Accepting Gay Parents - 1015 Words

Is it more traumatizing for a parent to find out his children are homosexual or for a child to find out his parents are homosexual? The answer to this question is never easy, but is increasingly important as homosexuals assert their rights to come out of the closet and to raise families more and more. Karen Petersons article, Looking Straight at Gay Parents assesses varying aspects of the latter situation. Michael LaSalas article, What to do When Your Child Says Im Gay! explores significant ramifications of the former situation. A comparison between these articles indicates that it is more difficult for children to grow up with homosexual parents than for parents to find out their children are gay. The effects of parents finding out that their children are homosexual can actually help some parents. Once parents get over the initial surprise, this information can help them to become attuned to a side of them that they were not previously aware of. Moreover, it can also help them to become emotionally closer to their children. LaSalas article demonstrates some of the positive repercussions that parent feel after their children inform them of their tendencies in the following quotation. I find that some parents get to the point where they believe that the experience of having a gay child actually made them a better person more open-minded and sensitive to the needs of others, particularly those in minority groups. Yet others found that their relationships with theirShow MoreRelatedGay or Lesbian Parenting and the Psychological Effects on Their Adoptive Children890 Words   |  4 Pagesviewed as â€Å"non-traditional households† and these parents raise their children in ver y much the same ways as heterosexual parents. These children grow with their adoptive families and if their parents have a stable relationship with each other and with their adoptive children, and have great support systems, then it should not be difficult for those children to thrive in the world as children of gay/lesbian parents. Families headed by gay and lesbian parents are just as diverse as families led by heterosexualRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Accepted When Coming Out As A Gay Individual1368 Words   |  6 PagesAccepted When coming out as a gay individual, there is a desire to be loved and accepted for who they are by the family. When parents reject their child’s sexual orientation it often comes to kicking the child out of their home out of shame for their sexuality. In recent statistics, ‘Studies indicate that between 25% and 50% of homeless youth are LGBT and on the streets because of their sexual orientation or gender identity’ (Pflagnyc, Statistics You Should Know About Gay and Transgender Students).Read MoreThe Ballroom Dance Team Essay1424 Words   |  6 PagesFor this analysis, I interviewed N, a 21-year-old white male college student that identifies as gay. He is a member of the ballroom dance team and also has a large social presence on campus. While it has not necessarily been easy for him to come out to those around him, he thinks he has been lucky overall and is thankful for the support he has received from his closest friends, as well as people he barely knew. By slowly revealing his sexual orientation, he has gained confidence, self-awareness,Read MoreHomosexuality as a Deviance The view that homosexuality is deviant allows society to discriminate against certain people.1602 Words   |  7 Pagessexual deviance. There are many cultures that accept forms of homosexuality. The Western society is not accepting of it though, and many times this non-accepting view cause discrimination towards homosexuals. Is homosexuality a way for some people to deviate, or is it just the way some people need to live their lives? If that is the way of life for some people than society has to become accepting towards this lifestyle. Homosexuals are a minority since they differ from the accepted sexual orientationRead MoreLegalization of Gay Marriage Essay1285 Words   |  6 PagesLegalization of gay marriage has been a major controversial topic for a long time. Although, many people do not know what it means to be homosexual, most people do not know the actual definition of homosexuality and they do not know how difficult it is to be gay in this society. There are many reasons why people are against gay marriage and homosexuals all together. Most of the reasons are based on religious bias another big reason is being afraid of the unknown. Some smaller reasons are that beingRead MorePersuasive Essay On Gay Adoption1643 Words   |  7 Pagestreated as second-class citizens. This treatment by society has significantly limited the basic human rights of these individuals, including parenthood. Should LGBTQ+ be able to adopt children? Do gay parents and guardians effect children negatively? Adoption is a lengthy process of legally accepting responsibilities of a non-biological child. While adoption is usually governed by laws that vary from state to state, but there are also federal regulations. These federal laws are set in placeRead MoreThe Journey Of Life And The Afterlife1506 Words   |  7 PagesI am Bisexual, there I said it, I am not afraid to say it and I will be saying it throughout this entire narrative. I am not afraid to be who I am, and no one else should be afraid to be who he or she is either. I have been told being gay is a sin, I have also been told people like me are going to go to hell, and I have always question these statements. If people are going to go to hell for being their true selves, then shouldn’t heterosexual, Christians, be going to go to hell as well, becauseRead MoreThe Legalization Of Gay Marriage1411 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract The legalization of gay marriages is one of the most controversial issues throughout particularly in modern life. This paper, based on secondary research, arguing for legalizing same-sex marriage through specific analysis of its positive influences. In particular, there are two main benefits regarding society as well as economy. The finds of the research indicate that gays or lesbians are completely an important part of society. Therefore, they must have the rights to live and marry legallyRead MoreCharacteristics Of A Horizontal Identity1052 Words   |  5 Pagesencompasses a horizontal identity or a vertical identity. A horizontal identity consists of traits that parents seem to find strange due to the fact that the traits are acquired by an individual’s peer group. Some horizontal identities reflect recessive genes, random mutations, prenatal influences, or values and/or preferences a child does not share with his or her parents or ancestors (Solomon, 2012, p. 2). Nevertheless, these identities tend to be viewed as flaws. Knowledge, competenceRead MoreThe Lgbt Community And Its Own Unique Culture Essay1572 Words   |  7 Pagesresearch on the LGBT community and it’s own unique culture, I didn’t know too much about it. All I knew was that I myself was very accepting of it and was in no way judgemental of anyone who felt that they belonged in that community. Little did I know that the term â€Å"LGBT† has grown to include other categories. According to Mardell (2016), â€Å"LGBTQIA+: Stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, interse x, asexual/aromantic, and plus for other identities that are not straight and/or

Global Warming And Climate Change - 979 Words

Global Warming Threats For various reasons I believe that global warming and climate change issues are perhaps the greatest threats to our planet. Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Some people may disagree thinking global warming is a natural cycle. However, a common misunderstanding of the climate change equilibrium is the earth doesn’t just warm up as a result of a natural phenomenon, the earth warms up because it is forced to. Also influential businesses and governments have been against the idea of global warming, afraid that tackling climate change is going to be too costly because energy security is already a growing concern for rich nations. Though action will be cheaper than inaction, which could result in economic, environmental and even health benefits. Finally, the most important reason is rapid global warming can affect an ecosystems chance to adapt naturally . Ocean biodiversity is already being affected, as are other parts of the ecosystem. There are other activities that cause global warming. It is incorrect that many think the earth warms up because it’s too cold and vice versa to keep equilibrium. The earth warms up because it is forced to. Energy is constantly moving from the ocean to the atmosphere causing warming and cooling events. However, internal forces do not cause climate change, changes in energy balance change theShow MoreRelatedGlobal Warming And Climate Change974 Words   |  4 Pagesabout global warming, whether it is true or false. Is there evidence to prove that global warming has impacted the climate due to the rise in the earth’s temperature? Climate change is a problem that is worldwide that should be reviewed. The rise in the earth’s temperature has caused some impact to the weather and climate changes to many places worldwide. This rise in temperature has the potential of causing drastic changes to the earth in many ways. It is time to view the global warming concern sRead MoreClimate Change Of Global Warming924 Words   |  4 Pages Figure 0.1 shows the different effects of global warming. Global warming is the warming of our planet at an extreme rate. The Earth’s climate has warmed by 7.8OC since 1880. (Quick facts about science, 2015). What causes global warming? The cause of global warming is the carbon dioxide. This acts like a blanket. Protecting the earth, and heating the earth. Sun rays would normally bounce around the earth, but with the blanket, the sun rays heat the blanket which heats the earth. (Petersen ScienceRead MoreGlobal Warming And Climate Change1398 Words   |  6 Pages Global warming and climate change have been frequent topics of discussion over the past several years. Although people tend to focus on the politics, it is important to look past the media aspects of it into the cold hard facts of what our Earth is currently experiencing, and what has caused it in the first place. The cause of climate change includes natural causes, but human causes are what is generating such a rapid global temperature change. It’s time that the ways in which humanity affectsRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1060 Words   |  5 PagesClimate change (Klaus) 1000 The terms â€Å"global warming†, â€Å"climate change† or â€Å"greenhouse effect† have become more than just parts of the popular lexicon as they rather are subject of public discussions, scientific research or political debates. Despite the popularity and the ubiquity of these terms, the public’s theoretical and conceptual understanding of them and their causal relations is often based on superficial knowledge and buzzwords or caricatures outlined and depicted in several popular mediaRead MoreClimate Change : Global Warming1194 Words   |  5 PagesDonya Curtis April 19, 2017 English 1001-rough draft Global Warming Global warming is one facet of the broader term climate change. It is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth s surface air and oceans from the mid 20th century and the projected continuation. The Global warming is primarily the consequence of building up greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Emission rates for most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, CO2, have increased 120 fold in the past 140 years. WhileRead MoreClimate Change and Global Warming1074 Words   |  5 PagesClimate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This alsoRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1022 Words   |  5 PagesWhat = Climate Change Who = Emma, Aoife, Julia, Rachael, Mariah and Cà ©line What is it? Climate Change is a change in the demographic distribution of weather patterns, and related change in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, happening over time scales of decades or longer. It’s the world’s greatest threat. Climate change is the change in temperature over a period of time. It involves the greenhouse effect and global warming. Where is it? It is an issue affecting everyone everywhere. ClimateRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1474 Words   |  6 Pagesphenomenon, known as â€Å"smog† became an often daily occurrence in big, urbanized cites across the globe. Also, Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, popularized the issue of climate change and global warming as a result of the damage that the modern world has done to the atmosphere. He noted that people resist the facts about climate change due to the inconvenience of changing their lifestyles. But, uninhibited industrialization of several countries has led to intense modernization and revolution of theRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming928 Words   |  4 PagesThis paper will discuss climate change and global warming on the economy. The paper also gives a description on climate change and global warming. As well as what it hold for future business owners. It will also discuss what the government is doing about climate change/global warming. Climate change is a long-term shift in the statistics of the weather (including its averages). For example, it could show up as a change in climate normal (expected average values for temperature and precipitation)Read MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1630 Words   |  7 PagesClimate Related Threats Global warming will lead to uncontrollable devastation such as famine, war, and economic instability. Climate change will accelerate the dislocation of hundreds of millions of people and the extinction of many species. The negative effects of climate change are obvious on every continent. Professor Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia said, The human influence on climate change is clear. The atmosphere and

Apple Inc. Free Essays

A. Company Industry Position Apple is the iconic company behind the mouse-driven Macintosh computer, the phenomenal iPod music-player and the recently launched iPhone. The company’s marked inventiveness keeps it in the lead (Economist. We will write a custom essay sample on Apple Inc. or any similar topic only for you Order Now com website) and secures its place in the industry. Apple’s relentless efforts and continual investments in research and development are seen to usher in more innovative breakthroughs that will further fuel the company’s further growth and market expansion. B. Industry Characteristics. With its founder, Steven Jobs, at its helm, Apple creatively designs personal computers, portable digital music players and mobile communication devices and proceeds to manufacture and market them. The company as well offers to sell and to service related software, peripherals and networking solutions. (Google Finance website) Apple has such an immense following that is made up of the individual consumers, the small and mid-sized business (SMB) enterprises, the education sector, the government agencies and the â€Å"creative consumers. † (Apple Inc. 008 10-K) The latter pertains to Apple’s special niche market composed of young and trendy people who can afford to discard relatively new gadgets for want of more updated versions of the same products. The more recent ventures of the company include the selling of a myriad of products manufactured by other companies specifically to cater to such special market niche. These products include application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, accessories and peripherals of all sorts, and digital content that are all tailored for the Mac, iPod and iPhone. Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) Apple has an established market all around the world. It has set up a dynamic marketing network through its â€Å"online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. † (Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) It should not come as a surprise to know that Apple puts up with a lot of aggressive competition in all the markets it caters to – markets for computers, digital music devices, mobile communication gadgets, all the related paraphernalia and for the services attached to these products. Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) But no matter how stiff competition can be, Apple has emerged as an undisputed market leader. In fact, Apple has reaped increased earnings this economically difficult year (2008) while most of other companies incurred huge losses. In the same tune, Apple offered last Black Friday only 8% off its new MacBook, 4% off a 20-inch iMac, 5- 8% off iPods and none off iPhones while analysts predicted discounts to reach 15% (Frommer, Yahoo! Finance webpage). Apple is obviously no t keen on competing based on prices. As the company behind such signature products as iMac, iPod and iPhone, Apple can well afford to price its products higher without having to worry about losing the market to competitors offering cheaper products. Technology and its optimization are among the factors behind Apple’s success. Its products are deemed â€Å"new technology† and the technological aspects of its products are optimized for exclusivity. Thus, users of any one of Apple’s products are bound to be captured clients for the others in the company’s menu. The technological inter- relatedness of Apple’s products presents a distinct advantage that it is wisely making the most of. Apple’s products are theoretically homogeneous; the market is awash with all kinds of computers, music-players and mobile phones. But then, such products are more considered as rather unique. Author McNees has written that â€Å"in a mature market with highly homogeneous products, well-executed small differences can make [a given product] unique and [sought after]. Indeed, the leverage brought on by Apple’s industrial-design machine makes its product stand out in the market. This constitutes another major advantage enjoyed by the company. Meanwhile, there are also serious disadvantages that Apple is saddled with. For one, the company is highly susceptible to the adverse effects of a prevailing bad economic condition which both causes the market value of the company’s shares to take a dive and substantially reduces the earning and sp ending capacity of its market. Apple also happens to be in the middle of a litigation arising from its past stock option granting malpractices. Adverse findings of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the conclusion of the investigation that it is conducting will materially damage the company’s name, financial condition and operating results. (Apple Inc. 2008 10-K) (Please see II to IX and a portion of X in the Excel document) X. Based on the foregoing, I do not recommend that the 10,000 shares of Apple be purchased now. I would recommend keeping it as cash and then buying the Apple shares when the macro-economic factors affecting the finance world and especially the stock markets have begun to improve. At this point, the market can generally do worse and Apple might just go with such downturn with no sufficient ammunition – like significant good news – available. Works Cited â€Å"Innovation Lessons from Apple.†Ã‚   Economist.com.   7 June 2007.   The Economist Newspaper Limited.   26 November 2008 http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm? story_id=9302662.   â€Å"U.S. SEC Form 10-K of Apple Inc. for Fiscal Year ending September 2008.†Ã‚   Apple Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  26 November 2008 http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/10/21results.html. Frommer, Dan.   â€Å"Apple’s Black Friday Sale:   No 15 Percent Discout.†Ã‚   Yahoo! Finance. 28 November, 2008.   Yahoo! 30 November 2008 http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/136179/Apples-Black-Friday-Sale%3A-No-15-Percent-Discount. â€Å"Apple Inc.†Ã‚   Google Finance.   29 November 2008 http://finance.google.com/ finance?q=Apple. McNees, Donald.   â€Å"Hat trick:   retaining customers, finding growth and achieving attractive returns are not easy in today’s mature financial markets, but a handful of companies are doing all three.†   The Free Library by Farlex. 29 November 2008 http://www.the freelibrary.com/Hat+trick%3a+retaining+ customers%2c+ finding+growth+and+ achieving†¦-a0158908311. White, Gerald, Ashwinpaul Sondhi and Dov Fried.   The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements.   New York:   John Wiley Sons, Inc., 1998. Brigham, Eugene and Joel Houston.   Fundamentals of Financial Management.   Orlando, FL:   The Dryden Press, 1998. How to cite Apple Inc., Papers Apple Inc. Free Essays string(79) " its roots in the Computer Industry it is no longer just focused on computers\." Team â€Å"Death Spiral† examined the stewardship and business performance of Apple Inc. by undertaking a strategic analysis of Apple Inc. ’s previous, present and potential future strategic and market performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Apple Inc. or any similar topic only for you Order Now The internal workings of the firm were examined to reveal a culture of constant innovation and a drive to create easy to use, life improving products. A two tiered corporate structure with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook being at the apex of anagement and a horizontally flat structure of vice presidents the decision making process is not complicated by various vertical levels of command and decision making. Apple Inc. ’s internal structure has become flexible as divisions are specifically established to develop the latest product and maintain a competitive advantage. Apples industry segments were than explored and it was noted that it was not possible to absolutely define a market which Apple consistently performed in. Apple Inc. ’s multi-functional product base gave a clearly indication of the underlying strategic management at play. It was accepted that Apple has defined its own market segment, that of ‘mobile electronic devices’. The four main strategic management themes of M. E. Porter (focus, differentiation and cost leadership), G. Hamel C. K. Prahalad (structuralist), W. C. Kim and R. Mauborgne (reconstructionist) and J. Ridderstrale and K. Nordstrom (intellect, uniqueness and innovation) were examined in light of Apple Inc. ’s most recent performance. The Blue Ocean Strategy and the Funky Business Strategy models were found to be the most applicable and helped explained Apple Inc. s sustained and phenomenal rise in business performance. Finally, strategy recommendations for the future direction of Apple Inc were explored by the use of a Strategy Canvas. Possible pitfalls and hypothetical futuristic products were also explored. The single most strategic liability identified was the departure of the CEO Steve Jobs from Apple which could potentially be catastrophic if not fatal for the Ap ple brand. † ! ! Apple Inc. has transformed over its 30 year existence; there have been changes in leadership, product types, company logo and name. Apple Inc. experienced decline in the early to mid-nineteen nineties but has experienced unprecedented growth and success since the return of the founding father figure of Steve Jobs. Yoffie and Kim (2010) highlight the misdirected and turbulent time Apple experienced in the 1990’s until the turn around and change (1998) in ethos/philosophy of Apple as purported by Jobs. Job’s aim was to reduce the number of product models, change the mode of distribution to larger outlets and promote Apple as a ‘hip alternative to other computer brands’ (Yoffie Kim, 2010, p. 4). Apple Inc. ’s current mission statement states ‘Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and Apps Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices’ (Apple Inc, 2010c). This mission statement highlights and gives a strong indication of where the strategic direction Apple Inc. ntends to progress; not only do they strive to have the best products but they intend to stretch vertically across product lines. To emphasis this, Ostdick (2010) comments on the personal drive of Steve Jobs and his belief that all product innovations can be recycled into other projects. The underlying guiding ethos is just because one piece of technology doesn’t work in one project, how we can pot entially use it outside its intended use to produce something new and successful. Parallel to the financial success of Apple Inc. is the longevity and stability of its board of directors and corporate structure of the firm. There are seven members on the board of directors from various professional backgrounds. The average tenure of these members is six years with more than half sitting for more than ten years (Apple Inc, 2009). Organisational structure is horizontal with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook acting as chief executive and operating officers respectively. Beneath this pinnacle are nine vice presidents who preside over areas such as retail, hardware engineering and marketing (see appendix 1 for the current executive structure of Apple Inc. ) (Apple Inc, 2010c). These vice presidents administer the day to day running of fourteen individual divisions (see appendix 2 for the current organisational chart of Apple Inc. ). In terms of strategy; Apple Inc. has dedicated divisions purely for further development of the iPhone and iPod. The flexibly of the firm is highlighted here; with † 0 research and development, Apple are prepared to specifically develop these products. It would be logical to infer when their product life cycles reach their pinnacle; new divisions may be made to further develop the current products at th time. hat Apple Inc. ’s culture internally is a positive workplace where generous employee benefits are available. Employees are subjected however to a strict process of ethics and business processes outlined in e outline their document ‘Business Conduct: The Way We Do Business’ (Apple Inc, 2009). Externally Apple Business . Inc. is embracing the latest sustainable practices in various operational areas and hence attempting to improve their triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) or Corporate Social Responsibility credentials (Esty Winston, 2009). Apple provide educational programs for their staff Esty 2009 . and are engaging the community with educational programs and scholarships (Apple Inc, 2009 Over Apple 2009). the last five years a cultural change has occurred in relation to environmental responsibilities. Apple responsibilities. recycling programs have been established, carbon emissions saving have been implemented upstream and downstream of the supply chain; and a further commitment to produce environmentally safe products (Apple Inc, 2010b). ! † # ! The first challenge in analysing the industry that Apple operates in is defining that industry. Apple has created its own industry of â€Å"Consumer Technology† by choosing to compete in, and redefine segments of more traditional industries. Apple operates in segments of the Computer, Consumer Electronics, Music, Movie/Video, and Telecommunications Industries. positioned itself in selected segments of the market. In each industry it has Although Apple has its roots in the Computer Industry it is no longer just focused on computers. You read "Apple Inc." in category "Papers" st The change of name in January 2007 from Apple Computers to Apple Inc reflects this change of direction (Honan, 2007). . Despite this Apple generated almost 14 BN USD of sales from personal computers in 2009, its second highest † 1 level in history and 32% of the company’s total sales. Even in its traditional market segment Apple Inc. does not dominate the market with an estimated 4. 2% share of the global market in 2009 (Yoffie Kim, 2010). Apple Inc. continues to gain ground, particularly in their home market, the USA. Apple PC sales are estimated to be only 10. % of the US market in the 3 quarter of 2010 (see Appendix 3) (Ash, 2010), up from 8% in 2009 (Yoffie Kim, 2010), overtaking Acer to become a distant 3rd to Hewlett Packard and Dell Computers. The personal computer industry is a USD $425 BN industry dominated by companies producing what are still referred to as â€Å"IBM compatible† machines that predominantly use Microsoft Windows operating systems. Major industry leaders include Hewlett Packard (HP), Dell Computers, Acer, Lenovo is a Chinese company that purchased the loss making personal rd Toshiba and Lenovo. computer business of IBM in 2005. IBM no longer manufactures personal computers. The industry is can be characterised as being in a mature growth phase with rising sales and falling prices. Leading industry consultants the Gartner Group forecast sales growth in unit shipments of almost 20% in 2010 with significant falls in unit prices (Anonymous (The Australian), 2010). The industry is highly price competitive and fragmented with thousands of smaller companies competing with the major players using common commoditised components. Apple stands apart from the pack offering a highly differentiated product, with its own operating system and unique Apple design and style. It focuses on the personal usage market rather than the corporate market and commands premium prices for its products. Despite its small market share overall Apple commanded 91% of computers sales over USD $1,000 in 2009 (Yoffie Kim, 2010). This allows them to maintain industry leading margins of 40% in 2009. Apples margins have increased during recent years while their competitors have continued to decline (Yoffie Kim, 2010). The global consumer electronics market is estimated to be in excess of USD $ 700 BN a year (Anonymous, 2010b). Consumer electronics includes entertainment, office productivity and communication equipment. The boundaries of this industry are loosely defined as product innovation and technology but convergence is blurring the edges. Leading Global companies include (by one industry definition) Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, IBM and Nokia (The Engineer, 2010). The industry is characterized by product lifecycles which are getting shorter, † nd products more technologically advanced and complex. Your phone is a computer; your fridge can connect to the internet. You can watch TV on your computer or phone and watch U-tube on your television! The industry is competitive with many global players with established market presence being challenged for market share by both other established players and new emerging brands. Prices are being driven down by agg ressive competition. Manufacturers are seeking to lower costs through mass production in low cost countries, notably China. In this environment, branding is critical. Products are too complex for many consumers to rationally compare features, functionality and price in an effective manner. Products are often purchased on the basis of the perceived price performance, with consumers associating with the product brand. Apple is well positioned in this regard with a strong brand associated with Style, Quality, Useability and â€Å"Cool† despite having only a limited range of products within this broader industry definition. $ The music industry is a well-established consumer industry, traditionally controlled by the recording companies. Major players Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI and Warner Music controlling in excess of 70% of the industry with a larger number of small â€Å"independents† making up the rest. Global sales are in order of USD $ 25 Billion in 2009 (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 2010b). The dominate trend in the industry is the rapid uptake of digital download of music as the consumer preferred method of distribution. This is undermining the power of the recording companies in favour of the internet based retailers and resulting in revenue contraction. Total recorded music sales evenue has been in decline for the past decade, declining by 7% in 2009. This is despite continued high growth in internet based digital music sales up 12% in 2009. Music sales through digital channels accounted for USD $4. 2 billion of music sales in 2009, representing 27% of global sales growing from a base of just USD $20 million in 2003 (International Federation of the Phonographic Industr y, 2010a). Apples iTunes is a leading player in the digital sales channel revolution, arguably the industry leader in legal internet music sales. This is the segment of he industry that Apple chose to compete in and † redefine for its own purposes. Intellectual property issues remain a major challenge for this industry with internet based peer to peer file sharing significantly eroding industry sales. $ % † The multibillion dollar movie industry is dominated by large movie studios with distribution traditionally handled by theatres, then a secondary market through video/DVD rentals or retail stores and a tertiary revenue stream through television rights. Apple is involved only in the distribution part of the business through film download for rent or sale. This challenges the traditional video store business, with a new model. To date, video downloading has promised more than it has delivered (Kane, 2007). The market is becoming increasingly crowded with an increasing number of companies entering the market including internet heavy weight Google which owns YouTube and retail heavy weight WalMart (Ogg, 2010). Economies of scale make this an industry that favours natural monopolies or oligopolies. Multiple large scale players as well as a myriad of minor companies are jostling for critical mass. As with most internet based businesses price and convenience are the driving factors. Apples assault on the internet movie sale and rental market leverages their success in music with i-Store, their strength in video capable devices, iPods, iTouch and iPads and established leadership in video processing computers. !# The software industry has many segments including proprietary operating systems, business applications, personal applications and entertainment applications. Most providers focus on selected sectors where they can establish market leadership. Microsoft focuses on operating systems for PC (Windows) and business productivity tools that run on PCs. IBM focuses on large scale enterprise systems and predominantly business software and integration services. A plethora of other companies large and small compete for leadership in all the gaps in between. Economies of scale are particularly important as the variable production costs are very low. Apple has maintained its own proprietary operating systems for its computing devices to preserve product differentiation and unique usability features. However this has been at significant evelopment cost. Application development has been left to third parties who compete to provide market leading solutions. With the advent of the Apps Store, Apple has entered the software distribution business with a 30% gross margin, leveraging the enterprise of thousands of independent † 2 software developers large and small. By tight integration with their systems the App Store provides a captiv e high margin marketplace for software. This is another niche segment that Apple has chosen to compete where there are synergies with the t existing businesses. By providing a distribution system Apple has been able to encourage more developers to create applications for their computing devices. More applications extend th the functionality and desirability of their products, driving sales. This is a profitable symbiotic relationship. Despite being a relatively small player in the industry segments, Apple is an undisputed financial success. It is now the third largest company in the world, as measured by market capitalisation, d behind only Exxon Mobil and Petro-China. At the close of trade on the 12th of November the Apple Inc shares were valued at USD $308. 3 (Refer to Figure 1. ) each, valuing the entire comp company at over USD $ 282 billion. During the past year the company’s shares have increased in value by over 50% increased (Yahoo Finance, 2010). The stock is trading on a Price to Earnings Multiple of 20. 42 times compared to an industry (Personal Computers) average of 15. 80 times (Stock Call, 2010). The company’s high valuation compared to its sales of 3. 5 times can be attributed to the high margin and high growth performance of the business. In the 3rd quarter of 2009 the company reported a net profit margin of 21. 8% compared to an industry average of 4. 53%. Total sales were 67% a year earlier (Stock Call, 2010). On these metrics the company share price does not seem excessive. . † 3 ! ! † Apple Inc. has been defined as being involved in the new technology industry. The products they deliver stretch across multiple industry boundaries; some products compete in established markets, others are market leaders in contemporary industries spanning product development and product delivery (Yoffie Kim, 2010). This makes an analysis of Apple’s competitive strategy challenging and difficult. Singular theories may fit individual product lines, but not reflect the true direction that this multi-faceted company is taking as a whole. Porter’s (1980) generic theories are an example of this; the three strategies of focus, differentiation and cost leadership provide information on specific products such as computers and software; but fail to examine products like the iPad and iTunes (Porter, 1998 see Part 1). An analysis of iTunes best illustrates the timeliness and limitations of the application of the out-dated theory of Porter to Apple Inc. Tunes adopts both a differentiation strategy (by providing the download of music at various download qualities, the ability to download movies and tv shows; and combining it all into an easy to use product) and a cost leadership strategy (this is achieved by providing a competitive priced service for the customer, and a cost effective way for Apple to update firmware of its products). Consideration was given to the theories of Hame l Prahalad (1994), however the structuralist approach does not encompass the true nature of Apple’s efforts over the last ten years. In contrast the reconstructive theories of Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) and their â€Å"Blue Ocean Strategy† in particular allow a greater analysis of the strategic positioning instigated by Apple. The Reconstructionist’s view helps accommodate advances made by Apple Inc. in redefining and creating new technology. Utilising Chan Kim and Mauborgne’s six principles helps in assessing Apple Inc. ’s value chain matrix; and their innovation in product development (Chan Kim Mauborgne, 2005), (Chan Kim Mauborgne, 2009). To contrast explanations for Apple’s recent success and to provide analysis for their future; the theories of Ridderstrale and Nordstrom (2000) in their ground breaking book â€Å"Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance† will contrast a different view of competitive strategy. The use of Funky Business as an ideology helps explain the rise of emotional buying and how important the utilisation of innovation is in the 21 century business environment. Furthermore, examples will be given to illustrate the synergies which exist between the Funky Business philosophies and the creation of Blue Oceans which ultimately coalesce into a strategic position. t † 4 Swimming in a Blue Ocean A broad definition of Chan Kim and Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean strategy is the ability for a company to move from a red ocean (an industry where competitors offer similar products or services with the aim to become a cost/market leader); to a blue ocean (an undefined and new industry that may incorporate industries, or create a new industry based on differentiation and lower operating cost) (Chan Kim Mauborgne, 2005). Apple Inc. is in some respects a contradictory company when it comes to its strategic analysis for its expansive product mix delivers in more than one â€Å"ocean†. For the purpose of this strategic analysis (and recommendations for the future) specific example’s will be given where Apple Inc. has gained a competitive advantage by defining their own unique Blue Ocean. Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) provide a fundamental analytical tool to analyse Apple’s competitive strategies. This methodology comprises 5 formulation and execution principles to competitive advantage. They are as follows: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Reconstructing Market Boundaries Focus on the Big Picture, not the Numbers Reach Beyond Existing Demand Get the Strategic Sequence Right Overcome Key Organisational Hurdles Reconstructing Market Boundaries Apple’s current resurgence has its beginnings in one of its original blue oceans; i. e. the creation of iTunes changed how people downloaded and listened to music. iTunes was originally used to compete with the illegal download music market, the now defunct ‘ Napster’ being an example. Apple’s aims were to provide a low cost option for customers, high quality downloads and a music player interface (Chan Kim Mauborgne, 2005). From an administrative point of view iTunes gave Apple control of digital rights and with five major record labels contributing to the service gave them a distinct competitive advantage (Yoffie Kim, 2010). Blue Oceans however are not constant and as good ideas make money the competitive advantage for iTunes would have eroded if it did not diversify. To compete with growing technology demands, movies and TV shows were introduced to the iTunes store for purchase and rental. This differentiation created a new Blue Ocean for Apple Inc. / â€Å" Currently iTunes is the market leader in visual media. Concurrently the iTunes store has the largest downloadable content on the internet . It provides a catalogue of eight million tracks, two thousand films (total downloads daily average are in excess of fifty thousand) and twenty thousand TV episodes (Anonymous, 2010c). Prime Facie analysis reveals that the popularity of iTunes cannot be solely attributed to the product delivery; but a concurrent innovation and integration with the portable products that Apple has created over the last decade. It could be argued that the iTunes blue ocean was strengthened by the continual improvement in storage size and screen resolution quality of it iPod and iPhone range. Apple Inc. can now be seen entering its next stage in differentiation. To do this Apple Inc. has introduced the iPad (Feb 2010); revolutionising tablet computing. Building on its iPhone operating system, Apple is attempting to reconnect with business people. Unlike iTunes, iPad services will not be the low price of music downloads. Apple will attempt to lure high profile media conglomerates to allow subscription through their iTunes service at a higher premium price (Yoffie Kim, 2010). Even though news articles are sold at a premium price; the ability to distribute them via iTunes gives Apple Inc. a low internal cost. The most recent venture by Apple Inc. to create a unique user experience the creation of multiplayer online gaming on the iPhone; multiplayer gaming traditionally has been the domain of PC and console developers (Gametraders, 2010). With this venture Apple Inc. opes to refine how people play games with each other. iPhone customers will have the capability to game wherever they can take their iPhone (Apple Inc, 2010a). This strategic move can be seen as a blue ocean for Apple Inc. which will provide a service no other mobile phone provider offers with the quality of the gaming experience. In addition to this Apple Inc. are not actually investing in gaming; they are using their iPhone and OS4 opera ting system as a go between. With other companies vying to have their games on the popular iStore; Apple Inc. have created for them a low cost product. 1 Focus on the Big Picture, not the Numbers Apple’s current focus is on being a lifestyle company. It integrates its products and makes them easy for the end user to operate. Steve Jobs openly states that his products start with an idea and a need to alleviate customer demands (Ostdick, 2010). This strategic thinking helps formulate new Blue Oceans. It allows companies such as Apple to create products unrestricted by current industry 1 In February 2010, Apple announced that the iTunes store had recorded its 10 billionth song download (Johnny Cash’s â€Å"Guess Things Happen That Way†) (Ostdick, 2010). // standards and norms. Greg Joswiak the vice president builds on this philosophy stating they never let . vice-president technology go to waste. In an interview with Reena Jana from the Harvard Business Review blog he generalises on key points concerning the innovative strategies of Apple Inc. ‘Think of this strategy as s Think smart recycling of internal ideas and engineering, especially when cross-pollinated with other cross ollinated products’ (Jana, 2010). These comments were made in wake of the iPad release. Jana (2010) . demonstrates how the iPad is a hybridisation of the iPhone and a laptop; and how the iPhone was just hybridisation an update of the iPod. Reach Beyond Existing Demand The fundamental tenet of this principle is, ‘Instead of concentrating on customers they (companies) need to focus on non-customers. And instead of focusing on tead customer differences, they need to build on powerful commonalities in what buyers value’ ( (Chan Kim Mauborgne, 2005). Apple do this well. It is important to ). ote that there would be a minority of people that do not inority own at least one Apple product. However their competitive strategy in reaching beyond existing demand would be to sell products to existing customers in industries they would not normally consider using an Apple product. As stated in â€Å"Focusing on the big picture† tated (above), the ability to build upon and reuse technology in an innovative way is allowing apple to reach new markets and potentially new customers. ! † # $% † ‘ ( † / Get the Strategic Sequence Right Apple Inc. as excelled in their strategic sequencing when it comes to the redevelopment and innovation of their portable products. Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2005) stress the importance of price, cost and adoption. Figure 2 (Golijan, 2010) illustrates the chronology of the iPod and Apple Inc. ’s development of the product. The timeline highlights the quality of sales on the left hand side; over the ten year period models evolved and became more accessible at varying price points. The success of the products allowed Apple Inc. to diversify and continually improve the product. Within this industry no other competitor has been able to hold consistent sales growth and product innovation as the iPod. Overcome Key Organisational Hurdles Yoffie (2010) clearly highlights the trouble’s Apple has encountered with several changes in management in the 1990’s. Since the second coming of Steven Job’s Apple has been a stable entity and has not experienced the organisational problems of the past. Recent economic performance would indicate there has been no leadership or structural change within Apple Inc. It is of interest to note that otentially when Steven Job’s rejoined Apple Computers as the CEO there was a tipping point and a push towards a new Apple Inc. He changed the name, the logo and the ethos of the company and personally pushed Apple Inc. into its current successful position (Jana, 2010). Let’s Get Funky As shown above Apple Inc. has exhibited clear Blue Ocean strategy elements during its history, and yet after the dramatic decline during the 90’s to the stellar success now being experienced, Apple Inc. has also displayed some new, contemporary strategic rudiments. Examining the quirky and mildly eccentric philosophy’s of Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordstrom as extolled in their manifesto â€Å"Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance† (2000) it is apparent that much of the success of the ‘second life’ of Apple Inc. (circa 2000 to the present) can be attributed to a metamorphosis in business thinking and to these ‘new’ strategic philosophy’s and ideas. As an example, central to the â€Å"Funky Business† strategic model are the three core elements of: Make Room for Grey Matter – in the ‘global village’, a company’s future depends on the intellect of its teams members. Consumers want, demand a dream, emotion, not products and services; Only the Best Rake in the Pot – In order to succeed a company must be number one in its field or even better – Unique; and Permanent Innovation – Creativity leads to the redefining of the company and its markets and yet the constantly changing † /0 environment of the market implies the constant search for innovation, with innovation being a state of the mind (Laville, 2000). Jobs and his cohorts, since the near fatal demise of Apple Computers in the mid 1990’s have reposition and focused the Apple brand with the global ‘lifestyle’ village in mind (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010). Central to this theme is the enabling of consumers to engage in quasi-voyeurism, transporting their minds and bodies into ‘Mac/Apple World’, experience music, connecting to the internet and most importantly to each other in the Global community. Apple has been an industry leader in the enabling of the consumer to participate in the web world through a number of primary senses. Steve) Jobs’ ability to reinventing himself and redefine Apple (in its second incarnation) using ideologies akin to that of the Funky Business model resonant with the changing landscape brought about by the globalization phenomenon. Thus Jobs’ ability to connect with the community through technological change, institutional change and the evolution of values (Young ; Simo n, 2005) allowed Apple to ride the crest of the wave through the first decade of the millennium harnessing the three underlying forces of excess: growth of markets (eg. China, India, Russia, etc. ), Ongoing overabundance of supply (which has exceeded demand since the 90’s and knows no bounds! ) and technological progress (lowers the cost of information, lower barriers and the world becomes a smaller more accessible environment) (Laville, 2000), (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010). Apples’ Funky Business strategy is exemplified by its innate ability to understand the dynamics of the world of competition and how it has changed. Accordingly, Apple is able to compete in this new environment by realize that the established and entrenched large scale structures of traditional companies don’t ‘hack it’ and that the single most important facet of this new age of business, is the intellectual capital to identify products and get them into production quickly (Musatov, 2001), examples include Apples industry benchmarking and leadership products: iMac (1998), iPod (2001), iTunes (2003), iPhone (2007) and the iPad (2010) (Yoffie ; Kim, 2010). Thus, it is not the production facility that is the most important, per se, but the minds who operate it. In interviews with Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordstrom (Anonymous, 2010a) (Anonymous, 2010e), it is clear that one economic model for the 21 century that conceptualize a Funky Business strategy can be illustrated by the strategic direction of Apple over the last decade plus, understanding of st † /1 market forces, individual choice (or knowledge of the individual), freedom to choose and the ability to re-invent or innovate regularly and expediently. † Apple Inc. trategy for the iPad (launched in January 2010) echo with the core elements of creating a new Blue Ocean and Funky Business principles, as described above. These (as expressed by industry commentators) were Apple’ core strategic elements for the iPad launch: â€Å"consideration of s future applications of current products as they are developed† (innovate), â€Å"crowd-source hype and ideas ar ound pricing† (sell the dream, the emotion, not so much the device) and of course the core Funky Business principle of, â€Å"Don’t focus on being first; focus on being the best† (Uniqueness) (Jana, 2010). Coincidently, as this new ‘Tablet’ Blue Ocean gathers depth and breadth for Apple, the competition are not far behind with the announcement of Samsungs new ‘Galaxy Tab’ in November 2010 (Anonymous, 2010d), the time between launch, maturity and loss of competitive advantage shrinks with each new development and innovation. â€Å"The Age of Paradox† written by Charles Handy (1995) points out that the Sigmoid Growth Curve can be used to plot out, the life of any organism, life cycle of a product or the life of an organisation. Every new life, organisation, project, or initiative, commences with some faltering at the start, grows, matures, declines and ultimately perishes. If this was the only underlying concept to this ideological graph it would not be of any use, but rather, the positive and encouraging use of this model is that a firm can proactively start its own new sigmoid curve in any new area it wants rather than watching the old curve maximise, then decline. During any new development phase an organisation will experience what is known as a â€Å"dip† or a setback; this can be due to a lack of resources, loss of direction, ineffectiveness, poor productivity and/or loss of a competitive advantage. This is completely normal and team morale must remain high through this temporary stage known as ‘ dipping’ Every time there is a new growth curve (new idea, . change in goals, new product, etc. ), it intercepts with the old Sigmoid Curve, and either climbs or descends but ultimately the cycle of a major dip will commence associated with ccompanying anxiety and setbacks. † / The dip can represent a significant challenge for any organisation, as it was for Apple Inc. with a loss of direction between 1985 until December 1997 with several changes of CEO’s at the helm (Scully, 1985 – 1993) and the (Spindler and Amelio years 1993 – 1997) (Yoffie Kim, 2010). Apple management, you could say, went through a case of ‘ Paradigm Block’ ‘the inability or refusal to see ; beyond the current models of thinking’ (JCU, Competitive strategy course notes, session two slide 11). † † † * + † , † – † † * There are different eras of product interests and management change that Apple has gone experienced its inception in the 1980’s when they launched the Apple 1. Mapping the most recent period of Apples growth on a strategic canvas, from the launch of the iMac in 1998 through to the iPad launch (2010) we can visualize a series of interconnected sigmoidial curves gradually increasing with each new innovation and product launch, as shown in Figure 3. In fact, the gradual treadline † / ncreasing to the right in Figure 3 reflects a buoyant and productive company with clear growth from strategic product development, delivery and acceptance (depending on the market KPI used). Presently, given the rapid development by other competitors in the tablet market, Apple Inc. would need to accelerate innovation and product delivery within the next 6 – 12 months to avoid another dip and loss of competitive advantage. This may require a change or transition in new management and of course a new updated product e. g. pdated iphone from 4 to 5 with more capabilities and apps (See Figure 4 Strategy canvas). . * / ! 0 1 Future strategy scenarios which Apple may need to engage in order to reinvent itself in the ensuing post 2010 era are many and varied. Given Apples’ history to date and without climbing the walls of the Apple head office and being a fly on the wall it is unwise to predict what Apple may come up with next. They w ill however need to improve their product range or innovate around their range of iPhone, iPod, iTunes and iPad etc. o maintain market capital. They need to be constantly innovative and invest in their RD department to have any chance of keeping the current Blue Oceans, ‘Blue’, and require time (which is no luxury in the Funky Business world of the 21st century), to develop new Blue Oceans. Potentially Apple could develop a strategy to have a lifestyle package called Apple â€Å"iHome† that would be able to accommodate the current avant garde movement of the new ‘energy gurus’ that are environmentally friendly and the ‘tech heads’ that enjoy the Apple brand. The iHome could be similar to the CBus system, Smart system or Building system as they are commonly known, they could † /2 incorporate their existing range and facilitate new ideas such as an iPhone that has a de novo chip which instead of using an security access card or conventional key you just swipe your iPhone to unlock your car, house front door or office. The CBus system can work in conjunction with, home appliances such as air-conditioning, automated windows, lights, security video and irrigation, effectively generating a ‘smart home or â€Å"iHome†. You can remotely set up your home with the use of your iPhone through the net, and be able to monitor your home when you are away. The innovative potential of the â€Å"iHome† package is endless but the pitfalls may include, acceptance by the market, technological maturity of the appliances in question and the competitive advantage or market acceptance of these new ‘out there’ products. In essences, it would be foolhardy to recommend a strategy for Apple post 2010, in that Jobs and his self-proclaimed â€Å"mobile-devices† company are still delivering, still leading industry segments they How to cite Apple Inc., Papers Apple Inc. Free Essays Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and software products. It was established in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, and incorporated on January 3, 1977. We will write a custom essay sample on Apple Inc. or any similar topic only for you Order Now The company’s hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod line of portable media players,the iPad line of tablets, and the iPhone line of mobile phones. Apple’s software products include the OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, and the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software. As of 2008, Apple Inc had acquired twenty-one companies, purchased a stake in two companies, and made five divestments; most of them were software companies. Apple had not released the financial details for most of these mergers and acquisitions. Apple’s business philosophy is to acquire small companies that can be easily integrated into existing company projects. [4] For example, Apple acquired Emagic and its professional music software, Logic Pro, in 2002. The acquisition led to the creation of the digital audio workstation software, GarageBand, now part of the iLife software suite. The company made its first acquisition on March 2, 1988 when it purchased Network Innovations. It has also made five divestments, all in the 1990s, in which parts of the company are sold to another company. The company’s largest acquisition was the purchase of NeXT in 1996 for US$400 million. In the 2000s, Apple made the most acquisitions in a single year in 2002, with six. In the 2010s, so far the most acquisitions in a single year is 2013, with 10. Of the companies that Apple has acquired, 37 were based in the US. How to cite Apple Inc., Papers

Management Practice Theory Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Organisational Management Practice Theory. Answer: Introduction: Organisational action can be defined as the action or the decision that the organisations make in order to perform some activity of business or organization. There are various factors that affect the organizations decision and its actions towards any of the situation. Different theories have been formed by the theorist gat supports themanagement of the companies to make organizational actions (Burrell and Morgan, 2017). The first theory that is talked about in this essay is related to strategic choice. The strategic choice theory suggests that the organizations and the leaders of the organization have a significant role to play in controlling the dynamic environment of the business. Previously, the organisations were thought to be structured as per the operational requirements of the external environment and this theory is called as the deterministic theory. Both of these theories have different concepts and thus affect the organizational actions in the outside environment of busines s. This essay provides the information about the roles and contribution of these theories in the organizational actions. It initiates with the discussion of deterministic theory that involves resource dependency based theory, institutional theory and population ecology theory (Miner, 2015). The essay continues with the discussion of contrasting theory that is strategic choice theory which is found to be the best approach to be conducted. Determinist theories: Different organization has different design and structure and that structure is supported by some kind of belief and theory which affect the decision and the actions of the organizations. Different theories contribute differently in the organization. Determinist theory is one of the theories which are based as the external and the operational requirements of the organization. This theory was followed by the organizations in earlier times. As per this theory, the market place is the controlling factors of the businesses and the organization has to response to the changes that occurred in the market. Thus, the organizations have to continuously look for the changes and the expectations of the market and make the changes in the organizational action as per the changes outside (Shafritz, Ott and Jang, 2015). The goals of the companies should be aligned with the market requirements and not with the organizational requirements. As the external environment of the business has many elements thus the organization is dependent on those elements of the external environment.one of those elements is resources (Sergiovanni and Corbally, 1986). The theory that has been developed for the dependency of organizations on the resources is called resource dependency theory. Jeffery Pfeffer was the America theorist who has developed this theory of RDT. The purpose of this theory is to present a guide that provides the information aboutmanagement of the organizations which are externally constrained. As per this theory, all the organizations are dependent on the resources that can be obtained by the external environment of the organizations in which other organizations are also included (Peters, 2011). As all the organizations works in the similar environment thus it has been assumed that the resources that are required by the organizations are controlled by other organizations operating in the same environment. This suggests that organizations actions are directly linked with the re source power they had in the environment. in this situation, the power of the resources with the organizations are assumed to be dependent on the environmental factors which proves the interdependency of organizational action in the resources that are not controlled by the organisation itself but is the pat of external environment (Clegg, 2013). Another theory called institutional theory came into existence that was based on resilient aspects of social structures. This theory suggests that the organizations do not focus on their own decision and practices but analyse the actions of other peers in order to respond to the environment. This is the theory that is related to imitation. As per this theory, the organizations have to follow the rules and the beliefs that are persisting in the environment because institutional isomorphism earns organisational legitimacy and it was believed that organization can survive only when it conforms to the rules in the environment (Feldman and Orliko wski, 2011). Companies that operate in different international environment face pressure from the different institutions and thus this theory of institutionalization is found to be unsuccessful in making efficient organizational actions. It is already discussed that environment is the factors that affect the organisational sections (Watson, 2013). The change in the environment forces the organizations to make the relevant changes in order to survive. The theory called population ecology theory suggests that organizations have some inertial restriction that restricts the organisations to make the relevant changes as per the environment. The higher the inertial pressure faced by the organizations, the lower the organization develops the capability of adapting the changes occurred (essels and Terjesen,2010). The structural inertia in the organizations can be affected by the factors that are external or internal. The internal factors that affect the actions include the policies f the co mpany, improper information about the environment by the argument, political struggle etc. On the other hand, the external pressures are legal and financial changes in the external environment or the industry, external constraint or barriers etc. The above discussion suggests that deterministic theories are related purely with the environment of the company. The external environment of the companies has great impact on the organisations actions. It has been analysed that the theories that has been discussed above were not appropriate for all the organizations (Davis and Adam Cobb, 2010). As the last theory of population ecology suggests that the organisations have to adopt the changes in the environment but have to face many issues at the same time. So, a new theory of strategic choice has been evolved to suppress the challenges face by the companies (Drees and Heugens, 2013). Strategic choice theory: Strategic choice theory focuses on the role of the management in the organisations. This theory suggests that the leaders and the managers have the control over the organisational actions and they can make the decisions of the organisations as per the structure of the organisation. This theory pays attention to the internal body ofmanagement of the organisation rather than the uncertain environmental factors (Salimath and Jones III, 2011). This theory considers the whole process that needs to be followed by the organisation in order to take decision over the organisational actions. The processes have four elements. The first element is shaping. It is the step where the management of the organisation used to identify the issues and shape the issue into an objective on which the decision needs to be made or the actions needs to be taken(Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). The next step is about designing. It is the step where the management or the leaders of the company needs to design various alternatives and strategies to resolve the issue. For designing the strategies, the organizations need to consider all the factors that can affect the formation of the strategies and also have its impact on the organisational actions. The next step is to compare. It is the step in which all the alternative strategies are being compared. The analysis of benefits and disadvantages of the consequences of strategic implementation has been done so that the best option can be selected. The last step is to choose the best alternative strategy for the issue. It I has been analysed th at it is the theory that supports a kind of logic and merely not depends the environmental changes (Talke, Salomo and Rost, 2010). It analyse the changes and its intensity and after that the strategies are been made that can be implemented in the organisation to attain the gaols of the company rather than to attain the gaols of the market. Strategic choice refers to the process in which the power holders of the organisation have the right to take the decisions over the strategic choice of actions that needs to be practiced by the company. The strategic options can be made by evaluating the relationship of the external and the internal environment of the organisations. The ability of the leaders to make the strategic choice in the organisation depends on how far that strategy can helps the company to achieve its gaols and maintain the consistency (Nielsen and Nielsen, 2011). The development of the strategies choice theory is because of the dependency of the organizations action on th e environment. The strategic choice theory is the evolution of the environmental theory that is deterministic theories. The theory of strategic choice initiates when the forces of external environment of the company affect the organisation actions. Change in the external environment of the company results in making adjustments and bringing alterations in the business strategies of the company (Wheelen and Hunger, 2017). When the organisations make the adjustments, the leaders started developing many feasible options. Out of these options, the leaders have to select one of them which are most feasible and thus it is considered as one of the best approach to take. Best approach: Considering the strategic choice theory leads to the conclusion that deterministic approach was inadequate to be considered for organizational actions. This is because it fails to provide the power and options to the leaders of the organisation that are actually running the companys functions. It has been analysed that there were many drawbacks of deterministic theory of organisation because it was not focusing on the initial contextual factors of the organisation which also plays a great role in taking the organisational decisions. Difference organisations have different situations and different beliefs. Thus, along with the outside environmental factors, it is also required to consider those internal factors to ate the decision over the actions that needs to be taken by the company in response to the changes of the industry or in order to survive in the industry. Providing all the controlling power to the market is not the correct approach to take the organization decisions. This i s because following the similar rules and regulation of the industry and making the decision accordingly is impossible for all the organizations. The internal differences and the approaches for functions has their impact of the organisational decision and considering all the factors is the correct approach to take any of the organisational actions. Conclusion: It has been concluded from the above discussion that strategic theory is one of the best approaches that can be implemented in the organisation to make the organisational decision and actions. It has more contribution in the organisational actions because it involves the contextual factors from internal as well as external environment of the company. It has been summarized from the discussion that there are two theories that can affect the organisation actions. The first one is the deterministic approach or theory that includes population ecology theory, institutional theory and resource dependent theory. All these theory considers the environmental factors of the external environment of the company or the organisations. As the organisation starts getting affected by the environmental contextual factors, they developed the capabilities of adopting the changes. This evolves the theory of strategic choice. This is the theory that focuses on the leaders of the organisation and provides powers of controlling the organisational actions to them. in case of deterministic theory, all the power of taking decision were with the market and the organisational have to make the changes according to the market demands. With the change in t perspective of the company and the dynamic nature of the market, the organisations adopted the approach of strategic choice hat allow the organisation to take the more feasible option after developing many alternative strategies. This also involves the concept of contingency that was not including in the theory of deterministic. When the comparison is done, it has been analysed that strategic choice is the most relevant theory as it allow the organisation to attain their goals as per their situation and internal competencies than the goals of the market. The adjustments that have been made are also in terms of the internal competencies along with the external impact of the organisations. References: Burrell, G. and Morgan, G., 2017.Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis: Elements of the sociology of corporate life. Routledge. Clegg, S., 2013.The Theory of Power and Organization (RLE: Organizations). Routledge. Davis, G.F. and Adam Cobb, J., 2010. Chapter 2 Resource dependence theory: Past and future. InStanford's organization theory renaissance, 19702000(pp. 21-42). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Drees, J.M. and Heugens, P.P., 2013. Synthesizing and extending resource dependence theory: A meta-analysis.Journal of Management,39(6), pp.1666-1698. Feldman, M.S. and Orlikowski, W.J., 2011. Theorizing practice and practicing theory.Organization science,22(5), pp.1240-1253. Hessels, J. and Terjesen, S., 2010. Resource dependency and institutional theory perspectives on direct and indirect export choices.Small Business Economics,34(2), pp.203-220. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Miner, J.B., 2015.Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge. Nielsen, B.B. and Nielsen, S., 2011. The role of top management team international orientation in international strategic decision-making: The choice of foreign entry mode.Journal of World Business,46(2), pp.185-193 Peters, B.G., 2011.Institutional theory in political science: the new institutionalism. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Salimath, M.S. and Jones III, R., 2011. Population ecology theory: Implications for sustainability.Management Decision,49(6), pp.874-910. Sergiovanni, T.J. and Corbally, J.E. eds., 1986.Leadership and organizational culture: New perspectives on administrative theory and practice. University of Illinois Press. Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S. and Jang, Y.S., 2015.Classics of organization theory. Cengage Learning. Talke, K., Salomo, S. and Rost, K., 2010. How top management team diversity affects innovativeness and performance via the strategic choice to focus on innovation fields.Research Policy,39(7), pp.907-918. Watson, T., 2013.Management, organisation and employment strategy: new directions in theory and practice. Routledge. Wheelen, T.L. and Hunger, J.D., 2017.Strategic management and business policy. pearson

Psychodynamic play theory

Play therapy is a way of expressing feelings in children especially where stressful events are involved since children are unable to communicate by mouth as effectively as adults. Thus, they make use of play to express their inner feelings and interpersonal conflicts. Psychodynamic play therapy is utilized where a therapist is involved in listening to the details of a child’s play and emphasizes the causes of the child’s experiences in regard to motions of the child’s body.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Psychodynamic play theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, the child is able to express and cope with certain difficulties with the help of the therapist. This is done by the therapist getting involved in the context of the play to help the child identify the difficulty, express it emotionally and engage in solving it. The therapist, therefore, has to interpret the play in a meaningful way and then communicate with the child to elucidate indifferent engagement(s) expressed by the child during the play. In order for this to work effectively, the play or activity involved should be made interesting to the child. For instance, a therapist may choose to engage in an argumentative puppet conversation with the child. The argument could be based on a topic that is sensitive to the child or one that the therapist had noticed some reaction from the child. This way, the therapist identifies certain feelings from the child through verbal expression and this puts him/her in the best position to engage in problem solving. This could as well be done as part of the play. For example, the therapist may continue with the puppet conversation but this time, focuses on addressing the solution by telling the child what needs to be done about the problem in discussion. Psychodynamic play theory functions in finding out the complexity associated with a child’s be havior. Psychodynamic play therapy provides education, ego support, and therapist activity which are not present in the common psychotherapy. The recommendation of this type of therapy implies belief that it applies to children with a certain mental diagnosis and is preferable to other approaches, and assessment that the child is capable thereof. Psychodynamic play therapy could be linked to treatment of psychological disorders in many children especially autistic ones. Autism represents a syndrome or collection of symptoms originating primarily from a basic neurological deficit in information processing and emotional communication. Consequently, psychological defenses against states are experienced as a result of those deficits. Lack of crucial socializing experiences during development as a result of both the deficits and the defenses is also associated with autism in children. Moreover, and whatever the origins, the autistic child’s development is profoundly altered, for b etter or worse, by his or her early environment and the critical interaction with his/her family.Advertising Looking for critical writing on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There exists a wide range in the severity of the initial biological predisposition and the early life experiences, such that some children may be born so disabled that parents, however healthily nurturing, make limited impact; whereas other children may be born with a milder innate vulnerability, but encounter significantly damaging parenting. However the situation, psychodynamic pay therapy may significantly make great impacts in the lives of autistic children by getting to understand how they feel about their conditions. This way, they may be engaged in playful activities to make them feel as part of the society and also to interact with other normal children. Psychodynamic play theory is not only therapeutic to children, but also educat ive. Through such plays, children get to learn many things alongside getting therapy and having fun. This critical writing on Psychodynamic play theory was written and submitted by user Raquel Wilder to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Global Warming and its Correlation to Overpopulation essays

Global Warming and its Correlation to Overpopulation essays In today's society we as a population are concerned with our ever-changing environment. One of the largest concerns in our ecosystem is overpopulation and the direct impact adhering to global warming. The global climate is increasing steadily, correlating between the population size and human industry. It is a big question right now, if our world has over exceeded its carrying capacity. The fact that the earths non-renewable resources are being rapidly absorbed into industry, will eventually lead us to major ecological disasters. Why are we becoming over populated? There are two main reasons to over population. Number one, people are living longer due to the Medical and Technical revolutions. Number two, we are having children at a earlier age; an example of this would be the abundant amount of teen pregnancies. Global warming exists because of over population. "Global warming is believed to be caused by changes in the earth's atmosphere as a result of industrial process."(Leggett 124) This holds true because after the Industrial Revolution man started to utilize more fossil fuels. The constant usage of fossil fuels emits CFCs (carboflourocarbons) into the atmosphere. Due to heavy amounts of deforestation and the destruction of oxygen producing organisms, more carbon than oxygen is being cycled within the atmosphere, generating large openings in our ozone layer. It is because of the tremendous size holes in the ozone, we have what is called global warming. Global warming is so important because it im pacts every living thing in our biosphere. Global warming produces a rise in temperature, alters weather conditions, raises the sea level (melting of the polar caps), animal depletion, shortage in crops, etc. Global warming is increasing so rapidly directly because of the ever so large world population and human production. It is because of the emittance of fossil fuels produced by vehicles and factori...

Apple Incorporated and the Power of Its Brands Essay

Apple Incorporated and the Power of Its Brands - Essay Example Its goal is to substantially address the needs of its customers, but not until when it discovered the advantage of creating a need for its product and service offerings. The modern marketing emphasises that marketers are good at creating needs for their offerings (Boone and Kurtz, 2006; Kotler et al., 1999). In fact, Apple is very good at creating needs for its product and service offerings, the very basic foundation of how it tries to achieve its competitive advantage. However, as it continues to grow, Apple Incorporated has become highly recognized with its brands, which brings it at the top of the competition. Porter’s theory of competitive advantage applies to Apple Incorporated and its brands. The power of its brands is very important component of differentiation strategy (Porter, 1998). People simply associate the Apple brand with standard quality, reliability, and many other intrinsic values. This is due to the fact that brands simply emphasise attributes and meanings ( Belch and Belch, 1998). In a highly capitalist world, brands have important value that could be maximised for profit making (Arvidson, 2006). Branding is a specific marketing strategy and as a way to enhance profitability, productivity and efficiency (Moor, 2007). Moor added that branding seeks to develop political message, corporate image, people, and behaviours. It is in these reasons Apple wanted to invest more in reconstructing, refining and enhancing its brands prior to becoming a cut above the other in its industry. As widely observed, the media have always been the integral parts of Apple’s success in achieving a powerful brand in the world. As a result, Apple has become an iconic brand because it came to a point of becoming a cultural icon with corresponding identity value (Holt, 2004). There are many strategies in doing this and they are integral parts of cultural branding principles. In this paper, the proponent tries to incorporate in the analysis how Apple Incorpo rated was able to successfully achieve or create the power of its brands using the media as integral parts of communication, a specific strategy in cultural branding principles (Holt, 2004). The discussion in particular includes media, brand development, and the concept of gratification of needs based on psychological perspective. Media and brand development Media are anything with spaces that have the capacity to allow marketing to take place in them (Moor, 2007). Space is very important for Moor as a specific site to develop relationships between brands and customers. She added that it is a communicative medium or opportunity for marketing to take place. Ads are specific forms of communications placed within a communicative medium (Cook, 2001). For many years, Apple Incorporated is using the media in order to promote its brands. Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iTunes are the most important brands that are established by Apple with the aid of the media. In 2006, Apple’s ad budge t is $338 million, $467 million in 2007, and $486 million in 2008 (Blakely, 2008; DeWitt, 2009). In 2009, Apple spent $501 million for Ad expense (DeWitt, 2009). There seems to be an increase in the budget allocated by Apple for its ads, but it is actually decreasing based on percentage of revenue; 5 percent in 2001 and 1.17 percent in 2009 (DeWitt, 2009). This means that the higher the revenue of Apple has become, the lesser it allocated budget for its promotional activities. This

The Relationship between Animal Abuse and Human Abuse Essay

The Relationship between Animal Abuse and Human Abuse - Essay Example Abuse to animals is a horrible crime that ultimately touches us all, both as a society and as individuals. It is a documented fact that many serial killers began their life of violent crime by abusing animals. The evidence is in - it can no longer be denied: There is a connection between animal abuse and violent acts against humans such as domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse and murder. Recent research has indicated that animal abuse and other forms of family violence often co-occur. Further, a child's violence towards animals is an indicator of potential future violence towards people Given these links, human and animal welfare organizations are beginning to work together to better detect and prevent violence towards both animals and people. In some parts of the U.S. these initiatives have been incorporated into the legal framework. Partello (1997) found that pets fill a variety of human needs, from acting as child substitutes, to providing companionship and unconditional love. These companion animals no longer live in barns and kennels but are an integral part of the human family. Ironically, this means that they suffer at the hands of abusers, just as children do. In a study by DeViney, Dickert, and Lockwood (1983) it was found that companion animals were abused in 88% of the families in which children were abused. Because abuse of animals by children invariably signals great distress, parents and other significant adults need to be informed that certain forms and/or patterns of cruelty should not be dismissed as typical childhood actions. You will note that cruelty to animals can be a sign of conduct disorder, and hurting animals is considered one of the earliest reported symptoms. A child's cruelty toward another animal can be an attempt to gain control over a creature that is smaller and weaker and may be the only way the child can feel powerful. It may reflect a desire to inflict pain or be a displacement of hostility. A child experiencing brutalization may also act on it towards animals. It is imperative that social workers, teachers, administrators, and psychologists become aware of animal abuse and its relationship to human violence so that they can design appropriate prevention and intervention programs. Primary prevention may focus on educational programs that protect children with clear guidelines for acceptable behavior with animals. Because abuse of animals by children invariably signals great distress, parents and other significant adults need to be informed that certain forms and/or patterns of cruelty should 4 not be dismissed as typical childhood actions. I. Animal Abuse Expands into Human Abuse Carpenter (2006) for those

Expanding the methodology in the lit. review Essay

Expanding the methodology in the lit. review - Essay Example Many children suffered with defective communication because of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this literature review researcher put forward some teaching methods and special strategies that are in favor of the teachers who worked in the field of educating children with special education needs. Qualitative research approaches help the learner to keep reliability and authenticity. As Deborah Padgett rightly comments; â€Å"For all their demands, qualitative methods can provide the most rewarding experience a researcher will have† (Padgett, 1998, p.1). The research makes use of secondary data which include various strategies and approaches on teaching autistic children with the help of diagrams, study reports tables, survey reports, and so on the qualitative approach for the reason for the study as it best ensembles for the aims and objectives of the research. 4.1 Literature Review Beginning session of the research (2, 3, 3.1, and 3.2) includes information on autism and an ov erview about the current education status which practiced in Saudi Arabia. Then it discuss about available interventions and form of inclusive education for children with autism. Dr. Julie A. Buckley made notable researches in the field of autism spectrum disorder and its treatments. According to her autism spectrum disorder is strictly psychological disease and it needs appropriate medical treatments and behaviorally based therapies. In their joint venture entitled; Healing Our Autistic Children: A Medical Plan for Restoring Your Child's Health, Julie A. Buckley and Jenny McCarthy remark; â€Å"As your child progresses through his treatment plan, make sure not to underestimate the skills he may will be acquiring and becoming able to use† (Buckley & McCarthy, 2010, p. 192). The study provides plenty of information about various behaviorally based therapies for autistic children to ensure structured development in learning. Researchers and social activists often identify the p roblem of misunderstanding in diagnosing and healing of children with autism. Social interactive approaches prove its effectiveness in promoting better education for children with special needs. Martyn Long et al have conducted the UK based study entitled The Psychology of Education: The Evidence Base for Teaching and Learning and the study gives variety of teaching methods and strategies for children with autism and other kinds of developmental disorders. The problem of lacking teaching methods and strategies creates obstacles in the way which providing better education facilities both Britain and Saudi Arabia. Studies prove that Britain current education system in Britain keeps better improvements in providing education for children with autism. Owners of the study remarks; â€Å"Another approach to teaching children with autism, particularly those with severe and profound learning difficulties has been through social interactive approaches† (Long, Wood, Littleton, Passenge r and Sheehy, 2010, p.306). Elaine Fletcher-Janzen’s study suggests variety of teaching strategies and techniques for autistic children to achieve knowledge acquisition. The study reveals that the absence of a well planned

Psychological Adjustment Following Mastectomy Health And Social Care Essay

Psychological Adjustment Following Mastectomy Health And Social Care Essay Breast cancer is so common that 1 in 17 women develops breast cancer in her lifetime (Health Promotion Board, 2009). The American Cancer Society (2010) estimated 1.4 million new diagnoses of breast cancer worldwide. In Singapore, breast cancer is the leading cancer among women with an annual incidence rate of 1300 (Singapore Cancer Society, 2008). Data from the National Registry of Diseases Office (2010) shows that breast cancer contributed to a significant 29.2% of cancer in Singapore women, most prevalent at the age group 55-59. The ethnic distribution of the disease is equal and the estimated lifetime risk of breast cancer is 5% which is much lower than that of the American and European women (Singapore Cancer Society, 2010). However, the incidence rate has been rising rapidly exceeding the rate in United States (Jara-Lazaro, Thilagaratnam, Tan, 2010). Mastectomy is inevitable in patients with large breast tumors (Singapore Cancer Society, 2010). It has unique consequences because of the mutilation of an organ that represents a womans femininity and sexuality and plays an important role in sexual pleasure and stimulation. The paper reviews the literature relating to the psychosocial impact of mastectomy on a womans body image and sexuality which can affect her mental health. As survivorship of breast cancer following mastectomy becomes more common, the findings in this review are of significance to nurses caring for these women in providing interventions to address their psychological wellbeing. 2. Literature Review The review has been divided into 3 stressors for post-mastectomy women: body image, sexual functioning and marital adjustment. 2.1 Body image Ample studies had demonstrated mastectomy was associated with altered body image (Morris, 1979; Gottschalk, Hoigaard-Martin, 1984; Lasry et al., 1987). A recent study conducted by Bakhta and Najafib (2010) also found that women who had undergone mastectomy had lower body image than healthy women. However, many other recent studies proved otherwise. Moreira and Canavarro (2010) conducted a longitudinal study on breast cancer patients and found only a slight increased in body shame during the period of surgery to 6-months after the treatments ending. Esmaili, Saiidi, Majd and Esmaieli (2010) conducted a survey on 90 women during the period of 1-3 months following mastectomy and found insignificant change in body image. Hopwood et al. (2000) found that 21% of the women reported no change in body image in the first 3 years following prophylactic mastectomy as they viewed the surgery as a good trade-off for better health. The type of surgery has a predictive role on body image and various researchers have explored its impact on womens adjustment. A quantitative research showed larger proportion of those who had mastectomy without immediate breast reconstruction reported problems with body image (Sackey, Sandelin, Frisell, Wickman, Brandberg, 2010). Studies on the impact of type of surgery have revealed contradictory results with Hopwood et al. (2000) demonstrating that some women disliking the look or feel of the reconstructed breast. Young women reported more body image problems (Bakhta, Najafib, 2010) while older breast cancer patients showed greater acceptance of the mastectomy consequences (Ganz et al., 2002). Salter (1997) states that patients acceptance of body changes is largely influenced by peoples reactions around her, implying that behaviour of the partners and nurses play the most important role in determining patients acceptance of their body regardless of the type of the surgery and the age of the patient. 2.2 Sexual functioning Many researchers have demonstrated the strong impact of breast cancer and mastectomy on sexual function. Reported rates for post-mastectomy sexual problems range from a low 18.6% in those with mastectomy and reconstruction to a high 30.2% in those without reconstruction (Rubino, Figus, Lorettu, Sechi, 2006). The main causes of post-mastectomy sexual problems were altered self-perceived sexual image (Yeo et al., 2004), loss of pleasurable sensation in the breasts and consequent decreased of sexual desire (Graziottin, 2007; Burwell, Case, Kaelin, Avis, 2006). This shows that sexual difficulties can be attributed to physical problems. 2.3 Marital Adjustment Mastectomy affects not only the patient but also her relationship with her partner. In the study of Avci, Okanli, Karabulutlu and Bilgili (2009), it was found that the patients had a moderate level of marital adjustment. Research has shown that quality of a womans relationship is a stronger predictor of sexual functioning than the alteration of the body after mastectomy (Alder et al., 2008; Zee et al., 2008). Whilst each of these factors has been considered separately, it is important to acknowledge that they are interconnected. Women who have a poor body image following mastectomy have lower sexual satisfaction and are more dissatisfied with their relationship with their partners. Future research is needed to acknowledge this inter-relationship, in order to manage the multi-faceted consequences of mastectomy. 3. Discussion 3.1 Relevance to nursing practice This review has demonstrated that there is a compelling evidence that mastectomy can have a significant impact on a womans psychological adjustment in terms of body image, sexual functioning and relationship with their partners, especially in young women. Schultz and Van de Wiel (2003) found that psychological well-being and sexual intimacy help in the recovery process. This suggests that nurses should be particularly sensitive to the consequences of mastectomy for womens sexuality and body image, as well as the consequences for their partners. In view of Salters study in 1997, it is suggested that nurses consider educating the patients husbands about the facial expressions, tone, touch, and behaviour that can enhance their wives body image. The nurses should also understand that their own body language can affect their patients acceptance of the changes in their body. The findings of this review regarding marital adjustment confirmed the need for a comprehensive counseling and education serving the purpose of mental health management for women and partners following mastectomy to facilitate marital adjustment. Patients who reported greater perceived support in a study reported fewer adjustment problems and lower psychological distress (Baidera, Ever-Hadanib, Goldzweigc, Wygodaa, Peretz, 2003). As such, a good relationship with the husband is important, especially as post-mastectomy outpatient care becomes more common, more men will be involved in providing care and emotional support for their wives at home. 3.2 Recommendations for future research On the basis of gaps in the current literature, further research is required to find out about the impact of mastectomy on Singaporean womens body image and sexual functioning. In the local study, it is found that body image and sexuality is often not discussed with patients following mastectomy as most breast cancer patients felt uneasy talking about their concerns, especially among the Indians, Malays and the elderly Chinese (Saraswathi, Suzanna, Ho, 2005). One notable gap in the current literature is an understanding of cultural differences in psychological adjustment which is important to Singapores multicultural society. In exploring post-mastectomy body image and sexuality, a nurse should know about customs of different religious groups so she can be culturally sensitive to the women under their care. However, this important area has received limited attention in the published literature. In the recent years, increasing focus has been given to study the body image among patients following mastectomy (Bakhta, Najafib, 2010; Moreira, Canavarro, 2010; Esmaili, Saiidi, Majd, Esmaieli, 2010). The findings of insignificant changes in body image could be attributed to patients more preoccupied with their survival rather than the physical changes due to loss of the breast in the earlier stages following mastectomy. As such, further study is required to find out the impact on body image after a long period of time when survival is obtained. Similarly, identification of interventions to respond to women with psychological concerns following mastectomy is yet to be explored. As such, further research is needed to ensure the psychological needs of women are met during treatment. 4. CONCLUSION This literature review details the likelihood of altered body image, the nature of sexual difficulties and the implications of marital adjustment associated with mastectomy. Based on the findings of the review, it is suggested that nurses caring for women who had undergone mastectomy to be particularly sensitive to their sexuality, body image and relationship with their partners to promote better recovery. She may consider teaching the husbands of the women how to help their wives accept their body image changes. In view of the importance of family support, a nurse may want to offer counseling to both the patient and the husband so as to facilitate in the marital adjustment following mastectomy. Several literature gaps are identified, including limited attention to local womens psychological concerns following mastectomy, customs of different religious groups that may affect the psychological adjustment and effective nursing intervention for women with concerns regarding body image, sexual functioning and marital adjustment following mastectomy.