Friday, January 24, 2020

Adopt a Child :: Essays research papers, Adoption

Adopt-A-Child, Inc., is a licensed, non-profit adoption agency dedicated to the ideal of bringing together couples or individuals seeking to build their families with foreign-born infants or children who need homes. The children we identify for adoption have been irrevocably released by their parents or other relatives due to death or abandonment. These youngsters are orphans according to U.S. and international legal definitions. Therefore, in accordance with the laws of both countries concerned, they are fully available for adoption. Our staff of trained social workers have completed numerous adoptions with couples and individuals throughout the United States and with U.S. citizens abroad. We support and educate our clients, empowering them to make the best decision for their particular situations. Our focus throughout the process is on social service, to ensure the best possible adjustment of children and parents to their new families. Adopt-A-Child has developed a strong network of relationships with adoption officials in many foreign countries, gaining a reputation for unquestionable reliability and integrity. In each of these countries we have developed a trained, experienced and well-supervised staff with whom we communicate closely, and are able to direct via phone, fax, and e-mail. We also make regular visits to the countries from which we adopt in order to monitor operations, visit orphanages and to meet with adoption officials. We are a full-service agency providing not only adoption assistance but also pre- and post-adoption support counseling. Among our services, we maintain a very active parents network to provide a forum for education, socialization, recreation and mutual support.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

The King’s Speech

The King's Speech is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays King George VI, who, to overcome his stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an unorthodox Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The two men become friends as they work together, and after his brother Edward VIII abdicates, the new king relies on Logue to help him make a radio broadcast at the beginning of World War II. David Seidler began reading about George VI after overcoming his own stammer during his youth and, using informed imagination, wrote about the men's relationship. Nine weeks before filming, Logue's notebooks were discovered and quotations from them were incorporated into the script. Principal photography took place in London and other locations in Britain, in December 2009 and early January 2010. The film was released in the United States on 24 December 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2011. The King's Speech was the highest earning film for three weekends in a row at the British box office. It has been widely praised by film critics for its visual style, art direction and acting. Other commentators discussed the film's misrepresentation of the historical events it portrays, in particular the reversal of Winston Churchill's opposition to abdication. The film received many awards and nominations, mostly for Colin Firth. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning Best Actor – Drama for Firth. Furthermore, the film also nominated for fourteen BAFTAs, the most of the other films, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Firth, and both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for both Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, respectively. The film was also nominated for 12 Academy Awards, the most of the other films, and ended up winning four, all in the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler Plot. The film opens with Prince Albert, Duke of York, known to his wife and family as â€Å"Bertie† (played by Colin Firth), the second son of King George V, speaking at the close of the 1925British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, with his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) by his side. His stammering speech visibly unsettles the thousands of listeners in the audience. The prince tries several unsuccessful treatments and gives up, until the Duchess persuades him to see Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist in London. In their first session, Logue requests that they address each other by their Christian names, a breach of royal etiquette. At first, the Duke is reluctant to receive treatment, so Logue agrees to make a bet with him that, if the Duke keeps coming to his sessions and they prove effective, he will give him a shilling. He convinces Bertie to read Hamlet's â€Å"To be, or not to be† soliloquy, while listening to the overture from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro on headphones, so that he cannot hear himself talk. Logue records Bertie's reading on a gramophone record, but convinced that he has stammered throughout, Bertie leaves in a huff. Logue offers him the recording as a keepsake. After King George V (Michael Gambon) makes his 1934 Christmas address, he explains to his son the importance of broadcasting for the modern monarchy in a perilous international situation. Later, after a frustrating discussion with his father, Bertie plays Logue's recording and hears himself making an unbroken recitation of Shakespeare, which amazes both him and the Duchess. He returns to Logue, and they work together on muscle relaxation and breath control, while simultaneously probing the psychological roots of his stammer. The Prince reveals some of the pressures of his childhood: his strict father; the repression of his natural left-handedness; a painful treatment with metal splints for his knock-knees; a nanny who favoured his elder brother – David, the Prince of Wales, deliberately pinching Bertie at the daily presentations to their parents so he would cry and his parents would not want to see him; and the early death in 1919 of his little brotherPrince John. As the treatment progresses, the two become friends and confidants. [pic] [pic] Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter as the Duke and Duchess of York On 20 January 1936 George V dies, and David, the Prince of Wales (Guy Pearce) accedes to the throne as King Edward VIII, but he wants to marry Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), an American divorcee socialite, which would provoke a constitutional crisis. At a party in Balmoral Castle, Bertie points out that Edward cannot marry a divorced woman and retain the throne; Edward accuses his brother of a m edieval-style plot to usurp his throne, citing Albert's speech lessons as an attempt to ready himself. Bertie is tongue-tied at the accusation, and Edward resurrects his childhood taunt of â€Å"B-B-B-Bertie†. At his next session, the Prince has not forgotten the incident. In an attempt to console him, Logue insists that Bertie could be king and says the shilling of their wager should bear the Duke's head as monarch. Bertie accuses Logue of treason and, in a temper, he mocks Logue's failed acting career and humble origins, causing a rift in their friendship. When King Edward abdicates to marry, Bertie becomes King George VI. Feeling overwhelmed by his accession, the new King realises that he needs Logue's help and he and the Queen visit the Logues' residence to apologise. When the King insists that Logue be seated in the king's box during his coronation in Westminster Abbey, Dr Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Derek Jacobi), questions Logue's qualifications. This prompts another confrontation between the King and Logue, who explains he had begun by treating shell-shocked soldiers in the last war. When the King still isn't convinced about his own strengths, Logue sits in St. Edward's Chair and dismisses the Stone of Scone as a trifle, the King remonstrates with Logue for his disrespect. The King then realises that he is as capable as those before him. Upon the September 1939 declaration of war with Germany, George VI summons Logue to Buckingham Palace to prepare for his radio speech to the country. As the King and Logue move through the palace to a tiny studio, Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall) reveals to the King that he, too, had once had a speech impediment but had found a way to use it to his advantage. The King delivers his speech as if to Logue, who coaches him through every moment. As Logue watches, the King steps onto the balcony of the palace with his family, where thousands of people assembled for the speech applaud him. A final title card explains that, during the many speeches King George VI gave during World War II, Logue was always present. It is also explained that Logue and the King remained friends, and that, â€Å"King George VI made Lionel Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Orderin 1944. This high honour from a grateful King made Lionel part of the only order of chivalry that specifically rewards acts of personal service to the Monarch. â€Å" The King’s Speech The King's Speech is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays King George VI, who, to overcome his stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an unorthodox Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The two men become friends as they work together, and after his brother Edward VIII abdicates, the new king relies on Logue to help him make a radio broadcast at the beginning of World War II. David Seidler began reading about George VI after overcoming his own stammer during his youth and, using informed imagination, wrote about the men's relationship. Nine weeks before filming, Logue's notebooks were discovered and quotations from them were incorporated into the script. Principal photography took place in London and other locations in Britain, in December 2009 and early January 2010. The film was released in the United States on 24 December 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2011. The King's Speech was the highest earning film for three weekends in a row at the British box office. It has been widely praised by film critics for its visual style, art direction and acting. Other commentators discussed the film's misrepresentation of the historical events it portrays, in particular the reversal of Winston Churchill's opposition to abdication. The film received many awards and nominations, mostly for Colin Firth. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning Best Actor – Drama for Firth. Furthermore, the film also nominated for fourteen BAFTAs, the most of the other films, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Firth, and both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for both Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, respectively. The film was also nominated for 12 Academy Awards, the most of the other films, and ended up winning four, all in the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director for Tom Hooper, Best Actor for Firth and Best Original Screenplay for David Seidler Plot. The film opens with Prince Albert, Duke of York, known to his wife and family as â€Å"Bertie† (played by Colin Firth), the second son of King George V, speaking at the close of the 1925British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, with his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) by his side. His stammering speech visibly unsettles the thousands of listeners in the audience. The prince tries several unsuccessful treatments and gives up, until the Duchess persuades him to see Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist in London. In their first session, Logue requests that they address each other by their Christian names, a breach of royal etiquette. At first, the Duke is reluctant to receive treatment, so Logue agrees to make a bet with him that, if the Duke keeps coming to his sessions and they prove effective, he will give him a shilling. He convinces Bertie to read Hamlet's â€Å"To be, or not to be† soliloquy, while listening to the overture from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro on headphones, so that he cannot hear himself talk. Logue records Bertie's reading on a gramophone record, but convinced that he has stammered throughout, Bertie leaves in a huff. Logue offers him the recording as a keepsake. After King George V (Michael Gambon) makes his 1934 Christmas address, he explains to his son the importance of broadcasting for the modern monarchy in a perilous international situation. Later, after a frustrating discussion with his father, Bertie plays Logue's recording and hears himself making an unbroken recitation of Shakespeare, which amazes both him and the Duchess. He returns to Logue, and they work together on muscle relaxation and breath control, while simultaneously probing the psychological roots of his stammer. The Prince reveals some of the pressures of his childhood: his strict father; the repression of his natural left-handedness; a painful treatment with metal splints for his knock-knees; a nanny who favoured his elder brother – David, the Prince of Wales, deliberately pinching Bertie at the daily presentations to their parents so he would cry and his parents would not want to see him; and the early death in 1919 of his little brotherPrince John. As the treatment progresses, the two become friends and confidants. [pic] [pic] Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter as the Duke and Duchess of York On 20 January 1936 George V dies, and David, the Prince of Wales (Guy Pearce) accedes to the throne as King Edward VIII, but he wants to marry Wallis Simpson (Eve Best), an American divorcee socialite, which would provoke a constitutional crisis. At a party in Balmoral Castle, Bertie points out that Edward cannot marry a divorced woman and retain the throne; Edward accuses his brother of a m edieval-style plot to usurp his throne, citing Albert's speech lessons as an attempt to ready himself. Bertie is tongue-tied at the accusation, and Edward resurrects his childhood taunt of â€Å"B-B-B-Bertie†. At his next session, the Prince has not forgotten the incident. In an attempt to console him, Logue insists that Bertie could be king and says the shilling of their wager should bear the Duke's head as monarch. Bertie accuses Logue of treason and, in a temper, he mocks Logue's failed acting career and humble origins, causing a rift in their friendship. When King Edward abdicates to marry, Bertie becomes King George VI. Feeling overwhelmed by his accession, the new King realises that he needs Logue's help and he and the Queen visit the Logues' residence to apologise. When the King insists that Logue be seated in the king's box during his coronation in Westminster Abbey, Dr Cosmo Gordon Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Derek Jacobi), questions Logue's qualifications. This prompts another confrontation between the King and Logue, who explains he had begun by treating shell-shocked soldiers in the last war. When the King still isn't convinced about his own strengths, Logue sits in St. Edward's Chair and dismisses the Stone of Scone as a trifle, the King remonstrates with Logue for his disrespect. The King then realises that he is as capable as those before him. Upon the September 1939 declaration of war with Germany, George VI summons Logue to Buckingham Palace to prepare for his radio speech to the country. As the King and Logue move through the palace to a tiny studio, Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall) reveals to the King that he, too, had once had a speech impediment but had found a way to use it to his advantage. The King delivers his speech as if to Logue, who coaches him through every moment. As Logue watches, the King steps onto the balcony of the palace with his family, where thousands of people assembled for the speech applaud him. A final title card explains that, during the many speeches King George VI gave during World War II, Logue was always present. It is also explained that Logue and the King remained friends, and that, â€Å"King George VI made Lionel Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Orderin 1944. This high honour from a grateful King made Lionel part of the only order of chivalry that specifically rewards acts of personal service to the Monarch. â€Å"

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Leadership theories and the role of icuenglish - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1696 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Leadership is amongst the most discussed topics in the social sciences (Avolio et al., 2003 and Bass, 1990). The earlier theories started with the great men concept and focused on the personality and the behaviour of successful leaders while the later focused on the role of followers and contextual factors. In light of these shifts, in the first section, this essay will review some of the leadership theories and the relationship between the leadership and the culture creation. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Leadership theories and the role of icuenglish" essay for you Create order Bearing in mind the relevant leadership theories one may ask what is the role of a leader in a start-up enterprise? This essay argues that a leader is the architect of a start-up enterprise and has significant influence on all the decisions and shapes the future of the company. Therefore, in the second section, this essay will present leaders role on corporate branding and how he/she shapes the companys characteristics by influencing all the aspects at the early stages of company life cycle. Review of leadership theories According to Johnson (2009), Machiavelli might have been the first person to write about leadership phenomenon but it has started with the great man theory introduced by Carlyle in 1840s. Carlyle (1888) believed that leaders are exceptional people who born with distinctive qualities and destined to lead. However, this theory lacked in application as the study was based on historical leaders who have certain physical characteristics and achieved the power through birthright (Johnson, 2009). Nevertheless, some authors followed the great man theory route but focused on the common key characteristics of the successful leaders to identify list of traits such as self-confidence, desire to influence others, adaptability, intelligence and so on (Bolden et al., 2003). This stream of research came to a dead end as each study contributed a new trait to the theory and it was difficult to measure traits (Bolden et al, 2003). In his seminal review of trait theories, Stogdill (1948) concluded tha t leadership is a result of working relationship between the leader and followers. Eventually, after this study, trait theory evolved into a study of leadership behaviours (Johnson, 2009). Behaviour theories concentrated on different styles and behaviours that leaders use and how they contributed to followers performance, satisfaction and quality () simultaneously, skills theories showed that leadership could be learned (Katz, 1955). Despite the fact that behaviour and skills theories provided guidance to develop leadership skills and behaviours (Katz, 1955; Stogdill, 1947) they lacked in guiding what initiates effective leadership in different situations (Fiedler, 1964) therefore situational/contingency theories took the lead in 1964 through Fiedlers research. These theories indicated that style that leaders use depends on the situation, the task, the organisation, the people and the other external variables (Fiedler, 1964). The trait, skills and behaviour theories discussed ana lysed the leadership from the perspective of leader; situational/contingency theory considered follower and context; but the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory introduced by Graen and Cashman (1975) conceptualises leadership as an interaction between leaders and followers and how leaders get work done through personal relationships with different employee groups. Similarly, during the same period, Greenleaf (1977) introduced servant leadership, which analysed the leader-followers relationship but concluded that leaders do not necessarily need to be formally recognised as leader. Leader can be anyone from any level within an organisation as long as he/she understands followers needs and help them fullfil (Greenleaf, 1978). Also, Burns (1978) analysed the leader-followers interactions and proposed transformational leadership concept which can be described as the process which leaders consider followers and inspire them to contribute and become more committed through using their perso nal charisma, individual attention to followers and intellectual stimulation. Bass (1985) further developed the concept by placing the theory more into organisational context (Ensley et al., 2006) As one can observe from the leadership review, there have been many different definitions of leadership as there are authors writing about it (Stogdill, 1974; Fiedler 1971a). Therefore, this essay defines the leadership as the nature of influencing process and its outcomes that result from leader-followers interaction (Antonakis et al., 2004). Hence the leaders characteristics, skills, behaviour, beliefs and the way they interact with the followers are vital for the company and its future therefore in the next section, this essay will discuss the influence and the role of leader in a start-up enterprise from the corporate branding perspective. Role of leader in corporate branding of ICUEnglish at start-up stage The corporate branding is considered to be the unique characteristics of a firm (Esch et al., 2004) which is the combination of the core values that the firm has (Rode and Vallester, 2005), employee behaviour (Bergstrom et al., 2002), internal and external communications with the stakeholders (Argenti, 1998) and set of symbolic representations (Balmer, 1995). According to Timmons (1999) start-up enterprises are raw entities without any organisational structure, culture or system and if they do not have a well-structured and planned corporate branding, they cannot survive in the market. Hatton and Raymond (1994) and Miller and Droge (1986) argue that the impact of leaders on firms may not remain constant over time; rather, the impact should be stronger when the firm is small and/or young because of the greater managerial discretion the leaders possess at this stage. Generally, in start-up enterprises, founder is the business and carry out everything directly and supervise subordi nates (Churchill and Lewis, 1983). As the firm go through different stages of growth, leader delegate certain job roles to the managers and as a result, he/she adopt different leadership style. For example in the early stages, leaders ability and expertise to handle the job gives life to the business however delegation is not important as there are few employees. Nevertheless, as the company grow, leader move from being the business to managing the company and the employees. Entrepreneurs values and advocacies can be implanted into the organisations culture and influence the entire team of employees over many years, even after the founders retirement or death (Baron and Shane, 2007). Therefore getting things right at the beginning and building the new venture on a strong foundation is key to the successful and strong future. One of the most important functions of a leader is to articulate and communicate a compelling vision that will motivate and energize people toward the fut ure. Idealistic visions inspire and energise people because employees want to work toward something greater than just making money for shareholders. Good leaders are always looking forward, setting a course for the future and getting everyone moving in the same direction. Good leaders are responsible for knowing the organisational environment, considering what it might be like in 5 or 10 years, and setting a direction for the future that everyone can believe in. the complexity of environment and the uncertainty of the future can overwhelm a leader therefore they might focus on internal organisational issues rather than strategically activities. (shared-leadership might play role here). According to study presented by Daft (2008), on average, senior executives spend less than 3% of their energy on building a corporate perspective for the future. Mission is the organisations core broad purpose and reason for existence. Whereas visions grow and change, the mission persists in the face of changing technologies, economic conditions and other environmental shifts. It serves as a glue that holds the organisation together in times of change and guides strategic choices and decisions about the future. Founders should create and grow their businesses with the expectation in mind that someday they may find it necessary to step down from their leadership position for the goof their company (Ling et al., 2007) Edgar Schein, a corporate culture pioneer, asserts that while leaders create culture in the early stages of an organization, culture creates leaders as an organization matures. He suggests that culture is deep, broad, and stable. It can be an unconscious determinant of who gets hired, who gets promoted and rewarded, and indeed, how the vision, mission, and strategy are lived. Founders perspective, beliefs and experiences strongly shape the corporate identity (Wickham, 2001), his or her behavious is an example to employees, the sytle of leadership chrac terises the atmosphere within the company and personal attitude is decisive for the rpocess of hiring new employees. Bring the influence of leaders and job division Founder structures the corporate branding (Wickham, 2001) but in order to inspire follower and encourage development of respect and trust among employees, he/she must be consistent with the decisions and actions (Pielstick, 1998). However, considering the other overloads on leaders shoulder such as product development, networking and finance, in addition to uncertainty, it becomes harder to keep in balance and stick to the corporate identity. Therefore, as Rode and Vallaster (2005) concluded, despite to initial corporate branding, leaders tend to change certain aspects of corporate branding according to market response and consumer needs. Leaders can use the advantage of being small, agile and flexible to change company structure at early stages, which shows the use of different leadership style however again its lead ers vision that shape the companys strategies and the future. Conclusion Link the mission to corporate image. Corporate identify expresses the internal part of corporate branding whereas the corporate image shows the reflection of corporate identity on external stakeholders. Corporate culture sits at the heart of corporate identitys and its major elements including mission statement, vision and core values (Birkigt and Stadler, 1980) of which provides the key guidelines for all managerial activities and decisions. Aligned with the corporate culture, corporate design reflects the visual side of the corporate identity including name, logo, and mascot (Sarasin, 1993). Influence of leader and decision making. Corporate behaviour shows how human resource issues are managed which includes selection, empowering and training (Lingenfelder and Spitzer, 1987). Bring theories such as ingroup, people want to work with people who have similar characteristics etc Corporate communication has internal and external aspects. Internal communication covers a ny mean of interaction within the firm, which may vary from leaders helping employees to achieve both organisational and personal goals to coordinating organisational activities (Rode and Vallaster, 2005). xxxxx . External communication represents the various ways the firm can communicate with its stakeholders including advertisement, sponsoring and any other marketing campaigns. According to Duncan (1989) culture is set of key values, assumptions, understanding and norms that is shared by members of organisation and taught to new members as correct. Carlyle, T. (1888). On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, Fredrick A. Stokes Brother, New York