Group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal

Group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal Introduction An organization can be defined as a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal or objective. In the business environment various types of organization can be observed, i.e. profit making vs. non profit making, product based vs. service based, localized vs. international and etc. The goals and objectives of an organization would vary according to the type of organization. Since the capability of the organization depends on the ability or the performance of the individuals who works in an organization, ability of the employees can be enhanced through various factors and also through better structure and culture of the organization. For the purpose of this report the organizations which were selected are Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Nations Trust Bank can be considered as one of the fastest growing banks in Sri Lanka today. As a young and dynamic bank, it has immediate appeal for young and sophisticated professionals looking for a bank they can identify with. The bank has 40 branches, 9 leasing centers, 43 ATMs, 6 personal banking centers as well as Internet Banking. Considered to be one of the most customer-centric financial institutions today, Nations Trust Bank provides tailored services for contemporary lifestyles. Standard Chartered PLC is a British financial services company headquartered in London, England with operations in more than seventy countries. It operates a network of over 1,700 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures) and employs 80,000 people. Despite its British base, it has few customers in the United Kingdom and around 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Because the banks history is entwined with the development of the British Empire, its operations lie predominantly in former British colonies, though over the past two decades it has expanded into countries that have historically had little British influence. Organizational Structure and Culture The selected organizations, which are Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, belong to service sector organizations and provide a range of banking services. However, Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank can be categorized as national and multinational respectively; it was possible to arrive at the following conclusion after considering the geographic area in which these organizations operate. Nations Trust Bank can be considered as a localized, national bank as it only operates within Sri Lanka, whereas Standard Chartered Bank has established a global network which spreads over 70 countries from Asia, Africa, America, Europe and Middle East. Hence Standard Chartered Bank can be classified as a multinational organization. Organizational Structure The main purpose of organizational structure can be identified as the division of work among member of the organization, and the co-ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. There are mainly three types of organizational structures. 1) Functional Structure: In such a structure groups of people who hold similar skills or perform similar tasks are clustered together and usually departments are formed. 2) Divisional Structure: Divisional structures can be of three types. They are, Division based on Product: Each product division contains the functions necessary to that service the specific goods or services it produces Division based on Market: Group functions into divisions that can be responsive to the needs of particular types of customers Division based on Geography: In such a structure regional divisions are set up to service customers in different geographic areas 3) Matrix Structure: In a matrix structure specialists from functional departments would be assigned to work on one or more projects that are lead by a project manager. As Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are public limited companies and specially the latter being a very large organization, these organizations need to follow a formal organizational structure where they would be able to monitor the activities, assign responsibility for groups and individual members and co-ordinate different parts of the organization. The members or the employees within Nations Trust Bank have been categorized based on the field or the area in which they are specialized, for instance those who are specialized in sales and marketing would be assigned work related to sales and marketing and would be clustered together. According to this, various departments in Nations Trust Bank have been created, where, for each department an individual leader would be assigned to ensure regulated smooth flow of business operations. These individual leaders would then report the overall progress of each department to the top management and board of directors as required and decisions would be made with the involvement of the top management. Hence, it is possible to arrive at the conclusion that Nations Trust Bank follows a functional organizational structure which is more of a centralized structure. Further it could be said division of work within Nations Trust Bank has taken place by major function or purpose. It could also be said that Nations Trust Bank follows more of a centralized structure than a decentralized structure as the organization sets down policies which would affect the organization as a whole and also mainly since all decisions would be made under strict management supervision and involvement. This centralization could also be due to the cultural effect which is prominent within the country, which is the power culture where control is the key element. Based on the above information it could be understood why Nations Trust Bank follows a functional organizational structure and also it could be understood that Nations Trust Bank follows a functional organizational structure as it has a range of services which can be grouped under one leader. Nations Trust Bank has the following advantages of using a functional organizational structure. Since all the employees who are specialized in a specific area are clustered together, newer employees and other employees would be able to learn easily from each other. Employees would be able to benchmark themselves with other employees who have higher performance and are working in the same specialized area and would develop themselves further in a more competitive manner. In the following structure the decision making process is bureaucratic. Since the culture which is mostly commonly seen within Sri Lanka is power culture, when the bank follows such a structure it will be easier to control the organization in order to achieve its goals and objectives as expected. Since all employees perform similar task within one department work specialization takes place and this would help the organization to increase overall productivity. Nations Trust Bank not only has advantages of following a functional organizational structure but it also has some disadvantages. Since decisions are always made with the involvement of the top management individual employees would not be able to make decisions on their own resulting in inefficiency. The organization follows a bureaucratic decision making process and also problem resolution process; this would mean a low level of employee participation. As a result the chance for a successful leader to be born in such an environment would be low and hence the chance for the organization to gather new leaders from within the organization who understand the nature of the organization would be low. Standard chartered bank is a large multinational organization which operates in more than 70. Unlike in Nations Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank does not follow a functional organizational structure and is less centralized (but the bank follows a centralized structure) meaning Standard Chartered Bank gives more authority to its employees than Nations Trust Bank. Instead of following a functional organizational structure, Standard Chartered Bank follows what is called a divisional organizational structure according to geographic area. Where Standard Chartered Bank would have a regional or divisional head for each region within which it operates. Standard Chartered Bank mainly has the following advantage of using a divisional structure according to geographic area. The bank would be able to provide banking services which would be more suitable for each country. For example Standard Chartered Saadiq Banking is a service associated with Islamic banking, in other words the bank follows Shariah principles. The bank has provided various Islamic banking products and services for countries where Islamic population is high (e.g. Malaysia, UAE, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Beyond this there are a few disadvantages of using such a structure. These disadvantages are listed below. Since there would be repetition of similar jobs the operational overhead cost would be high. Since the branches of the bank would be benchmarked against each other conflict situations may arise. After analyzing the above mentioned information it was possible to arrive at the conclusion that a divisional structure would be the best organizational structure from the above two organizational structures if Nations Trust Bank has an intention to expand overseas as it will be easier to control the organization and since it would not be very practical to use a functional structure in such a situation. And also becoming less centralized will help the organization to function with more efficiency. Organizational Networks and Linkages Nations Trust Bank has a network which covers only Sri Lanka. Due to this network the bank has been able to expand itself throughout the island in such a manner that customers would be able to carry out banking transactions easily from any part of the island where there is at least an Automatic Teller Machine available. The bank uses the Flexcube Banking System to maintain the network of branches, outlets and ATMs. It has been identified the availability of flexible working programs within Nations Trust Bank is low. Part time employment can be identified as the only significant flexible working program at Nations Trust Bank. Standard Chartered Bank covers a wide range of countries unlike Nations Trust Bank. The bank uses computer software in order to maintain a global scale network. Especially the bank would use Sun Microsystems platform or UNIX platform software in order to maintain the data base. These systems enable the centralization of data for the bank. Standard Chartered Bank has recognized the importance of flexible working programs. The bank has understood flexible working programs play a vital role in retaining employees, increasing engagement and attracting a larger and more diverse pool of talent. Hence the organization is trying to introduce more flexible working programs. At the moment the bank uses the following flexible working programs; part time employment, switching between shifts (the employee would be given the opportunity to choose the shift during which he prefers to work) and also the bank has introduced working from home facility initially in four countries namely Ghana, United S tates, United Kingdome and Singapore. However, the bank does not follow working from home facility in Sri Lanka. Organizational Culture Each organization will have its own unique organizational culture and most of the time large organizations would tend to have a mix of these cultures. 1) Power Culture: Power culture is common for small and medium size organizations. In such organizations decision making is centralized and also these organizations can react quickly to danger around as there would be no consultation required. Further, in a power culture control would be the key element. 2) Role Culture: Role culture is common for large organizations. The key element would be the area of specialization. 3) Task Culture: Task culture is popular in modern business society and refers to a team based approach to complete a particular task. In such a culture staff would feel motivated because they are empowered to make decisions within their team. 4) Person Culture: Person culture is common in non profit or charity organizations. The main focus of such organizations is the individual or a particular aim. 5) Forward and Backward Looking Cultures: Forward looking organizations are risk takers and perform well due to this risk taking ability. Whereas backward looking organizations are organizations which do not embrace change and are led by systems and procedures. When the organization, i.e. Nations Trust Bank, has been analyzed it was possible to identify the organization has a dynamic and a fast paced working environment where open feedback, performance based rewards and remunerations are encouraged. Further employees are encouraged to develop new skills and are empowered by the provision of career opportunities which have a variety of different features. Based on this information it was possible to identify that the culture within Nations Trust Bank is a forward looking culture which has allowed the organization to perform well, expand and become one of the youngest and successful banks within Sri Lanka. However, the bank has some aspect of power culture as well. This could mainly be seen in the decision making process where employees would tend to rely upon some superior source when making a decision. Power culture within the organization could be due to the strong power culture existing within the country. Standard Chartered Bank being a bank which operates in more than 70 countries with its headquarters located in London, England would mainly follow the organizational culture which is prominent within its headquarters, this would be role culture. However, there would be variations to the culture of branches operating in other regions as it would not be practical to follow an organizational culture which would conflict with a particular regions culture. For example consider the United Kingdom headquarters and the Sri Lankan Head Office. Employees in United Kingdom would usually be clock conscious as they would consider time is money and also it is unprofessional to get late for work, whereas in Sri Lanka the employees would not really see much of a difference in getting late for work as the country would naturally have easy going relaxed people who would not hurry things. The headquarters would naturally assume that all employees of the bank would perform their tasks and duties on time as this is their culture. However, this would not be the case in most situations and therefore to ensure that work is done the branches in Sri Lanka would have to lay down strict rules and regulations. Constant reminders too would have to be given in order to get a task done. And hence the culture of the country automatically starts taking effect where power culture would have to be followed in order to achieve the expected. However, on analyzing the overall information of Standard Chartered Bank it can be understood that the bank has a unique culture which it has developed through the years by communicating with broad ranges of stakeholders, prospective employees and customers. Based on the above information finally it was possible to arrive at the conclusion that organizational culture plays an important role in forming an organizational structure as well as for the success or the failure of a business. Misinterpreting the culture in which an organization operates can lead to conflict and finally maybe even complete shutting down of the organization. Therefore it is a must to interpret and understand the culture within which an organization operates and to select an appropriate organization structure on this basis. The Human Resource Function Stakeholder Perspective: It is clear that stakeholders would have objectives and would expect organizations to achieve these objectives. The organizations should always consider their stakeholders point of view before making any decisions as this will help to minimize conflicts and avoid a purely instrumental or theoretical approach to Human Resource Management. Nations Trust Bank considers the impact of its activities on various stakeholder groups, carries out activities which will develop a good relationship with stakeholders and also abides by the rules, regulations and carries out business in an ethical manner for the above mentioned purposes. The same would apply to Standard Chartered Bank. However, the branches of Standard Chartered Bank would provide more flexibility (especially for employees) and facilities than Nations Trust Bank. Human Resource Roles: The role of Human Resource Management (Personal Management) is taking care and handling the organizations most important resource which is the people resource or the employees. Human Resource Management would help the organization to maintain a balance and efficiently coordinate with the employees so they can work more efficiently and effectively. The HR department of Nations Trust Bank carries out an immense number of activities for the above mentioned purposes; these activities range from arranging functions such as Christmas Eve get-togethers to New Year celebrations where management and employees from various departments can interact with each other. Beyond this career guidance programs, training and development programs (the bank has a special training and development team for this purpose), remuneration and reward schemes and exit interview are conducted. Standard Chartered Bank too carries out an immense number of activities like Nations Trust Bank to ensure that they stand by their HR roles. Further, Standard Chartered Bank provides a day care facility; the centre provides day care services and educational activities throughout the working day for children aged between six months and 12 years. The organization also carries out exchange programs (India China exchange program) so that employees would have an exciting opportunity to advance their careers and experience a new culture. For the Bank, it is an opportunity to facilitate the sharing of best practice, ideas and new ways of working between two key markets. Personnel Policies: An organizations personnel policy means a plan, a course of action or guiding principles which that business will use to influence and determine decisions, actions and other matters. Both Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank would have various personnel policies. For example Standard Chartered Bank has developed a policy on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). By this policy the bank ensures that its employees who have HIV AIDS can still work as normal employees without any form of harassment. Where Nations Trust Bank has a policy, going paperless, by which it tries to minimize the usage of paper by transferring all its activities to non-paper based forms such as emailing. By this the organization expects to protect the environment. Beyond the above mentioned policies both of these banks would have numerous policies which have been set in place regarding various matters. Strategies, Operating Plans and Strategic Goals for Personnel: An organizations strategy is about what the organization wants to achieve in the long term. There would be various techniques followed by an organization to achieve these goals and objectives. For example, Standard Chartered Bank wants to achieve growth and it plans to do so by following a simple method where it would ask itself self assessment questions and by following a SMART approach. The bank would apply the same procedure for its employees. Nations Trust Bank follows a similar approach where it has stated its strategic priorities and how the bank expects to achieve them. Finally it was possible to arrive at the conclusion that carrying out Human Resources Functions would help any organization to be successful. For these purposes various elements such as stakeholder perspective, HR roles, personal policies, strategies and operating plans, and strategic goals for personnel have to be considered. Individual Behavior at Work Each individual would be different from each other in some aspect or the other. These differences could be due to demographic factors, abilities and skills, perception, attitude and personality. These factors would not only differentiate individuals but would affect their on the job performance as well as their behavior. Nations Trust Bank would have employees from various ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. Therefore the employees at Nations Trust Bank would be able to experience the difference between each culture and would behave according to the stimuli they receive from the working environment. Due to the civil war which was going on for many years, some of the Sinhalese employees working at the bank would have formed a perception about Tamil employees and would have a different attitude towards these employees, where they would tend to act in a negative unfavorable manner, lose interest and in turn would think negatively regarding their job. Beyond this the Sinhalese employees may think that they are better able to perform the tasks rather than Tamils due to cultural factors. Also since some of these Tamil and Sinhalese employees would have been affected by the civil war, the personality of these employees may have been affected and may have induced negative thinking patterns within them. This may lead to conflict within the organization. However, Nations Trust Bank treats all employees equally and has taken many measures to ensure that no conflict takes place. In fact Nations Trust Bank encourages its Sinhalese employees to learn the Tamil and Tamil employees to learn Sinhalese. Further, the bank has encouraged interaction between these groups of people through various social activities so that they would be able to better understand each other and value each others culture. The bank provides counseling sessions, training and development and also carrier guidance for these employees so that they can improve themselves. This would help the employees to understand their tasks and duties better, will lead to improved performance, help employees to understand the importance of what each other is doing and appreciate their performance. Since Standard Chartered Bank is an international bank the demographic element in terms of especially in terms of culture would be very prominent. The branches which operate in Sri Lanka would undergo nearly the same issues related with individual behavior at work and follow similar measures to prevent conflict of any form. However, when Standard Chartered Bank is considered from an international point of view it is clear that the bank would like to increase interaction and gain better understanding of different cultures as well as provide its employees awareness regarding different cultures. A clear example for this type of attempt is the employee exchange program which the bank conducts, for the first time this was done between India and China. Further the bank has included female workforce where 46% of the workforce are females and employees with disabilities where the first employees with disabilities were from Sri Lanka. Further the bank believes that different employees from different regions have skills which would be useful for other regions this is another aspect which Standard Chartered Bank has considered in its employee exchange program. These exchange programs will help the employees with different skills to interact and help employees to identify their skills. This will help employees attitude as this will encourage positive thinking. Also this would help employees to gain confidence and in terms improve their personality. This would affect their behavior at work. Beyond this the organization has established a day care facility in Sri Lanka. This will help the working parents to attend their duties without worry and this will help overall attitude of the employees during work making them more productive. Provisions of such facilities help the employees have a better perception of the organization. On analyzing the above information it was possible to arrive at the conclusion that behavior of employees at work from both organizations would be affected by factors such as demographic factors, abilities and skills, perception, attitude and personality. It was also possible to arrive at the conclusion that developing understanding among employees will help the organizations function as one unit and achieve the goals and objectives of that organization. Approaches to Management and Theories of Organization Management approaches and organizational theories deal with how an organization achieves its management objectives through the organizational structure, its design and other elements. The management theories can be classified as five major schools of management thought. They are, Classical School of Management (Includes Scientific Management and Bureaucratic management) here the emphasis was on managing workers and organizations more efficiently Behavioral School of Management (Includes Human Relations) here the emphasis was on understanding human behavior in the organization Quantitative School of Management here the emphasis was on increasing quality of managerial decision-making through the application of mathematical and statistical methods Systems School of Management here the emphasis was on understanding the organization as a system that transforms inputs into outputs while in constant interaction with its environment Contingency School of Management (Includes Contingency approaches) here the emphasis was on applying management principles and processes as dictated by the unique characteristics of each situation It was understood that Nations Trust Bank follows a functional structure and Standard Chartered Bank follows a divisional structure based on geographic area. Standard Chartered Bank follows a mixed structure where centralized and decentralized are both considered when making decisions. And Nations Trust Bank follows a centralized approach. Further it was identified that Nations Trust Bank follows a tall span of control whereas Standard Chartered Bank has a flat span of control. Based on the above information it is important to understand the management theories which the organization follows. Classical School of Management: Even though scientific management was introduced many years before, organizations still use these principles or theories with minor adjustments. When scientific management is considered, Henry Fayol would be the significant character which would emerge. Todays organizations follow what Henry Fayol introduced with minor adjustments. Bureaucracy means the usage of rules, regulations, policies, procedures and standardization of activities. This concept was introduced by Max Weber. This type of management would be used in the military and not in a bank usually. This could be understood through the way in which both banks operate. Behavioral School of Management: According to research which was carried out it has been possible to identify that human interaction or group relationships have a direct impact on productivity and would help to increase the motivation of employees. Therefore, the behavioral management school principles are more focused to understand individual employees behavior, their interaction and also motivational factors. When Nations Trust Bank has been considered it was possible to understand that the organization carries out many activities which would encourage employee communication. Further, the employee exchange program which is carried out by Standard Chartered Bank can be considered as another example. Systems School of Management and Contingency School of Management: As it was mentioned before both the organizations, Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, follow a centralized structure. However, in the case of Standard Chartered Bank centralization is less prominent as the bank believes that empowerment of employees would bring out the best from the employees. In a systems approach the organization as a whole would be considered as one system and hence in these type of systems integration, communication and independence plays a vital role. Whereas in contingency approach it is believed that there is no best way to arrange an organization and this has to be decided based on the nature of the organization. Finally, it could be understood that even though organizations still follow scientific management they try to move more towards the usage of human relations approach and a contingency approach. Functions of Management There are mainly four functions of management. These functions are, 1) Planning: Determines the broad lines for carrying out operations, preparing methods by which they are carried out and setting standards of performance. When planning is done the management of the organizations would need to gather information from the environment in which they operate. For this purpose the organizations would use the macroeconomic factors and would use the PEST tool. Nations Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank would both use the PEST tool so that they would be able to analyze the macroeconomic factors which would affect their organization. PEST factors would nearly be the same for both these organizations when the Standard Chartered Bank which operates in Sri Lanka is considered but the bank would have a greater international influence than Nations Trust Bank. The constant changes in the environment should be regularly noted through the PEST tool and based on that the organizations should be able to respond. Further, planning would have the following aspects; forecasting, utilization and also action decision. 2) Control: Checking actual performance against standards to ensure satisfactory progress and performance, and recording as a guide to possible future operations. Control is a vital element for both, Nations Trust Bank and also Standard Chartered Bank, as it is the only way by which the managers can find out if the organization is achieving the goals and objectives. Controlling can be carried out by standards, measurements and comparisons. For example, when considering the employee turnover for both the organizations, Nations Trust Bank has been able to continuously decrease its employee turnover. However, at Standard Chartered Bank the employee turnover in countries like India and Pakistan has been increasing. To prevent this bank has introduced a pilot. Further, organizational performance could be measured based on productivity measures, through financial rations which could be compared against benchmarked companies, by setting standards and having key performance indicators. 3) Co ordination: Balancing and marinating the team by ensuring a suitable division of work and seeing that tasks are performed in harmony. Both banks have been able to co ordinate their activities through suitable divisions. In the case of Nations Trust Bank the bank has ensured that its range of diverse employees would better understand each other through various activities so that ultimately they would be able to work together as a team to achieve the goals of the organization whereas in Standard Chartered Bank the organization would also have to consider the international market within which they operate so that they would be able to better co ordinate

Ecstasy: Neurotoxicity and How It Can Be Reduced :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Ecstasy: Neurotoxicity and How It Can Be Reduced Ecstasy (MDMA) has become a drug of choice among 18-25 year olds (2), and its effects on behavior and neurotoxicity merit the attention of this class. Ecstasy use has become fairly widespread on college campuses and in rave and nightclub settings. This paper will look at the mechanism through which MDMA acts, its neurotoxicity, and how users can reduce risk involved with ecstasy use. Ecstasy alters behavior by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. It accomplishes this by altering the neurotransmitter serotonin's reuptake process. (6) In the normal serotonin system, a serotonin neuron will receive a signal from a neighboring nerve cell to release vesicles of serotonin into the synaptic cleft. The post-synaptic cell (which has the appropriate receptors for serotonin) then picks up the molecule. When the serotonin binds to the receptor, it causes an electric signal to change the membrane permeability which causes changes in the body. When a vesicle of serotonin is released, most of the molecules are pulled back into the pre-synaptic cell. This process of drawing serotonin back into the original neuron for it to be reused is called reuptake. When MDMA is present in the system, however, it interferes with the natural process by preventing the serotonin from entering at the reuptake site. This causes an excess of serotonin in the system, which creates the feelings of euphoria associated with MDMA. (1) Users of MDMA are quick to praise the psychological effects of the drug, but the effects on their physical health can be detrimental. Studies show that heavy, prolonged use of MDMA can significantly reduce the number of serotonin transporters which are necessary to bring the neurotransmitter back to the neuron from which it was released. Studies supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) showed that MDMA damages neurons that release serotonin, and that heavy MDMA users have lingering memory problems for at least two weeks after stopping the drug. In the first study, researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to compare the brains of MDMA users who had abstained from all psychoactive drugs for three weeks and people who had never used MDMA. They found that the amount of MDMA used was directly linked to the number of serotonin transporters remaining. They also found that the degree of memory impairment is based on the amount of MDMA used. (3)

Thorstein Veblen: Short Bio & Economic Theories & Ideas Essay -- essay

Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929) was born in Cato, Wisconsin. He attended Carleton College, as well as the universities of John Hopkins, Yale, and Cornell. He taught political economy and economics from 1892 to 1918 at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the University of Misssouri. He retired in 1926 after working for seven years at New York City’s New School for Social Research. He was noted for his significant analysis of our economic system and, by Mark Blaug, for his mastery of the art of satire.# Veblen went against the modern economic beliefs of his day. He identified a problem in our society that most did not. He noticed that the industrialists increased production of goods by hiring engineers to improve efficiency. This, in turn, drove prices down and cut profits, so the industry captains cut production to save profits. Ideas like this were prevalent in most of his writings and economic theories. Society, to Veblen, could be described as a division of classes. The "leisure class" and the "industrious class", the former being described as a predator, parasitic and harmful to society, and the latter being the members who produce goods. This mostly came from his most famous work, The Theory of the Leisure Class, in which he coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption"...

Puritan Society In Hesters Life :: essays research papers

The Godly beliefs and punishments followed by the Puritans stemmed from their English experience and complete involvement in religion. The Puritan society molded itself and created a government based upon the Bible and implemented it with force. Hester’s act of adultery was welcomed with rage and was qualified for serious punishment. Boston became more involved in Hester’s life after her crime was announced than it had ever been before—the religious based, justice system formally punished her and society collectively tortured her. Based upon the religious, governmental, and social design of the society, Hester’s entire existence revolved around her sin and the Puritan perception thereof; this association breaks way to society significantly becoming involved in her life. The importance of a social framework for the new society, where the Church would be all encompassing, developed from the teachings of such religious reformers as John Wycliffe and John Calvin. The Church would be directly involved in the running of the community and its regime. Enforcing such laws established by scripture read from the Bible, the government disciplined Hester for her committed sin. The Puritans considered the Bible as the â€Å"true law of God that provided guidelines for church and government†. They wished to shape the Church of England to meet their ideals, emphasizing Bible reading, prayer, and preaching in worship services. They simplified the ritual of the sacraments and also wanted more personal and fewer prescribed prayers. The Puritans stressed grace, devotion, prayer, and self-examination to achieve religious virtue while including a basic knowledge of unacceptable actions of the time. Obtaining virtue was expected to secure order and peace within the Puritan community. The Church officials, who played a direct role in the government, calculated the penalties for various sins. When sins arose, the government took the role as chief executive of corrective punishment and instituted castigation. Hester found herself very much a part of the local Church and government’s heavy hand. Everyone was aware of her sinful act, for she was placed on a scaffold amidst the entire people for a painful viewing. The religious morals instilled in the Puritan society caused her much pain long after the public humiliation. Permanently â€Å"symbolized as a sinner†, Hester was branded for life with a cloth letter worn on her bosom. For years after the letter was first revealed on the scaffold, Hester was associated with the sin and the scarlet letter. Because the Puritans contoured religion, social life, and government together, each member of the society was involved in the religion, social life, and government—everybody in Boston saw the â€Å"A† on Hester’s chest in the same light.

Media and Juvenile Delinquency

Mass media refers to the impersonal channels used to disseminate information to the public.   The information is meant for public consumption and not for personal consumption.   There are a number of channels used which include radio, newspaper, motion pictures and television.   Media is used mostly to portray cultural values and beliefs through the articles and programmes contained in them. (Travis, 2000)   For instance, through the media, national public days are aired; local shows with local touch are aired, as well as sports programs.   In addition, some societal values regarding patriotism, religious and motherhood are shown.Some sub-cultural patterns that have to do with the policeman, business executive or juvenile delinquency are shown via the media to all the people of the community or the mass society.Right from young age to the old age, the members of society are frequently bombarded by the type of stimuli which is presented in a number of mass media. (Travis, 20 00) Mass media’s perverseness is usually reflected in the statistics which are in circulation.   Studies have shown that around 5.000,000 copies if television guides are sold every week and millions of people have access to newspapers. (Joseph, 1975)From this wide dissemination of these articles, the social scientists and the laymen have become interested to find out what type of consequences those media have on human behavior and especially the children.   To be more specific, most parents have deep desire to find out the impact some books on crime and movie dramas have on young children. (Michael, 1999)On the other hand, the advertisers want to find out if their products advertised on the media are selling or not.   Unfortunately, there have been very little scientific studies of the specific impact of mass media on how they motivate humans.   Paul Lazarsfeld, an outstanding researcher on the effect of mass media on the behavior of human, gave his testimony and pres ented it before senate subcommittee in charge of investigating Juvenile delinquency.   He reported that very little is known concerning the kind of impact media has on young children.(Travis 2000)   He therefore appealed for more scientific research to be done to replace impressionistic evidence which has been quoted by some lay individuals. (Joseph, 1975)The Effects Media Has On Juvenile DelinquencyMedia has been accused many times of contributing to the juvenile delinquency.   The lawlessness which is more prevalent among the young people is mostly associated with media.   There are no restrictions placed on the youth and therefore they can access books, television programs, and pornographic magazines at will.   As a result, their way of thinking and acting has been seriously affected. (Rodney, 1990) For instance, action packed movies; detective programs which are full of crimes have a way of training young people on the effective ways of robbery, violence and murder.As a result so many cases have been received regarding youth who have been arrested for committing robbery.   There has been an increase to the crime content, sadism, horror as well as brutality in most comic books, motion pictures and television programs.(Robert, 2001)   The three types of media according to most critics deserve special attention.   They also served as a special focus for senate subcommittee in charge of investigating juvenile delinquency from the year 1954 to 1956. (Michael, 1999)Television, radio, comic books and motion pictures films have been named as significant factors contributing to juvenile delinquency.   The presentation of horror, crime and sequences of brutality is imputed in movies and more so by the lay observers, to be partly to blame for the current juvenile delinquency. (Rodney, 1990) Other effects are moral decadence as a result of watching pornographic movies and reading pornographic magazines.Many young people can be found at the brothels a nd others acts of prostitution.   There are so many dancing styles which have come as a result of the media influence, which can also be called ‘dirty dancing styles’. (Joseph, 1975)The values which have been traditionally believed in no longer matter, whatever young people see on TV are what they tend to believe in more. (Michael, 1999)According top early delinquency researchers, they were only interested with the effect the motion pictures had on the youth.   Cyril Burt made a report around 1925 that approximately eight percent of the delinquent boys had deep interests in motion pictures.   Burt’s report in the film reveals the techniques used to commit crimes as well as crimes which have been positively advertised.   Other studies on delinquents were made by Bronner and Healy. (Rodney, 1990)According to their study regarding non delinquents and delinquents in Boston and Detroit around the 1930, they revealed that the largest number of delinquents were frequent attendees of movies and films. (Michael, 1999) There were reports however, that very small number of delinquents had imitated the techniques used to commit crimes that they had seen on screens.   From the way Bronner and Healy treated movies in their studies the conclusion to be made is that they dismissed films as inconsequential as far as juvenile delinquency is concerned. (Robert, 2001)Other studies were done by Hauser and Blumer, on the impact the films and motion pictures had on juvenile delinquency.   The studies were conducted under auspices of Payne Fund for a period of four years from 1929-1932.   The studies were done by psychologists and sociologists from the university and their aim was to establish the impact motion pictures had on children’s psychological, physical and social behavior. (Rodney, 1990) The most interesting study about delinquency made by Bulmer and Hauser (Sociologists) was from entitled delinquency, movies and crime. (Joseph, 1975) The focus was on the role of motion pictures in the careers of female and male delinquents as well as criminals.   The impact of films on inmates in the rehabilitation centers and non-delinquents girls and boys was also made.   The findings however, were definitive and conclusive and should not be dismissed as rough estimations.   (Michael, 1999)It was obvious that individuals will always perceive the content in the film and make interpretations of the meaning based on the experiences they have had previously on socialization as well as the unique personality they have. (Michael, 1999)   Motion pictures therefore exert effects described as antithetical.   The conventional behavior while in some, they may be more inclined to participate in crime and delinquency.   (Rodney, 1990)According to Blumer and Hauser, the effect of movies, TV program and other media cannot be studied without studying the people watching them.     There is always an interaction between the cont ent of the film and those viewing them. (Joseph, 1975) Blumer further said that films were a significant factor in delinquent and criminal careers of around 10% of males and 25% of females studied.   To conclude their studies, Blumer and Hauser observed that those kids who are more exposed to movies are more inclined to delinquent behavior. (Robert, 2001)A study was made by Paul Cressey on the effect of media on the juvenile delinquency.   He made conclusions which were opposing those ones of Hauser and Blumer.   His study was made in New York City believed to be high delinquency area.   After making a number of observations under conditions which were controlled, Cressey made the conclusion that movies and motion pictures lacked appreciable effect on juvenile delinquency. (Michael, 1999)ConclusionIt is obvious that media has influenced the behavior of the youth in so many ways.   The dressing styles and hip hop styles are largely influenced by the media.   The situation has been made worse by the number of channels that are currently accessible in the comfort of one’s living room.   Regardless of the perspectives that are given by the researchers, we can also make our own observations and narrate our own personal experiences. (Joseph, 1975)First hand information is gotten from the media.   Wrestling techniques are also received from the television.   Despite the warnings that media gives its audience such as ‘not suitable for a person below 15,18 or 20 years’ it is still not adequate to keep off the youth. (Rodney, 1990) Even airing these programs very late at night is still not enough, because some kids stay up late.   It is the moral obligation of the media to censor programs being aired or air only those shows which cannot affect the youth negatively. (Michael, 1999)This move will go along way in reducing the juvenile delinquency currently witnessed and especially at homes.   Children have disrespected their parent s and use vulgar language without understanding the implications. (Michael, 1999) The overuse of derogatory remarks and crazy styles of dressing have made the world difficult to live in.   The erosion of moral values and failure of media to give us the role models who can be emulated by the children has largely contributed to juvenile delinquency. (Joseph, 1975)There is no middle ground.The fact of the matter is juvenile delinquency is made worse by the motion pictures among other types of media. (Travis, 2000) Talk show should replace programs which are full of scenes of violence so that virtues and societal values can be inculcated among the youth.However, we cannot deny that media has had positive impact in terms of the news channels and a host of other entertainment programs but it may not earn credit that it deserves if more of the programs that impact negatively on the youth continue to be aired. (Michael, 1999)The mass media should therefore present to the audience and the public at large, particularistic cultural norms.   There should also be other forms of recreational facilities and thus the children would not be so much into TV. (Rodney, 1990)The internet which has also become a vital part of media should also be censored since the youth can access any information they want and hence controlling juvenile delinquency has become increasingly challenging.   A better society is achievable if measures are taken to reduce juvenile delinquency, through censoring information disseminated by media. (Michael, 1999)ReferencesJoseph, S. (1975) Juvenile Delinquency, Ayer Company Publishers, 2nd EditionMichael, J. (1999) Age, Sex and the Versatility of Delinquent Involvement, Palgrave   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Press, US.Rodney, S. (1990) Deviant Places: A theory of the Ecology of Crime, Harvard Press, US.Robert, J. (2001) Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency, New York Publishers, US.Travis, H (2000) A Control Theory of Delinquency, Palgrave P ress, UK

Analysis of the Story Doctor in the House Essay

The story to be analyzed is entitled â€Å"Doctor in the house† written by Richard Gordon. He also wrote several novels and screenplays dealing with practice of medicine. The extract is about passing oral and written exams on medicine. The author describes the way how the main character passed his examinations. He considered it to be death. A lot of images can be found in the text. They create atmosphere of a contest, a court, musical playing. The author emphasizes the inevitability of meeting Secretary to hear the sentence†¦ In 1952, he left medical practice and took up writing full time. He has an uncredited role as an anesthesiologist in the movie Doctor in the House. The early Doctor novels, set in the fictitious St Swithin’s, a teaching hospital in London, were initially witty and apparently autobiographical; later books included more sexual innuendo and farce. The novels were very successful in Britain in Penguin paperback during the 1960s and 1970s. Richard Gordon also contributed to Punch magazine and has published books on medicine, gardening, fishing and cricket. The film adaptation of Doctor in the House was released in 1954, two years after the book, while Doctor at Sea came out the following year with Brigitte Bardot. Dirk Bogarde starred as Dr. Simon Sparrow in both. The later spin-off TV series were often written by well-known British comic performers. Doctor in the House begins with the lead protagonist getting into a fictional medical college in London, St. Swithins. He collects a handful of faithful friends, including Grimsdyke, whose main aim to remain an eternal student as his aunt has left a large legacy in his name, for the duration of his course (as the funds will cease once he qualifies, he prefers to fail every examination). The book goes through the trials and tribulations of their college lives-sports, studies, spats with teachers and love affairs. Snippets like using a human skull as an ash-tray and trying to weasel out of tight situations in examinations will strike a chord not only in every doctor and medical student, but also in anyone who has ever attempted an examination! In one of my favourite incidents, Simon (the hero) is asked to check a patient’s eyes with an ophthalmoscope. He says ’’I always intended to find out how this thing worked, but never got around to doing it’’ Further, on checking the patient’s eyes, his comment was that ’’it looked like fishes swimming in an aquarium full of murky water.’’ Luckily for him, he was able to wriggle out of the situation by a simple trick, and eventually passed the examination! The book is full of incidents like that, and will keep you laughing page after page. When I finished the book, I felt a vague disappointment that it was over so soon! There is a little flirting, but nothing that even an adolescent reader’s mother would censor. Hindi films are a lot worse!! So if you havent been exposed to Richard Gordon yet, this is a good time to start. This is the original book in the Doctor in the House series and deals with his medical training. The Doctor books were written as memoirs, a fiction continued by the author and main character’s name being the same. In reality, Dr. Richard Gordon Dr. Gordon Ostlere, a highly-qualified surgeon and anaethetist and contemporary of my uncle who was a reknowned anaethestist himself – but I didn’t know that at the time. Humourous stories of young doctors at medical school. A series of films were based on the Doctor books, and a television series as well. This one was first published in 1952. Product Description Richard Gordon’s acceptance into St Swithan’s medical school came as no surprise to anyone, least of all him – after all, he had been to public school, played first XV rugby, and his father was, let’s face it, ‘a St Swithan’s man’. Surely he was set for life. It was rather a shock then to discover that, once there, he would actually have to work, and quite hard. Fortunately for Richard Gordon, life proved not to be all dissection and textbooks after all†¦This hilarious hospital comedy is perfect reading for anyone who’s ever wondered exactly what medical students get up to in their training. Just don’t read it on your way to the doctor’s! About the Author Richard Gordon is best-known for his hilarious ‘Doctor’ books and the long-running television series they inspired. Himself a qualified doctor, he worked as an anaesthetist, ship’s surgeon and then as assistant editor of the British Medical Journal before leaving medical practice in 1952 to take up writing full time. Many of his books are based on these experiences in the medical profession and are all told with the rye wit and candid humour that have become his hallmark.

Teh Hong Piow Leadership

Section C Public Bank 1a) Portfolio Performance Holding Period Return HPR =Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price+Cash Dividend ? 100% =RM15. 50-RM 15. 32RM 15. 32+0 ? 100% =1. 17% b) Market Performance Market Performance MP =Ending Index-Beginning IndexBeginning Index? 100% =1669. 40-1654. 041654. 04? 100% =0. 927% Axiata Group 1a) Portfolio Performance Holding Period Return HPR =Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price+Cash Dividend ? 100% =RM6. 00-RM 5. 83RM 5. 83+0 ? 100% =2. 92% b) Market Performance Market Performance MP =Ending Index-Beginning IndexBeginning Index? 100% =1669. 0-1654. 041654. 04? 100% =0. 927% Nestle (M) Bhd 1a) Portfolio Performance Holding Period Return HPR =Ending Price-Beginning PriceBeginning Price+Cash Dividend ? 100% =RM63. 10-RM 59. 00RM 59. 00+0 ? 100% =6. 95% b) Market Performance Market Performance MP =Ending Index-Beginning IndexBeginning Index? 100% =1669. 40-1654. 041654. 04? 100% =0. 927% Section D Public Bank a) The portfolio performanc e of Public Bank is better as compared to the market performance. The HPR of Pubic Bank is higher than the marker performance, which is 1. 17% as compared to market performance which is only 0. 927%. b) ) Public Bank is a well reputed and well-known company for its prudent management, excellence services, strong profitability, strong corporate culture and corporate governance. It is currently a leading provider of financial services in Malaysia. It also provides bank operations in Hong Kong, Combodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Public Bank had performed well in the market share in year 2011. The overall ratio in the market share in year 2011 is higher than the year 2010. According to the sustainability profit growth of Public bank, it has stronger performance in year 2011 than in year 2010.Moreover, the net income of Public Bank Group had increased by 8. 3% from RM6,838. 5 million in 2010 to RM7,408. 6 million in 2011. In addition, it has a steady asset growth from year 2010 to 20 11. Its financial report encouraged us to invest in the company as it has a steady growth and lower risk. During the subsequent to the financial year end, which is on 30th January 2012, directors of Public Bank had declared a second interim single tier dividend of 28%, with the amount of RM980,596,036 in the current year. According to the key statistic of Public Bank in dividend growth, it grown 0. 3% in 5 years. It gives confidence to us for investing in this company for its stable growth in the economic. Source: Annual Report (2011). Public Bank. Retrieved from http://announcements. bursamalaysia. com/EDMS/subweb. nsf/7f04516f8098680348256c6f0017a6bf/bd33262bdcaa8fc1482579ad00116c90/$FILE/PBBANK-FinancialStatements%20(971MB). pdf Source: Annual Report (2011). Public Bank. Retrieved from http://announcements. bursamalaysia. com/EDMS/subweb. nsf/7f04516f8098680348256c6f0017a6bf/bd33262bdcaa8fc1482579ad00116c90/$FILE/PBBANK-FinancialStatements%20(971MB). pdf Source: The Star Online ( 2013).Public Bank Bhd. Retrieved on 8th January 2013 from http://biz. thestar. com. my/marketwatch/charts/l. asp? code=1295~PBBANK&p1=16. 18&p2=16. 16&p3=16. 22&p4=16. 1&p5=16. 18&p6=0&p7=0. 00&p8=46667&p9=14. 545 Axiata Group a) The portfolio performance of Axiata Group is relatively in good performance as compared to the market performance. The HPR of Axiata Group is 2. 92%, which is higher than the Market Performance of only 0. 927%. b) c) Axiata Group Berhad is an investment holding company which provides communication and consultancy services.It offers mobile telecommunication, interconnect, television transmission and other services. It also dealing of marketable securities, trading and distribution of communication devices and its related products. According to the details, it was founded in 1992 and as on 23rd May 2012, the company has approximately 190 million mobile subscribers in Asia. According to the financial results of Axiata Group Bhd in the last four years, which is from year 2007 to 2011, the revenue of the company grew to the tune of 60%. Their profits almost doubled for these four years.The company had a very good performance which attracted us to invest in the company. On the other hand, the cash position of the company had increased from RM6. 3 billion to RM6. 6 billion and the ROIC improved from 11. 8% to 12. 2%. Moreover, the diversification of the company grown with further progress with 56% of revenue generated outside of the Malaysia. According to the Axiata Group Bhd annual report 2011, the Group’s total subscriber base expanded to around 200 million, increase 25% from a year ago and growing an average of 3. 3 million per month.These made the Group one of the largest telecommunications companies in the region. The Group shows a positive data trends and performance throughout the countries in Malaysia and overseas. This gives us greater confidence in investing in the company, which given us lower risk to invest. According to t he performance highlight in the past four year of the Group, which is from 2008 to 2011, the graph relatively shows increasing in the operating revenue, EBITDA, PAT, NORMALISED PATAMI, POIC and SUBSCRIBERS. It shows that the company has reater performance in year 2011, and we believe that the company will show strong performance in year 2012, and hence, we decided to invest in the company. Source: Annual Report(2011). Axiata Group Bhd. Retrieved on 8th January 2013 from http://axiata. listedcompany. com/misc/ar2011. pdf Nestle (M) Bhd a) The Portfolio Performance of Nestle (M) Bhd is performing well as compared to the Market Performance. The HPR of the Nestle (M) Bhd is 6. 95%, as compared to the Market Performance of only 0. 927%. It is relatively having high performance in the market. b) ) Nestle Malaysia Bhd is a leading Food, Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company in the region. It grown to be the world’s largest good company which offering more than 8,500 brands and 10,0 00 products. It also has more than 456 factories over 80 countries and more than 283,000 employees. Nestle Malaysia Bhd has encountered turnover of RM1. 16 billion in Quarter 1 in 2012, which is 8. 5% higher than the previous corresponding period. In the first quarter of 2012, Nestle Malaysia Bhd had good growth performance in both domestic and export sales. It also has increased profit before tax of RM206. million and profit after tax of RM158. 1 million which grew by 8. 2% and 7. 4% respectively compared to the previous period. Moreover, despite exports its products across the globes; the Group has successfully exports more than half of its products to ASEAN region. The stable performance of the company attracted us to invest in the company although the price is high. In addition, the company also introduced new products to the market, which these products will directly affect the strong demand of the domestic and hence affect the economic performance of the company.Moreover, the sustained economic growth of overseas countries, encouraged the performance of export sales, and increased the sales of 18% to inter-market customers. It is relatively a trusted brand to the Malaysian, where it is well-known of its healthy nutrition drinks. On the other hand, Nestle (M) Bhd also launched the Nestle Project Rilead in October 2011, where it aims to create a landscape for people, nature and agriculture can co-exist harmoniously in their need for water. This project will give an initiative of seeing the reforestation of the land. This relatively giving us good image on the