Panama :: Essays Papers

Panama The official name of Panama is the Republic of Panama or (Repà ºblica de Panamà ¡). Panama is located on the narrowest and lowest part of the Isthmus of Panama that links North America and South America. This part of the isthmus is situated between 7 ° and 10 ° north latitude and 77 ° and 83 ° west longitude. Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina, approximately 77,082 square kilometers. The country’s two coastlines are referred to as the Caribbean and Pacific, rather than the north and south coasts. To the east is Colombia and to the west Costa Rica. Pacific. Dominant features of their landform is highlands forming the continental divide. The higher elevations near borders with Costa Rica and Colombia. The highest point in the country is the Volcà ¡n Barà º which rises to almost 3,500 meters. The lowest elevation is in the middle of the country where it is crossed by the Panama Canal. Most of the population is on the Pacific side of the divide. The population of the country is around 2.8 million with a growth rate of 1.5%. The racial and ethnic groups are 65% mestizo, 14% African descent, 10% Spanish descent, 10% Indian. The religion is 85% Roman Catholic, 5% Protestant, and 5% Islamic. Spanish is the official language, though United States influence and the canal zone reinforce the use of English as a second language. Panama's arts show its ethnic mix. Indian tribes, West Indian groups, mestizos, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Swiss, Yugoslav and North American immigrants have all offer contributed ingredients to the culture. Traditional arts are woodcarving, weaving, ceramics and mask-making. The capital city is Panama City with major cities of Colon, Bocas del Toro, Potobelo, El porvenir, Santiago, Tocumen, La Palma, David, Balboa, and el Dorado. Political culture traditionally characterized by personalism, the tendency to give one's political loyalties to an individual rather than to a party. Politics from 1968 until his death in 1981 dominated by General Omar Torrijos Herrera, Their form of government is Executive under provisions of their 1972 Constitution, as amended in 1978 and 1983. The chief executive is president of the republic, he is assisted by two vice presidents, all elected by popular vote for five-year terms. The unit of currency is the Balboa which is equal to the United States dollar. Balboas are available only in coins.

Goal Setting Theory

Research conducted in this field has indicated that there is a positive relationship between goal setting and performance outputs. The prime principles of the goal setting theory state that successful goal setting needs to be assessed on five dimensions: goal clarity, goal challenge, goal commitment, performance feedback, and task complexity. The insights Of the empirical studies discussed in this paper imply that when goal setting is done correctly and thoroughly throughout each stage, it leads to a significant increase in motivation.Various methods and strategies have been developed to complement the goal setting theory, an example being, the popular mnemonic acronym S. M. A. R. T. Which uses the words specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely to aid in eating effective goals. Goal setting theory is both measurable and quantifiable. Empirical evidence from both experimental and field settings have supported that the benefits (increase in employee performance, increase in employee motivation, increase in profits, etc. ) far outweigh the drawbacks (results from application error, organization costs, human resource efforts).Based off current research output and the abundance of research still conducted and revised on this theory, it can be concluded that the goal setting theory is an effective theory of motivation and, moving forward, will be a leader in workplace motivation in North America. INTRODUCTION According to Callus's employee study, workplace disengagement is an alarming issue around the world. In North America, the region with the highest ratio of engaged workers compared to the rest of the world, the proportion of engaged workers is only 29% (Gallup, 2011).In other words, the vast majority of workers are not reaching their full potential. This has significant implications to the economy, companies, and individuals. With the great deal of emphasis on productivity in today's marketplace, managers within organizations are constantly search ing for effective strategies in motivating staff to achieving organizational goals. The theory of motivation discussed in this paper will be the goal-setting theory, which is arguably one of the most dominant theories in the field of motivation with over a thousand articles and reviews published within the last 30 to 40 years (Lethal, 2006).The objective of this paper is to produce a summary and evaluation Of the goal setting theory of motivation. The paper will be divided into two sections. The first section will discuss the foundation of the theory along with its main tenets. The second section will provide real life examples of the theory application and critically examine the applicability of the theory in the North American managerial workplace supported by empirical work. FOUNDATION OF THEORY The foundation of the goal setting theory was first developed and refined by the American psychologist, Edwin Locke, in the 1 sass.Locke was inspired by the final cause in Arteriole's the ory of causality, which states â€Å"that for the sake of which† or can be defined as the end or purpose of something. Stemming from Aristotle theory, Locke continued to research on goal setting for thirty years. With the contribution of Locke and other scientists, this theory has now been popularized and become one of the most widely used horses regarding motivation. During Locker's primary research, he studied the relationship between goal setting variables and task performance.There were two major sets of initial studies conducted – the difficulty of the goal (difficult versus easy), and the specificity of the goal (specific versus vague) goals. He concluded that difficult goals led to higher performance than easy goals, given that the difficulty was within an attainable limit. His second conclusion was that specific goals were more effective than vague ones (Locke, 1968). Following Locker's study, Gary Lathe's research established animal conclusions in his workplac e – there was indeed a link between goal setting and workplace performance.Together, in 1990, they published their seminal work in a book called â€Å"A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance† (Locke & Lethal, 1990). Along with the two original characteristics of successful goal setting, three additional characteristics have been identified as crucial. The goal setting theory is now guided by five principles: goal clarity, goal challenge, goal commitment, performance feedback, and task complexity. The following paragraphs will briefly discuss each of the five principles and the supporting research.TENETS OF THE THEORY Research indicates that clear goals can reduce absenteeism, tardiness, and turnover, which all aid in increasing organizational productivity (Locke & Lethal, 2002). A clear goal is defined as being specific and measurable. As Locke mentions in his paper, when the goal is specific and measurable, it provides an external reference such as a time frame, which reduces overall ambiguity (Locke & Lethal, 2002). In six of the eight studies that Locke conducted, the level of performance was significantly higher in the group that was given a specific goal compared to the group that was given a vague goal.An example of a specific goal would be to â€Å"complete X amount in Y time† and a vague goal would be to â€Å"do your best†. Another primary issue researched on goal setting was the goal challenge or difficulty. In a meta-analysis of goal setting studies, easy goals were defined as those with greater than 50% probability of attainment and moderate goals being 16%-D% probability of attainment (Klein et al. , 1999). When participants were given these two types of goals, data indicated that, harder goals resulted in higher levels of performance (Klein et al. , 1999).Optimally, a goal should not be too difficult o a point where it is unattainable and motivation suffers (Bennett, 2009). However, overall on average, the perfor mance level in individuals with higher goals was still significantly higher than those with very easy goals (Klein et al. , 1999). This can be explained by the idea that high goals lead to high performance, which is associated with rewards, and rewards often result in high satisfaction. In other words, individuals are motivated by more difficult goals because of the anticipated accomplishment involved (Locke & Lethal, 2002).Goal commitment has been said to be a secondary characteristic cause it interacts with goal difficulty to produce performance. It has been found that commitment is crucial for difficult goals, but does not necessarily result in high performance when given an easy goal (Klein et al. , 1999). In a review of the literature, on average across all goal difficulty, it has been concluded that the higher the level of goal commitment, the higher the level of performance output (Klein et al. , 1999). Commitment to a goal can be increased when the goal is individually set o r when the individual agrees to the assigned goal.In environments with high group cohesion, goal ointment of individuals is also found to be high because of the strong influence of group norms (Locke & Lethal, 1991). Furthermore, self-efficacy is also a topic often discussed when relating to goal setting. Self-efficacy refers to an individual's judgment of their own ability to perform particular activities given their level of skill and ability (Bandeau, 1986). As this is a topic in and of itself, it is important to just note here that self-efficacy plays an important role in goal commitment.A higher level of self-efficacy in relation to goal attainment (I. E. If the individuals believes he can achieve the goal) exults in a higher level of goal commitment (Lethal & Locke 1991). Performance feedback is necessary for goal setting to be effective because it helps individuals gauge how well they are doing and the adjustments required for improvement. It has been found that when people k now they are below their target, they are most likely to increase their effort or devise a new strategy (Lethal & Locke, 1991 Feedback can be provided both during the process of achieving the goal or after the outcome.Additionally, feedback is also linked to increasing self-efficacy, which in turn leads to a higher performance (Lethal & Locke, 1991). Finally, in 1 996, Lethal examined the relationship between complex goals and performance levels. It was found that complex goals result in higher learning within individuals and thus led to a higher performance when compared to less complex goals. This can be explained by the idea that performance is not always achieved because of effort and persistence, but rather due to the cognitive understanding of the task and the development of various methods in solving the complex task (Lethal & Locke, 1991).Although this condition has to be addressed with care, complex tasks have been found to have an overall positive effect on reference level s (Lethal, 1996). THEORY IN ACTION The history of workplace motivation was initially driven by the belief that money was the primary source for employee motivation, but it was later found that various factors are motivators in determining workplace satisfaction, which is a predictor of job performance (Lethal, 2006).In the following decades, it will be crucial for leadership around the world to address the issue of workplace disengagement. In an organization, managers do not have the time and resources to constantly keep track of an employee's work or motivation. Most organizations use some form of goal setting in operation. Setting goals implies that there is a need or desire to attain a certain object or outcome (Locke & Lethal 2006). In essence, goals tell employees what needs to be accomplished and how much effort should be exerted.In the North American workplace, the direction of the goal setting theory appears to be an effective strategy in motivating staff to meeting organiza tional goals; this explains the abundant amount of evidence in us port of the theory and the various strategies constantly being developed. Based off of goal setting theory by Locke and Lethal, a popular mnemonic acronym developed for effective goal setting is S. M. A. R. T by George Doran. The outlined criteria for S. M. A. R. T. Goal setting states that goals should be specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-bound.There have been other variations of S. M. A. R. T. That are also interchangeable such as using â€Å"achievable† and â€Å"relevant† instead of â€Å"assignable† and â€Å"realistic†, respectively. These goal-setting criteria can all be linked back to the five principles summarized by Locke and Lethal and is a popular management strategy used in the workforce. The implications of new strategies and discoveries suggest that goal setting is not an innate attribute that individuals are born tit. It a skill that can be taught, learnt , and practiced.The resources required by an organization to train its employees on successful goal setting is practical and the return can be significant. Large organizations such as General Electric (GE) and Federal Express Company (Faded) have also implemented this theory in their organizations. GE applies goal setting theory in all levels of the organization and refers to goal setting as a key ingredient of their success. After a trial run, Faded found that employees had greater accountability, clearer expectations, and more precise feedback towards their jobs. The initiative was then executed throughout other departments in the organization.In Locke and Lathe's report, they found truck drivers saved the company $250,000 in 9 months when the logs loaded on the trucks were increased as a result of upping the assigned goals (Locke & Lethal, 2002). In 1967, it was found that, United Fund communities that set monetary goals higher than the previous year's performance raised more mon ey than communities that set goals lower than their previous years performance. More recent studies show, negotiators who have clear, challenging, and complex goals achieve higher profits than those with no goals (Locke &Lethal, 2002) and telecommunication employees that set specific high goals had higher job satisfaction and high performance (Locke & Lethal 2002). These are just a few empirical examples of successful goal setting evidence in this field. The goal setting theory is especially prominent in individualistic cultures such as North America. This can be explained by the notion that goals have the ability to function as a self-regulatory mechanism that helps individuals prioritize tasks; also why managers widely accept goal setting as a means to improve and sustain performance (Dublin, 2012).The insights to all he studies show that when goal setting is done correctly and thoroughly throughout each stage, it significantly increases motivation, which is then associated with n umerous other positive outcomes such as an increase in job satisfaction, an increase in organizational commitment, an increase in performance, and more (Locke & Lethal, 2002). Aside from the countless examples of goal setting successes, there are still some limitations and weaknesses of the theory. The goal setting theory cannot be applied in segments and because of that, the outcomes of the set goals can be different than the initial intent.For instance, if a goal is not clear (I. E. It does not address the specific and measurable outcome), it is easy for the individual to lose track of the goal and the goal may never be achieved. Another consequence of the goal being unclear, the performance feedback aspect of the goal can be difficult to execute because there is no measurable component and it will be challenging to determine the adjustments required. On the other hand, if the goal encompasses all five principles, but is too difficult, the individual will not be able to achieve it regardless. It may even result in a hindrance in motivation and performance.Apart from the error in application, some other weaknesses include: individuals setting too many goals and not being able to follow through, individuals concentrating on only one goal and losing sight of the others resulting in tunnel vision, and individuals focusing too much attention on the outcome and forgetting about the process (Lethal, 2004). There are various extensions of the goal setting theory that are beyond the scope of this paper. Advances in the research are currently leaning towards studying how other goal setting variables such as learning goals, goal framing, and subconscious goals, interact with reference (Lethal, 2004).

Fear and Hate in the Novel 1984 Essays

Fear and Hate in the Novel 1984 Essays Fear and Hate in the Novel 1984 Essay Fear and Hate in the Novel 1984 Essay Essay Topic: 1984 Fear causes hate, and hate seeds violence and conflict. In the novel, 1984, the overriding party uses numerous techniques in order to mold society into their idea of an ideal person through altering their emotions, memory and thoughts. The party rewrites history and changes facts and the party has (have) been using fear to assist in remaking history to direct the little love left in the people towards Big Brother. They also use fear to eradicate all chances of thoughts being against the party by removing basic human instincts and leaving them as a blank canvas. The party has the means of controlling and monitoring the people through organizations and technology made for the sole purpose of keeping the people fearful of persecution. The use of fear is an essential part of the partys full control over the people. (End with a sentence saying how these things seed violence and conflict) The alteration of history and facts is the Partys biggest tool to push their frightening and hateful views onto the people. Oceania is constantly at war for the sole purpose of maintaining power and keeping the people ignorant to the world outside of Oceania. In the beginning of the novel, Oceania is at war with Eurasia and the party portrays the Eurasian army as robotic soldiers. Winston saw that; A new poster had suddenly appeared all over London. It had no caption, andrepresented simply the monstrous figure of a Eurasian soldier, three or four metres high,striding forward with expressionless Mongolian face and enormous boots, a submachinegun pointed from his hip.(p188) The reasoning behind this alteration is to dehumanize the soldiers and create fear and hatred towards Eurasia which in turn, seeds violence. This is essential as the party needs an outlet to direct the populations anger and hatred. it would become more of a challenge to contain them. Another way the party shifts the hatred away from them and to the Eurasians is Hate Week. There :

HOW TRO DECORATE A SHIRT essays

HOW TRO DECORATE A SHIRT essays Decorative shirts, you have seen them. Now not only can you own them, you can make them too. I would like to start by explaining how to decorate shirts for any occasion. This is a very nice and inexpensive way to decorate shirts, because it is made with homemade artwork. They are wonderful to keep or to give away as a gift. I think people would enjoy doing this craft and wearing their own artwork. In the recent years I have developed the abilities to do these types of crafts and have enjoyed do them and teaching them. Wouldnt it be nice to have a decorative shirt for any occasion? Before I go on to explain the steps involved in decorating shirts, I would like to tell you what supplies you will need. The first item you will need is a t- shirt, any color will work. I have found that using a cotton t-shirt works the best. You will also need newspaper or plastic to cover your work area. Then you will need paper and scissors to cut out stencils. You will also need straight pins to hold down your stencils on the shirt. The last thing you will need is fabric spray paint, also any color. Now lets begin with the steps to decorate your shirts. We will start by covering your work area. This is a must because you would not want to have to replace anything that could get damaged by the paint. If you are doing this indoors you should make sure you have some windows open for ventilation, due to the fume from the fabric spray paint. Then you will take the paper and scissors, and cut out your stencils. You could make hearts, squares, circles, letters, numbers and ect. After you have them cut out you will place the shirt on the work area and place some newspaper inside the shirt flatly and smooth out all the wrinkles. The reason why you want to place the newspaper inside the shirt is because you would not want the paint to seep through to the other side of the shirt. Then you will pl ...

Lyon College Taking Advantage of its Social Media Ecosystem Case Study

Lyon College Taking Advantage of its Social Media Ecosystem - Case Study Example The Lyon School uses the social media to appeal to the people because this is where most people access information with a lot of ease. They can easily design the media in such a way that it looks appealing to most of the viewers across the globe thus attracting a positive response. Other forms of advertisement can not easily penetrate the whole world within a short period of time and reach millions of people like the social media, which Lyon College is taking advantage of. The advantage of using such a media is that it’s very easy to monitor the state of the adverts displayed on a daily basis and make changes where necessary. Interaction is possible in matters of minutes leading to quick response to people who may need more information about the College. This makes it possible for the college to establish itself as a brand in the face of stiff competition coming from other colleges. The forum can also be used for product launching without much stress since most people will jus t find the information when they click into the website. This helps to improve the customer dealing leading to maximum customer satisfaction. The alumni of Lyon College are encouraged to be part of the Lyon community at all times of their lives. They are encouraged to be participating in the actives of the college including having fan actives thus encouraging strong bond between them, students and College management. The alumni forum serves an important purpose to all graduates who complete their courses in Lyon College in various ways. The members of the alumni enjoy certain privileges which are not found in other colleges. The alumni parent and are stay connected to Lyon through various activities they do together which brings harmony between them. The gifts and other awards provided by the alumni strengthen the value of their relationship which in turn helps to develop the college as a premium learning institution. The donors are of great help to Lyon College due to a number of activities they support which enable the institution to run its activities successfully. The donations go to Annual Scholarship Fund, Scottish H eritage, President Council Scholarship Fund, Alumni Scholarship Fund, Athletic scholarship Fund among other activities supported by the donor Fund (Lyon College, 2013). Since donors are aware from this social media that their money is well spent on constructive activities, they are never tired form giving support to the school. In this social media, the school takes advantage of their ranking by the Washington Monthly to give hope both to the alumni, students and donors that their efforts are paying off. This is evident since the college is ranked as the best Liberal Arts College in Washington in the year 2013. The college also notifies people through its social media that it has been in the list of top colleges for the past eight years (Lyon College, 2013). This is a ranking from a reputable magazine which not only looks at what the college is doing for the students but also looks at what the college is doing for the community. The institution is also respected from the way they va lue and respect their staff since they give them awards in accordance to hard work. The college is running good programs for its students like adventure activities which add value to their lives.

Discuss how variation within the human genome might lead to cancer Essay

Discuss how variation within the human genome might lead to cancer - Essay Example These tumor cells are eventually able to invade neighboring tissue and spread further to other tissues via metastasis. Cancer begins after one cell undergoes one gene variation after another, until these collectively transform normal cells to uncontrollably dividing cancerous cells. Current research identifies the mutations that lead to cancer as occurring in two general genes; the proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, which normally accelerate and inhibit growth and division of cells respectively (Wong et al, 2011: p429). As a result, gene variations that over-activate proto-oncogenes and inhibit tumor suppressor genes drive the development of transformed cancer cells. These gene variants responsible for maintaining this transformed cancer phenotype are then selected for during tumorigenesis, causing cancer. Genetic instability has been identified as a fundamental hallmark of all cancerous cells. Genetic instability, in this case, is referent to increased frequency of genomic mutations. According to Almendro et al (2013: p283), this genetic instability can be seen at both the chromosomal level leading to deletions, translocations, amplifications, and aneuploidy of the entire chromosome, as well as at nucleotide level leading to point mutations. The two manifestations of genetic instability can result in an increase of mutation rates in cancerous cells through the alteration of protein function or expression. In the past five years, the most prevalent debate has been about whether changes to single nucleotides or abnormalities related to large macromolecular chromosomes tend to be more common in human cancer, as well as whether they are a causative factor in development of cancer (Almendro et al, 2013: p283). Alteration in chromosome number, also referred to as aneuploidy, is a critical characteristic of any cancers and is, in fact, one of the genetic alterations most observed in human cancers. Specific exchanges of chromosomes have been found to

Quench as World Leading Soft Drinks Brand Case Study

Quench as World Leading Soft Drinks Brand - Case Study Example According to the paper, Quench’s market position was particularly threatened by the media identifying their product as one of those with excessive levels of sugar. Given their customer base’s preference for healthy products, coupled to the focus on obesity as an urgent global health issue, Quench’s turnover has declined sharply and the company now faces an uncertain future. In this paper, solutions to the current problems faced by Quench will be identified and expert recommendation on how to regain lost market share given to Quench’s board of directors. The first alternative solution for Quench focuses on the company increasing their promotional and marketing strategies, specifically in consumer segments that are untapped. Quench could capitalize on their brand image within the sector, such as their good business practices and environmental initiatives and promote these to the consumers. By promoting their positive social and environmental initiatives, the y could gain an advantage with consumers who may dismiss Quench as another corporate entity out for profits. Rotfeld identifies comfort, simplicity, local sourcing, and going green as the food and beverage trend of 2013, which are aspects that Quench may use to advertise their environmental initiatives, in turn enticing consumers who are eco-conscious. With regards to comfort and simplicity trends, consumers are seeking to return to normalcy after the recent recession, as well as to resume pre-recession consumption habits. Quench could take advantage by re-energizing their brand and marketing its achievements in the social and environmental arena. However, this strategy has several limitations for Quench, including the magnitude of controversy around the company regarding unhealthy ingredients that may not be undone through promotion of its good deeds.