Early Literacy

Early Literacy
Early Literacy

Early Literacy

The basic understanding of literacy is the ability to read and write. Early literacy differs from literacy in that it is a process through which children are prepared for literacy. Neuman & Dickinson (2011) define early literacy as what children recognize about reading and writing before they can learn to read and write in reality. It is about laying a foundation to ensure children have the skills necessary when they are developmentally prepared to read and write.

While literacy pays much attention to reading and writing, developments in early education provide a wider learning range by including talking about books, book sharing, early mark making and environmental awareness in addition to reading and writing (Foundation Years, 2009). Early literacy as we know it today has a rich history, entrenched in the need to improve how children learn and the inclusion of play pedagogy in enhancing literacy.

Albright, Delecki & Hinkle (2009) retrace early evolution of literacy to the 1940s and 1950s when the development of storytelling techniques including rhyme and repetition started gaining importance. Story hours were first offered by librarians in the 1940s as a response to the ‘reading readiness’ theory aimed at ensuring that children were mentally equipped to read. Story hours would involve dramatization, clapping, repetition, songs and rhymes and were seen as an avenue for children to interact with peers and gain interest for reading.

Over the decades, new concepts such as dialogic reading to promote more enjoyable reading, entertainment and education have been developed through research and development. Historically, the government in England made little intervention towards preschool provision and curriculum (Kwon, 2002). However in 1996, the Desirable Outcomes for Children’s Learning on Entering Compulsory Education framework was introduced to guide early years curriculum. This was later revised as Early Learning Goals in 2000 and was aimed at providing learning goals for children (Kwon, 2002).

Early literacy strategies

Early literacy strategies have evolved significantly over the years and the emphasis on play and innovative learning methods in England is apparent. The House of Commons Education Select Committee in December 2000 issued a report indicating that creative play should be the main form of learning for children under five (Clouder, 2017).  In England, the development of rules and policies guiding early childhood education aims at improving early literacy by providing guidance to teachers and caregivers (Department of Education, 2017). As a result, England’s statutory frameworks are keen on the fundamental role played by literacy.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework, first introduced in 2008 and revised in 2012, 2014 and 2017 is a law provides rules and regulations to guide early literacy and its statutory framework as provided in Learning and Development Requirements is that ‘All the areas must be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities’ (Foundation Years, 2009, p.10).

Early literacy and play pedagogy are mutual, based on the role of play pedagogy in promoting literacy. Contemporary research labels play as the most effective approach in setting the foundation for literacy in early years.

References

Albright, M, Delecki, K, & Hinkle, S 2009, ‘The Evolution of Early Literacy: A History of Best Practices in Storytimes’, Children & Libraries: The Journal Of The Association For Library Service To Children, 7, 1, pp. 13-18

Buddeberg, K., et al (2016). Literacy in England: Country Report. Children, Adolescents and Adults. Retrieved from www.eli-net.eu/fileadmin/ELINET/Redaktion/user_upload/England_Long_Report.pdf

Clouder, C., (2017). The Push for Early Childhood Literacy: A View from Europe. Retrieved from waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BALiteracyClouder.pdf

Department of Education. (2017). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596629/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf

Foundation Years (2009) Learning, Playing and Interacting Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Retrieved from https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Learning_Playing_Interacting.pdf

Kwon, I., (2001) Changing Curriculum for Early Childhood Education in England, 4:2, Retrieved from ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n2/kwon.html

Neuman, S. B., & Dickinson, D. K., (2011) Handbook of Early Literacy Research. New York: Guilford Press

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The IRA (Irish Republican Army)

The IRA (Irish Republican Army)
The IRA (Irish Republican Army)

The IRA

Introduction

This paper explores the Irish Republican Army (IRA) regarding its organizational structure and operations. The paper shows the determination and overwhelming support that the IRA had in its bid to unify Ireland and secure socialist independence from the British rule.

The IRA Operations

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA) was an Irish republican paramilitary organization established with the purpose of rendering British rule in Ireland ineffective and securing socialist independence during the Troubles-era.

The IRA, known by different names including the Provisional IRA, the Provos, and PIRA among others aimed at unifying Ireland by all means. The Provisional IRA took over from the original IRA in 1969 after the republican movement split. From its inception, the group’s operations were independent of political influence.

The Troubles had begun in 1968 when the Royal Ulster Consabulary (RUC) and Ulster loyalists attacked a Catholic-constituted civil rights group (Cottrell, 2014). As a result of the violent attack on the peaceful campaigners, a riot ensued in August 1969 leading to the deployment of British troops.

Whereas the IRA’s initial campaign was defensive, the group resorted to an offensive campaign in 1971 aimed at forcing the British to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The IRA employed guerilla tactics against RUC and the British army in both urban and rural establishments. The group also ran a bombing campaign in England and Northern Ireland with the aim of achieving socialist independence.

Following the re-admission of the IRA’s political wing into the Northern Ireland peace talks, the group called a final ceasefire in July 1997. The IRA disarmed in 2005 under international supervision. Since the Provisional IRA ceasefire, there have been several groups that have emerged such as the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA. These splinter groups are still operating in the low-level nonconformist Irish Republican campaign.

Organizational Structure and Scope

Leadership

According to Horgan and Taylor (2007), the IRA was one of the most sophisticated and highly organized paramilitary groups in the world. The IRA’s organization was structured hierarchically. The IRA Army Council was the top leadership of the organization, headed by the Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff appointed the General and the Quartermaster General, consisting of heads of departments for security, operations, publicity, intelligence, training, engineering, finance, and armory. The Council is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization (Boyne, 1996).

The General Army Convention (GAC) was the supreme decision-making arm of the IRA and met on relatively rare occasions. The IRA Constitution provided for GAC meetings to be conducted once every two years but for exceptional circumstances which would call for a postponement of the meeting.

GACs met regularly before 1969, after which they have only met thrice in 1970, 1986 and 2005. The rarity of their meeting has been a result of the need to maintain secrecy for the large IRA group. The GAC thus elected an executive comprising of 12 members, who selected seven volunteers to the IRA Army Council.

Regional Command

The IRA comprised of the Northern Command operating in the nine Ulster counties and the Louth and Leitrim border counties, and a Northern Command which operated in the other parts of Ireland. Most of the IRA members came from Northern Ireland and the Border counties, while others come from Louth-Armagh border area, Donegal, Derry, and Belfast. Initially, the IRA’s leadership was based in Dublin, but in 1997, the Northern Command was granted the “war-zone” command parallel to the introduction of local cell structures (Kennedy-Pipe, 2014).

Brigades

The IRA’s ordinary members were referred to as volunteers (Moran, 2016). They were organized into units according to conventional military structures. Volunteers based in one area established a company as part of a battalion or brigade. The brigades were organized in county lines although at times they were subdivided especially in major urban settings.

The Belfast Brigade comprised of three battalions in the east, north and west parts of the city. During the initial years of the Troubles, the Belfast Brigade expanded very fast from just 50 members in 1969 to 1,200 members at the end of 1971. The Belfast Brigade became large but loosely controlled.

In 1972, the Derry Battalion was upgraded to a brigade following a rapid increase in membership. The increased membership was due to the killing of 13 unarmed demonstrators at a civil rights march during the Bloody Sunday. The Derry Brigade further controlled the northeastern County Donegal and northern County Londonderry (Boyne, 1996).

County Armagh comprised of four battalions; with the two battalions in South Armagh being more active than the two units in North Armagh.  Particularly, Tyrone consisted of a large IRA presence with three Brigades operating in the east, mid and west. The notorious East Tyrone Brigade also commanded county Monaghan.

The IRA battalions and companies were structured similarly with each comprising of a commanding officer, quartermaster, intelligence officer, and explosives officer. Some battalions and companies further recruited a finance officer or training officer.

Active Service Units

The operational arm comprised of cells referred to as Active Service Units (ASUs). Each cell comprised of five to eight members (Boyne, 1996). From 1973, due to security vulnerability, the organization began to break the larger conventional military structure. Battalion structures were replaced by a system of two parallel types of unit within the brigades.

The company structures were reconstituted to deal with such tasks as hiding weapons, intelligence-gathering, and “policing” nationalist areas. Whereas the old “company” structures provided support services, ASUs were tasked with the bulk of actual tasks. For purposes of improving operational capacity and security of the IRA, ASUs were smaller, tight-knit cells. The brigade’s quartermaster controlled weapons in the unit cells.

Apart from the rest of brigades and battalions, the South Armagh Brigade retained its traditional hierarchical structure and deployed a relatively larger number of volunteers in its operations. The reason for the brigade’s smooth running of operations is because it did not have as many security problems as the other brigades.

The Southern Command comprised of a Southern Brigade and various ASUs in rural areas, which were responsible for importing and storing arms for the Northern units and mobilizing finances through robberies and other means.

It is not clear on the number of people that joined the IRA during the Troubles. In the late 1980s, the IRA’s membership in Northern Ireland was estimated at 300 in ASUs and about 450 in supporting roles. This did not account for the IRA units in the Republic of Ireland or Britain, and continental Europe. In 2005, the government recorded an approximation of 1,000 to 1,500 active IRA members.

Logistical and Operational Requirements

During the initial stages of the Troubles, the IRA was poorly armed. It used the traditional World War II weaponry such as Thompson submachine guns and M1 Garands. However, in the early 1970s, the IRA obtained sophisticated weapons from they’re the United States and Libya supporters and purchased more weapons from dealers in the Middle East, America, Europe and other parts of the world.

The support from the IRA’s allies was regarding sharing training techniques, weapons and funding (Gill et al., 2014). Whereas Libya’s donation of arms to the organization was prevalent in the 1980s, the IRA attracted massive support from its Irish-American allies who provided funding and guns. The IRA was well funded to the extent that they provided a stipend to its members and offered support to families of incarcerated members.

The IRA organized for fundraising in the Irish Republic, the United and across the continent to provide for the relief of the families of IRA prisoners. Sinn Fein, the IRA political wing, is reported to the richest political party in Ireland. Most of the funding for Sinn Feinn was from the United States (Taylor, 2014). The Irish Northern Aid Committee based in the United States is reported to have been the principal source of IRA funds.

Supporters of IRA in the United States raised funds directly and indirectly, at lectures, film shows, house parties, dinners and collections in clubs and bars. Cash was also raised through Sinn Fein’s commercial activities such as books, pamphlets, and Christmas cards.

The IRA supplemented imported weaponry by developing their own. The rationale behind the production of weapons was to avoid dependency on supply into Ireland by air or by the sea, which was not fully reliable. Thus, the IRA called on the services of experienced engineers to help in building weapons such as home-made mortars. The organization also engaged the use of university-educated computer experts to volunteer in the construction of sophisticated timing and remote-control mechanisms that were used in mortars and bombs.

Reports indicate that the IRA utilized the ceasefire period for upgrading these mechanisms and developing techniques for combating the ‘disruptive’ radio signals used by the British Army. In 1993, the Garda uncovered an IRA workshop, where a wide range of advanced electronic detonators was being produced (Gill & Horgan, 2013).

During the initial years of the conflict, the IRA majorly focused on the provision of support to nationalist rioters and defending of nationalist areas. As a result, the IRA obtained support for its activities due to their perceived efforts to defend the Irish nationalist and Catholics against aggression.

Between 1971 and 1994, the IRA engaged in offensive operations targeting the RUC, the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), the British army and Northern Ireland economic targets, while some IRA members attacked Protestant civilians. The IRA also targeted British government officials, the British Army in England, judges, and politicians.

During the Troubles era, IRA members became skilled in the production of explosives from substances such as fertilizers and nitrobenzene. These explosives were utilized in both small devices for throwing at the North’s security forces and large bombs for blowing up buildings.  The NRA also produced home-made weapons such as the drogue bomb and nail bomb. The IRA used the ceasefire period to produce the ‘Mark 17’ mortar, which to date is one of the most destructive weapons in the world (Gill, 2017).

The IRA decommissioned its weapons in 2005 under international supervision. The weapons decommissioned included; handguns, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, detonators, flamethrowers, surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine guns, tonnes of Semtex, and rifles.

Conclusion

While the public reacted to the IRA’s activities with love and criticism in equal measure, it is evident that the organization played a huge role in raising economic and political activism in Ireland and the development of modern warfare equipment. The organization stands out as one of the most properly structured paramilitary groups in the world.

References

Boyne, S. (1996). Uncovering the Irish Republican Army. Jane’s Intelligence Review. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ira/inside/weapons.html

Cottrell, P. (2014). The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913–1922. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gill, P. (2017). Tactical Innovation and the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism40(7), 573-585.

Gill, P., & Horgan, J. (2013). Who were the volunteers? 1 The shifting sociological and operational profile of 1240 provisional Irish Republican Army members. Terrorism and Political Violence25(3), 435-456.

Gill, P., Lee, J., Rethemeyer, K. R., Horgan, J., & Asal, V. (2014). Lethal connections: The determinants of network connections in the Provisional Irish Republican Army, 1970–1998. International Interactions40(1), 52-78.

Horgan, J., & Taylor, M. (1997). The provisional Irish Republican army: Command and functional structure. Terrorism and Political Violence9(3), 1-32.

Kennedy-Pipe, C. (2014). The origins of the present troubles in Northern Ireland. Routledge.

Moran, J. (2016). From Northern Ireland to Afghanistan: British military intelligence operations, ethics and human rights. Routledge.

Taylor, P. (2014). The Provos: The IRA and Sinn Fein. A&C Black.

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Leadership Theories/Approach/Style

Leadership Theories
Leadership Theories

Leadership Theories/Approach/Style

Introduction 

            In an increasingly competitive world, effective leadership ensures that a firm can maintain a reasonable niche. This calls for the adoption of leadership styles and approaches that best enhance the organization’s performance. This paper is an assessment of Global Delivery Direct one of the prevalent leadership theories, leadership approach and leadership style; in a bid to determine the candidate that best suits the position of a manager for the new custom delivery service.

Leadership Theories: GDD’s Results

The table below illustrates the common leadership theory, leadership approach and leadership style at GDD.

Leadership TheoryLeadership ApproachLeadership Style
Relational leadership theory can be observed at GDD. Leaders applying this model are inclusive, purposeful, empowering and ethical.The proactive leadership approach best applies at GDD. Leaders are future oriented and always focused on finding solutions to benefit the company.A combination of situational and transformational leadership style applies to GDD, which believes in a different ideal for each situation.

The relational leadership theories are most prevalent in GDD, which aims at enhancing success in the 21st century. This is a modern theory in which shared vision is encouraged and maintaining effective relationships is considered important in promoting performance.

GDD considers proactivity in leadership a major prerequisite for effective leadership because it ensures better performance through futuristic thinking that ensures that leaders can come up with solutions to drive the organization’s vision as opposed to being reactive to problems. Leaders at GDD are required to identify new opportunities for the company and also be on the lookout for potential leaders within the organization.

A modification of situational and transformational leadership styles is evident in GDD, where leaders are encouraged to treat each situation uniquely while encouraging and mentoring followers to effectively achieve the organization’s performance. At GDD, leaders are not only interested in situations but also people involved in accomplishing organizational goals.

This style of leadership is effective in the modern world where the relevance of workers is becoming increasingly important in enhancing innovation and championing change (Grant, 2016). Accordingly, respect, trust, ethical values, and expertise are considered worthy traits for leaders who aim at promoting employee commitment and organizational effectiveness.

Candidate’s Results

Based on an assessment of the candidates, the table below is a summary of their prevalent leadership theory, leadership approach and leadership style.

CandidateLeadership TheoriesLeadership ApproachLeadership Style
Henrietta RaynardGreat Man TheoryStructural approach  Authoritative leadership
Orson HernandezContingency theoryInclusive approachLaisse-Faire
Jonathan LivingstonRelational theoryProactive approachTransformational leadership
Adrianna CoyoteRelational/servantPeople-focused approachServant/authoritarian

Raynard believes in great man leadership theory, and this can be demonstrated by her how she is more concerned about being the leader while giving no concern to employee participation. She prefers to make the rules as opposed to including the opinions of others and believes the best way to enhance performance is to ensure rules, policies, and structures are followed. She seems rigid in her approach and is not proactive.

She does not seem aware of her leadership approach, but hers can be described as the structural approach. Her leadership is authoritarian because she prefers to be in control.

Hernandez exercises the contingency theory and this means that he tends to lead depending on the situation. He understands the importance of motivating and empowering employees, and this explains his leadership style, which is laisse-faire.

This is a leadership style where employees are empowered to make decisions in performing their work thus enhancing productivity. Hernandez says he does not have an approach to leadership, but his approach appears to be an inclusive approach, influenced by his leadership style.

Livingstone exercises relational theory and considers this imperative due to its ability to influence relationships within the organization. He has a proactive approach, demonstrated by his previous visit to both companies before the interview and his approach of looking for leadership opportunities and encouraging others to act on them. He is also a transformational leader and believes in people relations.

Coyote’s leadership style is more about enhancing motivation and satisfaction of her followers. She achieves this through flexibility, looking into her team’s needs and allowing them an opportunity to be happy with their jobs. While she does not seem to know her leadership approach, hers is a people-oriented approach where her team’s happiness is considered of great importance.

This can be associated with her recognition that happy employees perform better. This also explains her leadership style which is servant leadership. This means that she is more concerned with the needs of her team and how she can help them achieve the best. By combining this with a bit of authoritarianism, she has managed to achieve success in her leadership role.

GDD/Candidates’ Comparison

Candidate1 No Fit2 Bad Fit3 Not Sure4 Good Fit5 Best Fit
Raynard     
Hernandez     
Livingston     
Coyote     

Raynard is considered a bad fit because she is an authoritarian as opposed to a transformational leader as required by GDD. She does not seem social with employees, and this means that she is not in a position to influence them or motivate them to perform better as required at GDD.  Based on her emphasis on the use of rules, structures, and procedures, her approach does not encourage innovation and proactivity. She also seems unsure of her leadership approach style. 

Hernandez is a good fit because he seems interested in employee involvement, motivation, and empowerment, which are considered highly important at GDD. He also exercises situational leadership which is encouraged at GDD alongside transformational leadership. However, his leadership style does not match that of GDD, and he does not seem to be aware of his leadership approach.

 Livingstone’s leadership theories, leadership approach and leadership style is a perfect match with that of GDD. Livingstone exercises relational theory takes on a proactive approach and is a transformational leader. 

 Coyote is considered a good fit because besides having experience with the company, she is people-oriented, which means that she keeps her employees motivated. She is more concerned about employee welfare and provides a flexible working environment. Her authoritarian style may, however, impede performance to a certain extent. It is not certain whether she is proactive and innovative and she is also unaware of her leadership approach. 

Recommendation

Livingstone’s leadership theories, leadership approach and leadership style best matches that of GDD. Accordingly, he is considered the most suitable candidate for the job. GDD promotes relational leadership, and it can be established that Livingstone recognizes the importance of relationships with followers, given the role played by individuals in making change work.

A similar theory is taken by GDD which encourages the creation of fruitful relationships to enhance performance. The proactive approach taken by Livingstone matches GDD’s as evidenced by his quest to seek leadership opportunities and encourage employees to work on them. This matches the example of Juan Carlos, the college intern at GDD who was recognized as an opportunity for leadership.

Livingstone also took the time to visit both companies before the interview and this shows his proactivity. Regarding leadership style, Livingstone is a transformational leader, and this remains a desirable trait at GDD. 

Reference List

Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis: text and cases, 9th Ed. Chichester: Wiley & Sons.

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PTSD Symptom Cluster: Re-Experiencing, Avoidance/Numbing, Hyper arousal

PTSD Symptom Cluster
PTSD Symptom Cluster

PTSD Symptom Cluster: Re-Experiencing, Avoidance/Numbing, Hyper arousal

Abstract

Many people tend to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD), after witnessing a life threatening events such as terrorism, road accidents, veteran wars, fire accidents, as well as natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. While treatment approaches have always been used to help individuals to recover from PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal, major aspects of spirituality can also be applied to promote recovery.

In this regard, both Christian counseling and clinical group therapy can help to eliminate the PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal. Ideally, Christian counseling and clinical counseling are intended to achieve a common goal about five major areas including; duration of treatment, the relevance of truth, the role of a community of support, possession of faith and motivation to persevere, as well as the role played by acceptance and hope in healing.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Cluster: Re-Experiencing, Avoidance/Numbing, Hyper arousal

1.0 INTRODUCTION

 Following severe traumatic events, victims commonly present with psychological changes that occur as they try to recall either what they saw or felt during the event. These psychological reactions may lessen if proper counseling interventions are applied immediately after the traumatic event. However, if not managed quickly, individuals may suffer constant mental problems accompanied by emotional distress, a condition that is often referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Sareen, 2014).

Sareen (2014) defines PTSD as a mental disorder that occurs as a result of either witnessing or directly experiencing a life-threatening event. With the rapid rise in traumatic events such as terrorism, road accidents, veteran wars, fire accidents, as well as natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, PTSD is becoming a health concern in the society that needs to be addressed with a lot of commitment.

Effective interventions should be implemented to help prevent serious health problems that may occur from PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal (Cohen and Scheeringa, 2009; & Wilkins, Lang, and Norman, 2011).

 Effective elimination of PTSD symptom cluster requires a combination of, psychological, spiritual, and pharmacological approaches to treatment (Walker, Scheidegger, End, and Amundsen, 2012). The thesis statement that guides current research states that group therapy intervention for managing PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal, is based on significant aspects of spirituality.

The purpose of this research is to explore the major aspects of spirituality that are related to group therapy management for PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal, while citing teachings of the Bible as well as information obtained from some theoretical resources.

2.0 PTSD SYMPTOMS CLUSTER: RE-EXPERIENCING, AVOIDANCE/NUMBING, AND HYPER-AROUSAL

2.1 Re-experiencing

            Before analyzing the significant aspects of spirituality that are related to PTSD symptoms cluster, it is important to understand the specific symptoms that a clinical psychologist and a Christian counselor intend to help their clients to recover from. In the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR (1), the American Psychiatric Association has documented specific symptoms that clinicians should substantiate during PTSD diagnosis.

According to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV, PTSD should be diagnosed based on three symptoms cluster namely; re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal (Goldstein, Bradley, Ressler and Powers, 2017, p. 319). As far as re-experiencing criterion is concerned, people with PTSD individual persistently recall what was either felt or observed during a traumatic event. To prove that a client regularly recalls the happenings of the traumatic event, he or she must present with at least one of the documented five ways. 

The five documented presentations include; repeated and disturbing recollection of the happenings of the traumatic event accompanied by perceptions, images, and thoughts; repeated disturbing dreams related to the event; behaving as if the traumatic event was happening again; severe psychological disturbance whenever one comes across issues that look like the life threatening event; and physiologic disturbance any time an individual comes across things that resemble the life threatening event.

As Kleim, Graham, Bryant, and Ehers (2013) explain, it has been discovered that survivors of traumatic events have a tendency of constantly recalling those happenings, and that people often react differently depending on the degree of psychological impact that they have faced from those events.

2.2 Avoidance/Numbing

Concerning avoidance/numbing criterion, an individual who is suffering from PTSD is believed to have a tendency of constantly escaping from stimuli that are related to the distressing event. Furthermore, these people often become less responsive to activities accompanied with feelings of isolation, which did not occur before the life-threatening event.

An individual must demonstrate at least three of the seven behavioral characteristics that have been documented in DSM-IV regarding PTSD diagnosis. The seven features that have been documented by the American Psychiatric Association include; struggling to avoid perceptions, discussions, or feelings associated with the life threatening event, struggling to keep off people, places, or activities that might remind them of the traumatic event, loss of memory of the crucial aspects of the event, lack of interest in taking part in activities, feeling of isolation, inability to have feelings of affection, and loss of hope to plan for the future.

Several studies have been conducted to confirm the presence of avoidance/numbing characteristics among populations with PTSD. For instance, Naifeh, Tull and Gratz (2012) have found that persistent emotional avoidance is a common problem among patients with severe PTSD.

2.3 Hyper-arousal

            As far as hyper-arousal is concerned, individuals who suffer from PTSD often exhibit constant symptoms of excitement, which did not exist before the occurrence of a distressing event. For hyper-arousal to be confirmed in an individual, one must present with at least two of the documented characteristic behaviors. These signs include sleep problems, aggressiveness, extreme alertness, lack of concentration, and extremely astound response. As Weston (2014) explains, of the three signs that form PTSD symptoms cluster, hyper-arousal is the most predominant and that should be eliminated first.

3.0 CLINICAL APPROACH VERSUS SPIRITUAL APPROACH

As they interact with people with PTSD, both the clinical psychologist and the Christian counselor often utilize approaches which are aimed at eliminating PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal (Walker et al., 2012). Although the Bible does not give any information concerning PTSD symptoms cluster, Christian counselors often rely on biblical teachings to help individuals to recover from symptoms of PTSD.

Specifically, a clinical psychologist will utilize group dynamics to help their clients to recover from PTSD cluster symptoms, while a Christian counselor will rely on the teachings of the Bible to promote healing for PTSD clients. The use of group dynamics by a clinical psychologist to help eliminate PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal, is based on some major aspects of spirituality (Walker et al., 2012).

3.0 THE MAJOR ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY INVOLVED IN THE TREATMENT OF PTSD

3.1 Treatment Takes Time

Both the clinical therapist and the Christian counselor strive to help individuals with PTSD to recover from re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms by encouraging them that gaining healthy functioning is a process that will take time. The Christian counselor compares the recovery process to Paul’s teachings in the Bible. In 2nd Corinthians Chapter 12, from verse 7 to verse 10, Paul has written about “thorn in the flesh” (The New King James Version).

Paul says that God provides healing at a time when He feels appropriate. He further asserts that, during times of painful experiences, God provides the suffering with enough grace to help them bear difficult situations. The Christian counselor compares re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms to the pain of a thorn. By using Paul’s teachings, an individual with PTSD gets to understand the need to be patient and develops a motivation to continue attending counseling sessions repeatedly.

In Lamentations Chapter 3, and in 1st Corinthians Chapter 1, verse 4 to 9, the Bible says that those who are in suffering should continue to present their problems to God because He is always faithful (The New King James Version). A Christian counselor uses these biblical teachings to help people with PTSD to see the need of remaining focused on the spiritual aspect of recovery.

            Like spiritual counseling, group therapy by a psychologist emphasizes the need to be patient if recovery from re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms is to be realized. In psych educational group intervention, the group therapist often encourages individuals with PTSD that recovering from the three symptoms is a process that will take time. For this reason, the therapist always plans to use sessions that are extended over a given period.

This requires the group members to meet on a daily or weekly basis over some time before the three symptoms can be eliminated (Bahredar, Farid, Ghanizadeh, and Birashk, 2014). According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014), people who are exposed to traumatic events are likely to experience various impacts based on the nature and degree of the life-threatening situation.

For this reason, a group therapist must take the time to understand individual characteristics as well as the degree of psychological impact that has been created by a traumatic event for him or her to be able to help clients to recover from re-experiencing avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms. This will require repeated interactions between the therapist and the affected individuals who will take some time (Bahredar et al. (2014).

3.2 Truth is a Key Component of Recovery

When handling clients with PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal, both the Christian counselor and the group therapist inform their clients that they have to tell the truth for them to be able to recover from their psychological problems. Both counselors depend on the true information provided by their clients to develop and implement the best intervention for recovery (Walker et al., 2012).

During spiritual counseling sessions, the Christian counselor reminds clients with PTSD that God is always loving, and since He sees value in His people, He is always ready to forgive everyone irrespective of the nature and degree of sins they have committed (1 John 1:8–9, The New King James Version).

Also, the Christian counselor informs his or her clients that the most important thing that they should consider when evaluating their deeds is to know what God says about them but not what others speak of them. Therefore, instead of viewing themselves as either perpetrators or victims, they should identify themselves as beloved children of God as documented in Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 3 to 6, Romans Chapter 8, verse 14 to 17, and in 1st John Chapter 3, verse 1-3 (The New King James Version).

For those people who have lost their relatives and loved ones as a result of a traumatic event, the Christian counselor encourages them that God has a purpose for everyone’s life and that He protects His people by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14, The New King James Version). By having a feeling that God loves, values, and forgives, clients can recover quickly from PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal (Walker et al., 2012).

Like it is with spiritual counseling, a group therapist in clinical counseling relies on the true statements provided by every group member to establish the most appropriate intervention plans for them (Scott et al., 2016). Ideally, for a group therapy session to be effective in eliminating re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper arousal symptoms, clients must identify as either victim of executors of traumatic events.

Furthermore, clients must speak the truth of the specific problem behaviors that they experience as this information helps the therapist to distinguish whether the PTSD symptoms cluster are either mild or severe. The clinical psychologist who is handling PTSD clients in group therapy sessions often formulate interventions based on the truthfulness of the information provided by group members (Asher et. al., 2015).

3.3 Healing is Enhanced by a Community of Support 

When handling clients with PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal, both the Christian counselor and the group therapist have an understanding that having a community to offer support will help clients to develop a deep understanding of their problems and to perform tasks that promote recovery.  The Christian counselor encourages his or her clients to feel free to disclose their problems to the therapist to receive assistance from the group members.

In Romans Chapter 8 verse 35 to 38, the Bible says that nothing can separate Christians from the love of God. Also, it is documented in Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 14 to 16 that Christians should feel free to approach God and explain their problems to Him (The New King James Version). Since God can use people’s situations for His Glory, He also has the powers to restore healthy psychological functioning in individuals who are suffering from PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, hyper-arousal (Walker et al., 2012).

The clinical psychologist who is handling PTSD patients in groups relies on support from group members to help clients to recover from re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal symptoms. According to Norton and Kazantzis (2016), one of the advantages of group psychotherapy is the ability to obtain support from the dynamic relationships within the groups.

For this reason, the therapist strives to formulate rules that promote group cohesion as he or she acknowledges the support that every group member is likely to bring to the group (Caqueo-Urizar, Rus-Calafell, Urzua, Escudero and Gutierrez-Maldonado, 2015). As Caqueo-Urizar (2015), point out; having a community of support when caring for people with mental problems is very important because the community helps with establishing whether clients have adhered to tasks that promote healing.

3.4 Faith and a Motivation to Persevere Promote Healing

Success is achieved from Christian counseling and from clinical counseling when clients are encouraged to have faith and to demonstrate a willingness to persevere from PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal. The Christian counselor perfectly understands that managing mental health problems associated with PTSD is a huge challenge for individuals.

For this reason, the counselor repeatedly informs individuals with PTSD that they should surrender their problems to God who is always ready to show His compassion and love to the suffering. In 2nd Corinthians Chapter 1, verse 3 to 5, Paul says that God is the Father of compassion who always comforts those in trouble (The New King James Version). By relying on this biblical teaching, Christians with PTSD should have faith in God and healing, as they should develop a motivation to share in the suffering of Christ as written by Paul (Walker et al., 2012).

            Similarly, the success of group psychotherapy greatly relies on faith and perseverance. People with PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal, should have faith that the tasks that are assigned to them by the group leader will promote healing. Also, they must be ready to face the hardships associated with the assigned tasks as their commitment to adhering to group tasks is what will determine whether they will recover from PTSD or not. Eventually, positive health outcomes are always generated through a combination of faith and motivation to persevere (Reisman, 2016).

3.5 Acceptance and Hope are Key Components of Recovery

Both Christian counseling and clinical counseling emphasize on the need to accept past occurrences and to have hope for the future. According to Wilkins, Lang, and Norman, (2011), re-experiencing occurs in people with PTSD because they have a tendency of recalling what they either saw or felt during a traumatic event.

These re-experiencing symptoms can be eliminated if clients are assisted to come to terms with experiences of a traumatic event, and this can occur if they learn to accept the past. Furthermore, people with PTSD tend to lose hope in the future and lose interest in engaging in activities that promote personal growth (Naifeh, Tull, and Gratz, 2012). Therefore, the goal of the Christian counselor, as well as the clinical group therapist is to help clients to accept the past occurrences and to have hope in the future.

            The Christian counselor assists individuals with PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal, that it is important to have Hope in God because He has the powers to provide good health. The Bible says in 1st Peter Chapter 5 verse 6 to 7 that human beings should humble themselves under the powerful hand of God so that they may be exalted at the right him (The New King James Version).

In addition, in the same verse, the Bible teaches Christians that they should cast their anxieties and troubles on God because He is caring. The Christian counselor helps clients with PTSD to understand that Jesus himself experienced traumatic events and he increasingly approached God for hope. In a similar manner, by seeking help and understand from God, they will be able to recover from the mental impacts of trauma.

Like a Christian counselor, the clinician counselor always strives to assist group members to accept past occurrences and to be hopeful that they can still acquire an improved mental health (Walker et al., 2012).

4.0 CONCLUSION

            In conclusion, group therapy intervention for managing PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal, is based on major aspects of spirituality. This paper has critically explored the major aspects of spirituality that are related to group therapy management for PTSD symptoms cluster: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyper-arousal. Explanations about the interdependence between major aspects of spirituality and group therapy management for PTSD symptoms cluster have been provided while citing teachings of the Bible as well as information obtained from a number of theoretical resources.

References

Asher, L., Fekadu, A., Hanlon, C., Mideksa, G., Eatom, J., Patel, V. & De Silva, M. (2015). Development of a community-based rehabilitation intervention for people with schizophrenia in Ethiopia. PLoS One, 10(11): e0143572

Bahredar, M. J., Farid, A. S, Ghanizadeh, A. & Birashk, B. (2014). The efficacy of psycho-educational group program on medication adherence and global functioning of patients with bipolar disorder type 1. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 2(1): 12-19

Caqueo-Urizar, A., Rus-Calafell, M., Urzua, A., Escudero, J. & Gutierrez-Maldonado, J. (2015). The role of family therapy in the management of schizophrenia: Challenges and solutions. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 11: 145-151.

Cohen, J. A., & Scheeringa, M. S. (2009). Post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis in children: Challenges and promises. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11(1): 91-99.

Goldstein, B., Bradley, B., Ressler, K. J. & Powers, A. (2017). Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder, emotion dysregulation, and alcohol dependence symptoms among inner city females. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(3): 319-330.

Kleim, B., Graham, B., Bryant, R. A. & Ehers, A. (2013). Capturing intrusive re-experiencing in trauma survivor’ daily lives using ecological momentary assessment. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(4): 998-1009.

Naifeh, J. A., Tull, M. T. & Gratz, K. L. (2012). Anxiety sensitivity, emotional avoidance, and PTSD symptom severity among crack/cocaine dependent patients in residential treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(3): 247-257

Norton, P. J. & Kazantzis, N. (2016). Dynamic relationships of therapist alliance and group cohesion in trans-diagnostic group CBT for anxiety disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(2): 146-155.

Reisman, M. (2016). PTSD treatment for veterans: What’s working, what’s new, and what’s next. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 41(10): 623-634.

Sareen, J. (2014). Posttraumatic stress disorder in adults: Impact, comorbidity, risk factors, and treatment. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(9): 460-467.

Scott, D., Reid, J., Hudson, P., Martin, P., & Porter, S. (2016). Health care professionals’ experience, understanding, and perception of need of advanced cancer patients with cachexia and their families: The benefits of a dedicated clinic. BMC Palliative Care, 15:100. Doi:  10.1186/s12904-016-0171-y

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US). (2014). Trauma-informed care in behavioral health services. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US): Author

The Bible: The New King James Version

Walker, K. R., Scheidegger, T. H, End, L. & Amundsen, M. (2012). The misunderstood pastoral counselor: Knowledge and religiosity as factors affecting a client’s choice. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/library/vistas/vistas12/Article_62.pdf

Weston, C. S. (2014). Posttraumatic stress disorder: A theoretical model of the hyper arousal subtype. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 5:37. Doi:  10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00037

Wilkins, K. C., Lang, A. J. & Norman, S. B. (2011). Synthesis of the psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist (PCL) military, civilian, and specific versions. Depression and Anxiety, 28(7): 596-606.

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Understanding Frame Relay

Understanding Frame Relay
Understanding Frame Relay

Understanding Frame Relay

            Frame relay is one of the inventions in the computer technology industry that have significantly transformed transmission of data among different devices. According to Mir and Sharma (2014), frame relay is a transmission service that has been designed into a packet-mode, and that helps to minimize the degree of data recovery and detection of an error within a network. In this respect, frame relay assists organizations to achieve a higher throughput by reorganizing the communication process. Frame relay allows for the transmission of data between Wide Area Networks (WANs) and local area network (LANs) (Basu, Jha, and Mohanty, 2015).

            Frame relay works by placing data into a small variable unit known as a frame. For instance, the network that has been created by a frame relay tends to create a permanent virtual circuit (PVC), which allows the customer to easily view a continuous connection without making a full payment (Basu, Jha, and Mohanty, 2015). To achieve maximum success from frame relay technology, an organization must choose a high level of service quality, and prioritize some frames while at the same time making others less relevant. Frame relay works by minimizing error detection rate between WANs and LANs, which makes it very efficient for interconnecting these networks (Walton, 1998).

Understanding frame relays: How they work

            Frame relay has a link-layer service that is connection-oriented to give rise to one functional unit. Being that frame relay falls on layer two protocol of X.25, it comprises of features that increase its ability to reduce error detection rates between LANs and WANs (Walton, 1998). These characteristics include; multiplexing, an indication of the most important and less important frames, insertion of zero bits, and frame delineation, nonduplication of frames preservation of frames, and protection of the probability of frame loss. These layer characteristics resemble those of OSI network layer protocol which frame relay is made up of (Basu, Jha, and Mohanty, 2015).

 Frame relay is used by today’s organizations to speed up the transmission of data among networks. According to Basu, Jha, and Mohanty (2015), the use of frame relay to improve networking performance is common in many organizations today. An example of one organization that utilizes frame relay is AT&T.

As Alexander, Alexander, Zhang, and Zhang, (2000), point out, frame relay that has been designed in the form of an integrated service is rapidly gaining strategic importance in both private and public sectors. These authors further assert that frame relay is mostly used by modern organizations to increase the worth of services that they offer and to achieve competitive advantage.

An integrated service that incorporates frame relay is used by today’s organizations to give customers what they desire as far as network connection and speed are concerned (Mir and Sharma, 2014).

There are many reasons why frame relay is still used today. when understanding frame relay, the reasons are provided. First, it assists organizations to minimize costs of internetworking. Second, today’s organizations can increase performance and minimize the complexity of networks. Third, companies which have successfully implemented frame relay can enjoy protocol independence and to increase interoperability (Basu, Jha, and Mohanty, 2015). Based on these benefits, contemporary organizations should consider utilizing frame relay with other technologies such as ATM and IP, to maximize network performance (Alexander et al., 2000).

Reference List

Alexander, H., Alexander, R. B., Zhang, J. & Zhang, Q. (2000). Value added service-voice, data, frame relay, ATM, IP all on one. Communication Technology Proceedings,  doi:10.1109/ICCT.2000.889280

Basu, A., Jha, K., & Mohanty, S. (2015). Wide area networking using frame relay cloud. International Journal of Computer & Mathematical Science, 4(7): 1-6.

Mir, S., A. & Sharma, M. (2014). A comparative study of x.25, frame relay and ATM in high speed networks. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 2 (IV): 243-245.

Walton, D. (1998). Frame relay to ATM interworking. BT Technology Journal, 16(1): 96-105.

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Canadian honey in the Korean market

Canadian honey
Canadian Honey

Question 1

The Korean honey market is having a challenge giving their customers quality honey. The market is flooded with poor quality honey and this does give the Korean Food a chance to penetrate the market if they focus their production on quality honey. The cost of quality honey in the market is also so high reaching a price range of $ US 100. The introduction of cheaper quality honey from the Korean Food company will increase their market share in the industry (Lee et al., 2010, p. 25).

 Moreover, the Korean’s who have visited Canada often send to their families 20 to 30 kilograms of honey when they visit (Tavares, 2014, p. 22). This is an indication of positive reception of the Canadian honey by the people in Korea. It therefore, means that entry into the market will work in favor of the Korean Food as they already have a ready market for their product.

On the unfavorable aspects, the Korean government still has a restriction on open trade policy, especially when it comes to the agricultural sector. This policy does make it hard for the company to venture into the country, despite the optimism that the Korean government is considering withdrawing the restrictions (Hayakawa et al., 2013, p. 499). Moreover, the Korean honey producers have enjoyed a monopoly in the market and may place a lot of hurdles that will make the market unfavorable for Korean foods.

Question 2

The uncertainties in the strategy arise from the fact that the company has limited experience in the export market in Korea. This does pose a huge challenge for the company as they need to conduct an intensive market research before they step into the country. This will cost them a lot of finances, considering that the maximum amount of profit that they are to make from this venture is by a margin of 20%. The Korean market is centered on their culture where most of the consumers consider honey as a medicinal rather than a food product (Sydkorea, 2017). This will pose a challenge for the company when it comes to extending their market share from the hotels to selling the products to the consumers.

Additionally, the Korean market does work on the perspectives that the company will require an intermediary to be able to penetrate the market (Yoon, 2017, p. 387).  The involvement of the middleman does pose an uncertainty on the manner to ensure that the company does achieve the objective of making a profit. The company has been working directly with the suppliers, and the changes of the operations structure to relying on the middlemen to foster their agenda will force affect the management of the company.

Lastly, despite their being hope that the Korean government will open up the agricultural market to allow imports, there is uncertainty on the resistance of the Korean honey producers (Hayakawa et al., 2014, p.499).  The Korean honey producers have a monopoly in the honey market and they, therefore, have the strength to influence the government not to open up the honey market (APHIS’ website, 2017). Moreover, they might consent the opening of the market, but place a lot of hurdles for the new entrants an aspect that will uneven the competition making the market unfavorable.

The uncertainties can be reduced by identifying a company in Korea and entering into a joint merger to enable them to penetrate the market. The merger will be a shield for them as they understand how the market operates and will provide them the needed information to venture into the market (De Mooji, 2013, p. 36).  Additionally, it will enable the company to navigate any hurdles that will be posed by the Korean honey producers in a bid to protect their influence in the market. Furthermore, the merger does reduce the cost of market research that the company will have to incur in their bid to penetrate the market.

I believe that the company has an opportunity to achieve immense success if they apply the suggested solutions in reducing the uncertainties. The company will be able to increase their margin and market share from a maximum of 20% and 60% respectively. This is an opportunity that will be effective for the company.

Question 3

Canadian honey: Marketing

In looking for ways to improve the marketing plan to make it acceptable to all the management team members, the 3 phases that form the foundation of the plan will be evaluated.  In the first phase, the distribution strategy needs to be altered to involve using the networks established by the company they decide to merge with to penetrate the hotels. The local company has been in operation in the country they, therefore, have connections in different sectors of the economy like the hotels. This will make market entry easier for the company instead of having two salespeople positioned in Seoul (Lee et al., 2015, p. 32).

Additionally, the advertising strategy in the first phase will cost the company a lot of finances. To ensure that the company saves money, the use of free samples to the hotels coupled with media advertising is sufficient. The provision of recipe booklets and carrying out person-to-person advertisement will cost the company a lot of money.

In the second phase, the company needs to focus on regulating the prices of the honey with time as they extend their control of the hotel honey market. The penetrating price strategy is used to enter the market but needs to be readjusted to ensure that the company can make more profit from this sector (De Mooji, 2013, p. 12). The minimum price is an introduction to the Korean hotel industry to the purity of the Canadian honey. Increasing the price will not alter the purchase, as they would have managed to create a customer base in the industry that is attracted to the new flavors of the honey.

Additionally, the distribution channel is effective, but the involvement of the company that they will merge with will inject efficiency in the operation. The partner comprehends the Korean honey distribution network this will, therefore, ensure that the products can reach the target customers on time.

Furthermore, the company needs to concentrate more on introducing the Canadian honey as food rather than a medicinal product. This will play a role in increasing their target market more effectively. The Korean’s already have had a negative conception of honey due to the poor quality that is present in the market. Their culture compounded with the bad honey experience has made them consider that the product can be used only as a medicinal product (Lee et al., 2010, p. 18). Emphasizing on the other uses of honey will not only revolutionize this perception but also provide them with mileage in the industry.

In the third phase, introducing different qualities of honey in the market will cast doubt on the type of honey that the customers are purchasing for medicinal purposes. It will cast a shadow on the qualities of the Canadian honey that the company is introducing in the market, hence reducing their penetration. The company needs to concentrate on high-quality honey solely to get the customers goodwill in their product (Tavares, 2014, p. 25). I will recommend the company to use the warehouse of their partner as this will save them the cost of setting up one. They can then capitalize on the sales representative of their partner to increase their market penetration in the country.

Question 4

Kevin Lee at the beginning of the case study identifies pertinent issues that are linked to the difference between their way of operations and the new marketing plan. The company has immense knowledge in importing business and limited knowledge in the exporting business. They have managed to comprehend the needs of the North Americans when it comes to the Asian foods which have enabled them to raise the business to $30 million. The exportation of the Canadian honey to Korea is a new business venture as they do not know how to navigate the Korean industry with its restrictions (Anania, 2013, p. 25).

Additionally, despite the fact that the Canadian honey is loved by Korean visitors who send it to their families, this is not a guarantee that they will penetrate the market with ease (Tavares, 2014, p. 12). On the other hand, the Asian product is loved by North America and the company has managed to create a customer base that loves their products (Shaw, 2017). The company encountered challenges but managed to establish a reputable brand. Contrariwise, the only similarity is that the company has dealt with Korea on an international business level as discussed in the essay.

References

Anania, G., 2013. Agricultural export restrictions and the WTO: What options do policy-makers have for promoting food security. Draft paper prepared for informal ICTSD policy dialogue on, 25.

APHIS’ website. (2017). Korea Product Brief: Honey. [online] Available at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/products/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

De Mooji M., 2013. Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications, 2013.

Hayakawa, K., Kim, H., and Lee, H. H., 2014. Determinants on utilization of the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement: margin effect, scale effect, and ROO effect. World Trade Review, 13 (3), pp.499-515.

Lee, M.Y., Hong, I.P., Choi, Y.S., Kim, N.S., Kim, H.K., Lee, K.G. and Lee, M.L., 2010. Present status of Korean beekeeping industry. Korean Journal of Apiculture.

Lee, Y.K., Kim, S.H., Seo, M.K. and Hight, S.K., 2015. Market orientation and business performance: Evidence from franchising industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 44, pp.28-37.

Shaw, M. (2017). Korea Food Trading | Canadian Business Executive. [online] Canadianbusinessexecutive. Available at: http://www.canadianbusinessexecutive.com/food-drink/case-studies/korea-food-trading-expanding-asian-foods-market-a-non-traditional-audience [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

Sydkorea. M. (2017). Korean Business Culture. [online] Available at: http://sydkorea.um.dk/en/the-trade-council/korean-business-culture [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017].

Tavares, A., 2014. Statistical overview of the Canadian honey industry 2013. Government of Canada, Canada.

Yoon, S. J., 2017. Cultural Brokerage and Transnational Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs in Beijing’s Koreatown.”  Korea Observer, 48 (2), p.387

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Competitive Advantage: Case Study

Competitive advantage
Competitive advantage

The new product that is being introduced as part of Whirpool production will be marketed along the market chains that the company has used and has competitive advantage over other products in the market. The company will concentrate on marketing the product in the Western nations, followed by the Asian countries and lastly the African nations based on the sales margin of their earlier products (Chakraborty, 2017).

Customers in the industry have expressed the problem of having their refrigerator doors not tightly closing when they are shut.The company GE appliances that is one of the competitors has admitted to the existence of the problem on their website, but they have only provided a limited number of solutions (Refrigerator-Freezer Door Pops Open, 2017).

In the industry, none of the companies have come up with a long-lasting solution like the new invention. The product will provide the company with a competitive advantage in the consumer home appliances. The company does sell their products in over 170 countries, and by the first quarter of 2017, they had a market share of 34.33% (Whirlpool Corp Comparison to its competitors, market share, and competitiveness by Segment-CSIMarket, 2017).

How to Achieve a Competitive Advantage

In order to succeed in any market a company has to decide which strategy is more appropriate to use, which means identifying the sources of a potential competitive advantage such as skills or resources. Superior skills in creating a special product can represent the element that is setting the company apart from its competitors. That is easily translated into a very good quality of the products.

Reference List

Chakraborty, A. (2017). Leverage Analysis: A Study on Whirlpool LTD. Nopal Institute of Management Studies-Department of Management.

Refrigerator-Freezer Door Pops Open. (2017). Products.geappliances.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from http://products.geappliances.com/appliances/gea-support-search-content?contentId=16979

Whirlpool Corp Comparison to its Competitors, Market share, and Competitiveness by Segmet-CSIMarket. (2017). Csimarket.com. Retrieved 15 September 2017, from https://csimarket.com/stocks/compete-glance.php?code=WHR

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Leadership Approaches

leadership approaches
Leadership approaches

Introduction

            In this present era with various leadership approaches available, Leadership is an important individual trait that helps the people to become successful, personally and professionally. Development of the effective leadership abilities and skills assist the individuals in enhancing positive individual growth in the personal life as well as professional life. Effective adoption of justified and appropriate leadership style can build effective decision-making capabilities within an individual, which will help to become a successful leader shortly. 

This is a vital fact to state that the consideration of the leadership capabilities can add effective value in the personal life of an individual. It will enhance an effective life experience, which can assist the particular individual to implement the experience and skills in near future in the decision making process. It is a process of development of successful and skilled leaders.

Most importantly, every individual needs to adopt adequate leadership skills to become successful in the professional career as adequate leadership approaches can help to get effective social recognition. Moreover, the implication of the appropriate leadership styles can also assist an individual to attract the followers within the society. This essay will provide an in-detailed discussion on how the course in leadership can add value to the life experience of the individuals as preparation for leadership.

Discussion

            Leadership and ethics are directly related to each other. All the future professionals and present job seekers want to become a successful professional in the individual life. In this particular process, all the individuals need to adopt some particular leadership styles and approaches. It is acceptable that the adoption and application of the leadership approach always depend upon the behavioral traits and personality of the individuals.

It is true that the behavioral traits and personality of people used to differ from an individual to another individual (Long, 2016). However, the individuals can adopt different types of leadership styles, such as transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style, autocratic leadership style, laissez-faire leadership style, visionary leadership style, charismatic leadership style, democratic leadership style, etc.

This usually depends upon the personality traits of people. Every positive behavioral study indicates that the appropriate application of these leadership approaches actually can enhance positive organizational ethics and strong business ethics (Sekerka et al., 2014). Strong business ethics is important for the companies in this contemporary era to grow profitability and the leaders need to follow the ethical pathway to enhance sustainable career growth. Therefore, ethics is important for all the leaders and future job seekers.

Leadership Approaches: Case Study

The completion of course in leadership acts as a value added skill development process, which helps in the enhancement of adequate leadership approaches and outcome. An example of the leadership approach adopted by PepsiCo can be considered. The management of PepsiCo has adopted the transformational leadership approach in which the company management has maintained strong ethics across all the organizational departments (Ubah, 2016).

The coursework in leadership will help the future professionals to understand the value of the transformational leadership approach in maintaining ethics and will also help to become a successful professional. Overall, it is acceptable that the development of effective knowledge about leadership styles will assist in maintaining strong business and corporate ethics shortly.

 Job Satisfaction and motivation of the employees also can be regarded as an important responsibility of the organizational leaders. A professional leadership course can assist the future professionals and job seekers to add value to the personal life experience. Hence, the development of knowledge regarding the characteristics and implications of the leadership approaches can assist the organizational management of the company to ensure positive sales growth of the organizations.

For example, the employees are the vital growth drivers of any company and the high-performance level of the employees helps the firms to improve the profitability and business growth. Therefore, the leaders of the organizational departments need to take care of the job satisfaction and motivation level, which will encourage the employees to do well within the organizational set-up.

Transformational leadership approach is an employee friendly approach, and the leaders of the contemporary era should try to implicate this particular leadership approach for the better workplace environment (Bayram & Dinc, 2015).

This transformational leadership style has a strong impact on the business growth and performance of a company. Hence, the professional course in the leadership management process can assist in the establishment of the effective knowledge level regarding leadership, which will help the individuals to become a successful leader (Oehlrich, 2016).

 Knowledge management is also considered to be the vital element for the individuals to get success in the professional life. There are five important traits of an effective knowledge management process, such as seniority, enthusiasm, understanding, expertise, and approachability. These five important traits of the knowledge management process need to be developed by the individuals in this present era to become a successful professional. On the other hand, strategic leadership and knowledge management processes are strongly related to each other.

The effective leadership style application process can enhance the adequate knowledge management process (Snell, 2010). Value and respect for seniority helps in the development of the strong knowledge level. On the other hand, the level of understanding always enhances adequate knowledge management process. Moreover, the consideration of the enthusiasm regarding learning and development process enhances the knowledge management process.

The leaders in this contemporary era should also go for the approachability trait to present some strategies and ideas to important stakeholders of a company. This particular approach is also regarded as an essential part of the knowledge management approaches (Beaumont, 2010). Lastly, development of expertise and competency always assist an individual in enhancing the strong knowledge level.

Overall, the above mentioned five traits can be acquired by a future professional through the application of the appropriate leadership style. Also, this is also important to accept that the professional course in the leadership management activities will always help an individual to become a professional and successful leader shortly (Lussier, 2014).

 It is also important to accept that leadership is an evolutionary approach. It has been identified since the old ages that the consideration of the different leadership approaches assists the individuals to deal with the challenges basis on the demand of the situations. This is an important aspect to state that the organizational leader in this contemporary era focuses on the application of the structural leadership approaches or the situational leadership approaches (Ardichvii & Yoon, 2014).

The consideration of the structural leadership approach is a traditional leadership approach, which helps the bureaucratic organizations to adopt the classical approach to follow a particular developed system. On the other hand, some of the companies in this contemporary era are also focused on the implementation of the situational leadership approaches. This situational leadership approach application process depends upon the demand of the specific situations.

Moreover, the organizational management used to adopt this leadership style in the crisis to overcome some particular challenges faced by the companies (Beugelsdijk, 2010). However, the application of all of these leadership styles, such as structural leadership and situational leadership approaches require practical knowledge and skills. Therefore, the future professionals need to go through the professional leadership course works to strengthen the value-added leadership skills and capabilities (Vugt et al., 2008).

However, the environmental factors are constantly changing for the leaders throughout the historical ages. In this contemporary era, the definition, characteristics, and traits of the leadership approaches have evolved significantly. This is an important aspect to state that the contemporary leaders are facing different types of the changes in the development process.

The current professionals are finding it highly difficult to develop the appropriate description, definition and theoretical approaches in the establishment of the leader development theory (O’Connell, 2014). Practicing and learning of the leadership approaches in this modern era should focus on the integration of increasing capacity for the behavioral and cognitive approaches.

This specific aspect needs to be learned and practiced by the contemporary and future professionals. Hence, the professional leadership course works can assist the future professionals to identify and overcome the dilemmas in the leader development theory (Rowley, 2010).

            The application of the management and organizational theory can be considered here. According to the theoretical aspects of the management theory, the contemporary organizations are responsible for the maintenance of the effective workplace environment. Besides, the organizational leaders are also responsible for the meeting or achievement of the management objectives, which can enhance strong business ethics and sustainability (Keely, 2011).

Also, the contemporary leaders are also responsible for the implication of the organizational theory as it helps the organizational leaders to identify and assess the organizational culture as well as structure. The organizational leaders assess these aspects for a better implication of the strategies shortly.

It is acceptable that the contemporary job seekers should join the professional leadership management course to acquire the knowledge regarding the management and organizational theory, which will assist in the development of the high quality and conflict free workplace environment. Also, this is also essential for the modern day teachers to develop effective leadership approaches in the education service providing approaches (Morton, 2012).

It is acceptable that the modern day teachers need to adopt some important styles of leadership approaches, which will be different from each other concerning nature and characteristics. The educators need to adopt four important types of leadership styles, such as delegating, selling, telling and participating (Oyetunji, 2011).

The implication of these specific leadership styles will significantly depend upon the demand of the situation and behavioral as well as personality traits of the individuals. Overall, it is acceptable that the future professionals within the education industry need to adopt these types of leadership capabilities to become a successful professional. 

Also, effective training and knowledge acquirement process regarding these leadership approaches is also important for the future professionals (Harzing, 2014). It is important to acknowledge that the motivational traits are changing within the society from a particular generation to another generation (Chen & Huang, 2011). Most importantly, the employees of professionals of the younger generation can believe in some specific traits.

On the other hand, the people of the elder generations within a particular society or an organizational institution used to believe in some other motivational traits. These traits can be different, and orientation of gender can be the major reason behind the differentiation (Harris, 2010).

Overall, this will be important to accept that the organizational leaders in this contemporary era should understand the gender gap and possible implemented traits to overcome the workplace conflicts to maintain a strong collaboration between the employees of different age group. Hence, the leaders need to go through professional leadership courses for the better value addition to personal experience to become a successful leader shortly (Murray, 2011).

Conclusion

It is identified from the discussion that the future professionals and the job seekers in this contemporary era needs to develop strong competency and knowledge level regarding the application of different types of leadership styles. There are different types of leadership styles, which can be applied by the leaders based on the demand of the situation and personality traits of leaders.

Overall, this is acceptable that the application of the justified leadership approaches can help a leader to strengthen organization ethics, improve workplace performance, ensure good knowledge management and enhance profitability. The professionals need to understand the value of the leadership, as leadership is responsible for the mentioned organizational benefits.

References

Ardichvii, A., & Yoon, W. S. (2014). “Designing Integrative Knowledge Management Systems: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Applications.” Advances in Developing Human Resources, 11(3), 307-320.

Bayram, H., & Dinc, S. (2015). Role of Transformational Leadership on Employee’s Job Satisfaction: the Case of Private Universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. European Researchers, 93(4), 270-281.

Beaumont, J. (2010). Knowledge management in a regional law firm: A worthwhile investment or time wasted? Business Information Review, 27(4), 227-232.

Beugelsdijk, S. (2010). “Strategic Human Resource Practices and Product Innovation.” Organization Studies, 29(8), 820-847.

Chen, C., & Huang, J. (2011). “Strategic human resource practices and innovation performance-The mediating role of knowledge management capacity.” 62(1), 104-114.

Harris, H. (2010). International HRM: Contemporary Issues. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

Harzing, A. Q. (2014). International HRM. London: Cambridge University Press.

Keely, T. (2011). HRM Practices. London: Kogan Page.

Long, J. (2016). Process Modelling Style. New York: Springer.

Lussier, N. R. (2014). Management Fundamentals. New York: Springer.

Morton, B. (2012). The Global HR Manager. London: Routledge.

Murray, A. (2011). Mind the gap: technology, millennial leadership, and the cross-generational workforce. The Australian Library Journal, 60(1), 54-64.

O’Connell, K. P. (2013). A simplified framework for 21st-century leader development. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 183-203.

Oehlrich, M. (2016). Organisation and Restructuring. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Oyetunji, O. C. (2011). Reorienting leadership styles for sustainable education. Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 13(2), 59-69.

Rowley, C. (2010). Human Resource and Operation Management. New York: Springer.

Sekerka, E. L., Comer, R. D., and Godwin, N. L. (2014). Positive Organizational Ethics: Cultivating and Sustaining Moral Performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(1), 435-444.

Snell, S. (2010). Managing Human Resources. New Jersey: Pearson.

Ubah, M. (2016). The Alphabet of Leadership. New Jersey: Pearson.

Vugt, V. M., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, B. R. (2008). Leadership, Followership, and Evolution: Some Lessons from the Past. American Psychologist, 63(3), 182-196.

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Impact of criminological research on social policy

criminological research
criminological research

Impact of criminological research on social policy

Criminological research can impact social policy in a considerable way, given that crime and criminal justice are generally considered social issues. While criminal justice is involved in studying crime, social policy aims at establishing how the society promotes the welfare of individuals. Both areas are also related to social problems that relate to crime and are concerned about how better responses can be undertaken to prevent crime (Wincup, 2013: 5).

Therefore, research in criminology provides useful findings on crime, criminal behavior, causes of crime, ways of preventing crime and how to deal with offenders in order to reduce crime, all which provide solutions that can be applied in social policy development to make the society a better place to live.

Sociology aspect: Criminological Research

Crime is considered a social problem and social policy concerns itself with addressing social problems. In this relation, criminology and social policy have a direct relationship in that criminology studies provide solutions for addressing crime in order to promote societal welfare. The application of criminological research provides a more comprehensive approach to identifying social problems that lead to crime.

It provides a more scientific approach in the collection of data, analysis and presentation, which provides highly relevant information for use in managing crime (Liebling, Maruna & McAra, 2017: 58). A majority of these interventions revolve around social policy and this implies that criminological research has significant implications on criminal research. This could also explain why criminological research as a course is offered together with social policy, given that they both have a beneficial relationship.

The more recent research on whether prisons are more useful or harmful in promoting reducing crime is an example of research in criminal justice that has a direct impact on social policy. This is because while the use of prisons has been predominant over the decades as a means of correction, statistics have also shown that the use of prisons has only resulted in overcrowded jail facilities and increased crime as witnessed in the rate of recidivism among former criminals.

In this relation, criminology research has also focused on determining social interventions that would be more effective in reducing crime such as poverty reduction, education, early child development programs, job creation, war on drugs, help for mental problems and community-based punishments for crime (Liebling, Maruna & McAra, 2017). This would impact social policy in that based on the recommendations from criminology research, it is possible to implement such measures to provide solutions that improve social welfare.

Such actions have been observed in the United States there is increased efforts towards addressing underlying social issues that influence crime. A notable intervention has been the implementation of prison education programs that ensure that prisoners are able to take reintegrate into the society through finding decent jobs (Davis, 2014: 1). The same applies for prison overcrowding, where criminological research has been prevalent and established that overcrowded prisons have led to more problems in the United States’ attempt to reduce crime.

The government has consequently called for action to address the problem of prison overcrowding to promote the welfare of prisoners and reduce deaths, injuries, immorality and recidivism associated with prison overcrowding. To address such issues, social policy must rely on findings from criminological research because they are more accurate and are based on well researched theories, such that interventions are likely to lead to better outcomes.

References

Davis, Lois M., et al. (2014). How Effective Is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go

from Here? RAND Corporation, 2014, Report No. 564. Retrieved from https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/effects-prison-education-programs-research-findings

Liebling, A., Maruna, S. & McAra, L. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford University Press

Wincup, E. (2013). Understanding crime and social policy. New York: The Policy Press

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