Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Disability - Essay Example political, academic and social, the concept of disability enjoys greater significance and widespread interest. However, this very attribute of universality has led to various debates within the fields of health, politics, social science as well as philosophy with regards to its definition and scope. Academicians, scholars, health care providers and policy makers have debated to define the term as well as the manner in which it can be measured. However, regardless of the vastness of its scope, greater consensus have now seemed to emerge, which is evident from the various definitions provided by the WHO (WHO, 2001), ICF (ICF, 2001), and the UN convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Commission of Human Rights, 2006). The international community’s which have defined the term agree on disability being a culmination of complex interactions between medical abnormalities, physical health restrictions, as well as the attitudes of the external environment which restricts their complete and total inclusion within the mainstream society. â€Å"Disability is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.† (WHO, 2010). â€Å"A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being† (Disabled World, 2010). In conventional terms, the issue of disability have been invariably defined and viewed as a medical

Company Representative Motivation Letter Essay Example for Free

Company Representative Motivation Letter Essay Dear (Company Representative): I would like to express my appreciation for your consideration of my skills and qualifications for the management position with your company. It was a pleasure meeting with you. I am confident that you believe that my extensive management experience and that my strong leadership, analytical, and interpersonal skills is what you are looking for to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Sincerely,

Personal SWOT Analysis

Personal SWOT Analysis Introduction The process of creating my personal development plan (PDP) is a way to gain insight into where I am now and how to position myself to get to where I want to be. Having a PDP is more than having an ideal about a future job or career, it is about goal setting and creating a specific, measurable, realistic and time bound (SMART) road map about how to get there. Understanding the creation and use of PDPs is also, in itself, a useful skill to offer employers as personal development planning and objective setting are mainstays of human resource management in both the public and private sectors in the UK. At this time, my PDP is about getting me on the right track; while in the future achieving the identified objectives may well be necessary to achieve performance related pay and career progression. Commitment to the process of creating a workable PDP is therefore an important task. Where am I now? In terms of my performance on the degree so far, I have realised that I measure performance in a much broader sense than the grades that I have received in my coursework and examinations. Much of what I have learned at university so far has been about learning to manage time and commitments and ensure that I maximize the opportunities available to me. These opportunities include those afforded by my course, the university’s facilities, and also the opportunities that new friendships have brought. I have been pleased with my grades and consider myself to be on-track for a marketable 2:1; I have also received positive and helpful feedback from tutors. More pleasing has been the feeling of increased confidence in group situations with my peers that I have something to contribute and that I have the ability to influence and inspire others. This is particularly important to me as I do not simply aspire to a career in business but to achieve managerial and leadership responsibilitie s early in my career. From my SWOT analysis, the two things that I would identify as being critical to stop doing are spreading myself too thinly across too many interests and rushing onto the next project. The issue of spreading myself too thinly across a diverse range of extra curricular interests is important because, as stated, I have managerial and leadership ambitions. Membership of a wide array of groups and societies shows diversity of interests but it does not show depth and it is also hard to succeed in positions of responsibility within a group if you do not have the time to make a real commitment. The second issue, that of stopping rushing onto the next project is important for two key reasons. The first is that in rushing forward I have realized that I lose time to reflect, and reflection is critical in measuring project success or failure; secondly, in rushing forward, I can give a negative impression to peers that what I am doing now is less important than what I am going on to do[1]. In terms of what I plan to continue to do to maintain my performance, I have identified a good record of attendance at lectures and seminars and managing to keep up with the required reading. The primary reasons why I have identified these as critical factors would appear self-evident: I want to get value for money from my studies and to do this I need to attend lectures and seminars and ensure that I am sufficiently well prepared that I can follow lectures and contribute to seminars and tutorials. There is an additional factor too in that research has shown that attendance and success in coursework and examinations is positively correlated.[2] Brainstorming what I want to start doing brought up several items in my SWOT analysis. From this I have drawn out increasing employability by seeking internship and / or summer placement opportunities and also broadening my reading to develop a greater awareness of current affairs. I have identified the internship or placement as being critical as a successful placement would enable me to further fine tune my career plans in terms of sector sought and which aspects of business to focus on; it will also enhance my CV to future employers by showing that I was focused on my career before my final year. I have also identified broadening my reading as being critical as while I am passionate about business, research indicates that employers are seeking well-rounded candidates who are open minded and have an interest in the world around them[3]. Where am I going? My primary plan for what I hope to be doing within six months of graduating is to have successfully joined an established management training scheme. Having investigated the schemes available, I consider myself well-placed for those aimed at generalists, business specialists (operations / strategy), and also potentially schemes to develop future human resources managers. Given my broad interests in business, I would prefer a scheme that would give me exposure to a range of roles. I am particularly drawn to the MS Scheme, John Lewis Partnership Scheme, HMRC Talent Management Scheme, and also the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme for these reasons. Given the prevailing economic climate and uncertainty about the health of the job market that I will be graduating into, I propose to a contingency plan of obtaining a place on an MSc Business programme. How do I get there? Action plan outlining three personal objectives for the next 12 months that will help me in my career. References Flannes, SW and G Levin (2005) Essential People Skills for Project Managers. Management Concepts. Stewart, J and V Knowles (2001) Graduate recruitment: implications for business and management courses in higher education. Journal of European Industrial Training, 25, 2-4, 98-108. Appendices Personal SWOT Analysis First Name last Name Contact address: House name, Any town, Postcode E-mail: [emailprotected] Â ¨ Mobile telephone: 00000 00000 Anytown High School Highlights of A/AS and GCSE results WORK Experience Dates Organisation and location Your Role Your Responsibilities and any special projects you were involved in or areas of the business that you found particularly interesting Skills developed during employment: time management skills, giving effective feedback, etc. How this job influenced your application for the type of work you are seeking with this CV. 1 Footnotes [1] Flannes and Levin (2005) highlight the need to show consistent commitment to projects throughout the project cycle rather than focusing on the next stage or next project. [2] See Colby (2004) [3] Stewart and Knowles (2001)

Marriage in the Renaissance and Shakespeares As You Like It Essays

Marriage in the Renaissance and As You Like It      Ã‚   The concept of marriage has been considered to be a sacred and traditional part of life since the beginning of relationships between human beings. The rules of these intimate relationships were set up in accordance with church law. Such rules consisted of the conventional/typical marriage and the ritual of marriage (ceremony). William Shakespeare examines the customs of marriage practice of the Renaissance time period in his work As You Like It.    Marriage at the time focused on a heterosexual relationship between a man and woman. Kirsti S. Thomas, explains that marriage did not concern the true love element that exists in the typical marriages of today. At the time of Shakespeare, she states that marriage "served to transfer wealth or property and to continue the family line" (2). Marriages were the result of socially and economically oriented environments, similar to the caste system in India. According to a web source specializing in Renaissance weddings, such couplings of "...arranged marriages of the upper class were decided when the bride and groom were young, usually ten to eleven years. Lower class marriages had similar motives, however they were the result of pregnancies " (3). Generally, the marriage had to have full consent of at a family member or parental guardian. There were many ordinances and specific codes of conduct that had to be followed before a wedding was to take place. Thomas describes one of these ordi nances with having two guidelines, "In order to be recognized by the church, one of the partners must give consent and the priest must say the formula, 'we join together in this holy matrimony...'" (6). Courtly love did exist, and was encourage... ...t.   Consentual marriage was between a man and a woman. The ritual of a marriage ceremony was more secular and inter-linked with the Catholic church. Throughout the characters in the play, those themes are illustrated.    Works Cited Coulton, G.G. Life in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. 1967. P. 83 Davis, William Steams. Life of a Medieval Barony. Harper and Row. New York. 1951. P. 109-112. Greensblatt, Stephen.   The Norton Shakespeare Oxford Edition. W.W. Norton and Co. New York. 1997. 1591-1656. Thomas, Kirsti S/ "Medieval and Renaissance Marriage: Theory and Customs". Medieval and Renaissance Wedding Page. http://www.drizzle.com?~celyn/mrwp/mrwed.html. Ed: Kuehl B.J. 1995. Date Accessed: 14 October 2002. http://www.renaissance-weddings.net/ Renaissance Weddings. 2001. World Web Design, LLC. Date Accessed: 14 October 2002.

Airborne Express: the Underdog

AIRBORNE EXPRESS: THE UNDERDOG CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Analyze the United States small package express delivery industry in the 1990’s using the Porter’s Five Force Model. Rate each of the five forces as either weak, moderate, strong or fierce. Justify your rating by using two factors under each force and describing how these factors affect the strength of the force. The Bargaining Power of Buyers The bargaining power of the buyer was somewhat moderate-to-slightly strong due to the fact that certain corporations were so high ranked that, they could manipulate their prices to their advantage.On top of that substitutions existed with the other mailing companies which gave the â€Å"buyer† choices. Low prices were taken advantage of by consumers, for if they were too expensive, they’d switch their services over to another company who would provide the same shipping, delivery and transportation system, at a more reasonable price. High-volume corporate customer s have a great deal with more bargaining power than customers who don’t buy from them frequent enough. This meant that they could allow and demand substantial discounts.IBM made a 3-year contract with Airborne Express to pay them to carry their products that were 150 pounds or less. The only downfall about that was that Airborne Express had to offer rates 84% below Federal Express’s list prices. Approx. 80% of Airborne’s revenue came from corporate accounts such as IBM. High-volume corporate companies such as IBM have the bargaining power over Airborne Express. The Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of the suppliers, at the time, was fairly strong.When it came down to the delivering and shipping of packages in the world, there were only a few companies who operated globally. This is one bargaining power that Airborne (the supplier gained). . Data Product Corp. ; a producer of computer printers, contracted out Airborne to take care of their arrang ements and shipments of their component parts. Airborne controlled the consolidation and movement of component parts from the component part supplier through the Hong Kong assembly operation. This allowed the company to minimize inventory-holding costs for the Data Product Corp.Airborne was in control and created set prices for the company to abide by or else, they would cease to ship for the company. Airborne shipped everything by night in which they controlled when packages were delivered. They would close their drop boxes at 5pm, so any packages that weren’t ready by that time, weren’t shipped until the next day. They controlled the time of when packages were due so customers would push to get their packages put into these drop boxes before they closed. Airborne also created and built their own hub-and-spoke system capable of supporting a nationwide distribution system.They had their own planes, trucks, as well as other equipment, which meant that they didn’t have to rely on others to send out their packages. They were in control and could regulate their own price and supply levels directly. 2. List at least two strategies that Airborne implemented to strengthen each of the four building blocks of competitive advantage (efficiency, innovation, quality and customer responsiveness). Explain how the strategy strengthened the building block. r 3. Did Airborne Express have a sustainable competitive advantage? If yes, what was the competitive advantage based on.If no, why was their competitive advantage not sustainable? Yes, Airborne Express did have a sustainable competitive advantage. They provided many strategies that companies of others did not implement and/or use. One would be the usage of special drop boxes for their customers. Airborne provided multiple drop boxes in several locations for customers to send their packages along. The packages were collected from the drop boxes at 5 pm, everyday. These drop boxes were placed and located in specific locations such as; lobbies in major commercial buildings, which made access to these boxes available to many.Central drop boxes were placed in the cities as well, allowing customers up to 6 pm before collecting packages and closing the drop boxes. Another advantage that Airborne Express had over other companies was the development of their information systems. With these information systems in use, Airborne Express had improved their customer service as well as boost productivity within the company. The three information systems that were created were: the Libra II system, the FOCUS system, and also, the EDI system.Libra II was used to calculate and weigh the package at hand, while providing shipping labels and reports. The FOCUS system recorded the status of the package (such as location, shipment time, etc. ). Last but not least, the EDI system was used to â€Å"eliminate the flow of paperwork†. This meaning that forms in the form of â€Å"paper† was redu ced if not removed and instead replaced with electronic data forms. Another competitive advantage that Airborne had was the strategic alliances that were created with multiple foreign agents.These countries consisted of Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, and South Africa. With this move globally, this put Airborne into the international aspect of package shipping and delivery. 4. As Airborne Express’ customers became global, Airborne Express had to develop a network to meet their needs to deliver packages to international location. They chose a very different approach than Federal Express. Describe Airborne Express’ strategies to provide global services. Also list two advantages and two risks associated with the approach that Airborne Express adopted.

Gwen Harwood: Father and Child Essay

The couplet Father and Child from Gwen Harwood explores ideas of power and oppression. Barn Owl, the first poem portrays the effect of authority and the destruction that can occur when people are oppressed. In Nightfall Harwood examines how equality and mutual maturity can develop serenity and harmony. Due to these underlying concepts of authority and rebellion the couplet can be viewed through a Marxist perspective and it examines the effects of autocracy. Although Harwood was never publicly Marxist through her criticism of oppression it is possible to believe that she held similar worldview to that of a Marxist standpoint. In the beginning of Barn Owl the reader witnesses the child, â€Å"a horny fiend†, attempt to escape the oppression under her father â€Å"who is robbed of power by sleep†. Although there is no pretext given for the poem the reader can assume that she seeks to escape her overpowering father. In order to free herself from her father’s authority she needed to become the â€Å"master of life and death† by demonstrating her authority over the innocent bird. Harwood’s metaphor of the levels of authority with the father highest, followed by the child and ending with the bird reflects a non-communist society in which people are in social classes. Similar to a Capitalist culture, ultimately it is the working class, in Harwood’s metaphor the owl, who suffers under the persecution of those in higher social classes. Ultimately these ideas of power and authority cause destruction and suffering. Nightfall, the second poem in the couplet exhibits a shift in authority, where the father and child are equals. The child, now an adult has experienced the world and views her father’s authority as â€Å"ancient innocence†, no longer seeking to rebel, as in the first poem, and instead grieves the loss of her â€Å"stick-thin comforter.† As she reflects on her father’s life, she describes his â€Å"marvellous journey†. These comments are words of commendation and respect a clear shift from Barn Owl, where she seeks to reb. The peaceful death described by the words â€Å"your night and day are one†, contrasts the â€Å"obscene† and â€Å"cruel† murder of the owl in Barn Owl. Ultimately Harwood reflects on the idea that equality provides peace. Harwood never out rightly claimed to be Marxist, however the couplet Father and Child portrays underlying ideas similar to that of a Marxist worldview. Throughout both poems Harwood repeats words often associated with power and a capitalist society such as â€Å"master†, â€Å"wisp-haired judge†, â€Å"exalts† and â€Å"king†. The ending of both poems are also similar as they both end with a death. Although the death of the owl was horrific and tragic and the father’s death was peaceful, it is death all the same. Perhaps by repeating concepts of power and death Harwood is trying to draw the audience to a connection between both. She may be outlining the idea that an attempt to seek power and authority can lead to a death which â€Å"no words, no tears can mend†. This can be interpreted as critiquing a society in which power and influence are the goals, not seeking relationships or community. Father and Child is a representation of the influence of authority. In Barn Owl the audience witnesses a cycle of oppression where the weakest individuals are victims. However, Nightfall exhibits a shift in authority as the father and child are equal leading to peace. Throughout the entire piece the author repeats ideas of power and authority subtly questioning the value of a society where control is the ultimate goal, not the nurturing of relationships and the development of a community in which all people are treated as equals.