Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Placement report Essay
N.V. Elmar (Naamloze Vennootschap Electriciteit-Maatschappij Aruba) is in charge of providing electricity in Aruba. Formerly, the company’s name is N.V. ELECTRA founded by Mr. John G. Eman in 1950. After his death, his wife Mrs. F. van der Biest-Eman took over his place and continued the company’s operation. In November 9, 1950, N.V. ELECTRA discusses with Parliament the dealings of providing electricity in Aruba at the public’s interest. Under this discourse, the company had experienced several issues. ELECTRA then becomes a government property after the approving the proposal. Within the proposal, the company specifies itself to be under the control of OGEM N.V. located at the city of Rotterdam, Holland. Its first operation in November 15, 1950, N.V. Elmar has the capacity of 3000 KW with three diesel engines and eventually increased in 1958 buying a power station with a capacity of 15,000 KW. However, in 1982, OGEM experienced bankruptcy and decided to sell its shares of N.V. Elmar to Utilities Aruba N.V. owned by the government. Now, the company proudly states of its financial stability and management under the limits of concession (elmar.aw, 2004). Now, Elmar has a number of 163 employees and approximately 33,000 consumers on the island of Aruba. Island of Aruba            Serviced by the N.V. Elmar, Aruba is a Carribean island 24 km west coast of Venezuela. Of the three Dutch Islands, Aruba is the smallest having an area of 194 km2 with eight regions, namely, Noord / Tanki Leendert, Oranjestad (West), Oranjestad (East), Paradera, Santa Cruz, Savaneta, Sint Nicolas (North) and Sint Nicolas (South). The official language used is Dutch, particularly in education, mass media and civil service. Another language, is Papiamento, second to English as the main language in the island. The population also speaks of Spanish, a prevalent language in upper grades of primary schools (Elmar, 2006). Role in the Company            Because I hold a position in the Human Resources Department, most of my concerns are on employee benefits, recruitment and other employee related issue. Six months in N.V. Elmar has undoubtedly reached my capacity as an employee in the Human Resources Department. Two of their projects for employees, health and wellness program and monetary rewards will be discussed as the main concept of this report. Methodology Research Design            Elmar, like any other company, has major concerns on their employees. To address, this, the company initiated a corporate Health and Wellness program. In this program, the awareness of employees on health related issues and quality of life are substantially relayed. The company has outlined the procedures by giving employees education and promotion on health programs, and orientation and coordination of health assistance. Primarily, it is important to know what the general health status in the island is. Some of the researches made convey of obesity as the primary contributor to life-limiting illnesses in Aruba. The reasons for a high rate in the island are the decreased deprivation of food and a sedentary lifestyle. Aruba is a developed country and in most studies, countries in this state have high incidences of obesity especially on families with lower household income. Often, the quality of food is overlooked wherein buying foods high in calorie and fat is rampant. In a survey conducted in 1991-1992, 67% of the Aruba population is overweight. Moreover, this finding affects both sexes. Next study was conducted in 1995 to 1996 showing the nutritional state of first up to fifth grade overweight. Approximately, 13.4 to 14% of the first graders are overweight and 26.1 to 29.4% of the fifth graders experience obesity. A more recent study in 2004 by Dr. Richard Visser stated that of the 367 children studied, 133 were obese, the number of underweight children is 18, and the remaining 216 were healthy. Significantly, Visser found out that one factor of the growing population concerning obesity in oner population is the unawareness and disregard as a public concern. Hence, attention such treatment and proper education about being obese is insufficient.            Monetary and Non-Monetary rewards are essential for performance improvement of employees. Though we may see that vision, mission, and goals would be enough motivating entities in employee performance, still, these direct costs will provide a meaningful and prosperous stay in the company. In the monetary rewards, as the name implies, more of salary additions are being worked upon while the non-monetary rewards focus on recognizing the employee capability on work and other areas. Elmar Company has an incentives and rewards system, wherein it compensates, reinforces, and encourage enhancement of employee duties. In these types, providing incentives and rewards may focus on team or individual distribution. Moreover, the essentiality of these programs for employee performance, will direct work efforts in advantage to the mission, vision and goals of the company. Incentives and rewards are given to teams, organizations, or individuals in the company that exceed the company’s expectations. Procedures            Elmar company has outlined its goals and objectives in preparing the health and wellness programs. In this way, the company will properly monitor how the program is advancing towards the organization’s benefits. The company’s concern for its employees marks the unity of the two in a system of social relations. Upon noting the principles held by the company in this program, the statement now implies that there is the importance for maintenance, prevention, and promotion of health status of employees.            The vision of the company in pursuing this project is to develop an advanced and efficient program for the health and wellness of the company. Conceptual perceptions about this vision are: Corporate health and wellness means work with the employees of Elmar. Corporate health and wellness underlines the positive dimensions of health. Corporate health and wellness has to involve different groups, organizations and institutions.            Subsequently, the company has marked the strategic and operational objectives for this program. Strategic objectives cover the expected results upon reinforcement of the program while the operational objective sees how the actual procedure must perform on the employees. The following are the strategic objectives: To reduce medical costs and disability costs: many companies have found that they can significantly reduce the cost of employee health care benefits by proactively promoting health, safety and wellness. To reduce absenteeism: numerous studies have found that employee wellness programs can significantly reduce employee absenteeism. To enhance productivity: many studies have linked health risks with reduced employee productivity and have found that healthier workers are more productive. To improve general health and well being. (Corporate Health and Wellness Program, 2006: 12) While these are the operational objectives: Structure and develop corporate health and wellness programs and activities according to priorities established. These programs c.q. activities are directed to the individual employee, Elmar as an organization and the community of Aruba. Establish and reinforce collaborative relations with organizations in the community, government, and NGO’s, related to the development of specific projects in corporate health and wellness. Generate an employee data bank related to the risk factors in health and wellness that can be used to generate assistance, prevention and education programs. Develop educational activities for the employees that can reinforce the actions of promotion in corporate health and wellness. (Corporate Health and Wellness Program, 2006: 12).            To start the program, first, the company must identify which are the employee needs prior to implementing operational objectives. In order to have an appropriate amount of data, the company will have to conduct as survey amongst its employees, invite an organization that will manage the physical examination among employees and facilitate education about eating healthy.            The monetary and non-monetary programs will take effect on employee’s performance level. Generally, it enhances the performance to satisfy or exceed the objectives. Examples of Monetary incentives are: Performance awards – monetary incentives that reward employees upon performance that exceeds the expectation of the company. Observation of giving this award is through formal performance ratings of record on the appraisal period. Special act or service awards – one-time awards like lump sum for employees that had done a specific task from performance. Judgment in this kind of award comes from the first line supervisors. Quality Step increases – gives employees faster than normal progression by facilitating stepped rates and a permanent increase in basic pay. Time Off awards – granting employees leave without charging their annual leave. Gain Sharing – a system, wherein both the company and the employee gain improved productivity. In this system, the company measures the productivity of employees, which in turn gives additional income to the company, then, the employees and involved organization will benefit through associated earnings of the company.            Non-monetary incentives may be tangible or incentives that have more bases on rewards like trophies, medals, certificates, and plaques. Moreover, this kind of incentive may take an intangible position, for example, if an employee has exceeded the expectation of the company, the organization may include training opportunities and assignment of employees to a more meaningful, challenging, and prestigious kind of work. Even though these incentives may not have much value directly on budget, some studies have shown that this becomes more important as motivating factors for employee performance. The Report SWOT Analysis            SWOT (which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is a type of management observation on the overall performance of an organization. This method is often used on businesses because results can be easily transformed in other business philosophy like Porter’s five forces. Generally, the SWOT analysis has effect on overall evaluation when one factor has a cited defect or disadvantage. The strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors while the external factors are the opportunities and threats (marketingteacher.com, 2007). Strengths The strengths of the health and wellness program are in aspects of giving educational awareness to employees considering health problems, disease prevention, and health status. Hence, employee performance may increase. Moreover, productivity may increase because of reduced absenteeism, medical insurance policies, and cost effective strategies. The strengths of monetary and non-monetary incentives take effect on employee and company relationship. Employees regard much of their work because of these rewards, which in turn will not only increase productivity but also enhance the quality of products and services as well. In addition, if properly examined, is the preservation and maintenance of employees with exceptional skills and abilities. Weaknesses Apparently, the weaknesses of health and wellness programs are the appropriate participation of employees particularly in health awareness programs. The individual may listen to these lectures but do not apply them in real life. One weakness of incentives is on the monetary rewards. Generally, monetary rewards have the â€Å"amounts†in order to make employee performance more successful and productive. However, some employees may look at incentive as the central mark of their performance rather than cling on the vision and mission of the organization. In addition, not all employees may non-monetary rewards as a moral perspective, because some employees may develop envy among their co-workers if abundantly present in most of the incentive policies. Opportunities A big opportunity for health and wellness program is to widen the controlled areas in health provisions such as insurance policies and discounts on medical services. The company may also generate proper motivation of these programs when medical specialists are very much involved with the program. There should always be continuity with this kind of program because health is a very essential to an individual. In monetary incentives and non-monetary incentives, monitoring units for choosing which of the employees will gain the award should have a regard. In this way, proper evaluation of the programs will provide trust to employees that the awardees deserve. Hence, envy will not have its place in the organization. Threats The health and wellness program should look unto costs prevalently diverse in most health programs like medicines, fees of professionals and other related issues on economic changes in effect to medical facilities. One threat in monetary programs is that there may be possibilities of lost on the best employees if monitoring is not properly achieved. Hence, the probability of giving good services and products may have hindrances. Reflection            As part of this project, I have noticed the essentiality of the company and employee relationship. Seeing how Elmar valued this social interaction, the severity to serve the company is overwhelming yet incomparable to what I have seen on other organizations. Both the company and its employees are very much interested on the productivity and quality of service. Furthermore, I have seen the social impact of the health and wellness project, as it projects how the society has evolved from a simple unit to a larger unit of the company because it affects the employee performance. Monetary and non-monetary incentives are appropriate sources of motivating employees on the vision and mission of the company but proper attention on the monitoring and evaluation of awardees should be considered, as this could affect trust amongst employees. I think these are apparent objectives after the actual placement: Enhance productivity due to reduced absenteeism and proper well-being. Reduced medical costs because of subsequent education of employees on health related issues. Educational activities for employees in areas like Roll in â€Å"Wit Gele Kruis†for yearly check ups and mini health fair. Monetary Rewards has succeeded in increasing productivity. Non-monetary rewards have increased company commitment among employees. Conclusion            Questionnaire results were positive, looking at the overall performance of corporate health and wellness programs. This survey will generally help the family to be aware in eating the right food and proper diet to reduce the medical costs. The mini survey has given positive results and future benefits to most employees. On the other hand, monetary and non-monetary incentives will help in motivating employees of their performance level and commitment to the company. There is also a great probability of preserving and acquiring employees with exceptional talents and skills. Bibliography N.V. Elmar. â€Å"About Us.†2004 29 January 2008 SWOT Analysis. 29 January 2008
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
First “Misleading” Impressions
Cypress Ranch High School Ms. Piotrowsky 3rd Period English K/Dual First â€Å"Misleading†Impression In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice the most common and concurrent theme is probably the theme of first impression. The entire novel, from beginning to end, travels around conclusions made from first impressions and how, in cases, they are wrong. In fact, the first proposition for the title of the novel was First Impressions not Pride and Prejudice. As the theme of the novel progresses, characters realize that their conclusions made based on first impressions were flawed.As this happens, new relationships develop. Jane Austen even makes the reader believe or create its own first impressions only to later realize that they were wrong. During this time period, the idea of wealth and class was predominant among society; therefore, most first impressions were based on the amount of money a person had or on his/her ancestry. The main theme of first impressions goes around à ¢â‚¬Å"Elizabeth, the heroine, and Darcy, her eventual husband, the chief obstacle resides in the book’s original title: First Impressions. (Sherry, Pride and Prejudice limits of society) At the ball, Mr. Bingley encourages Mr. Darcy to dance with Elizabeth but he refuses by stating, â€Å"she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him†(Austen 13); and Elizabeth’s first impression about Mr. Darcy is that â€Å" he is proud, above his company, and above being pleased†(Austen 17). The reader understands that physical appearance is not the only factor that drives Mr. Darcy towards that opinion, but her lack of wealth and her vast family are. Throughout the novel the reader experiences realizations and transformations of views.At first Austen makes the reader create false impressions, just as the characters in the novel, only to later realize that the opinions the reader had about the characters were flawed. Many critics agree that â€Å"†¦In t his novel by Jane Austen, we don’t only see how first impressions affect relationships, but we also see how the characters in this story experience transformation through their experiences of first impressions, pride and prejudice. †(Stasio, An Evolutionary Approach to Jane Austen). Ironically enough, Elizabeth realizes â€Å"that they had entirely mistaken Mr.Darcy’s character†(Austen 219). What at first was a feeling of string repulsion towards one another slowly became a feeling of attraction. As the novel progresses, different events occur that come to the final transformation of Elizabeth’s first impressions. She learns through different sources that Mr. Darcy is not the man she believes him to be; and that most of the rumors she has heard (from Mr. Wickham) are twisted truths. At the end, as the final process of her realization, she says that â€Å"†¦Vanity, not love, has been my folly.Pleased with the preference of one, and offended b y the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession [pride] and ignorance, and driven reason away where either were concerned. Till this moment, I never knew myself. †Austen contrasts the theme of first impression with the relationship that develops at the beginning of the novel between Mr. Bingley and Jane. She develops a relationship based â€Å"in a vision of love in which women and men care about each other with a passionate tenderness.Jane and Bingley have a natural compatibility for one another. †(Bonaparte, Conjecturing Possibilities) In this relationship, there are no feelings of avarice or greed because â€Å"It was generally evident, whenever they met, that he did admire her; and to her it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a way to be very much in love. †(Austen 22). Neither of them was worried with wealth, cl ass or family heritage. On the other hand, Mr. Bingley’s sister, Caroline, and his friend Mr.Darcy believe that Jane’s family was not high enough in the social ladder and therefore she did not deserve him. They even tried to intervene in their relationship by breaking them up, but at the end they end up marrying each other. There is no doubt that Jane Austen wanted to install a sense of realization regarding first and false impressions in the readers mind. Pride and Prejudice helps society understand how it behaves through real life examples developed by fictional characters such as Jane, Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, etc.Pride and Prejudice is a sign of protest Austen uses to rebel against her society and its dependence on first impressions. She tries to make us understand that almost always first impressions are wrong. However, she is not implying that society should eliminate them from society, but rather undermine and challenge them because they are not entirely true. WORK S CITED Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. 1813. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001 Bonaparte, Felicia. â€Å"CONJECTURING POSSIBILITIES: READING AND MISREADING TEXTS IN JANE AUSTEN'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Pride and Prejudice. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. Web. ;http://content. ebscohost. com/pdf10/pdf/2005/SNV/01Jun05/17682767. pdf? T=P;P=AN;K=17682767;S=R;D=a9h;EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESep644v%2BbwOLCmr0mep7FSrqm4S7OWxWXS;ContentCustomer=dGJyMOzprk%2B2qLZNuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA;. Sherry, James. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice: Limits of Society. †Pride and Prejudice. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. Web. ;http://content. ebscohost. com/pdf25_26/pdf/1979/SLT/01Sep79/4721658. pdf?T=P;P=AN;K=4721658;S=R;D=a9h;EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESep644v%2BbwOLCmr0mep7FSrq64TbeWxWXS;ContentCustomer=dGJyMOzprk%2B2qLZNuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA;. Stasio, Michael J. â€Å"AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO JANE AUSTEN: PREHISTORIC PREFERENCES IN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. †Pride and Prejudice. New York: W. W. Norton, 2001. Web. ;h ttp://content. ebscohost. com/pdf19_22/pdf/2007/SNV/01Jun07/25902589. pdf? T=P;P=AN;K=25902589;S=R;D=a9h;EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESep644v%2BbwOLCmr0mep7BSs6u4SbOWxWXS;ContentCustomer=dGJyMOzprk%2B2qLZNuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA;.
Monday, July 29, 2019
World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
World War II - Essay Example 6, 600 million towards damages that were caused by the war, Germany would not build their army and the Rhineland area was to be de-militarized, and finally some parts of Germany was to be allocated to other countries. Despite the harsh conditions imposed by the treaty, Germany went ahead and signed the treaty which resulted in acute poverty in the 1920s as the country suffered serious setbacks and could not pay the money. It was at this juncture that the German people voted Adolf Hitler to power as he promised them that he would put an end to all their sufferings. Once in power, Hitler began to build the German army and also stationed troops in the Rhineland area. Though France and Britain kept track of Hitler’s moves they were unwilling to begin another war and instead believed that a stronger Germany would prevent the spread of Communism to the west. Hitler also entered into an alliance with Italy and Japan in 1936. Hitler wanted to expand his territory by acquiring Austria and with about 99% of the Austrian people favoring a union with Germany; Hitler acquired Austria but promised that this would be the end of his expansion plans.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
WHAT MATTERS IN AMERICA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
WHAT MATTERS IN AMERICA - Research Paper Example In this chapter, Goshgarian talks about the impacts of social networking sites on people’s lifestyles. Several social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social sites are currently available in the internet, and they provide an effective means through which people virtually interact with each other. The impact of internet on the social life has been a controversial debate in the American society. Many people have contradicting opinions on its effect on the contemporary American society and culture. A review of studies indicated that social networking sites have less impacts on the social life than many people usually believe. Internet is the latest means of interpersonal communication system following telegraphs and telephones. Other researches also indicate that social networking sites have also changed the patterns of life; however, the patterns of social life still remain the same despite of these internet-induced changes (Goshgarian 68). Social networking sites are speculated to have positive impacts on people’s everyday lives, since it improves the quality and frequency of interpersonal communications among different people. Through virtual connections, people easily access their colleagues leading to engagements and happiness in society and families (Goshgarian 27). According to Goshgarian, electronic communication result in weaker social ties, since many people lack adequate time to physically visit and interact with their friends. He writes that â€Å"More and More, people build their social network around their colleagues instead of their neighbors and families†(Goshgarian 331). The internet also allows many people to work from their homes, and this gives them less time to physically interact with other people. In addition, the internet also enables people to virtually interact more easily than through other means of communication, have romantic affairs, access their bank accounts and
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Managing finance of the two companies the Tesco and the Sainsbury Coursework
Managing finance of the two companies the Tesco and the Sainsbury - Coursework Example The intention of this study is financial statement analysis as one of the fundamental practices for investment and analysis of performance in order to present a fast method of evaluating the financial growth of the organization. The analysis and the evaluation of the financial ratios minimize the complications within the financial data in a simple and an arranged manner. The ratio analysis is much informative as it provides information’s, suggestions and recommendations to the shareholders. The study in this context deals with the analysis of the performance of the reputed companies namely the Tesco and Sainsbury. The study is aimed at evaluating the ratios of two firms over the past year financial data of the annual report. It gives the investment suggestions and recommendations to the investors and the shareholders by including and considering the following: †¢ Profitability, †¢ Liquidity level, †¢ Efficiency level †¢ The stage of fund dependency †¢ Earning per share. The Tesco brand first appeared five years later in 1924 when he bought a shipment of tea from a Mr T. E Stockwell and in 1932 Tesco became a private limited company. In 1995 Tesco took up Sainsbury’s as the UK’s largest supermarket. Bearing in mind how determined and competitive the 'supermarket' concept is this is fairly a success brand. Tesco’s favored evaluation of growth is 'like for like' development – sales development on shop floor room, which rejected increase from additional shop floor space in extended or latest stores. Even by this limited measure sales grew 8.3% in every year, improving Tesco’s profits every year. In April 2009, Tesco declared profits of ?1.6bn for the fiscal year concluding on 28 February; ?4.4m profit per day which is 17.6% higher than the earlier year. As an evaluation Tesco made as much income as Sainsbury, Next and WH Smith jointly. Forecasters are at present forecasting that Tesco’s pre-tax profits for coming years will be exceeding by ?2bn mark, quadruple times that of Sainsbury. Comparisons between both the companies are much difficult as they both are good players in the supermarket trade in the state. â€Å"So, rather than doing the usual comparison of the stores by their top food deals and booze bargains (which we do every week in our Frugal Food blog), today, I'm going to take a more original look at which store offers the best financial deals. I'll also compare their loyalty schemes, so you can see where your spend at the supermarket will earn you the most bang for your buck†(Wait 2010). Financial Analysis of Tesco and Sainsbury: The intention of this paper is to financially investigate and state a report of the two firms Tesco and Sainsbury. These two firms have the same industrial background and are both leading supermarkets among whom there are a very healthy and tough competition in order to capture the giant market share. â€Å"Sainsbury's v Tesco: the rumble in the supermarket aisles†(Hall 2009). Both financial as well as non financial factors have played a very vital role in the market fluctuations which have affected both the firms. In order to present a financially investigative report, it is very important to present a report on the financial ratios of the firms. For that purpose some of the most popular ratios investigated are profitability, liquidity, efficiency, gearing and the
Analyze inputs of UPS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Analyze inputs of UPS - Essay Example category known as: (1) environment; (2) resources; (3) organizational history; and (4) strategy will be provided followed by discussing the reasons why these inputs are considered the most critical. Eventually, the impact of the identified inputs towards the organization including the any forms of potential problems that are significantly associated with insuring the availability of the identified inputs will be tackled. Prior to conclusion, several ways in which the identified inputs interact with each other will be explained in details. Given that UPS serves the world market, the most critical environmental input is the customers. Given that UPS is offer its services around the world, the company needs to have a large-based of regular customers to enable the company to compensate with its daily operational expenses associated with the need to establish several offices around the world, investments on its official website and other mode of global communication including the employment of approximately 240,000 full- and part-time employees around the world (UPS b) among others. Back in 1990s, UPS was able to gather as much as 1 million regular customers (UPS c). Under the category of resources, the most critical input in the case of UPS is the investment on information and communication technology (ICT). With the use of ICT which includes UPS official website and the use of handheld Delivery Information Acquisition Devices (DIAD) (UPS c), it is easier to manage, operate, and keep track of its daily business transactions such as the shipment and delivery schedules around the world on a real-time basis. The company will also have a way to maintain the company’s relationship with its existing customers. Basically, the use of efficient ICT enables the company to deliver competitive services to each of its customers. In the absence of having reliable ICT, UPS will have trouble managing and keeping track of all business transactions. The company may also end up
Friday, July 26, 2019
Included in the description Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Included in the description - Research Paper Example Also this exhibition was repeated in different cities in each country to different audiences and their reaction also recorded. Also the videos from each country were shown to the audiences from the other two countries and their responses also recorded. The outsider opinions were used to determine the cultural differences among pre-school learning processes in the three countries. This final video is a compilation of all those recordings. Constructivism Constructivism is a learning theory, which says that human beings make out meanings by way of the interaction between their behavioral characteristics and their experiences. This process is known to happen from infancy and hence constructivist approach in learning, puts at the pivotal point, child play. Child play is supposed to be the first step of cognitive development of an individual. Constructivist theory also suggests that there are two processes through which each individual makes meaning out of his/her experiences, namely, acco mmodation and assimilation. Assimilation is the process by which the child or individual absorbs certain new information and incorporates that into the pre-existing meaning structures in his/her mind. The new information just fits into the existing network. But in accommodation, the individual is confronted with a new meaning that is contradictory to his/her existing internal meaning structures. So the individual just reframes those structures so that the new information can be included without contradiction. The basic premise of this theory is the notion, learning by being actively involved in some activity. The constructivist approach demands active learners with care to be taken of the cultural background and individuality and also the role of teachers limited to being facilitators. The most constructivist classroom among the three is the Japanese classroom (Pre-school in Three Cultures). Here, the children are given the freedom to develop into active learners by blending their e xperiences with their own behavioral patterns. This is a major aspect of constructivist approach. The role of the teacher is very limited, again a constructivist theory-based approach. Even when a child misbehaves, he is not disciplined but is left with a choice to learn proper behavior from his fights with other kids (Pre-school in Three Cultures). The teaching method is solely activity based. In the morning, children exercise, then they are given interesting activities like coloring, and origami and during the playtime, they are left on their own to learn how to create friendship and handle difficult situations like a fight. In this manner, a totally free interaction of behavior and experience is facilitated which is the key concept in constructivist approach. By giving activity-based lessons, the children are motivated to find out their own potential. The situation in the school is a perfect balance between formal and informal learning so that there is optimal opportunity for cog nitive learning. The origami lessons are particularly helpful in motivating the children and also make them realize their hidden talent (Pre-school in Three Cultures). Whenever there is a problem for a child in doing an entrusted activity, individual attention is imparted to the child. This is also a practice in coherence with the principles of
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 40
Personal statement - Essay Example A Master’s Degree in Cass business school for Supply Chain Management or Investment Management will not only widen my professional horizon but will also increase my change for professional advancement by being more effective in the business organization. My name is Talal Alajou and I graduated with honors from University of Westminster with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Management. The key areas of study in the University of Westminster involved International Business, Entrepreneurship Theory to Practice, Marketing Management, Operation and Project Management among others. I also took International Foundation Programme in Humanities and Social Science in Kings College where I polished my academic English and engaged myself with international culture. My preparatory high school was spent in Saudi Arabia where I graduated valedictorian at The Kingdom Schools, Riyadh with an almost perfect grade of 98.30% or 3.93 GPA. In addition to my academic undertakings, I also enjoy doing volunteer work. Back home in Saudi Arabia, I am heavily engaged with charity work that looks after the orphans and I intend to continue this fulfilling undertaking for as long as I can do it. I am also culturally agile and bilingual. I have an international background and took formal study about culture at Kings College and this unique background put me in a better situation to easily understand and adjust to different kind of people coming. I believe this is an essential skill in a globalized working place where we have to work with people from different cultural and social background. I chose to pursue my graduate school in UK because of its welcoming attitude towards diversity. UK might have a deep European history but its inclusive environment welcomes people from different nationality particularly those students with Middle Eastern background. I chose to pursue my Master’s Degree in Cass business school in
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping Convention Essay
Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping Convention - Essay Example One of the many changes to 1978 convention, in 1995, was the requirement of obtaining a new STCW certificate. This was confusing and to some extent it still is as there were two certificates in circulation. The 1978 certificate and the 1995 certificate. The STCW 1978 certificate was there to certify that a sailor was working aboard a vessel prior to 01 Aug 98' and is yet required to fulfill some requirements. Therefore, a new mariner, after 01 Aug 98' cannot be issued a 1978 STCW certificate. New sailors, joining after the aforementioned date, are required to comply with convention requirements before they are eligible for 1995 certificate. 1978 certificate holders are required to go through a training process to close the gap before they can be issued with a 1995 certificate. The fact which gives rise to confusion is that both these certificates were created on the same date. In the US, after 31 Jan 03', no one can get a 1995 certificate by simply completing the training required for the big leap from 1978 to 1995. Each and every sailor is now required to fully comply with 1995 amendment requirements. As all the 1978 certificate holders could not complete all the formalities, the 31 Jan '03 was actually a relaxation of one year to the original date. Despite this relaxation US sailors were still required to get 1995 certification prior to entering waters of a foreign country. Why do we need standards STCW 1978 sets standards of qualification for seafarers on merchant ships. It was initially drafted in 1978 by conference at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London. It took six years and finally in 1984 STCW was enforced. In 1995 significant changes were brought about. On an international scale 'STCW 1978' was the first to actually establish and enforce basic requirements for training, certification and watchkeeping for mariners. Prior to this such standards were set by individual governments without any reference to practices in the rest of the world. As expected, the outcome of this chaotic situation was widely varied standards, practices and procedures. STCW lays out minimum standards for training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers and countries adhering to comply are independent in their choice to accept or exceed these standards. STCW also applies to ships of countries which have not yet accepted to comply with STCW standards (non-party States), in case they visit ports of party States. An article of the convention requires all party States to apply the control without any biasing or favor to party or non-party States. This can expose the vessels of non-party States to difficult and unexpected situations. As a result, majority of the states are now party States. Revisions to SWTC 1978 In December 1992 IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) agreed to a US proposal to review in detail the 1978 Convention in light of the involvement of human element in maritime accidents. Moreover, there also had been nurturing a feeling amongst some delegations that the Convention should be more people, and standards relating to people, orientated. Rather than emphasizing on construction of ships and equipment standards, areas relating to people, training and operational practices require more concentration. This resulted in MSC directing
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Improving Participation of the Staff Meeting in a University Essay
Improving Participation of the Staff Meeting in a University - Essay Example As I noted in my earlier Action Research Project Plan, which basically became the manual for this research, Hill defines management as â€Å"getting things done through and with other people†(Hill, ibid.). As the time has elapsed between writing that plan and concluding this research, I have become even more convinced that co-operation (the â€Å"through and with other people†of Hill’s notion) is an essential behaviour if the work of our group is to prosper.It will be recalled from that project plan that I have chosen to pursue this work through the qualitative paradigm of Action Research as a practitioner- researcher. I hoped during the research to improving my own skills in facilitating meetings and to improve practice through the implementation of change in the way meetings are run in my workplace. To be a successful practitioner- researcher, I understood that I must achieve what Ritchie and Spencer (1994: 173) have called â€Å"actionable outcomes†i n order to bring about the organisational change that I seek but that I must also maintain the academic rigour of the work. I found guidance for my approach to keeping this balance in the research in the work in Argyris' (1999: 432) who has made the social scientist's dilemma of choosing between rigour and relevance central to the way in which he has adapted Lewin's Action Research heritage. He concludes that: From the action researcher's perspective, the challenge is to define and meet standards of appropriate rigor without sacrificing relevance. (Italics in the original) Thus in mid November 2005 I began, with some confidence, to apply the wide range of data gathering techniques (including, collection of documentary evidence, observation, questionnaire, group discussion and analysis of my own reflective research journal) that I had planned earlier. I expected to do this within a highly practitioner centred approach that ensured academic appropriateness, rigour and relevance within the research as a whole. 2. An account of the situation and action to improve it I began the research by applying the data gathering methods that had been foreseen in the Action Research Project Plan. In this section I will report on the usage of these methods and demonstrate how they helped in the data collection process. Whilst each of these tools was used throughout the work, the emphasis and importance of each changed as the programme evolved and moved through the various cycles of the research from Reconnaissance to Review and Reflection. The programme of Reconnaissance data collection took place between the 1st November 2005 and Christmas of the same year with the data being analysed during the Christmas/New Year break. 2.1 Reflective research diary Firstly, I began to write my reflective research journal. This was quite a difficult task to maintain because although the early enthusiasm ensured that I sat down regularly at my computer I found that it was difficult to make the writing "reflective". I began to ask myself "what is it that makes this document a reflective journal and not just a diary" As a result of this difficulty I adopted an approach whereby I first wrote down a record of events and made notes of things that people had said or done during the period that I was recording. This was the diary phase of journal writing and was quite easy. I then got into the habit of going over the work and using the automatic highlighter, would colour code things that struck me as relevant to the ongoing research. It was through this routine that I developed my reflective skills and, for example, identified for myself the fact that one of my co-researchers had tendency to support
Monday, July 22, 2019
Pledge of Allegiance in School Essay Example for Free
Pledge of Allegiance in School Essay Pledge of Allegiance in School My choice of writing for the Rogerian essay is on the topic of the Pledge of Allegiance in School. â€Å"In a decision that stunned the nation, a federal appeals court in June ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because the pledge contains the words under God â€Å" (Chmielewski). The banning of the Pledge of Allegiance is a very large controversial topic because one side believes that while the foundation of our country is religion, the other side believes that the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance is an infringement on our First Amendment right. The Pledge of Allegiance began in 1892. It was a way of showing a sense of celebration for being an American. Since 1892 the â€Å"Pledge†has been changed four times, and in 1954 the words â€Å"under God†were added (Chmielewski). A cause of the Pledge of Allegiance being banned from school is mostly because of these two words â€Å"under God†. An Atheist by the name, Newdow, filed the claim against the pledge because he did not want his second grade daughter pressured into saying something that he does not believe (Chmielewski). I believe that this topic has quite a bit of historic meaning because it basis is on our historical beginning. I think that because the times of our country and have changed so much, in that, religion is not just based on Christianity for our country anymore, it does way on peoples mind. I would like to show in this essay that the Pledge of Allegiance is an important part, not just in our schools, but in our nation. My research on this is going to be a bit strenuous. There are so many articles about court proceedings and individual states that it might be difficult to find a common ground. Most of what I have read has just been the individual states versus the Supreme Court or, as in the case above, the Nine District Court. I have read articles from Massachusetts, California, Washington, and Nevada, to name a few. Most of the articles also are very one sided. Meaning that the author shows what the problem in question is and then turns the article to what they believe.
Police Officers Discretion Essay Example for Free
Police Officers Discretion Essay Discretion is defined to be an individual’s capabilities and freedom to make responsible preferences and judgments. People working in all fields require making decisions in every day life; however, some need to be more proficient at it. Police officers usually fine themselves in chaotic and critical situations, where their decision can change the entire scenario. The most appropriate decision within the legal boundaries must be made, varying from situation to situation. Discretion is broadly characterized as five different subjects – discretion by judgment (sense of bending rules in legally appropriate ways to fit the situation), discretion as choice (to show courage and give personal contribution to form decisions as the authority in that situation), discretion by discernment (to be diplomatic, tolerant, considerate and cautious and not very generous while making decisions), discretion as liberty (to not be restricted by the law and stretch boundaries of freedom as long as it is acceptable) and lastly discretion as license (basically the permission to act there and then in whichever way thought to be appropriate without the permission of the superiors). There are some police officers who abuse their right of discretion; they believe that they are unaccountable and since they are the authority at the point of chaos, they can do as they will. Having the right of discretion does not mean that an officer can make whatever decisions that they will; they are restricted by professional, society, legal and ethical norms (Sullivan, 1972). The officers these days have just the right capacity of discretion. The only major areas that they use discretion in are domestic violence, drunk driving, mental illness, hate crime, use of force and even vice crime. These are the areas where the personal opinion and judgment of the police officers matters while arresting or giving punishments. In the rest of the important and critical areas such as rape, murder, dacoits and robberies; they have to abide by the law whether they personally approve of it or not. Only easy and fields of everyday crime are left up to the intellect of these officers. Since, there are only some areas where officers are given the right to exercise discretion, it is easy to conclude that the officers are neither given too much or too less of power. Giving them the right to decide is rational because they have been selected as officers and have been given good enough training, which gives them the sense of making correct decisions. These officers make up the entire police force, thus, their opinion should also matter – however, to only some extent. The problems that these police officers face while enforcing laws and giving verdicts is that there are hardly any fields involved in the police forces that are uncontroversial; usually, everybody has a different stance on things. Also, there is a problem is public confidence – the public is too unpredictable to please (Walker, 1993). They desire accountability but nothing seems to satisfy them; also, they wish for strict enforcement in only those areas that they are not related to, that is, they want leverage for themselves but not others. This controversial and unpredictable attitude makes it difficult for the police offers to come up with the right solution that will make everybody happy. I have witnessed one such event myself where differing opinions lead to confusion. A mentally disabled boy of around seventeen became a source of disturbance to other boys playing cricket. One of them was violent and hit the mentally disabled boy out of frustration, who hit the boy back causing him to bleed. Surprisingly, a police car was passing from there at that instant and stopped to check the situation. Everybody demanded that the mentally disabled boy should be punished for his act as he often becomes a cause of nuisance in the neighborhood. The police officer was by nature sympathetic and was of the opinion that the mentally ill boy should be let go of as he is underprivileged and does not possess the ability of making sensible decisions. Here, in this chaotic situation, even when the public was against the officer’s decision, he used his power of discretion and made an appropriate decision according to his judgment instantly. This shows that the right of discretion is extremely important for an officer to deal with everyday situations. Although, if you look closely, it was not a situation where major or critical decisions need to be made; thus, the police officer without any doubts and fear abided by his opinion – this shows limitation of power of discretion to only some areas.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Impact Of It On Journalism Media Essay
Impact Of It On Journalism Media Essay The evolution of technology continues to revolutionize the journalism industry. Television, computers and the internet are among many technologies which have significantly impacted the way in which news is researched, written and published. This report will analyse the impact of IT on journalism over the past four years. It will look particularly at how recent web technologies have impacted journalists research techniques and affected the expectations of readers. It will further look into the ethical implications such technologies have bought to journalism and the sustainability issues pertinent to the industry. Researching news Web 2.0 technologies have had significant influence on journalists researching techniques. They have impacted the ways in which journalists find story ideas, make contacts and acquire information. The 2009 Arketi Web Watch Survey revealed journalists sources of story ideas (Figure 1.1). The results demonstrate a considerable reliance upon Web 2.0 technologies, including blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts and social networks. Figure 1.1 Sources of Story Ideas Neumeiers article reviewing the 2007 Arketi Web Watch Survey suggests that the connections Web 2.0 technologies enable, allow journalists to make contacts and ultimately acquire information. Such virtual networking means journalists can obtain information, including opinions, quotes and photos, without personally knowing a contact, but by contacting or following them via social media sites (Sherratt, 2010). Web 2.0 on whole, provides journalists with convenient access to a wide variety of both primary and secondary information sources. Reader expectations Recent technology influenced trends have impacted the expectations of news readers. Unlike a newspaper, if an online reader is if dissatisfied with a news source, they are able to easily and freely switch to another. According to a 2010 survey, 57% of online news seekers visit between two and five sites a day; while only 21% have a single site they routinely visit (Pew Research Centre, 2010). Journalists are hence forced to meet the expectations of online news seekers in order capture and maintain their readers attention and ensure their stories are read. Social news, citizen journalism and mobile internet are all recent trends influenced by technology which have impacted the expectations of news readers. Social news News consumption is a socially-engaging and socially-driven activity (Pew Research Centre, 2010). Tom Regan describes online journalism as a two-way one-to-one model in contrast to conventional, one-way, we write, you read journalism. He claims in his article, The Digital Journalist written in 1997, that there is a strong demand from readers to be able to interact with the writer and other readers of news stories. In 2010, with Web 2.0 technologies, which encourage participation and interaction on the internet, an even greater expectation is held by readers to be able to contribute to and share news. The Pew Research Centre (2010) survey revealed that most readers believe that keeping up with the news is a social or civic obligation. The survey also highlighted that 37% of online news readers have contributed to the creation of news, commentary about it, or dissemination of news via social media. These trends have been influenced by advancements in web technologies which allow reader s to comment on stories, participate in forums and easily share links. The impact of social news consumption means that successful news stories encourage and facilitate reader participation. Citizen journalism Citizen journalism is a growing trend influenced by widespread individual access to cameras and online publishing platforms. Nine percent of news readers surveyed in 2010 revealed that they have contributed to the news by creating their own original news material or opinion piece (Pew Research Centre, 2010). These amateur news pieces can include reports, pictures, videos or audio and are usually published on blogs or social networking sites. Twitter, a micro-blogging site established in 2006 (Lur, 2010), is one such example of a site where citizen journalism is widespread. Twenty-six percent of its US users say they primarily use the site for news seeking (TNS and The Conference Board, 2009). On many occasions Twitter users, assisted by newswires (which monitor topic trends and divulge the latest news to a network wider than the original posters (Catone, 2009)), have beaten mainstream media in breaking news stories. For example, reports of earthquakes in the UK and China in 2008 were initially found on Twitter (Catone, 2009). Competing with such on-the-spot reporting is almost impossible for mainstream journalists as readers expect all reports to be equally as current as Tweets. However, Tweets are generally uninformative due to their 140 character limit and citizen reports are usually seen as unreliable (Kanalley, 2009). Professional journalists are hence expected to, and must hence compete by, promptly reporting exclusive, informative and accurate news which citizen journalists cannot offer. The future of citizen journalism is promising with the launch of sites such as BBCs Your News. Yeon-ho, the creator of, OhmyNews.com, a popular Korean citizen news site, describes the future of journalism as a pro-am (professional-amateur) concept of combining citizen reporters with trained professional journalists and editors (OConnor, 2007). This is backed up by BBCs claims that Your News makes use of a huge range of material being sent to the BBC by the public, some of which has provided real newsgathering value (Hoffman, 2006). Mobile internet The continuing increase in the use of mobile internet devices, such as Smartphones, has a corresponding affect on the number of readers accessing news via mobile internet (Diaz, 2010). The number of US mobile internet users is expected to rise from 89.2 million in 2010 to 134 million in 2013 (eMarketer, 2009), inevitably leading to a further increase in mobile news readers. The nature of mobile news will affect the expectations readers have on how news is presented. On the internet, readers tend to scan pages; similarly, or to a greater extent, they will do so on their mobile devices. Well written information for the web is said to have 50% less words than a print article and should ensure information can be easily extracted through scanning (Thomas, 2010). Journalists will hence need to ensure their works can be easily scanned. News organizations websites will also need to be compatible with, and easily accessible and appealing on, mobile internet browsers and devices with small scr eens. Ethical Implications Integrity of information Among the Australian Journalism Associations Code of Ethics is an obligation to report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts (Australian News Commentary, 2010). The integrity and accuracy of the information journalists provide to their readers can be tainted when sourcing information from the internet. One such example of inaccurate journalism is that of a quote believed to be by Maurice Jarre, reported after his death by newspaper websites in the US, Britain, Australia and India. The quote was published on Wikipedia by a university student in Dublin, who later confessed the information to be a hoax (Pogatchnik, 2009). This story highlights how a lack of consideration of the integrity of sources can result in inaccurate reporting. Consequences of such can include damaged reputations, misled readers and law suits. Using privately published information Information found on the internet can often be publically published without the creator knowingly doing so. A survey on internet users found that out of those surveyed, 78% of the adult online population would change information they publish about themselves online if they thought the material would later be reproduced in the mainstream media (Press Complaints Commission, 2008). Using information found on social networking profiles, may therefore be considered breaching journalists ethical codes which aim to respect personal privacy and fairly, responsibly and honestly obtain material (Australian News Commentary, 2010). Writing for a global audience The internet is a global community; therefore, news published online can be accessed by readers from around the world. Journalists must hence consider the different cultural interpretations of the language, imagery and particularly humor and slang contained within their news stories. A Michael Jackson skit performed on Australias Hey Hey Its Saturday program in 2009 is one such example humor which caused international offence because of different cultural background and interpretations. The US and the UK believed the skit was racist and disgraceful; while the majority of Australian audiences enjoyed the lighthearted humor (Duck McCabe, 2009). A 1998 article titled Writing for the Web reiterates the point that humor is prone to elude, and possibly offend, a percentage of the audience. The article also makes references to the differences in how dates are written, which may result in inaccurate reporting, and alternative meanings of words and hand gestures, which may be insulting in so me cultures (Morelli, 1998). Sustainability issues The impact of online news has resulted in a continuing drop in newspaper sales which positively affects the sustainability of journalism (Malik, 2010). An audit revealed that The Age newspaper consumes approximately 146kg of paper, per year, per subscription (Monday Friday) (House in Harmony, 2009). A 2010 comparison of The Age sales shows a 4.1% drop to 189,500 since 2009; a figure attributed to an increase in online readings (Malik, 2010). If these newspapers were not printed, approximately 3250kg of paper would have been saved in the year, along with reductions in carbon emissions produced by printers and other publishing machines. This decline in sales also reduces the emissions produced by deliveries to homes and retailers and reduces the consumption of plastic used to wrap delivered papers (House in Harmony, 2009). However, reading news online will increase the time readers spend on their computers and consequently produce more computer-generated emissions. Nonetheless, the co nsumption of news will be less wasteful as readers selectively view articles online, instead of purchasing an entire newspaper. Furthermore, increasing developments in Green IT improving energy efficiency and aspiring to reduce e-waste mean that a complete conversion to online publishing is a sustainable initiative for the future. Conclusion Technology, particularly the internet has had a significant and continuous impact on the journalism industry. Web 2.0 technologies have made it easier for journalists to find news stories and acquire information; while the expectations of news readers have been impacted by recent technology influenced trends including social news, citizen journalism and mobile internet access. The use of the internet to research and publish stories means that journalists must ethically consider the integrity and privacy of information they exploit and the obligations which come with writing for a global audience. Publishing news online also proves to be a sustainable initiative for the future as it reduces paper consumption and carbon emissions.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine Essay -- Essays Pap
The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine Phythophthora infestans was the lethal fungus that infested Ireland's potato crop and eventually ruined all of the land it grew on. This time is called the Great Famine and has impacted Ireland due to its destructive extinction of the potato farms which caused disease, extreme poverty, and death. There are several circumstances to take into consideration when looking at the causes of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Due to the great dependence the Irish people had on the potato, it is clear how blight could devastate a country and its people. To understand the Irish people's dependence on the potato for diet, income, and a way out of poverty, it is necessary to look at several key factors that were evident before the famine. Factors such farming as the only way of life, rise in population, and limited crops explain why the people of Ireland relied on the potato. But not only do these reasons clarify why the famine hit the Irish people so hard, other important factors play into effect as well. By looking at the weak relationship between England and Ireland through parliamentary acts and trade laws, it is more evident what the causes of the Great Famine are and why it was so detrimental. The relationship between Ireland and England played a major role in the causes of the Great Famine. Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801 due to the Act of Union (Edwards & Williams 19). Under this act, Ireland was placed under "the jurisdiction of the richest and most industrially advanced empire in the world" (Kinealy 33). From this act, Ireland's parliament was abolished and became controlled by England through political leadership established throughout the Irish state. A... ...remier. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton, Ohio. 19 January 2004. http://library.udayton.edu/research/article/ - Edwards, R. Dudley and T. Desmond William. The Great Irish Famine: Studies in Irish History 1845-52. Dublin, Ireland: Browne & Dolan, Ltd., 1957. - Kinealy, Christine. â€Å"How Politics Fed the Famine†. Natural History 105 (1996): 33-3. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton, Ohio. 19 January 2004. http://library.udayton.edu/research/article/ - O Grada, Cormac. The Great Irish Famine. England: MacMillan, 1989. - O Tuathaigh, Gearoid, ed. Ireland before the Famine, 1798-1848. Dublin, Ireland: Gill & MacMillan, Ltd., 1972. - Poirteir, Cathal. The Great Irish Famine. Dublin, Ireland: Mercier Press, 1995. - Whelan, Kevin. â€Å"Pre and Post-Famine Landscape Change.†O Tuathaigh 19-34.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Responsible Fates Essay -- essays research papers
In the play Romeo and Juliet and the musical Wet Side Story, the two pairs of lovers were part responsible for their tragic fates. First, Romeo’s and Juliet’s families were enemies. In comparison, Tony and Maria of West Side Story were practically apart of gangs that were enemies as well. Second, both couples knew they shouldn’t have been together especially if they had to hide it. Third, Romeo and Juliet gave up hope when they committed suicide. Last, the couples knew their situations would be dangerous and would cause more feuding than there already was. To begin with, the Montagues and the Capulets were enemies and so were the Sharks and the Jets. In modern day life, one would not even think of speaking to a girl or boy if it is known that the person is of enemy blood. That would be a...
The Signal Man :: English Literature
The Signal Man Through out the story Dickens has created a sense of horror and suspension in his description of the setting, landscape, physical surroundings and the weather conditions. At the start of the story the signal man hears a voice shouting down to him from up above, instead of looking up in the direction he heard the voice coming from, he turned himself about and looked down the line. This seems rather odd as you would normally look to where you heard the voice. The man shouting down to him, was on a high cliff and he was steeped in the angry glow of a sunset and the signal man’s figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench so it was rather awkward for the man to see who he was shout to. The man repeats ‘Halloa! Below!’ only then does the signal man catch on who is shouting to him, so he turns himself about , and raises his eyes and say the mans figure high above him. It then goes on to say that the signal man looks up to him without replying, and he looked down at him without pressing him too soon with a repetition of his idle question. There then came a ‘vague vibration’ in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation. This suggests that there is a disturbance in nature, this means that the train is coming. After the train had passed, the signal mans looks up again and motioned towards a point on the narrator’s level, the man then heads for that point. As he headed for that point, he noticed a rough zigzag path notched out, this suggests that there could be danger. It then goes on to describe the setting. The cutting was extremely deep, and unusually precipitous, it is a very dismal and dreary setting. It then says that the notched out path was made through a clammy stone that became oozier and wetter as it leaded further down the cliff, this reinforces the setting to be very depressing and gloomy. As he made his way down the zigzag path, the signal man looked as though he was awaiting his arrival. He had his left hand at his chin, and his left elbow rested on his right hand, crossed over his breast His attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness, that the man stopped at it a moment, wondering at it. This could suggest that the signal man was wondering weather the narrator was a ghost or not. The signal man had a very weary appearance; it says that he was a
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Eu Enlargement
EU Enlargement Background The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1958. In 1967 they merged into European Community. The Maastricht Treaty established the EU under its current name in 1993. The EU has grown its size by the accession of new member states. For example, on May 1st 2004, 10 new members joined the EU and EU-15 became EU-25. In 2007 it became EU-27 when Romania and Bulgaria joined.It seems that the enlargement will continue and many people begin to consider whether the EU should admit more members. Countries should obey the accession rules if they want to join the EU. According to the ‘Copenhagen Criteria’, a member state must be a stable democracy, respect human rights and have the rules of law and the protection of minority. In terms of t he economic aspect, it should have a functioning market economy. In addition, the country needs to adopt the common rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law. Body Commission: regarded enlargement as the â€Å"Union’s most successful foreign policy instrument. Following? the? enlargements? of? 2004? and? 2007,? the? EU? is? now? the? largest? integrated? economic? area? in? the? world,? accounting? for? more? than? 30%? of? world? GDP? and? more? than? 17%? of? world? trade. New members can benefit more from enlargement than existing member states (Neuder, 2003) * Benefit of new members * Strong economic growth: * Benefit from the EU budget and access? to? EU? funds? * The 10 new members can expect to receive up to 4% per annum of their GDP from the EU’s structural and cohesion funds for projects aimed at improving their economic tructures. * e. g.? net? inflow? of? structural? funds? to? help? finance? infrastructure? projects and? environmental? projects. * Increase in GDP from 3. 7% to 5% on average in the first two years since accession. * In the long time, the acceding states could enjoy a rate of growth some 2% higher than that of the existing states (Neueder, 2003). * East slowly catch up with the west. * Increase in trade * Most? of? the? new? EU? countries? were? already? closely? linked? in? trade? and? investment? terms? with? their? western? European? neighbors.? Joining? the? single? market? as? deepened? this in? 2007,? almost? 80%? of? exports? of? the? new? EU? states? went to? the? rest? of? the? EU. * Increase in Foreign Direct Investment * For the new member states, FDI is a key factor in the process of economic modernization. New members can receive funds from foreign countries and use the money to boost economy. * Enlargementlarger market and openness to trade. * Baldwin, Francois and Portes (1997) argue that joining the EU will make the region substantially less risky from the point of view of domestic a nd foreign investors. * 191 billion euro by 2004 However, they seem to over rely on FDI. FDI accounts for too large part (e. g. Hungary: 70%). Once there is something wrong with some investors and do not invest them, for instance the financial crisis, they will suffer tremendously. * The? 2009? crisis? may? persuade? Central and East European? Countries? to? reduce? their? dependence? on? foreign? direct? investments and? build? an? economic? growth? model? on? different? grounds. * Welfare * Farmers began to receive agricultural subsidies * Structural funds directed towards poorer regions (investment in infrastructure) * Benefit of existing members Enlargementmore people more consumersobtain more than 450 million consumers from Single European Marketcompanies could expand their businesses and benefit from experience and location economies scale * Larger labor market fill labor shortage in existing states with low-cost and highly-skilled workforce, for example, UK and Ireland Howeve r, these skilled workers may replace the indigenous employeesincrease the unemployment * High growthincrease the purchasing powerstimulate the import demand of acceding states and export of member states * Imports and exports between new and existing members have increased considerablethe EU15 share of total EU12 trade increased from 56% in 1993 to 62% in 2005 * Because of theseGDP increase * Costs of enlargement * Drawback for new member state * Difficulties in complying with EU law restrict development of business especially Small and Medium-size Entrepreneurs * Push many producers out of business due to their incompliance with EU environment policies * Tax harmonization e. g.Estonia: was forced to introduce new tariff against imports from outside of the EU, adopt a number of non-tariff barrierssuch protectionisms increase the food price and lowered Estonians’ standard of living * High unemployment still exists in many new member states (8% EU-15; 14% EU-10, 2005) * Some hi gh skilled workers or people with higher degree will move from east to the west, this brain drain damages the host countries. * Drawback for EU-15 * Volume of enlargement costs will amount to about 15% of the EU budget (Germany: 2. 3bn from its federal budget) * Migration: Concern about too much migration from east to west social problems and pressure on social/medical/educational services. (e. g. ome countries even carried out policies to limit the volume of migration) * Actually: the percentage of EU-12 nationals and the resident population of each EU-15 Member state were relatively stable before and after enlargement. * Too many countries will decrease the efficiency of EU. * Conclusion Enlargement of EU has been the most successful policy. Although it has some negative effects on both existing and new member states, its positive influences far outweigh its negative aspects. Process EFTA (European Free Trade Association) afraid that the Single Market Program would increase compet itioncreate EEA (European Economic Area)1995, Austria, Sweden, Finland opted for European Accession, joined (growth+, unemployment-, inflation- Finland(1991-2000, 2006,%): growth 2. 0-5. 0; unemployment 12. 5-7. 7; inflation 2. 1-1. 3 †¦
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Introduction to Starbucks Case Study
PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT subsidization 1 STARBUCKS CASE STUDY abbreviation The history of Starbucks starts in Seattle in 1971. deuce-ace friends, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor take Bowker, who all had a passion for sweet-scented cocoa, assail subject a small stag and began selling fresh-roasted, gourmet deep brown beans and create from raw material and roasting accessories. In 1981 Howard Schultz prototypal walked into Starbucks as a sales representative for a Swedish kitchen manufacturer. He immediately valued to work appear for the participation as he got so inspired by Starbucks yet it took him a year to finally gestate the owners to carry him.The owners were reluctant initially to hire Schultz because they thought his style and high gear heftiness superpower not blend with the animate culture of the company. However in 1982 Starbucks chartered Schultz as the un employ head of retail operations and marketing and shortly thenceforth was sent to Milan to attend an international housew ars memorialize in Italy. When he arrived, Schultz found himself ludicrous with the exciting coffee culture of Italy. Schultz went to Verona and had his eldest caffe latte. But he observed something to a greater extent all crucial(p) than the coffee.The cafe customers were chatting and enjoying themselves while sipping their coffees in the elegant surroundings. Thats when Schultz was struck with an sacred motif. Why not create association gathering dwellings like the great coffee house of Italy in the United States? However, Schultzs idea did not go down rise with Baldwin. Baldwin was not ready to live into the eating house business nor to call for anything distract him from his maestro plan of selling whole beans. Schultz, however, biramous out on his own and unciviled a coffee house squalld later on Italys largest red-hotspaper, The Daily, or Il Giornale.Two months later, the new store was serving more than 700 customers a day, a nd it was selling 300 percent more than the Starbucks locations. In 1987 the owners of Starbucks Coffee Company contumacious to sell their coffee business, along with the name for $3. 8 million. Schultz raised the money by convincing local investors of his vision. Now with all over 11,000 outlets in more than 36 countries, Starbucks is the earths number one force coffee retailer. Schultz ism We arnt in the coffee business, serving mess.Were in the heap business, serving coffee has cause and continues to sort the company. Q1 What divvy upment skill do you think would be active distinguished for Howard Schultz to open? Why? What skill do you think would be most important for a Starbucks store manager to shoot? Why? Conceptual Skill would be the most important skill for Howard Schultz to gravel and as we nooky see Schultz already had those skills. When he went to Italy and saw espresso bar it was his sentimentual skills that led him to the idea of introducing coff ee exclude in the States.It was his conceptual skills that led him to refer the opportunity. And it is the conceptual skills that charter managers to take emolument of opportunities and oppose threats as well as furbish up good business decisions and lead him to innovation. Human and Technical Skills would be the most important for a store manager because he is in direct relate with employees. By Human skills he is able to work well with other people individually and in a concourse and by technical skills he base guide people under his care to efficiently commit specific tasks.Q2 How might the fol belittleding management theories/approaches be utilitarian to Starbucks Scientific Management, organizational Behavior, Quantitative approach, placement Approach? SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT It is touch with improving the performance of individual worker and finding the surmount way to do particular task. Starbucks coffee producing department is the place where scientific manageme nt theory apprize be applicable where they slew award and distribute jobs and find out the best way of performing tasks in station to improve fruition efficiency.ORGANIZATIONAL deportment It is the field of study concerned with the actions or behavior of people at work. Organizational Behavior theory stooge be useful for Starbucks in the following ship give noticeal SYSTEM APPROACH System digest be dressd as a set of interrelated components with clearly define boundaries working together to achieve an intention by performing three prevail(prenominal) functions much(prenominal) as input, processing and output. development the system approach it is important for Starbucks departments to work together as one unit.For modeling if the marketing and production department dont work in coaction with each other Starbucks as a whole organization would suffer. Also victimization the system approach Starbucks must be alive(predicate) of the environment its working in. For mani kin if the company opens an outlet in some other country it must be aware of the government rules and regulations and excessively the judgement and trends of social club there. QUANTATIVE APPROACH It involves applications of statistics, optimization models, information models and information processing system simulations to management activities. Quantative approach muckle be useful in the following shipway ) Price Starbucks can judge the centre of price to be charged on a product if the price is high then no one go forth buy the product and if its low then the business wont be able to maximize its meshwork. 2) client Preferences It can conduct and analyze surveys about customers likes and dislikes. This will suffice the business in improving their product, operate and surrounding atmosphere. 3) Sales Analysis Starbucks can conduct sales analysis which can help them in forecasting approaching sales and allocate required resources and also help them in budgeting.The thre e trends and issues are as follows These skills includes Looking for Opportunities renewal fruit Due to these skills, Starbucks has excelled and reached to the height of success. Starbucks counselinged on festering i. e the reason they hold been able to expand to 11,000 outlets in 36 countries. They also introduced legion(predicate) innovations in their product line. It is mostly implicated on evanesce line managers as they are the ones who find major business decisions. Starbucks operates in many countries therefore it consists of diverse custody.So as a manager it is necessary to be well-acquainted with the diverse backgrounds of individuals in order to manage its workforce effectively. It is most applicable for the first line managers because they are the ones who are in direct contact with employees. In Starbucks blackened apron displaying the little coffee master are worn by employees who have completed the coffee master course, which shows that Starbucks conducts man y programs to enhance the k outrightledge of workers.This implies mostly to heart level managers as they are ones who are responsible for meeting the goals set by top level managers by managing the workforce which includes enhancing their disciplineing and knowledge. Q4 Give examples of how Howard Schultz might perform the interpersonal roles, the informational roles, and decisional roles. Schultz, as a figurehead, can be the greeting visitor, signing lawful documents. He would attend ribbon elusion ceremonies for new plants. He could be a leader responsible for motivating subordinates and staffing, training.He could also coordinate activities of various exteriorise works. INFORMATIONAL ROLES Schultz can perform this role by monitoring reports, holding informational meetings, making hollo calls to rely information, holding board meetings, heavy(p) information to media Q5 Look at Howard Schultz school of thought of Starbucks. How will this affect the way company is managed? A t first businesses used to center on products. But with the passage of epoch businesses have realized that their main persona is serving the people. Schultz philosophy has shaped and continues to shape the company.The company is now more cerebrate on the five Cs community, connection, caring, committed and coffee. Now the company doesnt only focus on producing coffee rather all its activities are now driven to provide customer expiation by giving them graphic symbol redevelopment and understand and meeting their needs, tastes and preferences. What mangers can learn from this case study? We as managers can learn the following from the Starbucks case study. concenter on the people Businesses traditionally used to mainly focus on their products.Their gush objective was to manufacture mass products at low cost and hence make more profits. But now businesses have grown smart, they realize the importance of people in their business. Now companies strive to work up better and lon g term dealing with their customers by providing them with top notch go and quality products. And that is exactly what Howard Schultz philosophy reflected We arent in the coffee business, serving people. Were in the people business, serving coffee. It is this philosophy of Schultz that has taken Starbucks to new heights.We as managers of straight off need to realize this and shift our focus on our customers by providing them with best quality service and products which is the key for businesses to survive in todays very free-enterprise(a) world and also for the company to social welfare in the long run. True enterpriser Spirit Entrepreneurship has three main themes Opportunity, Innovation and fetchth. When Schultz walked into an espresso bar he quickly saw the opportunity because such a concept did not exist in America and if applied in America could be very successful.We can say that Schultz was open to ideas and an opportunity seeker. We as managers need to be more open to ideas and not get stuck just on routine day to day task. We need to think out of the box and grasp on opportunities out there. If we wont our competitors will and we can be left behind in the race. Starbucks did not get stuck with just producing transparent coffee. It got innovative and launched various other products such as hot and iced espresso beverages, coffee and noncoffee amalgamate beverages, Tazo teas, home espresso machines, premium chocolates, baked pasties, sandwiches etc.Thus we learn its important to be innovative and meet the ever-changing trends in customers taste and preferences otherwise business can capture stagnant. Schultz started with a small chain of espresso exclude but he didnt tally there. He forever looked for expansion and growth and that is the reason why Starbucks today has over 11,000 outlets in 36 countries. As managers we always need to strive for growth and expansion. Grow and expand to reach new marketplaces and new customers that will in r eturn go away in more revenue and profits for the company.
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