Meaning in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Road Not Taken,

â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler† (Page 756 Stanza 1). This is the beginning of an iambic tetrameter by Robert Frost in which he expresses the thoughts of the speaker as they come to a fork in the road. The speaker faces a dilemma of deciding which path to take. Frost uses a closed form with a rhyme scheme of â€Å"ABAAB.† The speaker reaching the fork in the road is symbolism for a particular decision that he must make in life. The first stanza is setting up the situation in which the speaker must observe both choices and make a decision and stick with it. This poem allows the reader to use their imagination and is also relatable in everyone’s everyday lives. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken,† Robert Frost uses a good rhyme scheme, description, and symbolism to describe an important life decision as well as show the thoughts of the speaker as he makes this decision. The fork in the road is symbolic to a time in someone’s life when they are faced with making a decision that is life changing and one must stop and think about each one. The...

Mckinsey’s Knowledge Management

Competitive Advantage over other firms – Unique Resources and Capabilities Bower’s Vision – Development of Unique Organizational Culture First Mover Advantage Between Marvin Bower, Ron Daniel, and Fred Gluck, who was the most effective strategic leader? Why do you think so? Upon evaluating each individual’s strategic leadership ability based upon the six elements of effective strategic leadership, we concluded that Fred Gluck was indeed the most effective of the three individuals. The six attributes which a strategic leader can be compared against are listed below. We found that Fred Gluck’s contributions were more pronounced in elements 1 through 4, and where there was not enough material in the case to support any arguments for or against Gluck’s superiority in elements 5 and 6 (Establishing Ethincal Practices, and Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls) we can assume that the contributions of all leaders were similar, or differences were not significant. Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies Developing Human Capital Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture Emphasizing Ethical Practices Establishing Balanced Organizational Controls {draw:frame} Determining Strategic Direction Exploiting and Maintaining Core Competencies At one time, Daniel realized that most of McKinsey’s knowledge was spread all over the company, and was not codified. Apart from a few publications (Peter’s and Waterman’s In Search of Excellence and Kenichi Ohame’s The Mind of the Strategist), there was no way of tracking what breakthroughs might have been achieved in certain projects, or what might have been some of the creative solutions that had been applied to other client projects. Here too, the most concrete efforts to consolidate company knowledge were undoubtedly those of Fred Gluck: Gluck introduced the idea of â€Å"Practice bulletins† which were short two page summaries published and distributed company wide, which highlighting some of the new emerging ideas regarding how to tackle new projects. It was under Gluck’s instruction that the Knowledge Management Project was initiated in 1987, even a year before he became Managing Director. The recommendations of the Knowledge Management Project led to the creation of the Firm Pratice Information System (FPIS), and the Practice Development Network (PDNet). These Databases eventually became the backbone of â€Å"knowledge Management† per se – a place to electronically store written reports and documents so that they would be accessible to the entire company, therefore enabling the easier spread of ideas, knowhow, and previous knowledge implementations among consultants. The Knowledge Resource Directory (KRD) – popularly known as the â€Å"Mckinsey Yellow Pages† – was a small portable pocket sized consultants’ manual was also a breakthrough introduction that took place under Gluck’s supervision. Development of Human Capital – See â€Å"Consultant Development† above. Sustaining an Effective Organizational Culture An effective organizational culture for McKinsey would have been (or would still be) one which creates a strong synergy in employee interaction within the company, especially when its core competencies are â€Å"Human Capital† and â€Å"Knowledge†. Gluck promoted this synergy, by putting in place a structure that allow those synergies to grow. The FPIS and PDNet were important elements of that, as were the â€Å"Super Group† discussions which generated great new ideas for the company to build upon. In essence, Gluck as the leader kept encouraging and coaxing consultants to expand the company’s capabilities â€Å"mentally† also – within the minds of its employees. 3) Through application of the Balanced Scorecard and the evidence in the three mini-cases of front-line activities in the mid-1990’s, how effective was the firm in the 1990’s? As evident in the mini-cases, McKinsey was highly effective throughout the 1990’s in regards to the firm’s Balanced Scorecard. Financial Perspective McKinsey was highly effective during the 1990’s in respect to financial performance. After Fred Gluck’s change in strategic direction, McKinsey was able to double revenues to an estimated $1. 5 billion during his six year term as Managing Director. This type of sizeable growth had not been seen since the early years of the firm when it was under direction of Marvin Bower. McKinsey was able to compete with BCG through Gluck’s change in strategy and win back clients and skilled recruits. Customer Perspective With respect to the Balanced Scorecards customer perspective, McKinsey was performing extremely well. This was evident in the Jeff Peters case where his three person team was able to work with a highly respected financial services company in Sydney, Australia. They were able to have a strong client impact and added value to their client because of their access to knowledge, intellectual rigor and their ability to build understanding and consensus among a diverse management. Their client was extremely satisfied with their recommendations and believed that any failures would be due to the client’s own fault. By adding more value to their clients and increasing client satisfaction with the work McKinsey consultants provided, the client base grew thus leading to better financial performance. Internal Business Processes In each of the three mini-cases, McKinsey effectively used internal business processes to grow as a firm. In the Jeff Peters case, the knowledge necessary to provide quality recommendations to the client was accessed easily by scanning the Knowledge Resource Directory, the FPIS and the PDNet. This knowledge sharing is key in providing clients with specialized solutions and helping build the individuals. Also the constant flow of consultants across offices contributed to the transfer of knowledge. The end result of the case was the development of John and Patty, two of the team members, making them ready to take on a management role in their next assignment while still providing quality recommendations that the client was completely satisfied with. In the Warwick Bray case, the specialist promotion track and practice development was exemplified. Warwick was able to leverage his technological experience and become an expert on deregulation. Warwick was able to be promoted to a co-leadership role in the practice because he established credibility with clients and not because he had a broad-based problem solving skills. At the same time, Michael Patsalos-Fox, with the help of Warwick and Sulu Soderstom, was able to develop the practice. His first goal was to make the practice interesting to attract the best associates. Patsalos-Fox also created a practice-specific intranet link designed to spread knowledge that was more focused than the firm-wide systems like PDNet. Also in the Stephen Dull case, the B to B nitiative was established because Stephen had focused on becoming an expert in this area and developing the practice. He was able to establish credibility with his colleagues and with clients which led to more client impact. Although he was still uncertain about his promotion prospects, he was reassured that 15-20% of the firm’s partners would be functional experts within the next five to seven years. By effecti vely using its internal business process, McKinsey was able to have more client impact and customer satisfaction. Learning and Growth Perspective In the Jeff Peters case, the firm actually didn’t perform well in respect to learning and growth. The team had utilized the knowledge databases to create a recommendation that satisfied the client but they were disappointed that they had not come up with anything radical and innovative. The team was afraid that it had fallen into the trap of becoming too introverted and satisfied with their own view of the world. The best examples of learning and growth were demonstrated in the Warwick Bray and Stephen Dull cases. Warwick Bray is an example of the creation of an I-shaped consultant. He had specific knowledge of deregulation and spread his knowledge with executive clients and consultant teams. In Stephan Dull’s case, he provided an excellent example of the â€Å"stewardship model† the firm want to put in place. He had taken it upon himself to increase his knowledge of B to B and ended up helping create a new Center of Competence that provided more value to clients and increased knowledge of the consultants. What is your evaluation of Rajat Gupta’s â€Å"four-pronged† approach to knowledge development and application within McKinsey? What specific risks and benefits do you see for each of the four prongs? What specific advice would you give him to address the risks and leverage the benefits? Emphasis 1 â€Å"Capitalize on the firm’s long term investment in practice development driven by the Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups†¦ †¦Creating some new channels, forums and mechanisms for knowledge development and organizational learning† {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Emphasis 2 â€Å"Grass Roots knowledge-development approach called Practice Olympics†¦ â€Å" {draw:frame} Emphasis 3 â€Å"Six special initiatives multi year assignments focusing on issues important to CEOs.. † {draw:frame} Evaluation – NOT RECOMMENDED Adding another six dedicated centers over the already numerous pre-existing Clientele Industry Sectors and Functional Capability Groups will only add to the confusion. As it is, McKinsey is having trouble with the promotion criterion of its â€Å"Specailist â€Å"I† Consultants† where they are mostly left on their own, and it is hard to measure a specailist’s performance in his area when he is, infact, the only specialist of that area in the company. While it is getting difficult to measure contribution in these â€Å"tangible† specialist areas, it makes no sense to put in place another 6 departments focusing on â€Å"emerging issues of importance to CEO’s†. Given the changing dymanic of the consulting industry – or the entire economy given its jerks and bends, it is very likely that the issues too would change over the span of years that each of these â€Å"dedicated centres† plans to spend studying each issue. Already, Gluck’s emphasis on specialization led to the creation of â€Å"72 islands of isolated activity† which had to be trimmed down by the CPDC, this is similar to such â€Å"diversification†. Emphasis 4 â€Å"Expand on the model of McKinsey global institute†¦. † {draw:frame} Creating pools of dedicated resources that study economic trends, and are free from pressures of delivering results to clients, will definitely boost the self reliance of McKinsey on its own knowledge. By studying global and local trends – such as the present economic downturn situation or the effects on the environment, McKinsey will be able to pre-empt the kinds of problems that are likely to emerge in business today, and be prepared with a solution that is more fundamentally tied into, for example, an actually prevalent or emerging economic phenomenon or trend. Having its own â€Å"high-end economic research unit† for example, will definitely be a confidence booster for the firm consultants – they will always have an avenue to turn to if they need to validate any of their recommendations on a more fundamental level.

Nursing Constipation Essay Essay

For the purpose of this assignment I have changed the chosen patients name to Scott to maintain patient confidentiality (Nursing & Midwifery Council 2004). Scott is a young boy that is 7 years of age who stays at home, in the suburbs of Aberdeen, with his mother and father and has no siblings. His mother is unemployed and father works offshore so is often not at home for long periods of time. Scott was admitted to hospital after having not had any bowl movements for a week and the previous week having only passed two stools. He reported pain whilst he passed these stools along with anal bleeding. This was not the first time he had been admitted to hospital with these symptoms in the past year. These symptoms lead to his diagnoses of suffering from chronic constipation. It was found that there were no underlying organic causes for his constipation. The modern diet of children, with a lack of fibre, can be the cause of constipation (SULLIVAN, P. B. et al, 2006). This could be true in Scott’s case as he is fussy with what foods he eats which may be a contributing factor to his constipation. Constipation is very common throughout childhood and constipation is internationally reported to affect 0. % to 36% of children (Smith and Derrett 2006). Many factors can influence constipation in children such as pain, dehydration, issues with toilet training, dietary and fluid intake and history of constipation within their families (NICE GUIDELINES). There are many symptoms for constipation and these can vary slightly in infants and children. When assessing constipation it is important that any more serious underlying causes are ruled out such as Hirschprungs’s disease, Cystic fibrosis, metabolic causes, heavy-metal poisoning or sexual abuse. This is because normal treatment for constipation in these cases will not always be the first course of action. Constipation that has no organic cause or cannot be explained by any physiological abnormalities is described as idiopathic constipation. This is almost always the diagnosis in children over the age of one (Biggs and Dery 2006). When assessing a child with constipation a discussion with the parents or guardians and child will help collect information. Stool patterns should be discussed (NICE 2010). Less than 3 proper stools per week, overflow soiling, odour more unpleasant that normal, rabbit dropping type stools or large infrequent stools are symptoms which should be noted. The Bristol Stool Chart can be used to help assess stool patterns as it classifies stool into 7 types with types 4 and 5 being normal and types 1 – 3 suggesting constipation. Distress, pain and straining whilst passing stools are also important in assessing constipation. The NICE guidelines state that if two or more of the previous symptoms are found then the child is to be diagnosed with constipation. Any previous medical history should also be addressed, like in Scott’s case, as his most recent stay in hospital was the second time in the past year that he had been admitted to hospital for constipation. Also diet should be discussed as a diet low in fiber can have a major impact and be a cause of constipation. Any family history in relation to constipation should be discussed. A physical examination can also be used to help assess the problem and would help in discovering any ‘red flags’ that could indicate that the constipation would require further investigation. The NICE guidelines also outline methods of assessing the problem that shouldn’t be carried out. Scott was assessed using the aforementioned methods. First his previous medical history was discussed. This uncovered that not only had he previously been admitted to hospital with this problem but that he didn’t often have regular bowl movements. He was experiencing difficultly when passing stools over the previous weeks and he found it very painful which lead to him trying to avoid using the toilet. This avoidance of passing stools because of fear of the pain can advance to stool retention and further reduce bowl movements (Biggs and Dery 2006). Scott’s stools were compared to the Bristol Stool Chart and found to be type 1. On discussing his diet and during his stay in hospital it was apparent that he was quite fussy about what he ate so this could perhaps have lead to a low fiber intake, which can cause constipation. However there is not currently a British recommendation for fiber intake (Sullivan, P. B. et al 2011). Scott after finding no underlying problems for his symptoms was treated for constipation. Treatment for constipation in children involves having a clear understanding of the factors affecting the individual. In some cases more than one approach may be taken. In managing constipation the steps taken are to get rid of any impaction, to establish regular bowl movements that cause no pain for the child and to try to prevent any further episodes of constipation. Firstly disimpaction of the build up fecal matter should be dealt with. There are different methods to manage this but usually medication will have a positive result without the need for surgical intervention. (NICE 2010). Laxatives are important as first line treatment and should commence as soon as possible (Rogers 2011). Movicol Paediatric Plain (Movicol PP) has been shown to be an effective and safe treatment for children presenting with impaction (Hardikar, 2007). Enemas and rectal suppositories, although effective in treating impaction, are very invasive and can upset the child having a negative effect in trying to get them to pass stools. These would only be used in cases when all other oral medication has failed to clear the retained stool. After the retained stool has been cleared Movicol PP is often used for month after to help maintain regular bowl movements. The NICE guidelines recommend that this may take several months and in some cases children may require laxative therapy for several years to prevent relapse. Family education is important in the maintenance of healthy bowl movements and also education of the child if he or she is old enough. Dietary and behavioral advise can be given to help the parents or guardians to understand why the child has had a problem with passing stools. Dietary changes such as increasing fiber intake and generally maintaining a healthy diet is often advised. This as well as encouraging drinking water regularly is usually advised to prevent dehydration, which can be a cause of constipation. (Rogers 2011). Another important issue to be addressed is toileting habits. Toileting after meals should be encouraged and the childs’ comfort on the toilet should also be addressed to reduce straining. Regular exercise can also have a positive affect in maintaining healthy bowels. Poor follow up on patients progress is a main reason for failure in treatment which is why nurses can be invaluable in ensuring success of treatment and management of children with constipation (Burnett et al, 2004). Scott was treated during his stay in hospital with Movicol PP however this in itself presented a problem, as he was very reluctant to drink it because he really didn’t like the taste. This was dealt by rewarding him when he drank all of his medication using a sticker chart as a visual encouragement. Also the nurses would play games with him surrounding drinking his Movicol to give him a positive view of drinking it to try to stop him thinking about the unpleasant taste. This worked successfully and Scott was soon drinking it with little encouragement. Scott’s stools were monitored to ensure returning o normal and drinking plenty of fluids was encouraged. The nurses tried to educate his parents on why this had happened and how to prevent it happening in the future. When his stools became less painful to pass he became less frightened to use the toilet, his fear being a main reason of his fecal impaction. Scott although living with both his parents he was normally cared for by his mother as his father worked offshore so was away for long periods of time. Scott was confident around other children in the ward but around his mother became slightly reserved. On discussion with Scott and his mother it was found that she would sometimes get frustrated with him when he wouldn’t go to the toilet and when he experienced overflow soiling which was something, which was out of his control. This would be a stressful environment for Scott, which could have worsened the situation as well as affect his mental health. Another main factor affecting Scott’s health is his diet. He didn’t eat as much as he should and when he did eat he would prefer to eat sweets and snacks rather than proper meals. This issue was addressed with his mother. Scott was kept in hospital longer due to child protection issues that were raised by a nurse regarding his mother. These issues were resolved but the negative interactions between Scott and his mother would have a serve impact on his mental health. A positive factor influencing Scott’s general health was that he was very outgoing and did well in school, which was a boost to his self-esteem. He talked of achievements in school and how well he got on with his classmates. Scott is quite an intelligent boy so educating him on things he could do to help himself not have to experience this problem again was easy to do. Scott saw his father as a role model so he would have a great part to play in Scott’s health. His father could support him in managing the problem. His family being supportive is important, as punishing Scott for the issues surrounding his constipation would only worsen the problem. Scott got quite emotional and had very negative thoughts surrounding using the toilet. These could be related to early life when he was toilet trained and be a contributing factor to his constipation.

PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN Essay

How you adapt your practice to meet the health and physical development needs of children, taking into account age, gender, ethnicities, individual needs and abilities In my setting I help to promote children’s health and physical development through daily routines and activities. In all my activities I have in mind that children are individual. I also make use the term â€Å"one size fits all† approach to do my planning. When planning I put into consideration, the age, gender, ethnicities, experience, ability and the specific needs of each child. I aim to give all children in the setting the opportunity to succeed and reach their highest level of personal achievement. I analyse the attainment of different groups of children to ensure that all children are achieving as much as they can. I also make ongoing assessments of each child progress. Other things that I put into consideration to help me achieve my aim are; layout, safety of equipment eg: not too many small piece s, Cleaning rota, flooring-carpet, laminated flooring for easy clean, toys and equipment that challenges children I also consider children cultural/religious practices eg: some clothes worn such as sari’s can be difficult for PE, Adult ratio, dietary needs, training of staff-health and safety, health and hygiene, SchoolSAFE etc., access-are doors suitable for mobility aids. The type of indoor and outdoor activities that will encourage balance, co-ordination, gross and fine motor skills, manipulative skills and hand/eye co-ordination In my setting, I make use of environment and resources. I encourage children of all ages to play together happily because I understand the benefits of different types of play and I help children to experience play that will support their overall development. ACTIVITY BALANCE AND COORDINATION GROSS AND FINE MOTOR SKILLS HAND-EYE COORDINATION Push-and-pull toys, e.g. having dolly in a buggies Climbing, frames, slides Drawing and marks making with crayon, chalks, pencils Jigsaws and puzzles Pretend play i.e making tea, or cooking Self dressing, including buttoning and unbuttoning own clothing Riding bike and scooters Kicking,throwing and catching a ball Dancing and moving to music Walking, Running, jumping and skipping Threading and needling Play dough Computer moving the mouse Water and sand play Cutting with scissor Standing, Hopping In what circumstances you might change routines or activities, how you would adapt existing or planned activities or routines. It is very important to actively plan to meet children’s need because there is otherwise a real danger that some children’s needs might be overlooked, so in my setting I put this into consideration. Activities are usually planned with a group of children in mind, with regards to individual needs. However routines and activities could be changed if the children became bored or I run out of resources. I always have the thought about how an activity could be extended or adapted if needed at the last minute. In my setting all activities and areas of the setting are accessible to all children, there are also sufficient space between furniture and activities that allow free movement around the classroom. What the organisation’s policies and practices are regarding risk assessment and safety and why it is important to follow these? Risk assessment is about being aware of potential dangers in the children’s environment and then taking step to minimise the risk. Risk assessments must be carried out in order to identify hazards and find out the safest way to perform certain tasks and procedures. In my setting, I have a list of what and where to carry out the risk assessment so I carried out this risk assessment every morning. I follow my setting policies and practices regarding risk assessment and safety because it is important to makes my settings safe places for children. What is meant by challenging activities for individual babies and children and the link between challenging activities and developmental progress. How you encourage children to extend their range or skills and achievements. In my setting I always encourage all children of all ages and gender to increase their range or explore the range of their movement and limits of their bodies. This is achieving by: I join the children in some activities  e.g play with ball and making play dough I encourage both boys and girls to join in all activities, individually and together I make sure all children have a go, they take turn I make sure all children have equal access. I give them praise and encouragement when they perform new skill e.g well done or clapping. And at time give them award inform of sticker. K2D293 How to provide opportunities for children to rest and recover from physical activity and why this is important In my setting after physical activity I make sure children have opportunities to have a drink of water Sit down quietly or lie down in the quiet/book corner. This is because they need to catch their breath, slow their heart rates, rest their muscles and generally recharge their batteries. In my setting I also follow a routine that encourages children to relax or rest. It is important for babies, toddlers and young people to rest because it will help the growth and development, and it will help them to relax their brain. How to carry our risk assessment that takes all reasonable precautions without restricting opportunities for development; how organisational policy can support this. The government’s guidelines on healthy eating and nutrition for children and why it is important that these are followed by childcare practitioners As a practitioner it is important to follow the government’s guidelines on healthy eating and nutrition for children, so in my setting as am the one in charge of cooking and preparing snacks for children, I have recently renew my food and hygiene certificate. I make sure that healthy and nutritious food is prepared for the children as I know it is illegal to purposefully contaminated food. The nutritional needs of babies and young children differ according to their age, religion and dietary. There has been a huge amount of research into the problems of childhood obesity- caused by a combination of eating too much especially fatty and sugary food. Lots of snack between meals with little or not enough physical exercise, it has been proven beyond doubt that diet and physical activity in a child’s early years can affect health in later life. There are some guidelines for a healthy diet: Enjoy your food Eat a variety of different foods Eat the right amount to maintain a healthy weight Eat plenty of food rich in starch and fibre Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables Do not eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat Do not have sugary foods and drinks too often In my setting I try as much as possible to follow these guidelines. K2D296 What are appropriate foods to give to children, what foods are unsuitable and why Link to K2D295 K2D297 Special dietary requirements and food preparation, related to culture, ethnicity or religious beliefs In my setting as a child is registered I find out if the child has any specific dietary requirements sot that I can meet the child’s needs whilst still promoting a healthy diet. Children’s dietary requirements are often determined by their family, culture, ethnicity or religious beliefs. Christians may give up certain foods for Lent Jews may not eat pork or shellfish etc. Muslims my breast-fed until the age of two years and may not eat pork or pork products. Sikhs may be vegetarian or eat only chicken, lamb or fish  Hindus may eat no beef or be vegetarian and my drink no alcohol Why it is important that all dietary information is documented and shared with others e.g. food allergies In my setting information about all dietary is documented and shared with other staff in order to avoid any mistake as any mistake made could cause serious harm to the child’s health. Information about children’s allergies to food and drink are regularly updated in my setting. This is always discussed with parents when a child is admitted. How you can encourage healthy eating practices in children In my setting I make children to be aware of healthy foods and how good they are for their bodies. I get them involved in their food as soon as they show an interest. Introduce lots of foods with different tastes and textures East as a group as much as possible, as it will encourage children to enjoy mealtime Introduce children to multicultural healthy foods that are new and interesting Introduce children to exotic fruits and vegetables that are new and interesting Involve children in shopping and preparing healthy foods. Make myself a role model, by drinking water at all time and eating fruit and vegetable also. The need for good oral hygiene and how and why this can be encouraged In my setting, I encourage children to look after their teeth by: Brushing their teeth every morning and night Avoid sweetened drinks at any age Drinking plain water after meals Diet with plenty of calcium, fluoride, vitamins A, C and D and food that need chewing. Regularly visit to the dentist as soon as teeth appear. Principles of cross infection and basic food hygiene In my setting, I make sure children wash their hands, before and after eating, when they go to toilet they washes their hands. As the children washed their hand there is a particular song I thought them, â€Å"This is the way we wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands, this is the way we wash our hands all day long. Correct disposal of different types of waste according to procedures and why this is required In my setting, in several occasion I have to dispose of bodily waste like vomit, urine and faeces. I make sure this are disposed of correctly in order to avoid contamination of surfaces and materials that are used to prepare food, or that children work on. I always wear disposable gloves and apron when dealing with waste I make sure I dispose waste promptly and in the appropriate bin. I always wipe surfaces that waste has been in contact with, by using the correct fluids and cloths. I dispose of my gloves and apron and wash my hands thoroughly after dealing with waste Activities that can be undertaken by children to raise awareness of their own bodies and their health needs, according to their age, gender, needs and abilities In my setting I make sure children are aware of their own bodies at the same time teach them how to look after their body to keep them healthy and safe. This is an ongoing process for children because their bodies are changing and developing all the time. Children benefit from understanding that in order to grow and develop their body needs healthy food, water, exercise, rest and to be cared for in a hygienic way. Furthermore all children experience times when they feel unwell. I also provide activities in accordance with children’s age, gender, needs and abilities. Songs singing during circle time involving all the part of the body like ‘head shoulders, knees and toes’†¦.. Having a discussion about the theme ‘All about me’ this encourage children to focus on themselves and their bodies H olding food-tasting events for new healthy food. Pretend play, e.g. doctor and patient Details of health surveillance of children and young people, the role of immunisations and information on regimes for children Heath surveillance can be describe as close supervision or observations that are primarily carried out to detect any problems with a child or young person’s development with the aim of getting them the appropriate support and treatment in future. Child health surveillance should be carried out in partnership with the parent as they are the experts and the best people to identify health, developmental and behavioural problems in their own children. It is a positive experience for parents. In my setting, we always ask parent if they are up-to-date with their children immunisation and further explain to them the important of immunisation. Immunisation is to protect children from diseases that are very serious and could result to death or serious handicaps. It also protects children by preventing diseases from being passed on. Age immunisation is given Diseases protected against Name of vaccine Two months old Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Pneumococcal infection DTaP/IPV/Hib Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, (PCV) Three months old Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Meningitis C DTaP/IPV/Hib MenC Four months old Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Meningitis C; Pneumococcal infection DTaP/IPV/Hib MenC PCV Around 12 months old Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) Meningitis C Hib/MenC Around 13 months old Measles, mumps and rubella Pneumococcal infection MMR PCV Three years and four months or soon after Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio Measles, mumps and rubella DTaP/IPV or dTaP/IPV, MMR 13 to 18 years old Diphtheria, tetanus, polio Td/IPV 12 to 18 years old (girls only) Human papilloma virus (HPV) – increases the risk of cervical cancer HPV In addition, some babies in high-risk groups are given a BCG immunisation for protection against tuberculosis shortly after they are born. Higher risk infants may also receive immunisation against Hepatitis B. Your doctor/health visitor will give you more information if your child needs these immunisations. How chronic illnesses may affect physical development and how to access further information and support about particular conditions Children with chronic illness may be physical affected. The get tired quickly and so miss out on some activities. I need to keep track of children’s participation in the setting so as to know if they have missed key activities. But children who have chronic illnesses and physical difficulties are given opportunities to join in fully with all discussions and activities. I get support and information from the child’s parent/career as they will be  well informed, I can also search through internet, support groups and health organisation or Libraries.

Epistemology Vocabulary

Epistemology: The branch of philosophy that investigates the nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge. Rationalism: The position that reason alone, without the aid of sensory info, is capable of arriving at some knowledge, at some undeniable truths. Empiricism: the position that knowledge has its origins in and derives all of its content from experience. Idealism: in metaphysics, the position that reality is ultimately non matter; in EPISTEMOLOGY, the position that all we know is our ideas.Transcendental Idealism: in epistemology, the view that the form of our knowledge of reality derives from reason but its content comes from our senses. A Priori: pertaining to knowledge that is logically prior to experience; reasoning on based such knowledge. A Posteriori: pertaining to knowledge stated in empirically verifiable statements; inductive reasoning. Perception: The act or process by which we become aware of things. Sense Data: Images or sensory impressions.Primary Qualiti es: According to Locke, qualities that inhere in an object: size, shape, weight and so on. Secondary Qualities: According to Locke, qualities that we impose on an object: colour, smell, texture and so on. Solipsism: An extreme form of subjective idealism, contending that only I exist and that everything else is a product of my subjective consciousness. Skepticism: In epistemology, the view that varies between doubting all assumptions until proved and claiming that no knowledge is possible. Analytic Judgment:Sumum Bonum: Phenomenalism: The belief, associated with Kant, that we can know only appearances (phenomena) and never what is ultimately real (noumena); that the mind has the ability to sort out sense data and provide relationships that hold among them. Induction reasoning: also know as inductionism, induction. The process of reasoning to probable explanations and judgments. Hypothesis: in general, an assumption, statement, or theory of explanation, the truth which is under inves tigation. Hypothetical Method: Paradigm:Pseudoscience: Correspondence Theory of Truth: A theory contending that truth is an agreement between a proposition and a fact. Coherence Theory of Truth: A theory contending that truth is a property of a related group of consistent statements. Pragmatism: the philosophical school of thought, associated with Dewey, James, and Pierce, that tires to mediate between idealism and materialism by rejecting all absolute first principles, tests truth through workability, and views the universe as pluralistic. Pragmatic Theory of Truth:Relativism: the view that human judgment is conditioned by factors such as acculturation and personal bias. Tabula Rasa: Egocentric Predicament: Categorical Imperative: Immanuel Kant’s ethical formula: ast as if the maxim (general rule by which you act) could be willed to become a universal law; the belief that what is right for one person is also right for everyone in similar circumstances. Kant’s Categori es Locke’s theory: Thomistic Terms Realism: the doctrine that the objects of our senses exist independently of their being experienced. Critical Realism: Transcendental Realism:

Critically Assess Geert Hofstede’s Use of Cultural Dimensions

ABSTRACT: Along with the trend toward globalization, communication across cultural and national boundaries has a significant effect on business. The Dutch management researcher Geert Hofstede’s work of culture dimensions is regarded as an approach to measure inter-cultural differences to business for scholars and practitioners. However, such a significant work does not escape criticism. Even though his theory consummates to six dimensions based on varies datum and is widely applied by many academics, McSweedney and many specialists assert his work as an absolute assumption.INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, the country boundaries are shaped by the spread of global communication networks and the development of transportation. Because of globalization, countries are tied closer than ever before. Since the beginning of 1970s, scholars such as Geert Hofstede started to notice the importance of cultural differences for many aspects of business life, in particular, when business related to com municate between people with different cultures. Hofstede (http://geert-hofstede. com/dimensions. html) claimed that â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy.Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster. † Such conflicts are determined by the people’s perception which is partly the product of culture. Therefore, in order to avoid the conflict caused by culture, it is important to recognise cultural differences under global business environment. Hofstede’s cultural framework provides a guideline to recognize the differences between cultures and may improve the inter-cultural communication in business area. However, his work is critiqued by scholars and researchers as an unreliable framework.This essay firstly outline Hofstede’s cultural framework briefly and then apply his theory into practical situation to access whether it can improves the inter-cultural communication in the workplace. Afterwards, it will criti que the limitations based on the literatures opposite to Hofstede’s viewpoint. HOFSTEDE’S MODEL: Geert Hofstede’s work is ground-breaking and he himself is considered as the pioneer and pathfinder in inter-cultural study(Bond, 2002 and Sondergaard 1994). He described his significant research result based IBM employees’ attitudes and work-related values around the world.In the past 30 years, he persists to refine his theory from the previous four to six dimensions: Power distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty avoidance and Long-term orientation, and Indulgence versus Restraint (Hofstede et al, 2010). In his book, each country is evaluated by scores on every dimension, thus people can take an insight into the cultural differences by comparing countries’ scores. Power distance (PDI) is defined as that, to what degree people can perceive the unequal power distribution in a society.PDI scores, deriving fr om value of the less powerful people, indicate the level to which members accept power inequality. A low score demonstrates that members of the society prefer equality; whereas a country has a high PDI score means that people accept large power differences. Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV) is the dimension relating to how people ties to others within the community. Individualism pertains to societies whose members tie loosely and concern about themselves and their immediate family. On the contrary, in collectivistic countries people belong to strong and cohesive group.Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS) refers to whether emotional gender roles are distinct or overlap. In masculine societies men are supposed to behave ‘assertive, competitive and tough’, on the contrary, women are supposed to be ‘modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life’ (Hofstede, 2010: 140). Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) related to extent to which members handle anxiety w ith ambiguous and unknown situations. Strong UAI Countries maintain â€Å"rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas†.Countries exhibiting weak UAI encourage practice than principles with a more relaxed attitude. Long-term versus Short-term orientation (LTO) deals with which kind of value is fostered. This dimension is based on Bond’s World Values Survey on â€Å"Confucian dynamism†. Long-term oriented countries foster virtues such as perseverance and thrift for future rewards, whereas short-term orientation focuses on rewards in the present and the past, which means particularly ‘respect for tradition, preservation of ‘face’, and fulfilling social obligations’ (Hofstede, 2010: 239).Indulgence versus Restrain is linked to happiness. An indulgent society permits ‘relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun’ (http://geert -hofstede. com/dimensions. html). On the contrary, restraint countries use strict social norms to control gratification of needs and regulates. Application As the world becomes globalized, to remain competitive and minimize conflicts which are the result of ignoring cultural differences, companies should not adopt an ethnocentric management mode to different cultural staff.To minimize these conflicts, many scholars and practitioners utilize Hofstede’s work of cultural dimensions as a means to narrow the cultural gap in business. One reason why his framework is widely adopted is that his data are collected from varies companies and the fifth dimension is based on ‘Confucian dynamism’. Thus, to access its practical applicability to decrease the negative aspect of cultural differences and to elevate cross-cultural communication level, it is important to apply Hofstede’s work into real cases.Since the late 2009, the famous Japanese auto-maker Toyota struggled into an unprecedented crisis due to pedal quality problems which led Toyota to its historical largest recall in the world. The Economist (Feb. 6, 2010) commented that safety recall is a common issue in vehicle manufacture but Toyota changed the order. In the process of managing crisis, Toyota acted according to Japanese culture without taking the American cultural values into account. It can be said that one reason deteriorates the normal recall cars to a crisis is the ignorance of cultural differences.Some literatures analyse the cultural aspect affecting the crisis and group them into two main points (Feng, 2010, Huang, 2010). Firstly, the Japanese management mode and organizational behaviour is different from American. As a result of the Japanese organizational culture, Toyota responded slowly after the accident. It is reported that on American time 28th August 2009, a Lexus ES 350 caused a fatal crash due to the gas pedal was stuck and the car was out of control (Los Angeles Tim es, Oct. 25, 2009). Yet Toyota did not respond to the accident immediately.US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that documents show that Toyota knew of the problem in late September but did not give response until late January, moreover, â€Å"they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from US officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families† (Thomas, 2010). The second reason is the different communication behaviours between Japan and the U. S. A. In the American hearing and variety interviews, Akio Toyota, the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, spoke implicative, tactful and modest with a large number of modest words without any directly answers (Huang, 2010).In addition, Akio Toyota’s behaviours are understood as hiding the truth by American people. According to Hofstede’s framework, Western culture, represented by the U. S. A. , and such Japanese Eastern culture have significantly differences. The magnitude of the differences has been directly described in ways. See from the figure 1. 1. Figure 1. 1 Japan and the U. S. A It is obvious that there exist large differences between Japan and the United States. One of the most telling to explain the crisis can be the collectivist versus individualist dimension.The fundamental issue related to IDV is the extent of connection between individuals and the group (Hofstede, 1980). From the data provided by Hofstede, Japan, at a score of 46 on a scale of 1 to 100, is a collectivist society, whose group allegiances are strong, cohesive and invoke higher authority. The individuals adhere to the entity and preserve harmony. Thus the Toyota North American office was been called a â€Å"little safety deaf† by LaHood (CBC news, Feb, 2010). The North American office need invoked by the highest authority to handle the accident and the applicable proposal must pass through the whole company.Nevertheless, this system is not adaptable in handling probl ems in America. According to Hofstede, Toyota needs to handle the problem immediately rather than make a long-term agreement. Meanwhile, the high power distance (Japan 54) can be used to analysis the slow response. Japan is a more centralized decision country, and it is therefore all the command should be endorsed by the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda. Because only the CEO can respond to the allegations, the response to the event was hauled in respect to the stakeholders living in a country that has only 40 in the index.As mentioned before, the official recall and apologize came four months later after the car accident has been reported. Yet the stakeholders demanded immediate response to the accident from Toyota regardless from the CEO or other representative. Moreover, during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, in response to why Toyota responded so slow, Toyoda claimed that do not answered directly but reiterates his plan to set up a g lobal commission to address complains more quickly (CNN Politics, Feb. 24, 2010).This phenomenon can adopt Hofstede’s fifth dimension, long- term versus short-term orientation to demonstrate the inevitability of this divergence. Hofstede himself defines long-term orientation as ‘the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards' (Hofstede 2010: 239), which means that high long-orientation scores countries (Japan 80) pay more attention to the things that will benefit the future whereas low score countries tend to focus on nearby benefits or rewards. Jealous writes, â€Å"In America, we ultimately judge people on what they are doing today for tomorrow, not for what they did yesterday. (CNN Politics, Feb. 24, 2010). In the hearing, American part were expected that Toyota undertake their obligations by providing continuous plans to the stakeholders. Akio did not account for this and responded indirectly to the solution to the current accident therefore caused Americ ans the disgusted and suspected feeling. Consequently, if Toyota can notice the cultural differences and adopt Hofstede's theory to handle the problem in their American market in the bud, the common recall would not exacerbate American people and became a crisis which will threaten its reputation. CRITIQUE:Culture is deeply rooted in many aspects of business life when people must interact with the people such as suppliers, buyers, employees or stakeholders. The case of Toyota crisis demonstrates that Hofstede’s framework of cultural dimensions is practical to uncover these conflicts in cross-cultural communication. If people could realize the cultural differences concluded by Hofstede and take proper communication style and management mode, the fate of Toyota might be changed. However, the framework cannot act as a textbook to interpret the whole cultural gap even in the case of Toyota crisis.Many intercultural researchers criticized Hofstede’s theory for not providing valuable guiding intelligence or regard it as absolute assumptions. Hofstede did not mention the impact of linguistic on the communication. Different languages and contents have objectively impact on the understanding of the conversation. Take the US-based 3M Company as an example. The company earns $7 billion per year in their overseas market, it become the â€Å"forefront of language instruction by sponsoring an in-house Language Society that provides linguistic and cultural support† to 3M (Frey-Ridgway, 1997).Freivalds (1995) said that the French firm Bull adopted the 3M model to train its employees in the competition of global marketplace and still in success. Language plays an irreplaceable position in the inter-cultural communication. Different types of body languages cause misunderstanding as well. In japan, apology needs humility, in order to be forgiven, Japanese usually avoid eye contact stands for rudeness, offend and provocation, but it would be decoded as disint erest, dishonesty and cunning in western countries (Huang, 2010, Dahl, 2004).Gudykunst and Nishida (1994:2) said that misunderstanding between Japan and American people often â€Å"stem from not knowing the norms and rules guiding each other’s communication†. In hofstede’s model, the data come from the English-speaking company IBM and it is aim to evaluate work attitude and value, this led his theory ignore linguistic and body language difference. Moreover, in the process of communication among Akio Toyoda and the American interlocutor, the stakeholders, the Congress representatives or the media people, misunderstanding occurred continually.As mentioned above, Toyota responded euphemistic to the problem (Huang, 2010). Akio repeated the apology several times and declined to give pithy answers to undertake the obligation and to interpret the information and plan for the stakeholders in the hearing (Clark ; McCurry, 2010). The answer type can be derived from the pa tterns of Japanese communication. Lincoln (1995) studied Japanese and found that due to the politeness cultural they reluctance to say â€Å"no† directly. Hall (1976) separated communication into High-context and low-context.The United States is a typical low-context communication country while Japan belongs to high-context communication. Low-context communication refers to the patterns of communication use explicit verbal to convey meanings, whereas high-context pattern draw heavily on context. This cultural difference is raised by Hall instead of Hofstede. Michael (1997) claim that literatures are lack of specific details and are concluded in broad behavioral terms. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1997) classified cultures has seven value orientations which is more than Hofstede’s six dimensions and has somewhat different perspectives.Additionally, Dahl (2004) criticizes the theory is the result of very little data, especially from specific companies with limited num bers of questions. This indicates that culture can be separated into more dimensions and those national scores and ranks are not the exclusive guide to improve inter-cultural communications. From Hofstede’s (1980) research, Japan ranks in the middle level of Individualism versus collectivism dimension. Yet Japan is widely stereotyped as a harmonious society.Woodring (2010 cited in Jandt, 1995: 163) used the original Hofstede’s questionnaire to study Japanese students and found that students scored lower on power distance whereas higher on individualism comparing with Hofstede’s original sample. Woodring explained that the different scores might be the result of age; that is means, students may praise more on individualism and equality than the whole Japanese society. About 1990, youths 25 years old and under were named as shin jin rui (literally â€Å"new human beings†), who were described as â€Å"selfish, self-centered, and disrespectful of elders and tradition† by older Japanese.In the description from Hofstede suggested that the Japan is a group oriented and hierarchical country. However, there are evidences to show that the young generation seeks for egalitarian and individualism. This demonstrates that Hofstede’s research can lead to stereotype and this ought to be avoided. Furthermore, this study shows that cultural value is dynamic. Holden (2002) criticizes the â€Å"relative reliance† on Hofstede’s paradigm in the workplace. He points out that the data is outdated as it was collected before 30 years.Hofstede attempts to set a certain form of culture for people to understand specific cultures and he (Hofstede, 2010: 34) states that â€Å"cutlures, especially national cultures, are extremely stable over time†. This has been criticized as â€Å"functionalist ambition of measuring largely unquantifiable phenomena† (Gray and Maloory, 1998: 57). Hostede himself stated, â€Å"There is no such thing as objectivity in the study of social reality: we will too often to be subjective, but we may at least try to be ‘inter subjective’. As His data are come from the questionnaire made by a group of western people, as a result of this, the question are tend to reflect western culture which means Hofstede’s theory has its cultural bias. Meanwhile, there is a debate about what level of analysis is practical for the term â€Å"culture† to be a viable tool. McSweeney (2000) questions the classification of culture in Hofstede’s theory. Hofstede (2010: 10) stated that people are shaped by â€Å"certain cultural trains† from the same country. Although general cultural dimensions can be established at a cultural level, ndividuals may not necessarily reflect the national culture they belong to. Hofstede (1980, 1991) admits that using data from the level of country to analyze the individuals is not appropriate, and labeled it â€Å"ecological fallacy†. He (1991:253) affirms that national cultural level reflects â€Å"central tendencies (†¦) for the country†, it is, not practical to analyze and predict specific individual behaviors or events. Conclusion: Generally overview the assessment, Geert Hofstede’s use of cultural dimensions provides a measurable paradigm to attract people’s attention to cultural differences and contribute to the inter-cultural study.For those people who are involved in international commerce, culture is important for many aspects of business life, thus, if people go into another country to communicate with local company, changing the management process and practices to meet their values is essential. Concluding from the case analysis of Toyota crisis, Hofstede's cultural model indeed provides an effective reference to support better cross-cultural communication as it uncover the reasons of cultural conflict for people to apply appropriate method to minimize its nega tive influence.However, cultural dimension theory functions limited in small space as it is not perfect. It regards culture as a fixed concept and separates it by national boundaries is improper. The data is collected in several decades years before even it has been updated in recent years based on questionnaire in a specific group in international companies from a perspective of western people. Moreover, it narrows culture into six dimensions may potentially disturb the derived value prediction as certain context influences on the individual respondents.The inter-cultural communication conflicts exist no matter how much understanding goes both ways. In conclusion, Hofstede’s work of cultural dimensions is a supplement for supporting better inter-cultural communication, the bilateral respect of culture and positive attitude are the core to successful inter-cultural communication. Bibliography: Bond, M. H. (2002). â€Å"Reclaiming the Individual from Hofstede's Ecological Ana lysis- A 20-Year Odyssey: Comment on Oyserman et al. † Psychological Bulletin, 128 (1): 73-77 CBC news (Feb 2, 2010), â€Å"Toyota slow o react: LaHood- US Transportation Secretary criticizes automaker†. Available at (13 May, 2012) Clark, A. & McCurry, J. (2010). â€Å"Toyota boss offers ‘sincere regrets' for faulty accelerators†, The Guardian, Thursday 25 February 2010. Available at < http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2010/feb/25/toyota-akio-toyoda-congress? INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487> (13 May, 2012) CNN Politics (Feb 24, 2010). â€Å"Toyota president testifies before Congress†. Available at < http://articles. cnn. com/2010-02-24/politics/toyota. earing. updates_1_toyoda-inaba-national-press-club? _s=PM:POLITICS > (13 May, 2012) Dahl, S. (2004). â€Å"Intercultural Research: The Current State of Knowledge†. Middlesex University Discussion Paper No. 26. Available at < http://papers. ssrn. com/sol3/papers. cfm? abstract_id=658202 > (13 May, 2012 ) Feng, Y. (2010). â€Å"Toyota crisis: management ignorance? – a swedish case of consumers perceptions†. Available at < http://hh. diva-portal. org/smash/record. jsf? pid=diva2:349746> (13 May, 2012) Freivalds, J. (1995). â€Å"Learning languages†. Communication World, December: 24-7.Frey-Ridgway, S. (1997). â€Å"The cultural dimension of international business†. Collection Building, 16(1): 12 – 23 Gudykunst, W. & Nishida, T. (1994), Bridging Japanese-North American Differences, Communicating Effectively in Multicultural Contexts Series, Thousand Oaks: Sage, p. 2 Hofstede’s website, available at < http://geert-hofstede. com/dimensions. html > (13 May, 2012) Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s Consequences:International Differences in Work-related Values Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: software of the mind, 2nd Ed.New York: McGraw-Hill Hofstede, G. , Hofstede, G. J. & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures an d Organizations: software of the mind, 3rd Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Holden, N. (2002). Cross-cultural management: a knowledge management perspective. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall Huang, Z. (2010). â€Å" —— â€Å" â€Å" † (From the perspective of inter-cutlural communication to see Japan-America cultural differeces—analysis Toyota â€Å"recall†). Journal of Huaihua University,29 (6) Jandt, F. E. (2009). An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global

Trade theories Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trade theories - Assignment Example The goods that are primarily exported by Syria are petroleum products, crude oil, minerals, wheat cotton fibre, clothing, fruits, vegetables, meat and live animals. The imports of Syria consists of transport equipments, livestock and food, paper, chemicals, machinery, electric power machinery, metal and metal products, chemical products and yarn. The import partners of Syria are China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Russia, Lebanon and Italy (Younes 11-13). The trading partners and their concerned good and services gives a picture of Syria’s trade conditions and trade relations with its partners. Syria has enhanced trade relations with Iraq by reopening pipelines for the export of oil. Syria also benefitted from economic policies implemented by China. Syria maintains a trading relation with India by importing wheat from it. Syria’s geographical closeness with Europe has been quite beneficial. The country was able to serve the huge customer base of Europe (Russett 360-379). Syria’s trade history reveals that the country always had import figures that were almost double the export figures. But both the import and export had similar growth trends. The imports and exports increased at a slow pace over time. This led to worsening of the balance of trade position of Syria. This trade patterns were seen before the 1970s. But after the 1970s, trade patterns started improving. There was a rapid expansion in the import and export figures since 1970s. In the 1980s, the trade imbalance widened further. Syria also started taking various measures concerning the budget and foreign exchange reserve. Syria started taking advantage of the higher revenues from oil in the 1990s. Finally in the beginning of 2011, Syria recorded a surplus in balance of trade (â€Å"Syria Balance of Trade†). The figure below gives some idea of the movements in balance of trade over the time and also shows Syria’s favorable trade conditions that was prevailing at the ons et of 2011. The