The origins of social welfare

The origins of social welfare Historically, it is hard to trace the origins of social welfare or social policy in Britain. There is a debate when exactly the foundations of the welfare state were laid. Slack suggested that the welfare state was established by the end of the eighteenth century. On the other hand Roberts argued that the basis of the welfare state was laid between 1833 and 1854. However, most commentators incline to associate the term Welfare State with the start of the modern welfare state of Britain in 1945 (Harris 2004, p.15).Contrary to this conception, in my view, the origins of welfare state could go back as the earliest medieval Poor Law which came into existence in 1349. Not to forget to mention, the idea of welfare emerged thousands of years ago in many societies and civilisations. Voluntary and charitable help was provided through individuals, the state and religious organisations (Day 2000). The Poor Laws were introduced as a mechanism to tackle poverty amongst the poor by giving those help. Those poor people who are getting help including the sick and elderly were known as paupers. According to Oxford English Dictionary 2009 a pauper is A recipient of relief under the provisions of the Poor Law or of public charity. Now hist. (http://www.oed.com/).The main criticism to the poor law was it paid more attention to the maintenance of public order rather than the relief of poverty. This raised a question, whether the start of the welfare system for the poor was an act of mercy and compassion or the fear that homeless people will involve in unlawful activities. Based on the historical facts, the poor laws were divided into the Old Poor Law and the New Poor Law. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was regarded as the start of a new era of Poor Laws referred to as the New Poor Law. (http://www.workhouses.org.uk/) The New Poor Law revolutionised the local and central governments relations. The Commissioners Report 1834 was the core of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act known also as PLAA had taken the administrative power from the local authority (parishes) to the central government authorities. It also reformed the Old Poor Law which was in place. Furthermore, the act dealt with the flaws of the Old Poor Law due to the bad administration of the local parishes. However, the act faced criticism from the local parishes opposing the idea of the central control, which will put limitation on their powers. Another criticism that the act restricted the relief to the poor and the conditions inside the workhouses were harsh and repulsive.( http://www.workhouses.org.uk/) . The commissioners report had also recommended the building of workhouses as a vital strategy to discourage claimants of the outdoor relief. However, many Northern Local Authorities opposed the building of warehouses, because they saw it as an expensive solution for the problem of unemployment (Harris 2004). According to (www.workhouses.org) 2009, The Oxford Dictionarys first record of the word workhouse dates back to 1652 in Exeter The said house to bee converted for a workhouse for the poore of this cittye and also a house of correction for the vagrant and disorderly people within this cittye. However, workhouses were around even before that in 1631 the Mayor of Abingdon reported that wee haue erected wthn our borough a workehouse to sett poore people to worke Under the New Poor Law (The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834) the workhouse unions acted as a deterrent for the able-bodied to claim outdoor relief. However , the law also introduced the outdoor labour test premised the distribution of outdoor relief to able-bodied men in return for a task of work .The initial plan of the workhouses to build different workhouses to accommodate different types of need such as children ,women and elderly . But later the plans had changed in favour mixed workhouses to accommodate all paupers. Apart from deterring able-bodied men from claiming relief, the workhouses were also intended to be institutional accommodation to accommodate various sections of the population who cannot look after themselves in their homes or in community. However during 1830s and the 1840s many cases of abuse and neglect inside the workhouses were reported in the media. The editor of The Times published more than a hundred cases of cruelty inside the workhouses in that period (Harris 2004, p.49 -52). Although the workhouses were not a prison, people inside were called inmates. The situation inside the workhouses was tough, the food was basic, and they had to wear rough uniform and to sleep in common dormitories. The able-bodied were given hard work such as stone breaking and picking old ropes apart called oakum (www.workhouses.org). During the 1800s the notion of charity in response to the needy spread rapidly throughout the world. As a result this led to the emergence of Charity Organisation Society. The Charity Organisation Society shared the same values as the Poor Law and they complemented each other. There was a debate whether the charities made the poor more dependent on the help they receiving, which might discourage them from seeking work. Later, the Charity Organisation Society spread to the USA which was helped by the lack of consistent state support to the poor (Payne 2005, p.34-8). From the origins of social work in the Victorian Charity Organisation Society (COS) The idea of settlement houses was to bridge the gap between social classes, In order to achieve that, it was suggested that the rich and educated should spend time and live amongst the poor. According to Payne settlements emerged as a movement to educate the working class and to maintain the moral Christian social behaviour in poor neighbourhoods in the new cities. Those students involved would use their education and moral beliefs in activities which (Payne 2005) The Seebohm Report was regarded as a landmark in the development of social work. Initially the Seebohm committee was set to find ways to reform local authority personal social services. The committee recommended the merge of local authority into social services department .As a result social work moved to be more generic, whereas before social work was specialised such as childcare and psychiatric social work . The object was to utilise resources. Consequently, the social work was modernised social work as it brought together the separate department offering social services to different client group into a single social services departments (James 2004) .Subsequently, social work in Britain reached its peak and saw massive state social work expansion by 1970 with the implementation of the Local Authority Personal Social Services Act 1970 which was an outcome of Seebohm Report. Additionally, this period saw the birth of British Association of Social Workers in April 1970 after the mer ging of 8 associations (Payne 2005). However, towards the 1980s there been a move back towards specialisation especially in mental health and childcare. As the Mental Health Act 1983 made a condition that only approved social workers should be allowed to deal with mental health cases. Also, as a result of the rise in child abuse cases child protection teams became the norm within Local Authorities. Additionally in 1989 the government put  £10 million pounds towards child protection training programme (Johnson 1990, p. 161-2). The Beveridge Report 1942 was regarded as the foundation for the modern welfare state in Britain. Lowne R states that, Despite its somewhat unglamorous title (and author) , the Beveridge report on Social Insurance and Allied services immediately acquired immense popularity , both at home and aboard , as a practical programme for the elimination of poverty , and it has subsequently come to be regarded as a blueprint for the welfare state. (Lowne 1999, p. 130) Beveridge stressed in his report the need to eradicate the five evils: Want, Disease, Idleness, Squalor and Ignorance. Furthermore, he suggested measures to be implemented by the government to tackle to issues. However, the Beveridge report was not fully implemented by the various governments and was abandoned by the conservatives. The conservatives criticised Beverdige for suggesting a flat rate contribution. Following his report, the National Health Service (NHS) was born on 5th July 1948 . In my opinion, this was one of the most important outcomes of the Beveridge Report and a major event in the history of modern welfare state in Britain. However, some social policy commentators had different view. Glennerster stated that Beveridge is often credited with the founding of the National Health Service, which definitely he did not do. And goes on, he is more possibly credited with the founding of post war system of social security, the subject of his great report, yet in many ways this is also a mistake. Although he acknowledge the report had a great impact at the time (Glennerster 2000, p. 18). Payne (2005, p. 31) suggests that social work in Britain evolved from three different sources : the Poor Law , charity organisation and the settlement movement. When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, social work started to decline. Different factors contributed to the deterioration of social work. There was a service failure especially in child protection. Social work was seen as a soft police. Thatcher government increased control over public expenditure. After the child care scandals, social work got a negative image in the media and the public. Then social work was seen as the problem rather than the solution. One of the huge dilemmas for social workers in the 21th century, the shift in social work culture. Nowadays, on the managerial level, more importance being put on budgets and targets. Social workers had massive caseloads to deal with, topped with numerous paperwork to fill, which somehow hinder the process of service delivery to the service user. The rise in the workload for social workers led to divert the focus from the quality to the quantity. It became the quantity rather than the quality.

Analysis of a Doll’s House

Analysis of A Doll’s House by Henrick Ibsen Shira Simmons South University Online Kris Shelton March 12, 2013 A Doll’s House has several high points that lead up to what I’ve considered the most defining moment. When Torvald finally reads the letter Krogstad (a fellow schoolmate and an employee at the bank) wrote revealing that it was not from Nora’s father that she borrowed money, but from him, what follows was totally unexpected by me. It seems that the situation of her husband falling ill and the decisions she had to make in regards to that, forced her to grow.In the end, Nora makes a decision that she doesn’t want to be married to her husband Torvald any longer, and she tells him so. The line, â€Å"We’ve been married for eight years. Doesn’t it occur to you that this is the first time the two of us, you and I, husband and wife, have had a serious conversation? † (Isben 1879 p. 590) says Nora, licks at where she is going wit h this conversation between the two of them. As you first read into the play, a perfect â€Å"trophy wife† scenario is portrayed. It’s the typical male working and the wife taking care of the kids and other affairs.The time this play was written, it was more common for the woman to stay home while the man worked. Today it isn’t rare to see the woman working and making more than the man. They are experiencing the normal money issues most married couples have and Torvald is expecting a higher salary after the New Year. As the other characters present themselves, you start to pick up on some uneasiness from Nora whenever Krogstad visits their home and one instance from Mrs. Linde whenever she was present. One evening whilst Torvald was away, Krogstad visits and has a chat with Nora.He tells her that if she didn’t convince Torvald to let him keep his job that he would blackmail Nora about the money she borrowed from him and forging her father’s signatu re on the contract for paying him back. Presenting that maybe their marriage isn’t as perfect as it seems. Torvald had become ill and Nora being the caring, dedicated wife that she had taken it upon herself as her wifely duty to see to it that he got better. Nora had little to no knowledge that forgery was a criminal offense; she only thought she was doing what was best for her husband.So she told her husband that she borrowed money from her father. Mrs. Linde, an old friend of Nora’s visits as well; she’s the only person Nora really has to confide in during the time this all-takes place. The plot reveals that she and Krogstad had a fling some years ago and now that she was widowed, wanted to link back up with Krogstad once again. She convinces Krogstad that he must leave the letter for Torvald to read because Nora should no longer hold a secret betwixt her and her husband. I felt there was a possibility that Mrs.Linde didn’t come to just meet back up wit h Krogstad, that she may have decided this in the mist of Nora and her situation, even though she states otherwise. Maybe she did so to help out Nora and Torvald by focusing Krogstad’s attention elsewhere. Right after Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter, he immediately attacks Nora and belittles her. After saying such degrading, hurtful things, Nora coldly looks at him and replies â€Å"Yes, I’m beginning to understand everything now† (Isben 1879 p. 590). This implies she has now realized exactly what she has been and how she has been treated by her father and him both.He raves on about what she has done to him and what he must do to fix it. Not once taking into account what Nora must be going through herself, or consequences she would have to endure? â€Å"†¦No, I’d better read it again. Yes, it’s true! I’m saved! Nora, I’m saved! † (Isben 1879 p. 590) exclaims Torvald after reading an apologetic letter from Krogstad a nd only after Nora saying something did he mention â€Å"we† were saved. During her farewell pardon, Nora sounds like a completely different woman. She sounds strong, sure, independent and determined; so very different from whom she was in the beginning.Although this situation basically ruined their marriage, it really shed some light for Nora. She finally realizes that she has been robbed of so much, being both a prized possession of her father and Torvald’s; that’s the beauty of it. Now she can set forth to learn and to be happy with herself. References: Ibsen, H. (2011). A doll’s house. In D. L. Pike and A. M. Acosta (Eds. )  Ã‚  Literature:  A world of writing stories, poems, plays, and essays. [VitalSource digital version] (pp. 555-589). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.

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History of the US Court System - 1233 Words

Major Historical Developments in U.S. Courts Introduction Today, the court system in the United States is comprised of a vast and far-flung network of state and federal courts that adjudicate millions of cases each year, but this dual court system has not always been in place. The dual court system of federal and state courts that is in place today is the result of a number of historical developments in the U.S. courts over the years. This paper provides a review of the relevant literature to identify significant milestones in the historical development of the court system in the United States including the dual court system, provisions for probation and parole. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion. Review and Discussion The English common law had an important influence on the creation of the legal system and its administration in the United States, but the Colonialists saw fit to make some changes they felt were necessary for a democratic state. In this regard, one historian reports that, The Colonial period in America saw changes to the English Common Law which reflected the cultural and social differences that were developing in the new nation. In many ways the law in America became more complex, reflecting the influence of enlightenment philosophy and, at the same time, reacting to the concentration of power in the hands of the leaders (Sterling, 2002, para. 2). As a result, the court system in the United StatesShow MoreRelatedMarshals Research Paper922 Words   |  4 PagesOver the course of the United States history, there have been numerous Federal Law enforcement agencies that have protected and enforced laws within the United States. 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We speak of legal precedent when a decision of a court is an obligatory authority required for the same court and others of equal or lower rank.  LaMorte (2002) noted that doctrine of precedent arose in the common law legal system. It is currently outstanding in all legal systems given the importance of court decisions, not only in its own field (the application of

Im Going to Read, Wake Me Up in Five Minutes - 1231 Words

In fourth grade I started playing Alto saxophone for my grade school band. Three years later I learned Baritone saxophone for my middle school band. In another year I joined a choir. By the end of high school I had been in six different bands, learned to play several instruments, joined two different choirs, taken multiple music theory class, and starred in more than a dozen musicals. My love for the arts started early in my life, my mother is an artist and my father is a musician and a head designer for a stationary company. The arts were alive in my household, jazz was usually played during dinners, my mom would paint a few times a week, and my dad seemed to always spend at least an hour a night fine tuning his classical guitar skills.†¦show more content†¦I have also talked to many people who would say that Hard Times was one of the worst books that they had read in their life. So this problem that I have with reading may be a misconception that all books are like those t hat I read in high school. Rather, I just butted heads with my high school English teacher and instead of turning my nose up at the specific class I turned myself away from the idea of reading as a whole. My problem may not just encompass my education but also the society in which I have grown. Growing up at the tail end of the 20th century I was always in contact with technology, Peter Gates would call me a digital native. He describes digital natives as; â€Å"the students nowadays who are the native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet† (Gates 1). Gates explores in â€Å"Born Digital: Are They Really Digital Natives?† how technology has changed the raising of America’s youth and how education needs to change around it. Gates suggests that students today growing up with technology are more used to a fast paced world. Gates says; â€Å"digital natives are used to receiving fast information†¦ thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards [and] prefer games to serious work† (Gates 1). One of the reasons I might be turned away from books is the instant gratification that I get from technology. With today†™s technology answers to just about any question can be summoned with a few clicks on a keyboard, but the answer to myShow MoreRelatedMy Personal Statement On My Life1156 Words   |  5 Pages The alarm sounds and whether I’m dreaming or not, it could take minutes maybe even hours to figure out where I have gone. I have ignored this sound so much that some may find how long I let it go off to be wrong. How weary I am and how much I’ve killed my brain, hit me like a train the day before and the day before that. I am as inanimate as the pitch black ground outside that my shoes will once again meet not long after I begin to move my feet. 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Porters 5 Forces Free Essays

string(32) " place such as the high street\." Sonia’s smoothies 1) Nick calculated that of 200 customers who completed the questionnaire at the rock festival, the mean age was 23. The age distribution conformed to a curve of normal distribution with a standard deviation of 5. Calculate the number of customers aged 33 and over who featured in Sonia’s survey (33-23)? 5 = 2 2% of 200= 4 Answer= 4 2) With reference to the report on the UK smoothie market (appendix 2) analyse two limitations of using secondary sources as the basis of Sonia’s decision making. We will write a custom essay sample on Porters 5 Forces or any similar topic only for you Order Now Secondary research is one that is carried by a third party and not yourself. The information is collected as it may serve propose in the information you need even though it may have been collected for a different research. There are however some limitations of Sonia using this secondary research whilst making a decision on what smoothie flavours to bring out. In this essay I will discuss these and give my opinion on whether Sonia should or shouldn’t solely base the decision on this information. The first limitation of using secondary research is that it may be several years old and may not reflect the current market conditions. If this is the case for Sonia then it would mean that she may be releasing a flavour into a market that no longer exists. This would mean that her sales will not be as high as she would of hoped, it would also mean that her costs will rise as she would be producing smoothies unaware that these are not going to sell. The impact of both of these things happening will result in Sonia losing profit. This one example shows that for Sonia to solely base her decision on secondary research it would not be good for her business as she could lose out on a lot of potential customers. The second limitation of using secondary research is that it may not be accurate and reliable as it may be biased. If this does happen then it would mean that Sonia would be making a decision on information that is not 100% accurate and true. This would be misleading for her as she would be making a decision based upon something which is not going to benefit her at all. This would result in her again losing profits as her costing will rise through producing the goods and sales being low. This again shows us that if Sonia does make a decision solely based on the secondary research it may result in failure of the product she releases. In conclusion I think that Sonia should use secondary research as it gives her a basic idea about what is happening or has happened in the market which will give her a slight idea but it should be used in conjunction with some primary research such as questionnaires so Sonia 100% accurate data and knowledge. If this is done then it would ensure that the decision being made will be the correct one resulting in the success of the product she releases. 3) Discuss why nick might have recommended that Sonia should not base any decisions on the rock festival research. The rock festival research is a type of primary research. Primary research is one that is collected by yourself. In this essay I am going to discuss the reasons why Nick may have recommended Sonia do not make decisions solely based on the rock festival research, I will then come to a conclusion as to what Sonia should do to ensure the decision being made is the right one. Firstly by carrying out the rock festival research it means only targeting one group of people, therefore other groups such as families and children would be missed out. The consequence of Sonia making her decisions on just the rock festival research could be misleading as she has not taken into consideration groups that may be her major customers. For example families may be her major target audience and if Sonia makes a decision based on a group other than the families she could release a non desirable flavour. If this does happen then it would mean that she could be releasing a flavour that is not in demand which would result in less sales and this less potential profits. It would also mean that her costs will rise through production and this would be wasted money as she may not be able to sell these products. Secondly the response that Sonia may get from the people attending the rock festival may not be 100% accurate as they may not give the correct answers as they will want to enjoy the event itself. For example Sonia may approach an attendee at the rock festival and ask them questions but they may not give thought out answers as they are focusing on the music itself. If this does occur and Sonia does make a decision on this information it could mean that she is making a product which is based on incorrect data which could affect her sales which will make the released product less profitable. I think that Sonia should not base her decisions solely based on the rock festival. I however do think using a method of primary research is a good start to making a decision but she could have thought out where the questionnaires would be conducted a little better. For example she could have done it in a high street where there is a variety of people which would give her better feedback. For Sonia to base her decision solely on this it may result in her getting inaccurate results which would mean that the product released may not be as successful as it could be. I think that if Sonia wants to make the product as effective as it can be she should take do the primary research (questionnaire) in a more suitable place such as the high street. You read "Porters 5 Forces" in category "Papers" I also think that it should be used in conjunction with another type of research such as the secondary research that she had collected before. By using both types of information it will give her more of an understanding as to what a customer wants and it would make her decision making process a lot more easy and accurate. 4) If Sonia decides to use a market research agency to investigate the new smoothie flavours, analyse two ways they might use a quota sample. Quota sampling is a sample created by gathering a predefined number of participants from each of several predetermined categories, for example choosing 25 people both from the categories male and female. There are many advantages of using quota sampling one of which is that it clearly shows the demand from each of the categories. Sonia may want to decide to use a market research agency to investigate new smoothie flavours. I am going to analyse two reasons why they may use quota sampling whilst doing the research for Sonia. The first reason why the market research agency may use quota sampling is so that they can determine clearly what each group of people would like. For example once the research has been done using the groups male and female they can determine what each group wants and can look at the rends. By having this type of sampling it would give Sonia an idea of the wants of each group and she can then make her decision based upon this. I think that this type of sampling would be very good for Sonia as the market she is entering is one which is different according to people’s personal preferences and by understanding what each category wants she can make a decision s o that she can cater for all of them. The second reason why quota sampling may be done is because it is a cheaper method as opposed to taster sampling. Taster sampling is when samples are given out to random customers to get their opinion on things, this means that the costs involved are very high as products are actually given away. By doing quota sampling it means that the cost of actually giving out products is avoided, this would mean that the cost that Sonia has to pay the agency will be less meaning her costs will stay down. 5) Discuss methods of primary research the market research agency might use to investigate new smoothie flavours for Sonia’s smoothies. Primary research is one that is done and collected by yourself, primary research can be split into three categories; test marketing, surveys and observations, these can be then split even further into the actual activities. There are many types of primary research that can be undertaken and in this essay I am going to discuss some that the research agency may take up in order to investigate new smoothie flavours for Sonia’s smoothies. The first type of primary research that can be done is questionnaires; these are types of surveys. This method is a very good way of getting back answers from the customers as it can be both qualitative information and quantative information. Questionnaires can be either done in person but can also be done through post. Questionnaires are the most common type and I think that for Sonia smoothies it would be a very good method as she can get a lot of feedback from potential customers. this information would give her a very good idea of what the customers will want and it would help her make the correct decision. The correct decision will intern help her make profit as she knows she has the right product for the right market. However whilst doing questionnaires they will have to make sure that they do not annoy the potential customers through a lot of phone calls etc as this could result in the business losing its reputation and potential sales. The second type of primary research that the market research agency may undertake is consumer panels. A consumer panel is a group meeting that is held whereby questions are asked and noted to give the results. The advantage of consumer panels is that the information is likely to be accurate as the people attending it will have a lot of time to answer the questions meaning that they can thoroughly answer them. The disadvantage is that this type of research is that it may be more costly as the premises etc will have to be organised. This is a very good type of research as it allows qualitative information to be collected as well as opinions however I do not think that it is entirely suitable for Sonia smoothies as she does not necessarily need discussions to take place as all she wants is opinions of flavours and what customers want. Therefore I think that this method is not entirely suitable for Sonia smoothies. Another type of primary research that can be undertaken is taster sampling. This is when samples are given of the product and feedback is received by potential customers. This type of method is very good for a product that people will have different opinions on as it allows feedback from all types of people. Although there is a short term cost of actually producing these samples the long term affect it could have is a positive one as it would mean that the right product is being sold to the customers thus increasing sales and profits. I think that this is a very suitable type of research that can be done by the market research agency as it would not only allow Sonia to get feedback for certain flavours it will also increase brand awareness which would help her in the long run. Furthermore the market research agency may ask supermarkets about the best selling smoothies in their stores. This is a method of primary research as it will be done by themselves. This is a fairly cheap method of research as all it involves is contacting the supermarket with what they need. I think that this is a very good method of research for the market research agency to use as it will help Sonia identify which are the best selling types of products and she could use this information whilst making hers. However Sonia wants to create a new smoothie flavour so copying other flavours may not necessarily be the best option. A way in which Sonia could avoid copying is to maybe mix the two top selling smoothies in the store for example mango and peach flavoured smoothie; this would be different and unique. As a whole I think this method s fairly good in helping Sonia identify what flavours the customer tend to buy. As you can see there are various types or primary research methods that the market research agency can undertake for Sonia smoothies. I think Sonia should use a combination of these. Firstly she should use questionnaires to ask the potential customers what types of flavours that they would like. Once this is done she can begin to make the samples for taster sam pling which will then give her brand reputation as well as the opinion of customers. By doing this it would ensure that the research done is thorough helping her make her final decisions. As a whole I think to maximise effectiveness Sonia should use a combination of research methods to get a lot of peoples opinions. 6) Evaluate the importance of market research for Sonia’s smoothies LTD in making decisions over expansion. Market research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular market. There are many ways to carry out market research. In this essay I will evaluate the importance of Sonia’s smoothies using market research and will give my opinion of how it should be carried out. Sonia smoothies has three man ways that she has identified so that the business can expand further, these are; expanding geographically, by seeking to distribute through a wider range of outlets and lastly expanding the range of flavours that they have. Firstly I am going to talk about the importance of using market research for the third aim of expanding its range of flavours. I think it is very important for Sonia smoothies to use market research as the smoothie market is one which is ever changing through new flavours and changing external factors such as health issues. By doing market research before releasing the product it would help the business understand the current market so that when they do release the new products they know that it is going to work in this market. By ensuring that the product being released is current it would help them increase their sales and profits, intern this would also have a knock on effect on helping them to achieve their first aim of expanding geographically as they will now have the money to do so. Secondly having the arket research can not only be a method for the company to release new products but it can also increase brand awareness as doing things like taster research will make people more aware of the company. If this happens then it could help them with their sales as people would be more aware and will be more confident in buying the product as they have already tasted it. By increasing the brand awareness it would mean that the sales will increase thus helping their profits. As you can see market resear ch has more purpose for Sonia smoothies than just helping them to release new products. It is very important that Sonia’s smoothie takes out the necessary research so that they are successful in achieving their aims. Although market research brings a short term cost in the long run these costs will be covered by the success of the product depending on how well the research is done. Secondly is Sonia smoothie’s aim of distributing their products through a wider range of outlets than just health foods shops and events. There are many ways that market research will enable Sonia smoothies whilst making a decision as to what retailers to choose. Firstly market research can help them to choose the most effective shop. for example it can be used to see which shop has the least competition in it. By using market research to look at such things then it will help the success of the product as they will know that they do not have a lot of competition meaning that their product is more likely to be successful. This type of market research is vital as the market is always changing and the competition is always changing so for Sonia smoothies to have a competitive edge they will have to ensure that they have more sales. This is very important because if there are a lot of competitors it would reduce sales and intern decrease the amount of profits that are made. The second way that the market research may be used for this aim is to look at what retailers sell the most smoothies. By looking at this it will ensure that the smoothies that are made have the necessary demand. This is very important as it would ensure that sales can be made. Increased sales would mean bigger profits. however whilst doing this they will also have to look at the level of competition. As you can see market research is again very important in helping Sonia smoothies in their aim of expanding the number of retailers that they sell in. by increasing this it would help them increase brand awareness which will this increase the sales and profit. An increase in profit will help the business as it would mean that it will help them with their first aim of expanding geographically. Lastly Sonia smoothies has a aim of expanding the geographical area in which the smoothies are sold. This is linked to the second aim of selling through more retailers as that could help them do this. Market research again plays a vital role in making the decision as to where to expand. For example market research can be used to see where there are there is the largest number of children for example (using children as Sonia smoothie’s main customers) by doing this it would give them a good perspective as to where there is a large number of their target audience. By having a lot of people that they can sell to it will increase their sales which will intern increase their profits. Market research is very important in using this as the market is ever changing and there is no point of geographically expanding into an area where the sales are not likely to be high as it would be a waste of money. In conclusion the importance of market research is very high as it could help the business achieve all of their aims that they have set. All the aims are interlinked for example increasing the range of flavours and selling these flavours through more retailers would mean increased sales, increased sales would result in higher profits which can then be used to fund for the geographical expansion. Because of this Sonia smoothies will have to ensure whilst doing the market research that it is done thoroughly, however they also have to keep an eye on the cost of the market research as they do not want to do it in such a depth where it costs them too much. If Sonia smoothies takes out the necessary market research then it could help them achieve all of their objectives of expansion, without market research the business cannot achieve their aims as effectively. How to cite Porters 5 Forces, Papers

Organizational Communication and Conflict Management

Question: Discuss about the Organizational Communication and Conflict Management. Answer: Active listening and Active listener: Chatterjee and Subramanian (2013) opined that the organizational communication is a vital factor for both the organizations and the employees. In the effective communication process, it is essential for all the people to listen actively. Effective communication is a two way process in which the active listening process leads the business towards success. On contrast, the ineffective listeners lead the business as well as their career towards failure. In communication process, listening is the most essential skill that impact on the job effectiveness of a person. Furthermore, it affects the quality of relationship that the one has with the coworkers. Bodie (2016) defined that the active listening is the ways of obtaining important information, understanding as well as respecting the viewpoints of the speakers, and leaning from others opinions. The major difference of the active listening from only listing is the active listeners put more concentration and deliver responses regarding t he message conveyed or shared to them. The active listening process helps the listeners to remember what is said by the speakers. The three effective steps of effective listening process include comprehending, retaining, and responding. In order to more precise, Bodie (2016) stated that comprehending the first step in listening process and the shared meaning between the parties. The second step is listening where memory of the listeners is the essential factor. Information is retained by the listeners and the meaning of the message depends in the listeners ways of acceptance. Responding is the process of interacting with the speakers (Kawamichi et al. 2015). Following the statement of Asemota (2015), a person needs to adapt certain strategies in order to become a more active listener. The listeners should observe the behaviors and the body languages of the speakers in order to understand speakers viewpoints. In some cases, it has been noticed that the actual meaning of a message is different to the speakers and the listeners. This happens due to poor understanding and employee relationship between these two parties. Through observing the behaviors of the speakers the listeners would able to understand the true meaning of the massages that are conveyed by speakers. Bodie et al. (2015) added in this context, the active listeners should know the difference between responding and interrupting. Through interrupting the speakers, the listeners might distract them from the message that they were about to deliver. In such cases, if the speakers are distracted from the actual meaning of the messages, they fail to make the listeners understand abo ut it. On contrast, the listeners would able to encourage the speakers more through responding against the messages. Further, this would clear the meaning of the messages and common concept would be built between these two parties. Benefits of good listening in workplace: Purdy and Manning (2015) mentioned the benefits of the good listening process in context the workplaces. Good listening process helps to gather accurate information, develop trust, reduce conflict, and motivate others. In the communication process, active listening helps to gather more accurate information. For example, in some cases the employees gather information and apply those wrongly because of not listening actively. As a result, some situations are deteriorated instead of being solved. On the other way, the god listeners could understand the information more accurately and implement them properly. Besides, the good listening process helps to develop trust and establish good relationship with the coworkers (Bodie et al. 2015). Though making active interaction with the speakers, the listeners value the viewpoints of them. In such cases, if the speakers do not listen actively, they might obtain incorrect instructions and hence the entire project might fail. In order to build trust, the listeners should pay attention to the messages or the instruction that are provided to them. Through this, they would able to outline their own strengths and weaknesses in the implementation process. It helps them to collaborate with the coworkers and gain trust of others (Purdy and Manning 2015). Kawamichi et al. (2015) manifested that conflict arises when the individuals feel misunderstood or mistreated. For example, if an individual fails to understand the message or instruction clearly, the seniors would not want to provide the important tasks. As a result, the conflicts would be increased. The opposite scenario would be noticed in the case when the individual listens actively. Furthermore, the individuals are able to be involved effectively through active listening process. The ones involvement motivates others to be engaged in the discussions and organizational operations as well. Downward Communication and key problems: As per the discussion of Spaho (2013), the downward communication is the process in which the information flows down through a formal chain. In order to more precise, the information, messages, and instructions flow from the superiors to the subordinates. Through this particular communication process, the leaders communicate with all the stakeholders about the goals, decisions, strategies, policies and procedures. In this context, it is essential to mention that it is the most common form of communication process. However, Nan et al. (2012) opined that some key problems are there in this communication process. The major problem is that the information or the messages might be distorted as it passes through multiple levels. In some cases, it has been seen that when the information reached in the lowest teams, the actual meaning of the information and the instructions are changed. The reason behind this is the difference between the abilities of the mediums in understanding the message and their perfectibility to convey it. Gallois and Giles (2015) added in this context that slowness response system is another major problem. Mainly, in dynamic working environment, it becomes more problematic in interacting with all the stakeholders. The messages take time to go down and go up again along with the response of the stakeholders. Then the responses on the leaders back go down again. The entire process is time consuming band thus it results problems. These problems create interpretative problems for which conflict arises among the employees (Gallois and Giles 2015). According to Spaho (2013), the dependency on the formal communication channel creates motivation problems. The superiors fail to motivate their subordinates in contributing effective role in acquiring the ultimate objectives and goals. The information distortion and slow response system make the employees divorced from the ultimate goals. As all the decisions and strategies are come via multiple levels, the stakeholders find difficulties in understanding the individual roles and responsibilities. Hence, as a result, confusion level increases and uncertainty occurs. As explained by Gallois and Giles (2015), these several number of problems reduces the efficiency of the employees in performing various activities. Sometimes, the subordinates find difficulties in provide reactions and thus they prefer to delivering responses in order to save the time. On the other way, in some cases, the employees do not provided any opportunities to provide suggestions and their viewpoints. As a result, efficieciency goes downwards and hence organizational operations are affected. Relationship between formal communication and organizational culture: Following the statement of Bouckenooghe (2012), formal communication and organizational culture are strongly related with each other. In most of the organizations, formal communication process is maintained. It has been found that the formal communication helps to increase the efficiency of the employees and create an effective work environmental culture. Siemens and Baker (2012) provided another viewpoint that if the organizational culture is well managed the effective communication process is enhanced. At the same way, if the effective communication process is applied in the organizational culture, the objectives would be more achievable. Furthermore, as the formal communication process creates a particular communication system, it becomes easy for all the stakeholders to pursue common procedure. According to Alvesson (2016), there is a need of cooperation and coordination in organizational culture. It helps the organizations to deal with the challenges and issues present in the wo rkplace or the business. The formal communication system helps the stakeholders to coordinate. It has been found that the coordinated activities are done in more proper manner in comparing with the informal communication process. Siemens and Baker (2012) stated in defining the organizational culture that it is the process that consist some shared attributes of the workforce. The key characteristics of an organizational culture are systematic pattern, symbolic expressions, collective values of shares, and many more. These characteristics are maintained with formal communication system. Thus, it can be stated that the formal communication system improves the organizational culture. Alvesson (2016) explained the relation of formal communication and organizational culture in different manner. Through effective communication process, the stakeholders are well aware about the planned programs and its management procedures. This helps them to establish a common working process and techniques which would help them to achieve the goal and objectives. Siemens and Baker (2012) added that establishing formal communication process in particular organization along with specific organizational culture is a long term effort. Therefore, it is hard to change the culture without changing the communication process, and vice versa. Advantages of email as a communication medium: Pignata et al. (2015) opined that the electronic mail is used in the businesses as one of the effective communication mediums. This particular communication process helps in acquiring the marketing purposes and coordinating with the business partners. The most common advantage of this process is it helps to reduce the cost of communication process. The key advantages of email as a communication medium are demonstrated in the below section: Speed: Holtbrgge, Weldon and Rogers (2013) explained that the email helps to communicating with the stakeholders and customers in an instantaneous manner. This allows them for quick dissemination of information and thus they are able to gather fast responses from the other end. It becomes easier to run the business smoothly as it helps to solve the problems in a quick manner. For example, the SMEs are able to accomplish more activities in less time. Lower Cost: As stated by Francis, Holmvall and OBrien (2015), the switching process of physical mail to electronic mails helps the organizations to reduce the expenditure that was needed before. The significant savings are possible to in employee resources, shipping supplies, and postage costs. Furthermore, the organizations are able to reduce the cost of customer service support by email communication process rather than phone based services. Efficiency: Pignata et al. (2015) discussed that the email process helps to increase the productivity by increasing the efficiency of the stakeholders. Through this communication process, the stakeholders stay connected with each other and they are able to solve problems with less time span. More specifically, the information is delivered through this process as per the needs of the individuals. Furthermore, the email communication process helps to save the time that is needed for small duration meetings. Through consulting by emails, the essential information can be shared. Geographic barrier reduction: Holtbrgge, Weldon and Rogers (2013) added in this context that, the email communication process reduces the time zone and geographic barriers. The business partners and all the stakeholders operating across the world are able to stay connected and communicate effectively. The location where they are operating does not create communication barriers. Disadvantages of email as a communication medium: Choi and Readshaw (2015) mentioned that besides having the advantages, the email communication process has a number of disadvantages that might affect the organizational operations. The disadvantages of this process of communication are manifested in the below section: Low Security: As per the statement of Kadashevich et al. (2015), the sensitive information, messages and instructions are shared within a second by a single click of mouse. As a result, it might harm the organizational operations by accidently sending the message to a wrong person or in a wrong time. After it sent, it does not matter whether it has been sent deliberately or accidently (Choi and Readshaw 2015). Impersonal communication: Pereira (2015) discussed that it is not possible to communicate with emotions and attitudes through email communication process. Thus, the person receives the mail might take the words in a wrong way. The email communication process involves both the stakeholders and the customers. In some cases, the mail from the leaders can be taken wrongfully and thus some of the employees decided to quit their jobs. Kadashevich et al. (2015) provided another example in context of communication with the customers. In some cases, when the company sends mail to its customers as a response against their services or products. The used words might be taken wrongfully by the customers. As a result, it affects the customer relationship (Francis, Holmvall and OBrien 2015). Misunderstanding: Choi and Readshaw (2015) opined that the formal email is based on some special words. The pronouns and popular jargon used in the emails might create conflicts in emails. As this particular communication omits the face to face conversation, the meaning of the emails might be distorted (Francis, Holmvall and OBrien 2015). It might lead the person to the wrong direction and the organizational operations might be affected. Future formal style of email as a communication medium: According to Francis, Holmvall and OBrien (2015), the email will become more formal in style over time in the organizational communication process. The formal style would help to reduce the problems that they face in present. The style can be improved by applying more formal manner in the email communication process. It would be possible to reduce the conflicts that occurred in this process. It would help to improve the employee relation and the customer relation as well (Kadashevich et al. 2015). Reference List Alvesson, M., 2016.Organizational Culture. Sage Publications Incorporated. Asemota, H.E., 2015. Nature, Importance and Practice of Listening Skill.British Journal of Education,3(7), pp.27-33. Bodie, G.D., 2016. Listening.The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication. Bodie, G.D., Vickery, A.J., Cannava, K. and Jones, S.M., 2015. The role of active listening in informal helping conversations: Impact on perceptions of listener helpfulness, sensitivity, and supportiveness and discloser emotional improvement.Western Journal of Communication,79(2), pp.151-173. Bouckenooghe, D., 2012. The role of organizational politics, contextual resources, and formal communication on change recipients' commitment to change: A multilevel study.European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology,21(4), pp.575-602. Chatterjee, R.B. and Subramanian, K. eds., 2013.Excellence in business communication. Pearson. Choi, C.Y.S. and Readshaw, N.I., International Business Machines Corporation, 2015.Proactive notification of availability status in email communication systems. U.S. Patent 8,935,337. Francis, L., Holmvall, C.M. and OBrien, L.E., 2015. The influence of workload and civility of treatment on the perpetration of email incivility.Computers in Human Behavior,46, pp.191-201. Gallois, C. and Giles, H., 2015. Communication accommodation theory.The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction. Holtbrgge, D., Weldon, A. and Rogers, H., 2013. Cultural determinants of email communication styles.International Journal of Cross Cultural Management,13(1), pp.89-110. Kadashevich, A.J., Marcus, J.B., Piziak, J.L. and Trivedi, P.K., International Business Machines Corporation, 2015.Minimizing the effects of email attachments on communication networks. U.S. Patent 9,160,695. Kawamichi, H., Yoshihara, K., Sasaki, A.T., Sugawara, S.K., Tanabe, H.C., Shinohara, R., Sugisawa, Y., Tokutake, K., Mochizuki, Y., Anme, T. and Sadato, N., 2015. Perceiving active listening activates the reward system and improves the impression of relevant experiences.Social neuroscience,10(1), pp.16-26. Nan, T., Yuelong, W., Aiqing, H. and Cheng, W., 2012. A downward signal processing method for rotary steerable drilling system based on signal similarity.Petroleum Exploration and Development,39(1), pp.119-126. Pereira, S.S., 2015. Standard Versus Non Standard An Analysis of Language used for Formal Business Communication through E-mails. Pignata, S., Lushington, K., Sloan, J. and Buchanan, F., 2015. Employees perceptions of email communication, volume and management strategies in an Australian university.Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management,37(2), pp.159-171. Purdy, M.W. and Manning, L.M., 2015. Listening in the Multicultural Workplace: A Dialogue of Theory and Practice.International Journal of Listening,29(1), pp.1-11. Siemens, G. and Baker, R.S.D., 2012, April. Learning analytics and educational data mining: towards communication and collaboration. InProceedings of the 2nd international conference on learning analytics and knowledge(pp. 252-254). ACM. Spaho, K., 2013. Organizational communication and conflict management.Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues,18(1), pp.103-118.