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Beowulf

Upon reading the heroic epic poem, Beowulf which is well thought out to be one of the most important masterworks of Anglo-Saxon writings, and watching the animated version of it, I have recognized some differences and similarities of interpretation. The Film Beowulf, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is an animated movie with the Anglo-Saxon poem version. The film director chose this kind of literary work as it has a piece of very significant information on the subject of controversies and relationships of the society and kingship in Old England. Additionally, the poem is tremendously thrilling and encompasses many amazing, brilliant characters and descriptions. There are a number of differences and similarities between the sections of Beowulf discussed in class, and the analog animated film screened during the three Beowulf lectures available on Canvas in terms of Grendel’s combat with Beowulf and how Grendel passes away, Beowulf’s characteristics, Hrothgar and his actions, Grendel’s mother and her fight with Beowulf, Beowulf’s realm and the combat with the dragon. The dissimilarities between Beowulf the movie and Beowulf the poem are very large. The characteristics of Beowulf seen on the screen are somehow dissimilar from the characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon poem. 

The animated film, other than the plot and the setting, is somehow dissimilar from the original poem. It is enjoyable but didn’t follow the original poem. Beowulf is roughly categorized into three parts, all of which focuses on Beowulf’s combat with a specific monster: first Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, lastly, the dragon. In both the film and the poem, the main themes mirror the motivations and the values of the personalities. One of the leading themes of Beowulf, personified by its designation character, is loyalty. To begin with, the animated film portrays Beowulf as a man of imperfection and flaws. Another thing is that the depiction of Unferth and Hrothdar is not similar to the representation in the poem. In the film, Hrothgar is portrayed as a degraded alcohol addict, while Unferth carries characteristics of a pietistic Christian. In the animated film, Grendel’s mother’s representation is slightly not accurate as she is demonstrated as an attractive, seductive woman, the dragon (Beowulf’s child), and mother of Grendel’s (Hrothgar’s offspring). Another thing is that Beowulf turns out to be the ruler of the land of the Danes rather than becoming the king of his native Geatland. On the other hand, both the poem and the animated film have a sense of single-minded determination in a way that neither of them shows much personality. They both have a sense of single-minded determination; neither of them displays much personality, and all characters are incapable of evading their fate. Both Grendel and Beowulf have strange willpower that assists them to be immortalized.

Grendel’s mother is regarded as a huge swamp-like monster who could not be pierced by a mere sword in the poem. According to Beowulf the poem, “it was then he saw the size of this water-hag, damned thing of the deep…He dashed out his weapon, not stinting the stroke, and with such strength and violence that the circled sword screamed on her head a strident battle-song. But the stranger saw his battle-flame refuse to bite or hurt her at all; the edge failed his lord in his need” (Line 1517). On the other side, Grendel’s mother is seen in the film as a very seductive monster that seems to be very lovely and attractive; Beowulf’s sword pierces precisely through her body. They then involve themselves in sexual intercourse. In the animated film, Grendel’s mom murders Beowulf’s men before he contests the dragon. On the other hand, it never occurred because she had passed on.  

One thing is that apart from being an animated adaptation of the Old English poem, Beowulf’s film does not disappoint in any way. The construction of the elementary plot and the animated film’s storyline follows that of the imaginative literary source. As seen in the poem, Hrothgar, the ruler of Denmark, is troubled by a ferocious monster known as Grendel. It was after Beowulf comes to Denmark to kill it. Following the poem, Beowulf cuts off the giant’s arm, which on the other hand, succeeds in running away but dies from the injuries. Not so long, Grendel’s mother alternatively revenges her killed son by murdering a lot of men, which results in Beowulf pursuing after Grendel’s mom and kill her too. Before the fight, Beowulf recognizes fate’s master plan in the fight between good and evil, “If death does take me, send … my armor to Hygelac. … Fate will unwind as it must!” (Line 194-661). He gets back with Grendel’s head and is abundantly remunerated by the Danes. One common thing is that in the poem, Beowulf does not have any familial relations with Grendel’s mother or the dragon, and Hrothgar, Grendel, and Grendel’s mom are not connected to one another as in the film. 

To conclude, the film preciously bears a resemblance to the heroic poem in a way that there are some differences that the motion picture director did not take into consideration. The poem depicts Beowulf as the main hero who returns to Geatland to become the ruler of his uncle’s monarchy. On the other hand, in the film, Beowulf remains in the realm of the Danes and becomes the ruler of the Hrothgar’s kingdom. Additionally, in the poem, he murders Grendel’s mother, whereas, in the animated film, they engage in sexual intercourse, and after that, Grendel’s mother gives birth to a dragon-like child. In the poem, Beowulf has never involved in any sexual contact with Grendel’s mother. At the end of the film, the dragon which Beowulf endures is not his child. It is an unsystematic hovering monster that he combats when getting back home to Geatland to be present at the coronation and turn out to be a fair-minded king. Beowulf, a protagonist, happens to be is a savior character. He stands up for a reason and conviction against great odds.

 

A novel way that a risk has been controlled in a project

A coherent and well-structured risk management strategy provides an approach to identifying managing and accessing risk. It helps factor in the process for assessment based on new actions and developments which are taken and updated regularly. A strategy for risk management can be implemented and developed by the smallest of projects or groups into a strategy that are complicated for organizations that have multi-site natures.

The Cleveland based Baldwin Water Works established in 1856 is a water treatment facility that is ranked among the 10 largest water treatment facilities in Cleveland, It comprises of four water treatment facilities which serves the residents with over 500 million gallons of water through its water treatment facilities. Due to its aging developments the facility needed drastic improvements and renovations. It is in this regard that the city in 1996 began a (PEP) plant enhancement program approximately at 750 million dollars as a way of guaranteeing the facilities were of high quality and cost effective.

They contracted construction and design teams’ which, had to address the challenge of renovation at the facilities construction at a resulting cost in the possible lowest water rates. They were also tasked with finding ways of minimizing costs of maintenance and future operations, while taking all possible future scenarios into account. In addition they had to find ways that they could keep the facility operational while the construction occurred. This presented a challenge since, it forced the construction workers to work extra during the months that the city needed the least water, while during the months that the demand was high they ensure no inconvenience of power outages occurred.

Maintenance of the historical structure during the buildings modernization was another issue they had to deal with since the project was occurring simultaneously that is the facilities modernization and restoration. The challenge was on the layout of the facilities that is since most of the construction occurring bordered the currently used water reservoir and this hindered the preparation and delivery of the materials on the site, this forced them to be moved far from the site due to the sensitive environment nature of the reservoir and it presented a challenge on the time sensitive project.

The innovative ways that the project team handled the above problems included implementing plans that involved prioritizing and mapping out issues in the facility that needed improvements. They achieved this through, the evaluations conducted by the facility planning consultants on the current identified scope of work and existing structures for the projects under the advice of the MWH. They also commissioned through the project teams professional designs that helped in providing detailed contract bid documents and designs.

In addition the involvement of Cleveland land commission as renovation experts on the water systems historic parts helped in effectively recognizing the first part of the project which, not only helped speed up the project but also saved the 1920 constructed historic land mark by emphasizing the need to preserve its architectural features.

The techniques implemented by the project management also helped mitigate and identify possible complications in relation to the projects modernization. The transitioned staff operations helped the plant become a modern PLC based system from the traditional manual mode operating system. To smoothen, this transition the team provided for the employees hands on assistance, and training classes

The results of this innovative risk management strategy were that the team not only managed to get a complete closure of the plant but they also managed to effectively remove all the valves and piping that needed replacing. Another implication on the project is that it took only four days compared to the originally stipulated 10 days on the contract due to the well-coordinated teams and detailed planning by the management. In addition they managed to guarantee the institution minimal risk on the project while saving it time and 2.8 million dollars on the project which they effectively allocated to other projects (PMI, 2009).

The main reasons for allocating risk assessments to an individuals during a project is that due to the dynamic and consistently changing nature of the risk there is need for constant monitoring and allocating the different aspects of the project will help prevent the risks involved. Mainly since through this the opportunities that these risks present won’t go to waste, another reason is that it helps create a sense of responsibility in the organisation and project since they have to be accountable for the progress, completion and success of the project.

There is a high possibility of individuals becoming specialists through the risk management experience since knowing in depth the issue allows them to come up with well mitigated action strategies. The allocation of individual responsibilities help guarantee that there is a continuous monitoring and reviewing of risks the main importance in this is that through the divided tasks the management can find within the plans an adequate risk management that can effectively cover the overall projects management and risk plan risk output since it has within it adequately defined and detailed responsibilities and roles for the teams to cater for any eventualities during the project activities.

In conclusion the assumption that allocating risks to individuals generates a low interest for the project since they are the ones to be held accounted if there is an occurrence of a potential threat in the project is false, since studies reveal that accountable people risk appetite and behaviour change in regards to their nature that is if they naturally love or avoid taking risks. This natural change can either be advantageous or disastrous to the project (Mark T. Edmead ,2007).Reference

PMI (2009) Baldwin Water Works: Reconstructing Cleveland’s Water System, Project Management Institute, case study. Print

Retrieved from

http://www.pmi.org/Business-Mark T. Edmead (2007) Understanding the Risk Management Process, Control Solutions International, the Institute of Internal Auditors. Print

Retrieved from

http://www.theiia.org/intAuditor/itaudit/archives/

A Persuasive Essay And My Greatest Accomplishment

A narrative essay retells a story of a personal life or an experience. The narrative is written in the author’s point of view and the sensory details provided in this essay impacts feelings and emotion to the reader. The author can write about his past experience and connect it to the current or the present

An Argument /A persuasive essay are essays that have a goal to convince a reader about a topic, normally a topic that involves giving a personal opinion and the reader must believe it. The argument uses solid evidence, and gives logic and sound reasoning. The reader must agree and adapt to your argument. An example of a persuasive essay is a petition.

Expository essay requires one to investigate, to generate, to collect and to evaluate a topic and set argument regarding the topic. It can be achieved by comparing and contrasting, analysis of effects and cause and more. The essay is short in length and involves less research. Expository essays are normally used for test writing for instance the GRE and the GED.

A descriptive essay has many adjectives that describe and portray impression on the topic. This essay uses details to give a picture of a person, a place, an event a debate or an object. The descriptive essay can use the sense of smell, touch, taste, sight and hearing to give the reader a feeling of the topic being described.

My Greatest Accomplishment

Everyone deserves a second chance to be loved especially innocent children who are abandoned and left to die in the streets. I grew up as an orphan, who had neither a home nor anyone to love me. I felt rejected and an outcast in my society. It has been my dream since then to help the destitute, to parent the abandoned children and the homeless. I joined a group of people who had the same interest and passion as I. In the January Last year we attended Christian seminars and education centers that train caregivers on how to handle an orphanage. I visited various orphanages to compare what facilities they offered.

August last year I got permit and opened Mercy home which was appreciated from my church abundantly. From my church I got 5 sponsors and well wishers who were ready to help. So far I have 21abondoned children and 5aged women that call Mercy Home their home. The number is raising and we will need a bigger place. I have bought a land where I plan to build and we will relocate in future. This has been my greatest accomplishment of owning an orphanage and a dream come true. I have a vision of changing the world to be a better place for the needy.

Benefits/Drawbacks of Reducing Single Use Plastics

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Benefits/Drawbacks of Reducing Single Use Plastics

Single-use of plastics is often described as the one-time use and disposal or recycling of plastics such as straws, bottles, bags and other common types of packaging. As much of these plastics are designed to be thrown away or disposed of after use. Banning and reducing single-use of plastics is made possible by the adoption of bans and levies by governments policies on the production of the plastics with the aim of replacing them with more environmentally friendly alternatives The advantages of the single-use of plastics recorded are undeniable thus the reducing and banning of single-use plastics is set to weigh on drawbacks. The effects of single plastics usage impact both the environment and the living creatures. Through their impact on society, the benefits and drawbacks of single-use of plastic papers are evaluated. As much as it is easily disposable, majority of the single-use plastic takes years to decompose, they are easily available and cheap a factors that make their usage more common in various places

Assessments conducted shows plastic to have a miracle product as it has enhanced in development of health sector, facilitating the development of clean energy through the use of turbines and solar panels and has helped the revolution of the food industry as the packaging helps preserve food keeping them fresh for longer periods of time thus reducing wastage. The effects assessments of the single-use of plastic bags have shown how the disposal of plastics after a single use has impacted mostly the environment as these wastes find their way to being dumped mostly in the waterbodies choking marine animals (Ross, 2013). The disposable plastics take up to a thousand years to decompose thus globally the plastic wastes has led to a disruption of drainages clogging the drains causing floods and allow for disease breeding. They can also find their way to the food chain as some animals could consume them causing severe effects. Banning of single-use of plastics has emerged to be government initiatives in the efforts to mitigate their global environmental effects. More than 60 countries across the world have introduced bans and levies on curbing of the single-use of plastics and with a review of countries such as Rwanda that banned the use of plastics being regarded as the cleanest nation on earth. Basing on the countries that have introduced and enacted the banning of single-use plastics this evaluation analyses what has been able to be successful and what is not in terms of expected outcomes. Thus it intends to guide on the users (mostly governments) on measures to involved in a reduction or banning of single-use of plastics whether beneficial or not (Astrup, 2009). Although their due to lack of enough monitoring there are no conclusive information to ascertain the impacts of banning and levies measures of the assessment and evaluation analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of the banning of single-use of plastics in controlling the rate of environment pollutions shows a huge benefit for people and the environment that seeks to avert pollution crisis with the reduction or banning being a painless but profitable initiative.

The evaluation of the essay may, however, be out of balance as the plastics under study are not the problem but rather the focus should be on how the people choose to use the plastics and what they do with it. Which illustrates that it is should be left for the people to decide in smarter ways what they ought to do with the plastics. The evaluation should also help to enhance or focus on other actions to be pursued in efforts to reduce single-use of plastics rather than banning. Other methods can include the development of waste management systems through enhancing technology.

References

Astrup, T., Fruergaard, T., & Christensen, T. H. (2009). Recycling of plastic: accounting of greenhouse gases and global warming contributions. Waste management & research, 27(8), 763-772.

Ross, S., & Evans, D. (2003). The environmental effect of reusing and recycling a plastic-based packaging system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11(5), 561-571.

Bernie Madoff & ENRON

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Ethics, ethical values, along with social responsibility must all work in the unison in the corporate business structure. Those traits have been better termed like maintaining the entire best business morals, gathering employees who possess individual ethical values and at last for behaving ethically as well as with the sensitivity to social, cultural, economic along with environmental problem. For the business to ensure better such quality business traits the code of ethics must be followed through the business. In as scenario of Bernie Madoff & Enron, most well renowned financial scandals in the history, I believe, it has given key hand while pushing the business all within the America for having and also enforcing code of the ethics.

Bernie Madoff only may be one of smartest as well as conniving people in world. My words might sound contracting as the man has been presently serving the time within prison for the securities fraud however I would in addition explain my perspective. This man had been capable of manipulating peoples’ minds along with having them to invest in his Ponzi scheme.   The proclaimed investor has taken millions on millions of dollars from main corporations. Those people had been investing in the Madoffs hedge funds and Ascot Partners. Madoff has reported to its clients that those hedge funds might give the double digit outcomes CITATION Len08 l 1033 (Lenzner, 2008).

Financial statements, which he had been giving to its clients must have the key signal that there had been only something, which had not been right as there had been no way, which those hedge funds might produce those return. I feel that people have liked what they were seen on the paper along with that has been end of that. The man’s lack of ethics have coasted people their whole life savings. This in addition cost Madoff its freedom because he had sentenced to one hundred fifty years within the prison.

I do not believe that Madoff had been all to blame, because people beneath him in its corporation must have seen such coming. This had been where code of ethics actually implemented as when somebody, or even Madoff, was any integrity I do not feel this might have occurred. Taking social responsibility in consideration might have made Madoff to realize what he had been doing was wrong and also ultimately he had been disrupting the lives of people.   Madoff actually did not have any perspectives of ethics and social responsibility to his investors. All that he cared of had been the green dollar signs. I believe that his sons took the key stand through outing him towards public officials. For me, this has shown that minimum all ethic values had not been lost by this family. Madoff’s sons had been the ones, whom investors must thank for providing them the justice.

Enron had been the energy trading as well as communications organization situated in Houston, Texas. From 1996 to 2001 Enron had provided with name of America’s Most Innovative organization by Fortune magazine as this had been the 7th biggest corporation in United States. The issue, which led the organization to bankruptcy, had been because of the fact, which fraudulent accounting practices happen permitting Enron for overstating its earnings along with tucking away its high debt liabilities for having more appealing balance sheet CITATION For02 l 1033 (Forbes.com, 2002).

Enron’s accounting team has “cooked” books to every meaning of word therefore its investors might not see anything wrong with failing company. Such a poorly structured organization led the people to jail time, unemployment along with caused the retirement stocks towards being dried up. Enron was having the social responsibility towards their stockholders and apart from being up front as well as honest about failing organization they hid all financial flaw for keep getting money from their investors. As Enron has not been keeping the social responsibility this has just caused the organization to go deeper and deeper in debt. When they had been upfront at the turning point in which things had been bad too much of heartache might be prevented for those included, as employees, which did not know what had been even moving on. Those consequences that the organization along with employees faced had been because of the lack of code of ethics as well as social responsibility.

Enron scandal has opened eyes to rest of the organization that the accounting practices are required for having the solid process stocked full of checks & balances, segregation of duties, and also ethics. I feel that those traits might be the greater beginning for the accounting department’s code of ethics. Having people delegated towards some tasks would permit for the questions so as to be asked therefore preventing the fraudulent activity in longer run. Setting the ethical accounting practices such as enforcing laws of GAAP would in addition be the main contribution towards the organizations code of ethics. 

Finally, financial scandals of Enron & Bernie Madoff had both been totally avoidable, unnecessary along with the instance of the business practices at its worst. Every scandal exemplified what lack of business ethics, ethical values along with social responsibility may result in. In both the scenarios, individuals, which have decided they might blatantly lie towards its investors, did that for sole reason of extorting much more money out of investors. Whereas its plans worked in short term, they definitely ruined their company and also ultimately their lives within longer run.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Forbes.com, S. (2002). Enron’s endgame. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/2001/11/28/1128enron.html .

Lenzner, R. (2008). Bernie madoff’s $50 billion ponzi scheme. Retrieved from:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/12/madoff-ponzi-hedge-pf-ii-in_rl_1212croesus_inl.html

MyCommuniCo ADVICE PAPER

(A paper advising on effective leadership practices at MyCommuniCo Company)

To be presented to:

The CEO, MyCommuniCo

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper purposes at discussing the Bass theory of transformational leadership, and the Wallace and Halls mode of team working, in relation to their application to a company by name, MyCommuniCo. The theories are explored, and a review of the literature explored to gather views of other researches about the two models of leadership. A total of eleven studies have been reviewed. The results show that adoption of the two theories and applying them at different levels, in the organization, is the best method to promote effective leadership. The paper thus recommends teamworking in the organization and transformational leadership in the teams.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page……………………………………………………………………………………….…1

Executive summary…………………………………………………………….………………….2

Table of contents…………………………………………………………….……………….……3

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….4

Exploration of the theories……………………………………………….………………………..4

Application of the theories…………………………………………………….…………………..6

Evaluation and recommendations………………………………………………………………….7

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………9

References……………………………………………………………………………………..…10

INTRODUCTION

Effective leadership is very essential part of organizational performance in the realization of goals. Application of effective principles of leadership has been found to produce good results for organizations, in the long term and in the short term. However, this is not to say that, application of effective leadership does not experience challenges. It experiences challenges, but the leaders identify the problem and counter it before adverse effects are realized. The case of MyCommuniCo is not different. Having operated for over 10 years, this is a period long enough for a big organization like this to experience challenges. The departmentalization of the organization to almost independent units can also pose a challenge. The lucky side about MyCommuniCo is that the problem has been identified. This points to the possibility of applying the principles of effective leadership; and the theories of leadership, to realize success, in the organization. This paper discusses the application of models of leadership to correct the situation in the organization, MyCommuniCo. The paper is divided into sections to the Bass theory of transformational leadership, as well as, the Wallace and Hall’s leadership model in teamworking. The essay will compare these theories, and critically analyze their application and effectiveness in the situation like the one being experienced by MyCommuniCo. The paper will finally make recommendations for leadership improvements based on these theories. The following section is aimed at exploring the two theories, as well as, supporting them from various other studies.

EXPLORATION OF THE BASS THEORY OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP; AND THE WALLACE AND HALL’S MODEL OF LEADERSHIP IN TEAMWORKING.

For a deeper understanding of these two models of leadership, they are introduced separately, and then discussed together. The model of leadership through teamwork proposed by Wallace and Halls focused on distribution of leadership and shared responsibility (Wallace and Hall 1994 P. 191). The two authors of the model advocate for the application of the school of thought on teams in the leadership and management in the organization. The work of Igen and Kozlowski (2006), and the work of Gronn (2002) support the school of thought on teamwork leadership, in organizations. In his support and recommendation of the shared leadership, as proposed by Wallace and Halls, Gronn (2002), advocates for distribution of the power, and authority into units. These units are the ones that the authors of the original model, Wallace and Hall called teams. Leadership through units can be practiced through a departmentalization, like the case of MyCommuniCo. The model advocates for devolution of authority to make sure that the units, or departments, enjoy a healthy autonomy in order to be productive. However, through a productive culture of organizational behavior of check-ups and controls, as proposed by Judge and Robbins (2011), the units should be checked and controlled, so that the autonomy and independence do not become unhealthy. The practice of excess autonomy and independence in an organization, like in the case of MyCommuniCo, can lead to underperformance, resulting to poor realization of organizational goals.

On his part Bass (1998), on his theory of transformational leadership, advocates for a style of leadership that is based on influencing people. He advocates a method of transforming the organization, through inspiring the employees and the juniors, to sing the song of the management at whatever costs. The theory focuses and directs concern to the degree into which a manager, or a leader, influences people in an organization. Bass outlines the qualities of a leader that will enable them influence employees as honesty, trust, and reliability. These, according to Bass, attract loyalty and obedience from the workers. The loyal and obedient workers are then highly likely to be influenced by the management or the leadership. Bass argues that the leader can only influence the followers, if only they possess these characteristics. The leader in this case is the role model. In supporting his model, Bass proposed the aspects that a leader who aims at influencing followers should consider. Firstly, consideration of individual needs and aspirations is very effective in influencing people. The argument of the model is that the leader should be quick to identify the needs of the specific members of their organization or teams, and act quickly to address them. In this case, the leader needs to act as both a facilitator and a mentor.

The second aspect proposed by Bass (1998); and Bass and Riggio (2006), and Bass and Ruth (2008), is stimulating and challenging the members intellectually, towards discovery and innovation, in solving of organizational challenges. This aspect aims at ensuring that, all the members are involved in decision making. Another way of looking at the aspect, is whereby a leader seeks the opinions and suggestions of group members, and challenges the members to make a move in implementing them. This empowers the members and gives the morale needed to cooperate with the management. At such a level, it is easy for the leadership to influence the followers.

The third aspect of transformational leadership proposed by Bass (1998) is providing a vision to the organization, team or group. Research shows that a leadership that is visionary, impacts a group to a large extent (Judge & Robbins, 2011). Providing a vision for the group, is giving the group purpose and a reason to work on the task they are supposed to work on. A group that knows the reason for carrying out a particular task is likely to perform better than one that has no vision.

The last aspect given by Bass concerning transformational leadership is a leader who is fully fledged to the course of change and transformation. A leader, who has the true sense of what the transformation they are preaching, means. Such a leader will practice the principles of honesty while working with their followers. The leader will also be concerned about the personal needs of the individuals, and not only the interests of the organization (Gronn 2002).

A degree of criticism is applicable in the two models of leadership discussed in this paper. For example, the model of shared leadership by Wallace and Halls (1994), has been widely applied and emphasized in the school setting. However, a research done by Louise et al. (2006) on learning communities, suggests that, the success of learners depend on the efforts of individual teachers and not group work. The researchers argue that building the capacity of individual learners is what matters, and not grouping the students or the teachers. These results are not in agreement with the propositions of Wallace and Hall. In spite of this, the results cannot discredit the contribution of teamwork in promoting effective leadership. The study by Igen and Kozlowski (2006), recommend highly, the application of teamwork in enhancing organizational performance. According to the authors, teamwork enhances encouragement of group members and promotes innovation in the group. It sets an environment where members of the group can empower one another, thus promoting organizational performance.

On the part or transformational leadership, critics have argued that there is a problem with the test effect, in the multifactor test questionnaire. The argument is that, the tests that are used to justify the theory are deficient to a greater extent, and cannot tell to what degree transformation is needed in a particular situation. Another problem with the theory is failure to address the extent to which a leader of a multinational organization can reach all the employees in order to empower and motivate them. The question is well applicable in a big organization like MycommuniCo. The morality of the values that the leaders should influence the followers with, is also a question of discussion. Muenjohn (n.d) argues that, sometimes, or in some scenarios, it may not be possible to determine which values are good to emulate, or to teach others. An example is a situation where religious values contradict. A particular religion may regard a value as being ethical, while it is considered unethical by another religion. Cultural values also contradict. It can be, therefore, pose some difficulty applying transformational theory in a global organization. Having discussed these theories and reviewed some literature supporting them, the following section looks at how they can be applied in the case of MyCommuniCo.

APPLICATION OF THE THEORIES

The situation of MyCommunico is manageable and can be corrected to achieve the desired organizational goals. The proposition mad by Bass (1998), and Wallace and Hall (1994), can be combined and applied simultaneously to achieve the desired organizational performance. The combination of the two models will involve the application of transformational leadership into small groups. The shared leadership style proposed by Wallace and Hall, for example, can do very well considering the fact that an individual cannot possess all the skills of leadership. Distributing this leadership will see many talents combined to produce the best results. In his support of the teamwork leadership theory, Kocolowski (2010) presupposes that, the available literature documenting research findings on teamwork, show effectiveness in its application, in the sectors of education and health. The sectors have been known for a long time to apply the theory of teamworking, and have benefited greatly while tapping the benefits of shared leadership. The organizations that have applied the concept of teamwork leadership have also attempted to apply transformational leadership in their teams.

The departmentalization of MyCommuniCo places it at a very good position to apply the two proposed models of leadership in its realization of the set goals. The departments need to act as teams. When they act as teams, unity will be realized in each department. The model of team bonding and strengthening proposed by Igen and Kozlowski (2006) should be applied to make the teams, in this case departments, strong. Igen and Kozlowski propose a strong support and role-modelling of the team by the organizational leadership, and the leadership of the team. In essence, the proposition involves the practice of both theories to realize effective leadership.

The vastness of an organization like MyCommuniCo can pose a challenge in applying the theory proposed by Bass and Riggio (2006). This is where team leadership comes into play. However, after dividing the organization into teams, transformational leadership theory can be incorporated into the teams to make them productive and effective. Kocolowski (2010) brings out this idea very well. He argues that an individual cannot save a whole company, regardless of their level of gifting and talent. He presupposes that many organizations have had to learn the hard way, that shared leadership is the style of the day, in leadership. Judge and Robbins (2011) share the same sentiments. It might be that the same is happening to MyCommuniCo. To save this organization from a fall with a thud, transformational leadership has to be applied in teams. Many chief executives have had it wrong in applying one theory of leadership in organizational management (Kocolowski 2010). It has not worked. With these propositions, it seems the best way for MyCommuniCo to go, is by empowering the departments through the propositions of Bass (1998) as backed by Kocolowski (2010).

Another reason why team leadership is very recommendable is because it has existed since the old times, and has been found to yield results (Kocolowski 2010). This author gives an example of the republic of Rome, which used shared leadership for four successive centuries with a lot of success. The success of the leadership made it to be adopted to the higher ranks in the governance, up to the one of the Consul. However, this practice did not inspire many business leaders. In the world over, many businesses have existed reflecting the policies of the executive officer. Because of a culture of lack of consultations, when this member leaves the organization, it deteriorates. To prevent the same from befalling MyCommuniCo, it is to the interest of all the employees, customers and stakeholders that the organization adopts shared leadership in order to run effectively.

The problem of coordination cited in the case of MyCommuniCo, should not be blamed on departmentalization. Rather, the model of Wallace and Hall of teamwork leadership should be adopted in full measure, so that training of teams can be implemented to make the teams effective. According to Serfaty and Entin (2013), the adoption of organizational management using teams should be accompanied by training of the teams. The authors did a research on coordination of teams and found out that performance in an organization is greatly improved by adaptation training. The process of adaptation training according to the authors, entail the use of mental models which have been found to improve performance. The authors also recommend that, when team training is employed in teams, there is a likelihood of all employees holding onto common goals, thus improving organizational performance. Having looked at how these theories can be applied, the following section evaluates the recommendations of applying the styles in MyCommuniCo.

EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE TWO THEORIES

With the study and research that was made by Wallace and Hall about small management teams (Wallace & Hall 1994 P. 192), this model is highly recommended for implementation in MyCommuniCo. The authors did a research for over one year to evaluate the effectiveness of six small management teams. The prolonged period of the study allowed the authors to confirm that their propositions are true to their recommendations. The author’s results showed that the small teams operated very smoothly and the members even showed evidence of having enjoyed the experience of working in the teams. Going by this model, a teamwork style can be adopted in MyCommuniCo and employ the recommendations provided by the model of Wallace and Hall (1994) to make the teams effective. The authors recommend making sure that all the members in the small teams are aware of their individual responsibilities. At the same time, the small team should be aware of its role in the entire organization. This can be very well applicable in the department system, which is already in place at MyCommuniCo. To make sure that these departments stop unhealthy competition among themselves, the recommendations of this theory can be applied. For example, ground rule for consultations between the departments need to be laid out. Communication from the head office should be specific to a particular department. Wallace and Hall recommend that the members should be encouraged and role-modelled to keep the organization’s goals ahead of personal aspirations.

Looking at the transformational model of Bass (1998), it is also recommendable that the model be incorporated, but that it is implemented in the small teams. The model can work well in stages in the organization. This is evident in that, even the authors of teamwork model admit that “SMTs are not simply means to an end” (Wallace and Hall 1994 P. 194). There proposition is that, after sharing the leadership between the departments, the management has the role of applying inspirational principles to the teams, to keep the team spirit alive. Wallace and Hall agree that, in their study, members acknowledged inspiration and encouragements from their colleagues, and the team leaders. This is very consistent with the recommendation of the transformational leadership model proposed by Bass. In MycommuniCo, this can work very well by dividing work in specialized teams as departments, as per Wallace and Halls model; and inspiring the teams through the transformational leadership model, as proposed by Bass. The transformational style should be implemented from the top. The chief executive officer should influence the first line managers, who in turn influence their subordinates, until energy and ambition is instilled in the small teams. By adopting these two styles of leadership in this manner, effectiveness is going to be regained in MyCommuniCo.

The model of teamwork leadership by Wallace and Hall has been widely recommended. The authors cite Janis (1972) and Bottery (1992) in their work (1994) as a support of their theory. Judge and Robbins (2011) and Kocolowski (2010), as well as Igen and Kozlowski (2006) are other researchers who agree with this model. In my first employment before I joined this company, I was working in a fortune 500 company, which greatly relied on team leadership for success. On the other hand, the teams in the company relied too much with transformational leadership style. Adopting only one of these models will not work best for MyCommuniCo because it is a very big company. I recommend the adoption of the two models.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, after evaluating the two theories and considering the case of MyCommuniCo, I recommend the adoption of the two models to achieve effective leadership in the company. However, the implementation should take the best aspects form each of the models. The idea of teams will work very well because MyCommuniCo is a very big organization. The departments are already in existence, but there is already a leadership lapse. This shows that there is something that needs to be done in the teams (departments). Influencing the leaders of the teams, who will in turn influence the team members, is what is needed. This will be in line with application of transformational style of leadership in the teams. The case states that MyCommuniCo has more than 500 employees. A single person cannot succeed in influencing all these people. Therefore, work of leadership has to be shared, but influencing has to happen inside the teams. The aspects of leadership that I recommend that MyCommuniCo should adopt include the following: The departments should still remain. Ground rules for consultation should be laid in order to prevent unhealthy competition, and to promote productive consultation. Departmental leaders should be trained on how to make the teams effective, as well as how to influence their team members and inspire them with organizational goals. An organizational culture that promotes organizational values, should be emphasized, initiated and maintained. The top leadership should provide vision and values in the organization to promote following of a common goal by the employees. In line with the propositions of the two models, MyCommuniCo stands a very good chance to improve, if these recommendations are followed. They have been tested and proven right, and with the situation at hand in this organization, I strongly recommend application of teamworking in the organization, as well as transformational leadership in the level of the groups.

REFERENCES

Bass, B. 1998. Transformational leadership: Military, industry and the educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

Bass, M.B. & Riggio, E.R. 2006. Transformational leadership (2nd ed). London, UK: Taylor and Francis.

Bass, M.B. & Ruth, B. 2008. The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications. New York, NY: Free Press.

Gronn, P. 2002. ‘Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis’. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol 13, no. 4 pp 423-451

Igen, R.D. & Kozlowski, W.J. (2006). ‘Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams’. Association for Psychological Science, 7 (3): 77-124

Judge, T. A. & Robbins, S. P. 2011.  Organizational behavior (14th Edition).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kocolowski, D.M. 2010. Shared leadership: Is it time for a change? Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol 3, no. 1 pp 22-32.

Louise, S., Ray, B., Agnes, M., Mike, W. & Sally, T. 2006. Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, Vol 7, no. 6 pp 221-258.

Muenjohn, N. n.d. ‘The ethical dimension in transformational leadership.’ Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, Vol 3, no. 3 pp 21-35

Wallace, M. & Hall, V. 1994. Inside the SMT: Teamwork in secondary school management. London: Paul Chapman.

Wallace, M. 2001. ‘Sharing leadership of schools through teamwork’: Educational management and administration, Vol 29, no. 2: pp 153.

Literature Review on Leadership

Topic Focus

An examination of leadership is linked with many implicit and explicit aspects where researchers correlate it with the organizational performance. Numerous studies on the organization skills point organizational leadership as a component for creating harmony and maintaining the organizational culture. Similarly, the literature of leadership indicates that the capacity to comprehend and wok within a culture is a mandatory to an effective leadership.

Critical study has been conducted in many organizations, devoted to understand the relationship between the leadership and culture. This is not surprising incidence given the leaders roles in establishing, delegating and implementing leadership strategies within their organizations. This paper creates an empirical study of what it takes an organization to develop and maintain its performance by sustaining good leadership qualities among all the stakeholders (Burnes, 2000).

The early research on leadership focused on identifying the character traits, which categorizes different levels of leaderships. From these studies, leadership is highlighted as the backbone for all companies and organizations. Leaders acts as the catalyst for improving the morale of works, thus helping in strengthening the organization in moving forward. This study notes that developing leaders to their full capacity is a great challenge. Consequently, the research tries to analyze different theories and leadership approaches that provide light on the best ways of smoothening and boosting the operational strategies in an organization. These approaches are effective to cope with the demographic in substituting the baby-boomer leaders with the young and innovative strategists (Fulmer, 1999).

In summary, the study underlines communication as an effective tool for effective leadership. Moreover, effective management of people is developed through compassion and emotional intelligence. Good leadership is not about issuing instructions to the junior members but rather developing more evolving plans to incorporate every stakeholder. Building rapport is an efficient means of connecting with other people in the organizations. Still, good leadership entails building a working environment based on integrity, honesty, trust and unity. These qualities facilitate the organization to remain competent in production, hence flourishing both economically and financially.

Interviews as an assessment Tool

One of the most used methods of assessing job applicants in an organization or a company is employment interviews. Researchers are working on different studies in order to determine the validity and reliability of using interviews in an occasion of evaluating the quality, knowledge and reliability of workers in an organization. It has occurred that structured interviews are important in sense that they facilitate limiting the degree of discretion that an interviewer would add on the interviewee. The principles of evaluating a response, behavioral simulations, observation and eliciting tendencies in an individual increases the overall interviewers agreement on a given matter.

The structure and design of an interview may vary depending on the constraints of the question or the matter rose in the forum. Essentially, interviews with a low degree of design creates no limitation on the questions asked, thus allowing in-depth evaluation of the interviewee on the question at hand. In addition, interviews enable the panel to conduct a global evaluation of the applicant’s responses.

Interviews with complex structures involve asking respondents exact set of predefined questions. The suitability and competency of the respondent is determined by their benchmark proficiency. Alternatively, the qualification in an interview is also based on individual’s understanding, creativity and confidence in responding to the posed questions. Notably, interviews with high degree of structure will show high degrees of validity, sense, lowered adverse impacts and a balanced agreement and reliability rater (Slater, 1995).

Besides, interviews also vary depending on levels of competency being computed. For instance, employment interviews may center on past, present or even a future behavior, opinion, queries, attitude or beliefs of the applicants. The collected information may cover behavior portrayed during the interview, job experience, training, field of study, and career aspirations. Studies indicate interview questions on a certain job descriptions are synthesized through a job analysis. When properly carried out, the assessment procedure indicates higher degrees of rater reliability and agreement, and high levels of validity.

The widely used techniques of creating job related questions is achieved either by situational or behavioral analysis of the interview. In a situational interview session, the applicants are required to give an account of what they would achieve when given an opportunity to work in the organization. In addition, the panel expects the applicants to describe how they would behave in order to gain full achievements for the organization. For example, assume a situational question, “the organization director has delegated some responsibilities to you and other colleagues. while still at work, you realize that coworkers are goofing off , hence you are left with much of the work to do. Unfortunately, you realize that you are working behind time, and deadline will reach without having completed the task. How would you narrate that to your boss?” this type of interview requires the applicant to answer on this situation as if they were real.

Similarly, the panel may require the applicants to describe how they react to a financial, leadership or economic dilemma if either condition may affect the organization. Such types of questions are linear to the principle of behavioral consistency. Notably, different types of interviews are recommended to varying questions depending on job-incidents. Moreover, there are several factors that play part in determining the form of interview to adhere. These considerations include validity, face validity, subgroup difference, interview cost, administration values and utility.

Behavioral consistency theory suggests that the best form of leadership is revealed by situational variables and that there is no leadership style that resonates well with given workplace situations. Effective leadership style appreciates identification of the type of the task, the size of the organization, the qualification of the members and the production techniques endorsed in the working environment. For instance, the leadership skills entitled in the bank is very different from those entitled for a Motor Industry. Furthermore, there would be eminent distinction between the leadership styles that would be employed by the corporate security compared to the leadership style in the parliament. This means that appropriate evaluation is required in structuring interview questions with that meet criteria of a given job (Slater, 1995).

Good leadership pertains pluralistic qualities that involve group discussions in decision-making. Apparently, group discussions value the opinions of others, thus eliminating the feeling of dishonor and disrespect. Under this theory, the model of leadership adopted determines the sustainability of the organization and subsequent success of its leaders. One of the main reasons why many CEOs fail before finishing their term is poor leadership skills. Newly recruited leaders should understand the culture of the organization, thus making endeavors of improving different means of production. Depending on the stage of leadership, competent leaders should develop insight to the staff to implement good working conditions. Further, all the sectors of the company or the organization should possess adequate human power, skills and necessary tools to maintain the good performance of the organization.

Moreover, interviews are all about assessing applicants’ motives, nourishing their needs, and valuing their recommendations. This is system of evaluation is useful in developing a workable transformational leadership in an organization. Transformational leaders makes their organizational successful by valuing its members. Their mode of leadership is founded on idealized influence, rousing motivation, rational stimulation and personal considerations. Idealized influence refers to managers who possess special traits to their associates. Managers with exemplary leadership skills are can be trusted and respected by other staff in decision-making for the company. Inspirational leaders motivate their employees to remain committed to the vision of the company. In additional, these leaders have ability to encourage and promote teamwork in increasing organizational revenues and market grounds. Rational stimulation refers to leaders who promote innovation and creativity through counteracting the norms and cultures of the organization (Fulmer, 1999).

Kotter (1990) identifies four I’s which are essential in realizing the effectiveness of the transformation leadership. They are illustrated in the flow chart below:

Idealized influence

Individualized consideration

Inspirational motivation

Intellectual stimulation

In transformation theory, the leaders should possess the following qualities:

Empowering members to give the organization the best results

Create the insight in their manner of handling responsibilities

Develop the spirit of unity within the organization

Aggressiveness in meeting the organizational goals

Help the organization to remain at par in the production line

Analysis interviews features for a realistic leadership

Leadership traits focused in this theory are:

Vision

People consider this aspect in defining great leaders in both business and non-business organization. An interview for visionary leaders should be based on quality and in-depth knowledge of the organization goals within a given duration. Such interview will determines where the company is heading and provides big picture pertaining developing the industry before anyone else do it. Besides, vision should be conveyed to all members of an organization, including the junior staff, so that they feel recognized and acceptable in the organization. This is not attained through formalizing the organizational goals, conducts and behaviors, but through passing inspirational information to the members. The ability to translate and cascade vision into people’s every day job is viewed as a critical skill.

However, this theory faces the challenge of categorizing these leadership qualities in the evolving and collective manner..

Trust and communication

People develop trust in their leaders when they realize that they conforms themselves in an honesty and empathetic manner. This forms the ground for good relationship between the leaders and the followers. Incase such cordial grounds were missing; it would be difficult for carry the task of leadership. Indeed, it is hard to accommodate people for a given task when they do not trust you. In their studies, scholars argue that person’s overall achievement in any leadership capacity is based on people’s trust upon the individual. Therefore, trust should remain as continuous nourishment without forcing it.

Communication is the most critical leadership skill. The potential to listen, read the body language, conduct a study, and provide reports and continuous exchange of information between the leaders and the followers helps to build trust in the organization. Moreover, the ability to apply different communication techniques in order to pass the intended message paves way for healthy relationship across all the classes of workers. Providing the employees with the relevant information enables them to participate actively towards realizing the companies’ goals (Burnes, 2000).

Emotional intelligence and sympathetic

Good leaders possess this important quality in facilitating attaining the organizational goals. Leaders with these characters put their own needs behind those of their people. The ability to listen to the needs of others, understanding them, and developing a rapport is an efficient way of connecting with the employer. Empathy, respect, and acknowledging individuals’ uniqueness provides reliable grounds for empowering the working environment.

Integrity

Inspirational leaders possess tremendous levels of honesty and integrity, thus creating confidence towards the rest employers. Subsequently, they are focused as the organizational role models. Other member in the organization strives to land into their working levels. These forms of management endeavors are essential in improving the performance of the company. Leaders with a strong sense of humor, integrity and humility have an inner drive in doing what is right because they are governed by their own principles, but not expecting any form of reward (Slater, 1995).

Apparently, bad debts, which results from poor management and corruption, are avoided. When the culture of honesty and integrity in cultivated in an organization, unnecessary sacking of the employees is minimized. Theft and employees’ harassment are also eliminated. Therefore, leaders hold the core responsibility in enhancing efficient and smooth running of an organization.

Conclusion

Successful organization requires strong leaders who have the ability to control all employees in working towards a common goal. The modern world of business requires efficient and reliable working habits coupled with appropriate responsiveness to changes. Therefore, everyone has a role in ensuring that company’s goals are attained within the threshold of unity, harmony and creativity.

Good leaders should recognize the role of modern technology in running different operations within their premises. Actually, technology is core tool in research work, communication and meeting other organizational dynamics. Building coherent communication systems ensures that the data is shared efficiently, and the feedback obtained within a short time (Kotter, 1990).

Effective leadership is stemmed on three personal skills. These are technical, human, and theoretical skills. These skills have varying significance across the leadership pillars. At the lower levels, both technical and human skills are crucial for an organization. In the middle organizations, the three skills are equally essential. Conversely, high management employs theoretical and technical aspects in effecting good governance in the organizations.

Finally, leadership skills determine the amplitude and degree of competence of different companies. Therefore, good leadership should concentrate on improving the qualities of the stakeholders in order to maintain productivity.

References

Burnes. (2000). Managing Change, Prentice Hall, 3rd edn.

Fulmer. (1999). Leadership: lessons from the best, Training and Development; Retrieved on 28,

1999. Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://gallup.com” http://gallup.com.

Kotter, J. (1990). What Leaders Really Do, Harvard Business Review; May–June, p.103.

Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://nwlink.com/donclark/leader” http://nwlink.com/donclark/leader

Mumford. (2000). Leadership skills: Conclusions and future directions. Leadership Quarterly.

Retrieved from

HYPERLINK “http://mapnp.org/library/ldrship/ldrship.htm” http://mapnp.org/library/ldrship/ldrship.htm

Slater, S. (1995). Issues in Conducting Marketing Strategy Research. Journal of Strategic

Marketing, 3(4): 257–70.

Mathematics

Students Name

Institution of Affiliation

MAE 4152

Date

In the past, classes used to be taught using heavy textbooks, pencils, notebooks and chalkboards. However, over the past few years, the trend has slowly been changing, and the schools have begun to adopt a technological change to have effective learning in their classes. New teaching tools such as the whiteboards, projectors and the computer educational games have been introduced into the learning world. The new technological advancements do not only assist the students in learning better but as well facilitates the students to adapt to the fast-paced technological environment to which they are growing up in it.

There are so many uses that can be generated from the computer that include: word processing, internet, educational games and as well can be used for musical development. In the setting to which every student is entitled to a computer or to which two or three happen to be sharing a computer, the students are more actively engaged and prompted to think, than in a lecture setting where they may happen to tune the lecturer out. Lecture attendance is so boring that majority of the students find themselves being out of class as they are not actively engaged during the learning process.

In a computer set class, the role of the teacher changes such that the teacher is no longer the center of attention but more of a facilitator to which is deeply involved in asking individual students about their choices while engaging them in deeper conversations on the subject to which on this case is mathematics. In the same setting, the students have also been proven to assist their peers and ask for help more often, thus leading to more interaction as well as more depth in learning. Through this, the students are capable understanding mathematics better as it is more practical than theoretical. The students feel an enhanced sense of self-esteem and confidence in the mastery of the necessary tools for success and have the potential of doing better than their parents. The computers allow the student s to learn by doing rather than trying to absorb the lines of information from the mathematics textbooks. They are also provided with an opportunity to learn through trial and error to which allows them to see how things work rather than forcing them to trust what the teachers say.

The computer games are among the best interaction programs, especially in mathematics. The computer games are deemed to improve the thinking ability of a student because they are made to face challenging episodes during the gaming that enhances thinking and creativity. Solving puzzles in the mathematical context help the student unravel the hidden tricks to which opens up their mind. They allow the students to make proper decisions and instant results are obtained thus making it able to evaluate the students instantly. It is not comparable with the traditional aspect to which the students could be offered homework and then submit the assignment the next day, in the present times, online postings are provided to where the student happens to solve the mathematical problems and then submit their work to where it is marked and graded without the influence of the teacher. The online assignments assist the student to save time as in the cases to which they encounter a problem they may communicate with the respective teacher online without unnecessary meetings. The online interaction between the student and the software programs to which consists the games allow the students to interact with the relevant material online and learn without any realization that they are learning.

Word processing, as well as the excel spreadsheets, are part of the online or the technological aspect of learning. The students, instead of using graph books to draw their curves as well as solving other related mathematical problems, the work has been more simplified making it easy for the students to have a mastery to the computer gaining knowledge on both the word and excel parts. The excel spreadsheets contain mathematical formulae that are accessible online and any other formulae that is relevant to the class is available, and therefore there is no need to carry along with books for reference. The lack of paperwork greatly motivates the students instilling the willingness to write and work because the computer feels less like work. It is unfortunate that most of us have no better handwriting, but this doesn’t constitute the technological learning as all the writings are made uniform and legible thus easy to read and digest the content. The writing tools change how the students think about the contents of a sentence and thus may decide to bold, italicize or any other emphasis tool to indicate creativity as well as enhance a sentence manipulating it for a better understanding.

The teaching websites that are available on the internet for the teachers contains broader messages, sums and other mathematical problems to which the teachers may refer to as guides and also act as a message board to where the student and the teacher may engage in conversations and work out on the difficult topics. The teachers can post materials that either goes with the lesson or more depth to sort clarification so that the students who are interested can be able to learn more about the particular topic in mathematics.

Digital textbooks can also be found on the internet and are for interactive reading that gets supplemented by games and quizzes that get the students actively involved in their reading. There are also the voice programs that read the material to the student enabling the student grasp the pronunciations of new and the difficult words and problems.

Videos enhance better understanding by the learners as they can see and hear the information at the same time. The videos allow for the things to be said directly with intent instead of the teacher trying to explain on a point over and over again. The videos are usually characterized by a detailed and organized explanation of the topics to which possess written outlines as well as the step by step instructions guiding the student in the best way to which they can understand easily. Music is an integral part of learning that cannot be omitted in digital learning, music often acts to sooth and as well introduce a topic. The music allows the students to be relieved off their tension creating a relaxed mood for learning. Music can also be presented among the difficult subjects for memorizing making it less intimidating for the students and change of perceptions on the topic. Furthermore, video conferencing can be integrated into mathematical learning where the students at different locations may be invited to interact in a video session and help in working out some problems to which the students may find challenging.

In my activity of choice, the students will use the Classroom Response System. The teacher poses multiple questions on a certain topic on mathematics to the students through a computer projector and each of the students is expected to submit an answer to the particular question using a handle held transmitter or a clicker that beams the radio frequency to the receiver that happens to be attached to the teacher’s computer. The software on the teachers computer collects the answers from the student and produce a bar chart that show how many of the students chose each of the choices and in response, the teacher makes on the fly instructional choices in response to the bar chart such as leading the students into a discussion onto which of the answer is right and how to go about it.

Maternal Child Nursing Case Study Assignment

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Professor Name

Date

Patient History

S.W is a 16-year-old girl. From the records, little is known about her medical background before the onset of her pregnancy which means that little is known about any underlying conditions which may be important in predicting any pregnancy complications. S.W is a member of the First American community and is 36 weeks pregnant, meaning that she is about four weeks from delivering the baby. From her age, and the fact that she has to be accompanied for prenatal visits, during which she is always quiet and evades eye contact, it can be inferred that this is S.W’s first pregnancy. S.W’s pregnancy has been relatively normal. She has gained 23 pounds during her pregnancy and which the prenatal health specialists considered to be normal which implies that she had a BMI of between 25.0-29.9. This shows that she was overweight for a 16 year-old-girl before the onset of her pregnancy. 16-year-olds of normal weight have a BMI of between 17 and 24. The laboratory tests showed no peculiarities and her blood pressure was normal during her previous prenatal visits. S.W had an ultrasound 16 weeks ago and there were no indications of fetal abnormalities. On this day, S.W has arrived with her family and the mood is more serious indicating a problem with the pregnancy.

Present Plan of Care and Future Recommendations

The present care plan has involved talking to the members of the family that accompany S.W and asking her about her condition because S.W herself is timid during her prenatal visits. The midwife begins S.W’s medical history at the point when she attends her first prenatal care and most of the plan of care has involved assessing S.W’s labs, blood pressure and conducting occasional ultrasounds to assess the fetus’ condition.

This plan of care is significantly dangerous particularly for a girl as young as S.W who is condition makes her vulnerable to a pregnancy complication (Hanson, 2012). Pregnant teenagers have developmental needs, physical care needs, and educational needs which should be addressed in an ideal care plan (Montgomery, 2003). The midwife should have ensured that S.W is comfortable in expressing herself the minute she walked into her premises for her first visit. Because teenagers are at high risk for pregnancy complications, they should receive regular tests for blood pressure, weight gain, and height. Their dietary practices should also be assessed. Furthermore, teenagers should also be provided with educational support at various stages of the pregnancy with a focus on their most immediate needs.

Nursing Intervention

The nursing intervention will be anchored on the five-step framework of assessment, diagnosis, outcomes, implementation, and evaluation for a comprehensive intervention program. A proper nursing intervention would involve a combination of physical, educational, and emotional intervention (Montgomery, 2003). The nurse should thus make S.W feel comfortable enough to talk and find out the teenager’s medical history. In this way, the nurse can learn the physical or emotional reasons for her current condition. This is a crucial part of the assessment stage as it can reveal emotional distress, domestic violence, substance abuse, and other realities which will need special interventions (Montgomery, 2003). The nurse then performs a diagnosis by sending blood and urine for testing, monitoring the patient’s blood pressure of both the mother and the fetus, and conducting other diagnostic measures that could indicate a pregnancy complication. Once the diagnosis is complete the nurse should assess the results of the diagnosis and implement the right intervention for the teenager. If the teenager is suffering from a physical affliction, the nurse should ensure that the teenager has received the appropriate medical care. The nurse also has a significant role in providing educational and emotional support for the teenager and the mother. The nurse should advise the teenager and the mother to increase the frequency of their prenatal visits since complications such as preeclampsia tend to emerge during this stage for young mothers. Additionally, the nurse should ensure that the mother and the pregnant teenager have received help in case of issues such as domestic violence and other forms of abuse. The nurse also has to ensure that the pregnant teenager and the mother receive nutritional advice.

Primary and Secondary Diagnoses

From the case study, the primary diagnosis is a case of an emergent pregnancy complication such as preeclampsia which emerges during this stage of the pregnancy among pregnant teenagers (Cavazos-Rehg, 2015). Pregnant teenagers with attributes similar to S.W are particularly at risk for this complication. The secondary diagnosis is emotional or psychological trauma as evidenced by S.W’s timidity when she visits the hospital. Pregnant teenagers are vulnerable to emotional and psychological stressors because of their condition and hence they are more likely to develop mental health and emotional problems.

Conclusion and Recommendations

S.W is an example of the plight of pregnant teenagers from marginalized. The below quality care she receives at the community midwife’s facility exposes her to physical and emotional vulnerabilities which could affect her health and that of the fetus. A proper nursing intervention involves taking care of the physical, emotional, and educational needs of the pregnant teenager in order to provide comprehensive care. Nursing practitioners should be keen on such at-risk teenagers who are exposed to danger because of the intersectionality of their physical state and the social factors that affect them. Health officials should find ways of educating and equipping informal health practitioners who deal with such marginalized persons on the best intervention methods for pregnant teenagers who are almost always in a precarious condition.

References

Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Krauss, M. J., Spitznagel, E. L., Bommarito, K., Madden, T., Olsen, M. A., … & Bierut, L. J. (2015). Maternal age and risk of labor and delivery complications. Maternal and child health journal, 19(6), 1202-1211.

Hanson, J. D. (2012). Understanding prenatal health care for American Indian women in a Northern Plains tribe. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 23(1), 29-37.

Montgomery, K. S. (2003). Nursing care for pregnant adolescents. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 32(2), 249-257.

Lit Review

Name

Professor

Course

Date

Introduction

There is an increase in the population of students with reading disabilities in the modern world. The increased numbers raise concern because reading is a basic skill that helps them through the careers. Students with reading disabilities deserve attention because they can improve their skills through various methods. Reading skills are essential in any individual’s life because they enhance success. They help an individual to attain basic knowledge that will help them during their secondary phase of life. This creates the need to enhance reading skills among individuals with reading disabilities. These people need to heighten and also maintain their motivation. There are various techniques that assist students with reading disabilities to acquire reading skills. Flashcards, reading racetracks and SMART Board technology are among the various techniques that help individuals to attain reading skills. A flashcard is a collection of cards that has information such as numbers or words on each or both sides. Flash cards are efficient in classroom drills and also enhance private study. An individual may write a question on one side and the answer on the other. Flashcards can bear information such as vocabulary, formulae and historical dates. They enhance memorization since they involve spaced repetition. Reading racetracks helps to increase fluency (Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby, 2011). A comparison of various articles reveals various techniques that improve reading skills.

The effects of using flashcards with reading racetrack to teach letter sounds, sight words and math facts to elementary students with learning disabilities by Rachel Erbey, T. F. Mclaughlin, K, Mark Derby and Evanson Mary is an article that discusses how flashcards and reading racetrack affect teaching phonics, addition facts and sight words. It also states that despite the presence of ever changing technology, individuals still need basic knowledge such as reading to succeed in life. Students who struggle to attain reading skills during their earlier phases of their education usually face difficulties in the secondary stages and adulthood. Phonetic awareness is among the vital elements needed to enhance reading skills among low progress readers. Teaching reading skills is essential to students with inadequate ability in sight word reading. Basic skills in math calculations are also essential for success in life. After attaining basic operations concepts, the students should learn how to memorize facts and give fast and accurate responses to various facts. This helps students to enhance high level mastery of math concepts. Phonics, fluency, phonetics awareness, text comprehension and vocabulary are areas within reading instruction, which help to nurture successful readers. Reading racetracks, which are drills and practice processes, help to attain skills in four of the above areas. Reading racetracks include instructions on a track that has twenty eight cells, which separate information. It has a start and finish, and two images of automobiles, so the students read the information around the track in a set time. This increases fluency and accuracy in a systematic and entertaining way. Racetracks are also significant among students with various disabilities. A combination of flashcards and racetracks enhances sight word recognition among students with learning disabilities.

Vocabulary Learning: An Electronic Word Card study by Marina Dodigovic is an article that also discusses the significance of learning vocabulary to enhance language skills. However, it gives a description of a technology-supported learning study of vocabulary that involves students in preparation programs within various universities. The study design involves comparison of two flashcards activities, which are technology supported. The first one is where students acquire vocabulary from electronic cards designed by teachers. The second is where students design their cards. There is a third activity that involves comparison but excludes the cards. It uses a within sample design that pretests the vocabulary of students when the academic year begins. After identifying the essential vocabulary, the students and instructors create interactive flashcards using WordChamp, which is an online device. At the end of the semester, they also made comparisons to analyze the progress of the student. The authors of the article claim that self-designed cards are not effective.

Comparison of the Effect of Smart Board Technology and Flash Card Instruction on Sight Word Recognition and Observational Learning is an article that also discusses reading skills. This article compares the effectiveness of flashcards and SMART Board interactive whiteboard technology in teaching reading skills among young adults. Both techniques are effective in enhancing reading skills, but the SMART Board technology has a higher effect among students (Mechling, Thompson, and Gast, 2008).

A Comparison of Two Flashcard Drill Methods Targeting word Recognition by Robert J. Volpe, Christina M. Mule, and Amy M. Briesch discusses two instructional methods within the flashcard drill. The instructional methods are the incremental rehearsal and the traditional drill and practice. The article compares the efficiency of both techniques and social validity. The two methods have minimal differences in efficiency, and also an equal number of students prefer either of the two methods.

Effectiveness and Efficiency of Flashcard Drill Instructional Methods on Urban First Grades’ Word Recognition, Acquisition, Maintenance, and Generalization by Lindsay Nist, Laurice M. Joseph analyzes various instructional methods. It compares the efficiency and effectiveness of instructional methods through methods such as traditional drill and practice flashcard technique, an incremental rehearsal and a ratio of known to unknown interpersal word technique. The incremental rehearsal is an effective method among groups of students while the traditional drill enhanced reading performances.

Motivate Student with Disabilities Using Sight- Vocabulary Activities by Michelle Morgan and Karen B. Moni analyzes twenty ways of using sight-vocabulary activities among students with disabilities. The article also presents various ways of giving these students motivation to learn. Sight vocabulary is essential among these students because it helps them learn how to read and write. It also increases and maintains their zeal to take part and also persist in learning. The article describes various games such as vocabulary charts, word banks, waterfalls of words, setting the scene and vocabulary mobiles. The authors also suggest a sequence that introduces functional sight vocabulary.

All the articles seek to determine the most effective technique that assists students with disabilities to acquire reading skills. The authors of the articles carried out various researches to determine the necessary areas in reading instruction. This creates a basis for their discussion and also helps readers to relate to the information provided in each article. The articles analyze different techniques but all the authors compare the efficiency of each method to that of the flashcard technique. All the articles have different research methodology, but all the results point out the efficiency of the flashcard method. Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby (2010) discuss about the efficiency of the flashcard and the racetracks. They give descriptions of the processes involved in each method. The racetracks are designed by the instructors although there are instances when the students design their racetracks. Learning vocabulary is essential in acquiring reading skills. They also claim that the racetrack is suitable for beginners because it does not have complicated procedures. Students usually enjoy the two methods, so they acquire the skills faster and also improve their fluency. These authors also claim that the two techniques also enhance math skills. Racetracks are also significant to students with reading disabilities. Dodigovic (2013) also agrees that vocabulary learning is essential for those who want to acquire reading skills. They also mention that math skills are vital for success in life. Math is a significant topic for every student because it is applied in various aspects of their daily lives. Students use math skills to determine the grades, so basic skills such as addition and subtraction are significant. Flashcards enable them to understand and memorize essential formulae. Students also require flashcards to internalize the meaning of various vocabularies used throughout their learning period. Flashcards and racetracks do not require any form of technology to use them. Unlike Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby’s article Dodigovic’s article focuses on use of technology to enhance learning various vocabularies. The teachers note down vocabularies and formulae for the students to use. She discusses flashcards that are technology supported while Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby discuss those which are manual. She also points out that both teachers and students design the cards. She also mentions a third technique where students pretest their skills at the beginning of the year and later compare to the results at the end of each semester. She also points out that the self-designed cards are not efficient. This proves that Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby had accurate results concerning the accuracy of the teacher designed flashcards and racetracks. Teachers have adequate knowledge on the aspects in reading that may trouble students, so this factor makes their cards more efficient. Mechling, Thompson, and Gast (2008) also discuss efficient ways of acquiring reading skills. They acknowledge that technology based training is more efficient than the use of flashcards. Students may not have extensive knowledge on the appropriate words that enhance their studies. They may fill their cards with words that are easy to memorize and ignoring the most essential ones. They compare the SMART Board interactive whiteboard technology to the flashcard. They give a detailed description of how the technique works, and also why it is the most efficient in acquiring reading skills. Technology also enhances learning. It might have complicated processes of learning but the end result is worth the effort. Volpe, HYPERLINK “http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp;jsessionid=gqEdMnADO8OQlXhvEqE0aA__.ericsrv005?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Mule+Christina+M.%22” o “New Search for Author Mule, Christina M.” Mule, Briesch, Joseph and Burns (2011) also discuss aspects of acquiring reading skills. They differ from the rest because they analyze both group reading and individual reading. They also compare two flashcard drills unlike the other articles where the authors compare two different techniques. The authors compare the incremental rehearsal to the traditional drill and practice to determine the efficiency of the two methods. They also determine the social validity of the two methods to determine the one that students like to use. An equal number of students prefer either of the two methods since the differences between the two methods is minimal. The authors inform readers that reading skills can also be acquired through groups; the skills do not need to be taught to individuals to improve them. Students fancy working in groups, so teaching the skills in groups is also a way of helping students with disabilities. Lindsay and Laurice also provide information on various ways of acquiring reading skills. They discuss traditional drill and practice flashcard technique, an incremental rehearsal and a ratio of known to unknown interpersal word technique. The incremental rehearsal is most efficient among groups of students. It does not enhance individual improvement. The traditional drill enhanced individual performance in reading skills. Unlike the above authors, Morgan and Moni (2007) analyze twenty techniques of improving reading skills. Morgan and Moni describe various sight-vocabulary activities that help students with reading disabilities. They also analyze other techniques that do not involve flashcards and racetracks. They believe that students need motivation to improve their reading skills. They also believe that the students need a variety of skills to help them keep up the spirit to improve their skills. Using only two or three techniques may be boring especially when they are part of the daily routine. Teachers should use different techniques on a daily basis to prevent students from getting bored. The process should involve some fun moments to ensure that the students get the motivation to develop and maintain their skills. They also provide details of the processes involved in introducing functional sight vocabulary. The authors point out the benefits of the methods mentioned in their articles to ensure that teachers used the most appropriate technique when teaching students. The articles also enlighten readers on the value on reading skills and when students begin to learn various skills.

Conclusion

Individuals who want to succeed in life must acquire basic reading skills. These skills are vital when an individual reaches the secondary stages in their lives. There are different techniques that enhance reading skills. Flashcards and racetracks are the most common techniques among students with reading disabilities. Flashcards have information on either side while racetracks have data on each cell on the track. These methods are efficient and also entertaining. Sight vocabulary can also be introduced through games such as setting the scene and waterfalls of words. Researchers carry out various studies to determine the most effective techniques of teaching reading skills. Reading skills involve various elements such as phonetic awareness, fluency, Phonics, text comprehension and vocabulary. These areas are essential because they are the basic areas that help to improve the lives of students with reading disabilities. Technology-based techniques such as the SMART Board interactive whiteboard technology also improve reading skills among students. Social validity data also helps analysts to make conclusions on the most accepted methods of learning. Reading skills are essential in everyday life because people have to understand comprehensions, essays and articles to understand what the text is talking about. They also require basic math skills in life to determine the amount of money they have or how much they will require for a transaction in places such as banks and supermarkets. Learning disabilities are not permanent. Students with these reading disabilities can acquire the skills through various techniques and processes. Teachers should show determination to these students to give them the motivation they require to improve their reading skills.

References

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