Design Management and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Design Management and Marketing - Essay Example As a result, an old person becomes overly concerned about certain issues that drive him to become much lonelier about his life. A person's attitude may need to be adjusted; it could be at the root of his unhappiness. For instance, some elderly people insist on living alone well beyond their ability to care for themselves. One woman who was disabled and was living alone on a large piece of property posted a sign on her door that said: "Keep Out!" She felt that all anybody wanted was her money or property; she distrusted everyone. Such a person is not growing old with understanding. What a sad situation! True, not everybody can be trusted. But how much wiser it is to accept the fact that some can be trusted and to receive the friendship and assistance of those genuinely trying to be helpful! Some elderly ones may feel that they have lived out their lives. But they are still living, and they will find it beneficial to keep their minds active and to use their thinking abilities to the full. Learning new things is not beyond their capabilities and can be enriching, although it may take longer for them to learn th an when they were young. For this particular reason, as derived from the explanations on the causes of old age loneliness, a product that would help old aged individuals deal with the adversaries of the fact that they are already living the last years of their lives, shall be introduced within the context of this paper. Knowing how marketing and innovati... In this regard, product for the elderly aimed to making the said individuals more active and lively in their old age is the focus of the said process. Keeping the elderly active and well functioning in terms of their mental and limited physical abilities even beyond their old age. Through this product, engaging the said individuals into more active events and socially acquainted situations shall be the main focus of the system so as to help the elderly become less isolated as old age comes into their face. The product noted herein is a self-motivation speech presentation video that shows how older people should accept their state as the "old ones". However, besides accepting the fact, the video shall better the situation to making it happen for the individual to realize his/her capability of living life fully besides the challenge of physical weakness. Each old person is to be encouraged by this video to socially better their health and rather relate to others instead of keeping themselves behind doors. What the Product Features It is believed that the physical attribute of a person deteriorates faster than that of the mind. This is the primary reason why a motivational video is introduced to the said demographic bracket as noted herein. Understandably, the process by which old people use their time is the target activity of the producers of this product. Most of today's elderly are finding the dilemma of not being able to find something to do when they really want to exercise their minds once in a while. Presenting the availability of the product to the said market would become much of an easier task to complete for the marketer. Through

Investment Property Essay Example for Free

Investment Property Essay The objective of this Standard is to prescribe the accounting treatment for investment property and related disclosure requirements. Investment property is property (land or a building—or part of a building—or both) held (by the owner or by the lessee under a finance lease) to earn rentals or for capital appreciation or both, rather than for: (a) use in the production or supply of goods or services or for administrative purposes; or (b) sale in the ordinary course of business. A property interest that is held by a lessee under an operating lease may be classified and accounted for as investment property provided that: (a) the rest of the definition of investment property is met; (b) the operating lease is accounted for as if it were a finance lease in accordance with IAS 17 Leases; and (c) the lessee uses the fair value model set out in this Standard for the asset recognised. Investment property shall be recognised as an asset when, and only when: (a) it is probable that the future economic benefits that are associated with the investment property will flow to the entity; and (b) the cost of the investment property can be measured reliably. An investment property shall be measured initially at its cost. Transaction costs shall be included in the initial measurement. The initial cost of a property interest held under a lease and classified as an investment property shall be as prescribed for a finance lease by paragraph 20 of IAS 17, ie the asset shall be recognised at the lower of the fair value of the property and the present value of the minimum lease payments. An equivalent amount shall be recognised as a liability in accordance with that same paragraph. The Standard permits entities to choose either: (a) a fair value model, under which an investment property is measured, after initial measurement, at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss; or (b) a cost model. The cost model is specified in IAS 16 and requires an investment property to be measured after initial measurement at depreciated cost (less any accumulated impairment losses). An entity that chooses the cost model discloses the fair value of its investment property. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. An investment property shall be derecognised (eliminated from the statement of financial position) on disposal or when the investment property is permanently withdrawn from use and no future economic benefits are expected from its disposal. Gains or losses arising from the retirement or disposal of investment property shall be determined as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and shall be recognised in profit or loss (unless IAS 17 requires otherwise on a sale and leaseback) in the period of the retirement or disposal.

Gladiatorial Combat In Rome :: Gladiators, Chariots, Roman Games

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gladiatorial contests (munera gladitoria), hold a central place in our perception of Roman behavior. They were also a big influence on how Romans themselves ordered their lives. Attending the games was one of the practices that went with being a Roman. The Etruscans who introduced this type of contest in the sixth century BC, are credited with its development but its the Romans who made it famous. A surviving feature of the Roman games was when a gladiator fell he was hauled out of the arena by a slave dressed as the Etruscan death-demon Charun. The slave would carry a hammer which was the demon's attribute. Moreover, the Latin term for a trainer-manager of gladiators (lanista), was believed to be an Etruscan word. (4:50) Gladiators of Ancient Rome lived their lives to the absolute fullest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gladiatorial duels had originated from funeral games given in order to satisfy the dead man's need for blood, and for centuries their principle occasions were funerals. The first gladiatorial combats therefore, took place at the graves of those being honored, but once they became public spectacles they moved into amphitheaters. (2:83) As for the gladiators themselves, an aura of religious sacrifice continued to hang about their combats. Obviously most spectators just enjoyed the massacre without any remorseful reflections. Even ancient writers felt no pity, they were aware that gladiators had originated from these holocausts in honor of the dead. What was offered to appease the dead was counted as a funeral rite. It is called munus (a service) from being a service due. The ancients thought that by this sort of spectacle they rendered a service to the dead, after they had made it a more cultured form of cruelty. The belief was that the souls of the dead are appeased with human blood, they use to sacrifice captives or slaves of poor quality at funerals. Afterwards it seemed good to obscure their impiety by making it a pleasure. (6:170) So after the acquired person had been trained to fight as best they can, their training was to learn to be killed! For such reasons gladiators were sometimes known as bustuarii or funeral men. Throughout many centuries of Roman history, these commemorations of the dead were still among the principle occasions for such combats. Men writing their wills often made provisions for gladiatorial duels in connection with their funerals. Early in the first century AD, the people of Pollentia forcibly prevented the burial of an official, until his heirs had been compelled to provide money for a gladiators' show. (1:174)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was in Campania and Lucania that the gladiatorial games came to their

Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln Essay

Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King were two very similar orators who wanted to achieve almost identical goals. Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States and the leader of the Anti-Slavery Republican Party. His speech was delivered on the nineteenth November 1863 mat Gettysburg during the ‘Great Civil War’. His primary objective was to abolish slavery and he did this partly by indirectly telling his audience, such as, purposely forgetting his status and addressing his ‘Fellow countrymen’ with intense respect which consequently reflects his beliefs in equality. Martin Luther King, a Baptist Minister, was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He performed his speech almost one hundred years after Lincoln’s speech on the twenty eighth August at Lincoln’s memorial. King believed in egalitarianism and he also wanted to end segregation; this is what both orators set out to do. Lincoln and King have similar purposes for their speeches but targeted them in different ways. Influenced by the great legend Mahatma Gandhi who also himself was a non-violent freedom fighter, King wanted to gain black people’s freedom the same way as Gandhi, in a non-violent protest. Lincoln had a similar contractual obligation. He was to abolish slavery. He conveyed this in his concise speech ‘for the people’. Both King and Lincoln have implicit messages in their speeches. Lincoln, apart from trying to abolish slavery, also promoted ‘The honored dead’ and making people understand what their ‘fathers’ had done for them and what is left for them to do. King, on the other hand, apart from trying to gain black people’s freedom, evokes a feeling of disgust by the use of metaphors to induce an image of the ‘governor’s lips’, ‘dripping with the words of interposition and nullification’ which evokes a sin ister feeling within the audience which King hoped to achieve as it would divert the ‘Negro’s’ mind and evoke a feeling f disgust towards the government. King targets his audience cleverly. He explicitly targets the majority of the black people, who still, ‘one hundred years later’, and ‘must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free’. This clearly shows that King is telling his audience that even today after ‘one hundred years’ the ‘Negro’ are, ‘ still not free’. He implicitly talks to the ‘governor’s’; concurrently he is talking to the ‘Negro’ community by changing their views towards the ‘governor’s’. King is trying to provide a vivid reflection for the ‘Governor’s’ to make them realize what they are doing and how much better they could make if they abolish slavery and put an end to segregation. Alternatively, Lincoln’s audience was probably affluent white people from Northern US. Although King had the advantage of the TV, Radio, media and Microphone, Lincoln’s speech wa s just as well heard as King’s speech. The use of emotive words engages both King and Lincoln’s audience. King unifies his audience at the ‘table of brotherhood’ which, apart from unifying the audience also has a religious impact on the black people as they were extremely religious and an indirect reference to Jesus and his disciples would have caused immense unity between the audience. This metaphor apart from providing unity, it also is a very peaceful metaphor as it includes everybody. In contrast, Lincoln believes that their ‘nation’ is ‘under God’. These religious references amalgamate the audience and make them think that they are doing this for ‘God’ and that they are ‘God’s children’. Both orators structure their speeches in similar ways. The speech is structured in chronological order as it bequeaths a rhythmic feel. Firstly they talk about what their ‘fathers’ had to go through to get them this far, then they move into the present where both speech makers clearly make it noticeable that they talking about ‘now’. King introduces his future ingeniously by stating that he has ‘a dream’, which circuitously shows what he wants it to be like in the near future for his ‘four little children’. This poignant language also evokes sympathy not just for King but also for people around them who are going through the same traumatic experience. Different tones area applied by both orators to conjure up diverse feelings. Lincoln uses a sincere tone to compliment his feeling to abolish slavery when he addresses his ‘fellow countrymen’. On the other hand, King uses a powerful voice to ‘Let freedom ring’ and to strengthen the speech to emphasize his beliefs of ‘freedom’. Lincoln also has a sense of vigor in his tone which shows how the soldiers ‘nobly advance’ and which portrays the strength of his own voice as well corroborating other people simultaneously. Religious and biblical manners are used by both speechmakers, which has a great impact on the nation at the same time, as persons at that time, especially black public were very religious. Lincoln refers to the people being ‘under God’ which would convey a thought of great expectations in the minds of the listeners. King says that the ‘glory of the Lord shall be revealed’, which meant that if they work together, then they can create a better world for themselves and for their children, so if they stick together and protest they will see the reward. Both raconteurs coerce their audience by the use of different strategies. They both use analogous strategies to portray their views. Lincoln and King use the same strategies; however, King uses them extensively. Both use the rule of three but King take one-step further and converts it into repetition. When King repeats ‘Let freedom ring’, it emphasizes how much the black ‘community’ wants ‘freedom to ring’. However, Lincoln repeats two words in particular, ‘great’ and ‘nation’. The repetition of ‘great’ show the importance that can be achieved out of a ‘great civil war’ to form a bond between the people present and to say, if we are a ‘nation so conceived and so dedicated’ then we can tolerate the hardship and pain of war. The use of emotive language evokes a more personal feeling. King refers to his children to add a sympathetic feel to his speech. He also uses biblical references such as when ‘the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning’ keeps his audience interested by implicitly saying it will be done and it grants hope to his audience. On the other hand, Lincoln’s use of emotive language is more biblical rather than personal. The only reference to a more personal feeling was when he talked about their ‘fathers’ to call to mind a nostalgic upshot and to say how disrespectful it would be to go against the equality that our ‘fathers’ created ‘this continent a new nation’. King and Lincoln use alliteration in the same way. King uses alliteration to show ‘a desert state sweltering sweltering’, which too, portrays the immense heat of injustice. An onomatopoeic effect to give a sense of power to the ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ due to the repetition of the ‘P’. Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln intentionally use language to persuade their audience to fight freedom in a non-violent disapproval. Both orators take advantage of the uses of language to achieve their primary aim. Lincoln juxtaposes the ‘civil war’ with ‘great’ to encourage the greatness of war and what can be achieved out of this battle to abolish slavery. King juxtaposes ‘the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice’. Apart from being a metaphor, alliteration is also inserted and an expectant pause is added to let the audience reflect on what King had just said. Both speechmakers, to transmit a compassionate emotion use emotive language. In conclusion to my analysis Martin Luther King’s speech was the most effective only to the obvious reason that his was of a longer length so it contained more within it. Lincoln’s speech was nearly as good as King’s speech because he also interleaved messages inside his meaning which as a consequent added depth to his speech and made his speech almost as superior as King’s. King’s speech was good too for the reason that he could express his views openly as he had more time as well as more technology to reach more people.

Decade of Corporate Greed Essay

Ascended in the 1980’s he reinvented Republican policies that favored deregulation and the growth of business in America. These Ideas markedly opposed the views of the governmental interventionist policies of the 1960’s and 70’s with these ideas Reagan hoped to decrease government Involvement and heavy taxes. With these tax cuts Reagan’s thinking was that many new businesses would spawn and that it would have a trickledown effect by not only empowering businesses to grow and hire more people which in the end would benefit all from those on top in the corporate world all the way down to the lowest person in the company in which everyone benefits. This was welcome news not only to the Republicans but also the â€Å"lunch bucket democrats† who were working class democrats who predecessor Jimmy Carter of whom they thought they were ignored by. As a result of this many government services were slashed and created ideas of the government being the problem. With this many republicans encouraged individuals to do good for themselves for the government would not do this for them. With this encouragement of business growth and economic prosperity for as many people as possible individualism became a way of life in the 1980’s. The acquisition of wealth and indicators of it really helped to drive this decade in the 1980’s where it seemed most important to acquire as much â€Å"material† goods as possible. These ideas were also shown in the pop culture world as the artist Madonna made a hit song in the 80’s called â€Å"material girl† a song of the times basically about greed and gaining as material things as you possibly could with no shame of this greed. Also Gordon Gekko the fictional business tycoon in the film â€Å"Wall Street† stands up at board meeting to stress and states â€Å"Greed is good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Greed will not only fix this malfunctioning corporation called Teldar paper, but also the other malfunctioning corporation called the U. S. of A. † There were even excesses being taken in sports, as Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds had greed of singles, doubles and stolen bases, also greed in gambling cost him his spot in Major League Baseball. It was also in this decade baseball experienced â€Å"free agency† destroying loyalties and players selling themselves to the highest bidder as player contracts doubled from just the decade before. Once these Republican policies had trickled down to popular culture it almost seemed to validate this style of politics, it seemed as if the Republicans ascendance to power had spawned this culture and decade of greed that was so actively embraced by the American public. With this these politicians simply stated that they were just acting in accordance to what the public’s wishes were. With this success that Reagan had in the 80’s America had once again began to reassert itself on the world stage after a challenging decade of struggling in the 1970’s. Reagan is thought to be responsible also for the victory in the cold war that had lasted for decades before his term. The new thinking in the 80’s was not that this was greed but more of what the Republicans called prosperity and success. Some of the negatives of these changes were Reagan deregulated everything which in effect destroyed competition and this created oligopolies. Some examples of these are in the airline industry he deregulated the industry causing every airline in the country, except 2 to become bankrupt, as the deregulation in the broadcast industry resulted in just a few major players like Disney and Clear Channel dominating the playing field. As for under the Reagan administration money in politics became more strong then ever and that still holds true today in the world of politics for it seems like we no longer have elections, we more like have auctions for where it seems the candidate who has the most money to spend on getting their name out is usually the one who wins in these political battles, especially for the Presidency. What this does now and back then in the 80’s where it started is a corporation who might want certain laws or tax breaks passed to better help their needs funds that candidate to get elected and then in turn expects them favors to be returned when that candidate is elected. This new concentration of wealth created a whole new class of millionaires, however on the downside for every millionaire there were several hundred homeless people. With this came more negativity that came with the corporate greed of the 80’s. For these people who became homeless and poor due to these millionaires greed were blamed for dragging down the economy by Republican politicians and their mouthpieces in the media, while the truth we found out later is that indeed it was these rich people who were ripping us off and actually were responsible for dragging down the economy. Going as far to blaming the poor the city of Los Angeles installed a fingerprint system to guard against welfare fraud that cost the city and hardworking tax payers 30 million dollars, and for all of this it caught one cheater. While at the same time â€Å"White collar† crime was rising and costing us more than street crime cost, also doing more damage and arguably causing more deaths. Reagan also had a deregulation of the savings and loans industry which was a total debacle and ended up costing Americans 500 billion dollars which is part of the still current banking problem that is going on today. Unfortunately Reagan also began the practice of sending American manufacturing jobs overseas, another move that made the rich even more rich and greedy and made the poor have even less than they did before. Despite all these negatives it can be argued that Ronald Reagan was the most important and influential President of the last 60 years, loved by the Republicans and loathed by the liberals. Reagan turned half a century of political and economic orthodoxy and turned it on its head. It can be argued that he turned those who were Roosevelt democrats. So whether you loved or hated Reagan there is no doubt that administration and the greed of 80’s is still alive today. My though would be if your rich, you like the corporate greed and excessiveness that took place in the 80’s, however if you are poor you are wondering why this turned out like it did.

Free Essays on Counseling

Counseling is an interactive process characterized by a unique relationship between counselor and client that leads to change in one or more areas (Trickett, Sept. 9, 2003). Multicultural counseling requires the recognition of: (1) the importance of racial/ethnic group membership on the socialization of the client; (2) the importance of and the uniqueness of the individual; (3) the presence of and place of values in the counseling process; and (4) the uniqueness of learning styles, vocational goals, and life purposes of clients, within the context of principles of democratic social justice (Locke, 1986). As the theoretical and professional foundations of multicultural counseling have progressed, a natural evolution has been the development of ethical standards to help regulate the practice of multicultural counseling. Ibrahim and Arredondo (1986) authored a proposal to develop specific ethical standards regarding multicultural counseling in the areas of education, research, assessment, and practice. LaFromboise and Foster (1989) also discussed this by bringing attention to other issues related to ethics in multicultural counseling that involved participants in research and right to treatment. Which in respond to this the 1995 revision of the ethical standards, the American Counseling Association (ACA) included specific excerpts requiring counselors to respect diversity, avoid discrimination, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity when engaging in direct client services, research, education, testing, computer applications, public communications, and relationships with employers and employees (ACA, 1995). Within the section on professional competence, it requires them to show a commitment to gain knowledge, awareness, and skills related to serving all different types of clients. Researchers have stated the need to prepare professionals to become more skillful in dealing with ethical dilemmas, particularly those involving multicult... Free Essays on Counseling Free Essays on Counseling The historical perspective of counseling is covered in depth in chapter one. The evolution of the counseling profession was developed in answer to the direct need brought about by the industrial and urbanization of America (Aubrey, 1982; Herr, 1985). The introduction of counseling first emerged as vocational guidance. Frank Parsons is actually credited by many as the â€Å"father of guidance counseling.† Vocational guidance gave way in the early 1900’s, or rather set the stage for school counseling. From 1917 to the late sixties, important legislative actions took place, which has had a strong influence on the counseling profession of today. Though legislative actions continue today, early legislation served to shape the initial idea and practice of counseling. The evolution of counseling finally segued into ‘professionalization.’ The counseling professions meet the criteria commonly used to review whether an occupation meets professional status. Ac creditation, multiple types of certification and licensure are all key components in professional counseling. According to Egan, 1998, the helping relationship can be broken down into three phases – relationship building, challenging the client and facilitating positive client actions. There seems to be many different ‘approaches’ to counseling, but I feel Egan’s approach is focused, simplistic and effective. All approaches aside, ultimately there is much the future counselor must reflect upon prior to making the decision to become a counselor. From Roger’s (1958) coining the phrase, â€Å"self-actualized† to Roger’s (1958) identification of the â€Å"four conditions† that all counselors should possess, there is a plethora of characteristics, which the new counselor should be aware. While understanding the necessary characteristics of a counselor, the new counselor must also be keenly aware of the ethical and legal factors surrounding the counselor’s behavio... Free Essays on Counseling Counseling is an interactive process characterized by a unique relationship between counselor and client that leads to change in one or more areas (Trickett, Sept. 9, 2003). Multicultural counseling requires the recognition of: (1) the importance of racial/ethnic group membership on the socialization of the client; (2) the importance of and the uniqueness of the individual; (3) the presence of and place of values in the counseling process; and (4) the uniqueness of learning styles, vocational goals, and life purposes of clients, within the context of principles of democratic social justice (Locke, 1986). As the theoretical and professional foundations of multicultural counseling have progressed, a natural evolution has been the development of ethical standards to help regulate the practice of multicultural counseling. Ibrahim and Arredondo (1986) authored a proposal to develop specific ethical standards regarding multicultural counseling in the areas of education, research, assessment, and practice. LaFromboise and Foster (1989) also discussed this by bringing attention to other issues related to ethics in multicultural counseling that involved participants in research and right to treatment. Which in respond to this the 1995 revision of the ethical standards, the American Counseling Association (ACA) included specific excerpts requiring counselors to respect diversity, avoid discrimination, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity when engaging in direct client services, research, education, testing, computer applications, public communications, and relationships with employers and employees (ACA, 1995). Within the section on professional competence, it requires them to show a commitment to gain knowledge, awareness, and skills related to serving all different types of clients. Researchers have stated the need to prepare professionals to become more skillful in dealing with ethical dilemmas, particularly those involving multicult...

Free Essays on Analysis Of Toni Morrisons “Cinderellas Stepsisters“

Analysis of Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Cinderella’s Stepsisters† Toni Morrison presented a speech entitled â€Å"Cinderella’s Stepsisters† to a graduating class at Barnard College. In the course of her speech, Morrison parallels the stepsisters in â€Å"Cinderella† to many women of power today. The problems that Morrison presents are real, but her ideas my not be so realistic. Is equality among women achievable, or just an out of reach suggestion? Morrison begins by describing her discontent with the fairy tale. Morrison is disturbed that the story contains a group of women who join together to oppress another woman. She feels that this is a horrid example of how a female to female relationship should be. In earlier versions of â€Å"Cinderella,† the stepsisters are described as beautiful, attractive women of power. Morrison explains to the graduating women of Barnard College that they now have the same status and power of the stepsisters. Now that these women have obtained this power, Morrison asks them to use in a beneficial way. Morrison urges women not to participate in â€Å"professional violence, competitive violence, [or] emotional violence† (Morrison, 591) against their fellow women. Morrison suggests that â€Å"[women] pay as much attention to [their] nurturing sensibilities as to [their] ambition.†(Morrison, 591) Women need to recognize that other women are just as important as themselves. Morrison explains that women need to make selfless decisions. She recommends that women should not base their decisions on security and safety, for in life, you are never guaranteed either. Morrison explains that women’s rights are not only about equality between men and women, but also include women recognizing their fellow women’s rights. Without equality for each other, how can women ever be acknowledged equivalent to men? Morrison has managed to take hold of a modern problem and relate it to an old and well-known story. She ... Free Essays on Analysis Of Toni Morrison's â€Å"Cinderella's Stepsistersâ€Å" Free Essays on Analysis Of Toni Morrison's â€Å"Cinderella's Stepsistersâ€Å" Analysis of Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Cinderella’s Stepsisters† Toni Morrison presented a speech entitled â€Å"Cinderella’s Stepsisters† to a graduating class at Barnard College. In the course of her speech, Morrison parallels the stepsisters in â€Å"Cinderella† to many women of power today. The problems that Morrison presents are real, but her ideas my not be so realistic. Is equality among women achievable, or just an out of reach suggestion? Morrison begins by describing her discontent with the fairy tale. Morrison is disturbed that the story contains a group of women who join together to oppress another woman. She feels that this is a horrid example of how a female to female relationship should be. In earlier versions of â€Å"Cinderella,† the stepsisters are described as beautiful, attractive women of power. Morrison explains to the graduating women of Barnard College that they now have the same status and power of the stepsisters. Now that these women have obtained this power, Morrison asks them to use in a beneficial way. Morrison urges women not to participate in â€Å"professional violence, competitive violence, [or] emotional violence† (Morrison, 591) against their fellow women. Morrison suggests that â€Å"[women] pay as much attention to [their] nurturing sensibilities as to [their] ambition.†(Morrison, 591) Women need to recognize that other women are just as important as themselves. Morrison explains that women need to make selfless decisions. She recommends that women should not base their decisions on security and safety, for in life, you are never guaranteed either. Morrison explains that women’s rights are not only about equality between men and women, but also include women recognizing their fellow women’s rights. Without equality for each other, how can women ever be acknowledged equivalent to men? Morrison has managed to take hold of a modern problem and relate it to an old and well-known story. She ...

Job apps that will make your work search easier

Job apps that will make your work search easier â€Å"Simple† and â€Å"painless† are two words that are rarely associated with a job search. Usually, the descriptions job seekers use to describe the process are more along the lines of the â€Å"repetitive,† â€Å"confusing,† and â€Å"bang-my-head-on-the-desk† variety. Luckily for all of us, technology is changing all that. There is now a bevy of hiring job apps, Chrome extensions, and other tools that can take some of the sting out of looking for a new gig. We’ve rounded up five of the best job apps and tools for those on the hunt for a new job. These tools will help you manage the work of looking for work.ContactOutDuring the job search, follow up is key to getting a job. But since most job posts don’t contain the name of the hiring manager, it can be a difficult task.For finding email addresses, ContactOut  a great Chrome extension for email collection and a powerful tool for job seekers who are looking to connect directly wit h recruiters and hiring managers. Just find the LinkedIn profile of the person you want to email or call, and ContactOut scours the web for personal emails and telephone numbers, making it easier than ever to follow up on your dream job. Users get 50 free credits per day.JobScanIf an online job search were a bar, the applicant tracking system (ATS) would be the bouncer. With companies often receiving hundreds of applications for a single job opening, an ATS is the first line of screening for almost every online application. And, like a password whispered into a bouncer’s ear for entry into an exclusive hotspot, the key to getting past an ATS is having the right keywords on your resume. But how does the average job seeker know the right resume keywords to use?Enter JobScan, which optimizes your resume to boost your success with getting it past the ATS and onto the desk of a human recruiter. Just paste your resume and an interesting job ad into fields on the website and JobScan will analyze the two and make suggestions for how to improve your keyword match in the ATS. A separate service will do the same for your LinkedIn profile if you plan to apply through LinkedIn.LiveCareer ApplyIf the repetition of your job search is killing your optimism, we have the tool for you. It doesn’t take long once you’ve started looking for a new job to realize that it is a pretty tedious process. Fill out an online application. Attach your resume and cover letter. Hit send. Repeat.To reduce the monotony, LiveCareer has created a tool that makes filling out online applications fast and error-free. The LiveCareer Apply tool helps you autofill job applications  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ input your information once and the tool will populate applications for you. It increases your efficiency, reduces the possibility of typos or other manual data entry errors in your online forms, and works on all of the top job boards. Even better? The Chrome extension is free! Download it and start applying today!LinkedInThis mention on a list of great job apps might elicit a collective â€Å"DUH!† from active job seekers, but LinkedIn remains one of the most useful hiring apps out there. Whether you are using the app on your phone or perusing the site on your desktop computer, LinkedIn provides job seekers with the visibility they need during an online job search.Downloading LinkedIn onto your phone puts a powerful job app at your fingers tips for use anywhere. Apply for jobs on the bus, share trending industry news while watching television, or respond to messages from hiring managers in the park. Features like Easy Apply (which allows you to apply to jobs directly from your device without attaching your resume) make this one of the best job apps out there, no matter where you are, and no matter when you are using it.LinkUpOnline job boards are great, but every job seeker has experienced the frustration of spending time personalizing a resume and writing a cover letter, only to find they’ve been duped by a duplicate or outdated listing.LinkUp indexes 50,000 employer job boards daily to ensure only the most up-to-date job ads appear in your job search, making this one of the must-have job apps for serious job seekers. Users can save jobs, archive applications and search histories, and sign up for job alerts, which makes it much easier to keep track of what you’ve already viewed on the site’s two million jobs.Unlike other job apps, the company promises that all of the opportunities are verified, which means no applying to spammy jobs again. The LinkUp job app is available for free on desktop,  iOS, and  Android.With these five apps and extensions at your disposal, you’re that much closer to finding your dream job!About the Author:LiveCareer offers assistance to job seekers at every step of the journey. Access free  resume templates  and  resume examples, plus a  cover letter builder  and advice on ho w to answer  interview questions  of all stripes.

The Threat of Fraud in the Organization Assignment

The Threat of Fraud in the Organization - Assignment Example Crooks have been getting ever smarter and now target executives of small to medium enterprises where for instance fictitious orders for goods or credit lines are initiated and the goods are shipped to a third party. This causes considerable losses to companies and executives. Identity theft can be managed by ensuring stronger internal control and monitoring systems such as using the RCSA, encrypting sensitive data, and obtaining insurance for the executives. A workshop organized to sensitize executives on fraud would include a participatory and self-assessment session to monitor uptake of information by attendants. Literature 1. The answer to question 1 (a and b); How would you protect corporate executives of fraudulent acts against them? Identity theft refers to the act of stealing or gaining another person’s identifying and personal information such as a social security number or credit card numbers by unauthorized means and using or having the intention to use the informati on fraudulently (van der Meulen, 2011). The first step in protecting executives would be to get insurance in the director and officer insurance form to cover against loss of wealth and associated assets. An executives' signature can, for example, be used to fraudulently get a binding agreement with the company, which would be detrimental to the company such as using the executive’s identity to access credit lines, which are not approved. The company would need to ensure it and its and executives are under the 'Merchant Risk Council' which is a group of over 7 800 merchants, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and vendors who work together to enhance cyber frauds, for example, financial institutions would have to call the company before processing a credit card application. Of course, improving cybersecurity at the business would be a viable step. Cybercrime occurs when three principal factors are present; opportunity, rationalization, and pressure as the fraud tr iangle shows. Financial pressure Opportunity Rationalization                                                                                                         Financial The pressures to steal ID's are primarily financial or hobby and the fraudsters never share their problems or intentions to solve them, especially through fraud. Rationalization is the act of someone justifying their fraudulent behavior and reconciling themselves with it so that they commit it without feelings of guilt. Opportunity refers to the capability to steal identities or commit fraud and crooks do their best to cover their tracks. Opportunity is the result of weak control systems in the company and is the one area where most business entities are most vulnerable since while they take steps to minimize fraud, crooks devise ever sophisticated methods to go around the security systems (Singleton & Singleton, 2010). A lot of focus would b e directed to minimizing the opportunity for ID theft by having firewalls and current anti-spyware in addition to installing anti-malware and ant viruses in the computer systems and networks at the company.  

The Federal Reserve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Federal Reserve - Essay Example Monetary policies are conducted through open market purchases, changing the discount rate, and determining the reserve requirement among banks. The main premise of any monetary policy instituted by the Fed is that any change in the money supply will consequently affect aggregate demand, price level, and the GDP deflator. Open market purchases allow Fed to buy and sell T-bills and T-bonds at discounts in order to take advantage of the gains from the purchase price and maturity value. These instruments are generally considered as less risky investments as they assure Fed of a sure yield at maturity dates. Fed, with its discretionary power, can also opt to purchase and sell stocks. However, as Fed is mandated is act like a "prudent person" and limit itself to less risky financial instruments, it will not engage in such operations. Accordingly, Fed is not allowed to enter in transactions that a prudent man will not undertake. It should be noted that stock markets like the NYSE are highly volatile and stocks are high risk investments. Selling and buying stocks will expose Fed into the risk of losing all its investments with the failure and collapse of business organizations.

Role of Healthcare Information System in Quality Service Provision Essay

Role of Healthcare Information System in Quality Service Provision - Essay Example Quality assurance makes reference to the act of putting in place in all necessary measures to ensure the end product of service successfully achieves its intended purpose. Basically, both the IT and healthcare sectors have set of measures in place to ensure quality standards are observed. Unlike the IT industry though, the presentation and behavior of staff directly represents the quality of service within a healthcare setting. On the contrary, quality assurance in IT is primarily pegged on products usability as well as service provision. Additionally, in healthcare settings, quality is a measure of service while in IT industry it is a measure of product efficiency (Joshi 460). Both however offer products/quality which directly impacts on health and any in appropriate measures could cost human life, or amount to medical malpractice. All players strive to ensure that they not only meet the minimum quality service thresholds or even surpass the same. Both healthcare and IT sectors have an ethical obligation to ensure that quality services/products are availed to patients and clients respectively. However, approach to quality assurance as well as assessable quality dimensions largely differ. While in the health sector quality is defined with regard of care standards and procedures including the technical standard of providers and patients expectation, IT industry defines quality with respect to ability of the product to make healthcare provision much easier and readily available. In essence it focuses on minimizing constraints to healthcare access. It is important to note that these definitions give a shallow but broad illustration of the variations in quality perception between the two sectors. What is however evident is the fact that both sectors view quality assurance as a standard ethical procedure which must be attained at all costs. In general, quality assurance may therefore be said as involving all arrangements and activities which safeguard, maintain and facilitate quality healthcare provisions. It involves measurement of quality, identifying deficiencies, undertaking improvements and evaluating whether such improvements are successful.

Organisational change at WA Police Communications Case Study

Organisational change at WA Police Communications - Case Study Example Organizations are faced with chaos every day, and managerial role will involve bringing about order, and simplifying the manner in which problems are dealt with every day. Therefore, managers should take care of the needs of the people their actions have an effect on by considering the effects their decisions will have on them. Leaders should always be flexible in dealing with different situations, and they should reframe their experiences and always endeavor to seek new ways of dealing with situations. Bolman and Deal explain that management should be an ethical and moral role so that leaders are able to understand the employees’ heritage and personal needs, and this will increase productivity. Therefore, leaders should thrive on combining business with values and purpose so that everyone in the organization feels comfortable when working. In reframing or changing organizations, Bolman and Deal put an emphasis on the need to concentrate on organizational practices in order to achieve productivity. They use a four frame model that will help organizations in changing their practices, Structural, human resource, po ­litical, and symbolic, which give the notion that the same problem or situation can be viewed in four different ways. Each of the frames is powerful on their own, but when they are applied together, they help to get a broad picture of any organization. These frames are used to identify the problems in organizations and the measures that are best suited to cope with it satisfactorily. The structural frame puts an emphasis on organizational goals, roles and relationships in the organization. It is the blueprint for what each employee is expected to complete since it will help device... The paper gives detailed information about the structural problems in the organization such as the lack of feedback and recognition on the tasks that the employees engage in every day. Every employee has their task, but the problem is that no one knows if they are doing the right thing or not. The structural frame requires that the employees are given tasks and roles according to their competencies, and they have an idea of what is expected of them. It requires a stable, working environment, where the employees will have clearly defined role, and this will be beneficial in carrying out their tasks since they know what the management expects from them. Feedback is significant since it will motivate the employees in their work, and it will make them work hard to see that they have accomplished their goals. WA police communication seems to have problems with the way they handle their internal politics, which are detrimental to their operations. Conflicts in organizations are bound to oc cur since people will have different views on how to approach different problems in the organization. Therefore, decision-making plays a crucial role in determining the way organizations handle their political issues. WA police communication decision-making roles are vested on the management of the organization, and employees do not participate. They complain that they have no say in the way things in the call center are run, and they are the ones to implement the decisions made by the management.

Take two states and compare their juvenile justice systems Research Paper

Take two states and compare their juvenile justice systems - Research Paper Example When they enter the system it’s a totally new ballgame for them. They come in proximity of those adults who have already committed crime. This can exert a negative effect on the young. Juvenile justice system has also criticized on the grounds of less interactive, lack of respect for the defaulter, lack of inputs which could persuade or give a fair chance to the defaulter to correct his or her fault encouraging them to take a right course of action (Glass, 2012, pp. 1-5). Juvenile justice, as mentioned, varies from state to state and each state has its own jurisdiction for such system. It has been said by the authors that the juvenile justice system in California is not racially neutral. This was one of the worst drawbacks which the California juvenile justice system suffered. The decision points suffered from the effect of race. The authors emphasized that, â€Å"Minority youth are more likely than the majority youth to become involved in the system†. There were severa l issues that needed to be directed based on this system. In comparison with the adult criminal justice, the juvenile justice lacked supervision and review. On the contrary it had also been found that in the juvenile justice system there had been cases which witnessed no disparity amongst the young defaulter. But when inequalities prevailed it involved either large differentiation at some point of stage in the system or else followed a sequence of accumulations of comparatively minor divergences in processing with a moderately hefty net effect. Moreover the system prevailed in California was volatile in nature which allowed the disparity in the system. The system lacked an analytical model which desirably would simplify the problems existed within the system (Pope & William, July 1995, pp. 1-15). However in the light of the above mentioned critic, the juvenile justice system in California was subjected to some recommendation which, if implemented, would help it to become a system wi th more fluidity. It lacked a systematic monitoring which if developed would facilitate the processing at each stage of the juvenile justice. Introduction of research program was suggested. Consideration in training and development of the staffs of the system was highly suggested which would make improvement in dealing with minor offenders. Critical examination at local stages, if implemented, would lower the gap between the minority and majority youth. Restructuring of laws in the juvenile justice was advised where problems of inequalities prevailed. Workshop for the youth psychoanalysis might help them to come out of mental disorder if any. The jurisdiction itself was suggested to be strengthened enough to carefully evaluate the decision making at every stage and should make a note of the thing that their dealings were with the minors with an derailed mindset, but not with the criminals (Pope & William, July 1995, pp. 19-20). In this contrast author Muncie, 2008, said, â€Å"Juve nile justice systems throughout America now give greater weight to punishment as an end in itself† (Muncie, 2008, pp. 3). A comparative analysis can be done by comparing the juvenile justice laws prevailing in Florida. In contrast with California juvenile justice law the Florida law was less flexible and followed extreme consequences. In many cases it was noted that the victims were tried in adult court and received imprisonment for life. The psychoanalysis part was not at all strengthened in the Florida law, rather

Organisational change at WA Police Communications Case Study

Organisational change at WA Police Communications - Case Study Example Organizations are faced with chaos every day, and managerial role will involve bringing about order, and simplifying the manner in which problems are dealt with every day. Therefore, managers should take care of the needs of the people their actions have an effect on by considering the effects their decisions will have on them. Leaders should always be flexible in dealing with different situations, and they should reframe their experiences and always endeavor to seek new ways of dealing with situations. Bolman and Deal explain that management should be an ethical and moral role so that leaders are able to understand the employees’ heritage and personal needs, and this will increase productivity. Therefore, leaders should thrive on combining business with values and purpose so that everyone in the organization feels comfortable when working. In reframing or changing organizations, Bolman and Deal put an emphasis on the need to concentrate on organizational practices in order to achieve productivity. They use a four frame model that will help organizations in changing their practices, Structural, human resource, po ­litical, and symbolic, which give the notion that the same problem or situation can be viewed in four different ways. Each of the frames is powerful on their own, but when they are applied together, they help to get a broad picture of any organization. These frames are used to identify the problems in organizations and the measures that are best suited to cope with it satisfactorily. The structural frame puts an emphasis on organizational goals, roles and relationships in the organization. It is the blueprint for what each employee is expected to complete since it will help device... The paper gives detailed information about the structural problems in the organization such as the lack of feedback and recognition on the tasks that the employees engage in every day. Every employee has their task, but the problem is that no one knows if they are doing the right thing or not. The structural frame requires that the employees are given tasks and roles according to their competencies, and they have an idea of what is expected of them. It requires a stable, working environment, where the employees will have clearly defined role, and this will be beneficial in carrying out their tasks since they know what the management expects from them. Feedback is significant since it will motivate the employees in their work, and it will make them work hard to see that they have accomplished their goals. WA police communication seems to have problems with the way they handle their internal politics, which are detrimental to their operations. Conflicts in organizations are bound to oc cur since people will have different views on how to approach different problems in the organization. Therefore, decision-making plays a crucial role in determining the way organizations handle their political issues. WA police communication decision-making roles are vested on the management of the organization, and employees do not participate. They complain that they have no say in the way things in the call center are run, and they are the ones to implement the decisions made by the management.

Course project part 1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Course project part 1 - Coursework Example Selling and administrative expense rose proportionately more than the sales growth (55 percent). This was compounded by the 185 percent increase in interest expense which significantly eroded these gains. Otherwise, all other cost elements were under control. The net income thus went up by only 28 per cent, and because of the issuance of new shares during the period, earnings per share increased by only 9 percent. Net profit margin in the second year relative to sales dipped slightly compared to the year before despite the the growth in sales. While operating profit margin was better than the previous level by two percentage points, the near three-fold increase in interest expense was the main reason why net profit return on sales did not improve. Total assets nearly doubled during the period due to the 113 percent increase in net plant and equipment. Accounts receivable, due to the drive to increase sales, more than doubled. There was an increase in cash and cash equivalents of 40 per cent. The increases in fixed assets and receivables were financed mainly from short-term and long-term debt which together caused total liabilities to rise by 134 percent (more than $600,000). The issuance of new shares and retained earnings accounted for the balance of almost $300,000 increase in total assets. Profitability. The 44 per cent increase in sales did not effectively translate into an improved return on total assets because of the purchase of additional plant and equipment during the year. A corrected return on assets can be obtained by averaging the year 1 and year 2 assets in the computation. With an average asset of $1,447,000, the return on sales would be 8.29 percent instead of 6.33 percent but it is still lower than the previous years level. The growth in net profit margin markedly failed to keep pace with the growth in sales. The return on stockholders equity was slightly lower than the previous years. Judged against the industrys

Performance Management Plan Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Plan Essay I have been gathering information to help analyze your business and to assist in giving you recommendations based on the business strategy you have compiled to increase performance of the employees and business. I will be looking at several objectives to help with the performance plan that your company will use to identify any area of improvement and to enhance on the areas of expertise. I understand that your expectations are as follows, Landslide Limousine will be at a negative $50,000 for the first year with the expectation of a growth of 5% over two years, and you are planning to have 25 employees with a turnover rate of 10%. To assist in explaining the plan I have in mind, I will break the plan into different subject topics for you to follow, and give explanations as well. A. Aligning performance to the business strategy When considering performance it is necessary to incorporate some type of performance appraisal program within the organization. This serves as a tool for the employees to work toward, with the proper appraisal program the employee will feel a since of ownership of their own behaviors and will have a benefit for achieving goals or objectives. This also gives the employee a  motivation to change positions and continue with a training program to enhance their own personal wealth within the organization. The employees will also feel more open in providing feedback to other employees, provide ideas and help to develop new employee’s skills as they learn the importance of enhancing their own skill set. Using a management by objective process will give the employees the objective to work toward, and will give the employee a standard of acceptable behaviors. Self-appraisals will be key in this realm, customer feedback, and continual monitoring will help to evaluate the performance of each individual. Immediate supervisors or managers will assist in the appraisal process, and you will be informed of the continual behavior of each employee on a regular basis. Customer feedback will be useful information as this will be one of the key elements in the appraisal as customer service is what will drive your business to the next level. Cascio, (2013). 2. Job analysis The skills necessary for the employee to have will be the basis of the job analysis. This is why it will be important to determine what skills are needed in this field. What measures will be used to evaluate each individual’s job or merit pay. We must define what job will require what skills and what will be the qualification for each position. By determining the job qualifications for each position will help in the selective process to find the right people for the right job. Mr. Stonefield, you will need to define the positions you will have within the organization by separating each skill set required and what each job title will need. This can be done with a job analysis; it should include the tasks required for each job by title. It will be necessary to determine what the limousine drivers will be expected to accomplish while transporting clients. The job can be also defined by how much lifting, long periods of downtime, ability to drive extended vehicles, and the skill set of the individual to navigate to different geographical areas within the region. The job must reflect the experience of the driver, their educational background, and what are their abilities or proven track records. 3. The organizational performance philosophy The rewards to excellence are the Landslide Limousine motto. The company  is committed to the best customer experience; this is measured by consistency, customer satisfaction, and continual development of the staff. 4. Measuring the employee’s abilities and continual skill enhancement Measuring employee skills is important to the performance of the individual; this provides continual feedback, coaching, and growth for the employee. The goals set for these individuals must be clear, concise, and obtainable, Cascio, (2013). Employees should have ongoing meetings with the management staff to reflect on achievements and goals set for future achievements. This setting should also encourage feedback from the employee; this will allow the employee to feel as though their suggestions count in the process of the growth of the organization. The objectives should have a clear vision of how each one will be achieved, using a graphic rating scale can assist in this process. The behavior anchored rating scale (BARS) can also help to analyze critical incidents and then compare these to the norm. Casico, (2013). 5. Addressing skill gaps within the organization A skills gap analysis identifies specific skills needed to complete any given task and then takes that information and compares it to the level of current requirements. This is completed by doing a skill assessment which will determine the skills needed for any of the particular jobs within the organization or job category (Cascio, 2013). Then by applying the assessment as a benchmark for the job you can develop a plan for the training process needed to assist the employees in their road to success. One must develop a list of skills per job and determine the knowledge needed for each role, and then once the skills are assessed and the training is planned out one must go through the skills needed to improve on these skills by reviewing with an appraisal review. According to (Lorri Freifield, 2014), transfer knowledge can assist in enhancing a technical talent through mentors helping employees to explore their best practices. 6. Delivering Performance through feedback Delivering performance is very important, I would suggest using a process of multi-rater or the 360-degree feedback. This uses observations from many aspects of a person in many roles. Cascio, (2013). The immediate supervisor or manager, co-worker and customers rate the employee through feedback form the performance of that individual that is observed. This will  assist with any self-evaluation error and the feedback from different areas will give a 360 view of the individual, this will assist in understanding how the employee is effective in their role. Observant views with others assist in keeping a fair and objective view of employees; this will also assist in continuing a fair and objective review process. Mr. Stonefield the performance management framework given outlines the steps necessary in reviewing standards of an individual and team by actual performance. When looking at the overall strategy of the company as a whole Landslide Limousine will need to minimize the turnover and enhance on the skill set to enhance the overall employee performance. It will be necessary to look into the best cost effective way to handle any performance management and by using the recommendations I have listed Landslide Limousine will be striving to the goal of being the best in the Austin Texas area. References Cascio, W. F. (2013). Managing Human Resources (9th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw Hills Companies, Inc. Lorri Friefield. (2014). Training the Source for Professional Development Retrieved from http://www.trainingmag.com/solving-todays-skill-gaps

Need For Structural Transformation Through Ebusiness Business Essay

Need For Structural Transformation Through Ebusiness Business Essay There are various theories on the subject which enrich our modern days understanding of the subject and make us appreciate how and why organisations strategise their decisions. How does Coca Cola know that its strength lie in adding various lines of beverages such as energy drinks, sports drinks, health drinks when others are just making aerated drinks? Or how does Estee Lauder through its various marketing brands cater to different segments the original Estee Lauder for older women, Clinique for middle aged women, M.A.C. for youthful hipsters, Aveda to aromatherapy enthusiasts and Origins for eco conscious consumers. Michael Porters acclaimed Five Forces of Competitive Position model explains a simple perspective for evaluating and analysing the competitive strength and position of a corporation or business organisation. Let us understand each force and its implication for the Strategic Planners in the Case of FedEx Industry Competitors This refers to the existing players in an industry unless and until there is a first mover advantage. But sooner or later, other firms enter and pose a direct threat to ones profits. In the case of FedEx, UPS was a competitor though till 1982 UPS was not directly competing in the overnight delivery segment. And so the rule of the game have to be maneuvered keeping in mind what other firms are doing in the industry. Potential Entrants The threat of a new firm entering into the industry is more when its easier relatively for an organisation to enter the industry in other words, entry barriers are low. An organisation planning to enter the industry will contemplate various decisions such as the loyalty of customers to existing products, how soon the economies of scale can be achieved, do they have access to suppliers, and would they face government legislation, discouraging them or promote them in any manner to enter the industry. FedEx had a lot of first mover advantages. It was the first company to give the drivers hand held scanners for sending alerts to customers for each pick up and delivery. In 1994, it became the first big transport company to launch a website that included tracking and tracing capabilities, but by 2000 when DHL, TNT and UPS were fierce competitors., these advantages were lost as customers took all these facilities as granted and did not see any incremental value. Thus as more firms enter the market, the dynamics change and this calls for a continuous innovation stream and realignment of corporate strategy which has become the hallmark of FedEx over the years. By integrating its services and managing the supply-chain of its customers, it generated customer loyalty and increased the customer switching costs. Thus FedEx managed to effectively introduce the barriers to entry for competitors. Threats of substitute products or services The availability of products services outside the common product boundaries raises the likelihood of customers to switch to alternatives. Are there alternative products that clients can buy over your product that provides the same benefits at a lesser price? In the case of FedEx, this threat was low at the time it entered the market. There was no other way to make time sensitive documents reach overnight in a reliable fashion. Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of clients is also expressed as the market of outputs: the ability of customers to put the firm under pressure, which also governs the customers sensitivity to price changes. Strategic Planners at FedEx realised this from the beginning. The underlying philosophy at FedEx was that whenever businesses grow, there is always move of physical goods. This shows that the management team at FedEx took cognisance of customer sensitivity and their power. It always laid emphasis on speed and reliance in moving time sensitive documents. Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers are critical for the success of a firm. Raw materials are required to complete the finished product of the organisation. Suppliers have immense power. This power comes from: If they are the main supplier or one of the rare suppliers who supply that particular raw material. If it is relatively costlier for the company to move from one supplier to another (known also as switching cost) If there are no other substitutes for their product. FedEx made judicious decisions in selecting their technology partners. Whether it was tying up with COSMOS or making a deal with Netscape in 1999, it leveraged its IT partners to the fullest. Value chain is described by Dagmar Recklies in the following words: Value chain analysis described by Porter refers to the activities within and around a company, and links them to an analysis of the competitive strength of an organization. It thus assesses which value each particular activity brings to the organizations products or services. D.K. Likhi in the article Motives of Strategic Alliances formation: Value Chain perspective states the following:   Porter says that the capability to perform particular activities and to manage the linkages between these activities is a source of competitive advantage. In his well-known book Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining superior Performance (1985) Porter distinguishes between primary activities and support activities. Primary activities are straightforwardly linked with the creation or delivery of a product or service. They can be assembled into five main parts namely inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Each of these primary activities is joined to sustain activities which help to improve their competence or efficacy. There are four major areas of support activities: procurement, technology development (including RD), human resource management, and infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information management etc.).   The basic model of Porters Value Chain is presented here- Moreover, the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Margin denotes that organisations realise a profit margin that depends on their aptitude to handle the linkages between all activities in the value chain. In the case of FedEx Strategic Planners at FedEx have been able to leverage both its primary and secondary activities and ensured that they reap high margins. Its focus on Technology Development proved that even a secondary activity can become critical in defining success. FedExs success lay in its pro-activeness. It realised that mere express delivery will not take it far; in order to revolutionise the globe, it will have to focus on total logistics and supply chain solution. Core Competencies and Capabilities at FedEx A core competency is a unique factor that a business considers as being central to the way it, or its employees, works. It fulfills three key criteria: It provides consumer benefits It is not easy for competitors to imitate It can be leveraged widely too many products and markets. When we analyse the case, it becomes evident that FedEx had various core competencies and capabilities. Firstly, it is the underlining philosophy and the vision of the management at FedEx. Innovation and Pro-activeness is a culture in itself; either the organisation has it or it does not. When others in the industry were competing on prices, FedEx was thinking how to integrate seamlessly with its customers and provide value. It was thinking of emerging into a global logistics and supply chain company while others in the industry were complacent being express delivery firms. In 1974, FedEx opened a small warehouse for Parts Bank and thus embarked on the journey of logistic management. Fred Smith, Chairman of FedEx Corporation was a visionary; he realised that overnight delivery of time sensitive documents was a brilliant business idea. He mastered that speed and reliance were crucial in this business for clients. In the nascent years when other players were buying space on commercial airlines, FedEx acquired its own transportation fleet. Such a vision was instrumental in saving huge costs to the company in the latter years. Secondly, the use of breakthrough technology and internet acted as another core competence. In 1980s, FedEx became the first company to give its drivers hand held scanners that were used to send alerts to customers every time a packet was picked up or delivered. It became the first big transport company to have a website with tracking and tracing facilities in 1994. It had started putting customers catalogues on the website. Thus FedEx had started redefining sources and procurement strategies for its clients who were very happy with these value added services, they had in a way outsourced their entire supply chain management to FedEx. Thirdly, leveraging relationships as a strategy acted as yet another major competency for FedEx. It started using COSMOS tracking network in 1979 and provided tracing and tracking services with the advent of internet. In 1999, it made a deal with Netscape to offer a suite of delivery services at its netcenter portal. This meant automatic integration of Netscape FedEx by means of which FedEx gained an added access to 13 million members who were there on the portal. As we see FedEx leveraged both, backward integration with its IT Technology partners on one hand and forward integration with many of its clients like Dell Cisco on the other. Thus as of January 2000, FedEx became the worlds largest overnight package carrier with about 30 percent market share. Main Advantages Disadvantages of international trade to FedEx Corporation FedEx gained tremendously from International trade. Its tie up with Dell, Cisco, NatSemi and Netscape vouch for the fact that such backward and forward integrations would not have been possible if it had not ventured out of its home market. The management also exploited the use of internet and e-commerce to the best of its advantage. It started tying up with companies worldwide and managed its customers effectively. FedEx was able to service as an extended, fully outsourced logistics supply chain division of global companies. It introduced various e-Business Tools for faster connections with FedEx shipping and tracking applications. As early as in 1974, it started logistics operations with Parts Bank and built up a small warehouse at Memphis. Thus when others were just competing on prices and speed, FedEx was already way ahead with its first value added service way beyond transportation. However when one goes international, there are disadvantages as well. FedEx increased its scope of work and base, spreading itself too thin. Multiple brands worldwide became difficult to manage. Costs started multiplying as each sub business had its own accounting, sales and marketing costs. While the likes of UPS had the advantage of promoting just one brand UPS to sell the company and its many service offerings, FedEx was trying to promote five different sub-companies with completely unrelated names business logos under the FDX banner with separate sales and customer service teams. However a re-alignment and re-branding strategy was timely planned and international trades advantages far out weighed its disadvantages and costs. Section II Classical Evolutionary School of Thought the case of FedEx Strategy Theory is such a vast, multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary academic field with competing schools of thought with each one taking a different view as to what strategy is aiming to achieve that it becomes almost impossible to compare any two schools. Let us look at some of the schools of thought in the domain of strategy and see the relevance of the same in the case of FedEx. The classical view of strategy is supported on the military parlance, in which the world is a fixed hierarchy with a solitary general who makes decisions. The concept has a long history in the military and if we see etymologically, strategy literally means what the generals do. However problem exists when some theorists take this too literally and try to replicate this in the business domain as it is. The military model is supported by an intellectual inheritance from economics. Many economists placed this singular figure right at the heart of their ideation of strategy as an highly structured game of move and counter-move, bluff and counter-bluff, between competing yet interdependent businesses. This view of individuals in association with Smiths view that each individual is continual wielding himself to find out the most profitable employment of whatever capital he can command, creates a stereotype of the manager who is focused on maximising return on investment. Classical strategy places immense assurance in the readiness and capacity of managers to adopt profit maximising strategies through rational long-term planning. Such cases are a rarity as businesses do not comprise of ideal economic man. managers not only fall short to set output at the theoretically profit-maximising level where marginal costs precisely equal marginal revenue, but most managers have no clue what their marginal costs and marginal revenue curves are! Economists attuned to this business stupidity by letting the markets do the thinking. With this view of the world, markets not managers opt the prevailing strategies within a particular environment. For those strategists who stick to the evolutionary view of competition, survivors may emerge to be those who have adapted themselves to the environment. Competition is the mainly useful form of weeding out inefficiency or lack of adaptation, hence simple access into markets is the way to ensure healthy industries. Application of the Schools in the case of FedEx In the case of FedEx, we see an amalgamation of both the schools happening. When the firm has a first mover advantage, at times it is possible to relate its thinking, and actions with the Classical School Of Thought. From 1973 onwards, Fred Smith, Chairman of the group steered the company through breakthrough technical advances and innovative practices. It is similar to the Classical Ideology of maximising profits and shaping the industry, so to speak. It was Freds vision that enabled the organization to transform itself from an express delivery company to a global logistics supply chain company. He took the right decisions at the right time most of which were instrumental in making it the market leader at that time and even some thirty years later! Noteworthy are the following actions As early as 1974, FedEx realised the importance of value added services and the transformation into a logistics company. It tied up with Parts Bank and built up a small warehouse at Memphis to provide storage facility. Smith insisted of acquiring his own transportation fleet while others were booking space on public carriers. FedEx was the first company to introduce hand held scanners for drivers; this facilitated sending alerts to clients for pick up and delivery. In 1994, it was the first transport company to have a website with tracking and tracing facilities. In 1999, FedEx tied up with Netscape and thus gained access to millions of customers who were already on Netscape portal. It tied up with Dell, Cisco NatSemi and almost acted as their logistics and supply chain management. The above are some of the examples to prove that from 1973 to 1999, there were a number of incidents which make us feel that management at FedEx acted in a Classical fashion and tried to maximize its profits and returns on investments as much as possible. However when we look at the Re-branding strategy that was undertaken by the management in January 2000, it shows us the application of Evolutionary School of Thought strategy. Towards 2000, UPS, TNT and DHL were strongly competing with FedEx. FedEx had five subsidiary companies each with separate sales, marketing and customer service staff. Each unit had its own accounting practices. They were targeting different segments and were working independently. But this strategy resulted in a lot of duplicity of resources and wastage of time efforts. The subsidiaries were not even to leverage any synergies, not even the legacy of the FedEx brand. This is when the management at FedEx looked around and learnt from market and the competition. It undertook a major re-branding and re-alignment of resource strategy. All subsidiaries had FedEx branding thus denoting that it came from the same brand. They leveraged the consolidated pool of sales, marketing, accounting and customer service operations. It became a one-stop-shop for all sized of customers, whether it was business-to-business, home delivery, ground or heavy steel plates. Typically this is true in any industry and a new firm that enters the market at an early stage. The firm can operate in a classical manner, calling the shots. This is possible because of several reasons low threat of competitors, virtually no substitutes, low bargaining power of customers and high switching costs. This is typical in the case of FedEx as well. But the dynamics change, when other firms enter and the market becomes mature. In that scenario, it is not the firm but the market that decides. This scene can be seen in other industries as well. When Coca cola started operations, it was the king in the aerated segment, charging a price that it deemed fit and the customers were more than willing to pay the same, but years later when competition got ripe, such advantages disappear. There is a tendency to compete on prices, value added services because of which the market decides the viable price. To Coca Cola, the threat was not only from Pepsi and other soft drink beverages but even from other health drinks and water! This is when the entire product mix was realigned and Coca Cola introduced sports drinks, health drinks, tea coffee. Hence it is not a question of preference. It is which school is applicable as pet the time and maturity level of the industry. More often than not, we see that most of the times in a mature set up it is the Evolutionary School of Thought which is more relevant as market forces determine the pace and the direction in which change is required. Businesses which realize this well in time and pick up timely cues and act upon them thrive, while others wither with time. Section III Processual School of Thought, Staceys Four Loops and Strategy Implications A processual view of an organization suggests that organizations are a cocktail of individuals, each of who brings their own personalities, personal agendas and cognitive biases to the organization. Thus, strategy is a continuing process of adjustment evolvement because rational economic man is only a state of utopia and people are only boundedly rational. Most Processual scholars argue that because of these constraints, strategy is nothing else but the continuous adjusting of routines to awkward messages and cues from the environment which gradually force themselves on the managers attention. Strategy is not only planned and executed action, but it is also a means to make meaning of the chaos of the world. Staceys Integrated Model of Decision making and Control The Staceys Matrix is a critical tool that helps one navigates when faced with complexity in the field of strategy. This tool helps in adopting the right management action defines the strategy that one should focus at when faced in a complex environment with varying degree of certainty and agreement amongst the group in the organisation. Let us understand the axis first 1. Closeness to Certainty: Concerns or decisions are close to certainty when cause and effect linkages can be evaluated. This is mostly the case when a very similar issue or decision has been made in the past sometime. One can then assess and relate from past experience to predict the outcome of an action with a good degree of certainty. 2. Far from Certainty: The opposite of the above, is the extreme end of the certainty continuum. They are decisions that are far from certainty. These scenarios are often unique or at least new to the decision makers. The cause and effect connections are not clear. Extrapolating from past experience is surely not a good method to predict outcomes in the far from certainty range. 3. Agreement: The vertical axis measures the degree of agreement about an issue or decision within the group, team or organisation. As you would presume, the management or leadership function changes depending on the level of agreement surrounding an issue. Four Loops: Rational Loop Rational Decision Making is possible when there is closeness to certainty and closeness to agreement. In such cases, the group has a consensus on views, options and decisions; also high certainty permits references from the past. There is less risk involved so it is fairly easy to take a rational decision. As per the Processual School of Thought, such cases are a rarity in real time. Even if there is absolute clarity or certainty about an issue, to find absolute agreement in team is seldom possible. This is because each individual comes with his own objectives and interests. Political Loop Overt Covert Some themes have a great chance of certainty about how outcomes are created but high levels of disagreement about which results are desirable. Neither plans nor shared objectives are probably to work in this context. Instead, politics become more significant. Coalition building, negotiation, and compromise are used to make the organisations agenda and direction. Some misgivings have a high level of agreement but not much conviction as to the cause and effect linkages to create the sought after results. In these cases, monitoring against a set plan will not work. A sound sense of shared mission or vision may substitute for a plan in these cases. Comparisons are made not against plans but against the purpose and vision for the organisation. In this region, the objective is to head towards an agreed upon future state even though the specific paths cannot be prearranged. Culture Cognition As per the Cultural School of Thought, strategy formation is a collective process of social interaction, based on the beliefs and understandings shared by the team members of an organisation. Stacey defines culture as a set of assumptions people simply accept without question as they interact with each other. Thus strategy is based on perceptions and is deliberate if not fully conscious. This goes well with Processual School as well, because it assumes that people come with different perceptions and learn through a tacit process of acculturation. To conclude the above discussion, we can contemplate that strategies are often evolving, their coherence accruing through action and perceived in retrospect, while successive small steps finally merge into a pattern.

Bilingual Education Essay -- Language

Bilingual education, as an educational program, was initially promoted by educators in the seventies (Hunger of Memory 26) and since then has been a topic of many debates in America. Some argue that bilingual education only serves as a detriment to American culture. Others argue that bilingual education is beneficial to those who come to live in America and want to become a part of the culture, but lack proficiency in the English language. Two authors, who have each taken opposite sides of the debate on bilingual education in America, are: Richard Rodriguez and Ariel Dorfman. Richard Rodriguez believes that bilingual education creates a feeling of separateness between foreign language speakers and American society; therefore, delaying the formation of a public identity. In contrast, Ariel Dorfman argues that bilingualism in America will be a bridge to better understanding other cultures. I assume the position of being neither, against or entirely in favor of bilingual education. I am in favor of bilingual education because it can be an effective segue to learning the English language and I believe it is very important to remain connected with our family’s language and culture. However, I also recognize the negative feeling of separateness from the larger public that bilingual education can have on foreign language speaking families, which hinders my ability to fully embrace bilingual education. Ariel Dorfman is an Argentinian author who struggled throughout his life to find a balance between the Spanish and English languages. As a result of Dorfman’s â€Å"bilingual journey† (Heading South 25), he argues that bilingual education is beneficial to American society. Dorfman believes that bilingualism will serve as a channel to better un... ... 1998. Print Garcia, Maria E., Ofelia Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove Torres-Guzman. Imagining Multilingual Schools: Language in Education and Globalization. Clevdon, GBR: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. Hadi-Tabassum, Samina. Language, Space and Power : A Critical Look at Bilingual Education. Clevdon, GBR: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. Rodriguez, Richard. â€Å"Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood.† Conversations: Reading for Writing. Ed.Gack Selzer. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 153-166. Print. ---. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. New York: Bantam Dell, 1983. Print Salomone, Rosemary C. True American : Language, Identity, and the Education of Immigrant Children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2011.

Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephant Essay

Hemingway’s literary opus â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is a perfect example of how setting and symbolism are utterly utilized in emancipating the plot. The story is simple. There are no subplots and change in characterization. It is about abortion, although mentioned as an â€Å"operation† in the story. Through the gradual suggestions of symbolic parts, the reader is able to understand where the conversation heads to after the first reading. The most conspicuous symbolism is lifted from the title itself. The elephant shaped hills referred to Jig’s pregnancy. It was said to be white as the life inside her womb echoes purity and innocence. Another symbol would be how Hemingway introduced a detailed description of the setting in the first two paragraphs to show the difference of the present and the future situations. The valley of Ebro suggests possibility of life, in contrast with the shade-less and tree-less side of the train station which anticipates the perplexity of the present (Fletcher 18). The reader can already infer miscommunication between the couple since the word ‘abortion’ was never mentioned in the entire text (Cioe 101-105). Then and there, the conflicting standpoints of the couple are mirrored. The man is deemed to be immature to convince Jig to go through the process, assuring her that everything will be fine after. Jig, on the other, hints on the stereotypical woman being submissive to a man, since she allows herself to be as composed as possible, despite other implications that she does not want to have the â€Å"operation†. The ending is still ambiguous to most Hemingway enthusiasts. Each has their own interpretation. Whether the couple allowed abortion to happen or not, the story ends with a striking occurrence that can never change the fact that there is no other way but to decide on what is imminent: the man picks up the bag, readies himself for the train ride; Jig still sitting at the table and just smiled. Hemingway must have left this hanging ending for us to judge ourselves and relate this particular dilemma to our present conditions. Thus, this short story propels further discussions that would include morality, gender issues and youth’s fickle-mindedness.

Treating Your Sweet Tooth

Abigail Young Mrs. Spar English III Compare/Contrast Essay (2nd draft) February 22, 2013 Treating Your Sweet Tooth The debate about ice cream versus frozen yogurt (froyo) is spreading like a wildfire. People looking at the differences; what they do not know is how they are also similar. Ice cream and frozen yogurt have both similarities and differences when it comes to their history, ingredients and nutrition. Before ice cream was known as ice cream, many ancient civilizations served mixtures of ice (or snow from the mountains) with juices, milks, spices and fruits.This became a major delicacy around the world, this delicacy soon became known as sorbet and was eaten by many people who could afford it. Soon after, sorbet became known as ice cream, which was introduced to America by the Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them as they immigrated to the United States. After hearing about a delicacy that was similar to ice cream, frozen yogurt was first introduced t o England and became more of a sensation. Frozen yogurt also being sweet and creamy but contained less calories.The northeast, USA was introduced to frozen yogurt in the 1970's. In the 1980's is when frozen yogurt really took off, reaching sales of $25 million in 1986. In the early 1990's, frozen yogurt was 10% of the frozen dessert market. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia) The main ingredient in ice cream is, obviously, cream. Ice cream contains more than 10% milk fat and more then 20% milk solids. Nowadays, one can find low-fat ice creams with half the fat. In addition, ice cream contains sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilizers, gelatin, high fructose corn syrup, flavorings, water, and air.Air gives ice cream the volume. Unlike ice cream, frozen yogurt's main ingredient is yogurt made from milk. So much like ice cream, frozen yogurt also contains milk solids, milk fats, sweeteners, yogurt culture, emulsifiers, stabilizers, gelatin, high fructose corn syrup, flavorings, water, and air. Air, mu ch like ice cream, gives frozen yogurt its volume. In addition, ice crean and frozen yogurt are very similar when it comes to nutrition. Neither of them are very nutritous but are both very satisfying to your sweet tooth.Although frozen yogurt is lighter in calories and fat, frozen yogurt is not a heathier alternative to ice cream. One needs to be smart with how much ice cream he is eating. Also, one should watch what he is putting on top of his yogurt, making either the ice cream or frozen yogurt less in fat, sugar and calories. Different in many ways, ice cream and frozen yogurt are both, needless to say, delicious. Although different in their history, ingredients and their nutritional value, one does not want to eat a lot of both them. Both are acceptable every once in a while to enjoy.

Buddhism: Religion or Philosophy?

Whether or not Buddhism is a religion revolves around the contestation of whether or not it is a philosophy instead. This presents myriad problems of logic, as even the definitions of religion and philosophy are themselves a point of contestation. There is the school of thought that defines religion as a belief system, a firm ascription to a set of rules and utmost truths that therefore make religion of whatever kind dogmatic. To use this definition is to make Buddhism anything but a religion, as Buddhism essentially discourages any sense of rigidity in any belief system.It even does not advocate the supremacy of its own doctrines – the 4 noble truths, the 5 Skandhas, the eight-fold path. There are no parameters. The other thought line on religion defines it as a search for transcendence; a quest for an existence, purpose and authority higher than oneself, as advocated by the likes of Karen Armstrong. In this sense, Buddhism is a religion because it seeks to bring those who pr actice it to a new, profound realization of themselves and the world around them; to ‘see the world as it is’, which is the Buddhist idea of ‘realization’.This probably explains why there are quite a number of brands of Buddhism. Still, others wonder why anyone should be distinguishing between religion and philosophy. According to some, this distinction is a fairly new phenomenon, as recent as the 18th century. Throughout history, it is argued, philosophy and religion have been intertwined; take Plato’s Euthyphro for example. In it, the virtue of piety is inextricably argued from a standpoint of what ‘the gods’ believe is right or wrong, even though the whole discourse follows logic.Similar observations can be made in the Epistles of Apostle Paul in the New Testament. Distinguishing the two, it is said, betrays our own biases rather than clarifies things. Dogmatism v. Reason In following up on the more popular definition of religion bein g a set of beliefs, and therefore inherently dogmatic, religion has been criticized as being irrational – that one is required to have faith in absolute truths that not only make little sense to him, but provide no means through which they can be proven factual or otherwise.I this sense, religion is superstitious and irrational, throwing a spanner into attempts at objective human reasoning. Religions after all, have been the source of the greatest conflicts in world history, more fierce than quests for imperialism or economic dominance. In contrast to religion by popular definition, Buddhism encourages objective discourse through reason in a quest for truth, i. e. it is philosophy, just like Plato and Aristotle practiced it.This is however complicated by the fact that while some brands of Buddhism, such as Zen, do not ascribe to a deity, others actually do have absolute truths. But then again this might only fuel the argument that it is not a religion, seeing as there is no u nifying commonality as is common in other religions – Christ in Christianity, Mohammad in Islam, etc. Mysticism Allowing someone to find their own truth wherever they will is to tell them that whatever direction will take you to your destination, and most Buddhist practices have inevitably ended up in mysticism.Hence, when one asks what Buddhism is, in many cases they are told that they have to experience it, as words cannot sufficiently explain it. This trait is inherently religious rather than philosophical. In the latter, one must be unambiguous, while in the former, things like faith, revelation and prophecy are cornerstones. Being mystical, therefore gives Buddhism the appearance of religion rather than philosophy. All in all, I guess Buddhism is what one makes it.