Comparative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Comparative - Essay Example The president, George W. Bush says the hatred is because of America’s greatness. This greatness brings forth rage especially for the countries that cannot get freedom. The other opinion is from a minority group who think America is hated because of its support for some regimes especially in Middle East which can be repressive. According to America’s democracy, some of these ideals are not really acceptable. Wade thinks that America looks at the inward such that even the spending of money is much far than other countries like India. The emergence of original and more so unique cultures in America leads to celebration of individuals at community’s expense. Examples of these are human affairs innovations and the sociological event of atom splitting (Wades, p247). The United States people are quite unwilling to know or rather learn anything outside their borders. The difference in classes has led to emergence of groups such as al-Qaeda of Osama bin laden. Wade thinks al-Qaeda forms due to rich as well as poor differences. For example the leader Osama may be rich but fellow al-Qaeda may not be. The culture of America is much modernized, but for most uncivilized people especially from Africa, some of the things seem mean as they view from televisions’ programs. They conclude that that’s how the American people. Another example is where the people in the Middle East believe America’s values are questionable. ... It is not clear however, what happens to these children as they turn into young adults or thereafter leading to low leaving standards. In Kenya, most youths after getting some literacy end up unemployed and thus dwell in slums in Nairobi and some hate their ancestral lifestyles. Throughout the world, people forget the old and traditions but the fact is that they have to struggle to survive. According to anthropology, people and cultures that are under stress bring forth ideologies which are strange or weird and unexpected. For example, the case of Boxers of China who beheaded and murdered missionaries and displayed these heads as well (Wade, p249). Wade on page 250 also says al-Qaeda does not have full Muslim faith and so is partly Muslim, partly not. A sociologist from Harvard Daniel Bell wrote that the state of the nation is too small compared to the world’s big problems yet too big for the world’s small problems. Modernization has led to changing in the cultures; eve n languages are not taught to the children. He also thinks that the past may end up defining the future and its culture. He gives the example of Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination that took place in 1914. This incidence may turn out to define the fate of two different worlds in even 100 years to come. As a conclusion, Wade strongly points out that there must be aspiration to a new type of pluralism spirit which must be an international one. True democracy according to Wade, is supposed to be globally available, so that several cultures which are unique whether they are small or large, have the right to be in existence. Interdependent declaration moreover, must also be global in its existence as it is very essential for survival of

Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Leadership and Management - Essay Example Secondly issues of gender equality and gender abuse have taken place in the company which has caused the staff to show their disregard towards the other employees. Along with these cases of racial discrimination has also been reported in the company. Thirdly, the new team leader had been keeping the employees on their toes and the team members are not happy with the way she is ordering the employees at odd hours of the day. Key role players The Key role players in Malin Global are Hugo Friennes, the CEO of the company, Marina Guedeline, the head of the London Operations, Geraldine Highmore, who was newly recruited by Marina for a period of two year for looking after the administrative infrastructure of Marina Global, and Li Piung Ho who has been appointed as the team leader. All of these four people have some significance in the decision making of the company as well as in the day to day activities. Leadership Styles of the key stakeholders In the case of Malin Global the different p eople in the various positions have exhibited different style of leadership. First of all Hugo Friennes has shown a Delegative Leadership style. This is because at the time when he had decided to shift to New York he had entrusted the duty of the London office with the new employee Marina Guedeline. The CEO did not interfere into the activities of the London office when such problems arose. Therefore it is an example of delegation of the duties. On the other hand Marina has exhibited a participative leadership style (Porter and Lawler, 1968, p. 71). The London head, Marina had to handle various adverse situations in which she had always tried to discuss the issues with the concerned employees. Marina has shared the responsibility, control and decision making with the employees with whom she has been working (Bradley and Frederic, 1997, p. 337). She had not imposed any decision on the others and has tried to personally address the problems of the employees. However, Geraldine Highmor e and Li Piung Ho both have demonstrated authoritative behaviour. Geraldine has been looked upon as someone who is extremely outdated and who imposed her decisions on the others. This was the perception of the younger employees. On the other hand Li was perceived as an annoying team leader who would always call up the team members for getting the work done even when the employees would be out of office or on a holiday. This kind of work culture that Li was injecting into the organisation was also not acceptable (Carver and Scheier, 2001, p. 460). The most acceptable style out of these was the participative or the Democratic type of leadership. This is because all the employees could communicate their problems to the participative leader rather than the remaining ones. While the CEO and the Head of London Operations have shown a Transformational style, the Team lead and the Administration manager showed a Transactional style in which the employees had to accept the authority of the l eader. The authoritative attitude was not acceptable to the organisation where mostly the young people work. So a more collaborative attitude towards the employees would be appropriate for handling the different issues arising. The top management has to look into all the issues and not keep it only to one manager to handle it. Marina has shown a supportive style of management getting the employees more involved

Konigsberg Bridge Problem

Konigsberg Bridge Problem The earliest paper on graph theory seems to be by Leonard Euler,Solutio problematic ad situs pertinentis,Commentarii Academetarii Scientiarum Imperialist Petropolitanae 8 (1736),128-140.Euler discusses whether or not it is possible to scroll around Konigsberg(later called the Pregolya exactly once. Euler gave the conditions which are necessary to permit such a stroll. Thomas Pennyngton Kirkman (1856) and Wiliam Roman Hamilton (1856) studied trips which certain sites exactly once. History of Euler paths and cycles An Eulerian path is a path in a graph which visits each edge exactly once in the theory graph .so, in the same way, an Eulerian circuit is an Eulerian path which starts and ends on the same vertex. They were first discussing by Leohard Eular while solving the famous Seven Bridges of Konigsberg problem in 1736. Mathematically the problem can be stated like this: Given the graph on the right, is it possible to construct a path (or a cycle for example, a path starting and ending on the same vertex) which visits each edge exactly once Graphs which allow the manufacture of so called Eulerian cycles are called Eulerian graphs. Euler observed that a necessary condition for the existence of Eulerian cycles is that all vertices in the graph have an even degree, and that for an Eulerian path either all, or all but two (i.e., the two endpoint) vertices have an even degree; this means the Konigsberg graph is not Eulerian. Carl Heierholzer published the first complete characterization of Eulerian graphs in 1873, by proving that in fact the Eulerian graphs are exactly the graphs which are connected and where every vertex has an even degree. Example using euler in our daily life is using in the teaching for set theory that widely use in the schools. Another example is to visualizing file system organization.it will allows files to appear in more than one directory in a computers file system. The history of the Konigsberg Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) is considered to have been the father of graph theory. His paper in 1736 on the seven bridges of Konigsberg is considered to have been the foundational paper in the subject. Konigsberg is a town, founded in 1256, that was originally in Prussia. After a stormy history, the town became part of Soviet Union and was renames Kaliningrad in 1946. In any event, during Eulers time the town had seven bridges (named Kramer, Schmiede, Holz, Hohe, Honig, Kottel, and Grunespanning) spanning the Pregel River. Figure 8.1 gives a simplified picture of how the bridges were originally configured (two of the bridges were later destroyed during World War II, and two other demolished by the Russians. History of Hamiltonian: Hamiltonian is introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton at 1857. He made a game called around the world and the originally in form of solid called dodecahedron. It has 20corners/for each corner, it called as town. The problem started when the travel started from one city to another city along the edge to arrive at city by only once arrived at one city. This is how the Hamiltonian is appearing. There is example of using Hamiltonian in life such as no-complete, n-cube and traveling salesman problem. Two types of Hamiltonian are Hamiltonian path and Hamiltonian cycle Introduction Path Path is the sequences of alternating vertices and edges. Which begin from a vertex and ended with a vertex. Each vertex is preceded and followed by its endpoints. Simple path Simple path is a path such that all its vertices and edges are distinct. Below is a graph that gives differences between path and simple path. Path 1: v,b,x,h,z(simple path) Path 2 : u,c, w,f,y,g,x,e,d,v(path) Example of path is the way of bus direction from one destination to another destination. In other hand, simple path is a path that no complicated for example the direction from faculty of FTSM to faculty of FUU. Cycle Circle is a circular sequence of alternating vertices and edges. Each edges is preceded and followed by its endpoints. Simple cycle Simple cycle is a cycle such that all its vertices and edges are distinct. Cycle: u,c,w,e,x,g,f,w,d,v,a,u Simple cycle:v,b,x,g,y,f,w,c,u,a,v, Example of using cycle in life is when we travel to another place then come back to our home with using the different ways. Another example in ukm is the bus ways for example bus zone 2 will make a circle to take student and will come back to the initial location where the busy will take a rest. For simple cycle, we always see in sport, such as the court for athletes running especially in event of 400 * 100 meters. Then, we also can see in power plant program that is simple cycle power plant (pp) program. It gives much benefit such as optimized design, reduced engineering costs, short lead times, increase availability and fast startups also high operational flexibility. Connected Graph Connected graph is a graph that there exists a path between all pairs of vertices. If a graph is a directed graph, there exist a path between vertexes to each other that in the graph, is called as strongly connected graph. The examples of disconnected graphs: Example of using connected graph is use in building. For example Menara Berkembar Petronas, there is a bridge to connect the two buildings. Another example is the bridge of Pulau Pinang. First use to connect the island and peninsular Malaysia. Example of disconnected graph is other hand than connected graph. For example the building of one employee is not connected by bridge with another employee. Next, the Island of Sipadan is not connected by a bridge with Borneo land. An Euler path in a graph is a path which traverses each edge of the graph exactly once. An Euler cycle is an Euler path which is contains cycle. If there are no loop graphs, without isolated vertices, the continuation of an Euler path implies the connected of the graph, since traversing every edge of such a graph requires visiting each vertex at least once. But, when the connected graph has an Euler path, one can be constructed by applying Fleurys algorithm. A connected graph has an Euler path if it has exactly zero or two vertices of odd degree. If every vertex has even degree, the graph has an Euler cycle. The definition and properties of Euler paths, cycles and graphs are valid for multigraph as well. The seven bridge of Konigsberg In Konigsberg, Germany, a river ran through the city such that in its centre was an island, and after passing the island, the river broke into two parts. Seven bridges were built, so that the people of the city could get from one part to another part. A crude map of the centre of Konigsberg might look like this: The people wondered whether or not, one could walk around the city in a way that would involve crossing each bridge exactly once. Degree of vertex Term of degree of vertex in graph theory is the number of edges which connected to a vertex. Degree of vertex also known as local degree. The list of all degree of vertex is called as degree sequences. One way to find the number of vertex is count the number of degree for each vertex that endpoint. An easy way is draw a circle around the vertex and count the number of edges that cross the circle. The degree of vertex can be add or even. if the degree of vertex is even, it is known as degree vertex and the other hand, if the degree of vertex is odd, the vertex is called an odd vertex. To find out the degree of graph is by choose the largest degree of vertex. Example graph with have odd and even vertex: Example degree of vertex is application of roundabout because there are many roads that connected. Either the value is odd or even. The road can be representing as edges and the roundabout as the vertex. Another example is the number of use degree of vertex in electrical pole such as the number of wire connected to the one pole. Hamiltonian path: Hamiltonian path is also called as traceable path. Hamiltonian path is a path that visits each vertex exactly one and not repeated for each vertex in a graph. Hamiltonian graph us use to solve a problem when find a path that only visited each vertex only one in a graph. Hamiltonian cycle: Hamiltonian cycle is a cycle that goes through the entire city (vertex) only once for a graph. It cannot be repeated to reach a city for a one cycle except the starting and the ended city. Results of research and real world examples Graphs can be used to represent oil flow in pipes, traffic flow on motorways, transport of pollution by rivers, groundwater movement of contamination, biochemical pathways, and the underground network. The example of Euler path: There are many useful applications to Euler circuits and paths. Networks can be used to solve many difficult problems, like the Konigsberg Bridge problem. The can also used by mail carrier who wants to have a route where they do not retrace any of their previous steps. Other than that, Euler circuits and paths are also useful to painters, garbage collector, airplanes pilots and world navigators. Below are the examples of how Euler circuit and paths are useful in the real world. The maps that pilots use are called route maps. The route maps show the paths of the airplanes from one destination to another. Here is an example of actual route map. The centre for all travel with this airline is in Denver, Colorado. From there, we can travel to some of the major cities in the surrounding states. The Navigation below is a trip to see all different regions of the world. The above regions of the world have all been given different colors. Each region also has been given marked with a node or vertex and some (but not all) of the regions are connected with arcs. Conclusions and recommendations As the conclusion towards this particular project, the study of graphs and their properties is a classical subject in most computer science department around the world. Graph Theory can be further exploited by object-oriented software engineering, taking advantage of recent research in various fields. Other than that, Graph theory is one of the top reasons to learn linear Algebra. So, all graphs (included directed, weighted, and multi-graphs) can be represented intuitive by adjency matrices, and matrix operations often end up being meaningful in terms of graph they represent. Seeing the connection between a graph and its matrix helps to understand both of them, and being able to switch back and forth between mental models is often useful. For example, a person in many fields of modeling, are mostly easily thought of the weight graphs, and are most easily manipulated as matrices. By learning the entire graph, the student can get many benefits by it especially the computer science student. So, our recommendation towards this topic in order to make the student easy to learn and improve themselves are for example, ask the student to make a lot of exercise. Other than that, ask them to make an assignment about this topic. So that the student can search many information based on this topic and become more familiar and understand about graph theory

Mandy Camp :: Technology Email Computers Internet Essays

Mandy Camp â€Å"It saves time and it wastes it, makes life simpler and more complicated, brings us together and pushes us apart. Love it and hate it, it’s everywhere, all the time and here to stay† (Leonard 80). Is e-mailing an effective way to communicate information? The rises in the use of e-mail has both positive as well as negative aspects amongst its users. E-mail was developed in the 1960’s for scientific use. Its main purpose was to transfer information about nuclear war safely and effectively. Unlike letters sent through the mail, e-mails were almost guaranteed a safe arrival to its recipient. Soon after, e-mail became a type of technology that many people used mainly in academic institutions. Nowadays, e-mail is used among all types of people, not just scientists and academics. It is now a way of exchanging information that is used among businessmen, college students and professors, people who live fare away; almost everyone uses e-mail. Exchanging e-mail addresses rather than phone numbers is very common between two people (Michelle 2). When e-mail was first discovered, it was mainly seen as a positive aspect of transferring information, but later many negative aspects were brought up by users. About 225 million people in the world use e-mail, by either sending or receiving it (Newsweek International 80). One Positive aspect of e-mail is that it is timely. E-mail, unlike letters that are picked up by a postman, can be sent any time of the day or night. It can be sent from any computer as long as one knows the address of the recipient. E-mail is fast and effective when it comes to sending mail. When the e-mail is sent, the recipient receives the e-mail within a number of minutes. This is a huge aspect for many people because they live on a â€Å"time limit†. If it is necessary to inform someone of something important, but it is late at night, in stead of calling, one can quickly send an e-mail. Pictures, text, files or graphics can be transferred by e-mail, and the great thing is that it can be free. Another positive aspect of e-mail is that it can be free.

Chinese Foreign Policy & National Security Essay

The China-South Korea axis is perhaps the most overlooked variable in the strategic environment of Northeast Asia. For nearly five decades their relationship was characterized by war, lack of dialogue and non-recognition; then, over a period of some three years, this situation gave away to fully normalized and amiable relations in 1992. Rapprochement between Seoul and Beijing in 1992 opened one of the first frontiers of the post-Cold War thaw in the region, and future security will hinge at least partly on this core relationship. In this context, Cha analyzes the evolution of Sino-South Korean reconciliation, and argues that the South Korea’s engagement policy from the late 1980s in the political, economic, and cultural arenas played a major part in eliciting unprecedented cooperation from Beijing, however, its initiatives alone were not a sufficient condition to prompt this cooperation. A prior and necessary condition was a change in the strategic context surrounding China and the Korean Peninsula that raised both the benefits of cooperation and the costs of non-cooperation; the end of Cold War . In the context of security environment in Northeast Asia, South Korea’s success in engaging China has implications for future security on the Korean Peninsula. On balance, the axis is a stabilizing factor but not without its share of future challenges. With this in mind, the key questions of the article include: (1) How does one explain the growth of cooperation between China and South Korea? (2) To what extent has Sino-ROK rapprochement been the result of successful strategies on the part of South Korea to ‘engage’ China? (3) What are the implications on North Korea? For a quarter-century after the Korean War, Sino-South Korean relations sat at the intersection of the global East-West conflict and the Sino-Soviet split, making any hint of cooperation impossible.1 However, since the middle 1980s, Sino-South Korean relationship has moved from being sworn enemies and opposed combatants in the Korean War, to being potential economic partners (but still strategic adversaries), and fully normalized diplomatic relations in 1992. Three key drivers propelled the change in the relationship: (1) the transformation of strategic environment concomitant to the end of Cold War, which established the baseline for post-war interaction. In this context, Sino-Soviet reconciliation was a significant factor in Chinese calculations to normalize with Seoul. In particular, the end of Sino-Soviet rivalry reduced in Chinese minds the strategic consequences of ‘losing’ North Korea to Moscow, and made opening to South Korea more feasible. Furthermore, in South Korea’s view, China had evolved from being a revisionist power to being a status quo one, in the degree to which Beijing emphasized ‘unification’ or ‘peace maintenance’ as the security priority for the Peninsula. ‘Unification’ was associated with China’s revolutionary power and support for North Korea to overthrow the South – the essence of China’s one Korea policy of the Cold War. On the other hand, ‘peace maintenance’ implied stability outcome for Korea by recognizing South Korea and opposing provocative acts by the North which might upset the unstable peace on the Peninsula. (2) Domestic change in China concomitant to Deng Xiaoping’s modernization reforms, and subsequent separation of politics from economics. The initial economic trade was largely indirect, transacted through third-party intermediaries or South Korean trading firms in Hong Kong. By 1985, however, total Chinese-South Korea trade surpassed that between China and North Korea. During the 1980s, while the two sides still viewed one another as military adversaries, they increasingly recognized each other as economic opportunities. The beginnings of a diplomatic relationship also emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of trade offices between the Korea Trade Promotion Association (KOTRA) and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1990, which facilitated shift from indirect trade to open and direct transactions, and subsequently in establishing formal diplomatic relations in August 1992. (3) South Korea’s conscious policy of engagement to elicit cooperation from China, in particular using non-punitive, non-coercive diplomacy and seeking mutual accommodation. South Korea’s engagement strategy contained the following tiers: first, economic linkages, investment and trade ties to increase the benefits to China of cooperation, and the costs of non-cooperation, providing foreign capital and technology, separating political cooperation with economics, but gradually produce cooperative behavior in other arenas. The growth of trade ties in the 1980s was a major reason why China chose to participate in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics hosted by South Korea, which served as key event to normalize relations. Second tenet of South Korea’s engagement strategy was to treat the opposing state’s perspectives as legitimate per se. This meant engaging China’s divergent position into official dialogues on the proposals for enhancing peace and stability in the region such as the Four-Party talks, and more importantly South Korea’s recognition of One China Policy, acknowledging Beijing as the only legal government in China. These initiatives at the diplomatic front were followed by general increase in communication flows on the business, educational, and cultural levels to cultivate goodwill. In this context, South Korea’s engagement strategy included the following goals: (1) cultivate Beijing’s cooperation by tying Chinese national interests to stability on the Peninsula; (2) improve South Korea’s credibility in the international arena by enhancing its image as a ‘regional player’ willing to reduce tensions and foster dialogue; and (3) engage North Korea through alternative channels. In order to pursue these goals, South Korea utilized the following means: in the macro-political perspective, the strategy of engagement of China was pursued through the policy of Nordpolitik and Globalization (segyehwa) which implied mutual economic prosperity as a means of expanding diplomatic ties with former adversaries as well as assuming a leading role for South Korea in international organizations and the continued expansion of program multi-directional diplomacy (i.e. using meetings of multilateral bodies such as APEC, ASEAN, non-governmental track-t wo diplomacy, high-level military exchanges). The second method of engagement has been sports diplomacy – participating in athletic competitions hosted by each country provided a useful means by to express good will and interest in expanding the economic cooperation (Seoul 1988 Olympics, Beijing Asian Games 1990). What was the benchmark of success of South Korea’s engagement strategy? The key was not only engaging China, but also the terms of policy toward North Korea. The following measure could be used: (A) Failure – Chinese support of North Korea (B) Minimal Success – ‘1.5’ Korea policy; formal support of North Korea and de-facto recognition of South Korea (C) Moderate Success – equidistance between North and South Korea (D) Very Successful – discourage North Korean provocation and aggression (E) Most Successful – China supports only South Korea Cha argues that the outcome of South Korea’s engagement falls in the middle range (B to D). For example, Chinese behavior on the North Korean nuclear issue in 1993-94, when Beijing sided with the US and South Korea on many aspects (such as opposing North Korea to renege Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and abide to non-nuclear Peninsula), however, at the same time Beijing expressed strong opposition against any acts of coercion against the North. It persistently pressed for dialogue and negotiona as the only acceptable means of settling the dispute, and opposed any U.S. led sanctions thought the UN Security Council. A more successful outcome was the redefined Chinese behavior on UN admission of the two Koreas in 1991, in which Chinese accepted dual membership of the two Koreas in the UN. Arguing that South Korean engagement of China has been sustained, comprehensive and moderately successful, the next question is how this new relationship will affect security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the broader region? Salient issues include the impact of the Asian financial crisis, the dynamics of second U.S.-North Korea nuclear crisis, the effect of Bejing-Seoul dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente on South Korea’s alliance with Washington, and the future challenges that could be posed by Korean unification. (1) The impact of the Asian Financial Crisis didn’t affect China-South Korean relations thus far. In-fact, in 2003 China has surpassed the U.S. as South Korea’s largest trading partner (2) Sino-South Korean relations have important implications in understanding current relations between North and South Korea. Under Kim Dae Jung, South Korea initiated Sunshine Policy that rests on Seoul’s assurances of no-isolation, no destabilization, and no absorption. The Sunshine Policy is in many ways similar to the engagement strategy toward China, both in form and potential success. In particular, it is consistent (despite North’s provocations) and designed to elicit cooperation from the opposing state. However, there are also differences- regarding intentions; for cooperation to emerge, the opposing state has to be engageable. North Korea’s behavior does not suggest she is open to an improvement of relations. Second, there are differences in South Korea’s capabilities of early 1990’s and late 1990s, in particular, in the early 1990s South Korea that engaged China did so from a position of relative strength and prosperity; however, in the late 1990s, the Asian financial crisis put South Korean position to a relative weakness., because conciliatory gestures are more likely to be interpreted as appeasement rather than engagement. Hence success to engagement of North Korea is not likely. (3) Looking beyond the immediate North Korean nuclear problem, Korean unification raises a plethora of new factors that would test the resilience of China-South Korea engagement. The absence of the North Korean buffer would give rise to a situation in which two powers with different regimes share a contiguous border. Another future challenges is on the economic front – the rising China may hange its trade needs and increase competition with Korea. A final potential conflict between a united Korea and China centers on nationalism, and the two-million ethnic Korean living in Chinese Jilin province, which a unified Korea might claim. In the final analysis, the dramatic transformation of Chin-South Korean relations in the 1990s represents the most successful case of engaging China in East Asia. The lessons stemming from this engagement include: (1) consistency- a policy can only be successful if it is applied consistently and deliberately, (2) engagement requires will and domestic political support to sustain the policy even in the face of little reciprocity by the other state; (3) engagement applied from a position of strength conveys credibility, but applied from a position of weakness connotes appeasement. For the foreseeable future, the burden of managing the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula falls even more on the new China-South Korea dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and the continuing U.S.-South Korea Alliance. My Observation: Victor Cha offers a plausible analysis of the South Korea’s engagement strategy and the factors that have significantly improved Sino-South Korean relations, nonetheless, I would argue that he underestimated the historical factors that bind China and South Korea together, which might have accelerated the rapprochement on both sides. Traditionally, Korea has fallen under the Chinese sphere of influence, with Korea belonging to the first-tier state of the Sino-centered worldview. In this context, another traditional binding element is the continuing anti-Japanese sentiments and mistrust in both Koreas and China that target Japanese sense of irresponsibility and demand apology for its war atrocities. Taken together, I would argue that these factors also facilitated the relatively rapid transformation of the relations, on a personal level between Korean and Chinese officials. In the context of enhancing peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, positive Sino-South Korean relations certainly play an important role. Both states are aware of this factor, and share similar interests. However, Beijing seems to be in a dilemma, it desperately does not want to face a collapse of North Korea nor does it want to see a nuclear North Korea. Hence, China’s actions in the foreign policy arena are still bound to the minimum necessary level to ensure stability. Ironically, while the Chinese officials have been claiming that they are making efforts to persuade North Korea to enter multilateral dialogue and negotiation, they also claim that North Korea doesn’t listen as it used to. In this regard, my question is: How much leverage does China have over North Korea? 🙂 1 From the ROK perspective, during the Cold War China was part of the communist bloc, a patron of revolutionary regimes in Asia, and thus one of the primary threats to South Korea’s survival. China’s intervention in the Korean War in 1950, in conjunction with the July 1961 Friendship Treaty between China and North Korea with its automatic intervention clause cemented South Korea’s perceptions of China as a threat. At the same time, China’s hostility toward South Korea was equally intense. South Korea was the ‘fascist’ axis of the ‘iron triangle’ that included ‘U.S. imperialism’, and ‘Japanese militarism.’

Concept Analysis: Mentoring Nurse Managers

Mentoring is a multidimensional relationship that energizes personal and professional growth (Wagner and Seymour, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of mentoring and the key role it plays in the development of nurse managers. Introduction Over the past 20 years the concept of mentoring has grown more popular in our workplaces. Many public service organizations, as well as, corporations have developed formal mentoring programs for both management and staff for the purpose of improving overall operations, productivity and overall commitment to the organizations goals. Mentoring is now being recognized in nursing and other healthcare fields. This concept analysis will attempt to clearly define the concept mentoring while differentiating it from precepting and clinical supervision. Finally, this article will discuss the importance of a mentoring program designed for developing managers. Definition While searching the literature, many articles regarding mentoring can be found in business and management journals but few are found in nursing and medical journals. In the nursing and medical journals the concept of mentoring appears murky. In some cases the terms mentoring, precepting and clinical supervision are used interchangeably. This leads to confusion and inaccuracy. The word mentor dates back to Greek Mythology. Mentor was a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son Telemachus. The Webster dictionary defines mentor as a trusted and wise counselor or guide, a tutor or coach (Give, 1966). Other definitions include, â€Å"a learning relationship†, â€Å"a critical companionship† and a process in which two or more people create a connection in a safe environment that allows healing truth and wisdom to be discovered (Wagner and Seymour, 2007). For the purposes of this paper we will use the following definition: Mentoring occurs when a senior person in terms of experience not necessarily age provides information, advice and emotional support for the mentee or protà ©gà © in a relationship lasting over an extended period of time and marked by emotional commitment by both parties. If the opportunity presents itself the mentor uses both formal and informal forms of influence to further the career path of the protà ©gà ©. (Bowen, 1985) The mentoring process consists of four steps: initiation, cultivation, separation and redefinition (Kram, 1983). The first stage involves the mentor and the mentee becoming acquainted and setting goals. During the cultivation stage, information is shared, problem solving, decisions and exploration of alternatives occur. During the separation stage, the mentee is empowered to move towards their goal and enhance their career path. In the final stage of redefinition, the mentor/mentee relationship evolves to a mutual friendship or the relationship is terminated. (Wagner and Seymour, 2007) As stated earlier mentoring should not be confused with the terms preceptor and clinical supervision. Clinical supervision is defined as the process whereby a practitioner reviews with another person his ongoing clinical work and relevant aspects of his own reactions to that work. It is also defines as a practice focused professional relationship involving a practitioner reflecting on practice while guided by a supervisor. (Lyth, 2000) Clinical supervision focuses on an individual situation. Once the goal is reached the process is complete. Precepting is defined as teaching job responsibilities and related tasks (Grossman, 2009). The precepting relationship is similar to that of a teacher and student. Once the task is learned sufficiently, the relationship ends. The precepting relationship is time limited in that the task must be learned within a certain timeframe. Attributes of Mentoring Walker and Avant define this step of concept analysis as showing the cluster of attributes most frequently associated with the concept (Walker and Avant, 2005). Some of the common attributes involved in mentoring are caring, self reflection, confidence and knowledge. In the literature search caring is addressed in every mentoring article I read. Every successful mentor/mentee relationship has a caring base. Consider Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, in the caring moment the caregiver and the cared – for share on a personal level and create a mutual opportunity for learning from each other (Watson, 1999). This statement mirrors the definition of mentoring. Self reflection is the process in which someone stops to re evaluate a situation or action after the occurrence of an event. This is done for the purposes of learning, self growth and self improvement. A good mentor realizes that during the process they too will learn a great deal. Confidence is believing in yourself and your abilities even in the face of adversity. A good mentor does not fear teaching or sharing information. Succession planning is not a threat, but rather, the opportunity to continue their work and legacy in the organization after retirement (Tagnes, Dumont, Rawlinson and Byrd, 2009) Finally, the mentor must possess mastery of knowledge in their area of expertise. If the mentor has no knowledge or information to share, the process cannot start. Antecedents Antecedents are those events or incidents that must occur prior to the occurrence of the concept (Walker and Avant, 2005). Two crucial antecedents to mentoring are the mentor and the mentee or protà ©gà ©. Without either party, the concept will not exist. The other critical antecedent is the mentor must possess knowledge and skills to be shared. Effective communication skills and interpersonal skills are also necessary. If adequate communication cannot occur, the mentoring relationship cannot develop. The mentor and mentee must also be committed to devoting time to the process. If there is no available time, the mentoring process cannot begin. Consequences Consequences are those events that result from the occurrence of the concept (Walker and Avant, 2005). Successful mentoring programs benefit an organization by: increasing retention, reducing turnover costs, improving productivity and enhancing professional development. Creating a mentoring culture continuously promotes individual and employee growth and development (Foster, 2008). Model Case Example Sally is a new nurse manager. During her orientation process, Paulette is her assigned preceptor. Paulette has been with the organization many years and has over 15 year’s management experience. She voluntarily offers her services as a mentor to many new managers. After meeting and discussing goals, they decide Sally needs assistance understanding the various roles of people in the organization and how their roles interact with one another. Paulette takes Sally with her to meet the various employees. She schedules luncheons and meetings with various departments so Sally can better understand their roles. She also brings Sally to the administrative meetings as well as the administrative picnic to learn how decisions are made. Sally is encouraged to voice ideas and concerns in these various sessions. Her input is well received. After approximately 6 months Sally now has a sense of confidence and feels comfortable handling many of the day to day situations presented to her. Although the formal mentoring program is complete, Sally still meets with Paulette every few weeks to discuss life and feels comfortable calling her for advice. Paulette also calls Sally from time to time for her opinion regarding situations. This example sites all of the necessary qualities for a positive mentor/mentee relationship. Illegitimate Case Model As Kim started her role as a manager, the administrator assigned her worthwhile and appropriate assignments and tasks to perform. She had the opportunity to attend a multitude of meeting and had some contact with the major staff. However, she was never invited to listen to informal conference calls or side meetings where all of the major decisions were made. She was not involved in the development of changes. She was however, told what need to be done by her administrator. She was not informed of any history behind decision making strategies. The administrator in this situation served as a preceptor not a mentor. She only took the time to teach tasks and failed to elicit input or encourage professional growth. Conclusion Mentoring is a multidimensional process that can be learned over time. It requires reflection, knowledge of self and profession, knowledge of mentoring process and skills, communication and social skills, practice and support (Vance, 2002). Qualities of a good mentor include: commitment, honesty, compassion, personal/professional ethics, expertise, energy, creativity, effective interpersonal and communication skills (Kappel, 2008). A good mentor is passionate about her work and is committed to helping the mentee successfully meet their goals. Communication between the mentor and mentee is open and honest in a positive caring environment for success to occur. A good mentor creates opportunities and opens doors. Mentors know your strengths and abilities. They do not set you up for failure. Mentors set an example through both their words and actions. Mentors want you to succeed and help you learn from your mistakes. Mentors want you to become independent. Mentoring nurse managers is crucial to the success and survival of nurses. The nursing profession is continually working to recruit more people into the field. Nurse retention can improve under the supervision of visionary nurse leaders because the environment created by their leadership is directly related to the success in retaining nurses (Colonghi, 2009). Nurse Managers need seasoned mentors to guide and nurture them to their full potential which promotes a supportive environment and give them the endurance to survive in difficult times. The mood, attitudes and examples set by the nurse manager set the tone and attitudes of the staff.