Working During Holidays

Holiday season is here again and retail hours for many businesses both big and small are being extended. stores for â€Å"dragging millions of workers away from family and friends. † The hard truth is that, whether any of us is working on Thanksgiving or not, business is tight these days and the pressures to get work done with fewer resources continue to mount. ethics or a lack of them isn't always easy to see. Two people might undertake the exact same course of action and attain the exact same result. One had fully honorable intentions, while the other had a devious plan from the start.It's not easy, and maybe impossible, to see into the mind of another person and evaluate his true goals and motivations. Exploiting Employees When stores open, they are taking their employees away from their families. I personally feel that the stores are putting the dollar ahead of the welfare of their employees. When stores open, they are taking their employees away from their families no mat ter what day it is. If this is a problem in itself, any employment outside the home (and sometimes inside) is an ethical issue.And if â€Å"taking employees away from their families† is equivalent to â€Å"putting the dollar ahead of the welfare of their employees,† then it’s always doing so, whether or not it happens to be the fourth Thursday in November or the Friday after that. People who choose not to work on Thanksgiving will be hurt if they lose their jobs or miss some of the biggest commissions/tips of the year by not going. If working on Thanksgiving is a deal breaker to you, get a different job. If it’s not, then just get on with it and stop griping about it. It’s like moaning and groaning every time a baby needs a diaper change.It’s just part of the deal. Common Good While most agree that businesses need to make a profit, the concept that businesses exist to increase shareholder value is not unanimous. It has been claimed that busi nesses exist to serve the common good. This is a foundation of socialism, where profit is seen as exploitation of the workers. In America, there has been a push by people such as Ralph Nader, to establish a charter for corporations that would allow government oversight to confirm that corporations are indeed serving the common good.Under this system, if a corporation is determined to be detrimental to the common good, its charter could revoked and the corporation would be forced to stop operating. The problem thus far is that we have two seemingly opposite theories for the role of a business. Using our operating definition of ethics, the ethics for an organization whose role is to make profit are different from the ethics of an organization whose role is to serve the common goal. For a solution, we need a method that combines these conflicting goals into a single (although possibly complex) role.opinions are going to vary on the pros and cons of extended business hours. How strapped for cash are you? Where does your family live? What's your relationship with them like? How sentimental are you about specific holiday rituals? People will differ. This Thanksgiving there are going to be people with jobs at the Gap who wish they weren't working Thanksgiving but feel that they'd lose their jobs if they weren't willing to take an extra shift. There are also going to be people with jobs at Radio Shack who wish they could earn some extra cash and get out from under that credit card debt.

Determining Databases and Data Communications Essay

The business we have chosen to review is AT&T. They are currently using the Window 7 and Mac OS x operating systems and Office 2010 as their business software. They also have some equipment-specific software that uses the Linux and some function specific software as GCAS, a mobile dispatch interface or Granite, a visual database program. Using the Windows 7 OS gives AT&T its dependability; many of the other Microsoft operating systems are not as popular or user friendly. Windows 7 is the finest OS Microsoft has created since XP—some might say since Windows 2000. Many users just do not like other versions, like Windows 8 or Windows Vista, but Windows 7 and Microsoft work well for AT&T because of the previous history and familiarity with AT&T’s employees. AT&T has been using a Windows OS ever since Windows first went on the market or very soon thereafter. AT&T also benefits from a much discounted price because of their volume of sales with their employment numbers reaching approximately 260,000. So far, Windows far surpasses other operating systems for business needs, mainly because of its dominance in the marketplace. But more recently AT&T U-Verse technicians rely on mobile devices, including Apple Inc.’s iPads and iPhones, working on the Mac OS X, which launch AT&T-specific applications to dispatch technicians for U-verse customer appointments and to conduct network testing and other daily activities in the field. Today technicians work with far more advanced equipment, mostly digital, to install and maintain a more advanced set of products and services (Stemle, 2012). Windows is also a good fit for the Microsoft Office product which AT&T uses for its word processing, spreadsheet use, the Access database, and the largely popular PowerPoint presentation software. In addition, AT&T uses Outlook for e-mail. This suite of progra ms adds to the discount received from Microsoft for a large volume purchase. The Linux operating system has the advantage of being a  standard in equipment operating systems, especially for the system. The disadvantage is most equipment manufacturers write their own software programs and tend to make it proprietary so it can be expensive and not easily replaceable. AT&T Wireless has been using Granite Systems since 2000 to remove resource redundancy, improve network dependability and accelerate service deployment. Although, specific functional programs have the benefit of solving a specific need, but giving one programming company control over the price and upgrade path. The Craft Access System was a program, developed in 1984 by AT&T subsidiary Bellsouth Telecommunications Advanced Systems Division, which allowed telephone installers and repair technicians to gain access to their work order system by using different handheld PC equipment that connects to a landline telephone system. Now called GCAS, Global Craft Access System, this software is currently used worldwide so dispatchers can send problem notifications and install information to technicians. The technicians can send messages to the dispatchers and receive them also. In addition they can clock in and out, report outcomes for trouble calls, send their location information, and print receipts for customers to sign after the job has been completed (Dispatch and Service Support System, 2014). Determining Operating Systems and Software Applications Table Operating Systems Horizontal-Market Applications Vertical-Market Applications One-of-a-Kind Market Applications AT&T Microsoft MS Windows 7 MS Word Linux Proprietary OS Description of how it is used Users use OS to interface with the computer and its software applications MS Word is a widely accepted word-processing program that can be used for creating documents, letters, flyers, learning activities, and homework assignments for students. Operating system for different phone company  equipment; e.g. VM, routers, switches Complex equipment vendors using their version only, not an open system Typical user Secretary, Executive, Engineers and Technicians Entire organization, Legal, HR, Accounting, Marketing, Research, Engineering, Labs, Technicians, etc. Network Engineer and Technicians Vendor Engineer and Technicians Advantages Familiar so easy to use and everyone in the company uses same version Widely used so most new applicants for work will have experience at work, home, or school Fast dependable, widely distributed and used Speed, Dependability, Advantage over the competition Disadvantages It is not the latest version, so not the latest benefits Large file size, a lot of meta information gets saved along the way when changing and saving a Word file that can expand its size. Word can be very prone to viruses and malware. Additionally, users have complained that there are too many options. It is not easy to navigate; mistakes cause major problems and recovery not possible. Locked into that vendor, pay more, maybe get less, hard to move up in technology development. References 1. Dispatch and service support system. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2010/0049576.html 2. Stemle, C. (2012, August 24). AT&T technicians use iPads, iPhones out in the field. Louisville Business First. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/print-edition/2012/08/24/technology-att-technicians-use.html?page=all

Part Six Chapter IV

IV The police had picked up Krystal Weedon at last as she ran hopelessly along the river bank on the very edge of Pagford, still calling her brother in a cracked voice. The policewoman who approached her addressed her by name, and tried to break the news to her gently, but she still tried to beat the woman away from her, and in the end the policewoman had almost to wrestle her into the car. Krystal had not noticed Fats melting away into the trees; he did not exist to her any more. The police drove Krystal home, but when they knocked on the front door Terri refused to answer. She had glimpsed them through an upstairs window, and thought that Krystal had done the one unthinkable and unforgivable thing, and told the pigs about the hold-alls full of Obbo's hash. She dragged the heavy bags upstairs while the police hammered at the door, and only opened up when she considered that it had become unavoidable. ‘Whatcha wan'?' she shouted, through an inch-wide gap in the door. The policewoman asked to come in three times and Terri refused, still demanding to know what they wanted. A few neighbours had begun to peer through windows. Even when the policewoman said, ‘It's about your son, Robbie,' Terri did not realize. †E's fine. There's nuthin' wrong with ‘im. Krystal's got ‘im.' But then she saw Krystal, who had refused to stay in the car, and had walked halfway up the garden path. Terri's gaze trickled down her daughter's body to the place where Robbie should have been clinging to her, frightened by the strange men. Terri flew from her house like a fury, with her hands outstretched like claws, and the policewoman had to catch her round the middle and swing her away from Krystal, whose face she was trying to lacerate. ‘Yeh little bitch, yeh little bitch, what've yeh done ter Robbie?' Krystal dodged the struggling pair, darted into the house and slammed the front door behind her. ‘For fuck's sake,' muttered the policeman under his breath. Miles away in Hope Street, Kay and Gaia Bawden faced each other in the dark hallway. Neither of them was tall enough to replace the light bulb that had been dead for days, and they had no ladder. All day long, they had argued and almost made up, then argued again. Finally, at the moment when reconciliation seemed within touching distance, when Kay had agreed that she too hated Pagford, that it had all been a mistake, and that she would try and get them both back to London, her mobile had rung. ‘Krystal Weedon's brother's drowned,' whispered Kay, as she cut Tessa's call. ‘Oh,' said Gaia. Knowing that she ought to express pity, but frightened to let discussion of London drop before she had her mother's firm commitment, she added, in a tight little voice, ‘That's sad.' ‘It happened here in Pagford,' said Kay. ‘Along the road. Krystal was with Tessa Wall's son.' Gaia felt even more ashamed of letting Fats Wall kiss her. He had tasted horrible, of lager and cigarettes, and he had tried to feel her up. She was worth much more than Fats Wall, she knew that. If it had even been Andy Price, she would have felt better about it. Sukhvinder had not returned one of her calls, all day long. ‘She'll be absolutely broken up,' said Kay, her eyes unfocused. ‘But there's nothing you can do,' said Gaia. ‘Is there?' ‘Well †¦' said Kay. ‘Not again!' cried Gaia. ‘It's always, always the same! You're not her social worker any more! What,' she shouted, stamping her foot as she had done when she was a little girl, ‘about me?' The police officer in Foley Road had already called a duty social worker. Terri was writhing and screaming and trying to beat at the front door, while from behind it came the sounds of furniture being dragged to form a barricade. Neighbours were coming out onto their doorsteps, a fascinated audience to Terri's meltdown. Somehow the cause of it was transmitted through the watchers, from Terri's incoherent shouts and the attitudes of the ominous police. ‘The boy's dead,' they told each other. Nobody stepped forward to comfort or calm. Terri Weedon had no friends. ‘Come with me,' Kay begged her mutinous daughter. ‘I'll go to the house and see if I can do anything. I got on with Krystal. She's got nobody.' ‘I bet she was shagging Fats Wall when it happened!' shouted Gaia; but it was her final protest, and a few minutes later she was buckling herself into Kay's old Vauxhall, glad, in spite of everything, that Kay had asked her along. But by the time they had reached the bypass, Krystal had found what she was looking for: a bag of heroin concealed in the airing cupboard; the second of two that Obbo had given Terri in payment for Tessa Wall's watch. She took it, with Terri's works, into the bathroom, the only room that had a lock on the door. Her aunt Cheryl must have heard what had happened, because Krystal could hear her distinctive raucous yell, added to Terri's screams, even through the two doors. ‘You little bitch, open the door! Letcha mother see ya!' And the police shouting, trying to shut the two women up. Krystal had never shot up before, but she had watched it happen many times. She knew about longboats, and how to make a model volcano, and she knew how to heat the spoon, and about the tiny little ball of cotton wool you used to soak up the dissolved smack, and act as a filter when you were filling the syringe. She knew that the crook of the arm was the best place to find a vein, and she knew to lay the needle as flat as possible against the skin. She knew, because she had heard it said, many times, that first-timers could not take what addicts could manage, and that was good, because she did not want to take it. Robbie was dead, and it was her fault. In trying to save him, she had killed him. Flickering images filled her mind as her fingers worked to achieve what must be done. Mr Fairbrother, running alongside the canal bank in his tracksuit as the crew rowed. Nana Cath's face, fierce with pain and love. Robbie, waiting for her at the window of his foster home, unnaturally clean, jumping up and down with excitement as she approached the front door †¦ She could hear the policeman calling to her through the letter box not to be a silly girl, and the policewoman trying to quieten Terri and Cheryl. The needle slid easily into Krystal's vein. She pressed the plunger down hard, in hope and without regret. By the time Kay and Gaia arrived, and the police decided to force their way in, Krystal Weedon had achieved her only ambition: she had joined her brother where nobody could part them.

Yorktown-American Revolutionary War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Yorktown-American Revolutionary War - Essay Example The actual war was is said to have begun on September 28 when American forces under the leadership of General George Washington together with its French-allied forces led by Comte de Rochambeau hatched a plan to attack the British forces together with its allies that had camped at Yorktown in Virginia. Washington and Rochambeau moved with their troops (about 3,000-armed soldiers in total) and joined others who had already settled in Yorktown making about 17,000 soldiersi. On arrival, the soldiers carried out lethal bombardments on the British soldiers who were immediately overpowered by the American and French soldiers led by Washington and Rochambeau. Washington made life difficult for the British troops by shelling them for a period of three weeksii. After succeeding in this phase of the battle, Washington together with Rochambeau began to work on the second phase of the war which began on October 11iii. The aim of this second phase was to extend the siege line. However, the Americ an troops were repulsed by the British troops that mounted a strong resistance. However, the American and French troops managed to capture quite a number of British redoubts and pushing some British rebouts further away. Fighting continued until October 17, 1781 when the American forces backed by French forces managed to surround the British forces in Yorktown.... The American troops under the leadership of Washington and the French troops led by Rochambeau are said to have been more tactical in their approach to the war than the British troops, which gave them an advantage of the British soldiersvi. In addition, the America troops and its allies, the French soldiers, had the advantage of numbers over their enemies at the time the war broke out in Yorktown. In this regard, the American troops outnumbered the British troops in a ratio of two to one. This is because there were a total of 17,000 American and French soldiers against only 7,600 British soldiers. Basically, this made it difficult for the British soldiers to continue with the war, particularly after a few minutes of the war led to the loss of about 500 British soldiers against only 80 American and 200 French soldiersvii. As a result, the British soldiers had no option but to surrender leading to their loss of victory in the revolutionary war. In the event that the British won the rev olutionary battle, probably America’s independence would not have come so soonviii. The attainment of America’s independence just a few years after the war clearly points to the fact that Americans actually won the revolution. After the British forces had lost the Yorktown battle, the British parliament decided that the country discontinue the battle against America and its allies for fear that it could lose the war which would put the country in a bad positionix. As a result, the king was compelled to accept the loss of the Yorktown revolution to America, its thirteenth colony. In fact, after losing the revolutionary war against America, Britain retreated

Culture is globalised This connotes a widening of human experiences Essay

Culture is globalised This connotes a widening of human experiences and wisdom. (A. Gurnah). How valid is this comment - Essay Example This essay will look at the validity of arguments about the outcomes of a globalised culture after defining key terms. Globalisation has numerous definitions depending on the school of thought from which one originates; sometimes it may be defined from a sociological, political economic or anthropological lens. For purposes of this analysis, it will be defined as â€Å"an intensification of world-wide social relationships, which link distant places in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa† (Giddens, 1990, p.4). It is an undeniable fact that globalisation affects almost every single person on the planet irrespective of their class, gender or ethnicity. People’s level of consciousness is changing and many of them have now acquired a global orientation or at least global awareness (Beynon, 2000). This state of affairs has led to certain paradoxes, which had not been imagined before; increased awareness is not unifying the world, as one would expect. It is instead making people more diverse and even disjointed. Human experiences as defined in Gurnah’s phrase refer to things that occur in people’s lives that have the capacity to affect how they act and think. It may also be envisaged as the totality of all the skill and knowledge that people acquire through certain periods of time when they participate in something. Conversely, human wisdom refers to the ability to utilise one’s knowledge and experience in order to make sound decisions (Beynon, 2000). Finally, cultural globalisation refers to a phenomenon in which lives lived by people reflect a standardisation of cultural ideas from different parts of the world. This came about as a result of the proliferation of the internet, international travel, and the rise of popular culture. Homogenisation of cultural influences is apparent in the presence of fast food franchises like McDonald’s all over

Could materialistic behavior affect personal relationships How so Essay

Could materialistic behavior affect personal relationships How so - Essay Example Materialistic behavior is an individual’s value, which shows the importance a person places on the possession and acquisition on material wealth. Materialistic people have two key characteristics, for instance, they believe material things acquisition and possession as a requirement for happiness. They also tend to judge their success and the success of other people based on their material possession. Materialistic behavior has crucial implications on personal relationship and social relationships as a whole. Materialistic behavior tend have a negative connection with a person’s wellbeing and related anticipated personal results. Materialism is believed to be the main cause of deferential relationships between people in the society. The adoption of values of materialism influences the balance between public and private decisions that an individual make in his life and the relationship with individuals of different wealth status.

W 3 OIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W 3 OIS - Essay Example It is in line with this that a number of reviewers have looked at the implications of Moore’s Law, which advocates faster and cheaper computing in healthcare IT management. Firstly, the Center for Disease Control (2013) notes that Moore’s Law implies for healthcare managers to cut down cost on IT infrastructure by making use of cost effective IT so that there can be sufficient funds to cater for other components of the service. Secondly, Noe and Gerhard (2007) saw Moore’s Law as a revolutionary law in healthcare management that puts emphasis on the need to achieve more within a shorter period of time due to the speed of IT systems. By this and as healthcare managers do more within shorter time frame, efficiency can be guaranteed. Last but not least, the Center for Disease Control (2013) stated that Moore’s Law gives healthcare IT managers a challenge to resist any form of systems that cannot guarantee and secure easier execution of tasks. In effective, there should continue to be conscious efforts that promote user friendliness in the use of healthcare IT

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management - Essay Example 1-13). The different strategies are analyzed and their sustainability evaluated. Also, recommendations and justification are given for other relevant strategies. Discussion The Samsung Electronics has been involved in accumulation of knowledge over the last few decades. However, the company is facing tough competition from other companies. The increase in the overseas production has impacted on the strategic response in Korea. The production network in Samsung extends beyond the ASEAN region through to China and India. Ration of the overseas production to the total production has in the recent years increased sharply. The competition is intense towards the cost-driven struggle for the low-end markets (Leachman & Jeenyoung 2002, p. 61-77). The three major electronics producers in Korea; Samsung, Daewoo and Goldstar, have expressed their intention in increasing the overseas production. By early 1990s, the Samsung Electronics performed an organization integration meant to increase the c oordination between the marketing, production and research across and within the product lines. By 1992, the multiple product sectors were fully under the control of Kim Kwang Ho, who was the CEO and the head of the semiconductor operation. The company started initiating more radical reforms by mid 1993 who improved the dissemination of knowledge within the group. The semi-conductor sector enhanced the technological synergy in other related businesses. For instance, the production of the DRAM technology led to the precision of the Samsung electronics leading to significant improvement in technology. The product design capability is an important strategy by Samsung to enhance the internationalization of production where the low-value-added goods were produced while new products prevented hollowing out of production in Korea. The increased changes of the competition conditions increased the difficulties in foreign licensing and the designs turned out to be very complex. Samsung began acquiring some new capabilities through direct acquisition of foreign firms. The R&D operations in Samsung have been continually centralized Samsung Electronics had strategized on the release of new devices to expand the line-up based on the conditions in the market. This was to prevent overreliance on the android Platform from Google. This sought for the reduction of dependency on Android (Bong & Jinjoo 2004, p. 16). The company produces TFT monitors with the corporate customers being in mind. This strategy necessitates an approach where the company identifies potential markets among the business users whose employees have a high likelihood of spending long hours on a computer screen. The company also targets other markets such as the high street shops that use TFTs for the point of sale terminals. The company uses the radical market strategy to encourage high purchases of their products. The head office in Korea has played a crucial role in introducing strong brand awareness as we ll as instilling good product perceptions. Assessing the sustainability of this strategy, the company has been able to realize high profiles as well as creating high profile for their brand (Chung & Karen 2009, p. 20-27). Samsung Electronics is relatively new in mobile communications. Having established in CDMA markets in Korea and USA, Samsung has decided to incorporate global

COMPARISON OF TWO PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACHES Essay

COMPARISON OF TWO PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACHES - Essay Example In todays economy mental health issues have come into the mainstream in the news on a regular basis. As an example, Mental Health America reports that "about 20% of the U.S. population reports at least one depressive symptom in a given month, and 12% report two or more in a year". The National Institute of Mental health reports that "an estimated 26.2% of Americans ages 18 and older†¦suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any year." It is also known that many people suffer from more than one mental disorder as well. People are attempting to cope with the world as it is while they watch their homes being foreclosed upon, their jobs ending and everyday living expenses rising. More people are turning to mental health practitioners to help them sort out problems that they are having individually and as families. This is a time when new counselors can be of great help because there is such a great need. In order to prepare for any client, a new counselor must learn how to under stand symptoms and identify the type of mental disorder that their clients are experiencing. In order to do this, they must rely on the DSM-IV and other methods of diagnosis. One of the ways that students learn to become good therapists is by studying case studies. Most insurance companies will want a diagnosis and it should be accurate to the best of a counselors ability. Because of this it is important to practice using case studies and counseling theories in order to know what therapeutic approaches will work best for different mental disorders. These narrative theories recognize humans as active agents in the construction of their own realities rather than simply existing in some objective reality†¦they encourage students to understand material for themselves rather than simply completing assignments or requirements. (p. 834). Corsini

Innovative nursing care delivery model Term Paper

Innovative nursing care delivery model - Term Paper Example Nurses form a critical part of this model because they have immense knowledge on patient evaluation and education just to mention a few. The model aims at avoiding complications such as phantasm, which is commonly caused by hospital admission of the elderly patients. Joynt and Kimball (2008) describe ACO as a collaboration that involves various parties including primary care clinicians, the hospital, and other healthcare professionals. These parties work jointly with an aim of not only ensuring quality service delivery, but also reducing the high costs of care provided to patients. Upon ACO’s success, all providers are offered to keep part of the saving contributed by the organization. The ACO model exposes nurses and clinical officers to leadership skills. Through this, health employees are able to take the mantle of organizational leadership especially in providing care in underserved areas. Retail clinics, also referred to as nurse-managed health clinics (NMHCs), are created with the aim of offering holistic primary care services and quality services to particular populations such as those deemed underserved or vulnerable. Debra (2013) posits that retail health centre are an important avenue where healthcare can be offered as per the model. The model as pursued by the federal government depict the above model. According to Debra (2013), retail clinics are, usually, associated with schools, federally qualified health center and social service agencies. Retail health centre bring health care close to people and ensure that services are affordable and of high quality. Through retail health centre patients save a lot of their finances used in emergency room care. Involvement of nurses in these clinics helps in not only containing costs but also optimizes patient outcomes. This is an innovative Care Delivery Model, which makes use of technology in monitoring patients with chronic illness. Usually, data goes back to the

Earthquake Kills 22 in southwestern China Essay Example for Free

Earthquake Kills 22 in southwestern China Essay 1. Type of crisis Earthquake is an example of adventitious crisis, a natural disaster â€Å"that is not part of an everyday life and is unplanned and accidental† (Varcarolis, 2006, pp 422-423). Victims of earthquakes usually suffer from trauma, panic, shock, grief, fear and mental disorganization (which could be manifested by running around aimlessly or inability to concentrate). People who suffer from such an adventitious disaster are reported to have flashbacks or nightmares connected to the event after it happened. 2. Type of stressors that contributed to the crisis Earthquakes happen suddenly and people are caught off guard with the sudden and swift destruction that it brought about to them personally (e. g., damage or loss of property and the painful loss of a loved one or loved ones).  Ã‚   Psychologically, emotionally and mentally the victims are not prepared for the sudden loss and change of life or way of life (e.g. having to live in an evacuation center with all of its limited supply of basic necessities, or having to live with a physical disability due to the earthquake). In this instance, anxiety, grief and panic levels go up severely in just a matter of seconds.   With the combine sudden loss of property and loved ones, the victim/s may be overwhelmed. 3. Coping skills of the people involved Since problem is a part of life, it is very important that a person has learned a number of techniques that can be use to lower anxiety and to adapt to the situation when problem arises. One of the key techniques that people use is to engage in prayer. Prayer helps to lighten the load as a person learns to accept and submit to the will of God.   Also, prayer clears a person’s mind which enabled him to restore balance and equilibrium and make right choices. A person should also not isolate himself but should express to others what he is feeling and allow himself to be surrounded and comforted with other members of the family and friends. Moreover, the victim should cooperate with the help and assistance being provided by the government, counseling, medical and other disaster agencies.   If needed he should transfer to a place or engage in activities that helps him forget the incident (Varcarolis, 2006, pp.423-429). In the case of children, they should be taught to understand the situation, be assured by the parent’s presence and parents should model calm behavior and seek to divert the children’s attention by providing fun activities for them( Handouts : Talking to Children about Crisis). 4. Goal of the resolution of the crisis â€Å"Crisis by definition is self-limiting so that as soon as possible they are resolved, preferably within 4 to six weeks† so that a person or group of persons function normally again in spite of their loss and accept what happen to them during the earthquake disaster ( Varcarolis, 2006,p.422  Ã‚  Ã‚   ). More importantly the goal of the resolution of the crisis is to lower anxiety level since anxiety hampers the person’s ability to face and solve his own problems. Short term goals of the resolution of the crisis by the end of the first session involves the lowering down of anxiety level from severe to moderate or moderate to mild, clarify the problem in solvable terms, identify existing supports and other needed supports, set realistic goals to deal with the problem and identify a step by step plan of action. Otherwise a person’s safety may be at risk for due to hopelessness, grief, and fear he may tend to act suicidal or become mentally ill (Varcarolis,2006 ,pp. 427 430). 5. Possible resources/referrals that might be needed to help to return to pre-crisis level of functioning It may be necessary that victims of earthquakes should be remove from the place where it happened. Therefore, they may need to be referred to a stable shelter. Rehabilitation, debriefing and counseling is also recommended where psychologists, counselors and other cognitive-behavioral therapists helps them to restore balance and equilibrium. Friends, family and peer groups should also be a part of the healing process. If the person develops psychotic thinking, violent or suicidal behavior then he may need a psychiatric treatment. If he suffers from physical injuries or other health needs then he must be rushed to a hospital or clinic. Children whose parents were not coping well with the stress that the disaster had caused should be put under child care. Vocational and skills training program should also be provided to help the victims go back to supporting themselves again especially for those who had become disabled (Varcarolis, 2006, pp. 429-438; Handouts: Talking to Children about Crisis).

Education Essay Example for Free

Education Essay It seems that the recent trend toward online education has created a severe deficit among students. Part of the fundamental goal of any learning environment is the development of skills related to team-building and cooperative work. These are real-world skills that are important to have in almost any real-world situation. The student’s comment about cooperative learning is a common complaint, but the troubles cited by the student are typical of real-world cooperative situations. The usual complaints by students about cooperative learning projects include logistics issues, gaps in vision and leadership, difficulties in equitable workload assignment, and other elements. All of these problems are ones that may be encountered in the modern working world. I would design the curriculum with group projects integrated. I would also include a learning objective that emphasizes the importance of the cooperative learning, given its application to the real world. If the quality of the projects suffers as a result of the learning format, the learning gap(s) that may have developed may be resolved by reinforcing exercises that are individually-based. In this manner, the subject matter will be adequately addressed, and the important group-work skill can also be practiced. I would also recommend additional courses on team-work and the cooperative dynamic be added to the curriculum. Whether for a school or a work environment, it is vital that students be taught or trained to appreciate the importance of effective teaming, as this will be a key element in any real-world work environment. This course could incorporate coping and procedural skills that address the typical difficulties involved with cooperative projects. Objectives might include how to divide labor, how to determine a vision, how to organize leadership, and how to handle logistic difficulties. The sooner students learn these skills, the more productive and successful they will be.

The Implementation Of Performance Management

The Implementation Of Performance Management Performance management is one of the tools human resource managers can employ to engage employees and teams to achieve their goals and motivate them to achieve high levels of organizational performance. Nowadays, HR managers are faced with a variety of competition and business environments that are constantly changing individuals values and lifestyles. Hence, the HR mangers need to understand the processes that can help employees achieve the goals set by their organizations. Aim The purpose of this report is to evaluate human resource management, in particular, performance management by focusing on three general purposes namely, strategic, development, and administrative. Arguments are made outlining the advantages and disadvantages of implementing performance management systems. Furthermore, sources of performance information used to evaluate the sales assistance of ANZ Bank are examined. Finally, an evaluation of the fairness of performance management is provided. Relevant literatures will be reviewed and discussed to support the ideas presented within this document. Scope This report discusses, evaluates and in some cases, criticizes existing researches dealing with performance management and also shows the relationship between different researches toward performance management, including the advantages and disadvantages of implementing this system. Also, evaluations of the performance information that can adequately measure the performance of ANZs sales assistance along with the fairness of performance management systems are provided. The General Purposes of Performance Management Commonly, the purpose of Performance Management is to achieve an organizations goals or objectives. For instance, Walters (1995) states performance management is the process of improving the quality and quantity of work finished and aligning all the activities involved with an organizations objectives. Similarly, Armstrong (1998) recommenced performance management as the strategic and integrated approaches to deliver the successful to organization by improve the performance of employees by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors. Moreover, William (2002) states that performance management targets individuals within an organization and aims to direct and improve their performance and ultimately enhancing the organizations objectives. Schuler, Fulkerson and Dowling (1991) claimed that Performance management is an essential business driver to help businesses achieved desired results. Generally, Performance Management is an ongoing process that needs to be monito red throughout the year. The Performance Management purposes, which mainly includes areas such as, strategic, developmental, and administrative. Thus, the overall expectations and performance objectives are reviewed as following: 2.1 Strategic Purposes: Armstrong (1999) pointed out that the important features of PM are goal setting and feedback coupled with the development of individual characteristics as well as the development of organizations strategies. Utilizing the ideas presented within several literature reviews, the major roles of Strategic Performance Management can be classified as follows: (i.e. Atkinson, 1998; Dumond, 1994; Sink, 1991; Martinsons et al, 1999; and Neely, 1998) Overlooking the process of strategy implementation by assessing if the strategy is being put into practice as planned. Managers and higher-level personnel issue objectives and goals and not only ensure that these strategies are implemented but also that the contents of the strategy are up to date. The position check and selection employees by looking at whether the result of performance expectation is achieved University of California, Berkeley introduced the communication process that includes clarifying expectations, setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and evaluating results. Consequently, to help employees understand and meet the company goal provided the clearly of direct communication by pass the information to employees about the expectation of individual to be achieved, and also provides the feedback including benchmarks performance in difference department, teams, individual by report as the whole regarding their performance with respect to expected goal have been consider. Documentation process that enable line manager and employees to see the performance management as a part of daily workplace behavior. 2.2 Development Purposes: Performance management is an ongoing process. After a set of work objectives and organizational goals are agreed upon, the HR start with a clear agreement based on the strategy, goal, measure, and performance goal to be implemented. Organization coaching and developing process by evaluation of employees attention to these strategies and point out employees strength and weakness when the employees not perform well as they should. Therefore, the performance management seeks to improve these employees performance. Moreover, organization has to ensure the employees achieved the measurement results through the feedback so employees know where they stand. De Cieri et al. 2008 suggested that to build a performance culture by establish the process to encourage performance management feedback each day rather than the process that occurs throughout the year. As the result, the reviewed of performance annually more likely distorted and forgotten in order that organization should progress monito r regular and provide employee feedback after each particular event finished. At the end of performance period, assessment is made against objectives, means or behaviours demonstrated. Plus, new objectives for the next performance period maybe established (The University of California, Berkeley). Furthermore, Kaplan and Norton (2001) argued that employees at level need to learn the principles of the system, its measures, tools and procedures. Thus, the organization encourage improvement and learning by provided valuable information to help identify individual training need to improved employee performance and build up the potential of employee for further advancement. Moreover, Performance management system focuses on the skills that are required to perform a particular job and training will help employees to achieve that skill employee will get training that are required and have better positions and compensation offers within the organization. 2.3 Administrative Purposes: De Cieri et al. 2008 described the studied of PM can help the organization in particular to administrative decision making such as salary, promotion, retention, and termination and recognition of individual performance. The organization can define employee salary toward their performance, the person who greater performance will get the greater salary. The successful of performance management process (well-conceived and well-implemented) can motivate employee through financial with the compensation and also can motivate by non-financial reward such as positive feedback and opportunities to development (Armstrong, 1999). Thus, the reward can motivate employee via their efforts that rewards can be financial and non-financial by basically rewards provide base on the organization ability to pay and legal regulation as the company take the action by use the performance measure to calculate the rewards. As the result, it can say the reward can motivate and encourage building short term and long term incentives of engage performance. As the result, compensation can motivate the person to perform well by the good compensation package will increase the employees productivity and satisfaction level of the employees. In additional, some organizations award the salary and bonus base on their performance. Armstrong and Baron (1998) demonstrate that performance can be affected by several of factors, all of that should be taken into account when managing, measuring and rewarding performance. 3.0 Arguments For and Against the Implementation of Performance Management Argument For: Increasing Productivities A key aspect of performance management is training and developing new techniques that can help organizations improve individual, team and organizational performance. For example, ANZ develop their employees to be successful in their roles, by hosting training programs in a wide range of areas such as developing inspiring leadership qualities, providing learning and development opportunities and by developing and retaining talented employees who want to undertake challenging assignments. As a result of all these programs, trained sales assistance units are able to market new products online to increase customer convenience and satisfaction (Corporate Responsibility Review, 2008). As online functionality improves with time and effort, customers are provided with concise and timely information such as interest rates, currency exchange rates and so on, resulting in an increased number of customers utilizing these services and higher s productivities. Produce Meaningful Measurement of Employee Performance Performance management can help ensure that employees receive a fair appraisal based on their performance, by using various methods to evaluate employees. Organizations then inform employees of the results, in the form of constructive feedbacks. Organizations also take efforts to improve aspects of employees productivity by providing clear information of what is expected of them and align these expectations with the overall company goals and targets and also by hosting quality training and development programs. Consequence, the measurements are useful for organization setting standards for comparison with similar organizations or previous years (Hyndman and Anderson, 1997) Increased Retention Rate Performance management systems are implemented not only to evaluate employee performance but also to understand the basic needs of employees. It helps senior mangers to understand what employees are looking for, in terms of job satisfaction or how he/she is performing in their respective jobs. It helps to increases retention rates in organizations. Employees are aware of what is required of them and focus their output according to these specifics. For instance, ANZs business strategy of recruiting and retaining employees has resulted in an increase in the number of employees from 8,810 to 9,245 between 2008 and 2009 (ANZ, 2010). Performance management also can help ensure that employees receive equitable treatment because performance management appraisals are based on results. Analysing these results can lead to enhanced job satisfaction, increased productivities and so on. Additionally, performance management can facilitate ongoing, constructive communication between supervisors and employees, all the while focusing on achieving organizational goals and targets. Armstrong and Baron (2003) also suggest that the successful implementation of performance management systems can result in desirable culture changes and avoid problems such as, lack of understanding and enthusiasm. Against: High Cost Recently, organizations have been forced to cut down cost due to the global economic crisis. The decision of whether or not to train employees has been a consequence of this phenomenon. Even though training is the best way to retain and maintain employees, the effects of economic recession have led to organizations cutting down on training programs. During periods of economic recession, organizations are faced with a higher than normal rate in employee turnover. (Glance, Hogg and Huberman, 1997). External Factors Performance management frameworks and systems do not directly take into consideration external factors such as, global recessions or natural calamities. As such, when such a scenario does arise, performance management system may have to undergo heavy modifications to compensate. Unrealistic Performance Targets Sometimes organizations are desperate to achieve organizational goals and as a result, unrealistic performance levels may be set for employees. These targets are often difficult and unattainable, and as a result, dissatisfied employees may decide to leave their jobs. Actual Performance versus Target Performance Failing to effectively implement performance management systems may give rise to a lapse between actual and target performances. A managers inability to conform to procedures such as conducting regular meetings to discuss employees performance and providing them with necessary training may lead to a breakdown in the entire system. Therefore, an employees lack of understanding of what is precisely required of them can greatly impact an organizations performance as a whole. 4.0 An Evaluation of the Performance of ANZs Sales Assistance Like any successful organization, ANZ bank takes its corporate responsibilities very seriously by adopting responsible business practices and by reporting and updating their Corporate Responsibility (CR) Performance. ANZs CR Reporting follows the guidelines set by the global best practice standards. In 2008, ANZ Bank implemented a new, streamlined approach, known as the Global Performance Management Framework, to facilitate enhanced monitoring of their employees performance and to utilize their personnels full potential. As such, the simplified and globally homogenous approach they adopted utilizes a concept known as balanced scorecard, which measures and evaluates the performances of their employees across four main company objectives, namely, Financial, Customer, People and Process, and also the benchmarks of behaviour and risk/compliance that are exhibited throughout the year. The Performance Management at ANZ is divided into three stages: Performance Planning, Performance Coaching and Performance Assessment. Performance Planning: This stage involves setting clear and measurable objectives and targets at lower levels of the organization. Strong emphasis is placed on the impact that achieving these goals have on the organizations broader business goals and priorities. Employees and managers are unified under a common set of highly ambitious, yet realistic and achievable goals from the beginning so that each individual understands the importance of his/her role and how he/she can contribute to the overall success of the organization. One of the key focuses of this stage is ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of the behaviour and risk/compliance standards expected of them. Performance Coaching: At this stage of Performance Management, managers conduct regular meetings with employees to coach and develop them. Managers are required to evaluate employees performance and appraise their current status in respect to the performance levels expected of them by conducting mid-year performance discussions. A key aspect of this stage is to ensure that managers provide employees with sufficient support and learning opportunities that can enable them to succeed at their roles. Performance Assessment: At this stage, higher level personnel provide lower level employees with an evaluation of their performance at the end of the year. The outcomes of this stage are linked directly with the companys remuneration and rewards schemes. (Corporate responsibility review, 2008) Following these guidelines, the Performance Management Framework provides each individual within the organization with a clearly defined set of objectives and goals and ensures that they understand precisely what is expected of them. Sales assistance involves handling routine client enquiries in all segments of the companys objectives. Therefore, the tools and instruments employed in maintaining the organizations new Performance Management Framework, can effectively evaluate the performance of sales assistance in ANZ Bank, especially when coupled with detailed and informative annual CR Reports. In addition to providing annual performance reports, ANZ also maintains a Corporate Responsibility website and issues annual CR Interim reports and monthly Corporate Responsibility updates to stakeholders. The information contained within all these reports and updates can adequately evaluate the performance of personnel, and more importantly, provide detailed information on specific branches of the companys departments, like sales assistance. ANZ has been reporting on its CR Performance since 2004. Each year, the organizations goals and work programs include high-priority issues involving their industry, customers, employees and the community. According to the 2008 CR Report, by September 2008, ANZ had witnessed the first rise in customer satisfaction statistics in over six months. The organization had set six customer-oriented goals: Implement a new Personal Division policy and processes to assist retail customers facing financial difficulty Maintain their position as the number 1 Lead Bank for major Corporate and Institutional clients Achieve Equator Principles reporting for 100% of ANZs Project Finance transactions Continue to improve their retail customer satisfaction and match the performance of community and regional banks Meet or exceed the performance standards set out in their Customer Charter and conduct a review of its commitments Implement Institutional social and environmental lending policies for forests, mining, energy and water. The first three goals in the above list were successfully achieved, while the latter three goals were partially satisfied. There were five employee-oriented goals set by the organization for the year 2008, and only one of these goals placing women in managerial positions in Australia and New Zealand was unattained, although, the actual statistics only marginally trailed the target figures. The goal of employing 100 Indigenous Australians, as part of the Indigenous Employment Strategy was successfully accomplished, as 106 Indigenous trainees were employed by ANZ in 2008. The three other set goals that were partially achieved are: Closing the gap on pay differential between men and women at all levels of the organization, Reducing their Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate by a further 20% in Australia and New Zealand and report performance globally, and improve their performance in the ANZ Engagement and Culture Census. Of the four community-oriented goals that were set, all four were successfully accomplished. The goals included: Release ANZs bi-annual financial literacy research, Meet their financial literacy and inclusion program targets, Achieve 70,000 hours of staff volunteering across the Groups and 15% participation in payroll giving, Achieve the commitments in our Reconciliation Action Plan including staff training, financial literacy and assisting to build the capacity of Indigenous organizations. The figures and outcomes in these reports provide adequate information towards evaluating the performance of various branches in various departments. 5.0 Evaluation of the fairness of performance management One of the most important functions of human resource management is Staff Performance Management. As discussed earlier, ANZ Bank employs a management tool known as the Global Performance Management Framework to monitor, evaluate and enhance the performance of its employees. One of the key aspects of Performance Management is to formulate a set of goals and priorities that serve as targets and guidelines for employees to better understand their respective roles and how each individuals performance impacts the organization as a whole. The employee performance management system encompasses the following basic aims: Direct employees in order to achieve the objectives in the various departments and branches present within an organization. Appraise, evaluate and monitor the performance of employees and enhance communication between employees and management personnel. To provide pathways and formulate schemes for developing employees. Throughout this report, various research materials are sited supporting the fact that performance management, if implemented properly, can ensure an organizations success. This section of the report attempts to link performance management with other Human Resource Management functions to ascertain and evaluate the fairness of performance management. Figure 1: The link between Performance Management and other HR Functions For a performance management system to be effective and functional, certain elements are normally incorporated into the system: Open and fair Oriented towards the competency of employees An ongoing process (HRM civil service bureau, 1999) Open and Fair This element of the performance management system seeks to achieve fairness in performance appraisal by encouraging employees to be outspoken and constructive in their feedbacks. Additionally, managers are also encouraged to be open and objective in their appraisals of the employees. The following methods can be instrumental in accomplishing this: Formulating comprehensive and detailed objectives and targets. Encouraging higher-level employees to conduct discussions with employees pertaining to their performances and providing counselling and training when necessary. Making equal opportunities available to all staff members, in terms of promotions, remuneration and rewards packages and training and development. Forming a panel, whenever possible, to facilitate fairness in performance appraisals. Oriented Towards the Competency of Employees The competency of employees can be broadly classified into two sub-categories; core competencies and functional competencies. Competency relates to the knowledge, attributes, attitude and skills that are required for an employee to succeed in his/her role. Core competencies include a set of skills necessary for an employee to satisfactorily perform his/her duties in their respective departments. Functional competencies include specific sets of skills required by an individual to perform his specific role in the organization. Making use of a system that is competency-oriented greatly enhances the beginning stages of performance management, where goals and objectives are formulated. Employees at different levels of the organization are able to understand what is required of them due to the well-structured job requirements that align each individuals role in the organizations chain of command. An Ongoing Process Performance management systems are an ongoing endeavour that requires constant attention and monitoring. Failing to maintain set standards on a regular basis may lead to a decline in the quality of the companys performance and output. This process involves: Performance planning: This stage involves the appraiser and the appraised, in that, the former informs the latter of the responsibilities and objectives they are required to satisfy, by setting realistic, precise and quantitative targets as comprehensive guidelines for them to follow. Coaching and development: Here, particular emphasis is placed on giving recognition to good performance and providing helpful feedback and guidance to employees. Recognizing noteworthy performances can be a good way of boosting morale and encouraging employees to strive for excellence. Providing continuous counselling and advice can ensure that employees are up to date in the organizations ongoing quest for success and retaining the level of success, once it is achieved. Interim review: An interim review aims to evaluate employee performance. It is a formal interview or discussion where the evaluating personnel identifies performance results and undertakes appropriate actions, assesses development and training programs, identify any shortcomings or barriers that prevents employees from reaching their full potential and make modifications to the objectives required of the employee. Human Resources personnel bridge the gap between employers, managers and employees. Therefore, in addition to their other tasks, HR personnel can ensure the fairness of the employee performance appraisal procedures by understanding the employees concept of fairness and encouraging helpful feedback from employees, thus facilitating better communication between higher-level personnel and lower-level employees.. A fair and transparent system promotes and encourages employees to perform at their best, as the possibilities of achieving promotions and benefit packages are ever present and realistic. Conclusion Obviously, PM is one of the most important functions of HRM which links individuals objectives and organization goals. Thus, PM can be a very effective and efficient management tool if applied properly. An organization should provided its employees with the clear information of the organizations aims, job expectations and motivate employees to perform better by focusing on the desired results, improving communication, and developing the skills and attitudes of employees to better enable them to achieve organizational goals. Moreover, the implementation of performance management frameworks can be both advantageous and disadvantageous for an organization. Analyzing ANZ banks sources of performance information shows that the implementation of a solid PM framework, coupled with their globally recognized reporting methods enables the organization to adequately evaluate the performance of ANZs various departments and sectors, including the sales assistance unit. Finally, fairness in evalua ting and appraising employees performance within an organization can motivate employees to enhance their performance. Organizations can achieve this by providing equal opportunities for their employees towards promotion options, access to remuneration and rewards schemes, training/counselling/mentoring/advising, providing clear, concise information and specifying job tasks and so on. 7.0 Recommendations Organizations should continue to review their strategies regularly by focusing on performance management. Organizations should strive to take actions that can facilitate improvements and employee training and also focus on the development of strategies to justify any gaps, if present, between the organizations actual performance and target goals. Fairness plays an important role in motivating and guiding employees. Although, the concept of fairness may vary from one individual to another, there are certain ideologies, however, that remain constant. For example, it is commonly understood in a workplace that an employee should be rewarded based on his/her performance within the organization. The aspects of fairness that may vary from one individual to another are feelings of how one was treated by his/her employer or manager in regards to a particular scenario. Therefore, it is important for managers and employers to ascertain how their employees perceive fairness. This can be accomplished by providing employees with questionnaires that will enable them to express their take on fairness. This will help higher level personnel to understand their employees more intimately and tailor their remuneration and rewards packages and training opportunities accordingly. In performance management, the employees are subject to be reviewed by their managers. Employees will directly receive feedback from the members of their team. The team members will observe each other and then report to managers when performance problems occur. Subsequently, the managers should combine the feedback gained from their team members and then undertake the necessary corrective measures.

Analysis Of A Vapor Power Plant :: essays research papers

Analysis of A Vapor Power Plant The objective of this study is to construct a computer model of a water vapor power plant. This model will be used to calculate the state properties at all points within the cycle. Included is an analysis of the ideal extraction pressures based on the calculated values of net work, energy input, thermal efficiency, moisture content, and effectiveness. 4.0 Body 4.1 Introduction System to be Analyzed Steam enters the first turbine stage at 120 bar, 520  °C and expands in three stages to the condenser pressure of .06 bar. Between the first and second stage, some steam is diverted to a closed feedwater heater at P1, with saturated liquid condensate being pumped ahead into the boiler feedwater line. The Terminal Temperature Difference of the feedwater heater is 5 °C. The rest of the steam is reheated to 500 °C, and then enters the second stage of expansion. Part of the steam is extracted between the second and third stages at P2 and fed into an open feedwater heater operating at that pressure. Saturated liquid at P2 leaves the open feedwater heater. The efficiencies of all pumps are 80%, and the efficiencies of all turbines are 85%. Throughout this report the states will be referenced as depicted above with the numbers 1-13. The analysis of the system will involve the use of the Energy Rate Balance to isolate the specific enthalpies and associated values of temperature, pressure, specific volume, and steam quality. The Entropy balance equation will be used to calculate the specific entropy at all the above noted states. Energy Rate Balance (assume KE&PE=0) dEcv/dt = Qcv-Wcv+Smi(hi) - Sme(he) Entropy Rate Balance dScv/dt = SQj/Tj + Smi(si) - Sme(se) + scv For simplicity, it is assumed in all calculations that kinetic and potential energy have a negligible effect. It is also assumed that each component in the cycle is analyzed as a control volume at steady state; and that each control volume suffers from no stray heat transfer from any component to its surroundings. The steam quality at the turbine exits will also be constrained to values greater than or equal to 90% (Moran, 337). 4.2 Code Development The C program "finalproject.c ² was developed to calculate the state values given the constraints listed in section 4.1. The program structure consists of three parts: Header/variable declaration Calculation section Data Report section The Header section includes all the variable declarations, functions to include and system definitions. To obtain accurate data values, this program uses floating point values. The Calculation section is the function that is used to calculate all the state values. In essence this section consists of two nested while()

Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay -- A Good Man is

Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find "A Good Man is Hard to Find presents a masterful portrait of a woman who creates a self and a world through language." At least that is what Mary Jane Shenck thinks of the Flannery O'Connor story. Several different people have several different views of this controversial and climatic work of O'Connor's. In this paper I will take a look at these different views of different situations and characters in this book. First we will take a look at grandmother. She is made to look like the saint in this story. Her, in contrast to the rest, is the good person, always looking out for the best of others. She is not going on vacation, she is going to visit her "connections" in Tennessee. While on the drive, to their destination, she sits and admires the scenery as the others are more interested in the funny papers or the sports section. She brings the cat along on the trip for the good of the cat. She didn't want the cat to accidently kill himself by turning on the gas on the stove or something. She is the "Christ-like" figure of this story, and this is more relevant at the end of the story when she confronts the Misfit. Just like in so many other O'Connor stories the grandmother, the good character, is going to take the hardest fall. The Misfit appears many different ways in this story. His first appearance in the story he seems to be a scholar. Wearing his silver-rimmed glasses and a black hat. This description would also fit a description of a rabbi. This image comes just by looking at his head. His shirtless torso and blue jeans, which didn't quite fit right, and gun in hand, kind of veer us away from thinking of him as being a good man. Of course the limitations of his chara... ...mily is in reference to the disciples. No matter what it the acions were, they followed grandmother, the Christ-like figure. They also were oppressed, but by death, in a way as the disciples were for following Christ. At the conclusion the reader is left with a vision of destruction of human life both literal and figurative that is absurd rather than tragic because the victims are not heroic figures reduced to misfortune, They are ordinary characters who meet a grotesque fate. Works Cited Currie, Sheldon. "A Good Grandmother is Hard to Find: Story as Exemplum," The Antigonish Review (Spring-Summer 1990):143-55. Short Story Criticism. Vol. 23. 223-225. Schaub, Thomas Hill. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Short Story Criticism. Vol. 23. 233-235. Shenck, Mary Jane. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Short Story Criticism. Vol. 23. 220-223.

Veronica decides to die :: essays research papers

Veronika Decides to Die – Paul Coelho Plot Summary In his brilliant novel about the aftermath of a young woman ’s suicide attempt,Paulo Coelho explores three perennial themes:conformity, madness,and death.Twenty-four-year-old Veronika li es in Slovenia,one of the republics created by the dissolution of Yugoslavia.She works as a librarian by day,and by night carries on like many single women --dating men,occasionally sleeping with them,and returning to a single room she rents at a convent.It is a life,but not a very compelling one.So one day,Veronika decides to end it.Her failed attempt,and her inexplicable reasons for wanting to die,land her in a mental hospital,Vilette. Veronika ’s disappointment at having sur i ed suicide is palpable.She imagines the rest of her life filled with disillusionment and monotony,and vows not to leave Vilette alive. Much to her surprise,however,she learns that a fate she desires awaits her anyway: She is destined to die within a week ’s time,of a heart damage caused by her suicide attempt.Gradually,this knowledge changes Veronika ’s perception of death and life. In the meantime,Vilette ’s head psychiatrist attempts a fascinating but provocative experiment.Can you "shock"someone into wanting to live by convincing her that death is imminent?Like a doctor applying defibrillator paddles to a heart attack victim,Dr. Igor ’s "prognosis"jump-starts Veronika ’s new appreciation of the world around her. From within Vilette ’s controlled environment,she finally allows herself to express the emotions she has never allowed herself to feel:hate and love,anger and joy,disgust and pleasure.Veronika also finds herself being drawn into the li es of other patients who lead constrained but oddly satisfying li es.Eduard,Zedka,and Mari have been sent to Vilette because there doesn ’t seem to be any other place for them.Their families don ’t understand them,and they can ’t adjust to the social structure that doesn ’t tolerate their individuality.Each of these patients reflects on Veronika ’s situation in his or her own flash of epiphany,exposing new desire and fresh vision for life that lies outside the asylum ’s walls. Vilette is an asylum in the purest sense of the word:a place of protection,where one is shielded from danger.In this case the danger is society.Those who refuse to accept

Should Recycling Be Required by Law?

PRO MANDATORY RECYCLING * â€Å"Recycling is so beneficial for our planet that it should definitely be required. In an ideal world, everyone would voluntarily recycle, but let's face it: That's never going to happen. It makes me so angry when I watch students in my school throw their plastic water bottles in the trash can when there is a recycling can right next to it! * â€Å"Nearly 70 million tons of material are kept away from landfills each year thanks to recycling, according to the National Recycling Coalition. â€Å"If we have just 30 percent of the population recycling, we'd reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as if we removed 25 million cars from the road! Imagine how many greenhouse gas emissions we could get rid of if everyone recycled. * â€Å"It's so easy to recycle, and if more people do it, then it becomes more cost-effective. Some people against mandatory recycling say that it's costly, but recycling is a less expensive process if more people are involved.In fa ct, two years after New York City decided that mandatory recycling was a drain on the city — costing $40 million — they discovered that a redesigned, more efficient recycling system could actually save the city $20 million! New York City has now signed a 20-year recycling contract. * â€Å"We need to get more cities and states on board with mandatory recycling. In addition to helping the environment, recycling programs help stimulate the economy by creating more jobs. The benefits of mandatory recycling far outweigh the drawbacks, and it's up to you, CosmoGIRL! eaders, to get your cities on board! Write to your local official and let her or him know how you feel about mandatory recycling. Your actions can make all the difference! † —Laura Carusco, 18, New York City, NY ANTI MANDATORY RECYCLING * â€Å"Mandatory recycling is one of the newest fads in the ‘go green' movement. But what you may not realize is that it's also one of the most costly and w asteful activities to infiltrate America. * â€Å"Contrary to what most people think, recycling does not save irreplaceable sources. Take a look at the current prices for everyday items, like paper.According to the concept of supply and demand, since the price is so cheap, there must be a large supply that backs it up. For example, a pack of notebook paper ranges from just 20 cents to 50 cents. If we were at risk of running out of trees, the price would be much higher. * â€Å"Also, by using less of one resource, we are inevitably using more of others. Daniel K. Benjamin, senior associate of the Property and Environment Research Center, stated in a report that â€Å"on average, curbside recycling is 35 to 55 percent more costly nationwide than conventional disposal. Benjamin goes on to say that in Seattle, where the council decided to make recycling mandatory, they are wasting resources by charging too much for trash pickup and not charging enough for recycling pickup. Also, thin k about all of the extra pollution caused by the recycling pickup trucks! It's like having a garbage truck come through twice a week instead of just once. * â€Å"It's also a misconception that we're running out of room in our landfills. There is enough room just in America to last us for years, and we can always add landfills.Another misconception is that our trash is harmful, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a cancer-related death due to modern landfills only occurs about once every 50 years. Cancer causes over half a million deaths a year in the United States alone, so one cancer-related death every 50 years doesn't even compare. * â€Å"Although voluntary recycling has its benefits, it is completely unnecessary and wasteful to make it mandatory. † —Aliza Sajjad, 18, Concord, CA

How can we solve banning hijab problem Essay

The issue of hijab is one of the most controversial and hotly debated issue which has merged in the European, especially French scene with regard to racial and religious and gender based discrimination in the 21st century. It is sensitive religious issue which has impacted the education of a section of religious sect on a very substantial front. This ban got implemented by French government on 2nd September, 2004 and has been taken up by the legal and political activists in various parts of Europe like Germany, Belgium and other nations worldwide. This has brought to the surface the worlds conflict with regard to protection of women in Islam from gender discrimination and imposition of extreme fundamentalist view which reinforces the superiority. As Binnaz Toprak expresses; â€Å"The scarf is a symbol of the inferior status of women† (Viewpoint). It is important for Muslim men not impose such discrimination of gender publicly which reinforces in countries which support equality of status by forcing on young school going children the visible discrimination which is offensive to the society in which they have chosen to immigrate. The national laws and observances need o be respected an integrated whenever there is the possibility and intentional decision to chose a new residence with permanent status. The issue of banning hijab is an ethical issue which can have philosophical as well as ideological touch which makes the issue very controversial and complicated. This is also a very multicultural issue which brings the issue of world conflict into the classroom atmosphere and hence legislation and strong measures taken by the French government has been the triggering the issue which has been supported by many European and western nations even central Asian countries. â€Å"French right wing President Jacques Chirac’s poli cy to impose a ban on the wearing of the Islamic veil (hijab) by girls in schools has split the left – both in France and internationally.†(Workers Power). The issue is very sensitive issue which addresses the radical belief of very extremist and racist society which has chosen to immigrate in liberal nations worldwide. It is also a strong religious imposition which has been challenged by the secular countries which do not want such open expression to be part of the school atmosphere. The problem related to the ban on hijab should be encouraged as a message to this orthodox community. The extremist nature of such social order and racist belief does need to be addressed with firmness abut sensitive approach which is based on education and awareness rather than strong legal imposition. The issue should be addressed as secular issue which has to be made a fundamental pillar which should be presented as an integrated strategy to support the socialist and political issues which can be addressed by campaigns and education conferences. There should be introduction of programmes which support such campaigns and does not directly challenge the d ogmatic beliefs which reinforces religious teaching on and universal platform. The issue is more a socialist issue which aims to remove any strong religious bias which has been associated with the history of racism. The racist issue is another dimension to this problem of banning hijab, which has been a cultural expression which is indicator of oppressive status of women in certain cultural societies and which has not yet been challenged with force and support which is strong enough to break the dogmatic and extremist imposition. The stricture which provides the details of using veil and hijab in Muslim society has been clearly defined and dictated in Quran and has been an indicator of strong oppression toward feminine gender. It is important that people who take the imitative to move out for economic or social reasons to new liberal country would be open minded enough to embrace the progressive nature of the society and give opportunity to their children and women to have equal rights and respect them with civility. This would also allow for their easy assimil ation within the new social network and not make them stand out as different in an inferior sort of manner. It can also be an awkward situation for people who have not seen such treatment to women in their culture to accept such oppressive and discriminatory display by attire in their tradition. This can also lead to hostile situation in which oppression along with racial bias can make the transition difficult for the hijab wearing masses within the new liberal communities. The issue of hijab especially when dealing with extremist approach of the Muslim community who are staunch followers of the teachings of Quoran should be reinforced by the fact that support should be given to women’s right and religious based bias should not impede their children based on cultural and religious and racial impositions. The policy and legal support should reinforce tolerance as well as understanding which would go to an enormous way in making individual rights to have free expression as strong phenomenon which can support the issue with sensitivity and force which can help foster understanding and acceptance. It should be stressed that ban on hijab is to reduce the barrier which is an expression of oppression and gender bias, and the objective is to encourage gender integration and discourage gender segregation. The powerful message of integration would be the key to getting cooperation and support which can help the issue of banning hijab.

Langston Hughes’s “Theme for English B”

African American Literature can often be characterized by having a dual identity, especially in the early to mid-twentieth century. This dual reality is reflective of the African American’s heritage and present circumstances. With a heritage of forced immigration into the country, and limited rights and racism after slavery is abolished, there is a borderline pride and hatred. It is very possible to have both of these feelings, and authors reveal this confusing notion through the expression of poetry.Yes, the writers are proud of being Americans, but at the same time, are always conscience of the fact that in the land of opportunity, the color of their skin will perhaps always be not only noticed but also will limit them and their children. There are many texts that portray this dual identity of the African American, including Langston Hughes’s â€Å"Theme for English B† and Claude McKay’s â€Å"America†. Through â€Å"Theme for English B† Hu ghes explores his mixed identity: â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white† (26-27).Before this, he identifies himself as the only black student in his class, which seems to be away from Harlem, and that he resides in Harlem. He spends his time both in the majority black Harlem, but he is learning in a mostly white area, from white professors. He hears both Harlem and New York, and therefore can identify with the black (Harlem) and the larger picture of New York (America). He explains this is part of being American, different and yet working together, if not for the benefit of each other, then for the benefit of the country.He understands that his professor and himself often â€Å"don’t want to be a part† (35) of each other, but neither of them have a choice. I think that it is important to note that Hughes emphasizes his own unwillingness to be a part of the white man This may reflect the forced immigration of slavery, or si mply his own deterrence away from â€Å"whiteness†, even though it is necessary for him to achieve his education. McKay has a much bitterer viewpoint of his America. The poem â€Å"America†, as compared to â€Å"Theme for English B† has a much darker and critical tone of America, beginning with the first line â€Å"Although she feeds me bread of bitterness†(1).Starting off the poem like this immediately creates the feeling of paradox that McKay is trying to convey. Although the speaker is being fed, it is with foul tasting nourishment, not the kind that you would expect in the United States. The paradox is further heightened through the idea of life and death occurring simultaneously: â€Å"Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that steals my youth† (3-4). A â€Å"cultured hell† is an interesting phrase to use because it is so unexpected. It highlights the culture of America, perhaps both of black and white cul ture that is creating such a tumultuous environment.But, I doubt that this would be any better than an uncultured hell. It is this country that creates and destroys, loves and hates at the same time. It is in this paradox of impossibilities that unlocks multiple possibilities. It is all of this confusion and acknowledgement of inequality that creates the speaker â€Å"strength against her hate† (6). But this one man going against the country and the culture of hate and appeasement of that hate can hardly make a dent if â€Å"Her bigness sweeps me like a flood† (7).The stand that the speaker is taking against and for the country may not be going anywhere, but the can see a time in the future where â€Å"beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand, like priceless treasures sinking in the sand† (13-14) America’s current culture would be buried. Although this can be interpreted as the downfall of the country, I see it as the downfall of the current cultu re of America. This is not an anti-America poem, but rather one dedicated to a better one, and towards the construction of a culture that embraces all Americans.

Morality and Competitor Essay

No doubt, Money is an essential, almost indispensable article in the present day world. It is the’ money’ through which we can purchase all the necessary comforts and amenities of life. If you have money, you can obtain what seems impossible to others. It is the money which gives man, confidence, creditworthiness, credentials, capacity, capabilities and courage. In present day materialistic world, money has become very powerful. In the present day corruption, cut throat competition, callous degradation of moral and ethical values, are for the sake of grabbing and accumulating more and more money. The prestige, respect, social status, commanded by a person is calculated per his monetary status. Time has gone, when we valued a person in evaluated of his moral and ethical values. People were earlier known for keeping their words, for donating every thing to a donee. Now people are know in terms of their ranking in the list of rich of the world. Money has become the centre of all activities. Money and muscle power have become essential ingredients of a successful political leader. Money is regarded as omnipotent by a few people, particularly by the poor. As whatever one does not possess, one aspires it badly, and it becomes mono aim of achievement. For the rich, that owe lots of money, still craving to earn more and more, by hook or by crook, with fair or foul means, without caring even for their own health, own family. They are the servants of money, earning money not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of money and a time comes they find themselves unable to use the money for their happiness. They are unable to eat, unable to taste the most delicious dish, unable to move, walk or enjoy because they suffer from many diseases which are the result of their undue craving for wealth at the cost of health. Can one purchase anything with the power of money? No, one cannot. You cannot purchase inner satisfaction with money, you cannot purchase the lost youthfulness with money, you cannot purchase time from the death at any cost. Those who earn money simply to a have more money, more balance in their accounts are no better than the proverbial miser king ‘Midas’. Excessive love for money, make a man slave of money. Money is important for our life, but it is not the most important thing for a human being. Those who use money for fulfilling their necessities, acquiring reasonable comforts and for the welfare of a common good, are the masters of money. But those who earn money just for the sake of increasing its volume and number are slaves of the money. They are the most unfortunate creatures of God who know well that whatever money they are earning, can’t be taken an iota of that when they die even they are minting more and more money. What a paradox Money has become their master and they are just slaves, having no peace of mind, no moral and ethical values, no inner satisfaction. So it is rightly said that money is a good servant but a bad master. Let us use the money for our comfort, not for the sake of money, minting more and more money.

Preparing to Conduct Business Research Essay

On September 12, 2012 the New York City Health Department voted eight-zero with one vote abstaining, to enact a city wide ban on sugar-sweetened beverages in containers over 16ounce in size (Susman, 2012). At the urging of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg the health department is hoping that this ban will have an impact on the growing obesity problem among New York citizens (Susman, 2012). Opposition to the ban was evident before the final vote by citizens believing violations of his or her freedom are occurring and vendors who see the choices in what he or she serve the customers under dictation from city hall. Perhaps the group with the most to lose is the beverage industry; the ban limits servings of sugar sweetened drinks to 16 ounces or less in the city’s 24,000 restaurants, delis, movie theaters, sports venues, and street carts (Petrecca, 2012). This means no 20-ounce bottles, no super-sized drinks, no monster drinks at the movie theater, the fact is most of these establishments consider a 16-ounce beverage a small or medium drink (Petrecca, 2012). So smaller drinks mean smaller profits; however, it may be possible that this is not the case. The ban does not limit the number of 16-ounce drinks a person may purchase; the possibility for additional sales does exist (Petrecca, 2012). Because only restaurants offer free refills, it is possible that the smaller size drinks will result in greater quantities of sales at the other locations. Business Research The CEO of the Coca Cola Company is communicating with Learning Team A, hiring Learning Team A to research potential issues and opportunities resulting from the ban on containers over the limit of 16 ounces of sugar sweetened beverages in the city of New York. Coca Cola is showing interest in learning what the consumer thinks of the ban; how the customers believe it will affect his or her recreational and dining experiences. Coca Cola is not only showing interest in this information as it pertains to New York City but also because the interest this ban is attracting from other large cities and what it would mean to the company if this became common practice in other locations (Koebler, 2012). Hypotheses Team A offers several hypotheses to the ban and the effects it will have on the citizens, vendors, and distributors of sugar sweetened beverages: ? Team A hypothesizes that the ban on sugar sweetened beverages will cause a decrease in beverage sales that contain sugar, costing the Coca Cola company millions of dollars in sales. ? Team A hypothesizes that the ban on sugar sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces will cause consumers to purchase multiple quantities of beverages in replacement of what they use to purchase. Also the sale of sugar free beverages will rise; this will cause an increase in revenue for the Coca Cola Company. ? Team A hypothesizes that the public will be unreceptive to the ban and believes that the government body responsible for it has overstepped their bounds. The public will think that the removal of this choice goes against the constitutional rights every person has and that he or she will attempt to find a way around the ban. ? Team A hypothesizes that although there will be citizens upset in regard to the ban, the citizens will embrace the law proving a measurable difference on the obesity problem in New York City. Variables to Consider and Questions to Ask In an effort to offer to the Coca Cola Company the most complete information, the best recommendations, and a reliable foundation on which to base future changes it is necessary to research as many variables as possible. Variable questions to include in the research include: 1) â€Å"The various age groups of the consumers, and their drink preferences. † 2) â€Å"How the vendors plan on handling this new rule and will the vendor adjust the prices, add free-refills, implement buy one get one programs, and add additional drink dispensers to accommodate customers. 3) â€Å"How these bans encourage customers to leave the city limits and visit establishments in the suburbs? † 4) â€Å"How the consumer understands the reasoning behind the ban and the obesity issue with the removal of beverage choice? † 5) â€Å"Coca Cola currently holding a 70% market share in New York; this is a significant margin over the competition (Petrecca, 2012). It is important to research if the customer loyalty level will hold up to â€Å"deals† by the competition and how aggressive Coca Cola is going have to be with marketing and pricing. † 6) â€Å"Is Coca Cola willing to embrace this ban, explore ways to market their diet products and fruit juices as an alternate to the sugar sweetened beverages? † Ethical Considerations Ethics play a critical role in conducting research projects (Donald R. Cooper, 2011). It is critical to examine how the results of the research issue breach the rights of the citizens. In the case of the New York City law that limits the sales of sugar sweetened drinks there are several ethical questions that arise. The strongest being, â€Å"how will this state law infringe on an individual’s rights to choose the size of their desired beverage? † The motivation behind the law is the unhealthy factors of sugary drinks, targeting one unhealthy option. Supporters of the law believe that this law will help prevent obesity; however, opposition believes it is unfair to place the weight of this issue on one product. Also at question â€Å"Is it ethical to restrict a consumer’s right to choose what he or she wants to drink? † Along with sugar sweetened beverages there are other unhealthy products available that have proven effects on weight with no restrictions. Vendors and beverage makes can argue that the law shows bias and is discriminatory. This leads to another ethical issue; does the law give preference or competitive vendor advantage over consumer’s advantage. A consumer, who may wish to purchase a larger drink, may find the need to purchase multiple drinks, thereby increasing the sales of the company but yet not eliminating the risk of obesity. Also under consideration is the ethical question, â€Å"does the beverage company have a responsibility to their customers to reduce the chance of obesity, knowing that these beverages offer empty calories with no nutritional value? † Conclusion Moving into the future it is important to understand what difficulties a company will be facing. Knowledge from research projects provide companies the possibility to develop contingency plans and reduce the chance that the unknown will alter the course of a successful business plan. Earlier this month the New York City Health Department passed a law that has altered the way beverage makers and vendors conduct their business and altering the freedom consumers have in choosing something as simple as the beverage he or she drinks. The Coca Cola Company is looking to go forward armed with the knowledge they will need to maintain their superiority in the New York Market. This task has fallen on Learning Team A, as they will research and discover what the market and consumers will demand to remain customers of Coca Cola. References Donald R. Cooper, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods, Eleventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Company. Koebler, J. (2012, September 12). Experts: Courts Likely to Uphold New York Soda Ban. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from U. S. News: http://www.usnews. com/news/articles/2012/09/14/experts-courts-likely- to-uphold-new-york-soda-ban_print. html Petrecca, L. (2012, July 18). Coke, Pepsi, others launch assault against NYC beverage ban. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from USA Today: http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/money/industries/food/story/2012-07-09 /coke-pepsi-fight-soda-ban/56279302/1 Susman, T. (2012, September 13). New York City bans big sugary drinks in restaurants. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from LA Times: http://articles. latimes. com/2012/sep/13/nation/la-na-soda-ban-20120914.

The Effect of Employee Training and Development as a Human Resource Essay

The Effect of Employee Training and Development as a Human Resource Practice on Productivity - Essay Example Emphasis on the different theories and the merits and demerits of the theories will be discussed. Since the aim of the dissertation is to understand the effects of training and development on employee productivity it is essential that a case is taken into consideration. The study conducted in this dissertation uses data from a company – British American Tobacco Ltd. UK., to discuss and understand the effects of training and development on the employees and how the productivity of employees is affected by these human resource practices. The Human Resources departments of various companies and corporations who are actively working on improving the performance and productivity of employees or are preparing proposals to the management on implementing different training and development processes to improve the productivity of employees. The key issues that will be discussed in the dissertation are the effect of training and development programs on employee productivity. The merits and demerits of including the training programs for graduate employees will also be discussed. As the company spends a lot of its resources in training of employees it is essential that the results got from these programs are beneficial for the company. Also, a brief discussion about why training programs might not be useful in certain cases will also be discussed. Recommendations for the company will include steps the company can take to ensure positive results in the form of better productivity of employees will also be discussed. The companies website states a lot of different programs that BAT offers for new starters, this will also be discussed in detail to analyze the usefulness and appropriateness of the programs. Another issue that will be discussed is the effectiveness of the theories that have been derived over the past years. A detailed explanation of the different theories will be discussed and an analysis of the theories will be made.

Strategic Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Marketing - Research Paper Example The majority of marketing scholars addresses strategic marketing as a continuous, long-term process, one that is concerned with clarifying the present state of the institution, a series of coordinated steps along a clearly defined route, while others speak to strategic planning as the organization’s defining of a mission and strategies to achieve goals and objectives in the most effective manner. This paper aims to examine and analyze customer orientation perspective of strategic marketing, with a specific focus on customer orientation, consumer behavior and relationship marketing. In a customer-oriented organization, the process of identifying and responding to the interests and needs of the customer is crucial, and must be viewed as the key element of the company’s strategic business plan. In a customer-oriented organization, quality is defined by the one who uses and ultimately benefits from the specific product or service, that being the customer or client. Those at the helm of successful businesses realize that the focus of the organization must be aligned with creating customer satisfaction above all else (Hinton & Schaeffer, 1994). Everyone’s job is defined by the customer. It is the customer, after all, who ultimately, defines how well the product or service is to be created, or delivered (Webster, 1994). As Jack Welch, the highly acclaimed CEO of General Electric, often reminded his employees, â€Å"Companies can’t give job security. Only customers can!† (Kotler, 1999, p. 20). The managers of responsive organizations focus on customer satisfaction, and make every effort to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 1999). Forler Massnick, author of The Customer is CEO (1997), stakes a claim for TQM (Total Quality Management) by emphasizing that value is defined and determined by the customer. This practice of continuous product improvement, viewed through