Safety in the workplace Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Safety in the workplace - Term Paper Example First of all, the organization including senior management should be very well aware about the risk factors and potential health hazards/ harms that might be present for workers. These possible harms may be electric cords, toxic chemicals, lead, paints, molds or lifting of heavy goods. It is very important to understand that these risk factors may have different effects. For example chemicals are toxic or explosive, electric cords might produce shocks or fire, excavations may collapse and heat or fire may burn the skins and organs etc. So, keeping in mind all these risk factors, senior administration of an organization should offer measures for the protection of their labors and workers. Organization should offer any policy or procedures that further ensure health of the workers and minimize the risk of work related injuries. Moreover, the rate of work related injuries can be minimized through proper training of workers. Training is the best way to eliminate fatalities. Next to train ing, fitness is also very important for work. Employees and workers should not involve in alcohol and drug activities, stress and fatigue. Worker should be fit emotionally as well as physically. Remember, odd factors can multiply the risk indicators at workplace. So, it is also the responsibility of the staff to provide safety equipments to workers. Beside this staff is also responsible to use these equipments at right time and place. Another way to ensure security guidelines to staff members and employees is an effort to conduct various assignments and workshops. Staff members should also attend the training on time and they should ask questions in case they are not getting the explanations. So, cooperation between workers and instructors may play a great and positive role towards success of safety at workplace program. Furthermore, when we talk about safety at workplace, it is also important to have a complete record of workers health at the time they are joining at any workplace. David P, Stevens also mentioned this concept in his article ‘Quality Lines’. According to him, the first computerized entry was promulgated by Leap Frog Group in America. This entry system came forward to ensure worker’s health care. It was an electronic health record which was valid certification at one end as well as improvement tool at the other. To avoid drug related issues, will change strategy was adopted. K.A Wilson also mentioned some reliable methods that can be adopted by organizations in order to carry out better outcomes regarding safety. As he mentioned in his article ‘Promoting Health Care Safety through training high reliability teams’ that there are several organizations working within a country that are using team methodology to achieve better outcomes regarding safety measures for workers at workplace. With the help of teams, safety as well as productivity both can be enhanced. However, the effectiveness of these teams may differ. Those working in small environments can produce better outcomes as compared to those working in complex organizations. The level of complexity is inversely proportion to effectiveness. However, some organizations have quite disciplined atmosphere like aviation and nuclear power. In such associations despite of all complexities, organizations may maintain and balance effectiveness along with safety. Actually values of any organization and its overall behavior play a

Improving ones own performance Essay Example for Free

Improving ones own performance Essay Every fortnight on a Friday morning my line manager and I have a meeting to discuss my progress. This meeting is also for her feed back so she can see if there is anything I am struggling with, anything I need help with or I am not happy about. To the right is a picture of the scheduled meetings. This is on our Microsoft outlook account. The reason for this is so that if there are areas I am slipping with, for example my time keeping, we can discuss these issues comfortably and resolve them before they become an occurring issue. The need for these meetings is very important. They help monitor my progress by reflecting to my manager what I’ve been working on and how fast/slow I’ve been completing them. By doing these meetings it improves my performance by clearly showing my improvements giving me job satisfaction. I can also gain benefits from theses meetings too as I am improving my performance I may be more likely to be put forwards for a promotion because when my manager sees my hard work, she will inform the managing director and update him upon my progress. She gives me feedback on how I’ve been working and encourages me to do the same as without this I wouldn’t know what to improve or keep the same. Its adds value to my work as I am continuously improving, it also strengthens our relationship as I know what to do next time. During these meeting I have been asked to keep a record of achievement. I have also been asked to evaluate my own performance with a SWOT analysis every six months, so we can compare if there are any changes or areas of improvement. At times she suggest ways of possibly improving my work this helps me greatly as I may not have thought of the idea myself or even have tried it as I am not used to the method. It sometimes saves me a lot of time; this benefits my team and I as I can take on new tasks as I have spare time. Throughout my work I am constantly improving as I am learning new things all the time. As discussed by my manager and me, I have picked up a lot of important information just being in the office. When I am continuously learning it is helping me as when I learn something new I can apply it to situations, where needed. When I am enhancing my skills this helps me too as I know and understand more making my more aware. With my knowledge that has grown I will, in the future, apply it to other companies/organisations. This will benefit my career as I will know crucial information needed, not only to help me with an interview but help me secure another job. In my later life I would like to either study more business administration at university or possibly stay in the world of work and work my way up to become a manager in an office environment. At the end of my contract with Medilink I hope they would keep me on as I could grow my skills to adapt to learning about the other opportunities such as finance or even international work. Throughout my working life I use a PDP to show my achievement that aren’t actually a credited for. This adds great value to me as when I am going for an interview I can show this to my possible new employer. When Sarah and I have our fortnightly meeting I ask for feedback and on the occasion I write this down in my note book as I can reflect on it at a later date. This is because I won’t forget what she has said. I accept it with open arms as this will help me and is not said in a spiteful manor to upset me. It is constructive criticism, this is being assertive. If she wasn’t being assertive then it wouldn’t be good within our working environment. The benefit to this is that she can put her point across without sounding nasty and putting her point across in a respectful manor. I myself also have to be assertive too, for example if I get given a task and I have too much on I simply have say no as I would miss my deadline from taking over someone else job. I will offer an alternative if I can help as we work as a team and if I can save time for someone else I will. Plus when someone one is helping me and I do not agree with a certain way I voice my opinion and suggest to improve their performance, like when Tina was helping me with finding contacts on our database I suggested to sure the search bar rather than looking under the subheadings and finding them by trial and error. When having this meeting sometimes my manager, Sarah and I discus targets for when work needs to be completed. The reason for this is so that I get used to deadlines and can work to realistic target as my input is as important in these discussions as hers. It benefits me as I know I can structure myself to meet these target and they are within my reach. For example: I was given a task to go through the international managers, charlottes, mailing list in correspond to the members list, and our data base to update all three and ensure they are all up to date. We decided because there was 217 contacts on charlottes list that I would be given 22 working days to complete as this allows me to complete 10 a day so I could pick it up and put down the task in hand here and there amongst other tasks. With these discussions about targets we also discus the quality of my work. I set high standards as there are always room for improvements and if I am constantly aiming for the highest possible standard then overtime I should up the bar of my skills. This resulting in be being more knowledgeable. During day to day work there are setbacks that I may come across to overcome these and move forwards I first must accept these otherwise I can’t overcome them. When dealing with them there is one major benefit, it makes me a stronger worker as I know how to tackle them if they occur in the future. Everyday at work there are new challenges and the reason why I adapt the taking them on is because it will be a learning curve and will benefit my future. By adapting to change I grow my personality and move with the time, I am constantly growing my knowledge base and understanding what I need to take in. Treating others with respect honesty and consideration add to the business environment it ensure that the atmosphere we working in is enjoyable. When it is comfortable it promotes more effective working. When helping and supporting others at work, it saves them time as they don’t need to look for the answers and it add to the relationship within the working environment. To do this it is useful and very helpful. To show my targets in order of priority for my own work; is attached a sheet, listed in a random order but there is a coloured key to follow on the back. As you can see I have highlighted them corresponding to the coloured priority. In one of our meetings with Sarah I renegotiated the dead line of the previously mentioned task, the mailing list for Charlotte, in conjunction with the members list and our database. The reason for this was because we had a lot on for the awards event and I slipped behind due to bad time management therefore not being able to complete my task. On a weekly basis I like to achieve the highest possible outcome I can, to do this I set myself high standards. Such as: exceeding my targets. When helping Paul with his signs I completed them up to a brilliant aesthetic look and before my deadline. I laminated each one and got them all ready before he needed them. I was so committed that I stayed behind on one of the days to finish them off before my deadline. This demonstrated my passion for my work. I use my own needs to complete a task and it is my own right to use my own time during work to finish what I have been given. Like last week for example, I used my time during work to start a task I have been given by one of our members of the PR team, Martin. I treat all of my colleagues with respect, as I speak to them all with the right tone. Like in our weekly team briefing, I talk with politeness and do not use harsh tones.

Coliform Bacteria: Occurrence and Antibiotic Susceptibility

Coliform Bacteria: Occurrence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Abstract   Bacteriological contamination of muscles and digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. and Labeo sp. reared in a pond supplied with domestic sewage was enumerated followed by determination of resistance of thermotolerent coliforms for antibiotics. Numbers of bacteria in muscles and digestive tract contents of fish reflected their densities in water. Muscles of both the fish species contained high numbers of total coliforms (TC) and fecal coliforms (FC). Escherichia Coli (E.coli) were never recovered from the muscles but from the digestive tract contents of the fish. Ranking of the total and fecal coliform contamination levels showed a decrease in the order digestive tract contents> muscles (p Keywords: Domestic sewage; Fish; Fecal coliforms; Escherichia coli; Water quality; Antibacterial resistance; Public health. Introduction All around the world, people both in rural and urban areas have been using domestic wastes to fertilize fish ponds (Strauss et al. 2000). In the majority of cases, domestic sewages are applied untreated or only partially treated through storage (Strauss 2000). Domestic wastewater, rich in nutrients, used in aquaculture supports the growth of plankton and other microorganisms which are consumed by the fish with little intake of other supplemented feed. Recycling of domestic sewage through aquaculture is an effective form of pollution control, which contributes to cost recovery and provides a source of low cost animal protein production. Domestic sewage transports a variety of human pathogenic microorganisms which may contaminate fish flesh when fish is grown in ponds receiving waste water (Niewolak and Tucholski 2000). Besides, municipal wastewater consists of huge amounts of incompletely metabolized antimicrobial drugs which can lead to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria as well as resistant plasmids (Wiggins et al. 1999). The prominently affected bacteria are members of enterobacteriaceae and related gram negative rods (Kelch and Lee 1978). One of the important concern of wastewater fisheries is the contamination of fishes by fecal coliforms (Fapohunda, MacMillan, Marshall and Waites 1994). Their presence in fish intended for human consumption may constitute a potential danger not only by causing disease but also because of the possible transfer of antibiotic resistance from aquatic bacteria to human-infecting bacteria from nonaquatic sources (Olayemi, Adedayo and Ojo 1991). Therefore, periodic and c omprehensive sanitary survey of wastewater fishery is required. For years, the group of fecal (also called thermotolerant) coliforms (FC) has been the most widely used as fecal contamination as their excreted load is similar or larger than that of pathogenic organisms, and their survival time in the environment longer than that of excreted bacteria and viruses (Strauss 1997). In the present study, an attempt has been made to determine the bacteriological contamination of muscles and digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. and Labeo sp. reared in wastewater fed pond. Resistance to two very common antibiotics for random thermotolerent coliform isolates from muscle and digestive tract contents of both the fish was also determined. Materials and Methods Study Site A sewage fed pond of Bandipur, Rahara, North 24 Parganas, (22 °44N Latitude and 88 °24E Longitude) was taken into consideration for this study and to examine bacterial load of water and fish. Raw sewage was entirely of domestic origin, coming from Titagarh town of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Sampling and Dissection Fish samples were caught with a net and were immediately transferred to the laboratory in containers with pond water. They were dissected according to Buras et al. 1987. Muscles and digestive tract contents were isolated and placed in sterile glass vessels. The tissues were weighed under sterile conditions, ground in a mortar and suspended in sodium chloride (NaCl) physiological solution (10 ml of the solution for each 1 g of the muscle or digestive tract content). The suspensions were homogenized using Universal Laboratory Aid Type MPW-309 homogenizer, at 1000 rpm, for 10 minutes. The homogenates were then serially diluted (10-1 to 10-6 for muscles and 10-1 to 10-7 for digestive tract contents) and inoculated into culture media. Time lag from fish collection to the analyses did not exceed 6 hours. Water from sewage-supplied pond was sampled and analysed simultaneously with fish sampling. Samples were collected monthly from July 2009 to September 2009. Microbiological Analyses Total Coliforms Lauryl Tryptose (LT) Broth at 350C for 48 hr was used for three-tube most-probable-number (MPN) presumptive determinations of coliforms (APHA 1998). From all positive presumptive tubes, total coliforms were confirmed by the formation of gas in any amount in the Durham fermentation tubes of brilliant green lactose bile broth (BGLB) for 48 hr at 350C. Fecal Coliforms and E.coli All positive Lauryl Tryptose (LT) MPN tubes to tubes of Escherichia coli (EC) Broth followed by incubation at 44.50C for 48 hr constitute a positive fecal coliform test. The growth from positive EC tubes was then streaked onto Levine Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) Agar plates and incubated at 35 °C for 18 to 24 h. Colonies from EMB Agar plates typical of E. coli were transferred to Nutrient agar (NA) slants from which GIMViC tests were performed where G-medium is the secondary EC broth, I -medium is Tryptone broth, M- and V-medium is Buffered Glucose broth, and C-medium is Simmons Citrate agar. MPN of E. coli was then computed based on the number of tubes found to contain isolates that produce GIMViC reaction patterns characteristic of E. coli (APHA 2001). Representatives of typical thermotolerent coliform isolates from fish samples were selected randomly by colony morphology on Eosin methylene blue agar and were streaked aseptically several times on freshly prepared nutrient agar plates to obtain pure isolates (Ogbonna, Sokari and Amaku 2008). Nutrient agar plates were then supplemented with ampicillin (50 µg ml-1) and tetracycline (25 µgml-1) and were used to evaluate antibiotic susceptibility patterns of 117 pure isolates (Miranda and Zemelman 2001). 32 isolates from muscles and 24 isolates from digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. and 39 strains from muscles and 22 isolates from digestive tract contents of Labeo sp. were subjected to antibiotics sensitivity test. Statistical Analyses Means and standard errors (SE) were calculated. T test was performed between bacterial concentration of muscles and digestive tract contents of both the fish. A significance level of 5% was considered (Zar 2007). Results Bacterial loads in muscles and digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. and Labeo sp. were exceptionally high. Total coliforms and fecal coliforms were commonly found in all analysed fish tissues. Escherichia Coli were not found in the muscles of either fish. Additionally, however, thermotolerant Escherichia coli were present in the digestive tract contents of both the fish (Table 2). Bacterial loads in the fish were significantly higher (p Antibiotic resistance pattern Of the 117 thermotolerent coliform isolates examined for antibiotic sensitivity, 82% (96 isolates out of 117) were tetracycline resistant and 65% (76 isolates out of 117) were ampicillin resistant. 58.11% (68 isolates out of 117) of the total isolates were resistant to both antibiotics where as 31% (36 isolates out of 117) were resistant to single antibiotic. From the single antibiotic resistant isolates, 24% were tetracycline resistant and 7% were ampicillin resistant (Figure 1). 56.41% isolates (22 isolates out of 39) from flesh and 22.72% (5 isolates out of 22) from digestive tract contents of Labeo sp. showed resistance to both antibiotics whereas 71.87% isolates from flesh (23 isolates out of 32) and 75% (18 isolates out of 24) from digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. showed resistance to both ampicillin and tetracycline (Figure 2). Discussion Comparison of fecal coliform counts of water of Bandipur sewage fed fish pond with WHO (World Health Organization) water quality criteria (WHO 1989) suggests considerable contamination of the first. Bacterial flora of fish reflects the bacteriological quality of the water from where the fish harvested (Geldrich and Clarke 1966). Strong correlation between the bacterial species present in the pond water and the fish regardless of the type of fish were also reported by Buras et al. 1987; Ogbondeminu 1993; Apun, Yusofand and Jugang 1999. Thus, in our study, total coliforms, fecal coliforms and E.coli recovered from muscles and digestive tract contents of Oreochromis sp. and Labeo sp. may reflect bacteriological water quality of the Bandipur sewage fed pond. Fecal coliforms in fish muscles were recovered when values of FC in water were 3.86+3.63105 MPN 100 ml-1 which were much higher than those recommended by WHO (1989) in its health guidelines on wastewater use in aquaculture. Fecal coliforms in fish reflect the level of pollution of their environment, as the normal floras of fish do not include coliforms (Cohen and Shuval 1973). Presence of fecal coliforms indicates the presence of fecal material from warm-blooded animals. However, thermotolerent coliforms include the genera of fecal as well as non fecal origin. E. coli is a species of fecal coliform bacteria that is specific to fecal material from humans and other warm-blooded animals (Bhatia 2008). Environmental Protection Agency (1992) thus recommends E. coli as the best fecal indicator of health risk from water. No detectable penetration of E.coli in muscles of either fish was found at 1.34+0.95104 MPN 100 ml-1 of E.coli concentration in water of sewage fed pond (Table 1). Thus, th e fish flesh qualities at harvest were good on the basis of their E. coli counts. Safety precautions during fish processing are still needed to avoid cross-contamination due to high accumulation of microorganisms in the digestive tract of fish. In this study significantly higher numbers of bacteria (p A wide range of thermotolerent coliforms isolated from sewage fed fish showed resistance to both ampicillin and tetracycline. Multiple anitibiotic resistant faecal coliforms have been observed in wastewater across the world (Gallert et al. 2005). Antibiotic resistance among random bacterial isolates from different organs of fish captured from fecally contaminated water with a full range of resistance (00-100%) to different common antibiotics of therapeutic and prophylactic use among human beings and in various animal farms and fish farms was reported by several authors. (Rhodes et al. 2000; Miranda and Zemelman 2001; Pathak and Gopal 2005). Thus the source of the problem of antibiotic resistance bacteria in wastewater pond of Bandipur was fecally contaminated water. Among thermotolerent coliforms recovered from fish, resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline was found in 65% and 82% of the isolates, respectively. Occurrence of thermotolerent coliforms with high resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline reflect human influence in the environment (Andersen and Sandaa 1994). Domestic sewage enters into the pond environment of the sewage fed farm with huge antibiotics which are used as medicines, as growth promoters or as preventative maintenance and may have established a selective pressure due to a slow degradation of antimicrobials favouring further growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Petersen and Dalsgaard 2003). It may possible that these antibiotic resistant bacteria from wastewater may transfer their antibiotic resistant determinants to indigenous flora of fish, provoking their spread and prevalence in aquatic environment. In the present study bacteria resistant to both ampicillin and tetracycline from digestive tract contents were higher in Oreochromis sp. than in Labeo sp. It may be related to detritus feeding habit of Oreochromis sp. by which it is more exposed to wastes as well as antimicrobials than Labeo sp. which is a column feeder. Similar findings were reported by Miranda and Zemelman (2001) with demersal and pelagic fish. Antibiotic resistant fecal bacteria form domestic sewage may change nutritionally beneficial intestinal microflora with unexpected consequences on fish health. Our study indicates that fish flesh qualities were satisfactory in terms of E.coli counts. In spite of that flesh of both fish showed high numbers of antibiotic resistant thermotolerent coliforms which may include Klebsiella spp., Citrobactor spp. and Enterobacter spp. (non fecal origin) but till have immense ecological and public health implications specially if the resistance is plasmid mediated then there could be a problem associated with the transfer of resistance determinants to human pathogenic bacteria which may enter in human population through fish consumption. According to Walia et al. (2004) antibiotic resistance genes against ampicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline are known to be transferable to other bacteria. Thus, we can say that Wastewaters and fishes reside there are potent source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which in turn may transfer their resistance genes to nonresistant bacteria (Schwartz et al. 2003). Several studies indicate that the environmental conditions in wastewater may enhance the likelihood of gene transfer (Pote et al. 2003). Mach and Grimes (1982) demonstrated the high transfer frequencies of enteric bacteria in a wastewater. Additionally resistant bacteria may pose a risk of therapeutic problems to public health and fish population. So the study demands an elaborate investigation on the members of predominant multidrug resistant bacterial microflora associated with sewage fed fishery along with their plasmids profile as an evidence of conjugal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in human and animal food chain through fish consumption.

Surgery :: essays research papers

Surgery   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My stomach and throat seemed to be playing ping pong with my heart as I entered the hospital’s waiting room. All week I had been playing it cool telling everyone that the surgery was not that big of a deal, and that I was enthused about all the attention I would be receiving. But today reality had hit me. I had never been through anything like this before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The waiting room was sparsely filled with families waiting for their loved ones. I tried to look at the various magazines, but nothing helped relieve the tight feeling in my stomach. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the nurse called my name. I slowly got up, and headed through the door with my family. I was thankful that they were there. Their presence made me feel more at ease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was asked to change into the attractive dress without a back, and then I was handed some funny looking socks. I looked like an eighty year old lady in a fifteen year-old’s body with my new outfit. Another nurse entered the room to take my vitals, and give me an IV, the needle that she pulled out of the plastic looked huge. I had had shots before, but an IV was a completely different deal. After the IV was secured, I was afraid to move my arm, in case the IV fell out, because I was not having the nurse stick me again. With my vitals recorded, and my first shot administered to relax me, I was feeling slightly better about the procedure. Just when I was convincing myself that this would not be so bad, a nurse with a sour disposition came to wheel me away. Then it hit me, my family could not follow me to this next part, I was on my own. I had hardly noticed their presence for the last half hour, but now I was suddenly aware of their pending absence. As they w heeled me down the hall away from my mom, dad and sister, I had the urge to jump out of the Gurney, and race back to them.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Fifty-six

Tyrion Chella daughter of Cheyk of the Black Ears had gone ahead to scout, and it was she who brought back word of the army at the crossroads. â€Å"By their fires I call them twenty thousand strong,† she said. â€Å"Their banners are red, with a golden lion.† â€Å"Your father?† Bronn asked. â€Å"Or my brother Jaime,† Tyrion said. â€Å"We shall know soon enough.† He surveyed his ragged band of brigands: near three hundred Stone Crows, Moon Brothers, Black Ears, and Burned Men, and those just the seed of the army he hoped to grow. Gunthor son of Gurn was raising the other clans even now. He wondered what his lord father would make of them in their skins and bits of stolen steel. If truth be told, he did not know what to make of them himself. Was he their commander or their captive? Most of the time, it seemed to be a little of both. â€Å"It might be best if I rode down alone,† he suggested. â€Å"Best for Tyrion son of Tywin,† said Ulf, who spoke for the Moon Brothers. Shagga glowered, a fearsome sight to see. â€Å"Shagga son of Dolf likes this not. Shagga will go with the boyman, and if the boyman lies, Shagga will chop off his manhood—† â€Å"—and feed it to the goats, yes,† Tyrion said wearily. â€Å"Shagga, I give you my word as a Lannister, I will return.† â€Å"Why should we trust your word?† Chella was a small hard woman, flat as a boy, and no fool. â€Å"Lowland lords have lied to the clans before.† â€Å"You wound me, Chella,† Tyrion said. â€Å"Here I thought we had become such friends. But as you will. You shall ride with me, and Shagga and Conn for the Stone Crows, Ulf for the Moon Brothers, and Timett son of Timett for the Burned Men.† The clansmen exchanged wary looks as he named them. â€Å"The rest shall wait here until I send for you. Try not to kill and maim each other while I'm gone.† He put his heels to his horse and trotted off, giving them no choice but to follow or be left behind. Either was fine with him, so long as they did not sit down to talk for a day and a night. That was the trouble with the clans; they had an absurd notion that every man's voice should be heard in council, so they argued about everything, endlessly. Even their women were allowed to speak. Small wonder that it had been hundreds of years since they last threatened the Vale with anything beyond an occasional raid. Tyrion meant to change that. Brorm rode with him. Behind them—after a quick bit of grumbling—the five clansmen followed on their undersize garrons, scrawny things that looked like ponies and scrambled up rock walls like goats. The Stone Crows rode together, and Chella and Ulf stayed close as well, as the Moon Brothers and Black Ears had strong bonds between them. Timett son of Timett rode alone. Every clan in the Mountains of the Moon feared the Burned Men, who mortified their flesh with fire to prove their courage and (the others said) roasted babies at their feasts. And even the other Burned Men feared Timett, who had put out his own left eye with a white-hot knife when he reached the age of manhood. Tyrion gathered that it was more customary for a boy to burn off a nipple, a finger, or (if he was truly brave, or truly mad) an ear. Timett's fellow Burned Men were so awed by his choice of an eye that they promptly named him a red hand, which seemed to be some sort of a war chief. â€Å"I wonder what their king burned off,† Tyrion said to Bronn when he heard the tale. Grinning, the sellsword had tugged at his crotch . . . but even Bronn kept a respectful tongue around Timett. If a man was mad enough to put out his own eye, he was unlikely to be gentle to his enemies. Distant watchers peered down from towers of unmortared stone as the party descended through the foothills, and once Tyrion saw a raven take wing. Where the high road twisted between two rocky outcrops, they came to the first strong point. A low earthen wall four feet high closed off the road, and a dozen crossbowmen manned the heights. Tyrion halted his followers out of range and rode to the wall alone. â€Å"Who commands here?† he shouted up. The captain was quick to appear, and even quicker to give them an escort when he recognized his lord's son. They trotted past blackened fields and burned holdfasts, down to the riverlands and the Green Fork of the Trident. Tyrion saw no bodies, but the air was full of ravens and carrion crows; there had been fighting here, and recently. Half a league from the crossroads, a barricade of sharpened stakes had been erected, manned by pikemen and archers. Behind the line, the camp spread out to the far distance. Thin fingers of smoke rose from hundreds of cookfires, mailed men sat under trees and honed their blades, and familiar banners fluttered from staffs thrust into the muddy ground. A party of mounted horsemen rode forward to challenge them as they approached the stakes. The knight who led them wore silver armor inlaid with amethysts and a striped purple-and-silver cloak. His shield bore a unicorn sigil, and a spiral horn two feet long jutted up from the brow of his horsehead helm. Tyrion reined up to greet him. â€Å"Ser Flement.† Ser Flement Brax lifted his visor. â€Å"Tyrion,† he said in astonishment. â€Å"My lord, we all feared you dead, or . . . † He looked at the clansmen uncertainly. â€Å"These . . . companions of yours . . . â€Å" â€Å"Bosom friends and loyal retainers,† Tyrion said. â€Å"Where will I find my lord father?† â€Å"He has taken the inn at the crossroads for his quarters.† Tyrion laughed. The inn at the crossroads! Perhaps the gods were just after all. â€Å"I will see him at once.† â€Å"As you say, my lord.† Ser Flement wheeled his horse about and shouted commands. Three rows of stakes were pulled from the ground to make a hole in the line. Tyrion led his party through. Lord Tywin's camp spread over leagues. Chella's estimate of twenty thousand men could not be far wrong. The common men camped out in the open, but the knights had thrown up tents, and some of the high lords had erected pavilions as large as houses. Tyrion spied the red ox of the Presters, Lord Crakehall's brindled boar, the burning tree of Marbrand, the badger of Lydden. Knights called out to him as he cantered past, and men-at-arms gaped at the clansmen in open astonishment. Shagga was gaping back; beyond a certainty, he had never seen so many men, horses, and weapons in all his days. The rest of the mountain brigands did a better job of guarding their faces, but Tyrion had no doubts that they were full as much in awe. Better and better. The more impressed they were with the power of the Lannisters, the easier they would be to command. The inn and its stables were much as he remembered, though little more than tumbled stones and blackened foundations remained where the rest of the village had stood. A gibbet had been erected in the yard, and the body that swung there was covered with ravens. At Tyrion's approach they took to the air, squawking and flapping their black wings. He dismounted and glanced up at what remained of the corpse. The birds had eaten her lips and eyes and most of her cheeks, baring her stained red teeth in a hideous smile. â€Å"A room, a meal, and a flagon of wine, that was all I asked,† he reminded her with a sigh of reproach. Boys emerged hesitantly from the stables to see to their horses. Shagga did not want to give his up. â€Å"The lad won't steal your mare,† Tyrion assured him. â€Å"He only wants to give her some oats and water and brush out her coat.† Shagga's coat could have used a good brushing too, but it would have been less than tactful to mention it. â€Å"You have my word, the horse will not be harmed.† Glaring, Shagga let go his grip on the reins. â€Å"This is the horse of Shagga son of Dolf,† he roared at the stableboy. â€Å"If he doesn't give her back, chop off his manhood and feed it to the goats,† Tyrion promised. â€Å"Provided you can find some.† A pair of house guards in crimson cloaks and lion-crested helms stood under the inn's sign, on either side of the door. Tyrion recognized their captain. â€Å"My father?† â€Å"In the common room, m'lord.† â€Å"My men will want meat and mead,† Tyrion told him. â€Å"See that they get it.† He entered the inn, and there was Father. Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West, was in his middle fifties, yet hard as a man of twenty. Even seated, he was tall, with long legs, broad shoulders, a flat stomach. His thin arms were corded with muscle. When his once-thick golden hair had begun to recede, he had commanded his barber to shave his head; Lord Tywin did not believe in half measures. He razored his lip and chin as well, but kept his side-whiskers, two great thickets of wiry golden hair that covered most of his cheeks from ear to jaw. His eyes were a pale green, flecked with gold. A fool more foolish than most had once jested that even Lord Tywin's shit was flecked with gold. Some said the man was still alive, deep in the bowels of Casterly Rock. Ser Kevan Lannister, his father's only surviving brother, was sharing a flagon of ale with Lord Tywin when Tyrion entered the common room. His uncle was portly and balding, with a close-cropped yellow beard that followed the line of his massive jaw. Ser Kevan saw him first. â€Å"Tyrion,† he said in surprise. â€Å"Uncle,† Tyrion said, bowing. â€Å"And my lord father. What a pleasure to find you here.† Lord Tywin did not stir from his chair, but he did give his dwarf son a long, searching look. â€Å"I see that the rumors of your demise were unfounded.† â€Å"Sorry to disappoint you, Father,† Tyrion said. â€Å"No need to leap up and embrace me, I wouldn't want you to strain yourself.† He crossed the room to their table, acutely conscious of the way his stunted legs made him waddle with every step. Whenever his father's eyes were on him, he became uncomfortably aware of all his deformities and shortcomings. â€Å"Kind of you to go to war for me,† he said as he climbed into a chair and helped himself to a cup of his father's ale. â€Å"By my lights, it was you who started this,† Lord Tywin replied. â€Å"Your brother Jaime would never have meekly submitted to capture at the hands of a woman.† â€Å"That's one way we differ, Jaime and I. He's taller as well, you may have noticed.† His father ignored the sally. â€Å"The honor of our House was at stake. I had no choice but to ride. No man sheds Lannister blood with impunity.† â€Å"Hear Me Roar,† Tyrion said, grinning. The Lannister words. â€Å"Truth be told, none of my blood was actually shed, although it was a close thing once or twice. Morrec and Jyck were killed.† â€Å"I suppose you will be wanting some new men.† â€Å"Don't trouble yourself, Father, I've acquired a few of my own.† He tried a swallow of the ale. It was brown and yeasty, so thick you could almost chew it. Very fine, in truth. A pity his father had hanged the innkeep. â€Å"How is your war going?† His uncle answered. â€Å"Well enough, for the nonce. Ser Edmure had scattered small troops of men along his borders to stop our raiding, and your lord father and I were able to destroy most of them piecemeal before they could regroup.† â€Å"Your brother has been covering himself with glory,† his father said. â€Å"He smashed the Lords Vance and Piper at the Golden Tooth, and met the massed power of the Tullys under the walls of Riverrun. The lords of the Trident have been put to rout. Ser Edmure Tully was taken captive, with many of his knights and bannermen. Lord Blackwood led a few survivors back to Riverrun, where Jaime has them under siege. The rest fled to their own strongholds.† â€Å"Your father and I have been marching on each in turn,† Ser Kevan said. â€Å"With Lord Blackwood gone, Raventree fell at once, and Lady Whent yielded Harrenhal for want of men to defend it. Ser Gregor burnt out the Pipers and the Brackens . . . â€Å" â€Å"Leaving you unopposed?† Tyrion said. â€Å"Not wholly,† Ser Kevan said. â€Å"The Mallisters still hold Seagard and Walder Frey is marshaling his levies at the Twins.† â€Å"No matter,† Lord Tywin said. â€Å"Frey only takes the field when the scent of victory is in the air, and all he smells now is ruin. And Jason Mallister lacks the strength to fight alone. Once Jaime takes Riverrun, they will both be quick enough to bend the knee. Unless the Starks and the Arryns come forth to oppose us, this war is good as won.† â€Å"I would not fret overmuch about the Arryns if I were you,† Tyrion said. â€Å"The Starks are another matter. Lord Eddard—† â€Å"—is our hostage,† his father said. â€Å"He will lead no armies while he rots in a dungeon under the Red Keep.† â€Å"No,† Ser Kevan agreed, â€Å"but his son has called the banners and sits at Moat Cailin with a strong host around him.† â€Å"No sword is strong until it's been tempered,† Lord Tywin declared. â€Å"The Stark boy is a child. No doubt he likes the sound of warhorns well enough, and the sight of his banners fluttering in the wind, but in the end it comes down to butcher's work. I doubt he has the stomach for it.† Things had gotten interesting while he'd been away, Tyrion reflected. â€Å"And what is our fearless monarch doing whilst all this ‘butcher's work' is being done?† he wondered. â€Å"How has my lovely and persuasive sister gotten Robert to agree to the imprisonment of his dear friend Ned?† â€Å"Robert Baratheon is dead,† his father told him. â€Å"Your nephew reigns in King's Landing.† That did take Tyrion aback. â€Å"My sister, you mean.† He took another gulp of ale. The realm would be a much different place with Cersei ruling in place of her husband. â€Å"If you have a mind to make yourself of use, I will give you a command,† his father said. â€Å"Marq Piper and Karyl Vance are loose in our rear, raiding our lands across the Red Fork.† Tyrion made a tsking sound. â€Å"The gall of them, fighting back. Ordinarily I'd be glad to punish such rudeness, Father, but the truth is, I have pressing business elsewhere.† â€Å"Do you?† Lord Tywin did not seem awed. â€Å"We also have a pair of Ned Stark's afterthoughts making a nuisance of themselves by harassing my foraging parties. Beric Dondarrion, some young lordling with delusions of valor. He has that fat jape of a priest with him, the one who likes to set his sword on fire. Do you think you might be able to deal with them as you scamper off? Without making too much a botch of it?† Tyrion wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled. â€Å"Father, it warms my heart to think that you might entrust me with . . . what, twenty men? Fifty? Are you sure you can spare so many? Well, no matter. If I should come across Thoros and Lord Beric, I shall spank them both.† He climbed down from his chair and waddled to the sideboard, where a wheel of veined white cheese sat surrounded by fruit. â€Å"First, though, I have some promises of my own to keep,† he said as he sliced off a wedge. â€Å"I shall require three thousand helms and as many hauberks, plus swords, pikes, steel spearheads, maces, battleaxes, gauntlets, gorgets, greaves, breastplates, wagons to carry all this—† The door behind him opened with a crash, so violently that Tyrion almost dropped his cheese. Ser Kevan leapt up swearing as the captain of the guard went flying across the room to smash against the hearth. As he tumbled down into the cold ashes, his lion helm askew, Shagga snapped the man's sword in two over a knee thick as a tree trunk, threw down the pieces, and lumbered into the common room. He was preceded by his stench, riper than the cheese and overpowering in the closed space. â€Å"Little redcape,† he snarled, â€Å"when next you bare steel on Shagga son of Dolf, I will chop off your manhood and roast it in the fire.† â€Å"What, no goats?† Tyrion said, taking a bite of cheese. The other clansmen followed Shagga into the common room, Bronn with them. The sellsword gave Tyrion a rueful shrug. â€Å"Who might you be?† Lord Tywin asked, cool as snow. â€Å"They followed me home, Father,† Tyrion explained. â€Å"May I keep them? They don't eat much.† No one was smiling. â€Å"By what right do you savages intrude on our councils?† demanded Ser Kevan. â€Å"Savages, lowlander?† Conn might have been handsome if you washed him. â€Å"We are free men, and free men by rights sit on all war councils.† â€Å"Which one is the lion lord?† Chella asked. â€Å"They are both old men,† announced Timett son of Timett, who had yet to see his twentieth year. Ser Kevan's hand went to his sword hilt, but his brother placed two fingers on his wrist and held him fast. Lord Tywin seemed unperturbed. â€Å"Tyrion, have you forgotten your courtesies? Kindly acquaint us with our . . . honored guests.† Tyrion licked his fingers. â€Å"With pleasure,† he said. â€Å"The fair maid is Chella daughter of Cheyk of the Black Ears.† â€Å"I'm no maid,† Chella protested. â€Å"My sons have taken fifty ears among them.† â€Å"May they take fifty more.† Tyrion waddled away from her. â€Å"This is Conn son of Coratt. Shagga son of Dolf is the one who looks like Casterly Rock with hair. They are Stone Crows. Here is Ulf son of Umar of the Moon Brothers, and here Timett son of Timett, a red hand of the Burned Men. And this is Bronn, a sellsword of no particular allegiance. He has already changed sides twice in the short time I've known him, you and he ought to get on famously, Father.† To Bronn and the clansmen he said, â€Å"May I present my lord father, Tywin son of Tytos of House Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, Shield of Lannisport, and once and future Hand of the King.† Lord Tywin rose, dignified and correct. â€Å"Even in the west, we know the prowess of the warrior clans of the Mountains of the Moon. What brings you down from your strongholds, my lords?† â€Å"Horses,† said Shagga. â€Å"A promise of silk and steel,† said Timett son of Timett. Tyrion was about to tell his lord father how he proposed to reduce the Vale of Arryn to a smoking wasteland, but he was never given the chance. The door banged open again. The messenger gave Tyrion's clansmen a quick, queer look as he dropped to one knee before Lord Tywin. â€Å"My lord,† he said, â€Å"Ser Addam bid me tell you that the Stark host is moving down the causeway.† Lord Tywin Lannister did not smile. Lord Tywin never smiled, but Tyrion had learned to read his father's pleasure all the same, and it was there on his face. â€Å"So the wolfling is leaving his den to play among the lions,† he said in a voice of quiet satisfaction. â€Å"Splendid. Return to Ser Addam and tell him to fall back. He is not to engage the northerners until we arrive, but I want him to harass their flanks and draw them farther south.† â€Å"It will be as you command.† The rider took his leave. â€Å"We are well situated here,† Ser Kevan pointed out. â€Å"Close to the ford and ringed by pits and spikes. If they are coming south, I say let them come, and break themselves against us.† â€Å"The boy may hang back or lose his courage when he sees our numbers,† Lord Tywin replied. â€Å"The sooner the Starks are broken, the sooner I shall be free to deal with Stannis Baratheon. Tell the drummers to beat assembly, and send word to Jaime that I am marching against Robb Stark.† â€Å"As you will,† Ser Kevan said. Tyrion watched with a grim fascination as his lord father turned next to the half-wild clansmen. â€Å"It is said that the men of the mountain clans are warriors without fear.† â€Å"It is said truly,† Conn of the Stone Crows answered. â€Å"And the women,† Chella added. â€Å"Ride with me against my enemies, and you shall have all my son promised you, and more,† Lord Tywin told them. â€Å"Would you pay us with our own coin?† Ulf son of Umar said. â€Å"Why should we need the father's promise, when we have the son's?† â€Å"I said nothing of need,† Lord Tywin replied. â€Å"My words were courtesy, nothing more. You need not join us. The men of the winterlands are made of iron and ice, and even my boldest knights fear to face them.† Oh, deftly done, Tyrion thought, smiling crookedly. â€Å"The Burned Men fear nothing. Timett son of Timett will ride with the lions.† â€Å"Wherever the Burned Men go, the Stone Crows have been there first,† Conn declared hotly. â€Å"We ride as well.† â€Å"Shagga son of Dolf will chop off their manhoods and feed them to the crows.† â€Å"We will ride with you, lion lord,† Chella daughter of Cheyk agreed, â€Å"but only if your halfman son goes with us. He has bought his breath with promises. Until we hold the steel he has pledged us, his life is ours.† Lord Tywin turned his gold-flecked eyes on his son. â€Å"Joy,† Tyrion said with a resigned smile.

Personal Development: The skills needed to run the business successfully Essay

P3: Describe the skills needed to run the business successfully and what areas require further personal development In this task I would be describing some of the skill to run a business successfully and what areas require further personal development as this all important to have to be a good sole trader. Own Contribution This is one of the many important things to have to run a business well .This is because I am the manager of the business as the leader of the pack I would have to put extra time into the work , stay behind after work to complete extra work , give me staff extra training if they need it . These little things can help the business move forward faster and also it helps me as I know what I am doing is right for the business if I want the business to succeed. Technical/Operational Technical can be very useful as it save time and money. I am very skilful a using the computer I can fix problems very easily on the computer, I am also very good using the basic things like Microsoft word, PowerPoint and publisher this program is very useful as it lets me create leaflets which saves me money as I don’t have to ask another business to create leaflets for me as I know how it is done. I also know how to create a data base which is very helpful as it stores all the information. Product Knowledge Product knowledge is information that I know about my products, for example I have the product knowledge of salsa and knowledge of the product is how it’s made, ingredients and factors such as these. That is what product knowledge. This is important to me because I am the owner of the business I will need to know how to make them and how long to keep them heated or cold, furthermore another importance of knowing this skill is that if any customer’s asks about the product I should be able to tell them because they might be allergic to something m so if I know the product I could tell them information about the product. Management ability Management ability is a skill that a business owner should have in order to run a business also management ability requires controlling and organising  the business well, without management ability the business won’t go the right direction. This skill is important because without having any management skills, it will be hard to manage the business and organise it well also without this skill it will be hard to manage the other employees, and make sure all the bills and everything has been paid in order to have all these things done correctly you need have the management ability. Recording and checking business performance Recording and checking business performance is when the business checks on all the financials records and makes some records from other department too; furthermore this is when a person checks on the business making sure everything is going smooth without any errors. This skill is important because without checking your business performance you won’t know in which areas to improve on. If you don’t check your business performance you wouldn’t know what things are going wrong and right in the business and this will mean that you won’t know what to improve or change it the business. Personal selling Personal selling is having direct contact with my customers and also involves direct contact with the customers and assessing their needs and suggesting suitable product or service solutions, which would help the customer out. This skill is necessary for my business because I am a sole trader so having experience in this would help a lot because I will have to be selling desserts to my customers and making sure that they are satisfied with the product and service they are receiving. I don’t have personal experience in this skill and I will need to learn. Administration Administration is what provides support for businesses operations. This involves keeping records and communicating with external groups such as customers and suppliers by sending letters and invoices and arranging payment. This skill is necessary for my business because I will need it to keep the business organised and to make sure that things don’t go wrong. do not have personal experience in administration and need to gain some experience. Previous Experience I do have previous experience working for a restaurant however I was able to get some experience in how to talk to customers properly and in a polite way to make sure they are satisfied with the service/product that they are receiving. Strengths and weaknesses I have a couple of strengths and these are: I can take risks and good at IT. Taking risks will help me in my business because it is always good to take risks because without taking them you might never know, it could end up good for my business. An example is that I could invest more in better packaging for my customers that like having take-away because this will show them that my business is caring for the customers. However if I did not take that risk of investing a bit more in it, I would have never found out if it would work or not. My strength in IT will help me a lot because I will need this skill for creating cash flow forecasts and even a break even forecast. This will save me money because I would have to hire someone else to do it for me as I have the skills to do it. My weaknesses are that I don’t have any skills in administration yet.