Summer of the Monkeys Essay Example

Summer of the Monkeys Paper Summary: Summer of the Monkeys is a story about a 14 year old boy named Jay Berry who discovers about 28 loose monkeys running around in the prairie. Later in the story Jay Berry finds out the monkeys came from a crashed circus train and the owners are giving a reward to whoever can safely return them. Jay Berry then decides to catch the monkeys but soon realizes how hard it is and that he may not get the pony and . 22 caliber shotgun hes been wanting. When Jay Berry finally catches the monkeys ith the help of his grandpa, instead of spending the money on the pony and caliber, Jay Berry gives the money to his twin sister to fix her crippled leg and give her the option to finally be able to walk. Character Descriptions: Jay Berry Lee: ambitious, care free, clever Grandpa: happy, skillful, altruistic Rowdy: brave, cowardly, smart, giddy limbo: manipulative, sneaky, caring, self-less Discussion questions: 1. In the book summer of the monkeys Jay berry gives his reward money to his sister Daisy to fix her twisted leg, instead of buying the pony and . 2 caliber hes always dreamed of. If you were in this situation would you spend your money the same way Jay Berry did? Why or why not? 2. What does Jay Berry learn at the end of the book when he graciously gives his money to his sister instead of spending it on himself? 3. During this book Jay Berry spend his whole summer hunting down these monkeys and has, messed up numerous times, but has failed to give up. We will write a custom essay sample on Summer of the Monkeys specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Summer of the Monkeys specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Summer of the Monkeys specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer If you were in the same situation as Jay Berry would you give up after one shot? Or continue trying to atch the monkeys like Jay Berry? Key Passage: From chapter 17, page 267: Jay Berry: l cant buy a pony, grandpa, I said. If I do, id always feels guilty. Every time id climb on its back to go riding, ld think of my little sister and that old crippled leg of hers. Im going to give my money to her so she can go to the hospital and get it fixed up. Key Passage Explanation: (TS) The whole end of this book is all wrapped up in the Jay Berrys truthful words. L) Jay Berry has always wanted a beautiful paint pony, and when he finally has the oney to get one she has a nasty scar on her leg. (IQ) When Jay Berry sees his ponies crippled leg, he brings her back home and explains to his grandpa every time Id climb on its back to go riding, ld think of my little sister and that old crippled leg of hers. (Rawls 2 Jay Berry realizes what a shame it is tor the pony to go through that, and how bad i t must be for his sister; whose has a crippled leg her entire life. L) Jay Berry figures the right and logical thing to do would be to give his ister the money. (Q) Im going to give my money to her so she can go to the hospital and get it fixed up. Jay Berry tells his grandpa. (CM) Its really hard for Jay Berry to give all his hard earned money to Daisy to fix her leg, when he wanted the pony so bad. (CM) Jay Berry learned a very valuable lesson about thinking about others before yourself. (CS) At the end of the book Jay Berry is glad he gave the money to Daisy to fix her leg, he learns its more important to think of your family before yourself.

Heros emerge in a time of conflict Essays

Heros emerge in a time of conflict Essays Heros emerge in a time of conflict Essay Heros emerge in a time of conflict Essay Conflict will always be a part of human nature due to our complex make up and conflicting ideas and values. Whilst the inevitability of conflict brings much pain and suffering, it is not always a bad thing as it can allow for true heroes to arise and act in a way that benefits the greater good. Adversity brings out the best and worst in all people this means that there is a very thin line between a hero and a villain. An individuals involvement in conflict is a matter of perspective; this means that one mans hero could be another mans villain. Although these individuals may be heroes during a time of conflict, the emotional suffering that they may have to endure in the aftermath may mean that their actions where done in vain. In a time of conflict it is natural for a group of people to look to an individual for leadership. For the ladies in the Prisoners of War camp in the film Paradise Road this individual was Adrienne. Leadership quality where displayed from Adrienne right from when she firsts arrives in Sumatra when she snaps at Captain Tanana stating that There is a Geneva convention laying down the rules of war. These defiant words In the face of danger portray Adrienne as someone who is willing to stand up for what she believes in. Again heroic qualities are shown by Adrienne In her leadership role In the womens vocal orchestra. By uniting the ladies and providing them with a symbol of hope Adrienne became the hero and the leader that the women needed in a time of great conflict. Adrenalines actions In the face of danger can be compared to that of the father of India, Mahatma Ghanaian. Through his actions and Ideology In the face f conflict, Ghanaian emerged as a hero for the Indian people and a source of inspiration and hope for generations of people all over the world. Shindigs Influence affected millions of lives and was powerful enough to win back his countrys independence without a single act of violence. What makes someone a hero In a time of conflict Is a matter of perspective, whilst one person may deem an Individuals actions In the face of conflict necessary and heroic, It may be deemed evil and cowardly by someone else. An example of this Is the atrocities that organizations Like he Taliban commit during a time of conflict. Although misguided, the young men who are apart of groups Like the Taliban and AY Qaeda are acting with good Intentions. They are under the Impression that they are doing Gods work and acting In the best Interest of their country and their way of life; It Is this mindset that allows them to Justify their actions no matter how devastating the consequences are. Because powerful molesters share the same opinions and values as these terrorist organizations It allows the Individuals within the group and the supporters of the cause to think of these men as heroes. The fine line delving heroes and villains can also be seen In the film Paradise Road. Like the modern terrorist organizations mentioned, the Japanese military are also able to Justify actions that under any other circumstances would be unspeakable. This Is Illustrated by Captain Tanana who describes bombing a ship full of women and children as A matter of regret And A characteristic of war. The lack of remorse Captain Tanana shows portrays that he feels the actions of his Japanese comrades are Justifiable and to some degree could e considered heroic by the right audience. Heroes emerge in a time of conflict By p-force Geneva convention laying down the rules of war. These defiant words in the face of in. Again heroic qualities are shown by Adrienne in her leadership role in the great conflict. Adrenalines actions in the face of danger can be compared to that of the father of India, Mahatma Ghanaian. Through his actions and ideology in the face inspiration and hope for generations of people all over the world. Shindigs influence independence without a single act of violence. What makes someone a hero in a time of conflict is a matter of perspective, whilst one person may deem an individuals actions in the face of conflict necessary and heroic, it may be deemed evil and cowardly by someone else. An example of this is the atrocities that organizations like who are apart of groups like the Taliban and AY Qaeda are acting with good intentions. They are under the impression that they are doing Gods work and acting in the best interest of their country and their way of life; it is this mindset that allows Because powerful minorities share the same opinions and values as these terrorist organizations it allows the individuals within the group and the supporters of the cause to think of these men as heroes. The fine line dividing heroes and villains can also be seen in the film Paradise Road. Like the modern terrorist organizations mentioned, the Japanese military are also able to Justify actions that under any other circumstances would be unspeakable. This is illustrated by Captain Tanana who A characteristic of war. The lack of remorse Captain Tanana shows portrays that he

Winning the West for Women by Jennifer M Ross-Nazzal Essay

Winning the West for Women by Jennifer M Ross-Nazzal - Essay Example In this book, Ross-Nazzal analyzes the situations that Emma DeVoe underwent as a suffragist in the American west and shows the clashes of personality, conflicts, disagreements and hard workings of the efforts to attain the vote for women in the American west at national level from the year 1889 till Emma’s death in 1927 (Ross-Nazzal 5). This book is fascinating in the sense that Ross-Nazzal stresses that Emma’s career offers a unique platform through which to fully comprehend the suffrage reform movement in America. In this, the career of Emma is a manifestation of women’s struggle to attain the vote. She clearly demonstrates how local and state suffrage unions or organizations in American west related to the National American women suffrage association and how this organization solicited for funds as well as depicting how suffragist attained the hard work of long distance travel and politicking. This book reveals that women suffrage movement was not monolithic a s they combined with other people throughout the country to raise money to fund the organization so that their grievances were heard. The author of the book presents DeVoe as radical feminist in that she used feminine perspective to influence people in endorsing enfranchisement and particularly the use of sweetness in talking to male voters. For instance, she emphasized her appearance as a woman during public forums and talks striving to look lady like in presentation and demeanor. It is interesting to note that DeVoe’s tactics were effective in the sense she managed to convert both sexes to raise money, draw the support of businessmen and politicians and lastly bringing sanity and respect to the movement for women’s suffrage. Ross-Nazzal states that the prominence of DeVoe in suffrage movement gained centre stage when she was in South Dakota in 1880. South Dakota was a rotten place in that it included prostitution and gambling in that there was no moral order in that place. Therefore, DeVoe started engaging in moral reforms in order to eliminate these ills, often singing to various reform audiences (Ross-Nazzal 6). In addition, DeVoe planned for campaigns while in Dakota in order to get voters to support the suffrage movement. It is these events that shaped the career of DeVoe in that she began expanding the role of reform and the road to national healing and reconciliation. In the 1880s, she moved towards working for women’s’ suffrage movement at a time when she came to belief in women’s political rights that would help eliminate prostitution, drunkenness and other social ills witnessed during her stay at Huron in South Dakota. In addition, it is interesting to note that while in South Dakota, she voted for constitutional amendment geared towards women’s suffrage. In her move to support amendments in the constitution, she oftenly spoke using patriotism, humor, memories of civil war and conciliatory perspectives to bo th sexes so as to persuade audiences. She received criticism during her South Dakota campaigns in that she was accused of self serving, selfish and ambitious. In this book, Ross-Nazzal states that DeVoe moved to Washington where she gained a national reputation as a true patriot. In addition, she was given the position of a lecturer at NAWSA. She travelled widely organizing State and local suffrage clubs and bringing in money. Her position as NASWA lecturer better placed in that she was now in a position to travel widely and popularize the suffrage movement. More so, she spent her time organizing and soliciting for funds in States like Illinois, Montana and Nevada (Ross-Nazzal 18). The relation between populism and suffragist delayed the movement objectives as in some such as North Dakota populists delayed the movem

Geologic Time (Billions of Years vs. Thousands of Years) Research Paper

Geologic Time (Billions of Years vs. Thousands of Years) - Research Paper Example If the evolution of the old-Earth theory is traced, it can be seen that â€Å"one of the earliest refutations of the Christian tradition of a very young earth through reasoning based on observation and scientific theory was by Benoit de Maillet, French diplomat, savant, and amateur naturalist† (Darlymple, 1994, p.25). It was in the â€Å"middle of the seventeenth century† that two opposing theories on the age of Earth began to become distinct- one based on Biblical calculations and the other founded on physical and chemical processes (Jackson, 2006, p.32). The latter evolved to become the scientific theory of the age of Earth and proclaimed that Earth is billions of years old. The modern age has accepted this view as the authentic one and the educational system that we have worldwide endorses it. Yet, the young-Earth theorists also hold sway among a considerable section of the world population. Old-Earth View The old-Earth view is based on the big bang concept (Morris, 2007, p.34). The big bang theory says that â€Å"the universe began some 10 to 20 billion years ago with a big bang† (Morris, 2007, p.34). ... As time passed, the gravitational force of larger chucks of material attracted the smaller chunks and formed the galaxies and solar systems we see today (â€Å"How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?†, n.d.). According to this theory, the solar system was formed from this big bang and its after explosions, around five billion years ago (Morris, 2007, p.34). Life on earth is supposed to have been born out of chemical reactions â€Å"about three to four billion years ago† and man is thought to have evolved â€Å"around one to three million years ago† (Morris, 2007, p.34). Extensive scientific methods have been developed ever since science started its quest to assess the age of Earth. There are methods like K-Ar method, Rb-Sr method, isotopic studies, fossil studies, and so on (Darlymple, 1994, p.184). Based on the results of the studies carried out using these assessment methods, certain rocks in the Yilgarn block of Western Australia have been found to have an age of 4.0 Ga (Darlymple, 1994, p.189). This substantiates the old-Earth theory. Science has used four different methods to substantiate that Earth is billions of years old (â€Å"How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?†, n.d.). These methods are used either singularly or in combinations (â€Å"How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?†, n.d.). These are radiological measurement, stratigraphic superposition and the fossil record method (â€Å"How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?†, n.d.). The radiation measurement method dates rocks based on the radioactive disintegration of the radio isotopes present in them (â€Å"How Do Scientists Measure earth Age?†, n.d.). Using this method, the charcoal collected from bed of ash near Crater lake, Oregon, was found to 6,640 years old

Stastistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Stastistics - Assignment Example In order to calculate the risk, uncertainty estimates are provided by HSBC bank. The ‘Mean’ of uncertain returns for US Super Cars are equal to $2,092,868 and the fixed amount offered by HSBC is $2,150,000. If the uncertain revenues and the amount offered by HSBC are compared, the offer appears to be a very beneficial for US Supper Cars as the uncertain revenues are less than the money offered by HSBC and also by accepting this offer the exchange rate risk will be transferred from USA Super Cars to HSBC. In addition US Super Cars will not have to pay any additional charges (contractual fee etc.) to enter into the contract. Introduction The today’s business environment is highly globalized and is truly lacking borders. The businesses have moved beyond domestic and national boundaries to include markets around the globe which has resulted in the increased interconnectedness of distant localities. The goods produced in one area of the world are consumed in a separate distant locality. The companies are outsourcing their productions to areas where labor or material costs are lower in the effort to earn higher profits. When local competition intensifies the organizations start catering to markets in other countries where competition is less and market is relatively immature. In such cross border transactions, organizations are exposed to exchange rate risk which they will not face if they are involved in merely domestic transactions. Moving beyond the boundaries has several positive as well as various negative aspects. On the positive side, the market is expanding day by day and the number of customers is increasing with the same proportion, therefore, the business sales increase rapidly. Keeping in view the fact, the US Super Car company has taken a step to sell their luxury sport cars in five (5) countries including the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, South Africa and United State of America. While doing business across the world, there is alway s a risk of fluctuation in the exchange rate that may result in an increase or decrease in the profit margin. There are certain calculations include but not limited to the standard deviations, mean, average, sum, and the profit which needs to be performed in order to cope with exchange rate uncertainty. Mean & Standard Deviation Initially, it is vital to calculate the mean, standard deviation and variance on the selling price of the customer. In order to perform the calculations, it is equivalently important to convert / exchange the money currencies into dollars (as we need to answer in dollars) (AGAInstitute, n.d). The following table shows the details of the calculated values of the mean, standard deviation and variance. In order to calculate the uncertain revenues in dollars, the dollar per local currency rate provided by HSBC bank is multiplied by the selling price and the quantity for example in order to calculate uncertain revenues generated by sales in UK, $1.41/? mean provi ded by HSBC is multiplied by the selling price in the UK which is equal to ?57,000 and the quantity sold (12). The product obtained is the uncertain revenue generated through sales in the UK. The same process is repeated to get uncertain revenues in each individual foreign country (Japan 1, Japan 2, Canada 1, Canada 2, and South Africa). The total

Ethnic Conflict Or Insurgency In Nepal Politics Essay

Ethnic Conflict Or Insurgency In Nepal Politics Essay Although the unification of Nepal began in the later-half of the eighteenth century, integrating many small principalities and emerging as a nation state of the Westphalian model, Nepal always remained a multiethnic, diverse country without having any core ethno-federal region.  [1]  While Nepal did not experience any significant ethnic problem for almost two and half centuries after it came into being, some of its ethnic groups enjoyed more privilege in the socio-politico-economic sector than others. Yet, after the establishment of a democratic system in 1990, grievances of underprivileged groups surfaced. As the ethnic grievances were burgeoning, the abrupt start of the Maoist insurgency in 1996 overshadowed all ethnic movements, assimilating them into the large-scale Maoist rebellion. Thus, it is difficult to classify the Nepalese ethnic problem and perceive it either as an ethnic conflict, ethnic violence, or a rebel movement. Prior to the initiation of the Maoists armed move ment, ethnic problems in Nepal were based on political, economic, social, and cultural issues, limited, to the level of conflict but did not escalated to the level of violence. However, with the beginning of the Maoist insurgency, the Nepalese conflict turned into an ideological based violent political power struggle against the existing government by a rebel organization. While there may be different interpretations and perceptions regarding whether the Maoist movement was successful or not; one thing is clear, it was successful in outmaneuvering the then governing regime becoming the largest political party bloc in the Constitutional Assembly election. The puzzle remains why the ideological conflict was successful despite the proclamation of end of the history by Francis Fukuyama and a Clash of civilization as a form of future conflict by the eminent political scientist Samuel Huntington after the end of the Cold War.  [2]  My purpose in this paper is to analyze this divergent outcome in Nepal. There has a been a nascent ethnic awareness after the establishment of a democratic system in Nepal, yet, the political mobilization of ethnicity by elites would not have been possible without the political incentives to activate it. I argue that the intervention by the Nepalese Maoists mutated the nature of the ethnic conflict into a fusionist one. Before addressing the core question, I attempt to analyze the Nepalese ethnic conflict through different theoretical lenses. Nepalese Conflict from a Broad Perspective Generally, any ethnic conflict can be explained in the light of three broad approaches -situational, instrumental, and primordial. While explaining the various motivations of conflicts in Nepal, the situational and instrumental approaches seems to be more convincing than a primordial one.  [3]  However, some dimensions of primordial force cannot be ruled out; especially a rise of grievances caused by taking the lid off after the collapse of the monarchy in 2006. When the authoritarian Panchayat system ended in 1990, it had created a power vacuum in Nepalese politics. When political and ethnic entrepreneurs rushed in to fill the void, namely vested, as well as parochial interests weakened the state and formed new democratic institutions. Manipulating these opportunities of political chaos and ethnic grievances, the Maoists came entered the scene with a strategic objective of establishing a totalitarian communist regime. They divided the country into their own administrative units and subunits to consolidate and advance their struggle more effectively and efficiently. Their administrative division of the country based on ethnic lines validated their excessive reliance on ethnicity to achieve ideological strategic objectives.  [4]  According to Michael E. Brown, a single-factor explanation cannot fully explain the evolution and intensity of internal and ethnic conflict, rather he advances multiple arguments derived from in theory existing, causes of internal conflict. Therefore, the Nepalese conflict can also be analyzed by means of three main arguments underlying factors, catalytic or proximate factors, and a role played by domestic elites.  [5]   Underlying Causes of the Nepalese Conflict Four underlying factors suggest why the Nepalese situation and its geography contributed to ethnic conflict. First, the structural factors explain the likelihood of ethnic conflict in terms of weak states, intra-state security concerns, and ethnic geography. While other symptoms of weak states are also more or less prevalent in Nepal, where the political institutions remained in a rudimentary state. Some of the reasons for such an existence of rudimentary political institutions in Nepal are explainable by unhealthy inter-party political rivalry after the establishment of the multiparty democracy in 1990, and the legacy of 104 years of the Rana oligarchic, political system from 1846 through 1950. Some other endogenous factors such as endemic corruption, administrative incompetence, and inability to promote economic development also have contributed immensely as precursors to the conflict. When the Nepalese state became weak, the power struggle between and among various political parties increased. The two major political parties, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), and other political parties formed different alliances to claim paramount state power. Most of the time, during the multi-party democratic period, the Nepali Congress was in power; nevertheless, it could not complete even single full term of its tenure in the government following a split in the party. Because of this power struggle among the major political forces, ethnic groups such as Rai, Magar, Limbu, Tamang, Sherpa, Newar, Tharu, and Madhesi, which formerly had been oppressed by the center, were able to assert themselves politically. The weakening state structure also resulted in a less effective control of the Nepal-India border. Such a less effective control rapidly increased cross-border movements of arms, ammunitions, explosives, and other smuggl ed goods. This was a fertile environment for the Maoists to launch their violent ideological struggle. Many people from rural areas moved to neighboring India for greater security and employment. This situation also created a huge number of Internally Displaced People (IDP) within different parts of Nepal When the state grew further weaker, different groups and individuals started arranging for their own security. This also provided incentives to the Maoists for military preparations. The establishment of a Maoist Militia to defend themselves and fight against their enemies threatened the states security apparatus and other groups at community level, resulting in doubling the size of Nepals military and lead as well to the formation of anti-Maoists community defense forces at the local level. This again galvanized an upsurge of the Maoists military structure and a resulting armed violence creating a vicious cycle of security dilemma. At times, community defense forces exhibited offensive capabilities, even if they were formed for defensive purposes. This intensified the security concern caused by the Maoists.  [6]   Nepal was a multi-ethnic fabric woven by a thread of a common language, religion, and tradition obtained through the unification process. During some thirty years of authoritarian rule, from 1960 through 1990, the Panchayat system was relatively successful in consolidating a nation-state based on a single language, religion, and culture; intermingling various ethnic groups throughout the country. However, the melting pot did not completely melt everything in the pot and Nepalese leaders were unable to produce a homogeneous mixture. Some ethnic groups such as the Brahmins and Chhetries intermingled with other ethnic minorities throughout the country while some other ethnic minorities existed in a separate ethnic-geography. Many ethnic groups did not raise secessionist demands; whereas other ethnic non-integrated groups were on and off raising their secessionist demands. At times, these secessionist demands weakened because of the some effects of intermingling with other ethnic communi ties. After establishment of the multi-party democracy in 1990, as a result of a third wave of democratization, ethnic minorities started to demand their rights in a now more liberal political, social, and economic environment. Among various ethnic groups, the Magars in the western part of Nepal became more aggressive and consequently were effectively utilized by the Maoists to initiate their armed struggle. Second, political factors such as the dimensions of discriminatory political institutions; exclusionary national ideologies; inter-group politics; and elite politics serve to explain the Nepalese conflict. The closed authoritarian Panchayat system generated much resentment over time because many minority ethnic groups viewed the system serving primarily the interests of higher caste groups, such as Brahmins and Chhetries. The perceived disproportionate representations of ethnic minorities in government, the military, the police, the political parties, and other state and political institutions created substantial grievances in them. The ethnic conflict grew especially during the political transitioning from authoritarian rule to democracy in the early 1990s. The states repressive attitude during the democratic transitioning as well contributed to propagate insurgency in Nepal. While there were no exclusionary national ideologies per se, the lack of pragmatic implementation of egalitarian principles enshrined in the constitution and civil code contributed the outbreak of the conflict. Although the Nepalese people usually demonstrated civic-nationalism while protesting against foreign interference, the ethno-nationalism prevailed when the institutional vacuum occurred due a drastic political change. But, so far, the ethno-nationalism has not progressed towards an intense secessionist movement. It is pertinent to mention here that the Nepalese exclusionary practices were based on the caste system rather than on religious or ethnic grounds. Occasionally, Nepal experienced inter-group politics especially between Madheshi and non-Madheshi groups, but elite politics played a dominant role most of the time. Desperate and opportunist politicians always tried to take advantage of political and economic turmoil. For instance, the Maoists took advantage of fragile pol itical and economic situations to start their armed revolution. Third, economic and social factors also played important roles in initiating conflict in Nepal. Nepal remains an agrarian society and lacks an infrastructure for a market-based economic development in most parts of the country. Tourism is one of the important sources of income and employment, after agriculture. Over the last decades, foreign employment and remittance have become the main sources of national revenues. After the establishment of a democratic system in 1990, the aspirations of people for economic development went up astronomically. Nevertheless, peoples aspirations could not be met because of the lack of political stability, clear vision, commitment, and political consensus. Rather, unemployment, inflation, and resource competition provided the breeding ground for the conflict. Failure to jump start economic development by the new political elites contributed to an ever deepening political crisis. The failure to adopt an all-inclusive economic policy widened the gap bet ween rich and poor. Peoples from the oppressed community, scheduled caste, and minority ethnic groups did not have a stake in the countrys economic activities. Corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, and bribery moved the economic situations from bad to worse. Although there was no profound discriminatory economic policy, unequal economic opportunities, unequal access to resources, and vast differences in the standard of living were seen as unfair and illegitimate by the disadvantaged members of the society. Lastly, cultural or perceptual factors also had a considerable impact on the evolution of ethnic problems. Cultural discrimination against minorities was one of the principal, contributing cultural factors for ethnic conflict. The people from different ethnic groups found the educational opportunities inequitable; especially, teaching in minority languages became problematic because of lack of resources and investment. The Madheshi felt the compulsory Nepali language in school as languistic colonialism. Ethnic groups such as Magars, Gurungs, Rai, Limbu, Tamang, Newar, Maithili, and Bhojpuri wanted teaching in their own languages. Group histories and group perceptions also played a role in triggering conflict. Brahmin, Chhetrie, Thakuries and some other martial castes considered themselves the creators of a unified Nepal and took great pride in their nationalist feelings; whereas, other ethnic groups such as the Newar, who were defeated and subjugated during the unification process, c onsidered themselves apart from such glory. Proximate Causes of the Nepalese Conflict While the aforementioned underlying factors have been essential to explain what situations and conditions led to ethnic conflict in Nepal, the proximate causes of internal conflict are more convincing in explaining the ultimate triggers. One of the major proximate causes of Nepalese conflict was the persistent, internal problem of governance after the establishment of democracy in 1990, such as rampant corruption. The power vacuum created by removing the king from the center of state power galvanized many political parties to rush for power. The political parties created various alliances to remain in power in order to serve their personal or partisan interests. This situation made the government unable to cope with societal demands and ameliorate peoples stark challenges. However, a threatening security dilemma did formerly not exist in Nepal; however, as Nepal was not created from the rubble of a larger entity or gained independence from a colonial power. Rather, the government dee mphasized the military structure inherited from the previous Panchayat system, considering it unimportant in the new democratic environment. The government clearly showed skepticism to take ownership of the military. The deemphasizing of the military on one hand, and the emergence of a power struggle between, and among, elites on the other hand, triggered the initiation of ethnicity-based movements all over the country by desperate and opportunistic politicians thereby, preparing the ground for insurgency. As there was a lack of coordination and cooperation between the civilians and the military, the growth of ethnic movements and ineffectiveness of states mechanisms provided the breeding ground for the onset of the insurgency. The Maoists were able to transplant their communist ideology effectively into the ethnic movement. Thus, the energy created by the ethnic movement proved to be a force multiplier for the Maoists to advance their communist agenda. The issues, especially relate d to the inequality, exclusiveness, and discrimination formed basic grievances for different ethnic groups.  [7]  Despite the global declining trend of ideology as a source of conflict, the Maoists were successful in creating a fusionist violent movement by ingeniously combining ethnic conflict and communist ideology. Social and economic problems such as sharp competition for the scarce resources, the increasing divide between the poor and rich, and social, caste-based, inequalities and exclusiveness were the catalyst for the initiation and the growth of the internal conflict in Nepal. The Roles of Elites in the Nepalese Conflict While social and economic problems provided the underlying causes, the internal and external elite-level and mass level factors were more responsible to trigger the conflict.  [8]  External mass-level factors influenced especially the Terai region of the country. The many people of Indian origin that migrated to the plains area of Nepal along the border compounded ethnic tensions with the other non-Terai population. Although there were bad domestic problems and some bad neighborhood effects, the elite-level factors seemed more responsible than mass-level factors. Internal elite-level factors such as power struggles between different political parties; power struggles between political parties and the king; and ideological contests over how to manage the countrys political, economical, and social conditions among different political parties, played important roles in escalating the conflict. The bad leaders problem, created, in turn, an ethnic problem and subsequently lead to open conflict between, and among the government and different minority, ethnic communities. The major political parties were in the government most of the time, yet they could not lead the country towards a positive direction. Instead, the political leaders split the parties to fulfill their vested interests. The political opportunism led to the creation of many undesirable alliances. Such alliances kept on making, and breaking, government power. Some alliances lasted about a year, where some lasted just a few months. This situation created a fertile environment for an insurgency. The external, elite-level contentions, also played an important role in generating ethnic tensions. The foreign powers attitude towards Nepal, intermingling with domestic politics, covert cooperation with disgruntle political parties triggered the conflicts. These countries always had an interest in Nepal for their own security and not least for the vast water resources available in Nepal. The external powers also wanted to maintain their market monopoly in Nepal to pursue their own economic interests. Although they advocated promotion of democracy in Nepal publicly, claiming themselves as promoters of democracy in the world, democracy never remained a real priority in the face of their own national interests. Their indirect interventions became successful because of the attitude of the pro-foreign power political leaders in Nepal. They overtly did not support the Maoists, but the proxy war launched by them effectively paralyzed the states mechanism and contributed to the conflict in tensification. The bad neighbor effects may not have happened without the discrete and deliberate support by these countries. Although neighboring countries meddling in the Nepalese domestic affairs played an important role for the conflict, without the decisions and actions of the Nepalese domestic elites, the conflict could not have been sparked. The domestic elites conflicts were mainly power struggles and were ideological in nature. However, before the emergence of the Maoist Party, the conflict that erupted between competing elites was in effect only a struggle for power. The burgeoning political parties in the new democratic milieu contended for power and forged alliances between one another for one purpose to become the principal national power. Even within the political parties, the leaders competing and forging alliances were numerous, which contributed frequently to making and breaking of governments. This led to aspirations and grievances of underprivileged and minority ethnic groups, to go unheard and unaddressed, causing serious frustrations and dissatisfactions among these groups. These frust rated ethnic groups as well as some political opportunists unable to grasp power through democratic elections, started movements for the rights of ethnic minorities to gain power by another venue. Analysis of ethnic conflict in Nepal At some point, the ethnic self-images and the images of others played important roles to shape ethnic conflict in Nepal. During the monarchical period, the different ethnic groups co-existed because they shared the mutual history of unification of greater Nepal, and converged into a unified language and national character.  [9]  The Chauvinist mythmaking by the Shah dynasty was a hallmark of civic nationalism that contributed to overshadow the ethnic nationalism to some extent. Until the state was strong, no significant ethnic conflict existed in Nepal; however, the ethnic groups started devising mechanism to protect their groups after the state became weak. In certain degrees, the rise on the ethnic conflict was the result of the self-help mechanism employed by ethnic groups to protect their groups interest when the state failed to provide security. However, the decision to adopt a federal system in Nepal by amending the interim constitution acted as an important confidence building measure to promote the rights and positions of minorities by mitigating the strategic dilemma that would have produced violence.  [10]   The third wave of democratization changed the Nepalese political system and institutions as it swept throughout the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. The establishment of a liberal democratic institution and globalization changed the social structure in many of the countries around the world. The drastic change in political and economic structure broke existing social contracts resulting in resentment as well as opportunity, and provided fertile ground for the Nepalese political entrepreneurs to mobilize support around ethnic and sectarian identities leading to ethnic conflict.  [11]  Before the beginning of democratization, the ethnic issues were weak and limited among the people at large in Nepal. The political transitioning and democratization in 1990 provided elites ethnicity as a tool to harness popular energies for securing state power as more voters began to play a larger role in politics.  [12]  This led to ethnic conflict when contested elections we re held and varieties of political groups criticized the governmentand each other. Although the new constitution addressed the issue of minority rights, they did not feel their rights guaranteed because the privileged groups showed reluctance to surrender real political authority enjoyed by them versus that of the average Nepali citizen. Thus, initial steps in the rocky transition to democracy increased the risk for ethnic conflict when the immature political parties indulged simply in parochial party politics. Although many ethnic groups were demanding an ethnically-based federal state, only some sections of Madheshi had occasionally demanded an autonomous state with the right of self-determination. This section of the Madheshi people felt that the control of Terai region ensures their survival by protecting group identity. Since the Terai region was populated with Madheshi people and was considered their homeland, they launched a violent conflict when their interests clashed with those of the Maoists. Yet, some of the non-Madheshi groups and some factions within the Madheshi community heavily criticized this idea. Also, for the state, the control of territory was vital for physical survival.  [13]  However, after realizing the state would oppose their sovereignty demands with violence if necessary, these Madheshi backed down from their demand and contended for an autonomous region. It appears that Indian interests also might have played an important role to forgo the right for self-de termination, because such an action might lead to an intensification of a similar demand in an already contested situation in India. The Terai region being the breadbasket and strategically vital Nepal tract of land, the State was likely to use any means and level of violence to secure its control. The Madheshi uprising gained momentum after the Maoists entered the political main stream. The uprising was widely believed to be covertly backed by India primarily for two reasons. First, India wanted to counter the Maoists growing influence over the Terai region. Second, India wanted to exert its influence and control on the Terai region so that it could influence Nepals internal politics. When the Maoists tried to counter the Madheshi activities in the Terai, they faced fierce opposition, and violence broke out. Hostilities targeted the non-Madheshi people living in the Terai region, and many people fled to other areas leaving their homes. The mix of Madheshi and non-Madheshi populations raised the risk of inter- communal conflict during the violent Terai movement started in Gaur.  [14]  However, the rejection of secessionist demands by Madhesh-based political parties and patience from non-Madheshi groups, controlled violence from spreading further. The risk of communal violen ce was not observed in other multi-ethnic parts of the country. The two centuries of cordial intermingling among diverse ethnic groups and three decades of consolidation of civic nationalism under the Panchayat system based on single language and tradition, hardly left any room for a bottom-up demand for ethnic mobilization in Nepal. Certainly, there was ethnic awareness in Nepal, but it would, most likely not have evolved into organized political competition without being capitalized on by the political elites. As Jessica Pimbo asserts, Enduring ethnological cleavages were not likely to occur in the absence of political parties that attempt to mobilize ethnicity.  [15]   The dynamics of massive mobilization of ethnic groups for group-level purposes is not very clear. Altruistic and chauvinist leaders identified with specific groups seem to forgo their individual self-interests while seeking group interests. The subjective identity seems to go along with group identity rather than objective identity, which may only deal with an individuals life history. According to the logic of collective action, the group interests and the personal interest cannot progress concurrently, and most of group-oriented activities do not commensurate with group interests. Thus, alignment of group and self-interest leads to spirals of violence, and a groups betterment comes only at the cost of others. This leads invariably to zero-sum, or even negative-sum, situations in which nobody gains from the conflict.  [16]   The presence of rightist, centrist, and leftist ideologically-based political parties, such as the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the Nepali Congress (NC), and various Communist Parties created tension over the organization of political, economic, and social affairs in Nepal. The ideological tensions existed between hardline communist parties and other political parties. The ideologies were mainly based on economic and class terms, creating struggles over how political, economic, and social affairs should be organized to create a New Nepal.  [17]  Although class-based movements with communist agendas were dwindling in many parts of the world, the Nepalese rebel movement transplanted into the political agendas of indigenous people and ethnic minorities was burgeoning. The Nepal Communist Party (Maoists) emerged because of political, economic, and cultural discrimination; widespread dissatisfaction, inequitable distribution of resources and disproportionate economic development. The Maoists effectively and efficiently utilized the energy and momentum gathered by the different ethnic groups political movements and gave voice to those ethnic minorities agenda with their own. As the amalgamated movement was progressing under the leadership of the Maoists, the government started repressing the movements rather than addressing the underlying causes for the conflict. This approach further propagated the movement and finally resulted in political negotiations; and, ultimately resulted in establishing the Maoists as a largest political party in the country. This movement attempted to shift civic-nationalism to ethno-nationalism in Nepal, and provided the political elites with powerful incentive to play the ethnic card. The mounting economic problem constituted the main reason for people to initially follow an ethnic movement and subsequently as well, a Maoists agenda which in turn had successively taken over many ethnic groupings. Although there were some traces of inter-group grievances, yet the existence of significant antagonistic group histories did not exist. Existing economic problems such as unemployment, increased inflation, and intensifying resource competitions forced more people to join the armed movement for a radical change in the countrys political course. It is evident that the emergence of elite competition was a major proximate cause, where as the socio-economic problems constituted the core for conflict in Nepal. Intensifying elite competitions and mounting economic problems played a crucial role promoting a strong political movement in Nepal; nevertheless, the movements would not have been successful, had there been homogenous populations and fewer ethnic grievances. In other words, had there been economic advancement like in Malaysia, Indonesia, or Thailand, which had ethnic grievances with a similar intensity as in Nepal, the ethnically energized Maoist conflict would not have occurred or succeeded so easily. Michael E. Brown and et. al assert: Sustained economic growth, which gives groups, even relatively disadvantages groups, incentives to avoid conflict and destruction of a system that is bringing more and more economic benefits.  [18]   With the Maoists armed movement causing the death of more than 13,000 human lives, and the ethnic mobilization as part and parcel of the Maoist insurgency, the Nepalese conflict graduated from an ethnic conflict to a hybrid conflict. It was a fusion of ethnic grievances of various ethnic groups and the ideological movement of the Maoists. This hybrid conflict was successful mainly because of the Maoists stratagem to combine ethnic movement with their ideological precepts acquiring the energy of a fusionist movement to fuel their ideological movement. Since this marriage of convenience was primarily focused on achieving success for the Maoists rather than to take on seriously solutions to existing ethnic issues.

Decrease Of Teen Pregnancy Rate :: essays research papers

The overall teen birth rate has declined by 16 percent from 1991 to 1997. â€Å"All states are recording a decline and it is the sixth year in a row that the teen birth rate has declined,† stated Donna Shalala, HHS secretary of U. S. Newswire. Although the birthrate among teens is decreasing and the percentage of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse is declining, it is a multi-fauceted problem affecting today’s youth. The government is taking in to consideration all possibilities and conditions with teen births to make an affective way to prevent it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teenage pregnancy is a condition that can be controlled in many instances. Congress’ campaign is â€Å"To reduce the teenage pregnancy by supporting values and stimulating actions that are consistent with a pregnancy-free adolescence,† stated the Speaker pro tempore Mr. Taylor of North Carolina. Congress’ goal is to balance the budget and reduce spending in the area of Medicaid funds, food stamps, and AFDC funds that are especially hard-hit by the teenage pregnancy problem. Reducing teenage childbearing through this campaign is likely to require more than eliminating or manipulating welfare programs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A form of prevention funded by the Department of Public Health in Massachusetts is The Challenge Fund. It is a community-based approach to teen pregnancy prevention. These coalitions unite youth, family, and community in order to create and increase opportunities for youth development and leadership. It also increases awareness of ownership of the risks, costs and problems of teen pregnancy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Federal Government has invested millions of dollars into an abstinence education program for young adults that provide ways for them to avoid sexual activity at such a young age. The program teaches teens the importance of sustaining from sexual activity before marriage and the importance of a monogamous relationship in a marriage. It also teaches them the harmful effects psychologically and physically, of sexual activity at a young age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Studies show a trend toward sexual abstinence and improved use of condoms as possible reasons for sudden change in the pregnancy rate decreasing. Other studies also show that teen abortions are steadily declining as well, ruling out abortion as a factor in the falling national teen birth rate. â€Å"The government cannot calculate an overall teen pregnancy rate, which includes live births and abortions, because ten states keep no figures on abortions,† stated Stephanie Ventura, a statistician with CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Leading Strategies Change at Davita

Project: Leading Strategies change at DaVita: The Integration of the Gambro Acquisition Course: MGT 215 Submitted: 7thDecember, 2011 Acknowledgement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Synopsis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9-20 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 23 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 Acknowledgement I would like to thank God fo r the strength he gave me to do this course. It was a challenge but through it all he brought me to the end of twelve weeks of studies.I would like to thank Mr. Veron Johnson for the patience and time he took to impart his knowledge to me. Thanks to everyone who assisted in any way. Introduction DaVita Inc. , a FORTUNE 500 company, is  a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services.As of  September 30, 2011, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,777 dialysis facilities, serving approximately 138,000 patients. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. DaVita Medical Mission Statement: †Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through ur commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we our Mission and Values every day, in DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we wed† Synopsis Total Renal Care (TRC) a company founded by Victor Chatiel in 1994, offered renal services. One of his strategies was to apply strict business principles and reap rewards upon entering the traditionally non-profit domain of Kidney Dialysis centers.He focused on growth through acquisition through the 1990’s. Unfortunately, chatiel and his team failed to integrate their acquisition leading to some operational incoherence. Firstly, there was no uniformity to a critical patient data form used to record and monitor patient care during dialysis. Secondly, there was little standardization in reporting work methods across centers, this absence made routine management activities, such as transferring personnel and patient across, much more difficult if not impossible.Thirdly, cash flow issues created serious problems like operational weakness in insurance reimbursements – a critical problem for a company whose revenue was entirely dependent on it. Insurers and government would frequently question charges and demand additional documentation. They would occasionally unilaterally reduce the reimbursement amount and delay payment until they received answers to queries and requested documentation.Finally, senior’s executives paid very little attention to the dialysis centers themselves, which were seen more as an avenue of corporate growth where patient and caregivers were economic units in a bigger financial structure. This headquarters- centric, financially oriented operating culture did not win friends among the health care practioners who worked hard in the field to deliver quality care. In 1999 Total Renal Care (TRC) ran into severe financial difficulties. The board of directors turned to Kent Thiry, who worked at another dialysis center in 1997.Kent Thiry is a Harvard MBA graduate and an ex-brain consultant. Before accepting the job offer he reached out to a set of people who had been with him in his previous dialysis venture, people whom he trusted, liked and respected. He recruited Harlan clever, to be the chief technology officer, David Barry to be COO (chief operating officer) and Doug Vlchek to lead the organizational change and culture building efforts. When he came to lead the company October of 1999, the organization was in a mess . It had financial operational regulatory and moral difficulties. They were technically bankrupt, and being investigated by SEC, they were sued by shareholders, had turnovers at twice our current level, was almost out of cash and in general, wasn’t the happiest of place. †(Thiry) Thiry and his colleagues begin assessing the talent in the company, moving people who could not perform and hiring people who could â€Å"get stuff done† (GSD remained a popular acronym in the company; being considered â€Å"good at GSD† was the highest compliment a teammate could receive) persons were sent to the billing office, to work on collections and to fix the cash flow problem.In May 2000 more than 400 clinic managers, plus people from corporate headquarters assembled in Phoenix Arizona, for the first of what has become an annual ,corporate-wide meeting. At this first meeting suggestions for a new name for the company were presented. The company’s teammates, the boa rd of directors and senior management collectively voted to chose the new name â€Å"DaVita† which in Italian phrase which means â€Å"to give life or he/she gives life. † At this meeting groups discussed, debated and voted on proposal for the core values and a mission statement was presented.A few persons were sent to Tacoma’s billing office to work on billing and collections and to fix cash flow problems. The situation became severe when the government stopped paying DaVita for laboratory tests because of records and document issues. The company had to decide what to do with the patients whose lab tests were not being reimbursed, however the company decided to continue performing tests that it felt were essential in delivery of care and to appeal the decision to an administrative law judge to attempt to obtain the denied funds. Four (4) years later after winning successive judgments, the government paid them over $90 million.The issue of outstanding debt was d ealt with under much constraint. The banks wanted the company to sell parts of the business to honor debts. The management group did not buckle, and after long and difficult discussions, the loans were restructured and financial penalties for default were discontinued. Eventually the company sold the dialysis centers that were outside the United States to direct it focused in a geographically area. In the area of technology, the chief information officer introduced an automated patient registration and to incorporate all the clinical records and activities, an electric file cabinet was also created.It was the first step to standardize the paper-based system used to keep track of patient care in the various centers. Continuous improvement and teammate education was critical at this point, so a change process was initiated using continuous quality improvement (CQI). Each center manager attended these training sessions and was expected to train their own staff at the various centers in quality improvement techniques. They were on the road to a new philosophy where patients care was delivered and where most DaVita teammates work were important to the company’s success.To emphasize the importance of the centers, Thiry and his senior manager â€Å"adopt† a center and drop by occasionally. They later replaced the adopt-a-center program with the practice of having everyone hired in or promoted to the vice president level or above go through â€Å"Reality 101†, which entailed spending a week in a center helping to do the day-to- day-work. DaVita’s strategy was characterized by their attention to detail; they took painstaking attention to operational details and compliance with government regulations.Also managing financial outcomes rested largely on small but important behaviors and decisions. One such activity was carefully using supplies to avoid waste and maintaining appropriate stock levels so that inventory costs were unnecessarily high , yet avoiding emergency ordering. Another was achieving good clinical outcomes, it was important to take care while putting the patient on the machine, monitoring the treatment as it was occurring and taking the patient off the machine at the end of the session.The final strategy which was used was employees attraction and retention, this was important because turnovers was costly, entailing finding replacement people and possibly paying overtime labor rate if a center was temporarily short- staff. There strategy can be characterized in organization development and change as leading and managing change where after they diagnosed the causes of the problem, management took a leading role in implementing the change. They created a vision, develop a political support, manage the transition and sustained the momentum. With the increased focus and attention to perational detail, the commitment of the company’s teammates and the bank negotiation behind it, DaVita embarked on a rema rkable transformation in its performance. Achieving great financial result and was consistent over the years in improvements in clinical outcomes and reduction in turnover. The organizational culture at DaVita was a result of what Thiry call â€Å"purposeful action† that â€Å"articulated and demonstrated† what a company could be. His approach took the form of a clear concise mission- that was quickly turned into a song. He then got his colleagues to come to consensus on core values, he also use benchmark questions.Employees became teammates and if they â€Å"cross the bridge† of believing the company could be special, they become â€Å"citizen of the village† (not the company) with Thiry as â€Å"mayor. †A general synergy of teammates and executives brought the organizational change concept to life. A closer look at DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive valu e-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. The foundation was Mission and Values, created at the first meeting in 2000 and now widely practiced throughout the company.To the management team, the company’s rebirth strategy was based on the belief that they had to create something larger than themselves in order to be successful. DaVita offered a comprehensive benefit and pay package that was somewhat unusual for a company that had a reasonably large number of relatively low-paid, hourly employees. Pay was pegged against competitive benchmarks. There was a broad- based profit-sharing program that covered virtually all team members, based on the idea of sharing the village’s good times and success with all citizens.There were also benefits that provided people an opportunity to invest in professional and personal growth. Health and welfare benefits included a comprehensive package of medical, dental and vision benefit s, extended illness leave, both short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance and flexible spending account to set aside pre-tax dollars for health or childcare expenses, and an employee assistance program Another incentive offered by DaVita to encourage the teammates to be fully involved in their work and to be present in the company, not just physically but also emotionally was â€Å"we are here awards. This was a $1000 in vacation expenses given to a randomly selected non-exempt teammate who had perfect attendance during a 90 – day period. There was also the â€Å"shining star award,† for people who not only perform their job with exceptional proficiency but who also exemplified the DaVita’s values and who contributed to the well-being of the team. DaVita have many training program within the organization to assist teammates in their development.DaVita University started within a year of Thiry arrival in the company and offers program in cont inuous quality improvement (a two day program required for newly hired facility administrators, managers and vice presidents that had not taken the class previously) presentation skills, leadership development, team skills and programs for vice presidents. There are also numerous courses on clinical subjects. Two of the most important programs that reach the people directly or indirectly were the DaVita Academy (more recently called Academy 11) and a program called F.A. S. T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) Academy11 was a newer program attended by all teammates from a specific region, designed to â€Å"take facility performance to the next level by fostering mutual accountability amongst the team. † By emphasizing how to hold difficult and honest conversations among the teams to resolve interpersonal issues, the course fostered better and more productive interaction. It also contained numerous team building activities and joint planning for operational imp rovement at the facilities. F. A. S.T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) is a five day program taken by all new clinic managers. The program consist of training in managerial skills such as time management, communication, providing coaching and feedback to team members, and interviewing, as well as material on DaVita culture ( DaVita Way and One for All). The company integrated programs to give back to the community; they introduced a program â€Å"one for all, all for one. † This program the DaVita village Network is where teammates make contributions and the company matched this with its profit.These funds were used to assist persons in the communities where centers are located who use their services and have difficulties in meeting their financial obligations. In 2005, Thiry and his senior executive team met to discuss the next step the company should take to continue its organizational development and strategies evolution. Their special focused was how to manage several looming challenges because they were just in the process of completing a $3. 1 billion purchase of Gambro, a large competitor. The acquisition would nearly double its size from 700 to more than 1200 dialysis centers and from 13, 000 to 25,000 people.As such it would cement its position as the second largest Kidney Dialysis centers in the United States. Their task immediately entailed integrating Gambro into the DaVita’s way of managing and its culture. Gambro was significantly more hierarchical and formal than DaVita, and did not have a strong people- oriented culture. Gambro had purchased Vivara in 1997 , a small publicly traded dialysis company led and transformed by Thiry during the 1990’s, now as leader of the combined organization, his goal is to be respectful of Gambro, its people and its capabilities, while maintaining DaVita’s unique culture and way of management.Gambro is a global medical technology company and a leader in developing, ma nufacturing and supplying products and therapies for Kidney and Liver dialysis, Myeloma Kidney Therapy, and other extracorporeal therapies for Chronic and Acute patients. Kidney (renal) dialysis was the world’s first extracorporeal therapy (i. e. a therapy that treats organ failure outside the body). Dialysis saves the lives of a growing number of patients every year, and innovation in the field is essential.The only current alternative to renal dialysis – kidney transplantation – is not an available option for most patients, due to a shortage of donor organs. Dialysis technology is now being developed for new applications such as liver dialysis and an emerging field of other extracorporeal therapies, to remove different fluids and toxins from chronically and acutely ill patients. For decades, Gambro has been first to market many groundbreaking innovations. By designing and delivering solutions to dialysis clinics and intensive care units, they offer not just im proved treatment quality, but also improved efficiency.Gambro was founded in 1964, and had 8 000 employees, production facilities in 9 countries, and sales in more than 100 countries. Their purpose and culture unified as a company and remind us as individuals of how we can make a difference for patients and their families. Customer focus  was always strived to exceed customer expectations and they keep patient safety and quality as a key priority. They hold themselves accountable to their customers, team members and partners by delivering on their commitments. People are the biggest asset of the company and teamwork is important for success.They conducted business in an ethical manner with courage to do the right thing and continuously seek ways to improve their business. The Gambro Healthcare acquisition is the largest acquisition we have made to date. There is a risk that, due to the size of the acquisition, we will be unable to integrate Gambro Healthcare into our operations as effectively as we have with prior acquisitions, which would result in fewer benefits to us from the acquisition than currently anticipated as well as increased costs.The integration of the Gambro Healthcare operations will require implementation of appropriate operations, management and financial reporting systems and controls as well as integration of the clinical policies and procedures of both companies, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our revenues and operating results. In addition, it requires the focused attention of our management team, including a significant commitment of their time and resources. The need for management to focus on integration matters could have a material and adverse impact on our revenues and operating results.I would advice Thiry to design a team to lead in managing the integration. This team should include the (COO) the chief operational officer, the chief technology officer and the structure design manager. I would share the effe ctive change management program with him, which include four phases. The first is to motivating change this includes creating the readiness for change among organization members and helping to address the resistance to change. The second would be creating a vision in providing a purpose and reason for change and describe the desired state.The third would be developing a political support for change where there can be powerful individuals and groups that can either block or promote change, they you need to gain their support. The fourth would be managing the transition from the current state to the desired future state and finally you should sustain the momentum for change so that it will be carried to completion. The team should relate to individuals, interpersonal relations and group dynamics. The individual approach should be aimed at coaching and training.Coaching attempts to improve one’s ability to set and meet goals and improve interpersonal relations. Training and deve lopment aimed at transferring knowledge and skills to individuals. Interpersonal and group process approach includes process consultation, third party intervention and team building. Process consultation help group members understand, diagnose and improve behavior, the third party intervention focus directly on dysfunctional interpersonal conflict and team building is aimed at doth helping teams perform its tasks better and at satisfying ndividual needs. The first 100 days action plan should include recommendation for the organizational structure the organization should implement. The new structure and action plan need to be communicated to the organization. The design team will conduct its initial activities in a relatively easy manner and follow it by implementing a monitoring, correcting and evaluation process. As the plan is implemented new information, changes in the environment and other issues will arise that required adaptation and adjustment.The team is charged with the mon itoring implementation by collecting implementation feedback to find out if the plan is working. The data collected would be analyzed and if they are feasible would be implemented. To preserve the DaVita’s culture I would suggest training in the various program areas such of team building, communication skills and clinical areas. DaVita has Academy11 for all teammates to improve team building amongst workers. It hast F. A. S.T a program for 5 days in the various management skills and also DaVita University for quality improvement for newly hired managers DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive value-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. Their mission â€Å"to be the provider, partner and employer of choice† had made an impact on the organization and the core value had kept them in second place in the dialysis industry.Their financial position has been exceptional over the years Mission Statement Kent Thiry Conclusion I have learned a lot about Kidney Dialysis and the time and patience that caregivers give to save a life on a daily basis. DaVita’s team led by Kent Thiry made the organization a village community rather than a company and in doing so working became a part of their life style. I realized that an organization with a strong culture can be a leading company. Bibliography Organizational Development and change 8th Edition by Cummings & Worley The internet

Henrik Ibsens Enemy of the People essays

Henrik Ibsen's Enemy of the People essays In Henrik Ibsen's play, Enemy of the People, Peter Stockmann is the real enemy of the people because he is primarily motivated by greed. He is a man with power and who does no mind using his influence to get what he wants despite who he has to hurt to get it. This paper will examine how Peter Stockmann's words and actions prove him to be the real enemy of the Our first indication that Peter might be less concerned with his fellow citizens than he is for himself comes from his reaction to his brother's news that the Bath establishment is a "permanent supply of poison" (I.143). Peter is very calm and seems to be only disturbed by the fact that such news could keep people from visiting the Baths. He asks Thomas, "Have you taken the trouble to consider what your proposed alterations would cost'" (II.155). Peter tells him that it would take nearly two years to complete the work and asks, "what are we to do with the Baths in the meantime' Close them' Indeed we should be obliged to. And do you suppose any one would come near the place after it had got about that the water was dangerous'" (II.156). These statements illustrate that Peter is more concerned with business than with the health of the community. Peter is also very arrogant. He does not think the people of the community deserve to know anything is they don't have to know it. He tells Thomas that "not a single word" (II.157) of the condition of the water should reach the public and that everything should be repaired in time in secret. When Thomas asks him if it is not the "duty of a citizen to let the public share in any new ideas" (II. 158), he tells him, "the public doesn't require any new ideas. The public is best served by the good, old established ideas it already has" (II.158). These statements indicate that Peter does not have much faith in the intelligence of the community. It also seems to reinforce hi...

Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essays

Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essays Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essay Il Postino General Vision and Viewpoint Essay Postino stands out in contrast to both the previous texts as its vision is quite optimistic. Mario is able to rise above the limitations of his world to realise his potential and become happy. The film does begin in a gloomy manner as Mario struggles to communicate with his withdrawn father – their relationship is strained. When Mario shows his father a postcard from America, his father tells him to get a job – he is ‘not a child anymore. ’ Mario’s father earns a meagre living as a fisherman, similar to the Mundy’s house, his home is sparsely furnished and they have just run out of water.Family life here resembles Lughnasa more than Lies of Silence. The relationship between the two men is problematic while Mario is living at home but it noticeably improves when the son marries the love of his life, Beatrice. We are presented with an uplifting image of joy when she becomes pregnant and Mario listens to the sound of his baby’s beating hea rt. Contrasting sharply to Lies of Silence, the relationships in Il Postino are very positive – the most important being between mario and Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet and communist living in exile in Capri.They grow closer when Mario asks the poet to help him win the heart of Beatrice (Neruda had a reputation as a ladies’ man). Mario wins Beatrice’s love by reciting lines from Pablo’s poems. Mario remarks that ‘poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it, but to those who need it’ revealing a deep understanding of poetry. This sparks his interest in poetry and Mario discusses this art with his new friend in Neruda’s home and on the beach, beginning with a discussion on metaphors (being able to relate to ‘I am tired of being a man’).Mario expresses gratitude to Neruda by asking him to be his best man but he is also interested in Neruda’s communist philosophy (aware of social injustice). Mario grows in confi dence through this relationship: the new, assertive Mario takes issue with members of a local politician’s posse who are trying to buy fish at a knock-down price (unfortunately the fishermen become visibly angry at his intervention). Mario also challenges the cynical politician Di Cosimo when he announced that the water works (before the elections he had promised would be built) would not be built.Mario is sad when Neruda leaves the island and is dejected when Pablo fails to keep in contact with him but we can see the impact that the poet left on him as Mario begins to write his own poetry. He is invited to read a poem that he dedicated to Neruda at a communist rally on the mainland and we can see the personal development and change he has gone through as he addresses such a large crowd. Mario’s other relationships are also positive: he achieves happiness when he marries Beatrice, who loves him deeply and is impressed with his poetic achievements.Both his father and Ro sa (Beatrice’s aunt) come to respect him as a man. The relationship between Mario and Giorgio the Postmaster is also uplifting. These friendships help Mario following Neruda’s failure to stay in touch – this support network is similar to the family unit in Dancing at Lughnasa. The Society of the text is similar to the other two texts – depressing. It is a world of poverty and hopelessness, the differences in wealth is obvious; seen in the sophisticated Pablo and the cynical Di Cosimo. Once again we are met with a patriarchal society – authority figures are male.Mario’s death may suggest that the film ends on a gloomy note – it is tragic and random but it does not take away from the optimism that his life created. Il Postino differs from the other two texts (where the harsh circumstances crushed the main characters) as Mario was able to rise above the problems of his world to realise his own potential and be truly happy with his love. The painful reality of life reverberates in the ending but we can also see a sense of realism as Neruda fails to keep in touch with Mario and the fact that Mario never saw his son (Pablito – named after his friend).Naturally Beatrice is angry at her circumstances when Neruda and his wife return after a five-year absence. One of the final images of the film is of Neruda alone on the beach evoking a sense of loss for an inspiring life that fills one with hope. Il Postino’s viewpoint is much more optimistic Lies of Silence Il Postino open in a gloomy manner – Lughnasa begins in nostalgia Lughnasa Il Postino portrays a positive family life Relationships are also positive in Lughnasa Il Postino

Current Business Strategies At Tesco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Current Business Strategies At Tesco - Essay Example The company started trading its shares to the public in 1947 to boost its capital base. In the late 1950s, Tesco took over the ownership of numerous of grocery stores within the UK, among them being Harrow Stores Ltd, a 200-grocery chain. Moreover, Tesco has implemented strategies to penetrate the international market through acquiring already established stores. With the coming of e-commerce, Tesco has developed strategies to harness this great potential. In 2010, the company started a mobile phone based website to allow customers make purchases from their smart phones. However, the strategies adopted by the company have not always gone down well with different stakeholders. Early this year, the business has proposed to tailor its deals according to the income of the nearby shoppers. Clarkson (2012) asserts that 75 percent of the Tesco’s shoppers are opposed to a new strategy by Tesco to base its deals on the income of nearby shoppers. 1.2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research u ses a methodology of reviewing various sources that have discussed the strategic operations of Tesco. I relied mostly on internet sources to carry out this research. 1.3: Findings 1. Tesco has relied on a strategy of acquisition of its competitors 2. Tesco has continuously adopted strategies to penetrate into the international market 3. Tesco has a strategy of diversifying the products it offers to customers 4. Technology has fuelled the growth of Tesco, with adoption of e-commerce and mobile-commerce 1.4: Recommendations 1. Tesco should carry out a market research before implementing a strategy to avert what dissatisfaction among customers. 2. Tesco should continue increasing its express stores 3. Tesco should continue making stronger brands as this... This paper approves that key implementation issues and risks faced by the company are as follows - Tesco is planning to enter new global markets. The strategy adopted by Tesco is to protect the brand image and promote expansion plans. It has been in controversy over the treatment of customer and staff. Additionally, it’s approach in foreign business has been criticised. Tesco’s biggest criticism has been that it has been creating a monopoly in the market over products. Furthermore, the company had aggressive planning in building new stores. Tesco has adopted information systems to increase its sales through ecommerce. This report makes a conclusion that the retail business of Tesco is highly competitive and it needs technological support and innovative solutions for getting competitive advantage. The innovative solutions Tesco can introduce are - new format stores and creating a novel online shopping experience. What’s more, implementation of technologically advanced online solutions is not expensive and takes 6-8 months. For sustained competitive advantage, the company should have command over price by delivering value added competitive products and services. For example - it can introduced health foods for different age groups. The process of production of health foods will take 6 to 7 months. It needs to work on internal advantages and reduce weaknesses to create a platform for innovation, research & development. The company should also be able to organize the process of implementation along with globalization and diversification.

Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management Assignment

Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management - Assignment Example From this discussion it is clear that managers that operate in their countries too often find themselves in conditions where they have to interact with clients, suppliers or employees originating from different countries with varying cultural practices and beliefs. Above these challenges, the modern organizations are increasingly consisting of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, making them multicultural organizations. It is therefore not enough to only seek and acquire traditional knowledge or training, but it is essential to be equipped with knowledge of surviving through cross-cultural organization systems. Managers therefore need the complex skills of operating through the multicultural settings of organizations to succeed internationally.This study discusses that every life aspect gets influenced by culture and this is dictated by the perspective someone adopts to view the   world and give direction to what is ethically tolerable in terms of behaviour. The definition of culture can be broadly said to be mutual interpretations, shared values or motives, identities and beliefs and, these factors are the outcomes of shared by members of a society and are passed over across generations. Society is a distinguishing factor that denotes a communal mind training of people mind from other people of a diverse class.  Today, managers are confronted with an array of cultural challenges with the increased international businesses across borders and diversified workforce emanating from different backgrounds.