Crystal Edge Restaurant Essay Example for Free

Crystal Edge Restaurant Essay Type of Business Crystal Edge Restaurant is a sole trader venture that is owned and operated by Miss Jheneal Hall. She is responsible for the daily running of this restaurant, any profits or losses or any problems that the business encounters she is held accountable. Crystal Edge Restaurant will provide exquisite fine dining services to both local residents and tourists who visit the busy area of New Kingston. Other individuals from other areas are also welcomed to dine over high quality meals. The main objective here at Crystal Edge is to ensure that persons dine over healthy foods, in a nice clean friendly environment with an essence to feel home away from home. Our mission statement is To ensure that each guest receives prompt, professional, friendly and courteous service. To maintain a clean, comfortable and well maintained premises for our guests and staff. To provide at a fair price nutritional, well-prepared meals using only quality ingredients. To ensure that all guests and staff are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. To thank each guest for the opportunity to serve them. By maintaining these objectives we shall be assured of a fair profit that will allow us to contribute to the community we serve. Justification of Loctaion Crystal Edge Restaurant is located in the commercial area of New Kingston at 4-6 New Kingston Shopping Centre. The restaurant is located here for several reasons: * Because of the large number of individuals that come here to shop and work, so therefore it is worth starting up a business in this vicinity because we see where profits can be maximized. * Another reason for the selection of this location is that it is accessible and safe for customers. * The government provides tax relief for restaurants operating in this area Selection of Appropriate Labour The type of labour necessary at Crystal Edge Restaurant is unskilled labour. The restaurant will need a total of nine (9) employees. The employment process will be done with aid of applications forms and resumes and the nine employees that will be selected will have different roles to play to make Crystal Edge Restaurant a success. The restaurant will need a head chef, an assistant chef, three waitresses, two janitors and two cashiers. The head chef which is also the owner plans and prepares the meals with the assistant chef to help in the preparation of meals also. The three waitresses will work extremely hard on a daily basis to ensure that the customers’ orders are taken and the food is delivered to them and also cleans the tables after other customers have finished dining. The janitors are responsible for cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen and dining area to ensure a clean and healthy environment and lastly two cashiers that cash the orders taken and give a printed receipt. This type of labour is necessary because it is an inexpensive way of accomplishing production and service goals without raising consumer costs. Sources of Fixed and Working Capital My sources of fixed and working capital are funding all my savings and a loan from the commercial bank. Some examples of fixed assets that will be bought are equipment, furniture’s, dishes, glassware, silverware and cookware’. working capital is defined as raw material, money and other items that are used up in the day to day running of the business or the goods that are constantly being used up in the business in it daily operation . Some examples of working capitals are the food inventory, supplies, and worker’s wages and salaries. Role of the Entrepreneur The entrepreneur is optimistic and future oriented; I believe that success is possible and I’m willing to risk my resources in the pursuit of profit. I’m fast moving, willing to try many different strategies to achieve my goals of profits. And I’m flexible, willing to change quickly when I get new information. The entrepreneur is also needed to invest skills and management abilities to promote production. Three functions of the entrepreneur are: * Entrepreneur initiates the business activity Meaning the entrepreneur has to start the business activity by preparing a proper plan. The plan should deal with the type of goods and services to be produced, sources of raw material and credit, type of technology to be used, the markets where the products can be sold, etc. The plan should be detailed one covering all the aspects of the business * Entrepreneur is the decision maker The most vital function an entrepreneur discharges refers to decision making in various fields of the business enterprise. He is the decision maker of all activities of the enterprise. * Managerial Function: Entrepreneur performs a variety of managerial function like determination of business objectives, formulation of production plans, product analysis and market research, organisation of sales procuring machine and material, recruitment of men and undertaking, of business operations. The entrepreneur also undertakes the basic managerial functions of planning, organising, co-ordinating, staffing, directing, motivating and controlling in the enterprise. Type of Production Crystal Edge is involved in primary production. Primary production can be described as extracting raw materials from the earth. We are involved in this type of production because we produce breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis, so it is inour best interest to grow our natural foods such fruits, vegetables and some spices to also reduce expenditures on imports on help to stop global warming. Levels of Production Crystal Edge production will be for the domestic market. Meal will be prepared and served to local residents as well as tourist who visit the New Kingston area at reasonable and affordable prices.

Overview Of Ethical Dimension In Decision Making Process Commerce Essay

Overview Of Ethical Dimension In Decision Making Process Commerce Essay This piece of work explores the ethical dimension in decision making process and factors that influences managers behavior. It also explore conditions at which managers make decisions, how they access opportunities and why the needs to maintain sensitivity and be guided by their moral compass in reaching high ethical values in all their activities. The short fall of ethical issues shall also be address. Ethical misconduct has become a major issue in recent time that has led to the collapse of hitherto successful companies. Accounting fraud, inside trading of stock and bonds information, falsifying document, bribery, deceptive advertising, defective products employee theft, non punishable gross ethical misconducts, lack of proper governance are all problems cited as evidence of the decline ethical standards. Respectable business men and women, politicians have to resign disgracefully or imprisons for ethical indiscretions. Ethics in business has now taken a new centre stage in the cor porate world as Global businesses are now working closely together to establish standards of acceptable behavior. The benefit of ethics cannot be overemphasize, many organizations who uphold ethics are reaping its benefit such as employee commitment, customer satisfactions, investor loyalty and above all soaring profit. INTRODUCTION It is perceived that a cultural diversity in work place arises from upholding ethical values, which is linked to morals which in it self is linked to performance. One cannot talk about ethics without mentioning values, morals and principles. They are all interlinked and one explains the other. For example, Ethics- a moral principle or set of moral values held by an individual. Morals principles of behavior in accordance with standards of right and wrong. Values moral principles or accepted standards of a person or a group. Principles a standard or rule of personal conduct. Thus Business ethics is a set of moral principles for arriving at a decision within the values of the organization. Ethics is very controversial because of its discretional nature of it makes it open to different interpretations and applications, for this reason it can be manipulated to suit certain situations and many employees and managers have gone unscratched. For example an employee, who produces the best s ales results but continues to be racist after several warnings do you dismiss him and lose your best sales personnel? This situation does not only require honesty and courtesy. As controversial ethics may be, its importance has risen in modern times. So why is ethics so important? They are because, they are very the foundations on which a civilized society is base on and without them civilization may collapse; its purpose in business is to direct employees to abide by a code of conduct that maintains discipline and facilitates public confidence in that business. Ethics ought to be and must be taught, its values cannot be managed; its a personal thing and is about standards. Ethical values translated into management behaviors can make the difference between employee satisfaction and frustration. Making good ethical decisions requires sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact on course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely essential. It is only by carefully exploring a problem, aided by the insights, intuition and different perspectives, can managers make good ethical choices in pressing needs. Minor moral behavior is usually an outcome of a decision process Moral and ethical behaviors are used interchangeably; this is because ethical behaviors are usually base on morals. Morality is usually used to refer to a code of conduct put forward by any actual group. Ethical behavior is acting in ways that is consistent with one personal values and the commonly held values of the organization and society Naran (1992) .Aristotles view of some of the key elements of a moral character includes Courage, which allows managers to assume reasonable risks when in dilemma, its demonstrate initiative but are not foolhardy. Temperance, which allows managers to channel their drives and ambitions in creative ways without being excessive. Justice, which is associated with trying to find a balance between competing forces, and which is essential in balancing stakeholders claims in addition to honesty, integrity etc. Managers are perceived to be morally upright whose responsibility is to make decisions that seek common good. Even though they are perceived this way, yet they have a choice to follow either their own values or the company values enshrine in CSR, which according to Institute of Business Ethics is the core values and codes of ethical behaviors that underpin everything that the business does and how a company chooses to interact with its global and local communities in the light of its values and ethics. It is also the area where the agency problem arises (i.e. the conflict of interest between managers and owners, where managers could forgo the interest of shareholders and work in their own self fish interest). For example Enrons Kenneth Lay had the choice between honoring shareholders or himself and he chose the latter over the former. Albert Carr in 1968 referred a decision maker as game player who cannot be trusted to accommodate all stakeholders in his decision. Because a business should not seek to satisfy goals other than seeking profit by legal and acceptable means Friedman (1790). What is acceptable means is where ethical behaviors are traded off. For instance, will a shareholder prefer to have more profit unethically? Are they just interested in returns which most of them do or seek the good for all? E.g. Cadbury was taken over by Kraft, the shareholder knew there would be jobs losses yet because of returns, they went ahead, were they seeking good for many or themselves?). Both Carr and Friedman appear to support aggressive profit chasing style of management but differ in the approaches. Carr is of the view that, the morality of the poker player is what counts which means that, the morality of the company should be burnt to favor that game player. But the question is how moral can a manger be trusted to be? WorldComs Bernie Ebbers was trusted for that, occupying a reputable position in a reputable company but what did he do? This is where Friedman assert ion that profit should be chased within the parameters of decency and legality is of great value in business ethics, which is the application of ethical values to business behavior and applies to any and all aspects of business conduct, from boardroom strategies to treatment of suppliers to sales techniques and accounting practices. Ethics goes beyond the legal requirements for a company and is, therefore, discretionary. Business ethics applies to the conduct of individuals and to the conduct of the organization as a whole. It is about how a company does its business, how it behaves intrinsically. Most companies seek to do business ethically in order to make profit but an ethical business, on the other hand has a much broader agenda and focuses on making a positive contribution to the community. For example a mainstream bank may take ethics seriously by taking responsibility for its negative impacts on society and the environment and seeking to minimize those impacts. An ethical ban k, such as The Co-operative Bank, states that it seeks to make the world a better place by taking a different approach to banking. In the case of this type of business, ethics becomes at least as high a priority as profitability. Decision makers are constantly tested with a host of ethical issues such as bribery, conflicts of interest environmental protection, fairness, fraud, honesty in research and testing, public safety, utilitarianism etc. BAE systems recently pleaded guilty to bribery allegations. Where was their ethical code? It appears to suggest that, these companies have persuasive ethical codes but fall short of reflecting on their day to day activities and a deterrent to such unethical practices. The lack of legal enforcement of these ethical codes is belittling its impacts. Let consider the words of Kenneth Lay July 1 2000 As officers and Enron Corp, its subsidiaries, and its affiliated companies, we are responsible for conducting the business affairs of the companies in accordance with all applicable laws and in a moral and honest mannerWe want to be proud of Enron and to know that it enjoys a reputation for fairness and honesty and that it is respected. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Compliance with the law and ethical standards are conditions of employment and violations will result in disciplinary action, which may include terminationin addition to responding to the Act, we are adopting this Policy Statement to avoid even the appearance of improper conduct on the part of anyone employed by or associated with the CompanyWe have all worked hard over the years to establish our reputation for integrity and ethical conductà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We cannot afford to have it damaged. Those were the words of Kenneth Lay yet he damaged and collapsed Enron and never obeyed any single word from the code of ethics he wrote. Ethical codes are increasingly becoming a norm for businesses and will soon become a white elephant except some actions be taken to address its lack of enfor cement and proper oversight. The absence of punishment essentially provides an opportunity for unethical behaviors. Managers may not be taught to have good morals but can be force to follow ethical codes. Corporate governance was created as a accountability, oversight and control with accountability referring to how closely the workplace decisions are aligned with the firms stated strategic direction and its compliance with ethical and legal considerations and oversight as a check and balances that limit an employees and managers opportunities to deviate from policies and strategies that prevent unethical and illegal activities and control to take charge of auditing and improvement. This was a brilliant idea with the board of directors as the officers in charge. These board of directors who have legal responsibility for the firms resources and decisions, appoint executives and assume fiduciary duties have used such positions to enrich themselves according to Ferrell, (2005) most boa rd of directors meet irregularly and spent less time to take the most complex decisions but spend more time in executive compensations. Most respondents in his survey agree that directors compensations are too. Unfortunately the people or the bodies who suppose to regulate, stress and point out unethical issues have become accomplices. For example Former head of Royal Bank of Scotland was accused of a host of wrong doings when he never acted alone. And most of his decisions were approved by the board of directors. As if that was not enough his successor defended feverishly the roar of the bonuses has brought huge debate in the public including a parliamentary committee. Arthur Andersen supposes to haven been the Accountants Accountant (Auditors) who suppose to have been the eyes for Enron and WorldCom shareholders, but what did they do? Were they honest and fair? Did they protect the shareholders and investors? Were they not partners in crime to immoral Kenneth lay and his allies to defraud the general public? So who can the public trust on ethical issues and utilitarianism, the very people who suppose to know better are worse off. To sum up: Ethics is not the same as feelings. But good morals triggers intuition which needs to be trusted sometimes in complex decisions making which help to steer moral compass. Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most religions do advocate high ethical standards but sometimes do not address all the types of problems we face. Yet where ethics are tied to religious belief there has been less misconduct. Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as some totalitarian regimes have made it. Law can be a function of power alone and designed to serve the interests of narrow groups. But if only ethics can be enforced most of the corrupt practices shall reduce. Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms but where ethics becomes a way of life there has been much result. A decision is usually a choice among alternatives (McManus, 2009). It is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. It is a cognitive process which consists of finding the best option from a feasible set. Many decision making processes, in the real world, take place in an environment of uncertainty in which managers some time rely on probabilities and gut feeling(intuition) beside rational to make decisions. Thus every decision involves certain amount of risk. Where there is no uncertainty, there is no risk and where there is certainty there is no decisions to be made. There are different types and levels of decisions with different input and outcome but whatever the decision might be the processes are the same though it differs in substance and in content. For example strategic decisions are long term heuristic control from board and top management is usually associated with high risk because of the uncertain future. Tactical decisions, medium term and qualitative with moderate risk for middle and functional management and operational which is short term, day to day quantitative activities with l ow risk for lower management. These levels and types of decisions usually involve 6 main steps from identification of a need or problem which involves defining the underlying problem to be solved with clearly stated desired outcome or the goal, to developing alternatives which is exploring other ways or possible solution to achieve the stated goal, to evaluating alternative which is analyzing each alternative and its includes comparing alternative, weighting, rating and ranking alternatives to find out the best feasible option then selection which could be more than one option, to implementation which is a very crucial step because all the people involved in the implementation of a solution should know about the implications of making the decisions are, this is very essential to successful results and then monitoring which is watching over to make sure it reaches the goal. But there are various obstacles to good decisions, because the manager has to rely on others to input, it can s low decisions down or tilt it wrongly such as lack of information and the too much of it, lack of technical expertise, lack of constructive criticisms, noncommittal, over confidence, prejudgment, reliance of past experience, supply of wrong information, dominance individuals etc. In all of these processes managers are expected to behave in a certain way (ethically). Because a company cannot be a moral agent but they are however held to the same standard as individuals, a manager personal morality should not be separated from business morality. As the impact of a companys actions on society requires them to consider the whole social system in making a decision, as business doesnt operate in a vacuum. Whether a decision is reach base on rational or probability, the intuition (gut feeling) factor will always have the final say. Most managers make decisions that reflect on their persona, thus a morally corrupt mangers like WorldComs Bernie Ebbers, Adelphias John Rigas, Tycos Dennis Kozl owski, Livedoors Takafumi Horie, Samsung Group Lee Kun-hee, Daewoos Kim Woo-chaas etc made decisions that reflected on their morality. Ethical managers often back down on a decision when it doesnt feel right. Thus indeed a decision process is an outcome of moral behavior. A business situation occurs with a variety of threats and opportunities to goals and success Every problem or a need creates business opportunity with it associated risk. Managers ought to be sensitive to the dynamics of business environment with its rapid technological changes. Managers always scan their environment to spot opportunities, situations that they can take advantage of. They explore new ways of doing things, look to keep competitors at arms length, try to strengthen their competitive advantage and increase market share. They monitor their position and their products in the market place and also take advantage of a new market. Sometimes they diversify their portfolio to take a situational advantage. For example virgin airline spotted a business opportunity for space tourism because they saw a need which they thought they could provide. That was a massive ambition with huge risks and rewards, the aim is to provide tourist with an unforgettable experience in space flight, with the objective of provide sightseeing in aerospace. When its succeeds the benefit are very huge but the risk /threat of massive losses could scare them from such an adventure. This is where sound managers are called into action. First series of questions needs to be answered such as, is there a need for space tourism, what is the market size for such segment, who will be our primary targets, do we have the capacity in terms of funding and expertise, then a cost benefit analysis has to be done to ascertains the viability of it, A survey will be carried out as part of the strategies to test the market readiness for such adventure and when the space craft is ready a test flight has to carried out. In all of these, managers have to take a calculated risk not to overexpose the company. The threat of failure, being the first of its kind, safety and accidents issues will be a major concern. The target market would be the very elite the rich class. This could pave way to charging exorbitant prices that may lead to exploitation of such people, as a monopoly in the market. This is where mangers need to be guided by their moral fiber, to address the safety issues and setting fair prices to avoid exploitation. Opportunities do not come all the time and a proactive manager creates opportunities, but not all opportunities are advantageous. For example every business has its own risk threshold beyond it will be a disaster. There are some risk that can be passed on or diversify others can not be they are called systematic and non systematic risk. Some greedy managers would want to grab every opportunity and loose sight of systematic risk that cannot be mitigated by diversification such risk could collapse businesses. In accessing opportunities both risk takers and risk averse managers needs to take some level of risk (a calculated risk). Most managers access opportunities in light of PEST and SWOT especially if the opportunity is in abroad as these two analysis helps to uncover any hidden threat or risk. Political factors such as the type of government and its stability, the rule of law and levels of bureaucracy and corruption, Tax policy, and trade and tariff controls, environmental and consu mer-protection legislation. Economic factors such as stage of business cycle, economic growth, inflation and interest rates, unemployment , labor supply and cost, levels of disposable income and income distribution, the likely changes in the economic environment Socio-Cultural factors such as population growth rate and age profile, level of education and social mobility, employment patterns, job market freedom and attitudes to work. Technological Environment: Impact of emerging technologies, impact of internet, reduction in communications costs and increased remote working, research and development activity and impact of technology transfer. The effective use of PEST Analysis ensures that the business is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting the business world. By taking advantage of change, the company is more likely to be successful than if its activities oppose it. PEST Analysis helps to avoid taking action that is doomed to failure from the outset, for reasons beyond the control of the manager and it also useful when the opportunity is in different country or region. This analysis should be done in conjunction with SWOT analysis STRENGHT WEAKNESS OPPORTUNITIES THREAT By access the internal factors (strength and weakness) such as the capacity expertise, funding etc some of the inherit risk or failure could be avoided before it takes off. Opportunities and threats are external factors such as new market, new product line diversification joint venture and acquisition, and threat such as new competitor, new taxation and tariffs. At the end of such analyses the manager would have all the options available to him to inform good choice or alternative move. But some times manager needs to acts quickly and cannot wait for these analyses, on that ground he must be guided by his expertise and his intuition to take a calculated risk to cease the opportunity if suit fit. A need to decide is recognized and alternatives must be evaluated and selected A need precede a decision. For a quality decision to be made, an unambiguous need must be identifies and recognized in the mind of the decision maker The decision maker has to understand the problem, the need and purpose of the decision, the criteria of the decision, subcriteria and who the stakeholders are. Quality decisions are mostly base on the quality of information available to the manager. Though more information doesnt guarantee better result and sometimes is as bad as little. Not all information is useful therefore; the manager will need to filter out which ones are necessary for the situation at hand. Alternatives must be carefully and objectively evaluated, prioritized, weighed, rated and ranked, their factual consequences explicitly determined and combined according to some predetermined utility function a choice is finally made to maximize utility. Harrison (1987) suggested five components in the decision-making function of comparing and evaluating alternatives: Analysis of the anticipated benefits and costs for each alternative. Estimation of the risk and uncertainties related to the like hood that given alternative will result in an outcome. Make closure on some one alternative i.e. eliminating or, probably some mixture of accessible alternatives Give reason for the choice of given alternative by fixed further on its attributes for attaining the objectives Determine and evaluate the outcomes expected to result from implementing the chosen alternative and where these are not feasible, the decision maker has to use his judgment. This is necessary because it is his responsibility to makes decision to salvage a situation or take advantage of, in all of these he must be guided by his personal values and the ethical code of the company, he will need to maintain his composure and allow his moral compass to guide him. A virtuous behavior usually extends from personal life into his business life. He will need to be sensitive to the environment and all the stakeholders. But sometimes they could be under pressure to take a stance or make a hasty move. For example President Bush went to war in Iraq when the September 11th was so fresh in the minds of Americans. The need to retaliate was so strong and the president was under enormous pressure to act and he acted under false pretence of weapons of mass destruction. Today many Americans wish they had not gone to war. Dialogue, sanctions and international pressure were options that he could have exercise, weighted ranked, instead he used his judgment which is usually base on feeling or an idea .Even though it came to light that the intelligent report on which he based his decisions on was wrong. This is how manger could make a bad decision with wrong information or little. Manager are tested every day with decision, they are being pressured all over because of the changing business environment, they have to think on their feet to make decisions with very little information, sometime they even have to gamble and hope that all goes well. This is where they have to trust their gut feeling to move forward. Time is generally short and at a premium. At this point, it is very easy for alternatives to be offered that require marginal moral behavior. This is when sensitivity to the moral compass is most needed. This is when objectionable moral behaviors can best be exposed and discarded. The right time is very important because businesses do not have much time to wait for a decision which is generally time consuming and uncomfortable and because of limitation in information collection and cumbersome processes, decision makers tends to settle for the first satisfactory solution which may be less than the ideal. Available time to business is determined by the gap between when a decision is to be made and when is actually made business. Between thos period profit can be made as losses. Businesses have strict times table some time and deadline must be met or never. For example, a competitive tender require specific date and time, if management are to make a bid they must meet it or loose the opportunity. Trading on the stock exchange is time bound; prices keep changing in a matter of seconds, a stock broker must make a move at the right time or loose out . Philip Kotler a marking authority believes the right product at the right time in the right place at the right price is very crucial to a successful business. Competitors could take advantage with the slighter delay. Businesses must strike at the right time or risk failure. Time value of money state that, money at the present time is worth more than the same amount in the future due to its potential earning capacity. Investment decision ought to be made at the right time if good returns are expected How can they adhere to personal and ethical values and their moral compass under these decision pressures? Strategic decisions set the tone for managerial decision making for all functional unit and individuals organization. If the decision making at the top of the organization is unproductive then the choices made at subordinate levels of management will be the similar. Likewise if top managements strategic choices tend to be successful, it permeates positively on choices made in other parts of the organization (Harrison 1987). According to Harrison (1987) argues that values are normative principles by which human beings are influenced by in their choices amongst alternative route of action. Values initiate principally at the level of the individual. It is also true, however, that groups have values, known as norms and organizations have values implied in their goals, objectives and their ethical codes. As a manager, decisions made should reflect the values of the whole organization REFRENCES Harrison E. (1987) the Managerial Decision-Making Process (3rd Edition) McManus J.(2010) Lecture 5, Managerial Decision Modelling, available Naran, F Your Role in Shaping Ethics, Executive Excellence, 9 (1992), 11 12 Ferrell,O.C Houghton Mifflin Company, USA 6th edition Carr A 1968. is business bluffing ethical Harvard Business review Friedman M. 1970 the social responsibility of business is to increase profit N.Y Time magazine John I have run out of time

The different types of video modeling

The different types of video modeling Video modeling is an evidence based practice used to teach a variety of socially relevant behaviors for children with Autism. Many times children with Autism are visual thinkers and learners. They learn best when information is presented to them visually rather than orally. Using video modeling, the children are provided with a visual model of a peer, adult, or themselves engaging in the targeted behavior they are expected to learn. After watching the video several times, the children are provided with an opportunity to imitate and generalize the behavior observed on the video. A number of studies have shown that video modeling increases play conversations between children with Autism and adults and peers. Since children with Autism struggle with social skills, it is beneficial to teach them to initiate play with others. Video modeling produces faster acquisition of the behavior and greater generalization in children with Autism than live modeling and without the use of reinforcements or prompting. Studies have confirmed that with video modeling, verbalization and play actions was maintained over time. Video modeling can be implemented from early childhood to adulthood and taught by professionals and parents in a variety of settings. It can be used in the classroom and at home by the parents to teach new skills the child needs to be successful. A benefit of using video modeling is that it allows for parents, teachers, and people collaborating with the child to use the same method to teach targeted skills. It is difficult to learn and master a skill if the child is practicing different ways with different people. Because children with Autism have difficulties generalizing it is important to work together to teach targeted skills the same way. Video modeling allows for caregivers to do this. By everyone working together the child can learn the initial skill quicker and then work on generalization systematically. The child will experience success when everyone is working together, using the same video, and teaching the same skill the same way. Video modeling procedures have been used successfully to teach a variety of adaptive behaviors such as social, play, self care, and academic skills. Types of Video Modeling There are several types of video modeling that are used with children with Autism. The most common types of video modeling include basic video modeling, video self-modeling, point-of-view video modeling, and video prompting. Basic modeling involves recording either an adult or a peer modeling the targeted skill. The child watches this video at a later time. Video self-modeling records the child with Autism displaying the targeted skill. The child then watches themselves in the video at a later time. The point-of-view video modeling shows a video recorded from the perspective of the child with Autism. Video prompting is used when teaching a step by step skill. It is recorded by breaking the targeted skill into steps and pausing after steps to give the child with Autism an opportunity to practice each step. Many studies have found great success when combining models. Research A study by Macdonald (2009) evaluated the effects of video modeling has in teaching children with Autism to engage in reciprocal pretend play with their peers without disabilities. The play included verbal interactions and cooperative play. The study consisted of two pairs of children, one with Autism and a peer without Autism. The pair was shown a video consisting of two adults acting out the sequence of pretend play. The children were directed to play and their responses, actions, and verbalizations were recorded. Both pairs demonstrated successful gains of play actions and increased verbalization between peers. The performance was maintained over time. The results of this study concluded that video modeling produced sequences of reciprocal pretend play between children with Autism and their peers without Autism. In this study, video modeling was an efficient strategy for teaching cooperative play. The appropriate play skills were gained with short exposure of the video and in the absence of reinforcements and prompting. A study conducted by Allen et al. (2010) examined the effects video modeling had on teaching vocational skills to four young men with Autism. The participantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ ages ranged from 16-25 years old. Video modeling was used to teach the four adolescents to wear a WalkAround Mascot costume and entertain the customers in a store. The video for the training showed a mascot performing in a scripted and naturalistic setting. The participants watched the video twice and were then taken to the store to imitate for 10 minutes the behavior seen in the video. According to the results of this study, all participants learned to use the vocational skills after watching the video model. The young men enjoyed the experiment and reported they would be interested in continuing to perform at the store when the experiment would be over. Allen (2010) states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“video modeling was an effective way to teach adolescents and young adults with ASDs to perform a vocational task in a soc ial settingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . A study designed by Nikopoulos and Keenan (2007) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling on building sequences of social behaviors. The study included three boys with Autism from the ages of 6.5-7 years old. The boys were given common objects that included a ball, a table, two rags, a vacuum cleaner, a plant pot, and a jacket. These objects were selected because of familiarization and to avoid instructions of using the objects appropriately. The participants were shown the video and data was collected after 5 minutes by observing behaviors in the areas of social initiation, reciprocal play, imitative responses, and object engagement. The study data suggest that the participants were successful in building a sequence of social behaviors. All of the students performed the activities in the same sequence as presented in the video. The participantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s showed generalization across peers and the appropriate behaviors were maintained after the 2 month fo llow up period. Research proved that video modeling was successful for children with Autism in this study. In the presented studies, video modeling has proven to be effective on children and adolescent with Autism. Results from these studies have demonstrated success across different settings and with the application of different skills. The results have also indicated that video modeling teaches skills at a rapid pace and with short exposure to the videos. In conclusion, video modeling procedures have been used to successfully teach many types of skills and behaviors in the areas of academics, social, self-care, daily living, community, vocational, and play. When used effectively research has shown to produce more rapid acquisition and greater generalization than live modeling. Video modeling has also shown that prompting and reinforcement are not necessary to help children acquire the targeted skill. Video modeling is a great tool because of the visually cued instruction that allows children with Autism to learn by observation.

The Politics of Obesity Essay -- Overweight Health Eating Habits Essay

The Politics of Obesity A March, 2005 headline on CNN.com brought deeply disturbing news to the American public: â€Å"Report: Obesity will reverse life expectancy gains.† For the past 200 years, life expectancy steadily increased thanks to medical advances such as the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines, but this upward trend is no longer guaranteed. Childhood obesity has already reduced the average life expectancy between four and nine months. â€Å"[T]oday’s generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history,† warned S. Jay Olshansky, the University of Illinois researcher and author of the study (1). In 2004, the US Center for Disease Control found that at least 66% of adults were overweight or obese—double the percentage in 1980—and that more than 1/6 th of kids ages 2-19 were overweight. Type II diabetes, usually caused by an unhealthy lifestyle rather than genetics, has increased as a side effect of obesity and heart disease is also on the rise. In short, obesity is a national epidemic. Accusatory fingers have been flying, each pointing to different possible causes for our tubby younger generation and their similarly overweight parents. Some blame video games that keep kids inside and sedentary and some see the shift toward desk jobs as the reason. Others claim that our car culture based on cheap gas is the culprit. Still others fault the fat-laden fast food, soda, and junk food that Americans consume by the ton. To be sure, these cultural phenomena are interconnected and no one cause can be blamed entirely, but one tiny acronym stands demurely behind this last category of diet-related causes: HFCS. High fructose corn syrup, the favorite food additive of Coke, ... ...ne wants to experience the pain and frustration of obesity, and surely we wish to protect our children from starting out life unhealthy and overweight. As consumers but more importantly as citizens, we must be informed about the HFCS and obesity for our children’s sake, and US agricultural and nutritional policy must reflect our concerns. Sources Cited: http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/16/obesity.longevity.ap/ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL Michael Pollan. â€Å"The (Agri)Cultural Contradictions of Obesity.† The New York Times Magazine. Oct 12, 2003. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8003-2003Mar10?language=printer http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/4/537 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15234599&dopt=Abstract

The Awakening - Personality Developments :: essays research papers

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT The idea that one can understand and comprehend the development of an individual is profound and abstruse, but very few people have actually had success dealing with such a topic. From obstacles such as proper test subjects to the whole stigma of taboo attached in trying to understand the human mind, researchers and psychologists have had success. One of the most notable successes is that of Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, as we know it. Freud’s in depth pioneering journey into the minds of people, and how the mind itself develops with the passing of time and events. Other modern psychologists have elaborated on Freud, including the psychologists Erik Erikson and Karen Horney. Their thoughts on the personality development of people relate directly to Kate Chopin’s book, The Awakening. In this book, the theories discussed by Freud and his successors are shown explicitly and implicitly. Obviously, Sigmund Freud’s work in the field of personality development was by far the most prolific and controversial. The father of modern psychology, Freud broke all barriers to expose what he thought to be the real reasons for human behavior. His theories of personality development can best start with the discussion of the conscious and the unconscious mind. The conscious mind—along with the lesser preconscious mind—is that part of the mind that one has control, or knowledge of. Ironically, this is the least part of the mind that one has control over. The so called "subconscious" mind is the part of the mind that lurks beneath the surface, filled with instincts, emotions, and unfulfilled desires (Shaffer 26). The total human mind is divided into the famous three parts of the Id, the ego, and the superego. The Id can be correlated directly to the subconscious, since it contains one’s innermost thoughts, feelings, and desires, or as Freud w ould call them, "wishes". The Id represents one’s innermost and primitive desires, such as food and reproduction, and it constantly drives one’s actions. The total antithesis of the Id is the superego. The superego in the case of personality development, comes directly from parents. This superego is consisted of the conscience (punishments and warnings) and the ego ideal (positive rewards and role models). Thus the superego can be defined as what keeps the Id in check, which leads to the ego. The ego is the rationalizing factor, it is the result of the superego and the Id, canceling each other out.

Health Development in Africa Essay

Throughout the world there is a growing concern about health as it is regarded as an essential part of the sustainable human development efforts. The growing importance of the health of the population is being highlighted in the economic circles, the foreign policy and the socio cultural settings. During the last 25 years, there has been drastic realization about health issues in the developing nations, which has given them hope of a better future for their children. Africa is one such region where poverty and hunger is widespread. This is the region where health care facilities are underdeveloped due to which many people face death. This paper, therefore, aims to devise and develop an essential health development policy, program and strategy for African region in order to eradicate the poverty. This forms the main thesis of the research paper (Mills, 1995). The role of health development has been gaining importance in the Africa and different countries are assisting the efforts by providing increased resources, which has put huge pressures on the weak health structure, organizational capabilities and workforce in one of the poorest regions of the country. There is a severe lack of planning and management of the health resources in this part of the world which has led to non- implementation of the health plans. The problem in the African region has been largely related to poverty, wars and conflicts, bad governance and non performance of health programs. This region also faces a huge virus of HIV and AIDS which increase the burden of disease (Loewenson, 1993). The domestic and international health polices for Africa have been drafted by international agreements of multiple countries which include Alma Ata Declaration of 1978, World Health Organization’s Bamako Initiative in 1987 and Paris Declaration of 2005, and including many more. The famous Alma Ata, known as the birth of primary health care or PHC, aims to provide a comprehensive and affordable health plan by providing health facilities at the most basic level. However the PHC failed to achieve its targets due to lack of infrastructure and facilities, staff, civil wars, natural disasters and issues of bad governance and corruption. Later various new international policies were tried which included the structural adjustment plan of the World Bank which was based on loans, privatization and cost recovery, however it failed to deliver due to various reasons (Sikosana, 2009). The Bamako Initiative was launched in 1987 which was aimed at access to quality health care and tackle the scarcity of medicine by a number of balanced policies which were implement able and are the perfect health development plan for the impoverished region of Africa. Together with the World Bank 1993 report, both the policies aim at providing the healthcare at the grass root level in order to eradicate poverty (Mills, 1995). The recommendations include improving primary healthcare at all the levels in an equitable manner which should be available to all the people at any income level. Another recommendation includes the decentralization of the management of the PHC to the district level as oppose to the earlier practice which limited the control to few big hospitals which was the reason for corruption and bad governance. The government should ensure equity of fees charged at all levels which would ensure homogeneity of services to rich and poor alike. The government should be highly committed to maintain and expand the PHC program and all the national health policies should be inline to one standard policy. The government should also closely monitor the whole policy implementation process and ensure services to the poor. Sustainable effort should also be made to for poverty alleviation through education, gender equity, improved mother and child health programs and AIDS control programs. For the African health problems, the policymakers should make integrated national plans and strengthen the health systems by empowerment, equity and sustainability of the efforts. The public private partnership is also essential for the sustainability of the strategy (Sikosana, 2009).

Pork Barrel Essay

I am an average teenager, but I am aware of what is happening in the country. One of the big problem that our country encounters today is CORRUPTION. â€Å"Pork Barrel† is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district. The usage originated in American English. In election campaigns, the term is used in derogatory fashion to attack opponents. The corruption in our country is passed by generation to generation. If we don’t act now as an living individual the next generation would still suffer, just think our children’s future if we don’t speak out or act out now. Yes, we do pay taxes but whenever you see the road trails and the situation of the poverty? Would you be happy? Is it worth seeing?. As we respond to the call of the times, we can say that we are all heroes. We are a nation of heroes: resilient and staunch in the face of adversity, ready to fight against the evil that is the pork barrel system. We are not only commemorating our fallen heroes – we are all heroes in our own right, in our own little way. The real cause behind corruption is absence of a â€Å"respectable justice system†. Philippine justice is not credible, and most of the Filipino people are losing respect for it, because it cannot enforce the rule of law against prominent characters and powerful corrupt government officials. Philippine justice is â€Å"POLITICALLY ADULTERATED† which means that it is more dominated by politicians who consider themselves the superior elites of society at the expense of the rights of the common people. It’s safe to say that their Glory days are long gone. When mostly the outsiders think that Philippines today is a political instability, economic struggle, crime, and corruption that often come to mind. As a Filipino citizen would you be proud to hear that? I think the answer is â€Å"NO†. When political leaders lie, cheat and steal, when public offices become public curse especially in terms of graft and corruption, when public funds go to private pockets, then we begin to realize how cruel and disgrace this act have done to our country. Because the politicians, are the most notorious abusers of the law where they feel they can simply steal the bounty of the people and cannot be made accountable for their wrongful acts. A changing nation?. Maybe changing for the worse, bribery, corruption, and plundering leaders. The trouble in our country is uncontrollable corruption and greed in the highest level we can imagine, but still we love our very own country Philippines. I c ould tell it’s corruption has become â€Å"a humanitarian crisis† and scandals increasingly to nominate the news. That’s why nowadays foreigners and citizens alike say that our country has the most corrupt leadership. The worsening action of corruption has eaten the right of every citizen to freedom, good governance, less poverty, having decent life and most of all having your dignity, purity, and clean conscience. Corruption is a serious obstacle to the social and economic status of the country. The biggest losers are the citizens or the Filipino people. In effect- the end users are made to pay for overpriced goods and services that are made with the low-quality or substandard goods and services being catered in our country. It is our right to demand real change, action and improvement from those who take our money from and spend it in our name. We have the right to stand in our own two feet for our own sake to see the real Freud. Sadly the corruption is not limited to just politicians and policemen. Everyone seems motivated by pure greed in the dog-eat-dog culture that has taken hold in the country. Let’s give thanks to the Philippine justice system that they can control at will. Corruption is the gravest threat in our country. Political Donations has a big part in corruption as you can see, some people the donation being given during campaign in order to gain the vote, are you one of them? I hope not. The concentration of the small group of elite families, seen in combination with political donations, gives these families with undue advantage and this had led to concerns as to their undue  influence on both Philippine politics and business life.