Assessment Referrals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assessment Referrals - Essay Example According to Deiner (2003), â€Å"Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between two or more individuals† (pp. 273). Before making a referral for additional assessment in determining whether or not a student has a communication disorder, thorough amounts of interventions should be completed—as well as copious note-taking and recording evidence of a student’s behavior. Two strengths of observational assessment are: 1) that a teacher can physically see with his or her own eyes what problem or problems the student is dealing with; and then 2) record these observations for further discussion at some point in the future. The limitations of observational assessment are that: 1) there is no feedback provided by the student unless verbal or written; and 2) there is no way to know, short of asking, what the student’s viewpoint is during the assessment. Anectdotal records would be preferable to keep records—and then later on, the sch ool psychologist might be able to take such notes and go down a checklist of his or her own about what these behaviors together might mean. According to Boyles and Contadino (1998), â€Å"Poor communication skills can interfere with every aspect of the childs life. Learners with communication disorders quickly fall behind in school. Vocabularies dwindle, memories fail, and problem solving becomes difficult† (pp. 158). Therefore, if the diagnosing individual can pinpoint what the student is having difficulty with, that might make the student be able to more effectively handle his or her

Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay Example for Free

Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony Essay Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony are two of the North American Colonies. These colonies have a lot of similarities especially in their government since they are under the governance of Northern America but differ in their ways of living and social structure. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and Virginia Colony are governed under their constitutions. The legislature under these colonies, called the General Court, consists of a Senate of 40 members and a House of Representatives of 160 for Massachusetts and 100 for Virginia, all elected for two years. The legislature meets annually. The governor is elected for a four-year term (Brown, 2006). The lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, treasurer, and receiver general, auditor, and attorney general are also elected to four-year terms. The governor is assisted by an executive council of eight members, elected for two years. The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Judicial Court of seven justices. Other courts include the appeals court, trial court, and minor courts. All judges are appointed by the governor and council and serve until age 70 (Brown, 2006). In addition, during the next decade of Massachusetts, several small fishing settlements grew up along the Massachusetts coast. Moreover, it is a predominantly a manufacturing area. The most valuable products are machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, instruments, and fabricated metal items. Printing and publishing are also major endeavors. Other economic activities include the processing of foods, the production of beverages, and the making of rubber and plastic goods, paper products, chemicals, clothing, and textiles (Brown, 2006). It has the most valuable fisheries and is one of the leading colonies in the nation in the value of its catch. The catch includes flounder, haddock, cod, whiting, Pollack, tuna, herring, scallops, lobsters, and clams. On the other hand, Virginia’s economy is based heavily on government 9federal, state, and local), wholesale, and retail trade, services, and manufacturing. Together, they account for more than 80 percent of all nonagricultural employment. Its manufacturing accounts for about a fifth of the colony’s nonagricultural employment. Chemicals and chemical products are of outstanding importance (Morris, 2001). Chief among these are synthetic fibers, such as nylon, and polyester. Tobacco products, particularly cigarettes, are also important. Foods, including dairy products and canned and preserved fruits, vegetables, and seafoods, are processed in many localities. Virginia also has a number of textile mills. Moreover, livestock and livestock products, mainly cattle and milk, provide nearly 60 percent of all farm income. Beef and dairy cattle are raised throughout the area, but are most numerous on the northern Piedmont and in the valleys west of the Blue Ridge. The raising of turkeys and broilers is a major activity (Morris, 2001). In conclusion, Virginia was the site of the first permanent settlement and colony in North America. Virginians were prominent among the nation’s founding fathers and played major roles in the Revolutionary War while Massachusetts was one of the New England states of the United States. These two colonies contributed much of the history of the United States in terms of its state governance and economic contributions to the nation. Reference: 1. Brown, R. D. Massachusetts: a Bicentennial History (Norton, 2006). 2. Morris, Shirley. The Pelican Guide to Virginia (Pelican, 2001).

Schizophrenia: Treatment, Portrayal and Stigma

Schizophrenia: Treatment, Portrayal and Stigma ABSTRACT MENTAL ILLNESS AS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE A BEAUTIFUL MIND Associated Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia The movie A Beautiful Mind is an adaptation of the book by the same name and is a biopic based on the life of Nobel Prize winning economist, John Forbes Nash, Jr. The movie portrays the symptoms and treatment for paranoid schizophrenia from which John Nash suffers. He has episodes of auditory and visual hallucinations and has frequent interactions with imaginary people. This paper attempts to present a reflective case study of the patient as presented in the movie. The patient when treated for hallucinations has certain negative reactions to the medicine, to overcome which, he avoids them, relapsing into his earlier condition. The patient mentions taking newer medications later on which also help him decide between the reality and delusion. At the end of the movie, the patient is seen to have overcome this disorder by learning to ignore his hallucinations. This paper discusses alternate treatment as well as recommendations for future mental health nursing practices. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, the protagonist, demonstrates the classical symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. The protagonist, John Nash, suffered from schizophrenia which was only discovered at a later stage. During his college years at Princeton, Johns room-mate and best-friend was a man named Charles, who is later found out to be one of Johns hallucinations (A Beautiful Mind 2001). As time goes by, his hallucinations become more frequent and violent as he soon believes himself to be working for the US government on a top secret project to which no one, not even his wife had access to. When he started missing classes a psychiatrist was called in to look into his condition and he found the stay at the asylum unpleasant and believed it to be a Soviet plan to stop him from working on his secret governmental mission. His wife had trouble believing the psychiatrist at first as she believed her husbands story to be true and very real. But she realized the problem when she went to his c ollege to find out what he used to do during work and found magazine clippings pasted all over the room. She also discovered the unopened confidential envelopes that were supposed to be sent out to Mr. Parcher, the person who put John up to the secret mission. The story revolves around how John has to face reality when his make-belief world is so real to him. He can finally confront his reality when he realizes that Charles niece, Marcee, never grew any older than when he had first met her. With continual medication, he learns to ignore the fictional characters in his life and starts to teach again, at Princeton. He goes on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics and lives a happier life. Paranoid schizophrenia is only one of numerous categories of schizophrenia which is a chronic mental disease. People suffering from this kind of mental illness are not able to interpret reality in a normal way and are said to suffer from psychosis. Around 40 percent of schizophrenic cases are of paranoid schizophrenia. The symptoms usually start being displayed at later ages from around the ages of 25 or 30. The typical symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia include hallucinations and delusions that have no connection with reality. The ability to think and function normally is affected and though paranoid schizophrenia is a milder form of the disorder it can have lifelong ramifications and can even result in suicidal behavior and other complications. Usually the onset of the illness is marked by a sense of grandiosity and this preponderance is seen in case of delusion and/or a sense of persecution. The onset of the disease can be quite sudden and the deterioration in the condition of the patient can be quite rapid. The recognition and identification of these symptoms can be quite difficult for people with no prior experience or exposure to this situation. More perceptive relatives and friends may be able to recognize a heightened state of nervous tension, irritability, anger, jealousy and argumentative behavior (Kennard 2008). However, the good news is that with proper diagnosis and treatment patients overcome the symptoms and lead a happy life. Treatment Modalities Specific to Schizophrenia The symptoms displayed by John Nash in the film are very distinct and classic. The hallucinations of his room-mate, Charles and later that of Mr. Parcher, the US government official, and finally of Marcee show that his illness was detected at a very advanced stage where the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia needed to be treated symptomatically and with continued medication and therapy. The medications that Nash is put under are the antipsychotic drugs and insulin shock therapy. He was confined and had to be kept under constant supervision at the mental hospital. During particularly severe conditions he had to be bound and kept in solitary internment. The major part of Nashs treatment included Dr. Rosens recommendation of insulin shock therapy, which is a conventional method of treating mental illness and is now considered to be outdated and antipsychotic drugs. The insulin coma therapy and convulsive therapy have now been replaced by antipsychotic drugs that have greater efficacy and lesser adverse effects. Antipsychotic drugs are tranquilizing medicines that are used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. The first generation of anti-psychotic drugs included clozapine (Monson 2008) which acted on the receptor sites of neurotransmitter, dopamine. Clozapine is a prescription drug for advanced conditions of schizophrenia and is also sold in the market under the trademark of Clozaril and FazaClo. It is sold specifically under prescription as tablets. It reduces the heightened sensitivity by blocking dopamine and serotonin from being transmitted in the brain. Some adverse side effects of clozapine can be drowsiness, constipation, and weight gain. Sodium valproate is an anticonvulsant that is now commonly used in treating psychiatric disorders particularly in the treatment of psychosis and depression (Omranifard, Amel Amanat 2010). Some common side effects of prolonged use of these medicines are weight gain, diabetes, drowsiness, spasms and tremors (NIH 2010). Some other symptoms like tardive dyskinesia (NIH 2010) which causes twitching around the mouth region are also seen in some patients. If these symptoms are noticed in patients being treated with these medicines, the doctors intervention should be sought. Patients suffering from schizophrenia have to be on life-long treatment for this condition. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, we also see the use of shock therapy in the form of insulin shock therapy. Nash had to undergo this kind of therapy five times a week for duration of ten weeks. In the conventional mode of treatment, it was thought that convulsions were a way to prevent occurrence of schizophrenia. Hence, this method of treatment was used on patients to induce convulsion and electroconvulsive was often used to protect the patient from personality disorders. In modern times, doctors use anesthesia and varieties of muscle-relaxants to this therapy more bearable. Intervention, Support Program and Therapy for Schizophrenia Apart from medical intervention, the patient needs to undergo behavioral therapies such as training in social skills in order to function normally in their daily lives. Support and awareness programs should be conducted for the patient as well as the family members. Support at a community level should also be given to the care-givers to cope with the situation and prevent relapses (Dawson 2010). Family members and support groups must encourage patients to follow through with their treatment and get check-ups done regularly. Basic skills that need to be reinforced with a person suffering from schizophrenia should include: Training for rehabilitation like being able to perform basic hygiene routine and being able to eat on ones own Being able to use public transport Train for a job: basic skills and communication Learn how to manage money When to take correct doses of medicines How to recognize signs of relapse and communicate with the therapist. Diagnostic Tests for Schizophrenia Current Prevalence The first step in the detection and prognosis of the clinical conditions experienced in schizophrenic and bipolar patients is through reliable diagnostic techniques such as CT scan of the brain, magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques which may help eliminate possible confusion in the diagnosis of this disease. As there are few or no medical tests available that will warn a person of an onset or prevention of this disorder, the psychiatrist must carry out a thorough evaluation of the patients family background and genetic history by interviewing the patient and the care givers. The doctor must also take into account the course the illness has taken and how long the symptoms have been prevalent, patients reaction to medication and therapy. The current prevalence of this condition at a global level stands between 0.5 and 1 percent (Bhugra 2010). However, prevalence of this disorder can be calculated only through registered cases of Schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The risk of occurrence of this disease is higher than the actual prevalence recorder statistically. Prevalence in developed countries is higher than in developing countries, partially because more cases are registered and more commonly because of the nomadic and unstable lifestyles (Saha et al 2009). There is no appreciable difference in the male and female cases of occurrence, though the migrant populations have a higher propensity for this disorder. Impact of Psychosocial Issues like Discrimination John Nash had strange mannerisms and his odd behavior put some of his students and friends off (A Beautiful Mind 2001). His constant writing of formulae on window panes and wearing his knitted hat at all times seemed out of place and caused his friends to ridicule him. The incident of his being dared to speak to an unknown girl and her slapping him for his effort caused him to become the brunt of his friends jokes. There was an incident with his teacher who was worried about Nashs performance in Princeton but that was later transformed to appreciation because of the brilliance of his project. People suffering from schizophrenia are often labeled, stereotyped (Marder 2010) and discriminated against. The common perception is that the patient is responsible for having the behavioral changed that are a part of the symptoms of the disorder. Often negative stereotypes are created and the people suffering from schizophrenia are believed to have undesirable or uncontrollable characteristics. In the film, it has been demonstrated by the absent-minded behavior of John Nash when he allows his son to nearly drown in the bath-tub while he goes off to complete his secret work. His constant delusion of being engaged in highly classified and confidential state matters caused his wife and friends distress and at certain periods to mistrust his words, when in reality he was making up stories due to his hallucinations and delusions. These stereotypes often lead to discrimination against the sufferers of schizophrenia and they are considered as social outcasts. Discrimination often takes the form of patients being rejected in society and their job applications being rejected on the basis of their mental health reports. The same has been observed in the case of letting out apartments to people with a history of schizophrenia. They are not considered socially competent and find themselves subjected to derision and not being taken seriously. The quality of their work is often scrutinized more than the average worker and that causes them additional mental trauma. Certain ethical issues that may come up during the prognosis and treatment of this disorder may come in conflict with human rights issues. For example, patients who were treated with electroconvulsive therapy were never consulted and had to endure extreme pain and terror often without reaping the benefits of being completely cured. Another significant point to be remembered in this regard is that the person suffering from schizophrenia is often driven to desperate acts like self-mutilation because the people they trust do not believe them and sometimes reject them outright. This, to my mind, adds insult to injury because the need to be heard and understood is very high in people who are confused and trying to grapple with their own demons. Role of Nurse in Treatment of Schizophrenia The role of a nurse in the treatment of schizophrenia is important as they can be effective in intervening with people suffering from schizophrenia and their families. They are trained to use interventions that have been proven to be effective. They can be administer IV injections and monitor the condition of patients so that the chances of a relapse are minimized. They can help in educating the family members, improve the familys ability to cope with the stress of having to care for a mentally ill patient and improve their communication skills. The nurse is particularly trained to observe drug compliance and manage the situation professionally in times of crisis. Nurses can also monitor the physiological condition of the patient and make educated reports to the doctor in charge of the patients treatment. For the family, the diagnosis of schizophrenia in a loved one is experienced as a disruptive event that changes the family life and affects a family member permanently and scars him/her for life. This unhappy experience mars the patients relationships with his family members and friends who begin to perceive him as a stranger who is needy and requires constant attention. The presence of a trained nurse can mitigate this situation as it is easier to confide in, trust and unburden ones grief to a third party whose perception of the situation will be more objective. Also the nurses training in this specific field can be used as a better supervisor to monitor the day-to-day progress in a patients condition. Recommendations A family member or care-giver may be emotional about it and not be able to assess the situation objectively or even adhere to drug-compliance and post recovery counseling. Nurses can also help the client to recognize hallucinations and talk about the hallucinations dispassionately. Nurses are also in the unique position of being trusted by the patients whom they can reassure by telling them that there are other patients who have similar symptoms (Nursing Care Plan 2010). A patient is more likely to receive a nurses recommendations for treatment more seriously than family members and help the patients to recover more quickly. The movie is much acclaimed and very well made as it has not used a clichà ©d approach to schizophrenia as a mental disorder and ways in which people deal with this debilitating disease (Hausman 2010). In the movie, the ending is touching but it shows how people once afflicted with this disorder will have to live with it for their lives. However, I would think that with the newer techniques of treatment and advancement in pharmacology, these kinds of disorders will be able to reduce the trauma of the patient and their families. Realistic films such as A Beautiful Mind should advertise the newer modes of treatment that will reduce the suffering of the people and allow them to lead happy lives. I would recommend that this powerful medium be used to create awareness amongst common people so that the patients of schizophrenia are not discriminated against and their disorders can be stemmed at the initial stages.

The Overuse of Psychotropic Medications for Children Essay -- Antidepr

In less than a year, John Geis was seen by four different medical doctors who diagnosed him with five separate illnesses, including autism, bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression), insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). John's pill regimen kept multiplying, consuming a daily cocktail of mind-altering drugs. The harmful concoction included Risperdal (antipsychotic), Prozac (antidepressant), Adderall (psychostimulant). John's story is far too common in America today. In this paper, I will explore what lead up to the mass labeling and drugging of young boys in America. I will provide evidence of unethical and illegal business practices by the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, driven by greed. Psychiatry once subscribed to the Freudian view that mental illness comes from roots in unconscious conflicts (usually appearing in adolescence), that affects the mind as though it were separate from the brain. With the introduction of psychoactive drugs in the 1950s, and sharply accelerating in the 1980s, it was then that the psychiatric focus shifted to the brain, as if it were a physical disease. Psychiatrists began to refer to themselves as psychopharmacologists, and became far less interested in exploring the life stories of their patients and more interested in treating their patients with drugs. The psychiatric profession became optimistic that the use of psychoactive drugs would be beneficial with the new biological model that psychiatry adopted. Their optimism began to fade as serious side-effects of the drugs were becoming apparent, and an anti-psychiatry attitude began to spread rapidly. (Angell) Consequently ,with the   new medical model came the need ... ... XXXIII, No. 13, 4 July 1997, p. 31. Perdone, Matthew, and Pete Yost. "Johnson & Johnson to Pay $2.2 Billion to Resolve Drug Marketing Allegations." Huff Post. HuffingtonPost.com, 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. . Stolzer, J.M. "A Systematic Deconstruction of the â€Å"Disordered American Boy† Hypothesis." New Male Studies:An International Journal 1.3 (2012): 77-95. Print. Webster, Richard (2005). Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science and Psychoanalysis. Oxford: The Orwell Press. pp. 595–596 Wilson, Duff. "Child’s Ordeal Shows Risks of Psychosis Drugs for Young." New York Times [New York City] 1 Sept. 2010, Late ed., Business Day: 11. Print. Zilbergeld, Bernie (1983). The Shrinking of America: Myths of Psychological Change. Boston: Little, Brown & Company. pp. 78–79

Man’s Struggles of Fate by the Curse of Birth in Eugene ONeills A Lon

Man’s Struggles of Fate by the Curse of Birth in Eugene O'Neill's A Long Day's Journey into Night Eugene O’Neill’s A Long Day’s Journey into Night deals with tragedy and its attendant focus on character rather than plot. Another emphasis on the play is on the past that ceases to haunt his characters. O’Neill’s characters of A Long Day’s Journey into Night struggle with the past. These characters all seem to agree with Mary Tyrone who claims that a person â€Å"can’t help being what the past made him† (Baym 1313). The fact that a character can struggle with his or her past suggests that the past is something open to question, changeable, and perhaps even unknowable. Patricia Schroeder says â€Å"The past as it invades the present or as individual characters interpret it had little currency on the formally realistic stage† (Schroeder 30). O’Neill’s characters of A Long Day’s Journey into Night reveal the ongoing past gradually and continuously throughout the play. As one reads the play, he or she can see O’Neill deal with his own past through these characters. For Eugene O’Neill, there is only one real subject for drama: The subject here is the same ancient one that always and always will be the one subject for drama, and that is man’s struggle with his own fate. The struggle used to be with the gods, but it is now with himself, his own past. Implicit in this statement are a number of O’Neill’s fundamental principles in this play and his own life. O’Neill embeds principles of Greek tragedy within a naturalistic play and so fully realizes his lifelong goal of dramatizing â€Å"man and this struggle with †¦ himself, his own past† (Schroeder 30). In this play it is, indeed, the â€Å"struggle† to understand the formative past that s... ...less present of the Tyrones†. â€Å"O’Neill not only challenged the distinction between the past and present, he also broke down the barrier between stage and spectator that had been erected along with the proscenium arch†. The man’s struggle with self, fate and the past is a common theme among many modernist writers. Through O’Neill’s experimentation of eliciting an emotional response through his realistic settings and characters, we learn more about the â€Å"common man.† We all struggle with our pasts and our place in this world. At least through works like A Long Day’s Journey into Night we know that we are not alone in having a â€Å"dysfunctional† family with problems and conflicts. We all have problems, struggles and fears. These elements are just a part of life. Life is taking our past and learning from it so that we can live our present and prepare for a future.

Holy War Inc Book Review

In Peter Bergen’s Holy War, Inc, the reader is ushered through a head-spinning trip around the globe that serves to highlight the far-reaching effects of Al Qaeda, a terrorist organization that Bergen likens to a Multi-national holding company. While Bergen makes reference to similarities between the management of a Multi-national Corporation and that of al-Qaeda, it is seemingly not the primary focus of the book nor does it serve as a particularly suitable metaphor, especially in light of the events that have transpired since the book was released. Despite the title of the book, Bergen does a fine job setting a backdrop to the organization and illustrating how it operates in an increasingly technologically intertwined world system, as well as outlining factors contributed by the West. It seems there are few people on the planet who are as qualified as Peter Bergen to tackle as complex a task as explaining al-Qaeda to the masses. It is a feat he has clearly accomplished though, evidenced by the fact that the book became a New York Times best seller, was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2001 by The Washington Post, and has been translated into eighteen different languages. Bergen has traveled extensively through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to report on bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. In 1997 Bergen brought the Western world bin Laden's first television interview as a producer for CNN. It was in this interview that Western audiences first heard bin Laden’s declaration of war against the United States (1). Due to his extensive travel and research, Bergen displays an understanding and empathy, if not flat out admiration and sympathy for the Muslim struggle. He spends virtually no effort in further vilifying the terrorists, but concentrates rather on explaining the history and motivation behind the attacks with vocabulary that is, at times, nearly poetic. This ranges from the description of the â€Å"hopelessly brave warriors who†¦suffered so much for their faith† during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, to the moving experience of watching Muslim men at prayer. He reflects on how â€Å"the act of collective worship woven into the fabric of daily life is something we have almost entirely lost in the West (2). My personal favorite however, is his description of Pakistan during Ramadan where the â€Å"mornings were chilly, but by midday the sun had warmed the velvet breezes that blew the turning leaves off the trees† (3). Apart from the eloquence employed in his writing, it is still most surprising the great lengths Bergen went through to assemble a case of innocence for Khaled al-Fawwaz, the man who had first arranged CNN’s meeting with bin Laden and who was incidentally arrested by British authorities while Bergen was in London. Khaled is still being held in Britain fighting extradition to the U. S. for his involvement in the bombings of the two U. S. embassies in East Africa despite Bergen’s construct of innocence (4). Bergen does not excuse the terrorist acts performed by al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but certainly works to explain to the Western world the factors and policies that have contributed to their justification for violence. He is critical of the U. S. Government from the outset of the book where he examines U. S. ulpability for placing extremists in power and for providing an arsenal of weapons still employed by Afghan extremists today. During the brutal Afghan war, the U. S. provided political and financial support as well as stinger missiles (via the Pakistani government) to the Hizb party headed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Islamic extremist who â€Å"consistently placed the long-term goal of Islamic revolution over resistance to the Soviets†(5). Bergen identifies Ahmed Shah Massoud, a moderate Islamic general as having been a better choice of leaders, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. More importantly, Bergen seeks to establish the ignorance on which the United States’ policies have been formed. An Army Supervisor told Bergen that in his eight years in the Middle East that he had heard daily of how U. S. policy was â€Å"dead wrong†. Though these are not Bergen’s own words, it seems this is the overriding message he seeks to convey. He makes it abundantly clear that the Muslim world has not made war on our culture, but rather on our politics, particularly pertaining to the occupation of Saudi Arabia. He explains the fundamental difference between U. S. and Islamic thought: the concept of the ability to separate the sacred and secular. In a land where the â€Å"separation of church and state† is held as a value, it is difficult to conceive a system where politics and religion are one in the same. As difficult as it is for us to imagine policy being dictated by religion, it is equally as difficult for them to perceive an occupation as anything less than an attack directly on Islam itself. In fact, our policies are rarely grounded on moral principal, much less religion, unless there are first grounded in national interest. In the eyes of al-Qaeda, U. S. occupation of Saudi Arabia, a most holy place in the Islamic faith, is akin to â€Å"sending Jihad to the Vatican† (6). Every military move the West has made in light of the Saudi occupation only furthers the belief that the U. S. seeks to dominate the Muslim world. This includes military activity in Somalia and other predominantly Muslim countries in Africa, to the support of Israel, to the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. A little more than a year after this book was released, the U. S. and Saudi Arabia agreed that it was in both nations’ best interest for U. S. forces to leave the area. It does not seem, however, that this is having the effect on bin Laden that Bergen and U. S. policy makers had hoped for. According to the BBC's Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi, bin Laden will not be satisfied until all Muslim societies are â€Å"liberated from foreign troops and what they see as ungodly secular rulers† (7). Bergen further discourages American occupation by making note of Afghan history, marked by numerous foreign invasions that have consistently, and brutally been averted by Afghan warriors to the demise of their attackers. Bergen states that the â€Å"British came to realize that to occupy Afghanistan was to invite disaster (8)†, a sentiment echoed last year by Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal in his assessment of the Obama Administration’s goal to extract U. S. troops from Afghanistan. He states, â€Å"Nobody, throughout history, has ever succeeded in [conquering Afghanistan]. Go back to Alexandrian times and more recently to Soviet times. Afghanistan has always been the deathbed of invading armies. â€Å"(9). Support is given to these ideas rather than to the title, which I imagine was cooked up by Bergen’s publisher as a means to sell books to its target market, the capitalist West. There is no doubt that bin Laden and his family have been extraordinarily successful in their business ventures, funneling a great amount of the resulting wealth into terrorist organizations. To say, however, that al-Qaeda acts as a â€Å"multi-national holding company† is a stretch, at best. Bergen himself defines the structure of a holding company as â€Å"controlling partial or complete interests in other companies†(10). Even this limited definition does not seem to apply to al-Qaeda’s methods, but when the definition is extended out further, it seems to become even less applicable. A holding company provides a means of concentrating control of several companies with a minimum of investment and risk to the holding company. This would suggest that the product, which in this case would be varying brands of Jihad, are simply managed and controlled by al-Qaeda, when in fact they are the organization doing the exporting of a particular brand of Jihad. Bergen contradicts his own thesis in his discussion about the nature of the organization in regards to intelligence gathering. He states, â€Å"The bin Laden network is by contrast a loosely affiliated transnational group with a more diffuse organizational structure that makes it hard to penetrate†(11). Bin Laden knows business and has surely employed many of his organizational management skills to al-Quaeda, but that does not a business make. It is true that al-Quaeda is â€Å"as globally minded as any other national company† (12) and has attracted a â€Å"polyglot† of followers (a word Bergen employs multiple times) but what this really speaks to his observation that â€Å"bin Laden’s organization†¦is as much a creation of globalization as a response to it† (13). Bergen acknowledges that umma the world community of Muslims, is a value long held by the Islamic faith. Globalization has simply shored up that value. If al-Quaeda were the top-down corporation that Bergen suggests, it would be a machine whose components could be easily disabled. In 2009, Bergen gave testimony before the U. S. house of representatives that â€Å"Al Qaeda has sustained and can continue to sustain enormous blows that would put other organizations out of business because the members of the group firmly believe that they are doing God's work and tactical setbacks do not matter in the short run. 14)† Perhaps the organization is approaching the point that Bergen predicted in the closing of the book, where our victory in the war on terror is defined by a reversion of terrorist threats similar to the â€Å"status-quo of pre-9/11, where terrorism was an irritant for American Policy Makers, but not the major national security concern†(15). Or perhaps as he suggests it is â€Å"devolving into local franchises† (16), though it seems this metaphor would have be en more fitting from the beginning. In fact, in Bergen’s Senate testimony he says of the organization: Indeed, it is my assessment that the al Qaeda organization today no longer poses a direct national security threat to the United States itself, but rather poses a second-order threat in which the worst case scenario would be an al Qaeda- trained or -inspired terrorist managing to pull off an attack on the scale of something in between the 1993 Trade Center attack, which killed six, and the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, which killed 168. While this, of course, would be tragic, it would not constitute a mass casualty attack sufficiently large in scale to reorient American national security policy completely as the 9/11 attacks did (17). This suggests al-Quaeda as something less of a franchise but rather more of an inspiring business model. While there are still terrorists who have been directly trained by al-Qaeda, or employees if you will, the preeminent threat stems from those who are inspired by the group’s successes. To carry the corporate metaphor out further, these are the people who decide to open their own shoe store after learning about the successes of Nordstrom. I would most certainly suggest this book to others, particularly Americans who tend to be apathetic toward foreign policy. A move toward understanding the collective psychology of the group is infinitely more productive that blind defiance. It is a superbly written book especially in light of the intertwined cast of characters who were often difficult to keep track of, given their travel in and out of regions and with lengthy names consisting of strings of consonants unfamiliar to the English-speaking world. It would be difficult to put these globe-trotting, name-dropping narratives could together in any less complicated manner though, unless one were to rename individuals such as â€Å"Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman† as â€Å"Abe† for instance, but I suppose that would wholly undermine the book’s authenticity. When certain individuals reemerge in the plot, Bergen is often kind enough to remind the reader that of where they had first appeared, such as the case of Ramzi Yousef who was mentioned briefly in two chapters. Bergen reminds that reader that he was the fellow who had an early mishap with some explosives he was experimenting with, resulting in smoke pouring from his Manila apartment (18). Given all the Arab names in the book, the Oh-I-remember-that-guy-now tactic proves rather helpful. Bergen leaves the reader with quite a lot to chew on and digest in regards to foreign policy and trade by expressing a liberally optimistic worldview. Any hope seems to lie in closing the gap of ignorance in the West toward Islam as well as the Islamic world’s blissful denial of the damage done to the West by Islamic radicalism. For instance, the results of the poll of Muslim countries cited by Bergen found that the U. S. attacks on Afghanistan were perceived as unjustified. It was a bit more revealing that the same poll showed that the terror attacks on the U. S. were perceived as equally unjustified and that 61 percent did not even believe that Arab terrorists carried out the 9/11 attacks (19). Bergen seems confident though that the Democratic Islamic Movement holds potential stating that, â€Å"any number of political models are possible in an Islamic environment† (20) and that as long as governments are stabilized, extremism will hold less appeal. I don’t know that Bergen would have written this book has he thought the West could not have a positive role in creating that stabilization. He admonishes the U. S. government and Middle Eastern countries for working in cooperation against al-Quaeda and for establishing trade policies that benefit unstable regions. This type of cooperation is paramount in his view. Bergen closes along the real thesis of the book, which has nothing to do with terrorism as a multinational corporation, and everything to do with explaining Muslim sensibilities and how deeply the U. S. continues to offend them. His exhortation is for the U. S. to behave in a manner that looks toward peace rather than ignorantly and haughtily labeling the entire region as an â€Å"axis of evil†. Readers of this book will hopefully walk away with an understanding of the motivation behind al-Quaeda as well as our own national propensity toward the pride that has motivated unthinkable offenses toward the Muslim people. Bibliography (1) â€Å"Biography. † PeterBergen. com. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . (2) Bergen, Peter. Holy War, Inc. . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002. p. 153. (3) Holy War, Inc. p. 150. (4) â€Å"US Most Wanted Terrorist Suspect in New Extradition Fight in Britain – Telegraph. † Telegraph. co. uk: News, Business, Sport, the Daily Telegraph Newspaper, Sunday Telegraph – Telegraph. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . (5) Holy War, Inc. p. 72. (6) Holy War, Inc. p. 101. (7) â€Å"BBC NEWS | Middle East | US Pulls out of Saudi Arabia. † BBC NEWS | News Front Page. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. . (8) Holy War, Inc. p. 53. Bibliography (Cont. ) (9) â€Å"Cornell Chronicle: Saudi Prince on U. S. -Saudi Relations. † Cornell Chronicle Online. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. http://www. news. cornell. edu/stories/April09/PrinceTurkiCover. gl. html (10) Holy War, Inc. p. 32. (11) Holy War, Inc. p. 120. (12) Holy War, Inc. p. 83. (13) Holy War, Inc. p. 200. (14) â€Å"Articles – Congressional Testimony: Reassessing the Evolving Al Qaeda Threat to the Homeland. † PeterBergen. com. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . (15) Holy War, Inc. p. 245. 16) Holy War, Inc. p. 238. Bibliography (Cont. ) (17) â€Å"Articles – Congressional Testimony: Reassessing the Evolving Al Qaeda Threat to the Homeland. † PeterBergen. com. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . (18) Holy War, Inc. p. 222. (19) Holy War, Inc. p. 227. (20) Holy War, Inc. p. 238. http://www. peterbergen. com/articles/details. aspx? id=411 Cornell University, Chronicle Online. April 24, 2009. Saudi Prince Hopes Obama Wi ll End Region's conflicts. George Lowery http://www. news. cornell. edu/stories/April09/PrinceTurkiCover. gl. html 2

Working as a Team

1. Introduction People form teams to accomplish a shard goal or task and have done so since the beginning of human history. For instance, cavemen building a fire together, students working on a group project, or basketball players playing on the same team, the need for teamwork is becoming greater. Parker (2011) suggests that teamwork is essential for business organizations to achieve success. Nowadays, working efficiently with others in a team is a key skill in order to survive in the competitive world of work.In any global business, certain skills and strategies are needed to incorporate into developing teams to maintain effective outcomes. The range of skills includes motivation, conflict management and team goals. This essay will examine the three mentioned aspects of teamwork that would prepare a person to work effectively in a team environment, supported by two real world examples for each aspect to show how individuals in organizations work successfully as active team players. 2. Body Firstly, motivation is an essential element in team-based workplaces.Workers are not mechanism, when they are asked to do the same tasks repeatedly, they will easily lose their interest or passion for their jobs. Consequently, a good way to keep team members’ passion is to motivate them. Motivation theory is one of the most vital theories in Human Resource Management. Armstrong (2001, p. 155) explains the motivation theory is applicable in organizations where they motivate their team members to utilize their skills and knowledge. This would aid at surpassing the organizations' goals and improve the capability to provide better for their teams.According to a research conducted by Macky and Johnson (2003, p. 82), the result shows that when teams are provided with a satisfactory workplace reflecting each personal necessity and requirement, instead of a higher wage or bonus, members are motivated to work harder and more efficiently. This indicates that using beneficial m otivators is becoming more important in nowadays business. In the operation of organizations, examples show motivation plays an important role in achieving success. Howard Schultz, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Google Inc. hich is based in California, considers that the success of the company is to put their employees as the first priority in its offices. According to the official website of Google (2011), the company offers a great range of benefits, including dining facilities, aerobics studios, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, car wash service and more. He firmly believes that â€Å"appreciation is the best motivation†, by providing a fun and inspiring workspace, team members are able to work in a positive atmosphere.This means team partners can motivate each other to satisfy their own needs, thus a greater opportunity to offer a higher level of performance (Google, 2011). Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks, an international coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, U SA, applies the same principle that employees matter just as much as products do. Michelli (2008) states that Starbucks provides a variety of welfare measures for the Starbucks teams, for instance, accommodation discounts, medical insurance, and vacations.This shows when the company satisfies team members’ needs, they are encouraged to work towards the same goal and strive for the best for the company. From these two examples, it is clear that therefore motivation can lead team members to provide higher quality of work and increase the profit of the company. Secondly, conflict management is a vital aspect in a high-performance team. Conflict is defined as â€Å"the perceived difference between two or more parties resulting in mutual opposition† (Bartol et al, 2008, p. 24). Conflicts are inevitable as different members in teams have different opinions and methods to show their variations (Engleberg, Wynn, 2006, p. 147). Some of the major causes of conflicts are arise fr om the oppose perspective of members’ desire, goals, values and beliefs (DeJanasz, Dowd, Schneifer, 2001, p. 243). Conflicts and arguments in teams can rise negative feelings among members such as ‘lost sight of team goal’, these feelings may lead to failure in achieving effective outcomes (Engleberg, Wynn, 2006, p. 48). Therefore, it is important for team members to recognize the effective strategies in dealing with conflicts in order to minimize fighting and hostility. With proper conflict management, workers are able to work productively as a team where differentiality are accepted (Boone, Kurtz, 2010, p. 2). This shows development of conflict management techniques is essential in contemporary business. In any team-based workplace, correct conflict management can enhance the success of organizations can achieve.The CEO of a Houston-based Birkman International Company, Richard Goldman introduced a policy where his team of employees need to attend compulsive com munication classes every week in attempt to reduce conflicts arise from misunderstanding when they communicate (Tallia et al, 2006). Goldman considers that overcoming communication barriers can provide outstanding insights with team members’ thoughts and act (Tallia et al, 2006). This suggests that team members are allowed to work more practically together when conflicts are handled and solved with efficient management skills.Another example is McDonald’s, the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurant located internationally. The CEO James A. Skinner believes that by offering training programs, such as McDonald’s Management Development Program, managers can build a fully understanding of the company’s policy and the basic skills of manager when working with other people in the McDonald’s Crew (McDonald’s, 2011). This enables mangers to deliver a better management performance when dealing with conflicts. As a result, staff can crea te a harmony team environment and maintain effective achievement.The above two examples indicates that conflict management is crucial in the success of organizations. Lastly, leadership is vital in team-oriented workplaces. Ivancevich & Matteson (2002, p. 45) define team leadership as â€Å"the process of influencing others to facilitate the attainment of organizationally relevant goals†. Leadership is important as it has been addressed as essential to achievement in teams(Gill, 2006, p. 1). A team leader with distinct leadership skills are able to help members to further the achievement of success.Good leadership skills include clear vision, the ability to spot the difference between team members, bring the team together to work towards the same goal and more (Armstrong, 2009, p. 36). All of these bring positive outcomes in teams. As a result, in nowadays organizations, leadership is one of the most vital aspect to be considered. The positive outcomes that team-based organiz ations achieve are visible. Carol Baines took over the Baines Company after the death of her husband, the previous owner of the company.She spent her time in the company to familiarize herself with the staff and operations of the company. She then analyzed the company’s situation and set a powerful set of term goals for the company. With her determined vision and remarkable leadership skill, she created a ‘family-like atmosphere’ for team members to work in. Members saw the clear goal of the company, thus significant success was achieved by the company (Northouse, 2010, p. 30). Another good leader is Steve Jobs, the CEO of America-based electronic company, Apple, Inc.. His good leadership skills have effectively bring success to the company.His quest for perfection has motivated his team to perform their best work quality. These two example makes it clear that leadership makes a huge different in maintaining effective outcomes of organizations. Conclusion To conc lude, this essay has examined three aspects of teamwork that are essential when working effectively with other people in business organizations, namely motivation, conflict management and team goals. It has also provided with real life examples that showed how organizations can incorporate numbers of skills and strategies to create the right team environment.First of all, motivation can create a positive team environment for team members to work effectively together. In addition, proper conflict management can reduce arguments and fights between team members in order to maintain efficient outcomes in organizations. Finally, leadership . Good teamwork certainly is beneficial in the operation of organizations and has become an important aspect to be considered. As s result, organizations should be aware of those aspects and utilize the ability of teams.