Micro-Finance in Bangladesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Micro-Finance in Bangladesh - Essay Example Project governance consists of a number of activities such as those related to corporate decision making and organizational structures. Â  Bangladesh is classified as a Least Developed Country by the United Nations Organization. With a population of roughly 125 million, i.e. more than twice the population of Britain, it’s lacking in almost every conceivable resource for human consumption. The Grameen Bank has initiated a housing loan scheme among others for the poorer segments of Bangladeshis so that they would borrow even if they are unable to show collateral. Those pavement dwellers and squatters on government properties have partially benefited from this scheme. They are the first group of external stakeholders, while those contractors are also considered as external stakeholders of the project. However, employees and managers on sites are regarded as internal stakeholders (Cadle and Yeates, 2007). The government of Bangladesh and the international community such as INGOs, the World Bank, the UNICEF and the IMF are also involved in these projects as providers of auxiliary services such as safe drinking wat er, schools, hospitals and so on. The following stakeholder map illustrates how various stakeholders of a similar project would be brought under a single map for the analysis of links within and without the project. While the physical dimension of the project might be limited to its primary housing project, its real impact would be felt far beyond the far corners of the country itself. Â  While this sheet does not provide a detailed management structure for every stakeholder group involved in the project, it adequately illustrates how each relevant stakeholder group is managed through the project governance process (Carroll, 2006). Stakeholders might have different levels of interest in a project depending on the level of impact on them.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

The Crucible by Arthur Miller Essay Arthur Miller wrote a play called The Crucible in the early 50s. Even though the text in the play tells the story of some of The Salem Witch Trials, there is evidence which shows that Miller clearly connects his own communist trial by McCarthy to the outrageous trials of the witches. Due to this disgraceful act towards him from the powers within society, Miller decided to write a play to show his own perspective of 1950s society to the people of America. The setting of Act 3 can be interpreted as an attack on the severity of the authorities in Salem and 1950s America. Firstly, at the beginning of Act Three, the stage direction says two high windows. This stage direction is really used just for directors to have a good impression of what the stage should look like from Millers point of view. However, if you examine the whole stage directions carefully, it says that besides the sunlight, the whole room is dark and that the trials are being held in that room. This symbolises that the authorities of Salem are unjust because they believe that what they is doing is holy and just; but they are secretly hiding away from God. The darkness symbolised by the dark room and the light given off by the window, shows that God is present and that they cannot hide from him. The windows being high suggests that God and justice are very hard to reach. This shows that for authority in society to truly reach the holy and just state of existence that they desire, they still have a long way to go. This relates to Millers experience because he was trying to say that America in 1950s was just as corrupt as the witch trials in 1692, therefore saying that since 1692 until 1950 society hasnt moved on to be more fair or more just. Millers attack suggests that there is still a long way to go until society can be truly called fair. Secondly, the way Miller has set out some of the characters such as their language or their tone of voice is also an attack on society. I think this is due to the impressions given off by the characters that most people would usually interpret them as being good people, but Miller shows that they are not. One example is Judge Hathorne. On page sixty-seven he asks Martha how she knows that she is not a witch , this shows that he is trying to trick her in saying the things he wants her to. This shows us that for Hathorne to get what he wants he has to stoop down to a level of trickery, which is very low for a person of his status. This symbolises the fact that the authority are being hypocritical because they do what they are trying to rid society from doing sinful deeds. This point connects with the McCarthy trials of Miller because Judge McCarthy also had to stoop so low, by using threats. Miller had the choice of either naming names or get ruined. Thirdly, I believe that the way some of the people dress also shows how Miller attacks society. This is because Miller wanted us to know how power can corrupt us so he indicated all the sinful people by the clothes they wore and also their clothes showed us how much power they had. One example is again Judge Hathorne. I say this because in the courtroom Hathorne acts as he please due to his awareness that nobody in the court could overthrow him. Miller uses this to try and show the audience how power can cause people to act and abuse it, and even more so if it is supported by everyone in society agreeing with everything Hathorne had to say. Thus showing us that power can be used inefficiently if given to the wrong people. This is a link to Arthur Millers personal experience in the McCarthy trial because he believed that Judge McCarthy let his power get in the way of fairness and justice. The people of America supported McCarthy just like the people of Salem. In the play Miller exposes societys role in helping to condemn people by showing Parris supporting Hathorne. Miller shows that this fed Hathornes ego even more, and therefore Miller seemed to believe that McCarthy was an incompetent person because he abused his power just like Judge Hathorne. This is an attack on society because Miller is saying that society should be even more careful about giving so much power to someone who didnt deserve it. Also he encourages society to consider what they were doing before giving support to someone unworthy and boosting their ego. This courtroom scene presents innocent characters risking their lives in order to tell the truth seems to be an attack on the injustice of Salem as well as of 1950s America. We know this because there is much evidence in this scene to back the point up. One piece of evidence is the statement made by Hale on page seventy-eight where he says there is a prestigious fear in the court. This shows that Hale can see that some injustice is going on and is scared of it. Then when Hale tells Danforth that he is afraid, Danforth replies that there is a prestigious guilt instead and threatens him by asking him if he is afraid to be questioned. Later on Hathornes feeling of intimidation grows so that he becomes angry. This shows injustice and is linked back to my point at the beginning of the paragraph, because all Hale was doing was telling him what he thought was the truth. Danforth seemed like he was being pressurised so he had to use his power to intimidate and threaten Hale so that he could feel safe. This could be associated with Millers own experience because when authority in society in America in the 1950s felt threatened they had to use their influence and power to threaten and intimidate people. Just like when Miller was threatened and risked being ruined just for believing in something. Even though Miller could probably not harm anybody by himself, this is just like the threat Reverend Hale risked of being hanged just for exposing the fact that the court was an unjust one.

The Impacts Of Globalisation on Theatre

The Impacts Of Globalisation on Theatre Globalisation refers to the increasing interaction and integration of people socially, economically, and culturally through increasing interconnectedness, in which, theatres are also affected by. Performances originally in English are now performed in multiple languages, allowing other cultures around the world to experience watching similar theatrical performances. Singapore, a globalised community, consists of much cultural variety. Due to the immersed cultural diversity, Singapore would like to expand their theatrical performances, appealing to a broader audience of different cultures and eventually become the Broadway of the East. It is the contention of this essay to analyse the impacts of globalisation on theatres via the examination of McTheatres, modernism, interculturalism, and the impact of Western theatre culture on Singapores theatre culture in accordance to theatre design. In the McTheatre franchise, the workers have little or no control over their conditions of work; all the creative decisions were taken years ago and are locked down. The choreography is fixed, and the movements are largely determined by the automated sets and standardized lighting designs, which means that any deviation from the pattern risks injury or singing in darkness (Rebellato 2009: 44). The concept of McTheatre productions are methods of global imperialism. The pro side to this can be explained when the concept was founded by Cameron Mackintosh during the 1970s when he began working in a British theatre. After experiencing a shabby imitation of a metropolitan original, Mackintosh wanted audiences anywhere in the world to have the same high-quality experience instead of a cheap reproduction. However, because of standardization, the virtues of theatre are depreciated, such as the liveliness, immediacy, and the uniqueness of each performance. In a show such as The Lion King, the costumes are the stars, and the actors merely their operators. When we think of the mega musicals, we often think of the brand images: the big eyes orphan, a cats eye, a combined Japanese pictograph/helicopter. The star performers are never part of the brand image, because in McTheatre even the biggest star is replaceable (Rebellato 2009: 45). Cities such as Toronto, Las Vegas, Basle, and Denve r hold theatres that have been built specifically for these mega musicals. However, they are not built well acoustically, considering all mega musicals are miked performances. Thus once that particular mega musical performance has moved on, the theatre is limited to performances requiring well built acoustics. Musical franchises are successful to a certain extent, but they are limited to an English speaking audience. Musicals such as The Lion King and Tarzan however, even though they are global musical theatre hits, are performed in multiple languages in order to appeal to a larger range of audience members. Cats have been translated into 10 different languages such as Japanese, German, and French and The Lion King will be making its first Spanish debut in Madrid on October 21st of 2011 (Cats the Musical 2011; Gans 2011). Aside from mega musicals, past theatrical performances such as Shakespearean plays are currently performed around the world. Variations of Shakespeares plays are also created to appeal towards the audience of the 21st century, for example, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) is an interactive and humorous parody of Shakespeares plays where improvisation plays a huge roll. Hence, every performance is never the same and is unique. While older theatre acts are adapting to a more modern perspective, new performances are created to relate towards the 21st century audience. The theatre might be thought to contribute to the globalization of politics through plays that critically represent the workings of globalization (Rebellato 2009: 9). The musical Avenue Q, is ranked 21st of longest running shows in Broadway history with 2,534 performances (Avenue Q 2009). The musical, ironically portrayed as an adult version of Sesame Street, isnt a globalized musical because it has been performed around the world, but also because the musical itself is about globalization. Considering its relevance towards the 21st century audience, it is able to connect with the majority of the world population. The puppets in the musical goes through stereotypical problems and activities people go through every day, such as, the relation towards internet within their song the internet is for porn, pokes fun at how the modern day population m akes use of the internet, though not many may admit or embrace the new mentality. Culture and globalisation goes hand in hand with each other, and theatres are no exception from the interculturalism. Defined by nationalists of the Canadian province of Quebec, interculturalism is the philosophy of exchanges between cultural groups within a society. Theatres in particular have been able to share multiple cultures with the world for centuries. This alone is a huge part on globalisation because different parts of the world are able to experience different cultures through the form of theatrical performances, whether it would be through dance, acting, and music. I consider theatre to refer to all cultural forms in which performers and active or passive participant-audiences coexist in the same space for a set time (Knowles 2010: 3). During the Nara period, the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans exchanged performance traditions with each other, hence the bukagu court dance and gugaku, the Buddhist processional dance play, was eventually integrated with the Japanese culture. Western cultures did not intermix with the Asian cultures until American and European invasions in the late 19th century. Ric Knowles makes this point in his book Theatre Interculturalism: Beginning at the turn of the twentieth century and lasting almost a hundred years, the shingeki (new drama) movement saw a turn in Japan to Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, Stanislavski, and the performance styles of western naturalism and spoken drama. In the first decade of the twentieth century, in the wake of Chinas defeat in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-5, a similar movement developed in China, largely through the conscious efforts of Li Xishuang and Tokyos Spring Willow society, and visits to the society by Chinese students who produced the first huaju (spoken drama) (Knowles 2010: 8-9). Much like the plays from Shakespeare, as mentioned before, it has come to a point where we have the ability to share knowledge easily around the world, and theatrical performances are also able to be shared with equal amount of ease. One of the most well known types of performances known to globalise are circuses. It is in their nature to be mobile and move from place to place entertaining audiences. This leads to globalization through culture, the interconnection of world cultures, perhaps even the development of a world culture' (Rebellato 2010: 5). The most world renowned circus to this day would be Cirque du Soleil. Originally named Les Échassiers, it was founded by two former street performers in 1984 in Baie-Saint-Paul. It is now a Canadian entertainment company based in Montrà ©al, Quebec, self-described as a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment (Cirque du Soleil 2010). Cirque du Soleil has a wide variety of performances, all of which are an integration of circus styles from around the world with its own theme and storyline. They attract audiences through continuous live music, which allows the performance to be cross cultural because one doesnt have to understand the language in order to enjoy the performance, hence it appeals to everyone and they are able to expand to different cultures around the world. Cirque du Soleil does not only travel around the world, but they have also left permanent set ups in different parts of the world. Las Vegas, United States, has the most Cirque du Soleil performances in one area. Performances such as KÀ, LOVE, Mystà ¨re, O, Viva ELVIS, and Zumanity are performed to many new audiences because its in an area of visiting tourists from all around the world. ZED Cirque du Soleil is stationed in a theatre build specifically for this performance at Disney Resort in Tokyo, Japan, with seven million people watching this spectacular performance every year. Cirque du Soleil has been able to create and show many different performances, but it couldnt have been done without more than 600 of their performers. (Cirque du Soleil Inc. 2009) Hence, the interconnectedness of culture is shared amongst performers and audience alike all around the world. Though most of the casts of Cirque du Soleil are trained for this specialized art, there are also performers who were past Olympic participants from all around the world. Zoltan Supola, a gold medal gymnast who competed in the Olympic three times, retired in the year 2000 after the Sydney Games. He landed a job with Cirque du Soleil and became a part of the gravity-defying troupe of performers, which now incorporates a total of 17 former Olympians. Another example is gymnast, Paul Bowler, who performs in Mystà ¨re at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas after failing to make it with the British Olympic team in 1996 (Martinez 2011). Performances themselves arent the only ones affected by globalisation, but the people who work within those performances as well. It is without a doubt that Cirque du Soleil is one of the most globalised theatrical performances to have spread from North America all the way to Asia. Singapore is known to be a global community with multiple cultures integrated in one city, and because of this, different kinds of theatrical acts dedicated to the different cultures and all cultures are continuously performed. Singapore is a perfect example of interculturalism in general and for theatres. With the amount of international theatrical performances arriving every few months and with the amount of audiences watching these performances, it is clear that Singapore has embraced the idea of interculturalism within their theatres. This is a country in which Western and Asian performances are accepted together and appeal to a large portion of the public, hence Singapores wish to be a global pin point, the Broadway of the East so to speak. As Kenneth Lyen states: Yes, Singapore can indeed be the Broadway of the East. We have several unique attributes. Firstly, there is a wealth of stories waiting to be told in the genre of musical theatre. We also have a fascinating variety of Asian music, with different rhythms and different instruments. Our talent pool is immense, and largely untapped. We have not reached the stage where musical theatre prohibitively expensive to stage (Lyen 2010). Aside from Singapore bringing in theatrical performances from other parts of the world, Singapore themselves are trying to globalise their own local theatre productions. It is obvious how much Western performances have influenced the local productions. By trying to maintain a unique theme to Singapore, the structure is very much of the western style. A good example of this is the musical, Forbidden City. Its Singapores most successful musical first commissioned for the opening of the Esplanade, now in its third run, greeted with interest by American investors whod like to adapt it for Broadway (Yi-Sheng 2010). By exploring the fusion of Western and Eastern styles, there is a possibility for Singaporean theatrical productions to become worldwide and achieve globalisation with their own culture and local acts. Theatre of the 21st century is affected by social standing and social status of the community, hence the design of theatres affect the peoples want and reason to attend a performance based on prestige. Theatre of Ancient Greece was an open air, semi-circular layout with only the use of a skene and costumes for visual distinction between characters and scenery (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008). It was a place for the gathering of people to enjoy a performance by being taken to another dimension. The use of lighting was available only through natural lighting; hence performances were casually held during the daytime. The globalised theatre design of the 21st century however, is incorporated on the theatre experience influenced by the modern American stage design through the use of lighting, props, and moveable stage parts. With the discovery of lighting, theatres became enclosed and performances became a nightly event, which is gives off a more formal experience. Now it i s a place not only for people to gather and enjoy a performance, but also a place of prestige. Theatres in general have become a social marker. The concept of an exposed theatre within the new proposed design of the Victoria Theatre situated in Singapore is aimed to attract audiences through the act of interaction or communication with the general public and raise awareness of theatrical performances to help Singapore reach its goal of being the Broadway of the East. The use of an open-air theatre and an enclosed theatre together is to create two different experiences much like the casual experience of Ancient Greece and the more formal experience of the 21st century. With todays technology and interconnectedness, theatres has become a huge part of globalisation through the sharing of performances and performers around the world not only through the use of McTheatres, but also through the creation of fused cultural performances in order to reach out to a broader audience. Through Western influence, the design of theatres has created a social status through the theatre experience. Singapore, being a social marker and huge globalised community, has attracted theatrical performances from around the world in order to share the multiple cultures with its local audience, to become the next Broadway of the East, and to create their own theatrical performances as well, such as Forbidden City.

Carol Ann Duffys Little Red-Cap and Delilah Essay -- Carol Ann Duffy

Carol Ann Duffy's "Little Red-Cap† and â€Å"Delilah" â€Å"During the 1980s, a unique type and style of women-led peace protest strategies emerged that relied on the powerful language, and particularly the powerful imagery of women as a group engaged in an extended protest against nuclear weapons† (LaWare 18). Carol Ann Duffy’s book, The World’s Wife, was first published in Great Britain in 1999, and two of its dramatic monologues similarly rely on the powerful language and imagery of women engaged in a protest against historically patriarchal narratives and male violence. â€Å"While some peace encampments [in the 1980s] included men and women, many were women only, including one of the first and longest lasting peace encampments, the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common in Newbury, England, which evolved into and ignited a women’s peace movement† (LaWare 18). â€Å"[T]housands of women from Britain and the world†¦ later visited and lived at the camp during its almost twenty years of existence, until the last group of women left in 2000[,]† and while it’s not clear whether Duffy visited the camp, the camp’s strategies of resistance are embedded in two of her poems (LaWare 19). The speakers of â€Å"Little Red-Cap† and â€Å"Delilah† employ the camp’s strategies of physically embracing a symbol of male violence, subsequently defacing the symbol through an act of creative nonviolence, and finally transforming the symbol’s patriarchal sphere into a space filled with peace and feminine imagery. First, the speakers of Duffy’s two poems resemble the protestors at Greenham Common who physically embraced a symbol of male violence: [T]he Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp gained both national and international attention in D... ...orld’s Wife. New York: Faber, 1999. 28-29. ---. â€Å"Little Red-Cap.† The World’s Wife. New York: Faber, 1999. 3-4. Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan, gen. ed. International Bible Society, 1984. BibleGateway.com. Gospel Communications International. 14 May 2005 search=judges%2016&version1=31>. LaWare, Margaret L. â€Å"Circling the Missiles and Staining Them Red: Feminist Rhetorical Invention and Strategies of Resistance at the Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common.† NWSA Journal 16.3 (2004): 18-41. Little Red Riding-Hood Picture Book. London: George Routledge and Sons, circa 1870. The Little Red Riding Hood Project. Ed. Michael N. Salda. Dec. 1995. The de Grummond Children’s Literature Research Collection, University of Southern Mississippi. 14 May 2005

Personal Narrative- Lost Wallet :: Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Lost Wallet A wallet, or purse for some, is a precious item in which most people carry things more essential than money towards everyday life. If some people were to lose that portable safe, they may be offset for the rest of that day. The person without that wallet could be cranky or depressed for a while. Maybe something of great sentimental value was in that wallet. This person could stay hold these feelings for a long time, until they find their belongings by which case they are filled with joy. I, personally, keep anything I may have interest in knowing where it is, in my wallet. I am very good about always having my wallet and never losing it...until recently. In my wallet, I store dire personal items such as my lisence and some pictures. Among other things, I have my money, like everybody else, and certificates for stores. This summer, I went to the Keys with my family. I drove down there with my wallet and took it everywhere with me, like I would any other time. Well, when someone doesn't have pockets, then it is hard to keep their wallet right next to them at all times. I was carrying my wallet out from the hotel, along with my keys, and set both on top of the car. When I figured out that I needed the keys in order to get in the car and turn it on, I took them off the top of the roof, leaving my wallet behind. I sat in the car, car door open, waiting for my dad to make it to the car so we could all go to a diving area. Once he made it to the car, without thinking, I closed the door and started the car. I had been driving about half a mile before I realized that my wallet was no longer on my body. Immediately, I pulled the car over, and the next hour or so was spent looking for my wallet. All I could think about was what I would lose if I didn't find my wallet. The week before was my birthday, and I was given $60 to Best Buy and $50 to Auto Zone. Aside from that I had $3 in cash. While walking up and down the road that my wallet flew off on, my sister found my two Best Buy cards.

Capital Budgeting Mini Case Essay

There are many different methods business owners use to efficiently analyze business investment. One of these effective methods is the calculation of the net present value or NPV. The second most effective method would be the calculations of the internal rate of return or IRR. There are also other useful methods as well, for example, the payback rule and the profitability index. Many business owners use the above procedures to help them in their decision making of acquiring other businesses. â€Å"NVP is important to a project because if the cost of the investment is going to be, or is more than the revenue from that project, then it may be more cost effective to shut down the project all together rather than lose more money. If multiple projects are available, then it is wise to first calculate the NPV for each project, choose those that have a positive NPV, and reject the ones that have zero or negative NPVs. Moreover, the IRR method can be used, and generally, they should provide the same ranking of the projects because the projects with high NPV also tend to have high IRR (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. â€Å"There are many reasons the IRR is imperative to a company. If the rate of return is insufficient, it means additional cash is out flowing from the company than is inflowing into the company. This could lead to negative working capital. The IRR is imperative for a company to understand, so if necessary, they can afford to finance more activity or if necessary, they then can invest additional money (Hestwood, Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis 2010)†. The formula used to calculate the PV is future value times (1/((1+i^n)) = present value. This calculation is useful in investment analysis to assess if an investment with a promised set amount of return in the future will give a net gain in the present value or will only appear to be increasing but containing the same or even less amount when time value of money is considered. For example, FV=$100, with an interest of 7.7% compounded annually and a period of 38 years. Using the formula and substituting the values into it, the equation is obtained: PV = 100 * [1/ (1+0.077)38] = 5.97 dollars The formula indicates the present value of $100 in 38 years from now given that the interest rate is 7.7% compounded annually is 5.97 dollars. Thus, it also means if an investment promises a return of 100 dollars after 38 years,  the interest rate is assumed to be fixed at 7.7%. Considering the effects of time and the value of money, the investor will have a net gain if the required initial investment is lower than 5.97 dollars, a breakeven point when the investment is 5.97 dollars and a loss if the required investment is higher than 5.97 dollars. In our capital budgeting case scenario, we will recommend acquiring Corporation B because it has higher NPV of $40,251.47 as compared to the Corporation A’s NPV of $20,979.20. In addition, Corporation B has higher IRR of 17% as compared to the Corporation A of 13%. There are many factors business owners should consider when acquiring other businesses. We believe financial forecasting should be used before the final acquisition decision is made. Financial forecasting is a very useful and an objective decision-making tool regarding the funding requirements of the organization in the future. By using forecasting, this helps the managers or owners plan properly and prioritize between multiple objectives of the firm such as growth, international expansion, cost cutting, research and development, and so on. It also helps to decrease potential failure by knowing and understanding the financial risks. Financial forecasting is therefore used for predicting realistically how the firm will perform financially in the future. A company uses three basic steps to forecast and project their financial needs correctly. Projecting a specific planning period’s revenue of sale and a company’s expenses are the first steps. During the first step it is important to use a method such as percent of sales, because this method will forecast financial variable of the company. Then we need to evaluate the stages of investment in both current assets and fixed assets to support the estimated sales. Throughout this stage, it is important to calculate the approximate sustainable growth rate. This rate will be the maximum rate in which sales may grow if the present financial ratio maintained without issuing new equity. The financial manager also needs to establish how the funds will be used in buying inventory, equipment, building, etc. that is capital expenditures. The step after investing in the current and fixed assets is to discover the financing  needs of a company during a specific period. Cash budget will play a significant role in this step because it provides and lays out a detailed plan of cash disbursements, cash receipts, and net changes. Moreover, it will identify new needs for any financing. In this capital budgeting case scenario, one must look at Corporation A’s data, Corporation with a discounted payback period of 4.6 months. This would recover its entire cash outflow by the end of the 5th year. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -31,688 which is in negative. At the end of the 5th year it is at +20,979 thus, 31688/52668 = .6. Hence, discounted payback period will be 4.6 months. Corporation B has a discounted payback period of 4.24 months. Its cumulative cash inflow of up to the 4th year is -12964, which is in the negative. At the end if the 5th year it is +40251 thus, 12964/53215 = 24 hence, discounted payback period will be 4.24 months. With that being said, the best choice would be acquiring Corporation B because the payback period is shorter than of Corporation A. Not to mention Corporation B has a higher IRR of 17% compared to Corporation A which has an IRR of 13%. In addition, Corporation B has a higher profitability index of 1.16 compared to that of Corporation A, at 1.08. References Hestwood, D., Lial, M., Hornsby, J., & McGinnis, T. (2010). Quantitative reasoning for business. (custom e-text) Boston, MA: Pearson/Addison-Wesley. Sevilla, A., & Somers, K. (2007). Quantitative reasoning: Tools for today’s informed citizen (1st ed). Emeryville, CA: Key College Publishing.

Communication in Social Work Practice Essay

1 Social Work Theory & Practice. The Importance of Communication Skills in Social Work Practice. Introduction. Social work is a professional activity. Implicit in its practice are ethical principles, which prescribe the professional responsibility of the social worker. The primary objective of the code of ethics is to make implicit principles explicit for the protection of clients. (BASW, 1976). According to Thompson (2000) Social work involves working with some of the most disadvantaged sections of the community and with people who, for a variety of reasons, are experiencing major problems and distress, often with unmet needs and other difficulties that may at times seem intractable. Lishman (1994) purports a broader definition of Social Work, which involves entering into the lives of people who are in distress, conflict or 2 trouble. To do this requires not only technical competence but also qualities of integrity, genuineness and self-awareness. The Central Council for Education and Training in Social work (United Kingdom) has also set out core skills and characteristics for Social work outlined as follows; The importance of being able to communicate and engage, To be able to promote and enable, To achieve success in planning and accessing information, Intervening appropriately and providing services when necessary, Working competently with other organisations, Developing overall professional competence. So not only do social works need to adhere to ethics and values, they must also look inside themselves as people and seek out the skills necessary to work with various client groups and organisations. As mentioned, communication skills are vitally important, along with listening and analytical skills. Look more:  social process theories essay But it is also very important that the social worker be aware of him/herself, of 3 handing feelings or emotions that may arise through this line of work. Reflection is an important aspect, as well as creativity, sensitivity and humility. A major step forward in contemporary practice was the development of a Code of Ethics (1995), which further defined social work as: „ The primary focus of social work is working with individuals, families, and groups within their social context. Through the training, knowledge and skills which support a high standard of professionalism, the social work task is to facilitate and enable clients to identify options and make decisions for themselves so that they may develop strategies to effect improvement in the quality of their lives. Social work also focuses on issues of social policy, social administration and social justice and the betterment of society as a whole‟ (IASW, 1995: 1). Effective social work requires a multitude of interconnecting knowledge and skills backed up by the values, which underpin 4 good social work practice. To be able to provide a good service the social worker needs to be able to refer to, or call upon a wide body of knowledge. This knowledge base is quite extensive and detailed, as Thompson (2000,p73) points out, â€Å"practitioners are not realistically expected to know all of this knowledge base.† However a certain level of knowledge is essential, for example knowledge of the basics, things such as relevant legislation, theories and techniques involved in a particular case. Knowledge of society and the social processes and institutions is also crucial to the role of a social worker, as these are the very fabric of the profession. No amount of knowledge, on its own, at least, can be effective without the possession of skills to act upon it. Thompson (2000,p82) defines a skill as â€Å"the ability to carry out a particular activity effectively and consistently over a period of time.† The skills with which a social worker is armed must be used in conjunction with the knowledge base to reflect the values, principles, and beliefs associated with the profession. There is a wide range of skills involved in high quality social work from basic communication skills to analytical, presentational, and management skills. Because of the often-sensitive nature of 5 situations social workers can find themselves in, the ability to be patient and understanding is important. Working with children and families is one of the largest areas covered by social work. Insofar as a social worker may be dealing with an individual client, that client’s place in the family can be of critical importance to any assessment. When working with families it is important not to try to mirror one’s ideas of how a family functions. The challenge for the social worker when working with a family is not to generalise but to try to understand â€Å"how does this family work?† Coulshed et al (1998,p171). When dealing with a family it is very important to remain impartial, to take the time to listen to everyone’s point of view. This approach is more likely to â€Å"encourage discussion and sharing in which the worker is free to engage and disengage when the need arises,† Coulshed et al (1998,p175). Another area which social workers are involved is with groups. This is somewhat different to the family situation. It also shares things in common with community work. The role of a social worker as a facilitator or leader of a group has many levels. At different stages the worker has to be â€Å"central, pivotal, peripheral, 6 and central once again,† Coulshed et al (1998,p198). The various stages of group development and the content of the stages outlined by Tuchman and Jensen, in Coulshed et al (1998,p198) names these stages as â€Å"forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.† The role and tasks of the social worker are to help get group members involved and to encourage the development of a group bond. In the process of doing this s/he must be alert to isolated members, dominant members and conflict within the group, to develop positively the dynamics of the group and achieve a desired outcome, while meeting the needs of all the group members impartially and without bias. Community social work requires the social worker to develop a more flexible approach requiring such skills as recognising and validating skills and interventions. Traditional social work skills may need to be adapted to fit into the community context. Network building can also be a part of the process for a social worker, for example, to bring a group of people together who have similar concerns but are not in a position to facilitate this formation themselves. 7 In each of the above scenarios, the social worker must adapt to the different settings and the number of individuals that may be present and therefore use the most effective form of communication and tools necessary to communicate at different levels, whether that involves one person, several people or a large group. Effective Communication. Effective communication is an essential component of traditional social work activities e.g. providing basic care, giving advice, making assessments, counselling, writing reports and acting as client’s advocates. It is equally necessary for social workers to have effective communication skills if they are to promote self-help and empowerment. Verbal communication is what we say and includes questioning, reflection, focusing, summarising, challenging and confrontation. Verbal communication involves the use of language. The skills involved in engaging, listening, negotiating and challenging are equally relevant to communication in work groups and multi-disciplinary teams. Any commitment to the empowerment of social work clients is meaningless if their 8 views are neither sought nor taken into account. Silverman (1969) emphasises the importance of a non-judgemental approach. There are three main areas of knowledge and experience were valued by clients are outlined by Rees and Wallace (1982), cited in Lishman (1994) Client’s valued workers who had enough experience of life to listen non-judgementally to what they had to say, Client’s valued workers who had enough life experience to understand client’s problems from their own experience, Clients appreciated specialised knowledge and training. Kinds of Communication. Symbolic communication. Symbolic communication involves behaviour, actions or communications, which represent or denote something else. As social workers we need to be aware of the potential meaning of 9 our representation, actions and aspects of our working environment. For example, punctuality, dress and layout of the consultation room are all important aspects of symbolic communication. Proximity needs to be considered in relation to orientation. Sommer and Cook (1968) explored different seating positions and found evidence which suggested that sitting alongside a person implies cooperation, opposite a person competition and at right angles to each other equality of status. Thus sitting behind a des, directly opposite a client, has distancing and power implications but also may be confrontational. Although, There are no fixed rules about posture; being too relaxed may convey power and inattentiveness, being too rigid, tension, anxiety and authority. As social workers we need to be aware of such subliminal reinforcement and to use it discriminatingly. Non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication outlined by Sutton (1979) suggests that while spoken communication is concerned mainly with 10 information giving, non-verbal communication is the ‘music behind the words’ conveying feelings or attitudes. Understanding people or social perception is concerned with the way in which people form impressions of others and make inferences about the causes of their behaviour to enable them to predict and control their own social reality, understanding the causes and motives behind behaviour is Nonverbal Communication or NVB. Nonverbal communication NVB is the way in which people communicate intentionally or unintentionally without the use of words. Expressions, gestures, posture, touch, personal space, eye contact and tone of voice are used to express emotions, convey attitudes, regulate and control speech and communicate personal characteristics. NVB are examined in two ways: Information processing – how do people interpret nonverbal cues? What kinds of inferences do we make about people’s intentions based on these cues, Impression management. Michael Argyle (1988) suggested that NVB is important for: Expressing emotion, Conveying attitudes, 11 Communicating one’s personality traits, Facilitating verbal communications. Patterson (1983) suggests that NVB serve a number of particular functions in social interactions including: Expressing intimacy, Regulating the course of interactions, Exercising social control and dominance. Druckman (1982) outlined five principal uses to which NVB is usually put: To communicate pre-articulated feelings, feelings that cannot be put into words, To provide cues to information processing enabling us to guess at what another person is thinking or feeling, To serve as emphases in persuasive appeals to enhance our success at persuading others, To facilitate deception, To convey subtle messages. 12 The characteristics of NVB were outlined by Dittman (1984). There are users and sources of NVB, nonverbal behaviours are sent by encoders and received by decoders through a variety of different channels. Channels of nonverbal communication include facial expression, eye contact, gestures, touch, paralanguage or nonverbal elements of speech and spatial behaviour. A number of channels are used simultaneously to send a particular emotional message. Behaviours sent are intentionally controlled while behaviours may be received with different levels of awareness. Some messages are received in full awareness and as intended by the sender, whereas other messages are deliberately kept out of full awareness and may distort the intention of the sender. A number of different categories of NVB exist according to Ekman and Friesen (1969): – Emblems – these are movements that are communicative substitutes for words i.e. Handshaking. – Illustrators – these are movements that accompany speech and accent i.e. rapping a table. – Regulators – these are movements that maintain or signal a change in the speaker/ listener roles i.e. Head nods. 13 – Affect displays – these are facial expressions that are used to convey emotions – Adapters – these are self and object manipulations, which relate to an individual emotional, need or state. Mehrabian (1972) suggested that NVB’s were important for indicating a person’s social orientation. Social orientation can be summarised in terms of dimensions; each dimension reveals some aspect of a person’s intention and motivation for interacting. According to Cook (1968) NVB are used to gain fuller descriptions of individuals when little information is available which we use to fill in the missing information about people, and guide our behaviour while interacting. One further way of determining what people think and feel is to try to provide explanations for why they behave in particular ways to reveal the motives and intentions behind their actions. This process is referred to as ‘Casual Attribution’ and is concerned with understanding the reasons behind the behaviour of others. NVB are intended to provide us with clues to how a person feels, enabling us to predict and control our interactions with them. When information is missing implicit personality theories are used to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about a person. 14 Verbal communication. Language consists of symbols that convey meaning, rules for combining those symbols that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages. People use spoken sound and written words to represent objects, actions, events and ideas, and can be combined in an infinite variety of ways to generate an endless array of novel messages. Written reports and records. According to Lishman (1994) skilled are learned in action, with practise and feedback, written reports and concise record keeping enable the aforementioned to happen. Hargie (1986) acknowledges criticism that social work records and reports are often ‘lengthy, rambling and anecdotal’ and suggests ‘written reports should be clear, concise and concentrate’ on the important features of the case. O’Hagan (1986) calls recording ‘a crucial learning tool’. He argues that after a crisis, detailed scrutiny is 15 essential. Such recoding facilitates learning and self-awareness by a review of the behaviour, feelings, and interactions of all participants including the worker. Doel and Lawson (1986) found that once workers had developed ‘an interactive recording style, using interview time to record the work, the quantity of written material was reduced because it becomes more focused. The South Eastern Health Board (1988) suggest that record keeping and good recording techniques are of vital importance in maintaining good housekeeping practice, facilitating accountability and maintaining the utmost confidentiality. Under the Freedom of Information Act 1997 asserts that the client can request to access to view/ copy their records at a later date. Therefore it is vitally important that all written records be update and regularly reviewed. However there are exemptions to the above, which are also included in the FOI Act provisions. According to the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health visiting (1993) the purpose of written records is to: To provide an accurate, current, comprehensive and concise information on the client from the initial assessment onwards, 16 including a record of any factors (physical, psychological or social) that appear to affect the client, To facilitate continuity, To provide a record of any problems that may arise and the response taken, To provide evidence of continuing assessments, To record the chronology of events and the reasons for any decisions may, To provide a baseline record against which improvement can be judged, To improve communication between all members of the healthcare team. Lishman (1994) suggests that statements made by the client during interview and subsequent assessments should include the client’s statements. There is also a legal obligation by social workers to maintain written records, the onus being on good practice by practitioners. The role of communication. 17 Communication is a crucial aspect of organising; each and every interaction between the people who constitute the organisation is communication. Communication will be more likely to be good if it has been worked at constantly and not only in emergencies. McKenna (1991) suggests that communication is not simply a matter of sending messages to and from between individuals and groups. It involves being aware of and understanding the experience of other people. This means knowing about the work they do and their perception of their situation. According to McKenna (1991) good horizontal communication between managers and vertical communication between managers and their work force are essential if role and job conflicts is to be avoided. It therefore appears that while managers at top and line management levels sees themselves as doing a good job in communicating with their immediate subordinates, those subordinates do not feel this is the case. Effective communication must be two-way. It must run from top to bottom and bottom to top – vertical communication, and it must flow to and from between people at the same level within the organisation – horizontal communication. The so-called ordinary members control much of what happens to horizontal 18 communication. This is communication between people on the same hierarchical level in an organisation and involves communication between colleague such has team leaders, or team members. Dutfield and Eling (1990) note that effective communication between people involves skills in: Eliciting information, Presenting information, Managing the emotional content of the encounters. Skills in eliciting information: Questions are the most obvious way of eliciting information in any situation but they may be formulated in a number of ways: Open questions – give the other person an opportunity to put forward their point of view without constraints, Closed questions are more focused and usually allow a simple yes or no type answers, Specific questions – focus on facts. The second step in effective presentation of information involves checking that the information has been received and understood, 19 an opportunity is given to ask questions, having a discussion, feedback and asking questions. Dutfield and Eling suggest that managing the emotional reactions of people in formal or informal interviews and at meetings. Emotions enter in when the person gets personally involved. This means that the core part of our self-concept appears to be under attack. We react defensively. Emotional reactions are themselves information and as such they take up part of our information processing capacity. For these reasons the skilful handling of the emotional content of communication is important in order to ensure that conflict and ill will does not result through misunderstandings. The main skills in managing the emotional content of face-to-face meetings are; Preparing well in advance for interviews, Being aware of one’s opinions and prejudices, Clarifying the nature of the problem in behavioural terms – this involves separating fact from opinion, Setting up a suitable place and sufficient time for the interview, 20 Using skills in eliciting information to get the other person’s views, Acknowledge the other person’s emotional investment in the situation, Stay task focused, Decide a plan of action for the future with the person once the emotional content has been dealt with, Follow up the meeting with a memo summarising the agreement reached, Arrange a follow up meeting to review the situation. Managing negotiation by Rackham and Carlisle (1978): Because people perceive situations differently their realities differ, the need to negotiate is a constant part of social life. The approaches to negotiation are as follows: Distributive bargaining – a win/lose position. Underlying this approach is the idea that resources are finite and that each side tries to maximise the gains for itself leaving the other side to settle for less. Win/lose strategies may give short-term gains but are usually less effective in the long term; 21 parties involved in the negotiation are usually involved in a long-term relationship with each other. Integrative bargaining – win/win approaches aims to solve problems in such a way that both sides gain something that they want. Win/win approaches to negotiating are recommended when the parties concerned will have to live and work together over the long term. Lose/lose bargaining – in this situation conflict between the parties is likely to be personalised, parties would rather paralyse or destroy the organisation rather than reach an agreement. Approaches to negotiation make the following assumptions about human psychology: People are rational decision-makers at all times, People have unlimited information processing capacity which allows them to take into account all possible alternatives and all possible outcomes, People possess and understand all relevant information. Thus it is an important part of the process of negotiating successfully to: 22 Supply all relevant information, Ensure that its implications are clear to all concerned, Give time for the information to be considered, Be open to a reconsideration of the information in the light of other points of view, Be willing to raise disagreements in a constructive and non-combatitive manner. Rackham and Carlisle (1978) defined the skilled negotiator as a person who as the ability to achieve an outcome with which participants were satisfied. Skilled negotiators: Use their social networks to get their message through to the other side through different people, Repeat their main theme so that it becomes clear and people can consider its implications, Label their actions themselves so that they cannot be mislabelled by others, Test their understanding of what others are saying to them by summarizing and restating the content back to the other side, 23 Show that they are attending and listening to the other side by asking questions about their proposals, Do not disagree outright but probe the implications, Avoid making a proposal at a time when it will be rejected, When a proposal is on the table from the other side, it should be examined and allowed to wind down before an alternative is put forward, Know that a counter proposal has the best chance of being accepted as a way out of a problem acknowledged by both sides, Don’t waste time, Never personalize difficulties in the process, Are not afraid to disagree, but avoid provocation when doing so. Building and maintaining client-worker relationship. In order for it to be possible to engage with a client, the worker needs to show warmth, empathy, active listening and a non- 24 judgemental approach. Lishman (1994) outlines other core conditions or characteristics found necessary to build and maintain a client-worker relationship. Genuineness is one of the core conditions or characteristics found to be necessary for a counsellor or therapist to help clients effectively – Truax and Carkhuff (1957). They define genuineness as involving the worker in ‘direct personal encounter with the client, meeting him/ her on a person-to –person basis. Warmth/ non-possessive warmth also termed unconditional positive regard is another attribute found by Rogers and the client-centred school 1957 to be a core condition for helping. Warmth is linked with acceptance and conveys respect. It involves the worker accepting the clients experience as part of that person, and can be thought of as a physical way of showing caring and understanding, and is mainly expressed non-verbally. Mehrabian (1972) uses the term to describe a group on non-verbal behaviours conveying, warmth, affiliation and liking. Mehrabian includes physical proximity, leaning and turning towards the client, sitting in a relaxed position, maintaining eye contact and smiling. 25 Acceptance and a non-judgemental approach. Lishman (1994) sees acceptance as a preparedness to try to understand a client’s subjective world, without conveying rejection or disapproval. Encouragement and approval – in the social learning theory terms, conveying approval is giving positive reinforcement, defined by Sutton (1979) as encouraging the repetition of good behaviour. Positive reinforcements include tangible rewards, such as thanks, praise or appreciation. At the same time traditional social work values proposed by Biestek (1965) of acceptance and non-judgemental attitudes, have been interpreted to mean not only that workers should refrain from conveying their disapproval to clients, but also their approval. Empathy – is another core condition or characteristic found to be necessary for a counsellor or therapist to help their clients effectively Truax and Carkhuff (1957). Empathic responses can help a client to make sense of what may feel a jumble of thoughts and feelings. The client may be reassured that there is some meaning in what as felt incoherent and irrational. Empathic responses can help to validate and confirm client’s perceptions, which previously 26 have been ignored, disqualified or disconfirmed. While this cannot heal or solve the past hurt it may reduce its power in the present by helping the client to recognise the hurt and live with it, and perhaps ‘lay it to rest’ and move on. Responsiveness and sensitivity – according to Mehrabian (1972) responsiveness can be conveyed non-verbally and verbally. He found that it was communicated non-verbally by movement; head nods, leg and foot movements, by facial expressions; through pleasantness and changes in expression. Conclusion. The final requirement according to Lishman (1994) for effective communication is the worker’s self-awareness. Communication, verbal, non-verbal or symbolic, is about our use of self. In order to communicate effectively we have to be aware of what we are doing, why we are doing it, how we are presenting ourselves to our clients and, on the basis of this self-knowledge or awareness, what changes in our communication are needed if we are to be more effective. Skilled and effective communication is not a static state. 27 It will always involve change and development and consolidation, learning from our past behaviour and from our mistakes. Writers such as Sheldon (1977) and Fischer (1978) argue that social workers should concern themselves with the evaluation of the effectiveness of their intervention. They stress the importance of, thinking about the ends of work, not just the means of goals and outcomes; setting specific goals to avoid a double agenda, diffusion of goals, inactivity and lack of change, and failure to offer what the client wanted; developing and definiting intervention skills for problem-solving and change. The skills involved in attending and listening, engaging and relating, giving and getting information, negotiating agreements or contracts and helping people to make changes in their attitudes, beliefs or behaviour are relevant to social work in all contexts. Each context will influence the way in which communication occurs, both enhancing and encouraging the use of some skills and constraining or limiting the use of others. Lishman (1994) also suggests that attending – being punctual is an indication to our clients of attentiveness. Listening and an 28 empathic response are important components in enabling the client to feel that such emotions can be accepted, expressed and lived with and do not have to be hidden or feared. Such acceptance may be the staring-point for a client to learn to live with and manage previously disabling emotions. Social workers have to begin from a value base, which entails basic respect for all human beings. Social work as to start from humanistic principles or values about the worth and dignity of each individual. Bibliography. Argyle, M. 1988 Bodily Communication (2nd ed) London: Methuen. Biestek, F.P. 1965 The Casework Relationship, London, Unwin University Books. Coulshed, V. & Orme, J. (1998) Social Work (An Introduction) 3thed. Macmillan. 29 Cook, M. 1968 Studies of Orientation and Proximity, Oxford, Institute of Experimental Psychology. Doel, M. and Lawson, B. 1986 ‘Open Records: The Clients Right to Partnership’ , British Journal of Social Work, vol.16. Pp. 407. Dittman, L. 1984 The infants we care for. Washington: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Druckman, D. 1982 Non Verbal Communication Survey, Theory and Research. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications. Ekman, P. & Friesan, W.V. 1968 ‘Non-verbal Communication in Psychological Research’, in J.M. Schlien Research in Psychotherapy Washington: American Psychological Research. Fisher, J. 1978 Effective Casework: An Electric Approach, New York. McGraw-Hill. 30 Hargie, O. 1986 A Handbook of Communication Skil ls, London and Sydney, Croom Helm. Lishman, J. 1994 Communication in Social Work Macmillan Press: London. Patterson, M. 1983 Non Verbal Behaviour. New York: Springer. Mehrebian, A. 1972 Non-Verbal Communication, Alberta, Aldine. Mc Kenna, E.F. 1991 Managerial Leadership – emergent trends: University of East London. O’Hagan, K. 1986 Crisis Intervention in Social Services, Basingstoke, Macmillan. Silverman, P.R. 1969 ‘The Client Who Drops Out: A Study of Spoiled Helping Relationships’, Brandais University PHD Thesis. 31 Sheldon, B. 1977 ‘Do You Know Where You Are Going?’ , Community Care, 8th June 1977. Sommer, R. 1965 ‘Further Studies of Small Group Ecology’, Sociometry, vol.28, pp. 337. South Eastern Health Board, September 22nd 1998, Record keeping in the freedom of information environment. Sutton, C. 1979 Psychology for Social Workers and Counsellors, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Library of Social Work. Thompson, N. (2000) Understanding Social Work. Palgrave. Traux, C.B. and Carkhuff, R.R. 1957 ‘Towards Effective Counselling and Psychotherapy’, Journal of Counselling Psychology, vol.28. Rackham, N. & Carlisle, J. 1978 The Effective Negotiator – Part 1. The behaviour of successful negotiators. Journal of European Industrial Training, 2. 32 United Kingdom Central council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, 1993 Standards for Records and Record Keeping, London UKCC. Wallace, A. and Rees, S. 1988 ‘The Priority of Client Evaluations’, in Lishman 1988. http://iasw.eire.org/ethics.htm http://www.arcaf.net/social_work_proceedings/ 33 Retrieved from â€Å"http://www.socialwork.ie/socialwork/wiki/index.php/Communication_in_Social_Work_Practice_-_Essay† Personal tools