Strategic management - C4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management - C4 - Essay Example functional disciplines (manufacturing, finance, marketing, human resources, R&D, etc) near the end of their academic program, but hardly thought of strategic management as a separate discipline or as a branch of business policy. With the publication of some books on corporate strategy, particularly that of Prof. Igor Ansoff, better awareness of the corporate environment developed as having sometimes critical impact on the organization and the results that it sought to achieve in a sometimes chaotic and turbulent environment. That the firm had to look towards expansion and diversification and that it could achieve synergy (â€Å"the whole is more than the sum of the the parts†) in some strategic decisions became quite obtrusive in the consciousness of many executives, particularly members of top management and corporate boards. Academicians and business writers began to talk about the environment and its impact on businesses in search of growth and expansion: the societal environment, the task environment, and the internal environment. (Buchholz, 1992). The societal environment consisted of the economic forces, the socio-cultural forces, the legal/political forces, and the technological forces, and some writers added the demographic forces and global forces. In addition, closer to the organization, there was the task environment, which comprised: the stockholders, customers, suppliers, workers/labor unions, governments and government regulatory agencies, creditors, competitors, trade associations, and the communities in which they operate. The balancing of the interests of the various stakeholders was important for the success of the organization. Finally, the internal environment, the organization itself with its structure, values, culture and resources, and the need to assess the organizational strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis the challenges posed by the broad societal environment. An organization in search of opportunities needed to perform environmental

CSC - Interim Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CSC - Interim Report - Assignment Example Customer service and care are a critical component of any successive business venture (Mcardle, 2008, p.81). In this regard, the Swire hotels have incorporated the aspect of quality customer service and care in the operation of all their hotels. Swire Hotels is a collection of three hotel brands including House Collection, East Lifestyle Hotels, and Chapter hotels. The House collection hotels are small but luxurious hotels within the umbrella of Swire Hotels. Environmental factors like social status, family situation, and cultural background, influence the buyer’s decision-making process, especially in Swire Hotels (XKhosrow-pour, 2013, p. 34). According to Kapoor, Paul and Halder (2011, p. 43), the cooperation and synergy among Swire employees, promotes quality customer service and care. The reliability of employees indicates the level of customer satisfaction. Swire Hotels have a comprehensive employee performance appraisal, especially on the element of customer service. The appraisal process establishes the reliable and unreliable employees (Gibson, 2012, 89). According to Humphrey (2011, p. 67), after sale service is also important because it encourages repeat purchases. The Swire Hotels provide a wide variety of meals. It provides customers with many choices of food. Consequently, customers are satisfied because their need is met. Additionally, the differentiation aspect in the promotion of Swire Hotel food is important for customers (Sherman, 2009, p. 83). The strategy creates a better perception among the Swire Hotels Customers. The spread of the Hotels also enables the preparation of unique types of foods in common in various parts of the world. Consequently, Sire Hotels accommodate almost every customer in the world. The monadic approach does not entail the internal aspects of a consumer like psychology. The strategy is used by the Hotel to evaluate and analyze the suitable marketing techniques.

Women and Crime in the 18th Century

Women and Crime in the 18th Century When women commit crimes, they do so in a manner appropriate to their sex. (Carol Smart) Discuss the accuracy of this statement with reference to the Eighteenth Century period. Criminologists agree that the gender gap in crime is universal: Women are always and everywhere less likely  than men to commit criminal acts. Throughout the ages and with very few exceptions, crime, and especially the more unspeakably vicious and violent acts, have always been seen to be, in the most part, the domain of the male. Rapes, murders and brutal assault were seen as masculine misdemeanours, and much evidence is available to show that the more serious crimes were mainly undertaken by males, The majority of British convicts marked for transportation were native Englishmen sentenced in English courts, and women only really topped crime figures when it came to prostitution. Women as a gender were widely considered not to be capable of the ferocity or deep-seated evil of men. After all, in eighteenth century patriarchal society, they were widely seen as demure, submissive creatures. True, some had fallen on the wrong side of the tracks and had become petty thieves or whores, but a common contemporary conception seemed to exist that women were pretty much incapable of malice. Indeed, there is a strong argument to suggest such views were based on classical ideologies. Men and women were perceived to have totally different physical make-ups and possess fundamentally different positive and negative qualities, and in general have a more direct and physical outlook on life. Men were prone to violence, obstinacy, and selfishness, while womens sins were viewed as the result of their tendency to be ruled by their bodies and their emotions, notably lust. This was also perceived when it came to women within crime. Female deviance was seen as primarily one of sexual immorality and as such, a blight on the moral fabric of society rather than direct malice against one individual. They were sent to be involved in shameful, dirty pursuits rather than direct violent crimes, and so the statistics seemed to prove. Women accounted for only 27% of the defendants tried between 1674 and 1834. Indeed, they were generally seen by society as by far the less threatening of the sex es. However, it is not really surprising that this is the case, and in my view, reflected on the actual position of women in eighteenth century society as well as the perceptions that went with them. After all, women were much less likely to be involved in manual labour, and so generally were not involved with the testosterone fuelled atmosphere of workplaces and alehouses, and had no easy access to blunt weapons such as axes, spades and picks which could be escalated to a fatal purpose very easily if a spontaneous fight or argument was to break out amongst the labourers. Coupled with this, the female sphere of society, as the section of society statistically involved in less serious crimes, were only rarely dragged through the court as at this time as only a small fraction of crimes were actually prosecuted. In fact, court proceedings in the eighteenth century were somewhat biased towards females, in that juries may have been more reluctant to convict women since female crime was perceived as less threatening than that committed by men. Indeed, instances of courts going to great lengths to try to and cover up the fact that women could also be morally abhorrent, seem to be in evidence. For example, during the trial of Mary Price in 1718, although the woman in question pleaded guilty to strangling a young girl with a leather strap, a surprised court advised her that it would permit her to withdraw her Plea but she still persisted to plead Guilty. The Court then told her she would do well to consider what she did, for perhaps if she pleaded Not Guilty, [the crime] might not be provd upon her. As it turned out, she stuck with her initial answer, kept her plea guilty and eventually received sentence of death, but this case seems to show a clear attitude of a court who found it extremely difficult to see the viability of violent women. Despite her plea of guilt, frankly terrible crime of strangling a girl and willingness to pay the price of it, it almost seems that she was attempted to be talked round a hanging. Indeed, as well as this, there was even a legal principle called feme covert, which, although historically not called upon particularly often, was sometimes used to exonerate married women who committed crimes in the presence of their husbands, the rationale being that the ladies were presumed to be following their superior spouses commands However, whatever the statistics may say, the notion that women were guilty only of petty theft and prostitution suffers not only with some particularly bloodthirsty anomalies, but also a number of instances of infanticide and total neglect of young children that goes someway to prove the eighteenth century view of non malicious women as quite outdated. Infanticide was seen as the most common form of murder early in the seventeenth century and even upto the early nineteenth century, writers continued to believe that it was a common occurrence and there seems little doubt of its prevalence in the Eighteenth Century. For example, the following case of incredible cruelty took place, and despite the fact that the record seems to suggest guilt, the defendant was exonerated. Mary Tudor, of the Parish of Saint Andrews Holborn, was indicted for the Murther of her Female Infant Bastard, on the 18th of January last, by throwing the same into a House of Office, whereby it was choaked and strangled. She called a Witness to prove that she was Married, and that the Child was no Bastard. Indeed, infanticide coroners tended only to reach a guilty verdict only in the most obvious cases of infanticide and overlaying (the smothering of children), poisoning and general fatal neglect rarely led to a conviction, being very hard to prove. For example, another case in point, that of Elizabeth Cole, displayed an extremely heartless destruction of a child but, due to extenuating circumstances (including the fact that she danced about the room!) led to her being pronounced not guilty. Indicted for the Murder of her Female Infant aged 3 Years, by throwing of her into the River of Thames, on the 9th of January last. It was provd plainly that the Prisoner had such a Child but in her Defence it appeard plain that she had for a considerable time been under a great trouble of Mind, and particularly when she lay In three Months ago, would rise out of her Bed and Dance about the Room Of course, it must be considered that these women may have been under tremendous social, financial or peer group pressure to somehow dispose of these children, but despite the 18th Century Not Guilty verdict, it is hard, despite the hugely different social contexts of contemporary morals and those of the 1700s, to find these acts anything other than terrible admissions of cold blooded human murder. Indeed, although these are merely two examples, it seems that many other such acts did take place, and really must encourage the Historian to question the idea that women were as innocent of violent crimes as popular belief and statistics of the time suggested them to be. Hundreds of surviving records of infanticide are testament to some of the outrageous cruelty that took place the hands of eighteenth century women who slaughtered their own flesh and blood. However, infanticide was not the only form of cruelty that took place, and as well as the rather shocking examples of murdering ones own children that perpetuated the legal catalogue of the eighteenth century, other direct murderous crimes were also attached to certain infamous women of crime in this period, proving them to be very much as vicious and bloodthirsty as their men folk. One such example was the case of Catherine Hayes who, in 1726, was reported to have orchestrated the gruesome murder of her husband through two accomplices. Billins broke his scull as he lay on the bed with an ax, and knockd out his brains, which causing a great effusion of blood, the good woman advisd to cut the head off, which was done accordingly; she afterwards brought them a box to put the body in. She was later hung and burnt and caused somewhat of an uproar, one newspaper interestingly describing the incident as an unheard-of murder of her husband, suggestingthat the presence of a woman in such an incident really was a distinct shock to English society of the time. Indeed, no one can dispute that murders by women were distinctly less than those of males, as this shock would suggest, but records of malicious ladies seem to be easy to find. Indeed, Catherine Hayess misadventure was certainly not an isolated incident. Another case talks of a Mistress severely whipping, burning (with a red-hot poker) and beating her maidservant with a hammer for allegedly stealing a shilling, while another lady was burnt at the stake for stabbing her husband in the groin with a particularly large carving knife. Still worse was the case of the two Sarah Metyards (mother and daughter) who beat, locked away and eventually starved to death a thirteen year old girl, seemingly through nothing more than sadistic reasoning, as the following testament from another girl in the mothers service seems to testify. The mother was present, and she held the girl by the head while the daughter beat her; the mother was in bed, and the girl upon it: then she was carried up stairs, and tied to a two pair of stairs back room door, by the daughter, the string went round her waist, and her hands were tied behind her; she could neither sit nor lie down. But despite all these obvious cases, and indeed, there are many more, why was such a popular view of woman as occasional sexual/petty thief criminals but nothing more, held as such a society definite? Rates of murderous infanticide seemed be relatively high and although criminals seem to have been in the majority male, how can Carol Smarts statement at all be credited when it seems to be flying in the face of such compelling evidence, as even in this brief essay cases of violence, torture, and outlandish cruelty have been discussed. Perhaps these really are isolated cases, but the answer I find more satisfactory is that, especially in the eighteenth century, society demanded that its gender roles dictated that women could be guilty of sexual disgraces and often petty theft (with which to pay for their childrens upkeep or fashions) and that nasty, violent acts were either covered up, treated as madness, or perceived by society as very much a freak case. Of course, coupled with this, the Eighteenth Centuries most famous female criminals were involved in prostitution; Moll Harvey, Moll Freeman and the notorious Mother Needham all received reasonable press coverage and mild infamy when they were caught and presumably set the acceptable tone for the extent of female crime in the age. The house lately inhabited by Elizabeth Needham, commony calld Mother Needham, a notorious lewd prostitute and procuress. Although, the fact that these women dominated popular concept of womens crime cannot justify the short-sighted view that when women commit crimes they do so in a manner to their sex. Indeed, in conclusion, I would state that Carol Smarts statement, while containing a modicum of truth and having statistic advantage on its side, is however hopelessly over generalized and cannot be credited in terms of true historic accuracy. Yes, in terms of eighteenth centurys general moral conciseness, women were far more likely to commit crimes like prostitution and petty theft, but I would argue that this was down primarily to their social position and role in society rather than any particular difference in character as she seems to suggest. As the many cases of infanticide and the chilling acts of murder and torture in this essay suggest, women were certainly capable of anger, cruelty and malice and the eighteenth century view of the female gender as a somehow weaker, submissive sex who could not rise to murderous anger is simply outmoded and very much a product of the time that could not be justified by the actual evidence. Of course, as my initial quote shows, males statistically are involved in more crime than females. But this does not mean that the female gender is without malice. BIBLIOGRAPHY Darrell Steffensmeier; Emilie Allan Gender and Crime: Toward a GenderedTheory of Female Offending (Annual Review of Sociology : 1996)

The Life of Billy Pilgrim in Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five or The Chil

The Life of Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marked by two world wars and the anxiety that accompanies humanity's knowledge of the ability to destroy itself, the Twentieth Century has produced literature that attempts to depict the plight of the modern man living in a modern waste land. If this sounds dismal and bleak, it is. And that is precisely why the dark humor of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. shines through our post-modern age. The devastating bombing of Dresden, Germany at the close of World War II is the subject of Vonnegut's most highly acclaimed work, Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death. Vonnegut's experience as an American POW in Dresden fuels the narrative that unconventionally defines his generation through the life and death of Billy Pilgrim. The survival of Billy Pilgrim at Dresden and his re-entry to the shell-shocked world reveal a modern day journey of the anti-hero. Vonnegut's unusual style and black satire provide a refreshing backdrop for a vehement anti-war theme and enhance his adept ability to depict the face of humanity complete with all of its beauty and blemishes. Likewise, Vonnegut adds his own philosophy concerning time, our place in it, and connection (or disconnection) to it and one other. Perhaps the most crucial step in understanding this intriguing work is to start with its title, which holds the key to Vonnegut's most prevailing theme.    Vonnegut addresses the writing of his work about the bombing of Dresden in the first chapter, detailing the stress he felt when faced with such a laborious task. The carnage of Dresden does not haunt those who were not there. The combined efforts of the A... ...dons the glimmer of hope that accompanies the fact that life has its moments of grandeur. He encourages the modern reader to escape the question "why me" and urges us to embrace a philosophy that consistently reminds us that even in the midst of the most cruel (and the most celebrated) events, humanity retains all of its virtue and vice. So it goes. Vonnegut allows us to laugh out loud, despite the tragedies of war and the anxiety of the post-modern world. His picture of the modern man is simultaneously dismal and hopeful. His unique style, satiric overview and astute ability to capture the multiple faces of mankind, properly place him in the realm of the most accomplished authors of the Twentieth Century.    Works Cited Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A duty Dance with Death. New York; Random House, 1969.   

The Rise and Fall of Worldcom

Shaghayegh Davari * Wan-Ting Shao * Ananya Chandra * Niteesh Chinta * Shraddha Rane * Swathi Punreddy The Rise and fall of WorldCom This case study WorldCom is a telecommunications company which was led by CEO, Bernard Ebbers, and CFO, Scott Sullivan. In 1999, WorldCom was not meeting Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations, and it appeared that the coming year would produce more bad news. The CFO argued for setting realistic targets. However, the CEO insisted that the company needed double digit growth, and pushed for aggressive targets.A great deal of focus was not putting on â€Å"team work† and being a strong â€Å"team player†, which is said to have been a strategy to reduce dissenting opinions, eventually leading the organization not to follow a â€Å"groupthink† attitude. There is limited evidence to suggest appropriate review financial reporting controls were being reviewed independently and there was a lack of stringent monitoring of the i nternal control system and therefore the quality of the controls around the posting of journal entries to the general ledger was identified as a weak control.The Bernie Ebbers and Scott Sullivan where the leader of the company and influence of their leaderships over their followers which were the subordinates refer to their power and is relied on three bases, coercing power, legitimate power, and information power. Leadership powers can be used by themselves or combined so that the leader has maximum influence. The leader will therefore need to think carefully about which power to use which in this case was not used in a way that at last resulted in decrease which was company’s bankruptcy.Firstly, the main relevant theory in use by these managers for leading company was coercive power, they showed their ability to apply punishment to subordinates and it is originating from the manager’s position and controlling co-worker‘s behavior by forcing them to do whatever is not coming right to their believe. However, good leaders use coercive power only when in the last sort since coercive power can performance in the short term. Coercive power relies on threaten and will backfire badly if used as the only base for using influence.In this case, the employees were publicly berated and intimidated for questioning managers’ decisions and further information. Secondly, the legitimate power by the leaders is used to some extent in this case. It was written in co-worker’s minds that the leaders have right to instruct them and that they have an obligations to follow whatever instructions the leader are providing them and there is no need for whatever is not being provided to them.Legitimate power comes from the authority of the company’s position which can request certain behaviors of others. Ebbers indicated as personal charisma power which could be named as †divine power† and made the board of directors think that he know s the way and the answers and could nurture or guide them; therefore, by producing passive board, rubber-stamped most of his recommendations. Finally, the managers in this case also relies on the information power.Information Management is an emerging field that is concerned with information; the infrastructure used to collect, store and deliver it; and the organizational and social contexts in which it exists. But these two managers did not deploy the information power as a competitive tool because there was no efficient and effective deployment of the resources of the company. However, while you can’t control anyone (except perhaps yourself), you can influence nearly everyone. This is the essence of true leadership.By this definition, Ebbers and Sullivan were great leaders in. One of the tactics influenced in this case involves actively applying legitimate and coercive power by even managers or subordinates usually form a group and tried to influence others by using threats of sanctions to force compliance, threaten, and apply punishment if the subordinates does not comply with the requests. Information control is simultaneously an influence for this case which is linked intimately with influence and power.The managers in this case hold lots of information without telling any of their employees and limited subordinates to have access to valuable information and make them stay in dark about work issue. Assertive might be called â€Å"vocal authority† which was another influence. Using the managers’ positions of power and so as to despise and control the employees will cause a lot of problem and damage of respect over the long term.However, the employees from the WorldCom quoted events that they were denounced for asking about any decisions or asking for information. In this case the managers did not use organizational politics in terms of behavior of interest groups to use power to influence decision making. They both focused on the self- serving and organizationally non sanctioned nature of individual behavior in organization. The most important tactic was developing strong allies and forming power coalitions, and associating with these two managers in their business.They consider threat available in organization settings, it seems quite reasonable to expect that people will find it advantageous to manage the impressions that others form of them, even in situation which subordinates feel that the outcome is failing. In this case almost all the executives and staff identified information as a political tool which is depending on the managers and it comes that the purpose of this tactic may be to burry or obscure an important details the political actors of the company which were these two managers believe that could harm them, when the risk of withholding information is too great.

Carbene Addition Lab

Synthesis of 7, 7- dichloronorcarane in Carbon Addition Reaction CHM 337 | Dr. Pettit Abstract: A solution of cyclohexene, aqueous sodium hydroxide, and benzyltriethylammonium was used to synthesize 7,7 – dichloronorcarane by the following reaction: + CHCl3 + OH – H2O + + Cl – After completion of the experiment, the percent recovery was calculated to be 46. 21% Introduction The purpose of this experiment was to form 7,7-dichloronorcarane by means of carbene trapping.Cyclohexene, aqueous sodium hydroxide, and benzyltriethylammonium chloride were used to synthesize 7,7 – dichloronorcarane by the following reaction: + CHCl3 + OH- H2O + + Cl- In order to carry out this reaction in reasonable time, a two phase reaction was used, avoiding the lengthy requirements to carry out the experiment as a single phase reaction, as well as the risk of undesirable products due to the presence of water. The components of the two stage reaction were as follows: An organic pha se containing the alkene and CHCl2; and an aqueous phase containing the base OH –.Since the reactants, CHCl2 and OH – would separate into different phases, benzyltriethylammonium chloride was added as a phase-transfer catalyst. Because the benzyltriethylammonium chloride has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, it could cross the phase boundary and facilitated the transport of the hydroxide ion from the aqueous phase to the organic phase. Expected spectral changes in IR and 13C-NMR Procedure To begin, 0. 324g of cyclohexene was mixed with 1 ml of 50% aqueous sodium hydroxide, 1ml of chloroform and 0. 040g of the phase transfer catalyst benzyltriethylammonium chloride.The reaction was stirred and heated at 40 degrees Celsius for an hour before extracting the 7,7 dichloronorcarane through 2 methyl chloride extraction processes (1ml methylene chloride). The product was then air dried until no more liquid would evaporate, and weighed giving a percent recovery of 43 %. The substance was then used to conduct an IR and 13C-NMR spectra test giving the results. Results and Calculations Calculating moles of cyclohexene (81g cyclohexene/1ml) * (0. 40ml cyclohexene) = 0. 324g cyclohexene 0. 324g cyclohexene*(1mol cyclohexene/82. g cyclohexene) = 3. 95 * 10^-3 mol cyclohexene Calculating moles of chloroform 1. 49g/ml chloroform * 1ml of chloroform = 1. 49g of chloroform 1. 49g of chloroform * (1mol of chloroform/119. 4g chloroform)= 1. 25 * 10^-2 moles chloroform. Calculating moles of benzyltriethylammonium chloride (1. 08g benzyltriethylammonium chloride/ml) * 0. 040ml of benzyltriethylammonium chloride = 0. 0432 grams benzyltriethylammonium chloride * 1mol/227.8g benzyltriethylammonium chloride = 1. 896 * 10^-4 moles benzyltriethylammonium chloride Finding the limiting reagent CHCl3 +OH- H2O + Cl- (balanced as is with catalyst in rxn) 3. 95 * 10^-3 mol cyclohexene 1. 25 * 10^-2 moles chloroform 0. 058 moles of sodium hydroxide * Cyclohexane has the l owest amount on reactant side and is the limiting reagent. Amount of 7,7 dichloronorcarane= 3. 95*10^-3 moles * 165. 06g 7,7dichloronorcarane/mol= 0. 652g 7,7 dichloronorcarane theoretical yield Experimental yield of dichloronorcarane= test tube with – test tube without (27. 159grams – 26. 890grams)= 0. 269grams dichloronorcarane Percent recovery (Actual mass yield/ theoretical mass yield) * 100%= percent recovery (0. 69grams/0. 652grams) *100%= 41. 26% yield recovery Formation of 7,7 dichloronorcarane + CHCl3 + OH- H2O + Cl – Discussion and Conclusions Discussion Topics and Questions a. Compare IR and 13C-NMR spectra of cyclohexene and 7,7-dichloronorcarane and point out changes in IR vibrational frequencies and 13C-NMR resonances that support the formation of 7,7-dicholoronorcarane. Be sure to identify the C-H stretch of the cyclopropane ring hydrogens. b. Why did you need to stir the mixture vigorously during the reaction?Since the reactants are in different phases, stirring vigorously allowed the catalyst to transfer a hydroxide ion from the aqueous phase to the organic phase, allowing the reaction to proceed as desired. c. Why did you wash the organic phase with saturated sodium chloride solution? The saturated sodium chloride was important for the removal of water. If the water was not removed from solution, it could react and create undesirable reactions, such as those described in Pavia: (4) (5) d. Describe two chemical tests and the visual results that would indicate whether cyclohexene is present or absent.Bromine in methylene chloride – If the addition of bromide (red liquid) results in a colorless solution, cyclohexene is present. Potassium Permanganate (Baeyer test) – This reaction depends on the color change from purple MnO4- ion into a brown precipitate of MnO2 e. Draw the structures of the products that you would expect from the reactions of cis and trans-2-butene. Be sure to comment on the stereochemistry of the products (enantiomers and meso forms). f. Provide a mechanism for the formation of the following products of a carbine addition reaction

Value of School Task Achievement

Value of School Task Achievement Client Description and the problem being worked on I am a worker in a given school. While here, I am charged with the responsibility of dealing with a client to ensure that everything around him is in order.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Value of School Task Achievement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The client I work with is a student named Austin. He belongs to a family and my dealing with him borders on the family too. The family comprises of Ms Pabisz, her son Austin, and Austin’s grandparents. Austin’s grandmother stays with Austin’s parents after she is ill. His grandfather is also ailing, and is at the hospital. Austin is at school. The problem am working on is that affecting Austin. First and foremost, it is Austin’s health challenges. More than one year down the line, he was diagnosed with Lyme and has been a number of medications to treat the same. One form of medi cation is the family therapy of which Austin has declined to attend. He believes that the therapy is not of help to him. The second problem is the health issue of Austin’s grandparents’ state of health and how it affects the student. This has particularly to do with the communication between Austin and his grandfather. The grandfather has been hospitalized for quite some time now, and this really worries Austin. He is not certain of his state of health. He is not able to visit the grandfather, let alone communicate with him. Third, there is the problem of Austin’s academic performance. He’s reported to have missed assignments and other exercises. Goals mutually agreed on between the worker and the client and tasks to be performed to reach these goals After receiving information regarding these issues from Austin’s mom, I decided to communicate the same to Austin and we had to come up with goals on how these problems were to be tackled. The goals we re three-fold: improving communication between Austin and his grandfather, looking for a remedy on Austin’s own health issue and improving his academic progress. The first goal is to enhance communication between Austin and his grandfather. The remedy to this problem would better be understood from the psychological effect that the grandfather’s sicknesses, and his overstaying at the hospital, have on Austin.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After I asked Austin about his feeling regarding what his mother’s and grandmother’s sentiments on the grandfather’s state of health and long stay at the hospital, he was not comfortable with what they said. Besides, he did not like thinking about the grandfather passing away. The best way was to look for a better way of improving communication between the two. Since the mother could mak e it to the hospital, sending a letter through her from Austin could be great. We mutually agreed that Austin was to write a letter, expressing his feelings to the grandfather regarding his state of health. Also, to be included in the letter were aspects of the great moments they had shared together previously. The letter was to be delivered by Austin’s mom who could then read it to the grandfather. On the other hand, it was suggested that the letter be left beside the grandfather’s bed. This was to keep the information in it confidential between Austin and his grandfather. Putting together such thoughts of great moments previously shared together could be easily achieved if one had a journal, to record the same from day to day. This approach was suggested to Austin and he promised to start keeping the journal. The second goal was to look for a solution regarding Austin’s own health issue. Apparently, health issues of Austin’s grandparents and what was sa id about his grandfather’s issue affected Austin’s health, with time. He had also been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Consequently, a family therapeutic remedy had been introduced but Austin had stopped attending to the same. Since the grandfather’s health was not improving, Austin’s health was not getting any better. To deal with this issue, Austin agreed to give the family therapy a second chance since his parents were still attending to it. In addition to this, Austin reported that he had been using an anti-depressant for more than one year ago. He also reported that the dosage for the anti-depressant Zoloft had been increased within the past six months. He thought that the anti-depressant could continue being of help too.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Value of School Task Achievement specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, this was not coordinated with his mother. Third, improving Austin’s academic performance will require that he be referred to the student assistance team, as suggested by the school authority. How the tasks are related to the clients’ problem Using a letter to communicate between Austin and his grandfather will bridge the communication gap that has existed between the two, for a while. It will also enable Austin to express his heartfelt feelings and concerns through words, to his grandfather. This might be a good relief to him especially if he gets the grandfather’s feedback, as a reply to the letter. On the other hand, using family therapy will go a long way to help Austin improve from the stress obtained from his ailing grandfather’s issue. Research has shown that family therapy produces a positive outcome in relationships and other family issues (Rasheed, Marley Rasheed, 2010, p. 471). Also, use of the antidepressant may be effective especially if used in doses that are below the normal ones. There c an be a gradual increase of dosing, the way Austin suggests he did (Leonard, 1997, p. 959). However, other studies show that use of antidepressants, over time, may affect the immune system (Bransfield, 2004). Task Achievement Scale TASK RATING (ON 4 POINT RATING SCALE) Family therapy 4 Leaving Austin’s letter at the grandfather’s bedside 4 Ms Pabisz reading Austin’s letter to grandfather 3 Keeping a journal 3 Use of antidepressant 1 Referring Austin to the student assistance team 3 Task Implementation Sequence From the above task achievement rating, the tasks that are likely to be effective in solving the client’s problems include family therapy, Austin writing a letter so that the mother can take it to the hospital and leave it at his bedside, keeping a journal detailing the great moments they have shared together, and referring his academic issue. The mother reading the letter to the grandfather may be a great thing to him but may not be very comfortable with Austin due to confidentiality intended. The use of antidepressant may not be very effective in treating Austin’s Lyme condition.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Steps Enhance the client’s commitment to carry out tasks To ensure that Austin jots down a letter that will create a positive impact between his interaction and the grandfather, he will be required to prepare a journal. He will be required to show me a journal after every three days of the week for evaluation. He will then be required to write the letter after two weeks which I will go through before submitting it to the mother. Plan the details of carrying out tasks The above tasks require a clear cut plan. I will need to sit down with Austin and agree with him on the schedule required to accomplish the tasks. After looking at his time schedule, it will be paramount to design a plan for all the five tasks and the time when each should be executed. Analyse and resolve obstacles Accomplishing the tasks may be challenging at one point or another. For example, since Austin’s mother will take the letter alone, we may not know how she will decide to present it to the grandf ather. This issue will be addressed by telling her the need to let him read it on his own and that doing otherwise will only stress her son. Another challenge is that of ensuring that Austin attends the family therapy. After seating down with him, I will request him to choose two specific days in a week, during which he will commit himself to the therapy. We will also arrange to be giving me feedback on the same on a weekly basis. Third, there’s the challenge of Austin continuing with the anti-depressant use. This will be tackled by telling him the long term side-effects of its use and insisting on the use of family therapy. I will also communicate with his mother and suggest the use of another form of treatment for his Lyme disease. Rehearse or practise behaviours involved in tasks First, Austin will be required to hand in the letter to me, before it is send to the grandfather. Second, before going for any therapy session, I will encourage Austin on its significance and how it’s likely to improve the situation. Summary of the task plan Making a detailed plan to carry out the tasks Keeping a journal Monitoring attendance of family therapy Writing a letter to the grandfather Giving the letter to Austin’s mother -Referring Austin to the student assistance team Reference list Bransfield, R.C. (2004). Lyme, Depression, Suicide. Web. Leonard, B. (1997). Chronic fatigue syndrome: Information for physicians. NY: DIANE Publishing. Rasheed, J.M., Marley, J.A., Rasheed, M.N., (2010). Family Therapy: Models and techniques. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications Inc.