How teaching about discipleship might affect the life of a Christian today Essay

Each and every Christian has a vocation; it is in baptism when we enter into the Christian family that we begin our obligation to live out our vocation. There are many examples of vocations that we could be called to, for example the religious ministries, the priesthood and religious life. But, then even the most â€Å"normal† of jobs and the most â€Å"simple† and â€Å"ordinary† things we do in our lives can be considered as fulfilling our vocation e.g. being a nurse, teacher, policeman or parent. We should have a positive response to vocation. We should not act like the Rich Young Man and let materialism weigh us down. We should act like the first disciples and give up everything and follow Jesus, but this has implications. Many people may find it difficult to show all the qualities of a disciple, such as giving up all they have, because they may have family responsibilities and it would be negligent to leave them or take things away from them. Also, society has changed and money is needed, if we were to be disciples like the first twelve we would not be able to survive on charity alone. Today’s population is more materialistic and therefore unwilling to part with money or possessions. We should not become obsessed with wealth and materialism. We should be humble like the Woman at the Treasury. Christians who try to live out their vocation should develop the following four areas: service, prayer, faith and worship just like the disciples in Mark’s Gospel. As Christians today we all have the responsibility to look after those in need and serve others just as the first disciples. Some may say that the mission today is somewhat â€Å"watered down†, but the principle remains the same. There are many Christian organisations that work all over the world caring for the sick, feeding the hungry and speaking up against evil and injustice eg. Christian Aid, Concern and Trà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½caire. Just because we don’t work for these organisations we can still fulfill the mission. Those who do carry out the mission to such an extent can face lots of prejudice and hatred. Service is another important part of Christian life today. Jesus showed us this as he was a leader, but also served – the disciples and those who he healed – Jesus brought this service to such an extent that he sacrificed himself. There are people this century that have also taken the mission to this extent eg. Oscar Romero, Mother Theresa and Maximillian Kolbe. Unfortunately there are not many people who have gone to such lengths. As Christians today we have to try our best to: â€Å"Forget self, take up our cross and follow me (Jesus)† (8:34) Prayer and faith are important elements of Christian life today. Prayer allows us to keep in touch with God and it allows us to let him know how we are feeling. Sadly however some people neglect prayer and only pray when they want something or are in great need of help. In Mark’s Gospel we see Jesus praying to his Father a number of times – in the desert and in the garden of Gethsemane. We see the consequences of lack of prayer story of the Epileptic Boy. When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive out the demon he answered: â€Å"Only prayer can drive this kind out.† (9:29) This suggests that the disciples did not pray enough or just did not use prayer in this instance. Without faith there would be no belief in Jesus. Christianity is based on faith – we believe and have faith that God exists and we believe this without seeing. We see the importance of faith in the story about the Woman with the Haemorrhage. She had faith that: â€Å"If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.† (5:28) She touched his clothes and he said: â€Å"My daughter, your faith has made you well.† We are human just like the first twelve disciples, we commit sin and make mistakes. We can fail to recognise him in the lives of others. Sometimes when we find life hard we reject Jesus and act like the rocky soil in the parable of the Sower. Yet even when times are difficult we should always turn to Jesus because he is always there for us. We should always have faith and trust in God. We know he will forgive us for our wrong doings as long as we are sorry, just as he did with Peter – Jesus forgave Peter for denying him. We know this because at the time of the resurrection Jesus left Peter in charge of the Church. If we want to live like the first disciples we should not hold grudges, and forgive those who do wrong against us – like Jesus. The message we should take from the commission is that the Good News is for everyone and that no one should be left out. Yet, in our world today there are groups of people who are segregated and marginalised – 2000 years after the time of Jesus. In conclusion, as Christian disciples we are called to have faith, pray, love others, serve others and worship God.

Amtrack Case Study

In the given Amtrack case study provided, which involved a train in an accident that caused forty seven deaths can   be perceived as an ethical issue that is based on whom to blame on some situation which arise and uncertain.The ethical issue lie on who to blame among the main stakeholders, where the main stakeholders in this situation include the engineers, the national transportation safety board, conductor and assistant conductor CSX Transportation Inc and also WGN company.The main decision makers in the case include the media, the United States government and also the National Transportation Safety Board.The Amrack company had a cooperate social responsibility of ensuring that it promoted the social welfare of the community in which its operated a part from the benefits that it got from its operations.The company had a cooperate responsibility of following the legal procedures which are set by the relevant authorities in ensuring improved social welfare of the community (Loudon , 1986).For example the company was expected to adhere to the measures which were set by National Transportation Safety Board in improving the passengers safety when on board, but the company otherwise decided not to follow the rules by not   equipping the train with the sensor which was meant to detect the bridge damages.The company may have also perceived the equipping of the train with the sensor as a cost which was meant to make them loose economically, therefore decided to do without the device at the expense of endangering the passengers lives.The company also has a cooperate social responsibility in protecting the human lives on board, which it traded by not fixing the sensor to the train implying that they valued money more than human lives.Philanthropy is another social cooperate responsibility that involves the donating an aid to a charitable cause in improving the welfare of the community that a company is operating in, and this should depend on the wealth level of the donating company.Law provides a basis for an ethical decision on the legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic issues of cooperate social responsibility. Law provide that the companies should adhere to the set standards of operating which are intended to improve the welfare of the community and this include the rules for the protection of humanity and the environment.The companies are expected to observe some safety measure during their operation to ensure that the participates in their operation, both the workers and the users of their products are safe.The law also provide that companies are expected to instill the safety measures despite the cost of implementing the safety measures. Companies are likely to avoid taking some safety measures because of the costs involved in the implementation, therefore law is meant to ensure that the safety measures are in place.Companies are certain to value profits more than the human lives therefore posing an ethical problem (Bentham, 2007). L aw is needed in protecting humanity because it will ensure that companies are protecting humanity despite their much interest in profit maximization.Most cooperation are profit maximizing and for that reason they do not like spending in charitable activities toward the improvement of the community welfare as a cooperate social responsibility, otherwise they perceive the donations as a waste of resources.This situation call for the act of law to ensure that the companies provide for charitable activities aimed at improving the welfare of the community in which they operate in so as so make their operations reflective of the society in which they operate in (Hess and Bales, 2007).Law is therefore meant to make them contribute to charitable activities in proportion to the companies' wealth, hence the promotion of philanthropy.Conclusion and Recommendations.From the Amtrack case study, the main ethical issue is the conflicting interests in society which gave an opportunity for the occur rence of the accident. The Amtrack company is concern with lowering its operating costs at the expense of human safety who use the company train. The National transport safety board is also concerned with the safety of the passengers.Due to the conflicting interests in the society as portrayed in the case, there occurs the need for having set rules which are meant to cater for the interests of all persons in society.The rules which are part of the country of the country's law should be set in a manner in which all the parties' interest are considered and judgement made on   the basis of mutual benefits.The positive implication of the recommendation is that order will be restored in society as everybody will be expected to behave in a manner in which is expected to promote the general good of everybody. The negative implication of the recommendation is that some entities in societies will feel restrained in achieved their interest at the expense of the other entities' welfare.The p ossible criticism over the recommendation is that, it is difficult to exactly draws a balance over interests because the interest of individuals' are varied thus a unattainable.The best possible way to address the criticism is to make a judgement based on the premise that one is expected to behave in manner in which he   or she   may expect to be treated when in a situation like that of his or her neighbor in promoting the general happiness.ReferenceBentham J., 2007, An Introduction to the Principals of Moral and Legislation, Dover Pubns, pp 14 Loudon M., 1986,   Philanthropic Economy, E. Churton, pp 13 Hess A. and Bales J., 2007, Design Professional and Constarctive Manager Law, American Bar   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Association, pp 28   

ZJZ Quality Department Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ZJZ Quality Department - Essay Example Quality control is an important determinant of final quality and it could be crucial to newly-introduced products since unexpected defects and malfunctions may have to be designed out. As products mature, competitors come out with copycat offerings, and in general, design know-how gets diffused across the industry, as the determinant both of quality delivered to customers and of quality differences among competitors. In this case, the quality department can monitor recent changes and innovations on the market and initiate changes. Following Rose (2005) a designed of the product does not guarantee superior quality. The functions and responsibilities of the quality department will be to monitor and control research projects and production of products and their components. The quality department will help ZJZ Corporation to establish culture of quality as a main organizational value. The purpose underlying all quality assurance efforts is to establish both methods and philosophies of working which lead to improved outputs (quality and value) as well as techniques for keeping track of progress toward these output goals.

Movie analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie analysis - Essay Example In addressing family conflicts, the movie goes a step further by dealing with conflict of the family as a whole, as opposed to a conflict between an individual and his or her family as most Hollywood movies do (Dilley, 2007). The Wedding banquet promotes its audience to empathize not only with individual characters, but with the entire Chinese family that has been affected with the American culture that is quickly becoming global. The movie represents a lot of views touching on identities of not only gay Chinese men, but also issues affecting Asian Americans and Chinese women in the contemporary society. This movie, as well as most of Ang Lee’s movies is aimed at criticizing several stereotypes in the Chinese and Asian culture such as views on gay relationships. The Wedding banquet, often categorized as a comedy/drama portrays a family conflict in an Asian society in a very sensitive and tender way with a lot of humor incorporated in the story to help illustrate the main issue s better (Dilley, 2007). The movie addresses generational, cultural and sexual conflicts that young Asian men and women experience in the contemporary society. The movie features Mr. ... He also hides his relationship with Simon, by Simon posing as his landlord and roommate. At the wedding banquet, Wai Tung and Wei Wei make love, and she conceives a child, which upsets Simon. Wai Tung’s parents stay a bit longer than expected, and they soon find out that their son is in a relationship with Simon. Wai Tung, Simon and Wei Wei decide to live together and raise the child. Toward the end of the 29th century and the beginning of the 21st century, most a lot of movies produced focused on family issues and relationships and how they are perceived in the Chinese culture (Dilley, 2007). These new movies aimed at reinventing the way the Chinese culture views relationships and the family as a whole. The movies examined several possibilities of altering the traditional understanding of family and relationships so as to accommodate the modern views mostly upheld by the young generation. These movies called for a complete change in the family set up affecting all kinship tie s and relationships (Dilley, 2007). The wedding Banquet is one of these critically acclaimed movies that criticize the Chinese and Asian culture in general and their traditional understanding of the family. The Chinese family, like most Asian families, is patriarchal in nature. The father commands a lot of respect in the family, and he holds the final word on most family issues. Children are brought up in a family and are expected to start their own families when they get older so as to continue the family lineage. Children form a very important part of an Asian family. Young men and women are expected to marry members of the opposite sex so as to

Finance,measurement.procurement in construction Coursework

Finance,measurement.procurement in construction - Coursework Example on boards on the listed contractors, which will indicate the projects they have accomplished, and the experience in terms of duration of engagement in similar projects. During the invitation to bid, contractors are provided with the questionnaires to fill in information relating to business details, technical competence and ability, financial ability to accomplish the project depending on the value, environmental issues, insurance cover and previous work experience to accomplish similar scope of work. The potential contractors will fill in these details and provide information from their perspective and records as to the expected potential to accomplish the project. As the consultant for the client, I will be able to verify the information provided by the contractors after reading through their respective questionnaires. Financial position of the contracting firm will be revealed from the bank statements while the existence of the business can be found from the list of registration of such companies. Technical ability of the contracting firm is revealed by inspection of their equipment and machinery for the intended work. Representatives do the inspection from the consultants firm visiting the premises of the bidders while listed assets of the contractor can also provide such information. UEL project for L & H is to provide procurement services require high technical ability as well as financial strength. Based on these requirements, the most effective tendering procedure would be restricted tender. Capable contractors can be identified then invited to bid for the works (Amos 2004). Through this process, they will be able to find bids only from contractors with the technical ability, financial backing and previous work experience to successfully accomplish and deliver the works according to the scope of work. The construction of the subway requires technical knowledge and the necessary machine for excavation and setting of the three rail lines required as well

Reading response 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading response 8 - Assignment Example The author builds his hypothesis that some characteristics of modern language might seem to be â€Å"fossils† of the previous stages of evolution. Jackendoff’s explanation of the use of symbols is presented in a complex manner where the actual purpose of the author is lost, according to me. He gives examples of different words uttered by a child and cites literature as the background of his discussion. He mentions that at a very early stage a child can distinguish between proper and common nouns. He then switches suddenly to use of situational one word and also single word answers which he perceives as â€Å"fossils† of the â€Å"one-word stage† of evolution of language. However the main essence of expression without syntax and yet symbolic meaning is not clearly expressed especially when he compares with the systematic yes and no utterances. In certain instances the author himself does not seem to be clear about the reality and it is more of an opinion based approach when he thinks that the learning process of apes is like children initiating habit of reading and is quite effortful in nature. However one keen and realistic observation he makes here is the distinction between grammar and vocabulary learning. A person with good vocabulary might have lesser sense of grammar. The ability to imitate plays the important role here and here the author’s inference shows clarity and logical deduction. The author brings up an interesting topic of word order which might affect the essence of communication. He however does not explain this more simplistically with the help of grammar and syntax. It is difficult to understand what the author is trying to point out in this section. Is he trying to say that communication or expression should follow grammar in modern system of language? He even brings in the cases of special children to whom learning signs is the only option to express them. So is grammar necessary when symbolic expressions or

MCA DENVER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MCA DENVER - Essay Example 3). Several events are hosted in the museum, and it provides an ample opportunity for amateurs as well as professionals to develop an appreciation for contemporary art. This paper briefly describes three images that form an integral part of the prestigious MCA Denver museum. Image 1: Schuttbild (6-Day Play) The paintings by famous Austrian painter, Hermann Nitsch, are on display in the MCA Denver museum of contemporary art in the series entitled, â€Å"Bloodlines: Paintings by Hermann Nitsch,† which represents Abstract Expressionism (â€Å"Bloodlines: Paintings by Hermann Nitsch,† par. 1). The image â€Å"Schuttbild (6-Day Play)† is a brilliant depiction of the emotions of an artist who has spilled agony, frustration, and helplessness on canvas. The use of a blend of pigments and blood on the canvas also portrays the enigma of materialism and sacrificial practices of the Catholic Church (â€Å"Bloodlines: Paintings by Hermann Nitsch,† par. 1). It is intere sting to note the use of fresh red color with an almost invisible backdrop of brown color. The bright red color shows new and vibrant emotions, while the brown color shows old and faded emotions.

How to get benifit & cost saving for marketing planning Essay

How to get benifit & cost saving for marketing planning - Essay Example This can be great cost saver with benefits of achieving better business profits. The marketing plan should be organized in such a manner that it specifically demonstrates the benefit of cost saving to the customer or the distributor. This again requires innovation to find the cost benefit that can be available to a large segment of consumers. Once the benefits are recognized, the target market has to be identified This will create a situation by which the consumers of that particular target group are benefited and the volume and profits thus generated, for the business, due to non-occurrence of further marketing expenses. Therefore, it is important to locate the right kind of target group that needs such benefits. Market research in this direction always helps. Once the target is identified, it is necessary to address in the marketing plan, a message that clearly and aggressively tackles the requirements of such customers, while highlighting the benefits and savings offered. This in marketing jargon can be called as target marketing or segmentation of prospects. The media of message and the message itself in a marketing plan is important, as it may not be same for different target groups. While email marketing may result in cost savings to the business, with increase in sales figure as well; it may not be the preferred way to market a product that requires physical demonstration. Marketing through other channels may be the requirement, in such cases. Every step in a marketing plan involves market research. Even after the identification of a targeted consumer group, the exact method to be adopted to address your marketing plan to that particular group needs further research. If we are using new technologies to address our target, then there is a need to find their adaptability with our targeted audience. We cannot afford to address our marketing plan to a group that is

Does fall risk screening tools lead to reduction in falls in acute Article

Does fall risk screening tools lead to reduction in falls in acute hospital stays - Article Example In part 2, a review of literature identified from the database search on fall screening tools and their influence on falls during acute hospitalization would be presented, articulating factors that informed the choice of the topic, barriers to resolving underlying problems and the best practices to adopt so as to make fall screening tools effective. There has been an increase in conducting research in nursing due to the need for evidence-based professional practice. This has seen the emergence of evidence-based practice, EBP which, according to Polit and Beck (2012), entails the use of best clinical evidence to make patient care decisions. Such evidence would be informed through conducting research from a repertoire of information and knowledge which vary in validity and reliability. Nonetheless, disciplined research provides the most sophisticated approach to acquiring knowledge developed by humans over time. Cumulative findings from systematically and rigorously appraised research provide the basis for a majority of evidence hierarchies. Following this development, in seeking to evaluate whether fall risk screening tools reduce fall risks in acute hospital stays, I used a relevant database to search for reliable articles to provide relevant literature review. Indeed, healthcare literature on fall risk assessment, even when specifically limited to acute care hospital settings, exist in their abundance. Thus, the knowledge on importance for most appropriate literature for the study topic would be critical. I used PubMed (pubmed.gov), a free search engine that primarily accesses the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, MEDLINE database, for this search because of its comprehensive resourcefulness in online references for students (Polit & Beck, 2013). To begin with, I identified key words as guided by the topic of study. Thus, I came up with fall risk, assessment tool and

The Importance of Feedback Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Feedback Essay Feedback is a response to an action. It is essentially an expression of the effect of a person’s behavior on other people. As such, it is a form of communication. In a business organization, feedback is a way of telling a worker how his or her action has affected a coworker, the work team where he or she belongs, the organization as a whole, or the clients of the organization. ((Heathfield, 2007) Perceived from the point of view of the initiator of the action, feedback could be an instrument of learning. It enables him or her to find out how his or her behavior has affected other people. It could then serve as a basis for future action. An individual who gracefully accepts a feedback develops a better self-awareness thereby affording him or her with an opportunity for improvement. (Center for Learning and Teaching, 2003) Feedback could either be constructive or destructive. Johns Hopkins Medicine (2002) maintains that when one consciously provides a constructive feedback, he or she gives it hoping to help a coworker but when a destructive feedback is purposely given, it is done so to willfully hurt the feelings of a coworker. However, giving a feedback, whether constructive or destructive, is not always done on purpose. A person providing the feedback could unconsciously give a destructive one if he or she does not know how to properly communicate a feedback. Hence, there is a need to know how to give a feedback objectively. Organizations approach the problem differently and educators teach the method in various ways. However, the general drift appears to be that first, the feedback should be given promptly. People often misunderstand a feedback when given late already. Then the feedback should be concerned with a specific action, not focused on the character of the person who did the action. Third, the person giving the feedback should exhibit an apparent sincerity and honesty to help. Then it has to be consistent. A certain kind of feedback should be given to everybody, not just to a targeted few. (Heathfield, 2007) References Center for Learning and Teaching. (2003). Principles for Constructive Feedback. Retrieved August 25, 2007, from http://www. clt. soton. ac. uk/Events/Workshops/OPS/feedback. htm Heathfield, S. M. (2007). How To Provide Feedback That Has an Impact. Retrieved August 25, 2007, from http://humanresources. about. com/cs/communication/ht/Feedbackimpact. htm Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2002). Lesson 7: Feedback Can Create Positive Changes. Retrieved August 25, 2007, from http://www. hopkinsmedicine. org/service/resources/lesson7. html.

Holistic nursing practice encouraging active communication

Holistic nursing practice encouraging active communication Introduction Diversity of the worlds population has reached a point where it is vital to address and more importantly to understand, the ever-growing challenge that transcultural nursing poses to the nursing profession. Addressing this issue avoids discrimination and promotes equality within holistic nursing practice in order to meet patients needs. Health care professionals should be qualified to deliver, on a daily basis, proficient care and sensitive skilled communication to culturally different individuals (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). To exercise professional nursing in a conceptual way holistic nursing care focuses on physical, emotional, social, environmental and spiritual aspects as well as on the idea that any individual involved in treatment care should be treated as a whole and with dignity (Dossey Guzzetta, 2005). One of the areas to be discussed is Transcultural Nursing and Leiningers Transcultural Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and its research enablers: the Sunrise Enabler and the Ethnonursing Method. Another area will be Holistic Nursing Practice and Nightingales Nursing Theory of Environmental Adaptation as well as the liaison between Transcultural Nursing and Holistic Nursing Practice. Nightingales theory has been chosen over others because she was the first to acknowledge nurses work in a theoretical framework and because she was considered to be the mother of nursing practices (Ellis, 2008). The development of culture care theory introduced health care professionals into a new nursing dimension formed by issues such as culture background, spirituality, environment and others that demonstrated how culture and health care are linked (Leininger, 2002a). Holistic Nursing Practice encourages active communication and reciprocal understanding, underlines the exercise of physiological and psychosocial awareness, it is based on logical thinking and supports values such as autonomy and patient wishes and tendencies (MacKinnon, 2010). Transcultural Nursing Transcultural nursing may be defined as a method to contrast and observe how individuals view health care, biased by their culture background. The principles of practising transcultural nursing are to provide complete nursing care to individuals or groups by treating them with respect and taking into account their cultural factors. It is all about nursing practice applied to cultural values and limitations (Leininger, 1991). Definitions of transcultural nursing incorporate many factors that shape the individuals cultural orientation. These include are age, sexual orientation and financial aspects. It has been suggested that by ignoring these culture background factors, health care professionals do not achieve enough cultural experience to be incorporated in holistic nursing practice (Barnes et al. 2000). This absence might lead to unsafe nursing care and both dissatisfied patients and professionals (Curren, 2006 cited in Leininger McFarland, 2006, pp.159-160). To promote transcultural nursing care, Narayan (2001) felt that there are four crucial attitudes to assume caring, empathy, openness and flexibility. This shows the patients a cultural understanding, appreciation, consideration and willingness from health care professionals that are based on individual care. Cultural education and the creation of culturally competent care professionals are one of the biggest challenges yet to tackle worldwide. For instance, in America, as the migrant population increases notably so it does the need for reducing inequalities and barriers such as language. Maier-Lorentz (2008) firmly understood that such a need could be met by the targeting of bilingual health care professionals coming from different backgrounds. Moreover, she suggested that in order to provide culturally competent nursing care, some knowledge of non-vocal communication signs could be of great value, as it is in eye contact, touch, silence, space and distance, and health care habits. Green-Hernandez (2004) recommended that as a step towards multicultural competency, professionals that need to deal with farmers should familiarize themselves with their specific customs such as using animal medication for their own conditions as a consequence of living far away from the care institutions. With the purpose of understanding culture, Andrews Boyle (1997) gave out diverse illustrations. For example, they suggested that by understanding a peoples proverbs, professionals may grasp knowledge of the cultural values shared by that population. The authors also stressed the importance of culture knowledge when coming across two different ways to view stealing. For one culture it may not be acceptable whereas for another one, e.g. gipsy people, it may be ok, as long as it is coming from a better-off person. Furthermore, they also found, through researchers, that different cultures may think that by being a demanding patient, the treatment they receive may improve. Riley (2004) reported that a foremost test for nurses in an ethnically different society is communication. Not just words but also tone and volume form spoken communication which in diverse cultures differs greatly. For example, Thai people are regarded as not talking too much as they believe it is a sign of idiocy whereas Cuban people are happy with talking vociferously. He also pointed out that Europeans are not afraid of talking about emotions whereas Asians are hesitant to do so. With regards to communication without words Riley (2004) explained that eye contact is not always expected. For instances, in Native America and Asian cultures it is offensive and among Muslim Arab women it is allowed only to their husbands. Therefore, he identified the importance for healthcare professionals to be culturally aware. Phillimore (2011) explored the challenge of provision of diversity needs in the UK-based on studies done on health care service provision to new migrants, during 2007/08 in Birmingham. She stated that with political forces wanting to reduce welfare support for new migrants, such provision becomes quite a challenge. She also believed that, in the long run, this disregarding of health care needs will lead to further issues for the health care system that otherwise could be avoided by just providing what is needed now: cultural and language services and health support. It was also suggested that in todays political climate offering of ethnically specific provision by the community and for the community, results in the local needs not being met, as the existing GP systems are already overstretched. She concluded that a number of migrants are condemned to an unwelcoming future since UK seems to embrace a tendency of anti-migrant sentiment and a move to community institution instead of multicultural provision (Phillimore, 2011). The Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory by Madeleine Leininger In the 1950s Madeleine Leininger, a nurse-anthropologist, realised that nursing practice was requiring a theory to allow people to transform nursing into a more advanced and beneficial discipline that challenges nurses to open up to cultural variety and universality (Leininger, 2006). This was developed as a response to the demand for multicultural care which was immense and yet incomplete as many healthcare systems did not consider the need for bringing together culture and nursing care (Giger Davidhizar, 2008). The culture care diversity and universality theory developed by Leininger in 1991 (Leininger, 2002a) is unique in that it focuses on competent care, can be used upon any culture and is based not only on individuals but groups and families too. The theory addresses the importance of a consistent cultural competence instrument to acquire cultural awareness through a constant learning attitude and approval towards human differences and rights by health care professionals (Burford, 2001, cited in Baxter, 2001, pp. 202-203). Leininger (2002a) insisted on the importance of transcultural knowledge as a tool to avoid human acts such as the event of September 11, 2001. She then proposed the culture care theory as the most holistic approach to gradually transform the health system. This much-needed transformation requires an understanding of individuals in ways that identify and respect their cultural background and will lead us to understand such transcultural dismay. The theory was used in a study among Hispanic home care patients in the US, 2007, in order to identify cultural needs. As a result, care delivery improved in some areas and there was a suggestion describing the use of the model as a tool to reduce costs in the health care system (Woerner et al. 2009). Leiningers theory applies not only to races from different backgrounds but also to todays controversial groups such as transgendered people, disabled people , the youth, poverty and the homeless that may pose a certain degree of difficulty of understanding to healthcare professionals. There is also an agreement that, thanks to Leiningers culture care theory, the nursing profession today knows how to allow for culture when looking after individuals and has a widely spread caring philosophy in hospitals (Clarke et al. 2009). For this model to assist the health care professional to understand factors as important as management and policies, as well as being able to reflect on their decisions and actions, Leininger designed two tool assessments, The Sunrise Enabler and the Ethno Nursing research method, which are based on monitoring treatment care on a daily basis (Hubbert, 2006, cited in Leininger McFarland, 2006, pp. 354-356). The sunrise enabler focuses mainly on total life ways and caring factors influencing health and well-being, disabilities and death. It also identifies features influenced by the patients cultural background whereas ethnonursing finds ways in which multicultural care could be better. In doing so, the reflected culture becomes part of the holistic nursing practice (Leininger, 2006). The Sunrise Enabler The Sunrise Enabler is used as an assessment tool to enable multidisciplinary teams to deliver suitable and competent cultural assessments that impede intolerance and stereotype behaviour. This is to supply the healthcare system with a guide to cultural vicinities ranging from religious beliefs to economic factors (Giger Davidhizar, 2008). Wherever a healthcare professional starts the model either from the top or from the bottom, the most important feature is to listen to the individuals, trying to grasp ideas and concepts rather than enforcing them (Leininger, 2002a). Healthcare professionals struggled to understand the meaning of factors influencing the care practice so crucial when applying the culture care theory. Such factors as culture beliefs, environment and religion were to be included in the nursing care, therefore Leininger (1997) built the Sunrise Enabler to illustrate such aspects. The Ethno-nursing Method This method was developed to fit the purposes of qualitative research methods. It is a systematic method for studying multiple cultures and care factors within a familiar environment of people and to focus on the interrelationships of care and culture to arrive at the goal of culturally congruent care. Ethnonursing is a particular research method developed by Leininger to inspect the theory. It was developed to allow health care professionals to discover new ways of helping different cultural groups distinguish features of nursing care (Leininger, 2006). Leininger (2006, p.6) stated that the ethnonursing method à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was new and unknown in nursing and was different from other qualitative methods including ethnography. Holistic Nursing Practice The exercise of modern nursing is based on the view of holism that underlines the individuals wholeness. Healing viewed as an indication of nursing practice that treats people as whole, developed in the late 20th and early 21st century into a popular subject in nursing in order to clarify the meaning of wholeness and holism. As a result, alternative therapies surfaced as approaches of practice in holistic nursing (Locsin, 2002). The definition of holistic came into effect in the 20th century. Then the word holism included the physical, emotional, mental, social, cultural, and spiritual view. This view of holism was envisioned by Florence Nightingale who is seen today as an example to follow, although many of her studies are not used in todays nursing practice (Beck, 2010). Holistic nursing care embraces the mind, body and spirit of the patient, in a culture that supports a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship, resulting in wholeness, harmony and healing. Holistic care is patient led and patient focused in order to provide individualised care, thereby, caring for the patient as a whole person rather than in fragmented parts (McEvoy Duffy, 2008, Vol.8, p. 418). Furthermore, it addressed the expansion of multidisciplinary and collaborative teams as a way to applying holistic care into practice and asserted that the practice of holistic care by health professionals should avoid intrusion and, when really needed, as it is the case of unconscious patients, should use skills that include aspects such as consideration, disciplined criticism and liability in order to exercise nursing in a holistic approach (McEvoy Duffy, 2008). Since individuals from different culture backgrounds may appreciate holistic nursing practice and care choices in different ways so is the healthcare provided in different ways (Locsin, 2001). It may also be the case that some individuals may feel embarrassed to mention alternative remedies used in the past, therefore the assessment should be supportive rather than disapproving (Maddalena, 2009). Pearcey (2007) ran a study on clinical practices amongst student nurses to draw on a few key points related to holistic nursing practice. It was found that the notion of holistic care was not clear within nursing practice. Some students claimed not to know the right meaning of holistic nursing practice and claimed that tasks and routines are what nursing is all about. The study showed an evident lack of professionalism and knowledge amongst care professionals as well as a huge gap between what is taught and what is really applied at work. The author concluded that there is a real risk of inconsistency within the profession. Within the practice of holistic care there has been lately a huge influence of alternative or complementary medicine which care experts have tried to professionalise by setting certain values to be met. A study amongst nurses and midwives accomplished in England, 2008, revealed this but also the lack of initiative from the NHS to incorporate such practices, even though it was demonstrated that a huge variety of them were successfully applied on patients where biomedicine seemed not to work. Such practices included reflexology, aromatherapy, acupuncture and massage that actually underlined biomedicine rather than substituted (Cant et al. 2011). Whilst carrying out an interview on medical students in the UK, a student suggested that it is actually a catch-22-situation when looking after patients from diverse races as they have diverse predominance of whatever conditions that eventually will require different treatment, a world apart from what is being taught in medical schools with regards to treating everyone in the same way (Roberts et al. 2008). A quick look to Harrison (2008) for a concluding comment on multicultural nursing in relation to holistic care, offers us this brief view: a Western health care organism that has not managed to treat minority communities in a holistic manner is a system that claims to care for one and all identically. The Theory of Environmental Adaptation by Florence Nightingale According to Nightingales Theory of Environmental Adaptation, an individuals health is improved by looking after the surrounding environment. It goes further than this and asks for the environment to be operated by the health care professionals as an approach to healing (Howett et al. 2010). Florence Nightingale defined nursing as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the act of utilising the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery (Funnell et al. 2009). She determined that the deficiency of factors such as uncontaminated air, clean water, sanitation, hygiene and sunlight is unhealthy to the human being. Furthermore, she reasoned that temperature, environment and nutrition affect the patient (Kozier, et al. 2008). This theory of nursing includes inspection, recognition of environment changes and their execution and supporting the patient health care by allowing the environment to benefit the patient (Neils, 2010). Selanders (2010) reviewed and compared this theorys aspects with modern-day practice and reported that Nightingales concept, such as air, light, noise and cleanliness is equal to todays concept of physical environment; health recommendations to psychological environment; food to nutritional status and observation to nursing management. The author also estimated that the theory has been used in several qualitative works and some studies on the childbirth process. Transcultural Nursing vs. Holistic Nursing Practice According to Leininger (2002b) patients are not provided full holistic care by health professionals. Factors such as kinship, religion, environment and culture are largely missing. For that reason, care professionals should avoid being judgmental when delivering holistic care and rather provide an all-inclusive care that respects the individuals cultural background (Maddalena, 2009). As a student nurse, it is vital to value the development of cultural awareness and competency within the profession in order to encourage and address all stages of holistic nursing practice as it is meaningful to todays multicultural society. Leininger (1997) also claimed that essential practice is needed to create a regulation of multicultural nursing that could be of use to much ignored cultures. For example, acute medical treatment, medication, and patient fulfilment can be improved by understanding care beliefs when bringing in nursing care which, in turn, could save the health care system financially and have a desired positive outcome on patients (Woerner et al. 2009). Individuals or groups may clash with health professionals if they are not showing respect for each others cultural beliefs resulting in poor treatment and patients losing hope in the health care system. Hogg (2010a) also underpinned this understanding as crucial to delivering accurate holistic nursing practice. However, not only patients may lose faith in the system. Hogg (2010b) also affirmed that nurses from black and minority ethnic have suffered, at some point, racial harassment as well as lack of opportunities according to their numbers in the nursing profession. As holistic nursing practice centres on recognition of patients rights and choices (Potter, 2005 cited in Dossey et al. 2005, p.347), it is subsequently supporting the meaning behind multicultural care. The association of both precepts confirms an ongoing engagement to pursue equality and diversity as promoted by the Nursing Midwifery Council (2008). Inherent in nursing is respect for human rights, including cultural rights, the right to life and choice, to dignity and to be treated with respect. Nursing care is respectful of and unrestricted by considerations of age, colour, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, politics, race or social status (The International Council for Nurses, 2005). When assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating a patients needs as to medication, health professionals should take into account cultures physiologic traits, as it can seriously impact the treatment. For instances, due to genetics, for one patient a normal given dose may develop a reaction whereas for another it may not work at all (Anon, 2005). Conclusion It is obvious that cultural competency is a must when performing holistic nursing practice, in order to deliver a responsive and high quality care system. It is therefore recommended that specific cultural training should be given to all health care professionals so as to not overlook the great multi-cultural society we all are in. As society becomes more diverse, health care professionals should expand guiding principles that sponsor cultural skills as a way to deliver enhanced holistic healthcare. By carrying out this essay, the author realises the significance of treating people in a holistic way and not making assumptions just because they are from different cultures. This is something that seems yet not to be well implemented in my workplace (NHS since 2007). The author will, from now on, be more aware of his practice when caring for individuals from different culture backgrounds. It can be considered that nursing as a profession is also an example of human culture so indispensable for a in peak condition community, as seen looking through the theories of nursing and its tools presented in this paper, which if not recognized may affect the execution of holistic practice and its results, i.e. it is a profession whose culture needs to be elastic if it is to fulfil its function.

Shakespeares Hamlet is both Madman and Genious Essay -- essays resear

Madman or Genius? Scholars have been disputing the sanity of Hamlet, for over four hundred years, in the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Is he an insane madman or a vengeful, devious, genius? There are many contradictory ideas and theories on Hamlet’s so called psychosis, his procrastination in avenging his father’s death, and his actions towards his mother. In the first act Hamlet seems to be in a perfectly sane state of mind. It is the second scene where the reader begins to see a change in Hamlet’s character. Ophelia meets with Polonius and recalls the meeting she previously had with Hamlet. She tells her father that Hamlet came to her disheveled, and in a traumatized state of mind, speaking of "horrors." (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 83). Polonius immediately believes that he is "Mad for thy love?" (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 84). Ophelia answers a question posed by Polonius in which she responded that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate with him any more. Polonius makes reference to Hamlet's madness once again by pronouncing what his daughter said, "... hath made him (Hamlet) mad." (Act 2 Scene 1 lines 109). This is where the argument of whether Hamlet is insane due to of his love for Ophelia begins, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within Hamlet's mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the reader in scene one of the third act in the first of Hamlet’s several soliloquies. In this scene Hamlet recites his famous "To be or not to be, that is the question:" (Act 3 Scene 1 lines 57) speech. As Eric Levy puts it, â€Å"Though Hamlet is linked with the vulnerability of reason to emotion, he nevertheless displays extraordinary emotional control, despite extreme... ...o have fallen victim to their deceit†(Richardson 124). Also the fact that Hamlet thought that Polonius was Claudius adds to the evidence that Hamlet was in fact going insane. Hamlet's madness at times is justified, and at other times is pure insanity. At first Hamlet seems to be going mad over the fact that Ophelia is not allowed to see him. Subsequently it seems that Hamlet is going mad over the fact that he is overwhelmed with his father's death, and begins to fight with himself over the thought of suicide. He is then determined to avenge his father’s death and goes about torturing Claudius in a systematic and genius manner. Finally, Hamlet is caught up in his feelings about mother’s actions, which brings him back to the point of insanity. In conclusion, Hamlet is torn between two worlds, that of the rational and that of the distraught and insane.

Hero In Myth and Film :: essays papers

Hero In Myth and Film " †¦and he saved the day, got his girl and everyone lived happily ever after." Sweet, short, cut and dry, that was the typical ending of our childhood books and early movies. There was the perfect hero and the bad villain. That was in the pre-modern era, now our hero isn’t always perfect and has his flaws. The hero in today’s movies needs these flaws and needs to travel through a combination of paths to become a hero. In order to sell movies which decide who a hero is in today’s society. A hero in today’s society needs to admit that he needs help and isn’t superman, he needs to have problems and prove that he doesn’t belong up on a pedestal where his image is totally unattainable, third he needs to travel one of the paths of a hero according to Seger. Bruce Willis plays the character John McClain in the trilogy Die Hard, he is a good example of a hero in America today. In the third movie, McClain takes on a partner to help him fight a mad bomber. This is different from the movies from the past, James Bond or John Wayne never needed help. The partner he picks is a inner city black man, in the fifties this never would have happened. The fact that he picks a black man incorporates some multicultural aspects into the movie. The fact that he picks a partner shows some post modern aspects of Hollywood. Both of these facts help sell movies and help define a hero in America today. Another aspect that makes McClain a post modern hero in America is the fact that he to has problems, James Bond was never like this, he always had a woman by his side, or falling at his feet. People held this man in high esteem, because he was perfect. However in real life blond bimbos at your feet don’t happen all the time. Post modern heroes have problems McClain even though he is out saving lives and helping people his wife wants a divorce. People can relate better to John McClain because we all have problems besides the bad guys. The hero today isn’t so perfect and people are able to relate to him more easily. The travel of a hero from an average guy to a hero via the myths defined by Seger is also another determining factor in what a hero is today. Hero In Myth and Film :: essays papers Hero In Myth and Film " †¦and he saved the day, got his girl and everyone lived happily ever after." Sweet, short, cut and dry, that was the typical ending of our childhood books and early movies. There was the perfect hero and the bad villain. That was in the pre-modern era, now our hero isn’t always perfect and has his flaws. The hero in today’s movies needs these flaws and needs to travel through a combination of paths to become a hero. In order to sell movies which decide who a hero is in today’s society. A hero in today’s society needs to admit that he needs help and isn’t superman, he needs to have problems and prove that he doesn’t belong up on a pedestal where his image is totally unattainable, third he needs to travel one of the paths of a hero according to Seger. Bruce Willis plays the character John McClain in the trilogy Die Hard, he is a good example of a hero in America today. In the third movie, McClain takes on a partner to help him fight a mad bomber. This is different from the movies from the past, James Bond or John Wayne never needed help. The partner he picks is a inner city black man, in the fifties this never would have happened. The fact that he picks a black man incorporates some multicultural aspects into the movie. The fact that he picks a partner shows some post modern aspects of Hollywood. Both of these facts help sell movies and help define a hero in America today. Another aspect that makes McClain a post modern hero in America is the fact that he to has problems, James Bond was never like this, he always had a woman by his side, or falling at his feet. People held this man in high esteem, because he was perfect. However in real life blond bimbos at your feet don’t happen all the time. Post modern heroes have problems McClain even though he is out saving lives and helping people his wife wants a divorce. People can relate better to John McClain because we all have problems besides the bad guys. The hero today isn’t so perfect and people are able to relate to him more easily. The travel of a hero from an average guy to a hero via the myths defined by Seger is also another determining factor in what a hero is today.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay -- English Literature

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde This novel is more than just a traditional horror story as it has many hidden and complex meanings and explanations, of what seem and would have normally before this book, been simple events. Stevenson has very strong opinions and some are expressed in the book. A traditional horror story would either be a super natural In this novel Stevenson's characters, Jekyll and Hyde, are stereotypes of people who are 'good' and 'evil'. The good is the friendly doctor (the caring profession) and the evil is the hunched, ugly murderer. These two stereotypes combine to create the average man who has the capacity to be both 'good' and 'evil', and they have both 'good' and 'evil' thoughts and emotions. All people have the same emotions, some good and some bad and, like Hyde, when you follow the evil emotions like hate, jealousy and revenge, you are considered evil. Jekyll and Hyde both have these 'evil' emotions but what makes Jekyll 'good' is that he hides them, Jekyll is driven by reason whereas Hyde is driven by desire, he'll do what he wants when he wants. Londonand Jekyll's Houses The street where Jekyll lives is described as merely an anonymous street in London, whose shop fronts "like rows of smiling women" have a brightness that stands out in contrast to the dingy neighborhood. And yet on this street, two doors from the corner, stands a dreary, Gothic house, which "bore in every feature the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence." As we proceed further in the novel, Jekyll's houses will be seen to have their own connection with the characters prosperous, respectable, as well as threatening, mysterious, and sinister. It is clear by each of its two appearances the respectable; Je... ...public has seen only a veneer of my real self." This is true due mostly to the fact that no one knew Mr. Hyde was a part of Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll constantly emphasizes the greatness of his background. He reminds us of his wealthy family, and great education. But he also states "that man is not truly one, but truly two." Dr. Jekyll needed something, or someone to represent the evil which has built up inside of him. He created this through experiments, which lead to a potion. This potion transformed him anytime he wanted. He was transformed into Mr. Hyde. Evil is just a small portion of men, perhaps that is why Mr. Hyde had a dwarfish appearance. The main point was that the potion took over his life, and Dr. Jekyll finally realizes he is unable to transform back into his goodness. He attempts to commit suicide, as this is his only way of destroying Mr. Hyde.

India Post Strategy

Term Project ? Table of Contents Operations Constraints Matrix3 Flexibility3 Cost5 Quality7 Structural Decisions7 Capacity7 Facilities8 Process Technology9 Sourcing and Vertical Integration10 Infrastructural Decisions12 Operations Constraints Matrix Flexibility is about the operation being able to change what it does quickly. How quickly can the organization change the mix of products and services it is offering to the customer? Changing consumer tastes affects demand levels and the product range desired.For an organization to stay competitive, it needs to be able to respond to these changes with flexibility. †¢Can the organization react to demand changes and increase or decrease the volume of output in response? †¢Is a wide range of products or services on offer? Can the organization bring new product/service designs to market quickly so it is in a position to meet changing customer needs? Providing flexibility in delivery options, both the manner and the timing give an op portunity for differentiation. In case of Indian Postal Service, they are high on flexibility parameter.The range of products / services for Indian Post suits to people from all economic level, almost all customers can avail all the services of India Post in all location. India Post postal services are under two heads, Mail services and Premium Services. Mail Services LetterThe communication is enclosed in an envelope and addressed Inland letter cardCommunication is contained on a sheet of paper with prescribed size & folding, for transmission within India only. Post cardOpen communication on a card of prescribed size. Available in two varieties: Single & reply post card. Post cards are for transmission within India only.Printed Post cardPost cards containing communication recorded by printing, cyclostyling or by any other mechanical process are classified as ‘Printed Post Cards'. Printed matter includes printed pictures also. Blind literature packetPapers of any kind, periodi cals and books impressed in â€Å"Braille† or other special type for the use of blind are allowed to be transmitted by post as Blind literature packets. ParcelAnything can be sent in a parcel excepting articles whose transmission is prohibited. RegistrationThe postal article that is registered is given identification and is recorded at every stage of handling.Letters, letter cards, Book and Pattern Packets, Parcels, News papers prepaid with postage may be registered for transmission at any post office. The registered postal article is delivered specifically to the addressee. VPL/VPPThe Value Payable Letter or Value Payable Parcel is paid for at the time of receipt. Premium Services Speed PostSpeed Post is market leader in domestic express industry, for providing time-bound and express delivery of letters ’ documents and parcels across the nation and around the world Express ParcelExpress Parcel Post is an ideal service for sending the parcels up to 35 kg within India.I t is fast and reliable, provides door-to-door convenience and pick-up from customer’s premises service. Business PBusiness Post is a one-stop shop service to manage entire mail-out process. It provides cost-effective and professional mailing services, including printing, collating, inserting, sealing, and addressing to meet specific business needs. Media PostMedia Post is an innovative and effective vehicle for Brand and Marketing Managers to communicate their corporate message across the nation.Greeting PostGreeting Post is an innovative product of India Post comprises of a card with envelop with pre-printed postage stamp upon the envelope. It used to express yourself perfectly on every occasion, festival or event. Logistics PostLogistics Post caters to any demand for moving goods, parcels and consignments in terms of delivery deadline and quality of service. It offers the possibility of monitoring the delivery progress at all times. Comparison with the other players in Post al / Courier service India PostDTDC CourierBluedart CourierNo fixed delivery time guaranteeService include next business day delivery guaranteeService include next business day delivery guarantee Media post offer advertisement opportunity to marketing managerDedicated for courier and parcel delivery, no specific service like advertising Dedicated for courier and parcel delivery, no specific service like advertising Wide reach within India, specifically high penetration in rural IndiaWide reach but rural penetration is not as deep as India PostWide reach but rural penetration is not as deep as India Post Offers registered post service, where consignment is handed over to only specific addressee General service, and couriers can be received by any individual within corporation / homeGeneral service, and couriers can be received by any individual within corporation / home Consignment tracking is limited to premium products deliveryConsignment tracking facility is available for all kind s of deliveriesConsignment tracking facility is available for all kinds of deliveries Prices band is high and weight range starts from as minimum as 25gms for deliveryPrice band is narrow and weight range starts usually from 500gmsPrice band is narrow and weight range starts usually from 500gms Single delivery timing, no customized service as customer requires, although service for guaranteed timely delivery availableConsignment delivery can be defined by customers with a minimum duration of Next business day 1030AM within same time zone Consignment delivery can be defined by customers with a minimum duration of Next business day 1030AM within same time zone No special facility for weekends like Saturday or SundaySpecial pick up facility for Saturday and delivery on SundayNo specific delivery facility for weekends Proof of delivery is claimable on paid basisProof of delivery is visible online for freeProof of delivery is visible online for free Greeting card delivery, special printe d card delivery service No special greeting card delivery service at presentNo special greeting card delivery service at present Freight on delivery service available business Freight on delivery service available business Freight on delivery service available business International deliveries service available with maximum eight of 100kgInternational deliveries service available with maximum weight of 10000kgInternational deliveries service available with maximum weight of 100kg No packing, box packaging service, pick up service available on paid basisProvide packing, loading, box packaging service, free pick up serviceProvide packing box, box packaging services, free pick up service Cost is the last objective to be discussed but clearly not the least. For organizations that have adopted a low cost strategy it is the most important objective. The lower the cost of producing the goods the lower price that can be offered to customers, which in turn will boost sales and profits. Even organizations that seek to gain their competitive advantage through differentiation are keen to lower their cost basis because that will lead to improvements in profit levels. To be able to deliver a cost advantage an organization has to analyze where operation costs are incurred.When considering a service industry, like hospitals, the biggest cost element will be staff costs, then facility and technology costs followed by bought-in materials and services. Many costs in a hospital operation are fixed and will not vary according to the number of patients treated. That is to say those facilities like beds, operating theatres or laboratories are as expensive as are the highly specialized staff. These are all needed to be available if not all of the time, then most of it. That obviously has cost implications. Generally, the level of costs depends on the volume and variety of output and how variable is demand. Variety of outputs leads to greater levels of complexity and therefore increas ed costs. Cost is dependent on the other performance objectives.Improvements in each of the other four will lead to cost reductions. The relative priority of the performance objectives is determined by the demands of customers and the actions of competitors. Making these decisions on priorities links back to the statement in the strategy of what business the organization is in and who are its customers. Selling to customers who insist on error-free products requires the organization to concentrate on its quality performance. Consumer segments that are looking for low-priced products or services will lead the organization to emphasize its cost performance. In case of India Post, reaching to the mass is part of their mission.They operate at locations where, revenues do not even cover 15% of expenses. They have more than 89% of their offices in rural areas, where the cost of operation is usually higher than revenues. Even the post office in urban areas, the target given is to earn a pr ofit of 5% beyond their operating cost. India Post caters primarily in rural areas and therefore its emphasis on offering very low / economical prices to customer irrespective of their operating cost. Private postal service agencies have their motive of earning profit from business, therefore they highly emphasize on providing value service to their customers. They focus on limited services designed to fulfill general need of customers.Their service portfolio is transforming from delight services to order winning services. They emphasize on excelling in providing order winner services and compete in limited range of services. Pricing offered by India Post: India post premier service of simple post card is in no comparison with any other service agency. It is most cost effective way of mail hitherto in India. Apart from post cards, letters, India Post offers standard fixed rates for all customers depending on distance (irrespective of place of origin or destination). Speed Post: Weig htLocal (within municipal limits)Upto 200 Kms201 to 1000 Kms1001 to 2000 KmsAbove 2000 Kms Up to 50 gramsINR 15INR 35INR 35INR 35INR 35 1 grams to 200 gramsINR 25INR 35INR 40INR 60INR 70 201 grams to 500 gramsINR 30INR 50INR 60INR 80INR 90 Additional 0. 5 kg or part thereofINR 10INR 15INR 30INR 40INR 50 Express Parcel Post: WeightLocal (within municipaI limits)Upto 500 Kms. 501 to 1000 Kms. 1001 to 2000 Kms. Above 2000 Kms. Up to 2kg3550607090 Additional 1kg or part thereof58122535 India Post does not offer the air-mail service for domestic deliveries, whereas private players like Bluedart, DTDC, and Firstflight etc have the air mail service that offers next day delivery guarantee. Therefore, the prices of services offered by different agencies can be compared on the surface mode. Cost of parcel up to 500gms 500gmsIndia PostBluedartDTDC ithin city30200 Ambala50200 Amritsar60200 Mumbai80200 Calicut90210 Cost of parcel up to 10kg 10kgIndia PostBluedartDTDC within city75250 Ludhiana114 250 Ahmadabad156290 Mumbai270290 Calicut370290 India post is more cost effective and economical than other private players. It is high on providing cost effective services to its customer than its competitors. Due to its pan India reach, and easy access in rural areas, other private players cannot compete in cost factor. Quality, whether you are running a hospital or a retail superstore, is about doing things right so that error-free goods and services are delivered that are fit for their purpose.Quality encompasses both the quality of the design of the product in terms of aesthetics, reliability and performance and the quality of the process that delivers the product or service. Quality of delivery process has direct impact on costs and dependability. Quality is a major source of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Poor quality products or poor quality of service are likely to put the customer off returning, leading to future lost sales. For service sector like postal / couri er service, the primary quality factors can be following: †¢Ease of accessibility – availability, easy reach †¢Customer focus – language, service, waiting time Reliability of service design – useful for customer, trust on the service †¢Conformance to specifications – delivery on time as committed, rates as specified, influence to change or modify requisite service †¢High delivery performance – delivery at the right place, right time, right person Speed Speed is all about how long customers wait before receiving their service. Addressing the speed objective requires the organization to pay attention to the cycle time involved in their new product development. An organization also has to pay attention to its scheduling and capacity planning as well as inventory management to be able to deliver on the speed objective. Reducing inventory will also impact on obtaining a cost advantage. Speed is an important factor considering that a lot of parcels are required to reach on time and are often related to business.As such, almost all the courier services have a special service catering to this constraint. In case of India Post, .No. Services/TransactionSuccess IndicatorsService StandardsUnit AService Standards of various services for Departmental Post Offices 1MailsTime from posting / booking to delivery†¢ Excludes day of posting, holidays and Sundays. †¢ Maximum time. †¢ Articles posted before cut off time. Unit in Days /Minutes etc. 1. 2Delivery of First class mail i. e. , letters, postcards, Inland letter cards, etc. Local* and between Metro Cities** * Local – within Municipal City limits ** Metro- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. 2Days Rest of India4-6 1. 3Delivery of : †¢ Registered / Insured articles Express Parcel Post †¢ Second Class Mails i. e. Parcels, Book Packets, Registered Newspapers, etc. Local* and between Metro Cities** * Local – withi n Municipal City limits ** Metro- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. 3Days Rest of India5-7 1. 4Delivery of Speed Post articlesLocal* and between Metro Cities** * Local – within Municipal City limits ** Metro- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. 2Days Rest of India4-6 1. 5International EMS articles†¢ All International Mail articles are subject to customs examination. †¢ Period for customs examination/detention is not included in the service standards. 4-10DaysDTDC on the other hand provides a lot of services catering to this need which is case specific: DTDC Domestic2-7 daysNormal deliveries (city specific) Value added service (Speed)Days to deliverSpecifications DTDC PlusAssured Next business day delivery†¢To metros and major cities in India Prime Time Plus (PTP) PTP 10. 30 and PTP 12. 00 within the next possible business day†¢Time-critical Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) Segments. â⠂¬ ¢From select origins to select pin codes at Metro locations. DTDC Blueassured second business day delivery†¢To places far and wide across the country In addition to it, DTDC provides money bank guarantee in case a delivery is not made on time on its Value added services. Blue dart Dart Surfaceline2-7 daysDistance specific Premium ServicesDart Apex1-2 daysFor commercial shipments Domestic PriorityNext dayFor time-critical parcels DP 10. 30 and DP 12. 00Time specific, within a day Blue dart, like DTDC provides money back guarantee in case a delivery is not made on time on its premium services. As such, Speed of India post is comparable to most of its competitors as far as value based services are concerned. Though, at few places delivery is guaranteed the very next day and before a specific time, which is not provided by India post. Some services like Air to Air which ask customers to collect the post from the Airport for a faster delivery is provided by some of its competitor s.Also, unlike DTDC and Blue Dart do not provide money back guarantee on a delay though they provide money back guarantee if a parcel is lost or damaged. This feature allows other players to create a better perception among consumers with respect to speed. Dependability Dependability is, of course, about consistency. An organization’s processes have to be geared up to consistently meeting a promised delivery time for a product or service. Customers are unlikely to be satisfied by an increase in delivery speed if it is not matched by consistent performance. This will require that an organization has systems in place to identify problems early and be flexible enough in its planning to be able to move to a plan B as necessary. The dependability of India post is an issue.Though its registered post is known for dependability in terms of security and handling, but the consistency in speed is still a concern in terms of dependability. The targeted dependability of 95% deliveries on time is far from the reality. Though a lot of premium services are delivered on time, but the general posts are often delayed or sometimes are even lost. When talked to an employee working in India Post, Dependability came out as one of the major reasons why people prefer high priced courier services provided by competitors over India Post. Structural Decisions An effective operations organization is one that meets the need of strategic business units competitive strategy.Therefore, once the type of differentiation has been specified , management must ensure that its operations organization is configured and managed in such a way that there is no one best way for dealing with any business problem – whether one is making, delivering, or selling a service, designing a management information / quality system, or measuring performance. In every situation, one must make choices that reflect one’s context, goals, resources and personnel. Translating the business strategy int o appropriate tangibles and intangibles involves different structural and infrastructural decisions and tradeoffs. The structural and infrastructural decisions in service industry are derived from manufacturing operations. Structural decisions address all the issues that are relevant to Capacity, Facilities, Process Technology and Sourcing (vertical integration). CapacityCapacity management is defined as â€Å"ensuring a service has the capability to meet the demand experiences, like wise capacity management is a response to demand†. Service delivery process depends on three basic factors to achieve the expected output: 1. Service load that illustrates the variety of service being offered, the variation of demand and the management of demand 2. Capacity task that illustrates forecasting methods, scheduling, bottleneck management, prioritizing and altering capacity that are used to manage capacity task successfully 3. Capacity leakage, in other words the degree that there are quality failures, scheduling losses, labor lateness, labor underperformance and changeovers FacilitiesFacility network is the configuration of an operating network in allocating various service centers and contact points. In Mail Service industry, facility is the reach of agency to the customers at different location and various services that can be offered in that service center keeping in mind the objectives and goals of company. India Post has one of the objectives as â€Å"To provide basic postal facilities, i. e. , collection and delivery of mails, within easy reach (1. 5 kms) of all people and businesses. This is to be achieved through opening of more post offices, relocation of existing post offices, giving out franchisees to individuals, shops, institutions, self-help groups, etc. In order to achieve this objective, they constantly thrive to open new service centers at desirable places and shutoff from redundant locations. Apart from post offices, there are approximately 5. 7 lacs letterboxes, processed by network of Mail Offices and conveyed by rail, road, and airlines all over the country to reach the customers. Postal operations at the post office counter encompass the entire gamut of basic postal service that include sale of stamps, booking of registered articles, insured articles, value payable articles, booking of parcels and other banking transaction. Below data shows the penetration of India Post in rural and urban segment. Year2011201020092008Urban13904089. 78%13918289. 81%13914489. 76%12548980. 94% Rural1582610. 22%1579710. 19%1587110. 24%2954619. 06% Total154866100. 00%154979100. 00%155015100. 00%155035100. 00% State wise presence of post offices in India: Andaman102Dadar and Nagar Haveli39J&K1656 Andhra Pradesh16152Daman & Diu20Jharkhand3092 Arunachal Pradesh295Delhi531Karnataka9761 Assam4023Goa263Kerala5054 Bihar9015Gujarat8934Lakhasdweep10 Chandigarh51Haryana2662MP8031 Chattisgarh3119Himachal Pradesh2778Maharashtra12490 Manipur697Rajasth an10338 Meghalaya475Sikkim209 Mizoram409Tamilnadu11897 Nagaland328Tripura710 Orissa8192U. P. 17584 Pondicherry91Uttarakhand2719 Punjab3842W. B. 8700Each facility center in the network is independent in itself, thereby satisfying the condition of Horizontal Networks, but each central / metro / common facility center is dependent on the traffic / mail at other service centers also, thereby working as Mixed Network Structures. India post has about 387 mail offices to process the mails through its network and conveyed by rail, road, and airlines all over the country. Facility decision in mail service sector includes the office layout, customer support, guidance, and customer interface with employees, basic facilities for employees and services available. India Post is oldest mail service in India and some of the offices of India Post are very old.The ambience, infrastructure, facilities is not comparable to private agency offices, which are equipped with modern infrastructure and facili ties. â€Å"Project Arrow† is a step toward modernization of post offices. It focuses on creating conducive and friendly work environment for staff and customers, information technology enabled services and improving the quality of core business services, primarily focusing in rural areas. It has been implemented in more than 15000 post offices and more post offices are in process of implementation. In comparison to private service providers, India Post has maximum reach, are available at the last mile. Private agencies are working for profit maximization therefore they operate in limited space, and their presence is imited to metro cities and some critical business locations. Due to limited offices and service centers, they have made their offices IT enabled and customer friendly. Process Technology The meaning of the process technology lies behind the meaning of focus. Well-managed service organizations are characterized by a high degree of focus. Better focusing such as th e utilization of classification schemes, refers to †¢to delivery systems that allow customers to have high contact with the system †¢easy segregation / sorting of mails †¢ease of tracking †¢improving the quality of delivery †¢connection of various location with centralized database †¢management information system and database maintenanceAutomation and information technology leads to cost savings, consistent and reliable services, it helps to increases the availability of a service operations and the speed of service delivery process that helps in marketing and customer benefits. In mail service, the level of automation depends on amount of load, types of services, quantity of parcels, cost, and risk appetite of the company. For India Post, the scope of Automation and upgradation in process technology can be defined in many areas: †¢Computerized booking of mails and parcels †¢Segregation / sorting of mail according to destination through bar co de scanner †¢RFID technology to track the consignment location in real time †¢Hand held devices to confirm the delivery status on real time basis †¢Centralized data management Automatic loading of mails in the Transporting Mode †¢Automatic packing of goods and mail to utilize as full load (except in case of lower quantity) †¢Connectivity of all facility centers to check the system information in real time †¢Advance booking and pick up parcel †¢Centralized database to better control the address database of customers India Post is lagging in automation of its process. It has implemented barcode technology in most of its services, but it is not fully supported by its aging staff. Most of the post offices in the rural areas are manually functioning. Many post offices, Mail offices, Administrative offices are not yet computerized.Automatic letter sorting machine is under installation in four metropolitan cities of India, which can increase the sorting s peed to approx. 35000 per hour. In addition, Mixed Mail sorting machine are also under process of implementation to sort large size letters, parcels/packets to the speed of about 16000 per hour. These machines will help to automate the process with better speed, quality and efficiency. As compared to private mail service providers, most of the offices are fully computerized, with full system integration with centralized server. Their offices are connected with real time information system and the core business functions are controlled through IT. Sourcing and Vertical IntegrationSourcing is an important structural aspect of an operations organizations encompasses decision regarding how much of the total work required to create and deliver its services will be done internally and how much can be outsourced from outside organizations. In service industry, outsourcing can reduce the cost of operation. Strategic control in the operation decides the level of outsourcing in mail service. India Post is operating under huge geographical exposure. As a part of its public service, it has to reach to the last consumer in the map. Establishing self-employed service centers at all operating location is costly proposition, therefore to maintain the presence and cost effectiveness it has to outsource some of its activities in the extreme areas of operation. Apart from its front office activities, India Post has scope for outsourcing at almost every stage of operation. Post office maintenance at certain location as per India Post terms and Condition †¢Transportation of dak / mail by road, rail and air through third party agency rather than self procuring the trucks and loaders †¢Deploying a local team for post office maintenance at distant location, but centralized control through district head or regional head post office †¢Dealership and franchise network apart from regular staff †¢Liaison with government organizations and PSU’s to deliver all the mails of govt. institutions through India Post Front office counter franchise India post has a franchise scheme that offers various products and services in urban and upcoming urban areas.Basic features of the Urban franchise model: †¢It provides only counter services, delivery and transmission lies with India post. †¢Provision of services under franchise across the counter for a minimum defined time schedule with flexibility to work round the clock Products and services offered †¢Sale of Stamps and stationery †¢Booking registered articles, speed post articles, money orders, e-post etc. †¢Functioning as an agent for PLI and provide related after sales service, including collection of premia (subject to fulfillment of criteria for PLI agents). †¢Marketing products for which the Department has a corporate agency or tie-up and provide related follow up services (subject to agreement with the other organizations involved). Providing retail and bill/tax/fin e collection/payment services of the Department (Subject to agreement with the other organizations involved) †¢Facilitating the provision of e-governance and citizen-centric services (subject to agreement with the other organizations involved) †¢Any other service introduced by the Department in future through its outlets which is considered amenable to the franchisee model. (subject to agreement with the other organizations involved) Transportation Service The transportation of mail is through various modes 1. By hand 2. Surface line, road transport 3. Surface line, rail transport 4. Air line, Plane transport India Post has manages mail transportation with their own facilities as well as third party service providers. India post has huge employee base to deliver the post by hand to the recipients, but for the transportation on surface and air, it has its own vehicles and also arrangements with third party logistics vendors.Air transport – international deliveries, I ndia Post has tie-up with premier DHL logistics Mail Motor Services (MMS) – For transmission of mail between mail offices and post offices between cities, India Post has its own fleet of 1282 vehicles, full-fledged maintenance workshop facilities Rail transport – for long distance transmission of mails, India Post has tie-up with Indian Railways Scope for Sourcing 1. Road transportation – India post can outsource the transmission of mails between cities and reduce the load of maintenance and fixed fleet expenses, third party service dedicated to India Post can help in focusing on timely delivery and maintenance of quality service. It offload the risk of transportation, maintenance expenses, buying-selling of vehicles etc 2. Franchise for rural areas – India Post franchise scheme is primarily for Urban Areas where the post office is justified but cannot be opened.For India Post, the focus of expanding the reach should be associated with cost factor. As in urban areas, the cost of opening a post office would be high. Similarly, operating cost in the far distant rural areas will also be high. In order to minimize the cost of operation, India Post can outsource some of its urban offices, and similarly rural office, where the cost of operation for local would be lesser than setting up self-employed service centers. 3. Long-term contracts with Customers – India Post can leverage on its wide presence, and govt. institution tag for getting long-term contracts with other govt. institutions and PSUs for delivery of all mails through India Post.This will ensure dedicated source of Income for India Post, and beyond that, it will be a great financial assistance to serve the rural areas. Infrastructural Decisions A company’s operations infrastructure is composed of its policies and systems governing a number of activities, from capital budgeting and equipment selection to organizational structure. Each of these systems often has rep ercussions and implications for other infrastructural and structural elements. Resource allocation and capital budgeting systems Human Resource systems India Post has workforce, which is old aged, there has been no fresh recruitment in India Post from many years for junior and senior level management positions.In the present system, where consumer are growing at fast pace, and the technology and information system is growing in the industry, there is need of well-informed and responsive workforce that can understand the existing IT and customers need. Due to aging workforce, computer literacy among the employees is not at par and training and development of employees has taken a back step in the policies of India Post. Although, India Post organizes many training program for its middle / senior level management employees but due to aging factor, the life expectancy in the organization as well the contribution in the organization is limited. Work Planning and Control systems Quality systemsThe quality system has been focused upon by India post since 2005-06. With the prioritization of computerization in 2006-07 for the development of India post, the Government has laid focus on improving service levels and to enable electronic networking of about 1, 30,000 rural Post Offices. Recently, A Plan costing Rs. 1877. 2 Crores has been formulated to computerize the Post Offices in Rural areas to further improvise on this front. Project Arrow was launched in April 2008. The project envisages up gradation of Post Offices in urban and rural areas both in terms of upgrading and enhancing the quality of service in â€Å"core areas† and improving their â€Å"look and feel†.The project aims at creating a conducive and friendly work environment both for the staff and the customers visiting the Post Offices, providing all IT enabled services through secure connectivity, improving the service quality levels in the core business areas e. g. Mail delivery, Remittance s both electronic and manual and Postal Savings schemes. The â€Å"Look and Feel† activity focuses on improvement in Branding, Information Technology, Human Resource and Infrastructure. Based on the audit report of Project Arrow conducted over 50 post offices of 10 states: 1. In terms of Performance on Mail Delivery, Registered letter performances were 99 %, where as the figures for Ordinary mail varied between 94 to 100%. For Speed post it ranged between 98 to 99 %. 2.In terms of time taken for delivery of letters, post offices scored between 90 to 92% during the 3 rounds of Audit though a higher score was expected. Till June 2012, the Project has been implemented in respect of monitoring of core areas in more than 15,500 Post Offices and â€Å"Look and Feel† has been improved in 1,530 Post Offices. The Government has recently started a new Automated Mail Processing Centre (AMPC) in Delhi on August 20, 2012 to improve mail quality with next-generation sorting centres and to modernize the mail processing operations at India Post. The new letter sorting machine can sort 35,000 letters per hour, while the mixed mail sorter can process 20,000 letters, packets and small parcels an hour.The automated sorting systems should â€Å"considerably† improve sorting errors and improve the quality of mail services, the government said, with the new mixed mail sorter scanning tracking barcodes automatically as items are being sorted. Processing efficiency should also improve because mail can be sorted in a single run, while manual sorting had required a second stage of sorting. As per an interview given by Siemens, the developer of AMPC, to the media; â€Å"The automation route will â€Å"significantly† reduce processing time and save â€Å"considerable† cost for the Indian postal department. Handwriting or language is no longer a barrier as the special IVR by Siemens can read various scripts e. g. Greek, Cyrilic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi.For the postal centers at Delhi and Kolkata, this machine will be able to read English and Hindi and as a result will enable Department of Post to provide better and more efficient services with hig h level of productivity† . From quality aspects as such, the ministry is taking measures like the introduction of AMPC and Project Arrow to improvise the quality. Still, a lot of rural villages are not computerized and timely delivery of mails has been a major issue. Also, the technologies like AMPC need to reach out to more major cities for further reducing the cost and improve service levels. The Government provides money bank guarantee of Rs 500 on damage or loss of any parcel but no specifications regarding this are provided.As such, a lot of people prefer other courier services to send valuable or important mails/parcels. Measurement and reward systems One of the major problems with India post is the undefined promotion structure. The employees are bound for a fixed pay and no variable pay/ Incentives are provided. The promotion is based on experience rather than utility/ quality and irrespective of poor showing at work, job security is provided which makes the system lazy. Frequent transfer of employees and low growth potential for an individual are few other concerns which needs to be addressed upon along with a continuous feedback system of employees. Product and process development systemsIndia Post although the oldest and most significant player in mail service but with time the competitors has taken a lead and the social obligation of India Post has put them in back step in process development, improvement and fast implementation. The project team for process improvisation works on the guidelines given by the members after approval for the Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, larger projects has to get the approval from the ministry before commencement. Organization structure The organization structure of India Post is a complex organizati on structure (Exhibit 1). It has many vertical layers and simultaneously horizontal divisions. India Post is a government body, therefore the bureaucratic organization structure is inevitable, it has members deputed by Govt. of India as well as personnel that are recruited by India Post itself.Due to various business dimensions (postal mail service, PF fund, MNREGA fund, Bank, Finance, Forex etc) of India Post, each business vertical is treated as separate business unit and therefore makes the structure more complex. The organization structure is a centralized, and bureaucratic, power to take decision lies with the senior management and staff is primarily to do the regular business / operational activities. Operations Strategy for India Post Considering, the fact that India post is the Govt. institutional body and their prime focus is to serve the mass market by offering its services at lowest possible rates with high quality and good speed.In addition, India Post desires to be self -sustaining organization, it involves trade-offs between operation strategy matrix parameters (Price, Quality, Dependability, Flexibility and Speed). They can make their product primarily in two segments: 1. Business Mails2. General Mails General Mails – it is for mass market focusing on public, for cost sensitive customers (primarily poor people), delivery of mails to any location with a specified time delivery. Business Mails – it is specialized service, other than just sending mails (other than General Mails), the prices should be competitive with other private players, delivery time specified, service customization as required by the customers. E. g. speed post, registered post, logistics, parcels and box parcel etc. Exhibit 1 : Organization Structure, India Post

Case Study: Bankruptcy and the Bible

Case Study: Your long-time friend Carl comes to you with a serious problem in his life. He is a believer, and he wants your advice. For years he and his family have lived above their means. They did this by continually refinancing their house and rolling their credit card and other debt onto their home mortgage. However, now that real estate prices are no longer rising but actually falling, Carl can't refinance anymore and can't pay his monthly bills as they come due. He is in a real credit crisis. His creditors are calling him threatening lawsuits, garnishments, and other unpleasant things.One of his friends at work said that he should file bankruptcy. He comes to you for advice from a Christian perspective. In particular, he wants to know: 1. Does the Bible forbid him to file bankruptcy? 2. Does the Bible forbid borrowing altogether? If not, when is it permissible to borrow money? Use the words â€Å"Forbids† or â€Å"Does not Forbid† in the subject line of your discu ssion board post, depending upon your conclusion. Do not use attachments as these are cumbersome and inhibit the discussion process. Suggested Readings:Read and consider these and other Bible verses that relate to borrowing, lending, and lawsuits: Proverbs 17:14, Proverbs 20:3, Proverbs 25:8-10, 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, Matthew 5:22-26, Matthew 5:33-37, Matthew 5:38-42, Psalm 37:21, Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, Colossians 3:9, Ephesians 4:22, Ephesians 4:25, Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 15:1-18, Psalm 37:26, Psalm 112:5, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 22:7, Deuteronomy 24:6, Deuteronomy 24:10-13, Deuteronomy 24:17, Exodus 22:25-27, Proverbs 6:1-5, and Proverbs 22:26-27. You may also want to consult some good commentaries and other study aids on some of the verses that seem particularly relevant to you.Proverbs 17:14 New International Version (NIV) 14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. 3 It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. 8 do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? 9 If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another’s confidence, 10 or the one who hears it may shame you and the charge against you will stand. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 New International Version (NIV) Lawsuits Among Believers If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. Matthew 5:22-26 New International Version (NIV) 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[a][b] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[c] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool! ’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 3 â€Å"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 â€Å"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:33-37 New International Version (NIV) Oaths 3 â€Å"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made. ’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. [a] Matthew 5:38-42 New International Version (NIV) Eye for Eye 38 â€Å"You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for e ye, and tooth for tooth. [a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Psalm 37:21 New International Version (NIV) 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 New International Version (NIV) 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it.He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Colossians 3:9 New International Version (NIV) 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices Ephesians 4:22 New International Version (NIV) 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; Ephesians 4:25 New International Version (NIV) 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.Leviticus 25 New International Version (NIV) The Sabbath Year 25 The LORD said to Moses at Mount Sinai, 2 â€Å"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and tempo rary resident who live among you, 7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten. The Year of Jubilee 8 â€Å"‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 0 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. 13 â€Å"‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property. 14 â€Å"‘If yo u sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do not take advantage of each other. 5 You are to buy from your own people on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And they are to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops. 17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God. 18 â€Å"‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 9 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, â€Å"What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops? † 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. 23 â€Å"‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. 4 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. 25 â€Å"‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold. 26 If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, 27 they are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property. 8 But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property. 29 â€Å"‘Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it. 30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 1 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee. 32 â€Å"‘The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. 33 So the property of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their per manent possession. 5 â€Å"‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. 39 â€Å"‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. 0 They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slav es. 43 Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. 44 â€Å"‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 5 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly. 47 â€Å"‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, 48 they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves.One of their relatives may redeem them: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves. 50 They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themsel ves up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker for that number of years. 51 If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly. 3 They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly. 54 â€Å"‘Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, 55 for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 15:1-18 New International Version (NIV) The Year for Canceling Debts 15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you. 4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. 7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: â€Å"Th e seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,† so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing.They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. Freeing Servants 12 If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. 3 And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. 14 Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the LORD your God has blessed you. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today. 16 But if your servant says to you, â€Å"I do not want to leave you,† because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life.Do the same for your female servant. 18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. Psalm 37:26 New International Version (NIV) 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. [a] Psalm 112:5 New International Version (NIV) 5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. Proverbs 19:17 New International Version (NIV) 7 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. Prover bs 22:7 New International Version (NIV) 7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Deuteronomy 24:6 New International Version (NIV) 6 Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security. Deuteronomy 24:10-13 New International Version (NIV) 10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. 1 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. 13 Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 24:17 New International Version (NIV) 17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of th e widow as a pledge. Exodus 22:25-27 New International Version (NIV) 5 â€Å"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Proverbs 6:1-5 New International Version (NIV) Warnings Against Folly 6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 you have been trapped by what you said, nsnared by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a] and give your neighbor no rest! 4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. 5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird fro m the snare of the fowler. Proverbs 22:26-27 New International Version (NIV) Saying 4 26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; 27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.