Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

Kite Runner Essay Human beings are morally ambiguous people. We are neither purely evil nor purely good, but often a mix. And maybe that’s why many of us are attracted to literature works with morally ambiguous characters such as The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner was set in Kabul, Afghanistan, proceeds to United States during the Soviet Union invasion, and then the setting goes back to Kabul when the Taliban rises in power. In this novel, Amir, to whom the whole story of the book is centered around, is a morally ambiguous character. Amir is a Pashtun boy; he betrays his friendship with Hassan, a Hazara son of Amir’s father’s servant. Guilt haunts Amir for years even after he had left Kabul and moved to United States. Amir is a morally ambiguous character because he’s a coward, he’s selfish, he betrays his friend and lies, but he also finds courage to face what he had done wrong and finds salvation. The first part of the book The Kite Runner proves how Amir is not a purely good character. Amir often hangs out with the Hazara boy, Hassan and would tell Hassan that they are friends, but he still feels he’s above Hassan because Amir is Pashtun and Hazara people are considered below the Pashtun people. Amir wouldn’t hang out with Hassan when other Pashtun boys are with him, he also mocks the fact that Hassan can’t read, not considering the fact that Hassan doesn’t have the opportunity to get an education. Amir couldn’t stand Hassan’s intelligence: Amir had written a story about how a man’s tears turn into pearls when they fall into this magic cup, and the story ended with man’s wife dead in his arms on a mountain pile of pearls. When Hassan heard the story, he had enjoyed it, but he also raised a few questions that angered Amir, â€Å"Why did the man kill his wife? In fact, why did he ever have to be sad to shed tears? Couldn’t he have just smelled an onion? † (p. 34). Amir was angry because a mere Hazara boy who couldn’t read had taught Amir something he, an educated boy, didn’t figure out. These few examples that show how Amir is mean and arrogant are nothing compared to what he does to Hassan later on. Assef is a Pashtun boy that truly hates Hazaras and believes that Hazaras should all disappear. When Amir catches Assef raping Hassan, instead of stepping in, Amir runs away and pretends nothing had happened. When guilt started eating Amir up and he couldn’t stand facing Hassan because Hassan reminds him of his cowardly action, he pinned a crime of thievery on Hassan in order to have Hassan evicted from his house. The second part of the book shows that Amir isn’t purely evil despite what he has done. For a while, Amir’s life is filled with the guilt of not saving Hassan from the rape and it kept Amir from being completely happy, even though he found the love of his life in America and got married. Then one day, Amir’s father’s friend, Rhahim, called him to give him a chance to redeem himself. â€Å"There’s a way to be good again† (p. 226). Amir did find a way to be good again. Amir went back to Afghan to find Hassan’s son, Sohrab, to take him with Amir because Hassan and his wife had been shot to death on the street by the Taliban. Amir finds Sohrab with Assef and ends up getting into a physical fight with Assef. Amir basically lets Assef beat him up and while being beat up, Amir feels relieved. â€Å"My body was broken – just how badly I wouldn’t find out until later – but I felt healed. Healed at last† (p. 289). Amir felt that he was being healed from the guilt that has been crawling beneath his skin every single day. He had betrayed his one and only friend, Hassan, lied, and destroyed a chance where Hassan might have left to United States with him and would still be alive. Amir felt that he finally got what he deserved and he felt much better, he had found salvation. And he had afterwards taken in Sohrab as his own son. Amir had been a coward; he had made selfish decisions and ruined Hassan’s live, but if he had been purely evil then he would not have felt guilt, nor would he have risked his life to bring back a mere Hazara’s son. But he had been filled with guilt and he had gone to find Sohrab and redeemed himself. And thus, Amir is a perfect example of a morally ambiguous character.

CONTEMPORY MANAGEMENT Essay -- essays research papers

CONTEMPORY MANAGEMENT Examine the implications of globalization for Australian business and discuss whether Australia should become more integrated into the global economy Australia is an excellent object of study of globalization and its implications for business as its economic structure is at an unusual 'mid-way' point. New market opportunities, competitive threats and opportunities alike have been the key drivers of globalization since the 1980's. This essay analyzes a variety of topics to determine whether Australia should become more integrated into the global economy. Defining globalization and its major players is crucial to the argument. Petrella's definition of the main characteristics of contemporary globalization will be used as a framework to analyze and define the main changes that are a result of globalization. Through this process, the second part of the paper is devoted to analyzing the advantages and disadvantages for Australian business in becoming more integrated into the global economy. A conclusion can then be reached to confirm that the viability of Australia's integration into the global economy is not only advantageous but also a necessary progression. Globalization is defined by various academics depending on the viewpoint they take. Keenoy and Kelly however most broadly define globalization as . . . The expansion of international trade and production to the extent that most forms of economic activity are not only interlinked but also interdependent Globalization can also be defined through its characteristics. Petrella describes globalization as comprising of the following concepts: „h Internationalization of financial markets „h Internationalization of corporate strategies, in particular their commitment to competition as a source of wealth creation. „h Diffusion of technology and related R&D and knowledge worldwide „h Transformation of consumption patterns into cultured products with worldwide consumer markets „h Internationalization of the regulatory capabilities of national societies into a global political economic system. „h Diminished role of national governments in designing the rules for global governance The internationalization of financial markets is a direct result of globalization and vice versa. Four clear forces have contributed to this: market saturation, disintermediation, deregulation of financial mar... ... of contemporary globalization have been discussed. The internationalization of finances and trade into a global political system puts Australian firms in the vulnerable position of becoming exposed to environmental risks of the world. These factors also open infinite opportunities to Australian businesses. Trading on a global basis allows larger access to consumers, hence profits, and the internationalization of finances can be considered an economic strength, rather than a weakness. The internationalization of corporate strategies requires a change in the thinking of managers and their planning. Through the diffusion of technology and transformation of consumption patterns the commitment to wealth creation can be endless. The major players in the global market place have changed with shifts in power towards large organizations. There will be losers in a more competitive environment but the benefits for Australian firms are endless. Globalization of Australia as it becomes more integrated into the economy is already in progress, and has been for a long time. If Australian firms are to keep up they will have to become more integrated, this is not a choice, but rather a necessity.

Brand Equity to Customer Loyalty Essay

An examination of brand equity leading to customer loyalty in the clothing industry using the Loyalty Ladder model. Abstract Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine if there is a correlation between brand equity and brand loyalty. The author will research the sources of brand equity for three international clothing companies: Abercrombie & Fitch, Marks & Spencer, H&M and apply each company to the Loyalty Ladder. Methodology – Secondary literature was used throughout this study, mainly including; Annual Reports, Academic Journals & Datamonitor reports. Findings – All three companies have a strong brand image and they do have many customers’ who are loyal to their products. All companies experienced growth in revenue in 2010. The companies examined are now in the process of growing their businesses in emerging markets. The loyalty of customers does remain but it is mainly due to the companies innovative marketing strategies, which have resulted in increased revenues within the companies. Constant brand re-enforcement is extremely important to keep customers loyal to a brand. 1.0 Introduction Keller (1993) recognised two reasons to study brand loyalty; for financially based reasons and to improve marketing productivity. Tolba & Hassan (2009) studied the correlation between brand equity and customer loyalty which has seen significant research over the years. The authors conducted an in-depth study of 17 brands within the automobile industry. The findings showed that loyalty and satisfaction were the strongest predictors of brand preference and intention to purchase. The research was broken down into three areas; those who had never tried the brand, those who had tried once and those who had purchased the product. (See Figures 1.0-1.2). For those who had never tried the brand, they would not have been satisfied or loyal to a brand as they had never tired it. Perceptions of the brands image and value towards the brand impacted the results, therefore branding is fundamental in creating a personality and image of the brand that the customer can relate to. Patwardhan & Balasubramanian (2011) have taken brand equity one step further and discuss consumer â€Å"attraction† to brands. The authors believe that attraction and romance with a brand will increase loyalty to a higher level; a deeper and more intense level. The customer will experience security and trust the brand. â€Å"We define brand romance as a state of emotional attachment (evoked in response to the brand as a stimulus) that is characterized by strong positive affect toward the brand, high arousal caused by the brand, and a tendency of the brand to dominate the consumer’s cognition. Brand romance is subject-specific. Different consumers may enjoy different levels of romance with respect to the same brand†. Pawardhan & Balasubramanian conducted a study on numerous undergraduate students and asked them specific questions in relation to brand loyalty. The outcome of the study found that brand romance did exist even though the feelings and emotions behind the romance were not explained. There were a certain brands which kept re-occurring as brands with which students felt romantic about. These were Nike, Ford, Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, Cingular, Sprint and Abercrombie & Fitch. The author of this paper believes that if marketing managers could harness this idea and â€Å"connect† customers’ emotions and feelings to their brands, it may increase loyalty; especially in such a competitive market it could help to retain more customers. If a customer experiences â€Å"romance† they may have a longer lasting relationship with a brand. Marketers have created the concept of the â€Å"The Loyalty Ladder†. The rungs on the ladder represent; prospect, customer, client & advocate. (See Figure 2.0).The idea of the romance being that a customer would remain on the top rung of the ladder for longer if the relationship was on a deeper level. 2.0 Abercrombie & Fitch Aaker and Mc Laughlin (2007) highlight the sources of brand equity (See Figure 3.0); brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality & brand loyalty. Brand awareness relates to the presence of the brand in the mind of the customer. Brands with high visibility tend to be purchased more frequently and also need to be maintained in the marketplace to re-enforce the brand awareness. As stated above, Abercrombie & Fitch is a brand name which people felt strongly about; it has international brand awareness and brand association. The brand is perceived as high quality, trendy and â€Å"American†. Abercrombie & Fitch have a huge loyal customer following. Lane (2007) describes the brand as being targeted at 18-22 year olds, mainly college students. The company was established in 1892 and went bankrupt in the 1970’s. The company was re-branded in the 1980’s to become a huge success. The annual report states that â€Å"The Company considers the in-store experience to be its primary marketing vehicle. The Company’s marketing strategy emphasizes the senses to reinforce the aspirational lifestyles represented by the brands. ..The Company also engages its customers through social media and mobile commerce in ways that reinforce the aspirational lifestyle of the brand†. Abercrombie & Fitch Annual Report 2010. Abercrombie & Fitch advertisements are all very consistent; black and white, topless men, beautiful males and females and often very sensual. (See Figure 4.0).Abercrombie and Fitch are famous for having had many controversial pieces of clothing and advertisements in the past but this has added to their brand image and increased media awareness. When the recession threatened many companies, Abercrombie & Fitch did not reduce sales prices, as they did not want to take away from the brands image and perceived high quality. The company did suffer a reduction in sales, however, to overcome this, management opened stores in new and emerging markets as the American market was maturing. Abercrombie & Fitch opened their first store in London in 2007 and have opened their doors in Japan to a new loyal market of young advocates. (They also sell online to the Chinese market). In the past few years there has been a shift in Chinese and Japanese culture. Teenagers in particular have become â€Å"Americanised†. Abercrombie & Fitch is a very popular brand in these countries as it represents the â€Å"American way of life†. In a study conducted by Parker et al (2004) it was found that the three most important aspects to a teenager were style, look and fit. Abercrombie and Fitch certainly contain these three elements. Tully (1994) supports the idea that it is relatively easy to form a â€Å"global teen strategy† & suggests that it is â€Å"†¦easy to form a global teen strategy, as teens around the world tend to have similar attitudes†. The research conducted by Parker et al (2004) showed this to be slightly untrue as US and Japanese teenagers tend to have more similarities towards the Chinese teenagers, as teenagers in China have less disposable income. However this is changing as China is an important emerging market. The Abercrombie & Fitch annual reports state that stores across China and Hong Kong are due to open in 2012. The author of this paper believes that the Abercrombie and Fitch brand is a perfect example of a brand romance. There are no loyalty cards or personal accounts to entice customers to climb the ladder. The famous brand and its image is enough to create an intense and emotional feeling within teenagers and young adults to become advocates of the brand. The loyal advocates (mainly 18-22 years old) of the brand remain perched on the top rung of the ladder until the next generation takes its place. The loving relationship lasts for approximately four years, until the customer topples from the top rung of the ladder. Abercrombie and Fitch also have other brands (Hollister & Gilly Hicks), which are not discussed in this article. What is different about this brand is how the company do not offer cards, accounts etc. like many other companies. Through their website they offer the chance to work in their stores and become a â€Å"store model†. Another perfect example of how aspirational this brand really is. (Abercrombie & Fitch official website) 3.0 Marks & Spencer (M&S) As mentioned earlier Aaker and Mc Laughlin 2007 highlight the sources of brand equity (See Figure 3.0); brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality & brand loyalty.. Marks and Spencer (M&S) were famous for their fleeting sales even before the recession and were faced by a takeover bid by Sr. Philip Green. M&S did not reduce their premium prices and instead invested heavily in a marketing campaign which eventually proved to be a success. (Marketing Society UK 2010). The net profit was  £526.3 million in the financial year ending 2010, an increase of 3.6% over 2009. (See Figure 5.0) Campaigns to re-enforce the M&S brand included the â€Å"125 years campaign†, taglines included â€Å"quality worth paying for† and â€Å"quality worth every penny† (See Figure 6.0). These campaigns also feature famous celebrities such as Twiggy, Mylene Class & Danii Minogue. (Marketing Society UK 2010). Walshe (2008) discusses M&S in the marketplace (See Figure 7.0). He describes the market as â€Å"weak†, the business as â€Å"ok† and the brand as â€Å"strong†. If a marketing strategy can successfully increase awareness of the brand then sales will increase. M&S experienced a lot of volatility in the marketplace and discusses how it was the business that was â€Å"temporarily broken† and not the brand. Through a strategy of changing product ranges, motivating employees and reminding customers about the brand and what it stood for, the company increased its profits. Throughout the marketing campaigns, the message of quality and good value was kept consistent so the brand association remained the same. Different forms of advertising have been researched to identify which types can affect brand association. The discussions are mainly broken into two categories; price and non-price advertising. (Kaul et al 1989, as cited by Clayton & Heo 2011). Non-price advertising can be described as differentiation or reminder advertising (Mitra and Lynch 1995, as cited by Clayton & Heo 2011). In a study conducted by Clayton and Heo (2011) on whether advertising affects brand association, the study concluded that promotional based messaging lowers the brand image, attitudes and perceptions of the brand. The authors do state that value-oriented messages have the ability to deteriorate brand associations. M&S have also created their brand as an association to corporate social responsibility, including expenditure in areas of climate change, sustainable raw materials and waste. (Datamonitor 2011 (a)). Customers perceive M&S to be a brand of high quality which the company constantly communicate in advertising campaigns. Tresidder (2010) in an article discussing a food campaign by M&S describes how the slogan is â€Å"This is not just food†. The advert ‘‘directs perception’’ by creating/reinforcing ‘‘signposts’’ of the M&S experience. â€Å"Thus, the text directs perception while guiding the social and cultural significance of the images used;, a conversion process takes place in which meaning is guided by changing perception through various techniques such as the use of text, changes in context and the meaning of the gastronomic experience† (Marshall, (2005) as cited by Tresidder (2010)). As stated earlier the loyalty ladder consists of four components; prospect, customer, client and advocate. In Tolba and Hassan’s (2009) research discussed earlier, the research showed that people who never tried a brand based their assumptions on which brands they preferred based on the image and attitude. In relation to M&S, a prospect customer will rely on advertisements, word of mouth, physical outlook of store and any other media surrounding the brand. M&S are opening new stores in emerging markets and will have many more prospect customers as opposed to the maturing domestic market. Once prospect customers have stepped up the ladder from prospect to customer, M&S offer a M&S credit card which gives the cardholder points. A premium card is also available got frequent shopper who are clients and advocates which offers treble points. (marksandspencer.com). Clients and advocates of M&S tend to be of a mature age and trust the M&S brand. More recently M&S have used celebrities in their adverts to gain a younger market share. The company is also the leading department store retailer in the UK. The clothing and fashion segment is estimated to have led to such leadership. (Datamonitor 2011(a)) . Huang & Huddleson (2009) conducted a study on own brand products and concluded that own-brands can often have a product advantage over competition which creates a competitive advantage because the retailer is creating their own products, they put more effort into the production and image of the product. Marks and Spencer have launched an internet channel through â€Å"M&S Direct†. Customers can shop online and a new facility called â€Å"Shop your Way† enables customers to order online, in stores or over the phone. Products are delivered free of charge to the nearest store. Through M&S direct, customers can join discussions and see what is happening in their local stores. March and Quinton (2009) discuss viral communities and how they impact the on loyalty ladder. They state how impostant social networks are for marketers and how they act as a â€Å"conduit for intra customer dialogue†.The authors posited the idea of a â€Å"social network contributor ladder† for online users. â€Å"This understanding will enable marketers to communicate more effectively with both the influencers and other members of the social network ladder†. (See Figure 8.0) March and Quinton (2009) 4.0 Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) A prime example of a strong own brand image is the Swedish company H&M. Mc Coll & Moore (2010) conducted a study to examine own brands and product brands. It has been increasingly competitive in the past few decades with companies setting up stores internationally. The authors discuss that own brands such as H&M will be more successful if they reflect the corporate brand image which must also be strong in the marketplace. Own brands have more control over products which gives them a competitive advantage. (Mc Coll & Moore 2010). H&M is a global brand based on its â€Å"value creating retail concept†. H&M have built their powerful brand based on a business model of fashion and quality at the best possible price. (Ilonen et al 2010). H&M mainly create brand awareness through television, internet,and mobile phone. H&M have an iphone application and online game â€Å"Mytown†, where players can view â€Å"virtual goods†. (WARC news Sep 2010). In April 2011 H&M launched it’s free Android application. This enables customers to browse clothing, check out offers and watch exclusive videos. There is a huge international brand awareness of H&M, with stores operating throughout Europe, South Korea & Israel. The company is now focusing on new emerging markets such as Romania & Croatia and opened their first stores in these countries in 2011. H&M have sponsored celebrities in the past to create a strong brand association. They chose those who they perceived were most suitable to position H&M as an upscale fashion retailer offering clothing at best price, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo & Madonna are examples of celebrities who endorsed the H&M name. (Datamonitor 2011 (b)) H&M has a fast retail policy & quickly follows market tends to deliver merchandise to its outlets daily. The loyal customers of H&M tend to be young and fashion conscious. H&M has kids, women and men’s clothing shoes and accessories. The company has experienced revenue growth year on year even throughout the recession ( See Figure 9.0). In relation to the loyalty ladder, as discussed earlier by Tolba & Holsan (2009) a prospect customer will purchase based on perception and image of the brand. There is no doubt that this brand has a strong market presence. Also, as most of the customers are younger there will be more of an influence by friends, peers and the fashion industry to conform to trends. (Parker et al 2004) . Some companies’ have reduced mobile marketing communication during the recession but as mentioned earlier, H&M rely heavily on mobile marketing. They use technology to communicate discounts etc. very often people who receive these messages send them on to friends, this results in a usually a 50% increase of people in-store. H&M see this as a success in creating massive â€Å"footfall in their stores. (Carter 2008).This form of marketing is also useful as when people send on these messages, it can draw prospect buyers into the stores. Once the prospects have climbed to the next rung of the ladder and become customers, H&M offer an account. This account allows customers to have limited access to the â€Å"virtual dressing room† and other benefits such as communication via internet, mobile phone applications and offers which draw the customers back in-store time and time again, to eventually become clients and advocates of the H&M brand. 5.0 Conclusion All three companies discussed in this paper have strong brand images which are constantly communicated to the public. Customer loyalty does remain as a result of strong marketing strategies and constant brand re-enforcement. In relation to M&S and A&F, sales have slowed down as their domestic markets are maturing and people have less disposable income due to the recession. However, both companies have weathered previous recessions. Many customers still desire to buy these brands and the strong brand image will help increase sales in emerging markets. Both M&S and Abercrombie & Fitch had an increase in 2008, which dropped in 2009 but increased in 2010 again. H&M has a steady increase year on year. Abercrombie & Fitch is due to open in Dublin at the end of this year and also due to open in Paris and Milan. All three companies are concentrating on new and emerging markets as their domestic markets mature. (See Fig 10.0) The author of this paper has posited a new loyalty scale as opposed to the loyalty ladder, see (fig 11.0). The loyalty ladder does not account for customers who are dissatisfied or â€Å"anti† a brand. Customers begin as prospects and can go up or down the scale depending on their experience with the brand. The internet plays a crucial part in communicating with customers and creating relationships to strengthen bonds with them through social networking sites and discussion fora. With so many global brands in society, it is important to keep re-enforcing brands to keep customers firmly perched on the top rungs of the loyalty ladder.

Management Accountability And Corporate Responsibility

One of the failures of Enron that allowed the fraud to occur in early 2000s was management accountability or corporate responsibility. Rockness says the main cause of the corporate ethical conduct is the tone at the top, signing officers, cited by several professional sources such as American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Prior to SOX, signing officers were not held responsible to anyone as long as the company showed stock increase justified by earning’s growth. Enron’s signing officers had a persuasive story to back up the increase in earnings and whoever questioned those numbers was viewed as being stupid. Hence when the time came for the†¦show more content†¦Mendez, CEO, whose role was to report and certify correct financial statements, free from all material misstatements, violated the SOX section 302 of corporate responsibility and the several laws of SECs. Men dez paid $5 million to settle the SEC’s charges, forfeited and returned $4 million bonuses that he received during the company’s fraudulent reporting period. Neil, CFO, was the one who directed an effort to manipulate the cost of walnuts and misled the Diamond’s independent auditors by providing wrong and incomplete information to justify the unusual accounting treatment for the payments. He personally profited from the fraud by receiving cash bonuses and other compensation based on the company’s reported Earnings per Share (EPS) for fiscal quarters in 2010 and 2011. When the fraud was uncovered, Diamond’s stock price dropped from $90 to $17 per share in 2011. Neil paid $125,000 in civil monetary penalties, forfeited a legal claim against Diamond’s for nearly $1 million worth stock options and shares of stock that he received during the fraudulent reporting period, and was barred from practicing as an accountant for 5 years. Point Three: Tit le IV Section 404 Managers must assess and auditors must attest to the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting. SOX addresses the issue of management assessment of internal controls. This section requires both independent auditor and management opinion regarding the effectiveness of

Essay about Enron The Smartest Guys In The Room - 1948 Words

Enron’s ride is quite a phenomenon: from a regional gas pipeline trader to the largest energy trader in the world, and then back down the hill into bankruptcy and disgrace. As a matter of fact, it took Enron 16 years to go from about $10 billion of assets to $65 billion of assets, and 24 days to go bankruptcy. Enron is also one of the most celebrated business ethics cases in the century. There are so many things that went wrong within the organization, from all personal (prescriptive and psychological approaches), managerial (group norms, reward system, etc.), and organizational (world-class culture) perspectives. This paper will focus on the business ethics issues at Enron that were raised from the documentation Enron: The Smartest Guys†¦show more content†¦The company’s stakeholders include primary groups of customers, employees, shareholders, owners, suppliers, etc. and secondary groups of community. All stakeholders have their own self-interests. While em ployees want secure jobs with high earnings; customers want quality products with cheap prices, which may eventually result in the company and employees’ low income. Being said that, the corporation owes all stakeholders the obligations to meet their interests. That brings in the ethical issue of conflicts of interest, one of key problems at Enron. CFO Andrew Fastow created financial partnership to hide Enron debt, from which he allegedly collected $30 million in management fees. The action obviously made Enron financial data look good, but at the same time deceived the company’s investors about the real performance. Many investors may make their investing decisions based on those false data. And that’s when the collapse begins. Prescriptive Reasoning Approach According to the documentation, those Enron people who faced ethical issues used different prescriptive reasoning approach to resolve their dilemma. Take Andrew Fastow as an example, he might not start all the fraudulent financial activities in the first place; however, he decided to do so in order to please the boss, when Ken Lay wanted to see neat financial disclosures. It seemed that FastowShow MoreRelatedEnron, the Smartest Guys in the Room.1229 Words   |  5 PagesEnron, the Smartest Guys in the Room. Enron was involved in American’s largest corporate bankruptcy. It is a story about people, and in reality it is a tragedy. Enron made their stock sky rocket through unethical means, and in reality this company kept losing money. The primary value operating among the traders was greed, money, and how to make profits under any circumstance. The traders thought that a good trader is a creative trader and the creative trader can find any arbitrage opportunityRead MoreEnron Smartest Guys On The Room1573 Words   |  7 PagesThe movie ENRON smartest guys in the room is about one of the biggest corporation corruptions in the United States. 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Obesity A Nationwide Epidemic That Is Affecting Children...

In today’s society obesity has become a nationwide epidemic that is affecting children and adults daily. Dietitians have an essential role in the health field to treat patients with nutrition problems such as obesity, but every patient is different and how the dietician decides the course of treatment is as well. For example, there are many ways the dietician can treat the patient like goal setting, self-monitoring, meal preparation, and other strategic plans that lead to the best health of the patient. When making a plan to treat the patient many detailed factors come into play. For example, patients age, occupation, family history, and most importantly social environment. I had the pleasure of observing a counseling session between Mrs. Natalie Porta, RD, LDN and a twelve year old male with his mother. The male’s pediatrician was concerned that the patient had gained a tremendous amount of wait from his last visit. The boy wanted to lose weight and change his eating h abits. He mentioned that during the week at school he eats the schools lunch they provide and he brings a snack from home. He also mentioned that sometimes at home he has to cook whatever is available because his parents work a lot. Mainly he said he eats fast food a lot due to availability and the convenience for his parent’s busy schedules. The main strategy’s Mrs. Porta chose was goal setting and educating him and his parent on ways he can diet. After counseling the patient, the boy agreed to change hisShow MoreRelatedChildhood Obesity Analysis1473 Words   |  6 PagesCaretakers Obesity in America is literally a growing problem, affecting every age group. Children are the most venerable group because they have no control over where they have dinner or how often they have fast food. Parents and guardians make decisions about food and are responsible for the health of children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in the last twenty years. 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Health Literacy Personality and Socialization

Question: Discuss about the Health Literacy for Personality and Socialization. Answer: Introduction: Health literacy is an important aspect that every individual should develop in their lives. This is important because it helps the individual to identify what kind of disorders that he himself is facing. It also helps the individual to understand the significance of approaching to the healthcare sectors to ask for service. However, many cases are often reported where development of health literacy is completely absent and this lead to different types of issues in living a healthy quality life. Absence of knowledge about the efficacy of health interventions results the person to not only suffers from various diseases but also makes him apathetic towards healthcare (Simpson et al., 2017). It altogether leads to a compromised life full of negativity affecting the happiness that every individual human being should experience. Large number of psychologists has stated that each and every aspect of the human life is often shaped by different psychosocial stages that an individual goes throu gh (Komenaka et al., 2014). Any obstruction in the particular stages results in creation of personalities that may not attain full maturity required to lead a health ad happy life. The essay will mainly portray a case study that will help us to know how development of stages in the psychosocial development of an individual affects a human being. It will also show how this personality may make him accept lifestyle factors which are unhealthy. His view over health literacy wills be viewed and proper interventions will be proposed for him. Brief Overview: From the entire case study, it was analyzed that Bill was a patient of chronic hypertension who was quite satisfied with his own life. However, from an outsiders perspective, he was not at all healthy and maintained a lifestyle that was not proper. He had many bad habits of eating high calorie fast food which was one the main contributing factor for his obesity. He has a BMI of 34.7 which describes the fact that he is obese and he needs to follow healthcare interventions to maintain a quality lie. On close analysis, it was also seen that his personality is not liked by his wife as she describes him to be irritable but this does not concern him. He thinks himself to be self satisfied and does not care much about anyone else other than his own wishes and interests. If one looks over the psycho- sociological aspect, it can be seen that his development of personality has not gone through different stages as mentioned by Erikson successfully. This had resulted in poor development of socia l skills and an altogether different outlook towards family life. Erikson has explained 8 important stages which are needed of be completed successfully by every individual to lead a healthy life (Snow and Dibner, 2016). Personality of Bill inevitably shows that he might have faced severe issues which have resulted in poor development of social skills required to maintain a healthy family life. Moreover, during such stages of his mental and physical development, it was also seen that he had poor conception about healthcare systems and considered them as dog boxes. Health literacy is extremely important for every individual to develop successful access to care and also use services, for self care and also for chronic conditions. This would help in the maintenance of health as well as wellness for the individual. Health literacy is also important so that an individual can develop more active roles in decision mailing and management of his symptoms (Nakamura et al., 2014). However no s uch knowledge was found in him that lead him to the development of apathy towards healthcare. The perfect model of healthcare that he needs at this moment to make him experience a better life not only physically but also mentally, emotionally and socially is the trans-theoretical model which will mainly depends in individuals decision making as well as a model of intentional change. Factors Affecting health Decisions and Behaviour: From the early period of development in the adolescent as well as the young adulthood, Bill has been unfortunate to particularly undertake successful developments in his personality that had resulted in huge impact on his social as well as physical life. Due to improper development in creating the right attributes required to make a health relationship with partner, he had failed miserably in his marriage and does not even intend to take in initiatives that will help in the development of a better relationship with his wife (Prakash et al., 2015). Moreover he is too apathetic about his own life while he follows a lifestyle very harmful for his health. His diet is one of the most important risk factor that makes him vulnerable to any kind of heart diseases. He is suffering from obesity as his BMI is 34.7. As the case says that he has the habit of eating takeaways food which is mostly highly in calories. Now, as he is lazy and is not ready take to take in any exercise that would burn h is calories, he is gaining weight. Moreover it is also seen that he wants to reduce weight for his wifes request but not due to his own will which clearly states that he is completely illiterate about how his food habits are harming him. Moreover disrespecting healthcare as dog boxes also makes one understand that he has no idea about how healthcare interventions would not only cure him but will also help him to provide a quality life. Besides, the entire case study gives an impression that he maintains a lazy life by gardening most of the times, fishing and others. Inactivity level is high in case of the patient and therefore he is highly vulnerable to different types of heart diseases (Baltes and Schaie, 2013). Moreover, he is a patient of hypertension and only asks the prescribers to recommend it to save money. He is lazy as in the sense as in his free time he goes and plays poker in place of undergoing severe rigorous exercises that he need to lessened down his weight. Absence o f proper health literacy skills had made him to remain contended only with his pills for hypertension but his concern about his obese nature is yet not understood by him and it is extremely important for him to make him understand his risk factors and make him change his lifestyles. Psycho-Physiological Aspects of health: 400 While describing the psycho-physiological aspect of the entire case, one can explain it from the perspective of the theory given by Erikson. The concept of psychophysiology mainly deals with the relationship between the mental (Psyche) and physical (Psychological) processes (Schwartz et al., 2014). Mainly it helps in the approaching of the scientific study that deals with the interaction of the mind with that of the body. Mainly these kinds of disorders are influenced by different types of emotional stresses and different types of mental disorders also get reflected in their physical health as well. As one can see in this case, that the mentality of the individual is quite different as he is not a believer of healthcare interventions thereby referring the healthcare sectors as dog boxes. He only wants to take slimming sessions not because of his feeling that he needs it but because he thinks his wife would create issues. One can here represent Ericksons theory to discuss it. In his t heory, he had stated a stage called industry versus inferiority where children learn the importance of new topics with specific skills (Srigley et al., 2015). If this initiative is not encouraged by teachers and seen parents, the learning directives of the children gets entangled resulting in confused situation (Darling-Fuscher and Leidy, 2015). In this case instead of feeling industrious, the child becomes inferior developing feelings that result to doubting their own abilities. This prevents them from reaching their own potential. This makes the child feel that society is demanding and they tend to fail to meet expectations. In this old age, Bill therefore feels that there is no need to look over his weight as he feels it to be the demand of society. He has not developed the knowledge that it is helpful for him to protect his health from uncertain fate. Moreover his second stage also discusses about the transition from childhood to adulthood when a person learns the concept of fid elity. The new adults explore their possibilities where they begin their own identity that depends on their outcomes of explorations (Corace et al., 2016). They tend to develop their career, families, housing and others governing sexual and occupational importance. This stage of fidelity thereby helps the individual to commit himself to others by accepting others in spite of ideological differences. Any crisis in this stage results in altogether different stages in the personality affecting his sexual and occupational life (Florindo et al., 2014). Mainly because of severe issues, it might have been possible that Bill had developed a personality that does not maintain the fidelity nature as he had been very neglecting to his wife in later stages. Ericksons theory of stagnation and despair is also found among Bill. Therefore we see that a large number of factors are associated that had remain intricately associated with his poor knowledge development in healthcare. He has very little wish of developing his health system and only takes his pills since it helps him in gardening and not because it helps him to keep check on his hypertension. Therefore it is extremely important for the nurse to take up a model of healthcare to make him understand the importance of quality living. Prevention of Illness and Promotion of health: The best method that can be considered for treatment of patients who are apathetic and have very poor knowledge about the contribution of healthcare is the Trans-theoretical model. It mainly helps in developing the knowledge of an individual in integrating new behaviors as well as goals and programs that can be carried on at various levels. It mainly contains six important stages and at each stage different interventions will help the patient to overcome his issues and manage progress (Abdi et al., 2016). This theoretical approach already believes that people do not change behaviors quickly and decisively. They believe that changes in behaviors especially habitual behavior takes place with the help of a cyclical procedure. In the first stage which is called precontemplation. The nurses should understand that the patient is unaware of the behavior that is creating problems in his personal life as well as his physical health. The patients in this place usually pressurize the nurse abou t saying the various cons of the changing behavior and underestimate the different positive aspects of the changing behavior (DeMezes et al., 2015). After continuous counseling from the nurse with prior education and discussion, in the second stage called contemplation, patient usually intend to start the healthy behavior in the foreseeable future. At this stage they learn to recognize that their behavior is problematic and they tend to consider of accepting the intervention. The third stage is the preparation phase where the patient will promise to take actions within 30 days and contributes to small steps towards adopting the behavioral changes. The fourth step is the action stage where the patient had already changed the behavior by modifying it or adopting new changes. The fifth stage is the maintenance stage where the nurse will ensure that the patient is maintaining the changed behavior and carrying it forward with the last stage being termination. In this stage, the patient d evelops a feeling where he no longer wants to go back into the previous unhealthy behavior. The nurse should thereby raise his consciousness and help him in emotional arousal of the health behavior whether positive or negative. The nurse should also help the patient in self reappraisal that the healthy behaviour us helping him. She would also help in social reappraisal making him see how his changes are helping others (Valpied and Hegarty, 2015). The nurse also helped him in social liberation making him see that society is supportive of the behavior along with self liberation making him belief that changes are for his better good. Counseling with his relations, help him to overcome different issues in personal relationship so that they can also support her wishes. Counter conditioning would help him to remove his bad thoughts and incorporate his positive thoughts. Reinforcement management is also important like providing rewards for positive behavior and reducing rewards for negative behavior. The nurse should also make sure that there would be stimulus control which can be achieved by reengineering the environment. This would help in development of cues and reminders to encourage and support the healthy behavior and remove unhealthy behavior. Conclusion: Bill is an individual with a chronic hypertension as well as obesity who is highly apathetic to healthcare. This is mainly due to lack of knowledge about health literacy that had mainly caused a sense of disbelief in him. It is therefore extremely important for the healthcare professionals to make him go through a health care system that would not only help him recover physically by diet charts and exercises but also thorough a behavioural changes. These are extremely important for making him lead a quality life. References: Abdi, J., Eftekhar, H., Mahmoodi, M., Shojaeizade, D., Sadeghi, R. (2015). 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