Critically Assess the Uses and Limitations of Financial Statements Essay Example for Free

Critically Assess the Uses and Limitations of Financial Statements Essay Critically assess the uses and limitations of financial statements The definition for a financial statement is a written report which quantitatively describes the financial health of a company. (www. investorwords. com) It consists of a balance sheet, income statements and a cash flow statement. This essay will critically asses the uses and limitations of each of these types of financial statements for a business. A balance sheet shows the financial condition of a business at a specific date (Langemeier Klinefelter 2008). It shows what is owned by the business, what is owed and the owner’s share (net worth) of the business. The balance sheet has three main uses. Firstly, it is used for reporting purposes as part of a limited company’s annual accounts. These must be shown to Companies House, HM Revenue and Customs and any shareholders unless agreed otherwise. It is also used to let potential investor’s or lenders asses the worth of a business at any given time. This way they can judge whether they think they should be investing money into the business according to how solvent the business is, how liquid its assets are, how the business is financed and how much capital is being used. Finally they can be used by the business itself to analyse how to improve its management. There are a few limitations of a balance sheet as some values of current assets are estimated (www. businesslink. gov. uk); therefore the balance sheet does not reflect a 100% accurate financial position of a business. Also, the fixed assets in the balance sheet have taken the depreciation of the asset into consideration and so the true value is not shown. Finally, intangible assets such as goodwill cannot be measured and are therefore estimated figures too and may be very inaccurate thus causing the whole balance sheet to be incorrect. Therefore a balance sheet is useful in many ways as long as whoever is interpreting the figures takes into consideration that a few of the figures are not accurate. An income statement, also known as a profit and loss account, measures the profits or losses a business has made over a certain period of time (money-zine. com). If a business wishes to expand and needs a bank loan they will need to produce their profit and loss accounts for the previous three years so the bank can see whether they will be able to repay the loan. These must be accurate records or it will be taken into account as fraud. There are many advantages of keeping accurate and up to date records. Firstly, it gives a business the information it needs to be managed and help it grow. If a business can see where its strong or weak points are then it can find ways to improve for example by cutting down on expenses. It also enables a business to produce their income statement quickly if required and filling in their tax return easier and quicker which in turn reduces the risk of interest for late tax payments. These financial statements are usually available to the public which means competitors can see how each other are doing, however very few people understand them when all transactions are recorded in larger companies. There are also some limitations of income statements one being that its data does not tell the user anything about what may happen in the future or factors that may affect future growth of the company. It is simply limited to accounting data. The second limitation is that not all businesses use an acceptable accounting method. An example from www. money-zine. com states that â€Å"if a business decides to accelerate depreciation then they hurt short-term net income and earnings (depreciation expense is larger). If they use straight line depreciation, net income in earlier years will be higher but it will be lower in the future (all things being equal)†. The final type of financial statement is a cash flow statement. It records the inflow and outflow of cash over a period of time. The cash flow statement allows investors to understand how a companys operations are running, where its money is coming from, and how it is being spent. According Hertenstein Article 26 there are three main people that want to see a business’s cash flow statements. Firstly stockholders want to know if the business is generating enough cash to pay dividends. Secondly suppliers want to know if their customers will be able to pay if offered credit. Thirdly investors want to evaluate future growth potential. These types of financial accounts are cheap to maintain because you do not have to be a trained accountant to produce them as they are not a complicated as the other types of financial accounts. Though the cash flow statement is a very useful tool of financial analysis, it has its own limitations which must be kept in mind at the time of its use. The main limitation is that the cash flow statement only records cash transactions and so ignores the basic accounting concept of accruals and tems bought on credit and therefore are not suitable for judging the profitability of a business. Also cash flow statements are prepared using historical information which is in the past. Therefore it does not asses what may happen in the future to a business’s accounts. In conclusion, there are many uses for financial statements as they provide a solid picture of a business’s performance when compared to each other, and the users can easily spot flaws in the entity’s financial position and manage these accordingly. However their limitations must be considered when analysing the data as they only supply the reader with past and present quantitative data and do not address any of the qualitative economic variables such as the morale of the employees or the quality of the management team. There is currently no way of measuring these intangible assets, even though a business’s human resources are some of its most valuable assets.

Developing Self-Assessment Skills in Nursing

Developing Self-Assessment Skills in Nursing Self-assessment is the way in which individuals reflect on past experiences and events in order to facilitate learning, and to develop and maintain skills and knowledge, in order to evaluate whether individual competencies are compliant with relevant codes of conduct by profession. Models within the literature on the process of self-assessment also use the term ‘reflection’ to describe such activity, whereby self-assessment / reflection method is seen to involve ‘returning to an experience, describing it and attending to thoughts and feelings.’ (Platzer, Blake Snelling, 1997;193) For nursing and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) in particular, self-assessment is a medium in which theory can be assessed during practice, and to tap into the personal knowledge resource of HCP’s ‘embedded in the practices and know how of expert clinicians. (Brenner, 1984;4) The cognitive processes involved within self-assessment activity are described within the literature as complex, involving high order cognitive capacities; making influences, generalizations; memory, analogies; emotional evaluation and problem solving (Moore, 1998). Analysing ones performance is thus described in terms of a professional development tool, whereby gaps in knowledge as well as areas of expertise may be identified, and form the focus of further training, and/or activities at work in line with Department of Health initiatives for continuing professional development. Self-assessment within clinical practice for nurses thus needs to be taught and coached, and may occur in a number of ways. Models of reflection and self-assessment documented describe the need for use of written records of practice within self-assessment, such as through reflective diaries (Platzer, Blake Snelling, 1997) which can be used as the basis for discussion during group-working projects and in one-to-one coaching sessions between mentors and student nurses for example. The use of reflection through self-assessment has been suggested as particularly relevant to nurses due to the nature of their work – the need to respond to individual requirements and needs of patients, and to avoid rigid routines of caring acts that can lead to performing duties on ‘autopilot’ (Cox, 1994) Self-assessment is thus suggested to prevent complacency or caring through pattern / ritual from occurring, by reflecting on ones practices to allow nurses to provide individualized patient care. Self-assessment practices may be taken by nurses during a number of reflection opportunties; critical incident techniques (Clamp, 1980; Flannagan, 1954) reviews of case studies and personal experiences or practice reviews (Wilshaw Bohannan, 2003) The reflection process thus enables learning for nurses through initiating discussion and thought in regards to comparing actions taken against suggested best practice. Self-assessment is becoming increasingly incorporated learning programmes for nurses, as well as receiving focus throughout careers in order to enable continuing professional development. Self-assessment of ones own competencies are thus predominantly portrayed in a positive light and emphasis given to associated advantages. One of the major benefits of incorporating self-assessment into both education and professional development, is the way in which theory and learning can be translated into more applied methods, and by increasing the relevance of taught theory, help students and new nurses to apply what they have learnt in the classroom into their patient care through evaluating learning in the context of their own experiences. Reflection and self-assessment throughout a career can also allow nurses to develop this initial knowledge base by incorporating future experiences to widen personal knowledge resource to continue to grow professionally. Benefits of the use of self-assessments can also be seen in the way in which they can allow more accurate evaluation of the training programmes used to educate nurses. Research indicates that the commonly used questionnaire technique to investigate students perceptions and evaluations of training can be influenced by a range of external factors that often make such ratings highly unreliable; like / dislike of the tutor, and the aesthetics of the learning environment are two such factors (Hicks Henessey, 2001), and are thus likely to contribute little to analyzing the true efficacy of the training undergone. Considerations should however be taken when using self-assessment for a number of reasons. Firstly the depth of evaluation and use of reflections will depend on the level of importance that an individual will place on their own knowledge and assessment abilities. It has been reported that many HCPs place little value on their own personal knowledge favoring only research based knowledge – thus underutilizing their own resource (Platzer, Blake Snelling, 1997) and so may subsequently place little value or effort into the process of self-assessment meaning learning outcome will be limited. The reliability of the cognitions underlying self-assessment techniques can also put into question the usefulness of the results for learning – memory for recounting events can be affected by anxiety (Newell, 1992), whilst others may feel under scrutiny and look to justify or rationalise actions (Wilshaw Bohannan, 2003) rather than reflect and learn from outcomes. This highlights the w ay in which self-assessment is only truly useable in environments that are not operating within a blame culture where personal evaluation would otherwise be inhibited. Lastly it is also reported that the coaching experience and ability of mentors to teach self-assessment techniques exerts a strong influence on the outcome in ability to complete self-assessment tasks for their students, and therefore the ability of coaches will have a positive or negative impact for students (Arvidsson,2005) The Nursing and Midwifery Council(NMC) openly supports the use of a self-assessment system as a means for nurses to identify ‘shortfalls’ in their skills, by rating their own performance. Self-assessment should be thus used to identify gaps in nurse’s abilities and so highlight key training needs, acting in what the NMC call an ‘early warning system’ capacity against poor standards (Duffin, 2004). Although not compulsory, self-assessment is seen as a way for nurses to contemplate critical areas within their clinical environment (information for clients on treatment, nurse/client relationships professional accountability: Duffin, 2004) that staff shortages and time pressures may otherwise push to the sideline, with the assessment of these factors proposed to help nurses to work within the NMC Code of Professional Conduct, and protect staff against misconduct charges, by providing a practical route of translating codes of contact guidelines into action s and evaluating the effectiveness of these actions. The use of self-assessment procedures with nurses is already covered in some detail within learning and training courses for those new to the profession of nursing. In early training, mentors are used to facilitate the start of a journey of growth from knowledge (Price, 2005), through the ability to reflect on ones own actions, and feelings towards those experiences individually or in group work during nursing education (Platzer, Blake Snelling 1997) Self-assessment as a tool for learning is also actively encouraged within the continuing professional development initiatives set by the Department of Health which now stipulates the need for post-basic education for all HCP’s, and from the NMC’s own code of conduct which places great importance on the identification of skill-shortfalls through self-assessment alongside other identification means, in order to ensure patients are receiving the best care possible, from skilled and well trained nursing professionals. REFERENCES Arvidsson, B (2005) ‘Factors influencing nurse supervisor competence: a critical incident analysis study’ Journal of Nursing Management Vol. 13, 3 Clamp, C (1980) ‘Learning through critical incidents’ Nursing Times 1755-1758 Crawford, M (1998) ‘Development through self-assessment: strategies used during clinical nursing placements’ Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 27, 1 Duffin, C (2004) NMC system to give early warning of skills shortfall’ Nursing Standard Vol. 19, 5 p7 Flannagan, (1954) cited in Wilshaw, G Bohannon, N (2003) ‘Reflective practice and team teaching in mental health care.’ Nursing Standard Vol. 17, 50 p33-37 Hek, G ‘Developing self evaluation skills: a pragmatic research-based approach for complex areas of nursing’ Nurse Researcher Vol.11, 2 p73-82 Hicks, C Hennessy, D (2001) ‘An alternative technique for evaluating the effectiveness of continuing professional development courses for healthcare professionals: a pilot study with practice nurses’ Journal of Nursing Management Vol. 9 p39-49 Moore, P (1998) ‘Development of professional practice research training fellowships: occasional papers’ Health Professions Wales Morrison, J (2005) ‘ABC of learning and teaching in medicine’ British Medical Journal 326 (7385) p385-387 Newell (1992) cited in Platzer, H. Blake, D Snelling, J (1997) ‘A review of research into the use of groups and discussion to promote reflective practice in nursing’ Research in compulsory Education Vol. 2, 2 Platzer, H. Blake, D Snelling, J (1997) ‘A review of research into the use of groups and discussion to promote reflective practice in nursing’ Research in compulsory Education Vol. 2, 2 Price, B (2005) ‘Self-assessment and reflection in nurse education’ Nursing Standard Vol. 19, 29 p33-37 Wilshaw, G Bohannon, N (2003) ‘Reflective practice and team teaching in mental health care.’ Nursing Standard Vol. 17, 50 p33-37

Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgery: Impact of Caseload

Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgery: Impact of Caseload Impact of Hospital Caseload and Elective admission on Outcomes Following Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgery Abstract Background Limited information exists evaluating the impact of hospital caseload and elective admission on outcomes following patients undergoing extracranial-intracranial (ECIC) bypass surgery. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the years 2001 through 2014, we evaluated the impact of hospital caseload and elective admission on outcomes following bypass. Methods In an observational cohort study, weighted estimates were used to investigate the association of hospital caseload and elective admission on short-term outcomes following bypass surgery using multivariable regression techniques. Results Overall 10,679 patients (mean age: 43.39Â ±19.63 years; 59% female) underwent bypass across 495 non-federal US hospitals. In multivariable models, we noted patients undergoing bypass at high volume centers were associated with decreased probability of mortality(OR:0.39;95% CI:0.22-0.70;p

Essay --

Drew Foster Foster 1 Mrs. Bueno Honors English 14 December 2013 Darrin M. Mcmahon the author of the article, â€Å"In Pursuit of Unhappiness†, was born in 1963. Darrin broke out of the order of saying â€Å"Happy New Year!† and realized they are only expected words that are said without any meaning behind them. Even around the holidays where people are expected to be happy, they think the words â€Å"Happy New Year!† are just words that are supposed to be said. If you think about the words â€Å"Happy New Year†, year does not only mean one day, so the words are meant to wish a whole year of happiness. But instead, people just reserve their happiness only for the holidays. John Stuart Mill, Carlyle's long-time rival who are both philosophers makes a valid statement about those who have their focus set on something other than happiness are only happy. For example, setting your goal on being happy is risking being happy, because when you don't achieve it you lose even more happiness. Thomas Carlyle and John Stuart Mill both have similar concepts on happiness. Carlyle, who is a Scottish Philosopher, notices the wrong idea of religion before 17th century. Many disregarded the ideas of religion that put misery into their lives, but some people recognized God's care very satisfying. Earthly satisfaction, McMahon states, was an attempt to bring heavenly felicity down to the earth. This religious change was to replace the feeling of misery with happiness. John Stuart Mill, who is an English philosopher, explains another way of achieving happiness based off of his personal experience. After suffering from a d... ...for such books is a strong indication that they aren’t working.† Setting your goal and being determined or even being desperate to find happiness is dangerous and is risking your happiness. If and when you do not achieve happiness, you lose all of it and even become unhappy. Focus your mind on something other than your own happiness and you will achieve true happiness. Darrin M. McMahon says to â€Å"...Have dinner with your family or walk in the park with friends...put in some good hours t the office or at your favorite charity, temple or church. Work on your jump shot or your child’s model trains. With luck, you’ll find happiness by the by.† So instead of saying â€Å"Happy New Year†, Darrin M. McMahon says â€Å"‘Don’t have a happy new year!’†, because â€Å"Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness† says John Stuart Mill.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table Essay -- capital violenc

Gawain and Capital Violence In almost every example of romantic epics, and definitely every story concerning King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the characters carefully adhere to a strict code known as the chivalric code.. The five main tenets of chivalric code or in other words the knightly code are: showing courage and bravery, being honest, having honor and being respected among peers, being kind to others, and being courteous and well-mannered especially toward females. Gawain is the very embodiment of these chivalric values but through his encounter with the Green knight and the lady he fails to uphold the code because of its rigidness and strictness.. Violence is the mechanism that Gawain uses to gain his capital which is honor and the upholding of the chivalric code. Even though violence does lead Gawain to respect and honor in the end of the poem Gawain points out how cowardly it is to follow a code that is so strict, that it allows no room for any human mistakes and that he was justified in trying to save his life over his honor. Sir Gawain fulfills his requirements of the five tenets right from the beginning of the poem, as he shows courage and why he can be seen as the greatest knight in the round table. Sir Gawain asks Arthur to allow him to take the challenge. When the Green Knight first challenges the knights in Arthurs Court, it is King Arthur who takes up the challenge at first. But Gawain is quick to step in take the place of King Arthur as he says â€Å"I am the weakest of your warriors and feeblest of wit; loss of my life would be grieved the least† (Gawain 354-355). Gawain does not think highly of himself and feels that the only reason he is a knight of Arthur's court is because he is Arthur's nephew... ...rtesy toward females are all tested in the poem. Sir Gawain who is supposed to embody these principles is tested by the Green knight and the lady and he fails to uphold the chivalric code. The failure leaves Gawain scarred for life but it also reflects a change in attitude towards capital violence and the role that it should play in the knights’ life. Gawain makes clear that there is a limit to how loyal and strict a knight can be when he is following the chivalric code and that the demands of the code are so immense that eventually a knight will fail to uphold the code. But this failure to uphold the code and not adhering to capital violence does not show cowardice and is in reality just human mistakes that are expected and are justified Works Cited Armitage, Simon. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A New Verse Translation. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.

Health Care Reform Essay

Health Care Reforms The affordable care act came in to effect on March 2010. It is a four years plan that will affect the delivery of care to the 250 million Americans. (Swanton, 2012). The Affordable Care Act includes numerous provisions to support millions of Americans to keep the Health care costs low, promote preventive care such as colonoscopies and mammogram, and other services readily available to promote prevention of the disease and hold insurance companies accountable for the safe delivery. (Hill, 2012). The health care reform act intended to make the health care more affordable for all and make health care more safe. There were several aspects of the health care system that the reform would impact such as the employer to provide health insurances to their employees, health coverage for adult children by the protected by the parents insurance. And the reimbursement to the hospitals based on the quality of service provided rather than the quantity of the service. Goals of the reform The health reform also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), of 2010 will have a profound influence on health care in the United States. A major goal of the Act is to improve access to affordable, quality health care. In the year 2007, the health care statistics showed that there was increase in the ineffective care provided to the patients which consumed vast majority of the health care funds (Hills, 2010). The insurance companies also dictate the care for the patients and denied care for those who had preexisting health conditions, or provided health care at a very high cost. There was a great need for the reform in the health care system. The three main goals of the PPACA are, (1) expand access to health insurance coverage, (2) improve affordability and sustainability for those who have health care insurance, and (3) control the rising costs of health care while improving quality (Cutler, 2010).Based on these goals, the health care providers, the insurance companies, the patients and the system itself will be affected. An important element in achieving this goal will be to learn from patients’ experiences and build the foundations for personalized care for the patients. (Hill, 2010). Cutler (2010) states, the initiative will require, â€Å"partnership among researchers, clinicians, policy makers and regulators, and patients to design an  integrated information network system that will be the basis for providing the right treatment for the right patient in the right place at the right time (p.45). Thus with health care reform goals is to provide high quality of personalized care to the patient. Reference Cutler, W. (2010). Thinking outside the pillbox—medication adherence as a priority for health care reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 362(17), 1553-1555. Orszag, P. (2010). Health care reform and cost control. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(7), 601-603. Hill, B. J. (2012). What is the meaning of health? Constitutional implications of defining â€Å"medical necessity† and â€Å"essential health benefits† under the affordable care act. American Journal of Law and Medicine, 38(2), 445-70. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1038820105?accountid=13931

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Essay

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Essay Prompt 2: Many of the characters in One Day in the Life represent specific human qualities and the suitability or value of those qualities for the life in the camps. What characters does Shukov view positively and why? Who are the flawed characters and what are their failings? What about their life before the camps hurts or helps their chances of survival once inside? In assessing these people, what does Shukov reveal about his own values?In Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the main character Ivan Denisovich Shukov is an inmate serving his eighth year in a Russian labor camp. Shukov had been sentenced to ten years and three days (the three days are make-up days to compensate for leap years) for supposedly being a Nazi spy (182). In reality, he had been imprisoned by the Germans and somehow managed to escape. In the eyes of the Soviets, those who did escape were considered Nazi spies; thus, Shuk ov was forced to admit that he was a spy in order to live (70).Solzhenitsyn further describes Shukov’s traits as well as the characteristics of the people he comes in contact with on a daily basis in this novel. Ivan Denisovich Shukov is part of a work gang, who is referred to as Gang 104. In this work gang, Shukov associates with many men—including those whom he views positively as well as some whom he views negatively. Alyoshka the Baptist, Senka Klevshin, Andrei Prokofyevich Tyurin, Pavlo, Jan Kildigs, Tsezar Markovich, Gopchik and Captain Buynovsky are all whom Shukov views positively and are either part of Gang 104 or are somehow associated with the work gang.Although there are many of whom Shukov views positively, there is also one in particular whom he views negatively, Fetyukov. These men all have specific human qualities that may help or harm them in their chances of survival in the labor camps. Alyoshka the Baptist and Senka Klevshin are two of whom Shukov vi ews positively, but in different ways. They are both quiet men who have been sentenced for 25 years in the labor camps, but for different reasons. Alyoshka was sentenced just for being a Baptist and Klevshin was sentenced because he had been with the Americans for a mere two days (45,126).Shukov views Alyoshka in a positive manner because he is an extremely optimistic and generous person despite his surroundings. He does favors for everyone and does whatever asked of him without complaint (109). Alyoshka sees prison as a good thing since he claims that he has time to focus on and think about his soul. These positive thoughts will help Alyoshka’s chances in prison because he will be extremely resilient to any harsh conditions. Klevshin is also favored by Shukov because of the loyalty he shows to his fellow workmates.His loyalty to Shukov was notable especially when he purposely ran slowly in order for Shukov to catch up to him leaving the Power Station work site (114). Shukov knew that Klevshin would rather be in trouble along with Shukov instead of letting him get punished on his own (114). This kind of loyalty will help Klevshin in camp life because he will gain a considerable amount of respect from other workmates. Andrei Prokofyevich Tyurin and Pavlo are two foremen of Gang 104—both whom Shukov views positively and respects.The foremen are both strict and caring people whom have gained much respect from the inmates they watch over. Tyurin is described as a fierce and smart leader who saw that the men were well fed and had good rations (46). These foremen’s traits keep the men in Gang 104 better off than the rest and inspire them to work harder for their gang. Two others whom Shukov respect are Jan Kildigs and Tsezar Markovich. These men are both rich and receive bimonthly parcels.Jan Kildigs is a Latvian bricklayer who is loved for his sense of humor (56). Shukov respected Kildigs because he worked with pride—he did not like to r ush his work and enjoyed taking his time to do things right (109). Tsezar was highly regarded by Shukov because of his character—he was respectful and trustworthy (48). The two men have a high chance of survival in the labor camps because they gave all the right people a handout and bribery worked wonders in the camp (48). Gopchik and Captain Buynovsky were also favored by Shukov.Gopchik was only about sixteen years old and was jailed for bringing milk to Ukrainian guerillas (63). He was very crafty and Shukov felt that he had potential to be a good camp dweller (149). Gopchik was smart and Shukov thought highly of him, even saying that he has potential to have a good job in the camp, such as a bread cutter (150). Gopchik’s craftiness would give him a high chance of survival as compared to others. One of the â€Å"others† would be Captain Buynovsky, who seems to be in a state of denial.He is a proud man who as an ex-Captain who according to Shukov, had no idea h ow to look after himself. However, he is diligent and works hard—which Shukov admires him for. Fetyukov, on the other hand, is a scavenger whom Shukov views negatively. Fetyukov was a leech and beggar who did everything in his power for extra food and cigarette butts (31). Many, including Shukov, pitied him at times but also despised his actions. Fetyukov was lazy and made work easier for himself by cheating.For example, while carrying mortar, he would purposely splash some out of his handbarrow so that it would be lighter to carry (101). Fetyukov further degraded himself by begged for food which at times backfired. He was greedy and scrounged for extra bread or other types of food and was even beaten by the Guards for licking bowls in the mess hall (163). In Shukov’s eyes, people like Fetyukov would only survive by relying on others’ pity and generosity towards him. Shukov also found ways to benefit himself, but he did so with dignity and pride, unlike Fetyukov .Instead of begging for tobacco or food, Shukov would work for his share or discretely hint that he wanted something regardless of how much he actually wanted it. For example, when it came to tobacco, Shukov would merely just stand next to someone smoking, and without saying anything, the smoker would ask if he wanted the butt of his cigarette (26). Shukov also worked for his tobacco by making slippers from rags or patching jerkins (156). He also haggled his way into getting a larger share of tobacco from those selling it (158).Shukov not only worked for his tobacco, but also for his food. He would volunteer to wait in line for people in hope that they will give him their share of food, in which most of the time, they did (142). Ivan Denisovich Shukov was a proud man who was competitive and meticulous in his work ethics. The best example of his pride and competitiveness would be when he says that â€Å"he’d feel pretty sore if others in the village got ahead of him (44). â⠂¬  Shukov was a skilled carpenter who was proud of his work and enjoyed doing things correctly.He would correct others when they were doing something wrong, such as cutting tarred paper incorrectly (64). He also showed how meticulous he was by straightening others’ work and by carefully selecting his own cinder blocks to fit into spaces perfectly (110). Shukov worked quickly, was a very hard worker and stayed behind to finish his and others’ jobs because he felt that he could not let anyone’s work go to waste (113). Ivan Denisovich Shukov acquainted himself with many people who helped him discover himself and his limits when it came to survival.He did not want to degrade himself by begging like Fetyukov had done but he instead found a way to benefit himself by not even asking directly. He discovered that regardless of his tough situations, he still found himself quite optimistic and proud of his work. Those whom he views positively and respected became a type of role model for him and he learned from them. He also learned from those whom he thought of negatively in such a way that he would never stoop down to their level. He was a proud person and kept his pride throughout his time at the labor camp.