Statement of purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Statement of purpose - Essay Example background has heightened my awareness of ethnic diversity, and, at the same time, shown me the basic similarities in thought and values which characterize all people, whatever be their nationality. I am very alive, especially in these tumultuous economic times, to the role that the economy plays in the everyday life of every individual. In this scenario, I am confident that my pursuit of Psychology and Economics will equip me to meld my interest in people, and in the economy, into a set of skills which will enable me to contribute my own share towards the betterment of society. Sometime in the future, I see myself using the English language proficiency I have gained in the USA to make a difference in the lives of Korean children. Despite my time in Korea being confined to summer vacations with my family, I am deeply conscious of my identity as a Korean. I even attribute my love for golfing (I was varsity at golfing for three years at High School), to my ethnic identification with Tiger Woods! I am inordinately proud of the technical prowess, dedication and hard work, which have gone into the making of Korea’s enviable reputation on the world stage as an economic power house. My own parents’ success as business entrepreneurs is living proof of Korea’s strengths. Above all this, I love the culture of personal and family relationships, and the feeling of belonging. Very simply, Korea is home to me! It is where I plan to spend my life after my academic career. That said, I must confess to a deep regret that my knowledge of Korea - its culture, history, art, people, cuisine - is very superficial. I am passionate about my desire to discover myself and my country anew, and explore every facet o f my nationality. Seoul National University’s direct international exchange program is the perfect opportunity for me to continue my academic pursuits in my field of choice and, at the same time, discover my roots as a Korean. SNU’s acknowledged position as the most

Future Developments of Video Games Essay Example for Free

Future Developments of Video Games Essay The field of video games is one of the most exciting because it is constantly developing and advancing so quickly. Unlike a lot of areas of ICT which have reached a level of stability, all parts of games, gaming and games development are still growing and will continue to grow. This means there is the potential for individuals to have completely new ideas and be the first to create something in the field. The popularity of games is growing exponentially, with more and more people discovering an interest and passion for games all the time. A game now will reach a much larger, international audience and games developers can bring enjoyment to a vast array of people. Console manufacturers, games developers and other involved in the game industry and notoriously secretive about new projects being developed until they are almost ready for announcement and release and even then sometimes games and products can be cancelled at the last minute. All employees working in the industry have to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) most of the time which forbids them legally from revealing any of their companys secrets. Releasing any information about a product could potentially jeopardise its sales. Technology evolves in amazingly rapid speeds. If you need any real observable proof of the speedy advancement of digital technology over the years, take a look at the gaming industry. From the very early years of black-and-white 2D games like Pong (1972) to the first 3D game, 3D Monster Maze in 1981, and from primitive first-person shooters like Wolfenstein 3D (1992) to complex, life-like shooters like Battlefield 3 (2011), there’s no doubt that the gaming industry has seen its fair share of technological evolution. Hardware Developments Each new generation of console hardware made use of the rapid development of processing technology. Newer machines could output a greater range of colours, more sprites, and introduced graphical technologies such as scaling, and vector graphics. One way console makers marketed these advances to consumers was through the measurement of bits. The TurboGrafx-16, Sega Genesis, and SNES were among the first consoles to advertise the fact that they contained 16-bit processors. This fourth generation of console hardware was often referred to as the 16-bit era, and the previous generation as the 8-bit. The bit-value of a console referred to the word length of a consoles processor (although the value was sometimes misused, for example the TurboGrafx 16 had only an 8-bit CPU, and the Genesis/Mega Drive had the 16/32-bit Motorola 68000, but both had a 16-bit dedicated graphics processor). As the graphical performance of console hardware is dependent on many factors, using bits was a crude way to gauge a consoles overall ability. For example the NES, Commodore 64, Apple II, and Atari 2600 all used a very similar 8-bit cpu. The difference in their processing power is due to other causes. For example the Commodore 64 contains 64 kilobytes of RAM and the Atari has much less at 128 bytes of RAM. The jump from 8 bit machines to 16 bit machines to 32 bit machines made a noticeable difference in performance, so consoles from certain generations are frequently referred to as 8 bit or 16 bit consoles. However, the bits in a console are no longer a major factor in their performance. The Nintendo 64, for example has been outpaced by several 32 bit machines. Its only inevitable that gaming hardware is going to constantly be improved, with more processing power, graphics capabilities, sound quality and memory capacity. The input method using a controller has drastically developed over the years beginning with a clunky controller and simple joystick on arcade games, the video game controller has evolved to be ergonomically designed to feel comfortable to avoid injuries such as the ones in the repetitive strain injury group or carpal tunnel syndrome. Most modern controllers are designed with the relaxed position of the hands in mind, resulting in the pronged design that reduces soreness and cramps after extended use, compared to older pads such as the NES or the Sega Master System. There are still a vast array of input methods to create an even more immersive experience, these include: steering wheel, pedals, light guns, dance pads, balance board, fishing rod, microphone and rhythm game controllers (drums and guitars). Many of these have been specifically designed to be used for a certain game or gaming series, such as guitar hero for example. The evolution of the controller to include more buttons p roves that video games themselves are advancing as more buttons are required to complete different tasks within the game. New input methods are being developed to make the gaming experience more enjoyable and interactive, such as being able to control the character by body movement with sensor pads or clothing such as gloves. This type of input method can be seen back in the EyeToy for Playstation 2 which used a video camera. Most recently this market had been taken by storm with the introduction of the Wii and its totally unique controls. Many console manufactures have adopted this technique can be seen in the Playstation Move and the Xbox Kinect which both involve the player as a means of controlling the game instead of pressing buttons. This means of input is being pushed forward by many of the console manufacturers as it removes the stigma of video games being only for people who sit down all day and are lazy, and they are also seen as an alternative to exercising. The gaming industry has helped develop graphics and sound technology that can be incorporated as VR (Virtual Reality). An early 1990s attempt at a headset for console gaming and for hobbyists, was made by Future Vision Technologies. A modern example would be the Wii where the controller tracks and sends motion input accurately. There is also a new VR headset system in development designed specifically for gaming called the Oculus Rift. The headset provides approximately a 110 degree field of view, absolute head orientation tracking, USB interface and a 1200800 resolution with the final consumer version aimed at 19201080. Some of the future games that will support the Oculus Rift includes Doom 4, Strike Suit Zero, Team Fortress 2, Miner Wars 2081, Minecraft and many more. Virtual reality has always been something that was portrayed in movies and television shows as something that will be the future of gaming. Attempts at creating it in the past have not shown popular results. However, it is something which is becoming more of a reality as technology advances, although whether we will ever reach the point of it becoming the standard of gaming is yet to be seen. Software Development The aim of software development is usually to reach a new level of realism or immersion. As processing power and memory increase, enhanced art and animation are able to be created. This allows images and movement to be more realistic. In the early days of first-person shooters, non-player characters (NPCs) had the intelligence of nicely rounded rocks. But theyve been getting much better lately look no further than Half-Lifes storytelling NPCs and Unreal Tournaments excellent bot AI. The market success of titles such as these has prompted developers to put more effort into AI, so it looks as if smarter NPCs will continue to show up in games. AI researchers rarely use computer games for their research, outside of classic board and card games such as chess, checkers, and bridge. Possibly they see most game AI problems as simple engineering problems. This view has not been completely unjustified because often the goal of game AI is not to create intelligence, but to improve gameplay through the illusion of intelligent behaviour. Many of the techniques used to improve the illusion of intelligence have nothing to do with intelligence, but involve cheats, such as giving game AIs extra production capability or the ability to see through walls, or faking it by creating bots that talk to each other but completely ignore what is said. There also has been a drift in AI research toward problems and approaches where precise empirical evaluation is possible. Needless to say, gameplay isnt something that todays AI researchers feel comfortable evaluating. Although there is currently a significant gap between game developers and AI researchers, that gap is starting to close. The inevitable march of Moores law is starting to free up significant processing power for AI, especially with the advent of graphics cards that move the graphics processing off the CPU. The added CPU power will make more complex game AI possible. Still, game developers should still be wary of AI researchers who say, My algorithm doesnt run in real time right now, but just wait. In a few more years, Im sure the processing power will be there. A second, equally powerful force that is closing the gap is sociological. Students who grew up loving computer games are getting advanced degrees in AI. This has the dual effect of bringing game research to universities and university research to game companies already there are at least five AI Ph.D.s at game companies. AI researchers are discovering that building interesting synthetic characters in computer games is much more than just an engineering problem. Moreover, games provide cheap, robust, immersive environments for pursuing many of the core AI issues. They could be the catalyst for a rebirth in research on human-level AI The final force is the game-playing public, who are starting to demand better AI. With the saturation in the quality of computer graphics, better physics and AI are the two technologies that have the most potential to improve gameplay. Players are looking for more realistic AIs to populate their worlds with interesting non-player characters (as in The Sims) and humanlike opponents who must be out-thought and not just out-shot (and who dont cheat). AI can also provide dynamic game control, adjusting the gameplay based on how the game is played. Imagine playing a first-person shooter where the AI not only reacts to your behaviour, but also anticipates your actions by using an internal model of the way you play the game to make its plan. It also adjusts its skill at the tactical level to match yours, so that the game is never a blowout for either side. What can computer game developers do to hasten the collaboration of developers and AI researchers? The most important thing is to make commercial computer game interfaces available to AI researchers. Developers of games such as Unreal, Quake, and Half-Life publish DLLs, making it possible for not only hobbyists but also AI researchers to build bots that play games. If developers from other genres such as real-time strategy games follow suit, you would see an explosion of research on AI for these games. Game developers can also join AI researchers in discussing AI problems and solutions in open forums. There is now a yearly symposium sponsored by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) on AI and interactive entertainment that brings together game developers and AI researchers. Building good AIs is hard and difficult work. Automated learning approaches such as neural nets and genetic algorithms can tune a well-defined set of behavioural parameters, but they are grossly inadequate when it comes to creating synthetic characters with complex behaviours automatically from scratch. There is no magic in AI, except for the magic that emerges when a great programmer works very hard. With the development of artificial intelligence, NPC characters are becoming cleverer. It is predicted that this AI will continue to offer more and more realistic opponents who can think almost like a human. New Technologies It is becoming more popular to connect the Xbox 360 to a Windows PC, which is easily possible as both are Microsoft products. XNA is a set of tolls which allowed games to be built for Xbox and tested through this connectivity. Where hobbyists had been frowned upon by consol manufacturers in the past, Microsoft are positively encouraging homebrew gaming. They run competitions to find newly developed XNA games and release them on Xbox Live Arcade. This is not only evidence of the future of homebrew games and hobbyist being accepted, but it also signals the integration of console with other media equipment with the seventh generation being best known for major consoles branching out into other types of media rather than solely focusing on games. All three consoles offer basic abilities such as photo-viewing, listening to music and browsing the web, as well as the ability to connect to external memory such as USB flash drives and SD cards. The Xbox 360s DVD player was plagued by quality issues but other media options became available later such as an external HD-DVD drive (now a dead standard), Zune downloadable content, Netflix streaming and Last.fm internet radio. PlayStation 3, on the other hand, offered HD movie playback out of the box via Blu-ray in addition to later services like Netflix streaming, and Qriocity music. This new generation for the first time has all of the major consoles focusing on online integration. All three have their own connection services: Wiis Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network. Competition has branched now from simply offering the best games to the best online content; smaller games can now be purchased and downloaded from online stores within the consoles, and extra applications such as Netflix streaming and Facebook connectivity are heavily supported. Almost all games sold in retail have online support, including online multiplayer and downloadable content for bug patches and new features, potentially increasing replay value in certain games for even years. Another notable feature in current-gen gaming is the use of avatar characters. Nintendo first introduced Miis with the Wii console, caricatures of players that could be created and used in flagship titles such as Wii Sports; however they lack the ability to customize that Xboxs avatars have, as clothes and accessories can be purchased online or unlocked in games played. PlayStation 3, instead of an in-game character, offers PlayStation Home, a social simulator where avatars can talk and explore, and customize their homes with elements from games played. This basic idea allows the person playing the games to have a more personalised feel to their console and that they have become truly integrated with it. The console is becoming a central element that is integrated into a whole media system. People may become to get rid of their stereos and DVD players as this one central piece of equipment makes many other defunct. It may even be that in the future the console is the integral part for controlling a house, including the lighting, temperature and other devices. With more reliable and faster internet connections, the technology of cloud computing has begun to gain some momentum. The Sims creator Will Wright embraces the idea of cloud gaming as a crucial part of the future of the industry. For one thing, the gaming industry sees it as an opportunity to make games as easy to access as music and movies.

Personal Leadership And Management Development Nursing Essay

Personal Leadership And Management Development Nursing Essay This unit is interesting in the sense that it will help develop personal leadership and management skills to support the achievement of personal career goals and organisational objectives. There are three learning outcomes that are expected to achieve upon completing this assignment. First is the analysis of personal leadership and management skills to encourage achievement of organisational objectives. This would include an assessment criterion and analysis of the impact of organisational objectives, values and culture on the leadership and management role. It would entail assessing personal leadership and management skills and identifying personal development. Second is to manage development of personal leadership and management skills to be able to meet organisational objectives. This would mean assessing of opportunities for development of leadership and management skills, constructing and managing personal development of leadership and management skills. And the last is to evaluate the effectiveness of personal development plans to develop management and leadership skills. It is my hope that by being able to discuss task 1 and 2, I would be to learn some aspects of personal leadership and management development that would be helpful in the way I serve the organization I am affiliated. Task 1 To begin with, defining the meaning organization is necessary. Organisation means a social unit of people having a systematic structure. Such organization is managed so as to pursue collective goals or to respond to a need. This is on a continuing basis. For each organisation, there is a set of its own objectives, values and culture on the leadership and management role. An example would be the mission and vision of Lynde House Care Home. It aims at putting quality first in everything they do for the residents and its relatives. The staff members aspire to be the most and successful care providers. Such objective has a big impact on the leadership and management role. The achievement of the said objective in ones own capacity as a leader/ manager is important. Then, what is the role of the leader in attaining these objectives. First and foremost, the leader must raise the awareness of every member of the staff as regards the organisational objectives. There is a need for the leader to understand what and how each individual can contribute to achieving such objectives. Leadership logically needs authority. But it is not an authority which becomes a weapon to control people. As an objective factor, to be a leader, one must have the managerial ability and skill. It is said that the most common skills are technical skills and conceptual skills. Meaning one must have the sufficient knowledge of the organizational objectives and appropriate strategies to implement them. One must be able to understand organizational concepts and to make them comprehensible to the members of the organization. Subjectively, one must have personal qualities as leader like being person-oriented, good motivator, confident in their decisions, etc. One must have the competency for communication being able to respond and to negotiate. Leadership has a major influence in the success of the organization. Leaders bring about the values and culture necessary for changes and innovation within the institution. Thus, they can adapt effective strategies and together with well-motivated employees such strategies will be carried out. Leaders are not only limited to management, that is focusing only execution and control but they can be any level of the organization. If leaders have the ability to motivate positively those around them, especially the vital resource of the organization, the members of the workforce, then the organization will certainly benefit from them. In fact, through this influence of leaders and effectively encouraging the people to a shared vision, the organization can move towards developing its people, its resources and evaluate the clients use their services or interact with them. Leaders can also determine whether or not that experience is beneficial. With leadership playing an important role in the favorable outcome of information centers and clients experiences, it would be helpful to discuss the different types of leaders and their potential impact, for example, on nursing home as an organization. The current leadership theories classify leaders based upon traits or how influence and power are used to attain organizational objectives. For trait-based descriptions, leaders may be autocratic, democratic, bureaucratic or charismatic. If it is to understand leadership from the perspective of the exchange of power and its utilization to secure outcomes, leaders may be situational, transactional or transformational. Grasping the meaning of these different terminologies can help provide a more meaningful discussion on leadership. It is worth mentioning that not all leaders are created equal and leadership quality greatly vary from one organization to another or even just within organization. It is an important aspect in leadership quality evaluation, to be able to identify the leader style of the individual. The leadership style will also gauge how effective the person is in leading the organization realize its goals. At this point, it is necessary to look into some common leadership styles. To understand how leaders style affect the organization and to look for positive benefits as regards some leadership style are also important. Below is a brief description of the different leadership styles. In autocratic type of leadership, the leader dictates everything to be done. Commitment, creativity and innovation are not valued for members are controlled in the sense that they have to do as commanded. It is a do as I say type of leaders who forces the members to perform processes in the organization even services as dictated. The leader of this type generally makes the decision without consulting from the members. Working together for a shared vision or motivating the members do not become part of the style of this leadership. This type of leadership can at times be beneficial for example in crucial military conflicts or in poor organization resulting to an inability to meet deadlines for projects. However, this type of leadership can pose problems to the organization. Since the members are controlled and are not able to contribute their ideas, they become dissatisfied and can even harbor resentment against the leader. When this happens, leadership will fail and the overall perfo rmance of the members will suffer. In order to attain the set goals of the organization, bureaucratic leadership will make clear and intelligible policies. For bureaucratic leaders policies will urge forward execution, strategy, objectives and outcomes. When policies are stated, bureaucratic leaders feel so secure that they can persuade the members to move on through policies. It is the policy that counts instead of the people. Policies directing the procedures and processes to be performed are more important for a bureaucratic leader than motivating and developing people in the workforce. This type of leadership can lead to antagonistic behavior or reserved and remote attitude from the members. But problems having to do with policies may not always be evident until the harm is done. Policies alone are not sufficient to motivate and develop people to commit themselves to achieve organizational goals. Bureaucratic leaders hold policies as primarily decisive that they become indifferent even tend to oppose any complaint s regarding the said policies. Policies are needed for any good organizational management but they must be carefully considered. For lack of due though and care and blindly implemented policy will not give incentive for employees to perform well thus, resulting to frustrated desired outcomes. Both the autocratic and bureaucratic leadership styles lack the capacity to peoples development. It can be noted that there are more negative consequences in these leadership styles rather than something that promotes the well-being of the members or the organization in itself. Democratic leadership is another leadership style in which the members thoughts, ideas or opinions are solicited in the decision-making process. In this style of leadership, the members are more participative, thus, creativity and increase of group morale can be evident. Since members could feel more involved, they can also be more committed to the projects. This may result in higher positive outcomes. However, this leadership style can have setbacks, too. For example, when the members cannot give quality contributions necessary for decision-making, certain projects can fail to move on. It is also hard to build a consensus when democratic leaders expect that everyone share the same level of expertise as regards decisions. For this style of leadership, a great amount of effort is needed thus, decision-making can be a very slow process. Charismatic leadership can be an effective trait-driven leadership style. Charismatic leaders inspires, motivates the members. Not only do they have the clarity of the vision but they have the creativity to encourage the members to execute the said vision. Charismatic leaders have the personality, the capacity and the skill to translate an idea to something new, fresh and different for the good of the organization and can arouse the members to be part of the innovation. This style of leadership may sound the most successful yet, it has some drawbacks. Since the charismatic leader holds the group even attaining a status of a hero, the members can follow blindly and can become passive followers. With this kind of submission, they may allow the leader to manipulate them. If the charismatic leader departs, it can leave a big vacuum in the organization resulting to a confused and rudderless management. The organization can struggle for years for it is hard to replace a charismatic leader. Charismatic leaders can create happy and well-motivated members but rarely gives way for developing future leaders. The trait-based leadership styles such as autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership and charismatic leadership have been discussed. At this point, other types of leadership from the perspective of the exchange of power and its utilization to secure outcomes will be discussed. These are situational leadership, transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Situational leadership refers to a kind of leadership where the leader continuously makes suitable adjustments and adopts various styles for different situations or outcomes. In practice, this kind of leadership is helpful especially for leaders who are experienced for they are highly sensitive to the needs of the organization and its members. This style may work well when members are inexperienced and need some kind of coaching. The leader tells them exactly what to do and how to do it. Leaders responding to situational factors can choose freely from ones experiences of the different processes with the aim of approaching a desired result. But if the leader has applied the inappropriate style, problems can arise. Leadership of this style can be confusing especially when processes and decisions are not consistent. It can be said also that this type of leadership is management rather than leadership per se. Transactional leaders provide clear structure of what is expected of the member of the organization and if one is able to perform it accordingly, a reward is given. Such reward can be in the form of good performance review, a raise, a promotion, new responsibilities or a desired change in duties. Transactional leadership can be effective when working on clear goals and objectives of the organization. The members are also clear of what is expected of them to accomplish such goals. However, if reward becomes the only motivating factor for the followers, creativity among them are less encouraged and it is likely that human development even professionally at a higher level will not be ensured. In transformational leadership, leaders are able to provide opportunities for members of the organization to change and to transform them. Transformational leaders become role models for their knowledge, expertise and vision to change those around them. They have the commitment to the organizations vision and inspire those they lead to work in the same spirit. Since innovation and creativity are valuable factors for transformational leaders, they develop each individual as quality contributors. It is considered as the best leadership for it considers each individuals own evolving thought process and changing responses. They empower the members to give their best, thus, creating a people-based vision within the organization. Even if the leader is no longer present, leaders can come out from the transformed members and are able to continue to help the organization move on to productive outcomes. For environments that are fast-changing and that creative problem solving and customer comm itment become a priority, transformational leadership can be effective. In any leadership, the personality and the behavior of leader are important; any limitation can pose a problem. Each organisation has a culture; meaning the beliefs and values that have existed in an organisation for a period of time. Any organizational culture determines the beliefs and values of the members, thus, such culture has an impact on the attitudes and behaviour of the people in the workforce even to their commitment to customers service. Since the priority concern of administrators is the accomplishment of the organizational mission, there is usually an adjustment as regards leadership behaviour. And depending on the leadership style employed would also determine the job satisfaction of employees. Therefore, the relationship between organisational cultures, leadership behaviour and job satisfaction of employees must be grasped well. The culture within an organisation is very vital. It has an essential role in determining whether there is a happy and healthy environment where the members can perform their work. There is a need to motivate the members to acknowledge and accept the fundamental organizational values, thus, communication and creativity of how to promote those values must be considered. Good relationship between the leadership and followers will create greater contribution to team communication and collaboration. It will also inspire them to accomplish the mission and objectives assigned by the organization. This will certainly enhance job satisfaction among the members. Management in business terms can often mean just doing whatever to keep the organization moving on. If one desires to make ones business to grow, to become more productive and to be more customer-based service, fundamental skills in leadership and management must be well assimilated. Such skills can help to prevent crisis situations. These basic skills include problem solving and decision making, planning, meeting management, delegation, communication and managing oneself. Certainly, they will support the attainment of the organisational objectives. As a leader, one is required to know how to respond to any circumstances that may arise in the organisation. Leadership must understand well the organisational objectives, values and culture. A clear comprehension of the organizational objectives and its culture will help the leader determine the style of leadership to employ. This may need a bureaucratic type of leadership to be able to follow the organisational objectives accordingly. Members of the organization may find such leadership difficult but if the leader can acknowledge the contribution of each individual then the organization will be able to operate well. TASK 2 What is the so-called personal leadership? Personal leadership is not a mere intellectual exercise but rather it is a way of being and interacting with the world from the inside out. It is where the mind, the heart and the body become integrated so that one is fully present in ones life as well as to the things outside himself. One is aware to his habitual behavior and shows willingness to encounter every situation with fresh eyes, with beginners mind. It is this kind of personal and professional commitment that help to become effective in an environment of cultural differences. In personal leadership, one does not merely react from external circumstance but rather one tries to move to an inner experience where discernment of the best possible response can take place. For example when feelings like being frustrated or confused by a situation, the principles of personal leadership will lead one to pause to be able to create the so-called critical space between ones automatic reaction and ones righteous sense of being frustrated or confused. The critical space of being able to pause, no matter even for a moment will lead one to think a better way of saying or doing. This way of reacting shows, indeed, an intercultural competence. Personal leadership is actually leadership of oneself. It takes into account ones own personal experiences, ones own cultural programming and way of acting as one relates with others whether in ones personal or professional life. This way of being brings about quality levels of learning and insight, mutual collaboration and creativity in situations of cultural difference. Leadership and management skills must include an ability to solve problems and make decision; to do planning according to the organizational goals; to know how to delegate responsibilities to people and work load; to be able to communicate; to have meeting management skills; and most importantly to be able to know how to manage oneself. Thus, one must learn the behaviors and attitudes of an effective leader. To be a good leader, one must be able to know ones personal skills. Knowing what one is capable of will help the leader assess in what areas one can better contribute and to work more to improve weak areas. This can be done by having personal skills audit. A skills audit would mean the process which is employed to identify the skill gaps in an organisation. It has to be remembered that the objective of doing a skills audit is to improve ones ability as a leader. To raise the leaders capacity to a more excellent quality, the training needs analysis is vital for this will identify where training is needed. SKILLS AUDIT Skills and work competency areas Self assessment à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 1 2 3 4 Using and developing my knowledge Researching, investigating and problem-solving Communicating outwardly Listening and interpretation, establishing rapport, understanding needs Developing solutions and agreeing things with people Speaking and presenting to groups Using information and communications technology Decision Making Visioning, creating, and inspiring others with my ideas Managing time, planning, and being effective, efficient, productive, and reliable Behaviours, attitudes and personal style Self assessment à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 1 2 3 4 Striving for personal development Taking personal responsibility to resolve problems, even those not of my own making Understanding the way people really feel Developing positive relationships Keeping focused and productive, reliable and dependable Self confidence Managing stress and conflict Team-working Having compassion and care for others Managing upwards and sideways (my managerial superiors and my peers). Using integrity and ethics in my judgement about work and organisational issues Rating 4 Very well I feel confident in my ability to use this skill. 3 Satisfactory I am able to use this skill well, but my ability could be improved. 2 Needs attention My ability to use this skill needs to improve. 1 Needs considerable attention I struggle with this skill and need to put in considerable work to develop this skill. After doing the skills audit, the next step would be to plan on how to improve the areas that need most attention. There is always the possibility to develop more my leadership and management skills. This can be done, for example by asking some ideas from ones mentor, by assisting training programs aimed at attaining certain levels of skills and attending some classes offered by the organisation. Personal development planning is a vital process of shaping an action plan based on awareness, values, reflection, goal-setting and planning for personal development within the context of a career, education, relationship or for self-improvement. To construct a personal development plan, one needs to have a clear objective to develop leadership and management skills. Based on my personal skill audit, one objective that I can make is to improve my ability to talk before any type of audience and to act confidently regardless of what the situation may be. I need the courage to voice out my ideas and opinions and to be willing to try new things even to take some risks. I must be always open to look for new opportunities rather than walk the common path. I need to possess the confidence to be able to influence others in my decision-making; to be assertive and to be able to take control of situations. Feeling something is really good, I must be able encourage others to accept my recommendations, ideas and decisions. This would mean to proactively take the lead in as many situations as possible. When there is a group decision to be made, I must be able to be the first to give recommendations. At the same time, I need not agree with everything others say but be able to say no firmly. I need to stand firm on my own decisions without being influenced or co ntrolled by others. And lastly, in terms of dealing with stress and conflict, I must be able to assess calmly any situation before reacting to it. Furthermore, I must look for positives in any circumstance and make the best of any un-favourable situations. I must work more to focus my energy on finding a solution to certain problems rather than losing my temper. These are some concrete areas I need to develop as regards my leadership and management skills. Task 3 In this task, I was asked to implement my plans and to show how I am going to manage my personal development of leadership and management skills. In task 2, I cited my plans and objectives based on my skills audit. An example cited was in terms of confidence. If I can have confidence, I can open new opportunities for myself. I will able to command more respect and to challenge others for more collaborative efforts to work for the organizational goals. I can dare to try new things and to do what others are not doing which can give me more opportunities for success and can make my life more interesting as well. Though it will take a lot of courage and patient practice, with confidence I will be able to allow radiating my authentic self Through positive assertiveness, I can no longer follow other peoples will and decisions. I can choose for myself opportunities which can help me improve my personal leadership and management skills. By being assertive, I can be more participative and can make more quality contribution. It can further build my confidence and boost my self-esteem. Learning self-control especially in terms of outburst of anger is important. It is maintaining a calm disposition and discerning a better way of responding. This would mean learning to choose ones words and to refrain from saying things that I will be disappointed or distressed later on. In difficult situations, I will learn not to give vent to anger but rather I will think of ways of using my energy in a positive way. I can try practicing compassion in recognizing the struggle of others instead of pointless confrontations. Being able to attain positive feed back can only happen in a calm atmosphere where there is no blaming. At times it can be difficult in the sense that others may feel that I am too bossy and arrogant. If this perception occurs, they would not want to follow and even listen to your suggestions. Proper communication with them can help in making them understand the organisational objectives and my plans for the organisation based on its mission and vision. Communicat ion can allow them to understand my attitudes and behaviour. It is a fact that it is difficult to keep everyone in the organization become involved but creating an atmosphere of trust where a good flow of communication is important. Task 4 In this task, I have reviewed my personal development plan in accordance to the original objectives at task 1. The aim is to render quality service in all aspects for our residents, relatives and staff. It is a vital to become the most successful care provider. Through my personal development of leadership, I have received a positive feedback from my colleagues and managers as regards the way I handled the new carer and some complaints of the service users. The managers are happy in my way of responding to such situations. The relatives and the service users are satisfied with the care that we are providing them in line with the healthcare and organisational standards. I think in order for me to maintain my leadership skills better, I would need to have good timing management, discipline and to stay focused on the task at hand. Further more, I think it is necessary to develop more my skills on decision-making by attending training programs and even attend some classes regarding good decision-making. Through these training, I can update as well my personal development plan. It is my desire to become a better and respectable leader in the future. Conclusion There are many leadership styles and certainly one can learn good aspects from them, yet, it is more essential to know the quality of ones personal leadership style. Knowing this through skill audit is a tool to discover more the positive and apparently negative aspects in the way one leads. Self-awareness is the key to effective personal leadership and management development. Each organization has its own particular environmental context of purpose, culture and needs. Before engaging in any personal leadership or management development, it will be helpful to spend time to get a clear grasp of the organizations priorities, strengths and weaknesses, challenges and competency gaps. There must be a balance between skills development and behaviour, attitudes and personality development. The latter would require more sincere commitment and would be more on a long-term basis for each individual is different and unique. Any program for personal leadership and management development must support both the growth process of each individual and the growth process of the organization as well.

Capital Structure Essay -- Business, Financing

Introduction The relationship between capital structure and firm value has been discussed frequently in the literature by different researcher accordingly, in both theoretical and empirical studies. It has also been discussed that whether the firm has any optimal capital structure that has been adopted by an individual firm, or whether the proportions of debt usage is completely irrelevant to the individual firm value. A firm can choose a mix of three modes of financing i.e. issuing shares, borrowing from the market and use of retained earnings. The ratio of this mix of funds purely depends on the firm and known as optimal capital structure of the firm. This leads to the different capital structure theories. These theories explain their point of view about optimal capital structure how an optimal capital structure can increase the value of the firm and its impact on the cost of capital of the firm. Capital structure refers to the mix of debt and equity used by a firm in financing its assets. The capital structure decision is one of the most important decisions made by financial management. The capital structure decision is at the center of many other decisions in the area of corporate finance. These include dividend policy, project financing, issue of long term securities, financing of mergers and so on. One of the many objectives of a corporate financial manager is to ensure the lower cost of capital and thus maximize the wealth of shareholders. Capital structure is one of the effective tools of management to manage the cost of capital. An optimal capital structure is reached at a point where the cost of the capital is minimum. Pakistan is a developing country with three stock exchanges, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) bei... ...icult in terms of cost and technical difficulties (Shah and Hijazi 2004). The main sources of debt in Pakistan have been commercial banks, which do not encourage long term loans, with almost no reliance on market based debt until mid 1994 when government moved to remove most of the constraints among. Which one action was to amend company law to permit corporate entities to raise debt directly from the market in the form of TFCs (Term Finance Certificates). So corporate bond market has limited history and is in the process of development. This explains why firms on average in Pakistan have more short term financing than long term financing. Booth et al (1999) also pointed in their study on determinants of capital structure in developing countries including Pakistan that the use of short term financing is higher than long term financing in developing countries.

The Problem of Thor Bridge

Other conventions are used in the text yet the previously sites will be discussed in this essay. All of these conventions are evident through Dole's literary features. These crime writing features ensure the text directly conforms to the great detective style of the genre. The text begins with, Watson the central character, detective Sherlock Holmes loyal assistant narrating the previous case they had tackled. This convention of Watson narration is demonstrated in the first line â€Å"there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box with my name, John H.Watson, M. D†. He then goes on to tell of the achieving of a letter from a clearly distressed male asking for help to protect his girlfriend, reflecting on the convention of a man in distress begging for help with a case. â€Å"l can't explain things-I can't even try to explain them, but I know beyond all doubt that Miss Dunbar is innocent. † The literary technique, first person perspective is used throughout the let ter to describe the situation so that it becomes apparent to the reader that a real man is pleading for help from the talented detective.The story continues as Holmes begins to use his incredible skills of observation to covers clues, when he notices a mark on Thro Bridge, this alone demonstrates the distinctive characteristics of the great detective. The description in the quote â€Å"The stonework was grey, but at this one point It showed white for a space not larger than a sixpence,† it draws attention to his superior surveillance talent. Nearing the conclusion of the story Holmes communicates his discoveries to those partaking In the Incident.This convention Is demonstrated In the final paragraph of the short story â€Å"Then she took one of her husband's revolvers-there was, as you saw, n arsenal In the house-and kept It for her own use. A similar one she concealed that morning In Miss Dunbar wardrobe after discharging one barrel, which she could easily do In the woods without attracting attention. She then went down to the bridge where she had contrived this exceedingly Ingenious method for getting rid of her weapon. When Miss Dunbar appeared she used her last breath In pouring out her hatred, and then, when she was out of hearing, carried out her terrible purpose.Every link Is now In Its place and the chain Is complete† Each convention used and discussed In this essay, demonstrate the style of crime writing written at the time. Closer analysis of salary texts from different periods also begin to show the evolution of the genre over time. The Problem of Thro Bridge By catty case. â€Å"l can't explain things-I can't even try to explain them, but I know beyond all stonework was grey, but at this one point it showed white for a space not larger than partaking in the incident. This convention is demonstrated in the final paragraph of an arsenal in the house-and kept it for her own use.A similar one she concealed that morning in Miss Dunbar wa rdrobe after discharging one barrel, which she could easily do in the woods without attracting attention. She then went down to the bridge where she had contrived this exceedingly ingenious method for getting rid of her weapon. When Miss Dunbar appeared she used her last breath in pouring out her Every link is now in its place and the chain is complete† Each convention used and discussed in this essay, demonstrate the style of crime writing written at the time. Closer analysis of similar texts from different periods also

Skills Required to Excel as an Administrative Assistant

Skills Required to Excel as an Administrative Assistant Administrative assistants keep a business on track while doing a myriad of duties- becoming the right-hand person for a top-notch executive requires  poise and adaptability. For those who want to enter  this career path and search for administrative assistant jobs, having what it takes is the important first step.Maintaining an Efficient WorkplaceA major job  responsibility  for administrative assistants is keeping everyone on time and on task. They must make sure executives not only arrive at meetings on time but also have what they need to conduct the meetings properly. Being organized in order to keep a top-level executive organized is another important duty.Staying on Top of the IndustryAn administrative assistant needs to understand industry terminology. Being able to carry on a conversation or understand notes flooded with technical jargon is key. In addition, staying on top of the technology the business uses most, as well as technology that might be employed in the fu ture, enables  administrative assistants to move smoothly through the day.Proficiency  in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and Power Point is expected, according to a representative of the International Association of Administrative Professionals.Turning Difficult Situations into Pleasant OnesA good administrative assistant is able to make the difficult seem easy, and that includes handling difficult personalities. From visitors to other office workers, making it possible for things to be copacetic is a hallmark of the assistant.When emotions run high, using humor and authority keeps thing running smoothly. In fact, good administrative assistants can see a problematic situation before it happens and thwart it, according to one well-known and high-ranking admin.Being the Face and Voice of a CompanyThe administrative assistant is generally the first person a visitor meets. Having the ability to represent the company in a well-spoken manner is indispensable. In addition, writ ing emails or letters to a wide range of individuals requires  an excellent command of the English language. Many administrative assistants take night courses to brush up on solid writing techniques.Maintaining FlexibilityAccording to executives and business owners, nothing is more highly prized than flexibility. Being able to think ahead and see things that need to be done or implement easier ways to accomplish tasks are hallmarks of the successful administrative assistant.Finding new solutions to existing problems and ways to avert other problems in the future makes an administrative assistant indispensable. Beyond that, finding ways to cut costs, such as streamlining office procedures or locating vendors who offer a better price, makes for a better bottom line.Todays administrative assistant can choose between a myriad of industries to select one that best suits his or her talents. Administrative assistant jobs with certain criteria are found using TheJobNetwork platform. This free to use online job search process lets you list the type of job you want and your background. It uses the information to search for jobs on a 24-hour basis. Once a job is located, TheJobNetwork sends a message to your email alerting you of the position.