Carmen Mata Essays - Boracay, Kyoto, , Term Papers

Carmen Mata Professor Benavides English 1301 M09 06 March 2017 The Other Side of the World "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." Written by the best-known author for children's book, Dr. Seuss. I enjoy reading about other countries and cities around the world and getting to know more about their environment, culture, and historic monuments. I live on one side of the world and there's still a whole other side I have yet to explore such as, Zhangjiajie, Kyoto, and Boracay. These three cities have one thing in common, they are all located in Asia and claim to have one of the most beautiful sittings in the world. Nature itself grabs my attention, therefore when I learned about these three cities it immediately got my attention. Initially, people think China is best known for their food, however they are also known for having beautiful nature sittings. Zhangjiajie, China has their national forest park which consists of many sand-stone, pillar-like formations. One tourist said "there are many stairs to walk, but definitely worth every step, beautiful scenery of the lakes" Another tourist also stated, "When we were there it was rainy and cloudy, yet this made the scenery even more beautiful", there's not many places you can go visit and say that the rain and clouds made everything more beautiful, in fact most people would probably think it would make it less attractive. Some people even said they felt at peace once they reached the top of the pillars and saw the view; they felt as if their problems didn't exist anymore and nothing else mattered but what they were looking at in that very moment. It's amazing how nature itself can change a person's emotions and feelings with such beautiful views of the world. Next, I have on my list would be Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto is the home of many Buddhist temples and also the home of hundreds of beautiful gardens. Kiyomizudera Temple, is a well-known temple in all of Kyoto and Japan. Kiyomizudera, means "Pure Water Temple", the temple is made out of wood which makes the temple stand out the most and is surrounded by cherry and maple trees. The main hall in Kiyomizudera has a small statue of the eleven faced, thousand armed Kannon (which people worshipped back then). Behind the main hall stands Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the gods of love and matchmaking. In front of the shrine are two stones that are 18 meters apart, they say if you stand on the stone with your eyes closed it'll bring luck into finding love. And lastly, my favorite part of the Kiyomizudera Temple would have to be the Otowa Waterfall, which is located at the base of Kiyomizudera's main hall. Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. Finally, I have Boracay that is in the Philippines. As I've mentioned before nature is one of things that attracts me the most. Boracay has one of the many most beautiful beaches in the world. Beaches in Boracay are known to have turquoise colored water and the clearest water. There are many things to do at the beach such as scuba diving, parasailing, cliff diving, and ziplining. Tourist top favorite things to do is scuba diving and ziplining. One tourist says "really love the drift dive in the channel, in fact it gives me goosebumps just typing. Also, Yapak was just mind blowing, Yapak dive site for me was better than bungee jumping, biggest rush of my life, maybe because I dived on a full moon tide where the current was just crazy!" Can you just imagine diving into a beautiful ocean on a full moon tide? Must be beautiful. As I get older the more excited I get thinking about all these places I want to travel to. In the future I hope to get to travel to these three places in Asia and hope to have an amazing and life changing experience as these tourists did.

Test Evaluation of the bipolar form of the Mood States (POMS-BI) The WritePass Journal

Test Evaluation of the bipolar form of the Mood States (POMS-BI) Scenario Test Evaluation of the bipolar form of the Mood States (POMS-BI) ). Introduction The scenario, which is to be explored in this report, relates to the study by Frost et.al. (2000) which sought to understand the psychosocial morbidity and health concerns accompanying individuals perceived increased risk of cancer.   The questionnaires to test this included the Bipolar Profile of Mood States (POMS-BI).   This sought to understand how each individual’s experience and their mood states changed on a daily basis (Frost et.al. 2013).   These two factors are often highly variable from individual to individual (Lorr, 1984: Lorr, McNair Heuchert, 1984).   This is because changes in their experiences and mood states may be affected by consuming different food or drink, all social interactions, any life events, which may occur in conjunction with the effects of any drugs or prescribed medications, which the patient may be taking (Loke, Hinrichs Ghoneim, 1985). The POMS-BI test was developed to assess all of the possible factors, which may influence an individual mood states negatively, or positivity (Lorr, 1984: Lorr, McNair Heuchert, 1984).   These mood states may range from an individual being extremely happy to depressed, agreeable to aggressive, anxious to cool, calm and collected, clear headed to confused, assertive to unconfident and lethargic to energetic (Lorr, 1984; Lorr, McNair Heuchert, 1984).   It was believed that in clinical settings only the negative states, which have been described, were measured as individuals ignored any positive feelings.   However, the PMOS-BI test allowed both positive and negative states to be measured and observed in a clinical setting. Suitability of the items The POMS-BI test is based on the principle that it can be used to identify both positive and negative moods states and feelings when it is used on psychiatric patients.   This enables health professionals to identify the patient’s current clinical condition.   Furthermore, it may be used to measure the effectiveness of treatments such as, various psychotropic drug treatments, which may be utilised for patients presenting with anxiety or depression disorders (Lorr, McNair Fisher, 1982).   Each of these items, which the POMS-BI test is able to measure, can also be used to understand the effectiveness of other treatments such as, relaxation therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy.   It may also be utilised to compare a variety of personality disorders (Svrakic, Przybeck, Cloninger, 1992) which have been outlined in DSM III. The POMS-BI test has two sections, one, which focuses on how patients feel in their present state, and one, which determines how they have felt over the last week.   The section which focuses on their present state of mind asks the patient to rate how they feel.   They are given a number of options within the questionnaire and have to choose the most appropriate of these.   The second part of the questionnaire asks them to rate when they have felt ‘much like this’, so it is less focused than the first part.   However, again patients are asked to choose from a range of options.   The options, which they choose, allow the clinician to sum the score from the scales and this then allows them to rate the patient’s positive or negative states. Lorr Wunderlich (1988) found in their study, that in order to measure positive effects from the questionnaire, the half scale score items needed to be twelve half scales for each.   The identification of the positive effect is based on the sum total of the item scores on the six positive scales, whilst the negative effect is based on the sum of item scores on the six negative scales. Thus, from the above, for the suitability of answering POMS-BI, we can ascertain that this test is expedient for each patient to answer them and it does not take a long time.   The questionnaire is easy to understand and individuals do not have to think through their answers, they just have to be aware of their current mood state or feeling to be able to undertake the POMS-BI questionnaire (Svrakic, Przybeck, Cloninger, 1992).   This makes it suitable for a number of patients who may need to be assessed in a clinical setting. Reliability One example, which may be cited which demonstrates the reliability of the POMS-BI test was undertaken from a study where mood states were assessed using the POMS –BI (McNair, Lorr Droppleman, 1971).   The responses from respondents were provided on a 5-point scale anchored by 0 = â€Å"not at all† and 4 = â€Å"extremely†.   The study found that the internal consistency (alpha) coefficients for the POMS subscales ranged from .84 to .95 (McNair, Lorr Droppleman, 1971).   Furthermore, the Test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from .65 to .74 (McNair, Lorr Droppleman, 1971).   This one study demonstrates that the POMS-BI test is highly reliable. Validity The POMS-BI tests validity has also been ascertained through a number of studies, which have been undertaken in psychotherapy, outpatient drug trials, emotion inducing studies and criterion studies.   Each of these types of validity tests has proven the usefulness of POMS-BI.   From the psychotherapy studies that have been undertaken to ascertain the validity of POMS-BI, Lorr et.al. (1961) found that over an eight-week period, whilst it was compared to other treatments that there was a significant improvement in the tension, depression and anger that was reported by patients.   In comparison to this, another study (Haskell, Pugatch McNair, 1969) that found that there was no significant changes in the same emotional states of tension and anger, only in depression, which Lorr et.al. (1961) had identified. In a study of POM-BI, with outpatient drug trials Lorr McNair (1966) successfully demonstrated that the prescribed medication had reduced the levels of tension in the control group.   However, this also demonstrated that the prescribed drugs did not reduce the patient’s vigour. Further, to this studies, which have examined the effectiveness of POMS-BI to measure emotionally induced states.   In one study conducted by Startup Davey (2001), scholars found that there was a direct link between a patient’s mood state and the level of worry that they experienced.   Further to this, in another study conducted by Doyle and Parfitt (1999) a direct correlation was measured between induced mood states and the perceived need profile of patients.   Both of these studies, show that PMOS-BI may be used to measure emotionally induced states effectively. In the criterion studies, Parloff, Kelman, Frank, J. D. (1954) surmised that the patients that were tested by using POMS and the Hopkin Symptom Distress Scale, both attained the same outcome scores in relation to the levels of tension, depression or fatigue that they were feeling. This demonstrates the validity of POMS. Normative Data or Norms When each of these studies has been undertaken, utilising the POMS-BI scholars has been able to establish normative data or norms.   For example, in one study, was conducted to understand the influence of a weight lifting programme that lasted for ten weeks.   The patient group comprised of 32 adults who were aged between 60-84.   The data indicated that ‘before the intervention, the depressed participants in both groups reported less frequent energy feelings compared with age norms (i.e., the mean SD for the relevant norms is 59.9, 22.1, and these data stem from a sample of 442 U.S. men and women between the ages of 65 and 74 yr).. After the 10-wk intervention, those who exercised reported a large increase in the frequency of energy feeling of 1.3 standard deviations’ (Rayman et.al. 2006: 148).   This shows that by using the POMS-BI scholars are able to understand norms and normative data by which they may measure the outcomes of their studies and compare them t o others. Practical Considerations The practical considerations which need to be considered when planning to utilise the POMS-BI are small, as the questionnaire does not take long for patients to fill in (no more than ten minutes on average).   The materials needed for them to do this are the questionnaire which is usually printed on paper and a pencil so that they can choose the response that is most relevant to them.   The POMS-BI score is easily calculated by clinicians using negative and positive mood state indicators.   They do not even need to have scoring templates as the scores can be easily placed into a scoring page so that they can assess the patient’s current mood state.   In addition, to each of these factors the questionnaire is easy to understand, so patients and clinicians should not need to spend too much time discussing what each of them need to do.   This adds to the amount of therapy time which the patient may have.   The only other consideration is if the patient’s first language is not English, under the circumstances it may be necessary to take some time to explain the questionnaire to them to ensure that they fill it in correctly.   However, you may also be able to get POMS_BI forms in other languages upon request.   The only other consideration is that this type of form should only be used by qualified clinicians who are fully competent and understand the outputs from the questionnaire fully. Conclusion This report has assessed many of the different aspects of using POMS-BI to assess patient’s positive and negative mood states or feelings.   From each of the sections above, it may be understood that the use of this questionnaire is easy, not time consuming and simple.   From this perspective, one may say that using the POMS-BI questionnaire to measure the patient’s positive and negative mood states or feelings is practical.   In addition to this, a number of clinicians and scholars have used this toll successfully over the last few decades to assess patient’s moods, and today there are many citations in the literature that may be used to attain this methods validity and reliability.   This method has also been used in a wide variety of organisations from schools, universities to working environments or clinical settings.   Therefore, the questionnaire may be widely used in a variety of settings to measure patients positive and negative mood states or f eelings.   All of this evidence attests to why it was a useful tool which could be utilised to understand the psychosocial morbidity and health concerns accompanying individuals perceived increased risk of cancer (Frost et.al. 2000).   As Frost et.al. (2000) could use the questionnaire to understand how each individual’s experience and their mood states changed on a daily basis (Frost et.al. 2000) in relation to their experiences, the food or drink that they consumed, their social interactions or any life events which may have occurred during this time (Loke, Hinrichs Ghoneim, 1985).   Thus, the test was ideal for this scenario and it should be utilised by clinicians in the future, as individuals that are at risk of developing cancer due to their circumstances may also be at a higher risk of suffering from depression, anxiety or other psychological disorders.   This test could help to diagnose their symptoms early and this could ensure that they received the appropri ate treatment sooner rather than later References DOYLE, J., PARFITT, G. (1999). The effect of induced mood states on performance profile areas of perceived need.  Journal of sports sciences, 17(2), 115-127. Frost, M. H., Vockley, C. W., Suman, V. J., Greene, M. H., Zahasky, K., Hartmann, L. (2000). Perceived familial risk of cancer: Health concerns and psychosocial adjustment.  Journal of psychosocial oncology,  18(1), 63-82. Haskell, D., Pugatch, D., McNair, D. M. (1969). Time-limited psychotherapy for whom.  Archives of General Psychiatry,  21(5), 546. Loke, W. H., Hinrichs, J. V., Ghoneim, M. M. (1985). Caffeine and diazepam: separate and combined effects on mood, memory, and psychomotor performance.  Psychopharmacology,  87(3), 344-350. Lorr, M. (1984).  Profile of Mood States: bi-polar form (POMS-BI): manual. Educational and Industrial Testing Service. Lorr, M., McNAIR, D. M., Weinstein, G. J., Michaux, W. W., Raskin, A. (1961). Meprobamate and chlorpromazine in psychotherapy: Some effects on anxiety and hostility of outpatients.  Archives of General Psychiatry,  4(4), 381. Lorr, M., McNair, D. M. (1966). Methods relating to evaluation of therapeutic outcome. In  Methods of research in psychotherapy  (pp. 573-594). Springer US. Lorr, M., McNair, D. M., Fisher, S. (1982). Evidence for bipolar mood states.  Journal of personality assessment,  46(4), 432-436. Lorr, M., McNair, D. M., Heuchert, J. W. (1984). Profile of moods states.  Bi-polar Form (POMS-BI). San Diego, CA: Educational and Industry Testing Service (EDITS). Lorr, M., Wunderlich, R. A. (1988). A semantic differential mood scale. Journal of clinical psychology,  44(1), 33-36. McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., Droppleman, L. (1971). Manual for the Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service. Parloff, M. B., Kelman, H. C., Frank, J. D. (1954). Comfort, effectiveness, and self-awareness as criteria of improvement in psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 11, 343–351 Rayman, M., Thompson, A., Warren-Perry, M., Galassini, R., Catterick, J., Hall, E., Bliss, J. (2006). Impact of selenium on mood and quality of life: a randomized, controlled trial.  Biological psychiatry,  59(2), 147-154. Startup, H. M., Davey, G. C. (2001). Mood as input and catatrophic worrying.  Journal of Abnormal Psychology,  110(1), 83. Svrakic, D. M., Przybeck, T. R., Cloninger, C. R. (1992). Mood states and personality traits.  Journal of Affective Disorders,  24(4), 217-226.

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Compare and contrast - Essay Example This behavior can be detrimental to the society. The common theme depicted in the four essays is the issue of passive compliance. This is where an individual in a group of other humans tends to comply with the state of affairs or unwelcome predicaments because of natural fears. These fears include, embarrassing themselves or others, suspecting that their cause could be unjust or ambiguous, facing the trivial horrors of a confrontation with authority and anxiety of being unobtrusive (Buckley 64-67). It is clear that as the human group grows larger, the lazier they become (Travis 229). Travis observes imminent negligence in larger groups of people. For instance, an individual can risk his/her own life to save a victim of an accident. It is, however, the opposite in groups of people who perceive their neighbors have taken or would take an initiative to do the necessary on their behalf (Travis 229). Similarly, Buckley experiences the same when in the railroad car (Buckley 64-67). Despite the ill treatment to extreme heat in the vehicle, no single person opts to file for a complaint. In both cases, people in the groups choose to suffer than embarrass themselves in the public. If Travis and Buckley had a conversation, they would agree that humans in groups tend to silence even in the event of predicaments in order to avoid creating scenes or drawing too much embarrassing attention on themselves in the public areas. They would also agree that individual people would be concerned about the other people’s welfare. However, they would agree in anything. Orwell’s experience proves Travis’s theories in diverse ways. Travis postulates that human groups do not mind what happens to others. The people think that someone else has already taken care of affairs. This takes them to the world of negligence, in fear of speculation or perception as unruly. Travis’s theories correspond with Orwell’s experience in the experience with the Burman crowd. He was not

Module 1 Case Assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Module 1 Case Assignment - Coursework Example It has a high market vision of a sustainable future implying that the coming generation will be in a world regarding creativity, variety and choice at heart. Businesses will enhance human and biological community’s integrity. Various institutions will be held accountable for their operations. In addition, it will be a world that honors education with the freedom to exchange ideas. Whole food faces strategic issues in both economy and competition. From the initial stages of being a one-store, it has grown to $8 billion a year corporation. Statistics indicates that as of 2008 (Quinn, 2012). The company is reputable in high-quality standard foods, Ethical relations like fair trading activities, choice of the product, premium services like cooking lessons and other related information like the use of labels and recipes. In addition, the customer services are duly executed where trust and confidence inbuilt; lastly the external information like information about the products is up to date (Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999). In several instances, the consumers have felt that the company is honest, approachable, and transparent in its operations. The retail environment is trustworthy and feels that it’s the only supermarket to shop in. The final result has been strong loyalty between clients and the brand (Veiga, 1999). It usually begins with whole foods, a whole people, and the whole planet. However, the holistic approach and declaration of independence becomes the top, followed by environment and sustainability, Health and Nutrition, Ethical development of the business and finally development in social aspect (Quinn, 2012). Persons from diverse social aspect form part of the audience to the supermarket. There is a range of customers, but the key ones are working parents between the age 30 and 50 preferably women, Professionals are not left behind and lastly the city dwellers. It is, however, important to note that it is not easy to become green. As the

Productivity and Process Improvement Research Paper

Productivity and Process Improvement - Research Paper Example Bread is an essential meal for breakfast because of its convenience, relative durability and adaptability, potentially low cost and nutritive value. People who live around green Valley Bakery like bread to an extent that they have changed the man must eat slogan into if man has to eat, he must eat bread. Therefore, the demand for bread is quit high. Unfortunately, this local bakery normally fails to meet this demand leading to bread importation from other towns. However, local people prefer bread from Green Valley because it is always fresh and tasty. The bakery management claims that it is normally unable to meet demand because of low productivity that results from low supply of basic ingredients especially flour, high cost of labor and lack of modern cooking equipments. Therefore, they produce very little while demand is almost twice of what they produce. This shortage is normally worse during weekends, when it is hard to locate fresh bread. Therefore, if Green Valley Bakers can im prove their productivity and processes, they are more likely to reap great profits that can even help it open chain bakeries. Productivity Measures In order to achieve its vision, the company has to take into account productivity measures that will help it improve its production and production processes. First, to deal with the problem of supply of ingredients, the company can choose to merge with a wheat flour miller or large scale wheat supplier. The company can then choose to sign contracts with such companies in order to ensure a steady supply. Such a measure will ensure that it is able to get sufficient flour and other ingredients on time as Laraia, (1999) observes. With enough supply of raw materials, the bakery will be in a position to produce enough bread for its loyal customers. The other issue that the company faces in its activities is poor and traditional equipments. These equipments are slow and can only accommodate few pieces of bread at a time. To deal with this probl em, the company must employ modern baking equipments like dough molders, dough mixers, and dividers. Though they are expensive in the short run, they produce significant results in the long run that will help the company achieve its goals (Torres, and Feld, 2010). Modern baking equipments like electric ovens have a large capacity that can accommodate many pieces of bread at a time. On the other hand, they are very fast and the bakery can manage to cook very many pieces of bread and cakes. With such improvements, the bakery will meet the high demand for bread to its local residents as well as other towns in California. The bakery also faces problem of high cost of labor that increases the cost of production. With high cost of labor and low production units, the bakery will definitely incur losses and will never achieve its vision and goals. To deal with the situation, the management can choose to employ cheap labor, even if it means importing workers from other areas with high labor supply. On the other hand, it can choose to increase the productivity per worker so that counter the high cost of labor. The bakery should ensure that it is able to produce at the breakeven point, that is, where productivity is able to meet the cost of production. Key Processes The key processes that are involved in the manufacturing process of bread include preparing the dough by mixing all the required ingredients like flour, yeast, oil, salt, and sugar. The dough is then cut into

Corporate Social Responsibility in the ICT Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility in the ICT Industry 1. Introduction ICT industry has experienced rapid growth characterised by strong competition in which companies are increasingly focussing in improving their core competencies such as innovation, marketing, and branding to maintain competitive advantage. Manufacturing and supply chain are usually outsourced to developing countries; leading to complex multi dimensional relationships between companies. To maintain operational efficiency companies a lot of times dont pay heed to environment and low power stakeholders such as employees, NGOs etc., and therefore lack a systematic CSR (corporate social responsibility) framework. According to a finding by Forrester Group (Figure 1), 34 % of organizations are now pursuing a CSR action plan and about 13% have already implemented one (Forrester, 2009). CESR framework enables identification of root causes of issues, establishes remedial processes and supports continual improvements. Companies already use business management systems (BMS) and utilizing CSR man agement standards such as ISO 26000 and ISO 14001 should not be difficult to adapt. These standards will act as performance indicators for companys CSR. Having an integrated approach towards business and CSR ensures companys long term viability by not only addressing environmental and societal issues but also developing business process, improving quality, and controllability. This paper will show that despite organizations being reluctant in realizing the not so visible returns by investing in CSER, it is increasingly becoming critical to incorporate the social and environmental strategies within the business structure. This paper analyses the major challenges, root causes for these challenges faced by ICT industry, and concludes by recommending a series of procedures that can be adopted by companies to ensure their viability and sustainability in the present and future. 2. Prevalent CSR issues in the industry The major CESR (corporate environment and social responsibility) issues identified in organizations, especially in developing countries that manufacture 45% of all ICT products are excessive working hours, worker health and safety, poor employer-employee relationship, e-waste and pollution (Janco Associates Inc., 2009). 2. 1 Poor employee engagement Many workers in the ICT industry, especially in the manufacturing sector, are hired regularly on short term contracts and laid off at the end of their term. Under this set up employers get away without hiring full-time employees; thereby, avoiding higher wages and benefits, which would have been incurred otherwise. This happens quite often in developing countries such as China and Philippines. This prevents workers from actively partaking in companies growth and decreases loyalty. In addition, the manufacturing industry is plagued with workers having to work mandatory overtime in order to meet high production demands at varying times. This requires flexible as well as long working hours for employees. In many developing countries, workers are threatened to be fired in case they do not comply with these work schedules. Long working hours can also be highly detrimental towards the morale of the workers and hurts the motivation of the labour force. 2.2 Health and safety issues (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008) Majority of electronic products manufactured by ICT industry contain some form of hazardous substances. Workers in developing countries are constantly exposed to these materials that pose significant risks to their health hazards. According to Ladou (1994), ICT manufacturing workers are exposed to more toxins than workers in the chemical or pesticide industry are. 2.3 Electronic Waste (E-Waste) One of the greatest environmental issues the ICT industry currently faces is inconsistent e-waste policies adopted not just by companies but governments across the world. http://www.pcij.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/e-waste-dumping-routes-large.jpgFigure 2: Sources and destinations of e-waste Due to rapid technological developments and newer design models of cell phones, the average lifespan of a cell phone is only 18 months in OECD countries (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008). This creates tremendous amounts of e-waste generated that is exported in tonnes on a daily basis to developing countries. Many times this waste is exported under the category of workable conditions though it is dysfunctional. Many recyclers are not certified and do not follow environmental or social standards to recycle. Figure 2 identifies sources and destinations of most of e-waste. It is unsurprising to see that developed nations are using developing countries as their e-waste graveyard. Most companies use third party contractors, who form part of a nascent industry, to handle product disposal and recycling. 3. Root-causes of the challenges in the ICT sector Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies are constantly bombarded by protests from the public, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments with respect to their inattention towards social and environmental responsibilities. There are several reasons why these companies are unable to adequately execute their aforementioned responsibilities. The following paragraphs will highlight some of reasons and identify the root causes of the challenges ICT companies face in this regard (FIAS BSR, 2007). 3.1 Significant upfront costs without tangible benefits According to FIAS and BSR (2007), ICT companies are constantly challenged by issues of feasibility when considering an investment to promote their corporate social responsibility (CSR), due to the uncertain return on investment (ROI). Financial return through CSR is usually intangible and therefore difficult to keep a track of and measure, hence heightening the risk perceived by managers. However according to FIAS and BSRs (2007) survey, investments in CSR can result in lower employee attrition rates, increased process efficiency, healthier business relationship with customers and high influx of customers among other various benefits. Nevertheless, the perceived financial uncertainty inherent in CSR investments leads many companies to overlook the benefits highlighted by the aforementioned survey and simply regard it as a long term strategy with no guarantees. Some companies wait to become late adopters until the impact of CSR is tested and tried in their industry before incorporatin g it within their business model. 3.2 Heavy investments FIAS and BSR (2007) found out that companies implementation of a CSR strategy could increase costs by 3-5% or perhaps even more, in addition to costs incurred through the adoption of new equipment and technologies to promote better environmental or health and safety practices for example. As well, the management has to invest time, effort and other resources to perform training and develop internal policies. These factors add to the uncertainty and perceived burden of CSR investments and may further act as deterrents for companies to invest significant resources. 3.3 Complexities related to overtime Unmanageable excess overtime is one of the greatest CSR challenges ICT manufacturing suppliers face. According to FIAS BSRs survey (2007), a significant number of suppliers believe that they could fulfill all CSR expectations except excess overtime. The major reason behind this issue is overtime decisions are outside of the suppliers control. The manufacturing industry faces a lot of fluctuation in manufacturing demand that results in a lack of predictable product volumes. Other factors such as changes in the workforce, fluctuations in raw materials prices, evolving labour and environment laws, and even last minute changes in customer orders complicate this process. While companies do make efforts to responsibly manage workers work-life balance, in the case of suppliers that hire hundreds of thousands of workers, this process may well be extremely challenging. 3.4 Implementation of CSR expectations in supply chains The CSR efforts of multinational corporations (MNCs) can multiply significantly if they realize the importance of motivating and convincing all of their supply chain partners within the hierarchy to adopt responsibility towards the community and environment they operate in. However, this can be very challenging and companies typically feel responsible for only towards their next suppliers performance and are not aware of suppliers activities down the supply chain. MNCs outsourcing into developing countries bear the responsibility of ensuring that their suppliers conform to ethical values and international standards 4. Recommendations Leading organizations have embraced a leadership role in CSR initiatives because they realize that by investing in the community, the environment, and its internal resources they create cost savings, competitive advantages and continued growth (T Systems, 2009). Central to any companys success has been a very trusting working atmosphere that involves open communication between employees and management. Initiatives such as daycare services, preventive back pain workshops, support programs for smokers and subsidized healthy food and gym programs have helped in promoting active employee engagement. Various companies are actively involved in helping non-profit organizations with financial and non-financial measures. A lack of gender diversity, specifically women in the workforce is a constant challenge for the information and communication technology (ICT) industry as a whole as over 80% of the industrys workforce is male. Another issue is environmental awareness among employees, customers and its supply-chain. For example, employees may not be adopting proper recycling practices or cutting down on wastage. Customers may not be eager to adopt virtualization, which is a technology that enables more efficient server energy use, because of a fear of privacy breaches. Similarly, with regards to the supply chain, large e-waste problems may not be addressed adequately, leading to large amounts of waste due to constant hardware turnover that is irresponsibly disposed in the developing world, thereby contributing to pollution and possibly negative health outcomes. Great changes can be brought by adopting small initiatives throughout the industry by every company. Eventually these changes will become the norm of the industry and perhaps transform into standards and laws. Implementation of a split focus between environmental, and internal and external social initiatives is essential to satisfying all key stakeholders. The following table highlights some of the positive and negative aspects of adopting such an approach: PROS CONS Builds and maintains brand image Consolidates approach and addresses key areas of corporate concerns Can choose from a wide array of projects No catch-up required for upcoming industry/regulations for environmental/social practices Satisfies all stakeholders needs High resource needs Splitting corporate focus Takes focus away from customer acquisition Therefore as the table indicates, this option addresses both social and environmental factors; however it lessens the overall effect on both areas compared to if they were pursued individually. 4.1 Create an enabling ICT policy framework that incorporates a holistic CSR strategy within the business model Companies need to create and integrate a CSR strategy within their existing business model to be able to fully engrain CSR into their company. This strategy recognizes and addresses issues independently on a priority basis. Every company will find different issues it needs to address; for instance, a chemical processing plant will have to find the best possible way to dispose off waste responsibly, whereas, an electronics manufacturer will address the issue of toxic metals being used in production. Once the company is able to establish and adhere to its CSR mission, it then can communicate these values among its supply chain and members of the ICT industry. The goal is to adopt a strategy that maximizes sustainability in the following areas: brand image, stakeholder satisfaction, and long term viability. 4.2 Create incentives for suppliers Suppliers consider incentives from customers as being a strong motivator to improve their CSR performance. Therefore, companies should determine which incentives would help their suppliers perform better in meeting CSR expectations. Some examples of incentives could be a combination of longer contract terms, increased purchase volumes, higher prices and public recognition through awards and certificates. The amount of incentives can be linked to different levels of performance shown by the suppliers. Companies need to realize that providing these incentives may hurt their profits initially, but in the long run the advantages derived from better CSR performance, such as less need for monitoring, reliable supply chains, diminished risk to brand image, improved product quality, and better operated facilities, could potentially counter the initial reduction in profits. 4.3 Implement Standard industry-wide codes A common industry standard is essential to guide and monitor compliance for companies. Codes such as the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct are universally identified and accepted as being a tool to improve processes and methodologies. Additionally the presence of one industry standard increases documentation and reporting efficiency as there will be less duplication, inconsistency and confusion. 4.4 Conduct audits for improvement rather than compliance Companies perform audits merely as a responsibility to get over with. However, audits are to serve as a learning opportunity by identifying issues and areas for improvement. Audits should be able to not only tell companies the degree of compliance with the standards but also give a larger picture of companys fulfillment of its commitment to CSR. Following the audits company can arrange training sessions to remedy the weaknesses identified in the audits (FIAS BSR, 2007). 4.5 Involve and implement responses from all stakeholders In order to achieve this, companies can implement the CSR strategic process that TELUS has been able to utilize successfully. This process engages internal and external stakeholders to develop a CSR strategy that is continuously reviewed and realigned to achieve results. Involving stakeholders during various stages of strategy incorporation enables development of a wholesome strategy, which satisfies needs of all social and environment aspects. Typically, NGOs and environmentalists are not involved in companys CSR strategy framing, thereby, limiting companies performance in green sector. CSR 4.6 E-waste Management System With regards to e-waste management, the goal is to find a clean, economical and constructive means of disposal. As such, the adoption of an e-Market for Returned Deposit system similar to the model outlined by Kahhat, Kim et.al is recommended (Kahat, Kim, Xu, Allenby, Williams, Zhang, 2008). This system will consist of the development of a database that will act as a forum for suppliers and organizations looking for cheap, reusable and recyclable hardware. This database provides suppliers with an outlet to dispose of their grandfathered and unusable hardware in a responsible and economic way. As well, e-waste disposal companies (who meet WEEE standards) could access the forum to look for hardware that they may need. There could also be a separate section for donation to schools and non-profit organizations. The hope is that this forum will help shrink the digital divide and decrease pollution from e-waste. This site would be directly influencing their customers as well as their suppliers to dispose of their e-waste in a constructive and responsible manner while assisting in the further development of the communitys technological know-how, thereby shrinking the digital divide. Finally, companies can begin offering their expertise in environmental efficiencies in order to create an ethical supply chain. This process will start by educating suppliers and moving on to educating other organizations and may represent a future revenue stream. 4.7 Employee Engagement As part of an initiative to increase employee engagement while addressing companies strategy of socially responsible behaviour, the development of a cross-functioning CSR Task Force in every company is recommended. This groups mandate will be to initiate, develop and implement new CSR initiatives designed to enhance and add to the companys current CSR strategy. A senior management director, who will act as a facilitator for the committee, will champion this task force. Beyond this role, he or she will act merely as a symbolic head of the committee. The idea behind this arrangement is to ensure that upper management is kept abreast of homegrown ideas and developments and to make sure they remain engaged in the overall CSR strategy. Members of the task force will be employees selected from different functional areas of the company. Intra-company elections will be held on an annual basis to select a committee head (non-management), who will be the main driver and coordinator of new CSR ideas and strategies. By having non-upper management employees lead this task force, a way for employees to gain valuable leadership experience will be realized. Cisco Systems has implemented a similar program and to date they have experienced very successful results (Creary, 2010). This project allows Host Europe to engage its employees and involve them in a strategically important initiative all while reaping the benefits of new and innovative CSR ideas derived from a CSR think-tank at a low cost. Such a task force will also act as CSR consultants that hopefully will educate and help implement CSR strategies that mirror leading companies strategies up the supply chain. Depending on how the CSR consultants are received by suppliers, there is potential that this could become a new revenue stream as suppliers try to reach the customers position. In order to encourage engagement from all employees we suggest that, in conjunction with the newly appointment CSR Task Force, companies begin an employee efficiency reward system where employees are rewarded financially for the degree of environmentally efficient measures they take. These measures would be decided by the CSR team and could include anything from car-pooling to personal contribution to community programs geared at environmental clean-ups, to outside education of local businesses. Employeess CSR commitment can be measured in their annual performance review. At the end of the year, the CSR Task Force can vote on the top CSR performers at the company and bonuses can be given out to them. 4.8 Focus on Diversity To address the lack of female representatives in the ICT industry, companies can seek membership in local female associations like Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) and Association for Womens Rights in Development (AWID). These organizations concentrate on developing womens technical skills, offers networking opportunities, career guidance and increase awareness and interest in the field of ICT. Through these channels, companies can attract top students to through internships or executive hiring programs. Other senior female executives in the ICT industry can act as champions for the overall initiative by participating in information sessions, mentorship programs and initiatives like job shadowing. 4.9 Effective Human Resource Planning To ensure that the company has the right people in the right place at the right time, I would suggest the adoption of Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) (Conference Board of Canada, 2009). This involves identifying hiring needs based on the projects companies plan to undertake in the next 3-5 years, evaluating their options to fill those positions based on skills, identifying gaps and finally developing a plan to tackle them. SWP will help companies meet talent needs based on different market conditions, account for new opportunities and projects that may be implemented in that timeline. The SWP incorporates initiatives that develop talent internally as well as develop a recruitment plan to attract external talent. 5. Conclusion CSR needs to be fundamentally integrated into business operations and relationships. In many companies, CSR is the absent link that could potentially help companies grow responsibly and sustainably along with its stakeholders. Increasingly CSR is becoming more and more critical to a companys success as customers become more aware of their surroundings. Deployment of CSR adds incredible value to a companys business while also supporting communities and the environment. Adopting CESR policies will also equip companies to readily conform to impending legislations and regulations and organizations will be well prepared to comply with standards. During the process of implementing these CSR initiatives, companies should start with easily adoptable features such as energy efficient usage of resources at work. Many of the recommendations made in this paper do not require extensive capital commitments; rather, attitudinal changes in the way companies operate. Other recommendations however, su ch as building energy efficient data centres and other ICT infrastructure, may require a considerable amount of time and financial investments (Fernando Okuda, 2009). Through partnership, organizations can encourage and support one another to adopt and adhere to their commitments. If systematically approached and consolidated, these initiatives will definitely provide companies with excellent and far-reaching improvements (T Systems, 2009).

Death and Time in Slaughterhouse-Five Essay -- Slaughterhouse-Five Ess

Death and Time in Slaughterhouse-Five We all wish we could travel through time, going back to correct our stupid mistakes or zooming ahead to see the future. In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, however, time travel does not seem so helpful. Billy Pilgrim, Vonnegut's main character, has come unstuck in time. He bounces back and forth between his past, present, and future lives in a roller coaster time trip that proves both senseless and numbing. Examining Billy's time traveling, his life on Tralfamadore, and the novel's schizophrenic structure shows that time travel is actually a metaphor for our human tendency to avoid facing the unpleasant reality of death. Because he cannot control time travel, Billy is forced to relive again and again some of the most painful parts of his life. For example, Edgar Derby, his wartime father-figure, is senselessly executed by the Germans for stealing a teapot, while Valencia Pilgrim, his own wife, dies accidentally from carbon monoxide poisoning after her car's exhaust system is damaged in an accident. Barbara Greeley has observed that the effect of having to witness these events over and over is that "Billy becomes emotionally desensitized to human suffering and death, and is thus robbed of compassion" (3). Her point is well taken, for without this human emotion Billy is reduced to the level of an unfeeling machine. On the planet Tralfamadore where Billy is taken after he is kidnapped by extraterrestrials, his machine-like response to suffering and death grows only worse. Like Billy, the Tralfamadorians have no sense of chronological order; they see time as an earthling might "see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains" (85-86), with... ...ound by time, which includes the ultimate reality of death. Although death limits us by limiting our experiences, our lives are made more meaningful precisely because they are so short. Unlike Tralfamadorians, who cannot change history, we can look back in time and learn from the mistakes of the past. Only in this sense can we truly be time travelers: that we reflect on the past and incorporate its lessons into our present lives so that the future will be more productive. Sources Greeley, Barbara. "New Insights into Vonnegut's Thinking: Slaughterhouse-Five and The Sirens of Titan." Psychology Today June 1990: 1+. Marten, Stephen Edward. "Why We Read Vonnegut Today." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Kurt Vonnegut. Ed Russell Baker. New York: Norton, 1988. 8-25. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dell Publishing, 1988.