Evaluating Compensation Strategy and Incentive Plans

Evaluating Compensation Strategy and Incentive Plans 1.1.0 Introduction It has become more and more important, especially in the current conditions following the credit crunch for organisation to monitor and control labour costs, whilst striving for increased productivity, better quality and good customer service. For this reason; there has been need to review strategies, if not bring in new strategies towards employee compensation and incentive schemes. In this competitive environment, companies are looking to recruit and retain high performing and highly committed employees and taking note that this comes at a cost, but a cost justifiable enough to ensure competitive advantage and success of the organisation. Michael H. Schuster, P.H.D on Aligning Compensation Strategy notes that Companies are examining the method and basis for compensating employees, there has been a growth in the number of companies seeking to develop high performance, high committed work systems, based upon expanded roles for employees, require that employees accept more responsibility and accountability. Therefore employee compensation is an important element to the financial success of the organisation. A strong emphasis is placed on the fact that compensation and reward schemes should transparently reflect the financial potential of the company and align it to the organisation strategy and objectives. In the past, wages and salaries usually grew only by a consistent and constant spinal point. More recently, there has been a growth where the labour market has become more and more aggressive and has brought about the notion that compensation and incentive packages must be competitive enough to attract and retain well skilled workers. 2.1.0 Compensation Strategy As all strategies for any organisation, the ultimate goal and objective is to maximise the wealth for shareholders. The compensation strategy should take into consideration that; They should clearly implement a value based company management system. The long term appreciation and capital value of the company Market conditions and orientation of engaging qualified and skilled workers And important aspect is the cost of the strategy to the organisation. Compensation is one of the main concerns to secure the high performance of the organisation. There is no understatement in saying that organisations perform because of the work being carried out and accomplished by the people it employees, and therefore they make the difference. In saying this, it is important to note that protecting human capital is crucial, and this is done through motivation, recognition, an appropriate reward and compensation scheme. An obvious and important element to consider in the strategy is the possible analysis of the cost of executive and employee compensation will cost the organisation. This will be concentrated on the opportunity cost to the company of the stock and performance based parts. The cost in this case to the company would therefore be the foregone resources on the compensation agreement. It is said that money is a powerful source of motivation. But its also said that salary increase can only motivate until the next pay increase is due. An element of any organisations compensation strategy is to always reflect the strategic business objectives. The objectives and goals should be clearly defined, making them achievable through the compensation structure. As stated earlier and reemphasised now, the compensation plan should be integrated with the performance objectives of the organisation and with the employees individuals goals. 2.1.1 Core Elements of Compensation Strategy An intensive analysis needs to be carried out on the organisation framework, this will be able to establish and reflect the demands of the future business development and which framework conditions will be required to structure an effective compensation strategy. It is even more important to define the management and operative levels taking into account value orientation. As well as the objectives that have been set out for each employee and how their performance is evaluated. Therefore clear roles and responsibilities need to be defined and a strong communication system to be put in place to ensure that all employees are aware and know how their performance is reflected into the incentive scheme. Other elements to consider are should be; Generic They should be a buy in into the incentive plan by the employees. It should be designed in such a way that employees at all levels are participative and have the same gaol and direction. Be of significant and Perceived Value to the employee. Employees should be able to easily recognise the potential reward related to performance. Related to Individual Performance As stated by Bob Normand Institute of Smart Business Management. A factor in the determination of how much an individual employee receives should be their performance rating as determined by their formal job review and appraisal. Employee Loyalty A good incentive plan should be able to retain employees and gain their loyalty. Therefore, an incentive plan should foster employee tenure and performance. There are two main streams of rewards being monetary and non monetary. The monetary being the preferred, and is usually a Pay-For-Performance scheme. Types of performance based pay are; Stock based This will include stock options and grants, equity shares. Cash Compensation These are usually bonuses and are related to the achievement of performance objectives and goals that were set out. Cash incentive is the most common and preferred form of an incentive scheme. An effective compensation strategy if implemented successfully can fulfil other objectives. This has been summarised in the table below; Objective Result Alignment to the strategy of business units. Strong market position. Strengthens the performance and is result oriented. Competitive Advantage Enable organisation change and flexibility to adapt to changed business situation. Success and forward moving organisation. Promotes motivation and loyalty Retaining of highly skilled employees. Controversy Over incentive schemes 1Over the past years, and more recently the past 2 years, where the economy experienced a depression and a down turn in the market for most industries, there have been continued sensitive arguments over corporate executives compensation and how they align to the firms performance. Holmstrom 1979,  [2]  looked at the contribution that made clear the trade off between risk and incentives in the moral hazard problem. This study was partly based on his unpublished dissertation. The media, public, politicians have raised concerns over the current executives compensation packages that seem to drive employees towards taking short term risks, without taking into consideration the long term repercussions and effects on their organisation. As a result of this, there have been regulations being put on the table that look at restricted stock pay options and maximum level cash incentive, or other types of compensation that will focus more on long term performance. This will push executives to always base their investment and finance decisions with the shareholders best interest at hand. There will have to be a strong correlation between long term incentive compensation and the future firm performance. With the emphasis on transparency, CEOs pay is usually publicized in the press in papers and magazines such as Fortune Magazine that has an annual ranking of the highest paid CEOs. It has been observed that the firms that pay their CEOs the highest are organisations that tend to be the ones experiencing high returns, and high operating performance in comparison to others. 4.1.0 Performance Measurement and Incentive Schemes Leonard, 1990 and Hayes and Schaejar 2000, looked at the studies that focussed on the relationship between pay and the future accountancy performance of the organisation. There has been an assumption that in efficient markets, executives and investors will capitalise the present value of future firm performance increase into the stock price. The question is always 2 how do you align strategic performance measures and results to compensation and incentive plans?. The first question to ask when designing a bonus plan that replicates the incentive of an owner is how to measure business performance. The right measure of corporate performance will have strong ties to the amount of additional wealth that a company produces for its shareholders and by extension for society at large. It will guide people to make the decisions that will generate the added value necessary to fund their bonus, to re w a rd the shareholders and to reinvest in business growth. They are several models that organisations can use to measure the performance and determine the level of incentive to be paid out to executives and employees. Strategic Performance Measurement (SPM) System This measurement translates the business strategies and objectives into deliverable results. The advantage of this model is that it combines the financial, strategic and operating measures and compares it against how well an organisation meets its objectives, goals and the targets. Economic Value Added (EVA) / Value Based Management This model emphasises on performance measurement and the cost of capital and measures the value created for shareholders. The main advantage of this measure is that its focus is on wealth creation. Balanced Scorecard System Its core element is its emphasis on the key business drivers such as customer and employee satisfaction, operational excellence and new product development. 4 As strongly supported by Stern and Co. Economic Value Added offers more to an organisation as it focuses on measuring value created for shareholders, which is the essence and objective of any organisation; to create wealth for its shareholders. This measure is also focuses more towards the capital markets and assists in developing organisation strategies at all levels of the organisation. 5 Other advantages of EVA as a measurement tool are; It creates measurable objectives and goals for employees and are specific It can easily align the operations and business units with the overall corporate strategy. EVA can link individual performance and compensation plans to business strategies. 5.1.0 Relationship between Stock Price Performance and Incentive Schemes The hypothesis by a paper written by M. Cooper, H. Gulen and P. Ray Performance for Pay? looked at the relationship between CEO incentive compensation and future stock price performance. They summarised that The efficient market hypothesis suggested that markets capitalise incentive pay grants into the stock price at the announcement day, resulting in no relation between incentive pay and future stock price performance. On the other hand, the optimal incentives hypothesis suggests that whilst compensation and incentive schemes can be aligned to managerial interests with shareholders value wealth creation and maximisation, investors may not necessarily react to the information. This could be as a result of not understanding the incentive strategy, and not having the right measurement model to gauge it against. Therefore investors are not able to observe or attain the value it may have to the organisation future stock price performance.  [6]  7A positive relation may be evaluated between the incentive pay and the future stock price performance. 8Needless to say, based on studies carried out in the past and present on the relationship between Stock Price Performance and Incentive Schemes, there is not much direct evidence that shows that incentive plans do lead to a companys improvement in future stock price performance. One of the challenges of stock returns are they having shareholders expectations imbedded in them. Other challenges are that economic theory would not be able to predict that increase in incentives would lead to increase in profitability. 9 A much earlier study by Masson 1971 linking financial incentive to future performance of the organisation, his findings were that firms and organisation that had attractive financial incentives showed a better stock market performance during the post-war period. Conclusion Due to the increased competition of business, it has subsequently increased the competition for employing skilled workers, and retaining them. A compensation strategy creates and brings about a unified culture, and offers corporation and advances the implementation of the business strategy. This will essentially promote performance and employees will be result oriented. Incentive plans should be reviewed annually to analyse if they are actually effective and increasing the performance of the organisation and meeting the strategic objectives. This involves looking at any accomplishments and the desired outcome. Despite the soaring pay, many experts argue that the system is working better than ever. They see the bull market and healthy corporate sector as proof positive that companies get what they pay for. (Business Week April 21, 1997, p.p 60) Performance based pay is the best incentive strategy for any organisation as it maximises on the strategic plan, as the compensation strategy requires that the plan is set on organisation goals and objectives. This has a major influence on the employees. Pay for performance has been cited to be a more motivating factor, both short term and long term incentives.  [10]  A study carried out established that employees showed a more positive work attitude with a pay for performance incentive. Other benefits of a pay for performance incentive scheme is the pay receives special treatment in some contexts. This is under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Essentially, at the end of it all, the compensation strategy and incentive plans main purpose is to: Attract and retain employees. Motivate and establish loyalty towards the company. Making sure the cost of the strategy is line. Encourage peak performance.

Desertion in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong :: Things They Carried Essays

Desertion in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong  Ã‚   The "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is a story of many things when looked at from the right perspective. The validity of the story actually has nothing to do with its main purpose, which is to explain how Vietnam changed the American soldiers who were a part of the conflict. O'Brien's purpose is to inform his readers of the effect that Vietnam had on American GI's. Told by Rat Kiley, the "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" can be seen as a touching love story; sweethearts united even during a war. However, the true focus of the story is not love but change and desertion.   Kiley is telling the story to illustrate how all GI's changed in their Vietnam experience. The fact that the main character is a woman drives his point even farther home. She is the very portrait of mainstream, wholesome America; the only thing she lacks is an apple pie. Kiley describes her as "This cute blonde - just a kid, just barely out of high school - she shows up with a suitcase and one of those plastic cosmetic bags." (O'Brien 90) This girl is the antithesis of what one would expect to find in Vietnam. She is pure and innocent. Throughout her time in Vietnam she changes from this image to something very different, she spends less time with her boyfriend, Mark Fossie. Mary Anne hangs around with the Green Berets, who are very different from the other soldiers. Eventually she becomes one of them, marking a total transformation, "There was no emotion in her stare, no sense of the person behind it. But the grotesque part, he said, was her jewelry. At the girl's throat was a n ecklace of human tongues. Elongated and narrow, like pieces of blackened leather, the tongues were threaded along a length of copper wire, one overlapping the next, the tips curled upward as if caught in a final shrill syllable." (O'Brien 110) Vietnam changed Mary Anne; it forced her to become something as foreign to America as the war itself.   The "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is also a story of desertion: desertion of people and customs. Mary Anne deserts her boyfriend and her culture. As she becomes more involved into Vietnam she drifts away from her boyfriend, Fossie. She disappears one night and Fossie is distraught, "'Gone,' Fossie said, 'Rat, listen, she's sleeping with somebody.

Importance of Osborne in Journeys End by R.C Sheriff Essay -- Journeys

Importance of Osborne in Journeys End by R.C Sheriff From the very beginning of the play, Sheriff suggests to the audience that Osborne is the father figure and therefore that he is the voice of reason to the other men. We find out that Osborne is a middle-aged man with 'iron-grey hair'. Osborne however is physically in very good shape and is a 'tall, thin man' who is 'physically as hard as nails.' As Raleigh enters the audience sees a kind, caring side to Osborne. Sheriff puts across the ideas of Osborne being a family man through his calming conversation with Raleigh, where he tells Raleigh from what way he should look at the war. "There's something rather romantic about it all." Sheriff deliberately decides for the other characters in the play to call Osborne 'Uncle', this once again shows his maturity and that he quite responsible. He is always there when something needs to be done and he also very quick to volunteer to do any jobs that may come along. "I'll do the duty roll and see the sergeant major - and all that." For this the men respect him and therefore call him 'uncle'. Osborne is also quite affluent and may be seen as an intellect. This is shown by the fact that he is a teacher and that he doesn't jump to conclusions about people and their actions. The first time that the audience meets Osborne is in his conversation with Hardy who is the introducer of the play to the audience. The audience realises that Osborne is in the trench as he tries to take the men's thoughts away from the war and instead focus them of previous lives of things that have nothing to do with the war. "It's a nice looking sock." .. ... raiding party returns there is chaos amongst the ranks, this could possibly suggest that Stanhope and the other men require Osborne's experience in life and there seems to be a vast emptiness, this is shown by plenty of pauses followed by short, sharp conversations representing chaos. Tension is also built as Raleigh naively sits upon Raleigh's old bed. "Must you sit on Osborne's bed?" This shows that without the experienced, peacemaker, Osborne the men begin to have more heated arguments between themselves. In conclusion, therefore, Osborne added a sense of calmness to the abstract position that the men are put into. I believe that Sheriff has accomplished the task of catching the reader's eye through the voice of experience from Osborne. Work Cited Sherriff, R. C. Journey's End. New York: Brentano's, 1929.

Computers In Modern Life Essay

Cause / Effect Essay Many phenomena, events, situations and trends can be better understood by describing their causes and effects. The cause and effect essay explains what happens and why it happens. Cause / Effect Essay Specific Vocabulary Obesity is a cause of / a reason for premature death. Media coverage affects / influences voting patterns. Media coverage leads to / gives rise to / brings about changes in voting patterns. Voting patterns are affected / are influenced by media coverage. Stress causes / produces / results in low exam scores. Low exam scores are caused by / are produced by / result from stress. Low exam scores are a consequence of / are a result of / are due to / the effect of stress. When / If there is constant economic instability, currency crashes occur. As a result of / As a consequence of constant economic instability, currency crashes occur. There is constant economic instability. As a result, / As a consequence, / Consequently, / Thus, / Therefore, / Hence, / For this reason, currency crashes occur. Because / Since / As some areas face extreme weather conditions, there is damage to property. Owing to / On account of / Because of / Due to the fact that some areas face extreme weather conditions, there is damage to property. Owing to / On account of / Because of / Due to extreme weather conditions, there is damage to property. Owing to / On account of / Because of / Due to extreme weather conditions, damage to property occurs. Cause / Effect Essay Structure While writing a cause / effect essay, the order of the main points given in the thesis statement is followed in body paragraphs. The following example is an outline for a cause essay about the reasons for cities becoming overcrowded. Thesis statement: There are two main reasons why these and other cities are becoming so crowded; one economic, the other socio-cultural. 1st body: economic reasons 1. cities are engines of development. 2nd body: socio-cultural reasons 1. education 2. urbanization The following example is an outline for an effect essay about the effects of the computer on life. Thesis statement: The two main areas in which computers have brought about a profound change in our lives are in the economic field and in the field of communications. 1st body: economic effects 1. computers in business 2. computers and national economies 2nd body: effects on communication 1. e-mail 2. globalization The sample shows essay organization Why are Cities Becoming Overcrowded? General Statements The fact that the world’s cities are getting more and more crowded is well-known. Cities such as Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Bombay and Shanghai are now considered ‘mega-cities’, because of their enormous size and huge populations. There are two main reasons why these and other cities are becoming so crowded; one economic, the other socio-cultural. First, the primary cause of cities becoming so crowded is economic. As a country develops, its cities become the engines of development, thus jobs are available in these areas. Frankfurt, Istanbul, Bombay and Sao Paolo are all the economic centres of their countries. For example, Tokyo was the motor for Japan’s rapid economic development in the 1960’s and 70’s; as a result, its population increased rapidly. People moved to Tokyo because they could find employment and establish economic security for themselves and their families there. Second, another factor in the huge increase in urban populations is the socio-cultural factor. Thousands of people migrate to the cities not only for jobs but also for educational and personal reasons. The  better universities are always located in big cities and this attracts thousands of students every year, and these students stay on and work in the city after they graduate. Moreover, young people will move to the city as the villages and rural areas are more custom and tradition oriented. Therefore, young people believe this is an obstacle to their personal freedom. Thesis Statement Topic Sentence Topic Sentence Concluding Sentence In conclusion, economic and cultural factors are the major causes of huge urban population. People will always move to the areas which provide opportunity and to the places which can give them the freedom they desire. Final Thought The sample shows essay connectors Why are Cities Becoming Overcrowded? The fact that the world’s cities are getting more and more crowded is well-known. Cities such as Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Bombay and Shanghai are now considered ‘mega-cities’, because of their enormous size and huge populations. There are two main reasons why these and other cities are becoming so crowded; one economic, the other socio-cultural. First, the primary cause of cities becoming so crowded is economic. As a country develops, its cities become the engines of development, thus jobs are available in these areas. Frankfurt, Istanbul, Bombay and Sao Paolo are all the economic centres of their countries. For example, Tokyo was the motor for Japan’s rapid economic development in the 1960’s and 70’s; as a result, its population increased rapidly. People moved to Tokyo because they could  find employment and establish economic security for themselves and their families there. Second, another factor in the huge increase in urban populations is the socio-cultural factor. Thousands of people migrate to the cities not only for jobs but also for educational and personal reasons. The better universities are always located in big cities and this attracts thousands of students every year, and these students stay on and work in the city after they graduate. Moreover, young people will move to the city as the villages and rural areas are more custom and tradition oriented. Therefore, young people believe this is an obstacle to their personal freedom. In conclusion, economic and cultural factors are the major causes of huge urban population. People will always move to the areas which provide opportunity and to the places which can give them the freedom they desire. The sample shows essay specific vocabulary Why are Cities Becoming Overcrowded? The fact that the world’s cities are getting more and more crowded is well-known. Cities such as Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Bombay and Shanghai are now considered ‘mega-cities’, because of their enormous size and huge populations. There are two main reasons why these and other cities are becoming so crowded; one economic, the other socio-cultural. First, the primary cause of cities becoming so crowded is economic. As a country develops, its cities become the engines of development, thus jobs are available in these areas. Frankfurt, Istanbul, Bombay and Sao Paolo are all the economic centres of their countries. For example, Tokyo was the motor for Japan’s rapid economic development in the 1960’s and 70’s; as a result, its population increased rapidly. People moved to Tokyo because they could find employment and establish economic security for themselves and their families there. Second, another factor in the huge increase in urban populations is the soc io-cultural factor. Thousands of people migrate to the cities not only for jobs but also for educational and personal reasons. The better universities are always located in big cities and this attracts thousands of students every year, and these students stay on and work in the city after they graduate. Moreover, young people will move to the city as the villages and rural areas are more custom and tradition oriented.  Therefore, young people believe this is an obstacle to their personal freedom. In conclusion, economic and cultural factors are the major causes of huge urban population. People will always move to the areas which provide opportunity and to the places which can give them the freedom they desire. The sample shows essay organization What effects has the computer had on our lives? The twenty-first century is already turning out to be the century of the computer. The computer revolution that started after the Second World War is now developing exponentially and computers are beginning to influence and take over nearly every aspect of our lives. Computers are clearly changing and affecting society in many ways. The two main areas in which computers have brought about a profound change in our lives are in the economic field and in the field of communications. The computer has led to immense changes in economic and business life. First, businesses now have to be computerised or they risk failure. Every big corporation bases its operations on computing, regardless of which sector they are in. For example, Coca-Cola, the BBC and Levi’s market and sell different products and services, yet they all share one basic property – without computers their operations would collapse. Second, computing is an economic dynamo. Japan, China, India and many other countries have large IT sectors which drive their economies upwards. Furthermore, the developed world is moving from an industrial-based economy to a computer and IT-based one. It is not just in business that computers have affected us so profoundly; communication has been revolutionised totally. Firstly, whereas before, people wrote letters, which would often take weeks to reach their destinations, or speak on the phone, which was terribly expensive, now they e-mail. For instance, instead of waiting weeks for a letter now, we can read it instantly, seconds after it’s been written. Secondly, many people use computers to communicate with people all around the world using chat rooms and chat programs, this was impossible before the computer became widespread. As a result, now people who live thousands of kilometres away from each other can communicate as much as they want and whenever they want using e-mail and/or chat rooms. Concluding Sentenc e Topic Sentence General Statements Thesis Statement Topic Sentence In conclusion, computers have had a profound effect on our lives in many ways and it is in business and communication that they have had the greatest influence. In the future, if the computer continues evolving at such speed, our business practices and methods of communication will undergo even more radical changes. Final Thought The sample shows essay connectors What effects has the computer had on our lives? The twenty-first century is already turning out to be the century of the computer. The computer revolution that started after the Second World War is now developing exponentially and computers are beginning to influence and take over nearly every aspect of our lives. Computers are clearly changing and affecting society in many ways. The two main areas in which computers have brought about a profound change in our lives are in the economic field and in the field of communications. The computer has led to immense changes in economic and business life. First, businesses now have to be computerised or they risk failure. Every big corporation bases its operations on computing, regardless of which sector they are in. For example, Coca-Cola, the BBC and Levi’s market and sell different products and services, yet they all share one basic property – without computers their operations would collapse. Second, computing is an economic dynamo. Japan, China, India and many other countries have large IT sectors which drive their economies upwards. Furthermore, the developed world is moving from an industrial-based economy to a computer and IT-based one. It is not just in business that computers have affected us so profoundly; communication has been  revolutionised totally. Firstly, whereas before, people wrote letters, which would often take weeks to reach their destinations, or speak on the phone, which was terribly expensive, now they e-mail. For instance, instead of waiting weeks for a letter now, we can read it instantly, seconds after it’s been written. Secondly, many people use computers to communicate with people all around the world using chat rooms and chat programs, this was impossible before the computer became widespread. As a result, now people who live thousands of kilometres away from each other can communicate as much as they want and whenever they want using e-mail and/or chat rooms. In conclusion, computers have had a profound effect on our lives in many ways and it is in business and communication that they have had the greatest influence. In the future, if the computer continues evolving at such speed, our business practices and methods of communication will undergo even more radical changes. The sample shows essay specific vocabulary What effects has the computer had on our lives? The twenty-first century is already turning out to be the century of the computer. The computer revolution that started after the Second World War is now developing exponentially and computers are beginning to influence and take over nearly every aspect of our lives. Computers are clearly changing and affecting society in many ways. The two main areas in which computers have brought about a profound change in our lives are in the economic field and in the field of communications. The computer has led to immense changes in economic and business life. First, businesses now have to be computerised or they risk failure. Every big corporation bases its operations on computing, regardless of which sector they are in. For example, Coca-Cola, the BBC and Levi’s market and sell different products and services, yet they all share one basic property – without computers their operations would collapse. Second, computing is an economic dynamo. Japan, China, India and many other countries have large IT sectors which drive their economies upwards. Furthermore, the developed world is moving from an industrial-based economy to a computer and IT-based one. It is not just in business that computers have affected us so profoundly; communication has been  revolutionised totally. Firstly, whereas before, people wrote letters, which would often take weeks to reach their destinations, or speak on the phone, which was terribly expensive, now they e-mail. For instance, instead of waiting weeks for a letter now, we can read it instantly, seconds after it’s been written. Secondly, many people use computers to communicate with people all around the world using chat rooms and chat programs, this was impossible before the computer became widespread. As a result, now people who live thousands of kilometres away from each other can communicate as much as they want and whenever they want using e-mail and/or chat rooms. In conclusion, computers have had a profound effect on our lives in many ways and it is in business and communication that they have had the greatest influence. In the future, if the computer continues evolving at such speed, our business practices and methods of communication will undergo even more radical changes.

Meme Analysis: Rage Comics Essay

Many people may always say a picture is worth a thousand words; well the information held within the rage comics represents much more and exemplifies the perfect example of this saying. The Rage comic meme is about a series of comics that can be made by anyone using the common rages faces, which are also memes. These comics are web-based and usually describe real life scenarios from the rage comic creator. The first amateur Rage Comic originated in 2007 on an image board site named 4chan consisting of four panes. The first comic starred the ffffuuuu guy, which is the first ever created rage face. The Rage Comics started to spread a few years after the first rage comic was created. The rage comics gained its popularity on the internet forum Reddit. In January of 2009, a subreddit was launched by Reddit which became more popular than expected. This subredditt was widely known as f7u12 and was called â€Å"FFFFUUUUU†, the rage guy. This rage guy represented serious disappointment, exasperation, or displeasure in any situation within a comic. The subreddit f7u12 allowed users of Reddit to create their own comics, which led to the creation of many other rage faces and characters in the rage comics. As the Rage Comics transformed, many characters became popular, while others didn’t. A few of the most popular rage faces is the Okay guy, the cereal guy, the forever alone guy, and the Y U NO guy. When these faces are seen in a comic, most Rage Comic readers already know what the face stands for. For example, the forever alone guy represents disappointment and loneliness in life and may be used in a comic where a person goes through a break up. The cultural reference in these Rage Comics is used to make fun of society resulting in humor. In normal life one person may do something and expect a certain response, well in the rage comics it is similar. The responses are displayed through the rage faces and rage characters. Usually at the end of a comic there is a punch line (rage face) that represents an emotion because of the situation that just occurred. One known cultural reference that the rage comics represent is the me gusta guy. This shows a cultural difference because you do not need to know Spanish to know what me gusta mean. This character is usually used in a situation responding to an awkward or disgusting event. This meme in my opinion has made its own statement because it has certain words that are used in the comics that mean certain things. For example, in almost every comic there is going to be some form of derp or herp. In actuality derp is used to represent stupidity, but in the rage comics it is used as expression to represent unimportant dialogue, just as blah blah is used. Using derp or herp in the rage comics is also a form humor showing social indifference by not caring. The rage comics use a different language tied in with the cultural norms that we all understand to create humor. The original context of the meme, Rage Comics was to humor others with your ridiculous stories that may or may not have happened to you. In some cases the rage comics’ mutations fit well into new context, and then on the other hand some are taking way out of proportion. For example, there are quite a few rage faces and when making rage comics you are expected to use the correct rage face or chara cter that will fit your scenario. Also people have taken it out of hand because when you think of a comic you think of something simple with few words. Some people don’t grasp the concept of the rage comics so when the comics are sometimes mutated it’s been for the worse and not for the better. The comics that are mutated for the better represent great new context because the more rage faces the better you can describe your scenario in a comic with few words. To conclude, Rage comics are used to take serious moments and put them into a comic to make it not so serious and funny. Rage Comics have came a long way, too long of a way that it is losing its social meaning. When the Rage Comics first started to spread and become popular is when it had its greatest cultural impact, although it still has an impact today. The Rage Comic has a great affect on all cultures because the different rage makers give people something to get into to express feeling in a different way. In the end from its origin, even though the punch lines at the end are called rage faces, they all are not meant to represent rage. It just kept its name from the first â€Å"ffffuuuu† guy. You can pretty much find rage comics anywhere on the internet if you search Google, but here are a few sites that have them. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rage-comics http://memebase.cheezburger.com/ragecomics/page/3 http://ragecollection.com/

American Civil War was not just the war of ideology

According to fundamentalist historians the American Civil War was not just the war of ideology: freedom versus slavery. The more significant reason was the power struggle initiated between free states and slave states due to the economic and political implications of slavery. Why common people chose to join the forces to fight this war, can be understood more clearly if this rationale is kept in mind. A northerner might have been more concerned about the independence of the south than slavery itself. While the southerner might have felt that secession would prevent the north from empowering the southern culture. This power struggle caused adversity and pain for millions of people, which is almost impossible to determine.As a direct consequence of the war, more than 350,000 Union soldiers were killed, while The Confederacy lost more than 250,000.   The lives of civil war soldiers were specially hard and arduous because they were mostly under-prepared and under-equipped. When they fi rst joined the army, they were housed in spacious barracks, but once they received their marching orders they were condemned the tent. In camp, the soldiers had to live in â€Å"dog tents† made from two pieces of canvas buttoned together. A majority of confederate soldiers weren’t issued any tents, so most of them had to contend with tents captured from the Union soldiers. In the winter, several soldiers would live in wooden huts made from logs and mud with a roof made from canvas or sawn boards (Gettysburg).Reveille was sounded to begin the day at 5 AM, followed by an assembly for morning roll call and breakfast call. Sick call was sounded soon after breakfast, followed by assemblies for guard duty, drill, or to begin the march. Drummers were also important on the march to keep soldiers in step during parades and to call them to attention. In battle, drums were sometimes used to signal maneuvers and give signals for the ranks to load and fire their weapons. Soldiers d rilled as squads and in company formations, each man getting accustomed to orders and formations such as marching in column and in a â€Å"company front†, how to face properly, dress the line, and interact with his fellow soldiers. After an hour of drill on that level, the company moved onto regimental level drills and parades.The Union private’s salary was $13 per month until June '64, after which he got $16. The Confederate private was paid at the pre-war rate of $11 per month until June '64, when the pay raised $7 per month. Soldiers were supposed to be paid every two months in the field, but they were lucky if they got their pay at four-month intervals (in the Union Army) and sometimes they even went six to eight months without being paid. Payment in the Confederate Army was even slower and less regular (Boatner).The types of food that were provided to the soldiers were limited because as they did not have any way of preserving the food. Meats were salted or smoked while other items such as fruits and vegetables were dried or canned. Daily rations for Union soldiers included 12 oz of pork or bacon or 1 lb. 4 oz of fresh or salt beef; 1 lb. 6 oz of soft bread or flour, 1 lb. of hard bread, or 1 lb. 4 oz of cornmeal. Per every 100 rations there was issued 1 peck of beans or peas; 10 lb. of rice or hominy; 10 lb. of green coffee, 8 lb. of roasted and ground coffee, or 1 lb. 8 oz of tea; 15 lb. of sugar; 1 lb. 4 oz of candles, 4 lb. of soap; 1 qt of molasses. In addition to or as substitutes for other items, dried vegetables, fruit, pickles, or pickled cabbage might be issued (Boatner).Confederate rations were smaller in quantity but essentially the same. It was up to the soldiers to find ways of cooking their own food. The most common diet of both armies was hard bread, or â€Å"hardtack.† This was the easiest for the soldiers to carry when on the march. The hardtack cracker became an item of humor to the soldiers of both sides because it was such an outrage. With rations sometimes being issued at an irregular rate, the soldier had to turn to foraging. Turkeys, geese, chickens, ham, bread and anything edible was taken (Vasile). Some men turned into obsessive foragers, spending most of the day reinforcing their possessions in any way possible. Most of these were never to be found on the field of battle.The soldiers were not provided with summer fatigues as were during later wars. The basic uniform material was wool. The average Union soldier had to carry about fifty pounds of gear and clothing which included: a musket, bayonet, cartridge box (40 rounds), belt, cap, pouch, haversack, canteen, knapsack, blanket, shelter half, winter greatcoat, tin cup and plate, and leggings. This cost the Federal Government about forty-two dollars per man in 1861 (Vasile). The soldiers would get rid some of the more unnecessary items, but would later regret throwing away the items like the greatcoat come winter.Most of the free time w as spent writing letters home at every opportunity. It was the only method of communication with family. Some even sent home money to support their families. Mail day caused huge celebration in the camp and distress when it was delayed. Union soldiers could so to the sutler's store to barter for toiletries, canned fruit, etc at inflated prices. Confederates did not have the luxury of sutlers, which disappeared soon after the war began. Instead they depended on the generosity of folks at home or farmers and businessmen near the camps (Gettysburg).Many of the men attended church services on a regular basis and some even carried small testaments with the rest of their baggage.Discipline in the military was very strict. Petty offenses such as shirking camp duty or not keeping equipment in good order were usually treated with extra duties such as digging latrines, chopping wood, or standing extra hours on guard duty. â€Å"Bucking and gagging† was also common punishment- the soldi er’s limbs were bound and he was gagged so he could not speak. In the artillery, the guilty person might be tied to the spare wheel on the back of a caisson. Desertion, spying, treachery, murder, or threats on an officer's life were the most serious offenses to which the perpetrator was condemned to military prison or shot by a firing squad. Crimes committed against civilians were also punishable by the army and felons were executed by hanging before a formation of soldiers.The boredom of camp life, the drill, the sickness and loneliness all became secondary and seemed to be forgotten on the day of the battle. Although fighting consumed a small portion of the soldier's actual time in the service, the thought of it was never far from his mind. They were all afraid. But they were not only afraid of being killed or wounded. They also had a dread of losing their nerve in combat and running from the battlefield. This would bring shame upon themselves and their regiments (Vasile).T he lack of medical knowledge, failure to provide ample antiseptics to wounds and the horrible effects of modern weapons forced doctors to favor amputation in most cases. Unsanitary conditions existed virtually in every soldier’s camp during the war. Unsuitable or inadequate clothing, unhealthy food and contaminated water contributed to diseases. The adoption of an ambulance corps and field hospital system also helped the wounded in their time of need. Until it was established, there was no way for the wounded to be evacuated to the rear and receive proper medical care (Vasile).The end of the war in 1865 brought a welcome peace, especially for the men who served as soldiers. Armies were disbanded and regiments mustered out of service. Former soldiers returned to the farms and stores they had left so long ago

A Critical Evaluation of the Engagement and Psychosocial Asessment of a Client Living with Psychosis in the Health and Social Care Practitioners Work Setting.

INTRODUCTION This assignment is a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the community. It provides a critical and analytical account which encapsulates assessments, psycho education, problem solving, implementation and evaluation of strategies used. I will also use Gibbs (1988) model of reflection to reflect on my assessment process and how learning can be taken forward in terms of my own practice development and that of the service setting. My client l shall call Emily a pseudo name used to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2002 Code of Professional Conduct that outlines guidelines of confidentiality. Emily was initially on the acute ward where l started the process of engagement with her before she was discharged under our team in the community to facilitate early discharge. Emily was suitable for psychosocial based interventions (PSI) and this was identified as part of her care plan in order to provide support in adapting to the demands of community living and managing her illness. PSI should be an indispensable part of treatment and options of treatment should be made available for clients and their families in an effort to promote recovery. Those with the best evidence of effectiveness are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and family intervention. They should be used to prevent relapse, to reduce symptoms, increase insight and promote adherence to medication, (NICE 2005). Emily is 33 year old woman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. She was referred to my team to facilitate early discharge from the ward as part of her discharge. She lives in supported housing and had had several hospital admissions and some under the mental health act. Emily was being maintained in the community on medication but it was felt that there was still an amount of distress in her life and that her social functioning was suffering as a result. Emily presented with both delusional and hallucinatory symptoms and as part of her treatment cognitive approaches were considered to help alleviate the distress and modify the symptoms. Emily was brought up in a highly dysfunctional family. Both her parents had problems with drugs and the law. Emily had been introduced to drugs at an early age but due to her illness she had stopped using them at the age of 30 when she went into supported accommodation. There was family history of schizophrenia as her grandfather had it and he had killed himself. Emily identified that her problems started in 2007 when her grandfather passed away as she was close to him and had lived most of her life with her grandparents. I completed a time line to look back at while she talked about her life history (see Appendix 1). It is vital that the client is allowed to tell their story with the minimum intervention from the practitioner and the timeline can be used to examine if there are any links to their relapses and psychotic episodes (Grant et al 2004). In the community setting we have a variety of patients with different diagnosis of mental health problems. The rationale for choosing this patient is that she had had various interventions such as medication changes and a lot of experience with the mental health professionals including compulsory treatment under the mental health act (1983). All these factors are likely to have an impact on the individual’s degree of willingness to engage in psychological interventions (Nathan et al, 2003). Hence initially it was a challenge to engage Emily and establish a relationship and build rapport. (Nelson 1997) states rapport is built by showing interest and concern and be particularly careful not to express any doubts about what the patient tells you. The development of a therapeutic relationship is critically important in work with persons with schizophrenia, which maybe difficult with patients struggling with mistrust, suspicion and denial (Mhyr, 2004). Rapport took some time to develop and was established by core conditions of genuineness, respect and accurate empathy (Bradshaw 1995). I met with Emily to set the agenda and explained to her that she was free to terminate the session anytime should she feel it necessary. It was also vital to ensure that the sessions were neither confrontational and totally compliant with Emily’s view of the world ( Kingdom & Turkington, 1995) I encouraged Emily to describe her current problems and to give a detailed description of the problems and concentrate on a more recent problem. l was directive, active, riendly and used constructive feedback, containment of feelings to develop the relationship(Tarrier et al,1998). l used her interest in Christianity to engage her and because l showed an interest this became a regular point of conversation and strengthened the connection. I also demonstrated some flexibility in response to Emily’s needs and requirements at different stages of the t reatment and intervention. It is not possible to maintain a sound collaborative therapeutic relationship without constant attention to the changing situation and requirements of a patient (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Since the development of antipsychotic medication and dominance of biomedical models during the 1950`s mental health care has changed and evolved. The dependency on the sole use of medication was found to have left patients with residual symptoms and social disability, including difficulty with interpersonal skills and limitation with coping (Sanford&Gournay, 1986). This prompted the return of PSI to be used in conjunction with medication management. The aim was to reduce residual disability and to include in the treatment process social skills and training rehabilitation (Wykes et al, 1998). As part of my assessment process l carried out a comprehensive assessment using CPA 1, 2, and 4 in conjunction with the Trust Policy. This was to establish what her problems were and formulate a clear plan. A process of structured, comprehensive assessment can be very useful in developing an in-depth understanding of issues surrounding resistance to services (Grant et al 2004). I carried out a Case Formulation (CS) using the 5W`s What? , Where? , When? , With Whom and Why, and Frequency, Intensity, Duration and Onset ( FIDO) model to explore and get a detailed explanation of the problem and explore the `Five aspects of your life experiences` (Greenberger and Padesky 1995) (see Appendix 3). CS maps out the relationship on how the environment impacts on your thoughts, emotion, behaviour, physical reactions (Greenberger and Padesky,1995). While the assessment helped to form a picture of Emily’s suitability for PSI it also provided a scope for further work on her coping skills. Given the assumption that a person may feel reluctant to give a particular way of coping as this maybe the only means of control (Gamble & Brennan, 2006), the exploration was collaborative. From the assessment and case formulation Emily’s goal was to go out more and reduce the frequency and intensity of her voices or even have them disappear. l explained to Emily that we had to be realistic about her set goals and having voices disappear was unlikely. Kingdom (2002) states that though patients desire to make voices disappear are unlikely since voices are, as far as reasonably established, attributions of thoughts as if they were external perceptions. Goals are positive, based in the future and specific (Morrison et al 2004) and the golden rule in goal setting is to be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Limited. Emily then rephrased her goal statement to that she wanted to reduce the intensity of her voices in the next few weeks by using distraction techniques that she had not tried before. I used the KGVM Symptom Scale version 7. 0 (Krawieka, Goldberg and Vaughn,1977) to assess Emily’s symptoms which focuses on six areas including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviour, elevated mood, hallucinations and delusions. A KGV assessment provides a global measure of common psychiatric symptoms (feelings and thoughts) experienced with psychosis. The framework ensures that important questions are asked and a consistent measure of symptoms is provided. The KGV is a valid tool with a considered level of high reliability (Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Assessment is a process that elicits the presence of disease or vulnerability and a level of severity in symptoms (Birchwood & Tarrier, 1996). This gathering of information provides the bases to develop a plan of suitability of treatment, identifies problems and strengths and agree upon priorities and goals (Gamble & Brennan,2006). l also used the Social Functioning Scale (SFS appendix 6) (Birchwood et al,1990) which examined Emily’s social capability and highlighted any areas of concern. Emily was a loner and though living in supported accommodation she was hardly involved with the other residents or joined in with community activities. She expressed that she was afraid people could hear her voices and were judging her at all times and used avoidance as a coping strategy. On using the KGV assessment and from the results (see Appendix 2) Emily scored highly in four sections hallucinations, delusions, depression and anxiety. It appeared during assessment that her affective symptoms were econdary to her delusions and hallucinations, which were initiated and exacerbated by mostly stressful events in her life. Her hallucinations were noted to be evident at certain times and were followed by sleep deprivation. Emily expressed fleeting suicidal thoughts but denied having any plans or intentions. She also experienced sporadic moments of elation which appeared to be linked to stress. It was important for Emily to understand how life events had an impact on her difficulties an d the use of the Stress Vulnerability Model SVM (Zubin and Spring 1977) demonstrated this (see Appendix 4). Practical measures arising from an assessment of stress and vulnerability factors seek to reduce individual vulnerability, decrease unnecessary life stressors and increase personal resistance to the effects of stress. One of Emily’s highlighted problems was a lack of sleep and this could be linked to the stress vulnerability and her psychotic symptoms. Normalisation was used to illustrate this to Emily. Her increase in psychotic symptoms could then be normalised through discussing about the effects of sleep deprivation on her mental state and reduction of the associated anxiety. Emily was able to recognise how stress impacted on her psychosis. Emily identified the voices as a problem from the initial assessment. She was keen to talk about them but listened to suggestions l made to tackle the voices. The assumption of continuity between normality and psychosis has important clinical implications. It opens the way for a group of therapeutic techniques that focus on reducing the stigma and anxiety often associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms and with diagnostic labelling. Kingdom and Turkington(2002) have described such approaches as normalising strategies, which involve explaining and demystifying the psychotic experience. They may involve suggesting to patients that their experiences are not strange and no one can understand, but are common to many people and even found amongst people who are relatively normal and healthy. Normalising strategies can help instil hope and decrease the stigma and anxiety which can be associated with the experience of psychotic symptoms. This rationale emphasises the biological vulnerability to stress of individuals with schizophrenia and the importance of identifying stresses and improving methods of coping with stress in order to minimise disabilities associated with schizophrenia (Yusupuff & Tarrier, 1996). (Grant et al 2004). The problem l encountered when applying and using this model with Emily was that she realised and understood that she was not the only one experiencing voices but she wanted to find out why she experienced the voices. I used the belief about voices questionnaire (BAVQ-R appendix 5) which assesses malevolent and benevolent beliefs about voices, and emotional and behavioural responses to voices such as engagement and resistance (Morrison et al 2004). We identified the common triggers of her voices such as anxiety, depression and social isolation. During my engagement with Emily l emphasized enhancing existing coping strategies (Birchwood& Tarrier, 1994); (Romme &Escher 2000). The idea was to build on Emily’s existing coping methods and introduce an alternative. We agreed upon distraction as a coping strategy. The plan was for Emily to listen to music or carryout breathing exercises when the disturbing voices appear and to start interacting with them by telling them to go away rather than shout at them. Emily used this plan with good effect at most times as it appeared to reduce the psychological arousal and helped her gain maximum usage of these strategies in controlling the symptom (Tarrier et al, 1990). To tackle Emily’s social functioning we identified activities that she enjoyed doing and she enjoyed going to church but had stopped due to her fears that people could hear her thoughts and found her weird. I suggested that she could start with small exposure, like sitting in the lounge with her fellow residence and going on group outings in the home as these were people she felt comfortable with as she knew them. This would then hopefully lead to Emily increasing her social functioning and enable her to attend church. Emily expressed that she felt more in control of her voices REFLECTION My work with Emily was made easy as she agreed to work with me although l did face some reluctance initially. As my intervention and engagement with Emily started while she was on the ward this made it easier for me to engage her in the community. We developed good rapport and she felt she could trust me, which made the process of engagement easier. Through my engagement and assessment process l improved on my questioning and listening skills. Emily was clearly delusional at times and working with the voices present proved a challenge at times, but l realised that l had to work collaboratively with her and gain her trust and not question her beliefs. At times though l felt l was interrogating her and did not follow a format and also because of the constraints on time l did not allow much time to recap and reflect and could never properly agree the time of next meeting. I also worked at her existing strengths and coping strategies that she had adapted throughout her life and this empowered her and made her feel like she was contributing. At times though l felt we deviated from the set goals and l lost control of sessions. On reflection this is an area that l will need to develop and improve on and be able to deviate but bring back the focus to the agreed plan. My interventions were aimed at Emily’s voices and increasing her social functioning. This l discovered was my target areas and not necessarily Emily’s. n future l will aim at concentrating more on what the client perceives as their major problem as this will show client involvement in their care. This will also help me have a clear and rational judgement and appreciate every improvement the client makes no matter how small. I did not focus much on Emily’s family which l realised was a topic that she wanted to explore but l felt l was not equipped in exploring this part of her life in relation to her illness. The other difficulties l faced was because of my working pattern l had to cancel some of our meeting appointments. As part of the set agenda l had to reintroduce myself and the plan and goals that we had set out in the initial stages and this always proved to bridge the gap. It was also difficult for continuity in the team that l work in as one did not carry a personal caseload so delivering interventions was not always easy and there was not always continuity as some of my colleagues were not familiar with some applications of PSI. This highlighted as a service that there was a need for us as nurses in the team to have PSI training in order to continue with the work if the main practitioner was away and also as a team we hardly ever sed assessment tools and were therefore not confident and competent in their use. l also had difficulties in completing assessment in time due to constricted time frames. l could not always spend as much time with Emily because l had other clients to see in a space of time. In future l will have to negotiate my time and improve on my time management. In this assignme nt l had to carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis and carry out a critical self reflection on the assessment process and how this could be improved on. From my case study l deduced that use of some applications of PSI remains highly experimental and requires considerable research and more theoretical models. Furthermore discussion is also lacking on the details as to ways in which symptoms improved or social functioning enhanced in behavioural terms in relation to social context. However the interventions used in this case study highlighted considerable strength in supporting claims that PSI can work and does help reduce symptoms of psychosis. REFERENCES Birchwood M and Tarrier N (eds) (1996) Psychological Management of Pschizophrenia. Wiley Publishers Bradshaw T (1995) Psychological interventions with psychotic symptoms; a review. Mental Health Nursing. 15(4) Birchwood, M, Smith, J, Cochrane, R, Wetton, S, Capestake, S (1990) The social functioning scale: development and validation of a scale of social adjustment for use in family interventions programmes with schizophrenia patients, British Journal of Psychiatry,157, 853-859 Chadwick, P, Birchwood, M, Trower ,P (1996) Cognitive Therapy for Delusions, voices and paranoia, Wiley & Sons. Gamble,C, Brennan,G (2000) Working with serious mental illness:a manual for clinical practice. Grant, C, Mills, J, Mulhern, R, Short, N (2004) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Mental Health Care, Sage pub. Greenberger,D, Padesky,C A(1995) Mind over mood: A Cognitive Therapy Treatment Manual for clients. Guilford Press. Krawieka, M, Goldberg,D, Vughn,M (1977) A Standardised Psychiatric Assessment scale for rating chronic psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 1977;55: 299-308. Kingdom , D and Turkington,D (1994) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Schizophrenia. Hove Lawrence Erlbaum. Kingdom, D and Turkington (2002) The Case Study Guide to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy of Psychosis. Wiley. Mhyr, G(2004) Reasoning with Psychosis patients; Why should a general psychiatrist care about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Schizophrenia. Morrison,AP, Renton, JC, Dunn, H, Williams, S, Bentall, RP (2004) Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis, Brunner- Routledge. Nathan, P, Smith, L, Juniper, U, Kingsep, P, Lim, L (2003) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychotic Symptoms, A Therapist Manual, Centre for Clinical Interventions. Nelson H (1997) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Schizophrenia. A Practice Manual. Stanley Thornes. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2003) Schizophrenia: core interventions in the treatment and management of schizophrenia in primary and secondary care, NICE publications. Nursing & Midwifery Council, Code of Professional Conduct (2002). Romme M and Escher A Eds (1993) Accepting Voices. MIND Publications Sanford T and Gournay K (1996) Perspectives in Mental Health Nursing. Bailliere Tindall. Tarrier, N, Yusupoff, L, Kinney C, McCarthy E, Gledhill A, Haddock G and Morris J (1998) Randomised controlled trial of intensive cognitive behaviour therapy for patients with chronic schizophrenia. British Medical Journal 317,303-307. Zubin, J, & Spring, B (1997) Vulnerability: A new view on schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, Topic: Students will carry out a critical evaluation of the engagement and psychosocial assessment of a client living with psychosis in the health and social care practitioner`s work setting. Word Count: 2826