S.W.O.T. analysis on Costco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

S.W.O.T. analysis on Costco - Essay Example The companys first business opened in 1976 under the name Price Club on Morena Boulevard, San Diego (Costco Wholesale, 2013). The company originally served small businesses, but it discovered that it could achieve greater buying influence by also serving some audience of non-business members. In 1983, the company’s first warehouse was opened in Seattle. The company became the first to grow from 0 to $3 billion in terms of sales in less than six years. Costco merged with Price Club in 1993. The combined company operated under PriceCostco where it had 206 locations of operations generating annual sales of $16 billion. The headquarters of Costco Wholesale Corporation is found in Issaquah, Washington. The company is the globes biggest warehouse club chain based on sales. The company has employees of about 142,000 in number. This paper analyses Costco in terms of its strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. The paper sets out a short history of the company and its market position. The paper looks at the revenue of the company, and the areas it can also engage into in order to increase its revenue. This paper sets out to explore if Costco has managed to hold its ground in its line of operation (Costco Wholesale, 2013). Costco boasts of very loyal customers. Customer loyalty is the strength of the link between an organizational relative attitude and continuous patronage with customers. The organization has effectively managed to attract and retain many customers over the years of its operation in operation (Costco Wholesale, 2014). Since Costco has a loyal customer base, it allows for the organization to have continued business from customers. It gives the organization credibility from customers who help it to grow. Customer loyalty has many benefits which include customers buying from an organization from time to time again, increase in how much

Psychological Survival - Cohen and Taylor Essay Example for Free

Psychological Survival Cohen and Taylor Essay 1) Aim of the study Obtain a phenomenological picture of long term imprisonment i.e. the analysis of the every day life of long term prisoners. The smooth patterning of every day life is the result of social interactions and learning about routines and the different domains of life. But some situations are outside the routines (death, sense of self or world view threatened). Disturbed orderliness brings meaning of life into question and often individuals rely on a different domain. Long term prisoners cannot do this. Theirs is a life in cold storage. Psychologically hard to deal with life outside. Some people go in when 20 and don’t leave before they’re 40, so a lot has gone on in everyday life and they’ve missed it. 2) Cohen and Taylor not really interested in the crime committed and the moral issues behind it. They are just interested in how prison affects this group of people. Society has been taken away from these people. Some of the people are well known, but they put aside what these people have been convicted on, they just want to know about their psychological survival. 3) Life inside Metaphor of a submarine: Impregnability, empty, claustrophobic, lifeless, bland no natural light, TV cameras. Things we take for granted in normal life, sociability and privacy, are not there. Not many friends you can have or choose to have. Relationships between guards and prisoners, maybe from a similar social backgrounds, have a lot to talk about. In the E-wing case there was a very pronounced geographical divide, north and south. Prisoners have a public profile outside, quite famous and it sets them aside from the guards. A sense of celebrity in some of the prisoners. This creates a division between guards and prisoners. New power dynamic. Not only hard to create and maintain relationships inside hard to do so with the external world. The prisoners were more worried about getting letters rather than receiving them. No physical contact, e.g. members of your family. Not allowed to talk about conditions in the prison maybe that is why they wanted to get their stories heard with Cohen and Taylor. Isolating experience. 5) different people fulfil different social roles. Obviously there was a small pool in prison. One friend had to fulfil many different roles, which made friendship very strong and intense. Some people were moved constantly and losing your one friend can be traumatic. Intensity of relationships and falling out, which will have an impact on the group and on you. No privacy no time. Can’t develop intimacy with other people. Constantly surrounded by others. Interactions regulated within the group to make sure nobody got harmed. 6) time means different things. For us it’s a resource. Living the present they don’t face or think of the 20 years ahead. Marking time in different ways: mood, seasons, unusual markers. Make time pass faster: body building, university courses, etc. promise of a visit. 8 weeks visit for e.g. 7) deterioration obsessive concern about their physical and psychological condition. 8) history of riots, rebellions and security. Cohen and Taylor interested in solidarity. The resentment towards guards held the group together, helped with bonding. Fight back together. 9) authority and unity different situations lead to different types of solidarity 10) fighting back 11) different criminal careers lead to different ways of psychological survival. Notes from a lecture and seminar on Psychological Survival.

Endosymbiotic Theory in Eukaryotic Cells

Endosymbiotic Theory in Eukaryotic Cells Endosymbiotic theory- the modern, or organelle- containing eukaryotic cell evolved in steps through the stable incorporation of chemoorganotrophic and phototrophic symbionts from the domain Bacteria. The hypothesis of endosymbiosis is at present the most widely accepted theory on the evolution of the eukaryotic cell. This current theory states that the mitochondria and chloroplasts contained within the eukaryotic cell, are there due to the integration of free living bacteria which implement aerobic metabolism, chemoorganotrophic bacteria, and bacteria which implement oxygenic photosynthesis, cyanobacteria. It is thought that symbiosis, in addition to natural selection and mutations, is also a driving force in the evolution of the modern or organelle containing eukaryotic cell. This essay will describe in detail the endosymbiotic theory and its features, discuss the evidence which supports it and then discuss its major opposing theories, the hydrogen hypothesis and the syntrophy hypothesis. Short history of the endosymbiotic theory Many biologists have had a role in what is now known as the endosymbiotic theory. Firstly in 1883, Andreas Schimper proposed that particular organelles evolved from the symbiotic union of two different organisms, (this was while he was studying chloroplast division within green plants and observed a similarity between chloroplasts and free living cyanobacteria.), (Vargas-Parada, 2010). In 1905, Konstantin Merezhkovski devised the term, symbiogenesis , due to his work on lichens leading him to speculate that more complex cells evolved from a symbiotic relationship between less complex ones (2006). Then in the 1920s, Ivan Wallin suggested that organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts began as symbiotic bacteria and that species creation could have occurred through endosymbiosis. Finally, much later in 1967 Lynn Margulis collected various microbiological observations which supported the hypothesis of endosymbiosis. Evolution of the eukaryotic cell The current evidence for the evolution of eukaryotic cells suggests that around 4 billion years ago ancestors of Bacteria and Archea arose. It is thought that in bacteria, around 3.2 billion years ago, phototrophy occurred, with the common ancestor of many bacteria thought to be an anaerobic phototroph. Then around 2.7 billion years ago oxygen-generating cyanobacteria developed, which over time caused an increase in the atmospheric oxygen levels. The atmosphere slowly changed from anoxic to oxic due to this rise in oxygen levels. At some point during this period eukaryotic microorganisms containing organelles evolved and the oxic environment drove their evolution. Main distinguishable features of present day eukaryotes from prokaryotes In many prokaryotic cells their DNA is arranged into a single loop, is circular and unlike eukaryotes, it is not associated with histones and is therefore termed naked. Prokaryotic cells reproduce by the process of binary fission, are mainly unicellular organisms and are usually smaller than eukaryotic cells. In the nucleus of the eukaryotic cell, the DNA is organised into chromosomes, which is surrounded by a membrane. Eukaryotic cells reproduce by the means of mitosis and meiosis, are usually larger than prokaryotic cells and are usually complex and multicellular. The main distinguishing feature of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane bound organelles, with the most noteworthy being the mitochondria and chloroplasts. The major organelles involved in the endosymbiotic theory The endosymbiotic theory refers to the organelles mitochondria and plastids, (plastids refer to chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and gerontoplasts, to name a few), however mainly focuses on chloroplasts. The major reason for these two organelles being involved in the endosymbiotic theory is because they both contain a small genome. Moreover, both of these organelles contain the operating systems required for cellular functions such as protein synthesis, for example ribosomes and transfer RNA, and also the cellular constituents needed for translation. Mitochondria Mitochondria are the site of respiration and oxidative phosphorylation in eukaryotic cells. They are membrane bound organelles, with each cell containing thousands of them. Mitochondria show variations in their morphology, and can be rod-shaped or spherical. They are surrounded by two membranes, an outer membrane and an inner membrane. The outer membrane is made up of protein and lipid and contains channels which allow the diffusion of ions and small organic molecules. The inner membrane is less permeable and is invaginated to form cristae. Oxidative phosphorylation occurs on the inner membrane; with cristae allowing maximum surface area for ATP synthase molecules, which are involved in the synthesis of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), the final step of oxidative phosphorylation. It is for this reason that they are considered to be the power generators of the cell. Mitochondria possess their own DNA which is independent of the cells chromosomal DNA. The mitochondrial genome mainly encodes proteins needed for oxidative phosphorylation and also encodes ribosomal RNAs, (rRNAs), transfer RNAs, (tRNAs) and proteins necessary for protein synthesis. Mitochondria use simplified genetic codes, which seem to have arisen from selection pressure for smaller genomes (Madigan, 2009 p. 351). Even though mitochondria possess their own genome they still require proteins encoded by nuclear genes. Chloroplasts Chloroplasts are membrane bound organelles found in phototrophic eukaryotic cells. These cells are found in plants algae and some protists. Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll which is the photosynthetic pigment present within them. Chloroplasts are usually larger than bacterial cells and can differ in size and shape. Chloroplasts again like mitochondria consist of two membranes and inner membrane and an outer membrane. Their outer membrane is permeable and the inner membrane is less permeable. The inner membrane surrounds the stroma, which houses the photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll and other cellular components needed for the process of photosynthesis in thylakoids. Thylakoids stacked into the structural units, grana. The thylakoid membrane is not permeable to ions and other metabolites, due to the light reactions of photosynthesis needing the proton motive force which is necessary for the synthesis and release of ATP. The stroma of the chloroplast holds large amounts of the enzyme RubisCO, (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylate), which catalyses the Calvin cycle or the dark reactions of photosynthesis. The Calvin cycle converts COà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ into various organic compounds like glucose which are needed by cells. Chloroplasts also contain their own DNA, which is also independent of the cells chromosomal DNA. The identified chloroplast genomes are all circular DNA molecules, with each chloroplast containing several matching copies of the genome (Madigan, 2009 p. 350). Genes contained within the chloroplast encode for proteins required for photosynthesis and autotrophy to occur and also rRNA and tRNA used for the processes of transcription and translation. Like mitochondria, chloroplasts have some proteins, which are encoded by nuclear genes and not just by the chloroplast genome. Introduction to the endosymbiotic theory The primary endosymbiotic theory implies that the mitochondrial ancestor was a free living facultatively aerobic alphaproteobacterium, attained by another cell and therefore giving rise to a eukaryotic cell. (Madigan, 2009 p. 520) A species of cyanobacterium is thought to be the ancestor of chloroplasts, obtained by a heterotrophic eukaryote, after eukaryotic cells had appeared around 1.5 billion years ago (Madigan, 2009 p. 520) and was obtained as an internal symbiont (Bruce Alberts, 2002). Secondary endosymbiosis refers to the event where several non-phototrophic organisms attained chloroplasts, after the primary endosymbiosis event is said to have occurred. Secondary endosymbiosis is said to have been an important factor in the evolution of eukaryotes, bringing the modern diversity of life into being (Macfadden, 2001). Features of and molecular evidence for the primary endosymbiotic theory The main point of the primary endosymbiotic theory, and which gives it its credibility, was that both mitochondria and chloroplasts both contain DNA, with rRNA, tRNA and proteins involved and needed for the respiratory chain in mitochondria and proteins needed for photosynthesis in chloroplasts, being encoded by these small genomes within mitochondria and chloroplasts. Non-phototrophic eukaryotic cells are genetic chimeras containing DNA from two different sources, the endosymbiont, which is the mitochondria, and the host cell nucleus (Madigan, 2009 p. 520). Eukaryotes which are phototrophic, for example algae and plants, have DNA from two endosymbionts, the mitochondira and the chloroplasts as well as the nuclear DNA. The majority of mitochondrial DNA and chloroplast DNA is similar to bacterial DNA in its shape, which is circular and size. The second feature of primary endosymbiosis is that genes originating from bacteria are found in the nucleus of the eukaryotic cell. This has been proven by sequencing genomes, which have shown that nuclear genes encode properties unique to mitochondria and chloroplasts, (and also which closely resemble genes of bacteria), showing that during the evolution of the eukaryotic cell these genes where transferred to the nucleus of the eukaryotic cell, from the bacterial endosymbionts, during the development of the organelle from the engulfed cell (Madigan, 2009 p. 521). The third feature of primary endosymbiosis is that the mitochondria and chloroplasts contain their own ribosomes. Ribosomes are present in eukaryotic cells and prokaryotic cells, with eukaryotic cells possessing the larger form, 80S, and prokaryotic cells containing the smaller, 70S, ribosomes. The mitochondria and chloroplast contain these 70S ribosomes. The fourth feature is antibiotic specificity. Mitochondria and chloroplast are sensitive to antibiotics which kill bacteria or are bacterial inhibitors. Some for example streptomycin do this by specifically interfering with the functions of the 70S ribosomes, which occurs in the same way in mitochondria and chloroplasts (Madigan, 2009 p. 521). Rifampicin is an antibiotic which in bacteria affects the RNA polymerase. It does not have this effect on eukaryotic RNA polymerase however does inhibit mitochondrial RNA polymerase. The fifth and final feature of primary endosymbiosis is that of molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic studies comparing organelles and rRNA support the theory of mitochondria and chloroplasts deriving from bacteria. There is also other evidence in addition to what is mentioned above. Both mitochondria and chloroplast are surrounded by two membranes. It is though that the inner membrane is the original membrane which contained the prokaryotic cell and the outer membrane results from the process of endocytosis when the bacteria were taken into the eukaryotic cell. Protein synthesis in the endosymbionts begins with N- formyl methionine, the same amino acid that initiates protein synthesis in bacteria whilst in eukaryotic cells protein synthesis is initiated by methionine. Also the thylakoid membrane and the protein complexes which it contains are like those that can be found in cyanobacteria (Pyke p. 5) , and chloroplasts can divide in a way which is similar to the process of binary fission which is carried out by bacteria. This evidence all suggests that the host cell which obtained the mitochondrion by phagocytosis was an anaerobic eukaryotic cell, (which already contained a nucleus) and that the mitochondrial endosymbiont was an obligate anaerobe (Mentel, 2010). This event was later followed by the endosymbiosis of a cyanobacterium, allowing the eukaryotic cell to become photosynthetic. In this way the host eukaryotic cell attained permanent organelles which are suited to energy production. It was also mutually beneficial for the symbionts which obtained a constant and accommodating environment for their growth. Secondary endosymbiosis The primary endosymbiosis event in the common ancestor plants and in green and red algae is said to have created the modern day chloroplast. The secondary symbiotic event refers to non-phototrophic eukaryotes obtaining chloroplasts by the endocytosis of a green or red algal cell and consequently becoming phototrophic. It is thought that secondary and even further endosymbiosies lead to the diversification of eukaryotes. Problems with the endosymbiotic theory To support the endosymbiotic theory in the 1980s, Tom Cavalier-Smith proposed that certain single-celled eukaryotes which are at present still living, bear a resemblance to earlier eukaryotes, were primitively amitochondriate (Lane, 2005 p. 42),(basically eukaryotes without any mitochondria), and Cavalier-Smith named them archezoa. (He later abandoned this theory in 2002, (Cavalier-Smith, 2002)) These cells derived their energy via fermentation and prefer environments with little oxygen and were thought to be the bridge between early eukaryotic cells (as archezoa contain a nucleus) and prokaryotic cells, which would have supported the theory of a bacterial cell being phagocytised, but not digested, leading to the possession of a mitochondria in the early eukaryotic cell. It was then thought that as oxygen levels on earth started to rise, the mitochondria too, began to evolve, due to aerobic respiration being more resourceful than anaerobic respiration, which again supported that the phagocytosis of this bacterial cell was for the purpose of a more efficient way of generating energy. In March 2000, Jan and Siv Andersson proposed the Ox-Tox hypothesis to explain that aerobic respiration was the selective pressure leading to the gain of the mitochondria, originally selected for the removal of oxygen by the host cell (Andersson, 2000). This was due to research showing that the genome sequence of Rickettsia prowazekii had a strong phylogenetic relationship with mitochondrial proteins (Andersson, 2000). However in the late 1990s these hypotheses were question due to the appearance of contradictive evidence. The genomes of archezoa were sequenced and genes were found which showed that the ancestors of archezoa once had mitochondria, even though there was no physical indication of them in the cell. Some archezoa such as Giardia were found to have mitochondria but in the form of mitosomes, which still carried out mitochondrial processes (Lane, 2005 p. 47) again implying that these eukaryotes once contained mitochondria within their cells. It was then suggested that the original host in the eukaryotic merger was a methanogen, due to the structure of eukaryotic and methanogenic histones and the 3D conformation of the DNA associated with the histones being closely related (Lane, 2005 p. 48). Other problems with the endosymbiotic theory are that if a bacterium was phagocytised by a eukaryotic cell, it would definitely have been digested and neither mitochondria nor chloroplasts are able to survive independently outside of the eukaryotic cell. Chloroplasts arent the main focus when disproving the endosymbiotic theory as its thought that when the phagocytosis of a phototrophic symbiont occurred, the host cell already contained mitochondria. The alternative theories to the mainstream endosymbiotic theory The hydrogen hypothesis In 1998, William Martin and Miklà ³s Mà ¼ller proposed the hydrogen hypothesis. Unlike other hypotheses which suggested that the formation of eukaryotic cell was due to the rising oxygen levels, this hypothesis suggests that instead it was to do with hydrogen. They state that Eukaryotes are suggested to have arisen through symbiotic association of an anaerobic, strictly hydrogen dependent, strictly autotrophic archaebacterium (the host) with a eubacterium (the symbiont) that was able to respire, but generated molecular hydrogen as a waste product of anaerobic heterotrophic metabolism. (Mà ¼ller, 1998). The hydrogen hypothesis is based on hydrogenosomes which are anaerobic mitochondria, that produce ATP and with their waste products including hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide and which also are able to function in low oxygen environments. Martin and Mà ¼ller suggested that there was a methanogenic ancestry of the host (Mà ¼ller, 1998) due to methanogens needed the very products (hy drogen and carbon dioxide), which are released by hydrogenosomes and because hydrogenosomes survive in the same environment as methanogens. Due to the intimate association between the methanogen and the bacterium, the symbiosis becomes closer, due to the methanogen needing the products of respiration produced by the bacteria and it is gradually engulfed by the methanogen. By the process of lateral gene transfer from bacterium to methanogen, the methanogen is now able to carry out aerobic and anaerobic respiration (Lane, 2005). There are known examples today of bacteria which live as endosymbionts within other prokaryotes (Mentel, 2010), which again helps support this hypothesis. Another point which gives the hydrogen hypothesis credibility is that all anaerobic and aerobic mitochondria all originated from a facultatively anaerobic ancestral state (Mentel, 2010). Also according to the hydrogen hypothesis, the host cell was not required to have possessed a nucleus (Mà ¼ller, 1998). The formation of the nucleus is explained by genes for the synthesis of lipids being transferred to the host chromosome from the symbiont leading to the host synthesising these bacterial lipids and then resulting in the formation of the endoplasmic reticulum, an internal membrane system and origination of a eukaryotic nucleus (Madigan, 2009 p. 376). The effects of the hydrogen hypothesis for chloroplasts have not been considered in much depth (Allen, 2003). The syntrophy hypothesis This hypothesis was proposed by Purificacià ³n Là ³pez-Garcà ­a and David Moreira in 1999. This hypothesis is based on similar metabolic considerations as the hydrogen hypothesis proposed by Martin and Mà ¼ller (Moreira, 1999). There are some similarities between the two hypotheses. Firstly, they both maintain that the metabolic nature if the original symbiotic event involved both hydrogen and syntrophy, secondly that the hydrogen dependent autotrophic archeon must have been a methanogen (Moreira, 1999) and finally that the mosaic nature of the eukaryotic genome can be explained by lateral gene transfer and replacement over a long symbiotic life (Moreira, 1999). The difference between these hypotheses is that the syntrophy hypothesis states that the organisms involved were ÃŽÂ ´- proteobacteria, which are ancestral sulphate reducing myxobacteria, and methanogenic archaea (Moreira, 1999). The hydrogen hypothesis states that an ÃŽÂ ±-proteobacteria began the symbiosis, wherea s in the syntrophy proposal it is thought that two eubacterial types were involve, a sulphate reducing ÃŽÂ ´- proteobacteria, (which produced hydrogen for fermentation), and also an ÃŽÂ ±-proteobacterial methanotroph became symbionts and used the methane which was generated by the methanogen to produce C0à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¡. Both of these hypotheses agree that the ancestral mitochondria were of anaerobic origin (Moreira, 1999). The chimeric nature of the eukaryotic cell The hypotheses mentioned above, suggest that the modern eukaryotic cell is a chimera, which is a cell that is made up of features from both Bacteria and Archaea (Madigan, 2009 p. 376). Eukaryotes contain the same sort of lipids which are found in Bacteria and the tools they contain for transcription and translation are like those found in Archaea (Madigan, 2009 p. 376). The chimeric nature of nuclear genomes can be partially explained by the endosymbiont hypothesis of mitochondria (Hua). At some stage in eukaryogenesis, cellular and genomic combination of the two different organisms (which vary for the hydrogen and syntrophy hypothesis) happened with gene transfer from bacteria to archaea and then subsequent replacement. The bacterial genome is then thought to have condensed down and could have also dematerialised as the cell underwent evolution, (as horizontal gene transfer, which includes the introduction and loss of genes, is often seen in symbionts (Madigan, 2009 p. 377)). The de veloping eukaryotic cell must have inherited some of the archaeal-DNA processing systems, whereas the cellular metabolism systems are thought to have come from bacterial organotrophy (Hua). During its evolution the modern day eukaryotic cell has become ever more complicated and has led to the appearance of complex, multicellular life forms which are powered by mitochondria and chloroplasts in phototrophic eukaryotic cells. The progression of its evolution and how all the individual compartments of the cell occurred is expected to have taken an extensive amount of time. Variation and natural selection evidently occurred, perfecting the cell by the removal of mechanisms and cellular structures which were deemed useless, leading to biological diversity. It is still undetermined which of these hypotheses mentioned accurately describe the origin of eukaryotes and is thought that the further sequencing of genomes and phylogenetic analyses of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes will provide an improved elucidation of the origin and diversity of eukaryotes.

Macbeth :: essays research papers

In the Shakespearean play, MacBeth, A Scottish nobleman starts off by killing one man to become king but in the end has left a whole path of destruction behind him. MacBeth, is the main character who alongside his wife, Lady MacBeth, kills just to become king. Then kills again just so he can keep the throne, and once he becomes suspicious of another person he kills them. So I will try to show the advancement of MacBeth’s aggression. At first MacBeth is rather nervous to commit the first murder, and Lady M. isn’t affected but after that MacBeth begins to have no remorse. In the first 2 acts of the play, MacBeth, Lady M. keeps on urging MacBeth to kill Duncan, The king. So I will compare and contrast the beginning attitudes of MacBeth and L. MacBeth and as the story goes on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1.3 of MacBeth, MacBeth and Banquo meet the Weird Sisters and they greet MacBeth, “Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King hereafter.'; This is the beginning of the demise of MacBeth’s sanity. As the story goes on and MacBeth is at Duncan’s castle, 1.4, Duncan names his son, Malcolm, the new Prince of Cumberland, meaning he shall be king. MacBeth then says, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, Hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.'; I think this is when he gets the first ideas of murder into his head. But when he goes home and tells L. MacBeth that Duncan is coming to stay for the night she says, “ O never, that sun shall morrow see.';(1.5) She is getting the same ideas of MacBeth of killing Duncan, but MacBeth begins to think it is a bad idea. And MacBeth even says, 1.7, “ We shall proceed no further in this busine ss.'; But L. MacBeth seems to want it more when she said back in 1.5, “ Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.'; Implying that she wants to become cruel and evil enough to commit the deed herself. Finally in 2.2 MacBeth kills Duncan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the murder of Duncan MacBeth becomes real jittery and nervous. He shows his nervous he was when he was killing Duncan when he said he heard voices, “Sleep no more, MacBeth does murder sleep'; “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor.

Business & Human resource

In today’s competitive world, where there is increased competition in the industry. Human resource management and recruitment has proven to be the most effective tool that provides with a competitive advantage, which cannot be matched or countered by any other competitor. Human resource of any company is the key to success and its sustainable development in the coming years. Therefore it is essential for all the corporations to take into account the immense power of their human resource and to make genuine efforts in order to retain them. For that the main area to be targeted is motivation.In that case it is necessary to evaluate the psyche of all the employees. Motivation is the driving force that makes a person achieves the desired goals in an affective manner. In the past years a lot of research work has been done on the topic of motivation. Because only if a person is willing to perform any task, he will be motivated to do it. As depicted by the saying that one can take hi s horse to the water but cannot force him to drink it unless he wants to. Such is the phenomenon of motivation. Motivation has a very prominent role in the field of business. As all humans are complex beings. All of them have different requirements.It is extremely important for the firm to set up such an environment that promotes the talent of the employees and utilize their potential in an efficient manner. In order to keep the employees intact and promote an organizational culture which is healthy. It is required that the leadership carefully works on job design. Job design is the process in which different elements are join together to form a job in which individual as well as organizational requirements are kept in mind . While designing a job description it is very important that they company is aware of and concentrates on the fact that what they want to achieve.If the employees are aware of their job description and are provided with the right resources and culture, the compa ny is able to achieve its goals. And also maintains the standards at the same time. In such a situation employees are motivated to put in their best and to take their work to further level of excellence. Motivation is one factor that is extremely difficult to attain. But on the other hand those firms that have been successful in motivating their employees have also earned value addition form their talented and skillful employees.Most of these researches of motivation in management have been derived from the discipline of psychology. Since psychology is the study of human mind and behavior. These theories have proved to be very effective in use in all the fields of management. A few of these theories related to motivation are described bellow. Abraham Maslow was a famous psychologist and was also known as the father of modern management. He in his article â€Å"A Theory of Human Motivation† formulated a framework of human motivation and drives on the basis of their needs†¦ The table below depicts the hierarchy of these human needs in order.1) Psychological needs: they are recognized as the primary needs of every individual that are essential to be fulfilled. They are required for survival. They comprise of necessities like food, shelter, sleep, water etc. 2) Safety Needs: as soon as the psychological needs are met, ones attention is diverted towards fulfilling the security needs. Every person has some insecurities may it be physical or emotional. According to Maslow until and unless these needs are addressed and resolved a person would feel threatened and would not climb up any further on the pyramid.3) Social Needs: this is the first level of higher level of needs. It involves the interaction and relationship with a society, family or social group. 4) Esteem Needs: esteem needs include self-respect, self worth, recognition and achievement. 5) Self-Actualization needs: realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences Maslow’s ideas regarding the hierarchy of needs provides information about workplace environment that encourages and enables employees to attain their potential that is self actualization.Managers can use these to encourage personal growth and development. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y were a basis of development of positive management styles and techniques. And prove to be helpful in development of organizational development and culture within the organization. It clearly defines two different methods of management control. One is the classic and conventional authoritative management style and the other is the modern a participative style. Companies’ can chose either of them but theory Y or the participative style has been more effective in motivating the workforceBecause these theories help us understand the psyche of human mind which in turn can be helpful in developing the job description. And if the job design would be good enough than this would motivate employees to work harder and bring in innovation. In this world where nothing is stagnant and environment changes, such steps are all effective in helping a company cope with these changes and to conquer new market with fresh ideas. All these theories are a guiding force to manage employees and their talent. Motivation is essential at all levels.It is a complex combination of several factors. Motivation leads to efficiency, profits and loyalty. It can make the impossible possible. Employees need to feel respected and valued in the company. This gives them a sense of belonging. Adopting sensible job designs for the workforce can only bring about this change. It is the responsibility of the leadership to make such job descriptions that help utilize the potentials. Theory Y shows that management styles empower and have a significant impact on workforce motivation.Works Cited Abraham Maslow. (n. d. ). Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from: < http:// www. abraham-maslow. com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs. asp> Businessballs. com. (n. d. ). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from: < http://www. businessballs. com/maslow. htm> Job Access. (n. d. ). Job description and design. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from:

Somatoform Disorder Essays

Somatoform Disorder Essays Somatoform Disorder Paper Somatoform Disorder Paper This disorder encompasses several health disorders. The disease affects the daily activities of the patient. The patients do have a strong believe that they are sick and in turn might not be faking the illness. The disease is hard to be tested from many tests and it makes the patient more worried. Their treatment requires a lot of attention and the best treatment would be the family relationship. Nevertheless, many forms of treatment have worked on the disorder, which need a lot of care on the patient. SOMATOFORM DISORDER There is no physical identifiable cause of the disease though there may be physical symptoms such as nauseas, depression, pain, and dizziness. Somatoform disorder is also known as briquet’s syndrome, Pain disorder, or Body dysmorphic disorder. This disorder has a variety of mental health disorders in which the main cause is not a specific physical symptom but it manifests itself as a physical disorder. The symptoms that the patients do have are many and they last for a long time preferably years due to them not being able to be narrowed to a specific physical cause. Types of the Somatoform Disorder Pain disorder – appears largely to come from the patients psychological factors, it is more commonly in the older age and the ration is nearly equal 2:1, Conversion disorder – is where the patient’s senses of mobility are impaired with no cause only stress being the main factor. Hypochondriasis – is mostly related to the stresses that one faces in life, it is marked by fear and lack of assurance. It is now in all age groups it is no long a disorder for the grown adults nut also the adolescents and children, Body dysmorphic disorder – is a disorder that affects the features on the face or head that are exaggerated. However, these disorders do have their age group, many of the young and adolescents are affected by conversion disorders although there might be cases that involve dysmorphic disorders too. Parents are being accused on the conversion disorder, as they are more attentive on the child’s symptoms. Causes and symptoms The disorder is mainly due to the family stresses, parental modeling, cultural influences, and biological factors. These causes bring about the state where many of the patients do have chronic headaches, pain in the back, nausea, muscle cramps, and arthritis. Treatment The patient needs the greatest care in the administration of the treatment and it should be monitored at all times. The treatment has to be either medications, a firm relationship with a single practitioner, psychotherapy, and alternative medicine. Prognosis It needs to be determined whether the patient is young or old and the nature of the disorder and the longevity of the same. Nevertheless, if the patient’s overall health is improved then the treatment of the disease will be easy. Prevention Taking care of the various growing of the children so as to be able to control the onset of the disorder. References Eisendrath S. J. , (1998). Psychiatric Disorders. In Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, 37th ed. Edited by Stephen McPhee, et al. , Stamford: Appleton amp; Lange. healthatoz. com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform. jsp? requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/somatoform_disorders. jsp retrieved on 04/05/2008. http://familydoctor. org/online/famdocen/home/common/pain/disorders/162. html retrieved on 04/05/2008. http://psyweb. com/Mdisord/jsp/somatd. jsp retrieved on 04/05/2008.