Thursday, October 31, 2019

Import-export seafood to Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Import-export seafood to Canada - Essay Example This was however 4% lower than the total value attained in 2007. These statistics bring into perspective the nature and scope of the trade in seafood in Canada, a major product in both imports and exports in Canada. This paper delves into the aspects of importation of seafood into Canada. Particular emphasis is placed on the kind of seafood imported into Canada, the export policies of the countries from which the seafood is imported from, the duties involved, the trade licenses and documentation required, the current major importers of seafood into Canada, as well as the price range for the products imported. Keywords: Imports, Exports, Species, Seafood, Fisheries Introduction The global trade in seafood is a daunting and complex task. This is due to the fact that there are a myriad of species of seafood that are available for commercial benefits. In comparison to the approximately 15 species of birds and mammals that provide commercial benefits, there are over 800 species of aquatic organisms providing the same benefit (Anderson, 2003). Additionally, there are numerous product forms of seafood with various species being packaged as dried, frozen, salted, smoked, breaded portions, canned, fresh, and boneless, and individually quick frozen products such as clam juice and fish meals and oils. To add to this complexity, there are at least 190 countries that are involved in the trade of seafood worldwide (Anderson, 2003). International trade in seafood has been heightened by a variety of factors. Key among them is the advancement in technology applied in the processes of harvesting, shipping, and processing; reduction of international trade barriers in the trade of seafood; and innovations of fisheries management systems. The development of aquaculture and aquaculture systems has also promoted the global trade in seafood, making it more competitive and diverse (Anderson, 2003). Importation of Seafood in Canada In Canada, in the 1970s and 1980s, the value of imports and exports of seafood increased progressively. However, in the 1990s the major species of ground-fish in the North Atlantic collapsed, leading to a major decline in the surplus that Canada posted in the trade. For instance, the rate of harvest of Atlantic cod had dropped from a high of 482,800 metric tons in 1989, to a low of 23,900 metric tons in 1994 (Anderson, 2003). The surplus had dropped to $1 billion in 1997. This figure however increased by an estimated 400 million by the year 2000, resulting in an overall increase in the value of the surplus to $1.4 billion (Anderson, 2003). The primary imports comprise of shrimps, canned tuna, and prawns, while the primary exports comprise of lobsters, frozen crabs, and farmed Atlantic salmon (Anderson, 2003). OECD states that the total quantity and value of seafood and fish imported into Canada lessened from 2007 to 2009. The main contributors to this occurrence were the global economic crisis and the resulting decline in the demand for seafood products in the Canadian market. Consumption of seafood products and fish decreased within this period, as they are mostly considered to be luxury commodities (2012). According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the three major categories of fish imported into Canada are; ground-fish such as cod fish, halibut, and haddock among others; pelagic fish such as tuna, farmed and wild salmon, herring, sardines, and mackerel; and shellfish such as lobsters, prawns, shrimps,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Further Exploration Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Further Exploration Assignment - Essay Example At the same time, women simply accept the fact in most cases, though both genders have some attempts of defining the reasons of their sadness. However, men appear to be more likely to compare themselves with other people and analyze own short-comings, faults, and mistakes in an attempt to get more control over the situation. The same trend is expressed in people’s tendency to think about why they can’t handle things better – men have shown to be more concerned with this issue. At the same time, women are the ones who think more about how sad they feel. This means their feelings of sadness, apathy and worthlessness are stronger than those of men. It also appears that the representatives of both genders are not trying much to make themselves feel better. Most of the men and women don’t try to change the situation by means of doing something fun with a friend or going to a favorite place to distract oneself. However, we all at least try to do something that made us feel better before. To sum up, it appears that the major difference between men’s and women’s ways of experiencing and dealing with depression is in their perception of oneself in contrast with the others. Men are keener on blaming others in their sadness, while women start looking for the problem within themselves. At the same time, both genders show to be rather equally closed and withdrawn from the outer world while in

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Management Changes Within British Airways

Management Changes Within British Airways Introduction Air travel industry is considered an outsized industry throughout the world. This industry has experienced major growth in the last 50 years due to general improvement in technology. The outcome has been a firm decline in fares and costs, which has encouraged traffic growth. This demanding traffic has made the industry grow at a speedy pace. However the speedy growth had its swindles in terms of the changes that airline industry had to go through. Organizations in the industry went through drastic and somewhat dramatic changes in the past one decade. This decade saw the businesses going through change management programs to gain and keep competitive advantage in the industry. This particular dissertation is focused on the case study of British airways and the change management program that it went through in order to gain competitive advantage. British Airways is one of the highest earning airlines in the world. It is famous for its culture f leadership, virtues and employees welfare. Chief Executive of British Airways plc, Bob Ayling started extensive change management programs in the organization in the late 90s. These programs were started despite the fact that BA was earning record profits back then. Some of these changes brought positive changes in the organization, however most of the changes were perceived negatively among the employees. The negativity eventually led to strikes and low morals. (Balmer et al., 2009) These problems were majorly blamed on the poor leadership of Ayling, as well as the change management programs that the company went through. Ayling, on the other hand argued that these change management programs, including cost cutting and outsourcing of major departments, were indeed necessary for long term benefit of British airways. (Harvey and Turnbull, 2006) The introduction part will now focus on de fining history of British airways as well as focusing on Aylings change management programs and its effects on the organization as a whole. Post Merger Following the merger of British European Airways and British Overseas Airways Corporation which bent British Airways, the company had many problems and issues.   One of the issues met by the company is in terms of cultural perspective. The outcomes of culture become mainly apparent in mergers, acquisitions and cross national operations, where not only dissimilar organizational cultures but also organizational cultures entrenched in different national cultures meet.(Carleton and Lineberry, 2004)   Research indicate that when workers from dissimilar cultures interrelate and, especially, when one culture is required to adopt the procedures and policies of the other culture, upsetting tensions come out.   And this occurred between the staff of the two merging industries (BEA and BOAC).   This issue can be explained as (Betancourt and LÃÆ' ³pez, 1993). Another issue or problem faced by British Airways was its forced management system.  The company put into practice a very inf lexible management system which made the system of conversant with rules.   Likewise, another issue was incapability of the management of the new organization to satisfy and see the requirements of their consumers.   The organization gave importance on its limited management concentrates and approach on preserving its various routes which resulted in unsatisfied consumers.   These conflicts and issues had a very negative outcome on the new organization.   British Airways earned the reputation of being the most disreputable company after the post merger.  (Carleton and Lineberry, 2004) In addition, the company could not handle the increased burden of flights and customers. In the late 80s the company was rated as most unpunctual airline and customers were advised to avoid travelling on it. (Eckel et al., 1997) Management changes within British Airways: In order to modify its reputation, British Airways decided to go for CHANGE MANAGEMENT. Businesses, companies, and working organizations have incorporated change into their work system in order to be aggressive and be more competent to satisfy customer or clients needs.   (Hayes, 2002) The Conservative party Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher selected John King in early 1981 to be the Chairperson of British Airways plc. During the management of John King, he forced changes resulting in several routes bring axed as well as selling off the cargo planes and service. The company also cut 20,000 workers as part of the change process.   In 1982, Colin Marshall became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of British Airways plc. In this period, British Airways produced its first additional profit which was the outcome of the cost-cutting actions implemented by John King. Colin Marshall decided to pay attention to its customer service in order to ensure that company carries on making profit. M arshall hired Consultants to collect data about workers and customer attitudes. The outcome of this evaluation showed that there is a significant gap between what was delivered by BA staff what the consumer actually required. Another management plan was the transformation of the system from staff- oriented to customer oriented through the formation of customer is king environment within the company. (Heifetz and Laurie, 2002) Marshall also investigated that the workers had an internal problem in terms of having a harmonious and good working relationship; therefore, he decided to generate more unity among the British Airways workers by putting into practice the Staff Development Initiative which anticipated the long-term and inherent cultural development and change in British Airways. The program was intended on having more efficient staff members who could offer excellent and quality service to its consumer. (Pine and Gilmore, 1998) This cultural education training lasted until the late 1990s; it created the awareness for the workers to do their job according to customers requirements. Marshall also started Awards for Excellence in 1987.   The goal of this initiative was to award high performers and inspire the workers to always do their best in offering services.   For the duration of that year, Brainwaves, a proposal system was also launched. The change process imposed by Marshall was in co-operation with Lancaster University to provide MBA course for its workers. This was the part of the cultural education training by British airways to make its workers more efficient. (Prokesch, 1995) Furthermore, the organizational structure of British Airways was also modified to a much slimmer and flatter structure. Five sections of the organization started direct reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and eleven profit centers were formed. This structural replacement aimed at improving staff communication and integ ration. The performance-related pay was also brought in by the management. The change process also comprised major investments in ground facilities, planes, and Information Technology. (Grugulis and Wilkinson, 2002) Putting people first program The management also started a program for its staff called Putting people first. The program was focused on training the staff become more customer oriented. It was a one day seminar delivered by consultants hired by British airways. In the start the program only included staffs that were directly in contact with the customers. However with the passage of time the program was extended for all employees. The program covered the topics of being a winner or loser, owning the problem, being attentive and empowerment. (Street, 1994) With this help of this program staff was given a chance to become involved in decision making. They were encouraged to make any suggestions that could improve the customer service. This was followed by training the staff to own the problem rather than putting blame on each other. The whole trainings program helped the company dramatically, staff turnover reduced to a great level and customer satisfaction increased. (Tushman and OReilly III, 2006) This successful implementation of this program led to several other training programs being launched by BA management and staff. These programs included A day in the life and to be the best. These two programs also met success and British airways started seeing itself getting ahead of the industry. Winning for customer program This program was launched in 92/93 by the company. It was completely focused on listening to customers views and making changes in the company accordingly. This program was basically a loyalty program for customers as well as gaining feedback from them. (Dowling and Uncles, 1997) This program was also somewhat successful as it gave the company insight into companys service from customers eyes. Managing people first program Another program launched in the same era was managing people first. This program was focused on increasing trust among employees, emphasizing the importance of leadership and feedback. (Bruce, 1987)The program brought in positive changes among the employees. They started trusting each other and delivering the job with more efforts. The leadership aspect of the program helped the managers understand their employees better and leading the organization into better changes. The history of British airways clearly stated that a culture of change existed in the organization. These changes were perceived positively by the employees. These changes also helped the organization get on the top back then. In the case study section of the dissertation, change management programs and its consequences by Ayling will be discussed to understand and analyze that scenario. Research question The primary research question of this research study is, To explore the extent to which change management is necessary for a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantage Additionally, the secondary research question is to examine the change management initiatives previously taken by British Airways to attain competitive advantage and profitability. Research aim and objective of this study The main objective and strategic aim of this piece of study is to explore the role and significance of Change Management in this era of globalization and changing market needs by taking the case study of British Airways in specific. To understand what went wrong and why it went wrong in the leadership of Ayling Analyze the data and come up with findings regarding change management programs Conclude if change management is necessary for a firm to gain competitive advantage Literature Review The process and practice of globalization and developments with the new technologies are merely few stimuli which continually compel business organizations to transform. Business organizations must be considerate and prepared of the vibrant inner and exterior environment in which they manage their operations. The great challenge facing organizations today is change: employing, retaining and most prominently developing managers, and effectively managing organizational change. (Brandenburg and Binder, 1999) There exist three different verities of change which an organization can experience. These three according to him are smooth incremental change, bumpy incremental change and discontinuous change. In the first variety the organization go through a smooth transition and such a change process is perceived by its managers as inherent to the organization. In the second variety there may be oppositions to it, however according to him it is more like the movement of the continents, where faults are generated and bumps are created. In such a case the created faults readjusts the process and a balance is created with time. (Grundy, 1998) The third and the last variety is a discontinuous one, in which the change process is abrupt. This abrupt change could be in the strategy, culture or the structure of the organization. During the process of change there can be people who may resist it. This resistance in general comes from the individuals, who may oppose individually or as a group. The rationale behind this is that the individuals do not want to come out of their current state. As an example someone might already have convinced himself that he has already got what he wanted, so why to accept the new things? Or there might be some heavy investments involved which may be stop to proceed. What does managing change means? Change management is a planned activity intended at getting the best results from the transformation process. It is about managing the changes that are outcomes of the selected approaches. This is done in such a way so that the results and effects go along with the organizational framework. Devising a strategy is also the part of change management. Such a process and procedure is unique and specific to a certain organization. It is rare that a process devised for an organization do fit to the other. Although this can happen, however the probability is quite low. The procedure for change management and the measures that are element of a specific approach are exclusive and exact to a particular organization. Every organization has its own needs; their resources and circumstances differ, culture changes, relationships and clients requirements become specific, and their ambitions, objectives and aims may differ(Mullins, 2007). It is about discovering options and selecting pathways. (Horton, 2000) According to George Bernard Shaw Development is unattainable without change and transformation, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. Managing change means a systematic procedure of taking into consideration the global circumstances disturbing an organization; in addition to specific state of affairs within the organization. The change management technique scrutinizes the existing environment and procedures with high attitude to firm culture, organization design, communication, job design, personnel, infrastructure, knowledge and skills. The most important and significant meaning of change management is the term referred to as the task of managing change. The term itself is used in two contexts. Firstly, it means to make changes in an intended and systematic manner. Secondly, this refers to as managing the reactions for the implemented processes. The acknowledgment of the requirements for timely adjustment to external stimulus has evolved the concept of the learning organization; an organization which is capable of continuous adaptation to the environment. At last, change management refers to an area of constituency of professional performance and the connected body of knowledge that has grown up inside and around the issues. There are several ways for change management, as an example, consulting firms offer a range of services to smooth out the process whereas the business schools recommend training in its theory and practice. (Kouzes et al., 1987) (Kanter, 1989) Approaches to change Management The planned approach to change management is tightly linked to managing and recognizing the procedures intended to make organizations more progressive. All these procedures attempt to offer smooth transition and attempt the productivity with the least confrontation. Change plans formulate the tangible outcomes, guide decision making, help to control the procedures and provide protection around uncertainties. There are six change management approaches to deal with this resistance and reaction. (Hayes, 2002)These six approaches are as following Communication and Education: The most significant ways to prevail over conflicts and resistance is through prior education and awareness. This helps in beforehand observing and perceiving the intensity of the change by the work force. The result of this will lead to suppression of rumors and uncertainties involved during the phase. Involvement and Participation: Wherever the initiators do not have the entire data and information they require designing the change and transformation and others have substantial power to oppose. When workers are mixed up in the change attempt they are more likely to involve in the transformation rather to oppose it. Support and Facilitation: Where people refuse to give in to change due to regulation problems, managers can set off possible resistance by encouraging workers during complex times. Managerial support facilitates employees compact with anxiety and fear during an evolution period. The source of resistance is likely to be the unawareness. Thus support and facilitation approach is connected with condition of counseling, special training and time off work. Agreement and Negotiation: Within an organization somebody or some group may drop out during the transformation process. Managers can fight resistance by giving incentives to workers who are not in opposition to the change and the transformation process. This agreement and negotiation approach will be suitable where those resisting change are strong enough. Co-option and Manipulation Approach: Somewhere there are other procedures which are too exclusive. Schlesinger and Kotter proposed that an effective management technique is to co-opt with counters of change effort and transformation process. This frequently involves choosing leaders of the resisters so that instead of opposition they lead to a contribution in the process. Implicit and Explicit Coercion: Implementation speed is a necessity but should be used as a final option. The process should be made as smooth as possible however the managers can clearly or perfectly compel workers into tolerating change effort by making clear that resisting change can lead to firing, losing jobs, demotions or transferring employees. Framework of change This idea is about the procedure for change management and transformation process, presenting proposals and getting feedback for change. This is further than a beginning step to the real action of accomplishment. There is requirement to comprehend how considered choices are completed and proposals are evaluated within the. The framework of change management used throughout this thesis is presented in Error: Reference source not found. This model investigates further how organizations make the movement from the current to the future state. In particular, we will look at the Three Step Model developed by Lewin based on unfreezing the organization, moving and sustaining the change. (Lewin, 1980) CULTURE The first section culture of the change management framework include authenticating the case for change and transformation process and how the shared service/BPO initiative will add to comprehending the organizations premeditated goals, and readiness of both employees and organization and assessing the capacity to incorporate change. Impending blockers must be recognized and articulated with agreed-upon approaches and strategies thus the initiative is not disrupted. ORGANIZATION The second section wraps the design of the new world, comprising the operating model, role definitions, organizational structures, governance and competency frameworks, and decision-making frameworks. Realistic steps should be used to design effective and realistic interfaces between the retained organization and shared service/BPO capacity. LEADERSHIP The third step in the wheel aims to simplify how the firm will be led, and to furnish the leaders to carry out their leadership roles. Specific and detailed activities comprise how the leader ship team will work together both during implementation of shared services/ BPO, defining the role of the leadership team, and consequently, and the roles and responsibilities of individual leaders. Achievement like this may identify the requirement for coaching and/or training of leaders and potential leaders. PEOPLE CAPABILITY The fourth step of the cycle of change management framework intends to ascertain the competencies and skills necessary and how to gather those requirements, comprising gap analysis, skills audits, career planning and job and role definitions. Participation of talent who will lead the new firm is key to the success of this movement. EXECUTION The fifth step of the cycle of change management framework ensures freedom of the new form. It comprises hard deliverables in the form of milestones, project plans, budget analysis and progress reports, and soft deliverables in the shape of stakeholders management and communications. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT The sixth and last step of the wheel of change management cover up life post-change and comprises processes and frameworks (e.g., balanced scorecards, performance management, and reward alignment) to determine the success of the changes, and means to make sure that opportunities for advance improvement are acted upon in a timely manner and identified.   Significance and benefits of Change management in the Organizations: Benefits of Change Management: ACCEPTING ENVIROMENT It is significant for the organization to assess, understand, and measure the dynamics in its exterior environment such as government, society and customers in order to predict and set up an appropriate relationship with these assorted performers like society, customers and government. Hence, managers by deliberating the subject of change management can better be ready to understand anything is going on in this environment. This is a major significance of change management in business organization. STRATEGY FORMULATION IMPLEMENTATION TO DEVELOP COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE It is very important to knowing the collision of change an inappropriate level on its own interior dynamics, where the main objective is to seek competitive advantage. This is the significance of change management in business organization. EMPLOYEES The employees are the beneficiaries of change process. One such continuous apprehension of senior managers is to make organization highly consistent; therefore workers ought to be high performing and trained one in todays twitchy competitive new world. There is need of trained, reliable organization and high performing work practices. This is significance of change management in organizations. TECHNOLOGY ISSUES Technology is realized as the engine of development in todays new world. May be the greatest challenge for modern organizations is the integration and acquisition of technology in its approach, structure and procedure. As such the apprehension of top managers is how to avoid and mitigate organization being outdated and how to absorb and cope the collision of communication technologies and changing information which have determinedly influencing consumption behavior and production process. This is another major benefit of change management in the organization. Significance of Change Management Implementation The peak five well recognized approaches of change management and significance of change management in the organization, which, when implemented properly, permit organizations to decrease risk and increase IT effectiveness and efficiency. The practices comprise of: Producing the top bottom approach to endorse the requirement for a culture of Information technology change management process that implements a zero tolerance approach to illicit changes across the whole enterprise. It will create significance of change management inside and outside the organization. Examining and monitoring the number of unintentional outages frequently to avert illegitimate changes and maintain maximum control on information technology variations. It will also create significance of change management in the modern organization. Put into practice risk mitigation changes executed and authorized by identifying well-defined change preservation windows and implemented them. The significance of change management will explore through it. Determine change success rates and using them as standard for key information technology management performance gauge. This is one of the major significance of change management. SWOT ANALYSIS OF BRITISH AIRWAYS British Airways is engaged in air services operations both in international and domestic airfreight. It provides various services ranging in commercial flights service for passengers around the globe, cargo freight and mail services and other auxiliary services. British Airways primarily runs its business in Europe and in United States. Located in Harmondsworth, Middlesex, it employs 42, 755 people in all its departments. British Airways facilitates flight reservation and booking using the online net services in which customers can easily access. Trying to appear competitive and maintain its integrity as one of the best airlines which emphasizes quality customer services, BA strives to create high-end terminal facilities and other services involving comfortable of customers while onboard. BA reaches out to 570 in about 134 countries. Such magnitude of operations offers customers with variety of destinations with world-class services that cater customers ranging from explorers to exec utives. Strengths British Airways strengths include the first-rate new fleet of aircrafts purchased to accolade comfortable traveling of passengers. This move was made to counter the wretched state of travel and complaint received by the previous fleet used by British Airways. The magnitude of Airways operations allows them on pro over their competitors by servicing to a wider variety of customers. Moreover, on the level of knowledge and skills, BA operational research claimed that analytical skills performed by the members of the company and employees become its strengths. The strong customer focus develops expertise in customer areas while in purchasing high-end software for air services and wide selection of it strengthens the companys business orientation. Weaknesses One of the many weaknesses on organizations business and services is the lack of marketing strategy that will help reinforce its competitive standards, more so, to win customers loyalty. Despite the great infrastructure hosted the company, BA needs to carry out better market schemes to attract more customers. Hence, competitive package for customer service must be afforded in order to make the airline more attractive to its clients, prompting an opportunity of earning large revenues. Furthermore, on knowledge and skills management, limited knowledge of simulation software and simulation development, knowledge lost through high level of internal staff moves, teams adopt solution approaches aligned only to their skills, and lack of involvement in choice of software and difficulty to enhance specialist airline software are weaknesses which the company must be aware of. Threats The threats are not necessarily be found outside of companys environment but can be an internal. Internal threats as seen in management centralized and bureaucratic system and all poor decision-making. Moreover, the companys focus on national and local problems pose a threat since much more problems which it neglect found in the global scheme. It neglects the global problems instead focusing deeply on the national and local level. The global problems greatly offer tremendous threats if and when companies will ignore such. Moreover, globalization can be an opportunity and strength but can also be a threat if not to be keen and vigilant of its tricks and treachery. Further, rapid changes on technology and customers behavior can also be a threat if mistakenly interpreted and remedied. Opportunities The availability of immense services and products pose an opportunity to utilize them properly. The global changes can be an opportunity to work with while ignoring certain opportunities can be a weakness. In BA, virtual reality could provide a new use for simulation, obtaining network software and share expertise through special interest groups are opportunities which can be utilized and used to further enhance the companys business. Technological trends provide ample opportunities to various business domains, however, if it will be taken for granted, opportunities can be a threat or weakness. Maximizing the global trends is a great opportunity to hold on to. Methodology The proposed methodology for this dissertation is case study research. Case study research is a common and popular method of conducting research in the field of social sciences. In this methodology, an event, individuals, or group are investigated and explained. This in depth investigation focuses on defining the particular instance in either descriptive or explanatory manner. (Hartley, 2004) The methodology is not merely storytelling; rather it describes and explains the event in much detail so the reader could understand the reasons for that event/instance. The case studies are building with multiple sources of data and evidence. They are usually focused on one aspect of the organization rather than the whole organization itself. (Merriam, 1998) Case study method is quite useful if one wants to understand and estimate the impact of a certain event. It is important to understand that case study methodology can only be used when rich amount of data is available so the case can actual ly be built using it. (Eisenhardt, 1989) Although it is quite popular method of conducting the research, it has its weaknesses as well. Researchers have criticized it because they feel that this method lacks reliability. The reliability is questioned when case study is build using the secondary data. This criticism states that the research cannot be relied on as it lacks researchers own research efforts, and the case is built on the research that was already available. (Stake, 1995)However there are more strengths to this methodology than weaknesses. The method is particularly praised due to its usefulness in providing a holistic view of an event or phenomena. It is also admired due to multiple sources of data and evidence that are used to build case study, as it provides multiple insight into the phenomena. (Gillham, 2000) Types of case study Researchers have devised and explained several categories of case studies. One of the popular models used to explained categories of case studies is by Yin. He defines these categories in terms of the number of event and single or multiple methods of analysis. Type 1: Single case design and single unit of analysis Type 2: Single unit of analysis and multiple case designs Type 3: Single case design and multiple units of analysis Type 4: Multiple case designs and multiple units of analysis Yin has also devised three types of case study, Exploratory: Used for new topics and reveals the facts about a certain event. This type of research is normally the first one and sets direction for future research. Researchers agree that this research is more related to What question rather than the Why question. Descriptive: This type of case study research focuses on a clearly define problem or research question. Its focus is on How and Who question Explanatory: the last type of case study research is explanatory, which focuses on Why question. It is usually build in exploratory and descriptive research and tries to find out preseason for an events occurrence. (Yin, 2008) This particular research will be built on using explanatory case study method. As we already know what happened in British airways due to change management programs, however we need to search the question of Why it happened? Sources of Data for case study In order to build up a case study, data needs to be collected. This data gathering can either be primary or secondary. The primar Management Changes Within British Airways Management Changes Within British Airways Introduction Air travel industry is considered an outsized industry throughout the world. This industry has experienced major growth in the last 50 years due to general improvement in technology. The outcome has been a firm decline in fares and costs, which has encouraged traffic growth. This demanding traffic has made the industry grow at a speedy pace. However the speedy growth had its swindles in terms of the changes that airline industry had to go through. Organizations in the industry went through drastic and somewhat dramatic changes in the past one decade. This decade saw the businesses going through change management programs to gain and keep competitive advantage in the industry. This particular dissertation is focused on the case study of British airways and the change management program that it went through in order to gain competitive advantage. British Airways is one of the highest earning airlines in the world. It is famous for its culture f leadership, virtues and employees welfare. Chief Executive of British Airways plc, Bob Ayling started extensive change management programs in the organization in the late 90s. These programs were started despite the fact that BA was earning record profits back then. Some of these changes brought positive changes in the organization, however most of the changes were perceived negatively among the employees. The negativity eventually led to strikes and low morals. (Balmer et al., 2009) These problems were majorly blamed on the poor leadership of Ayling, as well as the change management programs that the company went through. Ayling, on the other hand argued that these change management programs, including cost cutting and outsourcing of major departments, were indeed necessary for long term benefit of British airways. (Harvey and Turnbull, 2006) The introduction part will now focus on de fining history of British airways as well as focusing on Aylings change management programs and its effects on the organization as a whole. Post Merger Following the merger of British European Airways and British Overseas Airways Corporation which bent British Airways, the company had many problems and issues.   One of the issues met by the company is in terms of cultural perspective. The outcomes of culture become mainly apparent in mergers, acquisitions and cross national operations, where not only dissimilar organizational cultures but also organizational cultures entrenched in different national cultures meet.(Carleton and Lineberry, 2004)   Research indicate that when workers from dissimilar cultures interrelate and, especially, when one culture is required to adopt the procedures and policies of the other culture, upsetting tensions come out.   And this occurred between the staff of the two merging industries (BEA and BOAC).   This issue can be explained as (Betancourt and LÃÆ' ³pez, 1993). Another issue or problem faced by British Airways was its forced management system.  The company put into practice a very inf lexible management system which made the system of conversant with rules.   Likewise, another issue was incapability of the management of the new organization to satisfy and see the requirements of their consumers.   The organization gave importance on its limited management concentrates and approach on preserving its various routes which resulted in unsatisfied consumers.   These conflicts and issues had a very negative outcome on the new organization.   British Airways earned the reputation of being the most disreputable company after the post merger.  (Carleton and Lineberry, 2004) In addition, the company could not handle the increased burden of flights and customers. In the late 80s the company was rated as most unpunctual airline and customers were advised to avoid travelling on it. (Eckel et al., 1997) Management changes within British Airways: In order to modify its reputation, British Airways decided to go for CHANGE MANAGEMENT. Businesses, companies, and working organizations have incorporated change into their work system in order to be aggressive and be more competent to satisfy customer or clients needs.   (Hayes, 2002) The Conservative party Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher selected John King in early 1981 to be the Chairperson of British Airways plc. During the management of John King, he forced changes resulting in several routes bring axed as well as selling off the cargo planes and service. The company also cut 20,000 workers as part of the change process.   In 1982, Colin Marshall became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of British Airways plc. In this period, British Airways produced its first additional profit which was the outcome of the cost-cutting actions implemented by John King. Colin Marshall decided to pay attention to its customer service in order to ensure that company carries on making profit. M arshall hired Consultants to collect data about workers and customer attitudes. The outcome of this evaluation showed that there is a significant gap between what was delivered by BA staff what the consumer actually required. Another management plan was the transformation of the system from staff- oriented to customer oriented through the formation of customer is king environment within the company. (Heifetz and Laurie, 2002) Marshall also investigated that the workers had an internal problem in terms of having a harmonious and good working relationship; therefore, he decided to generate more unity among the British Airways workers by putting into practice the Staff Development Initiative which anticipated the long-term and inherent cultural development and change in British Airways. The program was intended on having more efficient staff members who could offer excellent and quality service to its consumer. (Pine and Gilmore, 1998) This cultural education training lasted until the late 1990s; it created the awareness for the workers to do their job according to customers requirements. Marshall also started Awards for Excellence in 1987.   The goal of this initiative was to award high performers and inspire the workers to always do their best in offering services.   For the duration of that year, Brainwaves, a proposal system was also launched. The change process imposed by Marshall was in co-operation with Lancaster University to provide MBA course for its workers. This was the part of the cultural education training by British airways to make its workers more efficient. (Prokesch, 1995) Furthermore, the organizational structure of British Airways was also modified to a much slimmer and flatter structure. Five sections of the organization started direct reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and eleven profit centers were formed. This structural replacement aimed at improving staff communication and integ ration. The performance-related pay was also brought in by the management. The change process also comprised major investments in ground facilities, planes, and Information Technology. (Grugulis and Wilkinson, 2002) Putting people first program The management also started a program for its staff called Putting people first. The program was focused on training the staff become more customer oriented. It was a one day seminar delivered by consultants hired by British airways. In the start the program only included staffs that were directly in contact with the customers. However with the passage of time the program was extended for all employees. The program covered the topics of being a winner or loser, owning the problem, being attentive and empowerment. (Street, 1994) With this help of this program staff was given a chance to become involved in decision making. They were encouraged to make any suggestions that could improve the customer service. This was followed by training the staff to own the problem rather than putting blame on each other. The whole trainings program helped the company dramatically, staff turnover reduced to a great level and customer satisfaction increased. (Tushman and OReilly III, 2006) This successful implementation of this program led to several other training programs being launched by BA management and staff. These programs included A day in the life and to be the best. These two programs also met success and British airways started seeing itself getting ahead of the industry. Winning for customer program This program was launched in 92/93 by the company. It was completely focused on listening to customers views and making changes in the company accordingly. This program was basically a loyalty program for customers as well as gaining feedback from them. (Dowling and Uncles, 1997) This program was also somewhat successful as it gave the company insight into companys service from customers eyes. Managing people first program Another program launched in the same era was managing people first. This program was focused on increasing trust among employees, emphasizing the importance of leadership and feedback. (Bruce, 1987)The program brought in positive changes among the employees. They started trusting each other and delivering the job with more efforts. The leadership aspect of the program helped the managers understand their employees better and leading the organization into better changes. The history of British airways clearly stated that a culture of change existed in the organization. These changes were perceived positively by the employees. These changes also helped the organization get on the top back then. In the case study section of the dissertation, change management programs and its consequences by Ayling will be discussed to understand and analyze that scenario. Research question The primary research question of this research study is, To explore the extent to which change management is necessary for a firm to achieve sustainable competitive advantage Additionally, the secondary research question is to examine the change management initiatives previously taken by British Airways to attain competitive advantage and profitability. Research aim and objective of this study The main objective and strategic aim of this piece of study is to explore the role and significance of Change Management in this era of globalization and changing market needs by taking the case study of British Airways in specific. To understand what went wrong and why it went wrong in the leadership of Ayling Analyze the data and come up with findings regarding change management programs Conclude if change management is necessary for a firm to gain competitive advantage Literature Review The process and practice of globalization and developments with the new technologies are merely few stimuli which continually compel business organizations to transform. Business organizations must be considerate and prepared of the vibrant inner and exterior environment in which they manage their operations. The great challenge facing organizations today is change: employing, retaining and most prominently developing managers, and effectively managing organizational change. (Brandenburg and Binder, 1999) There exist three different verities of change which an organization can experience. These three according to him are smooth incremental change, bumpy incremental change and discontinuous change. In the first variety the organization go through a smooth transition and such a change process is perceived by its managers as inherent to the organization. In the second variety there may be oppositions to it, however according to him it is more like the movement of the continents, where faults are generated and bumps are created. In such a case the created faults readjusts the process and a balance is created with time. (Grundy, 1998) The third and the last variety is a discontinuous one, in which the change process is abrupt. This abrupt change could be in the strategy, culture or the structure of the organization. During the process of change there can be people who may resist it. This resistance in general comes from the individuals, who may oppose individually or as a group. The rationale behind this is that the individuals do not want to come out of their current state. As an example someone might already have convinced himself that he has already got what he wanted, so why to accept the new things? Or there might be some heavy investments involved which may be stop to proceed. What does managing change means? Change management is a planned activity intended at getting the best results from the transformation process. It is about managing the changes that are outcomes of the selected approaches. This is done in such a way so that the results and effects go along with the organizational framework. Devising a strategy is also the part of change management. Such a process and procedure is unique and specific to a certain organization. It is rare that a process devised for an organization do fit to the other. Although this can happen, however the probability is quite low. The procedure for change management and the measures that are element of a specific approach are exclusive and exact to a particular organization. Every organization has its own needs; their resources and circumstances differ, culture changes, relationships and clients requirements become specific, and their ambitions, objectives and aims may differ(Mullins, 2007). It is about discovering options and selecting pathways. (Horton, 2000) According to George Bernard Shaw Development is unattainable without change and transformation, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. Managing change means a systematic procedure of taking into consideration the global circumstances disturbing an organization; in addition to specific state of affairs within the organization. The change management technique scrutinizes the existing environment and procedures with high attitude to firm culture, organization design, communication, job design, personnel, infrastructure, knowledge and skills. The most important and significant meaning of change management is the term referred to as the task of managing change. The term itself is used in two contexts. Firstly, it means to make changes in an intended and systematic manner. Secondly, this refers to as managing the reactions for the implemented processes. The acknowledgment of the requirements for timely adjustment to external stimulus has evolved the concept of the learning organization; an organization which is capable of continuous adaptation to the environment. At last, change management refers to an area of constituency of professional performance and the connected body of knowledge that has grown up inside and around the issues. There are several ways for change management, as an example, consulting firms offer a range of services to smooth out the process whereas the business schools recommend training in its theory and practice. (Kouzes et al., 1987) (Kanter, 1989) Approaches to change Management The planned approach to change management is tightly linked to managing and recognizing the procedures intended to make organizations more progressive. All these procedures attempt to offer smooth transition and attempt the productivity with the least confrontation. Change plans formulate the tangible outcomes, guide decision making, help to control the procedures and provide protection around uncertainties. There are six change management approaches to deal with this resistance and reaction. (Hayes, 2002)These six approaches are as following Communication and Education: The most significant ways to prevail over conflicts and resistance is through prior education and awareness. This helps in beforehand observing and perceiving the intensity of the change by the work force. The result of this will lead to suppression of rumors and uncertainties involved during the phase. Involvement and Participation: Wherever the initiators do not have the entire data and information they require designing the change and transformation and others have substantial power to oppose. When workers are mixed up in the change attempt they are more likely to involve in the transformation rather to oppose it. Support and Facilitation: Where people refuse to give in to change due to regulation problems, managers can set off possible resistance by encouraging workers during complex times. Managerial support facilitates employees compact with anxiety and fear during an evolution period. The source of resistance is likely to be the unawareness. Thus support and facilitation approach is connected with condition of counseling, special training and time off work. Agreement and Negotiation: Within an organization somebody or some group may drop out during the transformation process. Managers can fight resistance by giving incentives to workers who are not in opposition to the change and the transformation process. This agreement and negotiation approach will be suitable where those resisting change are strong enough. Co-option and Manipulation Approach: Somewhere there are other procedures which are too exclusive. Schlesinger and Kotter proposed that an effective management technique is to co-opt with counters of change effort and transformation process. This frequently involves choosing leaders of the resisters so that instead of opposition they lead to a contribution in the process. Implicit and Explicit Coercion: Implementation speed is a necessity but should be used as a final option. The process should be made as smooth as possible however the managers can clearly or perfectly compel workers into tolerating change effort by making clear that resisting change can lead to firing, losing jobs, demotions or transferring employees. Framework of change This idea is about the procedure for change management and transformation process, presenting proposals and getting feedback for change. This is further than a beginning step to the real action of accomplishment. There is requirement to comprehend how considered choices are completed and proposals are evaluated within the. The framework of change management used throughout this thesis is presented in Error: Reference source not found. This model investigates further how organizations make the movement from the current to the future state. In particular, we will look at the Three Step Model developed by Lewin based on unfreezing the organization, moving and sustaining the change. (Lewin, 1980) CULTURE The first section culture of the change management framework include authenticating the case for change and transformation process and how the shared service/BPO initiative will add to comprehending the organizations premeditated goals, and readiness of both employees and organization and assessing the capacity to incorporate change. Impending blockers must be recognized and articulated with agreed-upon approaches and strategies thus the initiative is not disrupted. ORGANIZATION The second section wraps the design of the new world, comprising the operating model, role definitions, organizational structures, governance and competency frameworks, and decision-making frameworks. Realistic steps should be used to design effective and realistic interfaces between the retained organization and shared service/BPO capacity. LEADERSHIP The third step in the wheel aims to simplify how the firm will be led, and to furnish the leaders to carry out their leadership roles. Specific and detailed activities comprise how the leader ship team will work together both during implementation of shared services/ BPO, defining the role of the leadership team, and consequently, and the roles and responsibilities of individual leaders. Achievement like this may identify the requirement for coaching and/or training of leaders and potential leaders. PEOPLE CAPABILITY The fourth step of the cycle of change management framework intends to ascertain the competencies and skills necessary and how to gather those requirements, comprising gap analysis, skills audits, career planning and job and role definitions. Participation of talent who will lead the new firm is key to the success of this movement. EXECUTION The fifth step of the cycle of change management framework ensures freedom of the new form. It comprises hard deliverables in the form of milestones, project plans, budget analysis and progress reports, and soft deliverables in the shape of stakeholders management and communications. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT The sixth and last step of the wheel of change management cover up life post-change and comprises processes and frameworks (e.g., balanced scorecards, performance management, and reward alignment) to determine the success of the changes, and means to make sure that opportunities for advance improvement are acted upon in a timely manner and identified.   Significance and benefits of Change management in the Organizations: Benefits of Change Management: ACCEPTING ENVIROMENT It is significant for the organization to assess, understand, and measure the dynamics in its exterior environment such as government, society and customers in order to predict and set up an appropriate relationship with these assorted performers like society, customers and government. Hence, managers by deliberating the subject of change management can better be ready to understand anything is going on in this environment. This is a major significance of change management in business organization. STRATEGY FORMULATION IMPLEMENTATION TO DEVELOP COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE It is very important to knowing the collision of change an inappropriate level on its own interior dynamics, where the main objective is to seek competitive advantage. This is the significance of change management in business organization. EMPLOYEES The employees are the beneficiaries of change process. One such continuous apprehension of senior managers is to make organization highly consistent; therefore workers ought to be high performing and trained one in todays twitchy competitive new world. There is need of trained, reliable organization and high performing work practices. This is significance of change management in organizations. TECHNOLOGY ISSUES Technology is realized as the engine of development in todays new world. May be the greatest challenge for modern organizations is the integration and acquisition of technology in its approach, structure and procedure. As such the apprehension of top managers is how to avoid and mitigate organization being outdated and how to absorb and cope the collision of communication technologies and changing information which have determinedly influencing consumption behavior and production process. This is another major benefit of change management in the organization. Significance of Change Management Implementation The peak five well recognized approaches of change management and significance of change management in the organization, which, when implemented properly, permit organizations to decrease risk and increase IT effectiveness and efficiency. The practices comprise of: Producing the top bottom approach to endorse the requirement for a culture of Information technology change management process that implements a zero tolerance approach to illicit changes across the whole enterprise. It will create significance of change management inside and outside the organization. Examining and monitoring the number of unintentional outages frequently to avert illegitimate changes and maintain maximum control on information technology variations. It will also create significance of change management in the modern organization. Put into practice risk mitigation changes executed and authorized by identifying well-defined change preservation windows and implemented them. The significance of change management will explore through it. Determine change success rates and using them as standard for key information technology management performance gauge. This is one of the major significance of change management. SWOT ANALYSIS OF BRITISH AIRWAYS British Airways is engaged in air services operations both in international and domestic airfreight. It provides various services ranging in commercial flights service for passengers around the globe, cargo freight and mail services and other auxiliary services. British Airways primarily runs its business in Europe and in United States. Located in Harmondsworth, Middlesex, it employs 42, 755 people in all its departments. British Airways facilitates flight reservation and booking using the online net services in which customers can easily access. Trying to appear competitive and maintain its integrity as one of the best airlines which emphasizes quality customer services, BA strives to create high-end terminal facilities and other services involving comfortable of customers while onboard. BA reaches out to 570 in about 134 countries. Such magnitude of operations offers customers with variety of destinations with world-class services that cater customers ranging from explorers to exec utives. Strengths British Airways strengths include the first-rate new fleet of aircrafts purchased to accolade comfortable traveling of passengers. This move was made to counter the wretched state of travel and complaint received by the previous fleet used by British Airways. The magnitude of Airways operations allows them on pro over their competitors by servicing to a wider variety of customers. Moreover, on the level of knowledge and skills, BA operational research claimed that analytical skills performed by the members of the company and employees become its strengths. The strong customer focus develops expertise in customer areas while in purchasing high-end software for air services and wide selection of it strengthens the companys business orientation. Weaknesses One of the many weaknesses on organizations business and services is the lack of marketing strategy that will help reinforce its competitive standards, more so, to win customers loyalty. Despite the great infrastructure hosted the company, BA needs to carry out better market schemes to attract more customers. Hence, competitive package for customer service must be afforded in order to make the airline more attractive to its clients, prompting an opportunity of earning large revenues. Furthermore, on knowledge and skills management, limited knowledge of simulation software and simulation development, knowledge lost through high level of internal staff moves, teams adopt solution approaches aligned only to their skills, and lack of involvement in choice of software and difficulty to enhance specialist airline software are weaknesses which the company must be aware of. Threats The threats are not necessarily be found outside of companys environment but can be an internal. Internal threats as seen in management centralized and bureaucratic system and all poor decision-making. Moreover, the companys focus on national and local problems pose a threat since much more problems which it neglect found in the global scheme. It neglects the global problems instead focusing deeply on the national and local level. The global problems greatly offer tremendous threats if and when companies will ignore such. Moreover, globalization can be an opportunity and strength but can also be a threat if not to be keen and vigilant of its tricks and treachery. Further, rapid changes on technology and customers behavior can also be a threat if mistakenly interpreted and remedied. Opportunities The availability of immense services and products pose an opportunity to utilize them properly. The global changes can be an opportunity to work with while ignoring certain opportunities can be a weakness. In BA, virtual reality could provide a new use for simulation, obtaining network software and share expertise through special interest groups are opportunities which can be utilized and used to further enhance the companys business. Technological trends provide ample opportunities to various business domains, however, if it will be taken for granted, opportunities can be a threat or weakness. Maximizing the global trends is a great opportunity to hold on to. Methodology The proposed methodology for this dissertation is case study research. Case study research is a common and popular method of conducting research in the field of social sciences. In this methodology, an event, individuals, or group are investigated and explained. This in depth investigation focuses on defining the particular instance in either descriptive or explanatory manner. (Hartley, 2004) The methodology is not merely storytelling; rather it describes and explains the event in much detail so the reader could understand the reasons for that event/instance. The case studies are building with multiple sources of data and evidence. They are usually focused on one aspect of the organization rather than the whole organization itself. (Merriam, 1998) Case study method is quite useful if one wants to understand and estimate the impact of a certain event. It is important to understand that case study methodology can only be used when rich amount of data is available so the case can actual ly be built using it. (Eisenhardt, 1989) Although it is quite popular method of conducting the research, it has its weaknesses as well. Researchers have criticized it because they feel that this method lacks reliability. The reliability is questioned when case study is build using the secondary data. This criticism states that the research cannot be relied on as it lacks researchers own research efforts, and the case is built on the research that was already available. (Stake, 1995)However there are more strengths to this methodology than weaknesses. The method is particularly praised due to its usefulness in providing a holistic view of an event or phenomena. It is also admired due to multiple sources of data and evidence that are used to build case study, as it provides multiple insight into the phenomena. (Gillham, 2000) Types of case study Researchers have devised and explained several categories of case studies. One of the popular models used to explained categories of case studies is by Yin. He defines these categories in terms of the number of event and single or multiple methods of analysis. Type 1: Single case design and single unit of analysis Type 2: Single unit of analysis and multiple case designs Type 3: Single case design and multiple units of analysis Type 4: Multiple case designs and multiple units of analysis Yin has also devised three types of case study, Exploratory: Used for new topics and reveals the facts about a certain event. This type of research is normally the first one and sets direction for future research. Researchers agree that this research is more related to What question rather than the Why question. Descriptive: This type of case study research focuses on a clearly define problem or research question. Its focus is on How and Who question Explanatory: the last type of case study research is explanatory, which focuses on Why question. It is usually build in exploratory and descriptive research and tries to find out preseason for an events occurrence. (Yin, 2008) This particular research will be built on using explanatory case study method. As we already know what happened in British airways due to change management programs, however we need to search the question of Why it happened? Sources of Data for case study In order to build up a case study, data needs to be collected. This data gathering can either be primary or secondary. The primar

Friday, October 25, 2019

Diabetes Essay -- Biology Biological Medical Health Essays

Diabetes Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that "occurs when the body is unable to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose to enter the cells of the body and generate the body's energy" (Ebony, 115). Diabetes is a disease that affects approximately 3% of the world' population. In American alone, 10.3 million people report having diabetes, while an estimated 10 million more individuals may have undiagnosed diabetes (Morwessel, 540). The gene for diabetes is located in the HLA region on chromosome 6, and the most probable organization of the responsible gene is on a 19-kb region of INS-IGF2, which affects HLA-DR4 IDDM susceptibility. Diabetes Mellitus, was first diagnosed in the year 1000 BC, by the father of Indian medicine, Susrata of the Hindus (Knott, 539). The actual term was coined by Apollonius of Memphis in 230 BC. Like other complex gene disorders, diabetes does not have an identifiable inheritance pattern, although the disease seems to cluster within families (Morwessel, 552). Two different forms of diabetes mellitus exist: Type I and Type II. Type I, formerly known as IDDM or insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, affects 10% of diabetics. The remaining 90% are induced with Type II, formerly known as NIDDM or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Nelson et al, 227). Type I diabetes is the most common chronic illness during childhood development, and usually evolves in individuals under the age of 15. The formation of Type I diabetes usually shortens the life span by an average of 10-20 years. While Type I diabetes is the more severe form, Type II diabetes is the more common form. It seems to affect individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, mainly Asian, African, Mexican, an... ...etes (Morwessel 550). Works Cited: Abramovitz, Melissa. Taking Control of Diabetes. Current Health 2. Jan 1999. Vol. 25. Issue 5. 19-22. Dahlquist, G. The aetiology of type I diabetes: an epidemiological perspective. ACTA Paediatr Suppl. 1998. Vol. 425. 5-10. Ebony. Diabetes Copin with a Deadly Disease. Mar 1999. Vol. 54. Issue 5. 115-118. Goyder, Elizabeth and Irwig, Les. Screening for Diabetes: What are we Really Doing? British Medical Journal. Dec 1998. Vol. 317. Issue 7173. 1644-1647. Morwessel, Nancy. The Genetic Basis of Diabetes Mellitus. AACN Clinical Issues. Nov 1998. Vol. 9. No. 4. 539-553. Nelson, Robert, and Everhart, James and Knowler, William, and Bennett, Peter. Incidence, Prevalence, and Risk Factors for Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. June 1998. Vol. 15. Number 2. 227-246. Diabetes Essay -- Biology Biological Medical Health Essays Diabetes Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that "occurs when the body is unable to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose to enter the cells of the body and generate the body's energy" (Ebony, 115). Diabetes is a disease that affects approximately 3% of the world' population. In American alone, 10.3 million people report having diabetes, while an estimated 10 million more individuals may have undiagnosed diabetes (Morwessel, 540). The gene for diabetes is located in the HLA region on chromosome 6, and the most probable organization of the responsible gene is on a 19-kb region of INS-IGF2, which affects HLA-DR4 IDDM susceptibility. Diabetes Mellitus, was first diagnosed in the year 1000 BC, by the father of Indian medicine, Susrata of the Hindus (Knott, 539). The actual term was coined by Apollonius of Memphis in 230 BC. Like other complex gene disorders, diabetes does not have an identifiable inheritance pattern, although the disease seems to cluster within families (Morwessel, 552). Two different forms of diabetes mellitus exist: Type I and Type II. Type I, formerly known as IDDM or insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, affects 10% of diabetics. The remaining 90% are induced with Type II, formerly known as NIDDM or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (Nelson et al, 227). Type I diabetes is the most common chronic illness during childhood development, and usually evolves in individuals under the age of 15. The formation of Type I diabetes usually shortens the life span by an average of 10-20 years. While Type I diabetes is the more severe form, Type II diabetes is the more common form. It seems to affect individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, mainly Asian, African, Mexican, an... ...etes (Morwessel 550). Works Cited: Abramovitz, Melissa. Taking Control of Diabetes. Current Health 2. Jan 1999. Vol. 25. Issue 5. 19-22. Dahlquist, G. The aetiology of type I diabetes: an epidemiological perspective. ACTA Paediatr Suppl. 1998. Vol. 425. 5-10. Ebony. Diabetes Copin with a Deadly Disease. Mar 1999. Vol. 54. Issue 5. 115-118. Goyder, Elizabeth and Irwig, Les. Screening for Diabetes: What are we Really Doing? British Medical Journal. Dec 1998. Vol. 317. Issue 7173. 1644-1647. Morwessel, Nancy. The Genetic Basis of Diabetes Mellitus. AACN Clinical Issues. Nov 1998. Vol. 9. No. 4. 539-553. Nelson, Robert, and Everhart, James and Knowler, William, and Bennett, Peter. Incidence, Prevalence, and Risk Factors for Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. June 1998. Vol. 15. Number 2. 227-246.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

How does Jane Austen portray pride in the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’?

For my English coursework I have decided to consider the question: How has Jane Austen portray pride in the novel Pride and Prejudice? This question asks about mostly characters and their self-respect, dignity and pride there are many different meanings of pride here are a few: 1. Inordinate self-esteem, unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority. 2. Insolence, arrogance. 3. Sense of dignity, self-respect and proper self-esteem. 4. Generous elation or satisfaction arising out of some accomplishment, possession or relationship. 5. A source of such elation. 6. The acme, the highest point, the best condition. I will approach this question by going through, firstly the characters with types of positive and negative pride and then the characters with comic and changing pride. Pride can be classed as a positive concept. A positive form of pride in Jane Austen's novel would, I think be Lizzy. Lizzy is very proud of her family despite how sometimes they might embarrass her. For example, the way Lydia and Catherine act when there out at dinner. â€Å"Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough to never be without partners, which was all they had yet learned to care for at a ball†. This would suggest how flirtatious Lydia and Catherine are. Another quotation to suggest this would be: â€Å"I am astonished that you should be so ready to think your own children are silly†. This is written in Caroline Bingley's letter to Mr Bennet. A second example of this is the way Mrs Bennet talks to Mr Darcy, because of holding a grudge against him when he first arrived at Longbourn (Darcy would dance with no-one but the Bingley sisters, either because the weren't pretty enough or of a lower class). â€Å"You know how I detested it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner† My last example would be when Lydia ran off with Wickham. This is the stage in the story where the Bennets have realised what Wickham's really like and about his sinister character. Lizzy also never looks down on anyone and I think she may believe in equality. Being headstrong and sometimes quite arrogant may let Lizzy down a little, but Lizzy speaks her mind and the way she feels when confronted or confronting showing her pride in her family and friends. For example when Collins proposed to Lizzy, she would none of it and turned him down three times. When telling her that no one else would take pleasure in engaging with her she stood strong and said she had never been treated in such an abominable, rude and UN-gentlemen-like manor. An example of Lizzy speaking her mind, When she turned Collins proposal down the first time, as it was fashionable to turn the first proposal down, but the second or third should've been accepted. This displayed how much Lizzy detests Collins. I think Liz zy was quite prejudice though. At the beginning of the novel she judges Darcy on his pride because Wickham tells her of how sinister Darcy is to try and win Lizzy's love. ‘ If late Mr Darcy had liked me less, His son might have borne me with better; but his fathers uncommon attachment to me irritated him early in life†. This is one of Wickhams lies that Lizzy sadly fell for. Wickham is trying to say that Darcys' father paid more attention to him than Darcy. Darcy then got jealous and started disliking Wickham. Lizzy's empathetic reply to this was: â€Å"I had not thought Mr Darcy so bad as this†. As Lizzy falls gullibly she expresses her feelings for Wickham. While Wickham smugly smiles at his attempt to poison Lizzy. When Lizzy realises she has judged wrong, she fiercely chastises herself for misjudging Darcy. â€Å"Infact my feelings are quite the opposite† This is what Lizzy says on Darcy's second proposal. Jane Bennet portrays positive pride in the way she looks e.g. the posture and the structure in the way she sits, stands and walks. She also shows great pride in her mother and some in the rest of her family. Jane's pride in the way she looks is strongly criticised when Mr Bingley disengages from her. This would make Jane feel very degraded. Jane is very sad about Mr Bingley leaving her, when she hears news of his return her face lights up and her pride is given back to her. This is because she knows he is coming back to see her. Mr Bennet has a lot of pride in Lizzy as he thinks she is the brightest one of his daughters. He stands by Lizzy in all she does. â€Å"We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man, but this would be nothing if you really liked him†. This is what Mr Bennet has learned that Lizzy has accepted Darcys' second proposal. Mr Darcy was determined to not make himself look daft/pathetic again he makes sure that Lizzy is not leading him on before he properly proposes: â€Å"I could not have addressed you in any possible way that Would induce you to accept me. So tell me if your feelings Are as they were before†. Georgina on the other hand is very proud of her brother and the way she has been brought up. She obviously shows pride in her family and in all she does. I think Georgina looks up to her brother (Darcy) and respects him greatly in all he does. The negative version of pride appears in this novel quite often. A lot of it appears in conversations between the Bingley sisters. The Bingley sisters are some of the most prejudice people throughout this book. They think they are a step above the rest and only have friends with ‘money'. They think that all women should be elegant females and learn to play at least one instrument, sew and act lady like (basically to be accomplished). â€Å"Women are inclined to learn to play at least one instrument fluently† It shows us this when Lizzy dashes half way across the countryside by foot to visit her sick sister. The greeting she gets is an unimpressed one and they are dicusted in her unladylike exertion. â€Å"Yes and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, and the gown which had been let down to hide it, not doing its office†. The Bingley sisters are proud in every thing they do and given chance to talk about themselves would claim to be the best (or ‘one of'). Their clothes they wear in the video portray their class in society and they are very arrogant, self-worrying people. Lady Catherine de Burgh is also another example of being very prejudiced or if not, the most prejudiced in the book. There isn't a lot of Lady Catherine in the story until the end, but all the way throughout there are refers to her and her strong influences she has on people i.e. Mr Collins. â€Å"Lady Catherine said I should marry as I am a clergyman† Lady Catherine has a lot of pride, mostly in herself but some in her daughter. Lady Catherine is also extremely arrogant and does not like things when they don't go her way. E.g. when Lady Catherine heard news of Darcy wanting to propose to Lizzy again, she storms up to Longbourn by horse and carriage to declare that Lizzy refuses his offer as Darcy is engaged to be with Lady Catherine's daughter. Lizzy standing up for her rights bites back at Lady Catherine and makes no such promise to say no to Darcy. She ends up doing quite the opposite and accepting his offer. In the beginning of the novel Darcy is a very proud, arrogant and upper, top class person (so he seems to think). An early start became a bad start when he went to the first dinner and saw Lizzy. Darcy portray his arrogance by dancing with Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley. Only Mr Bingley saw Darcy and tried to make him dance with Lizzy, but he said: â€Å"She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me†. Comic Pride is a rare pride in this novel and can be seen in at least two of the characters. The first Character it occurs in is Mr Collins he has so much self-love he could make Lady Catherine vomit! Mr Collins shows his smugness in almost everything he does. When asking for Lizzy's hand in marriage, thinking that she couldn't turn him down financially or because its not something an 18th century woman would do. This refers to meaning 5 on the first page. Mr Collins also had the audacity to say that Lizzy would be daft to say no, as no one else would want to marry her because of her finances. â€Å"You should take it to farther consideration that inspite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may never be made of you†. Collins is funny in the way he moves and acts I would describe him as behind the time (old fashioned). He shows huge respect for Lady Catherine by doing everything she tells him to do. E.g. She said he should get a wife and settle down. So he obeyed her and went to ask for Lizzys hand in marriage. The other example of comic pride would be Mrs Bennet. She always claims she's right and I think she's two faced. One minute she will say that Mr Bingley is an arrogant, self-centred person for dumping Jane, and when news travels he's coming to visit shes really nice to him. E.g. She creeps round him asking how his journey was and how was he. She claims she's always right by, for example when Lydia ran off she said she would never come back she's been kidnapped. When she heard Lydia was coming back married she said she always knew she'd come back. Both these characters are humorous in the novel and the video, but do get quite annoying. Changing Pride also happened only once or twice in this novel. The first person it happens to is Lizzy as her pride changed when she realised she'd thought wrong of Darcy. At first she saw him as rude and arrogant but by the end she saw that she really loved him. She learned to see through all his arrogance and self-centredness and saw the polite and pleasant Darcy. This changed her views on Darcy and gave her reason to accept his proposal second time round. Darcy the mostly changed character. He has fallen for Lizzy and realises he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. At the start or the book Darcy could've been described as arrogant, self-centred/confident man I think Lizzy's influences changed Darcy's pride and he started looking at people for what they were and not what they looked like. She did this by making him realise what's she was like deep down and not what she looked like on the outside or of her family name. The Pride in this novel is what I think keeps the story going, it makes it a lot more exciting to read. All four of these prides mixed in to one and written in the most interesting ways stops you from wanting to put this book down.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Essay on Renting Hearts Essay

Science fiction is a genre, whose stories take place in an imaginary environment where science, and in particular the technological development has undergone more or less significant changes with effect on both society and individuals. Science fiction is based on more or less imaginative themes of science results and ways of looking. The topics are often about high tech future societies, space travels, time travels, creatures, end of world, different universes etc. [1] The short story takes place in the future where the technology has taken over, and where people can buy their happiness for money, and that human now just can go to a rental shop and get a new heart in order to avoid pain When you fall in love, often you will get or end up with a broken heart. It happens for almost every one, who gets in relations with other people. But in this short story, you can get out and rent a new heart, and meet other relations without having any fear of getting hurt. The short story is about a person that has been in love with a lot of people, and then tries to not getting hurt. When he/she is getting hurt by the relations she/he goes through, he/she keeps going to the â€Å"rental place†, every time he/she falls in love, so instead of dealing with some of the pain and letting it get worse, he/she just visit the rental place and rent a new heart. There is no information or any descriptions about the main characters sex, but I would say that it is a teenage boy because he does not appear to be dramatically, and does not describe the actions detailed, as a girl would do generally. The main character is a teenager, since a typical teenager would say â€Å"And our love was going to last forever, which at our age meant six months. † It starts with his first love with Jacob, where he was very much in love with him, and they were happy for each other. â€Å"†¦ first heart. Jacob was as solid and golden as a tilled field, and our love was going to last forever, which at our age meant six months. Every time Jacob touched me, I felt my heart thud wetly against my lungs. But in the last, Jacob left him which broke his heart. . A year later he meets Anna, who is a girl. She tells him to go and rent a heart so he may be able to fall in love, because he is afraid to fall in love, since his heart has been broken before. Renting hearts made him not to feel any pain again, because of this opportunity to rent a heart. Teenagers are often confused, and a lot of things don’t make sense, especially love and relations. They fall in love quickly, and as they fall in love, they can easily fall off again. Throughout the short story, he meets both men and women, which says that he is bisexual. It may also be quite normal in this society, in the future, where you in fact can simply buy a new heart, where it is possible to try anything without noticing any consequences, otherwise it may be because he is confused about his own sex and therefore he is trying to figure out his relations to both men and women. The main character seems to have it difficult to find a balance in his life, because he cannot live without being with a regular partner, or without having someone who loves him. He cannot even manage to break up with a partner, and naturally calm down, and it is pretty hard for him, where he will feel sorrow for a long time, which he cannot stand, and therefor has to switch his mechanic heart, to get in better conditions and save himself from the pain. Another problem with the main character is that he cannot incorporate his feelings, especially with regards to be an open person towards his relations properly. He fall in love, without looking for his partners criteria, and even don’t find out if the partner matches his expectations, but will instead end up in relation without any feelings and without any fear of falling in love and get hurt. I don’t think that he lives under a safe environment with values such as family, friends or work, or a stable structure. That is what I assume. He is actually locking himself out of the truth, and he knows that his actions are wrong, so he make himself renting hearts as a facade but is still feeling bad about his life because everyone who rent a heart will realize that pain isn’t just in the heart, but also in the mind, and it cannot be obviated.