Social Cognition Essay Example

Social Cognition Essay Social cognition is advancement within social psychology that grew out of the realization that people use the same mental architecture when perceiving and thinking about other people as they do when perceiving and thinking about objects. The field of social cognition investigates the ways people perceive, interact with, and influence each other, studying specific topics such as person perception, group prejudice and stereotyping, personal relationships, group processes, persuasion, and social influence. Person may share some important social attributes with each other, such as race, gender, or political affiliation. These are among many factors that distinguish people and objects that must be considered when attempting to apply our understanding of basic cognitive processes to social judgment. The present paper attempts to define social cognition from different viewpoint and provides argumentative, credible details of areas where social cognition can be functional. Paper also elabora tes the future research basis of this sub-field of social psychology. Social cognition is a development of social psychology- One of the most important developments in social psychology in the last 25 years has been social cognition, as both a conceptual and a methodological approach to social psychological topics. Also without doubt, one of the key figures in the emergence and development of that approach has been Bob Wyer (Alan J. Lambert, 2003; pg- 25). Social cognition is the conceptual orientation that has emerged from the information-processing perspective in cognitive psychology. This approach is based on the conviction that constructs relevant to cognitive representation and process are fundamental to understanding all human responses, regardless of whether those responses are social or non-social in nature (Thomas K. Srull, 1994). Social cognition borrows many ideas and themes from cognitive psychology, but is unique because of the interest in combining these themes to the study of people in social settings.   The focus of social cognition is precisely on the cognitive mechanisms that mediate judgments and behavior. The sequence of these operations is usually assumed to be divisible into several component-processing stages (Thomas K. Srull author, Robert S. Wyer Jr., 1989; pg-2). We will write a custom essay sample on Social Cognition specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social Cognition specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social Cognition specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Basically, Social cognition is the study of how people process social information, especially its encoding, storage, retrieval, and application to social situations. When related schemas are activated, inferences beyond the information given in a particular social situation may influence thinking and social behavior, regardless of whether those inferences are accurate or not. Two processes that increase the accessibility of schemas are salience and priming. For example, if there is one female in a group of seven males, female gender schemas may be more accessible and influence the group’s thinking and behavior toward the female group member. Priming refers to any experiences immediately prior to a situation that caused a schema to be more accessible. For example watching a scary movie at a theatre late at night might increase the accessibility of frightening schemas that affect a person’s perception of shadows and background noises as potential threats. Social cognition has its roots in social psychology: This attempts to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others (Allport, 1985, pg-3). It studies the individual within a social or cultural context and focuses on how people perceive and interpret information they generate themselves (intrapersonal) and from others (interpersonal) (Sternberg, 1994). Albert Bandura (1986) initially studied learning from a behavioral perspective (Bandura, 1965), while Jerome Bruner (1990) initially studied learning from a cognitive perspective (Bruner, 1957). Festingers (1957) cognitive-dissonance theory, Bems (1972) self-perception theory (see Greenwald, 1975), and Weiners (1985) attribution theory are additional examples of how the perspective of social cognition has been applied to the study of the learning process. A major implication of this perspective is that effective teaching must be ground ed in an appropriate social environment (Hannafin, 1997). In social cognition research, the schema concept originally derives from a Gestalt, configural approach to perception. For example, an approach that anticipated the schema concept, Asch (1946), described a configural model of how people form impressions of others, given a list of personality traits. He posited that the traits become organized around a central trait that determines the perceived root of the personality. The whole system of relations among the traits determines their meaning as a whole, especially with regard to a central or dominant trait. A person described as warm, practical, and industrious seems quite different from someone described as cold, practical, and industrious. One retrospective interpretation of such differences is that the two configurations evoke different schemata (Richard R. Lau, 1986; pg-14) Opponents of Social cognition comment that it is a particular approach in social psychology that puts heavy emphasis on how we represent social knowledge and mentally process social information. For example, to explain why people conform to a majority, or obey an authority figure, do you really need to bring in social cognitions? Situational factors and forces can often have an overwhelming influence on behavior, and hence substantially reduce the importance of social cognitions (Donald C. Pennington, 200; pg-7). The typical social cognition direct study can not provide evidence for accuracy, because the stimuli used are necessarily ambiguous. Recently, however, interest in the direct study of accuracy has remerged (Kruglanski, 1989). In contrast, studies of performance appraisal in organizational psychology typically have been concerned first and foremost with accuracy. This is obviously because performance ratings are used for decision making, with real impact on the welfare of individuals and organizations (Thomas K. Srull, 1994; pg-343). Social psychologists who research into social cognition commonly investigate such questions as: What caused a person to behave in a particular way? Why does somebody laugh in one social situation and behave in an unfriendly way in another situation? How do we mentally represent what we know about another person or group of people? How does belonging to a social group affect how we behave to others who are members of the same group, and others who are not group members? Why do individuals and groups of people engage in discrimination and conflict with other groups of people? How can prejudice and conflict between people be reduced? (Donald C. Pennington, 200; pg-2). Individual Variation in social cognition- Most of the social cognition literature has dealt with consensual schemata, that is, knowledge structures that people are expected to share. As a consequence, relatively little attention has been devoted to the individual differences that may characterize the content, structure, and use of particular schemata (major exceptions to this include, Fiske Kinder, 1981; Fiske, Kinder, Larter, 1983; Lau, Coulam, Sears, 1983; H. Markus, 1977). However, such individual differences are likely to have a substantial impact on how people judge political candidates. Therefore, we consider three distinct, though related, sources of such variation: schema accessibility, availability, and development. As noted previously, schema accessibility is determined by a variety of factors (i.e. expectations, motivations, and salience) that may differ individually as well as contextually (Higgins King, 1981). For example, in anticipation of an ideological clash at a candidate debate, some voters ideological schemata might become more accessible; others may view the confrontation as a partisan one, and consequently, their party schemata might become more accessible. Similarly, variations in the motivations might generally influence the accessibility of schemata. For example, those voters who are highly involved in the campaign and who care about the outcome of the election should have more readily accessible political schemata and thus should be more capable of making candidate inferences (Richard R. Lau, 1986; pg-136). The role of Social cognition is influential in various fields of psychology throughout the lifespan. Social cognition and child development- It is of interest to discover how children develop as attributors and to plot the patterns that they show. Children develop an awareness of causality quite early in their life; for example, Frye (1991) demonstrated that 4 to 8 month-olds were able to discriminate between spatial events (such as objects hitting one another) which were causally related and those which were not. By the age of 3 to 4 years children are conscious of the consequences and causes of their own actions and show motivation in controlling outcomes (Schneider and Unzer, 1992). Understanding of physical causality develops early in life, but applying causality in the social world is more complex. Evidence for the use of the discounting principle in childhood seems to be mixed, and there seems to be a tendency for younger children to use the principle for themselves, but not when explaining the behavior of others (Kassin and Pryor, 1985). Miller and Aloise (1989) found that yo unger children, 4 to 5 year-olds, used the discounting principle when an external cause was made highly salient. Fundamental attribution error is the pervasive tendency in adults of attributing causes to internal, stable, dispositions rather than external, situational factors. In children this seems to be acquired rather than being automatic, with evidence that the tendency in children is more towards external attributions as the norm (Fiske and Taylor, 1991. Over the period of 5-13 years it seems that children slowly learn to change their attention from whether the task is easy or difficult in relation to consequent success or failure, to internal attributions. Young children do not distinguish between effort and ability, assuming that success at a difficult task reflects being intelligent. By mid-childhood a relationship is seen between effort, ability and successful outcome (Nesdale and Pope, 1985). As children become teenagers the links between effort and ability and success or failure at school are firmly established (Donald C. Pennington, 200; pg-129). Social cognition and health psychology- Health psychology concerns real-world phenomena, and hence provides a meaningful context in which to study the cognitions and behaviors of individuals. Indeed, such contexts often have life or death consequences for the individual, such as the experience of coronary disease, cancer, or AIDS (Linville et al., 1993). Health psychology focuses on topics include emotions, motivation, goals, and social relationships. An example is the context of AIDS, where individuals reactions to risk factor information may affect subsequent health-relevant behaviors involving others. The primary concern of research of health psychologists, endeavors is often the prediction and understanding of actual behavior. Therefore, it affords the social cognition researcher an excellent context in which to develop and test theories that lead to the under- standing of the cognition-behavior link. Finally, health psychology generally subscribes to a systems approach in the fo rm of the bio-psychosocial model of health and illness (Schwartz, 1982; Taylor, 1991). This model values the interchange among social, psychological, and biological levels of human functioning as they contribute to health and illness. For example, studies of lifestyle change or adherence to complex medical regimens may involve an understanding of the impact of physiological risk factors, psychological reactions, and social values or practices as they impact on an individuals behavior (Thomas K. Srull, 1994). Critics of social cognition research have argued that much work in this area is artificial, entailing a focus that has, in the past, excluded relevant social variables such as affect and interpersonal relationships. In addition, critics have complained that social cognition often fails to demonstrate effects on real socially relevant behaviors (Martin Clark, 1990). Materialism as Social Cognition- Representation on schema theory and the work of Kelly (1955), we propose that materialists not only perceive people in terms of possessions, but they use these criteria as super ordinate constructs when framing stimuli for social-cognition (James M. Hunt, 1996; Pg-65). Recent work within social cognition- It suggests that unconscious mental processes play a dominant role in the judgments and actions of individuals. This stands in stark contrast with psychological theories that describe human action as typically caused by conscious intentions, and also conflicts with widely held beliefs concerning moral accountability. One of the most radical claims regarding social cognition is that we are unaware of the social attitudes that give rise to our judgments and behaviors (Banaji, 2001; Gaertner Dovidio, 1986; Greenwald, McGhee, Schwartz, 1998; Greenwald Banaji, 1995). Burgh and Chartrand (1999) proposed that most of a person’s everyday life is determined not by their conscious intentions and deliberate choices but by mental processes that are put into motion by features of the environment and that operate outside of conscious awareness and guidance. Indeed, many social psychologists have come to the conclusion that conscious processes play onl y a minimal role in human thought and behavior. Humans are exceedingly social animals, but the neural underpinnings of social cognition and behavior are not well understood. Studies in humans and other primates have pointed to several structures that play a key role in guiding social behaviors: the amygdala, ventromedial frontal cortices, and right somatosensory-related cortex, among others. These structures appear to mediate between perceptual representations of socially relevant stimuli, such as the sight of conspecifics, and retrieval of knowledge (or elicitation of behaviors) that such stimuli can trigger. Some aspects of psychological processes that promote social behavior (such as face recognition) may be innate. Studies have shown that newborn babies, younger than one hour old can selectively recognize and respond to faces, while people with some developmental disorders such as autism or Williams syndrome may show differences in social interaction and social communication when compared to their unaffected peers. Social Cognition in Schizophrenia may be seen: There is considerable overlap between schizophrenia symptom dimensions, particularly between negative symptoms such as affective flattening and alogia and social cognition. The MSP is performing ongoing research on the phenomenology of deficits in social cognition, including impairment in affect recognition, theory of mind, and insight (Kennedy, A., Barres, P., Wood, A.E., Kilzieh, N., Tapp, A.2004). Major research interests in Social Cognition: Through the development of new techniques for more directly investigating cognitive processes, research began to focus on a variety of new questions. For example, researchers could explicitly study the acquisition of social information and the biases in its en- coding and interpretation. These developments had an immediate impact on the nature of theory and research on both impression formation (Hastieetal, 1980) and stereotyping (Hamilton, 1981). There has been much recent interest in the links between social cognition and brain function, particularly as neuropsychological studies have shown that brain injury (particularly to the frontal lobes) can adversely affect social judgments and interaction. The case of Phineas Gage was an early and influential example of this finding. Many researchers have assumed that a person’s individual representation of the self influences his or her behavior and judgments in various domains. One dimension of self-aspects is inherent to most of the proposed theories. It is the extent to which the self is defined either by reference to its unique and independent features (e.g. abstract traits) or by reference to socially shared aspects that stress the interdependence with others (e.g. group memberships). Another research field of interest is the cognitive functioning of stereotypes. Researchers engaged in investigating how gender stereotypes influence the attribution of leadership competence. Many previous studies have shown that leadership competence is more closely associated with the masculine than with the feminine stereotype. Social cognition is not a content area, but rather is an approach to understanding social psychology. It is a level of analysis that aims to understand social psychological phenomena by investigating the cognitive processes that underlie them.   As reviewed above, the major concerns of the approach are the processes involved in the perception, judgment, and memory of social stimuli; the effects of social and affective factors on information processing; and the behavioral and interpersonal consequences of cognitive processes. The past decade of research in social cognition has witnessed many advances in the understanding of the cognitive representation of social information. At the same time, it has begun to reveal potentially serious limitations to the generalize ability of the empirical findings that have emerged and the theoretical formulations developed to account for them. These limitations may be due, in large part, to the paradigms that have been employed.

The Sinking of the Lusitania and Americas Entry into World War I

The Sinking of the Lusitania and America's Entry into World War I On May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was in route from New York City to Liverpool, England when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat. Over 1100 civilians died as a result of this attack, including more than 120 American citizens. This defining moment would later prove to be the impetus which eventually convinced United States public opinion to change from its’ earlier position of neutrality with respect to being a participant in World War I.  On April 6, 1917,  President Woodrow Wilson appeared before the U.S. Congress calling for a declaration of war against Germany.   American Neutrality at the Start of World War I World War I had officially started on August 1, 1914 when Germany declared war against Russia.   Then on August 3rd and 4th, 1914, Germany declared war against France and Belgium respectively, which resulted in Great Britain declaring war against Germany. Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 6th following Germany’s lead.  Following this domino effect that started World War I, President  Woodrow Wilson  announced that the United States would remain neutral. This was consistent with the public opinion of the majority of the American people.    At onset of the war, Britain and United States were very close trading partners so it was not unexpected that tensions would arise between the United States and Germany once the Germans started to conduct a blockade of the British Isles. In addition, a number of American ships that were bound for Great Britain had been either damaged or sunk by German mines. Then in February 1915, Germany broadcast that they would be conducting unrestricted submarine patrols and combat in the waters which surround Britain. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare and the Lusitania The Lusitania had been built to be the world’s fastest ocean liner and shortly after her maiden voyage in September 1907, the Lusitania made the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean at that time earning her the nickname â€Å"Greyhound of the Sea†. She was able to cruise at an average speed of 25 knots or approximately 29 mph, which is about the same speed as modern cruise ships. The Lusitania’s construction had been secretly financed by the British Admiralty, and she was built to their specifications. In exchange for the government subsidy, it was understood that if England went to war then the Lusitania would be committed to serving the Admiralty. In 1913, war was looming on the horizon and the Lusitania was put in dry dock in order to be properly fitted for military service. This included installing gun mounts on her decks – which were hidden under the teak deck so that guns could easily be added when needed. At the end of April 1915, on the same page were two announcements in New York newspapers. First, there was an advertisement of the impending voyage of the Lusitania scheduled to depart from New York City on May 1st for its’ trip back across the Atlantic to Liverpool. In addition, there were warnings that had been issued by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. that civilians who traveled in war zones on any British or Allied ship was done at their own risk. The German warnings of submarine attacks did have a negative impact on the passenger list of the Lusitania as when the ship set sail on May 1, 1915 as it was far below its’ capacity of a combined 3,000 passengers and crew on board. The British Admiralty had warned the Lusitania to either avoid the Irish coast or take some very simple evasive actions, such as zigzagging to make it more difficult for German U-boats to determine the ship’s course of travel.  Unfortunately the Lusitania’s Captain, William Thomas Turner, failed to give proper deference to the Admiralty’s warning. On May 7, the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was en route from New York City to Liverpool, England when it was torpedoed on its starboard side and sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland. It only took about 20 minutes for the ship to sink. The Lusitania was carrying approximately 1,960 passengers and crew, of which there were 1,198 casualties. In addition, this passenger list included 159 U.S. citizens and there were 124 Americans included in the death toll.   After the Allies and the United States complained, Germany argued that the attack was justified because the Lusitania’s manifest listed various items of munitions that were bound for the British military. The British claimed that none of the munitions on board were â€Å"live†, so therefore the attack on the ship was not legitimate under the rules of war at that time. Germany argued otherwise. In 2008, a dive team explored the wreck of the Lusitania in 300 feet of water and found approximately four million rounds of Remington .303 bullets that had been made in the United States in the ship’s hold. Although Germany eventually gave in to protests made by the United States government regarding the submarine attack on the Lusitania and promised to end this type of warfare, six months later another ocean liner was sunk. In November 2015, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without any warning whatsoever.   More than 270 people perished in this attack, including more than 25 Americans causing public opinion to begin to turn in favor of joining the war against Germany. Americas Entry into World War I On January 31, 1917, Germany declared that it was placing an end to its’ self-imposed moratorium on unrestricted warfare in waters that were within the war-zone. The United States government broke diplomatic relations with Germany three days later and almost immediately a German U-boat sunk the Housatonic which was an American cargo ship. On February 22, 1917, Congress enacted an arms appropriations bill that was designed to prepare the United States for war against Germany. Then, in March, four more U.S. merchant ships were sunk by Germany which prompted President Wilson to appear before Congress on April 2nd requesting a declaration of war against Germany. The Senate voted to declare war against Germany on April 4th and on April 6, 1917 the House of Representatives endorsed the Senate’s declaration causing the United States to enter World War I.

Analysis of Saudi Arabia Press Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Analysis of Saudi Arabia Press - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of Saudi Arabia Press" talks about the main functions of print media in Saudi Arabia and how the government controls it after the events occurring in Bahrain. The Saudi press remained controlled, applying no pressure on to the state authorities in relation to their handling of the Bahraini events and abstaining from the criticism of other governments. The Saudi government desired to be viewed as central to the social structure whereas the Saudi print media was to serve as a gatekeeper of what the Saudi people should think about. Then, it may be hypothesized that the function of the system of print media in Saudi Arabia was in accordance with the authoritarian press model, by which the press is considered as "a servant of the state and it is responsible for a larger part of its content to the power figures who are in charge of the government at any particular time". Indeed, if this model is applicable to the Saudi print media then the hypotheses given below would b e likely to hold true: H1 a: The developments in the field of politics and military/defense in Bahrain would be extremely newsworthy. H1 b: The type of news, for the political and military developments in the Bahraini conflict, would be largely domestic. H1 c: The tone of the news, for the political and military developments in the Bahraini conflict, would usually be positive. H2: The individual newspapers would offer similar levels of coverage to the different themes that have been presented by the news items.

Rebekah Nathan's My Freshman Year Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rebekah Nathan's My Freshman Year - Essay Example Thus leaves the profoundest question that the book infers: 'Is it plausible for teachers and professors to influence the dominant student culture' The question then becomes, 'why would the professors of today want to influence student behavior and thinking' From Rebekah Nathan's research which steers clear of criticism, I see clearly three main reasons for wanting to affect change in the minds of students: one is the ignorance of world affairs and peoples; the other is the materialism that marks modern American priorities; and the third being the apparent lack of discipline and integrity in the more honorable precepts of what a higher school of learning is for in the first place. Some of the more profound research that Rebekah Nathan conducted was her interviews with minority students in revealing the lack of knowledge American students have of worldliness and in relating with other people outside of the dominant culture. Comments made by American freshman students such as, "Is Japan in China" or "Is it North Korea of South Korea that has a dictator" and even, "Where exactly is India" amazed international students (Nathan 84). In regards to friendships with people from other races, minorities were not so easily befriended by American students. A student from France noted, "Friendship is very surface-defined here. It is easy to get to know people, but the friendship is superficial. We wouldn't even call it a friendship. In France, when you're someone's friend, you're their friend for life" (Nathan 75). Many other examples from students around the world felt this way too. One student was befuddled that nobody ever even asked him about the country in which he c ame from. I believe that American students need to improve in their interest, acceptance, and knowledge of people from around the world and to understand that America is not the center of the world. Another deterrent from students developing more substantial relationships appears to be because of technology and America's strong views of independence and freedom. For example, many students communicate by computer, even when they are in close proximity to each other; television and computer gaming is a typical activity shared that does not provide much opportunity for interaction; and, because everyone wants to be independent and free, students are finding it harder to commit to group related activities and causes. Rebekah Nathan portrays college to be both a rite of passage but essentially a jumping off place for acquiring a future job. In Rebekah Nathan's surveys and questioners it was only a select few individuals who stated their purpose for going to a university was to learn. The main reasons involved: future jobs, relationships, social interaction and fun. This leads us to the question Rebekah Nathan asks in so many indirect ways, 'Why are students coming to universities in the first place' More students are attending college then ever before; a privilege once reserved for the elite is now made possible to all. More modern-day students need to work while in school in order to pay for college. Student's time is limited and the debts wait at the end of college life with the hopes of landing the perfect job to pay off those debts. The reason for attending a university I understood from Rebekah Nathan's notes

Normal and Pathological mourning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

Normal and Pathological mourning - Essay Example The object thus is to evaluate the understanding of a model of mourning and object loss in the light of academic perspectives and to define a demarcation between normal and pathological mourning. Finally in the light of case studies and examples drawn from academic literature the Paper culminates with an attempt to formulate a diagnostic approach to facilitate better handling of mourning and grief which may turn depressive There are many ways in which we view the world and ourselves. We can go inward or go outward, forward or backward. Precisely defining the psychological processes which takes place in experiences and express it into certain behavior pattern has always been contentious and has occupied the minds of thinkers through out the ages, that is since the time people probably developed the faculty of introspection and analysis1. The obvious importance of knowing self, knowing the most innermost processes which goes on as we tackle everyday life lies in several assumptions about ourselves which without having a frame into which we can view ourselves will lead to a sort of a vicious intellectual cycle and places us in a paradoxical situation due to uncertainties, when unknowns overtake our attempt at articulation. And here lies the importance of the field of study opened by Freud and the array of thinkers and researchers which followed this path of probing for the very nature of our being including the innermost recesses of the mind, the unconscious. It is essential to abandon the overvaluation of the property of being conscious before it becomes possible to form any correct view of the origin of what is mental. In Lipps's words, the unconscious must be assumed to be the general basis of psychical life. The unconscious is the larger sphere, which includes within it the smaller sphere of the conscious. (Freud) To Freud, the influence of the unconscious is such that it shapes personality and behavior and understanding how the unconscious world has enormous significance as knowing the reality of the external world. This suggests that the internal psychical process which may be unarticulated is intimately related to processes which gather and process such sense data from the external world. To Freud every thing conscious "has an unconscious preliminary state," and the unconscious is "incompletely presented by the data of consciousness as is the external world by the communication of our sense organs ("The Interpretation of Dreams," 1900). We come then to a possible key principle in trying to understand the functionality of the unconscious as it may frame object loss and consequent psychological reaction to it which we may call the incompleteness principle. In such an observe phenomenon of mourning for example how was this complex of emotions could be triggered and brought to consciousness and how this "incompleteness" could lead to anxiety deep seated in the recess of the unconscious could enormously aid in facilitating awareness on the part of the mourner especially those which may have strong indication of

HR Employee Resourcing Essay Example for Free

HR Employee Resourcing Essay Talent management is defined as a sub-set of hr functions. . There are a lot of definitions to what talent management is for some it is similar to succession planning and to others it is incorporated attempts to develop attract and keep hold of the best people. A lot of companies select different ways of human resources guidelines to fit into their talent management structure although most consist of performance management, succession, recruiting and development. Krueger,2007 : Rothwell Kazanas 2003 suggest that managers need to come up with a definition for talent management that meets their own organizations unique needs. Talent management does not automatically indicate poignant talented individuals upwards in the place of work. It is the opposite organizations have to make sure talents are placed at the best place that suites their talent. The purpose of this assignment is to research issues related to talent management this report will also concentrate on one big question which is â€Å"will the HR department be replaced by the talent management department†. The talent management process emerged in the early 90’s it has adopted in organizations continuously as several industries have come to the realization that their employees skills and talent are what makes the business capital. It has been put into practice to unravel employee retention. It is said that the main concern today is that organizations put a lot of energy in drawing workers in their companies that they spend a smaller amount of time into preserving and expanding talent. In order to understand talent management one must first look at how it was revolutionized. stage1 – personal development, this business function was to hire, pay and make sure employees had essential benefits. Stage 2 – strategic HR involves recruiting the right candidates, educating employees, bonuses and communication of a worker’s health and happiness. At this stage businesses become conscious that strategic hr role was indeed large and very important. At this point hr became more than a business function. Stage 3 As new problems started arising a new process and systems was required this is where talent management comes in. strategic topics that organizations face now are * How to make recruiting extra efficient  * How can leaders and managers be developed in su pporting culture introducing value This diagram is an example of a roadmap to effective talent management. (A Successful Start with your Performance management System This roadmap to performance management can help you navigate your company’s path to adopting, implementing and succeeding with performance management. Along the way, you will bolster internal communication, inspire enthusiastic, long-term, productive employees, and greatly reduce the administrative burden of annual employee performance and salary reviews. Issues related to talent management Perfomance management Fully realised, performance management is a holistic process bringing together many of the elements that make up the successful practice of people management including, in particular, learning and development. But for this very reason, it is complex and capable of being misunderstood. In their CIPD textbook, Armstrong and Baron define performance management as ‘a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and an approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved.’ They stress that performance management is ‘a strategy which relates to every activity of the organisation set in the context of its human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems. The nature of the strategy depends on the organisational context and can vary from organisation to organisation. Conclusion The facts are that employees who don’t know what they are doing get left redundant whilst employees that can adopt, work fats and bring in money get looked after by the company. Different organizations whether small large or medium will only attain the best results and aim by drawing in and holding on to the best talent. So after thorough research I have come to the conclusion that yes, talent management is going to take over the HR department

Violence and Sexuality in Video Games Essay -- Video Games

Violence and Sexuality in Video Games Unlike popular belief, the first violent video game was not Mortal Kombat. The killing started with a game called Death Race 2000 released in 1976 by Exidy Software. It was based on a B movie by the same title and features the main theme of the movie in the game: to run people over. You control the car to run over people, and the people you have killed become a cross. Needless to say, the game was quick to draw attentions towards it. The criticism from Americans all over the nation eventually got the game pulled off the market. One would think that the game must have been pretty intense and gruesome if it attracted such a response. Nope†¦not a bit†¦in fact, this is how the game looks: Things stay quiet until the 1980’s in which the Atari 2600 debuts. Out of the flood of titles being produced, someone decided that sex sells, even in videogames (geez†¦what a concept†¦). So a company by Mystique released Custer’s Revenge. The game had the player control a man named General George Custer going after a Native American maiden named Revenge, hence the title, Custer’s Revenge. Unfortunately, this game did not involve anyone saving a Native American princess; instead, the player has to control Custer and help him cross the playing field safely, while dodging cactus and arrows from Native Americans. Awaiting Custer on the other side of the field is Revenge, and the reward was that Custer gets to have sex with Revenge, on the screen, depicted by a group of flesh colored pixels (as shown on the left). The game received heat from women’s advocate groups and the Native American communities. Custer’s Revenge was so bad that many retailers refused to car... ...t that a 9 or 10 year old can have easy access to games such as Grand Theft Auto is just scary. I found option number 3 to be too extreme. Regulations are necessary, but option 3 would leave companies very restricted in terms of creativity and set a sense of fear in the game developers. Also, option 3 will impede one’s right to purchase the game one wants, without the eyes of big brother watching. Overall, option 2 is the most balanced, it deals with the weakest part of the rating system, and that is the enforcement of the ratings. Most retails now do not enforce the ESRB’s rating system; almost anyone can buy whatever game they want without fail. With option 2, the retailers are now more responsible than before in watching what their customers buy. This way, we can keep Mature games out of the hands of young children, yet adults can buy them if they wish to. Violence and Sexuality in Video Games Essay -- Video Games Violence and Sexuality in Video Games Unlike popular belief, the first violent video game was not Mortal Kombat. The killing started with a game called Death Race 2000 released in 1976 by Exidy Software. It was based on a B movie by the same title and features the main theme of the movie in the game: to run people over. You control the car to run over people, and the people you have killed become a cross. Needless to say, the game was quick to draw attentions towards it. The criticism from Americans all over the nation eventually got the game pulled off the market. One would think that the game must have been pretty intense and gruesome if it attracted such a response. Nope†¦not a bit†¦in fact, this is how the game looks: Things stay quiet until the 1980’s in which the Atari 2600 debuts. Out of the flood of titles being produced, someone decided that sex sells, even in videogames (geez†¦what a concept†¦). So a company by Mystique released Custer’s Revenge. The game had the player control a man named General George Custer going after a Native American maiden named Revenge, hence the title, Custer’s Revenge. Unfortunately, this game did not involve anyone saving a Native American princess; instead, the player has to control Custer and help him cross the playing field safely, while dodging cactus and arrows from Native Americans. Awaiting Custer on the other side of the field is Revenge, and the reward was that Custer gets to have sex with Revenge, on the screen, depicted by a group of flesh colored pixels (as shown on the left). The game received heat from women’s advocate groups and the Native American communities. Custer’s Revenge was so bad that many retailers refused to car... ...t that a 9 or 10 year old can have easy access to games such as Grand Theft Auto is just scary. I found option number 3 to be too extreme. Regulations are necessary, but option 3 would leave companies very restricted in terms of creativity and set a sense of fear in the game developers. Also, option 3 will impede one’s right to purchase the game one wants, without the eyes of big brother watching. Overall, option 2 is the most balanced, it deals with the weakest part of the rating system, and that is the enforcement of the ratings. Most retails now do not enforce the ESRB’s rating system; almost anyone can buy whatever game they want without fail. With option 2, the retailers are now more responsible than before in watching what their customers buy. This way, we can keep Mature games out of the hands of young children, yet adults can buy them if they wish to.

Canada: 1920’s and 1930’s

How Canadian Men Stayed Clean During the â€Å"Dirty† Thirties The twenties were a time of flappers, bobs, and jazz with nothing but buying exorbitant goods in between. However, these careless times were short- lived and the â€Å"dirty† thirties began a few years later. Society was affected on a large economic scale which in turn put a strain on the familial bonds of those trying to survive the drastic transition between these two decades as men went to drastic lengths to support their families, as seen in the film Cinderella Man.Canadian citizens of the 1920s lived in a hazy dream where money was as easily gained as it was spent. Canadians were facing a time of prosperity, where wages were high and unemployment was low. Such prosperity created a sense of monetary and economic security within Canada and the more Canadians earned, the more they wanted to gain. Canadians were willing to make risky decisions and so, many saw excitement and a quick- rise to wealth in the s tock markets. Companies would sell stocks, or shares, in their business to investors. In return, investors were entitled to a share of any profits a company earned.In order to increase profit, many began to buy on margin. To elaborate, they would purchase a stock with a small down payment and borrow the rest based on the value of the stock as collateral from banks. Most citizens thought that the prosperity of the twenties would last far into the future and would allow for a luxurious and care- free life where no one would have to pay attention to possible future issues. In contrast, the 1930s saw the end of prosperity as depression quickly set in. On October 29, 1929, better known as Black Tuesday, the stock market had reached its peak.Those with many shares and an excess of cash began to sell their stocks. Thus, the â€Å"cattle heard† effect began and those at the bottom of the stock market pyramid began to follow the precedent and quickly sold their stocks all at once. In a single day, the value of stocks on the world’s major market stock exchanges dropped by 50%. Almost every Canadian citizen lost their investments as well as their previous profits as banks began to repossess everyone’s belongings as compensation for the numerous loans almost everyone had taken in order to invest in the stocks.It was during the thirties that Canadians began to realize that perhaps a plan for future problems would be extremely helpful- of course citizens had to suffer quite a bit before these realizations were made. As a result of the drastic shift in wealth, citizens of the thirties became increasingly desperate and were willing to do do laborious and tedious work for a mere $0. 20 at most in contrast to the relaxing and languid investments that brought quick wealth in the twenties. During 1933, Canada’s unemployment rate was nearly 30%- not including farmers and fishermen.Meaning, if a man was able to find a job he was extremely lucky and was v ery unlikely to be given the same chance the next day. Thus, very few had the good fortune to turn down any form of work as physically draining as it was. To illustrate, in Cinderella Man, James Braddock pushes himself beyond physical weaknesses to work at a dock where work is laborious and almost unbearable. He is willing to suffer the pain of a broken hand and gain a limited amount of pay simply because the docks were his only method of obtaining decent pay- after his loss of a boxing license.For most Canadians, there was only one method of obtaining money and it was often tiresome, tedious, and grueling but, it was the only way to bring in some form of support for their families. Beyond the physical labour, Canadian men of the thirties were forced to conquer their pride and accept charitable donations and relief aid from the government in order to support their families. In the movie, Cinderella Man, James Braddock is forced to accept relief in his desperate attempt to keep his f amily together though he admitted it was a shameful act for any man during the Depression.Barry Broadfoot, a relief worker, described the appearance of these men, â€Å"†¦ as though they were signing away their manhood, their right to be a husband and sit at the head of the table and carve the roast. † In admitting to needing the government’s support, men felt that they had let down their families and had become unfit as head of the family as society expected a man to be able to work and provide full support to his family during the 1900s. Many men, in the hopes of finding some way to support their families, left their homes and travelled West in search of work. Many â€Å"rode the rails† nto British Columbia and found only more charities. As a result, the government set up relief camps to rid the province’s streets of the desperate men in search of unattainable work. Over 200 000 men lived in these camps during 1933 and faced a life similar to that of prison. The only benefit was that at lest a few cents were made each day- a small but necessary sum of money in the face of the Depression. However, Canadian men soon protested the terrible conditions in the relief camps. The chaotic riots and protests directed towards Canada’s government, such as the Regina riot and On-to-Ottawa Trek, led R.B. Bennett to create the â€Å"New Deal† which established minimum wages and unemployment insurance among other policies which resulted in a small victory for future Canadians who would face Depression as the business cycle continued its circulation. In conclusion, the lives of Canadians differed drastically as the carefree times of the twenties abruptly ended- plummeting Canada into a Depression within a matter of days. The men of the time had been terribly effected and the carefree dream of the twenties had left Canadians bitter and cautious after the reality of the thirties touched them.

Defects of Consent Essay

A defect of consent is a situation where a party’s declaration does not reflect his actual intent. This difference between declaration and intent may be caused by other parties,in order to make someone to form a contract with themselves. Fraud and Duress are this kind of defects. Roughly,fraud is deceiving someone by hiding certain facts or giving them a wrong impression/information in order to make them form a contract and duress is scaring or threatening someone to make them form a contract. If there is a difference between declaration and intent,which unintentionally resulted from the declarant,we can say there is an error. In some cases,both parties are mistaken about contract. Such defects are called â€Å"Collective Error†. In these situations,contract is formed by parties’ true intent,not according to their false statements. Error In the TCO article 30,the law states that â€Å"A party acting under an essential error when entering into a contract is not bound by it. † Interpreting this article,we can deduce that essentiality is a key concept,since unessential errors will not affect validity of the contract. Some aspects of essential error are specified in TCO,but law does not limit cases of essential error with those articles. Unwritten states of essential error are determined by the rules of good faith. Error may occur in several ways: Error in declaration In the TCO article 31 the law sets forth: An error is deemed particularly essential in the following cases 1-Where a party intended to conclude a contract different from that to which he consented. A wants to sell 100 kilos of olive oil to B,but during the formation of the contract, A inadvertently states that he wants to buy 100 kilos of olive oil and B agrees the offer. -Where a party has concluded a contract relating to a subject matter other than the subject matter he intended. A wants to buy E branded good,but during the formation of the contract he states he wants to buy F branded good by mistake and is not aware of it. 3-Where a party declared his intent to conclude the contract other than the whom he intended to. A wants to send an offer via mail to B,but he writes a different adress and mail goes to C. C accepts the offer. 4-Where a party took a specific person into consideration as the other party in entering a contract but declared his intent to another. A is a nanny who wants to raise B’s child C,but during the formation of the contract she stated the name of B’s mentally deficient child D. A is mistaken about someone’s identity,not someone’s qualifications. Otherwise it would be error in motive,which shouldn’t be confused. 5- Where a party has promised to make a significantly greater performance or has accepted a promise of a significantly lesser consideration than he actually intended. Error in calculation of a simple nature do not affect the validity of the contract;but they should be corrected. A good should have 10. 000 dollars written on its label but accidently 1000 dollars is writtenon label. A buys the good for 1000 dollars. Error of Agents The law states in TCO article 33 that â€Å"Where an offer to enter into a contract has been incorrectly communicated by a Messenger,translator or other agents or by any means,the provisions governing error are applicable†. Error of agents are counted as error in declaration. Mistranslation,misinforming,changes in the text during telegraphing†¦ are examples of such errors. Error by Considering a Demeanour as Consent When a party’s action is considered as an offer or acceptance by another party,and the other party is right to consider this as such and forms the contract,contract will be valid. However mistaken party can put forward that he is mistaken and benefit from the provision of error in declaration. Texts signed without reading If a party signs a text without reading ,and is right to think that the text suits his intent,outcome is determined by the other party’s knowledge about this intent. If the other party knows or has to know that text does not suit signer’s intent,contract will not have been formed and thus there will not be any need for provisions of error. On the other hand,if the other party does not know or have to know the signer’s intent,contract will be formed,but signing party by proving that the error is essential,can benefit from provisions of error in declaration. Signature in Blank One of the parties agree to sign in blank first,then allow other party to constitute the contract. If this contract formed later on has contents which do not suit signing party’s actual intent,he can benefit from provisions of error. Error in Motive Error in motive is caused by an error in the formation of intent. On principle,error in motive is not essential. If there are conditions prescribed by the law,there is an essential error in motive. In TCO article 32,the law sets forth that â€Å"Error in motive is not deemed as essential unless the mistaken party deems the motive as necessary basis for the contract and it is valid regarding the business affairs in good faith. Yet this rule is not applicable unless the other party is aware of this motive† According to this article,error in motive is essential if the party deems this motive as necessary basis for the contact. This means the party is mistaken about a subject or qualifications of someone which affected his decision to form the contract. Error in material qualification,error in fact,error in legal status are examples of such mistakes. A wants to buy sculpor B’s statue but in fact the statue is a replica. In this situation there is error in material qualification. A thinks he is assigned to a job in another city,so he rents a house in that city. He made an error in fact. A purchases a land to build a house,but does not know construction is forbidden on this site. He is mistaken about land’s legal status. Also if other party is or has to be aware of the motive,error is deemed as essential. This should be determined in the present case. Avoidability In TCO art. 30 the law stipulates that â€Å"A party acting under an essential error when entering into a contract is not bound by it. † However this is limited by TCO art. 39. The contract will be valid if the mistaken party does not abolish the contract in a year,beginning from the moment he realises his error. Good Faith Rules in Error Right to avoid is also limited by the law. The law states in TCO art. 34 that â€Å"A person may not advance error in a manner in violation of good faith. In particular, the contract is considered to be concluded in a way that the party acting in error intended, in case the other party declares his consent to be bound by that contract. † Violation of good faith mentioned in the first subsection may be like this: A person learns that he made an essential error about a contract which he concluded years ago. He wants to use his right to avoid just to damage other party. In that case he will not be able to benefit from provisions of error since it is a violation of good faith. Second subsection of this provision is particularly important. I wish to give a case in this point,in order to better explain it: A wants to buy a kilo of fruit for 2 Liras,but he is mistaken and accepts B’s offer to buy a kilo for 3 Liras. Then A states his mistake to B,B immediately says he is ready to sell it for 2 Liras. In this situation A cannot put forward that he wants to nullify the contract,since he made an essential error. The contract is formed. Error by Negligence According to TCO art. 35 â€Å"A party acting in error is liable for any loss arising from the nullity of the agreement where the error is attributable to his own negligence. However, there is no compensation if the other party knew or should have known of the error. In the interests of equity, the Court may, not exceeding the benefit of standart performance, award further damages to the injured party. † The first subsection is about responsibility of parties’ actions before the formation of the contract (culpa in contrahendo). Even a slightest negligence in error results in culpa in contrahendo,and in such situations damages will be compensated. According to the second sentence of this subsection,there will not be any compensations if the other party knew or should have known of the error. But this provision is not applicable to error of declaration,since if the other party knew or should have known the error in declaration,contract is formed according to the declarant’s real intent. Yet if a party knows or has to know other party made an error in motive,mistaken party will not have to compensate any damages even if he abolishes the contract. Amount of the damage that will be compensated,is the damage that would not exist if the contract would not be formed. This kind of damage is â€Å"negative damage†. Benefit of the standart performance is named as â€Å"positive damage†. According to the second subsection,judge may decide further damages. This â€Å"further damage† is compensation of positive damage. Amount of positive damage that must be compensated may be some of the positive damage or all of the positive damage,determined by equity,but cannot exceed positive damage.

HIPA A Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process The WritePass Journal

HIPA A Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process Introduction HIPA A Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process IntroductionREFERENCESRelated Introduction AIDS. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is found to be in the immune system of the affected body and it focuses on destroying the CD4 and T cell,  which actually helps fight off diseases. It was said that a  person will be able to tell when they are experiencing HIV because they will get flu symptoms or not even get symptoms until months or years down the line. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) arrives at the end stages of HIV. AIDS begins to come when the immune system can no longer defend it self from diseases. HIV is often transmitted through sexual activity within partners or IV drug use, such as sharing needles. Also, it was said from people that AIDS was initially thought to be a disease for  gay males and that stigma has stuck but it was clear  that women and children of all ages, sexual orientations and races can also be the victims of HIV and AIDS. Understanding what exactly the Health  Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is all about help people to understand the implications of HIV  and AIDS  from the perspective of HIPPA confidentiality.  In 1996 it was Congress that enacted HIPAA to prevent patients personal health information from being used by people who was  not given permission or allowed too. HIPAA restriction was given permission to be allowed on medical records and the way information  is handled and which party  has access to  the information. HIPAA operates in four different ways and not only that but they are  broken down into four parts. First will be the portability part,  this is what gives people the chance to get insurance coverage. Second will be the transaction, this control the way you are to file a claim and also any other information that falls in this category. Than you have third and fourth, which is security and privacy  and by the way I believe is most important . The HIPAA Privacy Rule informs the national standards for protecting all patients’ privacy of health information of any sort. Any type of medical information that contains patient’s personal identifiers must protected access no exception what so ever. Something else is HIPAA requires that an organization must define who has access to PHI and just how much of the patient personal information is accessible.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA affects billing process by making sure that patient demographics are  up to date  and kept confidential. Within the patient files it  should be an authorization letter  to allow a practice to use any of  the confidential information and to bill that patient information to their carrier for services. If this authorization letter  is not  on file the practice may not for any reason release or disclose any patient’s  information that falls under treatment that the patient has had in the  past. All of the patientâ⠂¬â„¢s medical records, reports and other important clinical materials are legal documents that belong to the person who created them. But for any reason  the provider cannot withhold  any of  the information in the records unless providing it would be detrimental to the patients’ health. The  medical insurance specialist handles any issues, such as requests for information from patient records. It is recommended that they are trained to know what information can be released about patients’ conditions and treatments. Concerning HIPAA regulations a patient’s healthcare provider and his entire staff must adhering and demonstrating to the regulations of HIPAA. HIPAA demands privacy regarding a patients personal information. That includes diagnose as well as information regarding sexuality and history of drug use. This applies to  all diagnoses, but because of the social stigmas mentioned earlier, people are even more sensitive when it comes to AIDS disclosures.  There are  always  steps that can be  done to  be absolutely sure  that  everyone  practices compliance with HIPAA. One would  be to check your privacy guidelines, by  browsing through  the HIPAA privacy and security guidelines occasionally  to make sure that you stay  up to date with  all guidelines.  You can also make sure that you are in compliance by  being sure  that all employee’s along with everyone that comes in contact with the patient  are trained and that they attend training   at least two to  three times  a year.  This is  something that should be  recommended because of how  HIPPA changes it’s rules. It is also good to be sure that any business  that’s involved has a written agreement in place over regulations to be on the safe side. All Incidents should be handled right away when the matter occurs as well handled immediately with all documents in place. To make sure that any violation that has occurs and reported their can be no retaliation against the reporting party. Reviewing the  systems activity on a daily basis to ensure that there is no suspicious activity that you are not aware of is a also something that would be a good thing to do.  By the way research shows in the past there have been some cases of medical identity theft and how it can be  prevented. Research states that, you can do this by conducting a technical audit if there is any suspicious activity then it can be caught in its early stages. While  examining â€Å"the social, legal, and ethical ramifications of improper disclosure† important information was given out  during the research. Privacy regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act declare to protect the privacy of American patients health information in several ways. (HIPAA Privacy Regulations, 2000). The regulations  were intended to give patients control over any of their health information and create strict limit around how medical records can be used and released in any confidential way. The regulations also made it to where they  balance public responsibility with specific privacy protections meaning that they allow many uses of patient information without consent. There are a few legal ramifications of improper information disclosure which the U.S. Department of Justice has clarified. There are a few penalties that may be assessed and whom these penalties may be against for these violations. Covered facilities and persons whom intentionally attain or disclose individually identifiable health information in violation of HIPAA may be fined up to $50,000, as well as imprisonment up to one year (Amaguin, 2011) When ever confidential  information is  inappropriately disclosed  it can create family and social stress, employment issues and even housing issues. The law does say that all patients have every  right to sue medical providers if their information is not properly locked up and safe. When new laws implemented to make HIV medical information, and the confidentiality surrounding it extremely strict this was done to protect those suffering from this virus. The ethical issues  relating to confidentiality and partner notifications within the context of HIV infection are complex. The right of the  individual to confidentiality  can be  in conflict with the right of the partner to be protected  from the risk  of infection. (Social and  Ethical Issues, 2004)   In the world, society  is a discriminative society period. An  HIV patient is prone to social isolation and discrimination consistent throughout society.  A lot  of  people view the HIV patient as a germ or an infected area. With various explanations available the  people in public  does not want to understand what the public fears so they try to avoid the situation by talking about the infected person among each other.  This is something that goes on in society and when it comes to the patient’s health information physicians are suppose to be sure that all personal information stay hidden away and is not given out to any third party or people is not given permission. REFERENCES L. Amaguin (2011). Legal Action Center, retrieved from http://lac.org/doc_library/lac/publications/HIV-AIDSTesting-Confidentiality-Discrimination2003.pdf S. Col (2004). Social and Ethical Issues, retrieved from http://medind.nic.in/maa/t04/i2/maat04i2p107.pdf HIV and AIDS Bureau Staff (2004). Protecting Health Information Privacy and Complying with Federal Regulations, retrieved from http://hab.hrsa.gov/publications/hippa04.htm

HR Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR Strategy - Essay Example In this paper, I will be analysing the internal and external fits approach to HR strategy. Strategic human resources management (SHRM) takes a strategic approach to organisational human resource management. SHRM concerns itself with the design and implementation of internal policy practices that consistently enhance the human capital’s ability to contribute to the bigger organisational goals (Wei, 2006). The strategic aims of HR revolve around cost containment and management of business risks. To achieve this, the HR function attempts to recruit highly talented, able and willing employees and managing these human resources optimally. The most critical asset for any organisation is therefore its human capital; productivity and profitability greatly depend on the motivation and desire people to perform as well as the support they get from managements. Strategically, HR strives to attain and manage two kinds of fits i.e. internal and external fit. On the perspective of external fit, the HR function’s systems, structures and management practices should be consistent with the particular firm’s stage in development. Organisational needs change with growth; having an understanding of just how the organisation is changing with growth makes it easier to understand the necessary human resource adjustments. From the approach of internal fit, the structure, systems and HRM practices need to be synergistic i.e. the HR function must put in place structures and systems that support and complement one another while contributing to organisational objectives. The HR function must therefore ensure its strategy enables the organisation to perform, attain competitive edge and ultimately make profits (Lloyd and Ilan, 1998). According to Pfeffer (1998) effective people management can tremendously enhance organisational performance both financially, socially and economically. He describes seven organisational characteristics consistent in most if not all firms

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT - Essay Example horough research on the present scenario of the international markets and puts forward the viable options that PALTEK can take to enter the international market successfully. The report also highlights the challenges and obstacles that the company might encounter when venturing internationally. Patek is a company basd in Bedfordshire and has around 70 employees currently. The annual turnover of PALTEK is  £5 million and the company is headed by Jack Leiter . They had earlier attempted to sell its products in international markets; however they didn’t succeed as expected, probably because they did not have a clear strategy to market their products internationally. That is the reason why PALTEK is looking for a better overall strategy which can enable them to be a successful global player in printed circuit board sector. The company is searching for potential international markets and also a restructuring of their internal organization for better management of its foreign operations. Presently, PALTEK supplies circuit boards for the B2B market and their main clients are the IT sector and the military. Although they have been successful in the UK market, they want to enter the Nordic as well as the US markets in a major way. They also have a presence in Asia, but they are primarily looking to expand their European market. They’ve been approached by a Swedish company for a partnership but the negotiations have not materialized. PALTEK’s goal now is to generate 20-25% of their total profit from the foreign market in the next two years. Internationalization is a process which involves a change in various facets of the organization. In order to succeed, PALTEK would require an in-depth knowledge of the international market, particularly the Nordic market for printed circuit boards. It also needs to modify its marketing approach according to the local needs of the particular market. Other major areas to change include development of better logistics,