Personal Narrative The Longest Roller Coaster Ride Of My...

The longest roller coaster ride of my life began Sunday, April 23rd and came to a relieving stop Wednesday, August 23rd. April 23rd, 2017 was the day I discovered my mom had Leukemia and then the roller coaster began. My brother and I had been away for the weekend with friends from our church at District Blitz in Duluth. Our mom was supposed to pick us up when we returned to the church, but our grandparents came and got us instead. As my grandpa drove from the church we began to wonder why our mom hadn t come to pick us up like she told us she would do before we left. My brother Abe began to ask grandma where our parents were. Grandma told us she had some dreadful news. She looked very troubled and concerned. As soon as she spoke I knew†¦show more content†¦I didn t know how to feel; sad, scared, confused, mad, all of the above. It had not quite hit me that my mom was really sick until my dad got home that night and told us what was going on. As my dad was telling us what her condition was and what was happening he was tearing up. My dad asked to pray with Abe and I. He began to cry during the prayer. I rarely ever saw my dad cry. He is my dad and is supposed to protect me and keep me safe. He is the one who is supposed to stay strong and tell us everything was going to be ok. Seeing him cry made me start to feel hopeless and worry about what was going to happen to my mom. I began to wonder and questio n why God would do this to her and our family. What did my mom do to deserve this? Why her? She was only ever kind to people. She doesn t deserve that pain or that feeling that she may not have long. She doesn t deserve the feeling of being alone, stuck in the hospital for a month feeling sick, unable to sleep in her own bed and unable to see her kids. Nobody deserves those feelings. I just had to trust in God. Know that He knows what He is doing and has a plan for my mom and our family. The doctors told us that mom would be in the hospital for about a month during her first chemo treatment. This news was overwhelming. Not having my mom at home for over a month scared me. I wondered how our family was going to stay strong without mom. She did so many things for all of us. Who would

Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Evolution With Team

Faculty of Applied Sciences Department of Computing, Engineering and Technology Research Skills and Academic Literacy CETM11 SEM 1 Assignment 2 Topic: Emotional intelligence and leadership evolution with Team. Name: Binal Chauhan Student Number: 149034375 Program: MSc Network system Module Leader: DR. Humphries Lynne Submission Date: 12 Jan 2015 Emotional intelligence and leadership evolution with team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABSTRACT Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been proposed as underpinning various practices considered vital for undertaking administration however few studies have been led to date inspecting whether preparing†¦show more content†¦INTRODUCTION Emotional Intelligence is a situated of capacities concerned with transforming feelings and passionate data. Debate about the particular significance of enthusiastic brainpower put aside, one inquiry is foremost: Do sincerely canny pioneers accomplish unrivalled conclusions? (Walter et al., 2012). In a few settings, it is somewhat natural that managing successfully with one s own and others feelings is a key to achievement. All the more as of late, these abilities or capacities have again refinished as a major center of consideration inside undertaking administration, determined by the more extensive examine in passionate insights (EI) and the expanding writing that voiced concerns over the fitting learning and aptitude base needed for venture chiefs to be compelling. A huge collection of exploration has been fabricating in the course of recent decades that has discovered these enthusiastic discernment capacities to be related with a scope of essential work-related practices. (Clark e, 2010). Profiling gives the eccentric mix of behavioural, fickle, passionate and mental traits of a pioneer, so as to infer an individual s specific authority style. A late research study recommended diverse venture administration approaches are fitting for distinctive sorts of task. We have hence embraced an exploration venture with the point of deciding whether: 1. The

Aids In Africa Free Essays

The pandemic brought about by the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Africa has become a very popular topic among healthcare experts, and interestingly, also among U.S. policymakers. We will write a custom essay sample on Aids In Africa or any similar topic only for you Order Now This level of attention is due to the high mortality rate of AIDS victims in the said region as well as the significantly low life-expectancy among those infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) – the pathogen that causes AIDS. In order to have a broader understanding about the topic four different kinds of literature related to the topic will be used to analyze the impact of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Infectious Diseases Epidemiology The first source that will be analyzed is a reference book entitled, Infectious Diseases Epidemiology: Theory and Practice. This reference books deal with the transmission and control of diseases and it has a section dealing with AIDS/HIV. The authors were able to fully explain how AIDS is transmitted and also how to control the spread of the virus. There is also a section that describes one of the most ambitious plans to significantly reduce the impact of AIDS/HIV in Africa. This source is valid and reliable as it is consistent with other sources that will be reviewed later in this study. Aside from that, the publisher, Jones and Bartlett in Massachusetts is a reputable publishing house. This source provides an overview of the AIDS/HIV problem in general and also provides information why it is very difficult to curb the problem of HIV infection in Africa. The discussion regarding transmission of the HIV virus will greatly increase awareness as to the kind of behavior that will lead to infection. The information that can be gathered through reading this source will help government officials to create strategies and enact laws that will make it harder for the virus to spread. This source is of great value to individuals, government or non-government agencies desiring to lend support in the fight against AIDS/HIV in Africa. This is because not only is the source an excellent reference guide for the epidemiology of the disease but it also provides useful information on what is being done to stop the virus from overwhelming the whole continent (Nelson Masters, p. 869). There is a need to combine knowledge of science and knowledge of how to understand people. Life Expectancy The second resource that will be used for this study was taken from an article in The New York Times, entitled, Devastated by AIDS, Africa Sees Life Expectancy Plunge. The article provides a more tangible proof that indeed AIDS/HIV is wreaking havoc in Africa. It is one thing to simply know about the epidemiology of the disease and it is quite another to learn that infants born in seven African nations – those with very high HIV infection – could not expect to live beyond 40. Due to the catastrophic figures given, some of Africa’s politicians are saying that the numbers maybe inaccurate (Dugger, par. 7). But the report seems to be saying that irregardless of the exact life expectancy number, there is widespread agreement that people are dying young inside the continent. One of the most information that could be gleaned from this article is the fact that people living in sub-Saharan Africa are not only dying young, their premature deaths increase the level of poverty in this region. The deaths of thousands of young men and women meant that there will be few people – especially those in the prime of their lives – who can contribute in the field of education, healthcare and various industries. This will cause a chain-reaction of events. For one there will be no strong and able bodied men and women who can spearhead the drive to eradicate AIDS/HIV and the reason is simple, many of them have died. If Africa continues to suffer from the AIDS/HIV pandemic, then it will not take long before the continent will destroy itself due to people living without hope. If the children are the future of a nation then surely the AIDS pandemic is creating a bleak future for sub-Saharan Africa. This is a valid source of information because it came from a reputable source – The New York Times. Moreover, the information that can be gathered from reading this text supports many of the findings reviewed from other sources. Aside from being accurate, this resource is a valuable source of information because it focuses on falling life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. This will help African politicians as well as their policymakers map out strategies that will help solve the problem. PEPFAR The official website of â€Å"The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief† (PEPFAR) will be the third resource for this study. The site offers a wide array of information regarding the AIDS/HIV pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The site talks about the reason behind the creation of PEPFAR and what it hopes to achieve in the long run. PEPFAR is US-based and appears to be one of the most important achievements of the Bush administration. This is a reliable source because it is a website created by the U.S. Federal government. There are also other U.S. government agencies that acknowledged the significance of PEPFAR and news agencies are also well aware of its existence. One of the most interesting facts that can be gleaned from the website pertains to the plan of former president George W. Bush to position the United States to lead in the fight against global HIV/AIDS. At the center of the plan is the need to focus resources on a region with one of the highest incidence of AIDS/HIV and this is sub-Saharan Africa. Aside from the lofty goals set by PEPFAR another interesting facet of this plan is the pledge by the U.S. government, to disburse billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money to help non-Americans, thousands of miles away. This was a daring move by the former president Bush who insisted that America is ready and financially able, to take a stand against HIV/AIDS. The former president authorized the release of a multi-billion package that will ensure that a significant part of Sub-Saharan Africa will be able to experience outside help. The huge amounts involved will signal to the rest of the world that America is ready. This resource is valuable not only because it provides an overview of the whole PEPFAR initiative. But aside from that, the website also provides detailed information with regards to the steps required leading to the creation of PEPFAR. The site also provides links that will help people discover how the president intended to finance a project that is so massive and so expensive that it is almost impossible for this Federal funded program to succeed. Corruption in Africa The fourth resource that will be used for this study is a book entitled, Corruption in Africa: Causes, Consequences, and Cleanups. The authors attempted to explain the unique circumstance that created a host of problems for Africa. Corruption in this side of the world was linked to power-hungry officials who used their position to enrich themselves. When it comes to corruption and the AIDS/HIV pandemic the common denominator is poverty, lack of education and the absence of government services that help worsen the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. This book is an excellent resource when dealing with factors aside from epidemiology and healthcare. It is very important that policymakers and strategists take a closer look at impact of corruption and why increasing the number of health workers and saturating the region with drugs will never be enough to solve the AIDS/HIV pandemic. The socio-political aspect must be considered as well. There is indeed a clear link between corruption and poverty and when these two are present it creates a social order where the government is inefficient and could not provide the necessary services that in turn will strengthen the capability of Africans to resist the AIDS/HIV onslaught. This is a reliable resource because it is consistent with research findings used to support the three previous sources. For instance a good education will make it easier for health workers to explain the reason why sexual intercourse and the sharing of contaminated needles are two of the most important means to transmit the virus. If the people are well-educated then it is easy for them to understand the steps required to avoid those problems. But with corruption comes the inability to have access to good education and when the people are ignorant it will be easy for the virus to spread. How to cite Aids In Africa, Papers AIDS in Africa Free Essays The number of people living with Human Immune-Deficiency Virus (HIV) in Africa especially in Sub-Saharan part is quite big. More than half of the population is infected with HIV AIDS and the number of individuals being infected increases each day. It usually causes high death rates in children and adults. We will write a custom essay sample on AIDS in Africa or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to statistics, the number of those who are infected is quite high which is about 2.3 million adults and children (UNAIDS, 2006). The number seems to be dropping drastically which portrays that there has been a change of behaviour which has made the number to reduce and also the decrease can be as a result of increased mortality rate of those who are infected. The number of people who are most affected by AIDS are prostitutes and their clients homosexuals and most of individuals who inject themselves with drugs. In Sub-Saharan region HIV transmission is mostly experienced in most of heterosexual transmission in Africa most of the women are infected at early stages which increases the gap between men and women who are infected with HIV. In Africa, South Africa is the country which has the highest prevalence rate of individual who are infected with AIDS. According to epidemiological survey, it shows that the number of infected individuals in this country does not decrease and the main factors which have lead to this increase includes social instability, poverty, family disruption migratory labor system which leads to increased morbidity, sexual transmitted diseases are in increased levels in these regions, women lives in low status and sexual violence. The increased incidence rate of Aids in Africa has lead to a major economical problem which has made the country’s economy in most of Sub-Saharan countries to drop drastically and people in these regions to live under a lot of poverty. According to various statistics, most of the Sub-Saharan Africa countries drop economically with around 1-2% of the total economic status of the country annually. Most of the families with individuals who are infected with HIV AIDS live in total poverty than the rest of the household. This is because the level of productivity decreases drastically since individuals infected with HIV become weak and they are unable to carry on with their daily routine work. These individuals in most cases who are young eventually die leaving young children and the aged who are not able to work for their basic need. They are therefore left to depend on well wishers, government and other non governmental organizations for their living. Due to high death rates, it has also lead to great food shortage since those who work in farms are usually the young generation which is the group which is highly infected. This has lead to lack of essential labor which is needed in farm and therefore the family can result to use of finances which were not necessary to purchase food. In some Sub-Saharan countries such as South Africa, most of productive individuals such as those who work in various governmental organizations are dying of AIDS at a very high rate which makes the country to lost important people who are skilled and had a high potential of bringing revenue to the government. These usually pose a major drawback of the economic status of the country. When these individuals die, vital services are not delivered to the public and this can lead to loss of revenue that government could gain from these services. The main sector which is mainly affected by the high prevalence rate of HIV is the labor sector. This is because most of the individuals who are affected by AIDS are between the age of 15-49 which is the most productive age which is mainly the working age. When the labor of the country drops, its economic status is also affected this is mostly experienced by those individuals who are directly affected or infected by AIDS. When those people who are already trained for various job die because of AIDS, it means that factories, industries, schools and hospitals have to incur extra cost for training more skilled individuals who can replace them and those who can work efficiently (Cohen 1990). In order to facilitate this, these sectors have to use a lot of money which could be used for other purposes to boost the economic status of these sectors. Due to strong impact that HIV sets on labor force, in various enterprises and household, HIV has acted as a quite significant factor in drop of the economic development and growth of countries and also in individuals. It has played quite a vital effect in the economic development of Africa as a whole. Due to the fact that Africa faces a major economic drawback, it has made it quite difficulty for African countries to fight the epidemic. This is because the disease prevalence rate is quite high and the economic status of he country and individuals goes down which makes most of individuals not to afford the antiretroviral drugs (ARV) therapies which can help to reduce the prevalence rate of diseases. In some cases the productivity of infected individuals can be boosted by proper feeding and good diet, but in these Sub-Saharan countries, its quite hard for infected individual to have proper diet which will help in boosting the immune status of the body since there is no enough money to be supplemented in buying of food. Due to high poverty levels of those who are infected and their low economic status, the prevention methods which can be used to minimize high rate of disease infection are not quite applicable due to lack of money. This has increased the disease occurrence a lot since no prevention measures are taken and therefore transmission rate is quite high. This is mostly experienced in mother child transmission, since most of expectant women who are living in extreme poverty do not have money to attend the antenatal clinic and they usually end up delivering at home where there are no measures which are taken into consideration to prevent the disease from being transmitted to the child. In some cases, individuals who are infected with HIV also have high chances of being infected with other opportunistic infections which mainly affects individuals with AIDS such as TB. Due to their inability to access medical services due to lack of money, they get weak quite quickly and can result to death. In this case the economic status of the country drop due to lack of money. Most of the countries in Sub Saharan live under extreme poverty which makes them to lack basic access to education which is a major factor which can be used to alleviate poverty levels and boost the economic status of the country (Avert org, 2008). Those individuals who do not have basic education on the effect AIDS end up contacting it carelessly which increases transmission rate due to lack of knowledge about the impact the disease has on the society. Social impact of children and women in South Africa South Africa is one of the countries in the Sub-Saharan region with quite a high prevalence rate of AIDS its estimated that around 15-20% of its total adult population is infected with HIV. The number of those individuals who are infected has greatly exceeded the number which was considered to be possible initially. There is no evidence of epidemic slowing in South Africa since around 4.9-6.1 million people in the country are infected with AIDS. Statistics carried out on 2004 showed that around 1-3 expectant mother are infected with HIV and since then gradual increase has been realized. How to cite AIDS in Africa, Papers

The Welsh Heart Spoke with an English Tongue free essay sample

This paper discusses the Anglo-Welsh influence in three works by Dylan Thomas. This paper discusses Dylan Thomas influence as a Welshman upon the world of English poetry. Thomas offered the English-speaking world the opportunity to peer into the complex and all-too-contradictory world of the Welsh heart. He introduced Welsh mysticism, and drew upon his early up-bring and the influence of the Church on his life. From the paper: To say that Dylan Thomas? early years in Swansea, Wales were full of contradiction would be a gross understatement. It is not easy to say whether his birth in an age when to speak Welsh in Wales was considered to be something less than correct was to be his greatest boon or his greatest curse. Whatever the case may be, it cannot be denied that this dichotomy engendered Dylan Thomas with a poetic prowess that was uniquely his own. What?s more, it can be argued that it was his very Welsh-ness, with its powerful imagery and intricate word-play, which dazzled an English-speaking world. We will write a custom essay sample on The Welsh Heart Spoke with an English Tongue or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He embraced Welsh passions and wrapped it in the English language. This Anglo-Welsh voice touched a literary nerve in a way that no other poet had before. Thomas Dylan straddled a cultural divide, bringing the ancient Welsh mysticism, Puritanism, and bardic tradition into the pragmatic world of the Western Industrial Age.

Mental Health Essays (271 words) - Psychiatry, Health, Mental Health

Mental Health During the 1950's and 60's everyone was treated in the same way, insane. Whether you had depression or schizophrenia, you were usually treated based on your sex and your behavior. Modern mental health is a lot different from back then. During the 1950's deinstitutionalization started to become popular, even though institutionalizing someone was the best course of action and the first way they treated someone. This became popular because there was overstaffing and poor living conditions. They usually moved them to a residential area or an outpatient facility where they would be taken care of. To make life easier on the people leaving the mental institute they finally created antipsychotic drugs to make then more normal. This invention was an amazing discovery. As people have progressed so has medicine. And the start of antipsychotic drugs started to help many people as medicinal therapy became more popular than imstitionalizing everyone. In today's society there has been many more advances in technology, knowledge, and medicine. Now in America it's more common to go to therapy to help with your problems and to get medicine to help make you feel better. Many people have some sort of mental illness, it's very common and you aren't treated very different from other people. McCleary 2 Finally, more people are diagnosed today than they were in the 50's. Take a look around in your work or school and many people in there have some sort of mental illness. In the 1950's we had less knowledge and more people institutionalized. McCleary 3 Works Cited "History of Mental Health Treatment." Dual Diagnosis, www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/history/.

Research Methods Essay

Research Methods Essay Research Methods Essay Research Question, Due 2-11 @ 5:00 pm Your assignment is a one paragraph description of a research question. The intent of the assignment is to get you thinking about an idea for your research proposal, and to allow me to provide some feedback on your research question. However, you are not required to use the research question from this assignment for your proposal, i.e., you are allowed to change your idea. The research question must address a causal relationship, i.e, at a minimum, the causal relationship between two variables. Helpful Hints: 1. DO NOT READ JOURNAL ARTICLES TO CREATE YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION- LET YOUR CURIOSITY GUIDE YOU. 2. Do not make the research question too ‘grand’. There are many ways to make the research question too grand, for example: a. Asking research questions about a dependent variable for which there are many potential independent variables. Asking if the implementation of a mandatory attendance policy at Virginia Tech would improve grade point averages is a reasonable research question. However, there are so many causal determinants of GPA that it is very difficult to design a study that isolates the causal effect of a class attendance policy on GPA. b. Asking research questions where the answer unfolds over a long period of time. Asking if an intervention to prevent binge drinking is effective over the course of a year is a reasonable question. However, such a question requires a strategy for repeatedly sampling the subjects at different points in time, which raises a ho st of

Finance for Public Services Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance for Public Services Managers - Essay Example There are various sources which provide governents the necessary access to the required funds to effectively and efficiently manage the affairs of the firms. The chief sources among them are Taxes, incomes and some private initiatives which are undertaken by the governments to fund the public service. The chief source among them are taxes which states levy on various entitites of the states including individuals, corporations etc. However, what must be understood is the fact that all three indicated methods of sources to finance the public services carry their own advantages and disadvantages and it is very critical sometimes that a fine balance need to be striken between all the sources otherwise any mismatch between the income and the expenses of the government can prove fatal for the economy of the country as it can have very detrimental impacts not only on the society but on the economy as well. This essay will look into some of the above refereed methods of funding for the public services and would critically evaluate the effectiveness with regard to providing effective source to fund the public service facilities undertaken by the governments. Taxes are probably the oldest and most commonly used source of funding for public services. Taxes are also considered as the most effective tool of funding the public service. It is because of the fact that the scope of tax collection is extremely large and it covers almost all the members of the society including individuals, corporations, societies, banks etc. Taxes are effective in the sense that they are not only bigger in their scope but also provide the largest chunk of the income sources to the government. The volume of tax collected is the largest chunk of the government income therefore they are the most effective means for the government to fund the public services. (Hunter, 2008) The taxes are collected in many forms. The most

Human Resource Management of Utiliscan Limited Essay

Human Resource Management of Utiliscan Limited - Essay Example In relation to the study the company which has been selected is Utiliscan Limited, a number one division in the United Kingdom that provides site investigations, safe digging solutions, and specialized drilling services. Notably, the majority of the company’s employees are programmers and engineers who are responsible for designing and installing proprietary software that regulate and track electricity and gas pipelines. Additionally, Utiliscan limited only employs devilish best, highly experienced surveyors to work in their fields and to utilize their current and state of the art equipment. The company is wholly owned by subsidiary adp Group Limited. However, it is management separately and provides services of drilling and vacuum excavation. The umbrella company under which Utiliscan was founded, adp Group Ltd, has lasted for twenty-seven years; historically in partnership and not as a limited company. The adp Group Ltd had been operating in numerous ventures including agric ulture and civil engineering before it ventured or diversified it service provision to site investment, surveying trade, and Vacuum Excavation that led to the birth of Utiliscan. The Utiliscan has its base in the south west of England, and its regional office is found in Southern France. The adp is committed in providing and fulfilling the society’s various needs in Topographical, Utility and Land Surveying, Diamond Coring, Environment and Borehole Drilling, Hydro and Pneumatic Vacuum Excavation requirements. However, with the current expansion of the company, the company has indulged into some new and demanding ventures; thus, it has been experiencing new demands of the services delivery. This has led to a rising needs of hiring new experts into the firm. For instance, the company has currently ventured in the sales of equipment, particularly within the entre western east of Europe and United Kingdom. Some of the equipment being sold by Utiliscan includes its sales of Vector Vacuums in the Western Europe and Air Spade in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it has specialized in sales, hire, and safe service delivery in all digging equipment. The company has achieved it objectives and goals because of its qualified workforce in its different fields. The company has qualified surveyors, drillers, operators, mechanics, engineers, managers, and directors from varied backgrounds. These experts have boosted the company to its vast knowledge, especially within its service sector. Therefore, the company is actually capable of providing standardized work and services in an effective, smoother, cleaner, quicker, effectively, and in a safer manner. Therefore, it can effectively help other constructors in achieving the same goals in the same zero strike record it has ever enjoyed. Notably, according to the research that was carried by the company’s former Director of Hr., Paul, it is apparent that the company had many problems that needed immediate attention. The analysis of the research indicated that not all of the employees were satisfied by the services offered by the organization. However, the size of the company may make it a little bit difficult for the management to find an amicable solution for the identified problems. Nonetheless, it would be particularly vital for the Utiliscan management to correct the already identified problems soonest to improve the rational, morale, and the performance of the employees. The initial step that was to be taken by the management has already by Paul. That is, he has already identified the existing problem in the company that may affect the performance of the company. The serious problems that are affecting the employees include fear of safety, dead end job, lack of incentives, lack of continued education, and profits that the employees deemed below average. Since the problems that are affecting the employees have been identified, it is; therefore, vital for the managemen

Leadership2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Leadership2 - Essay Example Bank Dhofar is one of the financial services firms growing at unprecedented rates in the Sultanate. The management team is proud of the quality of the services the bank offers. Project finance services, consumer banking, treasury services, and corporate banking are designed to satisfy the diverse needs of consumers, small and medium size businesses, and medium-size companies across the Sultanate. The history of incorporation of Bank Dhofar traces back to January 1990. By then, the bank was referred to as Bank Dhofar al Oman al Fransi. There were only two branches at Salaash and Muscat. During this time, Oman was still an absolute monarchy characterised by widespread autocracy. Bank Dhofar extended its network in 1992 by acquiring Bank of Credit and Commerce International from the Central Bank of Oman. The year 1999 saw the bank inaugurating the head office in the Commercial Business District. More improvements were witnessed when the bank purchased 16 commercial bank branches in 2000, mergered with Majan International Bank in 2002, obtained all regulatory and administrative approvals in 2003, and launched Maisarah Islamic Banking Services in 2013. Presently, Bank Dhofar is the second largest bank in Oman based on the market share. The bank has changed leadership styles over time to keep pace with the market dynamisms. The reputation concerning strong commitment to consistency and growth has helped boost the popularity of Bank Dhofar as financial institution. Managing employees across all branches requires fair, but strict leadership policies in order to avoid laxity at work and ensure that workers are highly motivated to work towards improved performance. Bank Dhofar has a vision of maintaining their status as the best bank in the Gulf. The vision will be achieved through delivering the best experiences to the bank’s customers and creating both personal and collective development

Importance of Operational Efficiency in an Organization

Importance of Operational Efficiency in an Organization 1. Executive summary Operational efficiency and its quality of providing service is most important factor whatever organization either production or service. That is most important part in any company operations whether it is business oriented or nonprofit oriented organizations also are highly concern their organizational growth and local and regional expansion of their operations. Mainly operational efficiency and performance is depending on the external environment drivers. Those external drivers are creating competition and intense of the among the industry player. Therefore future strategic planning, contingency plan, operation strategy is most important and playing vital role to face forthcoming changes. If the organization is not be able to manage those changes that happening in the originations and outside organization directly affect on operational efficiency of the organization. To face those environment changes most prudent strategies make adjustment in organization operating style and strate gies. That does will help to achieve organizations corporate objectives as planned. Mainly manufacturing service organizations are performing functions such as; Sales Marketing Human resource Operation Accounting Finance or treasury IT/Information department Logistic/branch management Channel management Internal auditing Risk management So called functions linking each other and having inter dependencies, no one can override those operational activities. Everybody work in the must focus on very well on operational activities. Because, at the end of year shareholders (investors) are raising questions at AGM, how much of amount of return generate by businesses and whether business operations went smoothly, what will be the future plans to deliver high rate of return for our investment and what type of operational strategy going to carryout to face the completion. So on frequently raise the questions by shareholders. Production and operation management was begun with industrialization. But it play vital role in the service sectors. In the contemporary world named it as Operation Management. Contribution of this subject is making bigger differences for business functions. Multinational local companies have established independent department to manage their operational activities very well. For an instance nowadays eme rging business is banking financial service company name called Nation Trust Bank. That bank routine operations are making huge impact on their business performance. That is because; bank performance is driven by its operational capacity style. Mainly employees and customers satisfaction are most important element to show outstanding performance and to attract the new customers. In this industry is driven by managing effectively whole operations of the business. Lack of operation management delivers poor performance. To provide remarkable service wider range of service related need to have well defined operations strategy to uplift business. This assignment report mainly focused on current practice of operation management banking industry and assignment contain the followings. Define operation management, its characteristic and playing role in banking financial service industry. Evaluate the goals and objectives are achieved in operation management objectives. Define systems in operations in relation to service and routine activities. Major resource, tools and systems that are supporting operations and to support quality of service of the bank. Analyzing importance of quality audit and implementation of quality management system in bank. Major weakness and explore opportunities to improve the bank service to satisfy the stake holders of the business. Making recommendation to capitalize the opportunities and avoid weakness of the bank. Conclusion of assignment 2. Define term of operations management According to literature production operation management are considering as one subject but in the current situation totally expert says about it as Operation management is subject that Design, execution and control firms operations that converts it resources into desired goods and services, and implement its business strategy and its define as another way The maintenance, control and improvement of organizational activities that are required to produce good or service. Operations Management deals with design and management of products, process, services and supply chains. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to deliver the goods and services their client wants. First definition can be related the following diagram is simple operation of any organization. Feed Back Input inputs Service Process servicing process Out put Maximize customer satisfaction Employees Money (local foreign) Savings accounts Information Systems Open up Bank A/C Cashiering Credit card promotion Mortgaging Generate bank statements Buying selling of foreign currencies Happiest or loyal customer The above diagram we can see operations different operations in the input level, process level and output level. Therefore we can conclude that 2.1. Operation management from aspect of Nation Trust Bank To get analyze importance of operations of the bank the vision mission and values is helping out it Vision Making life simple by being the benchmark of convenience Mission Be innovative in continuously developing customer centric solutions. Unleash the talent of our team to be the best in the industry. Consistently grow market share and be the most profitable and respected Sri Lankan bank by 2015. Values Inspirational leadership Integrity in all our dealings Open communication Learning focused Meritocracy Prudent risk management Respect for all Innovation and continuous improvement Nurture relationships Socially and environmentally responsible Vision, mission and value are Nation Trust Bank (NTB) operational objectives in relation to corporate objective. Organization chart shows hierarchy of the departments Chairman Deputy Chairman Board of Directors CEO Corporate management Senior management Branch management Managers Operation management Corporate management overlooking the follwing functions Director/CEO DGM Retail Banking DGM SME Banking DGM Cards, Consumer Assets and Strategic Marketing DGM Corporate and Institutional Banking Chief Operating Officer Head of Legal and Company Secretary Chief Financial Officer Head of Human Resources Head of Credit and Market Risk Management Head of Internal Audit Consultant/Head of Treasury Consultant/Head of Operational Risk and Compliance Senior management overlooking functions are; Trade Services Branches and PBC Alternate Channels SME Banking and Factoring Cards and Consumer Assets Branch Operations and Credit Wholesale Banking Consumer Credit Risk and Collections Consumer Sales Treasury Services Leasing Corporate Banking Leasing Operations Management Information and Planning Cards Marketing Collections Central Operations Fixed Income Securities Leasing Zone 2 Leasing Recoveries Marketing Services Retail Banking Credit Delivery Channels Nations Insurance Brokers Technology Legal Credit Operations Credit Risk Corporate Banking Delivery Channels Leasing Zone 1 Internal Audit Infrastructure and Administration Business Banking Compliance and Financial Reporting Business Solutions Delivery Channels Credit Risk Leasing and Factoring By looking at the above orgnization chart and that functions, can get clear idea about the how its importace of the operaton mangement in the NTB operations. Here in the chief oprating officer and head operational risk is paly vital role of for the baking operations. They are responsible for the bank oprations as whole. Operational scope No of branches 40, No of leasing centers 9, No of ATM 43 , 6 personal banking centers as well as Internet Banking 2.2. SWOT analysis of NTB Strenght It is subsidiary of Jhon Keels group, idirectly they can gained group strenght. Reputed coporate brand name Coporate brand value is very high Has selected well profitable segment to provide the banking service Wider product portfolio Strong IT net work staff in every layer having experice More than 20yers experaince in that perticualr field. Carryingout more promotion Respect corporate governance Good Internal auditing risk management Weakness Faliures in th the IT system define some operations wrong manner Poor promotion Newly introdce gurnateed invetment paln will be fail because of it is irrational plan. More customer complins prices and products quality Few brach and ATM Suboptoimization is happening Employee discrimination Poor advertising in relation to market leader. Employee selections very static do not willing to new comers and do recruitment based on the personal contact. Poor strategic implication. Try to do mass scale promotion, it has failed Always try todepend group strenght Poor opertations of mini brach in the supermrkets Opportunities expansion opportunity in further in sri lanka in norht south ( war affected areas) Can be offered more differntiated Service by giving well traning for the staff. Customer driven promotion. Customer feed back system over the phone or by SMS,by mail. Rewarding system for employees Threat High competition in the banking industry. Overriding tax ruels and regulation by bank.may have legal risk for business. New management is do not more concern on the operations Paying high premius to get new business without cinsidering future feasibility. 2.3. Importance of operations management NTB To satisfy the share holders objectives Investors are expecting return by investing money on the banking business. If the bank is not generated sufficient of amount of return on the shareholders will not invest in the bank. Therefore its corporate objectives must design and link with operations. To defense the market share face the competition Another main importance area of the operation management is developing strategy to face the competition. To managing the risk of the business Mainly banks facing the following risk; Credit risk Market risk Asset Liability management risk. Operational Risk When look at all the risk are related with the operation with banking business, if bank the bank stopped their business operations there is no any risk to manage for them. Therefore, managing risk of the banking business should have smooth plan to manage the operations. To fulfill rules and regulation of governed by Central bank of the country To fulfill rules and regulation of governed company act and banking acts Supporting decision making Operational informations are giving support to make the decision making. As example to advertising effectiveness evaluate branded saving accounts can be used no of accounts opened up by customers on daily. To adapt new changes on technological information Technological environment is rapidly changing to adopt those changes ATM came into apply to increase banking operational efficiencies. 2.4. Performance analysis of the operations in relation to organization goals and objective External process changes (customer satisfaction) Personal banking service providing branches New investment plan offered by bank 24 hours banking facility Open mini branch in supermarket location. Online bank account opening systems SMS banking system Door step banking system Billing payment system via their mobile phone Internal process changes (to happy internal customers) new auditing system to analyze the business risk Make contract with the international HR consultancy firm for training development of staff. Policies have been changes when issuing loans Transferring staff between branches to reduce Giving good training for newly recruited employees regarding bank operations. To reduce bottlenecks IT system training was provided. To prevent hacking introduced new system PIN by IT 3. Routine banking operation and related resources, tool and systems in support to improve operation quality. As banks it having so many business process, that can be divided into two External business process Customer focused process Under this process defined that banking service which they provide to the customers. Those service are divided into 3 categories Corporate banking Personal banking Treasury Issue Letter of credit Current , saving and fixed deposit Foreign exchange dealings Shipping other guarantees Credit card Forward exchange booking Import export finance Debit cards Commercial paper SWIFT facility Branded Savings accounts Foreign currency swaps Syndicate loans Certificate of deposit Interest rate swaps Project financing Advice on foreign current market movement Securitization Salary remittance package Structuring , managing and underwriting of initial public offering and private placement of equity Housing loans Company valuation restructuring E exchange money transfer facility Structuring of Corporate debt instruments Holiday banking systems Working capital financing Red carpet banking system Bullion trading Off shore banking facility Leasing Internal business process Internal operation centric process Where mainly internal functions related process can be analyzed Marketing Management Ex. process of introduce of new product This the huge process from the idea generating and to launch to customers is having certain approval to procedure such as; Idea generating new service based products Evaluating feasibility with the market condition Getting approval from the Head of the marketing Head of the marketing and Director of the Marketing, brand manger discussing pros and cons of the product, brand name selection, effect of existing products and competitor response Finalized the approval brand name Registering to launch the product preparing budget and get approval for that brochures designing and making agreement with the ad agency Printing pass books Communicating to customers regarding the product via ad Get feed back from the customer Compare budgeted deposit or account to measure whether branches have achieved budgeted sales. Human resources management Opening new Branch fill the staff requirement Forecasting staff requirement Advertise regarding the vacancy application sorting and short listed candidates Call for the interview 1st interview for them and short listed for second interview Call for the second interview Select the right candidate for the job Giving the appointment letter Familiarizing for the organization via inductions Training for that candidate Permanent those staff Internal auditing system Here try to ensure that bank staff follow the procedure as planned and prescribed the accounts and finance. Here they evaluate Analyze search Fraud and errors Management auditing System auditing (IT) Accuracy of accounting entries Analyze search Ineffective accounting procedures Assets auditing Deposit management Under this category try to manage the deposit level with liquidity and profit. By balancing rules and regulations which are governed by central bank. Channel Development System This is described regarding new branch operation and development of customer service. Managing Assets Liability This also very important business process and functions in the banking operations managing their assets and liabilities. If these two are not balancing each other, the bank balance sheet will show impact on assets and liabilities. It should be managed by well qualified management account or fiancà © disciplined person. Otherwise bigger impacts made on the corporate image as well as destroy the customers relationship and may have position go out of the business. Ultimately it will makes huge impact banking system in the economy. Risk Management System major different risk component those are making bigger impact on the business continuation. According to bank information major risk rating as follows; Risk Areas Component of the risk Credit risk Default risk Security risk Sectoral exposure risk Legal risk Counterparty risk Cross border risk Sovereign risk Market risk and Asset Liability management risk. Interest rate risk Liquidity risk Exchange rate risk Investment risk Group financial risk Share price decline risk Country risk Operational Risk Employee behavioral risk such as omission, fraud, judgmental errors, negligence, etc. Disaster related risk Trained staff turnover risk Insider dealing risk Sensitive information leakage risk Lack of creativity and innovativeness Risk on MIS and IT related risks Planning Budget related risks Shortcoming in the organizational structure Credit rating falling risk Money laundering Risk of technological obsolesces Risk failing business volume and market share Risk is being overtaken and losing the leadership position Overtrading risk and risk of financial disintermediation When look at overall risk, high risk show by operational risk compare to other risk areas. Therefore, to analyze any type of these risks, need to have solid information to mitigate those risks in business operation. Operation management Operations managements are looking after following areas. Those are; Bank or branch opening procedure This is very important part in opening branches and head office. Opening must be done without authorized people. If not that is considered as misused of operational rule on the other hand it taken as illegal act. Therefore those rules regulation must very well. Cash handling process by cashiers Main cashier hand over cash to the counter cashier Get it signed on the log book Cashier log on the computer Carryout the day today operation (saving, withdrawals) Handover cash to main cashier after counting Fill the cash summary by using slip Main cashier reconcile the cash with slip Cash put into the safe box Managing bank electronic data Data management is major important part of business process. Bank decisions are making process based on this process. If there is an error in the data, outcome (information) is will be inaccurate, ultimately, made decision are delivering risk picture. Following the appropriate tool for quality assurance of the data applied by the banks; Describing data that is in the warehouse Specifying what In and out of data is warehouse business events scheduling extract based Documenting and monitoring data synchronization requirements Measuring validity quality of data Data process management and security management system for data building Capacity of the bank To improve productivity of service that providing process by bank need improve existing capacity in terms of ATMs, Branch and staff. Loan Management system The following process is involved in under the loan management; Analyzing suspension of the loan and advance Then made reservation or taking legal action to receiver those loans Managing the Finance of the bank Financial management process overlooking low cost funding sources and mainly following procedure also looking after by fiancà ©e manager Working capital management Corporate tax planning Analyzing Investments Debentures and Share issue Corporate planning Budgeting Bank corporate planning and budgeting strategies are followed by operations, main step that is following certain steps in the corporate, business and operations levels. Analyze the Vision, Mission, Goals and objectives of the bank Carryout position audit (SWOT) and environment analysis (PESTEEL) Generate strategic options Analyze strategic options are generated And Develop functional strategies such as finance, marketing, HR, operation, and IT to achieve corporate objectives. Such as Profitability (Profit before tax) return on capital employed of the bank Growth and Market share of the bank Customer satisfaction and value addition for service Quality of service 3.1. Analyzing and evaluating resources, tools and system to support in the quality operation Bank or any other business resources, tools and system can be divided into 3 categories based on value platform. Those are; Customer capital Structured (organizational) capital Human capital (Human Resources Customer loyalty Corporate brand name and it reputation Business collaboration Intellectual property Patents copy rights Design right Service mark Trade mark Infrastructure assets Management philosophy ,Corporate culture, Management process ,Information systems, Net working systems ,Financial relationship Know how (serving offering process) Education level of employee, Vocational qualification, Work related knowledge, Proactive and reactive abilities, Changeability, Occupational assessment 3.2 Define and implement quality management for bank Quality management defined by American Society for Quality Quality is the totality of features and characteristic of product or service that bear on its ability satisfy stated or implied needs. Banks can focus on their quality the following way. Quality of services or business can be measure by using the following methods; Six dimensional performance matrix Balance Score card systems Generic measurement 3.2.1. Six aspect or dimensional performance matrix Dimension of the performance Type of measures Competitiveness Relative market share Measure of customer base Deposit growth Financial performance Profitability Liquidity Capital structure Market ratios Quality of service Reliability Responsiveness Aesthetic/appearance Comfort Friendliness Courtesy Flexibility Volume flexibility Delivery speed flexibility Specification flexibility Resource utilization Productivity Efficiency Innovation Performance of the innovation process Performance of the individual performance 3.2.2. Balance scorecard (BSC) system BSC is identifying financial and non financial measures to evaluate quality of service. 4 pillars are representing by BSC. Those are; Customer perspectives Satisfaction of the customers Financial perspectives Satisfaction of Share holders Internal business process To satisfy both party what must be offered Learning and growth Improving, developing, changing process and procedures to satisfy all the parties in the organization to improve efficiency of the organizations continuously. 3.2.3. Generic measures system To evaluate service efficiency the following generic measures can be implement Generic Measures Type of measurement Service of Quality Access Easy to find out supermarket Appearance Staff appearance, well groomed Availability products availability Cleanness Gondolas and shelf must free from dust Competence Speed of cashiering Courtesy CSA must polite and respect to customers Responsiveness Response any queries Security personal security 3.3. Implementing quality management system (six sigma model) Improve any process performance either production process or service providing process. This model can be implemented and it has 5 steps. Step Define measures Step Measure Step Analyze Step Improve Step Control 4. Identifying Weakness and opportunities in the process 4.1.Weakness analysis and strategic implication Wrongly define some operations To collect the deposit banking assistant are sending to the outide banking premises, that is very risky because the rob or theft money. Faliures in th the IT system Banking industry one of the key driver is IT systms in those suystmens failutre affect couters, ATM or brnach operation. Therefore IT deparment need to take relavent action to prevent this kind of situations. Poor promotion Newly introdce gurnateed invetment paln will be fail because of it is irrational plan.We the customers are get calcualte benefit of the invesment plan, relizing bank try to make fool the new customerss. Therefore NTB need to evaluate that promotion of investment plan. Few brach and ATM To satisfy customers need exiating ATMs and branch are not adequate. Therefore top management need to increase number of ATMs and mini brach increse the customer service. Suboptoimization is happening Employee discrimination This always happen in the top management and they dont allow come with new ideas and try discriminte those people as headche for the bank. This is not acceptable level of pracite because of new ideas are helping to develp the bank service. That culture must changed by HR department. Poor advertising in relation to market leader Commercial bank is market leader in the banking industry but problem is that NTB is not spend sufficient amount of cost on advertising and they have selected brand ambassder as sport star that is not reflect imporatnce of the bank service. cost of staff training is very high and cust down other cost NTB has made an agreement with interanationl HRM consultancy firm to get trian the satff. But it is very cost. There are experianced firms are availble in locall to get bank staff training at resonable cost. That must be changed. Employee selections very static do not willing to new comers and do recruitment based on the personal contact. Junior and senior level staff recruitment is made via personal contact, that is not good practice, it will leads poor operational perfornances.That is need to be chaged by HR department. Poor strategic implication Competition of the banking inductry is very high and NTB strategies not capable enough to cope the competition. Try to do mass scale promotion, it has failed Promotion that made by using brand ambassader was not successful. Even the NTB advertising fail to highlight their major benefit of the each of bank accounts. That has already capitalized by other players of the industry. Always try todepend group strenght JKH is large conglomarate bunines group, therfore NTB try use the those group of companies money in their accounts as corporate accounts. But it will not be successful strategy, if any buisness will fail that will directly affect o on the bank operations. Poor opertations of mini brach in the supermrkets In the supermarket bank service expecting customers are very high, but mini branch is included 3 staff members they cant manage rush time banking operations. 4.2. Opportunities analysis and strategic implication Expansion opportunity in further in sri lanka in norht east ( war affected areas) There is an opportunity to open up new brach north east. Because of those areas high ended customer is having desire to get good banking service. Therefor NTB could capitalize that chance. Can be offered more differntiated Service by giving well traning for the staff NTB staff always having an attitude as most prestige bank, but they need change that attitude and need do differentiated bank service for the customers. Customer driven promotion. By analyzing most valuable customer, NTB must offer rewarding system such as; Interest excemeptions Gift vouchers Seasonal promotions on the minor accounts, Customer feed back system over the phone or by SMS,by mail. This will help to increase the customer satisfaction efficicny of the bank by merging with new technological development.That will help to increase the number of customers and reduce operational failures. Rewarding system for employees To motivate the employees need to have proper and stimulus arisen rewardign system to increase the sales and productivity 5. Conclusion According to the report and based on practical application of operation management, can be make the following conclusions Importance of the operations management will be increased in future This subject will be more developed and that knowledge need put into practice. Operation manager role of will highly important. HR department must play as supportive department in managing people to implement operational strategy Marketing department is play a bigger role when comes to the sales management or branch level operation. To improve the business performance and quality benchmarking need be practiced by any company. Most effective bench marking practice is industry based bench marking.

Waste Land Essay: Isolation from a Noble Past -- T.S. Eliot Waste Land

The Waste Land:   Isolation from a Noble Past  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Desire to return to a noble past is a central theme of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land.   The narrators of the poem consistently show dissatisfaction with the present, and describe, with yearning, the quality of the past; furthermore, Eliot portrays the contemporary world as irredeemably lost to the beauty of antiquity.   In The Waste Land, the theme of isolation from a noble past is represented by descriptions of the environment, sexual corruption, and self-mechanization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eliot opens â€Å"The Fire Sermon† with a juxtaposition of antiquity and modernity that is centered around the Thames River.   The mystical past of the river has been destroyed, and the speaker laments the current condition of his environment:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Or other testimony of summer nights.   The nymphs are departed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And their friends, the loitering heirs of City directors;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Departed, have left no addresses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the water of the Leman I sat down and wept (177-82) Although this section is written in the present tense, the speaker means the Thames of the past.   The Thames of the past was not polluted, and there were nymphs, giving it a mystical characteristic; however, these nymphs are departed now, and the river is nothing like it used to be.   Eliot also juxtaposes different poetic styles to further distinguish the past from the present.   Amid a group of unrhymed, rhythm-less lines, he writes, â€Å"Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song† (175... ...ing lost the sense of Good and Evil, has ceased to be alive† (46).   This â€Å"living death† is seen very clearly during and immediately after the sexual encounter of the clerk and typist.   Eliot uses desolation of environment as well to juxtapose past and present, especially when describing the â€Å"unreal city.†Ã‚   The destruction brought about by post-war modernity is rampant also in the description of the Thames River.   Finally, Eliot shows the lack of vitality of modern people through their voluntary self-mechanization.   The characters of the present in The Waste Land have no motivation to make, or live by, their own choices, and let the machine of life carry them where it may.   The result is a stark depiction of the automation, isolation, and despair that define the contemporary world. Work Cited Eliot, T. S. The Waste Land. Collected Poems Harcourt : New York, 1963.

Management organisational behaviour

Question: Goal-setting Is widely used In management practice, but is goal-setting all pros and no cons? Discuss both the benefits and the possible downside, or â€Å"darkled† of goal- setting. Introduction Introduce the topic and briefly describe what goal setting is in your own words. Define how we're going to apply goal-setting in the context of an organization Briefly discuss the pros and cons of goal-setting Discuss my point of view- what are the most efficient methods of goal-settings and how can they be applied to an organization or an Individual. Paragraph 1 (What is goal setting? In detail, explain what goal-setting is and define Edwin A.Locker's Goal-setting theory Discuss what factors influence goal setting (E. G Specific, realistic goals work best) Evaluate on how organizations and individuals apply goal-settings Paragraph 2 ( why do we use It? ) Motivation Help you to visualize and plan actions to achieve what you want then carry it out Paragraph 3 (Benefits/Pros) Begin the paragraph with how goal-setting is beneficial as a topic sentence Create a list of key benefits that can be applied to organizations and individuals Gives a path o you know exactly where you are going and what you need to do to get there without procrastinating.Timeliness that consists of smaller milestones, so that it makes the larger goal seem more achievable Set milestones will force you to set prolepses, hence preventing you from getting distracted Organization Goals could be achieved faster and more effectively when it is being broken down into smaller goals and collaborated in a team Obtaining smaller and more frequent milestones will give a sense of achievement that motivates the organization When an organization is working with a client smaller goals allows the client to be always aware of the organizations progress towards the final goal providing a sense of security Individuals Makes you aware of your own strengths and weaknesses Keeps you focused Makes you respo nsible for your own success or failures Improve your self-image Limits your stress Paragraph 4 ( Negatives ) Begin the paragraph with discussing the downsides of goal-setting Create a list of key downsides that can be implied to organizations and individuals Creates a fear of losing ( being criticized) High speed performance may trigger inaccuracy, and lack of details when reaching the final goal.Higher accuracy could be acquired but it happens at a much slower rate, due to focus on improving quality. Organization in goals. Method of achieving that milestone may be different for each individual when it is crucial to work diligently as a team Individual Intense amount of workload may denominate a person into procrastinating once he or she believes that their goal can never be achieved until its deadline (exhaustion) Competition may be used as a catalyst to speed up the rate of achievement, but it ay result in hindered goal accomplishment. Shortage of time may lead workers to apply un systematic methods, being unable to obtain goals ethically or effectively. Paragraph 5 (So how do we use Goal-setting to its maximum capacity? Briefly explain how goal setting is commonly used within organizations Give examples of real life goal orientated organizations and individuals Carefully design timeliness back up plans Paragraph 6 (conclusion) Reintroduce the topic question Summaries each paragraphs What is goal setting? Why do we use goal setting Benefits and downsides How do we use goal setting to its maximum capacity Diaries Plan Week 4 – Starting 18th August Research and collect any available articles about goal-setting using cholesterol, encroach, protest, then start reading Gather brief information on each articles Start writing down basic format of assignment 1 learn how to reference using Harvard or PAPA style referencing Start writing up assignment 1 Week 5 – Starting 25th August Finish with assignment 1 Assignment 1 due on 27th of August Complete full /detailed research from collected resources Week 6 – Starting 3rd SeptemberCollect information for first and second paragraph with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – What is Goal-setting? , and why do we use it Have a basic format of how the introduction and second paragraphs will be written Final write up will be conducted later on after collecting all the necessary information Week 7 – Starting 9th September Collect information for paragraph 3 and 4 with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – Benefits and Downsides Have a basic format/written guide of how the third and fourth paragraphs will be written Week 8 – Starting 16th September Collect information for paragraph 5 with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – How do we use it to maximize its use?Have a basic format/written guide of how the fifth paragraph will be written Start assignment 2 Complete all of the body paragraphs up to the conclusion Start and complete the conclusion Start an d complete the referencing Allow peer review for independent perspectives or for checking grammatical errors Study Break – Starting 1st October Final proof reading of assignment 2 by yourself week 10 – ASSIGNMENT TWO DUE on 7th October Hand in essay via Nipping website before 4:pm Annotated bibliography Lethal, GAP 2004, ‘The motivational benefits of goal setting, Academy of Management Executive, Volvo. 18, no. 4, up. 126-129. The article a researched based on motivation, self- regulation and task management. This research is based on a hypothesis that people who assign tasks for themselves, or have their own set of goals to achieve by certain deadlines would generally outperform those who are assigned tasks by their bosses. In the end however, the researchers discovered that regardless of how the tasks were assigned to a person, the level of commitment was on par.However, people with different traits and personalities might show a great difference of performance quality when a task is assigned to them rather than giving them the freedom of setting their own tasks. Other studies relating to this research were further conducted, and one of them showed that if the difficulty of the task was unchanged, the level of performance was also constant regardless of being assigned to or self-regulated. Although I agree with the author, I disagree with some parts of the article since the level of performance will not stay constant when the difficulty rises. Due to some loss in motivation after being faced with a goal that they know they could never achieve in, some people would rather under achieve than to be disappointed in their results.Locke, EAI & Lethal, GAP 2006, ‘New Directions in Goal Setting Theory, A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Volvo. 15, no. 5, up. 265-268 The article is about a relationship between goal-setting and task performance during a 25 year period, based on 400 laboratory and field studies. The method of research involved arranging participants into groups of different level of tasks. For example the American Pulpwood Association experimented on their uneducated, unskilled laborers to see if setting a goal would increase their productivity. Tight deadlines soon lead to a rapid increase in work pace and set goals also motivated the workers to discover the knowledge needed to obtain greater goals.The research illustrated how motivation can be measured from different levels of realistic goals when compared with the level of motivation of having loose deadlines. The data collected higher task performance, whereas easy, vague, and unrealistic goals lead to a decline in and task performance. I agree with this article as having a set goal that is realistic boosts moral and motivation to increase anyone's work performance. Kim, Hammer, Jay S, W. Clay, 1976. Journal of Applied Psychology. Effect of Performance Feedback and Goal Setting on Productivity and Satisfaction in an Organizationa l Setting, 61 , 48-57. The article illustrates how a combination of feedback and goal settings significantly increased the work performance.The research was conducted in four separate plants with service type Jobs, with the majority of the participants whom were blue-collar, and the rest of them being women. Three objective reference measures were accounted for (cost performance, absenteeism, and safety). The results clearly indicate that a combination of goal setting and feedback is far superior to goal setting alone on the cost and safety measures of performance. However, a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic feedbacks would maximize the full capacity of a person's performance level. In my opinion, this article is very accurate since it can be applied to any gender and age. Constructive feedbacks that are both intrinsic and extrinsic is crucial for students to learn where they went wrong in order to perform better in upcoming tasks. Management organisational behaviour Question: Goal-setting Is widely used In management practice, but is goal-setting all pros and no cons? Discuss both the benefits and the possible downside, or â€Å"darkled† of goal- setting. Introduction Introduce the topic and briefly describe what goal setting is in your own words. Define how we're going to apply goal-setting in the context of an organization Briefly discuss the pros and cons of goal-setting Discuss my point of view- what are the most efficient methods of goal-settings and how can they be applied to an organization or an Individual. Paragraph 1 (What is goal setting? In detail, explain what goal-setting is and define Edwin A.Locker's Goal-setting theory Discuss what factors influence goal setting (E. G Specific, realistic goals work best) Evaluate on how organizations and individuals apply goal-settings Paragraph 2 ( why do we use It? ) Motivation Help you to visualize and plan actions to achieve what you want then carry it out Paragraph 3 (Benefits/Pros) Begin the paragraph with how goal-setting is beneficial as a topic sentence Create a list of key benefits that can be applied to organizations and individuals Gives a path o you know exactly where you are going and what you need to do to get there without procrastinating.Timeliness that consists of smaller milestones, so that it makes the larger goal seem more achievable Set milestones will force you to set prolepses, hence preventing you from getting distracted Organization Goals could be achieved faster and more effectively when it is being broken down into smaller goals and collaborated in a team Obtaining smaller and more frequent milestones will give a sense of achievement that motivates the organization When an organization is working with a client smaller goals allows the client to be always aware of the organizations progress towards the final goal providing a sense of security Individuals Makes you aware of your own strengths and weaknesses Keeps you focused Makes you respo nsible for your own success or failures Improve your self-image Limits your stress Paragraph 4 ( Negatives ) Begin the paragraph with discussing the downsides of goal-setting Create a list of key downsides that can be implied to organizations and individuals Creates a fear of losing ( being criticized) High speed performance may trigger inaccuracy, and lack of details when reaching the final goal.Higher accuracy could be acquired but it happens at a much slower rate, due to focus on improving quality. Organization in goals. Method of achieving that milestone may be different for each individual when it is crucial to work diligently as a team Individual Intense amount of workload may denominate a person into procrastinating once he or she believes that their goal can never be achieved until its deadline (exhaustion) Competition may be used as a catalyst to speed up the rate of achievement, but it ay result in hindered goal accomplishment. Shortage of time may lead workers to apply un systematic methods, being unable to obtain goals ethically or effectively. Paragraph 5 (So how do we use Goal-setting to its maximum capacity? Briefly explain how goal setting is commonly used within organizations Give examples of real life goal orientated organizations and individuals Carefully design timeliness back up plans Paragraph 6 (conclusion) Reintroduce the topic question Summaries each paragraphs What is goal setting? Why do we use goal setting Benefits and downsides How do we use goal setting to its maximum capacity Diaries Plan Week 4 – Starting 18th August Research and collect any available articles about goal-setting using cholesterol, encroach, protest, then start reading Gather brief information on each articles Start writing down basic format of assignment 1 learn how to reference using Harvard or PAPA style referencing Start writing up assignment 1 Week 5 – Starting 25th August Finish with assignment 1 Assignment 1 due on 27th of August Complete full /detailed research from collected resources Week 6 – Starting 3rd SeptemberCollect information for first and second paragraph with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – What is Goal-setting? , and why do we use it Have a basic format of how the introduction and second paragraphs will be written Final write up will be conducted later on after collecting all the necessary information Week 7 – Starting 9th September Collect information for paragraph 3 and 4 with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – Benefits and Downsides Have a basic format/written guide of how the third and fourth paragraphs will be written Week 8 – Starting 16th September Collect information for paragraph 5 with Cholesterol, Encroach, and protest – How do we use it to maximize its use?Have a basic format/written guide of how the fifth paragraph will be written Start assignment 2 Complete all of the body paragraphs up to the conclusion Start and complete the conclusion Start an d complete the referencing Allow peer review for independent perspectives or for checking grammatical errors Study Break – Starting 1st October Final proof reading of assignment 2 by yourself week 10 – ASSIGNMENT TWO DUE on 7th October Hand in essay via Nipping website before 4:pm Annotated bibliography Lethal, GAP 2004, ‘The motivational benefits of goal setting, Academy of Management Executive, Volvo. 18, no. 4, up. 126-129. The article a researched based on motivation, self- regulation and task management. This research is based on a hypothesis that people who assign tasks for themselves, or have their own set of goals to achieve by certain deadlines would generally outperform those who are assigned tasks by their bosses. In the end however, the researchers discovered that regardless of how the tasks were assigned to a person, the level of commitment was on par.However, people with different traits and personalities might show a great difference of performance quality when a task is assigned to them rather than giving them the freedom of setting their own tasks. Other studies relating to this research were further conducted, and one of them showed that if the difficulty of the task was unchanged, the level of performance was also constant regardless of being assigned to or self-regulated. Although I agree with the author, I disagree with some parts of the article since the level of performance will not stay constant when the difficulty rises. Due to some loss in motivation after being faced with a goal that they know they could never achieve in, some people would rather under achieve than to be disappointed in their results.Locke, EAI & Lethal, GAP 2006, ‘New Directions in Goal Setting Theory, A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Volvo. 15, no. 5, up. 265-268 The article is about a relationship between goal-setting and task performance during a 25 year period, based on 400 laboratory and field studies. The method of research involved arranging participants into groups of different level of tasks. For example the American Pulpwood Association experimented on their uneducated, unskilled laborers to see if setting a goal would increase their productivity. Tight deadlines soon lead to a rapid increase in work pace and set goals also motivated the workers to discover the knowledge needed to obtain greater goals.The research illustrated how motivation can be measured from different levels of realistic goals when compared with the level of motivation of having loose deadlines. The data collected higher task performance, whereas easy, vague, and unrealistic goals lead to a decline in and task performance. I agree with this article as having a set goal that is realistic boosts moral and motivation to increase anyone's work performance. Kim, Hammer, Jay S, W. Clay, 1976. Journal of Applied Psychology. Effect of Performance Feedback and Goal Setting on Productivity and Satisfaction in an Organizationa l Setting, 61 , 48-57. The article illustrates how a combination of feedback and goal settings significantly increased the work performance.The research was conducted in four separate plants with service type Jobs, with the majority of the participants whom were blue-collar, and the rest of them being women. Three objective reference measures were accounted for (cost performance, absenteeism, and safety). The results clearly indicate that a combination of goal setting and feedback is far superior to goal setting alone on the cost and safety measures of performance. However, a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic feedbacks would maximize the full capacity of a person's performance level. In my opinion, this article is very accurate since it can be applied to any gender and age. Constructive feedbacks that are both intrinsic and extrinsic is crucial for students to learn where they went wrong in order to perform better in upcoming tasks.

Red Skelton essays

Red Skelton essays We know him as Freddy the Freeloader, Clem Kaddidlehopper, Cauliflower McPugg and Dead Eye. His career spanned over fifty years and he conquered every entertainment medium from vaudeville to television. He is Red Skelton, whos remarkable skill to evoke emotional responses from laughter to tears from his audiences have marked him as one of the greatest and best loved comedians. In his biography of this great comedian, Arthur Marx captured the many and diverse aspects of Red Skelton. While he was a comedic clown on the outside, like many other comedians, Skeltons home life was anything but funny. Marx illustrates how Skeltons private life was full of tragedy, including the death of his only son from leukemia, the suicide of his wife, and his own near mental collapse. Marx says that through much of his life, Skelton was an unhappy and tormented individual, a sad and lonely man who trusted practically no one and who was as unreachable as a distant star. Skelton was the son of a circus clown was raised in poverty, he quit school at the age of seven and trouped in circuses, carnivals, and vaudeville theaters. Marx points out that his career began in his hometown of nearby Vincennes, Indiana. At age 10, he left his home to travel with a medicine show throughout the Midwest. He joined the vaudeville circus at age 15. Then at the young age of 17, Skelton married Edna Marie Stilwell, who later, even after their divorce, served as his manager and chief writer. Continuing the story of Skeltons career, Marx points out that Skelton made his debut on Broadway and radio in 1937 and on film in 1938 on the show Having Wonderful Time. At that time, known as Richard Skelton, he performed some of his own pieces such as a demonstration of how different people walk up and down stairs. That appearance, Marx says, may have been Skeltons big break. He was signed by MGM in 1940 to serve as comedy re ...

Free Essays on Stalking

Stalking doesn’t stop alone Many people know the characteristics of a stalker, but a lot of people don’t know how to deal with a stalker. Some of the solutions for a stalking situation not to become fatal are to know the facts about stalking; they can be helpful. You should also know the profile of a stalker. The last thing you need to do is take proper precautions when dealing with a stalker. Every year 1.4 Americans are stalked. Eight percent of women and two percent of men have been stalked at some point in their lives. Most of the cases lasted less then one year, but some of them continued beyond five years. For female victims, twenty-one percent of stalkers were strangers. Eighty-seven percent of the stalkers are males. The victims range between the ages of 18 and 29. 45% of the victims were threatened. 75% percent of the victims were followed. Only half of stalking victims file police reports. And 25% percent of the victims obtained restraining orders, but the stalker violated 80% percent of these. Only 24% of female victims prosecute and only 54% of the stalkers are convicted. All of the facts used were from the victim advocacy center website. The profile of a stalker is very important to know in case you’re ever in a stalking situation. Sometimes the stalker is a prior intimate partner; yet often they only desire a relationship with the victim who was an acquaintance, co-worker etc. The stalker often fantasizes about their victims. The fantasies can be love oriented or angry and vengeful. Many stalkers have failed relationships and have difficulty communicating directly with people. They fear rejection. Many stalkers are very intelligent and have no trouble of staying away from the law. Most stalkers are motivated by a belief that their victim is the only one they will ever â€Å"love,† or desire of revenge for someone that has wronged them. Being stalked is not the victim’s fault, but the... Free Essays on Stalking Free Essays on Stalking Stalking doesn’t stop alone Many people know the characteristics of a stalker, but a lot of people don’t know how to deal with a stalker. Some of the solutions for a stalking situation not to become fatal are to know the facts about stalking; they can be helpful. You should also know the profile of a stalker. The last thing you need to do is take proper precautions when dealing with a stalker. Every year 1.4 Americans are stalked. Eight percent of women and two percent of men have been stalked at some point in their lives. Most of the cases lasted less then one year, but some of them continued beyond five years. For female victims, twenty-one percent of stalkers were strangers. Eighty-seven percent of the stalkers are males. The victims range between the ages of 18 and 29. 45% of the victims were threatened. 75% percent of the victims were followed. Only half of stalking victims file police reports. And 25% percent of the victims obtained restraining orders, but the stalker violated 80% percent of these. Only 24% of female victims prosecute and only 54% of the stalkers are convicted. All of the facts used were from the victim advocacy center website. The profile of a stalker is very important to know in case you’re ever in a stalking situation. Sometimes the stalker is a prior intimate partner; yet often they only desire a relationship with the victim who was an acquaintance, co-worker etc. The stalker often fantasizes about their victims. The fantasies can be love oriented or angry and vengeful. Many stalkers have failed relationships and have difficulty communicating directly with people. They fear rejection. Many stalkers are very intelligent and have no trouble of staying away from the law. Most stalkers are motivated by a belief that their victim is the only one they will ever â€Å"love,† or desire of revenge for someone that has wronged them. Being stalked is not the victim’s fault, but the...

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Art - Essay Example The roofs of churches were vaulted and supported by thick stone walls, rounded arches and massive pillars. The creation of large churches during the Romanesque period was propagated by the strong devotion to Christianity and the church. There was a common belief among the Christians that the world was going to end a thousand years after Christ’s birth. This made people to have more commitment and devotion to church and so the churches had to be increased in size so that they could accommodate the large masses. The increase in size was also caused by political and cultural reasons. Flying buttresses is a masonry structure which typically consists of an inclined bar on an arch that extends from the top part of the wall to the pier which is some distance from the wall. Its main function is to carry the thrust of the vault. The pier is often crowned by a pinnacle which adds weight and enhances stability. The buttresses evolved during the gothic era as they allowed the building of high ceilinged churches (Kleiner 267). This changed the Notre-dame in Paris church architecture in general; it made the churches to have high vaults as they were strongly supported by the buttresses and pinnacles. They made churches to be bigger with high

Life in the U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Life in the U.S - Essay Example Despite the current law enforcement strategies and awareness programs, the issue has turned to be a serious behavioral problem among adolescents. As per the findings of Holm et al (27), 80% of all smokers in the United States begin smoking even before the age of 18. With increased threat to health and personal integrity, the prohibition of teenage smoking has become the most essential legal concern. In the United States, there is no unified regulation on this issue and the minimum age restriction varies from state to state. Although ‘18’ is generally accepted as the minimum age, the decision is subjected to the discretion of states. According to the statistics of National Cancer Institute, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. The illness includes cancers of the throat, mouth, nasal cavity, stomach, kidney etc. The study also says that â€Å"smokers are six times more likely to suffer heart attack than non-smokers† and ‘in 2009 around 20.6 percent of U.S. adults were cigarette smokers’ (National Cancer Institute). Works Cited Holm, Nancy. Holm, Jeffrey et al. â€Å"Youth Tobacco Use Prevention Programs†. Adolescent Smoking and Health Research (Ed. Lapointe, Martin). US: Nova Publishers, 2008. Print. â€Å"Smoking†.

Disseminating Evidence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disseminating Evidence - Assignment Example The strategies that will be used to disseminate this evidence include reports, workshops, emails, newsletters, workshops, websites, conferences, and press release (Gerrish, & Lacey, 2006). Each of the methods of disseminating evidence is suitable to a certain group of stakeholders. For example, conferences, websites, and press releases are the best strategies of informing the community about the results of the project (Holland, & Rees, 2010). This is because these methods are affordable to the members of the society. The youth and those who are conversant with the internet will get information from the website of the organization while those who have televisions and radios will watch the press release statement on these media. The project managers will also organize workshops that will aim at informing the community about the results of the plan. These workshops will encourage the members of the society to take corrective measures to protect themselves against the obesity stigma (Krisberg, 2014). The internal staff members of the company who include the nurses, clinicians, and managers will be informed about the evidence of the project using emails, workshops, newsletters, and reports. The reports will be used mainly to inform the managers and other key stakeholders who are involved in the management of the organization. The reports will consist of the objectives of the plan, the strategies used, and the results obtained (Burns, & Grove, 2009). This will enable these leaders to take corrective measures in ensuring that their staff members and the community surrounding the company get the right information about how they may protect themselves from gaining overweight. The nurses and other staff members who help in providing services in the organization, on the other hand, will be informed about the results of the project through

Two Weeks Notice Essay Example for Free

Two Weeks Notice Essay Two weeks notice Bullock plays Lucy Kelson, a committed left-wing attorney with an immaculate Ivy League background who fights the good fight against the heartless developers of lower Manhattan and the outer boroughs. Complications ensue when she finds herself working for one such figure, George Wade (Grant) in exchange for his preserving a Coney Island landmark near her childhood home. Wades not a bad guy, but hes frightfully dependent on Lucy for everything. When it seems possible she might at last get clear of him, she begins to have second thoughts about letting him go. The Movie Two Weeks Notice stares Saundra Bullock and Hugh Grant premiered in December of 2002. The movie follows a mix match relationship between a strong willed, save the community lawyer named Lucy Kelson, played by Sandra Bullock, and a high status business man, George Wade, played by Hugh Grant. The two in the beginning seem completely different but when Lucy goes to work for George, to keep him from knocking down the neighborhood community center, she realizes how needy he was, and how much she couldnt stand it. When Lucy gives George two weeks notice, George realizes that she is an asset to his company. After much arguing she finally gets out and then they both realize that theyve fallen in love with each other. Since they were too stubborn to admit it, it took a huge argument in the employee lounge to get them to let their guards down. Writer and first time Director, Marc Lawrences Two Weeks Notice is a charming, smart, and genuinely funny romantic comedy with terrific performances by Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. This a great movie. Inherent in romantic comedies is a degree of predictibility. Two Weeks Notice follows formula, but Lawrence orchestrates enough curves, character insight, and human resonance to make it more than just formula. He also has the great chemistry of Bullock and Grant this is their medium. Sandra Bullock plays Lucy Kelson, a Harvard educated activist lawyer, who is hired by George Wade (Hugh Grant)a handsome, charming, and seemingly shallow multi-millionaire develo per. George hires Lucy as chief legal counsel for Wade Corp. , for $250 K, because his brother Howard (David Haig), the true captain of Wade Corp. requested George hire an attorney who did not attend Bimbo U. Lucy swallows her idealism and poverty, because George also promises to protect her parents community center. Lucy is smart and not intentionally funny, and soon becomes Georges right and left arm he cant to anything without her consult. This only amplifies that Lucy has no life or rather any relationships of merit other than with George. Lucy gives George her Two Weeks Notice. Credit Lawrence and company, when George finally accepts Lucys resignation, it is crystal regarding the unspoken relationship of the two. Wink. Wink. Two Weeks never insults our intelligence, however, it makes us await for an hour and a half. Along with wit and humor Lawrence, Bullock, and Grant provide a a very human touch that resonates throughout the movie. In a very well done scene on the rooftop of Lucys parents New York apartment, Lucy shares with George that she never lived upto her mothers expectations. George says that is different from people having no expectations. This is where movie transforms beyond the opposites attract story. It makes sense of Lucys need to be perfect, and the man that George could be that he is well aware of. In its own light hearted way, Two Weeks looks at where you sell out, where do you become a whore (but in a nice way), and where do you take a stand. And taking a stand is never easy even in a romantic comedy, though it sometimes takes longer. Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant are magic together. They are both smart and their characters are also. Grant as George is charming, witty, and playing someone who has honor and substance that are dimissed by all except Lucy (Bullock). Grant is masterful at hinting at a depth of character. Sandra Bullock is beautiful, smart, and funny as Lucy. She also stretches herself when Lucy drunkenly braggs about her sexual prowess bobcat pretsel thing. Bullock lends compassion and a whacky sensibilty to Lucy who scares men off by being too smart and too perfect, but still not good enough for her mother. Her Lucy only gets a clue when she hires her replacement (a good Alicia Witt) she is in love with George. The exchanges between Grant and Bullock are so natural like conversation, spoken and unspoken. At one point in the movie, Lucy has a breakfast conversation with her Dad (a goofy and wise Robert Klein). She asks him What if people dont change? The point is they will or they dont. Kind of like loving someone is accepting them for who they are and for who they are not. Be open to surprises. Marc Lawrences Two Weeks Notice is an excellent surprise. He along with Bullock and Grant have made a classic romantic comedy and more. Hugh Grant plays George Wade, a property developer who hires Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) as his Chief Counsel. Sick of calls in the middle of the night and appalled at being called away from a wedding just to help her boss decide what to wear for a particular occasion, Lucy gives George two weeks notice. ‘Two Weeks Notice is little more than a predictable romantic comedy and it is only a matter of time before George and Lucy realise that they have fallen for each other. How the film turns out is obvious, but this will not spoil your enjoyment of it. Sandra Bullock fails to convince as a successful lawyer and businesswoman but she is able to convey a vulnerability which makes the audience warm to her. Like her character in ‘While You Were Sleeping, Lucy is a lonely individual. When she is at home she comfort eats Chinese food, always ordering just for one. There are also no surprises with Hugh Grants character as he is much the same as any of his other romantic roles i. e. very likeable and charming. The film succeeds purely because of the actors likeability and the on-screen chemistry between Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock who are both gifted comedic actors. There are also enough good lines and funny situations to keep you chuckling throughout