Research Proposal Social Work Essay Example for Free

Research Proposal Social Work Essay Document 1 of 1 Southern China talk fest a hot air blow-out Author: van der Kamp, Jake ProQuest document link Abstract (Abstract): Yes, they had plans, 30,000km of new superhighways fanning out from Guangzhou and 10,000km of new railway lines with trains speeding at 200km per hour to {hellip} well {hellip} ahem {hellip} but let us have no talk here of the mbarrassment Shanghai has suffered with Just a short hi-tech line to its airport. Not to worry. AsiaWorld-Expo is not being built to showcase Hong Kong products or designs. It will tout mainland wares in competition with several even bigger centres in the mainland. There is one Just across the border, big and empty and hungry for business. Clearly there was a call on AsiaWorld-Expo here to Justify its existence and it has heeded the call. In the first year of operation the centre will contribute a $2. 8 billion economic return, says the advertorial, again and again, in headlines, captions and testimonials. I think I have warned you before that economic return is pure magic. Take a number, any number, wave your wand, and you can have any other number you want, in this case 3. 67. Research, yes, diligent economic analysis, has proved to AsiaWorld- Expo that every dollar spent at its facility will, poof, create another $3. 67 spent elsewhere in Hong Kong. Links Linking Service Full text: ON PAGE 3 of this newspaper yesterday we discussed the hopes of 1 1 aspirants to a crowning achievement of commercial success and career satisfaction. No, I am not referring to the photograph at the top of the page of 11 Miss Hong Kong ontestants pictured in swimsuits at a waterfall in Kenya, although it was definitely more absorbing and probably more meaningful. I had in mind (when that mind could be distracted from the photo) a wodge of print underneath about a hot air blow-out from nine mainland provinces plus Hong Kong and Macau in what is termed the Pan- Pearl River Delta forum. It was the third day running in which we provided this evidence of why some trees should be left to grow in the forest rather than be turned into newsprint. Did you know that Guangdong party boss Zhang DeJiang would like to see his rovince turned into a key world manufacturing base, Hong Kong into an international business services centre and Macau into a gambling tourism hub? I understand that Mr Zhang also wants Marco Polo to visit China and hopes that Christopher Columbus will soon discover America. You probably saw some of the television coverage with one blue- suited lookalike after another taking turns at the podium to tell us to great applause that the sea is wet and the desert is dry or messages of equal revelation. Interspersed was so much self-praise that you would think this was Delia School of Canada. But yes, they had plans, 30,000km of new superhighways fanning out from Guangzhou and 10,000km of new railway lines with trains speeding at 200km per hour to {hellip} well {hellip} ahem {hellip} but let us have no talk here of the embarrassment Shanghai has suffered with Just a short hi-tech line to its airport. Stop me, however. Did not the word come down from Beijing recently that a halt must be called to big infrastructure projects in order to prevent the economy from overheating? I fully recognise that the further south you go in the mainland the less weight that Beijings edicts carry and I now that these big plans are still meant only to occupy time at talking shops. But surely a nod to central authority was required here. If we were to be so cavalier in Hong Kong about central government directives, they might call it subversion. Here is an idea for you, fellows. If you really want southern China to prosper, then implement all the promises Page 1 of 3 you made when entering the World Trade Organisation and do it as soon and as fully as possible. Stay off the podiums, spend no money but open your provincial economies and success will come your way. It is all you need to do and if you do not o it, then the story will continue to be what it has been so far Hong Kong and the Ten Dwarves. And as to that photo, fourth from the left for the crown and second from the right for Miss Photogenic. There you nave my picks and let us be gratetul that those 1 1 not in the picture stayed fully clothed. HOT AIR MERCHANTS are not only to be found across the border. On Tuesday we carried a full-page advertorial for AsiaWorld- Expo, the new airport exhibition centre that is scheduled to open in December next year. You know the story. This was something first mooted for construction by the private ector at a cost of less than $1 billion. The fgure has now risen to $2 billion and it is to be picked up by the public purse. No, pardon me, the private sector can put in another $2 billion if it wants. Uh-huh. The people who run the big exhibition centre on the Wan Chai waterfront are none too happy with all this. They worry that there is not enough business to go round and that we are cannibalising earlier investments in the exhibition trade. Not to worry. AsiaWorld-Expo is not being built to showcase Hong Kong products or spent elsewhere in Hong Kong. It may be true. Here I come to spoil the magic, owever. If we instead spent that dollar on something else, it would create this same multiplier effect and, if we spent it to better use, that multiplier would be higher than 3. 67. The advice that your mother gave you has not been improved by voodoonomics. Spend your money as wisely as you can if you want the greatest benefit to yourself. The appeal to voodoonomics should only confirm to you that the money is not well spent. Publication title: South China Morning Post Pages: 18 Number of pages: O Publication year: 2004 Publication date: Jun 4, 2004 year: 2004 Publisher: South China Morning Post Ltd.

The Key Characteristics Of An Erp System Information Technology Essay

The Key Characteristics Of An Erp System Information Technology Essay Enterprise Resource Planning solutions became the replacement for disparate legacy systems for many companies of the dimension of Fortune 500 during the 1990s. The main providers were SAP, Oracle Applications, PeopleSoft, J D Edwards and Baan. The Editors provided assistance initially, and then gradually there was a tendency for larger Consulting companies as partners to take over part or all of the integration. As ERP is a new phenomenon within the software industry, its implementation methodologies are still developing. The implementation of an ERP software package involves a mix of business process change and software configuration to align the software with the business processes (Al-Mashariet al.2000). Many companies are radically changing their information technology strategies to gain a competitive edge, become more responsive to change markets, and deliver better service at lower cost by purchasing off-the-shelf integrated ERP software instead of developing IT systems internally(Al-Mashariet al.2000). ERP systems offer a one size fits all solution which provides a company-wide view ofcorporate information. The central notion underpinning ERP systems is that theyencapsulate best business practice for a particular industry, integrating manufacturing,and financial and human resource operations into a single framework. Adapting processes to the ERP may impose some rigidity on the processes which is notreflected in how work is carried out. In any eventuality an ERP package will usually notmeet all of the business goals, so it is vital that plans are put in place to ensure that the otherrequirements are also satisfied. 2.1.1-ERP Key Characteristics The key characteristics of an ERP System are discussed below. Integration: ERP vendors promise complete integration of the entire organisations information. This integration, however, requires some effort. In order to achieve integration, the system needs to be set up to match the organisations products, customers, accounts and business processes. Packages: ERP software is usually a commercial package and not a solution developed in-house from scratch. Because modifying the package may result in losing key benefits from using the ERP, organisations try to fit the package, with the help of configuration tools and options, rather than the other way around. Best practices: Through the study of businesses and academic theory, ERP vendors claim to have embedded best business practices in their solutions. This is also a solid argument against modifying their packages. Evolving: ERP is not a constant solution; it changes over time in terms of services and architecture like any other information technology. 2.2-ERP Implementation An ERP system is a process and not an end in itself. Perfunctory Implementing of ERP system will not boost efficiency. Reasons for failure of an ERP project such as lack of commitment from management and employees, lack of communication, knowledgeable employees not available for the project, are mostly organizational issues and have nothing to do with technical matter. Hence, to alleviate the risk of failure due to organizational issues, adoption of proper change and risk management process, plays a crucial role. Implementing an ERP software system not only involves a great deal of expenditure, efforts and time, it also involves change in some of the complex business processes. Such changes are often disliked by the employees and are a big risk. In order to ensure success, everyone in the company, from the leadership to back-office workers should cooperate. 2.2.1-ERP Implementation Phases The main phases in ERP implementation are discussed below Planning and Requirements Analysis This is the initial phase where the company takes a decision on implementing ERP. The decision could based on their need to comply with legal requirements, replace their legacy applications, for benefits of integration, reduction of inventory, reduction of operational costs, risk management, additional functionality or speeding up processes. The team chooses an ERP system. Typically a niche player in resource planning software development is chosen instead of developing from scratch. Some of the leading vendors are: SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle,Sage Group, MS Business Solutions, SSA Global, Lawson and Intentia. Design This is the phase where the ERP team re-engineers the business processes around the Best Practices wherever feasible and identifies the processes that will result in customizing the ERP software application. The IT infrastructure requirements based on ERP system architecture and vendor are prepared. Implementation This phase involves installation of the ERP software, migration of data from the old applications to the ERP system, configuring the ERP system for reporting, implementing security, interfaces etc. The end users are involved at this stage to test the system after being trained. The implementation consultants seek feedback, identify software bugs/corrections, performance bottlenecks and apply the fixes. A decision on switching to the new ERP system is taken. Maintenance This is an ongoing phase which involves patching/upgrading the software, enhancing the functionality of the applications, changes in reports etc. This is either taken care of by in-house IT department or outsourced to consulting firms. 2.2.2-ERP Life Cycle The three main phases of an ERP Implementation are discussed below. Figure 1 depicts the amount of resources required at each stage (Aloiniet al. 2007) Concept refers to the activities of ERP introduction from strategic planning of requirements top software package selection. Implementation includes activities from softwaredeployment or installation to parameterization,integration, testing, and stabilization. Post-implementation includes maintenance activities: upgrading, new-release management, and evolution maintenance. Figure -ERP Life cycle Source: (Aloini et al. 2007) As shown in the diagram above, the resources to be deployed during the implementation and post-implementation phases are higher than at the strategic planning phase. Various risk management strategies have to be put in place at each stage. However, there is a higher risk of failure during the implementation and post implementation phase. 2.3-ERP Risk Factors ERP projects raise new questions because they represent a new type of management challenge. The management approaches for these projects may be altogether different from the managerial approaches for traditional IT projects. ERP projects may represent new challenges and present new risk factors that have to be handled differently. Anenterprise-wide projectis of large-scale and commercial with unique challenges and is a risky exercise for any size of enterprise. 2.3.1-General Risk Factors Business Risks The identification of risks in information systems projects has been the subject of much research (Jiang et al., 1996; Zmud, 1980). A portfolio approach for managing software development risk was discussed by McFarlan (1981). Prior research has looked at risk from a technological perspective (Anderson and Narasumhan, 1979) or from a software development perspective (Barki, et al. 1993). Jiang and Klein (1999) examined risk as it related to a multidimensional concept of information success that included satisfaction with the development process, satisfaction with system use, satisfaction with system quality, and their impact of the information system on the organization. 2.3.2-Lack of alignment between strategy and business processes The lack of alignment between the organization strategy, structure, and processes and the chosen ERP application is one risk that is repeatedly identified in the literature is(Davenport, 1998; 2000)). Both the business process reengineering literature (Hammer, 1990; Hammer and Champy, 1993)and the ERP literature suggests that an ERP system alone cannot improve the company performance unless an organization restructures its operational processes (Bingi et al., 1999; Davenport, 1998; Davenport, 2000). Further, theERP implementation project must be a business initiative. This requires the organization to gain strategic clarity (i.e., know the business, how it delivers value, etc.) and a constancy of purpose. Finally, an outcomes orientation is required to achieve these goals. 2.3.10-Inadequate Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Often, packaged software is incompatible with theorganizations needs and business processes. Theconsequence is software modification, which isexpensive and costs heavily in maintenance, or restructuring of the organizations business processes to fit the software. According to IBM, its Method Blue, a deep analysis of process business value and performances is necessary to prioritize activities to be supported by ERP. To neglect business processes redesign is a risk in ERP project; ERP implementation and BPR activities. ERP packages offer many business practices that might be included as part of a BPR, but there is still likely to be a need for continuous process improvement. 2.3.11- Ineffective project management techniques The inadequate use of project management techniques significantly affects ERP project success. Project management activities span the first four stagesof the ERP life cycle from initiating the project to its closing. Project planning and control are a function of the project characteristics, including its size, experience with the technology, and the stability and experience of the IT development group. Risk management in particular is a vital procedure of advanced (goal directed) project management. Some ERP vendors, such as SAP and Baan, provide methodologies and applications to help conduct successful risk management. These tools can be used to drive change management; the system calculates the risks and provides mitigation strategies for the project manager. 2.3.12-Data Migration The problem of data migration begins when organisations overlook the challenge of populating it with legacy data and the data migration activity is left to the last minute and end up dropping data from the legacy system straight into the new system.   A lot of planning has to go into it even before you actually start preparing the Migration scripts.Lot of organizations complain that they have migrated the data which probably would not go along with the new ERP they have implemented. This happens when Data Mapping is not done with the new ERP and the other sources.  Another problem which pulls down the Data Migration Project is Lack of Methodology. The Organizations do not have the concrete Methodology like they do have for the ERP Implementation. 2.3.9. Low key user involvement User involvement is important in meeting expectations. Key users should be convinced of the system utility; moreover they must be confident and expert so that they can aid future users in training sessions. Usercommitment and a project champion (who has the vision to get the project going and pushes for the project to be accepted where there are competing priorities) are useful in the early stages of the project and during the implementation phase. 2.3.3-Project Complexity/System Design Another major risk is project complexity (see, for example, Barki, et al. 1993). An ERP system implementation involves relatively large expenditures for the acquisition of the hardware, software, implementation costs, consulting fees and training costs (Davenport, 2000; Mckie, 1998), and can last for an extended period of time. Also, an ERP system implementation project has a wider scope compared to most other information system implementations, and may cause a significant number of changes within an organization (Davenport, 2000). The scope and the complexity of the project are a source of significant business risk 2.3.13-Planning and Requirements Analysis Top management involvement is critical, while only top managers are equipped to act as the mediator between the imperative of the technology and the imperative of the organization. One of the tasks of top management is to assist in project review meetings. According to the purpose of project review meetings is to assess progress and identify areas of deviations from the plan so that corrective action can be taken. The author also states that project review meetings provide visibility to plans and progress and create opportunities for obtaining and enforcing commitments from the participants. ERP solutions, when implemented properly, take a long time to get off the ground. ERP has to be properly selected, evaluated and tested, implemented and then used for a period of time before any clear positive results may be seen. It can become a very risky situation if the company isnt fully committed to seeing the entire process through. 2.3.15 -Security Risks The continued integration of enterprise resource planning software only increases the risk of both hackers who break through perimeter security and insiders who abuse system privileges to misappropriate assets namely cash through acts of fraud. Security in the e-business, integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) world requires a new way of thinking about security not just about the bits and bytes of network traffic, but about business transactions that inflict financial losses from systems-based fraud, abuse and errors. The ERP market has matured to a point where heightened competition has brought declining sales. As a result, ERP vendors are committed to bundling new functionality, such as CRM and Web services-based architecture, to provide more value to their customers. Unfortunately, security remains an afterthought. 2.4-Critical Success Factors in ERP Implementation (CSF) There are various issues that need to be catered for during the pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation phase of an ERP system. The idea of critical success factors is one that is well established in the field of enterprise systems for many aspects of development and management. 2.4.1-Top Management Support It is important that there is clear, executive level support for the project, and that this support continues throughout the project. Top management is expected to provide support in the areas of committing to the ERP project, sufficient financial and human resource and the resolution of the political problems if necessary. Limited support in terms of financing can contribute to a rushed ERP implementation process, project team members being overloaded and a high staff turnover. Insufficient commitment could lead to political problems which can hinder the implementation progress, thus causing poor Business Process Re-engineering. 2.4.2-Project Management ERP implementation is challenging, costly, and risky. Consequently, to achieve the desired benefits, the ERP system implementation must be carefully managed and monitored. It is in this respect that project management becomes crucial for success. Project management deals with various aspects of the project, such as planning, organization, information system acquisition, personnel selection, and management and monitoring of software implementation suggested that the project management is a practiced system necessary to govern a project and to deliver quality products. 2.4.3-Change Management Change management is a critical success factor, in terms of adopting an ERP system, as activities, processes, and methodologies that support employee understanding and organisational shifts during the implementation of ERP systems and reengineering initiatives. Many ERP implementation failures have been caused by the lack of focus on the soft issues, pointed out that almost half of ERP projects fail to achieve expected benefits because managers underestimate the efforts involved in change management. The management of change has become an increasingly urgent issue in all organisations due to the impact of new technology. 2.4.4-Education and Training ERP systems are extremely complex systems and demand rigorous training. Installing an ERP software package without adequate end-user preparation could yield to drastic consequences. Inadequate or lack of training has been one of the most significant reasons of many ERP systems failure (Kelley, et al., 1999; Gupta, 2000). In ERP implementation process many projects fail in the end despite of millions of dollars and hundreds of hours due to lack of proper training. Usually the end-user can get used to the ERP system within one year. One of the earlier researchers, Ang, et al. (1994) found that lack of training led to difficulties in MRP systems implementation. A thorough training program is necessary to make the user comfortable with the system. This factor is too often ignored. It is a challenge for a company implementing such a system to find an appropriate plan for the training and education of the end-user. In most cases, consultants are included during implementation process, and while all the aspects of the system should be explained and transferred the end-users, the main goal of ERP training is that the users understand the various business processes behind the ERP application (Majed Al-Mashari, et al 2003). 2.4.5-User Involvement User involvement refers to the participation of the user during the process of an ERPimplementation. The functions of the ERP system rely on the user to use the systemafter going live, but the user is also a significant factor in the implementation. (Zhang, et al. 2002) Resistance to new ERP system may be involving the user early on while the project isstill being defined, since the user has then also contributed to this decision. Byparticipating in the ERP implementation, the user can understand the new system soonerand give feedback from his or her own point of view. This method can shorten the gapbetween the old and new systems and make easier for the user to cope with the newsystem. Since the user understands some of the ideas sooner, the training is more easilyaccepted. The experienced users who take part in implementation can also communicatewith the newcomers. Another benefit of involving some users early on is that itfacilitates in-house expert training. In the long-run the company may not be willing orable to rely on consultants or vendors because of the expensive consulting cost. Earlyusers are a good resource if it becomes necessary to train experts in the future. 2.5- Risk Management in ERP Implementation To minimize the risk of the ERP project, the application of a risk management plan at different ERP implementation project stages, selection, implementation, and usage is crucial. A planned and systematically adopted risk management procedure throughout the ERP project reduces the possibility to risks occurring. 2.5.2-Enterprise Risk Management Enterprise risk management (ERM) in business includes the methods and processes used by organizations to manage risks and seize opportunities related to the achievement of their objectives. ERM provides a framework for risk management, which typically involves identifying particular events or circumstances relevant to the organizations objectives (risks and opportunities), assessing them in terms of likelihood and magnitude of impact, determining a response strategy, and monitoring progress. Enterprise risk management enables management to effectively deal with uncertainty and associated risk and opportunity, enhancing the capacity to build value. ERM encompasses the below elements: Aligning risk appetite and strategy Management considers the entitys risk appetitein evaluating strategic alternatives, setting related objectives, and developingmechanisms to manage related risks. Enhancing risk response decisions Enterprise risk management provides the rigor toidentify and select among alternative risk responses risk avoidance, reduction, sharing, and acceptance. Reducing operational surprises and losses Entities gain enhanced capability to identify potential events and establish responses, reducing surprises and associated costs or losses. Identifying and managing multiple and cross-enterprise risks Every enterprise faces a myriad of risks affecting different parts of the organization, and enterprise risk management facilitates effective response to the interrelated impacts, and integrated responses to multiple risks. Seizing opportunities By considering a full range of potential events, management ispositioned to identify and proactively realize opportunities. Improving deployment of capital Obtaining robust risk information allows management to effectively assess overall capital needs and enhance capital allocation.

Factors Affecting Organisational Environment

Factors Affecting Organisational Environment One of the factors that affects organization-environment relationships is environmental change and complexity. The environment can be described along two dimensions which are its degree of change and its degree of homogeneity. The degree of change is the extent to which the environment is relatively stable or relatively dynamic. The degree of homogeneity of the environment is relatively simple (with some elements, a small portion) or complex (multi-element, much segmentation). These two aspects interact to determine the uncertainty facing the organization. The least environmental uncertainty is faced by organizations with stable and simple environments. The degree of homogeneity and the degree of change combine to create uncertainty for organizations. For example, a simple and stable environment creates the least uncertainty, and a complex and dynamic environment creates the most uncertainty. The University of Manchester provides exceptional learning environments which are highly int eractive online learning tools with our high quality, face to face teaching to provide all the students with a richer learning experience. The University of Manchester committed to creating contemporary, technology-rich and learning specs that bring students into the heart of a required learning experience through their investment in their campus and facilities. And they have the largest collection of books electronic resources of any UK university, and extensive coverage of Wi-Fi on campus. The university library is one of the largest and best-resourced in the UK. With more than four millions books, it also provides a collection of electronic resources unrivalled by any other British university. Professional library stuff provides every student with a full introduction to services, resources and how to make the most of them, and are also on hand throughout your time at the university to provide advice, training and help whenever you need it. And of course, if you have any special needs, facilities and help are provided here too. Manchesters IT provision is constantly growing and being updated to satisfy the rigorous de mands of the most computer-literate of students. But even if youve never graduated beyond a games console, theres no cause for concern.    The University provides guidance, training and support to help you keep abreast of the latest computer programmes and electronic information resources. When you become a student at Manchester, you will be registered for email, file storage and internet access. Computer clusters pepper the campus, many within individual Schools and halls of residence. The biggest computer clusters are located in the main Library and George Kenyon Building. Several of these clusters are open 24 hours a day. More powerful workstations are available to support specialist research applications. Organizations with dynamic but simple environment generally face a moderate degree of uncertainty. Examples of organizations functioning in such environments include music producers (catering faces relatively few competitors (diesel, Lee, and Wrangler), has few suppliers and few regulators and uses limited distribution channels. This relatively simple task environment, but also changes very rapidly as competitors a djust prices and styles, changing consumer tastes and new fabrics become available. Another combination of factors is one of stability and complexity. Toyota, Honda and Nissan face these basic conditions. After all, they must interact with consumer groups, regulators, suppliers and competitors. However, occurs quite slowly in the automobile industry. It is just like how the University of Manchester used the same concept of the environmental change and complexity. The second point of how environments affect organizations is competitive forces. Competitive forces is forces in the marketing environment or educational environment that are based on competition among customers and compete with other firms. As the organization looks out at its business environment, competition is a critical factor. Who is buying goods and services and who is providing them to those customers? Are there many competitors or are there just a few? Maybe none. Knowing what competitive forces exist helps an orga nization develop strategic planning to attract customers. As for the university, the university has a very high-quality research profile. In the first national assessment of higher education research since the universitys founding, the 2008  Research Assessment Exercise, the University of Manchester came 3rd in terms of research power after Cambridge and Oxford and 6th for grade point average quality (8th when including specialist institutions).    Accordingly, Manchester enjoys the largest amount of research funding behind Oxbridge, UCL and Imperial  (these five universities being informally referred to as the golden diamond of research-intensive UK institutions). Manchester also has a particularly strong presence in terms of funding from the three main UK research councils,   EPSRC, MRC  and  BBSRC, being ranked 3rd, 7th  and 1st  respectively. In addition, the university is also one of the richest in the UK in terms of income and interest from endowments: at a recent rank, it was placed at 3rd place behind Oxbridge. Historically, Manchester has been linked with high scientific achievement: the university and its constituent former institutions combined had  25 Nobel Laureates  among their students and staff, the third largest number of any single university in the United Kingdom behind  Oxford  and  Cambridge; in fact, excluding Oxbridge, Manchester has graduated more  Nobel laureates  than any othe r university in the UK. Furthermore, according to an academic poll two of the top ten discoveries by university academics and researchers were made at the University (namely the first working computer and the contraceptive pill). The university currently employs 4 Nobel Prize winners amongst its staff, more than any other in the UK. The 2009  THE-QS World University Rankings  found Manchester overall 26th in the world and 5th by employer reviews by receiving a maximum 100% rating which the university has retained since 2008. The separate 2010  QS World University Rankings  (in 2010  Times Higher Education World University Rankings  and  QS World University Rankings  parted ways to produce separate rankings) found that Manchester had slipped to 30th in the world. The  Academic Ranking of World Universities  2008 published by the Institute of Higher Education of  Shanghai Jiao Tong University  ranked Manchester 5th in the UK, 6th in Europe and 40th in the world . After several years of steady progress, Manchester fell back in 2009 to 41st in the world and 7th in Europe, falling back further to 44th in the world and 9th in Europe in 2010. Excluding US universities, Manchester is ranked 13th and 11th in the world for 2009 by THES and ARWU respectively. According to the ARWU rankings, the university is ranked 9th in Europe for natural sciences and 4th in engineering. Similarly the  HEEACT  2009 rankings for scientific performance place Manchester 5th in Europe for engineering, 8th for natural sciences  and 3rd for social sciences. And finally THES ranks Manchester 6th in Europe for technology, 10th for life sciences  and 7th for social sciences. More recently a survey by the Times Higher Education Supplement has shown that Manchester is placed 6th in Europe in the area of Psychology Psychiatry. According to a further ranking by SCImago Research Group Manchester is ranked 8th in Europe amongst higher education institutions in terms of sheer research output. In terms of research impact, a further ranking places Manchester 6th in Europe. According to the High Fliers Research Limiteds survey, University of Manchester students are being targeted by more top recruiters for graduate vacancies than any other UK university students for three consecutive years (2007-2009). Furthermore, the university has been ranked joint 20th in the world for 2009 according to the Professional Ranking of World Universities. Its main compilation criterion is the number of Chief Executive Officers (or number 1 executive equivalent) which are among the 500 leading worldwide companies as measured by revenue who studied in each university. The ranking places the University only behind Oxford nationally. Manchester is ranked 5th among British universities according to a popularity ranking which is based on the degree of traffic that a universitys website attracts. Also, a further report places Manchester among the top 20 universities outside the US. At a recent ranking undertaken by the Guardian, Manchester is placed 5th in the UK in internation al reputation behind the usual four: Oxbridge, UCL and Imperial. However, while as a rule world rankings (such as the ARWU, THES and HEEACT) typically place the university within the top 10 in Europe, national studies are less complimentary; The Times Good University Guide 2011 ranked Manchester 30th out of 113 Universities in the UK, The Complete University Guide2011 in association with The Independent placed it at 31st out of 115 universities whilst The Guardian University Guide 2011 ranked Manchester at 51st out of 118 universities in the UK. This apparent paradox is mainly a reflection of the different ranking methodologies employed by each listing: global rankings focus on research and international prestige, whereas national rankings are largely based on teaching and the student experience. The last point on how environments affect organizations is environmental turbulence. Environmental turbulence refers to the amount of change and complexity in the environment of a company. The greater the amount of change in environmental factors, such as technology and governmental regulations, and the greater the number of environmental factors that must be considered, the higher the level of environmental turbulence. For many reasons, environmental volatility and instability have been increasing for the past 100 years. Although often experience unexpected changes and upheavals, the five could still compete for the review and evaluation system, and development plans to address these issues.   At the same time, despite the changes in the environment or the occasional long-wave instability is not the most common form of the organization warned, there may be some form of crisis. One of the crisis is to get the attention of managers in recent years is workplace violence-situations in which disgruntled workers or former workers assault other employees, resulting often in injury and sometimes in death. The recession began in 2009 and concerns about the H1N1 (swine) flu virus in 2009 are other recent examples. The impact of crisis affects the organizations in different ways, and some organizations have developed crisis plans and teams. For example, during the H1N1 virus scare in 2009, one investigation reported that only 27 per cent of all United States employers had their plans for dealing with such a potential health crisis. In view of numerous problems, difficulties, and the environment in an organization, how should the organization adapt? Clearly, each organization must assess its own unique situation and adapt according to the wisdom of its senior management. Organizations attempt to their environments. The most common methods are information management; strategic response; mergers, acquisitions, and alliances; organization design and flexibility; direct influence; and social responsibility. One way in which organizations adapt to their environments is through information management. Information management  (IM) is the collection and management of  information  from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in or a right to that information.   Management  means the organization of and control over the structure, processing and delivery of information. Throughout the 1970s this was largely limited to files, file maintenance, and the  life cycle management  of paper-based files, other media and records. With the proliferation of information technology starting in the 1970s, the job of information management took on a new light, and also began to include the field of  Data mainte nance. No longer was information management a simple job that could be performed by almost anyone. An understanding of the technology involved and the theory behind it became necessary. As information storage shifted to electronic means, this became more and more difficult. By the late 1990s when information was regularly disseminated across computer networks and by other electronic means, network managers, in a sense, became information managers. Those individuals found themselves tasked with increasingly complex tasks, hardware and software. With the latest tools available, information management has become a powerful resource and a large expense for many organizations. In short, information management entails organizing, retrieving, acquiring and maintaining information. It is closely related to and overlapping with the practice of Data Management. Other than information management, there is another way that an organization adapts to its environments is through a strategic respon se. If the market is growing rapidly as a company, the firm may decide to invest even more heavily in products and services for that market. Similarly, if the market is shrinking or without the possibility of reasonable growth, the company may decide to cut back. A related strategic approach that some organizations use to adapt to their environments involves mergers, acquisitions, and alliances. A merger is the combining of two or more companies, generally by offering the stockholders of one company securities in the acquiring company in exchange for the surrender of their stock. An  acquisition, also known as a  takeover  or a  buyout, is the buying of one company (the target) by another. Consolidation is when two companies combine together to form a new company altogether. An acquisition may be private or public, depending on whether the acquiree or merging company is or isnt listed in public markets. An acquisition may be  friendly  or hostile. Whether a purchase is p erceived as a friendly or hostile depends on how it is communicated to and received by the target companys board of directors, employees and shareholders. It is quite normal though for MA deal communications to take place in a so-called confidentiality bubble whereby information flows are restricted due to confidentiality agreements (Harwood, 2005). In the case of a friendly transaction, the companies cooperate in negotiations; in the case of a hostile deal, the takeover target is unwilling to be bought or the targets  board  has no prior knowledge of the offer. Hostile acquisitions can, and often do, turn friendly at the end, as the acquirer secures the endorsement of the transaction from the board of the acquired company. This usually requires an improvement in the terms of the offer. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one. Sometimes, however, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger or longer established company and keep i ts name for the combined entity. This is known as a  reverse takeover. Another type of acquisition is a reverse merger, a deal that enables a private company to get publicly listed in a short time period. A  reverse merger  occurs when a private company that has strong prospects and is eager to raise financing buys a publicly listed shell company, usually one with no business and limited assets.    Achieving acquisition success has proven to be very difficult, while various studies have shown that 50% of acquisitions were unsuccessful. The acquisition process is very complex, with many dimensions influencing its outcome. A  business alliance  is an agreement between businesses, usually motivated by cost reduction and improved service for the customer. Alliances are often bounded by a single agreement with equitable risk and opportunity share for all parties involved and are typically managed by an integrated project team. An example of this is  code sharing  in airline alliances. An organization may also adapt to environmental conditions by incorporating flexibility in its structural design. For example, a company in an uncertain business environment, relatively low levels may choose to use many of the basic rules, regulations and standard operating procedures of the design. The latter sometimes referred to as an organic design, is considerably more flexible and allow t he organization to respond quickly to environmental change. Organizations are not necessarily helpless in the face of their environments. In fact, many organizations are able to directly influence their environments in many different types of ways. The organization also influences their customers by creating new users for a product, stealing customers away from competitors, and also convincing customers that they need something more new and updated. Another way that an organization adapts to its environments is through social responsibility. Social responsibility  is the principle that companies should contribute to the welfare of society and not be solely devoted to maximizing profits. This responsibility can be negative, meaning there is an exemption from blame or liability, or it can be positive, meaning there is a responsibility to act beneficently (proactive stance). Specifically, social responsibility is the set of obligations an organization has to protect and enhance the societal context in which it functions. A number of organizations recognize that in all three areas of responsibility, every effort to meet each of them, while others emphasize only one or two areas of social responsibility. And a few acknowledge no social responsibility at all. In addition, the views of social responsibility vary in different countries.

Nuclear Tragedy on Three Mile Island :: History Nuclear Essays

Nuclear Tragedy on Three Mile Island The Three Mile Island accident can be attributed to both human error and mechanical failure. This story begins on March 28, 1979 at about four o'clock in the morning. Every thing seemed to be running efficiently down at the nuclear power plant in Three Mile Island. Little did anyone know the catastrophe that was about to occur. The problem started in the secondary loop. There was a slight malfunction, which caused the pumps to shut down automatically. The alarms sounded immediately within the control room. Water pressure and water temperature began to build in the primary loop, because the heat could no longer be transferred to the secondary loop. However, this seemed normal and was no cause for immediate concern. At this point, the pressure relief valve (PORV) had opened automatically and released the steam into a holding tank. The backup pumps, which are located in the secondary loop, automatically turned on. Then, the cut-off valves disconnected the pumps from the system. The operators in the control room still felt that everything was running normal and there was nothing to worry about. Then, the PORV light went out indicating that the valves were then closed; however they were not. The steam and water continued to be released causing a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The emergency injection water (EIW) was set in motion in the primary loop. The EIW is activated in the case of a LOCA. This did not concern the operators because it had happened before during numerous false alarms. However, they kept their eye on it, and noticed that the water in the primary loop was rising, while the pressure was decreasing. They turned off the EIW, but the water still appeared to be rising. However, that was not the case at all. The water along with the steam was being released through the PORV, without the operators knowing. By this time, over three thousand gallons had escaped from the primary loop. The instrument that checks the level of radioactivity levels was not functioning, so the operators had no reason to suspect a LOCA. The gauges in the control room continued to falsely state that the water levels were up. At this time, two of the four pumps were turned off in the primary loop caused by the amount of pressure from the steam traveling through them. Then, the last two pumps in the primary loop shut off.

Coming of Age in Hemingways Indian Camp and Joyces Araby Essay

Coming of Age in Hemingway's Indian Camp and Joyce's Araby In reading Hemingway's "Indian Camp" and Joyce's "Araby", about 2 young boy's not so ceremonial passage to life's coming of age. The protagonist Nick in "Indian Camp" witnessed in one night the joy of going on a journey to an unknown destination with his father and uncle Charlie. Later, Nick receives an expedited course in life and death. Joyce's "Araby" protagonist whis friends with Mangan but has a secret desirable infatuation with his sister. The young protagonist in this short story eventually come to terms with being deceived by a woman's beauty into doing something naively rash. Hemingway's protagonist, Nick, in the short story "Indian Camp" rides curiously asking "where are we going, Dad? (28). Yet, being secure while Nick lay back with his father's arm around him (28). Upon arrival of the shanty lined beach, life's lesson begins to unfold. Nick's sympathy for the woman screaming in pain because of delivering a baby without anaesthetic unleashed a feeling of compassion. Nick's apathy for the final stage of the...

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Edexcel International General Certificate of Secondary Education and Edexcel Certificate June 2012 – FINAL TImETAbLE International GCSE and Edexcel Certificate Examinations 1. The normal starting time for morning sessions is 9. 00 a. m. and for afternoon sessions 1. 30 p. m. 2. Wednesday 22 August 2012 – restricted release of results to centres only 3. Thursday 23 August 2012 – release of results to candidates www. edexcel. com Edexcel Certificate Examinations are only available to UK centres. Week 1 Date monday 7 may morning Length Afternoon LengthTuesday 8 may 4Cm0/01 4TU0/01 4Hb0/02 Commerce Turkish Human Biology Paper 2 2h 3h 4GN0/01 4Hb0/01 German: Listening Human Biology Paper 1 Bangladesh Studies Paper 1 Pakistan Studies: The History and Heritage of Pakistan Arabic (Classical Arabic) 30m + 5m reading time 2h 1h 30m 1h 30m 3h Wednesday 9 may 1h 4bN0/01 4PA0/01 Thursday 10 may 4AC0/01 Accounting 2h 30m 4CA0/01 Friday 11 may 4bN0/02 4PA0/02 Bangladesh Studies Paper 2 Pakistan Studies: The Land, People and Resources of Pakistan 1h 30m 1h 30m 4mA0/1F & KmA0/1F 4mA0/3H & KmA0/3H 4mb0/01Mathematics Specification A: Paper 1F Mathematics Specification A: Paper 3H 2h 2h 1h 30m Mathematics Specification B: Paper 1 Week 2 Date monday 14 may morning 4GN0/02 German: Reading and Writing Length 1h 30m Afternoon 4AR0/01 Arabic (First Language) Length 2h 15m inc. 10m. reading time 3h 2h 30m 2h 30m 4bE0/01 4IS0/01 Bengali Islamiyat Religious Studies Tuesday 15 may 4bI0/01 & KbI0/01 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(ESL) Paper 1: Reading and Writing Physics Science (Double Award) Physics Paper 1 Wednesday 23 may 4PH0/1P & KPH0/1P 4SC0/1P & 4KSC0/1P 4SP0/02 4AR0/02 4SP0/01 Arabic (First Language) Spanish: Listening English Literature (Poetry) 1h 30m 30m + 5 m reading time 1h 30m 45m 2h 15m 3hThursday 24 may Spanish: Reading and Writing 4ET0/02 & KET0/02 4ES0/02 English as a Second Language (ESL) Paper 2: Listening English Language (Specification A) Friday 4GE0/01 Geography 2h 45m 4EA0/01 & KEA0/01 4IT0/02 25 may Information and Communication Technology: Practical 1 week window ends Week 4 Date monday 28 may morning 4GU0/01 4SI0/01 4SW0/01 4TA0/01 Gujarati Sinhala Swahili Tamil Chemistry Paper 2 Length 3h 3h 3h 3h 1h Afternoon 4HI0/01 History Length 2h 30m Tuesday 29 may 4CH0/2C & KCH0/2C 4EA0/02 & KEA0/02 4Eb0/01English Language (Specification A) 1h 30m 3h 1h English Language (Specification B) Physics Paper 2P Wednesday 30 may 4CN0/01 Chinese: Listening 30m + 5 m reading time 1h 30m 3h 4PH0/2P & KPH0/2P Thursday 31 may 4CN0/02 4mG0/01 Chinese: Reading and Writing Modern Greek 4IT0/01 Information and Communication Technology 1h 30m Friday 1 June International General Certificate of Secondary Education and Edexcel Certificate Subject/Unit Title Human Biology Human Biology ICT ICT – Practical Number 4HB0/01 4HB0/02 4IT0/01 4IT0/02 June 2012 Timetable – FinalSubject/Unit Title Accounting Arabic (Classical Arabic) Arabic (First Language) Arabic (First Lang uage) Bangladesh Studies – Paper 1 Bangladesh Studies – Paper 2 4BN0/02 4BE0/01 4BI0/1B & KBI0/1B 4BI0/2B & KBI0/2B 4BS0/01 4CH0/1C & KCH0/1C 4CH0/2C & KCH0/2C 4CN0/01 4CN0/02 4CM0/01 4EC0/01 4ES0/01 4ES0/02 4EA0/01 & KEA0/01 4EA0/02 & KEA0/02 4EB0/01 4ET0/01 & KET0/01 4ET0/02 & KET0/02 4FR0/01 4FR0/02 4GE0/01 4GN0/01 4GN0/02 4GU0/01 4HI0/01 2h 1h 2h 2h 1h 30m + 5m reading time 1h 30m 2h 2h 30m 2h 45 minutes 2h 15m 1h 30m 3h 1h 45m 1h 30m 30m + 5m reading time 1h 30m 2h 45m 30m + 5m reading time 1h 30m 3h 2h 30m 3h 1h 30m Bengali Biology – Paper 1B Biology – Paper 2B Business Studies Chemistry – Paper 1 Chemistry – Paper 2 Chinese – Listening Chinese – Reading and Writing Commerce Economics English as a Second Language Paper 1: Reading and Writing English as a Second Language Paper 2: Listening English Language – Specification A Paper 1 English Language – Specification A Paper 2 English Language – Specifica tion B English Literature (Drama and Prose) English Literature (Poetry) French (Listening) French (Reading and Writing) Geography German (Listening) German (Reading and Writing) Gujarati History 4BN0/01 1h 30m 4AR0/02 1h 30m 4AR0/01 2h 15m including 10m reading time 4CA0/01 3h 4AC0/01 2h 30m Number Length Date 10/05/2012 10/05/2012 14/05/2012 23/05/2012 09/05/2012 11/05/2012 14/05/2012 15/05/2012 18/05/2012 22/05/2012 21/05/2012 29/05/2012 30/05/2012 31/05/2012 08/05/2012 18/05/2012 22/05/2012 24/05/2012 25/05/2012 29/05/2012 29/05/2012 22/05/2012 24/05/2012 16/05/2012 17/05/2012 25/05/2012 08/05/2012 14/05/2012 28/05/2012 28/05/2012 am pm pm pm pm am pm am am pm am am am am am pm am pm pm pm pm am pm pm am am pm am am pm am/pm Islamiyat Mathematics – Specification A: Paper 1F Mathematics – SpecificationA: Paper 2F Mathematics – Specification A: Paper 3H Mathematics – Specification A: Paper 4H Mathematics Specification B: Paper 1 Mathematics Specification B: Paper 2 Mathematics (Further Pure Mathematics) Paper 1 Mathematics (Further Pure Mathematics) Paper 2 Modern Greek Pakistan Studies – The History and Heritage of Pakistan Pakistan Studies – The Land, People and Resources of Pakistan Physics – Paper 1 Physics – Paper 2 Religious Studies Science (Double Award) Biology Science (Double Award) Chemistry Science (Double Award) Physics Sinhala Swahili Spanish – Listening Spanish – Reading and Writing Tamil Turkish Urdu 4IS0/01 4MA0/1F & KMA0/1F 4MA0/2F & KMA0/2F 4MA0/3H & KMA0/3H 4MA0/4H & KMA0/4H 4MB0/01 4MB0/02 4PM0/01 4PM0/02 4MG0/01 4PA0/01 4PA0/02 4PH0/1P & 4KPH0/1P 4PH0/2P & 4KPH0/2P 4RS0/01 4SC0/1B & 4KSC0/1B 4SC0/1C & 4KSC0/1C 4SC0/1P & 4KSC0/1P 4SI0/01 4SW0/01 4SP0/01 4SP0/02 4TA0/01 4TU0/01 4UR0/01 Publication Code: UG029320 BTEC and NVQ GCSE and International GCSE GCE The Diploma DiDA & other qualifications Online services including Results Plus, Edexcel online International customer s – all enquiries For more information on Edexcel qualifications please use the following contact numbers:Length 2h 1h 1h 30m 3h 2h 30m 2h 2h 2h 2h 1h 30m 2h 30m 2h 2h 3h 1h 30m 1h 30m 2h 1h 2h 30m 2h 2h 2h 3h 3h 30m + 5m reading time 1h 30m 3h 3h 3h Contact us www. edexcel. com 0844 576 0026 0844 576 0027 0844 576 0025 0844 576 0028 0844 576 0031 0844 576 0024 +44 (0)1204 770696 Date 08/05/2012 09/05/2012 31/05/2012 Please see Notes 14/05/2012 11/05/2012 16/05/2012 11/05/2012 16/05/2012 11/05/2012 16/05/2012 17/05/2012 21/05/2012 31/05/2012 09/05/2012 11/05/2012 23/05/2012 30/05/2012 15/05/2012 15/05/2012 21/05/2012 23/05/2012 28/05/2012 28/05/2012 23/05/2012 24/05/2012 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Conduct of Examinations †¢ STARTING TIMES OF EXAMINATIONS: Each examination must be taken on the day and at the time as shown on the timetable. The published starting time of all examinations is either 9. 00 a. m. or 1. 30 p. m. Candidates with more than one examination in a session should take these consecutively. A supervised break of 15 minutes may be given between consecutive examinations. †¢ Centresmaystartanexaminationearlierthan,orlaterthan,thepublishedstartingtimeforthesessionwithoutpriorapprovalfromEdexcel.However, in order to maintain the security of the examination all candidates must start examinations scheduled for a morning session no earlier than 8. 30 a. m. and by 9. 30 a. m. and for an afternoon session no earlier than 1. 00 p. m. and by 2. 00 p. m. , except where arrangements have been made for dealing with timetable clashes. Examination centres should refer to the JCQ publication ‘Instructions for Conducting Examinations’ in the first instance. †¢ Candidateswhotakeanexaminationearlierthanthepublishedstartingtimeshownonthetimetablemustremainundercentresupervisionuntilone hour after the published starting time for that examination. †¢ Candidateswhotakeanexaminationlaterthanthepublishedstartingtimeshownonthetimetablemustremainundercentresupervisionfrom30 minutes

A Personalised Induction Will Always Be More Effective. Discuss

Essay 2 A Personalised induction will always be more effective. Discuss (Word count = 2198) Introduction In this essay I will describe what a personal induction is and how it is composed then discuss the reasoning behind why they may be more effective for clients seeking change via hypnosis rather than using standard generic inductions. I will also look at some of the potential issues surrounding personal inductions before drawing a conclusion. But first we need to look in a bit more detail as to how they work and why they may be helpful in helping the client achieve their aim. It is has been stated that when we communicate with people only 7% of the communication is made up from the words we speak and the remaining 93% is made up of the tone and volume of the words (38%) and our body language (55%) (Chrysalis, Module 2). Although commonly quoted these figures are in fact quoted out of context from the original two limited experiments undertaken by Albert Mehrabian et al in 1967. If this were so then we should be able to understand someone communicating with us in a language we do not speak, which is not the case. However the three elements do pay a role in how we communicate with each other just not in the ratio outlined. As we know people are complex individuals. We view, make sense of and interact with the world around us all in slightly different ways. These differences are due to a number of internal and external processes that occur from the moment we enter the world and continue to develop, hopefully, until we leave it. External information from our environment reaches our brains via our 5 main senses, or sensual modalities. These are visual (sight), audio (hearing), kinaesthetic (feeling), olfactory (smell) and Gustatory (taste). This inflow of information from the five modalities is in turn monitored and filtered by the brain, most likely by our subconscious mind due to the volume of input, and anything that requires our attention is flagged up to the conscious mind so that we can take the necessary action/non-action required. I use the term non-action here to distinguish between something the subconscious mind views and flags as a threat that requires immediate action and something that on reassessed by the conscious mind, overridden no action required (e. g. being surprised by your son with a rubber snake! ). â€Å"The Psychology of Personal Constructs† (Kelly 1955), a theory of how personalities develop, describes how we may interpret reality through an internalised process called â€Å"constructs†, these are units of interpretation which serve as templates, or filters, for how we look at, and make sense of the world and how we can use these to predict future events. Some of these constructs may very well be intrinsic and hard wired into our subconscious from birth, like a fear of snakes or of heights which could be construed as common sense phobias and linked to our natural survival instincts. However most of the constructs that we use to make sense and judge the things around us, and our reactions to it, are developed over time as we learn to interact with our environment, and by our own experimentation, living in it. These internal constructs are shaped by external influences, our cultural up bringing, our language and by our past experiences. For example I have a fear (Not really a phobia! ) of going to the dentist, this is based on my early experiences as a child, before the introduction of the high speed drills and latest anaesthetics, being told it would not hurt. Then realising, during the actual procedure, I had been lied to and it did! It is these internal constructs, our likes and dislikes, our internal generalized assumptions and our prejudices, which develop differently within us over time so that each individual construes reality differently, even when placed in the same objective circumstances, that generate our view of the individual personality. Use of Modalities in Personalised Inductions Of the five sensual modalities mentioned earlier there are considered three main modalities (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic) and two subsidiary ones (olfactory and gustatory) and it is the three main modalities that are used for personalised inductions. Within the three main modalities each person will have one that is dominant or preferred and each individual’s preferred modality can be ascertained by careful, inconspicuous, observation and questioning of the client by the therapist during the sessions, taking note of the way they dress, the language they use (words and tone), their body language (the way they breath, their postures and gestures) and the work and pastimes they undertake. The inductions are constructed using wording and phrases that fit with the clients preferred modality. Some General Attributes of the Modalities 1. Visual People with a preference for this modality have good imaginations that allow them to fantasize and daydream whilst suspending the analytical/critical element of their mind. They like things to look nice, and be involved in things that involve seeing like art, photography, drawing, or films. They may like bright colours and be observant and creative. Clues that can be found in their choice of words are; look, see, appear, focus, imagine, references to bright colours or neatness. In phrases such as; â€Å"I see what you mean†, looks good to me†, It just goes to show†, â€Å"paint a picture†. They tend to speak faster as they think in images and pictures and in a high clear tone using shallow breathing. They hold their bodies upright and may have a thinner body type. 2. Auditory Auditory people listen internally to sounds and music, they are more logical in their thinking and tend to absorb sounds rather than sights around them. They are sensitive to any noise that is obtrusive to them and are unable to concentrate if sounds around them were not to their liking. They prefer work and pastimes that involve hearing, words or listening. Their choice of words may be; listen, hear, sound, say, discuss. In phrases such as; â€Å"I’m all ears†, â€Å"that sounds good†, â€Å"loud and clear†. They tend to speak in a melodious tone and at a pace between the visual and kinaesthetic person. Their breathing tends even to be centred in the middle of the chest They are good listeners and often will put their head to one side as they listen. 3. Kinaesthetic Kinaesthetic people tend to be empathetic. They are the ones who can â€Å"feel† a person’s emotions and can tune into moods quickly. Even if the person is displaying a smile a kinaesthetic person will be able to â€Å"feel† the hidden emotion if the smile is false. They tend to touch everything and will gladly ignore clutter if the place â€Å"feels† right as they simply don’t see it. Their choice of words may be; touch, solid, grasp, hard, cool, move In phrases such as; â€Å"I know how you feel†, â€Å"kick some ideas around†, â€Å"put you finger on it†. They may speak in a soft low tone with pauses in their speech. They may breathe deeply from their abdomens. They tend to have rounded shoulders and a more relaxed body posture. These are the three main modalities (Chrysalis, Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Year 1, and Module 2). However as the process of personality development is a dynamic one so the preferred modality will change over time. Especially where any therapeutic elements are engaged. Further Dimensions in Personalising Inductions There are four further dimensions which enhance the personalised induction. These are Permissive and Authoritarian inductions direct and indirect suggestions used within the inductions. Permissive Inductions These inductions are nurturing and non-judgemental in style and they are constructed so that the client has some control of the hypnotic process. The words used are softer and more caring and leave the client choice in the actions asked by the therapist. The client and the therapist are treated as equal partners. Comments like; â€Å"you may like to close your eyes†, â€Å"you might like to move around a little† bracketed with â€Å"that’s OK to do so† so giving choice and permission to the client. The clients most responsive to this will be those who are more imaginative and creative and do not dispute changed states of reality or ideas or those who have undertaken a few sessions of hypnosis already. This style is successful on people who are reaching goals like improving their behaviour or their working conditions. Authoritarian inductions Authoritarian inductions by contrast are commanding and direct. Their purpose is to establish control over the client. This technique was used in the early days of hypnosis as it was considered that the hypnotist would have greater success this way and is the classic view that a lay person would have of a hypnotherapist today (Hypnosis for Change, Hadley & Staudacher, 2001). Comments will be more direct; â€Å"Close your eyes†, â€Å"you will listen to my voice†, â€Å"I want you to relax†. This induction is best used on people that respond to authoritarian figures or on people that are new to the hypnotic process and expect this style from the hypnotist. This style is more successful on those who are seeking a specific target, losing weight or giving up smoking for example. Direct and Indirect Suggestions Direct suggestions are an obvious command or instruction to the client during the induction, â€Å"Now Close you eyes† and an indirect suggestion is also aimed at achieving a result but contains no commands. It maybe that in a moment or two, whenever you are ready, your eyes may wish to close.. † The use of direct or indirect suggestions will depend on the type of therapy that is being undertaken. Therapists generally believe that the indirect suggestions hold greater sway as they overcome any client resistance, this is a process where the client blocks the hypnotic process due to some form of anxiety. Indirect suggestions lend them selves to permissive i nductions. Direct suggestions lend themselves to authoritarian inductions. So now that we have an overview of the elements that aid the construction of a personalised induction. So how can they be helpful? As each client is an individual they expect to be treated as such. The therapist needs to quickly build rapport between them to engender trust and by explaining that the induction being used is tailored to them specifically shows a commitment by the therapist to the client. The initial assessment of the client may not produce enough observational evidence to use a genuine personalised script at first, so a generic one may do. However over a few appointments it should be possible to produce one that fits the clients preferred modality by careful observation of the client’s speech patterns or by a simple test (see appendix B for an example of a simple modality test – Successful NLP, Lazarus, 2010) and permissive or authoritarian view (Chrysalis, Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Year 1, and Module 2 pg 18 Client Assessment). However this course of action may be a laborious undertaking for little return and the therapist may get caught up in the process of producing a perfectly personalise induction at the expense of treating the client. Compounding Modalities Personalised inductions do not lend them selves well to A way of overcoming the requirement to tailor inductions would be to employ what is termed a compound induction. This induction uses words and phrases covering all modalities so that it will feel â€Å"Right† to the client from the beginning. The only adjustment required would to make this either permissive or authoritarian. There are situations where personalised inductions may not add any value. They can’t be used for group sessions for weight loss or giving up smoking for example. You also can't use them for recorded scripts or distribute them for others and they take up a lot of time in their production. Another issue with focussing on personalised inductions, is that they could imply that one's preferences and modalities are fixed. This is not the case. You might meet me for an initial consultation, presume the client is primarilly visual and inclined to prefer an authoritarian approach. However, the following weeks events could mean that next time you meet – after you've prepared your personalised induction – it is not at all appropriate or ffective. Conclusion We use personalised inductions because people are individuals and deserve to be treated as such. However, it it precisely because we recognise that people are individuals and dynamically unique, that we should realise that the initial consultation can't tell us everything we ever need to know about them. A personalised induction which is not dynamic can presume too much and pidgeonhole someone from the start with the therapist losing sight of the actual person. To the detrement of the client as they become just part of the process. I believe that the initial use of compound inductions would be more benificial to the client/therapist relationship and if these did not prove successful for the induction to be made more personal. So it is not a matter of which induction is more effective but how the induction envolves to meet the needs of both the client and the therapist to achieve a satisfactory theraputic outcome. References 1. Chrysalis, Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Year, Module 2, 1-2 07/2010. 2. Hadley, J & Staudacher, C, Hypnosis for Change, New Age Books, New Delhi, 2001. 3. Kelly, George The psychology of personal constructs. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1955 4. Lazarus, Jeremy, 2010, Successful NLP, Crimson Publishing, Richmond, Surrey, 2010 5. Mehrabian, Albert and Morton Wiener, â€Å"Decoding of inconsistent communications,† Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 6:109-114, 1967 6. Mehrabian, Albert and Susan R. Ferris, â€Å"Inference of attitudes from nonverbal communication in two channels,† Journal of Consulting Psychology 31:248-252. 1967. Appendix A – Preferred Representational System Questionnaire For each of the following statements please place a score next to every phrase using the following: 3 = next best description of your preference 2 = next best description after 3 above of your preference 1 = least likely description of your preference 1. Generally I make important decisions based on: 1. a__ which way looks best to me. 2. b__ which way sounds best to me 3. d__ my gut level feelings, what feels best to me 2. During a heated debate I am most likely to be influenced by: 1. b__ peoples’ tone of voice . a__ whether or not I can see the other person’s point of view 3. d__ how I feel about the topic 3. During a meeting I like information to be presented 1. a__ in a way that is neat and tidy, with pictures and diagrams 2. d__ in a way I can grasp and/or I can get a hands-on experience 3. b__ in the form of conversation so that we can discuss and I can ask questions 4. My favorite hobbies and pastimes typically involve 1. b__ listening to music, the radio or talk ing with people 2. __ watching films and other visual arts 3. d__ doing sport activities and generally moving about 5. I tend to resolve problems by 1. a__ looking at the situation all the alternatives possibly using diagrams 2. b__ talking through the situation with friends or colleagues 3. d__ trusting my intuition and gut felings 6. When with my friends 1. a__ I enjoy watching how they interact and behave 2. d__ I need to hug them, or sit close to them, when speaking to them 3. b__ I enjoy talking to them . I prefer to learn a particular aspect of a sport or activity by 1. a__ watching how the teacher or coach does it 2. d__ having the teacher or coach adjust my body into the right position 3. b__ listening to explanations, discussing and asking questions 8. When at a presentation I am most interested by 1. b__ the tone of voice and the way the presenter speaks 2. a__ the visual aids used by the presenter 3. c__ the opportunity to get to grips with the content, perhaps by actuall y doing an activity |a |b |c | |1 | | | | |2 | | | | |3 | | | | |4 | | | | |5 | | | | |6 | | | | |7 | | | | |8 | | | | |total |Visual=XX |Auditory=XX |Kinaesthetic=XX