Analytical Examination Essay

This paper will analyze about the RA 10354 also called Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. This essay will present a short history of the law here in the Philippines until it become enacted and implemented. This will discuss the major provisions of the law together with its important contents ranging from health care to contraception. This will also discuss the issues that are connected to this law while it was a bill such as maternal death, early pregnancy, premarital sex, poverty and population and reproductive health education. Issues concerned with legislation of the bill such as the necessity and morality of the bill and its contents like contraception and reproductive health education will be especially presented. Other news which may have affected the support for the bill will be also presented and analyzed. This will also present the major groups that approve or oppose the said law together with their reasons why they want or are against the said law. This will also talk about the actions those groups have taken for or against the law which may have affected the support for the bill’s implementation. This is also concerned with the voices of certain world organizations such as UNESCO and WHO on reproductive health education and the stand of the Church on the matter about contraception, self-continence and marriage. This will be concerned about their statement about the matter and the doctrines and values they adhere with. Summary Since its first proposition on 1988, the Reproductive Health Bill experienced many debates if it was really needed here in the Philippines. The proposition was changed and improved by a number of proponents many times but was mostly neglected. Then, a similar bill was also introduced in the first regular session of the 14th Congress by Albay Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, Jannette L. Garin, Narciso D. Santiago III, Mark Llandro Mendoza, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel and Elandro Jesus F. Madrona that was known as House Bill 5043. Like that of the former bills, it was also disposed but its proponents never stop to improve, change and remove some parts of the former bill to create a new one. Many times Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and its principal authors would edit the bill until the Reproductive Bill of 2012 was formed. Senator Pia Cayetano was also a principal sponsor of such bill. Upon December 19, 2012, the Senate enacted the bill and on December 21, 2012, four days before Christmas His Presidency, Benigno Aquino III signed the bill and was to be implemented fifteen days after its official publication. The law was known as RA 10354 or Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. Its major provisions are to promote and have access to reproductive health care and methods that are legal and safe, to promote family planning methods and responsible parenthood, to counsel women who committed abortion in a humane way, to mandate reproductive health education in age appropriateness to students, to supply and maintain reproductive health services to all, to protect reproductive health rights and to penalize those who restricts or prohibits the access to reproductive health care and methods stated in this law. The law mandates the hire of skilled health professionals for maternal health care and birth attendance, seen in Sec. 5. It also promotes the upgrade of health care facilities for obstetric and newborn care as stated in Sec. 6 and to access for family planning methods especially to the poor and marginalized couple and to sexually active minors as said in Sec. 7. The law also states that â€Å"hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine devices, injectables and other safe, legal, non-abortifacient and effective family planning products and supplies†(RA 10354, Sec. 9) should be treated in the Essential Drugs List after subjection to reputable medical associations. It also mandates the procurement and distributions of family-planning supplies and age appropriate reproductive health education, stated in Sec. 10 and 14 respectively. And lastly, to condemn any who shall prohibit the access to health care and family-planning supplies. Since its first introduction by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, this law had reaped many opposition and approval before being enacted. The pro-woman groups fought for saving the lives of woman from maternal death on the other hand the Church and other pro-life groups fought for dignity of the unborn and the sanctity of marriage. The senate itself was divided for selecting to if they will oppose or approve the bill. The Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was known to opposed the bill and be backed upon by the Church meanwhile President Benigno Aquino III shown agreement towards the bill and expected its implementation. The pronouncement of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to condoms also became news if the Church was open to contraception. This gave new hope for Edcel Lagman from acceptance of the Church but Paranaque Rep. Roilo Golez explained that the Pope talks about health, that preventing HIV from spreading is showing compassion but the Pope doesn’t said to use condoms to prevent pregnancy. Issues also attract the said bill. First, is about the legislation of the bill, if it was really relevant here in the country with regards to overpopulation, Availability/Provisions for RH information and healthcare for mothers and children. Another issue is if the RH Bill is moral, if the Church must interfere with the State and if the government is willing to give funds to the bill. Third, is about the consequence of a widespread of contraceptives with regards to health and sexual behavior. The last is concerned in the need of sex education in the country. The CBCP together with the national Church felt that it was time to educate again its faithful and made efforts on counteracting the bill. The Church turned offering masses, praying for the enlightenment of congressmen and women and explained that principles of the bill undermine the sanctity of life and marriage. They stated that overpopulation was not the problem but corruption and the unequal distribution of people. They seek to get online, and used CBCP for Life for addressing the matter and let the Simbang Gabi 2012 be used for educating the faithful. They also made catechisms with themes regarding the RH. Meanwhile, pro-woman and pro-RH group also organize plans for the bill. They have tied violet ribbons on their arm signifying their fight against HIV-AIDS. Informed people about gender inequality, maternal deaths, teenage pregnancy and HIV-AIDS and that the bill would help minimize or eliminate such problems. UNESCO and WHO also promotes the education of youths regarding reproductive health. They state that benefits such as a delay in sexual initiation; reduction of unwanted pregnancies, child abuse and abortion; and a slower spread of HIV could be obtained. It can also induce progress to gender equity, social participation and partnership. It prepares the youths for responsibility as adults, emphasizes health promotion and can improve relevance in education systems. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church holds its deposit of faith centered on Divine Love and Unity in Marriage. Its Catechism says that Marriage is by which a man and a woman establish intimate communion for life which is ordered for the good of the spouse and the procreation and education of children,(1660, Catechism of the Catholic Church). It also states that the total reciprocal self-giving is overlaid through contraception for it is a refusal for the total giving of self through taking away openness to life,( 2370,Catechism of the Catholic Church). It states that even intercourse with a legitimate wife but taking away the power to generate life is contrary to God’s will and leaves guilt of a grave sin,(55-56, Casti Connubii). The Church also teaches the virtue of chastity, that the couple must exercise conjugal love and fidelity and that of safeguarding life form the moment of conception, (51, Gaudium et Spes). She teaches that Marriage can never justify sexual intercourse which is contraceptive which oppose to its true meaning and that artificial methods could lead to marital infidelity and lowering moral standards, reduction of woman as mere object of satisfaction and intervening of public authorities to the most personal and intimate responsibilities of couples, (14,17; Humanae Vitae). It also addresses the value of self-discipline to repel inordinate self-interests and to control the passions of the body,(21, Humanae Vitae). References Software Ecumenical Council of Vatican II. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Retrieved from CATECH01. exe Websites and Webpages Anonymous. (2012, December 21). Republic Act 10354. Retrieved from http://pcw. gov. ph/sites/default/files/documents/laws/republic_act_10354. pdf Burgonio, T. (2010, November 21). Pope’s pronouncement on condoms strengthens RH Bill – Lagman. Retrieved from http://newsinfo. inquirer. net/breakingnews/nation/view/20101121-304495/Popes-pronouncement-on-condoms-strengthens-RH-bill–Lagman Dionisio, E. R. (2012, August 8). A Guide to Arguments for and against the Reproductive Health Bill. Retrieved from http://www. adnu. edu. ph/images/A%20Guide%20to%20Arguments %20For%20and%20Against%20the%20Reproductive%20Health%20Bill. pdf Ecumenical Council of Vatican II. Gaudium et Spes. Retrieved from http://www. vatican. va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en. html Paul VI. Humanae Vitae. Retrieved from http://www. vatican. va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en. html Pius XI. Casti Connubii. Retrieved from http://www. vatican. va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en. html Sun. star. Church RH Bill. Retrieved from http://www. sunstar. com. ph/davao/weekend/church-rh-bill Saclag, D. E. D. Group asks SC to lift suspension of RH Law. Retrieved from http://www. bworldonline. com/content. php? section=Nation&title=Group-asks-SC-to-lift-suspension-of-RH-Law&id=71130 Unknown. (2012, August 14). Reproductive Health Bill, Good or Bad. Retrieved from http://behealthconsciousblog. wordpress. com/2012/08/14/reproductive-health-bill-good-or-bad/ Unknown. (2012, December 29). Republic Act 10354, Reproductive Health Act of 2012. Retrieved from http://filipinoscribe. com/2012/12/29/republic-act-10354-reproductive-health-act-of-2012/ Unknown. House Bill no. 5043, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008. Retrieved from http://jlp-law. com/blog/full-text-of-house-bill-no-5043-reproductive-health-and-population-development-act-of-2008/ Villegas, B. M. et al. (2012, September 12) Handbook of Truths on RH Bill. Retrieved from http://cbcpforlife. com/? p=8859 Villegas, S. B. (2012, December 15). Contraception is Corruption, A Pastoral Letter on the Latest decision on the Rh Bill. Retrieved from http://cbcponline. net/v2/? p=6241 World Health Organization. Family Life, Reproductive Health and Population Education: Key Elements of a Health-Promoting School. Retrieved from http://hivaidsclearinghouse. unesco. org/search/resources/HIV%20AIDS%20231. pdf

Human Resource: General Electrics and Samsung Essay

1. The comparison between Samsung and GE in terms of staffing process The Recruitment and Selection Process is one of the basic HR Processes. Recruitment and Selection are very sensitive as many managers have a need to hire a new employee and these processes are always under a strict monitoring from their side. The Recruitment and Selection Process must be simple and robust enough to operate excellently in the moment of the insufficient number of candidates on the job market. Also, the process must be also able to process a large number of candidates within given time. The clearly defined Recruitment and Selection Process is a key to the success of any Human Resources Department. To assess companies and to make a comparison regarding HRM practices in different countries, we selected GE in the U.S and Samsung in Korea. The main reason is that there are several differences in terms of hiring and training process. When it comes to hiring new employees, the recruitment and selection add values to HR Processes. The recruitment is about the ability of the organization to source new employees, and to keep the organization operating and improving the quality of the human capital employed in the company. The quality of the recruitment process is the main driver for the satisfaction of managers with the services provided by Human Resources. The main goal of the recruitment and selection is about finding the best recruitment sources, hiring the best talents from the job market and keeping the organization competitive on the job market. The recruitment and selection processes are about managing and choosing the right candidates from the high volumes of job resumes. The described process that companies have their unique value and culture helps to set and achieve the right limits. The performance of the recruitment process has to be measured, analyzed, and new so that innovative recruitment solutions can be implemented. First of all, we found out that Samsung has a different value of selection in which mainly focuses on hiring new entry level of employees throughout their recruitment process. They basically provide standard test called SSAT to assess candidates’ ability based on creativity, sense of judgments, and flexibility of thinking. After that, they have individual interview process with selected candidates by SSAT. It is clear that they focus on hiring employees who have potentials that will fit into organization. They also encourage prospective employees to have the ability of global talent, specialization for the job that will be assigned and strong sense of challenge. On the other hand, we noticed that GE has different value of selection of candidates in terms of HRM. Most of all, GE’s selection period can be described as mainly focusing on skilled and experienced level of employees who have at least 5 year’s experiences related to the job position. Since Jeff Immelt took a place as CEO, they have built a solid concept of recruitment based on the ability of imagination, problem solving, building creativity and leading skills of employees. According to their strategy, it is clear that they require employees to have the highest quality of talent based on the level of experiences and education regarding job requirement. Although there are somewhat similarities between two companies to select the level of new employees based on pursuing the importance of genius and perfection, it is clear that they have the different values emphasized on employees that have a great deal of impact on building the organization. Those factors are mainly contributed to the different culture in different country that has built throughout the history of cultural tradition. Samsung mainly focuses on emphasizing the culture of unity based on collectivism, and when it comes to GE, the strong sense of initiative and passion play an important role in building organization culture disregarding the fact that which level of position employees are in based on individualism. From the different value of staffing in terms of HRM practice from two companies, it will be hard to select which one is more productive and attractive, but it is sure that the companies have their unique ego to make employees fit into the organization’s value and culture. 2. The comparison between Samsung and GE in terms of compensation. The second different practice between two companies is the value of compensation to which plays an important role in motivating employees and achieving companies’ goal. The most effective reward and compensation systems align with objectives, outcome-based evaluations of employee performance. Each employee’s performance measurement should reflect the organization’s business strategy and financial goals. Compensation should also reflect the employee’s performance level and his/her contributions to the organization’s success. Sometimes compensations from the wrong practices occurred by nepotism and stereotypes, prevent organizations from achieving strategic goals. Hence, organizations need to align their compensation and reward systems with performance and fair-based criteria to increase productivity and to achieve sustainable growth while motivating employees. Samsung’s compensation scheme is mainly based on compensation without discrimination and compensation for performance to ensure internal impartiality and external competitiveness. Those on the same position are given the same amount of base salary disregarding gender, nationality, religion, social status, or age. On top of it, differentiated compensation is only made by individual performance in terms of productivity. In other words, individual performance for productivity-based outcome is the only indicator to determine individuals’ rewards throughout the year. Therefore, we found out that Samsung’s core value for employee’s compensation highly focuses on individual performance and productivity when motivating employees. On the other hand, GE practices not only individual productivity-based compensation but also adds some more values based on the behavioral performance such as the sense of leadership and the planning for self-development. We noticed that GE’s compensation system has two main values: to motivate employees and to find the high level of potential employees throughout the compensation and reward planning. To achieve GE’s compensation system’s objectives, they evaluate the employees with variable perspectives of assessment. For example, EMS, 9 Matrix, 9 Block, Planning for self-development, Session C, are the programs they evaluate employees for successful compensation planning in the organization. It is clear that the compensation and benefits processes belong to the most important HR Processes. They are critical for organizations no matter which type of structure and value the companies have. We think that organizations need to point out that the need for the transparency in the compensation practices in the organization and keeping the internal fairness. We also believe that the compensation and benefits have to supervise the development of new compensation systems, keeping the general rules for the design of the compensation component. Summing up, throughout variable practices of HRM, we learned how organizations achieve their goals and build competitive advantages based on their unique value and culture. Although Samsung and GE have somewhat different strategies and systems to operate their organizations, we think we need to understand the core value of HRM process to evaluate the culture and environment in each organization.

Are Gap Years a Good Idea? Essay

When you think about graduating high school, it is almost ingrained in your brain that college is the next step. You think, â€Å"Who doesn’t have a college degree?† And where in life am I going to get without one. But school is not for everybody. A lot of kids, including me, just go to college because it seems like the right path. Kids who have no idea what they want to do, think â€Å"well a college degree could be useful,† well why would you want to go do something, when you have no idea why you’re even doing it. Well, there may be another option. There is a British tradition, which is called a gap year. Defined by Cambridge Dictionaries Online as â€Å"a year between leaving school and starting university which is usually spent travelling or working† (Cambridge University 1). Now this sounds interesting, doesn’t it? What if you had a whole year to do what you needed, travel or work, something to help you figure out what you really want to do with your life. In Britain, there is now this option. With this idea in your head a question comes to mind, should the U.S. adopt the British tradition of students taking a gap year? In the paragraphs below, I will tell you why I think the U.S. should. I have looked at both sides of whether or not the U.S. should adopt this British tradition. I have found though, that it is working tremendously for the UK. That is the main reason I think that the U.S. should use this idea, if it is working so great for the UK and their colleges have a better reputation maybe we should also think about adopting this idea. I think students should take a gap year for many other reasons also though, which have to do with the student. First and foremost, it offers a great worldly experience and gives students time to do what they need to do. It also gives those students who have no clue what they would like to major in or do after college, time. Time is what many students need, being rushed into college right after high school and having to do college applications during senior year really stresses some students out. Me being one of these students, last year when applying to colleges, I had to write that I was undecided. And here we are midway through my first semester of college, and I am still undecided and have absolutely no clue what I want to do. And I feel like a lot of students are in the unspoken situation I was in. Maybe if gap years were a more widely accepted idea and promoted then students who didn’t quite know what to do would have another option. Anybody can do gap years also! It is not just used for young students. Older people going back to school, have this option also. And no matter the money situation there are so many options, so no matter what if you wanted to travel you could. There are student travel abroad programs, volunteer and scholarship options. No matter if you have money or not, you can get a great worldly experience that will give you time and extra skills which most students will not have in college. Many people think taking a year off of school is dangerou s. Not dangerous in a physical way, but mentally. An opinion of many who are asked about gap years is that students will not return to school once they have had the freedom of no school for a year. It is believed that students will become mentally lazy, and will not want to work again and realize that they really do not have to go back. But in researching this, I have found that kids who take gap years to do progressive things have loved their decisions and come back ready to learn again. On the infamous website planetgapyears.com, many students tell about their experiences with gap years and how it really helped them become motivated again. Even though people think kids will not go back to school, I think it’s better for someone to take a break then go to college when they are not ready. Studies show that â€Å"the dropout rate for incoming college freshman is almost 30%† (NCES 1). Most freshmen who are not equipped to handle college yet or who are not ready, but do it anyways, just end up dropping out. A Student dropping out provides lower statistics for good colleges, not because the college is doing a bad job but because kids just are not ready. Why should a person go to college when they are just not ready for it? If the dropout rate is high why not let a student defer their application until they are ready? This is how the British gap year works, a student applies to colleges their senior year of high school, like a normal fall applicant would. Once accepted, the student then defers their application and the university gives them an amount of time off. When this time is over, they start in the next semester. Most British colleges offer this to students, and a lot of colleges actually encourage it to students who think they are not ready to handle the college life. I think the U.S. should do this to, only because it is working so well in Britain. The gap ye ar is proven to be a helpful and great experience for students. If it wasn’t why would universities encourage it? Students come back from these trips or years off with a new found want to learn and a refreshed mind. After going to school for four year, it is definitely hard to be excited to do the same thing for another four years. But with a gap year, you’re doing something else for a year, so when you come back you are in learning mode. Another argument someone who is against gap years may make is that they are expensive, especially if you are looking to travel. This is completely wrong though! Travelling is only one option, you can choose to just live at home and work, or focus on something else! You do not have to spend money to take a gap year. But there is always that option too! Many students want to take a gap year, but have no savings or money to do so. No problem! British universities offer thousands of travelling options, such as scholarships, and study abroad programs. Scholarships can help you get started and make it mu ch cheaper. And study abroad programs are too, they help students get more for their money. And the study abroad option also helps them still be a part of the university they would like to attend! So you’re not fully out of school, you’re just off the main campus for a little while. Also there are volunteer options, where you can spend a little bit of your time volunteering but get to go somewhere for free or for a small fee! So there are many options for students who are not well off with money, which we know in this economy is a lot of us, so why not do it? You must wonder truly how popular gap years are in the UK. Well I found statistics on a website called gapadvice.org. A non-biased website towards gap years, this website is geared towards students who are looking to take gap years. It gives basic statistics and even research on gap years into how helpful and beneficial they are for students. According to UCAS Figures, the ‘students take a gap year’ rate per year is about 7%, and has stayed close to around 7% since 2002 until around 2011. But this year had a surprising, 37% reduction rate in the amount of students taking a gap year. You may ask why this year had a reduction rate. Nobody is really sure why, but a study called â€Å"Revision of Gap Year Provision† report commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills could only talk good things about gap years. This report was carried out by Dr. Andrew Jones from Birkbeck, University of London, to talk about if he thought gap years were hurting or beneficial to students. All he says in this report is that it is beneficial to students to take gap years, finding that â€Å"Planned and well-structured gap years are a highly beneficial experience for young people. They are often important factors in facilitating the next step in education or employment. Participants gain a wide range of life skills and other more specialized skills. These skills are often the ones employers identify as lacking in new recruits and are valued by universities. Gap year participation also benefits wider society both in terms of the activities young people undertake and the wider impact of facilitating the integration of young people into society as functioning citizens† (Jones 1). This is amazing. A professional does a study and finds only good things about students taking gap years. He also found that in the UK â€Å"between 200,000 and 250,000 young people aged 16-25 are estimated to take a gap year of some kind each year† (Jones 1). This number is huge and has only gone up since the earlier 2000’s. I think with only good things to say about gap years, what is the hurt in taking one? So I’m sure most students think, what’s the point? But if you really think about it, everyone has somewhere they would like to travel to eventually. So take this time to travel there. Almost every student story I read online from a student’s perspective, said that taking the gap year was one of the smartest things they have ever done. And on top of that, that it was one of the best experiences of their life. I’m sure as soon as you would mention taking a year off of school to your parents, is as soon as you would jump off a bridge, this is the same for me. My parents believe college is a necessity and would give me some crazy look if I had even mentioned taking a year off of school last year. But I do regret not even mentioning it. As of now, it’s taking me some time to get used to college. I have adapted pretty well, but I definitely think a student like me who has no idea what they want to major in or do outside of college, a gap year would have been a good learning experience for me. I didn’t have a chance to do this, but you do. With so many programs you barely have to pay any money to experience a whole new culture and part of the world. You can experience hands on activity and travel at the same time with volunteering. And you could even stay home, but don’t be lazy, take an internship, get a job, do something productive. It gives you time and options to think about what you would like to do when you grow up, and gives you time to set a financial ground for yourself before going into college. Students come back with worldly experiences and things many people have never seen before, which gives them a leg up in college. If there is only good to say about it, then why not?

No topic, just paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

No topic, just paraphrase - Essay Example In each proceeding year, a greater market share is set to be captured and the expected figures are shown in the table below: This market projection is based on the assumption that upon completion, Cantus will be operating as a subscription service. This digital-only subscription model is a rare model in the publishing sheet music industry and it can prevent direct completion with other businesses in the sector. The second assumption is that Cantus will also include mobile apps in its business model and will not only rely on its website to share sheet music. Mobile apps that are supported by both Apple and Android can help expand the market and hence the number of mobile internet connections can prove to be a critical factor for the Internet Publishing and Sharing industry. As a startup venture, the marketing budget is constrained. In the initial stages, social media network apps such as Twitter and Facebook will have to be used for reaching out to users. This will entail paying Facebook or Twitter a small fee to have the app show up on the newsfeed of people who are opinion leaders and have a lot of ‘likes’ on their profile. The demand gap is expected to be low since there is no direct competition for Cantus. This gap can be filled by analyzing customer needs and communicating to the customers how Cantus is the right product for them. Factors such as per capita disposable income, consumer sentiment, unemployment rate and leisure time can prove to be decisive factors in affecting market growth changes. The projected growth rates for the last five years have been met but there has been no instance where the actual growth rate surpassed the projected growth rate. This could be because of 2 reasons: The 6% annualized growth rate for the next five years is a good projection keeping in mind the unanticipated macroeconomic factors. The company is confident that it can take advantage of the increased

Sustainable Management Futures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable Management Futures - Assignment Example It had been evident that since many years researchers as well as planners have been struggling hard to define the concept of sustainable development. However, the definition has been too general. It can be said that the goals need to be quite specific and this might vary in order to reflect different conditions and national development policies across countries. The nation’s objective for the environmentally sustainable development plays a vital role in this regards (Hoole & Et. Al., 1995). Considering the definition of sustainability, there are three fundamental aspects namely employment and income generation, people participation and empowerment and conservation of environment and natural resources. The priorities set may be different while implementing each of these aspects and tends to express different attitudes towards nature, society and ethical decisions involved (Mansvelt & Mulder, 2002).  Ã‚   It can be evaluated that the challenges of the sustainable development f or the policy are quite different in comparison to other policy problems. The differences tend to arise from comprehensive nature of sustainable development and emphasis that is laid upon the welfare of the future generation. Differences may also arise from the emphasis provided to the sustainable development considering it as a process of change where the utilisation of the resources, the trend of the technological development and change as well as the direction of the investment are made consistent.... However, the definition has been too general. It can be said that the goals need to be quite specific and this might vary in order to reflect different conditions and national development policies across countries. The nation’s objective for the environmentally sustainable development plays a vital role in this regards (Hoole & Et. Al., 1995). Considering the definition of sustainability, there are three fundamental aspects namely employment and income generation, people participation and empowerment and conservation of environment and natural resources. The priorities set may be different while implementing each of these aspects and tends to express different attitudes towards nature, society and ethical decisions involved (Mansvelt & Mulder, 2002). It can be evaluated that the challenges of the sustainable development for the policy are quite different in comparison to other policy problems. The differences tend to arise from comprehensive nature of sustainable development a nd emphasis that is laid upon the welfare of the future generation. Differences may also arise from the emphasis provided to the sustainable development considering it as a process of change where the utilisation of the resources, the trend of the technological development and change as well as the direction of the investment are made consistent with the needs of the future and the present. It can further be revealed that the sustainable development policy needs to be based upon institutions and decision making structures leading to sustainable outcomes. Another important criterion for the sustainable development is that the choice of the policy needs to be guided by economic efficiency. The reason behind this is that if the criterion

Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art History - Essay Example Rome and Alba Longa experienced conflicts due to power struggles and quest for more territories. The painting depicts three brothers saluting their dad who takes away their swords. They are taking an oath on their swords which Horatii will then hand to them. The period reflected in the painting was a creation of David to accomplish his creative goals. Since the ancient times, art has been used to help in creating a sense of imagery and convey a hidden message. The painting creates a sense of heroism as it was created just before the French Revolution (Kleiner, 2010, p. 356). The sons maintain the use of power to fight the enemy. The French authorities use the painting as a propaganda tool to create nationalism within the country. Ideally, the government wanted the citizens to uphold the sense of loyalty and pride as depicted by the loyalty that the Horatii brothers had towards their city. The government was concerned about the deportation of the citizens (Kleiner, 2010, p. 342). The government was for the idea that painting would help in bringing the citizens together, thus realizing nationalism. The painting inspired loyalty and bravery among the French nationals. Further, the picture shows two women who were associated with the Curiatii. Nonetheless, the two brothers are not concerned about the sobbing women but are ready to sacrifice for their city. The painting The Oath of the Horatii helped in laying the foundation for Neoclassicism (Gardner & Kleiner, 2010). Propagandas are aimed at convincing the citizens of the particular policies as well as create social norms through endorsing particular social behaviors. David had developed his own symbolic language, although he had detailed a technique to represent the inner ideas and situations in the society. His works on paintings demonstrated the allure of classical and revival art, that was noticeable in his style and political symbolism. David’s art was integrated in his limitless and

Solar Water Heaters Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Solar Water Heaters Project - Essay Example All that the people have to do is install a solar water heating system and they are good to go. The other objective is provision of clean, environmentally friendly and renewable energy that is sustainable for the development of all in society as well as a major contribution to environmental conservation. The aim of the project is to formulate an action plan for the successful installation of about 150 solar water heating systems in Acton area. 3.0 Current Situation and problem/Opportunity Statement It is evident that our actions now have a huge impact on the environment in the future. The continuous use of fossil fuels has produced tones of toxic gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide all of which have adverse effects on the ozone layer and the environment in general. ... atter how simple play a significant role to the conservation or degradation of the environment and normal life as we know it and hence there are massive campaigns to go green by adopting to alternative sources of energy that are environmentally friendly and cost efficient at the same time. Solar energy is one of the known and widely utilized alternative energy that is renewable and free from nature. The other is natural gas. This is truly a win-win situation for all the stakeholders and an effort to reverse the current harsh conditions by conserving our environment for a better future. 4.0 Critical Assumptions and Constraints As much as there is growing awareness of the need to find and use alternative sources of energy, in this case solar energy through the solar water heaters, many people are still reluctant to adapting to this mode of energy. This project requires strong participation and cooperation from a wide variety of people so that people can be educated on the benefits of u sing solar water heaters. This project is capital intensive because of procurement and installation of the solar water heater system and customers view it to be expensive at first but the truth is that this cost is recovered over time as the electricity and gas costs go down considerably to make up for the installation and maintenance cost. 5.0 Analysis of Options and Recommendation To properly address this opportunity a massive awareness program should be carried out in Acton area to intensify the usefulness and benefits of using solar water heaters in residential places as well as in industries. Secondly a market research to identify potential and willing customers has to be done so as to ensure that all the 150 units will be sold out. 6.0 Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis A good

The Customer Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Customer Experience - Assignment Example These major banks are nationally operating banks with extensive branch and agency networks. Deregulation of the banking industry enabled them to compete more effectively with non bank financial institutions in many fields of financial services. Ethical product consumption trend: (add 20 words) Outline (add 20 words) 2. Background The co-operation bank and smile strategy in UK (their customer’s segmentation): The co-operation bank, whose roots date back to 1872, is a full service retail player in the UK commercial banking industry. The co-operation bank has 3 million customers accounts for comparison Barclay’s Bank is a major competitor with over 10 million current UK accounts. Smile is a part of Co?operative Bank, which was founded in 1872 as a part of the Co?operative Movement. The Co-operative Movement grows out of the revolution of industry to create a good means of distributing profits. In order to approach objectively to determine the success of any retail bank Cus tomer service strategies of that bank should be reviewed. A successful bank should be able to define and implement solutions to all the challenges at customer end. Here are the some essential positioning strategies presented to help you realize the needs of improving customer experience, leveraging cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and by promoting agent productivity and satisfaction in Banking Segment; Offering an inviting â€Å"Customer Door† By making more Effective use of customer data Handle calls more actively Use inbound marketing to reach the customers outside the branch Leverage demographic profile to establish customer intimacy Boost the productivity of your agents through interaction blending. The target country Australia segmentation: The main purpose of segmentation is to match the Bank’s offer to the customers’ needs. Precisely, customer segmentation is the process of defining who are your potential customers and group them regarding their requi rements, characteristics and/or behavior and their worth. Segmenting the Customers is a stepping key stone for a banks superior performance. The Australian banking industry indicates an oversupply of services as evidenced by reduced interest margins, falling interest revenue as well as moderate economies of scale amongst the major banks. Customer base segmentation is the established method for understanding customer requirements and needs as it enables an institution to reflect the homogenous groups within its customer community. Customer segmentation is an important part in the banking sector of Australia. In Australia various Segmentation factors such as customer-value, life stage, sophistication and geographic situation are all explored and the merits of each are analysed. The Research of private banking websites will show that they all speak of individual attention and tailored services. If some Australian private banks seek to better service their clients and to build their hig h reputed relationships, then there are two possible ways to be considered namely: genuinely tailored responsive service two-way client defined communication. For the cooperative bank the segmentation is being done on the basis of: Average annual gross income of the customers by age Rural and urban background of the customers Economical background of the customers Industrial setup of the customers Introduction of consumer behavior model: It is very simple to

Hostory and Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hostory and Political Science - Essay Example Consequently, existing governing system in the United States failed to overcome the abovementioned social ills. In this juncture, number of social movements and institutions had emerged in the United States during 1900s and they concentrated variety of social issues like discrimination, establishment of public education, oppression of women and their economic freedom, human rights and corruption. Social movements like the progressive movement, Alabama Women and the Progressive Movement, Evangelicalism and the labor movements of 19th century had addressed a lot of social ills that affected the American society. All these efforts had directly and indirectly connected with the issues related with women’s rights. Social reformers and activists of various movements like progressive movement, Alabama Women and the Progressive Movement, Evangelicalism and the labor movements of 19th century had addressed many social evils including issues related with women’s rights. The progr essive movement and its related reforms had marked considerable changes or augmentation in social, political and cultural scenario of 19th century America. The new movement had provided rebirth to the community through economic and industrial developments. Problems of labors, prisoners and grants became a fundamental issue among the public ant it prevented social developments. Social reformers had made their initial efforts to change the working conditions of middleclass and laborers. Progressive movements focused to work out problems in work fields such as working hours, safety, wages, and job security, abuses of capitalists and low wages and inequality among the women workers. Robert La Follette, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson had spent their time and effort in managing different social ills and considered as the leaders of progressive movements. As a part of labor reforms government had introduced some welfare programs for workers. Faith Jaycox explains that â€Å"In 1908 at Roosevelt’s urging, Congress established a very modest workmen’s compensation program for a few federal employees† (Jaycox, 2005, p.338). In addition, The National Civic Federation (NFC), an organization of civic representatives and labor had established welfare programs and new compensation packages for workers. Labor reforms from working class people had managed various problems related with laborers. Reformers like Henry George, Eugene Debs, and Samuel Gompers continuously met workers and understood their problems. Similarly these reform movements addressed issues related with common people like prostitution, substance abuse, and alcoholism and immigrant problems. The issue of public education had affected the social and political life of American people during the period of 1800s and no public education system existed in The United States. Discrimination in education and employment existed as a significant problem in society and the reformers had announce d equality in public education was their major goal. In due course, reformers had declared that the uneducated citizenry would not be able to engage in American democracy. Bruce S. Jansson examines that â€Å"In short, much like founders of other institutions in this period, they defined education as a moral enterprise that teach moral rules and so allow

Psychogeography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychogeography - Essay Example In some cases, psychogeography is also concern on how the environment could influence how a person thinks (Prescott-Steed, 2013, p. 46). The study of psychogeography is significant in the profession of engineers and architects. Specifically the common elements associated with the study of psychogeography include: cultural and social critique, marginalized urban experiences, past experiences, re-enchantment of cityscape, space, spatial history, trauma, and walking. In relation to the common elements of psychogeography, this report aims to critically analyze and compare the context of Alan Bennet’s â€Å"A life like other people† (2009) with Matt Condon’s â€Å"Brisbane† (2010). Psychogeographic Comparison between the Text Written by Bennett (2009) and Condon (2010) In relation to the elements of psychogeography, there are similarities in the context of extracts take from the works of Bennett (2009) and Condon (2010). One of the most obvious similarities bet ween these two context is that the past experiences, regardless of whether or not the said experience is traumatic or a happy event a person has on a specific place, can last for a lifetime. For instance, Bennett (2009) mentoned that after so many years, he remembered a man who drowned in a canal situated close to the university boathouse at Calverley. This particular event has created a negative experience for Bennett. Bennett (2009) also remembered the hill that runs down to Rodley, the canal that runs parallel the railway, and in between the canal and the railway runs the Aire river. All these fixed environmental features brought back some old memories to Bennett. At the age of 20, Condon (2010) left Brisbane – the place where he was born. After 47 long years, Condon (2010) decided to go back to his hometown again. He live in the same house which is situated hundreds of metres away from the ponds. Condon mentioned that he remembered or at least he was able to imagine his c hildhood days within the same geographic area. Despite all the significant changes that took place within the same environment (i.e. the presence of computer stores, tanning salons, office buildings, and the bitumen road), Condon (2010) felt that nothing much has significantly changed due to the fact that the river, hills, and gullies are still situated in the same place. Basically, these two (2) entirely different scenarios clearly strongly suggest that the act of going back to the same geographic environment, regardless of the changes that took place in the city, could bring out the same old memories and/or the same old feeling each person had while staying in the same place. Change is the only thing that is constant in this world. In relation to the concept of urbanization, psychogeography is commonly used in the process of enabling human beings to change the urban life (Coverley, Psychogeography, 2010, p. 10). Within this context, psychogeographers usually aim to examine the imp act of different ambience of urban places on the feelings, emotions, mental stability, and socializing behaviour of people (Del Casino et al., 2011, p. 285; Prescott-Steed, 2013, p. 46). This further explains why most of the modern architects today are carefully analyzing how light can significantly affect positive ambience in space when creating a new architectural design (Knabb, 2007, p. 4). Re-enchantment of the cityscape is another

Miami International Airport Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Miami International Airport - Research Paper Example The airport is used by both passengers and cargo. The Miami-Dade Aviation Department operates the airport. Miami International Airport is the property of Miami-Dade county government. It is one of the busiest airports in the world and was founded in 1928. Miami International Airport is located on three thousand two hundred and thirty acres of land near downtown Miami. Its terminal is being expanded to more than seven million square feet through a capital improvement program which is scheduled for final completion in early 2014 (Peter, 2009). The high number of passengers and cargo that go through the airport tend to have political, social and economic impact. This is because of the trade between different countries and the exchange of ideas and work force between different countries. Like many airports around the world, there are social amenities at the airport that contribute to the economy an example being the Miami International Airport Hotel. Apart from being a place where tourists and other passengers can check in for a rest, it highly contributes to the economy of the country and also helps in maintaining the airports standard (Didion, 1998). The economic impact is not only in the amount of revenue generated but also in the number of jobs created. Miami International Airport and the General Aviation Airports have an annual economic impact of thirty two point eight billion U.S dollars. The airport and other related aviation industries contribute a total of two hundred and seventy two thousand three hundred and ninety five jobs directly and indirectly to the local economy. This means that the airport creates one out of every four jobs. The activities that go on daily at the airport have contributed to its economic impact (Peter, 2009). Among U.S Airports, it is ranked the first in international freight, second in international passengers, third in total freight, third in

The Vices and the Virtues of the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

The Vices and the Virtues of the Middle Ages Essay The Middle Ages reflected a continuum of events that greatly influenced the way of living of the people in Europe. It was a very long period of struggle among the social classes, invasion of barbarians, cross cultural influences, feudalism and its decline, famine, plague, strong Roman Catholic influence, series of wars lasting for almost a century, as well as the dawn of reformation and humanism. Thus, it is very hard to conclude a particular value distinct in this era (Benton, 192). If we are going to compare Europe in its earlier days when the Roman Empire fell as to the latter part when Europe began to experience reformation, we would definitely see a big difference. European civilization at the start of the Middle Ages was more chaotic and primitive. On the other hand, the latter part of the epoch was more peaceful and new inventions made the lives of people easier and paved the way for urbanization (Benton 193). During the start of the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire was on the verge of collapse. It can be attributed to poor governance and illogical decisions of the Roman emperors. The government dwelled too much on rigorous military training and preparation for warfare. It had forgotten the other needs of its constituents such as food and proper education. There was a very slow development in culture and arts as well as in trade. As a result, people lived in fear and submission. Their virtues were greatly influenced by war and survival. Evidently, they care less about human life and its worth (Benton 193). When the Roman Empire suffered from attacks and invasions from barbarians, most of the Roman heritage was devastated. Some Roman edifices were unnecessarily destroyed. There were series of migration from one area to another in search of a better place. During this time, only the strong and victorious in war got the power to rule the land. Along with that, influences from other culture began to enter Europe that left remnants like the design of the architectural edifices. Since the people were weary of wars and fears of barbaric invasion, they seek citadel from someone who was capable to protect them. Thus, the era of feudalism began. The hierarchy in the society was formed based on land ownership. The land was subdivided among feudal lords who would give protection and lease the land to the subject and in turn, the latter needed to work for the former. In this system, the feudal lords became very wealthy while the peasants became very poor. The wealthy lords became very abusive and greedy towards their subjects while the latter at first were tolerant and submissive. In this system, only the rich and the powerful had access to a comfortable and abundant life. There was a big distinction between the wealthy and the poor. Thus, it was almost impossible for peasants to improve their quality of life. The abuse of feudal lords sparked the revolt of medieval towns and formation of guilds that caused the decline of feudalism (â€Å"Feudalism†). Through the formation of guilds, a better system of governance was created. There was greater emphasis on human relations and alliance. People with the same expertise group together and formed guilds. The people were encouraged to enhance their craft. The system of trade and business improved during this time and a new class or level of society emerged (Benton 193). The influence of the Roman Catholic Church was placidly reflected on the lives of the medieval people. Their outlook in life and social relations were based on the teachings of the Church. People were encouraged to live a pious life. The Church also played a major role in the formation of formal schools and universities. Thus, a lot of people started to have a formal schooling. Thus a system of education began to form. Thus Europe began to learn and establish fundamental (Benton 193). I could say that wars, famine and plague infested Europe on the latter part of the century that adversely affected the lives of the people. Because of massive deaths, hunger and unending wars, people tend to doubt the existence of God and the Catholic Church. It was aggravated by the abusive and greedy religious rulers that led to the revolt and rise of different sects and religion. Thus, Christianity was divided and people have an alternate doctrine to believe. Liberal minds began to emerge. The widespread epidemic made people become resourceful and determined in exploring the human anatomy and trying to find a cure for the disease. Thus, these series of unfortunate events probably served as a good driving force that made people appreciate humanity, thirst for more knowledge and invent things to improve the lives of the people (Benton 193). How have the Great Plague, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition influenced modern thought? The Great Plague caused massive devastation ever recorded in European history. It was the worst plague that caused the death of millions of people. It happened in 1665 when the Bubonic plague spread in Europe in the spring and summer. This disease, also known as the Black Death in England, was acquired from fleas and characterized by swelling of the gland, darkening of the skin accompanied with fever and severe pain (Defoe). In the book â€Å"History of plague in London† (Defoe), the author Daniel Defoe placidly elaborated a great number of people who died in the disease as recorded in the parish and how it spread across Europe. The disease was widespread that it almost wiped off the population. (Defoe 9) I could say that this tragedy compelled great minds to explore further the human anatomy. They tried to study how the human body works and tried to find a cure to this disease. Our modern medicine will not be as advanced and effective as it is today without these rudiments. Through a series of failures and success, cures for a variety of disease were found. The importance of proper sanitation to prevent the spread of disease was also considered. The Crusaders were soldiers who vowed to protect the Christendom and the Holy Land. The period of their realm lasted for centuries. The helped protect the Roman Catholic Church against its opponents. It stirred up the people to defend their faith against the non-believers. They also traveled far to protect the Holy Land. The Crusaders acquired great influence and power that they were able to contribute a lot in the political structure, economy as well as socio-cultural heritage of the Western Civilization. To sustain the needs of the army, the Crusaders traveled far and wide and fostered trade in areas they visit. Thus, trade among areas in Europe began to develop until this day. Along with that, their great influence in politics might have led to the formation of a bureaucratic government. During the voyage, they were able to find religious and cultural artifacts that enriched our modern history (â€Å"The Crusades†). The Spanish Inquisition was a period that occurred when the monarch of Spain wanted to unify Spain in the Catholic religion. During those times, a lot of other religions thrived in Spain like Judaism and Islam. The rulers of Spain collaborated with the pope to perform an inquisition and get rid of non-Catholic believers in Spain. The government and Church authorities were given the privilege to conduct an investigation to identify the non-believers. This was a ruthless procedure that was more political rather than religious. It greatly influenced the culture and history of Spain. Their culture today still reflects the Catholic faith as well as their festivities and devotion. The abuse and havoc caused by the Spanish inquisition were some of the factors that stirred up revolt and rise of Protestantism and paved way for the separation of the Church and the State (â€Å"The Spanish Inquisition†). What were the vices and virtues of this relatively homogenous Christian European experience? During the Middle Ages, it can be noted that the Roman Catholic Church held the seat of power as they greatly influenced the beliefs and the moral standards of the people. Since the Church led the development of formal education, its main course focused on religion. They set a standard of what is right and wrong thing to do. They have defined vice as a sin against the God and His people. It is an offense against the Absolute being. The repercussions of vices would be punishment after death. However, this can be absolved by penance through confession. The Church had identified series of vices that should be avoided. However, the list changed through time. The recent list that requires absolution from a priest includes gluttony, pride, envy, lust, anger, greed and sloth. Gluttony is getting too much of what one can consume. Pride refers to too much belief in oneself and failure to consider God’s authority. Envy refers to excessive desire on what others have. Lust refers to the excessive desires of the body and sex. Anger refers to hatred and grudge against another person. Greed refers to the excessive craving for material things. Lastly, Sloth refers to excessive laziness. These are considered as the deadly sin because they cause the death of the soul (â€Å"The Virtues and Vices in Medieval Society†). Of course, the Church also exemplified a pious life through practice of virtues. These virtues were categorized into cardinal, theological, contrary, heavenly virtues and the corporal works of mercy. It can be observed that there are seven in each. The Seven Heavenly virtues were faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, prudence. The 7 The Seven Contrary Virtues were humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, liberality and diligence. The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy were also encouraged like giving food to the hungry people, offering a drink to the thirsty, sharing a shelter with the homeless, helping in burying the dead, spending time with the sick, enlightening the prisoners and giving clothes to the cold and naked. These were the virtues greatly encouraged by the Church up until this day (â€Å"The Virtues and Vices in Medieval Society†). Works Cited Benton, William. â€Å"Middle Ages. † Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1971 ed. â€Å"Crusades. † On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies. 4 April 2009 http://www.the-orb. net/encyclop/religion/crusades/legacy. html Defoe, Daniel. History of the Plague in London. N. p: n. p, 2005. â€Å"The Spanish Inquisition. † Koeller, David W. 5 May 1997. Western and Central Europe Chronology. 04 April 2009 http://www. thenagain. info/WebChron/westeurope/SpanInqui. html â€Å"The Virtues and Vices in Medieval Society. † Library of St. Nicholas. 4 April 2009 http://nicolaa5. tripod. com/articles/vice. html â€Å"Feudalism. † Vinogradoff, Paul. 1924. Cambridge Medieval History. 4 April 2009 http://socserv. mcmaster. ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/vinogradoff/feudal

Australian Health Policy Models

Australian Health Policy Models Health policy is the action, plan and decisions taken to attain specific health care goals within the society. As the technology is advancing, the priorities of the people have been changed. Along with this the people are aware of the health issues and they want to reduce the level of diseases, premature death and want to secure themselves and their families from disease produces discomfort. To overcome this fear of the person, Public Health infrastructure is created and it refers to the legislative, informational and administrative system for developing health policies. (World health organisation) Australian Government has a big financial role and broad policy leadership structure in health matters. The State Legislatives fulfil their role in delivering public sector health services and coordinates with the working of health workers in public and private sectors. The Government facilitate in planning and developing the national public health policies by identifying and researching on public health issues. In every country the process of developing health policies depend on how the government takes care and solves the problem in the society. Government institutions form the alternatives to the issues and select the solutions which are evaluated, implemented and revised if required. For this the main agenda for the health policy is planned after the minute research about the health status of the country. The agenda setting is the process of highlighting and seeking the attention of the Government towards the problem so that the solution can be considered. It is the result of the policy process involving executive branch leaders, legislators, influential stakeholders and public. (National Public Health Partnership) Though people of Australia have a fantastic overall health record, but the people want a public health policy related to free health care in Australia. There was a policy analysis resulted with the current health issue in the health sector of Australia, which is becoming a major health issue in the future times. The policy instruments related to the particular set of problems are analysed. The policy instruments are the tools like taxes, spending, incentives and legal and voluntary regulations used by Government. (Cairney, 2013) While designing the free health care policy for the public, there are certain points which should be discussed in the agenda. The issue should be important enough to be consulted in the legislations. Subsequent and emergency movements are used for initiating the policy making process. Number of problems are listed and merit that considers the problem. For planning on the health policy there are myriad of problems and issues that demand attention. If the issue is quite surrounded by the noise of the public, the issue becomes important and gets its way onto the agenda. As the agenda for the issue for free health policy for Australians is introduced and discussed it is not a hundred per cent surety that it will be accepted as the formation of the legislation. Not all the agendas that get into policy process form the end up forming the law as the formation of legislation is a complex process. It is because of the lack of time, information, resources and many more other things. Certain issues should be strategically planned to put in the agenda. (Boundless) There are theoretical approaches that explain the health policy agenda settings. The kingdom model: The Kingdom model refers the process of agenda setting in which, problems, their solutions and political circumstances are coming together. This model is based on the fact that the only problems cannot justify legislations, there are reasonable solutions to it. The kingdom model was introduces in 1965 and it explains the issues like how to highlight the problems in the agenda and how the alternative solutions to the problems are devised. It tells about the three streams, they are problems, policy and politics and the window of opportunity. The kingdom model considers them as the four important concepts. Problem stream considers that all the problems cannot be considered while creating a policy. So the problems have to be urgent or important. While developing the free health policy the first problem is felt by the legislators that the individual will need to get locked to the job because he does not want to lose the policy. The other problem is the individual’s location. People travel to different places to attain the best opportunity and the free health care and have to find the free clinics in the panels. The access is the other problem related with the free health care as this facility rely on the external funding and there could be a long waiting period to avail it. After attaining the policy, people will face a problem to get the appointments as there too will be long waiting period. The burden on all the parties is increased as the policy holders are more than the suppliers. In the free medical care sector, the quality of the medical care is another problem. It’s not due to the working efficiency of the workers related to the free health care sector, but because of the lack of the latest equipments at the free health care centres. The good doctors and nurses can also not do their job well when there is the lack of the medical facilities. As the waiting period to avail the free health care is so long, the follow up to the problem of the patient is the another issue. When the problem affects a large number of people, they take their steps towards the agenda. The major role of Advanced practice nurses are that they utilise the full opportunity to bring the issue of free health care policy for Australians on the agenda. (Roberts, n.d) Every problem has a solution. The policy actors work on it and create policies which are considered as the solutions to the relative problems. This reduces the speed of the policy making procedure as all the possible solutions to all the problems are considered. The health care researchers do complete justice in analysing the developing the alternative solutions to all the problems related to free health care for Australians. This research influences the process of policy making decisions. The Governmental research and implementation of the policy making decisions are different from the private sectors as this have different consequences being related to the large number of people. So the Rational decision making process first defines the problem, develops an alternative solution, evaluate the solution and plan to implement and add it in the agenda. The relevant solutions to the problems related to the free health care for Australians can be to create a single payer system, negotiati ng the lower prices for drugs, one universal set of insurance policies, procedures and uniform set of regulations. This could save a large amount of money and that could be utilised in the free health care projects. (Public Agenda) According to the Kingdom Model, the third stream is the political circumstances. The most complex procedure in the window opportunity is the political circumstances related to each problem and their potential alternative solutions and to make the policy maker to take actions. The agenda should be appropriate otherwise one policy and the support it is overshadowed by some other policies and their support. The factors that affect the political circumstances are the concern, public attitude and opinions about the issues of the policymakers in the legislative and executive branches of Government. When the Country is involved in some risk or threatened like the threat to the security, civil wars, recession, the health policy is treated in a different manner. This also depends on the factors that influence the importance and the economic conditions of the country. The other theoretical approach to explain Health policy agenda setting is the Hall’s model. Hall’s model: Hall proposed that if the issues have to seek Government’s attention. For this proper promotion of the issue is required. This means the Government should feel that the requirement of the policy is very high in the real world. The Government should feel the efficiency of the policy in relation to the cost. So basically Hall model suggests that when an issue becomes very responsive in terms of their feasibility, legitimacy and support, they get the place in the Government agenda. Legitimacy: It is a characteristic of issues because of which the Government understands and believe that they should be concerned to the issues and to feel a right to intervene. Every citizen of the country expects from the Government to work for their betterment and keep the law and order and to defend the country and its citizen’s from any kind of attack and risks. Feasibility: It is related to the potential of the Government to implement the policy. It needs the existence of the resources, skilled staff, technical and theoretical knowledge, necessary infrastructure and capable administration. If there is a lack of financial, workforce and technology, the policy may not be implemented. It doesn’t matter that how high the legitimacy is, the calibre in the Government is required. Support: It is related to the public support to the Government regarding the implementation of the policy. The media also plays an important role in creating awareness among the people and letting them know that what is there in the agenda to be discussed. In the implementation process of health policies, the government expect the support of the community and health care sector. If the Government is lacking in getting the support, it will be difficult to put the issue in the agenda. (Kazmi, n.d) Losing agenda settings: Sometimes due to change in the conditions like political issues, change of Government or decision maker removes the attention of the Government from the agenda. This leads to the losing of agenda settings. Sometimes the problems highlighted in the agenda get vanished and changes the agenda settings. This also results in the losing of agenda. Sometimes people get accustomed with the problem, and they do not feel it as problem anymore. Agenda settings are also loosed in such situations. (Anggoro, 2012) How a Bill becomes a law: As discussed earlier that only a few of the proposed legislation actually succeed to become a law. If any agenda dies in the middle of the session, it has to be resubmitted and reintroduced in the new session to become a law. The bill may die because of the disagreement between the members and amendments in the original bill. Bill origination: The members of the house representatives present the bills with specific agendas. Most of the bills are presented by the legislators. There ideas come from the supporters, president and the interest groups. They have executive communication between them. Proposal does not matter, in the end the member of the house introduces the legislation. Drafting the legislation: The staff members of the bill’s sponsor draft the legislation. Ultimately they are responsible for the language written and used in the legislation. Introduction of the Legislation: The bill is then presented in both the houses and a debate and discussion on it done. If maximum number of the members speak in favour and are keen to implement the policy in the country, they send this bill in the standing committee which has jurisdiction for the bills. Legislative committees with health policy jurisdiction: Majority of the health bills are referred to the senate committee on labour and human resources and the house committee on commerce. Report comes out of committee: A hearing is conducted in the committee. The whole bill is evaluated line by line and the amendments are done if required. Similar bills are combined at the same time. If the bill comes of the committee, a member makes a report on it mentioning the final points to be finalised and the reasons that why the committee is in its favour. Any bill that does not succeed to come out of the committee is considered as a die bill and is reintroduced in the next session with improvements. Action: Considering the amendments on the bill and the final report of the committee, once again a debate takes place in both the houses. If the amended bill is passed to the houses, it is further sent to another chamber where the referrals again consider this bill for evaluation. When the bill is passed through the chamber, it is sent to the conference committee for action. Conference Committee actions: The bill is finally evaluated and analysed in the conference committee. A final report is drafted in support of the bill and is sent to all the houses and chambers for voting. If there is a majority of agreement from houses and chambers, the bill is finalised and is sent to the president for action. If there is disagreement at any step, the bill dies. Presidential action: If the president signs the bill, it can become the law immediately. He can even reject the bill by veto. The bill becomes law within ten days of the signatures of the president. (Creating an agenda and developing legislation) The health policies play a vital role in a human’s life to live without stress. People expect to utilise their tax for the reasonable purpose and availing health policies are one of them. The Australian citizens expect a free health care from the Government and for this purpose the policy agenda has to be drafted and should be successful in becoming a law. The above discussion lets an individual know about the steps required to design and develop a policy. Many people associated with many departments and sectors come together and work efficiently to frame it. The teams are conducted to research about the important agendas having issues and relative solutions. The collective hard work and support makes a normal bill to become an important law. (Furlong, n.d) References: Creating an agenda and developing legislation, Retrieved from https://faculty.unlv.edu/ccochran/HCA452_652/Agenda_and_legislation.html Boundless, Issue Identification and Agenda Building, Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/political-science/domestic-policy/policy-making-process/issue-identification-and-agenda-building/ Furlong, E. Agenda Settings, Retrieved from http://samples.jbpub.com/9781449665098/97768_CH02_Milstead.pdf Roberts, J., E How: Problems with Free Health Care, Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_4777901_problems-free-health-care.html National public Health Partnership, Public Health, Retrieved from http://www.nphp.gov.au/publications/broch/defin.htm Kazmi, N., Scribd: Role of State in Health Policy, Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/15107462/Role-of-State-in-Health-Policy Cairney, P., (2013), Policy and Policymaking in UK, Retrieved from http://paulcairney.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/chapter-2-20-8-13-cairney-policy-policymaking-uk.pdf Public Agenda, Citizen’s Solution Guide 2012, Retrieved from http://www.publicagenda.org/pages/csg-health-care World Health Organisation, Health Policy, Retrieved from http://www.who.int/topics/health_policy/en/ Anggoro, Y., (2012), The Use of Multiple Streams Framework in Agenda Settings, Retrieved from http://yudoanggoro.com/tag/agenda-setting/

Resolving and defining the barriers to communication

Resolving and defining the barriers to communication For any kind of communication to be successful, it is essential that the receiver attributes the same meaning to the message as intended by the sender of the message. But all acts of communication are not perfect or successful. At times, some meaning is lost as the message encounters various barriers along its passage between the sender and the receiver. Such barriers may arise at any of the stages through which a message passes during the process of communication. This is also called miscommunication. Some of the common problems that lead to the failure of communication are: noise, cultural differences, complexity of subject matter, personal biases, semantic problems, socio-psychological barriers, filtering, information overload, poor retention, poor listening, goal conflicts, slanting, inferring, etc. Barriers to communication can be classified as follows on the basis of the stage of the communication process during which the problem/s arise: a. Sender-oriented barriers: lack of planning, lack of clarity about the purpose of communication, improper choice of words resulting in a badly encoded message, difference in perception, wrong choice of the channel, unjustified presumptions, etc. b. Receiver-oriented barriers: poor listening, lack of interest, difference in perception, biased attitude, etc. c. Channel-oriented barriers: noise, wrong selection of medium, technical defects in the address system or the medium of communication chosen by the sender, time and distance, etc. We may define communication as a psycho-semantic process. Therefore, the barriers that affect the effectiveness of communication are mostly of social-psychological-linguistic nature. These factors may act upon any or all of the elements of the process of communication, that is, the sender or the receiver or the channel. And a common barrier for both the sender and the receiver can be the absence of a common frame of reference which often leads to the breakdown of communication in a specific situation. Common frame of reference is the context in which communication takes place. A well-defined context helps the sender and the receiver to comprehend the content of the message in a similar way, with regard to its implications and meaning. Many of the barriers listed above are easy to understand. But a few of them may require a detailed explanation. 4.2 TYPES OF BARRIERS Barriers to communication can be classified into the following broad categories: 1) Physical or environmental barriers, 2) Physiological or biological barriers, 3) Semantic or language barriers, 4) Personal barriers, 5) Emotional or perceptional barriers, 6) Socio-psychological barriers, 7) Cultural barriers, and 8) Organizational barriers. 4.2.1 PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS Physical barriers are those barriers which are caused due to some technical defects in the media used for communication and/or due to certain disturbances in the surrounding environment. Often, the term noise is used as a blanket term to refer to the physical barriers in general. But noise, in its literal sense, is also one of the factors that give rise to the physical barriers during the process of communication. Besides noise, wrong selection of medium, lack of acoustics, poor lighting, frequent movements of hands, fiddling with a pen, or even serving of tea during an important conversation- all of these are also responsible for creating physical barriers in the communication process. a. Noise Noise is the first major barrier to communication. Communication is distorted by noise that crops up at the transmission level. The meaning attributed to the word noise in the field of Communication is derived from the realm of Physics. In Physics, noise refers to a disturbance, especially a random and persistent disturbance, which obscures or reduces the clarity of a signal. The modern-day connotation of the word noise is irrelevant or meaningless data as is apparent from its usage in the field of Computer Science. For example, the noise of the traffic around a school obstructs the smooth flow of information between the teacher and the students. It makes oral communication difficult. Similarly, poor signal or static while talking over the cell phone or while using the public address system or while watching TV also distorts the sound signals and disrupts communication. Bad weather conditions may also sometimes interfere with the transmission of signals and may lead to breakdown of the communication channels. As discussed above, noise is not only the disruption of sound signals, but it also includes all the barriers that may arise at any of the various stages of communication. In a broad sense, it denotes semantic barriers, perceptional barriers as well as psychological barriers. b. Time and Distance Time and distance may also obstruct the smooth flow of information. Today, because of technological advancements, we have faster means of communication available to us and this in turn has made the world a smaller place. But at times, these means of communication may not be easily accessible because of unavailability or due to technical/technological problems. This may lead not only to a physical but also a communication gap between the transmitter and the receiver. Time differences between people living in two different countries may affect communication between them. Even people working in different shifts in the same organization may also face problems in communicating effectively. Improper seating arrangement in a classroom or in a conference hall may also act as a barrier to effective communication as it is difficult to maintain eye contact with ones audience. Thus, communication can be successful only when the communicators manage to overcome the barriers by minimizing the obstacles that crop up due to spatial and temporal factors. c. Wrong Choice of Medium This can also create a barrier to effective communication. For example, if an expert uses charts or graphs or PowerPoint presentations to orient the illiterate workers or volunteers to a new method of working, they are bound to be ill-equipped to infer any information or instructions from such sophisticated presentations. d. Surroundings Adverse weather conditions affect not only the means of communication, but also have an impact on the sender and the receiver of the message. When two people have to communicate with each other under extreme weather conditions, whether too hot or too cold, their surroundings does have a direct repercussion on the effectiveness of the exchange that takes place between them. Thus, environmental factors determine peoples mood and also influence their mental agility and thereby their capacity to communicate effectively. Extreme heat and humidity make people either hyper or listless and thus cause immense stress which in turn affects clear thinking and the attitude of the communicator; whereas, extreme cold weather induces laziness and also impedes the ability to think clearly and respond sharply, thereby causing communication failure. 4.2.2 PHYSIOLOGICAL OR BIOLOGICAL BARRIERS Physiological barriers are related to a persons health and fitness. These may arise due to disabilities that may affect the physical capability of the sender or the receiver. For example, poor eyesight, deafness, uncontrolled body movements, etc. Physical defects in ones body may also disrupt communication. While communicating, a person uses- his vocal (speech) organs to produce sound/speech his hand and fingers to write his ears to take in the spoken words his eyes to absorb the written words Flawless functioning of these body organs is inevitable for effective communication to take place. In case of any defect in any of these organs, the successful completion of communication will be difficult to accomplish. Speaking can be adversely affected by stammering, fumbling, utterance of improper sounds due to defective vocal organ/s, etc. Listening can be rendered ineffective as a result of defective hearing. Deafness- total or partial- obstructs the absorption of sound signals. This leads to information loss. Writing can fail to convey the message successfully because of illegible handwriting due to hand injury, excessive trembling of the palm or fingers, numbness, etc. Reading can be affected due to poor eyesight. Defective vision impedes the reading ability of the receiver. Words may appear hazy, broken, overlapping, etc. to the receivers eye. To overcome such barriers, one must avail oneself of the necessary medical treatment (for defects in the body organs), therapy (to improve speech) or corrective aids (like hearing aid, spectacles, etc.). 4.2.3 SEMANTIC OR LANGUAGE BARRIERS Semantics is the systematic study of the meaning of words. Thus, the semantic barriers are barriers related to language. Such barriers are problems that arise during the process of encoding and/or decoding the message into words and ideas respectively. Both the oral and the written communication are based on words/symbols which are ambiguous in nature. Words/symbols may be used in several ways and may have several meanings. Unless the receiver knows the context, he may interpret the words/symbols according to his own level of understanding and may thus misinterpret the message. The most common semantic barriers are listed as under: a. Misinterpretation of Words Semantic problems often arise because of the gap between the meaning as intended by the sender and that as understood by the receiver. This happens when the receiver does not assign the same meaning to the word/symbol as the transmitter had intended. Words are capable of expressing a variety of meanings depending upon their usage, i.e. in the context in which they are used. The association between the word/symbol and the meaning assigned to it is of arbitrary nature. For example, the word yellow when used as an adjective can have multiple connotations depending upon its usage. Words have two levels of meaning- literal (descriptive) and metaphorical (qualitative). Yellow, besides being a primary colour, also stands for freshness, beauty, sickness, decay, etc. Hence, the receiver is free to interpret it in any of these ways based on his own imagination and experience. But for communication to be perfect, it is essential that the receiver must assign to it the same meaning which the sender had in his mind while encoding the message. Therefore, there is always a possibility of misinterpretation of the messages. Mostly, such problems arise when the sender does not use simple and clear words that can convey the exact meaning to the receiver. b. Use of Technical Language Technical or specialized language which is used by people or professionals who work in the same field is known as jargon. Such technical language can be a barrier to communication if the receiver of the message is not familiar with it. For example, in the computer jargon, to burn a CD means to copy the data on a CD. To a layman, the word burn may have a very different connotation. c. Ambiguity Ambiguity arises when the sender and the receiver of the message attribute different meanings to the same words or use different words to convey the same meaning. Sometimes, wrong and speculative assumptions also lead to ambiguity. A sender often assumes that his audience would perceive the situation as he does or have the same opinion about an issue or understand the message as he understands it, and so on. All such assumptions may turn out to be wrong and cause communication failure. 4.2.4 PERSONAL BARRIERS Communication is interpersonal in nature. Thus, there are certain barriers that are directly linked to the persons involved in the communication process, i.e. the sender and the receiver, which influence the accurate transfer of the message. These are called personal barriers. Personal barriers have to do with the age, education, interests and needs or intentions that differ from person to person. When one communicates, s/he addresses an audience that may belong to different age-groups. With age, ones choices, preferences and interests undergo enormous changes. So one has to consider this factor while communicating in order to check the possibility of communication failure. Difference in education is another important factor. It determines the senders ability to think, to form an intelligible message and to convey it successfully. On the other hand, it also influences the receivers capability to read/listen, to understand and to respond to the message that he receives. Thus, difference in education can hamper the successful encoding and/or decoding of the message, if proper care is not taken by the sender and/or the receiver. In any business organization, the attitude of the superiors and the subordinates play a vital role in determining the success of communication. If the superiors have a hostile attitude, then there are chances that they may filter the information or manipulate the message, sometimes intentionally, in order to achieve certain selfish motives. Many superiors are not open to suggestions and feedback as they presume that their subordinates are not capable of advising them. Also, they often tend to keep too busy with work and do not pay much attention to communication. Due to this, the downward flow of information within the organization is badly affected and this in turn leads to poor performance. Besides, the superiors often exercise their authority by insisting that the subordinates should approach them only through proper formal channels of communication. If, under any circumstances, the subordinates try to communicate to the superiors directly, then they may take offense as they perceive such an attempt as a challenge to their position of power. Such an attitude thus becomes a barrier to effective communication. On the other hand, there are certain factors that influence the participation of the subordinates in upward communication. Lack of confidence and fear are the primary reasons why the subordinates fail to communicate openly and comfortably with the superiors. If they feel that some information may, in some way, harm their prospect/interest in the organization, then they prefer to conceal such information. In case, if that is not possible, then they filter the information so that they cannot be held responsible for the same. Moreover, when the superiors do not support the active involvement of the subordinates in the functioning of the organization by encouraging them to exchange their ideas and to give suggestions that would contribute to the success of the organization, the subordinates become indifferent to such reciprocity and this creates a barrier to upward communication. If the subordinates feel that their ideas and suggestions are of no value to the superiors, then they do not feel motivated to convey the same. Therefore, on the basis of the above discussion, we may conclude that personal barriers have their origin in the attitude of the sender as well as the receiver. Personal barriers often lead to distortion, filtering, and omission of information and thus have an adverse effect on the fidelity of communication. 4.2.5 EMOTIONAL OR PERCEPTIONAL BARRIERS Emotional or perceptional barriers are closely associated with personal barriers. Personal barriers arise from motives and attitudes (as seen above), whereas emotional or perceptional barriers have an added dimension that includes sentiments and emotions as well. If the receiver does not evaluate the information with an open mind, i.e. objectively, his judgment/evaluation would be colored with his biases and/or his emotions, thus inducing him to read too much into a message. This would interfere with the exact transfer of information and cause misinterpretation. Such a barrier may also emerge at the time of encoding the message. Over enthusiasm on the part of the sender may lead him to invest his message with meaning/s which he may actually not have intended to. Besides, too much aggression or passivity on the part of either the sender or the receiver, while communicating, also has an adverse effect on the success of communication. Also, too much of emotion thwarts reason and sometimes, the communicator, blinded by his own sentiments, makes impulsive judgments or illogical decisions. This also results in the breakdown of communication. Indolence, apathy, or the tendency to procrastinate, either on the part of the sender or the receiver, also lead to withholding of important information thus creating a barrier. Extreme emotions like euphoria, excitement, anger, stress, depression, etc. also get in the way of effective communication. All these factors may create biases in the mind of the sender or the receiver. Therefore, the sender and the receiver may encode and decode the message respectively as per their own perceptions, background, needs, experience, etc. And this leads to a distinct kind of exchange of ideas and feedback as well. They tend to obfuscate the reality and see what they want to see. This is also one kind of filtering that takes place during the communication process. 4.2.6 SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS Socio-psychological barriers can also be considered as one of the offshoots of the personal barriers, akin to the perceptional barriers. We need to study it as a subcategory of personal barriers because a persons attitude is shaped not only by his instincts and emotions, but also by his approach towards and his interaction with the people around him, and hence the need for this fine distinction between the personal, the perceptional and the socio-psychological barriers. a. Status Consciousness To begin with, the consciousness of ones position in an organization has an effect on the two-way flow of communication. A vertical channel of communication is present in every organization, but its efficacy is heavily influenced by the relationship between the superiors and the subordinates. Though many organizations are now becoming accustomed to the open door policy, the psychological distance between the superiors and the subordinates still prevails. Status consciousness is thus one of the major barriers to successful communication. b. Difference in Perception Moreover, in a communication situation, the communicators have to deal with two aspects of the reality- the one as they see it and the other as they perceive it. The mind filters the message i.e. the words/symbols/ signs and attributes meaning to them, according to individual perception. Each individual has his own distinctive filter, formed by his/her experiences, emotional makeup, knowledge, and mindset which s/he has attained over a period of time. Because of this difference in perceptions, different individuals respond to the same word/symbol/sign based on their own understanding of the situation and ascribe meaning to it on the basis of their unique filter. At times, this difference in perception causes communication gap, i.e. distortion, in the message. In face-to-face communication, this gap can be easily eliminated as there is immediate feedback. But in written communication, the semantic gap between the intended meaning and the interpreted meaning remains unidentified, as the feedback is delayed or sometimes there is no feedback at all. c. Prejudices Besides, a person with deeply ingrained prejudices is very difficult to communicate with. He is not responsive to discussion or to new ideas, information, viewpoints and opinions. He has a closed mind and tends to react antagonistically, thus ruling out all possibilities of communication. An unreceptive mind can, hence, be a great barrier in communication. To overcome this barrier, people should be receptive of new ideas and must learn to listen considerately with an open mind. d. Halo/Horn Effect Also, sometimes the listener may be too much in awe of or may completely distrust a speaker. In both these situations, the chances of success of the communication are very less. e. Information Overload Furthermore, information overload leads to poor retention and causes information loss. So, whenever there is some important information to be conveyed, the communicators must use the written channel of communication. On the basis of the above discussion, we may thus conclude that the socio-psychological factors do have a profound impact on the effectiveness of communication. 4.2.7 CULTURAL BARRIERS Culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is learned and shared within social groups and is transmitted by non-genetic means. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005) From this definition, we can infer that culture is the sum total of ideas, customs, arts, rituals, skills, etc. of a group of people. It is handed down from generation to generation in the form of conventions, traditions, rules, codes of conduct, etc. To put it simply, culture is the shared ways in which groups of people understand and interpret the world. (F. Trompenaars, Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business; 1994) Each group, categorized on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, etc. has its own distinctive culture. Thus, there are varied subcultures that co-exist within a major culture. Such immense cultural diversity plays a very crucial role in communication as it has an extensive influence on both verbal and non-verbal communication and may therefore create barriers to effective communication. Cultural differences give rise to a great deal of complexity in the encoding and the decoding of messages not only because of the difference in languages, but also because of plenty of culture-specific assumptions at work in the mind of the sender as well as the receiver. People belonging to different cultures may attach different meanings to words, symbols, gestures, and behaviour or they may perceive each others social values, body language, attitude to space distancing and time, social behaviour and manners, etc., i.e. the entire culture in general, very differently depending upon their own standards, attitudes, customs, prejudices, opinions, behavioral norms, etc., i.e. their own distinct culture. Thus, cultural barriers arise when people belonging to different cultures insist on preserving their cultural identities and at times, judge the other cultures as inferior to their own. (For a detailed discussion on the various elements that can create cultural barriers, refer Chapter 6 International Communication) 4.2.8 ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS Organizational structure greatly influences the flow of information within an organization. Some major organizational barriers are as follows: a. Goal Conflicts There may be goal conflicts within the organization between the superiors and the subordinates, among people working in the different departments, among the colleagues, etc. This may create a hostile atmosphere within the organization and can lead to serious communication breakdown. b. Organizational Policies These are also to a great extent responsible for determining the kind of rapport that people working in the same organization share with each other. If the organizational policy is such that it restricts the free flow of information in all directions (refer Chapter 7 Formal and Informal Networks of Communication), then communication would not be successful. In some organizations, there may be rules to restrict the flow of certain messages and this may deter employees from conveying those messages, however important they may be. If an organization favours the open door policy, the subordinates would not feel shy or reluctant to approach their superiors directly. But in the organizations where the formal channels of communication have to be strictly adhered to, the superiors and the subordinates share an awkward relationship. They experience a lot of discomfiture while interacting with each other. Because of this, the objective of communication may never be accomplished. c. Organizational Hierarchy The hierarchical structure of the organization may also impede the flow of information and this can cause delay in taking decisions. When the message passes along the chain of command in an organization, there are chances of filtering and distortion of the message at almost every level before it reaches the intended receiver. Thus, the hierarchical structure of the organization is also one of the important factors that may create a barrier to effective communication. Barriers to effective communication can be summarized as under: Physical Barriers: sound, sight, size, light, location, distance, time, surroundings, environment, infrastructural facilities, etc. Physiological Barriers: Speaking- stammering, fumbling, utterance of improper sounds due to defect in speech, etc. Listening- hearing impairment, deafness, etc. Writing- illegible handwriting due to uncontrolled hand movements like trembling, numbness, etc. Reading- difficulty in reading due to poor eyesight, perceiving the written words as hazy, unclear and overlapping, etc. Differential Barriers: difference in age, education, needs, interests, intention or purpose creating a communication gap between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader. Intellectual Barriers: use of foreign language, pronunciation, style, tone, vocabulary, etc. Socio-Cultural Barriers: race, religion, culture, habits, behaviour, social values and manners, etc. Psychological Barriers: attitude, mood, temperament, ego, prejudice, jealousy, rivalry, nervousness, excitement, etc. Organizational Barriers: status, hierarchy, policies, filtering, manipulation, etc. On the basis of the above discussion, we may thus sum up that barriers to communication are the aspects of or conditions in a workplace- such as status differences, gender differences, cultural differences, prejudices, and the organizational environment- that interfere with effective exchange of ideas or thoughts. (Business Dictionary) However, there are certain specific strategies that can help us to surmount these obstacles and achieve the purpose of communication. These are discussed in detail in the following section. 4.3 OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION On the basis of the various kinds of communication barriers listed in the previous section, let us now discuss certain strategies that would help us to overcome these barriers and thus improve communication. As effective communication is essential for the success of a business organization, the communicators must take care to remove the barriers in the way of communication, to the best extent possible. In communication, it is not enough only to know the message. For communication to be complete, the message must be understood by the audience. The communicator shares his message through the medium of words- spoken or written, through gestures, through symbols, etc. Thus, from this we can infer that communication, whether verbal or nonverbal, is symbolic in nature. These two aspects of communication determine the fundamental difference between effective and ineffective communication. If an idea/information is known to but not fully understood by the receiver, then the communication will be ineffective. The sender can know whether the message has been understood by the receiver through his response, i.e. feedback. The following are some general guidelines for the sender and the receiver of the message: For the Sender of the Message At the very outset, that the sender should reveal the purpose of his message and the important topics that he would deal with. By doing so, he prepares the receiver for what is to follow. This helps the receiver to identify the main points of the message, to recognize the link among the important ideas that the message contains and to organize them in a meaningful pattern in his mind. The message should be compact and the sender should concentrate exclusively on the main ideas or information that he intends to convey. Likewise, the sender should situate his ideas in an appropriate context so that the audience will evaluate and interpret them within that common frame of reference which the sender has indicated or suggested. While communicating, the sender should, at all times, emphasize the important points of the message with the help of bulleted lists, chart, graphs, illustrations, body language, tone, pitch, etc. He should also provide a summary at the end of his presentation or write-up. This will help the receiver to grasp the overall meaning of the message, thus making it easy to understand the various parts, i.e. ideas, in relation to the overall framework. The sender should arrange the ideas/information in such a way that it is appealing to the audiences visual and/or auditory senses. In written communication, the writer may make use of an attractive layout and good quality paper to attract the readers attention. While communicating orally, the sender must take care to minimize noise. He should make sure that his surroundings are well-equipped with the necessary acoustics. He should pay special attention to his facial expressions, gesture, and eye contact with the audience at the time of delivering the message. The sender should be clear about why he wants to communicate and his message should be precise and well-structured. He should take care to select an appropriate channel or medium so that the impact of message is not lost in transmission. He should send his message through an effective channel i.e. keeping in mind his audience and the purpose of the message and should select a channel where there are less chances of distortion. The sender should avoid using grandiloquent words in order to avoid the possibility of misinterpretation of the overall meaning of the message. The sender should neither burden the receiver with information overload nor should he provide him too little information. He should identify his audience before encoding the message so that he knows what his audience may already know and in what context he should place his message. The sender should formulate and deliver his message in such a way that it retains the audiences interest in what he intends to convey. He should do away with all his prejudices and preconceived notions and must communicate clearly and with an open mind. All these would enable him to have an audience-centric approach while encoding his message. For the Receiver of the Message In the initial stage of the communication process, the onus is entirely on the sender of the message. But in the later stage, the receiver plays an active role once he starts absorbing and processing the information in his mind. Thus, the receiver of the message also plays an equally important role in the successful completion of communication. Not all barriers are sender-oriented. The barriers arising from the side of the receiver are known as receiver-oriented barriers. The foremo