Administrative Ethics Paper Hcs/335

Administrative Ethics Paper HCS/335 November 5, 2012 Administrative Ethics Paper In today’s world of technology patient’s face an ever challenging issue of protecting their privacy. One of the biggest areas infringing on a patient’s privacy would be the prescription health information that is being released by pharmacists and the way in which that information is used.Information is given to a wide variety of entities and to individuals, which raises enormous concern about the privacy rights of patients, especially considering the fact that the patient has not given consent for the release of this information. Legislative and judicial attention is being given on how to protect privacy identifiable information on prescription data and the harm that can be done by the release of this information. There is a lot of focus on exploring privacy issues with regard to personal health information (PHI), especially with the prescription drugs containing so much information. The computerized databases in a pharmacy collect a host of patient information including the patient’s address, the patient’s name, the date it was filled, the place it was filled, the patient’s gender and age, the prescribing physician, what drug was prescribed, the dosage, and how many pills. How a patient’s information is used once it is de-identified most likely doesn’t even cross anyone’s mind because most patients don’t realize that anyone other than the pharmacist, the doctor, and the insurance company for processing the claim, are going to see it.There is a long list of companies and individuals that want the patient prescription PHI, including lawyers, educators, researches that are performing clinical trials, marketing purposes, government officials, and employers. The article, Somebody’s Watching Me, lays the groundwork in legally developing the framework for protecting the privacy of patient prescription PHI, especi ally the information on de-identified PHI. There are 5 parts to the legal framework.Part 1 basically states why there is a need for federal legislation to step in to help protect both patient prescription PHI, and de-identified patient prescription PHI. Part II shows the process of how the information is collected and used. Part III talks about federal and state laws that are currently in existence to protect a patient’s privacy rights, with a focus on three state statutory attempts that would curb information being used for marketing purposes, and the Supreme Court and circuit court responses.Part IV looks at the existing laws regarding unauthorized disclosure of patient prescription PHI. This is a more intense look at all of the statutes, ethical guidelines, federal and state statutes and laws, and other option for protecting a patient’s privacy. Part V suggests having a federal statute allowing patients to control the use of their information for both patient prescr iption PHI, and de-identified PHI. Most people would think that de-identified PHI would be protected because it is encrypted before it is transferred to others not authorized to access the identifiable information.Unfortunately, there are ways such as geo-coding that allows others to re-identify the information. Even if a company sells the data information that they have and they state that personal information is not to be used by third parties, there is no guaranty that the purchaser will uphold the agreement. In today’s technological society it is difficult to have a program that will continue to make re-identification impossible, especially if an individual’s privacy was once breached by re-identification. Encryptions are codes and codes are broken all the time.Moreover, encryption requires use of a key or cipher, which is used to lock and unlock the hidden data. Such a key is necessary to allow the hidden data to be viewed in an intelligible manner by those who ar e authorized to view it. However, there is always a risk that the encryption key might fall into the wrong hands, thereby allowing the information to be accessed by unauthorized viewers. There are many problems that could arise from a patient’s information landing into the hands of a stranger, a boss, an enemy, or any other individual that does not have permission to view that information.The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) needs to take a hard look at the problems that exist with the identifiable patient prescription PHI, the de-identified patient prescription PHI, and the encrypted prescription PHI. These issues affect the entire population and can have a devastating impact on those that have their personal information get into the wrong hands. If there is an employee who has Aides and they don’t want other worker’s to know, it would be too easy for an employer to obtain that information.The arguments and facts that are used in the article support the proposed solution by stating the problems that arise without having laws in place to protect the privacy rights of patients. There are many ethical and legal issues when you are dealing with privacy rights, including the chances of getting sued by individuals for letting their information be obtained and used by others. Having privacy information released into the wrong hands can be detrimental to a patient. A manager in a health care environment should be there to support and help bring laws into place that protects both the patient and the organization. REFERENCESSmith, C. (2012) Somebody’s Watching Me: Protecting Patient Privacy in Prescription Health Information, Vermont Law Review, retrieved from the University of Phoenix Library on November 4, 2012. Kendall, D. Protecting Patient Privacy in the Information Age retrieved from http://www. hlpronline. com/kendall. pdf Thacker, S. , (2003) HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health CDC, retrieved from http://w ww. cdc. gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/m2e411a1. htm ——————————————– [ 1 ]. David Colarusso, Note, Heads in the Cloud, A Coming Storm: The Interplay of Cloud Computing, Encryption and the Fifth Amendment’sProtection Against Self-Incrimination, 17 B. U. J. Sci & TECH. L. 69, 78-80 (2011)(describing the details of symmetric key encryption and public key encryption) [ 2 ]. Id. at 789 (describing how a cipher or key renders plaintext unreadable gibberish). [ 3 ]. Robert D. Fram, Margaret Jane Radin & Thomas P. Brown, Altred States: Electronic Commerce and Owning the Means of Value Exchange, 1999 STAN. TECH. L. REV. 2, 15-16 (1999) (outlining the risks of cryptography, including the possibility that encryption keys may not always be kept secret. )

Cause and Effect: Comedy Genre Films and its Audience Essay

Genuine laughter is known by many to be the best universal medicine there is. It is the automatic cure for sorrow and sadness, the antidote to alleviate any emotional stress, the most inexpensive and may be argued as being the purest and most enlivening form of audible expression known to man. This has been the motivation of most forms of entertainment, along the lines of comedy and humor. In terms of film and genre, the power of comedic punch lines and witty comic antics matched with superb timing has the will to command boisterous laughs and thought-provoking ideas through humor. Though film representation of what is funny may vary, the interpretations that follow pertaining to what is laughable can be stretched from taking a particular scene within approval or dismay, and even in praise or disdain. The variant of comedy known as slapstick is probably the most identifiable form of humor in film. One of the earliest brands of comedy to be shown unto the silver-screen, slapstick’s effect on its viewers is indeed much more immediate and instantly and humorously stimulating. Filmsite.Org explains slapstick to be: This is primitive and universal comedy with broad, aggressive, physical, and visual action, including harmless or painless cruelty and violence, horseplay, and often vulgar sight gags (e.g., a custard pie in the face, collapsing houses, a fall in the ocean, a loss of trousers or skirts, runaway crashing cars, people chases, etc). (1) A solid film case of such a comedy would be Chuck Russell’s The Mask (1994) which starred Jim Carrey. He played Stanley Ipkiss, a local clerk of the Edge City bank, but upon his discovery of a rather supernatural item, in the form of a mask, it turns his life around, to say the least. As soon as he tries it on, he alters into a green faced, excessively fun loving, and extremely obnoxious individual. With Carrey’s expressive comedic demeanor and delivery with the Mask’s rowdy character features, the slapstick comedy is very well executed, and the film’s effect on its audience is more instantaneous—highlighting its purpose to amuse. His untamed manner even portrays a cartoon-like conduct which tickles the mind into more of reacting than analyzing the scenes by the audiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, there are films which rather choose to arouse audiences with a brand of high-browed comedy and almost insulting humor, still with the objective to entertain, but only in a different approach. Within the lines of cringe comedy, a comedy that is presented more on the lines of rather offensive depictions, the audience’s taste of comedy is tested. The interpretation of comedy indeed varies from the more traditional depiction of what is funny to how offensive a particular situation could be. Take for instance Larry Charles’ Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan which starred Sacha Baron Cohen. He played a Kazakh journalist who travels to the United States of America in attempt to experience the culture. But in the process, a series of cultural distortions are portrayed in the film, highlighting rather extreme and even distasteful situations wherein Cohen character, due to fictitious cultural gaps, would deliver outrageous comments and basically dare the social norms within his new environment. The film’s reception was one of debatable issue, and its content was deemed insulting by many, especially with the gender and racial issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   As the meaning of what is funny could and would differ, a simple understanding must be made known to all viewers: comedy is a form of entertainment. Whether it offends, stimulates thought-provoking themes, irritates, or makes its audiences feel good, it is all up to the viewer. It is all in the matter of perception—from beliefs, orientation, and sensibility. Works Cited Charles, Larry. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Los Angeles, California, 2006 Filmsite.Org. Comedy Films. 2008: 1-7. 10 November 2008 . Russel, Chuck. The Mask. New York City, New York: New Line Cinema, 1994.      

The Opposite Sex

Well, I have now been going out with the most interesting woman I could ever meet. She is called Lolita, she is 28 and lives in a Manchester flat. She is a kind and thoughtful woman who is always up for a laugh and she is also in a way slightly aggressive as she cannot control herself at times. Her best feature though is the fact that she is very attractive. But in my opinion there is a flaw to her which in a way annoys me because I don't understand it. The problem is that I cannot understand the mind of the opposite sex. I think that I start to understand her, and then I'm lost and confused. I met her at a concert, over the Christmas holidays. We have been going out ever since. I think that she is wonderful, but she is so confusing to me. For example, what happened the other night. We were watching a film, ‘Saving Private Ryan'. At parts I got a bit upset, not emotional, but it made my go â€Å"aww†, and the odd thing that Loli did was that when the dying captain whispered the words in the young privates ear and then died, not even a blink. When the German sniper got shot through the eye, and the Germans all being shot after the wall fell, she was distraught. I thought it was because it seemed such a cold and evil death, but when the Jew was killed by the man who the party saved him, not even a squeak. This I did not understand a bit. At one point I thought that she was a Nazi. But I think that the cold killings and disgusting scenes were the problem, and then by the end of the film she was used to it. Nothing really to get upset over though. Once I was talking about PMT. This was at the start of our relationship and I hadn't known her that long. Before with previous girlfriends and my sister, they all made sarcastic laughs or smirked. I assumed that, that was the same with most women and could laugh at there own problems, but I couldn't have been more wrong. We had just had a small drink with some of our mates, we only had two drinks and we then went home. I had decided previously to stay the night at her house, so I walked home with her. We got home and we sat down. She had the idea of getting a takeaway. So I told her what I wanted. This was 7:30 when I decided.. It took till 8:00 to order the meal as she didn't know whether to order an Indian or a Chinese, and then what she wanted to order. Loli now got a bit edgy as she was so hungry, and then dipstick here decided to discuss PMT, to try and cheer her up as there was just a report about it on the news. Oh how I should not have gone their, I haven't forgotten it and I don't think I ever will. What happened was that I started off by repeating something that the reporter had said, I questioned her PMT. I started, â€Å"You know, that could be right. I mean PMT was only invented in the 1950's.† I looked at her, she was giving me an icy stare that would have made Cybil Fawlty jealous. My mistake was to continue, that stare was a warning. But I didn't stop, and then all of a sudden. Poof! Loli had sent a cushion flying across the room and it smacked me in the gob. The zip even caught me in the cheek. â€Å"†What was that for?† â€Å"Can't you take a hint?† she barked. â€Å"There was no need for that, it really hurt. I didn't know you were so touchy about it.† â€Å"Just don't do it again, you have no idea how much that sort of thing winds me up.† No-one has ever done that to me over a joke that isn't personal. And I think that if I did it again we would get into a big argument. That made me think that it didn't take much to get her upset, it made me a bit weary. Those are the bad things, but there is also good in everyone, even Hitler. It was my birthday three weeks ago. My 24th. I was just expecting to have a drink with my mates, maybe a party at my house which I had organised. I got something much better than that. I woke up slightly late for me on the Saturday morning, my birthday. I was woken to toast, pancakes, waffles, bucks fizz, croissant, cereal, and a sausage, bacon and bean breakfast. I was gob smacked. I would probably never have this much for a five course meal, let alone breakfast. I tucked in and then got up. Scattered around the house were balloons and then downstairs was my present. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of vouchers for the local mall. We went out and I bought us lunch and a jacket for me and a DVD of U2 which Loli had her eye on. I came home and opened the door to find that I had a surprise party thrown for me and all my mates had clubbed together to buy me a 2 night holiday to Amsterdam. Then I collapsed. It was like having 8 Christmas's rolled into one. That showed me the kind and thoughtful side to Loli. She showed me what a fantastic woman she is. I also saw the fact that I think that without each other we are useless. But I think that, that is the same with everyone. We all need the opposite sex, you can't enjoy life being a hermit. So get out there and live!

The Dark Side of the Domus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Dark Side of the Domus - Essay Example The Concept of Dwelling The conception of the dwelling has significantly become a normal subject in architecture. It connects predominantly well to the sustainability revolution as well as green architecture. These concepts share a viewpoint of profound pace attachment and correlation inside the environment. The theorist Lyotard holds the viewpoint that, the dwelling requires a location of permanence so that when threatened with alteration can result to a reactionary community of separating those with divergent principles. These similarities of the sustainability revolution connect to Lyotard’s fear of a place of abode and suppose a refocus of attempts toward tackling matters of equity. There are varied attempts globally to re-establish an individual scale of locales that promote an individual’s relationship with the environment, as well as each other. These attempts fall under certain hypothetical approach, for instance, sustainability, ecological design, as well as li veability. Scale and correlation among individuals is a significant quandary in the West. The sustainability upheaval correlates and reacts to Heidegger’s conception of dwelling, the significance of being in the universe. However, Lyotard visualizes dwelling as a prospective driver of isolation and disparity due to its dependence on commonly held principles. Lyotard refutes the notion of dwelling as a way to warn and criticize the standing and limitation of sustainability as well as ecological building uprisings nowadays (Ballatyne, 1998). The significant notion in the conception of the dwelling is the comprehension of how appropriate individuals can exist in their surroundings. For instance, the presumption of th building is dwelling and these buildings offer the act of residing in a certain place. A house, nonetheless, provides the act of residing but is not a place of abode. Individuals work within the city but live outside. Individuals also commute and live here and there . The concept of dwelling simply describes the occupation of temporary housing. It is the fundamental nature of human existence the summation of all the principles, and needs a connection to the soil. The individual fundamental, nature is present in the globe as in a heimat. This location specificity is further explicated as the real meaning of dwelling. This connection to a locale elucidates the other connotations of dwelling to be revealed. The principal element of the dwelling is to be at tranquillity and secure inside an individual’s preserve. Dwelling offers one of the most crucial human requirements and security. Individuals usually build to safeguard themselves from the universe. A place of abode is not just for individuals to be guarded. It is also meant to conserve the items that encircle the individual. This implies that nature is to be safeguarded. The mutual interrelationship calls for an innate understanding of a certain region that does not correlate to the pers istent structures of movement of varied present day individuals (Neil, 2009). People’s spatial existence has become detached by a rapidly altering community; consequently, the notion of the dwelling has emerged in the living areas as well as the daily existence in the city. This elucidates the

Ethical issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Ethical issues - Essay Example The patients’ relatives asked me for assistance since this was a case of HMO insurance. Without having much experience, I made it a point to tell them that they need to wait for the next available manager. The HMO insurance organization’s reputation was at risk and I needed to do something on my own since it was taking too much time for someone to assist me. Despite the fact that, the whole process was being mismanaged and I did not like the situation that I was forced to overcome. Moreover, I was glad that I was able to win the deal with the HMO insurance case in a professional manner and resolve the dispute that came about as a result. However, the character of the medical profession was under a serious question and this needed to be resolved at the earliest. I immediately called the staff from the cafeteria which was having lunch and asked them to attend to the HMO insurance case. They came running to assist the case so that the insurance process could be resolved professionally. The conscience of the staff was apparent since they almost skipped their meals and showed their real moral character to deal with this HMO insurance scenario. Nevertheless, my senior processor step in and assured me that she would handle it from here, because I was not yet ready to undertake HMO insurance job responsibilities at that time. In conclusion, I was congratulated for my performance and I was moved swiftly through training and I was working as a HMO insurance analyst within two weeks of the

Feedback after reading the banking concept of education by Paulo Essay

Feedback after reading the banking concept of education by Paulo Freire - Essay Example In this regard, this paper gives a response to the article "the banking concept of education" by Paulo Freire, clearly and analytically discussing this system of education. Although it is true that students especially in the contemporary world, flourish academically as a result of their ability to master what their teachers have taught them in class, it is worthy also to note that such memory is very instrumental in many fields of study and ought to be nurtured. Generally, the system of formal education has inculcated in the schools through teachers that the students who have the exceptional ability to memorize and master harvested concepts, vocabularies, and outlines are the best academically. While this could be true to some extent, there is a significant need to be cautious in relating this to the academic potential of the concerned students, as sometimes the opposite is true. The banking concept of education is not only harmful to the education sector as a whole but also to the students who merely act as the recipients of knowledge rather than contributors to knowledge. In addition, this system of education normally turns out to be ineffective majorly due to the fact that some of the so called ‘A’ students do not normally perform well in institutions of higher learning and even in the professional world. This is because there is no direct correlation between the ability for one to memorize others’ opinions and the application of the same in real world situations. Such scenario only means that the teachers only use this method of education to assist students pass their examinations and proceed to the next level. Since there is not a single person who has the monopoly of knowledge, it is not a good idea for the teacher to pose as one by being the narrator. The students, who due to their naivety humbly submit to

Research and informatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research and informatics - Essay Example The patient safety technology is transforming the way nurses deliver their care services. The devices are more accurate and less prone to errors that are inherent to human beings. The accuracy guarantees patient safety during medical procedures and treatment (Trossman, 2013). Technology can meet the safety standards set by the institute of medicine, by eliminating errors that are inherent to humans. The concept of â€Å"to err is human† is widely used in medical fields to justify human errors. The concept has multiple weaknesses. It allows health providers to act negligently without any legal implications. In extreme cases, human errors result in the deaths of patients and permanent disability. Use of technology eliminates these errors, increases efficiency and accuracy in medical procedures especially surgical procedures. Evidence shows that technology saves the lives of patients in ways that human efforts alone cannot do (Kleib, Shabe & Allen, 2012). For example, before adoption of extensive application of technology, health providers relied on their senses to detect changes and monitor status of a patient. Use of their senses such as smell, touch, hearing and sight was very subjective and prone to errors. Later on, accurate technology to detect a patient’s physical changes developed (Mitchell, 2011). Policies/guidelines/best practice for patient safety technology and nursing care advocate for building a safer health system by eliminating human errors. The concept of â€Å"to err is human† defines the challenges that hinder improvement of safety in the health care sector. However, technology eliminates these human limitations and develops a new best practice that builds a safe health system. The new system is more accurate, precise, efficient and secure because technology is less prone to errors than people (Thede & Linda, 2012). Another guideline aims at keeping patients safe by transforming the work environment for nurses. The guideline focuses

Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Operations Management - Assignment Example Therefore, the project implementation tends to incorporate an effective set of attributes and enable the council to achieve its ultimate desired objectives. It has been found that with the implementation of the planned project, the community safety would increase by manifold and would enable the council to reduce the rate of crime in the Bedford community. Project management can be considered as one of the major management paradigms, which enables the business organisations to effectively and efficiently achieve their business goals within the constantly changing phase of the business environment. An effective project management approach facilitates the organisations to execute various business competencies to effectively handle uncertainties, risks along with pressure of its competitors within the existing market (Laureate Online Education, 2010). Moreover, project management can be differentiated with the various standards of the business operations with respect to focusing on uniqueness, timescales, financial projection, resources, risks and uncertainties along with the major activities regarding skills, tools and processes of project management (Westland, 2003). The methodology to be followed to gain required information is the evaluation of information available from secondary sources. With due consideration of preparing project implementation plan, this report will highly focus on developing the major aspects and processes of project management which will be highly beneficial for Bedford Borough Council. The discussion of this paper will cover the major elements and their activities in order to successfully implement of the new and developed project management. With respect to the observation from last three years, it has been ascertained that Bedford Borough Council has aimed at minimising the amount of general

Self-Evaluation and Learning Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Self-Evaluation and Learning Needs - Essay Example I was able to detect my learning needs through the novice to expert theory. I found out my weaknesses through consultation with fellow employees and patients. In addition, the self-analysis in my profession helped me in detecting my professional faults that need tightening. After the evaluation, I have learnt that knowledge and experiences are all around us; it takes a good deep look into our selves to tap it. Self-Evaluation and Learning Needs Assessment Learning needs assessment is the identification of gaps in knowledge, attributes and skills of a specific discipline that need improvement for proper delivery of services. This usually involves change of performance in order to improve quality. Learning needs assessment has been seen as a vital point for personal and professional development of all individual and organisations of all disciples. As a nurse who is a graduate of an associate degree program with a 20 years experience in medical-surgical nursing, I have felt a necessity to evaluate and identify my learning needs in order to become a better nurse. I developed an urge to evaluate myself during my experience as a nurse to level up with the best nursing services offered. With the evaluation of over 20 years, my pedigree of learning needs has been established for continuous professional development. ... This was normal for just from university or college student because, like Benner (2001) says in her book, being novice, like I was, meant I had no experience, the rules to nursing were context-free and were applied universally. Over the years though, I started gaining experience as an advanced beginner. I was then able to recognise recurring meaningful care components and started formulating principles because of the experiences I had gained in the short time and was able to demonstrate acceptable performance. Practising as a medical-surgical nurse requires one to be clean, neat, responsible and organised at all times. I had learnt this in school but had no experience to actualise the theoretical information until I started working as the main nurse for all surgical operations. This is when I understood why surgical tools should be sterilised and not just because the books say so. I had advanced as a beginner. After a 3 year experience working as a nurse, I became very analytical in terms of my thinking and choice of the best action to be taken based on experience and also became much aware of my long-term goals. According to Wakley and Steve (2000), I became a competent nurse with proper organisation and greater efficiency. Being a clinical nurse specialist entails educating patients and staff on proper care giving, identification of patients’ needs that require referral for more specialized care and attention, providing primary care to patients. Changing my practice and improving quality meant that I had to diagnose the individual problems that I had observed in myself and training on them to ensure continuity of professional development as a

Death by Cell Phone Essay Example for Free

Death by Cell Phone Essay The newspapers are replete with scores of vehicular accidents. One reads of how a delivery van careens off the railing of a skyway and lands on top of a passenger bus underneath, crushing several people to death. Another article will be about a cargo truck losing its brakes and running through the red light at a busy intersection and in the process slams broadside into private vehicle. Still another might be of an SUV that crashes against a flimsy construction barrier and lands into a deep excavation †¦. Poor maintenance, lack of defensive driving skills, and carelessness probably account for these accidents. Now, another one can be added to this list of causes: driving while using a cell phone. This is about as commonplace as finding chewing gum under a movie theater seat but certainly, much more dangerous. Availability has determined usage; if it is there – even while driving – use it, is the motto. One wonders how the ‘’civilized’’ world fared without the cell phone. But for some reason or another it did. It was not too long ago that the Spanish galleons took over 3 months of sailing to deliver a letter from Spain to the colonies. And how the roundtrip – the time it took for this same letter to be answered – might have taken anywhere from 6 months to a year. Fast forward to today and the thought of leaving a ringing cell phone unanswered for a few minutes– even while driving – is unthinkable. One can argue that the case against using cell phones while driving is exaggerated; after all there are ‘’hands-free’’ cell phones that allow one to use the cell phone and drive at the same time. We are, after all, multi-taskers, it is argued. While this facility is available, how many do in fact use ‘’hands-free’’ cell phoning. Next time you are on the expressway or freeway, check. While you are at this, also find out how many use the cell phones: those coming at you, those to your left, those to your right, those behind you. Is it 1 in 10? 2 in 10? More? Actuarial scientists will probably advise you to raise your insurance coverage or perhaps even suggest that you start taking another form of transportation (e. g. the subway or some such) even if 1 in 10 of these motorists used the cell phone while driving. It might be argued that the ‘’risk’’ of getting into a vehicular accident while using the cell phone is over-rated? Is it? Consider the statistics: how fast is the average speed on an expressway? How many are using cell phones? How many seconds – or micro-seconds – does it take to initiate an accident? If the answers are that the average speed on an expressway is 60 mph, that at any given time there are more than 1 in 10 using a cell phone and that accidents can occur in the blink of an eye†¦well the answer becomes deathly obvious. An act that has previously been regarded as a remote possibility now assumes the prospect of a distinct probability. All too often, when we read of these things we deal with them by insulating ourselves with anesthetic reassurances that the likelihood is remote, that this are the dire warnings of alarmists, that it cannot happen to us – after all, we are not as ‘’careless’’ as the others. All that can be said in answer to this is that do not let the morgues and cemeteries get crowded with like-minded motorists. It is not too late to stop using the cell phone while driving. Resist answering that phone; it is probably not that important. It can wait. Your life and those of others depend on it

Kaizen Costing Method And Its Role In The Management Of An Entity Accounting Essay

Kaizen Costing Method And Its Role In The Management Of An Entity Accounting Essay 1. Introduction The purpose of my article is to let the managers know about a costing method, which applied even in the current crisis, will not only lead to an avoidance of bankruptcy, but may lead to even make a profit by improving competitiveness and financial efficiency. Quality means to continuously meet the customers demands, total quality means to continuously meet the customers demands in terms of minimum cost, and total quality management ensures to continuously meet the customers demands in terms of minimum cost, involving all employees. 2. Objectives The main objective of this research is to identify a solution to permanent increase of production quality while reducing cost and time of selling. To achieve this goal, we conducted a theoretical fundamental research, through which I tried to transpose several features of Japanese management plan for a new costing method. 3. Methodology With no intention to exhaust the limits of thissubject matter, I made appeal in my scientific approach to a rigorous study of the literature and analyzed various points of view raised by specialists in this field. I made appeal to research methods such as documentation, analysis, synthesis. Assumptions, methodology approach and the results are my own contributions. 4. Analyses Maintenance and improvement are two inseparable concepts in Japanese management. Improvement is assessed by two terms: kaizen and innovation. Kaizen is a Japanese management concept launched by Masaaki Imai, which proved to be the key to Japanese competitive success. The significance of this concept is: KAI = Change and ZEN = for better, and the translation is continuous improvement, that means small improvements to the ongoing efforts. Unlike the Western conception, implying total change, at large intervals of time, using large amounts of resources and a high cost level, Kaizen Costing seeks daily, gradual, slow, but continuous improvements, which take place at minimal cost. Kaizen Costing message strategy is that a single day should not pass without an improvement to intervene in the activity of each employee or each entity. The Japanese have shown that by applying this strategy, improvement is achieved with minimal expenditure. Specific characteristics that ensure successful approach of Kaizen activities are the following: disregards all ideas implemented so far in the organization of production; rejects the whole existent situation; it does not look for perfection, seeking a 40-50% improvement of the existent situation, but at an acceptable cost; allows any manager to use their knowledge and personal skills; the ideas produced by many people are better than the ideas of a single person; the improvements have no limits. Cost is one of the basic synthetic indicators that characterize the effectiveness of an entitys activity. The importance of production cost is related to the functions it fulfills in the context of economic-financial mechanism, schematically presenting itself as follows: ensures the resumption of production, measures the means of production and labour, allows the calculation of some efficiency indicators and the real knowledge of activity quality, sizes the profitability of economic entities, etc.  [1]   Kaizen Costing Management is focused on improving each process of a technological product sheet, the main goal being eliminating losses and minimizing costs. Process improvement ensures production efficiency, kaizen type activities ensuring maximization of product value corresponding to the requirements of the beneficiary, a qualitative differentiation of this. There are eliminated all those functions of the product which the customer has no interest in and which bring a cost increase without a correspondent in value. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾The KAIZEN principles presumes a practical approach and low costs of improvement. The Kaizen management system is based on the continuous loss reduction by means of methods that do not rely on investments, but on the improvement of the processes and the employeesperformance. According to the Kaizen principles, we must be sure that, when we take an action, our action will go on in the best possible way and is not merely an intermediate action to generate a temporary result  [2]   Innovation is achieved by sudden changes and generates radical improvements, compared to the initial situation, which is due to significant investments in technology, performance and equipment. Figure no. 1 shows the distinction between innovation, kaizen and maintenance: Source: Imai 1997 Figure no. 1 Therefore, Imai (1997) describes that the improvement can be divided into Kaizen and innovation. Kaizen signifies small improvements as a result of ongoing efforts. Innovation involves a drastic improvement as a result of large investment of resources in new technology or equipment. The author also explains that in the context of Kaisen, management has two major functions: maintenance and improuvement. Maintenance refers to activities directed towards maintaining current technologies, managerial and operating standards, and upholding such standards through training and discipline. Under its maintenance function, management performs its assigned tasks so that everybody can follow standard operating procedure.  [3]   Thomas M. Fischer and Jochen A. Schmitz K in Control Measures for Kaizen Costing-Formulation and Practical Use of the Half-Life Model considered that Kaizen costing focuses on continuous reductions of costs, which should be realized for existing products in a company. For planning and control purposes, comprehensive and efficient tools for measuring performance are required  [4]  . 4. Critical In implementing Kaizen Costing strategy, managers rely on other techniques, methods and tools such as: quality circles, suggestions system, kanban, total productive maintenance, action plans, etc. The success of this strategy is subject to a number of changes in the entitys culture and value system on which it is based. Suggesting small steps strategy, Kaizen Costing is a concept of umbrella which treats the basic methods and concepts applied in quality management in Japan and whose value is recognized worldwide (Figure no. 2).The superiority of the concept stems from the fact that, by applying small steps strategy, the necessary resources are insignificant, while the strategies based on innovations involve huge investments, although the results are relatively the same. In addition, Kaizen brings in the forefront the employees of the entity, who are motivated to participate consciously and responsibly to achieve the objectives of the entity. In this process the most important dimension is the organizational one, the ability to communicate. Successful implementation of this approach is given by the technical and managerial knowledge, put together, and by the across application of some management tools (ABC, benchmarking). Source: http://afr.kaizen.com; Imai (1986) Figure no. 2. The implementation of Kaizen Costing management system in economic organizations in our country would bring immediate gains by eliminating waste and losses, increasing labour productivity by 20-30%, reducing operating costs by 15-20%, reducing used areas, reducing the equipment needs and increasing the use of the remaining, increasing staff motivation. Kaisen Costing focuses the entity interest and attention on those places where you can reduce costs, this means on operating the production process and its development in the most efficient way. Unlike Target (used by design staff before the product is in production), Costing Kaizen Costing is used by production staff during product manufacture. Both follow the same target, but they differ in the method of settling the target: on perspective, Target Costing is based on customer considerations, while Kaizen Costing is based on profitability targets imposed by manager. As a method of cost calculation and resizing, Kaizen Costing represents the expression of returning to the source, through the causes of performance and the roots of productivity, what is possible in a cross-viewing, and performing a process analysis under the ABC Method. Cost reduction approach results by comparing the target-cost to the estimated one, and is fulfilled in terms of value, through an iterative process of continuous improvement.  [5]   Thus, Kaizen Costing is not interested in the product but in manufacturing process, which is more than just a cost method, but a global management tool. Obviously, there are factors that hinder implementation and obtaining good results in Romanian entities. Among them the most influential one is the mentality, or psychological profile of Romanians, which do not encourage the achievement requirements of such management, but there is great criticism concerning the stress staff has to deal with. 5. Conclusions In conclusion Kaisen Costing is the ideal management system to reduce costs. Through the application of this management style in managerial accounting, entities with limited resources could significantly mitigate the negative impact of current economic and financial crisis. As Masaaki Imai shows, Restructuring or reinventing your company can be destructive, expensive and often inoperable. Applying Kaizen in gemba (job, where the action occurs), significant improvement is achieved with low costs in core business processes production and services and can be obtained, as never before, major leaps in customer satisfaction, in quality, productivity and profitability. For those who want to learn and apply this management system, I mention the following advantages: implementation costs are reduced, as Kaizen makes better use of existing resources and does not require large investments in improving technology, staff training costs are lower than for other methods, in Romania there are consulting firms in the field, entities that have implemented Kaizen have achieved remarkable results in labor productivity, in cost reduction and competitiveness increase.

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

Austria Essay -- essays research papers fc

Austria Table of Contents Population Culture Tradition Way of Life Vegetation and Animal Life History Religion Arts Language Education Health Government Climate Trade Resources Agriculture Bibliography Austria Austria, a small country in Central Europe famous for its gorgeous mountain scenery. The towering Alps, and the foothills stretch across the western, southern and central parts of the country. Broad green valleys, lovely mirror lakes and thick forest cover a good portion of the land. Austria with no coastline shares its surrounded borders with Liechtenstein and Switzerland to the west; Germany and the Czech Republic to the north; Hungary and Slovakia to the east; and to the south Italy and Slovenia. North-East is Vienna, Austria's capital and largest city, where about a fifth of the people live. Population Austria has a population of about 7Â « million. Most Austrian's choose to live in the lower east areas of the country and just south of the Danube River. Also the capital and largest city, more than one and a half-million of the Austrian population lives in Vienna. Other cities with more than 100,000 people living in them consist of Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, and Scuzburg. Culture Austrians do not like being classified as Germans, Austria is basically Germanic in language and ethnic association. Some minorities include 40,000 Croats, 70,000 Solvenes, and a small group of Hungarians (11,000) and Czechs (5,000). Most Austrian's live south of the Danube River. Austrians enjoy an array of fine foods such as a Viennese Clich otherwise known as a Wiener Schnitzel, and many fine cakes and pastries. The average life expectancy for males is 72 and females 78. Traditions In May and June Vienna hosts the Vienna Festival. This festival is a celebration of music, arts, and theater. Austrians have a great love for music, many of the greatest composers were born and played there, many like Beethoven and other popular composers. Operas are also very popular, and The Vienna State Opera House is the most popular for such an activity. Festivals play an important part of Austria. One festival takes place throughout the province of Tyrol, in the beginning of spring. People dress up and pretend to chase the evil spirits of winter away. Way of Life ... ...nbsp; Austria's had a negative balance of trade since 1945, Although Austria has a large income from visitors. Austria imports transport equipment, heavy machinery, fuels, foodstuffs, and raw materials. Austria exports lumber, paper, pulp, textiles, iron, steel, electric power, and machinery. Resources The greatest natural resources in Austria is it's waterpower. "Much of the potential hydroelectric capacity, however, remains to be exploited" (Prodigy 1994) 40% of the land is taken up by forests, which is used for timber. The most important resources of Austria are magnesite graphite; iron; ore; lignite; oil, and natural gas. Agriculture "Two trends have characterized post war Austrian agriculture: a decline in the portion of the labor force engaged in farming and a decrease in small- scale farming, with farms of less than twelve acres either disappearing or being consolidated." (Prodigy 1994) Some of the leading crops include barley, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, sugar beets, and corn. Meat production has risen sharply, and dairy farming is more than adequate to meet national needs.

Essay --

Chinese Workers: Their Thoughts, Ideas, and Spirit Although many have doubts that Chinese workers work in conditions like prisons, they are still willing to work. Often these workers remain optimistic about their spirit; they never give up. Also, they never complain about their suffering in the factories. These depictions of the positive aspects of factories are never shown in the media. However, Leslie Chang discovers the true opinions of Chinese factory workers. In her speech, The Voices of China’s Workers, Leslie Chang describes the eagerness of the Chinese worker and their apathetic response towards their working conditions. Chang tells the real reason why the Chinese people leave their homes to work in the factories. Chang offers three reasons for leaving home and seeking a job far away. First, workers are eager to â€Å"learn new skills† (Chang). Most factory workers come from the poorest areas of China: these villages have no education, industry, or economy. They are just â€Å"farmers† (Chang), who cannot do any other jobs. As a result, nearly â€Å"153 million rural migrants† (Smith) work outside of their hometowns in China. Secondly, Chinese workers work in factories to â€Å"earn money† (Chang). Because many factory workers come from rural areas in China, they are faced with the challenges of reality. They have many concerns such as, â€Å"how much money I can save? How much will it take to buy an apartment or a car, to get married, or to put my child through school† (Chang). Compared to the urban areas, â€Å"salaries are far lower† (Perlin) in the rural regions. Therefore, they travel to big factory cities like Dongguan, China. Lastly, Chinese factory workers want â€Å"to see the world† (Chang). In the â€Å"impoverished provinces such as Henan, Hubei, and... ...earch. â€Å"When I first went to Dongguan, I worried that it would be depressing to spend so much time with workers. I also worried that nothing would ever happen to them, or that they would have nothing to say to me. Instead, I found young women who were smart and funny and brave and generous† (Chang). Chang creates and solves her own fallacy. Her speech proves that the Chinese workers value money and family more than the actual conditions or purpose of the job. The media shows the negative parts of Chinese factories, like the â€Å"suicide nets† (Perlin). However, the most important thing is to learn new skills and make new money, eventually returning to the village â€Å"for good† (â€Å"What Do China’s Workers Want?†). Chinese workers want the world to know they desire a successful life through their hard work; they are not afraid of the challenge and they will never give up.

History and myth Essay

‘The World’s Wife revises fairytale, history and myth and reworks it into contemporary, feminist fables. ‘ With reference to three of the poems in the volume examine the techniques employed by Duffy in writing contemporary feminist fables. Duffy’s volume â€Å"The World’s Wife† is a collection of dramatic monologues where Duffy becomes a ventriloquist inventing the words, which famous, silent, wives from history or myth might have said. Her use of humour and play on clichi s creates a collective female voice where dominant male characters are being criticised. Duffy reworks contemporary feminist fables and adopts different personae by employing different techniques, which are particularly displayed in her poems, â€Å"Mrs Midas†, â€Å"Mrs Lazarus† and â€Å"Mrs Aesop†. Duffy’s use of witty humour in the poem â€Å"Mrs Aesop† allows her to condescend the male counterpart, by turning his famous fables against him and questioning his manhood. On the contrary, â€Å"Mrs Lazarus† portrays a more emotional persona grieving over her husband’s death, where her ‘other half’ fails to consider the impact of his return. Similarly, in â€Å"Mrs Midas†, the male character is overcome by greed, blinding his ability to comprehend the repercussions of his actions. The metaphorical autobiographies allow Duffy to adopt a variety of dramatic personae and assume a multiplicity of voices, which portray issues and views sensitive to her own. She explores the notion of the self in relation to the other, particularly in the poem, â€Å"Mrs Midas†. The poet is able to present a wide range of emotions through the practical persona that feels a sense of exasperation due to her husband’s selfishness. The sensual qualities of the persona are highlighted through the use of soft sounds, ‘breath†¦ brow’, and ‘my fingers wiped the other’s glass’. She is then depicted as multitalented, especially in comparison to her husband who ‘was standing under the pear-tree snapping a twig’. His pointless and ridiculous activity belittles his usefulness and thus increasing his wife’s, as it does not require much talent to carry out such an activity. The persona undertakes an anecdotal approach, principally when the tragedy is building up, belying the serious concern, ‘I said’ and ‘What in the name of God is going on? ‘ show the use of colloquial language, which help the persona’s voice emerge. The phrasing used throughout the poet emphasizes her practicality and ability to make sense out of any situation, ‘I served up the meal’ and ‘So he had to move out’, illustrate that she is not theatrical, but is calm and logical, which is a comparison to her partner’s childish and immature behaviour, ‘he toyed with his spoon’. The persona is able to rise above him, assert her authority and her use of bitter sarcasm introduces comedy to the poem. Duffy’s use of the clichi , which is commonly present in her poems, is used to show how worthless he has become and how ashamed and fearful she is for him, as he is a ‘fool’ who could not think beyond his short-term greed. Similarly, â€Å"Mrs Lazarus†, also has to face the consequences of her husband’s return after she finally manages to deal with her grief over his death and move on. The dramatic persona created in this poem is extremely loyal to her husband and devastated at the fact that she has lost ‘her other half’. ‘Howled, shrieked, clawed’ and ‘one empty glove’ reinforce the imagery of suffering and grief-stricken state. She is a persona very expressive of her emotions and goes through the entire pain of her loss, even to the extent where there are images of suicide because of what she is feeling, ‘double knot†¦ round my bare neck’. The alliteration of soft, ‘slept.. single.. stuffed’ and harsh sounds, ‘gone†¦ gutted†¦ glove’, bring emphasis to the range of her emotional suffering. As her memory of him and grief is receding, she develops a more practical, factual tone in her diction, ‘Then he was gone’, showing that she has finally moved on. When her husband returns, her phrasing and diction changes and it begins to sound more harsh and bitter, ‘rotting†¦ grave’s slack chew’, as a reflection of the fact that he is insensitive to her emotions, despite everything she has been through.

A Report About Germany Architecture Essay

The United States is a topographic point full of diverse civilizations that have come from across the universe from assorted topographic points. Many people had a assortment of grounds for go forthing their fatherlands to be a portion of the United States. Our ascendants are people of outstanding bravery and strength to construct, support, and transform to a new life. Some of my ain ascendants can be traced back to Germany during periods of difficult times and tough determinations.My great-grandpa came from Germany in the early1900s to partly get away the wake of World War I and it ‘s affect on the people. His chief intent for heading to the United States was because the money became valueless. The economic times for the people in the country became highly hard as they were confronting a depression that had worsened. Disease and illness were besides get downing to run rampant throughout the state doing many people to go forth. I assume that my great-grandpa wanted to be a citiz en of a topographic point where they had a pick in faith, along with freedom in general, every bit good as the agencies for supplying for himself and his household. Although, he knew his transmutation would be a hard one, the determination was a rational pick for agencies of endurance.Germany is a comparatively little state that consists of 16 federal provinces and four major geographic parts. The assorted rivers found in Germany are of import for leting trade and transit to take topographic point. The clime is by and large that of wet winters with an mean temperature and mild summers of ice chest temperatures. Germany has passed through three wars, two of those being World War I and World War II. These wars affected the rise of Germany ‘s population because of the licking and losingss they suffered. The state is besides highly good known for the Holocaust ran by Adolf Hitler that killed anyplace between eleven million and 17 million Jews. The addition in our engineering or even the civilization of which we live in may be the ground for why some subsistence schemes are more prevailing than others. Pastoralism is a subsistence scheme used in Germany today for those who raise or herd animate beings. The bulk of the animate beings that are herd in Germany are hogs, cowss, and poulet and used for their copiousness of meats and dairy. There are certain tools needed to crowd the animate beings such as fence and lodging, troughs, milking devices, and slaughter barns. Division if labour is prevailing among persons to feed the animate beings and keep their land. A squad of people would be needed to construct the fence and barns. Persons will besides be needed to work milking device machines every bit good as butchering machines that are used. Truck drivers to present meat and milk would be an of import portion for transit.Agribusiness is a subsistence scheme used in Germany today and histories for about 5 per centum of the labo ur. Over 80 per centum of the land in Germany is used for agricultural intents and forestry. Those who pattern agribusiness grow wheat, murphies, Beta vulgariss, barley, chous, etc. In order for the harvests such as wheat to be grown and maintained husbandmans use tractors, combines, irrigation systems, pesticides, cultivated land equipment, grain carts and planting and seeding drills. Division of labour is divided into particulars such as a individual to drive the tractors for intents such as ploughing and mowing, while combines require a trained person who can run the machinery to convulse and reap the wheat. Labor use is besides demanded by an person who can distribute manure, pesticides, and usage drills for seting and seeding harvests.Industrialism is widely used throughout Germany in many different ways. A few particulars include processed nutrients, a touch of excavation, machinery, cement, chemicals, and building industries such as steel which provide one tierce of their end product on merchandises such as autos. Types of tools to bring forth these autos would be computing machines for constructing in writing theoretical accounts, robotics to assist construct parts for the auto, assembly and production lines to do certain parts for things like engines, forklifts and machines for traveling heavy objects, and proving systems for satisfaction on their merchandise. Division of labour is divided into assorted subdivisions for bring forthing autos. There are pay labourers at the assembly lines to set the parts together, while others put certain parts on the autos like windscreens, tyres, doors, etc. There is besides a direction squad to assist form, administer, and run the undertakings needed to run into ends done by pay labourers, every bit good as a individual who can run and pull off the computing machine ‘s in writing theoretical accounts. Highly trained forces are needed to run machinery and forklifts for heavy merchandises and persons for proving merchandises before and after production. Information engineering is really common and is widely used in Germany today. Most or about all of their population patterns specific types of schemes within information engineering. The specific types found in Germany today would dwell of touristry, transit, eating houses, banking, and even cell phones for communicating. A tendency used throughout all of Germany is that of communicating and specifically with cell phones. In order for the communicating to be able to take topographic point, there are tools used such as cell phone towers and orbiters to let for the connexion of communicating, computing machines to pull off the usage of cell phones, and even proceedingss or programs necessary to utilize the device for communicating. The division of labour is separated into many different accomplishments. In order for devices such as cell phones to work labour would be separated into field workers who put up towers on the land every bit good as I.T. professionals who work, maintain, and manage computing machine systems that help run the devices and organize information. Besides within the labour field, directors with an educational background would be needed to run the concern, every bit good as gross revenues professionals to sell the merchandise. Germany organizes its ain authorities into a federal parliamentary democracy where you must be 18 old ages of age to vote. The state is a centralised political system where the people yield their single sovereignty to the authorities, where Torahs are written, passed, signed, and put to order that must be followed by the people. The fundamental law of Germany divides the powers of the federal and province degrees between the three subdivisions of authorities: the legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions. This justifies and legitimizes the Torahs every bit good as supplying protection over persons, groups, and even the authorities and its functionaries. Germany is a democracy, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Angela Merkel, heads the federal authorities every bit good as tallies the executive subdivision of authorities. He serves a four twelvemonth term and is chosen by the Federal Assembly, which is elected by popular ballot. The president, Horst Koehler, serves up to two five-year footings and is elected by federal and province legislative assembly members as caput of province where he marks pacts and is a premier representative for the state. The authorities is internalized as Torahs, route marks, and regulations are followed by most citizens. Wayss of which this can be seen is while driving or kids traveling to school. In both cases people abide by the jurisprudence, whether it ‘s expressed or non. Germany ‘s legal system is that of civil jurisprudence where people are heard in tribunal. Both work forces and adult females serve in the military today and must be 18 old ages of age and function a nine month term. Germany is good known for its high economic powers and fiscal stableness as one of the top leaders in the universe today. The state engages in legion exports of goods such as autos, telecastings, and steel. In this manner, their economic system is based on that of negative reciprocality, intending they portion swaps with many other states in the universe today for their exported goods. This is a manner of having or being repaid for their export goods instantly and normally in the signifier of money. Germany is the 2nd largest export in the universe and much of the economic system is based on market exchange with different states every bit good as their ain state. Supply and demand is abundant within the auto industry and with the exchange of their excess goods such as autos ; they expect a net income to hike their economic system. Germany ‘s economic system is besides based on capitalist economy. Their market controls the economic system to supply their citizens with money from exchange and trade. Private ownerships or concerns besides support the result of the economic system for any type of net income whether it is single, group, industry, etc. After revenue enhancements, net income is redistributed to concern proprietors, persons, or to keep other industries. Much of the economic system is based on the services they provide such as technology, transit, and trade to call a few. Germany ‘s third sector histories for about 69 per centum of the GDP. The secondary sector of production or fabrication on points such as autos and chemicals histories for about 29 per centum. While the primary sector histories for about 1 per centum of natural stuffs such as brown coal, potassium hydroxide salt, and excavation. Presently, unemployment rates are at 9.1 per centum, an addition since recent old ages due to difficult times felt throughout much of the universe. Religion is shared by many citizens in Germany in a few different beliefs. Those who pattern faith are monotheistic significance they believe in one God. Christianity in the signifier of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant are practiced by about 70 per centum of the German population. There are besides a few who pattern Islam in the signifier of the Muslim faith every bit good as Judaism. Although Christianity is the most popular faith practiced in Germany today, it is non frequently practiced by go toing church Sunday forenoons by less than 10 per centum. A common pattern after the birth of a kid is baptism. They are given Godparents and passage to a baptized kid. After the ceremonial services, they reincorporate the new position of the kid by holding a repast for the drawn-out household. Religion is n't needfully a immense portion of the civilization today, but they do pattern Freedom of Religion. By jurisprudence the people in Germany are able to pattern any faith they choose , with no set faith between any of the provinces. This is found in their Fundamental law called the Bill of Laws. Religion is besides incorporated through matrimony. Those who pattern faith go to the church to get married harmonizing to the spiritual background that they pattern. If they choose to hold a household, their kids inherit the faith to which they pattern. Christmas and Easter are two of the top spiritual vacations celebrated throughout the state. Easter is celebrated on Sunday with church service and household assemblages on Monday. Christmas is celebrated by opening gifts on Christmas Eve while household members relax on Christmas twenty-four hours.Marriage is presently worsening throughout Germany, but they pattern monogamousnesss, intending they are married to a individual partner. Today, matrimony is n't terribly of import to the people populating within the state. Most people marry in their mid-twentiess, but about 40 per centum of their matrimonies end up in divorce . Love lucifers are common among those looking for matrimony, intending they are able to take their ain spouse on the footing of matrimony. Dating is insouciant and before matrimony they make certain they are financially stable. Most of those who marry have a post-marital abode of neolocal, intending they travel off from their households after they have wed. Even before matrimony, twosomes tend to populate together off from their households to derive freedom and independency. Most households consist of a female parent, male parent, and one or two kids. They pattern a atomic household type throughout most of Germany while household life is highly of import for the lasting households of matrimony. The male parent is normally the caput of the household, but in most households both parents work to back up their kids. Descent is traced by both the female parent and the male parent ‘s side of the household through line of descent by direct lineage to ascendants. They pattern a bilat eral affinity because they portion a relationship with both the female parent and male parent ‘s side of the household and parent ‘s believe this to be of import for their kids. Because of the rise in divorce rates and those who re-marry, kin is referred to in two ways: primary connexions intending consanguineal by blood and affine by matrimony every bit good as by coevals such as grandparents, parents, aunts/uncles and siblings. Kinship is of import to people in Germany in ways of utilizing grandparents or parents names for their kids ; nevertheless, this tendency is get downing to melt. The largest societal group in Germany today is in-between category where the bulk autumn in the average-middle category at good over half of the population who have places, land, and some a college instruction. However, this may switch more towards the working category and lower category as difficult economic times are felt throughout the state.Germany is diverse in even the smallest wa ys such as the manner they eat their nutrients. Although they eat similar nutrients of many states around the universe, most or about all of the nutrient they eat is used with a fork and knife. They use their knives to put their nutrient onto the forks. This is done as a proper gesture. Their educational system is set up on a trailing system where they work and/or college homework until the age of 16. Most people have to take a trial before they can come in into school, while they besides do two old ages of public service. Education is divided and ran by each of the 16 provinces of which they hold the agencies of power and money for running the schools. Small small towns celebrate festivals several times a twelvemonth. For illustration, a popular festival they partake in is beer fest. During beer fest, they have collapsible shelters, polka music, an copiousness of nutrient, and mass sums of beer where even bush leagues are able to take part. Some common courtesy gestures are non mas ticating gum in public, non indicating to a individual ‘s caput as this insinuates that a individual is brainsick, and non speaking with your custodies in your pocket because this is seen as disrespectful. Germany ‘s health care system is ran by the authorities who controls the fees. These fees are minimum and citizens are able to have either authorities or their ain wellness attention insurance. If a individual becomes ill or they have palliating fortunes, they may take up to six hebdomads off with full wage.Within the intelligence today, matrimony in Germany is steadily worsening. Back in the early 1900s matrimony and household were an of import and common portion of life. Men provided for their households while female parents took attention of their kids. Today this is n't the instance as many adult females and work forces are remaining individual and declining to hold or even think about the possibility of kids. This affects the birth rates that are besides worsening in Germany today. I found this article interesting because back in the early 1900s when my ascendants lived in Germany matrimony was highly of import. Just within the last 30 old ages, Germany every bit good as others around the universe that have seen a diminution in matrimony with a recent determination of a diminution in birth rates. The article shows to me that this may perchance be due to the current rise in divorce rates within the last 30 old ages every bit good. However, this is a immense portion of society today and one that may go on to worsen for old ages to come.