Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Essay

Children with learning disabilities are smart or smarter than their peers, but may have difficulty with things like reading, writing, reasoning, and organizing information by themselves. A learning disability is a lifelong issue that cannot be cured or fixed with a snap of the fingers. Children who have the right support and intervention can succeed in school. Then later they will be able to go and be successful later in life. Children with learning disabilities need the support of parents, school and their community to be successful. Parents need to be able to encourage children with their strengths, know what their weaknesses are, and be able to understand the educational system to be able to work with professionals. Learning Disabilities cannot be categorized into one diagnosis. Learning disabilities are caused by biological factors that are caused by differences in the structure and functioning of the nervous system. Many people, both in the local and professional community, use the terms handicap and disability interchangeably, but they are not. A learning disability means that preschoolers are unable to complete tasks in a certain way. Children with learning disabilities have a hard time functioning in areas such as sensory, physical, cognitive, and other areas. Handicap means that preschoolers are unable to function and cope in their environment. These children have impairments such as cerebral palsy or down syndrome. In 1991, the federal government amended the disabilities label to â€Å"Individuals with Disabilities Act† (PL 102-119). This act allowed states to be able to not identify with one of the thirteen federal disability labels, but to classify preschoolers with special needs. (Kilgo, pg 27) With the new changes professionals were able to use new terms like developmentally delayed and at risk when identifying children. Developmentally delayed is determined on the basis of various developmental assessments and/or an informed clinical opinion. Children starting at the age of three years old can now be identified for services. Delays can be expressed in a difference between a child’s chronological age and his/her performance levels. Delays occur when a child does not reach his/her developmental milestones at the expected age level or time. If a child is slightly behind it is not considered a delay until he/she are lagging in two or more areas of motor, language, social or thinking skills. Developmental delays are usually diagnosed by a doctor or medical professional based on strict guidelines and take more than one visit to diagnose. Parents or childcare providers are usually the first to notice children not progressing at the same rate as other children. Testing will help to gauge a child’s developmental level. At risk describes children with exposure to certain adverse conditions and circumstances known to have a high probability of resulting in learning and development difficulties? (Kilgo, pg 28) These children have not been identified as having a disability, but as children who may be developing conditions that will limit their success in school or lead to disabilities. There are three factors that can result in a child’s environment. The first is established risk/genetic. This could be where a child is born with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or spinal bifida. Biological risk means that a child has a history of pre- or post- natal conditions that heighten the chance of development. These could be conditions such as premature births, infants with low birth weights, maternal diabetes, and bacterial infections like meningitis or HIV. Environmental risks are considered biologically typical, meaning they are environmental conditions that are limiting or threating to the child’s development. All three at risk factors can result in cognitive, social, affective, and physical problems. (Kim, pg. 4) Some signs of learning disabilities in young children are: †¢ A toddler may reach developmental milestones quite slowly. †¢ The child may have trouble understanding the concept of time. Is the child confused by the use of words like â€Å"tomorrow†, â€Å"today†, and â€Å"yesterday†? †¢ Young children have a lot of energy, but some have an excessive amount of kinetic energy, known as hyperactivity. †¢ A child that has difficulty distinguishing right from left may have difficulty identifying words. †¢ A child with a learning disability often masters several areas, while failing in two or more areas. A child that is perceived as disobedient may actually have difficulty understanding and following instructions. Once a child has been identified as having a possible learning disability, assessments need to be completed. An assessment is the process of gathering information for the purpose of making a decision about children with known or suspected disabilities in the area of screening, diagnosis, eligibility, program planning, and/or process monitoring and evaluation. (Kilo, pg. 90) During the assessment, evaluations should be accomplished with the e goal of identifying developmentally ppropriate goals, identifying unique styles and strengths, looking at parent goals and outcomes for their children, reinforcing family’s competence and worth, and creating a sense of shared commitment between families, schools, and professionals. Families possess a wealth of information and should play a very active role in the decision making, planning, and evaluations of their children. Schools are required to foster a child’s education, offering and supporting the needs of each child through a series of individualized instructions and interventions. School districts must provide documentation stating that the student has received the required instruction by qualified personnel. These interventions help teachers and staff to educate and foster the needs of children with learning disabilities. Assessments are an ongoing process. The initial assessment should be used to screen, diagnose, and check for eligibility for services. Ongoing assessments are to focus on a child’s skill level, needs, background, experiences, and interests, as well as the family’s preferences and priorities. Over the years practice has shown that there is a link between assessments and curriculum to provide for the needs of the child. It is important to keep records of a child’s progress. A very useful way is through portfolio assessments. These portfolios can be considered a looking glass into a child’s growth. Portfolios also help teachers and team members to keep observations and comments about a child’s activities and behaviors. The information collected can help meet many of the required criteria for planning and monitoring. An important responsibility of an educator is to have an environment that will both nurture and foster learning. When designing an environment childcare providers should use best practice guidelines from places like National Association of Education of Young Child (NAEYC) and National Association of Family Childcare (NAFCC). Environments should look at available space, age of children, visual appeal, safety and health, and organization. (Perri Klass, pg. 46) Always remember that environments exert powerful influences on children and help to play a vital role in children’s lives. Activity areas should include gross- motor, quiet/calm, discover, dramatic, therapeutic, and arts and crafts areas. Rooms should not have furniture that is used to separate centers or activities but should use things like lower lightening, parachutes hanging from the ceiling and area rugs to help children understand the use of different centers. The main goal of childcare providers and educators is to provide the best possible services for children with learning disabilities by providing services â€Å"as early and comprehensively as possible in the least restrictive setting†. Services and interventions should be supported in the most natural environments that will include the child’s primary care giver. Individual Education Plans (IEP) plays a large role in the education process of children with learning disabilities. These IEP’s require professionals, parents, and caregivers to work together as a team. They hold teams to accountability standards for the care of children with disabilities. A child’s IEP helps to furnish an instructional direction, sort of like a blueprint of care, to measure the effectiveness and progress of children. If an IEP is carefully written and appropriate goals are set, it will provide special education services to a child that will be reflected throughout his/her life. In the field of early childhood education, the definition of special needs has drastically changed for children with learning disabilities over the years. We live in a very diverse society of languages, foods, music, values and religious beliefs that brings us the strengths of our nation. Every day the makeup of our society changes and so does the needs of our children, especially those of children with learning disabilities. Our community is seeing a growing need for services for children with learning disabilities. Young children with learning disabilities need to receive services at the earliest age possible. Parents need to remember that learning disabilities do not go away overnight and for some children it takes years of recognizing, expressing, thinking, and problem solving to succeed at being the young adult that they are meant to be.

Class Differences Essay

â€Å"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. † (– Frederick Douglass) The Kite Runner is based on two boys named Amir and Hassan. Amir is from an upper class, called the Pashtuns and Hassan is from a lower class, called the Hazaras. Pashtuns are Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group. Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims and Hazaras are Shi’a Muslims. Pashtuns consider Hazaras a disgrace to Islam and are considered a minority. Hazaras have been discriminated for many centuries. Because of this class difference, there are limitations to Amir and Hassan’s relationship. The Kite Runner would not exist if there is no class difference between Amir and Hassan because every conflict in the novel revolves around the class difference between Amir and Hassan as well as Pashtuns and Hazaras. Amir and Hassan themselves would be two completely different people if it weren’t for the labels of Pashtuns and Hazaras and the political issues that are ongoing in Afghanistan would be non-existent as well. The Kite Runner is based on the class difference between Amir and Hassan. There would be no conflicts or issues in this novel if it weren’t for the discrimination against Hazaras and the superiority of Pashtuns. The conflict between Assef and Hassan would be non-existent because if there was no class difference in the novel, Assef would have never teased Hassan. Assef even raped Hassan because he was a Hazara. Assef is the village bully and has very low tolerance for Hazaras, especially Hassan. Hassan was raped to be dominated by Assef and to prove that Hassan is inferior to Assef. Every confrontation Hassan and Assef have, Assef constantly states that Pashtuns are real Afghans and Hazaras are not. â€Å"Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood. † – (Assef, Chapter 5, Page 43) He also claims that Hazaras pollute Afghanistan and should be killed just like how Hitler murdered 6 million Jewish people because they were considered minorities in Germany. Another conflict that would also make the novel non-existent would be the limited relationship between Amir and Hassan. When Amir and Hassan participated in the Kite flying competition, Amir controlled the kite and Hassan was the kite runner. This already shows the domination Amir has over Hassan and how Amir will always remain the controller and Hassan will always be the runner. Amir only treated him like he was inferior because of he was a Hazara and also because of the favouritism between Amir and Hassan from Baba. 26 years later when Amir is in living the USA and Hassan is still in Afghanistan, Hassan protected Baba’s property with his wife and his child. Hassan and his wife were killed because he was protecting his home and was claimed a liar by the Taliban’s, also because he was a Hazara. The class difference in this novel was not only between Amir and Hassan but between the Talibans and Hazaras as well, which caused a lot of political tension. Overall, most conflicts introduced in The Kite Runner are inflicted by class differences between Amir and Hassan. If it were not for the class difference and discrimination, there would be no story at all.

The Great American Literature

Both, Samuel Clemens, widely known as Mark Twain, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the premier writer of the twentieth century's Roaring Twenties, focus their writing on American society. They both masterfully handle their novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby, exploring the major societal issues, such as the stratification of classes, concept of American identity to contemporary ethics. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is frequently referred to as a social commentary–Clemens's sardonic view of society guised as an innocent adventure novel.Through careful observation Twain gained insight into the heart of humanity and then regurgitated this knowledge into a wry attack on the immorality he saw in society. That society was intrinsically wrong, Twain had little doubt. Atrocities were committed every day, and not just by the ‘white trash' of the South. The well-to-do Grangerfords and Shepherdsons, the ‘respectable' Sherburn, and the powerful middle cl ass all have sullied pasts. Huckleberry Finn also focuses on the indifferent attitude the citizens have toward their crooked deeds, not just the deeds themselves.â€Å"You didn't want to come. The average man don't like trouble and danger. You don't like trouble and danger. But if only half a man†¦ shouts ‘Lynch him, lynch him! ‘ you're afraid to back down–afraid you'll be found out to be what you are–cowards–and so you raise a yell†¦ and come raging up here. † (Clemens 118) This speech can be applied to more than that particular instance; however, Clemens uses it to expose the protection society provides through sheer numbers. When everyone else is doing it, even if everyone else is wrong, the easier route is to follow along.The majority rules, and the actions of the many set the precedent, amending ethics and demanding conformity. The deliberate callousness of the hard-hearted invades the novel through other characters as well, nam ely the Duke and the Dauphin. Ironically, the American families described see nothing wrong in the killings (even ‘amen-ing' a sermon on brotherly love), indicative of the moral break-down in society. As Clemens conjectures in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, unscrupulous scruples have become normalized by a culture swiftly headed down the river.Fitzgerald's characters display similar corruptness in The Great Gatsby. Each character symbolizes a different cultural category, from the lower orders to the nouveau riche to the old-moneyed class. Fitzgerald exposes the faults inherent in each group, and forces readers to become aware of their own imperfections. Just as the characters in Huck Finn drift through Huck's life as he drifts along the river, so the characters in The Great Gatsby drift aimlessly through life, their restless hearts never satisfied or content.Due to the characters apparent disconnectedness from American society, they feel no remorse for immoral actions. In a culture so ethically depraved, right and wrong drown in a sea of relativity (Clarke, 2004, p. 135). The upper class's bored indifference towards life is exemplified in Daisy's comment, â€Å"You see I think everything's terrible anyhow†¦ And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything† (Fitzgerald 22). Fitzgerald takes the Buchanans and applies them to the whole Upper Class, the stratified social club that writes society's rules and then duplicitously violates them behind closed doors.The Great Gatsby alludes to the fact that money corrupts, questioning â€Å"whether dramatic inequalities in wealth [constitutes] a moral issue† (McAdams, 2005, p. 116). The Buchanan's treacherous affairs and subsequent lack of repentance parallel the Grangerford's and Shepherdson's shameless feud. The characters not only commit atrocious acts but see nothing wrong with their actions. In a society that demands conformity and shrouds iniquitous deeds in pie ty, authors such as Twain and Fitzgerald penetrate America's fabricated lie and wave the banner of morality and individualism.Undoubtedly, both Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby could be called the great American novels, both are very symbolic. Nevertheless, I believe that The Great Gatsby is the novel that not only describes but also teaches a lot. In particular, I believe that the American Dream is simply that; a dream and F. Scott Fitzgerald is the best in proving it. Through the tragedy of Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows us what happens when fantasy and reality are brought together. Despite seemingly having everything, Gatsby has nothing.His material wealth cannot compensate for what he lacks emotionally. Like Jay Gatsby, the American Dream will always fail when it is shattered by reality. References Clarke, Richard A. (2004). Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror. Free Press. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. (1993) . The Great Gatsby, Wordsworth Editions Limited, McAdams, Dan P. (2005). The Redemptive Self : Stories Americans Live By. Oxford University Press, USA. Twain, Mark. (2001). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. University of California Press.

DAIMLER CHRYSLER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DAIMLER CHRYSLER - Essay Example The differences between Daimler and Chrysler provided the two companies a good opportunity for merger in order to streamline their operations. Daimler-Benz had specialized in production of luxury cars for sale in the upper market segments. The company had invested heavily in research and development and had long term technological experience that positioned it well in the industry above its competitors. According to Maielli (2005, p. 251), Daimler practiced mass production and focused on strengthening its technology to achieve a higher level of creativity. Although the company had an international market for its car models, it focused on a particular market segment hence the produced quantity did not enable the company to realize economies of scale. As a result of specialization in production of luxury cars the company was not able to utilize its technological capacity fully. Furthermore, the company had a lot of bureaucracy in its management that slowed down decision making processe s hence limiting the company’s potential for expansion (Slack, Stuart & Robert, 2007, p. 164). Daimler had a capacity of producing one million units of its products while Chrysler had a capacity of three million units. ... 316). The company had flexible work and time management that enabled employees to work even during the weekend and overtime in order to increase output. The company introduced a performance based rewarding system that recognized each individuals input in the company in order to motivate the workers. In addition, the company advocated teamwork with stakeholders in order to streamline their operations. For example, the company collaborated with its suppliers in order to reach the international market efficiently. Chrysler was less bureaucratic in nature (Kohler, 2005, p.314). Individual workers were allowed to make decisions on their own without having to consult senior managers. This managerial flexibility nurtured creativity in the company and simplified decision making process. The company engaged in developing new product designs for different market niches. The efficient and flexible management of Chrysler company enabled the company to come up with new car designs hence increased its market share (Maielli, 2005, p.258). The company had not focused much on research and innovations although it was producing different varieties of car models for various market segments. This created a potential risk of losing creativity and becoming technologically obsolete (Slack, Stuart & Robert, 2007, p. 197). The company lacked good base for foreign market since it focused on production for the domestic market, especially North America. However, the company enjoyed economies of scale due to large scale production for local market. The company had efficient manufacturing process that Maielli (2005, p. 251) describes as lean production. 2. What were the main differences between the Mercedes and Chrysler production processes and how did

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Case analysis - Essay Example In principle, international markets require unique approaches due to the variation in market characteristics. Home Furniture Ltd is one of the business organizations that have expanded its business strategy in the international market in an effort to increase its profits. In these new markets, the organization has faced the challenges of deploying effective leadership in a multi-cultural environment. For the organization to position itself in this business market, it is crucial to re-strategize and develop effective leadership strategies desired in the modern business environment (Stahl & Brannen, 2013). A close analysis of the organizational management in Home Furniture ltd will reveal the weaknesses and the strategies that can be used to realign the organization in the international market. Globalization and cross-cultural management are terms that emerged as a result of organizations efforts to expand their business operations in the international market. Business globalization has many advantages to the organization and this is why many organizations are pushing their operations in the international market. Global strategy helps organizations to take advantage of emerging market segments where business potential is higher than in local markets. This provides an opportunity for the organization to optimize their profits by investing in rapidly growing markets. Also, globalization helps organizations to increase its customers which will have a positive impact on the performance of the organization. As competition becomes severe in local markets, organizations are pushed to invest in geographical markets to ensure that they survive the severity of this competition. However, the international business market has many risk factors that threaten new market entrants. First, the cultural factors influence business strategy. In the international market, the organizations has to work with different cultural attributes

Literature Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Literature Review - Research Paper Example This has opened doors to Taco Bell, KFC and other fast food joints (Weimer, 98). Alarmingly, this has brewed conflict between the anti-hunger reformists on one side and nutritionists / food reformers on the other. Controlling for the socioeconomic status, women who receive the food stamps have recorded a higher estimate in obese numbers than women that don’t benefit from the same. Nevertheless there has been no realization of any probable correlation between food stamps benefit and obesity in low-income men. Studies have been unable to show a similar consistent relationship in children. Several hypotheses explain a correlation between food stamps and obesity in adults. This review suggests a conceptual framework connecting the food stamp program and obesity relationship (Correl, 10) It is important to note that correlation is not causation despite this fact numerous surveys have reflected that obesity and food stamps benefits are strongly related. Food stamps programs have made a considerable effort in battling with hunger but through its expansion in the country it has equally influenced the rates of obesity .More than 40% of women in the U.S.A in the low-income category are obese, the rate is gets higher in the woman populace that participates in the food stamps program (Vosti & Sumner 207). Researchers have consequently been trying to decipher whether this is caused by the provision of food stamps or rather if there is a correlation between obesity and food stamps. It is rightfully assumed that the women susceptible to obesity are the ones that are most riveted in accruing the food stamps benefits. A major contributing factor is that the supermarkets in these poor neighborhoods make junk food available these unhealthy consumption habits choices underwrite an obesity epidemic that affects mostly the poor ( Mullaly, 208). Research seeks to discern the effect of

AT&T and BellSouth merger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

AT&T and BellSouth merger - Essay Example AT&T and Bellsouth are the two of the world's giant telecommunication company. According to Mark del Bianco, a Communications Attorney who wrote Bumps in the road for AT&T-BellSouth merger, both BellSouth and AT&T own considerable chunks of prime wireless spectrum that is unused and that could quickly and relatively cheaply be used to provide broadband services that would compete with telecom and cable wireline broadband services--in other words, the long-sought "third pipe" to the home or business. The merging of these two companies will give AT&T and BellSouth an edge over their competitors, and in this case, as Atty. Mark del Bianco have written, competitors will no doubt argue that the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department should worry about the loss of inter-modal competition that will result if the two companies are permitted to retain this valuable spectrum. While AT&T, being the largest phone company, bought BellSouth, of which, being the 3rd largest phone company, this reduced the phone company into 2 large players and consumers are now alarmed because the constant merging of companies gives them fewer choices, of which case, these companies can immediately shoot up their prices. The proposed merger of AT&T and BellSouth means the death of the Internet and the unmasking of fictional competition between telecom companies, charged two Washington, DC-based consumer groups. The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumer Union urged regulators to reject the $67 billion proposal. (Ed Sutherland, 2006) While the plan gives AT&T to kill the Internet so that they can cableize the Internet connection, Sutherland quoted Gene Kimmelman, Consumer Union vice president for federal and international affairs, which said: "Congress and federal regulators need to look carefully at the lifeless 'competition' their flawed policies have created and reject this merger." Cross selling: Through the merger the companies become enable to sell their products to the customers of the other company. The natural combination of two leading wire line providers and joint owners of Singular speeds progress in integrated wireless/wire line services will improve the services provided to the customers. Financial Benefits: The merger of both the companies will lead to a "financial benefits for stockholders of both companies; an expected net present value of $18 billion in synergies resulting from a more than $2 billion annual run rate in synergies expected in 2008, growing to $3 billion in 2010" (BellSouth Media Room). On the other hand the expected merger will lead to "accrete AT&T

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Paraphrasing - Essay Example It was used because in order to make a solution more concentrated, absorption of more light is required. In order to measure the calculations in the form of a graph, Beer-Lambert Law was used after having done with the calculations. To conduct the experiment, four test tubes were used to collect four standard samples of . The measurements of concentration of the test tubes were 0.05M, 0.1M, 0.2M and 0.5M respectively. Along with this, four additional samples were also used. The measurement of concentration was different in each of the additional samples. To start the process, 8mL of water was added to the 0.5M concentrated sample for the purpose of producing a 0.2M solute. After this, 10mL of water was added to the sample for the purpose of producing the 0.1M solvent. After these two steps, 10mL of water was also added to the sample to produce the 0.05M solvent. As the next step in the process, a test tube that had distilled water present in it was placed in the Spec 20. The wavelength was also adjusted to know whether there is any problem in it or not. In the Spec 20, a 0.05M sample of was placed with the purpose of knowing its level of concentration, as well as percent transmittance. The process was repeated four times for the self-made solutions, as well as for the standard solutions after writing down the calculations. It was also repeated again for the last time for the unknown solution. The tables 1 and 2 show the values that were recorded from the screen. Having done with this, a graph was also developed to show the calculated absorption and concentration values. It is important to mention that the graph was developed on excel and it depended on concentration vs. absorbance (Graph 1). Using the excel graph and the Beer-Lambert Law, the equation generated for the given points is as follows: Table 6 was drawn to reflect the difference between the absorbance rate of standard and self-made solutions. The formula used for calculation of the percent

Background Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Background Information - Essay Example ortfolio Strategy group develops a â€Å"Monthly Lead List† which is used by marketing department for the purpose of identification of customers that are part of our portfolio. The list undergoes strict quality checks by an independent Quality Control Analyst, who validates the data by utilizing critical business logic and by using QC results tab for result presentation. The US Bank’s Data Management and Analytics group prepares the Month-end-marketing Metrics, which is also utilized by the marketing department to develop a report that provides guidance regarding marketing sales goals, actual and budgeted costs of marketing, cost per application, cost per lead and the associated variances. Interaction with legal and compliance department for approval of the marketing material that is under development for the purpose of compliance to relevant laws is also carried out by marketing department. During the period before June 1, 2014 approvals for marketing material was only sought from the legal department, but now the marketing department utilizes US Bank’s â€Å"ticket management system† for this purpose. So, now marketing material is approved by compliance department after it has been approved by the legal department. Based on audit, the rating for Marketing review and Portfolio strategy has been labeled â€Å"Effective†. Policy and procedures related to quality control process for marketing lead list have been prepared and released by the Business unit. Whether adequate Quality Control was implemented by the independent analyst or not, could not be ascertained, since supporting documents were insufficient to support the analyst’s position. The team is in the process of implementing control measures which is an indication that they are aware of the prevailing

Master Dissertation (strategic change in aircraft maintenance company)

Master (strategic change in aircraft maintenance company) - Dissertation Example To investigate the research question a combination of secondary and primary research methodology was used. The secondary data was obtained from the already published data and the primary data was obtained through questionnaires by conducting a survey. Total 137 employees of ADAT participated in the research study however, only 96 questionnaires appeared to be completely filled. The data has been analysed by using the descriptive statistical techniques. The findings of the research suggest that efficient services of aircraft maintenance companies require resources and technical expertise. It has been identified that employee turnover has been one of the major issues of the company which directly influenced the performance of the company as a result of strategic change. Therefore, to increase the performance company needs to adopt strategies that can help it to gain sustainable growth in the industry by increasing its ability to retain highly-qualified staff and reducing costs of recru itment and selection. Based on the analysis, a few recommendations have been also given to the company. Table of Contents Abstract 2 List of Figures 5 List of Tables 5 Introduction 6 Research Background 6 Organisation Profile: Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) 11 Research Aim 12 Research Objectives 13 Research Questions 14 Research Rationale 14 Research Significance 15 Research Limitations 15 Definition of Terms and Abbreviations 16 Structure of Dissertation 17 Literature Review 18 Aircraft Maintenance 18 Financial, Auditing and Pricing 29 Human Resource Management 32 Marketing and Communication 33 Conceptual Framework 35 Research Methodology 36 Overview ofn Research Questions 36 Overview of Literature Review 36 Research Design 38 Research Methods 38 Secondary Research 38 Primary Research 38 Data Collection Tool 39 Sampling 39 Data Collection Procedure 41 Validity 42 Ethical Considerations 42 Findings and Analysis 44 Findings of Secondary Research 44 Findings of Primary Researc h 51 Conclusion and Recommendations 60 Recommendations 63 Reference 65 Appendix 74 List of Figures Figure 1 Business environment of Aircraft Business 8 Figure 2 Facility Map 12 Figure 3 Conceptual Framework 35 Figure 4 Expenditure of the Emirates 46 Figure 5 Experience 51 Figure 6 Associated with particular zone 51 Figure 7 Respondents' Association Zones 52 Figure 8 Involvement of Respondents in Maintenance Activities 52 Figure 9 Number of People Working in Aircraft Zone 53 Figure 10 Percent of Technical People in Aircraft Zone 53 Figure 11 Ranking of Organization for Maintenance Services 54 Figure 12 Perception of Employees 55 Figure 13 Performance of the Organization 56 Figure 14 Role of Training 57 Figure 15 Overall efficiency of the organization can be Improved 58 Figure 16 To improve efficiency in the Present scenario 59 List of Tables Table 1 Employee Turnover from 2008-2010 47 Table 2 Turnover Ratio 2008-2010 49 Table 3 Total Employee Replacement cost from 2008 -2010 50 Intro duction Research Background The global airline industry has net value of $467 billion which is expected to reach nearly $609 billion by 2013. The growth in the airline industry was nearly 30.4% in 2008 and growth in the global airline market was 1.8% by volume. It is expected to increase by 23.6% of the volume till 2013. There are tremendous changes observed in various factors of airline industry. Due to

A paper on To Forgive Design by Petroski Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A paper on To Forgive Design by Petroski - Essay Example The blames of these occurrences are directed to poor design. However, Henry Petroski in his writing, â€Å"To Forgive Design,† says for determining causes and correction of engineering failure, we must look beyond design. Petroski in his writing examines many of famous failures of our time from Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007 to Gulf oil spill in 2010 (Petroski, pg. 5). These inevitable disasters show the interdependency of machines and people whose complex behavior the designers did not foresee. Petroski says even simple technology is embedded in socioeconomic and cultural constraint constraints, contradictions and complications. This work will explore the necessity to imagine failure, the causes of error in engineering and ultimately explore how failure is the best teacher. The most profound mistake engineers and designers can commit failing to imagine the possibility of failure. Having in mind that some people have failed before and as an individual failure is a real issue, makes engineers develop better designs. For instances, Petroski cites software developers who analyzed their historical developmental failures and helped them come out with better designs of their products. Petroski shows that by explaining the interconnectedness culture, technology and dangers seen to emerge from the complex then it leads to a successful path (Petroski, pg. 23). This forms a platform to encourage the engineers and designers before taking any of the construction; they need to imagine of the possible failures. This will act as an analysis opportunity for them as they determine what can be the cause of those failures. Sometimes people fail to heed to the warnings and this ends up being catastrophic. Even the strongest structure of the world with the best design can c ollapse. Therefore, when one imagines that way he explores on the possible designs that are better than the one in place. This opens up the mind of the engineers as they develop towards

Pre-1914 prose study Essay Example for Free

Pre-1914 prose study Essay It reminds the reader that it is a gothic story. The last story called, The Superstitious Mans Story isnt what is described to be typically gothic, however, and it does include gothic elements. This story isnt typically gothic because it doesnt definitely have murders or doppelgangers; the story just persuades the reader to assume that those things are the solution to the story. This is clear because in the story when the villagers say that they had seen the man, they could have been mistaken. Thomas Hardy only uses one technique in the story which is a simile. The simile is, sleeping as sound as a rock. He uses this simile to show that there was no sign as movement so there is no real proof he was there. In The Red Room, H. G Wells uses the techniques repetition to convince the reader that there is something significant of that room. He uses personification, for example when he describes the shadow to be mocking the characters action so that the reader can imagine that in the room it feels like youre being followed. He uses an effective setting in the red room with dark, daunting colours. Finally he uses metaphors and similes to help the reader picture the room as he describes it. In Confession Found in a Prison, Charles Dickens uses similes and metaphors to emphasise the mans feelings, he used personification to describe his feelings of guilt and regret when he says that the wind that passes whispers murder to him. He also uses an effective setting when he describes the dungeon that the character is present in when he was writing the story. In Thomas Hardys A Superstitious Mans Story, Hardy uses just a simile to prove to the reader that there is a possibility that the man might not have been there because there was no sign that the man was there. In my opinion, I found The red Room the most effective story because the techniques used such as the similes and metaphors really helped me imagine the picture and the scene the story was describing. Also it used many other techniques like the setting described and personification that made me feel suspense and exhilaration whilst reading the story. It also had the best storyline because it had a secret history of murders and deaths that were not exposed; they were just hinted when the old people were warning him of the red room and its effects it has on people. It also has two sides to the story; it has a supernatural side because of the history and noises and shadows that couldnt be explained. The second side is the realistic side when he gets out of the castle and he realises that it wasnt ghosts or spirits in the room that were making him uncomfortable but it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

The 1941 Attack On Pearl Harbor History Essay

The 1941 Attack On Pearl Harbor History Essay On 7 December 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. From that point on, fear spread around the United States about how the Japanese were going to bomb the continental United States. Two months later, on 19 February 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This was the response from the United States government to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The order allowed for the internment of Japanese Americans in various camps located throughout the United States. The purpose of this essay is to answer the question, To what extent was the Internment of the Japanese Americans during the Pacific War caused by the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor? through the analysis of the two events. Another aim of this essay is to discuss the reliability of sources, and how historians should use them. The essay starts by examining the events that led up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Then, it will lead into the attack on Pearl Harbor itself. From there, the essay will examine the internment of the Japanese Americans in 1942. Once the two events have been established, a link will be presented to find cause and effect, while discussing the reliability of sources. In conclusion, the aim on this investigation is to show that the internment of the Japanese Americans during the Pacific War was directly correlated with the attack on Pearl harbor in 1941. Historians must be able to find truths within different events to create a narrative for the common people to learn from. In order to do that they must find truths from their research. Introduction History is the study of events that have already passed through the flow of time  [1]  . Historians interpret events and then process them into a narrative that tells causes and effects  [2]  . History cannot be seen as a whole, because there is so much information to sort through. Therefore, a historian must pick and choose what to view at in order to better understand history. The Pacific War was, in general, triggered by two events. It was the invasion of British Malaya, and the attack on Pearl Harbor; both by the Empire of Japan in 1941. Officially the war was fought between the Allies of World War II, and the Empire of Japan. The war ended with the 1945 dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was an ambush set up by the Japanese against the United States Navy in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a major blow to the United States militaristically, and politically. The event showed the world that the United States could be caught off guard, and it made America look weak to the international community  [3]  . Soon after, on 19 February 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066  [4]  . This order moved Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States to internment camps called War Relocation Camps, which was discrimination against a race, but the government allowed it  [5]  . In Part I, this essay will examine the events that led up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Attack on Pearl Harbor itself. In Part II, this essay will examine the internment of Japanese Americans. Finally, Part III will discuss the link between the two events, and the reliability of sources. With this information, this essay will attempt to answer the question To what extent was the Internment of the Japanese Americans during the Pacific War caused by the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor? Part I: The Lead Up Into the Attack The United States has always entered into the World Wars late; World War II was no exception of that tradition. One of the main things that led to the attack was that tensions between the United States and the Empire of Japan were increasing. The Empire of Japan wanted to unify Asia under one flag, the flag of Japan  [6]  . Emperor Hirohito was a very militaristic type of person, he wanted to imperialize as much of Asia as possible. Japan joined the Triple Alliance with Italy and Germany on 27 September 1940. With that, the United States responded by placing an embargo against the Empire of Japan  [7]  . This was one of the main reasons that the Empire of Japan attacked the United States, because the United States was one of the main suppliers of steel, and oil to the Empire of Japan. With the Embargo placed the Japanese were left crippled. The only the Emperor could imperialize the south eastern islands was to get rid of the United States Navy which was stationed at Hawaii  [8]  . Negotiations between the United States and the Empire of Japan were mild leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura  [9]  and Saburo Kurusu  [10]  held many long talks with the United States Sate department about Japan invading Vietnam. A part of the Japanese plan to attack Pearl Harbor was to break off negotiations between the Japanese embassy and the United States government 30 minutes before the actual attack. However the plan was not very effective since the United States government intercepted a Japanese communication that told the embassy to break negotiations  [11]  . When President Roosevelt received the decoded information he sent out alerts to all military bases. However due to technological difficulties the Pearl Harbor base was not warned in time. This was one of the reasons why the United States was caught off guard. Another reason would be that the United States did not know when or where the Empire of Japan would attack  [12]   . Part I: The Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack started at 6:00am 7 December 1941. The United States soldiers were caught by surprise because it was early in the morning and the base was low on staff. The planes of the Empire of Japan kept bombing the United States Navy for many hours without stop, until the Navy was crippled  [13]  . The response from the United States Navy was rather slow, because they thought it was a drill until they saw the red circles on the planes. Eventually the United States Navy was able to fight back, but their attempts were futile  [14]  . By the end of the attack 2,403 Americans died, including 68 civilians and 1178 service men wounded. In addition, 21 ships of the United States Pacific Fleet were sunk or heavily damaged, and more than 180 aircrafts were destroyed  [15]  . This shows just how badly the United States was humiliated by the Empire of Japan, and one of the reasons why Roosevelt would order the internment of Japanese Americans later on. The very next day, President Roosevelt delivers a speech to congress that will be known as the Day of Infamy speech. Japan has therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselvesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [16]  As a result of this speech, Congress declares war on the Empire of Japan with an 82-0 vote from the Senate, and a 388-1 vote from the House of Representatives  [17]  .This action is reflects what the American people were feeling at that time, and the extent of their embarrassment. Secretary Knox then tries to rally the public in an attempt to encourage belief in the United States government in order for more support  [18]  . Since Americans now supported the war, and the government had declared war, it gave Roosevelt enough power to issue an order to intern the Japanese Americans. The American public had also turned on Japanese Americans because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The American public thought that all of the people of Japanese decent were spies for the Empire of Japan  [19]  . The United States needed to think about what their next step was, and they needed to answer the question of what do they do with the Japanese Americans that are already living in the United States? There were many options of what they could have done, for example they could have deported the Japanese Americans  [20]   Part II: Japanese Internment After the attack on Pearl Harbor, some Americans suspected that the Japanese were going to come back and launch a full scale assault on the Pacific coast of the United States. The continual conquests all over East Asian in the past few years made Japan seem almost unstoppable  [21]  . Both civilians and the military had some doubt about where the loyalties of the Japanese Americans currently living in the United States, however it is more likely that this concern came from racial prejudice rather than actual evidence of espionage  [22]  . On 2 January 1942, the Joint Committee of the California Legislature sent a manifesto to the newspapers in California that attacked Japanese Americans. This manifesto argued that all people of Japanese decent were loyal only to the Emperor of Japan, and that Japanese schools in the United States were places where they taught that being Japanese was superior to being American  [23]  . Eventually, Roosevelt crumbled under the pressure of the military, and the people that Japanese Americans were dangerous to the nation. So, on 12 February 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066  [24]  . Executive Order 9066 made it so that authorized military officers were allowed to designate special zones for which people are to be excluded. from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion,.  [25]  This shows that Roosevelt didnt want anything to do with the internment, because he passed off the responsibility to the Secretary of Defense. Around 120,000 Japanese Americans were held in internment camps until the end of the war. Of those 62% were second generation Japanese Americans or third generation Japanese Americans with American citizenships  [26]  . Eleven days after the order was signed by President Roosevelt, 800 hundred Japanese Americans were arrested in California, and put into internment camps  [27]  . In California, the local population was very supportive of the notion of interning the Japanese Americans. They wanted the control of aliens delegated to the Army and Navy  [28]  .California was very strict about the liberties of Japanese Americans, because they were very afraid of a full scale attack on the United States  [29]  . On 18 December 1944, The Supreme Court of the United States defined the legality of Executive Order 9066 with two cases. The first was Korematsu v. United States; where Fred Korematsu  [30]  sued the government on the legality of interning Japanese American Citizens. The decision for that case was that fighting espionage was more important than the rights of Japanese Americans  [31]  . However, there was a ruling made by the Supreme court on the same day called Ex parte Endo  [32]  . Although, on 2 January 1944 The Supreme Court abolished Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese Americans were released from their internment camps. As a result most of the Japanese Americans returned back to their lives in the United States, although some Japanese Americans went back to Japan  [33]  . The fact that the United States government released the Japanese Americans before the Pacific War shows that the United States was confident at this point in time during the war  [34]  . Part III: The Link To bring together these two events a historian must look through all that has happened and decide how it must fit in with the rest of history. The historian must find a way to fit the events into a narrative for people to make sense of. History is one long narrative of events told by people, about the lives of other people, which indicate that there is always an undertone of persuasiveness in history  [35]  . To relate how the attack on Pearl Harbor impacted the President of the United States to sign Executive Order 9066, a historian must take the known facts and draw connections between the two events. From the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave his Day of Infamy speech to Congress, which persuaded them to declare war against the Empire of Japan. In doing so, President Roosevelt labeled the entire Japanese race as an evil entity  [36]  . In doing so, the general public in the United States then felt as if they were in danger whenever they were around a Japanese American, which then led to discrimination, and prejudice  [37]  . With the state the general public was in, President Roosevelt started receiving notices about how he should deal with the Japanese Americans in the United States. He was pressured so much that he was eventually forced to sign Executive Order 9066 in order to maintain his popularity with the American Citizens  [38]  . The public at this time was very afraid of terrorism, espionage, and sabotage from the Empire of Japan, because of the damage they caused in the attack on Pearl Harbor. With so much compelling evidence, it can be quite clear that there was a connection between the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the decision to enact Executive Order 9066. To show to what extent these two events are connected, a historian would argue that if the Empire of Japan did not bomb Pearl Harbor, there would not have been a great of a fear against the Japanese. Therefore, there would have been less prejudice against Japanese Americans in the United States, and the United States might not have joined World War II. This can be shown by the congressional address that President Roosevelt gave the day after Pearl Harbor, I ask that Congress declareà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ war has existed between the United States and the Empire of Japan  [39]  . With that in mind it is very clear that the attack on Pearl Harbor had a major impact in the decision to place Japanese Americans into internment camps for three years, during the Pacific War. Part III: Analysis There are many problems with history; one would be the individual bias of the historian who is recording a certain part of history. How historians record history is to pick and choose information, and decide what they themselves think is true and what is not true. With this in mind, one usually would ask the question: how reliable are the sources available?  [40]   The article published by the New York Times on 15 February 1942, Knox Statement on Hawaii, only shows what Secretary Knox had to say about the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was written by someone else other than Knox, and therefore already has an individual bias. However, bias is not a bad thing necessarily, because a historian who knows that a document is bias can make inferences on what the author was thinking or feeling at the time. So, for this actual document, it portrays the perception of what the east coast of the United States about the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the east coast is not the place of great fear at this time, because it is far away from the Empire of Japan. Therefore, the readers could not experience the same fear or danger as the people in the west coast of the United States. The limits of this source would be that it only portrays what secretary Knox want the public to view him, and how he wants the public to view the situation instead of the public perception itself. Another limit would be that since it is a newspaper article, the reader would not know Knoxs true feelings on the subject; because of the image he wants of himself for the public to see is what is shown on the article. Another source that should be assessed for reliability is the biography of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, No Ordinary Time, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. President Roosevelt did not write a memoir for his presidential years, so it is very hard to find out what his actual feelings were about the predicaments he faced as President of the United States. However, this biography still is useful, because it shows the historian how he responded to certain situations. It provides the reader the image of what the author thought President Roosevelt was like. Although the bias is shifted towards the authors perception of President Roosevelt, a historian can still make use of the information presented in the biography, because it is a reflection of what President Roosevelt has done during his presidential years. It should also be noted that Goodwin is a very experienced presidential historian, and has done other biographies of other presidents besides Franklin Roosevelt, such as Lyndon B. Johns on, and John F. Kennedy. The limits of this source would be that it was not written by President Roosevelt, so the reader would not know what he was actually thinking or how he felt about a certain subject. Also, the biography only shows what the president did and his life; it does not discuss in great depth the lives of the Japanese Americans in the internment camps, or the lives of the soldiers involved with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Another important limit to discuss would be that it only shows one side of the Pacific War, the American side. In the biography the view points of the Empire of Japan are never discussed. This means that the reader would never know the views of the Japanese. Conclusion It appears that the answer to the question To what extent was the Internment of the Japanese Americans during the Pacific War caused by the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor? is greatly. The evidence that exists out in the world shows that the Empire of Japan was the one who decided to take action first, and draw the United States into World War II. When the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the citizens of the United States were genuinely afraid of the Japanese. This in turn led to paranoia throughout the United States, which led to Executive Order 9066. Historians are able to draw the connections between these two events, because of how much they have in common with each other. The truth is that history is never absolute. There can never be an absolute truth, because there is always more than one way to analyze an event. When linking to events together, and arguing that one was the cause of the other is a major analytical jump. There will always be the argument about how they are not linked at all. The only way history could be absolute is that all of the historians come to a consensus about how a certain document is to be analyzed, because once that happens they are all picking and choosing the same pieces of information  [41]  . In the end, historians must settle on something, even though it may be temporary. They will continue to research and debate whether something is true or not. Although historians exist to question the past and make conjectures about why events happened the way they did, it may not be correct, because of the reliability of the documents they are basing their conjectures off of  [42]  . It is impractical to say whether President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. What is known is that both of these events did happen, and that history is not always reliable.

Strategies for Staff Shortages in the NHS

Strategies for Staff Shortages in the NHS Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background: British National Health Service (NHS) has experienced a sensitive shortage of qualified nurses. This has placed retention issues on the political agenda. Nursing shortage is one of the greatest problems for the hospitals in the UK. Hospitals are placing greater importance on retaining their current registered skilled staff. It’s a difficult process and to do this they required to have deep knowledge of the needs and wants of the nursing staff .Management have to know what motivates nurses to stay. From that point of view, many hospitals carry out retention or exit surveys to understand the causes of leaving. According to Seccombe and Smith (1997), from 1987 to1995, within nine years nurse training fell gradually from 19,600 to 14,200 per year. An study (Lader 1995) of the 1991 Census proved that only 68% from them with nursing qualifications in U.K were actually working in nursing profession. Also the research found that 16% of the remaining were working in another profession and 15% out of paid work. Vacancy rate in NHS is very high now. Because of poor recruitment and retention system NHS have been forced to operate with vacancy rates for registered nurses up to 20% which was national vacancy rate of around six thousand six hundred in 1996(Review body for Nursing Staff 1997, cited by Maylor et al. 2000). Suggett (2003) reported that Wandsworth Primary Trust care has 15% vacancy rate for the nursing post at present and same vacancy rate exist for Health Care Assistants. Lowest vacancy rate(8%) exist for Allied Health Professionals. Nursing have the highest vacancy rate (35.9%) of the current labor force within the Trust. Gray and Phillips(1996) said currently NHS facing turnover and it stands at around 14% per annum for registered nurses (RGNs). Supported by (Seccombe and Smith,1997), he also added that it was far higher for nurses who have finished their training in recent times. Research found on turnover which supports these statistics, with around 40% of nurses had a great intention to leave nursing job from NHS within the next three years (Beishon et al., 1995). The reality is that turnover is maximum for nurses under 35 years of age. Hence it is an important economic problem, considering the standard cost of  £50,000 that taxpayers pay to train a RGN(Audit Commission, 1997). Suggett(2003) said from April 2002 to March 2003, statistics report showed that nursing post has turnover rate of 16.3%. Also Allied Health Professionals had 25.2% and Health Care Support Workers had 11% turnover rate. He also said that it was a big issue for the Trust because huge proportions of recruits left the job within two years after appointment. After first two years of employment 22 Allied Health Professionals and 23 Nurses left. Actually from this report it can be found that Nurses are not satisfied with their job and they are leaving early stage of their joining. As a result it creates serious problem for NHS. According to Maben (2008), London has the highest vacancy and turnover rate in the UK, with a dependence on agency and international staff. For example, vacancy rates in London were reported to be twice as high as the NHS average for some occupations, within 2016 the population of the London is projected to grow by 700,000, and well-trained, skilled and motivated nurses are very essential to meet shortage of the city. The Jonas Centre For Nursing Excellence (2006, p.9) reported that substantial attention has been given on improving nurses working environments as a principal approach for improving retention. The Magnet Recognition Program developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) based on The 1983 Magnet Hospital Study’s findings, have largely supplied the criteria by which such supportive environments are defined and evaluated. According to Kramer and Schmalenberg (2005), the original Magnet study commissioned by the American Academy of Nursing, observed the characteristics of hospitals that enjoyed reputations as good places to work and which, even though a large-scale nursing staff shortage at that time, were successful in retaining nursing staff. One of the Magnet program objectives is recognize nursing services that use the Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators to build programs of nursing excellence for the delivery of nursing care to patients Nurses across the nation are reporting that stress and dissatisfaction increased significantly with nursing (Boyle et al. 1999). Nurse-physician conflicts add to an already stressful work environment (Rosenstein 2002). One in five nurses plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years (Letvak 2002). Considering all these issues, it becomes vital to search for ways to retain experienced nurses. Researchers are trying hardly to solve the retention problem of NHS. One research (Newman and Maylor, 2000) found on retaining nurses in London region. This study identified the factors of nurse satisfaction and recommended a retention strategy. They recommended improving pay policies, management techniques, training facilities, career progression opportunities, service quality and patient satisfaction 1.2 Why is this area important within the NHS: Audit Commission (1997) reported that High staff turnover and recruitment is a problem for NHS trusts. It causes critical posts to stay vacant for long periods of time with direct consequences for patient care. They explained that Replacing staff can be an expensive business, costing trusts up to  £5,000 for each position filled. There is an also hidden cost of taking on new staff; who may take a year to learn to do the job efficiently and need extra training. Trust managers need to understand why staffs leave, shape the staff attitudes that influence job loyalty, and implement practical measures such as improving opportunities for training, so staffs dont have to leave to increase their skilled. Local and national economic factors may be out of the control of the NHS. The National Health Service is the largest employer in Europe and it has 142,000 staff in London alone .United Kingdom did not have enough doctors and nurses to meet demand. Though, there are staff retention challenges in all the NHS, but the major problems were mainly heard in some busy cites, particularly London(Maben 2008) Finlayson et al.(2002) said that government always feels the pressure of NHS nurse turnover problem. The problem is gradually rising. Government declared to recruit additional 20000 nurses in NHS hospitals within 2004. The demand were to be fulfilled by bringing back nurses who left the NHS, recruiting skilled nurses from abroad and increasing the quality training plan for nurses. Government recruited 6000 and 5797 nurses respectively in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, 713 nurses were recruited. According to The Royal College of Nursing(2000), at present 22000 nursing job are vacant which is whole time  equivalents. The college also reported that NHS will require to recruit more than 100000 nurses by the end of 2004 if retirement levels and other losses remain unchanged. Through training less than half of the demand will be met. From the above report it can be seen that retention is a very big issue for NHS. NHS skilled staffs are leaving their job. Nurses are doing the great job for the society. Those who qualify in Nursing have already demonstrated their intelligence, application and dedication to the sick by undergoing a usually arduous professional training. So, it is our duty to keep the skilled nurses in their profession for the benefit of society by proper retention policy. NHS is concern about how to overcome this problem. Researchers are trying to solve this problem in different ways. Recruiting new people is more costly than retention. Moreover they are not trained and it also time consuming to train them. So it is better to try retain the skilled nurses to reduce the pressure. Considering this situation writer of this report feels the importance of staff retention in NHS. 1.3 Rational: Nurses are the lifeblood of any hospital. The NHS in England employs qualified nurses always. From last 10 years, recruitment and retention of nursing staff has taken on crucial importance; therefore any study that demonstrates that the working environment has an impact on nurses’ recruitment, retention and performance is of importance to the further success of the NHS. NHS facing challenges to retaining nurses at both national and local level. According to Sugget(2003), The local NHS Plan had an aim for Wandsworth primary care trust include 40 nurses and 18 Allied Health Professionals within 2005.The South West London Workforce Confederation recommended that to accomplish these figures Trusts need to attract and support newly qualified nurses and return to practice clinical employees. This means that NHS is trying hard to keep their skilled nurses. Purpose of this research is not only introducing a standardised pay structure but also have a target to improve retention and staff morale. Employees will be identified as facing recruitment and retention problems like works officers or qualified manager. The object of this research is to examine current retention problems for facilities staff experienced by NHS Trusts.  The key purpose of this research is to find out the best Nurse retention strategy for NHS that can be helpful for the other researcher to carry out their future research. As I made my mind to build my carrier as a HR manager, I have chosen research area on staff retention. Staff retention will give me vast experience on HR management. In retention strategy there is a vast scope to gain some practical managerial knowledge and experience relation between manager and staff. Observing the NHS staff problem, I have chosen NHS to carry out my research on staff retention. 1.4 Aims and Objectives: Aim: Aim of this research is to identify good practice in order to make recommendations on how the NHS could retain their nursing staff with a range of skill and experience. It is known that any organisation will have more success in the HRM task if it is committed to valuing its employees by promoting their professional and personal development Research Objectives Review the existing literature on nurse retention Examine the factors that affect retention like pay policies, reward, working flexibility, work-life balance, workload etc. Identify the key retention factors Key theories to be Use: This research will focus on existing HRM model and Retention strategy to achieve the aims and objectives. The conception of new retention strategies will be a major spotlight for nursing administration as a lack of nurses recurs and turnover of staff becomes a strong problem. 1.5 Chapter Outline: Chapter Two provides a critical review of the literature on retain skilled staff working within NHS employment in order to create the context for the research. Key points of this chapter are nurse satisfaction, cause of leaving and retention strategies Chapter Three explains the research methodology, provides information on research process, strategy, data collection, data analysis (qualitative and quantitative) and ethical dilemmas encountered. Chapter Four begins with an data analysis on the research questionnaires. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis was presented. Also analysis findings were presented here. Chapter Five re-evaluates the findings by referring back to the research objectives. It then provides a short review of the research including recommendations for both NHS. It provides an evaluation of the study and suggests areas for further research. It also includes some limitations and shock of the researcher. Chapter-2 Literature Review 1.Introduction: Employee turnover is known as a most important organizational/business phenomenon. Employee turnover is very crucial to organizations, individuals, and society. Employee turnover can cause a considerable cost in terms of socialization, recruiting, training, and disruption. From the company’s point of view turnover also represent the range of indirect cost. Given the impact of turnover, it is vital for the manager and future manager to be able to analyze, recognize, and successfully deal with employee turnover (Mobely 1982). Here he tried to focus on the importance of employee turnover control for an effective management in case of saving cost. (Dell and Hickey 2002) added that turnover has huge economic impact on the organization, both in direct and indirect costs. Translating turnover into numbers that executives understand is essential because they need to appreciate the true costs. Managing retention effectively is a continuous challenge for any business organization. The retention issue had been highly focused since the last decade, and, from all indications, the problem will increase more in future decades. Most HR executives find retaining talent to be big problem even in slow economic times (Phillips and Connell 2003). In a survey during the 2001-2003 recession, ninety percent of 109 executives reported that they were finding it difficult to attract and retain the best people in the organization (Dell and Hickey 2002). Newman and Maylor (2000) reported that National registered Nurse has declined by more than 14,000 leaving the NHS with the worst nursing shortage in 25 years with a record 8-17000 shortfall of qualified nurses. Buchan(2000) said that from 1990 to 1998, the number of qualified nurses decreased by 8000 . This chapter is designed to focus on the existing literature on nursing retention. At first some definition is given. Then cause of nurses’ leaving is focused. Finally some retention strategies are discussed. 2. Definition: An understanding of basic distinctions between retention and turnover is very important. Phillips and Connell (2003, p 2) defined the retention and turnover in following ways: 2.1 Retention: is the percentage of employees remaining in the organization. High levels of retention are desired in most job groups. 2.2 Turnover: On the other hand turnover is opposite to the retention, refers to the percentage of employees leaving the organization for whatever reason(s). 2.3 Turnover rate: refers to the rate of individuals leaving. 2.4 Tenure: is the length of time an individual is employed by the organization and usually related to the concept of the employee loyalty. A loyal employee usually remains with an organization for a long period. In many organizations it is desirable to have long tenured employees, although this situation taken to extreme can also create problem. 3. Retention As a Critical Issue: Retention is a strong critical issue for any organisation. The theory of employer-of-choice has intensified in the last decade. Employees always want to work for best employers. Phillips and Connell (2003, p3) said organisations struggle to be the â€Å"the best company work for†. The statement â€Å"the best company work for† translates into lower rates of turnover. Levering and Moskowitz (1993) supported stating that many companies attempt to build the type of organization that can at least meet the preferred standards. Becoming an employer -of -choice often involves the issue of acquiring the best talent for the organization, motivating employees to improve performance, Keeping them satisfied and loyal, developing employees so they can grow and contribute skills, and ultimately retaining those employees( Fitz-enz 2000) 4. Cause of leaving : 4.1 Social Environment: The social environment of the workplace is the initiator of a nurses plan to stay or leave. Moreover social environment is a determinant of work disappointment (a depressing influence), and work excitement (an encouraging influence). Moos(1994) said that these factors directly influence workplace stress, leading to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction . According to Bratt et al.(2000), Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is the powerful forecaster of intent to stay or leave the job. 4.2 Burnout: Burnout can cause job dissatisfaction. Garret and McDaniel(2001) said that enviro- nmental uncertainty are very important in all features of burnout. Aiken et al. (2002) reported that nurses with the lowest nurse-to-patient ratio experience less burnout and dissatisfaction than those with highest ratios. The researchers claim that 43% of nurses who said strong levels of burnout and disappointment intended to quit their jobs within a year. Only few nurses did not complain of dissatisfaction. When nurses work rotating shifts, there is a significant decrease in job satisfaction (Bratt et al. 2000).Newer nurses experiencing more job stress as compared to experienced nurses. 4.3 Autonomy: Nurses always desire increased autonomy working environment. (Nevidjon and Erickson 2001).Aiken et al.(2002) claim that autonomy is one of the factors which has decreased emotional exhaustion of nurses in American magnet hospitals. In another research on this hospital showed that autonomy had influenced the managerial trust, their appraisal of the quality of patients care and also job satisfaction (Laschinger and Thomson 2001). Davidson et al. (1997) established the value of autonomy by representing that decreased job satisfaction is connected with decreased autonomy. Bruffey(1997) said autonomy is ultimately influenced by the leadership of their managers. There is a positive connection between job satisfaction and nursing leadership. Management system, allow the nurses to do their jobs effectively, was related to job satisfaction( Bratt et al.,2000). Tumulty et al (1994) found that though autonomy had a significant impact on job stress, it was not a major determinant of stress as task orientation. Also Ingersoll et al. (2002) said that autonomy was a positive observation of task orientation related with increased job satisfaction and aim to stay. This idea is supported by Davidson et al. (1997) with the result of increased scheduling and decreased work load leading to decreased job stress. The researchers argued the advantages of better communication improving the awareness of nurses concerning autonomy burn out, work pressure and task orientation. Some researcher stressed the significance of management or leadership behaviours. Managers or leaders perceived as equitable decreased staff perceptions regarding work pressures and increased perceptions regarding autonomy(Taunton et al. 1997). Bruffey(1997) said these factors collectively led to lower job stress and its expected association with intent to quit. 4.4 Work Pressure: Bratt et al. (2000) identified the work pressure as the most familiar and important factor of organizational work satisfaction/dissatisfaction. McNeese-Smith(1999) identified several factors of work load which bring job stress for nurses. These were: (a) overload due to heavy patient assignment, too many patient needs, and/or too few staff members to meet these needs. (b) exhaustion; (c) fear of making a mistake due to exhaustion and (d) high patient acuity. Bratt et al. (2000) reported some additional work stress factors which influence the nurses to leave the job. These include rapid turnover of patients, shift work, lack of available equipment, managerial pressures, excessive noise and lack of space. According to Aiken et al.(2002), Nurses with increased patient loads in workplace were more likely to explain experience of burnout, job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion than their colleagues with less patient loads. So autonomy is a key factor to reduce work stress for work load. Because work load is a originator of nurse intention to leave 5.1 Job Satisfaction of Nurses: There is a lack of agreement on the meaning of nurse satisfaction (Hale 1986, cited by Maylor et al 2000).Two definitions stemming from the 1980 stand out. The first one highlights psychological factors according to Bush(1988), the perception that one’s job fulfils or permit the fulfilment of one’s significant job values, providing and to the extent that those values are congruent with one’s requirements. The second one highlights workplace factors like recognition of achievement, enough staffing, appreciation, autonomy, childcare facilities and quality patient care.(Butler and parsons,1989). Nurse satisfaction can be depends on effective patient care. Maylor et al.(2000) noted that it is very crucial to have ability to give good patient care. 5.2 Determinant of job satisfaction: Job satisfaction analysis is driven by attempts to concentrate on the issues of industrial action, leaving or turnover and personal joy at work. Researchers are interested in the bond between job satisfaction and efficiency and financial and non-financial reward. According to the influential work of Freeman (1978), job satisfaction can be separated into those considering labour force as a whole, those analysing qualified groups such as lawyers, nurses and academics, those which inspect the impact of individual characteristics like age, sex, race/education and those which explore the outcome of job-related features such as trade union membership, self employment and establishment size. Some important determinants of work place satisfaction have been recognized which may be supportive in the thought of job satisfaction in nursing. Diversity of individual characteristics have been identified to have special effects on reports of job satisfaction. That diversity includes gender, race, age, marital status, children and education. The major effects are usually connected with gender and age. According to British Household Panel Survey (Clark and Oswald 1996), Females are highly satisfied with their job in the UK. Earlier proof recommends that age has either a linear or U-shaped bond with job satisfaction (Clark et al. 1996). That means older workers usually being more satisfied with their current job. A set of studies have focused on the analysis of comparison effects on job satisfaction. Comparison effect means, staff may have several idea of relative or ‘comparison’ earnings which enters their utility function. So job satisfaction is not only influenced by a staff’s personal total earnings, but also by their earnings that is comparative to some comparison group/desired level. Clark and Oswald (1996) summarized that satisfaction or dissatisfaction can be created in workers mind because of individuals’ comparison of their present job with the other job. So, job satisfaction is not only affected by individual earnings but also by their earnings related to expected level. Both absolute and comparative incomes have positive influence on the job satisfaction of staff (Sloane and Williams 1996). Clark and Oswald (1996) gave some proof that expectations are influenced by staff’s age, educational background and profession. Determinant of job satisfaction can be found from the inconsistent job features of staff. Working hours, establishment size, union membership and profession have important effects on job satisfaction. In the case of nursing staff, it is very crucial to evaluate the impact of improved working environment on their job satisfaction. Clark (1997) discovers a important influence of ‘work values’ on job satisfaction. More exclusively, staffs that highlight the importance of payment are more likely dissatisfied with job whilst staffs that highlight job place relations are associated to support job satisfaction. Nurses are more likely dissatisfied with their job because they are normally considered as low-paid staff. 6. Nursing in Multi ethnic minority: The racial harassment of ethnic minority nurses continuous to be a regular feature of their working lives in the NHS. This racial harassment from patients could be broken down into two distinct forms. According to (Beishon et al. 1995) First, there was a form of harassment where racial motivation in the incidents was clear because of accompanying verbal insults or because the patients had made it clear they did not want to be ‘nursed’ by an ethnic minority nurse. Secondly there, there was a more subtle form racial harassment where white patients did not explicitly mention nurse’s ethnicity, but rather treated ethnic minority nurses in a relatively unfavourable way to their manners with white nurses. A black nurse reported how differently she was treated from her white colleagues (Alexander and Dewjee 1984). However the things have begun to change and NHS training authority has taken on training projects directed specifically at race issues (Beishon et al. 1995). 7. Retention Strategies: 7.1 Creating A Motivating Climate: Because the organization has such an impact on the factors that extrinsically motivate employees, it is important to examine organizational climates or attitudes that have direct influence on worker morale and motivation. Huston and Marquis(1989) said that frequently organizations overtly or covertly reinforce the image that each and every employee is expendable and that a great deal of individual recognition is in some way harmful to both the individual and the individual’s productivity within the organization . Just the opposite is true. Individuals who have a strong self-concept and perceive themselves to be winners are willing to take risks and increase their productivity to achieve their productivity. Peters and Waterman(1982) stress that organizations must be designed to make individual employees feel like winners. The focus must be on degrees of winning rather than on degrees of losing Another wrong attitude held by some organizations is at the opposite extreme. Korman et al (1981) supported that if a small reward results in desired behaviour, then a larger reward will result in even more of the desired behaviour. That means an employee’s motivation should increase proportionately with the amount of incentive or reward. Nurse managers should think excellence and achievable goals, and reward performance in a way that is valued by their staff. These are the cardinal elements for a successful motivation-reward system for the nursing organization (Kirsch,1988). To the contrary, more incentives or reward systems were actually less motivating, as they produce a felling of distrust or being bought. Increasing incentives may be perceived as a violation of individual norms or of guilt (Bowin,1987). Managers can also create a motivating climate by being positive and enthusiastic role models in the clinical setting. Studies by Jeskins and Henderson (1984) demonstrated that managers’ personal motivations are the most important factor affecting their staffs’ commitments to duties and morale. Positive outlooks, productivity and accomplishment are contagious. Radzik(1985) stated that employees frequently determine their job security and their employer’s satisfaction with their job performance by the expression they see on their manager’s face. That means unhappy managers frequently project their unhappiness on their subordinates and contribute greatly to low unit morale. 7.2 Managing Career Development in nursing: Some philosophies about responsibilities for career development have been reflected in nursing. Donner and Wheeler(2001) have argued that nurses do require to take greater responsibility for career planning and development. They should follow a framework discussed by King (2001) which includes identifying opportunities, developing and implementing a good career progress. Donner and Wheeler(2001) added that to deliver high quality of caring service all educators, employers and professional business organizations should work with nurses on their career development plans and activities . According to (UKCC 1999 ), in UK, for long period it has been known that continuing professional development (CPD) has an significant function in nurses’ individual career development and retention. It also enhances the quality of patient care. There was a debate for a long time that local health service employers must recognize and understand the value of appropriately controlled CPD programmes in attracting, motivating and retaining high quality staff (DH 1998). Strategy for CPD for nurses were set out in Making a Difference ( Robson and Banett 2007) in which it was debated that CPD should include not only attending courses but also learning at work through experience, critical incidents, audit and reflection, maintained by peer review ,mentorship and clinical supervision. It was a matter of great concern that practitioners and employers were puzzled by the creation of new courses and lack of apparent links to career paths and that a more determined structure was needed 7.3 Working Condition: From a human resource management viewpoint, it can be said that working conditions have an affect on staff morale. Good working conditions will contribute to improving retention staff (DH 1997). The different ways in which working environment can affect nurses and manipulate their decisions about direction and retention in the occupation have raised from a substantial body of study on job satisfaction and workplace stress. Reconsidering the previous history on stress among general nurses, McVicar (2003) expressed that the major sources of stress identified are leadership, work pressure, management style, coping with emotional or touching demands of care, and relationships between occupational groups. He also added shift working and lack of reward also emerging from more recent research. Deep study on job or workplace satisfaction in nursing profession has exposed that aspects of work which recognized in the stress literature also come into view as sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Nolan et al (1999) said, staffing levels enough for nurses to feel confidence to offer better quality care if there are availability of supplies and equipment. And it also depends on the nature of work place relationships with colleagues and nursing managers. Positively it has long been acknowledged that both physically and mentally nursing is a challenging work (Davies 1995). Handling and lifting patients and ‘being on one’s feet’ every day is not very easy. It can cause not only work stress but also bodily injury like strained backs. The emotional element of nursing can be equally important and demanding, involving caring for patients when they are dealing with death and dying and loving for upset patients and relatives. Rise of these demanding emotional elements to overcome the challenge can be a source of satisfaction. On the other hand, low moral and work stress can be created when nurses feel under-supported and under resourced in working environment, particularly in relation to staffing. (Cameron and Masterson 2003). McVicar (2003) said study on stress has exposed the level to which a range of physiological and psychological symptoms have been linked with diverse sources of stress and that distress is very much correlated with absenteeism, ill-health and poor retention . Shields and Ward (2001) expressed that Job frustration has been reported as the distinct most vital cause of intention to leave among NHS nurses. In US, it was suggested that when staffing levels are decreasing there is low levels of job satisfaction which causes poor effects on work stress and quality of patient care (Aiken et al 2002). He also added it also affect the retention of nurses in clinical practice. According to Coomber and Barriball (2007), a current review of the international literature illustrates that stress caused for workload, workload scheduling and leadership issues influence disappointment and retention for nurses. From policy development, a range of strategies have been identified and impl

An Analysis of Arnolds Essay, The Function of Criticism at The Present

Introduction The first thing to start with is the title. In order to understand Arnold’s essay we should first understand the title of the essay. As we notice that Matthew Arnold associates criticism with one function not many functions, but which function? He also mentions that this function of criticism is limited within a specific and particular time which is the present time and the past or the future time. Therefore, answering the questions of function and time of criticism goes with analyzing Matthew Arnold‘s essay through my reading of his essay. It becomes clear that Arnold defends the importance of criticism. That’s to say he tries to display that the critical mind is of a paramount importance as well as the creative mind. A Brief Biography Arnold, Matthew 1822-1888, English poet and critic, he was a leading literary figure of the Victorian period, and the foremost literary figure of his age. His writings have a distinct style which is characterized by the use of symbolism and earnestness. Arnold, Matthew was born in Lalehan, Middlesex; he is the son of Thomas Arnold, a famous historian and head master of rugby school the famous independent school. Arnold himself studied at this school and Balliol College, university of Oxford. In 1851, Arnold served as an inspector of schools for the British government. Most of his poems were published between 1849 and 1855. His first book of poetry, The Strayed Reveller and Other Poems, was published in 1849.his first piece as a critic was Preface to the Poems which appeared in 1853. In 1857, Arnold became a professor of poetry at Oxford University and retained this position for ten years 1867. In this essay, Arnold Matthew discusses the tenuous relationship between criticism and... ...ety. In fact, both art and society are closely late in Arnold’s world view, thus the first and the last purpose of the critic is to attain truth so as to enlarge ideas which will provide an intellectual atmosphere in the future. Conclusion To sum up, Matthew Arnold tries in his essay to provide a mode about the importance of criticism and to refute the idea that criticism is of less importance than the creative power, asserting that writing criticism actually produces in its practitioner a sense of ecstatic creative joy very similar to that enjoy by the person who engages in creative writing. Therefore, criticism should be disinterested and objective so as to obtain the best known and thought in the world. Matthew Arnold’s essay â€Å"The Function of Criticism in the Present Time†, is in fact an important critical work which theorises the politics of criticism.

Lessons Learned at Summer Camp :: Memoir Essays

Lessons Learned at Summer Camp       Gazing up at the clouds, I thought of all the great times I had been a part of. The whole week had been full of excitement. Every day was a payoff of all of the work put into this experience. "Did it have to end so quickly?" I wondered to myself. "Just think of next year", I said to comfort my disbelief, "Its going to be ten times the fun. I'll make sure of that." After what seemed like years of waiting, the day of camp finally arrived. I hastily packed my bags and threw them in my car. My sister on the other hand, was late. She took forever putting her bags together and she walked out of the house as slow as a snail. "Hurry up!" I yelled at her. "I'm sorry." She replied. The only thing I could say was "Sure, whatever." But, I wasn't going to let this get in the way of my excitement. I was so charged with a "rush" as I pulled out of the driveway. I arrived at the guest ranch that we would be staying at around the same time as everyone else. It was later in the evening so the first item on our agenda was to eat supper. After we ate, the seventeen of us students and the six counselors all had a short chapel meeting. Following the meeting, we all played a game of capture the flag out in the trees by the ranch and then hit the sack. The next day I woke up and went through my usual morning strategy of preparing myself for the exciting day to come. I had breakfast with the rest of the group followed by an intense game of horseshoes. Then we had what is called "Quiet Time." It is a time that each of us went off somewhere by ourselves and read our bible or reflected on events that have happened. I went and sat in the shade of one of the trees. It was an incredible half-hour. I took a look at nature and realized how awesome God really is. I saw all kinds of insects and different pieces of life. It was a neat feeling that I had that morning. The rest of the day the group and I played games and had some time to go where we wanted to. During a game of horseshoes, Nathan carelessly threw a horseshoe out of control towards me.

Leadership :: essays research papers

Webster's Dictionary defines leadership as the position or guidance of a person or thing that leads, directing, commanding, or guiding head, as of a group or activity. However Leadership has not one single definition, but many. Leadership is often an intangible factor that makes one group more effective than another. It exists at different levels within organizations and should be woven throughout the entire organization. Different organizations use different ways in effectively teaching or molding their employees how to be an effective leader. One such company is the R.E. Brown Company and Associates, who have developed a yearlong program that is strictly used as a program to teach their employees how to become a more effective leader. They use what they believe as the Nine Behaviors of leaders. This program doesn't directly start off with the introduction of the nine behaviors, but of little tasks given to the participants. They are broken into small groups where they interact with each other, summarize common threads, and then present their findings to the larger group. Then once this has taken place they develop specific action plans to take back to their groups and from there on they work coherently together as a team. This develops a bond, and creates a model of team leadership, sharing, and reflection. Once this has happened then the teams are introduced to the nine behaviors of leadership where they discuss each one and try to use the information that they have gathered to take back to their own jobs were they can become even more successful then they have ever been before. The Nine Behaviors that develop exception leaders are: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Motivating others through adaptive leadership, who knows when to direct, coach, facilitate, or delegate, depending on the task and person. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Empowering others, which is a sort of delegation that will help you as a leader to control the situation with the help of others. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encouraging teamwork, which is balancing results, process, and relationships. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preparing people for change allowing you to understand their psychological responses and helping them to create a positive change with force-field analysis. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vision/Mission, which establishes guidelines for accomplishing a specific goal. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using multiple options by allowing you to see different strategic possibilities and being open to more day-to-day options. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taking intelligent risks, relating decision-making to risks and getting consensus. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stretching personal creativity that renews personal resources. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Showing passion for work by demonstrating presence, inspiration, and energy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each company has their own way of developing programs that center on ones ability to become an effective leader; this was just one aspect that I was able to find.

Gary Kelly Essay

Mr. Gary Kelly is the chief executive officer, CEO, of Southwest Airlines. Mr. Kelly was the chief financial officer, CFO, for Southwest Airlines from 1989 until 2004. He has served as the CEO of Southwest Airlines since 2004. I will provide concrete examples of how Southwest Airlines displays its corporate culture. I will describe what traits and skills Mr. Kelly possess which make him an effective leader. I will identify the core competencies of Southwest Airlines. â€Å"According to Herb Kelleher, Southwest started on focusing on people as people and identifying them as valuable assets of the company. Herb Kelleher and his management team emphasize an easy going relaxed corporate style that provides employees with extensive operational independence. Southwest’s culture, which emphasizes employees as the airline’s â€Å"first customers† and passengers as the second, has been integral to Southwest’s success†. (Smith) The concept of treating your customers well and your employees better is not a new concept, by any means. The trouble with that concept occurs when the company loses touch with the people that actually pay the salaries, the customer. I have worked for a company, that no longer exists, that treated their upper managers like royalty; the IT person drove a company car that was a brand new Hummer. All of the profit went to bling and not back into the company. â€Å"The skills and traits that he possesses are human resourcing. Making sure his team has all the proper training knowledge and knows how to make his customers happy. He also believes in making sure his people (employees) are even happier. They are the key to making his business a success, if your employees are happy there is no reason why your customers will want to come back and be serviced by them. Kelly is a great decision maker in these trying economic times. With his decision making skills led him to the innovative idea of bags fly free. Tag that up with his leadership skills and there is no reason why this  company wouldn’t be a success†. (Shaw, 2013) I read somewhere that Mr. Kelly would hold cookouts for his people and that the overnight crews got upset because, due to scheduling, they could not attend. Kelly’s solution; the pilots and he held cookouts for the overnight crews at 2:00 am. That way the crews could enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Talk about insuring employee loyalty; WOW! The core competencies of Southwest Airlines that I was able to find are locking up fuel hedging contracts, keeping cost down through fast turnaround times, flying only one type of aircraft, treating customers like kings and queens, and treating employees even better than the customers. By locking up fuel hedging contracts, Southwest was able to pay less for the fuel than other competing airlines. While facing possible layoffs, Kelly challenged his ground crews to reduce the turnaround times from 55 minutes to 15 minutes. The crews were at to achieve that goal and eliminated the possibility of layoffs. By having a fleet of only having Boeing 737s, Southwest has been able to keep maintenance cost extremely low. Southwest has had their flight attendants play games with their customers, while in flight. An example of this is the flight attendants would say that the first customer to show them that they were wearing socks with a hole in them would receive a free round trip ticket anywhere that Southwest flew. As for treating their employees better than the customer; the whole cookout idea pretty much covers that core competency. I have provided concrete examples of how Southwest Airlines display its corporate culture. I had explained the traits and skills that make Gary Kelly an effective leader. I had identified the core competencies of Southwest Airline. With what I have learned about Gary Kelly and Southwest Airlines, the more companies and their leadership that try to immolate him, the more satisfying being a customer would become. References Shaw. (2013, May 24). http://www.antiessays.com/. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from Anti Essay: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/476967.html Smith, G. (n.d.). An evaluation of the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines. Measuring Business Excellence, 8(4), pp. 26-33.