Od vs Hr Essay Example

Od vs Hr Essay â€Å"We are witnessing and participating in an unprecedented dissolution of the boundaries of the field of organization development. In organizations around the world, the HR function is monopolizing the OD function at an unprecedented pace, which is limiting our reach, blunting our effectiveness, and compromising our role. † OD and HR Do We Want the Lady or the Tiger? By Matt Minahan Ding. Ding. Ding. OK, time’s up. Time to decide. Will it be door number one, or door number two? The lady or the tiger? In Frank Stockton’s allegory (1882), a prisoner is ordered to choose between two closed doors. Behind one is a woman whom he must marry sight unseen and live with for the rest of his life; behind the other is the tiger which would surely eat him alive. Without knowing exactly what is behind which door, how is one to choose? And, which does one really prefer? Like the mythical prisoner, the field of OD has been standing in front of two doors for too long, putting off the choice between them. One door would leave the OD function embedded within HR; the other would get OD out to stand independently on its own two feet in the organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Od vs Hr specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Od vs Hr specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Od vs Hr specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The field of OD has been putting off this decision for too long—since its inception, in fact—and it is time for us to make the decision. Well into our mid-40s as a field, we can’t really blame all of this mess on our forebears, because frankly we’re dealing with these choices just as badly as they did when the field was first founded. We’re still standing looking at the same two doors between which our OD forebears could not decide. Long History, Deep Roots This question about whether OD should be part of HR or should stand on its own goes back to the founding of our field. What became organization development had its roots in the training and development function, where the T group was the primary intervention. At a panel of the founders of OD at the 2009 Academy of Management conference in Chicago, almost every one of them, to a man, said that they were trained as writers or sociologists or engineers, but attended an NTL Institute T group where their lives changed. (Several also lamented that they were all white men in the field at that time, and on that panel at AoM. Following their NTL experiences, they tried to bring these insights they had obtained into their organizations via the training function. By the late 1960s, just a few years after the field was founded by about a dozen internal training and development people at NTL’s summer home in Bethel, Maine, the theory was, â€Å"let’s transform the way managers think about themselves and the ways they relate to people and solve problems, and once we’ve done that, we can send them back home to transform their own organizations† (Porras Bradford, 2004). Evidently, there were some who said that the OD function should stand on its own and be independent of other influence (Burke, 2004). Others, however, were concerned that the field of OD was too new and unknown and should reside in the personnel or training function, as advocated by Shel Davis of TRW Systems, Sy Levy from Pillsbury, Herb Shepard formerly of Esso, Dick Beckard, and others. Their belief was that â€Å"OD at the time was too new, too ephemeral, and too suspect to survive on its own in the organization . . . Early on, then, two models or scenarios OD and HR: Do We Want the Lady or the Tiger? 17 about the place of OD within the organization were debated regarding the wisdom of such a placement† (Burke, 2004). Theory Versus Fact The vast majority of the central thinkers, writers, and scholars in our field today (Cummings Worley, 2005; Marshak, 2009; Feyerherm Worley, 2009; Rothwell, et al. , 2009) write as if OD is a separate and distinct field of practice, but the facts on the ground tell a different story. We are witnessing and participating in an unprecedented dissolution of the boundaries of the field of organization development. In organizations around the world, the HR function is monopolizing the OD function at an unprecedented pace, which is limiting our reach, blunting our effectiveness, and compromising our role. As a field, we are behaving as if there is nothing we can do about it; it is as if we are watching ourselves in an automobile crash in slow motion, worried and concerned at what we see, and yet unable to find the brakes or grab the steering wheel to avert the collision and all of the collateral damage. Maybe the founders of the field were right that OD was too new and too fragile to stand on its own. But they didn’t count on what’s happening now in the field of HR. The Ascendancy of HR Over the past 15 years, we have seen better and better leadership of the HR function, with several universities now offering Masters’ degrees in HRM and HRD and several MBA degrees with an HR concentration. The result has been a generation of stronger, more strategic HR managers who have achieved a seat at the table and are trusted advisors at the top of organizations. Many managers at the top of the HR function are getting better by the year about understanding the dynamics of the organizations in which they serve. Increasingly, they can speak the language of the board room, and are not afraid to undertake even major organization change projects. This new generation of HR leaders clearly understands that people and money are the powers that run organizations; and when the system can provide enough of the latter, their job is to get just enough of it into the hands of the former to get the job done. And then return the rest to stakeholders. And to keep the organization out of court. In these regards, they are notably different from the generation of HR managers and VPs that preceded them, when there was no professional training for HR managers and when these posts often went to the VP who was due to retire next. The evolution of the training function also has had an impact. Ever increasing pressures to reduce costs have forced the training function to get smart about impact evaluation. Kirkpatrick’s (1998) four levels have forced the training function to look beyond end-of-session â€Å"smile sheets† to defend their budgets and make the case that training is a valuable investment. The result has been that training functions are now requiring training managers who have the skills to collect data, analyze it, and think systemically about what to do with it. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? If you needed The days of HR staff being hired principally because they were people persons with good listening skills are gone. The trend toward activity based costing (ABC) is now showing the true cost of overhead functions such as HR, and HR is responding by making itself more relevant to the business of the organization. Many HR staff are now called business partners, often reflecting an aspirational goal, but quite distant from the actual reality of their skills on the ground. With this smarter, more strategic generation of HR managers comes the instinct and desire to have at hand one of the most powerful levers for organizational change and renewal, the OD function. Thus the trend of OD roles and functions being acquired by HR. And, to be clear, in merger and acquisition terms, these are not mergers of equals; they are straight up acquisitions of the OD function by HR. Another factor has been the pressure on HR functions to be relevant to the business of the organization. The days of HR staff being hired principally because they were people persons with good listening skills are gone. The trend toward activity based costing (ABC) is now showing the true cost of overhead functions such as HR, and HR is responding by making itself more relevant to the business of the organization. Many HR staff are now called business partners, often reflecting an aspirational goal, but quite distant from the actual reality of their skills on the ground. someone to do that, wouldn’t you be looking for a good OD person? Often desperate to meet their utilization goals, the training function is very happy to let managers continue to believe that training is the answer to every problem, a kind of panacea for whatever ails. Leaders and employees alike seem to rely on training as the answer, believing perhaps that with the right education they can deliver what the business needs. That is certainly an easier solution to accept than facing OD issues related to how people, teams, and departments relate and connect with one another, how business processes work, and how all connect with and work toward the strategic direction of the organization. So, it is no wonder that smart HR leaders are looking to candidates trained and educated in OD to take on these business partner and training leadership roles, resulting in even more blurring of the lines between OD and HR. 18 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 42 No. 4 2010 Differences Are Real, and Important By now, this author’s biases are probably clear: there are important differences between the OD and HR functions; and as these roles collapse and the differences disappear, the field of OD is losing its unique position in the organization and its effectiveness overall. We’re behaving as a field as if we should be living in a both/and world around this, when the truth is exactly the opposite. Many in OD struggle to find and hold boundaries that separate people and things. We spend our entire time helping our clients make better connections between each other at all levels—individuals and pairs, cross unit collaboration, organizations working toward better partnerships, etc. But when it comes to OD and our HR cousins, we should be sharpening and better defining our boundaries, not blurring them, because the differences in our functions are real and important. The HR function has a legally mandated, regulatory role: to provide people to fill jobs, to reduce costs (for payroll, health care insurance, benefits, etc. ), and to keep the organization out of the courts and the press by ensuring compliance and avoiding claims of discrimination or harassment. People view HR as the people you go to with a problem that you want to make official. People feel that going to HR puts things in the record. They see HR as the enforcers or policemen. The OD function has a developmental mandate; in fact, our job is to increase the effectiveness of the organization and to maximize the potential of the human beings in the work force. We have theories, concepts, beliefs, and values through which we help our clients assure that there is alignment among strategy, structure, business process, and culture, while at the same time embedding human values such as honesty, respect, diversity, and voice. One model (Marshak, 2006) outlines three domains of knowledge for OD practitioners:  » understanding social systems, drawing on theories and ideas from the social sciences, including psychology, social  » psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, and others, consistent with OD values; understanding the hows and whys of change, including the bodies of knowledge that help explain how all levels of the system—individual, group, organizational, community, and even societies change; and understanding the role of the third p arty change agent, especially aiding the person in charge as well as the system itself to bring about the desired changes, requiring an understanding of the issues, politics, psychological processes related to being a third party in a change process. That doesn’t sound much like the recruit, retain, train, and develop mandate of the HR function, does it? It is hard to imagine even the highest functioning HR departments being knowledgeable and skilled in all these areas. There are many in HR who look at the list of OD functions and say, â€Å"Oh, we can do that! † And, on occasion, they may be right. But the philosophies of the two disciplines are starkly different, as are the theory bases, the world views, the core skills sets, and their roles within the organization. There is a built-in conflict between the role of OD consultant, coach or adviser with a developmental mandate working toward organizational effectiveness, versus the role of the HR practitioner whose core mandate is regulatory and enforcement. Can a good HR person advise on selected developmental matters, such as training strategies and needs assessments? Yes, as can a good OD person. But the conflict of interest for the HR staff shows up when the Action Research process of retreat planning and design requires them to interview staff about a manager’s effectiveness. What staff member in her right mind would say something critical of their manager to someone from HR, who is likely also to be involved in decisions about that manager’s promotion, pay, and even succession planning? Or their own? HR has its hands on too many of the organizational levers and has too many mandates centering around enforcement and control to ever be effective at drawing out of managers the truth about their insecurities, anxieties, and the shadow sides, that is so necessary to doing good work and being effective in doing OD. Troubling Examples These concerns aren’t just theoretical, either. Quick conversations with a handful of colleagues, both OD and HR, turn up some troubling examples. In a large multinational organization, The Different Functions Organization Development †¢ Improve the effectiveness of the organization †¢ Maximize the potential of human beings and their contributions to the organization †¢ Align strategy, structure, business processes, and behavior into an effective corporate culture †¢ Model and foster humanistic values into the workplace Human Resources †¢ Manage employee attraction, retention, development, and performance management †¢ Develop and manage programs for employee relations, staff well ­being, workforce planning, and workload management †¢ Ensure equity and diversity †¢ Reduce labor costs †¢ Avoid litigation †¢ Enforce corporate policies OD and HR: Do We Want the Lady or the Tiger? 19 the OD staff and external consultants were forced to follow the rules that govern the rest of the HR function around meeting with VPs and senior managers. The HR VP insisted that he attend every meeting that the HR—and OD! —staff had with other VPs in the organization. Not just marketing or contracting meetings, but actual project meetings as well. He was unwilling to make an exception for the OD staff lest the HR staff get upset. Within weeks, his it was in Corporate Strategy along with the strategy and budget functions, where it had free reign of the organization and was in constant contact with the top leadership on strategy, structure, and corporate culture. It was later merged into the HR function. The results: the best organization design people in town left (with all of their embedded knowledge) rather than be reassigned to deliver management training programs. Then a succession of HR managers gradu- practitioner is, then anybody can hang out a shingle claiming he or she is an OD consultant. In fact, some years ago, there was an informal study of the members of the OD Network that found that almost one third of them had taken on the label or the role of OD consultant, with no previous education or training in the field. Not All Bad News To be clear, the field has shifted largely positively, over the past few decades, responding to some of the â€Å"red flags† that Larry Greiner (1972) identified for OD, including:  » Putting individual behavior ahead of strategy, structure, process, and controls;  » Overemphasizing the informal at the expense of the formal organization, driving more for openness and trust to change the culture, often at the expense of efficiency, h ierarchy, and accountability;  » Driving open and trusting relationships as a normative model for change, without questioning the context or applicability in a given situation, and assuming that team building was always the preferred intervention;  » Putting process before task, enamored with the human dynamics of working together over getting the work done; and  » Treating the manager as just another stakeholder, relatively uninvolved in the planning and conduct of consultantled programs rather than the key stakeholder. Historically, the field has addressed many, if not all, of these red flags among strong and well-grounded practitioners. However, many of them are still quite evident in HR people who are trying to do OD today. The Right Answer Reflecting on the various options for organizing and structuring the OD function and constructing its relationship with HR, the optimum solution is to establish In a large financial institution, the OD function thrived when it was part of the IT function where it designed and facilitated large business process simplification projects. It had its best years when it was in Corporate Strategy along with the strategy and budget functions, where it had free reign of the organization and was in constant contact with the top leadership on strategy, structure, and corporate culture. It was later merged into the HR function. The results: the best organization design people in town left (with all of their embedded knowledge) rather than be reassigned to deliver management training programs. schedule became a huge onstraint on the work of the OD function because consultants (internal and external) could not get into his calendar to meet with their clients. In a science-based organization the OD function was fully financially self-sufficient, recovering the costs and a bit of an â€Å"upcharge† from its internal clients. Other HR managers got res entful of this chargeback mechanism. They forced the manager of the OD program to stop recouping her costs, which effectively killed the OD function because it had no free-standing budget of its own. In a university, a very strong and capable OD function has been merged and renamed Learning and OD, resulting in the organization’s best OD talent being diverted into managing the training program for the university. In a large financial institution, the OD function thrived when it was part of the IT function where it designed and facilitated large business process simplification projects. It had its best years when ally reduced the OD function to delivering two day team building retreats, and a cadre of dozens of internal and external consultants has been whittled down to less than 10. In one knowledge -based organization we know, the OD person is required to have the HR person present during all contracting and data collection meetings. Clients are now creatively working around the requirement by calling the OD staff directly on their cell phones after hours to discuss matters that they can’t or won’t say in front of the HR people, who are not trusted in that system. No Boundaries, No Standards What Bradford and Burke (2004) said about the lack of standards in the field of OD applies equally well to the lack of boundaries with the HR function. â€Å"When there is lack of clarity as to the boundaries of the field and corresponding confusion about what the appropriate role of an OD 20 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 42 No. 4 2010 the OD function independently. Ideally, it would have a blended mandate and funding, charging back for local unit-specific work, and centrally funded for organization-wide efforts. There are instances when OD should be working in partnership with the HR function, specialists on one discipline speaking with and working closely with specialists of the other discipline. There are nstances when the HR function would be the OD function’s client; and there are instances when the OD and HR functions ought not to be working together at all, such as when there are conflicts of interest or large scale organization strategy or design pr ojects not ready for implementation. There are disadvantages to being freestanding and independent within the organization. The OD function may become vulnerable to exposure, scrutiny, and politics. Some OD people can’t play in the C-suite (Burke, 2004). The function would have to earn its stripes and compete for money and mandate with other functions in strategic planning, financial management, budget, and yes, even HR. But the upsides of organizational independence are quite significant, and are evident now where strong OD departments are standing on their own. The OD function becomes central to the business of the organization, influencing strategy, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructuring, etc. It works upstream, providing early input on the development of plans and processes, able to bring a systemic perspective and OD values to actions that previously had been made primarily on financial grounds alone. It is present and able to influence the setting of the agenda, not just the implementation of it. But How to Get There? It is no longer enough just to be good at process. To be able to stand independently in organizations, free of the cover and support of the HR function, OD practitioners need to:  » Know the major environmental, regulatory, and financial drivers of the organization;  »  »  »  » Know, be known by, and trusted by the top leadership of the organization; Know what’s involved in evaluating, deciding, and implementing mergers and acquisitions, especially around blending corporate cultures and business processes; Be effective in working across cultures, in global environments, and especially today, virtually; and Be attuned to the organizational politics within the organization and within its governance structures. (Greiner Cummings, 2004) Integrating sustainability and globalization into the world of OD brings another set of challenges. To play effectively as a free standing function, free of support from HR, OD practitioners need:  » New and better ideas for progress, guided by diversity, development, and sustainability;  » To understand and be effective at intervening in economic systems, balancing productivity with innovation, sustainability, and diversity; socially constructed and negotiated (Bushe Marshak, 2008). As the boundaries of the field have expanded over the past 15 years to include more systemic perspectives, there are new challenges for how to educate new OD professionals (Minahan Farquhar, 2008). That’s a tall order for a field that has prided itself historically on being apolitical, focusing on the individual, following the lead of the client, ambivalent about asserting ourselves in leadership roles within our client systems, and seeing ourselves as a bit subversive in being countercultural. There is some good news here, however. For the past 9 months, many of the academic directors of OD programs around the world have been carrying on a conversation sponsored by the OD Network and the OD and Change Division of the Academy of Management about the knowledge areas that are central to the field of OD and to which a solid OD program would want to commit. The criteria are still very much under development, but there is strong agree- Just as it’s tempting to blame our biological parents for our least attractive qualities, it is easy also to blame the founders of our field for leaving us stuck in this bi-polar state. Yes, they’ve dealt us this hand, but we’re the ones playing it now. We’ve been playing small ball, under the cover of the HR function and limited by our own ambivalence about power. It’s time to step forward, and pick a door. To model how human and cultural dignity and diversity are valued in their own right; and To make sure that the ecology has standing in all decisi ons. (Feyerherm Worley, 2008) ment around several, including the history and evolution of the field, its values base, the use of self, systems thinking, organization design science, theories and models for change, leading the consulting process, organizational inquiry and research, organizational assessment, designing and choosing appropriate interventions, facilitation and process consultation at all levels, organizational and global culture, diversity and inclusion, process improvement methods, and organizational acumen and mastery. As the work progresses, there will  » In social constructionist terms, the independent OD function of the future will also be influenced by the new sciences and postmodern thought. It will intervene on the organization as a meaning-making system, in which reality is acknowledged to be OD and HR: Do We Want the Lady or the Tiger? 21 be further discussions and consultations with professional organizations, scholars, and practitioners. Just as it’s tempting to blame our biological parents for our least attractive qualities, it is easy also to blame the founders of our field for leaving us stuck in this bi-polar state. Yes, they’ve dealt us this hand, but we’re the ones playing it now. We’ve been playing small ball, under the cover of the HR function and limited by our own ambivalence about power. It’s time to step forward, and pick a door. It may the lady. It may the tiger. But whichever way it turns out, we serve the field, our organizations, our HR colleagues, and ourselves by establishing the OD function independently, declaring our boundaries, and then working together across them, but separately. There’s more to discuss on this topic. Join Matt and others in this conversation at http://mattminahan. blogspot. com.

Reaction Paper to Amish in America Essay Example

Reaction Paper to Amish in America Essay Example Reaction Paper to Amish in America Paper Reaction Paper to Amish in America Paper Nick Stratton Professor Taylor soc 204 May 13, 2013 Reaction Paper to Amish in America In our society today, we have many different groups, religions, cultures, and even sub-cultures. Each one of these groups has their own commonly accepted way of life. In particular, there is a very large community of people who call themselves the Amish. These people live in a society where there are very strict rules, values, and beliefs that they follow on a daily basis. Most modern Americans would strongly reject the lifestyle chosen by the Amish, so it can seem surprising to learn that this group is actually growing. Why is this possible? I believe the Amish are growing because they are approaching a stage in their world where they must adapt their ways or fail to thrive. The Amish have always been a people of the old country; they were taught a way of doing things while still following a very strict moral and religious code. According to the video that we watched in class, when they were doing the documentary on the Amish people, they only wanted to be videotaped in profile in order to have those outside their culture believe they are all one homogenous group. In fact, their religious faith is ultimately the foundation for the reason for everything from what hey wear to what they drive. Ever since the day a child is born into an Amish family, they begin the process of training the child to obey their system of values and beliefs that defines their way of life. This socialization process is crucial to their way of building a strong sense of connection to the rest of their community. As the youth transition from childhood to adulthood, according to the video The America of the Amish, the adolescents are given a period of time between the ages of 16 and 20 during which they are allowed to experience many things outside the Amish culture and norms, without fear of reprisal. This period of time is known as Rumspringa, basically translated from German to mean Jumping around. However, not all Amish people were born into the culture. In the video, we saw a mother and two daughters Join an Amish community after leaving California and moving to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. I believe they did this because the Amish life has a simpler and more straightforward way of doing things. This allows people in the community to live a much more stress free life. In addition, living in an Amish commune adds a sense of safety, security, and overall wellbeing. As th e Amish evolve, they are experiencing more modern techniques to ccomplish day to day tasks. They still dont use electricity but, unlike when the elders held obstinately to the prescribed way, now Amish people have embraced certain advances in technology in order to increase efficiency in their daily life. Men and women have also embraced different ways of earning money other than through agricultural means on their own farm site. One case in point is Amish people running a stand at a local market using electricity in order to make a pront pure fact that the Amish are learning to evolve in todays society is the reason I believe that the Amish community as a whole is growing in the United States.

Broadband Traffic Modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Broadband Traffic Modeling - Essay Example Broadband also enhances fair computation, reliable storage and easy manipulation of data responsible for maintaining an acceptable quality of service (QoS) level that is deliverable by the network. Communication infrastructure modes, dates back approximately two thousand years ago. This is the time when Beacon systems couriers and advanced communication networks were engineered Owing to the monumental economical demands of the modern world. Traditional networks have been overridden by the technological renaissance that enhances effective Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) scheme, across the network. Traditional infrastructures were developed on separate networks with unnecessary detractors. Voice in a telephone network for example is too noisy and inefficient for burst data communication. Concurrently data networks, that stores and forward massages using computers have a limited bandwidth connectivity that cannot transmit digital images and voice simultaneously. Fibre Optical Transport Network, based on Wavelength Division, Multiplexing and Optical Cross-Connects technology, offer a tremendous transportation capacity. It calls for a frequent manual intervention for updated management. Due to the inconsistency of the Traffic pattern on an integrated system. Network operators are advised to adopt an optical network a smart, automatic real-time system (ION) or Automatic Switched Optical network, for tractability of the changing traffic load information. 2.3.1 Window sizes A smaller observation window harms the network stability; while a too large observation window worsens the network reliability. Research shows that a suitable traffic observation window size improves the offered Quality of Service (QoS) by reconfiguring the logical layer network at the right time and in the right way. Therefore undesirable observation window size might give less accurate information and trigger the operation at the wrong 2.3.2 Multi-Domain. The performance of multi-domain networks, such as differentiated services (DiffServ), guarantees quality of service across the network. Surprisingly network providers hesitate to use it, since enabling and maintaining it on their production networks requires a lot of new know-how and policy management, and they doubt that it will significantly improve the performance and reliability of their over-provisioned networks, or enable new applications. Hence the proposition, to simulate a model of a network connection, between two computers over a fixed multi-domain route in which the network

The cons and pros of fair value versus historical cost accounting and Essay

The cons and pros of fair value versus historical cost accounting and deprival value - Essay Example Financial reporting requires extremely accurate form of measurement to deliver information to lenders and shareholders who are obliged to know how wisely their money is being spent (Barth 2007). Van Zijl & Whittington (2006) reveal that the current form of measurement is increasingly emphasizing on the use of current value to replace historical costs. The principle reason behind the establishment of accounting standards was to ensure that financial information produced by organizations are accurate, reliable, complete, timely and relevant. In addition, accounting standards would ensure that organizations not only demonstrate accountability but also maintain it while meeting statutory reporting requirements such that the stakeholders are accounted for organizational financial performance to support decision making (Cooper 2007). Currently, the measurement basis for measuring amounts in financial statements includes among others historical cost, amortized historical cost, fair value an d value in use. This paper evaluates the pros and cons of fair value versus historical cost accounting and deprival value. 1.0. Current cost should be used in financial reporting Historical cost accounting works well for liabilities that are not traded; representation of liabilities for contractual business obligations like long term deferred revenue, and other complex issues of life insurance and pension liabilities (Macve 2010). However, more emphasis is given to existing stakeholders and stewardship compared to service to investors in capital market and usefulness in economic decisions emphasized by fair value approach which replaces historical costs (Whittington 2008). Historical cost accounting and deprival value characterize the conceptual framework of ASB while fair value is a recent concept that is available only for the last 20 years in FASB, the IASB and the ASB and is increasingly applied in financial reporting. Penman (2007) argues that while historical cost accounting h as been used in items whose measurement using fair value would be unreliable or expensive to quantify, fair value is considered to be informative given that it is applied within mixed measurement system. Defining and measuring current value Fair value is defined by Penman (2007) as the amount that would be obtained from selling an asset or the amount that would be given away in defrayal of a liability in a transaction deemed as methodical and between wiling and well-informed participants. As a result, fair value accounting information reflects the future and not the past, events or transactions (Whittington 2008; Barth 2006). Barth (2007) reveals that the measurement decisions are made by standard setters through focusing on the application of the definitions of elements in financial reporting and the qualitative attributes of accounting information on the basis of financial reporting objective. The use of qualitative attributes is intended at recognizing the desired measurement cha racteristics while the financial reporting objective brings out the context within which the evaluation of measurement will be evaluated (Barth 2007). 2.0. Importance of deprival value concept Van Zijl and Whittington (2006) argue that deprival value is the implying measurement at substitute cost for an asset that has a recoverable amount superior than the costs to be incurred for replacement. The value of an asset is restricted to replacement costs since the loss incurred in losing an asset

Personality Strengths for a Checkered Career Essay

Personality Strengths for a Checkered Career - Essay Example Indeed in a world where business is no longer insulated from the 21st century globalized competition, being flexible is more of a virtue that is crucial in penetrating the obstacles erected by even the most conservative cultures in history. Noteworthy, ingesting every ideas supplied by nature is in itself detrimental career-wise. Success is determined by how one critically separate useful from non-useful ideas in presented in different circumstances. Through my analytical nature, I have learnt to my voice my opinion whenever necessary, giving well-reasoned out thoughts/feedbacks capable of furthering projects with viable prospects, for organizational ventures are but products of teamwork. While important in organizational wellbeing, Idea Generation is only a single a process that must be augmented by elements. Implementation of such ideas requires strategy/focus. I am more determined than ever to being part of the solution to existing organizational problems by executing the assign r esponsibilities using the best route possible, for innovation is the new, indispensable competition front that any organizations, including my dream destination, cannot do without. Being adaptable to the ever changing circumstances, I am more than certain that I will monitor and adjust/recommend adjustments to organizational plans whenever necessary. Not forgetting the importance of being self-assured, I am more than prepared to motivate colleagues towards believing in themselves and their abilities. Finally, I have tested my resolve to challenges the status quo through innovative ideas, and so come with responsibility. From the very quality of work done to being time conscious, I am more than committed to presenting my commensurable worth in bringing change that the society so needs. Value Addition My education at The Johns Hopkins University, the internships, as well as the experiences in volunteering did help a great deal in equipping me with the professional skills needed as a m arketing researcher. I now consider myself not only a professional, but a responsible individual grounded with certain fundamental work ethics to begin with in any would be destination-organization. Taking responsibility is a much wider concept in organizational growth context, and work ethics is no exception, for the image projected to the public at large depends much on individuals’ responsible decision-making and/or actions summed up together. A marketing executive is a messenger; a messenger with a mission of diverting traffic towards services/products that are in competition for a sliver of potential market. Ethics is, thus, essential in the entire message delivered, which in every sense, must be done in time and within the confines of professional standards. As a foundation of professionalism in this area of service, knowledge is vital. However, it is always never enough as its acquisition is a lifelong process. With all these knowledge, I look forward to a superb caree r where challenges are taken positively and mistakes ingested as learning opportunities but minimized as much as possible. It is important to note that while the delivery of organizational targets may be a priority, doing so at the expense of work ethics

Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Pain

Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Pain Musculo-skeletal pain is a complex sensation where sensory, affective and cognitive dimensions of pain alongwith parallel neural networks in brain are associated with constellation of factors. Though pain occurs to show protective gesture, but when it surpasses threshold, exerts debilitating effect upon health and triggers concomitant physiological and psychological concerns of perilous ramifications. Right from the activation of primary afferent nociceptors upto the cortical processing of the pain in the higher regions of the brain, pain trajectory can be dissected into transduction, conduction, synaptic transmission and modulation. Besides, environmental, behavioral and psychological risks involved, all these stages of pain sensitivity, severity and analgesic responses are mediated by different set of genes and genetic variants. Transduction of noxious stimuli is regulated by transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M, member 8 (TRPM8) and transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A, member 1 (TRPA1) encoded by TRPM8 and TRPA1 genes, which plays an important role in the inhibition of background potassium channels. SCN10A encoded, voltage gated sodium channel Nav1.8 is essential for signal generation in response to cold stimuli. The nociception, due to heat stimulus and red hot chili pepper activates the ion channel TRPV1 and capsaicin receptors. However, TRPV1 also regulates the inflammatory pain thresholds, TRPV4, in conjunction with TRPV1 and TRPV2, transduces both thermo and mechano-sensations. The pain related transgenic knockout studies offered significant information on the genes that influence pain transduction. (Lacroix-Fralish ML. etal, 2007). Three genes SCN9A, SCN10A and SCN11A which encode sodium channels are observed to be expressed in sensing neurons. . SCN9A carriers, who have defective Nav1.7 remains pain free, which makes it a novel target for sodium selective analgesic drugs. SCN10A (Nav1.8) is also a significant contributors to the transduction signaling of pain pathway. Though, encoded channel Nav1.8 does not induces action potential but plays a significant role in setting the pain thresholds. SCN11A gets activated, close to the resting membrane potential and mutations in this gene have been associated to the loss of pain perception. Voltage gated sodium channel nociceptors specific genes SCN1A, SCN3A, SCN8A, SCN9A, SCN10A, SCN11A along with potassium channel encoding KCNQ genes play a significant role in nociceptive conduction. Synaptic transmission is regulated by several genes such as GR1N1, GR1N2, GR1A1-4, GR1C1-5, NK1R. Some voltage gated calcium channels encoding genes, such as CACNA1A-S, CACNA2D1 mediates the neurotransmitter release in the pre-synaptic membrane.Several genes and genetic variants have also been implicated in the centr al, peripheral and microglial pain modulation. (Foulks and Wood. 2008). How damage sensing neurons submit input signals regarding the extent and severity of pain to central nervous sytem (CNS) is highly complex. Very many brain areas are involved in sensory discrimination and affective evaluation which determine the nature of pain perception. Genetic variation of COMT gene that encodes catechol-o-methyltransferase regulates the inactivation of catecholamines neurotransmitters and reduced COMT enzymatic activity which leads to increased pain sensitivity and temporal summation of pain (diatchenko L et al. 2005) Decreased adrenalin metabolism due to reduced COMT activity increases pain through the stimulation of ÃŽ ²2/ 3-adrenergic receptor antagonist. A few genome wide association studies (GWAS) on musculo-skeletal phenotypes have been carried out which revealed some strongly associated SNPs within CCT5 and FAM173B genes that influence chronic widespread pain in lumbar spine region. Over the past decade, an intriguing development in cellular genomics has aroused curiosity of the possibility of miRNA in pain research. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are family of small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression in sequence specific manner. Their non-perfect pairing of 6-8 nucleotides with target mRNA subsequently forming miRNA Induced Silencing Complex (miRISC) generally results in translational repression, destabilization of mRNAs and gene silencing. Some miRNAs have been implicated in pain mechanism including neuronal plasticity, neurogenesis, nociceptor excitability, chronic pain conditions and pain threshold. They engrossed the attention when observed that these miRNAs play an evident role in the conditional deletion in nociceptors of th e miRNA producing enzyme, Dicer and blocks inflammatory pain hypersensitivity. The pioneer studies on the role and relevance of miRNAs in pain demonstrated that miR-134 is modulated in the trigeminal ganglion in response to inflammatory pain. BDNF triggered miR-132 is upregulatedin cortical neurons which is identified as modulation of nociception signaling. miRNA Let-7 that target  µ-opiod receptors plays considerable influence on the opioid tolerance in mice. Activity regulated miR-188 is a significant player of synaptic plasticity tuning. Dysregulation of miR-29a/b is associated with structural plasticity in psycho-stimulant exposure. In the traumatized spinal injury miR-219 is downregulated 7 days after contusion whereby sciatic nerve ligation induces an up-regulation of this miRNA. In chronic pain miR-124 down regulates in dorsal root ganglion neurons in inflammatory muscle as well as in sciatic nerve crush. Researchers are instrumental in understanding the epigenetic mechanisms in relation to pain causation and alleviation. Epigenetic modifications play significant role in cytokine metabolism, neurotransmitter release and response, analgesic sensitivity and central sensitization. Changes in chromatin structure may lead to acute to chronic pin transition. Prior priming (sensitization) of spinal microglia with initial inflammatory challenge, subsequent challenges create enhanced pain intensity and duration. Effects of neonatal pain experience relates to adult pain sensitivity where they exhibit spinal neuronal circuits with increased input and segmental changes in nociceptive primary afferent axons and enhanced or altered pain stimulation. Histone modifications, a significant epigenetic mechanism which may alter the gene expression of pain is highly associated with glutamate decarboxylase (Gad2), Shal related subfamily member 3 (Kcnd3), melting CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2), potassium vol tage gated channels, oprin 1, Scn9a Genes. Histone acetylation and DNA methylation have also been implicated in chronic pain conditions. Though an epigenetic alteration in relation to the risk of pain is in infancy but in near future, such knowledgeable musings will unravel several novel targets for analgesic drugs and preventive modalities. Brain does more than understanding and responding to pain irrespective of sensory inputs and even in the absence of external inputs. Why even cordectomy or anesthetic blocks of sympathetic ganglia do not stop phantom limb pain? Pain genetics have the capacity to enrich us of several such intricate and unforeseen consequences involved with pain etiology, risk factors and variable analgesia. In future, investigation of relevant genomic sequences has many revelations in store for us, by which we will be able to regulate or control pain by switching on or off various genes that causes it.

Reducing My Personal Impact on Global Climate Change Essay -- Global Wa

Over the years scientist and international stakeholders in global climate and environment such as the IPCC and UNEP have overwhelmingly agreed that the major cause of the earth’s climate change and environmental degradation is of anthropogenic origins. These anthropogenic activities include the release of large volumes of gases into the atmosphere especially carbon gases from both industrial and domestic sources, deforestation, landfilling and encroachment of swamps and wetlands. The effects of the impact of human activities on the global climate and environment are already being experienced by humans in the form of rising sea levels threatening low lying areas, extinction of certain animals and plant species, increase in neoplastic and respiratory diseases especially in newly developing industrial countries such as China. Although others have questioned the validity of the assertion that human actions are responsible for current global climate and environment predicaments, it remains an undeniable fact that the current changes we are experiencing in the global climate and environment is as a result of our actions and the inactions to alter these adverse actions. The adverse effects of climate and environmental change and the rapid rate of damage emanating from this phenomenon place an urgent call on us, as individuals and society, to change our behavior (Ehrlich & Ehrlich 2012, Patchen 2006, Schellinhuber et al. 2006). Although in the last decade many people around the world have been trying to bring relevant changes in policy and behavior in the form of political parties, non-governmental organisations and lobby groups; however, a great number of people seem to be unperturbed about climate and environment change and as such ... ...k, NY, USA. Patchen, M. (2006). Public attitudes and behavior about climate change: what shapes them and how to influence them. East Lafayette, Indiana, University of Purdue. Schellnhuber, H. J., & Cramer, W. P. (Eds.). (2006). Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change: Key Vulnerabilities of the Climate System and Critical Thresholds; Part II. General Perspectives on Dangerous Impacts; Part III. Key Vulnerabilities for Ecosystems and Biodiversity; Part IV. Socio-Economic Effects; Part V. Regional Perspectives; Part VI. Emission Pathways; Part VII. Technological Options. Cambridge University Press. Schlitz, M.M., Vieten, C. and Miller, E.M. (2010) â€Å"Worldview transformation and the development of social consciousness†, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 17 (7-8): 18-36 Steffen et al. 2011. The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship. Ambio 40(7): 739–761

Born Too Short

Thirteen year-old, five-foot one Matt Greene has one problem. He also has many talents that go unnoticed. He is very intelligent and can play the guitar. But, he does not get the respect due to him because of his height. He does not play sports, and has gotten rejected by girls he wants to date. They do not want a boyfriend who is the size of a dwarf. Unlike Matt, his best friend, Keith, was the coolest most popular guy. He is everything that Matt is not. He stands a towering six feet three inches tall and is captain of the basketball team. He does not have any problems getting dates with the girls. Matt aspires to be like him, but he just does not have the same effect as Keith. Matt became very angry one day and confessed his jealousy of Keith to himself. He wished that bad things would happen to Keith. He wanted Keith’s girlfriend to dump him. He wanted him to be bad at sports. He also wanted Shania Twain, who was going to star in Keith’s father’s movie, to look like a horse. Suddenly the next day, all of his wishes started coming true. Keith’s girlfriend cheated on him. Keith missed the last point in the championship game, thus causing his team to lose. Shania Twain had a car accident, and had to have plastic surgery on her face, and in the newspaper, she looked like a horse. Good fortune fell upon Matt. He has a scholarship to Paris for music and found himself a girlfriend, named Jose. After realizing what happened to Keith, Matt feels guilty. He feels that his secret envy has ruined his best friend’s life. He wanted to make every thing go back to normal. He had to talk to Keith to resolve the conflict. After a heartfelt conversation with Keith, Matt learns that he does not need to be like his friend. He realizes that every person is different and that is what makes people unique. He appreciates the friendships that he shares with Keith and Jose. Now, Matt is more careful in what he thinks about people without knowing how they may be feeling.

Philosophy quiz bee Essay Example

Philosophy quiz bee Essay Example Philosophy quiz bee Essay Philosophy quiz bee Essay The quiz bee started at exactly game, and the host, one of the professors first introduced all the competing contestants and there are 8 of them who Joined. They were all seated at the stage and the quiz bee has begun. The first component of the quiz bee was the Comic Strip part; they were given 2 comic strips and they were given 2 minutes to think of what can be the possible irony of it. The first comic strip was from Garfield and it goes like this; dieting is easy when you set your mind to it. I no longer crave food. Its the calories I crave. Garfield said. After 2 minutes, all their papers were given to the Judge; Mr Maillot, a theology professor. But their answers were read aloud by Ms. Myra Rexes for the sake of the audience. In my opinion, the participators answers were different from each other but all their answers make sense as well. The second comic strip was from Calvin and Hobbes and it goes like this; Well summer is almost over. It sure went quick didnt it? MIPS Theres never enough time to do all the nothing that you want. And again, their answers were even to the Judge and read my Ms. Myra. The second component of the quiz bee was the Anecdote, they were given 3 minutes to think and answer in this part. They were given 2 examples of anecdotes and they should answer one sentence this way; and yet . After that, the third component was the Situation part. They were given situations and they should give an irony about it. They were asked to answer it for 2 minutes and it should be this way, In this situation, . The first situation is this; What is ironical about planting a seed? I remember hat the possible answer for this is that, in this situation, planting seeds could take a little patience and yet when it grows as big as a tree, it could be a benefit for everyone. Which I totally agree with in a way that planting a seed can be sometimes dreary for it takes more than a year or more to have a fully grown tree but in the end, it will be someday, a fully grown tree that can be an advantage to our lives. The second situation is that What is ironical about the pork barrel case? I think the possible answer for this is that, In this situation, there are lots of unfortunate people ho need the money and yet its the wealthy ones who are spending it. This is my favorite question of all the questions that were given in the whole competition because it really makes sense in a way that there are lots of deprived people in this country who barely needs the pork barrel fund but it Just ends up in the pockets of the government and/or politicians, where we cannot do anything for they have all the power they need and want. And I for one am against it because I know there are people out there who need it the most than the government. The third situation goes hat In this situation, being a bully is somewhat bad and yet it can be a way for the bullies to be closer to the ones theyre bullying. The fourth and last component of the quiz bee was the Parable part. They were given 2 or 3 examples of parables and were asked to write a one sentence irony about it. It should be answered within 2 minutes I think and they should answer it this way, . For me, this was the hard part of the competition because in my opinion, reading a parable with that kind of ambiance, which is too noisy, can make me hard to understand. But that isnt end the competition yet, they first announced the top 4 and the host immediately followed his words that there are 2 who got a tie for the first place and Im very glad to say that our representative is one of them, the other one was contestant #7, Ma. Carbon Aquinas. So they were given a tie up questions which are parables. The first parable was answered by the both of them but the second I think gave the both of them a hard time giving an irony about it maybe because they got bored or maybe because they cant think anymore because of tenseness. But at the end, Mr Maillot has decided who will be the winner and I am proudly to say that our class representative has won the quiz bee. She was given a medal but also, all the other contestants were given certificates as well as a token of effort. At the end of the competition then I realized that in every contest we Join, we will always be proclaimed as winners. There are no losers even before and after the competition starts because everyone did their best and gave too much effort for every game theyll Join in. Also, even if we dont win, there should be no hard feelings instead Just e happy of who will ever win the game for it is the right thing to do. All in all, I am pleased that I attended the Philosophy quiz bee for the reason that I learned a lot of things about it especially thinking ironically in every way possible. Also, having our class representative Join and win at the same time is something the class could be proud of. But in fact the main lesson of this quiz bee is that; In Joining the competition, there are no right and wrong answers, answers always depends on how a person will comprehend it and how a person will think.

Plagiarism-Free Essay Writing

Plagiarism-Free Essay Writing Plagiarism-Free Essay Writing Plagiarism-Free Essay Writing Today, when the number of sites offering professional essay writing service is steadily increasing, customers pay special attention to the issue of plagiarism. Indeed, it would be unreasonable and rather unfair to spend a lot of money and time on essay writing while instead to get a plagiarized essay. We are proud to be among the top-trusted sites in the industry. Our clients get the best writing services as we guarantee plagiarism-free essay writing. Working with us, you get the following guarantees: Relevant, fully-referenced content 100% original writing from scratch Proper in-text citations Full reference list in a proper format Free bibliography page Footnotes or endnotes upon request Non-plagiarized essay writing services No other site offers copies of all sources used for essay writing. We do because it is not a problem for us. We can provide you with copies of all articles we used to do your assignment. Thus, you can easily check the quality of sources, enhance the paper with additional details, and to check the correctness of referencing. We value your trust and we try our best to provide you with superior service at any time of day and night. Our support, as well as writers, are available 24/7! If you need an essay overnight, we will write the one for you. Despite of urgency, we do not plagiarize. We deliver original essays on time. You will be impressed with the quality of our services, adequate customer support, and professional writers. We are industry leaders and we know how to write original, non-plagiarized essays. Custom written essay: original and non-plagiarized We deliver only original essays. It means that your custom written essay is absolutely authentic. It means that you have us specifics of your assignment, while we conduct the research and write your essay from scratch. The format of your essay is tailored to the specific details of your assignment, format requirements, and content nuances. Original essay has never existed before. In addition, you are the only person who gets an essay. In other words, your custom written essay is never posted online and is never resold to third parties. The professionalism of our writers is undoubted as we hire only experienced, trained, and talented essay writers who are able to impress you with non-plagiarized essays. Give yourself a chance to get custom written essay of the highest academic quality! Interesting posts: 250 Words per Page Term Paper Writing Research Papers Writing a Research Paper Write a Research Paper Topics for a Research Paper

Follow the attachment and answer each question in it Essay

Follow the attachment and answer each question in it - Essay Example The literal image was a high resolution photograph taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The factorial design type allowed the independent variables to be manipulated between four different groups of college aged adults at a public University within the United States. The purposes of this research were to advance knowledge on design elements which further enhance the effectiveness and influence of printed education materials. The research hypothesis was that the motivational force of printed education materials would be increased through consistently assigning agency to the virus; meaning that human passivity would make readers consider the virus a predator seeking out potential targets. It was hypothesized that this would heighten the health threat of the virus and perceived susceptibility to the threat. In order to achieve a high level of experimental control in this research study participants were assigned to one of four conditions and in each condition participants received a single page of printed education material that was related. The single page fact sheet was distributed along with a questionnaire. The readability levels of the human and flu agency versions were calculated using five different formulas from an online score tool and the average grade levels for readability were 8.2 and 8.6 ensuring that readability was similar across the groups. Thirteen semantic differential items were used to determine the participants perception of the credibility of the fact sheets. A memory based manipulation check was incorporated with five questions concerning what the participants had read specifically as an index of the participants sensitivity to the linguistic language manipulation. Seven Likert type items assessed participants perceptions of their susceptibility to the virus, H1N1 and their perceptions of the vaccine; their affective

To what extent can the Olympics, help to regenerate an urban area and Essay

To what extent can the Olympics, help to regenerate an urban area and produce lasting benefits Give reference to at least two - Essay Example The International Olympics Committee, the task of which is to evaluate the facilities of each city that bids for holding the Olympics, thoroughly examines the sustainability, accessibility and integrated city development (IOC, 2005). The Report of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012, for example, stresses out that even bidding for holding the games helps candidate cities to develop positive legacies from the bid, no matter whether the city is awarded the Games or not (ibid). Therefore, it can be said that even an attempt to hold the Olympic games positively influences urban areas in terms of infrastructure, accommodation and technology development. The following factors are evaluated by the International Olympics Committee when choosing a host a city for the Games (IOC, 2001): general national, regional and candidate city characteristics legal aspects customs and immigration formalities environmental protection and meteorology finance marketing spo rts & concept paralympic games Olympic village medical and health services security accommodation transport technology communication and media services olypmism and culture guarantees Consequently, keeping up high standards and complying to the requirements of IOC and International Sports Federations regarding urban development becomes a priority task for each city attempting to stage the Games. After 1960, Summer and Winter Olympic games became extremely visible in the sports world events and started involving large-scale transformations of urban areas, which, as a result, lead to more intense regional development. Advanced transportation facilities and even multiple Olympic villages have become the features of contemporary Olympic games (Chalkley and Essex, 1999). A bright example of how holding the Olympics can change a place is Park City of Utah. From a hill-side mining town, which it originally was, Park City became an internationally acclaimed arts center and a popular tourist ic destination (Arias, 2010). The city’s design and architecture were changed for holding the 2002 Olympic games. Lower slopes of Park City’s valley were made into easy suburban dwelling gave dramatic views of the sporting venues. Straight parallel blocks have intensified highway-to-recreation traffic, while recreational zones got combined with commercial ones, thus having extended the growth ratio of the urban plan. Today Utah Olympic Park, which was initially build in preparation for Winter Olympic Games of 2002, is a popular place used by Olympic and development level athletes as a training center. In addition, the Games gave the city such facilities as 2002 Winter Olympics and Ski Museum, a day lodge, a splash pool, ziplines, and a mountain coaster, among others. On this matter Jill Adler (2010) writes that holding the Games contributed to the growth of Utah’s tourism and convention industries, as well as facilitated economic development. The 29,000-square-f oot three-story building of Park City’s Sports Park is holding a museum, an Olympic highlight gallery, a cafe, a retail shop, a research library, sports exhibits and decks for watching freestyle training areas. Furthermore, the park is frequently used for music, lecture and film series, as well as hosts weddings and banquets (Grass, 1999). Therefore, reconstruction of the city in preparing it for the Olympics has improved the area’s economy and made a small mining city a center for sports, culture and