Strategic Management Issues in Woolworths Company- myassignmenthelp

Question: Writeabout theStrategic Management Issues in Woolworths Company forIGA. Answer: Problem Statement The retail industry of Australia has only a few large retailers operating as supermarket stores including Woolsworth, ALDI, Coles group, IGA, Foodworks, Macro Wholefoods, and SPAR. However, there is large number of small retailers operating in the country. These retailers give a huge variety of choices of groceries and food items to customers and the retail industry as a whole contribute over 4% to the GDP of Australia. Woolworths is the largest retailer in Australia but with increasing growth of the supermarket, the retailer is facing strong competition from its major rivals. The margins of most retailers in the market are in similar range(Bluschke, 2016). Te only differentiation that these stores can create for consumers are service delivery and retail efficiency. To sustain and build a long term competitive advantage, Woolworths needs to enhance its service efficiency through innovation. If the company can use technological innovation to bring system excellence, service efficienci es can be improved in the stores. Lean principles focus on building efficiencies in the organization and can be used for addressing retail challenges. This research would explore various challenges that are faced by the retailer Woolworths and identify opportunities for making changes through lean practices such that efficiency of the retail processes can be improved(Ambernathy, Dunlop, Hammond, Weil, 2000). Research Aim and Objectives The aim of this research is to explore the strategic challenges faced by Woolworths and identification of opportunities for improvement through lean practices. TO achieve this aim, the following objectives have to be achieved: To explore strategic management challenges faced by Woolworths Company To analyse the challenges to identify opportunities for improvement To explore the opportunities to apply lean practices to eliminate wastes and increase efficiencies Application of lean principles to retail scenario for identifying opportunities for improvement in efficiencies Conceptual Framework A number of studies have been conducted to study the ways retail organizations develop, grow and succeed. Several theories have been developed with these studies that include cyclical theories, conflict theories and environmental theories. Cyclical theories have identified common retail development patterns. Wheel of retailing is one of the cyclical theories which explain the evolution of retail in three phases including entry into retail business with lower prices and margins, emerging into a retailer with high end prices and services followed by competition from new retailers(Oracle, 2015). The theory uses the concept of opportunistic buying, undercutting the existing players and establishing self retail in the market. At the end of the cycle, retailers upgrade their stores or add new product lines with increased prices that enable retailers to work with higher margins(Diamond, 2004). For such a growth path to sustain, strong leadership is needed in an organization as it grows as r etailer expands through enhancements in their merchandize quality and quantity. With these advances, the cost of operations also increases and thus, makes way for the entry of new low cost retailers in the market. Retail life cycles which is another model for studying retail growth among cyclical theories identifies four stages of retail store development including innovation, growth, maturity, and decline that all the organizations go through in its life span(Nielsen , 2013). The time span of each of this phase can vary. In the stage of innovation, investments are high and profits are less while are growth stage, retailer begins to expand along with others in competition till a point maturity is reached in the market and the industry starts t get saturated which is followed by a decline. At this point, innovation is used to revive the market. At this point retailers look for expanding into new markets that have not been explored by the retailer(Dydacomp, 2014). Retail Accordion is another age old cyclical theory in retailing which recognizes the tendency of tailers to alternate between specialization and diversification forming a cyclical pattern of growth and development(Stauss Seidel, 2012). A retailer may be with one niche specialization and then diversify into new products and services. For instance, Amazon started as a book store but soon ventured into other products like apparels and electronics. After establishing itself as a consumer goods retailer, Amazon then diversified into live streaming of videos and recently, it has also started its grocery division(KPMG, 2015). Environmental theories of retail evolution explore the interplay between the internal and external environment of an organization. External environment is composed of political, cultural, demographic, legal, technological and economic aspects. Depending on the variation sin the environment, retail industry matures or goes through a process of innovation which changes the environment giving way to new opportunities(Motorola Solutions, Inc., 2013). Evolution theory which is an environmental theory believes in the process of survival and natural selection and states the organizations adapt to the changing environment to sustain the markets. With change in the environmental factors like political, legal, economic, technological and social paradigms, structures of retail also change. Institutional theory on the other hand identifies organization as a part of its environment and thus, is believed to be interdependent with the environment. As per this theory, the cultural and economic norms of the environment are reflected in the decisions of a retail organization(IBSCDC, 2009). These norms can exist both at task and institutional levels. At task level, norms are linked to performance while at the institutional level; actions are constrained by culture or morals. For example, decisions about merchandize assortment and inventory management are governed by task related norms while promotional activities are governed by institutional n orms such as community practices(Frei Harker, 2000). Conflict theory addresses the concerns of an organization that is newly innovation and in the process; it challenges the status quo which requires a major shift in the market as well as in the organizational culture. A continuous shift happens between actions; reaction and synthesis as the retail come with a competitive advantage as an action and then takes actions that would reduce the competitive advantage which is a reaction(IBM, 2010). This reaction eventually results into modification in the operating methods of the organization. A continual adaptation follows along resulting into synthesis and evolution of innovative formats that establish themselves over time. The theory identifies four stages of innovation in a retail organization that include giving shock to market, giving defensive retreats, acknowledgements, and adaptations. Initially, a retailer is hostile to the threats faced in the industry but as soon as it moves to the stage of innovation, the process advances to the final phase of success(Gupta Kumar, 2014). Research Methodology Research Approach This research involves examination of the strategic challenges that are faced by Woolworths Company such that specific solutions can be come up with for resolving those challenges. This requires a general investigation of the challenges faced by the organization in depth such that specific areas that present the scope for improvement can be identified. As the research needs to go from the exploration of general issues to identification of specific solutions, a deductive reasoning would make a suitable approach for this research. Research Philosophy Choice of a research methodology largely depends on how the knowledge is perceived and believes in its existence. Here, an understanding of epistemology that identifies ways people think about truth and ontology that describes the way things are would be useful for identification of an appropriate methodology. Objectivists believe in existence of truth that can be proven by facts while interpretivists believe in existence of collective interpretations that emerge from believes of different people that can be brought together to explain a phenomenon. In the current case, there is an existence of a truth which can be explained by observing the patterns of retail data such that research can find out what realities exist, what challenges are faced and how these can be tackled. Thus, a positivist approach to research would be taken involving exploration of the observable facts. Research Design As this research needs to investigate the challenges faced by the retailer Woolworths Company, it would need an understanding of the perspectives of the people who deal with those challenges and they would include the employees of the organization who would need to be interviewed. The research would take a mixed approach to research as the phenomenon that has already been studied earlier with some useful findings can create a foundation which can further be used for refining the primary investigation. The research would explore the past research as a secondary research and would analyse the patterns in the existing data to identify challenges, scope for improvement through lean approach and explore the solutions that have already been used to assess their effectiveness(TCS, 2015). Based on the analysis of the secondary data obtained in the literature review, a primary questionnaire would be developed for conducting a survey on the employees of the organization for the primary quantit ative investigation. Information Collection Process The research would be conducted in two parts including secondary qualitative data collection through study of past literatures and researches from journals, research reports, books, and other authentic documents followed by a primary research for which the data would be collected from the employees of the organization for understanding the challenges they face and how they deal with them(The University of Reading , 2001). Sampling and Sample Size A sample of 31 managers working for the Woolworths Company would be taken including those working at senior and mid senior level positions from different departments. These departments would include strategy department, service delivery, ecommerce sales, logistics, and merchandizing. One senior and two mid-senior level managers would be taken from each department for conducting the survey. The sample size has been decided on the basis of the organizational structure and its division into department such that representatives are chosen from each department. Data Analysis The research is a mixed research which includes secondary qualitative data in the literature review that would analyse using a narrative approach to identify possible themes or codes for the primary research on the retailing challenges, solutions and possible gaps that leave a scope for improvement. The analysis results would then be used for creating a primary survey questionnaire which would be used for the primary research which would include collection of the research data from 31 managers and analysis of the same. The survey data would include the qualitative data resulting from the open ended questions and the objective coded data that would result from the objectives questions asked to these respondents(WEF, 2017). A descriptive statistical analysis would be used to analyse the quantitative data which would deliver insights on the challenges faced by retailer and the solutions that have been proven to be useful. It would also include exploration of the gaps that still exist in the company and are required to be improved through the practice of lean(The University of Reading , 2001). The qualitative data resulting from the open ended question responses would be analysed using conceptual content analysis approach which would help identify the challenges that are currently faced by the managers working for the organization and have not been identified in the past researches. This data analysis is expected to deliver some new themes on challenges and opportunities for improvements in retailing. Data Collection Techniques The selected respondents would be given a questionnaire to fill online for the survey such that the data would be collected in the real time through a web based platform from where the data would be downloaded for the analysis. A primary survey questionnaire would be used for collecting the survey data that would identify if the challenges identified in the literature review are faced by the company management, if the discovered methods work to resolve challenges and explore if there were more challenges and scope for improvement. The data collected would be coded into SPSS file which would be further used for analysis. The questionnaire that would be used for the data collection would have both qualitative and quantitative data in the forms of objective questionnaire and the open ended questionnaire. While the objective section of the questionnaire would explore the views of the managers on the existing research findings to understand if they apply to the case of Woolworths, the ope n ended question would explore additional challenges and ways to tackle them that are used by the employees of the organization. Organisation, project budget and schedule Woolworths was founded by Percy Christmas in 1924 in Sydney and is operating today with over 3200 stores in Australia and New Zealand, managed by over 180,000 employees serving 28 million customers across the globe. Over the years, the company became the largest retailer with 31% share in the Australian market. Major brands of the retailer include Safeway supermarkets, Dick Smith electronics, BWS, Dan Murphys and Tandy. This research would explore the retail division of the organization to understand the strategic challenges that are faced by the organization today with an aim to identify opportunities for improvement in the organization. The project would be completed in 3 months which would include identification of objectives, literature study, questionnaire development, survey, data analysis and reporting. A budget of $1200 is required for the completion of the research. The research would follow the schedule given below: Research Activity Milestone Refining aims and objectives of the research 30 days Literature review 15 days Research methodology development 15 days Questionnaire development 10 days Submission of research proposal to Woolworths to get permission for survey 15 days Survey of managers in working in Woolworths 10 days Coding of research data into SPSS 20 days Statistical analysis of quantitative data 20 days Conceptual content analysis of qualitative data 15 days Data Interpretation 15 days Recommendations 10 days Report development 5 days Proofreading and editing 3 days Reference List Ambernathy, F. H., Dunlop, J. T., Hammond, J. H., Weil, D. (2000). Control your Inventory in the World of Lean retailing. Harvard Business Review. Bluschke, N. (2016). To E or not to Be Amazon's role in the retail industry. Module Vienna University. Diamond, E. (2004). Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. Prentice Hall Publications. Dydacomp. (2014). Drive Your Retail Sales Growth With Operational Efficiencies eBook. Dydacomp. Frei, F. X., Harker, P. T. (2000). Value Creation and Process Management: Evidece from Retail Banking. Wharton Financial Institutions Center. Gupta, S., Kumar, N. (2014). Retail Analytics: Game Changer for Customer Loyalty. Cognizant. IBM. (2010). Increasing Sales, Improving Efficiency, Working Smarter in Retail. IBM. IBSCDC. (2009). Indian Organised Retail: In Search of the Right Model. IBS CDC. KPMG. (2015). Indias e-commerce retail logistics growth story. CII. Motorola Solutions, Inc. (2013). IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE RETAIL STORE WITH AUTOMATED INVENTORY MANAGEMENT. Motorola Solutions, Inc. Nielsen . (2013). Continuous Innovations: The Key to Retail Success. The Nielsen Company. Oracle. (2015). Oracle Retail Markdown Optimization. Oracle. Stauss, B., Seidel, W. (2012). Complaint Management in Retailing. Springer. TCS. (2015). A Lean Six Sigma Approach to Improving Efficiency in Retail Store Operations. TCS. The University of Reading . (2001). Approaches to the Analysis of Survey Data . The University of Reading . WEF. (2017). Shaping the Future of Retail for Consumer Industries. World Economic Forum.

Managing People in an Organisation-

Questions: 1.Challenges to anticipate in creating a shared vision for this changed Organization? 2.Internal and External Environmental Factors to consider in carving out a Multicultural Leadership path that will support success of the Organization. 3.How to work differently to Cultivate Organizational support within the different business units that is necessary to ensure the success of the Multicultural leadership effort. Answers: One challenge that the manager will face is integrating the varying needs of business units in different countries to a shared vision. The units exist in different countries with varying business environment and cultures that may be challenging to integrate into one since it is difficult to capture the collective mind and will. Further, Senge (1990, p. 10) adds that the environment may offer different rapid changes that may threaten to craft the vision to pull business needs towards the required organizational vision. The strategy may cause different creative organizational tensions that may require different levels of energy to harness them which may take longer or require more resources to achieve the intended outcome. Management will be forced to develop ways of meeting the varying needs of the business units and align them to the required goals. 2.Internal environment factors are systems, people, structures and conditions inside an organization that are controlled by the company. These factors are associated with the organizational culture and management style that may influence the leadership path to be taken by the organization to achieve the intended outcome. On the other hand, external environmental factors occur outside the organization may cause change since they are not under leadership control (Shieh Wang 2010, p. 299). These include economic forces, competition, customers, political and social conditions. These factors affect growth and long-term sustainability thus the need to monitor them and develop strategies to adapt to the external environment through a reactive approach. Leaders need to scan the environment through monitoring the above factors and develop strategies to accommodate opportunities and resolve threats through adjusting the system to adapt. SWOT and PESTEL analysis are the two tools used to appra ise the organization and change for the environment. 3.Cultivating organizational support requires working with the company to develop new abilities through developing strategic thinking in leaders. Learning systems are characterized by system thinking, mental models, shared visions, team learning, and personal mastery (Senge, et al. 1999, p. 11). Informed learning organization leaders will then work effortlessly to align the organizations culture to its teams. This new culture will form the basis organizational change to adapt to the environment. Strategic leaders work on business changes that exist in the environment through developing their internal abilities to strategic thinking to meet the changing needs. This strategy will help people work together to achieve the business goal despite coming from different units and backgrounds. Further, flattening the leadership structure to create a balance between different units will lead to reduced elitism and focus on business processes(Erbe, 2014). Salaries and responsibilities need to be balanced across the board to create a business environment that meets the needs of the organization rather than the individual. Leaders need to be trained on how to align human resources towards the business strategy at all times to develop business competitiveness. Lastly, motivation can be used to achieve support from different entities within the organization. Since leadership focusses on achieving desired outcomes through providing direction, motivation can be used to elicit certain behaviors in the organization that lead to achieving your multicultural leadership effort. Organizations should strive to meet employee needs for them to fulfill their requirements in the social contract that they have with the business (D'Souza Gurin 2016, p. 8). Different strategies like use of stimulus, employee training, work-life balance and organizational support can be used to create the desired outcomes. References D'Souza, J. Gurin, M., 2016. The universal significance of Maslow's concept of self-actualization. The Humanistic Psychologist, 44(2). Erbe, N., 2014. Approaches to Managing Organizational Diversity and Innovation. Chocolate Avenue: IGI Global Book Series. Senge, P., 1990. The Leader's New Work: Building Learning Organizations. Sloan Management Review, pp. 7-21. Senge, P. et al., 1999. The Dance of Change. NewYork: Currency Doubleday. Shieh, C. Wang, I., 2010. A study of the relationships between corporate core competence management innovation and corporate culture. International Journal of Organiational Innovation, 2(3), pp. 395-411.

How to Prepare For the California Proficiency Essay Questions

How to Prepare For the California Proficiency Essay QuestionsAre you ready to take the California proficiency exam? Knowing the most common California proficiency essay questions will help you prepare for the exam. I will show you a sample test question and then explain how you can study for the exam.The California proficiency exam is basically just like the GMAT or the GRE. They are two similar tests, but they both use the same format. This format is where you answer several multiple choice questions. You are given points based on the answers you provide to the questions. You will earn a certain number of points that you can use to earn a certain amount of credits.Writing proficiency essay questions are a little different from the general GRE writing test. GRE writing test requires you to demonstrate your ability to think about things and generate the right kinds of arguments. On the other hand, in the California proficiency essay questions, you have to answer and create topics and write paragraphs. Since you have not written anything before, it's important to get an idea of what kind of topics you would want to write about. Also, it's important to know how much time you have to spend on the essay.Write the essay in your own words. You need to make sure that the essay is not plagiarized. If you take someone else's work and change the wording, you will lose the originality of the essay. So, avoid making a huge mistake. Try not to forget important details in the article, since these details can be used in a later on.You can use a software program to proofread your essay. The California proficiency test includes multiple choice questions. You need to be able to answer all the questions correctly. The software program will detect the spelling and grammar errors. You will need to edit the questions after you solve them. This is so that you do not make mistakes with the essay.When it comes to writing about science texts, you need to be aware of the subject. If you d o not understand the material well, then you will fail the essay. Although there are some well-known authors, if you are not familiar with their work, then you need to learn about the subject. You should also make sure that the writers were expert writers.When you're thinking about the post-graduate studies, you will find that studying for the test is easier. You do not have to go through all the humanities and social sciences. It's good if you choose subjects that you are good at. In fact, you can even choose subjects that are challenging and difficult. In this way, you will still be able to pass the test.

McDonald’s At the Face of the Competitive Challenges in HRM Essay Example

McDonald’s: At the Face of the Competitive Challenges in HRM Essay McDonalds proclaims itself as the worlds community restaurant and is proud of their long-standing commitment to a workforce that values diversity. McDonald’s believe in developing and maintaining a diverse workforce that will strengthen the McDonalds system (McDonald’s Company Website).Recruitment at McDonalds is usually the same process in most countries. The applicant fills in an application form and, if successful, will be invited for an interview. Until the 1970s, the corporation routinely put applicants through a half-hour lie detector test in some US restaurants, largely to determine whether or not they had any sympathy for trade unions. This practice was only ended after threats of legal action and changes in American labor law (Vidal, 1997). At present, it appears that having the right attitude is the most important attribute to obtain employment at McDonalds. As a global company, McDonald’s successfully fulfilled the six competitive challenges facing human resources management departments: Going Global, Embracing Technology, Managing Change, Developing Human Capital, Responding to the Market, and Containing Costs. In an article entitled McDonalds Serves up HR Excellence, it claimed the food chain excelled at pulling potential employees into its company: Satisfying the six competitive challenges that human resources management, the company has attracted one-eighth of the American work force (Flynn, 1996). Thus, it is safe to say that McDonald’s fulfilled these six challenges in their strategies in human resources management. In a nutshell, McDonalds basic HR philosophy works in most operations are always open to change.   However, the prime reason why McDonalds HR is so successful because it always remembers its people. McDonald’s goal is to ensure that their work force is committed and the difference between McDonal d’s among other folks is about the commitment that they are able to engender through their people. We will write a custom essay sample on McDonald’s: At the Face of the Competitive Challenges in HRM specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on McDonald’s: At the Face of the Competitive Challenges in HRM specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on McDonald’s: At the Face of the Competitive Challenges in HRM specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer References Flynn, Gillian. (1996, January).McDonalds Serves Up HR Excellence, Personnel Journal, 75.1. McDonalds Company Website. (2005). Corporate Values. Retrieved March 25, 2006, from http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/values.html Vidal, J. (1997). McLibel: Burger Culture on Trial, London: Macmillan.

Traits of an Abnormal Personality Disorder

Traits of an Abnormal Personality Disorder Free Online Research Papers Underlying Normal Traits within Abnormal Personality Disorders Abstract Scholars have argued for decades concerning the fact that there are normal personality traits underlying abnormal personality traits in people who exhibit dysfunctional personalities. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition is the determinative guide on the descriptions of these personality characteristics, and it determined that there were several models to be considered when looking for a universal clinical definition of abnormal personality. Researchers used either the Big Four, Big Five or other models to describe what an abnormal personality consisted of and how it related to a normal personality as studied. Researchers measured personality differences based on qualitative, quantitative and other key factor differences to determine normal or abnormal functioning personalities. It was difficult to determine one substantive definition, as the traits overlapped from normal to abnormal characteristics noted. Later, the definition of personality dysfunctions included life skills, personal tasks and life goals, and whether the individual was able to function as a member of his society, while meeting the expectations of that society. A person’s maladaptiveness and evolutionary sense were added as part of the definition of whether the personality was normal or abnormal, and whether a person had the skill to be able to manage personal relationships were considered as well in the general definition of abnormal personality. Today, treatment options are expanded from the traditional therapy treatments to include drug therapies, psychodynamic therapy, day hospital intervention, and dialectical behavior therapy. To date, day hospital interventions have proved very successful on non-schizophrenic patients suffering from abnormal personality traits. Introduction Scholars have argued for decades concerning the fact that there are normal personality traits underlying abnormal personality traits in people who exhibit dysfunctional personalities. Recently, scholars have begun to make an argument that current category systems of personality disorders (PDs) should be substituted by trait dimensional scheme designations in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Experts are leaning towards using a Big Four model, which are â€Å"essentially maladaptive variants of the Big Five traits of normal personality, minus Openness† (Watson, 1545). In a discussion of this issue by Watson, Clark and Chmielewski, they state that the newly comprised Big Four model excludes odd or eccentric Cluster A PDs, (Watson, 1545) and that their results noted from three studies show a relationship examining the factors of normal and abnormal personalities. Their results established th at the Oddity factor was considered more broad than the Cluster A traits and more distinct from Openness and other Big Five models, which suggested â€Å"an alternative five factor model of personality pathology (considering only abnormal traits) and an expanded, integrated Big Six taxonomy that subsumes both normal and abnormal personality characteristics† (Watson, 1545). Model Theories The Watson study explains that the Big Four structure was a result of developed hierarchical models that combined general models, like the Big Three and the Big Five models. These former models of personality reviews included multidimensional factors reminiscent of past personality inventories. When the Big Three and Big Five models were formally combined, it was apparent that â€Å"two higher order traits- Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality and Extraversion/Positive Emotionality- are included in both models† (Watson, 1547). Considering these changes, Watson proposes a â€Å"Big Four† theory which does not include Openness, but does include many of the traits of the other theories. Watson reports that their research on the Big Five theory also includes research on a Big Six taxonomy â€Å"that subsumes both normal and abnormal personality dimensions (Watson, 1551). Definitions of Abnormal Personalities Researchers have made recent discoveries that â€Å"abnormal personalities can be modeled as extremes of normal personality variation† (O’Connor Doyce, 2001) (Markon, p. 139). Even though researchers agree that it is possible to describe normal and abnormal personalities within the same frameworks, they disagree on the structure of what the framework will encompass. Even abnormal personality traits are seen now as a variant of the extremes that can happen when reviewing normal personalities. One way to make sense of the distinctions between normal and abnormal personalities is to describe personality disorders (PDs) and develop a working definition for them. By defining the traits for PDs, the researcher is able to develop a base for delineating personalities studied. Once normal traits are identified, abnormal traits need to be assessed. This can be done by reviewing the Big Five model of abnormal personalities. This is the juncture that normal and abnormal personalities overlap. Apparently, there are similar modeling structures that can be utilized to describe both normal and abnormal personalities. Some traits are very common between the two models, and others mimic similar personality descriptions. Meta-analytic Investigation Model One cohesive factor that applies to both normal and abnormal personalities is the meta-analytic investigation model. This model was proposed by O’Connor in 2002, and it stated that there were structural relationships between normal and abnormal personalities (Markon, p. 142). The O’Connor study in 2002 reviewed 37 personality and psychopathology inventories to determine if dimensional structure differences existed between clinical and nonclinical respondents (O’Connor B.P., 2002). O’Connor found similarity between normal and abnormal populations reviewed and measured similarities â€Å"both in the number of factors that exist in the data matrices and in the factor pattern† (O’Connor B.P., 2002). The ten abnormal behavior disorders listed by the DSM-IV are listed as: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive–compulsive† (Livesley Jang, p. 258). Each of these disorders shows traits, and it is the way that professional clinicians are able to make accurate diagnoses of abnormal personality traits of their patients. This listing of traits by the DSM, showed that the distinction between what was considered normal and what was considered abnormal was often defined by distinguishing the â€Å"qualitative distinction between the two† (Livesley Jang, p. 258). Unfortunately, in truth researchers have come to find out that there are no true separations between normal and abnormal disorders, and they are hard pressed to find the dividing lines between the two entities. O’Connor asked whether the distinction can be made using former models, and what exactly was normal or abnormal personality disorder. When the conceptual distinctions between the two were reviewed, there are several models to note. The most noteworthy working model being that there was â€Å"no evidence of discontinuity in the distributions of 100 traits selected to provide a systematic representation of personality disorder† (Livesley Jang, p. 259). In other words, there was no concrete evidence that the researchers would consistently find traits that were exclusively common or descriptive of a specific personality disorder. In fact, personality disorders were measured across normal and control groups. The findings were that there were similarities within the disorder traits and that some equaled normal and others disordered personality traits. In this way, the researchers queried whether disorder traits could be seen in normal personalities. The answer was that there were few solid frameworks to make the decision which would provide a definitive answer to the question. In effect, extreme ends of the traits seemed to be deemed disorders, while extreme variations alone may not have been considered enough to state that a personality disorder actually existed. Quantitative Differences in Normal and Abnormal Personalities Quantitative differences exist between the normal and abnormal personality. The differences often mix up and muddle the personality traits and the disorders apparent within them. With personality disorders, often â€Å"it is difficult to see how an extreme score on dimensions such as conscientiousness, extraversion, or agreeableness is necessarily pathological. Researchers agreed that there were to be other additional factors that needed be present to justify the diagnosis (Livesley Jang, p. 262). That additional trait is inflexibility and subjective distress (Livesley Jang, p. 259). The character trait of inflexibility is defined as one where the person has extreme traits, but not necessarily only an extreme position noted on any given trait. For example, a person who is extremely open and gregarious, but then is not able to tone down his personality when necessary would be an example of this trait. Continuing with this example, what would make the person who is considered otherwise outgoing and spontaneous a person who is suffering from a personality disorder? Maladaptive Personalities The answer may come from prior work done by researchers who were determining personality and abnormal personality disorders. Extreme actions alone were not enough to say the person operated outside of â€Å"normal† personality parameters. The researchers at the time believed that personality disorders were the result of someone suffering from an abnormal variation of a personality being studied. It was measured in how much the person suffered from the disorder. This is where the theory of maladaptation or dyscontrolled impairment came into play (Widiger Trull, 1991; Widiger Sankis, 2000). The reason the researchers sought a generalized definition is that without one, they â€Å"would have to catalogue the various maladaptive manifestations of each trait† (Livesley Jang, p. 263). This was a difficult proposition, since even â€Å"normal† people were prone to exhibit maladaptive traits at some time in their lives. Another problem came with the idea of traits as one certain set of behaviors that were noted on subjects clinically or otherwise. Extreme exhibitions of a trait may show some measureable amount of psychopathology, but were not exclusively indicative of being considered classically maladaptive. In this way, the researchers determined that the â€Å"definition of personality disorder needs to incorporate features of disorder that are separate from, although possibly correlated with, extreme trait variation† (Livesley Jang, p. 263). Harmful Dysfunctional Traits in Personalities These descriptions of personality were necessary because there were more than these factors to consider when determining a personality disorder. In fact, personality was considered to be â€Å"a system of interrelated structures and processes† (Costa McCrae, 1994; Mischel, 1999; Vernon, 1964) which included a person’ dispositional traits, motives, coping mechanisms, and ability to tame impulses are part of the process of determining normal or abnormal indications of personality. In other words, if these traits were considered â€Å"harmful dysfunctions,† (Wakefield, 1992; Livesley Jang, p. 263) they consisted of harmful traits that were underlying natural functions. So, the definition of a personality disorder can be considered a harmful dysfunction in the normally adaptive functions of a person’s personality system (Livesley Jang, p. 263) Another issue within the developing studies of personality disorders was that personality functions were considered to be seen as disturbed in individuals who exhibited personality disorders. Researcher Cantor described a person’s personality as the types of tasks a person sets as personal goals, and they way the person looks at his or her â€Å"self, and life situations, and the strategies used to achieve personal tasks† (Livesley Jang, p. 263). This delineation of personality traits offered a true to form definition of what a personality disorder consisted of for the individual suffering from it. It was considered of a higher order than simply a dysfunction of a personality trait. Here it was described as needing to concentrate on life tasks as the determining factor to determining if an individual had a personality disorder, and was therefore considered abnormal in terms of functioning personality. The researchers assumed that as a person lives his life, he orders his tasks as to what he sets as priorities for completing goals and meeting the needs of his immediate surrounding community and culture. This comes under the order of living in society and meeting the expectations of people who live near the individual, or a way of fitting in within his community. It also had to do with the person’s mean biology, or biological features characteristic of the individual. In fact, these tasks did vary depending on where the person lived and what the person had do to be able to survive in his culture. These may come under the umbrella of life skills, and they are definitely different considering where a person lived or had grown up. For example, a person who grew up in a small native Alaskan out island would have different life skills that would a person who grew up and lived in a borough of Manhattan, NY. The two personalities of these individuals might be similar, but their life skills would be developed in obviously different ways. The person living in the native island village would have an understanding of the elements and what is necessary for bare-bones survival in possibly extreme conditions. While, the person who grew up in the city would have to understand how to be â€Å"street smart† and may need to know how to survive in even a potentially violent atmosphere if the neighborhood suggested those skills were essential to survive on a daily basis. Each individual may otherwise be soft spoken, or be considered similarly warm-hearted or kind. But decidedly, their life skills would separate them and put them a world away from each other in what they knew and needed to depend on to survive in their environment on a daily basis. Universal Tasks Underlying Personality Traits The researchers then understood that there would need to be a set of universal tasks that needed to be identified. These universal tasks were considered of â€Å"evolutionary significance† and featured four universal challenges as set by Plutchik (1980). These were the four ways a person’s identity was developed and they included:the solution to the problems of dominance and submissiveness created by hierarchy that is characteristic of primate social hierarchies; development of a sense of territoriality or belongingness; and solution to the problems of temporality, that is, problems of loss and separation. This allowed the researchers studying personality disorders to come to the conclusion that personality disorders prevented an individual from managing the adaptive answers or solutions that were considered universally applicable to everyone, or a person’s life tasks. When an individual had a deficit in any of these areas, there was a noted â€Å"harmful dysfunction† and the person was unable to adapt to be able to function in his environment or society. The life tasks then seen as either being fulfilled or being abandoned by the individual, probably because of this identified deficit. Personality disorder was seen as different from other disorders by the fact that these failures â€Å"should be enduring and traceable to adolescence or at least early adulthood and they should be due to extreme personality variation rather than another pervasive and chronic mental disorder such as a cognitive or schizophrenic disorder† (Livesley Jang, p. 264). Evolutionary Sense Within Personality Traits There was talk of the individual not being able to adapt to his environment in an â€Å"evolutionary sense† which spoke to whether the person had garnered enough skills for ensuring adaptive social behavior to allow reproduction and survival (Livesley Jang, p. 264). This was explained as stating that the adaptive traits would contribute to the person adapting to his environment and society in general, and the person adapting to his family unit would move the person towards being able to rear children and eventually reproduce to pass down his traits to offspring later on. This is the general definition of people who have self confidence in their dealings with others, and are able to live in harmony in stable relationships, while becoming productive members within their society or community. These can be seen to be part of the ancestral or evolutionary needs of every individual, whether the person had an abnormal personality or normal personality. The more common description of an abnormal personality comes from what the common person observes when someone has problems dealing within a relationship. Rutter (1987) stated that personality disorders were characterized by â€Å"persistent, pervasive abnormality in social relationships and social functioning generally† (Rutter, p. 454). Also, Tyrer (2001) stated that â€Å"we do not necessarily need to know everything about someones personality to recognise the elements that make it disordered† (Tyrer, p. 83). Tyrer states quite honestly that psychiatrists view these descriptive axioms as something to be deferred, and says â€Å"personality disorder and mental retardation are stigmatic terms that psychiatrists like to avoid† (Tyrer, p. 83). So the question is, how can one determine the underlying normality within the abnormal personality? For this the clinician and the layperson need review the DSM-III, considered the premier source of personality disorder classification (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The DSM classifies what is considered normal and abnormal in terms of personality. The professionals in the field disagree to the proposed stereotyping of this group of classifications, on the basis of the fact that such profiling is considered â€Å"quite inappropriate in such a complicated field† (Tyrer, p. 84). In fact, it appears that there are burgeoning alternative and substitute classifications being used for determining personality disorders in surveys, trials, studies and private practice. Most people would be surprised to find out that this topic has been heatedly debated over the past two decades. Many people most likely assume that there is one clinical definition of what is normal, and what is not normal when it comes to personality disorders. The media plays into this, as well as the television and movie plots. The person seen as abnormal is cloaked in symbolic black, speaks in a raspy voice or has otherwise obvious mentally deviant behaviors that even the least sophisticated person in the audience could confidently label as the â€Å"bad guy.† Personality Disorders Studied Abroad Even the study of personality disorders abroad have led researchers to agree to disagree in the area of determining how to describe profiles for patients with underlying normal traits within their abnormal personality profiles. In a study performed by McCrae (2001) in The People’s Republic of China, 1,909 psychiatric patients were examined to determine the accuracy of the hypotheses determined from the Interpretive Report of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (McCrae, p. 155). The researchers determined that the PDs were not separate categories that could be determined in a vacuum. They realized that they needed to consider a more comprehensive and forgiving system of personality traits, to be considered an accurate measure of the patient’s personality issues and concerns. The researchers found that the personality traits of the patients did not fit into the DSM-IV defined traits. They did â€Å"draw on the same five underlying personality traits† (McCrae, p. 171), and were considered redundant, but there were several areas of overlap to be considered conclusive. In fact, over 60% of the patients that were being treated for maladaptive personalities were not meeting the criteria defined in the DSM-IV, as relating to any criteria for a PD (McCrae, p. 171). The maladaptive behaviors, the person’s habits and personal attitudes were all measured to find a comprehensive scale for measuring the personality traits of the patients. It was determined that the results were insignificant, and concluded that personality profiles were â€Å"modest predictors of categorical PDs, but they are immensely informative about people† (McCrae, p. 172). Treatment Options for Abnormal Personality Traits But clinicians and psychiatrists are still interested in treating and helping people who exhibit the traits of these personality disorders identified above. They are in disagreement whether there are normal traits that are underlying the abnormal personality traits that deserve to be treated in an effort to offer the patient an opportunity to live a full and productive life. This is a critical option for people who have normal personality traits, but also exhibit the identified borderline abnormal personality traits as well within their psyche. Over a half decade ago, the best treatments were heralded as therapeutic, and they seemed to promise the greatest success overall. But today, there are many alternate treatments available for individuals exhibiting abnormal personality disorders. They include drug therapies, psychodynamic therapy, day hospital intervention, and dialectical behavior therapy (Linehan, 1992, Tyrer, p. 84). Other methods of treatment that carry high success for the patients are the partial hospitalization of patients (Bateman Fonagy, 1999). Bateman Fonagy compared the effectiveness of treating patients exhibiting borderline personality disorders with partial hospitalization s a standard psychiatric care. They studied thirty-eight patients with borderline personality disorder and offered them individual and group psychoanalytic psychotherapy, for up to 18 months (Bateman Fonagy, 1999). The results were that the patients who had been partially hospitalized did exhibit less problems, with â€Å"An impr ovement in depressive symptoms, a decrease in suicidal and self-mutilatory acts, reduced inpatient days, and better social and interpersonal function began at 6 months and continued until the end of treatment at 18 months† (Bateman Fonagy, 1999). Their conclusion was that the partial hospitalization was determined as a far superior type of psychiatric care for those patients exhibiting borderline personality disorder. This treatment option was in opposition with the standard treatment options of the therapies listed above. These results were similar in the study by Piper, (1993) where a day treatment program at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta was studied. The patients were referred from the day treatment program and walk-in clinic, and utilized participants with â€Å"chronically disturbed non-schizophrenic patients, who usually have affective and personality disorders† (Piper, p. 757). The results of the study were that day treatment programs w ere considered effective for patients with long-term non schizophrenic disorders. The patients noted significant improvement in â€Å"four of the five areas studied- interpersonal functioning, symptomatology, life satisfaction, and self-esteem- as well as in several of disturbance associated with individual objectives (Piper, p. 762). Reference American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM- III). Washington, DC: APA. Bateman, A. Fonagy, P. (1999). Effectiveness of partial hospitalization in the treatment of borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1563-1569. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/156/10/1563?ijkey=bb19a5d116af525fe927da3b0a0c0250f3d61de3 Costa, P. T., McCrae, R. R. (1994). Can personality change? In T. F. Heatherton, J. L. Weinberger (Eds.), Can personality change? (pp. 21–40). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Linehan, M. M. (1992) Cognitive Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford Press. Livesley, W. John Jang, Kerry L.. (2005). Differentiating normal, abnormal, and disordered personality, European Journal of Personality, 19(4), 257-268. Markon, K.E, Krueger, R. F., Watson, D. (2005). Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: An integrative hierarchical approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 139–157. EBSCO Database: Academic Search Premier. McCrae, Robert R., Jian, Yang, et al. (2001). Personality Profiles and the Prediction of Categorical Personality Disorders. Journal of Personality, 69(2), 155-174. Mischel, W. (1999). Personality coherence and dispositions in a Cognitive–Affective Personality System (CAPS) approach. In D. Cervone, Y. Shoda (Eds.), The coherence of personality (pp. 37–60). New York: Guilford. O’Connor B.P. (2002). The search for dimensional structure differences between normality and abnormality: A statistical review of published data on personality and psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 83(4), 962–982. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12374447 O’Connor B.P. Dyce J.A. (2001) Rigid and extreme: A geometric representation of personality disorders in five-factor model space. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1119–1130. PubMed Database. Piper, W.E., Rosie, J.S., Azim, H.F.A, Joyce A.S. (1993). A randomized trial of psychiatric day treatment for patients with affective and personality disorders. Hosp Community Psychiatry, 44, 757–763. Plutchik, R. (1980). A general psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. In R. Plutchik, H. Kellerman (Eds.), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience (pp. 3–33). San Diego, CA: Academic. Rutter, M. (1987). Temperament, personality and personality disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 443–458. Tyrer, Peter. (2001). Personality disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 81-84. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/179/1/81 Watson, David, Clark, Lee Anna, Chmielewski, Michael. (2008). Structures of Personality and Their Relevance to Psychopathology: II. Further Articulation of a Comprehensive Unified Trait Structure. Journal of Personality, 76(6), 1545-1586. EBSCO Database: Academic Search Premier. Vernon, P. E. (1964). Personality assessment: A critical survey. London: Methuen. Wakefield, J. C. (1992). Disorder as harmful dysfunction: A conceptual critique of DSM-III-R’s definition of mental disorder. Psychological Review, 99, 232–247. Widiger, T. A., Sankis, L. M. (2000). Adult psychopathology: Issues and controversies. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 377–404. Widiger, T. A., Trull, T. J. (1991). Diagnosis and clinical assessment. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 109–133. Research Papers on Traits of an Abnormal Personality DisorderThree Concepts of PsychodynamicResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)

Discuss the role and charachteristics of e-communications in Essay

Discuss the role and charachteristics of e-communications in integrated marketing communication - Essay Example iced that the above forms are just indicative; in fact different forms of e-communications can appear within a particular market in accordance with the cultural characteristics and the general trends of the specific market. On the other hand, it should be noticed that the effectiveness of the type of e-communications chosen in each case depends on the structure of the market and the demands of the consumers as they have been identified through an appropriate marketing research. Under the above terms, e-communications can be considered as having a significant role on the development of marketing activities within a particular marketplace. In fact, e-communications should be considered as a tool for the improvement of marketing communication regarding a specific market. The evaluation of marketing communication strategies applied within a particular market belongs to marketers who have the responsibility to choose the appropriate e-communications tool taking into account that business activities worldwide should be promoted through specific marketing initiatives in order to be productive. In accordance with the above communication in marketing is an indispensable part of the marketing plan having a major importance for marketers around the world. In this context, e-communications become a valuable tool for the support of marketing initiatives worldwide (through the improvement of marketing communication as already explained above). The development of marketing plans has been a challenging task for marketers internationally. The above phenomenon should be explained primarily if taking into account the constant changes of consumer preferences and trends of the market worldwide. It is for this reason that the development of marketing communication has been considered to be a priority for marketers within the global market. More specifically, marketing communication has been proved to be the most effective method for improving the performance of marketing plans

Latino Narrative film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Latino Narrative film - Essay Example My goal in this paper is to explore The Motorcycle Diaries in depth focusing on the way the spiritual transformation of Ernesto Che Guevara, the movie’s protagonist, evolves. Specifically, I will focus on how the film’s story is told and the devices that have been employed by the director to draw the audience. In particular, film’s script, performances, and the way it is shot will be discussed in relation to the research topic. Secondly, my goal is to compare The Motorcycle Diaries to another film by Salles Central Station (1998), which, similarly to the former, contains the theme of transformation. To achieve my goal, I have thematically divided the paper into four meaningful parts. The introduction sets the background to the essay. The first section focuses on the transformation experienced by the character of Ernesto Che Guevara and director’s devices employed to get the message across in a successful way. The second section will concentrate on the film Central Station and the similarities and differences between ways the two movies describe transformation. The paper ends with the conclusion of the major ideas discussed. In brief, The Motorcycle Diaries is a movie about a road trip taken by two young men who, while travelling, learn a serious lesson about life. A closer look at the movie’s focus allows claiming that it is not the result of the motorcycle journey that the movie’s director Walter Salles, a Brazilian by origin, emphasizes as the overall message on screen, but rather the transformation of the inner self of Che Guevara’s character. In particular, this is a transformation of a lighthearted medical student into a resolute leader. It happens against the backdrop of major social mishaps faced by people of the land that this weird duo encounters. This view can be well supported with the evidence from the film. First of all, it is clear at the beginning that the two young people who intend to cross the c ontinent are politically unconcerned. Their major interest, it seems, is courtship and enjoying the company of as many women as possible. Indeed, in the first section the friends are shown in a quite lighthearted manner  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ just as they try to make use of their suggested status as doctors to obtain food and lodging and visit parties. Besides, one sees how the two repeatedly wreck their falling-to-pieces motorcycle, which they joyfully call La Poderosa or â€Å"The Mighty† (The Motorcycle Diaries). Just as the film approaches its ending, one sees a different character. Ernesto is no longer lighthearted, neither is he daffy or frivolous. Instead of acting in a playful manner, he now perceives life in a thoughtful and serious way. Clearly, Ernesto’s life has taken on a new direction. To illustrate, the movie ends with Ernesto’s crossing of the Amazon river with the aim to bid farewell to his downtrodden and outcast patients, with whom Ernesto now aligns hi mself. Thus, a young reckless student of the upper middle class Argentinian background has transformed in a radical revolutionary, who even after his death will have crowds of admirers kicking up the motto â€Å"Che lives† across the globe (Brussat and Brussat, â€Å"Film Review†). Just as any transformation suggests a process which results in a complete change, let us examine in detail how this process went on in Che Guevara (Alberto seems to have undergone transformation too, yet not in