Repressive Patriarchs of Jane Eyre

â€Å"The men in the novel are all repressive patriarchs. For them, male supremacy must be absolute. † In the light of this comment, discuss Bronte’s presentation of male characters in ‘Jane Eyre’. Throughout the novel of Jane Eyre, there seems to be a common sense of patriarchal dominance, as possessed by the male characters. Bronte shows male supremacy through four key characters that Jane encounters throughout her life. Each character differs hugely, though this sense of a higher and more powerful individual, over Jane, remains prevalent in each – they are all repressive patriarchs in some way, though of varying magnitudes.The Victorian society was a completely different society to the one we live in now and it was well-known to be male-dominated and one in which women had almost no rights at all. The fact that Bronte wrote Jane Eyre during this period in time is clearly reflected in the male characters in the novel. It is evident that Bronte hers elf may have experienced or been put in some of the situations that she portrays Jane to be in by some oppressive male character in her own life.Nevertheless, it is seen that these characters do change as the novel progresses as Bronte seems to give them a chance to withdraw themselves as a repressive force, and show a little more consideration and compassion towards others and women in particular. John Reed is the first of Bronte’s repressive patriarchs in the novel. He is placed at the beginning of the novel and is introduced to us almost immediately. He is in fact the very first oppressive force to Jane in her life and in this way is very significant.At first, John does not seem to be a huge threat to Jane, merely branding her a â€Å"bad animal† and a â€Å"rat†. This juvenile name-calling behaviour, as expressed by John, is still oppressive in that he uses these names to assert a higher power over Jane, subsequent to pronouncing all the books in the house a s his property. He reminds Jane that she is in a highly precarious position in society and that she has no class due to the fact that she is living with them. She is classified as â€Å"less than a servant† according to him because she does â€Å"nothing for [her] keep†.John taunts Jane proclaiming that she â€Å"ought to beg† to even live. He continuously reminds Jane that she is a â€Å"dependent†; somewhat indicating that she is dependent on him due to the fact that he is the only male in the household, and therefore the master by birth. Furthermore, John demands obedience of Jane, even though he is only but four years older than her. He exercises what he feels is his power as a male over her physically, as can be seen when he hits Jane with a book as the â€Å"volume was flung†.This physical abuse is indicative of Bronte expressing that John Reed believes that male supremacy must be absolute. The regularity of his bullying as a demand for obedi ence of Jane, not â€Å"once or twice in a day, but continually† is also characteristic of a repressive patriarch who would feel more secure in continuous rather than periodic abuse. John Reed’s appearance may even be said to be one of a typical oppressive male character. Being â€Å"large and stout† with â€Å"heavy limbs and large extremities† indicate that he is quite a large boy for his age and automatically an intimidating individual.His actions towards Jane are also somewhat animalistic such as â€Å"thrusting out his tongue at [her] as far as he could without damaging the roots†, suggesting his belief in a primal sense of alpha male dominance over a shrewdness of apes. He is quite grotesque as well and he does not just exert his power over Jane, but he â€Å"twisted the necks of the pigeons, [and] killed the little pea-chicks. † It is clear that Bronte is extremely disgusted with his manner of indulging in animal cruelty as a means to show his masculinity.John is also disagreeable towards his mother and acts without respect towards her, emphasising his belief that he is of a higher status than all women, not just Jane. He â€Å"called his mother ‘old girl’ too; sometimes reviled her for her dark skin, similar to his own; bluntly disregarded her wishes, [and] not infrequently tore and spoiled her silk attire. † These aspects of John Reed, with no doubt, express Bronte’s strong feelings about the fact that all men thought that they were superior to a woman. Her disapproval and abhorrence of male supremacy is clear. Mr Brocklehurst is the second tormenting force that Jane is exposed to in her life.He differs to John Reed in the fact that whilst John Reed is a form of physical oppression towards Jane, Brocklehurst is a form of religious oppression. Nevertheless, both of the two characters are similar in appearance as can be seen by Bronte’s description of them, reinforcing this idea that male characters of oppression have a certain appearance to express their power. When Jane first meets Brocklehurst, the first description she ever gives him is one with negative connotations – â€Å"a black pillar† that was â€Å"standing erect on the rug; the grim face at the top was like a carved mask, placed above the shaft by way of capital. Immediately we are given the sense that he is an imposing and unbending character who is just plain frightening, especially to a young Jane. Brocklehurst seems to be a gothic villain in a sense and as a â€Å"stony stranger†, the sibilance emphasises the fact that he is extremely unapproachable, hard and unforgiving. Bronte also gives Brocklehurst a â€Å"bass voice† which emphasises his masculinity, as well as large features that are â€Å"harsh and prim† to highlight his unyielding disposition.We soon find out that Brocklehurst is in fact a religious hypocrite who uses religion as a vehicle for his repressive force that he exerts on the pupils at his school. However, we are not on first introduction immediately shown his hypocrisy by Bronte until a little later in the novel when Jane is at his school. Upon Jane and Brocklehurst’s first meeting, he pointedly asks Jane if she should like to â€Å"fall into that pit [full of fire] and be burning there for ever†. In an oppressive manner, Brocklehurst uses these implications of hell as such to scare and terrify Jane into obedience.If we read into Brocklehurst’s language, his hypocrisy is revealed to us. He states to Jane that she would burn in hell â€Å"for ever. † The fact that he says â€Å"for ever† is key in that he particularly twists the Christian ideas. When he mentions hell to Jane he ignores a key Christian idea that you may be saved from hell in an effort to frighten her into submission. Brocklehurst does not know for a fact that Jane will go to hell, but he is threatening her with the idea of hell, as he does with all the girls at Lowood School. Bronte writes the first conversation between Brocklehurst in a way that puts our sympathies, as a reader, with Jane. You must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh† was the advice given to Jane by Brocklehurst – this is ironic in that Brocklehurst is described by Bronte as being â€Å"stony† himself, emphasising Bronte’s effort to sway the audience’s opinions to side with Jane. At Lowood, Brocklehurst firmly preaches the idea that God wants women to devote themselves to domesticity in order to please Him. He states that â€Å"humility is a Christian grace and one peculiarly appropriate to the pupils of Lowood† and that he brings the girls up in a way so as to cultivate this.Brocklehurst reveals his own hypocrisy and effectively shoots himself in the foot and shows that he clearly does not practice what he preaches with his own children when he tells the story of his daughter Augusta and her trip to Lowood. Augusta comments on â€Å"how quiet and plain all the girls at Lowood look†, â€Å"almost like poor people’s children†, in comparison to herself in a â€Å"silk gown. † Augusta and her sisters also actually arrive at Lowood, as seen by Jane, in velvet shawls, ostrich plume and such.In this way, Bronte shows her belief that Brocklehurst is all that is wrong with the males of Victorian society as well as many of the rich people who also state that â€Å"consistency, is the first of Christian duties†, without fully committing and believing in what they say themselves. Brocklehurst is in fact an extremely inconsistent person in his day to day life. Mr Brocklehurst is a representation of what Bronte believes is wrong with society and its males with regards to religious oppression, as John Reed is a representation of her beliefs with regard to m ales in society with regards to physical oppression.In a stark contrast to Mr Brocklehurst is St John Rivers, who is in fact a non-stereotypical patriarch. He is a contrast to Brocklehurst because he firmly does not believe that women like Jane should dedicate and devote themselves to domesticity but instead to God. Brocklehurst is also a hypocrite in this way as he should be preaching the idea of devotion to God but instead teaches his pupils to devote themselves to domesticity. However, there are also some ways in which St John is similar to Brocklehurst, and there is a key link between them in their ideologies.St John has extremely congruent ideologies; however he is not a hypocrite, unlike Brocklehurst. It is important to mention that St John is an aesthetic model, an extremely problematic one at that. He is constantly living for his ideals and with his perfectionist nature, these ideals are almost unattainable. He is deeply religious and self-sacrificing when it comes to fulfil ling his religious duties, and in this way, he tries forcefully to get Jane to comply with his approach to life and to go to India with him.To get her to come with him and marry him, he uses language such as â€Å"a part of me you must become†, asserting his authority and power as a male over her. He seems to be sacrificing of both Jane’s happiness and health for others, but he applies this to himself as well. St John attempts to dictate Jane’s life in that he seemingly wants her to reject his job offer as a school mistress for village children. He wants her to hold this job for a while but not permanently as he believes that she â€Å"cannot be content to pass [her] leisure in solitude, and to devote [her] working hours to a monotonous labour† in a place where her skills are made useless.He acknowledges that Jane is destined by God to do greater things, and though he may be wrong, he seems to be hinting to her this fact and that she is fit for a missiona ry’s wife, in what could be seen as a passive oppressive act. St John is also deeply unhappy with the fact that all Jane seems to want is a happy family life and would use all her money that she inherited to secure it. At Christmas, she is set on revelling in domesticity and St John is very much bothered and despairing of this and tries to convince her to become more like him, albeit in a repressive manner. I excuse you for the present: two months’ grace I allow you for the full enjoyment of your new position† – in this authoritative language St John displays that he does not want Jane to remain the position that she is in and to â€Å"begin to look beyond Moor House and Morton†¦ and the selfish calm and sensual comfort of civilised affluence. † He wants Jane to sacrifice herself to God and I believe that in this way St John is more dangerous than Brocklehurst because he can is oppressive with reason, and he is not a hypocrite and willing to do all he preaches.I have decided to leave discussion of Mr Rochester to the end as I believe that he is by far the most complicated of the male characters throughout the novel, due to the fact that he undergoes a change in which he becomes less of a repressive patriarch and therefore a more suitable husband for Jane. The character at the beginning of the novel is vastly different to the Rochester that we see at the end, in more ways than one. However, the change in his oppressive nature towards Jane is especially significant. Jane did meet Rochester by chance, but even though he did not know who she was, he was still oppressive and authoritative towards her.He commands her to lead him his horse and when she is unable, he states that â€Å"necessity compels [him] to make [her] useful†, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder which is a significant action that demonstrates his sense of authority. This attitude becomes less apparent as he gets to know her though further into their re lationship, this dominant side of him reappears as he seemingly tries to force her to stay with him, though deep down he knows he cannot keep her. Jane feels that she is equal to Rochester as he is the first male not to out rightly exercise and force his patriarchal dominance over her.Jane is comfortable to speak out and give her opinion directly, though this is only after he asks. She pointedly states that she does not think that he has â€Å"a right to command [her] merely because [he] is older that her† and in this way she has stated that the fact that he is male also does not play a part, though she does not actually say this. However, as their relationship progresses, this equality is warped and some of it is lost as Rochester seemingly becomes more desperate to have Jane for himself. This gradual increase in commands directed at Jane can be seen when Jane asks to leave him to see Mrs Reed.He commands her to â€Å"promise [him] one thing†, that being â€Å"not to advertise: and to trust this quest of a situation to me. I’ll find you one in time. † His desperation for her to come back as soon as possible is evident in the fact that he orders her not to advertise so that she will definitely come back to him. When Jane tries to leave Rochester for good, upon finding out that he does indeed have a wife, in the form of Bertha Mason, Rochester threatens violence in order to get her to stay. He is desperate to get through to her and to convince her to stay and it is interesting that he seems to want to resort to this.The fact that he threatens this shows us that he is at an end and this is what a male character would do in order to get someone to comply with their wishes. Rochester is interesting in that he does try to give Jane a lot of freedom as a woman to do as she wishes, and is comfortable being an equal with her, but when it comes down to it, he always finally resorts to his dominance as a male. Jane, however, does finally retu rn to Rochester at the end of the novel. She makes her way back to Thornfield only to find it burned to the ground and she seeks out Rochester whom she finds disabled following the great fire started by Bertha.This loss of an arm and his sight his key to making Rochester a suitable husband for Jane. The disability means that Rochester is now physically an equal to Jane, and does not have to suppress his opinions and will never have the opportunity to be dominant over her any more. Before he was disabled, Rochester never exercised his power over Jane, out of choice, this disability means that even if he wanted and chose to utilise his male dominance over her, he cannot. The fact that Bronte decides to take away from Rochester so that he becomes less oppressive is interesting.She seems to be giving Jane a chance to have power in the Victorian society that she lives in, possibly reflecting a wish for herself as a woman. Not all the male characters of Jane Eyre are always patriarchal an d some, like Rochester, choose not to exercise their power over the woman. It is important to note that all the characters do it in different ways: physical, religious and only in desperation. However, the distressing reality that Bronte is trying to express is that the majority of the men in society do believe in absolute male supremacy.Nevertheless, she does give the example of Mrs Reed as a female oppressor who demands submission of Jane as a child, and took revenge when not obeyed. I believe that Bronte wanted the male characters to be a strong repressive force so as to reflect her feelings of society and the imbalance between the males and females. It is possible that Bronte was trying to send a message to society through this novel in an effort to provoke a change in society, which would have been met with dispute from male readers and agreement from a female audience.

Apocalyptic Literature

The immediate thought most of us have when hearing the word apocalypse is destruction. From modern doomsday novels to movies like the Viet Nam era Apocalypse Now, we associate the word with war and destruction. The word apocalypse actually comes from a Greek word meaning to reveal or to uncover. So, right off the back we have to adjust our view of Biblical apocalyptic literature. In and of itself, it does not refer to disaster and hopelessness. Instead, it refers to an unveiling of something hidden. In this case, it is the final chapter in the story of Jesus Christ and His victory over sin and evil. In this paper I plan to shed some light on the understanding apocalyptic literature, the characteristics of apocalyptic literature, and how a person should interpret biblical apocalyptic literature. How to understand apocalyptic literature? Understanding the meaning of the word apocalypse is key to grasping apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic, as a term in the common language or dictionary definition, means something that is written in a warning and threatening way. It is scary, awkward, and about boding evil. The dictionary tells us it is presaging people of imminent disaster, exaggerated predictions, or allusions of the last days. However, this is not what it meant in the original Greek or Hebrew or in the time this term was penned. What did it mean? It means â€Å"discourser of events,† and that is what it literally and truly means to us today, too. It also means an â€Å"uncovering† or â€Å"unveiling,† and â€Å"Revelation† means â€Å"discourser of the apocalypse. † Apocalyptic is not meant to scare us or keep us away from interpreting Scripture; rather, it is meant to help us understand God, victory, hope, grace, God’s plan, and that He is indeed in control. The only people who should be scared are those who reject and hate Christ. When we see how this literature operates, it will help us greatly as it discloses for us the unfolding of historical events past, present, and future, with God’s plan and purpose being the ultimate goal. There for, if we take the time and effort to understand this type of genre, it will make things clearer for us it will expose, not conceal what God has for us. We need to realize that all languages use symbols and metaphors including Greek and Hebrew. If we assume a word is literal when it is not, we will make a wrong conclusion that will lead us and others away from the correct teaching. Then, if we teach it, we lead others astray from the correct teaching all because of our pride or ignorance of not correctly interpreting Scripture or reading the Bible for all that it is worth. For example, a parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative; the same goes for apocalyptic literature. Most of the apocalyptic literature in Daniel and Revelation came to the writer as inspired by the Holy Spirit in visions. These are visions that came to them from God and or an Angel, with imageries that need to be put into human based words, but no words have the power or substance to contain the meaning. Therefore, a metaphor is used, as it is able to contain far more information about the â€Å"secrets† of Heaven and End Times than what a few sentences could. These images are usually explained and known to the writer and audience, but not so much to us today (Dan. –12; Rev. 4:9). What are some of the characteristics of apocalyptic literature? Apocalyptic literature is written in symbolism, poetry, and imageries, as well as in an Old Testament prophecy style (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21; Rev. 1:2-4; 19:9; 22:7-19), all intertwined as a textile to describe literal events but with a twist, using language with symbols that are cataclysmic, words that are exaggerated, a nd metaphors that may be lost to a 21st century person. Such imagery is often used for God’s judgments and the end of days. These forms of language are often combinations of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and rhythmical phrases that are intended to express a deeper but not necessarily a hidden meaning that a regular word would not convey. Take our English word, â€Å"bull. † It normally means a male cow, but in context, it refers to not just a farm animal, but also could mean someone who is aggressive, an upswing in the stock market, someone who is clumsy, or slang for someone who is telling a lie. This simple word can be exaggerated for a purpose just as Daniel and most of Revelation uses language to express a point. Apocalyptic writing is also found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Matthew 24. Apocalyptic literature is a combination of narrative and poetry written in vivid imagery and poetic phrases that are intended to exaggerate for a purpose, such as in Daniel and most of Revelation. Apocalyptic writing is a more specific form of prophecy. Apocalyptic writing is a type of literature that warns us of future events, but the full meaning is hidden to us for the time being. Apocalyptic writing is almost a secret, giving us glimpses of what is to come through the use of symbols and imagery. We may not know the meanings now, but time will flush them out. How to interpret apocalyptic literature? We have to be careful how we interpret the Bible. Most of the time, we are to take his word literally; it means what it means and says what it says. However, in the genre of apocalyptic literature, the language is clear, such as the word, â€Å"lamb,† which is used often. We know what a lamb is and we know that Christ is described as a lamb, but do we also know that Jesus is the lamb been slain which means that Christ is the sacrifice? A lamb is the common animal that was slain and sacrificed for the atonement of sin and used for trade. Jesus replaces this lamb as the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice for our redemption. When you see the word, lamb, it is most likely referring to sacrifice and our Lord who offers us salvation (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). In contrast to the image of a lion which means sovereign and judge, the lamb was considered the weakest of all animals, needing constant attention and care just to survive. A lamb would die in the wild, whereas the lion would thrive. The image of the lamb was common in apocalyptic literature, also meaning victory and power through, and sometimes over death (Ex. 12:12-13; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 21:15; Rev. 17:14). You can see that these images and themes have or will have history and significance. When we come to words that seem peculiar to our modern minds, such as stars, the first-century Jews would know that it meant â€Å"angels†. Lampstands meant â€Å"churches;† the phrase, â€Å"wife of the Lamb† meant â€Å"Jerusalem,† and the great prostitute was a covert slogan to refer to â€Å"Nero† or any corrupt leader in power. Babylon usually referred to Rome (Rev. 1:20; 17:1-5, 18; 21:9-10). Babylon the Great mainly referred to Isaiah’s mockery of sin and those who follow it as a harlot does. It is a contrast of evil governments in resentment to God and God’s Kingdom, the captivity of the Jews under Babylon and its moral decadence, and the early Christians under Rome, which was also steeped in immorality. This is also a reference to how people are led captive into sin. It was a metaphor that meant to sin and fall into seduction, meaning what lures us away from faith and what replaces faith. The application of this phrase is that seduction becomes corruption; this can range from pagan worship and atheism to following what is fruitless and meaningless while ignoring our Lord. This is not necessarily referring to one specific person or entity or political system, but pointing the faithful to what is evil in general. Nor, does this mean that Babylon will be rebuilt or restored in some way. This theme is about enmity to God and people’s participation in it which is in direct contrast to what Christ offers and is—Pure and Holy (Is. 1:9; Jer. 51:7-8; Dan. 2:35, 4:30; 44; Rev. 13:1-18; 16:19; 17:1-5; 18:3; 18:2, 10, 21, also 4 Ezra). Another apocalyptic word is star. A star in ancient cultures was a popular expression for divinities or angels; context is the key. Is it talking about messengers, things to come, or stellar events such as astrology? If it is a message being delivered, it could refer to a mighty angel, or refer to a cosmic disturbance, an Angel or ser vant, or an instrument of God (Rev. 8:10; 9:1-11; 20:1). Context and commonsense are the keys. These images are metaphoric, or symbols of specific themes in judgment. The obvious is that the actuality of this passage is pointing to God’s power, but these events are not necessarily verbatim, as it would be seemingly impossible. How could one star, much less billions upon billions land on this plant that is a billion times a billion smaller? The answer is, it is figurative, and it is a mystery how this will be eventually played out and what we will see. This is a depiction, just as a first century Jew would read and write. What we do know is that it will not be the same! The point of this metaphor is that no one is immune from experiencing God’s judgment. The entirety of the universe will bear witness to God’s will as an incredible phenomenon, displayed in the cosmos, that will herald Christ’s Second Coming (Mark 13:24-26; Luke 2:25-27). Overall, it is important to note that 28 percent of the Old Testament is prophecy, most of which came to pass in the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament has over 20 percent of some form of prophecy too, of which most (although this is debated) has not yet come to pass. Therefore, apocalyptic literature is important because God has dedicated a significant portion of his word to it. Again, do not read in what is not there. We are given a clear warning in Revelation 22:18-19 not to add in our ideas or take a way His precepts and then teach what is false. I believe it is ok to speculate academically, research, and argue and deliberate over the views, but we are not to seek or read in what we want and then miss what he as. Bibliography Stein, Stephen L. , ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 3, Apocalypticism in the Modern World and the Contemporary Age. New York: Continuum, 2000. McGinn, Bernard, ed. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. Vol. 2, Apocalypticism in Western History and Culture. New York: Continuum, 2000. Himmelfarb, Martha. The Apocalypse: A Brief History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Cook, Stephen L. The Apocalyptic Literature. Interpreting Biblical Texts. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.

Management Case Studies

Ans 1:- Rollerblade, the popular skate manufacturer based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Rollerblade has been one of the leading firms in the fast growing high performance roller skate marketplace. Rollerblade was in a bind. The product literally could not be shipped out the door. The managers found that workers were not able to ship products because, as a result of poor storage structures, they could not find the products. Once they were found, overcrowded aisles, in addition to other space constraints, still prevented efficient shipping because the workers could barely manage to get the products out the door. We were out of control because we didn’t know how to use space and didn’t have enough of it,† said Ian Ellis, director for facilities and safety. â€Å"Basically, there was no more useable space left in the warehouse, a severe backlog of customer orders, and picking errors were clearly in the unacceptable range,† added Ram Krishnan, Principal of NRM Syste ms, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. With retailers as their primary customers, the customer competitive imperatives that are being affected by Rollerblade’s inventory problems are mainly of services i. . delay in deliveries, as stated above they were facing problems in making deliveries on time, no shipment was reaching on time. These delays will effect a lot on their customers as the retailers want to sell them and if the products were delayed the retailers will also have to suffer in loosing their customers which will in deed result in backing off from the Rollerblade’s only. Rollerblades were lacking behind in technology so as to meet their customer demands they need to improve their technology. Ans 2:- JIT, or just in time, inventory is a inventory management strategy that is aimed at monitoring the inventory process in such a manner as to minimize the costs associated with inventory control and maintenance. To a great degree, a just-in-time inventory process relies on the efficient monitoring of the usage of materials in the production of goods and ordering replacement goods that arrive shortly before they are needed. This simple strategy helps to prevent incurring the costs associated with carrying large inventories of raw materials at any given point in time. For a product like Roller skates, a just in time inventory system might not be that useful as the problem with roller skates isn’t associated with production means whereas it is with the time of delivery. The problem arises after the product is manufactured and is dispatched for the delivery. The main problem with them was for the storage and then reallocating it as there was no systematic way of storage and finding it and sending it for the delivery on time. To solve this problem technology was required rather than just in time inventory system. Ans 3:-

Constitutional Conventions. Should Conventions Be Made Into Laws Essay

Constitutional Conventions. Should Conventions Be Made Into Laws - Essay Example These are the nations which follow the Westminster system of government, common in the Commonwealth Nations. The constitutional conventions often distribute the powers between the head of the state and the head of the government making the head of the state a ceremonial post. For example in the Indian subcontinent (Present India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) the constitution is based on the Govt. of India Act 1935 which was formulated by the British legislators, the additions to the act are made in the form of constitutional conventions and the affairs of government in these states are being run by these constitutional conventions. There are other constitutional conventions which operate alongside written constitutions. In Britain there are many constitutional conventions which have been made into laws. Still there is a marked difference between Laws and Constitutional Conventions. According to Dicey [1883] laws are the set of rules which are enforced by the courts while const itutional conventions are those set of rules which are not actually enforced by the courts and are merely are the habits and practices of people in certain offices of the state. According to Hood Phillips â€Å"constitutional conventions are rules of practices which are regarded as binding by those to whom they apply but which are not laws because they are not enforced by the courts and parliament†. L.B. ... The traditions and practices which are followed by certain governmental procedurals over large periods of time are considered as informal rules and are made constitutional conventions. According to one perception the English constitution drifted from the monarchical system to parliamentary system by way of constitutional convention. The ultimate object of most of the conventions is that the affairs of public interest should be conducted in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the electorates. The origin of constitutional conventions also takes place when certain authorities try to exercise power which is actually not prohibited by law but a certain opposition is aroused against that exercise of power and the opposition is of such an extent that the same action cannot be taken in future and the opposition marks an end to that practice. In such a scenario the certain practices which are not actually forbidden by law becomes forbidden under the constitutional conventions. Const itutional conventions automatically assume the role of constitutional amendments as the legislators and the government starts following them. But the constitutional conventions are not enforced by the courts of law because sometimes these are in conflict with the legal rules and the courts are bound to enforce the legal rules and not the constitutional conventions. On an occasion the British Supreme court has ruled out the possibility of the constitutional conventions to be enforced as laws no matter how well-established and universally accepted they may be because there are instances when there is clash between the constitutional convention and a present law. The only way

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based approaches to mental health nursing Essay

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based approaches to mental health nursing and their application to depression - Essay Example This paper presents a literature review of the cognitive behavioral therapy based approaches to mental health nursing and their application to depression. The most remarkable finding published thus far on the treatment of depression has been in a major research, conducted by Keller and colleagues (2000), weighing the outcomes of one of the more recent treatments, nefazodone, against a new treatment, the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). The CBASP approach suggests that the mindset of individuals with chronic depression has become retarded or regressed to the most elementary developmental stage. The nature of this mindset makes patient indifferent to forces from the social environment, leading to the belief that they are not able to affect any of the circumstances in their lives. This kind of mindset leads to the submissiveness and vulnerability usual of patients with chronic depression. The technique underlying the therapy is to demonstrate to patients th at their decisions and behavior do in fact have significant effects, so that they will be encouraged to adopt behaviors that will yield positive outcomes. These positive outcomes, which stem mostly from social support, work to bring back motivation and enhance mood. Several techniques are implemented in adopting this approach such as the following (Keller et al., 2000, p. 1465): Provision of consistent feedback from the therapist on the interpersonal effects of the patient’s actions. Teaching patients to discriminate between aversive or abusive past interpersonal situations where they could not affect outcomes and current situations where they can. Teaching patients to evaluate systematically whether their actions are assisting them in achieving desired outcomes. The study of Keller and colleagues (2000) presented credible proof that CBASP is very useful in treating chronic depression. The speed of total remission with the combination of medication and CBASP in the study of K eller and colleagues (2000) was almost double the speed of total remission of patients who received medication and cognitive therapy. It is somewhat likely that CBASP will become the most successful therapy for chronic depression. However, this is not yet definite, since the speed of response to medication was significantly greater than in studies using cognitive therapy. Even though the research subjects used in the study of Kelly and colleagues (2000) seem to have higher levels of chronic depression than those in cognitive therapy studies, it is also probable that they were more responsive to treatment. Relapse preventive outcomes have also been reported applying other newer treatment approaches of cognitive therapy. Galante and colleagues (2013) formulated Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) which incorporates several typical cognitive therapy policies into mindfulness approaches. MBCT is given in a group setting with individuals who have experienced severe depression. Thi s treatment was developed particularly with the purpose of enhancing meta-cognitive consciousness in patients who have recovered from depression and who are highly vulnerable to more episodes. By means of mindfulness exercise, MBCT seeks to build a mental ‘group’ of meta-cognitive consciousness that is broader than the meta-awareness associated only with a damaging

Critical Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Review - Essay Example The perspectives that are taken in organizational theory should be keenly considered since they determine how people will understand organizations or how they will behave within their contexts. In understanding organizational theory, it is always necessary to make some philosophical assumptions, which act as a guidance tool; however, these assumptions are usually full of contentions since they usually do not have any evidence to support them. Chapter 2: Modernist organizational theory: Back into the future Modernist organizational theory argues that chaos and disorders among human beings can be overcome through human will and intentions, this means that the order can be maintained by creation of systems, bureaucracies and methods of management that aim at restoring order in a disorderly world. In understanding modernist organizational theory, it is important to look at the intellectual environment and organisations as part of systems; these can be looked at in two different ways. One of the ways is looking at the scientific activities that surround them which include development of the organizational theory; the second way is looking at the organizations as complex systems. Modernist organizational theory is more concerned about bureaucracy as a form of organizational and whether it is an agent of disorder and chaos in the world or it works to restore order in the world. Bureaucracy has been adopted in most of the organizations since the beginning of the 20th century as a means for efficient and effective organisations. Neo-modernist organizational theory: putting people first The modernist approach has been overtaken by the neo modernist approach, which puts the welfare of the people at the centre of the organization. The neo modernist organizational theory uses insight and techniques of the social sciences to build up an organizational and managerial presumption that is usable in problems connected with authority in organizational context. The neo modernist o rganizational theory pays special attention to the values and beliefs that individuals have and how they shape their experiences within organizations (Kets de Vries, 2004, p194). In addition, it also concentrates on how individual values and beliefs are shaped by their experiences in organizations, this leads to organizational culture and ways in which people’s needs can be woven in to those of organizations. This theory has two perspectives on how organizations are usually structured; the first perspective is where the management needs to be sensitive to the needs of the employees in order to create a conducive environment for all stakeholders of the organization. The second perspective is for the management of the organization to create a democratic space, which empowers all stakeholders in the organization (Westenholz, 2003, p110; Johnson, 2006). Chapter 6: post modernism as a philosophy: the ultimate challenge to organizational theory? Post modernism as a philosophy aims to disprove the modernist assumption that the world can be understood objectively by disproving the proposition that it is feasible to come up with a rational and generally applicable basis to scientific inquiry that can explain the universe from an objective point of view (Thompson, 2003, p185). Postmodernism has had the greatest impact on

Timeline of Historical Events, Movements or Individuals (History of Research Paper

Timeline of Historical Events, Movements or Individuals (History of the USA to 1865) - Research Paper Example it was initiated by the Virginia Company. Thomas Jefferson is included among the list of Presidents of United States of America who played a vital role towards the constitution formation and obtaining the declaration of independence of United States of America. He was born in 1743 and he was an integral part of the American Revolution and overall process. Also he due to his innumerable achievements and contributions is listed among the few who are called the founding fathers of United States of America. He also remained the Secretary of State and further, remained the United States Minister to France. His other contributions in the professional capacity include his standing and duty performance as the Governor of Virginia. He remained the Vice President as well. A decade long war that started in 1753 and lasted till 1764. It is important in the history of American nation on number of accounts. Firstly, it served as the foundation step towards the internal resentment against the English, secondly it was fought in the form of a proxy war between the English and the French who had their influence and presence in the region. Third was the fact that it set the grounds for the later on Seven Years War which was to be fought directly between the Great Britain and France. The warring territories engaged in this battle were Nova Scotia and parts of Virginia in the modern day United States. The final outcome came about in the form of victory towards the English. The first Continental Congress proceedings lasted between September and October of 1774. It was important on number of grounds. The first was the fact that nearly all the states sent over their representatives for the grand gathering with the mere exception of Georgia. The event was held in Philadelphia. It was significant on the account of fact that a platform was made where it was established that this platform would make efforts to overcome the obstacles

Sheikh Zayed AlNahyan biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sheikh Zayed AlNahyan biography - Essay Example However, presently, his rule has come under scrutiny. There is great debt being accrued and little solutions to resolve it as yet. This is how the Sheik’s decadence and spending, which contributed to so many improvements, also, had some negative side effects, as well, particularly debt. In order to understand the man better it is best to start at the beginning. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was born on July 15th 1949 in Dubai, into a family with a long line of rulers. Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai since 1833. They are descended from the Al Bu Falasah, a part of the Bani Yas, which was a highly respected and dominant tribal â€Å"federation† made of those who would become the present UAE, founded in the 1970s. The Present Sheikh is not the first member of his family to take a great interest in attempting to stabilize, improve, and change the conditions of Dubai, as a whole, throughout history, many rulers before him have tried. Since the family took power in the 19th century they have all worked to improve Dubai situation and reputations, transforming it into a popular tourist locale and potential business location (Government of Dubai). The young Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan was privately tutored as a child, but would later, in 1966, attend Bell School of Languages at Cambridge University. In 1979 he married the first of his w ives, and therefore senior wife, Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, and his youngest and newest wife Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein is the daughter of the Hussein of Jordan. In his lifetime he has welcomed 16 children into the world (The Biography Channel 1). It was in 1995, at the age of 46, he was named Crowned Prince of Dubai and in his new position he eagerly began fulfilling his vision of Dubai becoming a lush and popular place, no longer just a tiny piece of desert. After he

The Role of the Exchange Rate Regime in Contributing to the 2001 Essay

The Role of the Exchange Rate Regime in Contributing to the 2001 Crisis in Argentina - Essay Example Argentina underwent structural changes in the 1990’s. In the late 1980’s, Argentina suffered high levels of inflation. Thus, in the 1990’s, the administration of president Menem implemented several reforms to overcome the country’s macroeconomic instability through the Convertibility Plan (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.302). Inflation dropped to single digits, whereas economy remained stable (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.302). Moreover, the country underwent privatization, deregulation, and trade liberalization (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.302). Until the crisis in 1998, Argentina was viewed as a success story and a role model. The currency board was created to conquer inflation and create deflationary expectations among the general populace. As part of the Convertibility Plan, the board was created to enhance confidence among investors, population, and anyone in power to set prices in the Argentinean market (IMF 2003, p.4). To stabilize the economy, the board pegged the Argentine peso to the US dollar at 1:1 (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.307). Moreover, it linked the supply of pesos to the quantity of US dollars held in Central Bank reserves (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.307). Money supply depended on the US dollar reserves. Since the Argentinean peso was pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, the money supply was determined in the same way. For example, assume there was only one dollar in the Central Bank’s reserves. Then the money supply would be one Argentinean peso times the money multiplier. Now assume that an additional dollar is bought by the Central Bank and put in reserves. This increase in reserves translates into an increase in money supply. Namely, one additional peso is put into circulation. However, this is not the end of the analysis. In every economy, a stock of value changes hands several times within a given time period. Thus, this additional peso needs to also be multiplied by the money multiplier. This relationship is described in equation (1) below, where is money supply, is monetary base and is the money multiplier (Gokbudak 1995, p.111). (1) Money multiplier, in return, is determined by the required reserve ratio (Rodriguez – Boetsch 2005, p.308). This definition can be seen in equation (2), where is the money multiplier, and is the required reserve ratio determined by the Central Bank. (2) The board eliminated previously available options. Monetary policy was no longer an option. Under a floating regime, the central bank can sell or buy securities and so through open market operations control the interest rate, which in turn determines the cost of money and can offset inflation. Since this policy was not an option, only fiscal policy remained. The labor market also needed to become flexible in order to absorb some of the possible shocks (IMF 2003, p.8, 26). However, with 70 percent of federal budget going to social security and provinces, little maneuve ring space was left for the fiscal policy (IMF 2003, p. 13). There are several causes of the crisis. The IMF (2003) considers this crisis to have been caused by the interaction between fiscal policy and the currency board arrangement. The crisis is also seen as an outgrowth of fragile balance sheets in the undeveloped banking sector and lack of political strength to implement a reform. Public sector debt is seen as a trigger which, coupled with previous history of economic slumps, led to the above causes (IMF 2003, p. 4). Following

Austrian Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Austrian Economics - Research Paper Example The second prime objective of Menger was to prove that this explanation of commodity-price-formation is not only general but also abstract. The purpose of this explanation was also to correct the German Historical School, which suggests that there are no such universal economic laws that are applicable across different cultures, times and nations. They rejected the â€Å"Manchester School’s† requisition on global free trade in view of the universal relevance of the comparative edge (Mises, 1969). Menger being a supporter the rich empirical research of the historicists debated that the economic goods’ properties are based on the general theoretical investigation. He also dedicated his book to Wilhelm Roscher who was a renowned historicist. The Historical School’s younger members did not support Menger’s argument. The subsequent argument to this — characterized the methodenstreit or dispute over procedures — followed that the historicist s started to refer Menger and his supporters as the â€Å"Austrian School,† that signifies their mediocrity in comparison to the genuinely German approach (Bostaph, 1994; Caldwell, 2004; Mises, 1969). Although the Historical School applied adequate impact on the German Universities and thereby, took them to the twentieth century however it is the insights of the Austrian School that marked an impact on the remaining professions in other parts of the world. The discussions by Menger in relation to subsiding marginal utility, scarcity, and Robinson Crusoe economies were naturally knitted into the surfacing marginalist consensus. Similarly, the students of Menger, Friedrich Wieser and Eugen Bohm-Bawerk made significant contributions to the principle concept, Wieser for introducing the terminology â€Å"opportunity cost† and Bohm-Bawerk for his coining the time preference discussion (White, 2003). The Austrians had differences with the others, particularly when Marshall re established the production-cost-concept as one blade of a pair of scissors that evaluate price whereas the marginal utility being the other blade of these scissors. However, these were just minor disputes under a wider consensus. Although both F.A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises followed the tradition of Menger however by the time they were internationally recognized they were just economists and did not require any â€Å"Austrian† label. Since that point of time, the â€Å"Austrian School† simply became a term of historical significance. Nevertheless, the affiliation with the mainstream of the profession continued. The argument related to socialist calculation disclosed the deep, fundamental gulf that distinguishes the Austrians from the neoclassical orthodoxy, which commenced, in 1920, with the publication of â€Å"Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth† by Mises (1935). According to Mises, the socialist planners, without money prices, would miss-out a common denominator for calculating the effectiveness of alternative uses of resources and hence, would be unable to get involved in rational economic calculation. The socialist-economists retorted with the market socialism theory, the concept that the socialist planners could employ the centrally controlled accounting prices and systems of equations as an alternate for market exchange. Hayek and Mises retorted by pointing out that the market socialists basically misinterpreted the issue, but to no benefit. All Professional

Self Analysis Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Self Analysis Leadership - Assignment Example Leadership has been also related to the ability of individuals to control the activities of employees (Rost, 1993, p.101); however, the above description of leadership is not successful since the control of activities of others is not necessarily part of the duties of a leader since it is a task that can be also delegated to an employee at lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. Through my discussions with friends and colleagues, I have come to the decision that leadership is a complex concept; this means that it is difficult to set the criteria that are of primary importance for evaluating the leadership skills of an individual. Under certain circumstances, an individual can be considered as an excellent leader even if he is not capable of communicating with others; for example, a leader that took the right decision in a critical case could be characterized as a good leader irrespective of his leadership skills in general. For me, effective leadership consists of two key eleme nts: the ability to handle crises and the ability to communicate. A Short Life History in Regard to Leadership I have been helping my father in our family business for many years. I had the chance to understand the challenges that a leader has to face. My father had to develop a wide range of tasks including the communication with customers and employees, the development of arrangement with suppliers and the suggestion of plans for securing the competitiveness of the business. In addition, there have been certain family values that have highly influenced my views on leadership: trust, support and cooperation. My father had helped me to understand that cooperation with others is quite important for achieving critical targets; reference is made not only to professional life but also to personal life in general. He had also explained me that cooperation and support should not be considered as weaknesses but rather as attitudes of a successful leader. My father used to say that a leader who has not managed to gain the trust of his followers should not be characterized as a successful leader. In my family, trust has been related not only to the truth but also to inspiration and support. My first experiences in leadership, as developed in the context of the family, have helped me to realize the characteristics of leadership and its power to influence the social and economic life worldwide. An Example of Leadership Attitudes In school I had the chance to experience leadership, even for a short period of time. In the third year of college, I was proposed the position of the leader for an important event – the college’s annual manifestations for the New Year. The duration of the manifestations were 3 days, from the 30th of December to the 1st of January and included a series of events such as a music event, an exhibition with the paintings of the college’s students and a speech of the college’s principal to the students and the staff. During these 3 days my leadership skills were highly tested – for about two months: since the beginning of November, I had to communicate on a continuous basis with students and staff so that the whole project is carefully planned. I had also to check the availability of resources required and ensuring that costs are kept as low as possible. At the same time, I had to cooperate with colleagues so that tasks are appropriately assigned and monitored. Controlling the

The Assessment Process Essay Example for Free

The Assessment Process Essay Introduction Assessment is the process of judging a learner’s skills and knowledge within the work place or training environment, set against the National Occupational Standards. (NOS) These standards reflect best practice in the particular industry. Learners will be assessed as either competent or not yet competent and their evidence will be judged as sufficient or insufficient for them to have reached these standards. see more:identify ways of supporting an individual to make informed choices The assessor will work closely with the learner and work towards a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Note NVQs in the UK are now progressively being replaced with the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) NVQ’s are typically arranged in levels which are structured into units each unit carries a number of credits, they are competency based i. e. they require the demonstration of abilities to perform a standard of job, both in skills and an understanding of what the learner does and why. Learners can undertake an NVQ at any time, they will be required to attend an initial induction session within which the learner will choose units to work on. Each unit covers a general area of work and carries a certain number of credits and outcomes. Learners are required to complete a number of mandatory units and then optional units are chosen to achieve the required number of credits. Learners will have regular meetings in the workplace, with their assessor to discuss evidence criteria, progress and set targets. The Assessment Process The assessment process can be broken down into the following sections :- 1 Recruitment, induction initial assessment Once the learner is recruited and inducted into the programme an Initial assessment is carried out. This involves the identification and collection of a wide range of information to enable the assessor to develop an effective, efficient, personalised and positive training programme for the learner. The assessor’s role is to aid the learner to gain an overview of the qualifications he or she hopes to gain and to plan their route to achieving it involving selecting the right units, in the right order and identifying any extra support they might need. Information collected during the initial assessment includes:- * Social/ethnic background. * Learning difficulties, disabilities and health or personal difficulties. * Previous abilities, experience, education, qualifications and achievements (RPL) * Learner strengths. * Areas for development – weaknesses. * Current job role. * Learners short and long term ambitions, goals, needs and expectations. * Time resources. * Available facilities and support. It is the assessor’s responsibility to determine the learner’s attitude and commitment and to ensure that he/she is fully involved in the process. Failure to carry out a thorough initial assessment can result in guiding the learner to unsuitable options, the training taking too long and wasting time, effort and resources, leading to frustrated learners and resulting in a high rate of â€Å"drop outs†. 2 – Planning Before the assessment of a learner begins, it is important to make a plan of how the assessor will carry out the assessment. The overall aim is to plan for the types of evidence needed to inform the assessor’s decisions. A holistic approach is important here i. e. the assessment process needs to be planned around what the learner is doing, then linking these activities to the occupational standards, not the other way round Important for learners in the working environment. Valuable steps for the assessor during planning are to :- 1. Ensure an overview of all the relevant units within the learners chosen path, taking into account the results of the initial assessment. 2. Have all necessary documents concerning the learners existing achievements to hand 3. Gauge the level at which the learner is currently working. 4. List day to day activities, responsibilities and functions and link units to these key activities It is vital that the learner is involved at every step of the process, and crucial that all details are agreed by him/her especially the learning goals and time scales. Assessment plans The results of the planning stage should be recorded by the assessor on a document called The Assessment Plan. Each assessment plan should record :- * Who is being assessed, where and when. * What activity is being assessed, and the units for which the evidence will be provided * What assessment methods will be used, how they will be recorded and where the evidence will be stored after the assessment. * When and how feedback will be given. * Who else needs to be informed of, or involved in the assessment. * What the arrangements are for reviewing progress and updating arrangements for assessment. * Anything the learner needs to bring on the day of assessment. 3 – The fundamental responsibilities of the assessor Good assessment practice relies greatly on an honest and trustworthy relationship between the assessor and the learner, vital for successful and credible results. Credibility in assessment is guaranteed by ensuring that all assessment practices and procedures are governed by the following set of principles :- Fairness, transparency objectivity. The assessor must :- * Give the learner the best opportunity to demonstrate their learning and knowledge and the assessment process must not hinder or advantage the learner in any way. * Consider the needs and characteristics of the learner. * Provide transparency i. e. communicate clearly with the learner to ensure he/she is fully informed about, understands and is able to participate in the process. * Inform of appeal opportunities and procedures. * Not discriminate on sex, race or disability (the equality act 2010) Validity. Validity is a measure of the accuracy of an assessment or is the assessment actually doing what it is supposed to be doing? Each assessment should be designed to allow learners to produce the evidence to show that they have the required knowledge, understanding and skills for the qualification they are aiming for. An assessment is valid when it :- * Is appropriate for the purpose, e. g. a practical assessment should be used to assess practical skills, a written assessment that asks learners to write about a skill rather than demonstrate it would have low validity. * Allows learners to produce sufficient evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills that are required to satisfy standards of the qualification. * Allows assessors to make reliable assessment decisions for all learners. Reliability Reliability is a measure of the degree of consistency with which a learners responses to an assessment are judged. To be reliable, assessment decisions on learners performance must be consistent across all assessors for all candidates undertaking the same assessment task. In any assessment system, procedures have to be put in place to ensure this. Assessment decisions are reliable when :- * They are generated by valid assessments which are produced under conditions of assessment that are consistently applied. * They are consistent across the range of assessors applying the assessment in different situations, contexts and with different learners. * They are taken on the basis of clearly-defined standards of performance. * The authenticated work of the learner is being assessed. * They are consistent over time. The relationship between validity and reliability Validity and reliability are interdependent. An assessment that produces inconsistent results cannot provide valid information about a learner’s achievement. On the other hand, highly consistent results do not necessarily indicate high validity, since the test may be inappropriate for the competence being assessed. For example, the results of a maths test involving routine calculations may have a high degree of validity for indicating arithmetical skills but a low degree of validity for indicating problem-solving abilities. High validity and high reliability are more likely to be achieved when assessors :- * Measure learners against outcomes of learning which have clearly defined performance levels. * Use assessment instruments that are appropriate to the outcomes. * Minimise subjectivity. 4 Learning and development The learner undergoes training and development over time and :- * Acquires skills and knowledge. * Practises and applies what they have learned. * Starts to perform to the standards. * Consistently performs to the standards under a variety of conditions at work. Assessment for learning takes place at regular intervals to see how the learner is progressing. Learners are given feedback on their performance, targets are adjusted and further training and development are arranged as necessary. Formative Assessment Formative assessment is an informal process used by assessors and learners to recognise and respond to student learning in order to enhance that learning during the learning. It is a method of assessing for learning as opposed to assessment of learning (summative assessment) It takes place during the assessment, is an integral part of the learning process and involves the assessor indentifying the learner’s present standard of abilities and work. It provides feedback which supplies suggestions on how the learner can develop and helps the assessor to modify the learning process to suit the learner on an ongoing basis. Advantages :- * Provides the learner with a â€Å"safe place† allowing him/her to make mistakes and learn from them as opposed to the penalties of summative assessment. * Guides assessor into making decisions about future instruction enabling them to keep track of progress and adapt training to the needs of learners. * Improves learner motivation and achievement. * Engages the learner in self assessment. * Facilitates continuous improvement for both learner and assessor. Summative assessment Summative assessment focuses on learning completed, happens after a learning period and comes in a form of formal testing of what has been learned to produce marks or grades. Advantages:- * It acts as a formal measurement and evaluation of a learner’s growth and achievement after instruction. * Enables learners to enhance their achievements. * Provides rigorous, reliable and valid verification of a learner’s performance. * Develops learners as active participants in their own assessment, enabling them to develop as independent learners and effective professionals. 5 – Assessment methods There are many assessment methods available to the assessor. It is important to choose methods which are fair, valid and most effectively assess the objectives of the unit. See table below which lists the key methods and their application METHOD| DESCRIPTION| APPLICATION| Observation| Watching learners perform in the workplace or simulated environment | To see learners demonstrate their practical skills as they do their job activities. Most standards specify observation as a mandatory method| Examining or evaluating work products| The outcomes or products of a learners work activity or task| In conjunction with observation,questioning or professional discussion – must be the result of real work| Questioning| Using a range of questioning techniques either spoken or written| To find out whether the learner has learned necessary knowledge| Discussion| A conversation in which learners describe and reflect on their performance and knowledge in relation to the requirements of the standards| To test the validity and reliability of a learners evidence. Can often be used to cover a range of work activities and units. An affective way to test deep rather than superficial learning| Evidence from others (witness testimony)| Another person’s account of what the learner has done, usually to confirm existing knowledge from assessors own observation| To support an observation and to confirm consistent performance over time. May be used in conjunction with RPL to verify a learners claim to existing knowledge and skills| Learner statements| The learners account of what they have been doing in relation to the standards to be achieved| To support consistent performance over time. Or for evidence of reflection on, and improvements in, performance | Projects, assignments and case studies| Assessing the outcomes of case studies, projects and assignments that the learner has undertaken as part of their vocational learning against specified criteria| In conjunction with questioning or discussion (although projects and assignments set as part of the learning process provide no evidence of competence)| Simulation| Using a replica of the work environment to assess competence. When it is impossible or unsafe for the learner to perform in a real-life work environment| Skills tests| Formal testing of skills under test conditions| When it forms part of the requirements for independent assessment in certain qualifications. Usually where the learners need to acquire a range of technical skills before they can perform them in the work environment, or safety related knowledge and skill requirements. | Recognition of prior learning| Assessment of a learners existing level of knowledge and skill in relation to the standards| To match prior learning to units in a qualification so the leaner doesn’t have to repeat what they have already learned. Without detailed assessment it can be difficult to judge whether prior claims constitute valid, authentic and current evidence. | 6 – Evidence All the different methods of assessment have one thing in common the collection of evidence. Evidence can be defined as The proof produced by a learner that shows that he/she complies with the requirements of the criteria of the standards they wish to gain credits for. Evidence can come from a variety of sources, it is the responsibility of the assessor to ensure that the evidence collected is valid i. e. is authentic, sufficient and current before he/she can make an accurate judgement of the learners competence. Authenticity of evidence * Can the evidence be attributed to the learner? * Is the evidence the learners own work? The assessor has to verify that the evidence is the learners own work therefore the learner must be able to explain and substantiate the evidence produced. Sufficiency of evidence * Is there enough evidence to meet all criteria needed to judge the learner as competent? * Is the assessor confident that the learner has the relevant level of knowledge and skills and that performance can be repeated? Rather than focussing on quantity of evidence the assessor needs to ensure that assessment decisions are based on quality of evidence that demonstrates the learner is competent. To be sufficient evidence must show that :- * The learner has attained all of the relevant skills and knowledge outlined in the standards. * The learner has shown competence over a period of time. * The learner is confident to repeatedly demonstrate skills and knowledge. Currency of evidence * Is the evidence related to current competence? The assessor needs to judge the evidence as up to date with the latest developments and environmental factors such as legislation and must assure that it is the most recent available, especially important when assessing prior learning.

Small And Medium Enterprises And Larger Scale Businesses Commerce Essay

Small And Medium Enterprises And Larger Scale Businesses Commerce Essay For this assignment I have done a lot of researches on the small and medium enterprise and larger scale businesses and sole trader. The first question on this assignment is distinguish between small and medium enterprise and large scale businesses .Small and medium enterprise and larger scale businesses are precise and varies by their own factors. The U.S government defines the sizes of businesses, such as the number of employees and number of revenues. Furthermore, these enterprises are sized by employee size, features of small scale industries and characteristics are successful small scale and medium scale business. The next question is interview a sole trader, identify the difficulties that he/she is facing and give suggestion on how to overcome the difficulties. A sole-trader or sole-proprietorship is a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one person. It is the smallest form of business ownership and the easiest to start. For this question I learnt more about a sole-trader. A sole trader a simplest form of business structure. It is also easy and inexpensive to maintain. SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ARE PLAYING A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN OUR ECONOMY. DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE AND LARGER SCALE BUSINESSES 2.0 Small and Medium Enterprises and Larger scale Businesses 2.1 Definition of Small and Medium Enterprises The Small Business Administration (SBA) of US defines a small business as one which is independently owned and operated for profit and is not dominant in its field (Hughes, 2011). However in Malaysia, there is no common definition of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Different agencies define SMEs based on their own criteria, usually benchmarking against annual sales turnover, and number of full-time employees or shareholders funds. In addition, present definitions focus mainly on SMEs in the manufacturing sector. The following definitions are issued by National SME Development Council of Malaysia: Primary Agriculture A small and medium enterprise in primary agriculture is an enterprise with full-time employees not exceeding 50 or annual sales turnover not exceeding RM5.0M. Manufacturing (including agro-based) A small and medium enterprise in manufacturing (including agro-based) is an enterprise with full employees not exceeding 150 or with annual sales turnover not exceeding RM25million. Services (including ICT) A small and medium enterprise in services is an enterprise with full-time employees of between 5 and 19 or with annual sales turnover of between RM200,000 and less than RM1.0million. The above definitions are then divided into smaller entities, micro, small and medium. The following table summarizes the approved SME definitions based on number of full-time employees: SECTOR / SIZE PRIMARY AGRICULTURE MANUFACTURING (including agro-based) SERVICES SECTOR (including ICT) MICRO Less than 5 employees Less than 5 employees Less than 5 employees SMALL 5 19 employees 5 50 employees 5 19 employees MEDIUM 20 50 employees 51 150 employees 20 50 employees Source: National SME Development Council of Malaysia The table below summarises the approved SME definitions based on annual sales turnover: SECTOR / SIZE PRIMARY AGRICULTURE MANUFACTURING (including agro-based) SERVICES SECTOR (including ICT) MICRO Less than RM200,000 Less than RM250,000 Less than RM200,000 SMALL RM200,000 RM1.0million RM250,000 RM10.0million RM1.0million RM5.0million MEDIUM RM1.0million RM5.0million RM10.0million RM25million RM1.0million RM5.0million Source: National SME Development Council of Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia had conducted a number of case studies on successful SMEs in Malaysia to identify the key success factors of these SMEs. SMEs involved in the case study had been in operation for more than 10 years, and had been selected based on their financial performance and track record. The case studies demonstrated that although SMEs were from different industries, all the enterprises shared common critical success factors, namely: Sound management capability and integrity; sound business culture and entrepreneurial spirit; Prudent financial management; High quality products and services; Good programme for human resource development; Strong support from financial institutions in terms of lending and advisory services; and Strong marketing strategies, including good network with suppliers 2.2 Definition of Large scale Businesses Large scale can always be defined as a measurement (Hughes, 2011). Scale means a form of measurement and when it is referred to as large it means that you have a more than average amount on the measurement scale. Thus any industry that is large scale will mean that products are produced at a high volume. This in turn provides a higher capital. Large scale industry requires a huge amount of capital to be invested in the industry first. It will provide many jobs for employees in order to offer a high output. This type of industry is found in places such as the USA, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Australia. All of these countries are big money makers and have large operations producing a variety of products. This is different from a small scale industry that does not require as much capital or as many workers. Given these definitions, a large scale industry can be just about anything from construction to the auto trade. Wal-Mart for example is a company in a large scale industry as they offer plenty of jobs and products to the consumers of the world. Size will matter when it comes to industry. Small companies employ about 60% of the work force in the USA due to the 30 million existing companies. Unfortunately, these companies have a lower survival rate meaning that they usually run for five to ten years and then end. 2.3 Differences between a small and medium enterprise and large entities There are many differences between a small and medium enterprise and large entities, namely: speed of decision-making, attitude towards risk, allocation of resources, understanding of business models and management of business models, and differing definitions of innovation. Decision-Making Process Large enterprises, in view of the different bureaucratic levels, will often require longer time to make decisions. This can be very frustrating especially when a decision needs to made immediately. Delay in decision-making may hinder the progress of the company. In this way, SMEs are better-off as more often than not, decisions can be made at the point of urgency. This helps the SMEs top grow more rapidly compared to a large-scaled enterprise. Attitude Towards Risk Large-scale enterprises can afford to take a bigger risk in running the operations of their businesses. This is mainly due to the fact that their capital is larger and there is buffer to absorb any uncertainties. Large size firm, such as Sime Darby and Petronas can afford to invest in foreign countries and earn much more profits compared to other SMEs. However, SMEs need to be wary of the negative consequences should their investments does not bring back the desired returns which may affect their operations in totality. Allocation of Resources In small businesses, every ringgit counts. Resources can be scarce and are allotted based almost solely on whether they will boost the bottom line. This bottom line focus may not be so distinct in a larger corporation. With more abundant resources at least in comparison to smaller companies people in large enterprises may be relatively free spenders. Understanding of Business Models A large enterprise understands the business models in a wider perspective as compared to SMEs. Large enterprises have the resources to conduct in-house trainings or sent their employees (especially management executives) to overseas countries to attend training programme. Such programmes would provide a bigger horizon to its employees who are then able to strategies their activities towards achieving the companys goals and missions. This normally lacks in SMEs. Innovation Competition in the business environment is getting more violent with more and more business entering the market due to a more relax rules and regulations in setting up business entities. In order for a company to remain competitive and relevant in the industry, huge investments need to be made on the product or services. Consumers have the choice of choosing the goods in the market. Large enterprises have the capacity to investment in such innovations compared to SMEs. For example, recently Malaysian Airlines Systems (MAS) purchased new planes (A380 series) to remain relevant in the airline industries. SMEs will have limitation due its limited financial resources. 2.4 Conclusions Even though SMEs and large-scale enterprises have differing characteristics, both plays a pivotal role in Malaysias gross domestics products (GDP). Both institutions provides employment opportunity, contribution in the form of taxes, corporate social responsibility activities and many more. No business had emerged in large entity automatically. Every business needs to start up from a small and medium entity before moving to a larger enterprise. BIBLIOGRAPHY Danks, S. Business Studies (1st edition), 2009, DP Publications, London, UK Hughes, Pride Kapoor, Business Foundation (3rd edition), 2011, South-Western Cengace Learning, Australia Mubarak Ishak, Structure of Business (2nd edition), 2008, S.S.Mubarak Bros (Pte) Ltd, Singapore Susan H, Business Studies (3rd Edition), 2008), Longman Publication, Australia www.bnm.gov.my/sme assessed on 19/7/2012 www.sme.gov.my assessed on 19/7/2012 APPENDIX 1 Members of the National SME Development Council of Malaysia I. The Prime Minister (Chairman) II. Minister of International Trade and Industry III. Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs IV. Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development V. Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries VI. Minister of Human Resource VII. Minister of Finance II VIII. Minister of Energy, Water and Communications IX. Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities X. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations XI. Minister of Tourism XII. Minister of Rural and Regional Development XIII. Minister of Education XIV. Minister of Higher Education XV. Minister of Housing and Local Government XVI. Minister in The Prime Ministers Department XVII. Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia APPENDIX 2 CLASSIFICATION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ACROSS SECTORS I. Primary Agriculture: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Agriculture, Hunting and Related Service Activities à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Forestry, Logging and Related Service Activities à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Fishing, Operation of Fish Hatcheries and Fish Farms; Service Activities Incidental to Fishing ii. Manufacturing (including Agro-Based): à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of food products and beverages à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of tobacco products à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of textiles à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of wearing apparel; Dressing and dyeing of fur à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Tanning and dressing of leather; Manufacture of luggage, handbags, saddlery, harness and footwear à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of wood and products of wood and cork, except furniture; Manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of paper and paper products à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of rubber and plastic products à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of basic metals à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of office, accounting and computing machinery à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of other transport equipment à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Manufacture of furniture; Manufacturing n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Recycling iii. Manufacturing Related Services (based on 5-digit MSIC 2000 codes): à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73101 Research experimental development services on physical sciences à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73102 Research experimental development services on chemistry and biology à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73103 Research experimental development services on engineering and technology à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73104 Research experimental development services on agricultural sciences à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73105 Research experimental development services on medical sciences and pharmacy à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 73109 Research experimental development services on other natural sciences à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 60212 Factory bus services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 60230 Freight transport by road à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 60300 Transport via pipelines à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 61102 Freight transportation by sea-going coastal water vessels à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 61202 Inland water freight transport services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 62109 Other scheduled air transport (e.g. helicopter services) n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 62209 Other non-scheduled air transport n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 63011 Stevedoring services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 63020 Storage and warehousing services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 63091 Activities of freight forwarding / forwarding agencies à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 63099 Activities of other transport agencies n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74950 Packaging services on a fee or contract basis à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74300 Advertising à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74130 Market research and public opinion polling à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74142 General management consultancy services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74143 Public relations consultancy services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74149 Other business consultancy and management consultancy services n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 92201 Printed news supply services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 92209 Other news agency services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 22190 Other publishing à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 71230 Rental of office machinery and equipment (including computers) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 71302 Rental of furniture à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 90003 Industrial waste collection and disposal services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 37101 Recycling of tin à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 37109 Recycling of other metal waste and scrap à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 37201 Recycling of textile fiber à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 37202 Recycling of rubber à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 37209 Recycling of non-metal waste and scrap à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74212 Engineering consultancy services à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 27310 Casting of iron steel à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 27320 Casting of non-ferrous metal à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 28910 Forging, pressing, stamping and roll-forming metal; powder metallurgy à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 28920 Treatment and coating of metals, general mechanical engineering on a fee or contract basis à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 28999 Manufacture of other fabricated metal products n.e.c. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 29220 Manufacture of machine tools à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 74220 Technical testing and analysis iv. Services: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Electricity, Gas and Water Supply à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles and Personal and Household Goods à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Hotels and Restaurants à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Transport, Storage and Communications à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Financial Intermediation à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Education à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Health and Social Work à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities v. Mining and Quarrying: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Mining of Coal and Lignite; Extraction of Peat à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Extraction of Crude Oil and Natural Gas; Service Activities Incidental to Crude Oil and Natural Gas Extraction Excluding Surveying à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Mining of Uranium and Thorium Ores à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Mining of Metal Ores à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Other Mining Quarrying vi. Construction: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Construction Interview a sole trader, identify the difficulties that he/she is facing and give suggestion on how to overcome the difficulties. 3.0 Sole-Trader A sole-trader or sole-proprietorship is a business that is owned (and usually operated) by one person (Hughes, 2011). It is the smallest form of business ownership and the easiest to start. Looking back at the history of business, some of the giant players in todays market, for example Walmart and Procter Gamble, started their operations as a small entity, i.e. sole-traders. This type of business organization is most commonly established in the construction, retailing, hairdressing, car-servicing and catering trades (Stimpson, 2008). 3.1 About a Sole Trader In order to fulfill the requirements of this assignment, I had interviewed Mr Raman, the proprietor of Raman Supermarket in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Mr Raman, 48, had started to venture into business in 2000. Initially, he was operating a sundry shop in front of his house at Jalan Loke Yew. However, as business grew, he decided to rent the current shoplot and expanded his business into a supermarket. He sells variety of groceries, which includes fish, vegetables, and other daily consumption goods.He is being assisted by his wife and two Indonesian workers to run the daily chores. His business operation is from 6.30 am to 11.00 pm. 3.2 Problems faced By a Sole-Trader The disadvantages of a sole-trader stem from the fact that these businesses are owned and often managed by one person (Hughes, 2011). Mr Raman had faced similar problems in running his business. Limited capital is the main issue faced by Mr Raman. Banks, suppliers, and other lenders are not willing to finance their business, mainly due to its business entity and low confidence on their repayment capabilities. Working capital is important for daily business operations. Non-granting of credit facilities by suppliers hampers the idea of Mr Raman in running his business in a larger scale. Tight cash flow leads to lower stocks and order-taking. Company is not able to earn a good discount rate from the suppliers. Continuity of the supermarket business or succession plan is another problem faced by Mr Raman. His three children are not interested in continuing his supermarket business. He is worried that the business will cease to exist should he give-up his business when he is old enough to retire. Unlimited liability is perhaps the biggest problems faced by Mr Raman. Due to the nature of the liability, Mr Raman faces the consequences of losing even his private properties should he fails in rejuvenating the business entity. This may lead to him being declared a bankrupt should his properties are insufficient to settle the debts. He can be sued either by the bankers or his suppliers. This is one of the worst disadvantages faced by sole-traders ,such as Mr Raman. Mr Raman also faces difficulties in getting workers for his daily operations. Locals are not willing to accept a low salary as compared to foreigners. However, foreigners have other social and cultural problems. Due to staff shortage, customer service is being compromised. Once he had a bad experience when one of his foreign workers ran off with RM800-00, being the days business proceeds. Currently, he is being assisted by his wife on a part-time basis. This makes it difficult for him to take leave or go for a long vacation as this will jeopardise his business proceeds and may also lead to losing his loyal customers. Mr Raman confessed that the last time his family went for a vacation was five years ago. Competition from bigger retailers is another major problem being faced by Mr Raman. The superstores are able to sell at a lower price due to their bulk purchase and higher discounts offered by the suppliers. Usage of credit / debit cards, which is not viable in Mr Ramans case, is another factor that leads the consumers to larger superstores, for example Jusco, MidValley and Giant, to name a few. Mr Raman is not able to offer similar service due to its limited and tight cash flow. 3.3 Suggestions on how to overcome the difficulties In order to solve Mr Ramans problems, I would therefore propose to him to convert his sole-tradership into a partnership. The US Uniform Partnership Act defines a partnership as a voluntary association of two or more persons to act as co-owners of the business for profit (Hughes, 2011). Regardless of the number of people involved, a partnership often represents a pooling of special managerial skills and talents. In order to mitigate the disadvantage of limited capital, Mr Raman can request his family members or friends to become his partner. This additional capital will assists Mr Raman to scale up his business activities for a better profit. Banks and suppliers will be willing to provide additional financing as they will be more comfortable and confident of Mr Ramans repayment capability. Each partner is responsible for the well-being of the business entity. The pride of managing the supermarket and solving the daily operational problems will enhance the partners motivation to work harder to reap more business proceeds. Customers can be better served and eventually through word of mouth on the excellent services rendered at Ramans Supermarket will help to boost his business. Currently, Mr Raman is the only one actively running the daily operations of his supermarket. Partners often have complementary skills Mr Raman could manipulate of his partners specialization to further enhance its services. Furthermore, should there be any problems or issues, the partners can discuss and arrive at a better decision synergy effect. The sharing of profits would also motivate the partners to work harder. Higher business turnover leads to higher profit-sharing among the partners. However, Mr Raman should document the methods of profit-sharing at the initial stage of the partnership deeds or agreements. At the same time, the liabilities are also shared by each of the partners and not by the sole-trader alone. Losses are borne by each of the partners based on their shares. The legal requirements of setting up a partnership are minimal as compared to corporate entities. As long as the business is registered legally, it is good to go. However, Mr Raman should create his own Partnership Deeds in order to avoid any problems in the future.

Importance of Language in Speech Communication

Importance of Language in Speech Communication USING LANGUAGE Words are the tools of a speaker’s craft. They have special uses, just like the tools of another profession. One can’t drive a nail with a screwdriver or turn a screw with a hammer. It is the same with public speaking. One must choose the right words for the job you want to do. Good speakers are aware of the meaning of words both their obvious and their subtle meanings. They also know how to use language accurately, clearly, vividly, appropriately, and inclusively. All words have two kinds of meanings-denotative and connotative. Denotative words are precise, literal and objective. They describe the object, person, place, idea, or event to which the word refers. On the other hand connotative words suggest of imply. These kinds of words give words their intensity and emotional power. They arouse listeners’ feelings of anger, pity, love, fear, friendship, nostalgia, greed, guilt, and the like. Speakers like poets often use commutation to enrich their meaning. Language has to also be used accurately. Using language accurately is as vital to a speaker as using numbers accurately to an accountant. Every word has shades of meaning that distinguish it from every other word. Language must also be used clearly. People are different. What makes perfect sense to someone else may be confusing to others. A speaker must never assume that what is perfectly clear to him is clear to his audience. Listeners, unlike readers, cannot turn to a dictionary or reread an author’s words to discover their meaning. A speaker’s meaning must be immediately comprehensible; it must be so clear that there is no chance of misunderstanding. One can ensure this by using familiar words, by choosing concrete words over abstract words, and by eliminating verbal clutter. One of the biggest barriers to clear speech is using big, bloated words where short, sharp ones will do the job better. This is especially true when it comes to technical language that may be familiar to the speaker but not to the audience. Other than being accurate and clear a speaker must always choose concrete words for his speech. Concrete words refer to tangible objects such as people, places, and things. They differ from abstract word because abstract words refer to general concepts, qualities, or attributes such as â€Å"carrot† â€Å"pencil† and many more. To be an effective speaker one must lawn to eliminate clutter. Clutter is discourse that takes many more words than are necessary to express an idea. Clutter forces listeners to hack through a tangle of words to discover the meaning. When one makes a speech, he must keep his language lawn and lively. It is important not to use several words where one or two would do. Flabby phrases need to be avoided. Let the ideas emerge sharply and firmly. Above all, redundant adjectives and adverbs should be watched. One can also eliminate clutter by practicing ones speeches with a digital recorder. This will not only make one a better public speaker, but it will help them present ideas more effectively in meetings, conversations, and group discussions. A speaker must also be able to use his language vividly. Just as one can be accurate without being clear, so one can be both accurate and clear without being interesting. Although there are several ways to do this, two of the most important are imagery and rhythm. Imagery can be used by speakers to make their ideas come alive. Three ways to generate imagery are by using concrete words, simile, and metaphor. Concrete words are a key to effective imagery. They enhance clarity to the speeches and they also calls up mental impressions of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Another way to create imagery is through the use of simile. A simile is an explicit comparison between things that are essentially different yet have something in common. Similes clarify and vitalize ideas. For example; fit as a fiddle, hungry as a bear and busy as a bee. Such clichà ©s are fine in everyday conversation, but one should avoid them in speechmaking. The metaphor also brings imagery in speeches. A metaphor is an implicit comparison between things that are essentially different yet have something in common. It is an excellent way to bring colour to speech, to make abstract ideas concrete, to clarify the unknown, and to express feeling and emotions. Rhythm is the second way of making a speech vivid. Language is a rhythm created by the choice and arrangement of words. Speakers, like poets, sometimes seek t exploit the rhythm of language to enhance the impact of their words. The impact of a passage can be heighted by how superb the delivery is; but even by themselves the words take on an emphatic rhythm that reinforces the message. The speaker should never emphasize sound and rhythm at the expense of meaning. The aim is to think about ways one can use the rhythm and flow of language to enhance the desired meaning. One can develop an ear for vocal rhythm by study and practice. One can easily begin by using four basic stylistic devices employed by fine speakers to improve rhythm of the speech. These stylistic devices are parallelism, repetition, alliteration, and antithesis. Parallelism is the similar arrangement of a pair or series of related words, phrases, or sentences. Parallelism makes a sentence clear, consistent, compelling and have progression. Repetition is reiteration of the same word or set of words at the beginning or end of successive causes or sentences. It usually results to parallelism. Not only does it build a strong Candace, it also unifies a sequence of ideas, emphasizes an idea by stating it more than one and helps create a strong emotional effect. Third is alliteration. This is the repetition of the initial consonant sound of close or adjoining words. By highlighting the sounds of words, alliteration catches the attention of listeners and can make ideas easier to remember. It can spruce up ones speeches, to be laughable and draw too much attention, so that listeners get more involved in listening for the next alliteration that in absorbing the content of the speech. Last is antithesis. This is the combination of contrasting ideas, usually in parallel structure. Antithesis has long been a favourite device of accomplished speakers, because it nearly always produces a neatly turned phrase. It is a fine way to give ones speeches a special touch of class. The fourth way speakers can be effective is by using language appropriately. Language is to be use appropriately based on 4 factors which are; occasion, audience, topic and speaker. Language that is appropriate for some occasion may not be appropriate for others. Appropriateness also depends on the audience. If this is kept in mind, it will help the speaker greatly when dealing with technical topics. His audience will know what he means. One should be careful to avoid language that might offend his audience. Speakers expected to elevate and polish their language when addressing an audience. Language should also be appropriate to the topic. One wouldn’t use metaphor, antithesis and alliteration when explaining how to change the tyre of a bicycle but rather use all three in a speech being given in honour of something or someone. The first topic calls for straightforward description and explanation or can evoke emotion, admiration and appreciation. Language must lastly be appropriate to the speaker. No matter what the occasion, audience, or topic, language should also be appropriate to the speaker. Every public speaker develops his or her own language style. To say the language should be appropriate to the speaker does not justify ignoring the need for appropriateness. There is a difference between one’s everyday styles and one’s developed style as a public speaker. Accomplished speakers have developed their speaking styles over many years of trial, error, and practice. They have worked at using language effectively. Regardless of the situation, audiences expect public speakers o use inclusive language that is respectful of the different groups that make up the society. Inclusive language is language that does not stereotype, demean, or patronize people on the basis of gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other factors. As a speaker you must also be able to avoid inclusive language such as generic â€Å"he† to refer to both men and women. Avoid the use of â€Å"man† for both men and women. Avoid stereotyping jobs and social roles by gender and lastly use names that groups use to identify themselves. In conclusion a speaker must realize that language helps create the sense of reality by giving meaning to events. The words used to label an event determine to a great extent how we respond to it therefore every speaker must be careful and follow the rules of language to be effective in speech making and giving.