Infant Observation free essay sample

For the infant observation, I chose a 10 months old baby girl named Riya. Riya is a full term baby with a birth weight of 7lb and 6oz, and a height of 19 inches. Her heart rate, pulse, appearance, and activities are normal at the time of birth. Riya is living with her father, mother and one elder brother. Her grandparents are here visiting from India. I asked Riya’s parents permission to observe her and they happily agreed for the observation. The mom told me that, she would call me on Saturday either morning or afternoon depending upon Riya’s sleep schedule. She called me around 11. 30, and mentioned that Riya just woke up from her sleep. The mom told me she is going to feed Riya next, and after that Riya will play with her brother. So I started driving to Riya’s house, which is in Sunnyvale just 10mins away from where I live. We will write a custom essay sample on Infant Observation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I reached Riya’s house it was 11. 45am on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful morning. Riya was in a high chair in the kitchen. The grandma was feeding to Riya. I went quietly and stood few steps away from the grandma. Riya looked at me. Then the grandma started talking to Riya. She then turned back to the grandma. She boiled rice, dhal, carrot, beans, potato, tomato with salt and grinded, and added little ghee with the mashed rice. Riya seems to like that food and when grandma says â€Å"uh† bringing the spoon near Riya’s mouth, she opened her mouth and swallowed the food. Riya’s fingers were banging on the high chair table, while legs kept constantly kicking. I noticed Riya is expecting grandma to talk and interact with her each spoon. After I went, for the first spoon, the grandma told â€Å"Chellakutty† open your mouth, Riya’s hands hit the high chair table, and leg kicked in the air. While bringing the second spoon, the grandma said â€Å"En kannulaa†, and then jumped with joy â€Å"nga, ngaa†. Riya’s grandma brought the third spoon to Riya while talking to her mom, Riya looked at her mom and did not open her mouth. Then Riya’s grandma told, â€Å"Oh, you want me to talk to you, not your mommy† and gave the next spoon, this time Riya smiled and opened her mouth and took the food. When the bowl is ? done, Riya seemed to slower down started to looking down from the side of her high chair. The grandma gave one more spoon Riya did not open her mouth and started to look again down. The grandma made a noise like an airplane coming down that sounded like this,zzzzzzzzzzz. Then Riya smiled and opened her mouth. Two more spoons went like that. After that Riya was looking down from the high chair and did not turn at the food. Then the grandma stopped. Riya’s mom came, took her bib off, cleaned her and took her out from the high chair. Riya’s mom brought Riya to the living room, and kept her in the mat. I moved from the living room and stood away from Riya. She was sitting up in the mat. Her legs were moving back and forth more like kicking. Riya’s brother, who is 6yrs old, was waiting for this moment to play with Riya. He brought a baby keyboard toy, a steering wheel baby toy, a battery operated shape toy and a teething ring, which the boy told me that was Riya’s favorite one. Riya was looking at her brother, smiling. Her legs started moving fast back and forth, and arms were in clapping position. The boy made the music with the steering wheel toy. Some colored lights came and the toy started talking â€Å"Let’s ride on the bus†. The boy was steering the wheel and Riya was looking at the toy and the boy and kept smiling made the noise ‘nka, nkaaa’. Riya touched the toy, and then moved to the teething ring. She grabbed the teething ring and started biting that. Riya’s brother hugged her. Riya turned to him and smiled at him, while biting the ring. Since Riya was enjoying this, her brother hugged her little tightly. I think this made Riya uncomfortable and started crying. Then the mom came and took Riya, kept her in her shoulder and starting patting. Riya Slowly calm down. After this she left Riya down, she started crawling and reached the family room. She turned back and smiled at her mom, caught the TV cabinet and slowly stood up, she turned back and smiled at her mom and grandma again. Riya used her fingers and started banging on the TV cabinet, while turned back and looked at her mom. Then she crawled fast and got the toy chest edge with her fingers and stood up again. Since Riya’s family planned to go out, I ended my observation. The time was 12. 35pm. Physical and Motor development of Riya: Riya has good control of lifting her chest, rolling, sitting, moving, and crawling. Riya could hold up of an object and stand up and walk with her toes. Riya has good control of her arm, she could clap with her hands, could hold on or grab an object tightly. She has a good control of her leg movement also. Riya has fine pincer control also. Cognitive Development of Riya: From the observation of her eating time, I noticed that she has a good taste, smell and temperature and texture quality. She needs her food to be warm. Riya could see objects from distance. As far as the language Riya could clearly identify all her family members voices and could distinguish between them. She is making sounds like â€Å"nga, mmmaaa† . Social Development of Riya: Riya is social with her family. I was a quite observer only, and not interacted with her. She was very happy with her brother and mommy’s voices. Riya is yet to start the daycare in two months. Emotional development: As far as the emotions Riya was happy, sad, cried, calm, disgusted and frustrated for later part of the food. Over all I had a great experience of watching an infant’s behavior. All this time I was a quite observer and not interacted with Riya. I thanked Riya’s parents, grandma and brother for their co-operation and left from there.

Assumption of Mary Essays

Assumption of Mary Essays Assumption of Mary Essay Assumption of Mary Essay Giving Voice to Our Values the thought experiment Fundamental premise of many Eastern philosophies and martial arts is to move with ones momentum and energy, rather than fight against them. The approach to voicing and acting on our values described in these pages a attempts to build on that same principle. Rather than taking a preaching stance wherein we might try to count- term temptations with all the moral reasons why we should behave ethically, or taking a persuasive stance wherein we might counter those same temptations with all the Para- tactical arguments for ethical behavior, the approach here is to take an enabling stance. We try to identify both the times when we already want to act in accordance with our highest moral values and also the reasons why we feel that way, and then we focus on building the iconic- dance and skills and the scripts that enable us to do so effectively and with the least amount of angst. Rather than pushing or pulling ourselves into values-based AC- Zion, we try to grease the skids that might carry us there. One way that we try to work with personal omen- Tums, rather than fight against it, is by framing our disc- 1 Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values cushion here as a thought experiment. We are invited to consider how we might voice and act on our values if we were going to do so. In this way, we sidestep all the pre- emotive arguments and rationalizations that pop up naturally, about how difficult or even impossible it may be to do so. We create a safe and enabling space, if you will, for experimentation and creative thinking. In the service of creating that safe space, we try to be explicit about as many of the working assumptions that underlie this approach to enabling values-based AC- Zion as possible. These assumptions are intended as the foundation for an exploratory rather than coercive stance. This explicit naming of our assumptions allows for a kind of informed consent at best, or at least for a Provo- signal consent as we embark upon this experiment. Even if we are not entirely certain that we accept all of the as- assumptions, this provisional consent provides room for us to act as if we did, and to see where they might take us, thereby freeing us up to create scripts and implemental- Zion plans for values-driven actions that we might never otherwise develop. Then when we are faced with the AC- tall excision to act on our values, we will at least have a well-developed strategy to consider. In this way, the De- fault of non-action, or of Just going along with the course of least resistance, will have a worthy counter position. So in the service of this informed or provisional consent, lets consider the starting assumptions for Give- inning Voice to Values. These are twelve assumptions, or give- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 3 ens, that form the story line behind this approach to values-driven action. Assumption One: I want to voice and act upon my values. As discussed in the Introduction, the fundamental as- assumption is that most of us want to find ways to voice and act on our values in the workplace, and to do so fee- get stuck on the idea that even if we want to act ethically, we assume that many others do not. Therefore we conclude that our efforts will be for naught and, whats more, that we will likely pay a price for trying. But why do we always focus on the folks who do not want to behave ethically? If we start instead from the premise that most of us would like to behave in accordance with our values, then it becomes less important whether everyone does so. Instead we only need Just enough folks to share this position; it becomes simply a matter of critical mass. It is a glass-half- empty or half-full kind of issue. By starting from the assumption that most folks do want to voice and act on their best values, we begin to create that very possibility, because we eliminate one of the conclusions that prevent us from Joining this group. (We are putting aside for a moment the question of Copyrighted Material 4 Giving Voice to Our Values which values we, or others, want to voice and act upon. That question is addressed in Chapter 2. Another objection to this first assumption may be the protestation: But I might not want to act on my highest values in all situations! However, Just because an idea may not always be true does not mean it is never true. For the purpose of this thought experiment, we suppose that there are many times when we would in- deed like to voice and act on our values, and by enabling that choice and learning to do so effectively, we are likely to expand the frequency of this choice. It becomes a gene- nine and even a realistic option for us. Assumption Two: I have voiced my values , at some points in my past. Even though research and our own experiences reveal many individual and organizational inhibitors, most Poe- pile have in fact chosen to voice and act on their values on some occasions. In conversations and interviews with managers at all levels of organizations and in the class- rooms where this approach has been discussed, we have yet to find anyone who cannot think of times both when they have and when they have not done so. Typically this realization leads to a conclusion that no one is truly teeth- cal. What if, as part of our thought experiment, we turned this around and concluded that no one is truly unethical? This conclusion can then be the foundation for building Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 5 the muscle for more frequent and more effective values- driven actions. Assumption Three: I can voice my values more often and more effectively. We have the potential to expand our capacity, our effect- tipsiness, and our likelihood to voice and act on our vale- uses by acknowledging that we have such a choice, and by practicing what we would say and do if we made that choice. The working metaphor for the Giving Voice to Vale- uses approach to values conflicts is that of an individual learning a new hysterical skill or sport. Not being an tat- Leticia type myself, I did once take a class in self-defense a number of years ago. The course was called Model Mug- king, and the idea was that instead of simply learning the basic self-defense moves (fist to bridge of nose, heel to instep, knee to groin, and so on), we would also have the opportunity to experience the feel of a full-on blow did- erected at an instructor who was dressed in an entirely padded suit, like the Michelin Man. In this way, the stub- dents could practice delivering the various self-defensive moves full force, rather than simply alkali about what action was called for or miming the moves in the air without the in a support- Eve environment, we would have a chance to practice AP- Copyrighted Material 6 Giving Voice to Our Values plying them during a simulated full-speed attack as well, with the same padded instructor. The thinking and research behind this several-stage approach was that muscle memory is linked to both the experience of full-force contact as well as the heightened emotional state of the simulated engagement, and there- fore, even if our brains are frozen or reacting slowly, our bodies would remember how to respond if e encounter- tired that same emotional state again in an actual real- time situation. There are several interesting aspects to this AP- approach. Before engaging in the simulated attack, we first had to master the actual physical movements by breaking them down into their components and practicing them repeatedly, with full-force impact and with encourage- meet and feedback on our form. This is similar to the way a student of tennis or golf or any other sport might learn and practice the different strokes and positions and build the requisite muscle groups, as preparation or put- ting them together in actual play, or the way a musician practices playing or singing scales before attempting a complex musical composition. Switch,thepremiseisthatvalues-transcripts and actions are a competency that can be learned, and that it is learned by both breaking it down into its com- opponent parts and by practicing the application of those componentsscripts and action plansin cooperative and lower-stress situations. Both the cognitive aspects of the processanalyzing the arguments and creating fee- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 7 active scriptsas well as the experiential aspectsactually saying the words in concert with peers who stand in as prop- sees for eventual workplace colleaguesare essential. In this way, we build the muscle and the muscle memory so that the approach will come more naturally and skillfully when we encounter actual values conflicts in real time. Some might argue that this is simply an example of traditional role playing in the service of learning. On the contrary, although there is a value in the use of role playing, if we are immediately placed in a situation where we must ice our values in the face of an adversary who is primed to argue vehemently against our position, we may find ourselves unintentionally reinforcing those same anxieties and that same pessimism about our chances at success that we are trying to counter. For example, too often participants in a role play of a values conflict will demonstrate their political astuteness, their savvy, and their experience with the so- called real world of business by assuming a skeptical, if not cynical, stance, pointing out all the reasons why a defense of ethical values is not realistic or practical. Such ole plays tend to send the signal that values-based actions are naive, at best. However, if instead of adversarial role plays, we Cree- ate opportunities to practice our arguments in front of peers who assume the role of coaches, we can work co- operatively and constructively to simultaneously rein- force the best of our arguments, to revise the weakest of our arguments, and to experience the physical and memo- action act of voicing these arguments in public. Copyrighted Material 8 Giving Voice to Our Values unintended negative rein- forewomen of our own best intentions, they would be used only after we have first taken the time to craft and actually practice speaking our positions in a collaborator- dive context. Assumption Four: It is easier for me to voice my values in some contexts than others. Developing the muscle for voicing our values does not diminish the importance of selecting and developing or- generational cultures and policies and incentives that en- courage such choices. In fact, our effort to promote the development of such cultures, policies, and incentives is, in itself, an instance of voicing values. And the more such organizational enablers are in place, he more likely it is that individuals will choose to voice their values. It is a kind of virtuous circle. This is an important part of the puzzle, for there is much research that examines the impact for good or ill of organizational contexts that enable or disable dissent and that focus on narrowly defined versus broadly De- fined performance goals. We will discuss examples of this in subsequent chapters, but the important point here is to recognize that although the emphasis of the GO AP- approach is on the individual and his or her abilities and choices, the organization and its impact are not over- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 9 looked. Although GO is an individual strategy, individual- LULAS operate within organizations that can limit or en- hence the options available to address values conflicts. Focusing on organizational pressures and norms is, again, not a reason to avoid voicing our values but rather another opportunity to airframe our choices and act on our values, this time by actually addressing the organize- action context itself. As we will see, sometimes individual- alas can more effectively address values conflicts in the workplace by talking about what discourages ethical AC- Zion and engaging leagues in addressing those factors than by tackling the issue head-on. This becomes a kind of Jujitsu move, where colleagues are engaged in fixing the organization in such a fashion that, by the way, ad- dresses the values conflict itself. An example of this is when individuals focus on changing financial incentives and reporting systems that may not only enable, but also encourage, distortions in an organizations internal AU- dining. Looking for ways to fix the system in the service of more accurate planning and forecasting, along the way, addresses the distortions in reporting integrity. Assumption Five: I am more likely to voice my values if I have practiced how to respond to frequently encountered conflicts. There are certain frequently heard reasons and rational- actions for not voicing and acting on our values. But Copyrighted Material 10 Giving Voice to Our Values there are also possible responses or reframing that we can use to counter these reasons and rationalizations. If we familiarize ourselves with these responses in advance, we are more likely to be able to access them when needed and potentially shift a conversation or change a mind. This is especially true when we begin to see hat the types of reasons that we hearand even offer ourselvesfor not voicing our values tend to fall into a set of recognize- able and limited categories, and therefore the levers for responding to them, or entirely recasting them, are Simi- Larry recognizable and consequently learnable. Prior reflection on responses to values given decision situation. That is, if we be- come fluent in ways to address the defenses of less than ethical behaviors, we will find ourselves more easily and more automatically doing so. Rather than experiencing that deer-in-headlights feeling hen we confront values conflicts, our muscle memory can kick in and the memo- seasonality of the moment is reduced. I learned this lesson firsthand a number of years ago. While teaching at the Harvard Business School, I launched a research and course development project on Managing Diversity in the mid-sass. There was no other course on the subject at the school then, but I had both an intellectual as well as a personal interest in purr- suing this work. For a variety of reasons having to do with my own experiences and those of people I knew, I had always experienced significant discomfort when I Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 11 witnessed unfairness or undeserved bias toward school or professional colleagues. Rather than anger toward the offender, however, I would tend to feel guilty and angry at myself for not being confident enough or skillful enough to counter the situation. At some level, I believe I felt that the experience of researching, constructing, and teaching a course on diversity might enable me to learn how to handle such situations myself, even as I was try- inning to teach others. Although teaching the course was a very positive experience for me, at the end of the two years I felt that, sadly, I as no closer to that elusive sense of bulletproof confidence and skill that I believed I needed to be able to speak up when I witnessed unfairness in my professional life. I moved on to other projects. Less than a year later, however, while working as a consultant, I was led to areas- sees the impact of the diversity research and teaching I had done. Two situations in particular caught me up short. In the first instance, my team was presenting a new piece of work to a potential client. The representative from the clients firm was making small talk at the start of our meeting, and he engaged to make several Joking but disparaging comments based on ethnic and class stereotypes. Although the comments were not specific- calla directed at me or any of my team memberswho were racially diverse and included my boss as well as seven- real more Junior managersI was concerned about the tone that we set for our ongoing working relationship. I Copyrighted Material 12 Giving Voice to Our Values didnt really think about it but I Just heard myself sue- getting, with calm but pointed good humor, that perhaps we should turn to topics about which we all were more informed. There was a palpable sense of relief among my colleagues, especially the more Junior ones, and the CLC- .NET, unfounded, good-naturally turned to a more AP- appropriate topic. I was relieved, both because I did not want to lose the client but also because I did not want to bond with him on the basis of discriminatory humor. In the second instance, I recognized that the senior member of my consulting team had made some incorrect and negative assumptions about the writing ability of the sole African-American Junior member of our group. I dont believe this manager was intentionally biased, but his unconscious conclusion was barring the Junior cool- league from a plum assignment. I found myself in a car with this senior manager, and when the subject came up, I simply explained how impressed I was with the result, the Junior consultant received an attractive writing project, and I had the opportunity to work closely with him and benefit personally and profess- signally from the association. I mention these two examples neither because I be- live I handled them flawlessly nor to argue that I always counter bias when I see it. I still struggle tit my desire to avoid conflict and with a certain natural reticence. However, I did manage to shift the behaviors and IM- pacts on my peers in these two situations (not that I have Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 13 any illusions that I actually changed the attitudes of the client in the first example). And I did so with a mini- mum of stress and hand-wringing on my own part. In fact, in both instances, I heard myself making comments that I would never have made prior to my diversity course. In fact, in the past, I would have felt horrible about both situations but would have likely remained tongue-tied. I have concluded that the experience of researching and talking about the many ways that discrimination and bias can occur in professional contexts, and especially the identification of the many arguments against this type of bias and the many ways of responding to these situations, had had a profound impact on me. Not only had I seen how common such situations are, but I had also Para- diced, unwittingly, all the ways that one might respond. I was not shaken or put off my game when the circus- stances arose. I was able to react calmly, thereby without signaling to my audiences that this was a difficult situ- action or that they were somehow bad people. The re- sponges were fact-based, good-natured, and appropriate to the context. Had I been taken off guard or less pre- pared, I would likely have telegraphed more stress, memo- Zion, and blame. But the funny part was, I had not known that I was so prepared until I was in these situations! So I revisited my assessment of the value of my research and discussions of diversity. I believe it was more effect- dive than I had recognized. It was, in fact, a kind of pre- scripting. Copyrighted Material 14 Giving Voice to Our Values Assumption Six: My example is powerful. Just as we ourselves would like to be able to voice and act on our values, we can assume that many of our colleagues would as well. If we can demonstrate credible responses to frequently heard reasons for not voicing and acting on our values, we may encourage and empower others to Join us. An undergraduate business student I interviewed was working in a plum internship doing research for a consulting firm. When her boss told her to lie about who she was to gain intelligence from a competitor, she ex- planned that she didnt want to do so but that she would work to gather comparable information in other ways. Her boss, unconvinced by her ethical arguments, never- toeless indulged her alternative plan, and through hard work, the intern was able to generate a credible report without misrepresenting herself. It might be argued that she had had a very limited impact on the firm; after all, her boss was not likely to change his behavior going for- ward. However, the intern reported that later she was surprised and pleased to see that other interns began coming to her, asking how she managed to complete her task without deception because they, too, wanted to take that road. Whether the organization was changed example. Additionally, rather than walking away from this internship with only a sense of distill- sentiment at what she had learned about how this rep- Copyrighted Giving Voice to Our Values 15 table firm did business, she gained a sense of efficacy and greater confidence in her own options. In fact, she was offered an ongoing position with the firm. Assumption Seven: Although mastering and delivering responses to frequently heard rationalizations can empower others who share my views to act, I cannot assume I know who those folks will be. The responses we develop and practice to frequently eared reasons and rationalizations for unethical behave- IRS are intended to strengthen our own confidence in voicing and acting on our values. Additionally, this Para- twice can influence others who share our values conflict but are unable to find a way to explain their reluctance. However, we cannot assume we know who feels the con- flick and who does not simply by observing their behave- ROR because, as we have already acknowledged, we all have chosen to suppress these felt conflicts at some points in our past. Thus, in the example above, the business student intern might eve thought she had failed if her goal had been only to change her bosss behavior. However, Unix- affectedly and without her conscious intention, her be- having was noticed by some of her peers and they were influenced by her. This is important because often we can become discouraged from trying to voice our values 16 Giving Voice to Our Values because we are not certain of our ability to influence our intended audience. The thing is, we will experience more satisfaction from our efforts to voice our values if we re- main open to the possibility of unintended positive IM- pacts. This is not to say hat we do not design our scripts and action plans with a careful eye to having a hoped-for impact on a particular audience; rather it is simply to acknowledge and value the additional or alternative POS- dive impacts we may have. The only real and ultimate control we have is over ourselves, which leads us directly to the importance of the next assumption. Assumption Eight: The better I know myself, the more I can prepare to play to my strengths and, when necessary, protect myself from my weaknesses. The greater our self-knowledge, the more likely we are to be able to anticipate and manage our responses to values conflicts. Prior reflection on our own personalities and behavioral tendencies under pressure enables us to play to our strengths: that is, to frame the challenge we face in such a way that it draws on the skills and arguments with which we feel most adept and confident. Rather than AC- accepting the challenge as it is put before us, we can take an active role in reshaping it. This kind of self-assessment is not your typical values- Giving Voice to Our Values 17 clarification process. It is not about figuring out what is important to us; the Giving Voice to Values approach starts from the moment our values kick in. Instead this self- assessment is based on the observation that people who do act on their values often have found ways to describe the situation that give them power rather than ways as a prepare- Zion and trigger to consciously put mechanisms in place to protect us from our own weaknesses. However, re- search tells us that often these mechanisms need to go beyond mere self-knowledge and become external tools (incentives, deterrents, automatic review processes, transparency requirements, practicalities networks of sounding boards, et cetera). Our own internal awareness of our biases and tendencies is important but not enough to prevent us from falling ere to them: we need to go beyond awareness to active preparation for values- based decision making, a preparation that includes the script- inning and action planning that GO encourages. Assumption Nine: I am not alone. When we encounter values conflicts in the workplace, often we feel isolated and personally at risk. We may assume that our peers will not share our concern, or that to raise the issue will polarize our colleagues or expose us to greater pressure and vulnerability. This may actually be true. How- Copyrighted Material 18 Giving Voice to Our Values ever, interviews with individuals who have voiced their vale- uses in such situations veal that, in most cases, they did find and rely upon some form of external support system. The challenge is to identify whom to speak with and for which purposes. There are many different sources of support, both inside and outside organizations, and there are many ways of gathering support, some more direct than others. We can utilize our personal support networks (family, friends outside the organization) as sounding boards; we can reach out to our colleagues in the firm to build a coalition of allies or to gather sup- porting information; and we can engage in strategic use of the managerial hierarchy. However, we must consider carefully which approach is most appropriate in a par- testicular situation, keeping in mind the implications not only for ourselves and the challenge we face, but also for the individuals we engage. The examples discussed here show different ways that individuals countered the ten- Denny to feel isolated. Assumption Ten: Although I may not always succeed, voicing and acting on my values is worth doing. When pursuing our values, Just as with any other man- serial action, we do not always succeed at what we set out to achieve, et that does not necessarily prevent us and others from taking action. There are no guarantees or Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 19 reckless action plans, around voicing values or anything else, and GO does not claim that there are. Rather than backing off from our values because we cant muster the words or the strategies in the moment, and rather than rashly voicing values in ways that belie the management sophistication and interpersonal insight we would exhibit in a less charged situation, GO is about providing the pop- opportunity to hone and reactive our approach, such that we feel greater confidence and can behave more skillfully. In this way, the goal is to increase the likelihood of success. Additionally, we are more likely to voice our values if we have decided that the costs of not doing so, and the benefits of trying, are important enough to us that we would pursue them even though we cannot be certain of success in advance. In order to get to this place of clarity, we need to spend some serious time thinking about our own identity, our personal and professional purpose, and our definition of success and failure. We will fleet clear-eyed upon the risks associated with voicing our values, so that we can be prepared to handle the possible implications. Assumption Eleven: Voicing my values leads to better decisions. It is often difficult to be certain that a specific course of action is right or wrong, but we are more likely to Copyrighted Material 20 Giving Voice to Our Values come to the best decision if we feel empowered to voice our concerns about values conflicts and discuss them with others. In fact, one of the most common objections to the idea of voicing and acting on our values is the con- CERN that we may be wrong, hat our values might spring from a place of self-righteousness or incomplete under- standing. And of course, this is a valid concern. Unfortunately, too often this concern serves to is- lance us, preventing us from sharing our perspectives be- cause we assume that they are not valid. If, however, we learn to examine our values-based position in depth and from multiple perspectives, as the GO approach out- lines, we not only will become more adept at presenting our values-based position, but we will also be testing it against the views of others and supporting it with the necessary information. Our own position will become richer. In addition, even if in the end we conclude that our going-in position was incorrect, the process of analyzing and sharing our concerns can improve our organize- action decision-making process. In fact, one of the less- sons shared by the individuals interviewed for GO is that decisions are often improved if we do not assume that managerial directives are final and unquestionable, but rather view them as simply opening hypotheses. Take- inning this view can also help us to present our views with the calm confidence that comes room the belief that we are adding value by doing so. Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 21 Assumption Twelve: The more I believe its possible to voice and act on my values, the more likely I will be to do so. We are more likely to voice and act on our values when we believe it is possible to do so, and to do so effectively. If we pay attention to positive examples of such voice and action and spend time developing support Mecca- minims and practicing the development and delivery of responses to frequently heard reasons and rationalize- actions for unethical actions, we can expand our sense of whats possibleanother virtuous circle. On the other hand, if we focus most of our time and attention identifying and bemoaning all the ways in which we are discouraged from voicing our values, we will be reinforcing that process. This is not only common sense; increasingly it is a phenomenon supported by re- search in the fields of positive psychology as well as the cognitive neuroscience. L In fact, the GO approach described in these pages is more than a set of insights and tools that we can learn to apply; the very act of reading and reflecting upon all the ways that looks have voiced and can act on their vale- uses can change the way we experience reality. That is, rather than proving that we can act on our values, we are simply making it true. And we do this by reframing the question from whether to voice our values to how can we voice our values? Copyrighted Material 22 Giving Voice to Our Values Having now familiarized ourselves with the work- inning assumptions behind the GO thought experiment, it becomes important to ask: What are our reactions to these informed, or at least a Provo- signal, consent to the GO project, then it becomes IM- orator not only to name and define these underlying assumptions, but also to reflect on both our resonances with them as well as our reservations or objections to them. We might consider: A

The position of Japanese women employees from post-bubble to now Essay

The position of Japanese women employees from post-bubble to now - Essay Example Laws that are against the discrimination of women and sexual harassment at work have been enacted to protect the rights of females in the workplace. According to Broadbent (2003), the number of females who worked in well paying jobs rapidly increased in the period between 1920 and 1980. The number of women at the workplace reached sixty percent for those women in the age bracket of between 25 and 64. In Japan, according to local traditions, men are expected to work in companies while women remain in the homes taking care of the family. The Position of Japanese Women Employees in the Post-Bubble era The bubble era in Japan lasted from 1986 to the February of 1991and it came with influx of exports and availability of capital as suggested by Tsutsui (2009). The post bubble era in Japan began in the 19991 due to the crashing of stock prices. Despite the ongoing significant changes in Japan, the traditional concept of â€Å"right† position for women and men in the society is still experienced in Japan. As a result of the growing modernization in Japan and the society’s change in traditional believes in the country, the number of working women has been rapidly increasing annually. As result the ratio of men to women in the workplace in the Japanese society has also increased. Although the almost half of employed population are women, they are still treated equally with men and thus there is a sense of discrimination against women. For instance, focusing on the end of the bubble era, female graduates had difficult times in securing jobs compared to the male graduates whom they had same qualifications. On the same case, even those who were lucky to secure employment, the offer could not be compared to that of the male graduates. The main issue in women employment in the Japanese society over the last decade is based on how they deal with a system that entrenched and institutionalized in the period of high growth. However the society also has to consider t hat the system is now invalid and needs an overhaul in the post-bubble era. In the post-bubble era, the female labor force decreased to almost 50.2% that is in 1994 from 50.7% in 1991 as suggested by Gunther (2009). Feminization in the employment sector was slightly decreasing. Despite the increasing women employment the era is characterized by women self employment and family employment. Women working on temporary basis in 1995 only received about sixty percent of the salaries received by men. The amount of salary for female workers was also dictated by their age. In the same year, the average number of working years for high compared to that of women. The underlying issues in Japan in the post-bubble era included non-regular system of labor as well as the predominant part-time workers. The major challenge was how to deal with these issues which mostly affected women. In this era, Japan’s emphasis is on the use of part-time female workers as the cost-cutting measure in the c orporate. Instead the country should use women employment as a way of improving the general employment sector or in a more constructive manner. Research has established it that companies were reluctant in appointing female workers to high positions of work. There was also the controversy that female workers were not engaged in promotional training and the male employees do not value women’s labor. In the post-bubble era, legislation like the Childcare leave of 1992 and the Family care leave of 1995 were

Business letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Business letter - Essay Example This is indicated by CEO comment that poor performance resulted from increase in gas prices, and people cutting back on carbohydrates. Instead, if I was the CEO I could have refrained from making any comment and instead order a quick investigation to be done by the experts so that we come up with the appropriate measure to change the situation. Also, for a firm to succeed there must be a close relationship between top management and their subordinates. This would have ensured that the top management has a deep insight of what could have been led to tremendous decrease in sales. As a result, the most hurt personnel in the organization are the stockholders who have invested their capital in the business for returns. This is because the situation could have caused depreciation of the value of their investment rather than appreciation. In my view, failure for the company to remain competitive in the market can be attributed by all stakeholders who have a role to play in ensuring that the company performs well. In addition, overreliance on top management to undertake all roles in the company could also have led to poor performance. Instead, the organization could have agitated for team work an aspect that could have increased coordination in all sectors involved in

Just like Helen Keller Essay Example for Free

Just like Helen Keller Essay Marketing new services that will enhance existing organizations must be carefully thought out and planned to be considered a needed addition to any organization. Companies which have been founded on principles of ethics and quality services, ensure that every additional service provided to the many existing services must meet the expectation of each customer that is serviced. Team B has begun to target the process of marketing the expansion of processing packages that are undeliverable within the Fed Ex organization. Instead of returning the packages to place of origination, or re-delivering packages after an additional delivery failure, a process specifically geared to contact the person for whom the package is meant, will be the newly planned addition to the existing services which Fed Ex provides. Learning Team B will focus on reviewing the existing organization, providing a more detailed description of our LT goals in this process, review the importance to our success in planning and executing the idea, provide a SWOTT analysis on the project, and will develop a marketing strategy in order to be successful with this new process. Providing a consumer friendly service will give Fed Ex further success in the industry of package delivery to all consumers; both within the U. S. and Internationally. In today’s fast paced, high competition and deadline driven environment millions of people turn to FedEx Corporation everyday to get packages to the desired destination because of the assurance and commitment behind the name. FedEx Corporation was built upon providing top of the line innovative solutions and it continues to be an crucial part of the FedEx the overall culture and business strategy. FedEx Corporations commitment has been an instrumental part in the overall development of products, ideas and services that have given FedEx’s customers the ability to grow their businesses around the world. What is known as FedEx Corporation today, was originally introduced in 1971 as FDX Corp, and since their inception has engineered the shipping and logistics industry and has set the mark over and repeatedly, for all others in the business to meet. Since its beginning, FedEx Corp has been seen in the public eye as a leader in the transportation and logistics industry. The FedEx Corporations ability to collectively work together through their different entities demonstrate the leadership and foresight of the trusted FedEx brand. It is this loyalty which brings customers to FedEx every day. â€Å"FedEx provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. FedEx Corporation offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. † (FedEx Corporation, 2009). With a marketplace that is always changing FedEx Corporation is always putting forth full effort to be on the forefront of technology and to bring new and innovative ideas to maximize their profits and customer choices. FedEx currently handles an â€Å"averaged 3. 4 million† a day and delivers to over 213 countries† (E-Logi, 2009). Even in a hard international economical time, many Customers are increasingly seeing the value of using FedEx to reach new markets, grow their businesses and cut inventory carrying costs. The global economy is expanding steadily, particularly the manufacturing sector, giving our business more opportunities to grow in the future. (FedEx Corporation, 2009). As one can tell FedEx Corporation is a trend setting and revolutionary business force which continues to be on the forefront of innovation due to its ability to focus on the customer, ability to make tough decisions and always absolutely positively delivering on its promises. Federal Express is a global leader in getting packages to consumers. Business consumers already enjoy services like a hold feature for important packages and documents. This service is designed for the organization that ships a large number of packages and documents to regular business partners or employees. Employees and partners can retrieve their package from the closest sorting facility by having a hold placed on any or all incoming packages. Federal Express notifies partners and employees via pre-recorded voice mail that their package is available for pickup at the location nearest them. The service that is being contemplated is a kiosk idea, where customers business or individuals can send packages or documents, as well as pick them up all in an automated system that is based on the needs of the consumer. Undelivered packages and documents will be retained with in the kiosk, and consumers can pickup their delivery. This will be offered in a few different manners. Customers can log into the web site and obtain a pin number for the package, or it can be e-mailed or an automated voice mail can be sent to a cell or land line telephone. Customers whom do not want deliveries to be sent to there place of residence can have the option to have this become their primary way of receiving anything shipped by Federal Express. People in a specific delivery area will have the ability to ship and receive their packages and documents using the same kiosk based on geographic and delivery area. The kiosk will be totally automated and open twenty four hours a day, based on customer needs. Marketing is defined as the strategy-allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve the objectives of (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service). The economy uses tactics to get buyer’s attention in order to gain maximum success. â€Å"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large† (American Marketing Association, 2008, p. 1). Marketing is vital to any organization in meeting the needs and wants of the consumers and if the marketing department is not focusing on meeting the needs of the consumers, stakeholders or vendors, the organization will not be successful. Marketing helps the organization develop a plan, collect data on the target population, examine and explore areas of the organization that will improve services to his or her customers in order to provide top quality services. FedEx marketing department has decided to explore the problem of holding customers package when they are not home to receive these packages. With the current system, customers can pick up their packages at the nearest Kinko’s FedEx store, but in order to know if the package is there for pick up, the customer would need a tracking number then have internet access to see if the package is there for pick up but many times, the package is not there before the driver finishes his or her route, therefore, FedEx has decided to incorporate a kiosk system. This system will create a faster tracking system and enhance the quality of service provided to the consumers, vendors and stakeholders. The marketing department will create services that would fit the lifestyles of the consumers, by understanding demographics, psychographics, cost and time in providing a new service as well as if the new service will be beneficial to the consumer. Without a clear understanding of the importance of marketing in the success or failure of the organization, misrepresentation of marketing can have consumers going to the competition because of getting their needs better met with faster turnaround services, better customer service and overall, top quality management. Strengths of reputation and organizational processes of Federal Express now known as, Fed Ex are what they have worked hard to create. Companies which have the focus of excellence usually have the proper organizational values in a progressive environment. Weaknesses within Fed Ex are between the past upper management decisions to categorize delivery drivers as independent instead of employees of Fed Ex. In 1998, 203 drivers filed a lawsuit against Fed Ex, citing they were paid as independent contractors instead of regular employees with benefits. (1) This class action suit would cause competitors to think Fed Ex has less sensitivity to employee requests for better benefits and more importantly working relationships within the company. Opportunities may present of growth within a company for in-house middle management and upper management. Promotions are readily available to the employee who shows they are working toward the growth of the company. Threats may be exhibited in ways which show habits that are representative of carelessness and lack of ethical behaviors of employees. Intrusion of thieves which may attempt to sabotage or rob delivery persons of packages delivered is another type of external threat. Any action which causes the inability to provide the services for which the company is known for may be categorized as a threat. Major mistakes, poor decision making skills, package losses, or failure to deliver on time are all errors which represent key threats to an established business such as Fed Ex. Of these threats they are known as internal and external threats. Trends may be what a company starts and is shown throughout the city, state or world as a mainstream guide for other companies in similar fields of service. Other companies may begin to show the public how a stable company works; as a level of standards. As a company which is known for delivery, productivity, quality improvement techniques and reputation, Fed Ex is a trend setter. Analysis of the plans of a package holding process will aid with deliveries that cannot be delivered after the second attempt. This is an opportunity for Fed Ex to stand out from among the other delivery services. Creating a personalized processed to contact the recipient until located will cut costs with returned item shipping, in addition to up-building of customer services. Marketing research can be a quantitative or qualitative process. Quantitative research would be conducting surveys to the consumers. Qualitative research includes focus groups and observational studies. The best marketing research approach for our service would be a qualitative approach. It is the less expensive approach and a more efficient way of getting feedback from the consumer for our particular service. Marketing research follows the guidelines of the scientific process. The research project for this particular process is a 24 hour automated Kiosk for Fed Ex customers to send and receive packages based on their own needs. The next step would be to collect primary and secondary data about the new Kiosk service. Then we can perform qualitative research by use of observational studies, by picking a sample of Fed Ex customers to test the new Kiosk service. From the observational studies, we can then compile the data on how the customers reacted to the new Kiosk service. Once we have all this data we can then summarize our findings and determine whether or not this idea is feasible for Fed Ex. The market research process leads us to our marketing strategy for the new Kiosk service. A good marketing strategy includes a target market and marketing mix. Our target market would be adults over the age of the 18, and our marketing mix would include the 4p’s: product, price, place and promotion. References American Marketing Association. (2008). Marketing definitions. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from http://www. seologic. com/ E-Logi (2009). E-longi. net FedEx corp. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from http://www. e-logi. net/index. php? ID=696 FedEx Corporation (2009). FedEx Corporation investor report. Retrieved January 5, 2009, from http://ir. fedex. com/releasedetail. cfm? ReleaseID=259392 http://www. fedexdriverslawsuit. com/ (1) Retrieved Feb. 8, 2008 http://www. fedex. com/Dropoff/start? locale=en_US Retrieved 2-7-09

Innocent Victims :: essays research papers

Innocent Victims   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The news came one late afternoon. My girlfriend told me that Naomi had given birth. Instead of feeling joyous over the birth of my one time friend’s child, I felt both saddened and angry about this occasion. So I asked the inevitable question, â€Å"Is it OK?† The response to my question was just what I had hoped would not happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Naomi is a heroin addict. She had just given birth to a premature baby boy that was addicted to the same drug his mother was shooting up. This innocent little guy was born with what doctors say is a mild form of brain damage. For the first few weeks of his life, he had to be treated with methadone to combat his withdrawal symptoms. Despite the severe damage Naomi caused to her baby, she still walks the streets of Carlsbad looking for her fix. The last I had heard of the little boy was that he was taken by Child Protective Services and placed in foster care waiting for a home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mothers who prenatally expose their babies to hard illegal drugs cause serious damage to these children and should be criminally prosecuted. The physical, neurological, and behavioral effects on babies caused by drug use during pregnancy are disheartening. In spite of this blatant disregard for the child’s life, it is not considered a form of child abuse in most of our states. If a mother injected drugs into the tiny arm of her baby, causing permanent brain damage or death, surely the mother would be arrested and prosecuted. Yet that is exactly what addicted mothers do when they consume drugs throughout their pregnancy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In California, when a woman gives birth to baby with illegal drugs in its system, not much happens to the mother. According to an official from San Diego County’s Child Protective Services, the baby is placed on hold and is put in foster care. The case is then referred to family court for review. A judge then looks at the extent of the mother’s drug use and decides if it is safe to return the child to its mother. Depending on the amount of drug abuse, a mother is referred to a drug treatment program. If the mother completes her assigned program, she is reunited with her child. If she does not complete the program, the baby is then left in foster care and goes up for adoption.

Antonym Brutes

So remember when you are making a decision, think to yourself if there will be a consequence involved that can change your life. He lives by his wiles as well as his courage. He is an intellectual. Often he openly valuates a situation, demonstrating the logic he employs in making his choices. When it proves effective, Odysseus lies to his own family, cheats, steals, in ways that we would not expect from an epic hero. Although he IS self disciplined, his courtesy is sometimes the root of his trouble.He is willing to pay a price for knowledge, for example: he insists on hearing sirens call, even though he must have himself excruciatingly strapped to the mast of his ship so that he cannot give in to the temptation. Teeter's decision of going in the kayak by herself can bring great consequences. If she ever drowns, there loud be nobody by her side to save her, and if doesn't have a phone then nobody could come help her, unless she screams for help. Since she goes far, her parents might n ot be able to hear her.Also her disability could bring dangers, including falling out, or if the waves get big for the boat to fall over. Teeter's parents should be aware of the consequences that could happen along with her decision and her parents should always help her be prepared and be aware. Brutes and his inconsistent behavior and actions lead to his death, and brought many consequences. When he knows that he will be featured by Antonym, Brutes does not ask anybody to kill him, but instead he asks if one of the soldiers will hold a sword for him to kill himself with.Because of his decision to join the assassination, Brutes loses everything that mattered to him. He fails to follow the experience of cassias, and listen to his recommendations. In conclusion, consequences can be unpleasant, and unwelcoming to anybody on this planet. Odysseus, Teresa, and Brutes all faced consequences from there decisions made, and should have decided on something different that would bring peace a nd happiness. When faced a consequent, you might just have to bare it.