The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essay Example

The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essay The field of developmental psychological science is the scientific survey of age-related alterations in behavior, thought, emotion, and personality. ( Bee and Boyd, 2002, p3 ) . This assignment will concentrate on the early old ages country of the lifetime, which ranges from pre-birth to 3 old ages of age. During the early old ages, kids start to develop physically as they begin to creep, appreciation and walk. Children besides start to hold self-government as they begin to do picks themselves and they start to develop their vocabulary and have simple conversations with others. Additionally, kids develop socially as they form fond regards with their attention giver and other of import faces they recognise. In societal work pattern, it is of import to understand that theories associating to lifespan development should non be used as a solid usher when sing behaviour, as they do non take into history all facets of an person s life, such as environmental and societal factors, and non e verybody lives a text-book life. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Theories are an effort to explicate something to give us an apprehension and do sense of jobs. ( Thompson, 2000 ; page 20 ) . We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Lifespan Perspective For Social Work Practice Social Work Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer When working with immature kids, it is of import to understand the assorted phases of development so that we, as societal workers can place accomplishments being made ; such as when a kid takes their first measure, or when they say their first word. Theories sing lifetime development are based around normal development and can assist societal workers find how much advancement a kid is doing in footings of development. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Social workers must do certain that when working with immature kids they take into account their race and civilization, and what impact these might hold on their development. They must besides take a holistic attack when seeking to derive an apprehension of a kid, so that non merely can state larn what has happened during the kid s life, they can besides state why it happened and see the kid as an person. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . It is of import to maintain in head that even a bantam babe is a individual. Holistic development sees the kid in the unit of ammunition, as a whole individual physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally, culturally and spiritualty. ( Meggitt, 2006 ; page 1 ) . Following the decease of Victoria Climbie , Lord Laming was required to update the agreements for kid safe guarding to forestall future calamities happening. The Children Act 2004, was a major reform and it brought along different policies to safeguard kids, such as Every Child Matters: Change for Children. ( DfES, 2004 ) . Every Child Matters was besides reformed in 2009, following the decease of Peter Connelly. Besides, model for Birth to Three Matters ( DfES, 2002 ) , has been published to back up professionals who work with immature kids and households and recognises the nature of human development. Within psychological science, there are 5 different attacks that can be taken when looking at lifetime development. These 5 attacks are biological, humanistic, cognitive, behaviorist and psychodynamic. These psychological positions are backed up by assorted theories, but it is really of import to retrieve that theories are non ever true as they do non take into consideration environmental and societal factors that could impact an person s development. This does non intend that theories can non be used to analyze behavior and development within persons, but it should be remembered that all theories do hold unfavorable judgments when they are applied and used in societal work pattern. The first theory which is traveling to be looked at sing early old ages development is Erikson s psychosocial phases of development. ( Beckett and Taylor, 2010 ) . The first phase of development is Trust versus Mistrust ; this phase forms the foundation of trust a kid has with their health professional. The more consistent the attention is that they receive the better trust that the kid will hold and they will go confident and will experience secure in their environment. However, if this phase is non completed successfully, so the kid will non experience secure or confident, and may non hold a batch of trust in their health professional, which can ensue in a figure of jobs, such as anxiousness and insecurities about others. ( Erikson, 1995 ) . The 2nd phase of development is Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt ; this phase shows a kid get downing to asseverate themselves and go independent, for illustration, picking what they want to watch, what toys they want to play with, or what they want to eat etc. Children need to be supported in this phase so that they know what they are making is right and go more confident in doing their ain determinations, otherwise if they are criticised excessively much, they might get down to experience dependent upon others, and may doubt their ability to do their ain picks. ( Erikson, 1995 ) . In societal work pattern, this theory could be used to look into any underlying issues between a kid and their parent. Erikson states that if a phase is non completed successfully, it is harder to finish following phases of development and achieve the positive results. ( Beckett and Taylor, 2010 ) . This theory gives societal workers an overview of how a kid should be come oning and what their capablenesss should be. However, this theory does non take into consideration kids who have disablements or who come from different cultural backgrounds. A kid with a certain disablement may non be able to do their ain picks from such a immature age, no affair how merely they are, or kids from different civilizations will hold different upbringings compared to kids from other civilizations. John Bowlby was a chief psychologist who studied kids. In peculiar he looked at fond regard between a kid and health professional. He believed that relationships at a immature age are critical because any weaknesss in relationships in childhood would determine the development of a kid s personality. He besides believed that fond regard is an unconditioned act, and kids want to organize an fond regard with their female parents and female parents want to be near to their kids so that they can protect them. Prolonged separation from the female parent is known as maternal want, and this is a major cause of delinquent behavior and mental wellness concerns. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Social workers can utilize theory when in pattern to see how a kid responds to their female parent or male parent. For illustration, if a kid is in a attention and has contact with his/her female parent twice a hebdomad, the societal worker should look to see who interacts with who foremost, who runs to who, what is the propinquity like and organic structure linguistic communication etc. All of these actions will let the societal worker to find whether something is incorrect. If the female parent runs to her kid, why is the kid non running to her female parent? Does the kid non experience attached? Has something happened which needs to be looked into? However, Bowlby s theory does non take into history male parents being the attachment figure as they may be a individual parent. Besides, societal workers need to work in a non-discriminatory mode and retrieve that in some households, such as Asiatic households, within a family it is non merely the immediate household who live at that p lace, it is besides the wider household. A member of the wider household could be the chief health professional, so this needs to be taken into consideration when get downing to work with a kid from this type of household. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Mary Ainsworth adapted Bowlby s fond regard theory by transporting out her ain experiment on kids and their health professional so that different fond regard manners between a kid and the health professional could be observed. The Strange Situation recognised four different fond regard types ; secure, anxious-avoidant, anxious-ambivalent and disorganized fond regard. ( Ainsworth et all. , 1978 ) . The experiment took topographic point in a little room with a one manner mirror so that the kid could easy be observed. Throughout the experiment, the kid would be left with their health professional for some clip before a alien entered and the health professional leaves, and so the kid would be left wholly entirely for a short period of clip before the alien and health professional return and so forth. The attachment type that the kid would hold would be dependent on their reactions to the events that happened in the experiment disturbance, shouting, dying, scared, happy, hard-pressed etc . ) . For illustration, a kid who has an ambivalent-attachment would hold shown no marks of hurt when their health professional left the room, but they would hold avoided the alien when they entered the room. When the health professional returns after go forthing the kid entirely with the alien, the kid would near them, but may besides force them off to demo that they are upset. ( Simply Psychology, 2008 ) . In societal work, this theory could be used to see the fond regard between a kid and their health professional. Positive fond regard could ensue in intercession non being needed by societal workers. However, negative fond regard could turn out that earlier intercession is needed as there is an underlying ground as to why the kid is non organizing an fond regard with their health professional. This theory should be used really carefully in pattern as some kids are more independent than others, and it does non take into account cultural differences and disablements. For illustration, kids who have Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD ) , particularly on the higher terminal of the autistic spectrum, find it really hard to expose feelings and demo fondness. This does non intend that they have non formed an fond regard with their health professional, they are more than able to, but it is how they display their fond regard type which can do them look unattached. During the mid-1980s, research wo rkers started to detect kids with ASD in the Strange Situation. Results show that 50 % of the kids formed a unafraid fond regard with their health professional. Despite this figure being low compared to kids who do non hold ASD, it is really impressive and proves that kids with ASD can organize fond regards. However, when it came to the portion where the health professional returned to their kid, the kids acted otherwise compared to other kids. For illustration, they did non originate contact or look to be happy. ( Oppenheim et al. , 2008 ) . The cognition of development and attachment theories is of import in societal work, as these theories will assist a societal worker carry out appraisals on a household with immature kids. When transporting out an appraisal, it has to be done under the Common Assessment Framework, which aims to place the followers ; how good the parents or carers can back up their kid s developmental demands, and how they respond and meet their demands ; and what impact does the environment and the wider household have on a kid s development. ( DfES, 2006 ) . John Bowlby s attachment theory gives an overview of the different fond regard types and it allows societal workers to measure and judge the quality of a relationship, and this can assist as the societal worker will cognize when to step in, and if necessary, take a kid from a household unit. ( Walker and Crawford, 2010 ) . Under subdivision 17 of the Children Act 1989, local governments have a duty to safeguard and advance the safety and public assistance of kids who are in demand. ( Legislation.Gov, 2012 ) . When working with kids in demand, a societal worker will necessitate to transport out an appraisal under the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need. ( Department of Health, 2000 ) . Tied within this appraisal, is another appraisal sing the developmental demands of a kid. It covers several countries of development ; wellness, instruction, individuality, household and societal dealingss, emotional and behavioral development and self-care accomplishments. Harmonizing to Parker and Bradley, kids need to make these developmental demands to accomplish a healthy maturity. ( Parker and Bradley, 2007 ) . By utilizing anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive pattern in societal work, it allows societal workers to dispute their ain beliefs and values while sing others. The Every Child Matters: Change for Children policy has 5 results which are considered to be the most of import to kids and immature people ; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, do a positive part, and accomplish economic wellbeing. The policy wants kids and immature people to be safe from strong-arming and favoritism . ( Crawford, 2006 ; page 16 ) . With respects to lifespan development theories ; anti-discriminatory pattern and anti-oppressive pattern are used in societal work because these theories can be applied to all cultural and category backgrounds. The bulk of the theories were based around white middle-classed kids and parents when experiments were carried out, but by no agency does this mean that they can non be applied to different civilizations. In decision, if cognition of lifetime development and assorted theories are used right and suitably in societal work pattern, so this could give societal workers a clear indicant of when a kid is non developing at the usual rate, and intercession can take topographic point at the earliest possible minute, to guarantee that the safety and public assistance of the kid is met. The advantages and disadvantages of sing behavior through lifespan positions seem to weigh each other out in relation to societal pattern, nevertheless, it should be remembered that the surveies are theories, and are non based on solid facts, so they should merely be used in pattern as counsel. Word Count: 2,175

Comparative analysis of the Promotional Strategies for Red Bull and Coca

Comparative analysis of the Promotional Strategies for Red Bull and Coca Introduction Organisations deploy promotion as a technique of moving their products and services into the market. Technically, promotion refers to â€Å"the advancement of a product, idea, or point of view through publicity and or advertising† (Kurtz 2010, p.13). It has the repercussion of increasing demand of the products and hence the sale volume (Slater Olson 2001, p.1055: Narasimhan 1990, p.243).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Comparative analysis of the Promotional Strategies for Red Bull and Coca-Cola specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper proposes a project entangling conducting a comparative analysis of the promotional techniques that are deployed by Coca-Cola and Red Bull to promote their energy drinks. The choice of this area of research is influenced by the revelation that both companies are ideally engaging in competitive promotional techniques. For instance, Coca Cola has resulted to cre ating awareness of its large pool of products through sports promotions such as the sponsoring of Olympics games. Much similar to this strategy, Red Bull considers and has committed a large portion of its profits in the past in sponsoring sporting activities that cause hefty amusements such as acrobatic and street skateboarding shows and others. Red bull is also a leading sponsor of formula 1 competition while Coca-Cola is also considering sponsoring the same competitions (Sylt 2012, Para. 3). With this competition in promotional techniques deployed by both companies to push their energy drinks into the market in mind, the main question to be answered by the proposed research project is how effective these techniques are in terms of enabling both companies to capture and retain their market shares for their energy drinks. Aims and objectives The objectives of the research are to Analyze comparatively the promotional techniques that are deployed by both Red Bull and Coca-Cola to win markets share for their energy drinks globally. Use the information acquired from the analysis to explain the success of both Red Bull and Coca-Cola in placing and positioning their energy drinks products in a manner that out powers their competitors. However, the main aim of the project is to recommend stronger promotional strategic idea to Coca Cola’s ‘Relentless’ as a good competitor in the market, as Relentless is far away from Red Bull’s promotional strategies Literature Review Various forms of competition have prompted myriads of organisations that are aiming at being globally competitive to seek new methods of marketing their products (Freimer Horsky 2008, p.799). â€Å"Competitive advantage is secured through an intelligent identification and satisfaction of customers’ needs better than competitors and sustenance of customers’ satisfaction through better customer service tools† (Obasan Soyebo 2012, p.1). In the attempt to a cquire requisite responses from the potential customers, marketers deploy a myriad of tools. These tools are termed as marketing mix. McCarthy (1999) coined and used P’s to describe these marketing mixes in which he argues that the umbrella of the marketing mix comprises the price, promotion, and product, and place (p.24). With the appropriate combination of these elements, an organisation can develop a strategy that will enable it reach large numbers of people within the target segments (Shannon1996, p.57). However, in the determination of these mixes, the time through which changes can be effected is crucial.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this end, Obasan and Soyebo (2012) assert, â€Å"Typically, a firm can change its price, sales-force size, and advertising expenditures in the short run† (p.2). On the other hand, an organisation will have to take a lot of time to create new products. Consistent with this argument, Obasan and Soyebo (2012) reckon, â€Å"firms typically make fewer period-to-period marketing-mix changes in the short run than the number of marketing-mix decision variables might suggest† (p.2). Among the four 4P’s, promotion (communication) is the element of the marketing mix principally aimed at helping to win a market share for a company. Products can be promoted in valid ways, which are realised through a variety of media options. With regard to Kurtz (2010), â€Å"promoters use the internet advertisement, special events, endorsements, and newspapers to advertise their products† (p.67). Tantamount to this claim, both Coca-Cola and Red Bull have embraced various media to promote their energy drinks. For instance, â€Å"from localised marketed adaptation, Red Bull looks to standardise its marketing strategies, advertising, and image through communication in extreme sports, as this i s consistent worldwide† (Louvet 2011, Para.16). This strategy could be incredibly effective in enabling the company to hike its sales for Red bull’s energy drink. In most instances, the sporting games are normally watched across the globe. According to Louvet’s (2011) insight, â€Å"Red Bull’s innovative communication strategy aims to invest massively (15% of its turnover every year) in sponsoring athletes and even entire teams in specific sports, which offer dramatic shows, which are watched all over the planet† (Para.17). This will consume an enormous portion of Red Bull’s profits. Therefore, the proposed research will focus on evaluating whether such a strategy is worthy. In case of the Coca-Cola Company, the research will investigate the strategies put in place by the company to sponsoring sports as a mechanism of ensuring that its marketing campaigns for her energy drinks, particularly ‘Relentless’, reach an incredibly large number of people. This quest is arrived at through consideration of Malcolm‘s argument that Coca-Cola utilises the Olympics games and other sporting events to ruthlessly promote her energy products. Additionally, Coca-Cola Company argues, â€Å"As one of the longest continuous sponsors of the Olympic Movement, we are proud that we are able to use our sponsorship to enable millions of people to experience the Gameswe have a valid role to play† (Malcolm 2012, Para.8). In the same light, it is also widely conceivable that, without sponsorships, it becomes immensely hard for sportsmen and sports women to display their talents in the international games. Indeed, this stands out as the trick behind Red Bull’s strategic promotion decisions to capitalise on sponsoring sporting activities that cause amusements, which attract large number consumers for her Red bull energy drink (Gerhard 2004, p.8).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Comparative a nalysis of the Promotional Strategies for Red Bull and Coca-Cola specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Now, it will be paramount to evaluate whether Coca Cola’s ‘Relentless’ strategy and Red Bull’s promotional tactics rest on platforms of marketing by conducting an intensive research on the mechanisms deployed by both companies to push ‘Relentless’ and Red bull to the market. The discussions above establish similarities between the promotional techniques of both Red Bull and Coca-Cola as the basis for conducting a research on the effectiveness of the marketing/promotional techniques by both companies. One of the phenomena and iconic marketing strategies of the Red Bull that distinguishes it from the ‘Relentless’ promotional techniques adopted by Coca-Cola is the street promotional strategy. As Louvet (2011) reckons, this is a promotional strategy aimed at ensuring that the company remains close to the consumers as much as possible (Para. 4). Essentially, the promotional strategy involves advertising through a ‘wings team’ whose main objective is to create close relationships with the consumers so that they can discover Red Bull’s product. The ‘wings team’ also â€Å"talks with consumers about this controversial product conveying the information from consumers to the company about their appreciation or dissatisfaction with the product† (Louvet 2011, Para.6). In the context of this research, the question will be how effective the technique is in out powering competing products such as those of the Coca-Cola Company. More often than not, the ‘wings team’ comprises beautiful women. However, as argued before, Red Bull is a globalising company much like Coca-Cola. Consequently, in its street promotional strategy, how does Red Bull counter cultural conflicts especially in nations like those located in the Middle East, which ar e opposed to portrayal of beautiful women as representation of products quality? Opposed to Coca-Cola’s ‘Relentless’ promotional strategies, Red Bull argues that the most substantive methodology of making sure that her Red bull energy drink product is close to consumers is by hiring consumers to execute promotional campaigns. Consequently, the company appoints students as brand managers in colleges and universities. According to Louvet (2011), the main roles of the students’ brands managers are â€Å"to ensure that Red Bull is present at every strategic moment in the students’ social calendar: integration week-end, sportive events, and big parties† (Para.9). However, both companies spend incredible amounts of their money in social media, TV, and other means of advertisements.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More CSR is also an enormous mechanism that is used to bring the products of both Red bull and Coca Cola closer to the consumers. For instance, Kumar (2011) reckons, â€Å"the current promotions through CSR include â€Å"Support my school† campaign with NDTV† (p.347). The question whose response is sought by the proposal with regard to these arguments by conducting a research on the promotional techniques for Red bull and Coca Cola is how both companies quantify the magnitudes of financial commitment in any of the above cited valid approaches used to promote Red bull and Coca Cola. Research Methodology This project utilises two approaches to garner data. The first approach entangles secondary research while the second approach encompasses conducting a primary research. For the first approach, a literature review is completed on the manner in which both Red Bull and Coca-Cola have been promoting i.e. branding, messaging, and positioning Red bull and Coca Cola. The effectiven ess of these approaches in increasing sales volumes of the organisations’ products (Red bull and Coca Cola) is evaluated in the context of the existing body of knowledge on effectiveness of various promotional techniques. In the second instance, the research paper interviews sales managers of both companies in various different outlets for each company’s cited products above. The interview questions focus on areas such as how both companies carry out their market segmentation, how they combine their 4Ps to realise an effective marketing strategy, and methods of marketing communication they deploy. The methods reflected in the interview questions include advertising i.e. Sport Marketing and TV/Cinema. They also include sales promotion such as loyalty and incentives besides public relations such as events, sponsorships, sports-clothes, relationships, and personal selling. Further, they include experimental marketing such as exhibitions. Direct Marketing techniques such a s packaging design and sampling are also considered. Pricing strategies are also incorporated together with digital marketing techniques, which include company websites, social media such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube. To back up the information garnered from the interview questions, an analysis of the sales of Red bull and Coca Cola is conducted. How to gain access to stakeholders To gain access to the necessary stakeholders of the organisations to interview them, calls will be made to book for an interview with them. Since the research must be done in the context of the time frameworks of both organisations, the researcher will fix interview times that are consistent with the time programs of the person to be interviewed. Problems: likely problems, limitations, and methods of resolution Every research method has its advantage sand disadvantages (Wilson 2010, p.56: Bryman Bell 2007, p.31). From one end, this research garners data using secondary means of data collection. This i ntroduces a major problem articulated to the reliability of the data in terms of the data’s ability to reflect an up-to-date situation of the companies under scrutiny. However, this problem is mitigated by deploying primary means of data collection to ensure that up-to-date information is acquired. For this purpose, direct interviews are used to collect the primary data. Unfortunately, problems associated with direct interviews are introduced. One of the major challenges is the unwillingness and the ability of the interviewee to cooperate fully with the study. Since the major problems caused by lack of cooperation in many interviews are related to the perception that the interviewer consumes the interviewees’ time meant to carry out organisational work (Wilson 2010, p.91), conducting research as per prior arrangements with the interviewees helps to mitigate the problem. Project Plan In any project, time is required to prepare for the interviews and or for arranging on how the data will be analysed among other activities. This research will be completed within three months. The table below shows an exclusive plan for all the activities of the research. Time schedule for the research Task activity Start date End date Time remaining Task 1 making call for interview bookings 1/12/2012 5/12/2012 5 Task 2 Development interview questions 6/12/2012 19/12/2012 14 Task 3 Addressing interviewees 4/01/2013 15/01/2013 12 Task 4 Analysis of interview responses 16/01/2013 3/02/2013 18 Task 5 Report compilation 5/02/2013 17/02/2013 13 Task 6 Linking the results of interview responses and the literature review results 23/02/2013 27/02/2013 5 Task 7 Derivation of deductions 28/02/2013 1/03/2013 4 Conclusion This paper is a proposal that seeks to comparatively analyse the promotion techniques that are deployed by Red Bull and Coca-Cola Company to promote their energy drinks into the market. Many organisations consider introducing new products as ample mechanisms of improving the competitiveness of the organisations. However, drawing from the literature review, this is not always the case. While Coca-Cola Company has introduced many energy drinks products to meet the needs of its customers, Red Bull on the other hand has managed to secure an ample share of the energy drinks’ market through only one product (Red bull). One of the critical similarities is that the companies promote sporting activities for instance Olympics for the case of Coca Cola and street skateboarding, ski and formula 1 for the case of Red Bull, as some of the strategies for displaying their products (Red bull and Coca Cola) to the entire world. In the paper, a research is proposed to comparatively analyse the promotional strategies for Red bull and Coca Cola coupled with effectiveness of each of the strategies. The main aim was to to recommend a strong promotion strategic idea to Coca Cola’s Relentless to be a good competitor in the market , as it is currently far away from Red Bull’s strategies. References Bryman, A Bell, E 2007, Business Research Methods, OUP, New York, NY. Freimer, M Horsky, D 2008, ‘Try It, You Will Like It: Does Consumer Learning Lead to Competitive Price Promotions?’, Marketing Science, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 796-810. Gerhard, G 2004, ‘The Powerful Sales Strategy behind Red Bull’, Selling Power Magazine, vol. 1 no. 1, pp. 1-11. Kumar, A 2011, ‘Marketing Mix of Coca-Cola’, Journal of International Marketing, vol.12 no.1, pp. 345-351. Kurtz, D 2010, Contemporary Marketing, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Louvet, C 2011, Red Bull: A Brand Built on Marketing. Web. Malcolm, C 2012, Olympic Sponsorship: Must It Be So Unhealthy? Web. McCarthy, J 1999, Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach, Irwin, Homewood, IL. Narasimhan, C 1990, ‘Managerial Perspectives on Trade and Consumer Promotions’, Marketing Letters, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 239-251 . Obasan, K Soyebo, A 2012, ‘Assessing the Effectiveness of Promotion as a Marketing Management Tool in the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry’, Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences, vol.3 no. 1, pp. 1-6. Shannon, R 1996, ‘The New Promotions Mix: Proposed Paradigm, Process, and Application’, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 56-68. Slater, S Olson, E 2001, ‘Marketing’s Contribution to The Implementation of Business Strategy: An Empirical Analysis’, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 22, no. 11, pp. 1055-1067. Sylt, C 2012, Formula 1 Business: Coca-Cola favors energy drinks brand for sponsorship. Web. Wilson, J 2010, Essentials of Business Research: A Guide to doing your Research Project, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

An Experience of My Friendship with a Narcissist

An Experience of My Friendship with a Narcissist I became friends with Jillian in the summer of 2016, because we both worked at our town’s Parks and Recreation day camp. We became very fast friends, largely due to our willingness and ability to express ourselves to each other, including our honest thoughts and opinions. This summer, things were different. Where our relationship had flowed freely the summer before, we ran into personality and conversational conflicts. I was initially very confused, because I thought that I understood our friendship well. However, we had spent the school year apart, only seeing each other over the occasional break, which led to us experiencing very different circumstances. She had also entered a relationship during the summer, and I largely missed how it affected her life throughout the school year. When I returned home and we started hanging out again, there were subtle differences in her personality that I noticed; a tendency to be more irritable, a lower likelihood to question me in depth about issues I was dealing with, accompanied by a tendency to talk about herself and her relationship problems a disproportionate amount. It was a topic that began to dominate our conversations, and I eventually grew frustrated. I am the type of person that likes to discuss a problem in order to work through it and hopefully come to a solution. This was not Jillian’s intent. She just wanted somebody to vent to about her frustrations, and then hopefully validate her actions. This lead to asymmetrical communication, which â€Å"occurs when people exchange different kinds of information† (GAA 19) and can muddle the lines of communication between two people. Problems started to arise for me when we would cycle through the same behavioral patterns and both Jillian and her significan t other would predictably repeat actions that would create conflict. When things became very tense between the two of them and it began to severely impact her daily life, I asked her if she might want to contemplate the overall health of the relationship. In the months since my return home I had seen her personal health and self-care declining. She began abusing prescription medications, which became a very touchy subject. Since beginning this class, I have come to the tentative conclusion that Jillian could be diagnosed as a narcissist. Narcissism is defined in terms of â€Å"having an exaggerated sense of self-important and a focus on oneself at the expense of others† (G.A.A. 68). She is a very kind and caring personher initial career choice was that of a nursebut a lot of the time she did not realize how disproportionate her focus on herself was. She is beautiful, and has a history of being attracted to others who deeply admire her. She constantly seeks this admiration through her use of dating applications, work interactions, and other various means of communication. Part of her problem with Matt, her long-term boyfriend, was that he was not good at long distance communication. He was not very attentive to his phone throughout the day, which is the complete opposite of Jillian. She had a prescriptive expectancy that he would be responsive to her text messages, because most people of our gene ration usually are. When he did not give her the attention that she anticipated, her expectancies were violated in a negative manner; â€Å"when negative violations occur, people might become angry and dissatisfied with their relationships† (GAA 103). This is precisely what happened, and so when she could not get attention from him, she would pursue other avenues. Men would become infatuated with her, and with her entertaining their advances while feeding off of their compliments, falling in line with the idea that â€Å"narcissists are more focused on the short-term rewards they get from relationships, and therefore look for someone who provides them with immediate admiration rather than long-term mutual liking† (Emmons, 1989; Morf Rhodewalt, 2001). This was something that we discussed openly, I think because she sought validation for her behaviors. I made it a point never to shame her for her actions, because she was very sensitive to my judgement and I did not want to alienate her or make her feel bad about herself. However, I think that there were many instances of misinterpretation between us, which resulted in her feeling criticized and accused, a potential outcome of expectancy violations (GAA 105). I will provide a sample conversation that we had a few months into the summer. I had just apologized for not always understanding her explanations of her behaviors, while explaining that I was currently going through a hard time in my life. It quickly became a heated discussion: Me: â€Å"I need you to be there for me a little bit more. I have a hard time communicating when I am struggling, and I need you to reach out to me for.† Jillian: â€Å"You should have told me sooner. I’m sorry for being such a shitty friend.† Me: â€Å"It’s okay. We’re all shitty friends sometimes.† Jillian, voice raised and with a sharper tone: â€Å"Wow, okay. Sorry I’m just an absolute piece of shit and the worst fucking friend ever. Thanks for that.† At this point I pause, considering my next words. She interprets this as me agreeing with what she said, and is further angered. Me: â€Å"That’s not what I said.† As you may be able to imagine, I was a bit perplexed by this interaction. While my intention was not to upset Jillian, I also did not want to validate her behavior. She had been a rather inattentive friend to me in my time of need, and I saw this as an opportunity to have an honest discussion about how we could both be better friends to each other. I hoped that we would both leave the conversation with a better understanding of each other and our individual needs. Instead, she misinterpreted both my words and my silence, resulting in an intense backlash. I shortened the dialogue in this example, but it continued along the same pattern for about 20 minutes after. I would apologize when I misspoke try and explain my thinking, and she would become angrier as a result. I truly did not understand how to correct this negative behavioral pattern, and I felt stuck in a destructive loop of interactions between us. Clearly, I was not putting enough consideration into how Jillian would react to my words, and there were times where I regretted speaking at all. Narcissists â€Å"have relatively low self-esteem and seek self-esteem boosts,† (GAA 68) a descriptor that falls perfectly in line with her behavior. She has admitted to me on various occasions that she suffers from low self-esteem, something that we can bond over, and that she actively seeks out self-esteem boosts to help make her feel better about herself. I brought up the idea that we want to be able to boost our own self-esteem, rather than relying on the opinions and words of others; or if we did rely on others, they should be friends and other loved ones who know us very well and place true meaning behind their words. I could only bring this up once or twice before she became very defensive. As you can probably deduce, a negative behavior pattern formed between us where she would admit to what I perceived to be behaviors non-conducive to healthily boosting her self esteem and improving her mood. Slowly but surely, a gap began to form between us. Since we mostly talked ab out her problems, there wasn’t as much of an opportunity to discuss my own shortcomings. This created an environment where most of our interactions were centered around her difficulties. making it seem as though I had less flaws than she did. I am also the type of person who will feel compelled to offer advice and aid, which I have come to realize is an area to work on in my own character. These factors together created an air of tension between us where she felt judged and looked down upon by me. I committed what she perceived to be as many social violations, where I â€Å"fail[ed] to act in relationally appropriate ways and instead engage[d] in rude, cold, critical, or condescending behavior† (GAA 108). As you can imagine, this put quite a wedge in our friendship and our ability to positively communicate with each other. The path to recovering our friendship has been a slow one. We took a break from seeing each other for about a month in order to reorient ourselves. I had to develop new expectancies for how Jillian would react to my words and actions, and I imagine that she did the same for me. Our frequency of communication has slowly been increasing again, and she has made more of an effort to ask me how I’m doing. I have also tried harder to open up and share my weaknesses, to both of our benefit. I still need to take breaks from Jillian for periods at a time, but I truly consider her to be a close friend and I hope to work hard with her so that our friendship can last.

Examine the main determinants of Foreign Direct Investment location Essay

Examine the main determinants of Foreign Direct Investment location and strategies employed by Transnational Corporations to maximise the net advantages of the - Essay Example Globalisation is also considered as a primary contributor to the methods used to develop foreign direct investments. In addition, the continuous change in technology also pushed for firms penetrating other markets. For most trans-national corporations (TNCs), the schemes associated with maximising foreign direct investment (FDI) are intricate. These processes are developed through time considering the environmental changes and other circumstantial elements. Logically, the methods in which FDI is maximised by TNCs can be attributed to their nature and existence. Holistically, focusing on TNCs in discussing FDI requires the profound understanding of the two concepts. It is imperative to establish relationships and determine useful trends regarding the subjects. In this process, the extraction of empirical evidence is a necessity and has to be manifested with high level of credibility. Moreover, in-depth analysis will be provided to ensure that the desired outcomes will be realised. The most qualifying description of a firm to consider as a trans-national is its operations. Accordingly, corporations that function in two or more countries are defined as TNCs. Moreover, the general view of TNC is divided into three subgroups. First, horizontally integrated TNCs administer production in different locations to manufacture similar products. Second, vertically integrated TNCs use other countries as inputs for their production. Finally, diversified TNCs operate in different firms that manage production in a manner neither explained by the previous two sub-groups. McLean and McMillan (2003) stated that TNCs became popular in the 1890s. Usually, TNCs are based in highly industrialised countries and expand in different economies. It is being contended that TNCs are influential in the policy making of host countries. This is because TNCs have the capacity to boost an economy and move capital from locations to the other. In addition, some firms control

Company Strategy Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Company Strategy Analysis - Research Paper Example The market for cell phone has also become very competitive. In this context, the purpose of the following paper is to illustrate how the modern companies make money and how they compete with others. Based on the research of Xiaomi, Inc., the paper will investigate how well the company positioned itself in such industry. It will also give the management of the company’s performance evaluation and show whether its current strategy is sufficient to guide the company into its future. According to Prasad and Sahoo (2011), China, India, USA and Russia are among the top countries where people use mobile phones and this number is increasing as the users are interested in having more than one device at a time. That fact gives many local and international companies to be interested in setting their business in such promising markets (Prasad & Sahoo, 2011). Thus, Xiaomi, a Chinese company, worlds 3rd largest smartphone distributor focused on selling its low-cost phones with its flash sales, which have helped Xiaomi to get the top position in both 2014Q4 and 2014 in China. Apple, its main rival, placed the second position in 2014Q4 since its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were only launched in China. Huawei takes the third place in terms of smartphone shipments, because it had many models in the low-end and mid-range segment (The China Smartphone Market Picks Up Slightly in 2014Q4, IDC Reports, 2015). The success of Xiaomi is explained by smart people once collected from Google, Kingsoft and Microsoft in order to create hardware, software and internet devices. It is now the international company that satisfies customers’ needs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines India and Indonesia (About Xiaomi, (n.d.). Reid (2014) states that in its desire to overtake its main rivals, Samsung and Apple, Xiaomi successfully uses Chinese and

Drinking Ticket Paper Essay Example for Free

Drinking Ticket Paper Essay It was a long, full day of work and I was ready to get back to the dorm to relax and have some fun, after all, it was my best friends birthday. We decided to go out for his birthday dinner for him and have a few drinks before we headed out. We had music cranking, we were singing and having a good end of the week party. Drinks began passing around and we took a turn for the worst, an RA outside our door smelled alcohol. Immediately the RA told us to open up to see what was going on, as if he didn’t already know, he too is a college student. So we all knew we had been caught so we let him come in to give us our punishments and go on with our soon to be sober lives. But as he walked in the room, cops decided to take a peak at what was going on. The RA told us he was upset with the cops â€Å"randomly showing up† but I didn’t believe him, and I still don’t. The cops made the RA walk us to the sinks with our pride and joy and dump it all down the drain. He was surprised as to how cooperative we were and almost let us off the hook for a violation, but realized we were income for him. So he got the breathalyzer out, skipped our rights and handed all of us drinking tickets like he’d done many times before. I have never been so upset in my life; so mad I started punching my bed and pillow. What I thought was going to be the peak of my week turned out to go down the drain just like my Wild Turkey 101. Looking back at it now, I don’t feel like it has impacted me as bad as I thought it was going to. Yes, my bank account is feeling the pain, but my hands have finally stopped hurting. I have gotten a lawyer who told me to do 24 hours of community service and take a drinking class by my court date. Not too bad, the punishment could be much worse. The drinking ticket hasn’t stopped me from going out, but it has stopped me from drinking. Since then I haven’t had a sip of alcohol at school and I actually enjoy it, watching other people do dumb stuff is just as fun as actually drinking, and it’s legal! I sure have learned my lesson just as I always do, the hard way. How this can affect my future Before this ticket ever happened, I had never thought how much a drinking ticket could really affect my life, nor did I think I would ever get one. Since the ticket I have put a lot of thought into how it can affect my near future as well as my far future. Now that I have a drinking ticket, employers could not higher me because of suspicion that I would break other laws to give him or her company a bad name. Also with this ticket I have a misdemeanor on my record. I never thought of myself being a criminal or having a bad record, but now I have one for a stupid think I did one night. Because of this being on my record, a policeman could take me to jail for something small such as a speeding ticket. The worst part of having the drinking ticket is that the school has put me on probation. I didn’t think this was a big deal because my grades are fine, but when I went to go and register for new classes I have to call the school and get my account temporarily upheld. This made registration for my class in the spring semester a lot harder than it usually is because all the classes that I wanted to take were either filled up or at a point in the day that I don’t want to be in class (8am). Because of this awful timing, I may sleep in through my classes and get a lower grade than I would like to have. One other thing that the drinking ticket has taken away from my future is that Campus Living will not hire me as a Resident Advisor because I can’t be trusted. Goals Since I have entered college I have set many goals for myself, most of these being current grades. Some of the goals that I have look into the future and those are the ones that can be most affected by this ticket. I want to maintain a 3. 0 GPA at the very lowest so that I can chose which major I want as a graduate student. This ticket has made this a lot harder to happen because of the amount of community service that I have had to do in the past few weeks, I have no spare time to relax either, but that’s what college is about. Because I am on probation with the school I couldn’t register for the classes that I wanted because I had to wait for the school to unlock my account. Because of this I now have a harder schedule and may not do as well as planned. I do believe that I can work through these classes next semester if I can manage to wake up on time. Other goals that I have at ECU is to be more involved and even president of a few clubs at the school. I have not looked into this part, but a drinking ticket could dictate whether or not I am able to run this part of the club. Since I have been at ECU I have met many friends and have had a great time, even with all the work that is contently due. I am hoping that this drinking ticket doesn’t affect my future here at school and can get taken off of my record. Since the ticket I have not had a sip of alcohol and don’t plan to until I turn 21, I think I can wait another year and a half, not a big deal in my mind. I’ll just watch other people get into trouble and make fools of themselves when they are out trying to have fun and meet new people. In a way I am sort of thankful that this has happened. I am also glad that the turnout has not been as bad as I originally thought it was going to be. I could have had to go to jail or been in far more trouble with the school, so that’s one way to look at the situation positively. I am very sorry for drinking on campus and will not let it happen again, I don’t even want to drink anymore now that I have stopped for a few months.

Redemption in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Essay -- Christmas

Redemption in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Introduction Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas carol reflecting on the society that he live in the Victoria Era. During the reign of Queen Victoria Britain became one of the most Industrialised countries in European. From Britain Factories, mills, shipyards came products ranging from steam locomotives, to textiles and ship, while coal miners toiled deep below the ground to produce the coal needed to power Britain expanding Industries. During Victorian times there was a serious gap between the rich and poor. Rich people were very wealthy and poor people were living outside on the payments in very poor weathering conditions, also poor people were in poverty. Soon industrialisation began factories started to open, and poor people began to work in factories. Many peasants were paid minimum wages. So many peasants were suffering hardship for example living condition. Living condition during the Victorian Era were very poor they used to work for a long working hour and not get any break or time off at any Time. And Long working hour made poor workers very tired. They would get straight to work as soon as they enter in. Later child labour began. Many children started working in factories. Most of the children were mainly boys rather then grails. Child labour in Victorian England was described as the children chained belted harnessed like dog, and also half naked. Diseases were caught quite a lot during the Victorian times by children who were working in factories and other sorts of places. Charles dickens decided to call his story a song because Christmas was associated with celebrating and singing carols. Everything that’s he wanted to bring ... ... everyone he meets. He visits Fred's house and has a wonderful time at the party. The next morning, Scrooge gets to work early. When Cratchit comes in late, Scrooge pretends to reprimand him, then gives him a raise. Scrooge continues his kindly ways, befriending everyone and becoming a second father to Tiny Tim, who does not die. He never sees the ghosts again, but he keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart as well as anyone. The Conclusion is that scrooge is a miserable miser who cares nothing for other and does not known how to keep Christmas. Consider the matter more carefully, these fire well fed business men certainly know how models of conspicuous consumption. Their charity would reach a handful of people who got out of it a good meal for a day and nothing would alleviate the sources of their poverty and misery for the rest of the years.

Life in the city Essay

Life in the city is full of activity. Early in the morning hundreds of people rush out of their homes in the manner ants do when their nest is broken. Soon the streets are full of traffic. Shops and offices open, students flock to their schools and the day’s work begins. The city now throb with activity, and it is full of noise. Hundreds of sight-seers, tourist and others visit many places of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrives to transact business. Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close. Many of the shops too close. There is now a rush for buses and other means of transport. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach home. As a result of this rush, many accidents occur. One who has not been to the city before finds it hard to move about at this time. Soon, however, there is almost no activity in several parts of city. These parts are usually the business centres. With the coming of night, another kind of activity begins. The streets are now full of colourful lights. The air is cooler and life becomes more leisurely. People now seek entertainment. Many visit the cinemas, parks and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listen to the radio. Some visit friends and relatives and some spend their time reading books and magazines. Those who are interested in politics discuss the latest political developments. At the same time, hundreds of crimes are committed. Thieves and robbers who wait for the coming of night become active, and misfortune descends upon many. For the greed of a few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear. To bring criminals to justice, the officers of the law are always on the move. Workers and others who seek advancement in their careers attend educational institutions which are open till late in the night. Hundreds of them sit for various examinations every year. The facilities and opportunities that the people in the city have to further their studies and uncrease their knowledge of human affairs are indeed many. As a result, the people in the city are usually better informed than those of the village, where even a newspaper is sometimes difficult to get. The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity. Here, the drama of life is every day.

Muir and Wordsworth Essay

Thesis Statement, Opening Paragraph, evidence & conclusion REVISED While both poets Muir and Wordsworth wrote about the happy feelings that they have towards nature the beautiful outdoors or what some people may say Mother Nature, some of which the feelings are the same and some that are different as they speak of the different plants. In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.† – John Muir Nature does not only show the beauty of the Earth, but it shows the beauty within us. So then, is it not easy to say that both of these authors have great beauty within them? After reading both â€Å"Calypso Borealis,† -John Muir and â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud† -William Wordsworth, I can boldly state that with their loving choice of diction, tone, and use of syntax they clearly show that they truly admire nature and their surroundings. People say â€Å"Nature is the best medicine.† I know exactly what they mean. Sometimes, I’m fe eling down because something didn’t go right, or has popped up in my life. After a enjoying a beautiful morning, outside with the nature I’m back in my right state of mind. If you felt the emotion in this scene, the works of two authors, John Muir and William Wordsworth, would certainly catch your eye. â€Å"Calypso Borealis† by Muir and the poem â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud† by Wordsworth are two beautiful pieces of literature written very differently, but with key similarities, one of them being nature. The powerful emotions within the unique tone and personalities of the two authors not only expressed their relationships with nature, it allowed the reader to connect with the feelings of the author both visually and mentally. When you first read these two pieces of literature, you’ll find yourself captivated wonderfully in a descriptive world. In â€Å"Calypso Borealis† Muir has a particularly vivid section in which the main character off on an excursion into a swamp surrounding the great lakes. Starting on his journey, Muir is greeted by a diversity of flora. He marvels in the plants and happily soaks up natures treasures. Muir creatively informs the reader just how much the main character truly loves nature. The same marvel and beauty is shared in the poem â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.† After a long climb over a high hill he finds his reward a valley shining with a huge field of daffodils. â€Å"Besides the lakes, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in  the breeze.† As Wordsworth explains the scene. As each scene pops out of the poem, a new addition to the painting in your mind appears each time. The painting may vary from person to person, but I believe the sam e sense of awe is present with every mind. The portions cited are just the beginning of these two works; enough to splash your mind with colors and emotions, but later parts are what truly makes them worth reading. â€Å"Calypso Borealis† turns from revelation to a desperate situation. Weary and empty, the main character prepares to spend the night in the wet swamp, in a tree nest. Just as the sun was about to set, the future very unpredictable, when â€Å"Everything seemed most dangerous and discouraging†, the story continues, â€Å"I found beautiful Calypso on the mossy bank of stream.† Overwhelmed by the purity and beauty of the Calypso, he collapses by the flower and cries. This rather quick change of pace I what kept me reading, and the fact the Calypso was so beautiful it made the main character break down in tears. Imagine finding the glorious treasure you’ve been seeking the entire time. The change of tone from depressing to overwhelmingly happy is similar to the poem â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.† In the last stanza, when Wordsworth is sitting on his couch, lonely and depressed, he remembers the beautiful scene overlooking the field of daffodils and is instantly uplifted with joy. Wordsworth describes it as, â€Å"In vacant or in pensive mood they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude.† The marvelous change of tones in these two works makes them a rollercoaster of emotions. If you are very emotional person, these two pieces of literature will certainly touch you. The poem â€Å"Calypso Borealis† by John Muir and the poem â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud† by William Wordsworth two great works centered on nature that contain vivid imagery and emotional changes of tone the pictures in your mind are the illustrations, your emotions are the story, and nature is the cover. These two works inspired by events in the 19th century are different in many areas, but not the emotional and colorful images they provoke.

The Role of Heroin in the Movie essays

The Role of Heroin in the Movie essays Drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) pretty much sums up this Activity Focus E-Mail for me when he says "It's hard to fight a war when the enemy is your own family after he realizes that his 16-year-old daughter Caroline is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse a secret that Wakefields wife, Barbara, has been keeping from him. I would argue that Caroline was not necessarily the enemy per se, but she could be viewed in this movie as a pawn of Robert Wakefields true enemy the illegal drug trade. Now Im no Roger Ebert, but one aspect of the film that I particularly appreciated was that, while the movie clearly depicts the devastating consequences of Carolines deepening addiction (consequences not only for herself but also for her family), director Steven Soderbergh refuses to blatantly condemn any particular character for Carolines downfall. In other words, although I believe that the movie firmly establishes that the illegal drug trade is a problem affecting everyone and explores a diverse set of characters who are either fighting against drugs or fighting for drugs, either supplying drugs or consuming drugs, etc. Soderbergh does not overtly place the blame for Carolines addiction on anybody but Caroline. As well, although the movie follows parallel storylines involving very dissimilar characters with equally dissimilar objectives while demonstrating how drugs affect every single one of them on some level or another the film does not take an obviously specific political stance with regard to the production, distribution, and consumption of drugs thereby avoiding general moral issues relating to addiction. For example, Caroline evokes a forceful acknowledgment of the wasteful and destructive power of drugs she was the third-ranked student in her junior class at an exclusive private high school, yet ...

Basic requirements of a written exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Basic requirements of a written exam - Essay Example According to Bloom’s taxonomy for levels of understanding, six levels include knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; typically, for the first three levels, written examinations are most suitable and can be made cost-effective where many students are to be evaluated. Nevertheless, written exams need to be set appropriately to ensure that they deliver a reliable evaluation of students’ knowledge. This is usually achievable through use of multiple-choice questions as they enable teachers to pinpoint depth of knowledge concerning detail. Coupled with proper setting, written examinations also require a defined grading system (Asklund and Bendix 1). For a written exam to be effective, it should be valid, reliable and consistent, transparent, fair, efficient and ease in handling, and allow for useful feedback. Validity refers to measuring what is actually intended, where results achieved should be accounted for practically. Reliability and consistency enable achievement of similar results regardless of number of assessors and over time; more so, with marking schemes and assessment criterion. Transparency implies that the written examinations should test in such a way that the stated learning objectives are clearly met. Fairness calls for all students to be subjected to the same form of assessment and as per the criterion set. Lastly, to avoid written examinations being perceived as burdensome, they should be allocated sufficient time for both being done and marking, and afterwards, students should have their progress communicated to them in due course. However, the requirements of a written exam differ with the type it is that is, whether unseen, revealed, open book, multiple choice or take home assignments. An unseen written exam occurs where the content of the exam are unknown to students whereas, in a revealed exam, students are made aware of the

Legal and Practical Aspects of Islamic Securitisation Essay

Legal and Practical Aspects of Islamic Securitisation - Essay Example The term â€Å"Islamic finance† is a recent invention having only appeared in the middle of the 1980s. Previously, any commercial activities that complied with Islam was referred to as â€Å"interest free† or â€Å"Islamic banking†. The impetus for establishing Islamic financial systems grew out of perceptions on the part of many Muslims that they existed in an essentially hostile â€Å"non-Muslim environment.† Spurred by the increase in rich oil resources during the 1973 – 1974 after a global oil crisis, oil producing Muslim countries were encouraged to implement innovative financial tools that closely resembled those used by Western businesses. In more recent times, Islamic Banking and Finance initiatives have expanded at a rapid rate throughout Muslim countries and in non-Muslim countries with large Muslim populations. As a result, Islamic Banking and Finance is gaining currency in significant Western businesses. This is an interesting and unique development given that Islamic finance is governed by the Shariah and as such is not a universal concept. The fact is the Shariah or Islamic law governs all daily activities of Muslims. From a financial perspective, the Shariah governs not only how capital can be acquired but also how it can be discharged. While wealth may be acquired, it may only be acquired by methods that are fair to all participants.