Developing Corporate Entrepreneurship

Developing Corporate Entrepreneurship Introduction Todays economy is experiencing its ups and downs very quickly: rising competitiveness and fast changing technologies create pressure to the companies that want to stay at the top of their markets. This is not going to slow down, so the need for tools of success is arising. At the same time we are moving away from the Morris and Kuratko (2002) belief that entrepreneurs are born, not made. That is why the wanting, believing, hoping, planning must be followed by doing. As already Confucius said: When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, dont adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. It is time for action and one form of it that suits different businesses nowadays is Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE). As it was stated by Sharma and Chrisman (1999), corporate entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or group of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new organization or instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. There are lots of definitions for CE nowadays, but all of them do not change the fact that CE is a tool for differentiation and competitive advantage in todays economy. In order to make a go of this phenomenon, organizations have to develop their strategies how to implement the entrepreneurial spirit in the everyday practices. In this way corporate entrepreneurship spontaneous or induced by the company itself will be not rare and unexpected, but in contrary, become a tool of overcoming inside issues, as well as external pressures. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management A lot of researches, studies were conducted in order to discover the inevitable truth that CE positively affects the performance of a company: it creates competitive advantages, helps to differentiate, adapt to new or quickly changing markets, and deal with external and internal challenges. As CE is seen as a multifaceted tool, the intensity of CE in an organization can be described by five different dimensions identified in a meta-analysis by Saly (2001): innovativeness, risk propensity, proactiveness, corporate venturing and self-renewal. When creating an organizational structure, as well as inside culture, these dimensions should be a scale measuring the future success of a company. Dealing with the globalization and fast moving changes, a company must take risks, be proactive and strive for innovation. Nurturing these traits, adapting to the environment (self-renewal) and fostering creation of something valuable that generates returns are CE key success factors in the economy of today. Of course no CE can be fostered without Human Capital (HC). In order to become an innovative, entrepreneurial organization needs the knowledge, skills, experience the HC can provide. This is why HC should be one of the most important and valuable assets for every organization. Investing in HC should be a first step towards building and encouraging the entrepreneurial direction of the overall company. As from the employee-organization relations (EOR) literature (Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002), the strongest influencers of employee affect are the organizations leaders. Their Human Recourse Management (HRM) practices can valuably contribute to effective enhancement of CE. Different HRM techniques can create a suitable inside culture for an organization to become innovative, flexible and more entrepreneurial. Each HRM practice can be addressed to different employee characteristics and in this way design the employee-organization relationships towards a collective entrepreneurial collaboration. Therefore EOR strengthened with HRM practice can become an efficient tool for creating a collective entrepreneurial atmosphere inside any organization. As organizations nowadays become living entities, diving into the trend of organizational learning, there is less fear that it will develop a strategy and become stagnant. That is why the HRM practices also evolve during the life of a company. Introducing new projects, renewal of the staff with different KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) needed at the time, allocating resources needed for development and inside learning all this organizational support is now more a necessity than luxury. So, understanding that without a learning attitude and readiness to change according the situation, any HRM practices will not be able to influence the companys corporate entrepreneurship level, is vital. Following the idea of George Bernard Shaw: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. HRM practices fostering CE inside the company HRM practices should be an important driver of CE because it involves organizational learning driven by collaboration, creativity, and individual commitment (Kaya, 2006). To foster CE in a company the first task is the set up of internal culture and environment (studies show there have to be available resources, management support and a reliable organizational structure right at the beginning in order for a company could start entrepreneurial activities). Following different studies conducted on the topic of CE and HRM practices, how to establish a suitable internal environment for intrapreneurship seems to be based on these organizational arrangements/managerial tools: Staff selection the objective of staff selection is to form an appropriate resource base of HC to foster entrepreneurial activity. As the HC of any company is one of the most important facilitators of CE, selective hiring can be a tool for influencing the CE level. The selection criteria should fit the organizations culture, be in line with the CE dimensions and reflect the needs of the company. During the process of selecting staff it is beneficial to think about the skills needed in the industry the company operates, how the employees could work together and create a brain trust. Emphasizing the team spirit is very important, because the prominence of collective entrepreneurship is growing. New members should have new ideas and complement the staff by being different and experts of their own sphere. New management staff should have relevant KSAOs, be creative, strive for action and be supportive. Finally, a possibility to grow in ones own career should also be seen during this process, because it will serve as a motivation tool and foster better environment in the company. Management support the positive attitude as well as encouragement of the higher hierarchy levels of the company for generating and developing new business ideas. Management support is important because it indicates the willingness of the managers to facilitate, promote and institutionalize the entrepreneurial spirit and activity within the organizations system and processes (Hornsby et al., 2002) which would encourage the intrapreneurs to engage in innovative projects. If the organization provides support and some autonomy it can then count on the commitment coming from employees. Still coordinating the use of resources, contributing to the fulfillment of the separate individual suggestions or efforts will end up with an increase of overall efficiency. Management support for problem solving and conflict resolution in the intrapreneurship process is required in the idea generation, development, and particularly implementation (execution) stages of the ideas (Damanpour, 1991). This will positively influence a corporations entrepreneurial behavior and enhance potential intrapreneurs perceived trustworthiness to their corporations in terms of detecting opportunities and willingness to develop novel or useful ideas, and/ or projects, and to take risks to actualize them (Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990). Internal supportive environment, tolerance for risk taking to their intrapreneurs, and a high quality HC will contribute to the innovative performance. Companys 3M approach could be taken as an illustration of the management support importance. This firm understood and experienced that capable and motivated employees can turn the company into a profitable, innovative and successful organization. That is why the management was trying to create an environment that supports individual entrepreneurship: a climate that stimulates ordinary people to produce extraordinary performances. Allocation of free time provision of sufficient time to work on developing novelties without any burden of routine workload. Delivery of free time inevitably encourages employees to take risks for putting their novel ideas into practice. When given time for convincing the management level about your project success, employees are not so distracted from their main duties and usually show more commitment towards the company. But this creates a necessity for additional control that the allocated free time would be used for purposes that benefit both sides. Here it comes out that before any significant changes there is a need of HRM practices that boost mutual understanding, better ties between employees and the organization, and make sure their values and visions are on the same path. Organizational structure should be convenient concerning decentralization level or decision-making autonomy. Employees should have the opportunity to express and suggest their ideas easily. The suitable decentralization level differs among every company, but it is a tool to become more flexible, innovative, and active suit the dimensions of CE. If organization provides autonomy for employees who actually carry out the work, this will stimulate their commitment to act in the best way for the company. Having a balanced relationship between autonomy and discipline creates an environment where employees can act, take weighted risks and innovate towards successful outcomes of the company. Companies that are becoming rigid really slow down all the innovative processes as well as cannot implement all of the possible improvements. When thinking about new ventures, projects in order to boost the competitive advantage and profitability of the company it is important they fit the organization in terms of context and organizational structure. There is a possibility to foster integrated or separate CE. For better understanding of the importance of these practices some companies can be taken as an example. Analyzing the case of the company Polaroid, one can see that the impact of bureaucracy, biases and downsizing was a big obstacle for nurturing inside entrepreneurship. The company was big-sized and stagnant, becoming a market follower. The entrepreneur in this company (Joline Godfrey) experienced difficulties to introduce her project because of the hard-to-reach attention of the managers, not flexible organization culture. The inside culture was also not women-friendly and did not show enough interest in projects that were not fully in the area the company operated. In such cases, when an organization becomes rigid, does not answer market needs mostly because of the compilation, slow processes CE must be fostered and implemented. One of the first steps should be an entrepreneurial-oriented structure that allocates the power of decision making not to the higher level employers, but takes into account the employees who know the most about the projects being undertaken. In the case of Lucent (a telecommunication equipment manufacturer), their New Venture Group formed a separate organizational entity. This entity was operating as a base of research for new opportunities, products, and businesses. Being separate has its advantages, because in this way the formed CE device does not suffer from the bureaucratic rules of the parent company, still can use the support needed, creates its own inside environment and culture that can foster CE more easily. That is why, when forming new entrepreneurial project each company has to evaluate its fit in the organization. Usually small projects are of better use inside the company: they can be accessible for all employees, motivate them to work on their projects too, but at the same time not to be too distracted from the mainstream of the company. An example of such an approach would be the case of the company Ohio Bell. The program ENTER-PRIZE (Excellence Through Employee Innovation) was designed in order to support, reward the employees who had ideas how to cut operating costs or generate revenues. This program was an implemented cultural change of the Ohio Bell company. Being nurtured inside the company and connected with all employees, this project had the best place inside the company, fitting the mainstream operations and concept. Fostering innovative ideas, this program was also a good example of the power of rewards towards CE growth. Incentives and rewards availability of a performance based reward system encouraging innovativeness is a way to foster entrepreneurship among employees. If the management tries to convince the employees to act like intrapreneurs, it must also be willing to pay them as entrepreneurs (Thornberry, 2003). Having trust in the rewarding system boosts the employee commitment, willingness to take risks and reveal the projects that could benefit both sides. A reward system that is based on achievements in innovation projects, may lead the brightest and most ambitious players to avoid innovation projects with uncertain outcomes. Building a reward system shows a positive attitude towards the employees and can significantly increase their motivation to benefit the organization. It is important to see the reward practices as a long-term thing, make resources available and not punish the employees straight after the first failure of an entrepreneurial project. Failure or errors tolerance in case of creative undertakings or risky project implementations. Such showed tolerance together with managerial support is a strong tool creating positive environment for CE. A conservative managerial attitude will block the willingness to innovate and cause lack of confidence of the employees. In order to overcome the possible frustration, organization should support the HC even during failures and continue investing in the projects that have high potential. Taking failures as an inevitable step towards success will help to maintain the level of confidence for further innovations and profitable ideas. Of course, in order not to lose control and take healthy risks, companys should build an organizational mechanism to decide which innovation projects are likely to bear fruits and which should be cast aside without having trial-errors. For example, a well known company 3M implemented a more disciplined approach to defining, selecting and funding projects. Instead of running 100 of them as earlier, the process shifted to 12 projects from which 10 are expected to be successful. In this way companies are more oriented, quickly reacting and can create true competitive advantages through expedient CE. Training and development appropriate abilities can be acquired through training and development strongest results towards boosting CE. Training can overcome the factors that decrease employees job performance and satisfaction. Staff development seen as activities that increase employees qualifications and performance at all hierarchical levels through education, career management, and work structure. All these practices can promote entrepreneurial behavior and improve the environment in the company. Training programs should be oriented towards building useful CE skills, fostering the dimensions of it inside the company: change acceptance, willingness to take risks, assume responsibility, and the value of teamwork and shared achievements. Training activities that enforce interpersonal skills should be fostered. Also training that supports creativity will strengthen innovativeness and potentially strengthen self-renewal and new business development. Finally, training on how to transf er new ideas into business will lead to higher intensity for risk propensity and proactiveness. For effective training, programs should fit the companys strategy and work process. To unfold their full effect on CE, expert knowledge, social competence, creativity, and methodical expertise are especially important to be considered. Specialist assignment specialists can anticipate and estimate specific problems earlier and thus identify needs for modifications more quickly. As CE is more often seen as a collective process, instead of putting the emphasis on one individual, firms must encourage cooperation among specialists to increase successful innovation processes. This is stressed because as environment impacts on organizational behaviors it is also seen in change of relationships between employees and employer or managers inside the organization. In order to become competitive and innovative, firms have to adopt new strategies, as well as different employee-organization relationship (EOR) patterns. The importance of this is significantly growing, because corporate entrepreneurship involves not only product innovation, risk taking or proactive responses to environmental forces, but also organizational learning, driven by collaboration and commitment. Here the collaboration of specialists could be seen as a link between employees, managers and their potential to foster corporate entrepreneurship together. As it can be observed in the Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI), a company that confronted financial and inside environment problems with a program called Change Agent Program, managerial support, concentrated staff selection and employee training and development are the tools that foster corporate entrepreneurship spirit and help to overcome the downturn a company can experience. The Change Agent program looked to replace Siemens Nixdorfs rigid corporate hierarchy with a more flexible and entrepreneurial attitude that would be more responsive to market demands. The company operated in a very competitive European market, was undermanaged and over consulted. As the employees at SNI experienced restructuring at the company during the early 1990s and four years of losses, the inside culture was far away from a company one could call innovative and lead thinking (as the ones operating in IT industry in US). The program though was focused on employees, emphasizing the importance of the people at the company and expanding the opportunities open to them. The goal of the 13 week program was to build an understanding of business fundamentals and business change along three dimensions: customer, competitiveness and culture. It combined presentations, discussions, workshops, case studies, best practice site visits, internships, and coach research. An important goal was to provide participants with new perspectives about their projects and give them the know-how to implement them upon return to the company. The programs aimed to have the sponsors (each member had two of them) provide leadership, guidance and support in order to help them achieve their project goals. This is also an example that specialists assistance is a tool fostering corporate entrepreneurship and improving the employees input. It was also aiming to help find innovative ways to approach and implement their projects. Each participant of the program had a project drawn from the area that concludes the most important challenges the company faces which were fostered by the program and implemented upon the employees return to SNI. Although the 21 Change Agents had varying degrees of success, it was clear that they played a role in driving SNI to profitability in the 1994 1995 fiscal year (for the first time in the companys history). That was reflected in the decision by the SNI Executive Board to perpetuate the Program on an annual basis. Such training and development programs foster collective and individual entrepreneurship inside the company. This example shows how important it is that such tools would fit the aim and strategy of the whole company. By addressing the right problems, training the right people (at SNI they were thoroughly selected) this training program helped the company to enhance the communication within the company, improve its international operations, flexibility and determine new possible directions. The employees felt the more entrepreneurial spirit of the companys culture and were able to channel their enthusiasm for changes and revitalization, feel more responsibility, and support what opened the ways for their projects. Conclusions Having the goal of being visible, active in todays global economy requires established companies to become more and more entrepreneurial in order to handle uncertainty and environmental dynamism. As the importance of CE is growing, more scholars are interested to define the specific tools that help to create and benefit from the CE inside the company. Different studies provide positive relationships between HRM practices and CE. As knowing the importance of qualified HC, so the management practices become a source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations. CE-related HR practices are unique to the extent that competitors cannot imitate them. Nevertheless the support from HR practices must be in line with that particular organizational culture and consistent with what is needed from employees. Considering the combined effects of all the OS factors, managerial support and tolerance for risk taking have still exerted significant effects on innovativeness. That is why firms should invest to build such an organizational environment where first, support and tolerance exist to a large extent. On the other side, organizations should spend more time on recruiting and training managers to be supportive and hold a philosophy that failure is a stepping-stone to success. As seen, HRM practices play a significant role in fostering and maintaining high levels of CE. Having a CE-friendly environment, companies should focus on the HRM practices of staff selection, staff development and training, and staff rewards that align employee motivation and entrepreneurial firm development. These practices show the highest correlation with innovative outcomes and positive CE results. Learning from the previously discussed real life examples it is obvious that CE is a complex phenomena to handle for different organizations. But the conclusion, that corporate entrepreneurship is a success factor in todays dense economy, stays the same. In order to foster the entrepreneurial culture inside the company it is important to maintain the focus on all possible sources and adapt the HRM practices to use them beneficially. LITERATURE: Employee-organization relationship in collective entrepreneurship: an overview. Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano,   David Urbano.   Journal of Organizational Change Management.  Bradford:2010.   Vol. 23,   Iss. 4,   p. 349-359 Boosting corporate entrepreneurship through HRM practices: Evidence from German SMEs. Ralf Schmelter,   RenÈ Mauer,   Christiane Bˆ rsch,   Malte Brettel.   Human Resource Management.  Hoboken:Jul/Aug 2010.   Vol. 49,   Iss. 4,   p. Organizational support for intrapreneurship and its interaction with HC to enhance innovative performance. Lutfihak Alpkan,   Cagri Bulut,   Gurhan Gunday,   Gunduz Ulusoy,   Kemal Kilic.   Management Decision.   London:2010.   Vol. 48,   Iss. 5,   p. 732-755 L.A. Hill, N.A. Kamprath and M.B. Conrad (1992), Joline Godfrey and the Polaroid Corporation (A), Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 492à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 037. Chesbrough, H.W. and Massaro, A. (2001) Lucent Technologies: The Future of the New entures Group, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 601à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 102 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 19. Bartlett, C.A. and Mohammed, A. (1995) 3M: Profile of an innovating company, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 395à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 016 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 20. Kanter, R.M., McGuire, J.F. and Mohammed, A. (1997) The Change Agent Program at Siemens Nixdorf, Harvard Business School Case, 9à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 396à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 203 : 1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 17.

Pressure Relief Valves :: essays research papers

PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES Chemical Engineering Lab I Question: Discuss the importance of Relief Valves in the unit operations in detail, and give the design criteria/ parameters/ models available equations in the literature. Support your work by giving a typical example from the literature. INTRODUCTION Since the inception of pressurized systems to produce and transmit energy, it has been a constant goal to find safe, dependable means of relieving pressure. The simple, inexpensive, spring loaded relief valves has been manufactured for over a hundred and fifty years, performing its job with varying degrees of reliability over that time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Unites States alone, boiler explosions caused a significant loss of life reaching a peak with 400 such explosions in 1904. With the adoption of the ASME Pressure and Vessel Code in 1911, boiler explosions declined to where, after 1973 they are non-existent. Over the same period, operating pressures for most systems were increased, in the case of boiler pressures increases were from 200 to 3000 psi and above. Pressure relief valves are used to safely contain pressurized gases and liquids. Throughout the years there has been an increased demand for safety in industrial and other related operating practices. These valves are one of the many devices that have been created in conjunction with standardized design and operating practices, for the provision of this very protection. In the past, vessels that now would obviously require relief valves were heated often resulting in drastic increase in pressure within the vessel. This resulted in an extremely dangerous outcome physically for all the parties involved. Pressure valves may be classified into two main categories namely reclosing and non-reclosing. Reclosing devices are the more common of these two groups. They are designed in such a manner that they reclose securely once safe pressure levels have been restored. The second type, the non-reclosing pressure valve, does not reclose nor vent all the fluid built up, for example fusible plugs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pressure relief valves are relatively simple pieces of equipment. The operation of these devices involves a spring-loaded disk resting on a seat. When the pressure is low the force on the disk is less than the spring force on the disk and the valve remains closed. The pressure force increases causing a drop in the force that seals the disk on the seat. Once the valve is raised a larger disk area is available for the fluid to flow through providing a lifting force which is directly correlated.

The Art of Leadership Essay -- Papers Leading Personality Essays Paper

The Art of Leadership What is leadership? Leadership is having the ability to give guidance to those that will follow. Those that follow will help to complete the mission. Leadership is an immature science and the body of knowledge in the field has developed through a series of fits and starts. Leadership is a soft science, just as anthropology, sociology and psychology. It cannot be proven exactly what it is. Leadership is an art; the skillful application of leadership behaviors beyond techniques is much the same as the skillful application of brushstrokes by a master painter. Leadership is both rational and emotional. Some people take several years and even several classes and still can’t quite be a good leader. I even took a test, which more or less states that I need to relax and calm down. The test covers several different areas ranging from personality quirks to communication and even how I prefer to handle conflicts. Introduction This paper will be discussing several areas that were examined through the test on leadership and personality that was taken by the author. Some of the major points that will be discussed are how the author rates himself against others on his team or in his group. A couple of other major points that will be touched on are conflict management and communication skills. Also, the author will be covering some of his ideas on leadership and whether or not any one individual can perfect it. The author has quite a bit of experience in these areas and conveyed some of his ideas in this paper. Strategy Leadership is a social process shared among all members of a group. Leadership development comes t... ...e people to totally change their way of doing things but if there are some problems, I hope those individuals were able to pull some ideas out of this in the long run. Conclusion While writing this paper I concluded several different things about leadership. Most people are very mistaken when it comes to the topic of leadership. It is a common belief that everyone has the potential to be a good leader, which is not true. This is proven time and time again by people who try to start their own business and it goes under in one or two years because they don’t know how to get the most out of their employees and keep them happy at the same time. In the end, a leader will always accomplish the mission and never fail his subordinates. Bibliography: 1. Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice. Hall, 2000.

The Culture of Cola: Social and Economic Aspects of a West African Domesticate :: Botany

The Culture of Cola: Social and Economic Aspects of a West African Domesticate The area of study known as "economic botany" is a wide-ranging one, but is most often concerned with the relationship between humans and the plants they utilize for food and medicine and raw materials for shelter, tools and other material needs. Less often mentioned, although not entirely neglected, are those plants that may be seen primarily as being of less obvious and direct material benefit to the people who use them. The nut of the cola tree provides an example of such a plant product, one of limited nutritional or material use, but being of very great social importance. Among the various cultures using it, the cola nut plays important cultural roles in virtually every aspect of life, from birth to death. The cola tree belongs to the Sterculiaceae family and is indigenous to West Africa, especially the nations of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, but is found eastward to Gabon and the Congo River Basin. The genus Cola is comprised of about forty species, but the most commonly used are Cola verticillata, C. anomala and C. nitida, with the latter two being of the greatest economic importance (Lovejoy, 1980). Cola is related to the cacao tree, but is taller (up to 30-40 feet), and has smooth bark with longitudinal cracks and dense foliage with large, leathery oblongate leaves alternate on large petioles. It has small cup-shaped flowers borne in clusters on short pedicels in the leaf axils. Both male and hermaphroditic flowers are found, although the latter are functionally female since the anthers are not pollen-shedding. The fruits are borne on young branches and form a star-shaped cluster of pods, usually numbering five, with each follicle bearing 4-10 chestnut-sized seed s. C. nitida is dicotyledonous, while C. acuminata has more than two cotyledons, and may have six or more (McIlroy, 1963). Traditionally, the nut is used as a masticatory in a manner similar to that of betel-nut. Its popularity is due to the large amounts of caffeine and smaller amounts of theobromine, kolatin and glucose it contains, all of which act as stimulants and may be mildly addictive (Lovejoy, 1980). Its stimulant effect also makes it useful as an appetite suppressant, and it was often used as "iron rations" for armies on the march, allowing large distances to be traveled while carrying a minimum of food (Sundstrom, 1966).

B-Tec Sport Risk Factors

Figure 1: Head injuries (e.g. concussion, unconsciousness), spinal injuries, simple and compound fractures, joint injuries (e.g. dislocations, tennis and golf elbow, torn cartilage, twisted ankle), soft tissue, cuts, grazes and blisters, dehydration and hypothermia. Risk Factor Sporting Situation Most likely injury to occur Impact of injury on successful sports performance Short term Effects Long term Effects Lack of warm-up Football Pulled muscles e.g. pulled hamstring, pulled quadriceps etc†¦ The short term affect of a lack of warm up is that it you could pull your muscles. The time that you are out of action for will depend on the extent of the injury. The normal period of time that you will be out for with pulled muscles is 2-3 weeks. The long term affects of a lack of warm up is that it could take longer for you to recover from any injuries that you might have. A constant lack of warm up will result in you being out of action for a longer period when you are injured in the future. Lack of cool down Football Cramp The short term affect of a lack of cool down is that it can cause a build up of lactic acid which will lead to cramp. To prevent this, all you need to do is do a short cool down at the end of each physical activity e.g. light jog around the playing area. The long term affects of a lack of cool down is that you will be required to warm up more than usual to loosen up any tight muscles before participating in any future physical activities. Constant lack of cool down may cause you to get cramp persistently. Poor physical fitness/physique Football Pulled muscles e.g. calf strain, pulled quadriceps The short term affect of poor physical fitness and a poor physique is that it will cause pulled muscles. To prevent this, all that is required is for you to stay in shape by doing regular exercise. The exercise does not have to be done at a high intensity level as long as you exercise regularly. The long term affects of poor physical fitness and a poor physique is that it will take you longer to recover from injuries. For example if you get a hamstring injury, it will normally take you two weeks to recover from it. However, if you have poor physical fitness and a poor physique, it might take you 3-4 weeks. Risk Factor Sporting Situation Most likely injury to occur Impact of injury on successful sports performance Short term Effects Long term Effects Inadequate diet Boxing Back strain, dehydration, unconsciousness. The short term affect of having an inadequate diet is that can cause injury. Carrying extra weight can cause you to get a back strain. It can also cause you to perform poorly. Sports stars especially boxers need to have a good diet consisting of carbohydrates, calcium, fats (not too much), fibre, minerals, proteins and vitamins. The long term affects of having an inadequate diet is that it can limit the amount of time that you are involved in sport at the highest level. If you eat too much fatty foods it will lead to weight gain, which will then be harder to get rid of as you get older. Over dehydrating can also cause you to fall unconscious. This can be a big risk to your general health. Misuse of alcohol & drugs Boxing Unconsciousness, drowsiness, dehydration etc†¦ The short term affect of misuse of alcohol and drugs is that it can cause drowsiness and dehydration. Too much alcohol and drugs could even lead to you fainting. There are not many negative short term affects of taking performance enhancing drugs. However, there are negative long term affects. For misuse of alcohol and drugs. The long term affects of misuse of alcohol and drugs are that it can cause permanent damage to organs in the body which can affect performance in sport. Too much alcohol can cause damage to the liver which can make it difficult for the athlete to perform. Misuse and overuse of alcohol and drugs can also result in decrease in stamina. Stamina is one of the most important aspects of a boxer. Drinking alcohol and taking drugs excessively can also slow down your reactions. Environment Football Cuts, grazes and dislocations. The short term affect of an environment with dangerous surroundings is that you could injure yourself e.g. if a player slid into the advertisement boards he could get cut etc†¦ The long term affect of an environment with dangerous surroundings such as advertisement boards is that you can dislocate a part of your body which can result you being out of action for a while. Poor technique Rugby Dislocations, broken arm, broken leg, bruising etc†¦ The short term affect of poor technique can be a minor injury such as bruising. This might keep you out of action for about a week depending on the extent of the bruising. If a rugby player has not been taught the correct way to tackle, he could injure himself as well as the opposing player. The long term affects of poor technique are that it can cause a serious injury. These injuries can include a dislocated shoulder, broken arm, broken leg etc†¦ These injuries can keep you out for quite a long time. Another long term affect is that until you don't work on your technique, you will continue to cause injury and you will also be a technically poor athlete. Risk Factor Sporting Situation Most likely injury to occur Impact of injury on successful sports performance Short term Effects Long term Effects Lack of skill Basketball Twisted ankle, ligament damage. The short term affect of a lack of skill is that you can get an injury such as a twisted ankle. If a basketball player tries to a slam dunk but he lands awkwardly he might twist his ankle. The long term affects of a lack of skill is that you can get ligament damage. This is the type of injury that can affect your future performances even when you have fully recovered. Inappropriate clothing Rugby Torn ligaments, broken leg. The short affect of inappropriate clothing is that it can affect your performance. For example if you make good runs but you have a loose t-shirt, an opposing player is likely to take advantage by constantly pulling you t-shirt which will prevent you from playing your best. The long term affects of inappropriate clothing is that it can cause serious injury. If you have a loose t-shirt on and an opposing player pulls your t-shirt and you fall down in an awkward position you could get seriously injured. You could get torn ligaments there is even a possibility of you breaking you leg. This will keep you out for a long time. Overtraining Football Pulled hamstring, pulled quadriceps, cramp, muscle fatigue. The short term affect of overtraining if muscle fatigue and cramp. Overtraining is bad for the body. You should only train according to how much your body can endure. This will prevent muscle fatigue and cramp. The long term affect of overtraining is also muscle fatigue. If continue to persistently over train, your body will finally give in and you will have to take a long break from any physical activity. Constantly overtraining can also cause you to pull you muscles such as pulled quadriceps. Weather conditions Football Twisted ankle, ligament damage. The short term affect of poor weather conditions is that it can have a negative affect on your performance. If the football pitch is waterlogged, it will be difficult to play well. The long term affect of poor weather conditions is that you can get injured. The weather might be so poor that it might affect the pitch in a bad way which can cause the players to get injuries such as twisted ankles and ligament damage. Playing surface Football Twisted ankle, ligament damage. The short term affect of a poor playing surface is that can affect your performance in the game. If the pitch has lumps and big patches of mud, players will find it difficult to perform well. The long term affect of a poor playing surface is that it can cause injury. Your foot might get caught in the ground which can result in a twisted ankle or ankle ligament damage. Risk Factor Sporting Situation Most likely injury to occur Impact of injury on successful sports performance Short term Effects Long term Effects Lifting and carrying procedures for specialist equipment Rugby Back strain, twisted ankle. The short term affect of not using the correct procedure when lifting something is injuring yourself as well as the player you are lifting. The correct way of lifting something or someone is to bend your knees and back. The long term affect of not using the correct procedure when lifting something or someone is permanent damage. If you lift something or someone in an incorrect way you could do some permanent damage to your back. This will limit what you can do in future physical activities. Inappropriate or lack of specialist sporting equipment Rugby Bruising, cuts, concussion. The short term affect of having a lack of specialist sporting equipment is that it can cause injury. For example If a rugby player is not wearing a mouth-guard, he could get his teeth knocked out. The long term affect of having a lack of specialist sporting equipment is that can affect your performance and it can cause you to get injured more often. Misuse of protective equipment Boxing Groin injury, concussion etc†¦ The short term affect of misuse of protective equipment is that you will be more prone to injuries. For example if a boxer needs to wear a foul protector but he doesn't he will get injured if he gets punched in the groin. The long term affect of misuse of protective equipment is that you will get injured very easily. If you don't use a mouth guard when boxing, you could get damage to the mouth. Faulty and damaged equipment Football Twisted ankle, bruising to the shin, shin splits etc†¦ The short term affect of using faulty and damaged equipment is that it might cause injury. If you don't wear shin pads, you will come out with bruising to the shin in the least possible scenario. The long term affect of using faulty and damaged equipment is that you can get seriously injured. If a player tackles you with a lot of force on your shins, you can split your shins. This is a very painful injury and will keep you out of action for a while. Behaviour of other participants endangering others Football Bruising, cuts, grazes, concussion etc †¦ The short term affect of this is that you will pick up an injury that will probably keep you out of physical action for about a couple of weeks. The long term affect of this is that you might get permanent scaring or cuts if players start going out of order e.g. fighting.

Memory Experiment

Seth Dennison and Jenna Snyder John Bryan Psychology of Gender 104 10/31/2012 Psychological Gender Experiment For our psychological gender experiment we chose to focus on the topic of memory differences between genders. At first we wanted to figure out if one gender had a better memory than the other, but then we also wanted to observe whether or not their memory showed better results when the objects were related to their gender.Therefore, the hypothesis we constructed was: If we group together gender related items, then that specific gender will memorize those items more than the other items, furthermore we predict that females will have a better memory than males. The design of our experiment consisted of randomly selecting participants from the ages of 18 and over who were hanging out at a sit down area next to Chipotle and Starbucks in Menifee.The experimental group was split into two parts: the male items and the female items, while the control group had non-specific gender ite ms. For the experiment we used a tray to place the items on, 15 non-specific gender items, 5 female related items and 5 male related items, as well as a towel to cover the items and pens and paper for the participants to write their results on. The way we assigned groups was by rotating the items after every two participants; in the case of a group of 2 or more people we would switch the items right after.The participants did not know that we would switch the items around and they were not aware that we had a bag full of different items. When we approached the participants we would ask them if they would take part in our project, then we explained the procedure of the ‘memory test’ and if they said yes we would escort them over to our table where they would write down their gender and age at the top of their paper and wait to start. Once the participants stated that they were ready, Seth started the timer while Jenna lifted the towel to display the items.We allowed the participants to have 45 seconds to memorize as many items as possible and once the time was up Jenna covered up the items while Seth started the 1 minute timer followed by the both of us watching the participants to make sure no one was cheating. During the one minute, the participants had to write down as many of the items that they remembered as possible. Once they were done we allowed them to view the items one more time so that they could see which items they remembered and which ones they forgot.After gathering the data from 24 participants we had 13 female participants and 11 male participants. In comparison of the experimental groups it was generally more common for woman to have the better memory. From the results gathered from the participants females on average would remember 11. 6, or 77%, of the items. On the other hand males on average would remember 11 of the items, or 73%. When it came to gender specific items females held an average of 3. 4 out of 5 items for feminin e items, or 68%, which is 9% lower then their overall average score.Males held an average of 2. 1/5 items for masculine items or 42%, which is 31% lower then their overall average. Though it is something to consider that the condom was almost always an item remembered among males. From the results we gathered our hypothesis was only half correct. Woman do have the better memory, even though it is a small margin. However it seems it does not matter if the items were related to the specific gender as the percentage of the time that those were specifically remembered were actually lower then each genders' overall score.

Communication in Early Childhood Education

Communication is a way of understanding each others’ needs and sending or giving messages to each other. Good communication skills are essential for early childhood educators and using these skills will enable students to have better understanding to improve their learning process, and to develop the relationship between teachers and student. Apart from reading, writing, speaking and listening, teachers’ facial expressions and body language also contributes to communicating with students. A child enters a different world in classroom situation.The child is part of a new family made up of the teacher and fellow classmates from different cultural backgrounds. It is therefore important that the teacher pay attention to their own non-verbal language. Non verbal language includes posture, gestures, eye contact and facial expressions (Grellier & Goerke, 2010, p. 186). In the early childhood education, teachers also need to be able to interpret information and understand not o nly from listening to the child but by observing the students through their drawings and behaviour (Wright-Jackson, 2012).Drawings are a way of communicating information to young children. Wright (2005) discusses the importance of teachers using drawings to further develop students’ verbal communication, thinking and knowledge. Reggio Emilio is an early learning centre in NSW and they believe in the theory that children are born with an amazing potential and wide range of abilities, for a child, language is never limited to speech (from website www. reggioemilio. com. au). Through good communication skills teachers will be able evaluate the child’s knowledge and understanding before, during and after the lesson.Good note-taking and observation skills will assist teachers to nurture and support students’ learning (McMillan, 2011). Communications skills are constantly in use during the day in the classroom however teachers are also required to communicate this inf ormation or progress of the student to parents and other teachers or support teachers. By observing students’ involvement in the classroom teachers can assess what areas the students requires further assistance (McMillan, 2011).Non verbal language is another way of sending and receiving messages, it is another form of communication and very important for teachers in the classroom (Miller, P. W. , 2005). Miller (2005) addresses non verbal communication as â€Å"communication without words† and that facial expressions, eye contact, touching and tone of voice are all part of this communication. Awareness of non verbal communication can enable teachers to receive more information from the students and also have the ability to send positive signals that improve the students’ learning, whilst avoiding negative signals that would stifle their learning (Miller, P.W. , 2005). In western cultures all listeners – whatever their age or gender and educational level ar e expected to maintain eye contact with people they are listening to (Grellier & Goerke, 2010, p. 186). Making eye contact would interpret openness and honesty, while avoiding eye contact may indicate that something is wrong (Miller, P. W. , 2005). The teacher will need to understand that students from different cultural backgrounds and upbringing will not always share the same behaviour ideals. In some cultures it is accepted to avoid eye contact with their elders as it is a sign of respect ( Grellier & Goerke, 2010).Overcoming this hurdle by carefully explaining to students and parents would assist in a better relationship between the student and teacher. Using direct eye contact and observing facial expressions, the teacher will be able to connect with the student and establish the child’s interest in the discussion (McMillan, 2011, p. 104). Experienced teachers will be able to judge a student’s level of interest and understanding through the student’s eyes. Eye contact is a powerful communication tool that allows teachers to connect with students (Miller, P.W. , 2005). Miller (2005) explains that teachers can tell when students understand the lesson or if they are struggling through the student’s body postures and gestures. A student that is interested in the lesson or discussion will generally â€Å"sit up straight† and focus on the teacher, whilst a student that is â€Å"bored or discouraged† will slump into the chair (Miller, P. W. , 2005). Facial expression can determine both the teachers and students feelings, a smile will present a â€Å"warm and open invitation for communication† (Miller, P. W. 2005) which is essential in the classroom environment. As students in early childhood education will still be developing verbal communication skills, teachers are able to communicate ideas through drawings (Wright-Jackson, 2012). Drawings are easier for younger children to read, as they recognise drawings or pi ctures better compared to written words. Miller (2005) states that teachers can use drawing as a communication and learning tool when working with young children, in a way the drawings will act as a second voice for children.As a child’s reading and writing skills are developing drawing is an alternative for the child to express their ideas and can assist students with literacy as children read through their drawings. In the early stages of mathematics teachers use drawings to assist students with recognising quantity, addition, subtraction and length. The sample works provided in the Australian Curriculum for mathematics in Foundation Year show students are taught Foundation Year maths through drawings. For a child in Foundation Year pictures would be easier to understand compared to numbers when adding.A teacher in early childhood education needs to able to communicate information to parents and other support teachers. Through observations in the classroom, a teacher will a ble evaluate students progress before, during and after the lesson. Where additional special education teacher is required the classroom teacher will seek assistance and discuss the required support with the appropriate staff member. This is evident in the video Language support (Falck,2011),two teachers discuss lesson planning and explain to each other what they would like to focus on and how.Communication between the two teachers establishes the most beneficial ways to implement lessons. Listening skills are essential part of communicating in early childhood education, the video Listening skills for staff (Aron, 2011), raises the importance of listening to children and allowing them to discuss topics of their choice With the assistance of parents the children are encouraged to fill in their profile books with photos or pictures of their discussion topics. The teacher listens to child’s explanation of events by responding to their comments and gestures, keeping eye contact a t all times with the chid.Another point made in the video show children selecting books of their choice, teachers prefer children to pick books that want read to them. The child chooses the book that would like to listen to. By following this example teachers are able to have the child interested in the activity because it is through choice of the child. Teachers’ observations in the classroom of students’ progress is documented on a daily basis to assist teachers with assessment and evaluation of understanding.This information is then provided as feedback to students and parents, when communicating this information it should be expressed in way to encourage students’ motivation for learning. Communicating information to parents is another task for teachers which can be done verbally or written in the form of letters or school reports (McMillan, 2011). Early childhood educators have an important task to prepare young students for the years ahead. Good communicat ion skills are essential for early childhood educators as many young students are only at the beginning to learn and develop these skills.An early childhood teacher uses communication skills throughout the day to prepare and instruct lessons, observe students progress, consult other staff members or support teachers and parents. A teacher delivers messages through many ways and such communication skills as reading, talking, listening and body language is used to convey these messages. Understanding students through listening to their narration of events and requests can assist teachers to improve communication between the teacher and student.Students’ non verbal language will also assist teachers when observing them during class, teachers will be able to acknowledge interest and understanding during instruction. Teachers should pay attention to developing these skills as they are vital as teaching skills to deliver and receive the right messages to students. A child is learni ng everyday and through good communication skills from both teachers and parents they can be prepared for increased communication in the future.