Development of an Operational Plan

Development of an Operational Plan BSBMGT517 THEORY Performance Criteria: Research, analyse and document resource requirements and develop an operational plan in consultation with relevant personnel, colleagues and specialist resource managers. Activity 1.1.1 What strategies can an organisation use to research, analyse and document resource requirements for the development of an operational plan? For the development of an operational plan, an organisation needs to be able to research, analyse and document the resources on the following points The duration of the project; when it will start and the aim of completion. This should include current and upcoming desired and clear goals. Timeframes should be set at the start with clear plans about the project. Financial resources; how much fund is currently available to sustain the project and any risk that may occur in the funding needs to be identified prior. It is important to be able to convince investors and suppliers about the plan and the resources needed to help achieve a profitable completion of the project. Human resource and other capacity requirements; evaluate the labour and the skills needed and available that are important to complete the project. It is important to consider where the human resources will come from and how many staff are required. This should include maintenance and servicing resources such as customer service. Identify the risk and evaluate mitigation strategy; what are these strategies and how to overcome if they were to arise. For instance, if there is a gap in resources, there need to be a plan to fill in the gap. So, all risks are evaluated and plans are devised to be prepared and also to minimise the occurrences of these risks. The ability to measure the performance to monitor improvements need to be available. Performance Criteria: Develop and/or implement consultation processes as an integral part of the operational planning process Activity 1.2.1 What strategies do you or could you use to consult with team members and other stakeholders to gain and utilise their input when planning a project? There are several ways available to consult with team members about their input on a project. Emails and intranet may be used as a quality assurance and a way to improve the process. It is also an efficient way to get the same message across the whole group, especially in big organisations. On the other hand, it is an approachable system to welcome any opportunities for the staff to respond and provide feedbacks. This will contribute to the planning process and goals. Also, newsletters may be used to provide the staff about the important information about the plan with open opportunities to revert back with feedbacks. Furthermore, the use of surveys, questionnaires and information sessions may help to encourage staff to respond by providing specific feedbacks about the project. Quantitative and qualitative data are gathered for the operational plan of the project. In addition, there can be meetings; formal or informal. While informal meetings can be held anytime and anywhere, formal meetings require a safe and controlled environment. Both ways aim to gather feedbacks. Another different way to consult teams members are through interviews. Structured interviews may help the management to get the feedbacks needed in regards to specific aspects of the operational plan. These are done through specific questions. A more open way to gather such feedbacks and information is through brainstorming sessions whereby new ideas and solutions are generated. These are analysed to further determine its importance. To make these sessions fruitful, it is important to always welcome and recognise the effort of all participants for bringing their input and feedbacks to the organisation. This is in order to encourage more   open participation. Performance Criteria: Ensure the operational plan includes key performance indicators to measure organisational performance Activity 1.3.1 Key performance indicators act as benchmarks against which organisational goals and performance can be measured. List several areas of a project which might have key performance indicators reflected in an operational plan? Key performance indications may be used in an operational project to build goals. Setting a realistic aim will not only help staff to work towards it but it can also be used to reflect the profit of the organisation with quantitative targets.  Ã‚   Areas of a project where key performance indicators are reflected are Targets; sales and services will all work towards reaching the target Measurement of the growth in the organisation; this can be through sales or profit Objectives to help improve the system Initiatives for growth and increase performance. Performance Criteria: Develop and implement contingency plans for the operational plan Activity 1.4.1 Contingency plans deal with unexpected events and/or occurrences, and/or when things go wrong.List several areas where contingency planning would be typical? Areas where contingency planning is important are: Outsourcing human resources/ labour to cut down the cost used mutil function or skills. Contracting out then help to get a person with special knowledge and skills to bring their input at a lower cost and some organisations may even look into this strategy when an internal department has ceased functioning. Diversification of outcomes may help towards an achievable and profitable end result when many departments help to contribute towards the final result. Since the target is spread over a larger area, increase productivity from human resources help to contribute towards a bigger outcome. Cheaper and lower quality products help to moderate the budget. Globalisation helps towards competition and cost effective strategies and therefore more profit. Increasing sales or productions will increase profit. It is important to cater needs and resources towards the customer service department providing adequate training programs. By reinforcing their skills, it will help to reach key performance indicators. Recycling and re-using is a strategy to raise the organisational social responsibility towards the environment. Many customers are more inclined to buy consciously to protect the environment from these organisations. Rental and hiring alternatives are better ways to get hold of cheap resources than buying them. Negotiation helps to save on cost on the procurement of these resources needed. Restructuring of organisation to reduce labour costs is necessary at time to reduce expenses. Sometimes, some organisations will downsize in the aim of focusing on profitable departments only. Other departments that do not sell as their service or products, are not in high demands anymore, will cease to operate. Risk identification, assessment and management processes. Unfortunately, a rise in injuries due to hazards and risks put financial stress on organisations. So in order to minimise the risks of this happening, risk assessments are performed to reduce the occurrences of injuries. Sometimes, feedbacks from staff help to work out better strategies to manage injuries and also raise awareness of the importance of staying safe. Seeking further funding is important especially when the budget available is not adequate to reach the targeted goal. Strategies for reducing costs, wastage, stock of consumable can be done by using another supplier with lower costs that is able to produce at a cheaper rate Succession planning is important to identity good potentials within the organisation who are able to fill in important roles. Performance Criteria: Ensure the development and presentation of proposals for resource requirements is supported by a variety of information sources and seek specialist advice as required Activity 1.5.1 Provide several examples of the type of information sources and or specialist that may be used or accessed in the development and presentation of proposals for resource requirements within your organisation or area of activity? Raising funds is very significant to help achieve the goal of the operational plan. Raising funds help to obtain resources such as human resources/labour, capital resources and financial resources. If more funds is needed, the organisation needs to work on further strategies to obtain such by influencing senior management and skateholders to invest in order to supply these resources and in turn, get a profitable return. Developing a business proposal is a strategic plan and needs to be appealing enough to stakeholders so they can invest in it. They need to believe in its success, hence, devising a proposal is important to demonstrate the potentials behind the project. A business proposal needs to be convincing and needs to primarily cater the needs of the stakeholders investing in it, at a higher benefit for the latter. Identifying strategic goals such as marketing strategy helps to increase the organisations market share, therefore promoting the productivity of the organisation. Human resource strategy can be used to improve staffing experiences and skills. Management strategy, through emotional intelligence, also contributes towards productivity. Similarly, technological strategy helps to improve production line. Specialist advice can come from many informative sources such as managers, marketing specialist, financial consultants, accountants, suppliers, internal and external customers and the sales team. Customers feedbacks are also important to cater better needs and improve on the product efficiency. Presentation is the key to selling a business operational plan. The use of graphs helps to visually demonstrate costs, contingency plans and risk management plans and strategies to fund the plan. The more the organisations goals and benefits are reiterated and are made believable, the more comfortable the stakeholders will feel about investing in it. Performance Criteria: Obtain approval for the plan from relevant parties and explain the plan to relevant work teams Activity 1.6.1 From whom within your organisation or area of activity would you need to gain agreement and or endorsement for the approval of the operational plan, and once approved how would this information be provided to work teams and other stakeholders? An operational plan needs to be presented to the executives of the hospital, the director of nursing and the Chief executive officer for approval. It is usually via a systematic approach where justification is provided for the required funding. Each ward managers get to present their ideas and plans and relevant funding is then distributed according to their priorities. The decision is mostly based on the values and missions of the hospital. For instance, if funding is required to improve something important on the ward that has direct impact on the safety of the customers, it is more likely to be granted. Any ideas that will help to improve the risk management strategies will be taken seriously. Henceforth, it is important for managers to present their case in such a way that their operational plan is considered in accordance with the hospitals goals. Generally, once approved, the information is then passed on to the staff in the form of informal meetings, generally held every Thursday and also by email, so that the same information is delivered to every employee of the department. Flyers and newsletters are also posted on the common notice boards so everyone gets acquainted with the approval of the operational plan. Performance Criteria: Develop and implement strategies to ensure that employees are recruited and/or inducted within the organisations human resources management policies, practices and procedures Activity 2.1.1 What strategies could you use to ensure team members are clear about their roles and responsibilities as well as the requirements of the operational plan? Firstly, the team member gets to be acquainted to the roles needed prior to applying for it. Jobs and roles are advertised with specified skills needed and the employee gets to apply in relation of the demands and skills they can offer to the organisation. A resume is sent to the organisation and a selection process is undertaken in the form of an interview. This first step through applying and being recruited give the team members a clear perception about their roles and the responsibilities that are expected from them. The second step whereby the team members get acquainted to their roles is through an acceptance offer, a contract. Through a contract, the employer, through the Human Resource department, get to elaborate in writing about the roles and responsibilities of the employee. This contract is dully signed and returned to the Human Resource department as an agreement and acceptance of the roles and responsibilities required. The contract or acceptance letter has descriptive information: The dynamics of the workplace The role description in accordance to the mission and the values The collective agreement under the fair work act The hours or work, the flexibility of work and the remuneration The position description and title The allowances The superannuation The leave entitlements The period of probation/ engagement The commitment to performance review The policies and procedures The employee conduct; professional behaviour and attitude Variation to the terms of employment Confidentiality of the workplace The property of the employer The third step whereby the employee gets acquainted to the expected roles and responsibilities is through an induction of the workplace. An orientation or supernumerary time allows them to understand the dynamics of their department and the goal of the operational plan. Performance Criteria: Develop and implement strategies to ensure that physical resources and services are acquired in accordance with the organisations policies, practices and procedures Activity 2.2.1 Provide several examples of the type of strategies which might be required to ensure specific resource needs policies, procedures and practices? Strategies are in place to ensure physical resources and services are gained in accordance with the organisations policies, practices and procedures. These are: Supplier relationship; a good framework to strengthen important relationships. Being able to understand, analyse and focus on suppliers relationships help to be productive, efficient and compete in the market. It is important to identify how the supplier has an impact on monetary outcomes. Points to be considered are; what the suppliers are looking in the relationship, the way the supplier is used by the organisation and how it affects the organisations relationships with other suppliers. Purchasing; the supplier is the expert on the product and hence knowledge can be used from them for decision making processes and increasing performance. Choices are between purchasing internally or externally. Transport; cost effective strategies to save on storing, delivering and suppling the goods. The operations strategies can be sought from the supplier to handle and improve key relationships Networking; available contacts and resources that can be relied on to either get information or improve productivity. Relationship costs; surviving the impact of globalisation. It is important to minimise the procurement costs such as transport and customer service. The relationship benefits; what the organisation needs, the cost it incurs for these needs e.g. equipments, labour and cost of the products and services determine the benefits for the organisation. Obviously, a low operational, production and administration cost is more favorable and incurs less expenses. Revenue is then higher and can in return meet the demands of the customers. Clear communication; clear and concise. This helps to make sure the supplier and the organisation both knows what is expected and they can both work towards the same goal. Honesty; a reliable team. This favours good managerial relationship and each party is then accountable to fulfill their duties and promises, in turn enhancing the relationship. Practices and procedures are also taken into account in order to incorporate The culture of the organisation The guidelines of the organisation which determines operational functions such as human and physical resources Operating procedures and policies Undocumented practices in line with the operations Clear purchase orders to prove reliability and efficiency. Performance Criteria: Recognise and incorporate requirements for intellectual property rights and responsibilities in recruitment and acquisition of resources and services Activity 2.3.1 Requirements and responsibilities for intellectual property rights is an important part of the business environment, an organisations are wise to take steps to protect their own intellectual property, and also to honour the intellectual property rights of organisations from whom they have acquired relevant resources. When acquiring resources and services, it is important to acquaint to the intellectual propertys rights and responsibilities. Non-compliance to the later may result in legal consequences. For instance, material obtained from the internet may involve serious copyright issues. These unlawful accesses involve breaching the intellectual property of the involved organisation. Intellectual property is usually protected by many policies, procedures to reinforce the rights of acquisition. Policies, procedures and information include licensing agreements, information to ensure copyright protection, licensing agreements, procedures to register intellectual property rights or assets. Many organisations have policy in place to govern and manage ownership of intellectual property in an effective, efficient and ethical manner. These policies may include an explanation of any terminology relating to the property, mention of the relevant legislation, the types of intellectual property, disclosure of the property, information about marketing, commercialisation or licensing of the intellectual property and information if infringement happens. Another way of protecting intellectual properties is by licensing agreements for instance, a licensing document. These are devised to allow the owner to agree to terms and conditions and the other party to comply with the agreement. The ownership is thus maintained and it is beneficial for both parties. A license can cover product development, the manufacture, the marketing and the sales. Another form of licensing is franchising whereby distribution of goods and services occur with agreed terms between the owner of the intellectual property and the party paying to access the rights over the intellectual properties. Copyright is another way of protecting intellectual property to maintain the initial creativity of an idea or concept, be it on paper or electronically. A copyright notice clarifies the ownership of the intellectual property restricting its reproduction without permission. Trade marks can also be used to protect intellectual property. Prior to applying for registrations, online database needs to be scrutinised to make sure there is no similar product. Once cleared, the trade mark is then published in the Official Journal of Trade Marks whereby opponents may dispute its originality. If no oppositions are made, the application will go forward. There are several ways to register intellectual property assets. For instance, designs can be registered through the Australia Official Journal of Designs, Patents through the Australian Official Journal of Patents; Trademarks through the Australian Official Journal of Trademarks and Plant breeders through the Official Journal of plant breeders rights. Performance Criteria: Develop, monitor and review performance systems and processes to assess progress in achieving profit and productivity plans and targets Activity 3.1.1 How can you monitor and review the outcomes and achievements of operational plan against intended benchmarks and KPIs? There are several ways of monitoring and reviewing the outcomes and achievements of operational plans against benchmarks and KPIs. These are Quality assessment; gathering collective data to measure and analyse performance such as   observing service delivery, focusing on client method, auditing individual records, reviewing the data from an information system, testing a group, health worker interview, patient interview. Devising a quality monitoring system; data and design monitoring tools. This is in order to see the trend in indicators and monitor progress. Data are also used to identify any problems in the system that may be the result of poor performance. Three ways data are used; placing them in tabs, analysing them and interpreting them. This is later used in managerial decisions. External evaluation; process by which an external body provide feedback about an organisation performance. This can be done via an audit of in health care; accreditation. Certification is then required to acknowledge the competence and legal requirements of a group or organisation. Performance appraisals; a way for the management and HR department to provide feedbacks about the performance of their employee. This is instantaneously undertaken whereby the real time reports are given to employee about their performance. Managers are able to assess if their employees have been competent in undertaking tasks or organisational requirements. This is a systematic approach to evaluate the standard of an employee and also help to determine any increase in pay or promotions. It also helps to identify professional developments needs and set future goals to work towards better productivity. Process appraisal; a way to assess the functional and operational resources. This is to identify the equipment that are failing or need improvements, the tasks that are time consuming and the risk and hazards of the workplace. For quality improvement and to enhance productivity, these resources are maintained on a regular basis to make sure it wont slow down the line of productivity. Cost and variations in the process of maintenance is also evaluated to assess how these factors   are significant in order to   achieve quality improvement. Performance Criteria: Analyse and interpret budget and actual financial information to monitor and review profit and productivity performance Activity 3.2.1 What role do you or would you play in the development of a budget for an operational your organisation or area of activity, and who has final approval of this budget? Once the budget is approved, it is important to keep all the financial decisions and information involved such as the: Budget; all the expenses incurred The ratio analysis The forecast about the future expenses The cash flow statements The profit and loss statement The balance sheets of crediting and debiting cash The investments and liability reports. There are several factors that may affect the budget and so, it is important to keep a record of these factors and variations such as the changes to legislative requirements and innovations. To be financially aware will help guard any unforeseen circumstances. Financial reports help to justify profit or loss statement that will show the trend in productivity or fraudulent transactions. Performance Criteria: Identify areas of under-performance, recommend solutions and take prompt action to rectify the situation Activity 3.3.1 What strategies could you use to ensure team members are clear about their roles and responsibilities and to address under-performance issues? To ensure team members are clear about their roles and responsibilities, it is often useful to methodically raise questions that will help them to evaluate possible issues and devise solutions themselves. This is done by action learning. It helps a team to conduct a project with continuous improvements, assistance where needed and ongoing feedbacks.   The team will have a definition of the actual issue and appropriate awareness and solutions. This helps to understand organisational change and understand throughout a work group culture. It brings along new ideas and skills beneficial for the organisation. The team develops values such as openness, trust, collaboration, team spirit and cultural diversity and respect. Action learning highlights that mistakes do occur and helps the team to tolerate and action them. Likewise, action learning can be used to identify under-performance issues. An effective and quick strategy is to make sure that any changes do not deviate from the actual operational and strategic plan. Action learning helps to identify and recognise these changes with appropriate solutions. However, problems do not always arise from the process. There are many external factors that may interrupt the dynamics of action learning such as attitude, conflicted understanding or another group with performance issues. Performance Criteria: Plan and implement systems to ensure that mentoring and coaching are provided to support individuals and teams to effectively, economically and safely use resources Activity 3.4.1 What strategies do you or could you use to implement systems which ensure that mentoring and coaching are provided to team members in a safe, productive and economical manner? External parties to coach staff may be time consuming and expensive. Sometimes, it is best to allocate a mentor in order to save on cost and time. The mentor may need to perform a skill gap analysis to spot any gaps in performance, devise and demonstrate the desired expectations of performance to meet goals and eliminate any gaps. In order to be productive, mentors need to focus on their team and support each individuals growth. The manager needs to also identify whether the problem comes from the unawareness of the team regarding the goals or whether it is from a specific individual performance. If the issue comes from performance, coaches should be used to teach the group. On the other hand, if the issue is from a behavioural standard such as lack of confidence, then a mentor must be allocated to cater the specific individual need to improve his performance. This is safe and productive as mentors have specific targets to improve the success and performance of an individual and coac hes deliver skills to tackle tasks, challenges and works expectations. Both coaches and mentors are usually selected from members within the organisation. This is because they already understand the dynamics of the workplace and have the skills required to change performance challenges. It is important for both mentors and coaches to provide ongoing feedback and support the staff members. Coaches are normally leaders that need to use their authority to make sure all workers comply with the expected standard of performance. Their coaching is rather task related and will expect the individual to perform at the required level to improve their knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a task. Performance Criteria: Negotiate recommendations for variations to operational plans and gain approval from designated persons/groups Activity 3.5.1 From what stakeholders within your organisation or area of activity would you need to gain agreement and or endorsement from for variations to operational plans? Prior to gaining agreement or endorsement for operational plans, it is important to consult the following team for approval The policy and procedure committee depending on its relevance Standards committee in association with the topic that is involved The workplace healthy and safety manager and advisor to maintain a safe environment while undertaking these variations in the operational plan The board of executives for approval: CEO, coordinators, director of nursing and managers The staff of the designated department to make sure the operational plans is well understood prior to commencement Performance Criteria: Develop and implement systems to ensure that procedures and records associated with documenting performance are managed in accordance with organisational requirements Activity 3.6.1 What sort of records an information are required for the operational plan for your organisation or area of activity? Documentation is the main form of records in our organisation. In the healthcare industry, it is important to maintain ongoing documentation. This applies in the human resource sector, the billing sector, the booking sector, the nursing department and others. Records of the improvement processes help to measure performance and also innovation. Documentation such as operational plans, strategic goals, contingency plans, job advertisement, quality improvements, staff appraisals, leaves approval and the care of patients are highly recommended. For every step, there are specific forms designated to assist the organisation in keep records. Once completed with the approval, these forms are kept as per the policy of the organisation and filed away. For instance, any medical records go through a system of scanning and software storage for an indefinite period. This is safe with an optimum level of security   which is electronically verified.   Future generations can access these document s anytime and some data may be important not only for improvements but raising awareness of previous mistakes, so history doesnt get repeated.

Prospero

Prospero (the rightful Duke of Milan) is the protagonist of The Tempest, William Shakespeare's final written play. Finding himself deserted on an island with his daughter Miranda after being betrayed by his own brother for power, Prospero ends up having twelve years of built up anger and revenge to dish out on those who have wronged him. From early on the readers see how Prospero's use of magical powers from his spell books almost guarantee his authority on the island. In The Tempest, Shakespeare depicts Prospero as like a controlling puppet master whose desire to manipulate everyone and everything around him is shown consistently, with the use of magic. Prospero's motivation is fueled by two main things. According to R.D Gooder, â€Å"The first is Prospero ‘s ambition to marry his daughter to the right sort of person; the second is his desire to be revenged upon his enemies† (4). From early on readers can see the protective nature that Prospero has for Miranda. He shelters her from knowledge about their past until the boat carrying his betrayers arrive. Prospero says to Miranda, â€Å"The hour's now come. Obey and be attentive, the very minute bids thee ope thine ear† (Shakespeare 1.2.46-48). Prospero is finally about to tell Miranda how and why they ended up on the island. This scene lets the readers sympathize with his selfishness, shows the justification of his reasonings for using his spirit Ariel to stir up The Tempest (storm), and why he brings his betrayers on land. Prospero's love for his daughter motivates him to make sure that she ends up with the right type of person. This should portray him as being a caring father at this point but his motivation for revenge shows the audience his bluff. The play slowly reveals that â€Å"the true internal necessity for his opposition being feigned lies in his double nature† (Snider 197). Miranda meeting and eventually marring Ferdinand, who is the prince of Naples, isn't by chance. Prospero uses his magic and hold over Ariel to help them meet. This is just another little piece in Prospero's real agenda to get revenge and his eventually dukedom back. Prospero is like a two-faced person; on the outside he seems like a dad wanting what is best for his daughter, but his real motives are what helps benefit him in the end. The relationships between Prospero and the people on the island seem different but he uses magic to manipulate every single person in some way shape or form. At first the readers catch a glimpse of the relationship between him and his brother. Antonio takes advantage of Prospero being so into the studying of his magic and books, â€Å"While Prospero's nose was buried in his extensive library, his snaky brother manages to steal his title and gets him thrown out of Italy† (Shmoop Editorial Team). So, going forward from this, the audience can somewhat relate to why he acts the way he does. He uses Ariel as he pleases; it is always either him or Prospero manipulating every moment of everyone on the island. No one on this island is truly free; Prospero uses his magic to ensure that. Prospero also uses Ariel to spy on Caliban, who is described as a fish like man and a servant to Prospero. Caliban encounters Trinculo and Stephano, who are a Lester and a drunken butler. Caliban begs them to let him be their servant, saying â€Å"Ill show thee every fertile inch o' th' island, and I will kiss thy foot. I prithee, be my god† (Shakespeare 2.2.154-155). Caliban eventually talks them into killing Prospero, all while Ariel is listening. Betrayal for power is a big theme in Shakespeare's The Tempest. First with Alonso and his pupils and now his servant Caliban. The way he puts them all through hell associates with the justice and revenge themes also plotted throughout the play. Illusion vs reality is also a big theme carried out by Prospero throughout this play. The whole time everyone is on the island, they are in an altered state of reality, tailored specifically to how he sees fit. The way this is used throughout the play forces both the characters and readers to wonder if something is real or the result of Prospero or Ariel's doing. The audience can see it being used on his daughter Miranda, when he asks her to remember about her past and she says â€Å"tis far off, and rather like a dream than an assurance that my remembrance warrants† (Shakespeare 1.2.56-58). She is telling the audience that her memory of her life up to this point seems like a dream, with only Prospero's illusions using magic to blame. Prospero stands for Prospero is portrayed to be a certain stereotypical character, the forceful, controlling, protective one. This is seen time and time again in the play. On the island Prospero and Miranda live among of his now servant Caliban, the son of a witch that was on the island before they arrive. Prospero takes the island from him, which is another way he shows the audience how controlling he is. At first, they live together nicely, and Miranda and Prospero even teach Caliban how to speak their language. They way they treat Caliban abruptly stops when Prospero catches Caliban trying to rape his daughter. Prospero says â€Å"Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee in mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate the honor of my child (Shakespeare 1.2.415-418). Caliban becomes Prospero's servant from this point on. Prospero's stereotype is however, crafted to be broken. The way he changes throughout the play from how he is and becomes this forgiving, almost new person, makes for a very intriguing character. This also puts Prospero into the Round character category. Round characters are complex and develop through their stories, sometimes adequately to shock the readers. Prospero does end up surprising the audience in The Tempest in the last act of the play. Although Prospero remains the same self-centered, controlling man throughout the entire play, he changes from an unsympathetic character into a sympathetic one. He makes his servant Ariel to do much of the dirty work for him. He doesn't care about his enemies and puts them through a lot while he sits back and watches. This is seen almost immediately in the beginning of the play as Prospero has Ariel disperse his brother Antonio, the king of Naples Alonso and his son Ferdinand, and everyone else that is on the boat onto different places on the island. Watching them scramble around, he is getting pleasure out of their disarray. All these things show Prospero's superiority complex for control. According to the Shmoop webpage, â€Å"in Prospero, Shakespeare creates a figure who decides to forgive his enemies even though they betray him in the worst possible ways† (Shmoop Editorial Team). This is where he changes into a sympathetic character, surprising the audience by forgiving all his betrayers.

Egyptian History Essay

The period in Egypt from 2660 to 1100 BC can be considered as a very important time in Egyptian history as it witnessed many changes in how the land was ruled. This period in time experienced wars and changes in leadership, slowly molding the Egyptian nation into what it is today. These people and events not only played an important role in Egypt’s history but also for the rest of the world. One specific period during this time was the Old Kingdom, back to the time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty all throughout the Sixth Dynasty. During this time, the capital of Egypt was located at Memphis, and the ruling pharaoh was Djoser. This period in time was known for the construction of large pyramids, which were built to serve as the burial places for pharaohs and other important persons during that time. This was considered as the Age of Pyramids. During this time only the pharaoh ruled the former independent ancient states of Egypt which was known as nomes. The former ruler of these states were forced to take the role of governor, else, they’ll have to work in the tax collection area. During this time, the pharaoh is not only recognized as a ruler but as a god, and was worshipped by all his subordinates. This is because of the belief that worshipping these gods would mean assurance of the annual flooding of the Nile River. This is because agriculture during this time centered on the â€Å"fertile crescent† or the area which has been flooded by the Nile. All their crops are dependent on this annual flooding, as Egypt is filled with barren lands and desserts which they cannot use for farming and agriculture and the river is their only hope for scarce food supplies. This period of time also witnessed feuds between different rulers which resulted from the fall of the Old Kingdom. The previous kingdom collapsed as a result of civil conflict which was insinuated by regional governors waging wars on each other. The unity of the kingdom weakened, causing it to finally fall. The case worsened as the lands were plagued with severe drought, resulting to a drop in rainfall, affecting the normal flooding of the Nile River. Decades of famine and strife followed eventually. Intermediate periods have risen afterwards, wherein there were several acting rulers and leaders, further complicating the matters. This has lead to many wars between the different peoples of Egypt, since no one held power over the whole nation. To make matters worse, neighboring lands were starting to invade Egypt, hoping to besiege the already war-torn nation. Because of this, consolidations were made by local leaders and a new line of pharaohs have been formed. After several changes in the ruling heads, Egypt was able to prosper further and continued to exist many years after. Some pharaohs were able to expand their influence, thus making the nation wealthier and more powerful. This period however, ended in another intermediate period wherein the power has been divided between the recognized king which was Smendes and the High Priests of Amun at Thebes. The king ruled the northern half of the nation while the High Priests took control of the southern part of the country. This division proved to be less significant since both the ruling king and high priests came from the same family line.

Intonation Phrases in Phonetics

In phonetics, an intonation phrase is a stretch (or chunk) of spoken material that has its own intonation pattern (or tune). Also called an  intonation group, phonological phrase, tone unit, or tone group. The intonation phrase (IP) is the basic unit of intonation. In a phonetic analysis, the vertical bar symbol (|) is used to represent the boundary between two intonation phrases. Examples and Observations When speakers produce words in a row, we can usually observe that they are structured: individual words are grouped together to form an intonation phrase... Intonation phrases can coincide with breath groups..., but they do not have to. Often a breath group contains more than one intonation phrase. As with all other phonological units, it is assumed that speakers have a mental representation of intonation phrases, i.e. they know how to produce speech structured into intonation phrases and they rely on this knowledge when listening to the speech of others. Within an intonation phrase, there is typically one word that is most prominent... Some utterances might contain just one intonation phrase, others might contain several of them. Moreover, speakers can put utterances together to form larger stretches of speech or discourse... Intonational phrasing in English can have a meaning-distinguishing function. Consider utterances 11a and 11b: (11a) He washed and fed the dog. (11b) He washed | and fed the dog. If the intonation phrase He washed and fed the dog is produced as one intonation phrase, its meaning is that a person both washed and fed a dog. Conversely, if the same utterance is produced as a sequence of two intonation phrases with an intonation boundary after washed (indicated by the symbol |), the meaning of the utterance changes into someone who washed himself and fed a dog. (Ulrike Gut, Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology. Peter Lang, 2009) Intonation Contours Intonation often does serve to convey information of a broadly meaningful nature . . .. For example, the falling pitch we hear at the end of a statement in English such as Fred parked the car signals that the utterance is complete. For this reason, falling intonation at the end of an utterance is called a terminal (intonation) contour. Conversely, a rising or level intonation, called a nonterminal (intonation) contour, often signals incompleteness. Nonterminal contours are often heard in the nonfinal forms found in lists and telephone numbers. (William OGrady et al., Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martins, 2001) Tonality (Chunking) The speaker does not necessarily have to follow the rule of an IP for each clause. There are many cases where different kinds of chunking are possible. For example, if a speaker wants to say We dont know who she is, it is possible to say the whole utterance as a single IP ( one intonation pattern): We dont know who she is. But it is also possible to divide the material up, in at least the following possible ways: We dont know | who she is. We | dont know who she is. We dont | know who she is. We | dont know | who she is. Thus the speaker may present the material as two, or three, pieces of information rather than a single piece. This is tonality (or chunking). (J. C. Wells, English Intonation: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2006) The Position of Intonation Phrase Boundaries The position of intonation phrase boundaries shows a good amount of variability. These have been studied in English on the basis of positions of possible pauses within clauses (Selkirk 1984b, Taglicht 1998 and references there) and positions of obligatory pauses (Downing 1970). . . . The core result is that root clauses, and only these, are bounded by obligatory intonation phrase breaks. (Root clauses are clauses [CPs] not imbedded inside of a higher clause that has a subject and a predicate.) (Hubert Truckenbrodt, The Syntax-Phonology Interface. The Cambridge Handbook of Phonology, ed. by Paul de Lacy. Cambridge University Press, 2007)