Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 2

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Top management is the one that usually determines the corporate culture. Corporate culture involves the main aims of an organization, the strategies that will be employed in meeting those aims and the way the stakeholders should behave while striving to achieve those aims. It takes the effort of the top management to maintain its culture, this is by interacting a lot and communicating effectively, especially to employees of what is expected of them, according to Auxillium West (2008). The culture can be either weak or strong. Weak is where the employees fail to identify with the values of the organization hence need to be pushed to carry out tasks from the organization’s point of view. While the converse is true for strong cultures as people tend to think as a group on the direction to be taken during decision making. Various methods have been employed in grouping cultural change. Some of them include Geert Hofstede who argues that organizational culture is influenced by natio nal and regional cultural groupings such as the different levels of power in the organization (power-distance orientation) , risk degree (uncertainty avoidance), individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity and time horizon (Long term vs. short term). Charles Handy groups include the power culture where power is centered in the hands of a few, role culture, task culture centered around the job to be done, person culture where the individual is deemed to be superior to the organization. Edgar Schein, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor argues that culture is the most difficult thing to change in an organization, more than the products, services, leadership, and other characteristics of an organization. In Schein’s model, the physical attributes of the organization that are tangible such as the buildings, awards, employee dressing etc belong to the first level. The culture of the

Theme of Punishment in Scarlet Letter Essay Example for Free

Theme of Punishment in Scarlet Letter Essay Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, the most powerful being punishment. In this novel, Hester Prynne becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. This object on her bosom; however, does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for. Eventually, Hester Prynne inverts all the odds against here due to her courage, pride and effort. Hester went beyond the letter of the law and did everything asked of here in order to prove that she is able. Hester became quite a popular seamstress, admired all over the town of Boston for her work. Hester is modest in everything that she does. Hester herself wears only poor clothing while she embroiders marvelous works for the rest of Boston. The only piece of clothing forbidden to create was the wedding vail. How could a woman wearing the scarlet letter create a dress that represents the values of marriage; having committed sin as she did to be involved in the marital bonds of another couple. Although she does the job willingly and rarely ever looks back to the horrid past behind. The scarlet letter was constantly worn by Hester with pride and dignity. Hester knew that what was done in the past was wrong and that the scarlet A as the right thing to do, therefor it is worn with a sense of pride. The child, Pearl, is a blessing and as a reminder of her sin. As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there was a brat of that hellish breed which would remind Hester of what happened in the past. The brat could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl is my happiness! Ye shall not take her! I will die first! Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself thought highly of the little child and Hester refused to let Pearl go. Hester carried the kid around only because it was a direct reflection f her sin and to cast away here sin as freely as that to give it away would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of Boston many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a womans strength. By now the people of Boston believe in Hester and accept her because Hester is an arduous, productive worker in the puritan society. The townspeople were reconsidering whether Hester was still worthy of wearing the scarlet letter by the time Hester was about to leave with Dimmesdale. The people of Boston realized what a good job Hester had done wearing it and what once was evil inside of Hester turned into good. The fact that Hester committed adultery was soon forgotten by the people around Hesters everyday life. Yet another meaning for the scarlet letter was brought about when a meteorite appeared above Boston, a sexton thought it represented the word Angel coming from above. What was once an ignoble member of the puritan way of life became a decorous woman.

The Changing Mattress Industry in America Essay -- Business Industry A

The Changing Mattress Industry in America Changes in the global environment in conjunction with the deepest and most prolonged economic downturn since the Great Depression have started what I believe is a sea change in the domestic mattress industry. Factors such as declining new home sales, tightening of consumer credit, the consumer confidence index still well below pre-recessionary levels (Wang, 2010) and unemployment hovering near 10% have all contributed to the end of conspicuous consumption for big-ticket items like mattresses and foundations (‘mattresses’). Mattress manufacturers will need to lower material and manufacturing costs, develop products that differentiate them from their competitors, or develop new channels of distribution in order to remain viable in rapidly changing global and task environments. Domestic production of mattresses in 2010 will be slightly below $6 billion, and almost 16% less than the peak mattress production of 2007. (International Sleep Products Association, 2010). Many consumers have lost confidence in the economic state of the country and therefore have begun to believe that, as Newt Gingrich said recently, "if you can’t afford to buy a house, don’t buy it." (Gingrich, 2010). The economic downturn has signaled the end of conspicuous consumption, defined as â€Å"the act or practice of spending money on expensive things that are not necessary in order to impress other people†. (Merrian-Webster's Leaner's Dictionary, 2010). Identify functional and dysfunctional control systems within your own organization I am currently a Senior Vice-President of Sales for King Koil Licensing Company (KKLC). KKLC is a company who licenses mattress-manufacturing facilities, called licensees, both domestically a... ...ll Irwin. King Koil Licensing Company. (2010, December). YOUR identity, YOUR comfort, YOUR sleep . Retrieved December 28, 2010, from comfortsolutions.com: YOUR identity, YOUR comfort, YOUR sleep Merrian-Webster's Leaner's Dictionary. (2010, December). Retrieved December 26, 2101, from Merrian-Webster's Leaner's Dictionary: http://east.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspicuous%20consumption Michael J. Breus, P. (2006, March 15). Sleep Disorders Guide. Retrieved December 27, 2010, from WebMd.com: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/important-sleep-habits?page=2 Perry, D. (2010, June 21). Top Bedding Producers. Furniture Today , pp. 12-13. Wang, H. (2010, July 27). The Consumer Confidence Index hit an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2010, from Sparxoo: http://sparxoo.com/market-stats/consumer-confidence-index-february-2009/

Margaret Fuller’s Influence Essay

As a woman in the 19th century, the odds were against Margaret Fuller. Despite adversity, she became a literary scholar and icon for woman to strive to emulate for greatness. Margaret Fuller’s development as a writer marked the transformation of America. Through Fuller’s influence, a young country looking primarily to writers overseas for its literature became a more self-confident nation. Margaret Fuller was an American literary critic, feminist critic, social critic, essayist, poet, letter writer, and pioneer. She is often considered the country’s first woman with a nationally positive reputation. Margaret Fuller’s intellect was further recognized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as being equivalent to the intelligence of a man. Therefore, it can be said that she paved the way for women to aspire to achieve success. By examining the literary works of Margaret Fuller, her writings plainly reflect American women as a whole and would be more affective to readers as a notable part in the English curriculum. Margaret Fuller was born on May 23, 1810, in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of nine children born to Unitarian parents who raised her with strong discipline. As a result of her upbringing, Margaret Fuller became a high-strung child prodigy (Goodwin). Fuller’s combination of domestic and professional accomplishments is attributed to the education she received from her father, Timothy Fuller. This strict education gave her a special ability to analyze the strengths and limitations of both masculinity and femininity. Margaret Fuller became a teacher at the Bronson Alcott Temple School for women. The Alcott School was a controversial place to learn at because the students were taught about integration and the social acceptance of others. Fuller was a revolutionary figure for women because it was illegal to teach women oral communication skills and to give them the insight to philosophize current situations in politics, the work place, and the home. She wanted women to become independent, creative thinkers. Fuller also joined Ralph Waldo Emerson and others to found the Dial. She served as the editor of The Dial for two years, then published her feminist classic, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, in 1845 (Goodwin). By the time of her death in 1850 at age 40, in a shipwreck while returning to the United States in, Margaret Fuller had become a near legend for her courage, passionate political advocacy and unconventional lifestyle. Perhaps one of her most noted books, Women of the Nineteenth Century was the examination of men and women in America. Woman of the Nineteenth Century speaks out against the degradation and the slavery of women. Fuller wrote, â€Å"Tremble not before the free man, but the slave who has chains to break. In slavery†¦ women are on a par with men. Each is a work tool, an article of property, no more! In perfect freedom†¦ in the heaven where there is no marrying or giving marriage, each [woman] is a purified intelligence, an enfranchised soul no less. † (Fuller 29) The basis for Fuller’s essay is the idea that man will rightfully inherit the earth when he becomes an elevated being, understanding the idea of divine love. The essay describes her belief that man cannot find perfection because he is burdened with selfish desires. Fuller is optimistic and says that human kind, however imperfect, is on the verge of a new awakening. She also argued that in comparison to men in Germany, America does not yet know how to properly treat women, made clear by the statement, â€Å"Germany did not need to learn a high view of women; it was inborn in that race. † (Fuller 30) Margaret Fuller continues her thoughts by saying that Christian men emulate the way women are treated whether it be good or bad in accordance with the Bible. She claims that in the past man has always called for woman’s service, but soon will come the time when women will call for men and they will be equals and share divine love. One of Fuller’s main arguments is that America has been hindered from reaching equality because it inherited depravity from Europe, hence its treatment of Native and African Americans. Fuller Expresses that those who infringe on others’ rights are condemned because man needs to practice divine love in order to feel it. The analysis of this essay proves Margaret Fuller’s worth as a feminist and transcendentalist who greatly influenced American literature. Her perspectives on the roles of women and men within humanity are a key point to this essay. With these views, Fuller was a highly persuasive women’s activist that should be celebrated even in modern literature. Margaret Fuller concluded that in order to explore her beliefs and her life, she need to travel and experience spiritual discovery through transcendentalism. The need for spiritual discovery led to Fuller’s first original book-length work, the product of her journey through what was then considered the far western frontier in mid-nineteenth-century America. This autobiography or travel log, Summer on the Lakes in 1843, occupies a pivotal position in Margaret Fuller’s development as a writer, a Transcendentalist, and a feminist. The book is a personal account of Fuller’s inner life during the summer of 1843 and is a portfolio of sketches, poems, stories, anecdotes, dialogues, reflections, and accounts of a leisurely journey to the Great Lakes. She shared with the Transcendentalists the belief that internal travel, or what Emerson called travel within the mind, was the most significant kind of journey. Her travel away from New England to visit Niagara Falls, Mackinac Island, and Rock River, Illinois, is symbolic of a larger journey that Fuller was making in her spirituality and personal discovery. Drawing on historical sources, contemporary travel books, and her own firsthand experience of life on the prairie, Fuller used the opportunity of visiting the frontier to meditate on the state of her own life and of life in America. Critics often claim that this meditation, or exploration of life, is what ultimately led Fuller to become such an influential writer for women everywhere. After the publication of Summer on the Lakes in 1843 the amount of women writers increased substantially. Margaret Fuller continued to write impressive works of literature that were influential within American culture. Life Within Life Without is about the exploration of transcendentalist ideas. One of the main ideas in the essay is the cultivation of the individual, which to Fuller, included women as well as men. Fuller claims that men and women can each live two lives; the outward life, passed in reading the thoughts of others, and the inward life that is the product of every person’s individual nature. The essay applies the idea that the individual has the potential to enlighten all mankind. In this essay, Fuller expresses her belief that allowing women as individuals to have greater spiritual and intellectual freedom will advance the enlightenment of both men and women and, therefore, all of mankind. Each type of living, inward and outward, contributes to a person’s overall development in thought and action. Fuller argues that these two states affect the passions, affections , and aspirations of all people. Because Fuller was passionate about giving equal rights to both men and women, this ssay was controversial. In later years, however, this essay became one of the foundations for the women’s rights movement, influencing women everywhere become involved in achieving equal rights. One of Margaret Fuller’s last works, Papers on Literature and Art, is a selection of works accumulated throughout her writing career. The papers contain some of Fuller’s earliest works as well as many of her later works and show the growth that she experienced through her writing over time. Along with these selections Fuller inserted segments of prose and verse. Ben Jonson wrote, â€Å"Where ever she has herself arisen in private history, and nobly shone forth in any form of excellence, men have received her, not only willingly, but with triumph. Their encomiums indeed, are always, in some sense, mortifying; they show too much surprise. ‘Can this be you? ’, he cries to the transfigured Cinderella; well I should have never thought it but I am very glad. We will tell everyone that you have surpassed your sex. † (Fuller-Ossoli) In response to Jonson’s comment, Fuller compiled the works that she had written up to that point and titled the compilation Papers on Literature and Art. Fuller wanted to demonstrate the amount of progressive personal growth she had experienced through her work as a writer. The papers were an accumulation of Fuller’s writings that expressed her thoughts on everything from transcendentalism to feminism, her opinions, and her developing ideas. Margaret Fuller was an icon to many literary scholars and continues to have a great impact on female writers of the modern era. Her works are important to the feminine literary movement as well as the literary movement as a whole. Any reader can learn from Margaret Fuller about personal growth, self discovery, and equality between all individuals. Fuller’s works were influential enough in society in her era, that they are best explored by the incorporation in English literature curriculums throughout America. Fullers influence extended to many women including women’s rights activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Grace Greenwood, and Ida B. Wells. Through Fuller’s influence women such as these were able to push women’s American rights to the freedoms that modern women benefit from today.

Person Centred Approach Essay

The definition of person centred values is treating and seeing people in a care setting as equals, who are involved in decision making to promote an independent way of life and to ensure that the care that is provided is appropriate to their needs. It takes into account service users views and needs and places them, along with their family at the centre of all decision making. Working in a way that embeds person centred values is important to meet the needs of my service user. With my clients it helps to build relationships with them and their family members to ensure a good quality of life and provide the best possible quality of care. This ranges from me attending to my service users personal care needs in a respectful way and to support them to achieve tasks on their own, to choices of what activities they would like to do that can help them to express their individuality or help them to create new relationships and overcome any feelings of social exclusion or devaluation. I also believe it’s important to respect any religious or cultural beliefs that they may have and support the individual to follow their chosen faith. Read more:  Person Centred Care Firstly I would look at the way in which I communicate with my service user. If they are verbal the simplest way I find out about the individual is to talk directly to them as it allows them to fully express themselves and make their own decisions. If non verbal then I would communication methods such as makaton, picture cards and visual aids to learn of their likes and dislikes. Another way is to speak with siblings as they could provide information the client may be unaware of or may have forgotten but also so they are included in the building of the care plan and it helps me build an understanding and a relationship with them. Talking with social workers, previous support workers, doctors or any other professional involved in the clients care an also provide information about their preferences and anything that may be important to the individual. With these methods it helps me find as much information as possible about my service user. In order to take into account the history, preferences, wishes and needs of an individual when planning care and support I would refer to the principles of person centred care. Rather than just supplying a service, each person should be treated as an individual by offering a personalised service specific to their needs and preferences. For example if an individual enjoyed an activity such as walking but needed support to do so I would plan a time for a walk so that the individual would get enjoyment from doing activities they choose and feel valued. Also, they should be treated them with the same dignity and respect you would want for a member family of your own. Refer to support plans to ensure the highest level of person centred care is maintained. Each individual’s care plan outlines and details the service user’s preferences and day to day requirements so that they receive the specific care and daily support they require from the level of support required with an individual’s personal hygiene and how to do it in a respectful way to what food and activities they like. The information is centred on the individuals wants and needs to ensure independence and choice rather than control, choice should always be offered regardless of importance of the activity or task, therefore each individual’s care plan contributes to working in a person centred way. The term consent means giving permission to do something or agreement to an action and in a care setting consent is needed for a number of things. With my clients I need to ask for consent for administering medication, for help with bills, finances and banking, help with certain type of care such as bathing and personal hygiene. It’s important to gain consent for all activities as lack of it could be deemed as abuse as I would forcing someone to perform or to take part in a task or an activity they don’t want to be involved in. Consent however should not just be gained, but the client must fully understand what they are consenting to and any possible implications that the action or task can imply. It is also essential for protecting myself from any legal challenge. There are a few ways to establish an individual’s consent but it depends upon the individuals preferred communication. The methods I use with my clients are verbal, written notes, visual aids such as picture cards, makaton, some individuals communicate physically with body movements such as a nod or through a representative or advocate. Any of these are forms establishing consent that i would look to use with my clients. Establishing consent will vary as each individual’s capacity to consent is assessed. If consent cannot be established first steps would be to not carry out the task and document the information. If a person is mentally incapable of providing consent then you should refer to the individuals care/support plan that may have been established at a time when they were capable of making informed decisions. If this fails, consent can be given by next of kin or an advocate however I would ensure my client must be involved as much as possible to adhere to person centred values. Active participation is a way of working that allows an individual to be completely involved in every aspect of their lives. This could be what my service users have to eat, what they wear when they go out or go to work in, or it could be planning tasks and activities for the week ahead, deciding on where to go such as day trips out or holidays, arranging appointments to the doctors or the dentists and active participation in services that relate to their own care. Helping to be in control of their lives rather that a passive recipient. Active participation helps individuals by benefitting them in a number of ways. I believe it gives them independence and makes the service user feel in control of their own lives rather than having decisions made for them or having few choices. There are many benefits I’ve noticed such as growth in confidence in social situations, a sense of well being, a sense of achievement of taking control of their lives and I’ve noticed the mental and physical stimulation it also brings. Also encouraging individuals to participate in the planning and arranging of their own care increases their self confidence, independence and it is empowering. There are many ways to reducing barriers of active participation. In order to reduce any barriers to active participation you have to look at what the barriers could be. They could be lack of confidence or self esteem, a lack of opportunity to activities, difficulty in communication and lack of patience of others. To overcome these barriers I support my service users by offering them choices and in every aspect of their day to day lives and offering them opportunity to plan and do activities they enjoy which improves their confidence. I think it’s very important to have the patience to listen to service users and take time to understand how they feel and I find by discussing why they feel like this and talking through it can increase their feeling of self esteem. Communication barriers can be overcome by staff development and training, language and makaton are tools that can be learnt, but there other ways like picture cards and hand gestures I use with some service users to offer choices and to make decisions when they are non verbal. The method I find best to encourage active participation is by communicating and offering choices and then giving praise and encouragement to service users to increase their confidence to then go on to make more decisions in different aspect of their lives for themselves. I find it’s good to look for local events or if they show an interest in a hobby you could find out about local groups that would be prepared to support the individual to participate. You should always highlight the benefits of the activity and getting family members to join in with activities can make a big difference to encouraging participation from individuals. I would support an individual to make informed choices by giving the individual the full information regarding that decision. I would explain the positive and the negative effects of that decision regardless of my beliefs or views as my personal view should not influence an individual’s choice. The choices and decisions can be as simple offering the full information on items when supporting individuals with shopping, giving information on price and helping to find offers or decisions that may require risk assessments to make the individual fully aware of the any risks that may be involved. I believe all staff in a care setting should help to  empower their client by offering the information, knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions. I think risk taking can be part of an individual’s choices because there is risk in many day to day things that we do. Due to the nature of an individual’s disability, a simple task could be deemed a risk and would need risk assessing to make them fully aware of any potential dangers or threats to the individual’s safety. It’s important to make individuals aware of any risks or hazards Risk assessment processes are used to make an individual aware of the positive and negative consequences involved when for example taking part in an activity, we look at and record the risks and hazards involved and then decide if the risk is worth taking. However there are benefits that have to be taken in to consideration as new activities promote confidence and empowers individuals to live more independent lives. Having choice is an individual’s right, risk assessments provide support for them to make decisions in the safest way possible. I believe a worker’s personal views should not influence an individual’s choices because that is taking away their right to make informed choices. My views for example are not fact and should not be used to influence any decisions or life choices. I could inform an individual if a certain food was bad for them and suggest a healthier option however whatever they decide is their choice. Another example is religious or cultural choices and beliefs, my views are my own and I would support them to attend religious or cultural services and acknowledge religious holidays.