plant’s Defense, 2011). The earthquake that occured on March 11, 2011 was four times more powerful than the maximum presumed (TEPCO Dimissed Important Scientific Evidence in Planning Nuclear Plant’s Defense, 2011). Given Japan’s geographical position and the volatility of nuclear energy, TEPCO should have put more thought into their calculations. After much delay, the Japanese government has ordered TEPCO to pay partial retribution to the citizens affected by this nuclear catastrophe. Beginning on April 28, 2011, TEPCO has started to compensate families in the nominal sum of twelve-thousand dollars for losses attributed to evacuation, having to stay indoors and nuclear contamination (TEPCO to Compensate Nuclear Plant Victims, 2011). These partial retributions are miniscule. Often times it is cheaper for a corporation to hire a good public relations specialist than to rectify the actual problem. This nuclear disaster has crippled local businesses, fishing operations, tourism and the livelihood of citizens. TEPCO’s greed and irresponsibility has cost the citizens of Japan and the nation at large by causing tremendous losses. Moreover, citizens in neighboring countries and the Western part of the United States have grown concerned over their personal well-being. In TEPCO’s case, the local government should have taken extra measures to ensure the facilities were built to withstand an earthquake of great proportion. Local governments are elected and represent the interest of the people. Therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure private organizations behave ethically. Companies should be forced to take full accountability for their actions. In regard to privatization of nuclear energy, governments should pressure organizations to strive for seven-sigma quality. As we have witnessed, a defect in nuclear energy can have significant implications for the general population. Conclusion As illustrated in this paper, organizations have a social responsibility to both their internal and external beneficiaries. Firms should always conduct business with integrity and concern for others. Although many organizations may feel pressure to increase their short-term earnings, they must retain their focus and uphold their social responsibilities to their stakeholders. Through long-term objectives, organizations can set standards that will ensure their survival. It’s important to emphasize that the decisions an organization makes will often affect society as a whole. As illustrated in the case studies above, companies that go astray or act in their own self interest can adversely affect the well-being of many stakeholders. However, tougher sanctions and an organizational credo may help give an organization ethical focus. In conclusion, by practicing self-governance and obeying existing laws, corporations will be well on their way to becoming socially responsible and dependable organizations. Works Cited Achbar, M. (Director/Producer), Abbott, J. (Director), Bakan, J. (Writer), & Simpson, B. (Producer) (2004). The Corporation (DVD). Canada: Big Picture Media Corporation. Bryce, R (2003). Pipe Dreams – Greed, Ego and the Death of Enron. New York, NY: Public Affairs. DeCarlo, S. (2010). What the Boss Makes.Forbes.com.Retrieved on April 18th, 2011 from http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/27/compensation-chief-executive-salary-leadership-boss-10-ceo-compensation-intro.html Duening, T. N., Ivancevisch, J. M. (2006). Managing Organizations Principles & Guidelines. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog. Ehrenreich, B. (2002). Nickel and Dimed On Not Getting By in America. New York, NY: Owl Book. Greenwald, R. (Director), Gilliam, J. (Producer) (2005). Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price (DVD). United States: Brave New Films Disinformation Company. Laskawy, T. (2010). Court Rules rBGH-Free Milk Milk is Better Than the Kind Produced With Articifical Hormones. Now What? Retrieved on April 19, 2011 from http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-10-06-court-rules-on-rbgh-free-milk. Little, C. (2011). Ethics [class lectures]. Texas A&M University-Commerce. Spring 2011. Lowenstein, R. (2002). When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-term Capital Management. Great Britain: Clays Ltd and St. Ives plc. Salina, I. (Director), Starr, S. (Producer) (2008). Flow: For The Love of Water (DVD). United States: Oscilloscope Laboratories. Shafer, S. & Meredith, J. (2010). Operations Management for MBAs, 4th Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Sheridan, B. (2008). 600,000,000,000,000? Newsweek. Retrieved on April 20, 2011 from http://www.newsweek.com/2008/10/17/600-000-000-000-000.html. TEPCO to Compensate Japan’s Nuclear Plant Victims. (2011). BBC News Asia_Pacific. Retrieved on April 17, 2011 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13090304 TEPCO Dimissed Important Scientific Evidence in Planning Nuclear Plant’s Defense. (2011). Japan Today. Retrieved on April 24, 2011 from http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/tepco-dismissed-important-scientific-evidence-in-planning-nuclear-plants-defense.

Irrational Beliefs Essay

Report on some of your own irrational beliefs that have gotten you off course and lowered your self-esteem. Offer rational beliefs that you can take on to dispute your stinkin’ thinkin’. How will changing your irrational beliefs help you to achieve your academic goals? Our upsets are caused not so much by our problems as by what we think about our problems. When our thinking is full of irrational beliefs, what Ellis calls â€Å"stinkin’ thinkin'†, we feel awful even when the circumstances don’t warrant it, and how we think about the issue in our lives is the real issue. I have a few irrational beliefs myself. These include my fear of public speaking, my fear of how people perceive me, and my personal appearance. In high school I enrolled in a speech class that was required for my diploma. My problem wasn’t remembering what to say but being able to speak in front of a classroom full of people. I shouldn’t have had a problem with it at a ll, considering the classroom was full of people I’ve known my whole life, people I’ve grown up with. I got up in front of the class ready to go, I managed to spit out two sentences then my mind went blank. I was embarrassed, scared of what they would think about me if I were to mess up. Would they call me names? Would they think I wasn’t prepared? Would they think I was dumb, powerless, uncreative, and weak? The only thing I could think to do was run to the nearest exit, so out I went. My teacher had followed me but at that point I had tears in my eyes, I was shaking with sweaty palms. She managed to calm me down, she gave me the rational beliefs that I needed, and she believed in me exactly how I should have believed in myself. It all tied into how I am obsessive over what others think of me, my clothes, my hair, and my shoes. I have the irrational belief that everyone needs to look at me and think that I have everything together. In reality my life is usually a mess but I have those materialist things to hide behind. My weight has always been another irrational belief of mine, constantly calling myself fat, not wearing the clothes I want, looking in a mirror and talking myself down. I gained forty pounds in almost two years. I wasn’t the small delicate girl I used to be and I didn’t think I would ever get back to the point of being happy with my body. In order to change these irrational beliefs I need to fill my mind with rational beliefs, such as I am a great public speaker when I am prepared, I am beautiful and smart with or without materialist things, and lastly if I am unhappy with my body then  I have every right to change it. According to psychologist Ellis, a key to correcting irrational thinking is changing a â€Å"must† into a preference. I can always distract myself from negative, judgmental thoughts by simply telling myself, â€Å"STOP!† Then replace my blaming, complaining, or excusing with something positive. Wisely choosing the thoughts that occupy my mind, as well as avoiding automatic, negative thoughts that undermine my self-esteem will also help. Changing my irrational beliefs will help me achieve my academic goals by giving me the confidence to organize my schedule, and be able to speak in front of people as well as with others.

What Does It Cost to Attend Northwest Indian College?

Located just south of the Canadian border on the Lummi Indian Reservation, Northwest Indian College is the only accredited tribal school serving the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. And unlike many of the colleges in the Evergreen State, this institution comes with a list price that many families would consider affordable. Read on to learn more about college pricing and why it can vary so dramatically between schools and students, as well as what it really costs to attend Northwest Indian College. Like many schools across the U.S., Northwest Indian College has a sticker price that differs significantly from the actual cost most students spend to attend. You can find out the actual price of admission, or the financial aid net price, by adding up the cost of all forms of financial aid, including federal, state, and local grants, institutional aid, and scholarships. Then subtract this figure from the list price. Because Northwest Indian College is a public school, the list price of admission is generally lower than at private schools. However, it’s worth noting that public schools lack the large endowments of private institutions. So they might not be able to give out as much money in the form of financial aid. Do your research to find out what option is truly best for your family. Because Northwest Indian College is a public institution, tuition prices are somewhat lower than average. Expect to spend $13,959 whether you’re applying from in state or out of state. Students in the top 30% of acceptees and those from families earning less than $175,000 a year were less likely to pay the full sticker rate. Financial aid can significantly lower the cost of attending Northwest Indian College. For the 2016-2017 year, both in-state and out-of-state applicants paid around $5,367 annually in tuition and fees. The list price of attending Northwest Indian College is largely dependent on family income level. Check out average net prices per family income bracket below: *The numbers above don’t account for federal Pell Grants some families receive. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. The lower cost of attendance at Northwest Indian College might be part of the reason that few students take out loans to finance their education. Currently, just 12% of undergraduates borrow money for tuition and fees. Assessing student outcomes at Northwest Indian College is a good way to evaluate ROI on your tuition dollars. Currently, the school boasts a six-year graduation rate of 86%, suggesting that a majority of students finish on time. However, prospective salaries seem to be on the low side. Ten years after graduating, the average student was earning just $27,900 annually. Attending Northwest Indian College offers numerous advantages, including the fact that the region is known for its affordability. With a cost of living index of 129.6 , Bellingham, Wash., is only slightly more expensive than the average city in the United States. One of the biggest expenses is housing, which will run you $843 for a one-bedroom, $1100 for a two-bedroom, and $1593 for a three-bed. Working part time can help students afford their degrees. If you’re looking for a position in Bellingham, expect to earn $12 an hour, which is the state minimum wage. The average income in this part of Washington is $42,440 a year. Work-study is a great option for Northwest Indian College students who prefer not to pursue off-campus work. Not only are these jobs convenient in that you don’t have to leave school, but they also tend to include down-time for reading and catching up on homework. Additionally, students can earn extra cash by applying for independent scholarships. If you scored well on the PSATs, consider the National Merit Scholarship program , which provides recognition and grant money to the top 1 percent of test takers. This program helps support the educational goals of 15,000 students a year. Find out what other Northwest Indian College scholarship opportunities are available on the school website. Sky-high college tuition rates can cause both students and parents to hesitate on their college admissions journeys. Fortunately, the Applications Team is there to support families throughout the process. From narrowing down college lists to negotiating financial aid offers, our expert team members are always in your corner. For more information on our services, call today or contact our experts online.

Hand hygiene Critiquing an article using Quallitative technique Assignment

Hand hygiene Critiquing an article using Quallitative technique - Assignment Example s a seminal moment in the nursing field has been published; Karen Lee’s article â€Å"student and infection prevention and control nurses’ hand hygiene decision making in stimulated clinical scenarios and the use of hand washing, gel and glove† is one such articles. This paper shall candidly and comprehensively critique the aforementioned article. Firstly, research critique is an informed stepwise process of carefully and objectively gauging the weaknesses and strengths of a particular study with the particular motive of improving the research skills by effecting changes in the critiqued or apparently wrong or weak areas or sections. While there are many frameworks used in critiquing a research, this paper critiques Lee’s article using the step-by-step guide posited by Patricia Cronin, Michael Coughlan, and Frances Ryan (2007). To begin with, the title of a research should be precise, 15-20 words, contain key terminologies in the pertinent field, arouse curiosity and interest while attracting the readers’ attention. While the title of Lee’s research strives to be objective, Lee ends up with an excessively long title, 27 words, that is more general and lacking details as it simply mentions controlling of infections through hand hygiene in nurses and students. Shortening the title and adding more terminologies that will ground it in the nursing field will create a more professional look and make the article quite enlightening without the need to go into finer details in the body of the research (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2006). The author’s professional and academic qualification significantly determines their ability to deliver in a given field. Polit and Berk (2009) assert that the author’s attained domain, integrity and professional be reflected in a research article. Lee meets this threshold as he has an apposite academic, and proficient qualification in the nursing field having taught in a medicine school for 30 years. The article’s credibility,

Causes of the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Causes of the Civil War - Essay Example Civil wars are common among early nations seeking growth and expansion. Almost all countries in the world has went through civil wars at one some point in their history, where some have experienced it earlier than the others. There was the Irish civil war from 1922-1923, the Lebanese civil war which lasted more than two decades from1975 to 1990, the Russian civil war which began in 1918, the Spanish civil war which happened between 1936-1939, and other countries as well. The American Civil War was a war fought between two organized groups - 23 northern (Union) and 11 southern (Confederate) – seeking power within the same country - America. The Confederacy would have been content with gaining control over part of America; the Union insisted upon maintaining authority over all of it. It was also a time when the Confederacy sought to establish itself as a separate nation. The Civil War was the culmination of forty years of intense sectional conflict and reflected deep-seated economic, social, and political differences. Historians have coined a number of titles for the war such as â€Å"War of Southern Independence,† â€Å"Brother’s War,† â€Å"American Iliad† and â€Å"Second American Revolution.† Although each of these titles merit the attention to some aspect of the struggle, still, the term Civil War remains to be most appropriate in both sense and usage; and besides, this was the term generally used by both North and South during the war. The American Civil War grew out of deep differences between the north and the south, notably over slavery – opposed by President Lincoln, but an important part of the economy of the south. Underscoring sectional differences, the labor force in the South included nearly 4 million enslaved blacks (Reader’s Digest, 1995). An important element in the war’s background was sectionalism, which may be defined as the tendency of one area within the nation to conceive of itself as being significantly different

Discuss the key features of effective corporate decision making and Essay

Discuss the key features of effective corporate decision making and assess how well these are being applied in an organisation y - Essay Example ...................................... 5 Learning from mistakes................................................................................. 6 Cultural sensitivity........................................................................................ 7 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 9 References................................................................................................................ 10 Executive Summary Effective decision-making is based on several qualities. These qualities include: innovativeness, diversification, learning from mistakes, and cultural sensitivity. Innovativeness is based on the ability to come up with new products and to market these products successfully. Diversification is based on the ability of the company to market different products and not be concentrated on only one or a few products. Learning from mistakes is about making the adjustments a fter issues in application and decision making have been seen. Cultural sensitivity, on the other hand, is about considering the culture of the corporation and making decisions based on such culture. In relation to Apple Corporation, they were able to meet these elements when they established various innovations and were able to establish a diverse market. They also learned from their mistakes throughout the years and re-employed Steve Jobs to reinvigorate the company. As a result, they have risen among the ranks of the most profitable and powerful corporations in the world. Corporate Decision-making Introduction Successful and effective corporations have distinct qualities and decision-making processes which often help them occupy such positions of success. These features are often distinctive to each corporation, based on their goals, activities, marketing, as well as the qualities of their consumers. This essay shall evaluate literature in order to establish the key features of e ffective corporate decision-making and assess how well these are being applied in an organization I know well. It will first present several studies and literature on effective practices of corporations in their decision-making activities. It will then discuss the application of such practices to Apple Corporation. Lastly, a summary and conclusion will evaluate the different elements being discussed in this paper on corporate decision-making. This essay is being carried out in order to establish a clear and well supported assessment of corporate decision-making, including the qualities which make for successful practice. Body Innovativeness In the current age of high stakes competition among businesses, various strategies and features are apparent for corporations seeking and keeping success. One of the qualities seen among these successful corporations is that they are major innovators (Morris, Kuratko and Covin, 2010). Successful corporations are distinctly set apart because of th e innovations they seem to constantly introduce into the market. In a paper by Uotila et al. (2009), they discuss that in order for corporations to be successful, they need to balance exploration and exploitation activities. In effect, as they explore and establish various innovations, they also need to temper their impact on society and on the environment. Their power to introduce new products and to explore new activities is at the very forefront of their success, and their ability to minimize their impact on the environment and on society is also a required

Tea Party Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tea Party Movement - Research Paper Example It is quite easy to find analogues of the present phenomenon of Tea Party Movement in a recent American history - this is the relative success of Ross Perot in the Presidential Election in 1992 and the overall success of Ronald Reagan with his right-wing populist coalition which supported him in the election of 1980, and even Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign, who lost the elections, yet mobilized a significant public support in his favor (Harris, 2010, p. 33). Nevertheless, TPM gives the impression of something very new. Its name – Tea Party, was borrowed from American history, as it is associated with American olden times and patriotic spirit. Growing tension between the colonies and the metropolis after the Boston Tea Party eventually led to the War of Independence. There is a clear relationship between the Boston Tea Party and the present one: people in Boston were protesting against arbitrariness of British political and financial elite and now people protest against the arrogant financial elite and the federal government and presidential policies all over America. This conservative movement, disappointed with the policy of the U.S. President and excessive, in their view, liberalism of the Republican Party, has strengthened its political position. According to the recent survey, the percentage of Americans who support the military campaign in Afghanistan fell to its lowest level since 2001.   The result is very unfavorable for Barack Obama, who actively plays the card of fighting global terrorism.  The situation looks even gloomier on the domestic political front, where the Administration has to struggle fierce critics of the health reform.  In other words, President Barack Obama has created the Tea Party Movement with his own hands, the movement, which expresses the most conservative views primarily of white middle- aged and middle class Americans and took its present shape probably in 2010. Moreover, it involved thousands of people who were totally indifferent to politics before. The nature of American politics has been dramatically rev olutionized by the Tea Party’s ability to politicize people who were previously apolitical. Having never felt any deference for elite opinion makers in the first place, the newly politicized Tea Partiers find it easy to turn their backs on them.  (Harris, 2010, p. 5) The initial impulse for its creation, apparently, was the adoption of the Paulson Plan by Congress in autumn of 2008, aimed at saving the largest U.S. banks at the expense of the state budget, that is, ultimately, taxpayers.  The law was adopted against the clear disagreement of the majority of voters. Disturbance by the actions of the political establishment, which rushed to rescue the fat cats at the expense of ordinary Americans, was very strong.  Around the same time another problem appeared at the center of public attention practically first – the state debt.  It was a kind of reality breakthrough in the mass consciousness.   Our political system is dysfunctional, Congress is unrepresentativ e; government is out of control and the political parties are part of the system, both of them. (Hillyer, 2009, p. 47) February 19, 2009, about 7 o’clock in the morning,  standing in the midst of stock gamblers and officials of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the editor of business news of CNBC channel, Rick Santelli, attacked the Obama administration’s plan to refinance mortgages. It was he who sarcastically said about Chicago Tea Party in July, advising all the capitalists to

Pan-Arabism and Pan-Islamism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pan-Arabism and Pan-Islamism - Essay Example eology that involves Islam as an integral part of the regulatory framework of the country (like laws) but they believe that the government needs to separate Islamic religious ideologies and bring more secular sorts of governments and therefore the Islamic teachings merely reflect as a symbol of culture and not integrated in country as a religious marker. Pan-Islamism involves the integration of Islamic states under one Caliphate or a united Islamic state or a European Union sort of international organization based on Islamic principles without taking into consideration the ethnicity while pan-Arabism only involves independence and unity of Arabs without considering religion. As a kind of religious nationalism, the ideology of Pan-Islamism distinguishes itself from rest of ideologies such as Pan-Arabism, by ruling out ethnicity and culture as principal components towards conjugation. Although both are political ideologies involving Arab nations, both have distinct targets. The Pan Arabism originated between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as the Arab nations of the Middle East acquired more education which in turn brought in a literary and cultural renaissance in the region. This imparted to political agitation and contributed to the independence of majority of Arab states from the European administrations during mid twentieth century and from the Ottoman Empire in 1918. On the other hand, the political movement of Pan-Islamism was started by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, in Turkey, during the end of nineteenth century with the intention to fight against the westernization process and to nurture the unification on the basis of Islamic principles. With the progression of colonialism, Pan-Islamism turned to be a defensive ideology that was directed against the European military, political, missionary and economic penetration. This ideology placed the Turkish sultan as a worldwide caliph and thus all Muslims were obliged to show commitment and obedience

Patient satisfaction survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Patient satisfaction survey - Essay Example In general, patients with kidney failure are experiencing physical and emotional stress which could significantly affect their loss of self-confidence and the way they perceive life (National Kidney Federation, 2009). For this reason, it is necessary to provide extra care to patients who are receiving haemodialysis. In relation to the increasing number of individuals who are receiving haemodialysis, there is a strong need to determine whether or not those patients are satisfied with the care they are receiving from the health care professionals. Based on the gathered literature review and the research findings, it will be easier for health care professionals to determine the areas of care that needs to be improved in order to increase the satisfaction of haemodialysis patients. The proposed research topic aims to determine the level of satisfaction that renal patients have with various aspects of the care provided by the Local General Hospital’s haemodialysis unit. In line with this, the research study result will be used to improve the health care services rendered to patients who are receiving haemodialysis from health care professionals who are currently working in hospitals. Research questions presented in this study will be used as a guide in going through the research paper. Since the research topic aims to investigate the satisfaction of patients who are receiving haemodialysis, the study will seek to determine whether or not the doctors and nurses are effective in terms of caring and communicating with patients at the Local General Hospital’s haemodialysis unit. Likewise, the study will determine whether or not the quality of care and operations at the dialysis centre offers services are equal or more than the global satisfaction ratings. In line with this, the treatment received by the patients, the process on how the health care professionals rate the health and mental status of the patients, the quality of

Globalisation and Mass Media (Media Relations) Essay

Globalisation and Mass Media (Media Relations) - Essay Example Different theorists and practitioners of development differed in their emphasis, but they all agreed that rapid economic growth is the strategy of modernization. Moore argued, "what is involved in modernization is a 'total' transformation of a traditional or pre-modern society into the types of technology and associated social organization that characterize the 'advanced' economically prosperous, and relatively politically stable nations of the western world" (89). The leaders of new states in the Third World objected to how the existing international order had seemingly neglected their interests. Thus, they formed pressure groups, such as the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961 and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964, to promote an independent path between the interests of the communist and capitalist world and to win some reforms in the international economy, respectively. From the 1950s to 1970s, the major strategy used in the Third World was import-substitution, which involved the development of a domestic industrial sector, with the long-term aim of capturing lucrative export markets. The state had to protect new producers from competition from cheaper foreign imports, through high tariffs or import controls, and initial investments were poured into consumer goods industries. (Kiely 29; ch. 1). State planning became the basis for post-war development in order to raise productivity and output of both the industrial, and the agricultural sectors. In this regard, many Third World countries, such as Mexico, the Philippines and India actively implemented the strategy of introducing a technological package starting in the 1950s and onward, with the support of American pro-development institutions, like the Rockefeller Foundation. By the late 1960s, however, the Third World's dream of a better life was shattered. Official measures of development, such as Gross National Product (GNP), failed to show the distribution of such income within a country or whether people's basic needs are provided (Kiely 29: ch. 1). A revised development strategy based on the ideas of 'redistribution and growth' and 'basic needs' was introduced by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1972 and the World Bank in 1973, respectively. The World Bank focused on increasing the productivity of the small farmer to stimulate economic growth and eliminate rural poverty, while the ILO concentrated on developing "appropriate labour-intensive technologies" (Kiely 30: ch. 1). However, these strategies failed because only a few states in the Third World had been concerned about alleviating the sufferings of the poor. Also, transnational companies/local capitalist enterprises that had invested their money in the Third World were more concerned about getting high rates of returns on investments (ROI) than in providing more employment opportunities. The debt crisis in the early 1980s ushered the neo-liberal 'counter revolution', "The Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates was effectively abandoned between 1971 and 1973," (Kiely 30: ch. 1; Brett 111-25) and had no successful replacement, with the

Japan - Sound of Waves Essay Example for Free

Japan Sound of Waves Essay After researching about the geography and religious beliefs of Japan, I can now realize how it impacts the novel, as the author has really described the setting and geography in depth. Japan has got a huge population for its small size. Since 4/5 of Japans land is full of Mountains (originally volcano’s). This means many people live in the narrow river valleys along the coast, which means people don’t live equally distributed around Japan leading to many people in a small space. Which means its a small area but still loads of people to gossip on Shinji and Hatsue. â€Å"Mishima† starts of the book with how small the island is, yet there are so many people. â€Å"About fourteen hundred inhabitants and a coastline of something under three miles â€Å". * Since Japan is an archipelago, there are many islands that make up Japan, but 4 main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Instead this novel is set on â€Å"Uta-Jima† Song Island, to show the readers the life and experience on one of these Islands. We learn fishing is a very important part of their day on Uta Jima Island. â€Å"The boy often brought fish in this way† suggesting how regularly people eat fish. This is because people in Japan live in a archipelago, so they are separated from the rest of Asia, leading them to build unique characteristics. Since Japan doesn’t have much farming land, they only have sea, which is why their main food is fish (sushi) and not any other meat or veggies. Having many islands this helps Japan, as each island is surrounded by sea. Therefore fish becomes their main source of food. The fish is served raw, as Japan doesnt have much trees (oil) to cook the fish, this explains why sushi’s fish is always raw. This shows us how important it is for Shinji to catch fish, because that is what his whole family lives on. * * Religion plays a big part of this novel. This novel is based on Shintoism. Shinto is a Japanese religion, that has 4 affirmations, but there is one main one which is shown through out this novel, â€Å"Love of Nature†. Everything in the novel is based on the sea, which is of course nature. All the descriptions are revolved around nature The gravestones looked like so many white sails of boats anchored in a busy harbor This explains why Shinji is so attached with the sea, because its part of his religion, this shows the readers that Shinji is religious. As a Shinto believes that nature is sacred, and to be in contact with nature is to be close to the Gods. * * Therefore, the geography of Japan and the many religious beliefs of Shinto all influence Shinji’s character in the novel, from where they eat, to how they live to how he loves†¦

Pramoedya Anata Toer Essay Example for Free

Pramoedya Anata Toer Essay Inem, is a short story written by Pramoedya Anata Toer. He was a Indonesian short story writter and a novel writer, born in a village called Blora. Blora was the village in short story where (Gus Muk), his mom, and Inems family lived in. The author refers to his culture and events about his life in the story. His father in real life is a activist who ruined his family by obsessive gambling. Pramoedya writes alot of Indonesian literature. The aspects of culture in Inem, is the tradition of child marriages. In some parts of the world child marriages was a tradition. Girls at a young age were supposed to marry an older boy. The story also shows the reader some of the cultural aspects such as popular entertainment and dances in her area. The characters in the story are, Gus Muk (age6) a boy, also the narrator who basically trails Inems life. Inems father who is a criminal and gambles alot, her mother who lives off batik work and helps the family, and Markaban (age17) who is Inems husband. Lastly theres Inem (age 8) a so called beatiful girl in the neighbor hood who had great manners. Inem is in search of happiness with her new life and husband but ends up being a beaten divorcee. Overview/summary Its a story told in second person perspective about a beautiful young girl (Inem) who is a servant to a boy (Gus Muk) and his mother. In the story Inem is so beautiful and respectful and able to do many things but is only eight years old and Gus Muk is six. Eventually her mother found a man named, Markaban who is seventeen years old. Her mom did not want to let this marriage go so she wants Inem to get married so she can help her familly at home. Inems family and the husband family both accept the marriage. Inems father was a criminal who robbed people in the forest, but was never arrested. Inems mother had a talk with Gus Muks mother to try and get her to come home. The boys mother disapproves of the marriage and does not want Inem to go on with this. Gus Muks mom said Its not right to make children mary repeatedly. Inems mother said that it would be a shame for her not to be married at such a old age. Inem was later taken home to prepare for her wedding day. Gus Muks mom did not want him playing with Inem but that did not stop him from going over to play. The day before the wedding Gus Muk sent her family five kilos of rice and twenty-five cents as a gift. The day of her wedding came, and everything was going well, the house was decorated, the tajuban dancing girls was the entertainment, and finally Inem and her husband get married. Inem was officially married and worked with her mom making batik. Every night Gus Muk and his mother listen to screaming and crying when Inems husband wrestles with her. She comes crying to Gus Muks mom and tells her that Markaban beats her and she tells her to go back home and serve Markaban faithfully. Inem comes back again but finally divorced with her husband, and asks if Gus Muks mother can taker her back, but Gus Muks mom denies her request and sends her back home. Inem gets beaten by anyone who wanted to, her family and neighbors could because she was a burden to the family. Although she cries and screams she never came back to Gus Muks house.

Analysing Organisational Behaviour of British Airways

Analysing Organisational Behaviour of British Airways This aim of this assignment to focus and analyse Organisational Behavior at British Airways. This assignment begins with summarizing the procedures used by it to motivate its employees and make them work as team towards the achievement of organizational goal. The purpose states that the study of the module Organisational Behavior needs to be applied in fundamental front by providing significant procedure to the company chosen and revise the employees value in the organisation. The assignment comprises of factors which are necessary for an organization to develop which are factors of Leadership, Motivation, spreading team effectiveness in the organization through the different channels of communication and use of different theories at different levels of the organization for its smooth functioning. To help the organisation in rebuilding its reputation, recommendations has been given and conclusion is been drawn. INTRODUCTION British Airways is the major airline which proposals the flights facilities added to 550 destinations. Customers can choose from first class, business, best and economy class. A facility comes a long way since that first flight. British Airways bids food services and a collection of amusing options counting movies, TV, games, and music. British Airways is the airline company of the United Kingdom. It has its headquarter in Waterside which is near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport and as found it is the biggest airline of UK on the record basis of number of international flights and international destinations it has. Its second hub is London Gatwick Airport. The British Airways Group was designed in 1974, September 1. BA was formed by the merger of two large London-based airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA), and two much smaller airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle upon Tyne. Only BA was one of the two airlines to operate the supersonic Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde capitalizing the worlds first supersonic service in January 1976 for the passengers. British Airways is registered on the London Stock Exchange (as BAY) and is a component of the FTSE 100 Index. On 31 March 2009 the airline renowned its 35th anniversary. On 12 November 2009, British Airways established that it had grasped a preliminary contract to combine with Iberia Airlines. The joined airline become the worlds third-largest carrier (after Delta Air Lines and American Airlines) in terms of annual report income. (http://www.britishairways.com) METHODS OF EVALUATING THE ORGANISATION LEADERSHIP Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an organized group in its efforts toward goal-setting and goal achievement (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007). Leaders impact our daily lives and futures. In good times and bad, there is always a need for strong leadership. The leaders determine the success of a business or an industry it chooses or inherits. How does someone earn the designation of being a great leader? History and current experiences provide guidance on how one might develop the abilities demonstrated by respected leaders. LEADERSHIP AT BA British Airways need great leaders to help its struggle with current trading conditions and achieve its long-term vision. A leading global best airline need be courageous and highly actual in emerging present and possible leaders. BA has introduced its High Performance Leadership (HPL) system during the year. This is system combined, business strategy linking, performance appraisal, growth and reward. Motivated the senior leaders primarily, HPL has demanding valuation instruments to identify gifted leaders and to provide them with the right tools and support to continue developing. BA well-defined, connected and initiated to degree of individual performance. For every ability, exact behaviors have been established so that leaders can know exactly what are the expectations and BA is supportive up to a range of expansion program, with executive coaching, systems, opportunities and outside courses. BA is also using new methods to quality of performance. These will allow BA to monitor progress of individual and path the overall accomplishment at supervision talent. Among the other leadership creativeness BA have initiated: Behaviors for Success it deals with the development program of leadership for the community of HPL, concentrating on sympathetic and emerging leadership performance of personal Leadership Matters a structure to identify and improve a leaders who have crucial roles in the Customer life and Actions areas of business of British Airways. A Leadership Development Portfolio this will be announce this year with the purpose of secondary existing and probable leaders of business at every level which includes the developing leaders. Case study To be in progressively competitive market, BA strong-minded operate to stand out from its challengers by recapturing the status for service leadership which it enjoyed in the 1990s. BA have hurled a planned marketing campaign by inviting customers to experience the difference and promote BA, BA standard that the key to bringing this aptitude in the air lay in the hands of 4,000 on-board cabin crew managers. To re-engage this precarious team of leaders the company should find some definite ways, it distinguished that all cabin crew would be released with its full potential, leading to inspiring the service knowledge of all customers of BA. To develop its leadership BA selected in 2007, NKD which was set to work producing an stimulating programme called Leadership Matters, merging with the latest leadership styles with practical methods for cabin crew managers to use in daily activities. The project initiated with an concentrated Discovery period where it was discovered through a series of centre groups: The productions from this phase manufactured the grounds upon which the whole progress programme was built: Once the programme was overall through with the aims, cabin crew managers were asked to the central part of Leadership Matters an appealing and reviving workshop for two days. The workshops themselves were intended to give leaders space and interval to consider their leadership style and the impression they have on their teams and customers. The energetic events aimed to attract the on-board leaders, and improve their skills as real as 21st Century leaders should possess. Every aspect of the workshops design the choice and presentation of the learning venue, event invites, the learning content itself, film, event materials and the style of facilitation was consistent with the BA service promise and the key traits of  Modern Leadership. The result of this program were early indications suggest that Leadership Matters is proving a great success. Satisfaction ratings from delegates average an impressive 5.8 out of 6. The programme is successfully reconnecting leaders with the essence of their role and providing them with new skills and confidence to become effective Modern Leaders. (http://www.nkdlearning.co.uk/case-studies/british-airways-case-study/) MOTIVATION The history of motivational study has seen the rise of differing, but not equally exclusive methods to motivation. There are many challenging theories which endeavour to explain the landscape of motivation. Such theories are all at least to some extent true, and help clarify the behaviour of firm people at certain times. But, the study for a comprehensive theory of motivation at work seems ineffective. All the theories existing here have their critics but still any theory or study which helps in understanding of how best to motivate people at work must be beneficial. Even though there is no one single answer, as a group the different theories deliver a framework within which we can try to answer the query of how best to motivate individuals at work. We are therefore left to critic the relevance of these diverse theories, to a specific work situation ( Blane, ND). (http://www.examstutor.com/business/resources/studyroom/people_and_organisations/motivation_theory/index.php) TECHNIQUES USED BY BA TO MOTIVATE ITS EMPLOYEES Workplace BA endeavour to provide a working environment that will engages, supports, engages and develops its employees. The key factor of BA workplace pillar is to motivate its employees to be dedicated towards their  duty as they are the ones who make the airline run and BA require them on the board till the journeys end. BA diversity and inclusion team has established a plan for the company that encourages all the employees with the aim of identifying aptitude and encouraging flexible rational. This plan is reinforced and united into all sections over BA senior level promoters and defenders. This in opportunity will identify and meet the varied needs of Ba employees. Another strategy BA have set up is for conflict and harassment resolution. To formulate this strategy BA has hired a total of 50 advisors and mediators employed across British Airways to make a culture where self-respect and admiration are trademarks of relationships at work, and where nuisance or mistreatment are not allowed to be abided. Rewards and recognition BA knows that what is the importance of reward in making it a great business holder to work. BA is very much dedicated in building an environment where BA employees feel valued and are known fairly in the organization for making their contribution in the organization individually. British Airways deals with two types of principal funded defined benefit pension schemes in the UK, the Airways Pension Scheme (APS) and the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS). From April 1, 2003, new employees were allowed to join the British Airways Retirement Plan (BARP). Smart Pension measures, which allow BA UK-based employees to make their pension contributions in a more tax well-organized way, were presented in early 2008. Around 90 per cent of those employees who are entitled are now benefiting from this arrangement. One of the main aim of BA is to provide total reward packages for its employees which will inspire them in high performance and exceptional customer service throughout the business However, BA substituted its grade based reward scheme for managers with a new broad band system which links rewards more closely to individual performance and ability. On the other hand BA Bravo recognition scheme allows it to distinguish people across their business for their hard work and attainments. Improved training In simple terms, training and development refers to the imparting of specific skills, abilities and knowledge to an employee. A formal definition of training development is, it is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by increasing an employees ability to perform through learning, usually by changing the employees attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge (Rao, 2009). Rao, D.(2009), HRM-Training and Development, June, MBAguys.net[Online] Available at: http://www.mbaguys.net/t2217/ Accessed on: 1st December] In the last year we delivered 235,000 days of training. We also welcomed some 3,100 people into the company which required a high level of induction training and a refresh for our new entrant training programmes. BA has established several training centre for its employees where they are been trained not practically but mentally too. BA invest more effectively in the development of its employees to build both their skills and educational standards for this it has opened several vocational study centres. With the help of these centres all new applicant of cabin crew can now achieve an NVQ  Level  2 stipulation on accomplishment of their training which is comparable to 4 GCSEs. Leadership development Leadership is a major main concern for BA, for which BA have established a number of platforms to improve the competence and presentation of its leaders. This comprises of a day plan for all leaders, called Leading  the  Business, which emphases on the experiments of managing variation, pleasing employees and bringing results to support the business plan. BA have also advanced a leadership website to deliver information and training resources to provision managers with all aspects of their characters. BA now mainly focus on talent and leadership expansion over the coming year as BA shape the ability it need for development. (http://www.britishairways.com) Abraham.H.Maslow  published A Theory of Human Motivation in 1943. In this work he argued that people are  wanting / needing beings. As such we always want more, and what we want depends on what we already have. Maslow suggested human needs can be arranged into a series of levels, a  hierarchy  of importance. Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Maslows theory of motivation is the theory which deals with the aspects of people needs in the place where they work. The theory describes about the unfulfilled needs of the employees which leads to conflicts in the organization. The structure of this theory is basically like a pyramid having five different sections of different needs. These are the basic needs of the people working which are need to be fulfilled so they can develop themselves as well as the company they working in, The levels are: Physiological Needs: It is the basic need of the people, it deals with the aspects like food, shelter, clothes, water in order to survive. People expect decent pay from where they work so they can fulfill their basic needs. Safety Needs: It is the need which is concerned with the physical, survival or sense of security. In workplaces people expect high standard of work, safety and security, intervals of rest, pension and medical treatment from the company. Social Needs : It deals with the aspects of love and affection. In workplaces people work hard and they form groups in which they require friendship. giving respect to each other and providing social facilities and friendly environment. Self-Esteem : It is one of the major factor of Maslows Theory of motivation as it speaks about ones self-respect. This means getting respect from others, feeling valued, having confidence and giving rewards for better performance in the company. Self-Actualisation: It deals with the full potential of people. It describes the needs of people working like have challenging jobs, opportunities for creativity, achievement in work promotion. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs USE OF MASLOW THEORY OF MOTIVATION AT BA Self-Actualisation needs: BA is fulfilling this need of its employees by giving them challenging jobs and providing them with training so they can develop their skills and perform well in their field of work and gain progress. Self esteem needs: BA is satisfying its employees this need by giving them job titles, position in the company and receiving feedbacks of job. Social needs: BA fulfils this need of its employees by making them work in groups and motivate them to work as a team. BA also organises cultural programs in the company for the employees where they can interact with each other and form social groups. Safety needs: for this need BA has introduced several pension plans where employees will be provided with pension after their retirement and bonuses at present time.BA has introduced free medical centres for its employees. Physiological need: BA fulfils this need of its employees by providing them with proper working conditions and paying them well according to their performance. Team effectiveness at BA Each colleague through the company together forms British  Airways and therefore must work together to accomplish the organizational vision and goal. Diversity and inclusion British Airways is very pleased to be one of the business organization that salutes and nurtures variances. Diversity and inclusion one are of the method of life for British Airways. The main emphasis of BA has been on developing its Dignity at Working strategy to reduce provocation and mistreatment in the workplace. BA has selected and skilled Provocation Advisors from across the world of business ,in response to their employees requests for people they can approach privately about any issues they may have and try to solve them. The advisors behaves as a listening ear to the employees and provide them with the guidance and practical knowledge. BA consults with its disabled employee group to identify disability issues and help them to ensure that they are making all BA products, services and training fully comprehensive and available. All the employees are trained in incapacity awareness to increase their awareness about the all disabled employees and customers. BA has also introduced a Building Ability strategy system to classify and encourage the needs of disabled customers and employees. BA frequently look at how it can progress the voyage of knowledge for the disabled customers and for the first time BA has conducted detailed customer research to classify areas for development. In July 2008, 522 members of the British Paralympics Association moved to Beijing for the Paralympic Games, providing BA with important trainings which BA can interpret into day-to-day practice. Generally, BA Pride at Work strategy comprises of process training, communications and workshops across the business which are helpful in development of BA as well as its employees. Colleague involvement BA certifies that all its colleagues are to be kept well knowledgeable about the working of its Company, customers and industry by using inclusive internal communications technique. BA gives priority to Face-to-face communication and run regular updates across the Company so that more people can interact at a time, share ideas with senior and line managers. BA also run workshops which are helpful for the managers in communicating and making key statements and also online forums and an online Ideas which can exchange to inspire wider discussion. On the Other hand BA has introduced online communication channels for the colleagues. (http://www.britishairways.com) Team Effectiveness Theory used by BA McGregors Theory X and Theory Y The motivation of employees is generally the accountability of the manager. After  McGregors study- The Human Side of Management recommends that two styles of  employee exist, each retaining different needs. Theory X- expresses a negative sight of human nature, depicting employees as lethargic, unambitious people who loathing work and need to be measured through sentence. Theory Y- discusses that employees are not money motivated but increase recompense from the job itself. Theory Y grants employees as self-disciplined, work obliged people who desire accountability and inspired fulfillment. British Airways has adopted style of Theory Y to improve its Team effectiveness. Evidently Theory X and Theory Y workers will respond in conflicting means to altered management efforts to increase Team effectiveness. The Theory X employee is more expected to react to financial encouragements, so BA focus less on these types of employees and Theory Y employees are encouraged by job enhancement, job expansion, job rotation and superiority control groups which leads the company into the directions of success that is why BA focuses mainly on these types of employees and provide them with bonuses, pensions, training of working in groups as a team. Theory X  would lead BA towards falling in the area of better service. Communication To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. Anthony Robbins quotes  (American  advisor to leaders) Communication is the process of sending a message through a channel and receiving the feedback from the same medium. COMMUNICATION AT BRITISH AIRWAYS BAs strategy is reproduced in its mission statement, i.e. To be the undisputed leader in world travel. BAs communication strategy makes use of different IT communication system with different programs guarantee smooth running of the operations. The information system is accountable (Britishairwaysjobs.com, Undated).for all the working of It through BA groups and plays a crucial role in modelling the airline in future. British Airways symbols practice of Corporate Communications that is the global reputation of organisations manager and confirms that all concerned parties are awake of the airlines expansions and news. Corporate Communication is accountable of the airlines Intranet satisfied, which is one of the key networks used in care of mobile staff and providing with the latest newscast and strategies. British Airways has a distant employee population that is frequently travelling in all angles through the world. Regardless of this task, BA employees are well connected via the companys Intranet; presence in the sky, airports or on highways. BA also presented the Employee Self Service (ESS) project to deliver tools that agree staff worldwide to accomplish their own day-to-day management over the web (Computing, 2001). Corporate Communications is too responsible in the production of BA News, a weekly newspaper which is spread to its employees and team players. A protected, healthy and dependable 247 through the world IT procedure is used to guarantee an improved teamwork (networking) and communication channel; leading finished communication. BA another important channel of communication is IP Technology. Communication channel has a powerful tool of Advertisement. A sum of professional communications agencies are organised to distribute the airlines key communications to customers and media of BA operates in more than 80 countries Another important BA communication channel is BA Media. The sales arm of the communication channels for British Airways Media presented by Britains premier airline brand. The communications setting that BA Media bids is both exclusive and ever growing, giving an opening to reach its audience. BA Media is responsible in the production of Business in fields like TV, Magazines, Marketing material lounges, Radio magazines etc. (http://www.britishairways.com) RECOMMENDATION It appears that the main cause of the difficulties faced by British Airways is owed to the unplanned management variations executed. The problems also rise because of the insufficient knowledge of its management about the procedure of planned management and new management structures. It can be observed as a set of theories structures designed to describe the factors essential for the performance of organisations and to support managers in thinking about motivating, leadership, planning ,communication techniques and team effectiveness for the development of the employees as well as the organisation. These can be accomplished through: Reduce introduction to unprofitable sections of the market while taking strides to maintain and progress upon the effectiveness of its system. The recruitment process at BA is very time consuming due to the large number of candidates applying, the company must enhance a quicker decision making system or standard. BA should appoint more good inspirational leaders so the employees can get motivated. BA must concentrate upon the employees who are not working up to their mark and avoiding working in groups, it should adopt some strategy to motivate them and make them work in groups which will help in improving team effectiveness. The company should get in touch with their clients when they have some promotional offers. BA should have more of the customer service and loyalty programs it creates an atmosphere of self-awareness in the organisation among the employees. Conclusion British Airways remains carefully enthusiastic about its future projections. However, it is convinced that significantly more work lies in the future if the airline is to be successful. The motivation and commitment of employees is the significant for the accomplishment of British Airways. It has been verified that there is a clear link between employee motivation by leaders and customer contentment. The role of the People in the Division is to make sure that people within British Airways are well accomplished so that employee motivation remains high, leading to better customer service through the means of proper training and communication channel adopted by leaders in flat functioning of the organization. The Department is systematized into central expert units with People and Organization Distribution units who work alongside each section managers in British Airways. Lot of advantages has been taken to uphold motivation and self-confidence of employees after the redundancy period. Redundant employees were aided to find alternative employment. For the present employees, Bravo is the company acknowledgement scheme, providing people leaders with a means of identifyin g the contributions of teams and individuals. There is a advice-giving and participative method with the unions. It is the leaders of the organization who takes these initiatives to notify the remaining employees as more than just survivors. However, to solve such problems in relations of having good employee relationship and customer relationship the organisation brings back its strategy of Putting People First as Putting People First Again. In addition, the organisation also offers the updated course to all BA employees.

Physics of Drums :: physics music drum drums

Dating back to the slave trade the drum has been used all over the world as a means of communication and self expression. Its broad variety of users includes the early African tribes and the Native Alaskan tribes, both using them for ceremonial purposes. The Africans brought drums with them to the Americas and helped to develop their popularity among American musicians. In the mid 1900’s drum sets were brought about. These revolutionary collaborations of percussive pieces started off with a pair of hi-hats, a bass and snare drum, and a couple of tom toms. Later as the music progressed, so did the drum kits, completely eliminating the need for an entire drum section. With the coming of the rock and roll movement the drum kits were changing, they needed to accommodate the new music styles. They became sonically diverse and even electronic drums were brought about; making them infinitely adjustable both ergonomically and musically. With every major drum manufacturer c ompeting to have the best product on the market drums will always be evolving and the † limit for drum set creation will simply be the imagination of the musicians.† (http://www.josaka.com/Features/2005/History-of-Drums.htm) The sound waves for open ended and string instruments is fairly straight forward. However, for a closed end instrument, such as a drum, the sound waves are different. A lot of the energy is dissipated through the shell of the drum, which is the reason for the variance in drum construction these days. Many different kinds of wood are used to generate different sounds, or a different amount of energy absorption. For a warmer, deeper sound maple construction is used while birch is used to get a high, resonant tone full of vibration. The heaviest wood that dissipates the most amount of energy is oak, creating a lower, flat sound. When the wooden shell construction isn’t enough for drummers to achieve the right amount of sound wave dampening, different drum heads are used.

The Decameron Essay -- Italy Italian Literature Giovanni Boccaccio Ess

The Decameron BOCCACCIO, GIOVANNI Born in 1313, Giovanni Boccaccio is one of the greatest figures in Italian Literature. He was born in Paris, France by a French woman who remains unknown, but on many occasion he speaks very highly of her. His father is an Italian; they are part of the middle class. As for their professional status, they were Merchants / Bankers. Although, Bocaccio was born out of wedlock, his father legitimized him and took him to his house, provided him with a family and a good education. In 1340 Boccaccio moved to Florence where he meets Petrarch in 1350, his mentor. He began study Greek and Roman Classics. During 1339 to 1351 he writes The Decameron one of the most noted and readable book in all literature. It is believed that he completes the first draft of The Decameron before he met Petrarch in 1350. Somehow the meeting with Petrarch changed Boccaccio’s Literature development. What he admires the most about Petrarch is his scholar and the humanist. With such influence Boccaccio withdraw from writing about romance, and preferably writes in Latin. He was an ambassador to different mission; Boccaccio did some community work while he was intensely involved in literature and his school activity. After traveling in different part of Europe, Boccaccio returns to Certaldo where he becomes very sick. In the fall of 1374 he receives the terrible news from Petrach’s son-in-law, to let him know that his best friend passed. He was devastated, became depressed and died the following year. SUMMARY OF FOURTH DAY, FIFTH STORY This love story is about a rich, young girl that falls in love with a young man of a low social status. Ellisabetta is young, beautiful and lives in Mess... ...l of this just to keep a secret that ends up coming out anyway. This just proves the old saying, "What is done in the dark will come to light." Cottino-Jones sums up love and the community in this story in her book. She says, "the lovers in this books are constantly faced with violence, death and isolation when their affairs come into conflict with society’s rigid behavior codes "(Cottino-Jones, 79). Lack of communication and social factors made everyone in the story unhappy or dead. WORKS CITED Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Translated by Mark Musa & Peter Bondanella. Penguin-Mentor, 1982. Cottino-James, Marga. Order From Chaos: Social & Aesthetic Harmonies In Boccaccio’s Decameron. Washington D. C.: University Press, 1982. Decameron Web. http://www.Brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/dweb.shtml. (1999, July 6).

Performing Arts in Context Log Book West Side Story, The Romeo & Juliet :: Drama

Performing Arts in Context Log Book West Side Story, The Romeo & Juliet (Baz Lurhman Version) And The Original Version: Character Analogies Voice 1 Log Book Vocal/ Physical Warm-Ups for Actors and Speakers Breathing: Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Do this 5 times. Inhale through the nose, filling lungs to 90% capacity, and then quickly fill up. Exhale with a relaxed a-a-a-h. Do this 5 times. Stretching: Stretch your neck to one side (ear to shoulder), then the other. Do this twice. Stretch your chin to your chest, then back. Do this twice. Stretch all the way around (chin to chest, shoulder, back, and chest) 5 times each way. Shake all over, like a wet dog, starting from the top and working down. Voice: Say "hah," "he," "hi," "ho," and "huh" from your diaphragm. Say each of your vowels from head to toe, toe to head, as if the sound is coming out of those parts of your body. Say each of your vowels as if it is coming from you mouth only, then nose, then eyes, then top of the head. Say each of your vowels from your facial mask (your whole face). Say "b-r-r-r-r" as if you are a race car. Do this several times. Say "gutter, butter, butter, gutter, good blood bad blood, good blood, bad blood red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather" Say "The Swiss wrist watch sank swiftly" 5 times. Good Posture: An exercise for practising is to pretend that you are supported with a ‘metal rod’ going through the top of your head and through the back of your body down to your ankle; this is the ‘Alexander theory’. Something also similar is to imagine that you’re a puppet dangling on a single string attached to the top of their heads. Research for My Chosen Monologue The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 movie, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis "Red" Redding. This movie is primarily about Andy Dufresne's life in prison after being convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, despite his protests of innocence. Theatre in Education Log Book In theatre in education we have been progressing on the play ‘Romeo & Juliet’. We have chosen as a team to produce the play in the style of ‘Goths & Chavs’ and the conflict will be a cause of trend. The Uses & Role of Theatre in Education * High quality, entertaining and educational performances for young people * Expertise in Drama with disaffected and disadvantaged teenagers * Facilitating forums and workshops with all ages

State-funded faith schools

This paper will look at the manner in which state-funded religion schools came into being in the United Kingdom. It will reason that authorities educational policy and its in-migration and integrating policies play a cardinal function in finding the demand for the proviso of province religion schools. The province support of religion schools has a long history in the United Kingdom. The National Society of the Church of England founded 17,000 schools to offer instruction to the hapless between 1811 and1860. ( DfES, p.2 ) The province support of these schools began in 1870 when Church and other voluntary establishments began to have financess to supplement and help them in their educational proviso. ( Cush, p.435 ) As at January 2008, of the 20,587 maintained primary and secondary schools in the UK, 6,827 have a spiritual character and of these nine are Muslim. ( Bolton, 2009, Table 1 ) There are three types of schools with spiritual character in the UK – maintained, academies and independent schools – with the province providing support for the first two. Maintained schools are either: volunteer controlled which means the Local Education Authority provides all the support in return for control largely over spiritual instruction and administration ( most Church of England schools are voluntary controlled ) ; and voluntary aided where the province provides 90 % of the support for more control over spiritual instruction and administration ( most other denominations fall into this class, particularly Roman Catholic schools ) . ( Cush p. 435-436 ) . Christian and Judaic religion schools were the lone religion schools having province support until 1998 when the Islamia Schools Trust, a fter a conflict of 12 old ages, was awarded voluntary aided position for its schools. Whilst there are merely nine province funded Muslim schools, there are over 100 Muslim schools in Britain. These independent schools tend to organize their attempts through the Association of Muslim Schools. On November 11th, 2007 during Prime Minister ‘s Questions, the authorities stated that sing instruction it â€Å" is committed to a diverse system of schools driven by parental demands and aspirations ; that the Government does non hold marks for faith schools but remains committed to back uping the constitution of new schools by a scope of suppliers. † ( Bolton, 2009, p.14 ) Reaffirming the Government ‘s place on religion schools, Ed Balls, the so Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families said on January 9th, 2008: â€Å" It is non the policy of the Government or my Department to advance more faith schools. We have no policy to spread out their Numberss. That should be a affair for local communities. † ( Bolton, 2009, p.16 ) The thrust for some members of the Muslim community towards their ain religion schools needs to be understood in visible radiation of the background of Muslim migration into the UK, their subsequent integrating and recent universe events. The first Muslims geting from South Asia in the 1950s were semi-skilled or unskilled laborers. They had a inclination to remain insulated from the wider community – this being every bit much a map of their ain pick as a response to the racism and societal exclusion they were sing. ( Hefner, p.227 ) Subsequent unfastened in-migration policies of the 1970s allowed their households to follow and now 75 % of all Muslims in the UK are from South Asia. Harmonizing to the 2001 nose count, the about 1.6 million British Moslems make up approximately 3 % of the population. ( Hefner, p. 227 ) In the UK, â€Å" Muslim † has become synonymous with â€Å" Pakistani † . Third coevals British-born Muslim households no longer believe of themselves as immigrants, although what it means to be a British Muslim is still a construct being negotiated. Our individualities are defined as much by our ain apprehension of our histories as by how we think others perceive us. In recent old ages, the individuality of Muslims has been tied up with universe events and striking representations in the media. Since September 11th, 2001, Muslims have been bombarded by an overpoweringly hostile media and a authorities seemingly captive on encroaching on the autonomies and human rights of its Muslim citizens. Salma Hafejee described an event that evoked non uncommon feelings in her 21 twelvemonth old boy. Talking on a movie for â€Å" Our Lifes † , a undertaking which explored the penetrations and experiences of Muslim adult females in Bradford, she told the narrative of a weekend visit her boy took to Barcelona. Coincidently, on the weekend of his trip there had be en a series of apprehensions made in Barcelona in connexion with what had been described as terrorist activities. On his return place, her boy was met by constabularies and questioned for several hours. She said he had ever felt British and believed that his British passport would protect him, but for the first clip he felt an foreigner in his ain place. ( Speak-it, 2009 ) One can good conceive of that this experience and the changeless bombardment of negative images associating to his religion in the media must hold been perplexing. Naturally surrounded by such ill will and â€Å" other † ised in this manner, a community would hold a inclination to shut ranks and look inward for comfort, protection and security. This state of affairs can be seen as some justification for why the Muslim community turned to Muslim schools to continue their communal individuality and Muslim patterns. The Education Reform Act 1988 provinces that schools should â€Å" advance the religious, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of students at the school and in society†¦ † Some Muslims were get downing to oppugn whether a non-Muslim schooling environment would be able to adequately carry through that demand for their kids. The Education Act of 1944 made faith the lone topic it was mandatory to learn in school, but the instruction of faith is comparatively superficial, intending that from the position of those for whom a spiritual ethos is of import, mainstream schools are unable to supply the religious and spiritual dimension adequately. How authoritiess deal with the proviso of faith does look to hold some bearing on the educational picks of parents. An scrutiny of Belgium and The Netherlands shows that when the authorities proviso of spiritual instruction is high, the demand for spiritual schools is muted. In Belgium, 4 % of the population is Muslim – chiefly of Turkish or Moroccan descent. Since 1975, it has been the jurisprudence to supply Islamic direction in province schools on the same footing as other faiths are taught. The first, and merely, province funded Islamic primary school opened in 1989 and seems to be linked to the inability of two municipalities to name officially recognized instructors and thereby their refusal to supply Islamic direction. In The Netherlands, 6 % of the population is Muslim and besides chiefly of Turkish or Moroccan descent. The province does non hold a policy for the specific proviso of Islamic direction and there are 45 Islamic schools in The Netherlands. ( Merry, 2005 ) In the UK, the deficiency of equal proviso of spiritual instruction in mainstream province schools, the ill will of the media, the authorities and the populace to their religion and community, and the recorded underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools combine to organize a powerful incentive for Muslim parents to take over control of the instruction of their kid. Given the UK authorities ‘s expansive rhetoric about advancing and back uping Britain to be a multi-cultural society, and its declared committedness to a diverse system of schools driven by parental demands and aspirations, the support of Muslim province funded schools is an easy stretch. But an in agreement definition of a multicultural society seems deplorably missing. The authorities has a ‘policy of advancing multiculturalism ‘ but if it is unable to specify what a multicultural society could look like, how does it cognize that the policies it is advancing are effectual to run intoing this terminal? Today ‘s multicultural Britain has many faces dependent mostly on ethnicity, geographics and societal category, which in bend is one of the determiners of educational accomplishment. Is multicultural merely the recognition of diverseness in our society or is it an battle with that diverseness to make a society that is pluralistic? Does it intend that we are all free to populate in our ain sub-worlds without interface with the wider community or does it intend that we are encouraged to prosecute with each other? Where is the yarn that binds us as citizens if we live wholly culturally independent lives? This was a inquiry that was raised by Ray Honeyford more than twenty old ages ago and it is still a inquiry that warrants turn toing thoughtfully today. In 1982 Bradford Council issued guidelines for its purpose in instruction. These included: preparing kids for a life in a multicultural society ; countering racism and the inequalities of favoritism ; developing the strengths of cultural and lingual diverseness ; and reacting to the demands of minority groups. Ray Honeyford was a headteacher in a Bradford in-between school and he was concerned that the educational policies he was expected to implement were impracticable. He argued that the 20 % of Bradford ‘s Islamic immigrant population had purposes to stay in Britain. For their interest and for the interest of others, they should take part to the full in British life, and that in order to make so efficaciously their instruction needed to emphasize the primacy of the English linguistic communication, and British civilization, history and traditions. ( Dalrymple, 2002 ) In 1984, Honeyford wrote an article that was rejected by The Times Educational Supplement before being published by the far right Salisbury Review. The fact that it was this publication that was the first method of transmittal connoted a batch to its readers and no uncertainty would hold influenced the subsequent reading of the article itself. In â€Å" Education and Race – an Alternate position † Honeyf ord ( 2006 ) suggested that the perversion of linguistic communication ( he had a Masters in linguistics ) around race and cultural issues had made it impossible to talk candidly about the concerns and worlds that our progressively diverse society was throwing up. He highlighted that chunking together all non-whites into one class that was â€Å" black † created a duality of anti-white solidarity. What we, today, name â€Å" other † -ing. His primary concern was the impact of an imposed multicultural mentality on the instruction of his pupils. British jurisprudence obliges a parent to guarantee that his or her kid is registered and attends school on a regular basis. He argued that the inclination for Asiatic households to take their kids out of school and direct them to the sub-continent for months at a clip was non merely illegal but had obvious negative educational effects. The Department of Education and Science turned a unsighted oculus go forthing headteachers, li ke Honeyford, to follow with an attending policy based on the parent ‘s state of beginning. He found this untenable and cast it as an â€Å" officially canonic policy of racial favoritism. † ( Honeyford, 2006 ) Honeyford farther highlighted that the absence of English as a primary linguistic communication of direction at the school left the â€Å" cultural white † minority pupils in his schools educationally disadvantaged. His broader concern was how the operation of interior metropoliss with its production of cultural ghettos, and multi-racial educational policies could bring forth an integrated and harmonious society. He concluded: â€Å" I suspect that these elements, far from assisting to bring forth harmoniousness, are, in world, runing to bring forth a sense of atomization and strife. And I am no longer convinced that the British mastermind for via media, for puddling though, and for good natured tolerance will be sufficient to decide the inevitable tensen esss. † ( Honeyford, 2006 ) Post-publication, Honeyford endured a drawn-out and acrimonious run against him taking to his eventual early retirement. The acerb response to his averments for better and more integrative instruction did non raise the authorities action. Issues raised by the â€Å" Honeyford Affair † continue to be debated more than two decennaries subsequently. Honeyford ‘s tough and brave inquiring of issues that the authorities was excessively uncomfortable to raise and seek and work through have left a permanent vacuity on integrating and the harmonious and â€Å" multicultural † universe we reasonably aspire to. In visible radiation of these personal businesss, the argument on religion schools – which preponderantly relates to keep schools – leads us foremost to inquire what the purpose and intent of instruction is. Is instruction intended to supply us with accomplishments for employment, in which instance it is driven by a practical measurable end product? Or is in intended for, as Aristotle called it, human booming? And are these two needfully reciprocally sole? If instruction is deemed a human right, so what function does the kid drama in finding the instruction that he receives? These inquiries do n't look to hold been straight touched upon by those debating the desirableness of religion schools. Given the faith school argument touches on countries of instruction, political relations and faith it is improbable to be a cold-eyed 1. Most of the argument is opinion- instead than evidence-based ( Cush p.440 ) and authors on the issue repeatedly bemoan the deficiency of empirical grounds to confirm claims from either side. As Moslems are going acutely cognizant of their minority position, the thrust towards Islamic schools is every bit much a response to the onslaught on their individuality as it is about the ethos of instruction. Harmonizing to Heffner and Zaman ( 2007, p. 228 ) â€Å" In recent old ages, the issue of Islamic instruction has been a critical portion of the argument about what it means to be a British Muslim today and an of import terrain in the dialogue of individuality, citizenship and co-existence. † Mainstream instruction tends to see the universe though an Anglo-saxon lens and accomplishments are Europeanised. The survey of the parts made by Muslim bookmans over the centuries in many capable countries is a encouragement to self-esteem and those naming for Muslim schools are looking for a alteration in the manner the universe is viewed. The mission statement of the Islamia Trust Schools states that it â€Å" strive [ s ] to supply the best instruction in a secure Islamic environment through the cognition and application of the Qur'an and Sunnah. † ( Islamia ) What this requires is a reconception of the manner in which any topic can be taught, negociating as it must through the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The statement being made is that Muslim kids are going de-Islamised ( Khan-Cheema, p.83 ) and that mainstream schools are neglecting to supply an ethos in which all, non merely secular, facets of a kid ‘s life are catered for. Concern for the deficiency of individual sex proviso in the mainstream for miss is besides voiced as a concern and a ground for necessitating the proviso of Muslim schools. The academic underachievement of Pakistanis in mainstream schools is good recognised, but their accomplishment in religion schools is good above norm ( Bolton, 2009 ) . The direct connexion associating improved academic consequences and faith schools should be made carefully as academic accomplishment is besides liked to the economic and societal category of the household. The instance against Muslim religion schools is a obliging one. Those contending this place say that these schools are a genteelness land for fundamentalist and intolerant spiritual positions that are non inclusive of the bulk. They propagate segregation and voluntary apartheid and create ghettos which exclude other races and religions, therefore making societal division. With Islam about universally cast as a menace to universe order this raises inquiries associating to citizenship and trueness. Those in this cantonment may pull some of their inspiration from the place Honeyford took on the demand to incorporate instead than segregate more than 2 decennaries ago. Why would, and how could, an immigrant who lands in the UK who is able to make for himself an environment that reflects – culturally, socially, and educationally – the one which he left, have any chance to construct trueness to his host state. Clearly the authorities ‘s place on what a multicultural Britain would look like demands to be debated much more openly – if merely so we can seek and understand how we will acquire at that place. A individualistic each-to-his ain policy can non certainly supply the manner frontward. The inquiries Honeyford asked more than 20 old ages ago, unsavory as they were, are inquiries we might necessitate to inquire once more today.MentionsBolton, Paul & A ; Gillie, Christine ( 2009 ) . Faith schools: admittances and public presentation. House of Commons Library Standard Note SN/SG/4405Cush, Denise ( 2005 ) . Reappraisal: The Faith Schools Debate. British Journal of Sociology and Education, Vol.26, No.3 ( Jul.,2005 ) , pp. 435 -442Department for Children, Schools and Families ( DfES ) . Faith in the System: The function of schools with a spiritual character in English instruction and society.Hefner, Robert W. & A ; Zaman, Muhammad Q. ( 2007 ) Schooling Muslimism: The civilization and political relations of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton University Press.Hewer, Chris ( 2001 ) . Schools for Muslims. Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, The State, Schools and Religion ( Dec. , ) 2001 ) , pp.515-527Hewitt, Ibrahim ( 1996 ) . The Case for Muslim Schools in Issues in Islamic Education. The Muslim Educational Trust, London.Hussain, Imitiaz, A. ( 2003 ) , Migration and Settlement: A Historical Perspective of Loyalty and Belonging in British Moslems: Loyalty and Belonging, ed Mohammad Siddique Seddon, Dilwar Hussain, Nadeem Malik. The Islamic Foundation, Leicestershire.Khan-Cheema, Muhammad, A. ( 1996 ) . British Muslims in State Schools: a positive manner frontward in Issues in Islamic Education. The M uslim Educational Trust, London.Lawson, Ibrahim ( 2005 ) . Leading Muslim Schools in the UK: A challenge for us all. National College for School Leadership.Merry, Michael S. & A ; Driessen, Geert ( 2005 ) . Muslim Schooling in Three Western States: Policy and Procedure. Comparative Education, Vol. 41, No. 4 ( Nov. , 2005 ) , pp. 411-432Parker, Stephen ( 2005/2006 ) . Reappraisal: In Good Religion: Schools, Religion and Public Funding. Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 21, No. 1 ( 2005/2006 ) , pp. 217-219Speak-it Productions ( 2009 ) . 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