Carnival Cruises Analysis

Carnival Cruises Analysis Carnival Corporation is the largest and most successful cruise lines in the world. Their corporate offices are located in Miami, Florida with over 91,000 employees with offices all over the world. It all started in 1972 by Ted Arison who had a vision to create the greatest cruise line in the world. Carnival slowly started to grow and over time was awarded The Worlds Most Popular Cruise Line.(Carnival, 2006) On 1987 the management team decided to take advantage to its well-known reputation and went public entering in the New York Stock Exchange as CCL. Today Carnival has added over 100 ships and acquired premium cruise lines in almost every sector of the industry. In 1989 Holland America Line was acquired by Carnival adding niche operators including Windstar Cruises and Alaskan/Canadian cruise lines. In 1992 several luxury liner, where acquired such as Seabourn and Europes largest operator Costa Cruises. Carnival was not done expanding and in 1998 they acquired the prestiges luxury operator Cunard who built the world largest ocean liner Queen Mary 2. (Carnival, 2006) Carnival Corporation was beginning to take shape, but on 2003 they successfully merged with Princess Cruises creating a global power house. Carnival also purchased P O cruises, Ibero cruises and AIDA Cruises lines. Carnival had become the largest cruise operator in the world from US to Europe. Although Carnival managed several cruise line operator each line had its own distinction and separate operations. In 1972 Ted Arison owner and operator of all Carnival had a vision. Ted story begins when he took a small ship called the Mardi Gras and converted it into a small ocean liner. The Mardi Gras was an innovative cruise liner like no other for its time that only made a one-way trip from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Carnival, 2006) Although it wasnt easy surviving, Ted Arison was focused to be successful and on 1974 he became full owner of Carnival cruise line. Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tier is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013) Carnivals overall goal is to collaborate all its brands to reach every area of the cruising industry. Carnivals main focus is to attract all types of customers who are in different demographic, budgets, geographic and all cultures. The main concepts that Carnival tries to achieve is to be known as Fun Ship, along with all the amenities that go with it such as Luxury, elegance and exotic destination. (David, 2013) Carnival has invested in their own marketing division, were they offer a 10% commission to their travel agents and offer other bonus programs. The marketing division has focused on marketing material, advertisement, website interaction, seminars and videos. These efforts are too assist agent in the field to generate more sales. Their website division has created promotional campaigns that offer discounts, VIP savings, resident discounts, special meals, and holiday deals. (David, 2013) Carnival domestic and international destinations are growing. New routes are being developed and new ships are being built. Travelers most appealing destinations are the Caribbean, Alaska, Bahamas, Hawaii, Mediterranean/Greek Island/Turkey, Bermuda, Europe, Panama Canal and least appealing West coast of Mexico.(David, 2013). Competition is growing among the other cruise lines and more theme based environment is beginning to evolve. For example, onboard amenities are being created such as cell phone access, entertainment, villas, multiple themed restaurant, fitness center and spas are making this industry competitive. (David, 2013)More and more people are cruising and more bigger and better luxury liners are being built around the clock. Carnival is the leader in the industry but it must not lose their edge because competition can knock them down to second place. Executive Summary Carnivals Mission statement is to be the worlds largest cruise operator that offers exceptional customer service to all its clientele. Carnivals number one goal is for its passengers to have an memorable experience and to continue to travel on Carnival. Carnival would like to offer its clients a One-stop shop for traveling. Carnival has eleven different Cruise lines around the world that can make that happen. Despite of economic down turns of the tourism industry; Carnival has continuously grown and expanded their portfolio of cruise line brands. Carnival Corporation has ten cruise lines with one hundred active vessels. In its portfolio of cruise line, Carnival has been able to generate nine percent revenue and delivering new ships each year. Carnival growth strategy has allowed the company to achieve a four percent increase in revenue growth and maintain the largest and most profitable travel company globally. Since its public offering and forty years in business, Carnival has managed to acquire multiple cruise lines that cater to the global travelers. Carnivals global expansion is now reaching out to travelers in North America, Europe and Australia. Carnival cruises continue to offer itineraries products around the world and offer all types of entertainment including excursions. Carnival continues to venture into regions that are untapped markets, such as Asia to increase market share. Cruise industry has many competitors trying to take each others market share. The few players who compete with each are Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebration Cruise line, Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises. Each company has its own niche and advertises in a certain clientele. With an all-inclusive themes cruise liners are beginning to distinguish themselves by the type of services they offer. The industry trend is to create massive ships that allow cruise line to offer more activities that can generate additional revenues to the cruise company. Today the Cruise industry is growing and more ships are currently in production. Cruising is now a major player in the traveling industry and more and more people are cruising today. Market conditions for the cruise industry is growing and for the last five years the cruise industry has been growing at 8% each year. (Cruise tourism, 2010). Internal Assessment (A) After reviewing three years of Carnival 10k data from Financial Statement and Balance sheet, we can see that Carnival is the biggest cruise line operator in the world. The analysis of ratios is broken up into five segments including, liquidity, activity, profitability, asset management and leverage. Within these segments you can see the companys current ratio to total debt to assets. This data indicates the company is strong and sound. Under the current ratios you take the current assets divide by current liabilities which include cash, accounts receivable and short term investments. Carnival shows a down trend of liquidity from 2009 to 2011. When you look at the current ratios, you see that in 2009 the current ratios were 0.31. In 2010 there was a 0.09 drop which left them with a current ratio of .22, and in 2011 you only see a .01 drop which left them with a current ratio of .21. Carnivals receivables turnover shows an increase in the ability to extend credit sales and collect receivables as the years progressed from 2009 to 2011. Carnival has a successful rate on collecting receivable. In 2009, Carnival had an Accounts Receivable Turnover of 37, had increased by 27% for a total of 47 in 2010. During 2011 you see a 30% increase in accounts receivable turnover which left them with a ratio of .61 in 2011. Carnival shows they are able to extend credit and collect in a 30 day timeframe. Looking at Carnivals Return on Asset percentage, you can see in 2009 ROA came in at 4.86 has an increase of 0.46% in 2010 for a total of 5.32% and incurred a slight decrease. In 2011 the total ROA came in at 5.02%. Under the Total Assets Turnover (TAT) you see Carnival shows an increase during 2009 -2011. In 2009, Carnival had a TAT of .37, an increase of .02% in 2010 for a TAT of .39, and in 2011 reflected another .02% increase for a TAT of .41. Based on the ROA and TAT comparisons, Carnival maximizes their assets and the number shows an upward trend. When you look at the Operating Profit Margin (OPM) on Carnival you see margins have been declining through the period of 2009-2011. Carnival had an OPM of 16% in 2009, 16.22% in 2010 and a decrease in 2011 to 14.28%.Net income by percentage of sales declined for Carnival from 2010 to 2011 by 1.56%, while they only saw a gain in sales of .37% from 2009 to 2010. Now, when you look at earning per Share (EPS), as a shareholder these numbers would indicate how profitable the company can be which Carnival had EPS of 2.24 in 2009, and increase in EPS of 0.23to total 2.47 in 2010, and a slight decrease of .05 in 2011 to total 2.42. Stock holder for Carnival would probably want to hold onto their stock as it shows a consistent trend. Overall, Carnival has lower liquidity ratios and has much better management of its assets, relies less on debt to finance its assets. Carnival has higher price per earning percentage for 2011. When you look at stock price history, Carnival has a consistent price in the $30s price range. After looking at all ratios from Liquidity Ratios, Leverage ratios, Activity ratios, Profitability ratios and growth ratios. Carnival has great management of its assets and it is stable for investors. Internal Assessment (B) Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tiers is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013) If you look at the organization chart Carnival Management team, you see the hierarchical of the line relationship of the chain of command. Carnival runs an effective organization but I would recommend a different approach. The Chain of command will start with the CEO which looks at the overall executive team. The tier below would be Chief operation officer which will manage all internal departments such as Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Operations. On this same line of command you have Chief financial officer which will manage the accounting department along with the controllers. Next to the CFO you have president of Cruise lines this position will oversee all the regional directors. The next tier down would be American cruise director which will manages all Domestic cruise lines and a European cruise director which will handle all international cruise lines. The next tier down would be the Presidents of Carnival US, Holland America and Princess Cruises. On the same tier you will find Presidents for Aida, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Cruises, Cunard and Seabourn. These Presidents will manage all the lower level management such as the Vice Presidents and Managers. This organizational chart has a chain of command that manages all levels of the company. The power of executive has more upper management to the managers and this way there is a clear communication channel to the top. The current organization chart doesnt have a chain of command that manages the entire company and all its divisions. When comparing Carnival from its competitors such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney you can see where these cruise lines compete with one other. The Profile is broken up by four categories, High Customer Service, Low Customer Service, and Expensive to In-Expensive. Customer Service is large role when it comes to cruising. Prices also play a major role when it comes on choosing a cruise line. I compared all four companies on a 4-7 day cruise to the Caribbean departing from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral. After comparing the reviews and prices of all four cruises, the most expensive trip was Royal Caribbean. Oasis of the Sea is one of the largest ships cruise ship in the world with a rating of 88% in customer satisfaction and pricing ranging from $749 to $1599(not including taxes, port fees, off season). Travelers rated Disney Dream cruise of 84% with pricing ranging $480 to $1900(not including taxes, port fees, off season, 4 night cruise). Critics gave Carnival Dream a 75% rating with pricing ranging from $299 to $749(not including taxes, port fees, off season).The last company evaluated was Norwegian Epic receiving a 72% rating with prices from $429 to $899(not including taxes, port fees, off season). Carnival Strategies is to compete by offering the most affordable all inclusive entertainment travel experience anyone can have. Carnival Cruise Lines has 24 ships in its fleet. Carnival purchase used ships and refurbishes them with new enhancements. By doing this Carnival is saving millions of dollars and is able to keep costs low. Another strategy carnival does is that it purchases large amounts of fuel when price of oil is low. Carnival marketing strategy is to brand their name as the fun ship; people are drawn to affordable traveling that has tons of fun. The advantage that Carnival has is that its the largest cruise operator in the world. This allows Carnival to have negotiating power politically, along with negotiating new ports or to expand smaller ports. This allows Carnival to increase their ship line and increase demographic reach. The disadvantage is that Carnival is known as the cheapest cruise line with refurbished ships that cater to the masses. Royal Caribbean strategy is to focus on purchases newer ships. By doing this they are building on their name brand recognition and promoting value to all of their luxury lines. Royal Caribbean disadvantages are that they have expensive ships that need to generate a high return on investment. Another disadvantage are fuel cost this can really affect the profitability of the company. Royal Caribbean main goal is to dominate the cruise industry with one name brand at a time. Norwegian Cruises line strategy has around 8% market share in industry and growing. The advantage Norwegian has is that they have 13 ships in there fleet. There demographics is growing from North America, Hawaii, Alaska and Europe. Norwegian disadvantages is that there fleet of 13 consist of older to new ships which requires frequent renovations. Having older ships can affect the name brand recognition of Norwegian for having an image of having old ships. Overall Norwegian Cruise Lines has many good attributes that they have introduced, such as casual dining variety of restaurants and Las Vegas shows. These are popular themes that the industry is following. Internal Assessment (D) Carnivals value is to offer world class service at a fraction of the price. The Fun Ship is there motto and that is what they would like to be known for. They spend countless hours trying to create activities that all of the passengers would love and enjoy. Carnivals number one goal is for all its passengers to have a memorable experience and to return back to its lines. SWOT Analysis Strengths The largest cruise operator in the world with eleven cruise brands0 Carnival most profitable company in the industry. Has established name brand recognition as the Fun Ship. Carnival has negotiating powers with vendors, ports and political figures. Able to purchase fuel when prices are low. Weaknesses Revenues are dropping. Carnival generates majority revenues in North America which means economy can affect the company. Currencies devaluation. Long term debt on new ship construction. Opportunity There is still market share in the vacationing market. Bigger ships are being made that carry more people. Asia is an untapped market. Threats US Tax loopholes may be expiring Cap and Trade Accidents on the ships Security of the ships from pirates. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix Internal Factor PESTLE Analysis Political / Government Ongoing relations with Politicians and cruise line operators are essentials. Politicians are directly involved on expanding and creating ports, taxes, environmental fees, trade restrictions and tariffs. These projects need the backing from the Politicians. Without agreements with governments, cruise operators would not be able to conduct business in their countries. Governments and Political factors work hand and hand in the cruise industry. Each countries government is in communication with the cruise ship operators from port facilitation to emergencies safety rescue occurrences. Depending on the region, Pirates are a continuing problem. Cruise ship companies rely on local governments for protection from these threats. Government plays an important role when it comes to safety protection. There are mutual benefits when working together with cruise ship companies. The cruise industry offers an increase of local employment within the city and its ports. For example restaurants, hotels, taxis, theme parks, museums, shops, taxi drivers and travel guides are all positively affected. In some countries tourism brings large sums of revenues to the local city and governments. This enhances the relationship with cruise companies and Politicians. Economic The cruise line industry is growing at a growth rate of 8% and more people are traveling today than ever before. Many Economic factors are involved, such as clienteles economic positions, growth in markets, currencies rates when working international and inflation plays a role. Cruise operators will be affected under management and operational levels. If the price of fuel starts to increase, then this will affect operating cost of the company. If interest rates increase then this will affect the revenues of the company. Economic factor plays a major role of the survival of the company. Social / Cultural / Demographic Social factors are measured by the Demographics, Population Growth and Age of their clientele. Popularity destinations and customer experiences will identify cruise industry demands. For example if a certain demographic and age, has a positive experience on their vacation. Then a positive trend will occur for that demographic and age segment. Social studies are important to the cruise industry to determine marketing opportunities on certain segments of the cruise industry. Today cultural factors play a role when traveling on a cruise ship. There are several cultural destinations from The Caribbean, Alaska, Western Mexico, Mediterranean, Europe, South America and Asia pacific. The Caribbean is most popular cultural destination in the world and Mediterranean is next in popularity. As the cruise industry grows more cultural destinations will be available. Demographics factors are important when conducting research and development. When conducting research they look at certain segments from Age, Income, Sex, Civil status, Occupancy, Education and Employment status. Conducting market study requires statistical data on each demographics. There are four different segments that are broken down by Luxury, Premium, Contemporary and Special. With all this information gathered, research and development can create a market strategy that will provide valuable information when creating an itineraries or new destinations. Technological Technological factors are important externally and internally within the company. Having good communications from management to operations is a critical factor when operating a company. Cruise companies are also looking for new technological advancement that can help improve safety occurrences. New technologies are being developed to assist the multibillion dollar industry. Due to the increase production of new ships, technologies are advancing each year. Cruise ships are looking for the most advanced Maritime technology, GPS systems and Satellite Weathering systems that the industry offers. Now that cruising has become a large part of the travel industry new and safer systems are in demand. Legal The Legal factors are important to the cruise industry. The cruise industry has been monitored for many types of law violations, such as employment, consumer, health and safety violations. If any cruise company is caught, violating any of these laws, large fines or criminal penalties can result from it. The legal occurrences can damage political and governmental relations. This is why Legal factors play an important role to the cruise industry. Environment The Environment factors have a large impact to the cruise industry. For example climate change and weather can impact the cruise industry as a whole. The cruise ships have advance weathering systems that can detect storm movement. Environmental factors must be addressed when creating newer cruise ship. Cruise operators goals are to decrease the environmental effects to the environment, thus decreasing climate change. For example reverse osmosis systems, shore power systems and wastewater systems all help decrease their environmental footprint. With pressures from Politians, cruise companies are forced to implement new environmental friendly technologies that can have a positive effect to the environment.

Importance of Initial Consultation and Ethical Issues Facing the Therapist

Introduction This paper discusses why the initial consultation is so important and what factors an ethical therapist will cover in this aspect of the therapy process. It also tackles the ethical issues besetting a therapist in the conduct of his profession dealing with psychotherapeutic counseling and hypnotherapy and counseling skills. The role of a therapist in the behaviour alteration of his or her client is so vital that it is necessary to observe some ethical considerations in the practice of his profession. Importance of initial consultation An initial consultation is the first of the stages of psychotherapy and generally includes a discussion of the reasons as to why the client is seeking psychotherapy help and what he is hoping to obtain from the experience. Why it is important is because it provides an opportunity to find out whether the needs, interests, and goals of the client fit with the skills of the therapist. This stage also provides the initial clarification about the limits of confidentiality, therapeutic approach, and other terms of professional services. Moreover, the initial consultation helps both the client and the therapist to gauge whether each is likely to be able to work with the other successfully (Plante, 2011). The importance of initial consultation is also found in making a formal determination of the client’s fit for a psychotherapeutic relationship and potential for meaningful change (Klonoff, 2010). Whilst informed consent is shown as important in the therapy process, with a clear descr iption of the limits of confidentiality, full informed consent to treatment has been mandated by ethical guidelines. If for example, a client approaches a therapist for initial consultation, informed consent to treatment may involve information on behavioural therapies demonstrating effectiveness and rapid changes in the treatment of the behavioral problem that the client is complaining about (e.g. panic) (Weiner and Hess, 2006). Further, initial consultation is important because it is where a range of decisions are in terms of whether to schedule a second session. For example, the client may evaluate whether it is adequate to have his or her needs be met by working with the therapist, as well as whether the practical terms of the therapy are acceptable to the client. In addition, considering the information thus provided during the consultation session, the therapist may ascertain whether he or she possesses the needed expertise to work effectively and successfully with the client (Klonoff, 2010). Another importance of initial consultation is that it allows initiating a collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist and evaluating initial consultation efforts. If the therapist happens to assess a need for consultation services, then the entry stage would then initiate a consulting relationship. The value of initial consultation is seen in the establishment of a voluntary and collaborative consulting relationship between the counselor and the client. Different role expectations can lead to resistance on the part of the client, which thus necessitates a vital importance of agreement relating to role expectations to reduce such potential resistance. An initial step in evaluating a client’s condition is establishing an accurate diagnosis, which is done during the initial consultation (Boylan et al., 2011). Much as the above are important for conducting an initial consultation, it is also because such consultation may potentially lead the client not to continue further services. The client may come to a decision that the therapist, for some reason, cannot adequately meet his or her needs. For example, he or she may find the therapist as being too direct, aloof, expensive, inexperienced, young, old, etc., and thus may conclude that the therapist’s qualities are not fit to his or her needs. The client may also feel better after the initial consultation and may no longer feel compelled to continue further sessions. Similarly, the therapist may decline from providing continued services for a variety of reasons, such as the client’s revelation of an alcohol problem, about which the therapist might decide to refer him or her instead to a specialist in the treatment of problems relating to substance abuse (Plante, 2011). Alternatively, there are times that patients are referred by their physician right after discharge from an inpatient rehabilitation setting. Of note, the one seeking therapy for the patient is in fact not the patient himself but the patient’s family. Perceptive health care professionals are the ones who usually recognise a need for psychotherapy by the patient, with an emphasis on coping, psychoeducation, and deficit adjustment. Therefore, it must not always be assumed that it is the client who is motivated to seek psychotherapy (Klonoff, 2010). In cases of patients being considered for psychotherapy, a physician’s referral is needed, in which relevant medical records must be acquired to determine whether the patient is appropriate for therapy as well as whether he or she anticipates potential psychotherapeutic needs and challenges. It is during the initial consultation in which records are presented after being obtained and reviewed in advance in order for the therapis t to thoroughly understand what the client has gone through or is going through (Klonoff, 2010). Therefore, without the initial consultation, psychotherapeutic intervention might not be sufficient and effective enough. Ethical issues faced by therapists The psychotherapist is guided by ethical standards and codes that provide professional standards aimed at guiding their ethical conduct (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 2007). One ethical issue faced by a therapist in terms of initial consultation is whether to provide the consultation free of charge to the client, as some clients who have taken up this offer tended to decide to continue in counseling because of being obliged to do so. This would prompt a concern whether the therapist has violated any portion of the code of ethics (Welfel, 2013). There are some who do not charge for initial consultations, and it is important that the client is informed whether the therapist does or does not charge for the first session (Wheeler, 2014). A potential problem may ensue with the use of a free initial consultation. This is because clients may feel committed after the initial consultation and may have difficulty declining further treatment because the initial consultation was free of charge. Some mig ht even regard this practice as taking advantage of clients and may perhaps be seen as undue influence mentioned in the code of ethics (Welfel, 2013). Another ethical issue that may ensue during initial consultation is sexual attraction between the client and the therapist, which is identified as a boundary ethical issue (Houser et al., 2006). The client may have emotional or sex-related problems that he/she initially presents to the therapist, which the therapist must approach objectively. Albeit discussion of these feelings can foster therapeutic progress, it is still unethical and counter-therapeutic to act on them. Even when it may seem sound to become sexual with a client with sexual problems as an intervention, engaging in such unethical activity is definitely against established ethical standards and codes. Rather, the best intervention that the therapist may adopt for his/her client with sexual problems is sex therapy with the client and a significant other.The several malpractice suits filed against therapists relating to sexual relationships with their client only confirm the unethical and counter-therapeutic stance of se xual relationship between the therapist and client (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 2007). Even at the onset of the initial consultation, sexual attraction may already spark, which the therapist, being the more responsible person, must put a wall against. Emotional tyranny is also a common ethical issue that may occur even during an initial consultation. It is a term describing abuse of power by psychotherapists to the disadvantage of their clients, caused by the power imbalance between them. For example, during the initial consultation, the therapist’s power is seen in how he establishes the therapy session, how long the session should last, how often he and the client should meet, how much the session costs, and what the permissible and impermissible behaviour must be within the session (Kohlenberg and Tsai, 2007). The realm of ethical decision-making involves the aspects of ethical dilemma, the client and the therapist’s values, race, gender, personal history, etc.; local and national laws; professional knowledge; and codes of ethics (Houser et al., 2006). The therapist may also face violations relating to dual relationships. Such relationships are nonsexual that may involve counseling a friend, relative, or neighbour, as well as receiving referrals from people who know the client and the counseling process. An ethical dilemma of dual relationships may potentially occur when the therapist has several roles with a client; in that apart from being a client, the person is also a friend, a neighbor, a relative, etc. to the therapist. It has been suggested that accepting referrals from existing clients may constitute a boundary violation (Houser et al., 2006). Indeed, even at the initial consultation, the therapist is already face-to-face with the issue of whether to continue with the professional relationship, or terminate it right away upon seeing his or her friend across the table as a client seeking therapy. Self-disclosure is another ethical issue besetting the therapist. Even during the initial consultation, the issue of self-disclosure may occur. Relating to this issue, it is important to determine the extent of information a therapist should share with the client and the types of self-disclosure to be made as well. Another example of ethical issue involving boundary is socialising with a client outside the counseling session and negotiating for fees (Houser et al., 2006). One possible ethical dilemma facing the therapist during is confidentiality, which deals with maintaining privacy and non-disclosure of information to others outside the counseling relationship, unless the client expresses consent to do so (Jenkins, 2007; Houser et al., 2006). Whenever the client enters the counseling room for the first time, he or she already expects that anything being discussed with the therapist would be kept confidential. It has been found that violations of confidentiality were a common complaint made against therapists and counselors. The client, even in the initial consultation, already begins disclosing some personal matters to the therapist, which the therapist is expected to keep confidential as his legal duty. Of important note however is the fact that confidentiality is not absolute and that there are times in which the therapist may divulge certain information a necessary (Corey, 2013; Houser et al., 2006). Examples of these are those surrounding harm that may involve the client who is contemplating about suicide or is expressing thoughts about inflicting harm to others; court-involved clients; child abuse reports; and clients with medical conditions who express engaging in precarious acts relating to their condition (e.g. HIV) (Houser et al., 2006). Further, it was found that successful outcomes ensue when clients change their personal values and take a close resemblance of that of the therapist/counselor. A relevant ethical dilemma with regard to this is in order for the counseling to be successful, how similar the client’s values must be to the counselor. Moreover, another dilemma is whether fostering such similarity is ethical and helpful enough to the client. A question for the profession is whether therapists utilise moral and ethical frameworks reflecting society’s norms as the only basis of their ethical decision-making, or whether therapists come to an ethical decision whilst taking into account the values, morality, and ethical stances of their diverse client population (O’Donohue and Fisher, 2009; Houser et al., 2006). These issues are being dealt with even upon an initial consultation. Conclusion This paper dealt with the importance of initial consultation and the ethical issues facing the therapist in the performance of his profession. An initial consultation is important because it forms the basis of the client’s diagnosis. It generally covers finding out the reasons as to why the client seeks help and what he or she aims to obtain as a result of the psychotherapy experience. The ethical issues faced by the therapist in the conduct of his profession during the initial consultation are those involving a decision to charge the client for a specific fee or not for the initial consultation; potential sexual attraction between them; the issue of confidentiality and client consent; emotional tyranny; violations relating to dual relationships; and self-disclosure. Having laid down these ethical factors besetting a therapist, the conclusion being arrived at is that the therapist is bound by set standards and ethical codes through which the expected functions of his performance must be based, and that he/she should conduct the initial consultation and further sessions objectively. References Boylan, J. C., Malley, P. B/, and Reilly, E. P. (2011) Practicum Internship: Textbook and Resource Guide for Counseling and Psychotherapy. Third Edition. NY: Brunner-Routledge. Corey, G. (2013) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Ninth Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006) Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Jenkins, P. (2007) Counseling, Psychotherapy and the Law. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Klonoff, P. S. (2010) Psychotherapy After Brain Injury: Principles and Techniques. NY: The Guilford Press. Kohlenberg, R. J. and Tsai, M. (2007) Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships. NY: Springer. O’Donohue, W. T. and Fisher, J. E. (2009) General Principles and Empirically Supported Techniques of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Plante, T. G. (2011) Contemporary Clinical Psychology. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Weiner, I. B. and Hess, A. K. (2006) The Handbook of Forensic Psychology. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Welfel, E. (2013) Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Wheeler, K. (2014) Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse: A How-to Guide for Evidence-Based Practice. NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC. Bibliography Boylan, J. C., Malley, P. B/, and Reilly, E. P. (2011) Practicum Internship: Textbook and Resource Guide for Counseling and Psychotherapy. Third Edition. NY: Brunner-Routledge. Clarkson, P. (2005) Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy: An Integrated Approach. NY: Routledge. Cooper, J. and Alfille, H. (2011) A Guide to Assessment for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. London: Karnac Books Ltd. Corey, G. (2013) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Ninth Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Forrest, G. G. (2010) Self-disclosure in Psychotherapy and Recovery. Plymouth: Jason Aronson. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006) Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Jenkins, P. (2007) Counseling, Psychotherapy and the Law. London: Sage Publications, Inc. Klonoff, P. S. (2010) Psychotherapy After Brain Injury: Principles and Techniques. NY: The Guilford Press. Kohlenberg, R. J. and Tsai, M. (2007) Functional Analytic Psychotherapy: Creating Intense and Curative Therapeutic Relationships. NY: Springer. O’Donohue, W. T. and Fisher, J. E. (2009) General Principles and Empirically Supported Techniques of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Plante, T. G. (2011) Contemporary Clinical Psychology. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Weiner, I. B. and Hess, A. K. (2006) The Handbook of Forensic Psychology. NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Welfel, E. (2013) Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Wheeler, K. (2014) Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse: A How-to Guide for Evidence-Based Practice. NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Is the Octoroon a Typical Victorian Melodrama

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the genre of melodrama as, â€Å"a stage play, usually romantic and sensational in plot†, this description certainly applies to The Octoroon. It was an extremely popular form of stage drama and what I will discover is whether its themes, content and structure are typical of the Victorian period melodrama. From the first time it was presented at the start of the nineteenth century, melodrama attracted big audiences. It started out very popular with the lower classes in society but as the century progressed melodrama became appreciated by large sections of society(Leaver,444). It usually contained themes of love, murder and honour. Audiences that went to see melodrama’s were looking for cheap entertainment that was accessable for all and didn’t require a knowledge of other more sophisticated modes of drama. As the genre progressed, events on stage became more and more sensational, none more so than the burning steamboat scene in The Octoroon(Faulkner,35). Melodrama contains a few characters that are common to the majority of plays, the hero, the heroine, an old woman, an old man, a comic woman and a comic man. These characters are reproduced constantly(Booth,26). Evidence of these stereotypical characters in The Octoroon is blindingly obvious. A common component of melodrama was the upkeep of strict moral justice, and social and ideological justice aswell. This is evident in the American ending of The Octoroon, when Zoe takes poison to commit suicide, thinking that because of the society she lives in, she cannot be with her beloved George. Maybe Boucicault felt that the American audience’s sense of moral justice could not allow Zoe and George to be together. Dion Boucicault was one of the most successful and prolific dramatists of the nineteenth century. He produced a huge number of plays of which the exact number is between 135 and 400 titles (Kosok,82). He is a prominent figure in Victorian era drama and is said to belong to more than one national literature, Irish, English and the United States. He is said to have â€Å"combined sentiment, wit and local colour with sensational and spectacular endings†(Nova). His greatest successes however, were on London’s stages. Only three of his plays were to have an American setting, The Octoroon is one of these. The version of The Octoroon Boucicault used in Britain differs from the version he premiered In the U. S. A. The U. S version had a tragic ending while the London version had a happy one. At the British Premiere in the Adelphi Theatre on November 18th, 1861, to the shock of boucicault and the performers, the fifth act was hailed with boos and jeers from the crowd. Zoe’s suicide angered the British audience. They had heard that Southerners sometimes found a way around the problem of mixed-race marraiges by cutting their veins and mixing blood(Enkvist,167). Some argued that the audience had felt it wasn’t melodramatic enough, even though there was a slave sale and a burning steamboat in the play. One critic said, â€Å"Deep tragedy will not do for melodrama†. The audiences active dislike of the death of Zoe, forced Boucicault to substitute a more happier ending(Enkvist,170). At the end of the play in the London version, the mixed race couple, Zoe and George are united. The fifth act which shows Zoe’s final agony and death is simply omitted. Boucicault was perhaps showing that Victorian British audiences harboured less predjudices and could accept the marraige of a young southerner of good birth to a slave girl and see nothing unusual in that ending(Degen,76). More likely he was giving the audience what they wanted by changing the ending to one that is more appropriate to the melodramas that the Victorian public would have been used to. This ending shows me that boucicault altered his play to fit the British publics preconceptions of what a melodrama should be, therefore making it into a standard melodrama for the time. The fact that the plot in The Octoroon is based around the topic of slavery shows us that it is in someway different from other melodrama’s of the time. Slavery was a hot topic when the Octoroon was produced and some argue that it is abolitionist in its tone. Victorian melodrama’s while sensational, tended to be centered around more common everyday settings and themes. Some argue that the play is abolitionist in its tone but I disagree. Boucicault himself denied the piece was meant to be an anti-slavery statement(Degen,173). In a letter to The New York Herald in December 1859, Boucicault explains that he is not taking sides, â€Å"I have laid the scene in the South, and, as slavery is an essential element of society there, insomuch I have been obliged to admit it into my scheme. . . .I believe the drama to be a proper and very effective instrument in the discussion of all social matters. . . .It is by such means that the drama can be elevated into the social importance it deserves to enjoy. Therefore I have involved in ‘The Octoroon’ sketches of slave life, truthful I know, and I hope gentle and kind†(NY Times,6/12/1859). I think that the use and portrayl of slavery in The Octoroon is not Boucicault venting his feelings on slavery, but just the background and setting of the overall text and his honest view of the South. There are no anti-slavery tirades in the play and the villian of the piece, McClosky, is not a Southern slave-owning tyrant but an Northener(Faulkner,35). I think this shows that The Octoroon is being different from other melodramas of the time by containing a divisive topic like slavery but it is also being typical of its counterparts by not being a political piece of drama.

Overview of the No Child Left Behind Act - 1568 Words

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