Organizational Change Plan free essay sample

Organizational Change When executives and students of management talk about organizational change, they mean many different things. Introducing a new enterprise resource planning system in order to coordinate and standardize internal processes is an organizational change. So is shutting down a factory, selling off a noncore business, or laying off employees. How about introducing a new business model to meet innovative competitors, adopting a new pay-for-performance system to motivate individual effort or a stock option plan to encourage a shared sense of ownership in the company? Entering global markets, integrating acquired companies, and outsourcing nonstrategic activities—these, too, are examples of organizational change. In order to understand and analyze the dynamics of change, and particularly the requirements of effective change implementation, it is important to sort out and distinguish the various approaches an organization can take. This chapter will explore multiple paths to change, paying special attention to behavioral change. In particular, this chapter will: Identify the role of strategic renewal in propelling change Focus on the behavioral aspect of organizational change Analyze the dynamics of motivating employees to alter their behaviors Differentiate the three faces of change Understand the source of both employee resistance to and support for change We will start by looking at an attempt by the president of a small but prestigious local bookstore to improve financial performance in the face of competition from national chains as well as from Internet giant Amazon. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Change Plan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Massachusetts, is the site of the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War. Its rich literary history dates back to the nineteenth century when it was the home of the transcendental writers, notably, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Eight of Concord Bookshop’s employees, including the trio of top managers, have quit or given their notice. The staffers’ years of service add up to 73. The three managers, including [the] general manager . . . have worked at the store for a total of 34 years. Meanwhile, a group of outraged local authors . Has fired off a letter to the owners supporting the staff. The precipitating event was a surprise announcement last month by the owners—a group of three families represented by a board led by President Morgan â€Å"Kim† Smith of Concord—that a new general manager will be hired. No one was laid off, and no one’s salary was cut. Yet many of the staff were outraged at the de facto demotions, as well as by what they saw as the owners’ immovable stance. . . â€Å"We asked for a meeting with the whole board,† says [a departing staff member]. We presented our concerns, and they thanked us for our input and said, ‘We’re going to do it our way, and if you don’t like it, each of you will have to make up your mind as to how to proceed. ’ Something in me died, the fragile alchemy that made it such a great place to work had died. They had made their plans, we were expendable employees, and we could take it or leave it. †. . . â€Å"We’re heartbroken about it,† says David Donald, professor of history emeritus at Harvard University . . . â€Å"These are people we deal with all the time. It’s a wonderful store, beautifully arranged. They are knowledgeable and are glad to look things up. † Adds Joanne Arnaud, director of the Boston Literacy Fund and a Concord resident who also signed the letter: â€Å"What makes the Concord Bookshop different is the people and their institutional memory and their memory for a customer. I can say, ‘I’m looking for a book for someone who liked the last book by Nicholas Basbanes. Can you help me? ’ They are so warm and welcoming. † The clash appears to be rooted in finances. Smith declined to give numbers but portrayed the store’s financial situation as dire. â€Å"Things have never been worse,† he says. We are offering something important to the town of Concord, which is wonderful, but it isn’t profitable. † Smith praises the three managers but says, â€Å"The owners felt the three-way management was not working out. † The managers say finances aren’t so bad. They . . . issued a written comment: â€Å"In explaining to us the change in management structure, the owners told us they wanted to take the store in a different direction. We hold different opinions regarding the financial health of the store. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish these past five years. There’s no disagreement, though, that profit margins are tighter than ever, and that the past few years have been rough on independent bookstores, especially in the age of Barnes Noble, Borders, and Amazon. com. Smith believes some of the store’s programs should be reexamined, such as regular weeknight author appearances and signings, which require paying staff to keep the store open. â€Å"Increasingly, people are buying their books elsewhere and bringing them to signings,† Smith says. â€Å"We had 70 people at the Tracy Kidder signing, but we sold only 10 books. I discovered a guy coming in with five copies of the book that he bought [elsewhere]. We want to preserve the store, but we need to make the finances work. † There’s no dispute, either, on Concord’s national reputation in the trade. â€Å"It is one of the jewels of New England,† says . . . [the] executive director of the New England Booksellers Association. . . â€Å"They are the kind of store that’s on everyone’s A list. Publishers are interested in what Concord buys. They ask, ‘How is Concord doing with the book? ’ They are exemplars for reaching out to the community and in cultivating authors†. . . The conflict illustrates the special place a bookstore can have in a small community, especially one such as Concord, with its numerous authors and links to such literary giants as Emerson and Thoreau. The store is regarded as a community resource, not just a business. â€Å"This is Concord vs. Concord,† says Martha Holland, who is quitting after 18 years. â€Å"There were a hundred points where it could have been smoothed over. How it got so out of hand, I don’t understand. The owners have every right to run their business as they see fit. But if the staff goes, it’s just a bunch of bookshelves and carpets. Strategic Responsiveness Morgan Smith’s attempt to bring financial discipline to the Concord Bookshop seemed quite sensible in the face of new competitive realities. Owners, employees, customers, and suppliers all agreed on the desirability of maintaining the store’s viability. Yet Smith’s approach to change implementation—the actions taken by organizational leaders in order to support strategic renewal and achieve outstanding performance—led to resistance, conflict, and resentment. Recognizing the need for change is a vital first step. Successful implementation, however, is required to translate that recognition into an effective strategic response. We live in a period of rapid and dramatic change: significant alterations in customer expectations and demands, new technologies, competitors with innovative business models, shifts in workforce demographics and values, new societal demands and constraints. Organizations need to respond to external dynamics in order to create and maintain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice Strategic responsiveness to a dynamic external environment demands organizational change. In response to those dynamics, organizational leaders often decide to engage in a process of strategic renewal. Strategic renewal refers to an alteration of an organization’s strategy with the intent of regaining sustainable competitive advantage. 1 Exhibit 1-1 provides examples of organizations whose leaders made a purposeful decision to renew their strategies. Some attempts have been more effective than others. Strategic renewal at IBM and Walgreens proved successful, while efforts to transform Enron’s strategy collapsed in failure. At different points in the text, we will explore and analyze the efforts of these companies to implement new strategies effectively. Exhibit 1-1 Strategic Responsiveness in Sample Companies. Company Altered Strategy Enron Move from energy production to energy trading GE Move from commodity business to high value-added products and services IBM Move from product to service/consulting company Marks and Spencer Move from a department store appealing to traditional, conservative adult British shoppers to a store appealing to young, trendy shoppers Renault Move from French-based to internationally focused automobile company Walgreens Move from store-based chain in order to capture growing Internet business Facebook Move from restricted, college campus-only social network to become a â€Å"universal utility† open to everyone Strategic renewal requires organizational change (see Exhibit 1-2). Strategic renewal demands â€Å"wide-scale invention, reinvention, and redesign of business processes and organizational structures. † 2 IBM pulled off strategic renewal as it moved from a product to a service/consulting company. Harley-Davidson managed a different but equally significant strategic renewal by redefining its relationship with its customers. Exhibit 1-2 Strategic Renewal and Organizational Change. Theory into Practice To implement a renewed strategy, organizational leaders need to engage in a change process. For strategic renewal to be effective, organizations need to do more than announce a new strategy. Leaders need to align internal processes, structures, and systems with the demands of that new strategy. New organizational capabilities—talents and skills possessed by employees—need to be built. Underlying all those shifts is the requirement to engage in discontinuous change: large-scale, long-term reorientation of most or all of the central aspects of organizational life. The goal is to create lasting alterations in patterns of employee behavior in order to support strategic renewal. Strategic Renewal through a New Business Model Apple Computer seemed well positioned to achieve a breakthrough into the corporate/business market. With the extraordinary popularity of its iPod and iPhone offerings, young customers were flocking to Apple products as never before. But successful penetration into the business market would require more than loyal customers and brand familiarity. Apple’s business mode would need to change. The company’s long-standing highly secretive culture (Steve Jobs enjoyed launching new products with high security prior to his grand announcements) would need to change. In the corporate world, customers expect to be treated as long-term partners, actually having a say in the development of new products. 3 In order to extend its popularity among young, tech-savvy consumers into the corporate marketplace, Apple would need  to alter its business model. Business model innovation has become an increasingly common avenue for corporate growth. At its most basic level, a business model is the organization’s approach to generating revenue and making a profit. More specifically, business models involve the configuration of and the nature of the linkage between operations. 4 Start-up companies often gain a competitive advantage over long-standing market leaders by offering novel business models. Consider the following examples: Starbucks offered high-priced coffee specialty drinks in a relaxed environment. Amazon sold books online. Southwest Airlines provided an air service that competed with bus service and driving. Dell built computers to customer specifications. Zara placed low-cost high-fashion items on shelves with incredible speed. YouTube revolutionized the creation and distribution of video. Facebook integrated web-based interconnectivity with traditional school-based yearbooks. All of those companies had the advantage of building the innovative business model from scratch, â€Å"greenfield† as it is often called. They could harmonize their internal processes and employee competencies and behaviors with the requirements of their model. They did not face the challenge of nurturing a new business model within an existing, long-standing approach to generating revenue. Theory into Practice It is possible to gain competitive advantage through the creation of a new business model, but changing your existing business model will create special change challenges. Altering an existing business model, especially one that has been successful in the past, has proved much more challenging than a greenfield effort. Some organizations have been successful: Under Louis Gerstner, IBM transformed its business model for generating profits from the sales of hardware to generating profits from services and software. Lufthansa’s Jergen Weber moved the company from a centralized collection of functional stovepipes to a number of free-standing service offerings, including cargo handling, on-plane catering, and service maintenance. Carlos Ghosn changed the failing business model of Nissan by simultaneously centralizing product design and globalizing the company’s supply chain. Not all attempts to alter a company’s business model lead to success, of course. Michael Armstrong’s effort to move ATT from a long-distance phone company to a full-service provider of a wide array of offerings—cable, long-distance, local, wireless, etc. —proved disastrous. 6 Most notoriously of all, Jeffrey Skilling’s alteration of Enron’s business model—from energy provider to energy futures trader—disintegrated over the company’s inability to build sustainable profitability (and its leaders’ willingness to hide that fact from the public, investors, and employees). Corporate leaders believe that business model innovation will be the major source of growth over the next decade. 8 To achieve that desired growth, however, they will need to become effective change leaders. Because business model innovation alters the nature of linkages among employees, it disrupts existing patterns of behavior while demanding new competencies and skills. The failure of a company to engage in organizational change undermines a company’s capacity to innovate in their business model. 9 All business model innovation—that is, moving from the status quo to a new model—requires organizational change. Theory into Practice Adaptation of a new business model within a corporation will require organizational change. Behavioral Change Effective strategic renewal requires behavioral change that directly targets patterns of employee actions and interactions in order to meet the company’s strategy and to achieve and sustain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice If change interventions are to achieve significant and sustainable impact on performance, they must focus on altering patterns of employee behavior. Effective implementation depends on an alteration in patterns of employee behavior. Behavior refers to the actions employees take to enact their roles and responsibilities within the organization. Behaviors involve what employees do and how they do it, how much effort they bring to their roles, and how persistent they are in achieving desired outcomes. Behavior also involves the enactment of relationships: how employees interact with others (peers, subordinates, superiors, customers, suppliers, the host community, and so forth). It is this enactment of roles, responsibilities, and relationships that constitutes employee behavior in organizations. The collective enactment of those roles, responsibilities, and relationships—that is, the patterns of employee behavior within organizations—constitutes the target of behavioral change efforts. Behavioral change seeks more than a short-term alteration. New behaviors that are adopted for a short period of time and then dropped as employees return to old approaches will undermine strategic renewal. In order to support strategic renewal and outstanding performance, new behaviors need to be sustainable and adaptive to shifts in the external environment. The reason sustainability of new behaviors matters can be stated simply: the ways in which employees behave significantly impact the organization’s performance. Beyond products and market position, beyond plants and technology, employee behaviors affect the bottom-line performance of the organization. 10 Theory into Practice Organizational change seeks to create long-term, sustainable alterations in employee behaviors. Just how does that happen? How is it that patterns of employee behavior impact a company’s bottom-line performance? The key to understanding the relationship of behaviors to performance can be found in the idea of motivation. Motivation, in this case, refers to the degree to which employees are committed to the achievement of outstanding performance both for themselves and for their company. Employee motivation pays off in bottom-line performance. High motivation creates in employees the capability and willingness to work together to solve problems. Quality improves, customer responsiveness increases, and adaptation occurs. Chapter 4 will examine in detail efforts to redesign organizations to capture the benefits of enhanced employee involvement and commitment. For now, we can suggest that behaviors count. The competitive advantage delivered by behavioral change can be long term and sustainable. The manner in which work is organized, information is shared, decisions are made, coordination occurs, and problems are solved are all performance differentiators. 11 Furthermore, that performance edge is sustainable for decades, leading to significant and often staggering competitive advantage. 12 Theory into Practice The way employees behave impacts the bottom-line performance of the company. Sources of Behavior Effective change implementation needs to start with an appreciation of the source of an individual’s behavior. What is it that leads an individual to behave in a certain way? Individual psychology is important, of course: who the individual is, what values he or she brings to the workplace, even how that individual thinks and learns. But individual psychology can be difficult to assess and slow to change. A leader seeking leverage over employee behavior can start by focusing not on individual psychology but on the organizational context in which employees work. Theory into Practice Behavior comes from both the individual and the organizational context in which the individual works. Organizational context—the setting and circumstances in which employees work—exerts a powerful impact on behavior. Companies as diverse as Google, Nordstrom, MySpace, and Southwest Airlines endeavor to promote an organizational context that shapes individual behavior. They call upon organizational culture and values, the behaviors of leaders, as well as rules and procedures to define a context that shapes how employees enact their roles, responsibilities, and relationships. To appreciate the power of organizational context to shape behaviors, we can examine a specific example of an employee mistake. Sheryl Sandberg, an advertising manager at Google, made a mistake that cost the company millions of dollars. â€Å"Bad decision,† she admitted, â€Å"moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money. † 13 Sandberg quickly informed Google cofounder Larry Page. Employees make mistakes, even occasionally big ones such as Sandberg’s. Leaders have an important opportunity to shape organizational context by the manner in which they respond to those errors. Quick and harsh repercussions—firing, for example, or demotion—will have one kind of impact on the organizational context in which employees work. That response may be justified and reasonable, but it may also work to stifle future risk-taking behaviors. Or perhaps employees will be less willing to admit mistakes, slowing down an organization’s response time. The boss may also respond in a less harsh and punishing manner. Listen to the reaction of Google cofounder Larry Page, to Sandberg’s admission: I’m so glad you made this mistake, because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don’t have any of these mistakes, we’re not taking enough risk. The point is not  that Page’s response is the only â€Å"correct† or reasonable response to the admission of a mistake. Leaders have to determine what type of organizational context they seek to create. That context will need to be aligned with the company’s strategy and purpose. Page and Google cofounder Sergey Brin believe that mistakes can provide fuel for improvements, even innovation. â€Å"We’re willing to tolerate ambiguity and chaos,† says senior vice president Shona Brown, â€Å"because that’s where the room is for innovation. † Google’s leaders want a context that tolerates risk in order to generate innovation. Employee Participation and Resistance to Change Not all employees greet change with equal enthusiasm. It is useful, therefore, to examine the sources of employee resistance to change and the ways in which managers can overcome resistance. Resistance refers to action, overt or covert, exerted on behalf of maintaining the status quo. 14 Why Employees Resist Change You’re either for this change or you’re against it. That refrain may be familiar; it is not, however, accurate. Employee response to change runs across a broad spectrum, ranging from â€Å"commitment† at one end to â€Å"aggressive resistance† on the other (see Exhibit 1-3). Individuals may view change as a threat, fearing it will adversely affect them in some significant way. Individuals may understand that change brings both benefits and costs, but feel that the costs far outweigh the benefits. Individuals may view change as potentially positive, but may still resist because they believe that the organization’s management is mishandling the change process. Individuals may believe in the change effort, but still believe that the change is not likely to succeed. Managers can see employee resistance in negative terms: It is a â€Å"bad thing† that represents an irrational response to a dynamic competitive environment. In this way, employee resistance can be dismissed as invalid or disobedient. 17 Resistance to change, in this view, is a force to be overcome. There is another way of thinking about resistance to change, however; one that may actually improve the effectiveness of implementation. Theory into Practice Employee resistance is not just a negative force to be overcome; it also presents an opportunity to learn. How Managers Can Inadvertently Fuel Resistance During Implementation It is tempting to believe that a certain type of individual is likely to resist change. Perhaps you’ve heard, or even thought, ideas such as: Older workers are more likely to resist change than are younger workers. Middle managers are more likely to resist change than lower-level workers or upper-level executives. Men are more likely to resist change than women. And so on. Don’t take these explanations at face value. Study after study of employee resistance to change in organizations refutes these and other individualistic contentions. Individual differences may account for some variance in employee acceptance of or resistance to change. But the overwhelming determinant of employee reaction to change comes from how the process is managed and the degree to which employees are allowed to participate in the process. 18 Managers can inadvertently create resistance by the manner in which they pursue change. Here’s a checklist of employee resistance and possible sources of that resistance: Employees resist because they remain satisfied with the status quo. Perhaps management has not included employees in the diagnosis and learning process. Employees resist because they view change as a threat. Perhaps management has not offered employees the opportunity to acquire the new skills that will be required in the renewed organization. Employees resist because they see the cost of change outweighing the benefits. Perhaps management has not articulated the goals of the change adequately to allow a true assessment of the costs and benefits. Employees resist because they believe that management is mishandling the process. Perhaps employees have not been given a voice in the process itself. Employees resist because they believe that the change effort is not likely to succeed. Perhaps management needs to articulate why this change process is more likely to be effective than past efforts. By looking at the aforementioned reasons for employee resistance, we can see how many can be understood in part as a natural and expected outcome of implementation. Theory into Practice Participation in the change process is the best way to build support and overcome resistance to change; but remember—it’s no guarantee. In treating employee resistance as a negative force to be overcome, managers shut down the possibility that they can learn from resistance. When employee voice has been excluded from the change process, there is likely to be valuable data missing from the diagnostic and action planning phases of the effort. Employees may ask whether management really understands what customers expect from their products or services or what barriers the organization has erected to outstanding performance. Even when employees question whether management has selected an appropriate strategic response, it is useful, perhaps even indispensable, for managers to learn about employee hesitations and concerns. Instead of treating resistance as a force to be overcome,  managers may decide to treat resistance as an opportunity to learn from employees and improve the change process. Theory into Practice Employee resistance can offer leaders the opportunity to learn—what are the sources of resistance? Not all resistance to change offers an equal opportunity to learn, of course. Some resistance will have to be addressed and overcome. We will explore specific techniques and approaches management can consider to avoid creating resistance. For now, let us understand employee resistance as a form of expression that is not always a bad thing and that needs to be considered and understood by change leaders. Theory into Practice There comes a point in the change process where employee resistance will need to be addressed and overcome. Employee Participation Builds Support for Change Just as there are ways in which a change implementation process may inadvertently fuel resistance to change, there are also techniques for purposefully building support for change. Participation in the process of defining problems and designing solutions will help build commitment to the new directions that result from that process. By diagnosing problems, understanding their importance, and being part of the process of formulating solutions, people develop a psychological sense of â€Å"ownership† over the outcome. That ownership now creates in employees the heightened motivation to implement change in order to achieve desired goals. 20 Change imposed from â€Å"above†Ã¢â‚¬â€top executives telling employees that they must alter their behaviors in order to implement a new strategy or perform better under the old strategy—is likely to engender resistance. The employees resisting change at the Concord Bookshop complained that the board had dismissed employee suggestions to respond to the crisis by saying, â€Å"We’re going to do it our way. † Their felt loss of voice in the strategic response of the bookstore to new competitive realities contributed to high levels of resistance. People don’t resist change, the saying goes, they resist being changed. The difficult challenge for managers, then, becomes how and when to engage employees in the process of diagnosis, problem solving, and planning for change. General Motors (GM) can offer some historical perspective on both approaches; change that is imposed from above, and change in which employees participate in designing the solution. Theory into Practice Imposing change from above can lead to employee resistance. In the 1970s, soaring fuel prices and gas shortages made the U. S. consumer much more aware of the fuel in efficiencies of domestic automobiles. At the same time, Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan captured significant market share by offering small, reliable, and fuel-efficient alternatives. GM, with its fleet of gas-guzzlers built for an era of expanding interstate highways and cheap gas, was especially vulnerable. When Roger Smith became chairman of GM in 1980, the company was hemorrhaging money and market share. Layoffs, factory closures, and the shedding of non-auto-related businesses followed. Smith had more in mind than trimming costs, however. To lead strategic renewal, he called on a massive multibillion-dollar investment in state-of-the-art robotics and assembly technology. Out of that effort came the Chevrolet Vega, a small, fuel-efficient model produced at the company’s newly retooled Lordstown, Ohio, plant. The Vega represented GM’s intent to face down the rising tide of imports. State-of-the-art robotics and automation would help GM keep the costs of producing the Vega low. Employees at the Lordstown plant, however, resisted the changes that had been imposed on them from above. In particular, they objected to the depersonalization and sped-up pace of new robotic technology. Resistance went far beyond complaining. Some employees engaged in sabotage, open rebellion, and a wildcat (unauthorized) strike. Six years after its appearance, GM discontinued the model that had once held such high hopes for meeting Japanese competition. 21 Theory into Practice A participative process can help build support for change efforts. Compare that resistance to a different initiative just a few years later at GM’s Cadillac plant in Livonia. Cadillac and Vega were worlds apart in terms of intended market niche. Nevertheless, GM executives hoped Livonia would help address some of the same pressures for strategic renewal: the need to produce a world-class car that would help the company regain slumping market share. As they had done at Lordstown, executives sought improved quality and increased efficiency at Livonia. Now, however, the company approached change quite differently. Management worked closely with labor through the United Auto Workers union. Instead of imposing new technology and work processes on the plant, management and the union involved hourly workers in a planning committee that would redesign the way the plant operated. Theory into Practice In a unionized environment, creating employee participation involves inviting the union itself into the decision-making process. The joint worker-management planning committee created employee teams organized around a product line or function and given responsibility beyond production, including responsibility for quality control and material handling. Other design changes proposed by the planning committee—the removal of multilevel job classifications in order to improve flexibility and efficiency in the deployment of workers, extensive front-end training for all employees to gain teamwork and problem-solving skills—turned the plant into what some in the company called â€Å"a Lordstown that worked. Twenty-five years later, Livonia continued to operate as a high-quality producer of Cadillac’s highly regarded Northstar engine. Imposed change encourages resistance. Individuals can feel manipulated, coerced, or even ignored. When people participate in designing change, on the other hand, they are more likely to feel they are making an informed choice about altering their behaviors. Individuals can develop commitment to the choice as well as feeling responsibility for implementing that choice. When people participate in the design of change (in the diagnosis, action planning, and implementation stages), they will be more motivated to alter their behaviors. And, to emphasize a point made earlier, employee motivation matters. New behaviors will not be sustainable if they have been prompted by manipulation or coercion. Effective change does not seek to fool employees into setting aside their better judgment. Rather, it seeks to encourage employees to find continually new and improved ways of applying their better judgment. How can internal processes be improved? What are customers telling employees about our products and services? How might we eliminate waste and improve quality? To support behaviors that can sustain outstanding performance, effective change efforts avoid manipulation and coercion, aiming instead to enhance employee willingness and ability to contribute their own judgment. Theory into Practice Behavioral change seeks to motivate employees to change their behaviors; not to force, coerce, or trick them into changing. Because motivation is internal to each employee, the change leader’s challenge is complex. The task involves shaping the organizational context in such a way as to encourage and support an internal desire on a large number of employees to alter their behaviors in ways consistent with the shifting demands of the new strategy. How that is done will be the subject of the remainder of this book. When change leaders are successful, the organizational context unleashes â€Å"people’s innate curiosity and desire to experiment,† says Peter Senge, which creates a powerful â€Å"engine for improvement. Motivation works to build initiative and a desire on the part of the employees themselves to innovate and alter behaviors in order to achieve outstanding performance. The Three Faces of Change Not all change efforts take aim directly at behaviors. Let’s return to GM. In February 2006, with the U. S. automobile industry in a state of drastic decline, America’s leading auto manufacturer made some tough decisions: cutting dividends, reducing white-collar benefits, and slashing executive pay. On top of 30,000 job cuts announced the previous year, company losses totalling $10.6 billion, and share prices hitting their lowest point since the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s, GM’s CEO (chief executive officer) Rick Wagoner declined to predict when the company would return to profitability, saying only it would be â€Å"as soon as possible. † 24 In 2008, after announcing a huge loss, the company dove even deeper into turnaround, offering a â€Å"special attrition program†Ã¢â‚¬â€an offer to buy-out contracts in order to encourage retirement—for all 74,000 of its domestic hourly workers. 25 Theory into Practice Not all change is behavioral. GM’s approach to change can be characterized as turnaround. Rather than focusing on new behaviors, turnaround looks at a company’s assets and seeks to manage them in a new way in order to stabilize cash flow, shore up the balance sheet, and maximize shareholder wealth. GM’s turnaround may have been unusual in its scope. The activities of the turnaround effort—reducing capacity, shutting down facilities, reducing levels of pay, health insurance, and pension benefits—are typical. Is turnaround by itself enough? â€Å"Cutting costs is not a business plan,† observed Gary Chaison. Turnaround does not by itself create sustained outstanding performance. The impact of layoff announcements on the psychological state of employees—on their sense of security and belief in the future—accounts for part of the difficulty of translating downsizing into sustained outstanding performance. Employees who become insecure because of workforce reductions are less productive and less committed to the organization.

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;The House on Mango Street#8221;

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;The House on Mango Street#8221; In the book The House on Mango Street in MLA format, titles of books are always underlined., the main character Esperanza, goes from being a young girl with low self-esteem to being a young woman seeking independence. As the reader As readers, the novel allows us to participate in Esperanza’s life as she goes through life changes. Her identity changes, and she begins to change her views on life, herself, and the people that surround her. At the end of the book Esperanza has become more mature and has become more comfortable in her own skin. Good! Esperanza is a young Latina girl that has no feeling of belonging. Her family has moved a couple of times, so she doesn’t get the chance to get close to people. She grows up with a sister and brothers but doesn’t feel too attached to them because of the age differences and because the boys can’t talk to the girls outside of the home. She has very few friends but none seem to be â€Å"true† friends. At the end of the novel Esperanza has done a lot of growing up and has decided not to conform to the stereotypes that are imposed on young Latina girls. In the novel, it is evident that Esperanza is a very shy and insecure girl. She feels very uncomfortable with herself and this leads to the uncomfortable feelings that she experiences when she is around other people. Be careful about overusing â€Å"very.† In most cases you don’t need it at all. She worries a lot about what others think of her and about the house she lives in. When she is at school, she is scared to tell people where she lives because she is ashamed of her house. Although her house is nicer than the place she used to live in, she does not feel content. An example of the inferiority that she feels can be seen in the chapter called, â€Å"The First Job†. Periods and commas are always inside the quotation marks.In this chapter she has begun working and has uncomfortable feelings about lunchtime. Since she doesn’t know anyone, she eats lunch alone because she is too scared to go make friends with her co-workers. Timidness and fear allow for Esperanza to be very naive to others around her that who desire to cause her harm. Esperanza wants so much to have friends that she does just about anything for them. She even thinks about paying people to be her friends. In one instance in Esperanza’s life, she takes money from her younger sister so she can buy a bike with two other girls and they can share it. These girls didn’t want Esperanza to get in on the deal with them because she was there their friend, but because they were five-dollars short. Esperanza is so naÐ ¿ve that she doesn’t see this, comma splice she thinks that the girls want to be her friend. Esperanza’s naivetÐ ¹ leads to some unfortunate situations of betrayal. Esperanza becomes very excited when Sally invites her to the circus. Esperanza thinks she will have fun because she is told that the circus is such a fun place by magazines, movies and Sally. Esperanza is deceived because instead of going to the circus to have fun, she goes to the circus and is raped when Sally leaves her alone with a boy. Esperanza’s perception of herself is very negative. Although just about every young adolescent girl goes through a stage when they watch pronoun agreement, you have girl-they feel unattractive, brainless, and insecure Esperanza seems to feel all these emotions in a large degree. She seems so unhappy with her life that at times I thought avoid the â€Å"I† statements the book would end with her committing suicide. I think that a lot of the emotions that she is feeling are because she doesn’t seem to have any family support or any positive role models. It is hard to keep your head on straight when your family shines you off, you don’t have any close friends to talk to, and most of the time you hold things inside. She has such a pessimistic outlook on life that she is causing herself pain. Esperanza comes to a realization that the world isn’t nice and pretty with the help of a music box. She thinks of it as a beautiful box with beautiful flowers painted on it and then realizes that the music box is also deceiving. It is just an old wood box with holes in it. She thinks of the music box as something synonymous to life. She blames herself for being stupid and thinking that life is great when in reality it is not. Esperanza’s personality is also due to the gender separation that she experiences. Her brothers Kiki and Carlos are close run on sentence she says there their relationship is one of comrades, very different than the relationship she has with her sister Nenny. Esperanza describes her relationship with Nenny as them being playmates; Nenny is â€Å"too young to be my friend† (Cisneros 8).† Watch the placement of your quotation marks. The citation is inside the period, but outside the quotation marks. Esperanza is very aware of how alone she is when she compares herself to a â€Å"red balloon, a red balloon tied to an anchor† (Cisneros 9)†. She sees herself different from everyone and thinks she is raised high like the balloon so that everyone can see and judge her. The anchor that is tied to the balloon is Nenny. Esperanza isn’t just Nanny’s playmate but she is also responsible for taking care of Nenny, which she feels, is an anchor that is keeping from making friends. Though Esperanza is a young girl with low self-esteem, she is still very optimistic of one day having a â€Å"house of her own†, one she can be proud of. She decides to fight the war against machismo and be a woman that doesn’t need a man to take care of her. She refuses to neither either tame herself nor or wait for a husband, and this rebellion is reflected in her leaving the â€Å"table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate (Cisneros 89).† By doing this Esperanza is maintaining her own power and is challenging the cultural and social expectations one she is supposed to fulfill. She wants to create her own individuality by making the decision to not â€Å" lay (her) neck on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain (Cisneros 88).† Esperanza is not like the typical Latina who grows up in a big city whose goal is to grow up to be a wife and mother. She doesn’t want to fit the typical role instead she wants to become i ndependent from the stereotypes that are imposed on her by Latin society. Through out the story Esperanza begins by having an â€Å"anchor†, and then as she grows up and matures she refuses to have a â€Å"ball and chain.† She changes in the story and goes from being a young shy girl that doesn’t belong to a young self-empowered woman. She well not allow herself to fall into society and will fight the war against machismo. Although through the whole novel Experanza wants to leave her house on Mango Street, at the end we find out that she does want to come back. Esperanza wants to come back and help those that won’t be so as lucky as she is to leave Mango Street. She is aware that she can never leave Mango Street because it is part of her roots and has influenced her dreams and her personality. The fact that she now realizes this shows how much she has matured. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on The House on Mango Street topics from our professional custom essay writing service which provides high-quality custom written papers.

Definition and Examples of Language Contact

Definition and Examples of Language Contact Definition Language contact is the social and linguistic phenomenon by which speakers of different languages (or different dialects of the same language) interact with one another, leading to a transfer of linguistic features. Language contact is a major factor in language change, notes Stephan Gramley. Contact with other languages and other dialectal varieties of one language is a source of alternative pronunciations, grammatical structures, and vocabulary (The History of English: An Introduction, 2012). Prolonged language contact generally leads to bilingualism or multilingualism. Uriel Weinreich (Languages in Contact, 1953) and Einar  Haugen (The Norwegian Language in America, 1953) are  commonly regarded as the pioneers of language-contact studies. A particularly influential later study is  Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics by  Sarah Grey Thomason  and  Terrence Kaufman (University of California Press, 1988). Examples and Observations [W]hat counts as language contact? The mere juxtaposition of two speakers of different languages, or two texts in different languages, is too trivial to count: unless the speakers or the texts interact in some way, there can be no transfer of linguistic features in either direction. Only when there is some interaction does the possibility of a contact explanation for synchronic variation or diachronic change arise. Throughout human history, most language contacts have been face to face, and most often the people involved have a nontrivial degree of fluency in both languages. There are other possibilities, especially in the modern world with novel means of worldwide travel and mass communication: many contacts now occur through written language only. . . . [L]anguage contact is the norm, not the exception. We would have a right to be astonished if we found any language whose speakers had successfully avoided contacts with all other languages for periods longer than one or two hundred years. (Sarah Thomason, Contact Explanations in Linguistics.  The Handbook of Language Contact, ed. by  Raymond Hickey. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) Minimally, in order to have something that we would recognize as language contact, people must learn at least some part of two or more distinct linguistic codes. And, in practice, language contact is really only acknowledged when one code becomes more similar to another code as a result of that interaction. (Danny Law,  Language Contact, Inherited Similarity and Social Difference. John Benjamins, 2014)   Different Types of Language-Contact Situations Language contact is not, of course, a homogeneous phenomenon. Contact may occur between languages which are genetically related or unrelated, speakers may have similar or vastly different social structures, and patterns of multilingualism may also vary greatly. In some cases the entire community speaks more than one variety, while in other cases only a subset of the population is multilingual. Lingualism and lectalism may vary by age, by ethnicity, by gender, by social class, by education level, or by one or more of a number of other factors. In some communities there are few constraints on the situations in which more than one language can be used, while in others there is heavy diglossia, and each language is confined to a particular type of social interaction. . . .   While there a great number of different language contact situations, a few come up frequently in areas where linguists do fieldwork. One is dialect contact, for example between standard varieties of a language and regional varieties (e.g., in France or the Arab world). . . . A further type of language contact involves exogamous communities where more than one language might be used within the community because its members come from different areas. . . .The converse of such communities where exogamy leads to multilingualism is an endoterogenous community which maintains its own language for the purpose of excluding outsiders. . . . Finally, fieldworkers particularly often work in endangered language communities where language shift is in progress.   (Claire Bowern, Fieldwork in Contact Situations.  The Handbook of Language Contact, ed. by  Raymond Hickey. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)   The Study of Language Contact - Manifestations of language contact are  found in a great variety of domains, including language acquisition, language processing and production, conversation and discourse, social functions of language and language policy, typology and language change, and more. . . . [T]he study of language contact is of value toward an understanding of the inner functions and the inner structure of grammar and the language faculty itself. (Yaron Matras, Language Contact. Cambridge University Press, 2009) - A very naive view of language contact would probably hold that speakers take bundles of formal and functional properties, semiotic signs so to speak, from the relevant contact language and insert them into their own language. To be sure, this view is much too simplistic and not seriously maintained any longer. A probably more realistic view held in language contact research is that whatever kind of material is transferred in a situation of language contact, this material necessarily experiences some sort of modification through contact. (Peter Siemund, Language Contact: Constraints and Common Paths of Contact-Induced Language Change.  Language Contact and Contact Languages, ed. by  Peter Siemund and Noemi Kintana. John Benjamins, 2008) Language Contact and Grammatical Change [T]he transfer of grammatical meanings and structures across languages is regular, and . . . it is shaped by universal processes of grammatical change. Using data from a wide range of languages we . . . argue that this transfer is essentially in accordance with principles of grammaticalization, and that these principles are the same irrespective of whether or not language contact is involved, and of whether it concerns unilateral or multilateral transfer.. . . [W]hen embarking on the work leading to this book we were assuming that grammatical change taking place as a result of language contact is fundamentally different from purely language-internal change. With regard to replication, which is the central theme of the present work, this assumption turned out to be unfounded: there is no decisive difference between the two. Language contact can and frequently does trigger or influence the development of grammar in a number of ways; overall, however, the same kind of processes and directionality can be observed in both. Still, there is reason to assume that language contact in general and grammatical replication in particular may accelerate grammatical change . . .. (Bernd Heine and Tania Kuteva,  Language Contact and Grammatical Change. Cambridge University Press, 2005) Old English and Old Norse Contact-induced grammaticalization is part of contact-induced grammatical change,and in the literature of the latter it has been repeatedly pointed out that language contact often brings about loss of grammatical categories. A frequent example given as illustration of this kind of situation involves Old English and Old Norse, whereby Old Norse was brought to the British Isles through the heavy settlement of Danish  Vikings in the Danelaw area during the 9th to 11th centuries. The result of this language contact is reflected in the linguistic system of Middle English, one of the characteristics of which is the absence of grammatical gender. In this particular language contact situation, there seems to have been an additional factor leading to the loss, namely, the genetic closeness andaccordinglythe urge to diminish the functional overload of speakers bilingual in Old English and Old Norse.   Thus a functional overload explanation  seems to be a plausible way to account for what we observe in Middle English, that is, after Old English and Old Norse had come into contact: gender assignment often diverged in Old English and Old Norse, which would have readily led to the elimination of it in order to avoid confusion and to lessen the strain of learning the other contrastive system. (Tania Kuteva and  Bernd Heine, An Integrative Model of Grammaticalization.   Grammatical Replication and Borrowability in Language Contact, ed. by  Bjà ¶rn Wiemer, Bernhard Wlchli, and Bjà ¶rn Hansen. Walter de Gruyter, 2012) Also  See AccommodationBorrowingContact LanguageHistorical LinguisticsKoineizationLanguage ChangeSociolinguistics

How did Paul universalize Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

How did Paul universalize Christ - Essay Example Though this was the life-changing and decisive moment in his life that made him commit himself to preach the message of the Christ, Paul believed that the calling to serve God came much earlier while he was in his mother’s womb. He believed that this revelation was given to him to continue to work of the prophets who spread the message of the lord in nations across the world. He believed that he was also an apostle who was directly chosen by Christ to preach the message of the lord. Thus following his divine encounter with Christ Paul set out on this missionary task. He was chosen to be a missionary for all people including non-Jews and others living in nations around the world (Edart). Paul began his missionary work by addressing the Jews and later decided to spread the Gospel to non-Jews living around the world and where it had never been heard. He believed that God would guide him along his journey as he had chosen him in the first place to be his messenger. In his travel Paul preached Jews and the non-Jew population in several nations around the world moving from one town to another and having planned his journeys in order to accomplish his mission. In all the places that he visited Paul chose urban cities and towns, areas under Roman administration and with a predominant Greek culture and higher number of Jews as it was easier to relate to these sects of people. He believed that they in turn could carry forward his message to people from other communities. In every city Paul spread the message of the Gospel by participating in the service of the local synagogue where he would address the crowd and announce about the Risen Christ. Apart from places of worship P aul generally chose public places and private homes to give his sermon. Paul addressed members from every sector of the society and his contacts with those belonging to the elite classes helped him conduct discourses to a larger audience and also provided the much needed

Problems related to information management Essay

Problems related to information management - Essay Example Though organizations tend to spend a major proportion of their budgetary allocations on maintaining, updating and renewing their information infrastructure, they many a times fail to address the human factors associated with information management (Smith 19). In that context, information literacy could be deemed to be a central aspect of managing information at the workplace. A failure to initiate the employees into the basics and fundamentals of information management could expose them to a plethora of problems like an overload of information, problems faced owing to a lack of ability to locate and retrieve the required and right information, anxiety faced owing to a lack of cognizance of the essentials of information management, inadequacy in the requisite skills required to share the necessary information, day to day issues culminating into misinformation or disinformation, incumbent time constraints, and the like. Hence, to facilitate the smooth accomplishment of information mana gement at the work place, it is necessary that the organizations do invest in training the associated personnel in the requisite skills such as networking, time management, information analysis, data mining, team work, computer skills, online networking, resource management, etc so that they may be able to exploit information as a key to the overall organizational success. A lack of information literacy and improper information management at the workplace could hamper productivity in multiple ways (Milner 4). It could not only lead to a loss of the much precious time in searching and finding the right information but could inevitably be accompanied by various debilitating human ramifications like a commensurate rise in the employee frustration and stress incurred owing to the wastage of scarce resources. It could also slow down the progress at the work place owing to a lack of the required information as and when it is

Systemic anatomy Essay Example for Free

Systemic anatomy Essay The muscles of tongue can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic groups. The intrinsic muscles lie entirely within the tongue, while the extrinsic muscles attach the tongue to other structures. The extrinsic muscles reposition the tongue, while the intrinsic muscles alter the shape of the tongue for talking and swallowing. Extrinsic tongue muscles, by definition, originate from structures outside the tongue and insert into the tongue. The four paired extrinsic muscles protrude, retract, depress, and elevate the tongue: Muscle From Nerve Function Genioglossus muscle mandible-(Genial Tubercles) hypoglossal nerve Protrudes the tongue as well as depressing its center. Hyoglossus muscle hyoid bone Depresses the tongue. Styloglossus muscle styloid process Elevates and retracts the tongue. Palatoglossus muscle palatine aponeurosis pharyngeal branch of vagus nerve Depresses the soft palate, moves the palatoglossal fold towards the midline, and elevates the back of the tongue. Intrinsic muscles Four paired intrinsic muscles of the tongue originate and insert within the tongue, running along its length. These muscles alter the shape of the tongue by: engthening and shortening it, curling and uncurling its apex and edges, and flattening and rounding its surface. The superior longitudinal muscle runs along the superior surface of the tongue under the mucous membrane, and elevates, assists in retraction of, or deviates the tip of the tongue. It originates near the epiglottis, the hyoid bone, from the median fibrous septum. The inferior longitudinal muscle lines the sides of the tongue, and is Joined to the styloglossus muscle. The verticalis muscle is located in the middle of the tongue, and Joins the superior and inferior longitudinal muscles. The transversus muscle divides the tongue at the ed to the mucous membranes . the tongue that run along the sides 2. The muscle that . -Protrude -Retract -Depress -Retraction, elevation of posterior third -Shape changes The Genioglossus mus protrudes the tongue. Remember that contraction of the right genioglossus muscle (for example) points the tip of the tongue to the patients left. The Styloglossus muscle retracts the tongue upward and backward. Also the Palatoglossus muscle retracts the tongue upward and backward. The Hyoglossus muscle depresses the tongue. The Levator veli palatini muscle elevates the soft palate during swallowing. The Longitudinal, tranverse and vertical muscles of the tongue. They help to change the shape of the tongue. 3. Muscle of pharyngeal wall. The pharyngeal wall is formed by skeletal muscles and by fascia. Gaps between the muscles are reinforced by the fascia and provide routes for structures to pass through the wall. The muscles of the pharynx are organized into two groups based on the orientation of muscle fibers. The constrictor muscles have fibers oriented in a circular direction relative to the pharyngeal wall, whereas the longitudinal muscles have fibers oriented vertically. The three constrictor muscles on each side are major contributors to the structure of the pharyngeal wall and their names indicate their position†superior, middle, and inferior constrictor muscles. Posteriorly, the muscles from each side are Joined together by the pharyngeal raphe. Anteriorly, these muscles attach to bones and ligaments related to the lateral margins of the nasal and oral cavities and the larynx. The constrictor muscles overlap each other in a fashion resembling the walls of three flower pots stacked one on the other. The inferior constrictors overlap the lower margins of the middle constrictors and, in the ame way, the middle constrictors overlap the superior constrictors. Collectively, the muscles constrict or narrow the pharyngeal cavity. When the constrictor muscles contract sequentially from top to bottom, as in swallowing, they move a bolus of food through the pharynx and into the esophagus. All of the constrictors are innervated by the pharyngeal branch of the vagus nerve [X]. The superior constrictor muscles together bracket the upper part of the pharyngeal cavity. Each muscle is attached anteriorly to the pterygoid hamulus, pterygomandibular raphe, and adjacent bone of he mandible. From these attachments , the muscle tans out posteriorly and Joins witn its partner muscle from the other side at the pharyngeal raphe. A special band of muscle (the palatopharyngeal sphincter) originates from the anterolateral surface of the soft palate and circles the inner aspect of the pharyngeal wall, blending with the inner aspect of the superior constrictor. When the superior constrictor constricts during swallowing, it forms a prominent ridge on the deep aspect of the pharyngeal wall that catches the margin of the elevated soft palate, which then seals closed the haryngeal isthmus between the nasopharynx and oropharynx. The middle constrictor muscles are attached to the lower aspect of the stylohyoid ligament, the lesser horn of the hyoid bone, and the entire upper surface of the greater horn of the hyoid. Like the superior constrictors, the middle constrictor muscles fan out posteriorly and attach to the pharyngeal raphe. The posterior part of the middle constrictors overlaps the superior constrictors. The inferior constrictor muscles attach anteriorly to the oblique line of the thyroid cartilage, the cricoid cartilage, and ligament that spans between these two attachments to cartilage and crosses the cricothyroid muscle . Like the other constrictor muscles, the inferior constrictor muscles spread out posteriorly and attach to the pharyngeal raphe. The posterior part of the inferior constrictors overlaps the middle constrictors. Inferiorly, the muscle fibers blend with and attach into the wall of the esophagus. The parts of the inferior constrictors attached to the cricoid cartilage bracket the narrowest part of the pharyngeal cavity. Longitudinal muscles The three longitudinal muscles of the pharyngeal wall are named according to their rigins†stylopharyngeus from the styloid process of the temporal bone, salpingopharyngeus from the cartilaginous part of the pharyngotympanic tube (salpinx is Greek for tube), and palatopharyngeus from the soft palate. From their sites of origin, these muscles descend and attach into the pharyngeal wall. Longitudinal muscles of the pharynx The longitudinal muscles elevate the pharyngeal wall, or during swallowing, pull the pharyngeal wall up and over a bolus of food being moved through the pharynx and into the esophagus. Stylopharyngeus The cylindrical stylopharyngeus muscle originates from the base of the medial urface of the styloid process of the temporal bone, descends between the superior and middle constrictor muscles to fan out on, and blend with, the deep surface of the pharyngeal wall. It is innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve [1;0. Salpingopharyngeus Salpingopharyngeus is a small muscle originating from the inferior aspect of the pharyngotympanic tube, descending on, and blending into the deep surface of the pharyngeal wall. It is innervated by the vagus nerve [X]. Palatopharyngeus Palatopharyngeus , in addition to being a muscle of the pharynx, is also a muscle of the soft palate . It is attached to the upper surface of the palatine aponeurosis, and passes posteriorly and inferiorly to blend with the deep surface of the pharyngeal wall. Palatopharyngeus forms an important fold in the overlying mucosa (the palatopharyngeal arch). This arch is visible through the oral cavity and is a landmark for finding the palatine tonsil, which is immediately anterior to it on the oropharyngeal wall. The larynx, or voicebox, is an organ in the neck that plays a crucial role in speech and breathing. The larynx is the point at which t aerodigestive tract splits into two separate pathways: the inspired air travels through he trachea, or windpipe, into the lungs, and swallowed food enters the esophagus and passes into the stomach. Because of its location, the larynx has three important functions control of the airflow during breathing protection of the airway production of sound for speech. The larynx consisted of a framework of cartilage with surrounding soft tissue. The most prominent piece of cartilage is a shield-shaped structure called the thyroid cartilage. The anterior portion of the thyroid cartilage can be easily felt in thin necks as the Adams apple. Superior to the larynx (sometimes considered part of the arynx itself) is a U-shaped bone called the hyoid. The hyoid bone supports the larynx from above and is itself attached to the mandible by muscles and tendons. These attachments are important in elevating the larynx during swallowing and speech. The lower part of the larynx consists of a circular piece of cartilage called the cricoid cartilage. This cartilage is shaped like a signet ring with the larger portion of the ring in the back. Below the cricoid are the rings of the trachea. In the center of the larynx lie the vocal folds (also known as the vocal cords). The vocal folds are one of the most mportant parts of the larynx, as they play a key role in all three functions mentioned above. The vocal folds are made of muscles covered by a thin layer called mucosa. There is a right and left fold, forming a V when viewed from above. At the rear portion of each vocal fold is a small structure made of cartilage called the arytenoid. Many small muscles, described below, are attached to the arytenoids. These muscles pull the arytenoids apart from each other during breathing, thereby opening the airway. During speech the arytenoids and therefore the vocal folds are brought close together. As the air passes by the vocal folds in this position, they open and close very quickly. The rapid pulsation of air passing through the vocal folds produces a sound that is then modified by the remainder of the vocal tract to produce speech. This process is described in more detail in the page on vocal fold vibration. 4. Give the cartilage of larynx. Describe each. Laryngeal cartilages can refer to: The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of small three-sided pyramids which form part of the larynx, to which the vocal folds (vocal cords) are attached. These allow and aid in the vocal cords movement. Each is pyramidal or ladle-shaped in form and has three surfaces, a base, and an apex. The cricoid cartilage or simply cricoid is the only complete ring of cartilage around the trachea. The epiglottis is a flap that is made of elastic cartilage tissue covered with a mucous membrane, attached to the entrance of the larynx. It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone, pointing dorsally. There are taste buds on the epiglottis. The thyroid cartilage is the largest of the nine cartilages that make up the laryngeal skeleton, the cartilage structure in and around the tracheathat contains the larynx. It is composed of two plate-like laminae that fuse on the anterior side of the cartilage to form a peak, called the laryngeal prominence. This prominence is often referred to as the pomus Adam' or Adams apple. The laryngeal prominence is more prominent in adult male than temale because ot 1200 in female. 5. Muscle of soft palate. Muscle Action levator veli palatini deglutition ne difference in the size ot the angle: 900 in male and Vagus nerve via pharyngeal plexus tensor veli palatini mandibular nerve palatoglossus respiration palatopharyngeus musculus uvulae moves uvula

some dumb :: essays research papers

Honeymoon Night Have a piece of paper and writing utensil. Put the paper on the floor. Instruct each guest that they are to bend over, without bending their legs, and trace their handprint on the paper. Have someone recording what each guest says while attempting to do this. Once completed, announce "This is what "bride's name" is going to say on her wedding night." Then read what each person said. Examples include: There's no way I can do that! OW! That hurts! Am I doing this right? I can't reach that far! The Name Game I have given several showers and I have found that one of the games that is always a big hit is what I like to call "The Name Game". You get a piece of paper and a pen and have everyone write the name of the bride and groom down the edge of the paper. You then give everyone 3 minutes to write down things that have to do with a wedding that start with the letters in the names. When the timer is done then have everyone compare answers, if someone has the same answer then it doesn't count. So after everyone has read their answers then who ever has the most wins! Design a Veil Divide guests into teams of 3 or 4. Give each team the following: 2 rolls of toilet paper, 2 strips of ribbon about 12 inches long, and a few silk flowers (ones with bendable wire stems work the best). Tell them to design a veil for the bride, using one team member as the model. To keep the talking down, tell them that they only have 5 minutes (actually give them between 7 - 10 minutes). TAKE PICTURES!! The bride must then wear the veil while opening her present, and one has actually used it at the rehearsal! This is so funny, and much quicker than the full gown. Design a Veil Divide guests into teams of 3 or 4. Give each team the following: 2 rolls of toilet paper, 2 strips of ribbon about 12 inches long, and a few silk flowers (ones with bendable wire stems work the best). Tell them to design a veil for the bride, using one team member as the model. To keep the talking down, tell them that they only have 5 minutes (actually give them between 7 - 10 minutes). TAKE PICTURES!! The bride must then wear the veil while opening her present, and one has actually used it at the rehearsal! This is so funny, and much quicker than the full gown.

Cardon Carpet Mills Case

Cardon Carpet Mills Issues and constraints The issue, which Cardon Carpet is facing, stems from the lack of expansion throughout the United States, specifically limiting their contract sales portion of its business only to the southeastern portion of the United States. Cardon Carpet Mills has several action options: 1. Expand its market share in contract sales segment throughout the US. Employ ten sales representatives to seek potential institutions and businesses throughout all of the US. Compensate these personnel based on commission, that is, the amount of clients they contract to the business. . Sell its products of Contract sale to institutions and businesses especially ones located in the metropolitan areas their wholesalers reside in. 3. Present a contract that specifies a referral of at least five institutions by each of their wholesalers and in turn Cardon would compromise in regards to the â€Å"Margin Sharing† proposal. Organization Assessment Cardon Carpet Mills, I nc. is a privately held manufacturer of a full line of medium-to-high-priced carpet primarily for the residential segment.The company markets its products under the Masterton and Chesterton brand names. Robert Meadows is the president and Suzanne Goldman is his special assistant. Refer to Exhibit 3. Market and Industry Assessment Wholesale and retail distribution in the U. S. carpet and rug industry has gone through a lot of instabilities since the 1980’s. Shaw Industries, a manufacturer, the carpet and rug industry leader opened its own retail stores but suffered losing many of their buying groups. Shaw eventually sold its retail stores and returned to their prior channel.The Market has experienced an increase in dollar sales, however this is offset by limited profitability for manufacturers. Refer to Exhibit 2. Customer Assessment Cardon Carpet’s direct customers include: institutions and businesses and wholesalers. Cardon’s indirect customers include: Retaile rs and consumers. Action Assessment The industry shows a lot of instability in this industry, but more importantly highlights the sensitiveness of retailers and wholesalers to a manufacturer’s decisions. Refer to Exhibit 4.Shaw industries’ experience proves that Cardon should maintain their wholesalers and capitalize on their long-term relationships by seeking their expertise in targeting business and institutions. Refer to Exhibit 1. Recommendation/Action Selection and Plan Cardon must Compromise with the wholesalers in order to expand its Contract sales segment and increase market share. The agreement would guarantee at least five new clients in each of the seven wholesaler locations. In return, the wholesalers would receive a price reduction and have incentive to help Cardon Mills become sustainable.This presents a mutually acceptable solution that looks to fill a huge part of the market, which Cardon has yet to capitalize on. Implementation Plan Set up a meeting wi th a leading official at each wholesaler site and Send a Cardon executive to each of the seven locations. Specify in the contract/agreement that the referrals have to actually become contracted customers of Cardon. Indicate that these institutions can be the wholesaler’s accounting firm, corporate locations etc.

World History

During the medieval times, feudalism was the institution that characterized the political and economic landscape of Europe. What began as a contract between a lord and vassal eventually became the means for social organization in Europe. The term â€Å"feudalism† was said to have originated from â€Å"vieh,† the German word for cow (Nelson, 1999). This was because cows were the determinants of wealth for the early Germans (Nelson, 1999). Consequently, the term â€Å"fief† was used, which means â€Å"something of value† (Nelson, 1999). In the medieval era, land was the most valuable. Essentially, feudalism is â€Å"the contractual relationship among the European upper classes, by which a lord granted land to his man in return for military service† (Alexander, 1992, p. 64). This relationship between the lord and the vassal has political implications; the most crucial political characteristic of which was the localization of power and authority. The localization of power was a result of the Civil wars and the many invasions that occurred in Europe (Alexander, 1992). The invasions of the Magyars and the Vikings were instrumental in making the issue of defense a local concern (Alexander, 1992). This situation provided the opportunity for landowners to gain civil and military powers (Nelson, 1999). Due to the attacks, the feudal lords felt the need to hire men to protect their lands, while the people supported the landowners who could offer them protection. Hence, all government power was transferred to the local level, giving the landowners the most authority. Feudalism also dictated the economic atmosphere. Since the the feudal lords already had political authority, it followed that they had economic power as well. Through the fiefs they had given to their vassals, the landowners began influencing the areas within their territories. All the trees within the lord's land were his possession, and those trees may not be cut for any purpose (Nelson, 1999). The people were also asked to be economical in their fuel consumption (Nelson, 1999). Moreover, for every resource the villagers use, the lord must be paid (Nelson, 1999). This includes taking wood and hunting for animals. In addition, the lord has the monopoly over structures like grain mills and public baths (Nelson, 1999). The villagers also had to pay for the use of these structures. Nonetheless, the lords did not keep all income gained from these endeavors. They also shared it as non-land fiefs; examples of which include profits from the mills or fishing rights in streams (Nelson, 1999).Ap World History Units 1-3 Study Guide Aside from the economic rewards of being a feudal lord, he also received â€Å"relief† from his vassals. This was the payment given to the lord for taking a vassal (Nelson, 1999). At the same time, this payment would be used for his crusading expenses, or for the lord's ransom the moment he got captured (Alexander, 1992). In conclusion, feudalism was marked by two characteristics. On one hand, it was characterized by the localization of power. On the other hand, the economy was dominated by the lords. World History During the medieval times, feudalism was the institution that characterized the political and economic landscape of Europe. What began as a contract between a lord and vassal eventually became the means for social organization in Europe. The term â€Å"feudalism† was said to have originated from â€Å"vieh,† the German word for cow (Nelson, 1999). This was because cows were the determinants of wealth for the early Germans (Nelson, 1999). Consequently, the term â€Å"fief† was used, which means â€Å"something of value† (Nelson, 1999). In the medieval era, land was the most valuable. Essentially, feudalism is â€Å"the contractual relationship among the European upper classes, by which a lord granted land to his man in return for military service† (Alexander, 1992, p. 64). This relationship between the lord and the vassal has political implications; the most crucial political characteristic of which was the localization of power and authority. The localization of power was a result of the Civil wars and the many invasions that occurred in Europe (Alexander, 1992). The invasions of the Magyars and the Vikings were instrumental in making the issue of defense a local concern (Alexander, 1992). This situation provided the opportunity for landowners to gain civil and military powers (Nelson, 1999). Due to the attacks, the feudal lords felt the need to hire men to protect their lands, while the people supported the landowners who could offer them protection. Hence, all government power was transferred to the local level, giving the landowners the most authority. Feudalism also dictated the economic atmosphere. Since the the feudal lords already had political authority, it followed that they had economic power as well. Through the fiefs they had given to their vassals, the landowners began influencing the areas within their territories. All the trees within the lord's land were his possession, and those trees may not be cut for any purpose (Nelson, 1999). The people were also asked to be economical in their fuel consumption (Nelson, 1999). Moreover, for every resource the villagers use, the lord must be paid (Nelson, 1999). This includes taking wood and hunting for animals. In addition, the lord has the monopoly over structures like grain mills and public baths (Nelson, 1999). The villagers also had to pay for the use of these structures. Nonetheless, the lords did not keep all income gained from these endeavors. They also shared it as non-land fiefs; examples of which include profits from the mills or fishing rights in streams (Nelson, 1999).Ap World History Units 1-3 Study Guide Aside from the economic rewards of being a feudal lord, he also received â€Å"relief† from his vassals. This was the payment given to the lord for taking a vassal (Nelson, 1999). At the same time, this payment would be used for his crusading expenses, or for the lord's ransom the moment he got captured (Alexander, 1992). In conclusion, feudalism was marked by two characteristics. On one hand, it was characterized by the localization of power. On the other hand, the economy was dominated by the lords.

Employee Relation Essays

Employee Relation Essays Employee Relation Essay Employee Relation Essay Table of Contents Q. l) Use your understanding of employee relations to answer the following questions: (i) Critically examine the factors at play which determine the pay and conditions of London underground train drivers Top company executives Investment Bankers Introduction London tube drivers to strike on Boxing strike cause festive chaos(metro. co. uk) are Just few of the headlines that have spread over leading newspapers in the I-JK. Since the late 2008, when recession took over the I-JK economy, the people have been dealing with various adversities which have made life very difficult for workers working in various sectors. In a world where the national average wage in the I-JK is around 26,000 pounds, London tube drivers have agreed a 10,000 pounds increase in their salary which takes their overall pay scale to a whopping 52,300 a year from an already mountable sum of 314th of the UK population is envious with the fact that investment bankers get paid large sums of money in bonuses and other incentives. Barclays paid around 265,000 pounds bonuses which is astronomical amounts of remuneration compared to rest of the UK population. Then theres top executive on the other hand who claim their position is a very ritical one as theyre involved in significant decisions regarding the economy, have two factors such as pay and behavior should be controlled to establish a successful economic structure. Unitarist, Pluralist and Conflict Perspectives Organizational behavior can be assessed through various perspectives. Firstly, having to build cohesive unit with group members and maintaining a harmonious relationship within peers. Managers have the power and authority to control the activities and to foresee that all employees work towards the same goal for the organization (cipd. co. uk,n. d). In terms of tube drivers; they feel their pay rise is justified and all of the workers push towards achieving their goals. This explains the unitary approach shown by the London underground drivers concerning the pay increment. Pluralist approach looks to end the political warfare and management ownership. Ed rose,2008 p27-29). Freedom to express and establish their own values and norms, pluralist perspective believes in power in the society and allocating responsibility. This approach exists in our modern day society that helps us understand employee relation. Conflicting views believes in change in he social aspects through conflicts. For things to change, conflict is necessary to take things ahead. Class conflict is created through the inequality of economics sovereignty within the society. (P Lewis,M Sanders,A Thornhill,2003; pl 7-21). Dunlops Model of Industrial Relations Jim Dunlop in the year 1950 established three agents or actors which are located within an environment confined by various aspects such as technology, product markets, labor and distribution of power. this aspect have an effect on individual and the work surroundings (industrialrelations. naubribub. com, n. d). The guidelines and process is important in understanding the normality of the economy and to analyze the pay determination. There are various markets that operate in those sectors. Hence, it is also significant to understand the mechanism. An ideology is created through industrial relations. It also shares body of beliefs and ideas concerning the roles of the actors and the interrelation which helps bind the system together. Jim Dunlop argued that, the establishment of procedure and rules is the center of attention of an industrial relation system, the establishment and administration of hese rules is the major concern or output of the industrial relations subsystem of industrial society (Barbash, J, Barbash, K, 1989; pl 57) Train drivers are backed by very strong and efficient trade unions. They are responsible in helping them raise their wages. Tube drivers salaries are very high. If we assume to have tube driver wage is in an equilibrium stage, then in relation to the supply the demand for drivers should be high. But the fact is those drivers are not dictated by force but are relatively based on administrative decisions. CEOs have a very big task of running an organization. They have to make key decisions which equire many attributes and certain qualities. Because of the experience they possess and qualification they hold, there is a restriction as to the supply of CEOs in numbers. Hence, their salary increases. Gospel and 5) describes collective bargaining a process by which trade unions and similar association representing group of employees negotiate with employers or their representation with object of reaching collective agreements (M Leat, p:38). As far as individual bargaining is concerned, there are certain needs or demands that need to be well as politically strategic process. Trade unions use three factors to achieve their eeds and want to improve and better the working sector. The three factors are as followed; Collective bargaining Legal enactment Mutual insurance Mutual insurance helps workers that are out of work by providing them with funds. They also help in providing travel allowances. Legal enactment is also known as statutory regulations. Through legal enactment, rules regarding the employment can be made. Collective bargaining is more concerned with securing a good grounding in terms of employment through the combination of various employees. Trade unions are perfect example as they use their collective force to gain a better ground on hings. In order to create a working relationship, responsibilities and services must be agreed which is referred to as conjunctive bargaining. Productive agreement is basic requirements for unions and companies to go into in order to maintain a stable working relationship and to avoid any difficulties that may arise in the future. Conjunctive bargaining provides both parties with the minimum terms of agreement to resolve their conflicting interest (Ed Rose,p:281). Conjunctive, which is formed of co and Joint in context to bargaining relation, says that both parties should be on the same page and support each other. According to Chamberlin and Kuhn, there are certain dangers possessed by this method. For managers, the role or function to manage disappears. Hence, for trade union, managers presence is irrelevant. There is a sense of Job security among employees. (Ed Rose,p:282) Integrative bargaining attempts to seek mutual understanding by bringing together various parties with similar interest. This generally results in a win-win scenario. Integrative bargaining can bring management and union together through which significant progress can be made. Agreement leads to cost efficient production which increases productivity. This results in wages being increased because of the rise in profits. On the other hand, CEOs and investment bankers implement an I-win you- lose policy and try to seek an advantage over others. Bargaining power is the driving force which includes threats, bluffs and counters tactics that consequently determines outcomes. Q. 2) To what extent may large differences in pay within an organisation impact upon employee morale and employee relations? If so what can be done to address the issue? Illustrate your answer with examples. Employee morale and employee relation are two key terms that needs to be understood to determine the differences n pay in organization. Employee relation is defined as the relations that exists and are shared between the employees in a work environment or any organization. According to Gospel and Employee relation is a social, economic and political affiliation through which mental and manual labor are bartered for dependent on employee morale. It is the heart beat of any company. The relationship between employers and employees is very much dependant on employee morale. Efficiency in work can be achieved if the ambience is made better and happier. Overall employee morale means satisfactions in work among employees. In recent times, CEOs pay has had a drastic increase compared to normal average employees. The amount accounted to 27 per cent rise in relation to 2 per cent gained by the workers (bureau of labor statistics, n. d). During tough economic times, the answer to the question about such large pay packages is very hard to understand. According to Micheal Faulkender from the University of Maryland, the one reason could be the huge amount of compensation packages the CEOs get. These CEOs dont deserve the amount that theyre getting and all pay condition should be based on merit (pbs. org,2012). HP paid 10 million dollars to hire its chief executive but only after 11 months was forced to pay 23 million dollars as packages and severance. Until and unless the government starts acting and come up with strict regulation, large companies will be entitled to pay the big CEOs large sums of money and very less to the average workers. They should be paid on performance not on the basis of largeness of firms. 40 per cent of the pay is accounted by the firm size whereas Just 5 per cent is based on performance ( Tosi H, Katz and Gomez- MeiJal, Werner S,2000; p 301-339). There exists discrimination towards the people working in ordinary osition. Evidence has shown that the highest paid CEOs are not top performers. Therefore, the criteria on which they get paid have never been based on pay and performance (Nystrom P, Soofl E and Yasai-Ardekani M,2010; 13(4): 782-805) Dual Labour Markets These market are divided into two groups. irst one being the primary labour market is exemplified by Job security, benefits, huge incomes and very good chance of moving upwards. this can be further categorized into two groups. Workers that advance in their work position due to years of service which are know as primary workers or long term workers. hen there are blue collar workers that are in skilled labour which are referred to as low er primary workers. Secondary Labour markets refers to workers that have little Job security and very low income. ( Beer, P. D. , Schils, T. 009;p81-84) Senior management has a huge hand in deciding the pay for top executives which has a strong influence regarding differences in pay. To stop creating social tension and causing massive havoc, large firm should cut out on paying huge amounts of money for nonperforming executives instead focus on the employees who are on a bottom level compared to them and who work extremely ard for their salary. One party that can play a defining role are the shareholders, they can exercise control over pay conflict and manage the human resource much more efficiently. If not acted upon, this might lead to various problems such as employee absentees, lack of motivation etc. there are various ways through which workers willingness to work and maintain a consistent level desire can be maintained. One is by setting up a employee engagement plans. Individuals can shine in their desired field by practicing equity theory which can help bring organization and management together. Global financial civil war might embark in he future creating financial meltdown. Hence, this financial situation or disparity to protect the core values of the company. Balance of brain brings balance of power. Like the battles for natural resources existed within, theres a more strategic battles that has been supplemented by the ones with talent (economist. com, 2006). The obsession about global talent lies with literally every companies these days from hotel chains to credit card companies. It is no longer confined to companies such as general electric or Goldman Sachs. References Rose, E. (2008) Employment Relations. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, p. 7-29 Rose, E. (2008) Employment Relations. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, p. 81-282 Lewis, P. , Thornhill, A. , Saunders, M. (2003). Employee relations: understanding the employment relationship. Harlow, England, Financial Times Prentice Hall, p. 17-21 Leat, M. (2001). Exploring employee relations. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann, p. 358 Barbash, J. , Barbash, K. (1989). Theories and concepts in comparative industrial relations. Columbia, S. C. , University of South Carolina P ress, p. 1 57 Tosi H, Werner S, Katz and Gomez-Mejia L (2000). How Much Does Performance Matter? A Meta-Analysis of CEO Pay Studies Journal of Management 26(2): 301-339 The Economist (n. . ) The battle for brainpower. [online] Available at: economist. com/node/7961894 [Accessed: 29 Mar 2013]. Beer, P. D. , Schils, T. (2009). The labour market triangle: employment protection, unemployment compensation, and activation in Europe. Cheltenham, I-JK, Edward Elgar, p. 81-84 Newshour, P. (1996) In a Weak Economy, Why Is CEO Pay on the Rise? I PBS NewsHour I Oct. 4, 2011. [online] Available at: pbs. org/newshour/bb/ business/July-dec11/ceopay_10-04. html [Accessed: 31 Mar 2013]. Nystrom P, Soofl E and Yasai-Ardekani M (2010). Identifying and Analyzing Extremes: Illustrated by CEOs Pay and Performance, Organizational Research Methods, 13(4): 782-805 Industrialrelations. naukrihub. com (1950) Dunlops Model Dunlops Contribution to Industrial Relations. [online] Available at: http://industrialrelations. naukrihub. com/ dunlop-model. html [Accessed: 25 Mar 2013]. Sky News (2013) London Tube Drivers To Strike On Boxing Day. [online] Available at: http://news. sky. com/story/1026561/ london-tube-drivers-to-strike-on-boxing-day [Accessed: 26 Mar 2013]. Tahir, T. (2012) Tube and rail strikes set to cause festive travel misery. [online] Available at: http:// etro. o. uk/2012/12/17/tube-strike-london-underground-drivers-to-stage-walkouts- on-boxing-day-and-in-new-year-3319819/ [Accessed: 27 Mar 2013]. The Employee Relationship. (2013) Untitled. [online] Available at: cipd. co. uk/NR/ rdonlyres/E148D57B-4C8F-4108-B22E-75CE4C9D46C8/0/tssihrmchap11 . pdf [Accessed: 29 Mar 2013]. Thisislondon. co. uk (2011) E52,OOO a year pay deal for Tube drivers and theres no ban on strikes News Evening Standard. [online] Available at: http:// www. thisislondon. co. uk/news/52000-a-year-pay-deal-for-tube-drivers-and-theres-no- ban-on-strikes-6449485. html [Accessed: 26 Mar 2013].

How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works

How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works Laughing gas or nitrous oxide is used in the dentists office to reduce patient anxiety and relieve pain. Its also a common recreational drug. Have you ever wondered how laughing gas works? Heres a look at how laughing gas reacts in the body and whether its safe or not. What Is Laughing Gas? Laughing gas is the common name for nitrous oxide or N2O. It is also known as nitrous, nitro, or NOS. Its a nonflammable, colorless gas that has a slightly sweet flavor and odor. In addition to its use in rockets and to boost engine performance for motor racing, laughing gas has several medical applications. It has been used in dentistry and surgery as an analgesic and anesthetic since 1844 when dentist  Dr. Horace Wells used it on himself during a tooth extraction. Since that time, its use has become commonplace in medicine, plus the euphoric effect of inhaling the gas has led to use as a recreation drug. How Laughing Gas Works Although the gas has been used for a long time, the exact mechanism of its action in the body is incompletely understood, in part because the various effects depend upon different reactions. In general, nitrous oxide moderates several ligand-gated ion channels. Specifically, the mechanisms for the effects are: Anxiolytic or Anti-Anxiety EffectStudies indicate the anti-anxiety effect from inhalation of laughing gas derives from increased  activity of GABAA  receptors.  The GABAA receptor acts as the central nervous systems principal inhibitory neurotransmitter.Painkiller or Analgesic EffectLaughing gas reduces the perception of pain by facilitating an interaction between the descending noradrenergic system and the endogenous opioid system. Nitrous oxide causes the release of  endogenous opioids, but how this happens is unknown.Euphoria EffectNitrous produces euphoria by causing dopamine to be released, which stimulates the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. This contributes to the analgesic effect, too. Is Nitrous Oxide Safe? When you get laughing gas at the dentists or doctors office, its very safe. A mask is used to first administer pure oxygen and then a mixture of oxygen and laughing gas. The effects on vision, hearing, manual dexterity and mental performance are temporary. Nitrous oxide has both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects, but limited exposure to the chemical tends not to cause a permanent effect, one way or the other. The primary risks from laughing gas are from inhaling a compressed gas directly from its canister, which could cause severe lung damage or death. Without supplemental oxygen, inhaling nitrous oxide can cause hypoxia or oxygen deprivation effects, including lightheadedness, fainting, low blood pressure, and potentially a heart attack. These risks are comparable to those of inhaling helium gas. Prolonged or repeated exposure to laughing gas can lead to a vitamin B deficiency, reproductive problems in pregnant women, and numbness. Because very little nitrous oxide is absorbed by the body, a person inhaling laughing gas breathes out most of it. This can lead to risks to medical personnel who routinely use the gas in their practice.

Swanson's Theory of Caring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Swanson's Theory of Caring - Essay Example Clinical observations include temperature, blood pressure and pulses are normal. The model used in this context involves evaluating the caregiver’s attitude. They include being competent, meeting individual needs of the women and respecting their dignity. If proper care is given after a woman miscarries then she has the power to improve on her own. The scenario involves women who had early miscarries and those who had a late miscarriage. Nurses and midwives who care for these women are also considered in this situation. Swanson’s caring categories apply in this scenario that includes â€Å"Maintaining belief†, â€Å"knowing†, â€Å"being with†, â€Å"doing for† and â€Å"enabling† (Brier, 2008). The middle range caring theory The theory is built on the basic Swanson’s fundamental principles. These elements are the usual five that the doctor developed in her theory. The first developed by the doctor in 1991 element is referred to as â€Å"knowing† (Jansson & Adolfsson, 2011). It strives to understand an event in the way it has a meaning in another person’s life. It does not assume that one can know what the other feels or they way he or she is affected by the situation. Instead, it tries to understand and endeavor to take care of the person. The lives of the patients are important and the nurse is obliged to fully understand it. When a nurse embraces ‘knowing’, he or she develops empathy that is important for the care receiver. It encompasses observations, systematic research and prolonged clinical experience. The second process is ‘being with’ and it implies being available or with the woman. It implies stepping into her shoes, providing psychological, emotional and physical support (Krippendorff, 2004). It also involves effective communication and good listening skills. The midwife must display assertiveness, advocacy and competence to protect her interests. ‘ Doing for’ process requires maintenance of both knowledge and skills (Adolfsson et al., 2004). It entails doing what the other person would do to themselves and is a practical side and art of the midwife profession. It can be described as comforting, being protective, anticipatory. Nurses should practice it with competency and use all the available skills. The other process is ‘enabling’. This model describes it as facilitation of an individual’s passage through transitions from unfamiliar events (Jansson & Adolfsson, 2011). It is also referred to as empowerment. To empower the women, nurses must give them choices and be fully informed of them. This enables them to control their decisions regarding pregnancy resulting to equal partnership when giving care. For the midwives to give informed choices, they must be aware of all evidence-based guidelines that are relevant to them (Brier, 2008). Finally yet importantly, ‘maintaining belief’ is the f ifth process and entails fulfilling expectations using realities. However, it is only achieved if the expectations are real. Maintaining belief enables midwives â€Å"to know, be with and do for† (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). This final process brings all other processes together thereby forming one whole process. Brier (2008) describes it as holding individuals in esteem; believing in the person’s ability to realize set goals. The goal is to have a normal birth that includes a healthy infant and a well-being mother. In the real world, great emotions are always achieved with the importance of birth. The