Body Atlas Essay Example for Free

Body Atlas Essay Last meeting, we watched a film called body atlas. The film was about human body, bones, heart, blood, skin, reproductive system, and etc. It gives us a basic understanding of the parts and function of different systems in the human body. For example, the heart, it keeps our body alive because it pumps blood all around our body that contains oxygen. Heart has the main role of blood circulation in the body. Another important part of the body is the blood. It carries substances like nutrients such as amino acids and oxygen to the other parts of the body. It also contains white blood cells which are vital for the body’s immune system. From the film, one that strikes me the most was the reproductive system and how babies are made. We’ve all know the basic idea on how to make babies – man meets woman, they both get naked and have sex, and nine months later, a baby pop out. But from the film we’ve watched, it shows the step by step process on how the egg cell and sperm cell meet and how is the baby created inside the body. When a man ejaculates, despite the millions of sperms cell produced and released , only one can fertilized an egg. If an egg cell meets up with a healthy sperm on its way to the uterus, the two can join and begin the process of creating a new life. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy, known as the first trimester, abound with changes and growth in the unborn baby. It takes up to two weeks for the process to be completed for you to become pregnant. In the 3rd week, sperm and egg come together to create a zygote. In the fifth week, though the unborn baby is less than 1/4-inch long, her brain, heart, spinal cord and other vital organs begin to form. The babys circulatory system also begins the first stages of development. Sixth and seventh week, Some of the babys basic facial features are now visible during the sixth and seventh weeks, and his heart begins pumping blood. Eight week, with legs and arms growing longer and fingers beginning to develop, also develops an upper lip and nose, and the nipples and eyes are visible. Ninth and tenth week, Bones begin to form in your babys arms, which now bend at the elbows. The babys toes also start developing, and his eyelids and ears continue to be formed. At the 10th week, your babys  head gets rounder, the neck begins to develop and the eyelids close to guard the eyes. At the 11th week, the baby ends the embryonic period and enters the fetus stage. The fetus begins to develop external genitalia. In the final week of the first trimester, the baby grows fingernails. After that, a new life begins.

The Roseto Mystery and Outliers :: Literary Analysis

The ideas presented in Outliers are surprisingly aligned with my own. It makes sense to me that a person’s success isn’t all about ability and his or her individual merit. In the past I have reflected upon my successes to find that I was not alone while achieving them. I have been given tremendous opportunities in life. I have always challenged my own definitions, and I like the spin Malcolm Gladwell puts on his. â€Å"The Roseto Mystery† makes me want to go knock on my neighbor’s doors. I am not saying that I have the courage to do so, but I certainly would like to. I tend to be pessimistic when it comes to meeting new people. Wolf’s conclusions are helping me tip the scale the other way, seeing the glass half full. If people in Roseto truly lived longer, happier, healthier lives due to the involvement in their community, then I am tempted to summon the nerve to do the same. Chapter 1 has familiarity in my life. In the 8th Grade my father moved us to the Midwest from Southern California; culture shock! Dad decided that I should play football at the Junior High, after all my cousin played on the team, and so did my father when he was in school. Most of the other players were a minimum of one year older than me. It is common practice for parents to hold their boys back a year to start school; this gives the boys a size advantage in sports. By the time adolescence rolls around, one year makes a big difference in a young man’s size. Also, I was born in November; not a prime year for sports league cut-offs. When it came playing football, I was severely outsized by my teammates. Due to my experience, I tend to agree with having sports league try-outs split into semesters or trimesters to allow the same opportunities available to more players. Of course the logic in Chapter 2 is easy to agree with; I really agree with the ideas about opportunities the most. Chances at success are scarce. As the population grows chances become increasingly scarce.

Animals Should Be Used in Scientific Research Essay

Over 100 million animals are used every year in the United States as models in biological and medical research to study human disease, injury, development, psychology, and anatomy and physiology. Research involving animals has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century. Even today, there is no complete alternative to biomedical research with animals. The vast majority of research animals are mice and rats bred for this purpose. Dogs, cats, and non-human primates together account for less than one-half of one percent of the total, and this number has declined for more than 25 years. Since 1979, the number of dogs and cats needed in animal research has declined by more than 50%. The number of non-human primates needed represents less than .2% (.18% in 2004) and has remained relatively constant—in the 50,000 per year range—for the past decade. History The history behind animals being used in scientific research is that is started In Europe and in the US by the early 1900’s and especially during and following World War I the benefits of animal research continued to be recognized. Following the Nuremberg Trials for atrocities by the Nazi’s during World War II, society spoke loudly demanding no research on humans until animal research had made such research a reasonable risk. Today, the majority of people in our society do agree with the idea of the humane and responsible use of animals in research. There is safeguard standards for scientific studies on animals * The USDA has set forth federal regulations governing the care and use of animals in biomedical research that are considered even more extensive than those covering human research subjects. * The Animal Welfare Act sets standards of care for research animals with regard to their housing, feeding, cleanliness, ventilation, and medical needs and requires the use of anesthesia or analgesic drugs for potentially painful procedures and during post-operative care. * The US Public Health Service Act requires that all institutions receiving research funds from NIH, FDA, or CDC adhere to the standards set out in the â€Å"Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals†. * Institutions must follow detailed animal care recommendations and establish an IACUC to ensure that all animals are treated responsibly and humanely Some people think that all animals that are in scientific research are in pain or distress while undergoing the research that is not necessarily true. The 2004 USDA Annual Report reveals that 57% of all research procedures with animals involved no more than slight or momentary pain or distress (i.e., an injection). In 34% of research procedures anesthesia and postoperative painkillers were used. In 9% of the procedures, neither anesthesia nor pain medication could be used, as they would have interfered with research results. Scientific Perspectives Here are 4 reasons why animals are used in research: 1. The principles of anatomy and physiology are true for humans and animals, especially mammals. Once scientists learned that animals were similar to humans, in physiology and anatomy, it became preferable to use animals rather than humans for preliminary research. 2. Certain strains or breeds of animals get the same diseases or conditions as humans. â€Å"Animal Models† are frequently critical to understanding a disease and developing appropriate treatments. 3. Research meant introducing one variable and observing the results of that one item. With animals we can control their environment (temperature, humidity, etc.), and shield them from diseases or conditions not related to the research (control their health). Although human and animals get the disease that may be the subject of a research investigation, the different life styles or living conditions make them poor subjects until preliminary research under controlled conditions has been done. 4. We can use scientifically-v alid numbers of animals. Data from one animal or human is not research; it is a case study. To scientifically test a hypothesis, an adequate number of subjects must be used to statistically test the results of the research. Some individuals claim that we should use human or animals that have a disease to study that disease. Certainly, epidemiological studies (tracking the occurrence of a disease or condition) have provided many important insights into the cause of a disease or a condition, especially when an environmental aspect is responsible. However, epidemiological studies are successful in only a limited number of situations. Only if the study of a disease is severely hindered or not possible when the research subjects have been/are exposed to a variety of environmental factors. According to the American Medical Association, humans are the most frequently used animal in research. However, research studies conducted on humans follow preliminary studies conducted in animals. These animal studies make human studies a reasonable risk. The animal studies are not a guarantee of success, but they do tell us that the human research has a reasonable probability of success.

The Politics At Citibank Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2603 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Its the ability to effectively understand others at work and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance ones personal and/or organizational objectives. (Ferris, 2005, p.127). Functional Role of Politics in Organizations There is not much positive about politics. Energy, which is wasted, can be utilized in forms that are more constructive and brings nothing but damage to the organization although it may serve individual stakes. Highly pervasive politics may end up halting organizational functions: Just like legitimate influences in organizations can be used to serve illegitimate ends, politics which itself is illegitimate in nature can be used to make corrections and for fruitful ends (Robbins Judge, 2004). In political competition, weak players are often eliminated and cannot survive thus demonstrating which people possess the most need for power in organizations. Unlike the system of authority, which promotes a single po int of view up the hierarchy, politics allows several voices to be heard. Thus, the various voices must marshal arguments and support strategic candidates, which show organizations interest. Works as an invisible underhand to promote change because the system of authority concentrates power in the hands of a few people. Political Organizations: One conceptualization of such diversity is Brunssons ideal type of political organization in which actors hold a diversity of conceptions about what the organization is, its purpose, what are considered to be good organizational outcomes and how such outcomes should be reached. Brunsson argues that such organizations exhibit the characteristics of hypocrisy in that diversity in norms carries with it the need for managerial inconsistency between talk, action and decisions (Daft, 2001). CitiBank An Introduction Citibank is a major international bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. Citibank is now the consumer-banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup, one of the largest companies in the world. As of March 2007, it is the largest bank in the United States by holdings. Citibank has operations in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. More than half of its 1,400 offices are in the United States, mostly in the New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas, as well as in California. In addition to the standard banking transactions, Citibank offers insurance, credit card and investment products. Their online services division is among the most successful in the field, claiming about 15 million users. Because of the global financial crisis and huge losses in the value of its subprime mortgage assets, Citibank was rescued by the U.S. government under plans agreed for Citigroup. On November 23, 2008, in addition to initial aid of $25 billion, a further $25 billion was invested in the corporation toge ther with guarantees for risky assets amounting to $306 billion. Organizational Hierarchy Organizational Politics at CitiBank Politics is present in every organization and at all levels of the hierarchy. To say that a particular firm or company is totally exclusive of politics and power would be ignorant of us. Our study and research was based on Organizational power and politics about Citibankand how employers and employees at all levels deal with such a situation. Though senior and middle level employees at Citibank Karachi stated that there is no organizational politics of any sort in Citibank on record but they were also of the view that politics are in every organization and you have to deal with it to stay and move ahead in the corporate world. Since the bank has various branches all over the country, therefore each branch is allocated with a Branch Manager who looks after and manages the day-to-day proceedings of his particular branch. Under the Branch Manager are employees who represent the sales team and the operations. Since the operations department is more based on technical expertise, therefore employees are less academically skilled than those representing other departments of the bank are. Most of the promotions in operations department are through seniority and skill as their work is only excelled with time. Sales department on the other hand has to deal with their performance and cover up set targets of deposits or products such as insurance. Though their promotions are totally based on their performance but politics, can and do play an important role in their organizational activity. As the sales team is the main money attracters of the bank, therefore they can enjoy power. Citibank has a team structure under every branch. The employees of these teams are tightly knit and have close bonds with each other. Although this cohesiveness increases the productivity of the team and makes, it easier for the branch manager to solve probl ems and train employees but it can also result in some problems. Myopic Organizational View Firstly, the teams start to consider their own goals as more important than the company or organizational goals. At times teams of particularly successful branches turn out to be so aggressive in their nature that they start competing with other teams in a negative way. This includes stealing employees from other branches and hiding important information or learning skills that could be useful to other branches of the same Bank. Employees take part in such activities to improve their own branch condition and stay ahead at the expense of other teams. As the branch position improves, they are more likely to be admired and appreciated by senior level officials and have a better chance of promotion for not only their branch manager but also themselves. Such cutthroat and aggressive competition should be discouraged and managers should promote an environment of positive learning and ethical responsibilities. Inter-Departmental Dimensions Secondly, politics is also visible among different departments of an organization. An example is that of the operations department and sales department not getting along with each other. Team cohesiveness results in members of different teams taking sides of their friends rather than telling and supporting the truth. This may result in blame games with employees getting down to dirty politics. All these activities are mainly handled by the Branch manager responsible but they may refer to senior officials if things get out of control. In order to make sure that such sort of politics is eliminated, managers should make sure that they act in an unbiased manner rather than favoring their favorite employees. In addition, they should encourage employees and team members to support the truth rather than group members. Serious punishments or warnings should be given to those who indulge in blaming activities or hindrance of flow of in formation among departments while a culture should be promoted where job rotation which makes sure that team member do not indulge in groupthink. Inter-Team Another form of organizational politics is within team members of a particular department. I will give an example of sales representatives. Often is the case that team members have such strong competition among themselves and the stress to deliver results and cover targets is so high that they indulge in politics within the group. This occurs when employees steal each others clients rather than helping them out or blame employees for actions they have not done in order to be in the good books of the Boss. In addition, employees can manipulate group members who are not assertive enough to do work and take credit for their successes while blaming them for losses they did not incur. This type of politics forgets every form of moral or ethical laws and managers need to make sure that they give more weight age to the effort put in by every employee rather than getting results and performing through evil means. Gender-Based Lastly, one of the most widely found forms of organizational politics is based on gender. Usually female employees complain of organizations being a prey to the glass ceiling affect with little promotions as compared to men. Fortunately, that is not the case with Citibank with female employees being given equal opportunities as compared to men and a couple of female employees are present at senior regional or national level positions. Political Activities The following are the types of political activities that are in prevalent in any organization: Attacking and blaming Forming coalitions Cultivating networks Creating obligations Controlling information Managing impressions Citibank is an organization with an organic corporate culture as far as the guidance is concerned but when it comes to rules and standardization, this organization becomes a bit mecha nistic, the resources for every department are allocated from the head office, which ensures the gate keeping of all the information about the strategies made there. That is why the employees who are put on probation or warnings can indulge in this type of political activity for the purpose of external attribution and face saving. Yet the friendly environment at the operational level of management acts as the counter to this problem. Citibank has a very subtle way to deal with this sort of an activity, they are free to take the guidelines from the executives as and when the need arises.. The number of the employees in each category is very less to form an effective coalition and the employees at the same stature are put into a rigorous competition against each other to prevent any dangerous coalitions. This tactic is used by the executives of the bank to maintain their power. The information system used by the Citi bank is very protective and the critical information is encryp ted id many ways by the executives. This provides the executives with the referent power i.e. everybody looks to them for the guidelines. This political behavior is proving to be useful for the bank as more and more people are getting accustomed to this hoarding of power by executives on need to know basis. It is the case with the different departments of the bank. All information is shared on a need to know basis. This sis the fundamental problem faced by the employees of Citibank. All of them complained that the resources are not properly distributed. This problem leads to the feeling of inequity and may perhaps lead to backstabbing behaviors. It needs to be communicated to the people working in the lower rank of management because they are like the engine of the bank. If they are dissatisfied and if the political games that are unhealthy ignited merely because of communication lapse, this is a huge setback. Moreover, this is now a common stereotypical perception over there. We, t he students, who may their future employees also, have this thing in mind. Now this is very difficult for the top management to change the perception. Whatever happens with the distribution, perceptions are long lasting. They have tried to use this tactic by giving a set of rules. This is height of red-tape culture in this era of empowerment. They call these books as Bible or Gospel. To our amazement, even the branch managers bible had dust all over it. This signals that this technique has largely failed. If, in this era of authorization, you try to dictate rules through a thick book that no one bothers to read, how will these policies be implemented? This in our view is a myopic view of introducing clear rules. Survey Conclusions derived The survey was taken of 44 people, which crosses the barrier of 30 for the application of t-distribution. The questions were not direct and blunt. This was just because we wanted to get exact responses. Since politics is tabooed in our society, we have tried to retrieve accurate responses. Research Methodology Through secondary research, questions were developed that highlight the view of future graduates towards power, politics and persuasion in organization. A detailed proposal was given to the course instructor that highlighted the aforementioned questionnaire. Systematic random sampling was used to identify samples. The questionnaires results were analyzed through the utility software of spreadsheet i.e. Microsoft Excel Perception of Politics Through secondary research, we had found that it is not actually politics but rather the perception of politics that determines the behavior of persons. If people agree that politics is bad and it harms the person, organization or the society, this may be due to their values, past experience or the knowledge that they possess. This graph testifies the assumption that politics is tabooed in our culture and the region in which we reside, politics is viewed as something negative. When we go over the content material of our book, we find an interesting fact regarding the need to study organizational behavior: Conclusions and Recommendations Organizational politics is mostly a consequence of conflict; therefore, whenever conflict arises efforts should be made for full resolution of the conflict because it is mostly the case that an organization, which is deeply engulfed in conflict, is unable to free itself from it, thus ultimately leading to its demise and death. Citi Bank is far from such a case, political activity is largely discouraged, however subtle forms of organizational politics do exist. The following recommendations might therefore be helpful in dealing with the situation of politics in the organization CitiBank has a no fire policy. Political activity is promoted inside the bank when employee or manager, which is not performing well, is not leaving the job. Subordinates in this case may feel dissatisfied and try to use forms of political activity such as the Young Turks Game to try to overthrow his managerial position. Although the policy may offer several advantages, it is better to change the policy as keeping incompetent people in the workforce is bound to generate some form of political activity as well as increased dissatisfaction towards the manager. More flexibility should be provided to the employees in their tasks. Mr Arsalan Siddiqui Bank Manager at Citi Bank referred to the rulebook as the Bible which shows how strictly banks rules and procedures are followed. Although it is good thing to refrain political activity as everyone acts according to a standardized set of rules, however it may also encourage political activity. A right balance should be ensured. Employees nowadays want to feel more involved and contribute to the overall working of the organization. Employees input can also be valuable in correction inefficiencies in various procedures. When employees are activel y involved, they are also more satisfied. Satisfied employees are less likely to engage in political activity. We learnt from our interview with the Bank Manager, Branch Banking that the distribution of resources is not uniform among departments and is decided by the top management. Thus, it may give rise to political activity and efforts to form alliances to gain greater resources. Departments should have a greater say, as they are more aware about the needs and requirements of their departments rather than top managers who are more disconnected. If departments feel that, they are being provided with, less resources than are actually needed, political activity such as cultivating networks to gain a greater share may develop. In addition, personal enmity may develop among departments, which is not suitable for the bank. There is lack of task significance for lower level employees. Employees at very low level are not involved in any step of the planning or decision-making. Thus , they may feel that their work is not contributing in any way. Much of their data is collected and analyzed by people at the middle management level. By job enlargement and giving, them added responsibility for analysis of data which is simply put in, greater association may develop with the bank and also performance will increase. Employee satisfaction is a way to ensure that political activity is reduced. Thus, there is a need to build affective rather than continuance commitment for lower level of employees. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Politics At Citibank Business Essay" essay for you Create order