Organizational Structure Impact on Employee Attitude

Organizational Structure Impact on Employee Attitude 1 INTRODUCTION The problem with all major organisations and even small businesses are the organisational structure they use and work with. How limited the resources are and even how employees are ranked and how they should work in teams and in what type of relationship they can work with the other employees. The study of how employees react towards these structures and how they perform under these structures can show how important it really is for organisations to implement the correct structure for there specific environment the organisation is working in. When looking at factors such as the organisational structures itself, employee performance and attitudes, productivity, the factors influencing the structures, decentralisation and centralisation, one can identify if there is any relationship between the structures chosen and employees performance and attitudes. Employees attitudes and performance has an impact on how the organisation performs, and if every employees work is done correctly and if employees enjoy their working conditions. Now if a organisational structure has an influence on the performance and attitude of employees organisations should study these problems and make use of new structures to improve employees, to give them a productive and innovative working team to achieve the competitive edge and advantage. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Can organisational structure have an impact on employee attitude and performance? And why? Organisations strive to be the best competitor in the environment they are competing in, now if the structure they are using can have an influence on how employees are productive, they should examine this fact, productivity must be high for any organisation to achieve the competitive advantage. But if low can take the organisation down the drain. The organisational structure is the way of doing business, how each change is implemented and how each job description is made, how the communication of the organisation will work and the strategic plan to improve productivity. If one then take the elements of an organisational structure and examine them to see if it can make a difference in how work is done and managed. These elements are decentralisation, centralisation and levels of management, and these elements are the main foundation of any organisational structure. But how can the structure have an influence on the attitude and performance of employees? Peter Christensen has identified the main objective in the study of employees relationship with organisational structure. He said that Maslows theory of needs identifies the security and safety needs, and is safe to say that all employees who had security and safety in their working environment will have a positive reaction towards the management and organisational structure if coordinated correctly. How do we give employees security and safety in a working environment, one work on the attitude and performance of each employee. By examining this problem and illuminate it from working conditions one ca n have a structure that helps employees react better and work faster and harder. The main objective of the study is to identify and examine if this is true and why it is true (Wohner 2011). 3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE DEFINED Organisational structures is the coordination of a specific organisations individuals and team work. If an organisation coordinates the individuals work they can achieve all goals and objectives set. A organisational structure is one of few tools an organisation can use to coordinate and manage all employees, because of the way it shows the different reporting relationships, cut out the middleman in the communication structure and identifies the employees actions and how they come together. All types of organisations can use structures, some differ from others but all structures have some advantages and disadvantages. Even though an organisation has the best structure it is not something the organisation should leave and not manage, some of the best structures have failed because of a lack of management and it is not the best suitable structure for the environment the organisation does business in (Carpenter, Bauer Erdogan 2009). 4 EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE DEFINED Employee performance is a set of standards set out for each employees behaviour in his or her working environment. The specific criteria not only focuses on how the employee makes use of his time, by doing his work, but can be compared by some standards set out by the employer (Moore 2011). 5 EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE DEFINED Attitude is a set beliefs, values and feelings to make a person act in the way they do. But if used in the context of employee attitude, there is a bigger picture to the word attitude. There is several elements of employee attitude: If a employee is interested in the job/work they are doing. If the employee doesnt need to be supervised. If the employee can plan ahead. If the employee has a positive outlook on the environment. If the employee is contributing towards other work. (Clark 2011). 6 PRODUCTIVITY DEFINED Productivity can be defined as the overall output of goods or services produced divided by the inputs needed to generate that output. (Robbins Coulter 2003: 527). Some factors which can have a impact on productivity is: employee attitude, the owner (boss), health, working environment, working equipment, outsourcing and downsizing. 7 TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE VS NEW MODERN STRUCTURES By examining an organisations structure one can identify one of two management styles, these management styles indicate how the organisation is run and if employees perform better or worse. The two main styles are: A hierarchical management structures (traditional structure). A flatter and more open humanistic management structures (New modern structure). (Organisation Structure: the two main types 2011). 7.1 The traditional organisational structure Traditional organisational structures most common fact is that it shows the boundary between the management level and the lower levels (normal working employees). The only reason for this boundary is to show that management is first on the hierarchy and that all decisions has to be made by them. Whereas employees are seen as bottom dwellers and they are unimportant in their working environment, this however gives the management more stress and has an impact on the training and motivation for the rest of the employees. There then follows a reaction on employee attitude and how the employees act towards management. The traditional structure has two levels: Level one: Managers The three levels inside the first levels are: 1.1 Top management 1.2 Middle management 1.3 Lower management Level two: Employees This type of structure is very ancient and research shows that humans has used it from the start of humanity. However the structure is common it has some advantages and is most used if a group has to work together to find solutions for problems. This type of management style is used in armed forces and is also known as the military management style (Organisation Structure: the two main types 2011). 7.2 The modern organisational structure The main difference between the new structures and the traditional structures is that there is no clear boundary between employee and management in the new structure, but as stated there is some boundaries in the traditional ones. This type of structure is more flatter and open and employees and management can be seen as equal persons aiming for the same goal. This gives employees the right to use their creativity and receives rewards for the work they have done. Rewards = satisfied employees = positive employee attitude = higher productivity. Some aspects of modern structures are: Individuals and teams who can manage themselves. Employees become multi skilled. Training investments increase. Few status distinctions. More goals are achieved. Employee security is higher. Outsourcing becomes more flexible. A more stable structure. (Organisation Structure: the two main types 2011). 8 TYPES OF MODERN ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES The six main organisational structures: Functional Organisational Structure Geographic Organisational Structure Product Organisational Structure User/Market Organisational Structure Hybrid Organisational StructureÂÂ   Matrix Organisational Structure (Ledbetter 2003). 9 PROBLEMS WITH ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES Organisational structures can never show all of the links involved in the organisation. Communicating with other employees on different levels. Department conflict. Quality problems. The time it takes on developing products takes longer. Customer demands become to high for certain levels. (Liebowitz Associates 2008). Some organisations find it difficult to respond (Organisation Structure: the two main types 2011). 10 THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF STRUCTURE USED The size of the organisation: some companies will have a more intense chain of command and more levels in the hierarchy structure. How well the employees are skilled: a Matrix structure will be preferred if the company has a high level of skilled workers. The style of leadership preferred: if owners wish to keep control they will use a narrow structure and some who wants employees to make own decisions will use a more wider structure. Type of objectives set for the organisation: if companies want to grow faster they will need a wide structure. External factors:ÂÂ  if the world or country is in recession the organisation will need to cut some of the employees and change the structure from wide to narrow or make it more flatter. Technological changes:ÂÂ  the development of administrative systems disables the layer of administration and the company will remove some of the employees in the category. When organisations choose a structure they should be careful, the wrong structure can have huge impacts on the communication, costs, how decisions are made, and in motivating employees. This has the same effect on the employees attitudes towards the structure and will end up in having lower productivity (Organisational structures 2009). 11 DECENTRALIZED AND CENTRALIZED ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES Centralisation Decentralization 11.1 Description of centralization and decentralization Centralisation: more important decisions are made at the higher levels of the structures. Decentralization: many decisions are made at lower levels, this gives employees the motivation to be creative and be innovative, and solve the problems in their own sectors. (Carpenter, Bauer Erdogan 2009). 11.2 Centralisation Definition: Centralisation is a process in which the decision making is assigned to the different higher levels of the structure. Centralisation keeps employees from the knowledge and information, when an organisation uses only top management to make decisions they take away the creativity of employees and only tell employees what to do. What happens to employees when they arent motivated and self manageable, they cant solve problems on their own, if top management is to slow for the decision making process. Centralisation has a broad span of control in top levels and more tiers in the structure of the organisation (Centralization and decentralization 2011). 11.3 Decentralization Definition: It is a process where lower levels of the organisation has decision making privileges. Decentralization is the movement of decision making to some of the other department of the organisation, these departments can be the branches, other divisions and some of the subcontractors. If given all employees the right to make decisions, it gives the organisation more creativity, knowledge and ideas to work with. Employees are given more authority and can improve their attitudes if they fell wanted in the organisation. The structures span of control is smaller and more levels are given. (Centralization and decentralization 2011). 11.4 The three forms of decentralization Deconcentration: this is the lowest level of decentralisation and decisions are made by lower levels of the organisation. Delegation: Is a more advanced system of decentralisation, the decisions are made by lower levels but they have more authority in the organisation. Devolution: this type of decentralisation only uses autonomous organisational units when making decisions. (Centralization and decentralization 2011). 11.5 Strengths of centralisation Organisational change is made by the top levels and uses the vision of the leaders. The decision making process is strong and based on the visions of the higher management. The execution of the decisions made, is fast and coordinated and are able to respond much faster in with some of the major problems. Conflict is restricted, this is because only higher management can make decisions and everyone has to do what is expected from them. (Centralization and decentralization 2011). 11.6 Strengths of decentralisation Decentralisation focuses more on bottom-up decision making, culture of the organisations employees and of the organisational culture and the training of employees. The decision making process is more detailed and democratic. The execution of decisions is more emergent and flexible to change. (Centralization and decentralization 2011). 12 HOW ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE IS AFFECTED BY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE From small business ownerships to bigger organisations wants better performance in all their levels, from production to human resources. This is the vision of most companies to be better as their competitors by performing better. The main idea of an organisational structure is to improve decision making and to identify how the organisation is working and who has the authority to make the important decisions and what team works in which department and programs. Employees wants to be recognized in a firm or in their department. When employees are recognized they are motivated. This gives them the positive attitude towards the organisation and the management of the organisation, when employees attitudes change from negative to positive they perform better, which is what organisations want; higher performance from employees. Now if the structure is made from the idea of the old traditional type of body, employees cant get the motivation and positive attitude, which in turn gives a lower performance ratio towards the organisation or smaller business. This type of structure is not the only one that can have an negative influence on employees, even more modern structures can, if not used in the correct way or if the structure is not made for the type of organisation. (Meijaard, Brand Mosselman. 2002). 13 EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE The attitude of employees towards the organisation is counted as everything. When employees are motivated and positive they are more productive, and its not science to see it. Promoting from within will also increase the strong values and norms, build loyalty, and encourage employees to work harder to advance within the company which gives them the motivation they need to perform better. Negative attitudes can be a death sentence for any organisation. When giving employees the right to authority they become more positive and thus gives more attention towards their work and enjoys working for the company, they feel more wanted and more recognized by the organisation and then contributes more, this is what productivity is about: every employee giving their best to make sure the organisation performs. However employees with a negative attitude can drag the team or department down the drain and drain the positive attitudes of other employees and, in turn, make them negative (Stringer 200 7). 13.1 Organizational Structure There will always be some factors that an organisation cannot change or manage. And some of these factors may have an influence on the organisational structure and employee attitudes. Structures determine how the employees work together to achieve their goals, when the factors which have an influence on the structure cannot be managed the organisation cannot achieve what they are aiming for. One of these factors is organisational culture, culture is the way employees think, feel and behave, how their values and beliefs come together to work in a team or as an individual. Some other factors can be: Employee relationships: If employees work together in a team towards a goal they have to be able to work freely and have a positive relationship with other employees and management.(George Jones, 2005). ÂÂ   Communication: employees communicate with each other they build their relationships, to make sure they are able to do so, the organisational structure needs to be designed to accommodate these types of communication and to give employees the freedom to do so. This has a huge effect on how employees attitudes are towards each other and how they perform together when working in teams. Employee satisfaction and reactions: employee satisfaction and reactions can be seen in seven different areas, namely; 1) internal work motivation, 2) growth satisfaction, 3) general satisfaction, 4) social satisfaction, 5) supervisory satisfaction, 6) security satisfaction and 7) pay satisfaction. All of these factors have an influence on the type of structure used and in the end have an influence on how the employees attitudes are towards the organisation and then have the positive or negative output on the productivity (Oldham Hackman 1981). 14 PRODUCTIVITY How the specific organisational structure is designed and how the higher levels of management provide sufficient motivation for employees, can break the business or can turn it positive to become successful. The design of the structure should be studied thoroughly to ensure that there is no cracks or loose ends in the structure, if it isnt, the organisation has the risk of demotivating employees and having a negative influence on their attitude, this can cause that the design has an influence on the productivity of the organisation and every employee, and in the end they may loose some employees in the future because of bad management and a lack of a perfect structure (Math 2010). Some factors influencing productivity: Confidence: organisational structures that are more consistent gives employees security and a positive attitude. A consistent structure is one where the hiring of employees are within the organisation, when employees are promoted when they are effective and when employees can relax about job loss. If an organisation has a consistent structure employees will devote them selves and perform the best at the jobs, which gives an organisation a higher production rate (Math 2010). Shared Goals: a transparent structure can have an impact on how employees strive towards the goals of the division, when an organisation can set their own goals and meet them with the goals of employees, they will be able to move the team into a better productive mode and achieve higher standards. Organisations can, for example; if they are busy with a new budget and plans for the next financial year, they can share it with middle management and ask them to do so with their own divisions and sectors. This will show the employees the goals of the organisation, when these goals are set each employee can set his or her goals which they want to achieve for the next year. Organisations can also notify employees when goals are met, so that these employees can see how their progress are going to make sure all goals are met and achieved (Math 2010). Accountability: All organisations should have some type of reporting system, when this system is not in place, employees will not know what to do with problems or new ideas. The idea of these types of systems is to make sure that no information will be lost, when employees have challenges they should be able to talk to someone to make it better, if an employee has a better way of doing his job, it should be looked at and the new idea be explored. However if this system is not strong, this information can get lost and will demotivate employees and give them negative attitudes towards management which will have an influence on the culture of the organisation and success of the organisation (Math 2010). 15 WHY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES IMPROVE THE ATTITUDE AND PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES Greater employee security: Maslows hierarchical model shows that any persons security needs are high. If organisational structures improves employee security, the out come will be a employee with a positive attitude and a employee who will work towards goals. Employees will work together to achieve greatness and have an different job attitude. Flexible management structures: Management is one of the most important factors of an organisation, how they do their work and how they treat employees. But within traditional structures one cannot have these types of flexible management structures, but can have it when in a modern structure. A flexible management structure gives the employees the motivation to be a part of a team and an idea. Employees that are given the opportunity to make a contribution towards a working program and give ideas are more positive in the sense that they feel wanted by the organisation and are not just a number on a system. People become multi skilled: Working in a organisation that uses an traditional type of structure limits each employees job specifications. The implication of this is that employees cant grow and become multi skilled. Working in other types of modern structures gives employees the freedom of to contribute in other programs and is able to give his own input when working in teams. The importance of multi skilled employees is not only to have one employee which can do two or more jobs, but it gives the employee motivation and self respect. Employees who are motivated and whose self respect is high has a positive attitude and will have an impact on productivity. Self managing individuals: Every employer wants employees who can think for themselves. When an employee can manage themselves the manager or boss will not have to tell them what to do and how to do the specific task, will have less conflict and be more positive, the whole reason for this is no employee wants to be treated as if he is a child. Now, if all employees are self managed, management will not have to do check ups and can do their own work faster, this will increase the working capacity which will lead to higher production levels. 16 CONCLUSION The examination of this thematic independent study shows that how an organisation centralises or decentralises, use different number of management levels and how the departmentalization is used is the key factors of an organisational structure. These factors of the structures has an affect on how creative and innovative employees are. Which has an outcome on the performance and attitudes of employees. When all these factors come together they form a organic and strong structure which in turn will have an positive outcome on the whole organisational environment. The organisational structure should be decentralized, efficient, flexible and help achieve innovativeness. There are some factors which also have an influence on the structure chosen such as the suppliers number of clients and employee numbers but the organisations should always have in mind that they have to keep employees motivated and positive towards their working environment. For it is the employees who produce the servic e and/ or product. The study clearly identifies the relationship between a structure and employee attitude and performance and is clear to understand that this relationship is complex and should be thoroughly studied and reviewed to make sure it is the best structure fitted for the organisation to help employees perform better and positive. All organisations should choose between structures and choose the correct on for the environment and for employees, it is important to stay open minded and think clearly to make sure all employee are satisfied and have the right attitude and perform to the best of their abilities, structures can have an influence on these factors and because it does organisations should spend more time on the problem of how different structures can have a better production outcome.

The Importance of the Concept of Cash Flow

Assignment: The importance of the concept of cash-flow for the business finance Definition: Cash flow is the movement of money into or out of a business, an account or an investment. Normally, when the cash inflow is greater than the cash outflow it is a sign of a good financial situation because cash flow is essential for the survival of a business or even to any individual financial condition. If the company can meet its obligations and keep a healthy inflow of cash it has a healthy situation and the management of the company can invest most of its time in developing the company.There are 3 types of cash-flows: Operating cash-flows, which is the money received or spent as a result of a company’s normal business activities. Investment cash-flows, which is the money received or spent through investing activities and thirdly the financing cash-flows, which is the cash received through debt or paid out as debt repayments. Example: Imagine that you run a shoe factory. Having cash is necessary for your business to flow. If you have cash you can pay your suppliers, your employees and yourself on time and so keep the business flow.Therefore if you, as an individual, receive your pay check, you can pay for all your expenses (e. g. housing, food, utilities, insurance, etc). Here we are speaking about operational cash-flow. Another way of creating cash is if you opt for purchasing and selling assets. This is normally a long term issue that can help your business grow and might lead to a net worth increase. This is called investment cash-flow. There are companies that are specialized in this area that manage funds that invest and divest in property.Finally, a third option you have is financing cash-flows. This includes any cash which comes from loans or other types of other debt that allow you to finance your cash flow. It is also used to finance the down payments made of debts. Conclusion: Based on the above, one understands the importance of managing carefully t he cash-flow and also having capacity to meet emergency situations in order to be protected from unexpected circumstances, be it in a business or personally.To be able to run a company in a healthy way it is important to have a good and open relationship with your banks and secure lines of credit for certain times of the year when there is a delay in the cash inflows and also when there is a specific opportunity that requires cash. Companies that manage their cash flow in a positive way have a much stronger possibility of being successful. An example of an unexpected situation, and for which many are not normally prepared, is the sudden downturn in an economy just like what has happened in Portugal in the past three years.The factors which have had the biggest impact in the financial viability of companies are the inflation rate and above all, the restrictions on access to cash (e. g. : loans). If a business is not able to manage its cash-flow carefully and is not capable of setting aside emergency reserves (access to loans), then in a situation like today it will not be able to finance its cash flows and might enter into default. In some cases more than the economic capacity of a company it is its financial situation that might lead to a bankruptcy.We can then say that having cash is crucial for an entity to survive because companies with ample cash on hand can invest the cash back into the business and so generate more cash and profit. An old saying: â€Å"When the going gets tough, Cash is King! † Bibliography: Marques, Manuel de Oliveira, â€Å"A Importancia do Correcto Entendimento do Conceito de Cashflow para a Analise e a Tomada de Decisoes Financeiras†, Estudos de Economia, vol. IV, n. 4, Jul-Sept 1984. Monica Alvares Ribeiro N? : 120499032

Obesity A Media Created Epidemic Essays - 698 Words

What? Me worry? - - Alfred E. Neuman Is obesity really a serious health concern or is the â€Å"epidemic† merely a result of highly fabricated, misleading ideas of politicians and the media? The article, Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic? By W. Wayt Gibbs featured in the May 23, 2005 edition of Scientific America, raises this question. Most health experts and average people believe that obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns today, resulting in increased risk for other major health issues; such as; heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and the chance for early loss of life. However, other researchers are suggesting that the consequences of being overweight are being blown out of proportion. Naturally, they do†¦show more content†¦Gibbs also quotes Katherine M. Flegal, a research scientist at the CDC, as saying â€Å"underweight, even though it occurs in only a tiny fraction of the population is actually associated with more excess deaths than class I obesity.† On the contrary, auth ors S. Jay Olshansky and David B. Allison, insist that the continual rise in life expectancy would eventually cease due to obesity related deaths. In addition, media and news correspondents reported that obesity could cut short a life by up to five years. Gibbs states that to come to their conclusions, Olshansky and Allison used research that was outdated and did not reflect any of the modern medical therapies. When it comes to the topic of obesity, most experts and critics will readily agree that it can lead to more severe health issues. Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on how much obesity really contributes to illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. 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Failing a Class in College What Do You Do Next

Even stellar students fail college classes sometimes. Its not the end of the world, but it is a good idea to make a game plan to minimize the damage to your academic record and prevent it from happening again. Check Your Academics Learn what impact the grade will have on your academics. What will getting an F do to your grade-point average? Are you no longer eligible for the next course in a series? Could you be placed on probation? Depending on your situation, you may need to: Rearrange your schedule for next semester by finding courses that dont have a prerequisite.Arrange to take the class again.Take a summer class to stay on track to graduate on time. Check Your Financial Aid Many schools allow for an academic slip-up here and there (financially speaking), but if you are on academic probation, are not taking enough credit units, or have any other sort of complication, failing a class can have a major impact on financial aid. Check with your financial aid office to learn what a failed grade may mean for your particular situation. Consult With Your Advisors If you can, schedule a meeting with your professor and find out if he or she has any suggestions. Will the class be scheduled again next year or over the summer? Does he or she have any recommendations for tutoring by a graduate student? Are there any books he or she can recommend to help you better prepare for next time? One of the reasons you have an academic advisor is to help you out in situations like this. Reach out to that person: he or she will likely know the ins and outs of the academic process at your university. Check Your Reasons Be honest with yourself about why you failed a class. Understanding where things went wrong can help you from repeating mistakes and potentially failing again. Here are some common reasons why students fail classes and what you can do about them: Focusing  too much on partying and not enough on academics. You dont have to be a hermit, but try to find ways to socialize that dont involve partying. If you cant cut this out altogether, at least dial it back.Overcommitting to too many extracurricular activities or a part-time job. If youre stretching yourself too thin, somethings gotta give. If your part-time job is essential for your finances, keep it but try not to work more hours than you absolutely have to. Likewise, too many extracurricular activities are not necessarily a good thing. Focus only on those that are most important to you.Procrastinating on assignments and studying. Getting work done on time is a challenge thats all too common. Set up regular study hours and stick to them. Once you make studying a habit, it will become easier for you to keep the momentum going.Turning in assignments late or not following directions. Life does happen. Sometimes things come up that you simply cant plan for. That said, turning in assignments on time and following directions is up to you. If you are unclear about requirements or dont think youre going to have enough time to complete the work as assigned, speak with your teacher before the material is due.Having a professor or teaching assistant with whom you just dont click. Not every failure is your fault. There are times you simply end up in the wrong class with the wrong teacher. While you might have to take a class again to meet the requirements of your program, see if someone else is teaching a similar course. If not, you might simply have to bite the bullet and do whatever you can to pass next time. If possible, simply avoid taking classes with this person in the future. Check in With Your Parents Tell your parents. Your parents may not have a legal right to know your grades, but putting a failed grade out into the open will give you one less thing to stress about. Hopefully, your parents will provide you with the emotional support and the concrete advice youll need to keep yourself on track. Let It Go So you failed a class. Admit you messed up, figure out where you went wrong, and move on. Failure can be a great teacher. In the big picture of life, you may actually learn more from your mistakes than your successes. One failed class does not define you. Since youre in college to learn, take away what you can from the experience and make the most of it—because thats what college is supposed to be all about anyway, right?

A Woman at a Crossroads - 600 Words

A Woman at a Crossroads Career development plans are essential in a client’s career development. The plan incorporates all the tools and skills of a career counselor to aid the client in a framework fitting for the client’s background. The responsibility of the career counselor is to address the issues of the client’s satisfaction in their career and identifying their needs, wants, capacity, and challenges. In doing so the career counselor creates goals to build an action plan. Assisting clients in who they are as a person and what their career goals are is an essential in establishing a working alliance in career counseling. This paper will display the draft of the final project in case of Alaina. Alaina The information I would obtain†¦show more content†¦She also coached tennis in high school. She even thought about being a sports writer for tennis events. She is involved in the Catholic Church. She thinks herself to be ambitious in professional, but dedicated and compassionate. She has mild depression that is chronic and has participated in counseling twice in eight years. Once from her cousins suicide and the second for couples counseling. They had fifteen sessions to deal with her husbands alcoholism and anger. It made her marriage better and her husband supports the change in career. She is on 20 mg of fluoxetine that keeps her mood stable. She is unhappy that she doesn’t get excited or overly happy. In the last two weeks she has been anxious, waking earlier, and when she does feeling mild dread. She sees her family doctor in two weeks for poor sleeping. Alaina has been thinking of going back to school and her friend suggested being a school psychologist. Al aina thinks going to school would be tough. She also think school psychologists only put children in special education. She likes to cook, play poker, work in gardens, and physical fitness. Alaina considered the options of being an editorial assistant for a publisher, technical writer, or working with adults in recreation planning. She also thought of being a dietitian because of how much work she puts into her diet and her family. Motivation for Counseling Clients can seek counseling any time, but thereShow MoreRelatedReaching Out to the Community with the Stand at the Crossroad Ministry734 Words   |  3 Pagesdrug abusers. One that has made a significant difference in the Aiken area is Stand at the Crossroad Ministry. Stand at the Crossroads Ministry is led by Deborah Lamb, who is willing to accept people from every walk of life despite their past or present challenges. Through her experience, sacrifice, and acts of service, Deborah Lamb has become a treasure to many in our neighborhoods. 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“Three Men in a Boat and Nothing of the Dog” Analyses Free Essays

â€Å"Three men in a boat and nothing of the dog† The story I am going to screen is entitled â€Å"Three men in a boat and to say nothing about the dog†. It was written by a famous English writer Jerome Klapka Jerome. He born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England on May 2nd, 1859, in the family of a preacher and coal mine owner. We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Three Men in a Boat and Nothing of the Dog† Analyses or any similar topic only for you Order Now Leaving school at the age of fourteen after his mother’s death, Jerome worked such diverse jobs as a railway clerk, a journalist, and a schoolmaster. He also tried himself as an actor, playwright, editor, and at last he found fame through his writing. His first book â€Å"On Stage and off† was published in 1888. In 1889, Jerome published the humorous Three Men in a Boat. It might be interesting to know that these three characters are based on Jerome himself and two real-life friends, George Wingrave and Carl Hentschel, with whom he often took boating trips. The dog, Montmorency, is really fictional but, Jerome K. Jerome admits that in all Englishmen, contains an element of the dog. What brought him fame was his original idea and using simple plot structure which helps readers to understand and be involved in the story. Let me introduce a brief plot of the story for the film: As the beginning of the story three main characters come to Sonning, a town on the river Themes, where they decide to put up for the night. After that friends have plenty of time that is enough to cook a supper. In the inciting incident, they make up their mind to prepare an Irish stew; therefore, it would be a good opportunity for gentlemen to eat all odds and ends. Next we’ll show the process of cooking in details, and it is used as rising actions of the story. In climax, Montmorency, the dog, brings a dead rat, which is the point of a little discussion. Finally, all the characters are satisfied with the supper that means that the Irish stew was very tasty and delicious. To understand how the friends successfully managed to prepare an Irish stew we should analyze the characters of each hero. . As for George, he is household and a leader, because he proposed to make an Irish stew. He gathered woods and made a fire, it means that he’s an experience cooker. In addition, he is creative, that is proved by his adding ll odds and ends to the stew. And as it’s said, every housekeeper has his own recipe of the Irish stew, so George used all his knowledge and imagination and invented his own recipe. He is hard-working and level-headed. Moreover he determined and economical; it can be seen in all his actions and metaphor words: â€Å"Oh, that won’t do! You’re wasting them. You must scrape them. † To say more, George refused the idea of adding a dead water rat to the stew, and that’s enough to say that he is a very conservative gentleman. To tell about Harris, I can say that he is totally emotional, open-minded and joyful. Besides, he is sociable, cheerful, enthusiastic and talkative. Harris suggested adding the water rat, brought by Montmorency. He must be very extravagant and experimental, so even judge George to be a man hampering the world’s progress. Harris’s partner of scraping and peeling potatoes was easy-going and single-minded narrator. I think he is calm and flexible, and at the same time is very enthusiastic, talkative and romantic, judging by the way he describes the sonning and nature. I think they are all romantic because they were all inspired by the idea of making this great trip. And they enjoy and admire the nature, new places and their adventures. To show their joy characters there’s such hyperbole is used â€Å"I should never have thought that peeling potatoes such an undertaking†. Then the author uses such stylistic devise as metaphor, for example ‘they stood in the potato-scrapings half-smothered†. Judging by dialogues of the main characters of the story – Harris, George and the narrator, it’s clearly that they are intelligent and well-mannered people. The author uses indirect speech in order to male characters contrast. He avoids stock characters; they are quite individual and original. It’s hard to identify a development of the characters, they just try to travel and learn how to survive without early experience. The author describes the actions in ironical and humorous way. The method of presentation is subjective and the reader sees everything from first-person narration. Also that method helps the readers to feel the atmosphere of the story and imagine themselves on the heroes’ place. Every use of language devices presents how Mr. Klapka Jerome talented and skillful. In fact, Jerome K. Jerome is famous for his art of story-telling, the basis of our screen adaptation is the way the author presents the situation. The atmosphere of the story is warm and his vivid style and humour which is generally expressed in laughter-provoking situations often based on misunderstanding created a bright and comfort mood and witty and ironic tone. The story is full of such stylistic devises as metaphors, epithets, similes and hyperboles. And they help us to image town and understand what the characters felt at that time. While describing Sonning the narrator uses simile â€Å"it’s more like a stage village than one built of bricks and mortar†; it’s also used metaphor â€Å"every house is smothered in roses† to show how beautiful houses were. The language of the story is rich in colloquial idioms and phrases. Each sentence contains a complete thought, and the writer makes it a point to have all the causes of events fully expressed, without leaving anything for guesswork on the reader’s part. The author’s manner is highly emotional and in that time is easy to read and understand the topic of the story. The idea of our film would be real friendship. It is proved by the title of the story and the behavior of the main characters, which respect each other and stay friends in spite of little quarrels. The main idea is not expressed in a straightforward categorical manner, but it’s clear how important to stay friends during long period of time, don’t hurt each other and be ready to help in any case. And the river Thames seems to symbolize the life-stream and the boat is like friendship itself that helps us to avoid and solve problems. And in conclusion I’d like to say that our film would teach people to be friendly and look at problems in a humorous way, that’s very important in our life and what more not to turn the life into a routine. We are people and should not only work, spend and earn money but we also should develop, travel and pay attention to life values. How to cite â€Å"Three Men in a Boat and Nothing of the Dog† Analyses, Essay examples

American Beauty Essay About Sexuality Example For Students

American Beauty Essay About Sexuality The Color RedThe beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul. George Sand hit the nail right on the head when he said this in 1872. Appearance versus reality has been a central theme in many American creative works including the film American Beauty. American Beauty is a film that delves into your typical, middle-class suburban American home and slowly uncovers all of the abnormalities that lie within. The family is portrayed as normal but as the films tag line suggests look closer then it is possible to fully understand the implications that takes place in this seemingly happy home. The film is masterfully directed by the famous theater director Sam Mendes and encompasses a great number of cinematic techniques that appear fresh and exciting. Critics have mentioned many of these techniques. However, they failed to notice the clever use of color used throughout the filmespecially the color red. Sam Mendes effectively uses the color red; as a central motif to accentuate mood and theme, to contrast families, and to reveal characters personalities and feelings. In American culture red is a color of various meanings and images. The color red is the essence of life; it is the color of blood. It can insinuate energy, vitality, passion, anger, power, excitement, and sacrifice. It is a grounding color. Red can stand for warmth, danger, love, sex, death, rage, lust, and beauty. Red is the color used for the womens clothing, the cars, the doors and also it is the color of Lesters blood splattered Gavrelis 2across the white table at the end of the movie. Red is the central motif of the film. Sam Mendes incorporated many of these meaning of red within the film American Beauty, Not only did Sam Mendes implant a motif of red, he also incorporated a motif of the red rose. Roses in American culture are the ultimate symbol of love, life and death. Flowers are a large part of the American culture. Th ey have come to symbolize compassion, caring and love. The beauty of roses are superceded with danger, for they have thorns that can prick. Roses epitomize beauty; perhaps that is why they chose the title American Beauty. The title American Beauty is a hodgepodge of symbolism; it encompasses a variety of meanings. For the viewer it can stand for the American beauty rose a rare and antique climbing rose much like the roses in the Burnham garden. It can also represent the American ideal of a woman such as Angela, the ideal American beauty with her long flowing blonde hair, her porcelain complexion and her ruby red lips and bright blue eyes. Another adaptation of the title is the beauty of a perfect American home much like the Burnhams home appears to be. But all have flaws, the rose has thorns to prick, Angela has her fear of being ordinary and the Burnhams home, well it too is cursed with the reality that they are a dysfunctional family. Red roses become not only a motif in the film; they come to represent symbols. They are prevalent in almost every scene. They are in the garden; almost every room in the house has a bouquet of brightly colored roses in a vase. They are the centerpieces to the dining room table. This table becomes a motif in the film as well, the family has its nightly dinner ritual and over the course of the movie we see a delineation of the family at this table. Rose petals are the symbol of sex as well, they are seen surrounding Angela Gavrelis 3for Lester, they burst out of her blouse, they pop out of his mouth after he fantasizes of kissing her and they fall from the ceiling onto his face when he pictures her above his bed. The front door to the house becomes a motif as well, with constant references from neighbors about the house with the red door. As if the door is a gateway to the oddities lurking inside the house. Within the house Mendes restricted the colors to a monochromatic blue-gray sche me to emphasize the isolation between the Burnhams. Lester escapes from this cold and lonely house by creating a domain for himself, it is framed in golden browns, and this separates him even further from the blue-gray existence he had been living.To carry further the theme that the Burnhams happy home is just a front for what lies deep inside. Sam Mendes juxtaposes the Burnhams house with the neighbors homes. The bright, almost artificial colors of Burnhams house are quite a contrast against the Fitts which is very bland and regimented; inside it is almost Amish looking. It is completely void of plant life and aethstetics typically associated with homes. They have limited furniture and decor, and the furniture that is present is plain, straight lined dark and wooden. The lighting is dim and the prevalent color throughout the home is white or cream. The Fritts family is one of distances. Mendes makes a point by surrounding them in bland, melancholy colors and spacing them at length from one another. The family is clad in black and white throughout most of the film to externalize the loneliness and isolation between themselves and society. The other neighbors present appear at first to be the most abnormal of the bunch. They are Jim and Jim, two very successful men living together as partners. They are always bright and cheery dressed Gavrelis 4in primary colors and portrayed as happy and full of life. The irony is that they are most normal characters in the entire film.Color is used not only to show juxtapositions in neighborhoods, but to bring out the characters as well. .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .postImageUrl , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:hover , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:visited , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:active { border:0!important; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:active , .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u939281976a8a3e95fe8ac89b58573b7a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Salem Witch Trials EssaySam Mendes captures the essence of each character with color. At first we see Lester in cool desaturated colors to suggest a lack of energy and a drained life. As the film continues and Lester goes through a rebirth we see him develop a brighter outlook on life and the color of his garments go through a rebirth as well, at first he turns to yellow, then green and eventually he adopts red. He wears a red tank top, acquires a red car and pursues a job wearing a red and white uniform. Mendes uses this color transformation to show that Lester has remembered the things he wanted. He suddenly realizes what is lacking in his life and red clothing gives him a sense of power and control over his life. What started this change was when he first saw Angela. She represents the ultimate sign of American beauty; she is adorned with red throughout the movie. She emanates sex and passion. Throughout the film she wears fire engine red lipstick, she wears brightly colored clothing and she is seen to Lester as surrounded by red rose petals, he has visions of her soaking in a bath tub of rose petals. Red is the dominant color of nail polish and lipstick for all the central females in the film including Caroline. Caroline Burnham goes through a transformation as well she outwardly appears isolated and controlling but underneath she yearns for passion and power. Mendes ingeniously shows this in the beginning of the film when Caroline undresses to clean a house and underneath her drab yellow suit is a crimson red camisole. While she cleans the dark and shadowy house she is backlit with brightly colored walls. She has a Gavrelis 5private breakdown an d covers her sobbing face with those powerful, sexy red nails to mask her uncharacteristic behavior. Carolyn attempts to fill her loneliness up with having the right things. The right car, the right house and even the right garden, but she doesnt see the big picture. She does transform, much like Lester into a more secure and grounded person. This is most apparent in the last sequence of the film when she is wearing a very sexy red velvet dress. She has become assertive and is ready to finally connect with Lester, even though she is too late. Early on it becomes obvious that she is obsessed with her image of success, and this is why she envies Buddy Kane so fervently. Buddy Kane the king of real estate is her competitor and the ideal figure of success, he has a bright red sign mounted in the yards of his homes to advertise himself. The sign represents his power and hints at his sexual appeal to Caroline. Jane and Ricky are important too, they are the more grounded of the characters, they are both presented in neutral colors throughout most of the film. They represent balance and neutrality in the movie. Rickys parents are not so neutral; they are dressed in pale, washed out colors to show their lack of vitality. Especially Mrs. Fritts, she plays a minor role in the movie and that is precisely the point Sam Mendes makes. She is seen as a minor role in the family. She is usually wearing a long white nightgown and appears almost as a ghost in the picture, t her family, she barely exists. American Beauty is a fantastic film that encourages viewers to look closer.Sam Mendes directed a film about American Beauty and foolish things that Americans do to keep up with appearances. He is urging us to find beauty in our lives, and to forget about having the perfect garden and home. He effectively uses the color red; as a central Gavrelis 6motif to accentuate mood and theme, to contrast families, and to reveal characters personalities and feelings. Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.Oscar WildeMusic and Movies