Marketing ExcellenceAmerican Express Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing ExcellenceAmerican Express - Essay Example Diversification and expansion of services offered- in the 1980s, American Express expanded into a variety of financial categories, which included brokerage services, banking and insurance and acquired companies such as Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb Inc, and E.F Hutton & Co. American Express has also been able to position itself against competition by forging and riding on partnerships by increasing the number of merchants that accepted its cards adding Walmart and developed new card offerings, including co-branded cards. American Express has also been able to partner with numerous banks such MBNA, Citigroup, UBS, and USAA. American Express has changed over time from its initial traditional business of â€Å"Travelers cheques†, in the 19th century, to charge cards in the 1960s, to a variety of financial services which include brokerage services, banking and insurance in the 1980s, to revolutionary credit cards in the 21st century and presently a variety of different personal cards as well as small business and corporate cards. 2. American Express has been able to integrate its business by expanding in other different businesses such as financial services, brokerage and insurance, in 1980s; American Express acquired a number of other companies such as Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb Inc and E.F Hutton & Co. The company has also increased its client base by increasing the number of merchants who accept their cards such as Walmart and developing new card offerings, including cards that are co-branded. American Express further integrated its business in mid-1990s when it re-branded its Small Business Services division as â€Å"OPEN: The Small Business Network†, thus increasing benefits such as flexible payments as well as special offers, partnerships, and resources for small businesses. American Express wanted to reach out to small business owners who primarily are different from people who work for big

IKEA Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IKEA - Case Study Example Now, employees need motivation because it gives them more reason to work, other than the fact that they need to earn their fixed salaries. They need to have more reasons to get up everyday, go to work and try their best in their tasks. It is important to understand employee behavior because without this, companies would definitely lose profit and gain a deficit in their output. IKEA, a Swedish home furnishings retailer, is known as the world's largest designer and retailer of well-designed, inexpensive, and functional furniture for the home. (IKEA: A Natural Step Case Study 1998) A Dutch-registered organization runs IKEA and it has put in 15% improvement annually in this past ten years. INGKA Holding BV (the umbrella company of IKEA) is wholly owned by the Stitching INGKA Foundation, a non-profit foundation registered in the Netherlands. Millions of customers visit their 378 stores in about 36 countries, with 30 more set to open this year. Most of these stores are located in Asia, Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States. About 11, 000 products in IKEA's line are shown in the 80 million catalogues that they distribute. As for the manufacturing itself, IKEA does this in their own production facilities with the help of their 2400 suppliers in 65 countries. IKEA also boasts of having a hold of employees totaling to 36, 400. In 1943, IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad, then a 17 year-old boy in Sweden. IKEA is an acronym comprising the initials of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home county (Agunnaryd, in Smland, South Sweden). (Wikipedia 2008) Kamprad shortly transformed his venture into a mail order service which sells furniture. In 1953, he opened the first IKEA showroom. His primary strategy was to allow for the creation of ground-breaking furniture which would give customers the ease to construct the products themselves and purchase them at an affordable price too. Now, the IKEA employees are at the customers' disposal for inquiries and such but the customers are free to select, order, take and construct what furniture they pick. The money saved by IKEA in expenditures was used to give customers discounts. Not long after, the stores got bigger and eventually started to carry eating places like restaurants and recreational facilities for children like play areas. Kamprad distinctively said in December 1976 that "What is good for our customers is also good for us in the long run." (IKEA: A Natural Step Case Study 1998) What IKEA does Since 1990, IKEA has shown interest and action in putting forth an environmental thrust. With their Natural Step Framework, they aim to create a proper environmental plan. The said plan in effect brings about changes in IKEA's products and services in order to conform to their frameworks principles and demands. In 1992, the environmental policy was transformed into an Environmental Action Plan describing concrete and practical measures for the mid-1990s. (IKEA: A Natural

Theories of deviance Essay Example for Free

Theories of deviance Essay Theories of deviance (1)The text describes issues of unacceptable behavior in the society. There was given 4 different theories that explain reasons and different aspects of deviance behavior. (2)In the beginning of the text author gives us the examples of deviance behavior: alcoholism, stealing, being nude in public places. Also there is a definition of deviance behavior: behavior that violates social norms and disapproval from the majority of society. However, the behavior which is deviant for one group of people may be acceptable for others. Science that explore deviance is criminology. (3)Differential-association theory. Edwin Sutherland, the author derive this theory to explain the processes of how people learn to violate. The key features of this theory is environment in which the person is and agents of socialization: family, friends, co-workers and media. People learn criminal behavior from the interactions with others, especially in small groups. The problem is that the vague terminology of the theory don’t let it to validate empirically. Anomie theory. Robert Merton defines the term â€Å"anomie† as situation in which social norms conflict or don’t even exist. Merton pointed the difference between social acceptable goals and opportunities that people have to reach this goals. With the example of achievement of wealth author shows that when people don’t have means to attain their goals, they can use deviance behavior as a response to injustice. Although, the theory does not explains the process of learning deviance. Control theory. Walter Reckless claim that people periodically may want to act in deviance ways, but most of them don’t do it. The key is in various restraints, like internal: conscience, values, integrity, and outer: police, family and religious authorities. Self-control plays an important role in preventing unacceptable acting. Development of self-control requires right  socialization, especially in early childhood. Critics use the examples of politics and businessmen’s that commit crimes. Labeling theory. The theory claims that acting become deviant only when society defines it deviant. Drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, sex offenders, retarded people are labeled as deviant people. The consequences of being labeled can be very deep, for example people who are labeled as deviant are more likely to act against social norms as a result of the label. In support of the theory author gives the description of classic study (William Chambliss, 1973) into the effects of labeling. 1- Conclusion. 2- Introduction. 3- Arguments Explanations background information.

The Reflections Of Caribbean Poetry English Literature Essay

The Reflections Of Caribbean Poetry English Literature Essay As a collective group, the Caribbean people celebrate an eclectic melding of the differences inherent in our ancestry with an appreciation of the influences wrought upon us by the history of the islands, and our development may be chronicled through an examination of the poetry and poetic styles of the poets who seek to give a voice to the diverse, yet collective identity of the Caribbean throughout our growth. The poetry of the region reflects the distinct composite factors which characterize the evolution of the people and the Caribbean islands: the difference is evident in the persons who composed the poems, the subject matter, form, style, the target audience, and the ideological interests which were served. Initially, in the eighteenth century, at one end of the spectrum there were poets who ascribed to the scribal traditions of the English verse as it had developed by that period. These poets hailed from the white master class and dealt primarily with a glorification of the adventure of colonization in the Caribbean. The target audience was the imperial Motherland England, and by extension the other European nations. The pattern of the poems followed the blank verse, pastoral modes, personification, and a poetic diction consistent with the European poets of the era, such as Milton. The subject matter praised an idealized notion of the natural beauty of the Caribbean islands as in Weekes Barbados (1754): When frequent Rains, and gentle Showrs descend, / To cheer the Earth, and Natures self revive, / A second Paradise appears! the Isle / Thro-out, one beauteous Garden seems; (Burnett [1986], 102). The poems therefore are typified by a grandiose, eloquent style, liberally interspersed wi th classical allusions which celebrated the supposed grandeur of the West Indies. Singleton, in his A General Description of the West Indian Islands (1767), illustrates this feature: There hollow noises, murmuring thro the vault, / Surprize the listning er; whilst from the deeps / The hoarse Cerberean yell dreadful ascends, / Three times full-echod from the distant hills. (106). Juxtaposed with the idyllic Caribbean scenes described, these poets, such as Weekes in Barbados (1754), represent in their works a form of superficial humane concern for the slaves, coupled with an acceptance of slavery as the ultimate lot of the slave: Close watch, ye Drivers! Your work-hating Gang, / And mark their Labours with a careful Eye; / But spare your cruel, and ungenrous Stripes! / They sure are Men, tho Slaves, and colourd Black; (102). The poems celebration of the grandeur of the tropics [italics mine] is really a celebration of the supposed grandeur of British colonialism in the Caribbean. In m ost cases the poems work to uphold the slave-based socio-political system of the West Indian plantation society. (Baugh, 227-228). At the other end of the spectrum, there are the anonymous, simple expressions of the black slaves their folk songs, ballads, chants and work songs which articulate their observations and emotions while enduring the slavery experience. For example, there is the poignant lament: If me want for go in a Ebo, / Me cant go there! / Since dem tief me from a Guinea, / Me cant go there! (3). In a frustrated tone, wracked with displacement and restriction of movement, the poem solemnizes the plea of the slave while voicing the collective strife of the slaves on the islands. Markedly contrasting with the poetry of the scribal tradition, the poetry of the presumably uneducated Negro slave appeared to be fresh, insightful and engaging in its simplicity. The poems celebrated the oral traditions of the Africans and were imbued with a creative potential which was forged from the melding of the English and West African languages. Thus, even though the poems were written primarily in English, there were distinct African qualities (for example, the folksong tradition), which was only enhanced by the combining of the European ballad tradition: Guinea Corn, I long to see you / Guinea Corn, I long to plant you / Guinea Corn, I long to mould you (4). Significant to note is that the poets focus is on the Guinea Corn of hie native homeland, and not on the sugarcane of the plantations which exploited his labour. Topically, the slave would not have thought to romanticize the natural beauty of the islands in which they now lived under such persecution. Rather, focal points of their poems may have been entrenched in the desire to retain their native identities and in finding ways of re-defining their identities in the new context of the Caribbean. While it stands to reason that the dichotomy shown here epitomizes the expected disparity of thought and should, in fact, highlight the distinctions among the Caribbean people, the evolution of the Caribbean towards the abolition of slavery gave birth to an innovative poetic voice, one which emerged as a spokesperson chronicling the debacle of the slave trade and the slave experience: Was there no mercy, mother of the slave! No friendly hand to succor and to save, While commerce thus thy captive tribes oppressd, And lowering vengeance lingerd oer the west? Yes, Africa! Beneath the strangers rodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦From isle to isle the welcome tidings ran; The slave that heard them started into man: Like Peter, sleeping in his chains, he lay, The angel came, his night was turnd to day; Arise! his fetters fell, his slumbers flee; He wakes to life, he springs to liberty. (Montgomery [1807], 1-5, 76-77). This poetic voice also interwove the African oral tradition into the fabric of the European poetic form, creating a new composite form which, for the first time, attempted to bridge the gap between the Standard English language and the language of the slaves. In his pioneer attempt, Moretons Ballad (1790) is an example of this: Altho a slave me is born and bred, / My skin is black, not yellow: (Burnett, 112). With this initial foray into the experimental Creole art form, the fact that poets of Caucasian descent were willing to both pen and publish poems in this native dialect spoke loudly to the impending communal focus of poetry in the Caribbean isles, and by extension, the duality of distinct peoples writing for the same purpose: to record a shared history and to give a unique voice to Caribbean literary works. That is not to say that all poems written in this time period were imbued with a humane outlook on the Africans. Many poets who were members of the privileged class ventured into this field, using the local vernacular in their scribal works, however the intent of poets such as Cordle and Mc Turk was a humorous depiction of the everyday life of the African in an attempt to appease the target audience which was still predominantly European. A prime example of Mc Turks use of the vernacular to poke fun at the African people can be seen in his poem, Query (1899): Da Backra one fo go a hebben? / Da Backra one fo raise like lebben? / Da wa a-we po Negah do? / Make a-we no fo raise up too? (13). It may be noted however, that poets such as Mac Dermot, whose work displayed a Tennysonian sound and feel, as was inevitable due to continued reliance on European form, in Cuba (1950s), showed the redemptive power of Caribbean unity: But we like lovers twain / Are one in joy and pain, (132). The poets and poems of this era depicted, in essence, informative social history documents, however their depiction did not negate the fact that, inevitably, two distinct histories were being interwoven through the medium of the poetry which was written. Without openly acknowledging the fact, the poets became a part of the discourse of history that they shared with historians and travel writers (Baugh, 230). The veer towards the vernacular in poetry which still embodied European forms, and also now American forms in the writing, was extremely valuable as a reflection of social realities which no longer distinguished between the people who populated the Caribbean islands, but rather reflected the shared nature of the their heritage. This fact became more noticeable as the Caribbean and its people continued to evolve. The turn of the century was earmarked by poets such as Claude Mc Kay and Una Marson, whose poetic content highlighted the didactic shift towards a focus on black consciou sness and, in Marsons work, a predominantly feminist interpretation of the social relations of the era. Although his later works were penned entirely in Standard English and exhibited the lineage of Milton and Wordsworth, the protest sonnets of Mc Kay, such as If We Must Die reflected both the black United States American situation and the Caribbean situation of the time; the racial theme is engaged poignantly, connecting the Black diaspora and speaking for the Black community generally, rather than singularly from the Caribbean perspective: If we must die, O let us nobly die, / So that our precious blood may not be shed / In vain; then even the monsters we defy / Shall be constrained to honour us, though dead! (Burnett, 144). If one examines Mc Kays Creole poetry, there is, in contrast to earlier works by Cordle and Mc Turk in which the African man was patronized, a definitive consciousness of the black people: I born right don beneat de clack / (You ugly brute, you tun you back?) / Don tink dat Im a come-aroun / I born right way in panish Town. (Brown, 7). The new female consciousness presented by Marson was also linked to black awareness on a holistic level. This black awareness fuses with class consciousness in Marsons simple diction and syntax, while her rhyme draws heavily from the Blues tradition of the American poetic form: I like me black face / And me kinky hair. / I like me black face / And me kinky hair. / But nobody leves dem, / I jes dont tink its fair. (Burnett, 158). What was seen to emerge was poets working conjointly to produce a new West Indian poetic tradition. Thematically the poets wrote in the context of the changing sociopolitical consciousness, exhibiting a new level of seriousness, characterized by a nationalistic slant, an exploration of the social realities of the time, and profoundly proclaiming a search for a shared Caribbean identity. The poems which grew out of the early to mid-twentieth century gave more attention to the search for a unique voice and although typified by derivations from the modern English and American poets of the time, for example, Auden, Eliot and Pound, there was a decided split from the European tradition. Nowhere does this split show itself to be more evident than in the secular works of Louise Bennett. Written entirely in the Jamaican Creole, Bennetts work legitimized the Creole in a way that no-one elses had as yet. Employing the primarily dramatic monologue, interspersed intermittently with the short narrative form, and with heavy reliance on the oral traditions, Bennett engages the reader vicariously in the grassroots wisdom of her personae. Her sharply probing yet objective eye exposes the naÃÆ' ¯vetà © of the Caribbean people. Her tone which is sometimes chastising, is at all times, even in the midst of her reliance on comedy as a medium of exposition, satirical as she figuratively holds up a mirror to societys foibles. Her ideas dwell on the peoples articulation of self and their place in the history of the Caribbean. Distinguishing identity becomes an inevitable condition as the people define themselves. In her works, for example, Colonization in Reverse, the reader can see how Bennett acts as a reporter and commentator on an event of both historical significance and psychological interest to the Caribbean people the exodus of Caribbean nationals to England during the post-war period: Wat a joyful news, Miss Mattie, I feel like me heart gwine burs Jamaica people colonizing Englan in reverseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Oonoo see how life is funny, Oonoo see de tunabout? Jamaica live fe box bread Out a English people moutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Brown, 32). The delivery is characterized by a high degree of verbal and gestural expressiveness however the irony and counter-irony of the situation chronicle the poem. The dialect which is used as the medium of delivery serves mainly to highlight the unfolding drama of West Indian consciousness as the speaker debates the issue of a counter-colonization of England, and the West Indian nationals search for an identifiable history. To many of the West Indian poets such as Bennett, the tradition of English poetic form which was inherited as a part of our colonial history became progressively constrained and oppressive as the islands and their people moved towards self-realization. The need for a Caribbean poetry which encapsulated the essence of the Caribbean peoples shared history and drive towards progress and self-actualiaztion became the fore-runner of thematic influence for the poets topics. The desire for a poetry which spoke of, to and for West Indians was begun by poets like Bennett and realized in poets such as Derek Walcott and (Edward) Kamau Brathwaite. Their poems expressed a possibility for the creation of a new Caribbean world differentiated by its very divergence from Europe and America. Walcotts vision essentially delineates the social realities which have to be transformed in order for a new world vision to transcend into reality. His poetry reinvented the Caribbean landscape through the languag e which defined the qualities of the Caribbean life and people. The vision, which was also influenced by the plight of the Middle Passage extends to all races that comprised the Caribbean. Walcotts poetry did not highlight distinctions among the people, rather when he speaks of race he refers to all Caribbean people, and this vision further extends to embrace all human suffering and the need for survival. The Native Americans tragedy served only to deepen his concern for the Black diaspora, his outrage and lament not singularly focused on the Cherokee Trail of Tears nor the Gulag Archipelago, but a lament for the injustice of all systems of abuse and slavery which prioritized the financial gain of the enterprise above the inhumanities inflicted on the individual. Walcotts poetry can be said to subsume the whole history of grief inherited by the Caribbean people. History itself, for him, becomes a centrally comprehensive theme, such that the gnarled, sea-almond trees on any Atlantic- facing Caribbean coast represent for the poet the resiliency of the people, their capacity to endure, and to build a culture out of a common catastrophe: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦their leaves broad dialect a coarse, / enduring sound / they shared together. (Walcott, 23). Brathwaite shared Walcotts vision as he clearly established [a] single-minded pursuit of an alternative tradition for West Indian poetry. He grounded it in the retrieval and recognition of African cultures and of communal knowledge lost or submerged in the Middle Passageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Baugh, 255): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦memories trunked up in a dark attic, he stumps up the stares of our windows, he stares, stares he squats on the tips of our language black burr of conundrums eye corner of ghosts, ancient his- tories; (Brathwaite, 165). For Brathwaite, his poetry utilizes black musical expressions from both sides of the Atlantic and combines them with black vernacular and Standard English to re-enact or evoke significant moments of Black experience. His goal may be seen as to renew a sense of community and shared purpose among the dispersed African peoples. Brathwaites poems are simultaneously a lament and a celebration of the black diaspora, his heroes and speakers composites of all the changing faces and voices of the new Caribbean. Renewal and community emerge as the desired home out of a legacy of exile and fragmented identity. For both Walcott and Brathwaite, their representations of contemporary society resound with the understanding of the colonial legacy bequeathed to the Caribbean people. The latter half of the Twentieth Century heralded the emergence of yet another poetic voice. This voice was that of the West Indian feminist who sought to establish the importance of the contribution of the female figure in the West Indian community. Poets such as Merle Collins and Lorna Goodison spoke out forthrightly against male-dominated power structures and engaged questions of the womans role in issues of history, class and race. Goodisons poetry for example resonates with a deep sense of history, generates a sense of creativity and focuses on the multi-dimensional roles of women in the society, sharing with Brathwaite and Walcott that vibrant sense of identity evident in her works which characteristically display Caribbean and African-American people music within a social and native consciousness that this type of music includes: Mother, there is the stone on the hearts of some women and men something like an onyx, cabochon-cut, which hung on the wearer seeds bad dreams. Speaking for the small dreamers of this earth, plagued with nightmares, yearning for healing dreams we want the stone to move. (Goodison, 4). Poems such as this encapsulate the breadth of the female form, claiming the womans place as the cultural regenerator of the people. Also extending the range of artistic use of the oral tradition into the current century, infusing it with the urgency of new, deprived generations and speaking the language of the street, the poetry of poets such as Linton Kwesi Johnson gained new popularity as dub poetry, a poetry which could trace its lineage to the oral inventiveness of the tenement yards and ghettos. However, although the poetry is at times interspersed with impressions of violence, it affirms the deep cultural significance and identification of the Caribbean people with social protest: dem is awftin decried an denied dem is awftin ridiculed an doungraded dem is sometimes kangratulated an celebrated dem is sometimes suprised an elated but as yu mite have already guess dem is awftin foun wantin more or less dus spoke di wizen wans af ole dis is a story nevvah told (Brown, 274). The writers explored here are not all of one and the same generation. Nonetheless they identify in crucial ways the Caribbeans origins; their sense of location is creatively problematic and their postcolonial sensibility appears uneasily chronicled. However the idea of a divided immigrant to the Caribbean does not hold true. Rather, one can literally trace the development of the Caribbean, and its continuing development, through the voice which these poets give to their works of art. There is a specially defined relationship of the Caribbean national to his home and identity, however multi-faceted it may appear to be. His colonial redefinition is still incomplete but the process, however delayed, is inevitable. Poets of the West Indies, through their thematic content, their use of language, their adaptation of form and their ability to acquire a target audience which was, in effect, a locally appreciative entourage, all shared in the singular rhetoric which captured the shared experi ence of the Caribbean people and gave to the islands a unique form of identity. As Eric Roach notes in his poem Love Over-grows a Rock (1992), the hope for the Caribbean peoples future lies summarily in transcending insularity through a shared regional identity and dream: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦So, from my private hillock / In Atlantic I join cry: / Come, seine the archipelago; / Disdain the sea; gather the islands hills / Into the blue horizons of our love. (Rohlehr, 284).

Emma by Jane Austen Essay -- Emma Jane Austen

About the Author Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon, England. She was the seventh child of the rector of the parish at Steventon, and lived with her family until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. Her father, Reverend George Austen, was from Kent and attended the Tunbridge School before studying at Oxford and receiving a living as a rector at Steventon. Her mother, Cassandra Leigh Austen, was the daughter of a patrician family. Among her siblings she had but one sister, Cassandra, with whom she kept in close contact her entire life. Her brothers entered a variety of professions: several joined the clergy, one was a banker, while several more spent time in the military. Although her family was neither noble nor wealthy, Rev. Austen had a particular interest in education, even for his daughters. Although her novels focus on courtship and marriage, Jane Austen remained single her entire life. She died in Winchester on July 8, 1817. Jane Austen published four novels anonymously during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815). Two novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1817. These novels are prominent for her satiric depiction of English society and manners. Summary of Emma Jane Austen's Emma is a novel of courtship. Like all of Austen's novels, it centres on the marriage plot: who will marry whom? For what reasons will they marry? Love, practicality, or necessity? At the centre of the story is the title character, Emma Woodhouse, an heiress who lives with her widowed father at their estate, Hartfield. At the beginning of the novel, she is a self-satisfied young woman who feels no particular need to marry, for she is in the rather unique condition of not needing a husband to supply her fortune. At the beginning of the novel, Emma's governess, Miss Taylor, has just married Mr. Weston, a wealthy man who owns Randalls, a nearby estate. The Westons, the Woodhouses, and Mr. Knightley (who owns the estate Donwell Abbey) are at the top of Highbury society. Mr. Weston had been married earlier. When his previous wife died, he sent their one child (Frank Churchill) to be raised by her brother and his wife, for the now-wealthy Mr. Weston could not at that time provide for the boy. Without Miss Taylor as a companion,... ...e is unpopular in Highbury due to her poor manners and arrogance, but becomes good friends with Jane Fairfax. Her status in society rests only on the fact that her sister married very well. She refuses to treat others with the proper respect they are accorded, including even Mr. Knightley. Mr. John Knightley - A tall, gentleman-like, clever man, respectable and reserved. Emma dislikes him somewhat for his severity and lack of patience. He is Knightley's brother and Woodhouse's son-in-law. He is married to Isabella, Emma's sister. They live in London and visit only occasionally. Mr. John Knightley is given to complaint and bad humour; his wife is submissive and devoted entirely to him. Mrs. Goddard: The mistress of a Boarding school where girls might be sent to receive a little education. Her school was in high repute. One of her former students is Harriet Smith, who now assists Mrs. Goddard. Miss Bates: The daughter of Mrs. Bates, she was neither young, married, handsome nor rich. She is a pitiable character with the worst predicament. She lacks all distinguishing traits such as intellect or cleverness, yet she was mostly happy and treated others with great goodwill.

berry goody :: essays research papers

Berry Gordy: Father of the Motown Sound Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was the seventh born out of eight siblings. His parents migrated to Detroit from Georgia during 1922. They were part of a mass exodus of African Americans who left the South in the 20's and traveled to northern cities in search of better economic futures. During that time jobs were plentiful in the factories, mainly the big four automotive plants that like, Chrysler, Ford, Chevrolet, and General Motors. Berry and Bertha Gordy would instill in Berry Jr. and his brothers and sisters a strong work ethic and a belief that anything could be achieved through persistence. His family also had deep roots in business. Berry Sr. owned a plastering and carpentry service, a general store, and a printing business. Gordy's family believed in the philosophy of Booker T. Washington, which stressed economic independence for blacks. Gordy Sr. named his store after him. Berry Gordy Jr. was heavily influenced by the ambition of his father. Like his father, he was also very determined and he tried many new ventures. Berry was an average student who earned decent grades. Despite this he decided to drop out of Northeastern High School to peruse a featherweight boxing career. He once even fought on the same card as the great Joe Louis. He had a brief but successful series of fights but decided to give up boxing in 1951. That same year he would then decide to try out the Army. He served for two years during the Korean War; there he earned his high school equivalency diploma. After his short stint in the army, he decided to open a record store, which only sold jazz records. Berry always enjoyed listening to records in his basement and he had a great love of music. Berry always hung around Detroit's popular nightspots to hear the bebop jazz sounds. He was able to see the performances of famous artists like pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Unfortunately, Berry's store eventually closed due to financial difficulties. Gordy soon found himself working at Ford's Mercury plant, earning $85 a week. Bored with his assembly line job, he spent all of his free time writing songs. Berry would hum melodies and make up song lyrics in his head to break the monotony of everyday work. Berry soon began to get serious about song writing and he got his big break when he won a talent contest.

Nursing and Care Essay

The concept of Synergy can be applied to the practice of nursing by means of education and service. To obtain Synergy in nursing the nurse’s knowledge and skills are able to meet the individual needs of the patient population that is presented. Currently in Western Pennsylvania, there is a rising number maternal substance abuse during pregnancy. This epidemic in turn creates a different type of population in infants than other areas of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), with specific healthcare needs. One area that is lacking synergy is the care of this rising patient population of infants suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). This creates a gap between nursing education and clinical application. Due to the rise in NAS infants it is important for nurses to be educated in proper care for an infant presenting with this diagnosis, symptom management, communication skills, and the fundamental knowledge Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Poor patient outcomes can be caused by a lack of understanding addiction. The Vermont Oxford Network states, â€Å"Fear of stigmatization, discrimination, child removal, poor treatment, and criminal prosecution has deterred women from seeking care. However, the research suggests that providing substance dependent women with comprehensive healthcare, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, and social support improves pregnancy, birth, and child development outcomes. † (Horbar, Soll & Buus-Frank, 2013) When the infant is admitted into the acute care setting, the care needs of these patients should focus less on the immediate outcome, and more on what will create the greatest good for each patient as an individual. There is an essential need for the development of collaborative solutions for care and education in the healthcare setting for the care of this rising population. Often this would be to provide care with a realistic goal of maintaining optimal levels of comfort with minimal side effects of withdraw. â€Å"About 40% of infants who exhibit withdrawal symptoms can be treated without medication. † (White, 2013) Nurses who take time to ensure a level of comfort will help to alleviate symptoms of NAS withdraw and also help support the family in their infant’s care. In addition to providing comfort will help decrease the need to be medicated for withdraw and ultimately will lead to a shorter hospitalization. The manager of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will need to address this issue and implement change in order to improve patient outcomes. The competencies that make up the Synergy model are clinical judgment, advocacy and moral agency, caring practices, facilitation of learning, collaboration, systems thinking, response to diversity, and clinical inquiry. For the NAS population advocacy, clinical judgment, caring practices and facilitation of learning are most important. Advocacy proposes the nurse to serve as a moral agent to work on the infant’s behalf in order to provide the greatest good to help resolve concerns that are both clinical and ethical. Clinical judgment is the ability for the nurse to take on the leadership role to care for their patient. Infants are unable to make healthcare decisions; the nurse must consider the parent’s wishes and what the result the nurses’ actions will yield for this infant. These actions must positively contribute to their plan of care overall. Caring practices creates a compassionate and therapeutic environment for each the patients, recognizing the unique needs of each infant. The nurse acts as a facilitator of learning when he/she incorporates the understanding of the infant’s family into the care. The Synergy mode includes patient characteristics, which are, resiliency, vulnerability, stability, complexity, resource availability, participation in care and decision-making and predictability. For the NAS population the patient characteristics would immediately associate complexity, vulnerability, and participation in care and decision-making. Complexity as referred to as to the multitude of symptoms that are to be considered for proper care of the patient. These infants are unable communicate pain, symptoms needs, and what their desire’s are. For example, these infant’s cry and are inconsolable until the nurse goes through a trial and error until he/she figures out the needs of the child. They do not understand what is happening to them. Vulnerability includes the stressors that these patients will be exposed to that may affect outcomes. The infants depend on the decisions their families and healthcare professionals. Increased length of hospital stay can lead to problems that may decline in their already compromised condition, for example, infection. Lastly, the NAS patients are vulnerable due to the fact that they are unable to make their own healthcare decisions and have to depend on parents and healthcare providers to be speak on their behalf. The parents participate in care as they receive information and help assist in the care for their child. Analyze the Case Nursing education places emphasis on clinical presentation, physical stressors and conditions that affect the patient and their associated treatments. Increased education is needed for nurses on the postpartum and NICU units about the treatment for this specific patient population. With the increase in drug dependent mothers there seems to be little nursing education provided on postpartum and NICU nursing units about the care for these infants, and this issue needs to be addressed. â€Å"Infants with NAS have higher rates of neonatal complications, prolonged lengths of stay and consume substantial NICU and hospital resources. Further, they impose a growing burden on already strained healthcare resources because state Medicaid expenditures are disproportionately impacted. † (Horbar, Soll & Buus-Frank, 2013) The administration and education team needs to identify this problem and incorporate teaching and updated research on these units. One competency that lacks synergy in the nursing care of the NAS population is collaboration. â€Å"Collaboration enhances the capacity of a group and increases the potential for success. † (Hardin & Kaplow, p. 75, 2005) It is not uncommon when different discipline areas such as the nurse, doctor, social worker etc. identify different goals for the patient. Poor communication causes the team to not work in unison to collaborate and work towards a common goal. â€Å"A key to collaboration is the communication that must exist between the patient, family, and health care team members as well as among members of the health care team. Another synergy lacking competency would be caring practices, which is the unique nursing care provided to the patient and families. Within the NAS population nurses have to recognize the differences and incorporated them into the infants care. Having compassion and creating a calming environment help provide comfort in a therapeutic environment. Often times the NAS population is considered as level II care, this allows for the nurses to take on a multiple patient assignment of three to five infants at a time. The NAS population is unique; they require much coddling and almost constant attention from the nurse. Having greater than three patients causes a great disadvantage to these children due to the nurse having to spread herself thin to meet the basic needs of feeding, changing and medicating, the nurse does not have adequate time to rock and soothe the infants causing greater withdraw symptoms. The rational decision-making model will help identify and implement the appropriate changes that are essential in optimizing care for the NAS population. Improvement in the education of the healthcare staff will create better patient outcomes. This decision making process includes three steps to achieve this objective: identify possible outcomes, determine probability of each outcome, and take action with the highest probability to achieve a positive outcome. The considered actions are increased in-person training, mandatory review of printed materials, or an on-line training course. The greatest positive outcome would come from increased in-person training. Create a Change Proposal Part of the nursing orientation for staff will be to participate in a class specified for the training related to care of the NAS infant prior to working in the NICU. Written material as well as a presentation will be provided. The attending physician will make a statement about services provided to the NAS infant, medications and important facts that the physician would like in report. For the staff nurses’ senior nursing projects are assigned yearly and are presented to maintain their status on the unit. Assigning NAS care to a few nurses each year will keep the most up to date research on the unit. These nurses will participate in Internet presentations that focus on quality, safety and care for infants and families of and NAS infant. Finally, a staff member from the social work team will join and present his/her role in the case of a NAS infant. The unit will provide CEU’s for this training. This proposal will affect the unit internally by involving the management team and multiple staff disciplines. The management team will help aid in this proposal by providing a day that is designated this additional training and appoint the appropriate nursing, physician and social work staff to participate in running the program. Finally obtaining CEU’s approved by the state board of nurses to offer education credits for after the completion of training. The designated nurses assigned to NAS as a senior project must keep up to date with the training information prior to the class of new staff, doing so will ensure they are prepared for questions that may arise. With this proposal the staff has the potential to increase the patient stability, outcome and satisfaction. Also this proposal will be aimed to help the nurses caring for NAS infants to promote patient care through evidenced based research. A change model that applies to this proposal would be the Lewin’s change model. This model is based on unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. First the unfreezing stage, the current beliefs and ideas will change with the desired outcome. The health care team will sufficiently identify the epidemic and need for changes in care for the NAS infant, inspiring the education and treatments needed to move the staff towards bettering practices. Lastly, refreezing, the nursing staff will have a new outlook or attitude towards NAS infants. Changes in the treatment process will be instituted based on the staff’s new outlook. Having the knowledge and resources for the care of the NAS infant will allow the care team to handle each unique case with evidenced based approach. Along with any type of change there will always be positive and negative outcomes on the environment. Positive outcomes will include an influx in nursing knowledge, better patient outcomes and an increased amount of resources for the staff. Negative outcomes may include not having the adequate amount of staff to run this program and the biases formed by individuals prior to participating in this class. A way to follow up with the care provided to these patients and their families would be an optional survey completed by the families allowing the unit to see their strengths and weaknesses. The survey will allow for improvement of care. â€Å"Nurses who have confidence in their ability to positively impact maternal parenting behaviors through education and skill building may impact patient care outcomes. It is imperative that the management and supervisors recognize the issues that nurse’s experience when caring for NAS infants. Educating staff will allow for a balance of practice and the nurses actions. Instituting this educational program will provide synergy to the NICU units and the epidemic of withdraw infants. The unit directors will be able to see that the changes to the unit and education instituted has worked when NAS infants have a shorter hospital stay, a decrease in the use of morphine and phenobarbital and finally patient/parental and nurse satisfaction. In conclusion, with the epidemic of substance abuse mothers on the rise it is imperative that neonatal nursing units properly educate their staff about the treatment and care of NAS infants. With the changes proposed in this case the care of this specific population will be enhanced. These infants are very fragile and require a lot of special attention. The proper care and education could make the world of a difference in a baby’s life.