Managing and Leading Strategic Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Managing and Leading Strategic Change - Essay Example However, the increase of the market share of Microsoft, the major competitor of IBM, led to the limitation of the power of IBM in the global market. Accenture plc and Hewlett Packard are other important competitors of IBM (Yahoo Finance 2011). The strategic plans of IBM have changed many times in order to support the increase of the firm’s competitiveness towards its rivals. In 2003-2004 a major restructuring of the firm’s supply chain management framework took place, aiming to enforce the firm’s competitiveness the support the increase of its profits. The above plan is analytically reviewed in this paper, as explained above, aiming to show the ability of the firm to monitor its operations and identify its weaknesses. Also, the willingness of the firm’s employees to support radical organizational changes – in order for the firm’s performance to be stabilized, is critically evaluated. 2. Strategic change in IBM 2.1 Key change plans in IBM As n oted above, the strategic plans of IBM have been periodically changed in order to align the organizational practices with the market trends and the customer needs. The last effort of such type has been developed in 2009 – when the firm established ‘the Business Analytics and Optimization (BAO) consulting service line’ (Soejarto 2009). ... 2005) aiming to keep its market share – against the industry’s major competitors, especially Microsoft. However, the above initiative did not led to the expected benefits – in 1993, the losses of the firm were estimated to $8 billion (Meyer et al. 2005). In 2003 the firm’s strategic planners identified important failures in the organization’s supply chain management strategies; efforts were made for updating existing supply chain management practices. The Integrated supply chain (ISC) has been a scheme introduced for helping towards the elimination of delays in the firm’s operations – as these delays were related to failures in the existing supply chain management framework (Paton et al. 2006). The update of the particular sector of the organization lasted for 2 years, 2003 and 2004 and led to the introduction of an integrated plan for managing the supply chain relations in all their aspects. The above change plan contributed in the im provement of the firm’s supply chain management. However, certain implications were not avoided, a fact that led to the limitation of the plan’s benefits – as planned by the initiators of the particular project. 2.2 Implications of change initiated in IBM Despite the fact that change, as part of IBM’s strategic planning process, has been traditionally aligned with the organizational needs and the market conditions, still, the effectiveness of the relevant plans is rather limited – at least compared to the resources engaged and the preparation made for the particular initiatives. The reasons for the delays in the development of the organization’s performance need to be identified and evaluated; also, the potential failures in the plans of change, as promoted in the

Behaviour Therapy for Child Sleep Disorder

Behaviour Therapy for Child Sleep Disorder Aims: Outlines the nature of behavioural aspects of children’s sleep and how these might be addressed by behaviour therapy. Clinical considerations concerned with the use of behavioural therapy are also highlighted. Consider behavioural aspects (ie, learned behaviours) and their relevance for our understanding of children’s sleep patterns and management of their sleep disorders. Increase awareness of how behavioural factors may play a role in the development and treatment of wide-ranging paediatric sleep disorders and to discuss clinical considerations relevant to management planning and decisions about whether to refer a child for specialist behavioural therapy. Classification: International Classification of Sleep Disorders of ‘‘behavioural insomnia of childhood’’:Â  (present with difficulty settling to sleep, nightwaking and/or early waking difficulties) Overall prevalence rates of 30% ‘‘inappropriate sleep onset associations’’ (ie, where the child has not learnt to fall asleep without a set of problematic or demanding conditions such as parents’ being present), ‘ ‘limit-setting sleep disorder’’ (ie where the care giver demonstrates insufficient or inappropriate limit-setting to establish appropriate sleep behaviour in the child) ‘‘combined’’subtype where these two problems co-exist. 25–50% of 6–12-month olds have difficulty settling to sleep or waking in the night do not decrease with age: by age 3 years, 25–30% have sleeplessness problems With similar percentages reported for the 3–5-year age group, 43% of 8–10-year olds 23% of 10– 17-year olds. These problems are not transient; an epidemiological study of a cohort of 5-year olds suggested that sleeping problems at age 5 years were significantly associated with sleeping difficulties at age 6 months (or before) and that children with sleep problems at age 5 years were more likely to have sleeping problems at 10 years. Over 80 sleep disorders listed in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, which are divided into six main categories: insomnia, sleep-related breathing disorders, hypersomnia of central origin, circadian rhythm disorders (ex. Delayed sleep phase syndrome) parasomnias (ex. Sleep terrors, nightmares) Helped by beh therapy. sleep-related movement disorder (ex. nocturnal headbanging) (in preliminary reports) Behavioural Interventions: Classical conditioning is a form of associative learning whereby a neutral stimulus is paired with a naturally occurring stimulus, which evokes the desired behavioural response until, after multiple pairings, the neutral stimulus alone is sufficient to elicit the desired behaviour; thus behaviours are conditioned to be elicited by antecedent conditions. Operant conditioning involves the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behaviour. The particular intervention strategy used will vary depending on family and child factors and the nature of the sleep disturbance one hopes to address. General Principles: (The more consistently these principles are applied, the easier it will be for the child to learn) Behaviour can be encouraged by linking it with an antecedent stimulus, which serves to trigger the desired behaviour. Reinforcement- Behaviour is likely to recur if the consequences of the behaviour were reinforcing for the child. (Can be pos or neg) Extinction, or removing reinforcement (eg, drinks, parental presence, attention) maintaining the undesired behaviour (eg, crying, refusal to settle to sleep without the above) can be achieved gradually or abruptly. Shaping- A new behaviour can be encouraged by rewarding a series of responses that more and more closely resemble the desired behaviour. Punishment- Behaviour is less likely to occur if followed by a punishing consequence. (Can be pos or neg) Rewards Success On the basis of controlled empirical data, behavioural approaches are viewed as the first-line treatment of choice for this type of sleep disorder, because they have none of the potential associated negative side effects of sedative hypnotics,20 and a systematic review suggests that, long term, they are more effective. The relative efficacy of specific behavioural strategies or components of behaviour therapy has been less well investigated so details of any behavioural plan should be explored in the context of collaborative therapy, considering the practical and emotional resources of individual families. The developmental stage of the child is also an important consideration—for example, some strategies require the child to have verbal abilities of a particular level, and reinforcement programmes are likely to be particularly important for older children. To note It should, of course, be noted that the effective use of behaviour therapy does not necessarily indicate that the sleep disturbance is behavioural in origin or being maintained by behavioural factors. Behaviour therapy may play a role in the management of disorders that are of definite organic origin. (ex. behavioural therapy including planned naps, appropriate sleep routines and well-defined 24 h schedules may have a role in management of narcolepsy, a hypersomnia of central origin, or facilitate compliance with continuous positive airways pressure therapy for children who require this form of intervention for sleep-disordered breathing). Behavioural therapy has been used successfully with a number of special populations who are at increased risk of severe and long-standing sleep disorders for a range of biological and psychological reasons. That this form of intervention does not rely on the use of verbal skills makes it especially appropriate for use with children with intellectual disabilities. Delivering behavioural therapy in a brief, booklet form (with obvious economic implications) has been found to be as successful as behaviour therapy delivered face-to face in managing the sleeplessness problems of infants with intellectual disabilities. Further considerations There is a need for development of behavioural models specific to different types of sleep disturbance, and for children of various ages, to further understanding about the development and maintenance of sleep disturbance and to suggest therapeutic strategies for evaluation. Consideration for clinicians is that multiple sleep disorders may coexist, and so behaviourally based sleep disorders may be present in children with other sleep disorders of more physiological origin or arise as a secondary problem. It may be necessary to use multiple forms of treatment to address individual sleep disorders. It may also be appropriate to combine treatments in the management of one sleep disorder. (ex. Beh interventions melatonin) Although behaviour therapy delivered in conventional face to-face format may have apparent drawbacks in terms of the time and cost of implementing the interventions, the potential to prevent long-standing sleeping difficulties and their associated problems (which, as outlined above, may include adultmental health problems) is likely to far outweigh the limitations in both economic and social terms, at both the societal and personal level. Ensuring that families can access appropriate support and advice should be a service priority, and investigation of how to improve access (eg, with brief forms of treatment, low-cost delivery methods, identifying active therapeutic components and their efficacy for particular groups of children and different sleep disorders) should be key research targets for the future.

On the Rainy River Essay -- Literary Analysis, OBrien

Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, â€Å"On the Rainy River† from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers himself a coward for doing something he does not agree with; on the other hand, thinking about the outcome of his decision makes him a brave man. Therefore, an individual that considers the consequences of his acts is nobler than a war hero. The Vietnam War was a conflict that many people did not comprehend. In fact, the war was atrocious and bloody. According to The Vietnam War: a History in Documents, 58,000 US soldier died and more than 700,000 came back with physical and emotional marks (Young, Fitzgerald & Grunfeld 147). For many Americans this war was meaningless. In the same way, O’Brien admits, â€Å"American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong; certain blood was being shed for uncertain reason† (40). O’Brien believes the war was not significance. Furthermore, the lack of logic in the matter makes him confused about going to war. That’s why, he does not understand why he was sent to fight a war for which causes and effects were uncertain. The author continues by saying, â€Å"I was too good for... ...hermore, going to war was an act of cowardice. He had to put aside his morals and principles and fight a war he did not believe in. Overall, the author showed us the courageous and coward s acts of O’Brien the character. The fact that he was a coward made him do a heroic act. O’Brien made the valiant decision to go to war. It would have been easier and cowardly to jump and swim away from all his fears. However he decided to turn back, and fight for something he did not believe in. Thinking about the consequences of running away makes him a hero. He went to war not because he wanted to fight for his country, but for his own freedom. Either choice he could have made would take some kind of courage to carry out. Going to war required some sort of fearlessness. In other words, running away from the law would have been brave; but going to war was even tougher.

Is Banning Books Constitutional? Essay

The Catcher in the Rye. The Scarlet Letter. Huckleberry Finn. Harry Potter. The Diary of Anne Frank. Animal Farm. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Da Vinci Code. The Grapes of Wrath. These literary classics have been vital to the education of many, especially children and adolescents (Banned Books). These great novels both teach important values and educate children about world affairs and classic themes. Unfortunately, each of these novels has been banned at one point in time. In a country where freedom is so adamantly advocated, it is a wonder that an issue like censorship would even come up, that such a controversy would sink its claws into the minds of states’ boards of education across the nation. Censorship is a needless restriction placed on developing minds that need the morals and values that banned books can give. Many of these classic stories have been banned because of sexual references, racial slurs, religious intolerance, or supposed witchcraft promotion. Although some may consider these books controversial or inappropriate, many English classes have required their students to read these books (About banned). It should be believed that even controversial books could ultimately boost, not deter, our educational wealth. Book banning should be opposed for three main reasons: education should be open to everyone, citizens should have access to the press, and, lastly, parents should monitor what their own children read and not what other children can obtain. For these reasons, I conclude that the government should play no role in what books any age group can obtain. At first glance, the debate over banning books appears unimportant. Nevertheless, this debate has divided our nation into those who favor censoring books to protect their impressionable adolescents, and those who argue that education should be open for everybody without interference from the government in restricting the publishing and accessing of these books. The author, Micah Issitt, argues that censoring books violates the First Amendment, stating, â€Å"Citizens must be free to seek out any media, regardless of content, that they deem appropriate for entertainment, information, or education.† (Kelly) All citizens should have the choice to read whatever they want, but should not have the right to dictate what others may read. If a person considers a book inappropriate or offensive, then he or she does not have to read it, but to someone else, that same book may be exactly what he or she needs to move beyond ignorance and into the world of the informed and educated. By being exposed to new ideas and information through reading and various styles of expression, young adults have the opportunity to learn tolerance, acceptance and respect for others. He or she learns to form his or her own opinion and learns how to understand the world a little more. In a country such as the United States, it is the right of the people to respectfully share their views through the spoken or written. It is also the right of the people to listen and acknowledge such views. It is not only immoral to oppose certain books and prevent children and young adults from reading them, but it can be construed as unconstitutional. If anyone had the right to challenge â€Å"inappropriate† books, it would be the parents of the â€Å"susceptible† children being protected. Parents are the only adults responsible for what kinds of book their children digest. Only they can know what may be suitable and what their children can handle. â€Å"Even though not every book will be right for every reader, the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely are core American values,† states Barbara Jones, director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom. â€Å"Protecting one of our most fundamental rights- the free dom to read- means respecting each other’s differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves, what they and their families read.† So, how is it that boards of education are the ones making decisions on books? Which ones should be censored? What right do they have to do so? The boards are not the ones who should be held accountable for what books children and adolescents absorb; this is primarily the responsibility of parents. Many conservative groups make the argument that the books that have been banned have material that is inappropriate, immoral or contradicting the beliefs they have ingrained in their children and/or their society. Book-banning cases usually concern the protection of children and their innocence, but all that is happening is sheltering parents trying to avoid an awkward confrontation with their child about uncomfortable matters. It is not only selfish, but also harmful to the overall education of their children. The touchy subjects of banned books contain issues that are part of everyday life, and for a group to attempt to censor this subject from younger society is almost absurd; these issues are not monstrous and the censorship of them not only shows prejudice but lack of respect. Others would say that it is the government’s duty to regulate these books. It is the exact opposite of the government’s role- the private lives of U.S. citizens and the books they read should be regulated and controlled at his or her own digression. (Banned books) Topics that seem socially outlawed in public have been banned because their immoral content may have a negative affect on younger children. In these books, authors do not promote or encourage bad behaviors; they prepare their readers for some of the real world’s challenges. Even though these books center around scary topics, they are educating children on real-life matters that they will be exposed to once they venture into the world themselves. With the knowledge that some of these books have to offer, children can learn how not to act and what can be the consequences if they do misbehave. Banning books not only hinders a child’s educational development but also leaves them unaware of the true state of the world. This learning experience could be a turn-around with the help of a parent and pass a positive affect on to the child. Books do not simply impart general information; they heavily influence a child, the future generation. Without regular access to books, both adults and children could not form sound opinions, only narrow-minded ones. Both advocates and opposers of book banning agree, â€Å"Books are powerful instruments.† (Kelly) Any person should remain free to select his or her reading material. This personal issue of selecting reading material has no relation to the government. On the contrary, government and school board action interferes with the individual education, a primary American value. Ultimately, children can learn personal responsibility in determining which books to regard and which to discard. In the future, these children will become well-educated adults who can benefit the American society. â€Å"Banned Books and Censorship–A Closer Look at Book Banning.† BooksAtoZ. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. . Kelly, Melissa. â€Å"Censorship and Book Banning in America.† About.com. New York Times, n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. . â€Å"About Banned & Challenged Books.† American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 15 Jul 2012. . â€Å"Banned and Challenged Classics.† American Library Association. ALA, n.d. Web. 19 Jul 2012. .

Shoplifting and Its Effect on Society

Shoplifting and its effect on society. Shoplifting seems like a victimless crime, but the damages caused are far from minor. I myself was recently caught shoplifting, and now I need to pay for the consequences of my crime. There are many reasons why people shoplift, it can be a obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) all the way to a dare from a friend, either way Shoplifting does not only affect the individual, but it also affects the community, the retailer, and the consumer.Shoplifting affects not only me but my family as well. I feel embarrassed and worthless yet if I felt like that. â€Å"Why did I do it in the first place? † Because shoplifting is tempting, the shoplifter thinks they’re getting the product for free. But the truth is that someone has to pay for our mistake, thus price rises and the community has to pay. And some stores could even go bankrupt because of shoplifting. It is unfair to people who do not shoplift to pay for the mistakes that shoplifters make .People in the community who are not as wealthy as others have a harder time paying for their food and needs, and when they feel they can’t afford spending too much money at a certain retail store they will have to go to another destination to shop, causing a great inconvience to them and also the retail store will be losing money and might even close down in the future. We also suffer on a personal level, when an employee who realizes an item has been stolen from their store. They often feel violated, and when they feel violated it causes them to lose trust in others.So store employee follow potential merchants, watching their every move, making potential merchants uneasy and guilty when they are innocent. As there is no ‘look’ of a shoplifter, there is no way to identify whether a person is going to shoplift or not. And thus trust is lost between the merchant and the retailer. Resulting in an uncomfortable environment to shop in. Only about three percent of sho plifters are professionals. The rest of the shoplifters, shoplift as a response to experiencing stress in their personal lives.I myself am an immigrant from Singapore I just moved to Canada last year and a lot has happened since then. I survived being poor and unsatisfying for a year, so â€Å"why did I shoplift? † part of me believes that it is because I’m poor and I just wanted something, but part of me believes that it also because of what I’m going through a lot of stress and I feel depressed at times. Its like I need to fill up a hole in me. I thought shoplifting would make me feel better but the truth is you will lose all self-confidence in yourself.You become even more depressed and emotional you start to feel as if you don’t deserve a lot of things, or that others are better than you. Shoplifting has broken up many families and friends, the distrust and the disappointment they have when they look at you will consume you and soon you yourself will change. I was fortunate that my mother was very understanding and offered to help me out of my depression. She did admitted her disappointment in me but she told me I am still a good person.That made me realized that as a individual we belong to a community, and we make up what the community will become, each of us play a role to become someone bigger than themselves. When someone does well another will also want to do well. We could start by doing community work and volunteering at places that need our help. Helping others can without a doubt make you feel better about yourself, shoplifting will only make that empty feeling deeper as you start to feel guilty and worthless that others are better than you for not shoplifting. You’ll feel like the bad guy.Nowadays people not only shoplift, but steal and con others of their money this is because people who becomes thieves usually starts as shoplifters at a young age. Shoplifting when young can often lead to becoming thieves and robbers in the future. In fact ninety percent of convicts admitted that they have shoplifted before in their teenage years or younger. Statistics shows that there is an average of twenty-seven million shoplifters in the United States of America alone, which equates to one person in eleven, and only ten million have been caught within the past five years.Kids make up twenty-five percent of shoplifter; adults, seventy-five percent. People have been doing this for a long time because fifty-five percent of adults claim they began to shoplift as teenagers, and when asked, seventy-three percent of adults and seventy-two percent of juveniles do not plan to shoplift, it just an act of impulse. And also, an astonishing eighty-nine percent of kids say they know of other kids who shoplift and sixty-six percent say they associate with them. And only three percent of shoplifters are professionals, but they make up 10 percent of the item they sell.Some even after being caught in the act, fifty-se ven percent of adults and thirty-three percent of juveniles say it is difficult to stop even after being caught. Habits are hard to break, shoplifting becomes an addiction and you try to stop but you just can’t. And when you reach that point statistics show that habitual shoplifters steal at least two times a week. So when I got caught on my first time I’m grateful for it, for without it I might have become addicted to shoplifting or worse wanted to make it my professional career. Shoplifting is illegal and is a punishable crime by law.It is not a small crime whether you stole fifty dollars worth of items or ten dollars worth of items. The crime is the same you have shoplifted from the store, and stolen something that doesn’t belong to you. For example, you can be arrested and paraded through a store in handcuffs, banned from stores or malls, and you may even end up with a criminal record. If you get a criminal record especially when you are young people will tr eat you like an ex-convict, it’ll be harder to get a job, get into college, or anything else that need a criminal background check. Which is mostly everything.Shoplifting can ruin your life but remember even without getting caught can shoplifting also ruin your life, as I have already stated that shoplifting affects you emotionally the same thing applies here you lose your self-respect and your respect for others. Small crime doesn’t mean no crime. Responsibilty for your family, friends and the people surrounding you, there are people that look up, like you’re their role model. I myself have siblings and I hope very much they don’t follow in my footsteps; I have never done anything that would cause people to lose their faith and respect in me.It is my responsibilty to set a good role model for my younger siblings. Also you as an individual have a responsibility as a civilent to be a good role model to the community. Never think that there is no one watchi ng you, there is always someone watching and looking up to you in respect if you’ve done the right things. Respect is something you earn not given. By shoplifting you are openly disrespecting the community and although you may not notice now, but you are also disrespecting yourself. When you shoplift you are disrespecting the community by