SWOT Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

SWOT Analysis - Case Study Example Prior to the implementation of this strategy, the company had been in financial trouble. The admission of this issue had lead to a decrease in the employee's happiness, and then eventually, this lead to a labor relations issue. Acme, because of its business type, had to employ a wide variety of different workers because of its use of highly skilled technology. Therefore, it had geologists, geophysicists, engineers, (referred to as "the brains")as well as semiskilled labor (referred to as "the brawn") working together to create a functional business. In 1994, these two different levels of employees clashed in a very serious way that also became distressingly public. Engineers at the plant in Wichita locked out union workers and left them outside in the hot Kansas summer. The press got a hold of the story and the media went awry with the issue, and most employees felt that the press went far overboard with its push of the story. However, the bad publicity caused a change of the chief e xecutive, and Bill Daniels was brought in. Daniels displayed talent previously and had experience with teamwork and change. He wound up being a very good selection for the company. Daniels was good with the media, for one, so he was able to deflect some of the bad publicity. Second, he was able to restore the hurting company within his first year by getting rid of unnecessary parts of the business to save money. He was able to change management's tactics and created a shared-services department which focused on total quality management, and Jimenez became in charge of this group. Daniels had wanted Jimenez to improve the moral at the company's five extraction sites, as morale was low all around. Wichita was the only site where things had come to such a head, but the two individuals still felt that all sites needed to be considered in this re-organization project. Jimenez was ready to go; she had an M.B.A. and had also worked with a consulting firm prior to coming to Acme. She had worked at Acme for ten years, and had much experience with the company. She was provided with a team to assist her and she focused on a morale strategy. First, they team focused on Wichita, which had been the company's severe problem area. The plant had other issues other than the "brains" and the "brawn" infighting in the company; the plant was also performing below average, and the former CEO had considered getting rid of the plant altogether. All the change programs the old management had tried had failed, but Jimenez felt that these program's failures were fairly predictable since they had posed unrealistic expectations in the first place. With this in mind, Jimenez was able to fix the labor relations problem. Things were not as smoothly as they could have been, but the plan still worked and things were successful overall. Daniels had bragged about this early suc cess to the stakeholders and ensured that this success could be performed at the other plants. When moving the strategy to Lubbock, Jimenez could have been overconfident. She sent one of her people out there with two other staff in order to implement the strategy. Several problems began to occur after that. In Lubbock, issues that hadn't occurred in Wichita began to occur. The employees seemed reluctant to participate in any of the problem-solving and team-building concepts the company had put

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Assignment Example Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) heading the team. Since the workplace setting is at the NYPD, the communication patterns exemplified and manifested in the series are comprised of highly professionalized with technical forensic details on the crimes the group intents to solve. Verbal communication patterns showed the relaying words which are clear and understandable despite differences from the cast’s ethical or educational backgrounds. Since the team is comprised of forensic investigators, the quality of information relayed manifests highly professional orientations with topics on medical diagnosis and prognosis of death being exchanged. Non verbal communication patterns through facial expressions, gestures, eye contacts, body signals are abundantly used due to the delicate nature of work being done on the scene. When investigations require silence because of the need to keep some pieces of information confidential until duly examined, the use of nonverbal communication patterns reveal the emotions and intents of the cast. The television series exemplifies that effective communication is relayed despite diversity in gender, race or cultural background through the use of both verbal and nonverbal communication patterns which are clearly understood by a team of highly professional people delving into a common goal: to solve crime at the most effective and scientific way. Another television series located in a fictitious William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, uses the school as a workplace setting where various experiences of students with vocal talents are explored. The series is categorized as a musical comedy which earned various awards and citations. However, due to the enormity of characters presented in the series, the interplay of communication patterns was mainly focused and expressed through songs as the medium of self-expression. There are lots of power plays being manifested

Chinese history Essay Example for Free

Chinese history Essay 250 Word Essay One of the most important aspects of ancient Chinese history is the formation of the Silk Road, a trade route which spanned two continents and put China on the map as one of the most important import/export countries in the ancient world. It’s beginnings were smaller in scale as it only encompassed the Chinese Empire itself but it became apparent, after Zhang Qian made contact with Central Asian tribes, that the expansion the trade route would benefit both China and other Asian nations. It continued to expand under the Han dynasty and into Roman times (Beauty).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most important reasons for its formation as a major trade route was fear of marauding gangs that were eager to obtain the many goods that Chinese merchants filled their caravans with: silk, gemstones, incense, spices, and blue and white porcelain were just some fo the cargo traveled along the Silk Road. The Chinese army was even beefed up in order to protect this special route that helped to keep China’s economy booming. It’s reach expanded throughout China and Asia and eventually commerce was developed between the Roman Empire and China (Newton).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The long-term impact of the Silk Road on Chinese culture and history were that it literally brought a strong economy to China, and brought the goods and customs of other cultures into its borders. The traders, including Zhang Qian in 138 B.C.E., were able to learn economic, military, and geographical information that would help in the roads expansion and with Chinese military success. The Silk Road was so important to the culture of both the Eastern and Western world because during Roman times, even the lower socioeconomic classes depended upon the goods that were imported from China on the Silk Road, and even the religion of Buddhism was spread by way of the Silk Road. Its impact on the world was huge and its impact on Chinese culture even more prominent (Newton). Works Cited The Silk Road. Beauty, the Land of China. ThinkQuest. 19 Jan. 2007 http://library.thinkquest.org/20443/silkroad.html. The Silk Road. Newton Public Schools. 19 Jan. 2007 http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/Silk%20Road%20Info.html.    100 Word Assignment  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most surprising aspects of my research about the Silk Road was the vast expanse of space which is encompassed. It’s amazing how far the caravans had to travel and how large they were. From all accounts the Silk Road was dangerous to those traveling it because of the terrain and yet it was such an integral part of Chinese history and lasted for many years, even expanding. The images of the Silk Road that I could find reminded me the regal images of Chinese royalty, for some reason. It’s as if everyone is perceived as being clothed in silk from head to toe, even the camels! I definitely see how difficult the trip must have been because of the limited means of transportation that the merchants had access to, and how they could easily become victims of a raid for their goods. I also thought that it was interesting that Buddhism itself was virtually spread by way of the Silk Road. I was surprised to see that the Silk Road is being revitalized for tourism purposes and that there are many tour groups that specialize in trips just along the route that used to be traveled by Chinese merchants in ancient times.

Analysis Of Gdp Determinants Statistics Economics Essay

Analysis Of Gdp Determinants Statistics Economics Essay The aim of our report is to identify the factors which affects GDP for any country. In our report we are analyzing such factors in relation to Indias GDP. The report will be dealing with regression analysis, hypothesis testing, mean, median, mode etc of such factors which are independent variables and their affect on GDP which is a dependent variable. 2. Introduction: The report revolves around an exploratory study. It includes analyzing the statistical data of Indias GDP and other factors like Employment to population ratio, FDI, population for the past 20 years. Our aim is to identify the dependence of above mentioned factors on GDP of India and results of the regression analysis. Here we take GDP as the dependent variable and other three factors as the independent variables. Before getting into analysis we look into the substitute measures of each variable used in the report for analyzing regression, hypothesis testing and calculating the mean and median values. GDP Lending Interest Rates FDI Population Employment to population ratio 2.1) GDP: GDP forms the dependent variable of our research study. GDP is an indicator of overall economic welfare of a country. It is the sum total of the final goods and services produced within the borders of the nation. In other words, summing up the consumption, government expenditure, investments and net exports results in the GDP growth rate of a country. It is considered to be a very important element as it helps in estimating the health of countrys economy. Calculating the GDP is not an easy task because of which they are left to be calculated by the economists. GDP growth rate of an economy is dependent on various factors like FDI, population to employment ratio, lending interest rate, population etc. Governments closely watch out the GDP as it measures the economic performance of the country. If GDP rises it means the economy has grown and vice versa. GDP is criticized on various grounds like it does not talks about the spending power, distribution of income or well being of countrys inhabitant. Formula of calculating GDP: GDP=C+I+G+(X-M) Where, C=consumption I=investment G=government expenditure (X-M) =Net Exports The independent variables (Population, Lending Interest rates, FDI, Employment to population ratio etc ) that we are using in the research analysis affect each of these above mentioned components. The data related to GDP has been shown in the appendix 9.1 2.2 ) Employment to population ratio: It is taken as an independent variable in our study. We attempt to measure the impact of this ratio on GDP growth in India. Employment to population ratio basically means the ratio of the total working age of the labor force employed over total population. Following formula is used in calculating the ratio: Employment to population ratio= Employed Persons/ Total non-institutionalized civilian population *100 This ratio does not bear underrating problems relating to unemployed persons and other discouraged workers that enter or exit the labor force. The data of employment ratio is shown in appendix 9.1 2.3) FDI: Foreign direct investment is an independent variable in our research report. We try finding out the impact of FDI on GDP growth rate. In simple words it is an investment made by one company in a given country in another company based or set up in another country. FDI has been a major source of managerial skills, technology, capital and access to market desired for sustained economic development and growth in the recent past. All the Countries are involved in inviting more and more of foreign direct investment to come and invest in their country resulting in rapid economic growth. FDI is considered to be an important factor in facilitating growth, however, it will result in growth only if the inflows are carefully managed and invested. The related data is included in the appendix 9.1 for the past 20 years . All the inferences related to FDI has been drawn on the basis of such data. 2.4) Population: The growth of population has always been a debating issue. There is no conclusion as to it is negative or positive for growth of an economy. Population and economic growth are interrelated to each other in a way that, population increases due to high economic growth leading to early marriages and hiking birth rates and checking on the mortality rates by providing healthy environment to the citizens. Higher population also depresses economic growth through diminishing returns. (Becker, Glaeser, and Murphy 1999, p. 145) In our study we attempt to study the impact of population on economic growth which is expressed as the real GDP per capita. The data regarding population for past 20 years has been included in the appendix 9.1. All the analysis related to it has been done on the basis of such data and various results has been drawn on such basis. 2.5) Lending Interest Rate: Lending Interest rate is the amount of interest charged by a lender from a borrower in case of loan being offered. A countrys real GDP and interest rates are interlinked in a variety of means. They have a direct relationship, i.e., high lending rate results in high growth for the economy. The dependence of GDP on Lending Interest Rate can be studied in the analysis of the study. The related data regarding interest rate is included in appendix 9.1 3. Tools used for research study: The statistical tools used in our research study with the objective of finding the dependence of GDP on various independent variables like, Population, Lending interest rates, FDI, Employment to population ratio are Regression Analysis, Mean, Median, Mode, Hypothesis Testing Steps involved in analysis: Our first step was to scrutinize and identify the factors responsible for GDP growth of a nation. Next, we tried locating data of the identified factors for the past 20 years. Than we tried finding relationship of various factors with the GDP of a nation. The data was than constructed and summarised in a proper manner to conduct regression analysis. SPSS software was used to conduct the regression analysis and hypothesis testing. All the data and factors collected are using the secondary sources, i.e., Internet and Journals. 4. Data Description: N i.e. the number of observations for our research is 20. There are two types of data: Qualitative Quantitative Qualitative data deals with categorical measurement and is not measured in terms of numeric values. For our study the qualitative factors can be like Market Risk, Business Confidence etc, which affects the GDP but due to their qualitative nature we overlooked them of the study. Quantitative data deals with the numerical measurement of the database. Relating to our study, the quantitative data factors are Population, GDP, Lending interest rates, FDI etc. We have limited our research taking in account only the quantitative data. Data can also be time series or cross sectional: Cross sectional data is the data for a given point of time analyzing the differences among the subjects. Whereas time series data is concerned with the data over a spread time course In our report we are using time-series data, for 20 years i.e. from 1991 to 2010. Regression Analysis: Regression Analysis means scrutinizing the relationship between a dependent and independent variable. After conducting an analysis, regression statistics is helpful in identifying the dependent variable when the independent variables are unknown. Dependent Variable- GDP growth of India Independent variable- FDI, Employment to Population ratio and Real Interest Rate The regression equation is: Y=b1X1+b2X2+.+E In the above equation- Y= dependent variable X1, X2 =independent variables b1, b2 =coefficients describing effect of independent variables on the dependent variables E=error term In our study, the equation looks like, GDP=b1F1+b2F2+b3F3++bnfn Where, F1 to Fn= independent variable factors Hypothesis testing: Hypothesis testing is the test of significance wherein we identify the likelihood that an assumption is true, and at what likelihood we would hold the assumption as true. The assumption made is referred as the Null hypothesis and is denoted by H0 and an alternate hypothesis is defined known as an Alternative Hypothesis and is denoted by Ha. The rationale behind this test is to hold null hypothesis to be true and then performing the study on the argument in question. Once the hypothesis is defined and data is collected and constructed, following steps of hypothesis are followed: A critical region of size alpha is determined using the sample distribution of the test statistics Using the sample data, identify the values of test statistics The last step is confirming that the value of test statistics falls under the critical region defined; if no, we accept the null in favour of the alternative hypothesis and if yes, we reject the null hypothesis. 5). Variables considered as independent in hypothesis and doing regression analysis In doing the analysis of various factors affecting GDP growth some of the factors which is been considered as the variables are FDI, Employment ratio, Population and Lending interest rate as they impact directly in the growth of GDP for any country. The factors are denoted by r and following relation between the factors as stated above and the regression can be explained under 5.1) Population (H1) Although increase in population has a negative impact on the economy of any country. However, such increase allows availability of labor at cheap rates which attracts the companies or firms to make more investment in the form of Foreign direct investment or FIIs that helps to give upward thrust in GDP. 5.2) Foreign Direct Investment(H2) It can be argued on the grounds of proven facts that Foreign Direct Investment has a positive relation for boosting the economic growth of any country which results in increasing the GDP of the country. FDI allows the money to come in the economy which creates opportunities to increase growth of the economy. 5.3) Employment Ratio(H3) It also affects the economy which indeed affects GDP growth as with the increase in the employment more expenditure will have to be incurred which in turn affect countrys GDP 5.4) Lending Interest Rate(H4) If the interest rate increases it will lead to less money circulation in the economy. The banks and financial institutions of the country will not able to lend money as the people will not be willing to accept because the increase in interest rate will attract more interest expense and hence will resist to it. This will result in decrease in the consumption which will bend the GDP down and secondly money circulation will also reduce which result in the fall in GDP growth. Hence the whole discussion can be summarized in the following manner-: H1- Increase in population lead to increased GDP. Hence it has a positive relation H2- Increase in FDI Increases GDP. It also has a positive relation H3- Increase in employment leads to increase in GDP. It shows positive relation H4- Increase in Interest rate leads to fall in GDP. It has a negative relation 6). Regression results 6.1) Employment Regression (Appendix 9.3.1) In this regression model, Employment ratio is an independent variable and on X-axis. GDP is a dependent variable and on y-axis. After doing data analysis of this model, we conclude that the regression equation for this is: Here, is an intercept which is 1.736 is a slope of this equation which is -2.958 Estimated value If employment ratio is increase by 1, there is decrease in GDP by 2.958. There is negative linear relationship between GDP and employment ratio. Now if we talk about correlation between these two variable which is R. = +à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(.720) = +.849 In this + sign shows that correlation is positive and is .849 Now is .72 which shows that 72 % variance in GDP is explained by employment ratio. Now if we talk about this model whether it is good or bad, we have to check two condition. should be high In this is high. Hypothesis test: : ÃŽÂ ² = 0 (no linear relationship between X and Y) : ÃŽÂ ² à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (linear relationship between X and Y) This is conclude by t statistics Now, = -6.80 Standard error à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢value is .000 and we assume ÃŽÂ ± is .05 which is greater than p-value. Hence we reject . So we conclude that it is a good regression model. 6.2) FDI Regression (Appendix 9.3.2) In this regression model, FDI is an independent variable and on X-axis. GDP is a dependent variable and on y-axis. After doing data analysis of this model, we conclude that the regression equation for this is: Here, is an intercept which is 3.894 is a slope of this equation which is 0.029 Estimated value If FDI is increase by 1, there is increase in GDP by . There is positive linear relationship between GDP and FDI as the slope is positive. Now if we talk about correlation between these two variable which is R. = +à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(.782) = +.884 In this + sign shows that correlation is positive and is .884 Now is .78 which shows that 78 % variance in GDP is explained by FDI. Now if we talk about this model whether it is good or bad, we have to check two condition. should be high In this is high. Hypothesis test: : ÃŽÂ ² = 0 (no linear relationship between X and Y) : ÃŽÂ ² à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (linear relationship between X and Y) This is conclude by t statistics Now, = 8.025 Standard error à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢value is .000 and we assume ÃŽÂ ± is .05 which is greater than p-value. Hence we reject . So we conclude that it is a good regression model. 6.3) Lending interest rate (Appendix 9. 3.3) In this regression model, Lending interest rate is an independent variable and on X-axis. GDP is a dependent variable and on y-axis. After doing data analysis of this model, we conclude that the regression equation for this is: Here, is an intercept which is 2.088 is a slope of this equation which is -1.066 Estimated value If lending interest rate increases by 1, there is decrease in GDP by 1.066. There is negative linear relationship between GDP and lending interest rate as the slope is negative. Now if we talk about correlation between these two variable which is R. = +à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(.466) = +.683 In this + sign shows that correlation is positive and is .849 Now is .46 which shows that 46 % variance in GDP is explained by employment ratio. Now if we talk about this model whether it is good or bad, we have check two condition. should be high In this is high. Hypothesis test: : ÃŽÂ ² = 0 (no linear relationship between X and Y) : ÃŽÂ ² à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (linear relationship between X and Y) This is conclude by t statistics Now, = -3.964 Standard error à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢value is .001 and we assume ÃŽÂ ± is .05 which is greater than p-value. Hence we reject . So we conclude that it is a good regression model. 6.4) Population Regression (Appendix 9.3.4) In this regression model, Population is an independent variable and on X-axis. GDP is a dependent variable and on y-axis. After doing data analysis of this model, we conclude that the regression equation for this is: Here, is an intercept which is 3.894 is a slope of this equation which is 0.029 Estimated value If population is increase by 1, there is increase in GDP by 3.60 There is strong positive linear relationship between GDP and POPULATION as the slope is positive. Now if we talk about correlation between these two variable which is R. = +à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡(.819) = +.905 In this + sign shows that correlation is positive and is .905 Now is .81 which shows that 81 % variance in GDP is explained by population. Now if we talk about this model whether it is good or bad, we have to check two condition. should be high In this is high. Hypothesis test: : ÃŽÂ ² = 0 (no linear relationship between X and Y) : ÃŽÂ ² à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (linear relationship between X and Y) This is conclude by t statistics Now, = 9.031 Standard error à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢value is .000 and we assume ÃŽÂ ± is .05 which is greater than p-value. Hence we reject . So we conclude that it is a good regression model. 7) Conclusion The effect of factors like employment ratio, foreign direct investment, lending interest rate and population on GDP of India are considered as important variables which we have tried to explain with the help of regression analysis and hypothesis testing. By considering the data of past 20 years we have also calculated its mean, median, mode, Variance, standard deviation (appendix 2). We have one dependent variable that is GDP and four independent variables which are FDI, employment ratio, population, and interest rate. According to multiple regressions, the equation for the model is: Where x1, x2, x3, x4 are the independent variable, estimated value E(y) is expected by these variable. In our report, we have taken separate simple regression models Regression analysis cannot interpret as a procedure for establishing a cause and effect relationship between variables. It can only show that how much these variables are related or associated with each other. Regression equation tells us about mean value of y for given value of x. According to Hypothesis test, all four regression model is good model and it estimates the mean value for these independent variables with less errors. The models also shows the relationship between GDP and these independent variables and their effect on GDP. If value of these independent variables is increase by 1, we conclude how much it affects the estimated value of GDP. Estimated value of GDP is increases by 3.60 if there is one unit increase in population Estimated value of GDP is increased by .029 if there is one unit increase in FDI Estimated value of GDP is decreased by 2.958 if there is one unit increase in employment ratio Estimated value of GDP is decreased by 1.066 if there is one unit increase in interest rate Hence it can be concluded that all factors affects GDP and we cant estimate GDP if we dont have particular value of these independent variable. 8) Bibliography References Amosweb.com (2012) AmosWEB is Economics: Encyclonomic WEB*pedia. [online] Available at: http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpdc=dspk=employment-population+ratio [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012]. Anderson, D. and Sweeney, D. (2011) Statistics for Business and Economics. 11th ed. New Delhi: Cengage Learning India Private Limited. Databank.worldbank.org (2012) World Databank. [online] Available at: http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012]. Investopedia.com (2012) Real Interest Rate Definition | Investopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/realinterestrate.asp#axzz2DS1wJc9k [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012]. Scribd.com (2012) GDP. [online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/81376677/GDP [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012]. Scribd.com (2001) FACTORS INFLUENCING THE GDP OF INDIA. [online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/84520340/FACTORS-INFLUENCING-THE-GDP-OF-INDIA [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012]. Unknown. (2012) [online] Available at: http://web.williams.edu/go/math/sjmiller/public_html/BrownClasses/162/Handouts/StatsTests04.pdf [Accessed: 29 Nov 2012].

Limited Liability Essay -- Business Finance

The term â€Å"Limited liability† is generally used to describe a situation where a person is excused entirely or in part from incurring a debt after taking an action which would have required under the prevailing rules of the legal system that they pay money. The doctrine of limited liability as it relates to corporate law is central to the principle that a company upon incorporation assumes a corporate personality independent of its members. This means that a new legal person is created at law and accordingly has its own assets, liabilities and rights, inter alia, to enter into and be bound by its own contracts. In some respects, the name, â€Å"Limited liability† Company is greatly misunderstood. It is a common faux pas to think that the liability of the company for its various debts is limited and that the doctrine was created as a loophole by which the company can get out of its contractual obligations. This is however not the case as on the occasion of insolvency, a company must liquidate all its assets to meet the demands of the creditors. Where the value of these assets is insufficient, the company will call on the unpaid share capital of its members or the amount which they have agreed to contribute to the assets of the company in an event of it being wound up . It is the liability of these members that is limited and not that of the company. There are also exceptional circumstances where courts will allow creditors pierce the â€Å"corporate veil† making it mandatory for shareholders to satisfy creditors’ claims. Hence for the shareholder, limited liability mea ns participation in a company with limited risk. For the creditor however, it means the very real risk that in the event of bankruptcy he could remain unpaid for g... ...panies and subsidiaries- The corporate veil [1991] company Lawyer 12(1) pp 16-17 Ireland P (2010), â€Å" Limited liability, shareholder rights and the problem of corporate irresponsibility†, Cambridge journal of Economics, vol 34, pp837-856 Ibid Hatfield was one of a long series of fatal rail accidents in which Rail track’s working practices and safety record was implicated. Blankenburg,S and Plesch, D (2007) â€Å"Corporate rights and responsibilities: restoring legal accountability† Retrieved on 12th of February 2012 from http://www.stwr.org/multinational-corporations/corporate-rights and responsibilities- restoring-legal-accountability-html Ireland P (2010), â€Å" Limited liability, shareholder rights and the problem of corporate irresponsibility†, Cambridge journal of Economics, vol 34, pp837-856 ibid ibid

Henry II :: European Europe History

Henry II Defend or disagree this statement: "Henry was little more than a child himself, therefore he was a weak and ineffectual king." I disagree with this statement. Henry II defeated Stephen of Blois's armies in 1153 and compelled the king to choose him as his successor. Upon Stephen's death in 1154, Henry II became king at the age of twenty-one. His energy was equaled only by his ambition and intelligence. Henry II survived wars, rebellion, and controversy to successfully rule one of the Middle Ages' most powerful kingdoms. During his reign Henry II instituted important judicial reforms, establishing a centralized system of justice. He began the process of replacing the old trial by ordeal with modern court procedures. Henry II is considered the father of the English law system and many of his practices are still followed today. Henry II ruled a kingdom that stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. He refined Norman government and created a capable, self-standing bureaucracy. These are not the acts of a weak child , but of a powerful and most effective kings. 2. Who was the smarter of the two, Henry or Thomas? How do you know? Offer evidence to back up your answer. I believe that Henry II and Thomas were both intelligent men, and both played a large part in shaping history. I do believe that Thomas became a man of integrity and kept his priorities straight in his allegiance to both his country and his Church. When the two came in conflict, he correctly chose to obey the Church. He stood up for what he believed and more than that he stood up for God. He is an example for all, he did not compromise his allegiance to his beliefs and morals. His

Caring for the individuals with dementia

Currently, incidences of disruptive behavioural problems such as agitation, aggression, rest-activity pattern and sleep wake disturbance are reported to be high in people with dementia. The specific determinants of disruptive behaviour are still unclear but predisposing factors are considered to be associated with the external factors such as the negative staff attitudes and environment. Actually, disruptive behaviour is an umbrella that describes behaviours such as throwing objects, hoarding, resisting care, self abuse, wandering, repetitious verbalization, aggression and general agitation.Prevalence of aggressive behaviour has been considered as a subset of disruptive behaviour among individuals with dementia in long-term care facilities as 86. 3% has been reported. (Ryder et al. 1991). According to studies on cognitively intact residents and residents with dementia, shows a consistently higher prevalence of behaviours. This paper presents research literature to support the role of a positive environment including attitudes and staff interaction in the aggressive individuals with dementia.Importance of a positive environment including staff interaction and attitudes towards the aggressive individuals with dementia Environment has been increasingly recognized as a significant therapeutic element in care of individuals with dementia. In the last decade, it has been realized that environment plays a significant role in reducing the disruptive behaviour, increasing the functional ability of the individuals with dementia, as well as improving their quality of life.Problem behaviour in dementia is associated with deficits in the executive control functions of the frontal lobe. However, complex behaviours seen in individuals with dementia are as a result of multiple, over-learned routines the environmental stimuli triggers. The executive control functions orchestrate the routines into coherent goal-directed behaviours which in turn contribute to the expression of th e required habitual response while limiting the unrequited responses.It therefore means that failure of executive control function leads to distractibility and overdependence on environmental factors or can even lead to apathy and environmental indifferences. However in any case modification of social and physical environment can reduce behaviours that are not required and can elicit the desired behaviours effectively. Moreover, environment is the major component in progressively lowered stress threshold model. (Sife, 1998).Subject to the model, since the ability to adapt in individuals with dementia declines as the dementia progresses, the care givers should reduce the environmental demands to ensure that the level of the environmental demands is congruent with the abilities of individuals with dementia. Basically, disruptive behaviours are more often when the stress threshold of an individual is exceeded. Most of the intervention strategies given in the literature engage manipulat ion of physical and social environments to meet the unique needs and personalities of individuals with dementia.Following the recognition of the important role of environment to individuals with dementia, many long-term care facilities have come up with special care units that give a total supportive milieu for them. Following the increase of such special care units design guidelines such as recommendation for both social and physical environments have been developed to ensure that the environment provided by the facilities enhanced the well-being and personhood of individuals with dementia.(Morgan & Stewart1997). However, since there is no empirical data, the special care unit design manuals are based on extrapolations and clinical experience. Predictability and structure are the important aspects of the environment in which individuals with dementia live. The daily routines that reflect the rhythm of the society are predictable, and with a chance to rest and opportunity for activi ty, individuals are kept in touch, thus promoting their well being.Patient-centred dementia care is the recommended approach in caring individuals with dementia as it focuses on independence, it is value-driven, and it is concerned with the empowerment and well being of individuals with dementia and their families. Moreover the patient-centred care makes the individuals to feel socially confident, valued and supported thus creating personhood which is described by Kitwood (1997a) as a status that is bestowed in individuals by others within the society in the context of social being and relationship.Care for the individuals with dementia should focus on maintaining the personhood in the face of the individuals whose mental powers is failing. (Kitwood, 1996). Paying attention to personhood involves recognizing the centrality of the relationship and the uniqueness of the individuals as well as the fact of the embodiment. It therefore means that dementia care that is only involved with the dementia as the disease and its treatment has nothing to do with the patient’s personhood, damages the patient, and treats as a passive object rather than a human being.Patient-centred dementia care is recommended as it is based on the ethic that regardless of disabilities, all human beings have absolute value and need to be respected, and on the convictions that just like all other human beings, people with dementia are capable of living a fulfilling live. (Kitwood, 1999). The principle central to patient-centred dementia care is that the life experience of the individuals, their network relationships and unique personalities should be valued and considered with constant attention by the staff giving the care.This is based on the observation that once dementia is presentation it can never be reduced to the neuropathological damage effects, instead, it is a combination of factors such as social psychology, neurological impairment, physical health, biography and personalit y. Focusing on the losses or deterioration of the patients with dementia reinforces negative perceptions, progression of dementia and its treatment. Based on several studies, self-esteem is considered as a necessity for the well being of individuals with dementia. (Thorngate, 1999).Patient-centred dementia care is concerned with establishment and maintenance of positive and supportive social environment for individuals with dementia. In the context of this care, the personhood of the individuals is established through strengthening of the individuals positive feelings, promoting the healing of psychic wound and nurturing the individuals skills or abilities. Generation and sustenance of positive interaction used singly or together, secure and stable relations, replenishes the personhood of individuals with dementia constantly.Some of the psychotherapeutic techniques that promote these relationships include: facilitation which involves providing the missing parts of action to enable t he individuals to do what they would not have done, holding which involve providing physical and psychological space for the individuals to expose vulnerability and tension, and validation which involves the accepting reality – the fact that they have dementia- and the feeling of being connected, alive and real.Actually, caring for individuals with dementia possess challenges to the care giver in all environments probably because the condition is characterized by progressive brain damage making creating difficulties in their communication, remembering things and to think clearly. Because dementia is associated with swing s in moods, and changes in behaviour and personality, the staff and other care providers should develop positive attitudes when dealing with the troubling behaviour such as aggressiveness and communication difficulties encountered while providing the care.Aggressive behaviour among individuals with dementia continues to burden and challenge the caregivers in special care units and nursing homes. It therefore means that working in such facilities increases the risks of experiencing aggression. Actually, aggression is associated with older people with cognitive impairment than individuals with no cognitive behaviour. The staffs in long-term care facility and nursing home are required to set a positive mood for interaction. The body language and attitude communicates the thought and feeling of an individual better than words.The positive mood is set by speaking to the individuals in a respectful and pleasant way. To show affection and to convey message, the staff should use tone of voice and facial expression. Studies show both positive and negative attitude of staff towards the aggressive behaviour of individuals with dementia. These two domains are consistent with the theory of planned behaviour which suggests that attitudes follow from the beliefs held by individuals about the attitude’s object just as actions and intentions foll ow from attitudes.(Ajzen, 1998, p. 32). Although the personality traits and attitudes are similar in a way, attitudes are more malleable and they can change unlike the personality traits. This means that although most of the caregivers’ attitudes toward aggressive individuals with dementia are negative, they can be changed through appropriate training. Negative and positive attitudes are associated with various forms of care used to prevent the aggressive behaviour from continuing.Acknowledging the relationship between care for individuals with dementia and attitudes, and indication of the effectiveness the positive needs-based approach in reducing aggression can prompt change in the attitudes of the staff. According to the findings of the study carried out by Nakahira et al. (2008, pp. 13 on attitudes towards dementia-related aggression among staff, staff characteristics such as level of education, years of experience, position, occupation and age are related to their attitu des. Staffs with higher position, more clinical experience and the older ones have positive attitudes towards patients’ aggression.It is therefore believed that education factors, and clinical experience influences the attitudes of the staff towards patient’s aggression hence appropriate education can be used to influence the negative attitudes of the staff towards aggressive individuals with dementia Based on the findings of the study carried out by Middleton et al. (1999) carried out to compare the staff’s attitude towards aggressive behaviour of patients with dementia in traditional unit and in special care unit, the staffs from the special care unit have sympathetic towards aggressive individuals with dementia than the staff in traditional unit.Although aggressive behaviour is more in special care unit than in traditional unit, the staff at the special care unit understands that the behaviours are part of the dementia disease thus they do not feel that the p atients intentionally directs the aggressiveness towards them as is it believed by staffs in traditional unit. Furthermore, the staffs’ attitudes and decision-making can be influenced by organisational factors. Staffs working in dementia units of gerontological and mental hospitals within acute hospitals have negative attitudes towards aggressive patients.By measuring the attitudes of staff towards aggressive individual s with dementia, areas requiring skill improvement or education can be identified and it can be used over time to monitors changes in attitudes. Staff education to change the negative attitudes should advocate that there are possibilities of unmet needs among individuals with dementia, and that aggressive behaviour is a form of communication used by the patient and that efforts to understand the message conveyed by the patient, and attempts to meet the possibly unmet needs lowers the aggression incidences.Conclusion Incidences of disruptive behavioural problem s such as agitation, aggression, rest-activity pattern and sleep wake disturbance are reported to be high in people with dementia. The specific determinants of disruptive behaviour are still unclear but predisposing factors are considered to be associated with the external factors such as the negative staff attitudes and environment. Environment has been increasingly recognized as a significant therapeutic element in care of individuals with dementia.Moreover, it is the major component in progressively lowered stress threshold model which states that the ability to adapt in individuals with dementia declines as the dementia progresses, the care givers should reduce the environmental demands to ensure that the level of the environmental demands is congruent with the abilities of individuals with dementia. Basically, disruptive behaviours are more often when the stress threshold of an individual is exceeded.Most of the intervention strategies given in the literature engage manipulatio n of physical and social environments to meet the unique needs and personalities of individuals with dementia. Patient-centred dementia care is recommended as it is based on the ethic that regardless of disabilities, all human beings have absolute value and need to be respected, and on the convictions that just like all other human beings, people with dementia are capable of living a fulfilling live.The principle central to patient-centred dementia care is that the life experience of the individuals, their network relationships and unique personalities should be valued and considered with constant attention by the staff giving the care. Staff education to change the negative attitudes should advocate that there are possibilities of unmet needs among individuals with dementia, and that aggressive behaviours are forms of communication used by the patient and that efforts to understand the message conveyed by the patient, and attempts to meet the possibly unmet needs lowers the aggress ion incidences. References: Ajzen, I (1988). Attitudes, behaviour and personality. Buckingham: Open University. 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