Monday, September 30, 2019

How Women are portrayed in Death of a Salesman Essay

Linda Lowman is a woman who seemed to be taken for granted in the Lowman household but that did not mean she was powerless. â€Å"The Great Depression reinforced female domesticity†, which was clearly shown in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller through Linda (Koenig 1). In the time period that this play took place women did not know any other life than to stay at home and tend to their families. This being the case, Linda took care of the home but was not at all powerless because she dealt with all of Willy’s problems and held the family together. Miller portrays Linda as a woman who is submissive to her husband, which exemplifies that he is an anti feminist. The ‘other woman’ in the play is also negatively portrayed as a stereotypical bimbo. Throughout the play, Miller depicts Linda as powerless and highly dependent on Willy but by digging deeper into her actions, one can see is the backbone to the family. â€Å"†¦bore the cross of reality for them all, supporting her husband, keeping up her calm, enthusiastic smile†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bigsby viii). Linda is portrayed by Miller as a very weak individual mainly by how Willy speaks to her. In one particular example Willy loses his temper at Linda and says, â€Å"Shut up!†¦shut up!†¦there’s nothing wrong with him!’, which leaves Linda in tears (Miller 27). The abuse that Willy exerts on Linda is not to be taken as a representation of how he actually views women. But rather, Miller makes statements which show how highly he thinks of Linda such as: â€Å"Linda is tough. She is a fighter. Willy is prone to bully her, cut off her sentences†¦this is a woman who has sustained the family when Willy has allowed fantasy to replace truth, who has lived with the knowledge of his suicidal intent, who sees through her sons’ bluster and demands their support† (Bigsby xix). The description that Miller just gave of Linda exemplifies her as a very independent, strong, loving woman who will do  anything to keep her family together. Although Miller depicts Linda as a strong woman in the play; the movie, shows otherwise. During the movie it seems that Willy is not only emotionally, but physically abusive to Linda. This may be the reason that Linda is so loyal to Willy; out of fear instead of love (Schlondorf). By Linda staying with Willy even throughout physical abuse is showing that Miller feels as though women aren’t independent or strong enough to leave their husbands and the men receive a sense of empowerment through dominion over women, â€Å"The woman makes him feel he is an important salesman and powerful man† (Ribkoff 123). This negative connotation towards women shows that Miller is an anti feminist. Aside from Linda Lowman, another woman in the play is depicted in a negative, stereotypical way. Towards the end of the play we discover that Willy has been cheating on Linda with the ‘other woman’. Stereotypically, the ‘other woman’ is considered a whore and usually dumb or ditzy. The woman laughing gaily constantly represents the idea that she is considered to be dumb, for example: [The WOMAN enters, laughing†¦] Willy: â€Å"Will you stop laughing? Will you?† (Miller 91). The movie shows this woman as a young, blonde, attractive woman who seems very ditzy and carefree. This portrayal of the woman is very stereotypical of ‘bimbos’ and women who would sleep with a married man. Miller is creating a picture of this woman through the play and movie, which is quite negative towards women. The way he views women is clear; stupid, dependent, and promiscuous, although at times he seems to depict the women in the play as strong individuals. It is surprising that Willy engages in this verbal abuse towards Linda in the company of others. On many occasions Biff and Happy have been present to hear Willy put down and yell at their mother. After repeatedly being told to stop by Biff it seems Willy will eventually give in and the attacks will subside. Out of the two brothers Biff is the only one who says anything to Willy and stands up for his mother. When Wily finds out that Biff is going to try and start a business he is overjoyed until Linda chimes in as well and tries to put in her two sense. â€Å"Don’t yell at her, Pop, will ya?†¦I don’t like you yelling at her all the time, and I’m tellin’ you, that’s all. Stop yelling at her!† is an example of how Biff stands up for Linda and is  bothered by how she is treated. Biff can differentiate between what his father thinks is the right thing to do, and what is actually the right thing to do. He knows he isn’t perfect, but he admits to his mistakes and learns form then, unlike his father, Willy, â€Å"But unlike his father, he faces, and learns from his shame† (Ribkoff 124). When Miller adds parts where men stand up for women it in unclear how he feels about feminism. From this example of Biff standing up for Linda it seems he is pro feminist but on the other hand, the way he describes the women in the play makes one think otherwise. Happy on the other hand does not say anything throughout this argument or others like it. Even though Willy yells at Linda quite often she does not defend herself. Maybe the reason she is not fighting back when being verbally abused is not because she is a doormat but because she is so exhausted from caring for everything else. This is an example of how Linda can be seen as powerless. In the introduction Rhoda Koenig describes Linda Lowman as â€Å"a dumb and useful doormat† and does not stand up for herself (Bigsby xix). Linda has a lot on her plate between her husband losing touch with reality, her son’s not having solid jobs and the lack of money in their household. She deals with all these tough situations very well and does not even put up a fight when she is yelled at by her husband. Linda manages to stay collected for the most part even though she holds very heavy burdens. She decides to release one of her burdens on Biff when she tells him about his father: â€Å"He’s been trying to kill himself†¦the insurance inspector came†¦all those [car] accidents in the last year weren’t accidents†¦I went down to the cellar. And behind the fuse box- it just happened to fall out- was a length of rubber pipe- just short. And sure enough, on the bottom of the water heater there’s a new little nipple on the gas pipe† (Miller 43). Knowing your husband has plans or had plans to kill himself can obviously take a large toll on someone but Linda keeps it together. She has so much love for Willy that she puts up with everything that is going on. She tells him he can be the best and tells him she believes in him, whether she  believes it or not. Aside from her husband, Linda has to deal with Biff not having a job and Willy and Biff arguing all the time. Biff does not want to become a salesman because he would rather be outdoors and this causes a lot of conflict between him and his father. Although he was not getting as many perks as he would being a salesman he was still doing what he loved. â€Å"To suffer fifty weeks of the year for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off† (Miller 11). Willy cannot understand why Biff would not want to be a salesman and resents the fact that he has not been very successful. Laundry, mending stockings, worrying about bills, and groceries are a few of the things Linda Lowman does on a daily basis. These tasks are assumed to be the role of a housewife, which is another example of how Miller sees women. It is clear that in the Lowman household, Linda is responsible for all the household responsibilities, which at that time became quite common: â€Å"As men’s share in domestic activity began to disappear, housework truly became ‘women’s work'† (Leonard 307). Willy Lowman does go out and work throughout the day, but barely, while Linda is taking care of many responsibilities. It is clear that Miller feels the woman should be staying at home and taking care of the entire house as well as tending to her husband’s needs. Linda is always trying to please Willy by saying things like; â€Å"I’ll make you a sandwich†¦the cheese is on the middle shelf!† and making sure he is completely satisfied. During the play, Linda always seems to be mending stockings, which is also stereotypical behavior of a housewife. Willy gets very angry when he sees her mending stockings because he feels so guilty about the ‘other woman’. When him and the woman have their encounters he always seems to give her a pair of stockings, â€Å"†¦and thanks for the stockings†, which has occurred twice in the play (Miller 26). Willy goes off to work and Linda takes care of the house, worries about the money and makes sure she is completely devoted to Willy when he gets home. Miller seems to have a traditional view when dealing with the roles of women and men in the family. It seems like Miller is a closet pro feminist from time to time throughout the play. Although most of his portrayals of women are negative and very  stereotypical, there are certain instances where he leans in the opposite direction. For example, when Biff stood up for Linda as Willy was yelling at her; that showed that Miller felt Linda should have been stood up for. The negative connotations towards women in this book do not equate to the pro feminism examples throughout the book. It is tough to evaluate how Miller really feels about women and their place in the household, workplace and their general personalities. Works Cited Bigsby, Christopher. â€Å"Introduction†. New York: Penguin Group, 1998 Koenig, Rhoda. â€Å"Seduced by Salesman’s Patter†. The Sunday Times. London, October 26, 1996, 10.4. Leonard, Eileen B. â€Å"Household Labor and Technology in a Consumer Culture†. Composing Gender. Boston: Bedford, 2009. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Group, 1976 Schlondorf, Volker, dir. Dofas. Perf. Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich. VHS. Lorimar Home Video, 1986.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Family

In our country, Egypt, work, studies, and family life have a huge impact. In our culture earlier, it was all about family life. Staying with the family, taking care of each other, spend time with each other, work together in the family business. But nowadays studies and work have become a crucial point in our life. People are more focused on their career and less focused on their spending time with their family. People are becoming career conscious and want to achieve more and more in their life and never want to stop dreaming and chasing their goals. Children want good studies so a large number of students are spending a large amount of money to study in different countries because it's very hard to get scholarships from the country. For work, they are spending more time on their work rather than spending some quality time with their friends and family since the work pressure is increasing, so the desire to make money is first and foremost among people. But in reality there should be a total balance of the studies, work and family time, people should complete their studies first so that they can do the work in which they are interested in. along with that, they should spend some quality time with their friends and family. My personal emphasize lies in the study, work, and family life in that order. I want to develop my skills by studying computer science. Education is really important for me. I need to equip myself with competitive computer skills. As a result, I would have a higher chance to get a Promising future. After graduation, I would have more chances for interviews offered by promising companies. As a new student, I got full support from my family. They inspire me to make good use of my time and earn a degree online. I'm thankful for their support and understanding. I might not be spending time with my parent as often as before but they know I've been doing. I won't let them down and do my job well. If I cannot make someone understand what I'm doing, I'll choose to avoid confrontation with that person. Later, when I get some achievements, I will explain them and express my thoughts to them again. In this case, what I said may be more convincing so that they can understand the value of the things that I was doing.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Strama 1-4

Question1: What is your evaluation of Michael Dell’s performance first as Dell’s CEO and more recently as its Chairman? How well has he performed the five tasks of crafting and executing strategy that were discussed in Chapter 2? Part 1: Same roles and responsibilities both as Dell’s CEO and its Chairman. * A young and learning manager. * A charismatic leader. * Motivated, loyal, and respectful followers. Part 2: * Vision: Directional, strategic vision * Objects: Crafting strategy: moves to achieve diversification, cross – business synergies 1+1=3 * Implementing strategy: * Evaluating strategy: Adapt to customer need changes, actively search for new opportunities, have corrective actions when not going well. Question 2: What are the elements of Dell’s strategy? Which one of five generic competitive strategies is Dell employing? How well do the different pieces of Dell’s strategy fit together? Is Dell’s strategy evolving? * The elements of Dell’s strategy: Cost- efficient build- to –order manufacturing( C-95) * Partnership with suppliers: partnering with reputable suppliers of PC >leadership in technology, performance, quality and cost. (C97) * Direct sales to customer (C-99) * Award winning customer service and technical support (C-101) * Customer- Driven R&D : focus on tracking and testing new developments >most useful and cost-efficient for customers (C-103) * Using standardized technology: using industrywide standards ( C-103) * Product-line expansion: data storage hardware, switches, handheld PCs, printers, printer cartridges. C103) From these elements, especially, â€Å"Direct sales to customer†, Dell is employing â€Å"Low-cost strategy†. Dell’s strategy is evolving. Question 3: Does Dell’s expansion into other IT products and services make good strategic sense? Why or Why not? Yes, it made good sense, because of the following reasons: Have opportunities to expand i nto industries whose technologies and products complement its present business (related diversification: from PC to data shortage, printers, etc) * Reduce costs by diversifying into closely related businesses * Have powerful brand name â€Å"Dell†: Customers would try other products * Good long-term profit opportunities ($800 billion market) => Industry attractiveness test * Low cost of entry to other related businesses => Cost of entry test * The company’s different businesses performed better together than as stand-alone enter prices (from 2% market share in 1995 to 30% market share in 2005, Pc attached with switch made easy sales) => Better-off test Question 4: What does a SWOT analysis reveal about the attractiveness of Dell Computer’s situation? From SWOT: * Dell hold very strong competitive position * â€Å"Direct business model† and â€Å"closed relationship with customers and suppliers† > Dell’s success * Company entered to the †Å" Fortune Global 500† >proved Dell’s efficiency and attractiveness * Dell Inc can profit from all different opportunities of expansion and growth to make it business more profitable.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Service organization analysis services marketing plan on a service Essay

Service organization analysis services marketing plan on a service company - Essay Example The bank is one of the largest in the country and has presence in more than 50 countries. The department chosen in this case is the bank's internet banking services. The bank has a well established department for this and gives comprehensive information in its web pages. The characteristics of services marketing with reference to this department is given in the paper. Relevant marketing theories with reference to services marketing is also given. An overview of the internet banking service of the bank is also given. This is followed by the internet banking industry in the country. Major competitors of the bank are also provided. The internet usage and habits of the public are also included. The bank is in a good position regarding this since the usage and penetration of the internet is one of the highest in the world. The bank's biggest challenge would be to convert the users to be more active in internet banking. One important aspect, namely service recovery is also discussed. It se ems that ANZ Bank is keenly aware of this factor and has chalked out well laid out plans for customer service and satisfaction. The organization selected for the service market analysis is ANZ Bank. ANZ bank (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited) is an Australia based major banking and financial institution. It renders services of home loans, car loans and business loans to its customers. Internet banking and phone banking is its peculiar features. Credit cards and savings accounts are also offered by it to the customers. It carried out insurance services also. Main strategy of ANZ Bank is offering a range of products suiting with different needs of customers in a better convenient way. Savings and investment accounts of ANZ carry competitive interest rates. ANZ online saver helps customers to manage their own accounts through online. (ANZ, 2008). ANZ bank is recognized as a major international banking and financial services group in Australia and New Zealand and included in the 50 list of top 50 banks in the world. It started its working in 1830s by opening office in Melbourne. (ANZ: History, 2008). Business Strategies of ANZ Bank: For sustaining in the highly competitive banking industry in Australia, the ANZ Bank has accepted good corporate governance and transparency as the fundamentals of its business. For guiding the business decision making on the right way the bank has insisted on specific codes of conduct ensuring company value. The Board of Directors is mutually responsible for the corporate governance and directing the financial performance. It has company policy of concrete honest and ethical behavior of the organizational members. ANZ is a member of the Code of Banking Practice, which specify standards of good banking practice. (ANZ: Corporate Governance). Characteristics of service marketing: Marketing can be of products, services or both. In the case of services, there are some characteristics that make it different from product marketing. They are referred to as the IHIP characteristics namely intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability and perishability. (Lovelock, 2004, p.3). Services are intangible and unlike a product, a person cannot see or touch them. Heterogeneity means that the same service given to different customers will different from each other. The service experience of customers on a particular service will be

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Dances of the renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dances of the renaissance - Essay Example The dance music of the Renaissance was written for instruments such as the sackbut, lute, viol, pipe and the tabor. Some of the most popular ones are discussed below. An allemande literally means ‘German’ and it was one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite. The allemande originated in the Renaissance period as a duple meter dance of moderate tempo, derived from dances supposed to be favored in Germany at the time and was performed in 4/4 time. Originally, the allemande formed the first movement of the suite, before the courante. The basse danse literally means ‘low dance’ and it was the most popular court dance in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Basse danse music is always in 6/4 and in performance, 3 or 4 instrumentalists would improvise the polyphony based on this tenor. Basse danse is slow and processional, and is played with a constant speed throughout. It begins with a reverence and so there is usually no need to play any introductory bars before beginning the music, although a drumbeat or two may help. The basse danse later led to the development of the pavane. A branle is a 16th century French dance style which moves mainly from side to side, and is performed by couples in either a line or a circle and was mainly performed by commoners. Branle music is often in 4/4, although can be found in 2/4 and even with variations in timing between the bars. Branles don’t start with a reverence, and so a few introductory bars of music are usually required to get the dancers moving. According to Arbeau, every ball began with the same four branles. The Double Branle has a simple form involving two phrases of two bars each. The Single Branle, however, consists of a phrase of two bars, followed by a phrase of one bar and appears in numerous places. Likewise the Gay Branle consists of two

Politics and Love in Contemporary Arabic Literature Essay

Politics and Love in Contemporary Arabic Literature - Essay Example In prose, western short story version, drama and novel versions replaced Arabian styles. Majority of the writers in Arabic literature have conjured love and politics in their writing. The issues discussed have shifted to feature the political atmosphere in Middle East. First, works of Adonis have grown with the political trends in Arabic countries. He uses his works to highlight aesthetics of literature and its purpose in shaping the society. His content, having pioneered prose poem in Arabic, have taken an influential as well as controversial role in Arabic modernism (Arana 87). For example, through poetry, he has championed democracy and popularized secular perspective in Middle East. His poetic genre is a cosmopolitan work, which not only tackles issues in Arab world but also the entire globe. In his poem, ‘Love’ Adonis exemplifies his unique blend of revolutionary artistic diction. Away from the traditional Arab poetry of simple language and forms, the poem revolves in the themes of politics, love, culture, and philosophy. Adonis alludes that newness in Arabic society are identifiable with Arabic character. In the poem, ‘Love’ he depicts the feel of affection for the context he is in, like the road, house, the dead, t he neighbors and the toiling hands of the world (Arana 120). The selected diction shows the high stakes in Adonis works, which invites every bit of creativity and intellect. He heightens the reader’s originality to new thoughts and realms that create curiosity. No, wonder his love for renewal and democratic consciousness won him the Goethe prestigious award. The reflection in the poem, ‘Celebrating Childhood’ affirms that the history of Arabic is not that of the sword but also lately made of great men. His literary writing still captures the current issues in Arab world. Lately, comments from Adonis on the political

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Crime Prevention and Private Policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crime Prevention and Private Policing - Essay Example This therefore means that private police are to create any preventive means so as not to distract the legitimate flow of the business, which in most cases the distraction of the flow will be due to the presence of crime. In the presence of more focus private police on protecting assets and property, there is a guarantee to establish a normal flow or condition of the business. Furthermore, with the inclusion of private policing in a private organization, the implementation of justice within this bound is straightforward such as firing an anomalous employee who committed crime against the prevailing policies or established law of the company. However, private policing creates an image for the criminal justice system as for-profit venture. Furthermore, as a nongovernmental action, it is not bound by the same legal requirements as public policing. These concerns are discussed in this paper. Introduction Traditional policing has long been a controversy regarding its ability to decrease th e level of crime rate. It is for this reason that adding more number of police on duty has become a significant decision as it is integrated with the idea that doing so will help reduce the crime rate. However, as far as the underlying truth about it is concerned, there are many research studies that try to investigate whether adding more police officers on duty will help alleviate or discourage the presence of crime. The available literature revealed that there is no significant evidence to support the assumption or claim that if there is addition of number of police personnel on duty, crime rate will decrease (Worrall, 2008). However, even if there is no associated truth behind the above traditional claim regarding policing, people are still able to rely on private policing to ensure safety, protection and to ward off any incident linked to the formulation of crime (Plant & Scott, 2009). This for instance is common to happen in private companies trying to maximize its level of con trol for the safety of their operations. It is for this reason that the work at hand tries to investigate the relevant advantages and disadvantages of private policing. Advantages of Private Policing One significant advantage of private policing is the inclusion of the level of focus that private police place in their actual responsibility. The level of focus is important because it may signify the intensity of control that private police may employ in the actual control or prevention of the crime. It is therefore highly observed that private policing personnel focus on loss control and prevention at a great level (Worrall, 2008; Byrne & Marx, 2011). They have no other concern but to focus on asset and property protection. For this reason, there are many private establishments that try to employ private policing for this concern as it is highly advantageous on their part considering the point that the level of focus placed in control and prevention of crime is involved. This promote s the idea that as far as mass private property is concerned, private sector for policing may well performed compared to the public sector in policing based on the level of focus they can give in actual prevention and control.  

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

IT Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Project management - Essay Example In his article, Roetzheim writes about some of the simple methods used to estimate software development projects. Roetzheim begins by writing about estimating a project’s lifecycle and writes about the level of accuracy that can be achieved. Since inaccuracies in estimation result in uncertainties, it is always good to work and reduce inaccuracies in the early stages of software development. This means that once the project is later understood, the inaccuracy level will reduce. The author writes that one of the steps in estimation is estimating project volume. There exists different approaches to this but Roetzheim writes about Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) that uses Source Lines of Code (SLOC) as a unit of measure. This method uses effort which is the product of Linear Productivity Factor and SLOC. Effort gives an estimate of the person months for the software development project. According to Dhilon, effort is also affected by the size of the project since for a smaller projects, less time is used for communications thus individual productivity is high. Roetzheim’s article goes ahead and explains how to estimate software size and he writes that one can use direct points approach or function points approach. Direct estimation involves breaking down the project and using expert assistance to determine the number of lines of code. Function points method involves creating function points which are later converted to lines of code by a process calle d backfiring. The first step is to determine a logical flow of the software to be developed by identifying the input, processing and output points. Then raw values are extracted from the logical steps created and they are multiplied by a factor to give function points. Lines of code are obtained from the product of these function points and common conversion values

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Process Of Cell Division In Animals Coursework

The Process Of Cell Division In Animals - Coursework Example The cell cycle comprises of four important stages. S stage is for synthesis and DNA replication occurs in this stage. G2 comes after and S phase and is the phase of DNA repair and correction of any mistakes made during DNA replication. Only the cells with repaired DNA are allowed to enter the M phase. M phase or mitosis is when nuclear and cytoplasmic division occurs culminating in the formation of daughter cells. Cytokinesis is the cytoplasmic division of the parent cells. When a fibrin ring called actin contracts around the center of the cell, it leads to pinching of the cell into two daughter cells, each containing one nucleus. Interphase is not technically a part of mitosis as it is the phase in which the cell is metabolically prepared for mitosis. Chromosomes are not clearly distinguished and the pair of centrioles starts appearing. 5. Suppose someone presented data from their research that showed the DNA of a newly discovered species was composed of: 30% adenine, 30% guanine, 2 0% thymine, 20% cytosine. Based on what you know about DNA structure, explain why these data do not make sense. The Chargaff’s rules indicate that the amount of adenosine equals the amount of Thymine and the amount of Guanine equals the amount of Cytosine. Therefore, the total purines equal the total pyrimidines. However, the rules only apply on double-stranded DNA or double stranded RNA and single stranded nucleic acids such as in viruses do not follow the Chargaff’s rule. The data presented shows 30% adenosine and 20% thymine, and 30% guanine in comparison to 20% cytosine. This data contradicts the Chargaff’s rule, indicating that it is not a double-stranded nucleic acid and most likely represents the base pairing of single-stranded nucleic acid, maybe in viruses. 6. What are the differences between a covalent bond and an ionic bond? In a covalent bond, the atoms are bound by the sharing of electrons. The electrons are shared either equally or unequally betwee n the two atoms. If the electrons are shared equally between the two atoms, the covalent bond is said to be non-polar. If the electron is attracted more towards one atom than another, it leads to the formation of a polar covalent bond, for example the molecule of water H2O. In contrast, the ionic bond of two atoms is formed by the forces of attraction between oppositely charged ions. For example, NaCl is formed by the positively charged Sodium (Na) atom and the negatively charged Chloride (Cl) atom. 7. Water is crucial for life as we know it. One of the most important characteristics of water is its ability to act as a solvent. Explain why water is such a good solvent for polar and charged molecules. The physical and chemical composition of water makes it a very good solvent for polar and charged molecules. Water molecule is made up of positive electrical charge of Hydrogen atoms and the negative charge of Oxygen atom. This forms a very strong polar covalent bond and contributes it a property of being a good solvent, by disrupting the attractive forced between other charged molecules. The polar molecules are easily dissolved in water because the forces of attraction are disrupted between the solute. The positive charges are attracted towards the negative Oxygen pole of water and the negative charges of the solute are attracted towards the positive Hydrogen pole of water. The atoms of solute are then surrounded by water molecules, making it a good solvent for charged and polar molecules. 8. Suppose you are taking a cruise from California to Hawaii. About halfway there, the ship begins to sink. You are able to board a lifeboat, but now you are floating in the ocean waiting to be rescued. After several days, you are so thirsty that you bend over the side of the boat and drink

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Costa Coffee Essay Example for Free

Costa Coffee Essay 1. Executive summary In this business report we are analysing the business environment in which our company – BESO and its main competitor – Costa Coffee operate. The main objective is to research, analyse and understand the competitor’s business strategy, to find out if there is a gap in their action plan and how we can take advantage of this. The report consists of SWOT analysis of BESO and PEST analysis of both companies. The target markets of both – BESO and Costa Coffee are similar. That makes the competition between them even bigger. The report also discusses the marketing approach and the various advertising campaigns conducted by Costa Coffee and the advertising techniques we decide to adopt in the long run. The distribution system of Costa Coffee is also considered and plans to expand to different locations. The pricing strategy of BESO is based closely to the strategy of Costa Coffee as we have adopted competitive pricing. In terms of ethical issues we examined the various types of corporate social responsibilities of Costa Coffee. 2. Introduction. The business report includes an analysis of Costa Coffee as a main competitor of BESO Coffee. The report examines the business environment where both companies operate in. It has been requested from the Marketing Director of BESO and also has to be focused only on the UK market. 3. BESO – Brief history BESO Coffee is a coffee chain settled in the UK in 2001. It has been established by an independent trader but later on when the business has grown, new stakeholders appeared. At first BESO’s target market was limited as well as the products it offered- only a few types of coffee and limited types of confectionary. However, only two years after launching BESO on the market it became popular through different groups of people, therefore the menu became much diversified and the target market as well. BESO has shown great performance during the years and has become one of the most recognized names on the current market. That is why Costa Coffee is determined as a main competitor of BESO. 4 5 The Marketing Profession 4. SWOT and PEST analysis 4. 1. SWOT analysis Strengths †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Efficient and trained staff Customer loyalty Brand recognition High quality coffee Friendly and relaxing atmosphere for our customers. Weaknesses †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Limited number of outlets Low levels of advertisement Interior design needs updating More range of the types of coffee available. Continual change in consumer taste Can be seen as an unhealthy product Opportunities †¢ Based in Central London which covers a large demographic of customers Olympics 2012 will bring in more sales Introduction of new products including healthy options. Retailing mugs and coffee equipment Threats †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Customers demanding fair-trade and organic coffee. Big chain coffee shops dominating the market. Economic issues and crisis Lack of ownership of primary resources e. g. Coffee farming. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4. 2. PEST analysis There are many different Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that both our company and also Costa Coffee face within the coffee industry. Firstly, the first political issue to consider is that majority of coffee beans are brought and made in developing countries, so companies need to ensure that their coffee is made by fair-trade dealers and they need to consider the ethical conditions of the labor used. Another political issue includes all the taxes and tariffs incurred by any business operating within the UK, whether it be import tariffs or VAT on goods sold. The economic factors that our companies face are similar to the issues faced by many businesses within the whole goods and services market, this including the economic recession of 2008. Customers now have less disposable income to spend and as a result cut-down on the purchasing of non-vital goods. This is due to of unemployment rising and the levels of debt increasing. The social factors that need to be taken into consideration is that consumers are spending more money on coffee due to the demand for quality goods. This can be seen in the comparison of value of tea and coffee industry with coffee valuing at 738 million according to the Times (2008). As a result, companies need to ensure that buying coffee is not only a quick purchase, as they need to have value-added for customers including high quality coffee and a relaxing 5 6 The Marketing Profession atmosphere. Lastly, the technological issues that both our company and Costa face is the introduction of self-made home coffee by the use of coffee machines specifically tailored to make at home, for example, the Senseo coffee-machines. This can be seen as a threat to coffee shops as it is a cheaper alternative for customers in the long run. 5. Target market According to a Mintel report titled Coffee Shops published February 2012, Two thirds of consumers buy coffee out of home, rising to three in four among 16-24-year-olds as core users. Costa Coffee has the highest number of outlets within the UK totaled to 1,302 coffee shop chains as opposed to Starbucks who has 739 and Caffe Nero with 509 shops. It also claimed that Costa has different store designs to suit different purposes such as ‘Metro’ which is aimed at the younger/urban consumers and ‘Evolution’ which is designed for more mature customers in provincial locations. It states its customer segments are ‘Recharge, Relax, Refuel’. Therefore the target market for Costa Coffee ranges from a wide range of customers of different ages as it caters to many different needs. Students have been said to make up 30% of their target market, Professionals 45%, Families 10% and mature consumers 15% of the clientele. At BESO Coffee, our market we aim to target at is very wide as it ranges from teenagers to mature customers. We even target at families as we offer menus for younger children and parents. Our products are reasonably priced so it can be bought from people of many different income level groups, from working to upper class. 6. Marketing approaches Costa coffee have used many different marketing approaches and campaigns in order to succeed within the industry as it is important to continually update their marketing strategies. Costa has introduced campaigns such as How Do You Like Yours’, which allowed customers to customize their coffees by for example adding espresso or syrup. This helps them differentiate themselves from competitors as it gives consumers more power and control over their purchase. Another campaign introduced by Costa was the arrival of Costa light in 2011, which offered low-calorie and healthier options to customers. This was an important step for Costa as there has been an increase in healthy eating trends, which can be seen in the figure below. Figure: Consumer demand for display of calorie content on restaurant menus, June 2010-December 2011 6 7 The Marketing Profession. Other campaigns included the launch of Costa Coffee Gift Card in November 2011 which allowed customers to buy card with pre-paid amounts of up to ? 75 and a more recent campaign at the beginning of 2012 when Costa collaborated with the Spirit Pub Company which ensured that Costa coffee would be used in its restaurants chains including Chef Brewer and Flaming grill. Costa has used many forms of media to advertise their campaigns to the public. One method used to inform customers was through the use of television advertising in 2008 whereby Costa launched its first ad. The advert helped to illustrate the superiority of Costas products and according Reynolds (2010) its message was that the brand is on a mission to save the world from mediocre coffee and seven out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa. Other forms of media used by Costa include Billboards as it can be seen by many commuters within the UK by their use of big bold writing and minimal distraction of the main message. Their billboards are distinctive as they have a continual theme colour, text and logo, which are recognised by customers. Our approach to our marketing campaign is to use alternative uses of media to portray our message, including the use of the Internet, as it is a popular form of media used in today’s society. We aim to use Facebook and Twitter to advertise our campaign and the company as a whole as it covers a large demographic. 7. Distribution strategy Costa operates in the UK through its own coffee shops, franchises and wholesale outlets. On the18th of October 2011, Whitbread stated that the number of Costa UK stores had risen from 1,217 in March 2011 to 1,302 in September 2011, including 95 openings and ten store closures. In comparison, Costa International increased its stores from 654 to 701 during the same period, including 72 openings and 25 closures. Meanwhile Costa Express/Coffee Nation units increased from 877 in March 2011 to 934 in September 2011, taking account of 79 openings and 22 closures. These units are partnered with service station operators such as Moto, Esso and Welcome Break, retailers like Tesco and The Co-Operative and foodservice group Compass (Mintel 2012). In a market with low loyalty levels, advertising and promotion is important in keeping brands in the forefront of consumers’ minds. Costa Coffee looked to sustain an emotional response among consumers with the marketing supporting its launch of Costa Light variant in autumn 2011 through an advertising campaign that used slogans such as ‘All the love, none of the handles’ and ‘Extra feel good in every cup’ (Mintel 2012) Customers were also encouraged to see the lighter side of life with its Costa Light Comedy Challenge competition. Costa’s aim was to showcase up-and-coming comedians by asking them to submit a one-minute film via its website. A public vote then saw the top ten entries from five regions go through to a further round to be judged during one-off events across the UK, with the campaign finally culminating in two regional winners performing at The Comedy Store, London (Mintel 2012). Costa Coffee’s distribution system is broad with a balanced portfolio across high streets, retail parks, concessions, airports, rail and other travel hubs as well as an increasing number of stores in new locations such as universities and hospitals. Innovative distribution channels, such as Costa Express and Drive Thru are developed. They will extend the brand’s reach and increase accessibility for the customer (Whitbread, 2010). 7 8 The Marketing Profession Andy Harrison, chief executive of Whitbread said that popping out for a coffee has become a firm fixture of peoples lives. â€Å"Coffee culture has grown massively over the last five to 10 years – people have a real demand for quality coffee and a choice of different coffees, he said. When I was kid everyone wanted a Nescafe – that has definitely changed. (The Guardian 2011). 8. Pricing strategy. Costa Coffee is a well-known, high valued and trusted cafeteria all over the world. They offer wide range of high qualitative coffee drinks and food, excellent services and relaxing atmosphere. Costa relies on their superiorities and offer comparatively higher prices because they have realized that the luxury comes with the price. Costa Coffee offers two sizes of drinks medium and large and the price difference between them is not significant. In this way they encourage their customers to buy the bigger size, because the amount of the drink is bigger and is on almost the same price as the medium one. But even the medium size of cappuccino is served in a cup with the size of soup bowl, so Costa Coffee has a reason to charge a relatively higher price because of the value they give, even though in most cases customers do not need such a big amount of drink although they have to pay for it. In this way, Costa is able to sell cheaper coffee to regular customers, who are aware of the amount of the drink (with elastic demand) and sell more expensive coffee to infrequent visitors, therefore the cafeteria makes big profit from each cup of coffee. This is the corporate strategy and how Costa found a way to charge comparatively higher prices than most of their competitors. This strategy has some disadvantages and threats such as the present credit crunch, which might affect the sales and the budget of Costa Coffee as they target middle and upper middle class, therefore in the time of recession customers may prefer some of the cheaper competitors. 9. Pricing strategy that we will adopt competition based pricing strategy One of the biggest advantages of the Competition based pricing strategy is that in the same time you are focused on your business and objectives and on the competitions strategies. Once you understand what the competition is doing, you have the chance to do everything better and to gain a competitive advantage (Jobber 2008), therefore to increase the number of customers and to gain bigger market share. There are three types on competition based pricing methods: †¢ †¢ †¢ Price your product the same as the competitor Set your price to increase customer base Seek larger market share through price Compared to Costa Coffee we are fairly new to the market so it would be more appropriate for BESO to adopt the Competition based pricing as a strategy that will allow us to grow fast as competitive brand. In order to achieve biggest results we will match/mix the three competition-based pricing methods. BESO will offer similar products as/like the Costas products but on lower prices, therefore BESOs market department must always be aware of what the competition is offering in order to provide better value for money. In this way BESO will has the opportunity to outline its advantages as comparing similar products as those of the competition but on lower prices (even pence). Once customers understand our priorities they will use to come to BESO as a place, which offers better value for money, 8 9 The Marketing Profession. therefore we will increase our market share (Palmer and Hartley 2006). In terms of increasing customer base, the process is similar to market penetration, we have to select a price that will beat the competition and doing that we will motivate customer to notice our products and to make a purchase decision. Market penetration pricing works well in the introduction stage of the product life cycle and in a highly competitive market, as you increase the production some of your costs will decrease. During the next stages of the product life cycle the price can be increased (Jobber 2010). The easiest way to increase the market share of BESO is to select prices that will attract and hold as many customers as possible (depend on target). It is recommended to adopt the Market share pricing after the business achieved market penetration, because they are linked as the market share happens when large volume of products are sold. So it is better if things happen step by step. And finally the market share is calculated by dividing the amount of each company sells out of the total market and in this way the market leader is determined. 9. 1. Disadvantages of Competition based pricing †¢ †¢ †¢ There is a danger to ignore your own production cost if you focus too closely on the competitors prices. It takes more time to research and update competitors information. Competitors also can copy whatever price you select. 10. Customer service Loyalty is particularly low in the coffee shop market, making customer retention a key area of improvement going forward (Mintel 2012). At the start of 2012 Costa Coffee launched the ‘Just How Do You Like Yours? ’ campaign. It aims to highlight the customizable elements of its products, a key differentiator to its lower-priced non-specialist competitors such as EAT and Pret A Manger. A clear pricing strategy was also included in order to appeal to consumer’s sense of value for money. For example, customers can now add an extra shot of espresso or sugar-free syrup shots to their drinks for 35p per unit. Also, in 2011 Costa Coffee launched gift cards (Mintel 2012). Although consumers state that convenient location is more important to them than the brand of coffee chain, operators can still capture consumers’ attention through qualities other than price. For example, two in three users think that quality is the most important decision-making factor when choosing where to buy hot drinks, whilst nearly half disagree that they usually choose the cheapest venue. However, with so many brands trading off of a quality positioning, operators have to ensure that they are differentiating themselves on additional levels, hence the trend towards lifestyle branding in the wider eating out market (Mintel 2012). Costa Coffee’s reputation for excellence applies not only for the exceptional coffee but also the insistence on perfect service. â€Å"Recruiting and retaining highly motivated and talented people is essential and great emphasis is placed on improving the skills, expertise and 9 10 The Marketing Profession performance of our people through award winning, industry-leading training and developing programs† (Mintel 2012). 11. Costa Coffee’s attitude towards environmental issues Consumers are extremely careful about environmental issues, trying to buy environmentally friendly food and drinks. Most of the customers feel that it is their duty to save the environment in order to live healthier. That is why most companies are under a lot of pressure to change their attitude towards the environment most often related to greener, packaging solutions, recycling and many others. Costa Coffee is the first UK coffee chain buying beans from Rainforest Alliance Certifiedâ„ ¢ farms. From October last year, almost 100% of the coffee beans for Mocha Italia blend are from certified sustainable farms. Costa Coffee is also a member of UK Paper Cup Recycling Committee, their cups are made from sustainable sources and that’s saves about 1,100 trees a year. The ingredients from which the cups are made of are all from iconic recyclable material and are made using only certified sustainable pulp. Vegetable Costa Coffee is also concerned about its coffee-growers and in 2006 it registered a Costa Foundation, dealing with the improvement of the welfare of coffee-growing places like Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Uganda and Vietnam. Costa Coffee is also a partner with Cafechurch network, supporting local community. The organization deals with environmental issues, fair trade, divorce and stress problems and others. People are feeling well, being part of a great atmosphere, live music, good communication, and a lot of interviews, having the opportunity to understand more about the Costa Coffee Foundations. 12. The competitor’s CSR activity Costa Coffee is not achieving basic standard of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The coffee company does not give a specific data for the carbon footprint. Its environmental data is part of the environmental data of its parent company-Whitbread. 13. What is your attitude to CSR/environmental issues going to be? The aims that Costa Coffee manages to do are quite a lot. Some of the first ones are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Developing Costa Coffees energy environmental strategy. Managing carbon reporting and ensuring compliance for CRC. Maintaining the ISO50001 system. Working with manufacturer’s waste contractors and NGO to improve takeaway cup recycling. 10 11 †¢ †¢ The Marketing Profession Developing Costa Good Together CR programme . By 2012/13 Costa Coffee aims to help 15, 000, providing them access to education. That target will help to bring together the communities, helping adults to find jobs and trades. The coffee chain aim is to raise ? 750,000 alone during 2012/13. Costa Coffee will try to dedicate Energy Environment Manager in Costa Coffee. That will be useful, trying to insure more control and to organize the best structured plan for the company. Costas cardboard cups are not recyclable, even though the cardboard can be recycled. The other ingredient in the cardboard cups, the ink and the glue, cannot be recycled. The target environmental plan of Costa Coffee is to use vegetable ink and degradable glue on its cups. Costa Coffee is raising money to build schools in regions where a lot of coffee farms take place. There are already 22 schools in developing countries. That makes a big difference for a lot of young people who have the opportunity to study. Costa Foundation is also taking care for the supplement of special healthy nutritious meals and laptops for the children. †¢ †¢ †¢ 14. Conclusion Based on the researches and analysis that have been done BESO has a great potential to use Costa’s disadvantages and to convert them into our opportunities for prosperity. Offering similar products as those of Costa Coffee but on lower prices and in the same time launching our own products (BESO’s cupcakes) is a good strategy to gain a competitive advantage. Slight changes in the interior design of our cafeteria would be refreshing and a good way to attract new customers. Furthermore increasing our advertising activities would be an opportunity to remind our customers and in the same time to inform our new potential customers about BESO’s fantastic services and great value for money. 15. References Baker S. (2003), New Consumer Marketing, West Sussex, John Wiley Sons Ltd Cooper D., Schindler P. (2011), Business Research Methods, New York, McGraw Hill Education Economics Help (2008), Costa Coffee UK and Sales Techniques. Available at: http://econ. economicshelp. org/2008/08/costa-coffee-uk-and-sales-techniques. html [Accessed: 20th March 2012]. Government of Alberta (2012), Methods to Price Your Products. Available at: http://www1. agric. gov. ab. ca/$department/deptdocs. nsf/all/agdex1133#competition [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Jobber D. (2010), Principles and Practice of Marketing, London, McGraw Hill Education 11 12 The Marketing Profession Kotler P. , Armstrong G. (2006), Principles of Marketing, The United States of America, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data LinkedIn (2011), Costa Coffee Energy and Environment Manager at Whitbread. Available at: http://uk. linkedin. com/pub/ollie-rosevear/14/672/948 [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Mintel (2012), Brand Communication and Promotion. Available at: http://academic. mintel. com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show/display/id=59 0036/display/id=611992#hit1 [Accessed: 20th March 2012] Mintel.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Stakeholders In Planning Of Change

Stakeholders In Planning Of Change Prior to implementing a companywide change, it is important to get stakeholders on board. Organisations take their stakeholders into confidence, just to ensure the smooth transition, since they are the one who will be affected by the change. For an organisation stakeholder can be its employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, managers, government, local community, creditors etc. n order to achieve this goal, stakeholder analyses are carried out. Stakeholder Analysis The process of identifying those who will be affected by the actions of organisation. It also enables the managers to analyze the attitudes of stakeholders towards the change. In order to carry out these analysis, following steps are taken: Identify the stakeholders in stakeholder analysis the first step is to come up with the list of any who will be affected by the organisational actions, this can include an individual, a group or an organisation. The possible stakeholders for Gill Construction can be: new Managing Director previous MD senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public future recruits, environment protection groups regulatory bodies Prioritize your stakeholders For organisations the list of stakeholders can be very long, in one case of university 20,000 stakeholders were identified. This doesnt mean that everyone is very important to the organisation. Hence the next step in stakeholder analysis is to prioritize stakeholders. This can be done using Power / Interest Grid. Using this grid, Gill construction can identify their key stakeholders, which can be: new Managing Director senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public environment protection groups and regulatory bodies existing workforce Understand Your Key Stakeholders this is the last step in stakeholder analysis. It focuses on understanding the key stakeholders, and defines the way they will be affected. It also highlights the interests stakeholders have with the organisation. It answers the following question: What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of change? Is it positive or negative? What motivates them? What information do they want? How do they want to receive information? What is the best way of communicating with them? What is their current opinion? Is it based on good information? Who influences their opinions generally? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right? If they are not likely to be positive, what will win them around to support change? How to manage their opposition How they can influence others by their opinion? Convergence and Divergence Another model adopted by management gurus to analyze the stakeholders. It enables the managers to identify the factors which are opposing the stakeholders and which are supporting it. Divergence analysis of the factors which are opposing the change for stakeholders. The first step is to identify the basic change factors which are causing the opposition, these can be beliefs, values, and goals associated with the stake holders. Managers need to answers like What are their beliefs about change and which have led them to oppose it? What are the values being transgressed by change actions? Are their stress values being triggered? How is the change affecting their career social goals? Managers also need into their perception of the change, analyzing this can give them huge edge converting their opposition. They need to answer questions like What do they think about change? What do they think will happen? How do they look at other stakeholders? Convergence elements which are supporting the change. It is much focused on those who oppose the change. Managers need to understand who they are dealing with, what they are capabable how and how they can affect them. For-example A regulatory body or HSE will have permission to shut down the work in progress if they find anything in violation of the laws. Also in case of Supply chain, they may also ruin their relationship with the supplier. Banks and Lenders will have their leverage over the organisation since a loan was taken for the purchase of new machinery. Managers need to look into the following cases: How the stakeholder will be managed? Do they need any leadership or they will just follow? What made them follow the leadership How will they support the change? How prepared are they for the change? Evaluate the systems used to involve stakeholders in the planning of change Stakeholders Circle: A tool designed to gain stakeholder commitment and involve the key stakeholders in developing a change management strategy. This cycle has six steps and also known as Six Steps Stakeholders Cycle Identify the stakeholders The first step is to identify the key stakeholders, which can influence and have interest within the organisation. Prioritize the stake holders Managers need to identify the key stakeholder using the Power-Interest Grid. For Gill Construction these key stakeholders are : MD Employees Management Customers Suppliers Regulatory Bodies Map the Profile next step is to map the profile, how will they be affected, what is in the change for them, how they can be supported, what kind of support we can get from them, what are their culture and values. All the questions will be answered at this point Engagement strategy At this point a managers need to decide how they are going to address the issues of stakeholders in order to gain their commitment and support. New MD of Gill Construction need to hold a meeting with management of the company. Clearly define what He wants to achieve and what his goals are. Since his goal is to improve the quality of the work done and also expand the business. It will be then the job of Management to directly contact their respective staff members and explain the situation to them. Ideas for improvement will be taken. Meeting and Presentations will be held with suppliers and explain your objective to them. Also Management will seek advice from regulatory bodies to assists them in improving the H S at workplace. Banks and Lenders will also be taken into confidence. A clear business plan will be presented to them. Optimise their Support next step in this cycle is to optimise the support from stakeholders. Managers need to be very clear and specific about their objective to the stakeholder and try to get most out of them. They need to keep good relationships with their lenders/ banks and suppliers. Monitor the last and final stage is to monitor the strategy. They need to keep going back to their stakeholders and ensure their support is still with them. If they have any kind of doubts they need to clear them out. Develop a change management strategy with stakeholders A strategy will be formed which will help management at Gill Construction to gain commitment from their stakeholders. A general change management strategy involves three steps: Situational awareness before a companywide change is implemented, everyone will be made aware of the change and what is going to happen in result of this change. A vision will be created Stakeholders will be informed that how this will effect. Suppliers will be notified about what will be expected of them. Employees will be taken into confidence to avoid panic. Supporting structures second step is to structure teams and sponsor coalition. They will be debriefed about who is going to do what. If they will be let go off, they will be informed at this stage. They will be informed that they need to trained to operate the new machinery. Bank or Lender will be informed about new purchases and equipment. New policy about H S will be sent to HSE and they will be informed about it. Suppliers will be contacted and new terms regarding JIT will be set, also material price will be revisited. Strategy analysis this stage involves risk analysis to be carried out. what degree of risk is involved in this change. What will happen if this strategy fails. In case there is no progress even after this change, what will we do, what if lenders refuse to pass a load. In case of resistance from stakeholders a resistance to change strategy will be required. Management will give their best to negotiate on good terms with the suppliers and use the bargaining power. Management also need to convince the bank and lenders to pass the load and take them into confidence. Create a strategy for managing resistance to change It is in human nature that whenever they are asked to move out of their comfort zone or change, they resist it. When organisations go under change it is very obvious that stakeholders will be afraid of its outcome. Hence it is very important to manage this resistance because this resistance can raise the risk factor during the change or transition process. Passive versus Active Resistance A framework adopted from Active Passive Being critical Agreeing verbally but not following through Ridiculing failing to implement change Appealing to fear Procrastinating or dragging one feet Using facts selectively Feigning ignorance Blaming or accusing Withholding information, suggestion, help or support Intimidating or threatening Standing by or allowing change to fail Manipulating Blocking Starting rumours Arguing Managing Resistance Before a change is implemented it is very important for managers to either eliminate resistance completely or bring it down to a very lower level such that it has a very minor effect. There can be number of ways for managing this resistance. Some of the ways adopted by Gill Construction can be: Communication everyone within the organisation should be made aware of the situation. Managers need to communicate openly with all the stakeholders and discuss the issues with them. Even if they are supporting the change management need to check with them back to back to ensure the full commitment. Management need to hold meetings, brainstorming session with the staff and communicate with them. Suggestions will be taken from the staff and their participation will be encouraged. Training staff will be provided with appropriate training to build up their skills so that they can operate the new machinery. This will help to eliminate the resistance put up by the operational workforce. Also work-shops will be held with other staff to ensure that they are not left behind. They will be provided with the information and steps involved in this transition will be explained to them. Feedback Taking feedback or suggestions from the stakeholders is always the best way to gain their commitment. This shows to them that management is still listening to them and they hold a value to them. Taking feedback about the training is also good to monitor the staff performance. Develop appropriate models for change In the current scenario, Gill Construction has newly appointed Managing Director, who is not very happy with the current operational situation of the organization .He wants to improve the internal situation of the organization as well as the product quality. In past there were a lot of incidents related to poor health and safety at work place, this was due to the fact that no one was following the policy. Also there were cases of project being delayed due to the lack of appropriate equipment and machinery. Since the management decided to go under a change they have faced a heavy resistance from Suppliers, and employees. Also there were concerns over H S policy. The appropriate change management model for Gill construction would be ADKAR model by Prosci. Awareness Management need to create awareness among all the stakeholders and communicate the vision to them clearly, this will help to get them on board. Meeting will be held with suppliers and explain to them about the Just in Time approach for the material in order to avoid storage costs and material wastage. Employees will be explained that what will be expected of them. They will be informed about the new machinery and equipment and their usage. They will also be debriefed about following H S policies or they will face fine. Desire next step is to get feedback from the stakeholders and see what they desire. Full stakeholder participation will be encouraged. They will also monitor the desire for the stakeholders to change. This will be done using meeting and brainstorming sessions Knowledge next step is to educate and train the staff. This will help to motivate the work force and gain their trust. A list will be made regarding the skills and knowledge needed to support the change. If the supplier can provide the stuff on time. Ability even if the stakeholders have the skills and knowledge to support the change but do they have the ability to support it. For-example Supplier has the complete knowledge of JIT and has skilled work force but do not have enough sources or ability to carry it out. Same is the case with employees they might have skills to operate the machinery but they might not have ability to work at a certain place Reinforcement the last step is to reinforce the sources to retain change. Training should be provided to the staff to motivate them and make them feel empower. Also managers need to look if the current supplier cannot agree on the new terms than a new supplier might be required. Plan to implement a model for change Organizational Development A companywide effort to increase organizations effectiveness. It focuses to change the beliefs, attitudes, values, and structure of the organization, so that it can adopt the change e.g. technological or new market or competitor. OD involves process re-engineering and system re-structuring within the organization to increase the effectiveness. Business Process Re-engineering- the complete rethinking, redesigning and reengineering of the business process. The process of material delivery or supply chain will be redesigned. Supplier will be asked to adopt the JIT approach and supply the material at right time. The material will be kept in very low quantity, and if there is need of more material Mangers have to inform supplier prior to 3-days. They will demand for more stock when they have 20% of the stock left. Also Management will adopt a strict approach towards H S policies at work place. If anyone found in violation of these policies will be heavily fined. Customers will be in direct contact with the Project Manager and everything will be done through him. Project Manager will discuss the issues with senior management on weekly basis. Push-Pull Strategy In the current system, organization is following the Push Strategy, which means the stock is Supplier driven. The demand for material is sent to the supplier and it is then delivered but it is resulting in overstocking and in some cases delays which is unacceptable. Hence a new strategy is required, which will be Pull based supply chain. In this strategy the order is placed by the organization in the required quantity, and supplier has to deliver that on time. This will be a mix of Push and Pull. The demand will be given by Gill Construction when the stock reached the 20% mark, and then supplier will be required to deliver the material as demanded. Develop appropriate measures to monitor progress Once the change implementation strategy is planned, the next step is to put appropriate measures in place which will monitor the performance. This can be achieved with the use of following: Goal-based evaluation the aim of this evaluation is to monitor the performance of change and see if the desired goals have been achieved, this involves: Formulating clear goals, what we wanted to achieve. The goal was to improve the operational quality and supply chain. The next step is to align the organizational goals with the change goals. Gill Construction aim is to provide quality service to the client and gaining customer satisfaction, that will be aligned with the goals for change, the change was required to improve supply chain, and also service quality by using new equipment. Next step is to recognize if we have achieved our goals. The effectiveness of supply chain can be checked by measuring waste levels. Also work force commitment can be seen by appraisals and the percentage of accidents at work place. Process-based evaluation it is another tool which measures the effectiveness on the basis of process performance. This checks if the process redesigning has improved the service quality. It will focus on the supply chain process and see if the process has shown its effectiveness. Are the stakeholders happy with the process. The new process for customers to be in direct contact with project manager and not with head office, is it really helping customers or not. Feedback can be taken at this point, which can assists the managers in monitoring the situation.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The use of a counselling approach

The use of a counselling approach This essay will critically assess the use of a counselling approach which might be appropriate for supporting an identified client through the process of change or coping with stress and Illness. This will be achieved through considering the counselling skills and counselling approaches and also considering how the practitioner will use the chosen approaches to support the client. The essay will also be looking at how the approach will be used with other aspects of intervention relevant for the service users.   The chosen client is a young child, who is of the age of 6 who is currently in primary school. The special needs co-ordinator who is working alongside the client feels that the child in question is withdrawn from the rest of the class and this could possibly be due to a speech and language difficulties that the child may be suffering from. The special co-ordinator will be using art as a form of  counselling the child, alongside using the transactional analysis approach (TA) which inter-links with the psychodynamic approach.    The special needs co-ordinator was particularly used for this child over the other professionals such as a teacher assistant because the special needs co-ordinator is able to give the child regular periods of individual help, by raising the childs self-esteem this is through classroom activities such as creative arts (Szwed, 2007). For example story telling would be used by the child through puppets whereby the child would use the puppets to act out a story, this would allow the special need co-ordinator to identify how the child may be feeling through their thought process through their imagination (Wright, 1995).   It is important to understand that as children are seen to be vulnerable, that the right professional is chosen for them, as the special needs co-ordinator will be working with the child on a daily basis, the child will feel secure and is able to express how they are feeling, this will not only help the child but also the professional to, as the professional is able to gain information from the child, but also the child will feel secure (as they will feel conformable to talk to the professional) and able to recover quickly from their illness (The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2011). Certain skills and training is required by the specials needs co-ordinator in order to support the child. For example as the special need co-ordinator is using art for counselling the child, the professional needs training on how they can interpret the art that the child has made. This is   important because if for example the child draws a firework, that could either represent the child being happy or the child being sad as they are frighten from it, however these skills by the professional only comes when training and support is provide to them (Hegarty, 1993) However, there are many problem that a child may be faced with when dealing with a special need co-ordinator. It is important that the special needs co-ordinator support both the child and the family this is because the family may feel neglected into the stages of the child development so it is important that the professional at all times informs the parent of what happening with the child (Lindsay and Dockrell, 2000)   It is essential that the professional make sure that the child needs and want are paramount this is important because the professional needs to make sure that certain barrier are not crossed and know what the limits are. For example the child may feel enhinder by the special needs co-ordinator because he/she is sitting to close to the child and the child may feel that he/she is not getting treated the same, this could be a result of peer pressure through being teased by the other children (Croll and Moss, 2000)   There are many different approaches that can by used when supporting a client who is going through the counselling process, some of which include the psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioural approach. However for the purpose of this essay, it will be focusing on the psychodynamic approach, which focus on the border picture of the therapeutic approaches (This session was introduced in the counselling module in Week 8 on 24/11/10) (The Counsellors Guide, 2011). For example the psychodynamic approach would by used on a child to try to get them to bring their feeling to the surface, so that the child is understood and can experience their feelings (Hood, 2008) The Psychodynamic approach looks at the principle of that everyone has an unconscious mind. It believes that everyone who has a feeling which is held by the unconscious   part of the mind find it painful to face their feeling. An example of this within children are that children can become very in-denial of their illness or condition. The development of psychodynamic therapy was introduced by a man called Sigmund Freud (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2005) This approach identified that the humans personality can be divided into three components of the Id, Super-Ego and Ego, through the three domains of the mental activity of the unconscious, pre-conscious and conscious (Segrist, 2009). For example the special needs co-ordinator will chose a specific art activity as a way of looking at how the development in the childhood process has had an impact on the child today (Kaplan, 2007)   The transactional analysis approach is an approach that incorporates both the theory of psychotherapy and psychology, however the transactional analysis is based on a integrative model whereby it uses an element of cognitive and psychoanalytic approach but it mainly focuses on the psychoanalytic approach. The transactional analysis approach was developed by a psychiatrist Eric Berne in the late 1950s (Hargaden and Sills, 2002).    According to Berne everyone has three behavioural characterises, which are the adult, parent and child, these are referred to as ego states. The child ego states looks at the way in which the child thinks, feels and behaves from the first few years of their life. For example, for a child it will be looking at how the child has survive through life to reach the stage that they are now (Stewart, 2007) Whereas the adult ego looks at the thinking, feeling and behaviour in the way which is appropriate with what is actually here and now. For example how a persons bereavement process is after losing a love one, through the feeling, thinking and behaviour (Pitman, 1982) However the parent ego looks at how you can copy and borrow from parent and other grown-ups through a variety of social influences such as the media. An example of this would be when a child behaviour changes through a influence of a adult peer due to peer pressure or role models (Midgley, 1999)   For example this approach in relation to the child is saying that the child always has an adult inside them and can experience different characteristics, for example they can show empathy by acting like the adult (Killick and Schaverien, 1997).    Transactional analysis is used on children so that they are able to understand their own emotions and how this affects the childs behaviour. For example the transactional analysis approach would be used on a chid who may have a speech and language difficulty by using drawing to express how the child maybe feeling. For example, when the child has drawn the picture if he/she is feeling anything different and if he/she does feel different, what is it, that is making the child feel the way that they are. If they drawing made the child feel happy what is it that made them feel that way, it could possibility be the use of the creativity used in art through the colourful drawing, then you would look at the past and ask the child how they were feeling then (Teacher.Tv, 2006).    Art is used by the transactional analysis approach for children as it provides an aid which enable the child to communicate in an creative way. This is because as the chosen child is withdrawn from the class due to a speech and language difficulty, the child is less likely to open up and express how they are feeling. Art provides a good bases for the professional to understand the child and change the way in which the child is thinking (Clarkson, 1992). An integrated art therapy exercises was used in the counselling module on the 26/01/11 through creativity by making an object out of art material to identify the process of university life in the last year. From this activity it identified that arts can bring out what the person is feeling and the way in which they can express their feeling and through through the use of art. The approaches to counselling can overlap each other for example transactional analysis and cognitive behavioural therapy according to Hann (2011) stated that both of   these approaches use a collaborative methods, this means that the child and the professional work on equal grounds. However these both do have some limitations, for example although both of the approaches look at the childs past experiences the transactional analysis approach focuss more on the childhood rather than focusing on the here and now whereas the cognitive behavioural approach look at both however it mainly focuss on the behaviour of the child and how that can change the childs thoughts and feeling (Taylor and Francis, 1977).      The transactional analysis approach itself both has it strengths and limitations. For example the strength of the approach is that it look at the childs childhood experience this is a positive as you are able to identify the root cause of the problem however this also can be seen as a disadvantage as you are not considering other factors that may have contributed to the illness such as lifestyle factors. In relation to the ego states the egos may overlap this could be seen both as a positive and a negative, it can be seen as a positive as the communication can be lost when the egos overlap this can be seen as be a negative as the child may loose trust, however it can bee seen to be positive as it considering the overlapping factor of all the egos because the child cant just have one egos sometime a child may overlap through different stages of counselling.    Overall it can be concluded that   Reference à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clarkson, P (1992) Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy (An integrated approach). London: Routledge   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Croll, P and Moses, D (2000) Special Needs in Primary School.   London: Cassell à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hargaden, H and Sills, C (2002) Transactional Analysis (A Relational Perspective). Sussex: Routledge   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hann, C (2011) About Counselling/Psychotherapy [WWW]   Counselling/Psychotherapy. Available from: http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentHYPERLINK http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentpart=2HYPERLINK http://www.caroledehaancounselling.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/3459?opendocumentpart=2part=2 [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hegarty, S (1993) Meeting special needs in ordinary school, 2nd ed. London: Cassell Education Limited à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Kaplan, F.F (2007) Art Therapy and Social Action. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Killick, K and Schaverien, J (1997) Art, Psychotherapy and Psychosis. London: Routledge à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lindsay, G and Dockrell, J (2000) The behaviour and self-esteem of children with specific speech and language difficulties. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70 (4), pp. 583-601 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Midgley, D (1999) New Direction in Transactional Analysis Counselling. London: Free Association Book Ltd à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Pitman, E (1982) Transactional Analysis: An Introduction to its Theory and Practice . Journals of Social Work, 12, pp. 47-63 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Segrist, D (2009) Whats going in your professors head? Demonstrating the Id, Ego and Superego. Teaching of Psychology, 36 (1), pp. 51-54 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Shaver, P and Mikulincer, M (2005) Attachment theory and research: Resurrection of the psychodynamic approach to personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 39 (1), pp. 22-45 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Stewart, I (2007) Transactional Analysis Counselling in Action, 3rd ed. London: Sage Publication Ltd à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Szwed, C (2007) Reconsidering the role of the primary special educational needs co-ordinator: policy, practice and further priorities. British Journal of Special Education, 34 (2), pp. 96-104 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Taylor and Francis (1977) Free Paper. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, 6 (4), pp. 25 146   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Teacher.Tv (2006) Transactional Analysis [WWW] Teacher.Tv. Available from: http://www.teachers.tv/videos/transactional-analysis [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2011) What is therapy? [WWW] The   British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Available from: http://www.bacp.co.uk [Accessed 28/02/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Counsellors Guide (2011) Psychodynamic Approaches to   Counselling [WWW] The Counsellors Guide. Available from: http://www.thecounsellorsguide.co.uk/psychodynamic-approaches-counselling.html [Accessed 02/03/11] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wright, A (1995) Storytelling with children. Oxford: Oxford University Press   

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Euthanasia :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Euthanasia A considerable portion of society supports euthanasia an instrument of preserving dignity in the terminally ill, bringing peace to the incurable, and closure to their families. Some Americans believe to maintain the democratic values upon which the Unites States stands in balance, they must possess the right to determine the applicable time to end a person’s life.(Chapman 209) The more widely help opinion comes in the form of opposition. The majority strikes out against euthanasia, targeting it as an instrument of the divine, a tool that humans, above democratic values and inalienable rights, dare not employ themselves lest they suffer the wrath of imposing on Almighty God. The human race as a whole must wipe their eyes of their own naà ¯vetà ©. Humans cannot play God. Encroaching on God’s proverbial territory would usurp divine function and interfere with divine plan. (Maguire 132) From Greek words meaning â€Å"good† and â€Å"death†, euthanasia is commonly referred to as mercy killing or physician assisted suicide.(Brody 75) The argument deals with the question of whether licensed physicians have the right to play a role in mercy killing. Indirectly executed and therefore viewed by and large with a lesser face of malcontent, a â€Å"Do Not Resuscitate† order, or DNR, refers to refraining from heroic measures to keep someone alive. In other words, a doctor may withhold treatment to let a person die naturally. Opposition arises in the form of protesters and activists, defrauding and doctor’s right to play God in trauma rooms and on operating tables. Unfortunately, courts and moral theorists ha long accepted the proposition that people have the right to refuse medical treatment they find painful or difficult to bear, even if that refusal means certain death. (Walter 176) A growing concern over medical costs questions family’s ability to make rational decisions as responsible caregivers. The cost of a dose of barbiturates and curare and the few hours in a hospital bed that it takes them to act is minute compared to the massive bills incurred by many patients in the last weeks and months of their lives. Legalizing euthanasia would render substantial monetary resources that could be used by the families or by the healthcare provider for more practical treatments. (Friedman 116) Permitting money to influence human life is overtly immoral, but nevertheless pressures the acceptance of euthanasia. If legalize, the natural evolution of policy and procedure would see growth in the category of patients for whom euthanasia is permitted.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Ethics of Stem Cell Research Essay -- Ethics

While some people might say that stem cell research is immoral and unethical, others believe that it is a magical solution for almost any problem, thus leading to a very controversial issue. Scientists have been searching for years for ways to eradicate incurable diseases and perform other medical procedures that yesterday's technology would not fix. With the rapidly arising, positive research on stem cell technology, the potential that exists to restore any deficiency is in the same way, likely to destroy humanity. America is suffering from its inability to choose who holds precedence over this issue. Too many of us find it impossible to reach a basis for which our differing opinions can be shared and formed into a universal and comprehensive understanding. Although stem cell research is portrayed as being a means, it can also be viewed as an ends for those who suffer today, and for those in the future who will be exposed to this suffering. As the latest research on stem cells has been presented, the message that is inferred is that the public should remain out of the spotlight because they are not clever enough to know what is beneficial to them. As one scientist claims, stem cell research is "Hope for the helpless! Science as savior" (qtd. in Peters and Bennett 184). The belief of science as "savior" has become so intense and desired by these researchers, that "faith in this research has come to resemble a secular religion...and as a bellow to blow the political winds in their favor" (qtd. in Peters and Bennett). But one may argue that the derivation of cells from a human embryo is against their conservative beliefs, and that that embryo is a living person who has rights that protect its dignity. In addition... ...s promises dramatic medical benefits, it treats future problems as ends for which supporting research today becomes a means for relieving those sufferings. Allowing medical technologies to continue will be the only tool for accomplishing this. Works Cited Bennett, Gaymon Jr., Peters, Ted. "Stem Cell Research and the Claim of the Other in the Human Subject." A Journal of Theology 43.3 (2004): 184-202. Holland, Suzanne, Lebacqz, Karen, & Zoloth, Laurie. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. 3 Vols. Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2001. Jones, D G., Towns C R. "Stem Cells, Embryos, and the Environment: A Context for Both Science and Ethics." Journal of Medical Ethics 30.4 (2004): 410-13. Siegel, Andrew W. "Temporal Restrictions and the Impulse on Human Embryonic Stem-Cell Research." Lancet 363.9429 (2004): 215-18.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Machiavelli’s The Prince Essay

In Machiavelli’s The Prince, he plunged into how a prince could bulwark his position once he reaches the top. One of the many ways of how to secure a prince’s position is conquest by criminal virtue. In conquest by criminal virtue, Michiavelli said that a prince secures his position when he reaches the top because it takes a long time and a lot of hard work to prosper. So to make sure no one takes away their position, the prince crushes his opponents and earns obeisance from the people as much as possible. The prince also makes fewer compromises with their allies, trying to stand alone because he believes he is more sufficient and stronger than the others. A prince must also know how to reform orders. This may cause havoc because people who benefited the old order might oppose the prince but he must have the power to force the people to continue supporting him even though they are already having second thoughts. So why does this persist even though every politician and every citizen who thinks rationally knows that this is immoral. We humans are naturally driven by our hunger for power, fame and fortune. We set aside moral values and ethical values just to quench our self-interests. Politicians act on it because they know this is the easiest way to eliminate a threat. This is a permanent thing so when an enemy ceases to exist, he’s permanently gone from the competition and this gives the other politician a peace of mind because he knows that he will win for sure if he has no opponent. Citizens do not act upon this because first, citizens that belong to the lower class are afraid. How could they go against someone so powerful that this person could end their life with just a snap of their fingers? The span and extent of power of this kind of politician is vague that it might extend to having the upper hand and control over criminals and we never know what he will do just to preserve his power, fame and fortune. Second, most citizens who know about the wrong doings of this politician is paid and given a lot of consolations for their support and silence. As I said, we humans are naturally driven by our hunger by fortune. For people who do not work and believe in gaining money from a real job, this is the most convenient way of earning money because they don’t have to do anything but tay silent, run a few errands for the politician and write the politician’s name on their ballot every time he runs for a seat. There is also the fact that when local citizens support this politician, they are more secured and well protected. People who try to clash with these local citizens would already feel threaten beforehand because the politician will back them up in part of their deal for the secrecy of the politician’s dirty work. This is one of the most immoral acts performed in politics, but one that somehow we can never get rid of.

Monday, September 16, 2019

My Choice Is Reading Essay

By reading books, people can learn how to get through problems in their own lives by relating to characters. Readers can see what characters did to get out of bad situations, and what they learned from them. In Uglies by Scott Westerfield the reader grasps that what someone looks like on the outside doesn’t matter, and it is what is on the inside that counts. The Fault In Our Stars and Looking For Alaska by John Green both deal with death at a young age and losing loved ones. Love is a serious topic in all of these books, and an important lesson learned is that love is blind. The Fault In Our Stars is a love story between Hazel and Augustus who are both battling cancer at the same time. They meet at a cancer support group and fall in love, but then the cancer in Augustus comes back and ends up killing him. John Green does a considerable writing job in making whoever reads the book fall in love with both characters. That is why it is extremely sad in the end because when Gus dies, the reader undergoes the same sadness that Hazel has. Loosing a loved one is also a theme in Looking For Alaska. Miles decides to go to a boarding school, and while there, he makes friends for the first time. More importantly though, he meets Alaska whom he loves from the first moment he saw her. Alaska already has a boyfriend and she will not cheat, but she lugubriously reflected a secret love for him. Unfortunately she perishes in a car crash so their relationship will always be a great perhaps. Miles’ love story is a little different than Hazel’s in a way that Hazel got to really experience the love before it was torn, whereas Miles’ was an unexplored mystery. People everywhere love differently like in the books by John Green, but both stories are similar because the characters have to deal with the loss of a loved one. Everybody deals with losing loved ones in different ways. In Looking For Alaska the whole book is written in the parts before and after Alaska’s death. This shows that Miles is unable to separate his own life from her death. In The Fault In Our Stars Hazel deals with the death of Augustus quite differently. She tells her story building up to his death, and after his death skips to the present day to say that even though Gus is gone, she still loves him. Hazel was able to separate her life from his death in a way Miles was not able to with Alaska,  while still indicating that their love survived even his death. Looking For Alaska deals with a lot of growing up. Miles and his friends throughout the whole book are trying to grow up to be who they want to be. In The Fault In Our Stars Hazel has to find ways to cope with the imminence of her own death, and rather than growing up she has to deal with the process of dying. Hazel has to find her place in death while Miles has to find his place in life. In the book Uglies the theme of growing up to be who you want to be is very important. Scott Westerfield’s book Uglies is a dystopian book much like Maze Runner or Hunger Games. In Tally’s world people live by what they look like. At the age of 16 people get the transformation to turn them into a pretty from an ugly. When someone gets the pretty operation they look like everybody else, but they also get their brain changed. Tally is forced to grow up and get the operation but she rebels and runs away. Tally finally finds out who she is and who she loves just by being who she wants to be. This book deals with he subject of appearance, which is relevant to society today. Everybody thinks that in order to be happy, that you have to be perfect looking. This book teaches the reader that it is what is on the inside that counts. Just like in The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel does not think anybody will love her because she is dying of cancer. Then Gus does. This deals with the saying that love is blind. When someone loves someone they can look past all the flaws and only see perfection. All three of the books read deal with this topic. It is so important to read. Reading makes the reader fall in love, cry, and get angry or excited. Books open people up to reoccurring themes and make them learn really valuable lessons. The books The Fault In Our Stars, Looking For Alaska and Uglies all relate in different ways, and all deal with very diverse content. The most important lesson learned from these books is to be whom you want and to love unconditionally.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Biochemistry WGU

Oxygenated vs deoxygenated states of blood: One hemoglobin can carry 4 oxygen Deoxygenated hemoglobin is not bound to oxygen If a person has low oxygen level, a bluish hue will result and a low pulse oxygenation will register as a measurement of the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. *†Hemoglobin transports oxygen to cells and C02 to lungs to be exhaled. **Deoxygenated hemoglobin is concave shape; oxygenated is planar shape and red in arteries Hemoglobin (2013) Bohr Effect Lower blood pH or higher blood C02 = hemoglobin proteins – oxygenLower C02 or higher pH = hemoglobin + oxygen Myoglobin has no allostery, does not display Bohr effect High C02, high H+, low partial = oxygen from hemoglobin High C02 or low pH = increase of oxygen in tissues Bohr Effect (2013) Oxygen Affinity and pH Bohr Shift Carbonic acid = lower blood pH Lower blood pH = Bohr Shift (oxygen from hemoglobin) wolfe (2000) Hemoglobin and Myoglobin Myoglobin Binds iron, stores oxyge n ‘OF2 ADnormal, result 0T an Injury to muscle Myoglobin = heme + iron + 8 amino acid chains in alpha helix HemoglobinTransports oxygen from lungs to tissues Contains iron (Hemoglobin 2013) Sickcle Cell Abnormal, sickle cell shaped RBC's Sickle cells stop blood flow, very painful Problem: valine in place of glutamic amino acid causing cells to stick together Problem: cells are rigid and inflexible Problem: normal RBC's live 90-120, sickle cells live 10-20 days, shorter lifespan results in anemia Inheritance Autosomal recessive disease inherited from parents Carrier parents will produce offspring with a 1:4 chance of inheriting sickle cell disease .