Theory of Cognitive Development and Children

Discuss the concept of ‘constructivism’ (from Piaget’s theory of cognitive development). Use a mix of theory and research to back up your ideas about whether or not the child constructs his/her own development. The understanding of how children comprehend the world around them has been a highly researched part of cognitive development in Psychology. Jean Piaget was one of the first researchers to develop a theory suggesting that children understand the world around them by actively seeking information from their environment, and continuously expanding their knowledge by organizing, adapting and assimilating this information Berlin, (1992).Piaget’s theory known as constructivism theory, has undergone a high level of scrutiny, centring on the understanding of children’s cognitive abilities, and neglecting the intelligence of assistance. Through analysing current research this paper aims to explore Piaget’s constructivism theory. Children’ s development has been a topic of interest since the 1920’s, following the creation of an intelligence test developed by Piaget and his colleagues where Piaget discovered that younger children made systematic mistakes from those of older age, consequently proposing that children change qualitatively with age, Bremner et al. (2012). Studying his own children Piaget formed the constructivism theory arguing that children built their knowledge through organization (children organize their information in schemas, assimilation (using pre-existing information) and adaptation and accommodation (adapting to the condition of the environment), by searching for information from their environment to expand their understanding of the world, Beilin, H. (1992). Piaget proposed children take an active role in their cognitive development, and independently construct the world around them.He proposed that children face different problems as they move through the stages, and it is the solving of these problems that teach them and assist them in learning and developing their thinking. The knowledge they receive from solving these actions are not imitated or innate, instead are ‘actively constructed’ by the child. In this sense, Piaget suggests that thought is obtained from action, when actions are internalised, ones thinking increases. The child is influenced by their previous ideas and new experiences, and based on this they construct new ideas.Piaget suggested that cognitive structuring, actions representing specific ‘acts’ of intelligence, is developed and linked to stages of child development. Piaget proposed children undergo four developmental stages where cognitive structuring occurs. These stages are sensorimotor stage (from birth to two years of age), preoperational stage (from three to seven years of age), concrete operations stage (from eight to eleven years of age), and formal operational stage (from twelve years of age until adulthood) Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969).In the first stage, sensorimotor which Piaget divided into six sub-stages, intelligence is demonstrated through basic motor skills such as sucking to experimenting with external objects by using schemas in order to reach their goal. ). Piaget suggested that until the age of seven months (during their third sub-stage of sensory motor stage), infants do not understand that the world consists of permanent objects. He argues that if at this stage you hide an object in front of the infant they show disappointment or simply stop looking for the object as if the object disappeared.Not until infant reaches eight months (the fourth sub-stage of sensory motor stage), does the child start to look for hidden objects, which shows that at this stage infants start to understand object permanence, Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). One of Piaget’s studies that received a great deal of attention is the A-not-B error study, which he explains that if an object is hidden in front of an infant (location A); at around eight months of age they would reach toward the hidden object.However if the object is moved to a different location (location B) infants until twelve months of age would still reach for the first location. The failure to reach the correct location Piaget explains as egocentrism clamming that at this stage children fail to see the situation in a different point of view thinking that because the object was placed in the first location that that object would permanently be there, Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). Testing Piaget’s A-not-B theory Kaufman and Needham (1999) tested 40 six and a half month infants.Using habituation technique they concluded that infants looked longer when the objects were moved. Contrary to Piaget’s findings, they suggested that infant special orientation development happens at much earlier age, arguing that Piaget underestimated infant ability. The second and third stage Piaget proposed ar e the preoperational and concrete stage at this stage children understand object permanence (that objects continue to exist even though they cannot ee them) , spatial layouts and also the use of language for problem solving starts during the preoperational stage through constructing existing information and eventually expanding this information. However until the age of seven children still see the world from their egocentric view (i. e. refusing to see the world from a different point of view). At the concrete stage children are able to solve visual problems such as lining in order dolls from the tallest to the shortest, however they are not able to solve mental problems, Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. 1969). The fourth and last stage that Piaget proposed is the formal stage. At this stage Piaget argues that children can think abstractly, consider possibilities and formulate hypothesis. Piaget’s formal operational stage has been criticised by researchers such as Kuhn et al. ,(198 2) who discovered that although constructing knowledge seems to be sufficient for the sensory-motor and preoperational stage, it does not seem to be the same case with the concrete and formal operational stage since not all adults show formal operational thought.There have been numerous studies conducted which provide support for constructivism theory. Guthrie et al (2004) compared different instructional methods for student’s reading skills, these methods included a strategies instruction approach, and an approach combining strategies instruction and constructivist motivation techniques, such as incorporating student choices, collaboration, and hands-on activities.The constructivist approach, called CORI (Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction) produced a high student reading comprehension, motivation, and cognitive strategies (Guthrie et al, 2004). Similarly Jong Suk Kim (Kim, 2005) found that when students were taught using constructivist-teaching methods, they achieved high er levels in academia compared to using traditional teaching methods. Students also voiced preferring constructivist methods over traditional ones.However, one of the biggest criticisms of Piaget’s theory has been the ignorance of social and cultural influences on child development. Contrary to Piaget, who believed that allowing children to experiment and express their own ideas enabled their constructive processes to develop knowledge, Vygotsky’s (1962) sociocultural theory proposed that learning and development are derived collaboratively from socialisation and education. He argued that simple knowledge such as perception and attention are mental abilities are innate, and although children actively developed their thought rocesses through the environment, they could also, with assistance from others, reach a higher level/stage of cognitive development than the stage they are at when they perform alone. Vygotsky named this ‘the zone of proximal developmentâ€⠄¢, â€Å"†¦the distance between the actual development of a child as determined by the independent problem solving, and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more peers Vygotsky (1978)† Vygotsky’s (1978, p. 56).Therefore, although his theory is similar to Piaget in that he believes cognitive development is restricted to a limited range at a certain age, he believes that with the aid of social interaction, for instance the help of a mentor, an individual/child can understand concepts and schemas that they would be unable to comprehend alone. In this sense it questions the extent to which children construct their own environment and developments as children’s knowledge may develop at a much faster rate through interaction and guidance of more experienced peers , such as older siblings, parent or teachers, Gauvain and Cole (1997).Evidence supporting Vygotksy can be seen in a stud y by Gauvain et al. , (1997). He found that if you test a group of nine year old pupils with a number of problem solving skills (at Piaget’s concrete operational stage) and test a group of twelve year old pupils (at Piaget’s formal operational stage), and not assist them, they would show the same level of intelligence, concluding that knowledge is not simply constructed through experience but also through techniques taught by others.Similarly, Mayer (2004) proposed that â€Å"a recent replication is research showing that students learn to become better at solving mathematics problems when they study worked-out examples rather than when they solely engage in hands-on problem, Mayer (2004, p. 18) Conclusion Piaget’s four-stage knowledge development theory is highly researched criteria within developmental Psychology. The use of constructing previously learnt information into new information through experience seems to be more effective at an early age. His theory seems to underestimate the children’s ability and knowledge; however it overestimates adolescence ability.It also is unarguable that constructivism theory fails to acknowledge the social effects that have been shown to play a crucial part in knowledge development. However it is not to say that Piaget’s constructivism theory should be discarded altogether, since Piaget was the pioneer in introducing clinical methods to explore children’s thoughts. This remains the fundamental theory used in child development research. Moreover, as mentioned above, Piaget’s constructivism theory is highly used in schools, guiding teachers in how to enable children to explore their own environment through expression and experimentation.In conclusion, knowledge development could be acquired through both construction of ones own experiences, and the help of more experienced peers. References 1. Beilin, H. (1992). Piaget’s enduring contribution to developmental psycholo gy. Developmental Psychology, 28, 191-204. 2. Bremner A. et al. , (1986). Developmental Psychology. Developmental Psychology. 3. Bodner, Gg. M. (1986). Constructivism a theory of knowledge. Journal of Chemical Education, 63, 873-878. 4. Gauvain M. and Cole. M. (1997). Readings on the development of children. W. H.Freeman and Company. New York. 5. Guthrie et al. , (2004) Increasing reading comprehension and engagement through concept oriented reading instructions. Journal of educational psychology, 96 (3), 403-423. 6. Kaufman, J. and Needham, A. (1999) Objective spatial coding in 6. 5-month-old infants in a visual dishabituation task. Developmental science, 2(4), 432-441. 7. Kuhn et al. , (1982), Systematic and metasystematic reasoning:A case for levels of reasoning beyond Piaget’s stage of formal operations. Developmental psychology, 53, 1058-1069. 8. Kim J. S. (2005).The effect of constructivist teaching approach on student’s academic achievements, self- concept and l earning strategies. Asia pacific and education review, 6 (1) 7-19. 9. Mayer (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? American Psychologist, 59 (1) 14-19. 10. Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the Child. NY: Basic Books. 11. Vygotsky L. S. (1962). Thought and Language. Massachusetts: The M. I. T. Press. 12. Vygotsky L. S. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. Mind and society, Cambridge: Harvard university press.

Is Warfare in Nature of Man? Essay

War has always been a companion of man and a part of human existence. In the human history only few years have been absolutely peaceful when all peoples of the globe lived in friendship or at least without conflicts. Already the fist weapons, invented by man, could be used as weapons of war. So war can be called an attribute of humans same as mind, or ability to walk on two legs. A question whether war is caused by inborn or social determinants is, perhaps, as old as history. Once more it has been addressed by Margaret Meade in her â€Å"Warfare: An Invention – Not a Biological Necessity†. She argues, that primitive indigenous societies have no idea of warfare and puts in the Eskimos as example. So she believes, that war is a matter of social existence and humans have invented war in the course history just as they invented a wheel. Under Meade, humans have no inborn tendency to war and there are no objective factors for a war to arise. War as she puts it, is a method invented to resolve conflicts, equal to other conflicts resolution methods such as courts and negotiations. This paper is to contest such position and prove, that war is in fact in the nature of man and it is inevitable for man, so it is impossible to speak of war as of invention. It will review some of Meade’s arguments and evaluate them using academic papers, that disagree with Mead’s position. The final thesis of the paper is that WAR IN HUMAN SOCIETIES IS PRECONDITIONED BY BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS. War her can not be compared to other methods of conflict resolution, because it is not, or at least not only a method to resolve conflicts. War is a phenomena which exists as itself and does not result from necessity to cope with certain misunderstanding. References to some fragments of Mead’s paper shall be used in forming arguments against her theory. First and foremost it is necessary to determine the subject and find out what is war. Meade offers the following definition: â€Å"organized conflict between two groups as groups, in which each group puts an army (even if the army is only fifteen Pygmies) in the field to fight and kill, if possible, some of the members of the army of the other group† . The key word here is â€Å"conflict†. War is usually defined as an organized form of conflicts between groups. Usually such groups are represented by societies or communities, most often by peoples and nations. In his brilliant â€Å"War Before Civilization† professor Lawrence H. Keeley has calculated that 90-95% of peoples communities were once engaged to war in this or that way and many of them fought constantly . Whether war has been invented or not, those numbers suggest, that war is more usual than peace for humans. And all those wars have been caused by conflicts. In this respect war is a result of conflict and it’s embodiment but not the conflict itself. So, in order to find out what war is it is necessary to find out what conflict is and what causes it. For this paper we shall use the following definition: conflict is a discord between needs interests and values of people or between interests, needs and values of a person and the surrounding . War is a conflict between groups, so in this paper we shall speak mostly about conflicts between people, although it is often impossible to clearly distinguish them. At that terms â€Å"war† and â€Å"conflict† should not be confused, because in this paper we accept that war is not a form of conflict. War is not a discord itself, it is a result of discord, which is going to be discussed later. Scholars have proposed a number of theories to explain reasons of conflict resulting in war. They include psychological, evolutionary, sociological, anthropological, rationalist and other ones. Advocates of psychological theories such as E. F. M. Durban and John Bowlby argue that violence is inherited by man. The society oppresses violence as an inacceptable form of behavior. So war is an â€Å"outlet valve† for natural human violence. In order to justify natural violence people use to invent ideologies as causes for war. Some of the â€Å"militarists† even argue that peace does not exist at all and that what seems to be peace is nothing but a preparation to the next war period . Historical theories explain that wars result from certain conditions and are similar to traffic accidents. However, there are no rules to limit them and no system to predict them. However, social scientists criticize those theories stating that in most wars there are leaders who take a final decision about war, so wars can not be recognized purely accidental . However, it can be noticed, that decisions of leaders are taken mostly as a result of certain events and warlike leaders can hardly make people go to war, if they are strongly against fighting. Anthropological theorists, which Margaret Meade stands most close to, argue that war has appeared at some stage of civilization development, so war is culturally learned. Anthropologists reject the presence of links between different forms of violence, so war can not be compared to fighting animals or similar conflicts. War under the result of popular pressure, but it is caused exclusively by violent leaders . However, a question arises once again. If war is not in nature of man, how does war come to the nature of a leader? Sociologists have been interested in war since the early years of sociology, so they have developed their own sociological theories. Eckart Kehr and Hans-Ulrich Wehler pointed that war is a result of internationalized inner tensions inside the society, and the target for aggression is determined by international situation. So the basis for war is economic, political and social situation inside a community. In contrast, Carl von Clausewitz and Leopold von Ranke, who are also said to be advocates of sociological theories, argue, that war results from decision of statesmen, who react to certain situation in this or that way . This argument stands close to anthropological approach. There are several demographic theories about war. Malthusian theories speak that wars are caused by disproportion between growing population and lack of resources for this population. To solve the problem the community starts an expansion which results in war with the neighbors. Youth Bulge theory is more sophisticated. Under it, when a society includes a number of young and physically able young males who can’t find an occupation for themselves inside the community, those young men will fight for fortune outside the community . This phenomenon can be easily found in medieval Europe, where younger sons of the nobility had to leave their father’s estate, which must have been inherited only by the older son. No difference how they called themselves – Vikings, Crusaders or conquistadors, they went to distant lands to make war. Most of them just died, thusly solving the problem of â€Å"younger sons†, and some of them did receive a reward in form of money, new lands and glory. Evolutionary psychology theories see war as a result of evolving psychological features, including fear of being attacked and beliefs that only war can make people happy or ensure their future. This includes fear, that another group of people can be dangerous, that another group can be provoked to conflict, assertion, that other group is immoral or sinful or inherently evil, so it should be punished. Under this theory, the decision to make war can hardly be rational, and is often taken out of fear or hate . The rationalist theories assume, that both sides of conflicts have potential reasons for war which can be understood and logically predicted. Each side strives to obtain the best possible result with minimal losses. In case both parties could reasonably predict the outcome it would be better for them just to accept the results of war without suffering it’s losses. War requires both sides to accept risk. In case the desire to fight a war is stronger than fear of risk, the war is likely to emerge. Entering the war each party needs to evaluate it’s readiness to attack and it’s readiness to be attacked. Under the economic theories war results from economic competition and in peruse for new markets and natural resources. Another possible reason is defense of existing markets and trade roots. And thirdly a war may be caused by the desire of poor countries to benefit from plundering the rich countries . Other schools include Marxist and political science theories, however, their concepts of war remain undeveloped. It should be noted, that a single theory of war can hardly be created. Each particular war is explained by it’s own reasons. Colonial wars are explained by economic theories, and the conquests of Genghis Khan fall under anthropological and demographic theories. An overview has been provided not to choose the best theory, but to find out how each theory supports or contradicts the thesis of Margaret Meade and the thesis of this paper. Meade argues, that since there are peoples, which are unfamiliar with the idea of war itself, even defensive war, it is necessary to speak of war as invention. She states that: â€Å"The CASE FOR warfare is much clearer because there are peoples even today who have no warfare. Of these the Eskimos are perhaps the most conspicuous examples, but the Lepchas of Sikkim described by Geoffrey Gorer in Himalayan Village are as good. Neither of these peoples understands war, not even defensive warfare. The idea of warfare is lacking, and this idea is as essential to really carrying on war as an alphabet or a syllabary is to writing† . Under Meade, war is s ort of response to particular events in peoples tradition. War is a traditional way of settling conflicts in most of the world, and for some people it is not a traditional method, so they just do not know what is war. Meade’s point appears to be vague simply because of lack of actual evidence. She speaks, that some people do not know about war, but the only people she manages to demonstrate as proof are the Eskimos. Perhaps it is not a proof, but an exception that proves the opposite argument. And the argument is, that all peoples fight war, except for Eskimos, and this means, that Eskimos are unusual and they break a common rule. And the common rule is that war is an attribute of man. The described theories summarize different factors, but in total it should be concluded, that war is a response to the situation of conflict. This conflict can be demographic (lack of territory for the population), economic (fighting for markets) or evolutional (hate to others). Of course, there is an anthropological theory, which asserts, that for some reason peoples, which are originally peaceful, suddenly start to support violent leaders, but this theory fails to explain the reasons for such support and origin of violent leaders themselves. All the reasons for war mentioned in the theories reflect usual human reactions to conflicts. When a person has nothing to eat, he or she is likely to steal. When an entire people has nothing to eat, it will fight for food with the neighbors. When a person believes, that his neighbor is an awful criminal, he or she is likely to attack the neighbor in case he approaches, even if he came to say â€Å"hello†. When an entire people believes, that other people is insane, a war between those peoples is likely to emerge. This analogy can be applied to each and every theory. In the light of this it is necessary to specially consider new sorts of war: economic war and terrorist war. Economic wars are ideally explained by economic theories. They are fought for resources and markets. However, they include unfriendly actions and acts of violence. They may have casualties. So they are wars fought in other way. Terroristic wars are even more obvious case. They are fought under instructions of charismatic leaders and with concrete purposes, explained by theories of war. Reasons for the new sorts of war are same as for the old ones. They are results of conflicts. Upon separation of conflict and the resulting war, war becomes characterized as a response to the conflict. When groups of people find no other acceptable way to resolve the conflict, they turn to war. And the more organized the community is, the more organized it’s warfare is. This conflict is violent, because human nature is violent. This means not that violence is necessary for a man, but that violence is available for a man, and man often uses violence. It is just a part of our nature, whether we want it or not. In case it was not true, there would not be no fights of the streets and wars between peoples. But it is true, and non-violence in the society is more unusual, than violence. As soon as it is understood, that war is a VIOLENT METHOD OF RESOLVING CONFLICTS BETWEEN GROUPS OF PEOPLE it becomes obvious, that war is a natural state for a man. It has not been invented, it existed just as long, as man existed. The war took more complex forms, but it remained war. This does not mean, that wars are desirable, surely they are to be avoided at all costs. But even in case all wars are once finished this would not mean, that the war disappears. It will just not be used, but it will continue to exist inside us. Works cited: 1. Margaret Meade, Warfare is only an invention – not a biological necessity. Taken from: http://www. ppu. org. uk/learn/infodocs/st_invention. html (last viewed: October 16, 2007)2. Lawrence H. Keeley. War Before Civilization, Oxford University Press, 1996 3. Ashley Montagu, The Nature of Human Aggression, Oxford University Press, 1976 4. Azar Gat. War in Human Civilization, Oxford University Press, 2006 5. Fuller Gary: The Demographic Backdrop to Ethnic Conflict: A Geographic Overwiew, in: CIA (Ed. ): â€Å"The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990s†, Washington 1995 6. Powell Robert. Bargaining Theory and International Conflict. Annual Review of Political Science 5: 1-30, 2002

A Analyzing Of Cash Budgets And Hoe Its Used To Make Decisions Finance Essay

A Analyzing Of Cash Budgets And Hoe Its Used To Make Decisions Finance Essay Regardless of the type of business, the ability to gauge performance using budgeting is a matter of life and death in the business world. Hence, to make decisions on the organization most managers use the cash budget, which forecast cash inflows and outflows. Moving from organizations budgeting systems, then comes another important element for products, the unit cost. Adding up, unit cost relates resources consumed to outputs produced to help managers to make better management and resource allocation decisions. Moreover, looking at pricing, it is the most important decision that is made in an organization upon its products and services. Never the less, there are many approaches to pricing, some scientific, some not. Yet, all the methods are been used by organizations managements to become the market leader by taking the righteous pricing decisions. Besides pricing decisions, one of the most important long-term decisions for any business relates to investment. Investment is the purch ase or creation of assets with the objective of making gains in the future. This is discussed further in the body of the report. Last but not the least, records that provide an indication of a company’s assets and debts, are well known as financial statements. There are main financial statements, which helps managers to forecast and make better decisions on the organizations issues. Furthermore, these financial statements differ from one business type to another. In addition, these can be justified annually using a number of ratios. Introduction Just as there are several organizational models for delivering extension services to the public, there are a number of ways to finance those services and to keep track of the money. Financial management may be fundamental to success. Poor financial management, on the other hand, often accompanies and contributes to failure. Managing financial resources and making decisions look upon principles related to money matters. Managers apply these concepts as appropriate to situations they face in their own organizations and in accordance with the rules and customs of their own countries. Because people are more readily inclined to apply ideas that deal with practical concerns, this discussion will be organized around practical problems. Task 1 (P3.1) Case Study – Budgets Analyzing of Cash Budget and how it’s used to Make Decisions Every organization knows the significant of a cash budget and how it can be determine the future directions of its business. In fact, cash budget is one of the key components of a master budget. Never the less, it is the most difficult budget to prepare as compared to the rest. Cash budget in reality is a foretell of cash inflow and cash outflow actions, which are likely to take place in the future. It can be a net cash surplus or net cash shortfall position. Cash Inflows Operating Activities From sales of goods and services From returns on invesment ÄÂ °nvesting Activities From sales of plant, property and equipment From sales of invesment From collection of principal on loans to other companies Financing Activities From sales of equity securities (issuing company’s own stock)

Does cultural globalization inevitably result in cultural Essay

Does cultural globalization inevitably result in cultural homogenization Your answer should consider examples from at least one - Essay Example Globalization is an ongoing process, and the term has come into use since around 1990. The spread from one region to another of different symbols, products and concepts of culture across the globe, and their incorporation into new cultures are key to cultural globalization. It is important to understand whether the mutual assimilation of new cultures by different countries leads to their homogenization and uniformity of culture. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether cultural globalization inevitably results in cultural homogenization. Cultural Globalization Results in Homogenization and Differentiation Traditional concepts of culture are challenged by globalization. Culture was considered as that which differentiated one group from another, thereby identifying â€Å"otherness†. Culture has been one of anthropology’s main means of categorization; however the flexible boundaries today makes the concept of culture even more abstract. Lewellen (2002: 162) states that â€Å"globalization tends to break down categories; boundaries dissolve and once-differentiated types overlap, flow into each other, are transformed by contact into new forms, and take on unanticipated meanings in new contexts†. ... Moreover, globalization is almost never unimpeded. Nationalism, ethnicity, nongovernmental organizations, and transnational communities form a defense to prevent economic and political marginalization, cultural disintegration, and anomy or social instability caused by erosion of cultural standards. This is also true for cultural assimilation of transnational communities. Modernization theory predicted increasing cultural homogenization through assimilation of ethnic groups in western cultures over several generations. However, mainly due to global technology it is increasingly possible to maintain one’s ethnic identity through quick visits to home country by air, cheap and instantaneous communication with family that stayed behind, business networks and financial transactions both ways, expatriate participation in home-country politics, and a constant introduction of new immigrants from home country contribute to sustaining migrant ethnicity for long periods of time, and preve nts homogenization with host culture. Contemporary anthropologists tend to look for differences and not similarity, resistance not accommodation, transnationalism not assimilation. Friedman (1994) states that there are several examples of cultural devolution which are not represented in evolutionary theories. Examples are cultures such as those of Hawaii, North American and Peruvian Indians, and Congo pygmies that have lost much of their original autonomy and complexity as they are absorbed into the peripery of dominant cultures. Anthropologists agree that no cultural convergence is observable, and it is likely that the â€Å"total repertoire of cultural forms

Personeal Development Planning (PDP) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Personeal Development Planning (PDP) - Essay Example Moreover I have also observed how they analyse a candidate during the interpersonal process and at the same time make them feel comfortable. Although the feedback that I received from my peers was largely positive, my supervisors have clearly pointed out certain inherent drawbacks that I have. However, through extensive reading I have learnt a lot about effective interviewing and I have also applied the knowledge so gathered during mock-interviews that I had arranged with the cooperation of my colleagues. During the process I have realised that my technical acumen has to be honed and currently I am working on this area. On a whole the feedback from my peers has been good and they have encouraged my efforts. I have come to a decision that I will continue to read more in order to analyse the behavioral aspects of the interviewing process so that I can get rid of the personal biases that my supervisors have pointed out in me. I am hopeful that the successful manifestation of my short-te rm as well as long-term objectives will help me perform even better as an interviewer. 3. Mail from the peers – (2.3) – They appreciated my ability of active participation, multitasking & managing mails from co-workers – (2.4) – Congratulated me after the team won the lawn tennis match. One needs to have good time management skill in order to be successful in life. Hence I decided to improve my time management skill as far as possible. I feel all my efforts assisted me to overcome the habit of mealtime management. Now I can plan my schedule as per the priority order which I feel has helped me to implement my plan effectively. My on-job trainings taught me how to finish ones work in a more organised manner. With time I realised that time management is a combination of both art and science. One need to be logical while segregating the time into different activities. From my early college days my study pressure made me forego cultural programs of any kind;

Pret Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pret - Essay Example Currently, there lies the presence of 295 shops of the company in the world and the majority of them are located in the United Kingdom. The annual turnover of the company is approximately 380 million Pounds (Pret A Manger, 2012). The company formed 22 new stores or shops in the year 2011 and is likely to open more 20 to 30 stores in the year 2012. It does not possess any franchisee while performing its business operations. Moreover, the company bears a strong custom in order to develop its working personnel. In this context, it desires to invest profoundly towards the advancement of its employees by a considerable level (Pret A Manger, 2012). In the paper, a complete analysis about the various major difficulties faced by Pret A Manger that include particularly the supply as well as the demand issues will be taken into concern. Furthermore, few business strategies have been provided in order to assist the company to overcome the major problems related to supply and demand issues while performing its business operations. Impact of Demand and Supply Factor in Business Organisations The factors of supply along with demand are observed to be one of the most influential factors, which affect the business working as well as performance of any organisation. The aspect of demand is described as the willpower and the capability of the customers to buy a specific product and the notion of supply is defined as the capability of the business to deliver the various products to the customers according to their demand. In relation to the restaurant industry, the commencement of Great Recession imposed a severe as well as a sudden impact upon the business performances along with sales of the restaurants. In this regard, it has been observed that before the start of the Great Recession, the major factors that include easy financing and presence of market participants ultimately fuelled towards raising the number of new restaurants, which resulted in maximum supply which exceeded the demand (Petev & et. al., 2011). Problems for Pret A Manger One of the major problems, which had been faced by Pret A Manger in recent times, is about the investigation made over its frozen chicken, which the company used in its food labelling. It has been observed that the frozen chicken which was utilised by the company was actually shipped from Brazil. However, this aspect was not properly communicated through the labelling of the product. In response, the co-founder of the company, Pret A Manger named Julian Metcalfe stated that the sandwiches of his company are made with fresh products and the company always concentrates upon making the products with preservative free ingredients. He also added that unlike his business market competitors, his company makes sandwiches daily and they are never kept overnight. Thus, it can be stated that the company faced a major problem in relation to sustainability issue that has been recognised in its frozen chicken labelled fresh products (Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2012). The other significant issue that had been faced by Pret A Manager is about the complaint against one of its products i.e. tomato soup which contained huge quantity of salt that might lead towards the diseases of high blood pressure and hypertension. This particular issue has ultimately affected the commitment that has been made by the company in order to deliver fresh as well as natural food to its valued customers (Mail Online, 2012). Furthermore, the company might face

Film and memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film and memory - Essay Example The reaction is one which builds an emotional response among viewers to associate specifically with different events in history. The concept of form and genre in trauma films for history is defined as the type or kind of film that is able to relate to a given culture. When one uses a specific form, it is able to associate with a specific identity or connection to those who are watching the film. The category of mainstream film is one which can be used to identify specific categories and events which have occurred and which many relate to. When relaying mainstream events within the genre of drama or trauma, there is the need to create a specific relationship to an event in which every individual is already aware of. The message of the historical event also has to link with concepts such as patriotism or the main identity of the culture, specifically which creates a level of appeal to the public. The experimental or avant – garde depictions; however, can move into events with a different form of trauma or replication of history that is more historical and aesthetically fitting to a given event. However, this attracts a different group of individuals who are interested in a different perspective to the film (Langford, 2005). The depiction of history as one which creates a sense of appeal to the crowds then leads into different types of spectatorship by viewers. As the spectacle stands out with different effects and aesthetics, there is the ability to create a different sense of history that is remembered by the audience. For instance spatial definitions that take place, such as longer perspectives or close up shots, create a direct relationship to the viewer. The spectator is then able to create a specific understanding of a given event. For instance, if there is an individual who was well – known in history, then personal and close shots with the use of space are given, all which define the

Bookstore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bookstore - Essay Example The consistency of the crowd reflected that this book was aimed at an audience with a literary inclination and a level of intellect to understand and appreciate sensitive subjects like the one covered in "A Million Nightingales". Eavesdropping into low pitched conversations around me further confirmed that almost every person present there was a connoisseur of history and literature. The otherwise quaint and silent book- store was now filled with soft murmurs and muffled discussions as people bunched into groups and exchanged views and opinions about the book and the author. the ambience was very appropriate for a literary event as every member of the group was focused on the purpose. The much awaited moment arrived as Susan Straight walked into the store and seated herself on the podium after a warm greeting and a smile. SusanStraight is a pleasant looking woman and a mother of three daughters and teaches creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. She does most of her writing by hand in little notebooks whenever she gets a few odd minutes to spare. I discovered from one of her interviews that she firmly believes in the dictum that "When you read all the time, language comes naturally to you".

I project 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

I project 1 - Essay Example Besides, iProject would allow me to gain practical knowledge in the field of technology marketing, develop understanding on importance of documentation and in turn generate a high quality report. With the advent of Smart Phone technology, a number of apps are being released on daily basis with a sole aim of gaining more business (Audely, 2011) and to provide customers with better after sales services in a way to facilitate them in gaining access to required information, saving time and ensure customer loyalty and customer satisfaction (Owen, 2010). iProject attempts to highlight the significance of the Smart Phone Applications in the developing the market strategy by illustrating the new creative application technology which is Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) in this website asmaalghafis.wix.com/asma. The project is aimed and planned for completion with minimum cost and resources. iProject has two main phases i.e., short term and medium term plan. For this purpose, project has been divided into two phases where phase 1 corresponds to short term career goals and phase 2 corresponds to medium term goals. Figure below shows the short term plan The main purpose of short term plan is to develop understanding of project management and planning, real world application of the knowledge and learning gained through formal courses that would help to comprehend the main essence of the topic of the assignment. I, Asma Ibrahim Al Ghafis would be managing the entire project and the website would be www.asmaalghafis.wix.com/asma. In this project, I would be assisted by Mr. Waqas Jeral, who has extensive knowledge and experience in marking as he has been working with a number of firms as a marketing consultant. He has extensive interest in techniques and method that circumference the online marketing strategy and building online, the personality identity. We

Performance Management and Executive Compensation Essay Example for Free

Performance Management and Executive Compensation Essay Introduction In the history of modern economies, from the late 1800s to today businesses have faced ethical challenges regarding compensation for executives and its relation to job performance. In response to major economic crises during the 20th century, the United States enacted broad-based legislation measures as attempts to prevent what were seen as ethical challenges and agency conflicts surrounding both performance management and executive compensation. To understand the current issues facing businesses and regulators, it is important to look at three of most significant legislative acts Congress has passed. The Securities Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934, as well as the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 represent legislative interventions regarding corporate financial accounting toward the goal of curtailing the ethical challenges and the conflict of agency problems that can arise from performance management and executive compensation. Yet even after these laws were enacted, ethical conflicts can and still do arise when it comes to the compensation for employers and executives. Securities Act of 1933 The Securities Act of 1933 was born in response to the stock market crash of 1929. Just as it was then, companies who issue securities to raise money for funding new investments or to expand operations have an inherent incentive to present their company and its plans in the rosiest light possible to investors (Sarkar, 2013). The Securities Act of 1933 serves the dual purpose of ensuring that issuers of securities to the public disclose material information to investors as well as ensuring that any securities transactions are not based on fraudulent information or practices (Sarkar, 2013). The Securities Act of 1933 affects public disclosures through a mandatory registration process for sellers and brokers and applies to the sale or trade of any regulated security type (Sarkar, 2013). Securities Act of 1934 (a.k.a. the Exchange Act) The Exchange Act primarily regulates transactions of securities that take place after its initial offering by a company (Sarkar, 2013). These transactions often take place between parties other than the issuer, such as through trades that retail investors execute via brokerage firms (Sarkar, 2013). The biggest effect of The Exchange Act was the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a federal agency responsible for regulating the securities markets (Sarkar, 2013). Since 1934, the SEC has taken on the role of mitigating fraud, abuse, and other ethical issues in the financial reporting of publicly traded entities. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 was the most significant legislation passed since the 1930s and came in the aftermath of the corporate scandals at companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen (Amadeo, 2013). Sarbanes-Oxley created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a new organization whose purpose is to help oversee the accounting industry (Amadeo, 2013). To prevent the sort of conflicts of interest that had led to the Enron fraud, SOX established new prohibitions for auditors when engaging in consultation work for their auditing clients. It also banned company loans to executives and gave increased job protections to whistleblowers (Amadeo, 2013). Performance Management and Executive Compensation Even after the passing of the Securities and Exchanges Acts of 1933 and 1934 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, there are reasons to be concerned about ethical violations in financial accounting. Two areas where there still exist possibilities for unethical activity which could harm the supply of reliable information to investors are the performance management within a company and the compensation packages of executives. Current Ethical Challenges When evaluating situations to support ethical decision-making, one must first identify the ethical problems as they arise (Eldenburg, 2005). Performance measurements are most often measured in terms of time or financial figures – â€Å"how long† or â€Å"how much.† When selecting a new CEO, the board of directors is required to offer a financial package that is both lucrative enough to attract the most qualified individual and yet also appears fair to other ranking executives of the company. Such financial packages need to be approved by the major shareholders when the salary will impact the company’s financial reports. During an economic recession, firms may significantly downsize their workforce as well as benefits and labor rates employees receive, yet often find themselves contractually obligated to hand-out large bonuses and increasing salaries for their executives. This is potentially a major ethical issue for a company and its executives, with the fibers of the company being reduced while executives are earning more and more – even though the firm is struggling. â€Å"CEOs at the countrys 200 largest companies earned an average of 20 percent more last year than in 2009, according to recent corporate filings. By comparison, average pay for workers in the private sector rose just 2.1 percent last year—nearly the smallest increase in decades† (Harkinson, 2011). It is also not unheard of for CEOs to be forced to step down while still receiving their lucrative compensation packages only to also be given a generous â€Å"golden parachute† as they leave. Excesses like this can have detrimental effects on employee morale as the majority of the company often consists of those earning the least. Boards of directors should take into consideration the financial standing of the firm before they offer an over-the-top compensation package to a CEO. As an illustration of the contrary, Steve Jobs volunteered to work at Apple for a salary of only $1 per year: â€Å"A regulatory filing shows Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ compensation package remained the usual $1 in fiscal 2010†¦ as is customary, Jobs got no bonus or perk† (Steve Jobs, n.d.). In terms of ethical challenges and executive compensation, Jobs proved by his example that it is possible to put the company first – even if that meant earning a salary of $1. CEOs do not often have to settle for such low salaries to show leadership and camaraderie; however, accepting less exorbitant amounts can help avoid accusations of greed and impropriety altogether. Current Agency Issues â€Å"Principals hire agents to make decisions for them and to act in their behalf† (Eldenburg, Wolcott, 2005, pp. 591). Often, agents may go on to hire agents of their own, delegating authority and establishing sub-units known as responsibility centers which can decentralize decision-making and accountability. A particularly special case of the principal-agent relationship involves the executives of companies who are effectively agents of the shareholders selected to run the company. â€Å"Four common types of responsibility centers are cost centers, revenue centers, profit centers, and investment centers.† (Eldenburg Wolcott, 2005, pp. 595) Those agents who possess decision-making authority over a responsibility center use demographic financial data provided by the accountants for budgets and reviews of sales, profits/losses, value appraisals, and costs. Accountant and audit provided information is used to evaluate and measure performance, monitor the effectiveness of managers, reward performance, and influence decisions. (Eldenburg Wolcot, 2005) The audit information accountants prepare and present is vital to the principal/agent relationship and performance measurement, but also has its costs. The primary challenge presented by the principal/agent relationship concerns the high level of pressure to perform that an agent can experience in the form of the agent’s compensation. Money, as well as other forms of compensation such as bonuses and stock options, increased authority, and ownership expectations are direct motivators of challenges to the ethical foundation of agent performance. When principals evaluate the performance of agents, their decisions are likely to be based on the same accounting information their agents also used. This common use provides a potential incentive for an agent to alter, falsify, or otherwise misrepresent certain data that principals receive. As decision-making authority is granted from a principle to an agent, the agent’s performance is evaluated to some degree from each authority level. Evaluating the effectiveness of the decisions made in each agency level or responsibility center is the core of measuring, monitoring, and motivating performance. Poor performance leads to a loss of decision-making authority, responsibilities, compensation, and other benefits within the entire principal-agent structure. Conversely, outstanding performance has the opposite effect and benefits everyone up the principal-agent ladder. Conclusion The Securities Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934 are essential because of their transparency as spelled out in their objectives, and for providing prospective investors detailed information about investment decisions. Their main purpose was to protect shareholders from misrepresentation and scam in the selling of security. The Acts mandated that securities sold to the public within the United States of America must be listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Later, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was established to make sure that CFOs and CEOs authenticate and approve the financial reporting of their companies. Despite these monumental pieces of regulation, which resulted in the creation of two separate oversight agencies, there are still situations susceptible to ethical challenges and agency issues; particularly concerning performance management and executive compensation. References Amadeo, K; 2013. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/themarkets/p/sarbanes-oxley.htm Eldenburg, L. Wolcott, S. (2005). Cost management: Measuring, monitoring, and motivating performance, (1st ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Harkinson, J. (2011). Americas 10 Most Overpaid CEOs. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/10-most-ridiculously-overpaid-ceos McConnell, C., Brue, S. (2005). Economics: principles, problems and policies (16th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Sarkar, D; 2013. Securities Act. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/securities_act_of_1933 Steve Jobs again earned $1 for work. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Steve-Jobs-again-earned-1-for-work-at-A,115771

Interrelationship Between HRM and an Organisation

Interrelationship Between HRM and an Organisation INTRODUCTION The aim of this assignment is to examine the interrelationship between Human Resource Management (HRM), an organization and its environment. This essay will cover four main topics which will be discussed in detail. First part is The Strategic HRM with reference to Armstrong and Long (1994). Second part is Policies and practices with reference to Devanna, Fombrun Tichy (1984). Third part is challenges in human resource planning and fourth part is stages in planning process. Human resource management is defined as a tactical and coherent approach to the group of an organization’s most cherished assets; the people working at hand who individually and collectively contribute to the accomplishment of its objectives. Boxall et al (2007) illustrates HRM as the management of job and people en route for desired ends. Strategic HRM is an approach that explores how the organization’s goals will be achieved throughout individuals by means of HR strategy and incorporated HR policy and practices. Strategic human resource management â€Å"Strategic HRM addresses broad organisational concerns relating to changes in structure and culture, organizational effectiveness and performance, matching resources to future requirements and the management of change. Overall it will consider any major ‘people’ issues (Armstrong and Long 1994) Pak and save is best known as a supermarket retailer for grocery goods in NZ. It believes that they have a variety of employment policies to make certain that their workforce is as representative of the wider community.(Bized.co 2012) For changes in structure and culture employees usually has several options of employment including part time, flexible contracts for retail employees, job share, enhanced maternity leave/pay, paternity leave, special leave for personal development. (Bized.co(2012).It may be well argued that in many cases the human feature is over and done in relative to how they deal with people, leaving most employees unhappy creating a high staff turnover which harms organisational performance. It is then a great importance that individuals as opposed to just workers want to be managed in a way that dependable with broad organisational requirement such as effectiveness. Mainly organisational efficiency relies on they’re being a fixed ‘fit’ amongst human resource and business strategies. Overall strategies illustrate the general intentions of the association about how individuals must be managed on which potions must be taken to make sure so that as far as possible workers are dedicated, inspired and occupied. All operations regard quality as an important part whereby customers find is easy to judge the operation. As far as customer satisfaction is concerned, the empirical findings demonstrate that most of respondents are satisfied with the overall level of performance of their most preferred supermarket while others are neutral and dissatisfied. Department managers and staff are accountable for the way they communicate and conduct business within the organization. It engages the staff in learning and training techniques to improve their own management skills to meet up the everyday challenges of the working environment. Matching resources to future requirement for Pak and save is by keeping communicating support to employees. The employer develops clear goals, expresses the company’s commitment so that staff can work hard and achieve them, it assigns responsibilities such as training job analysis etc to designated staff members to achieve their set goals, and it ensures that assigned responsibilities are fulfilled. Also it provides appropriate resources for future. Management of change is adapting of knowledge to increase its capabilities. In order to keep Pak and save competitive it has to adopt strategic changes. It enables the organization to widen their services and provides the customers diverse options. It enables the customers to derive information about various products and services. Policies and Practices The formulation of HRM policies and implementation of personnel practices and procedures must be based on fundamental philosophies of controlling behaviour and employee relationships. Often referred to as the original model of strategic HRM the ‘matching model’ developed by Devanna, Fombrun Tichy (1984) shows how HR policies and practices are inextricably linked to the formulation and implementation of strategic corporate or business objectives. This model emphasises the need for ‘tight fit’ between HR and business strategies but also recognises the role of external forces and environmental circumstances in determining just what an organization’s mission and strategies might be. HRM is a top-level activity concerned with setting board directions and strategies. In this model planning is used. There is logical approach to the plan and organization of HR systems based on an employment policy and staffing strategy often underpinned by a philosophy. HR policies and activities are matched to some explicit business strategy. The Michigan model shown recognises the external and internal forces of HRM as a triangle. Management decides the mission and strategy, it designs the organisational structure to meet the strategy and mission, and integrates and organises HRM to fi t in with the structure and to fulfill the mission and strategy. The mission, strategy, organisational structure and human resource management cannot operate in isolation. They also need to respond to the external forces of politics, economics and culture. Once these have been taken into account, managers can commence to plan the human resource system. The Michigan model is based on strategic control, organisational structure and systems putting place for managing people. (Blog spot 2012). It explores the need for human assets to be managed to achieve strategic goals. Motivation and rewards are important but only as a means of achieving the organisational mission and goals. Economic forces that affect Pak and save are income, inflation, recession and interest rate. Political forces are either positively or negatively depending on the existing circumstances in the country. It mostly forms the outside factors which are a fraction of the macro-environment which controls the ability of individuals. Cultural forces are dealing with different ethnic groups of people for example like in Pak and save we deal with all kinds of races like asian, polynesian etc. Mission and strategies is the description of what the organization does. Every staff member’s actions in Pak and save express the mission statement by the behaviour and attitude in action. Organisational structure of any organization will vary upon the size and type of business. In retail store (Pak and Save) creates a variety of divisions for every particular function along with many layers of management. It has employees consisting of a manager, assistant manager and sales associates. An organisation operating ‘hard’ HRM would aim to have a rational fi t among the organisation’s strategy, structure and HRM systems. The management style would see employees as a means of achieving business goals, and employees would be valued only if their worth had a positive effect on business strategy. The hard model of HRM is much closer in its philosophy to free market thinking with the use of hiring, fi ring and cost-cutting to ensure that the human resource is fully utilised. Challenges in human resource planning Human Resource Planning (HRP) could be expressed as a procedure by which the organization ensures the right number of people and right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time doing the right things for which they are recruited and positioned for the accomplishment of goals of the business.(Mullick.H 2013). It is a procedure of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill up, and how to fill up them. (Mullick.H 2013).It also determines HR needs of the organization in the context of its strategic planning. Human resource planning is a continuous process. According to Dale S Beach (2013) â€Å"Human Resource Planning is a procedure of determining and assuring that the business will have an satisfactory quantity of skilled people on hand at the appropriate time, performing jobs which meet up the requirements of the enterprise and which give satisfaction for the people involved†. Some of the challenges of HRP are firstly, Economic and Technological Changes which is shift jobs for developing and to examine industries and telecommunications, pressures of global competition cause firms to adjust by lowering costs and rising production, growth of information technology (Thomson Business Professional Publishing.(2005). Secondly, Workforce Availability and Quality which is insufficient contribution of employees with required skills for â€Å"knowledge jobs†, education of workers in basic skills. Thirdly, Growth in Contingent Workforce which is Increases in short-term employees, independent contractors, leased workers, and temporary staff members caused by necessitate for flexibility in recruitment levels, greater than before trouble in sacking usual workers, reduced legal accountability from contract workers.(Essays.com 2013) Fourthly, demographics and diversity Issues which are more diversity of race, gender, age and ethnicity. Fifth, balancing Work and Family such as dual-career couples, single-parent households, decline in the â€Å" traditional family†, working mothers and family/childcare, single employee â€Å"backlash† against family-oriented programs. Lastly, Organizational Restructuring, Mergers, and Acquisitions which is â€Å"Right-sizing†Ã¢â‚¬â€eliminating of layers of management, closing facilities, integrating with other organizations such as Intended results are flatter organizations, increases in production, quality, service and lower costs, expenses are survivor approach, loss of employee loyalty, and turnover of priceless workers. HR managers must work in the direction of ensuring cultural compatibility in mergers. Stages in Planning Process Human resource planning is a strategy for the acquisition, utilisation, improvement retention of an organization’s human resources.(Scribed Inc 2013).It is the procedure of analyzing and identifying the requirement for and accessibility of human resources so that the business can meet up its objectives. There are six steps in this approach: first is strategic business plans .The organization’s mission and strategies form the foundation for all human resources planning. By analysing the strategies and plans managers gain a clear view of the organizations directions and to be able to find out what type of organizational skills and proficiency are essential to achieve strategic goals and planned targets. Relation to Pak and save supermarket uses strategies to attract attention of consumers and to increase the sales. Different techniques are implemented so that they can achieve the goals and managers are being guided by the store manager on how planning has to be done prio r to the activities. Secondly, human resource requirements the organization must plan how it will organize and manage the work involved. Whether it is necessary to change the structure of the organization and how the workload can be distributed. This stage involves job design, job analysis and person profiles. For example in Pak and savethe store manager instructs the department managers on their duties and the managers assign their department staff member’s duties. On checkout department, my manager instructs on which shifts I should be working and tells in detail on how the job should be done. Thirdly human resource availability – The supply side of the equation requires equally carefully analysis. It involves the assessment of the organisations current human resources stock and the prediction of movement likely to occur in future. For example in Pak and savethe stock is ordered before a day so that shortage doesn’t arise and by having available stock all the time makes customers happy to do shopping rather than discouraged to come in store. For future it shows a positive view for the customers and the job is secured for the staff members. It is the estimation number and value of customers necessary to gather future desires for the business. Fourthly, assessment of human resources needs is comparing human resources needs with existing resources is at the heart of HR successful planning. It covers internal and external sources of supply.Fifthly action planning which involves planning of organizations current human resources and its future needs which are preparations of new organizations charts, job descriptions, and job evaluations, development of remuneration management plans, performance appraisal, career development and counseling activities. Sixthly, implementation and monitoring Implementation and monitoring – The planning effort can be wasted if the resulting plans aren’t carefully implemented and monitored. HR planni ng however is not a static or one time exercise. It is a continuous process which requires constant checking and adjustment as circumstances and needs change, at the quantitative level, supply and demand forecast should be updated from time to time. At the quantitative level there is need of checking required so that the recruitment selection, development and training, retention activities and downsizing plan. Conclusion The aim of this assignment has been to investigate the connection between the function of an organization’s HRM within its wider strategy. This essay argued that the development of strategic HRM in the literature is a clear indication and also provided a literature review of specific areas for developing strategic approach to HRM. Reference Armstrong, M and Long, P (1994) the Reality of Strategic HRM, Institute of Personnel and Development, London. Bized.co(2012). Sinsbury Case Study. Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sainsindex.htm?page=15 Blog spot.com (2012). Michigan model. Retrieved from  http://paulooliveiramartins1967.blogspot.com/2012/11/unit-1-michigan-model.html Dale.S.(2013). What is Human Resource. Retrieved from http://www.whatishumanresource.com/human-resource-planning Fombrun, C., Tichy, N., Devanna, M. (Eds.). (1984). Strategic Human Resources Management. New York: John Wiley. Mullick.H(2013).Human Resource Planning. Retrieved from  http://www.slideshare.net/HARENDRA_MULLICK/human-resource-planning-10503057 Rudman, R. (2000).Human resources management in New Zealand.(4th ed.).Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education New Zealand Limited Scribd Inc. (2013).Human Resource Planning. Retrieved from  http://www.scribd.com/doc/37546102/Human-Resource-Planning Singh, S (2013). Human Resource (handout). Auckland, New Zealand: Aotearoa Tertiary Institute: Diploma in Business. Thomson Business Professional Publishing.(2005).Nature of human resource management. Retrieved from  http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/virick_m/bus150_slides/Ch1.ppt Retail.com(2013). Organisation. Retrieved from  http://retail.about.com/od/staffingyourstore/a/organization.htm?vm=rvm=r UK Essays.com(2013).The Current and Future Conditions of HRM Management. Retrieved from  http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/the-current-and-future-conditions-of-hrm-management-essay.php

The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band :: English Literature

Wide Reading: The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band For me, a good murder mystery needs to contain a mixture of aspects. Like in mid-summer murders and Morse it needs to include the following things, a good setting, there needs to be a good setting so that it sets up the whole of the story, it needs to be somewhere quiet and peaceful. The characters need to be strong characters that all relate to each other, there also needs to be a twist in the characters to add depth an mystery, perhaps the last clue to the murderer. The murderer has to be someone unexpected, someone who perhaps wasn't the strongest character. The victim has to be someone who has mystery but perhaps gave the killer reason to, so you might feel that they deserved it but you might have sympathy for, it also needs to be someone you least expect to be killed, perhaps the stronger character. And the detective has to be someone who everyone can sort of relate to, who has a slight mystery behind him or her so that even when you think you know them there is a skeleton in their closet. The murder weapon has to be something of power and something that represents some element in the play. It also has to be something unexpected like an exotic animal or as in lamb to the slaughter, a leg of lamb! Also the plot has to be thick and unexpected, with plenty of twists and red herrings. It also needs to make the reader feel included in the story so you feel as if you were there. Finally the ending of the story has to be meaningful and it needs to draw a conclusion. The killer has to be found, the reasons to be explained and the murder it self be told and what happened prior to the event. This finishes off what happened and lets us draw our own conclusions, although for a good murder mystery something's need to be left a mystery. I am going to compare the different areas in each story. I shall be comparing the following  · Settings  · Characters The settings for Lamb To The Slaughter and The Speckled Band a very different. The setting for the speckled band is in Victorian England, in the earlier 1900's. it is set in a country town, in a big mansion. A wealthy family lives in it. It is torn apart by deceit, greed and the death of the lady of the household. The back ground to the story goes a little something like this. The lady of the Stoke morans first

stds :: essays research papers

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Essay written by: "pci" STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse with another domestic partner. Usually STD’s are transmitted through oral, anal, vaginal, or other sexually active bodily contact. Sexually Transmitted Diseases are 100% avoidable. There are many techniques, but the most effective way is to have sexual intercourse with only one partner in your whole life, making sure that your partner didn’t have sexual involvements with anyone else. Another method is a condom. A condom fits over the male erect penis, to protect both partners of any diseases that may possibly exist. It is also vital to buy the right kind of condom. Some condoms are porous, which means bacteria can travel through the holes as well as sperm. A good condom would be one with a small latex tip to avoid breaking of the condom. Overall, latex condoms are good ways to prevent STD’s and pregnancy, but they do break, so its not 100% guaranteed to prevent pregn ancy or disease. There are many methods out there, but the most effective method is to have sexual intercourse with one partner. Who thought that sex would be easy? It’s not. Nowadays we have tons of diseases, which are fatal. Only some of them are curable, and some can be slowed down. But all of them can be prevented. The most common sexually transmitted diseases are: Chlamidia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes(Simplex II), NGU(Nongonicoccal Urethritis), Vaginitis, Genital Warts, Pubic Lice/Scabies, AIDS, and Hepatitis. Chlamidia is a disease, which is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. If you had this disease, you would experience bleeding between menstrual periods, abdominal pain, and painful urination. There is another term for painful urination. It is called â€Å"urinary tract infection†. This group includes Cystititis or Urethritis caused by Gonorrhea or Chlamidia. Fortunately, this disease can be treated unlike many STDs. Actually treatment of Chlamidia is quite simple. Some antibiotics, doxycycline, tetracycline, or zithromax will cure the problem within a week – a month. If this disease is not handled, urination will be more complicated due to the enlargement of the prostate gland in a male, your reproductive organs will malfunction and get damaged, and this disease can be transmitted to the fetus when a woman is pregnant. Gonorrhea is usually the cause of heart trouble and abdominal problems. It is a treatable disease, which takes some time. Usually daily doses of antibiotics will cure this problem. stds :: essays research papers Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Essay written by: "pci" STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse with another domestic partner. Usually STD’s are transmitted through oral, anal, vaginal, or other sexually active bodily contact. Sexually Transmitted Diseases are 100% avoidable. There are many techniques, but the most effective way is to have sexual intercourse with only one partner in your whole life, making sure that your partner didn’t have sexual involvements with anyone else. Another method is a condom. A condom fits over the male erect penis, to protect both partners of any diseases that may possibly exist. It is also vital to buy the right kind of condom. Some condoms are porous, which means bacteria can travel through the holes as well as sperm. A good condom would be one with a small latex tip to avoid breaking of the condom. Overall, latex condoms are good ways to prevent STD’s and pregnancy, but they do break, so its not 100% guaranteed to prevent pregn ancy or disease. There are many methods out there, but the most effective method is to have sexual intercourse with one partner. Who thought that sex would be easy? It’s not. Nowadays we have tons of diseases, which are fatal. Only some of them are curable, and some can be slowed down. But all of them can be prevented. The most common sexually transmitted diseases are: Chlamidia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Herpes(Simplex II), NGU(Nongonicoccal Urethritis), Vaginitis, Genital Warts, Pubic Lice/Scabies, AIDS, and Hepatitis. Chlamidia is a disease, which is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. If you had this disease, you would experience bleeding between menstrual periods, abdominal pain, and painful urination. There is another term for painful urination. It is called â€Å"urinary tract infection†. This group includes Cystititis or Urethritis caused by Gonorrhea or Chlamidia. Fortunately, this disease can be treated unlike many STDs. Actually treatment of Chlamidia is quite simple. Some antibiotics, doxycycline, tetracycline, or zithromax will cure the problem within a week – a month. If this disease is not handled, urination will be more complicated due to the enlargement of the prostate gland in a male, your reproductive organs will malfunction and get damaged, and this disease can be transmitted to the fetus when a woman is pregnant. Gonorrhea is usually the cause of heart trouble and abdominal problems. It is a treatable disease, which takes some time. Usually daily doses of antibiotics will cure this problem.

Foreign Policy Paxton Hibben and Henry Morgenthau Essay -- American fo

Paxton Hibben Paxton Pattison Hibben, soldier, diplomat, and journalist, born December 5, 1880 grew up to become a prominent voice in shaping American foreign policy in the World War I era. Lending his experiences as a solider, his skills as journalist, and his position as a United States diplomat, he helped bring the voices of foreign powers and peoples to the American people and government. Devoting much of his time and resources to humanitarian aid he helped in the rebuilding of war ravished nations, and the release of Japanese prisoners of war. Going beyond just governmental influence, Hibben worked to change the hearts and minds of the American people toward foreign nations as well. Hibben’s out spoken nature and inability to let an injustice pass silently landed him in trouble numerous times with the government he worked for, making for an eventful life of political and social influence. As a Harvard graduate with a degree in law Hibben decided to pursue the life of a United States diplomat. He was not far along on the path before he received an invitation to join the United States government in service as a diplomat by President Roosevelt himself. Serving the United States Hibben found himself in St. Petersburg Russia where he worked hard to learn the language and witnessed the first hand the effects of war in the Soviet nation. It was here that Hibben gained his first national recognitions in humanitarian work. Through his service in the Russo-Japanese war toward Japanese prisoners of war in Russia, Hibben was awarded the declaration of the Fourth Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the emperor of Japan. Hibben worked providing immediate physically aid, and aiding in their eventual release and return. In hi... ...versity Press, 1906. Passos, John, 1919: Volume Two of the U.S.A. Trilogy. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946. Patenaude, Bertrand, â€Å"Food as a Weapon.† Stanford University Hoover Digest No. 1, January 30, 2007. http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/6135 (accessed April 2, 2014). Roosevelt, Franklin, â€Å"Executive Order 9417 Establishing the War Refugee Board.† The American Presidency Project by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley (January 22, 1944). Available at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=16540 (accessed April 9, 2014). Stutter, Robert, â€Å"U.S.-Chinese Relations: Perilous Past, Pragmatic Present.† Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, June 6, 2010. 100 Years Federal Reserve System, â€Å"Henry Morgenthau, Jr.† 100 Years Federal Reserve System, http://www.federalreservehistory.org/People/DetailView/247 (accessed April 9, 2014).

I Prefer to Live in Big Cities Than in Small Towns

I Prefer to Live in Big Cities than in Small-towns In English, there is a well-known fairy story about a poor country boy, Dick Whittington, who goes to London because he believes that the streets of that city are â€Å"paved with gold†. The story is a tale of â€Å"from rags to riches†. Dick eventually becomes the Lord Mayor of London. Like the hero of that story, I love to take adventure in the cities. I grew up in a small town and then moved to a big city, so I have experienced the good and bad sides of both. I never thought that I would like living in a big city, but I was wrong.Cities contain a great assortment of people. Whenever I walk around a shopping precinct at midday on a weekend, I am fascinated by all the different types of people hurrying around the shops. Sometimes, I just sit on a public bench and simply watch the variegated streams of shoppers. Today, in the age of globe-trotting transport and communications, city life is more mixed than it has ever be en. Capital cities are not cosmopolitan, and eager to attract foreign trade currency. There is a contemporary English joke which tells that â€Å"you can never find an Englishman in London†.The United States is made up of people of different races, religions, abilities, and interests. However, you seldom find such a variety of people in a smaller town. I think that living in an area where everyone was just like me would quickly become boring. Whether rightly or wrongly, I love the excitement of big cities. Small towns have a slow pace. Large cities mean you have to adapt to a variety of situations, like finding a new route to work or trying a new restaurant. I enjoy that challenge very much. Another pan of the excitement of city living is the variety of cultural activities available.There is a wide assortment of theatre, music and dance performances available in big cities. These things are rare in small ones. Governments and local authorities usually build public amenities i n the big cities. Money is invested in transport, libraries, parks and museums. Often, countries will compete with each other for the best â€Å"show-case† building. Malaysia has built a skyscraper that is taller than is anything in New York. In large countries, region will compete against region: New York against Chicago, Shanghai against Hong Kong and Beijing. All of this is good for the citizen.The magic of the Dick Whittington story is rekindled in me when I enter a library in a magnificent building. If a person is at university studying art or music, a large city usually offers galleries and public performances. Even when I was a teenager, I appreciated the worth of living in a city because two or three times a year there was a rock concert by one of my favorite bands. There is one thing I want to talk is small-towns and big cities both have some problems in terms of transportation. In a small town, you have to own a car to ensure a comfortable living.You can't get aroun d without one because there isn't any kind of public transportation. Big cities generally have heavy traffic and expensive parking, but there you have a choice of taking public transportation. It's not free, but it's often cheaper than driving when you consider gas and time. Especially if you don't have a car, you're better off in the city. And of course, security is a concern, and that's one area where small towns are superior to big cities. Still, I would rather be a bit more cautious and live in a large city than to feel secure but bored.

Behavioral scientists Essay

Gang violence is a social phenomenon that has caught the interests of behavioral scientists, psychologists and other related fields. At the forefront is the fact that gangs are social groups that have exclusive rules and strict codes of brotherhood which can actually provide the need for belongingness and affiliation as well as security in the harsh life in the city streets. Surprisingly, gangs have been associated with violence for the longest time, the term gang is already perceived as negative and that at present, gang is synonymous to violence, criminal acts and substance abuse. People join gangs for various reasons but it has been found that adolescents who have been victims of abuse, have dysfunctional family systems, school drop-outs and those in foster care generally join gangs more than the normal teenager. Thus, the final project is geared towards bringing about behavior change for adolescents at risk of joining gangs and or has a tendency for violence. Before drawing up a concrete behavior change program, it is important to examine how this could be brought about by factors like motivation and cultural awareness. Motivating people to change is not an easy feat, generally, if a person is set in his/her ways, then asking them to change something that they do not perceive to be evil or negative is a futile act. Central to the concept of motivation is that the goal offered to the individual must be meaningful to him/her, one that is personally desired and can be owned as a personal decision. This is where choice comes in, when a person is confronted with a choice; his/her reaction to it depends on their circumstances and present state of mind (Iyengar & Lepper, 1999). In this context, choosing to change their behavior should come from their internal desire to change, to become better and to be removed from their present difficulties. For example, if the behavior that is targeted to be modified is expressions of anger, it makes sense to the person to change this if he/she can realize that his/her actions hurt other people and that it also causes people to avoid them and hence lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Gangs are often formed around cultural groups, that is one gang can be comprised of Latinos, others are blacks, and others Asians and or whites. Thus, a program for behavior change should also consider the different cultural underpinnings of the gang and its members, if the gang is made up of black Americans, then asking them to join a program geared towards changing them, might be construed as culturally motivated, they have to be changed because they are blacks. There is much emotionality when it comes to culturally specific gangs and it cannot be denied that emotion may get in the way of participating in a program that is designed to change them (Markus & Kitayama, 1991) Motivation is also said to be affected by culture, one has to be able to correctly identify the cultural background of the gang or the participants of the project so as to provide a more culturally relevant and sensitive program. Lastly, motivation can be defined as extrinsic and intrinsic, it has been generally accepted that intrinsic motivation is more positive, more important and influential than extrinsic motivation thus the behavior change program should appeal to the intrinsic motivation of the participants. Intrinsic motivation is the feelings and behavior that drives the person to act in a certain way or to commit to a behavior change program. Internal means that it is something personal and valued by the person, it can be the desire for self-awareness, confidence and achievement, whereas extrinsic motivations are physical and tangible like prestige, money and awards (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000). The behavior change program should be designed to spark the intrinsic motivation of the participants, thus conducting an orientation seminar will introduce the participant to the program and letting them experience how good it is to be able to know who they are, to know that they mattered and someone cared for them would facilitate rapport and trust between the researcher and the participant. If the concepts of choice, culture and motivation will be adequately examined and integrated into the planned program, then surely the project would be a success. References Iyengar, S. & Lepper, M. (1999). Rethinking the role of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 349-366. Markus, H. & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253. Sansone, C. & Harackiewicz, J. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The search for optimal motivation and performance. San Diego: Academic Press.

Framework for the Assessment of Children and their Families Essay

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (which I will refer to as the assessment framework in this assignment) is an ecological framework that includes personal, intra-personal, inter-personal and sociological influences on development. It was developed in response to findings from a programme of research on child protection (Department of Health 1995), and a series of government inspections (Social Services Inspectorate 1997a,b). Social workers often have to balance the needs of children and families with agency requirements, which Davies (1997), points out are often underpinned by a legal mandate therefore accountability is a complex concept in social work. The assessment framework provides a systematic way of gathering, analysing, understanding and recording what is happening to children and young people within their families and the wider context of the community in which they live, (Department of Health, Department for Education and Employment, Home Office, 2000); and the skill in undertaking and recording an assessment according to Coulshed & Orme (1998 p.26) lies in the ability of professionals to collect enough of the right kind of information and this can only be done in the right kind of environment. Cleaver and Walker’s (2003) research study found that the implementation of the assessment framework overall has been successful, it has facilitated joint working  between agencies having a profound influence on policy and practice in children’s services. The Every Child Matters policy initiative was a positive social policy programme in a lot of respects and a catalyst for radical reform however some of the processes and procedures invaded and undermined the rights of the child to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention for Human Rights (ECHR), Hoyle, (2008), which I will discuss further in this assignment. There have been many criticisms of the assessment framework and Helm (2011) mentions that even though the quality of assessments have improved there is persistent difficulty with levels and quality of analysis and a repeated failure amongst professionals to pay sufficient attention to what children and young people may be saying about their own needs and experiences. Parton (2010) highlights that during the period since late 2008 & the tragic death of Baby P, the focus has shifted more centrally to child protection where prior to this period the emphasis was on ‘safeguarding’, and there has been a renewed official priority given to social work to which the developments have been given an added impetus with the election of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government in May 2010 which generated the Munro review into child protection. I will provide a critical analysis of how relevant legislation and policy impact on assessing the needs of children and their families and I will discuss ways that inadequate assessments can lead to failures. To successfully implement the assessment framework a process has to be followed which requires social workers to be skilful and experienced. I will explore ways in which the assessment framework is a useful tool in contemporary social work practice, identifying the significance of risk and safeguarding with children and young people and how we can learn from past mistakes. In addition I will discuss some of the dilemmas that social workers face with the assessment process in relation to the rights of children and families. Legislation and Policy in the Children and Families Assessment Framework The assessment framework was introduced under section (7) of the Local Authority Social Services Act in 2000 and implemented in April 2001. (Millar & Corby, (2006). It followed the introduction of the Children Act (1989) which legitimises actions taken by social workers. The framework builds on the duties of assessment of needs set out in section (17) and schedule (2) para (3) of the Children Act 1998. (Parker & Bradley, p.18), and builds on responsibilities under section (47) of the Children Act which obliges local authorities to consider making inquires if concerns have been expressed about a child’s well-being or possible maltreatment. Assessments under section (47) involve a shared responsibility in consultation with other professionals. Failure to properly implement Section (17) schedule (2) meant that the broader welfare needs of disadvantaged children was overlooked so the DOH had to refocus social work practice so that child protection concerns were included in the assessment framework. Parker (2007) states that the assessment framework is policy driven and highlights the importance of inter-agency sharing of information and cooperation in working together, while emphasising the principles of person-centred, strengths-based practice. It is made up of three domains (triangle) that represent the child’s developmental needs, the parenting capacity to respond to those needs and family and environmental factors with the child’s welfare at the centre (Department of Health, 2000a). According to Parton (2010), there was an important shift under the New Labour government away from services that were framed primarily in terms of ‘the family’ to ones that were explicitly ‘child-centred’. The Every Child Matters (ECM) policy framework a direct response to the Climbie Report was developed within government and championed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in September (2003), and underpins the Children Act (2004). The ECM joined-up services for children and families under one roof; so how can anyone dispute that not every child matters? Well, it only applied in 150 local authority areas in England and was not scheduled for  implementation in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, which would lead to the assumption that every child matters in England but not in the United Kingdom. Also under the ECM framework was a considerable financial investment, made in establishing a universal child surveillance database (Contact Point) and countless areas of activity concerning children but were brigaded under the ‘every child matters’ brand. The Integrated Children System which built on the assessment framework according to White et al, (2010) disrupted the professional task, engendering a range of unsafe practices and provoked a gathering storm of user resistance, (p.405). Parton (2011, p.16) notes that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government made it clear, after its election victory in May 2010, that it was the reduction in the public finance debt that was its overriding and most urgent political priority and immediately set about reducing public expenditure. The new government established an independent review of child protection, chaired by Eileen Munro within three weeks of coming into office, (Parton, 2010, p.2); and the new government also began to dismantle key elements of the ECM framework (e.g. Contact Point), and almost consigned the enormous ECM website to the archive! ( Butler & Hickman, 2011). Research tells us that when thresholds are likely to be raised if there are limited resources, financial constraints or the pressure of increased workloads, this is a way that organisations can ration responses, by prioritising cases, (Turney et al, 2011), executive summary notes that, where children are neglected or abused evidence in dicates that the help they received from services was inadequate. The Munro review is the latest in a long line of policy initiatives in England set up to address the challenges for the state and wider society to the problem of child abuse. (Parton, 1985:2006). The review argues that a major reason why child protection policy and practice has developed in the way that it has in England arises from negative and critical responses from the media to professionals, in particular social workers, so improving the public image of social work is key to improving child protection. (Parton,  2012, p.158). But the review did not make it clear what it meant by child protection or what it identified as the main aims of the child protection system (p.154) The Assessment Process Assessment can be seen as an on-going, continuous and mutual process in which the service user interacts and participates. Darlymple and Burke (2006) explain that participation defines an activity where people are not just listened to or consulted but are also able to influence and achieve change. It is a process of what has happened and what is happening now. (Butler & Hickman, 2011 p.168), and Smale et al. (1993) highlight the idea of ‘exchange’ in assessment in which a two-way communication takes place, enabling the views of service users and professionals to be accorded equal respect. The assessment framework describes itself as ‘rooted in child development’, (DOH, 2000) therefore it is vital that social workers have a thorough understanding in child development as this is critical for work with children and families. It takes the skill and talent and understanding of a social worker to make sense of the information gathered from different sources and begin the process with the information in front of them. Sometimes the information needs to be collected again and again at the cost of the people using the services, especially if they have already given information to a social worker previously, but the process is an on-going one so in some cases negotiations need to be made with a range of people. Each child’s needs should be assessed individually when referred to services. An initial assessment is completed within 7-10 days. The initial assessment gathers information along the three parameters of assessment framework, which determines what services (if any) are needed. The tight time constraints can at this stage in the assessment framework can influence the initial decisions about where and how to manage referrals. Regan (2001) mentions that the form filling associated with the assessment framework is a time-consuming obstacle to the process of engaging helpfully with people.  (cited in Millar & Corby, 2006, p. 888). The core assessment which is an in-depth process containing numerous questions, is only necessary if it is clear from the initial assessment that a more detailed assessment is required and if there are safeguarding concerns. It uses the full model of the assessment (the child’s needs, the needs within the wider community) and the (capacity of the parents) and should be done within 35 working days. Current statutory guidance on promoting the health and well-being of looked after children (DCSF, 2009) suggests the use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as an early stage screening tool for this purpose. (cited in Turney et al, 2011). In social work practice, it is important to agree on the assessment plan with the child and it’s family so all parties are aware who is going to be doing ‘what’ and ‘when’, and how the assessment will be used to inform overall judgements about the child’s needs and subsequent planning, (DOH, 2000a). Two studies conducted by Corby et al, (2002a) who sought the views of 34 sets of parents being assessed under the new framework, concluded that almost all parents were satisfied or had positive views about the initial assessments and two-thirds felt in a similar way about core assessments. Focus groups who also took part in the study were also positive about initial assessments and had mixed views about the core assessments. The majority raised issues about time constraints and staff resources. The study doesn’t mention, which local authority area the study took place, the ages of the parents or the ethnic origins as this may have made a difference to the outcome. Anti-oppressive and Anti-discriminatory practice when conducting assessments should take into account people’s differences, for example religion, colour or race. If assessments are done correctly it will be person-centred and will include diverse factors such as the gender, sexuality or age of a person, cited in Turney et al, (2011). They also note criticisms of the child development model and that it doesn’t take into account the child’s disability and suggest that the assessment should include tailoring of templates to reflect their strengths, abilities and needs through their chosen method of communication. Coulshed and Orme (1983) discuss drawbacks to the assessment process in that they could be used to control not just access to services but also disadvantaged sections of the community for example dossiers kept on so-called ‘problem families’ or those who have assertively sought assistance, and Ahmad (1990) mentions the adjective ‘aggressive’ which is applied to black clients who assert their needs for equitable services and that white assessments fail to take into account black realities and environments. Preston-Shoot, (2003) adds that studies have shown that social workers have a lack of referencing to research and theory in their assessment reports. The components of the assessment framework requires more than just vision. It requires social workers to observe behaviours as well as gather information which can be non-verbal, for example observing facial expressions, looking at attachments with family members, observing body language etc. The message in social worker practice is clear, that when working with children and their families it is vital to have a non-judgemental manner, not to make assumptions when carrying out assessments and intervening with individuals and to keep an open mind. In addition social workers should, maintain adequate and accurate note keeping records and should ensure accountability when working in collaboration with other organisations. Risk and Safeguarding The discussion of risk and safeguarding and allocation of resources is a reminder of the power that social workers hold. The assessment framework (Department of Health et al., 2000), attempted to move the focus from the assessment of risk of child abuse and ‘significant harm’ (Department of Health, 2001) to one that was concerned with the idea of risk of impairment to a child’s overall development in the context of their family and community environment. (cited in Parton, 2010 p.7). Parton, (2010) discusses that by the early 1990s the child protection and child welfare systems could be characterised in terms of the need to  identify ‘high risk’ cases so that these could be differentiated from the rest. According to Dale et al., 1986; Parton and Parton, 1989, ‘High-risk’ was conceptualised in terms of ‘dangerousness’, for it occurred in the small minority of ‘dangerous families’, and such families were subject to extreme family dysfunctions and violent personalities and were seen as the primary cause of child abuse and needed to be identified so children could be protected. Government guidelines that specifically focused on ‘the protection of children from abuse’ was reinforced further in the only official guide on the purpose and content of professional assessments from the Department of Health, (1998) guide, Protecting Children: A Guide for Social Workers Undertaking a Comprehensive Assessment. The guide was specifically designed for social workers in cases where abuse was either substantiated or highly suspected and was concerned with assessments for ‘long-term planning in child protection’ cases. (Parton, 2010, p.6) So how can risk be identified? According to the (2003) Green Paper the risk characteristics of experiencing negative outcomes is concentrated in children with certain characteristics, and the more risk factors a child had, the more likely it was that they would experience negative outcomes for example ‘poor parenting’, ‘crime’ and ‘anti-social & deviant behaviour’ are seen to playing key roles and it is stated that identifying factors and intervening early provided a major strategy for overcoming the social exclusion of children and avoiding problems later in life. (cited in Parton, 2010, p.10) The Department of Health (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2005), following the introduction of the Children Act (1989) commissioned a series of research studies which reported an over-emphasis on issues of abuse and neglect at the expense of assessing and supporting families. The (SCIE) drafted the report ‘Managing risk and minimising mistakes in services to children and families’ in 2005. The report based on a pilot study of organisational approaches to risk management and includes opportunities for learning from safeguarding incidents. The teams involved in the study were practitioners and service users recruited from England and Wales and fieldwork was conducted in July/August 2004 from both teams. Regarding the  needs assessment, the report mentions that assessing and safeguarding children from significant harm is complex, which means that near misses involves cases where potential significant harm to children was overlooked. During the referral and assessment stage the near misses arise due to the prioritisation of cases  professional not having an accurate or full picture of what is happening decisions made by other teams or agencies The report concludes that in relation to assessing the needs of children in particular the need to safeguard them from significant harm practitioners commentaries showed that near misses were a regular occurrence and were part and parcel of the job. The report also suggested that latent failures are embedded in the system which include a lack of sufficient resources to meet the needs of children and families. (SCIE, 2005, p.35) The role of social work practice in children’s services in England has in relation to child protection seen a dramatic change. Since late 2008, Parton (2010) mentions that following the Baby P’s tragic death, policy and practice have moved in new directions and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS, 2009) reported that there were nearly 50 per cent more care applications to court in the second half of 2008-09 compared with the first half of that year. High-profile and very public criticisms of social workers and other health and welfare professionals in cases of child abuse put increasing pressure on child welfare services in the UK. (Parton, 1985; Butler and Drakeford, (2005). More recently the sentencing of 9 Asian men in the ‘Rochdale Grooming’ case in which critics have highlighted further ‘protection’ issues amongst professionals. So with clear messages from research, what is the best way for professionals to address issues of risk to children? The report focused primarily on active failures and it states that good practice is to learn from past mistakes and a key means for learning is to harness the knowledge and expertise from service users and to improve assessment systems promoting the welfare of children and families. (SCIE, 2005). Social workers also need to  know why they are seeking a particular piece of information and how to process it questioning all the information from sources, being intuitive and thinking analytically and critically. Professional issues in relation to rights of children and families and the assessment process. Jones (2001) mentions that social work assessment frameworks in general largely ignore the value of listening and forming supportive relationships, diminishing the power of service users to express their concerns effectively, and adds that social workers often have to balance the needs and rights of the child with those of the parents. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets out the independent rights of the children, but it also states that the ‘best interests of the child’ are usually served by supporting the child’s family, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, (2005). The (JRF), 2005 study examined the tensions inherent in child and family policy, it’s implications of human rights legislation for policy development and the extent to which government has managed these responsibilities through the development of appropriate policies and structures for service delivery. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), sets out the parents and children entitlements, including the right for respect for family life enshrined in Article (8). The (2005) study encourages a debate about managing the tensions between policies in support of children and those directed at parents and the family and concludes that contradictions and conflicts in policy in children’s welfare eclipses parents’ rights, and there is no consistent overview of how interests of family members are managed across the generations. It also states that at local level, Children’s Trusts might be strengthened by changing their name to Children and Family Trusts encouraging holistic thinking and making their remit explicit. ‘Although the ECHR has been integrated into domestic law through the Human Rights Act, it’s entitlements are not promoted in social policy and despite signing up to the CRC the government has not incorporated its articles into UK legislation’. (JRF, 2005) It is important as part of the assessment process and for a good assessment to keep the focus of the child at the centre of the assessment process. Although this may be a problem with teenagers who are already going through changes and many of whom have estranged relationships with their parents and families. Studies note that there is sometimes an unwillingness of some social workers to intervene with teenagers and evidence from Serious Case Reviews indicate that suicide was a common cause of death with teenagers aged between the ages of 16 to 17 years of age. Social workers need to be aware of the dangers and of the impact of non-engagement with teenagers, and agencies need to have appropriate strategies and resources in place to address their needs (Brandon et al., 2008 and 2009; Hicks and Stein, 2010; Stein, 2007) (cited in Turney et al , (2011). The Turney et al, (2011) research article indicates that there are difficulties for many social workers in making and sustaining relationships with children and with representing the child’s voice in assessments and evidence shows that on occasions practice has fallen short of the standard required. Helm (2011) writes that children and young people have clearly identified that professionals fail to really listen, not because of a lack of time, but because they focus on adults views and protect themselves from the difficult nature of what they are being told. (p.908) Ferguson, (2001) mentions the difficulties that social workers and other professionals face in such cases of assessing the needs of children while at the same time trying to engage a mother and father who don’t always want the intervention, and research shows that there is considerable evidence that the nature of parental relationships with professionals affect decisions arising from assessments. Turney et al, (2011). Assessments of disabled children raises a number of complexities and challenges; for example the child developmental model underpinning the assessment framework can be seen by some social workers as not appropriate for disabled children (Cleaver et al.,2004; Mitchell and Sloper, 2008). Children need support at various stages of the assessment process so as to be  able to exercise their own rights. (Butler & Williamson 1994, Darlymple & Hough 1995). The child’s views whether expressed verbally or non-verbally and those of relevant people in the child’s life to the assessment is usually sought to get ideas about the best way of helping the child. (Coulshed and Orme, p.26). The assessments of parents relies on verbal communication, but if the parent has learning disabilities or there are language barriers communication could be misinterpreted. A qualitative study carried out by Walker (1999 a,b) in which 15 children aged between 12 and 15 were interviewed for the purpose of viewing children’s experiences of review meetings. Many of the children viewed assessment as formal and bureaucratic, which they said took place on the adults’ terms, and many wanted to get away from the meetings as soon as possible. One child described feeling as an outsider, when adults opened their diaries and planned the next meeting without consultation with the child. Some children felt the language used was difficult, and the aim of meetings was to talk about them and not with them. Conclusion The Assessment Framework is underpinned by child development and an ecological framework developed in response to findings from a programme of research on child protection. It provides a systematic way for social workers to gather and analyse information and recordings of what is happening to children and young people within their families and the wider community in which they live. Legislation and policy legitimises what actions social workers can take when undertaking assessments. There was an important shift under the New Labour Government in assessment with the ‘Every Child Matters’ policy framework which was a direct response to the Climbie Report & the death of Victoria Climbie. The ECM framework joined-up children’s services under one roof, but it was only implemented in England, it was a considerable financial investment and established a child surveillance database and countless areas of activity were brigaded under the ‘every child matters’ brand. Within 3 weeks of coming into office in May 2010, the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government’s most urgent political priority was reducing the public finance debt. The government established an independent review of child protection chaired by Eileen Munro, which is the latest in a long line of policy initiatives in England. The new government dismantled the key elements of the ECM framework almost consigning the enormous ECM website to the archives. The Assessment Framework as a process appears to have been welcomed by professionals and service users, but there have been criticisms. Messages from research tell us that the issues raised from professionals regarding the assessment process were the time constraints and staff resources and usually when there are limited resources, thresholds are likely to be raised and organisations tend to ration responses to their services by prioritising cases, and Turney et al (2011) note that in cases where children are neglected or abused evidence shows that the help they received from services was inadequate. Discussing Risk and Safeguarding according to Parton (2010) ‘high risk’ in the early 1990’s was conceptualised in terms of ‘dangerousness’ and occurred in a small minority of dangerous families. But the 2003 Green Paper looks at certain characteristics associated with risk such as ‘poor parenting’ or ‘anti-social behaviour’ (deviance) as playing a key role in negative outcomes associated to ‘risk’. The Social Care Institute for Excellence 2005 study found that during the referral and assessment stages near misses occurred due to prioritisation over cases and professionals not having an accurate or full picture of what is happening in a child’s life and that near misses were part and parcel of the job. 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