Confederation of 1867 Essay Example

Confederation of 1867 Essay Example Confederation of 1867 Paper Confederation of 1867 Paper Union is power. Work in unity is better than working individually. That is why the British North Americans thought of confederation. An individual or single power will most likely have a hard time fighting against a group of people with lots of power. The colonies wanted to join together so that they could fight against the United States. If the groups of colonies didn’t join together, they wouldn’t have the power to prevent the United States from controlling all of North America. There is also other reasons for why the Confederation of 1867 happened, like the ending of BNA’s trade relations with Britian and the U. S. the Fenian Raids, Political deadlock, and the impact of â€Å"Manufast Destiny† as the main cause of Confederation. With the threats of the Americans, that they were trying to invade the colonies a few times caused a big problem for Canada. The Americans could have easily invaded Canada at that time. â€Å"Manifest Destiny† is the beli ef that the Americans have, they thought that they could control all of North America, as the United States of America Secretary of State, William Seward said, â€Å"I know that God intends that this whole continent shall be, sooner or later, within the magic circle of the United States. †(Doc 1. The political deadlock was part of the reason why confederation happened. The government from both Canada East and Canada West couldn’t pass any of the laws, because they needed â€Å"double majority†. The problem that the French and the English had, were that they were not agreeing on everything. So nothing got achieved. As the Politician of Canada East said: â€Å" We have five colonies and in order to become a great nation they need only to be brought together under one central Government. The matter comes down to this, either we form a British American Confederation or we will be absorbed into the United States of America. (Doc 7) The other group called the Fenian Raids were attacking the colonies with the reason of potato famine. They thought that the British invaded Ireland and blamed that the potato famine was caused by Britain. Many Fenians were soldiers in the army for the northern states. They captured Fort Erie in May of 1866, but later lost control and headed back up to Buffalo because of their back-up troops. That same year, they crossed into Quebec, staying there for two days as well as ineffectively attacking the New Brunswick border. Together the Canadians joined to defend the Americans. Another significant reason which led to the Confederation of 1867 was the ending of BNA’S trade relations with Britian and the US. Both Britian’s repeal of the Corn laws and the US ending of Reciprocity Treaty left Canada in depression and no place to send its goods. Through confederation the colonies would remove any tariffs which would allow them to freely trade their goods between the colonies. The united colonies would benefit from a natural trade relationship and would experience their own economic prosperity. In contrast, there are also factors opposing Confederation, like economic would have on the Maritime Provinces. Many of the population of Canada West argued that â€Å"Confederation opens a wide field for industry, experience and and ambition.. most classes of the population will gain from the union and none that I can see, can possibly lose by the union,† (Doc 4. )as said by John MacDonald who was a politician of Canada West in a letter to Prince Edward Islands in an attempt to convince the Maritimes to Confederate. In conclusion, the minority of the population, primarily the French, argued that confederation was a negative implication on preserving their culture. The majority of the population felt that through Confederation the unification would create powerful trade interaction between the colonies and the ability to defend itself from the potential threats. After all, the confederation was finally achieved in 1867. Sir John A. Macdonald then became the first prime minister of Canada. He stated that â€Å"If we wish to be a great people, if we wish to form a great nationality, commanding the respect of the world, able to hold our own against all opponents his can only be obtained by Confederation. If we so not take advantage of the time, if we show ourselves unequal to the occasion, it may never return, and we shall hereafter bitterly regret having failed to embrace the opportunity now offered of founding a great nation.. †(Doc. 10. ) The BNA act united the provinces of Canada with the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Ever since then Canadian’s celebrate Canada Day to mark when Canada was considered as one nation.

Teachers and Standardized Testing Pressure

Teachers and Standardized Testing Pressure If youre in education in the 21st Century, were willing to bet you feel the pressure of standardized test scores, no matter where you teach in the United States. The pressure seems to come from all sides: the district, parents, administrators, the community, your colleagues, and yourself. Sometimes it feels like you cant take a moment away from the hard-core academic subjects in order to teach so-called non-essentials, like music, art, or physical education. These subjects are frowned-upon by the people who meticulously monitor test scores. Time away from math, reading, and writing is seen as time wasted. If it doesnt directly lead to improved test scores, you arent encouraged, or sometimes even allowed, to teach it. In California, school rankings and scores are published in the newspapers and discussed by the community. Schools reputations are made or broken by the bottom line, numbers printed in black and white on newsprint. Its enough to make any teachers blood pressure rise at the thought of it. What Teachers Have to Say About Standard Testing These are some of the things teachers have said over the years about standardized test scores and the pressures surrounding student performance: I did just fine in school and life, even though my teachers didnt emphasize achievement on tests.Its only one test - why does it matter so much?I dont even have time to teach Science or Social Studies any more!I start teaching Test Preparation the first week of school.Its not fair that were graded on how our students do on this test when all we can do is present the information to them. We cant help how they will actually do on Test Day!My principals on my back this year because my students didnt so well last year. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to teachers opinions on this controversial issue. Money, prestige, reputation, and professional pride are all at stake. Administrators seem to be getting additional pressure to perform from the district bosses which the principals, in turn, pass down to their staff. No one likes it and most people think its all irrational, yet the pressure is snowballing and increasing exponentially. What Research Has to Say About Standard Testing Research shows that there is an incredible amount of pressure that is placed on teachers. This pressure often results in teacher burn-out. Teachers often feel like they need to teach to the test which results in them having to take away from higher order thinking skills, which has been proven to have long term benefits for students and is a much needed 21st-century skill. Edited By Janelle Cox

Parenting licence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Parenting licence - Essay Example However not every person is a born parent or a natural when it comes to looking after small human beings. We need to see children as human beings who are so often left either unattended or uncared for when parents are busy with their lives. Parents think they know how to be good parents but the fact of the matter is that many parents don't. Some may learn through trial and error but why use a real human being as your experiment's guinea pig. Kids are too precious for this kind of experimentation. Therefore before a couple takes on the responsibility of becoming parents, they should be asked to take classes and sit for an exam in order to receive their parenting license. It is only after they have been successful that they should be allowed to become parents and become responsible for another life. There was once a time when mothers would sit at home and their only job was to take care of their kids. Most women were housewives and since they had time on their hands, they could invest in their kids with sincerity and devotion. Things have changed now. Not only many mothers are working, most also have a life besides home, husband and kids. They may have done women emancipation a lot of good but it has seriously affected lives of small children in many households. Apart from that, some women no matter whether they are housewives or not, may actually find themselves too overwhelmed when they are given the responsibility of a child. They feel they are not natural mothers and this affects their ability to take care of their young ones. For this reason again, parenting license is a great idea. The opponents of the idea would probably find the whole thing quite insensible. They argue that parents have been parenting since time immemorial so why now Why must they take a license when God saw them fit for the job and gave them a kid These arguments may seem fine on the surface but when studied in the context of time and changes, we see their invalidity. The fact is that God doesn't necessarily give kids to people with good parenting abilities. We have already seen cases of people like Spears and Michael Jackson. Secondly, people may have been doing it for centuries but haven't times changed drastically As mentioned earlier, women in olden times had but one concern: to please their husbands and take care of their children. Most women did a great job because they had little else to do and besides even if they did a bad job, they were never reported and children suffered in silence. Why allow that kind of inhumanity when we can change the picture and make lives so much better for these little souls. The opponents also feel that such a system cannot be successfully implemented. They feel that setting the standards would be difficult and how would we urge parents to take parenting courses. There is a simple solution to this: make it mandatory in every hospital across the country so no first time parents are allowed to register without prior registration for parenting classes. They must also carry a proof they are attending these classes and they must get a license before delivery date. This would be quite a simple thing to do and if law protects it, people will not be able to violate it. A poor parent can learn many skills and a potential great parent can become even better. This kind of practice would minimize the risk of a child being neglected or falling into the hands of unprepared,

Improving Pharmacy Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Improving Pharmacy Services - Essay Example The second issue, sustainability is equally important in securing the quality of products and services in pharmacy. One way of achieving sustainability is through keeping indicators which can be used for predicting future trends of the industry. These may include new drugs or practices which outdo the existing methods. This would, for instance, ensure that patients get the best treatments when they become available. Again, sustainability can be achieved by being connected to the global pharmacy community through which innovations and emerging issues can be shared. In so doing, the pharmacy can be interconnected, informed, and universal (Lesko & Anderson 16). The advantage in this is that relevancy and effectiveness would be assured.The final means of improving pharmacy is by having well-structured organizational layouts. Layout covers all the areas from when a patient goes through a health center to the time they emerge, having received treatment. Pharmacies should ensure that their staff receives optimum working conditions, free from distraction, stress, or any negative influences. For instance, there should be training to sensitize staff on proper (good) health habits. Healthy and happy staff is likely to be best in disseminating services to the people than stressed, underpaid, or sickly staff. Concisely, the comfort of the workforce determines the quality of services and products.As the above findings state, there are many channels through which pharmacy can be improved.

Knowledge and Assessment Essay Example for Free

Knowledge and Assessment Essay 1. Understand the principles requirements of assessment 1. 1explain the functions of assessment in learning and development Determining level of knowledge understanding †¢ Ensuring that learning is taking place †¢ Checking progress †¢ Adhering to course criteria 1. 2define the key concepts and principles of assessment 1. Explain the functions of assessment in learning and development. Assessment is carried out to evaluate that learning has taken place. It measures the learner’s attainment of knowledge and skills in their particular learning area. Assessment encourages learners to ask questions on anything they have not fully understood, as learners know that they will have to prove their knowledge and understanding during assessment to the standards of the awarding body. The anticipated outcome of assessment is that the learner will complete assessment to City and Guild standards within the time frame stated, with no assistance and show through answering questions that they have full understanding of the subject. 2. Define the key concepts and principles of assessment. Assessment has to remain fair, consistent and valid to ensure all learners have an equal and fair chance of receiving a fair assessment. An assessor cannot be swayed 1. 3 explain the responsibilities of the assessor The role of the assessor is to assess the learner’s knowledge and performance in a range of tasks. This includes, ? Ensuring that the learner has demonstrated competence and knowledge in the assessment to the standard of City and Guilds criteria. ? Assessments need to be planned between the assessor and each learner; the learner needs to be fully aware of his/her responsibilities in the collection and presentation of evidence. ? The assessor then needs to observe the learners performance in their workplace or similar environment and can ask questions to confirm a learners understanding. ? Accurate and constructive feedback needs to be given to the 1. 4 identify the regulations and requirements relevant to assessment in own area of practice 2. Understand different types of assessment methods 2. 1 compare the strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods with reference to the needs of individual learners 3. Understand how to plan assessment 3. 1 summarise key factors to consider when planning assessment 3. 2 evaluate the benefits of using a holistic approach to assessment 3. 3 explain how to plan a holistic approach to assessment 3. 4 summarise the types of risks that may be involved in assessment in own area of responsibility 3. 5 explain how to minimise risks through the planning process 4. Understand how to involve learners others in assessment 4. 1 explain the importance of involving the learner and others in the assessment process 4. 2 summarise types of information that should be made available to learners and others involved in the assessment process. 4. 3 explain how peer and self-assessment can be used effectively to promote learner involvement and personal responsibility in the assessment of l earning 4. 4 explain how assessment arrangements can be adapted to meet the needs of individual learners 5. Understand how to make assessment decisions 5. 1 explain how to judge whether evidence is: †¢Sufficient †¢Authentic †¢Current 5. 2 explain how to ensure that assessment decisions are: †¢Made against specific criteria †¢Valid †¢Reliable †¢Fair 6. Understand Quality Assurance of the assessment process. 6. 1 evaluate the importance of quality assurance in the assessment process 6. 2 summarise quality assurance and standardisation procedures in own area of practice 6. 3 summarise the procedures to follow when there are disputes concerning assessment in own area of practice 7. Understand how to manage information relating to assessment 7. 1 explain the importance of following procedures for the management of information relating to assessment 7. 2 explain how feedback questioning contribute to the assessment process 8. Understand the legal good practice requirements in relation to assessment 8. 1 explain legal issues, policies and procedures relevant to assessment, including those for confidentiality, health, safety and welfare 8. 2 explain the contribution that technology can make to the assessment process 8. 3 evaluate requirements for equality and diversity and, where appropriate, bilingualism in relation to assessment 8. 4 explain the value of reflective practice and continuing professional development in the assessment process.

Comparing The House of Mirth and Daisy Miller :: Henry James, Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton’s â€Å"The House of Mirth† mainly describes the need of a woman to be married to a wealthy man and how she attempts to find the most appropriate suitor. â€Å"The House of Mirth† also observes the tedious physical and mental decline of a young woman who, because of her own weakness and indecisiveness, falls from social distinction into poverty and griminess. The story presents a cruel measure of reality and ends quite sadly. Instead of marrying and living happily, Lily weakens slowly and commits suicide, possibly unintentionally, as a way of evading a lower-class humanity in which her upper-class needs cannot survive. Lily's life is the exact opposite of dignity or beauty; she had many chances to live the kind of life she dreamed of, but lost it all. Similarly, Henry James’ â€Å"Daisy Miller,† is a rich, young, American girl from New York, traveling around Europe with her mother and younger brother. Daisy is a complex combination of traits. She is feisty, independent, and well intentioned, yet she is also petty, ignorant, and unsophisticated. Daisy is also an irritating flirt. She has no public elegance or informal gifts, such as appeal, humor, and a talent for banter. Also she is primarily interested only in influencing men and making herself the hub of interest. Throughout the story, Winterbourne, the love interest of Daisy, is fixated over the issue of whether Daisy is naive, but her behavior by no means reveals whether she is or isn’t. Winterbourne accepts that Daisy is crude but wonders whether she is innocent. Frequently, Daisy seems less than innocent since Winterbourne did catch her with another man late at night at the Coliseum, which results in her death from malaria. Overall, it is the way in whic h Daisy embodies all the different forms of innocence that results in her demise. While the telling of the story is quite similar, â€Å"The House of Mirth† is different in the sense that all that character’s form of thinking is revealed to the reader. Henry James primarily portrays the story of Winterbourne and the affect that Daisy has on him. He does describe Daisy in great detail yet he fails to give any indication of why she acts the way she does. One can only ponder over ideas of how she thinks and her reasoning behind what she does in certain events. It is obvious that Daisy is ignorant to her inappropriate behavior but it is unclear if this is an act or if she is really unaware that she is acting incorrectly.

Debate Torturing terrorists is a tool to get the right feedback and answers Essay

Terrorists have caused so many deaths in the world. Whenever a terrorist attack occurs, it leaves behind many deaths and destruction of property. Those who survive the attack often end up with serious injuries. Some become crippled for the rest of their lives. Some become traumatized in their entire lives. The memory of the attack keeps on haunting them. Such trauma continues to an extent that some people become depressed. In this regard, terrorism is a vice that should be fought by all means. In a ‘ticking-bomb scenario’, there is a bomb that may detonate in an unidentified public place very known. The person who planted the bomb is the only person who knows where it is. The person is held up by the police. However, person is not willing to give the information to the police. Torture will be the only means to extract the information. A suspected terrorist should never be forgiven for a terrorism activity (Aringo, 2004: 13). Therefore, torturing a terrorist to get import ant information that can save people is a justifiable means. There are many reasons to support the argument of torturing a terrorist to get information that is relevant to save the general public. First of all, when a terrorist or a suspected terrorist is tortured, he or she is likely to give relevant information that can be used by the security agency to protect innocent people. For instance, if a terrorist is captured and through torture he or she reveals that there is a planned attack in the future, then the government or the appointed people will take necessary measures to ensure that the planned attack does not occur. Suppose torture was not used, it is possible that such information would not have been obtained. Consequently, the planned attack would have been executed and the result would be deaths and injuries. Therefore, torturing is justified as long as the security officials are very sure that they have the correct suspect. Secondly, terrorists are never co-operative. They cannot give any information concerning their plans or other members willingly. Force has to be used to extract such information. The force used is in form of torture. When suspected terrorist is subjected to painful procedures, he or she is likely to give the information that can help in the intelligence service (Meisels, 2008: 21). Usually, terrorists have information about the future planned attacks as well as other members of the gang. If the government and the security officials get such information, it becomes very easy to avert potential fatal attacks. Since terrorists can never reveal such information willingly, then torture becomes the best alternative. Another reason that supports the use of torture to get information from a terrorist is that usually, the information obtained is timely. A terrorist who is subjected to torture can reveal so many things that are yet to be accomplished by the gang. That timeliness is essential in order to save the public from the hands of terroristic attacks. Without torture, the terrorist would take time before giving correct information. The worst scenario is that without torture, terrorists would not give any information at all. In this respect, torture is important if it can enable obtaining of information in a timely manner. Many people would be saved in time before the planned attack occurs. Moreover, terrorists cause more pain themselves to soldiers when they capture them. Therefore, if terrorists can cause pain to soldiers who are responsible for our security, there is no reason why a terrorist should be spared from pain as well. Accordingly, terrorists should be put through a painful experience. If the pain they are subjected to makes them give information that is relevant in the intelligence service unit, then they should never be spared it. Since terrorist are dangerous people in the society, no mercy should be accorded to them. They should be forced by all means to give all the relevant information that can help get rid of or capture other terrorists. Torturing terrorists may prove successful because it sometimes leads to obtaining more information than anticipated. When a terrorist is tortured, he or she may end up revealing a lot of information that was not even expected (White, 2012: 32). For instance, one may be interrogating a terrorist about a planned attack in a given place, only to be told that there are many attacks planned in different places. Therefore, while security forces thought that there is one attack that is planned by terrorists, they get surprised to learn that there are many attacks that have been planned. Such information becomes crucial because it opens the eyes of the security forces to other possible attacks other than the one that they anticipated. With regard to this argument, then it is justifiable to use torture to extract information from the terrorists. Moreover, terrorists cause too much pain and suffering to innocent people in the general public. They plan and execute their plans against innocent people who are otherwise helpless. Women and children get trapped in the thick of things when an attack occurs in a crowded place. Women and children are most vulnerable group for one reason. Children cannot run or hide from the spot of the attack. As a result, women who are mothers of the children in the scene get caught up while trying to save their children since they cannot go without them. That is not to say that men are spared from the attacks. Many of them die and others get injuries if they get themselves in the midst of the problems. Considering this pain that a terroristic activity can cause innocent people, terrorists deserve to be tortured without mercy. They are evil and merciless. There should be no mercy on them. If terrorists do not reveal relevant information that can save other people, the situation can be very dangerous . Torture is justified to be used on terrorists. In addition, if one considers that a single terrorist has potential to cause deaths of very many people one would find that torturing a suspected terrorist would be the least form of punishment that he or she would get. Pain on one person cannot be compared to the pain that may affect many innocent people in an event a terroristic attack succeeded in happening. If one person can be made to reveal other members of the gang it can very fruitful. Sometimes, a single person who is a suspected terrorist can be used to track down all other members of the terrorism group. If security manages to nub down many terrorists, it can be very successful because by so doing, many potential future attacks can be averted. It is important to note that when terrorists are free mingling with other innocent people, it is not possible to trace them. It is until they are pinpointed that they become identifiable. It is other terrorists that can tell other people who are involved in the terrorism. If torture can help obtain such information from a single terrorist, then it is beneficial to the general public. Torture should be executed on the suspected terrorists without mercy because a terrorist is not a good person to compromise with. A terrorist is a criminal who is liable to a punishment after all. Other people who commit other forms of crimes are subjected to punishments. Terrorism is even a greater crime that deserves even more severe punishment. Therefore, torture is not unjust to a criminal who is a danger to the national security itself. Since all criminals must be punished for their actions ultimately, torturing terrorists can be taken to be a form of punishment too besides being a mechanism of extracting information from them. Many terrorists end up giving in to torture and surrender. Consequently, they tell the interrogators everything that they know regarding their criminal activities including their history and future plans. As a punishment, terrorists deserve it. As a means of extracting information, torture must be used. That way, torture achieves the objective of obtaining the needed information while at the same time serving as a form of punishment. Many potential terrorists may stop their activities at the prospects of getting caught and get subjected to torture. The torturing mechanism should be so severe that it discourages any person who may attempt a terroristic activity. Those who go through the torture may vow never to get involved in terrorism again in their life. They think of the pain that they went through and they stop any temptation to engage in terrorism. Therefore, the torturing process should serve as a punishment that sticks in the mind of the person even afterwards in the future. In this regard, torture will not only be useful in helping get the relevant information, but also it will help to discourage future attempts of terrorism by the prospective terrorists. Moreover, torturing a suspected terrorist may serve as lesson to other people who may be tempted to get involved in terrorism. They learn from the terrorists who have suffered a painful experience. The thought of getting caught and subjected to the same torture should be enough to discourage any one who may be thinking to engage in terrorism. In this respect, the torture must be so severe that it causes fear in people who may be influenced into terrorism. If torture achieves this objective, it will have helped a great deal in curbing terrorism. Whenever one person is tortured and serves as a lesson, there is overall reduction in the potential occurrence of terroristic events in the future. In addition, that helps to dismantle the unity of terrorists and decrease their numbers. All these results add up to help alleviate the occurrence of terrorism. Under normal circumstances, the risk that a single person may expose many other people to is very great to be ignored. As already stated, a single person has a potential to destroy and kill a large number of people. Considering such a risk, it is justifiable to use any form of torture on a suspected terrorist. Interrogating a single person can be the source of information that can end up saving the entire nation (Ramsay, 2006: 42). Putting one person under pain is justifiable if it can save more innocent lives. Note also that torturing only puts physical pain on the person. The pain is temporary because it ends with time. Such torture cannot be compared to the deaths that such person can cause besides the injuries that leave behind long lasting disabilities. Killing is permanent. There is no reverse about it. In this regard, the benefits of torturing a single person for the sake of the welfare of the many are many and outweigh the cost of torture (Ginbar, 2010: 32). If a person can b e put into a temporary pain and lead to saving of many lives, then it is worth the torture. In addition, it can be argued that with the advancements in technology, it is possible for the intelligence service to get the right person. Exchange of information between different intelligence service agencies around the world makes it even easier. The possibility of subjecting an innocent person to torture is low. In this regard, it means that the person who ends up in the intelligence unit for interrogation is most likely to be the right person. In other words, it is less likely that the person who is caught for the interrogation is the wrong person who is otherwise innocent. Therefore, torture should be applied on the suspected terrorists without considering the possibility of the person being innocent. Terrorism is a criminal activity that should never be subjected to compromise. In conclusion, torturing terrorists as a means of extracting information from terrorists is justified. Terrorists are dangerous people and any means that can be used to get them from the society should be used. Torturing suspected terrorists has proven to be successful for it helps get information from the terrorists. In addition, torturing can be used as a form of punishment to terrorists. It is also used to discourage potential terrorists from engaging in the terroristic activities. It should be argued that pain on a single person should be used if in the end it leads to saving many lives. The only worry is that the person tortured could be innocent. However, considering the argument put forward, in the modern intelligence service, it is rare to arrest an innocent person because before an arrest is done, proper investigation has to be done. Sharing of intelligence information between intelligence units from different places in the world assists in this process. References Arrigo,  J.  M. (2004). A utilitarian argument against torture interrogation of terrorists. Science and Engineering Ethics, 4(3), 11-21. George Andreopoulos,  R. (2011). International Criminal Justice. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Ginbar,  Y. (2010). Why not torture terrorists?: Moral, practical, and legal aspects of the ‘ticking bomb’ justification for torture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meisels,  T. (2008). The trouble with terror: Liberty, security, and the response to terrorism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Ramsay,  M. (2006). Can the torture of terrorist suspects be justified? The International Journal of Human Rights, 4(1), 23-26. Rumney,  P.  N. (2014). Torturing terrorists: Exploring the limits of law, human rights, and academic freedom. Saul,  B. (2004). Torturing terrorists after September 11. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 3(1), 32-36. White,  J.  E. (2012). Contemporary moral problems. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Source document

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg

Henri Fayol vs. Henry Mintzberg. Functions vs. roles Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg are â€Å"two sides of the one coin†. Each man has his own opinion on what the manager does. Fayol has his â€Å"five functions† and Mintzberg has his â€Å"roles of management†. In this essay I will discuss both men’s opinions and try to come to a conclusion on which I think is better. Henri Fayol, a French management theorist and managing director of a French mining company, came up with the five functions of management. These functions serve the purpose of predicting the future of the environment and planning a relevant business strategy, developing a social and technical structure to the organisation, managing the activities of the staff, integrating plans and activities across the organisation and ensuring conformity with the plan via authority and feedback mechanisms to correct inappropriate activity. Planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. These five functions have been around since Fayol came up with them back in 1916 and have dominated management vocabulary since then. These functions would seem to cover all the criteria needed for a manager to do his job but Henry Mintzberg has a different opinion. Henry Mintzberg is an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management with over 140 articles and thirteen books written. He came up with the roles of management, which he believes cover most of the things a manager will encounter in their job. These roles are split into 3 interpersonal roles, 3 informational roles and 4 decision making roles. The 3 interpersonal roles are; the figurehead which helps reinforce what the company stands for and reinforces the organisational culture, the leader who provide their employees with a sense of mission and the liaison who mixes with others outside the business to represent the needs of their group. The 3 informational roles are; the monitor who collects information form within the group and finds out what is going on in the business, the disseminator who shares the information with others who would not find out the information and the spokesperson who represents the views of the group in the wider environment. The 4 decision making roles are; the entrepreneur who make decisions to improve the contribution of their subordinates to the performance of the business, the disturbance handler who deals with any problems that might occur within the group, the resource allocator who allocates resources throughout their subordinates and the negotiator who negotiates to secure contracts, budgets etc. Henry Mintzberg believes that the five functions of management do not really tell us much about what a manager actually does but at best paint a vague picture of what objectives managers have when they work. He has come up with the idea that there are 4 myths relating to the role of the manager which if looked at closely do not support Fayol’s functions. The first of these myths is that â€Å"a manager is a reflective, systematic planner† when studies show that most managers work at a fast and unrelenting pace, that their activities are often brief and varied and that they dislike reflective activities but are more action orientated. The second of these myths is â€Å"the effective manager has no regular duties to perform†. Evidence shows that managers do infact perform a number of regular duties like rituals and ceremonies as well as negotiations and processing information with links between the organisation and its environments. The third myth is â€Å"The senior manager needs aggregated information, which a formal management information system provides†. The fact in this case is that managers prefer to get their information through telephone calls or meetings. The fourth and final myth is â€Å"Management is, or at least is quickly becoming a science and a profession†. The fact behind this myth is that the manager programs to schedule time, process information, make decisions and so stay in their own head and deal with things in their own way. The first of the four myths is probably the one that conflicts most with Fayol’s functions and shows that although there is some degree to a managers job, they prefer to work fast and would rather take action to try and resolve a problem rather than waste time thinking on different ways to overcome it. In my opinion, I would be more inclined to agree with Mintzberg and his roles of management over Fayol’s functions. This is because the roles of management have a lot more scope and would allow a manager more ways to deal with a wider variety of situations. They also cover the roles that I have seen managers in my working environment undertake such as the Liaison, the Negotiator, the Disturbance handler etc. In conclusion, although the five functions are a good way to look at the role of a manager I think that Mintzberg, having done all the studies on managers and actually seeing what they do in their day to day workings has given him a better idea of what the job of the manager actually entails. Fayol’s views look good when you see and hear them but in reality, is management as straight forward as the five steps that he has set out? I don’t think that he has looked at all the areas and all the things that could go wrong in jobs. In reality, I think Fayol’s functions are more like the ways we would like the job of the manager to be whereas Mintzberg’s roles have given us the way a managers job actually is and covers most of the things that a manager would encounter in the running of a business. By Alan Young References DR R DONNELLY , â€Å"the role of the manager†, heriot-watt university. HENRY MINTZBERG, July-august 1975â€Å"the manager’s job: Folklore and fact† Harvard business review.

Team and Social Loafing Essay

Team and Social Loafing Essay Team and Social Loafing Essay Tami Smith Professor Bailey MBA 510 30 April 2015 Social Loafing People in groups often do not work as hard as they do when alone. This is referred to as social loafing. Team productivity often decreases with the increase of group members. A study by a French agricultural engineer named Max Ringelmann exposed this theory. Ringlemann was interested in the relative efficiency of farm labor supplied by horses, oxen, machines, and men. In particular, he was curious about their relative abilities to pull a load horizontally, such as in a tug-of-war. In one of his experiments, he had groups of fourteen men pull a load and measured the amount of force they generated; he also measured the force that each man could pull independently. There was a linear decline in the average pull per member as the size of the rope-pulling team increased. One person pulling on a rope alone exerted an average of 63 kilograms of force. However, in groups of three. the per-person force dropped to 53 kilograms, and in groups of eight, it plummeted to only 31 kilograms per pers on-less than half of the effort exerted by people working alone (Kravitz). With the results of the study by Ringlemann, when forming teams, the team size should be limited to no more than ten people per group and focus on similarities of each member as this will boost communication (Thompson 117). People in groups often do not work as hard as they do when alone and team productivity often decreases with the increase of group members. Social loafing should be identified and addressed because it can cause a decline in group cohesion and it is problematic to a team’s performance and productivity. Social loafing is most likely to occur in large teams where individuals output is difficult to identify. This particularly includes situations in which team members work alone towards a common output pool and independent output is low. Under these conditions, employees aren’t as worried that their performance will be noticed. Social loafing is less likely to occur when the task is interesting, because individuals have a higher intrinsic motivation to perform their duties. It is less common when the groups’ objective is important, because individuals experience more pressure from other team members to perform well. Finally social loafing is less common among members with a strong collective value, because they value group membership and believe in working towards group objectives (The Trouble with Teams: Social Loafing). With larger groups, people tend to not work as hard as when they are alone for three reasons: diffusion of responsibility, a reduced sense of self-efficacy, and the "sucker effect". â€Å"In a team, a person's effort and contributions are less identifiable than when that person works independently. This is because everyone's efforts are pooled into the team enterprise and the return is a function of everyone's contribution. It is difficult to distinguish one person's contribution from another. At an extreme, this can lead to deindividuation-a psychological state in which a person does not feel individual responsibility. As a result, the person is less likely to perform or contribute. This is referred to diffusion of responsibility† (Thompson). In some cases, it is not diffusion of responsibility that hinders people from contributing to a team effort, but rather the feeling that our contributions will not be as valuable, efficacious, or worthwhile as they might be in a smaller group. In short, we believe our contributions will not be sufficient to justify the effort thus resulting in dispensability of effort (Thompson). Sucker version is a common concern held by team members in wanting to avoid being the only one left doing all of the work and getting little or no credit. Because everyone wants to avoid being taken advantage of, team members hedge their efforts and wait to see what others will do. The problem is that when everyone does this, no one contributes (Thompson).

Understanding the Concatenation of Strings in Java

Understanding the Concatenation of Strings in Java Concatenation in the Java programming language is the operation of joining two strings together. You can join strings using either the addition () operator or the String’s concat() method. Using the Operator Using the operator is the most common way to concatenate two strings in Java. You can provide either a variable, a number, or a String literal (which is always surrounded by double quotes). To combine the strings â€Å"I’m a† and â€Å"student†, for example, write: I’m a student Be sure to add a space so that when the combined string is printed, its words are separated properly. Note above that student starts with a space, for example. Combining Multiple Strings Any number of operands can be strung together, for instance: I’m a student ! And so are you. Using the Operator in a Print Statement Frequently, the operator is used in a print statement. You might write something like: System.out.println(pan handle); This would print: panhandle Combining Strings Across Multiple Lines Java disallows literal strings to span more than a line. Using the operator prevents this: String quote Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.;   Combining a Mixture of Objects The  operator   normally acts as an  arithmetic operator  unless one of its  operands  is a String. If so, it converts the other operand to a String before joining the second operand to the end of the first operand. For example, in the example below, age is an integer, so the operator will first convert it to a String and then combine the two strings. (The operator does this behind the scenes by calling its toString() method; you won’t see this occur.) int age 12;System.out.println(My age is age); This would print: My age is 12 Using the Concat Method The String class has a method concat() that performs the same operation. This method acts on the first string and then takes the string to combine as a parameter: public String concat (String str)​   For example: String myString I have decided to stick with love.;myString myString.concat( Hate is too great a burden to bear.);System.out.println(myString); This would print: I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Differences Between the Operator and the Concat Method You may be wondering when it makes sense to use the operator to concatenate, and when you should use the concat() method.  Here are some differences between the two: The concat() method can combine only String objects - it must be called on a String object, and its parameter must be a String object. This makes it more restrictive than the operator since the operator silently converts any non-string argument to a string.The concat() method throws a NullPointerException if the object has a null reference, while the operator deals with a null reference as a â€Å"null† string.The concat()) method is capable of combining only two strings – it cannot take multiple arguments. The operator can combine any number of strings. For these reasons, the operator is more often used to combine strings. If you are developing a large-scale application, however, performance can differ between the two because of the way that Java handles string conversion, so be aware of the context in which you are combining strings.

Engineers create artefacts and processes through design. Design is Essay

Engineers create artefacts and processes through design. Design is open ended and creative. Discuss design processes with refere - Essay Example The design process in many cases involves the application of mathematics, engineering, and basic sciences principles to optimally convert resources to meet specified aims. This paper discusses the design process from the perspective of mechanical engineering. Steps Involved in the Design Process Need or Problem Identification and Research In order to be able to solve an engineering or design problem, it is vital to identify the problem or need (Ullman 2009). When a design engineer fails to identify a problem or need properly, the engineer may end up wasting a lot of time and resources. In order to stick to the project goals, the mechanical engineers often rely on subjective and measurable metrics. Once the need or problem has been identified, the engineers must engage in research to establish the issue as it is currently and to establish the solutions that exist (Eide, Jenison, Mashaw and Northup 2002). By engaging in research, the engineers equip themselves to be able to come up wit h the best possible solution to the problem or need. The engineers must establish if there are products that have been designed to solve the same problem in the market and their advantages and disadvantages. Based on their findings, the engineers have to narrow down to what is relevant to their case. Potential Solutions The engineers often end up with a lot of information regarding products currently on the market and how they are designed. They have therefore to engage in brainstorming to come up with possible solutions and the advantages and disadvantages of each of the possible solutions (Eide, Jenison, Mashaw and Northup 2002). At this stage, the design engineer needs to think of ways of improving each of the possible solutions. The engineering designer needs to be creative in coming up with improvements to the products in the market or in designing a product that is novel. The performance of each of the possible solutions is then analyzed through the application of engineering science and mathematical principles (Eggert 2010). The analysis may be geared toward reducing risks and detecting problems that may come with the improved solutions. Best Possible Solution With several possible solutions to the problem or need, the design engineer then has to choose the solution that best meets the original requirements (Lumsdaine, Lumsdaine, and Shelnutt 1999). Making a decision regarding the solution to proceed with may be challenging and involves making the evaluation of competing needs. Some of the factors that may affect the choice of the best possible solution include cost, size, weight, and safety just to mention a few. Prototype Creation, Testing and Evaluation It would be imprudent at this stage for the engineers to proceed with the actual production of the product as designed before having it tested and evaluated. The engineers therefore need to create a prototype of the product if possible modeling in 2D and 3D using computer applications such as CAD soft ware (Hyman 1998). The prototype is then tested and evaluated to establish if it works and meets the original design requirements and limits. Redesign The prototype may be slightly changed or improved in case of need once the prototype has been tested and evaluated. The changes or improvements are normally implemented to optimize the