Identify different types of cost that an organization would incur

Identify different types of cost that an organization would incur In management accounting there are several ways of classifying the different types of cost. These classifications depend according to the immediate need of management. I have classified different types of cost and have explained each of them below. Cost classification Cost elements Direct cost Direct materials Direct labor Direct expenses/ overheads Indirect cost Indirect materials Indirect labor Indirect expenses/ overheads Types of cost Fixed cost Variable cost Semi-variable Marginal cost Cost element A cost is incurred in purchase raw materials to producing finished goods, administrative, marketing and selling activities. These costs are normally classified by manufacturing companies as direct and indirect costs. Direct cost Direct costs are all those cost that are directly linked with the production of goods and services. The direct costs can be further divided into 3 main categories. Direct materials costs Direct Material is the initial material that goes into the final product and can be traced back to it from the finished product. E g: A company that manufactures note books will use papers, ink, stapler pins, machines and labors for producing books. Here the papers, ink and stapler pins are the direct material for this company. So any cost incurred in buying and handling of these raw materials can be taken under the direct raw material costs. Direct labor costs Direct labor cost is the cost of employees or workers directly involved in the production of goods or a service. E g: Fixed salary of a worker involved in the production line; that is in some part of production like cutting papers, binding papers etc. Direct expenses / overheads costs The cost of services which involved producing finished product or expenses included particular production. E g: Chargers for electricity usage for the machine used to make the note books in a book manufacturing company. Indirect costs Indirect costs are those that are not directly involved in the production of the good or services. These costs are essential part of producing the final product. The indirect can be further divided in to 3 main categories. Indirect material costs Indirect Material is not the initial material that goes into the final product and can be traced back to it from the finished product. It is the materials or tools that can make the production of goods or a service efficient and easier. E g: In a government factory, the sewing machines, printing machines etc. can be the indirect materials as these machines are not a part of the final product (clothes). Indirect labor cost Indirect labor cost is the cost of employees or workers not directly involved in the production of goods or a service. In other words it is the work or task done by a worker that does not produce any products but this service is necessary for the success of the finishing point of the production. E g: The wages of inspectors, store keeper, watchmen, machine maintenance etc. Indirect expenses/ overheads costs Indirect expenses are the expenses are not directly linked with the production of a good. These costs are charged to the final product. E g: Selling and administrative expenses, telephone expenses etc. Types of costs Cost can also be classified based on how frequent they react to production. Fixed cost Fixed cost is the cost that never changes over a period of time. And also it does not increase with the output of the firm. E g: Rent, wages of permanent workers etc. Variable cost Variable cost is the cost which sustain of the input that vary with the production level. These cost change in the short run. E g: cost of raw materials, wages paid for the worker of the production line. Semi variable cost Semi variable cost is composed of a mixture of fixed and variable elements. Therefore it also named as semi fixed cost. It is also referred to those cost that remain as a fixed cost until a particular level at which it becomes variable. E g: monthly rental for a phone may be charged with call charges. Here the rental is fixed as the call charges are variable. Explain with examples why different costing methods are used by organizations in the modern context. Costing methods are used by companies as means for pricing or stock valuation and to control business or to assist in managerial decision making. Costing methods are very important in accounting in order to make the right decision for the success of the organization. If the company failed to make the right decision at the right moment, it will be a reason for the drawback of the organization. Now let me show you some reasons why these methods are Applying in a business. To decide buying or making a product more profitable for the organization. To decide whether to accept or reject an order placed by a consumer. Make decisions of extending business to international level by doing business with foreign countries. To decide extra shifts or extra efforts in a production of a product or reducing production. To plan how much profit is needed or measure the capacity of the profit of the business. To decide whether to shut down the company if it is making continues loss or to try to improve the business if there any chance. A company starting out might use the break even concept to calculate and see at what level the company can start earning profits and at which level the company will be suffering a loss. To decide whether the current plant is working out or not and to decide if replacing the existing plant is going to be profitable for the company or not. To decide to star production of a new product or to stop the production of an existing product. Examples Costing for pricing and stock valuation Job costing This method for costing is followed where the costing is done separately for each product. Therefore job costing is mostly used in a situation where the products manufactured or service provided are based on a particular specification of the customer or many goods are made for costing done separately. The productions of these goods are higher due to the fact that they are orders placed by customers. E g: Job costing used in construction industry because the constructions based on the orders placed by the customers. Here the costs are calculated separately for each building. Batch costing Batch costing means all the fixed and variable cost which is incurred when producing a batch or a set of products. Here a number of products are taken as a single job in total. The unit cost of a batch of products can be calculated by dividing the batch cost by the number of units produced. E g: A shoe manufacturing company may produce 100000 products per month. These 100000 products may be labeled as a batch at that particular date and cost is calculated for the entire batch taking all products as a single job. Contract or terminal costing Contract costing is also similar to job costing. It is usually connect with site based work, by the requirement s of the customers undertaken and relatively long duration. E g: Company involved in the construction industry may use this method as individual customers place different contracts which last for several years or accounting periods. Process costing Process costing is found where the product go through various stages as it goes to the finished product. Products which are made by combining different parts of the final product are also including the process costing method. The following is terms are also used under process costing. Operation costing Single or output costing E g: A finished computer passes through various processes. First of all are made separately and they are fixed together in the final progress. For this product the costing is calculated based on the process. Operation costing or service costing Operation costing method is used by companies which does not have a specified finish product as the output like the service industry. E g: Service of a lecture Departmental costing Here the costing of the products is based on the departments at which they are produced. Costs of products are calculated as how cost and at which department. E g: News papers are made at different departments. Multiple costing or composite costing Multiple costing applied to calculate the cost for the products which have a very complex production. For these kinds of products one costing method may not be enough. Therefore they use several costing methods in calculating. E g:- Products like vehicles, airplanes etc. the total cost is based upon a mixture of sub prices calculated in the job costing and service costing etc. Control and managerial decision making Activity based costing It is the attribution of costs to cost units based on the benefits received from indirect activities. E g: Cost of quality controls is spread among the units produced and each contains a part of this expense. Historical costing Historical costing is ascertaining costs after it have been incurred so that costs can be compared over different period. Direct costing All direct costs are charged to the finish product and all indirect products are charged to profit and loss. Absorption costing Here both variable and fixed costs are taken as a total cost and charged on the product. Marginal costing In this costing method the variable costs are taken rather than the full cost of production and total fixed costs are deducted to get the profit or loss. Collect production details from any organization that produced three products, analyze and present these data. Propose the terms productivity, efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate its impact on any selected organization. Explain the terms productivity, efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate its impact on any selected organization. The modern environment to managing a company specifies that productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are important for the success of the organization and also for the survival among the competitors in the business field. This is based on the fact that one company which is not concerned with these matters is actually on a worthless path and may easily lead the company to come to an end of business. Productivity Productivity is a measure of output from a production process, per unit of input. It is fairly similar to efficiency as productivity also measures the same as efficiency. However productivity is an outcome from the sum of effectiveness and efficiency or by the way of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency productivity also increase. There are two way to measure the productivity of a company as I shown below. Productivity = Output Input Productivity = Value of output / time In the above formulae the time can be many different factors such as energy, resources etc. And the value of output is the defined quality of output by the organization. Productivity = Output > Amount of achieved goals > Effectiveness. Inputs > Amount utilized resources > Efficiency. However enhanced productivity always defines rather value of an organization as follows: Can restrict the waste of resources. Company always can sustain the increasing demand. Company easily can faces to the competition of the market. Employee development also increases. Manufacturing quality increases. Production cost can get low and purchase prizes can restricted. Net profit increases. There are five ways that can helps to enhance the productivity as I have shown below. Enhancing the output, when the inputs keeping as stet. Output keeping as stet, when as the input decreasing. Enhancing the output, when as the input decreasing. Enhancing output rather than enhancing inputs. Decreasing inputs rather than decreasing inputs. Efficiency Efficiency is dong the thing right. In other words contribute the resources by minimum wasting to achieve the organizational goals and objectives or the way to utilize the resources to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Efficiency is closely related to the productivity. E g: A company that produces shoes could be said efficient if it uses up all the resources in order to output as much products or services. It company reaches criteria it could be labeled as an efficient company. Efficiency = total output/ total input. Now let me evaluate its impact on ABC Company and XYZ Company E g: Company ABC produce 50 tables in 10 days and company XYZ produce tables in 120 tables in 20 days. Based on the above calculations we can identify that the company XYZ is more efficient as it is able to produce 6 tables per day compared to company ABC which can only produce 5 products per day. Effectiveness Effectiveness is doing the things right. In other words achieving the appropriate objectives in the given period or deciding the right things. Therefore effectiveness is the liability of the company to achieve the set targets and objectives. Effectiveness is measured by output in terms of the set target by the company. E g: A company is producing mobile phones. The company wants to earn a minimum of $100000 profits in one month and has set a target of producing 5000 mobile phones in order to achieve the profit. And after a month the company is able to make 6000 mobile phones. Effectiveness = 6000/5000 Effectiveness = 1.2 However Effectiveness and Efficiency always expresses the relativity between each others to the Management as follows: How it is done? In the wrong way, in the right way, Ineffectiveness Inefficient Effectiveness but Ineffectiveness [Die fast] [Die Slow] Effectiveness but Inefficient Efficient Effective = Management [Survive] [Strive for success] The best approach for a company would be a mix of both efficiency and effectiveness. This is because without effectiveness an efficient company will eventually meet the wrong conclusions and without efficiency an effective company cannot gain the maximum profits or may be in loss. By having the perfect mix of these a company can save time and stress to gain more profits. Explain in detail the principles of Quality Value and how it is implemented in organizations. An introduction to quality management Quality control can be traced back to a very long time ago in craftsmanship and at the time of building the pyramids. Here a master craft man looks after all the craft to see whether they satisfy the necessary quality needed. It was then used in all aspects of arts to make sure a good end product is made to satisfy the customers. This concept changed as US introduced assembly lines in production by dividing the product into interchangeable parts. Later the Japanese have adapted quality management in their business and defined quality management as a continuous improvement (which never ends). What is quality? Quality is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships by assessing, anticipating and fulfilling stated and implied needs. There are several ways of measuring quality and different people view quality in relation to different criteria. It can be a measure of excellence where the product is free from all kinds of defects. Quality can also be how much the company, product or service is able to satisfy the customers or how much they meet the customer expectations. It maybe also a measure set by the company for a characteristic such as how much heavy, light, soft, tall, Thick or thin etc. Reducing waste created in the production process or using the waste in creation of other goods. The quality also is how uniform the end products are, with as minimum differences possible. Quality management Quality Management ensures the customer confidence and better efficiency within company. Therefore allow the company to better compete with the others in the business field. It involves several stages Quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality control is a way of ensuring that finished products are reliable, suitable and money-wise best to meet a specification determined by the company. Quality control involves certain tests performed at the end to determine whether the product meets the set quality. Basically quality control is marinating the quality within certain limits. Quality assurance is ensuring that the products exceed the customer expectations. Quality assurance is more process oriented while the quality control is more concerned with the product. Basically quality assurance is making sure that all the end products are free of defects. PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) is an effective method for monitoring quality assurance. Quality improvement is an approach where ongoing process is analyzed and systematic efforts are put to improve it. It focuses on areas like:- In industry: product failures or work-related injuries etc. In administration: increasing efficiency or reducing re-works etc. In medical practice: reducing medical errors and needless deaths etc. Principles of quality for any organization Create constancy of purpose towards improvement. Replace short-term reaction with long-term planning. Adopt the new philosophy. The implication is that management should actually adopt his philosophy, rather than merely expect the workforce to do so. Cease dependence on inspection. If variety is reduced, there is no need to inspect manufactured items for defects, because there wont be any. Move towards a single supplier for any one item. Multiple suppliers mean variation between feedstock. Improve constantly and forever. Constantly strive to reduce variation. Institute training on the job. If people are inadequately trained, they will not all work the same way, and this will introduce variation. Institute leadership. Deming makes a distinction between leadership and mere supervision. The latter is quota-and target-based. Drive out fear. Deming sees management by fear as counter-productive in the long term, because it prevents workers from acting in the organizations best interests. What is value? Value means extent to which a good or service is perceived by its customers to meet his or her needs or want, measured by customers willingness to pay for it. It commonly depends more on the customers perception of the worth of the product than on its intrinsic value. Principle of value for any organization Anticipation: the anticipated future benefits to be derived from the property. Balance: the equilibrium reached in a free market when complementary used of neighboring property permit maximum value for individual properties and the neighborhood. Change: the continuing effects of economic, social, and governmental forces on the property and its environment, resulting in continuous change in market value which must be anticipated. Competition: the tendency of a highly profitable use to be duplicated by others until an excess supply of similar goods and services reduces profitability, and thus value. Conformity: the creation of maximum market value through a reasonable degree of similarity of property use, appearance, and owner demographics. Consistent use: the requirement to value all aspects of a property: land, improvements, and personal property on the basis of a single class of usage at any given point in time. Identify and asses potential improvement tools and techniques that modern organization use. Many improvements can be brought to organizations by using tools and techniques. Quality experts have introduced many different theories which can help an organization in identifying and assessing potential improvements. Demings 14 points summarized Create constancy of purpose towards improvement replace short term reaction with long term planning. Adopt the new philosophy similarly by management and workers. Stop depending on inspection- if variant is reduced; there is no need of inspection because there are no any items for defects. Choose quality suppliers over low cost suppliers to minimize variation in raw materials and supply. Improve constantly to reduce variation in all aspects e.g.:- planning, production, and service. Set up training on the job to reduce radiation for managers and workers in how job is done. Leadership not supervision to motivate people and get the best output from them not just to meet the targets. Drive out fear encourage two way communications and make interest for employees to work in the organization. Break down internal barriers internal departments have to work together as internal customers. Eliminate slogans processes make mistakes not people. Management harassment of workers will create bad relations if no effort made to improve processes. Eliminate management by objectives management by objectives encourages law quality goods. Remove barriers to satisfy workers including annual appraisals. Encourage self improvement and education for everyone. Everyone is responsible for continual improvement in quality and productivity. (W. Edwards Deming Total Quality Management Demings 14 points. Mftrou.com management for the rest of us. Cited on July 27, 2010.) http://www.mftrou.com/edwards-deming.html. The Deming cycle (PDCA cycle) The Deming cycle is a process which includes four stages. It is mainly used for solving problems in business. The Deming cycle also called as PDCA cycle. PDCA stands for: Plan Do Study (check) Act Plan identify an opportunity and plan a change. Do test the change and take steps in control. Study study the results. Act take action based on what you learned in the study step. If you are not satisfied with the change, start going through the cycle from the beginning with a different plan and if you are successful take action to improve the process. Six Sigma Six sigma is a data- driving method for quality improvement. It finds and eliminates the defects in production process by focusing on outputs. It focuses on customer satisfaction and outcome results by reducing variation and waste. Therefore it applies anywhere variation and waste exist. There are two sub methodologies of Six Sigma. That is six sigma DMAIC and six sigma DMADV. Six sigma DMAIC is an improvement system for improving an existing process by analyzing the defects in the end products and eliminating them. Define Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables Measure Measure the process to determine current performance Analyze Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects Improve Improve the process by eliminating defects Control Control future process performance Six sigma DMADV is an improvement system used to develop new process or product at six sigma level quality. Define Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables Measure Measure and determine customer needs and specifications Analyze Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs Design Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs Verify Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs Kaizen This is the Japanese word for continuous improvement to the manufacturing of organizations. Kaizen goals are established each year as part of the planning process thats how Kaizen costing involved to process. This strategy involves everyone in the organization working together to make improvements focusing on eliminating waste on all process starting with the workplace. It relies on human resources rather than capital investments. Kaizen principles Human resource is the most valuable company assets. Process must be evolved by gradual improvement rather. Improvement must be based on evaluation of process perform. Five elements (foundation) of Kaizen Teamwork. Personal discipline. Improved morale. Quality circles. Suggestions for improvement. Tools for mapping processes Flowcharts Flowchart represents a process which consists of many different types of steps. Flowchart divides the huge process into small tasks in an order. Mostly flow charts can be used to analyze a process and to divide a process into different stages. With the intention of that, many can involve in particular stage. A flow chart is made up of different shapes drawn for different events and all the events are joined together by arrows from start to end. Work flow diagram Workflow diagrams are very similar to flow charts. Graphical picture of steps taken, time spent, and distance traveled and other aspects of the way a particular piece of work is done. Workflow diagram is suitable for showing the over view of a business process. Value added flowchart The value-added flow chart also known as value stream map. It is a method to improve cycle times and productivity by visually separating value-adding from non-value-adding activities. Tools for ideas generation and seeing connections Cause and effect diagram (fish-bone diagram) Cause and effect diagram was invented by Kaoru Ishikawa. Therefore is also called as the Ishikawa diagram. Cause and effect diagram is also called as fish bone diagram because a completed diagram can look like a skeleton of a fish. It is a diagram which makes out all the causes or inputs that result in an effect or output. This method combines the brain storming with a type of a concept map. Causes are arranged according to their importance. This helps to identify sub causes and check where a problem might be caused and helps to compare the importance of different causes. And also fish bone diagram can help in systematic analyzing of the problem. Brainstorming Brainstorming invented by Alex Osborn who is the founder of the Creative Education Foundation. This is a powerful tool that creates ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams. In brainstorming mostly members from a mixed group, joins together for a brain storming session. The brain storming session is held mostly in an open space where members can feel free to express their ideas. All the members keep adding their opinions on a particular topic and also on other ideas provided by members. At the end of a brain storming session the whole problem will be recognized and solved as necessary. Relations diagram Relationship diagrams show all the relationship between factors or areas of a process. It helps to identify the key areas which may be driving several other factors. As an alternative of a process shown in a chain, this diagram shows the areas of the process which have effects on other areas and links them all. Therefore you can find which the areas that have the most impact. Tools for data collection and analysis Histogram It is used to graphically summarize and show an allocation of a process data set. It is built by dividing the data into different classes or bins in the x-axis and identifying their frequency in the y-axis. As u can see in the figure 6 a histogram looks like a bar graph. But its frequency is taken depending on class width which can vary unlike in a bar graph. Scatter gram A scatter diagram is a tool for evaluating the relationship between two variables where one variable is plotted in the horizontal axis and other variable is plotted in the vertical axis. It can be used to identify whether or not a cause and effect relationship exists between the two variables. In a scatter diagram higher relations are shown with close points or points along a curve or line. And in case the relationship is low or no relationship is shown with points scattered throughout the diagram with no logical sequence. Control chart Control charts also called as statistical process control are a type of chart that is used to control the quality or to manage the quality within a certain level. It identifies the quality of a process and displays them in the form of a line graph with set upper and lower limits. It can also have a center or middle line for average. These lines are created based on the historical data. The control chart identifies how the process changes over time and records them in the time order. Pareto analysis Pareto analysis technique which helps you chooses the most effective change. The 80-20 theory was first introduced by an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto. His theory was adapted to business application by Joseph M. Juran. Pareto chart is a tool for visualizing the Pareto principal which states that a small set of problems affecting a common outcome tends to occur much more frequently than the remainder. A Pareto chart can be used to decide which problems to be solved first and which needs more attention. Prepare forecasts and budgets for business. Explain in detail the purpose the nature of the budgeting process for an organization like The Shovel Company. What is a budget? A budget is a master financial plan. Once a firm has identified customer needs changes through estimating, it needs to decide if it can be met profitably. A budget is a plan expressed in dollar amounts that acts as a road map to carry out an organizations objectives, strategies and assumptions. The budget plans the future incomes and expenses. It is the process in which the company decides on how to spend to achieve their set objectives. Having a budget is very important for a company in order to make the most effective decision. Each department in the organization will have a separate budget for their operations. When all these budgets join together we call it a master budget. Master budget give the overview of what the company wants to achieve and how to achieve for the next decided time period. The decisions which taken without a master budget do not contribute to the profit

The Role Of Leadership And Change Management Essay

The Role Of Leadership And Change Management Essay Key to evolution of an Organization is how well it can adapt to changes be it structural or financial. A good leadership plays a pivotal role in such transitions and will often be the most influential aspect in such changes being implemented successfully. Considering the fact that both Organizational Change and Leadership are very widely defined, for the purpose of the essay I would like to use the following definitions, Leader is a person with vision, energy, authority, and strategic direction ref: (Robert Coffee and Gareth Jones, 2000), Organizational Change is the process of continually renewing an organizations direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers- ref: (Moran and Brightman, 2001). Change is one of challenges an organization can face. It, being a continuous process, dealing successful with it is critical to an organizations success- ref: (Kudray and Kleiner, 1997), and certain management levers, such as, strategy, operations, should be constantly altered for the organization to be aligned with the market place. Having said that, it is also very important to critically identify the needed change within the organization. If a certain change is identified as a pivotal one for the growth of the organization, it is also important to consider how the change will be received by the people who will be a part of it. Resistance in our context is opposing to the change. Resistance is very likely with-in the team when the importance of the change is not know. There are various known reasons for someone to resist the change. Some of which are job insecurity and the fear of losing the power. There are existing theories which say that resistance is good and it is related to the individual identity and organizational values. Despite of being a time consuming process, it is very important to overcome resistance to implement the change successfully. Lewins 3 step model for change, Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze: ref ( Lewin, 1951) is considered to be there mother of all change models. The point here was to have organizations prepare initially to ease the process of the change in order to overcome resistance. It has been argued upon, that this theory might not be holding good for the current day situation, as organizations are constantly changing and they will never be having the opportunity to refreeze or attain the new state of equilibrium. Kotters 8 Step Model, ref: ( Kotter, J , 1995) also talks about implementing a change within the organization but considering the present day needs and situation. This model tries to address the developed resistance in the implementation on the change. An effective leadership will always try and overcome resistance and help successfully implement the change, which need not be a top down approach. For a change to be accepted, Nahvandi (2003), believes that you need to first motivate those in y our guiding collation or transformational leadership team. This, per him, is the best achieved through inspiration of the team, which enables them to enact change. Transformational leadership includes inspiring them with a charm and charisma, challenging the team to solve the problems rather than we doing it ourselves and developing personal relationship with each one of them. A combination of these 3 attributes is the best known vehicle to overcome resistance. ref( Nahvandi, 2003). Transformational leadership is that which à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ facilitates a redefinition of a peoples mission and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the restructuring of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. Hence, transformational leadership must be grounded in moral foundations. ref(Leithwood, as cited in Cashin et al., 2000, p.1) . According to Bass (1990b, p. 21) transformational leadership occurs when leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purposes and mission of the group, and when they stir employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group. Success of transformational leadership has been demonstrated by studies in diverse settings such as schools, corporations etc. -ref(Bryant, 2003, p. 36).Also there are existing studies to prove the effectiveness of transformational leadership regardless of culture ref:(Perttula Xin,2005) . Per Carlson and Perrewe (1995, p. 834), as a result of transformational leadership, changes in the organizations mission, strategy, and subordinate commitment levels are very likely to emerge. Also, Odom and Green (2003) argue that principles of transformational leadership (i.e., intellectual stimulation, idealized influence) applied to ethical dilemmas faced by managers offers the prospect of less litigation and better ethical outcomes than the more common transactional approach to ethics. Though Transformational Leadership is the latest buzz word, there have been many people in the past who have demonstrated the traits of this form of leadership. For instance, Genghis Khan was a transformational leader who, during the late 12th and early 13th centuries, united fiercely independent Mongol tribes to ultimately create one of the largest land empires ever seen ref(Yates, 2002). Lee Iacocca is a transformational leader who is credited with saving the Chrysler Corporation. He took over Chrysler when it was on the brink of bankruptcy and set about transforming the ideals of his closest subordinates. In turn, that began to reshape the corporations culture. Because a transformational leader encourages others to becomes transformational leaders, soon the entire organization was filled with effective leaders (Kelly, 2003). Within military and government contexts, General Colin Powell overcame entrenched racism (particularly in the US military) and low institutional expectations of African Americans to become chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989. He went further, becoming in 1991 the first African American to become US Secretary of State, a position some said he filled with vision and the qualities of a transformational leader (Chekwa, 2001). Other transformational leaders include Christine Nixon, the current Police Chief Commissioner in the Australian state of Victoria, who is popularly understood to have transformed the culture of that police force for the good, and Sir Richard Branson, responsible for international Virgin enterprises (Lussier Achua, 2004). These are positive examples of transformational leaders but as critics (e.g., Yukl, 1989) point out, transformational leadership is not without its dark side and other flaws. The morality of transformational leadership has been questioned, especially by libertarians and organizational development consultants (Griffin, 2003). A key criticism is that within it transformational leadership has potential for the abuse of power (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki Kepner, 2002). Leaders here, motivate followers by engaging them to strong beliefs, irrespective of the effects on them .Transformational leaders can exert a very powerful influence over followers, who offer them trust and respect. Some leaders may have narcissistic tendencies, thriving on power and manipulation. Moreover, some followers may have dependent characters and form strong and unfortunate bonds with their leaders: ref- (Stone, Russell and Patterson, 2003, p. 4). Yukl describes this as the dark side of charisma and goes on to note that for every example of a positive transformational leader demonstrating charismatic qualities (e.g., Mohandas [Mahatma] Gandhi), there is an equally negative example (e.g., Charles Manson).-ref: (Yukl, 1989) There is an argument that transformational leadership is facilitative of change because it contributes to organizational improvement, effectiveness and institutional culture (Barnett, McCormick Conners, 2001). An interesting study by Barnett, McCormick and Conners (2001), shows that teachers may in fact be distracted from concentrating on learning-and-teaching by, for example, taking time away from students to be involved in the corporate school initiatives an inspirational, transformational principal expects of them. Ref: (Barnett, McCormick and Conners (2001), a study conducted on 12 schools in New South Wales and Australia) Related Bibliography Robert Coffee and Gareth Jones, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, September-October 2000 Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001) Leading organizational change, Career Development International, 6(2), pp. 111-118. Gary Yukl Journal of Management 1989. Vol. 15, No. 2, 251-289 Bennis, W, (1994), On Becoming a Leader. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, ISBN:0-201-40929-1. Lucey, J.J, Why is the failure rate for organization change so high?, Management Services Winter 2008 Evans, M.G. (1970). The effects of supervisory behavior on the path-goal relationship. Organizational, Behavior and Human Performance. 5, 277-298 House, R.J. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 16, 321-339. House, R.J., Mitchell, T.R. (1974). Path-goal theory of leadership. Contemporary Business, 3, 81-98. Dansereau, E, Jr., Graen, G., Haga, W.J. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organizations: A longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. 13. 46-78. Kudray, L and Kleiner, B, Global trends in managing change, Industrial Management; May/Jun 1997; 39, 3; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 18 Lewin, K, Field Theory in Social Science, Harper and Row, 1951. Nahavandi, A. (2006). The art and science of leadership. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hay, Iain, Transformational Leadership: Characteristics and Criticisms# Leithwood, K. Jantzi, D. (2000). The effects of transformational leadership on organizational conditions and student engagement with school. Journal of Educational Administration, 38(2), p. 112. Bass, B.M. (1990b). From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 13, pp. 26-40. Bryant, S.E. (2003). The role of transformational and transactional leadership in creating, sharing and exploiting organizational knowledge. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 9(4), pp. 32-44. Spreitzer, G.M., Perttula, K.H. Xin, K. (2005). Traditionality matters: an examination of the effectiveness of transformational leadership in the United States and Taiwan. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 205-227. Carlson, D.S. Perrewe, P.L. (1995). Institutionalization of organizational ethics through transformational leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(10), pp. 829-839. Odom, L. Green, M.T. (2003). Law and the ethics of transformational leadership. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), pp. 62-69. Yates, M. (2002) Genghis Khan. LeaderValues. Retrieved August 3, 2006 from Kelly, M.L. (2003, January 1). Academic advisers as transformational leaders. The Mentor. Retrieved August 3, 2006, Chekwa, E. (2001, July 12-14). Searching for African American transformational leaders. Academy of Business and Administrative Sciences 4th International Conference, Quebec City, Canada. Manuscript available from the author. Lussier, R.N. Achua, C.F. (2004). Leadership: theory, application, skill development (2nd ed.). Eagan, MN: Thomson-West. Yukl, G.A. (1989). Leadership in Organizations (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stone, A.G., Russell, R.F., Patterson, K. (2003). Transformational versus servant leadership a difference in leader focus. Servant Leadership Roundtable October 2003. Retrieved August 3, 2006 Hall, J., Johnson, S., Wysocki, A. Kepner, K. (2002). Transformational leadership: the transformation of managers and associates. Retrieved August 3, 2006

Brain Tissue Oxygenation Monitoring System and Subsequent Nursing Inter

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2010), approximately 1.7 million individuals are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Within the medical and allied health care professions, various definitions are utilized to define what constitutes a TBI (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007). Despite such various definitions, a TBI essentially describes any form of trauma directed at the brain and its surrounding anatomical structures (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007). As with most injuries, a TBI is graded as mild, moderate, or severe; however, in contrast to most severe injuries, a severe TBI can detrimentally affect an individual’s motor and cognitive functioning (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007; CDC, 2010). Children and adolescents sustain approximately half of all diagnosed traumatic brain injuries (CDC, 2010). According to a literature review study conducted by registered nurse, Abelson-Mitchell (2007), adolescents, between 15 to 18 years of age, are the most vulnerable of obtaining a TBI. Such vulnerability has been linked to the continued development of the brain and the number of associated motor vehicle accidents and sport-related injuries (CDC, 2010). Within the last 20 years, the number of adolescents participating in high school sports has dramatically increased (Kerr, Collins, Fields, & Cornstock, 2010). Subsequently, the level of competition within high school sports has considerably increased as well, further causing a rise in aggression and physical contact among these young athletes (Kerr, Collins, Fields, & Cornstock, 2010). This exemplified culture surrounding high school athletics coupled with the developing brain of an adolescent, places high school athletes at an extremely high risk of sustaining a sever... ...2008). Management of traumatic brain injury: Nursing practice guidelines for cerebral perfusion and brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2) system. Pediatric Nursing, 34, 470—472. Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, L. M. (2010). Medical-surgical nursing: Patient-centered collaborative care. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier. Kerr, Z. Y., Collins, C. L., Fields, S. K., & Cornstock, R. D. (2010). Epidemiology of player— Player contact injuries among US high school athletes, 2005—2009. Clinical Pediatrics, 50, 594—603. doi: 10.1177/0009922810390513. McNett, M. M., & Gianakis, A. (2010). Nursing interventions for critically ill traumatic brain injury patients. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 42, 71—77. Noble, K. A. (2010). Traumatic brain injury and increased intracranial pressure. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 25, 242—250. doi: 10.1016.j.jopan.2010.05.008. Brain Tissue Oxygenation Monitoring System and Subsequent Nursing Inter According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2010), approximately 1.7 million individuals are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Within the medical and allied health care professions, various definitions are utilized to define what constitutes a TBI (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007). Despite such various definitions, a TBI essentially describes any form of trauma directed at the brain and its surrounding anatomical structures (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007). As with most injuries, a TBI is graded as mild, moderate, or severe; however, in contrast to most severe injuries, a severe TBI can detrimentally affect an individual’s motor and cognitive functioning (Abelson-Mitchell, 2007; CDC, 2010). Children and adolescents sustain approximately half of all diagnosed traumatic brain injuries (CDC, 2010). According to a literature review study conducted by registered nurse, Abelson-Mitchell (2007), adolescents, between 15 to 18 years of age, are the most vulnerable of obtaining a TBI. Such vulnerability has been linked to the continued development of the brain and the number of associated motor vehicle accidents and sport-related injuries (CDC, 2010). Within the last 20 years, the number of adolescents participating in high school sports has dramatically increased (Kerr, Collins, Fields, & Cornstock, 2010). Subsequently, the level of competition within high school sports has considerably increased as well, further causing a rise in aggression and physical contact among these young athletes (Kerr, Collins, Fields, & Cornstock, 2010). This exemplified culture surrounding high school athletics coupled with the developing brain of an adolescent, places high school athletes at an extremely high risk of sustaining a sever... ...2008). Management of traumatic brain injury: Nursing practice guidelines for cerebral perfusion and brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO2) system. Pediatric Nursing, 34, 470—472. Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, L. M. (2010). Medical-surgical nursing: Patient-centered collaborative care. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier. Kerr, Z. Y., Collins, C. L., Fields, S. K., & Cornstock, R. D. (2010). Epidemiology of player— Player contact injuries among US high school athletes, 2005—2009. Clinical Pediatrics, 50, 594—603. doi: 10.1177/0009922810390513. McNett, M. M., & Gianakis, A. (2010). Nursing interventions for critically ill traumatic brain injury patients. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 42, 71—77. Noble, K. A. (2010). Traumatic brain injury and increased intracranial pressure. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 25, 242—250. doi: 10.1016.j.jopan.2010.05.008.

The Short And Happy Life Of Francis Macomber :: essays research papers

In the short story The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber, there are three main characters, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Francis Macomber, and Mrs. Margaret Macomber, who are on an African Safari together. There are also three animals repeatedly mentioned throughout the story, which each represents a main character. The animals are a lion, a buffalo, and an impala.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Macomber, who is â€Å"very tall, very well built† and â€Å"considered handsome,† is on a safari with his wife. While on the safari he goes and hunts a lion. After wounding it with his gun, he becomes too afraid to go and finish the lion off, so he runs like a little baby. Mr. Macomber is later known as a coward so he best relates to the impala in the story. The impala is a beautiful animal and very skinny and sleek. When the impala were shot at, they ran super fast and when Mr. Wilson feels the fear of the lion he runs just as fast. Also when his wife shoots him in the head towards the end of the story, the bullet goes right to his head. When Mr. Macomber shoots the impala the bullet goes right to its head and the impala dies immediately just as he did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mrs. Macomber, who is Mr. Macomber’s wife, started out in the story seeming like a normal lady. Later on it was obvious she did not care for her husband and was extremely rude to him. She should be related to the buffalo in this story, because she is very strong. She is running away from Macomber but at the same time she is chasing him and wants him dead. She is hard to get rid of and won’t give up until she has the last word.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Wilson, who is the Safari guide, best relates to the lion in this story because he is very brave. He is very respected and not afraid of any of the other animals. The way the story describes the â€Å"majestic† animal is how Wilson is described to be by Margaret.

Battle of Bunker Hill :: essays papers

Battle of Bunker Hill Boom, Bang, Crack! The sounds of muskets being fired, its ammunition ricocheting off rocks and splintering trees are heard all around. The pungent smell of gun powder stings the nose, and its taste makes the mouth dry and sticky. The battle is still young, but blood soaked uniforms and dead or dying men can already be seen, causing the fear of death to enter many of the soldiers' minds. It is remembered that freedom is what the fight is for, so we must continue to gain independence. The battle has been going on for a short time now, although vision is already obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It is becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, with all of these air borne substances entering my lungs. People are still being struck by musket balls for the cries of agony rise above the many guns' explosions. This is how the battle to be known as Bunker Hill began. On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. It is one of the most important colonial victories in the U.S. War for Independence. Fought during the Siege of Boston, it lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. This battle made both sides realize that this was not going to be a matter decided on by one quick and decisive battle. The battle of Bunker Hill was not just an event that happened overnight. The battle was the result of struggle and hostility between Great Britain and the colonies for many years. Many of the oppressive feelings came as a result of British laws and restrictions placed on them. It would not be true to say that the battle was the beginning of the fight for independence. It is necessary to see that this was not a rash decision that occurred because of one dispute, but rather the seeds sown to precipitate this battle were planted a long time ago and had just burst forth. Perhaps two of the most notable injustices, as perceived by the colonists, were the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts. The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament to raise money for repaying its war debt from the French and Indian War. The Act levied a tax on printed matter of all kinds including newspapers, advertisements, playing cards, and legal documents. The British government was expecting protest as result of the tax but the level of outcry they received.

Cyrano de Bergerac vs Romeo & Juliet Balcony Scenes Essay

Shakespeare and Rostand employ unique writing methods in order to show the battle the characters in each of their plays, Romeo and Juliet and Cyrano de Bergerac partake in to express their true feelings for one another. Each play utilizes the motifs and themes of light versus dark and societal views that work against or shows the true meaning behind their love for one another through a balcony setting which resembles each other well. Settings are important components in any piece of literature, they set the mood and atmosphere for the particular scene. In both plays the balcony scenes occur at night under the cover of darkness, which plays an important similarity in the plays as well. While the scenes occur at night both Romeo and Cyrano compare their lovers to light. In act three of Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano agrees to help Christian court Roxane and by doing so he must hide underneath the balcony to conceal his identity. Eventually Cyrano takes over for Christian because he wishes to express his fondness for Roxane himself, but still hidden by the darkness. Night, making all things dimly beautiful, one veil over us both†¦ and I [see] the whiteness of a summer gown, you are all light- I am all shadows. † Cyrano is comparing his repulsive nose to Roxane’s beauty, calling himself the darkness of the night which cannot be described or mentioned, versus Roxane’s exquisiteness which reminds Cyrano of summer. Not only does he compare her to light but he calls her the light of his life, that without her his life would be dismal. Technically Cyrano is supposed to be speaking for Christian in this situation but he is in fact speaking from the heart. He is concerned that Roxane will not love and respect him because of his nose, and because of this he keeps himself in the dark literally and metaphorically. Whereas Cyrano has loved his dear cousin all his life, but hidden his true feelings, Romeo falls in love at first sight and takes no hesitation to express his love for Juliet. While hiding in the gardens surrounding Juliet’s window, Romeo states, â€Å"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun! † (II, ii 2-3). This scene initiates one of the plays most beautiful and famous sequences, it is a prime example of the light and dark motif that runs throughout the play. The beauty of the night, with the moon rays shinning, adds to the romantic nature of the scene and seems to â€Å"light up† the act. Shakespeare uses a metaphor here to express Romeo’s love for Juliet. He has such belief in her that he knows she has the power to banish the night and turn it into day with her beauty. They both feel as if the other is the bright light in the darkness, and that they will guide each other through the dark obstacles to a life of pure love and happiness. Through out the plays society also fights against each set of lovers, society has taught them that it is not reality for them to spend their lives together. Rostand expresses through the play that society during the 1600’s did not consider a person for their inner personality but only judged them for their outer appearance. During Cyrano’s speech to Roxane in the third act he says, â€Å"Is it not so to be myself to you, and have no fear of moving you to laughter? In this situation Cyrano does not feel confidence in himself and almost lets his hidden identity to become discovered. He does not feel he is worthy of Roxane’s attention so he hides behind the poetry he reads to her. Because Cyrano doesn’t think that Roxane will have him, he enters into the deceptive relationship with Christian, who is society’s standard of physical beauty in a man. Cyrano verbalizes his innermost thoughts to Roxane through Christian’s name which reveals his true love for her. He successfully woos her with his words, and Christian and Roxane eventually marry. Thus, he loses the love of his life because he can’t approach her due to his lack of confidence based on society’s views of him and his rather large nose. Much of Romeo and Juliet involves the lovers’ struggles against social standards that oppose the existence of their love. Without knowing that Romeo is below her window, Juliet speaks, â€Å"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. And I’ll no longer be a Capulet† (II, ii 33-35). Juliet knows that not only society but the raging families would not approve of their love, but that does not stop her from caring for Romeo. She asks him to deny his family for her love but adds that if he will not, she will deny her family in order to be with him if he merely tells her that he loves her. There is clearly tension between family names and personal identity. Juliet believes that love comes from one’s inner identity, and that the feud between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s is based only on names. She later states, â€Å"What’s in a name that which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet† (II, ii 42-43). Her love for Romeo surpasses her family’s hatred for the Montague name. She says that if Romeo were not called Romeo he would still be the person she loves and that societal views will not deteriorate their love. The characters within each play express true feelings and work hard and fight the odds in a balcony scene in order to live with one another, expressing their love eternally. Rostand paralleled Shakespeare’s balcony scene in order to convey the true love Cyrano held for Roxane the way Romeo expressed his love for Juliet.

Psychosis and Delusional New Macbeth Essay

Schizophrenics appear in our everyday life, yet many do not realize that they actually are there. Sometimes it is difficult to match a person to a disorder due to the various symptoms and traits that they may express. Yet, Macbeth shows a definite link to paranoid schizophrenia, vividly displaying symptoms such as hallucinations, delusion (paranoia), and apathy. Schizophrenia is described as â€Å"a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness† (Wikipedia). Hallucinations involve putting one under the impression that things are completely real while awake, but instead have been created by the mind. Macbeth experiences multiple hallucinations, including a floating dagger, a ghost, and possibly witches. In the beginning of the story, Macbeth and his friend Banquo claim that they spoke to three â€Å"witches† who told them of their great futures. From there, an idea forms in Macbeth’s head: he was invincible. Although Banquo also viewed the three strange women, Macbeth and Banquo never discuss the invincibility Macbeth has now been aware of. Therefore, Macbeth could have hallucinated some of the strange women’s dialogue to his favor, believing it was completely valid. This leads one to the thought of emerging schizophrenia. Macbeth was in the correct age group for paranoid schizophrenia to take full control of a male’s body. Also, since he experiences multiple hallucinations and his once loyal personality turns violent, the diagnosis of schizophrenia becomes more and more prominent. Although many argue that Macbeth did not have schizophrenia and was just obsessed with power, the many hallucinations that he experienced help to counter that argument. Hallucinations are not extremely common (besides dreams) and often only occur with medical issues or drug use. When Macbeth is talked into killing Duncan, he hallucinates a floating dagger above him(Shakespeare, II. i. ), which almost taunts him. By hallucinating a violent object such as this, Macbeth proves to struggle with reality. Although Macbeth tells himself that it was â€Å"a dagger of the mind†, hallucinations experienced later in time become more and more realistic to him. This is shown when he believes Banquo’s ghost is present at a table. When Macbeth is asked to be seated, he replies â€Å"The table’s full. †(Shakespeare, III. iv. ). All the witnesses of Macbeth’s hallucination suspect him to be ill, for they did not see a full table in front of them. Since Macbeth’s hallucinations become more and more realistic to him, it is apparent for one to believe that paranoid schizophrenia is present. Heavily influenced by anxiety and/or fear, paranoid thoughts include beliefs that a individual is being threatened in some sort of way. Macbeth experiences paranoia towards Banquo further in the story, after meeting the three strange women (witches). Macbeth felt threatened by Banquo’s fortune of becoming king, and his loyalty to the current king. Due to this strong feeling of anxiety and fear, Macbeth ends up killing Banquo, giving into his paranoia. Delusions, or paranoia, can often â€Å"result in aggression or violence if you believe you must act in self-defense against those who want to harm you†(Mayo Clinic). The murder of Banquo by Macbeth produces no direct reasoning, only leaving another symptom of paranoid schizophrenia. Paranoia shows gradually, as this source says: The main symptom is permanent delusion. It should be kept in mind that there is delusion in schizophrenia also but in that case it is not permanent or organized. In paranoia the symptoms of delusion appear gradually, and the patient is sentimental, suspicious, irritable, introverted, depressed, obstinate, jealous, selfish, unsocial and bitter. (Depression Guide) The jealous, unsocial, and delusional â€Å"new† Macbeth helps the audience see the sudden change from the loyal, brave warrior to the raging, paranoid tyrant. Since Macbeth becomes a self-centered, power-hungry king; paranoia and delusion become more pronounced. The way Macbeth begins to treat his peers displays his changed morals and new sense of being threatened often. For example, when he finds out Lady Macbeth has died, he makes a speech basically about how worthless life is. This once loyal, brave, loving individual turned sour when this symptom became a characteristic for Macbeth. Those suffering from paranoid schizophrenia also bear with the symptom of apathy. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship begins to deteriorate, causing bitter quarrels and rude confrontation. One could argue that this sudden change of relationship could be due to guilt, when paranoid schizophrenia could erupt just as suddenly. Symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, and apathy usually appear during the ages of 16 and 30. Schizophrenics can appear completely normal up until this age range. Though these individuals have had paranoid schizophrenia their entire life, the disabling brain disorder only begins to show at later stages in life. Since Macbeth was in this age range, it is certainly plausible that schizophrenia began to take control over during the story. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to show issues with their marriage, due to many factors. Lady Macbeth had been distancing herself from Macbeth by unsexing herself to become more powerful. This distancing displayed by Lady Macbeth could have triggered the schizophrenic symptoms, along with the heavy guilt burdening Macbeth. When Lady Macbeth angrily asks â€Å"Are you a man? † to Macbeth (Shakespeare, III. iv. ), it helps Macbeth begin to realize how deep the distance between their relationship actually is. Apathy, an absence of emotion or enthusiasm, soon becomes a great part of Macbeth. Macbeth’s lack of emotional enthusiasm towards his marriage sends a red flag out to the audience. Although much of their marriage was not recorded in the story, the reader can pick up upon the many instances where apathy is shown by Macbeth. For instance, when Macbeth is told that Lady Macbeth has died he declares that life is worthless, and just â€Å"a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury† (Shakespeare, V. v. ). Since Macbeth did not display any grief for his lost wife, the audience becomes aware of how distanced their relationship actually was. If Macbeth did not have any apathy at all, he would be more intact to his emotions at this time of grief, rather than stating that life is pointless. Macbeth displays symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia including hallucinations, delusion (paranoia), and apathy, and therefore is schizophrenic. Macbeth significantly shows these symptoms in a vivid manner, helping the audience understand some reasoning behind his tactics. By understanding what paranoid schizophrenia is, and Macbeth’s story, many are able to realize the common ground shared by both. Although there is no successful way to prove if Macbeth did indeed have the disorder or not, since he is a fictional character in this play, it can certainly be stated that if Macbeth was displaying these symptoms today, one could diagnose him with paranoid schizophrenia with little hesitation. In a broader view, many characters in stories and plays could be interpreted to psychological disorders and unlock a certain â€Å"mystery† that the author may have, or may have not meant to leave for their audience to solve.