Family And Kinship In India

India offers astounding variety in virtually every aspect of social life. Diversities of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class, and caste groups crosscut Indian society, which is also permeated with immense urban-rural differences and gender distinctions. Differences between north India and south India are particularly significant, especially in systems of kinship and marriage. Indian society is multifaceted to an extent perhaps unknown in any other of the world’s great civilizations—it is more like an area as varied as Europe than any other single nation-state.Adding further variety to contemporary Indian culture are rapidly occurring changes affecting various regions and socioeconomic groups in disparate ways. Yet, amid the complexities of Indian life, widely accepted cultural themes enhance social harmony and order. Many Indian societies were organized around principles of kinship. Kinship ties based on bloodlines or marriage formed the basis of th e political, economic, and religious system. Succession to political office and religious positions, ownership and inheritance of property, and even whom one could or could not marry were determined on the basis of membership in a kin group.Social bonds with relatives must be reinforced at family events or at rites crucial to the religious community. Indian Society Hierarchy India is a hierarchical society. Whether in north India or south India, Hindu or Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and social groups are ranked according to various essential qualities. Although India is a political democracy, notions of complete equality are seldom evident in daily life. Societal hierarchy is evident in caste groups, amongst individuals, and in family and kinship groups.Castes are primarily associated with Hinduism, but caste-like groups also exist among Muslims, Indian, Christians, and other religious communities. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and behavior is constantly shaped by this knowledge. Individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, some powerful people, or â€Å"big men,† sit confidently on chairs, while â€Å"little men† come before them to make requests, either standing or squatting not presuming to sit beside a man of high status as an equal.Hierarchy plays an important role within families and kinship groupings also, where men outrank women of similar age, and senior relatives outrank junior relatives. Formal respect is accorded family members—for example, in northern India, a daughter-in-law shows deference to her husband, to all senior in-laws, and to all daughters of the household. Siblings, too, recognize age differences, with younger siblings addressing older siblings by respectful terms rather than by name. Social Interdependence One of the great themes pervading Indian life is social interdependence.People are born into groups–families, clans, sub castes, castes, and religious communities–and live with a constant sense of being part of and inseparable from these groups. A corollary is the notion that everything a person does properly involves interaction with other people. A person's greatest dread, perhaps, is the possibility of being left alone, without social support, to face the necessary challenges of life. This sense of interdependence is extended into the theological realm: the very shape of a person's life is seen as being greatly influenced by divine beings with whom an ongoing relationship must be maintained.Psychologically, family members typically experience intense emotional interdependence. Economic activities, too, are deeply imbedded in a social nexus. Through a multitude of kinship ties, each person is linked with kin in villages and towns near and far. Almost everywhere a person goes; he can find a relative from whom he can expect moral and practical s upport. In every activity, social ties can help a person and the absence of them can bring failure. Seldom do people carry out even the simplest tasks on their own. When a small child eats, his mother puts the food into his mouth with her own hand.When a girl brings water home from the well in pots on her head, someone helps her unload the pots. A student hopes that an influential relative or friend can facilitate his college admission. A young person anticipates that parents will arrange his or her marriage. Finally, a person facing death expects that relatives will conduct the proper funeral rites ensuring his own smooth passage to the next stage of existence and reaffirming social ties among mourners. This sense of interdependence extends into the theological realm.From birth onward, a child learns that his â€Å"fate† has been â€Å"written† by divine forces and that his life is shaped by powerful deities with whom an ongoing relationship must be maintained. Social interaction is regarded as being of the highest priority, and social bonds are expected to be long lasting. Even economic activities that might in Western culture involve impersonal interactions are in India deeply imbedded in a social nexus. All social interaction involves constant attention to hierarchy, respect, honor, the feelings of others, rights and obligations, hospitality, and gifts of food, clothing, and other desirable items.Finely tuned rules of etiquette help facilitate each individual's many social relationships. . Indian Family structure . Indian family structure is believed to be the unit that teaches the values and worth of an honest living that have been carried down across generations. Since the puranic ages, Indian family structure was that of a joint family indicating every person of the same clan living together. However, this idea of elaborate living had been disintintegrated in smaller family units. The essential themes of Indian cultural life are learned wi thin the bosom of a family.The joint family is highly valued, ideally  consisting of several generations residing, working, eating, and worshiping together. Such families include men related through the male line, along with their wives, children, and unmarried daughters. A wife usually lives with her husband’s relatives, although she retains important bonds with her natal family. Even in rapidly modernizing India, the traditional joint household remains for most Indians the primary social force, in both ideal and practice. Large families tend to be flexible and well suited to modern Indian life, especially for the more than two-thirds of Indians who are involved in agriculture.As in most primarily agricultural societies, cooperating kin help provide mutual economic security. The joint family is also common in cities, where kinship ties are often crucial to obtaining employment or financial assistance. Many prominent families, such as the Tatas, Birlas, and Sarabhais, retai n joint family arrangements as they cooperate in controlling major financial empires The ancient ideal of the joint family retains its power, but today actual living arrangements vary widely. Many Indians live in nuclear families—-a couple with their unmarried children—-but belong to strong networks of beneficial kinship ties.Often, clusters of relatives live as neighbors, responding readily to their kinship obligations. As they expand, joint families typically divide into smaller units, which gradually grow into new joint families, continuing a perpetual cycle. Today, some family members may move about to take advantage of job opportunities, typically sending money home to the larger family. FAMILY TRANSFORMATION An Analytical look on various studies: by different sociologist point of views The Study of family in India centers on the debate of joint family versus nuclear family.The first authentic study on family comes from the writings of Sir Henry Maine, who was law adviser to the colonial government of India. He developed intellectual interest in family studies. He indicated that joint family is characterized by: †¢ Common property holding. †¢ Absolute authority of ‘Karta’. He considered that joint family is corporate unit where people make contribution differently but share rewards on the basis of their needs. He said that joint family sustains in India because it is considered as moral institution with the members are obliged to perform rituals for common dead ancestorsGS Ghurye considered that ‘joint family is a product of Indian culture that glorified classical values. There is universal presence of joint family cutting across caste, religion which promoted unity among people in Indian society. PN Prabhu in his analysis of family and kinship in India considers that individual association with joint family is driven by moralist, therefore when morals is replaced by individualism (when tradition is replaced by m odernity) then joint family is transformed into nuclear family.Irawati Karve offered an exhaustive definition of joint family. She writes that joint family refers to a social group where people belonging to 3 – 4 generations organically related to each other, hold property in common, share common residence, eat food prepared in common kitchen, participate in common rituals and ceremonies and they have, obligations towards the head of the family known as ‘Karta’. She considers that joint family is a product of culture and therefore despite economic transformation joint family system persists in India.It sustains itself as it is driven by cultural ideology rather than driven by economic interest. During 1960s two group of sociologist took considerable interest in the field of family study. One group conforming to modern theory looked into complete integration of joint family system whereas the other group went for empirical studies to examine regional variations in family transformation under the various process of modernity. These two theories cannot be considered as qualitatively different because there position stand vary only on the question of the degree of changes in family.MN Srinivas, SC Dubay find out that there is a strong linkage between caste and joint family. Empirical study indicates that higher castes go for joint family system and lower castes go for nuclear family. Therefore joint family is driven by economic logic rather than cultural moralist. It is also noticed that joint family is not breaking down completely under the influence of urban living. Alan Rose in a study of Bangalore finds out that around 70% of families manifest either structural joint ness of functional joint ness or a mixture of both.MS Gore in his study of Agarwals of Delhi finds out that how mother – son relationship precedes over husband – wife relationship and family operates as a strong support base to its members in matters related to se lection of occupation, financial assistance and selection of mates. TN Madan indicates how residential separation has not given way to break down of joint family. In his theory of â€Å"money order economy† he indicates that family joint ness has always been enduring in case of India. Thus these scholars concluded by saying that family transformation in India is not a replica of family transformation in the West.Therefore social change in India is Indian in character and so Western theories and models cannot explain family transformation in Indian society Household dimensions of the Family Family transformation in India has puts a fundamental question that, whether in India joint household is disintegrating or joint family is disintegrating. He finds out that proportion of joint household is more today in comparison to past. He points out the reasons for the same i. e. due to rising population; construction of house has become costly, migration in search of employment etc. Bi gger joint households are now splitting into smaller households.People living in different households have strong emotional ties therefore joint household is disintegrating but not joint family and so family should be studied from household perspective and changes in household and family patterns must be investigated to examine actual nature of family transformation in India. Classical sociologists were greatly committed to family study either by considering family as cornerstone of human society or by looking into changing nature of society. With the advent of modernity it was perceived that household is a residential space but family is a social institution.However, with the rise of feminism both as an ideology and as social movement, women's approach towards marriage has gone through a series of transformation. AM Shah in his book â€Å"household dimension of the family in India† indicate that even in traditional context, household and family do not mean similar things. Ci ting the case of India he considers that family and household were absolutely different but family studies in India immensely focused attention on the transformation of joint family into nuclear family. Household refers to residential space where people living together may or may not constitute family.Looking at household pattern one could effectively study nature and form of transformation taking place in Indian society. In recent analysis of global migration and family pattern, it has been found out that in countries like Philippines and India a large chunk of women in search of employment go out to advanced countries of the world. Though most of them are married they don't stay with their family. As a result they constitute independent household. These households may constitute many friends living together or a person living with working partner to whom he/she is not married or a person living all alone.It is generally perceived in case of India that household is less durable an alternative to family system, which gives more importance to friendship than kinship. Household offer immense individual liberty, sexual freedom, limited or no liability towards the other members of the household. Thus it can be concluded that household is evolving into a replacement for family in many developing countries including India. Therefore sociology of kinship is shifting its focus from the study of marriage and family to the study of friendship and household.Sexual Division of Labour Feminist sociologists are of the opinion that whether it’s joint family or nuclear family, in no way family transformation is affecting to the status of women in India. Therefore reproduction, sexuality, division of labour are all determined by the values of patriarchy than by principles of equality. Talcott Parson indicates that industrialisation, urbanization, migration have contributed for occupational mobility, empowerment of women and gender gap within and outside family has suffi ciently been reduced.The modernist theory also indicates that in case of India relationship between husband and wife is now proceeding over parent-child relationship. Conjugal relationship is considered as more important than obligation towards kinship. Irrespective of gender every child inherits the property from parents, selection of mates is no longer family’s responsibility and childbirth is greatly a matter of economics and mutual agreement between spouse. Therefore modernity has broken down traditional form of marriage, hierarchical form of relationship.Traditionally, males have controlled key family resources, such as land or businesses, especially in high-status groups. Following traditional Hindu law, women did not inherit real estate and were thus beholden to their male kin who controlled land and buildings. Under Muslim customary law, women can—and do—inherit real estate, but their shares have typically been smaller than those of males. Modern legisla tion allows all Indian women to inherit real estate. Traditionally, for those families who could afford it, women have controlled some wealth in the form of precious jewelry.In the Indian household, lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, and ideals of conduct help maintain family harmony. [i] All family members are socialized to accept the authority of those above them in the hierarchy. The eldest male acts as family head, and his wife supervises her daughters-in-law, among whom the youngest has the least authority. Reciprocally, those in authority accept responsibility for meeting the needs of other family members. Systems of Kinship in India Kinship is considered as the heart and soul of Indian social life. DespiteIndia's exposure to technological and industrial modernity, descent plays a significant role in the life of people. GS Ghurye writes in detail about various descent groups living together in different regions of the country carrying different names and ident ities. These different lineage groups bringing together a multi-civilization thereby making India a land of pluralism. However, all these descent groups imbibe common rules of marriage, common food behavior, common cultural, religious ideology radiating from Hinduism and that made Indian society a land of diversity.Indologists look into the role of descent in defining marriage, family and kinship in India. The people belonging to similar descent group are located in a given region where they worship to their common ancestors, follow common way of life and when the size of descent group expands, they migrate to different areas but still carry their identity. Therefore caste is nothing but an expanded descent system that maintains its boundary, distinguishing itself from the other caste.Andre Beteille indicates association of man and kinship is so strong in India that voting behavior is driven by kinship rather than on the basis of merit. In all the political parties of India kinship is the primary source of political recruitment. Thus democratic polity in India is engaged in social and cultural reproduction. In case of India family/kinship offers ideological, economic, infrastructural support to individual to determine the nature of occupation.In conclusion it can be said that the role of descent and kinship not only determines the private sphere of an individual’s life like marriage, family, household, gender role, rituals but also has great influence over his public life like occupational selection, political participation and identity formation. Therefore the role of descent and kinship has changed very little under the influence of modernity in India and so while studying social transformation one cannot afford to ignore the same.Lineage system can be divided into two parts in India i.e. †¢ Unilineal systems: a system of determining descent groups in which one belongs to one's father's or mother's lineage. Both patrilineality and matrilineality are types of unilineal descent. †¢ Non-Unilineal systems: a system where there exists multiple forms of relationship. Classical anthropologists divide descent groups into two fundamental types such as: †¢ Patrilineal : inheriting or determining descent through the male line. †¢ Matrilineal : inheriting or determining descent through the female line. Types of kinship systemsKinship is a relationship between any entity that share a genealogical origin (related to family, lineage, history), through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. The first sociologist to study kinship systems in India is Irawati Karve, she divided India into four different kinship zones such as: †¢ North Indian kinship systems. †¢ South Indian kinship systems. †¢ Central Indian kinship systems. †¢ Eastern Indian kinship systems. North Indian kinship systems This kinship system is present in Hindi speaking belt and also in areas where Aryan culture influence is subs tantive.It includes West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. In North India kinship systems, the rules of marriage is highly exhaustive because a large body of people are excluded from alliance relationship. One cannot receive women from his mother’s group or mother's mother group, father’s mother group and from within his own village. Hence exogamy is quite exhaustive and marriage involves not intra-family ties but inter-village ties. Residential system is very Virilocal (bride lives with husband's father’s group) type . In North Indian kinship father – son relationship precedes over husband – wife relationship.South Indian kinship systems This type of relationship system is largely present in all southern states and some of its influence is also largely noticed in pockets of Maharashtra and Orissa. In southern India kinship systems, no distinction is made between patrilineal or matrilineal. In case of South India cross cousins marriage take place and so ex ogamy is not exhaustive like in North India. The relationship between husband and wife is not subdued to father – son relationship as in case of North India. Hostility of relationship between the in laws driven by suspicion is also weak in South India.Central Indian kinship systems This system is practised in case of Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP which is a mixture of elements of North and South India. In case of Rajputs marriage is greatly determined on the basis of family status of girl. Rajputs are permitted to marry any girl on the basis of their choice rather than simply follow the rules of caste. Marathas are divided into 32 clans which are put into primary, secondary and tertiary divisions and so the rules of marriage are determined accordingly between various divisions.In case of â€Å"Kumbi† of Gujarat one is not supposed to marry women belonging to first-generation from father's side and three generations from mother's side. In case of Rajasthan on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiyamassive marriages take place involving people belonging to different age groups and their rules of marriage is sufficiently relaxed. Eastern India kinship systems It largely includes kinship patterns followed by different tribal groups like Munda of Orissa, Manipuri of Manipur, Nagas, Kukis and Khasi. These kinship systems don't follow specific patterns .A daughter carries the name of patrilineal grandmother and son carries the name of patrilineal grandfather, divorce is common among them In conclusion these regional variations in kinship largely speaks about differential residential patterns, entitlement on the basis of gender, social status of men, women and children bringing the point back home that Indian culture is largely pluralistic in character. Therefore unity in India should not be seen as destruction of the process of diversity but rather it should respect the process of diversity.CONCLUSIONGradual changes have been ushered in by religious, social, a nd cultural reforms. Industrialization, urbanization, and technological advances have been instrumental in changing family structures, values, and lifestyles. Ganeswar Misra (1995) emphasized that middle- and upper-class families in urban areas were undergoing a dramatic transformation because the younger generation is questioning power issues, traditional roles, hierarchical relationships, obligations, loyalty, and deference for kinsmen and elderly.With changing times, Indian family structure, functions, traditional division of labor, and authority patterns have altered, favoring more egalitarian relations between the husband and the wife and also a move toward more shared decision-making patterns between parents and children. Despite these changes, the fact remains that most individuals continue to value and give top priority to the family, and families continue to maintain strong kinship bonds and ties.

Website Design & Development Proposal for Netrux Global Concepts Limited

Website design & development proposal for Netrux Global Concepts Limited Submitted by Ojumatimi Olusegun, Matric Number 010403085 (Full Time) To the MBA department On 02/11/12 Course: Research Methodology (MBA 804) Lecturer: Prof. S. I. Owualah  © Crystal Design Corp 2012 Email: [email  protected] com Web: www. cystaldesigncorp. com Date2nd November, 2012 ClientNetrux Global Concepts Limited Contact:215/219 Ikorodu Road, Ikorodu Lagos Phone: 014708945 Email: www. netruxng. com Project titleWebsite design and development for Netrux Global Concepts Limited Project description The project will involve designing a website for Netrux Global Concepts Limited. The website will be designed to the very highest standard and will reflect Netrux Global Concepts Limited’s established corporate identity. We will use Dynamic HTML code, an open source content management system (CMS) which will allow you to easily add content such as products, text and images to the website with a minimum of technical knowledge, within a tightly defined design framework.We will design the site with Google in mind, however a further online marketing campaign using search engine optimization (SEO) is strongly recommended at some stage in the future, in order to maximize the number of visitors to the site. This work can be done by us, or can be done by another suitable agency. We also recommend building up a mailing list of potential and current clients, in order to send a monthly newsletter to them with good news + special offers. Scope We would undertake to do the following: a.Planning and wireframes b. Photoshop / Fireworks design of homepage look and feel, based wireframes & client suggestions. Up to 3 alternative look-and-feel versions are included in the quote. c. Image research. d. Design of up to 20 interior page templates, based on signed off wireframes. Up to 10 iterations of each are included in the quote as standard. e. Coding and cross-browser testing of all templates. f. E xtensive cross-browser testing at multiple resolutions. g. Creation of up to 8 contact / enquiry forms, if required. . Pages to be coded to be SEO friendly. Note: Keyword research and other SEO is not included in this quote. i. Setup of Dynamic HTML content management system (CMS), for editing text and images on main website. j. Remote training with CMS, delivered via Skype. (up to 1. 5 hours) Note, onsite training can be arranged for an additional cost. k. Basic user guide to CMS. (supplied as video or PDF) Optional We anticipate the client has a relatively small number of high-value customers.Therefore it is worth considering creating some custom-designed email newsletter and promotional templates to keep in touch with the customers and increase customer loyalty and brand awareness. This is an optional extra and would include: a. Setup of email marketing system for capturing email addresses. b. Creation of email newsletter and promotional templates. c. Testing of emails in multipl e email software, including on iPhone, iPad, Blackberry. d. Remote training with email marketing system, delivered via Skype. (0. 5 hours) Note, onsite training can be arranged for an additional cost. Budget Website design & development The budget for the design & development of the website, including integration with the CMS would be N1,490,000. Images Image research is included in the budget. The price of purchasing images or custom photography is additional. All image purchases will be agreed with the client in advance. Copy writing Copy is to be supplied by the client, therefore we have not quoted for it. Should additional copy be required we shall be happy to quote for it. TrainingRemote (Skype) training and CMS user guide (generally delivered as training videos) is included within the budget. Website hostingN450,000 Optional extras: Email design, setup and training N150,000 Monthly email cost:190,000/month (for up to 500 subscribers) Onsite trainingN700,000 Timescale We would anticipate the project taking 10-14 weeks to complete. The exact speed of design & development will be affected by client turnaround times, for example responding to designs etc. About Crystal Design Corp We’re a small company that helps our clients get impressive results from their websites.Our approach is simple. We believe what matters about a company’s website isn’t how pretty it is or how clever the programming is, it’s how successful the site is. And as any good business person knows, success doesn’t come overnight. That’s why we like to work with you over a reasonable period of time to gradually improve the results your website achieves. Clients Our clients include national and multinational companies such as Federal Inland Revenue service(FIIR), Shell Nigeria, Exxon Mobile, Nestle Nigeria Ltd as well as financial institutions like Diamond bank, GTBank and Citibank.Testimonials If you’re going to be building your business based on systems a web development company has created, it’s important you can rely on them. Here’s what some of our customers say about us: Working with Crystal Design Corp is amazing. Those guys rock! Adesegun Samuel, Exxon Mobile The reason we use Crystal Design Corp is that as well as producing really high-quality work, they're reliable, easy to deal with and able to turn around quick deadlines. I can't recommend Ojumatimi and his team enough! Mike Adenuga, Globalcom NigeriaOur background The company was set up by Ojumatimi O. , CEO, crystal-designs in 2011 after working as a web designer for other agencies since 2009. Sola has been a professional web designer since 2007, and has been designing websites since 2005. The Team We have a team of full-time staff, and a network of freelancers we call on for specific expertise or to assist when we get busy. Our core team consists of: Core team: Sola O. , Designer / CEO Lasisi M. Co-Founder, Developer Tosin H. , Junior Designer Additional experts: Tosin A. Photographer Demola O. , Copywriter Seye Cole, Developer Validity This proposal is valid for 2 months from the date at the top. A 40% deposit is due prior to project commencement. The balance is payable on completion. This proposal is for information purposes only and does not form a contract. We aren’t currently VAT registered. Thanks! Thanks for considering working with us †¦ we really appreciate it! If you’ve got any questions, just ask us and we’ll answer them. Email [email  protected] com or call Sola on 07069176181.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifty-three

Bran The Karstarks came in on a cold windy morning, bringing three hundred horsemen and near two thousand foot from their castle at Karhold. The steel points of their pikes winked in the pale sunlight as the column approached. A man went before them, pounding out a slow, deep-throated marching rhythm on a drum that was bigger than he was, boom, boom, boom. Bran watched them come from a guard turret atop the outer wall, peering through Maester Luwin's bronze far-eye while perched on Hodor's shoulders. Lord Rickard himself led them, his sons Harrion and Eddard and Torrhen riding beside him beneath night-black banners emblazoned with the white sunburst of their House. Old Nan said they had Stark blood in them, going back hundreds of years, but they did not look like Starks to Bran. They were big men, and fierce, faces covered with thick beards, hair worn loose past the shoulders. Their cloaks were made of skins, the pelts of bear and seal and wolf. They were the last, he knew. The other lords were already here, with their hosts. Bran yearned to ride out among them, to see the winter houses full to bursting, the jostling crowds in the market square every morning, the streets rutted and torn by wheel and hoof. But Robb had forbidden him to leave the castle. â€Å"We have no men to spare to guard you,† his brother had explained. â€Å"I'll take Summer,† Bran argued. â€Å"Don't act the boy with me, Bran,† Robb said. â€Å"You know better than that. Only two days ago one of Lord Bolton's men knifed one of Lord Cerwyn's at the Smoking Log. Our lady mother would skin me for a pelt if I let you put yourself at risk.† He was using the voice of Robb the Lord when he said it; Bran knew that meant there was no appeal. It was because of what had happened in the wolfswood, he knew. The memory still gave him bad dreams. He had been as helpless as a baby, no more able to defend himself than Rickon would have been. Less, even . . . Rickon would have kicked them, at the least. It shamed him. He was only a few years younger than Robb; if his brother was almost a man grown, so was he. He should have been able to protect himself. A year ago, before, he would have visited the town even if it meant climbing over the walls by himself. In those days he could run down stairs, get on and off his pony by himself, and wield a wooden sword good enough to knock Prince Tommen in the dirt. Now he could only watch, peering out through Maester Luwin's lens tube. The maester had taught him all the banners: the mailed fist of the Glovers, silver on scarlet; Lady Mormont's black bear; the hideous flayed man that went before Roose Bolton of the Dreadfort; a bull moose for the Hornwoods; a battle-axe for the Cerwyns; three sentinel trees for the Tallharts; and the fearsome sigil of House Umber, a roaring giant in shattered chains. And soon enough he learned the faces too, when the lords and their sons and knights retainer came to Winterfell to feast. Even the Great Hall was not large enough to seat all of them at once, so Robb hosted each of the principal bannermen in turn. Bran was always given the place of honor at his brother's right hand. Some of the lords bannermen gave him queer hard stares as he sat there, as if they wondered by what right a green boy should be placed above them, and him a cripple too. â€Å"How many is it now?† Bran asked Maester Luwin as Lord Karstark and his sons rode through the gates in the outer wall. â€Å"Twelve thousand men, or near enough as makes no matter.† â€Å"How many knights?† â€Å"Few enough,† the maester said with a touch of impatience. â€Å"To be a knight, you must stand your vigil in a sept, and be anointed with the seven oils to consecrate your vows. In the north, only a few of the great houses worship the Seven. The rest honor the old gods, and name no knights . . . but those lords and their sons and sworn swords are no less fierce or loyal or honorable. A man's worth is not marked by a ser before his name. As I have told you a hundred times before.† â€Å"Still,† said Bran, â€Å"how many knights?† Maester Luwin sighed. â€Å"Three hundred, perhaps four . . . among three thousand armored lances who are not knights.† â€Å"Lord Karstark is the last,† Bran said thoughtfully. â€Å"Robb will feast him tonight.† â€Å"No doubt he will.† â€Å"How long before . . . before they go?† â€Å"He must march soon, or not at all,† Maester Luwin said. â€Å"The winter town is full to bursting, and this army of his will eat the countryside clean if it camps here much longer. Others are waiting to join him all along the kingsroad, barrow knights and crannogmen and the Lords Manderly and Flint. The fighting has begun in the riverlands, and your brother has many leagues to go.† â€Å"I know.† Bran felt as miserable as he sounded. He handed the bronze tube back to the maester, and noticed how thin Luwin's hair had grown on top. He could see the pink of scalp showing through. It felt queer to look down on him this way, when he'd spent his whole life looking up at him, but when you sat on Hodor's back you looked down on everyone. â€Å"I don't want to watch anymore. Hodor, take me back to the keep.† â€Å"Hodor,† said Hodor. Maester Luwin tucked the tube up his sleeve. â€Å"Bran, your lord brother will not have time to see you now. He must greet Lord Karstark and his sons and make them welcome.† â€Å"I won't trouble Robb. I want to visit the godswood.† He put his hand on Hodor's shoulder. â€Å"Hodor.† A series of chisel-cut handholds made a ladder in the granite of the tower's inner wall. Hodor hummed tunelessly as he went down hand under hand, Bran bouncing against his back in the wicker seat that Maester Luwin had fashioned for him. Luwin had gotten the idea from the baskets the women used to carry firewood on their backs; after that it had been a simple matter of cutting legholes and attaching some new straps to spread Bran's weight more evenly. It was not as good as riding Dancer, but there were places Dancer could not go, and this did not shame Bran the way it did when Hodor carried him in his arms like a baby. Hodor seemed to like it too, though with Hodor it was hard to tell. The only tricky part was doors. Sometimes Hodor forgot that he had Bran on his back, and that could be painful when he went through a door. For near a fortnight there had been so many comings and goings that Robb ordered both portcullises kept up and the drawbridge down between them, even in the dead of night. A long column of armored lancers was crossing the moat between the walls when Bran emerged from the tower; Karstark men, following their lords into the castle. They wore black iron halfhelms and black woolen cloaks patterned with the white sunburst. Hodor trotted along beside them, smiling to himself, his boots thudding against the wood of the drawbridge. The riders gave them queer looks as they went by, and once Bran heard someone guffaw. He refused to let it trouble him. â€Å"Men will look at you,† Maester Luwin had warned him the first time they had strapped the wicker basket around Hodor's chest. â€Å"They will look, and they will talk, and some will mock you.† Let them mock, Bran thought. No one mocked him in his bedchamber, but he would not live his life in bed. As they passed beneath the gatehouse portcullis, Bran put two fingers into his mouth and whistled. Summer came loping across the yard. Suddenly the Karstark lancers were fighting for control, as their horses rolled their eyes and whickered in dismay. One stallion reared, screaming, his rider cursing and hanging on desperately. The scent of the direwolves sent horses into a frenzy of fear if they were not accustomed to it, but they'd quiet soon enough once Summer was gone. â€Å"The godswood,† Bran reminded Hodor. Even Winterfell itself was crowded. The yard rang to the sound of sword and axe, the rumble of wagons, and the barking of dogs. The armory doors were open, and Bran glimpsed Mikken at his forge, his hammer ringing as sweat dripped off his bare chest. Bran had never seen as many strangers in all his years, not even when King Robert had come to visit Father. He tried not to flinch as Hodor ducked through a low door. They walked down a long dim hallway, Summer padding easily beside them. The wolf glanced up from time to time, eyes smoldering like liquid gold. Bran would have liked to touch him, but he was riding too high for his hand to reach. The godswood was an island of peace in the sea of chaos that Winterfell had become. Hodor made his way through the dense stands of oak and ironwood and sentinels, to the still pool beside the heart tree. He stopped under the gnarled limbs of the weirwood, humming. Bran reached up over his head and pulled himself out of his seat, drawing the dead weight of his legs up through the holes in the wicker basket. He hung for a moment, dangling, the dark red leaves brushing against his face, until Hodor lifted him and lowered him to the smooth stone beside the water. â€Å"I want to be by myself for a while,† he said. â€Å"You go soak. Go to the pools.† â€Å"Hodor.† Hodor stomped through the trees and vanished. Across the godswood, beneath the windows of the Guest House, an underground hot spring fed three small ponds. Steam rose from the water day and night, and the wall that loomed above was thick with moss. Hodor hated cold water, and would fight like a treed wildcat when threatened with soap, but he would happily immerse himself in the hottest pool and sit for hours, giving a loud burp to echo the spring whenever a bubble rose from the murky green depths to break upon the surface. Summer lapped at the water and settled down at Bran's side. He rubbed the wolf under the jaw, and for a moment boy and beast both felt at peace. Bran had always liked the godswood, even before, but of late he found himself drawn to it more and more. Even the heart tree no longer scared him the way it used to. The deep red eyes carved into the pale trunk still watched him, yet somehow he took comfort from that now. The gods were looking over him, he told himself; the old gods, gods of the Starks and the First Men and the children of the forest, his father's gods. He felt safe in their sight, and the deep silence of the trees helped him think. Bran had been thinking a lot since his fall; thinking, and dreaming, and talking with the gods. â€Å"Please make it so Robb won't go away,† he prayed softly. He moved his hand through the cold water, sending ripples across the pool. â€Å"Please make him stay. Or if he has to go, bring him home safe, with Mother and Father and the girls. And make it . . . make it so Rickon understands.† His baby brother had been wild as a winter storm since he learned Robb was riding off to war, weeping and angry by turns. He'd refused to eat, cried and screamed for most of a night, even punched Old Nan when she tried to sing him to sleep, and the next day he'd vanished. Robb had set half the castle searching for him, and when at last they'd found him down in the crypts, Rickon had slashed at them with a rusted iron sword he'd snatched from a dead king's hand, and Shaggydog had come slavering out of the darkness like a green-eyed demon. The wolf was near as wild as Rickon; he'd bitten Gage on the arm and torn a chunk of flesh from Mikken's thigh. It had taken Robb himself and Grey Wind to bring him to bay. Farlen had the black wolf chained up in the kennels now, and Rickon cried all the more for being without him. Maester Luwin counseled Robb to remain at Winterfell, and Bran pleaded with him too, for his own sake as much as Rickon's, but his brother only shook his head stubbornly and said, â€Å"I don't want to go. I have to.† It was only half a lie. Someone had to go, to hold the Neck and help the Tullys against the Lannisters, Bran could understand that, but it did not have to be Robb. His brother might have given the command to Hal Mollen or Theon Greyjoy, or to one of his lords bannermen. Maester Luwin urged him to do just that, but Robb would not hear of it. â€Å"My lord father would never have sent men off to die while he huddled like a craven behind the walls of Winterfell,† he said, all Robb the Lord. Robb seemed half a stranger to Bran now, transformed, a lord in truth, though he had not yet seen his sixteenth name day. Even their father's bannermen seemed to sense it. Many tried to test him, each in his own way. Roose Bolton and Robett Glover both demanded the honor of battle command, the first brusquely, the second with a smile and a jest. Stout, grey-haired Maege Mormont, dressed in mail like a man, told Robb bluntly that he was young enough to be her grandson, and had no business giving her commands . . . but as it happened, she had a granddaughter she would be willing to have him marry. Soft-spoken Lord Cerwyn had actually brought his daughter with him, a plump, homely maid of thirty years who sat at her father's left hand and never lifted her eyes from her plate. Jovial Lord Hornwood had no daughters, but he did bring gifts, a horse one day, a haunch of venison the next, a silver-chased hunting horn the day after, and he asked nothing in return . . . nothing but a certain h oldfast taken from his grandfather, and hunting rights north of a certain ridge, and leave to dam the White Knife, if it please the lord. Robb answered each of them with cool courtesy, much as Father might have, and somehow he bent them to his will. And when Lord Umber, who was called the Greatjon by his men and stood as tall as Hodor and twice as wide, threatened to take his forces home if he was placed behind the Hornwoods or the Cerwyns in the order of march, Robb told him he was welcome to do so. â€Å"And when we are done with the Lannisters,† he promised, scratching Grey Wind behind the ear, â€Å"we will march back north, root you out of your keep, and hang you for an oathbreaker.† Cursing, the Greatjon flung a flagon of ale into the fire and bellowed that Robb was so green he must piss grass. When Hallis Mollen moved to restrain him, he knocked him to the floor, kicked over a table, and unsheathed the biggest, ugliest greatsword that Bran had ever seen. All along the benches, his sons and brothers and sworn swords leapt to their feet, grabbing for their steel. Yet Robb only said a quiet word, and in a snarl and the blink of an eye Lord Umber was on his back, his sword spinning on the floor three feet away and his hand dripping blood where Grey Wind had bitten off two fingers. â€Å"My lord father taught me that it was death to bare steel against your liege lord,† Robb said, â€Å"but doubtless you only meant to cut my meat.† Bran's bowels went to water as the Greatjon struggled to rise, sucking at the red stumps of fingers . . . but then, astonishingly, the huge man laughed. â€Å"Your meat,† he roared, â€Å"is bloody tough.† And somehow after that the Greatjon became Robb's right hand, his staunchest champion, loudly telling all and sundry that the boy lord was a Stark after all, and they'd damn well better bend their knees if they didn't fancy having them chewed off. Yet that very night, his brother came to Bran's bedchamber pale and shaken, after the fires had burned low in the Great Hall. â€Å"I thought he was going to kill me,† Robb confessed. â€Å"Did you see the way he threw down Hal, like he was no bigger than Rickon? Gods, I was so scared. And the Greatjon's not the worst of them, only the loudest. Lord Roose never says a word, he only looks at me, and all I can think of is that room they have in the Dreadfort, where the Boltons hang the skins of their enemies.† â€Å"That's just one of Old Nan's stories,† Bran said. A note of doubt crept into his voice. â€Å"Isn't it?† â€Å"I don't know.† He gave a weary shake of his head. â€Å"Lord Cerwyn means to take his daughter south with us. To cook for him, he says. Theon is certain I'll find the girl in my bedroll one night. I wish . . . I wish Father was here . . . â€Å" That was the one thing they could agree on, Bran and Rickon and Robb the Lord; they all wished Father was here. But Lord Eddard was a thousand leagues away, a captive in some dungeon, a hunted fugitive running for his life, or even dead. No one seemed to know for certain; every traveler told a different tale, each more terrifying than the last. The heads of Father's guardsmen were rotting on the walls of the Red Keep, impaled on spikes. King Robert was dead at Father's hands. The Baratheons had laid siege to King's Landing. Lord Eddard had fled south with the king's wicked brother Renly. Arya and Sansa had been murdered by the Hound. Mother had killed Tyrion the Imp and hung his body from the walls of Riverrun. Lord Tywin Lannister was marching on the Eyrie, burning and slaughtering as he went. One wine-sodden taleteller even claimed that Rhaegar Targaryen had returned from the dead and was marshaling a vast host of ancient heroes on Dragonstone to reclaim his father's throne. When the raven came, bearing a letter marked with Father's own seal and written in Sansa's hand, the cruel truth seemed no less incredible. Bran would never forget the look on Robb's face as he stared at their sister's words. â€Å"She says Father conspired at treason with the king's brothers,† he read. â€Å"King Robert is dead, and Mother and I are summoned to the Red Keep to swear fealty to Joffrey. She says we must be loyal, and when she marries Joffrey she will plead with him to spare our lord father's life.† His fingers closed into a fist, crushing Sansa's letter between them. â€Å"And she says nothing of Arya, nothing, not so much as a word. Damn her! What's wrong with the girl?† Bran felt all cold inside. â€Å"She lost her wolf,† he said, weakly, remembering the day when four of his father's guardsmen had returned from the south with Lady's bones. Summer and Grey Wind and Shaggydog had begun to howl before they crossed the drawbridge, in voices drawn and desolate. Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried Lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows. She had gone south, and only her bones had returned. Their grandfather, old Lord Rickard, had gone as well, with his son Brandon who was Father's brother, and two hundred of his best men. None had ever returned. And Father had gone south, with Arya and Sansa, and Jory and Hullen and Fat Tom and the rest, and later Mother and Ser Rodrik had gone, and they hadn't come back either. And now Robb meant to go. Not to King's Landing and not to swear fealty, but to Riverrun, with a sword in his hand. And if their lord father were truly a prisoner, that could mean his death for a certainty. It frightened Bran more than he could say. â€Å"If Robb has to go, watch over him,† Bran entreated the old gods, as they watched him with the heart tree's red eyes, â€Å"and watch over his men, Hal and Quent and the rest, and Lord Umber and Lady Mormont and the other lords. And Theon too, I suppose. Watch them and keep them safe, if it please you, gods. Help them defeat the Lannisters and save Father and bring them home.† A faint wind sighed through the godswood and the red leaves stirred and whispered. Summer bared his teeth. â€Å"You hear them, boy?† a voice asked. Bran lifted his head. Osha stood across the pool, beneath an ancient oak, her face shadowed by leaves. Even in irons, the wildling moved quiet as a cat. Summer circled the pool, sniffed at her. The tall woman flinched. â€Å"Summer, to me,† Bran called. The direwolf took one final sniff, spun, and bounded back. Bran wrapped his arms around him. â€Å"What are you doing here?† He had not seen Osha since they'd taken her captive in the wolfswood, though he knew she'd been set to working in the kitchens. â€Å"They are my gods too,† Osha said. â€Å"Beyond the Wall, they are the only gods.† Her hair was growing out, brown and shaggy. It made her look more womanly, that and the simple dress of brown roughspun they'd given her when they took her mail and leather. â€Å"Gage lets me have my prayers from time to time, when I feel the need, and I let him do as he likes under my skirt, when he feels the need. It's nothing to me. I like the smell of flour on his hands, and he's gentler than Stiv.† She gave an awkward bow. â€Å"I'll leave you. There's pots that want scouring.† â€Å"No, stay,† Bran commanded her. â€Å"Tell me what you meant, about hearing the gods.† Osha studied him. â€Å"You asked them and they're answering. Open your ears, listen, you'll hear.† Bran listened. â€Å"It's only the wind,† he said after a moment, uncertain. â€Å"The leaves are rustling.† â€Å"Who do you think sends the wind, if not the gods?† She seated herself across the pool from him, clinking faintly as she moved. Mikken had fixed iron manacles to her ankles, with a heavy chain between them; she could walk, so long as she kept her strides small, but there was no way for her to run, or climb, or mount a horse. â€Å"They see you, boy. They hear you talking. That rustling, that's them talking back.† â€Å"What are they saying?† â€Å"They're sad. Your lord brother will get no help from them, not where he's going. The old gods have no power in the south. The weirwoods there were all cut down, thousands of years ago. How can they watch your brother when they have no eyes?† Bran had not thought of that. It frightened him. If even the gods could not help his brother, what hope was there? Maybe Osha wasn't hearing them right. He cocked his head and tried to listen again. He thought he could hear the sadness now, but nothing more than that. The rustling grew louder. Bran heard muffled footfalls and a low humming, and Hodor came blundering out of the trees, naked and smiling. â€Å"Hodor!† â€Å"He must have heard our voices,† Bran said. â€Å"Hodor, you forgot your clothes.† â€Å"Hodor,† Hodor agreed. He was dripping wet from the neck down, steaming in the chill air. His body was covered with brown hair, thick as a pelt. Between his legs, his manhood swung long and heavy. Osha eyed him with a sour smile. â€Å"Now there's a big man,† she said. â€Å"He has giant's blood in him, or I'm the queen.† â€Å"Maester Luwin says there are no more giants. He says they're all dead, like the children of the forest. All that's left of them are old bones in the earth that men turn up with plows from time to time.† â€Å"Let Maester Luwin ride beyond the Wall,† Osha said. â€Å"He'll find giants then, or they'll find him. My brother killed one. Ten foot tall she was, and stunted at that. They've been known to grow big as twelve and thirteen feet. Fierce things they are too, all hair and teeth, and the wives have beards like their husbands, so there's no telling them apart. The women take human men for lovers, and it's from them the half bloods come. It goes harder on the women they catch. The men are so big they'll rip a maid apart before they get her with child.† She grinned at him. â€Å"But you don't know what I mean, do you, boy?† â€Å"Yes I do,† Bran insisted. He understood about mating; he had seen dogs in the yard, and watched a stallion mount a mare. But talking about it made him uncomfortable. He looked at Hodor. â€Å"Go back and bring your clothes, Hodor,† he said. â€Å"Go dress.† â€Å"Hodor.† He walked back the way he had come, ducking under a low-hanging tree limb. He was awfully big, Bran thought as he watched him go. â€Å"Are there truly giants beyond the Wall?† he asked Osha, uncertainly. â€Å"Giants and worse than giants, Lordling. I tried to tell your brother when he asked his questions, him and your maester and that smiley boy Greyjoy. The cold winds are rising, and men go out from their fires and never come back . . . or if they do, they're not men no more, but only wights, with blue eyes and cold black hands. Why do you think I run south with Stiv and Hali and the rest of them fools? Mance thinks he'll fight, the brave sweet stubborn man, like the white walkers were no more than rangers, but what does he know? He can call himself King-beyond-the-Wall all he likes, but he's still just another old black crow who flew down from the Shadow Tower. He's never tasted winter. I was born up there, child, like my mother and her mother before her and her mother before her, born of the Free Folk. We remember.† Osha stood, her chains rattling together. â€Å"I tried to tell your lordling brother. Only yesterday, when I saw him in the yard. ‘M'lord Stark,' I cal led to him, respectful as you please, but he looked through me, and that sweaty oaf Greatjon Umber shoves me out of the path. So be it. I'll wear my irons and hold my tongue. A man who won't listen can't hear.† â€Å"Tell me. Robb will listen to me, I know he will.† â€Å"Will he now? We'll see. You tell him this, m'lord. You tell him he's bound on marching the wrong way. It's north he should be taking his swords. North, not south. You hear me?† Bran nodded. â€Å"I'll tell him.† But that night, when they feasted in the Great Hall, Robb was not with them. He took his meal in the solar instead, with Lord Rickard and the Greatjon and the other lords bannermen, to make the final plans for the long march to come. It was left to Bran to fill his place at the head of the table, and act the host to Lord Karstark's sons and honored friends. They were already at their places when Hodor carried Bran into the hall on his back, and knelt beside the high seat. Two of the serving men helped lift him from his basket. Bran could feel the eyes of every stranger in the hall. It had grown quiet. â€Å"My lords,† Hallis Mollen announced, â€Å"Brandon Stark, of Winterfell.† â€Å"I welcome you to our fires,† Bran said stiffly, â€Å"and offer you meat and mead in honor of our friendship.† Harrion Karstark, the oldest of Lord Rickard's sons, bowed, and his brothers after him, yet as they settled back in their places he heard the younger two talking in low voices, over the clatter of wine cups. † . . . sooner die than live like that,† muttered one, his father's namesake Eddard, and his brother Torrhen said likely the boy was broken inside as well as out, too craven to take his own life. Broken, Bran thought bitterly as he clutched his knife. Is that what he was now? Bran the Broken? â€Å"I don't want to be broken,† he whispered fiercely to Maester Luwin, who'd been seated to his right. â€Å"I want to be a knight.† â€Å"There are some who call my order the knights of the mind,† Luwin replied. â€Å"You are a surpassing clever boy when you work at it, Bran. Have you ever thought that you might wear a maester's chain? There is no limit to what you might learn.† â€Å"I want to learn magic,† Bran told him. â€Å"The crow promised that I would fly.† Maester Luwin sighed. â€Å"I can teach you history, healing, herblore. I can teach you the speech of ravens, and how to build a castle, and the way a sailor steers his ship by the stars. I can teach you to measure the days and mark the seasons, and at the Citadel in Oldtown they can teach you a thousand things more. But, Bran, no man can teach you magic.† â€Å"The children could,† Bran said. â€Å"The children of the forest.† That reminded him of the promise he had made to Osha in the godswood, so he told Luwin what she had said. The maester listened politely. â€Å"The wildling woman could give Old Nan lessons in telling tales, I think,† he said when Bran was done. â€Å"I will talk with her again if you like, but it would be best if you did not trouble your brother with this folly. He has more than enough to concern him without fretting over giants and dead men in the woods. It's the Lannisters who hold your lord father, Bran, not the children of the forest.† He put a gentle hand on Bran's arm. â€Å"Think on what I said, child.† And two days later, as a red dawn broke across a windswept sky, Bran found himself in the yard beneath the gatehouse, strapped atop Dancer as he said his farewells to his brother. â€Å"You are the lord in Winterfell now,† Robb told him. He was mounted on a shaggy grey stallion, his shield hung from the horse's side; wood banded with iron, white and grey, and on it the snarling face of a direwolf. His brother wore grey chainmail over bleached leathers, sword and dagger at his waist, a fur-trimmed cloak across his shoulders. â€Å"You must take my place, as I took Father's, until we come home.† â€Å"I know,† Bran replied miserably. He had never felt so little or alone or scared. He did not know how to be a lord. â€Å"Listen to Maester Luwin's counsel, and take care of Rickon. Tell him that I'll be back as soon as the fighting is done.† Rickon had refused to come down. He was up in his chamber, redeyed and defiant. â€Å"No!† he'd screamed when Bran had asked if he didn't want to say farewell to Robb. â€Å"NO farewell!† â€Å"I told him,† Bran said. â€Å"He says no one ever comes back.† â€Å"He can't be a baby forever. He's a Stark, and near four.† Robb sighed. â€Å"Well, Mother will be home soon. And I'll bring back Father, I promise.† He wheeled his courser around and trotted away. Grey Wind followed, loping beside the warhorse, lean and swift. Hallis Mollen went before them through the gate, carrying the rippling white banner of House Stark atop a high standard of grey ash. Theon Greyjoy and the Greatjon fell in on either side of Robb, and their knights formed up in a double column behind them, steel-tipped lances glinting in the sun. Uncomfortably, he remembered Osha's words. He's marching the wrong way, he thought. For an instant he wanted to gallop after him and shout a warning, but when Robb vanished beneath the portcullis, the moment was gone. Beyond the castle walls, a roar of sound went up. The foot soldiers and townsfolk were cheering Robb as he rode past, Bran knew; cheering for Lord Stark, for the Lord of Winterfell on his great stallion, with his cloak streaming and Grey Wind racing beside him. They would never cheer for him that way, he realized with a dull ache. He might be the lord in Winterfell while his brother and father were gone, but he was still Bran the Broken. He could not even get off his own horse, except to fall. When the distant cheers had faded to silence and the yard was empty at last, Winterfell seemed deserted and dead. Bran looked around at the faces of those who remained, women and children and old men . . . and Hodor. The huge stableboy had a lost and frightened look to his face. â€Å"Hodor?† he said sadly. â€Å"Hodor,† Bran agreed, wondering what it meant.

Risk Management Process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk Management Process - Research Paper Example Hazards are identified and through proper management control power and resources are conserved (Kendrick, 2009). Projects being undertaken possess different risks and therefore project manager must understand every detail of the project and outcomes expected to ensure that the project does not fail. Understanding of requirements of the project will ensure that proper strategies are formulated and resources used efficiently to avoid uncertain risks (Loosemore & Raftery, 2006). Risk management process involves detail stages which are used to enable understanding and creating correctional measures that can be used to avoid risks. Therefore before undertaking any activity there is a need to know every project risk before selecting and implementing a project (Hillson, & Simon, 2007). Role of Risk Management in Overall Project Management Risk management is done by all stakeholders involved in the project. Safety and health of employees is to be maintained for the success of the project. Th is is through providing information and training to workers and preventing occupational risks. It is important in identifying risks and putting in place appropriate measures to ensure that the project delivers as per the goal (Hillson, & Simon, 2007). Means of implementing measures are also made so that a project is run with a detailed understanding of what it demands at every face. Ensuring that perceived risks do not occur is a role of management hence ensures that they control the process through evaluation of completed stages and comparing them with set objectives and chances of risking the project. The assessment is needed to understand cause of the problem and if it can be corrected with appropriate measures (Belbin, 1981). Risk Management Process Cycle within a Company Several steps are undertaken before venturing into selection and implementation of projects. First, hazards are identified by determining perceived source of problem. This could be from inside or outside the or ganizations. It can be done through use of available objectives, scenario-based where events that can cause risks are examined. Second stage is assessing the hazards (Kendrick, 2009). This is through both qualitative and quantitative methods. The purpose of this stage is to determine the probability of the risk happening, estimate severity. Risk level is determined for each hazard identified. Focus is on how the risk can be eliminated. Third stage is deciding on preventive action. These are measures that will be used to eliminate or control the risks (Loosemore & Raftery, 2006). Tacking action is the fourth stage where preventive measures are put into place by prioritizing of what is essential. It also involves assigning individuals tasks when and how to do them to avoid the risks. The final stage is monitoring and reviewing the assessment time to time is necessary so as to understand what was left out and if every specification is being followed (Belbin, 1981). Risk Management Acti vities throughout the Project Life Cycle Several activities are undertaken during risk management process. Managers plan how various risks will be managed including how every task is assigned, roles of employees and the cost budget. Giving an account of planned and faced risks is also an activity done to determine extent of effort spent and effectiveness of the measures used. Plans for mitigation are prepared describing what will be done, when, how and by whom in the project hence minimizing

Dmitri Mendeleev vs. Lothar Meyer who is the father of the periodic Essay

Dmitri Mendeleev vs. Lothar Meyer who is the father of the periodic table - Essay Example This article will discuss the individual who deserves the credentials as the father of the periodic table between Dmitri Mendeleev and Lothar Meyer. Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian professor in the Chemistry department of various institutions. According to several sources, he is credited as the creator of the first version of the period table in 1869 (Scerri 9). He also predicted some of the properties that were yet to be discovered by using the first version of the periodic table which he had created. During this era, Mendeleev was also studying the capillarity of liquids and the functioning of the stethoscope. The first version of the periodic table comprised of 56 elements (Levi 5). In his predictions, Mendeleev made it clear that the eight elements he predicted would have the prefixes dvi, tri and eka in their naming. On the other hand, Julius Lothar Meyer was a German chemist who published an expanded version of the periodic table in 1870. His table consisted of 44 elements, which were arranged in terms of their valency. He is also honored for his contribution in the periodic classification of elements. It is quite clear that Meyer was also doubtful about the periodic table published by Mendeleev just like several other scientists (Gordin 34). The main contribution of Meyer included the concept, which asserts that the carbon atoms found in benzene are arranged in the form of a ring. The table presented by Meyer was virtually identical to the table created by Mendeleev. After constructing the table, Meyer gave it to a colleague for proper evaluation. He also criticized Mendeleev since; he changed some of the atomic weights of the existing elements. Most individuals claim that both Mendeleev and Meyer are co- creators of the period table. However, most individuals virtually agree that Mendeleev made an accurate prediction compared to Meyer. In addition, he also predicted more elements such as gallium and germanium, which were discovered in 1875 and

Comparison between two advert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison between two advert - Essay Example The paper analyzes the two memorable ads presented by the Nike and Adidas. The two companies have very different approaches to their advertising techniques and style. Adidas normally focuses in the notion that any of their sportswear is strong and can withstand impossible pressures. For example, this ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TnG7jyfoWI shows a man running and a background description that the man wears Nike. The other man, apparently carrying a 50-pound camera and filming the running man, wears Adidas. This theme of strength and durability presented by the ad reflects Adidas’ slogan of â€Å"Impossible is Nothing!† The idea this ad is trying to feed into the minds of the viewers is that with Adidas, you’re assured of a durable product which can withstand a heavier load than Nike can do. Nike on the other hand presents a different perspective of their slogan, â€Å"Just Do It!† For instance, in this YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO M1k4oLGJU Nike presents a commercial of Good vs. Evil which creates an illusion that skills are better than shear strength. Shot through the eyes of the soccer legends like French’s Zinedine Zidane and Eric Cantona, Brazil’s Ronaldo among others, who represents Nike and others evil men representing evil. With skills, the soccer stars manage to outdo the seemingly strong evil men in the soccer pitch. The two companies have differentiated themselves in terms of brand value and attributes of their products. However, both Nike and Adidas use some complex multimodal choices in attempts to appeal to their brand identity. In order to understand the complex nature of the ads, it is important to look at the frameworks of social semiotics, film theory, and branding (Roy 2006, p.27) that have been adversely applied within the two ads. From the Nike’s ad, it is critical to note the emphasis is on the functional supernatural power of skills over strength. On the other hand, Adidas’ functional benefits are emphasized by their strong boot’s ability to withstand pressure in a rugged terrain. More importantly, it is prudent to note that Nike portrays the notion of hardworking players with winning mentality and strong attitude to compete. Adidas, on the other hand, portrays dedication, passion and active involvement of individuals in any activity. From the Nike’s ad and slogan, â€Å"Just Do It!† one can deduce the fact that Nike has maintained their tradition of not only producing quality shoes for professional athletes but also emphasizing activity of jogging in the everyday life of communities. The philosophy in this ad is that sports heroes associated with Nike products can build the brand. Through these sports heroes, Nike has managed to cultivate the image that their products can enhance hard work, competitiveness, and toughness (Aaker, 2002, p.129). The end result, however, is that its all about talent that matter. Nike em phasizes on talents, while Adidas stresses on hard work. Adidas has a different approach as indicated in the ad. Founded on the culture of quality and innovation, Adidas has emphasized on strength for their sportswear products, which can withstand any weather and diversity. Adidas emphasis is on quality and ability of its products to meet any physical challenge. In other words, rather than focusing on the renowned stars, the company emphasized team spirit, strength, and power to withstand pressure. Finally, the two commercials share some common film theories in the making of their

Reaction paper on the article by droogsma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reaction paper on the article by droogsma - Essay Example Their response contradicted with the unfounded perception of the Non-Muslim members. The women highlighted various significant aspects of the veil. Droogsma explains the veil to be critical in displaying one’s identity while highlighting their affiliation to the Muslim religion. However, one’s clothing may be a source of discrimination (Droogsma, 2007). The Muslim veil also served as a behavior control to Muslim women. Veiled Muslim women were less likely to behave inappropriately as opposed to their unveiled counterparts. Interviewed women admitted that the veil aided in upholding the Muslim values, such as behaving decently in the presence of members of the opposite gender (Droogsma, 2007). This aided them in earning respect from both Muslim and Non-Muslim members of the society. In my view, it is critical for the societal members to respect the Veiled Muslim members, and look into their rationale for wearing the veil. Some researchers also script biased document that tend to criminalize the veil while ignoring the opinion of the concerned Muslim women (Droogsma, 2007). Mitigation measures ought to be in place, to eliminate the discrimination of the Muslim women within the American society. However, the decision to put on the veil should be personal, and religion should compel women into putting on the

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Reading response - Essay Example He writes a letter in a very persuasive tone so that the president of the United States can annul the treaty signed by a section of individuals from Hawaii whom he purports to be acting in their own interest rather than the great multitude of Hawaii. Although he appears to have lost the battle, he brings out his case clearly for the audience and one can hardly decline to support his course. Having been isolated together with the great multitude of Hawaii during treaty signing, it is only beneficial that LILIUOKALANI pursues the interest of his people and thwarts the efforts of the opposition. Nonetheless, I find it difficult to agree with LILIUOKALANI on his opinion that the president of the United States would rise in his support. For first, the treaty was signed in Washington. This would never have happened without the consent of the government of the United States. LILIUOKALANI does not also tell us the reasons why he has been isolated in the decision to secede Hawaii from America. Is he perpetuating some atrocities against the people of Hawaii? Why is he so determined to prevent Hawaii from attaining independence? Unless these questions are answered, I find it hard to side with

Different De-Icing Systems for Aircraft Research Paper

Different De-Icing Systems for Aircraft - Research Paper Example This paper looks at the various systems used for de-icing in airplanes. The protection of engines and the aircrafts can take fundamental forms. One of them is the removal of ice once it has been formed, or probes be used to prevent it from forming. De-icing is the removal of ice, snow, or hoarfrost on the surface of the airplanes. However, deicing is correlated with anti-icing, which is defined as the use chemicals in the surfaces of the aircraft. The chemicals do not only de-ice but also stay put on a surface and prevent buildup of ice for a period, or hinder adhesion of ice to make mechanical removal easier. Therefore anti-icing is also a form of de-icing (Skybrary, 2012). Removing ice on the surface of the aero planes takes various forms. It can be done using chemical methods such as scrapping and pushing. In order to achieve this, heat must be applied on the surface of the plane, by using liquid or dry chemicals that are formed to decrease the freezing point of water. Such chemic als include alcohols, brines, salts, and glycols. Moreover, they can combine many of these chemicals in order to enhance their effectiveness. De-icing can also be done through the use of a protective layers such as the use of viscous liquid known as the anti-icing fluid on the surface of the aero plane to absorb the contaminate. ... In addition, it dilutes the anti-icing fluids used thus changing into a contaminant itself (Lankford, 1999). Salt has also been another method that is used to de-ice. It has traditionally been used to de-ice roads with the addition of sand and gravel. This has been effective due to the availability of the chemical sodium chloride also known as rock salt. This method is effective and inexpensive to use. Moreover, it is readily available. However, this method cannot be used for temperatures below -18 degrees centigrade, which mostly is easily achieved by highflying aeroplanes. Moreover, this method causes corrosion on the surface of the aeroplane, therefore rusting the steel, which is one of the materials used to make the surface of the aeroplanes (Roskam, 2000). In addition, de-icing on the aeroplanes uses another method that uses different categories of salts such as calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. These salts are important since they condense and depress the freezing point of water to a lower temperature. However, this salt also causes exothermic reaction. In the recent years, more advanced salts have been developed which do not cause environmental issues that was previously affected by the salts. They also have a longer residue effect when used together with the traditional salts such as salt brines and solids (Roskam, 2000). In addition, de-icing has taken various forms with the development of technology. More recently, the flight industry has turned into using the infrared de-icing system. This method is advantageous in that it is subsequently faster than the traditional salt systems and conservative heat transfer modes used by

Envisioning America & What Caused the Pueblo Revolt Essay - 7

Envisioning America & What Caused the Pueblo Revolt - Essay Example There was no meeting ground between them which finally ended in the Pueblo revolt. According to Mancall, â€Å"Richard Hakluyt the elder, a prominent London lawyer, succinctly described the rationale for those efforts. After enumerating the varied rewards, he further stated three goals of colonization. 1. To plant Christian religion 2.To trafficks 3.To conquer.†(p.1) Weber states, "Pueblos religious beliefs were more important than Apache raids or drought in causing them to revolt" (p. 22). In his review of Webers’s book Lorraine Coops writes, â€Å"Primary sources also help the students to "get inside the heads" of people in the past--to try and understand individuals motivations and experiences from their perspective. Peeling away the layers of the colonial facade can help students discover both sides of the story. If our goal as teachers is to make history "real" to the students, then primary sources need to be incorporated into our work.† The goal of the colonists was selfish. They did not arrive with friendly intentions. But something unexpected also happened which worked to the tremendous disadvantage of the American Indians. Mancall observes, â€Å"When the Spaniards moved across the Atlantic, they became the first Europeans to unleash deadly diseases among the native peoples of the Americas.†(p.5) The American Indians suffered exploitation from all ends, people starved and many thousands died of diseases, for which they had no immunity or medicines. Considering the Pueblo revolt: Is there any room for disagreement within each group? Did the Pueblos have cause to support the Spanish? Were there Spaniards who opposed the subjugation of the Pueblos (or at least the way(s) in which people told the stories of conquest and subjugation)? Would a common Spanish soldier relate the same story as a Captain? A New Mexican colonist and a Franciscan friar? No room for disagreement

Health Sciences - Pre Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health Sciences - Pre Diabetes - Essay Example This condition is also known as the borderline, this is in the sense that the individual shows neither the presence of diabetes nor absence of diabetes. In the food substances that we consume, there are elements of glucose. The glucose levels in the blood are checked by another hormone in the blood called insulin. Insulin is responsible for converting the excess sugar (glucose) in the blood to glycogen (Gottlieb, 2004). The same happens when the body experiences low blood sugar level in which the stored glycogen is discharged back into the blood to elevate the sugar level to normalcy. Diabetes or pre-diabetes condition arises when insulin is not produced in the right quantities in the body or when the insulin effectiveness is hampered and does not function fully (Gottlieb, 2004). The pre diabetes condition does not conform to all the conditions and factors that lead to the conclusion that an individual is diabetic or not. With regard to this, those diagnosed with pre-diabetes conditi on are at higher risks of not only developing diabetes type II but also some other related cardiovascular condition (Metcalf & Metcalf, 2008). The condition of pre-diabetes is also referred to as ‘grey area’. In America, this condition has been surveyed among the citizens and the prevalence and incidence noted, to some extent it has been referred to as an epidemic. It affects almost 57 million people in America (Metcalf, & Metcalf, 2008). The development of the pre-diabetes condition is largely attributed to some of the lifestyle, hence, referred to as lifestyle condition. The life style conditions include the kind of diet we consume - if the diet is having too much glucose it translates, then that there will be more sugar being discharged in blood requiring much more efficient way of conversion to glycogen (Metcalf & Metcalf, 2008). Sedentary lifestyle is also a recipe for the development of the condition. Leading a sedentary lifestyle indicates that not much energy is used for respiration, thus, there is accumulation of the glucose in the body and can accelerate the development of the condition. Too much consumption of alcohol also damages the liver making it inefficient in the production of insulin, a substance that is requires for the conversion of the excess glucose in blood to glycogen (Metcalf & Metcalf, 2008). Tests for monitoring pre Diabetes Monitoring of the condition is essential for people who have developed pre-diabetes condition have to attend a regular monitoring test of their blood sugar to ensure that the critical condition is not hit. Monitoring of the blood sugar can be done in several ways: first of all, HbA1c (A1C or glycosylated hemoglobin test), when this test is run, the level of the blood sugar is noted in a snapshot and the concentration of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) denotes the level of blood sugar in the body (Gregg, Callaghan & Hayes 2007, 123). Home monitoring is also available and it seems to be the cheapest, t he only problem is how to categorize the extent of blood sugar; whether high or low. The results of the home test are to be discussed with a physician for further insightful recommendations. Benefits of exercise in the prevention of pre-diabetes Involving in the exercise daily is helpful in the burning calories, when the calories are burned, the concentration of glucose in the blood is reduces. The effect of exercise in relation to diabetes type II has been studied and the findings have it that 58% of those who shows pre-diabetes do

Hell Is Other People Essay Example for Free

Hell Is Other People Essay He then shouts that they should have at least allowed him his â€Å"damn toothbrush! † The valet is further amused by this outburst, pointing out that every single â€Å"guest† inquires about the torture chamber, and then once they’ve gotten over the initial shock, they start asking for their toothbrushes and what-not. He assures Garcin that he’ll have no need for his toothbrush here, nor sleep, and advises him to forego his â€Å"sense of human dignity†. While trying to come to terms with his situation, Garcin is disturbed by the valet’s lidless eyes and parallels his perpetual sight to his own perpetual consciousness. So that’s the idea, I am to live without eyelids†¦. No eyelids, no sleep; it follows, doesn’t it? I shall never sleep again. But then how shall I endure my own company? † (After rereading the play for a second time, this seems the most ironic bit because Garcin is Liedtke 2 unaware at this point that this room IS his torture chamber, and the other occupants are his torturers, and there will be no escaping them; not even in sleep. ) When left alone, Garcin quickly grows impatient and begins repeatedly ringing the bell which is supposedly meant to summon the valet. However, it doesn’t seem to be orking so he gives up. The door then opens and the valet is accompanied this time by a woman named Inez. She observes Garcin and is silent when the valet asks if she has any questions. When he exits, she immediately demands from Garcin the whereabouts of someone named Florence, but he has no idea what she’s talking about. Inez assumes Garcin is her torturer and when he asks why she thinks that, she replies that torturers often look frightened. He laughs at this, for who have torturers to be frightened of? Inez replies, â€Å"Laugh away, but I know what I’m talking about. I’ve often watched my own face in the glass. † Garcin perceives her hostility but attempts to get along with Inez. He says it’s obvious she doesn’t want him near her and that’s good because he himself would rather be alone anyways. â€Å"To think things through, you know; to set my life in order, and one does that better by oneself. †

Benefits of Organizational Reflection

Benefits of Organizational Reflection A successful organization can be described as thinking and seeing organization. Such organizations are characterized by high levels of information flow and awareness among all its members. The availability of information improves the awareness and understanding of organizational weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities (Reynolds and Vince 2004). The organization members are also able to understand the history and strategic future plans for their organization as well as full awareness of the resources within the organization and the changing competitor environment. On the other hand, a thinking organization is an understanding organization that has a well stipulated vision, mission, objectives and the business environment that are well understood by all the stakeholders. Many organizational businesses collapse because they lack both foresight and hind sight necessary for understanding the current position of the organization. In ensuring an organization adopts the thinking and seeing style, reflection must become a part of the organizational practices and culture. Reflection must be integrated in all the organizational activities because generation of organizational knowledge can be done by any member of the organization irrespective of the level or the location in which s/he operates. Reflection is therefore a process that involves spending critical time away from the normal work routine in which individuals or groups think and interpret both personal or organization issues with the aim of getting previous experiences and lessons that may benefit a present situation (Boud, Cressey and Docherty 2006). At the corporate level, organizations set retreat days for its staff as well as reflection sessions so that staff can reflect on what their have achieved, the way they have performed, their compliance with the organization strategies, the challenges and threats they have faced as well as the experiences weaknesses and registered strengths. Reflection allows organization present ideas and previous experiences into usable knowledge and actions. Reflection can be necessitated by personal experiences as well as organizational performance especially if the organization isnt meeting its set goals and objectives. Reflection process is very dependent on knowledge management because it deals with intangible assets that need to be created and shared both inside and outside the organization to create a database of important information and knowledge that can be utilized later to handle challenges in the organization. Reflection starts with raw experiences which are analyzed to information then associated with relevant skills and values to become knowledge which is main focus of many organizations. Just like knowledge management, reflection involves capture and identification of ideas, information or knowledge then distributing it to appropriate individual within the organization leading to its application in a particular situation in the organization. The sole purpose of reflection is to create important knowledge that any organization will need in its present or future performance. Reflection is also part of organizational learning that is a knowledge management facet intended to equip staff wit h important knowledge and skills that will improve the operations and performance of the organization. Greenwood (2000), notes that the success and growth of organizations is highly depended on learning and knowledge generation (p. 126). Learning in an organizational setting is not only limited to individual knowledge acquisition but also involves the combined learning abilities of all staff in that organization. Notably, individual learning is a subset and component of organization and without it, organizational learning wont exist. Organizational learning is a result of challenges that face employees in their working activities thus initiation of learning and advancement in knowledge to solve such challenges. Though, challenges do not guarantee learning to occur, they combine with experiences to provide data and information which form the basis for learning. Generation of actions and problem solving are the key components of reflection at the workplace. Organizational reflection has presented required environment for self directed learning, action learning, problem and challenge based learning and to a greater extend the organizational learning (Reynolds and Vince 2004). Managers have noticed the necessity of reflection in their organization and they acknowledge that failure to reflect in the organization is equal to inviting the collapse of the operation of the organization. However, organizations have failed in implementing reflection strategies such that execution processes that go beyond individual mandate and involve groups of members or the whole organization are not usually implemented thus compromising the use of organizational experience and limit implementation of expected actions. The application of reflection in organizational operations has received considerable attention in the last few decades. Organizations have created independent departments with adequate resources to enable reflection process to occur and to work on the results of the reflection processes. The increased attention to reflection has been triggered by recognition of learning and generation of knowledge as components of organizational productivity and performance. Though learning and generation of knowledge may not be the only factors that can contribute to organizational change and performance, they play an all-round function in ensuring that all other resources in the organization are well coordinated to realize organizational goals. Reflection is therefore an important human process that involves reviewing and understanding past experiences then drawing lessons from them. Reflection is less known in work places and managers have little knowledge concerning its role and importance in the organization of activities and improving performance (Boud, Cressey and Docherty 2006). There have been fewer opportunities for the practice of reflection at work particularly because many organizations have not yet established the role that can be played by real and guided reflection. However, the 21st century has witnessed increasing concern and appreciation of the role that organizational reflection can play in fostering work results as well as improving employee learning. The recognition of reflection as an integral part of organizational management has triggered different kind of organizational learning and education that are in line with the traditional processes of organizational learning. Boud, Cressey and Docherty (2006) point out that productive organizational reflection is an adoption of the general individual reflection that is focused much on the use of past experience to generate important solution to present and future problems as well as promoting organizational training and learning (p. 12). Productive organizational reflection has several important elements that combine to provide a structured system to guide generation and analysis of actions from experiences. Organizational intent and collective orientation element tries to create a distinction and a point of convergence between individual and organizational reflection. While previous reflections have focused on individual experience and generation of knowledge, productive organizational reflection is focused on collaborative review of experiences that lead to taking appropriate actions with and for other participants with an aim of benefiting the organization as well as the whole group involved in the ref lective activity. Such reflection is done in a situation of the organization and must be incorporated and address the target of the organization. Collective reflection may be done at different levels of the organization depending on the organization management structure. Reflection may take place at the top management, middle management level, and low level or at the small working groups and this may happen internal or external to the organization. However, collective reflection always starts at individual level after which separate reflections are combined and actions drawn from them. This element of organizational reflection ensures the interests of the individual members, the workgroup and the organization are taken into consideration. The other element of organizational reflection is its importance in integrating knowledge, learning and work. Productive organizational reflection can occur in any location, but its always confined to the working activities and any reflections outside it wont be considered a practice of organizational reflection. Reflection is therefore triggered by work activities though there might be selected cases where importance and valuable reflection occur outside the context of working environment. Organizational reflection operates in the space that is created between the connections of work activities, the process of learning and generating knowledge. It therefore provides the link between knowledge acquisition and its production. Therefore, a productive organizational reflection will always seek to strike a balance between learning from past experiences to generate appropriate knowledge that will help in improving the work activities. The relationship between the individual and organizational development is another controversial element of productive organizational reflection. Reflection in organization fosters both organizational and individual development. Organizational reflection has a developmental value to the organization and the staff because it has become part of the main organizational practices that are relied upon in designing solutions to present and future organizational problems while placing the staff at better positions to deal with organizational and individual challenges that may pose a thereat in future. Thus distinguishing individual from organizational reflection may be a challenge in cases where staff does not get special time to reflect on the organizational operations. Furthermore, organizational reflection is open, dynamic but unpredictable process because it can happen at anytime when organizations do not have procedures to guide the process of reflection. Just like other form of reflect ion, results of organizational reflection cannot be wholly predicated. In many instances, it doesnt yield the expected results but unintended consequences which may be used to address another organizational issue. This type of reflection is very dynamic in that a present successful refection may create an organizational barrier in future. Therefore, organizations rely on past experience to modify the future thinking and behavior of the organization through the ability to reflect on its previous operations by identifying past performances and activities (Kazi 2005). Organizational reflection is manifested though inquiry and evaluation that involves establishing problems, determining their meaning and developing appropriate solutions. According to (Kazi 2005) organization reflection is a wide process that involves conversion of explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge that produces interpretive knowledge necessary for enhancement of individual knowledge through revisiting common issues and problems (p. 121). Reflective practice isnt an individual process but an organizational procedure that requires individual members of an organization to learn and modify their actions that are vital for organizational progress and performance. Reflection in organization is very important because of its contribution to individual learning which translates to organizational learning. Combination and sharing of individual learning is crucial to realization of organizational learning because individual learning may not present enough experience needed to tackle identified challenges facing an organization. However, some organization do not have appropriate standards that can facilitate sharing of knowledge and experiences especially when mechanisms for such sharing dont exist or the regulation of the organizations do not allow sharing or possibly if the staff do not know how to share such knowledge and experiences. Organizational management and particularly, the reflective manager must device and develop appropriate methods that can facilitate acquisition and sharing of organizational knowledge and experiences. The reflective manager in an organization is responsible for all processes and procedures involved in integrating and transfer of new knowledge, experiences, behavior and skills within and outside the organization. As such, the manager must prove to the employees that reflection is an important activity that is all round and should involve every member of the organization. The manager must ensure that employees learn from previous mistakes, that they know what they think and feel as well as device procedures that will ensure that the employees understand and manage the barriers and challenges that face the organization and then develop strategies for future use through applying learned knowledge and skills. Reflective manager therefore provides appropriate environment for employees to focus on their past experiences as well as current activities that may help in generating required knowledge for use in the current organizational situation. As such, a reflective manager in an organiza tion plays an important role in ensuring generation of knowledge and ideas from past experiences, repackaging of such experiences and ideas for the future use by the organization. Though many organizations have realized the value of reflection in their operations and the many stimuli that encourage reflection, there are equal detractors that hinder reflective practice. The most common challenge that faces organization in trying to use reflection in the management of their operation is the little time allocated for reflection and analysis. The lack of importance that may accrue from informed reflection is the main reason why many managers dont allocate sufficient time for employees to reflect on their experiences and establishes their failures. Organizations allocate very little or no time for their employees to reflect on their accomplishments and performance through individual thinking or group thinking. Many organizations spend most of the time making decisions, building strategies, training and orientations. Such activities must be accompanied by required information and knowledge so that expected results may be achieved. Reflection will therefore help in p rior understanding of a particular task before such task is accomplished so that preparations can be made for anticipated challenges and problems. Organizational reflection as opposed to individual reflection is a very expensive process not only on time allocation but also physical resources. For reflections to be productive, reflecting members must be in an appropriate environment that is free from the normal activities. Creating such an environment is quite expensive and organizations dont usually agree to organize staff retreats to quiet and conducive places that can ensure good results from reflection process. However, managers who have realized the real importance of reflection in their business operations create time and allocate adequate resources for the process of reflection as well as following out the results of such reflection sessions Another significant challenge that face application of reflection in an organization include poor communication systems that an organization uses especially if an organizations uses top-down communication system. The relationship among the individuals with the organizations, the relationships among different workgroups as well as the relationship between the organization and others hinders the creation of openness that is needed in the reflection process. The power of fear for uncertainty may also derail the process of reflection. Additionally, the style of management that an organization uses may affect reflection especially if the organization uses authoritarian style of management where control, leadership and power is centralized to a single individual or group in the organization. Conclusion Reflection is a complex and new organizational process that involves contemplation of tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge and experiences to create new information, knowledge and ideas that can be used to address a challenge within the organization. Through the reflection of the experiences and knowledge, learning capabilities of the staff are enhanced thus dealing with challenges and threats becomes easy for the organization because it has well informed and knowledgeable staff. Therefore, reflection improves the organizational visualization of unexpected realities and results and how to react to them. Organizational reflection is currently gaining attention in many organizations as opposed to ancient times when it was considered to be of no value to the operations and performance of the organizations. Though there are more challenges facing application and implementation of reflection strategies in organizations, positive progress in available which is indicated by the value that or ganizations attach to information and knowledge in accomplishing business activities and solving organizational challenges and problems.