Overcoming Defense Mechanisms free essay sample

Practical implications of each term are included for the benefit of organizations interested in applying theory in practice. Key words: organizational cohesion, action systems, compliance, culture of tradition, complete concrete systems, and symbolism Organizational Cohesion According to Etzioni (1961), cohesion can be defined as a positive expressive relationship among two or more actors that can reinforce negative and positive norms (p. ). He further differentiates cohesion bonds between persons of the same rank, peer cohesion, and cohesion bonds between persons of different ranks, hierarchical cohesion. The degree to which peer cohesion exists within an organization can determine how readily norms that are held by the majority of a given group or held by the most influential persons within a group will be accepted by the remaining group participants. In other words, peer cohesion dictates the degree to which actors within a given group are likely to mimic or adopt each other’s behavior and/or values. We will write a custom essay sample on Overcoming Defense Mechanisms or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It has also been suggested by Homans (1951), that there is a direct correlation between the frequency and endurance of interaction within a group and the level of a group’s cohesiveness. In other words, the more group participants interact, the more likely it is that they will adopt each other’s mannerisms, outlooks, or orientations toward the larger group of which they are a part (Etzioni, 1961, p. 290). Assuming that norms that are beneficial to a particular organization are being fostered via peer ohesion, such as intra-team cooperation, the net effect could be a highly productive work environment with low employee turnover. Etzioni’s research implies that organizations with high peer cohesion tend to have low employee turnover, which reduces costs involved with recruiting and socializing new employees, knowledge capture, and maintaining daily work routines. However, it is important to note that cohesion can reinforce both negative and positive norms, which is to say behaviors that alienate an employee from an organization as well as behaviors that reinforce one’s commitment to an organization (p. 80 ). Reagans and McEvily (2003) suggest that cohesion, specifically social cohesion, influences the willingness of individuals to devote time and effort to assisting others within a given group, in addition to serving as a motivator to transfer knowledge to a coworker or colleague (p. 245). Ultimately, cohesion within an organizational group, can encourage a â€Å"you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours† effect that can encourage knowledge exchange across employees and reduce direct peer-to-peer or intra-departmental competition amongst employees (Reagan amp; McEvily, 2003, p. 245). In other words, â€Å"by limiting competition, social cohesion promotes knowledge transfer,† which is an essential component of a learning and innovative organization (Reagans amp; McEvily, 2003, p. 247). Although organizational cohesion can foster â€Å"exchange relationships that build commitment† (Tyndall, 2012, p. 3), it is essential that organizational leaders recognize tipping points wherein too much cohesion could increase group-think and inhibit innovation, performance, and potentially disrupt a work-group’s alignment with the overall organization’s values, should a given group’s norms contradict such values (p. ). Where possible, organizational leaders might assess the power that cohesiveness has within their organization, identify the source of cohesiveness, be it an agent of the organization or the organization itself, and take the necessary action to either encourage or discourage the cohesiveness, depending on whether it currently works in favor of the organization or to its detriment. Action Systems An action system embodies a collective effort to attain a single goal, as executed by interdependent work units’ processes, tasks, and functions. To attain its goal as a unit, a social action system adopts a structure and a process for organizing member activities† (De Ven, 1976, p. 25). An action system is a term used to describe a system that produces an output only if the necessary actions are completed by the appropriate parties throughout the entire production process-placing emphasis on the relationship that exists between actions and the larger task they accomplish. The existence of this term serves to illustrate a theoretical shift away from focusing on work units or groups and a shift toward focusing on the individual job holders’ roles within the larger group, analogous to speaking in of terms of cogs within a machine (Tyndall, 2012, p. 3). As Parsons (1951) has noted, â€Å"acts do not occur singly and discretely, they are organized in systems† (p. 7). Simply put, an action system is made up of two components: the actor and his situation (p. 7). By speaking in terms of action systems, the theorist or manager hopes to identify all factors that affect these two components in the name of achieving their end objective, be it decreasing production error and lags, and increasing production successes (non-defective output) or any combination thereof. The more an organization can identify all variables, resources, and actions required at each phase of production, the more it can regulate and manage them. â€Å"Resources and information flows are the basic elements of activity in organized forms of behavior† (De Ven, 1976, p. 25). If, for example, an actor works in reception at a doctor’s office, he/she might require a computer, medical forms, chairs for patients, clipboards, pens, etc. By tracking usage and resource requirements over an extended period of time, records might reveal that there are too many patients or too few chairs in the waiting area at any given time. Identifying this fail point will serve as a signal to the organization to either increase the number of chairs in the office, increase the number of business hours (to spread out patients), add a second partner, expand to a second location, or some other alternative. Total Quality Management, Lean Six Sigma, and Demings 14-Points of Quality are all examples of how organizations have provided structure to these very practices (Tyndall, 2012, p. 16-18) Just as an organization can identify, measure, and manage tangible resources along each stage of an action system, so too can an organization identify and measure intangible factors that influence workers orientation toward the organization and their assigned tasks. By understanding a worker’s motivation for being on the ob, an organization will be better equipped to frame that employee’s work and performance evaluation in such a way that will encourage the worker to achieve higher levels of performance. By structuring job functions in ways that directly attach task ownership to individual job holders, an organization can increase the accountability for that employee, and increase the likelihood of their experiencing satisfaction upon completely their assigned task –due to the ta sk’s proximity to its â€Å"owner† (Tyndall, 2012, p. 8). Forward-thinking and adaptable organizations will encourage transparency and two-way feedback between management and those who are managed. For this reason, it would be wise for organizations to seek input from employees when identifying areas of process improvement within action systems, share successes across the organization, and openly value collaboration between groups and collegiality within groups (Trist, 1981, p. 43, 57, amp; 49). Compliance Etzioni (1961) defines compliance as â€Å"a relationship consisting of the power employed by supervisors to control subordinates and the orientation of subordinates to this power† (p. xiii). Sciulli and Etzioni (1996) identify three sources of compliance: coercion, economic or pecuniary incentives, and normative values (p. 137). This interplay between the governors and the governed directly influences how an organization will function and be perceived by internal and external stakeholders. Further, the dynamic between these two parties sheds light on where power, and specifically the power to make change, resides within an organization. As was exemplified in The Challenger Disaster, the extent to which an organization’s members recognize when it is necessary to comply and when it is necessary to break from routine impinges on an organization’s ability to adapt and respond to catastrophic events: Argyris’s (1990) analysis of The Challenger Disaster brought to light the following: The problems were not only in the structure, rules, and independent monitoring devices. The problems also were that highly committed, well-intentioned, safety-oriented, can-do players reasoned and acted in ways that violated their own standards and made certain that this violation was covered up and that the cover-up was covered up. (p. 42). One could argue that NASA’s employees ignored their respective ethical instincts and instead complied with that of the organization, NASA: an unspoken practice of ignoring unsettling information in the name of making deadlines, satisfying stakeholders, or perhaps satisfying its own hubris. Regardless, this catastrophe serves to illustrate the negative implications of compliance, particularly as perpetuated through normative values. Organizational theorists, such as Ogbonna and Harris (1998) have set out to determine what behaviors within organizations evolve through genuine organic change and behaviors that evolve in response to deliberate actions taken by management via compliance. Their research indicates that efforts made by management to alter culture within an organization via compliance may prove successful, but not for a signal unified reason. In other words, an organization’s members may all buy-in to a behavioral modification or practice advocated by management, but for reasons that are unique to the individual members or groups of members within the organization. â€Å"Hence, a key implication of these findings is that managements attempting to alter culture should consider how multiple interpretations of the rationale for change influence the success of the change effort† (p. 284-285). Some changed in resigned compliance, some in authentic willingness, and some â€Å"cognitively accepted espoused values in order to further their careers† (p. 85-286). Management might benefit from this insight by carefully selecting which company practices or values they wish to indoctrinate employee with, particularly if such practices do not relate directly to tasks associated with production and instead relate to rules on how employees might govern themselves socially or culturally within an organization; if laun ching a new effort to encourage the valuing of X, perhaps it would be wise for management to seek employees’ input on why everyone should value X in order to determine whether a consensus on the promotion’s rationale exists. This will help ensure that all employees are not only helping to move the company in the same direction, but are doing so for the same or perhaps, intended, reasons. Culture of Tradition A culture of tradition within an organization consists of a subset of individual cultural traditions or â€Å"shared symbolic system[s] which function in interaction† (Parsons, 1961, p. 11). A culture of tradition is a culture that engender s its participants with values that center on traditional or historically patterns of interaction, patterns that have come to exist through repeated practice carried out by members of the organization. If an organization comes to value tradition, it could be inferred that such an organization will devalue or sanction behaviors that encourage or work in support of change, behaviors that we have come to know as organizational defenses or defensive routines. As Tyndall (2012) suggests, â€Å" defensive routines are rewarded by most organizational cultures because routines indicate a sense of caring and concern for people† (p. 13). Further, Tyndall suggests that routines are often protected by the same people who prefer that such routines not exist. Rather than expose detrimental cultural practices, organizations prefer to keep them hidden so as to prevent exposure and embarrassment (p. 13). For the purpose of this paper, let us assume that organizational identity and organizational culture are interconnected. Santos and Eisenhardt (2005) point out that â€Å"organizational identity helps members make sense of their situation by clarifying the defining attributes and purpose of the organization, thereby reducing ambiguity and providing direction† (p. 500). If an organization’s current culture, a culture of tradition, is borne out of circumstances from fifty years ago, it can be inferred that there will a disconnect or lack of alignment between the direction the organization needs to be going in and the direction it actually is going in. Santos and Eisenhardt go on to suggest that: Organizational members actively perform collective sensemaking (Weick 1995) through which they gain awareness of new information, share interpretations of prior actions, and converge on the meaning of environmental changes and appropriate courses of action. p. 500). Assuming that employees are constantly being exposed to new information, but are inhibited on how to make use of or capitalize on such information because of the existence of cultural constraints, it will not only discourage innovation within the organization, but will also stymie employee’s desire to exercise creativity and engage with the organization. Ultimately, an organization s hould work to align its identity, culture, and activities it carries out (p. 00), maintain traditions that to not impinge on efficacy of essential processes, and foster an environment that embraces conflict and change (Trist, 1981, p. 47). Complete Concrete Systems Parson’s (1951) defines a complete concrete system of social action as consisting of a social system, the personality systems of the individual actors involved, and the cultural system which is built into such actors actions (p. 5-6). A cultural or social system is stagnant, unless the elements included therein are carried out through practice and action via an action system (p. 17). He further elaborates: A social system consists in plurality of individual actors interacting with each other in a situation which has at least a physical or environmental aspect, actors who are motivated in terms of a tendency to the ‘optimization of gratification’ and whose relation to their situations, including each other, is defined and mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols. p. 5-6). Parsons emphasizes the need to consider these three elements independently, as no one can be further reduced or ignored in the context of the general theory of action systems. In short, Parsons wishes to draw attention to the interplay that exists between personality, culture, and the society in which these elements exist; one cannot consider personality without also considering the context in which it exists or has been cultivated. As an organization develops its sense of self, it might also come to recognize the types of personalities that it supports and the types of personalities that it prefers not to engage. Once an organization is able to identify the types of personalities it attracts or tends to hire, it might then explore the question of why it is that these personalities â€Å"fit† the organization; it may be that the personalities hired within an organization are in fact not working in favor of the organization’s larger mission, but instead reflect historical cultural practices that actually work against the organization. The more that an organization is able to hone in on the types of personalities, behaviors, and the types of individuals that it is best suited to hire or from which it would benefit the most, the better able it will be to refine the organization’s culture and overall defining character. This is not to suggest that an organization should attempt to hire one type of personality, but it is to suggest that an organization should attempt to identify the types of personalities best uited for particular work units, roles within such work units, and conceive of ways to encourage hiring, training, and evaluation practices, that foster the development of such individuals rather than inhibit them. Agents within an organization should be mindful of the personalities with which they interact, particularly when presenting ideas to or interacting with decision-makers. Framing ideas in ways that appeal to decision-makers could prove advantageous and foster productive discourse. Symbolism Symbolism, or symbolic systems of meaning, come into existence as individual social actors engage with social objects (Parsons, 1951, p. 10). An actor comes to expect or associate certain actions with particular results through practice. The dynamic relationship between actions and the associations one comes to assign to particular actions exists through communication that is both implicit and explicit across an organization. Like culture, symbols come to exist by observing or partaking in patterns of behavior; if I do X, Y happens, or on a more simple level, if I sit on X, X is a chair. These expectations form â€Å"pattern consistency† (Parsons, 1951, p. 10), or logical consistency that enable people to transmit information to one another in ways that can be easily understood, whether this transmission is intentional or unintentional. These transmissions deliver messages to the receiver and it is these messages that come to form symbols. For these reason, symbols are highly subjective and based on the perception of the message’s recipient. Organizations must be mindful of the role that symbolism has in shaping the culture of an organization. Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, amp; Sowa (1986) define perceived organizational support (POS) as â€Å"global beliefs about the extent to which the organization cares about [employees] well-being and values their contributions† (Fuller, Barnett, Hester, Relyea, 2003, p. 789). Research consistently shows that perceived organizational support (POS) is positively correlated with organizational commitment. In other words, the more an organization’s employees perceive themselves to be supported by an organization, the more likely it is that they will commit themselves to the organization and its mission. Further, when people perceive that their organization values and appreciates them, they interpret it symbolically to mean that the organization has respect for them or sees them as having a high status within their organization. Perceiving one’s self as having high status, Gardner amp; Pierce (1998) suggest, will likely encourage commitment to an organization; this encourages a person to believe themselves to be worthy of being an organizational member (Fuller, et al. , p. 790).

Contemporary marketing issue of how gender affects the decision making and buying behaviour processes. The WritePass Journal

Contemporary marketing issue of how gender affects the decision making and buying behaviour processes. 1.  Introduction Contemporary marketing issue of how gender affects the decision making and buying behaviour processes. 1.  Introduction1.1 Background1.2 Importance of study1.3   Research purpose (including research question and objectives or hypotheses as appropriate)1.4 Limitations1.5 Organisation of study2.  Literature Review2.1.1  Chapter introduction2.2 Overview for review2.3 Buying Behaviour  2.4 How the decision making process works  2.5 The impact of gender on the decision making processâ€Å"Consumer decision making is likely to be related to a number of consumer traits such as social class, the type of family unit, age, gender, lifestyle and life-stage – all of which can exert an influence.†Ã‚  (Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran, 1991;  Burton  et al., 1994;  Darley and Smith, 1995;  Costa  et al., 2001;  Mitchell and Walsh, 2004. Cited in Beynon, M.J. et al.  (2010)2.6 Key findings from literature review3.  Ã‚  Research Methodology3.1 Chapter introduction3.2 Research purpose3.3 Research approach (including justification)  3.4 Research strategy (including justification)3.5 Time horizons (including justification)3.6 Research methods (including sampling)  3.7  Data handling  3.8  Data analysis3.9.1  Reliability  3.9.2  Validity3.10  Ethical considerations  3.11  Chapter summary4   Results4.1 Chapter introduction4.2 (sub-sections reflecting the issues covered in your data, 4.2, 4.3 etc.)4.3 Chapter summary5   Discussion5.1 Chapter introduction54.2 (sub-sections reflecting your research objectives, 5.2, 5.3 etc.)5.3 Chapter summary6   Conclusions  6.1 Chapter introduction6.2 (Sub-sections reflecting your research objectives, 6.2, 6.3 etc.)6.3 Implications for research6.4 Implications for practic6.5 Revisiting the limitation6.6 Directions for future research6.7 Chapter summary  7  Appendices7.1 Appendix One – Personal reflection on the research process7.2 Appendix Two – Research ethics form and associated strategy7.3 Original copy of questionnaireRelated 1.  Introduction 1.1 Background It is quite obvious that, as men and women have different needs and wants they are going to be attracted to different products, however they are going to have a unique gender characteristics approach to the way the make a purchasing decision and embark on the process when deciding how to acquire the product they want. 1.2 Importance of study I feel the importance of this study is a contemporary marketing issue as the subject of how gender affects the decision making and buying behaviour processes is a key topic area. They way consumer approach to the buying and decision making process affects how marketing is being perceived in its effectiveness or ineffectiveness; by only appealing to one gender and sending the ‘wrong message’ out. 1.3   Research purpose (including research question and objectives or hypotheses as appropriate) 1.4 Limitations Time constraint was a major contributor to limitations of this study, however with good organisation and an academic thought process the hypothesis has been proven with some really interesting new facts. Without sounding patronising, I would assume you would agree that a worldwide collection of data from the questionnaire would bring in some interesting results, but as this study only needs to focus on a small majority, we are happy with the outcome. 1.5 Organisation of study For the purpose of this study a sample of 100 consumers will be taken. 50 men and 50 women between the ages of 16-40 will be surveyed using an specially designed questionnaire, to be distributed to our sample online using e-mail and social networking site. A ‘snowball effect’ is highly likely in this case and will only add more credibility to the validity of the results recorded in this research study. 2.  Literature Review 2.1.1  Chapter introduction In this literature review the comparison of findings from other researchers on the subject surrounding the differences between male and female purchasing and decision making process. This literature review will show a further understanding of the subject gender affecting consumers approach to their decision making and purchasing process. The intended outcome of this review of relevant literature will show the findings on whether there are any proven differences between the way male and female consumers make their purchasing and decision making process. 2.2 Overview for review In this chapter we hope to be able to share with your what we have found from other academic writers on this subject that we feel relevant. We have researched deeply into the subject, and have found articles from the US interesting. The chapter is now split into relevant sub sections leading to the summary and methodology where we hope to prove our hypotises. 2.3 Buying Behaviour   It is just not possible to study exactly what happens in the consumers mind when making a purchasing decision because, as we have found, the individuals mind is just so complex and varies dramatically from individual to individual. Instead theories of decision making process can help assess what makes the consumer decide in their buying process they are committed to purchase. Egan, J (2007) describes how two different types of paradigm called cogitative and behavioural are utilised by individual consumers when entering into a purchasing decision. Firstly, the cogitative paradigm is controlled by the individuals functioning and rational thought process, these are goal-orientated ways the individual can process information. The functioning and rational thought process linked closely with the cogitative paradigm is determined by the way the individual makes their choice by problem solving and decision making. The behavioural paradigm followers accept as true that it is not possible to be able to study exactly what goes on in the mind when making a purchasing decision as the mind is just too complex; so instead a black box is used to help measure the flow in and out of the mind representing how behavioural patterns occur. Egan, J (2007) has also shown that there are many processes in which the average consumer should and can experience when making a purchasing decision, to post purchase but not always in the same order and these are explained here further: Routinized problem solving: Is when repeated purchasing of the same product takes place, usually of low cost and limited external knowledge. Problem recognition: Acknowledging that a purchase must be made to accomplish a need or want. Information search: When the consumer collects information that compares the product before making a purchase decision. Evaluation: Evaluating the information collected for the purpose of making an informed purchasing decision. Decision: In terms of buyer behaviour, making the decision to purchase. Purchase: When the act of exchange takes place. Post purchase evaluation: When the product is evaluated and the consumer decides if they would re-purchase the product. Straight re-buy: This is a term widely used by B2B when the consumer decides to re-buy the same product from the same supplier. Total set: Meaning all the products that are available in the same category. Awareness set: When the consumer is aware of the available items in the same category. Evoked set: Are the products in the category that the consumer is aware of and intents to make a purchase choice from as they are at the front of mind. 2.4 How the decision making process works   The process of making a decision can be different for each individual but is largely accessed on the basis of common decision making traits by the decision making process. As the decision making process involves the use of thoughts and feelings, knowledge and past experiences, before the end decision is reached it can be affected by many external factors such as the opinions of others and previous behaviour associated with potential purchase. Integrated marketing communications looks closer at the way the individuals purchasing and the decision making process is affected by external influences. IMC is described by Pelsmacker as â€Å"The idea behind integrated marketing communication is coordination of messages for maximum impact.† Pelsmacker describes this as an impart that is created through the use of synergy. Synergy is the linkages that are created in the indivduals mind as a result of the messages that are received to create an impact, described as an impact â€Å"beyond the power of any one message on its own.† (Pelsmacker De, P. 2001). We have found that the decision making process consists of 5 main stages; the need of recognition and problem awareness, the use of information search, evaluation of any alternatives, purchase and the post purchase evaluation. This model suggests that each individual goes thought the same stages for every purchase; however for more routine purchases, it can be possible for the individual to miss out a stage or complete the decision process in the opposite order. The need for recognition starts the decision making process, by making the individual recognise a need/problem or simply respond to a marketing based stimulus by thinking about the decision making process. Problem awareness prompts the individual to consider how much or little information is needed. When the need is strongest to purchase, then the individual could make the purchasing decision to buy straight away; if the need is not strong then the individual will embark on processing information and will conduct an information search as Pelsmacker described. An information search is the main influence on the individual’s decision making process. The individual may seek to obtain any relevant information from many different sources, including; family, friends, work colleagues and neighbours. Commercial sources including advertising and sales people can also contribute. Sources considered as public such as newspapers, TV and radio can play a part in contributing. And finally, experiential sources such like physically handling, investigating and using the product will play a part in influencing the individual’s final purchasing decision. Evaluation of alternatives encourages the individual to assess what else is available to them in the market place, assessing prices, alternative brands and brand credibility and benefits/services. As every individual is different, the helpfulness and influence any sources of information could be to them will vary by product and individual. Here the Foote Cone and beldin (FCB) shows how the levels of involvement are ranked in a grid format. Foote Cone and Beldin (FCB) Involvement Grid   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Think  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Feel Informative (Thinker) Learn-feel-do (Economic) Affective (Feeler) Feel-learn-do (Psychological) Habit formation (Doer) Do-learn-feel (Responsive) Self-satisfaction (Reactor) Do-feel-learn (Social) (Fill, C. 2009). Involvement affects all consumers but in different ways. As different individuals can purchase the same product, their individual levels of involvement will be different as they are purchasing for different reasons and as the levels of involvement range from high to low there are always different expected outcomes as some individual’s levels of involvement could not be described simply as high or low. Engel and Blackwell (1982) showed their understanding of involvement levels based solely on high involvement routine decision making and repeated purchase behaviour in the low involvement products. Where as in the Foote Cone and Beldin Grid, they have made their understanding on thinking and feeling. For each factor there are resource implications as the individuals personal self-esteem can make the complex confusing. For example: â€Å"The purchase of a can of tomatoes, or a carton of milk, should be regarded as relatively low involvement because it has little financial or social risk attached to it. By comparison, the purchase of a car or holiday is highly involving. The potential benefits from the success could be very high but the personal costs of failing could also be very high. In addition to the product itself being more or less involving, individuals themselves can have different levels of involvement.† Pickton, D. Broderick, A. (2005). The individual uses the information obtained to feel involved with the product they are considering purchasing. So where the involvement is regarded as high, the individual is more likely to carry out an extensive evaluation. The post purchase evaluation is the final stage in the purchasing decision. If the individual is not entirely happy with the purchase they have made they may think that an alternative would have been better, this is called ‘cognitive dissidence’. When cognitive dissidence has taken place it is common that the individual will not repurchase straight away and will often choose a different brand when making a similar purchase in the future. 2.5 The impact of gender on the decision making process It is fairly common that, as men and women want different products that they are going to have a unique to their gender characteristics, a process when deciding how to acquire the product they want. It is also a widely regarded opinion that women do more shopping than men, does this make them more informed when making a purchasing decision perhaps, with all that experience surely women are more informed than men. In recent research published by the NFWBO (National Federation of Woman Business Owners) it has been found that women are the primary decision makers in 85% of households, women make 75% of the decision when buying a new house and 81% about groceries. The article goes on to reveal that women are the main influencers on spending for the household and women have over taken men in spending online. (bright-marketing.com/article-marketing-to-women-what-women-really-want.php) Firstly there are many factors that point towards the notion that men and women are likely to make purchasing decisions differently. Hennig Thurau, (1998) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006) found that men use more information and communications technology products (eg videos, mobile telephones and computers) than women, and that men show a greater interest in these products (Rudell, 1993) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006) also that men show a increased interest for the latest technical products compared to women (Dialoge 4, 1995) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006) . It has been found that men are also more likely to engage in variety-seeking purchasing (Helmig, 1997) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006), exhibit weaker brand involvement (Guest,1964) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006), be less environmentally concerned and be less likely to buy environmentally-friendly products (Ozanne et al., 1999). Having already established that men and women are looking for different outcomes in their purchasing decisions, gender affects consumers approaches to decision making (Mitchell and Walsh, 2004) and the decision difficulty (Walsh and Mitchell, 2005) cited in Mitchell, V. W., Walsh, G. (2006), while gender differences were also found for appearance-related attitudes and behaviour (Burton  et al., 1994). Mitchell and Walsh (2004) found in a study they lead which went further into examining how gender can affect the decision making process, that Sproles and Kendall’s (1986) ‘consumer styles inventory’ (CSI) had found five new male buyig behaviour categories, these discoveries include: A need for satisfying Enjoyment and variety seeking Fashion and scale seeking Time restricted Economy seeking Bakewell, C and Mitchell, V.W (2006) conducted a study on the different decision making styles of women and men, they used a sample of 480 young males and females and identified nine different decision making styles that both sexes used and three decision making styles that just males used which are; Store loyalty and low price seeking Confused time restricted Store promiscuity. These are interesting results, especially considering that young males have agreed with young females that they consider store loyalty important. Bakewell and Mitchell sum up their findings as this â€Å"The findings suggest retailers should focus on loyalty creation programmes, price related appeals and methods of improving shopping related efficiencies when targeting young male shoppers.† Bakewell, C and Mitchell, V.W. 2006. Elliott and Speck made an interesting discovery when they researched into how males and females differ when it comes to purchasing decision, they picked up on the fact that advertising affects individuals differently, even though all advertising is meant to make the consumer want that product that is being marketed to them. â€Å"Males are reported to perceive less advertisement clutter on television and in magazines† (Elliott and Speck,1998). Unusually it has been found that at least 9 researchers have found in existing literature and agreed on the following point â€Å"Consumer decision making is likely to be related to a number of consumer traits such as social class, the type of family unit, age, gender, lifestyle and life-stage – all of which can exert an influence.†   (Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran, 1991;  Burton  et al., 1994;  Darley and Smith, 1995;  Costa  et al., 2001;  Mitchell and Walsh, 2004. Cited in Beynon, M.J. et al.  (2010) This point is interesting as it shows that advertising does not affect every consumer the same way. So we know that males and females make purchasing decisions differently, but we are now aware that age, lifestyle and life stage can all contribute to the purchasing decision making process. It has been found and proven by another group of researchers, that gender type differences are highly evident in the decision making and purchasing behaviour process; as gender characteristics are evaluated differently, depending on the gender of the individual (Gefen and Straub (1997), Venkatesh and Morris (2000) and Sun and Zhang (2006) cited in Hernndez, B. et al (2011). We can reveal that the genders controlling the process all possess these three points: Men are more pragmatic Women experience greater anxiety when faced with new activities Women are more strongly influenced by their immediate environment 2.6 Key findings from literature review From investigating any relevant sources we have found that there are many factors, not just sex, that can affect the individuals buying behaviour such as: race, religion, culture which plays a great role in defining who we are from an early age. Family being a primary source and work colleagues being a secondary source are big external factors that can influence the individual’s decision. Internally there are primary factors that affect how consumers make purchasing decisions, attitude, perceptions and learning styles are significantly great influences. These characteristics like age, gender, income and family style act as further determinants to what the consumer finds interesting and appealing. Reed and Ewing (2004) describe the ‘Magic bullet’ theory is a stimulus-response concept; also how it was an underlying assumption of communication developed from early models of communication around the time of the evolution mass market (P.Reed and M.Ewing, 2004). The magic bullet theory was initially believed to be able to implant the media message to the audience in a ‘uniform’ fashion so that the audience would then be able to directly respond to the mass advertising message, sounding similar to a subliminal message theory. The ‘magic bullet’ theory was proposed to work on the belief that consumers were rational decision makers who were actively seeking products information; subsequently allowing this theory to work on the grounds that the consumers could draw stored advertising and marketing information from their memory. 3.  Ã‚  Research Methodology 3.1 Chapter introduction The proposal of this research study is collect data from a sample of participants that will decide if the hypnotises is proven. For the purpose of this study a sample of 100 consumers will be taken. 50 men and 50 women between the ages of 21-45 will be surveyed using questionnaires that will be distributed online. The questionnaires will be sent to a small sample of respondents, the respondents will be firstly screened for their age and location, thought the best effort will be made to only contact respondents that meet the studies criteria. The benefits of using the internet to distribute the questionnaires are that a theory known simply as the ‘snowball effect’ will help our questionnaire reach more respondents. This is because as we send our questionnaire to the selected respondents, they will forward on the link to our questionnaire to their friends, colleagues and family, who will be of similar specification to the respondents we original contacted. The ‘Snowball Effect’ is highly likely in this case and will be welcomed as it will add more credibility to the validity of the results. A focus group will take place after the results of the online questionnaire are analysed. The researcher has chosen to conduct the research in this manner as they feel it will give the them a good idea of what topics within the research question need to be addressed and investigated further with the member of the focus group. 3.2 Research purpose The purpose of this research study is to gather information on how and why males and females make their purchasing choices and decision making process when faced with the decision to purchase an item. The research aim and objective of this research study is to establish and verify if in fact men and do think and act differently when faced with making a purchasing decision. 3.3 Research approach (including justification)   The approach used to conduct the qualitative and quantative research is based on academic methods which are widely recommended thought UK universities. The researcher has chosen to conduct the research for this study purpose in this manner, as it is widely understood and proven tool to collect and analyse research. However a lot of academic research methods are out dated and long winded. In the case of this study purpose, the time constraint is just a few months so†¦. 3.4 Research strategy (including justification) The research strategy is to firstly establish our target audience; once we are aware of them we can word our questionnaire suitably to their level. This is a key starting strategy, as if they do not understand what we are asking them, they cannot be expected to give an honest answer, subsequently making the results un-validable. By selecting a sample group, it has given the researcher an opportunity to select from a wide range of consumers ie: professionals, students, unemployed and of different race and class. This is make sure every point is considered and analysed. 3.5 Time horizons (including justification) The amount of time allocated to designing and completing this research task was 3 months. 2 weeks, 4 days and four hours it actually took from researching, to designing, to distributing to finally analysing the questionnaires. To research into the target market: 1 week To research into the design on questionnaires: 1 day To design and create the questionnaire: 2 days Sourcing contacts suitable for taking part: 3 hours To distribute the questionnaires: 1 hour Collecting and analysing results: 1 week The researcher found time to complete this research around working a full time job, and made it possible in the time horizon stated. 3.6 Research methods (including sampling)   For this study purpose it was found the most effective way of producing a good quality of validable results using quantitative and qualitative research to gain a better understanding, first hand, of what today’s consumers are thinking and experiencing in the consumer market. As stated in the previous chapter, the questionnaire was designed by our researcher. The questionnaire was reached and created to suit the level of participants who took part. Using previous professional, academic and work colleagues the questionnaire was distributed thought email and posted on a social networking site. We felt both these avenues would be successful for our study purpose as we could reach a large amount of our sample. From the link submitted in the email and social network post, we advised out target group follow the link to a survey specialist website, where they could fill in the questionnaire we designed. We decided to use the survey specialist website for the reason that it was popular amongst other academics, it is trustiest and overall because it is safe. Safety is a big issue for consumers online and this is wanted to assure was fine. Another option for collecting responses to our questionnaire was by post, we decided against this idea for the reasons, it is slow and costs money; whereas online is free and fast. After we had reached a suitable number of responses we collected the results. After the results had been verified and sorted, our researched entered the data in a spread sheet. The data was then analysed into percentages and made into graphs.(Please see appendix 3.) The sampling has been aimed at including consumers between the ages of 21-45 because this guarantees that each individual has had experience in different purchasing scenarios and will be more inclined to be open and honest in their answers. Sampling is seen to be appropriate for this study purpose as time and money are a constraint meaning that a survey of the whole nation would take far too long and cost far too much money for this study purpose and could ultimately restrict the data collected to a sample between the ages of 16-40 in the UK and Ireland. The design of the questionnaire will be simple but not basic, with no confusing or ‘trick’ questions. The use of simple language will be used to insure that any questions will not be misinterpreted. 3.7  Data handling   All data received from the participants will be treated confidentially and will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties. 3.8  Data analysis Questions were sent out via email to a large number of particiapnts, they were specially selected, depending on age range (16-40) and location. The researcher specifically controlled where the questionnaires were being sent as they did only want to receive replies from UK and Ireland consumers. Keeping the research within in boundaries has prevented the sample on becoming to large or collecting information that could not be used. Information that couldn’t be used for this study purpose would be from an individual aged under or above the requirements as this wouldn’t be viable from this study. Also individuals from other countries as this study is just testing the hypnotises in the UK and Ireland. 3.9  Data quality As the sample used to collect the qualitative data for this researched has been kept small, it allows the researcher to pay special attention to the results. The results will be analysed using excel, excel is a reliable and provides excellent validity to the results. The results will be calculated into percentages to give a good idea of how many participants answered each question. Each questions results will be displayed in a range of graphs, these include pie charts, bar charts, line charts and others. 3.9.1  Reliability   It was intended to keep the sample for this research purpose between 80-100 participants, this was to insure that every question answered could be entered into the excel database with ease, ensuring that the researcher did not miss any answers. To make sure the results reliable, any answers send by participants that did not meet the requirements of age and location were safely disposed of. Special care was taken here so that the main sample was not affected and kept to the guidelines stated by the researcher. 3.9.2  Validity For collecting the research there has been special attention paid to collecting both forms of qualitative and quantitative data, this is to insure that our results are fair as they will be analysed by a profession. 3.10  Ethical considerations   With a respect to ethics, each individual taking part in this research will be treated with an un-bias, understanding and fair attitude. To ensure that this project treats all individuals who take part in it and form part of the research, each participant will agree to sign a consent form being signed before taking part in the research. The consent form will give the participants ‘peace of mind’ that none of the information they share with the researcher will be shared with anybody else. All participants information will be safely stored, where they cannot be tampered with thought-out this study purpose. After this study purpose all information kindly collected from the questionnaire and focus group will be safely disposed of (shredded). 3.11  Chapter summary In this chapter we have discussed how to the research required for this study purpose would be carried out 4   Results 4.1 Chapter introduction In this chapter we will be examining the results interpreted from the data collected from our sample. All results are available in the appendix chapter of this document, they will be referred to thought-out this chapter. Interpretation okay you are going to add the statistics (nice, colourful charts I hope!) in an Appendix. But interpreting   and reporting the results   of No. 4 needs to be informative but above all, interesting. Feeding the anticipation I mentioned above is important. So, for example, you found that more 20-year old females bought Nike trainers than 20-year old males after seeing a male-dominated Nike advert wouldnt that be a big surprise to the marketeers? So that kind of stuff beating the old stereotypes finding something new is essential to the analysis and conclusion of the thesis. 4.2 (sub-sections reflecting the issues covered in your data, 4.2, 4.3 etc.) 4.3 Chapter summary 5   Discussion 5.1 Chapter introduction 54.2 (sub-sections reflecting your research objectives, 5.2, 5.3 etc.) 5.3 Chapter summary 6   Conclusions   6.1 Chapter introduction 6.2 (Sub-sections reflecting your research objectives, 6.2, 6.3 etc.) 6.3 Implications for research 6.4 Implications for practic 6.5 Revisiting the limitation 6.6 Directions for future research 6.7 Chapter summary   7  Appendices 7.1 Appendix One – Personal reflection on the research process 7.2 Appendix Two – Research ethics form and associated strategy 7.3 Original copy of questionnaire

Employment Law--- case study on Whitakers Fine Wines Limited Essay - 1

Employment Law--- case study on Whitakers Fine Wines Limited - Essay Example Furthermore, the Employment Relations Act (section 44) stipulates that a worker retains the right not to be subjected to detriment as a result of an employer’s action or inaction. In the case of Adam, the company acted in a manner that may have posed risk to Adam by subjecting him to overwork that resulted in his state of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the company failed to act appropriately by not providing an adequate solution to Adam’s problem, which he articulated well in time. One major cause of injury at the workplace relates to negligence as exemplified in Donoghue Vs Stevenson [1932] and Caparo Vs Dickman [1990] (Feinman, 2010). In this case, negligence seems to have been on the part of the company as it failed to take appropriate measures to avoid risking Adam’s life. Adam seems not to have acted in negligence as he seems to have taken his duties seriously. Apparently, express terms of the engagement did not contain any obligation on Adam’s part to take care for the role of the sick manager, leading to a breach of his employment rights. As observed in Garrod v. North Devon NHS Primary Care Trust 2006, passing on the responsibility of the absent employee amounts to breach of employment regulations (Personnel Today 2006, para.4). Additionally, the deliberation on the liability of the employer will illustrate the breach of implied terms, where only the employee seems to comply. Whereas his acceptance to serve in the role of the sick employee was voluntary, the management acted in negligence of the agreement that previously relied on the premise that the leave would take short (Cabrelli 2007, p195). Signs of negligence from the director and human resources officials emerge from the facts given in the case, which can directly relate to the psychological pressure manifested in form of anxiety and depression. According to the employment

A New Wave of Competitors Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A New Wave of Competitors - Case Study Example The company mainly targets the wealthy and high income customers that have an average income that is at least 12 percent higher than the rest of the population and currently Reed owns 14 percent of the market share. Reed Supermarkets has a reputation of around 80 years for its service as a supermarket chain. Reed is now known nationwide and is serving a huge population. This creates a competitive advantage for the company and places them at an upper position relative to its competitors. The layout of the stores of Reed Supermarkets is attractively planned. Attractive stores and good service allowed Reed to differentiate itself from other competitors in the industry. Among the factors the most distinguishing are long store hours and short time for checkout, adequate number of staff, elegant and creative serving-case displays, extensive customer service and runners carrying bags of the customers to their cars. Customers are not required to provide tips to the staff while leaving. The p laces in which the stores are located show high population growth and even in many of these places, the growth rate of population is above the average rate of growth in the rest of the country. This shows that there is high prospect for the company to increase store traffic. The store visibility is also enhanced since large number of customer would visit the store and they would act as word of mouth promoter. Weaknesses Reed offers high quality products to its customers, but, according to the perception of a considerably large segment of the target customer, prices charged by Reeds is high. Therefore only a selected slice of the market can buy products from its stores. There is no harmony among the management of the company about the appropriate strategy that must be implemented for increasing market share. Contradiction exists among managers about discounts, high-margin items, introduction of low price specials and double couponing. On this issue, they have not been able to choose the most apt solution from the different opinions provided by each of them. The company has drawn a line on its capital expenditure for at least the coming two years starting from 2011. Such freezing on capital expenditure would affect the operations and growth path of the company. In order to meet higher revenue objectives more stores have to be opened. However, stringent capital expenditure policy might hamper such ambitions and impair the growth of the business. Opportunities Political/Legal The supermarket industry in the USA faces the support of strong lobbying form farm groups, transporters, and food processors. This facilitates the supermarket by removing barriers to trade, maintaining symmetry in information sharing across the market and allowing smooth expansion. Economic The economy of the USA has the GDP of 15.94 trillion (according to 2012 estimate). It is a developed country and therefore has the ready ground for development of flourishing supermarkets. Columbus, being situated in the largest state in the United States of America therefore offers a good opportunity for growth to Reed. The average citizen in the state has a high purchasing power. Socio-cultural There is an increasing trend among the American consumers that they are gradually becoming more health conscious besides being price sensitive. The emerging trend

That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without Essay

That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence (Christopher Hitchens). Do you agree - Essay Example They tried to prove that the correspondence truth is unknowable or unthinkable as it would call for comparison between cognition with its uncognized object which would be impossible (Net Industries, 2012). Moreover, Peire, the American Pragmatist proposed that the only way a concept can be indentified is from its practical effects of its objects. This implies that when this proposal is applied to definition of truth, a belief can only be true so far as it satisfies practicality of its objects. The fact that truth can only be sustained through inquiry implies that for truth to be indentified there has to be evidence to support such truth, which has to be practical and verifiable. However, knowledge can be attributed as evidence: to the extent that such known concept is true, inconsistency with the knowledge of an individual would amount to inconsistencies with some form of truth (Kelly, 2006). This applies to both normative and indicative evidence. Stating that smoke is the evidence o f fire implies that whenever smoke is sighted there must be presence of fire. Therefore, Hirtchens assertion â€Å"that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence† is true in justifying the truth. Kelly (2006) defines evidence to be the kind of thing which makes a difference in what one has justifications in believing, or what is perceived to be reasonable for one to believe. Therefore, one’s justification in believing is barely a matter which can be traced to one’s evidence (Kelly, 2006). This implies that two individuals with the same types of evidence would be exactly the same according to what they are justified in believing regarding a particular issue. Therefore, the main question is if believing requires evidence, and whether the object believed can be proved beyond any doubt regarding its identity and hence truth. According to Dunwoody (2009), belief is matter of judgment and decision making. Evidence is more related to fact s; evidence leads to justification in believing something as the truth. However, a fact is by itself subjective in nature as one has individual evidence to believe in a particular object, which to them represents the truth. Schmitt (2004) explains that to apprehend a fact by itself is an act of judgment and perception; this is directly related to the belief held by a particular individual. Therefore, facts which would amount to evidence that can sustain inquiry is also a belief as nothing is knowable in the world; everything is mediated by an individual’s senses and it is only a representation of objects in the world. Therefore beliefs are constructions of individual’s evidence and lead to construction of truth through consistency of these beliefs (Schmitt, 2004). Therefore, to establish the truth there are definite evidences required to support such beliefs, implying that evidence is critical in attaining any truth. According to James (1907) the truth of an idea is fa r from the stagnant property inherent within the idea, but truth happens to an idea. In other words, and idea is made true by events through a process which an idea verifies itself. The process of making an idea to be true is composed of a series of evidences, which justifies the truth in such an idea. Therefore, the fact that people seek evidence to believe or to assert the truth of a specific idea is thus correct; truth is verified through a process and by events, which constitutes a series of evide

Complications Of Skeletal Traction Health And Social Care Essay

Complications Of Skeletal Traction Health And Social Care Essay In the last two decades, there have been major changes in the management of lower limb long bone fractures, surgical management has become the norm. Skeletal traction is now rarely used as the definitive form of management. Most of the patients admitted to our hospitals have skeletal injuries, and these patients have prolonged length of stay as they are initially managed non- operatively. Complications of traction have been looked at since 1947 and have been published but literature from the developing countries is lacking. This study is being conducted to evaluate the prevalence of complications associated with skeletal traction with lower extremity fractures. Objective : To determine the proportion of patients with Lower Extremity fractures who develop complications associated with skeletal traction. Study Design:- This is a Hospital based Prospective Descriptive study, that will be carried out from December 2010 to March 2011. Study Setting :- The study will be carried out at the KNH orthopaedic wards. Materials and Methods :- Patients who are put on lower limb skeletal traction will be recruited into the study, They will be reviewed weekly for complications namely pin tract infection, pressure sores, venous thrombo-embolism, orthostatic pneumonia and knee stiffness, until upto the point they are taken off traction. The data will be collected using pre-designed questionnaires. INTRODUCTION Fractures of the femur are almost always the result of great violence and are sometime a threat to the patients life, not only because of the immediate complications such as bleeding or associated injuries but also because of subsequent complications related either to the treatment of the fracture or to the complications of the associated injuries. Immobilization of the fracture was recognised as essential for union. The development of splints, such as the Thomas splint and the subsequent combinations of the splints with traction methods either fixed or balanced, allowed for better control of the fracture, patients never the less had to remain in traction for three months or longer before the fracture was sufficiently stable to allow ambulation. Skeletal traction is seldom used in modern practice, usually it is only a temporary mode of treatment. Internal Fixation is still the treatment of choice for most closed injuries, this is because of higher union rates, lower rates of complications, earlier weight bearing, shorter hospital stays and early return to daily activites. In KNH majority of the patients admitted with femoral fractures are managed initially on skeletal traction. Patients with proximal femoral fractures are on Russel Hamiltons traction while patients with femoral shaft fractures are on Perkins traction. When the patient is managed on skeletal traction the patient is on prolonged bed rest and hospital stay increases also nursing care is difficult and the patient is at risk of developing morbidities due to the skeletal traction and prolonged immobilisation. The cost of care is increased and as seen in our setting most of the patients we manage come from a low socio-economic background who have difficulties in financing their healthcare. The prolonged confinements of the patients on traction is associated with certain complications, such as pin tract infections, decubitus ulcers, which can be overcome by better nursing care, but the complications of prolonged bed rest such as bladder and bowel derangements, deep venous thrombosis, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, to mention only a few cannot be prevented hence the need for early internal fixation. Literature Review Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults (1,2,3,4) and of the estimated 856 000 road deaths occurring annually worldwide, 74% are in developing countries (5). In both Nigeria (6,7) and Kenya (8), for example, a fivefold increase in traffic-related fatalities was observed over the last 30 years. Injuries cause profound morbidity and are one of top 10 causes of death and disability in both developing and developed economies (9). Kenya, like other developing countries, lacks organised efforts to reduce the burden of injuries. Although there is debate as to whether trauma systems in high-income countries are transferable to developing economies, baseline studies providing accounts of injury and injury trends in least developed countries are scanty.(10) Media reports have raised concern over rising road accident injuries in Kenya. Most of these occur in the capital city, Nairobi (11). Those injured mainly receive treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) the citys main hospital. The city lacks a systematic pre-hospital care and the patients arrive at the institution at any time and unannounced. As demonstrated in Saidis study, the injured are transported to hospital by private vehicles in the majority of cases. Ninety two per cent of the casualties arrive at KNH without any pre-hospital optimisation. (10) Saidi et al (12)found 31.0% of all admissions at KNH are due to injury indicating that a large volume of trauma admissions is handled at this public hospital. The average length of hospital stay of 14 days is from Saidis study is much longer than in reports from established trauma facilities. At the Vancouver General and Teaching Hospital, Canada, the length in 1997 was 9.14 days despite caring for patients with severer injuries (24% with ISS > 16) than in Saidis (12) cohort of patients (13.4% with ISS > 15) [12,13]. The excess length of hospital stay at KNH is caused by the predominance of skeletal injuries. Long bone fracture fixation is usually performed late, a practice occasioned by the local economic environment and a limiting factor for external validity of this outcome measure. An initial period of nonoperative care, which may last up to 4 weeks, is inevitable. The delay is caused by time spent to raise funds for desired implants. Many patients (90%) pay for the services out of their pockets [14]. If a policy of early fracture treatment incorporating a care reimbursement system that does not delay the operative intervention is introduced, the average length of stay may improve. This early fixation would additionally prevent pulmonary failure state, alleviate pain, ease nursing care, reduce complications [15], and allow early rehabilitation and return to work. The principles of traction are a pulling force that is applied to part of the body i.e. the limbs, the pelvis or spine and another force applied in the opposite direction called counter traction. The forces involved in traction are based on Newtons third law of motion, which states for every action there has to be an equal and opposite reaction. Malgaigne characterized as the greatest surgical historian, and author of the 1st comprehensive work on the diagnosis and the treatment of fractures (18), credits Guy de Chauliac with the introduction of continuous, isotonic traction in the treatment of fractures of the femur. This was accomplished by suspending a weight, attached to the leg by a cord over a pulley at the foot of the bed. The use of traction dates as far back as 3000 yrs. The Aztecs and the ancient Egyptians used manual traction and made splints out of tree branches and bark. (19) In 1847, Malgaigne introduced the first effective device which grasped the bone itself, these hooks were designed for the Rx of displaced patella fractures, the hooks were pressed through the skin and subcutaneous tissue to engage the proximal and distal fragment of the patella.(18) During World War One there was a rapid spread of the use of skeletal traction by application of tongs to the femoral condyles. After the war the tongs were extensively used in the United States but their popularity gradually decreased because of the complications, particularly infection associated with their use, tongs are now mainly reserved for skull traction.(21,22,23,24,25) Skeletal traction by means of the Steinman pin was popularized by Bohler and his students. Isotonic traction still remains an essential element in the closed treatment of many fractures. In many places worldwide it is standard practice to apply skeletal or skin traction to the injured limb following acute fractures prior to surgery Billsten 1996; Brink, 2005 (41). Traction may be either skin or skeletal. The main theoretical advantages of traction are that it will reduce pain at the fracture site and assist the reduction of the fracture thereby making the subsequent operation easier to perform. For intracapsular fractures reduction in circulatory complications has been proposed as traction may reduce any tamponade effect (Pressure caused by build up of excess fluid) which will compress blood vessels and block blood flow within the joint. Traction however has potential disadvantages, it makes nursing of the patients more difficult for e.g. use of a bed pan by the patient, pressure area care prior to surgery. Other adverse effects especially of skeletal traction include complications of sepsis at the pin site, pulmonary complications and knee stiffness because of the prolonged immobilization. In the last two decades there have been major changes in the management of lower limb long bone fractures, where resources permit, surgical management of open closed femoral tibial fractures has become routine.(26) Traction should now be rarely used as the definitive form of management. Orthopaedic surgeons have come to appreciate that there are 4 main treatment goals for fracture management (27). These goals were created by the ASIF (association for the study of internal fixation) and are: Anatomic reduction of the number fragments, ensuring alignment, length, and angulation and rotation are corrected as required. Stable internal fixation to fulfil bio-mechanical demands Preservation of blood supply to the injured area of the extremity. Active pain free mobilization of adjacent muscles and joints to prevent the development of fracture disease There are several studies done to determine the usefulness of pre-op traction, (32,33,34,,35,36,37,38,39), though these studies are mainly looking at proximal femoral fractures. Traction prior to surgery is standard practise in some hospitals, a survey of 78 hospitals in Sweden (40) showed that a quarter of those, routinely applied skin traction to all patients with hip fractures, while another survey done by Brink et al in 2005(41) found that pre-op traction was standard practise in 20% of trauma departments in the Netherlands. These studies have shortfalls in that the type of traction used is mainly skin fraction, and the maximum duration patients are on traction is 2.3 days Brink 2005(41), while in our setting patients are on traction for minimum one week prior to internal fixation . In this study only 4 patients were put on skeletal traction of the total patients put on traction, reasons for the difference are not given. From the Cochrane review article on the pre-op benefits of traction, not many studies have looked at the complications of patients put on skeletal traction. The main outcome measures in these studies (32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41) were degree of pain, analgesia use, length of surgery, ease of fracture reduction, and it seems like incidence of pressure sores and other complications were secondary objectives. One of the earliest accounts of complications of skeletal traction is from 1946, by Kirby Fills (42) they mainly looked at complications associated with trans-fixation pins and wires in skeletal traction, from a series of 305 fractures of long bones, complications occurred in 12, of these only 3 were related with Steinman pin use one of the patients had pin tract infection (PTI), and 2 had peroneal nerve palsy, however the author clearly states many patients who had a little drainage from the pin but no signs of inflammation were not regarded as pin tract infection . Pin tract infection is defined as an abnormal condition associated with skeletal traction or external fixation devices and is characterized by infection of superficial, deeper or soft tissues or by osteomyelitis. These infections may develop at skeletal traction pin sites. Some of the signs of pin tract infection are erythema at the pin sites, drainage, pin loosening, elevated temperature, and pain. The bone pin construct is not a sterile interface, but it is a pathway between the surface of the skin, which is normally colonized by bacteria, and the medullary cavity which is sterile (43). Factors which predispose to pin tract infection are thermal necrosis (44) and accumulation of fluid around the pin (45). Regular pin care prevents crusting around the pins, thus minimizing fluid accumulation and hence transmission of bacteria, within the underlying tissues (45). Pin insertion using a hammer leads to splintering of the cortex (46). Insertion of the pin using power tools has been indicated as the main cause of thermal necrosis (44) hence hand drills are preferable for insertion. Necrosis of osteophytes and tissues due to the temperature elevation provide a fertile bed for any pathogenic bacteria. Patients who are put on skeletal traction suffer from morbidities associated with prolonged bed rest. A feature peculiar to these patients is morbidities associated with pin tract infections, which results in pain, pin loosening and subsequently need for removal of the pin. Neglect in these cases can lead to abscess formation and osteomyelitis (43). Similar morbidity of pin tract infection is associated with pins used in external fixators. Reported incidence in the world literature on pin tract infection is 5-10% (47,48,49,50). This incidence increases in cases of transfixation pins upto about 80% (51). The prevalence of pin tract infection varies dramatically in the literature from a 1% prevalence of major infections to an 80% prevalence of minor infections (52). Even in the study identified by the Cochrane review (53) the prevalence of pin tract infection varied, based on the treatment of pin sites, from 8-25% (54). A common factor in most studies of pin site complication is the lack of a standard definition of what constitutes a PTI is it inflammation around the pin site as reported in upto 41.6% in one series (55), or is it cellulitis around the pins or pin sites with draining sero-purulent discharge or is it pin loosening. Therefore this study is being done to establish what the rates of pin tract infection are when all the signs of inflammation will be used to diagnose pin tract infection. Looking at studies done closer to home in 1962 procter reported his series of 41 patients in SA (56), he was looking at use of perkins traction in femoral fracture management. PTI was found in 15% of the patients, while all the patients had full knee ROM at a period of 10 weeks. A few years later Usdin reported his own series of 58 patients, managed by perkins traction, and 5 of these patients 8.6% developed pin tract infections, and 2 cases had residual knee stiffness (57). More recently Gosselin in his series of 53 patients from Sierra Leone in 2005 reported that 23 patients (42.6%) of his patients had a pin tract infection and at an average 29 days after being put on traction.(59) Therefore it is noted incidence of PTI varies from centre to centre and is dependent on several factors , it is the purpose of this study to establish what proportion of patients on skeletal traction develop a PTI. Other complications associated with skeletal traction are decubitus ulcers, venous thromboembolism, Knee stiffness and pneumonia. There is sparse literature which reports on the occurrence of these complications in association with skeletal traction. Butt et al in his RCT of operative versus non-operative treatment of distal femoral fractures found that in the non-operative arm, a total of 26 patients developed complications. 3 of these patients had DVT, 4 had chest infections, 4 had pressure sores, 4 had UTIs (58) and 5 out of 26 patients developed pin tract infection. When critically ill patients are under our care it is important to protect them from further deterioration or delays in recovery, especially due to complications that are not related to the underlying pathophysiology that brought the patient to hospital. Immobility is associated with increased risk of VTE, decubitus ulcers and pulmonary insufficiency. Bed rest is a highly un-physiologic form of therapy and can lead to a number of complications (table1). Immobility-Associated Complications System Complications Respiratory Atelectasis Pneumonia Pulmonary embolus Cardiovascular Hypovolemia Dampened carotid baroreceptor response Orthostatic hypotension Deep venous thrombosis Gastrointestinal Constipation Ileus Renal Renal calculi Urinary stasis Endocrine Hyperglycemia Insulin resistance Musculoskeletal Muscular atrophy and deconditioning Bone demineralization Joint contractures Skin Decubitus ulcers Psychosocial Depression Decreased functional capacity Decreased respiratory excursion and stasis of secretions leads to atelectasis and pneumonia, lesser muscle contractions of the lower limbs results in reduced venous return, venous stasis and VTE. Reconditioning, loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, is often seen because of immobilization. Bone demineralization due to absence of weight bearing stress on the skeleton, joint contraction occurs because of muscle atrophy. Pressure sores develop because of prolonged pressure on bony prominences. DVT and PE have long been recognized as major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing both elective and emergency orthopedic surgery. Numerous studies have investigated the incidence of DVT PE associated with hip and total knee arthroplasty, also the role of prophylactic anti-coagulation has been extremely investigated. When considering orthopedic trauma patients extrapolation from the arthroplasty literature is not appropriate. The incidence of DVT PE in association with hip and pelvic fracture has been looked at extensively, however there is insufficient information on patients with femoral fractures managed with skeletal traction, so as to allow the orthopedic surgeon to determine the risk or benefit rational of anti coagulation. In a prospective study done in Canada a co-host of 349 following major trauma was studied, and DVT cross found in 126 of the 182 with lower extremity orthopedic injuries, 61% of patients with pelvic fractures, 80% of patients with femoral fractures, 77% of patients with tibia fractures had confirmed DVT using venographic studies. Patients with fracture of tibia, femur are known to be at almost a 5 times more risk to have DVT as compared to patients without fractures. Geerts et al also found that only 3 of the 201 patients with confirmed DVT (ODS 1.5%) had clinical characteristics suggestive of DVT, therefore it is questionable whether clinical characteristics are adequate to make a diagnosis of DVT. Although it is well known that elderly patients have an increased risk of thrombosis. Geerts et al also found that younger patients with trauma those that are under 30years had a 46% incidence of DVT. The incidence of DVT in patients with femoral fractures on skeletal traction is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of DVT with positive clinical characteristics and confirmed by Doppler U/S in patients on skeletal traction for femoral fractures. Respiratory problems are common after long bone fractures, The main common complication of long bone fracture is fat embolism syndrome (FES),(60) followed by respiratory dysfunction and insufficiency.(61,62) Despite the development of medical and anesthetic management, evidence indicates that early treatment of the fractures in a multiply injured patient has a profound effect in reducing the risk of subsequent respiratory complications. (61,63,64,65,66) There are numerous studies showing that early fixation of femoral fractures can decrease the incidence of ARDS and multiple organ failure (MOF).(67,68,69,70,71,65) Over the last decade the beneficial effects of early stabilization of femoral shaft fractures by intramedullary nailing have been challenged. The association between early femoral fixation with reamed nailing and a higher risk of ARDS/MOF has been suggested.(56,64,60,61,65,66,) The first prospective study on this subject showed that among 178 patients, the incidence of pulmonary complications was significantly higher in those with late stabilized fracture.(71) In patients with single fracture, the complication rate after late fixation was 22% in comparison with 4% after early stabilization. In multiple fractures, these rates the traction were100% and 32%, respectively.(69,70) Early fixation can lead to the prevention of thrombosis, subsequent bed ulcers, and decreases the needs for analgesics.(65,74) Furthermore, early stabilization eliminates the need for supine position for skeletal traction, it improves pulmonary function and prevents atelectasis.(63,65,67,74,75) This study is aimed to determine the incidence of respiratory problems in patients who have single femoral or multiple fractures, and are awaiting operative stabilization. Severely restricted knee motion is a recognized complication of operative procedures or trauma around the knee. This is a significant problem in underdeveloped countries where the initial management of many of these injuries is suboptimal. The reported rate (76,77,78,79) of significant knee stiffness after various injuries and procedures around the knee is as high as 11% in the western literature, but may be much higher in underdeveloped countries, where ideal management of trauma is not readily available (80). A large percentage of these cases present with adhesions inside as well as outside the knee, and the management of these cases then becomes complex. Loss of extension is labelled more debilitating in western cultures, with small extension deficits impeding normal walking ; restricted flexion however is a serious problem in the Asian countries, where social and religious mores make sitting on the ground a normal requirement of everyday life. Flexion loss is mostly due to intra-articular fibrosis and scarring in the quadriceps-femoral mechanism. Anterior adhesions involve the quadriceps expansion in the lateral and medial recesses, the suprapatellar bursa, muscle adhesions to the femur, patella , or even shortening of the rectus femoris (77). A number of studies have described the complications of traction however no study from the region where patients are primarily managed on skeletal traction have looked at the complications due to skeletal traction and those associated with prolonged immobilization. STUDY JUSTIFICATION:- American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma has recommended that femoral shaft fractures in polytrauma patients be treated within 2-12 hours after injury, provided they are hemodynamically stable.(81,82) Studies have also shown the significant benefit of intervention within the first 24 hours. Immediate fixation has been shown to decrease fatalities, respiratory complications, multisystem organ failure, and the length of ICU stays in most patients. The type of early fixation used can be debated, but the timing appears to be what makes the difference (83,84). World over fracture fixation has evolved whereby early fixation is advocated for. In the resource-poor local setting with large volumes of patients occasioned by persistently high RTA, the primary management modality is skeletal traction. There is lack of skilled personnel (surgeons/traumatologists) in most peripheral hospitals and hence most patients who have sustained fractures of the lower limb are put on skeletal traction as ORIF cannot be done therefore it is important to establish what are the common complications suffered by these patients. There is a large volume of patients who are seen at KNH, this is mainly because of the poor infrastructure at peripheral hospitals in managing major orthopaedic injuries hence most patients are referred to KNH causing a strain on its resources and ultimately leading to substandard orthopaedic care. The complications associated with skeletal traction and prolonged immobilization have been reported by several authors however most of the numbers of patients who are managed on skeletal traction in these studies are few. In our setup most of the patients with femoral fractures are put on skeletal traction while awaiting operative management therefore it is important to know what the incidence of these complications in our setting are. The incidence of pin tract infection in most studies is not adequately reported as there is no standardized definition of pin tract infection therefore this study will look at pin tract infection broadly . In KNH patients with femoral fractures are put on skeletal traction while awaiting fixation, this is mostly done on an elective operating list and it is not known what duration these patients are on traction, from this study we will establish what the mean waiting time is for a patient with femoral fracture to be internally fixed. It is not known what number of patients with femoral fractures who are put on traction in our setting develop complications hence this study is being done to establish the proportion of patients who get pin tract infections, and other complications associated with skeletal traction. BROAD OBJECTIVE:- To determine the proportion of patients with Lower Extremity fractures who develop complications associated with skeletal traction. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE:- To determine the proportion of patients on skeletal traction for LE fracture who develop pin tract infections venous thrombo-embolism knee stiffness pressure sores orthostatic pneumonia 2. Determine the proportion of those who recover from the complications 3. To determine the duration patients are on traction 4. Proportion of those with adverse outcomes following complications PATIENTS AND METHODS STUDY DESIGN This is a Hospital based Prospective Descriptive study. STUDY SETTING:- The study will be carried out at the KNH orthopaedic wards. STUDY PERIOD:- The study will be carried out over a period of four months or?until the sample size is achieved SELECTION CRITERIA :- All patients eligible to the study will be enrolled until the sample size is obtained. INCLUSION CRITERIA:- All skeletally-mature pts with lower extremity fractures put on skeletal traction as a definitive or temporary treatment option Those consenting to be recruited in to the study. EXCLUSION CRITERIA:- Skeletal immaturity determined radiologically. Pre existing disease: pneumonia, VTE, pressure sores SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION:- The sample size will be determined by the use of the following formulae to achieve an adequate sample to accurately estimate the prevalence of complications in pin tract infection in the study population. n = Z2ÃŽÂ ±/2 X P (1-P) D2 Where n = required sample size P = prevalence of pin tract infection (42.6%, 24%  [1]  , 26%  [2]  ), based on the estimated prevalence from a similar study in Sierra Leon by Gosselin. This is the only study in the developing country performed in a similar setting. D = Precision with which to measure prevalence, set at plus or minus 1%. The ZÃŽÂ ±/2 is the cut off points along the x-axis of the standard normal probability distribution that represents probability matching the 95% confidence interval (1.96). Substituting the above in the formulae we get; n à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  93.9 = 94 patients DEFINITIONS OF COMPLICATIONS AS WILL BE USED IN DATA COLLECTION :- Pin Tract Infection :- will be defined by signs of hyperemia,pain,crusts,seropurulent discharge around the pin site or pin loosening. Venous Thrombo-embolism :- Patients with unilateral leg swelling, calf pain, will be subjected to doppler u/s to confirm presence of a thrombus. Pressure sores : Trochanteric,sacral,calcaneal regions of the body will be examined and the use of the pressure sore grading system will be used to record presence of pressure sores :- Grade 1 :- non blanchable erythema of intact skin Grade 2:- Partial thickness skin loss involving epidermis,dermis or both Grade 3:- Full thickness skin loss involving damage o or necrosis of subcuataneous tissues that may extend down to but not through underlying fascia Grade 4 :- Full thickness skin losswith extensive destruction, tissue necrosis or damage to muscle or bone. Knee Stiffness :- Patients have a reduced range of motion of the knee of the injured limb and will determined by range of motion of less than 30 degrees, less than or equal to 90 degrees or more than 90 degrees. Pneumonia :- Patients who have recorded high temperatures, respiratory distress, cough, chest pain will be used to make a diagnosis of pneumonia. DATA COLLECTION:- Patients will be recruited into the study Consecutively Use of a questionnaire to gather data, including demographics, cause of fracture, traction system and its duration, incidence of complications and their outcome. Data will be collected as pertains to the date of commencement of traction up to the date patient undergoes operative management or is taken off traction. Patients will be recruited into the study as they are put on traction, and will be followed upto the time they are taken off traction. DATA ANALYSIS:- The data will be collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaires will be coded to make the data entry easy. The filled questionnaires will be kept in a safe place ready for the data entry and for the confidentiality of the patients details. After cross checking the questionnaires for any missing entries a data base will be designed in MS Access which will allow the researcher to set controls and validation of the variables. On completion of the data entry exercise the data will be exported in a Statistical Package (SPSS Version 15.0 Chicago , Illinois) for analysis. The data will be presented in tables and figures where applicable. Non- Parametric tests (Mann Whitney U test) will be used to examine whether there is any significant association between the continuous variables e.g. age and duration count, while chi-square will be used to establish the significant associations between the categorical variables. Odds Ratios (OR) and associated 95%C

Comparison †Rendezvous and American Psycho Essay

Rendezvous and American Psycho both have an antihero – a narcissistic psychopath, but do they at all have more in common? And are the two antiheroes comparable? American Psycho is a psychological thriller with satire, black comedy and horror. Rendezvous is a psychological short story. The American Psycho takes place in New York in the mid-eighties. Patrick Bateman is the main character, a young, good looking man who works at an investment firm called Pierce and Pierce. He spends his leisure time among his extremely wealthy friends and colleagues from the yuppie class. In the yuppie culture, which started under the boom in the eighties, the stereotype is a greedy antithetical well-paid man in the financial sector with a conspicuous personal consumption. A stereotype which could as well be a description of Patrick Bateman. He is successful, rich and engaged, seemingly a good life. He eats at the right places, wears the right designer clothes, drinks the right drinks and listens to the right pop music on the right stereo. But Payton is simply empty, he does not have a self. In his search for identity and need for social integration in the yuppie class he get obsessed with the images narrated incessantly by pop music, advertising, movies and the television. He tries to find his identity through consumer products, or more the product narratives. In his battle for identity his self becomes commercial, his whole identity and conception of reality gets composed by mass medias narratives – I consume, therefore I am. He believes in the rewards implicitly promised in advertising and he has undertaken from his culture the belief that consumption somehow will satisfy him. But Bateman does not feel the satisfaction, and the rewards are never as promised. Therefore Bateman has to get the satisfaction otherwise, which results in him killing and torturing people – from prostitutes and homeless to models and colleagues. Even when he murders, he have to find his identity elsewhere. When he murders his colleague, Paul Allen, he find inspiration in axe-murders. Afterwards he uses Paul Allens name to commit crimes – he tortures i. a. Christie and Sabrina in Pauls apartment. He also adopts identity from the chainsaw-massacre in one of his murders. It is possible that the murders also are the result of attempts to live his life after cinematic ideals, because he as mentioned builds his identity of narratives, among the cinema. The murders does not seem to have any rational reason – he is neither advantaged nor protected by them. Bateman is best characterized as immoral, extremely narcissistic and, as he says himself in the monologue at the start, greedy. A funny detail which underline Batemans narcissism is that he have reflective surfaces all over his house, for instance his kitchen, made in high-reflective materials, and the big mirrors in his bedroom. Many times through the movie Bateman is asked about his line of work. â€Å"I’m into, uh, murders and executions, mostly. † At last he confesses all his murders on his lawyers answering machine. When Bateman next day confronts him with it, he thinks it is a joke but with â€Å"†¦one fatal flaw. Bateman is such a dork. Such a boring, spineless lightweight. Now, if you’d said Bryce†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and when Bateman tries to convince him he says that it cannot be true â€Å"because I had dinner with Paul Allen twice in London just ten days ago. † It is a funny, equivocal statement. Everyone in his social circle looks like him. No one listens to him, since everyone around him are just as empty and self-absorbed as him. Through the movie he becomes more insane and kills more and more people. At the end-monologue he confesses that â€Å"there are no more barriers to cross† He wants his pain to be inflicted on others, and even after admitting this he feels no catharsis. His confession has meant nothing. Bateman is not just a psycho – he is an American psycho. He is a consumer which does not feel satisfied by consuming and he builds his identity on impossible narratives by mass media and in his hunting for satisfaction and identity kills. Bateman is actually a victim of narratives, he is in a state of chaos because â€Å"inside doesn? t matter†, the perception by others define ones identity and not the actual actions and thoughts. He is in a world of narratives where everything which cannot have a price mark is worthless – and he believes it, and form his identity subsequently. Bateman’s search for identity through consumer goods, does not make him more satisfied, his consumer lust transforms into bloodlust. Rendezvous have two main characters, Payton and Kim, it takes place on an interstate in USA. Kim is a 15-year-old girl in tenth grade, doing a little youth rebellion – or the way she sees it, proving a point. She regrets a little that she is not at home, eating dinner, instead of being out in the cold, but tries to stay cool. At least she has a great story to tell her friends. She is almost a stereotypical runaway. Payton is selfish and have – as Patrick Bateman – some narcissistic traits. It is implicitly told that he has murdered five people ,â€Å"the priest wasn? t even sympathetic about him sending the flowers and visiting the funeral home, which he had done three out of five times after he d gone out on the Interstate. We must assume that Payton have killed people, even though it is not definitely. The same applies to Bateman, where the clean apartment, his many drawings of murders, and the lawyer who says he had lunch in London ten days ago, may indicate that all the murders was Batemans fantasy. Since the story ends with the rendezvous between Payton and Kim, where Kim hitch a lift, opens a door and hears loud drums, we must suppose that the five killings Payton have committed are on hitchhikers. Even though he does not seem to understand the priest, he have sense of guilt for his murders, but tries to entitle them or play them down. Payton properly hope to get some â€Å"indulgence† by sending the flowers and tell the priest – why else would he meet and tell the priest? When the priest says it is wrong and he should tell the police, he tries to convince himself that the priest is senseless and forget what the he have said, by speeding up. He has a cobra tattoo which tells us something about his personality, a cobra symbolizes something bad, sneaky and dangerous. Maybe it could also symbolize temptation referring to Adam and Eve, where the snake coaxed Eve into sinning, which explains why he have killed several people. He is fixed at the outer assets, he have the two ultimate male status symbols, a Firebird and a Budweiser. The firebird is an expensive car with high status and self-promotion build in. His mood changes after the music, indicating that he is spontaneous and impulsive. Rendezvous and American Psycho have not much in common, except for the two narcissistic psychopathic antiheroes, Payton and Bateman. Their murders have no rational reason and they both attach importance to the outer assets. Apart from that they do not have much in common. Payton is cynic, but Bateman even more and also clarified. I do not think Payton? s murders are a fight for identity. American Psycho handles some completely other subjects than Rendezvous. As I see it, the American Psycho questions the consumer mindset and the narratives in the mass media. I see no obvious subject in Rendezvous. It could be a search for excitement and new adventures, which both Payton and Kim does.

Managing Multicultural Teams

Key Issues Cultural differences affect teamwork and the damage often precedes intervention. Proper knowledge is needed in managing these differences, or more damage occurs. Communication plays an integral part in cultural differences. Direct communication can be perceived by some as clear communication, but for others it may be embarrassing. Indirect communication, in turn, can result in miscommunication. Accent and fluency differences can be barriers to effective teamwork, unless team members choose and put effort in learning and using the preferred language of the team. Authority and hierarchy are also regarded highly by some cultures, while others do not. This may become offensive for cultures who regard the chain of command as important. Decision-making style is another factor. Some cultures decide fast, while others drag on. There are four strategies that can be used for managing multicultural differences in the workplace: adaptation, structural intervention, managerial intervention, and exit. Adaptation works when team members are open about the differences and chooses to work around them. Structural intervention is used when team members are resistant to acknowledging and working around their differences. In many cases, this may require sub-grouping. Managerial intervention may be necessary when the managers are needed to be involved so that one culture’s management may resolve the conflict with the other culture’s management, avoiding embarrassment and conflict on not following hierarchies. Exit is a last option, and it may be voluntary or management-requested. It does not help with the difference, but it allows the team to move again with new people. There is no one fool-proof strategy; its use is dependent on the case in hand. When the management discusses multicultural differences with team members beforehand, the team will be able to pull through the job with less problems. When team members are open about the differences and works with them, involvement of the higher management becomes unnecessary and the project becomes easier. Analysis Multicultural teams are essential for many companies, especially those engaging in international deals, but it is an investment that needs careful understanding and management. There are many issues that may arise within teams composed of people from differing beliefs and practices, and communication is only one of these issues. Perceptions on different corporate items such as hierarchy and decision making equally affects the performance of a team and its members. Oftentimes, managers will have to take a stand and face the problem. There are four strategies in which the issue of multicultural team conflicts may be resolved, and the most appropriate strategy depends on the difference that needs to be addressed. Also, the strategy to be used is dependent on how well the team members are willing to participate in solving the problem within the team. In hindsight, problems can be pre-empted by managers when the issue of multicultural difference is discussed beforehand, before the team starts working together. This way, the members will have a foreknowledge of why their members from the other culture is working the way they do. Members should also be cooperative, willing to cope with and understand the differences. This can be solicited by he manager, but it should also be automatic among the team. When culturally-different team members are cooperative and understanding, it is possible for them to co-exist and work their way to the accomplishment of their given tasks.