Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Interview - Assignment Example However, just last month, she experienced the most upsetting ethical problem of her life. She got involved into a romantic relationship with one of her students. In the beginning of the interview I courteously asked her to narrate the events that happened prior to the final confrontation with the college administration. At first she was timid and embarrassed, and I had to assure her many times that all the information she will disclose will remain confidential. She then gave in. Her first statement was: â€Å"You know being a single mom is not easy. It is very difficult and at times you really want to quit. So when I met a student, who was older than me and already a successful businessman, I was tempted.† She told me that they dated secretly until their relationship became deeper and deeper. â€Å"I couldn’t get out, you know, of the mess. I know what I’m doing is wrong professionally, but what could I do, my toddler needs to eat, and this was the only way I know at the moment that can help both of us†, she says. However, they were not able to keep the relationship for so long because her co-teachers as well as the students and school staff noticed the passionate, affectionate interaction between them. She was summoned to the college dean’s office to talk about the matter and she was given only two options, either she resigns or persuades the student involved to enroll in another school. She was given enough time to choose and in the end she decided to resign. She is now working as a lecturer in another community college, and never did she again cross the boundary of professional teacher-student relationship. She also believes that her former school treated her ethical dilemma justly. She admits that it was her fault because she did not acquaint herself fully with the ethical codes of the school. As explained by Infantino and Wilke (2009), teachers usually do not obtain sufficient guidance from the

MRP 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MRP 4 - Assignment Example According to Andree, R. G. (1974), In the US, elementary schools start from kindergarten up to second grade (k-2). Learning at this state is crucial since it’s the foundation of the education for the children. Therefore, if the teaching staff is motivated they will deliver quality concepts and also influence the performance of the learners. However, if demoralized learns won’t learn well; hence, the general performance is affected. Teaching at elementary school is currently challenging and demanding where technology is used in teaching therefore motivation of teachers is necessary to even go for computer classes. Underperformance is also a big challenge due insufficient efforts by the teaching staff especially in public schools. The research will try to address the cause of teachers de-motivation and determine whether motivation approaches will improve their teaching hence the overall performance of the learners. This approach entails the ways that can be suitable to increase the motivation of the teachers. Factors that usually reinforce motivation are applied so as to create interest for the staff hence job satisfaction. The approach used depends on the source of motivation. It can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic entails physical, mental and spiritual recognition and praise, responsibility for ones work and being comfortable at work. In this context, extrinsic motivation as an approach may include; training of staff and advancement in their career. Inclusion of the teachers in decision making will enable them identify critical areas and find out the best ways of finding solutions. Decision making enables them own the career hence will increase their drive force (Thomas, K., 2002). Provision of good working environment and also permitting them to go for further studies in their teaching area will improve their motivation. Dan Airley said that people think about motivation and payment as the same thing when they

Electrophysiology Instramentation and Design Essay

Electrophysiology Instramentation and Design - Essay Example Introduction Many human body organs manifest their body movements through electric activities (Greddes & Baker, 1989). A good example is the heart which produces an electric signal, called an electrocardiogram. In the brain, there is a signal produced called the electroencephalogram (EEG). Eyes produce an electro-oculogram. When these and more other body electrical signals are measured, it becomes possible to measure the pathological functions of the organs (Bonow & Mann 2011). In this paper, there will be an explanation of the state of the art systems and the particular performance motivations that have led to the electrophysiological measurements, their principles of operation, and how they are practically implemented. The article will also look at the role played by engineering in collaboration with synthetic biology and the fundamental essence of automation in the technology. The paper will then be followed by a fundamental look of the recent commercial systems in comparison to t he systems used for research and development. Background: Measurement context and problems The electrophysiological measurements or the bio potentials originate from the electric activities taking place at the cellular levels. ... The separations take place inside and outside the cell. Due to this difference, there is production of a resting potential. There are cells that can be excited resulting to an action potential that can lead to speedy movement of ions across the cell membranes responding to the stimulation of the electricity in the cell’s electric gradient. When the cells are electrically excited, they produce current in the surrounding conducting areas which then manifests itself as the body’s potential. There are various bio potentials in human organs (Stober 1986). Physical Background and measurements context The electrophysiological measurements are made feasible through the use of the right materials in design. The designs of the amplifiers should be perfect for acquiring of best quality measurements. Other quality determinant factors are using good electrodes, properly applying them on the patient and good clinical practices. There are various electrodes that can be used for electr ophysiological measurements. Some of the distinguishing features in the electrodes are security, good conduction, less susceptibility to lesser junction potential substances. In order to have a very good contact between the skin and the electrode, an electrode gel is used. When the gels are highly conductive, there is reduction of resistance as well as the junction potential. One of the limitations of using these gels is being that they are causative agents for allergies. Another limitation is the movement of the skin against the electrode, something that causes artefact. Such movements produce motion artifact due to the changing electrode junction to the skin potential. This effect is however reduced through the reduction of movements on unnecessary

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Philosophy - Assignment Example This is seen in the differences between the rationalism and empiricism: rationalism has it that the ideas and concepts are independent from the experience, and that the cognition is realized only by means of the mind, whereas empiricism states that the knowledge and practice shall be cognized by means of experience. (True Forms, 2013). 2) Eudaimonia is most commonly defined as welfare, happiness, or prosperity. Eudaimonists state that the happiness is the supreme good for the human being. According to their views, the basis of the human behavior and the criteria of morality are determined as the human’s strive for happiness and prosperity. The happiness includes internal aspects, such as virtue, and external ones – health, beauty and wealth. Eudaimonia is considered naturalistic because it is in human’s nature to be aimed at reaching the best. (Robinson, 1999). 3) The Aristotelian concept of the â€Å"golden mean† is the acceptable middle between the excessive and the insufficient. In terms of ethics this means a choice between the things that are good and bad and may seem too good or too bad. For example, the situation with the wars and armed conflicts in the modern world is illustrative in this respect. It would be possible to avoid them by means of choosing by either their sides a mean – the process of negotiations, and this is namely the mean because it would neither lead to blood-shooting nor to absence of the contact between the sides at all. It can also be referred to as sometimes avoiding of the difficulties and trying to choose the easiest way of the problems solving. Then it is believed that the golden mean is not the best means and it is necessary to be courage enough to follow not the easiest way. 4) Philosophical Cynics tend not to accept the conventional society. They motivate this by the fact that the usual concept of life presupposes possessing the useless and odd

Management Change Excercise Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management Change Excercise - Research Paper Example The steps include creation of urgency, development of powerful coalition, creation of a change vision, communication of the change vision, eradication of obstacles, creation of short-term success goals, building on the change, and integration of change into the corporate culture of the organization (Mind Tools, 2012).The first step in the process of change management requires the organizational leaders to convince the organizational personnel that a certain change needs to be there on urgent basis because of certain reasons (Coutts, 2000). If this action is not taken, people would underestimate the need of change. In the second step, the organizational leaders need to develop a team which facilitates gaining of people’s consent for change implementation. If this action is not taken, much more effort would be required to convince individuals because they would be scattered and not members of the same team. In the third step, the leader needs to develop a relation between change and a big vision in order to make it easier for the followers to realize what is happening. If this action is not taken, followers would have subjective idea of what is happening. In the fourth step, measures need to be taken to quickly communicate the change and spread the vision. If this action is not taken, there would not be uniformity of approach due to lack of information in certain followers. In the fifth step, the leader needs to recognize the barriers in the way of implementation of change and do whatever is required to remove them. If this action is not taken, the change process is likely to be interrupted along the way. In the sixth step, the leader should appreciate together with the followers the achievement of intermediary goals. If this action is not taken, followers might lose interest as there is little realization of achievement of preliminary goals. In the seventh step, the leader should emphasize upon a need for the followers to continue working in the same dire ction so that the achievement of preliminary goals leads to the attainment of the ultimate goal. If this action is not taken, followers might become over-confident and not do the needful. In the eighth step, the followers need to be motivated to constantly review the change process and keep modifying it to attain optimal results. If this action is not taken, the change may not bring the desired results. Each of the eight steps included in the Kotter’s model is essentially an action that requires a complete strategy to be taken effectively. Implementation of change and its management as suggested by Kotter requires sound management skills in an individual. As a manager, I have good oratory skills and thus, can convince people or for the least, present my opinion in an apprehensible manner. I am good at taking actions pertaining to all the steps of Kotter’s eight step model generally. However, I need a little improvement in the fourth, seventh and eighth step. This is be cause of the fact that I am a little careless due to which, I might not be able to make sure that the process of change is communicated to all of the organizational personnel. This requires a bit of organization on my part. I find it difficult to recollect myself if the continuity in a process is broken. So after the sixth step, in which I as a manager would celebrate preliminary goals with the organizational personnel, it might be difficult for me to develop the focus again to make sure that

Toyota Company Limited Essay Example for Free

Toyota Company Limited Essay BACKGROUND When we talk about company, we are talking of the world’s seventh largest corporation. On the car manufacture Industry, the company is the third ranked. Toyota is a Japan based motor company that manufacturers cars, vans, Lorries and tractors selling them to a wide variety of global markets. It is also a renowned manufacturer of tracks and motor car accessories. Toyota Company started in 1937 with the headquarters currently based in Japan. The very first car that the company manufactured was the Toyota AA in the early 1930s. Later, new brands emerged like the Luxuries, Lexus. These gave rise to more Luxurious brands like the Tundra, Camry, Scion and Prius. Currently, the company manufactures and sells millions of vehicles each year. In 2008 for instance, it plans to manufacturer more than ten million vehicles. The company has set up marketing bases in the UK and parts of Asia to help in the marketing of its vehicles. To-date, the company boasts of profits of up to $ 12 billion (made in 2006) accompanied with increased sales. To further boast its market share, the company has acquired stakes in other automobile companies like ISUZU Motors (6%) and in Fuji industries (8%). The company’s shares are traded publicly on the New York stock exchange. Products and Services offered Toyota produces the following Toyota type of cars: Hilax Surf, Land Cruiser, RAV4, Caldina and Auris. Other brands include Vitz and Lexus. Toyota also offers financial services such as giving credit in form of Loans to small and medium enterprises. The company offers these financial services to over twenty five countries across the globe. The Toyota subsidiaries operating these financial services are wholly owned by the parent Toyota Company. Started in Australia, the services are now offered Europe, USA and Asia. Besides, automobiles, the company also make robots and has even entered the textile industry. The company is best known in making computerized loans and sewing machines. Corporation culture and Management The company has development out of certain believes which the members of staff and top corporate directors hold. To them, management decisions are based on long-term developments rather than school-term objectives. There is a culture of consensus in decision-making as opposed to chest thumping and neglect. There is also the culture of people avoiding fixing of problems, instead of getting quality of work is advocated for. There is always the desire of using only high technology in the manufacturer of vehicles that would satisfy customers. The company doesn’t believe in wastages. By-products of processes are used as raw materials of other processes. Work is planned in such a way that there are no over-production unnecessary motions of medicines. Waiting costs are also kept at a minimum through thoroughly calculated machine operations. The company deals with its clients with the highest level of accountability. Every brand of vehicle truly represents what its descriptions are. The profit margins and mark-ups (of cost) are calculated without customer exploitation. Mission statement â€Å"To have a profitable growth through the provision of the best services to customers and support is the dealers. The company aims at becoming the best companies across the globe. Organizational structure Toyota has a flat organizational structure with the managing Director who doubles as the Chairman being at the top. Down the hierarchy is the General Manager and various managers who report to the General Manager. These are: Financial Manager, Marketing Manager, Commercial Manager, After-Sales Manager and the Administration Manager. The Commercial manager controls the retail sales, marketing, Fleet sales, Long-term rental, and daily rental. Under the financial manager are the internal control , accounting and the financial analysis departments. The After sales manager governs the Buying and Purchase shops, customer care and accessories. Departments under the admistrative manager are the human resources, financing, Information Technology, Purchasing and Quality control management. All these work towards realizing the overall goals of Toyota. Decision-making strategies In Toyota, everybody is brought into board as far as   decision making is concerned. However, the junior staff do not make decisions rather are given the chance to express their suggestions in a written platform. It is on the basis of these suggestions that policy is formulated by top management. SWOT analysis is greatly employed before decisions can be made on pertinent issues. SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The management evaluates what their strengths are before a decision to embark on a new brand is reached and before making any new acquisitions among other several decisions. Other new opportunities are also rated against the company’s strengths. The company uses the knowledge of its weaknesses to seek for means of reducing them against the threats imposed by the environment The pros and cons of every aspect is also looked at before decisions are made. The direction the decision would take would then depend on the number of   merits and demerits if a given path is undertaken. In complex areas, the company applies scientific processes like linear programming and other stochastic models to make decisions. Motivational Strategies Top management get their goals executed through the employees. It is therefore important to ensure that employees are motivated for them to effectively carry out their daily chores. The management of Toyota has however ensured that its workforce is highly motivated to avoid problems associated with demotivation such as go-slows, sit-downs and strikes. One of the things that Toyota has done is to empower employees. Toyota comprises of very many departments each of which is occupied by persons qualified in that field. Every department has been left to make control its own activities whereby people are left to make their own decisions. There is little or no interference from the top management who feel that such an arrangement makes the employees to feel a sense of ownership of the company. To foster empowerment of employees, suggestion boxes are evenly distributed within the company premises. They use these boxes to air their grievances without fear or intimidation. This doesn’t end here because the management meets regularly with the employees to deliberate on the findings of their suggestions. Benefits Employees of Toyota get some rebates/discounts on the market price of the vehicles. This special concession has been in existent for quite some time. Workers also obtain gifts for better performance be it in the sales and marketing department or the assembly department. The gifts range from cash to even free motorcars. In this way they are motivated to perform even better in the season that would follow. The Toyota company’s employees also have a savings plan/ scheme to which they make annual savings. This gives them financial security even after their terms of services expire. They do not fall short of a healthy insurance Scheme that gives them a surety of compensation incase one gets ill or is injured while serving the company.

French Essays Egalitarian Political Regimes

French Essays Egalitarian Political Regimes Explain and Discuss the Fragility of Egalitarian Political Regimes, as Represented in BOTH the Lettres Persanes AND the Contrat Social. Though The Spirit of Laws is probably the best-known work of Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, his Lettres Persanes (Persian Letters) is another famous work in which he explores, with perhaps more depth, the notion of equality and egalitarian political rule. A generation later, John Jacques Rousseau would appear on the political landscape and present his own ideas on the same topic. Chief to be explored among his writings will be the Contrat Social (Social Contract) in which Rousseau lays out with some detail a discussion of the nature of egalitarian political regimes and explores various strengths and weaknesses of them. Montesquieu and the Fragility of Egalitarianism In the beginning of the 89th letter, Montesquieu claims that â€Å"A Paris rà ¨gnent la libertà © et l’à ©galità ©.† Birthrights, social ranks, and even military victories did not set men apart (in terms of class distinctions) in Paris during his writing. This was a thing to be praised by Montesquieu. He saw too much in the world that lent itself away from egalitarianism, at least insofar as the right of persons to be equal is concerned. It will be beneficial here to take a moment to set up Montesquieu’s views on the republic to better lay a foundation for his comments on equality. In Book 11 of the Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu explores the (then) unique situation in England of a monarchy controlled, to an extent, by a constitution, and it that portion of the Spirit of the Laws Montesquieu is chiefly impressed by and concerned with the Englishman’s â€Å"liberty.† As regards the very nature of a republic, Montesquieu argues in the Spirit of t he Laws that there are three basic types of governmental systems. The despot rules by inculcating fear in the people. The monarch does better and rules by a sense of honor and by â€Å"fixed established laws.† Both of these types of governing are fairly stable. One does not need to necessarily think of them as intrinsically fragile in the sense in which, say, the last political option (i.e., the republic) may be thought to be fragile. The despot, so long as he maintains fear amongst the peoples, has nothing to fear himself. Apparently for Montesquieu, it is the monarchy which is the first and primary type of government. He writes in Letter 131 of the Lettres Persanes, â€Å"Les premiers gouvernements du monde furent monarchiques.† Coming on the heels of this original type of government would be both the despotic rule and the republic, the latter of which comes by â€Å"chance,† he indicates. Apparently, despotism amounts to little more than a degeneration of an original monarchy. But, the republic is a genuine advancement of the Greeks. However, this advancement brings with it an intrinsic tendency toward reversion to that which preceded it, either monarchy or despotism, and this fact may be due to the complexity of the republic in both its nature and principles. For Montesquieu, one of the things that may typify the fragile nature of the republic is that it â€Å"cannot survive without what Montesquieu calls political virtue.† It is this requirement that the citizens must embody this political virtue (without which the republic could not endure) that lends to the fragile nature of republics. If the people cease persisting in this virtue, the republic could not endure, for the republic exists and continues only so long as the habits and eventual character of political virtue are exemplified in the people. In the republic, there is no one-to-one correspondence with what exists in despotism or a monarchy: a strong central authority. Therefore, the people must, by loving egalitarianism and the laws, arrange a situation for themselves wherein the needs of the good are served, even if at the expense of the needs of the many. This is exactly what Greece did, he argues, and it is incumbent upon any subsequent attempts at a republic to do the same. â€Å"L’amour de la libertà ©, la haine des rois, conserva longtemps la Grà ¨ce dans l’indà ©pendance, et à ©tendit au loin le gouvernement rà ©publicain.† Rousseau and the Fragility of Egalitarianism One could hardly resist beginning the discussion on Rousseau with his famous opening to chapter one of the Contrat Social. â€Å"Lhomme est nà © libre, et partout il est dans les fers.† How this particular situation came to be, Rousseau does not attempt to answer. Rather, he focuses his attention on how it is that man can get back to his original (or perhaps â€Å"primal†) state of freedom. If man in a state of servitude obeys his masters, he does well. However, if he can break free from that state, he does better still because to be free is man’s natural and original state, seen most evidently within the rites of passage intrinsic to family life. Although it could not be rightly said that Rousseau takes no points of departure from the thought of Montesquieu, there are nevertheless significant points of agreement between them on the idea of the republic. Rousseah offers as his main contribution to the discussion over the republic that a return to the ancient (i.e., Greek) polis is the most advisable course of action. Yet, an intrinsic tension to this suggestion is that Rousseau simultaneously advocates the idea of the â€Å"natural law† quite strongly. According to Helena Rosenblatt, for Rousseau the natural law is a very self-interested concept, which is at least prima facie at odds with the republican ideal of each person being grounded in virtue and community as that which adheres the republic together and maintains it. The more refined concept of the â€Å"general will† complicates the matter further and makes egalitarianism a la republicanism an even more fragile thing. Rousseau’s â€Å"General Will† In his writings prior to the Social Contract, Rousseau had explicitly indicated that he denied that man was naturally and easily a sociable creature. No, man’s first inclinations are not toward the public good, but in the direction of particular self-interests and this is evident by the historical facts that â€Å"les longs dà ©bats, les dissensions, le tumulte, annoncent lascendant des intà ©rà ªts particuliers et le dà ©clin de lEtat.† So, what takes place amidst the social contract is the necessity of all citizens when laying down public policy to not act in merely self-interested ways. The good of the many, the common good, was to be the overriding concern of all citizens in this regard, and this is the â€Å"general will† of Roussea, which he explores and elaborates in great throughout the Social Contract. But, what makes this concept of the â€Å"general will† even more tense and lending to the creation of a fragile situation for egalitarianism i s the paradoxical idea related to literally enforcing that citizens act in accord with the general will. The general will is not merely reducible to the â€Å"will of all people combined.† No, it is the â€Å"right† will which ever seeks the good of the whole State and never acts in a merely self-interested way. It is basically the will of God then, which must ever be right and, since God is omnibenevolent and always has the interests of everyone in mind, this is in line with the general will as Rousseau explicates it here. He writes, â€Å"Afin donc que le pacte social ne soit pas un vain formulaire, il renferme tacitement cet engagement qui seul peut donner de la force aux autres, que quiconque refusera dobà ©ir à   la volontà © gà ©nà ©rale y sera contraint par tout le corps: ce qui ne signifie autre chose sinon quon le forcera dà ªtre libre.† This is the key to the whole enterprise. It prevents the social contract from becoming, as he says, â€Å"un vain formulaire† (an empty formula). But, of course, although such an aspect of the overall contract is certainly sensible, how it is appropriated lends itself to fragility. The line is not always so clear when one is acting merely in his own self-interest and when he is acting in respect to the common good (or both simultaneously, which would apparently not violate the general will). It is not necessarily contradictory in its premise, but it is certainly paradoxical, as Rousseau surely felt. Conclusion Both Montesquieu and Rousseau in their respective days were vastly aware with the attending problems associated with the reintroduction of the ancient ideas of the republic and egalitarianism. However, they each firmly believed that whatever problems may accompany the advent of such in Modernity, it would certainly be worth it. For both of them, as most Westerners today would greatly sympathize, any form of egalitarianism via a republic, whatever fragility may accompany it, would be greatly preferable to either a monarchy or (especially) a despotic State. Works Consulted Krause, Sharon. The Politics of Distinction and Disobedience: Honor and the Defense of Liberty in Montesquieu, Polity 31, 3 (1999): 469-99. Grant, Ruth Weissbourd. Hypocrisy and Integrity : Machiavelli, Rousseau, and the Ethics of Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Morris, Christopher W. The Social Contract Theorists : Critical Essays On Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Lanham, Md.: Rowman Littlefield, 1999. Riesenberg, Peter N. Citizenship in the Western Tradition : Plato to Rousseau. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. Rosenblatt, Helena. Rousseau and Geneva : From the First Discourse to the Social Contract, 1749-1762. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Shklar, Judith. The Spirit of the Laws: necessity and freedom. In Montesquieu, pp. 93-110. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.