The Library Organisational Project Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Library Organisational Project - Case Study Example Different data-gathering methods were used, such as conducting interviews, distributing questionnaires and searching information from various sources, to gather as much information as the project requires. Team members were assigned to conduct interviews with each senior manager. I was responsible for interviewing Mr. Antony Brewerton, Head of Academic Support. Initially, I asked Mr. Brewerton to fill out questionnaires with the intention to analyse his perspective against his employee's perspective. Afterwards, I proceeded to interview him on leadership and management so as to analyse his leadership style and how he manages his department. Organisational Diagnosis Questionnaire (ODQ) designed by Robert Preziosi (1980) was used and the questionnaires were distributed to cover the five departments in the library. Using this questionnaire, a variety of dimensions of an organisation could be studied-such as purpose, structure, leadership, relationships, rewards, helpful mechanisms and attitude toward change. The questionnaire was used the in the analysis because of its benefits, as enumerated below- With the data gathered from the questionnaires, I conducted the qualitative analysis. ... b) Questionnaires: Organisational Diagnosis Questionnaire (ODQ) designed by Robert Preziosi (1980) was used and the questionnaires were distributed to cover the five departments in the library. Using this questionnaire, a variety of dimensions of an organisation could be studied-such as purpose, structure, leadership, relationships, rewards, helpful mechanisms and attitude toward change. The questionnaire was used the in the analysis because of its benefits, as enumerated below- Relatively easy to analyse, People familiar with the questionnaire, A large sample of the given population can be conducted, Information is collected in a standardised way, The questionnaires can be used for sensitive topics, which users may feel uncomfortable speaking about to an interviewer, and Respondents have time to think about their answers because they are not usually required to reply immediately. After finishing the interview with Mr. Brewerton, I asked for his cooperation to distribute the questionnaires among his staff through emails and to kindly forward the responses to me. c) Various sources: To get acquaintance with the organisation, I searched the information from different sources such as library websites, articles and documents provided by the Librarian. 2. Data Analysis The findings were divided into two categories, which are qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis- a) Qualitative analysis With the data gathered from the questionnaires, I conducted the qualitative analysis. The ODQ questionnaires were grouped under the seven dimensions and I calculated the average ranking for each of the dimensions. I plotted graphs in MS

Successful Music Publication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Successful Music Publication - Essay Example The keys to be successful in this venture is by analyzing different aspects of how the publication will possibly survive in competition such as this one. The competition among music publications is undoubtedly very tight, and even more imposing is the fact that so many publications have already held their ground and established their names as household names, benchmarks in the industry, namely the KERRANG, SNIFFING and NME, all of which have made names for themselves in the 1980's. It is sheer impossibility to surpass the name established by those popular magazine, it is even more difficult to get even closer, but what should be kept in mind is that is not the goal that should be hurriedly achieved. What should be the first in considerations is how to turn the heads of music blokes, along with their curiosities. Until now, KERRANG, NME and SNIFFING are still enjoying relative popularity like their other counterparts. As the researcher had earlier done, having visited the websites of the aforementioned music publications, the three of them possess almost all of the same qualities that contribute to their existence after decades. Their w Their websites are all very eye-catching, all of them are attention-grabbers because of the loud colors and enticing headlines they possess. NME, KERRANG and SNIFFING all give a chance of publicity to new artists, and yet they never neglect the great artists of yesterday along with their immortal hits. An example is the front webpage of NME dated May 12, 2007, posted is the black and white picture of the Beatles, and yet they have links to news concerning artists of this generation. That is a vivid example of how they prioritize their readership. Another aspect they share is they all have the opinion section, for the readers and website browsers to post their opinions regarding anything, about music, the magazine or the website itself, or even their suggestions. The posting of these suggestions on their sites and their print magazines is a surefire way to establish a personal relationship with the readers, making them feel that they are of utmost priority. In the aspect of the news, without the evidence of reading every issue of these magazines and their websites, the researcher noticed that their news is very well-written, especially the headlines. But they are in no way offensive to the readers and they are not even showing a hint of bias towards their posting of news. This is the proof that all music publications should by all means be honest about news, they should give sheer priority to the delivery of accurate statistics, and in-depth and yet impartial analysis of music news around the world. These three music publications have their own style and originality, shown by their mere taglines. NME has the tagline "First for Music News," while for KERRANG, it is "the world's biggest-selling weekly rock magazine." The taglines are proofs of their originality. They are still enjoying success because of the things that they have done and still doing up until today. Task 2 - Chosen Music Genre I choose pop music. Why Because virtually all music lovers are indulged in this genre, all ages,

Leadership in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership in Nursing - Essay Example Hence the nursing needs for the elderly have become an issue of growing concern in Hong Kong. Traditionally, the care of the sick is considered to be the moral duty of their family members among the Chinese. Hence, being cared for by nurses, who are strangers, "places the Chinese people in somewhat of a paradoxical situation" (Pang et al., cited in Smith & Tang 2004, p.18). Therefore, the success of nursing care depends also on the nurse's ability to act as a surrogate family member. With increasing health issues of the elderly and their near-total dependence on healthcare facilities, private nursing homes are increasing in demand for the confinement of the elderly with deteriorating health issues like cerebrovascular accidents, fractures such as hip fractures, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive airways disease, dementia, parkinsonism, etc. The government has funded three forms of residential care, with the aged homes providing assistance with activities of daily living, C&A homes providing personal attention and some nursing care, and infirmaries providing more intensive nursing care with medical supervision (Bartlett & Phillips 1995, p.238). Though several measures have been undertaken to increase the number of residential care homes, the availability of such care homes unfortunately still fall short of demand. This places increasing responsibility on the available nursing care personnel. According to a study done by Leung et al... Though several measures have been undertaken to increase the number of residential care homes, the availability of such care homes unfortunately still fall short of demand. This places increasing responsibility on the available nursing care personnel. According to a study done by Leung et al. (2000, p.65) from a random sample of private nursing homes in Hong Kong East region, increasing number of bedridden or chairbound patients, increasing dependency for basic activities of daily living, increasing problems of incontinence of bowel and/or bladder, increasing use of supporting devices, aggravating problems of bedsore, etc. lead to more hospitalizations and specialist out-patient clinic visits. Unfortunately the incidences of re-hospitalizations of these patients with recurrences of the same disease conditions have been gaining in frequency recently. "Frail elderly patients are shuffled back and forth between acute care, non-acute care, old age homes and the community" (Derrick 1998, p.1). This situation calls for a highly efficient and totally effective nursing care system. This report studies the scenario in a private nursing home in Hong Kong. The scenario is analysed for the effectiveness of the nursing care rendered by the present nursing team, its leadership style, and its advantages and disadvantages. Also studied are the different leadership styles and concepts that are applicable to this context. New strategies for improving the situation are developed, and appropriate leadership skills are recommended that suit these strategies. 2. Context I work as intern in a nursing team handling 100 inhabitants of a private nursing home in Hong Kong. The average age of the group is

Combined Cycle Power Plant Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Combined Cycle Power Plant - Case Study Example We examine Navasota's current position in the Texas energy market place to describe the environment in which the company is developing, the strengths and weaknesses and financial characteristics of such a company. We then propose different possibilities for a strategy for Navasota in the future and extend our analysis to see what leadership and rewards might need to be available for Navasota employees, executive or other, to make this happen. When considering the total amount of energy used in the United States, 22% of it corresponds to natural gas. Natural gas is used to produce heat, steam and electrical power generation, with use ranging from commercial and residential sectors, to industrial processes. At the moment, 15% of utility and non-utility power is produced from natural gas. Projections show that in the US as a whole 33% of the electricity generated in 2020 will be from natural gas-fired power plants (Spath & Mann, 2000). However although this is figure that may be true on average for the whole country, individual states, as we will see later, may have different objectives. Navasota runs two natural gas combined cycle facilities in Texas, one in Wharton and the other in Odessa. The term "combined cycle" refers to the method used to improve the efficiency of electricity generation. ... An independent study on gas-fired generators found that CO2 accounts for 99 wt% of all air emissions. Methane is emitted in the next highest quantity, 74% of which are fugitive emissions from natural gas production and distribution (Spath & Mann, 2000). In Texas in particular however, the historical activity of oil and gas production is decreasing. The state is gradually turning its attention to sustainable, "green" energy sources. It cites the drivers for this shift in emphasis as being peak oil and gas prices, climate change, technological change and economic development issues (Texas State, 2008). Currently gas with its 4253 trillion BTUs is second only to oil in terms of the quantity of energy generated in the primary energy category for Texas. Conscious of the environmental consequences, mindful of the falling intra-state production of gas and looking for ways to contain and reduce energy expenditure, the state has identified biomass and bio-fuels, wind, solar and geothermal energy sources as candidates to replace oil and gas generation of energy, together with a further source of (electrolytic) hydrogen (State of Texas, 2008). It is this thinking that leads the state of Texas to define green buildings, wind power generators, hydrogen, advanced solar, hydrogen re-powering, transportation unification and tele-transportation as the new vectors of energy generation and energy economy to be followed. The proposed Texas State energy strategy is then defined as the re-establishment of energy independence for Texas, the development of new, renewable energy, strengthening of the rural and domestic sectors as energy generators (notably from solar energy) and

Interviewing Sales Professionals assignment (15%) Essay

Interviewing Sales Professionals assignment (15%) - Essay Example The hotel is rated four-star, with comfortable guest rooms and dining facilities; a conference centre; entertainment centre; and a health and wellness centre. Services include all the standard services for luxury four-star hotels, from laundry and room service, to satellite television and broadband. These services are available in deluxe rooms, executive deluxe suites, business suites and super-large deluxe suites. Maggie sells to groups focusing on business, conferences, wellness tours, and tourism. Impressions of the Interviewee Nonverbal techniques Maggie uses very clear nonverbal techniques to make the person she is speaking to comfortable. Her greeting is formal, and her voice pitched low and smooth. Confidence in what she is saying is expressed both in her voice and in the relaxed, attentive posture she maintains when listening or speaking. After the formality of the greeting, her expression is friendly and receptive, with eye-contact maintained. Her body directly faces the per son she is speaking to, leaning slightly forward, and she maintains a slightly lower level of contact, seeming to look upward at the other party. She keeps her hands and arms relaxed, using some gestures to emphasize what she is saying in very controlled ways. When she listens, she slightly tilts her head, looking interested, and does not interrupt. It seemed throughout the interview, and sales presentations, that she has only one focus – the person/people she is interacting with. Appearance and demeanor In appearance, Maggie Chen is very well-groomed. She wears the dark-colored corporate uniform of the hotel chain. A friendly and approachable personality is evident. She reacts to questions in a thoughtful, confident way, thinking for a moment before answering in detail. The Presentation The sales presentation I attended was to a large chain of travel agencies, specializing in business conference organization for USA and Chinese companies. They were looking for hotels across China in which to stage conferences and business meetings for up to 100 delegates at a time, and ranging from 3 day to 10 day events, over the next 18 months. Their business would allow Ms. Chen to come close to achieving her targets for the year, as she would be able to report advance room bookings at approximately 30% of occupancy – half of what she was aiming for. A PowerPoint presentation had been prepared, and Maggie had thoroughly worked through the presentation. We arrived at the venue in the hotel 15 minutes before the representatives of the travel company were set to arrive, and all the technical aspects had been checked. Refreshments were laid out and the exact number of places had been arranged at the table. When the representatives arrived each was greeted in turn, from the most senior to the least senior and I realized that Maggie had researched the people and the company well enough to know all the details about them. Her PowerPoint presentation really just gave an overview of the hotel and what it has to offer in pictures and with music. It was the commentary by Maggie that identified the possible packages that could be put together to meet the exact needs of the travel agency and their planned conferences and meetings. She had also prepared a glossy handout, listing 4 options for the room bookings, and the

Final Gay Marriage Essay Example for Free

Final Gay Marriage Essay Gay marriage should be legal because as woman and man, all individuals have the same right in society; because same-sex couples can constitute a good based family; because it is just a way to make official a common union nowadays, even with the religious issue; because it is not related to polygamy; and because love matters and it does not differ in nature according to the sex of its object or the person who experiences it. The first reason why same sex marriage should be legal is because it is fair for all individuals to have the same rights in society. With the end of sodomy laws, a recent decision of the U.  S. Supreme Court, conservatives have lost their last excuse to write off gay lives and love as unworthy of social accommodation. But whatever ones feel about the reasoning of the decision, its results is clear: gay Americans are no longer criminals. Even if they were, as murderers on death row that have the constitutional right to marriage, they should have too. Marriage is a very sacred arrangement. It is a lifetime commitment said to be only between man and woman. These two people should love or be in love with each other. Over the years homosexuality has come to the forefront. The question of should homosexuals be allowed to marry each other has had the world in an uproar. Homosexuals, indeed should be able to marry each other with the same benefits as man and woman. Homosexual marriages was made legal for the first time in 2001 by the Netherlands. Canada was the first country to marry Homosexual couples from all nations to formally commit. Extending recognition to non traditional relationships is not an attempt to undermine the family. But rather an effort to recognize today’s realities and to end decimation. Legalizing gay marriages help change and help the lives of so many struggling gay teens. It will reduce depression in gay teens and children. It will give children and teens hope knowing that its okay to marry someone of the same sex. The majority of teenage suicides today are being committed because the child was bullied in school as a result of his/her sexual orientation. The same acceptance that will come about due to legalizing gay marriage will show teens that homosexuality is accepted and respected in society. We need to explain to younger generations that being different (in any aspect of our lives) is not a social disability, so that they will never feel the need to take their own lives because they are gay. In Christianity, marriage is a life long commitment under god. It is well known to many Christians that practicing homosexuality is a major sin. How can a union, which is created for man and woman, under god, bond two partners of the same sex if it is stated in gods book that it is morally wrong? Homosexuals should be allowed to make a lifetime commitment to their partners, but it should be called something other than marriage and should not be under god. The biggest problem the gay population faces regarding legal marriage is the Christians. A true Christian doesnt want a married gay couple to have the same title as he and his wife have, because they take the vowel under god seriously. A firm believer would say that a gay marriage is absurd. Homosexuality goes against nature because we were given sexual organs for the purpose of reproduction, not for pleasure. It is believed that homosexuals will be forsaken for committing abominable acts and, through some misinterpretations, also deserve death. When gay pride walks are taking place, some Christians protest this in the name of Jesus. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the bible, is one filled with vivid pictures of the cities destruction mainly because of the overindulgence of homosexual freedom. Some Christians believe that can happen again and that the lord will show no mercy. Many diseases can be inherited through anal sex; some say this is a punishment sent from god for the injustice. Legalizing gay marriages will help increase the adoption rate. A lot of gay couples male or female also want to have children but have trouble conceiving. By legalizing gay marriage across all states, adoption agencies will be forced to grant the same respect and rights to homosexual couples. There are over 500,000 children currently living without parents in the United States; gay marriage will increase the chances for thousands of foster children to gain loving parents and families. Americans have negative beliefs about homosexuality. Same sex marriage is a particularly fruitful case for several reasons. Same sex marriages in the USA impinges on deeply held views about sexual morality, family religion and equal rights. A March 20–24 CBS News Poll shows that 53% of Americans support same-sex marriage, 39% oppose, and 8% are undecided. The same poll also finds that 33% of Americans who now think same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry say they once held the opposite view and have changed their opinion. Homosexuals should have the same privileges as heterosexuals. Need to be allowed not only to get married in any state they live in. According the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) June 27, 2011 here is a list of states that issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Hawaii was the first state to recognize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia. States that recognize same-sex marriage from other states are Rhode Island, New York, and Maryland. States that grant nearly all state-level spousal rights to unmarried couples (domestic partnerships) are California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington. Obtain insurance and benefits through their place of employment. They should be about to make decisions in hospitals for their spouse in case of emergency. States that provide some state level spousal rights to unmarried couples (domestic partnerships) are Hawaii, Maine, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. With all this being said, I feel you still can’t help you fall in love with whether it be heterosexual or homosexual. In today’s society your going to be judge on a lot of things you do so, I feel that if you care happy with yourself and your sexuality why shouldn’t you be able to express in out in the world. You are no different from anyone else, so you should be treated as a equal. Gay rights are human rights.

Is Social Class Still Relevant Sociology Essay

Is Social Class Still Relevant Sociology Essay Today it is very clear that social class is still relevant in our society, this is obvious because a number of social institutes are affected by the differences in class, whether its education, health or even occupation. We are constantly faced with the arguments about the social classes. Social class is in fact an open system meaning that it is possible to move up or down the social hierarchy, this is known as social mobility and can be achieved either by receiving a promotion- meaning you will go up a social class- or due to job loss- decreasing into a lower social class. Although this seems very simple, in the UK it is very hard to actually move from the middle class up to the upper class as there seems to be a high level of respect and loyalty that must be attained before entering such a high class. In this society is it notoriously difficult to define social class because of our ever changing employment system plus but there are a couple of different ways in which it can be measured these include: the register general scheme, the Goldthorpe scheme and the NS SEC 2000 scale. The register general scale measures social class by dividing people into six different major classes, ranging from professional in the first class to unskilled in the last class. This way of measuring class has its drawbacks, these include the fact that it only takes into account the occupation of an individual therefore it is not a clear distinction of what class someone must be in. Whichever scale is it used it is still extremely difficult to measure social class because of the changes in employment. In our society there have been a number of key changes that have occurred within the structure of social class. one being the reorganization of employment, since the 1970s there has been a large decline in heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining etc and also a decline in manufacturing industries which usually employed skilled males from the working class. However there has been a significant increase of 3 million service industries such as: finance, travel and leisure, therefore there has been an increase in non-manual middle class jobs and a decline in the amount of working class jobs. This follows onto the next change in the structure of social class because with the increase in service industries jobs, a vast amount of women have started to enter into employment therefore allowing women to achieve their own separate social class status instead of it being based on what there husband or fathers occupation is. Also this has forced sociologists studies on social class to examine the way in which female employment is part of the class structure and so women have been included in social mobility studies. Social class is a system of social stratification, a hierarchy that creates specific types of social inequalities. Social inequality refers to the existence of socially created inequalities such as: ownership of property, types of occupation that creates differences in wealth, income and power, whereas social stratification refers to the existence of distinct social groups. There are many argument about how class stratification should be explained, two of the theories that help explain class stratification are: the functionalist theory and the weberian theory. Functionalists see our society as a structured whole and believes that in order to obtain social order and stability, each social institute must perform a functional pre-requisite in order to work together; this is known as the biological analogy because it is referred to as each organ working together in the body to keep that person alive, this is the same for our society. If one social institute is not working properly for example, education or health then this could affect the way in which our society survives. According to Davis and Moore (1945) all of the inequalities that are evident in todays society are necessary and arise because of different roles and rewards that are given out, particularly in employment, therefore each society needs to have the most functionally important jobs filled such as: doctors, vets and accountants etc. These jobs require years and years of study and training to achieve, this guarantees that these jobs will be filled with only the smartest individuals whether they are part of the upper class or the lower class. The way in which these jobs are filled appropriately is that high rewards and large sums of money are offered for the years of practice that is done. The strengths of using this theory to explain social class are that it highlights the strong links between social class and the social structure, it also show how social class contributes to the maintenance of society as a whole The weaknesses of using this theory is that this theory is far too simplistic as it only uses the importance of jobs to explain social class which is not a true way to measure an individuals class. Also a weakness is that some people feel that functionalists do not have to right to decide which job is more important than the next for example Davis and Moore stated that the most important jobs where doctors etc, but some people may feel that a bin man or a school cleaners jobs is far more important to our society. However Weber agrees with Marx that a persons class situation cannot be determined by the ownership of the means of production but by the shared life chances that someone has or has been denied as a result of qualifications and possessions they have. Weber has divided social classes in multiple classes this means that there are different classes with different people in each class. Because of the important differences in our society, each group is defined by various skills and services that are offered from each occupation. Weber believed that while the society expands so will the number of different classes, especially the middle class, as it is easier to move up or down to this class that to move up to the upper class. The strengths of using this theory to explain social class are that it best describes social mobility and how each class is defined; it also accurately outlines the class situation as it is today, that more people will be entering the middle class whether they move up or down the social hierarchy. However the weaknesses are that Weber understates the importance of the economy when defining class, because he only uses the individuals skills and life chances which are not an accurate way to measure somebodys class. Social mobility refers to the ability that people have to move up or down the class structure; this can either be intergenerational or intragenerational. A family/individual can move up or down a social class simple by a change in there occupational status, whether they have been promoted or receive redundancy. Another way to move up the class system could be if you gained or one a large sum of money in the lottery. There are two studies that have been done that best explain social mobility. The first was the oxford mobility study by Goldthorpe et all in 1972. This study was based on the Weberian theory of stratification. This study was carried out by using only men between the ages of 20 64 years, the main findings of this study was that 2 out of 3 sons of unskilled or semi-skilled were in the manual occupation meaning that they followed after their fathers. They also found that only 4% of blue collar workers (service industry jobs) came from professional background and approximately 30% of professionals were from working class backgrounds, this could prove that people from a professional background will be more likely to receive a better education therefore aiming for higher paid jobs ( white collar jobs). It is evident from this study that downward mobility appeared to be declining, but more men from working class backgrounds were unemployed. In conclusion this study showed that long range and absolute mobility rates in the UK have increased however due to little change in the relative mobility there has been no significant increase in the openness of the UKs stratification system. The strengths of this study are that it backs up Webers ideas of social classes seen to be multiplying and becoming more open. The weaknesses are that the study only focuses on men and women therefore ignoring the work that is done by women in our ever increasing society. The second study was the Peter Saunders Unequal but fair? in 1996. This study was based on the functionalist theory of stratification. Conclusion In conclusion, it is very clear that social class is in fact relevant in todays society; this is shown by the results from the Westergaard and Restler (1976) Marxist theory study. This study argues that Britain will remain a capitalist society and with the persistence of class inequalities they will harden and it will make it exceptionally difficult to move between social classes, meaning that social class defiantly remains very important when explaining the social inequalities that we have today.