Saturday, December 28, 2019

Job Position For Personal Recruiting Assistant Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2298 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? As a personal manager working at a successful insurance company, City Insurance Services, I have been asked to take on a task involving recruiting a new personal assistant who will assist me with my day to day duties. The chosen candidate will also be trained so that they are familiar with the day to day operations of the company, as well as building a good skill set to develop the successful candidate in a fast paced working environment. The reason why this responsibility has been delegated to me is because my line manager wishes to free up some of her time to focus on other matters. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Job Position For Personal Recruiting Assistant Business Essay" essay for you Create order Therefore, this report will discuss a handful of human resource management related subjects such as job rationale, recruitment and selection, and the legal requirements that need to be addressed during the recruitment and selection procedures. Why the Position is needed City Insurance Services is a highly reputable company that is known for its unique insurance services. My line manager has asked me to recruit a new personal assistant to help with me with my day to day duties. This responsibility has been passed on to me due to my line manager wanting free up time to attend to other managerial duties. So, the needs of the new recruitment assistant role will help towards meeting the companys initial objective that involves changing the current business role, the recruitment and selection process, with training and skills development. Furthermore, given the amount of liability that has been placed on myself and the limited time span that the line manager has means that recruiting and selecting a worthy candidate will have to be carried out swiftly. Job Content and the Type of Person to Recruit Job Position for Personal Recruiting Assistant The chosen candidate will be working in a highly reputable insurance company. You will be involved in a series of recruitment related tasks and will carry a great amount of responsibility for providing administrative support to the recruitment department. The chosen candidate will also have the opportunity contribute towards up and coming recruitment practices that will help to drive the companys future success. Furthermore, you will help to pitch ideas that can help the recruitment department to recruit and select ideal candidates for given jobs more efficiently and efficiently in order to maintain the companys good cooperate image, besides, providing support for the recruitment manager. Specifically, you will help the recruitment manager to arrange interviews, to screen C.Vs, and other related tasks such as responding to recruitment queries. In addition, the successful candidate will report to the manager and write weekly reports based on your contributions and ideas put forwa rd to the recruitment team, as well as recording the day to day operations of the recruitment team. Roles and Responsibilities Firstly, you will be handling email that has been received, which reflect on recruitment opportunities and other related queries, besides swiftly replying to and forwarding emails. You will be involved in communication based activities such as your involvement with queries addressed my applicants and employees, the manager and recruitment partners, which will be handled in a professional manner. You will be responsible for booking rooms for interviews and setting up interviews, besides notifying applicants about interviews. Diary management will be another task where you will be organising and recording recruitment diaries for managers during and after the interviewing process. Helping out the recruitment team with administrative duties in line with arranging candidate assessment days. Recording expenses, invoices and other business finances using the MS Excel spreadsheet software. In addition, providing feedback to the recruitment team about possible candidates for the relevant jobs and your contributing ideas throughout the recruitment and selection process. Updating and uploading new job adverts or existing adverts regarding job roles. Lastly, you will be responsible for updating the recruitment departments intranet pages, as well as brushing up on the latest legal requirements that are relevant to the recruitment and selection process in order to avoid any bias and legal implications. Personal Specification Skills Needed You must have administrative experience and have previously worked in recruitment and administration that involved engaging with customers or clients. You must have worked in a fast paced working environment and to handle the pressures of heavy workloads. Have outstanding organisational skills and have the skill to multi-task. It is pivotal that you are IT literate given the administrative nature of the role and have previously worked with MS Office software such as Word and Excel, as well as having the ability to compile well-organised and structured reports. Furthermore, experience of using the Internet and sending email are essential. You must also be a confident and outspoken communicator with people, and be a highly creative problem solver. Your aim in this role is to ensure that your clients will receive the best quality service, so a good first impression and good appearance would be required. Above all, you must be a self-motivated and willing to do the job to the best o f your ability in order to maintain the companys reputation and professionalism. Ideal Skills Ideally, it is required that you have good experience in the proceeding areas: had experience working in a previous recruitment agency and had worked in journalism but not essential, however we recommend someone who has worked in publishing. Have extensive knowledge about Human Resource Management and the entire recruitment and selection process, as well as knowledge in the legal aspects of recruitment. Lastly, must have ideal skills working with candidate management systems. See appendix 1: Job Advertisement. The Recruitment and Selection Process Recruitment Process The recruitment process will be handled in a well-structured and stable way that is in line with necessary laws that protect individuals throughout this process. The recruitment process can also be handled both internally and externally, so whether to hire someone within the company or outside the company via a recruiting agency. The management team must be aware of the things that can be said and cannot be said or established throughout the recruitment process. When appointing jobs to ideal candidates, it tends to be regulated or meticulous by law. There is a huge amount of charges in terms of gender, race, age and disability etc., where the majority leads to the courts. The law needs the recruitment process to be handled in the most consistent way where all those involved must be treated in a fair and equal fashion. (Schuler, 1987) The whole idea behind the recruitment process revolves around the processing, elimination and the selection of the best matched candidate for a giv en role. This procedure can be carried out successfully following the below steps: Placing a job advertisement in the most ideal places; Appraise the information provided in every job application; Screening applicants to decide which ones get interviewed; Approving references and information; arrange and establish personal interviews; Decide who gets the job. Overall, the key objective involves selecting the most knowledgeable and relevant individual for the position by prudently reviewing all necessary information (Schuler, 1987). Internal Recruitment Internal recruitment involves hiring someone from with the company, and the following advantages and disadvantages of this recruitment method are list below (Dessler, 2000): Advantages: Cheaper and quicker Individuals are already familiar with the company and how it operates Highly motivating: possible promotion and other incentives The business is aware of the applicants strengths and weaknesses Disadvantages: Places a limitation on the number of potential candidates Limitation on the number of possible applicants Rules out external ideas and help Possible resentment amongst candidates not being hired Opens up another vacancy that has to be filled External Recruitment External recruitment involves hiring someone from outside the company via government or recruiting agencies, and the following advantages and disadvantages of this recruitment method are list below (Dessler, 2000): Advantages: New ideas can be pitched from external people Opportunity for larger groups of workers that can help to find the ideal candidate Extensive range of experience from the groups of workers involved in the recruitment process Disadvantages: The process is time consuming Highly expensive due to advertising costs and interviewing candidates Possibility of an ineffective selection process, thus failing to find an ideal candidate for an open vacancy By looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the two recruiting method, the decision is to recruit externally. This is because the likes of job centres, which are government agencies can help those who are unemployed to look for jobs and provide training for them. The use of job advertisements, which is widely used when recruiting externally. Depending on the cost, businesses choose the most relevant place to reduce costs and job are distributed all over the country, hence job coverage has to be taken into account. Therefore, knowing how far a candidate is willing to travel is vital information when choosing the most suitable candidate. In addition, external recruiting agencies provide employers with information based on the most ideal candidates for the given jobs advertised; these are commonly known has head hunters. They tend to work for fixed payments, who focus on a particular field of employment. Personal recommendations or word of mouth is a simply a recommendation from a friend or colleague at work. Obviously the candidate still has to go through the assessment process, however it does cut advertising costs for the company. Overall, given that external recruitment costs more than internal recruitment, the point addressed above sets an example on methods in which businesses can effectively recruit applicants by the adoption of cheap advertising that can reduce advertising costs. (Richardson, 2000) Selection Process The selection process entails hiring the most suitable applicant for the most suitable job. This is a process of the employer having to match business needs with the relevant skills and qualifications of the individuals being screened. The most effective method of selection is met only if there is an effective match. By the most suitable selection of the applicant for the given job, the organisation can benefit from getting the best out of the appointed candidate, as well as improving the likelihood that the chosen candidate will perform outstandingly. Thus, the organisation will have a reduction in the number of absent employees and rules out the issue of being understaffed, besides saving time and money. The act of properly screening candidates is carried out throughout the selection process and all possible applicants that applied for the role are rigorously tested. (Ryan and Ployhart, 2000) Nevertheless, the selection of candidates has to be separate from recruiting them, de spite them being the two stages of employment procedures. On the one hand, the recruitment process is said to be the positive process as it is a means of motivating candidates to apply for vacancies. On the other hand, selection is regarded as the negative process as all irrelevant candidates are ruled out. In all cases during the two processes, recruitment always follows selection throughout staffing procedures, where selection comprises of selecting the most ideal candidate who possesses the necessary qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience for the job. (Ryan and Ployhart, 2000) Legal Requirements Equal Employment Opportunity Laws (EEO) People protected under the EEO laws are protected from illegal discrimination that occurs when individuals who share certain attributes that are discriminated against such as race, age or gender. The laws below have been found to protect peoples attributes: Race, ethnic/cultural background and colour (people who are Hispanic African American, Asian or Native American) Age (individuals over the age of 40) Gender (women and those who are pregnant) Religion (certain beliefs and practices) Persons with disabilities (physical and mental) Moreover, the whole concept behind EEO laws is to ensure that everyones chances are equal when applying for jobs and seeking promotional opportunities in the workplace. (Braithwaite, 1998) Sex Discrimination From a managerial outlook, sexual harassment is a huge concern as it negatively affects employees of the two sexes, affects job performance and exploits company liabilities. It is vital that companies respond quickly to complaints that concern sexual harassment as employers are held responsible for the incidents if the appropriate action is not taken. As a result, organisations can incur a huge cost if no action is taken. As outlined by the Civil Rights Act of 1991 allows jury trials for those who have been a victim of sexual harassment and allows them to collect compensatory damages in the case where employers proceed with malice or irresponsible indifference to the individuals civil rights. (Donohue, 1989) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Employees are also protected through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The extent of authority of the EEOC has been expanded so that today it portrays the key enforcement authority towards the following laws: Civil Rights Act of 1964 Civil Rights Act of 1991 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) Equal Pay Act of 1963 Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Vocational Rehabilitation Act Overall, most employees have to adhere to a set of requirements. Agreements are needed from all employees who fall into the private category that have 15 or more individuals, employment agencies in the public and private sector, educational institutions, labour unions that have 15 or more members, state/local governments, as well as joint committees for training and apprentices. (CliffsNotes, 2013) Conclusion Moreover, deciding who the most appropriate candidate for an open vacancy is can be somewhat of a herculean task, which takes a lot of time and effort. The process of screening applicants, scanning through high volumes of CVs, as well as listening to what applicants have to say, and then coming to the decision as to which person to give the job to, can be challenging and stressful. Overall, bear in mind that all this hard work can pay off as it can turn into a long-term asset for companies who choose the right candidates for a job, thus contributes to the companys future endeavours.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Essay on Experiment on Photocromism and Piezochromism

Experiment B10- Photocromism and Piezochromism Reece Harms 4320288 Introduction This experiment investigates an oxidative coupling reaction in an to synthesise triphenylimidazole dimer from 2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole. The resulting compound was investigated for both photochromic and piezochromic properties by way of formation of a stable radical, utilizing visual observations and UV-Vis as a means of distinction. Both the oxidative coupling reaction and the dimers interaction with light are depicted in the reactions in figure 1. Figure 1: Oxidative Coupling reaction of 2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol Experimental Ethanol (100ml), potassium hydroxide (8.065g, 2.568mmol) and water (5ml) were added in order to†¦show more content†¦This could be improved by utilizing an inert atmosphere of solely nitrogen. Melting the compound resulted in an intensely dark purple liquid. This is a result of the resonance stabilized radical being formed by the homolysis of the carbon-to-carbon bond validating the photochromic properties. The colour change further substantiates that the desired product was produced despite the inaccuracies in melting point values. Homolytic cleavage of the dimer prepared by solvation with toluene results in a deep purple solution confirming the formation of the resonance stabilized radical. After placing in darkness the colorless solution resulted by reformation of the radical intermediates to a new thermodynamic product via C-N bond at room temperature. UV-Vis was conducted on the solution before and after the irradiation with sunlight: UVtoluene 554.92nm, A=0.12 before irradiation and A=1.05 after. The peak at 554.92nm corresponds to yellow/green light and its complementary colour is red/violet. This validates the solutions violet color. The increased absorbance was accounted for an increase in the radical component. The radical was formed when exposed to light, which was visually apparent with the purple coloration and proved the thermodynamic dimer was also photochromic. When dimer 4 is exposed to light photons collide with the molecule and impart energy upon them. This energy is significant enough to break the bond between the two rings and results

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Key Themes (Organizational Behavior)

Quesitions: 1. A Senior Official at a labour Union stated All Stress Management does it help people cope with Poor Management. Employers should really be into Stress Reduction. Discuss the accuracy of this Statement. 2. Emotional Intelligence is more Important than Cognitive Intelligence in Influencing an Individual's success.  Do you agree or disagree with this Statement? Support your perspective. 3. Intuition is both an Emotional Experience and an Unconscious Analytic Process. One problem, however, is that not all Emotions signaling that there is a problem or opportunity represent intuition. Explain how we would know if your  gut feeling  is Intuition or not, and if not Intuition, Suggest what might be Causing them. 4. A Management Consultant is hired by a Manufacturing firm to determine the best site for its next Production Facility. The Consultant has had Several Meetings with the Company's Senior Executives regarding the factors to Consider when making the recommendation. Discus s the Decision Making problems that might prevent the Consultant from Choosing the best Site location. 5. In your Opinion has the Introduction of E-mail and other Information Technologies Increased or Decreased the Amount and Quality of Information Flowing through an Organization. Explain your answer. Answers: 1.According Richardson (2017), a healthy and stress free organizational set up is unlikely to experience the issues like low productivity, absenteeism, lack of enthusiasm and employee turnover. Stress, be it personal or occupational, can cause lack of interest in daily and occupational activities, deteriorate the immune system, create depression which will straightly direct to lack of productivity in the workplace. Hence, it is important for the organizations to opt for stress management of the employees. As mentioned by Lloyd, Bond and Flaxman (2017), managing the stress level of the employees is typically beneficial for the organizational management as it serves the in providing business advantages. Improved job performance: The employees who face less level of stress are more likely to perform better than the stress ones. Lack of stress in the organizational set-up serves as the tool of increasing employee satisfaction. As opined by Purnawati et al. (2016), in a less stressed organization, the employees are happy enough to ignore basic mismanagement. Moreover, lack of occupational stress helps the employees to put their complete concentration and dedication to the provided task. Thus, by reducing the stress level among the employees performance can be improved. Improved employee health: Stress among the employees can create a number of health disorders. As opined by Giga, Cooper and Faragher (2013), stress may create lack of appetite, panic sticks, depression, lack of concentration and many more. These may lead an organization to experience issues like absenteeism or increased employee turnover. Hence, by concentrating on stress management, the management can obtain cost benefit and undisturbed operation. Increased employee retention rate: As mentioned by Lloyd, Bond and Flaxman (2017), poor human resource management may create the issue of increased employee turnover rate. A high level of employee turnover makes the companies experience operational cost increase, lack of productivity and the most importantly the issue of decreased brand value. However, a stress-free work environment is capable to retain the employees within the organization and helps in eliminating these operational threats. Increased involvement: As discussed by Giga, Cooper and Faragher (2013), a stressful work environment is itself an example of poor employee management within an organization. It naturally withdraws the interest of the employees to work hard and make spontaneous inputs to the job role or organizational advancement. However, as stated by Lloyd, Bond and Flaxman (2017), reduced stress in the occupational life creates a sense of satisfaction among the employees which drives them to take intrinsic initiative for advancement of the organization. This increased involvement within the organizational process helps in upholding creativity and employee commitment to the organization. Improved team work: As mentioned by Giga, Cooper and Faragher (2013), poor management can create a dissatisfaction and irritability among the employees, which lead them to obtain a negative attitude towards the organization and a non-collaborative approach to the team. On the other hand, reduced stress in the organizational setup is a motivational factor to the employees. It helps them to be patient and collaborative to each other. It helps in team building and managing of the organization. Hence, the statement of the senior official can be identified as accurate for the organizational contexts. 2.As opined by Ashkanasy and Dorris (2017), emotional intelligence is the capacity of being aware of, control or express ones emotions and to manipulate it for successful interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, Dong Seo and Bartol (2014) have stated that cognitive intelligence is a specific function of brain- it is the ability analyze logical problems. Now, depending on the studies of the scholars and my own experience, I support the above mentioned statement. As mentioned by Fallon et al. (2014), in the occupational setup, people surely depend on their cognitive strength, however, it constitute a very small portion of their occupational life. People need to interact with their team members, seniors, managers and the clients. In such a context, one needs to focus on his or her ability to handle an effective interpersonal communication and interaction, which is largely dependent on their emotional intelligence. Hence, As discussed by Coetzee and Harry (2014), individuals with high level of emotional intelligence are likely to understand their emotions or mental cravings of their colleagues. Hence, it helps them to work with less commotion or conflict. Moreover, this understanding of others perspective helps them to manipulate or lead effectively. Moreover, as discussed by Fallon et al. (2014), the ability to label, understand and prioritize ones own emotion helps a person in handling his own anxiety, sadness, joy and fear, help in regulate the professional life in a better way and obtain a work-life balance. Dong Seo and Bartol (2014) have stated that emotional intelligence is more important than the cognitive intelligence as an individuals success in an organization is largely dependent on his or her behavior in that institution. For a higher level manager, the faculty of emotional intelligence is essentially connected to his power of motivation and personal performance management. According to Ashkanasy and Dorris (2017), a good level of control over ones own emotions helps the employees to successfully perform and maintain a professional relationship with the organization. As opined by Dong Seo and Bartol (2014), an emotionally intelligent manager is likely to collect a better level of commitment from the employees as he is efficient in handling his and others emotions. As discussed by Ashkanasy and Dorris (2017), when one can empathize with others they tend to create an intimate relationship. With a high degree of emotional intelligence, the managers can build a highly committed and intimate relation with employees. As discussed by Dong Seo and Bartol (2014), a leader needs to have a high level of emotional intelligence to recognize emotion, maintain the positive motivation and identify the transformational leadership qualities among others. Moreover, a leader with high level of emotional control can handle a stressful situation without losing his or her emotional status and temperament. A clam composure often help in positively handle a commotion within an organization. As discussed by Dong Seo and Bartol (2014), a person who has a balance feelings with reason, logic and empathy is able to create a place for himself within an organization. A good level of emotional intelligence serves a strong social skill. The ability to communicate in a clear, concise and courteous manner helps an individual to win the heart of others. Hence, it can be stated that a high level of emotional intelligence helps an individual to be successful in his personal and professional life. 3.According to Thoma et al. (2015), all the gut feelings are emotional signals but not all emotional signals are intuition. Experience over a certain situation creates a mental model or template of the mind. The gut feeling which involve a rapid comparison of between the observed situation and the deep sited mental model and guide the individual to act according to the status of the template fit of that situation can be identified as intuitions. As opined by Remmers and Michalak (2016), the accuracy of the emotional signal largely depends on the strength and depth of experience of the individual. When someone observes a situation, he starts to compare the facts with his/her mental model or template, developed through experience. Then he or she takes the decision on well the facts has fitted to that model. As discussed by Heintzelman and King (2016), intuition is when ones mind collects a massive amount of data, and sorts it out or process so methodically, and promptly, that one is un aware of the development, but only left with the decision. On the other hand, as mentioned by Price (2016), all the emotional signals cannot be designated as intuitions. Not all the emotional signals are triggered by firmly grounded mental models. As discussed by Thoma et al. (2015), people often compare the current situations with some remote mental templates based on their small scale of experience, the relevance of which is relatively doubtable. In such a context, the gut feeling is more likely to direct to the decision which is prone to be proved as wrong. Such a gut feelings cannot be identified as the intuition. As mentioned by Remmers and Michalak (2016), gut feeling is an emotional signal when an individual can sense an unexplainable connection among a few apparently unobvious factors, or becomes aware of an environment by identifying it as not right, without any apparent logic. Hence, it can be said that to identify the whether the gut feeling is intuition or not, the individual needs to make introspection upon his/her level of expe rience on that certain fields or similar situations. However, the emotional signals those are not the intuitions, may have created based on the similarities one found in the pattern of the current situation and his or her experience on some remotely related situations. Hence, all the gut feelings should not be trusted for taking decisions, as the mental model used in a certain situation may not be the one which has been shaped depending on a good base of experience. 4.As mentioned by Schmoldt et al. (2015), the process of decision making is largely dependent on the mental or psychological setup of the decision maker. In this selected context, the major decision making problems those the consultant may experience are the followings: Emotional biasness: As mentioned by Trianni, Cagno and Farn (2016), humans are susceptible to various cognitive biasness that prevent them for making rational decisions. Individuals have their own notion or prejudices upon various factors. While making decision, these prejudices are often being used a information for supporting or rejecting a certain a alternative. In this context, if the consultant has any emotional longing for a certain place or a negative idea or experience regarding a place, he can take the decision based on that personal prejudice which may become non-profitable for the organization. Heuristics: As discussed by Blumenthal-Barby and Krieger (2015), heuristics are simple and efficient rule people use to make judgments or decisions. The three major types of heuristics can create discrepancy within the decision making process of oneself. Here, the availability heuristics, representative heuristics and anchoring and adjustment heuristics can be mentioned. As opined by Maitland and Sammartino (2015), the tendency to overweight the probability of events that are vivid or dramatic can direct to wrong decision. On the other hand, Blumenthal-Barby and Krieger (2015), has stated that overweighting the representatives and expecting the result produced by the representatives will surely be replicated with the population may create a fallacy in a decision. Last but not the least, as discussed by Trianni, Cagno and Farn (2016), in the anchoring and adjustment heuristics, overweighting the first piece of information received may also lead to a mistaken decision. People often tend to make su bsequent judgments on the first piece of information and ignore the probability of the different pattern in following scenarios. Thus, heuristics often lead to distorted decisions. The self justification effect: As mentioned by Schmoldt et al. (2015), people tend to make decisions which creates a positive public image for them. While making decisions in a organizational context, the decision maker often try to create an imagery that he rational, competent and continue to support his or choice as the withdrawal of support may create a sense of lack of confidence. According to such self justification effect can often be found when the decision maker identifies the organizational project as personal engagement and start to think that he is staking his reputation with that decision. Here, the consultant may also face such a situation while making decision regarding the selection of new project site. Memories or experiences: As discussed by Trianni, Cagno and Farn (2016), while making decisions the decision makers often rely on their mental makeup shaped by previous experiences. In the context of evaluating the situations, people often believe upon their gut feeling. However, as mentioned by Schmoldt et al. (2015), not all the gut feeling prove to be effective as those may not be based on a firm root of experience and consecutive mental models. People often relate the situation with a remote template based on their memory which may not be relevant in present context. On the other hand, as mentioned by Trianni, Cagno and Farn (2016), a bad experience may debar the decision making from taking a alternative which closely matches the variables of current situations and ignore the possibility of opposite result in this new situation. Hence, in the selected context, such a weak gut feeling may direct the consultant to take a relatively profitable alternatives for the cite selection for the organization. 5.In the business organizations, the flow of information along with the information practices seems to be the most important facts. With the emergence of technology along with the introduction of e-mail facility makes the information flow in the organization easier than the other non-technical means. With the help of electronic means like email, text message system etc the organizations try to transfer important information and files swiftly and without hampering the security measures. By employing one single unit called data base, the organizations can be able to acquire information from its different departments (Durugbo, Tiwari Alcock, 2013). With the help of Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), the employees of an organization can get the access information of any particular client with which they can come to a decision. The electronic technologies help the organizations to store their important information at one single location from where all the employees can access data. This employment also enables the employees from lower designation to communicate with their employers more easily. In this way, the information flow can be made more lucid. Moreover, the implementation of email and other technologies help the introvert individual to seek for assistance which they may not ask in face to face communication system (Quaresma, Silva Marreiros, 2013). Less paper oriented work helps the organizations to work in a more structured way as they can get the access of any information at any time with the help of the data base. The email facility enables the employees to verify their ideas with the help of drafts which saves the time for face to face enquiry. In this way, the attention can be shifted to increase the organizational production level. By employing electronic information circulating mediums, the organization allows its employees to take active participation in the open discussions and express their views over several organizational aspects (Lim, 2013). It also breaks the stereotypes which tend to differentiate the employees into certain groups and classes. It also ensures the participation of each and every employee of the organization in the information flow process which helps the talented employees who do have innovative ideas for organizational growth but fear to express them face to face. However, this employment has several negative aspects as well on the organizational culture. Though this strategy saves maximum of organizational time by transferring the information in faster way, it also faces difficulty to acquire all the advantages of face to face communication. In face to face communication system, the employees tend to face obstacle to clarify all their confusion at a time for which they need to send mail frequently to their seniors (Ledbetter, 2013). Moreover, employees who are not tech savvy enough, face difficulty to acquire electronic communication means to transfer information. The employment of technology for data transferring is not always regarded as safe because any individual with bad intention can also have the access of the information with which they can take any action the organization. In addition, the installation of new technology in large organization can be expensive based on their number of employees. References: Ashkanasy, N., Dorris, A. (2017). Emotions in the Workplace. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4(1). Blumenthal-Barby, J. S., Krieger, H. (2015). Cognitive biases and heuristics in medical decision making: a critical review using a systematic search strategy. Medical Decision Making, 35(4), 539-557. Coetzee, M., Harry, N. (2014). Emotional intelligence as a predictor of employees' career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 90-97. Dong, Y., Seo, M. G., Bartol, K. M. (2014). No pain, no gain: An affect-based model of developmental job experience and the buffering effects of emotional intelligence.Academy of Management Journal,57(4), 1056-1077. Durugbo, C., Tiwari, A., Alcock, J. R. (2013). Modelling information flow for organisations: A review of approaches and future challenges.International Journal of Information Management,33(3), 597-610. Fallon, C. K., Panganiban, A. R., Wohleber, R., Matthews, G., Kustubayeva, A. M., Roberts, R. (2014). Emotional intelligence, cognitive ability and information search in tactical decision-making. Personality and Individual Differences, 65, 24-29. Giga, Sabir I., Cary L. Cooper, and Brian Faragher. "The development of a framework for a comprehensive approach to stress management interventions at work." In From Stress to Wellbeing Volume 2, pp. 113-128. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2013. Heintzelman, S. J., King, L. A. (2016). Meaning in life and intuition. Journal of personality and social psychology, 110(3), 477. Ledbetter, R. (2013).Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact in the Grand Prairie Fire Department. National Fire Academy. Lim, F. P. C. (2013). Impact of information technology on accounting systems.Asia-PasificJornal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities and Socialgy,3(2), 93-106 Lloyd, J., Bond, F. W., Flaxman, P. E. (2017). Work-related self-efficacy as a moderator of the impact of a worksite stress management training intervention: Intrinsic work motivation as a higher order condition of effect. Journal of occupational health psychology, 22(1), 115. Maitland, E., Sammartino, A. (2015). Decision making and uncertainty: The role of heuristics and experience in assessing a politically hazardous environment. Strategic Management Journal, 36(10), 1554-1578. Price, A. L. (2016, April). Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Students: When Intuition Helps and When It Hurts. In STTI/NLN Nursing Education Research Conference. STTI. Purnawati, S., Kawakami, N., Shimazu, A., Sutjana, D. P., Adiputra, N. (2016). Effects of an ergonomics-based job stress management program on job strain, psychological distress, and blood cortisol among employees of a national private bank in Denpasar Bali.Industrial Health, 2015-0260. Quaresma, R. F. C., Silva, S. P. R. D., Marreiros, C. G. (2013). E-mail usage practices in an organizational context: a study with Portuguese workers.JISTEM-Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management,10(1), 5-20 Remmers, C., Michalak, J. (2016). Losing Your Gut Feelings. Intuition in Depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. Richardson, K. M. (2017). Managing Employee Stress and Wellness in the New Millennium. Schmoldt, D., Kangas, J., Mendoza, G. A., Pesonen, M. (Eds.). (2013). The analytic hierarchy process in natural resource and environmental decision making (Vol. 3). Springer Science Business Media. Thoma, V., White, E., Panigrahi, A., Strowger, V., Anderson, I. (2015). Good thinking or gut feeling? Cognitive reflection and intuition in traders, bankers and financial non-experts. PloS one, 10(4), e0123202. Trianni, A., Cagno, E., Farn, S. (2016). Barriers, drivers and decision-making process for industrial energy efficiency: a broad study among manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises. Applied Energy, 162, 1537-1551.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

What Is a Loser free essay sample

A loser, according to Mr.. Oxford, is a person or thing that loses or has lost something, esp.. A game or a contest. However, the word loser isnt always used in that context. Usually, appointing someone the title of Loser indicates lack of social status and assumes (and/or expects) of them the consistency of failure-?failure at life. The term loser is closely associated with losing to someone or failure to succeed at something.In a game, someone who does not win is not the winner, and is therefore, automatically the loser. A loser at school takes on the role of an individual tit no or a scarce number of friends though may have many academic accomplishments and may be viewed as someone who has no life. A loser in society is defined as one who is never or seldom been successful at a Job, personal relationship, etcetera-?someone who generally sucks at life. We will write a custom essay sample on What Is a Loser? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What type of term is a loser and how is it used? It is a term used to degrade or describe the degraded, and at most times degrades those who use it. But who is a loser? A loser, in the eyes of the victims of public opinion, is a person who may have all of the above traits; a real user is a mindless human specimen holding an identity illustrating everything but a loser, but assigns the term, labeling others, as if it would in some way upgrade themselves.They (who they have been taught by some kind of idiocy or trickery of another alike their kind) ridicule those who fall under the falsely defined definition of a loser. But the most essential lot that makes one an authentic loser is the failure to recognize themselves as one-?the lack of perception as they are faced to faced to their loss of and detachment from their own self-worth.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Social problem of football Hooliganism Essay Example

Social problem of football Hooliganism Paper Ever since football has been a sport, there has been the social problem of football Hooliganism. Football hooliganism refers to destructive behavior that is performed by football fans and is widely considered to be unruly and destructive behaviour. Actions such as fighting, vandalism and intimidation are carried out by football fans participating in football hooliganism. The behaviour is often based upon rivalry between different teams and conflict may take place before or after football matches. In this question I am going to be describing football hooliganism, explaining the theories behind it, what studies support the theories, evaluating these theories and then subsequently using alternative theories to explain how football hooliganism occurs. The key issue we studied in the social approach was football hooliganism; we looked at what it is, who gets involved, why is it such key issue in society and how can Social Psychology be used to explain why football hooliganism occurs. It is a substantially large issue society because the football hooligans believe that they’re above the law as they feel they can do it without any repercussions. There are many explanations of why football hooliganism occurs, but one we have looked at is Social Identity Theory. This theory states that just the simple act of grouping will lead to conflict, between in-groups and out-groups. When a person enters a football stadium and chooses to sit with a certain group of people (home fans or away fans), they are categorising themselves into that in-group, and the fans that are in the opposite side of the stadium are the opposition team, and then they become the out group. This is called social categorisation. We will write a custom essay sample on Social problem of football Hooliganism specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social problem of football Hooliganism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social problem of football Hooliganism specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The second stage of Social Identity Theory is called social identification, and this occurs is when the people in the in-group find commonalities between each other. For example, in the context of football hooliganism, this is where they notice they are wearing the same shirts or colours as others around them. They then link their self-esteem to that of the in-group. They find differences between themselves and the fans in the out-group as they are wearing different shirts or colours and they subsequently realise that the out-group have different interests to them and they notice that they are people they do not wish to associate with. The final stage of Social Identity Theory is Social Comparison; this occurs when the people in the in group start to compare themselves with those in the out-group, and this forms out-group denigration and in-group favouritism happens. Out group denigration is the act of prejudicing [having a positive or negative opinion on someone based on little or no knowledge on them] someone or a group of people, or through discrimination, which is where they act on this opinion. In-group favouritism refers to the fact that under certain conditions people will preference and have affinity for one’s in-group over the out-group, or anyone viewed as outside the in-group. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, linking, allocation of resources and many other ways.people will do anything in order to boost the self esteem of themselves and the in group, by making the out group look bad, and this is achieved by either. In football this occurs when the in-group are chanting songs about the team they support in order to make them seem better than the other team; even if their team doesn’t win, they start chanting to make them seem better, and may even start fighting because they feel they need to win something. Social Psychology, in my opinion, can be used to understand, prevent and stop football hooliganism to some extent, as Social Identity Theory helps explain why football hooliganism occurs. For instance, Social Identity Theory states that when people enter a stadium, they choose to sit with people that also support the team they have come to the stadium to, and, furthermore, choose this group of people are their in-group. This is an example of Social Categorization.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

7 Excel Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier

7 Excel Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier A whopping 67% of middle-skill jobs require experience in Excel. Just because you hate numbers and the thought of spreadsheets make you nauseous doesn’t mean you can’t add this valuable skill to your resume with confidence. Here are a few tricks to make you an Excel wizard.  1. ChartsThese are not just for the know-it-all in grade school. Charts are a great way to make your data visual, and a great way to impress the bigwigs. Once you’ve entered your data, simply click Insert Chart  Chart Type   and you’re on your way.2. Conditional FormattingThe possibilities here are endless. Want to show off profit margins? Or efficiency? Simply click Home  Ã‚  Conditional Formatting  Ã‚  Add and make your magic. Low numbers (say those below 70%) or profits under 3% could be set to automatically highlight in red, while excellent numbers could be highlighted in green.3. Quick AnalysisHave a smaller data set? You can skip to the fancy chart and table stage by u sing this tool. Just highlight your data and click on the icon in the bottom right corner of your highlight field to open the Quick Analysis menu.4. AutofillWhy enter the same thing in every row when you can have Excel do it for you? Just type in the datum you need repeated, then click and drag the lower right-hand corner of the cell all the way down the column.5. Power ViewHave a larger data set? Power View can collate and make sense of your data for you, generating visual, interactive reports for you to present directly to the boss. Just click Insert  Ã‚  Reports and start exploring.6. Pivot TablesThey sound really fancy, but they’re super useful. You don’t have to write a single formula, but you can summarize all of your data into impressive and informative tables and lists. Just click Insert  Ã‚  PivotTable, select your data range, use the drop-down menu to select your fields, then make your table!7. VLOOKUPIf you’re working in a database with multiple s heets and tabs, VLOOKUP is a great way to bring them all together and pull coherent information from the entire data set. Under the Formula menu, select VLOOKUP and enter the cell that contains your reference, then the range of cells to pull from, the column number, and either â€Å"true† or â€Å"false.†These few tricks are handy for everyone, but will make you stand out among your colleagues- even if you’re â€Å"bad at numbers.†Once you have these done, step up your game and learn these 7 advanced Excel Tricks. It might even get you a raise or promotion.7 Excel Tricks Thatll Make Your Life a Lot Easier (Especially if Youre Not a Numbers Person)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Sea Water Intrusion in Estuaries Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sea Water Intrusion in Estuaries - Article Example The results obtained using the model includes the measure of water level, discharge and salinity level. These have shown good agreement with the observed results. Also, a direct relationship between longitudinal salt dispersion with flood-ebb loop length and tidal efficiency is also confirmed in this study (Nguyen et al, 2008b). The prediction of the salinity distribution in the complex situations like multi-channel estuaries like Mekong delta have also been reported in the literature (Nguyen and Savenije, 2006). Mekong delta is unique in its character. It has large number of branches and transports huge quantity of water (2000 cu.m per second) even during summer. The prediction model is framed on the principle that the multi-channel estuarine system would function as single entity and the paired branches could be appropriately combined to one. The results obtained from the analysis show that steady state models could predict the salinity levels very well. They could also explain the equilibrium conditions established in the estuaries during variable flow period especially during the dry seasons. Also, authors have computed the system response time for Mekong also. The data used in the paper was collected during the period 1991 to 1998. As Mekong delta is a very active morphologically, it's topography too is undergoing continuous change due to the transport of sediments through the river. Hence, the model would require continuous improvement by incorporating the recent topographical details. Further, the model also has parameters like mean estuary depth and river discharge that have high degree of uncertainty (Nguyen and Savenije, 2006). Determination of fresh water discharge is essential for quantification of salinity distribution. In the case of very low flows the salinity distribution is observed to be maximum. But the low fresh water flows coupled with high tidal flows make the accurate estimate of fresh water discharges very difficult. And in the case of Mekong delta, the multi channel characteristics make the accurate direct determination of discharge computation very cumbersome. A reliable model has been proposed to estimate the river discharge under the above situations (Nguyen et al, 2008a). The principle applied in this process is the reverse calculation, from the known values of salinity distribution the authors have developed equations to determine the river discharge. In this connection, two separate approaches have been attempted for different clusters of rivers in this basin. In the first approach, based on the information on the salinity distribution and estuarine shape of each branch the discharge i n the individual branches is computed. And in the other approach, from the combined shape of estuarine branches and the salinity distribution, the combined discharge is estimated. These analytical models could be used to compute the river discharges in multi channel estuarine regions by collecting the salinity distributions (Nguyen et al, 2008a). References Nguyen, A.D. and Savenije, H.H.G Salt intrusion in multi channel estuaries : a case study in Mekong delta, Vietnam, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10, 2006, 743 -754. Nguyen, A.D., Savenije, H.H.G, Pham, D N and Tang, D T, Using salt intrusion measurements to determine the freshwater discharge distribution over

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Home bound geriatric patients Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Home bound geriatric patients - Essay Example Homebound geriatric patients often live in senior apartment housing or sometimes, in individual housing. Their homes are sometimes in substandard conditions even if they try very hard to keep their homes clean and livable. Most geriatric patients live alone and depend on visits from family and/or medical professionals for their survival. Their physical limitations also make it difficult for them to go out and buy food for themselves, or if they do have food, they are hampered by their physical or cognitive disabilities to prepare the food. They are vulnerable because of their physical limitations which put them in further danger of injury. Their physical limitations and dependence consequently makes them frustrated and depressed. Their doctors sometimes do not see them for years because they cannot leave their homes and physicians are not anymore in the practice of making house calls. Oftentimes, when medical help is made available to them, their medical condition has already progres sed to unmanageable stages. They are then again consigned to nursing homes or sent back home—back to the very conditions that brought about their worsening medical conditions. I chose this topic because like, the homebound elderly patients, this topic is not given enough attention by the medical community, by our government, and by our society. I chose this topic for its relevance. â€Å"World demographic changes show an increase in the elderly population worldwide† (Zini & Pietrokovsky, 2006). The increase in life span has also resulted to an increase in the number of elderly patients but still not enough medical attention and care given to them. This topic interests me because, unless attention is brought to it, this problem will worsen. The early 1990s alone presented alarming statistics for homebound elderly patients. â€Å"The growth in the number of elderly people in need of long-term care at home has been and is projected to be

Monday, November 18, 2019

The evolving nature of masculine and feminine roles in relationships Annotated Bibliography

The evolving nature of masculine and feminine roles in relationships - Annotated Bibliography Example ity to push their agenda and advocacy, among which are the legal aspects as well as the ensuring financial benefits of such unions, such as right to get pension and survivorship benefits for the partner or spouse. Goldberg, Abbie E., Smith, Julianna Z., and Maureen Perry-Jenkins. â€Å"The Division of Labour in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual New Adoptive Parents.† Journal of Marriage and Family 74.4 (Aug. 2012): 812-828. Print. This article journal examines the differences in the division of labour among various couples (gay, lesbian, and heterosexual) among newly-adoptive couples who in turn are influenced by their levels of income (resulting in greater discrepancies in contribution to feminine tasks) while number of works hours resulted into a greater discrepancy in contribution to masculine tasks at home. The research examined a total of 160 newly-adoptive couples of various gender orientations but the general finding is that same-sex couples shared child care and house work more equally as compared to heterosexual couples. This gives a newer meaning to the concept of intimate relationships where gender roles are often opaque or ambiguous, such as who plays the father and who plays the mother. This book re-examines the on-going and never-ending debate on the nature of gender and its formative influences. Gender is reviewed again from the perspectives of genetics, molecular biology, evolutionary theory, psychology, sociology, and neuroanatomy. It is an interesting read because it presents a review of the very nature of gender and how masculinity and feminity are each defined. Gender is a very complex concept, with overlapping similarities and differences. Lucier-Greer, Mallory, Adler-Baeder, Francesca, Ketring, Scott, and Thomas Smith. â€Å"Malleability of Gender Role Attitudes: Gendered Messages in Relationship Education.† The National Council on Family Relations. Nov. 2011. 1-2. Print. The research study looked at how relationship education (RE) can be

Friday, November 15, 2019

Analysing The Fostering Industry Social Work Essay

Analysing The Fostering Industry Social Work Essay The Competitor analysis consists of finding out how other firms compete with fostering solutions in the market. What they are doing or providing that make them different from fostering solutions and how fostering solutions can improve upon to become a more efficient, much more profitable and recruit more foster carers. This has been done by understanding the current situation of the fostering industry, the challenges its facing. Also the role the local authority plays in fostering industry and finding where the demand exists across UK. After this the competitors are assessed have been assessed on turnover, profit margin, ofsted ratings, location, services provided, placements provided and foster carer allowance paid. This gives an idea as to how these firms compete directly with fostering solutions in the industry. Competitor analysis The fostering industry is going through a phase of challenges. There is a shortage of over 10000 foster care families in UK. Because of this local authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are forced to make placement of children with respect to available vacancy rather than meeting best needs of child.(fosteringnet,2010)Accurate information on the number of foster carers in each country and number of foster carers recruited by each independent agency is less readily available, but statistics compiled by the fostering network for England by Ofsted suggest that there has been an increase in number of foster carers by 12.6% since 2004. However the growth was only 7.2% in England whereas it was up by 60% in Wales. (updatecostfostercare, 2010) A report from researchers at Loughborough Universitys Centre for Child and Family Research (CCFR) and leading charity the Fostering Network has identified a shortfall in funding for foster care in the UK.  The Cost of Foster Ca re, a report published about the fostering industry analysis, shows that fostering industry is an underfunded service, with a need of around  £580 million across the UK immediately to develop a efficiently resourced fostering service that fulfils the needs of children in care.(lough,2010) Following the Governments decision to assert the local authorities more flexibility on making savings, the Fostering Network is of the belief that any reduction in spending on foster care would make the system ineffective, unsustainable and hinder the improvements made in outcomes for children. It warns funding for foster care must be maintained otherwise societys most vulnerable children will suffer. Fostering is under immense pressure due to year-on-year increases in the number of children coming into care and the chronic shortage of 10,000 foster carers. (bbc,2010) Statistics on looked after children There are over 83,000 children and young people looked after in the United Kingom. Out of these children, around 70,000 are looked after away from home, over 54,000 of whom (around 77 per cent) live with at least 45,000 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Statistics by nation The statistics below provide a picture of the care system on just one day of the year. Many more children and young people move in and out of public care over the course of 12 months. England As of 31 March 2009 60,900  children have been looked after. Over  three fourths  of children are being looked after away from home (44,200 or 78 per cent) were living with foster carers. It is estimated that in England there are at least  37,000 foster families.   An estimate by the fostering network shows a shortage of at least 8200 foster carer families. (fosteringnet1, 2010) Northern Ireland As of 31 March 2009 2463 children have been looked after. Around sixty six percent  of children looked after away from home (1,607 or 65 per cent) were  living with foster carer families. It is estimated that in the Northern Ireland there are approximately  1,800 approved foster families  of which 450 are family and friends carers. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows a  shortage  of around 200 long-term foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Scotland As of March 2009 around  15,288  children are looked after by local authorities in Scotland out of which  around 6,366  are children looked after away from home and their family. Over  two thirds  of children being looked after away from home and their family (4,497 or 71 per cent) were living with foster carer families. There are approximately  3,300  foster families  in Scotland. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows there is a  shortage  of at least  1,700 foster families.(fosteringnet1, 2010) Wales As of 31 March 2009 around 4,705  children looked after. Over  four fifths  of children looked after away from home (3,630 or 86 per cent) were living with foster carers. Approximately 3000 foster families are there in Wales. An estimate by the Fostering Network shows there is a  shortage  of at least  750 foster families in Wales. (fosteringnet1, 2010) Demand Local authorities were asked how many foster families they would have to recruit in order to offer placement choice to the children in their care. Placement choice means having a sufficiently wide pool of foster families so that each child can live with a family that meets their individual needs.(fosteringnet2, 2010) England  8,200 of which North West 1,700 North East 1,300 West Midlands 650 East Midlands 450 East 650 South West 600 South East 850 London 2,000 Northern Ireland  200 (updated in March 2009) Scotland  1,700 (May 2005 figure) Wales  750 (fosteringnet2, 2010) There is maximum demand for foster carers in London and North West of England. Research by the Fostering Network also found 82% of local authorities saw a rise in the number of children coming into care and needing foster homes in 2009-10. (bbc, 2010) Local authority as a competitor When a porters 5 forces model is developed, the local authority is a supplier, buyer as well as a competitor in this industry. The local authority buy the service of the fostering agency, they supply the children for placement to the fostering agencies and they also place children on their own hence they are a competitor. Comparison of Approved foster carers in year 2008-2009 between Local authorities and Independent Fostering agencies Local Authority Independent agencies Total number of foster carers approved 3423 2088 Total number of foster carers held as 23195 9893 on 31 march 2009 Comparison of placements provided between Local authorities and Independent fostering agencies in year 2008-2009 Total number of long term placement 6146 3758 Total number of continuing care placement 1655 1149 Total number of time limited placement 12879 4877 Total number of emergency care placement 824 2013 Total number of intensive fostering placements 1016 874 Total number of treatment care placements 86 150 Total number of short break for disabled children 2876 398 Total number of short break for non disabled children 534 50 (fostering agencies and fostering services dataset,2010 ) The local authority has placed more children in the 2008-2009 period as compared to the independent fostering agencies and are therefore identified as one of the bigger threats to fostering solutions along with the top two fostering agencies Foster care associates and National foster association. On discussion with Michelle about this we came to a conclusion that the reason could be that local authorities do not strive for the inspection quality in their approval process that the independent agencies might be doing. And this was found out to be true when we chose 6 local authorities in random and checked their ofsted ratings. None of whom had outstanding ratings, 2 had satisfactory and 4 had good. (refer to appendix c1) Number of applications from prospective fostering households received Local Authority 7253 Independent agencies- 6607 The statistics show that even though the independent fostering agencies are providing better allowances the prospective foster carers prefer the local authority to independent fostering agencies. The reason here could be because local authorities are key authority in placing children to the foster carers. Hence the myth that if foster carers join the local authority fostering they could get children placed quicker with them. How many foster carers successfully completed the Childrens Development Workforce Councils certificate in Training, Support and development Standards for Foster Care? Local authority- 825 Independent fostering agencies- 529 (fostering agencies and fostering services dataset,2010 ) Local authorities are thus a serious competitor(substitute) for the independent fostering agencies. Competitor analysis-company reports The fostering industry is going through a challenge to recruit foster carers to look after children who are in abundance. In the fostering business agencies recruit foster carers, who are when placed with children or young people get paid for the placement from the local authority. In consultation with fostering solutions we have identified the top 9 independent fostering agencies who directly compete with fostering solutions in the industry. Foster care Associates National Fostering Agency Orange Grove SWIIS Pathways Barnardos Capstone Fostercare TACT By the Bridge Fostering In the Appendix C2 shows the turnover, profit margin, ofsted ratings, foster carer allowance paid comparison of the 9 competitors. Below is a detailed report on each of 9 fostering companies in terms of location, ofsted ratings, services provided, placements provided, number of employees and foster carer allowance paid. By doing so we can find out how each of these companies compete with Fostering solutions in the industry. After each company report we look at a findings/strategy/comparison section to emphasize how they compete in the industry and vs fostering solutions. Due to word limit a detailed analysis of services comparison is provided in the appendix. (refer appendix m3) Foster Care Associates Over 80 Offices in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. (fca1, 2010) Part of Core assets group. The Core Assets Group of Companies provides an international portfolio of social care services, offering innovative business solutions to the care sector. Foster care associates has subsidiaries in UK. Fostering First (Ireland ) Limited Fostering people Limited Outcomes (UK) Limited Fostering First International, a sister company  to Foster Care Associates Ltd, is  currently  located in 7 different countries:  Republic of Ireland,  Finland,  Sweden, Germany,  Australia,  New Zealand  and  Canada. (fcacorp, 2010) Services provided to foster carers(fca2, 2010) They provide a Respite of up to 21 nights per year. They avail the service of a Therapist They hold Regular group meetings held at local fca office They give Membership to foster talk They arrange for Organised activities They hold Foster care training program They provide for Children and young people support workers Placements provided(fca3, 2010) Emergency Short term Long term Respite Parent and child placement Placement for sanctuary seeking children and young people Placement for disabled children Short term breaks OFSTED ratings (ofsted,2010) 2 Outstanding and 7 good Foster carer allowance- 390 Pounds / Week (fca4, 2010) Financial data( FAME) th gbp 2008(data available only for financial year end 2008 Turnover 119612 Profit before taxation 10074 Number of employees 871 Key Issues and Facts(fca5,2010) 2400 children placed as of December 2009. Highest number of placements across all IFAs in the UK.(fca5,2010) Foster carer recruited in year of 2009 above 360 . 94% of local authorities present in England have partnered with them. They claim 66% of the Scottish Local authorities work as partners with them. They claim 95% of the local authorities present in Wales work as partners with them. They claim that 100% of Northern Ireland local authorities work in partnership with them. (fca6, 2010) Findings/Strategy/Comparison FCA have presence internationally whereas fostering solutions is based only in UK. Therefore having presence internationally could be a benefit to FCA over fostering solutions. There is a credibility, brand image and recognition that comes with being present in multiple countries. FCA has presence in North Ireland whereas fostering solutions has no office/branch in Northern Ireland. FCA have a monopoly in Northern Ireland as none of the 8 competitors and fostering solutions do not have an office there. *Turnover is the highest, but profit margin is not may be because the cost is also high. We assume that it could be because it maintains high cost to maintain quality and good service. *financial data of 31-12-2008 only was available for FCA. Thomson research database showed inconclusive data of FCA having round about same turnover for 2009. Services Therapist available for consultation for Fca, whereas Fostering solutions has no mention of providing such a service in their brochure.   Supporting foster carers in negotiating with schools and promoting the childs educational needs, no mention of providing such a service in their brochure. 21 days paid respite per year vs 2 weeks paid respite provided by fostering solutions FCA provides placement for disabled children which fostering solutions do not provide. On consulting with Michelle she highlighted the costs associated with providing such a service and the specialised staff that would be required. In addition to this she added that placement of disabled children is only a small number. Nonetheless its a way in which foster care associates are competing with fostering solutions since they have the staff and specialisation to provide the placement even if its for a small number of placements. Location Their major strengths are their presence in various locations across UK, with over 40 offices. They claim you are never more than 40 miles from an FCA office and their relationship with local authorities as highlighted above, since its the local authorities who are going to give them the placement for their foster carers. People prefer companies/agencies that are local in their presence in the fostering industry. Therefore FCA promotes themselves locally to be able to recruit foster carers efficiently. National fostering agency They are located at Cardiff, Lowestoft and Stirling with Head Office at Uxbridge.(nfa1, 2010) Services provided (nfa2, 2010) The national fostering agency believes that fostering is a service which is to be provided at a local level to be a successful fostering agency. They pride themselves in believing they provide a fostering service with local care and support along with national expertise. Most of the centralised functions occur through their head and regional offices, the key job involving high quality placements for children remains with the local foster carer. The National Fostering Agency claim the foster carers are supported on a 24 hour basis by local professionally qualified and experienced Supervising Social workers. The foster carers are provided support from a professionally qualified social worker They provide a 24 hour telephone advice and support to the foster carers. The provide one monthly visit and a weekly telephone call There are various training and development opportunities They provide foster carers the opportunity to meet with other foster carers at support groups The foster carers are given good financial support for caring for the child They provide membership of the Fostering Network to the foster carers. They provide good legal protection insurance The foster carers are provided regular foster carers news and information. Placements provided (nfa3, 2010) Emergency Placements Task Centred Placements Parent Child Placements Bridging Placement Long Term Placements Foster carer allowance 366 pounds GBP PW(nfa4, 2010) Financial Data FAME database th Gbp 2009 Turnover 43122 Profit before taxation 6623 Number of employees 171 OFSTED Ratings(ofsted, 2010) 2 good Findings/Strategy/Comparison When compared with fostering solutions NFA more or less provide the same range of basic services to foster carers. They have just 4 offices across the UK but their turnover and profit margin is more than fostering solutions. (appendix c2). Their way of operating is, all referrals for placements throughout the UK are managed by four teams located in their offices at Lowestoft, Uxbridge, Cardiff and Stirling. They work in close ties with the regional social workers and thus manage to provide efficient placements. Inspite of being present in only 4 locations their method of working closely with regional social worker staff gives them a local presence. NFA have an interesting strategy to recruit foster carers. They have advertised on job search websites such as reed and jobsite for foster carer recruitment. This strategy has been followed by a number of companies though fostering solutions have not used this method of recruiting foster carers.(reed, 2010) SWIIS Foster care Location ( sw1,2010) SWIIS Foster Care was formed in the year 2000 as an Independent Fostering Provider within the already successful SWIIS group of social care related companies. They have their Head office in London with 6 more offices/branches in England and 4 offices/branches in Scotland. Services provided (sw2,sw3, 2010) SWIIS is dedicated to creating the best opportunities for children and young people in foster care: They believe in creating the best outcomes for children and young people in foster care. They provide a comprehensive package of social work, education and health They work in close relations with placing authority social workers, local education, health and therapy providers They provide each child or young person with a care package that addresses all of their needs They claim to offer the best value for children, carers and placing authorities alike They claim to work with local authorities to help them meet required Performance Indicators They claim their placements provide demonstrable positive indicators of improvement for young people in the five key outcome areas namely being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being They provide all the approved SWIIS foster carers extensive pre and post approval training including the opportunity to take relevant social care training modules and NVQ programmes with the priority being given to issues such as Safer Caring and Managing Challenging Behaviour Health(sw3, 2010) They provide designated health professionals to support children for their health and is an outstanding provision in this area. Education They make sure every effort is taken to ensure children and young people can reach to their potential in education by dedicated staff. There are efficient resources in place to support the children with their education. Types of Placements available (sw4, 2010) short term placements longer term. bridging placements respite placements placements provided for all age groups which includes higher aged teenagers, sibling groups and disabled children. short notice unplanned placements provided. Foster carer allowance 400-580 £ PW- best in the industry.(sw5,2010) Financial Data th GBP 2009 Turnover 13362 Profit before taxation 1074 Profit margin 8.04% Number of employees 81 OFSTED ratings(ofsted- sw, 2010) 2 outstanding 3 good and 1 satisfactory Findings/Strategy/Comparison There is a designated education officer to help children with studies, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure. There is a designated health officer to advice foster carers on health issues for the children, no mention of any such service in fostering solutions brochure. They provide the best financial package of all the fostering companies with 400 580ppw. This could mean since they provide the foster carer a high allowance, they could be charging the local authority a high amount. There is lack of data available regarding charges to local authority by independent agencies and children placed. By looking at their turnover and profit margin we can see that they have done well and ranked sixth in the turnover/profit margin index. This means they have been placing children from local authority to the foster carers.(refer to appendix c1 or above for turnover/profit margin) They have the specialisation and staff to provide placement for children with disabilities provided, whereas as we have already looked above fostering solutions do not. By The Bridge Fostering They have branches/offices at Sittingbourne, Kent, Regional offices in Essex and Warwickshire and West London. (bythebridge1, 2010) OFSTED Rating 1 Only one ofsted report was found at ofsted inspection reports. Outstanding (ofstedbythebridge, 2010) They achieved iso 9001 accreditation in 2009 Advertising board deal with crystal palace football club- Marketing strategy to increase its brand awareness and reputation. (bythebridge2, 2010) Therapeutic Fostering The by the bridge foster carers are committed and have a unique opportunity to enrol into a degree certificate in therapeutic fostering from the University of Greenwich. (bythebridge3, 2010) Financial data th GBP 2009 Turnover 10132 Profit before taxation 2451 Profit margin 24.19% Number of employees 40 Findings/Strategy/Comparison By the Bridge fostering is a small agency with just 40 employees, but they have higher profit before taxation than fostering solutions. This could be due to lesser administration overheads due to its small size. They are recruiting in East, South east, London and Midlands region.(refer to appendix c2) Its key to note that by the bridge fostering has the best profit margin of all the 10 agencies.( refer to appendix,c1) The foster carers are committed to a degree in therapeutic fostering. Thus they have an added incentive of becoming a foster carer as well as a chance to earn a degree certificate in therapeutic fostering. This could be a major attraction to foster carers in joining by the bridge fostering. This unique certificate in therapeutic fostering is provided which is a one year course covering transactional analysis theories combined with social work ideas to help understand what children and others do what they do and how can they be helped, no such service provided by fostering solutions. Orange Grove Location (og1, 2010) The Orange Grove fostering agency was taken over by Hillcrest foster care to operate under the Orange Grove Fostercare. They have 10 Offices in England. Types of placement available(og2, 2010) Teenagers Sibling groups Parent and baby for young people chance to become a parent Special needs Unaccompanied asylum seeking young people Solo placements Services provided to foster carers(og3, 2010) They provide a minimum of 12 supervision visits by a local Social Worker They provide additional support visits on a needs-led basis by our approved Social Workers or Family Support Workers There is a minimum of 1 unannounced visit per annum There is provision for 1 independently-led annual review per annum They provide Psychological support on a needs-led basis plus additional support groups/surgeries as required They provide Out of hours 365/24/7 on-call support service by local social work staff They provide 14 nights of respite They offer Retainer payments (subject to qualifying criteria)*** There is a monthly carer support meeting The agency will endeavour, with the help and support of carers, to ensure that all carers have a Schedule 3 Respite Carer in place*** They provide a published programme of regular training They provide training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (Fostering)/Management of Aggression with regular follow-up training They provide birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at The Fostering Network rates There is a target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, Theme Parks, BBQs, etc They provide a weekend break for birth children They provide an independent Childrens Helpline to foster children and birth children They provide an Independent allegation support service Their Social Workers attend at all meetings, conferences, reviews, etc They provide Educational support There is an annual carer conference. Hillcrest ( Orangegrove ) Financial data th gbp 2008 Turnover 23993 Profit before taxation 1906 Profit margin 7.94 Number of employees 526 (FAME,2010) to be done referencing Foster carer allowance 320-461ppw (og4, 2010) OFSTED ratings(ofsted-og, 2010) 4 good 1 satisfactory Findings/Strategy/Comparison Services Target of 4 regional activities per office for carers and children, e.g. Pantomime, Theme Parks, BBQs, etc, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure. -Training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Birthday, Festival and Holiday allowances at the Fostering Network rates, Independent Childrens Helpline for foster children and birth children -Independent allegation support service, no mention of providing such a service by fostering solutions in their brochure. Strategy- orange grove provide a combination of an array of services to foster carers with an upper limit of allowance of 461ppw as compared to 390 being upper limit paid by fostering solutions. They are a strong competitor as they match with fostering solutions on services provided and also pay a competitive allowance whose upper limit is higher than fostering solutions. Barnardos Wide coverage in UK with presence in London, Yorkshire, Midlands, North West, Scotland, Cymru, Northern Ireland. (barnardos,2010) Fundraising Fostering and adoption Research and influencing practice Barnardos have more than around 100 years of experienced in the fostering industry. They have above 30 services recruiting a variety of carers across the United Kingdom. (barnardos, 2010) What facilities they give the foster carers They provide on-going relevant/specialist training They provide 24-hour advice and back-up They provide regular supervision from their friendly team Provision of a generous fee and allowance They provide careful and considered matching with a child They provide the opportunity to lead the way in setting the highest standards for children and young people in foster care. placements provided (baplacements, 2010) -permanent and long term -bridging placement -short term -emergency -parent and child Foster carer allowance- 100-200ppw (cypnow,2010) Current and future strategies and objectives making barnardos influencing work more effective looking to improve the extent to which lessons learnt from its work on the ground leaed to better outcomes for disadvantaged children. Brand and image enhancement- it recognises it needs to be better at explaining to the public exactly how it works and what it stands for so that it can generate more support for its influencing work- Believe in Children- Strap line. Implementing refreshed strategies for participation and volunteering. Increasing net return from fundraising Improving cost effectiveness of support functions both at head office and locally. Loss before taxation -27358 Profit margin Number of employees 7085 OFSTED RATINGS(ofsted-ba, 2010) 2 outstanding 8 good Findings/Strategy/Comparison They compete as a reputed company with 100 years experience in fostering. Its a charity organisation in existence for a long time with presence in number of countries. They do fostering also as a part of helping children and young people. Prospective foster carers might be attracted to foster with barnardos due to its brand name and reputation which could get them a placement quickly. They pay lower allowance to foster carers than any other company which means they might be charging the local authority less than any other independent agency. They being a charity organisation, the prospective foster carers could feel a sense of social cause attachment to the organisation and could be a big plus for an agency like barnardos. Capstone fostercare Locations 7 offices at Birmingham, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset, Kent and London. (cap1, 2010) Services provided (cap2, 2010) All those preparing to become foster carers will attend two days of Skills to Foster training followed by one day of CWDC Workshop training. This gives a detailed picture of what fostering is about and looks more closely at developing the skills and kno

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Janie Crawford’s School of Hard Knocks in Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Janie Crawford’s School of Hard Knocks in Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Crawford evolving selfhood through three marriages. Fair-skinned, long haired, dreamy as a child, Janie grows up expecting better treatment than she gets. Living life as one man's mules or another man's adornment. Janie is one black woman who does not have to live in lost sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, for Janie has learned "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh themselves." Janie Crawford is better off at the end of the noval Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie is confused when she was a young woman. The noval explains her life as a young girl. Her mother left her when she was really young. Janie never met her. Her grandmother explains that her master raped her, "Den, one night ah heard de big funs boomin' lak thunder. It kept up all night. And de next morin' Ah could see uh big ship at a distance and a great stirrin' round. So Ah wrapped mah way on down to de landin'. The men was all in blue, and Ah heard people say Sherman was comin' to meet de boats in Savannah, and all of us slaves was free. So Ah run got mah baby and got in quotation wid people and found a place Ah could stay." Grandmother was wanting to make a school teacher out of Janie's mother. Janie found out that a school teacher rapped her mother so she never met her father either. Janie's mother was seventeen, when she was pregnant with Janie. After Janie was born, Janie's mother took to drinking a lot. Janie's grandmother raised Janie since she was born, grandmother says "Maybe it wasn't much, but Ah done de best Ah kin by you. Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn't have to stay in de white folk's yard and tuck yo' head befor' other chillun at school." When Janie turned sixteen years of age, her childhood had ended with a kiss from a boy named Johnny Taylor. Grandmother wanted to see her married at once but Janie did not understand what was going on. Janie did not feel love for this man or any man at this time but grandmother explains that she is not going to be around forever and she wants to protect her from harm and danger. Janie's life as a young person was a hardship she did not understand what purpose in life she has and

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Internal & External Factors that Affect Management

In today’s ever changing business world companies from of all sizes have to be aware of the different factors that might affect the way they are managed and ultimately operate. There are two main areas where these factors can originate, internally and externally. According to â€Å"Businessdictionary. com† (2013), â€Å"Internal factors are inner strengths and weaknesses that an organization exhibits. Internal factors can strongly affect how well a company meets its objectives, and they might be seen as strengths if they have a favorable impact on a business, but as weaknesses if they have a deleterious effect on the business.† (para. 1).External factors are the opposite of internal factors because they involve all relevant forces outside a firm’s boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and the economy. In the following we will discuss how a company like Google is affected by internal and external factors that change their four function s of management such as globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics. Organizational culture is a business’ DNA.Depending on how strong or weak an organization’s culture is will determine how successful that business generally becomes. This analogy can not be more evident than with or organization, Google; founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 while still at Stanford pursuing graduate degrees. Their youthful outlook remains dominant within company culture today (Johansson, (2010)). Organizationally, Google maintains a casual and democratic atmosphere (quite similar to our owner’s personalities), resulting in its distinction as a Flat company.Within the walls or more correctly the parameters of this flat company, teams are made up of members with equal authority and certain level of autonomy is maintained. This unique approach has lead Google to boast about some unique cultural aspects such as: double rooms (few single offices! ) with thre e or four team members, dogs, lava lamps, and massage chairs and even local touches like ski gondolas in Zurich, express each office's unique location and personality. With benefits like those, it’s clear to see how Fortune magazine describes us as the best company in the world to work for.The fostering creative, relaxed work environment along with the entire unique employee perks help shape the strong unified culture amongst Google (Johansson, (2010)). On the other hand a week organizational culture can lead to toxic consequences for a business. Consider, Enron, a prime example. Once one of the most successful businesses in its heyday has long gone but its lessons endure. The company’s epic fail resulted in the biggest business bankruptcy ever, facilitated by unethical behavior by its top-level managers.Ethics which are part of the planning function of management goals are to identify both the rules that should govern people’s behavior and the products that are worth purchasing. Proper ethical behavior is generally demonstrated and facilitated by top- level manager as a working example for other employees to adopt and cultivate within the organization. â€Å"Just as character matters in people, it matters in organizations,† says Justin Schultz, a corporate psychologist in Denver. This was not the case with Enron’s leaders, who sought excess at the expense of their employees, shareholders and community.In the end, those misplaced ethics destroyed Enron and essentially the only product they produced worth seeking can be found in university textbooks that characterizes Enron’s unethical behavior (Silverstein, (2013)). Similar to how internal factors influence a company culture throughout an organization and vice versa during planning, external factors can influence management within the function of planning. Particularly technology, for example just as with any planning phase, decisions about technology must balance inte rnal capabilities (strengths and weaknesses) with external opportunities and threats.Management uses several techniques to better understand how technology is evolving within a particular industry (Bateman & Snell, Chapter 10,Assessing External Technological Trends, (2011)). Globalization is another one of the major factors that can influence the way that a company manages itself. According to â€Å"Oxforddictionaries. com† (2013), † globalization is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale† (para. 1).According to Adams (2008) â€Å"Businesses are said to be competing on a level global playing field almost without regard to location or nationality. † (p. 153). This could be advantageous to a company like Google or a disadvantage as well. Planning can be a problem with globalization because not only is Google doing business in other countries they also have offices in them as well. Communication on a real-time level can be difficult by collaborating with people in different time zones and languages. This could be helpful thoughas well because of all of the different backgrounds and diversity in the countries that Google operates in can give strong ideas to plan upon. Organizational efforts can be a bit troublesome as well when you are working across such a vast area and diverse people. Getting the right people together to attend meetings, whether it’s over the phone or face to face via video conferencing, can be hard to organize as well. Although again this could be advantageous to Google because of all of the diversity of its employees, organizing can lead to big things.One of the more important functions of management is leading and this could be compromised by globalization in a couple different ways. If you have a employees working on a team that are far apart in different countries, the team leader or manager can find it difficult to get the most out of his workers because of language barriers, time zones, or ethical differences. However, this could work out good for the manager because he or she could use the different backgrounds of the employees to motivate or come up with new tactics to improve efficiency.The one thing that should not have an effect by globalization is controlling. With technology these days watching over or supervising a group, ever over a vast area, is not that difficult. With the invention of video conferencing and things like databases and dashboards, managers are able to see and control a wide variety of things. On the other hand, some things can be easier to get by management, like time working on a project, than if it was all in one building. Another factor that can change the way Google manages itself is diversity.The previous few paragraphs touched on this point a little but this does change things a lot. Planning can be a bit challenging because of how many different backgrounds an d morals that a manager has to consider. Again this can be helpful though as well because of the different ideas that can come out of the diversity of the employees. Organizing these diverse people can be hard as well. Some of them might have different religious holidays and beliefs so the manager might have to work around them to maintain a good moral.On the flip side this could be a good thing because again the diversity can be an advantage to the manager. Leading can be another way that this can be advantageous because a manager can really play on the emotions of their diverse employees by really respecting their beliefs and morals so that the manager can gain respect. The down side is that it might go against the morals of the manager to respect or allow an employee’s beliefs in which the leader of the team is dissatisfied. Controlling can be difficult because of the different language barriers and time zones to really get a handle on things.With all of these different fa ctors weighing on Google’s management functions, it appears that there are many more advantageous opportunities to increase efficiency and profits while expanding the company to new heights. However, if any of these factors start to change or start to affect the company in a more negative way without addressing it or changing, things might go terribly wrong for the company. So make sure that everything is running smoothly and not to a point that it will look bad on the company.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Henri Becquerel and the Discovery of Radioactivity

Henri Becquerel and the Discovery of Radioactivity Antoine Henri Becquerel (born December 15, 1852 in Paris, France), known as Henri Becquerel, was a French physicist who discovered radioactivity, a process in which an atomic nucleus emits particles because it is unstable. He won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie, the latter of whom was Becquerel’s graduate student. The SI unit for radioactivity called the becquerel (or Bq), which measures the amount of ionizing radiation that is released when an atom experiences radioactive decay, is also named after Becquerel. Early Life and Career Becquerel was born December 15, 1852, in Paris, France, to Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel and Aurelie Quenard. At an early age, Becquerel attended the preparatory school Lycà ©e Louis-le-Grand, located in Paris. In 1872, Becquerel began attending the École Polytechnique and in 1874 the École des Ponts et Chaussà ©es (Bridges and Highways School), where he studied civil engineering. In 1877, Becquerel became an engineer for the government in the Department of Bridges and Highways, where he was promoted to engineer-in-chief in 1894.  At the same time, Becquerel continued his education and held a number of academic positions. In 1876, he became an assistant teacher at the École Polytechnique, later becoming the school’s chair of physics in 1895. In 1878, Becquerel became an assistant naturalist at the Musà ©um d’Histoire Naturelle, and later became the professor of applied physics at the Musà ©um in 1892, after his father’s death. Becquerel was the third in his family to succeed this position. Becquerel received his doctorate from the Facultà © des Sciences de Paris with a thesis on plane-polarized light- the effect utilized in Polaroid sunglasses, in which light of only one direction is made to pass through a material- and the absorption of light by crystals. Discovering Radiation Becquerel was interested in phosphorescence; the effect utilized in glow-in-the-dark stars, in which light is emitted from a material when exposed to electromagnetic radiation, which persists as a glow even after the radiation is removed. Following Wilhelm Rà ¶ntgen’s discovery of X-rays in 1895, Becquerel wanted to see whether there was a connection between this invisible radiation and phosphorescence. Becquerel’s father had also been a physicist and from his work, Becquerel knew that uranium generates phosphorescence. On February 24, 1896, Becquerel presented work at a conference showing that a uranium-based crystal could emit radiation after being exposed to sunlight. He had placed the crystals on a photographic plate that had been wrapped in thick black paper so that only radiation that could penetrate through the paper would be visible on the plate. After developing the plate, Becquerel saw a shadow of the crystal, indicating that he had generated radiation like X-rays, which could penetrate through the human body. This experiment formed the basis of Henri Becquerel’s discovery of spontaneous radiation, which occurred by accident. Becquerel had planned to confirm his previous results with similar experiments exposing his samples to sunlight. However, that week in February, the sky above Paris was cloudy, and Becquerel stopped his experiment early, leaving his samples in a drawer as he waited for a sunny day. Becquerel did not have time before his next conference on March 2 and decided to develop the photographic plates anyway, even though his samples had received little sunlight. To his surprise, he found that he still saw the image of the uranium-based crystal on the plate. He presented these results on March 2 and continued to present results on his findings. He tested other fluorescent materials, but they did not produce similar results, indicating that this radiation was particular to uranium. He assumed that this radiation was different from X-rays and termed it â€Å"Becquerel radiation.† Becquerel’s findings would lead to Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of other substances like polonium and radium, which emitted similar radiation, albeit even more strongly than uranium. The couple coined the term â€Å"radioactivity† to describe the phenomenon. Becquerel won half of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity, sharing the prize with the Curies. Family and Personal Life In 1877, Becquerel married Lucie Zoà © Marie Jamin, the daughter of another French physicist. However, she died the following year while giving birth to the couple’s son, Jean Becquerel. In 1890, he married Louise Dà ©sirà ©e Lorieux. Becquerel came from a lineage of distinguished scientists, and his family contributed greatly to the French scientific community over four generations. His father is credited with discovering the photovoltaic effect- a phenomenon, important for the operation of solar cells, wherein a material produces electrical current and voltage when exposed to light. His grandfather Antoine Cà ©sar Becquerel was a well-regarded scientist in the area of electrochemistry, a field important for developing batteries that studies the relationships between electricity and chemical reactions. Becquerel’s son, Jean Becquerel, also made strides in studying crystals, particularly their magnetic and optical properties. Honors and Awards For his scientific work, Becquerel earned several awards throughout his lifetime, including the Rumford Medal in 1900 and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, which he shared with Marie and Pierre Curie. Several discoveries have also been named after Becquerel, including a crater called â€Å"Becquerel† both on the moon and Mars and a mineral called â€Å"Becquerelite† which contains a high percentage of uranium by weight. The SI unit for radioactivity, which measures the amount of ionizing radiation that is released when an atom experiences radioactive decay, is also named after Becquerel: its called the becquerel (or Bq). Death and Legacy Becquerel died from a heart attack on August 25, 1908, in Le Croisic, France. He was 55 years old. Today, Becquerel is remembered for discovering radioactivity, a process by which an unstable nucleus emits particles. Although radioactivity can be harmful to humans, it has many applications around the world, including the sterilization of food and medical instruments and the generation of electricity. Sources Allisy, A. â€Å"Henri Becquerel: The Discovery of Radioactivity.† Radiation Protection Dosimetry, vol. 68, no. 1/2, 1 Nov. 1996, pp. 3–10.Badash, Lawrence. â€Å"Henri Becquerel.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 21 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Becquerel.â€Å"Becquerel (Bq).† United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment, www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/becquerel-bq.html.â€Å"Henri Becquerel – Biographical.† The Nobel Prize, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/becquerel/biographical/.Sekiya, Masaru, and Michio Yamasaki. â€Å"Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852–1908): A Scientist Who Endeavored to Discover Natural Radioactivity.† Radiological Physics and Technology, vol. 8, no. 1, 16 Oct. 2014, pp. 1–3., doi:10.1007/s12194-014-0292-z.â€Å"Uses of Radioactivity/Radiation.† NDT Resource Center; www.nde-ed.org/EducationResou rces/HighSchool/Radiography/usesradioactivity.htm