Substance Abuse Among Adolescent Students

Substance Abuse Among Adolescent Students CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood into adulthood, a period of physical, psychological and social maturation. This is a crucial period of life when an individual is no longer a child but not yet an adult. The term adolescent refers to individuals between 10-19 years of age (early adolescence 10-14 years and late adolescence 15-19 years). In this period they are usually very energetic, enthusiastic, and anxious and become more autonomous in their decision taking.1 To show that they are capable of handling themselves the risk taking behavior among them is very high which, as a consequence, may bring different kinds of problems. Substance abuse is common and one of the most disturbing problems among the youths. In Nepal adolescents comprise about one fourth (24%) of the total population.2 Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs.3 Substance abuse is the use of any substance(s) for no n-therapeutic purposes or use of medication for the purposes other than those for which it is prescribed. It refers to the over-indulgence in and dependence of a drug or other chemicals leading to effects that are detrimental to the individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s physical and mental health, or the welfare of the others. Substance abuse has complex roots; in biological predisposition, personal development, and social context. Specific social correlates such as parent-child conflict, child physical and sexual abuse, family breakdown etc has also great role4. The transition from adolescence to young adulthood is a crucial period in which experimentation with illicit drugs in many cases begins. Because of their innate curiosity and thirst for new experiences, peer pressures, their resistance to authority, sometimes low self-esteem and problems in establishing positive interpersonal relationships, young people are particularly susceptible to the allure of drugs. However, all youth around the world do not have the same reason for abusing drugs.5 Substance abuse also predicts affiliation with network of deviant peers who introduce these adolescents to other substances.4 [2] Adolescent substance use usually starts with alcohol and cigarette which are referred to as gateway substances. They are the initial substances used before others are tried out and later progress to more dangerous ones such as cannabis and cocaine.4 In most societies cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and using drugs are more or less perceived by young people as something alluring. Many also see it as a status symbol, a way to telling their peers and contemporaries that they have come of age. In Nepal, alcohol use has not been taken seriously either by the community or by any social organization.6 There is no age restriction on buying cigarettes. Cannabis and alcohol were traditionally used in Nepal for centuries. A cannabis derivative such as marijuana and bhang is often justified in connection with religious festivals because of the presumed prediction by one principal figure of the Hindu pantheon, the lord Shiva for the drug.7 With time, risky behavior such as gluing, sniffing an d injecting the drugs has been introduced. Though drug use is strictly illegal in Nepal, the easy access and availability of drugs has created a conducive environment for the people to start taking such substances, especially among young people and children. Substance abuse is one of the main risk factors for numbers of heart and lung diseases, oral, lung and stomach cancer, psychiatric problems and even death. Poor social coping skills, broken homes, disturbed relationships and risky behaviors is its social consequences.3 A number of measures, both on supply reduction and demand reduction, have been taken by the government and non-governmental organizations. However, the number of drug users is in the increasing trend.6 Substance abuse, therefore, is still a major public health problem and theres a need of more extensive awareness and rehabilitation programmes. 1.2. Problem statement Substance use poses a significant health, social and economic threat to families, communities and nations. The extent of worldwide psychoactive substance use, according to World Health Organization (WHO) 2002, is estimated at 2 billion alcohol users, 1.3 billion smokers and 185 million drug users. Similarly, there are 150 million adolescent tobacco users. In an initial estimate of factors responsible for the global burden of disease, tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs contributed together 12.4% of all deaths worldwide in the year 2000.8 [3] Tobacco alone contributes 8.8%, alcohol- 3.2% and illicit drugs-0.4% of all the death worldwide. Injecting drug use has been reported in 136 countries, of which 93 countries report HIV infection among this population. Tobacco is the largest burden in Europe and South-East Asia while alcohol poses the largest burden in Africa, the Americas, and Western Pacific. Worldwide alcohol causes 2.5 million deaths (3.8 % of total) and 69.4 million (4.5% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs).8 According to Nepal Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2006, one-third of men smoke cigarettes and two-fifth consumed other forms of tobacco, whereas 15% of women smoke cigarettes and 5% consumed other forms of tobacco.2 According to Non Communicable Disease Risk Factors Survey 2008 in Nepal, 37.1% were tobacco users. Of them, 26.2% (35.5% men and 15.9% women) were found to be currently smoking among which 23.8% were daily smokers. Mean age of the initiation of smoking was 18.8 years for men and 12.9 years for women. Similarly, 28.5% were found to be currently consuming alcoholic drinks wherein almost one and half times more men (39.3%) than the women counter parts (16.5%).9 The report published by United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESC) showed that the younger the age of first use of illicit drugs, the higher the severity of drug problem later. The age of first experience with drugs has been falling in many regions of the world. Adolescent substance use is increasingly prevalent throughout the world.10 According to the Nepal Adolescent and Young Adult (NAYA) Survey 2000, about one-quarter of the young boys and one in ten girls have experienced smoking.11 Study conducted in Nepal by Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), New ERA and orc Macro, 2002 have revealed that 47.4% of the adolescents aged 15-19 has consumed alcohol. Study conducted among teenagers in seven districts of the country stated that more than one in ten teenagers admitted to taking drugs. Of these teenagers, 56% took drugs by smoking, a quarter by inhaling (26%) and 5.4% admitted to injecting drugs.11 [4] 1.3. Rationale Substance abuse has been a rising social, economic and public health problem and the hazards associated with it are undeniable. It is one of the forms of behavior most damaging to the health in the long term and is associated with other risky behavior such as engaging in unprotected sex which may result in HIV/AIDS.7 Adolescence period is the major age of initiation of substance abuse.6 Substance abuse among adolescents seems to be alarmingly pace around the world and Nepal is no exception. Though there are organizations working for adolescents, very fewer studies are conducted regarding this issue. Awareness programs are insufficient due to the scarce of information of the real scenario. Since majority of substance abuse among youths starts in the school, the school population is the best place for early detection and prevention of substance abuse in the adolescent population. As a result of lack of sufficient and reliable data from which generalization can be derived for Nepal, the re is a definite need for additional school surveys on substance abuse in the country. This study provides the base information on the use of various substances among school adolescents. It is intended to describe the magnitude of substance abuse among school children, the factor motivating them to abuse and knowledge and perception regarding substance abuse so that the possible intervention could be taken. 1.4. Objectives 1.4.1. General objective To find out the magnitude and associated factors of substance abuse among adolescent students in secondary schools of Vyas municipality, Tanahun. [5] 1.4.2. Specific objectives To identify the prevalence of substance abuse among the adolescent students of Vyas municipality. To determine the age of initiation of substance abuse. To find out the factors influencing the initiation of substance abuse. To explore the students desire for quitting abuse of substance. To determine the students knowledge and perception regarding substance abuse. To determine patterns of substance abuse in terms of sex and type of school. 1.5. Research questions What is the prevalence of substance abuse among the adolescent students? What is the knowledge and perception of adolescents towards substance abuse? Do sex and type of school influence the use of substance? 1.6. Variables 1.6.1. Dependent à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Substance abuse 1.6.2. Independent à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Age à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Sex à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Peer influence à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Availability à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Types of school à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ Knowledge and perception regarding substance abuse [6] 1.7. Conceptual framework Availability Substance abuse among school adolescents Age Sex Place Family History Type of school Peer influence Knowledge and Perception regarding substance abuse Types of substance Figure 1: Conceptual framework 1.8. Operational definitions Substance: Any psychoactive material which when consumed affects the way people feel, think, see, taste, smell, hear or behave. Cigarette, chewing tobacco, alcoholic products and drugs (drug tablets, cannabis, heroin, opium, glue/gum, tidigesic, tranquilizers) are included as a substance in this study. Substance abuse: Substance abuse is the non-medical use of substances in order to achieve alterations in psychological functioning. Use of any of the substances mentioned above for two or more times in a lifetime is included under substance abuse. Adolescent students: Secondary school students of grade 8, 9 10 of both community and institutional schools within the age of 10-19 years are considered adolescent students. School: Government-aided community schools and institutional schools are studied. [7] Knowledge level regarding harmful effects of substance abuse: Those who could list at least one or more harmful effects of substance abuse are considered as having â€Å"good knowledge† and those who couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸t list any are regarded as having â€Å"poor knowledge†. Perception towards substance abuse: The perception of the students was measured in 3 points scale: „agreeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸, „disagreeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and „canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸t sayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Statements for measuring perceptions are: à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ One who abuses substance has more friends. à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ One who abuses substance has negative image in the society. à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ­ It is difficult to quit the substance after getting into it. [8] CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW Substance abuse is rising public health as well as social problem throughout the world. It poses a significant threat to the health, social and economic foundation of families, communities and nations. It is one of the major preventable causes of death and disability. There are about 2 billion alcohol users, 1.3 billion smokers and 185 million drug users worldwide.8 Consumption of substances has increased all over the world and the age of initiation of substance abuse is progressively falling. There has been increase in social and economic factors which make young more vulnerable and likely to engage in drug use and drug-related risk-taking behavior.10 A study carried out on â€Å"Socio-Demographic Correlates of Psychoactive Substance Abuse among Secondary School Students in Enugu, Nigeria† showed that 33.7% of the adolescents were substance abusers. Alcohol was most commonly abused (31.6%). Prevalence of the cigarette smoking was 14.3%, inhalants 9%, tranquilizers 7.4% and ca nnabis 4.15%. Males consumed most psychoactive substances more frequently than the females. Cigarette and cannabis were the exclusive preserve of the males. Older students were more involved in multiple substance use compared to younger ones. Among the users, 75% of the respondents were using more than one substance whereas 24.8% used only one substance.4 In a study carried out on â€Å"Drug use among adolescents in Asturias (Spain)† among the school students, 29.1% were drug user among which 55% were male. The average age of initiation of drugs was 15.4 years for males and 15.5 years for females. Cannabis was the most frequent drug used ever i.e. 20.8% of the total respondents became involved with this drug at sometime of their lives. Tranquilizers was second (10.3%), followed by amphetamine-like substance (7.9%) and inhalants (2.3%). The mean age at first drug use was 15.4 years for males and 15.5 years for females.12 A study carried out on â€Å"Licit and illicit substance use by adolescent students in eastern India: Prevalence and associated risk factors† among 416 students of classes VIII, IX and X in rural and urban settings gave the prevalence of 6.14% and 0.6%. The mean age of initiation of substance abuse was 12.6 and 13.9 years among rural and urban students respectively. Tobacco followed by alcohol was most commonly used in both setting. Prevalence was higher in males. Use of a substance by family [9] members had a significant impact on its use by their children. Enjoyment and Curiosity were found to have the major influence in their decision to use a substance.13 Another study carried out on â€Å"Substance use among secondary school students in an urban setting in Nigeria: prevalence and associated factors† revealed that the life time use prevalence rates of alcohol and tobacco were 9.25 and 5.2%. The commonest substance used by the students was caffeine (85.7%). In terms of gender, the prevalence rate for male was higher than for their female counterparts except for antibiotics, analgesics, heroin and cocaine. Major Reason for using substances included relief from stress- 43.5%. About three quarters of the respondents (70%) were unaware of problems or complications that could arise from substance use while 10.5% believed poor physical health could arise.14 Department of Narcotic Control in Bangladesh, in June 2008, reported about 5 million drug addicts in the country amo ng which young and adolescent population comprised 91%. Heroin is the most widely abused drug in Bangladesh.15 A study of adolescent smoking and drinking carried out among adolescent students in 2007 in Korea have shown that the prevalence of smoking was 29.2% while drinking was 48.2%. The mean age at the first instance of smoking and drinking was 13.8 and 14.1 years respectively. Among drinking adolescents, 30.1% were offered a drink by their parents, although most adolescents were encouraged to smoke or drink by their friends.16 The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) of school-going adolescents of class 8-10 conducted by WHO in the South-East Asia Region revealed that one in 10 school-going adolescents in Nepal use some form of tobacco. The smoking rate for girls was significantly lower than that for boys. Exposure to smoke was both at home and in public places. Despite a substantial proportion of adolescents using tobacco, a large proportion of current smokers wanted to stop smoking. Regular presence of smokers in the family and easy accessibility of tobacco products were the major contributing factors to the prevalence of the smoking habit among adolescents in Nepal. It was also observed that almost one in ten smoking students smoke at home, revealing that there is no parental pressure on them to stop.11 [10] United Nations International Childrens Fund (UNICEF) 2001 survey in Nepal reported that more than one in ten teenagers admitted to taking drugs. Of these, 56% took drugs by smoking, 26% by inhaling and 5% by the injecting route. Majority (76.7%) of the adolescents was introduced to the drugs by their friends and 12% started taking on their own while 7% were encouraged by their father and uncles.11 According to a study done in school students of Grade 8, 9 and 10 in Pokhara sub- metropolitan city, nearly half 47.1% of the students ever used tobacco products. One in seven (13.2%) were current users, one in four (22.7%) were experimental users and one in ten were the past users of any tobacco product. The mean age of initiating tobacco was about 13 years and nearly one fifth (18.9%) initiated before 10 years of age. Boys were more likely to use tobacco than girls and adolescents of institutional schools were more likely to use tobacco products as compared to community school students. R egarding the knowledge of students about tobacco use nearly one third (31%) of the adolescent students were having good knowledge and less than half (42.7%) were having some knowledge about the hazards of tobacco use. Significant proportions of the adolescents have wrong perceptions about the use of tobacco i.e.47% thought that tobacco users have more friends and 27.3% thought that tobacco users are more attractive.17 [11]

Frederick Douglass Essay

Frederick Douglass once said, â€Å"I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.† Frederick Douglass author and protagonist of the Narrative of Frederick Douglass was a slave that suffered over twenty years of physical abuse, deprivation, and starvation under the rusty, blood crusted chains of slavery. Frederick Douglass is a former American slave who taught himself to be a brilliant writer and orator who sparked the abolitionist movement. He writes about his former life, in which he had suffered through years of starvation, dehydration, and deprivation of the basic necessities of life. However, because of those years of suffering, Douglass was able to be one of the few slaves that revealed the ugly truth behind slavery. Douglass shows the audience through the use of literary devices that ignorance is a tool of slavery and knowledge is the path to freedom. Frederick Douglass writes using litotes, antithesis, and chiasmus to exp lain the use of ignorance as a fetter and the suppression of knowledge to conceal the path to freedom. Frederick Douglass emphasizes the use of ignorance to prevent slaves from obtaining knowledge about freedom and slavery through the use of litotes. After Frederick Douglass reads through â€Å"The Colombian Orator,† he realizes the truth about ignorance, freedom, and knowledge. Douglass writes, â€Å"It was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me. There was no getting rid of it. [†¦] The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness. Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever† (Douglass 24). Douglass realizes that freedom was within his reach and nothing could make the overwhelming urge to reach out and grab freedom disappear from the depths of his mind. Litotes are words that negate their opposite, similar to being lost in a maze. A path that can be created as a simple, straight line, is warped into a complex creation of passages that merge and intertwine with one another. The slave-owners don’t want the slaves to realize the truth about ignorance, knowledge, and freedom. So, the slave-owners create an elaborate metaphorical maze. The maze is a barrier that prevents the slaves from exiting the world of ignorance and entering the world of freedom. Every time a slave enters the maze, they are bound to run into obstacles such as walls of ignorance and dead ends of pain which are obstacles that slave-owners create in hopes of discouraging them. Slave-owners whip, torture, and even kill slaves that enter the maze that enters the world of knowledge. Slave-owners will try to discourage slaves so that the slave retraces his steps back into the world of ignorance. However, this is not the case for Frederick Douglass; he makes it through the entire maze despite the whipping and the walls of ignorance that fetter them, and pursuit a world of knowledge rather than the world of ignorance he once lived in. Once a slave enters the world of knowledge, the slave-owners can no longer pull them back into the world of ignorance, and the slave can freely roam between the two worlds and expand his knowledge. As they do so, the truth about knowledge, freedom, and slavery are unlocked from their cryptic chest and revealed to the slave. Douglass uses litotes to exemplify the walls that slave-owners put up in hopes of keeping their slaves ignorant of knowledge, many times succeed; however, when a slave overcomes these walls, the idea of knowledge and freedom enter their mind and the slave-owners no longer have the power to remove those ideas. Slave-owners use ignorance as a wall to prevent slaves from learning about the truth behind slavery, freedom and knowledge; however, once a slave overcomes the fetters, the slave-owner can no longer control the slave’s thoughts and actions. Once a slave enters the realm of knowledge and understands, he/she begins to mentally rebel against their slave-o wners because their newly earned knowledge clashes with the cruel ideas of slavery. Frederick Douglass shows the clash of knowledge and ignorance through the use of antithesis in the following passage. Frederick Douglass is working at a Chesapeake Bay when he apostrophizes to the multitude of ships lulling at the bay. Douglass mentally yells, â€Å"’You are loosed from your moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You are freedom’s swift-winged angels, that fly around the world; I am confined in bands of iron!’† (Douglass 38). Frederick Douglass lashes out with anger as he realizes that he was not considered a man, he was considered a slave, a slave who had less rights than the ships that surround him. Douglass uses antithesis, words that are positioned so that like ideas contradict each other, similar to two like poles of a magnet grating against each other creating a conflict, a clash. Frederick Douglass is enraged after realizing the cruelty and prejudiced ideas of slavery that positioned him below everyday people and below inanimate objects, like the ships on Chesapeake Bay. Slavery is the South Pole of the left magnet, with ignorance as its pair, the North Pole. On the right-hand side, the South Pole is Freedom with its matching partner, knowledge as its North Pole. When ignorance and knowledge meet, the two north poles repel each other and create an invisible conflict. Slave-owners try to prevent slaves from gaining knowledge so that their knowledge won’t clash with their former ignorance causing a mental conflict against the slave-owners. Douglass is enraged when he sees the free ships drifting on the pacifying ocean, his former ignorance about slavery conflicts with his new knowledge and creates a clash, causing his mind to lash out at the negligence of slave-owners towards slaves. His ignorance of slavery clashes with the knowledge of freedom creating a conflict, which he then overcomes to understand the reality of slavery. Frederick Douglass understands the use of ignorance as a tool to conceal the truth about freedom and slavery. Once, the mind wraps its arms around the concept of slavery, a flood of new knowledge enters the mind causing an uncontrollable mental lash that attacks the ideas of slavery. As a slave becomes familiar with the ideas of freedom and slavery, he begins to think of ways to evade the fetters of ignorance and he becomes confident about freeing themselves from the treacheries of slavery. Douglass uses chiasmus to foreshadow his escape from ignorance in the following passage. Douglass shows how a slave’s fate can be determined if they overcome the fetters of ignorance and fully understand the ideas behind slavery and knowledge. Douglass wrtes, â€Å"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man† (Douglass 39). Douglass overcomes the chains of ignorance and sees through the thin faà §ade of lies the slave-owners create and creates his own path to freedom, using knowledge. Chiasmus is like a series circuit with four light bulbs that is powered by a single battery. Douglass starts out in a life of slavery, because of that he lived in a life of ignorance. The two light bulbs on the very right are now lit. Normally, the first battery would power the rest of the bulbs after lighting the first one; however, slave-owners create a large curtain/wall of ignorance that prevents slaves from gaining knowledge and ultimately freedom. Slave-owners will beat, whip, and starve their slaves in order to keep the two light bulbs on the very right lit. However, for slaves like Frederick Douglass, they find ways to suppress the circuit disruptor and light the third light bulb, knowledge. Slave-owners set up another wall in hopes of delaying the lighting of the final light bulb freedom. By the time slaves light the third light bulb, they begin to rebel both mentally and physically against their slave-owners. Slave-owners will stop at no means to prevent the lighting of the final bulb, even if it means killing the slave. However, if the slave is reserved and cautious, they can skirt around the final faà §ade and light the final bulb of freedom. However, if the slave does not remain cautious after lighting the final bulb, they may be sent back to the first two bulbs with the remaining bulbs of knowledge and freedom extinguished, creating an endless circle in which the slave is trapped in. Douglass uses chiasmus to emphasize how avoiding being sent back to bulb one allows the slave to regain their rights of freedom. Douglass shows how constant perseverance through the circuit can ultimately result to freedom or back to slavery. Through the use of chiasmus he exemplifies how the constant repetition or cycle of slavery, freedom, ignorance, and knowledge can be overcome if the slave can pass through the two fetters and keep the final bulb lit without extinguishing it. Slave-owners use the walls of ignorance to separate freedom and knowledge from slavery and ignorance. A vast majority of slaves are chained behind the wall of slavery and ignorance; however, a few brave slaves like Frederick Douglass overcome that wall and enter the realm of freedom and knowledge. Through the use of chiasmus, Douglass shows how the endless circuit can be overcome if the walls of ignorance are removed and the lights of knowledge and freedom remain lit. Frederick Douglass shows the audience how slave-owners use ignorance as a tool to conceal the truth behind slavery and knowledge to prevent slaves from creating a path of freedom through the use of litotes, antithesis, and chiasmus. Douglass suffered a terrible burden while he was a slave; he wrote this novel in hopes of persuading more people into supporting the abolition of slavery. Frederick Douglass used these three literary devices to create situations that create a parallel situation with the subjects of knowledge and ignorance, freedom and slavery. Douglass uses litotes to explain the use of ignorance as a maze to prevent slave from reaching knowledge, he uses antithesis to explain the clash between knowledge and ignorance, and he uses chiasmus to explain how the endless cycle must be ended for a slave to be free. Douglass is a former slaver, an impassioned abolitionist, a brilliant writer, a newspaper editor, and an eloquent orator who greatly influenced the abolitionist movement. Through this book, he hopes to reach the souls of his audience and make them understand the true values of his life which circled around slavery, ignorance, freedom, and knowledge. All of Frederick Douglass’s slave owners had prevented slaves from learning how to read and write, the slave owners wanted to keep them ignorant of knowledge; however, Frederick Douglass obtained knowledge and because he obtained that knowledge, he was able to see through the faà §ade the slave owners had created and see the path to freedom. Douglass, an extremely influential man is one of the few men in life who have been able to thoroughly understand the use of ignorance as a tool to keep slavery intact and find ways to evade these fetters. â€Å"I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtles s one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason,† (Douglass 58).

Consistent Philosophy of Life Essay

Abstract This paper focuses John Allison’s management style, what he finds to be the essential characteristics of a leader, and how he employs ethics and principles in this everyday life, in business, and as an educational leader. He is the former CEO of BB&T and current leader of the CATO Institute. There is little distinction between Allison’s â€Å"leadership style† and his philosophy. His philosophy can be directly applied to any situation, challenge, or circumstance. Allison is purpose driven and mission oriented, and he applies a set of ten principles to achieve his mission. This paper will also look at how Allison defines a vision, mission, values and principles. Each of the ten principles are examined, and finally, the paper will look at some of the detractors of Allison’s philosophy. John Allison, Consistent Philosophy of Life, Effective Manager of Business, and Important Contributor to Society. John Allison lives by a clear philosophy that permeates every aspect of his life. He built a multi-billion dollar bank (BB&T) on it, and managed to stay away from toxic investments that led to the downfall of many banks because of it. He is now taking this highly moral, completely integrated, and fully comprehensive philosophy to the rest of society by donating time and money to universities by explaining the morality of capitalism and rational thought. Most recently, he was appointed to lead the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think-tank. An effective manager instills purpose in themselves and their employees and lives by a set of values or principles that manifests purpose into reality. The purpose needs to be clear and the principles must be interconnected and consistent. Failure on one principle is failure on all principles; and thus, the vision, mission, and goals of an organization are jeopardized. This concept is consistent with six competencies detailed in Hellriegel, Jacosn, and Slocum’s text book, Managing, A Competency-Based Approach. For example, an organization determines that it must outsource a piece of their production (Strategic Action). Therefore, executive management must effectively work with operations professionals (Teamwork), who must develop and action plan (Planning & Administration) and Communicate that plan to line managers. It is imperative that executive management carefully considered the cultural drivers of the country that they are entering (Multi-Cultural). Finally, whether this strategy is effective hinges upon whether all levels of employees have good Self-Management skills. Failure on any part of these competencies will lead to failure on the whole. Hellreigel’s six competencies pass John Allison’s integration test; however, John’s principles remove the organizational lens of the six competencies to make them more basic and universal. This paper looks at John Allison’s management style and how it is driven by his vision, mission, and principles. Success with these principles will lead to the success of the six competencies. Finally, this paper will spend some time with the detractors and misunderstandings of John’s philosophy. John Allison’s Management Style It is impossible to explain John Allison’s management style without getting into the details of his basic philosophy first. The Richard Craver of the Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Allison in July 2010, and he noted that, â€Å"the key lesson of Allison’s success is that if you get the basics right, the details will follow, and you will run your business right. If you get the basics wrong, you’ll eventually make a fatal mistake in the details† (Craver 2011). Allison’s basics are a purpose driven life and organization that is achieved through principles. This philosophy is detailed in a 30 page employee handbook that all employees are expected to understand and has remained consistent at BB&T for over 20 years. As a result, â€Å"[BB&T] attracts employees who agree, and repels employees who disagree. After a quarter century, they have established a culture of great coherency, and in business, that is a great power† (Craver 2011). From a big ger picture perspective, John Allison’s management style is utilitarian in its approach; however, this implies that BB&T’s goal is to simply be profitable. However, profitability is a means to the overall vision of BB&T, which is to make the world a better place to live in (Allison 2011). Allison explained in a lecture at Wake Forrest University that money is not the end game; instead profits are the means of the overall goal (Allison 2011). The utilitarian methodical approach may be considered amoral, at best; however, it becomes highly moral in the context of a moral vision and purpose. At the individual level, BB&T does not simply manage employees, instead, they develop leaders. Allison explained that â€Å"Most business failures are due to leadership failures; most of those are the result of personal leadership failures† (Allison 2011). Therefore, each employee is not just given a handbook of BB&T’s vision, mission and values, but they also attend a presentation given by Allison himself. In this presentation, Allison explains that there are two fundamental aspects to leadership. First, leaders must create a sense of purpose in themselves and their employees. Purpose creates passion. Second, leaders must live principles that turn purpose into reality (Allison 2011). Living these principles motivates average performers to perform at an above average level and prevents the Great from becoming average. Allison’s Clear philosophy: Allison’s philosophy can be summarized by a general vision that is manifested by a mission statement. The vision is â€Å"To make the world a place that you want to live in† (Allison 2011). The mission is to apply principles that improve the odds of staying alive, becoming successful, and ultimately being happy. The ten principles are further defined herein and are universally applied to individual and organizational missions. Allison’s personal vision and mission parallels BB&T’s vision and mission statement, which is â€Å"To make the world a better place by: Helping our clients achieve economic success and financial security; creating a place where our employees can learn, grow and be fulfilled; making the communities in which we work better places to be; and thereby, optimizing the long-term return to our shareholders, while providing a safe and sound investment† (Handbook 5). With the Vision and Mission clearly defined, Allison’s ten pri nciples are: Principle 1 – Reality The reality principle is an Aristotelian concept that A=A. In an interview with New York Times, Allison said that, â€Å"Wishing something is so does not make it so† (Martin 2009). Although this concept seems very simple, there are plenty of examples in history where individuals, governments and businesses evaded reality. Allison projected that, â€Å"I guarantee that long before the rest of us knew, those geniuses at Lehman Brothers, knew that something was wrong, but they evaded it† (Martin 2009). Reality is independent of authority. For example, the ratings agencies had a level of authority in the market place; however, the ratings agencies evaded the reality that subprime lending was unsustainable. BB&T avoided the subprime market by not evading reality and being responsible for evaluating authority and determining what was true (Allison 2011). Reality is also independent of popularity. For example Galileo bucked the popular idea that the earth revolved around the s un. Principle 2 – Reason / Objectivity Allison contends that mankind’s competitive advantage is that humans have the ability to think and develop concept formation. Allison avoids religion; however, this concept is not in conflict with a Christian’s perspective with some distinction. God created man in the image of God. Therefore, to reason is to approach God and to fulfill His intention for mankind. Allison applies Aristotle’s model of thought. First, base premises on facts; second, use inductive and deductive reasoning; third, integrate conclusions that are not contradictory; and forth, use conclusion to reach a higher level of thought (start the cycle again). Deductive reasoning is the concrete application of a general principle. Inductive reasoning is the taking a general principle and applying it to a specific application. BB&T has been a highly strategic organization, which requires objective thought and facing reality. In the late 1980’s, laws were about to change that would allow banks to enter other states. Realizing that North Carolina would soon be flooded with competition from larger banks, he began a series of intra-state acquisitions prior to the changing of the laws. This allowed them a head start on the out-of-state competition while giving BB&T the experience to perfect the merger process well before the larger consolidation of the industry. Allison recognized the reality, used inductive and deductive reasoning to conclude that they would need to get bigger, be purchased, or struggle as a result of the changes in the law, and then was able to move on with a new premise of how to become bigger. Despite the popular opinion that BB&T was paying too much for some of its acquisitions, the strategy paid off. BB&T defended its role as â€Å"acquirer of choice,† and stressed the strategic nature of its acquisitions. It had developed a reputation as one of the most successful integrators of acquired banks in the industry. â€Å"Darn few have been able to get away with a consolidation strategy, but one of the best is BB&T,† an SNL Securities analyst told the Business Journal Serving Charlotte and the Metropolitan Area (BB&T.com). Allison also uses reason to implement a method of philanthropic activities in order to be more effective based on BB&T’s core strengths. Allison explained in Philanthropic Magazine that, â€Å"The money that was being spent wasn’t going to promote the well-being of our company or our country. We needed to focus our contributions on something that will matter, and we think that presenting the concepts that undergird capitalism is essential for both BB&T’s well-being and the well-being of the society in which we live† (Sparks 2011). Principle 3 – Individual Allison contends that all thought happens at the individual level. â€Å"Our brains are not physically connected† (Allison 2011). Teamwork is important principle, but new ideas are generated by the individual. A team can improve the idea or even give some the inspiration to develop a new idea, but the thought came from one’s mind. This principle also means that the individual is responsible for themself. â€Å"A manager cannot be responsible for their employees,† Allison explained in his lecture. A manager, parent, or leader can only guide people, but the individual must make choices and affix attitudes for herself/himself. Understanding this concept is very liberating not only for the individual employee, but also for the organization. At the employee level, ownership of their own role gives them a sense of importance. At the organizational level, businesses benefit by having limitless ideas that bubble up to management. In Craver’s interview with Allison, he noted that, â€Å"The decision not to write mortgage loans of the type that are now called â€Å"toxic† was made by a fairly low-level executive without even consulting Allison† (Craver 2011). Allison continues the concept of liberating the individual by saying, â€Å"Man has rational capacity, and a capitalist system allows him the greatest individual freedom to exercise that capacity for creativity and innovation—and to be rewarded accordingly. It is, in a very deep sense, a just system† (Sparks 2011). Principle 4 – Productivity Productivity is a measurable at the organizational level though output and profitability. A profitable business is a good thing. More fundamentally, productivity is the â€Å"gut-level commitment to get the job done† (Allison 2011). From a Christian’s perspective, production and productivity is a very spiritual concept; the idea that something tangible was formed from the intangible. This is especially spiritual when the idea was inspired through prayer and worship. There is a parallel between with the most miraculous event in history, when the spirit became flesh, and when someone’s idea becomes reality. The root word for sacrifice is â€Å"to approach† (Wigoder 873); therefore, when a person creates, she is performing a kind of sacrifice; not in the sense that something is given up, but instead, both the tangible world and the spiritual world are in agreement; â€Å"On earth as it is in heaven.† Allison’s professional trajectory certainly is one of productivity. He started at BB&T, once known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company, in 1971 and became chief executive in 1989, when the bank had $4.7 billion in assets. By the time he retired as C.E.O. in December, he had overseen 60 bank and savings-institution acquisitions and turned BB&T into the 11th-largest bank in the nation, with $152 billion in assets, according to the bank (Martin 2009). Allison commented on BB&T’s Sterling Award winners (internal awards based on productivity). He noted that the same people won 25% of these awards, and that they all shared a commonality. All of them discussed what they were doing, and were not stuck on the obstacles. There is a basic belief in their ability to achieve (Allison 2011). Principle 5 – Honesty Without honesty, nothing else works, whether that is capitalism, a church, a business, or a government. Marilyn Fedak is a retired Investment Manager that works with John Allison on making the case for the free market at the university level. In a joint conference with Allison, she refers to the importance of honesty, At its best, the free market produces a â€Å"virtuous cycle,† but it has to be rooted in trust and the rule of law. Trust and predictability are everything. Capitalism is based upon the idea that, implicitly or explicitly, you’re making contracts with people all day long, and if you can’t trust that the laws in place will prevail and that the other person is going to fulfill their side of the bargain, well, then no transactions are going to take place. (Sparks 2011) Allison explains that being honest 100% of the time is a true test of integrity. For example, â€Å"You can be wrong and be honest. We are not omniscient.† Therefore, â€Å"We must mean what we say and know what we mean† (Allison 2011). This phrase encompasses two concepts. One, cumulative white lies lead to a black lie. For example, some managers are less than honest on performance reviews by sugarcoating or enabling underperformance. Then, the manager reaches a breaking point, or the poor performance leads to major mistake. The employee never gets the chance to correct their actions due to their manager not being honest. On the other hand, the manager may be wrong in his/her premise that the employee is the problem. The real problem may be a poorly designed system, which could have been addressed during the performance review. The concept of cumulative white lies is also evident in personal relationships. Allison gives an example of a married couple, â€Å"the husband gets mad at the wife for not hearing what he didn’t say† (Allison 2011). Two, it is up to the individual to take responsibility for their claim to knowledge. â€Å"Sometimes the best answer is, ‘I don’t know’† (Allison 2011). Principle 6 – Integrity Integrity is defined as the consistent application of moral principles. David Leoper is the CEO of Wealthcare Capital Management. He also subscribes to Allison’s objectivist philosophy. Leoper references Ayn Rand’s description of morality as the, â€Å"Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, and integrity to stand by it at any price† (Geracoiti 2011). By this definition, integrity is akin to faith. One may not immediately understand the consequences of breaking a moral principle, but she or has faith that such actions will have an eventual consequence. A key example of Allison’s integrity was after the Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision. BB&T was the only major bank not to provide financing for projects that used land seized through eminent domain for private purposes. â€Å"We thought that was a violation of a principle that is necessary for a free society,† Allison says. The bank’s decision, â€Å"turned out to be great economics, which doesn’t surprise me at all† (Sparks 2011). Later in 2011, Don Luskin moderated a conference with John Mackey of Wholefoods and John Allison. Mackey was highly criticized for his public stance against Obamacare and was nearly thrown out of his own organization. Mackey’s conclusion was that he will think again before making political comments. Allison, however, disagreed and explained, I’m a person that believes very strongly in my principles, and I can’t sacrifice them in my business, regardless of the consequences in the short-term. We took a strong position on eminent domain, after the Kelo decision. I couldn’t tell my customers and employees that we have principles, but in this case we’d turn a blind eye to people’s property being expropriated to be given to other private people. In our case, it was successful. We got thousands of people moving their accounts to BB&T because of our position on eminent domain, because we acted on principle. That’s the same reason we refused to write loans to people who couldn’t afford them. I did it because I never want to have to tell someone that I did something that I thought was morally wrong. (Vegter 2011) Allison took a visible stance against the federal government once again in 2008 when he submitted a 14-point letter to Congress in which he objected to the bailout of the financial-services industry out of concern that it will hurt, â€Å"well-run financial institutions such as BB&T (Craver 2011). His integrity was questioned when BB&T accepted TARP monies shortly after the closed-door session with the nation’s political leaders. Shortly thereafter, Allison stepped down as the CEO so that he could start his education campaign. His work at the university level and at the CATO Institute is an effort to stop governmental force being exerted against independent businesses again. Principle 7 – Justice / Fairness According to Allison, â€Å"The good news is that we are all unique individuals† (Allison 2011). Managers that make the average above average and to keep the great from becoming average instill justice in the workplace. Allison believes that, â€Å"Egalitarianism is one of the most destructive ideas in our society† (Allison 2011). Managing equal outcomes not unequal input is truly unjust. Since individuals are not the same in their talents and abilities, a manager’s key function is to evaluate and judge others. This is a difficult function; therefore, Allison prescribes a three point method for judging others in order to stay fair. The person needs to be judged (1) as an individual, based on (2) the personal merits and based on (3) what matters in that specific circumstance. Therefore, â€Å"We reject collectivism and how they judge, which is based on their memberships groups, such as race, sex, nationalism, etc. [Collectivists] are always wrong because they are making an individual decision based on a group observation. An Individual cannot be a group† (Allison 2011). Principle 8 – Pride Aristotle described pride as the ultimate virtue because in order to have pride, all other virtues (justice, honesty, integrity, and rational independent thought) needed to be mastered. The pride described here is not arrogance or hubris, but instead, it is the reward to do good deeds and the reward for having done good deeds. Allison describes this as the â€Å"psychological rewards;† However, the rewards for Christianity are much more profound. The apostle Paul speaks of a healthy pride that one should have in oneself and others (2 Cor 5:12; 7:4; 8:24; Gal 6:4). Christianthinktank.com quoted the Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament that â€Å"Even Lexicons based on semantic domains have entries for ‘pride (legitimate)† (Chistianthinktank.com 2012). Allison equates pride with strong ethics. In a defiance allusion to Warren Buffet’s quote about ethics, Allison says, â€Å"The next time you face an ethical decision, ask yourself if you would be willing to tell the people that you love, care about, and judge to be of high-esteem the decision you made, not the newspaper.† Principle 9 – Self-Esteem / Self-Motivation Allison believes that this principle is the foundation of happiness. In his lecture, he states that, â€Å"You must believe at a very deep level that you are capable of being good and that you have the moral right to be happy.† He explained that this is, â€Å"The most important and controversial thought that I have to share with you today† (Allison 2011). On several occasions, Allison has made reference to the â€Å"sandbox example.† It is a story about a boy named Johnny that is playing with his toy truck in the sandbox. Fred then comes and takes Johnny’s toy truck because he wants to play with it. A fight then ensues, and Johnny’s mother comes over and says, â€Å"Johnny, be a good boy and share with Fred.† Allison asks, â€Å"What message does that give to Fred? More importantly, what message does that give to Johnny?† (Allison 2011). The heart of self-esteem is that a person can only control his or herself, not others. Therefore, the individual can only be in charge of their attitudes and their work; and thus, must be focused on them. Egalitarians are focused on others, and as a result, are adverse to others for being great. This is envy, which is the ultimate immoral pastime. Allison explains that, â€Å"you may be able to fool your boss, but you will never fool you. Do your best, and self-esteem increases. Do less than your best and self-esteem decreases† (Allison 2011). The trader principle fits with any of the other ten principles, but it particularly fits with self-esteem and self-motivation. The trader principle simply means that because people are self-interested, only win-win relationships are sustainable over the long term. All other relationships are either a lose-lose or eventually a lose-lose. Free-market capitalism is a highly moral system because it incentivizes good behavior and provides for a system for people to interact with others in search for win-win relationships. Allison explains this concept as the new leader of the CATO Institute: One of the things that I really want to do is make this a moral fight instead of a fight around the technical aspects of economics. The libertarian vision is a moral vision and we own the moral high ground. A free society is the only society in which people can think for themselves and pursue their rational self-interest. Freedom creates the ability, through creativity and incentive, to raise the quality of life for everyone. When I was CEO of BB&T we saw the opportunity, on many occasions, to create products and services that would improve the quality of life of our clients but some government regulation prevented us from doing it. Unfortunately most business leaders are not really capitalists. They are crony capitalists looking for some way to use the government to give them a special advantage. Cato is a defender of real capitalism, real free markets (Benko 2012). Principle 10 – Teamwork In a philosophy that is built on the individual and self-motivation, teamwork may be overlooked as a key principle. However, teamwork is essential in an organization and a society. Teamwork allows much more to be produced. Craver noted in his interview with Allison that, â€Å"What makes Allison unusual among leaders is that his philosophy is one of realism — not phony idealism. It’s all about excellent individuals making personal contributions to a joint effort — for the purpose of making profits, not saving the whales. Allison candidly says, in effect, a team is made up of people, each of whom is an ‘I’. We insist that you be an individual, and that if you want to be on the team, you have to voluntarily buy into the mission we have all chosen to share (Craver 2011). Detractors of Objectivism Forbes dubbed John Allison as the â€Å"Philosopher King;† however his philosophy is not easily accepted by many. The first and most relevant critique is that God is absent from this philosophy. This paper has included some allusions to how objectivist principles can mesh with Christian ideals; however, the architects of this philosophy, namely Ayn Rand, were atheists. The incongruities of this philosophy and Christianity largely lie in the concept of natural order (mother-nature) and the belief in God that is not visible (faith). As explained above, Christians cross this intellectual divide by substituting â€Å"natural order† or â€Å"mother nature† with God. There are also some differences in the idea of selfishness and self-sacrifice. More research is needed to find intellectual bridges; however, some of these conflicts are semantic in nature. Nonetheless, there is a logical case for God, and Christians knows that God reveals rational thought, purpose, creati vity, motivation, and reason through prayer. There is some confusion between being selfishness and self-destructive. Detractors of objectivism and capitalism contend this it is a â€Å"dog-eat-dog† system that takes advantage of others. Allison argues that taking advantage of others is truly self-destructive, not selfish. If a business takes advantage of a customer, then the customer will alert the market-place; and thus, the business will be harmed. Businesses take advantage of others through the political process, but that is not capitalism, and as Allison said, is not congruent with his philosophy. Finally, detractors find Allison’s philosophy lacks emotion. Allison disagrees and says that emotions can be a good thing. â€Å"Passion is an emotion, and you need passion in life† (Allison 2011). Allison believes that emotions are learned, not magical. This certainly seems to be true with some emotions, such as phobias; however, to the Christian, emotions can be divine inspiration. Allison warns leaders to check their premises when their emotions are at odds with reason. He further advises to always go with reason over emotion. Christians would disagree, at least in part. A Christian may always go with reason over emotion, but only after prayer and meditation and when reason and emotion are in-line. Certainly, a Christian should go to God in prayer to check their premises and motives. Life becomes easier to live, organizations are easier to lead, and employees are easier to manage if one has a clear philosophy and set of principles. With this in mind, BB&T’s senior management style is written in its literature as being as â€Å"participatory, team oriented, fact-based, and rational† (BB&T History 111). They define management concepts as, â€Å"obtaining and retaining excellent people, training employees well, give employees the appropriate level of authority and responsibility, expect a high level of achievement, and reward performance accordingly† (BB&T History 112). All of these definitions and concepts line-up with Allison’s core philosophy. BB&T’s website explained that, â€Å"Allison’s management style stressed decentralization, striving for a community banking feel at the branch level† (BB&T.com). The individual, self-esteem, productivity, and teamwork principles are the driving principles for this decision. Moral Clarity leads to better decision making, longevity, success, and happiness. This is good for all the stakeholders involved in the organization. This paper will conclude with scripture that encapsulates the role between managers and employees and consistent with most of Allison’s principles. Ephesians 6:5-9 says: Ephesians 6:5-9 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. References Allison, John (7/21/11), â€Å"Principled Leadership† Lecture at Wake Forest University Schools of Business. http://vimeo.com/27183721 BB&T (1998), â€Å"The BB&T Philosophy† Mission and Values guidebook. BB&T (2012), Our Account, History of BB&T 10th edition 2012. Benko, Ralph (7/2/12), â€Å"Who Is John†¦Allison? A Randian, Libertarian Business Icon Takes Over the Cato Instituteâ€Å" http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2012/07/02/who-is-john-allison-a-randian-libertarian-business-icon-takes-over-the-cato-institute Craver, Richard (7/10/11), â€Å"My Interview on John Allison – Today’s John Galt,† Winston-Salem Journal http://www.iamjohngalt.com/2011/07/my-interview-on-john-allison-todays.html Geracioti, David (Apr. 12, 2011), â€Å"Cold Call: Wealth Manager Operates Firm on Rand’s Objectivism† Wealthmanagement.com, http://wealthmanagement.com/institutions/cold-call-wealth-manager-operates-firm-rand-s-objectivism Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (Vol. 1, Page 310). New York: United Bible societies.] Hellriegel, D, S. E. Jackson and J. W. Slocum, Jr. Management: a Competency-Based Approach. (2008). Cincinnati: Cengage. ISBN 0 32 4421400 Martin, Andrew (8/1/09), â€Å"Give BB&T Liberty, but Not a Bailout,† New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/business/02bbt.html?_r=0 Perman, Matt (4/29/30), â€Å"A Christian View of Management in Ephesians 6:5-9.† What’s Best Next http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2011/04/a-christian-view-of-management-in-ephesians-65-9/ Sparks, Evan (2011), â€Å"Intellectual Capital†, Philanthropy Magazine, http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/intellectual_capital The Holy Bible. NIV forwards Charles F. Stanley and Andy Stanley Side by side bible NIV & KJV. 2011 Biblica, Inc. Wigoder, Geoffrey; Paul, Shalom M.; Viviano, O.P., Benedict T. & Stern, Ephraim (1986) Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible. G.G. The Jerusalem Publisying House ltd. Zigarelli, Michael (2003), â€Å"The Priorities and Practices of Christian Leaders,† Regent Business Review, http://www.cbn.com/finance/rbrchristianleaders.aspx

How Honey Bees Survive the Winter Cold

Most bees and wasps hibernate during the colder months. In many species, only the queen survives the winter, emerging in spring to reestablish a colony. But honey bees (species Apis mellifera) remain active all winter long, despite the freezing temperatures and lack of flowers on which to forage. Winter is when they reap the benefits of their hard work, by living off the honey theyve made and stored. Winter Is Why Bees Make Honey   The honey bee colonys ability to survive the winter depends on their food stores, in the form of honey, bee bread, and royal jelly. Honey is made from collected nectar; bee bread is combined nectar and pollen which can be stored in cells; and royal jelly is a refined combination of honey and bee bread eaten by nurse honey bees. The bees keep warm by consuming honey and bee bread. If the colony runs short of honey, it will freeze to death before spring. The worker bees force the now useless drone bees from the hive, letting them starve. Its a harsh sentence, but one thats necessary for the colonys survival. Drones would eat too much of the precious honey, and put the hive in peril. Once sources of forage disappear, the remaining honey bees settle in for the winter. As temperatures fall below 57 ° F, the workers hunker down near their cache of honey and bee bread. The queen stops laying eggs in late fall and early winter, since food stores are limited and the workers must focus on insulating the colony. The Honey Bee Huddle The honey bee workers huddle, heads pointed inward, into a cluster around the queen and her brood to keep  them warm. Bees on the inside of the cluster can feed on the stored honey. The outer layer of workers insulates their sisters inside the sphere of honey bees. As ambient temperatures rise, the bees on the outside of the group separate a bit, to allow more air flow. As temperatures fall, the cluster tightens, and the outer workers pull together. As the ambient temperature drops, the worker bees actively generate heat within the hive. First, they feed on honey for energy. Then, the honey bees shiver, vibrating their flight muscles but keeping their wings still, which raises their body temperatures. With thousands of bees constantly shivering, the temperature at the center of the cluster warms up to about 93 ° F. When the workers on the outer edge of the cluster get cold, they push to the center of the group, and other bees take a turn shielding the group from the winter weather. During warmer spells, the entire sphere of bees will move within the hive, positioning themselves around fresh honey stores. During long spells of extreme cold, the bees may be unable to move within the hive. If they run out of honey within the cluster, the bees can starve to death just inches from additional honey reserves. What Happens to the Bees When We Take Their Honey? An average colony of honey bees can produce 25 lbs. of honey during the foraging season. Thats two to three times more honey than they typically need to survive the winter. During a good foraging season, a healthy colony of honey bees can produce as much as 60 lbs. of honey. So the industrious worker bees make much more honey than the colony requires to survive the winter. Beekeepers can and do harvest the surplus honey, but they always make sure they leave a sufficient supply for the bees to sustain themselves through the winter months.   Sources and Further Information Parker, Robert, et al. Ecological Adaptation of Diverse Honey Bee (. PLoS ONE 5.6 (2010): e11096.  Apis mellifera) PopulationsWinston, Mark L. The Biology of the Honey Bee. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1991.Wright, Geraldine A., Susan W. Nicolson, and Sharoni Shafir. Nutritional Physiology and Ecology of Honey Bees. Annual Review of Entomology 63.1 (2018): 327–44.