Economic Implications on Social Media Essay Example for Free

Economic Implications on Social Media Essay The developments in the information technology sector have led to facilitation in information sharing across the globe in what has been referred to as social media. The internet has brought many changes in the way individuals across the world interact. Through the use of social media, individuals are able to exchange photographs, videos, post their thoughts on blogs and take part in discussions that takes lace online. Social media allows the people, organizations, companies and governments to be able to reach large numbers of people with a lot of ease. This paper shall give an overview of how the social media has impacted on the economic domain of development in the society by analyzing both the positive and the negative impacts. Social Media: Social media refers to the various internet based and mobile services which allows the user to take part in online exchanges, contributing user-created content and being able to join the online community. It also refers to the tools and technologies that enable an online interaction, networking, sharing and collaboration. There are various services internet services that are usually associated with social media which includes blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, social network sites, status updates services, virtual word content and media sharing site (Dewing, 2010). Blogs is a short form of ‘web log’ which can be described as an online journal in which pages are put on view in an overturned chronological order. The blogs can be hosted for free on various websites including WordPress and Blogger among others. Wikis on the other hand refers to collective websites in which anyone participating can modify the pages or create their new pages using a Web browser. A good example of a wiki is the Wikipedia which is a free online encyclopedia that utilizes the wiki technology. Social bookmarking sites are those sites which allow the users to share and organize links to websites for instance the Delicious, Digg, and Reddit. Social network sites are the web-based services which enables the individuals to build a public or semi-public profile in a delimited system. The individuals are also able to articulate a list of other users whom they share connection thus being able to navigate through and view their list of connections and those of others in the system. Such sites include Facebook, MySpace, and Windows Live Spaces amongst others (Dewing, 2010). Status-update services are also referred to as micro-blogging services are more like social network sites but they allow individuals to share short updates and also be able to view updates from others. A good example is the twitter services. Virtual world content on the other hand offers a game-like virtual environment for the users to interact. A good example of this would be the imaginary world that is created in Second Life whereby users can create avatars to interact with each other. Avatars are the virtual representations of the users. Media–sharing sites are those which enable the users to post videos or photographs for instance the You Tube and Flickr. It must be noted that some of these categories do overlap for instance twitter can be regarded as both a social network site as well as a stats update service (Dewing, 2010). Social media is capable of affecting the manner in which individuals interact online. Social media is known to open up new ways for cooperation and dialogue in today’s world. Most of the content posted in social media may remain there permanently at least by default. The content may also be accessible, replicable, and searchable. Social media can therefore be used anywhere, and at any moment provided that there is internet connectivity in the area. Such factors are responsible for shaping of the dynamics of the social media. The fact that the players in the social media are usually invisible raises various questions regarding the framework, correctness and unambiguousness regarding the communication. The identity and motives of those who post contents in the social media are not always clear (Dewing, 2010). Evolution of Social Media: The internet became popular in the last two decades and web sites which allowed individuals to create and upload content started appearing with the first network site said to have appeared in 1997 for the first time. The first social network site to be launched was called ‘SixDegrees. com’ and it was followed soon by many others at the turn of the millennium. In 2002, there was an upsurge in the number of social network sites with some surging to popularity only to fade in a little while such as the Friendstar. However, others were able to develop niche communities for instance MySpace appealed to adolescent music enthusiasts (Dewing, 2010). Towards the end of the first decade of the second millennium, social media was widely accepted, for instance; by the year 2009, Facebook made the announcement that its users were well over 350 million worldwide (Dewing, 2010). There are a number of factors that have led to a surge in the social media participation which include technological factors, social factors and economic factors. Technological factors include things such as readily available broadband, improvement in software tools, and the development of more powerful computer and mobile services. Social factors on the other hand include the rapid uptake of social media by the young generation while the economic factors include the growth in commercial interests in the social media sites and affordability of computers and related software (Dewing, 2010). Impacts of Social Media: Since the widespread usage of social media is a recent phenomenon, social and economic implications can only be barely understood. Some quarters hold the belief that social media is causing isolation amongst the people whereas others believe that social media has broaden democratic participation. According to a research conducted by statistics Canada; We should expect neither a dysfunctional society of loners nor a blissful society of happy net-workers. Rather, we are facing a society that is differently cohesive from the one we have known. There do not appear to be any significant differences in the number of social ties or in the amount of social interaction between Internet users and non-users. Instead, the Internet is providing ways of fostering participation with community members and enhancing relationships, including through social media (Dewing, 2010, para 10). Social media has also had economic impacts in regard to the manner in which what is contained in the social media is created and consumed. This can be summed up to the growth in the information and communication sector of the economy. In most economies, growth in this sector of the economy has been tremendous even surpassing the overall economic growth. Many business firms and organizations have also incorporated social media in their marketing strategies (Dewing, 2010). Socio-economic Impacts: The socioeconomic theory appears to be spearheading the deflationary cycle more than the financial or the political economics. Previously, the Keynesian and libertarian theories were believed to be the key players in the deflationary cycle. According to the socio-economic theories, it is claimed that in order for us to get out of the deflationary cycle, there is need to view it as both a sociological and fiscal problem. The solution is therefore to be found in the ground-breaking technology which promises huge profits to be used in investment so as to commence the next boom cycle, and snap the society out of the predicament created by the economic downturn. Social media could play a role in mitigating the damages that arise from the deflationary cycle. It could also be instrumental in the construction of the next opportunities for technological innovations (Fischer, 2009). Understanding the objective economic potential is very crucial and dependant on the revolution of the social media. Social media is known to utilize technology in enhancing the people’s ability to interact with others. Social media is to be found in interaction, connection, trust and relations that are driven by technology. In regard to business, this implies establishment of trust and channels of communication which supports and enables collaboration and building of engaged teams through the removal of barriers and frustrations that were created by conventional structures. Social media particularly in regard to collaboration has the potential to unlock the hidden knowledge in organizations when required. It also lowers the cost of software via open source cooperation, easing the finding of appropriate information, and making organizations to be more responsive. These are however cultural changes that occurs gradually. Nevertheless, the promise for change is there even though it might take much longer time. However, the technological investment that is required to bring about these changes is quite cheaply available (Fischer, 2009). With social media, change is bound to happen. Social media has the prospects of creating more effective organizations via the collaboration, â€Å"providing a greater variety of information services at low cost through mashups and open source, and a lower cost to product and service messaging, when the product and service has great appeal†(Fischer, 2009, para 7). Similarly, social media has detrimental impacts on the established industries. The conventional advertising media has become decreasingly effective due to the increasing numbers of the individuals who are networked and therefore attentive to one another. It is imperative to observe that; Friend of a friend referrals, rating sites or consumer oriented websites will become the norm and rely on their objectivity to maintain trust with their followers, therefore are not as subject to trying to manipulate their audience based on the promise of big advertising revenue (Fischer, 2009, para 8). There is no doubt that manipulation is part of the social media practice though the ability for any individual to broadcast and gain audience to the large network in the social media indicates that it is not an easy task and it is destined to be the exception and not the norm in the long run (Fischer, 2009). The distribution of retail products may also come to the forefront due to the social media influence. Due to the fact that e-commerce has been enhanced in the recent past owing to a revolution in the social media, some social observations have been made in regard to marketing trends for instance, there has been a relation drawn between the trends on how particular products are moved in the market. Such observations may be observed as ‘individuals who bought product X also bought product Y’. Large business organizations may also offer lower prices and utilize the social media to achieve the personal touch, a domain previously associated with small business organizations. This has been geared towards the ‘commodization’ of products that are produced on a large scale and the futuristic markets with the chances of realizing massive profits. The markets of the future are said to be niche markets that would require subject matter expertise and customization (Fischer, 2009). The gains of the social media in economic venture may be offset by the unsettling role associated with it in the conventional industries. In the past, any technological changes would result in obvious and simple routes to massive increases in the production and demand. However, with the social media, increase in productivity and demand over a short time is not palpable due to the fact that it requires cultural changes together with the technological transformations. Eventually, as the cultural changes are realized over time, massive increases in the production may be realized; however, in the short term social media can not be used to provide an obvious path for investment capable of leading to gains in effectiveness and productivity (Fischer, 2009). There is this argument that tightly knit society has the capability to survive economic stress better compared to a loosely knit society. Social media ensures that the world is woven in complex interactions and also offers individuals with something to do when they are not involved in an economic activity. This is motivated by what can be referred to as ‘reputation economics’ which is designed to motivate individuals to engage in activities such as creating open source software, report on events, and many more information services that would have required individuals to pay for before the advent of the internet. This allows for rich content and growth of valuable products to be carried out devoid of investment and yet with returns for instance a â€Å"business entity that hosts their websites on Linux servers or uses open office to create and manage documents† (Fischer, 2009, para 9). To add on the long term effectiveness of the social media which include the creation of complex systems like an operating system at relatively low cost; it could also enable the development of new innovations presenting a clear path that shall increase production and demand. The deflationary cycle that is predicted by the socio-economic theories could only be shortened if only we are able to find out the kind of innovation required and be able to bring it more quickly (Fischer, 2009). Social media is said to provide revenue to both the users and platforms. It has to be noted that social media better known as social computing is a driver for competitiveness. The effects of social computing may be seen on the industry itself for instance, the development in the social media or the information and communication technology sector. It can also be observed in other industries that uses the social computing. There is evidence that â€Å"more targeted marketing and user research which are reliant on user profiles and content interest are opening new channels to markets† (Pascu, 2008, para 11). There are emergent employment possibilities vial social networks and new opportunities to utilize user innovations in developing the products or as an intermediate between organizations and consumers (Pascu, 2008). The impact of social media can not be wished away as insignificant. This is because, faced with the modern reality where social media provides a platform for the consumers, competitors and the market place to discuss products, services and employees. All this is carried out online â€Å"whether its a protest group on Facebook (United Airlines Sucks! ), a persistent hashtag on Twitter (#attfail) or just a meme that travels from blogger to Blogger† (Taylor, 2009, para 5). At this juncture, it does not matter as to whether it is of importance to probe into the social networks. What is of importance is whether one is paying attention to the social media where the message has gone to. This means that the customer to the company products is the one to define the brand in the market. This is quite challenging as it means that those organizations with acceptable products are bound to be reap benefits even with minimum branding and marketing strategies whereas those companies that are considered bad by the customers are destined to suffer from a bad reputation even when they spent more money to advertise themselves and try to position themselves as market leaders (Taylor, 2009). It is therefore important for organizations to take time and monitor what is going on in the social media. There are various services at the disposal of whoever would like to monitor the social media which include the individual services such as ‘Search. twitter. com’ and more complicated ones such as ‘Filtrbox’ and ‘Radian 6’. For successful business undertaking, there is need for organizations to embrace the social media which provides an avenue to engage with the customers. Interaction on the social media with the customers is crucial and thus joining these sites for creating new bully pulpits for the organization’s marketing and sales messages without proper interaction with the customers is not commendable (Taylor, 2009). The organizations can not be isolated from the social media as they create a powerful impression with the capability of having a lasting impact that may prove to be hard to change. Accompany with a bad reputation might score poorly even with spirited advertisement due to evaluations that are obtained from the social media. It is therefore important to address the problems that are affecting the organizations one by one rather than spending huge sums of money in advertising the products (Chong, 2010). Conclusion: Social media has been a new discovery in the information and communication sector and that its impacts on the economic development are worthy noting. The economic impacts of social media are two fold and may bring positive results or negative results to a business organization. With social media, the consumers of the company products are able to talk about the products, services and competitors and definitely such discussions are to impact on the business entity either for better or for worse. Social media can therefore have far reaching repercussions on the business organizations in terms of profitability. Reference: Chong, S. , (2010). Nothing Can save Negative Buzz on Twitter. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www. penn-olson. com/2010/07/02/nothing-can-save-negative-buzz-on-twitter/. Dewing, M. , (2010). Social Media: 1. An Introduction. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www2. parl. gc. ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2010-03-e. htm. Fischer, K. , (2009). Exploring the economic impact of social media. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www. web20blog. org/2009/03/24/exploring-the-economic-impact-of-social-media/. Pascu, C. , (2008). ERoSC-The Socio-economic Impact of Emerging Social Computing Applications. Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://docs. google. com/viewer? a=vq=cache:dHneLXVRkYgJ:www. foresight-network. eu/index. php%3Foption%3Dcom_docman%26task%3Ddoc_view%26gid%3D352+Economic+Implications+on+Social+Mediahl=engl=kepid=blsrcid=ADGEEShixNJSG5ddAxmDsp3_H0NmsZ-LetSdSeKnGykkb0y_4ruRrW-EstMaeGHfs16v1u66MJlBbpW-WIgVRxtCabedvJWeojTeW4mfj7Z70xD-y31hAWGz7VhQwakzAylysKUUV0NNsig=AHIEtbRbStc-eBG_GjfGNgsEL-OmZ0oP8g Taylor, D. , (2009). Whats the impact of social media on business growth? Retrieved on 26th July 2010 from; http://www. intuitive. com/blog/impact_of_social_media_twitter_facebook_business_growth. html

Stereotypical Roles And The Effects On Society Media Essay

Stereotypical Roles And The Effects On Society Media Essay Gender is a societal construct of the roles of men and women in the society. According to Asher and Lloyd, (2002), gender stereotype refers to the beliefs people hold about members of categories of men and women. Gender role are described by social scientists as socially constructed, which they vary from one culture to another. It all depends on how we are socialized in different cultures since childhood and who we interact with that defines our gender role. Most social upbringings present women as the weaker sex who needs to be protected and to just stay at home. Men on the other hand are seen as the bread winners and that they work to provide and to protect their families. Both men and women perceive the world differently according to how they are socialized. Beliefs regarding appropriate behavior also influence how men and women interact. Television has however enhanced stereotypical role in that they portray a good woman as the one who is submissive and domesticated. Femininity therefore is associated with traits that are emotional, prudent, co-operative, having communal sense and compliance to certain aspects. Television portrays women as emotional beings and that they talk more than the men. Men as per the media are suppose to demonstrate their power and authority during interaction thus they tend to dominate during conversations. Men on the other hand are portrayed as concerned with report aspects that are based on facts thus using different communication styles from women. Even within a culture masculinity and femininity may be defined differently by various groups, in particular according to ethnicity, age, social class and sexuality. In this sense there is no single masculinity or femininity, but rather multiple masculinities and femininities. Not all men are leader like, aggressive, assertive, independent, risk-taking and so on; and not all women are affectionate, gentle, sympathetic, dependent, emotional, nurturing etc. Such qualities are found in varying degrees in most people (Curran Michael.eds., 1991) They continue to argue that all men and women are aware of the cultural traditional gender stereotypes and the television network contributes to this awareness. Men will usually seek achievement and dominance in cultural expectations and that women will be with complaints and be supportive. The relationship of people to these expectations often involves tension that usually boils up. This categorization thus influences our perception and teaches us how society wants us to behave as men and women. Both men and women do the same role nowadays for example they go to work in the morning and return in the evening just like the men do. It is therefore paramount that all these stereotypes portrayed by the television are countered so that both men and women see each other as equals and that they can do the same jobs regardless of their gender. DeFleur defines socialization as a complex, long-term, and multidimensional set of communicative exchanges between individuals and various agents of society that result in the individuals preparation for life in a socio cultural environment (DeFleur, 209). According to Max Weber a German sociologist, sociology is the study of society social sciences which aimed at developing and refine a body of knowledge about human social living through critical investigation and analysis with the aim of applying gathered knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. (Wilson, 1989) The essence of education in society has influenced the way in which cultural communities associate, in television there different target of audience and the messages portrayed are passed frequently either by male or female. Most of business advertisements uses both sex ads depending on the product they want to create awareness and likeability e.g. a company which sale motor vehicles will likely use men to pass the message while various companies that deals with body lotions or domestic products are likely to use women. However occupations equivalence is now based on education merit and professional ability to handle critical task. This helps to brainstorm working in the society where women too can do most professional jobs as their male counterparts. In recent years there has been a notable increase of women presenters and perhaps the attribute of physical attractiveness has played a huge part in their selection than for their male counterparts. The effects of gender stereotyping in todays society Greater societies have adopted gender etiquette due to political, social and economic human rights mostly communicated via the television, this role is relevant to household for well being of the society in general. Through educative programs, television is the most realistic mode of communication. Television still perpetuate traditional gender because it reflects social values, However, television shows a small, distorted view of reality, which can damage peoples views of the real world, and this can influence how people think and behave. Television has always been a male dominated area based on masculinity perspective and implicit narratives judgments. However, there are other theoretical considerations, criticisms and assumptions that arise from the cultivation theory, and which are mainly addressed in the work of Huston and Wright. Cultivation theory needs to rely on other approaches such as the influence of the family, the childs cognitive development, the amount and most import antly the type of television the child watches; this is to fully understand the socialization development. Results In the todays media fraternity departments, (e.g. television production) is highly male dominated which is influenced by stereotypes with the aspect of masculinity. However females will soon move to such technical areas due to advancement of technology whereby portable production equipments can be handled by women. Professionalism has created a balance race on job specifications curbing bias. Television alone is not enough to change people gender roles, it is vital that role models contribute broader perspective on stereotypes about what both sexes can do. ( Joyrich, 1996) To various communities watching television can be quite awful especially to little children who watch much of television, most a time can lead to complications in change of behavior, e.g. crying and other violent or excessive aggressiveness, which probably can be due to the programs which kids sees that might be violent. Statistics Research contacted by reality TV, American idol, attached over 50% market share indicating that over 50 % of television viewers watched the show, reality TVs watched all over the world and UK 2000 70% of population watched of ages 8-65+ have watch TV regularly, and Methodology The research will be conducted using primary and secondary methods, the questionnaires for data collection externally. The questionnaire will have both open-ended and closed-ended questions, this are aimed at explaining the way in which television portrays adult gender stereotypical roles and the effects this may have on todays society. Questionnaires will be advantageous to the researcher while collecting data because less time will be spent. The method will allow the researcher to collect data from the large number of respondents quickly. In addition, the respondents will have enough time to read and understand the questions before answering them. Content analysis will also be used to analyze the number of viewers and listeners based on frequency at which stereotypical roles are aired on television. This will be analyzed by stating who says what, to whom, why, to what extend and with what effect. Desk research will be collected from various books, magazines, social journals, intern et to corroborate the findings from the field. Data Analysis The data will be analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics with the support of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). (Nachmias Guerrerro, 1996). It says that descriptive statistics has an advantage to the researcher because it allows a researcher to organize information in an effective way and also allows information to be reduced to an understandable form. The descriptive statistics to be used will include simple tallying procedures such as frequency distributions, pie chart, bar graphs and histograms. Conclusion Television has contributed to shaping gender roles. The society has in one effect due to cultural norms streamlined the possibility that women can also work competently and there is no doubt that television is a vital tool that presents powerful attention and mind grabbing images and programs, however the anchors gender should always be balanced and not based on cultural beliefs rather profession ability to handle the task. Television today is proofing to be one of the most important and most considered medium of communication. Media has an impact in bringing change to the society, e.g. through television mass audiences get to share a variety of identical experience, socialize and others create business opportunities. Television is a set to observe positive successful ideologies and probably assume it is one source in which the society should adopt change.

Strategic Human Resource Management: British Petroleum

Strategic Human Resource Management: British Petroleum William DArcy of Anglo-Persia Oil Company is the founding member of BP, in the year 1901. However, BPs first retail gas station first ever opened in Britain in 1921. Through the years it has grown massively due to its brand reputation worldwide. It has since become a very powerful Oil company and enjoys a fair market share. Upon merging with Amoco- a USA Oil Company, in 1998, BP then rebranded its retail gas stations and convenient stores. BPs is into the extraction and refining of oil and natural gas. Their retail ventures are under subsidiaries of Arco and BP filling stations. Since the turn of the millennium, BP took into investing into research and development, focussing on alternative energy sources like bio fuels and so far it seems to be leading in this regard. In 2009, BP was reported to be worth over $238 billion in assets with equity of $101.6 billion. With the ever increasing oil prices, their profits were reported to be nearly $21 billion in revenues of $291 billion. Today they have since gone beyond the above quoted amounts of 2007. They employ over 96, 000 people worldwide. MISSION, VISION AND VALUE STATEMENT BP has a slogan statement that has not officially been says What we stand for BP wants to be recognised as a great company that is competitively successful and a force for progress. We have a fundamental belief that we can make a difference in the world. We help the world meet its growing need for heat, light and mobility. We strive to do that by producing energy that is affordable, secure and doesnt damage the environment. PRODUCTS BP products include; Bio fuels, Gas and petrol stations, Motor oil and lubricants Route and journey planner, Gas and petrol station locator Target neutral a non profit carbon offsetting initiative Liquefied petroleum Gas Solar energy Business investments include; Air BP, Arco Aluminium, Aromatics Acetyls, Asphalt and bitumen, BP Crudes, Franchising, Shipping Gas and fuel cards, gas and power energy, Natural Gas Liquids, Solar power Industrial lubricants, Invoice tracking systems, Marine fuels and lubricants Organisational Structure This is the line of command in an organisation. It is a hierarchal structure that shows the composition and relation between the different departments within the organisation, showing clearly the channel of command, which may either, be a tall or flat kind of structure. BPs organisational structure Board of Directors Robert Dudley Iain Conn Byron Grote Executive Management Mike Daly Sally T. Bott Rupert Bondy Mark Bly Lamar Mckay Bob Fryar Bernard Looney Andy Hopwood Steve Westwell BPs Executive Management (bp.com) includes; Robert Dudley Group Chief Executive He became Group Chief Executive from 1st October 2010, taking over from Tony Haywood. Dr Byron Grote Chief Financial Officer Is a member of BP board of directors and a member of the executive management team. His responsibilities include, accounting for BPs integrated supply and trading activities. Iain Conn Chief Executive Refining and Marketing He is the chief executive of the BP Groups refining and marketing business and also holds regional responsibilities for Europe, Southern Africa and Asia Pacific. He is a member of the board of directors and a member of the BP executive management team Mark Bly Executive Vice President Safety and Operational Risk His responsibilities includes strengthening safety operations, Risk Management and the systematic management of operations across BP corporate group Rupert Bondy Group General Counsel He is responsible for legal function, trademark, patents and licensing and compliance Sally T. Bott Executive Vice President Human Resource She has held the post since her appointment, in 2005. Bob Fryar Executive Vice President EP Production His responsibilities are for the Safe and Compliant Exploration and Production and Stewardship of resources across all regions Mike Daly Executive Vice President Exploration He is accountable for the leadership of BPs access, exploration and resource appraisal activities and the long term replacement of BPs resource base. Andy Hopwood Executive Vice President, EP- Strategy and Integration Has worked in various positions in which he has been successful. He is also a member of the executive team Bernard Looney Executive vice President -Development Is responsible for Drilling and completions and project activity in the upstream Lamar Mckay President BP America. He is the chief BPs representative in the United States. Based in Houston Texas, where BP business units are involved in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining chemicals, shipping and alternative energy Steve Westwell Executive Vice President Strategy and Integration He is accountable for BPs alternative energy businesses and manages all of BPs corporate activities in strategy and policy, internal communication media, press, investor relations, economics and long term research and technology. 4.2 ANALYSE THE IMPACT OF BPS CULTURE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES. Organisational culture is the collection of relatively uniform and enduring values, beliefs, customs, traditions and practices that are shared by an organisations members, learned by new recruits and transmitted from one generation of employees to the next. (Buchanan Huczynski 2004). It has been very successful in line with its brand name and corporate reputation. Its culture reflected in their statement slogan as below BP is progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven. They have further defined this statement as: Progressive They are restless in the research and development and improvement in exploration and refinery of oil, gas and fuels. They believe they have the principle of mutual advantage and can build productive relationships between themselves, their clients and partners. Responsible It is committed to the safety and development of its people and the communities in the societies in which they operate. They aim for no accidents, no harm to people and protecting the natural environment. Innovate we push boundaries today and create tomorrows breakthroughs through our people and technology Performance Driven BP is committed to deliver on their promises through continuous improvement and safe, reliable operations, by learning from their mistakes BP has over the years, has maintained a culture that, as exhibited in its code of conducts and their governance procedures in place. One characteristic business strategy that BP has continued to use in its system is that of Mergers. Over the years, BP has merged with other oil companies in most parts of the world and this had lead to the organisations diverse corporate culture. Generally BP has a large market share and has always had the potential to grow- thanks to other strategies, such as Acquisitions, Franchising and licensing .The BP brand is so strong and successful world over and enjoyed a good reputation. Unfortunately, the fatal accidents at the refineries (2005) and the latest oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 are not helping the current situation that the organisation is in. It has presumed that BPs outmost interest is profit marginalising than the welfare of employees and the general environment within which the firm operates. Trends of its culture in the nex t few months to come are expected to have been improved, if not changed completely, in relation to how the organisation operates. BP is primarily made up of two segments: Exploring and Production and the Refining and Marketing, along with other business units including alternative energy. BP prides its human resource capital and refers to them as our people. The organisations Human resource management aims to get the right people in the right jobs, accessing different specialist skills and promoting excellent performance. They carry out a focussed recruitment procedures, they analyse performances and reward accordingly and invest in training and development. The human resources department is made up top level executives and these make up what is known as People Committee, which takes the overall responsibilities for policy and decision relating to the employees. BP being a multinational corporation, and having employees from different countries, altogether, ensures that has one of the most biggest BPs human resources are highly skilled and efficient. The organisations Human Resource professional act as business partners, some delivery strategic guidance, while others support the day-to-day needs of managers and employees. In supporting its employees, BP invests in systems, data and core processes like governance, policy and compliance, so as to enable its human resource to respond quickly and effectively to the fast changing energy industry. 4.3 EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IS MONITORED IN THE ORGANISATION BPs Human Resource management is one of the tops around the world. Its activities have also been admired and BP used to be one of the top priorities for employment in the energy sectors. Human Resources Systems This is the systems that BP has set in place in terms of its human resource management. It involves; Recruitment BP is committed to a culture of diversity, this helps them attract, develop and retain outstanding talent- regardless of background, age, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, sex orientation, gender or marital status (BP code of conduct document) (BP sustainability review 2009) BP was named as the best energy company to launch a career in, based on factors like pay, rapid advancement and training programmes. (Business Week 2009) The organisation has schemes like the student and graduate employment facility which offers interested students and graduates intern opportunities. BP recruits graduates from a wide range of technical disciplines. In 2009, BP employed about 6500 out of which 470 were graduates. As BP is ever expanding, it requires qualified and skilful workers for its various projects around the world. Reward Systems BP has redesigned its reward strategies and processes, in such a way that, they can identify and reward top-performing businesses and individuals. In addition to pay, employees are rewarded according to how well they perform against specific objectives that must be clearly linked to the goals of the team as a whole. BP ensures to have benefit packages that are fair, attractive and sustainable for the long term for its employees. It states on their website, that as of 2010, they introduced a new flexible benefits plan in the UK, which includes private medical insurance and health screening, as well as a cash allowance for new hires to purchase benefits and defined contribution pension plans for those employees no longer eligible for the defined benefit plan Executive Reward packages Remuneration for executives is in cash and equity. This policy has been established by the remuneration committee of the board, whereas the policy for all other employees is by the group people committee. According to BP, their reward packages, strike the appropriate balance between rewarding individual performance and reflecting group performance. Performance Management BP does recognise that its high organisational growth and market share is due to the employees great performances (both individually and as a team). It strives for a performance -driven culture, with a clear alignment between team performance, individual performance and bonuses that are received. BPs performance approach entails that each BP business plan is designed to accomplish elements of the groups overall strategies. Objectives and milestones for each individual are set in accordance with the team plan. There is a direct link between the goals set by BP board and that or other BP key businesses, and the performance contracts of their executive leadership. Standard approach is that, the executives performance is evaluated against their performance contract. BP carries out an internal and external evaluation processes in developing plans for these group leaders Managers, peers and team members review leaders performance, using a 360ÂÂ ° feedback tool, to identify their top three relative strengths and weaknesses. It runs Career Acceleration programme which supports rapid development of employees who have the highest potential and are expected to achieve For Managers, it runs a series of development programmes called Managing Essentials. This is aimed to assists line managers in attaining leadership skills. They encourage leaders to develop, as they expect the leaders or managers to not only exhibit valuable expertise, but also to influence and motivate employees and be able to act decisively and deliver high quality results. RECOMMENDATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BP Having researched and discussed the Human Resource Management in BP, I hereby recommend the effectiveness of the Human Resource Management. Their current systems in comparison to most local jobs (companies) are indeed second to none. Some of the highlighting points I base my recommendation on, includes the following working conditions: BP recognises the needs of individuals and has set out innovative working practices that encourage employees to enjoy a happy and productive work and life balance at every stage of their career. Flexible working BPs Information Technology infrastructure helps support flexible working and there are a variety of flexible working arrangements e.g. part time, and depending on employees role, they have home-based working or teleconferencing in some circumstances replaces the need to travel. Time to live As a global business, there are occasions when people have to work very hard an unsociable hours. If this is the case, BP may consider whether to provide extra time off and or additional benefits. Family time BP supports family friendly policies, such as career breaks and adoption leave, aimed at allowing people to contribute to their families without compromising their professional development aspirations Global Diversity and inclusion Council in the lead, is the Group Chief Executive. He ensures that the managers have the support they need to promote diversity and inclusion at every level of BP. It includes other senior managers and together they share their focus on making diversity and inclusion priority. Global Affinity Groups These are local affinity groups, employee-led teams of individuals who share interests or backgrounds. These groups offer support, information and the opportunity to help the business reach its diversity and inclusion goals. BPs Human Resource Management aims to attract and retain the best people, by offering opportunities to employees to learn and develop both informal training and mentoring. Teams set out to support individuals through their progress, by assisting new employees discover their talents and abilities. BP has a focused performance management system is one of the best in the world When employed, BP will align the individual objectives with the goals of the area of specialisation, upon which will be measured to ascertain the effectiveness of the individuals performance against the objectives and contributions to those goals. Norman Rockwell: Artist Biography Norman Rockwell: Artist Biography Norman Rockwell was born in 1894. Rockwell enjoyed drawing at an early age and soon decided he wanted to be an artist. At age 15 he left high school and enrolled in two art schools simultaneously. His mornings were spent at the National Academy of Design, and his afternoons, spent at the Art Students League. He is perhaps best remembered for his countless Saturday Evening Post illustrations and artistic contributions to the advertising industry. His early covers made Rockwell a star, and his paintings appeared in magazines and advertisements for the next half-century. Rockwell never considered himself an artist, but rather a commercial illustrator. After all, Rockwell never painted freehand, and almost all of his paintings were commissioned by magazines and advertising companies. No matter how many contributions Rockwell made to the commercial arts over his career, they all had something in common. He understood the importance the drawing process had in order to achieve effective ill ustrations for his advertisements and magazine covers. In the beginning of his career Rockwell worked from real life. He used models drawing directly onto his canvas. It has never been natural for me to deviate from the facts of anything before me, he says, so I have always dressed the models and posed them precisely as I have wanted them in my picture; then I painted the thing before me. If a model has worn a red sweater, I painted it red I couldnt possibly have made it green. I have tried again and again to take such liberties, but with little success. To keep up with the demand for a quicker turnaround for finished art, Rockwell began to use photos as a reference for his drawings. For twenty-three years I did all of my drawing and painting without any help from the camera. Even today I often work without photographs, yet I have found that if they are properly utilized they can sometimes prove an invaluable aid. I feel very strongly, however, that no one should resort to photographs until he has learned to draw and paint extremely well without them.In Guptills book Norman Rockwell Illustrator a description of Rockwells technique is given in extensive detail. The first step was to get an idea. Without a good idea right at the start, only failure can result, Rockwell said. Once he had an idea, his procedure was to make small scale thumbnails with pencil. When the idea was approved, the models were selected. He commonly used friends and neighbors and his models. He always insisted on getting the perfect model even if it entailed a len gthy search. Rockwell then acquired the necessary props and would hire a photographer to shoot the scenes, while he directed the models. With his okayed preliminary pencil sketch and his selected photographs, Norman then did a small sized study in pencil. This was done to organize his materials and his thoughts about layout and composition. Next, he made a full size detailed charcoal drawing on architects detailpaper. This was made to the exact size which he intended his final painting to be which varied according to the subject matter it was used for.Now the photographer was called again to reshoot the desired layout. Rockwell then painted from the photographs and did several color studies which allowed him to make tweaks to the tone, form or color. Rockwell then made a transfer from his full size charcoal layout on to his prepared canvas. First, he would trace this ona sheet of architects tracing paper, which he would then attach to his blank canvas. Between the tracing paper and the canvas he would place transfer paper and traced it onto the canvas. After all this meticulous prepping he was now ready to paint. Eventually, Rockwell altered his sketching process by using an opaque projector called a balopticon, which allowed him to cast photographic images onto his drawing surface, and lightly trace them. Rockwell said, When using the balopticon in this way, I do not simply copy everything which is projected from the photograph. Instead, I make many, many changes, large and small, in order to make the drawing like the image in my mind of what I want to portray. I cannot emphasize this point too much. The real danger in using the balopticon is that you will develop the lazy tendency to follow the image exactly instead of following the creative idea or image within yourself.Painting from photographs canbe a wholly creative performance if the artist himself is creative. To copy the form, tone and color of a photographic print certainly is not creative. But one can be creative by modifying drawing, values and other aspects of the photo to realize the creative needs of the subject. The camera is no substitute for those creative faculties of mind and hand which have always produced art and always will. The artist who cant draw or paint will never getanywhere trying to work from photographs. Probably the most important stage in Norman Rockwells technique was the drawing stage. In this stage, subjects were drawn in great detail, going so far as to indicate differences in light and shade by filling in areas with varying values of grey. If you look closely at a Norman Rockwell painting, much of his pencil lines can be seen lurking below the paint. I take the making of the charcoal layouts very seriously, Rockwell once remarked. Too many novices. I believe, wait until they are on the canvas before trying to solve many of their problems. It is much better to wrestle with them ahead through studies. Knowing that the success of his covers and advertisements depended on the strength of his ideas, Rockwell struggled to develop engaging picture themes. With the emphasis on preliminary drawings this allowed Rockwell to produce strong illustrations for his commissions. His successes in commercial art and the advertising industry are a result of those drawing phases. With his art on cover of the Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell became an American icon. Although hesitant about approaching the Saturday Evening Post, he had dreamed for years of having his illustrations on the cover. Rockwell put aside his fears and in 1916 took two paintings and three sketches to Phildelphia and Mr. Lorimers office. Mr. Lorimer liked the two paintings and approved the three sketches for future covers for the Saturday Evening Post. The first Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover was published May 20, 1916. Entitled Boy with Baby Carriage (See fig. 1), it shows 2 boys in baseball uniforms making fun of another boy dressed in his Sunday suit pushing a baby carriage. One of Norman Rockwells favorite models, Billy Paine, posed for all three boys. On June 3, 1916, the second Saturday Evening Post Norman Rockwell cover was published. His second effort featured a kids circus with one kid in long underwear being the strong man. Another kid in a top hat was the ci rcus barker, extolling the other kids in the painting to see the show (See fig 2). This was the second of the two finished paintings Rockwell originally showed to Mr Lorimer. All in all, more than 300 Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers were published. Norman Rockwells painting of a colonial tavern sign painter in the February 1936 issue of The Saturday Evening Post had caught the eye of Princeton architect Thomas Stapleton, who decided to commission Rockwell to do a mural for the reconstructed 1756 Nassau Tavern located in Princeton. Rockwell enjoyed doing colonial subjects and because Princeton was the site of a major Revolutionary War battle, a painting of Yankee Doodle seemed appropriate. Yankee Doodle was placed behind the bar to be enjoyed by all the male guests (See Fig. 3). Rockwell researched and had new costumes made for his models. He engaged his friend, Fred Hildebrandt, a professional model and illustrator, who had posed as the colonial sign painter, to pose as Yankee Doodle. This painting underwent several phases in preparation for the oil painting. First, a drawing was done from the model, with very little changes being done (see fig 4). Second, a drawing was done from the first drawing. In this version the drawing was pushed further. Here he makes the body thinner, the arms and legs are elongated, and the shape of his nose is changed. The clothing also adds to the character and his action. The vest now creates a more interesting silhouette, while the smaller scarf helps thin the shape of his upper body. The negative space between him and the saddle, as well as the disheveled hat, flowing hair and coat, convey a bouncing ride (see fig. 5). Third, the drawing is transferred and a color-study is done (See fig. 6). Finally, the finish changes are made. Most are subtle, but there is improved contrast to the coats folds, and changes to the negative space in relation to the elbow. (see fig 7). These process images support Rockwells comments that the ability t o draw is the most import. In the cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post on April 16, 1955, Art Critic, Rockwell was far from beginning his final painting when he completed this drawing. His photographer recalls that Rockwell considered this one of the most difficult paintings he had done. He spent more time on it than on almost any other Post cover. Using his wife Mary as the model, the face of the woman in the portrait changed no fewer than 17 times. (See fig 8). For each alteration, Rockwell painted a separate oil-on-acetate sketch, which he then could place for consideration within the portraits frame. At some point Rockwell replaced the 17th-century landscape on the opposite wall with a group portrait of Dutch cavaliers. The cavaliers critical observation of the students close examination of the ladys pendant added a new dynamic and further compelled the viewers participation in Rockwells painting. You can also see Rockwells process drawings leading up to his finished Post cover paintings in Fix ing a Flat August 3, 1946 (See Fig. 9) and Weighing In June 28, 1958 (See Fig. 10). Record of his work process is rare and really provides insight in to his technique. On the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell earned his reputation as an artist. Inside, however, his work was just as moving. His paintings regularly appeared inadvertisements. Rockwells advertising career started in 1914 with a Heinz ad in the Boy Scout Handbook and ended 64 years later in 1976 with Lancaster Turkeys. Rockwell also did advertising illustration for companies like Jell-O, Willys cars, Grape Nuts and Orange Crush. He is also remembered for his numerous advertisements for such companies as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, and Sun-Maid Raisins. Even in Rockwells advertisement illustrations he continued his technical processes and the use of drawing with models and photographs. When people ask why I sometimes resort to photographs, I tell them what a job it is to get models to take and hold poses like in this Interwoven Socks advertisement. Any time you wish to become a model, try either of these poses for a few minutes, says Norman. (See Fig. 11). In the Fisk Tire advertisement he draws from a live model rather than a photograph to create his painting (see fig. 12). In this case my model was old Pop Fredricks, known to all illustrators. He was a great guy, an old actor. He used to pose twenty-five minutes and then rest. Before the pose we would set the alarm clock, a noisy Big Ben. Waiting for the blasted thing to go off was nerve-racking; after about twenty minutes I would be on edge. Once I had Pop in a sleeping pose and he actually fell asleep, I let him sleep until noon. One of Rockwells advertising campaigns resulted i n 81 black-and-white drawings. The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. commissioned him to create scenes reflecting family life for a national advertising campaign. Rockwell reportedly used a hard, grease-free type ofcrayon for the sketches (see fig.13). Massachusetts Mutual chose the black-and-white medium because it represented a contrast to the color advertisements used by most companies in the 1950s and 1960s, and the company hoped it would grab peoples attention. The company ran ads with the drawings in The Saturday Evening Post, Time and Newsweek.

Management Leadership :: essays research papers

Management and Leadership In today’s business, there is the need of having people to lead and manage due to the them growing rapidly. For that, reason organizations are hiring leaders and managers to help them run their businesses. Many would think that management and leadership are synonymous to each other but they are not. The two are related, but their functions are different. Below I will differentiate their roles and responsibilities in maintaining a healthy environment in an organization. In addition, I will give recommendations to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture. Management and leadership are both important in an organization, but they seek two different things. Managers focus on managing the work that needs to be done by putting their employees to help them accomplish the objectives while leaders focus on leading people to the companies vision. Management also focuses on the short-term events, they ensure that the resources are used and improvement is made within time frames of days, weeks and months. Leaders, in the other hand deals with uncertainly, they focused on long term events such as policies and procedures. Managers empowers (not only delegate) staff and develops them for advancement. Managers has to seek feedback and listen, they have too build visions and missions with their staff. Managers has to respond promptly to staff and manager has to manage creatively and to demonstrate good examples to the staff It is important to manage the organization culture and to know the weaknesses. The goal of the organization should not only emphasize on being profitable but also to be an enjoyable place to work in. The most important assets in any organization is its employees, and nothing affects the day to day lives of the employees more than the culture in which they work. Because of poor culture can result in bad work life experience for employees, which in turn will result in higher turnover. Making the cost of retraining people in key positions, and the brain drain that comes because the new person doesn’t know quite as much as the one who left. The culture of the organization needs to be enjoyable. Management Leadership :: essays research papers Management and Leadership In today’s business, there is the need of having people to lead and manage due to the them growing rapidly. For that, reason organizations are hiring leaders and managers to help them run their businesses. Many would think that management and leadership are synonymous to each other but they are not. The two are related, but their functions are different. Below I will differentiate their roles and responsibilities in maintaining a healthy environment in an organization. In addition, I will give recommendations to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture. Management and leadership are both important in an organization, but they seek two different things. Managers focus on managing the work that needs to be done by putting their employees to help them accomplish the objectives while leaders focus on leading people to the companies vision. Management also focuses on the short-term events, they ensure that the resources are used and improvement is made within time frames of days, weeks and months. Leaders, in the other hand deals with uncertainly, they focused on long term events such as policies and procedures. Managers empowers (not only delegate) staff and develops them for advancement. Managers has to seek feedback and listen, they have too build visions and missions with their staff. Managers has to respond promptly to staff and manager has to manage creatively and to demonstrate good examples to the staff It is important to manage the organization culture and to know the weaknesses. The goal of the organization should not only emphasize on being profitable but also to be an enjoyable place to work in. The most important assets in any organization is its employees, and nothing affects the day to day lives of the employees more than the culture in which they work. Because of poor culture can result in bad work life experience for employees, which in turn will result in higher turnover. Making the cost of retraining people in key positions, and the brain drain that comes because the new person doesn’t know quite as much as the one who left. The culture of the organization needs to be enjoyable.

Pros and Cons of Abortion Essay -- Religion Christianity Abortion Ethi

Pros and Cons of Abortion Should a list of pros and cons of abortion really be necessary for Christians...or human beings for that matter? I mean, have we really reached a point where we cannot tell that abortion is murderous no matter how you color it or try to paint it as compassionate? Apparently so. Thirty plus years after the infamous Supreme Court decision in Roe versus Wade and thirty one years after my own timely birth, I sit in awe at the ignorance of a great portion of society...their lack of understanding, their selfishness, and their brazen support of such a horrendous practice as abortion. I guess I should not be surprised that the unregenerate world can support abortion, but what shocks me most is that professing Christians need to consider some sort of pros and cons of abortion list so that they can "make an informed decision". It is a crying shame that we have reached a day when the Bible is not sufficient enough of a guideline for Christians that they feel they must hear the "pros and cons of abortion". Well, since this seems to be the case, let’s look at some pros and cons of abortion. Lets evaluate them in light of the scriptures and in light of our conclusions based on the whole of scripture and the impecable character of our God and His expectations for us. I recently viewed a site with one of these lists with the "pros and cons of abortion". I would like to review their statements with my evaluation of them below: Pros of Abortion "*Laws against abortion kill women. Even though abortion may be illegal doesn't mean that women won't go through with the abortion. Look at the case of Becky Bell for example. She was an innocent girl that did not want her child and died because of an illegal abortion." ***My Assessment: Yes, people will continue to sin, but we should never sit band condone theirs inn by either verbal support or merely apathy. We certainly should not use the dumb excuse of: "Well, they are just going to do it anyway and at least if abortion is legal, they won't be doing them in dirty back alleys." It is always tragic when a human being loses their life, but if abortion is once again outlawed (as it should be), these people would always be losing their lives in violation of a good, common sense, and compassionate law. If they die breaking the law, then they will die the death of a criminal. But, please keep... ...ortion you will always wonder what if, and feel guilty for the rest of your life about the child you could have had." Biblical pros and cons of abortion: Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; Biblical pros and cons of abortion: Isa 46:3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne [by me] from the belly, which are carried from the womb: Biblical pros and cons of abortion: Isa 66:9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut [the womb]? saith thy God. Now I shall leave you with some very key scriptures as you consider the pros and cons of abortion... Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Isa 49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Initiation and Maturity in John Updike A&P

In John Updike’s short story â€Å"A&P†, the main character, Sammy, is a young man working for a grocery store over the summer. When he is confronted by a trio of young women shopping the store wearing nothing but their bathing suits, Sammy is keenly interested, as any male teenager would be.He realizes that, in a small town grocery store in the 1960s, such attire is not socially acceptable, yet his hormones dictate that he follow their every move with his eyes and contemplate the adverse reaction of others in the store.â€Å"A&P† is a story about initiation into adulthood because by standing up for the girls against his boss’s rudeness, Sammy finds his own voice for the very first time. He realizes he is entitled to his own opinion, and that rebelling against authority figures brings personal satisfaction, but it will also be difficult for him to be complacent in other jobs in the years ahead.At nineteen, Sammy is old enough to know what society expects f rom him but he is also young enough to feel a sense of dissatisfaction with the dictates of his elders. As he thinks when Lengel is chastising the girls, â€Å"Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency† (Updike, 35).In other words Lengel is the kingpin, in control of the policy, while Sammy is part of â€Å"the others† who merely want a glimpse of a girl’s anatomy not normally revealed. It is Sammy’s view that his boss’s policy is without merit and he tells Lengel so. This is a defining moment in Sammy’s life in that it is the first time he defends his beliefs, which are contrary to authority, by clearly stating his own opinion.Sammy also finds some satisfaction in rebelling against his boss. He wants his statement, â€Å"I quit† (Updike, 35) to be heard by everyone in the store – his co-worker, the girls, the other patrons. In this way, he can make a rather dramatic exit and prove he is in control of his own life. The idea of being a rebel appeals to Sammy. He wants to shout his newfound maturity to the world; he wants to see everyone’s reaction to this initiation into adulthood.Sammy does two things which allow him to grow during the course of the story – he states his opinion and he acts in a rebellious manner. He has a realization regarding â€Å"how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter† (Updike, 36) and it is this which best expresses his maturity and signifies the beginning of his initiation into adulthood.Work CitedUpdike, John. â€Å"A & P.† Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. Boston: Mc Graw Hill, 2007. 32-36.   

Why Relationships Fail

Why Relationships Fail Why is it that when we think we have the perfect person we lose them? It’s something that everyone has to experience in their lives, and it’s one of the hardest concepts to understand why this happens to us. When I look at relationships I think about Stephen R. Covey who once said, â€Å"Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. † I believe the three keys to why relationships do or don’t always work are excepting others differences, trust and jealousy, and lack of communication. When you meet someone and have the certain click you do not always see the real them at first. In relationships you have to take time to learn about each other. When one is in a relationship they are forced to accept each other’s differences. This is only a small part of why some perfect relationships fail. It is sometimes hard for us to takes these differences and just accept them instead of trying to change them. We always want the other person to just change for us, and majority of the time that isn’t what they want to do. We need to look past each other’s faults and just accept them for who they are. After acceptance you have to be able trust the person you are with. I always remember that trust is the easiest to gain, but the hardest to gain back. If we are always honest in our relationship there is less tension. Having a confident attitude in one another has a great deal to do with successful relationships. If we are only worrying about what they could be doing wrong we will never be content. Jealousy is largest part of what we are experiencing when we don’t trust. Trust, honesty, and confidence; these all tie together to make a happy couple. Communication; it is a part of life that many struggle with today. It is something we do every day but can also be one of the hardest things to express at the same time. Communication in a relationship is what I believe the most important key to a working relationship. If we cannot communicate with someone that we should be close to with then it is going to be a ifficult struggle understanding what they are thinking. When you were little and your mom or dad asked you what was wrong you were always open to tell them, well this works the same way. We cannot make everyone happy but we are always trying to. If they are the right one for you they will be able to listen to you and understand the best of their ability. The feeling of not knowing what is running through the other person’s head is confusing to us. To work throug h problems together, communication is the only way to conquer this. Relationships are not always as simple as they seem. They are hard work and are something that we cannot try and fix on our own. Each person in a relationship is an equal part. Working together to accept each other for who we are, this is just one key to happiness. Also having confidence in one another can make or break a relationship. We need to remember that we should not be afraid to tell each other what we are thinking. We should act as an open book; showing the torn pages even if they are too mangled to read.