Assignment One Personal Development Essay

1.Brief Introduction (300 words) I am employed by the a Policy & Planning Manager within the Fitness to Practise Directorate to an Assistant Director. In my annual appraisal last year, my line manager raised concerns regarding my communication skills, specifically around tone and political sensitivity, which were regarded as impacting on my ability to build effective relationships. As a result, I have chosen to use this exercise as an opportunity to develop an up-to-date picture of my relationship building skills within the hierarchical and collaborative working culture of the . To this end, I developed a Personal Effectiveness Questionnaire, which I circulated to a range of senior colleagues with whom I have regular contact in a one-to-one and group context. To increase the response rate to the questionnaire ( a copy which is included as supporting evidence), and in recognition of the fact my target audience are bombarded with electronic information and are therefore likely to ignore an email, I chose to circulate this confidentially, through the internal mail. Respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire and return to me anonymously. I also invited respondents who felt they had issues that they would like to discuss further, to contact me to arrange a confidential chat, however nobody took up this opportunity, which may be an indicator either of their workload, or my approachability. I also used a variety of other investigation methods, including Myers Briggs and Belbin’s team role questionnaires, self-assessment, and reflection on a range of management model reading materials supplied by the CMI website, to understand how this might be applied to interpret my own behaviour and management style. I also reflected on my notes from previous appraisal meetings, informal and formal feedback from my manager and Professional Insight coach over the past twelve months. 2.Presentation slides (please see enclosed) 3.Presentation notes (2, 200 words) 3a.Range of skills (i)Leadership & Management Style (150 words) To get an overview of my preferred leadership and management style, I considered the results of a Myers Briggs assessment which I completed during a recent Change Management course. The results of this showed my self-assessed type to be INTJ and my reported type to be ESTJ. I thought that it was interesting that the personality traits that were most consistently featured, were Thinking and Judging. I think that this reflects the fact that a strong tendency towards planning and critical thinking underpins my management style. I also found interesting that when I circulated the personal effectiveness questionnaire, a number of colleagues independently volunteered remarks in the free text comments box at the bottom of the questionnaire, to the effect that I had a reputation for ‘getting things done.’ I feel that this observation, given in a free and unprompted context, is of particular significance as it is therefore likely to reflect their true opinion of me. An ability to ‘see things through to completion’ and to be a driving force within projects, is something which I have also identified through self-assessment, to be a definitive characteristic of my management style. This focus on the timely completion of projects is in line with Belbin’s team role, Completer/Finisher. I was interested to find that I also identified with the weaknesses of this ‘team role’ as defined in CMI management theory summary, as I have observed that my tendency to worry can be an annoyance to colleagues. I recognize that one of my key development goals should be to be more measured in my approach to escalating and communicating risks or outstanding tasks. (ii). Team Management (300 words) Blake & Moulton identified two drivers of managerial behaviour: concern for getting the job done and concern for the people involved. These factors influence the manager’s style. I have undertaken a self-assessment using Blake’s managerial grid and have identified the ‘Team Management’ approach as my preferred style. This involves high level of concern for the task and low for people, which is seen by some organisations as very effective. However, I also realise that this may not be in step with the culture of my present employer, which in certain contexts promotes a more collegiate style of working. I have identified two management styles which I think are more commonly exhibited within the culture of this organisation: ‘Authority-Obedience’ – high levels of concern for both task and people. This represents quite a controlling style, but runs the risk of damaging relationships. ‘Country Club Leadership’ – high levels of concern for people and low for task. This is seen as accommodating – it may create a warm and friendly working environment but a the cost of getting the job done effectively. I do not have the positional power to exert an ‘authority-obedience’ managerial style, though I am working within a culture which sometimes draws upon this. As there is an expectation of me to get jobs done reasonably efficiently, with the involvement and co-operation of other people, I realise that it would probably be more effective to strive for a management approach that is more ‘Middle of the Road.’ Middle of the Road involves a moderate level of concern for task and people. ‘Adequate performance is achieved by balancing the necessity of getting work done with maintaining morale at a satisfactory level.’ (iii)Managing your time and workload (400 words) Research by Francis-Smythe & Robertson (1996) shows that individual preferences about how we deal with five aspects of time, defines our own unique ‘time personality’. These five categories are: planning, punctuality, impatience, time awareness and polychronicity (multi-tasking). I decided to explore this theory by using it to categorise and self-access my own preferred behaviours, to help me better understand my strengths and weaknesses in this area. Planning – I think I have a strong preference for planning ahead. I write to-do lists every day before I leave work, in order of priority, to remind me what I need to do as soon as I get in the next day. This helps me to manage stress, by avoiding a last minute panic. It would be helpful for me to develop better strategies for coping with events that occur off-plan, or when deadlines are missed or rushed. Punctuality – I have a tendency to be late. I prefer to work flexibly, and I am more effective if I feel in control of my day. I feel very stressed if I am late for something important. I try to manage this by avoiding early morning meetings. Polychronicity – I prefer to have lots of tasks on the go at the same time, keeping everything moving forwards in small, manageable stages. I am good at prioritising and multi-tasking. Time-awareness – I have a high awareness of the time. However, sometimes when I am focusing on a ‘thinking’ task – I lose track. Impatience – I recognize that given that many of the tasks in which I am involved are dependent on input or timely decisions by other people my impatience sometimes manifests itself in a visible irritation which can impact on building effective relationships. (iv)Building effective relationships (200 words) I circulated a personal effectiveness questionnaire to colleagues which focused on my communication skills, as I recognize that these are the foundation stone to an effective leadership & management style. In general, there was a wide range of views regarding my sensitivity to the political nuances of the organization and awareness of the structural hierarchy. There was also a fairly wide range of views regarding whether my tone is considered to be in step with the culture of the organization. I understand that my ability to build and maintain effective relationships in the workplace is dependent on my ability to understand of the culture of the organization. I found it helpful to apply Johnson and Scholes’ cultural web to understand the factors (stories & myths, symbols, power structures, organization structures, control systems, ritual and routines) which influence the organizational values of my employer. When I thought about it from this perspective, I was surprised to recognize the power of stories and myths within my workplace, and the barrier this often presents to my ability to develop effective relationships, since many of my colleagues have been in post for over twenty years, and therefore steeped in a shared organizational memory which I, as a fairly recent recruit, have limited knowledge and understanding of. (v)Giving and receiving feedback (300 words) I circulated an anonymous personal effectiveness questionnaire to a range of colleagues, and received six responses. Half of the respondents felt I was very good at responding to constructive criticism in a one-to-one situation. One colleague had some concern in this area. Three-quarters of the respondents felt I was excellent, or very good, at responding to other people’s ideas in a one-to-one situation. Two colleagues had some concern. I felt that, in general, it is reasonable to assume that colleagues are likely to err on the side of being fairly generous in their assessment of others. Therefore, the high incidence of close colleagues reporting concern around my ability to give and receive feedback is likely to highlight a significant area for development. When I circulated the questionnaire, I included in the cover letter, the invitation to colleagues who had any concerns that they would like to discuss, to arrange a face to face meeting. Despite the high number of colleagues who clearly had some concern about my interaction with them, nobody too up this suggestion. Although I do realise that colleagues are busy, I feel that the significant reluctance of people to speak to me about their concerns directly, is in itself evidence of real concern about how I might react to feedback. I also self-assessed my own ability to give feedback that is specific, timely and effective in achieving the desired change in performance. I identified two specific scenarios in which I discussed with my manager. Firstly, I provided feedback to Document Services staff in relation to the timely preparation of the Fitness to Practise Reference Group papers which resulted in significantly improved communication and higher standards of performance. I also provided feedback to several paper authors, intended to manage expectations around the stages of preparing the papers for submission to Council, which had a marked and immediate impact on the tendency of authors to stick to the schedule. 3b.Learning style and process (300 words) My most memorable learning experience to date was learning to scuba dive in the Red Sea. This is because it was very a practical, hands-on course. The experience of scuba diving results in a very striking, multi-sensory memories; the smell of the sea and the equipment, the image and feel of fish swimming next to you, the sound of the boat above. This is in line with a preference for learning through kinetic experience (N. Fleming, VARK methodology – ‘Teaching and Learning Strategies’. During the course seminar, we completed a learning styles questionnaire which investigated our preferences for activist, reflector, theorist or pragmatist types. This exercise indicated that I had a moderate preference for theorist, compared to the other learning types. I think this reflects the fact that I also tend to learn effectively through independent reading and listening. I am interested in abstract concepts and theories, which I think may be partly the result of conditioning through the preferred teaching styles of successive teachers and university tutors. Throughout my career, in the workplace I have acquired many new skills and strengths through practical experience. For example, I have a strong ability to prioritise my work and meet deadlines, which has developed out of necessity through my experience as a bid-writer responding to invitations to tender. In that situation, missing a deadline would have had significant financial consequences. Similarly, I have developed strong active listening skills as a helpline worker for a children’s charity, as we were provided with specific training to develop open communication and trust. The inability to gain the trust of callers would have had significant consequences for child safety. 3c.Development plan, including justification and resources Development Plan WhyWhatWhen To improve awareness of internal hierarchy and political nuances and appropriate risk escalationMentoring with Assistant Director of Legal ServicesAugust 2010 – January 2011 To improve skills chairing meetings and improve ability to be inclusive of other people’s ideasOne day training house programmeSeptember 2011 To develop effective relationships across directoratesSix month secondmentJanuary 2011 To develop strategies for managing stress (expected to improve communication with colleagues)GP advice and weekly counselling Cognitive Behaviour TherapyAssessment by West London Mental Health Trust August 2011 To monitor progress and review development planMonthly personal development with line-manager to focus on communication skillsFrom August 2011 3d.Future Direction (100 words) I recognize that my weaknesses around communication skills, particularly within a group setting or chairing meetings, currently presents an obstacle to leading projects at the highest level. In terms of future direction, I would like to visualize myself having sufficient political sensitivity and nuanced communication style, to chair Project Board meetings, line-manage other members of staff, and blend into the culture of the organization. In particular, I would like to improve my ability to manage stress and work flexibly to cope with unexpected events. I believe that the successful completion of my development plan will help to equip me to position myself for future promotion and to operate at a more senior level. 4.Personal Review (500 words) I chose to give a presentation exploring my management style to my line-manager. in a confidential one-to-one basis, as I considered that this would facilitate honest feedback and constructive critical evaluation. In terms of my presentation style, felt that I achieved an appropriate balance between credibility as a presenter in a professional context, with an informality and approachability most suitable to the one-to-one format. She felt that in terms of the content of my presentation, I demonstrated a significant level of insight into own strengths and weaknesses in terms of my personal management style, and how that supports me in delivering the requirements of my role and dovetails with the preferred management style and culture of the organization. In particular, the presentation proved to be a very effective mechanism for opening up a debate and honest exchange of views around our different management styles which provided a platform for rebuilding a relationship that had recently been in danger of breaking down. We discussed the development plan, which felt to contain achievable and relevant activities. In terms of building effective relationships, we identified that difficulties around this tend to arise where my line-manager is on leave and I lack the positional power to manage risks effectively. In recognition of this, has made arrangements for the Assistant Director of Legal to act as my mentor and provide additional senior cover to enable me to escalate risks appropriately. We also had a useful conversation around the power dynamics of seeking senior cover for risk management from other Assistant Directors, where departmental agendas may be in conflict with achieving the goals of the organization. We also had a very constructive discussion around learning styles, which enabled me to articulate my preference for ‘auditory’ learning, and draw attention to my active listening skills in telephone contact with distressed clients, in both past and present roles. This rather helpfully distilled what may be an unusual emphasis on the content and tone of speech, rather than body language, which sometimes leads to differences of perception of the mood of face-to-face communication, and its impact on effective relationships. I think it was helpful to arrive at a shared understanding of this with my line-manager, and we discussed a variety of strategies for ‘damage limitation’ of this in meetings and improve my personal development in this area. She has also offered to seek funding for six additional sessions of Professional Insight coaching from an external provider, which can be added to my development plan.

Understanding Job Satisfaction, Loyalty, Commitment

Job satisfaction as a notion may have different definitions, but the core essence of it lays in the feelings which an employee has when he is asked about his job. These feelings can express total satisfaction with the job, simple satisfaction to total discontent. The reasons of the dissatisfaction should be viewed deeper, and in order to determine the principle factors which cause the employee be unsatisfied it is essential to consider various separate aspects of the employee's relationships at work – whether he is dissatisfied with the physical environment, or with the relationships with other employees or a supervisor, etc. Kirkman 25) What is job satisfaction and why it is needed Job satisfaction as the integral part of the employee successful performance at work has become a subject of acute attention only recently; simultaneously, only few firms (organizations) were able to apply its recommendations and strategies to their activity. Job satisfaction should be taken as the opportunity for the organization to easily improve its general performance. It is understandable, that the employees who are satisfied with their jobs appear to be more productive, committed to what they do and as a result the clients become also more satisfied with the quality of products and services they get, increasing its reputation and profits. Organizations, which are able to create environment which will attract, benefit, motivate and retain the hard-working employees, will finally be better positioned and will succeed in the competitive business environment, where the main aims to achieve are the quality and cost-effectiveness. It will be understood later, that job satisfaction is far not always connected with the salary and financial side of this job; thus cost-efficiency is highly possible if the experienced HR manager inactivates the hidden potentials of making employees satisfied with their jobs. (Kirkman 36) Not always job satisfaction goes in line with the wishes of the employee. Sometimes it happens that job satisfaction at the employee level does not brings positive changes at the company level; it may happen that the employee is fully satisfied with the situation of coming to his workplace and doing nothing; in this case job satisfaction has nothing to do with the general company's work and advancement. (Leonard 44) How to improve job satisfaction In improving the working environment as one of the means for improving job satisfaction of employees it is essential to change the working conditions in which people work. First of all, these conditions impact the level of pride and the feeling of prestige among employees; second, through the working conditions employees understand for what they work. The environment should be up-to-date, and it is no secret that even new furniture and newest technological solutions will make the employee more satisfied with what he does. The personal space of each employee should be considered very thoroughly and it is very valuable for the management to take into account the wishes and suggestions which employees have for this issue. It is often, when the employer tries to save additional costs and hires small office making it overcrowded; ultimately this negatively impacts the performance of the whole staff that has to work in this premise all day long. It influences intrapersonal relations, and thus the quality of work done. Thus, this is not the right means of saving, and the cost-effectiveness is not appropriate here. (Leonard 44) These have been the principal ‘hygiene’ issues which should be resolved before the manager or the employer decides to take care for the motivation problems. In making employees motivated and thus more satisfied with their jobs, the principal aspect is probably to make them understand that they do valuable work, which is appreciated and of which they should be proud. It is difficult, but it makes the essential part of making the employee motivated. In the desire to motivate employees various means are appropriate, and one of the most widely-spread is the instrument for sharing success stories of other employees who used to work in the company and have made career, or to prove to the employee that the tasks which he is obliged to fulfill are essential for the whole company performance. Make a big deal out of meaningful tasks that may have become ordinary, such as new-baby visits. Of course employees may not find all their tasks interesting or rewarding, but you should show the employee how those tasks are essential to the overall processes that make the practice succeed. You may find certain tasks that are truly unnecessary and can be elim inated or streamlined, resulting in greater efficiency and satisfaction. ’ (Jamal 55) Conclusion The aim of the work was to discuss job satisfaction as a notion and to suggest possible solutions for the increase of job satisfaction among employees. It has become clear that job satisfaction is a very complex meaning and in order to use it properly, it should be considered from the viewpoint of various aspects, included into it, the amount of which is numerous. Job satisfaction influences performance of every worker, and ultimately it influences the level of the company performance. Making the employee satisfied through understanding the meaning of his work as well as being proud of what he does will increase the level of customer satisfaction and thus the reputation and prestige of the enterprise as a whole. (Spector 35) The principal difference between the hygiene issues and those related to motivation, is that hygiene issues resolved make the workers less dissatisfied with their jobs, while motivational issues make them more effective and productive. (Spector 35) Asking employees of what they feel about their jobs is essential for the management, because accounting the employee’s desires and suggestions will make them feel meaningful and thus promote their motivation and self-efficacy. The description of job satisfaction is useful for each employer to read and know the principal issues connected with this problem. With the development of the new technologies and new jobs, job satisfaction appears to decline among many professions, thus needing more attention on the side of employers. (Spector 35)

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LITERARY - Essay Example Through the worst natural scenario around her, the narrator implicitly communicates her own state of seemingly unbearable emotions which have kept her immobile. No particular reference to determinate feeling is incorporated, perhaps to allude that the woman who finds herself under circumstances of deep thought and heaviest of emotions would most probably cease from moving on as she perceives that nothing can remedy her hopeless case. Without having to state concrete information of her experience, the speaker is made to utilize the imagery in her environment for readers to understand that all internal affairs whether of the mind or of the heart are way beyond the horrible externals. Such is vivid with each stanza that contains sharp images of frightening wilderness or tragically climatic landscape. Bronte eventually delivers this impact by designating alliteration to relevant phrases in â€Å"wild winds† and â€Å"bare boughs†. She even renders personification in describing the ‘spell’ the woman is bound with via the third line stating â€Å"But a tyrant spell has bound me.† This then justifies the closing of the first stanza where the speaker concludes that she ‘cannot go’, implying how intense the binding spell is that there is apparently nothing about the ‘darkening night’ or the ‘cold wild winds’ that would make her divert to abolishing the spell from within or step out of it. With ABAB CBCB ABAB rhyme scheme, â€Å"Spellbound† is structured in a literary style that possesses a pattern of symmetry. In this manner, the audience can fluidly engage in the main theme becoming convinced to settle at the point of ascertaining the person’s weakness to break away from an invisible control of fate. To arrive at the most definite less startling decision which goes â€Å"I will not, cannot go† for the finale, Bronte exhausts to the imagination’s advantage much of the tangible

Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus Essay Example for Free

Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus Essay General Start-up Procedure: ïÆ'Ëœ Prior to running an experiment, students are advised to perform the following startup procedure. ïÆ'Ëœ Fill the water with clean (preferably filtered) water to approximately 20 mm from the top. ïÆ'Ëœ Plug the main cable to the electrical supply. Be sure that the voltage of the supply is correct to suite the equipment. ïÆ'Ëœ Switch on the main power on the control panel. ïÆ'Ëœ Adjust the set-point value on the temperature controller to 500C. Warning!! Do not set the temperature controller beyond 700C. Switch on the heater. Observe the water temperature heats up to 50 0C and remain constant. The equipment is now ready for experiment. Priming procedure for capillary Tube: Before using the capillary tube in an experiment using acetone, students are advised to clean the inside of the tube. ïÆ'Ëœ Prepare a weak solution of detergent. ïÆ'Ëœ Use the Hirschman pipette to fill the tube with the solution. Tapping the of side of the tube may be necessary if the solution is trapped and does not flow down. ïÆ'Ëœ Turn the tube upside-down and shake. Empty the tube. ïÆ'Ëœ Repeat steps 2 to 3 with acetone. ïÆ'Ëœ The tube is now ready for student experiment. General Shut-down Procedure: ïÆ'Ëœ After the completion of an experiment, students are advised to shut down the equipment as follows: ïÆ'Ëœ Switch off the heater and air pump. ïÆ'Ëœ Adjust the set-point value of the temperature controller to approximately 5 degree below the room temperature. ïÆ'Ëœ Allow the water to cool down until it is safe to touch. Open the drain valve and empty the water tank. ïÆ'Ëœ Detach the flexible tubing and clean the capillary tube for next use. (Refer to priming procedure) ïÆ'Ëœ Switch off the main power. Unplug the main cable if the equipment will not be used for a long period. EXPERIMENT OBJECTIVE: To determine gas diffusion coefficient of acetone using the established Winkelmann’s method. Procedure: 1. Perform the start-up procedure. 2. Partially fill the capillary tube with acetone to a depth of about 35 mm. 3. Carefully insert the capillary tube through the fitting on the top of the water bath cover. Do not over-tighten the fitting. 4. Observe the initial level of acetone through the telescope. Record the level of acetone. 5. Connect the flexible tubing from the air pump line to one end of the capillary tube. Switch on the air pump. 6. After 30 minutes, switch off the air pump. Disconnect the flexible tubing and close the two capillary tubes ends with the cap provided. Observe and record the level of acetone. 7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 at 30 minutes intervals. ANALYSIS DISCUSSION: Plot t/ (L-L0) against (L-L0).Determine gas diffusivity, D from the obtained slope, S. Compare the experimental value with the theoretical value that can be predicted from empirical equations (e.g. modified Maxwell’s equation by Gilliland).

The Purpose and Objectives of Annual Reports

The Purpose and Objectives of Annual Reports The literature review section talks about the background of research being undertaken. It provides an illustration about the importance of the different sections of the annual reports and the qualitative characteristics of information that make it useful for users of accounting information. Hence, it outlines on the previous research done on the study of annual reports and the importance of annual reports to users who have a reasonable knowledge in business, economics and accounting. The main purpose of annual reports The purpose of the annual report is to inform shareholders as to the financial status of a company. Coy and Pratt (1998) conclude that the annual report serve as a communication tool and determines the reality of the organization in the public mind. However for this reality to be recognized, it depends on the quality of information provided in the annual reports. Annual reports are extremely significant sources of company information (Stanga,1976). Furthermore studies by Chang and Most (1985) and Hawkins and Hawkins (1985) concluded that even though individual investors do not find the annual report useful in decision making and do not meet their information needs, still the annual report is the document used as reference for investors and managers. Though annual report is not the only source of information for a company, as in New Zealand newspapers and magazines were also found as a source of information, nevertheless the annual report is considered to be an important resource due to its large reporting and availability. Therefore the fundamental aims of preparing financial reports are for decision making and accountability. Accountability Annual reports are considered as the main accountability mechanism. In 1975, the American Accounting Association (AAA) defined the purpose of accounting as to provide information for making useful economic decisions and which, if provided will increase social welfare. Thus annual report can be one tool for communicating economic information to allow update decisions and judgements by users. According to Stanton and Stanton (2002) the annual report uses the tools of management, marketing and communication theory to construct a picture of the organization. Thus, annual report is a tool for a firm to classify its accountability for managing and controlling business activities. Moreover, a number of researchers (Winfield, 1978; Chang and Most, 1985; Boyne and Law, 1991), have noted the importance of annual reports as a vehicle releasing accountability. Furthermore accountability is involved in the monitoring, evaluation and control of organizational agents to make sure that they perform in the welfare of shareholders and other stakeholders (Keasey and wright,1993). It can be classified as a requirement for one party to another party for its performance over certain time. In short, accountability is simply a must to report upon as it gives an extent to which an entity has met its responsibilities towards its owners and to fulfill this role, financial reports should reflect the nature and extent of performance that are related to the entity. Moreover accountability requires broadening the capacity of disclosure beyond the financial focus to ensure that adequate and meaningful qualitative information is also contained in the annual report. Besides, the owners of the companies, the shareholders, have a right to know what actions and what developments are taking place within the organization. Thus, the organizations are accountable to its shareholders and the annual report plays a great role in conveying the firms performances to them. Decision making As per IAS 1, the financial statements objective is to offer and inform the performance and the evolution of the financial situation, that could be helpful to a wide range of potential users for evaluating and making economic decisions .It is further claimed that, when the general purpose of financial reports meet this objective, they will also enable entities to discharge accountability. Consequently the first aim of the Trueblood Report is the provision of information for economic decision making is being interpreted as being the primary function of financial statements. Hence financial reports should seek to satisfy the information needs of users. In 1989, the Solomons Report, commissioned by the ICAEW (1989) reaffirmed that decision usefulness is the fundamental aim of financial reporting. Financial reports should provide information that will be accommodating to several users who have interest in financial performance and making decisions about investing and lending. Gray (1994, pp9), have proved that accounting literature is presently dominated by the idea of decision usefulness which mean that financial reporting will have to be maintained in order to meet the need of all users of accounting information. It is seen that nowadays there has been a rise in the users of accounting information for decision making hence objectives of annual reports are regarded as the major means by which companies distribute information to the external users (Firth, 1979). OBJECTIVES OF ANNUAL REPORTS According to FASB the main goals of annual reports can be classified in three parts: Objectives for making potential economic decisions; Objective of providing information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an entity; Objectives for presenting and disclosing of information. Hence it is the attributes of the qualitative characteristics that make accounting information to be useful in annual reports. Characteristics of accounting information The quality of the information provided in annual reports determines the usefulness of those reports to users. FASB and the IASB propose that if Financial Statement setters study the standards and qualitative features in the process of preparation of financial statements only then the financial station would give the true and fair view. Many researchers like (Alford et al. 1993, Amir et al. 1993, Banyopadhyay et al. 1994, Harris et al. 1994, Joos and Lang 1994, Barth and Clinch 1996, Joos 1997, Lewitt 1998 and Pope and Walker 1999) had conduct studies with the aim to identify higher quality as it is related to the ability of financial statements to pass useful information to the users. Hendriksen and Van Breda (1992, P.123), has described qualitative characteristics as components of accounting information which lean to improve its usefulness. The Corporate Report of the Accounting Standards Steering Committee, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), (1975) has identified seven qualitative characteristics viewed as desirable to make the annual reports useful: relevance; understandability; reliability; completeness; objectivity; comparability; timeliness. Relevance Relevance refers to the capacity of information to influence the decision making process of users. The Solomons Report (1989) has emphasized on this point: Relevance must come first, for if information is irrelevant, it does not matter what other qualities it has. FASB Concepts Statement 2,says in paragraph 27, to be relevant accounting information must be able to make a difference in a decision by facilitating users to form predictions about the result of past, present and future events. It also proposed that there is a trade-off between relevance and reliability that is accounting information should be both relevant and reliable. A number of research by Stanga (1980), and Mores and Duncan (1988) have already been conducted to deal with the issue of relevance and reliability and that optimistic association exists between the two, with minimum levels of reliability necessary to achieve relevance. UNDERSTANDABILITY Understandability is viewed as a user-specific property in the FASB model. Information cannot be useful to decision makers who cannot understand it, even though it may otherwise be relevant to a decision and be reliable. Information is understandable when users will be able to reasonably grasp its meaning. Thus useful information should be capable of being understood by users with reasonable knowledge of business and accounting and the way information is presented in annual reports. In addition, researchers like Subramanian, Insley, and Blackwell (1993), had evaluated the relationship between the performance of companies and the readability of their annual reports, concluding that the annual reports of companies that done well were easier to read than those of companies that did not perform well. RELIABILITY Reliability involves the completeness of information. Information is reliable when it is free from material error and bias and can be depended upon by users to signify faithfully. FASB has also concluded that verifiability is a major factor of reliability. Verifiability is the ability through consensus among measurers to guarantee that information represents what it purports to represent. It also focuses on whether a particular basis of measurement is properly pertained, rather than on whether it is appropriate. While Lev and Thiagarajan (1991) , got proof that the market does not retort to certain balance sheet information results of other studies suggested that it may wait until the balance sheet information shows up in future earnings which make accounting information more verifiable and reliable. COMPLETENESS Good Accounting information is complete when it provides all its potential users with all the required information that are vital to fulfill their needs and requirements. Moreover reported information in annual reports should provide a complete image of the activities of the organization. Completeness is also when all transactions and events that should have been recorded have been recorded and classified properly. It also assumed that there will be no error of omission in the information. Thus information in the financial reports must be complete within the bounds of materiality and cost is a vital element of faithful representation. OBJECTIVITY According to Hines (1991), it is in the benefit of accounting profession to publicly produce information that is objective. Financial information being objective means it should be free from bias in accounting decisions and shall be a measurement of having supporting proof. In other words together with objectivity, information should be both reliable and uniform. COMPARABILITY Comparability is the quality of information that allows users to identify similarities in and differences between two sets of economic phenomena. Moreover compliance with accounting standards helps to attain comparability. Thus, information about an entity gains more importance if it can be contrasted with similar information about other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some other period or some other point in time. Comparability is different from consistency because comparability is the goal while consistency is a means to achieve that goal. Users must be informed of the accounting policies used in the preparation of financial statements, any changes in those policies and the effects of those changes. However it is argued that any consideration of comparability must come after relevance and faithful representation. As noted by Sterling, Robert, R (1985), Comparability alone cannot make information relevant. TIMELINESS Timeliness is considered an ancillary aspect of relevance. Timeliness is about having relevant information available sooner before it loses capacity to influence decisions. Kross and Schroeder, (1984), indicated that the timeliness of annual reports is relative to the abnormal return around the release date of reports, corporations that released their annual reports earlier held higher cumulative abnormal returns than that of later releases. Researchers like Dyer Iv, and McHugh (1975),Whittred (1980) and Dwyer, and Wilson (1989), found that timeliness is affected by factors reporting lag such as auditing opinion, profitability and company size. Therefore the use of technology may enhance position of all users and improve regularity of timeliness with which information is received. In addition to the qualitative characteristics mentioned above, there is two more qualities proposed in the accounting literature which is essential; they are faithful representation and materiality. FAITHFUL REPRESENTATION Faithful representation is attained when information is representing faithfully the transactions and other actions it either claims to represent or could reasonably be expected to represent. However faithful representation does not mean total freedom from error in the representation of an economic phenomenon because economic phenomenon presented in financial reports is normally evaluated under conditions of uncertainty. Thus, to attain a faithful representation, it sometimes may be essential to clearly disclose the degree of uncertainty in the reported financial information. MATERIALITY Materiality does not involve only relevance but also faithful representation. Information is material if it could persuade users decisions taken on the basis of the annual reports. Materiality depends on the nature and amount of the item in case of omission or misstatement. It forms the threshold for recognition of information and only material information is contained in the annual reports. According to SEC (1999), is a symmetric in emphasizing that small misstatements may be material for qualitative reasons but SAB 99 is silent on whether, and when, a quantitatively large error could be immaterial, (Taub 2007). Thus, many registrants and practitioners consider that this guidance prevents judging quantitatively large misstatements to be immaterial. COMPONENTS OF ANNUAL REPORTS The annual report encloses a huge amount of information about a company. As formal communication documents the annual reports also contains quantitative information, narratives, photographs and graphs. There have been several survey-based studies in accounting conducted that the annual reports is useful source of information (e.g., Briggs, 1975; Lee and Tweedie, 1975, 1976,1981; Anderson and Epstein, 1995; Abu Baker and Naser 2000; Ho and Wong 2004). Ho and Wong (2004) conducted a research in Hong Kong and concluded that annual reports are consisted of high value of information in comparison to other sources, even though the respondents are not fully satisfied with the amount of information disclosed. Thus in Mauritius, the section 221 of the CA 01 specifies the contents of an annual report. Hence it includes the following: Chairmans Report Lee and Tweedie (1975), Barlett and Chander, 1997, p.246 found that the most common read sections of the annual reports is the chairmans statement .This was attributed to the simplicity of the chairmans report, which clarifies the more technical information, contained in other parts of the report. On the other hand, Wilton and Tabb(1978) surveyed about 300 shareholders and concluded that the chairmans report was the most widely read followed by the income statement. However, Barlett and Chander have also disclosed that the majority of respondents in their sample desired less information in the form of a summary report rather than the annual report itself. Directors Report The Directors report supply useful information to investors about the activities of the company, the dividend policy and information about the decision makers of the company. Anderson (1998) spot out that despite majority of investors found the basic financial statements to be most valuable, the most thoroughly items read in the annual report are the directors report. Lee and Tweedie (1975) found that the executives report was of great to less importance, over one-third of the respondents believed the directors report to be of no value. Corporate Governance Report Corporate governance (CG) has been a foremost policy issue in developed market economies for more than a decade. Hashim (2009) defines CG as a combination of processes and structures conducted by the board of directors to authorize, direct and oversee management towards the achievement of the organizations objectives. The Report on Corporate Governance for Mauritius, states that companies that are listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius shall abide to all provision of the code and there should be a separate corporate governance section in the annual report. Dividend policy, Directors profile and going concern of the corporate governance report might be useful to user of accounts. Shareholders will attain valuable information about the amount and timing for payment of dividends declared by the company. On the other hand the disclosure of the qualifications and experience of the board members is useful to investors as such information specify that people with required experience, qualifications and integrity are managing the company hence it boost up the confidence of shareholders. Cohen, Krishnamoorthy and Wright (2004) recommend that CG can be one of the main functions in ensuring the quality of financial reporting. Auditors Report The auditors are required to report to the shareholders of the company as to whether in their opinion the financial statements have been prepared accordingly with the accounting standards and whether they give a true and fair view of the transactions of the company. The fundamental aspects of an Auditors report are set by ISA 700-The Auditors Report on Financial Statements. This ISA gives guidance on the type and content of the auditors report as a result of an audit carry out. The auditors report was the most understandable section of the annual report while the balance sheet was the forth (Nasser and Rutherfords 1996). Hence it is useful to users of accounts as it offers assurance that the users are making economic decisions based on reliable information. However, Bartlett and Chandler (1997) found that the auditors report was read the least by individual shareholders. Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) CSR can be described as the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organisations economic actions to particular interest groups within society (Gray et al 1996 p.3). Corporate social disclosure is referred as the provision of financial and non financial information that intend to discharge social accountability of an organisation (Gray et al 1987).Gelb and Strawser (2001) states that CSR disclosure is a form of socially responsible behaviour, thus by providing more information to the public will help companies to meet their responsibilities towards their stakeholders in a better manner. However research studies have shown that most users use the information of financial statements for financially based decisions. IAS 1, of IASB, 2004: (para.7) states that the objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions. So the financial statements are made as follows: Statement of financial position Statement of comprehensive income Statement of changes in equity Statement of cash flow Notes to the accounts Statement of financial position This statement provides a snapshot summary of what a business owns or is owed-assets-and what it owes-liabilities-at a particular date thus it is referred as a statement of net worth. It shows how solvent a business is, how liquids its assets are and how much capital is being spent. It also consists of non-current assets, current assets, capital and reserves, non-current liabilities and current liabilities. The non-current can be classified as assets that are not quickly and easily realizable, and current assets are assets that can be readily convertible into cash within a short time. Furthermore share capital represents amount receives in respect of shares issued by a particular company, non-current liabilities and current liabilities are obligations that are not aimed to be liquidated within a year and one that are expected to be settled within one year respectively. Statement of comprehensive income The main purpose of the comprehensive income statement is to report a companys earnings over some pointing period of time. This statement reflects the companys revenues, expenses and earnings; it gives information about the financial performance of a company. Users of accounts who are concerned about the profitability can obtain relevant information in the comprehensive income statement and they can make use of ratios to take out information they need therein. Statement of changes in equity IAS 1 requires that companies should prepare a statement of changes in equity to be presented with the same value as the other primary statements. According to Barry and Jamie Elliot this statement is vital because a quantity of gains and losses are required by law or accounting standards to be managed through directly with reserves, so as to prevent the financial statement from being incomplete. The shareholders acquire more information about any changes made to share capital, retained earnings, revaluation reserves, share premium other reserves and to proposed dividends. Sometimes gains and losses may be easily traced by reserve accounting, which permits items to bypass the income statement. Hence the statement of changes in equity provides more transparency in reporting these gains or losses. Statement of cash flow Section 217 of the CA 01 requires all companies to include in their annual report a statement of cash flow and the latter should be prepared in accordance with IAS 7. The purpose of IAS 7 is to include the provision of information about the historical changes in cash and cash equivalents of a company by means of a statement of cash flow. Cash flow statement has become useful sources of information for users (Day (1986) and Yap (1997)). Thus cash flows are classifies during a period from: operating activities-the cash effects of transactions concerning trading activities; investing activities-cash flows from the purchase and sales of non-current assets and short term investments; financing activities-involve receipts from or refund to external providers of finance in respect of the primary amount. Notes to the accounts Notes to the accounts can be refers as explanatory notes that accompany the financial statements. These are intended to give further detail of the items appearing in the financial statements, to provide surplus information, to represent attention of related party transactions and to give existence of interest to stakeholders, other than the shareholders. It includes the IAS, concepts, depreciation policies and methods of valuation that an entity has used. Furthermore studies conducted by Anderson (1981), found that the most readable sections of the annual report were seen to be the balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes to the accounts, and the chairmans statement respectively. The comprehensive income statement, however, was seen to be more essential than the balance sheet. However this author failed to carry out any test whether there are major differences between the users usage of annual reports sections and on the other hand observed its importance of those sections. Epstein and Pava (1993) has developed on the work of Epstein (1975) and found that there has been an increased in the importance of annual report as a source of information. Furthermore, they found that the importance of the balance sheet had extended, and that over the same period the perceived usefulness of the income statement had declined. Anderson and Epstein (1995) argued that in Australia they found that the comprehensive income is more useful in making an investment decision rather than the directors report. In this respect the respondents had also demand for simplification and more explanation of the balance sheet, statement of cash flow, and the income statement. In another study by, Abdelsalam (1990ÂÂ ­) it was highlighted that the comprehensive income and information about the future of the company as well as information about directors was seen to be important part of the annual report. Ba-owaidan (1994) also found the profit and loss account to be the most influential part of the annual report followed by the balance sheet but has also concludes that some respondents faced some problems in understanding the contents of the annual reports. The Kruskal Wallis test revealed that the cash flow section was the only section of the annual report that the user groups have significant differences regarding its value. This is not surprising as the findings reported by Lee and Tweedie (1975), Wilton and Tabb (1978) and Yap (1997) for developed countries disclosed that individual and institutional investors have little interest in the cash flow statement and may not rely upon, as they are not a sophisticated group. In New Zealand, Chang and Most (1985), disclosed that newspapers and magazines were the preferred source of information and the comprehensive income statement was found as the main statement in the annual report for decision making. Moreover, Anderson (1979) and Courtis (1982) also found that the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement were regarded as the two most essential statements for decision-making. In addition, Anderson and Epsteins (1997) study revealed that in Australia, New Zealand and US, the comprehensive income and financial position statement were ranked as the most essential items but the cash flow was less important to New Zealand and Australian investors than to US respondents. Moreover, Stephen L.Buzby carried a research in 1974 on the usefulness of annual reports and his aim was to find the perceptions of professional financial analyst on selected items in the annual reports. To summarize Daniels and Daniels (1991) found that information present in financial statements is important and very useful but not sufficient enough to evaluate the financial condition of a company. USERS OF ACCOUNTS According to IASB, financial information is prepared for users, presuming that they have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and a willingness to study the information with reasonable diligence. The different users and their needs are identified below: Investors Investors need information to decide whether they should continue to invest in an entity, to assess whether that particular organization will be able to pay out dividends as well as how the enterprise has been managed. The investors require information about profitability, volumes, sales, amounts invested, assets owned, share price and information about competitors. Epstein and Pava (1993) document that individual investors demand for more financial and non financial information in the annual reports. Shareholders Shareholders are the owners of the company. Thus, they have the right to receive dividends from the companys profit. Information in annual reports is very important to shareholders as profit acts as an indicator of the amount of dividends they ought to obtain. According to Cook and Sutton (1995), companies should prepare summary annual reports based on information requirements of shareholders in order to satisfy their needs. Thus, companies should disclose essential piece of information in a clear and understandable format that will enhance the relevance and value of annual reports in communicating company information to shareholders. Lenders and Financial institutions Lenders such as insurance companies, pension funds use FS information to decide the loan amount, the interest rate and security needed for business loan and they should also make sure whether the company would be able to repay back both the principal amounts and the interests payments. The key accounting information for lenders is therefore: Cash flow Investment requirements in business Thus such information required by lenders is available in the annual report. Employees Employees demand annual report for the stability and profitability of the business. They are interested in information about employment prospects, security of their jobs and retirement benefits. Furthermore, Clark and Craig (1991) conclude that relevant information for investors is also relevant for employees. Government The government group makes use of an annual report for tax purposes. The tax authorities such as the Inland Revenue needs information on the profitability of an entity to levy corporation tax and custom and excise make use of information to check VAT returns. Hence tax authorities use FS information as a source for enhancing social welfare by establishing tax policies. Public The public are usually considered as stakeholders and businesses form part of society at large and as a result create much public interest. Marston and Shrives (1991, pp196), found annual report as the main document available for the public thus is being regarded as the main disclosure vehicle. Moreover despite some improvements has taken place in reporting in recent years, the users groups of annual reports wish to have more information than is currently provided (Abu-Nassar and Rutherford, 1996; Hatif and Al-Zubaidi, 2000; Naser and Nuseibeh, 2003). On the other hand, Dye and Bowsher (1987) concluded that most users seek an annual report to include other information that will enhance their understanding. Hay and Antonio (1990) found that users demand for highly detailed disclosures in annual reports. In addition users want information on future prospects, company products, publication of quarterly reports and management audit reports (Anderson 1981). Furthermore Benston (1976) reported that annual report were the least important source of information compared to financial press and newspaper reports. In summary, results from preceding studies shows that users believed that annual reports is the main sources of information; though each section was not considered as of equal significance. The results also disclose a necessity to establish some changes to the annual reporting that allow the information to be more understandable and sufficient for potential users.

Success is in the Attempt :: Graduate College Admissions Essays

Success is in the Attempt    I may not know exactly what I'm going to be when I grow up but I have embarked on a path of self-discovery and I have discovered that I am a writer.    I am a writer! It took a long time for me to admit that writing was more than a hobby, it was a passion. Writing is what I was meant to do. I was so afraid that my desire to make writing into a career was a frivolous, unrealistic fantasy. I never took any risks to make it happen.       When I started thinking about college and a career I filled my journal with ideas and desires. And as I wrote I imagined a lifestyle with the flexibility to work at home, getting paid to do a job that I loved. But through all of my writing, I was always grasping to figure out what it was that I would be doing at home. I never realized the answer was right in front of me - I would write.    Writing in my journal nourished my spirit and made me feel alive. In my journal I shared my deepest desires, shared thoughts I'd been keeping inside and got lost in the rhythm of my words. And as I began to write, stories emerged. Ideas came to life for more stories and articles and essays. I felt whole.    I wanted the feeling of wholeness to continue forever. To do that, I had to take an enormous leap of faith and share my work with others. I began searching for avenues to submit my work, the entire time worrying that I wasn't good enough.    I was fortunate to receive support and encouragement from editors who read my work. After submitting several pieces of writing to different websites, I received some very wonderful news. My work would be published. To date my work has been published on several websites. I have a short story appearing in an upcoming edition of BeRealMag.com, and I continue to submit stories and queries for publication. Recently, when an editor approached me to write a piece for her website, I knew I had succeeded - I am a writer!    I believe that writing is my life's work and I'm actively seeking ways to make a living writing.

Facebook Activity Should NOT Play a Role in Employment Essay -- Social

As if employment isn’t already a topic of importance regardless of personal reason, most issues concerning it, hit close to home. Employment is influenced by many things. Some of the major influences are expected like drug testing and background checks. These have little to no amount of controversy, pending personal issues. Other things are not so anticipated, namely what content is on particular social media websites like Facebook. This exact scenario played out in my life much to my dismay. After I applied, interviewed and accepted a position in the education field, I received a phone call from the employer who informed me that they would no longer offer me the position due to an undisclosed reason. Subsequently, I began an investigation into the reason I lost the opportunity of employment with the school district, only to discover astonishing exploits, the culmination of which resulted in my misfortune. These exploits had originated from a personal conflict between an individual that was my friend on Facebook prior to the dispute. Though I can honestly admit that this altercation got vicious, I never believed it would go as far as it had. This individual took my name and pictures and attached them to messages that I had allegedly sent to her. These messages contained highly inappropriate and threatening material. Then she proceeded to send them to the administration department. One person in the Human Resour ces department came to the decision that even though he didn’t know me, my qualifications, or even if the allegations were true, my personal life and Facebook page disqualified me from employment. Incontestably, I felt this infringed on my constitutional rights, confidentiality, as well as my personal life. Most Ame... ... with job performance, and work time. Without this distinction a mental and physical toll is paid and it comes at a high cost to the motivated. Employment simply should not be based upon a personal social networking website, it is unconstitutional, breaks social expectations of confidentiality, as well as imposes upon personal lives and motivations. Unless contractually bound to obey particular guidelines concerning social media, it should play no role in obtaining or termination of employment. Considering that there was no proof of legitimacy and it did not happen on work property or time, undeniably my claim of hideous encroachment on these Rights and socially accepted standards is correct. This very travesty, lead to the children at that particular school district to potentially have to settle for a person that is less qualified than I for their education.

Antigone Foils Creon

In the play Antigone we learn about a stubborn character named Creon who is the ruler of Thebes. This ruler goes on many power trips through out the play, which end up leading to his demise. Antigone, sister of the former king Polyneices sees Creon as a man with to much power who is making poor decisions and acting against the Gods. In a face-to-face confrontation, Antigone does not back down from the powerful leader, and tells him that what he is doing is wrong. Creon, who still has too much pride, banishes her into a cave where she would be left to die. Only later does Creon realize that what she was saying was correct. He tries to fix all the mistakes he has made but is too late. Antigone is the foil to Creon because she brings out fear and many character trait flaws in the Kings personality. Creon has a major lapse in judgment when he decides to bury Antigone in a cave to die. She tells him that she does not care because she was honoring her brother. â€Å"Why the delay? There is nothing that you can say that I should wish to hear, as nothing I say can weigh with you†¦.† (Sophocles 500-7) At first, it does not seem that Creon feels bad about doing this. Later he understands that he was wrong and regrets his decisions. Antigone has a big affect on this change of heart from Creon because she truly believed  she was in the right. By believing this she forces Creon to finally notice that he was wrong, and reverses his decisions. Antigone’s suicide effects Creon as a character immensely. It is her suicide that causes Heamon to stab himself. â€Å"Who is dead, and by what hand? Heamon is dead, slain by his own father. His father? His own hand. His father‘s act it was that drove him to it.† (1171-77 Sophocles) This later also leads to Eurydice’s suicide at the end of the play. Through Antigone’s actions, Creon is extremely effected. As a character, these events change the way Creon thinks about what he has done. â€Å"There is no man can bear this guilt but I. It is true, I killed him. Lead me away, away. I live no longer† (1323-29 Sophocles) Antigone convinces Creon that he is not a God, and that going against the Gods is a bad idea. â€Å"Yes. That order did not come from God. Justice, that dwells with the Gods below, knows no such law†¦.†(Sophocles 450-69) Antigone fights with all she has, and finally brings Creon to the realization that what he has done was wrong. When Creon realizes that Polyneices body is unburied, and that he has not given a proper burial to the 5 chieftains, he recognizes that this will upset anger the Gods considerably. She helps him realize his fault by having a reckless attitude, this shows Creon that she will not go down without a fight. She makes one last plea to the Gods by attempting to put a curse on him. I believe this scares Creon later and is one of the main reasons why he tries to reverse the decisions he’s made in the end. Creon gives the harsh penalty of not burying the dead Polyneices which is the ultimate punishment. Antigone’s plea to show Creon that what he has done is wrong is ery evident at this point. â€Å"So to my grave, My bridal-bower, my everlasting prison, I go those many of my kinsmen who dwell in the mansion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sophocles 892-919) Antigone believes that the God, along with her brother would be proud of what she has done. At first, Creon is to stubborn to listen to what she is saying. He later realizes that many of the things she said were right. Antigone’s influence on Creon’s mind ultimately cause a change of heart. Without her this would not have happened. Without Antigone, Creon’s fears and character flaws would not have been exposed. Creon’s stubborn attitude and unwillingness to listen to others is his ultimate downfall. If he would have took Antigone’s advice earlier, there is a chance he would not have lost everything that was important to him.

Covering data protection and sharing Essay

In my setting all information collected and held regarding pupils who are in attendance is kept safe and secure by using passwords on the computer and it can only be accessed by those who are in charge of it. Educational records kept in each classroom are locked into cupboards with padlock, and only senior staff hold the key School only collects information that is used for a specific purpose, i.e. the children’s address and parent/carer contact information. School also holds files containing staff details and training courses attended etc, which are again kept electronically with a password protection. The school ensures the information they require is relevant and accurate and they ensure the information is kept up to date, by sending letters out to parent/carers to remind them to update information since the last academic year. The information is kept for the duration the child is in attendance at the school and after which they will delete the files containing the personal data and shred any paper documents. Personal information is available to the pupils and parents should they wish to view their own details. Staff have access to the shredding machine and can use at any time, to shred scribble notes during meetings, that may not be needed anymore, but may contain children’s names etc. Also, in my setting, surnames are not written onto the front of any child ‘s books, which makes them harder to identify outside the setting, protecting identity. Some of the children at my current work setting are on the child protection register and this information is only available to the designated safeguarding officer. If the safeguarding officer has been notified of some child protection issues in relation to any child then they must disclose it to the child’s teacher in confidence to ensure the information shared is in the strictest confidence. The information the CPO holds must also be kept secure at all times (is kept in locked drawers and her office locked every time she is not there ) and it is imperative that the information stored does not become public knowledge. The data collected must at all times be kept on the premises to ensure it does not become public knowledge. If the information needs to be shared with external agencies then it must be done appropriately, by using their discretion, and following all policies at all times. As a 1:1 I keep information on my charge such as IEP, speech and Lang letters etc. These are all kept in a file in a cupboard away from the entrance used by parents. I can share these documents with relevant staff or outside agencies ( SENCo or Autism Outreach), but only at appropriate times and if relevant to do so. It is important to keep information confidential and only disclose to staff as necessary. Electronic details are password protected onto individual staff folders on the school computer system and screens must ALWAYS be shut down when finished with, and before walking away from the screen. Helen Purvis CYP 3.3 1.5 contd Data Protection Act 1998 is an updated version of the 1988 Act. It says an organisation should hold an individual’s information confidentially and not disclose to other members of the public. It also states that the individual has a right to view or amend the information held regarding them. School use the Data Protection Act and have included it their confidentiality policy and safeguarding policy and all staff musts adhere to these policies and procedures at all times. Reference : data protection act on Wikipedia accessed 13.2.13

Celebrity Synthesis

Celebrities s are not entitled to the same privacy as normal citizens because they are dollied so much by socio TTY, play a huge ole in determining the social norms of the community, and sacrificed a right t o privacy in exchange for fame. Celebrities are dollied by countless people, made up mostly of the younger g enervation, and are often viewed as role models. This makes it only right for their private I ivies to be made known to the individuals who hold them in such high regard. The way people live their private lives does tell us things that can help to make judgments about them. † (Sour CE E) A peek into the lives of their favorite stars allows fans to see how these celebrities really a CT and behave, ether than the image they attempt to portray. This enables individuals to ma eke the proper judgments as to whether or not to continue to idealize that particular star. W hen a celebrity has â€Å"lied about or deceptively omitted† (Source A) something, they â€Å"ca nnot then c nominal when the Richards 2 truth becomes known. (Source A) If celebrities are going to pose as role mod else, especially for the younger population, the fact that their private lives will have to be shared must be accepted. These stars are public figures that play a huge role in determining the social n arms of society. In recent decades, â€Å"Celebrities have become the chief agents of moral change in the united states. : (Source C) justifying their lack of privacy. People base their moor alls and behavior on the way celebrities act and carry themselves.Society has â€Å"populated [their] lives with celebrities†¦ Whose stories we eagerly weave into our own lives. † (Source C) Of ten celebrities use their personal lives to further their career and so â€Å"cannot object when others question whether their carefully scripted images are accurate. : (Source B) In order to continue t hold celebrities in such high regard, individuals must have access to the tru th behind these image sees. Without a look into the personal lives Of celebrities, society WOUld not know who these stars t rule were.People would base their lives on the public image portrayed by these stars rather that n on the character of these role models. Thus access to the secret lives of celebrities allows society to determine whose morals are true and can be followed and held in high regard. It is common knowledge how intrusive the media can be when it comes to cell verities, and hose who came into fame were well aware that from that moment on their p riveter lives would no longer belong to just them.

A Rose for Emily and Sweat

Name:Mouri Moumita ID:0920605015 1. â€Å"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,† Wilde says in the Preface. â€Å"Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. † Does the novel confirm this argument? Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached the height of his fame. It was criticized as scandalous and immoral. Disappointed with its reception, Wilde revised the novel in 1891, adding a preface and six new chapters.The Preface anticipates some of the criticism that might be leveled at the novel and answers critics who charge The Picture of Dorian Gray with being an immoral tale. It also briefly sets forth the tenets of Wilde’s philosophy of art. Devoted to a school of thought and a mode of sensibility known as aestheticism, Wilde believed that art possesses an intrinsic value—that it is beautiful and therefore has worth, and thus needs serve no other purpose, be it moral or political. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of one beautiful, innocent young man's seduction, moral corruption, and eventual downfall.We meet our three central characters at the beginning of the book, when painter Basil Hallward and his close friend, Lord Henry Wotton, are discussing the subject of Basil's newest painting, a gorgeous young thing named Dorian Gray. Basil and Henry discuss just how perfectly perfect Dorian is – he's totally innocent and completely good, as well as being the most beautiful guy ever to walk the earth. Lord Henry wants to meet this mysterious boy, but Basil doesn't want him to; for some reason, he's afraid of what will happen to Dorian if Lord Henry digs his claws into him.Reflecting on the course of his past twenty years, he confronts Lord Henry, whom he believes is responsible for leading him astray. Lord Henry gives Dorian a book. Dorian criticizes the yellow book that, years before, had such a profound influence over him, claiming that this book did him great ha rm. This accusation is, of course, alien to Wilde’s philosophy of aestheticism, which holds that art cannot be either moral or immoral. Lord Henry says as much, refusing to believe that a book could have such power.The idea that there is no morality in art, only beauty (or an absence of beauty, in the case of bad art), is the central tenet of a movement known as aestheticism, which sought to free literature and other forms of artistic expression from the burden of being ethical or instructive. Wilde himself was associated closely with this creed, as the Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray makes clear. But the novel that follows grapples with the philosophy of art for art’s sake in a complicated way. After all, the protagonist suffers from the lessons he has learned from the yellow book that has â€Å"poisoned† him.Lord Henry insists that a book can do no such thing, and we are left to decide how much blame one can place on a book and how much blame must be pla ced on the reader. Indeed, in one respect, The Picture of Dorian Gray seems to be a novel of extremely moral sensibilities, since Dorian suffers because he allows himself to be poisoned by a book. In other words, he defies the artistic principles that structure the yellow book. One must wonder, then, if there is such a thing as a book without some sort of moral or instruction

Role of the Gods in the Odyssey

Religion has always been an important part of culture, in present times and even dating back to the times of the Trojan War and before. No matter what religion a person practices or believes in the role of the certain gods believed in has always been important. In three separate pieces we have read we have seen the importance of the gods, or God, play a key role in the development of the literature. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the gods are key in Odysseus’ return to Ithaca after twenty years. Whether it is helping Odysseus or delaying him, they play a major role in the development of the story.In Psalm 139, the scripture passage taken from the Bible, God is a very obvious factor. Even in the poem by William Owen â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† God again plays a major role once we dive deeper than the words are saying. The role of the gods, or singular God in Catholicism, plays a key role, sometimes unspoken, part. In The Odyssey we see in the first book three m ajor gods that make an immediate impact on Odysseus’ journey home. Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon all are important in their own way in either helping Odysseus or trying to stop him.Zeus, king of the gods, is characterized as a mediator between Athena and Poseidon, the former helping Odysseus and the latter trying to stop him from reaching home. Athena does all she can to help out the mortal Odysseus, even appearing to him and his son Telemachus in disguise to point them in the right direction. Poseidon, however, hates Odysseus for blinding his son and tries his hardest on multiple occasions to kill Odysseus and his men. Zeus, for being king of the gods, does not have the most important religious role in this epic poem.He is mostly seen as a babysitter between Athena and Poseidon, allowing Athena to help Odysseus but at the same time punishing the people who help out Odysseus. At one point, after Poseidon voiced his anger, he turns a Phaeacian ship to stone right when it returns because they helped Odysseus return home. His only involvement with Odysseus seems to be when he is trying to please both Athena and Zeus. Athena is a very key character in this poem. She takes a liking to the human Odysseus because of the intelligence and cunning that he naturally has. She personally gets involve in the lives of Telemachus and Odysseus by coming hem in disguise and helping them throughout their separate journeys. The grey-eyed goddess, as she is referred to many times, is responsible for setting Telemachus on the path to find out more about his father, and gives him the courage to stand up to the suitors who have invaded his father’s house. The goddess is seen helping Odysseus in almost every book, most notably the last four where she gives him strength when fighting the suitors, helping Odysseus and Telemachus reach Laertes’ house peacefully, and even makes the suitor’s parents forget about their children’s deaths and restores peace to Ithaca.Athena makes the homecoming of Odysseus a happy one, helping him and his family time and time again so that they are reunited. Poseidon, god of the sea, holds a nasty grudge against Odysseus throughout the story. Odysseus, after the famous â€Å"Nobody† trick, foolishly tells the Cyclopes Polyphemus his name as he is sailing away after blinding him. Poseidon, who is Polyphemus’ father, is outraged that a mortal blinded his son, and take it upon himself to make sure Odysseus never gets back home. Poseidon causes storms to break Odysseus’ boats and kill his men, while wrecking havoc on Odysseus just about every chance he gets.He goes so far that he asks Zeus to sink the Phaeacians ship, a race of people who adore Poseidon. Poseidon holds a major grudge against Odysseus, however he cannot stop him from reaching home. In the Christian scripture passage Psalm 139; taken from the Bible, we see that God has many of the same characteristics on the gods in The Ody ssey. It is described in the scripture passage that God has a perfect knowledge of all of us, which draws the comparison to the gods of Ancient Greece. God knows everything there is to know about us and what we are doing; he is all seeing and all powerful.Much like the gods of Ancient Greece sitting high above everyone on Mount Olympus, they see everything that is happening below them. Another powerful comparison is the unseen god factor. God always sees us, as humans though we never see him, much like when Odysseus and Telemachus see Athena; she is always disguised, never showing her true form. Zeus never appears, he sends his messages in forms of eagles, as signs to be interrupted by humans, much like God uses miracles to show his presence and existence. We are presented with two separate pieces of literature that have very similar comparisons in religion.Wilfred Owen’s famous poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† actually makes no mention of religion in it, but it is obv ious to see that whatever god you pray to has no part in wars and stopping the death and violence. It brings us to ask ourselves the question of why would any god let these atrocities happen? British citizens not fighting in World War 1 thought that these men were dying heroic deaths, but Owen gives us an insight into how badly these men suffered when they went off to war. The gruesome deaths, the never ending violence and having to watch a comrade die are just a few of the horrible things that are seen in this poem.It leads us to belive that war is not worth it, in any sense, and that a sensible god would not allow it. Odysseus, after ten years of fighting the Trojans and seeing many of his close friends die, then had to suffer for an additional ten years. The men in World War 1 signed up for their own premature deaths, and there was no religious power to stop these cruel actions. All three of these pieces give us significant insight on our Common Core questions. However, it ties i n most importantly to our understanding of what it means to be human.Most obvious in all three pieces we see the â€Å"human† aspects of our lives, the fact that we can die while gods or God cannot. We are not as powerful as gods or God, we cannot control our fate, and it is already written out for us by whomever we pray to in each respective religion. We must make the most of the time and life we are given because we do not have a long time on this planet. To be human means that we must be able to recognize our own abilities, our own strengthens and weaknesses, and know that there is a higher power controlling our fate.

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management Essay

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management - Essay Example After spending valuable time at the Resort as the trouble shooter and discussing various dimensions of resort work and its improvement, with the employees and other members of the staff, listening to all complaints of customers of the once-well-run resort, Patrick Dowd came to the conclusion that the problem plaguing the resort is that of inadequate and inefficient application of International Human Resource Management. In his Report to Jim Johnson, Patrick Dowd would make suggestions in the following mode, depending on his knowledge of International Human Resource Management and application of pertinent theories to the present case. International Human Resource management focuses on Human Resource Management practices across the countries mainly in multinational firms, or in organisations where people of different cultures work. There is very little difference between Internal Human Resource Management and Cross Cultural Human Resource management as both deal with the problems posed by employees drawn from various cultures. There is no definite criterion or stringent guidelines for cross cultural management. It alters according to the cultures involved and the requirements under given circumstances, as the circumstances and situations decide the rules. Here cultural diversities are accepted and honoured, not defied, and an attempt is made not only to avoid cultural clashes, but also to find a suitable way of functioning without challenging the cultures involved. Here exists no desire to see all cultures look identical and the 'lesser' cultures adopt the ways of the 'better' culture. Today the context of human resource management is constantly changing with the new and persistent demands of globalisation. Human resource management of today has a global sense based on the new trend of global business. Businesses like the West Indies Yacht Club Resort, even though not a particularly overwhelming international business house in the accepted sense, welcomes guests from all parts of the world and employs people from different background and age group. When the Resort came under clouds, both the General Manager Jim Johnson and Patrick Dowd, the chosen consultant felt that this was a case of cross cultural human resources mismanagement. British Virgin Islands are not really called 'happening' places, but quiet places where resorts were built for people who need relaxation. Local people still are living in a cocooned culture hardly being exposed to international ways of living. It is difficult to find employees with exemplary educational background and efficient motivity in the islands. Efficient staff had to be drawn from different cultures and places, mainly from United States main land. British Virgin Islands, so remotely placed and lacking all diverse academic facilities for growing up children, and entertainment or business facilities for grown ups, people usually either got bored, or felt inadequately equipped for the future, frequently resigned in search of better pastures and none of the employees stayed for a long time. This created an impossible situation for the Resort of perpetually training new people; getting adjusted to them and getting them adjusted to the Islands. When the management heaves a sigh of relief that the new unfamiliar staff is trained enough to handle the situations, the well-trained staff decides to move and management had been frustrated on this issue for a long time. The resort was famous