Byzantium And Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Byzantium And Islam - Essay Example .   Byzantium attained its political height through Justinian, who re-conquered the old Western empire parts.   Successive attacks from various peoples, including Latin Christians, made Byzantium weak, finally falling to the Ottoman Turks (1454) (Perry, Chase, Jacob, & Jacob, 2008 pg. 29). As the 7th century began, vast territories that extended from Egypt to Syria and across North African territories were under the rule of Byzantine Empire from Constantinople (modern Istanbul), its capital. Critical to the power and wealth of the empire, these southern territories long influenced by the Greco-Roman traditions held Orthodox, Syriac and Coptic, Christians, Jewish communities, among other many religions (Ratliff & Evans, 2012 pg. 36). Great pilgrimage centers engrossed the faithful followers from as far away as Scandinavia in the west and Yemen in the east. Major trade routes extended down the Red Sea to eastward past Jordan to Indian lands in the south, bringing ivories and silks to the imperial territories. Key cities made wealthy by commerce protracted along inland trade routes Constantinople north and along the coastline of Mediterranean sea. Commerce carried ideas and images freely through the region. In the same 7th century, the newly founded faith of Islam began from Medina and Mecca along the Red Sea trade way and reached westward to the Byzantium Empire’s southern provinces. Religious and political authority was conveyed from the long conventional Christian Byzantine to the newly founded Umayyad and well along Abbasid Muslim dynasties. These new powers capitalized on the advantage of existing region traditions in developing their compelling religious and secular visual identities. This exhibition shadows the Byzantine Empire southern provinces artistic traditions from the 7th century to the 9th, as they were changed from being fundamental to the Byzantine tradition and beliefs to being a critical Islamic world part (Ratliff & Evans, 2012 pg. 6 1). Byzantium preserved key foundations of the Greco-Roman practices and tradition.   Under Justinian's order, Byzantine scholars collected and organized Roman law in the Corpus Juris Civilis, which had four parts.   Influenced by the Greek historians, Byzantines including Anna Comnena, Procopius, and Michael Psellus offered rational, comprehensible, if not always objective, versions of historical occasions.   Byzantine religious philosophers studied Greek philosophy but they subordinated philosophical activity to theology enterprise. Byzantium developed a rich architectural, artistic, and musical tradition influenced by some pre-existing ones.   Drawing from Hebrew and Greco-Roman practice and theory, Byzantine musicians formed a tonal system that greatly influenced the Western music course, and Kontakion hymnody derivative of early Christianity models.   Byzantine art largely concerned itself with exalting the empire and serving spiritual purposes.   The iconoclastic c ontroversy made artists to find new methods of approaching the issue of representing the human nature, but despite that, Byzantine artists never reconnoitered realism in deep as their Western complements did.   Ravenna became the focus of much early artistic engagements.   Buildings such as Theodoric's church of St. Apollinare, Galla Placidia's mausoleum, and San

Molluscs and Natural Selection Essay Example for Free

Molluscs and Natural Selection Essay The process of natural selection is one of the most cited reasons for the evolution of a species, and it was made famous by Charles Darwin’s famous observations of finches in the Galapagos Islands. It is believed to work by way of random mutations; random mutations occur, as it indicates, randomly and spontaneously in a population for a multitude of genetic reasons. Mutations help to create variation of different traits within a species, and they can be expressed with different phenotypes. In times where a mutation has no negative effect on the individual organism, this trait could be advantageous in a new habitat or predatory situation, etc. With an advantage in survival, and thus reproduction, these organisms are often selected for over other members of the species, creating a change in variation of a species over generations. Molluscs, although a very large and diverse group of animals, often share certain features: a mantle, radula, shell, and foot. The mantle is a thin and fleshy layer which secretes the hard shell of a mollusc. The radula is a grate-like structure in the mouth used to scrape surfaces and drill holes. The foot is a muscle which assists in locomotion and movement of the molluscs. It is hypothesized that all current-day molluscs share a common ancestor, called the hypothetical ancestral mollusc or HAM, because of the similar characteristics and body plans that have been modified in diverse ways over time to adapt to different environments. Two members of the mollusc family include the clam, of the class bivalvia, and the squid, of the class cephalopoda, and these are an example of variation from the HAM that helped them adapt for their particular environment, feeding behavior, and movement (Sigwart, 2007). The squid species has undergone many adaptations. The squid’s radula resembles a beak-like structure that it uses to devour its food, very different from the chiton-like HAM which probably had a small radula. Over time, the radula’s shape has been mutated and then selected for as the squid changed its eating habits – if it provided quicker eating time, then it would be selected for. The squid lacks an outer shell (it’s internalized), so the mantle of the squid has also been modified into muscular â€Å"flaps† that it uses to propel itself quickly through the water, nd thus capture prey or avoid predators, a necessary function due to the squid’s lack of a hard protective barrier (Sigwart, 2007) A large shell would be unnecessary for the squid since it can propel quickly away from predators, and may even hinder its ability to swim; this would lead one to believe that the squid developed a muscular mantle from HAM and then a mutation for loss of the shell was selected for following the muscular body. Also, the foot of the squid has adapted from the single foot of the HAM to become tentacles and arms, used to quickly capture and bring prey closer to its beak-like radula to eat, which is buried behind its many arms. This modified version of its foot is an extremely effective feeding method that, coupled with the squid’s speed, enables it to catch and hold prey that otherwise might be able to escape (Sutton, 2007). The clam is a sedentary mollusc that uses its foot to burrow into the sand. The clam is a filter feeder, straining food particles from the water. The clam doesn’t have a radula, probably the result of a random mutation that caused some clam ancestors to lack the structure, or it may have been modified into another structure that aided in the filter feeding process. The filter feeding process is environmentally selected for because it enables the animal to take in food particles while buried under the sand. The mantle of the clam is found inside of its hard, hinged shell. The strong shell of the clam was environmentally selected for since it prevents predators from easily eating the clam, allows it to bury safely into the sand without affecting its internal organs, and improves the clams ability to survive and reproduce. The foot of the clam has adapted so that the species can dig into the sand with this muscle which can be moved out of the shell, a very different type of foot than the HAM’s muscular, positioned foot which allows for scavenging (Sutton, 2007). The HAM, very similar to the chiton, served as a good base model for this very diverse phylum of animals. Lots of spontaneous and random mutations must have occurred for such diversity – to have sedentary, burrowing animals and predatory, jet-propelling animals in the same phylum of animals is quite a feat.

Review of Research Paper on RNA in Mammalian Cells -- Biology

Review of Research Paper: Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells Overview The significance of this experiment is that it shows how siRNA suppresses the expression of genes in different mammalian cells. It was known previous to the experiment that dsRNA can trigger apoptosis in cells- this is an automatic defense mechanism that mammalian cells use to protect against the dsRNA possessed by viruses. The dsRNA can cause RNA interference when it is taken into the cell by a transgene or a virus. The dsRNA is then cleaved by ribonuclease III enzyme into 21-22 nucleotide siRNA's. The siRNA's joins a nuclease complex to form an RNA-induced silencing complex. This complex then cleaves and degrades mRNA. The question was, could transfecting the cell directly with siRNA produce RNA interference? This experiment was performed to test whether siRNA's are capable of RNAi in mammalian cell cultures. (The idea to test gene silencing on mammalian cells sparked from a petunia-darkening experiment.) To do this they synthesized siRNA duplexes against genes that coded for sea pansies and two variants of firefly luciferases. Luciferase is used because it emits light so it's easy to see if the genes are turned on or off, and by what degree. The luciferase activities were recorded 20 hours after transfection and it was seen that the specific inhibition of luciferase was complete, which is similar to the results obtained for dsRNA. In mammalian cells where the reporter genes were more strongly expressed, the ability of the siRNA to completely suppress the gene was reduced. Background Information So, what's with all these petunia flowers anyways? Gene Suppression Within Plants Plant scientists ... ...nderstanding of the significance of genes. Primarily, by silencing a given gene of the genome using a transfected siRNA, geneticists can quantifiably study the properties of the gene and the allele it encodes. This knowledge can then be applied to the pharmaceutical industry to identify "druggable" gene targets. Plants RNAi can be used for multiple purposes in plants. Among the most notable, it can be used to control insect viral vectors and improve the tolerance to pests and stress so that crops do not need to be destroyed regularly by insecticides. It can also cure plants by potentially eliminating toxins and allergens. Finally, RNAi employment can create perfection by extending flowering and fruit setting periods. References Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells published in Nature (Vol. 411, 24 May 2001).

Nurses with Addiction

Nursing is one of the most stressful careers in healthcare. Long hours of direct patient care take its toll emotionally and physically. While the profession is rewarding for most, the constant stress can become a catalyst for all kinds of self damaging behaviors. The American Nurses' Association estimates between ten and twenty percent of nurses will abuse drugs within the workplace at some point during his/her career (ANA, 2002). This percentage is similar to that of substance abusers within the general population. Due to the ease of access to narcotics on the job, it can be difficult to recognize a problem in the early stages. Only once the nurse’s activities have been suspected due to medication shortage or job performance problems can intervention be made. Professionals with addiction not only risk harming themselves and their career, but put their patients at an increased unnecessary risk of malpractice. Unfortunately in November 2009, four nurses in a local hospital were found to be stealing Morphine, Fentanyl, Dilaudid, and other narcotics during their shifts. All four nurses had been employed in various departments and were operating independently of each other. Each nurse was apprehended after being observed for strange behaviors and unauthorized Pixus medication station discrepancies. According to Dunn, psychiatric and oncology nurses have the highest likelihood for drug abuse due to the constant stress and emotional pressures associated with their careers (Dunn, 2005). The lowest instance of abuse occurs in Women’s Health and Pediatric nursing (NIH, 2003). It is unclear whether this rate is due to the nurse’s coping capabilities in such areas, or the lack of narcotics available on these types of care units. Aside from disobeying the loyalty of the workplace, these nurses have violated the Nursing Code of Ethics in relation to themselves, the hospital, and the patients. Within the Nursing Code of Ethics (ANA, 2001) nurses vow to: †¢Safeguard the client and the public when health care and safety are affected by the incompetent, unethical or illegal practice of any person. †¢Participate in the profession's effort to establish and maintain conditions of employment conducive to high quality nursing care. Maintain primary concern for the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community Fortunately, there have been no reports thus far of malpractice or injuries with any of the patients under the direct care of these four individuals. Grave circumstances may have occurred if the situation had not been discovered promptly. When serious issues occur, Risk Management must work feverishly to investigate all the patient’s records to determine if any errors occurred regard ing their care. Risk Management also has the responsibility of investigating the claims against the nurses to prove or disprove validity. Only after the investigations are concluded can the Risk Management team work to repair the reputation of the hospital and its employees. As a result of this incident, workplace respect, reputation, and ethics have been violated at the expense of drug addiction. Nurses and other healthcare professionals have a responsibility to the patient’s and the workplace to uphold a standard of care that will not jeopardize the position of the hospital, its staff, the patients or the community. When serious issues occur, patients become judgmental of all providers and institutions. The profession and the organization’s reputation have suffered because of this incident. Being a healthcare provider myself, I do not understand how a nurse could not find any other coping mechanisms besides drug abuse. Although I am not a nurse, I deal with the same daily issues associated with direct patient care. As a professional, you are required to deal with situations outside of your beliefs and find avenues to vent your frustration, grief and stress without harming the patients, yourself, or the relationship between the two. I have not come across any colleagues that take a different ethical viewpoint than me regarding this situation. We all know that stealing medications from patients for personal use is wrong professional ly, personally and legally. Perhaps our lack of understanding is due to the inability to relate to those with drug addiction. All coworkers within an organization need to be educated to recognize potential issues of narcotic abuse within the workplace. Since healthcare professionals are able to hide some signs of abuse such as work absences, it may be more difficult to recognize a problem in the early stages. Some physical signs to be aware of include: irritability, forgetfulness, isolation, and decreased levels of motivation. Issues in personal life may also increase the chances of drug abuse, such as: stress, family problems, a previous history of mental illness, and a history of prior abuse (any type). Potential issues must be reported to the Nurse Manager as soon as possible. In order for the organization to protect the safety of its personnel and patients, ethical standards of practice must been routinely stressed within the workplace. Many institutions conduct annual competencies, in-services, and /or reviews to ensure employee commitment to maintaining and promoting an ethical work environment. Conclusion Drug abuse among workers will occur in any organization despite all efforts taken by coworkers, management and the organization as a whole. Drug abuse becomes a severe ethical issue once the life of another human being is jeopardized. Those in the healthcare field have a responsibility to maintain a standard of care to patients regardless of any personal issues occurring in his/her own life. When drug abuse occurs in a hospital setting, the potential for disaster increases dramatically. Not only is the safety of patients and coworkers compromised, so is the reputation of the hospital and the profession. All healthcare employees must be monitored by their employer to ensure workplace drug abuse is prevented, detected and extinguished before irreversible damage occurs. References: American Nurses Association (2001). Code of ethics for nurses. Retrieved from http://www. nursingworld. org/about/01action. htm. on December 11,2009. Dunn, D. (2005). Substance abuse among Nurses-defining the issue. Association of operating room nurses. (82) 592-596. Retrieved from Proquest December 10, 2009. National Institute of Health (2003). Retrieved from www. drugabuse. gov/infofacts/costs. html on December 10, 2009.

Cultural Change

Organization Culture And Change Organizational culture – a popular but also a very complex concept – has been identified as an influential factor affecting the successes and failures of organizational change efforts. Organizational culture could be looked at as the pattern of shared valued, beliefs and assumptions considered being the appropriate way to think and act within an organization (Schneider, 1985).In other words, culture: the pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization. – Culture is shared – Culture helps members solve problems – Culture is taught to newcomers – Culture strongly influences behavior Generally, this shared culture is invisible to the employees and their interpretations are viewed as something unique to the individual—their personal opinions.People tend to surround themselves with others of like opinions and values, thus reinforci ng their common beliefs and expectations. Where does organization culture come from? It comes from the Organization founder, vision and mission statement, past practices, Top management attitude and behavior and through socialization – the process that helps employees adapt to the organization’s culture more quickly and effectively.People/ Employees of the organization learn culture through stories, narratives of significant events or actions of people that convey the spirit of the organization, rituals, repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the values of the organization, material symbols, physical assets distinguishing the organization, language, acronyms and jargon of terms, phrases, and word meanings specific to an organization. Keeling (1981, p. 8), who offers that culture refers to an individual’s â€Å"theory of what his fellows know, believe and mean, his theory of the code being followed, the game being played, in the society in to which he was born†. In a similar framework, Geertz (1973) views culture as a symbolic system (i. e. , shared codes of meaning) that reflects understandings shared by social actors. These definitions all imply that culture affects ways members think, feel, and act. According to Henry Mintzberg, â€Å"Culture is the soul of the organization — the beliefs and values, and how they are manifested.I think of the structure as the skeleton, and as the flesh and blood. And culture is the soul that holds the thing together and gives it life force. † There fore, culture is the social glue that helps and holds an organization together by providing appropriate standards for what employees should say or do. People who have worked in different organizations agree that each organization is different from the other organization. Things are not done the same way in everywhere in the organization. Even businesses within the same industry can be quite different from each other.Th e difference is what management scholars call â€Å"organizational culture† or â€Å"corporate culture†. Therefore every organization has their own culture according to which they carry out their day-to-day activities and act and behave accordingly to it. Do Organizations have uniform culture? Schein (2009), Deal & Kennedy (2000), Kotter (1992) and many others state that organizations often have very differing cultures as well as subcultures. Dominant Culture: expresses the core values that are shared by a majority of the organization’s members.Subcultures: mini cultures within an organization, typically defined by department designations and geographical separation. Core Values: the primary or dominant values that are accepted throughout the organization. Strong Culture: a culture in which the core values are intensely held and widely shared. Organizational culture is therefore different from national culture or ethnic culture. The national culture in which the business is based can however have some influence on that business’s organizational culture. Smircich (1983) has analyzed different conceptions of organizational culture in relation to the anthropological schools.Organizational culture has been conceived either as a variable or as a root metaphor for conceptualizing organization. The studies can be divided into two areas; organizations have been regarded as cultures (‘is’ approach) or having a culture (‘has’ approach). It happens all too often. A company introduces changes with high expectations of improving performance. When the changes fail to take root and produce intended results, the unfulfilled hopes lead management to introduce other seemingly promising changes. These, too, ultimately fail.The sequence repeats—an unending cycle of high expectations followed by failure and, inevitably, frustration on the part of management and cynicism on the part of workers. There are several possible reasons for these failures. One key reason is that changes introduced fail to alter the fundamental psychology or ‘‘feel’’ of the organization to its members, it is this ‘‘feel’’ that directs and motivates employee efforts (Guzzo and Shea, 1992). Without changing this psychology, there can be no sustained change. The main point is: organizations have people in them; if the people do not change, there is no organizational change.Changes in hierarchy, technology, communication networks, and so forth are effective only to the degree that these structural changes are associated with changes in the psychology of employees. The primary mechanisms for both maintaining and changing an organization’s culture includes: 1. What managers pay attention to, measure and control? 2. The ways managers (particularly top management) react to critical incidents and organizational crises; 3. Managerial role modeling, teaching, and coaching; 4. T he criteria for allocating rewards and status; and . The criteria for recruitment, selection, promotion, and removal from the organization. Managers should expect to encounter difficulty in clearly understanding situations that involve change. Analyzing a change problem can become quite complex because of the large number of variables that must be considered since there’s no way to stop change from happening, there are several positive steps to make a change program successful, including opening channels of communication, developing a learning environment, and providing training.Even with open communication, careful planning, and extensive training, new program or idea may still meet with resistance. According to Schein, culture is the most difficult organizational attribute to change, outlasting organizational products, services, founders and leadership and all other physical attributes of the organization. His organizational model illuminates culture from the standpoint of the observer, described by three cognitive levels of organizational culture (Schein, 1992).Culture change may be necessary to reduce employee turnover, influence employee behavior, make improvements to the company, refocus the company objectives and/or rescale the organization, provide better customer service, and/or achieve specific company goals and results. Culture change is impacted by a number of elements, including the external environment and industry competitors, change in industry standards, technology changes, the size and nature of the workforce, and the organization’s history and management. 3-Step Model This is often cited as Lewin's key contribution to organizational change.However, it needs to be recognized that when he developed his 3-Step model Lewin was not thinking only of organizational issues. Nor did he intend it to be seen separately from the other three elements, which comprise his Planned approach to change (i. e. Field Theory, Group Dynamics and Acti on Research). Rather Lewin saw the four concepts as forming an integrated approach to analyzing, understanding and bringing about change at the group, organizational and societal levels. A successful change project, Lewin (1947a) argued, involved three steps: . Step 1: Unfreezing.Lewin believed that the stability of human behavior was based on a quasi-stationary equilibrium supported by a complex field of driving and restraining forces. He argued that the equilibrium need’s to be destabilized (unfrozen) before old behavior can be discarded (unlearnt) and new behavior successfully adopted. Given the type of issues that Lewin was addressing, as one would expect, he did not believe that change would be easy or that the same approach could be applied in all situations: The ‘unfreezing of the present level may involve quite different problems in different cases (Lewin, 1947a, p. 29). Enlarging on Lewin's ideas, (Schein (1996, p. 27) comments that the key to unfreezing Ã¢â‚¬Ë œ. .  . was to recognize that change, whether at the individual or group level, was a profound psychological dynamic process’. Schein (1996) identifies three processes necessary to achieve unfreezing: disconfirmation of the validity of the status quo, the induction of guilt or survival anxiety, and creating psychological safety. He argued that: ‘. .  . unless sufficient psychological safety is created, the disconfirming information will be denied or in other ways defended against, no survival anxiety will be felt. nd consequently, no change will take place’ (Schein, 1996, p. 61). In other words, those concerned have to feel safe from loss and humiliation before they can accept the new information and reject old behaviors. . Step 2: Moving. As Schein (1996, p. 62) notes, unfreezing is not an end in itself; it ‘. .  . creates motivation to learn but does not necessarily control or predict the direction’. This echoes Lewin's view that any attempt to predict or identify a specific outcome from Planned change is very difficult because of the complexity of the forces concerned.Instead, one should seek to take into account all the forces at work and identify and evaluate, on a trial and error basis, all the available options (Lewin, 1947a). However, as noted above, (Lewin (1947a) recognized that, without reinforcement, change could be short-lived. Step 3: Refreezing. This is the final step in the 3-Step model. Refreezing seeks to stabilize the group at a new quasi-stationary equilibrium in order to ensure that the new behaviors are relatively safe from regression.The main point about refreezing is that new behavior must be, to some degree, congruent with the rest of the behavior, personality and environment of the learner or it will simply lead to a new round of disconfirmation (Schein, 1996). This is why Lewin saw successful change as a group activity, because unless group norms and routines are also transformed, changes to ind ividual behavior will not be sustained. In organizational terms, refreezing often requires changes to organizational culture, norms, policies and practices (Cummings and Huse, 1989).It is more difficult to change the culture of an existing organization than to create a culture in a brand new organization. When an organizational culture is already established, people must unlearn the old values, assumptions, and behaviors before they can learn the new ones. The two most important elements for creating organizational cultural change are executive support and training. . Executive support: Executives in the organization must support the cultural change, and in ways beyond verbal support. They must show behavioral support for the cultural change. Executives must lead the change by changing their own behaviors.It is extremely important for executives to consistently support the change. Training: Culture change depends on behavior change. Members of the organization must clearly understan d what is expected of them, and must know how to actually do the new behaviors, once they have been defined. Training can be very useful in both communicating expectations and teaching new behaviors. Other components important in changing the culture of an organization are: Create value and belief statements: use employee focus groups, by department, to put the mission, vision, and values into words that state their impact on each employee's job.For one job, the employee stated: â€Å"I live the value of quality patient care by listening attentively whenever a patient speaks. † This exercise gives all employees a common understanding of the desired culture that actually reflects the actions they must commit to on their jobs. Practice effective communication: keeping all employees informed about the organizational culture change process ensures commitment and success. Telling employees what is expected of them is critical for effective organizational culture change.Review orga nizational structure: changing the physical structure of the company to align it with the desired organizational culture may be necessary. As an example, in a small company, four distinct business units competing for product, customers, and internal support resources, may not support the creation of an effective organizational culture. These units are unlikely to align to support the overall success of the business. Redesign organization approach to rewards and recognition: needs to change the reward system to encourage the behaviors vital to the desired organizational culture.Review all work systems such as employee promotions, pay practices, performance management, and employee selection to make sure they are aligned with the desired culture. Hofstede (1980) looked for global differences between over 100,000 of IBM's employees in 50 different countries and three regions of the world, in an attempt to find aspects of culture that might influence business behavior. He suggested abou t cultural differences existing in regions and nations, and the importance of international awareness and multiculturalism for the own cultural introspection.Cultural differences reflect differences in thinking and social action, and even in â€Å"mental programs†, a term Hofstede uses for predictable behavior. Hofstede relates culture to ethnic and regional groups, but also organizations, profession, family, to society and subcultural groups, national political systems and legislation, etc. Hofstede suggests of the need of changing â€Å"mental programs† with changing behavior first which will lead to value change and he suggests that however certain groups like Jews, Gypsies and Basques have maintained their identity through centuries without changing.Hofstede demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behavior of organizations and identified four dimensions of culture (later five in his study of national cultures: Power dist ance (Mauk Mulder, 1977) – Different societies find different solutions on social inequality. Although invisible, inside organizations power inequality of the â€Å"boss-subordinates relationships† is functional and according to Hofstede reflects the way inequality is addressed in the society. According to Mulder's Power Distance Reduction theory subordinates will try to reduce the power distance between themselves and their bosses and bosses will try to maintain or enlarge it†, but there is also a degree to which a society expects there to be differences in the levels of power. A high score suggests that there is an expectation that some individuals wield larger amounts of power than others. A low score reflects the view that all people should have equal rights. . Uncertainty avoidance is the coping with uncertainty about the future.Society copes with it with technology, law and religion (however different societies have different ways to addressing it), and acc ording to Hofstede organizations deal with it with technology, law and rituals or in two ways – rational and non-rational, where rituals being the non-rational. Hofstede listed as rituals the memos and reports, some parts of the accounting system, large part of the planning and control systems, and the nomination of experts. . Individualism vs. collectivism – disharmony of interests on personal and collective goals (Parsons and Shils, 1951).Hofstede brings that society's expectations of Individualism/ Collectivism will be reflected by the employee inside the organization. Collectivist societies will have more emotional dependence of members on their organizations, when in equilibrium – organization is expected to show responsibility on members. . Masculinity vs. femininity – reflect whether certain society is predominantly male or female in terms of cultural values, gender roles and power relations. . Long- Versus Short-Term Orientation which Hofstede des cribes as â€Å"The long-term orientation dimension can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue.Societies with a short-term orientation generally have a strong concern with establishing the absolute truth. They are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results. In societies with a long-term orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results. Conclusion: Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s culture or personality. These favorable or unfavorable perceptions then aff ect employee performance and satisfaction, with the impact being greater for stronger cultures. Just as people’s personalities tend to be stable over time, so too do strong cultures. This makes strong cultures difficult for managers to change.One of the more important managerial implications of organizational culture relates to selection decisions. Hiring individuals whose values don't align with those of the organization is not good. An employee's performance depends to a considerable degree on knowing what he should or should not do. Changing the organizational culture requires time, commitment, planning and proper execution – but it can be done. References: Henry Mintzberg Cultural and Environmental School of Thought culled www. mbaknol. com accessed Thursday11th April 2013. Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of culture. New York: Basic Books.Keeling, R. M. (1981). Theories of culture. In R. W. Casson (Ed. ), Language, culture and cognition (pp. 42- 66). New York : Macmillan. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE Creating a Climate and Culture for Sustainable Organizational Change Benjamin Schneider Arthur P. Brief Richard A. Guzzo (1996) Accessed on Thursday 11th April, 2013 http://media. johnwiley. com. au/product_ancillary/64/04702605/DOWNLOAD/chapter41. pdf B. Schneider, ‘‘Organizational Behavior,’’ Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 36, pp. 573–611, 1985. R. A. Guzzo and G. P. Shea, ‘‘Group Performance and Intergroup Relations in Organizations,’’ in M.D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (eds. ), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed. , Vol. 3 (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992). Smircich, L. (1983): Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly: 28(3). Pp. 339-358. . . Cummings, T. G. and Huse, E. F. (1989). Organization Development and Change, 4th edition. St Paul, MN: West Publishing. Cummings, T. G. and Worley, C. G. (1997). Org anization Development and Change, 6th edition. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing. . Deal T. E. and Kennedy, A. A. 1982, 2000) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1982; reissue Perseus Books, 2000 . . Hofstede, Geert (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values, Beverly Hills, CA, Sage Publications, reprinted 1984 . . Kotter, John and Heskett, James L. (1992) Corporate Culture and Performance, Free Press; ISBN 0-02-918467-3 . . Lewin, K. (1946). ‘Action research and minority problems’. In Lewin, G. W. (Ed. ), Resolving Social Conflict. London: Harper & Row. . . Lewin, K. (1947a). ‘Frontiers in group dynamics’.In Cartwright, D. (Ed. ), Field Theory in Social Science. London: Social Science Paperbacks. . Mulder, Mauk (1977) The daily power game, Martinus Nijhoff Social Sciences Division Parsons, Talcott, Shils, Edward (1951), Toward a General Theory of Acti on, reprinted as Parsons, Talcott, Shils, Tolman, Stouffer and Kluckhohn et al. , Toward a General Theory of Action: Theoretical foundations of the Social Sciencies, Transaction Publishers, 2001 Ravasi, D. , Schultz, M. (2006), â€Å"Responding to organizational identity threats: exploring the role of organizational culture†, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 433–458. Schein, E. H. (1996). ‘Kurt Lewin's change theory in the field and in the classroom: notes towards a model of management learning’. Systems Practice, 9, 1, 27–47. Shein, Edgar (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. p. 9. How to Change Your Culture: Organizational Culture  Change You Can Transform Your Culture With Conscious  Steps By Susan M. Heathfield, About. com Guide http://humanresources. about. com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_change. htm

Case Study Analysis †Chapter 6 Essay Example

Case Study Analysis – Chapter 6 Essay Example Case Study Analysis – Chapter 6 Essay Case Study Analysis – Chapter 6 Essay Case Study Analysis – Chapter 6 Name: Institution: Date: Case Study Analysis – Chapter 6 This chapter deals with the need for healthcare professionals to monitor and police themselves, to ensure that they are following the ethical policies and procedures they have established. The chapter highlights some of the reasons that cause ethical problems within health institutions, and among healthcare professionals. It looks at the role that health institutions and health professionals have in maintaining quality in the provision of healthcare. It deals with the issue of whistle blowers, who often come from among the professionals. The chapter identifies ways that a person can go about solving an ethical problem, before resulting to denouncing the issue publicly. Hospitals should formulate policies that will take care of the health professionals working at the institution by ensuring that they do not have to work under unfavorable and compromising conditions, while at the same time protect the mission of the institution The chapter highlights and discusses some ethical problem s. Healthcare institutions have to make difficult decisions in the course of their operations. They have to ensure that they provide affordable healthcare, remain profitable, compete with others in the market, and at the same time ensure that they provide quality healthcare to the patients. This can present ethical problems, as the professionals strive to create a balance. Another ethical problem is that the board or the hospital administrators have to find the right ways of dealing with professionals who have ethical problems, yet these professionals have a lot of influence to the organization. The other ethical problem presented concerns the issue of staffing. In an aim to reduce costs in the hospital, the administrators may sometimes feel the need of employing unlicensed personnel to the posts of nurses, and they will fire registered nurses. The registered nurses earn more than the unlicensed nurses do. When the administration takes such an action, it will mean that the registere d nurse may have to take on the responsibility of being a supervisor, to people who are not qualified for the position. Mrs. Lewis acted correctly when she reported the matter. She gathered the evidence required to present her case, before making her allegations. This particular case did not require her to follow any chain of command, since she was not dealing with issues related to her hospital directly. She followed the requirements of the state laws, which were to report any such incidences to the Welfare Bureau of Inspection. Had Mrs. Lewis not been able to afford a lawyer, she would have gone through the chain of command, and in this case, she would have talked to the director of nursing and told her about the situation with the administrator. Together, they would have found a solution to their problem. Whistle blowers can protect themselves by being anonymous. Power is an important consideration when dealing with health care ethics. Many health care institutions are concerned with ensuring that they remain reputable within the industry. Because of this, they appoint different boards to deal with emerging problems at the hospitals. They expect a person with a complaint to take it to the relevant people in the hospital, and deal with the problem in-house, ensuring that the institution retains its image. The various boards have the power to deal with these problems before they escalate and cause other problems to the institutions. The motive that the whistle blower has can change the nature of whistle blowing. Some people might decide to denounce an institution or a colleague publicly, without consulting or reporting the matter to the relevant people in the institution. This may be as a way of seeking revenge for something, or as a way of seeking financial compensation. The whistle blower might not even be interested in the patients’ conditions. I do not think that 10% is a fair reward, considering the risks that the whistle blower is taking. By blow ing the whistle, the accuser faces the risk of retaliation, which may come from the accused or his or her colleagues. The colleagues may shun the accusers and scorn them. They may treat the accusers with indifferences since they feel that the accusers have betrayed them. The administration may also retaliate in terms of creating unfavorable conditions for the accuser to work, such as giving the accuser tough working shifts. In addition, the accuser may face countercharges, and he or she ends up using a lot of money in defense. Response to part 3 Many nurses would like to act ethically, and they would want to report incidences of illegal practices. The nurses should be confident in their employers, and they should trust them to make the right decision. They can make their case stronger, if they had the means to gather evidence, which they can then present to the board, their employers, and any other relevant authorities. Many people want to act ethically, and only a few people are involved in unethical practices. The more many people are aware of the illegal practices in the institution, the more the board or the governing body of the institution will be forced to act on the cases. Reference: Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., Garrett, R. M. (2010). Health care ethics: Principles and problems. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

The Planet Mercury as a School Science Fair Project

The Planet Mercury as a School Science Fair Project Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and this makes it unique in our solar system. There are many interesting facts about this planet, and it is the perfect topic for a school science fair project. Middle and high school students can take a science fair project about Mercury in a number of directions. The display can be interactive and include a model of the planet, as well as amazing space photographs. Why Is Mercury Special? A science fair is meant to be a students exploration of a single science topic, and Mercury is often overlooked when it comes to the planets. In fact, it is a planet that we know very little about. In 2008, NASAs Messenger spacecraft sent back some of the first images of the planet since the 1970s, and it just crashed on the planet in 2015. The pictures and data scientists collected from this mission makes now a better time than ever to study Mercury at a science fair. Mercury and the Sun A day on Mercury lasts longer than the time it takes the planet to revolve once around the Sun. If you were standing near Mercurys equator: the Sun would appear to rise, then briefly set again, before resuming its path across the sky. During this time, the size of the Sun in the sky would seem to grow and shrink as well. The same pattern would repeat as the sun set - it would dip below the horizon, briefly rise again, then return below the horizon. Mercury Science Fair Project Ideas What is Mercurys place in the solar system? Build a scale model of our solar system to show where Mercury is and how big it is in comparison to other planets.What are the features of Mercury? Could the planet sustain some kind of life? Why or why not?What is Mercury made of? Explain the core and the atmosphere of the planet and relate those elements to things we find on Earth.How does Mercury orbit the sun? Explain the forces at work when the planet orbits the sun. What keeps it in place? Is it moving further away?What would a day look like if you were standing on Mercury? Design an interactive display or video that shows people how the light would change.What did NASAs Messenger mission to Mercury find? In 2011, the Messenger spacecraft reached Mercury and gave us a new look at the planet. Explore the findings or the instruments used to send them back to Earth.Why does Mercury look like our moon? Examine the craters of Mercury, including the one named for John Lennon and the one mad e when Messenger crashed there in 2015.