Analytical Report on Business Organization free essay sample

Diamond  Stars  Group  of  companies      From:      CEO   Myanmar  Imperial  Clinic  (MIC)      Date:      Subject:                                                      04th  April,  2013   Analytical  Report  on  Business  Organization    Executive  Summary   In  early  2009,  Myanmar  Imperial  Clinic  was  set  up  by  Myanmar  Medics  Co. ,  Ltd. Because  of  its   extensive   range   of   medical   services   and   accurate   diagnostic   tests   by   international   recognized   specialists  and  outstanding  clinical  staff,  it  was  famous  and  generated  profits  at  that  time. But  along   with   the   competition   of   high   investing   clinic,   lack   of   control   of   the   specialists   and   insecure   environment   of   the   staff,   the   organiza tion’s   performance   has   declined   in   2012. Therefore   the   reputation  of  the  clinic  gradually  goes  down. So  that  in  2013,  Myanmar  Medics  Co. ,Ltd. was  being   acquisition   by   Diamond   Stars   Group   of   companies   which   is   operating   in   various   industries   in   Myanmar. The  organization  will  be  reformed  by  the  encouragement  of  our  chairman. Profile   Name  Ã‚      Location         –  Myanmar  Imperial  Clinic  (MIC)     Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  Hledan,  Kamaryut  Township   –  8520  sqft   –  6  stories  building     Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  40  bedded  general  health  care  centre   ? 166  employees Compound  Size  Ã‚   Building  Ã‚   Type      Size Fifth  Floor Fourth  Floor Third  Floor Second  Floor First  Floor Ground  Floor Building  Information Ground  Floor   –  Reception,  Emergency,  Pharmacy,  Lab,   Cashier First  Floor  Ã‚   –  15  Outpatient  Rooms,  Waiting  Area,   Store Second  Floor  Ã‚   –  1  Operation  Theatre,  1  Labour  Room,   10  Inpatient  Rooms  for  OG Third  Floor  Ã‚   –  20  Inpatient  Rooms  for  Medicine  Ã‚   Child Fourth  Floor  Ã‚   –  1  Operation  Theatre,  10  Surgical   Inpatient  Rooms Fifth  Floor   – Clinical  Office    Proposal  for  the  Restructure  of  the  Organization   (1)  Long  Term  Plan/Strategy      Vision:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being   a   provider   of   health   care   service   renown   for   compassion,   sympathy   and   respect   on   human  being  in  pursuit  of  own  healthy  and  well  being  state  by  applying  high  quality  tools   and   skilful   professional   in   ensuring   long   term   effectiveness,   MIC   stands   for   saving   your   money,  time  and  lives. We will write a custom essay sample on Analytical Report on Business Organization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mission:   With   knowledge,   skill   and   passion,   we   all   do   value   and   respect   our   patients   and   clients’   desires. We  value  our  patients  as  the  way  we  value  our  professional. We  care  our  patients  as  the  way  we  do  to  our  family. We  practice  our  best  knowledge  in  our  work. Objectives:   To  increases  overall  satisfaction  rates  of  patients,  employees,  doctors  and  visitors. To  ensure  patients  receive  the  ultimate  care  and  medical  attention  to  bring  about  a  speedy   recovery. To  increase  range  of  services  for  customer  needs  and  demands. To  maintain  safe  and  hygienic  environment. To  achieve  99%  of  patient  Ã‚  feedback   To  provide  early  diagnosis  and  affective  treatment  to  all  clients  with  different  diseases. To  be  recognized  our  clinic  as  a  trusted  obstetrical  clinic  within  the  first  three  years. To  expand  our  service  in  diagnostic  and  treatment  year  by  year. To  improve  and  maintain  our  treatment  procedures  and  emergency  services (1. 1) ? (1. 2) ? ? ? ? (1. 3) ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4   (2)Fundamental  Characteristics  of  Organization  Ã‚   (2. 1)  Old  Organization  Structure  versus  New  Organization  Structure   Our  organization  structure  allows  for  its  efficient  management. Here  is  the  l evel  s  of  management   and  the  activities  of  specific  departments  within  each  level. Old  Organization  Structure New  Organization  Structure 5   (2. 2)  Work  Specialization   To  achieve  competency  of  each  and  every  staff,  a  proper  and  distinctive  job  descriptions  is  vital. (2. 2. 1)  Marketing  Department  Ã‚   ? ? ? Survey  the  market  situation  and  changes  Ã‚   Analyse  the  customers’  feedback   Develop  Ã‚  marketing  strategies  and  mix (2. 2. 2)  Finance  Department   ? ? ? Manage  and  oversee  budgeting  Ã‚   Report   income   statement,   statement   of   financial   report   and   statement   of   cash   flow   to   executive  level   Manage  income  and  expenditure. (2. 2. 3)  Administrative  Department   ? ? ? ? Support  and  coordinate  the  operation  of  the  individual  department   Establish  hospital  policies  and  procedures   Perform  Ã‚  public  relations   Supervise   maintenance   service,   information   service,   housekeeping   and   transportation   services (2. 2. 4)  Human  Resources  Department   ? ? ? ? ? Perform  job  analysis,  job  description,  job  specification,  job  allocation  and  j ob  rotation   Recruitment   Training  and  development  Ã‚   Create  safety  and  pleasant  environment  Ã‚   Negotiate  with  the  visiting  specialists   HR  Planning (2. 2. 5)  Medical  Service  Department   ? ? ? ?             For   doctors   ? to   diagnose   problems,   prescribe   medicines,   be   ready   to   on   call,   to   make   regular  rounding  and  monitoring  patients   For  nurses  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  to  emphasize  on  nursing  care  Ã‚   For  lab  technicians  ? to  support  with  accurate  diagnosis  and  to  maintain  medical  laboratory  Ã‚   equipment For  Pharmacist  ? to  monitor  the  storage  and  quality  of  drug 6   (2. )  Chain  of  Command   â€Å"An  unbroken  line  of  authority  that  links  all  the  persons  in  an  organization  and  shows  who  reports   to   whom†Ã‚  (Myanmar  Imperial  College  2013,  Pre? Master  Course  of  Business  Administration,  p? 60)   In   a   clinic,   a   proper   and   clarified   chain   of   command   is   the   fundamental   requirement   to   maintain   and  precede  medical  procedures. Within  the  clinical  departments,  all  the  junior  medical  doctors  must  report  information  concerning   with   patient   to   senior   medical   doctors. These   senior   medical   doctors   have   to   report   only   the   necessary  complaints  and  patient’s  conditions  to  the  principal  medical  doctors. Master  Course  of  Business  Administration,  p. 62)   On   the   clinic   side,   the   span   of   management   of   manager   ranges   from   10   to   20   while   the   administrative  side  the  span  of  management  is  less  than  10. Our  organization  require  less  supervision  because  of   ? ? ? Daily  work  procedures  of  medical  staff  are  quite  stable,  routine  and  repetitive  (eg. History   taking  and  clinical  examination  and  monitoring,  injection)   Staffs  are  concentrated  in  single  location  (e. g. If  the  staff  suits  with  his  current  position  and   if  he  does  not  want  to  shift,  we  will  maintain  his  place)

Byzantine DBQ free essay sample

One thousand years and helped shape the history of the modern world. The Byzantines have been largely ignored in classrooms across the nation. Key reasons to study the Byzantine are their religious Influence, preservation of literature, and defense tactics. The question as stated is, what is the Primary Reason to Study the Byzantine? The primary reason to study the Byzantine is their political foundations. The Byzantines were very religiously Influential. The religion was Eastern Orthodox. The percentages of nations populations that are Eastern Orthodox range from 98% In Greece to 2% In the united States. (Document C) This shows the Byzantine influence on areas near their origin. The Byzantine religion faced obstacles when spreading to far places such as the united States, hence the small percentage of Eastern Orthodox. (Document C) This shows that distance by water can greatly impact the spread of a religion. The Byzantines preserved classic literature by recopying the works In minuscule script during the 9th and 10th century. We will write a custom essay sample on Byzantine DBQ or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Classics like the Iliad and The Odyssey are among the most widely read poems in American and European schools and colleges today. (Document E) This shows that without the Byzantines, we wouldnt have these educationally key classics. The Byzantine are responsible for us having literature and classics to study. Works from great philosophers such as Plato and Socrates were salvaged. (Document E) It is hard for me to imagine English courses without these significant literary works. Islam dominated eastern and western Europe In 1050. The Byzantines were able to defend and protect the empire from invaders. (Document A) This shows had the Arabs captured Constantinople in the seventh century, all Europe † and America † might be Muslim today. Constantinople was the best-fortified city in the world. It held out invaders for nearly a thousand years. Document B) This shows the strength and effort the Byzantine put into protecting their city. Justinian I ruled the Byzantines from 527 to 565 CE. He appointed a commission of 10 experts who created a new code of 4,652 laws dealing with everything from property rights to punishment for religious heresy. (Document D) The main idea of Justinian code was to stress equality for all with the right to happiness. sound familiar? Yes, the Declaration of Independence stresses these same principles, (Document D) This goes to show that the Byzantine set the bar high for practices still Instituted today by creating the Justinian Code. Historians credit the Justinian code with shaping our basic ideas about law and Justice today. (Document D) This shows without the Byzanune, the current principles of America would be In disarray. The Byzantine have been largely ignored all across the nation, yet they are credited with so much of how society is today. Religious influence, preservation of literature, and defense tactics are among the key reasons to study the Byzantine Empire. What exactly is the Primary Reason to Study the Byzantine? The primary t Of2 reason to study tne Byzantine Emplre Is tnelr polltlcal Tounaatlons tnat nelpea snape modern society today.

Effect Of Employee Assistance Programs Essays -

Effect Of Employee Assistance Programs The Effect of Employee Assistance Programs At the Workplace Throughout the business world, one of the largest problems individual businesses face is the use of illegal drugs and alcohol. These substances greatly affect the business and workplace environments for many individuals. Employee assistance programs were created to help deal with augmenting substance abuse problems. Employee assistance programs enable a companies and its workers to detect if a co-worker is having problems and aids in helping them to overcome their problems by giving them advice or suggesting counseling. Critics have noticed some problems with this program. One problem is the lack of confidentiality and the fact that co-workers and bosses are afraid to confront their workers. In order for companies to minimize their loss of money, and for employees to stop ruining their lives and the lives around them, the employee assistance program is a necessity. Appropriate prevention and intervention efforts with employee assistance programs will save companies from losing experi enced employees, and save employees from failure and even death. The most tremendous problems that companies are facing in the Nineties are the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Alcoholism is defined as a chronic, progressive, and fatal disease. The American Medical Association has recognized alcoholism as a disease since 1956 (Scanlon 9). An alcoholic is identified as having a severe dependency, or addiction, and a cumulative pattern of behaviors associated with drinking. Alcoholism is apparent when someone is frequently drunk, having marriage problems, driving while intoxicated, getting fired, or being arrested (Drug Abuse). A significant difference between being an alcoholic and a drug addict is that drugs, no matter what the age of the user, are illegal. Drug abuse is defined as the use of a drug for a purpose other than for its possible intended medical purpose, which causes a person to be impaired physically, emotionally, and socially. In both cases people use these substances as a way to escape from their problems, and as a way of postponing upcoming problems in their lives (Scanlon 10). Substance abuse is the misuse of any substance leading to a loss of control over mind and body. Employee assistance programs were founded in 1971, and they: Have been working to develop and maintain the best possible workplace relationships EAP members follow professional standards and a strict code of ethics, which includes a firm commitment to protect and uphold confidentiality (Dickman 7). Employee assistance programs (EAP) are designed to assist in finding and to aid in solving productivity problems associated with employees impaired by alcohol, drugs and any other problems that affect the employees job performance. The cost ranges from $12 to $35 per employee for an EAP program. Businesses investing in an EAP rather than an insurance policy save anywhere from $5 to $16 per employee (Goldberg 1). This proves to be considerably cheaper for a company that will greatly benefit from the use of this program. Loss of productivity within a company is the major cause of businesses starting to implement employee assistance programs. Companies loose billions of dollars due to substance abuse. The economic cost placed on society from alcohol and drug abuse was estimated at $246 billion in 1992 and $276.3 billion in 1995. Total loss of potential productivity resulting from long term residential treatment of alcohol and drug abusers was $2.233 billion. Clients with primary drug problems cost $694 million. Clients with alcohol problems cost $577 million, while cross-addicted (Drugs and alcohol) clients cost $962 million. Sixty percent of these costs are attributed to losses in the workplace, which is approximately $82 billion in lost potential productivity (Economic). It is known that seventy percent of people that do drugs have a job (Gerhart 46). The level of stress attained in a certain occupation and prevalence of drugs are directly related to each other. The more stress a job causes to its workers the higher the chance those workers have of becoming substance abusers. The fact that work stress promotes heavy and problematic alcohol use is widely accepted (Cooper 260). Five to eight percent of all workers abuse alcohol. Absenteeism is sixteen times greater with people that have substance abuse problems than with attending normal employees. Substance abusers

American History X - the question essays

American History X - the question essays Edward Norton is the star of the movie American History X. He plays the role of Derek Vinyard, an extreme white supremacist, who leads a sort of cult against all those who arent white. At the beginning of the movie he kills a few black men, who were trying to steal the truck that his father gave him before he died. This obviously landed him in prison where he resided throughout most of the movie. During that time in prison, his little brother, Danny, wanted to basically pick up his older brothers slack in their campaign against minorities. He ran around doing all kinds of racist things to people because he thought Derek was the greatest person fighting for the greatest cause in the world. As Danny continued to make enemies in school and around the neighborhood, his mother was constantly visiting Derek to let him know how much trouble his brother was causing and getting into. This really bothered him because he could do nothing about it. During Dereks stay in prison, he was fr equently visited by an old school of his named Dr. Bob Sweeney. Dr. Sweeney was a black man determined to set the Vinyard family straight from racism and violence. As times got tougher for Derek in prison, he finally started to listen and actually understand what it was that his old teacher was trying to tell him. While lying on a hospital bed after one of his most humiliating abuses, Derek cried as Sweeney asked him the question that would change all of their lives. Has anything youve ever done actually bettered your life? I would have to say that this question pretty much sums up the writers point. It definitely made an impact on Dereks life. Soon after that, he was released from prison, with the help of Dr. Sweeney. Part of his parole agreement was to readily try to reverse all the movements and uprisings that he had helped create in the beginning. His first goal was to change the hea...

Health law assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health law assignment - Essay Example nd Affordable Care Act (PPACA)2 by the congress was not to be perceived as an act of the government requiring that all citizens should purchase a health insurance for its own sake, but rather should be perceived from the point of view that it is a law seeking to cover universal risks (). In this respect, any legislation that seeks to cover universals risks of the citizens falls under the powers of the federal government to regulate activities that â€Å"substantially affect† interstate commerce. Thus, the introduction of the collision insurance, under the â€Å"Collision Insurance Requirement and Traffic Safety Act (CIRTSA)†, is a measure that falls under the same category of protecting universal risks. This is because, the introduction of collision insurance is targeted at ensuring that all citizens have their cars covered on the event of an accident, not for the sake of their own cars, but to protect the universal risks that are exposed to citizens when their cars cla sh. This is because; the loss of individuals’ cars during a car clash has the negative effect of causing such individuals to undergo high financial blows, while also affecting the livelihoods of the individuals, through negative consequences such as losing jobs. Therefore, through the introduction of the collision insurance, the universal livelihoods and interests of the people will be protected, since they will be compensated for their losses when their cars clash, thus helping them avoiding the financial blows, as well as avoid losing their jobs. In this respect therefore, the introduction of the â€Å"Collision Insurance Requirement and Traffic Safety Act (CIRTSA)† falls under the mandate of the federal power to regulate activities that â€Å"substantially affect† interstate commerce, because it is meant to protect the universal risks to all citizens, which is within the federal mandate under this clause. Secondly, under the ruling in the case Gonzales v. Raich [2005] 545 U.S. 1, it was provided

Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping Convention Essay

Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping Convention - Essay Example One of the many changes to 1978 convention, in 1995, was the requirement of obtaining a new STCW certificate. This was confusing and to some extent it still is as there were two certificates in circulation. The 1978 certificate and the 1995 certificate. The STCW 1978 certificate was there to certify that a sailor was working aboard a vessel prior to 01 Aug 98' and is yet required to fulfill some requirements. Therefore, a new mariner, after 01 Aug 98' cannot be issued a 1978 STCW certificate. New sailors, joining after the aforementioned date, are required to comply with convention requirements before they are eligible for 1995 certificate. 1978 certificate holders are required to go through a training process to close the gap before they can be issued with a 1995 certificate. The fact which gives rise to confusion is that both these certificates were created on the same date. In the US, after 31 Jan 03', no one can get a 1995 certificate by simply completing the training required for the big leap from 1978 to 1995. Each and every sailor is now required to fully comply with 1995 amendment requirements. As all the 1978 certificate holders could not complete all the formalities, the 31 Jan '03 was actually a relaxation of one year to the original date. Despite this relaxation US sailors were still required to get 1995 certification prior to entering waters of a foreign country. Why do we need standards STCW 1978 sets standards of qualification for seafarers on merchant ships. It was initially drafted in 1978 by conference at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London. It took six years and finally in 1984 STCW was enforced. In 1995 significant changes were brought about. On an international scale 'STCW 1978' was the first to actually establish and enforce basic requirements for training, certification and watchkeeping for mariners. Prior to this such standards were set by individual governments without any reference to practices in the rest of the world. As expected, the outcome of this chaotic situation was widely varied standards, practices and procedures. STCW lays out minimum standards for training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers and countries adhering to comply are independent in their choice to accept or exceed these standards. STCW also applies to ships of countries which have not yet accepted to comply with STCW standards (non-party States), in case they visit ports of party States. An article of the convention requires all party States to apply the control without any biasing or favor to party or non-party States. This can expose the vessels of non-party States to difficult and unexpected situations. As a result, majority of the states are now party States. Revisions to SWTC 1978 In December 1992 IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) agreed to a US proposal to review in detail the 1978 Convention in light of the involvement of human element in maritime accidents. Moreover, there also had been nurturing a feeling amongst some delegations that the Convention should be more people, and standards relating to people, orientated. Rather than emphasizing on construction of ships and equipment standards, areas relating to people, training and operational practices require more concentration. This resulted in MSC directing

Production Of Speech Sounds English Language Essay

Production Of Speech Sounds English Language Essay The production of speech sounds involves two essential components: initiating a flow of air in and through the vocal tract; Some method of shaping or articulating the air-stream so as to generate a specific type of sound articulation; A third component, present in most, but not all sounds phonation. Initiation Initiators: lungs in English the only initiator (in other languages also closed glottis or tongue (combined with velar closure). Lungs sponges that can fill in with the air, contained within the rib cage. The expiratory air stream is further processed to bronchi, then to trachea/windpipe and then the larynx  [1]  . The space between the vocal cords/vocal folds is the glottis. Articulation Organs participating in articulation are called articulators (above the larynx): Pharynx  [2]   a tube stretching from above the larynx, its top end is divided into two parts: One part being the back of the mouth; The other part beginning off the way through the nasal cavity. In the production of English sounds it serves mainly as a container of a volume of air that is set into vibration in accordance with the vocal folds vibration  [3]   Oral cavity plays the most important role. It is within the oral cavity that the greatest variety of articulatory motions occurs. The articulatory organs in the mouth: i/ passive the maxilla, the teeth, the alveolar ridge, the hard palate. ii/ active the jaw, the lower lip, the soft palate. The velum/soft palate raised (the airflow cannot escape through the nose) or lowered a (the air passes through the nose). The most active organ in the mouth is the tongue. The tongue: the tip (apex), the blade (dorsum) and the root (radix). The outer end of the mouth is provided with the upper and lower lip. The vibration of the vocal folds inside the larynx/voice box produces the sound of voice and this process is called phonation. The larynx is situated in the neck. It has several parts; its main structure is made of cartilage (material similar to bone but less hard). The larynx consists of four cartilages: 1 cartilago thyreoidea 2 cartilago cricoidea 3 cartilagines arytenoideae 4 epiglottis covering the entrance into the larynx Inside the larynx there are vocal folds (two thick flaps of muscle rather like a pair of lips). At the front the vocal folds are joined together and fixed to the inside of the thyroid cartilage. At the back they are attached to a pair of small cartilages called arytenoid cartilages, so that if the arytenoid cartilages move, the vocal folds will move too. The arytenoid cartilages are attached to the top of the cricoid cartilage but they can move so as to move the vocal folds apart or together. The term glottis is used to refer to the opening between the vocal folds. States of the glottis: 1. Not vibrating: 1) If the vocal folds are closely together and they part after the final phase of articulation Voiceless Plosives 2) If the vocal folds are loosely open, no vibration, no voice is produced Voiceless Fricatives and Affricates are produced. 3) If the vocal folds are held closely only in their front part, the cartilage-like part is set apart Glottal Fricative (the sound /h/) is produced. 2. Vibrating: Further narrowing of the glottis brings it into position for the production of voice. The vocal folds can be held closely together and vibrate. This produces tones /vowels. The vocal folds can be loosely together and their vibration is weak. This produces: Voiced Plosives, Affricates and Fricatives. The number of cycles of opening and closing the glottis per second is referred to as the fundamental frequency of voice (Hz). A single cycle happens in the region of 1/100th second, therefore, the cycle repeats at the rates in the region of between approximately 80-200 cycles per second. This rate is far too rapid for the human ear to be able to distinguish each individual opening /closing of the folds. However, human ear is able to perceive variations in the overall rate of vibration as changes in the pitch of the voice  [4]  . The vibration averages roughly between 200 and 300 times per second in a womans voice and about half that rate in adult men. Acoustic aspect Sound is formed by means of the vibration of air molecules and is transmitted in sound waves in all directions. The voice comes into existence on the basis of vocal folds vibration. The periodic vibration gives rise to tone, whereas aperiodic vibration results in the production of noise. The tone is characterized by three basic qualities: The pitch given by the frequency of the vibrations in cps. The pitch is in direct proportion to the number of cps and in indirect proportion to the cycles period. The intensity is the amount of energy transmitted through the air. It is related to the amplitude of vibration. The intensity is proportionate to the square of the amplitude. The timbre is given by the composition of the tone. Simple tones are non existent because any object vibrates not only as a whole but also in its individual parts. The vocal folds vibrate in such a manner that in addition to the fundamental frequency (a basic vibration over their length) they produce a number of overtones or harmonics which are simple multiples of the fundamental or first harmonic. The combination of these components makes up the acoustic spectrum. A visible recording of speech is produced by computer analysis and it refers to the following dimensions: Time / duration on the horizontal axis, given in ms Frequency on the vertical axis, given in cycles per second Intensity indicated by relative blackness of the markings. The component bands are called formants and are numbered from bottom upwards. It is the first two formants (F1 and F2) that contribute most to the distinctive character of the vowels. From articulatory point of view F1 is correlated with tongue height (the pharyngeal formant), F2 with front-to-back tongue placing (the oral formant). Auditory aspect The perception of a sound is mediated by the brain rather than by ear itself. The ear has three major functions: To collect stimuli To transmit them To analyze them. The upper limit of frequency which can be perceived is maximum 20, 000 cps. The ear is subdivided into the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear leads to the ear drum. The middle ear is a small air-filled cavity containing a chain of three tiny bones connected to the ear drum at one end and the inner ear at the other. The main part of the inner ear is the cochlea shaped like a snails shell whose function is to convert sound vibrations into nerve impulses. Speech sounds are perceived in terms of four categories (pitch, loudness, quality and length). The categories are subjective and must not be equated exactly with the related physiological and physical categories. Consonants: Plosives, Fortis Lenis The differences between vowels and consonants are in the way they are produced (vowels voices, consonants noises); vowels fulfill the role of the peak of the syllable whereas consonants fulfill the marginal function.. Classification of consonants see Chart of Consonants (P. Roach, p.62). It is customary to divide consonants into several groups according to several criteria. The most important are: According to their place of articulation According to their manner of articulation A/ Classification according to the manner of articulation: The articulators involved form a closure: /p, t, k/; /b, d, g /. The consonants produced in this way are called Stops/Plosives. The articulators involved form a narrowing (as for /f, v, s, z,  Ã¢â‚¬ ,  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾,  Ã¢â‚¬Å",  Ã… ¡, h/). The consonants produced in this way are called Fricatives. The articulators form a closure combined with a narrowing (as for t Ã¢â‚¬Å", d Ã… ¡). The consonants produced in this way are called Affricates. Plosives As for place of articulation: bilabial, apico-alveolar, velar. Plosives four phases (approach, hold, release, post-release). Distributions All the three plosives in all positions: initial, medial and final. Initial position: CV In /p, t, k/ during the transition to voiced sound the wide-open glottis takes some time to close sufficiently so that the vocal folds can start vibrating, consequently there is a period of voicelessness aspiration (puff of air). Final position: VC The syllables closed by voiceless consonants are considerably shorter than those that are open, or closed by voiced consonants. Fricatives They include /f,  Ã¢â‚¬ , s, v,  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾, z, h/. Manner of articulation: Two organs are brought and held sufficiently close together for the escaping air-stream to produce strong friction. This friction may or may not be accompanied by voice. A/ Place of articulation: /f, v/ labiodental / Ã¢â‚¬ , Ã¢â‚¬Å¾/ dental /s, z/ alveolar / Ã¢â‚¬Å",  Ã… ¡/ palato-alveolar /h/- glottal Length of the preceding sound: The value of the final /f,  Ã¢â‚¬ , s, v,  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾, z/ is determined by the length of the syllable which they close. Dental fricatives: / Ã¢â‚¬ ,  Ã¢â‚¬Å¾/ / Ã¢â‚¬ / spelling: always th distribution: word initial, word medial, word final; word initial clusters, word final clusters / Ã¢â‚¬Å¾/ spelling: always th distribution: word initial, word medial, word final; word initial clusters /d/ does not occur in initial clusters, word final clusters Manner place of articulation: The tip of the tongue makes a light contact with the edge and inner surface of the upper front teeth. With some speakers the tongue-tip may protrude through the teeth. Affricates Affricates are complex consonants, beginning as plosives and ending as fricatives (Roach). Palato-alveolar Affricates /t Ã¢â‚¬Å", d/ /t Ã¢â‚¬Å"/ when final in syllable: effect of reducing the length of the preceding sounds. Nasals Bilabial nasal /m/ Alveolar nasal: / Ã‚ ®/ Velar nasal: / Ã… ½/ (spellings: ng or n followed by a letter indicating a velar consonant: tongue, anxious) distribution: word medial: singer, hanger, anxiety; word medial + g: finger, angle, angry, hunger; word medial + k: anchor, monkey, donkey; word final: sing, wrong, tongue; word final + k: sink, rank; word final syllabic: bacon, taken, organ Roach: rules for the pronunciation of the nk and ng digraphs: in nk the /k/ is always pronounced in ng the following /g/ is pronounced in mono-morphemic words (finger, anger, linger) and in comparatives superlatives of adjectives (younger, the longest) otherwise the /g/ following the / Ã… ½/ is never pronounced!!! Laterals Articulatory features: articulated by means of a partial closure, on one or both sides of which the air-stream is able to escape through the mouth. Only one, alveolar, lateral consonant occurs in E. Within the /l/ phoneme 3 main variants occur: a/ clear /l/, with a relatively front vowel resonance, before vowels and /j/ Roach /i/ resonance b/ voiceless /l/ following accented (aspirated) /p, k/ (less considerable devoicing after /f, s,  Ã¢â‚¬ /, or weakly accented /p, t, k/) c/ dark /l/, with a relatively back vowel resonance, finally after a vowel, before a consonant, and as a syllabic sound following a consonant Roach u resonance Clear /l/ the front of the tongue is raised in the direction of the hard palate at the same time as the tip contact is made. Dark /l/ the front of the tongue somewhat depressed and the back raised in the direction of the soft palate. Approximants /r/ Distribution: word initial (red, raw), word medial, intervocalic (mirror, very), word final /r-link/ (far away, poor old man); in consonantal clusters (price, crow) Manner place of articulation: the tip of the tongue held in a position near to, but not touching, the rear part of the alveolar ridge. Lip position according to the following vowel. BBC /r/ distribution: only before a vowel. /j/ palatal /w/ labio-velar English vowels: short vowels long vowels Vowels are specified in terms of 3 parameters: vertical tongue position (high low; close half-close half-open open) horizontal tongue position (front back) lip-position (unrounded rounded) In accented syllables the so-called long vowels are fully long when they are final or in a syllable closed by a voiced consonant, but they are considerably shortened when they occur in a syllable closed by a voiceless consonant. The same considerable shortening before fortis consonants applies also to the diphthongs. Diphthongs The sequences of vocalic elements included under the term diphthong are those which form a glide within one syllable. They have a 1st element (the starting point) and a 2nd element (the point in the direction of which the glide is made). BBC diphthongs: 1st element is in the general region of / Ã¢â‚¬ °, e, a, ÊÅ  , Ɔ , Æ / 2nd element is in the general region of / Ã¢â‚¬ °, ÊÅ  , Æ / division into closing (direction towards / Ã¢â‚¬ °, ÊÅ  / and centering (direction towards /Æ /. Generalizations referring to all RP diphthongs: 1/ Most of the length and stress associated with the glide is concentrated on the 1st element, the 2nd one is only lightly sounded; in Slovak the ratio between the lengths of the two elements1:1, in English it is approximately 2:1; 2/ They are equivalent in length to long vowels and are subject to the same variations in length; in the reduced forms there is a considerable shortening of the 1st element; 3/ No diphthong occurs before /ņ¹/; Phonetics Phonology Phonetics phonology are the two linguistic sciences investigating the phonic aspect of language communication and its generalization in the minds of the language users. Phonetics investigates the phonic material of speech (the sounds). The speech sounds are analyzed from two aspects; Aspect of the speaker/producer; Hearer/receiver. The former aspect covers the activity of articulatory organs, the latter: the transmission of acoustic entities perceived by the listener and the process of decoding. According to the subject of investigation, phonetics is further subdivided into: i/ genetic/articulatory production of speech sounds ii/ acoustic transmission of sounds, acoustic characteristics of speech sounds iii/ auditory perception of speech sounds Phonology speech sounds from the aspect of their function they fulfill within a linguistic system, how they are organized into systems, how they are utilized in languages and what the relationships among them are. We can divide speech up into segments and we can find great variety in the way these segments are made (their pronunciation differs from speaker to speaker; even the same speaker never pronounces the same segment in the same way. But there is an abstract set of units as the basis of our speech; otherwise we would not be able to understand other speakers of the same language, communication among people would be impossible. These units are called phonemes, and the complete set of these units is called the phonemic system of the language. The phonemes themselves are abstract (the sound patterns stored in our mental grammar), we do not produce phonemes, we produce sounds or phones. Phonemes are the minimal sequential contrastive units of the phonology of languages, (Catford). contrastive: phonemes are contrastive in the sense that they are the bits of sound that distinguish one word from another: bit , pit: solely by the contrast between the initial consonants /p/ /b/ the two words are distinguished. The bits of sound manifesting these contrasts are phonemes. minimal: phonemes are minimal units, because if you take a stretch of speech and chop it up into a sequence of phonological units, the shortest stretch of speech sounds that functions as a contrastive unit in the buildup of the phonological forms of words is the phoneme. The phonological structure of English, like that of other languages, can be described as a hierarchy of units. The largest, or most inclusive, unit in English is the intonation contour or tone-group: Jane was here yesterday. We can chop up each tone-unit into smaller units, namely into successive rhythmic units, or feet: (the fact that these feet are contrastive, meaning differentiating units, is demonstrated by the fact that we could divide the utterance into feet differently, and this would convey a slightly different meaning). Next, we can divide each foot into still smaller chunks, namely into a sequence of syllables. Finally, we can divide up each syllable into a sequence of still smaller units and here it is necessary for us to go into phonetic transcription: At this point we can do no further chopping. We have reached the lowest rank in the phonological hierarchy, the smallest sequential; or linear units phonemes. There are no smaller meaning-differentiating units. Sequential: following in sequence. Phoneme an abstract unit operating on the level language as a system. Symbols Transcription Types of Transcription 1/i/ Phonological transcription, phonemic transcription: The choice of symbols is limited to one symbol per one phoneme. 2/ Phonetic transcription: Very detailed, each single realization of a sound is recorded. The Syllable Human beings cannot produce a sound smaller than a syllable. The syllable seems to be the essential unit of speech segmentation and speech recognition. J. Lavers definition of the phonological syllable is as follows: The syllable is a complex unit, made up of nuclear and marginal elements. Nuclear elements are vowels, and marginal elements are consonants. A/ Languages differ in syllable types: The minimum syllable V (I, Oh); CV (consonantal beginning an onset): (e.g. me) open syllable; VC (consonantal end a coda): (e.g. am) closed syllable; Some syllables have both onset and coda: (e.g. him). The most common type of syllable among the languages of the world is CV. CVC is also common among the languages of the world. English syllables: a wide variety of syllable types, both open and closed. B/ Languages also differ on constraints on the segments which can occur at the beginning or end of a syllable. No syllable in E can begin with /ņ¹/; /Ê’/ and /ÊÅ  / are rare. Almost any consonant can occur in syllable-final position, except for /h/, /j/, /w/, /r/ (only in rhotic accents). Syllable types in E: Beginning: a vowel (see the constraints above), one, two or three consonants. Ending: a vowel, one, two, three or four consonants. Syllable structures in English: Beginning: a vowel zero onset (/ÊÅ  / rare); a consonant except for /ņ¹/, /Ê’/ having an onset; two or more consonants a consonant cluster. C/ Initial two-consonant clusters: i/ pre-initial /s/ is followed by one of about 10 initial consonants (p, t, k; f; m, n; l; w, j, r); with /l, r, w, j/ a two-way analysis is possible (e.g.: slow, sky, swim); ii/ initial (p, t, k; b, d, g; f, ÆÅ ¸, s, h, v; m, n; l) followed by a post-initial /l, r, w, j/ (e.g. proud, queen, friend). D/ Initial three-consonant clusters: There is a clear relationship between the two groups: /s/ is the pre-initial /p, t, k/ are initial and /l, r, w, j/ are post-initial (e.g. split, square, strike). E/ Final consonant clusters: No final consonant means that there is no coda, i.e. it is an open syllable. One consonant means that the syllable is closed. Any consonant except for /h/, /w/, /j/, /r/ can occur in syllable-final position. F/ Two-consonant clusters: i/ pre-final (m, n, ņ¹, l, s) is followed by a final (e.g. bend, bench ask); ii/ a final consonant is followed by a post-final /s, z, t, d, ÆÅ ¸/ (e.g. fifth. asks, robbed). The post-final consonant often corresponds to a separate morpheme. Pronunciation: the release of the first plosive of a plosive + plosive cluster is usually produced without plosion and is therefore practically inaudible. G/ Final three-consonant clusters: i/ pre-final + final + post-final: (e.g. helped, twelfth); ii/ final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 (e.g. fifths, next); H/ Final four-consonant clusters: i/ pre-final + final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 (e.g. twelfths); ii/ final + post-final 1 + post-final 2 + post-final 3 (e.g. sixths). The syllable: onset + rhyme / peak + coda Difficulties encountered by foreign learners: Unknown consonant clusters: usually two strategies are applied: i/ vowels between the consonants are inserted; ii/ one of the consonants is deleted. That is simplification of the syllable structure of the E word by making it conform to the pattern of the native languages of the learners. Deletion exists in E but these deletions do not occur randomly. Stress in English The syllable or syllables which stand out from the the other szllable or szllables of a word are said to be stressed, to receive the stress. Gimson: a stressed syllable the one upon which there is relatively great breath effort and muscular energy. As for perception the stressed syllables are perceived to be more prominent because they are louder, longer, pronounced on the pitch different from that of the other syllables and they contain a vowel sound differing in its quality from neighboring vowels. The most powerful effect is produced by pitch, the length comes second, loudness and quality of the vowel sounds is less important. Types of stress: (Kenworthy): Three levels of stress: primary, secondary, tertiary are heard in long E words: i/ when said in isolation; ii/ the word is in a position in a sentence where it is very strongly stressed; iii/ full vowels are used. Placement of stress: English stress is: A/ Variable, i.e. the main stress is not tied to any particular syllable (in Slovak it has delimitative function, i.e. denotes word boundaries; in E it has distinctive function, i.e. it differentiates the meanings of words); B/ Fixed, i.e. the main stress always falls on a particular syllable in any given word; C/ Mobile, i.e. having become familiar with one form of a word, learners will assume that the stress stays on the same syllable in other forms of the word (or they will assume that prefixes and suffixes make no difference to the placement of the stress) but this is not the case of the E language (e.g. photography photographer photograph; advertising advertiser advertisement; librarianship librarian library). Word Stress Rules When considering the stress placement several factors should be taken into account: the structure of the word (whether the word in question is a simple or complex); the grammatical category of the word (noun, adjective or verb) the number of the syllables in the word; the phonological structure of the syllables. 1. The structure of the word: Simple word not consisting of more than one grammatical unit morpheme (although this is sometimes difficult to decide); Complex words two major types: i/ words made from a basic stem word with the addition of an affix (derived words) affixes: two sorts: prefixes and suffixes. They have three possible effects on word stress: the affix itself receives the primary stress (i.e. -ee, ese); the affix will not influence the placement of stress, (i.e. -ing the word will be stressed just as if the affix was not there); The stress remains on the stem, not on the affix, but it is shifted to different syllable (i.e. magnet magnetic). ii/ compound words made of two (or occasionally more) independent E words. There is no clear dividing line between two-word compounds and pairs of words that simply happen to occur together quite frequently. Spelling inconsistency: solid (one word, e.g. sunflower); words separated by a hyphen (e.g. fruit-cake, whistle-blower, cabinet-maker); two words separated by a space (e.g. coffee table, tax inspector, weather forecast). Word stress rules 2. The number of the syllables syllable structure TWO-SYLLABLE WORDS Verbs: Oo 60%. If the second syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or if it ends with more than one consonant the second syllable is stressed (e.g. apply, attract, achieve). If the final syllable contains a short vowel and one/no consonant or the diphthong / Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ¢/ the first syllable is stressed (e.g. enter, open, follow). Adjectives: follow the verbs (e.g. lovely, even, hollow, divine, correct). Nouns: Oo 90%. If the second syllable contains a short vowel, the stress will usually come on the first syllable. (e.g. table, sofa, picture). Otherwise it will be on the second syllable (e.g. estate, balloon). Adverbs, Prepositions: behave like verbs and adjectives (e.g. evenly, correctly). THREE-SYLLABLE WORDS Verbs: oOo, ooO. If the last syllable contains a short vowel and ends with not more than one consonant that syllable will be unstressed and the stress will be placed on the preceding/penultimate syllable (e.g. encounter, determine). If the last syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or ends with more than one consonant, that final syllable will be stressed (e.g. entertain, resurrect). Nouns: Ooo, oOo. If the final syllable contains a short vowel and the middle syllable contains a short vowel and ends with no more than one consonant, both final and middle syllables will be unstressed and the first syllable will get the stress (e.g. library). If the final consonant contains a short vowel or /Éâ„ ¢u/, it is unstressed if the middle syllable contains a long vowel/diphthong, or it ends with more than one consonant, the middle syllable will be stressed (e.g. potato, mimosa, disaster). Adjectives: follow the nouns (e.g. derelict, insolent). DERIVED WORDS Prefixes stress rules governed by the same rules as in words without prefixes. Suffixes: carrying stress themselves (e.g. -ee, -ese, -eer, -ette); not affecting the stress placement (e.g. -able, -al, -ful, -less); influencing the stress in the stem (e.g. -ive, -ic, -ion, -ious); stress on the penultimate syllable (e.g. words ending in -phy (e.g. photography); -cy (e.g. democracy); -ty (e.g. reliability); -gy (e.g. prodigy); -al (e.g. critical). COMPOUNDS Nouns: Two noun elements: the first element stressed (e.g. typewriter, suitcase, sunflower). Adjectives: Adjective + -ed: the second element is stressed (e.g. bad-tempered); first element a number: the second element is stressed (e.g. first-class, five-finger, three-wheeler) Adverbs, Verbs: usually final stressed (e.g. ill-treat, down-stream, North-East, half-timbered). Note: What a beautiful black bird! Look at that big blackbird! Stress tending to go on syllables containing a long vowel/diphthong and /or ending with more than one consonant. 3. The grammatical category of the word nouns, adjectives, verbs. Compounds nouns usually stressed on the first element (e.g. summertime, grandfather, silverware, schoolteacher, bathtub). When the second element is a polysyllabic word it retains its stress pattern, but when speaking more rapidly, the stress of the second element may be lost (the secondary stress, e.g. trade exhibition). Some compound nouns late stress exceptions: Late stress: First element material, ingredient the second element is made of (e.g. plastic cup, turkey sandwich, cherry pie). Compounds containing juice, cake take an early stress!!! (e.g. fruit juice, fruit cake, lemon juice). Names of squares and roads thoroughfares (roads for public traffic, e.g. Walnut Avenue, Cambridge Crescent, Belgrade Square, Oxford Drive). Those containing street, however, have an early stress (e.g. Baker Street). The first element identifies a place or a time (e.g. town hall, kitchen window, summer holiday, London transport, April showers). Sentence Stress In sequences (sentence, clause, discourse) not all the words are equally important, which in E is shown by means of sentence stress and sentence focus. Why is it important? As listeners, it is essential that we are able to spot points of importance in the stream of speech; As speakers, we must highlight points in our messages, or E listeners will have difficulty in interpreting what they hear, in deciding how it relates to what has just been said and predicting what the speaker is possibly leading up to. Thus sentence stress and sentence focus are vital for intelligibility. The placement of sentence stress is closely related to the function the word fulfills within a sentence. According to their function the words in E are divided into: Content words/lexical words; Grammar words/function words/structure words. The former bear the lexical meaning while the latter are structural markers, denoting grammatical categories and syntactic relations. The classes appear to have physiological and neurological validity. Some brain damaged persons have greater difficulty in using, understanding or reading content words and structure words (e.g. in inn; which witch). Content words normally carry the most of information. They generally have in connected speech the qualitative pattern of their isolate form and therefore retain some measure of qualitative prominence even when no pitch prominence is associated with them and when they are relatively unstressed. Structure words do not carry so much information. They do not have a dictionary meaning in the way we normally expect nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs to have. All structure words