Succession Planning for SMEs in IT Industry

Succession Planning for SMEs in IT Industry Purpose This thesis is based on an investigation into succession planning in small to medium-size organisations within the Information Technology (IT) industry. The main area of research is centred on whether these organisations develop employees sufficiently to move into pivotal roles or whether they must continue to rely on external recruitment for senior positions. An additional question raised by the report is whether operating within the IT industry brings its own peculiarities. Methodology A survey, by means of postal questionnaire, was chosen as the means of collection of primary data. This questionnaire was distributed to human resource managers and officers operating within the IT industry. In addition to this data collection, use was made also of secondary archive survey data. Findings The findings of this report quite clearly show that, despite statements to the contrary, true succession planning exists in very few organisations. Succession planning theory and best practice are ignored to the extent that real top level commitment is hard to find and very little HR participation exists other than at operational level. Findings show that little has changed over the years in that whatever succession planning exists in organisations, it remain in the authority of senior management, operated by and for them. There is little evidence to show that this has been widened to include more junior levels within organisations. Notwithstanding the fact that succession planning exists within the senior ranks, there is little evidence to show that it actually works. External recruitment continues to be the norm and retention rates of senior personnel do not show any real benefit. The specific problems of lack of opportunity and resource, faced by small to medium-sized organisations, are exacerbated within the IT industry, which brings its own issues of employee high expectation and impatience. Introduction Succession Planning What is it? Definition: Succession planning is making sure that the organisation develops and keeps the right people for key jobs. .. More successfully, it defines the competencies needed for the future and develops them in everyone who has the capability. This provides a pool of talent from which successors to important jobs can be drawn. The Industrial Society (April 1997)[1] Staff turnover dictates that all organisations have a need to fill employee vacancies; key roles not excluded. Forward-looking organisations look beyond a basic recruitment process and understand the value of a system that identifies high potential in current employees, as well as recognising leadership gaps in the organisation. Having acknowledged these requirements, good organisations put in place a development structure that seeks to answer these needs. This complete process is known as Succession Planning. Of course, where such a process is part and parcel of everyday life in an organisation, most likely it is not restricted to the hierarchy of the company. An expected consequence of this situation is a culture of ongoing development of employees from top to bottom, leading to a continuous process of succession planning throughout the organisation. Succession Planning Why is it important? The brief that good leadership has a direct affect on organisational performance lies at the heart of the move towards succession planning. We live today in a fast-moving, high pressured, competitive society, where the slightest advantage may give a company a valuable aggressive edge. If a company is to grow and expand into new areas and markets, it is important that the organisation is built on a strong foundation. The best and strongest foundation for an organisation is a pool of capable, talented individuals, who have grown with the organisation; absorbing its knowledge and its culture, ready to move up through the company into pivotal leadership roles. Organisations that do not provide this home grown talent, and possibly lose valuable knowledge and expertise along the way, may have to seek replacements from outside; with this course of action runs the risk of recruiting the wrong person. This latter occurrence could be a disaster, particularly when a wrong choice is made at a senior level. This situation could lead to serious disruption in an organisation and, depending on the importance of the employee concerned, the result could be terminal decline. Research Aim Succession planning is seen as a crucial process by most major employing organisations (Hirsch 2000, p.ix)[2] The aim of this research is to establish whether, despite the perceived benefits of succession planning, most small to medium-sized organisations fail to nurture sufficient home-grown talent and have to look outside their own organisations to fill key senior positions. An alternative, but equally worrying situation is the appointment of individuals on the basis of class, length of service, family history, etc., without the developmental support. This situation certainly exists within the authors organisation at the present time. There is little, if any, work being done among the senior management team to develop the leadership skills of the successors to the principal roles; although it does appear that in the case of the primary position, the choice has been made! More importantly, this situation continues down throughout the organisation and, in many departments, it is difficult to see which individuals would have the qualities necessary to be able to stem into senior roles if the need arose. This state of affairs creates serious concerns for the direction and future of the organisation. All this exists in an organisation, which claims that a culture of development exists and, if questioned superficially, would be of the opinion that succession planning occurred. Strategy The research method chosen was data collection by means of postal questionnaires to be sent out to the HR Officers / Managers in small to medium-sized high tech companies / organisations in the UK and India private sector. Where necessary, the postal questionnaires are to be followed up with telephone reminders and completed via telephone calls or emails. Outline Structure Literature Review History of Succession Planning Historically, succession planning systems were the sole province of the upper echelons of male, class-dominated society. Whether or not this served society well is an arguable point; the fact that it existed in a class-ridden paternalistic age is not up for debate. The traditional model of succession planning, as identified in The Industrial Society (1997), is for the Board of identify, secretly, a list of two or three potential successors for the senior roles. According to Holbech, no more than two or three per cent of the workforce were deemed to have management or executive potential (Holbech, 2003)[3]. There are considerable, well-documented, drawbacks associated with this process for example, management may continue to choose clones of themselves, perpetuating a culture with a reluctance to change. Without fresh blood, bringing new ideas, organisations may begin to stagnate. The disadvantages brought about by this traditional model may be distilled down to two arguments; the organisation risks losing exceptional talent (with the associated consequences) and employees miss out on development and fail to fulfil their potential. Chris Watkin of Hay Group maintains that the roots of talent management can be found in the outsourcing of the pervious decade. (Carrington 2004)[4] The reduction of graduate recruitment schemes in the early 1990s meant organisations often did not have the right employees in place to move into the senior positions. This situation was fine for a while but, long-term, it proved to be very expensive and not to successful. (2004, p.26) Watkin also says that the recruitment slow-down that had occurred over the past couple of years has highlighted further the need for organisations to make more of their current employee talent. (ibid p.26) Certainly, within the authors industry (IT), the lack of available talent during this period has been a serious (and costly) concern. Definitely, it is cheaper to develop current employees than to buy-in expensive candidates with great potential but little knowledge of the Companys products and specific technologies. The CIPD (2004, p.1)[5] support this view by suggesting that maybe it was better to develop loyal employees who understood the organisation and its culture. According to Rothwell (2001, p.5)[6], one of the first writers to appreciate the need to plan was Henri Fayol (1916), whose fourteen points of management indicate that management has a responsibility to ensure the stability of tenure of personnel. Fayol also said that if the need were ignored, key positions would end up being filled by ill prepared people. The world is now a much different place than in Fayols time but the basic tenets of his thinking remain. According to the Corporate Leadership Council (CLC)[7], from 2000 to 2002, many organisations struggled in the difficult economic climate. Despite this, a number of companies continued to excel, sometimes surpassing their earnings expectations. The CLC believe that the reason for this was the quality of their senior executives; they were successful in creating a steady supply of talent at a time when others were failing to keep up. The CLC go on to say that this differentiation may hold the key to organisational success. (2004)[8] The situation prevailing within corporate management today, not surprisingly, puts Board management succession in the limelight. According to Carey and Ogden in Berger Berger, directors, as guardians of the interests of shareholders, naturally are concerned with the ongoing health and success of the corporate enterprise. Capable leadership is vital to this objective, which means that succession must be considered first and foremost and fundamentally a responsibility of the board. (2004 p.243) Despite this, the CLC found that only 20% of responding HR executives were satisfied with their top-management succession processes. Ram Charan thinks that this is simply inexcusable and goes on to say that a board that has been in place for six or seven years but does not have a pool of qualified candidates and a robust succession process is a failure. (2005, p.74)[9] Build Talent throughout the Organisation If an organisation is to be in a position to provide a continuous pool of talented employees from which the leaders of tomorrow must be chosen, it is important that the succession management process is not restricted to the senior level. There is a need to identify and coach potential throughout the organisation. Sisson and Storey thinks that training and development were the building blocks of a learning organisation and, according to many, the real key to developing competitive advantage. (2000, p.147)[10] According to Carey and Ogden, the familiar view of succession is around changing leadership at the top, one CEO[11] moves out of the corner office and other moves in. In reality, this is only a fraction of the whole organisational development picture. The most vital features of the leadership-development process take place beneath the top level, often not visible to people outside the organisation. (ibid, p.247) Obviously, a long-term goal of an organisation may be to extend the succession planning/ management process down through the organisational layers. Hirsch talk about devolved succession planning where local or functional managers are pro-active with regard to the development of successors for roles within their control. This may be extended in a more deliberate way with a result that although the corporate centre considers only the top levels, the bulk of the organisation follows suit. (2000, p.12)[12] A former Vice-President at General Electric commented, The act of creating a mentality of development within a company makes for more effective operations, even before the change takes place. People function better in a developmental mode. (ibid, p.248) Conger and Fulmer were of the opinion that succession planning and leadership development ought to be two sides of the same coin. They went on to ask that, if this were the case, why do many companies handle them as if they were completely separate issue? (2003, p.76)[13] Identifying possible successors, without the structured leadership development in place may lead to failure for the selected candidate and disaster for the organisation. More and more organisations, including very successful High Street retailers such as Tesco and Asda in UK and Pantaloon, K Raheja Group in India have a policy of promoting from within. According to Zneimer in Human Resources Magazine, Asda grooms its brightest talent for the time when they will step into the shoes of those currently sitting on the board or in the management tier just below. They are encouraged to enter a development programme that taps into the skills of external coaches and internal mentors. This ethos is encapsulated in Asdas Accelerated International Management (AIM) initiative, whereby those deemed to be ready are given top jobs abroad. (2004, p.34)[14] Surely, it cannot be an accident that successful companies have home-grown CEOs:- Tesco Sir Terry Leahy 25 years GlaxoSmithKline J P Carnier 14 years AstraZeneca Sir Tom McKillop 34 years BP Lord Browne 38 years Pantaloon India Kishore Biyani 22 years Source: Management Today, December 2003 (updated) in Zneimer (2004, p.37)[15] As Zneimer points out, the succession policies of Asda and Tesco contrast greatly with that of Marks Spencer, which has gone awry in recent years. Instead of continuing to grow their own, they have been spending a fortune on a revolving door CEO succession policy, which has resulted in a couple of very high profile failures. (2004, p.34)[16] This difference in fortunes highlights very well the benefits of a good succession management process. Ram Charan points out in the Harvard Business Review that, in Europe, 70% of outside CEOs, who departed in 2003 were forced to resign by their boards, as compared to 55% of insiders. In the US, these figures were 55% and 34%, respectively. (2005, p.74)[17] Management Commitments All of the theory and best practice covered in this report will come to nought if management commitment is not secured and followed through. Rothwell makes the point that a programme will be effective only when it has the support of its stakeholders; they must perform as well and own the process. (2001, p.116)[18] Lucy McGee quoted in People Management, the European head of HR at Matsushita observed, Without support from the CEO, you might as well not bother. (2004, p.49)[19] The DDI Study, Succession Management Practices, found that effective succession management systems are more likely to be found in organisations which, among other things, involve the CEO; have the support of senior management and involve line management in identifying candidates. The McKinsey study of the war for talent in corporate America, cited by Hirsch in Succession Planning Demystified, contends that with talent comes business success: You can win the war for talent but first you must elevate talent management to a burning corporate priority. According to a survey conducted by Consultancy Fairplace, as cited in Human Resources Magazine, talent management is not getting the funding it needs. In Human Resources Magazines opinion, this suggests a lack of commitment to talent management. (2004)[20] It is recognised that not all organisations, particularly those in the sector forming the target of this report, are able to fund succession management programmes along the lines of those underway at companies such as Asda and Tesco. Succession management, however, really need not cost a great deal of money. In fact, lack of support for this issue is not generally based on lack of budget but more a function of time. Without priority given to this issue, management keeps its focus on customer demands and is too busy reacting to business crises to give the necessary attention to the succession management process. A great deal of management fails to realise that by always focusing on the urgent (not on the important) instead of delegating, they are missing out on an important development process. Of course, there are numerous ways that a succession planning process may be set up and it is not necessary to include such expensive techniques as external executive coaching. Indeed, small to medium-sized companies may still manage to instil a culture of development without recourse to such methods. Combating The Lack of Support: Obtaining management commitment to a succession management programme will not come easily or quickly. HR professionals must be prepared to give time and effort to the task if they are to be successful. In order to succeed, it is important to demonstrate a need and develop a business case for succession management. Rothwell believes that a succession management programme will be successful only when it has the support of its stakeholders; indeed, in order for it to work they must own the process. (2001, p.116)[21] According to the Corporate Leadership Council, there are increased internal and external business trends, which are forcing companies to focus attention on succession management. Fig. 1 outlines current business trends that may be used to make a case for a succession management process. Where top management support is difficult to obtain, Rothwell suggests that the best strategy is to win over idea champions to support the cause. Ideally, such champions come from well-respected top managers who, possibly, have experienced work-related problems as a result of the lack of a successor to a critical role. (ibid, p.69) The Role of Human Resources If HR really is to contribute at a strategic level and take its place at the top table, it must rise to the challenge. Lance Richards, writing in Personnel Today, suggests this is the challenge of delivering the right people in the right place at the right time and at the right cost and goes on to say that HRs ability to do this could be the key to future organisational success. (2004, p.15)[22] Certainly, much has been written on the contribution that HR is able to make to business. Lucy McGee believes that HR must educate its organisations leaders to understand that business plans for growth and change simply dont stand up without a serious commitment of their time and energy to developing people. (2004, p.48)[23] The overwhelming considered opinion about the role of HR seems to be as a champion of the process, guiding rather than taking ownership. This view is in accord with the CIPD, which feels that, although succession planning needs to be owned by managers, led by the CEO, HR has a critical role in supporting and facilitating the process. (2004, p.5)[24] Conger and Fulmer are of the opinion that, although in most companies, HR is the primary owner of the succession planning and leadership development process, this is a mistake. They believe that, in order to be successful, these processes need multiple owners. It is only by active commitment from the top and not just gratuitous support which managers will sense this is a fundamental activity, which must be taken seriously. (2003, p.83)[25] Conger and fulmar also says that it is not realistic or desirable for the CEO and their executive teams to have sole responsibility. HR needs to be involved in order to bring with it the necessary time and expertise. (ibid, p.83) Certainly, Hirsch found that, although the general role of HR could be described as facilitator, the term really did not do justice to the range of activities carried out. Hirsch also says that a project conducted by the Careers Research Forum qualified facilitator in this context as shown in figure 2. HR as Facilitator Process designer: Advising on how information should be collected and collated. Framing agendas and questions. Process Manager / Facilitator: Direct personal involvement in making sure meetings happen and, on occasion, acting as referee in ensuring the discussion is wide-ranging and objective. Good and conscience: Looking further to the future; asking seriously difficult; questions; highlighting problems that executives may prefer not to see. Direct personal intervention as broker: Knowing people well enough to be able to suggest successors, candidates for vacancies; development opportunities for individuals and influencing executives to take these suggestions on board. Counsellor: Trusted to help executives talk through their issues and to help individuals work out their career directions. Information support: Maintaining quality information, which delivers a direct service when internal candidate search is required or more general questions are asked. Despite this general agreement concerning the important role of HR within the succession management process, the CMI survey found that it is rare for HR directors to have board-level influence. At the end of 2004, only 11 companies in the FTSE 100 had HR directors on their Boards. (CMI, 2005) A large number of organisations are looking now to management tools, some web-based, to assist in their succession management programmes and there is a plethora of talent management software systems on the market. Lance Richards argues, however, that we should pay no heed to the software salesman who offers elaborate, expensive packages they are nice but not required. HR should start the succession planning process, if only in a simple paper and pencil format sometimes, the first step is both the simplest and the hardest to make. Richards advice is not to dumb-down succession planning but to show that it can be done simply and without spending the GDP of Denmark in the process. (2004, p.15)[26] Succession Management Process So, where does all this opinion and theory brings us? Almost without exception, good practice points towards a formal succession planning process, at the heart of which lies leadership / employee development. According to Hirsch, succession planning sits inside a much wider set of resourcing and development processes, called succession management. Succession management encompasses links to business strategy, resourcing supply and demand, skills analysis, hiring processes and management development (including graduate and high-flyer programmes). (2000 p.ix)[27] Michael Liebeman in Rothwell supports this view; he feels that succession planning should not stand alone but should be paired with succession management, which assumes a more dynamic business environment. (2001, p.31)[28] For this view of succession management to be truly successful, it is vital that it be engrained in the culture of the organisation and functioning at all levels. Conger and Fulmer see this as a file-rule process, with the four subordinate rules resting on the fundamental rule of development. They believed that succession planning and leadership development are natural allies that share a fundament goal of getting the right skills in the right place. (2003, p79)[29] Implementing the Process Having secured management commitment, arguably the most difficult task of all, the next step is to implement the process. Identification When looking at a succession planning / management system for the first time, it is vital to establish the positions that the organisation wishes to include in the process. The selection of individuals may be linked to particular key posts or identified as having high potential. Conger and Fulmer suggested that by merging succession planning and leadership development into a single system, companies are able to take a long-term view of the process of preparing middle managers, even those below the director level, to become general managers. They suggested that these systems should focus on linchpin positions-roles that are essential to the long-term health of the organisation. (ibid, p79) Whatever the criteria, it is important that the process is tied in to business strategy and the risk posed by the loss of an incumbent is considered when reaching a decision. Composition of Team It is imperative that the composition of the succession planning / management team is such that sufficient weight is attached to the process to ensure its success. In addition to regular team members, most likely the CEO / MD, senior executives / managers and, preferably, HR, it may be a good idea from time to time to second interested parties. Not only will this provide valuable input into selection of candidates but also secure the assist in spreading commitment to the process throughout the organisation. Top level / company commitment and HR involvement are explored in more details in other areas of this report. Measure for Success Once the succession planning / management strategy is in place, it is important that the organisation puts measures in place in order to ensure that the system is operating efficiently and also to highlight any opportunities for improvement. Conger and Fulmer found that succession management systems were effective only when they reacted to changing requirements. They went on to say that none of the best-practice companies in their study expected that their succession management system would be able operate without modification for more than a year. (2003, p.84)[30] An additional important reason for monitoring the system is to demonstrate any success and, thereby, provide information to sustain management commitment. Retention Once an organisation has found its high performers and leaders of the future, it is important to retain these employees and to ensure not only that their aspirations are fulfilled but also that their talents are used to the best advantage of the organisation. Remember that just as organisations are interested in high performers, high performers are keen to be associated with organisations with a strong reputation. In the field of IT in particular, this reputation extends to cutting-edge technology and product development. Organisations need to hold the interest of these individuals if they are not to be lost to more attractive competitors. In addition to the attraction of personal development, one issue of major importance is the subject of recognition / reward and organisations need to give significant consideration to rewarding high performers. It may be necessary to look at alternative / additional methods of compensation, for example, stock options; performance-related bonus schemes; financial support for professional development. What is important is that high performers feel recognised and rewarded in relation to their perceived worth and at levels that are viewed as competitive in the marketplace. According to Susanna Mitterer of TMI, writing in People Management, Pay attention to how your incentive and bonus schemes are designed, making sure all means of reward are fair, consistent and transparent. (2004)[31] Time has moved on but the expectancy theory of Victor Vroom and notions of fairness expounded by Jacques and Adams still ring true today. Turnover Although it may be argued that some turnover is acceptable, even desirable, quite clearly excessive turnover is to be avoided. The cost to the organisation may be seen on many fronts and, in many cases, may not be recognised or considered. In addition to the oft-championed areas of recruitment, training, temporary / contractors costs, there are issues such as lost productivity, customer dissatisfaction and management time, as well as the very important area of loss of skills and knowledge, both explicit and tacit. This final issue, which is of particular significance in this report, is of vital importance to technology organisations, operating as they do in such a knowledge-rich environment. There are many reasons for voluntary turnover in an organisation and according to the CIPD survey, lack of development or career opportunities accounted for 37% of voluntary terminations in the UK. Additionally, 41% highlighted increased learning and development opportunities as a step taken specifically to address staff retention. Make it transparent It is important that the whole process is as transparent as possible. Conger and Fulmer were of the opinion that, although this was a sensitive issue to manage, it was the right view to take. They believed that, if employees knew what was expected of them to reach a particular level, they would be able to take the necessary action. Not making the process transparent and the criteria for inclusion absolutely clear, leads to misunderstandings, feelings of inequality and discontent. Lucy McGee, writing in People Management, believes that there is a genuine urgency at the moment for succession planning and that every manager must become a talent agent spotting, nurturing and lobbying for people with leadership potential and offers her 12-point guide. (2004, pp.48-49)[32] The Small / Medium-Size Business Viewpoint Although, as mentioned previously in this report, the smaller organisations often cannot afford to implement such practices as, for example, executive coaching, the basic principles of succession management remain open to all. Having said this, there are certain restrictions facing the smaller organisations. In addition to the likely limitations on cost, there are the obvious limited developmental opportunities, which could lead to possible difficulties in retention of able and ambitious employees. A consequence of this is the reduced pool of talent from which potential leaders may be drawn. The smaller organisation may also find its senior staff stretched in many different directions, which could lead to difficulty in obtaining commitment to the issue of succession management. Obtaining this commitment, and finding ways to mitigate the particular problems highlighted above, is a role to be embraced by HR. According to the Corporate Leadership Council, there are a number of imperatives and practices that the smaller organisation may consider to improve the situation, as shown in Figure 3. Although, quite clearly, these actions are to be advised in all situations, with regard to small organisations they become all the more relevant. The IT Viewpoint The IT industry in general is a very young, fast-moving and dynamic industry. A low average age, coupled with technical expertise, brings with it developmental and career aspirations that need to be satisfied and will wait for no man. It is important that Companies recognise this and form policies accordingly, in order that they are able to sustain the requirements for technical and career advancement. For this reason, a culture of ongoing development, whilst important and extremely desirable in all industries, takes on a more critical role in high technology organisations. It may be that the particular problems facing the smaller company are exacerbated when the company affected sits within the IT sector. Additionally, it could be argued that turnover rate within the IT industry takes on a slightly different hue. Turnover

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE HEALTH AND NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS Essay

Design leaflet or fact sheet that explains the effect of four factors that can influence the health and everyday needs of individuals in society. Socio-economic: Bad Living conditions. Living conditions can affect your physical, emotional, intellectual and social needs depending on the places that you are living in or the quality of life you lead. Every human is affected differently depending on age or sex. We need to remember that environment that we are living in can have one of the biggest effects on a person for the rest of their life.  Bad conditions in any home such as cold, damp or mould can exacerbate or even speed up various symptoms  and illness such as asthma and eczema, or can lead to strokes or a heart attack. As levels of dampness increase, our basic physical needs get worse. We need to remember that our home is our shelter, but we cannot feel safe and comfortable if conditions that we live in are not pleasant.  If the house’s humidity process of losing heat is rapid in the winter time you will have to heat the property longer to feel warm and comfortable. In this kind of environment food can get mouldy quicker and doesn’t stay fre sh for long time, so we need to remember to keep it for short time and consume while in good condition. Read more: Factors that influence child development essay Sometimes bad living conditions can make nights sleepless. This situation, if constant can lead to exhausting your body, which can cause severe sickness, but also can lead to depression. You’re learning progress and ability to gain new skills are also affected, as you can’t concentrate on goals that you set for yourself.  Emotionally you can be in deep depth as well as your physical needs. If you do not feel comfortable in the environment you live in, you cannot build new  friendships, as feelings of embarrassment will leading this case. The level of self-conception is poor. How you can feel good, if your background is not really satisfying you? Feelings of being afraid to belong to any of social group are natural, as nobody wants to feel stressed about inviting someone to their home if you know that condition you live in is bad and can scare others. Humidity and a mouldy house can make your clothes smell horrible even if you don’t feel that by yourself, as y ou live in this condition, other people can smell it.  Living conditions can influence on your social needs like a relationship and family. That can cause constant arguing between couples and lead to separation or divorce. Physical: Sensory impairment – blindness Physical – as blind person your home needs to be adapted to your condition to be comfortable and functional at the same time. You need to feel safe and be safe in your own property. That is why it is very important for a blind person to have someone to assist them on daily basis. Very often it happens that blind people can move around and are using a white stick or have trained dog to help them move around town or even your own house. It is important not to change home decor frequently as a blind person usually remembers where things are and to float around the house by using memory. Being visually impaired can be really hard especially if you lost your vision in an accident or sickness. You may feel unsafe in your own home as physical comfort been disrupted. Your ability to move is limited, even if you feel like you want to prepare a meal for yourself, you need constant supervision from somebody to help you, and make sure you will not leave gas cooker switched on. Visually impaired people, to read, use a special language called Braille. By using this form of communication they are able to read and follow instructions easily.  Blind people learn by using books written in Braille or by listening to recorded information on CD’s or MP3 players etc. Visual impairment is not a barrier to learn or achieve anything in life. It is enough if you ‘want to’ because you can learn anything you like.  Sometimes a situation of non-acceptance of your own condition can be depressive and you may see yourself as not a fully able person or you can feel like you missed something in your life. It is difficult to be open with people as high volume of discrimination is still on display on a daily basis. To maintain new friendships can be hard and difficult, but if you are actively taking part with events or courses for blind people you should be able to develop more self-confidence. On these occasions’ people with the same doubts and problems surrounds you. This can help to understand and accept your own situation.  Blind people recognise voices very well. They can also recognise shapes by using hands and sense of touch. By this method they are able to describe how another person looks like by touching your body or face. This can show that visually impaired people can have normal happy life, and not being able to see it is not a barrier to have a poor quality life and relationship followed by having a family and been loved by someone. By taking a part in groups for visually impaired people you may develop good level of self-esteem. You can feel more accepted and wanted when surrounded by people, which know how to help you and support you on every step. Lifestyle – smoking cigarettes If we look at a case of heavy smokers we could say that this addiction can affect almost every aspect of your life. Normally you do not feel the need to eat much oroften as you constantly have the taste of nicotine in your mouth. If you are trying to quit it is more possible that you will look for cover to your addiction by eating more frequently and more heavy meals. Smokers usually smoke straight after meal, but when having alcoholicdrinks it is possible to smoke more. Your home probably (if smoking inside) smells unpleasant and will be surrounded by nicotine odour. Smoking can cause many illnesses and can even cause death. When smoking inside your house you have to be really careful to not burn anything, especially when smoking while you are really tired. Smoking can cause tightening of the lungs so you are at risk of lung cancer development, asthma or other diseases. You are less able to exercise as you getting exhausted more often and quicker than non-smokers. By looking at your self-conception, you may feel you are better than others but from the other side people can look at you like on weak person being addicted to cigarettes.  You may feel like you have achieved something but that is not true. Smoking is not making you better person.  If you are onlyperson in your household that has been smoking this can affect your relationship and your family. Your partner may feel disgusted as smokers usually have yellow teeth and smell from their mouth is not really pleasant, even if using special sprays to kill odour. You can gain a respect from others if you are in group of people that are all smoking but you can easily loose it as well e.g. when smoking around kids or in inappropriate places. Many people are smoking just when going out (social smokers), when meeting friends as they do not want to look different or out of place. Sense of belonging to a community group makes you feel needed and respected by others. Smoking is often used as an excuse for bad mood, but after a cigarette nothing has changed apart from your breath. Health – chronic disorder:long term back pain This disorder can affect every day of your life. You need to make sure that your shelter is well adjusted to your needs. Having constant back pain can cause problems when climbing up stairs, so it would be really useful to have a ground flat so you do not need to climb to high or at least have a lift in your block.  To have special exercise program to follow would help to avoid worsening pain and making the condition worse. Lifting and carryingheavy items like boxes or heavy shopping can deteriorate this condition even more. If pain is excruciating it is possible to have less sleepless nights, whichcan cause problems leading to depression.  Constant back pain can cause many emotional problems.Back pain can be really unbearable, so taking medications that are designed to help us to cope with pain is not a bad move. Some people, by taking painkillers feel weak, but medicine is designed to help us not to make us feel bad about it.  People with constant back pain tend to get frustr atedand change moods rapidly. Self-conception of how you see yourself may become low and a feeling of not being fully valuable person can lead. Really, often people are questioningthemselves: why this is happening now, at this time, why me? Finding the answer is really hard especially whenperson is left on its own, but there aremany people with this kind of problems.  Trying to sort out all problems on your own by understanding situation is not easy. The best option is to join group that is designed to support aperson on every step through a period of accepting thesituation. Group memberships are designed not just to help you to cope with pain but also to make you feel like normal person. On this occasion you are able to meet new friends and spend quality time with someone else, not just being left on your own at home.  In some cases chronic pain can affect the ability to learn and achieve a satisfactory level of success, as ability to concentrate is disrupted by the  pain. On the other side, a person affected by chronic back pain can spend hours in an armchair reading books and filling up crosswords, which can expand your knowledge, just to not move around and to not feel a pain.

Historical Roots of Psychology Essay

Psychology is a relatively new science, having emerged as a formal discipline only during the 19th century. It, however, came into existence due to the philosophical aim of understanding and explaining the nature of the mind and the soul. Physiology was later integrated into psychology when the latter sought to discover the causes and the cure for mental illness. Historical Roots of Psychology Psychology is considered as one of the youngest sciences – it emerged as a formal discipline only during the 19th century. Ironically, the historical roots of psychology can be traced back to the ancient field of philosophy. Throughout history, philosophers and religious scholars have sought to understand and explain the nature of the mind and the soul. This objective, in turn, resulted in the institution of psychology as an official school of thought (MSN Encarta, 2008). Ancient Philosophers and Philosophies Greek philosophers started venturing into psychological topics from about 600 to 300 BC. They were said to be most interested in epistemology, a philosophical sub-discipline which studied the nature of knowledge and human existence. As a result, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle wrote extensively about topics such as knowledge, beauty, desire, free will and common sense (MSN Encarta, 2008). The immense interest of the Greek philosophers in epistemology led to the creation of cosmology, the â€Å"study of the universe as a whole, including its distant past and future† (MSN Encarta, 2008). They must have realized that the nature of the universe determined the existence of its inhabitants, including human beings. Contentions French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes, however, disagreed with the views of the ancient Greek thinkers – he believed that the mind and the body were independent units. The body was a physical entity while the mind was a spiritual one – the pineal gland (a tiny organ found at the base of the brain) was their sole means of interaction. English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, meanwhile, argued that all human experiences (images, sensations, feelings and thoughts) were actually physical processes that took place within the nervous system and the brain. This belief eventually became the basis for monism, a philosophical school of thought which argued that â€Å"the mind and the body are one and the same† (MSN Encarta, 2008). At present, however, psychologists no longer recognize monism due to the immense scientific evidence that validate the intertwined relationship between the physical and mental aspects of human experience (MSN Encarta, 2008). Early Psychology It is widely believed that psychology became a science in 1879. In this year, physiologist Wilhelm Wundt established the first laboratory dedicated to the scientific study of the mind at the University of Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. Since the late 18th and early 19th centuries, physiology has already been integrated into psychology. Some experts believed that specific parts of the brain were responsible for certain brain activities (MSN Encarta, 2008). This idea paved the way for the creation of psychological subfields whose theories and principles are being used in modern-day psychology. Functionalism Functionalism was one of the most well-known psychological schools of thought during the first decades of psychology. Its founder, William James, was a staunch advocate of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory that â€Å"all characteristics of a species must serve some adaptive purpose† (MSN Encarta, 2008). Consequently, James created a psychological subfield which espoused the investigation of the purpose of consciousness instead of its structure. Functional psychologists later came up with the longitudinal research, a technique which was composed of interviewing, testing and observing one person over a long period of time. In using this system, the psychologist can make and record observations on a patient’s development and his or her response to different situations (MSN Encarta, 2008). Sigmund Freud Viennese neurologist Sigmund Freud was one of the most prominent figures in the field of psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his personality theory of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis operated on the premise that â€Å"people are motivated largely by unconscious forces (such as) strong sexual and aggressive drives† (MSN Encarta, 2008). Although humans have the capability to suppress their unconscious motives, it is necessary for them to find a suitable outlet if they wish to maintain a healthy personality (MSN Encarta, 2008). Psychoanalysis eventually became a form of psychotherapy through the technique of free association. Freud developed free association as a means of probing the unconscious mind. In this technique, the patient is made to lie down and talk about whatever thoughts, wishes and memories that come to his or her mind. The analyst, in turn, determines the psychological significance of these verbalizations by attempting to interpret them. For Freud, dreams were the â€Å"royal road to the unconscious† – the disguised expressions of deep, hidden impulses (MSN Encarta, 2008). Behaviorism Behaviorism was formed in the 1990s mainly as a response to Freudian psychology. Psychologists who followed the former contested the reliability and usefulness of studying invisible mental processes such as consciousness and unconsciousness. For them, it was better to analyze only behavior that could be directly observed rather than interpreting the vague manifestations of a given behavior. Because of its relatively more scientific methods, behaviorism dominated the field of psychology for almost 50 years (MSN Encarta, 2008). Two of the most well-known experiments in behaviorism are those by American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike (1898) and Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1906). Thorndike’s tests on cats produced the law of effect, which argued that â€Å"behaviors that are followed by a positive outcome are repeated, while those followed by a negative outcome or none at all are extinguished† (MSN Encarta, 2008). Pavlov’s research on dogs, on the other hand, resulted in the Pavlovian conditioning (also known as classical conditioning). According to the Pavlovian conditioning, it is possible for an organism to relate one stimulus to another (MSN Encarta, 2008). Conclusion It is true that psychology emerged as a formal discipline only during the 19th century and is mostly a combination of philosophical and physiological concepts. But these did not hinder psychology from being a very advanced school of thought today. One of the most important contributions of psychology is the proper treatment of mental illnesses. Prior to the advent of psychology, mentally ill people were believed to be possessed with evil spirits. As a result, they were subjected to physical torture in order to release the malevolent beings that were â€Å"controlling† them. Furthermore, advances in the field of psychology that were geared towards improving mental health just goes to show that medicine has already progressed so much as well. Health is no longer defined as merely being free of disease but also having a vigorous mind. The body, after all, cannot function without the mind and vice versa. References MSN Encarta. (2008). Cosmology. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761564398/Cosmology. html MSN Encarta. (2008). Psychology. Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761576533/Psychology. html

How Christianity Changed Between The First Century And Its...

How Christianity changed between the first century and its legalization in the fourth century Christianity had to evolve and adapt over the centuries in order to survive. Christianity had to merge with the cultures and traditions of other religions. It took four centuries for Christianity to become legal. In the year 30, Christianity mainly consisted of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. The belief that Jesus was a savoir was the break from Judaism. Jesus was appealing to people because he was real; lived on Earth. His teachings were appealing to people and the main ideas was that Christ was a savior. Jesus taught using parables, he talked to people who had been shunned, and welcomed the poor into society. The four Apostles are the telling of Jesus with different emphasis. They traveled spreading the teachings of Christ throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. John started to preach good news and John the Baptist told the people that the kingdom of god was near. The teachings included that sins could be forgiven through Gods orders. God was a loving and forgiving father, and believed in life after death. Jesus could perform miracles, raise the dead, and cure blindness. Christianity was seen at first as a part of Judaism, and the early believers were comprised of an apoca lyptic Jewish sect. It was thought that the Lord may return at any time and the end must be close. The persecutions of the Christian’s by the Romans began when the Christian’s became tooShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Dilemmas Of Euthanasia Essay1638 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ethical Dilemmas of Euthanasia in Canada with the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide This systematic analysis of the professional literature will explore the ethical dilemmas that Canadian medical professionals face while considering euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, the latter of which was made legal in Canada on June 17, 2016 (Chochinov and Frazee, 2016). 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